Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of Grayscale Investments

2020 was in many ways an inflection point for cryptocurrencies. Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of Grayscale Investments, will be discussing trends the firm is seeing among its investors, who have invested over $10B across its various products, and answering questions including – Who are these investors? What are they investing in? How are they investing?

(KEYNOTE) https://crypto-finance-conference.com/agenda

Grayscale Now Owns More Than 3% (630k+) of Total 21 Million Bitcoins That Will Ever Exist

https://tokenview.com/en/Grayscale

3 key investment themes that underpinned Bitcoin’s (BTC) dramatic breakout in 2020:

(1) macroeconomic uncertainty and quantitative easing;
(2) legendary investors and brand-name companies investing in BTC; and
(3) the continued strengthening of regulatory frameworks around digital assets.

Sonnenshein believes 2021 will see a continuation of these trends as more investors diversify into Bitcoin and other digital assets.

Grayscale CEO outlines 6 themes that will shape crypto market in 2021:

(1) Decreased career risk associated with digital-asset investing
(2) Growing interest among financial advisers
(3) The growth of North American and clean-energy crypto mining
(4) Increased stablecoin integration
(5) Nation-state adoption of digital assets
(6) New regulatory developments

https://cointelegraph.com/news/grayscale-ceo-outlines-6-themes-that-will-shape-crypto-market-in-2021

BlackRock’s new SEC filings list Bitcoin derivatives as possible investment

The multi-trillion-dollar asset manager mentions “Bitcoin” 25 times in its submissions with the SEC.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/blackrock-s-new-sec-filings-list-bitcoin-derivatives-as-possible-investment

The post Of Grayscale and Black Rock appeared first on Blockchain Insider.

• Macro Strategist Raoul Pal Moves More Than 50% of Portfolio to Bitcoin in Big Bet on Future of Crypto
• MicroStrategy Board makes Bitcoin its primary reserve currency, may increase its holdings beyond $250M
• Bitcoin market cap will match JPMorgan’s if the $16.5K CME gap closes
• Mad Money host Jim Cramer forecasts a generational wealth storage shift
• BNP Paribas connects to major stock exchanges with DAML smart contracts

Disclaimer: NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE

Reading Notes

Macro Strategist Raoul Pal Moves More Than 50% of Portfolio to Bitcoin in Big Bet on Future of Crypto

We are all 100% aware of the downside risk in a 60 vol asset… this is not a trade for a great grandmother. I just want to be clear, with regards to being irresponsibly long bitcoin: I don’t use leverage. I fully expect to have to deal with a 50% drawdown and, I’m ok with it. I look at my allocation versus liquid assets and not my house etc. I am lucky to have an income stream, which is key. ~ Global Macro Investor founder and chief executive Raoul Pal, who is betting big on the future of digital currencies.

https://dailyhodl.com/2020/09/14/macro-strategist-raoul-pal-moves-more-than-50-of-portfolio-to-bitcoin-in-big-bet-on-future-of-crypto/

MicroStrategy Board makes Bitcoin its primary reserve currency, may increase its holdings beyond $250M

MicroStrategy has outperformed the Nasdaq since buying BTC. Now, it’s doubling down.

The move – Microstrategy’s Bitcoin investment – has already caused a slew of copycats, with smaller companies of every shape making similar announcements.

• It should be noted that MicroStrategy sold a domain to Block.one in 2019 for $30 million.
• Perhaps this gave the company’s leadership an appreciation of the value of cryptocurrency.
• Some of the world’s biggest institutional investors have a stake in the company.
• This may demonstrate how much more acceptable Bitcoin has become on Wall Street in the past few years.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/microstrategy-board-makes-bitcoin-its-primary-reserve-currency-may-increase-its-holdings-beyond-250m

Bitcoin market cap will match JPMorgan’s if the $16.5K CME gap closes

“As it turns out, bitcoin is better at being gold than gold — and not just incrementally, but by an order of magnitude or 10X better. It is a widely held belief in technology circles that when a product is 10X better than its closest substitute, it will escape its competition. We believe Bitcoin has achieved this.”

At $16,500, Bitcoin’s market cap would match that of JPMorgan, illustrating just how early the crypto sector is in its growth phase.

#Bitcoin‘s price if it reaches this market cap:

$16‘500 JP Morgan
$23‘000 Visa
$40‘300 Facebook
$106‘000 Apple
$487‘000 Gold

Lets go!

— MMCrypto (@MMcrypto) September 10, 2020

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-market-cap-will-match-jpmorgans-if-the-165k-cme-gap-closes

The Future of Smart Contract

BNP Paribas connects to major stock exchanges with DAML smart contracts

In 2019, the ASX and Digital Asset signed a Memorandum of Understanding stating that the stock exchange will support DAML as part of its CHESS blockchain registry. As reported, ASX’s CHESS system is coming in 2021.

Introduced in April 2016, DAML stands for Digital Asset Modeling Language and represents an expressive language designed for financial institutions to model and execute agreements through DLT and smart contracts.

The new DAML-driven apps will connect BNP Paribas Securities Services with major global stock exchanges like the Australian Securities Exchange, or ASX, and the Hong Kong Exchange, or HKEX.

The apps will provide market participants in the Asia Pacific with real-time access to ASX’s and HKEX’s upcoming blockchain-based trading and settlement platforms. BNP Paribas will specifically connect to the ASX’s blockchain-powered equity transaction platform known as the Clearing House Electronic Subregister System, or CHESS.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bnp-paribas-connects-to-major-stock-exchanges-with-daml-smart-contracts

Mad Money host Jim Cramer forecasts a generational wealth storage shift

When I go to my inflation handbook, what it says is buy gold, buy masterpieces and buy mansions, what we didn’t have in that menu, was crypto. ~ Jim Cramer, host of the popular CNBC mainstream markets show, Mad Money.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/mad-money-host-jim-cramer-forecasts-a-generational-wealth-storage-shift

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1) Could California become its own crypto-country?

2) Bermuda hopes to jumpstart their economy with new ‘stimulus token’

3) Shanghai’s Jing’an District issues blockchain-based discount coupons

4) Swiss crypto bank Sygnum scores approval for digital asset trading

Reading Notes

Could California become its own crypto-country?

The idea of a future crypto-based economy, which could finance a level of free healthcare, free education, and a form of basic income (UBI) at a scale that has never before been seen.

People investing in land and property through crypto transactions could help boost the proposed implementation of Universal Basic Income.

California’s Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee recently passed a bill seeking to define digital assets and measure their impact on state and consumer protections.

A Brexit-inspired plan wants to make California its own nation, separate from the USA. The people behind the plan are now looking to establish cryptocurrencies as the financial backbone of the proposed nation.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/could-california-become-its-own-crypto-country

Bermuda hopes to jumpstart their economy with new ‘stimulus token’

“What we are proposing is bypassing all the middle-men, bypassing the banks, and airdrop what is basically an IOU from the government to the people. You will go to a website and register your ID, and the Government will airdrop to you a certain amount of money. It will be immediate and you will have it on your phone wallet.”

As part of the program, the government plans to enable the purchase of food and other products from retailers to strengthen its now-necessary array of contactless payment solutions.

The Bermuda government will also distribute payments to those who qualify for coronavirus-related financial aid using the tokens.

All the transactions will be handled through a digital wallet managed from a mobile app. Assets in this app will be spendable at vendors through QR codes and point-of-sale devices.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bermuda-hopes-to-jumpstart-their-economy-with-new-stimulus-token

Shanghai’s Jing’an District issues blockchain-based discount coupons

The Jing’an District of Shanghai has started offering blockchain-based discount coupons.

The tourism bureau has integrated blockchain to their WeChat mini-program to adjust the number of coupons in circulation and the validity period of each of these by analyzing how people are using them. The mini-program will send out new coupons daily.

The value of each blockchain-based coupon will vary between 5 yuan ($0.73) to 60 yuan ($8.80).

Employees, students and other residents of the district will be able to obtain the coupons using the WeChat mini-program. They can then redeem them at the movies, theater performances and for online courses.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/shanghais-jingan-district-issues-blockchain-based-discount-coupons

Swiss crypto bank Sygnum scores approval for digital asset trading

Sygnum, a major cryptocurrency bank in Switzerland, is preparing to finally introduce digital asset trading after receiving regulatory approval.

The new approval enables Sygnum to “cover the complete life-cycle of a security,” starting from services such as primary issuance, settlement and custody to secondary trading.

USP: Users now have access to instant settlement via the Sygnum-issued stablecoin Digital Swiss franc (DCHF).

Licensing: The bank has been aggressively expanding its services; after obtaining a Swiss banking license in August 2019, Sygnum was also licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore the following month.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/swiss-crypto-bank-sygnum-scores-approval-for-digital-asset-trading

The post ROTD : Nation-state Cryptonization appeared first on Blockchain Insider.

Pros of NFT

• They could unlock new revenue streams in gaming, sports, the arts, and technology.
• NFTs could introduce millions of people to cryptocurrencies for the very first time.
• They can transform our attitudes toward ownership — and make it possible to own a real-world asset that’s thousands of miles away.

Cons of NFT

• Building decentralized apps for non‑fungible tokens can be tricky and time consuming.
• Much more simplification is needed so NFTs are easy to use for people who know nothing about blockchain.
• NFT games can have a ”hot potato” effect. Players buy an asset in the hope of selling it on for a profit, but if the market collapses, they can make a nasty loss.

NFT Stats

• All these stats making promises of astronomical growth don’t tell the full story, though. The NFT space does have its challenges.
• According to Nonfungible.com’s annual report, most projects have a poor retention rate — and in 2019, the vast majority were used for three months or less. As of February 2020, just 3.5% of these platforms were used for more than 10 months.
• The liquidity of NFTs is also a crucial measure of how healthy a marketplace is, but in 2019, just 12% of newly created assets actually circulated between users.

Big NFT News in 2020 (so far)

• Back in March 2020, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss revamped Nifty, a centralized exchange that allows people to sell their tokens and withdraw their profits in fiat.
• Companies are using NFTs to help consumers establish ownership and control over their DNA data, and others are planning to launch peer-to-peer marketplaces for NFT mortgages and rentals.
• NFTs are even being created for journalistic content in a bid to tackle fake news.

What’s Next?

• A straightforward user interface will be crucial for unlocking mainstream adoption.
• As endless experimentation takes place, we’ll likely see several NFT projects crash and burn. Some will struggle to maintain the excitement and momentum they have immediately after launching.
• As such, if you’re tempted to snap up a pricy token worth a few hundred bucks, make sure you’re not left holding a hot potato.

Full artcile: https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/nonfungible-tokens/

The post ROTD: Non-Fungible Token (NFT) appeared first on Blockchain Insider.

Digital Assets Exchange (DAeX) is a platform where people trade assets in digital forms, or digital forms of representation of real world assets. Currently, majority of digital assets traded over the virtual world are in the form of tokens (be it assets backed or not) or cryptocurrencies. Think of it as something similar to conventional stock or forex market, only this time, it serves the digital assets developed mainly via Blockchain or DLT based solutions.

Nation-state backed / regulation compliant DAeX (Digital Assets Exchange) – the ship is sailing.

Another industry progress log to Blockchain Insider’s article: Two Monetary Worlds & Three Phases of Cryptocurrencies

As the regulators steps in, we start seeing the formation of institutional or corporate backed cryptocurrencies in the making. The center of the universe will be the exchanges, where transactions happen and interoperability is in progress.

Related industry progress as reported by Cointelegraph between 24th and 28th March 2019

Study: 14% of Major Crypto Exchanges Are Licensed by Regulators

In the study, Coinfirm evaluated the exchanges into seven categories of risk, including license and authorization, Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance, sanctions, senior public figures, jurisdiction, and negative and adverse media.

Japan Green Lights 2nd Crypto Exchange for April Launch as Data Shows Huge Interest

“With the concept of ‘connecting and exchanging all values and making transactions simple,’ DeCurret aims to become ‘a major financial servicer for digital currency’ that sets standard [sic] for secured and convenient digital currency transaction,” DeCurret summarized in the press release.

Tagomi Holdings’ Subsidiary Gets BitLicense from New York DFS

The firm’s parent company, Tagomi Holdings, was launched by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm in December 2018. The company represents an electronic brokerage for digital assets offering cross market execution, capital management, post-trading reporting, as well as settlement and custodial services.

With that, Tagomi Trading is an institutional-grade aggregation platform for trading virtual currency assets and executes trades across multiple liquidity venues, the DFS’ statement explains.

New Partnership Purports to Create First Approved Crypto Exchange in Vietnam

The collaboration is designed to facilitate the production of digital currency and the creation of a cryptocurrency exchange in Vietnam, to which the companies have supposedly received an appropriate license. The establishment of an authorized cryptocurrency exchange could be a large step for the industry in Vietnam, as the government has previously taken a hard line against digital assets.

E-Commerce Firm Rakuten Readies Cryptocurrency Exchange for April Launch After Name Change

Rakuten, which follows several major Japanese tech players in entering the crypto exchange market, renamed its product from Everybody’s Bitcoin earlier this month. The company had acquired the exchange under the former name in August last year for 265 million yen (at the time $2.4 million).

Japan: Yahoo!-Backed Cryptocurrency Exchange Set for May Launch

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Taotao (formerly BitARG) will start trading a limited range of cryptocurrencies in May. The plans originally came to light in March 2018, when Yahoo! Japan announced it would acquire a major stake in the exchange through its subsidiary, YJFX. At the time, sources suggested the purchase had cost the company around 2 billion yen (then $19 million).

US Institutional Crypto Exchange Seed CX Expands to Asia With New Partnership

United States-based institutional cryptocurrency exchange Seed CX has partnered with Singapore-based fintech company Hydra X to offer its trading service in Asia. Seed CX is a licensed digital asset exchange for both spot market and U.S. Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-regulated derivatives. As Cointelegraph reported at the time, Seed CX closed a $15 million funding round led by alternative investment firm Bain Capital in September last year.

LocalBitcoins Announces Supervision by Financial Supervisory Authority of Finland

International peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto exchange LocalBitcoins will soon become supervised by the Financial Supervisory Authority of Finland. On March 18, LocalBitcoins launched a new account registration process, and is now working on a more efficient and safe identity verification process. The company noted that corporate accounts will undergo a separate verification process. Along with the regulatory announcement, LocalBitcoins also stated that it is developing tools to increase compliance with regulators.

Featured Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

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