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Weekly Recap February 22nd, 2020 – Feb 29th, 2020 Welcome to our 4th weekly recap for January. Overview  Crypto News   [1] US Secretary of Treasure Yellen Says Bitcoin is Inefficient for Transactions Cryptocurrencies could succeed if properly studied, but bitcoin is a highly speculative and inefficient asset, said US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.   [2] Can’t beat ‘em? Join ‘em: Mastercard and Visa make a case for Bitcoin On Feb. 10, Mastercard announced that it would start supporting a select few cryptocurrencies on its payment network. According to the payments giant, the inclusion of cryptocurrencies will allow customers to “save, store and send money in new ways” while opening up new opportunities for merchants as well.   [3] MoneyGram suspends trading on Ripple, citing SEC lawsuit Global money transfer service MoneyGram says it has changed its relationship with blockchain payments firm Ripple amid the latter’s litigation with the Securities and Exchange Commission.   [4] India’s Financial Regulator Orders Against Crypto Holdings: Report The Securities and Exchange Board of IndiaContinue reading »

Weekly Recap February 15th, 2020 – Feb 22nd, 2020 Welcome to our 3rd weekly recap for January. Overview    Crypto News   [1] NYDIG Registers for a Bitcoin ETF, Morgan Stanley Named a Participant in SEC Filing Just recently, during Microstrategy’s “Bitcoin for Corporations” event, Stone Ridge Asset Management and New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) founder, Ross Stevens, explained that he sees a “wall of money” entering the bitcoin space. A week later after that statement, NYDIG has revealed that the company has filed for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) and is hoping for regulatory approval. [2] Dubai Government Licensing Entity Now Accepts Bitcoin for Payments A government-owned entity in Dubai has started accepting bitcoin, ether and tether as payment for its services, according to local media reports. [3] Publicly-Listed Chinese Lottery Firm Acquires Bitcoin Mining Pool Btc.com A U.S. publicly-listed Chinese sports lottery firm is extending its arms into the crypto industry by announcing another related maneuver. 500.com Ltd announced it has acquired Btc.com, the well known bitcoinContinue reading »

Weekly Recap February 8th, 2020 – Feb 15th, 2020 Welcome to our 2nd weekly recap for January. Overview  Crypto News   [1] Uber CEO Says the Company Will Accept Bitcoin If There’s a Need For It Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has said that the company will accept bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a form of payment if there is a benefit and a need for it. [2] World’s Largest Custodian Bank Moving Into Crypto, Considering Issuing Cryptoassets The oldest bank of the United States, Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK), has revealed it will start financing bitcoin and other digital currencies through the rollout of a new cryptocurrency custody service. [3] Bitcoin ETF Receives Green-light From Ontario Securities Regulator The Ontario Securities Commission has approved a bitcoin exchange-traded fund, according to public records published Thursday. [4] India to Ban Cryptocurrency Investment Completely BloombergQuint reported the news on Thursday, citing an unnamed “senior Finance Ministry official.” The ban won’t be imposed overnight, according to the official, who said the governmentContinue reading »

Weekly Recap February 1st, 2020 – Feb 8th, 2020 Welcome to our 1st weekly recap for February. Overview  Crypto News   [ELON] Elon Musk Supports Bitcoin, Says BTC on the Verge of Broad Acceptance Spacex and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has clarified his position on bitcoin and dogecoin. He confirmed that he supports bitcoin, stating that it is “a good thing.” [1] US Federal Reserve Seeking Manager to Research CBDCs and Stablecoins The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) has posted a job advertisement that seeks to hire a role related to stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The Fed is looking for a research manager to join its team to assess the “benefits and risks” of digital assets. [2] Swiss Companies Issue First Tokenized Asset for Trading Under New National Blockchain Rules New legal provisions on distributed ledger technology (DLT) went into effect on Feb. 1 in Switzerland. After the implementation, two local companies announced that they had issued the first tokenized asset under the brand-new law. [3] Paypal LaunchesContinue reading »

Weekly Recap Jan 25th, 2020 – Feb 1st, 2020 Welcome to our 5th weekly recap for January. Overview  Crypto News   [1] Publicly-Traded Firm Buys $150,000,000 in Bitcoin, Says Holding BTC Superior to Holding US Dollar Following in MicroStrategy and Square’s footsteps, Bitcoin mining company Marathon Patent Group is now investing a large portion of its treasury reserve in BTC. [2] As Robinhood Shuts Down GameStop Shares, Demand Emerges For Decentralized, Censorship-Resistant Trading With the ongoing saga of Gamestop shares surging as a result of the r/wallstreetbets subreddit, Robinhood and other trading platforms such as WeBull and Apex Holdings (the clearing firm for among others, Public.com) has refused to allow for the buying of more GameStop GME +19.2% shares. [3] Reddit partners with Ethereum Foundation to boost scaling and resources Popular social media network Reddit, which counts over 1.7 billion monthly visits, is deepening its ties with the Ethereum Foundation in what it has formalized as its first-ever blockchain partnership. [4] Ripple Files Legal Response to SEC’s Lawsuit Blockchain companyContinue reading »

Weekly Recap Jan 18th, 2020 – Jan 25th, 2020 Welcome to our 4th weekly recap for January. Overview    Crypto News   [1] President Biden Freezes FinCEN’s Controversial Crypto Wallet Proposal President Joe Biden has frozen all new or pending rules introduced during the Trump administration. This includes the FinCEN’s controversial crypto wallet proposal. [2] Andreas Antonopoulos Fights FUD With Facts: Bitcoin Is Safe And Worked As Expected On January 21, 2021, a random dude sent $21 to another random dude. And this is news because that transaction triggered a series of unfortunate events that ended up wiping $84Billion from Bitcoin’s total market cap, driving the community into a panic and causing a drop of more than 11% in the price of the largest cryptocurrency in the crypto ecosystem. [3] GrayScale Bought $1.3 Billion Bitcoin GrayScale has had its most successful week yet, buying close to $1.3 billion bitcoin, up considerably from $500 million a week during December. [4] Grayscale has incorporated six more trusts, including ones for Chainlink andContinue reading »

Weekly Recap Jan 11th, 2020 – Jan 18th, 2020 Welcome to our 3rd weekly recap for January. Overview  Crypto News   [1] Cardano’s Mary hard fork to offer native multi-asset support in February Cardano Founder Charles Hoskinson’s updates have been crucial to the development of the ecosystem over the past year. So is the case this time too, with IOHK’s CEO giving the community some important updates during his latest AMA. During the same, Hoskinson revealed that the Mary hard fork is coming in February, with the same promising to deliver “native multi-asset support” to the Cardano network. [2] Reuters: Gary Gensler, MIT blockchain professor and Obama’s CFTC chair, to head Biden SEC During the Obama administration, Gensler was the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, in which capacity he was in charge of enforcing the many new provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act that followed the 2008 financial crisis. [3] Shopify Security Breach Exposes More Ledger Customers’ Sensitive Data A previous security breach at the e-commerce firm Shopify hasContinue reading »

Weekly Recap Jan 4th, 2020 – Jan 11th, 2020 Welcome to our 2nd weekly recap for January. Overview  Crypto News   [1] Banks Can Treat Public Blockchains Like SWIFT and ACH A new interpretive letter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency paves the way for stablecoins and public blockchains to be fully integrated in the financial infrastructure. [2] Cyprian Hospital Commences COVID-19 Vaccination with VeChain (VET) Solution Mediterranean Hospital of Cyprus has successfully vaccinated some of its staff against the COVID-19 virus, including 100 doctors and personnel. The process was carried out via the VeChain-powered E-HCert COVID-19 solution, according to a blog post on January 5, 2020. [3] XRP About to Leave Top 5 First Time Since 2014 as Cardano (ADA) Soars 40 Percent XRP is on the cusp of being pushed out of CoinMarketCap’s top 5 after Cardano (ADA) soared over 40 percent in a single day. [4] Grayscale Gains $1.9 Billion in Crypto in One Day, While Bitcoin Market Cap Hits Record $700 Billion TheContinue reading »