Grimes and Paris Hilton Go Full NFT – But Some Warn of Trouble Ahead.
The non-fungible token (NFT) gravy train is building up a head of steam in the music and art industry.
Within just hours of dance producer 3Lau posting record-breaking sales of almost USD 12m for a batch of exclusive NFTs, the award-winning Canadian musician Grimes and the celebrity socialite and sometime singer Paris Hilton have clambered aboard. But some are warning that the NFT music and art bubble could be about to pop.
Grimes, who is also famously the partner of Tesla chief and bitcoin (BTC) fan Elon Musk, successfully sold some USD 6m worth of digital art in NFT form via the Nifty Gateway marketplace.
The move is another lurch toward crypto and blockchain technology for the Musk-Grimes family. Musk has taken the BTC plunge, calling it his “safe word” and then investing in USD 1.5bn worth of the token through his Tesla auto-making firm. He also joined the dogecoin (DOGE) hype train, buying tokens for his and Grimes’ son, X Æ A-12.
The news was followed by an announcement from the internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, who hinted that he and 1980s star MC Hammer would be working with Hilton on an NFT release that he claimed may fetch up to USD 30m. Hilton claimed that she was “excited” and “fascinated” by the world of NFTs, although her response was met with incredulity by many outspoken crypto advocates.
However, some are warning that the NFT craze could be fleeting.
Crypto trader Andrew Kong tweeted,
“Is it just me or does it seem like celebrities are gonna rug all their fans with NFTs?”
The EulerBeats music and art project recently raised some USD 458,000 in sales of 27 original NFT tracks, as part of a project from Treum, backed by ConsenSys, on the secondary market. But a Twitter user named Dark Pill observed that “any NFT issuer can devalue your holdings if someone pisses them off.”
Dark Pill was reacting to the news that a developer had “copycatted” EulerBeats’ work on the Binance Smart Chain blockchain protocol.
And this led Constantin Kostenko, the Senior Director of Blockchain Solution Architecture & Strategy at ConsenSys Mesh, and one of the architects of the EulerBeats project, to apparently concede that NFT projects could be undermined with relative ease.
The non-fungible token (NFT) gravy train is building up a head of steam in the music and art industry.
Within just hours of dance producer 3Lau posting record-breaking sales of almost USD 12m for a batch of exclusive NFTs, the award-winning Canadian musician Grimes and the celebrity socialite and sometime singer Paris Hilton have clambered aboard. But some are warning that the NFT music and art bubble could be about to pop.
Grimes, who is also famously the partner of Tesla chief and bitcoin (BTC) fan Elon Musk, successfully sold some USD 6m worth of digital art in NFT form via the Nifty Gateway marketplace.
The move is another lurch toward crypto and blockchain technology for the Musk-Grimes family. Musk has taken the BTC plunge, calling it his “safe word” and then investing in USD 1.5bn worth of the token through his Tesla auto-making firm. He also joined the dogecoin (DOGE) hype train, buying tokens for his and Grimes’ son, X Æ A-12.
The news was followed by an announcement from the internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, who hinted that he and 1980s star MC Hammer would be working with Hilton on an NFT release that he claimed may fetch up to USD 30m. Hilton claimed that she was “excited” and “fascinated” by the world of NFTs, although her response was met with incredulity by many outspoken crypto advocates.
However, some are warning that the NFT craze could be fleeting.
Crypto trader Andrew Kong tweeted,
“Is it just me or does it seem like celebrities are gonna rug all their fans with NFTs?”
The EulerBeats music and art project recently raised some USD 458,000 in sales of 27 original NFT tracks, as part of a project from Treum, backed by ConsenSys, on the secondary market. But a Twitter user named Dark Pill observed that “any NFT issuer can devalue your holdings if someone pisses them off.”
Dark Pill was reacting to the news that a developer had “copycatted” EulerBeats’ work on the Binance Smart Chain blockchain protocol.
And this led Constantin Kostenko, the Senior Director of Blockchain Solution Architecture & Strategy at ConsenSys Mesh, and one of the architects of the EulerBeats project, to apparently concede that NFT projects could be undermined with relative ease.
Coinbase Reportedly Valued at USD 90B in a Private Auction.
US-headquartered major crypto exchange Coinbase is said to be valued at USD 90bn in a private auction.
The company shares traded at some USD 90bn value last week, based on USD 350 a share, which is the price the stock was trading at the auction last Thursday on the Nasdaq Private Market, a division of Nasdaq focused on trading shares in companies before they go public, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Furthermore, earlier in the auction, some shares had changed hands at USD 375, which would value Coinbase close to USD 100bn.
However, the report noted that private trading is more restrictive with usually smaller volumes than in the public markets, and "not a perfect picture of the company's value." The Nasdaq will set a reference price for investors prior to the direct listing, which is partly based on private trading activity, and these private trades "aren't necessarily indicative of where the stock will actually trade," it said.
This auction was the last time shares are being sold on the Nasdaq Private Market before Coinbase goes public in late March, the cited people said.
Also per Bloomberg, based on company filings and news reports, Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong's "stock options could total a USD 3 billion windfall ... from the digital currency exchange's direct listing as a trend of mega grants to tech founders continues full steam ahead."
As reported, last year, Armstrong earned USD 56m of stock option awards on top of a USD 1m salary, as well as USD 1.8m in reimbursement for legal and security fees.
Coinbase filed to go public on February 25, via USD 1bn direct listing on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol COIN. In the filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company said it had 43m verified users last year and 2.8m monthly transacting users, as well as USD 90bn worth of assets on the platform, USD 456bn lifetime trading volume, and over USD 3.4bn in total revenue as of December 31.
US-headquartered major crypto exchange Coinbase is said to be valued at USD 90bn in a private auction.
The company shares traded at some USD 90bn value last week, based on USD 350 a share, which is the price the stock was trading at the auction last Thursday on the Nasdaq Private Market, a division of Nasdaq focused on trading shares in companies before they go public, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Furthermore, earlier in the auction, some shares had changed hands at USD 375, which would value Coinbase close to USD 100bn.
However, the report noted that private trading is more restrictive with usually smaller volumes than in the public markets, and "not a perfect picture of the company's value." The Nasdaq will set a reference price for investors prior to the direct listing, which is partly based on private trading activity, and these private trades "aren't necessarily indicative of where the stock will actually trade," it said.
This auction was the last time shares are being sold on the Nasdaq Private Market before Coinbase goes public in late March, the cited people said.
Also per Bloomberg, based on company filings and news reports, Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong's "stock options could total a USD 3 billion windfall ... from the digital currency exchange's direct listing as a trend of mega grants to tech founders continues full steam ahead."
As reported, last year, Armstrong earned USD 56m of stock option awards on top of a USD 1m salary, as well as USD 1.8m in reimbursement for legal and security fees.
Coinbase filed to go public on February 25, via USD 1bn direct listing on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol COIN. In the filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company said it had 43m verified users last year and 2.8m monthly transacting users, as well as USD 90bn worth of assets on the platform, USD 456bn lifetime trading volume, and over USD 3.4bn in total revenue as of December 31.
Latest Episode of India’s Crypto Ban Soap Draws Decidedly Mixed Reviews.
Yet another “unnamed Indian government source” has come forward with forecasts of doom – telling Reuters that New Delhi is set to unveil a law “banning cryptocurrencies, fining anyone trading in the country or even holding such digital assets,” and stamping out mining.
But, once again, everything may not be quite as it seems, according to one of the crypto industry insiders quoted in the article. Sumnesh Salodkar, a crypto consultant, wrote on Twitter that the article’s title – “India to propose cryptocurrency ban, penalizing miners, traders” – was “slightly misleading.” Instead, he wrote,
“Recent positive comments by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman give us hope! This will be in many places today but don't be worried, nothing has changed since yesterday.”
Sitharaman said over the weekend that India would not seek to limit its options when it comes to crypto or blockchain. Speaking to the media outlet India Today, Sitharaman stated,
“My view on this is that of course the Supreme Court had commented on cryptocurrency and while the central bank may take a call on official cryptocurrency but from our side, we are very clear that we are not shutting off all options.”
She added,
“We will allow a certain amount of window for people to experiment on blockchain and bitcoin (BTC). … On fintech and blockchain, there is a lot of work going on in India and we will certainly encourage that.”
Regardless, the Reuters source paints a very different picture, reiterating previous reports that a bill “would give holders of cryptocurrencies up to six months to liquidate” their crypto holdings. Individuals failing to do so would be hit with fines.
The source also indicated that “officials are confident of getting the bill enacted into law” due to the size of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s majority in parliament.
Yet another “unnamed Indian government source” has come forward with forecasts of doom – telling Reuters that New Delhi is set to unveil a law “banning cryptocurrencies, fining anyone trading in the country or even holding such digital assets,” and stamping out mining.
But, once again, everything may not be quite as it seems, according to one of the crypto industry insiders quoted in the article. Sumnesh Salodkar, a crypto consultant, wrote on Twitter that the article’s title – “India to propose cryptocurrency ban, penalizing miners, traders” – was “slightly misleading.” Instead, he wrote,
“Recent positive comments by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman give us hope! This will be in many places today but don't be worried, nothing has changed since yesterday.”
Sitharaman said over the weekend that India would not seek to limit its options when it comes to crypto or blockchain. Speaking to the media outlet India Today, Sitharaman stated,
“My view on this is that of course the Supreme Court had commented on cryptocurrency and while the central bank may take a call on official cryptocurrency but from our side, we are very clear that we are not shutting off all options.”
She added,
“We will allow a certain amount of window for people to experiment on blockchain and bitcoin (BTC). … On fintech and blockchain, there is a lot of work going on in India and we will certainly encourage that.”
Regardless, the Reuters source paints a very different picture, reiterating previous reports that a bill “would give holders of cryptocurrencies up to six months to liquidate” their crypto holdings. Individuals failing to do so would be hit with fines.
The source also indicated that “officials are confident of getting the bill enacted into law” due to the size of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s majority in parliament.
Next 2-3 Years 'Should Be a Turning Point for Bitcoin' - Deutsche Bank.
The next few years might prove crucial for bitcoin (BTC) that is "here to stay" but is not likely to be used as a means of payment, according to German multinational giant Deutsche Bank.
Bitcoin’s market capitalization of more than USD 1trn “makes it too important to ignore,” while large players who buy and sell BTC have “considerable” market-moving power, said the March 2021 report prepared by Deutsche Bank Research. The coin’s price could continue to rise as long as asset managers and companies continue to enter the market.
So in the short term, bitcoin “is here to stay,” though its value will remain volatile due to its limited tradability, small tactical asset allocations, and the entries and exits of large asset managers. However, according to the authors of the report, in the long term, BTC will have to “transform its potential into results to sustain its value proposition.”
“The next two or three years should be a turning point for Bitcoin; consensus about its future may emerge as people monitor digital currency developments,” the researchers said.
For now, according to them, bitcoin’s current valuation is pricing in a shift toward cross-border digital currencies and the hypothesis is that BTC, as the leader, will benefit from network effects and become an important means of payment in the future.
The researchers argued that "the race is fierce" for cryptos to become a mainstream means of payment – BTC is an illiquid asset rarely used as a means of payment, while yet to be launched Facebook-backed Diem is focused on consumer adoption and real usage of money, it said. Furthermore, many countries have moved to create their central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Therefore, in the medium to long run, because of strong network effects, it’s unlikely cryptos will be used as a widespread means of payment, said the report, adding:
“And as long as governments and central banks exist and hold the power to regulate money, there will be little room for bitcoin—as a means of payment—to replace traditional currencies.”
However, US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, said, citing a recent report from the Bank for International Settlements and a group of seven central banks, that a CBDC "needs to coexist with cash and other types of money in a flexible and innovative payment system."
In general, due to its volatility, most merchants don’t want to accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method. Consumers might use providers to own/trade the asset – but mainly for investment, said the Deutsche Bank report.
The next few years might prove crucial for bitcoin (BTC) that is "here to stay" but is not likely to be used as a means of payment, according to German multinational giant Deutsche Bank.
Bitcoin’s market capitalization of more than USD 1trn “makes it too important to ignore,” while large players who buy and sell BTC have “considerable” market-moving power, said the March 2021 report prepared by Deutsche Bank Research. The coin’s price could continue to rise as long as asset managers and companies continue to enter the market.
So in the short term, bitcoin “is here to stay,” though its value will remain volatile due to its limited tradability, small tactical asset allocations, and the entries and exits of large asset managers. However, according to the authors of the report, in the long term, BTC will have to “transform its potential into results to sustain its value proposition.”
“The next two or three years should be a turning point for Bitcoin; consensus about its future may emerge as people monitor digital currency developments,” the researchers said.
For now, according to them, bitcoin’s current valuation is pricing in a shift toward cross-border digital currencies and the hypothesis is that BTC, as the leader, will benefit from network effects and become an important means of payment in the future.
The researchers argued that "the race is fierce" for cryptos to become a mainstream means of payment – BTC is an illiquid asset rarely used as a means of payment, while yet to be launched Facebook-backed Diem is focused on consumer adoption and real usage of money, it said. Furthermore, many countries have moved to create their central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Therefore, in the medium to long run, because of strong network effects, it’s unlikely cryptos will be used as a widespread means of payment, said the report, adding:
“And as long as governments and central banks exist and hold the power to regulate money, there will be little room for bitcoin—as a means of payment—to replace traditional currencies.”
However, US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, said, citing a recent report from the Bank for International Settlements and a group of seven central banks, that a CBDC "needs to coexist with cash and other types of money in a flexible and innovative payment system."
In general, due to its volatility, most merchants don’t want to accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method. Consumers might use providers to own/trade the asset – but mainly for investment, said the Deutsche Bank report.
