Ledger Database Dump: Was My Data Leaked and What To Do Next?
Following the hackers' massive dump of customers' personal information stolen from France-based major hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger, the Cryptoverse has been hard at work providing ways for users to check if they've been included in the breach, as well as suggestions on what to do next. They also shared advice to all crypto-buyers on how to potentially make safer crypto purchases. (Updated at 13:50 UTC: updates in bold.)
As is well known by now, a database reportedly containing more than a million email addresses of Ledger users and more than 270,000 physical addresses and phone numbers, was dumped on Raidforums, a website for sharing hacked databases. "We are still confirming, but early signs tell us that this indeed could be the contents of our e-commerce database from June, 2020," said Ledger.
As Ledger stated earlier, this leak doesn't contain passwords, recovery phrases, or payment information (customers' phrases are not stored in the first place) - which further underlines the warning not to share the 24-word recovery phrase with absolutely anybody, even if they say they are Ledger.
"Since we discovered the data breach in June 2020, we worked with an external security organization to conduct a forensic review. The review confirmed that only 9,500 individuals were impacted, all of whom were personally contacted by Ledger Support. Since the phishing attacks started to occur, we anticipated more information could have leaked and continued to notify all users via Twitter and email".
There are some ways you can check if your information was leaked. Cybersecurity site haveibeenpwned said it had already listed 69% of the addresses since the original leak, and many commenters, such as Casa's Chief Technology Officer Jameson Lopp and Ethereum (ETH) core developer Hudson Jameson recommended checking if you're a part of the database leak there.
What now?
"If your data was compromised, make sure you are not using your number for 2FA two-factor authentication anywhere. Change to a VoIP Voice over IP number, or GA," advised economist and trader Alex Krüger. Popular crypto trader 'notsofast' also suggested using a new phone number and email address, as well as keeping hard copies in a different safe place instead of one's home (attorney or safety deposit box if you can afford it), and perhaps keeping the old number on an old device and "log any non-whitelisted texts/calls/phishes to that number, as a record in case harassment/abuse escalates (THANKS Ledger 🤬)."
Furthermore, people are warning affected users to take steps to protect themselves against SIM swaps. Others too are arguing for using PO boxes, pseudonyms, burner numbers, and anonymous email accounts for crypto-related purchases in general.
"Although it's difficult to stay constantly vigilant, investors should scrutinize each instance when they're asking to provide personally identifiable information that can be tied to their ownership of crypto assets," said Developer Daniel Ternyak.
Following the hackers' massive dump of customers' personal information stolen from France-based major hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger, the Cryptoverse has been hard at work providing ways for users to check if they've been included in the breach, as well as suggestions on what to do next. They also shared advice to all crypto-buyers on how to potentially make safer crypto purchases. (Updated at 13:50 UTC: updates in bold.)
As is well known by now, a database reportedly containing more than a million email addresses of Ledger users and more than 270,000 physical addresses and phone numbers, was dumped on Raidforums, a website for sharing hacked databases. "We are still confirming, but early signs tell us that this indeed could be the contents of our e-commerce database from June, 2020," said Ledger.
As Ledger stated earlier, this leak doesn't contain passwords, recovery phrases, or payment information (customers' phrases are not stored in the first place) - which further underlines the warning not to share the 24-word recovery phrase with absolutely anybody, even if they say they are Ledger.
"Since we discovered the data breach in June 2020, we worked with an external security organization to conduct a forensic review. The review confirmed that only 9,500 individuals were impacted, all of whom were personally contacted by Ledger Support. Since the phishing attacks started to occur, we anticipated more information could have leaked and continued to notify all users via Twitter and email".
There are some ways you can check if your information was leaked. Cybersecurity site haveibeenpwned said it had already listed 69% of the addresses since the original leak, and many commenters, such as Casa's Chief Technology Officer Jameson Lopp and Ethereum (ETH) core developer Hudson Jameson recommended checking if you're a part of the database leak there.
What now?
"If your data was compromised, make sure you are not using your number for 2FA two-factor authentication anywhere. Change to a VoIP Voice over IP number, or GA," advised economist and trader Alex Krüger. Popular crypto trader 'notsofast' also suggested using a new phone number and email address, as well as keeping hard copies in a different safe place instead of one's home (attorney or safety deposit box if you can afford it), and perhaps keeping the old number on an old device and "log any non-whitelisted texts/calls/phishes to that number, as a record in case harassment/abuse escalates (THANKS Ledger 🤬)."
Furthermore, people are warning affected users to take steps to protect themselves against SIM swaps. Others too are arguing for using PO boxes, pseudonyms, burner numbers, and anonymous email accounts for crypto-related purchases in general.
"Although it's difficult to stay constantly vigilant, investors should scrutinize each instance when they're asking to provide personally identifiable information that can be tied to their ownership of crypto assets," said Developer Daniel Ternyak.
Companies Start Suspending XRP Trading Following the SEC Lawsuit
Now the fourth-largest cryptoasset by market capitalization, XRP, has started getting suspended by multiple platforms following a lawsuit filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against major US-based blockchain company Ripple. (Updated at 16:42 UTC with an announcement from Bitwise and new price data.)
The most recent example is Bitwise Asset Management, a US-based major crypto fund manager. It announced that its USD 242m Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund has liquidated its position in XRP.
"The Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund does not invest in assets that are reasonably likely to be deemed securities under federal or state securities laws. Bitwise's decision to liquidate its position in XRP was based on consideration of new public information from the SEC's complaint," they said, adding that prior to the sale of the asset on December 22, 2020, XRP was approximately 3.8% of the fund. After the fund liquidated its position in XRP it reinvested the proceeds in other portfolio assets.
Meanwhile, some small exchanges have started notifying their users of certain changes regarding the trading of Ripple-affiliated XRP. Chicago-based digital asset exchange Beaxy Exchange said that as the SEC has charged Ripple with conducting an unregistered security sale, they have halted trading for XRP "pending further news," while "XRP withdrawals will remain enabled until further notice."
However, at the time of writing, the 24-hour trading volume at this exchange stands at USD 90,000, while XRP's trading volume is only USD 11, per Coinpaprika.com data.
In either case, they're not alone.
"We have suspended all XRP payment in and trading services on the OSL platform, effective immediately and until further notice," stated today this digital asset platform licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong. Furthermore, "CrossTower made the decision to remove XRP from its US-based trading platform – effective immediately," said the exchange and a member of the Coinbase-led Crypto Rating Council in their December 22 announcement.
As reported, the SEC filed an expected action against Ripple and two of its executives, Christian Larsen and Brad Garlinghouse, claiming that they raised over USD 1.3bn through an unregistered, ongoing digital asset securities offering, while "Larsen and Garlinghouse also effected personal unregistered sales of XRP totaling approximately USD 600 million."
Some have reacted negatively to the above-mentioned announcements by the exhanges, claiming, for example, that this is damaging to investors and that it's too early to make moves before any sort of ruling. Beaxy co-president Nick Murphy argued in return that it's the exchange's "responsibility to be proactive on things like this," and that "users can still withdrawal, we are just halting trading until further clarification comes out."
However, it seems that the Cryptoverse is expecting more exchanges to follow with announcements of their own about changes in trading and possible delistings, with some arguing it could be a coordinated effort, particularly given that the exchanges stand to lose money as well. Still, "any crypto exchange who doesn’t delist XRP this week is out of their mind" and "crazy to list it without a licence" should the SEC deem it a security, wrote Bruce Fenton, CEO of Chainstone Labs, with INX Limited's Alan Silbert agreeing.
Now the fourth-largest cryptoasset by market capitalization, XRP, has started getting suspended by multiple platforms following a lawsuit filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against major US-based blockchain company Ripple. (Updated at 16:42 UTC with an announcement from Bitwise and new price data.)
The most recent example is Bitwise Asset Management, a US-based major crypto fund manager. It announced that its USD 242m Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund has liquidated its position in XRP.
"The Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund does not invest in assets that are reasonably likely to be deemed securities under federal or state securities laws. Bitwise's decision to liquidate its position in XRP was based on consideration of new public information from the SEC's complaint," they said, adding that prior to the sale of the asset on December 22, 2020, XRP was approximately 3.8% of the fund. After the fund liquidated its position in XRP it reinvested the proceeds in other portfolio assets.
Meanwhile, some small exchanges have started notifying their users of certain changes regarding the trading of Ripple-affiliated XRP. Chicago-based digital asset exchange Beaxy Exchange said that as the SEC has charged Ripple with conducting an unregistered security sale, they have halted trading for XRP "pending further news," while "XRP withdrawals will remain enabled until further notice."
However, at the time of writing, the 24-hour trading volume at this exchange stands at USD 90,000, while XRP's trading volume is only USD 11, per Coinpaprika.com data.
In either case, they're not alone.
"We have suspended all XRP payment in and trading services on the OSL platform, effective immediately and until further notice," stated today this digital asset platform licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong. Furthermore, "CrossTower made the decision to remove XRP from its US-based trading platform – effective immediately," said the exchange and a member of the Coinbase-led Crypto Rating Council in their December 22 announcement.
As reported, the SEC filed an expected action against Ripple and two of its executives, Christian Larsen and Brad Garlinghouse, claiming that they raised over USD 1.3bn through an unregistered, ongoing digital asset securities offering, while "Larsen and Garlinghouse also effected personal unregistered sales of XRP totaling approximately USD 600 million."
Some have reacted negatively to the above-mentioned announcements by the exhanges, claiming, for example, that this is damaging to investors and that it's too early to make moves before any sort of ruling. Beaxy co-president Nick Murphy argued in return that it's the exchange's "responsibility to be proactive on things like this," and that "users can still withdrawal, we are just halting trading until further clarification comes out."
However, it seems that the Cryptoverse is expecting more exchanges to follow with announcements of their own about changes in trading and possible delistings, with some arguing it could be a coordinated effort, particularly given that the exchanges stand to lose money as well. Still, "any crypto exchange who doesn’t delist XRP this week is out of their mind" and "crazy to list it without a licence" should the SEC deem it a security, wrote Bruce Fenton, CEO of Chainstone Labs, with INX Limited's Alan Silbert agreeing.
2021 Trends in CBDCs: More Pilots, Maybe Some Launches, But Not For Retail
The more the price of bitcoin (BTC) rises, the more institutions and corporations become interested in this most popular cryptocurrency. However, the same relationship doesn’t seem to hold for central banks and governments: instead, the more the price of bitcoin rises, the more central banks and governments become interested in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Regardless of whether this prioritization of CBDCs over cryptocurrencies is a good thing for crypto, it looks like that the momentum behind central bank digital currencies will only grow in 2021. This is not only because of the crypto market’s recent rally, but because Facebook’s Libra stablecoin (now Diem) is estimated to launch next year.
But according to industry experts and central banks, the main focus for CBDCs in 2021 will be on wholesale — rather than retail — digital currencies. And while 2021 will bring an increase in CBDC trials and research, it’s unlikely that any major central bank will actually launch its own digital currency in 2021.
Wholesale CBDCs, not retail
A spokesperson for the Swiss National Bank (SNB) confirmed that it will spend 2021 collaborating on a potential wholesale CBDC, which would be used exclusively between central and private banks, mostly for interbank settlements.
“Together with the BIS Innovation Hub and SIX, the SNB will continue its work on wholesale CBDC (w-CBDC) as part of Phase 2 of Project Helvetia,” he said.
The SNB still isn’t committed to actually launching a wholesale CBDC, but one thing it’s clearer on is its position with regards to general/retail CBDCs.
“Broad access to digital central bank money would call the existing two-tier banking system into question. Instead of being the banker to the banks, as it is today, the SNB would act as a commercial bank, taking on the role that is currently played by the private sector,” the SNB’s spokesperson said.
The bank also told that broad access to digital central bank money “could pose a threat to financial stability.” It also stated that “cashless payments in Switzerland are already reliable, secure and efficient and the system is continuously being updated and refined.”
This pro-wholesale position is echoed in part by the European Central Bank, although it does seem a little more open to at least experimenting with retail CBDCs at some point.
According to a spokesperson speaking to Cryptonews on background, the ECB’s main concern in 2021 will be working with European central banks on testing how a digital euro might fit and complement existing central bank settlement services. This focus was explicitly stated in a speech given by the ECB’s Fabio Panetta on November 27:
“First, we will test the compatibility between a digital euro and existing central bank settlement services (such as TIPS). Second, we will explore the interconnection between decentralized technologies, such as distributed ledgers, and centralized systems,” he said.
Panetta also mentioned that the ECB “will investigate the use of payment-dedicated blockchains with electronic identity,” which might imply experimentation with a retail CBDC. However, in the same speech, he also noted that the Eurozone is already working towards instant payments as part of its current infrastructure, so a retail CBDC will unlikely be needed in terms of speed and efficiency.
More pilots, maybe a few launches
The ECB and SNB will certainly be busy with trials and research in 2021, and so will other central banks worldwide.
“From our discussions with governments exploring this technology, we can expect a few central banks to take the lessons they have learned this year and begin putting CBDCs into practice in 2021. Yet, for most governments, 2021 will be a year of further education and understanding,” said Denelle Dixon, the CEO and executive director of the Stellar Development Foundation.
The more the price of bitcoin (BTC) rises, the more institutions and corporations become interested in this most popular cryptocurrency. However, the same relationship doesn’t seem to hold for central banks and governments: instead, the more the price of bitcoin rises, the more central banks and governments become interested in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Regardless of whether this prioritization of CBDCs over cryptocurrencies is a good thing for crypto, it looks like that the momentum behind central bank digital currencies will only grow in 2021. This is not only because of the crypto market’s recent rally, but because Facebook’s Libra stablecoin (now Diem) is estimated to launch next year.
But according to industry experts and central banks, the main focus for CBDCs in 2021 will be on wholesale — rather than retail — digital currencies. And while 2021 will bring an increase in CBDC trials and research, it’s unlikely that any major central bank will actually launch its own digital currency in 2021.
Wholesale CBDCs, not retail
A spokesperson for the Swiss National Bank (SNB) confirmed that it will spend 2021 collaborating on a potential wholesale CBDC, which would be used exclusively between central and private banks, mostly for interbank settlements.
“Together with the BIS Innovation Hub and SIX, the SNB will continue its work on wholesale CBDC (w-CBDC) as part of Phase 2 of Project Helvetia,” he said.
The SNB still isn’t committed to actually launching a wholesale CBDC, but one thing it’s clearer on is its position with regards to general/retail CBDCs.
“Broad access to digital central bank money would call the existing two-tier banking system into question. Instead of being the banker to the banks, as it is today, the SNB would act as a commercial bank, taking on the role that is currently played by the private sector,” the SNB’s spokesperson said.
The bank also told that broad access to digital central bank money “could pose a threat to financial stability.” It also stated that “cashless payments in Switzerland are already reliable, secure and efficient and the system is continuously being updated and refined.”
This pro-wholesale position is echoed in part by the European Central Bank, although it does seem a little more open to at least experimenting with retail CBDCs at some point.
According to a spokesperson speaking to Cryptonews on background, the ECB’s main concern in 2021 will be working with European central banks on testing how a digital euro might fit and complement existing central bank settlement services. This focus was explicitly stated in a speech given by the ECB’s Fabio Panetta on November 27:
“First, we will test the compatibility between a digital euro and existing central bank settlement services (such as TIPS). Second, we will explore the interconnection between decentralized technologies, such as distributed ledgers, and centralized systems,” he said.
Panetta also mentioned that the ECB “will investigate the use of payment-dedicated blockchains with electronic identity,” which might imply experimentation with a retail CBDC. However, in the same speech, he also noted that the Eurozone is already working towards instant payments as part of its current infrastructure, so a retail CBDC will unlikely be needed in terms of speed and efficiency.
More pilots, maybe a few launches
The ECB and SNB will certainly be busy with trials and research in 2021, and so will other central banks worldwide.
“From our discussions with governments exploring this technology, we can expect a few central banks to take the lessons they have learned this year and begin putting CBDCs into practice in 2021. Yet, for most governments, 2021 will be a year of further education and understanding,” said Denelle Dixon, the CEO and executive director of the Stellar Development Foundation.
Total Tokenization, Taproot, Bitcoin ETF + More News
Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
Adoption news
The vice president of the Russian metals giant Norilsk Nickel has spoken out about his company’s ambitious tokenization plans, saying new platforms now make it possible to “tokenize anything.” The firm has recently unveiled its first offerings on its metals token platform, which was green-lighted by the Russian Central Bank earlier in the year. And in an interview with Indicator, VP and sales chief Anton Berlin said his company is following a business model that “assumes Russian regulation” on crypto and tokenization-related issues “will gradually change,” becoming more business-friendly in 2021 and beyond.
Bitcoin news
With the agreement by Binance Pool, the mining pool run by major crypto exchange Binance, all the major pools are now prepared to support Taproot, one of the most anticipated Bitcoin (BTC) upgrades, and its largest alteration since 2017. According to crypto mining pool Poolin VP Alejandro De La Torre, Binance Pool finally said 'yes' to the upgrade support, after being the only one with over 10% of the network that hadn't done so. "Mining pools in favor of the taproot upgrade now at 91.05%!!," said De La Torre.
Major US asset manager VanEck has once again submitted an application to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on bitcoin (BTC), the "VanEck Bitcoin Trust." The document was filed on December 30, saying the ETF would trade on the Cboe BZX Exchange.
Regulation news
The Serbian government will permit the issuance and trading of digital assets and related services under the Digital Asset Law, which officially went into effect on December 29, eight days after it had been published in the official gazette, thus reversing the country's previous policy. It will be applied six months from now. Per the law, digital asset service providers in Serbia can operate after "obtaining permission from the supervisory authority," while the Securities Commission and the National Bank of Serbia are tasked with the supervision and applying the law.
Bitcoin custodian firm BitGo agreed to pay USD 93,830 in a settlement pact with the US Treasury for 183 "apparent violations" of multiple sanctions programs related to digital currency transactions, said the announcement. As a result of deficiencies related to BitGo's sanctions compliance procedures, it said, BitGo failed to prevent persons in the Crimea, Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria from using its non-custodial wallet service. The statutory maximum civil monetary penalty applicable in this matter is USD 53m, the department said.
The US Treasury Department's proposed rules per which users would be required to comply with Know-Your-Customer (KYC) measures if they want to send their crypto to a private wallet may be ineffective, found blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. The firm said in their open letter that the rules could "adversely impact" the effectiveness of existing Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations, that the rules overstate the risks proposed by unhosted wallets as transactions can already be traced, that the Treasury’s 15-day comment period for this rule is "unjustifiably short," and that rules "would impose an unjustified tax" on financial innovation.
Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
Adoption news
The vice president of the Russian metals giant Norilsk Nickel has spoken out about his company’s ambitious tokenization plans, saying new platforms now make it possible to “tokenize anything.” The firm has recently unveiled its first offerings on its metals token platform, which was green-lighted by the Russian Central Bank earlier in the year. And in an interview with Indicator, VP and sales chief Anton Berlin said his company is following a business model that “assumes Russian regulation” on crypto and tokenization-related issues “will gradually change,” becoming more business-friendly in 2021 and beyond.
Bitcoin news
With the agreement by Binance Pool, the mining pool run by major crypto exchange Binance, all the major pools are now prepared to support Taproot, one of the most anticipated Bitcoin (BTC) upgrades, and its largest alteration since 2017. According to crypto mining pool Poolin VP Alejandro De La Torre, Binance Pool finally said 'yes' to the upgrade support, after being the only one with over 10% of the network that hadn't done so. "Mining pools in favor of the taproot upgrade now at 91.05%!!," said De La Torre.
Major US asset manager VanEck has once again submitted an application to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on bitcoin (BTC), the "VanEck Bitcoin Trust." The document was filed on December 30, saying the ETF would trade on the Cboe BZX Exchange.
Regulation news
The Serbian government will permit the issuance and trading of digital assets and related services under the Digital Asset Law, which officially went into effect on December 29, eight days after it had been published in the official gazette, thus reversing the country's previous policy. It will be applied six months from now. Per the law, digital asset service providers in Serbia can operate after "obtaining permission from the supervisory authority," while the Securities Commission and the National Bank of Serbia are tasked with the supervision and applying the law.
Bitcoin custodian firm BitGo agreed to pay USD 93,830 in a settlement pact with the US Treasury for 183 "apparent violations" of multiple sanctions programs related to digital currency transactions, said the announcement. As a result of deficiencies related to BitGo's sanctions compliance procedures, it said, BitGo failed to prevent persons in the Crimea, Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria from using its non-custodial wallet service. The statutory maximum civil monetary penalty applicable in this matter is USD 53m, the department said.
The US Treasury Department's proposed rules per which users would be required to comply with Know-Your-Customer (KYC) measures if they want to send their crypto to a private wallet may be ineffective, found blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. The firm said in their open letter that the rules could "adversely impact" the effectiveness of existing Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations, that the rules overstate the risks proposed by unhosted wallets as transactions can already be traced, that the Treasury’s 15-day comment period for this rule is "unjustifiably short," and that rules "would impose an unjustified tax" on financial innovation.
Two Reasons Why Bitcoin Differs From Google, Amazon, & Facebook Networks
One of Bitcoin (BTC)’s most outspoken and highest-profile cheerleaders, Stone Ridge Asset Management founder Ross L. Stevens, has written to shareholders in his company to talk up the most popular cryptocurrency – and its role in the company’s future, drawing parallels to investors backing companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook in the firms’ early days.
Stevens claimed that “from a valuation framework perspective,” he believed Bitcoin “should be viewed identically to those network business models – the value of the network growing with the number of users.”
His firm has been buying BTC as part of its operations, making a USD 115m investment in the token last year. It has also been teaming up with partners who use their balance sheets to purchase the token. Stevens’ ally Michael Saylor, the co-founder of MicroStategy, recently offered to share his BTC-buying “roadmap” to other company-runners, including the likes of Elon Musk.
And this BTC evangelism is apparently contagious. Stevens made his latest claims about the token in a letter to shareholders hosted by MicroStrategy. Here, Stevens equated investing in network business models with BTC investment, adding a caveat that there were two major differences.
The first of these, he wrote, was that “money is primordially more important in a way even the most hilarious on-demand cat
videos, or same-day delivery of any product we want, will ever be – there is no comparison.”
Secondly, he added, try as they might, regulators would never be able to “turn off” the Bitcoin network.
He wrote,
“Bitcoin lacks the possibility of antitrust enforcement. Ever. No matter how big and no matter how valuable it gets. Nor can Bitcoin ever be globally confiscated. Yes, individual countries can attempt to confiscate Bitcoin and, over time, some may try. […] However, just like the internet can be censored in certain countries, but cannot be turned off, Bitcoin can be (attempted to be) confiscated in a country, but cannot be turned off.”
Stevens added in the letter – something of eulogy to the virtues of BTC – that a range of factors will lead all generations to adopt bitcoin.
He explained that “United States Government-Paper-Money (USGPM)” (the dollar) was in a downward depreciation spiral while the rise of bitcoin was now inevitable.
He opined,
“The power of the insight – that only point-to-point USGPM depreciation matters, not volatility – will lead, I believe, to an explosion in bitcoin-driven financial innovation, including bitcoin-denominated life insurance for the 30-50-year-old crowd, and bitcoin-denominated annuities for the 50-70-year-old-crowd.”
As reported, America’s Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance (also known as MassMutual) has purchased a USD 5m minority equity stake in NYDIG, a Stone Ridge-run subsidiary firm that provides crypto services to institutional investors.
Stevens also moved to allay fears about the environmental damage caused by crypto mining, claiming that the electricity usage involved in BTC mining was “worth it,” writing,
“Bitcoin mining is the only profitable use of energy in human history that does not need to be located near human settlement to operate. The long-term implications of this are world-changing. [...] The world has never had a profitable use of energy that is location independent.”
As of May 2019, Stone Ridge Asset Management had USD 15.88bn in assets under management, according to Wallmine data.
One of Bitcoin (BTC)’s most outspoken and highest-profile cheerleaders, Stone Ridge Asset Management founder Ross L. Stevens, has written to shareholders in his company to talk up the most popular cryptocurrency – and its role in the company’s future, drawing parallels to investors backing companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook in the firms’ early days.
Stevens claimed that “from a valuation framework perspective,” he believed Bitcoin “should be viewed identically to those network business models – the value of the network growing with the number of users.”
His firm has been buying BTC as part of its operations, making a USD 115m investment in the token last year. It has also been teaming up with partners who use their balance sheets to purchase the token. Stevens’ ally Michael Saylor, the co-founder of MicroStategy, recently offered to share his BTC-buying “roadmap” to other company-runners, including the likes of Elon Musk.
And this BTC evangelism is apparently contagious. Stevens made his latest claims about the token in a letter to shareholders hosted by MicroStrategy. Here, Stevens equated investing in network business models with BTC investment, adding a caveat that there were two major differences.
The first of these, he wrote, was that “money is primordially more important in a way even the most hilarious on-demand cat
videos, or same-day delivery of any product we want, will ever be – there is no comparison.”
Secondly, he added, try as they might, regulators would never be able to “turn off” the Bitcoin network.
He wrote,
“Bitcoin lacks the possibility of antitrust enforcement. Ever. No matter how big and no matter how valuable it gets. Nor can Bitcoin ever be globally confiscated. Yes, individual countries can attempt to confiscate Bitcoin and, over time, some may try. […] However, just like the internet can be censored in certain countries, but cannot be turned off, Bitcoin can be (attempted to be) confiscated in a country, but cannot be turned off.”
Stevens added in the letter – something of eulogy to the virtues of BTC – that a range of factors will lead all generations to adopt bitcoin.
He explained that “United States Government-Paper-Money (USGPM)” (the dollar) was in a downward depreciation spiral while the rise of bitcoin was now inevitable.
He opined,
“The power of the insight – that only point-to-point USGPM depreciation matters, not volatility – will lead, I believe, to an explosion in bitcoin-driven financial innovation, including bitcoin-denominated life insurance for the 30-50-year-old crowd, and bitcoin-denominated annuities for the 50-70-year-old-crowd.”
As reported, America’s Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance (also known as MassMutual) has purchased a USD 5m minority equity stake in NYDIG, a Stone Ridge-run subsidiary firm that provides crypto services to institutional investors.
Stevens also moved to allay fears about the environmental damage caused by crypto mining, claiming that the electricity usage involved in BTC mining was “worth it,” writing,
“Bitcoin mining is the only profitable use of energy in human history that does not need to be located near human settlement to operate. The long-term implications of this are world-changing. [...] The world has never had a profitable use of energy that is location independent.”
As of May 2019, Stone Ridge Asset Management had USD 15.88bn in assets under management, according to Wallmine data.
Pension Funds Getting Set to Board Bitcoin Bandwagon, Say Insiders
The American digital asset investment giant Grayscale has suggested that pensions and endowments providers are clambering aboard the crypto gravy train – an opinion shared by an increasing number of financial industry specialists.
The firm’s new CEO Michael Sonnenshein said, per Bloomberg,
“We’ve started to see participation not just from the hedge fund segment […] but recently from other institutions, pensions and endowments. The sizes of allocations they are making are growing rapidly as well.”
Grayscale claims it has over 3% of the world’s supply of bitcoin (BTC), and Sonnenshein explained that the company’s 10 funds currently manages USD 25bn in assets, up from USD 2bn a year ago, said.
It also intends to double its 24 employees, go on a new marketing drive “introduce half a dozen new products” this year, the CEO added.
Sonnenshein’s comments come hot on the heels of a forecast last month from strategists at JPMorgan, the new Grayscale supremo’s former employees.
After the American firm Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance (MassMutual) announced it was buying USD 100m worth of bitcoin to add to its general investment fund, JPMorgan experts wrote,
“One can see the potential demand that could arise over the coming years as other insurance companies and pension funds follow MassMutual’s example.”
And there is no shortage of support for these claims.
The CEO of the crypto investment fund Three Arrows Capital Su Zhu, opined enthusiastically in November 2020 that “if pensions begin divesting from the zero/negative-yielding global sovereign bond market to buy BTC, that would be a veritable deluge of capital.”
A more conservative opinion was expressed by Frank Spiteri, Chief Revenue Officer at CoinShares, however, who stated in October that pensions operators were still playing it safe.
Spiteri wrote,
“In our engagements, we see interest and participation from every investor segment, apart from pensions and sovereign wealth funds.”
But many have claimed that when it comes to pension funds and BTC investment, it is just a matter of time before managers rush to crypto.
In May last year, Nick Prince, Financial Strategy Analyst at the crypto exchange giant Coinbase, explained that “it is reasonable to expect pension funds to invest meaningfully into this asset class” before banks, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds make their moves, although he predicted that family offices and endowments would take to crypto before pension managers.
Meanwhile, Castle Island Ventures partner Matthew Walsh has predicted that an American pension fund will publicly announce a bitcoin position before 2021 is out.
And Christopher Wood, the Global Head of Equity Strategy at the American investment bank Jefferies, has reportedly been cutting gold reserves in favor of bitcoin in his long-only global portfolio for USD-denominated pension funds.
The American digital asset investment giant Grayscale has suggested that pensions and endowments providers are clambering aboard the crypto gravy train – an opinion shared by an increasing number of financial industry specialists.
The firm’s new CEO Michael Sonnenshein said, per Bloomberg,
“We’ve started to see participation not just from the hedge fund segment […] but recently from other institutions, pensions and endowments. The sizes of allocations they are making are growing rapidly as well.”
Grayscale claims it has over 3% of the world’s supply of bitcoin (BTC), and Sonnenshein explained that the company’s 10 funds currently manages USD 25bn in assets, up from USD 2bn a year ago, said.
It also intends to double its 24 employees, go on a new marketing drive “introduce half a dozen new products” this year, the CEO added.
Sonnenshein’s comments come hot on the heels of a forecast last month from strategists at JPMorgan, the new Grayscale supremo’s former employees.
After the American firm Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance (MassMutual) announced it was buying USD 100m worth of bitcoin to add to its general investment fund, JPMorgan experts wrote,
“One can see the potential demand that could arise over the coming years as other insurance companies and pension funds follow MassMutual’s example.”
And there is no shortage of support for these claims.
The CEO of the crypto investment fund Three Arrows Capital Su Zhu, opined enthusiastically in November 2020 that “if pensions begin divesting from the zero/negative-yielding global sovereign bond market to buy BTC, that would be a veritable deluge of capital.”
A more conservative opinion was expressed by Frank Spiteri, Chief Revenue Officer at CoinShares, however, who stated in October that pensions operators were still playing it safe.
Spiteri wrote,
“In our engagements, we see interest and participation from every investor segment, apart from pensions and sovereign wealth funds.”
But many have claimed that when it comes to pension funds and BTC investment, it is just a matter of time before managers rush to crypto.
In May last year, Nick Prince, Financial Strategy Analyst at the crypto exchange giant Coinbase, explained that “it is reasonable to expect pension funds to invest meaningfully into this asset class” before banks, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds make their moves, although he predicted that family offices and endowments would take to crypto before pension managers.
Meanwhile, Castle Island Ventures partner Matthew Walsh has predicted that an American pension fund will publicly announce a bitcoin position before 2021 is out.
And Christopher Wood, the Global Head of Equity Strategy at the American investment bank Jefferies, has reportedly been cutting gold reserves in favor of bitcoin in his long-only global portfolio for USD-denominated pension funds.
What to do When Low-for-Long Interest Rates are Lower and for Longer
Central banks have played a pivotal role in easing financial conditions in response to the COVID-19 shock, and helped avert a catastrophic downturn. However, their work is far from done. Yet more monetary stimulus will be needed to support economic recovery, and central banks are implementing innovative new strategies to provide it.
While the new approaches are both necessary and welcome, it is critical that policymakers weigh the pros of providing more stimulus today against the potential cons of higher financial stability risks down the road. In a new paper, I present a model for quantifying the tradeoff between support today and vulnerability tomorrow.
New strategies for new challenges
Even prior to the pandemic, central banks were struggling to boost economic activity and bring inflation to target. A range of policies, including forward guidance and asset purchases, was deployed to spur a strong recovery in employment after the Global Financial Crisis. But a sharp decline in the neutral rate of interest reduced the scope to counter low inflationary pressures. Even with interest rates very low out the yield curve, inflation remained chronically low and appeared to be pulling down long-run inflation expectations in many economies. This is a concern because it would put downward pressure on nominal yields and further erode policy space.
The COVID-19 crisis has greatly intensified these challenges. Employment has collapsed, threatening a major humanitarian crisis in many economies, and inflation has been further depressed by weak activity and falling commodity prices. While more stimulus is needed—along with better ways to anchor inflation expectations—the post-2008 playbook won’t suffice. Policy rates have already been pushed to zero or below, and very low yields on long-term government bonds limit the scope to provide stimulus through purchases of these instruments.
In November, I joined a panel hosted by the IMF, New Policy Frameworks for a “Lower-for-Longer” World, to consider how some leading central banks are addressing these challenges. Richard Clarida (Federal Reserve), Philip Lane (European Central Bank), and Carolyn Wilkins (Bank of Canada) discussed the monetary policy frameworks reviews that their institutions have launched, focusing on new ways to boost employment and inflation in this very low-rate environment.
The Fed recently completed its review, adopting an innovative “make-up” strategy also being considered by other central banks: to allow inflation to overshoot its target to make up for a period in which it has run low, helping to better anchor inflation expectations around targets. The prospect that the central bank will allow the economy to run hot in the future—so that inflation can overshoot—may create more optimism today and fuel a stronger recovery.
Financial stability tradeoffs
Central banks are also exploring how unconventional policies already in use, such as purchases of sovereign bonds or corporate debt, can be used more aggressively. Combined with new approaches, this can play a critical role in speeding the recovery from COVID-19, as well as from future shocks hitting economies. But these even more accommodative policies may pose substantial risks down the road by encouraging excessive risk-taking and a build-up of vulnerabilities.
Ideally, financial regulation (macroprudential policies) should serve as the first line of defense in mitigating financial stability risks, consistent with Fund policy advice. But that may fall short, often reflecting the lack of tools to contain vulnerabilities such as in nonbank financial institutions, or implementation hurdles stemming from the political process.
Central banks have played a pivotal role in easing financial conditions in response to the COVID-19 shock, and helped avert a catastrophic downturn. However, their work is far from done. Yet more monetary stimulus will be needed to support economic recovery, and central banks are implementing innovative new strategies to provide it.
While the new approaches are both necessary and welcome, it is critical that policymakers weigh the pros of providing more stimulus today against the potential cons of higher financial stability risks down the road. In a new paper, I present a model for quantifying the tradeoff between support today and vulnerability tomorrow.
New strategies for new challenges
Even prior to the pandemic, central banks were struggling to boost economic activity and bring inflation to target. A range of policies, including forward guidance and asset purchases, was deployed to spur a strong recovery in employment after the Global Financial Crisis. But a sharp decline in the neutral rate of interest reduced the scope to counter low inflationary pressures. Even with interest rates very low out the yield curve, inflation remained chronically low and appeared to be pulling down long-run inflation expectations in many economies. This is a concern because it would put downward pressure on nominal yields and further erode policy space.
The COVID-19 crisis has greatly intensified these challenges. Employment has collapsed, threatening a major humanitarian crisis in many economies, and inflation has been further depressed by weak activity and falling commodity prices. While more stimulus is needed—along with better ways to anchor inflation expectations—the post-2008 playbook won’t suffice. Policy rates have already been pushed to zero or below, and very low yields on long-term government bonds limit the scope to provide stimulus through purchases of these instruments.
In November, I joined a panel hosted by the IMF, New Policy Frameworks for a “Lower-for-Longer” World, to consider how some leading central banks are addressing these challenges. Richard Clarida (Federal Reserve), Philip Lane (European Central Bank), and Carolyn Wilkins (Bank of Canada) discussed the monetary policy frameworks reviews that their institutions have launched, focusing on new ways to boost employment and inflation in this very low-rate environment.
The Fed recently completed its review, adopting an innovative “make-up” strategy also being considered by other central banks: to allow inflation to overshoot its target to make up for a period in which it has run low, helping to better anchor inflation expectations around targets. The prospect that the central bank will allow the economy to run hot in the future—so that inflation can overshoot—may create more optimism today and fuel a stronger recovery.
Financial stability tradeoffs
Central banks are also exploring how unconventional policies already in use, such as purchases of sovereign bonds or corporate debt, can be used more aggressively. Combined with new approaches, this can play a critical role in speeding the recovery from COVID-19, as well as from future shocks hitting economies. But these even more accommodative policies may pose substantial risks down the road by encouraging excessive risk-taking and a build-up of vulnerabilities.
Ideally, financial regulation (macroprudential policies) should serve as the first line of defense in mitigating financial stability risks, consistent with Fund policy advice. But that may fall short, often reflecting the lack of tools to contain vulnerabilities such as in nonbank financial institutions, or implementation hurdles stemming from the political process.
Ledger Promises Funds Insurance As Client Data Leak Expands
France-based major crypto hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger confirmed that Shopify hackers obtained Ledger customer personal information in April and June 2020. (Updated at 14:01 UTC: updates throughout the entire text.)
"Along with forensic firm Orange Cyberdefense we were able to establish that it affects approximately 292,000 customers. While the database is 93% similar to those exposed in the previous attack there were approximately 20,000 new customer records including, email, name, postal address, product(s) ordered and phone number included in this breach," the company said, adding that if you purchased a Ledger product after the end of June, 2020, or if you purchased your product outside of Ledger, your data was not exposed in these incidents.
"On December 23rd, 2020 we received a notification from our e-commerce service provider, Shopify, regarding an incident involving merchant data in which rogue member(s) of their support team obtained customer transactional records, including Ledger’s," the company said on January 13, after completing forensics with Orange Cyberdefense.
According to them, Shopify claims that this is related to the incident reported in September 2020, which concerns more than 200 merchants, but until December 21st, 2020, Shopify had not discovered that Ledger was also targeted in this attack.
In May last year, Ledger denied claims that their databases have been compromised via a Shopify exploit. "We haven't found any proof that this claim is legitimate," they said back then.
Meanwhile, the company said today that they will "soon release a technical solution that will remove the 24 words as the single pillar of the security of our hardware wallets and will open the door to funds insurance for individual customers."
In the meantime, they urged to "NEVER SHARE YOUR SEED 24 WORDS WITH ANYONE."
Also, the company said that they notified the French Data Protection Authority on December 26th.
"We continue to work with Shopify and prosecutors on the case; an investigation is already underway, led by the FBI and the RCMP. Ledger also reported the events to the French Public Prosecutor and filed a complaint against the rogue agent(s)," they said, adding that they're also hiring additional private investigation capacity.
Also, the company announced an initial BTC 10 (USD 346,173) bounty reserve for new information that woul help prosecute the attackers.
France-based major crypto hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger confirmed that Shopify hackers obtained Ledger customer personal information in April and June 2020. (Updated at 14:01 UTC: updates throughout the entire text.)
"Along with forensic firm Orange Cyberdefense we were able to establish that it affects approximately 292,000 customers. While the database is 93% similar to those exposed in the previous attack there were approximately 20,000 new customer records including, email, name, postal address, product(s) ordered and phone number included in this breach," the company said, adding that if you purchased a Ledger product after the end of June, 2020, or if you purchased your product outside of Ledger, your data was not exposed in these incidents.
"On December 23rd, 2020 we received a notification from our e-commerce service provider, Shopify, regarding an incident involving merchant data in which rogue member(s) of their support team obtained customer transactional records, including Ledger’s," the company said on January 13, after completing forensics with Orange Cyberdefense.
According to them, Shopify claims that this is related to the incident reported in September 2020, which concerns more than 200 merchants, but until December 21st, 2020, Shopify had not discovered that Ledger was also targeted in this attack.
In May last year, Ledger denied claims that their databases have been compromised via a Shopify exploit. "We haven't found any proof that this claim is legitimate," they said back then.
Meanwhile, the company said today that they will "soon release a technical solution that will remove the 24 words as the single pillar of the security of our hardware wallets and will open the door to funds insurance for individual customers."
In the meantime, they urged to "NEVER SHARE YOUR SEED 24 WORDS WITH ANYONE."
Also, the company said that they notified the French Data Protection Authority on December 26th.
"We continue to work with Shopify and prosecutors on the case; an investigation is already underway, led by the FBI and the RCMP. Ledger also reported the events to the French Public Prosecutor and filed a complaint against the rogue agent(s)," they said, adding that they're also hiring additional private investigation capacity.
Also, the company announced an initial BTC 10 (USD 346,173) bounty reserve for new information that woul help prosecute the attackers.
Bitcoin Snowball Is Expected To Hit More Institutions in 2021
Institutionalization, professionalization, commercialization, and inclusion of bitcoin (BTC) in portfolios of hedge funds, treasuries and others is likely to continue its upwards trajectory, providing BTC with endorsement, recognition, and validation, further leading to adoption and price appreciation, according to industry insiders talking.
The institutionalization of cryptocurrency was the emerging theme of 2020, said Seamus Donoghue, VP Sales and Business Development at METACO, a provider of security-critical digital asset infrastructure for financial institutions, adding that, while the investment focus has largely been focused on BTC, ethereum (ETH) “will likely be a high beta alternative to the dominant narrative of Bitcoin as an institutional investment asset class.“ He said it’s possible for the same Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) which pushed retail into crypto and BTC’s price to its all-time high in 2017 to be replicated in 2021 as institutional FOMO.
He added that an acceleration in institutional money coming into BTC would have “a much larger and profound impact on the long term valuation of bitcoin--the risk is for a parabolic move in Bitcoin’s price in 2021.” It’s Donoghue’s opinion that,
“We are now at an inflection point where allocations to bitcoin will accelerate into the mainstream in 2021 and bitcoin will become an essential allocation for any institutional portfolio.”
2020 was the year when bitcoin started being taken seriously by some large corporations, retail investors, and institutional investors.
“This has set us up for a huge 2021 and beyond,” when we may see crypto investment "exploding in growth as more funds start adding it to their portfolio, more companies start accepting it as a payment method, and governments putting some positive regulation around it,” according to Tim Bos, CEO of ShareRing, a decentralized sharing economy and self-sovereign identity platform.
And Sinjin David Jung, Managing Director of IBMR (International Blockchain Monetary Reserve), stated that “adoption will be meteoric in 2021 now that bitcoin has been adopted by institutions.”
“Ultimately the true added value is simply that when people or institutions are buying into bitcoin, not because they mined it, but with actual cash at the current valuation, that creates a very established monetary system which really bitcoin now has become. The world’s immutable global independent sovereign ledger,” he said.
There are many more positive expectations shared by experts. Eric Wall, the Chief Investment Officer of the crypto hedge fund outfit Arcane Assets, told that “it's quite clear that bitcoin is making rapid progress in that it's becoming an asset class that's suitable addition to many investors' portfolios.” Wall finds that the professionalization of bitcoin, as well as its inclusion in the portfolios of hedge funds, high-net-worth individuals, family offices and corporate treasuries is likely to only accelerate in 2021. “Retail investor adoption is likely to track this development,” he said.
Speaking of which, Erick Pinos, Americas Ecosystem Lead at open source blockchain Ontology (ONT), said that more large financial institutions will publicly announce that they have moved funds into BTC in 2021, which “will create a snowball effect not only for other large institutions to follow with their funds but also for the retail market to start moving more personal wealth into bitcoin.”
Seamus Donoghue added that retail will “play no small part in crypto” as they are given increasingly easier access to the markets. It’s bitcoin’s performance that will drive the narrative and, if the institutional market evolves as expected in 2021, rapidly expanding on-ramps will only add fuel to the fire. “Institutional investor adoption drives the build out of institutional infrastructure to support bitcoin’s adoption. This in turn provides the foundation for retail investment vehicles and retail on-ramps,” he said.
Institutionalization, professionalization, commercialization, and inclusion of bitcoin (BTC) in portfolios of hedge funds, treasuries and others is likely to continue its upwards trajectory, providing BTC with endorsement, recognition, and validation, further leading to adoption and price appreciation, according to industry insiders talking.
The institutionalization of cryptocurrency was the emerging theme of 2020, said Seamus Donoghue, VP Sales and Business Development at METACO, a provider of security-critical digital asset infrastructure for financial institutions, adding that, while the investment focus has largely been focused on BTC, ethereum (ETH) “will likely be a high beta alternative to the dominant narrative of Bitcoin as an institutional investment asset class.“ He said it’s possible for the same Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) which pushed retail into crypto and BTC’s price to its all-time high in 2017 to be replicated in 2021 as institutional FOMO.
He added that an acceleration in institutional money coming into BTC would have “a much larger and profound impact on the long term valuation of bitcoin--the risk is for a parabolic move in Bitcoin’s price in 2021.” It’s Donoghue’s opinion that,
“We are now at an inflection point where allocations to bitcoin will accelerate into the mainstream in 2021 and bitcoin will become an essential allocation for any institutional portfolio.”
2020 was the year when bitcoin started being taken seriously by some large corporations, retail investors, and institutional investors.
“This has set us up for a huge 2021 and beyond,” when we may see crypto investment "exploding in growth as more funds start adding it to their portfolio, more companies start accepting it as a payment method, and governments putting some positive regulation around it,” according to Tim Bos, CEO of ShareRing, a decentralized sharing economy and self-sovereign identity platform.
And Sinjin David Jung, Managing Director of IBMR (International Blockchain Monetary Reserve), stated that “adoption will be meteoric in 2021 now that bitcoin has been adopted by institutions.”
“Ultimately the true added value is simply that when people or institutions are buying into bitcoin, not because they mined it, but with actual cash at the current valuation, that creates a very established monetary system which really bitcoin now has become. The world’s immutable global independent sovereign ledger,” he said.
There are many more positive expectations shared by experts. Eric Wall, the Chief Investment Officer of the crypto hedge fund outfit Arcane Assets, told that “it's quite clear that bitcoin is making rapid progress in that it's becoming an asset class that's suitable addition to many investors' portfolios.” Wall finds that the professionalization of bitcoin, as well as its inclusion in the portfolios of hedge funds, high-net-worth individuals, family offices and corporate treasuries is likely to only accelerate in 2021. “Retail investor adoption is likely to track this development,” he said.
Speaking of which, Erick Pinos, Americas Ecosystem Lead at open source blockchain Ontology (ONT), said that more large financial institutions will publicly announce that they have moved funds into BTC in 2021, which “will create a snowball effect not only for other large institutions to follow with their funds but also for the retail market to start moving more personal wealth into bitcoin.”
Seamus Donoghue added that retail will “play no small part in crypto” as they are given increasingly easier access to the markets. It’s bitcoin’s performance that will drive the narrative and, if the institutional market evolves as expected in 2021, rapidly expanding on-ramps will only add fuel to the fire. “Institutional investor adoption drives the build out of institutional infrastructure to support bitcoin’s adoption. This in turn provides the foundation for retail investment vehicles and retail on-ramps,” he said.
Bitcoin Spikes Above USD 32K as MicroStrategy Boosts Morale With a New Deal
The world's number one crypto moved up and above USD 32,000 again as US-based business intelligence company MicroStrategy revealed its relatively small USD 10m bitcoin (BTC) deal.
On Friday afternoon, 14:37 UTC, bitcoin climbed from the USD 29,400 level to which it had dropped earlier in the day, and is trading at USD 32,565, after it appreciated almost 3% in the last day. It dropped 12% over the course of the past week, and went up nearly 37% in a month.
This rise comes as MicroStrategy’s CEO Michael Saylor announced that the company made an additional purchase of bitcoin: they bought approximately BTC 314 for USD 10m in cash in accordance with its Treasury Reserve Policy, at an average price of approximately USD 31,808 per bitcoin, said the CEO. BTC trading volume reached USD 62.77bn in the past 24 hours.
He added that MicroStrategy now holds approximately BTC 70,784, which at the current price translates to the value of USD 2.3bn.
In December last year, MicroStrategy confirmed it raised USD 650m by selling convertible senior notes due 2025 in order to buy more bitcoin. By that point, the company had already acquired approximately BTC 40,824. Meanwhile, in October, MicroStrategy’s CEO Michael Saylor revealed that he spent around USD 175m on his personal BTC stash.
The Cryptoverse was quick to comment on this major purchase. "Seems like a lot of people don't get it," argued popular BTC enthusiast and investor WhalePanda. "You keep selling your Bitcoin to large institutional investors on every dip hoping we'll go back down to USD 20k or lower. That's not going to happen. Make them all market buy."
Per the CEO of major crypto exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao, "those 314 bitcoins are as good as gone from circulation, for a long long time," adding that this is the result of BTC "moving from weak hands to strong hands." This is the same opinion Jameson Lopp, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of crypto security specialist Casa, shared.
Others, however, are bringing up potential market and people manipulation again.
Meanwhile, four days ago, major US-based digital asset manager Grayscale Investments added BTC 16,240 to its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), bringing up the total amount to BTC 632,800 (USD 20.6bn). Since then, they added some BTC 9,850, per bybt, to make the total holdings of BTC 642,610.
"Tensions around an alleged Bitcoin double-spend combined with a generally insecure stance between BTC’s bears and bulls sent the currency teetering all the way down to USD 30,000. But what was perceived as an ill-natured manipulation was in fact a perfectly normative blockchain event, wherein the network functioned in accordance with its protocol – a clear as day sign that Bitcoin is, simply put, "doing just fine," Antoni Trenchev, Co-founder and Managing Partner of major crypto lender Nexo, said in an emailed comment.
According to him, the broader outlook is promising for a shorter dip in prices and a BTC recovery.
"The new Biden administration has frozen all agency rulemaking, including a controversial proposal on “unhosted wallets.” Hand in hand with this comes BlackRock’s toe-dipping into crypto – another signal of the positive institutional interest dominating the “Bitcoin big picture,” he said, adding that "news like this is what we should be focusing on in our industry vs. bickering over false claims of double-spent BTC."
The world's number one crypto moved up and above USD 32,000 again as US-based business intelligence company MicroStrategy revealed its relatively small USD 10m bitcoin (BTC) deal.
On Friday afternoon, 14:37 UTC, bitcoin climbed from the USD 29,400 level to which it had dropped earlier in the day, and is trading at USD 32,565, after it appreciated almost 3% in the last day. It dropped 12% over the course of the past week, and went up nearly 37% in a month.
This rise comes as MicroStrategy’s CEO Michael Saylor announced that the company made an additional purchase of bitcoin: they bought approximately BTC 314 for USD 10m in cash in accordance with its Treasury Reserve Policy, at an average price of approximately USD 31,808 per bitcoin, said the CEO. BTC trading volume reached USD 62.77bn in the past 24 hours.
He added that MicroStrategy now holds approximately BTC 70,784, which at the current price translates to the value of USD 2.3bn.
In December last year, MicroStrategy confirmed it raised USD 650m by selling convertible senior notes due 2025 in order to buy more bitcoin. By that point, the company had already acquired approximately BTC 40,824. Meanwhile, in October, MicroStrategy’s CEO Michael Saylor revealed that he spent around USD 175m on his personal BTC stash.
The Cryptoverse was quick to comment on this major purchase. "Seems like a lot of people don't get it," argued popular BTC enthusiast and investor WhalePanda. "You keep selling your Bitcoin to large institutional investors on every dip hoping we'll go back down to USD 20k or lower. That's not going to happen. Make them all market buy."
Per the CEO of major crypto exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao, "those 314 bitcoins are as good as gone from circulation, for a long long time," adding that this is the result of BTC "moving from weak hands to strong hands." This is the same opinion Jameson Lopp, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of crypto security specialist Casa, shared.
Others, however, are bringing up potential market and people manipulation again.
Meanwhile, four days ago, major US-based digital asset manager Grayscale Investments added BTC 16,240 to its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), bringing up the total amount to BTC 632,800 (USD 20.6bn). Since then, they added some BTC 9,850, per bybt, to make the total holdings of BTC 642,610.
"Tensions around an alleged Bitcoin double-spend combined with a generally insecure stance between BTC’s bears and bulls sent the currency teetering all the way down to USD 30,000. But what was perceived as an ill-natured manipulation was in fact a perfectly normative blockchain event, wherein the network functioned in accordance with its protocol – a clear as day sign that Bitcoin is, simply put, "doing just fine," Antoni Trenchev, Co-founder and Managing Partner of major crypto lender Nexo, said in an emailed comment.
According to him, the broader outlook is promising for a shorter dip in prices and a BTC recovery.
"The new Biden administration has frozen all agency rulemaking, including a controversial proposal on “unhosted wallets.” Hand in hand with this comes BlackRock’s toe-dipping into crypto – another signal of the positive institutional interest dominating the “Bitcoin big picture,” he said, adding that "news like this is what we should be focusing on in our industry vs. bickering over false claims of double-spent BTC."
Bridgewater's Ray Dalio Sends Stronger Bitcoin Signal
After admitting that he might be wrong about bitcoin (BTC) and suggesting that BTC may be a good asset for one to diversify their investment portfolio, Ray Dalio, American billionaire investor and founder of major global investment firm Bridgewater Associates, just sent an even stronger signal that this major asset manager is eyeing the most popular cryptocurrency. (Updated at 17:47 UTC: updates throughout the entire text).
"Believe me when I tell you that I and my colleagues at Bridgewater are intently focusing on alternative storehold of wealth assets and expect Bridgewater to soon offer an alt-cash fund and a storehold of wealth fund in order to better deal with the devaluation of money and credit that we consider to be a major risk and opportunity, and Bitcoin won’t escape our scrutiny," Dalio said in his newsletter to clients today, adding that he believes that "Bitcoin is one hell of an invention."
According to popular crypto researcher Hasu, who was the first to share excerpts from the newsletter, Dalio challenges the idea that Bitcoin is as scarce as people think, since there is an unlimited number of "Bitcoin-like assets". More innovative coins can probably carve out their own demand, and arguably we are already seeing that today.
"Though Dalio knows about the ability to hold coins in cold storage, he's still concerned about the ability to shield them against cyber attacks and hold them securely. He warns that increasing digitization also increases systemic risk," Hasu added.
The researcher said he fully agrees with the statement that Bitcoin's Achilles heel is its lack of privacy.
"[...] Bitcoin looks like a long-duration option on a highly unknown future that I could put an amount of money in that I wouldn’t mind losing about 80% of," according to Dalio.
However, he stressed that he's not an expert in Bitcoin and is "eager to be corrected and learn more."
Some other key statements by Dalio:
Because there aren’t many of these gold-like storehold of wealth assets that can be held in privacy and because the sizes of their markets are relatively small, there exists the possibility that Bitcoin and its competitors can fill that growing need.
It seems to me that Bitcoin has succeeded in crossing the line from being a highly speculative idea that could well not be around in short order to probably being around and probably having some value in the future.
Since the way Bitcoin works is fixed, it won’t be able to evolve and I presume that a better alternative will be invented and pass it by.
Meanwhile, in the same newsletter, researchers at Bridgewater highlighted three challenges for BTC:
Bitcoin remains an extremely volatile asset, and its future purchasing power remains a fundamentally speculative proposition.
Bitcoin still faces meaningful regulatory tail risks. While greater regulation might help Bitcoin gain broader institutional acceptance, it could also trigger selling by some of its largest existing owners who prioritize a lack of public oversight around the asset.
While there have been improvements, current levels of liquidity still constitute real structural challenges to holding bitcoin for large traditional institutions such as Bridgewater and its clients.
However, the researchers expect that the infrastructure around Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies more generally will continue to evolve and mature.
"In addition, the new paradigm that we are living in, with many government bonds no longer offering the same return or diversification characteristics and currencies facing greater risk of depreciation, could propel development of alternative storeholds of wealth faster than might otherwise have been the case," they said.
According to them, future challenges for BTC may also come from quantum computing, regulatory backlash, "or issues we haven’t even determined yet."
"Even if none of these materialize, Bitcoin, for now, feels more to us like an option on a potential storehold of wealth," they concluded.
After admitting that he might be wrong about bitcoin (BTC) and suggesting that BTC may be a good asset for one to diversify their investment portfolio, Ray Dalio, American billionaire investor and founder of major global investment firm Bridgewater Associates, just sent an even stronger signal that this major asset manager is eyeing the most popular cryptocurrency. (Updated at 17:47 UTC: updates throughout the entire text).
"Believe me when I tell you that I and my colleagues at Bridgewater are intently focusing on alternative storehold of wealth assets and expect Bridgewater to soon offer an alt-cash fund and a storehold of wealth fund in order to better deal with the devaluation of money and credit that we consider to be a major risk and opportunity, and Bitcoin won’t escape our scrutiny," Dalio said in his newsletter to clients today, adding that he believes that "Bitcoin is one hell of an invention."
According to popular crypto researcher Hasu, who was the first to share excerpts from the newsletter, Dalio challenges the idea that Bitcoin is as scarce as people think, since there is an unlimited number of "Bitcoin-like assets". More innovative coins can probably carve out their own demand, and arguably we are already seeing that today.
"Though Dalio knows about the ability to hold coins in cold storage, he's still concerned about the ability to shield them against cyber attacks and hold them securely. He warns that increasing digitization also increases systemic risk," Hasu added.
The researcher said he fully agrees with the statement that Bitcoin's Achilles heel is its lack of privacy.
"[...] Bitcoin looks like a long-duration option on a highly unknown future that I could put an amount of money in that I wouldn’t mind losing about 80% of," according to Dalio.
However, he stressed that he's not an expert in Bitcoin and is "eager to be corrected and learn more."
Some other key statements by Dalio:
Because there aren’t many of these gold-like storehold of wealth assets that can be held in privacy and because the sizes of their markets are relatively small, there exists the possibility that Bitcoin and its competitors can fill that growing need.
It seems to me that Bitcoin has succeeded in crossing the line from being a highly speculative idea that could well not be around in short order to probably being around and probably having some value in the future.
Since the way Bitcoin works is fixed, it won’t be able to evolve and I presume that a better alternative will be invented and pass it by.
Meanwhile, in the same newsletter, researchers at Bridgewater highlighted three challenges for BTC:
Bitcoin remains an extremely volatile asset, and its future purchasing power remains a fundamentally speculative proposition.
Bitcoin still faces meaningful regulatory tail risks. While greater regulation might help Bitcoin gain broader institutional acceptance, it could also trigger selling by some of its largest existing owners who prioritize a lack of public oversight around the asset.
While there have been improvements, current levels of liquidity still constitute real structural challenges to holding bitcoin for large traditional institutions such as Bridgewater and its clients.
However, the researchers expect that the infrastructure around Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies more generally will continue to evolve and mature.
"In addition, the new paradigm that we are living in, with many government bonds no longer offering the same return or diversification characteristics and currencies facing greater risk of depreciation, could propel development of alternative storeholds of wealth faster than might otherwise have been the case," they said.
According to them, future challenges for BTC may also come from quantum computing, regulatory backlash, "or issues we haven’t even determined yet."
"Even if none of these materialize, Bitcoin, for now, feels more to us like an option on a potential storehold of wealth," they concluded.
1,400+ Firms Flock To Learn About Bitcoin, But 'There Is No Playbook'
As the interest in bitcoin (BTC) as a treasury asset is seemingly growing among companies, new initiatives that help business people better understand this investment and related risks emerge.
While one of the most active BTC promoters, US-based software company MicroStrategy, plans to host over 1,400 firms at their online Bitcoin for Corporations event today and tomorrow, major consultancy company Deloitte released a guide for corporations willing to invest in this most popular cryptocurrency.
The paper also builds on MicroStrategy's own experiences with allocating the company’s funds to BTC. As reported yesterday, the company spent another USD 10m on BTC and now holds BTC 71,079, acquired for USD 1.145bn at an average price of USD 16,109 per BTC. This stash today is worth more than USD 2.55bn.
“In 2020, more operating companies began allocating cash to digital assets and cryptocurrencies. This is a new dynamic and a departure from more conventional investing by funds and others in this space,” according to Deloitte.
The guide explores a number of topics such as cryptocurrency treasury and investment strategies, integrating bitcoin into companies’ balance sheets, legal and regulatory considerations of crypto investments, as well as the accountancy, tax, and audit aspects of such transactions, among others.
"Before proceeding, we want to make one point absolutely clear: There is no playbook or foolproof approach for these kinds of bold moves. There is only painstaking effort, disciplined analysis, fresh thinking and rethinking, dedicated collaboration across competencies, and, above all, rigorous execution," Deloitte stressed.
However, the paper’s authors suggest that any company determined to invest its assets in crypto must undergo a realignment in thinking, but also in the functioning of its respective organizational branches.
“Typically, the various functions and departments of a company establish procedures and assumptions for collaborating across and outside the organization based on normal-course, well-understood transactions,” the report said. “The terrain of digital assets is a new frontier of possibilities, so it requires that each corporate department, and its external party, rethink the application of the rules and policies of its core competency.”
According to them, few of the norms associated with legacy investments in securities, fiat currency, or treasuries may apply.
"Once each group gains a level of comfort with the application of the rules to digital assets, they then need to actively listen to one another, gain an understanding of the sensitivities, evaluate any operational or technical dependencies, and finally rethink how they collaborate and tackle challenges together,” the guide said.
Other necessary adjustments include putting the right risk measures in place, paired with the right risk tolerance levels due to the high price volatility of crypto assets. However, these challenges are “navigable with the right level of commitment from all departments and external parties,” the paper concluded.
"Global macroeconomic, monetary, and digital evolutions have converged, requiring all forward-thinking corporations to consider alternative assets on their balance sheet. The ecosystem and the regulatory environment for digital assets, especially Bitcoin, have matured to the point that this strategy is becoming approachable and mainstream," Phong Le, President and Chief Financial Officer of MicroStrategy, is quoted as saying in the guide.
Meanwhile, today, Michael Saylor, CEO and Chairman of MicroStrategy, will be once again promoting BTC as a safe haven for corporate investments, and an asset that could replace more traditional stores of value such as gold. He'll talk about BTC macro and corporate strategies, while other team members will present BTC corporate playbook, legal and finance considerations.
As the interest in bitcoin (BTC) as a treasury asset is seemingly growing among companies, new initiatives that help business people better understand this investment and related risks emerge.
While one of the most active BTC promoters, US-based software company MicroStrategy, plans to host over 1,400 firms at their online Bitcoin for Corporations event today and tomorrow, major consultancy company Deloitte released a guide for corporations willing to invest in this most popular cryptocurrency.
The paper also builds on MicroStrategy's own experiences with allocating the company’s funds to BTC. As reported yesterday, the company spent another USD 10m on BTC and now holds BTC 71,079, acquired for USD 1.145bn at an average price of USD 16,109 per BTC. This stash today is worth more than USD 2.55bn.
“In 2020, more operating companies began allocating cash to digital assets and cryptocurrencies. This is a new dynamic and a departure from more conventional investing by funds and others in this space,” according to Deloitte.
The guide explores a number of topics such as cryptocurrency treasury and investment strategies, integrating bitcoin into companies’ balance sheets, legal and regulatory considerations of crypto investments, as well as the accountancy, tax, and audit aspects of such transactions, among others.
"Before proceeding, we want to make one point absolutely clear: There is no playbook or foolproof approach for these kinds of bold moves. There is only painstaking effort, disciplined analysis, fresh thinking and rethinking, dedicated collaboration across competencies, and, above all, rigorous execution," Deloitte stressed.
However, the paper’s authors suggest that any company determined to invest its assets in crypto must undergo a realignment in thinking, but also in the functioning of its respective organizational branches.
“Typically, the various functions and departments of a company establish procedures and assumptions for collaborating across and outside the organization based on normal-course, well-understood transactions,” the report said. “The terrain of digital assets is a new frontier of possibilities, so it requires that each corporate department, and its external party, rethink the application of the rules and policies of its core competency.”
According to them, few of the norms associated with legacy investments in securities, fiat currency, or treasuries may apply.
"Once each group gains a level of comfort with the application of the rules to digital assets, they then need to actively listen to one another, gain an understanding of the sensitivities, evaluate any operational or technical dependencies, and finally rethink how they collaborate and tackle challenges together,” the guide said.
Other necessary adjustments include putting the right risk measures in place, paired with the right risk tolerance levels due to the high price volatility of crypto assets. However, these challenges are “navigable with the right level of commitment from all departments and external parties,” the paper concluded.
"Global macroeconomic, monetary, and digital evolutions have converged, requiring all forward-thinking corporations to consider alternative assets on their balance sheet. The ecosystem and the regulatory environment for digital assets, especially Bitcoin, have matured to the point that this strategy is becoming approachable and mainstream," Phong Le, President and Chief Financial Officer of MicroStrategy, is quoted as saying in the guide.
Meanwhile, today, Michael Saylor, CEO and Chairman of MicroStrategy, will be once again promoting BTC as a safe haven for corporate investments, and an asset that could replace more traditional stores of value such as gold. He'll talk about BTC macro and corporate strategies, while other team members will present BTC corporate playbook, legal and finance considerations.
Musk’s Doge, Bitcoin Tweets May Spur Double-Digit Returns
Billionaire and Tesla's head Elon Musk’s Twitter activity is not only stirring controversy, but it also triggers abnormal trading volumes and double-digit returns, according to a recent paper by the Blockchain Research Lab (BRL).
Musk, owner of a Twitter account with 45.5m followers, continues to move markets through his never-ending stream of opinions on the social media, pushing dogecoin (DOGE) upwards after calling it the “people’s crypto”, in his spare time between launching rockets into space and becoming the richest person on the planet.
However, Lennart Ante, a BRL researcher who hails from the University of Hamburg, studied six recent crypto-related Twitter events by Tesla’s CEO (two about bitcoin (BTC) and four about DOGE), posted in 2020 and 2021, attempting to measure the impact Musk's social media activity exerts on cryptocurrency trade.
Using a model that refers to Musk’s individual Twitter activity and shows the resulting cumulative abnormal return (CAR) and cumulative abnormal trading volume (ATV) over different time frames, Ante writes,
“we discover significantly abnormal returns of up to 18.99% for Bitcoin and 17.31% for Dogecoin across different time frames.”
While four of the studied Twitter activities are likely only reactions to previous market events and relate to little or no significant price reactions, sad Ante, two "do not seem to be reactions but independent actions which result in huge increases in trading volumes and large and significant positive abnormal returns" - these are adding the bitcoin symbol to the Twitter bio, and tweeting "One word: Doge."
“On January 29, 2021, Elon Musk, at that time the richest person in the world … unexpectedly changed the bio of his Twitter account to bitcoin. The price of Bitcoin rose from about USD 32,000 to over USD 38,000 in a matter of hours, increasing its market capitalization by USD 111 billion,” the paper says.
Musk’s Twitter bio change resulted in a significant CAR of 6.31% over 30 minutes, and 13.19% over one hour. The return peaked at 18.99% over a period of 7 hours.
In comparison, his tweet “One word: Doge” resulted in a CAR of 8.17% in just five minutes. The return reached its peak of 17.31% over one hour, according to Ante.
Furthermore, five of the studied events generated significantly positive ATVs in the short-term, and one event had a significantly negative ATV in the first ten minutes following Musk’s tweet. All six events resulted in positive ATVs after 31 minutes passed since each tweet.
The two mentioned events "illustrate the significant impact Elon Musk’s Twitter activity can have on cryptocurrency markets. While the Twitter bio change might have been meant to be a serious sign of support for Bitcoin, the tweet about Dogecoin was a joke—as Musk later admitted himself,” the paper says, and adds:
“Considering that a joke made by the richest person in the world has caused such a significant market reaction illustrates the impact of influential individuals on cryptocurrency markets.”
Additionally, negative tweets could also have negative impact on financial returns. Meanwhile, if Musk were to tweet about crypto several times a day, "the market would likely interpret this as noise in the medium term", said the report.
Ante found that "a systematic classification of influencers in terms of their short-term impact on cryptocurrencies may represent a promising research approach" - particularly relevant against the background of coordinated manipulation via pump and dump schemes.
Coin pumping via social media sites, as well as pump and dump schemes, have been a major point of discussion in the Cryptoverse recently. DOGE itself was the centre of such discussions several times, most prominently when it was pumped by TikTokers last year, and when it was mentioned by Musk several times, and by a member of the r/wallstreetbets subreddit, responsible for the GameStop pump this year.
Billionaire and Tesla's head Elon Musk’s Twitter activity is not only stirring controversy, but it also triggers abnormal trading volumes and double-digit returns, according to a recent paper by the Blockchain Research Lab (BRL).
Musk, owner of a Twitter account with 45.5m followers, continues to move markets through his never-ending stream of opinions on the social media, pushing dogecoin (DOGE) upwards after calling it the “people’s crypto”, in his spare time between launching rockets into space and becoming the richest person on the planet.
However, Lennart Ante, a BRL researcher who hails from the University of Hamburg, studied six recent crypto-related Twitter events by Tesla’s CEO (two about bitcoin (BTC) and four about DOGE), posted in 2020 and 2021, attempting to measure the impact Musk's social media activity exerts on cryptocurrency trade.
Using a model that refers to Musk’s individual Twitter activity and shows the resulting cumulative abnormal return (CAR) and cumulative abnormal trading volume (ATV) over different time frames, Ante writes,
“we discover significantly abnormal returns of up to 18.99% for Bitcoin and 17.31% for Dogecoin across different time frames.”
While four of the studied Twitter activities are likely only reactions to previous market events and relate to little or no significant price reactions, sad Ante, two "do not seem to be reactions but independent actions which result in huge increases in trading volumes and large and significant positive abnormal returns" - these are adding the bitcoin symbol to the Twitter bio, and tweeting "One word: Doge."
“On January 29, 2021, Elon Musk, at that time the richest person in the world … unexpectedly changed the bio of his Twitter account to bitcoin. The price of Bitcoin rose from about USD 32,000 to over USD 38,000 in a matter of hours, increasing its market capitalization by USD 111 billion,” the paper says.
Musk’s Twitter bio change resulted in a significant CAR of 6.31% over 30 minutes, and 13.19% over one hour. The return peaked at 18.99% over a period of 7 hours.
In comparison, his tweet “One word: Doge” resulted in a CAR of 8.17% in just five minutes. The return reached its peak of 17.31% over one hour, according to Ante.
Furthermore, five of the studied events generated significantly positive ATVs in the short-term, and one event had a significantly negative ATV in the first ten minutes following Musk’s tweet. All six events resulted in positive ATVs after 31 minutes passed since each tweet.
The two mentioned events "illustrate the significant impact Elon Musk’s Twitter activity can have on cryptocurrency markets. While the Twitter bio change might have been meant to be a serious sign of support for Bitcoin, the tweet about Dogecoin was a joke—as Musk later admitted himself,” the paper says, and adds:
“Considering that a joke made by the richest person in the world has caused such a significant market reaction illustrates the impact of influential individuals on cryptocurrency markets.”
Additionally, negative tweets could also have negative impact on financial returns. Meanwhile, if Musk were to tweet about crypto several times a day, "the market would likely interpret this as noise in the medium term", said the report.
Ante found that "a systematic classification of influencers in terms of their short-term impact on cryptocurrencies may represent a promising research approach" - particularly relevant against the background of coordinated manipulation via pump and dump schemes.
Coin pumping via social media sites, as well as pump and dump schemes, have been a major point of discussion in the Cryptoverse recently. DOGE itself was the centre of such discussions several times, most prominently when it was pumped by TikTokers last year, and when it was mentioned by Musk several times, and by a member of the r/wallstreetbets subreddit, responsible for the GameStop pump this year.
India’s Crypto Community Fights Back As Ban Bill Turns Into Tiresome Soap Opera
Crypto enthusiasts in India have run out of patience with unsourced reports of the government’s alleged forthcoming crypto crackdown – and have challenged New Dehli to come clean with its intentions.
On Twitter, Indian crypto community members say that they are tired of the government allegedly leaking info to reporters about crypto “bans” – and want a high-level official to make the government’s stance on the matter clear at the earliest possible opportunity.
Speculation about a possible crackdown has been almost relentless in India for years now and has reemerged in recent weeks.
One exasperated observer wrote,
“I’m honestly getting tired of every news platform using ‘sources.’ Please, government, if you want to do something, just do it!”
He was reacting to this report:
However, if unsourced reports are true, the government is edging ever closer to doing just that.
Per India-based media outlet Bloomberg Quint, an unnamed "senior Finance Ministry official said on condition of anonymity” that a bill enforcing “a ban on transacting directly via foreign exchanges” was heading for parliament, and would seek to enforce a “complete ban on investment in cryptocurrencies.”
The proposals would allow crypto holders a transition period to “exit their holdings,” before closing the door on “all forms” of crypto usage – and come after weeks of speculation that New Delhi was planning a move of this sort.
But while no official statement has yet been made on the matter, the nation’s crypto community does not appear keen to sit idly by and allow the government to enact a China-style shutdown without a fight.
Nischal Shetty, the founder and CEO of Indian crypto outfit WazirX, owned by crypto giant Binance, is one of the many India-based critics of the bill, and has been one of those seeking to re-popularize the #IndiaWantsCrypto hashtag, first rolled out in 2018 in opposition to the central bank’s attempted crackdown on bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins.
That was a battle that the community, ultimately, won.
Shetty urged crypto advocates to write to their MPs to make their opposition to the bill known.
He wrote,
“Competitors of India will be secretly hoping India bans crypto. India is a strong competitor in the field of software. Banning crypto gives others an edge over the Indian software sector. I’m sure no elected MP would want India to lose its innovative edge.”
Many replied that they had taken up his call to contact their local political representatives – the hope of driving up resistance to the bill in parliament.
And Balaji Srinivasan, an angel investor and entrepreneur, the former Chief Technology Officer of crypto exchange Coinbase and General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, hit out at the government, tagging Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a post urging a policy u-turn.
He wrote,
“India should support crypto as a pillar of its foreign & domestic policy. It defends national security by preventing deplatforming, deters fraud via on-chain accounting and offers a decentralized alternative to a new Cold War.”
Crypto enthusiasts in India have run out of patience with unsourced reports of the government’s alleged forthcoming crypto crackdown – and have challenged New Dehli to come clean with its intentions.
On Twitter, Indian crypto community members say that they are tired of the government allegedly leaking info to reporters about crypto “bans” – and want a high-level official to make the government’s stance on the matter clear at the earliest possible opportunity.
Speculation about a possible crackdown has been almost relentless in India for years now and has reemerged in recent weeks.
One exasperated observer wrote,
“I’m honestly getting tired of every news platform using ‘sources.’ Please, government, if you want to do something, just do it!”
He was reacting to this report:
However, if unsourced reports are true, the government is edging ever closer to doing just that.
Per India-based media outlet Bloomberg Quint, an unnamed "senior Finance Ministry official said on condition of anonymity” that a bill enforcing “a ban on transacting directly via foreign exchanges” was heading for parliament, and would seek to enforce a “complete ban on investment in cryptocurrencies.”
The proposals would allow crypto holders a transition period to “exit their holdings,” before closing the door on “all forms” of crypto usage – and come after weeks of speculation that New Delhi was planning a move of this sort.
But while no official statement has yet been made on the matter, the nation’s crypto community does not appear keen to sit idly by and allow the government to enact a China-style shutdown without a fight.
Nischal Shetty, the founder and CEO of Indian crypto outfit WazirX, owned by crypto giant Binance, is one of the many India-based critics of the bill, and has been one of those seeking to re-popularize the #IndiaWantsCrypto hashtag, first rolled out in 2018 in opposition to the central bank’s attempted crackdown on bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins.
That was a battle that the community, ultimately, won.
Shetty urged crypto advocates to write to their MPs to make their opposition to the bill known.
He wrote,
“Competitors of India will be secretly hoping India bans crypto. India is a strong competitor in the field of software. Banning crypto gives others an edge over the Indian software sector. I’m sure no elected MP would want India to lose its innovative edge.”
Many replied that they had taken up his call to contact their local political representatives – the hope of driving up resistance to the bill in parliament.
And Balaji Srinivasan, an angel investor and entrepreneur, the former Chief Technology Officer of crypto exchange Coinbase and General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, hit out at the government, tagging Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a post urging a policy u-turn.
He wrote,
“India should support crypto as a pillar of its foreign & domestic policy. It defends national security by preventing deplatforming, deters fraud via on-chain accounting and offers a decentralized alternative to a new Cold War.”
The Bond King Goes From 'Bitcoin Is A Lie' To BTC 'Maybe The Stimulus Asset'
DoubleLine Capital LP chief Jeffrey Gundlach, known as the Bond King, now says that bitcoin (BTC) "maybe The Stimulus Asset" after claiming last October that it is "a lie."
"I am a long term dollar bear and gold bull but have been neutral on both for over six months. Lots of liquid poured into a funnel creates a torrent. Bitcoin maybe The Stimulus Asset. Doesn’t look like gold is," he tweeted today.
Indeed, gold dropped by 68% vs BTC in the past 3 months and by 79% in a year. Meanwhile, USD dropped by 66% in the past 3 months and by 81% in a year.
As reported, Gundlach made a name for himself in the investment community in his former role as the head of the USD 9.3bn TCW Total Return Bond Fund, and Forbes claimed in 2018 that he was worth a cool USD 2bn. In a recent video interview, Gundlach stated that he was “not at all a bitcoin hater.” However, in the same interview, he also dropped this pearl: "I don't believe in bitcoin. I think that it's a lie. I think that it’s very tracked and traceable. I don’t think it's anonymous.” Well, he's right about this - BTC is not really anonymous and its users can be traced. But let's see how the Taproot upgrade will change this.
"The question that I keep asking myself is "how long will gold bugs hang on to their gold while they watch the digital store of value gain market adoption?" The short answer is that no one actually knows. Some people are likely to bail in the short term because of the US dollar price of bitcoin. Some people will take time to critically think about their world view and then change their mind. And a few people are more focused on being "proven right" than actually "being right," Anthony ‘Pomp’ Pompliano of Morgan Creek Digital wrote in his newsletter today.
According to him, holding on to your gold is the equivalent of physical letters.
"Does it get the job done? Yes, in the most basic sense, but it is drastically inferior to the digital application of communication," he added.
At the time of writing (13:47 UTC), BTC trades at USD 51,780 and is up by 2% in a day and 16% in a week. It rallied by 42% in a month and 434% in a year.
DoubleLine Capital LP chief Jeffrey Gundlach, known as the Bond King, now says that bitcoin (BTC) "maybe The Stimulus Asset" after claiming last October that it is "a lie."
"I am a long term dollar bear and gold bull but have been neutral on both for over six months. Lots of liquid poured into a funnel creates a torrent. Bitcoin maybe The Stimulus Asset. Doesn’t look like gold is," he tweeted today.
Indeed, gold dropped by 68% vs BTC in the past 3 months and by 79% in a year. Meanwhile, USD dropped by 66% in the past 3 months and by 81% in a year.
As reported, Gundlach made a name for himself in the investment community in his former role as the head of the USD 9.3bn TCW Total Return Bond Fund, and Forbes claimed in 2018 that he was worth a cool USD 2bn. In a recent video interview, Gundlach stated that he was “not at all a bitcoin hater.” However, in the same interview, he also dropped this pearl: "I don't believe in bitcoin. I think that it's a lie. I think that it’s very tracked and traceable. I don’t think it's anonymous.” Well, he's right about this - BTC is not really anonymous and its users can be traced. But let's see how the Taproot upgrade will change this.
"The question that I keep asking myself is "how long will gold bugs hang on to their gold while they watch the digital store of value gain market adoption?" The short answer is that no one actually knows. Some people are likely to bail in the short term because of the US dollar price of bitcoin. Some people will take time to critically think about their world view and then change their mind. And a few people are more focused on being "proven right" than actually "being right," Anthony ‘Pomp’ Pompliano of Morgan Creek Digital wrote in his newsletter today.
According to him, holding on to your gold is the equivalent of physical letters.
"Does it get the job done? Yes, in the most basic sense, but it is drastically inferior to the digital application of communication," he added.
At the time of writing (13:47 UTC), BTC trades at USD 51,780 and is up by 2% in a day and 16% in a week. It rallied by 42% in a month and 434% in a year.
MicroStrategy Raises "Free" USD 1B to Buy More Bitcoin As It Hits USD 1T Market Cap
One of the most bullish non-crypto companies, US-based software developer MicroStrategy, confirmed that its latest offering of convertible senior notes was sold out and it aims to spend over USD 1 billion on bitcoin (BTC) again. The market capitalization of the most popular cryptocurrency just surpassed USD 1 trillion today, per market data aggregators.
"The aggregate principal amount of the notes sold in the offering was USD 1.05bn," the company said, adding that it estimates that the net proceeds from the sale of the notes will be approximately USD 1.03bn.
"MicroStrategy intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the notes to acquire additional bitcoin," the company confirmed.
As reported, this offering was different from the previous one last year because the company this time raised the money "for free" by selling 0% convertible senior notes due 2027.
The notes are convertible into cash, shares of MicroStrategy’s class A common stock, or a combination of cash and shares of MicroStrategy’s class A common stock, at MicroStrategy’selection.
At the end of January, the company owned approximately BTC 70,784 (currently USD 3.9bn). At today's prices, for USD 1.03bn they could buy BTC 18,685.
At the time of writing (19:06 UTC), BTC trades at USD 55,133, hitting another all-time high. The price is up by 6.5% in a day and 15.5% in a week. It rallied by 53% in a month. Meanwhile, as market data aggregators claim that BTC's market capitalization surpassed USD 1 trillion today, some analysts say this number might be overstated.
"Bitcoins market cap hitting USD 1trn demonstrates the mainstreaming of cryptocurrency as a store of value. Most of us in the market view this milestone as validation for the entire market. In this way, Bitcoin acts as a rising tide that raises all boats. We expect that Bitcoin is only the first of many USD 1trn market caps that we'll see in the blockchain economy," Adam Liposky, Ecosystem Operations Lead at Pocket Network, a blockchain data ecosystem for Web3 applications, said in an emailed comment.
One of the most bullish non-crypto companies, US-based software developer MicroStrategy, confirmed that its latest offering of convertible senior notes was sold out and it aims to spend over USD 1 billion on bitcoin (BTC) again. The market capitalization of the most popular cryptocurrency just surpassed USD 1 trillion today, per market data aggregators.
"The aggregate principal amount of the notes sold in the offering was USD 1.05bn," the company said, adding that it estimates that the net proceeds from the sale of the notes will be approximately USD 1.03bn.
"MicroStrategy intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the notes to acquire additional bitcoin," the company confirmed.
As reported, this offering was different from the previous one last year because the company this time raised the money "for free" by selling 0% convertible senior notes due 2027.
The notes are convertible into cash, shares of MicroStrategy’s class A common stock, or a combination of cash and shares of MicroStrategy’s class A common stock, at MicroStrategy’selection.
At the end of January, the company owned approximately BTC 70,784 (currently USD 3.9bn). At today's prices, for USD 1.03bn they could buy BTC 18,685.
At the time of writing (19:06 UTC), BTC trades at USD 55,133, hitting another all-time high. The price is up by 6.5% in a day and 15.5% in a week. It rallied by 53% in a month. Meanwhile, as market data aggregators claim that BTC's market capitalization surpassed USD 1 trillion today, some analysts say this number might be overstated.
"Bitcoins market cap hitting USD 1trn demonstrates the mainstreaming of cryptocurrency as a store of value. Most of us in the market view this milestone as validation for the entire market. In this way, Bitcoin acts as a rising tide that raises all boats. We expect that Bitcoin is only the first of many USD 1trn market caps that we'll see in the blockchain economy," Adam Liposky, Ecosystem Operations Lead at Pocket Network, a blockchain data ecosystem for Web3 applications, said in an emailed comment.
Spanish Bittrex Customer Says Exchange ‘Allowed’ Theft of His Bitcoin
A Spanish court has given the Tenerife police permission to look into the case of an alleged Bittrex customer who claims the crypto exchange is at fault in the case of the “theft” of around USD 62,000 worth of bitcoin (BTC).
The Tenerife branch of the national police cybercrimes unit is now investigating the claim, after the user stated unauthorized access had been granted to his wallet, where he claims he had stored BTC 1.3.
Per La Provincia, the claimant was identified as being a male from Tenerife who stated that in May last year, he created a BTC wallet on the platform, deposited the funds and discovered shortly after that the wallet had been emptied.
The man allegedly contacted the Bittrex support team, who reportedly claimed that the customer had been the victim of cybercrime.
However, the claimant appears to have enlisted a security expert to trace the alleged theft.
This expert’s testimony, the court heard, detailed that “Bittrex had allowed” four suspicious “access attempts” to be made before the theft took place from four different IP addresses in France, Granada, Madrid and a town in Minnesota, in the United States, all using different operating systems, and “all inconsistent with” the customer’s own devices. The expert added that “Bittrex did nothing to prevent” the access attempts.
The alleged raider who finally succeeded in accessing the account then proceeded to inform support staff that they had forgotten their private keys and requested the removal of a security code. Once this had been done, the attacker is said to have successfully transferred the BTC into another unknown wallet.
The fact that the attacker used a different OS than the complainant’s “should have raised red security flags for Bittrex,” particularly as the internet service provider and browser data were all different from the user’s.
The claimant is hopeful of suing the exchange under computer fraud and misappropriation of funds laws, which can be punishable with jail time or fines under local law.
A Spanish court has given the Tenerife police permission to look into the case of an alleged Bittrex customer who claims the crypto exchange is at fault in the case of the “theft” of around USD 62,000 worth of bitcoin (BTC).
The Tenerife branch of the national police cybercrimes unit is now investigating the claim, after the user stated unauthorized access had been granted to his wallet, where he claims he had stored BTC 1.3.
Per La Provincia, the claimant was identified as being a male from Tenerife who stated that in May last year, he created a BTC wallet on the platform, deposited the funds and discovered shortly after that the wallet had been emptied.
The man allegedly contacted the Bittrex support team, who reportedly claimed that the customer had been the victim of cybercrime.
However, the claimant appears to have enlisted a security expert to trace the alleged theft.
This expert’s testimony, the court heard, detailed that “Bittrex had allowed” four suspicious “access attempts” to be made before the theft took place from four different IP addresses in France, Granada, Madrid and a town in Minnesota, in the United States, all using different operating systems, and “all inconsistent with” the customer’s own devices. The expert added that “Bittrex did nothing to prevent” the access attempts.
The alleged raider who finally succeeded in accessing the account then proceeded to inform support staff that they had forgotten their private keys and requested the removal of a security code. Once this had been done, the attacker is said to have successfully transferred the BTC into another unknown wallet.
The fact that the attacker used a different OS than the complainant’s “should have raised red security flags for Bittrex,” particularly as the internet service provider and browser data were all different from the user’s.
The claimant is hopeful of suing the exchange under computer fraud and misappropriation of funds laws, which can be punishable with jail time or fines under local law.
BitMEX Mulls Plain Vanilla Products As It Looks To Increase Market Share
Major crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX might introduce a new range of plain vanilla, or basic financial products designed to boost its market share, according to Alexander Höptner, CEO of 100x Group, the holding behind the platform.
“The products that we offer right now are pretty sophisticated products, so we are more targeting right now professional or semi-professional traders. I think we need to expand that product universe to more 'plain vanilla' products to increase the customer base, and bring new customers,” Höptner told Bloomberg TV, without specifying.
The exchange now offers perpetual contracts and futures, while also offering up to 100x leverage on some of its products.
The CEO added that, to further develop its business, BitMEX also needs more regulatory clarity in the markets in which it operates.
“I think what is also needed is stability from a regulatory framework. A lot of regulators are already working on this, and I think this is important to give confidence into the market that the products have approached a pretty environment and sound basis. And this then will also support confidence into the product,” according to Höptner.
BitMEX’s parent company hired Höptner last December to replace Vivien Khoo who managed the exchange on a temporary basis after Arthur Hayes, the platform’s Co-founder and previous CEO, was forced to step down last October.
The exchange found itself in the crosshairs of the US authorities last autumn after the Department of Justice and the financial regulatory Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed charges against its executives, accusing them of operating an unregulated trading platform and breaching US anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) rules.
Höptner, who took over the position last January, brought his experience from German legacy finance institutions to BitMEX. He previously headed the Stuttgart stock exchange Börse Stuttgart and Euwax AG, a company that provides financial service to the stock exchange.
Major crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX might introduce a new range of plain vanilla, or basic financial products designed to boost its market share, according to Alexander Höptner, CEO of 100x Group, the holding behind the platform.
“The products that we offer right now are pretty sophisticated products, so we are more targeting right now professional or semi-professional traders. I think we need to expand that product universe to more 'plain vanilla' products to increase the customer base, and bring new customers,” Höptner told Bloomberg TV, without specifying.
The exchange now offers perpetual contracts and futures, while also offering up to 100x leverage on some of its products.
The CEO added that, to further develop its business, BitMEX also needs more regulatory clarity in the markets in which it operates.
“I think what is also needed is stability from a regulatory framework. A lot of regulators are already working on this, and I think this is important to give confidence into the market that the products have approached a pretty environment and sound basis. And this then will also support confidence into the product,” according to Höptner.
BitMEX’s parent company hired Höptner last December to replace Vivien Khoo who managed the exchange on a temporary basis after Arthur Hayes, the platform’s Co-founder and previous CEO, was forced to step down last October.
The exchange found itself in the crosshairs of the US authorities last autumn after the Department of Justice and the financial regulatory Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed charges against its executives, accusing them of operating an unregulated trading platform and breaching US anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) rules.
Höptner, who took over the position last January, brought his experience from German legacy finance institutions to BitMEX. He previously headed the Stuttgart stock exchange Börse Stuttgart and Euwax AG, a company that provides financial service to the stock exchange.
Redefining the Future of Global Finance with DeFi
Decentralized, peer-to-peer, and borderless, digital assets and open networks offer a promising alternative to the way money and value has traditionally been transacted — but what is the true economic relevance of decentralized finance (DeFi), and how can it shape the future of global finance?
In many ways, DeFi could provide us with an early window into what the future of global finance should look like. As the total value of assets locked in DeFi platforms surpasses USD 40bn, it seems more and more users are now buying into the unique features of DeFi: high yield, liquidity, flexibility, and transparency.
While some may refer to the income earned via yield farming or liquidity mining as passive income, I prefer the term ‘coded income’, since DeFi income is hard-coded into smart contracts. Although DeFi yields are paid out in highly volatile tokens, its returns are generally significantly higher than those earned from centralized finance products.
Interoperability is the core philosophy of the DeFi space. The flexibility of DeFi platforms comes from the technology stack composability in which new DeFi services are developed using previous tools as building blocks. Reminiscent of the popular childhood toy, these ‘money Legos’ allow the ecosystem to benefit from individual progress, encouraging the steady development of new protocols and platforms within the space. Furthermore, as DeFi smart contract codes are open source, the mechanics of the tools are available for all to see — this boost in transparency is a major improvement over the traditional black-box style that many centralized financial services adopt.
Global finance has certainly been affected by new technologies and data-driven apps, which enable millions of investors to trade more easily than ever before. Thanks to the leap in digitalization brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, this is growing more apparent than ever. Although the trading volume in DeFi still represents a small, albeit fast-growing, fraction compared to the volume traded in global credit and financial markets, its major impact lies in making new products and strategies accessible to all.
Most DeFi tools replicate financial models that have been available for years but in practice they were mainly reserved for hedge funds that had access to both capital and technology. With the help of DeFi, retail investors now have direct, unencumbered access to sophisticated trading strategies they could never have experienced before. Similar to how Bitcoin (BTC) revolutionized the centuries-old legacy financial system, once this door has been opened, it becomes impossible to close.
The majority of modern era computer scientists and world-changing tech entrepreneurs are still alive today. In this regard, despite the fact that software has become omnipresent in our lives, programming is still considered a recently acquired skill for humanity. The fast-moving, ever-evolving nature of software also means code can quickly become obsolete, or worse, unsafe.
This is a flaw which applies to smart contract codes, and by extension in DeFi, since smart contracts that have been deployed on a blockchain cannot be altered or easily modified. Instead, new versions of the DeFi tools have to be created to replace previous iterations, and users will need to be aware of any changes or vulnerabilities since their funds may be at risk. Although decentralized insurance solutions exist to mitigate such instances, the risks and limitations of smart contract code and the blockchain infrastructure remain the central challenge to the expansion of DeFi.
Decentralized, peer-to-peer, and borderless, digital assets and open networks offer a promising alternative to the way money and value has traditionally been transacted — but what is the true economic relevance of decentralized finance (DeFi), and how can it shape the future of global finance?
In many ways, DeFi could provide us with an early window into what the future of global finance should look like. As the total value of assets locked in DeFi platforms surpasses USD 40bn, it seems more and more users are now buying into the unique features of DeFi: high yield, liquidity, flexibility, and transparency.
While some may refer to the income earned via yield farming or liquidity mining as passive income, I prefer the term ‘coded income’, since DeFi income is hard-coded into smart contracts. Although DeFi yields are paid out in highly volatile tokens, its returns are generally significantly higher than those earned from centralized finance products.
Interoperability is the core philosophy of the DeFi space. The flexibility of DeFi platforms comes from the technology stack composability in which new DeFi services are developed using previous tools as building blocks. Reminiscent of the popular childhood toy, these ‘money Legos’ allow the ecosystem to benefit from individual progress, encouraging the steady development of new protocols and platforms within the space. Furthermore, as DeFi smart contract codes are open source, the mechanics of the tools are available for all to see — this boost in transparency is a major improvement over the traditional black-box style that many centralized financial services adopt.
Global finance has certainly been affected by new technologies and data-driven apps, which enable millions of investors to trade more easily than ever before. Thanks to the leap in digitalization brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, this is growing more apparent than ever. Although the trading volume in DeFi still represents a small, albeit fast-growing, fraction compared to the volume traded in global credit and financial markets, its major impact lies in making new products and strategies accessible to all.
Most DeFi tools replicate financial models that have been available for years but in practice they were mainly reserved for hedge funds that had access to both capital and technology. With the help of DeFi, retail investors now have direct, unencumbered access to sophisticated trading strategies they could never have experienced before. Similar to how Bitcoin (BTC) revolutionized the centuries-old legacy financial system, once this door has been opened, it becomes impossible to close.
The majority of modern era computer scientists and world-changing tech entrepreneurs are still alive today. In this regard, despite the fact that software has become omnipresent in our lives, programming is still considered a recently acquired skill for humanity. The fast-moving, ever-evolving nature of software also means code can quickly become obsolete, or worse, unsafe.
This is a flaw which applies to smart contract codes, and by extension in DeFi, since smart contracts that have been deployed on a blockchain cannot be altered or easily modified. Instead, new versions of the DeFi tools have to be created to replace previous iterations, and users will need to be aware of any changes or vulnerabilities since their funds may be at risk. Although decentralized insurance solutions exist to mitigate such instances, the risks and limitations of smart contract code and the blockchain infrastructure remain the central challenge to the expansion of DeFi.
Chinese Firms Get Bullish as Lottery Operator Renames Itself ‘BIT Mining’
Chinese firms appear to have become emboldened – and increasingly eager to clamber on board the crypto bandwagon – with 500, one of the nation’s biggest sports lottery firms, planning to rename itself with a distinctly crypto-sounding name: BIT Mining.
The company, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, also stated in a press release, that it would be changing its Chinese name accordingly to 比特矿业, using two of the same Chinese characters used in the word “bitcoin” (比特币).
Share prices on the American exchange rose slightly on the news, per official data – which will probably soon need to be updated: The company said it also intends to change its ticker from WBAI to the BTCM, another name that sounds like it comes straight from the world of bitcoin, altcoins, and blockchain.
The news follows the surprise acquisition last month of the BTC mining pool, which was majority-owned by the Bitmain founder Jihan Wu.
The company claimed that its move was subject to “shareholder approval,” and reaffirmed its committal to the crypto industry, writing that it has “entered into definitive agreements to purchase cryptocurrency mining machines” and “unfurl a comprehensive approach to cryptocurrency mining.”
It is also in the advanced stages of a deal to buy a controlling stake in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed lottery operator Loto Interactive. The latter owns three big data centers that “are mainly engaged in the cryptocurrency mining business,” in 500/BIT Mining’s own words.
The news caps off an eventful start to the week for crypto in the Middle Kingdom. On Sunday, the Chinese beauty app operator Meitu announced that it had earmarked USD 100m of its cash reserves for crypto investment, USD 40m of which it had already forked out on BTC and ethereum (ETH) investments.
The company’s CEO reportedly claimed that his firm had been the first to “eat the crab” – a Chinese expression that can be roughly translated as “to take the plunge.” His statement appeared to hint that other Chinese companies are also eager to dive deeper into the crypto world.
Chinese firms appear to have become emboldened – and increasingly eager to clamber on board the crypto bandwagon – with 500, one of the nation’s biggest sports lottery firms, planning to rename itself with a distinctly crypto-sounding name: BIT Mining.
The company, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, also stated in a press release, that it would be changing its Chinese name accordingly to 比特矿业, using two of the same Chinese characters used in the word “bitcoin” (比特币).
Share prices on the American exchange rose slightly on the news, per official data – which will probably soon need to be updated: The company said it also intends to change its ticker from WBAI to the BTCM, another name that sounds like it comes straight from the world of bitcoin, altcoins, and blockchain.
The news follows the surprise acquisition last month of the BTC mining pool, which was majority-owned by the Bitmain founder Jihan Wu.
The company claimed that its move was subject to “shareholder approval,” and reaffirmed its committal to the crypto industry, writing that it has “entered into definitive agreements to purchase cryptocurrency mining machines” and “unfurl a comprehensive approach to cryptocurrency mining.”
It is also in the advanced stages of a deal to buy a controlling stake in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed lottery operator Loto Interactive. The latter owns three big data centers that “are mainly engaged in the cryptocurrency mining business,” in 500/BIT Mining’s own words.
The news caps off an eventful start to the week for crypto in the Middle Kingdom. On Sunday, the Chinese beauty app operator Meitu announced that it had earmarked USD 100m of its cash reserves for crypto investment, USD 40m of which it had already forked out on BTC and ethereum (ETH) investments.
The company’s CEO reportedly claimed that his firm had been the first to “eat the crab” – a Chinese expression that can be roughly translated as “to take the plunge.” His statement appeared to hint that other Chinese companies are also eager to dive deeper into the crypto world.
