This story originally appeared in The Continent, the pan-African weekly newspaper designed to be read and shared on WhatsApp. Subscribe here. Bitcoin. The currency of choice for drug dealers, terrorists, investors, spaceship enthusiasts — and ordinary people, including many of us who just want to get paid for an honest day’s work. Bitcoin. Because of...Read More
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day to our U.S. readers! A former Canadian prime minister said bitcoin could become a global reserve currency, Goldman Sachs is reportedly looking to get into the crypto custody business and MetLife is bullish on CBDCs. Top shelf Goldman Sachs jumping in?Its crypto custody plans will be “evident soon,” according...Read More
Hi all, thought we’d try something different in today’s edition of Blockchain Bites. Yesterday and today saw a flurry of news that seemed disparate and unconnected but may actually tell a bigger story about changing institutional attitudes to bitcoin and crypto, generally. PayPal and BlackRock executives both said that digital assets could have a much...Read More
Major bitcoin miners are signaling their support for the network’s Taproot upgrade. Institutional buyers are loading up on BTC puts, Deribit analysts say. Goldman Sachs thinks the “digital yuan” could be in a billion hands in a decade. Top shelf BlackRock SquawksA top BlackRock executive, in charge of where the world’s largest asset manager invests...Read More
A Deutsche Bank analyst said customers increasingly prefer bitcoin over gold as their hedge of choice. A markets surveillance tool could meet the SEC’s standards to allow a bitcoin ETF. FATF thinks existing financial precautions may be unfit for the rising world of DeFi. Top shelf Bitcoin ETFSolidus Labs has developed a market surveillance tool...Read More
A Citibank managing director thinks bitcoin could hit $318,000. MIT researchers resoundingly reject blockchain-based voting. And Bitcoin Cash’s latest fork looks set to fail. Top shelf Technical comparison?A Citibank executive published a report predicting that bitcoin could reach $318,000 by December 2021. Using technical analysis, and a comparison to gold markets in the 1970s, Citibank...Read More
Crypto lender Cred’s bankruptcy is more than it appears. Two publicly traded bitcoin mining firms reported this week: Neither are profitable. ECB President Christine Lagarde has a “hunch” about the digital euro. Top shelf Chapter…12?Cred’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing doesn’t tell the whole story. With $67.8 million in assets and $136 million in liabilities, the...Read More
Another billionaire investor disclosed his bitcoin bags. The Silvergate Exchange Network added another exchange member. Riot Blockchain, a publicly traded bitcoin mining firm, recorded bumper revenues with plans to expand. Top shelf Billionaire’s bitcoinBillionaire U.S. investor Stanley Druckenmiller, who just weeks ago was said to be shorting the dollar, is long on bitcoin. In a...Read More
Cred is the first U.S. crypto lender to file for bankruptcy in the country. Ripple is opening regional headquarters in the Middle East. President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration appears to be courting at least two pro-crypto political actors for cabinet positions. Top shelf Bankruptcy filing Crypto lender Cred filed for bankruptcy protection this weekend. In...Read More
Cash App generated over $1 billion in bitcoin revenues in Q3. Vitalik Buterin sent 3,200 ETH to Ethereum 2.0’s deposit contract. Google search data shows little “FOMO” amid the current market bull run. Top shelf Monster quarterCash App, the mobile payment service of Square (helmed by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey), generated $1.63 billion in bitcoin...Read More
