Author: Staff Writer
Last month I wrote about the rise of stablecoins – from USDT, with a market cap of $70 billion, and USDC, with a market cap of $32 billion, to government-sponsored digital currencies – most notably, China’s Digital Renminbi and Cambodia’s Bakong. In many ways, this seems to be the era of the “crypto-dollar,” which, like the petrodollar before it, could be yet another funnel for global hyper-dollarization. And because the majority of stablecoins are still backed by fiat, they are hindered by the flaws of the centralized legacy financial system and any U.S. regulatory oversight. USDC, for instance, allows Circle…
A steady stream of upbeat news in the sector – from the launch of three new bitcoin ETFs to the unveiling of the first ‘bitcoin city’ in El Salvador – has emboldened those who think the world’s leading cryptocurrency is poised for a parabolic rally above $100,000. Since hitting an all-time high of $69,000 on November 10, however, bitcoin appears to have lost momentum. The digital asset was valued at $57,175 on the Bitstamp exchange at 15:50 GMT Tuesday, down 17% from its peak a fortnight ago. Experts note that steep pullbacks are nothing unusual for bitcoin, citing this year’s retracements of 25% in September…
Bitcoin has been controversial since its beginning in 2009, as have the subsequent cryptocurrencies that followed in its wake. While widely criticised for its volatility, its use in nefarious transactions and for the exorbitant use of electricity to mine it, Bitcoin is being seen by some, particularly in the developing world, as a safe harbour during economic storms. But as more people turn to cryptos as either an investment or a lifeline, these issues have manifested in an array of restrictions on their usage. The legal status of Bitcoin and other altcoins (alternative coins to Bitcoin) varies substantially from country…
In August, a digital artist who closely guards his personal identity, going only by the online alias “loafgren,” did what the masters of his trade do best. He stole. Loafgren slapped a copy of “polka dots,” a famous work by Damien Hirst, one of the world’s most prominent artists, on a digital image of a pair of Crocs. That was just the start. Loafgren then turned the parodic mash-up into an NFT, or non-fungible token, a unique piece of crypto-linked digital media that can be tracked and traded on a blockchain, the public ledger that underpins cryptocurrencies. He put the creation up for sale,…
Fidelity, UBS and State Street Global Advisors have confirmed that, like rivals BlackRock and Invesco, they are looking into the potential of offering exposure to cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin. Assets in European exchange traded products and mutual funds with cryptocurrency exposure have topped €10.5bn, according to Morningstar data, showing the potential appeal of these products for asset managers. XBT, part of CoinShares, is the largest provider in Europe, with assets of €5.4bn across eight products domiciled in Sweden and Jersey, followed by Swiss group 21Shares, which manages €2.1bn across its range. Matteo Andreetto, head of SSGA’s SPDR exchange traded fund…
The estate of JRR Tolkien, the author of the Lord of the Rings, has successfully vanquished a cryptocurrency that styled itself as “The One Token That Rules Them All”. The JRR Token cryptocurrency launched in August, with a website that featured rings, hobbit holes and a wizard with an uncanny resemblance to Gandalf. But the Tolkien estate, which handles the rights to JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings fantasy novels, quickly stepped in to lodge a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the global forum for intellectual property policy. It noted that the cryptocurrency’s…
Citigroup (C.N) is looking to create 100 roles focused on digital assets including blockchain and digital currencies at its institutional division, the U.S. bank said on Tuesday. The intitiative is the latest by traditional banks looking to find ways to tap the growing cryptocurrency sector, which has been gaining mainstream appeal as well as regulatory scrutiny. Puneet Singhvi, Citi’s head of blockchain and digital assets at its global markets operation, will lead the new team, Citi said in a memo to staff. The note was sent to the media. The new team will comprise a mix of internal and external hires and…
El Salvador plans to build the world’s first “Bitcoin City” with money from a $1 billion bitcoin-backed bond the country’s President Nayib Bukele said on Saturday. Here is what we know about the proposed bond and some of the details that still need to be filled in. WHAT WE KNOW Bukele said El Salvador planned to issue the bond in 2022, suggesting it could be as soon as in 60 days time. Half of the $1 billion sum would be converted to bitcoin and the other half used for infrastructure and bitcoin mining. Samson Mow, chief strategy officer of blockchain technology company…
Tesla founder Elon Musk on Tuesday delivered a stinging rebuke to Binance Chief Executive Changpeng Zhao on Twitter after the cryptocurrency exchange limited withdrawals of meme-based digital currency dogecoin. The cryptocurrency market has seen major fluctuations this year, often in response to Musk’s tweets. His comments on dogecoin have fueled a dizzying rally in the cyptocurrency’s value this year. “Hey @cz_binance, what’s going on with your doge customers? Sounds shady,” Musk tweeted on Tuesday. Binance responded saying it is rebuilding its dogecoin wallet entirely, resulting in a delay in withdrawals that may continue for another week. Binance, one of the…
XRP’s growth has been turbulent in part due to ongoing lawsuits and, of course, volatile markets. However, its increasing adoption and network developments have kept it going. There is now a recent update on the lawsuit as Attorney John E Deaton says in his latest tweet that he has “objective Imperial evidence”. The evidence shows that the majority of XRP holders, over 60%, had never heard of Ripple before investing in the token for the first time. According to Howey’s test, it will be almost impossible in the future to determine whether the XRP community has “relied on the promises…