Date: 03/26/2021
“We should think of crypto as an asset class and allow people to have some crypto. Crypto as a transaction medium will not work as fast as UPI, which is targeting a billion transactions a day. But crypto has enormous capital.” — Nandan Nilekani
Weekly Headline News
1. Nifty News: Jack Dorsey sells genesis tweet for $2.9M, NFTs save wild pandas and more
Cointelegraph
2. Crypto-collateralized loans may soon bring new investors to space
Cointelegraph
3. ‘Thrill’ and ‘Status’ Driving Young People to Crypto Investment, Says UK Financial Watchdog
Coindesk
4. Bitcoin Transfer Worth $806M Might Reveal Big Institutional Purchase
Coindesk
5. Institutional crypto managers report record AUM despite US inflows plummeting
Cointelegraph
6. Time magazine seeks CFO comfortable with Bitcoin and crypto
Cointelegraph
7. Bitcoin searches in Turkey spike 566% after Turkish lira drops 14%
Cointelegraph
8. SkyBridge Capital latest to file Bitcoin ETF application with US SEC
Cointelegraph
9. Long-term investors continue to hodl despite $1T Bitcoin market cap
Cointelegraph
10. Bitcoin mining stocks have outperformed BTC by 455% over the past 12 months
Cointelegraph
11. Elon Musk says Tesla now accepts Bitcoin from US customers
Cointelegraph
12. Institutional managers hold a record $57B worth of crypto, according to CoinShares
Cointelegraph
Summary
Nifty News: Jack Dorsey sells genesis tweet for $2.9M, NFTs save wild pandas and more
● Jack Dorsey raised $2.9 million for charity selling a tweet, NFTs are saving wild pandas, and John Cleese has sarcastically cashed in on the tokenization craze.
● On March 10, Dorsey stated that would immediately convert the proceeds from the sale into Bitcoin and donate it all to GiveDirectly, an organization helping those living in poverty in Africa.
● A new NFT project “PixelPandas” has announced it will donate 10% of all profits to panda conversation. The project will mint tokens featuring images of pandas for each of the 1,864 pandas that remain in the wild, and then auction the tokens in limited tranches on NFT marketplace OpenSea. Donations from PixelPandas’ revenues have already funded the adoption of a wild panda through the World Wildlife Fund.
Crypto-collateralized loans may soon bring new investors to space
● ”Traditional lending services generally do not exist in the digital currency industry, which means there aren’t many lenders for investors to choose from,” said Jon Melton, Silvergate director of digital asset lending.
● Institutional investors will soon be able to receive Bitcoin-collateralized U.S. dollar loans through Silvergate Capital Corporation — the holding company of pro-crypto institution, Silvergate Bank.
‘Thrill’ and ‘Status’ Driving Young People to Crypto Investment, Says UK Financial Watchdog
● New research from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) suggests the “thrill of investing” and “status from a sense of ownership” are driving more younger people to engage in “higher-risk” investments like cryptocurrency and foreign exchange (forex).
● ”They tend to skew more towards being female, under 40 and from a BAME background,” the FCA said, referring to Black, Asian and minority ethnic, a U.K. demographic. They are also more reliant on YouTube and social media platforms for investment information and are likely to be using widely available investment apps.
Bitcoin Transfer Worth $806M Might Reveal Big Institutional Purchase
● Digital-asset traders and analysts were scrambling Tuesday to assess a fresh data point extracted from the Bitcoin blockchain: Some $806 million worth of the cryptocurrency apparently transferred earlier in the day off of the Coinbase exchange’s institution-focused unit, Coinbase Pro.
● The jury is out on what it means. It could be that a large investor or several just completed a fresh round of buying and now are taking the bounty off the exchange for long-term holding or other purposes or it might be an internal transfer. According to data provided by the blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant, some 14,666 BTC were moved off the exchange during the early U.S. hours in a small number of transactions.
Institutional crypto managers report record AUM despite US inflows plummeting
● Institutional inflows have declined 59% this past week, but AUM is at an all-time high. The assets under management figure for the top institutional investment products reached a record high of $57 billion.
● The report added that while demand has declined in the U.S., institutions located in Europe and Canada continued buying last week. Daily volumes for Bitcoin-related products have also declined by around 35% to $713 million per day versus $1.1 billion per day on average for 2021. However, trading volumes remain steady at $11.8 billion per day.
Time magazine seeks CFO comfortable with Bitcoin and crypto
● A new job posting from Time magazine shows the 98-year-old publication is looking for a chief financial officer familiar with blockchain and cryptocurrencies. According to the job details listed on LinkedIn, Time is seeking a chief financial officer with more than seven years of experience in executive leadership positions and who has “comfort with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.” The position will be based in the magazine’s corporate offices in New York City.
● The responsibilities of the chief financial officer include researching economic trends and complying with local and global financial requirements. The winning applicant will purportedly replace outgoing chief financial officer Christopher Gaydos, who has been with the magazine since 2018.
Bitcoin searches in Turkey spike 566% after Turkish lira drops 14%
● Google searches for Bitcoin emanating from Turkey exploded in the past 24 hours, after the value of the Turkish lira dropped 14% following the firing of a central bank governor. According to data from Google Trends, the number of searches for Bitcoin spiked 566% in the hours immediately following news of the lira’s demise.
● The Turkish lira regained a fifth of its value against the U.S. dollar since the beginning of 2021 alone. The recent 14% plunge was triggered by concerns that the progress made by Naci Agbal could be undone by the appointment of the new governor, Şahap Kavcıoğlu, a banker and politician who is said to oppose the use of high-interest rates to fight inflation. The uptick in the number of Bitcoin searches by Turkish citizens is an all-time high to date, representing almost double the number of searches recorded during the bull run of 2017–2018.
SkyBridge Capital latest to file Bitcoin ETF application with US SEC
● New York-based investment firm SkyBridge Capital has filed for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, or ETF, with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. SkyBridge submitted the filing on March 19 in partnership with investment advisor First Trust Advisors. First Trust will act as the fund’s advisor and Skybridge serving as sub-advisor.
● The documents state the First Trust SkyBridge Bitcoin ETF will seek to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange Arca. A ticker symbol is yet to be announced for the fund. The filing emphasizes the trust will offer a regulated way for investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without needing to custody the digital asset, and allow investors to execute trades through their brokers.
Long-term investors continue to hodl despite $1T Bitcoin market cap
● According to data shared by on-chain crypto data aggregator Glassnode on March 21, the peak of the 2017 bull market saw 50% of Bitcoin’s supply circulating within the preceding six months. The data shows that few long-term investors are tempted to sell their BTC at current price levels, suggesting Bitcoin’s whales are holding for higher prices and the current bull-trend could have much further to go.
● Comparing the age of BTC moved on-chain may offer some insight into market sentiment. When prices hit new peaks, it is natural that older coins will be sold for profit, but that trend appears to be decreasing — suggesting that investors would rather hold on to their assets.
Bitcoin mining stocks have outperformed BTC by 455% over the past 12 months
● While Bitcoin is up 900% in the last 12 months, shares in the four largest publicly traded mining firms are up 5,000% over the same period. Despite the top publicly listed Bitcoin mining firms operating at losses, their share prices have dramatically outperformed BTC over the past 12 months.
● The researcher concluded that for every 1% price move in BTC, Bitcoin mining shares move by 2.5% on average. However, the observation applies to both upward and downward price moves, meaning mining stocks are likely to plummet with more than twice the aggression of BTC during bearish market conditions. “They’ll probably be hit hard as Bitcoin draws down,” Shimron noted.
Elon Musk says Tesla now accepts Bitcoin from US customers
● Elon Musk has announced that Tesla cars can now be purchased using Bitcoin. The electric car company’s CEO and “Technoking” said the firm would operate Bitcoin nodes directly and would hold on to the Bitcoin it accumulates without converting it to fiat.
● Tesla first signaled its intention to start accepting Bitcoin for products in early February, following its purchase of $1.5 billion worth of the digital asset, an SEC filing showed. The option to buy a Tesla using BTC will only be extended to U.S-based customers for the time being.
Institutional managers hold a record $57B worth of crypto, according to CoinShares
● Inflows into cryptocurrency investment products topped $57 billion last week, marking a new all-time high and underscoring the rapid adoption of digital assets underway among institutions.
● CoinShares’ report also highlighted a regional divide in institutional demand: The United States saw a decline in appetite, while Europe and Canada recorded gains. In particular, Canada has become a hotbed for Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. The Purpose Bitcoin ETF saw $100 million in volume shortly after launching in February and is expected to surpass all other ETFs in Canada within two months.
● Institutions have become a major driving force behind the crypto bull market, possibly setting the stage for a more prolonged rally than the retail-driven euphoria of 2017. Bitcoin’s price topped $61,000 last week, with one prominent BTC miner forecasting it could enter the range of $150,000 to $300,000.
