Date: 04/16/2021
“Bitcoin is the world’s first digital monitoring network, and it’s a technology. And when you start thinking of it as a better technology for money, then you realize that it’s not just a trade. It’s actually a way to think about the world.” — Michael Saylor
Weekly Headline News
1. ETF investors say Coinbase listing will cause explosion in crypto investing
CNBC
2. ‘We’re just getting started’ — Novogratz says bitcoin value only a fraction of global wealth
CNBC
3. Cryptocurrency Market Overtakes Apple — The World’s Most Valuable Company — In Market Capitalization
BENZINGA
4. JPMorgan Testing Blockchain Solution to Improve Transfers With Taiwanese Banks
Coindesk
5. Guess Who Might Be Buying $BTC? Grayscale, the Power Behind $GBTC
Coindesk
6. Coinbase Direct Listing Gets $100B+ Valuation as Share Price Jumps in Nasdaq Debut
Coindesk
7. Coinbase’s COIN stock reference price set at just $250 as 1,700 staff get free shares
Cointelegraph
8. Rothschild Investment Corp snaps up quarter of a million shares in Grayscale ETH Trust
Cointelegraph
9. Mick Jagger is using NFTs to raise money for indie music venues
Cointelegraph
10. UK hedge fund reportedly plans to invest $84M in crypto
Cointelegraph
11. Miami commissioner wants to let residents pay taxes in Bitcoin
Cointelegraph
12. Millions of Swedish savers have exposure to Bitcoin via state pension fund
Cointelegraph
13. Switzerland’s largest insurer AXA starts accepting Bitcoin as payment
Cointelegraph
14. Canadian Bitcoin ETFs quickly hit $1.3B in AUM while US acceptance lags
Cointelegraph
15. NFTs by mail? US Postal Service plans to support postage tokens
Cointelegraph
Summary
ETF investors say Coinbase listing will cause explosion in crypto investing
● The pending Coinbase direct listing, scheduled for Wednesday on the Nasdaq under the symbol COIN, is exciting a broad base of the investment community outside the usual cryptocurrency crowd. Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise Asset Management, said “I think it’s going to force traditional finance to wrestle with the phenomenal growth that is taking place in crypto.”
‘We’re just getting started’ — Novogratz says bitcoin value only a fraction of global wealth
● Billionaire bitcoin bull Mike Novogratz said total crypto wealth is roughly $2 trillion, so that’s one-half of 1% of all wealth. The cryptocurrency industry remains in its early days, as he predicted the wealth it generates will continue to proliferate in the years ahead.
Cryptocurrency Market Overtakes Apple — The World’s Most Valuable Company — In Market Capitalization
● The market capitalization of cryptocurrencies, as tracked by CoinMarketCap, has exceeded that of the world’s most valuable company Apple Inc, the world’s most valuable publicly-listed company. The global cryptocurrency market cap stood at $2.243 trillion at press time, which is more than the iPhone maker’s $2.203 trillion valuations, as defined by its outstanding stock.
JPMorgan Testing Blockchain Solution to Improve Transfers With Taiwanese Banks
● The U.S. banking giant said Monday it is testing the solution “Confirm” with 12 banks in Taiwan including CTBC Bank, Taiwan Cooperative Bank and First Commercial Bank for money transfers to Indonesia using JPMorgan’s clearing solution “PayDirect.” The solution, called “Confirm,” will enable participating banks to confirm recipients’ account information ahead of making payments in near-real-time.
Guess Who Might Be Buying $BTC? Grayscale, the Power Behind $GBTC
● Grayscale Investments, the world’s largest digital asset manager, has taken an equity stake in exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuer ClearShares. The move comes a little over a week after Grayscale confirmed that it was committed to converting its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), to an ETF. Grayscale has taken an ownership stake in ClearShares as part of its long-term commitment to bring digital currency ETFs to market, with the potential to collaborate on products with investment strategies related to the digital currency industry.
Coinbase Direct Listing Gets $100B+ Valuation as Share Price Jumps in Nasdaq Debut
● Coinbase, the biggest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, went live with its direct listing on Nasdaq, on a day when bitcoin rallied to a fresh all-time high. Analysts, traders and economists characterized the share sale as a milestone for cryptocurrencies, with the biggest U.S. exchange now getting exposure to mainstream stock-market investors. The event has also been tabbed as a catalyst that might drive the adoption of digital assets.
Coinbase’s COIN stock reference price set at just $250 as 1,700 staff get free shares
● Coinbase’s reference price of $250, received ahead of the Nasdaq direct listing, values a “thank you” gift to all 1,700 full-time employees at $25,000. The exchange is going public via a direct listing instead of an initial public offering, meaning the reference price is not a direct indicator of the company’s market cap. It simply implies a valuation of $65 billion, which is below other estimates ranging between $68 billion and $120 billion.
Rothschild Investment Corp snaps up quarter of a million shares in Grayscale ETH Trust
● According to a filing on April 15 with the United States Securities Commission or SEC, Chicago-based financial institution Rothschild Investment Corp has acquired more than 250,000 shares in Grayscale’s ETH trust and added 8000 shares to its BTC trust holdings. The firm also added more Grayscale Bitcoin trust shares to its holdings, with the latest SEC filing revealing that it increased its tally from 30,454 in January up to 38,346 this month.
Mick Jagger is using NFTs to raise money for indie music venues
● The Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger is jumping into the nonfungible token craze to help independent music venues that have been adversely affected by the pandemic. In an announcement from the music legend on Thursday, Jagger said he had started a 24-hour auction on Nifty Gateway featuring a nonfungible token, or NFT, based on a new song with Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl. The highest bid is currently $8,988, with 12 people having made an offer for the musical NFT.
UK hedge fund reportedly plans to invest $84M in crypto
● According to a Bloomberg report, Brevan Howard Asset Management will be allocating 1.5% of the $5.6 billion in its main hedge fund to crypto — roughly $84 million. A source with knowledge of the matter said two co-founders of crypto investment firm Distributed Global, Johnny Steindorff and Tucker Waterman, would be leading Brevan Howard’s foray into crypto.
Miami commissioner wants to let residents pay taxes in Bitcoin
● According to a Thursday document acquired by the Miami New Times, County Commissioner Cohen Higgins has brought a resolution to Miami-Dade’s Infrastructure, Operations and Innovations Committee calling for the establishment of a 13-member crypto task force. The task force would examine the feasibility of allowing residents to pay their county taxes, as well as pay for fees and services, using digital currencies including Bitcoin, Ether and Litecoin. According to the document, crypto payments have the “potential to enhance the convenience and save costs.”
Millions of Swedish savers have exposure to Bitcoin via state pension fund
● According to local crypto site Trijo News, at least two companies in which the Swedish state pension fund AP7 Såfa owns shares have invested in Bitcoin. Almost 5 million Swedish savers have, largely without knowledge of it, indirect exposure to Bitcoin via the default government alternative to private savings options on the country’s private pension market. Norwegian savers are in a similar situation to their Scandinavian neighbors. Recent research has revealed that the Norwegian Government Pension Fund — aka the Oil Fund and the largest sovereign wealth fund — owns almost 600 BTC through its investment holdings.
Switzerland’s largest insurer AXA starts accepting Bitcoin as payment
● Europe’s second-largest insurance firm, AXA, has become Switzerland’s first all-line insurer to offer its customers the option to pay their bills with Bitcoin, facilitated through a collaboration with the established cryptocurrency broker Bitcoin Suisse. Bitcoin payments will be accepted for nearly all AXA products, except for life insurance due to regulatory barriers to the latter.
Canadian Bitcoin ETFs quickly hit $1.3B in AUM while US acceptance lags
● The Purpose Investments ETF, the first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund to launch in North America, has seen its assets under management soar to $1.1 billion less than two months after launching. Two Bitcoin ETFs that launched shortly after Purpose’s in Canada have also seen their AUM’s swell to a combined $200 million in the same time period, taking Canada’s combined Bitcoin ETF net value to around $1.3 billion.
NFTs by mail? US Postal Service plans to support postage tokens
● The government agency reported $73.1 billion in revenue from postage and other services in the 2020 fiscal year. The United States Postal Service will soon be stepping into the nonfungible token market. Not to release artwork or music, but rather to help customers purchase postage. Communications-as-a-service platform CaseMail said the USPS had certified its postage nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, for use in the United States. The tokens are digitally stamped on the USPS’ ePostage labels and the physical item being mailed, creating a verifiable chain of custody for digital and physical assets, as all data is recorded on the blockchain.
