Date: 04/19/2021
“The Exponential Age: Thanks to network effects, the value of #Bitcoin is increasing and w/$1.159tn has almost reached the stock market value of a classic network share #Google which is worth $1.5tn.” — Holger Zschaepitz
Weekly Headline News
1. Billionaire Mark Cuban invests in NFT data platform CryptoSlam
THE BLOCK
2. Auction house Sotheby’s Pak NFT sale yields nearly $17M
THE BLOCK
3. We’re closer to a bitcoin ETF, ‘but we’re not all the way there yet,’ market analyst says
CNBC
4. China may test its digital currency with foreign visitors at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics
CNBC
5. UK government establishes central bank digital currency task force
Cointelegraph
6. Bahamas ranked first for retail CBDC development, according to PwC
Cointelegraph
7. Time Magazine to accept crypto payments for digital subscriptions
Cointelegraph
8. Is Bitcoin becoming the ‘Google’ of crypto as BTC market cap nears new milestone?
Cointelegraph
9. China ‘endorses’ BTC investment: 5 things to watch in Bitcoin this week
Cointelegraph
10. When will Bitcoin price rally end? Here is what’s backing the BTC bull run
Cointelegraph
11. Canada Approves Three Ethereum ETFs in One Day
Coindesk
12. Soccer Icon Pelé Becomes Latest Sports Star to Enter NFT Craze
Coindesk
13. City Comptroller Candidate Says Blockchain Is in New York’s Future
Coindesk
Summary
Billionaire Mark Cuban invests in NFT data platform CryptoSlam
● Billionaire entrepreneur and owner of the basketball team Dallas Mavericks has made a strategic investment in NFT data platform CryptoSlam. Cuban invested in the startup via his venture capital firm Radical Investments. With fresh capital at hand, CryptoSlam plans to scale its team and add support for more blockchains on the platform.
Auction house Sotheby’s Pak NFT sale yields nearly $17M
● Luxury auction house Sotheby’s has auctioned off a NFT for nearly $17 million. The NFT, titled “The Fungible,” was created by Pak, an anonymous digital artist, and was auctioned in a two-day sale on NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway. In the two days, the sale garnered a total of $16,825,999. While the total amount made from the sale pales in comparison to the staggering $69.4 million that popular auction house Christie’s made on its Beeple 5000-day collection sale, the collection still fetched numerous bids in the 48 hours it was listed.
We’re closer to a bitcoin ETF, ‘but we’re not all the way there yet,’ market analyst says
● Bitwise Asset Management chief investment officer Matt Hougan said, “Absolutely, we’re getting closer to a bitcoin ETF. I continue to think it’s a matter of when and not if, but we’re not all the way there yet.” “The SEC has been asking good questions and companies like Bitwise and others have been working to address those. But I do think we’re getting closer…. The market has to be good enough, has to be institutional enough, has to be mature enough to support an ETF before the SEC greenlights one. But the good news is I do think we’re closer to that point today than we were in the past, and I really think we’re getting there,” the CIO said.
China may test its digital currency with foreign visitors at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics
● China has been working on a digital yuan since 2014 and has recently launched a number of pilot projects around China. China is trying to make it possible for foreign athletes and visitors to use its digital currency during the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, a top central bank official said on Sunday. It could be the first test for China’s digital currency with international users.
UK government establishes central bank digital currency task force
● The United Kingdom is the latest country to begin exploring the possibility of creating a central bank digital currency. Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Bank of England have begun preliminary central bank digital currency studies that could result in the creation of a national digital currency. In a document published by HM Treasury, the exchequer announced the creation of a CBDC task force in collaboration with the United Kingdom’s central bank.
Bahamas ranked first for retail CBDC development, according to PwC
● In its 2021 “CBDC global index,” consulting firm PwC surveyed the level of central-bank maturity in deploying cryptocurrencies based on two factors: retail applications and interbank applications. The retail CBDC ranking gave the Bahamas a score of 92 out of 100 to lead all other countries. Project maturity for interbank CBDCs is being led by Thailand and Hong Kong, both of which achieved a score of 80 out of 100.
Time Magazine to accept crypto payments for digital subscriptions
● In partnership with Crypto.com, a leading digital currency platform, Time Magazine is now accepting one-time crypto payments for its 18-month digital subscription. Users who elect to pay with Crypto.org Coin (CRO) will receive up to 10% cashback on their purchase. The digital subscription is valued at $49. The option to pay with cryptocurrency is currently only available in the United States and Canada, with a global rollout scheduled for July 2021. Time Magazine, the popular American news publication first issued in 1923, is now accepting cryptocurrencies as a form of payment, offering yet another compelling sign that digital-asset adoption is on the rise.
Is Bitcoin becoming the ‘Google’ of crypto as BTC market cap nears new milestone?
● Holger Zschaepitz, a market analyst at Welt, emphasized that Bitcoin is nearing the valuation of Google, as it heads toward $1.5 trillion in market capitalization. Currently, as of April 17, the market cap of Bitcoin is hovering at around $1.12 trillion as the entire valuation of the crypto market remains comfortably above $2 trillion. The similarity between Bitcoin and Google that Zschaepitz pointed out is that both have dominance in their respective sectors. Bitcoin has the strongest network effect in the cryptocurrency market, accounting for more than 51% of the global cryptocurrency market. Google has dominance over the search engine market and has a massive share of the video-sharing and streaming sector with its ownership of YouTube.
China ‘endorses’ BTC investment: 5 things to watch in Bitcoin this week
● A rare seal of approval from the People’s Bank of China comes as Bitcoin recovers from a price crash that sent it to $52,000. Here are five factors to consider as a new trading week gets underway, and cryptocurrency holders across the board nurse their wounds.
1. Stocks primed for “up only” short term
2. Bitcoin recovers from crash to $52,000
3. Fundamentals point higher
4. Difficulty takes care of miner woes
5. Chinese central bank praises Bitcoin and stablecoins
When will Bitcoin price rally end? Here is what’s backing the BTC bull run
● The argument that good news is buoying the market is self-evident simply because it’s undeniable that we’ve seen a kind of FOMO snowball effect among institutions over recent months. If history can foretell the future, it will show that the bull run is only around halfway through this cycle, indicating that a $100,000 BTC before the end of this year is well within the realms of possibility. The solid fundamentals combined with a continuing sense of FOMO from institutions mean that there’s a solid case for believing that this bull market will keep running for quite some time to come.
Canada Approves Three Ethereum ETFs in One Day
● The approval comes just over two months after Canada approved its first bitcoin ETF. Purpose Investments, CI Global Asset Management, and Evolve ETFs have all received approval to launch exchange-traded funds (ETF) in Canada that offer exposure to ether. All three ethereum ETFs will begin trading on April 20.
Soccer Icon Pelé Becomes Latest Sports Star to Enter NFT Craze
● Pelé, who is widely considered to be the greatest soccer player in history, was jointly awarded FIFA’s Player of the Century Award along with Argentina’s Diego Maradona in 2000. Pelé won three World Cup titles with the Brazilian national soccer team and is still its top goal scorer after his retirement in 1977. He is the latest celebrity to enter the non-fungible token (NFT) space, launching his first NFT on May 2 with Ethernity Chain, the platform announced Friday. The collection, created by artists Kingsletter and Visual Lab, has been months in the making and is the first to feature Pelé trading cards released digitally.
City Comptroller Candidate Says Blockchain Is in New York’s Future
● Reshma Patel, a Democratic candidate for the city’s chief financial officer position, unveiled a “future proof” plan for New York on Monday centered around investments in blockchain businesses and cryptocurrencies. She hopes that her proposal, if enacted, would increase the city’s efficiency in approving contracts, spur new businesses to operate within the city and diversify local pension funds.
