Date: 07/02/2021
“Over the past year, Bitcoin & S&P 500 along with all commodities below outperformed Gold. The most obvious explanation is that Gold is losing its utility as a Store of Value in the marketplace.” — Michael Saylor
Weekly News Report:
1. Shinhan Bank, one of South Korea’s oldest modern banks, has joined the Governance Council of a public blockchain network developed by Klaytn, the arm of internet messaging giant Kakao. Additionally, Shinhan will develop a number of Klaytn-based digital services for South Korea’s fintech ecosystem.
2. HSBC has gone live on the United Arab Emirates’ know-your-customer (KYC) blockchain platform, becoming the fourth founding member and first overseas institution to do so. Data is shared over the platform’s blockchain, enabling potential customers to be swiftly approved by member institutions using the credentials provided to others.
3. SoftBank invests $200M in Brazil's crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin. Following the investment, the company plans to expand in Latin America. The company contemplates acquisitions in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.
4. The bitcoin market could get a boost this month from the expiration of investor restrictions on the sale of shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), the world’s largest cryptocurrency fund. Some digital asset analysts and investors say it’s possible some of these investors might need to enter the market to buy bitcoin in order to repay cryptocurrency loans they used to finance their original purchases of the GBTC shares.
5. The U.S. leads the world in bitcoin ATMs, and the number is growing rapidly. The United States is the world’s most “crypto-ready” country, according to new research published by crypto education platform Crypto Head. The United States ranked first, with a crypto-ready score of 7.13 out of 10.
6. Greenidge Generation said it plans to expand its BTC mining operations by adding a facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Two-thirds of the electricity at the site is sourced from zero-carbon sources such as nuclear power.
7. The Bitcoin hash rate has stabilized after falling for 10 straight days, and industry experts are speculating that the worst fallout from China’s recent mining crackdown might be over.
8. Twitter is giving away 140 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) through the marketplace Rarible. The social media platform shared a series of tweets featuring a number of different images with the Twitter logo and a Tamagotchi virtual pet.
9. Canadian crypto-mining company Hut 8 Mining will almost double its hash rate by the end of the year with the purchase of 11,090 new mining machines for $44 million. The purchase will bring the company 11,090 new miners from SuperAcme Technology.
10. Germany’s Fund Location Act, introduced in April and approved by parliament shortly thereafter, permits “Spezialfonds,” or special funds, to invest as much as 20% of their portfolios in crypto. Should every Spezialfond choose to allocate the full 20% in crypto, that would equate to €350 billion ($415 billion), based on the total assets under management of such funds in Germany.
11. The source code for the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee, the British computer scientist and inventor of the World Wide Web, has sold for $5.4 million in the form of the non-fungible token (NFT) at Sotheby’s in an online auction. High-end digital collectibles are still fetching large sums.
12. As part of the sponsorship deal, the Trail Blazers will reportedly feature the StormX logo on team jerseys for the next five years, beginning with the 2021–22 season. StormX is a blockchain company allowing users to earn crypto rewards by completing micro-tasks or shopping at global partner stores online.
13. In a statement posted on the club website on Thursday, the Eredivisie side, which finished third in the 2020/2021 Dutch football season, announced crypto broker Bitcoin Meester as its exclusive and official cryptocurrency partner until mid-2024.
