Date: 07/12/2021
“In the next year or two, [bitcoin] is going to be outpacing the S&P 500 and other assets.” — Nicholas Marten, Digifox CEO
Weekly News Report:
1. The 47th Copa America, the premier soccer tournament for South American international teams, concluded Saturday with Argentina beating Brazil 1–0 in the final. To commemorate the tournament, CONMEBOL has joined with Ethernity Chain to mint the trophy as an NFT.
2. Among a handful of global prominent voices backing Bitcoin and its future potential, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak called Bitcoin a “unique mathematical formula” and a “miracle of technology” at a technology event Talent Land Digital 2021 recently in Mexico.
3. Fidelity Digital Assets plans to increase its headcount by around 70% in anticipation of growing institutional demand for crypto services. The staff will be used to develop new products and expand beyond bitcoin into other cryptocurrencies.
4. Crypto asset manager Grayscale said its Digital Large Cap Fund has now become a reporting company to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund joins the company’s Bitcoin Trust and Ethereum Trust as reporting products.
5. Australia-listed non-bank broker SelfWealth adds crypto to its platform. Cath Whitaker, CEO of the online broker, said the ability to buy crypto and stocks in one place will be an “Australian first.”
6. Coinbase is positioned to beat the street’s Q2 estimates, according to a new Goldman Sachs memo that labels the crypto exchange a top 25 tactical trade. Goldman acknowledged its analyst’s earnings per share estimate for Coinbase is “11% above consensus” for the year ahead, meaning his take is significantly more bullish than Wall Street’s.
7. Major League Baseball (MLB) is to auction a physical 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers World Series Champions ring as part of a non-fungible token (NFT) drop. MLB’s first NFT auction, which closed at 7 p.m. ET July eighth, features video excerpts of Lou Gehrig’s historic “Luckiest Man” speech and a three-dimensional bust of the Hall of Fame first baseman.
8. Capital International Group, a $2.3 trillion asset manager headquartered in Los Angeles, has acquired a 12.2% stake in MicroStrategy — making it one of the largest indirect investors in Bitcoin on the planet.
9. The United Arab Emirates becomes the latest country to join the race for experimenting with an in-house digital currency. According to the three-year plan for 2023–2026 that announces the launch of its digital currency, the Central Bank of the UAE, or CBUAE, intends to stand among the top 10 central banks across the world.
10. The Nifty community plans to be an “inviting home base for new and experienced explorers of the NFT universe,” according to CEO and co-founder Jeff Marsilio. The company announced Monday that it will launch a collection of limited-edition NFTs through its Warner Bros. partnership.
11. The Bank of Korea plans to select an operator to run a blockchain-based CBDC pilot next month that will test a digital won in various use cases. Affiliates of South Korean internet giants Naver and Kakao are among the top contenders to work on the country’s first central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilots.
12. According to a July 11 report from The Korean Economic Daily, the group’s banking unit, Woori Woori Financial Group has become the latest major South Korean financial institution to announce it will launch digital asset custody services. It is partnering with Bitcoin-based fintech solution firm, Coinplug, to establish a digital asset custody joint venture, dubbed D-Custody.
13. Paraguayan Congressperson Carlitos Rejala and Senator Fernando Silva Facetti are planning to introduce a Bitcoin bill to Congress on Wednesday, July 14, underscoring the lawmakers’ urgency in formulating a coherent digital asset strategy for their country.
