Date: 02/15/2021
Weekly Headline News
1. Blockchain Bites: Will Bitcoin See ‘Reflexive’ Buys After Tesla?
Coindesk
2. Siam Bank Launches $50M Blockchain Fund
Coindesk
3. Wall Street Shifts Focus From Blockchain Infrastructure to Crypto Assets
Coindesk
4. Blockchain Bites: Mastercard, BNY Mellon Embrace Crypto; Amazon Floats ‘Digital Currency’ Project
Coindesk
5. Dwindling cash use is pushing central banks to race toward digital currencies
CNBC
6. Feeling the heat from employees, Wall Street banks get closer to adopting bitcoin
CNBC
7. Mark Cuban on blockchain: ‘It’s like the early days of the internet’ when ‘a lot of people thought we were crazy’
CNBC
8. Deutsche Bank Quietly Plans to Offer Crypto Custody, Prime Brokerage
Coindesk
9. Jack Dorsey, Jay-Z Put 500 Bitcoin Into Trust Supporting Africa and India
Coindesk
10. First North American Bitcoin ETF Approved by Canadian Securities Regulator
Coindesk
Summary
Blockchain Bites: Will Bitcoin See ‘Reflexive’ Buys After Tesla?
● Nic Carter argued that comparing bitcoin’s energy consumption to Visa’s is missing the forest for the trees. Bitcoin isn’t just a payments network, but a self-contained monetary system that proposes its own unit of account.
● Three trends:
1. Tesla’s $1.5 billion bitcoin gambit could have a long tail.
2. Legacy banks are taking note of the cryptocurrency industry.
3. Open systems are politically neutral, a point that could raise eyebrows.
● The former acting chief of the OCC Brian Brooks said bitcoin could be a more stable source of value. He noted the U.S. money supply increased 25% in 2020. Fiat to crypto trades introduce liquidity and settlement risks between banks and exchanges. The analysts estimate, a crypto exchange could bring in $40 billion a year.
Siam Bank Launches $50M Blockchain Fund
● The fund will focus on global early- and growth-stage companies that shape the next generation of financial services and digital systems, the venture capital arm of Thailand’s oldest bank says.
● The firm’s chief venture and investment officer, Mukaya Panich, said blockchain-enabled financial services have the potential to spur financial inclusion, enable open access and encourage innovation.
Wall Street Shifts Focus From Blockchain Infrastructure to Crypto Assets
● News that Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Citi are considering entering the crypto custody market likely surprised many who haven’t followed the blockchain tech or digital asset moves of major U.S. financial institutions over the last half-decade. Many institutions — some more than others — are slowly de-prioritizing blockchain tech and shifting their focus to native crypto assets.
● In 2020, Fidelity saw a great acceleration of its asset-focused strategy launching an “incredibly successful” bitcoin custody business and continuing to invest in various crypto-related startups. Its competitors, such as Schwab, are also entering the market and taking positions in crypto mining stocks. Meanwhile, the largest asset manager of them all, BlackRock, recently signaled that it will soon be “getting into the bitcoin game.”
● Future initiatives should focus on identifying the economic value at play, whether that’s in digitizing existing financial assets or existing digital assets such as stablecoins. Those who think asset-first will chart the course towards the fast-approaching native digital economy.
Blockchain Bites: Mastercard, BNY Mellon Embrace Crypto; Amazon Floats ‘Digital Currency’ Project
● Three trends:
1. Crypto infrastructure is being laid down across the banking, tech and financial sectors.
2. U.S. regulators are flexing their crypto knowledge.
3. What’s going on in altcoin-land?
● Every day brings a new example of the world waking up to the power of decentralized tools. Bitcoin being added to balance sheets, banks announcing custody solutions and payments monoliths like Visa and Mastercard planning to integrate crypto all point to a future where crypto is a major part of the economy. Some would go as far as saying it’s the future of money itself.
Dwindling cash use is pushing central banks to race toward digital currencies
● Earlier this year, the Bank of International Settlements published its latest survey showing that 86% of the 65 central banks it spoke to are doing some form of work on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), be it research, proofs of concept or pilot development.
● Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy, Piero Cipollone, told CNBC that the increased focus on CBDCs stems from the general move away from cash. LONDON — Central banks are accelerating their work on digital currencies and investors are taking note.
● Central bank digital currencies would benefit from much of the same technology of private cryptocurrencies, allowing for instant payments, faster settlements and lower transaction costs, especially for cross border payments. They could also be a means of ensuring financial inclusion, tapping into parts of the population that are unbanked.
Feeling the heat from employees, Wall Street banks get closer to adopting bitcoin
● Pressure is building on Wall Street banks to accept bitcoin as a legitimate asset class — and it’s coming from within. The banking industry is being forced to contend with bitcoin as its latest dizzying ascent and increased adoption among investors, corporations and fintech competitors spark fears of being left behind.
● JPMorgan co-president Daniel Pinto told CNBC in exclusive remarks what it will take for the bank to embrace bitcoin: “The demand isn’t there yet, but I’m sure it will be at some point.”
● Last week, Goldman Sachs hosted a private forum with Mike Novogratz, CEO-founder of crypto firm Galaxy Digital, for employees and clients.
● Self-made billionaire Mark Cuban says new innovations and companies will come out of the pandemic, creating an “America 2.0,” as he calls it. This is money 2.0. And I don’t mean currency money, I mean being able to earn money via digital has all changed. The evolution of blockchain and digital goods are the future of business, according to Cuban.
● Although Cuban is unsure how long it’ll take, or what companies will master blockchain, he is certain that “disruptors will win. We just don’t know which or exactly how they’ll win, but they’ll win,” he said.
Deutsche Bank Quietly Plans to Offer Crypto Custody, Prime Brokerage
● The Deutsche Bank Digital Asset Custody prototype aims to develop “a fully integrated custody platform for institutional clients and their digital assets providing seamless connectivity to the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem,” according to a little-noticed report by the World Economic Forum, host of the annual gathering of muckety-mucks in Davos, Switzerland.
● Deutsche Bank has joined the growing ranks of large financial institutions exploring cryptocurrency custody, with aspirations to offer high-touch services to hedge funds that invest in the asset class. Deutsche said it has completed a proof of concept and is aiming for a minimum viable product in 2021 while exploring global client interest for a pilot initiative.
Jack Dorsey, Jay-Z Put 500 Bitcoin Into Trust Supporting Africa and India
● Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced Friday that he will partner with rapper Jay-Z and donate 500 bitcoin (currently worth about $23.6 million) to set up a new endowment trust supporting Bitcoin development in Africa and India.
● Bitcoin advocate Dorsey tweeted the funds will go into a new endowment trust named “₿trust” initially focused on those two regions. “It‘ll be set up as a blind irrevocable trust, taking zero direction from us,” said Dorsey.
First North American Bitcoin ETF Approved by Canadian Securities Regulator
● The first publicly traded bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in North America has been given the go-ahead by Canada’s financial regulator. According to a decision document on Thursday, the receipt of approval from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) was filed under a Multilateral Instrument passport system in multiple Canadian jurisdictions.
● Eric Balchunas, a senior analyst at Bloomberg, said he believes the fund in Canada is a “good sign” for a U.S.-sanctioned bitcoin ETF. The Toronto Stock Exchange is expected to list the fund in Canadian dollars, and the portfolio and fund will be managed by Purpose Investments.
