Date: 02/24/2021
“We’re going to see a day when 7 to 8 billion people have a bar of digital gold on their phone, and they’re using it to store their life savings with it.”
- MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor
Weekly Headline News
1. A Quarter of US Investors Own Crypto: Survey
Coindesk
2. Crypto Long & Short: Interest in DeFi Is Surging. You Can Thank GameStop
Coindesk
3. The United Arab Emirates chase crypto and blockchain adoption
Cointelegraph
4. MicroStrategy CEO says bitcoin will one day have $100 trillion market value even as price dives
CNBC
5. In Nigeria, One Bitcoin Can Cost $68,000. Here’s Why.
Coindesk
6. Central Banks of China, UAE Join Hong Kong-Thailand CBDC Payments Project
Coindesk
7. 1 billion people will store life savings on their phone in Bitcoin by 2026 — MicroStrategy CEO
Cointelegraph
8. Ex-London Stock Exchange Chief Says UK Should Embrace Crypto Post-Brexit
Coindesk
9. JPMorgan Carried Out ‘Nerdy’ Test of Blockchain Payments in Space, Exec Says
Coindesk
10. East Caribbean Central Bank Conducts ‘Milestone’ Retail Digital Currency Transaction
Coindesk
11. Canadian Bank Launches Fiat-Backed Digital Currency in Claimed World First
Coindesk
12. Square Buys Another $170M in Bitcoin
Coindesk
Summary
A Quarter of US Investors Own Crypto: Survey
● A new study has found that a majority of Americans believe cryptocurrency is a safe investment. Further, 25% already own crypto with another 27% saying they plan to invest this year.
● In October, Grayscale found that 55% of U.S. investors were interested in buying crypto. While Bitwise found 24% of financial advisers already owned BTC or some other crypto in a survey published in January.
Crypto Long & Short: Interest in DeFi Is Surging. You Can Thank GameStop
● This week’s congressional hearings, as well as the appearance of new institutional onramps, point to growing investor interest in a new type of capital market. The surge in the value of “anti-establishment” BTC, which broke $1 trillion this week, as well as of meme coins such as dogecoin, are to a large extent an extension of this. The lack of trust in the establishment’s judgment, and the visible weakening of its influence, make alternatives more viable.
● The GameStop drama awakened a greater interest in financial market plumbing, something that very few had bothered to care about before. When we see what looks like institutions trampling on the retail investor, we have questions. Few congressional hearings have been as eagerly followed as this one, in the hopes of getting answers and of seeing the beginning of change. This is happening at the same time as an explosion of interest and development in DeFi applications.
The United Arab Emirates chase crypto and blockchain adoption
● At a time when many countries are still struggling to formulate comprehensive strategies to adopt crypto-enabled technologies in a streamlined fashion — with some even looking to implement blanket bans — the UAE is seemingly laying the foundation for a digital ecosystem. The government-owned licensing firm Kiklabb allows clients to pay for their visa and trade license fees via various digital assets to the Dubai Financial Services Authority, which announced its decision to work on a holistic crypto regulatory framework as part of its 2021 business plan.
● As a result of Dubai’s crypto-friendly policies, Ripple, a firm that has recently been in murky waters with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, announced its decision to open an office in the region. Furthermore, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are reportedly working on a joint central bank digital currency research initiative that has been dubbed “Project Aber.”
MicroStrategy CEO says bitcoin will one day have $100 trillion market value even as price dives
● Even as the price of the digital coin fell more than 10% on Tuesday, MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor told CNBC on Tuesday he sees bitcoin’s market value reaching $100 trillion one day, a bold call predicting a 100 times increase.
● “As it marches toward $100 trillion, you’re going to see the growth rates fall, the volatility fall, and it’s going to be a stabilizing influence in the entire financial system of the 21st century,” said Saylor, whose company has been buying bitcoin since August.
In Nigeria, One Bitcoin Can Cost $68,000. Here’s Why.
● Bitcoin has already passed the $68,000 mark in Nigeria, but that’s if you use the official exchange rate. In emerging markets that are facing a currency crisis, bitcoin prices can actually shed light on the informal market for U.S. dollars.
● In Argentina, Latin American crypto exchange Bitso listed the bitcoin price at 8,700,993 Argentinian pesos on Friday, which converted to a whopping $98,000 using the official exchange rate, which was around 89 Argentine pesos per dollar. But bitcoin listings on exchanges like Bitso indicated the dollar was worth around 150 pesos, reflecting the informal going rate for the dollar. “This is mainly reflecting the difference between the informal U.S. dollar rate and the official one. The gap between the official and the informal dollar in Argentina is around 70%,” said Emiliano Limia, press officer at Argentine crypto exchange Buenbit.
Central Banks of China, UAE Join Hong Kong-Thailand CBDC Payments Project
● The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Bank of Thailand have announced the central banks of China and the United Arab Emirates are joining a project looking to use blockchain tech for regional payments. The “Multiple Central Bank Digital Currency Bridge” (m-CBDC) project will explore the capabilities of distributed ledger technology (DLT) through the development of a proof-of-concept (PoC) prototype, according to a joint statement Tuesday.
● Specifically, the central banks will explore the possibilities of DLT and CBDCs in facilitating cross-border, multi-currency, real-time payments. Under its new name, the m-CBDC Bridge will expand across more central banks, which will evaluate its feasibility on a pan-Asian and eventually wider basis.
1 billion people will store life savings on their phone in Bitcoin by 2026 — MicroStrategy CEO
● Bitcoin will be the savings method of choice for 1 billion people on their phones by 2026, MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor predicted. In an interview with CNBC on Feb. 23, Saylor, whose company owns in excess of 70,000 BTC, continued his public Bitcoin advocacy, calling it “the dominant digital monetary network.”
● He cited Bitcoin’s 12-year race to becoming a trillion-dollar asset — two to four times quicker than technology giants such as Amazon, Google and Apple. “So, the world needs this thing, and I think you can expect that we’ll have a billion people storing their value — in essence, a savings account — on a mobile device within five years, and they’re going to want to use something like Bitcoin.”
Ex-London Stock Exchange Chief Says UK Should Embrace Crypto Post-Brexit
● Xavier Rolet, the former CEO of the London Stock Exchange, has called on the U.K. government to position itself to capitalize on the cryptocurrency boom and attract the “best brains” to help prepare policies around the tech. The U.K. government needs to understand cryptocurrencies in order to place the City of London and the nation at the center of a “reputable and safe” financial market.
● Providing U.K. regulators can develop a shared global regulatory framework in conjunction with global central banks, “it is a good example of a policy area where [post-Brexit] independence allows us to be more agile.”
JPMorgan Carried Out ‘Nerdy’ Test of Blockchain Payments in Space, Exec Says
● Investment bank JPMorgan Chase has been testing blockchain payments between satellites in earth orbit, executives told Reuters on Wednesday. “The idea was to explore [internet of things] payments in a fully decentralized way,” Umar Farooq, CEO of the bank’s blockchain arm, Onyx, said. The blockchain team worked with Danish company GOMspace, which rents out the use of its satellites.
● The tests ultimately showed that blockchain technology could power payments between everyday objects, according to the bank. “Nowhere is more decentralized and detached from Earth than space. Secondly, we are nerdy and it was a much more fun way to test IoT,” said Farooq.
East Caribbean Central Bank Conducts ‘Milestone’ Retail Digital Currency Transaction
● The East Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has executed the first retail transaction for its “DCash” digital currency. The first transaction using “DCash” was conducted at a supermarket in Grenada on Feb. 12.
● “This transaction is a major milestone in our mission to place DCash in the hands of the people of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union. … We are now on the cusp of the public launch of DCash,” said Timothy Antoine, Governor of the ECCB. The public launch will see the roll out of DCash in four of the eight members of the East Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU): Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia.
Canadian Bank Launches Fiat-Backed Digital Currency in Claimed World First
● Canadian bank VersaBank has launched a stablecoin called VCAD that it plans for use in commerce. In an announcement Wednesday, the bank claims the Canadian-dollar linked VCAD is the first digital currency issued by and backed by deposits with a North American bank.
● “As North America’s first bank-issued ‘stablecoin’ VCAD offers consumers and businesses the ability to adopt and leverage the benefits of digital currency and blockchain-based assets without the volatility of traditional currencies, alongside the security of a value-backed asset that the cryptocurrency world has long demanded,” said David Taylor, president of VersaBank and its cybersecurity subsidiary, DRT Cyber.
Square Buys Another $170M in Bitcoin
● Ahead of its fourth-quarter earnings call Tuesday the payments firm announced it had purchased an additional 3,318 BTC as a reserve asset. Doing the math, that results in a per bitcoin purchase price of $51,235.70.
● Square has $4.4 billion in total cash and securities, so the $220 million it spent on bitcoin is only 5% of its total liquid assets at the end of the fourth quarter.
