Digital Assets
Digital assets are about more than just Bitcoin. The global adoption of blockchain, expansion of cross-border payments, new investment vehicles tied to intellectual property, and more, could one day establish a global market of digitized assets worth $50 trillion. This channel provides access to the latest developments, opportunities, risks, and thought leaders in the growing Digital Assets space.
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Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) has launched its Crypto app in the European Union (EU), allowing eligible customers to engage in crypto trading with the added incentive of earning Bitcoin rewards. Customers stand to receive up to 1 BTC as a reward when signing up and can earn an additional 1 BTC for each successful referral. The platform claims to be the sole custodial crypto platform in the EU offering customers a percentage of their trading volume back every month, paid in Bitcoin.
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More Stories on Digital Assets
Digital Assets: Grayscale Launches Solana Trust, Protests SEC Rejection Of VanEck Spot Bitcoin ETF
Grayscale Investments announced Tuesday the launch of the Grayscale Solana Trust to provide investors with exposure to Solana (SOL), the native token of the Solana network, a smart contract platform based on a decentralized blockchain that is claimed to be the fastest in the world. The firm has also written to the SEC protesting the regulator’s rejection of spot bitcoin ETFs.
Digital Assets: MicroStrategy’s Saylor, El Salvador’s Bukele Both Buy The Bitcoin Dip
Path-breaking corporate bitcoin investor MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) said in a filing Monday that it purchased approximately 7,002 bitcoins for about $414.4 million in cash, or $59,187 per coin, between October 1 and November 29 – a classic ‘buy-the-dip’ operation as financial markets reel from the implications of a new, highly mutated virus.
Digital Assets: India To Clamp Down On Cryptocurrencies Via Legislation By Year-End
The legislative agenda for the upcoming winter session of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament, shows that a bill titled “The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021” would be introduced for consideration of the house. The Winter session of the Lok Sabha is scheduled to run from November 29 through December 23.
Digital Assets: IMF To El Salvador – “Bitcoin Should Not Be Used As Legal Tender”
IMF staff that visited El Salvador on an official ‘mission’ have issued a report dated November 22, 2021 describing their preliminary findings. The report said the Salvadorean economy faced certain key risks to its economic outlook including a resurgence of the pandemic worldwide, further increases in borrowing costs due to the tightening of financial conditions, and unaddressed regulatory and supervisory gaps related to the use of Bitcoin.
Venture Capital: MoonPay’s $555M Series ‘A’ Is The Largest For A Bootstrapped Crypto Company Globally
MoonPay, which refers to itself as the PayPal for crypto, announced its massive Series A of $555 million led by Tiger Global Management and Coatue with participation from Blossom Capital, Thrive Capital, Paradigm, and NEA. The hitherto bootstrapped startup, which is already profitable, secured a valuation of $3.4 billion in the round. The company sets up the interfaces between fiat channels of finance and crypto entities – a so-called “fiat to crypto on-ramp.”
Digital Assets: Jack Dorsey’s Square Proposes Decentralized Bitcoin Exchange tbDEX (Whitepaper)
Bitcoin’s creator’s vision was for an economy that allowed all participants to freely transact their business without the need for trusted intermediaries. TBD announced today a whitepaper setting out their vision for taking bitcoin to the next level in the global economy facilitating decentralized finance.
Digital Assets: Bitcoin Mauled, Fear Slays Greed, Mt. Gox Dump Looms
Even seasoned bitcoin bulls appear to be unnerved by the crypto’s dramatic plunge from its all-time-high above $69,000 to a low of $55,666 today. Though bitcoin is known for its roller-coaster like moves and intense volatiliy, its near-20% plunge in a matter of days had crypto-naysayers calling a bear market, and forecasting a bitcoin ‘winter.’
Digital Assets: Collector Car Auctioneer RM Sotheby’s To Accept Cryptos
RM Sotheby’s announced Wednesday it will accept cryptocurrency payments via BitPay, the world’s largest provider of bitcoin and crypto payment services. The auction house said the move would allow it to access new business by tapping into the crypto marketplace. The BitPay payment system at RM Sotheby’s will commence for the first time at the Guikas Collection sale on November 19, said to be one of the most significant offerings of sports and competition cars to be ever offered at auction.
Alternative Investments/AI: Global X Launches Seven New “Paradigm Shift” ETFs In Europe
ETF provider Global X ETFs announced today its launch of seven new UCITS ETFs in Europe that would trade on the London Stock Exchange and Xetra. The seven new ETFs complement Global X’s existing five thematic UCITS ETFs launched after Global X entered Europe in December 2020. The new ETFs center around disruptive, digital transformation around the world.
Alternative Investments/Digital: ETC and HANetf Launch ETF For Digital Assets And Blockchain
The proposed ETC Group Digital Assets & Blockchain Equity UCITS ETF (KOIN) from long-time collaborators ETC Group and HANetf will offer thematic exposure to companies active in the digital assets and blockchain system.
Digital Assets: Magnum Offers New York City Condos For $29M (Bitcoin Only Accepted)
In a sign of the times, Magnum Real Estate Group is offering a set of retail condos worth $29 million for payment against bitcoin only, a first for commercial property in the Big Apple. The condos, covering 9,000 square feet, are in a newly constructed luxury residential building with the bottom floor already leased fully to ProHealth, Mighty Pita and M&T Bank. The proposed sale shows the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies, fanning out from coffee and cars and into condos.
Alternative Investments: Amplify Plans ETF Targeting ‘Inflation Beneficiaries’ Including Cryptos
Amplify ETFs has filed for the launch of the Amplify Enhanced Inflation Beneficiaries ETF, which will provide investors exposure to businesses that benefit from inflationary pressures, such as companies whose revenues are expected to increase with rising consumer demand for land, increased rental income or higher raw-materials prices.
Digital Assets: Crypto-Native VC Firm Paradigm Launches $2.5B Fund
Investment firm Paradigm believes that while the internet set the stage for innovation in the previous decades, crypto will define the next few ones. Accordingly, it invests in promising crypto companies, protocols and currencies of tomorrow. Its humongous new $2.5 billion venture fund, announced Monday, will invest in next-gen crypto companies and protocols, alongside the existing flagship fund.
Digital Assets: Marathon Digital To Raise $500M Debt To Fund Mining Rigs And Bitcoin
Marathon Digital (NASDAQ: MARA) announced today plans to offer convertible senior notes amounting $500 million to qualified institutional buyers in a private offering. The crypto mining company said it intended to use the net proceeds from the offering for corporate purposes including to acquire bitcoin, or bitcoin mining machines. The notes will be due 2026 and will accrue interest payable semi-annually in arrears.
Digital Assets: The SEC Turns Down VanEck’s Application For A Spot Bitcoin ETF
On Friday, the SEC gave a thumbs-down signal to a spot bitcoin ETF from VanEck. The regulator told the Cboe BZX exchange that its filing for a proposed rule change to list the VanEck ETF did not meet “its burden under the Exchange Act and the Commission’s Rules of Practice to demonstrate that its proposal is consistent with the requirements of Exchange Act Section 6 (b) (5).”
Digital Assets: JD.com Accepts China’s CBDC On Singles Day
Singles Day is the biggest shopping event in the world, and the move by JD.com (NASDAQ: JD) to accept the e-CNY as payment for purchases on its platform shows how advanced China’s trialling of its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is. Clearly the authorities want to test out the e-CNY in a large-scale transaction environment.
Digital Assets: US Inflation Hits Record; So Do Bitcoin And Ether
Bitcoin and ether rocketed to new all-time highs on Tuesday after the release of October inflation data. Figures from the US Labor Department showed that in October consumers were hit by high prices in a host of everyday products, propelling the Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation, to jump the most in 30 years.
Alternative Investments/Digital: New ETF From Tuttle Capital Bets Against Cathie Wood And Ark
The Tuttle Capital Short Innovation ETF (NASDAQ: SARK), which started for trading Tuesday, takes a contrarian view on famed stock picker and fund manager Cathie Wood’s flagship fund – the ARK Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA: ARKK). The new ETF, a type of fund also known as a “short” or “inverse” ETF, is actively managed and is structured to achieve the inverse of the return of the ARK ETF in a single day.
Alternative Investments/FinTech: Grayscale Files To Launch “Future Of Finance” Equity ETF
Grayscale Investments LLC filed Friday with the SEC for the Future of Finance ETF (GFOF), an ETF product focused on companies involved in the advancement of the digital economy. The new ETF would be sub-advised by Vident Investment Advisory, and US Bank would function as custodian.
Digital Assets: Bitcoin, Other Cryptos Hit All Time Highs
Both bitcoin and ether cryptos hit new record highs on Tuesday amid rising appetite for risk assets following a dovish Fed. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, reached a fresh high of $68,521 on Tuesday, while ether scaled a new peak of $4840. (CNBC) As this is being written, bitcoin is trading at $67,485, up over 2.5%…
Digital Assets: More Than 50 Investors Own Sygnum’s Art Security Tokens For Picasso’s Fillette au béret Painting
In July it was reported that fans of Pablo Picasso could pay up to $6,000 (CHF5,500) to own a part of Fillette au béret (Young girl with a beret), the famous work by the painter valued at approximately CHF4 million ($4.35 million). In a landmark effort, Swiss Bank Sygnum partnered with art investment company Artemundi to “sell” the painting by tokenizing it on the blockchain. That subscription has now closed and Sygnum revealed last month that more than 50 investors are co-owners of the painting by virture of holding the tokens representing its fractional ownership. (SYGNUM)
Digital Assets: Kroger Thwarts Likely Pump-and-Dump Fraud Notice On Bitcoin Cash
Store chain Kroger (NYSE: KR) has denied that it issued a press release announcing the acceptance of bitcoin cash at its stores. The fake release apparently originated at PR Newswire, and was automatically updated into Kroger’s investor relations page. This is the second such case involving a retail chain and a crypto-related pump-and-dump case.
Digital Assets: Coinbase Users Can Borrow Upto $1M Against Bitcoin Holdings
The move by Coinbase will add to the liquidity allure of investing in bitcoin. Global cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) announced in a tweet today that it would allow users to borrow against their bitcoin. (Bitcoin.com) “Big news for the #BTC set … We’re excited to announce that eligible customers can now borrow up to…