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: Hackers Attack Cybersecurity Firm FireEye And Electronics Giant FoxConn
A Mexican office of Foxconn Technology Co Ltd (TPE: 2354), the electronics behemoth that makes products for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was the victim of a cybersecurity attack on November 29. According to Bleeping Computer, the ransomware attack was mounted on Foxconn’s Mexican branch by the Doppelpaymer gang.
Digital Assets: MicroStrategy Borrowing $400M To Bump Up Bitcoin Bet
MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), the listed business intelligence company that pioneered corporate treasury investing in bitcoin, announced an issue of $400 million aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2025 in a private offering to qualified institutional buyers. The company will invest the net proceeds of the issue in bitcoin, it said on Monday.
Digital Assets: BISON, The Crypto App Of Boerse Stuttgart, Hits Record Volumes
In another sign of the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies, Boerse Stuttgart announced Monday that Bison, its crypto trading app had clocked, year to date, a total trading volume of € 1 billion (over $ 1.2 billion).
It said that active users of the Bison trading app had surged by 180% to 206,000 in the same period. Also, during November, the app scaled daily record trading volumes on several days during the month, even exceeding € 35 million.
Digital Assets: HAIC I, The New Crypto Fund From A German Private Bank Targets Institutions
German private bank Hauck & Aufhäuser Privatbankiers AG will soon provide investors the opportunity to obtain long-term exposure to leading, large-cap cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, ether, and stellar. The bank’s digital asset-focused investment arm, Hauck & Aufhäuser Innovative Capital (HAIC), obtained a BaFin license as a registered asset manager on September 30. The bank has a tie-up for crypto custody services with Kapilendo AG, also licensed by BaFin. HAIC and Kapilendo are floating the HAIC Digital Asset Fund I in January 2021 with a focus on institutional investors.
Digital Assets: Ultimate Validation? S&P Dow Jones To Launch Crypto Indexes In 2021
S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) and Lukka, the New York City-based crypto-asset software and data company, are partnering to launch S&P DJI-branded and customized indexing and benchmarking solutions for global cryptocurrency assets. Lukka will provide its proprietary crypto asset pricing data.
Digital Assets: “The Real Story Is Adoption,” Says Novogratz On Bitcoin
Speaking Tuesday on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, said large investors appeared to be switching their gold holdings to bitcoin, judging from the outflows seen recently in the yellow metal. Meanwhile, the leading cryptocurrency touched an all time high on Tuesday.
Alternative Investments/Digital Assets: Bitcoin Scales New All Time High; Draws New 5- and 6-Figure Targets
Bitcoin momentously broke its 2017 high on Monday, recording a new one at $19,864.15. This had all the crypto evangelists out in full force, insisting the bull market in the leading crypto was now well and truly in place.
As expected, more lofty targets were trotted out – one at $50,000, the other at $500,000.
Digital Assets: Shares In Listed Crypto Mining Companies Enjoy Rub-Off Effect From Bitcoin’s ATH
Bitcoin mining companies Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT), Marathon Patent Group (NASDAQ: MARA) and Canaan Inc ADR (NASDAQ: CAN) all posted massive gains during the month of November following bitcoin’s rise to a new all-time high (ATH) on Monday.
Digital Assets: Guggenheim, Another Feather In Bitcoin’s Cap
Last week, a filing by Guggenheim Funds said its “Guggenheim Macro Opportunities Fund may seek investment exposure to bitcoin indirectly through investing up to 10% of its net asset value in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, a privately offered investment vehicle that invests in bitcoin.”
Digital Assets: Japanese Financial Group SBI Launches Crypto Lending
SBI Group (TYO: 8473) is launching a crypto lending service through SBI VC Trade, its crypto-focused exchange subsidiary. SBI said it will initially allow customers to tender only bitcoin (BTC), but intended to follow up with XRP and ETH lending too.
Digital Assets: Two Patents By Ciphertrace Cover Forensic Tracing Of Monero
Criminals using the supposedly untraceable, secure, and private digital currency may not be able to avoid the long arm of the law.
Ciphertrace, a crypto-intelligence company, announced Friday that it had filed two patents for the forensic investigation and tracing of the Monero (XMR) privacy coin.
Digital Assets: Corporate Hoard Of Bitcoin Is Now In Excess Of $15B
According to Clark Moody Bitcoin Dashboard, corporate treasuries hold 842,229 bitcoin valued at $15.8 billion and representing 4.54% of the current supply. That quantity is also confirmed by Bitcoin Treasuries.
Digital Assets: Banking-As-A-Service Provider ClearBank To Partner Gemini For U.K. Banking
Leading crypto exchange and custodian Gemini has engaged ClearBank, the cloud-based clearing bank, to provide banking services in the UK. Gemini has rolled out its trading and custody services in the UK after receiving an Electronic Money Institution license from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) last month.
Digital Assets: Is Crypto Adoption Breaking Out?
Novogratz of Galaxy Digital fame, who is also a noted crypto evangelist, recently said on Twitter that the “network effect” might have caught up with bitcoin. He assigned a target of $65,000 for the cryptocurrency.
Here’s a look at recent, interesting developments surrounding crypto and bitcoin that suggest Novogratz might be on point.
Digital Assets: Singapore’s Propine And Skyhook Capital Tie Up For Institutional Digital Business
Singapore-based Skyhook Capital’s “Digital Assets Wealth Network” or Skyhook DAWN™, offers a “total solution” for business integration of digital securities into conventional investment product distribution channels. Propine is Singapore’s first independent and regulated digital asset custodian.
Alternative Investments/Digital Assets: Bitcoin Perma-Bull Mike Novogratz Is On A Roll
The Galaxy Digital boss sees bitcoin at $65,000.
The “network effect” has taken bitcoin over, says Novogratz. In a nutshell, the network effect is a rapid improvement in the value of an asset or service because of its adoption by an increasing number of people. As this is being written, bitcoin is hovering around $17,000. The cryptocurrency is in a bull grip, having risen from a March low of $3,966 to today’s (and 52-week) high of $17,092.
Digital Assets: Why Citi Sees Bitcoin At $318K By December 2021
Fitzpatrick is also the global head of the award-winning CitiFXTechnicals product within the G10 FX business. In a report addressed to Citi’s (NYSE: C) institutional clients, he dubbed bitcoin as the new gold. He also went on to assign a ‘hold-your-breath’ price target of $318,000 for the cryptocurrency by the end of 2021.
Alternative Investments/AI: A New “Disruptively Themed” Index From Goldman Sachs And Solactive
In August, Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) announced that its trustees had approved the merger of five thematic ETFs into a single fund – the Goldman Sachs Innovate Equity ETF (NYSEARCA: GINN) – on an equal-weighted basis in a single ticker solution.
Digital Assets: Belarusbank Trying To Tiptoe Around Sanctions With New Crypto Exchange Service
Belarus is joining the ranks of countries such as Venezuela, Iran, and Turkey that are facing economic pressures, from sanctions or otherwise, and taking recourse to cryptocurrencies. Belarus is burdened by EU sanctions against its officials and president Alexander Lukashenko. The country’s biggest bank, state-owned Belarusbank is offering to transact cryptocurrencies using Visa payment cards.
Artificial Intelligence: Vaiot, IBM’s Watson, And Cosmos Combine To Sell Car Insurance
. Enterprise AI developer VAIOT has integrated AI using IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) Watson Assistant to sell car insurance via an app and record the contracts on the Cosmos blockchain.
Venture Capital: Another Big Ticket Deal in CyberSecurity – Menlo Raises $100M
Menlo Security, which is based in Mountain View, California, announced its fundraising of $ 100 million led by Vista Equity Partners. Neuberger Berman, General Catalyst, JP Morgan, and other existing investors also participated in the Series E round. The round valued it at $800 million.
Digital Assets: Blockchain And AI Combine To Optimize Car Parking In Munich
Cambridge-based AI lab Fetch.ai and enterprise blockchain solutions provider Datarella announced trials of M-ZONE, their smart city zoning infrastructure. The project will utilize multi-agent blockchain-based AI digitization services to unlock data and provide smart mobility solutions around commercial real estate in the city center.
Venture Capital: A Big Fundraise, And An Acquisition, In Cybersecurity
SentinelOne announced Wednesday its Series F raise of $267 million in a round led by Tiger Global Management, with participation from Sequoia Capital Global Equities and existing investors including Insight Partners and Third Point Ventures. The same day, Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: PANW) announced its agreement to acquire Expanse Inc for approximately $ 800 million.