
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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Chase U.K. is set to block crypto-related payments starting October 16, with customers no longer able to make such transactions using debit cards or outgoing bank transfers. In an email to its customers, Chase made it clear that any attempts to make payments associated with crypto assets would be declined. Customers were advised that they are free to explore alternative banks or providers if they wish to invest in cryptocurrencies.
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More Stories on Digital Assets
Digital Assets: Onchain Custodian Announces Collaboration with Trading Platform CyberBank
Onchain Custodian, which is a digital asset custody provider backed by Sequoia Capital, Fosun, and DHVC Capital, will provide secure and insured custody to CyberBank for its digital assets.
Digital Assets: Indian Crypto Exchange CoinDCX Appoints BitGo As Custodian
CoinDCX, which claims to be India’s largest and safest crypto exchange and liquidity aggregator, will entrust its crypto assets to the custody of U.S.-based BitGo. It may be noted that BitGo has in place a US$100 million insurance policy coverage for crypto assets provided by a syndicate of insurers in the Lloyd’s of London and European Marketplace.
Digital Assets: Powell Hints at Additional Fiscal Support; Bitcoin to Gain
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spooked the markets when he came out Wednesday with a highly pessimistic outlook on the pandemic-struck U.S. economy. He said that additional stimulus would be perhaps needed because of “significant downside risks.” The Fed chief’s view, if implemented, could prove bullish for an anti-fiat, non-correlated asset such as bitcoin.
Digital Assets: Crypto Hedge Funds Doubled Assets under Management in 2019 (Report)
PwC and Elwood Asset Management Services used data from the largest global crypto hedge funds to compile the report.
Assets under management (AUM) at cryptocurrency hedge funds doubled from $1 billion in 2018 to $2 billion in 2019, while average assets under management expanded from $21.9 million to $44 million, said the report. Median AuM increased from US$4.3 million to US$8.2 million.
Digital Assets: Bitcoin Halving Done; JP Morgan is Banker to Coinbase, Gemini Digital Exchanges
The Bitcoin blockchain completed its third halving on May 11, 2020, at about 3:21 pm EST.
Bitcoin miners will now get 6.25 BTC per block, down from 12.50 BTC per block before halving. The halving happened earlier than expected, with most expectations for it to take place on May 12, 2020.
Post-halving, Bitcoin has fluctuated between $8,450 and $8,950 and is currently trading at $8,913.
Digital Assets: Mashinsky’s DeFi Platform Celsius Adds Tokenized Bullion via Tether Gold
Alex Mashinsky is best known as the inventor of VoIP, which over a billion people worldwide use to make free calls over the Internet. He is also the chief executive of Celsius Network, a community-based Proof-of-Stake blockchain protocol that allows members to borrow dollars against crypto-assets and to earn interest when they deposit and lend their crypto out. He spoke to COIN TELEGRAPH about the recent introduction of Tether Gold (XAUT) on the Celsius platform.
Digital Assets: Paul Tudor Jones to CNBC on Bitcoin: “It’s a Great Speculation”
Paul Tudor Jones, the founder, and chief executive at Tudor Investment Corp. told CNBC that Wall Street could be having a grandstand seat at the historic “birthing of a store of value” in bitcoin. The storied investor trashed fiat currencies for the destruction in their purchasing power due to incessant money printing by central banks.
Digital Assets: Bitcoin Nudges the $10,000 Mark, Fans Bullish Targets
On Thursday, Bitcoin briefly flirted with the $10,000 mark. That’s a very fast rebound from the massive sell-off Bitcoin suffered in March due to the impact of the coronavirus. At the time, it touched a low of $4,017, in what appears in hindsight to be a mouth-watering price. It is now trading at $9,850, showing an appreciation of 145%. According to Coindesk, high volume buying on spot exchanges such as Coinbase triggered the crypto’s lunge at $10,000.
Digital Assets: Franklin Templeton Snaps up Digital Wealth Leader AdvisorEngine
Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE: BEN], a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton, has acquired AdvisorEngine Inc. AdvisorEngine is a digital wealth platform and provider of technology and consulting services to more than 1,200 financial advisory firms. These firms manage over $600 billion in assets.
Digital Assets: Bitcoin, the First-Born Crypto, is Highly Bullish (Bloomberg Report)
The Bloomberg Crypto Outlook, May 2020 edition, issued by Bloomberg Senior Commodity Strategist Mike Mcglone, is unreservedly bullish on the prospects of Bitcoin. The “firstborn cryptocurrency” seems to be firing on all cylinders, being supported by favorable supply, demand, and macroeconomics.
Digital Assets: Bitcoin Rallies as Halving Approaches
With halving now just a week away, is BTC repeating the script from its previous two halvings? On both the two previous occasions, bitcoin enjoyed sharp rallies post the halving event, though, in 2016, there was a dip before the rally commenced.
Digital Assets: Gold-backed Tokens Provider Cache Ties With Onchain Custodian
Cache Private Limited is licensed under Singapore’s Ministry of Law under the Precious Stones and Precious Metals Dealers (Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing) Act (PSPM Act) of 2019. The provider of fully-redeemable digital assets backed by gold has tied up for a custody solution with digital assets custody service provider Onchain Custodian Private Limited.
Digital Assets: Andreessen Horowitz Raises $515M for its Crypto Fund II
Andreessen Horowitz, the hallowed venture capital firm from Silicon Valley, has pulled off a coup by raising $515 million for its second crypto-facing fund. The fund will invest in late-stage networks, payment blockchains as well as decentralized finance (deFi) initiatives.
Digital Assets: Nasdaq and R3 Collaborate to Offer Blockchain-based Digital Marketplaces
US exchange operator Nasdaq, which embraced the blockchain as early as 2010, has tied up with R3 for building full lifecycle solutions for digital assets market places. Nasdaq will utilize R3’s enterprise blockchain software Corda, and its professional services and support for the purpose.
Digital Assets: Hong Kong’s SFC Greenlights Arrano’s Bitcoin-tracking Fund
Founded in 2019, Arrano Capital is the blockchain arm of Venture Smart Asia Limited. On April 20, Venture Smart Asia got the approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to launch the territory’s first regulated virtual-assets fund. The approval let Arrano Capital set up its bitcoin tracking fund, one that could invest 100% in virtual assets.
Digital Assets: Which of Debt, Equity, or Digital is Best to Hold in a Recession?
Whereas the value of stocks and bonds has declined due to the coronavirus pandemic, digital assets have not fundamentally lost value, says Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer at Arca. Further, investors are beginning to think more about the “return of capital” than “return on capital,” writes Dorman in an article titled “Digital Assets Are More Recession-Proof Than You Might Think.”
Digital Assets: IBM Creates Blockchain Platform to Onboard New Suppliers for COVID-19
As the coronavirus pandemic rolls across the globe it has created a severe shortage of supplies such as masks, gowns, sanitizers, test kits, gloves, ventilators, thermal scanners, consumables, and medicines. The huge unmet demand has attracted many new suppliers who have shifted from their usual line of business to make and/or supply these products for COVID-19. IBM (NYSE: IBM) has established a blockchain-based platform to bring these new suppliers and COVID-19 buyers together.
Digital Assets: Crypto Lender dYdX Sees Sharp Spike in Business Due to Virus
Coronavirus-related market volatility lent a huge boost to the lending activity of crypto lender dYdX. About 70% of the total amount of $ 1.14 billion which it lent over the past 12 months was borrowed during the virus-stricken months of February and March.
Digital Assets: Crypto.com Now Adds USD Fiat Withdrawals via Bank Transfers
Crypto.com users can withdraw USD from their App by selling crypto to their USD fiat wallet and transferring USD funds from this wallet to their U.S. bank account(s) on the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network. This is a frequently requested feature that further strengthens the utility of the Crypto.com platform,” the cryptocurrency company wrote in a blog.
Digital Assets: The Winklevoss-owned Gemini Exchange Gets Security Certification
The Winklevoss Brothers’ Gemini Custody and Exchange announced that it successfully completed the AICPA’s SOC 1 Type 1 examination, which covers the financial operations and customer reporting controls of the exchange and Gemini Custody.™
Digital Assets: StakedWallet Alleged to be Re-run of a Former Ponzi Scam
In a post in Medium, Jan Kowalski, a self-proclaimed hater of scammers, warns the unwary of the old chestnut: “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Kowalski writes about a very cool website called StakedWallet which promises returns of 1.5% daily on investments. Unfortunately, it bears an unholy resemblance to a previous Ponzi scheme and scam.
Digital Assets: Investors Bid up Privacy-Focused Digital Assets in 2019 Says eToro Report
Investors are putting a premium on digital assets that are focused on privacy according to the latest crypto report from eToro and The Tie. The report named digital tokens Zcash (ZEC) and Monero (XMR) that outperformed bitcoin during 2019, and continue to do so in Q1 of 2020.
Digital Assets: CZ Says QE Will Impact BTC Few Months Down the Line
Changpeng Zhao (CZ), chief executive and founder of leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance, spoke on the prospects of bitcoin (BTC) amidst the coronavirus. He was speaking at the Virtual Blockchain Conference BlockDown 2020 being held in response to the pandemic between April 16 – 17.
Digital Assets: China’s Virtual Currency To be Tested in Mobile App
The Agriculture Bank of China is making available a new mobile app to a select group of users. It appears to be downloadable from a website link (currently down) provided by the Bank. According to a report, the bank is perhaps launching a test run for the country’s virtual currency. It is also known as a central bank digital currency (CBDC), or in China, as DCEP.