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: Russian Blockchain-based Trade Finance Platform Factorin Clocks $500M Turnover
In its first year, Factorin, a Russian blockchain-based trade finance platform has processed 246,000 invoices and supplies and chalked up a transaction turnover above $ 500 million. 30 banking organizations and factoring companies are already on-board the platform, and numerous small and medium-sized businesses are grateful customers.
Digital Assets: Bloomberg’s Bitcoin Analysis – $20K in 2020
Bloomberg analyst Mike McGlone sticks with his bullish stance on bitcoin, the ‘first-born’ cryptocurrency, calling it a “resting bull.” McGlone’s analysis in the June 2020 Edition of the Bloomberg Crypto Outlook colors both gold and bitcoin (BTC) in the same bullish hues. “The metal and the crypto remain our top candidates to advance in 2020, with added rally fuel from Covid-19,” writes McGlone.
Digital Assets: 2020 A Gravy Train for Crypto Bad Actors; $1.36B Siphoned in Five Months
CipherTrace’s latest report, “Cryptocurrency Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Report, Spring 2020,” claims that crypto-crimes during the first five months of 2020 netted their perpetrators $1.36 billion. At this rate, 2020 could well achieve the dubious distinction of recording the second-highest value in crypto crimes ever recorded. In 2019, crypto-criminals made off with $4.5 billion.
Digital Assets: BEQUANT Platform To Launch Crypto Prime Brokerage on OKEx Exchange
In a bid to expand its institutional client base, BEQUANT, the UK-based digital asset solutions provider recently introduced its prime broking services. The service is intended to provide institutions with easier access to liquidity, custody, lending, and other products in the crypto space. BEQUANT has now announced its tie-up with cryptocurrency marketplace OKEx for the launch of its prime brokerage service.
Digital Assets: China Merchants Aims To Be the First Blockchain-Powered Port in the World
China Merchant’s Port (HKG: 0144), the country’s largest port operator, is collaborating with Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA), and its subsidiary, Ant Financial to develop a distributed ledger technology (DLT), or blockchain platform.
Digital Assets: Goldman Pans Bitcoin; Crypto Community Up in Arms
Crypto fans have not taken kindly to a Goldman Sachs presentation that fired potshots at bitcoin.
The offending presentation from Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has sparked a raging controversy for its remarks against bitcoin. Luminaries from the crypto world took to Twitter and the media to lambast “the vampire squid” for its observations.
Digital Assets: COVID-19 Lockdowns Boosted Crypto Demand at Revolut
Revolut, the digital challenger bank that allows crypto trading, revealed data on cryptocurrency trading on its app during the COVID lockdown. Over 3 million customers in the UK use Revolut’s cryptocurrency trading service. Analysis of the data from the neo bank shows up interesting insights on cryptocurrency adoption and the effect of virus lockdowns on…
Digital Assets: Bitcoin Suisse offers 24/7 Trading in Precious Metals Alongside Cryptos
Swiss cryptocurrency financial services company Bitcoin Suisse has made yet another move towards expanding the range of products that can be traded on its platform. On April 29 it announced trading with fiat currencies. On Tuesday it followed up with the announcement that it now permitted precious metals trading against the top cryptocurrencies.
Digital Assets: In India, RBI Confirms No Ban on Crypto; CoinDCX Raises $2.5M; Crypto Volumes Fly
The Reserve Bank of India, the Indian central bank, confirmed that there currently exists no banking ban on the crypto industry in India. CoinDCX, India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, gained a strategic investment of $2.5 million that was led by Polychain Capital with participation from Coinbase Ventures. Meanwhile, Indian crypto exchanges have benefited from the lockdowns imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The crypto sector benefiting from a huge surge in interest, trading volumes, and new user signups during the lockdowns.
Digital Assets: The Texas Grid Pays Thiel-backed Layer1 to not Mine Cryptos in August
Layer1, the bitcoin miner backed by the likes of top-flight VC Peter Thiel and early-stage investor Shasta Ventures, based its operations in west Texas to take advantage of cheap power. Wind energy and natural gas combine to make the cost of power here the cheapest in the world. But for Layer1, there’s icing on this cake. It gets paid $17 million annually to not draw power when the grid needs it most.
Digital Assets: Crypto Adoption Growing Apace – CoinPayments Ties Up with Shopify
Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) has added another crypto payment processor to its retinue of digital platforms facilitating crypto payments. It entered a strategic partnership with CoinPayments, the world’s largest cryptocurrency payments processor.
Digital Assets: Now Buy Prepaid Tezos Cryptocards at 10,000 French Retail Shops
After Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple’s XRP, Litecoin, and Dash, French startup Digycode has added Tezos (XTZ) to its lineup of cryptocurrency prepaid vouchers purchasable at tobacco shops across France. Digycode has partnered for this purpose with Nomadic Labs, which contributes to the development of the Tezos core software.
Digital Assets: Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust is Mopping up Bitcoin
The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTCMKTS: GBTC) is amassing bitcoin on an impressive scale. The trust, which is heavily patronised by institutions, added 60,762 bitcoin to its stocks between February 7 and May 17. That works out to a daily average acquisition of 607 bitcoin during those 100 days.
Digital Assets: Cryptobuyer-Mega Soft Tie-up to Allow Venezuelans the Use of Cryptos
Panamanian crypto exchange Cryptobuyer has tied up with Venezuelan local payments processor Mega Soft to enable the use of bitcoin by shoppers at Venezuela’s biggest retail chains. Starting June, more than 20,000 point-of-sale (PoS) located throughout Venezuela will accept bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in payment for shoppers’ purchases of goods and services.
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.