Digital frictionNonfungible tokens (NFT) are having a moment. In recent weeks, notable investors Mark Cuban and Chamath Palihapitiya have signaled their growing interest in this corner of the crypto economy,…
Continue ReadingPurpose Investments CEO Som Seif, speaking on CoinDesk TV, said there have been measurable improvements made to the infrastructure supporting the crypto economy. In fact, he thinks it would have…
Continue ReadingBitmain’s appeal to recoup $30 million in alleged lost revenues from Poolin has been denied, Digital Currency Group has acquired a retail-focused exchange and Venezuelan officials appear to have blocked…
Continue ReadingEditor’s Note: Welcome to the year of the Ox. Blockchain Bites will not publish on President’s Day, Monday, Feb. 15. Three stories Bull market buzz The first bitcoin exchange-traded fund…
Continue ReadingThree trends 1. Crypto infrastructure is being laid down across the banking, tech and financial sectors. BNY Mellon, the world’s biggest custodian bank, will allow customers to custody crypto by…
Continue ReadingThree stories 1. Tesla caught a lucky break in announcing its $1.5 billion bitcoin purchase when it did. The auto giant is reportedly being investigated by Chinese authorities over safety…
Continue ReadingSound bites Nic Carter argued that comparing bitcoin’s energy consumption to Visa’s is missing the forest for the trees. Bitcoin isn’t just a payments network, but a self-contained monetary system…
Continue ReadingThree stories 1. Tesla invested $1.5 billion of its cash reserves in bitcoin, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission annual report. The popular auto manufacturer said bitcoin offers…
Continue ReadingThree stories The big news of today, in context. 1. The crypto-bank connection is strengthening. Seattle-based Protego Trust Bank has received conditional approval for a trust charter from the Office…
Continue ReadingThree stories 1. Qualified investors are plowing money into cryptocurrency-focused investment funds. Yesterday, macro trader Dan Tapiero, most known for his DTAP Capital fund and eye for gold, announced a…
Continue ReadingThree stories 1. Mining firms are benefiting from the market rally. California’s $441 billion public pension fund increased its stake in bitcoin miner Riot Blockchain (RIOT) nearly sevenfold while Ethereum…
Continue ReadingHappy Groundhog Day. Bitcoin is ticking up, though still rangebound. XRP continues to bleed after a semi-successful orchestrated pump. Exchange tokens are seemingly benefiting from GameStop-style gamesmanship. Three stories 1.…
Continue ReadingThree stories India’s Parliament is considering a bill that would ban “private,” non-sovereign currencies, including cryptocurrencies. This is the latest attack on the growing crypto industry in the country after…
Continue ReadingThree stories 1. Elon Musk changed his Twitter bio to #bitcoin and the crypto jumped 20%, to highs last seen on Jan. 19. The two events are not definitely connected.…
Continue ReadingThree stories 1. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. central bank will keep its policies loose. The Fed will maintain its current $120 billion per month bond-buying program…
Continue ReadingThree stories EY’s blockchain lead Paul Brody thinks decentralized finance (DeFi) could be coming to everyday consumers. The EY team usually focuses its attention on enterprise blockchain, but the red-hot…
Continue ReadingThree stories Overstock is looking to exit its blockchain-related investments, CoinDesk’s Tanzeel Akhtar reports. The online shopping giant that went in on crypto-hype will now spin out its blockchain-focused subsidiary,…
Continue ReadingEthereum’s and Chainklink’s native cryptocurrencies, ether and link, have set new record highs while bitcoin is in motion to recover losses from its worst week in at least five months.…
Continue ReadingAfter dropping 13% yesterday, bitcoin is once again on the ascent. Meanwhile, Janet Yellen has offered a more nuanced view of crypto and small Ethereum mining pools are organizing a…
Continue ReadingBitcoin fell to lows last seen on Jan. 11. Some analysts point to Treasury Security nominee Janet Yellen’s ominous “concern” over crypto as the reason for the sell-off. The recent…
Continue ReadingBitcoin shed a couple thousand dollars in overnight trading, while larger wallet addresses appear to be consolidating their holdings. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen said crypto is a “particular…
Continue ReadingEther reached new highs, more people than ever are “long bitcoin” and a debate over bitcoin’s energy consumption is raging. Top shelf Out of the ether?Ether (ETH), the native cryptocurrency…
Continue ReadingHappy Martin Luther King Jr. Day to our U.S. readers! A former Canadian prime minister said bitcoin could become a global reserve currency, Goldman Sachs is reportedly looking to get…
Continue ReadingBitcoin is in the red today, following yesterday evening’s announcement of President-elect Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan. Top shelf Stakeholders stakeThe bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) from ETC Group (recently…
Continue ReadingBitcoin is booming again as crypto-bull Brian Brooks pushes through his “open access” banking rules before stepping down as the top U.S. banking regulator. Top shelf Going public?The Winklevoss twins…
Continue ReadingHello. Analysts are reporting gloomy short-term projections for bitcoin as the U.S. Labor Department reports muted inflation over 2020. Here’s the story: Top shelf Institutional productsA new, physically backed bitcoin…
Continue ReadingBitcoin’s price is bouncing back, having found a floor of around $30,000 to stand on. Meanwhile, the number of active bitcoin addresses and transaction volumes has climbed above peaks set…
Continue ReadingBitcoin shaved off a clean 20% in trading early Monday, having failed to establish itself above $40,000. The index of all the crypto assets came down with it, with analysts…
Continue ReadingRipple tried to settle with the SEC before the watchdog’s XRP-related lawsuit. The “bitcoin rich list” has more names than ever. Grayscale reports an uptick in interest from pension funds…
Continue ReadingOne bitcoin is now worth more than $39,000 as the value of all cryptos passes $1 trillion. Top shelf Institutions are buyingThe Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) is now the largest…
Continue ReadingGood afternoon, readers: Bitcoin hit a fresh all-time high above $35,000 while former Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler lost her U.S. Senate seat. Meanwhile, a major Ripple investor filed suit against…
Continue ReadingHello. A late night interpretative letter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the U.S.’ federal banking regulator, saying banks can act as stablecoin nodes was the…
Continue ReadingBitcoin topped $34,000 for the first time this weekend and has since seen a double-digital correction in price. The cryptocurrency’s most recent rally came as the Bitcoin network celebrated its…
Continue ReadingHey, what a week. Coinbase sent a signal of its intent to go public. Block.one revealed it has more than its purported 140,000 BTC war chest. And bitcoin is still…
Continue ReadingBitcoin is on a tear, bring the rest of the crypto market with it. Years of heads down building during the bear market is beginning to pay off – and…
Continue ReadingIt’s a good day to be a bitcoiner. The top cryptocurrency by market cap officially crossed the $20,000 level, according to CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index. Top shelf Hedge trimmings?Ruffer, a…
Continue ReadingHi, all. Today we look at the global perspective: Latin America’s booming crypto sector, Israeli’s DeFi scene and how whales from around the world drive market changes. Top shelf Capear…
Continue ReadingHappy Monday. Or maybe not so happy, if you were depending on Google for your job. Here are our top stories today…. Top shelf The Amazon of DeFi?That’s what Yearn…
Continue ReadingThere are more bitcoin “whales” than ever, and new data shows how they drive market movements. MassMutual is the latest legacy institution to buy into bitcoin. And the number of…
Continue ReadingU.S. lawmakers are asking the nation’s financial guardians to clarify custodianship questions. France is looking to eliminate anonymity in the crypto sector. And an exposé into how FinCEN became a…
Continue Reading