Biz Builder Mike

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digital currency

Ripple becomes tidal wave, leads weekend pump and notches legal victories

Amid a weekend pump carrying multiple cryptocurrencies higher, Ripple’s XRP looks to be leading the way with a push as high as 30% on the daily — carried on the back of a string of legal victories and rumors of relisting at some exchanges. 

Where Bitcoin and Ethereum are up merely 2.7% and 3.4% respectively on the day, XRP climbed to $1.36 before retreating to $1.32, where it sits at the time of publication. The digital currency is now up 111% on a 7 day basis, and a staggering 544% on the year. The recent push has also buoyed XRP back into the top 10 cryptocurrencies by marketcap, behind only BTC, ETH, and BNB at #4.

The rally flies in the face of a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which charges that XRP’s $1.3 billion ICO was an “unregistered securities offering.” The news led multiple exchanges to delist the currency, and XRP lost its place as the 3rd largest currency by marketcap, at time looking as if it would even fall out of the top ten. 

The bad news for XRP didn’t stop with the SEC, either. In March Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced that the company would be “winding down” its relationship with Moneygram — a once highly-touted partnership that investors often pointed to as proof of the digital currency being on a path towards becoming “the standard” for payments and settlement.

Despite the deluge of negative headlines, it appears all buyers needed was a small ray of hope to jump back in — and they’ve gotten exactly that. Ripple lawyers have notched two victories in their legal battle against the SEC, including winning access to internal SEC discussion history regarding cryptocurrencies, and a court denied the SEC the ability to disclose the financial records of two Ripple execs, including Garlinghouse.

Ripple executives themselves seem heartened by the news, with CTO David Schwartz saying the US isn’t “prepared” to regulate cryptocurrencies (a possible dig at the ongoing legal proceedings).

All in all, it’s just another week for one of the most controversial cryptocurrencies in the space.

Ripple becomes tidal wave, leads weekend pump and notches legal victories

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3X as many crypto figures make it onto Forbes 2021 billionaires list as last year

Forbes released their annual billionaires list on April 6, with Amazon overlord Jeff Bezos and his $177 billion topping the list for a fourth consecutive year.

The “digital gold rush” has seen nine new crypto billionaires join the Forbes list, pushing the total up to 12 (depending on whether you count the Winklevoss twins as one or two entries.) That’s up from just four in last year’s Forbes World’s Billionaires list

Sam Bankman-Fried – Newcomer

Sam Bankman-Fried is the wealthiest crypto-billionaire, with a net worth of $8.7 billion. Bankman-Fried founded trading firm Alameda Research and popular derivatives exchange FTX. The 29-year old has made waves in the crypto space, with FTX recently winning the naming rights to Miami Heat’s home stadium for 19 years. Cointelegraph recently ranked Bankman-Fried as the third most influential figure in crypto for 2020.

The Winklevoss Twins – Newcomers

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have a net worth of $3 billion each and started investing in Bitcoin in 2012. The brothers famously sued Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg for IP theft in 2004 and won a $65 million settlement which they used to invest in Bitcoin. They started the crypto exchange Gemini in 2014, and they purchased Nifty Gateway in November 2019.

Chris Larsen – Returnee

Larsen, the co-founder of Ripple Labs saw his net worth grow from $2.6 billion to $3.4 billion over the past year.

Larson and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse have been fighting an ongoing dispute with the SEC in relation to XRP and unregistered securities offerings. However, the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple hasn’t appeared to affect its token too badly, with XRP increasing by 387% in the last 12 months.

Jed McCaleb – Newcomer

McCaleb is another co-founder of Ripple, and reportedly holds 3.4 billion XRP and 1 billion Stellar Lumens — the cryptocurrency he founded after leaving Ripple — with his holdings adding up to a net worth of $2 billion. Cointelegraph reported that McCaleb sold off $400 million worth of his XRP holdings in 2020 alone.

Michael Saylor – Newcomer

Saylor is the CEO of listed company MicroStrategy and co-founded the software giant in 1989, and now has a net worth of $2.3 billion. Saylor has become the leading advocate for corporations holding Bitcoin on balance sheets. Since its first purchase of Bitcoin in August 2020, Microstrategy has invested $2.226 billion, taking its tally up to 91,579 Bitcoins at an average cost of $24,311 per Bitcoin.

Brain Armstrong – Returnee

Armstrong is the CEO and co-founder of Coinbase and his net worth has gone from $1 billion to $6.5 billion within 12 months. Coinbase also had a successful year, generating $1 billion in revenue, and it’s set for a direct listing in a week. That will value Armstrong’s shares somewhere north of $14B, meaning he may well top the crypto billionaires’ list next year.

Fred Ersham – Newcomer

Ersham co-founded Coinbase with Brian Armstrong in 2012 and left the firm in 2017. He is now a board member of the company, and his 6% stake has an estimated worth of $1.9 billion.

Changpeng Zhao

Zhao is the founder of the largest crypto exchange Binance and owns an estimated 30% stake in the company. Zhao’s net worth is $1.9 billion, and the digital gold rush has been good to the Binance founder, with Binance Coin becoming the second-largest altcoin by market cap. Zhao revealed earlier this week that he holds close to 100% of his portfolio in crypto.

Matthew Roszak – Newcomer

Roszak is the Chairman and co-founder of blockchain technology firm Bloq and is a leading crypto and blockchain investor. Roszak is also a founding member of Tally Capital a crypto-focused private investment firm and has a net worth of $1.5 billion.

Tim Draper – Newcomer

Draper is a crypto evangelist with a net worth of $1.5 billion. He bought $18.7 million worth of Bitcoin in 2014 after it was confiscated from the Silk Road black market. Draper was also one of the primary investors in the Tezos project and co-founded Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a leading investment firm in early-stage tech startups.

Barry Silbert – Newcomer

Silbert founded the crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group in 2015 and has a net worth of $1.6 billion. The DCG owns asset management firm Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which currently has $46 billion worth of assets under management.

3X as many crypto figures make it onto Forbes 2021 billionaires list as last year

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ECB’s Christine Lagarde Discusses Timeline for Digital Euro

European Central Bank’s (ECB) chief Christine Lagarde said that the possibility of a digital Euro, known more technically as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), coming into circulation is growing given the change in digital priorities.

But it could still take the European Union sometime before it decides on moving forward with the idea.

CBDC Roll-out Process Is Complicated

In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Lagarde pointed to the intricate processes needed for a decision to be made towards launching a digital Euro. According to her, there is a possibility that a state-backed digital currency could come into existence in the next couple of years once the Governing Council gives the go-ahead.

The ECB would first release an analysis of eight thousand responses it received following its digital Euro consultation exercise. According to the French business guru, these responses would first be communicated to the European Parliament, a key player. Then the ECB’s decision-making Governing Council would decide whether to proceed with the fiat replica experimentation.

The consultation results would determine whether the ECB would commence experimentation on a digital fiat in the next six months or a year.

“It’s a technical endeavor as well as a fundamental change,” Lagarde said. “We need to make sure that we’re not going to break any system, but to enhance the system,” she added.

Lagarde’s enhancement speech echoes the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) report, which noted that over 20% of national banks globally actively considered rolling out a state-sanctioned digital currency. The report published in late 2020 recommended that any efforts in this direction should not usurp the fundamental role that fiat plays in the economy. According to the BIS, CBDCs should be integrated into the extant settlement framework.

Four Years At Most

But despite this supposed positive outlook for CBDCs, Lagarde has said it may take up to four years before anything meaningful comes out.

The CBDC race is led by China, which is currently fast-tracking the digital yuan pilot tests to meet up to the Winter Olympics in Beijing. But China is not the only country that has made efforts to revolutionize the way people spend cash. The Bahamas is the first recognized economy using a state-backed digital currency called Sands Dollar, and Lagarde says she is keenly interested in this project.

According to her, any decision on CBDCs would be targeted at providing Europeans with a fairly stable, safe, and secure digital currency, given the immense shift it would bring to the European financial scape.

Lagarde is a well-known critic of Bitcoin being perceived as a medium of exchange.

Noting the potential harm the digital asset may bring to the financial system, Lagarde said the pseudonymous nature of Bitcoin could serve criminal intents like money laundering and terrorist financing.

To many like her, the CBDC is a concept to regain the financial system disruptively usurped by decentralization.

ECB’s Christine Lagarde Discusses Timeline for Digital Euro

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bitFlyer Expands: Launches Cryptocurrency Service in Connecticut

Cryptocurrency exchange bitFlyer announced on Thursday its service is now available in the state of Connecticut. bitFlyer reported that its subsidiary, bitFlyer USA, will provider Connecticut residents with buying and selling services for digital assets, which includes Bitcoin and Ethereum, without high priced fees.

bitFlyer also revealed that Connecticut residents may create an account and start interacting with the crypto economy right away, taking advantage of a fiat onramp to buy cryptocurrencies with credit or debit card.

“Accounts can also be funded via wire transfer and PayPal, and experienced users such as institutional investors can take advantage of bitFlyer Lightning, the portal’s professional-grade trading platform built by Wall Street veterans. Users are free to choose whether to trade via their web browser or the bitFlyer mobile application, available for iOS and Android. They can also build a digital asset portfolio by scheduling daily, weekly, monthly, or semi-monthly purchases.”

Speaking about the expansion, bitFlyer COO, Joel Edgerton, stated:

“bitFlyer USA is happy to continue our expansion by adding Connecticut as our 48th state. We have achieved significant growth in our business this year and look forward to bringing our global platform to Connecticut residents.”

As previously reported, bitFlyer describes itself as a Bitcoin exchange and marketplace that is dedicated to providing its customers with convenient and exciting ways to buy, sell, and spend Bitcoins.

“Alongside JADA, the Japan Authority of Digital Assets, bitFlyer hopes to spread the usage of Bitcoin in Japan and around the world, making the process to buy, sell, and spend Bitcoins streamlined and seamless.”

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JPMorgan launching ‘crypto exposure basket’ featuring MicroStrategy and Square

JPMorgan Chase has designed a new debt instrument that provides investors direct exposure to a basket of crypto-focused companies, according to a new filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC.

JPMorgan’s Cryptocurrency Exposure Basket (Mar 2021) is described as an “unequally weighted basket consisting of 11 Reference Stocks of U.S.-listed companies” that operate businesses directly and indirectly related to cryptocurrencies.

The instrument allocates 20% to MicroStrategy, the data analytics firm with 91,064 BTC on its balance sheet. It also provides direct exposure to Square (18%) and Riot Blockchain (15%), two companies with significant exposure to Bitcoin. Nvidia Corporation and PayPal Holdings each account for 15% of the basket.

Advanced Micro Devices, Taiwan Semiconductor Company, Intercontinental Exchange, CME Group, Overstock.com and Silvergate Capital are also included in the basket.

The prospectus states:

“The weights of the Reference Stocks were determined based in part on exposure to Bitcoin, correlation to Bitcoin and liquidity.”

JPMorgan says payouts are based on how the basket of companies performs. The minimum investment is $1,000 with a maturation date of May 2022.

The new product represents one of many ways institutional investors can gain access to the high-flying cryptocurrency market. Wall Street is already flocking to digital currencies, which largely explains the strong price support underlying Bitcoin. The flagship digital currency traded as high as $54,888 on Tuesday, according to TradingView. 

If the recently launched Purpose Bitcoin exchange-traded fund is anything to go by, traditional investors have a strong appetite for digital assets. The Canadian ETF saw nearly $100 million in volume during its debut earlier this month, putting it on track to exceed $1 billion in assets after the first week. 

JPMorgan launching \’crypto exposure basket\’ featuring MicroStrategy and Square

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