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Jan 23 2021

Bitcoin in jeopardy, Ether briefly breaks records, Biden takes action: Hodler’s Digest, Jan. 17–23

Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link.

Top Stories This Week

Three reasons Bitcoin tumbled below $30,000 in a surprise overnight correction

Intensifying sell pressure saw Bitcoin briefly plummet below $29,000 for the first time since Jan. 5. The fall from $37,000, which happened within 48 hours, resulted in the biggest daily candle ever.

There have been some signs of institutional investors taking profit, as bulls attempt to cement $32,000 as a new support level. Analysts at QCP Capital are seeing signs of “institutional exhaustion,” and they warned the rally could be in danger if appetite for BTC slows down.

Of course, some institutions are indefatigable… with MicroStrategy “buying the dip” and snapping up 314 BTC at an average cost of $31,808 — a total spend of $10 million.

Bitcoin has lost 14% of its value over the past seven days. But over this period, many major altcoins haven’t been suffering sell-offs to the same extent. Ether is down just 2.6% on the week, Polkadot is actually up 1.5%, and XRP has fallen by 5.6%.

BTC/USD is in a corrective phase since the rally became overextended above $40,000. The question now is when this will end. If the $30,000 area doesn’t hold, a further drop to $24,000 becomes likely — resulting in a retrace of 40% since recent highs.

Guggenheim CIO expects Bitcoin to drop to $20,000

Just a month ago, Guggenheim’s Scott Minerd was anticipating that $400,000 was in sight for Bitcoin. How times have changed.

Speaking to CNBC, Guggenheim’s chief investment officer argued that BTC is now poised to drop to $20,000 — and Bitcoin is unlikely to climb any higher than $42,000 until 2022.

He said: “I think for the time being, we probably put in the top for Bitcoin for the next year or so.”

ETH finally beats its 2018 all-time high, surpassing $1,428

It’s been a long time coming. This week, ETH finally reached new all-time highs against the dollar — surpassing $1,428 on Bitstamp. Unfortunately, the major altcoin didn’t spend much time in uncharted territory — falling as low as $1,050 in the days that followed.

Are Ether bulls now in trouble? Well, the large drop after the ATH has been linked to how the Ether futures market was extremely overheated, with open interest on ETH hitting a record high of $1.8 billion.

At one point, Vitalik Buterin’s main wallet saw the ETH in his wallet amount to over $470 million. That’s a stark contrast to Jan. 2020, when his ETH fortune stood at just $58 million.

Strategists at Fundstrat Global Advisors believe that 2021 could be a year to remember for ETH. According to its researchers, the second-largest cryptocurrency could climb more than sevenfold to $10,500.

President Biden freezes FinCEN’s proposed crypto wallet regulations

Joe Biden wasted little time in getting to work following his inauguration on Jan. 20. One of the first actions the new president took on his first day in office was to freeze the federal regulatory process — and this is good news for the crypto community.

The freeze means that the controversial regulations surrounding self-hosted crypto wallets, proposed by former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, are now on ice for 60 days.

Compound Finance’s general counsel Jake Chervinsky lauded the move, declaring: “We fought hard & earned the right to take a breath & reset. Janet Yellen isn’t Steve Mnuchin. I’m optimistic.”

It’s fair to say that Yellen isn’t wild about Bitcoin, though. During her confirmation hearing with the Senate Finance Committee, she stated that cryptocurrencies are being used “mainly for illicit financing” — and that she wanted to “curtail” their use. She later clarified that she only wanted to clamp down on cryptocurrencies being used illegally.

The former chair of the Federal Reserve is now one step closer to earning the nomination after the Senate Finance Committee voted unanimously in her favor, paving the way for a full Senate vote.

Ripple pins hopes on Biden administration as co-founder sells 28.6 million XRP

As it readies itself to face a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, filed under Donald Trump’s administration, Ripple is hoping that Biden’s time in office will bring favorable changes in regulations.

Executives at the embattled company have predicted that Biden’s team will most likely “bring a renewed focus on regulation and enforcement in the crypto space.” The post said that fintech and blockchain players have been left “in a state of limbo” by the lack of a clear framework — and warned countries like the U.K. and Japan are “miles ahead.”

Ripple’s general counsel Stu Alderoty wrote: “Intelligent, well thought-out regulations communicated effectively and uniformly applied can help level the playing field and unleash innovation and further mainstream adoption here in the U.S.”

When Gary Gensler’s appointment as SEC chair was announced, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse tweeted: “Congrats to Gary Gensler! We’re ready to work with SEC leadership and the broader Biden administration to chart a path forward for blockchain and crypto innovation in the US.”

Is $1 billion a day in volume the “new normal” for Uniswap?

Uniswap is nearing an average of $1 billion a day in trading volumes during January.

It’s already surpassed the previous monthly trade volume record of $15.3 billion set in September during the DeFi boom.

Uniswap traders are spoiled for choice with 1,558 coins traded in more than 2,400 pairs, however, the majority tend to favor less risky trades. 

On one day this week, ETH pairings with stablecoins USD Coin, Tether and Dai made up 45% of the $1.1 billion traded.

Uniswap strategy lead Matteo Leibowitz has already declared that $1 billion volume a day is the new normal.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin is at $32,300.43, Ether at $1,250.90 and XRP at $0.27. The total market cap is at $944,648,313,957.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Enjin Coin, Curve DAO Token and Decentraland. The top three altcoin losers of the week are IOST, Zcash and Dash.

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis. 

Most Memorable Quotations

“I think for the time being, we probably put in the top for Bitcoin for the next year or so. And we’re likely to see a full retracement back toward the 20,000 level.”

Scott Minerd, Guggenheim CIO

“Only by widening the playing field and facilitating more participation will crypto reach and maintain a market cap of $2 trillion and beyond.”

Aite Group

“Ethereum will continue to see demand outstrip supply as global adoption continues.”

Danny Ryan, Ethereum Foundation researcher

“We fought hard & earned the right to take a breath & reset. Janet Yellen isn’t Steve Mnuchin. I’m optimistic.”

Jake Chervinsky, Compound Finance general counsel

“We’ve obviously seen the price of Bitcoin rise quite a bit; we’ve seen a lot of activity in the DeFi space, and I think all of these things will provide a nice framework against which a new chairman can take a fresh look at questions across the board in the crypto space.”

“Crypto Mom” Hester Peirce, SEC commissioner

“I’m honestly loving how well $ETH is holding up in this climate.”

Neko, cryptocurrency trader

“There is an increasing amount of trader doubt that #Bitcoin will revisit $40,000. But according to address activity and trade volume, the long-term trend still looks plenty healthy. Keep a close eye on whether $BTC’s usage rate stays propped up.”

Santiment

“Congrats to Gary Gensler! We’re ready to work with SEC leadership and the broader Biden administration to chart a path forward for blockchain and crypto innovation in the U.S.”

Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple CEO

“Bitcoin is the best cryptocurrency suited for store of value. In terms of what the Bitcoin blockchain can currently handle from a latency and throughput point of view, Bitcoin is very strong.”

Konstantin Richter, Blockdaemon founder and CEO

“Grayscale were buying $251 million of #Bitcoin on avg per week in Q4 2020. Last week they did $700 million in one day… And today $590 million… Pay attention.”

Danny Scott, CoinCorner CEO

“The flow into the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust would likely need to sustain its US$100 million per day pace over the coming days and weeks for such a breakout to occur.”

JPMorgan

Prediction of the Week

Hedge fund predicts $115,000 Bitcoin price and the fall of “speculative” altcoins

New data from Pantera Capital this week suggested that Bitcoin’s current price action is closely following the stock-to-flow model’s trajectory.

The firm’s analysts believe BTC will have reached $115,212 by Aug. 1 and that its price will gain an average of more than $10,000 a month, hitting six figures in the early summer.

Pantera believes that a significant difference between this rally and 2017 is linked to the overall market composition and where value is located — with altcoins losing out.

Andy Yee, a public policy director for Visa in China, tweeted: “This rally is different. Massive shift from high-speculative, non-functioning tokens in 2017 to #Bitcoin and #Ethereum today.”

FUD of the Week 

More institutions will warm up to crypto once market cap hits $2 trillion, eToro says

Barriers are still hindering institutional adoption of crypto, a new report commissioned by eToro suggests.

Researchers at Aite Group said the crypto market could reach a $2-trillion market cap if more institutional players were to get on board amid more favorable conditions. These firms would be more likely to adopt crypto if there was less regulatory uncertainty, a developed market infrastructure, and less risk surrounding security.

Tomer Niv, head of business development at eToro, said: “Only by widening the playing field and facilitating more participation will crypto reach and maintain a market cap of $2 trillion and beyond.”

The report also warned that “technical complexity” is an issue that needs to be addressed, with Niv adding: “More needs to be done from a market infrastructure point of view to make this group of investors feel comfortable joining the crypto ecosystem.”

83% of cryptocurrencies that peaked in 2018 are still down by 90%

More than 80% of crypto assets that hit all-time highs in January 2018 are still down by at least 90%, according to data from Messari.

The data set included 410 assets that posted record prices during 2017 or later, with 2018’s 157 star coins performing the worst with an average of -90.71% since the previous ATH. 

2017’s top cryptos have since crashed by 82% on average, while 2019’s crop is down 72%, and 2020’s standouts have shed 53%.

CMT Digital analyst Matt Casto, who spotted the data, tweeted: “Holding assets that hit high marks +3 years ago is proving to be a massive lost opportunity cost for deploying capital.”

Armed robbers steal $450,000 from Hong Kong crypto trader

A manhunt is underway after robbers posing as crypto buyers stole $450,000 from a woman in Hong Kong.

One member of the gang completed multiple transactions with the victim to win their trust, and an investigation has uncovered there were three previous deals ranging between $77,000 and $90,000.

On the day of the robbery, the other members of the gang rushed to the scene as soon as their colleague received the Tether tokens in exchange for the $450,000 payment.

Armed with knives, they proceeded to lock the woman in the office where the deal took place but not before snatching her iPhone and the cash.

According to The South China Morning Post, the woman was able to use her second phone to inform her husband, who contacted the police. Detectives said that the woman’s uncle, who chaperoned her to the meeting place, reportedly saw four men fleeing the scene.

Luckily, the woman was unhurt in the attack, unlike other victims who have suffered physical injuries and even death at the hands of bandits looking to steal cryptocurrencies.

Best Cointelegraph Features

Believing, not seeing: Institutions still predict $100,000 Bitcoin price

Even though Bitcoin has struggled to reclaim its recent high of $42,000, Shiraz Jagati says projections of BTC reaching $100,000 still seem achievable to some.

Access denied: Banks seem prone to cryptophobia despite growing adoption

Banks in many countries continue to either outrightly deny or limit their services to crypto exchanges.

Bitcoin as a last resort? Murmurs of crypto as a reserve currency abound

Could Bitcoin fulfill the key functions of a reserve currency? Andrew Singer talks to experts as he aims to find out whether BTC can find a new and unexpected role for itself.

Bitcoin in jeopardy, Ether briefly breaks records, Biden takes action: Hodler’s Digest, Jan. 17–23

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Written by bizbuildermike · Categorized: cryptocurrency · Tagged: 2017, 2020, 2021, Adoption, altcoin, altcoins, analyst, Analysts, appointment, Banks, Biden, bitcoin, Bitcoin Price, bitstamp, blockchain, Brad Garlinghouse, btc, business, Cash, ceo, china, Co-founder, Community, company, crypto, Crypto Wallets, cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrency, Currency, DAI, dao, data, deals, defi, digital, Dollar, enforcement, ETH, ether, ethereum, eToro, exchange, Exchanges, Federal Reserve, finance, fintech, founder, fund, Global, Grayscale, highlights, Hodler's, Hodler's Digest, Hong Kong, Infrastructure, innovation, institutional investors, investment, iPhone, japan, lawsuit, market, Microstrategy, Mnuchin, more, news, other, pantera capital, payment, police, Polkadot, president, Regulation, report, ripple, risk, said, SEC, securities, Securities and Exchange Commission, security, Space, stablecoins, step, steve mnuchin, story, Strategy, tether, The Fall, token, tokens, trade, trading, Transactions, u.s., uniswap, us, USD Coin, view, visa, wallet, Wallets, work, xrp

Jan 22 2021

A Day in the Life of Dominique Crenn, Restaurant Pioneer and VitaBowl Visionary

This week, we’re talking with Dominique Crenn, chef and owner of world-renowned restaurants Atelier Crenn, Petit Crenn, and Bar Crenn. In November 2018, Dominique became the first female chef in the US to receive three Michelin Stars. 

As an active member of the international culinary community, Dominique promotes innovation, sustainability, and equality through her restaurant ideals, focusing on cuisine as a craft and community as an inspiration. 

Most recently, she’s stepped into the role of Head of Culinary Council for VitaBowl, now funding on Indiegogo InDemand.

7:30 A.M. Awake. Check the calendar for the day. 

8 A.M. Feed my dog, Maxi. I don’t drink coffee anymore and don’t eat anything for breakfast. I have fresh-pressed green juice and hot tea. Food is medicine!

9 A.M. Shower, exercise, take the dog out.

10 A.M. Head into the restaurant. Meet with the team regarding the plan for the day.

11:30 A.M. Lunch on the go is usually early- a Vitabowl or something light. 

11:30 A.M-1 P.M. My afternoon consists of phone calls, meetings, and interviews. A lot of my time right now is spent speaking out in support for small business and needed assistance from the government during the pandemic.

2 P.M. Staff meal if I am at Atelier Crenn. My team makes the best food everyday! Today is mushroom lasagna, Bleu Belle Farm Vegetables, and freshly-baked baguette garlic bread.

3-5 P.M. Meeting with Research & Development Chef, JC, and Pastry Chef/Business Partner, Juan Contreras. Menu planning and business forecast for the month

6 P.M. Head home and make dinner for me and Maxi. Maxi has a delicious mix of ground venison and vegetables. I usually have a big bowl of something hot – pasta or soup.

7-9 P.M. Reading new books and cookbooks. Jotting down ideas for new menu items for Atelier Crenn and Vitabowl.

9 P.M. Relaxing before bed with Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu! 

10 P.M. Lights out!

We also caught up with Dominique in an exclusive Q&A:

INDIEGOGO: How and why did you become an entrepreneur? Was it something you always intended for yourself? 

DOMINIQUE CRENN: Because we are all entrepreneur at heart. I, like many others, love to create things. I didn’t intend to be one but I followed my heart and it brought me here.

IGG: What makes your Indiegogo project unique? 

DOMINIQUE: Vitabites is so much goodness in one little bite. You can get everything you need at once, vitamins, energy, and deliciousness. How does that not make you happy? 

IGG: What’s your biggest piece of advice for women who want to start their own business?

DOMINIQUE: Know who you are, be confident, and know your vision. Surround yourself with good people who know more than you, and have a good lawyer (laughs).

IGG: What tools (gadgets, apps, books, podcasts) would you recommend to anyone starting their own business, crowdfunding campaign, or project? 

Dominique takes a moment to show appreciation for one of her chefs.

DOMINIQUE: The best tool is a journal- a small notebook for writing everyday. Jot down all of your ideas and dreams. Be curious about what you do not know. Read everything you can. If you are true to yourself, your dream will come. 

IGG: What’s your favorite Indiegogo campaign, or a campaign you’ve recently supported?

DOMINIQUE: VitaBites!

Want to hear more from Dominique? Check out our recent IG Live with her here. You can also find her on Instagram at @dominiquecrenn, @atelier.crenn, and @petitcrenn.

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Written by bizbuildermike · Categorized: Crowdfunding · Tagged: a day in the life, amazon, Apps, Behind The Scenes, books, business, Community, Crowdfunding, dog, energy, entrepreneur, Food, funding, gadgets, Go, government, green, ideas, IGG, innovation, instagram, international, more, netflix, pandemic, research, restaurant, small-business, supported, sustainability, us

Jan 21 2021

InsurTech NY Teams Up With the Bermuda Business Development Agency for InsurTech Early Stage Competition 2021

InsurTech NY, a global InsurTech hub, announced on Thursday it has joined forces with the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA), Bermuda’s independent economic development public-private partnership, to launch the 2021 InsurTech Early-Stage Competition. According to the duo, this competition attracts up to 100 promising startups from around the world with an opportunity to showcase their business and market potential to early-stage investors and insurance leaders.

“Adding to the existing prize pool of $200,000, the BDA will award the winning team with a four-night stay in Bermuda, a business concierge service to connect startup founders to professional advisors, and pay the fees associated with participating in the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) regulatory sandbox or innovation hub. The winning team’s proposal will be subject to the BMA’s formal application review, and once approved, will benefit from the Regulator’s extensive guidance.”

Susan Pateras, a BDA board member and an insurance industry expert with more than two decades of experience, will join the list of investor and insurance carrier judges. Judges comprise angel investors, venture capitalists, and insurance carriers including New York Angels, Park City Angels, Anthemis, Six Thirty, Sure Ventures, Luge Capital, Transverse, Nationwide, GreenlightRe, and Grange Insurance. While sharing more details about the competition, David Gritz, co-founder of InsurTech NY. stated:

“Finding an initial regulatory sandbox and access to reinsurance partners is one of the biggest challenges for new digital MGAs. The Bermuda market represents an exceptional opportunity for new InsurTechs and our partnership with the Bermuda Business Development Agency is one example of how we strive to be an international gateway for InsurTechs to find global opportunities for growth.”

Jasmine DeSilva, the BDA’s Business Development Manager responsible for Risk and Insurance Solutions, added:

“The InsurTech Competition will connect some of the brightest InsurTech founders to Bermuda’s world-leading and innovative insurance and reinsurance market. We encourage those looking to accelerate innovation in the industry to apply and look forward to welcoming the winning team to Bermuda, the world’s risk capital with over $100 billion in reinsurance premium, access to specialty market carriers, and a friendly regulatory environment for quality startups.”

Early-stage companies eligible for the competition are InsurTechs that generated less than $250,000 in annual revenue in 2020. The top 10 finalists will be invited to present at the InsurTech Spring Conference and will be announced in early March 2021. The deadline for submissions is January 29th.

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Written by bizbuildermike · Categorized: Crowdfunding · Tagged: 2020, 2021, angel investors, bermuda, bermude business development agency, business, Co-founder, digital, Economic Development, Environment, Fees, founders, Global, innovation, insurance, insurtech, insurtech competition, insurtech ny, international, investor, market, more, New York, partnership, revenue, risk, startup, startups, Teams, venture capitalists, world

Jan 20 2021

Indiegogo’s New Partnership with Japanese Pre-Order and Support Platform Makuake

Today we’re excited to announce a new partnership with Makuake, the leading pre-order and support platform in Japan, to empower entrepreneurs and consumers worldwide to unite around unique product ideas and, together, bring them to life.

Through this partnership, Makuake and Indiegogo will be combining resources, expertise, and a global network of communities to connect forward-thinking entrepreneurs in Japan with enthusiasts who power their innovation. The partnership will also allow successful campaigners on Indiegogo to find new audiences in Japan.

As the biggest pre-order and support platform in Japan, Makuake has an extensive track-record of supporting Japanese creators in developing and launching their products. We’ve done the same on the global stage over the last 12 years, having helped over 900,000 entrepreneurs successfully raise a total of more than $2 billion in funds directly from customers. Now our two platforms will join forces, bridging the gap between previously disparate crowdfunding markets. 

This announcement comes hot on the heels of a series of Japan-oriented developments to the Indiegogo platform — including an expansion of the Indiegogo Global Fast Track Program into the Japanese market, which aims to help Japan’s top innovators build international brands faster; a partnership with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) to give Japanese entrepreneurs additional support for launching successful crowdfunding campaigns; and a new option for entrepreneurs to receive their funding directly in Japanese yen when their campaign ends.

These improvements, along with our latest partnership with Makuake, will grant consumers access to products that were previously out of their reach and give entrepreneurs in Japan a seamless way to raise funds for their products from backers around the world.

“Millions of people around the world visit Indiegogo to find clever and unconventional things that solve everyday problems large and small,” says Andy Yang, CEO of Indiegogo. “We are very excited to partner with Makuake, who share a very similar mission with us, so that together we can unite the world through bright ideas, all while providing the best opportunities for our creators and entrepreneurs to reach their goals.” 

“Our mission is to connect the world through the creation of new things,” says Makuake CEO Ryotaro Nakayama. “This partnership between Makuake and Indiegogo lays the groundwork for Japanese makers and creators to spread their innovative products and passion throughout the global market. In addition, Japanese consumers will be able to discover more global innovative products in Makuake.”

Want to learn more? Find additional information in the Indiegogo Japanese Crowdfunding Field Guide. 

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Written by bizbuildermike · Categorized: Crowdfunding · Tagged: brands, ceo, Crowdfunding, Entrepreneurs, funding, Global, html, ideas, IGG, information, innovation, international, japan, market, markets, more, partnership, platforms, product, Products, trade, us, world

Jan 19 2021

Worldline Joins Forces With Gold Global SA to Launch “Davinci Gold” Token

Worldline, (Euronext: WLN) a European payments and transactional services firm, announced on Tuesday it has formed a co-operation partnership with Gold Global Currency Corp to offer the “DaVinci Gold” token, which is notably based on Worldline’s stablecoin management infrastructure. According to Worldline, the initiative further expands the capability of Worldline’s Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform and will assist in fulfilling the company’s goals to be at the forefront of stablecoins and blockchain technology.

“Developed by Worldline, the DAM Platform is the first asset management solution of the stablecoins category to take advantage of a private Blockchain with full control, guaranteeing security, scalability and longevity of the solution. The Worldline DAM platform is designed to seamlessly and securely manage any type of an asset’s lifecycle within a given business process, amidst the various parties participating in this product or service.”

Worldline further reported as a result of the strategic partnership agreed with Gold Global, the Worldline DAM platform brings to life the DaVinci Gold purchasing solution. The first of its kind, it allows consumers to buy, save and sell genuine physical gold coins or 24-carat hallmarked bullion in a simple and secure way. Speaking about the collaboration, Nicolas Kozakiewicz, Blockchain Fellow Expert and Innovation Executive Advisor at Worldline, stated:

“While the WL DAM Platform was first applied to stablecoins and CBDCs, it is perfectly suited for many other sectors, such as retailing and loyalty schemes, intra-group industrial offsets, public/urban transport. Creating an industry-grade ready-to-deploy asset manipulation infrastructure was a long-time need hardly solved, until Blockchain technologies came to real maturity.”

Worldline then added in accordance with most of Worldline’s Business verticals, from merchant interfacing to core-banking services, from Digital Cities requirements to highly regulated Public or Private services, the new Worldline DAM platform is designed to solution problems, from small early pilots to full-scale services.

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Written by bizbuildermike · Categorized: Crowdfunding, cryptocurrency · Tagged: blockchain, Blockchain & Digital Assets, business, cbdcs, Cities, cryptocurrency, Currency, DAM, davinci gold, digital, digital asset, digital asset management, digital assets, digital currency, Global, gold, gold global sa, html, Infrastructure, innovation, other, partnership, payments, product, security, Stablecoin, stablecoins, Technology, token, worldline

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