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Nasdaq Open to Becoming a Cryptocurrency ExchangeApril 25, 2018 – The CEO of Nasdaq, Adena Friedman, has announced that the major exchange is open to becoming a platform for cryptocurrency trading. The exchange is currently awaiting more regulatory clarity, and for the cryptocurrency space to mature a little longer before delving into cryptos. Despite awaiting regulations, the company on Wednesday has announced support for other existing cryptocurrency exchanges, as Nasdaq struck a technology deal with the crypto exchange Gemini. The deal grants the Gemini exchange access to Nasdaq’s surveillance technology, which ensures the platform can provide a fair and “rules-based marketplace” for Gemini’s participants, says Gemini CEO Tyler Winklevoss. “I believe that digital currencies will continue to persist it’s just a matter of how long it will take for that space to mature,” said Friedman. “Once you look at it and say, ‘do we want to provide a regulated market for this?’ Certainly, Nasdaq would consider it”. This contrasts a popular belief of regulations negatively impacting bitcoin’s sentiment. While Friedman appears to be optimistic about the role of cryptocurrencies in the future, she remains hesitant of ICOs. Read the full article here. |
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Tim Draper: Bitcoin will be Bigger Than Tesla, Hotmail, and Skype CombinedApril 23, 2018 – Famed venture capitalist Tim Draper has said that bitcoin will be bigger than Tesla, Hotmail, and Skype combined. Draper is the founder of venture capital firms Draper Associates and DFJ. Tim believes the price of bitcoin will reach $250,000 by 2022, and could be “bigger than the Internet”. In an intelligence debate last Saturday, Tim went as far as to say It’s even bigger than the Iron Age, Renaissance, and Industrial Revolution. “In five years you are going to try to go buy coffee with fiat currency and they are going to laugh at you because you’re not using crypto” Tim said to a live audience. “I believe that there will be a point at which you will no longer really want any of the fiat currency”. Read the full article here. |
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Only 20% of Bitcoin are Left to be MinedApril 26, 2018 – Bitcoin is well known for its fixed supply of just 21 million coins. Data from blockchain.info indicates that bitcoin has now surpassed the 17 million mark in the number of coins mined. Coins that have been mined are otherwise known as the total bitcoins in circulation, and the current supply of the bitcoin network. Key milestones, such as the most recent 17 million level, are indicators of “psychological barriers” as viewed by Teras Capital founding partner, Alex Sunnarborg. He interprets the result as 80% of all bitcoin that will be created have now been mined. To put this into perspective, there is just 20% of remaining supply for future miners and buyers. Each bitcoin block creates 12.5 new bitcoin; with bitcoin blocks occurring approximately every 10 minutes, this calculates to about 1,800 new bitcoin created every day. With a limited supply hard-coded into Bitcoin’s technology, and a trend of increasing demand, simple economics may suggest higher bitcoin prices are on the horizon. Read the full article here. |
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1 in 5 Financial Firms are Looking at Trading Cryptos SoonApril 24, 2018 – In a recent Thompson Reuters survey, approximately one in five financial firms including Wall Street’s biggest banks, hedge funds, and trading desks are looking at trading cryptocurrencies soon. For those interested in trading cryptocurrencies, about 70% claimed they are planning to trade within the next three to six months. According to Brian Kelly, founder and CEO of BKCM, says the news of improving sentiment from the most influential financial institutions are “very positive” for bitcoin prices. “Cryptocurrency is still a relatively small part of the trading market, but this survey indicates this niche segment is starting to enter the mainstream of the financial services industry,” said Neill Penney, co-head of Trading at Thomson Reuters. “This is a major change from a year ago.” The survey was conducted on over 400 clients, ranging from hedge funds, asset managers, and trading desks at major investment banks. Overall, the results showed a widespread familiarity with cryptocurrencies. Over the last two months, major banks Barclays and Goldman Sachs have publicly announced that they are planning to trade cryptocurrencies. News from these two major players is an indication that institutional money may be ready to enter the market sometime in 2018. Read the full article here. |
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List of Bitcoin’s Biggest Bulls and BearsApril 29, 2018 – Bitcoin’s tremendous outperformance has made it hard for some of the world’s most influential people in finance, politics, and technology to comprehend. Many famed professionals, such as Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffet, continue to caution eager investors about the cryptocurrency space. However, increased coverage and support from other notable influencers is gaining traction as cryptocurrencies surged over April 2018. Bloomberg Technology has published a running list of some of bitcoin’s biggest bulls and bears, along with quotes and price targets from many. Read the full list of bitcoin’s bulls and bears here. |
