This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.Download this episodeThis week’s “Long Reads Sunday” is a reading of EY Global Blockchain Lead Paul Brody’s latest essay for CoinDesk: “We Are Already Living in a Post-Scarcity World.”See also: MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor’s 17,732 BTC Holdings Now Worth $1.1B“The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell, research by Scott Hill and additional production support by Eleanor Pahl. Adam B. Levine is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. The music you heard today behind our sponsor is “Dark Crazed Cap” by Isaac Joel. Image credit: Nuthawut Somsuk/iStock/Getty Images Plus, modified by CoinDesk. [Read More...]

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.Download this episodeLast weekend, Jack Dorsey set the internet alight when he proclaimed, “Hyperinflation is going to change everything. It’s happening.” That kicked off a mighty debate involving Cathie Wood, Elon Musk, Jeff Booth and others. At the heart of it is the question of whether inflation or deflation is the more powerful force in the months and years to come.See also: Jack Dorsey Is Right About Inflation – Partly“The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell, research by Scott Hill and additional production support by Eleanor Pahl. Adam B. Levine is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. The music you heard today behind … [Read More...]

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is searching for a specialist to foster digital asset underwriting, transaction processing, and custody in the cloud, according to a recent job posting.The infrastructure giant wants to hire a Financial Services Specialist to work with global financial institutions and innovative fintechs, and “transform the way they transact digital assets (ex. cryptocurrencies, CBDCs [central bank digital currencies], stable coins, security-backed tokens, asset-backed tokens and NFTs [non-fungible tokens]) from price discovery to execution, settlement and custody.”Amazon’s much-anticipated move into digital assets is expected to include some kind of payment token, a so-called “Amazon coin,” based on previous job postings. Read more: Amazon Preparing to Launch a ‘Digital Currency’ Project in MexicoMeanwhile, AWS tailoring its infrastructure to things … [Read More...]

Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, reached a new all-time price high of around $4,400 on Friday, topping the previous record high of $4,379 in May, according to CoinDesk data.ETH is up about 11% over the past week, compared to a 3% rise in BTC over the same period. Technical charts indicate further upside for ether relative to bitcoin, with an upside target toward 0.08 in the ETH/BTC price ratio as discussed in yesterday’s Market Wrap.Overall, analysts expect further upside for cryptocurrencies for the remainder of the year despite occasional pullbacks, which can lead to choppy trading conditions.“Bitcoin and major altcoins are experiencing strong volatility on the intraday chart, which is normal at all-time-high levels, like we have … [Read More...]

Ether (ETH) registró un nuevo máximo histórico el viernes, ya que los datos de la blockchain mostraron que Ethereum quemó más tokens de los que emitió en las últimas 24 horas, en parte gracias a la fuerte actividad de shiba inu (SHIB).El token nativo de la blockchain de Ethereum subió a $4402 durante las horas asiáticas, superando el anterior récord de $4.379 alcanzado en mayo, según los datos de CoinDesk.A un precio de $4.370, la criptomoneda ha subido 45% en lo que va de octubre, frente a la ganancia de 40% de bitcoin. El diferencial de volatilidad implícita de ether y bitcoin está aumentando, lo que indica que el mercado espera que ether continúe liderando la evolución de los precios en las próximas semanas, como se … [Read More...]

After months of waiting, the Bank of Spain has issued instructions on how to register with the central bank to offer crypto-related services in the country.Institutions are instructed to apply through an electronic registry, after which the central bank will take up to three months to consider the application.The process was first announced by Spain’s central bank in June, with a promise that instructions on how to proceed would be issued in due course. Those instructions have now arrived.Much of the uncertainty related to whether existing mainstream financial institutions, such as banks, would have to register since they are already regulated entities.The Bank of Spain has now made it clear that they do: “The obligation to register in this registry applies to … [Read More...]

Major players in the crypto industry want favorable regulations, and they’re actively explaining their own visions.You’re reading State of Crypto, a CoinDesk newsletter looking at the intersection of cryptocurrency and government. Click here to sign up for future editions.Policy weekThe narrativeThere’s a growing push from the crypto industry to suggest how regulators can approach this rapidly-growing sector.Why it mattersCrypto exchanges Coinbase and FTX, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and the Digital Dollar Foundation have all recently published suggested policy proposals for addressing the digital asset market, ranging from creating a dedicated regulator for crypto to detailing how a central bank digital currency could address privacy issues.Clearly, the industry is hoping to have a hand in creating a favorable regulatory regime … [Read More...]

International police including the FBI-led Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) and Europol have busted a group of 150 alleged darknet drug traffickers, seizing $4.9 million in cryptocurrencies.The operation dubbed “Operation Dark HunTor” cracked down on criminals who were involved in the sale of tens of thousands of illicit goods and services across Australia, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S.The U.S.-Italian operations seized €3.6 million (US$4.17 million) in cryptocurrencies, while police seized approximately $1 million in drug proceeds that included $700,000 in cryptocurrency.Overall, Operation Dark HunTor resulted in the seizure of over $31.6 million in both cash and virtual currencies, approximately 234 kilograms of drugs worldwide and 45 firearms.The U.S. Department of Justice … [Read More...]

Leveraged funds on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) raised their bets against bitcoin rising to a record high in the week ended Oct. 19, possibly to profit from the widening gap between futures and spot markets prices.The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Commitments of Traders report released on Friday showed leveraged funds held a net short position of 31,000 contracts in the seven days to Oct. 19, marking an increase of 6,000 from the previous week.Record shorts by leverage funds does not necessarily mean these traders had a bearish bias. They may have raised short positions in the futures market and simultaneously bought the cryptocurrency in the spot market, booking the so-called carry trade.The strategy is initiated when futures trade at a notable premium to the spot … [Read More...]

Bitcoin traded in a tight range on Tuesday as extreme bullish sentiment appears to be cooling. The cryptocurrency was trading at around $62,000 at press time and is roughly flat over the past 24 hours.The bitcoin Fear & Greed Index is starting to decline from its highest level in more than seven months, which suggests buyers are starting to take some profits after a nearly 45% rise in BTC’s price over the past month.In the bitcoin futures market, leveraged funds on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) raised their bets against bitcoin rising to a record high in the week ended Oct. 19, possibly to profit from the widening gap between futures and spot markets prices, CoinDesk’s Omkar Godbole reported.For now, technical indicators suggest limited pullbacks after … [Read More...]

99Pay, the digital wallet of Brazilian ride-hailing company 99, will enable the purchase and sale of bitcoin on its platform, the company announced on Tuesday.Users of 99Pay will be able to execute commission-free transactions with a minimum purchase amount of 10 Brazilian reais and a maximum of 10,000 reais – equivalent to 1,800 U.S. dollars – starting Nov. 3.99Pay, part of the Chinese vehicle-for-hire company DiDi, said that the platform will deliver bitcoin cashback promotions as well.The initiative comes amid rapidly increasing interest in cryptocurrency among Brazilians and demand for crypto services. According to data published by the country’s Central Bank (BCB) in October, Brazilians have already acquired $4.27 billion so far in 2021. On the legislative front, Brazil’s congress plans to discuss a bill… [Read More...]

Exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuer Direxion wants to short the price of a bitcoin futures contract.According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday, the Direxion Bitcoin Strategy Bear ETF will maintain short exposure to bitcoin futures contracts issued by the CME exchange. The product will not directly invest in bitcoin.Shorting is a bet that the price of something – in this case, bitcoin futures contracts – will go down over some period of time.In addition, the ETF might invest in other bitcoin futures ETFs or money market funds, deposit accounts or short-term debt instruments.“The Fund will generally maintain its short exposure to Bitcoin Futures during periods in which the value of bitcoin is flat or declining as … [Read More...]

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX is paying for a commercial to run during the National Football League’s Super Bowl championship game on Feb. 13, CEO Sam Bankman-Fried confirmed to CoinDesk on Tuesday.FTX has put its name seemingly everywhere when it comes to sports advertising, including the arena for the National Basketball Association’s Miami Heat, Major League Baseball umpire shirts and the University of California Berkeley’s football stadium.“Of course we’re doing the Super Bowl thing,” Bankman-Fried said in a statement to CoinDesk, referring to the biggest event in the U.S. pro football world. “Would you really expect us not to? We actually wanted to buy the Super Bowl itself but they don’t yet accept cryptocurrency. So we’re settling for buying ad time.”Bankman-Fried noted … [Read More...]

Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) shares fell about 8% in after-hours trading Tuesday after the zero-commission trading platform missed badly on revenue expectations as its cryptocurrency revenue fell sharply from the second quarter’s record high.Robinhood said its crypto revenues fell to just $51 million in the third quarter, down from a record $233 million in the second quarter. The company said the reduced crypto trading activity led to significantly fewer new funded accounts and lower revenue in the quarter as compared to the second quarter.Total revenue for the quarter was $365 million, short of analyst estimates of $437.1 million, according to FactSet. The company reported an adjusted net loss of $2.06 per share, versus analyst expectations of a loss of $0.67.Robinhood said that over … [Read More...]

David “Big Papi” Ortiz is the newest ambassador of crypto exchange FTX.The Major League Baseball (MLB) legend, who hit over 500 home runs and brought home three World Series titles to the Boston Red Sox, has agreed to a multiyear deal with the exchange.As part of the pact, Big Papi will be compensated in cryptocurrency through the FTX app and release multiple non-fungible token (NFT) collections, according to a press release.FTX now has a strong lineup of athlete ambassadors, with Ortiz rounding out America’s professional sports trifecta with football’s Tom Brady and basketball’s Stephen Curry. TV commercials referencing the Ortiz deal (and mentioning Brady and Curry) began running on Tuesday night during the first game of the 2021 World Series.Read more: NBA Star Steph … [Read More...]

Bitcoin’s price continued to decline on Friday, ending the week down about 2% compared to a 1.7% gain in the ether cryptocurrency. Some traders who went long on BTC ahead of the launch of ProShares’ futures-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF) this week appear to be taking profits. Still, some investors expect pullbacks to remain limited for the remainder of the year. And one firm mentioned that alternative cryptocurrencies such as ether could see further upside relative to bitcoin.“We remain optimistic but are cautious about downside risk,” crypto trading firm QCP Capital wrote in a Telegram announcement. The firm noted that leverage levels are high in the bitcoin futures market, which typically precedes a price pullback. QCP also expects ether to outperform bitcoin in the … [Read More...]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) greenlighting a futures-based exchange-traded fund for bitcoin has been a boon to holders of the cryptocurrency this week, with bitcoin hitting all-time highs just shy of $67,000 on news of the ETF’s clearance. But let’s be clear: It’s a horrible deal for investors in the fund itself.Due to a common phenomenon in futures markets known as contango, the manager of the newly listed ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF looks likely to incur such significant costs that investors will earn a dramatically lower return than if they’d invested directly in bitcoin. The loss is so large it makes any concerns the SEC had about volatile, inconsistent reference prices for spot-market bitcoin ETFs seem trivial.You’re reading Money Reimagined, … [Read More...]

A non-fungible barrel of 1991 Macallans scotch set whiskey auction records Friday, nabbing $2.3 million on NFT marketplace Metacask.The sale surpasses the previous cask sale record price of $574,000 for a similar barrel at auction house Bonhams last August. This edition came bundled with digital art from Trevor Jones.A pseudonymous buyer who goes by oldcask outbid two other bidders active in digital whiskey investments, a PR representative told CoinDesk. The company declined to identify the buyer.The NFT serves as a digital title-of-deed for the cask of the whiskey. It was minted on the Ethereum blockchain.Co-founder Nim Siriwardana said Metacaskminted and auctioned the cask NFT to showcase the appeal of digitally transferable rights.“Buyers don’t need to go to a physical … [Read More...]

The crypto regulatory situation in the U.S. is sad. Not because the Securities and Exchange Commission or Department of the Treasury keep proposing new, unpopular rules but because there is a lack of depth and insights into most of the positions and intended actions coming out of U.S. regulatory agencies.What we have today is hastily concocted and coordinated decisions from various departments that have all been reactive and not proactive. Most of these end up delivering superficial, rushed, harmful, reactive or incomplete policies, not always aligned with helping the industry grow, but often obsessed with preserving the status quo.William Mougayar, a CoinDesk columnist, is executive chairman at the Kin Foundation. This op-ed is part of CoinDesk’s Policy Week, a forum for discussing … [Read More...]

Some $16 million in cryptocurrency was pilfered in an exploit of a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol last week, and the victims believe they know exactly who did it.Despite threats from the team, however, the alleged attacker – a Canadian teenaged graduate student – is refusing to return the funds, potentially setting the stage for a groundbreaking legal confrontation.On one side of the conflict is a child math prodigy and an outspoken champion of DeFi’s self-regulating “code is law” ethos. On the other, a pair of DeFi developers and their advisers who felt forced to make an unprecedented series of troubling ethical choices on behalf of a DAO community.At stake in the fight are a number of thorny issues that have so far been … [Read More...]