Every week, I will be collecting some news stories / opinion pieces that I have found to be interesting in the crypto world and condensing them down into one easily digestible article. All the article and images are taken from a news source that I like to use and an alternative to CoinTelegram called BeInCrypto.
BeInCrypto is a news website founded in August 2018 that specialises in cryptographic technology, privacy, fintech, and the Internet — among other related topics. The primary goal of the website is to inject transparency into an industry rife with disingenuous reporting, unlabelled sponsored articles, and paid news masquerading as honest journalism. You can visit their website by clicking here or join their new Telegram Trading channel by clicking here. I am also part of that group and like the content they are discussing. There is a lot of news that came out last week, So let's get started!
DeFi Total Value Locked at New High After 2,000% Gains on the Year
Total value locked (TVL) across all decentralized finance protocols hit another all-time high last week after gains of almost 2,000% over the past 12 months. The TVL collateral figure has reached a record of $12.3 billion, according to DeFi Pulse, and this milestone means that it has increased by almost 2,000% since this time last year.
To read more about this topic, click here.
JPMorgan Does an About Face, Turns Bullish on Bitcoin
Wall Street bank JPMorgan has surprisingly turned bullish on bitcoin’s medium to long-term growth potential.
In its latest Flows & Liquidity report, JPMorgan reportedly stated that bitcoin will compete favorably with gold as an alternative currency in the coming years, as millennials take up a larger share of the total investment picture. To read more about this, click here.
Brad Garlinghouse Disagrees With Coinbase’s Zero Politics Stance
Political workplace stance announced by COINBASE founder Brian Armstrong in September.
Speaking to CNBC on Oct 26, Garlinghouse stated that he believes that tech companies have an “obligation” to be part of the solution to social issues. On Sep 27, Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong published a highly polarizing blog post stating that Coinbase is a “mission-focused” company that will not emphasize or engage in social activism or political discussions in the workplace. To read more about this story, click here.
Ethereum 2.0 “Nearly Ready” for Launch, Says Auditor
Auditor Quantstamp has vetted Ethereum 2.0’s Teku software. The software allows ETH 2.0 stakers to participate in mining and is an important step toward the long-awaited protocol upgrade.
The epic challenge to scale up Ethereum with (ETH 2.0) began in 2014. So far, it has been a game of two steps forward and one step back. This week brings a step forward. The smart-contract auditing company Quantstamp has concluded an audit of Teku, a piece of software developed by ConsenSys that allows for the staking of Ether. To read more about this, click here.
$29 Million in Bitcoin Seized From Dutch Dark Web Money Launderers
The Rotterdam District Court in the Netherlands has seized 2,532 bitcoins (~$29 million) from a couple convicted of money laundering on dark web platforms. According to a court statement, the man and his wife from the city of Hilversum, located in North Holland, were also sentenced to two years and two and a half years in prison, respectively, for money laundering.
The Dutch Public Prosecution Service successfully prosecuted the couple for laundering more than €16 million ($18.9 million) over the course of two and half years after establishing that the source of the large bitcoin sum in their possession came from illegal dark web transactions. To read more about this story, click here.
China’s Digital Yuan to Complement WeChat and Alipay
Mu Changchun, head of the research institute for digital currency at the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), has revealed that the newly launched digital yuan will function in tandem, rather than in competition with established digital payment services like Alipay and WeChat.
To read more about this development, click here.
Harvest Finance Releases Attack Postmortem After Losing $24 Million
The latest Harvest Finance DeFi incursion has generated overwhelming denigration from crypto pundits on social media. However, it would be more constructive to break the situation down to find out exactly what happened in order to mitigate future attacks. Since the attack, Harvest Finance has put up a $1 million dollar bounty to catch the hacker.
To read more about this, click here.
Chief NYSE Regulator Hired as Crypto Advisor for Andreessen Horowitz
The New York Stock Exchange’s top financial regulator is leaving his post for a crypto-related position at venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Anthony Albanese, who has served as NYSE’s chief regulatory officer for the last four years, will join the famous Silicon Valley investment firm in mid-November as a crypto regulation advisor.
To read more about this topic, click here.
Whale Moves $1.16B Bitcoin in Largest-Ever Dollar Transaction
An unknown bitcoin whale has moved the largest fiat value bitcoin sum in history. The transfer moved 88,857 BTC worth $1.16 billion from a Xapo wallet to an unknown one.
Data from Blockchain.com shows that the whale moved the sum across two transactions of 43,185 BTC and 45,671 BTC respectively. At press time, 1 BTC changed hands around $13,451, which makes the total fiat value of the transaction approximately $1,192,194,369. This transaction happened on the 26th of October.
To read more about this, click here.
Grayscale: 55% of US Investors Are Interested in Bitcoin
Digital currency asset manager Grayscale Investments published its 2020 survey on bitcoin sentiment, and the results are bullish. Grayscale, via 8 Acre Perspective, canvassed 1,000 consumers across the United States between 25 and 64.
According to Grayscale, investor interest in Bitcoin has been piqued, with more than half, or 55% of those polled expressing a desire to invest in the leading cryptocurrency. This compares to slightly over one-third of respondents in the 2019 survey. To read more about this, click here.
Avanti Becomes Latest Crypto Startup to Win Bank Charter in Wyoming
Wyoming’s profile as a crypto-friendly state is on the rise. Avanti has received unanimous approval for a bank charter by the Wyoming State Banking Board in an 8-0 vote.
Avanti joins Kraken Financial in Cheyenne, Wyo., the latter of which scored its bank charter in September. It means that Avanti can operate as a national bank in its approved businesses. To read more about this, click here.
Coinbase Debit Card Rolled Out for US Customers
Cryptocurrency exchange giant Coinbase has announced that US users can now apply to join the waitlist for its crypto-based Visa debit card. ‘Coinbase Card,’ which will work the same as any other Visa debit card on the market will permit users to make payments and ATM withdrawals without needing to move funds to a fiat bank account.
To read more about this, click here.
That is my weekly roundup of the interesting news coming from the crypto world. What do you think about the topics / news stories and what was your favourite article? If you liked the content, please consider following me and tipping the article. Also are you a trader? If you are check out my favourite Telegram Trading chat, where you can discuss and find out more about crypto projects. Click here to start conversations with other crypto traders!
