“Pantera Capital says a Bitcoin shortage is at the heart of the recent price surge and that the majority of newly minted BTC is being scooped up by PayPal.
The increase in itBit volume implies that within four weeks of going live, PayPal is already buying almost 70% of the new supply of bitcoins.
Pantera says it’s a lot easier to purchase Bitcoin now than it was during the last bull market in 2017. In addition to PayPal, retail onramps into Bitcoin and other digital currencies now include Cash App and Robinhood.”
See Also: Players Prefer Cashing Out in Bitcoin Amid Rally, Says Online Poker Giant
“I think cryptocurrency’s here to stay, I think it is … durable.
Do I think it’s a durable mechanism that … could take the place of gold to a large extent? Yeah, I do, because it’s so much more functional than passing a bar of gold around.”
See Also: Global search volume for Bitcoin appears higher than in 2017
See Also: Corporate Bitcoin frenzy: Companies now hold $15.3 billion in BTC
“Circle is using USDC, the dollar-pegged stablecoin it issues with Coinbase, to distribute relief funds to medical workers and other Venezuelan locals, it announced Friday.
The U.S. Treasury Department has been trying to send these funds directly to Venezuelan residents, but this task has been made difficult after Maduro tried blocking the distribution.
This is, in a sense, a way to bypass the state-controlled banking system and just directly distribute to people.
This, I believe, marks really a first where the U.S. is effectively executing a global foreign policy objective with stablecoins for foreign aid because the existing dollar banking system can’t do the job.
By using USDC, these Venezuelans can spend in dollars, which are currently far more stable than Venezuela’s native bolivar. All local residents need to receive the stablecoins is a mobile phone and some way of accessing the internet.”
“Ether has jumped to 28-month highs, taking year-to-date gains to nearly 290%. Apart from the broader market uptrend, Ethereum’s impending transition to proof-of-stake looks to be powering gains in ether.
The belief is that it’ll lead to a supply shortage of ether.”
See Also: Nearly 1% of Bitcoin’s Circulating Supply Now Tokenized on Ethereum
“DAiM will serve as an adviser and fiduciary while helping companies create a 401(k) plan that allows a maximum allocation of up to 10% in bitcoin. Individuals can choose to take a bigger exposure to bitcoin following a consultation with DAiM and will be able to transfer pension bitcoins in the event of a job switch.
From the moment we were approved by the State of California in June 2018, we’ve seen incredible inbound demand from individuals eager to invest bitcoin in 401(k)s.
We believe [b]itcoin has demonstrated it has a place in the modern portfolio and individuals should have an opportunity to ‘Get Off Zero’ and invest directly through their retirement account.”
“A greater use of CBDCs can lower cross-border financial frictions, so markets can be deeper and more integrated. There is the possibility that rebalancing towards a more multipolar world can be accelerated by the CBDCs, and that can be a good thing.
For the countries willing to introduce a CBDC, the main goal should not be reducing the cost of transactions – which many countries have already achieved – but creating ‘a platform for innovation and economic growth,’ in which a CBDC might be even not the only kind, but one of the many digital assets integrated into a new-generation payment system, Birch said.
The money of the future will not only be used by humans, and that’s important to consider while designing the CBDCs. In the smart cities of the future that are driven by data, we will see ‘architectures that have people’s money, machine’s money and algorithms’ money.’
Widespread adoption of CBDCs around the world could reduce the dollar’s domination, leading to unpredictable effects.”
See Also: IMF lawyers argue that central banks need reform before they can issue CBDCs
See Also: Japan’s Banking Giant MUFG Plans to Launch Blockchain Payment Network in 2021
“In the words of Comptroller Brian Brooks, ‘Blanket boycotts of entire industry sectors have to stop.’ The OCC’s announcement points to political hot-button issues that banks have systematically denied services to, including oil and gas companies in Alaska as well as Planned Parenthood.
There is a creeping politicization of the banking industry that has the potential to be very dangerous.”
“SEC Chairman Jay Clayton reiterated that he does not believe Bitcoin is a security, but suggested that more regulation could still be on the way from other federal agencies. He also warned that as Bitcoin becomes more popular, it could become further regulated as a payment method.
I think we’re going to see this mature, and I think we’re going to see more regulation around the payments space.”
“MicroStrategy executives are on the hunt for blockchain experts who could help the publicly traded firm build a suite of bitcoin data services. Exactly what those services might be, when they would come online and how they would be monetized are still open questions.
There’s an entire exploding universe of intelligence opportunities all wrapped around this kind of unique bitcoin intelligence coming off the blockchain. And we’ll explore it all.”
“By comparison, Twitter produces about 4.3 petabytes a year, or 0.0043 exabytes. Data company Zeenea estimated in March 2019 that Netflix stored 60 petabytes of movies and TV shows, or six percent of Filecoin’s current capacity.
Being able to reach a scale to compete with and contend with the traditional cloud is something that many people said was impossible.
The next step is getting applications to join the network. Last checked on November 19, 761 gigabytes of data are currently being stored on the network.”
“Xu appeared on a private social media platform to post that he had been cooperating with an investigation relating to an equity merger that OK Group had finalized years prior.
The equity investee was the target of a “complicated” legal case, Xu said, choosing not to go into further detail. It remains unclear as to precisely to which deal he was referring.
The authorities have clarified the matter and proved me innocent.”
The Disrupt 