December 10, 2018
Several big announcements this morning: Gemini, headed by the Winklevoss twins, announced that they had received approval to issue its first cryptocurrency, a stablecoin called the Gemini Dollar (“GD”). Designed to facilitate the use of cryptocurrency as a medium of Read more…
December 2, 2018
As much of the crypto world descended upon Manhattan for Consensus:Invest this past week, it was a different atmosphere than a year ago, when bitcoin was on its way to $20,000. Many cryptos were down 90% from all-time highs, with Read more…
October 29, 2018
The past couple of weeks have seen a flurry of activity in the blockchain and crypto markets: Yesterday, the WSJ published an investigative report that looked at money laundering in the crypto world. Of over $88M of illicit funds it Read more…
October 16, 2018
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the proliferation of stablecoins, crytpocurrencies using different mechanisms to maintain a stable value versus a specific price (most often US$). The goal is to reduce volatility when utilizing decentralized applications. Many exchanges have Read more…
August 31, 2018
The pace of news announcements over the last week shows the blockchain sector hasn’t received the August doldrums memo. Overall crypto markets improved, with Bitcoin hovering near $7000. Many other cryptocurrencies have seen more modest recoveries. NEO, often touted as Read more…
August 22, 2018
Last week in NYC I shared a panel with Valerie Szczepanik, SEC’s “crypto czar”. We had a wide-ranging discussion on self-regulation, utility tokens, the SEC’s role in protecting investors, and accredited investor definitions. While the conversation was under Chatham House Rules Read more…
Last week I wrote about how geopolitics can impact demand for public blockchain cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. Cryptocurrency can serve as a (relatively) stable store of value when local currencies are devalued or taken out of circulation – most recently Read more…
August 19, 2018
I took a hiatus from the newsletter last week, while meeting with entrepreneurs and speaking at SXSW in Austin. Similar to what I saw (at the very different gathering) at Davos in January, much of the conference chatter revolved around Read more…
August 14, 2018
Financial headlines over the past week focused on Turkey’s rapidly depreciating lira. Meanwhile many citizens there, ignoring President Erdogan’s calls to exchange gold and foreign currencies to local currency, tapped into the crypto market: s “Bunyamin Yavuz, a cardiologist in Read more…
August 3, 2018
The big news this morning is that Intercontinental Exchange, parent of the New York Stock Exchange, announced the formation of a new company, Bakkt, a global platform to allow consumers and institutions to buy, hold and store digital assets. Its Read more…