BlackRock CEO does not believe that cryptocurrencies will replace fiat money but he is optimistic about them. Although he initially called Bitcoin a “money laundering index,” he now sees it growing as an asset class.

In recent days, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink appeared fascinated with Bitcoin in an interview with the CNBC television network. Although he said that cryptocurrencies will not replace fiat money, he stressed that they could become a great asset class.

The executive seemed significantly more bullish on the crypto space, especially after Coinbase’s initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq. After years of skepticism from Wall Street giants and global regulators, the exchange finally went public.

Larry Fink Is Optimistic but Cautious about Cryptocurrencies

“I am still fascinated by [cryptocurrencies]. Ultimately, the number of people who are focusing on them and the narrative [around them] encourage me. They could become a great asset class,” said Fink.

However, the CEO of BlackRock clarified that he does not believe “that we should think of cryptocurrencies as a substitute for fiat currencies.” This leads to thinking that he considers crypto assets to be a complement to physical money.

BlackRock CEO Does Not Think that Cryptocurrencies Will Replace Fiat Currencies

Although the CEO of BlackRock is fascinated by Bitcoin, he is skeptical that cryptocurrencies could replace fiat currencies. Fink wanted to make very clear that cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies are different.

He believes that governments and central banks will eventually develop and launch their respective CBDCs. However, he stated that investors should not think of cryptocurrencies as a “substitute for fiat currencies.”

Additionally, Fink noted that his organization is “still observing” the developments in the cryptocurrency space. Despite this, he highlighted the little institutional demand from their customers for them.

He said that they have seen widespread interest from institutions in cryptocurrencies around the world. In that sense, he noted that they are studying these types of assets and investing in them.

Fink’s Opinion on Bitcoin Has Evolved Over Time

It is true that Fink, whose net worth includes more than USD 1.1 billion, was initially not interested in cryptocurrencies. In 2017, the billionaire even referred to Bitcoin as a “money laundering index.”

Over time, his views on Bitcoin have evolved. In December 2020, Larry Fink spoke positively about the pioneering cryptocurrency. The executive then said that he could see Bitcoin becoming an asset class.

In a filing with the SEC, his firm said that they were considering adding Bitcoin futures to their funds. Despite the seemingly mixed messages about cryptocurrencies, they might be exploring the possibility of getting more directly involved in the sector.

The growing relevance of cryptocurrencies in the world economy has led many institutions to take an interest in incorporating them. Larry Fink is just one of many business people who, after having a negative opinion about Bitcoin, now even invest in it.

At the time of writing this article, Bitcoin is trading at around USD 55,600, showing a decreasing variation of 7.8% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinGecko.

By Alexander Salazar

Lionel Messi and other soccer superstars would have multiplied their income if they had received the payment from their contracts in the market-leading cryptocurrency.

According to data provided by the website recordings.com, the soccer star Lionel Messi signed in 2017 an extension of his contract for four years and the astronomical figure of USD 84.8 million per year.

Messi would have received an average of 10,469.13 BTC, which is the annual equivalent of the price of Bitcoin at the time of signing the contract, in November 2017.

At the current market price (1 BTC ~ USD 60,662), Messi’s first salary of the present contract would currently be parallel to a sum that even surpasses USD 635.07 million, that is, seven times more than the original amount he signed with FC Barcelona of Spain.

Although Lionel’s connection with cryptocurrencies is not new, due to his notorious advertising firms with companies related to the sector and Blockchain technology, his income in Bitcoin could have created many beneficial scenarios.

VIP Salaries in International Soccer

In addition to Lionel Messi, based on the assumptions that users constantly have in the community, Lionel’s similar exercise could be an excellent example for other players of this game, even regionally.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese star of the Italian club Juventus, is another player on the list of VIP Salaries in soccer worth examining how he would have increased his wealth without trying too hard on the game.

With a current contract of 37.1 million dollars per year, the former Real Madrid star would have received on his wallet about 5,888.88 BTC. All this money would have entered Ronaldo’s pocket during his transfer in 2018.

The figure for that first year shows equivalence to about USD 357.2 million today, which is almost ten times Ronaldo’s salary in his transfer deal.

The fact that the equivalent amount in BTC at today’s rate with the first year of his transfer would more than double the total amount during the term of his contract with the Italian club between 2018 and 2022 makes this case even more curious.

Neymar, Falcao, and Many other Similar Cases

The Brazilian Neymar is also a very curious case. He is currently playing for Paris Saint-Germain. His file shows an annual income of USD 44.09 million a year since 2017, which was the beginning of his cycle with the French club.

Due to the bull run of 2017, Neymar would have kept receiving enormous benefits if he had accepted his first salary from the current contract in the leading cryptocurrency. The equivalent for its annual amount would be about 9520.12 BTC. An amount that ideally would be worth up to 13 times the salary received today.

Radamel Falcao is a Colombian player that now belongs to the Turkish Galatasaray as a member since 2019 with about USD 7 million per year (755.45 BTC). Falcao could have revalued his fortune thanks to the current price of Bitcoin, multiplying his income by six, which is around USD 45.8 million.

By: Jenson Nuñez

The particular piece of digital art is receiving promotion on the Foundation platform. The user @PleasrDAO was the winner of the bid by paying a total of 2,224 ethers.

Former US National Security Agency (NSA) employee Edward Snowden created his non-fungible token, or NFT, and later auctioned it for $ 5.5 million on the Ethereum network. Stay Free’s artwork shows a beautiful combination of both court documents and a silhouette of Snowden’s face in the same image.

User @PleasrDAO acquired the piece by winning the auction with a bid of 2,224 ethers on the NFT Foundation market. The request lasted 24 hours and began with an offer of 2 ETH, that is, for almost 5,000 dollars. In the final minutes, @PleasrDAO and @aaa bid for the last time, but the second participant did not reach his 2,021 ETH or nearly 5 million dollars.

Snowden followed the auction live and posted messages on Twitter about the event. Snowden also mentioned the Foundation for Press Freedom, which will be the organization that will serve as the receptor of the funds as a donation. Snowden is the current president of said foundation.

“We have a winner, Internet friends. I desire to thank you all who followed this auction the last 24 hours, and deepest thanks from EVERYONE on @FreedomofPress to those who bid on charity events. They help us make a better world. Stay Free!” Said Snowden.

The court documents in Stay Free evoke the decision of a United States of America court on the mass surveillance of the National Security Agency. The court ruled that the Patriot Act did not permit any data collection and telephone surveillance of US citizens. In other words, the NSA’s monitoring broke the law.

In 2013 Snowden started a revolution by leaking NSA documents to The Guardian and The Washington Post newspapers. These documents described several clandestine mass surveillance programs active in the United States of America, including PRISM and XKeyscore. The revelation generated a global concern that led to criticism from every corner.

Snowden is a Fervent Believer in Privacy

The former American tech consultant, who currently lives in Russia, is a fervent believer in privacy. Snowden qualifies privacy as one of the most fundamental rights people have, and that needs complete protection in every area.

In an interview released in January 2018, Snowden stated that privacy is the tap for all other rights. Rights come directly from privacy because it is the right to self. Privacy is the right to set the mind free.

Those same thoughts about privacy are now guiding Snowden through the world of cryptocurrencies. The insider has also said that bitcoin “sucks” for its lack of privacy in user transactions.

Snowden has praised privacy-oriented projects like Zcash or Monero in the past. Regarding this type of characteristics, the message of the computer scientist is clear: “if it is not private, it is not safe.”

By: Jenson Nuñez

In the last week, the cryptocurrency market has reached all-time highs, but assets such as Bitcoin and Ether have suffered corrections. Besides, the price of DeFi tokens continues to increase as Total Value Locked (TVL) touches USD 58 billion.

After having reached new all-time highs, several cryptocurrencies seem to show a decline in value. When reviewing the list of the top 20 stocks, it is possible to find signs of red numbers.

In contrast, those tokens related in some way to DeFi projects are the ones that have yielded the highest profits.

Ripple’s Cryptocurrency Suffers a Fall in Price

An example of the correction that the cryptocurrency market has suffered is Ripple (XRP), whose value fell more than 7%.

This drop in the price of the crypto asset occurred 10 days after it had made good profits. However, XRP’s gains since April 5^th have been above 170%.

These Are the Tokens that Have Performed Better

The best performing tokens have been Maker (MKR) with + 20%, Compound (COMP) with + 15%, Aave (AAVE) with + 12%, and Yearn.Finance (YFI) with + 12%. Additionally, the Chiliz (CHZ) token achieved a recovery of USD 0.55 in its price.

Recent optimism about new all-time highs put total trading volumes above USD 800 billion. At the same time, it was possible to suppress the absolute records from mid-March 2020.

The entire sector has managed to position itself above the limit of USD 800 billion traded in a single day.

Ether and Bitcoin Suffer Corrections After Having Shown Increases

Likewise, the trading of digital asset Ether achieved high growth. It reached above USD 8.6 billion, its highest figure in more than 30 days.

Regarding Bitcoin, it also showed a lot of movement, reporting USD 14.4 billion in trading volume. However, the cryptocurrency suffered a decline of just over 3% since its last all-time high on April 14^th. At the time, it reached prices above USD 64,800 for the first time.

These reports allow to see that the Bitcoin asset has managed to reinforce the bullish trend that it had reported at the end of January.

As for the Ether crypto asset, it is close to reaching USD 2,500. In this way, it follows in the footsteps of the hot streak that it has had since the lows at the end of March.

DeFi Continues to Increase Its Value

Not only digital assets have had some type of increase, but also DeFi continues to grow. This is because the Total Value Locked (TVL) has reached levels that touch USD 58 billion.

The Compound decentralized finance protocol managed to stand out and positioned itself above USD 10 billion. After that, Maker, the second loaning and financing project is also very close to reaching USD 10 billion.

The first cryptocurrency has a tremendous influence on the crypto market in general. When it reaches all-time highs, the other cryptocurrencies also experience significant price increases.

The above are just some examples of the behavior of this market during Bitcoin’s bullish rallies. It is also possible to see that the pioneering cryptocurrency suffers drops, after which it is capable of reaching new all-time highs.

By Alexander Salazar

After the big increase in the price of Dogecoin, a person could buy a Tesla electric car with that investment. The creators of DOGE did not expect it to become such a valued asset, so they left it in the hands of the community.

A year ago, no one could have predicted that Dogecoin would be one of the biggest players in the crypto world in 2021. The Japanese meme-inspired cryptocurrency never sought to become the center of attention for investors and the media. The exponential increase in its price since the beginning of the year allows buying many things with an investment of USD 1,000 made in January.

Elon Musk’s Influence on the Rising Price of Dogecoin

Dogecoin was born in 2013 when Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer wanted to create a joke cryptocurrency to experiment with blockchain technology. They did not intend the virtual currency to eventually become a globally valued asset. For that reason, they abandoned the project and left it in the hands of the community.

Despite being only the product of an intellectual exercise, Dogecoin has managed to capture the imagination of people worldwide. Communities of Internet users have bought the cryptocurrency as part of a trend toward investment memes. They do not invest in this type of financial product because of its intrinsic qualities or its economic value. They do it as part of a cultural movement manifesting itself in finance, which also drove the rise of GameStop shares.

One of the great promoters of Dogecoin has been businessman Elon Musk, who had always expressed his support for the cryptocurrency. However, only a few months ago, he transformed this support into a call for investment in the virtual currency. In that way, he led millions of people to acquire the crypto asset, thus increasing its demand and its price. This is an excellent example of how a cultural influence has financial repercussions.

It Is Possible to Buy a Tesla Electric Car with USD 1,000 Worth of Dogecoin

Concerning the latest increase that Dogecoin experienced, it went from USD 0.06 to USD 0.34 per unit, at the time of writing this article. Coinbase’s initial public offering (IPO), which boosted the entire crypto market, has also played a role in that growth. Likewise, a recent tweet by Elon Musk, in which he showed his support for DOGE, finally drove the virtual currency higher.

This year, the most profitable investment has not been gold, Tesla, Bitcoin, or GameStop, but Dogecoin. If someone had invested USD 1,000 in DOGE at the beginning of the year, they would have around USD 55,000 right now. That amount would be more than enough to buy a Tesla electric car, for example.

Of course, this raises the question of whether the growth in the price of Dogecoin will be sustainable over time. Besides, Dogecoin has not developed an economic use that justifies its profits, and it seems that it will not do so either.

By Alexander Salazar

The CFO of Coinbase sold her shares for USD388.73 while its CEO sold hers for USD291,827,966. Although the sale of shares by other executives of the exchange raised doubts, analyst Scott Melker explained the reason behind it.

During Coinbase’s first day on Nasdaq, investors of the exchange sold about USD5 billion worth of shares in total. A series of filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicate this.

Coinbase is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States and one of the great hopes of the sector. Its shares are listed on the Nasdaq exchange at a reference price of USD 340 per unit.

Insiders of the company sold a total of 12,965,079 shares, according to data from Capital Market Laboratories. Its value was more than USD4.6 billion at a price of USD354.38 per share, at closing time.

Coinbase CEO Holds at Least 300,000 Thousand Shares

The most prominent deals include that of Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas, who sold her 255,500 shares for USD388.73. Meanwhile, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong sold 749,999 shares in three transactions for a total of USD291,827,966. The executive still has 300,001 shares worth around USD1 billion.

Teasing and jokes emerged on social media and many observers compared the sales to the classic “pump and dump” scheme. In other words, insiders and team members sell their tokens on the retail market after a listing to make a profit.

Another filing with the SEC revealed how many shares Coinbase CEO and venture capitalist Fred Wilson sold. The total was 4.7 million shares that yielded a profit of USD 1,820 million. However, it is not clear to anyone how much COIN he still has.

Reasons Why Brian Armstrong Sold His Coinbase Shares

Coinbase going public will remain one of the most important moments in the history of cryptocurrencies. It symbolizes the long-awaited union between the crypto market and the traditional financial market. With this, the adoption of virtual currencies and, therefore, their price should skyrocket.

However, that feeling of joy faded when Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong sold USD291 million of his shares in the first few hours. Several exchange executives emulated him, leading to doubts whether it had all been a trick to profit and retire.

Although that theory caused a stir on the Internet, crypto analyst Scott Melker has refuted it. He explained that the reason behind the Armstrong sale is how Coinbase went public. Buying and selling existing shares, without issuing new ones, forces holders to sell part of them, according to Melker.

“Coinbase is not selling shares. They have to sell them so that there are shares available to buy, according to the rules of a direct listing. Even if they did, no one should care as this is a free market. You should not blame someone for making a little profit after having worked for a decade,” Melker said.

Although Brian Armstrong has not commented on it, Scott Melker’s explanation makes sense, taking into account how Coinbase went public. The analyst considers that people sometimes spread rumors to affect the performance of the crypto market.

By Alexander Salazar