Grayscale said that it is considering new investment assets, the most prominent of which are DeFi. Even though Musk loves Dogecoin, he says that he prefers Bitcoin (BTC) as corporate strategic investment.

Grayscale is the issuer of publicly traded products such as a Bitcoin Trust with the support of Bitcoin (BTC). In recent days, they announced that they are considering 23 new assets, 8 of which come from the DeFi ecosystem of Ethereum.

Those other assets are Aave, COMP from Compound, MKR from MakerDAO, Reserve Rights (RSR), SUSHI from SushiSwap, Synthetix Network Token (SNX), YFI from yearn.finance, and UNI from Uniswap. Like Polkadot’s DOT, Cosmos’s ATOM, and Cardano’s ADA, there is a sign that the “big revision of prices” may be gathering momentum.

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein said that “the universe of digital currency is constantly evolving.” He added that “bold, exciting and innovative opportunities can meet investor demand, as is the case with this expanding asset class.”

According to Grayscale’s announcement, there are also considerations such as “sufficiently secure custody arrangements and regulatory considerations.” They consider that these will be factors in deciding which assets to trade as products traded on a stock exchange.

Atomic Swaps Go to Ethereum and Bitcoin Thanks to the New Version of AtomicDEX

The Komodo platform recently released the public beta version of AtomicDEX, which seeks to enable trustless atomic swaps between different blockchain networks. Currently, it connects Ethereum and its tokens to blockchain networks such as Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), and Dogecoin (DOGE).

Atomic swaps allow users to trade directly with native tokens. By buying Ether (ETH) with BTC, they would simply exchange the ownership of the respective currencies on their blockchain networks. For that reason, they would not need to use intermediate representations of tokens.

In this type of cross-chain interaction, special cryptographic techniques are generally based on Hash Time-Locked Contracts (HTLC). The latter ensures that two transfers occur completely or not at all.

This implies that two parties to an exchange transaction will trade funds simultaneously. Also, if either party pulls back, there will be a cancellation of the transaction.

Elon Musk Is Not Worried about the SEC Investigating His Tweets about Dogecoin

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may be investigating Elon Musk’s impact on Dogecoin prices. Those are the rumors circulating on social media about the CEO of electric car manufacturer Tesla.

Musk has previously clashed with the SEC, but a possible legal sequel to his penchant for the meme cryptocurrency does not seem to faze him. His love for “dogs and memes” has led him to post humorous memes about Dogecoin (DOGE). The most recent shows the mascot, Doge, “on the actual moon”.

In traders’ jargon, that refers to stratospheric price action, which would suggest a form of support. Musk has said that he loves the meme cryptocurrency, but that he prefers Bitcoin (BTC) in the case of personal and corporate strategic investments.

Although the CEO’s posts on Twitter are ironic, they have not stopped driving the memecoin market up. An example of this is the “Dogecoin Christmas 2020” meme.

By Willmen Blanco

Coinbase’s Class A shares would list on the Nasdaq technology market. The US exchange reported earnings of USD 1.3 billion in 2020.

US-based Bitcoin exchange Coinbase is getting closer to listing its shares on Wall Street. They recently filed Form S-1, or Initial Registration Information Prospectus, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Coinbase notes that it opted for a direct listing of its Class A shares to go public. They also offered details of what the process will be like once the SEC authorizes it. Financial entities Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Citigroup are advising the organization.

“Goldman Sachs will notify Nasdaq when our Class A common shares will be ready for trading. Then Nasdaq will calculate the reference price,” the exchange said.

If Goldman Sachs approves the trades at the stipulated price, Nasdaq will conduct a price validation check. They will do that according to their rules, as the statement they sent to the regulatory agency highlights.

Valuation that Coinbase May Achieve

There are various estimates of the possible valuation that Coinbase may achieve. In December, the Messari research firm put it at around USD 28 billion. Other investors have even claimed that the actual valuation could be USD 100 billion.

The SEC requires a protocol from all those based in the United States who wish to enter the stock market, with which Coinbase is complying. On the S-1 form, they include financial information about the company and basic information about their organization.

In a direct listing, anyone who owns shares in a company, including promoters, investors, and employees, can sell them. In other words, there are no new shares, but the operators work with the securities that already exist.

Coinbase Financial Data

The US exchange revealed that it made a total of USD 1.3 billion in revenue in 2020. That is more than twice the revenue that it earned in 2019 when it reached USD 533 million. In the last year, they have had 43 million verified users and almost three million active operators per month.

There has been USD 90 billion worth of assets on the platform and a trading volume of USD 456 billion since its inception in 2012. According to the information prospectus, Coinbase maintains operations in more than 100 countries.

The cryptocurrency community has attributed Coinbase’s fortune to the dramatic bullish run that Bitcoin experienced in 2020. Coinbase saw an increase in its trading volume for both institutional and retail Bitcoin investors.

Regarding Coinbase’s ownership structure, Brian Armstrong, CEO of the crypto exchange, only owns 11% of the company. However, he has a larger holding of Class B shares, which have governing power.

According to data from CoinGecko, Coinbase is the second-largest Bitcoin exchange, based on its trading volume in the last 24 hours. The information service indicates that the exchange is processing around USD 4.2 billion, behind Binance with USD 29 billion.

By Willmen Blanco

The pool believes that EIP-1559 will contribute to improving the user experience. Other Ether mining pools reject it because it could reduce their income.

In recent weeks, cryptocurrency mining group F2pool announced its support for Ethereum’s EIP-1559 proposal. They said that it would serve to adjust the incentive payments to miners. The pool explains the reasons that led them to support the initiative.

EIP-1559 suggests two ways to adjust the fees that traders must pay for the transactions that they conduct. In other words, the gas would have a base fee and a tip. The first would consist of the minimum price that users must pay to include their transactions in the next blocks.

The miners would not receive the amount directly, but it would burn to keep the rates low and stable. They would receive a tip instead, which would theoretically allow them to classify the transactions to conduct. However, the method could create a “bidding war” with tips, just like with fees.

In recent days, F2pool highlighted that the activation of EIP-1559 would significantly improve the user experience. According to the document that “JK” signed, the proposal will help to make a more predictable fee estimate.

Arguments to Support Ethereum’s EIP-1559

They mainly argue that the current Ethereum ecosystem is not the same as it was in its early days. Now there are thousands of apps and developers, which shows the value that the network has gained. That is something that has benefited miners, according to F2pool.

“Block rewards have fallen from 30,000 ETH per day in 2016 to 13,000 ETH per day today. However, miners’ block incentive income has increased from USD 300,000 a day to USD 23.4 million a day,” the statement said.

F2pool believes that Ethereum users and apps require the network to enable EIP-1559 to improve. High fees due to network congestion could be hampering the potential scalability of the project.

The group explained that EIP-1559 is necessary “due to market expectations.” They believe that the current price of Ether (ETH) should have already absorbed the improvement.

Miners Reject the Proposal

On other occasions, miners have rejected the activation of this proposal because it will make them obtain less income. That would carry the potential risk of disconnecting their equipment. Eight of nine mining projects surveyed last year disagreed with the proposal.

The miners fear that “conspiracies” will arise to keep the base rate higher or lower. The groups also doubt whether the reduced incentives could lead to the appearance of more ASIC equipment on the network. They also do not know how they could incentivize users to give higher tips.

Regardless of these perspectives, F2pool said that “the only negative arguments center on the miners’ loss of income in the short term.” The situation could become complicated in the Ethereum community as the activation of EIP-1559 should occur in July, along with the London hard fork.

By Willmen Blanco

Chinese companies that are not related to cryptocurrencies are investing in Bitcoin mining. They have made good profits on their investments in this activity.

One of the key players in the cryptocurrency market is precisely China. For that reason, a growing number of Chinese companies that are not related to them are investing in Bitcoin mining.

The current bullish run for Bitcoin seems to have prompted these companies to invest large amounts of money in Bitcoin mining.

Some examples are US-listed Chinese companies offering baked goods and tea, emergency rescue, and online lotteries. They have ventured into Bitcoin mining in recent months to capitalize on the current bullish run.

They are only trying to seize the short-term opportunity as they are well-positioned to rapidly expand the mining industry.

“These companies have connections with Chinese Bitcoin mining companies, local hosting mining sites, and state power companies. That situation offers them an advantage over their competitors,” said Ethan Vera, CEO of Bitcoin mining company Luxor.

The executive added that “some of the companies partially belong to the Chinese government. For that reason, they could obtain permits to operate in areas rich in water or economic offers, jointly with state electricity companies “.

Chinese Companies Are Turning To Cryptocurrency Mining

Shenzhen-based online sports Lottery Company 500.com has signed contracts with State Grid Corporation of China. This state power company will allow them to enjoy discounted electricity for their data centers.

Yulong Liu is the CEO of Babel Finance, one of the largest cryptocurrency lenders in China. This executive recently said that “500.com has been quietly developing its Bitcoins mining business for several years.”

He noted that “the lottery company seems to be redoubling its efforts to do Bitcoin mining as Bitcoin has the largest bullish run in history.” Likewise, he said that “adding Bitcoin mining to the businesses of these companies is beneficial. This can significantly increase their multiplication of qualifications.”

A Growing Number of Companies Invest in Bitcoin

Shares in The9, the Nasdaq-listed Chinese online gaming company, have risen by more than 750% since the beginning of the year. That has happened since they announced in January that they would invest in cryptocurrencies.

Sino-Global Shipping, an international shipping company, also announced that it was investing in Bitcoin mining. They earned more than 300% of their share price on February 3^rd.

Similarly, SOS, a Chinese emergency services company, has earned more than 300% on its share price since January.

Urban Tea Inc, a Chinese bakery and specialty retailer, has also soared by more than 200% since January. In that month, they switched to Bitcoin mining.

According to Urban Tea CEO Yi Long, “Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are gaining widespread popularity. Therefore, they are ready to become the mainstream.”

A steady rise of Bitcoin could drive mining company stocks higher. However, a decline could affect many of these companies if they are not financially sound.

Lingxiao Yang is the COO of Crypto Hedge Fund Trade Terminal. He noted that “the listing on US stock exchanges also contributes to the rapid growth in the mining operations of these companies.”

In conclusion, companies like 500.com could confirm the leadership of the Bitcoin mining industry in China.

By Willmen Blanco

IDB and EOS will use LACChain’s two blockchain networks: Besu and EOSIO Network. They will handle blockchain projects by offering better solutions for digital identity and unbanking.

Block, one developer of the EOSIO platform joined forces with LACChain, the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Lab) innovation laboratory, to accelerate an open and interoperable blockchain ecosystem in Latin America.

According to the statement that appeared this February 25, Block. one will contribute its technical experience to empower many entrepreneurs and Latin American governments to consolidate their blockchain projects in their countries. This empowering will happen thanks to the already existing providers in the region. The statement refers explicitly to EOS Costa Rica and EOS Argentina, where some organizations apply EOSIO to improve their economies, supply chains and upgrade their infrastructure.

Bart Wyatt, vice president of blockchain engineering at Block. One said: “In this technical advisory role, we look forward to helping LACChain drive adoption and awareness of the EOSIO platform through educational programs, deeper technical collaboration, and community engagement initiatives,”

In that sense, the co-founder of EOS Costa Rica, Edgar Fernández, clarified that they had provided a trustworthy and reliable infrastructure for blockchains during the last six years in a region like Latin America.

“We look forward to accelerating blockchain adoption by combining our specialized regional expertise with the innovation and broad reach of the IDB’s Block. One,” Fernández said.

The LACChain and Principal Specialist leader at BID Lab, Alejandro Pardo, said that the organization intends to guarantee the performance, usability, and construction of the technological infrastructure.

This Guarantee is necessary to support further development of applications that might cause a positive impact on the inclusion of the Latin American communities where they operate.

Pardo also said: “LACChain currently serves as a techno-legal framework that enables business use of blockchain with transformative impact, not just as a simple new protocol,”

The LACChain platform’s creation dates to 2018 with the participation of companies with this kind of technology in the region. The IDB works together with IBM, MIT Media Lab, Ethereum Foundation, Consensys, RSK, Hyperledger, and multilateral consortia such as Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) and the Spanish Alastria.

To move forward in implementing solutions for the urgent problems of the Latin American public secto, they have already settled previous collaborations. This fact means that the LACChain ecosystem currently has 40 in the Latin American Region.

LACChain currently works with two blockchain networks that apply the LACChain framework: LACChain Consensys Quorum Network (also known as Besu) and LACChain EOSIO Network.

Both LACChain and Besus adhere to 78 nodes that have generated more than 21 million blocks and are being used in 24 projects in different deployment phases, receiving an average of 12,000 daily transactions during January 2021.

With the above infrastructure added to the EOS projects in the region, there are probabilities that the agency can help more Latin American countries to implement solutions to problems related to economic instability, lack of identification for migrants, unbanking, and corruption or irresponsibility in the industrial sector.

By: Jenson Nuñez

The company filed a new prospectus with Bitcoin options with the SEC. The company reported that the inclusion of Bitcoin would become effective on April 26.

In recent days, Stone Ridge Asset Management included Bitcoin (BTC) as a strategic asset in its diversified investment fund. The institutional capital management firm will offer indirect exposure through put options on futures of the pioneering cryptocurrency.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently received the Stone Ridge prospectus. The company explained that Bitcoin will be in its seventh strategy to generate new returns among investors.

They would include Bitcoin in the diversified fund on April 26^th, according to the prospectus. The fund’s investment strategies include reinsurance, single-family real estate, alternative loans, market risk transfer, healthcare royalties, and premium investments.

“The fund seeks to expose itself to the price of Bitcoin by selling options traded on the exchange and settled in cash on Bitcoin futures contracts,” said the New York company. Since it is an indirect exposure, traders do not directly handle cryptocurrencies, so they cannot transact with them.

Stone Ridge explains in the prospectus how Bitcoin works as a network for the transfer of value, what digital mining is all about and how Bitcoin has gained adoption. They also talk about the risks of volatility and the possibility that the “price of Bitcoin will decline rapidly, even to zero.”

More Corporate Investment in Bitcoin

Investment firm Sky Bridge founder Anthony Scaramucci applauded Stone Ridge’s move, stressing that it is important for Bitcoin. According to the executive, this would be the first variable capital mutual fund to buy Bitcoin.

Scaramucci said on Twitter that “the Stone Ridge presentation opens the door for all mutual funds to add Bitcoin.” He added that “Stone Ridge will be able to start buying Bitcoin from April 26^th.”

In addition to serving as a link for larger institutional investments related to Bitcoin, Stone Ridge has already invested directly in Bitcoin. In fact, the firm had already bought an amount of USD 115 million worth of Bitcoin in October of last year.

Ross Stevens, the Co-founder, and CEO of Stone Ridge, recently said that Bitcoin had already reached millions of people globally. However, billions of users could have the pioneering cryptocurrency in this new stage of adoption.

Information service Bitcoin Treasuries indicates that institutional investments in Bitcoin exceed USD 44,000 million, which was unimaginable until a few years ago.

Executives at ARK Investment and Grayscale, among other firms, recently stated that Bitcoin has potential in the billions of US dollars. Catherine Wood and Michael Sonnenshein noted that the adoption of the cryptocurrency that Satoshi Nakamoto created is at a very early stage. For that reason, they consider that its expansion to other levels would be a matter of time.

Stone Ridge Asset Management is just one example of the many companies that have joined the growing list of institutional investors. Despite the negative aspects that they mention, they do not stop recognizing the potential that it has as an asset. Therefore, this cryptocurrency that has proven its ability to recover from the worst crises remains an excellent investment option.

By Willmen Blanco