2/8/2020 - 2/15/2020
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Market Summary
Data sourced from https://onchainfx.com at 10:00PM CST
The crypto market was very volatile this week, with Bitcoin jumping up to a 5 month high of just above $10,300 before sinking down to just above $10,000 at the time of writing. Ripple also surpassed Bitcoin Cash to achieve the 3rd highest market cap in the crypto market after a powerful push to $0.3360 on Friday.
Top Stories
Thiel-Backed Venture Fund Leads Latest BlockFi Finance Round
BlockFi is a startup offering cryptocurrency lending services. Their flagship products 1) let users deposit cryptocurrency for interest payments in the same cryptocurrency and 2) let users deposit cryptocurrency as collateral for a loan in USD. This week, Valar Ventures, a startup fund backed by Peter Thiel, angel investor and co-Founder of Paypal, invested $30M to lead BlockFi’s second round of financing. Lending services like BlockFi, Celsius, and Unchained Capital offer ways for people to capitalize on their cryptocurrency without selling it. This way, investors avoid capital gains tax while compounding interest or accessing liquidity.
Wells Fargo Invests $5 million in Startup Connecting Crypto Exchanges and Banks
Elliptic is a blockchain forensics firm that helps institutions manage risk and meet regulatory compliance when dealing with cryptocurrency. A $5M investment from Wells Fargo follows the release of their new product, Elliptic Discovery, which allows banks to vet crypto exchanges before opening accounts for them.
Ohio Resident Charged with Operating Darknet-Based Bitcoin “Mixer”
Larry Harmon was charged with laundering over $300M worth of Bitcoin for the darknet marketplace Alphabay. Since Bitcoin transactions are public and can be linked to identifying information on exchanges, people operate Bitcoin mixers, which serve to obfuscate the origin of transactions. Wallets like Wasabi and Samourai provide built-in mixers for users to enhance their privacy.
Chart of the Week
We’re all aware of the US stock market’s extremely high valuation. But, many attribute this to US dollars decrease in value, rather than companies’ actual increase in value. This chart shows the US stock market’s valuation in terms of gold, which is thought to maintain a relatively stable value over time. Therefore, value in gold can reflect an asset’s “real” valuation. Indeed, DJI/XAU is approaching all-time-highs.
Tweet of the Week
@NickSzabo4 reveals the playbook of corporate executives. But, it can’t be that easy right? “Why Apple (AAPL) is Borrowing $7 Billion” -Bloomberg, 09/04/2019. “Apple Inc. has the most cash of any public company, and it has been the largest repurchaser of its own shares.” -MarketWatch, 03/25/2019. “Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri Sold Millions of Dollars of Stock” Barron’s, 10/14/2019. Oh.
@TheCryptoDog expects intuitive dashboards for speculation to drive the next bull run. Crypto allows people to trade with 100X leverage on their iPhone at the push of a button. We see this already with apps like Robinhood.
Imagine being responsible in a bull market.
@RUN_BTC dissects HEX, a token created by the eccentric Richard Heart. It’s a fascinating look at the gross white collar crime enabled by open smart contract platforms.
This week, the cryptocurrency IOTA paused its network, freezing all users’ funds. @keysheet sheds light on the fiasco. When resume game??
@Socal_crypto highlights some popular ways to earn cryptocurrency. The list features Brave Browser, Coinbase Earn, BlockFi lending, and staking.
@zoink gathers the best resources for learning UI/UX design skills.
Take a deep breath and remember to Dollar Cost Average.
@VentureCoinist resurfaces a video of Dave Portnoy, Founder of Barstool, trying to wrap his head around Bitcoin.
@SJosephBurns shares a video of real-time rektage with the caption “How not to trade”.
@AlexandraBerke links her synopsis of blockchain-based voting for MIT Media Lab.
Video of the Week
Pete Rizzo, former Editor of Coindesk, talks with Justin Sun, founder of Tron (TRX), at Consensus 2019. Watch as Justin dodges tough questions from Pete about misleading TRX token holders. It’s an incredibly awkward and entertaining interview.
Texas Blockchain’s ‘State of the Market’ is a student-led editorial. None of the views expressed by the authors should be taken as the view of the University of Texas at Austin or the Texas Blockchain organization. Furthermore, none of the views expressed should be taken as financial advice in any circumstance.