Keith Asmussen, Joshua Ebedes, Preston Sledge, Max Bibeau
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Market Summary
Dotted lines represent non-trading days (weekends, holidays, etc.)
Top Stories
U.S. Secret Service Shares How Crypto Is Viewed From A Law Enforcement Perspective
An interview with Jonah Force Hill, U.S. Cyber Policy Advisor, revealed the pending relocation and statistics of the U.S. Secret Service. Due to a recent Presidential Budget discussion on relocating the Secret Service into the Department of the Treasury from Homeland Security, the new priority of the Secret Service would be detecting crimes against the U.S. financial system. When questioned about cryptocurrency’s relation to crime, Hill provided the thought-provoking stat that 3 out of 4 money laundering cases involve cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin Volatility Reached Lowest Since February Last Month
Although many analysts believed that Bitcoin prices would experience a strong rally following the halvening (rate of new supply decreased by 50%), Bitcoin’s price is yet to experience sharp gains. The current situation has provoked an array of different speculations. John Todaro, director of digital currency research for TradeBlock, stated that the price increase “is expected later on and not immediately following the halving”. While Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer of asset manager Arca, believes the halvening is a non-event and will have “any impact on price” in the near future.
Exclusive: Crypto Exchange Coinbase Readies Landmark Stock Market Listing, Sources Say
If Coinbase Inc follows through on recent plans of a stock market listing, it would become the first major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange to go public. Coinbase hasn’t registered its intention to go public with the SEC, but has reportedly “been in talks” to hire investment banks and law firms for listing preparations. Valued at more than $8 billion in 2018, the company is considering going public through a direct listing rather than a traditional IPO.
Chart of the Week
This chart, courtesy of Coin Gecko, shows the massive pump in the price of Dogecoin that occurred this past week. This pump was the result of Dogecoin going viral on TikTok. A multitude of semi viral TikTok videos have repeated that if TikTok users all buy Dogecoin they could pump the price to $1 and all get rich. This culminated in the #DogecoinTikTokChallenge and the doubling of Dogecoin price in just a few days.
Top Tweets
@TheBlock__ reports on CENTRE blacklisting an address holding USDC. Reminder: USDC can be frozen or seized at anytime.
@nic__carter gives us a enjoyable meme with some pretty fun Macro Econ in it.
@GWQiao compiles some #DogecoinTikTokChallenge vids for us in a thread.
@OhYouBlockhead continues to bring us joy through his short stories. Remember, wealth is most easily gained through day trading cryptocurrencies and gambling, not through hard work and fiscal responsibility.
Video of the Week
Simulating an epidemic - 3Blue1Brown
3Blue1Brown is a godsend for lovers of math and modeling. He produces high quality visualizations and models to help his audience understand difficult concepts and math theories. This video shows how epidemics spread under different conditions and explains the math behind it. This video and all his others are definitely worth the watch.
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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.