Crypto Download #47
Biden Election Confirmed Through Chaos Sets Fire to Markets; India Economy Predicted to Contract 8%; Bitcoin Breaks $38k; Bitcoin Mining Stocks are White Hot; Crypto Market Cap Breaks $1T
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VP - MUST WATCH YOUTUBE WITH JACK MALLERS BELOW
Macro
Virus & Vaccines:
U.S. tops 21 million COVID-19 cases with record hospitalizations as states ramp up vaccinations
Moderna CEO says vaccine likely to protect for 'couple of years'
"We looked at 25 patients and at antibodies and B cells. They did the same long-term follow up with 188 patients and looked at the whole breadth of the adaptive immune response and showed all aspects are quite long-lived….I'm very relieved we came to the same conclusion. The work strengthens each study, has been performed independently and is exactly how science works."
Congress Certifies Joe Biden’s Election Win Following Day of Turmoil: Congress formally certified President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory, with lawmakers returning to finish the process hours after being rushed out as a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in a riot that resulted in one person being fatally shot by Capitol Police. Vice President Mike Pence closed out the proceedings early Thursday morning, hours after police had hurried him out of the Senate chamber with rioters inside the Capitol. He read out the tally of the 538 votes from the 50 states and the District of Columbia, cementing Mr. Biden’s win with 306 electoral votes to President Trump’s 232. Read More.
U.S. 10-Year Treasury Yield Hits 1% for First Time Since March: The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose above 1% for the first time since March on Wednesday, reflecting increased bets on additional fiscal stimulus after Georgia’s runoff Senate elections. Yields, which rise when bond prices fall, started climbing Tuesday evening as early returns from Georgia’s two elections showed promising signs for the Democratic candidates. Read More.
Oil touches fresh 11-month highs after U.S. inventory fall: Oil prices were steady on Thursday after hitting fresh 11-month highs on a fall in U.S. stockpiles and in the wake of a pledge by Saudi Arabia to cut output by more than expected. Read More.
“Saudi Arabia ...intimately knows the relationship between the oil price and the global inventory levels. Lower inventories equal higher prices…The strategy of course only works if the OPEC+ (group of oil producers) stays disciplined…The Kingdom’s preemptive move suggests to us a desire to defend prices and support the oil market amid demand concerns due to extended mobility restrictions in Europe,” they said.
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Remain Elevated Heading Into 2021: Applications for U.S. state unemployment benefits were little changed at elevated levels in the final week of 2020, indicating the labor market remains battered with the pandemic dragging on. Initial jobless claims in regular state programs fell by 3,000 to 787,000 in the week ended Jan. 2, Labor Department data showed Thursday. On an unadjusted basis, the figure rose by 77,400. Read More.
India forecasts 7.7% GDP contraction in 2020/21: The Indian government said on Thursday it expects the economy to contract 7.7% in the fiscal year ending in March, compared to 4.2% growth a year earlier. Many private economists have upwardly revised their forecasts on India to a contraction in the range of 7-9.5% for the 2020/21 fiscal year, after the central bank revised its estimate to 7.5%. Read More.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin Tops $38K for First Time, Bringing Year-to-Date Gain to Over 30%: The price of bitcoin set a new-all time high of $38,327.60. It continues a wild start to 2021 and follows a landmark year in which the cryptocurrency rose more than 300%, with an almost 50% gain in December alone. Six days into 2021, it's up 30.3%, about $9,000.
The prevailing narrative of this record-setting run is a growing view that bitcoin represents a form of "digital gold," a view that has brought a flood of institutional investors into the cryptocurrency. The latest records, however, may have more to do with the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday by President Donald Trump's supporters believing the election was rigged and upset by the certification process that was underway, than with any inflation hedge. Global macro uncertainty has the potential to devalue fiat currencies, which in turn could potentially increase the attractiveness of bitcoin. A disputed election followed by protestors breaking into the Capitol with at least one person being shot and killed would seem to fall under the category of "uncertainty." Read More.
Bill Miller Says Corporate Cash Could Fuel a Bitcoin ‘Torrent’: Bill Miller says the surge of attention generated by Bitcoin’s frenzied rally could ignite further gains by encouraging corporate treasurers to use the cryptocurrency for diversification. Read More.
“If inflation picks up, or even if it doesn’t, and more companies decide to diversify some small portion of their cash balances into Bitcoin instead of cash, then the current relative trickle into Bitcoin would become a torrent.”
Bitcoin Lightning Startup Zap Goes Global, Adding Multiple Fiat Pairs, Stablecoins: Bitcoin’s Lightning Network is bringing fiat to every corner of the world, thanks to Visa-partnered startup Zap Inc. Strike – the Chicago-based startup’s Bitcoin wallet and banking service – is rolling out native support for the euro, pound and Swiss franc, soon to be followed by the Australian and Canadian dollar after partnering with cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex Global, according to Zap founder Jack Mallers. Read More.
“We can move any physical value anywhere in the world for no variable cost,” Mallers said. “Transaction finality from one point to another for free.”
VP Take: This is huge. Bitcoin the bearer asset, the pristine collateral has gotten a lot of attention as it makes new all-time highs daily, but this announcement is about Bitcoin - the payment network. More transaction throughput and faster settlement times for BTC into fiat. An open network like this enabled by companies like Zap and similar companies in the future is highly disruptive.
Cryptocurrency Mining Firm Marathon’s Market Cap Passes $1B: Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency mining firm Marathon Patent Group (MARA) reached a total market value of $1 billion as its shares surged Wednesday to the highest in more than three years, over $17. Shares of the Las Vegas-based company have soared over 1,700% in the past 12 months. Bitcoin gained roughly 330% over the same period. Read More.
Iranian Authorities Close 1,620 Illegal Cryptocurrency Mining Farms: Iranian authorities shut down 1,620 illegal cryptocurrency mining farms that collectively used 250 megawatts of electricity over the past 18 months. In July 2019, Iran became one of the first countries to recognize and license cryptocurrency mining as a legitimate industry. All cryptocurrency miners had to register with authorities by August 2020. Read More.
Crypto
Total Cryptocurrency Market Value Hits Record $1 Trillion: The total value of all cryptocurrencies passed $1 trillion Wednesday for the first time ever, per CoinGecko‘s index of 6,124 assets. At its prior peak in late 2017, the market’s total capitalization was just above $760 billion. Read More.
US crypto firms invest in tax solutions as IRS updates reporting forms: Coinbase Ventures, PayPal Ventures and Winkelvoss Capital have all invested in cryptocurrency tax automation software provider TaxBit. Read More.
Atari's CEO Explains Why the Gaming Icon is Betting Big on Crypto: The Atari brand was once synonymous with gaming, popularizing video games in the 1970s and into the early '80s before the industry crashed. But Atari's not looking to the past anymore. It's aiming to lead the next wave of gaming innovation with the Atari Token, an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token that is designed to function as the heart of future games as well as an online Atari Casino. The firm has also accumulated a number of crypto industry allies, including The Sandbox and F1 Delta Time publisher Animoca Brands, which will develop crypto-infused versions of classic Atari games. Read More. Atari Whitepaper - here.
"I’m a strong believer in blockchain," Chesnais explained to Decrypt in a phone interview. "I think it’s here to stay, not only for games but for other types of applications. It’s really a conviction about blockchain."
Media
BTC007: Bitcoin Disrupting Payment Clearing Houses w/ Jack Mallers
Dan Morehead: The Next Phase of the Crypto Bull Market (w/ Raoul Pal)
Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency: Is Now A Good Time To Be Taking Profits?
Cheers,
Verks
**This is not financial advice. Investing in bitcoin and cryptocurrency is extremely risky. Please do your own research. The ideas and news presented in this newsletter are my personal opinions and meant for informational and entertainment purposes only.