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As mainstream media pundits like the Bloomberg economics editor Peter Coy tell Americans to “tune out the hyperinflation hype,” fund managers from a recent Bank of America survey who collectively manage $630 billion, believe inflation is the biggest risk to markets right now. Instead of the former concern over Covid-19, the current number one risk to markets is inflation, as federal stimulus spending has invoked worry among investors. While Inflation Concerns Grow, Mainstream Media Publications Tell Americans Not to Worry Just recently, Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve Chairman, showed little concern about rising inflation and never really said when the Fed’s monetary easing policies would end. After Powell did an interview at a Wall Street Journal Jobs Summit and showed no signs of worry, 10-year U.S. bond note markets saw a massive sell-off. Following the market carnage on March 4, 2021, a number of mainstream media publications simply wrote off people who are concerned about inflation. Specifically, that day, Bloomberg economics editor Peter Coy wrote an editorial called “Tune Out the Hyperinflation Hype. It’s Just Meme Economics.” The editorial passes off the concerns as “hype,” and coupled the proposition with the overused term “conspiracy theories.” Coy even noted that fear of inflation helps the leading crypto asset bitcoin (BTC). “Conspiracy theories have an insidious way of seeping into the real world,” Coy’s editorial explains. “Fear of inflation—if not outright hyperinflation—helps explain the meteoric rise of Bitcoin,” the Bloomberg economics editor’s report adds. Bank of America Survey’s 220 Investors Managing $630B AUM- Inflation Considered the Biggest ‘Tail Risk’ Over Covid-19 Concerns Now, according to the latest survey from Bank of America (BoA), which surveyed 220 fund managers with assets over $630 billion assets under management (AUM), “higher than expected inflation” is a big risk to markets. Participants in the BoA survey noted for the first time in over a year, inflation is more concerning than the coronavirus outbreak when it comes to the future of the economy. After the craziness in bond markets, 35% of the fund managers surveyed said U.S. Treasury bond yields were the second biggest risk. For the first time since February 2020, the coronavirus is no longer in the first position as inflation concerns take the lead. 37% of the 220 fund managers with $630 billion AUM said that inflation is the number one “tail risk” for investment markets right now. Additionally, some participants were concerned about a possible surprise monetary tightening policy from the U.S. central bank. Despite the ‘meme economics’ commentary and so-called ‘conspiracy theories,’ 93% of BoA’s surveyed participants said they expect inflation to rise in 2021. Even though a drop in purchasing power is expected, close to half of the BoA surveyed fund managers are optimistic about the global economy seeing a “V-shaped recovery.” This has caused investors to seek an allocation in commodities as opposed to certain tech stocks the BoA report notes. An executive at the foreign exchange company OANDA says that Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve still have some time before the summer comes to deal with inflation concerns. “Powell will likely replay his best hits when discussing inflation, noting that price increases later in the year won’t be large or persistent,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA explained on March 15. “The summertime is when inflation could rear its ugly head, so Powell should be able to push back any concerns until then,” the analyst added. What do you think about the BoA survey that shows fund managers are concerned more about inflation than Covid-19? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Telsa’s new Technoking, Elon Musk, said that he is selling a song about NFTs as a non-fungible token (NFT). Many people have expressed their interest in buying it on social media. Artist Beeple made him an offer for $69 million and bids for his tweet on Valuables are up to $1.121 million. Elon Musk Selling an NFT Elon Musk, the new Technoking of Tesla, announced via Twitter Monday that he is selling a song about NFTs as an NFT. At the time of writing, his tweet has garnered 42.7K comments and has been liked 176.2K times. His 2:20-minute-long video has been viewed more than 8.5 million times. Musk’s techno song briefly describes the nature of NFTs. The video shows a rotating rocket-to-the-moon trophy, displaying repeating words at the base: “HODL” and “Computers never sleep.” More words circling the trophy brightly flash “Vanity Trophy,” and the lyrics repeat: NFT, for your vanity. Computers never sleep. It’s verified. It’s guaranteed. I’m selling this song about NFTs as an NFT pic.twitter.com/B4EZLlesPx — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2021 Many people on Twitter have expressed their interest to buy Musk’s NFT; some even wrote the amount they are willing to pay. Among those interested is Tron founder Justin Sun, who simply stated, “Ok. I will buy.” The artist Mike Winkelmann, also known as Beeple, is among interested parties. He recently made headlines when his NFT art sold for $69 million in a Christie’s auction. He wrote, “I’ll give you $69M for it.” Musk responded, “420M doge.” Beeple promptly replied, “Sold.” However, it is unclear whether Beeple was serious about his offer, and at the time of writing, the Tesla technoking has not responded further to him. The price of dogecoin currently stands at $0.058043, making 420 million dogecoins worth less than $24.4 million. Soon after Musk made his initial tweet about the NFT sale, the first bid of $3 appeared on Valuables, a platform released by Cent for buying and selling tweets as NFTs. At the time of writing, the highest bid for Musk’s NFT is $1,121,000, made by Twitter user Sina Estavi, CEO at Bridge Oracle. He tweeted to Musk: “Elon Musk, I made an offer to buy your tweet.” Musk has not replied to his tweet. Furthermore, other people’s tweets related to Musk’s NFT sale have also been getting offers. “NFT Inception. Someone just bid $88 on an NFT of this tweet about someone bidding $100,000 on an NFT of a @elonmusk tweet about a song that is an NFT about NFTs. The world has gone mad,” Twitter user The Chairman (@wsbchairman) wrote as he accepted the offer. Polygon, formerly Matic, commented on Twitter: You can own this Elon Musk autographed tweet on the Polygon-powered platform Valuables @cent. The current bid for ownership of this NFT is at $1.12M. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is also using the Valuables platform to sell his first-ever tweet. Estavi is currently the highest bidder, offering Dorsey $2.5 million. The sale will end on March 21 and Dorsey says he will immediately convert the proceeds to BTC and donate to Give Directly’s Africa Response fund. Update (March 16, 2021, at 7:46 P.M.): Elon Musk tweeted: “Actually, doesn’t feel quite right selling this. Will pass.” What do you think about Elon Musk getting into NFTs? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The online cryptocurrency and stock brokerage platform Etoro has announced the company is going public via a deal with a special purpose acquisition company called Fintech Acquisition Corp V. The Etoro merger is a $10.4 billion deal, backed by the banking entrepreneur and Fintech Acquisition Corp V chair Betsy Cohen. Etoro Enters a Special Purpose Acquisition in a $10.4 Billion Deal The popular cryptocurrency trading platform and stock brokerage service, Etoro, has plans to go public with a $10.4 billion merger. The merger was invoked by a firm called Fintech Acquisition Corp V, and investments also stem from the Japanese company Softbank and the finance manager’s Vision Fund 2. The deal is a special purpose acquisition (SPAC) as it leverages the proceeds from an initial public offering (IPO) to take private firms to the public venue. In addition to the merger with Fintech Acquisition Corp V, an acquisition business, the firms Fidelity Management & Research, and Wellington Management also added a $650 million common share private placement. The recent announcement from Etoro, follows Coinbase’s attempt to go public this year and Kraken’s CEO Jesse Powell also disclosed his exchange is considering an initial public offering next year. The mining firm Northern Data AG is reportedly planning to go public as well with an estimated $500 Million IPO. Competitor Etoro Plans to Join the Public Arena, While Robinhood Licks Wounds from the Wall Street Bets Fiasco Because Etoro offers a stock brokerage service combined with options to trade cryptocurrencies, the firm is a competitor of Robinhood. The online trading platform Robinhood has already held an IPO and more recently, the firm reportedly had to raise funds over the Wall Street Bets fiasco. On January 29, 2021, New York Times’ reporters detailed that Robinhood had to draw a line of credit from six banks. Since 2007, Etoro has gathered roughly 20 million registered users who invest in digital currencies, stocks, and other traditional markets. According to Reuters, after the Etoro announcement “Fintech Acquisition Corp V’s shares jumped more than 15% before the bell.” Additionally, Betsy Cohen is a well known businesswoman that has been known for participating in SPAC investments. What do you think about Etoro announcing the company will go public via a merger worth over $10 billion. Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Billboards saying “Bitcoin is the future,” featuring laser eyes, can now be seen in the Netherlands. They are part of an election campaign for Robert Valentine, the chairman of the Dutch Libertarian Party and candidate for the upcoming parliamentary election. Dutch Pro-Bitcoin Parliamentary Candidate With Laser Eyes on Billboards The Dutch Libertarian Party candidate for the upcoming parliamentary election, Robert Valentine, is featured on billboards with a bitcoin message and laser eyes. The billboards say, “Bitcoin is de toekomst,” which means “Bitcoin is the future.” The 2021 Dutch general election to elect the members of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the bicameral parliament of the Netherlands, is scheduled for March 17. Thirty-seven parties met the requirements to participate in the election, including Valentine’s Libertarian Party. A billboard featuring political candidate Robert Valentine, bitcoin, and laser eyes. Source: Robert Valentine Valentine is currently the chairman of the Libertarian Party (LP) in the Netherlands and was the party’s nominee for the 2017 parliamentary elections. However, his party failed to win any seats, receiving only 1,492 votes. He also co-founded the Dutch Institute for Praxeology, a think tank that works for the advancement of humanity by promoting policies rooted in praxeology. The laser eyes meme has swept through the bitcoin community since February with the underlying meaning that anyone donning the eyes is laser-focused on bitcoin’s price rising to $100,000. Politicians, celebrities, and investors have partaken and put laser eyes on their profile images. Among them are the pro-bitcoin U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis, who donned the meme temporarily, and Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, who activated his laser eyes after he announced that he put 3% of his portfolio in bitcoin. The Dutch Libertarian party has long been a supporter of bitcoin. In 2014, it became the first political party in the Netherlands to accept BTC donations. One Twitter user opined: The Dutch Libertarian Party is the only political party that takes entrepreneurs, civil liberties, and bitcoin seriously. He added: “It is time for a new way of thinking. Vote LP. Buy bitcoin. Defend your freedom and end big government.” In the Netherlands, De Nederlandsche Bank NV (DNB), the Dutch central bank, regulates the crypto industry. In November last year, the central bank told Bitcoin.com News that 39 firms had applied to offer crypto services under the new regulation. What do you think about political campaigns using bitcoin and laser eyes? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The professional baseball team the Oakland Athletics (A’s) has announced that the ball club is now accepting bitcoin for season tickets. Now through opening day, a set of six Oakland A’s full season suites can be purchased with a single bitcoin, which is currently a discount in comparison to the regular cost. Oakland Athletics Is Selling Six-Person Suite Season Tickets for a Single Bitcoin On Sunday, March 14, the Oakland A’s President Dave Kaval revealed the ball club is now accepting bitcoin (BTC) for 2021 season tickets. The news follows a few basketball clubs from the NBA that accept bitcoin, including the Dallas Mavericks and the Sacramento Kings. BREAKING NEWS: Due to near record #Bitcoin Price of $59,656, Oakland A’s now selling suites for full season for 1 Bitcoin! @athletics @mlb Exchange your #Bitcoin for a Coliseum suite now! https://t.co/3nJHajkOHD — Dave Kaval (@DaveKaval) March 14, 2021 On Sunday evening, Kaval announced bitcoin acceptance for 2021 season tickets and at the time, bitcoin (BTC) was exchanging hands above the $60k handle. The price of BTC has dropped since then, and is currently swapping for around $57k at the time of publication. According to the announcement, the Oakland A’s will sell a 2021 full season, six-person suite in exchange for a single bitcoin now through April 1, 2021. Suites provide a way for groups larger than four to enjoy a baseball game. A private suite for up to six people is $594 per game and regular-season prices stand at $64,800 per full season admission. A’s President Dave Kaval: ‘The Price of a Season Suite May Fluctuate, Which Adds to the Excitement’ However, instead of opting to pay with U.S. dollars, a single bitcoin can purchase a full season six-person suite. “To order a full season suite, and coordinate secure cryptocurrency payment, contact us at suites@athletics.com,” the announcement reads. “We invite our fans to become the first bitcoin suite holders in sports,” A’s President Dave Kaval said in a statement. “We’re excited to be one of a handful of teams to accept cryptocurrency for payment and the first to price tickets in crypto instead of U.S. currency. The price of a season suite may fluctuate depending on when it’s purchased, which adds to the excitement.” According to the A’s website, the suites not only seat up to six guests, but also include free snacks and a private restroom for each suite. Currently, under California health code regulations, the A’s ballpark can only open at 20% capacity which is around 11,000 participants. The bitcoin offer ends on April 1, and at current BTC prices, it’s around 13% cheaper to pay in bitcoin. What do you think about the Oakland A’s accepting bitcoin for season tickets up until opening day? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

OVRLand is selling around 5,000 different NFTs every day. In total, OVR has sold 60,000 NFTs since its launch on November 30th. Meanwhile, the token has also reached the $1 mark. Each OVRLand is essentially an ERC721 token in which there is a 3D environment that can host games, events and tournaments. OVR Is Setting New Records With OVRLand It’s a well-known fact that 2021 is the year of the Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and that’s probably one of the reasons why Italian project OVR is setting new records with its OVRLand. At the time of writing, OVRLand is selling around 5,000 different NFTs every day. In total, OVR has sold 60,000 NFTs since its launch on November 30th. And that is also why its token is benefiting, reaching a price of $1, having started from a price of $0.07. OVR is listed on Uniswap, where it is reporting volumes of 10 million; the token can also be found on exchanges such as MXC, Bitmart and will soon be found on Loopring. Last November, OVR launched an IBCO that has so far raised $5 million in collateral. What Are OVRLand’s NFTs For? Besides being collectables like all NFTs, the user who decides to buy an OVRLand can create augmented reality experiences on it. In fact, when going to a location in OVRLand, or on the map on the website, the content can be accessed via an app. The mobile app is available on both iOS and Android. What Is OVRLand? The platform is made up of 1.6 trillion unique hexes called OVRLand that can be purchased through auctions and traded or rented in a decentralized manner. Each OVRLand is essentially an ERC721 token in which there is a 3D environment that can host games, events and tournaments. Basically, like on any website, it is possible to place content, the same happens here with NFTs which act as a “spatial” domain. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

In 2021, celebrities have been flocking to the cryptocurrency space in great numbers, and the non-fungible token (NFT) asset craze has swelled with luminaries as well. During the last few weeks, musicians, artists, professional sports players, and more have dipped their toes into the NFT ecosystem. Celebs Have Noticed the NFT Hype and Want In Data from nonfungible.com’s market history shows that there’s been 27,850 non-fungible token (NFT) asset sales in the last seven days. The 27,850 sales had settled for $42 million and the average price per NFT sale was $1,520 using March 14, 2021 stats. Now nearly every single day, there’s a new NFT milestone sale, a new celebrity creating an NFT, and a myriad of new NFT markets. The NFT hype also comes with significant controversy as well due to how these pictures, music files, and other types of collectibles are stored. In March, the NFT hoopla has spurred a decent number of celebrities to drop their own non-fungible token assets. For instance, the NFT market Makersplace has announced that the number one player in the NFL, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, plans to drop a collection of NFTs. Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be releasing a collection of NFTs on Makersplace on March 17th at 3:30 p.m. (PST). Mahomes is very popular and in the 2019–20 playoffs, Mahomes led the Chiefs to Super Bowl LIV and the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers. On March 17th at 3:30 p.m. (PST) on Makersplace, Mahomes will launch a collection of NFTs that are “centered around significant moments in Mahomes life.” “Mahomes’ colossal impact on our culture, particularly in the United States, is undeniable,” the Makersplace team said. “One of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Mahomes’ reach extends beyond sports, acting as a source of inspiration for all. With this Drop, he will reveal another dimension of himself that the world has yet to see. We are excited to introduce the world to this new side of Mahomes and to allow fans to own a part of his legacy.” The Mahomes NFT collection follows the NFL’s tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski’s entry. The popular NFL player’s collection is featured on the Opensea.io marketplace and the collectibles commemorate Gronk’s four historic Championships with five limited-edition NFT trading cards. The tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski has released a collection of NFT cards. “The crown jewel of the drop will be a rare 1-of-1 Rob Gronkowski Career Highlight Refractor Card, which includes a meet and greet with ‘Gronk’ and tickets to one of his games next season,” the Opensea description notes. The Rob Gronkowski NFT collection has sold for over $1.75 million in ETH on the marketplace. The “Gronkowski Career Highlight Refractor Card” sale closed at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday evening. The Gronk NFT card sale’s aggregate total saw an average of $5k per card, and Gronkowski’s NFT debut was highest sale of an individual NFT by an athlete in history ($433k). The band Kings of Leon has introduced their latest album “When You See Yourself,” and it includes NFTs developed by Yellow Heart Factories. Just recently, the band Kings of Leon released their latest album “When You See Yourself,” which includes NFTs that reveal exclusive album artwork and also the “Golden Eye” vinyl LP. The band worked with the blockchain technology company Yellow Heart and statistics show the Kings of Leon NFTs have already raised $2 million from NFTs since the album launched on March 5. $500k of the NFT funds have already been donated to Live Nation’s Crew Nation, which helps support music crews during the Covid-19 pandemic. Multi-Platinum Recording Artists, Well Known Political Activists, Street Artists, and Latin Superstars Last Wednesday, the multi-platinum recording artist Lil Pump dropped a collection of NFTs as well via the Sweet platform. Moreover, with the new collection of NFTs, Lil Pump released a rare “Esskeetit Diamond VVS” NFT asset that aims to replicate the look of one of the pieces in the American rapper’s multi-million dollar jewelry collection. The popular hip-hop artist Lil Pump has joined the NFT ecosystem. “This is the future. Now you can live like me and own a rare NFT collectible of one of my favorite chains,” Lil Pump commented. In addition to Lil Pump, the Russian conceptual artist, political activist, and founder of Pussy Riot, Nadya Tolokonnikova, has also stepped into the non-fungible token (NFT) asset world. The artist has released a new video for her latest single “PANIC ATTACK,” which was directed by award-winning AR creator Asad J. Malik and produced by his hologram company, Jadu. The Russian conceptual artist, political activist, and founder of Pussy Riot, Nadya Tolokonnikova has released NFTs as well. Tolokonnikova’s single was also released in a series of four NFTs and collectors can purchase them on Foundation. Proceeds from the NFTs will be donated to a shelter for victims of domestic violence in Russia that Pussy Riot has supported since April 2020. The Latin superstar, Ozuna has collaborated with the renowned Street Artist Alec Monopoly and celebrity art dealer Avery Andon in order to help promote NFTs called “Artgrails.” A collaboration of celebrities doing an NFT sale together also includes the renowned Street Artist Alec Monopoly and Latin superstar, Ozuna. Together with the celebrity art dealer Avery Andon, the group will launch standalone “Artgrails.” The Artgrails’ listed assets are limited edition NFTs, and the website artgrails.com explains that “all releases implement Queue-It technology.” This means that the protocol fights against bots and protects the marketplace from server overloads. The market, like Makersplace and Opensea, connects with the Web3 ethereum (ETH)-based wallet Metamask. It is likely that more celebrities, musicians, and professional athletes will jump on the NFT bandwagon. Although it is hard to say whether or not, the NFT ecosystem, or even parts of it, may fade away into non-existence. NFT proponents are betting that non-fungible token assets will continue to transform a myriad of industries and reshape the landscape. Celebrities are also seeing the vast amounts of money flowing into the NFT space, and it essentially can tell a socialite what their tokenized name is truly worth. What do you think about all the celebrities getting involved with the non-fungible token (NFT) asset space? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Tim Bond, a portfolio manager at Odey Asset Management, has warned that bitcoin is pointless, calling the cryptocurrency “a particularly vile asset class.” He claims that bitcoin has no real social utility other than as a tool for speculation and a means to launder the proceeds of crime. Fund Manager Sees Bitcoin as a Vile Asset Class Tim Bond, a partner and portfolio manager at Odey Asset Management, warned about bitcoin in a recent interview with Marketwatch. Established in 1991 by billionaire Crispin Odey, the firm currently has over $3 billion in funds under management. Before joining Odey Asset Management in 2010, Bond spent 12 years at Barclays Capital as managing director and head of global asset allocation. He previously worked at Moore Capital as a portfolio strategist and spent 10 years as a strategist and trader for Tokai Bank Europe. As the price of bitcoin hit all-time highs several times this month, Bond was quoted as saying: To my mind, bitcoin is a particularly vile asset class. If bitcoin starts to displace fiat currencies, governments’ ability to tax, spend and redistribute will be severely impaired. Disclosing that neither he nor his company has any holding in bitcoin, the fund manager began by warning that “bitcoin has no real social utility other than as a tool for speculation and a means to launder the proceeds of crime,” the publication conveyed. He then claimed that bitcoin could prevent society from functioning in an efficient and ethical manner, asserting that the cryptocurrency is an “extreme form of libertarian anarchism.” The Odey fund manager proceeded to talk about bitcoin mining, claiming that the activity “added CO2 emissions equivalent to the annual output of a medium-sized advanced economy.” In addition, Bond further opined that “as the bitcoin price rallies, so the mining activity will intensify, producing even higher levels of CO2 emissions,” elaborating: It is difficult to think of any other human activity that is simultaneously quite so pointless and quite so damaging to the planet. Bitcoiners immediately took to Twitter to point out many flaws in Bond’s arguments, urging him to do more research before commenting on bitcoin. One Twitter user wrote: “This guy is just now catching up and freaking out. Every argument he makes was debunked 5 years ago.” Another chimed in: “Worst understanding and highest ignorance reward on bitcoin today goes to Tim Bond from Odey Asset Management. Do some more research please before making a fool of yourself.” What do you think about Tim Bond’s views on bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Spacex and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has once again tweeted in support of dogecoin. He wants the crypto exchange Coinbase to list the cryptocurrency and says he will get a Shiba Inu, the dog breed featured as the face of dogecoin. Meanwhile, the coin’s adoption is growing, advocated by celebrities like Mark Cuban. Elon Musk Wants Coinbase to List Dogecoin Elon Musk wants cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase to add dogecoin to its list of supported cryptocurrencies. A question was directed at Musk on Friday on Twitter about Coinbase listing dogecoin. The user wrote: “Hi Elon, I saw a report that Coinbase was used for the Tesla BTC purchase (nice entry btw). Do you think Coinbase should enable dogecoin on their platform? It would enable many folks to easily access DOGE.” The Spacex CEO simply answered: “Yes” with an exclamation mark. Coinbase currently does not support dogecoin, a meme coin featuring a Shiba Inu. The crypto exchange is set to go public via a direct listing on Nasdaq. Its valuation jumped to more than $100 billion ahead of the IPO. On Saturday, Musk tweeted, “Doge day afternoon,” and proceeded to describe the “Origin of Doge Day Afternoon.” The Tesla CEO wrote, “The ancient Romans sacrificed a dogecoin at the beginning of the Doge Days to appease the rage of Sirius, believing that the star was the cause of the hot, sultry weather.” He continued: Why are you so dogematic, they ask … I’m getting a Shiba Inu #resistanceisfutile. Musk was voted dogecoin CEO in a 2019 Twitter poll but he previously said that all of his dogecoin-related tweets are not meant to be taken seriously. “Occasionally, I make jokes about dogecoin but they are meant to be jokes. Dogecoin was made as a joke to make fun of cryptocurrencies. Obviously,” Musk revealed during a Clubhouse interview where he also grilled Robinhood’s CEO about Gamestop. Dogecoin adoption has been boosted by Musk’s various tweets and support by celebrities, such as Shark Tank star Mark Cuban. Bitpay recently added DOGE to its list of supported cryptocurrencies and a growing number of crypto ATMs now support dogecoin. Cuban’s NBA team, the Dallas Mavericks, has been accepting dogecoin for tickets and merchandise through Bitpay. On March 6, he tweeted: The Dallas Mavericks have done more than 20,000 dogecoin in transactions, making us the largest dogecoin merchant in the world. “We thank all of you and can only say that if we sell another 6,556,000,000 dogecoin worth of Mavs merch, dogecoin will definitely hit $1,” he added. At the time of writing, the price of DOGE is below $0.06. Meanwhile, bitcoin bull Mike Novogratz says that Cuban is making a mistake by letting his sports team’s fans pay with dogecoin. “I think Mark’s making a mistake there. He’d be better off with 15 other ways to pay for his tickets,” Novogratz said, expressing concerns that investors could get hurt piling funds into dogecoin. “Let’s put people in the safest, best stuff, not, you know, these joke coins,” the Galaxy Digital CEO suggested. Do you think Coinbase should list dogecoin? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

A French parliament member has signed a petition to amend the laws to enable the central bank of France to buy and hold bitcoin as well as other cryptocurrencies. The petition urges lawmakers to urgently consider the matter, warning that not owning bitcoin will put France “in a financially weak position within 5-10 years.” Petition to Allow Central Bank to Buy Bitcoin Jean-Michel Mis, a member of the French National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, announced in a tweet Friday that he has signed a petition to amend the laws to enable the Banque de France, the country’s central bank, to buy and hold bitcoin, as well as other cryptocurrencies. The petition residing on the French Senate’s e-petitions platform was started on March 5 by François-Xavier Marie Jean Elder Thoorens; it can be signed until Sept. 5. Petitions with at least 100,000 signatures within six months are forwarded to the Conference of Presidents, which will decide whether to follow up on the matter. At the time of writing, 583 signatures have been lodged. “Many companies now have acquired large sums (of the order of several billion euros) of bitcoin,” the petition states, naming Michael Saylor’s Microstrategy and Elon Musk’s Tesla as examples. It further notes that “Some public entities like the mayor of Miami are positioning themselves to be able to buy bitcoin.” Moreover, “The reason given is the risk of a weak dollar over the next 5 years destroying medium-term financing capacities,” the petition continues, adding: France cannot decently remain as an observer of a race which has already started. Not owning bitcoin will put it in a financially weak position within 5-10 years. It is urgent to take up the matter. Emphasizing that France must adopt a strategy in this area and apply applicable laws to implement it, the petitioner wrote: “I, therefore, propose an update of the monetary and financial code to endow the Banque de France with the capacity to buy, sell and hold bitcoins and other crypto assets.” The petition also points out that lawmakers “will have to adopt a strategy that will correctly assess the risks and propose reasonable crypto-asset holding ratios in the application of this strategy.” Do you think France’s central bank will buy and hold bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Poltergeist Exchange has partnered with GHOST by McAfee to bring a private stable coin and privacy dex to the GHOST by McAfee blockchain. Poltergeist Exchange has released their native token GHOUL, and are developing and releasing a side chain with the same name for Ghost by McAfee. Side chains for GHOST will open up a variety of interaction possibilities including a full privacy dex using atomic swaps to flawlessly execute cross chain transactions, a private stabled coin, GHOSTDAI, that is pegged and backed 1:1 with DAI, and more. “When I was setting the vision for GHOST, I didn’t just see a privacy coin, but an ecosystem of products and services that really encompassed the ideas and values that I think are really important about being able to do business and send value privately.” said Josh Case, the founder of Poltergeist Exchange and Co founder of Ghost by McAfee. “Nothing can stop us from bringing these ideas to the world. And a lot of these ideas are closer than you may think” Poltergeist and Ghost have also brought on other heavy hitters as advisors such as Mate Tokay, Co-founder of Bitcoin.com. “I am really happy to join these projects and help bring a true private crypto currency ecosystem to the world. A real private stable coin will be a game changer” said Mate Tokay. The experience of the GHOST team & its’ advisors puts GHOST in an advantageous position in a time where DEXs and privacy are in high demand. GHOST can be accessed by anyone, anywhere, at any time. To sign up and join the next step in DEX advancement, visit the Poltergeist website. Join the Poltergeist community by visiting Twitter, or chat on Telegram. About GHOST GhostbyMcAfee.com is a privacy coin founded by legendary tech pioneer John McAfee, who has continued to promote the project on his Twitter account from his jail cell in Spain. Media Contact Details Contact Name: Josh Case Contact Email: admin@poltergeistexchange.com Poltergeist Exchange is the source of this content. This Press Release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

While cryptocurrency markets have been red hot and gaining in value, demand for certain assets and liquidity has grown massive. At the same time, a myriad of crypto proponents are chasing significant returns by hunting for liquidity pools with colossal yields. These days certain decentralized finance (defi) applications can give a yearly ROI upwards of 100-400% in some cases depending on the applications leveraged. Pools of Crypto Liquidity Are Growing During the last year and a half, decentralized finance (defi) has grown more robust and today there’s $46.24 billion total value locked in defi apps, according to defipulse stats. While digital currencies like bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and many other crypto assets have seen significant gains, people are also getting large returns for providing liquidity. Additionally, thanks to Web3 wallets like Metamask, providing liquidity without dealing with a centralized third-party is key to decentralized finance. Last month, Bitcoin.com reported on crypto earnings, in comparison to a traditional savings account. The report noted how people can earn up to 17% annually using a variety of centralized and decentralized applications. 17% is a nice return and it outperforms the banks’ interest rates (0.50% to 0.66%) by a long shot, however, there are other cryptocurrency applications with much deeper yields. From left to right: Badger DAO, Kyber Network, Uniswap, Demex, Curve.fi, Balancer, and Sushiswap. The following article explains how returns of up to 400% can be obtained using defi apps like the Badger DAO (app.badger.finance) and the Decentralized Mercantile Exchange (Demex- app.dem.exchange). It should be known that the APRs noted on both Badger, Demex and many other defi apps like Sushiswap and Uniswap, provide ROIs for liquidity providers but APRs are just estimations. An ROI rate per annum can change indefinitely, depending on the weight of pools and cryptocurrency price fluctuations. There are also other risks as well, like the losses that can incur if ethereum (ETH) theoretically had a sudden and deep price crash. Defi applications must be reviewed before they are tried and there is plenty of documentation concerning these platforms in comprehensive detail strewn across the web. Switcheo’s Decentralized Mercantile Exchange The first platform that offers a considerable ROI can be found by utilizing the pools housed on Demex, an application that runs on the Switcheo Tradehub. Currently, without any commit duration, liquidity providers can get 228% leveraging the NNEO/ETH pool. Other top pools include the USDC/WBTC pool (113% APR), USDC/SWTH (101% APR), and ETH/SWTH (79.9% APR). The Demex (app.dem.exchange) pool estimations on Sunday, March 14, 2021. Demex is noncustodial and connects with a Metamask wallet, Ledger Wallet, and an encrypted key. These annual percentage rates can fluctuate depending on pool size and reward weights. One downfall to using Demex includes current ethereum (ETH) transaction fees, and the trading platform requires an initial transaction to connect the coin owner’s wallet to the decentralized exchange. Today, a Demex pool quote says a 30-day commit to the NNEO/ETH pool can garnish around 391%. However, APRs on Demex and most other decentralized exchange (dex) platforms fluctuate and are not guaranteed to remain static. The NNEO/ETH liquidity pair set with a commit duration of 30 days says 391% APR (24H) according to March 14, 2021 data. Of course, Demex gives people a warning that APRs can change. “APRs are estimations based on the current pool size and reward weights,” the Demex exchange notes. “APRs stated are not guaranteed and may change depending on fluctuation in liquidity or changes to reward weights due to the creation of new pools and/or governance proposals.” The fees needed to connect with app.dem.exchange (Demex), and then load up the platform wallet can be expensive to someone not used to ethereum (ETH) contract interaction fees. A person can easily connect to Demex via Metamask, Ledger Wallet, or an encrypted key. The connection fee to securely leverage Demex may be daunting to first-time users because of ether fees and the cost of contract interactions. In order to connect with Demex on March 13, 2021, the gas price in gwei was 133 or $93.22 just to securely communicate with the decentralized exchange. Depositing funds into Demex will also incur Ethereum network processing fees per transaction. Obviously, ETH network fees go against an aggregated ROI and should be accounted for when calculating returns. Once connected and the person decides which pool they want to use, they need to figure out how much of each pair they need to provide. The NNEO/ETH pool for instance is 50% to 50%, which means if you want to add $1000 worth of ETH, you also need to add $1000 worth of NNEO. The ETH/SWTH liquidity pool is 80% ETH and 20% SWTH, so if the individual chose to add $1000 in ETH, they would also need to add $200 in SWTH. A commit duration will also boost the APR, and if the individual commits to 30 days locked, the ROI rate will increase a great deal more. Currently, Demex offers liquidity pairs in ETH, USDC, NNEO, SWTH, WBTC, CEL, NEX, and others. Some liquidity pairs, however, have zero APRs as there’s no liquidity in these pools. Demex was launched by the switcheo (SWTH) team and announced back in May 2020. The Demex ecosystem has governance protocols and the platform is noncustodial and doesn’t hold a user’s funds. The system has its own native wallet infrastructure that connects with wallets like Metamask and the platform offers a mnemonic seed. Badger DAO and Bitcoin-Centric SETTs Another platform that can be leveraged for considerable APRs is the Badger DAO, which is a BTC-centric defi platform. With the native badger token (BADGER) and DIGG, the decentralized finance app Badger DAO has grown a great deal. The Badger DAO project is a BTC-centric defi platform that deals with synthetic and tokenized bitcoin (BTC) products. The noncustodial DIGG token is an elastic supply of a bitcoin (BTC) synthetic based on BTC’s fluctuating price. The Badger DAO also has an automated defi aggregator system called “SETT,” and the protocol is similar to Yearn Finance models. Using the Badger defi application, people can capture an APR using a BTC-centric decentralized exchange model. Badger also connects with Sushiswap, Uniswap, and Curve.fi as well. The Badger DAO has $1.5 million in total value locked on Sunday, March 14, 2021. Similar to Demex, individuals leveraging the Badger DAO can earn an annual ROI by providing liquidity. The Badger defi app supports ETH, WBTC, BADGER, DIGG, WETH, and tokenized BTC products from Curve.fi. Currently, the top pairs of SETT vaults are DIGG (130%), BADGER (13.76%), and WBTC/DIGG (180%). Yearly ROIs for a number of tokenized BTC products and Badger’s native token BADGER. Just like Demex and a number of other pools, APRs are not guaranteed and can change. Just like a myriad of defi applications, the Badger DAO app can be leveraged with a wallet like Metamask. Moreover, the Badger project also has a governance system that is governed by BADGER holders and the DAO’s community. Users can connect to the Badger DAO via Metamask and other Web3 wallets in a noncustodial fashion. Badger’s application also connects with Sushiswap, Uniswap, and Curve.fi as well. The project also has a comprehensive overview of documentation, which helps people get a grasp on how to leverage the Badger DAO for staking returns. There are also a number of other defi applications like Sushiswap, Uniswap, Curve, Balancer, Bancor, Kyber Network, and more that offer higher than average liquidity returns. Some of these defi apps can be confusing to use at first, so using due diligence when researching these platforms is quite necessary. Ethereum contract interaction fees can be menacing as well, and an individual can use an app like Uniswap, have the transaction fail but still pay the gas fee. Despite the learning process and the ETH fee hurdles, the ROIs from these pools can be very significant. APRs from decentralized pools of liquidity is just another nail in the coffin for the financial incumbents. What do you think about the liquidity pools and the estimated APRs some of these defi applications offer? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Just a few days after announcing the end of its partnership with Moneygram, the fintech firm Ripple Labs is now moving to dispose of its stake in the listed company. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ripple says it has entered into an agreement with Jefferies in which the latter is expected to execute “the orderly disposition of a portion of the former’s stake in Moneygram.” Ripple and Moneygram Partnership Maybe Revisited As the filed document explains, this agreement mandates Jefferies, a U.S. based diversified financial services company, to “sell up to 8,195,123 shares on behalf of Ripple.” However, this plan to offload the stock, which was expected to have commenced on March 11, is set to “expire upon the earliest of September 30, 2021.” At that point, “the maximum amount shall have been sold, or the occurrence of certain other customary events affecting the issuer.” Still, despite taking these steps to end the business relationship, Ripple did hint in a statement that this partnership might be revisited in the future. The fintech firm said: We are both committed to revisiting our relationship in the future. We still believe in the promise of digital assets and blockchain technology to change the status quo in global payments for the benefit of billions of consumers around the world. The Effect of the SEC Lawsuit After the SEC announced that it was suing Ripple Labs for allegedly violating the U.S Securities Act, the business relationship between Moneygram and the fintech firm became difficult thus forcing the former to take action. For instance, Moneygram said it has “faced logistical challenges in using the platform as well as legal and reputational risks” after the lawsuit was announced. In addition, the listed money transfer organisation reported revenues losses as a direct result of the suspension of its business relationship with Ripple. On the other hand, Ripple has seen its XRP token being delisted by some cryptocurrency exchanges as a result of the SEC lawsuit. The fintech firm is also facing more scrutiny from the SEC as well as another lawsuit. Meanwhile, despite the mounting challenges, Ripple insists it has not violated security laws. Already, some early signs from the SEC/Ripple legal battle seemingly suggest a tough fight for the regulator. What does the end of the business relationship between Ripple and Moneygram mean for blockchain technology? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. CLEVER, a fully Decentralized Finance protocol, is set to bring added liquidity and extra value to its Ecosystem via the supported listing of its native CLVA token on popular decentralized exchange platform Uniswap. Uniswap Listing Next Phase for Clever Ecosystem The listing will occur on March 17 and marks the next phase in the roadmap of Clever DeFi. Clever DeFi just concluded its minting phase, which lasted for 30 days, where investors could purchase CLVA tokens at the lowest price available. The initial 30-day minting phase ended on March 3, 2021, at 12:00UTC, with users spending 726,50 ETH to mint 339,927 CLVA tokens. To achieve adequate liquidity pool pairing on Uniswap, an additional 152,967 CLVA was minted from the Clever Protocol, equating to 45% of the total mint existing. Clever DeFi will implement a strict liquidity schedule on listing to protect users and achieve more excellent price stability. The following schedule over the first 3 Cycles will initiate as of March 17: CYCLE 1: 31% liquidity added. CYCLE 2: 8% liquidity added. CYCLE 3: 6% liquidity added. All added liquidity will be locked without key access in a cloud secure time-delay for a set period of 12 months. Also, ahead of the Uniswap listing, the initial listing price will be set using a median average calculated from the sum of all transactions throughout the minting phase. Day 1 listing price will be pegged to at least 0.0025eth: 1 CLVA and will start active trading via UniSwap on March 17 through the CLVA/ETH pair. Once listed on Uniswap, CLVA tokens will be available to retail investors who can purchase the tokens and store them in ERC-20 supported wallets like MetaMask. DeFi platforms and Automated Market Makers like Uniswap provide a powerful opportunity to help overcome liquidity challenges. They require no or low listing fees, yet their trading volumes can be as high as top exchanges. Clever team expects that listing on Uniswap will expose the project to a teeming pool of investors, which will drive the price of CLVA tokens up. The Uniswap effect has led to several defi tokens surging in price, and CLVA could benefit hugely from the listing. Clever Ecosystem Continues to Grow Clever DeFi has grown rapidly since its launch in the latter half of 2020 due to the massive potentials it offers. Clever DeFi offers users guaranteed interest for holding its native token CLVA. The interest mechanism is embedded into its smart contract and distributed over regular intervals of 14 days. These intervals are programmed to take 888 cycles which is equivalent to 34.5 years. During each cycle, automatic interest will be distributed to every Ethereum wallet address containing CLVA tokens. Throughout the 888 cycles, the maximum total supply of 9,519,530 CLVA will be minted in addition to the 0.1% maintenance fee. CLVA token holders are not mandated to stake their tokens or enter into any contracts to receive fortnightly interest payments. Users can also withdraw CLVA tokens at any time without penalties or lock-in dues. The Clever DeFi team also has plans to expand its Ecosystem through the Clever DeFi Bounty campaign recently ending on March 2, 2021. There are also plans to embark on partnerships with industry stakeholders and projects. Also, there are plans in place for CLVA to be listed on other exchanges, including P2PB2B, CoinsBit, Hotbit, and others. For more details on Clever DeFi, please check the website CLVA.com. This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

At the end of January, the Texas-based firm Valkyrie Digital Assets filed an exchange-traded fund (ETF) registration for the “Valkyrie Bitcoin Trust” with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This month, the cryptocurrency investment manager announced it has filed a prospectus for an ETF with the SEC based on companies that hold the leading crypto asset bitcoin. The Valkyrie Innovative Balance Sheet ETF Bitcoin (BTC) has grown quite a lot in value in 2021 and two months ago, Valkyrie Digital Assets joined the rest of the companies aiming to launch a U.S.-based bitcoin ETF. The struggle to approve a bitcoin ETF in the United States has been real, but the recent approval of three Canadian ETFs gives people hope. Now according to a recent registration statement from Valkyrie Digital Assets, the company plans to launch another ETF based on companies that hold bitcoin (BTC) in their treasuries. The ETF is quite similar to the filed prospectus with the SEC issued by the financial incumbent JP Morgan Chase, which is also a basket of firms exposed to bitcoin (BTC). However, Valkyrie’s registration filing for the ETF does not name any firms it plans to list. The fund, if approved, will be called the “Valkyrie Innovative Balance Sheet ETF.” “The fund is an actively-managed exchange-traded fund that will invest principally in the securities of operating companies that have innovative balance sheets, which the Fund’s investment adviser, KKM Financial LLC (the “Adviser”), considers to be operating companies that directly or indirectly invest in, transact in, or otherwise have exposure to bitcoin or operate in the bitcoin ecosystem,” the Valkyrie ETF filing notes. Valkyrie says the company could also invest in “bitcoin trading platforms, bitcoin miners, bitcoin custodians, digital wallet providers, companies that facilitate payments in bitcoin, and companies that provide other technology, equipment or services to companies operating in the bitcoin ecosystem.” Companies like Microstrategy that hold bitcoin (BTC) on their balance sheets could also be considered. The Valkyrie prospectus adds: The fund may invest in companies that invest in or have any portion of their assets accounted for by direct bitcoin holdings. The fund may invest in companies of any market capitalization. As of the date of this prospectus, the fund expects to invest a significant portion (i.e. more than 25%) of its assets in securities of companies in the information technology sector. Crypto ETFs Are In Demand Despite Regulatory Uncertainty in the US The “Valkyrie Innovative Balance Sheet ETF” comes at a time when bitcoin (BTC) has touched another all-time price (ATH) reaching $61,782 per unit on March 13. Additionally, there are now 42 companies holding BTC in treasuries capturing around $82 billion in value. Of course, like most SEC prospectus filings the Valkyrie registration mentions the risk involved with bitcoin and blockchain exposure. “The technology supporting the bitcoin ecosystem is new. The risks associated with owning bitcoin or operating in the bitcoin ecosystem, therefore, may not be fully known until the ecosystem matures,” Valkyrie’s SEC filing notes. What do you think about Valkyrie’s latest ETF filing that invests in companies with exposure to bitcoin? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

According to regional reports, the Norwegian billionaire and hedge fund manager, Ole Andreas Halvorsen, is investing funds into an energy-reducing cryptocurrency mining chip hardware company. The company Norway’s fourth richest man is investing in claims to build application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining chips that are allegedly 300%-500% more energy efficient than existing hardware. Norwegian Hedge Fund Giant Dips Into the Crypto Economy Norwegian news reports detail that the billionaire hedge fund manager Ole Andreas Halvorsen is dipping his toes into the cryptocurrency space. A report from Trijo explains that the hedge fund manager and cofounder of the Connecticut-based hedge fund, Viking Global Investors, is now investing in a cryptocurrency-focused firm called Harmonychain. Halvorsen is joining a number of well known luminary investors from the Norwegian region investing funds into the crypto sphere with investors like Kjell Inge Røkke, Bjørn Dæhlie, and Arne Fredly. Halvorsen himself is considered one of the top-earning hedge fund managers worldwide and has captured the 11th ranking hedge fund manager position in the world according to Forbes. According to the report written by Teodor Stig-Matz, Harmonychain was supposed to be listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. However, Stig-Matz’s report notes that the listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange was postponed. The Harmonychain website has a lot of interesting claims about the firm’s microchips as well. The company is in the midst of developing a “dual-purpose Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Scrypt algorithm ASIC Supercomputer microchip.” The harmonychain.com website adds: [The microchip] is tailored towards Cryptocurrency accounting/mining that is up to 300%-500% more energy efficient than existing Scrypt accounting computer systems. Harmonychain’s Litecoin Scrypt ASIC Miner Due Out in Late 2022, Claims an Estimated Payback of 2 Years Because the chip is Scrypt the Harmonychain chip is dedicated to mining the digital asset litecoin (LTC) and Scrypt-based coins. The firm’s claims that the chips are 300%-500% more energy efficient would essentially reduce computer energy use by 70-80%. If research and development goes well, Harmonychain hopes to deploy the Scrypt ASIC semiconductors with AI potential by 2022 or 2023. The startup insists it will be the most profitable mining hardware available when released. “The ASIC is designed as a dual purpose chip with edge AI potential,” harmonychain.com’s website states. “If prototype production works well, we plan to start mass deliveries in H2 2022 and 2023. According to industry standard, customers can expect to prepay approx. 9-12 months prior to delivery. The Supercomputer is poised to be the most profitable Crypto hardware on the market. Our Crypto Supercomputer miners have an estimated payback of less than 2 years,” the company’s FAQ adds. Halvorsen joining the crypto economy is a bullish sign to many digital asset investors and enthusiasts. He is one of the most respected hedge fund managers worldwide and a protégé of hedge fund manager Julian Robertson. Halvorsen also joins the great number of venture capitalists and well known hedge fund managers stepping into the cryptocurrency economy. What do you think about Norway’s fourth richest man getting investing in a cryptocurrency mining chip company? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

A new survey revealed the latest trend among accredited investors in the United States, targeting the decentralized finance (defi) sphere. The study shows that a vast majority of them are likely to invest in defi this year. 70% of the Respondents Already Invested in Bitcoin According to Xangle, who surveyed 379 accredited investors, 67% of them have some knowledge about defi. Overall, such respondents claimed to have developed a significant interest in the cryptocurrency industry over the past year. But the higher interest goes beyond the respondents, as 72.2% of them stated they were “very likely to invest” in Defi in the next 12 months. Just 17.5% of the surveyed accredited investors are in the category of thinking that they’d be “somewhat likely to invest,” said the research. Moreover, the crypto asset disclosure platform found that respondents invest more now than before the coronavirus pandemic. Per the figures, 70% of the surveyed U.S. accredited investors have invested in bitcoin (BTC). Xangle added: Surveyed investors see bitcoin as a store of value that will yield high returns, either through short-term investments or by buying and holding. Still, respondents believe there is a lack of regulation regarding consumer protection in the crypto industry, including defi. According to the study, 78% of them think “regulators need to protect investors more” The survey continued: Survey respondents believed that the things holding investors back from crypto are a lack of regulator protection, scams, and a lack of awareness and education around the industry. Bitcoin Remains as the ‘Top Choice for Future Returns’ Although there is widespread interest in investing in defi, the survey concluded that bitcoin is still the top pick “for future returns.” Xangle explains that if accredited investors had $100,000 to invest but had to leave it for four years, “31.7% would choose Bitcoin while 29% would go into blue-chip stocks as the better investment.” Lihan Lee, cofounder of Xangle, commented on the survey: The survey findings confirmed our belief that accredited investors are very excited about investing in crypto assets, but they are being held back due to a lack of regulator protection, scams, and a lack of awareness and education around the industry. It’s extremely critical for the industry as a whole to step up and provide this new wave of investors with everything they need to ensure they have a positive experience and continue to invest. Xangle took the following guidelines to establish who was eligible for being categorized as “accredited investor” for the survey: Our 379 respondents are considered accredited investors, who are able to trade securities that may not be registered, like cryptocurrencies. According to Rule 501 of the SEC, they must have a minimum income of $200,000 for individuals — which were 71% of our respondents — or $300,000 joint income, which are the remaining 29% of our respondents. What are your thoughts on the survey? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The price of bitcoin cracked a new all-time high on Saturday morning reaching $60,120 per unit at around 6:25 a.m. (ET). Bitcoin now has a 1.12 trillion-dollar market valuation and a dominance level of around 61.9% while ethereum now commands close to 12% of the $1.70 trillion capitalization of all 8,792 digital assets in the crypto economy. The price of bitcoin (BTC) has once again captured a new lifetime price high reaching $60,120 per BTC on Sunday, March 13, 2021. During the last 24 hours, BTC has gained 6.9% and over 23% during the last seven days. At press time BTC has around $27 billion in global trade volume. The price of bitcoin (BTC) touched an all-time high at $60,120 per unit. Statistics show that bitcoin (BTC) has gained 212% during the last three months and 975.83% against the U.S. dollar during the course of 12 months. One-month percentage stats show BTC is up over 24% on Sunday. On Thursday, tether (USDT) is BTC’s biggest trading pair capturing 50.2% of bitcoin trades. This is followed by USD (19.37%), JPY (6.6%), BUSD (5.65%), EUR (5.2%) and KRW (3%). Onchain metrics from Intotheblock stats show that holders making a profit at the current price is near 100%. The concentration of large holders is 11% and holders time by composition is 58% for one year+. Meanwhile, as BTC has captured a new price high the network hashrate is also running hot at 161 exahash per second at the time of publication. This is despite the fact that BTC’s mining difficulty is the highest ever at 21,448,277,761,059 (21.45 trillion). Data also shows that the number of pools mining BTC has dropped to 16 pools as of today. F2pool is still the dominant miner on the BTC network capturing 19.7% of the hashrate or 31 EH/s at the time of publication. Furthermore, the Bitcoin network has reached a milestone after transferring $3.5 trillion across the world without the help of any banks, corporate entities, or governments. Bitcoin’s fresh price highs have been positive and Bitfinex CTO, Paolo Ardoino is optimistic about BTC’s long-term outlook. “Bitcoin has furthered its upward momentum amid relatively low trading volumes. It seems like investors may be waiting on the sidelines looking for some direction. Meanwhile, it is important to note that bitcoin is not just emerging as an asset for big institutions and corporations,” Ardoino said in an investor’s note to Bitcoin.com’s newsdesk. “There is so much work going on under the hood in the bitcoin ecosystem,” Ardoino added. “Layers are being built that could well define how a multitude of payments are made by the end of this decade. Bitcoin is the foundational base layer for this ecosystem to eventually supersede the entire payments and credit card industry.” At the time of writing ethereum (ETH) is up over 6% at $1,883, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is up 5.47% at $565, and the biggest gainer in the top ten is cardano (ADA) up well over 7% today and swapping for $1.15 per unit. What do you think about bitcoin tapping a new all-time price high on Saturday? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

A portfolio manager and member of Blackrock’s Global Allocation Fund says gold is now a less effective hedge against inflation as well as moves in other assets such as stocks. In comments that appear to undercut the precious metal’s renowned status, Russ Koesterich claims that “gold’s ability to hedge against inflation has been somewhat exaggerated.” Gold Less Reliable Across Most Investment Horizons While Koesterich is still cognizant of gold’s status as a “reasonable store of value over the very long-term,” he does however opine that “it is less reliable across most investment horizons.” Already, Koesterich’s firm, Blackrock, which has assets under management worth almost $9 trillion, appears to have acted on this new knowledge. As reported by Bitcoin.com News, Blackrock has started to invest in BTC. Still, as one report notes, gold has for years been viewed as that part of a multi-asset portfolio “that can help to balance out shifts in other holdings, especially equities.” Yet as this Blackrock executive remarks, gold is currently “not working well as a hedge against either stock moves or inflation risks, although it was against the dollar.” Sinking Gold ETF Volumes Meanwhile, in order to back Koesterich’s assertions, the report uses the precious metal’s recent performances in comparison to the USD and U.S. equities. The report, which uses March 11 data, states: Spot gold traded at $1,735.16 an ounce at 9:35 a.m. in London, down more than 8% this year, while a gauge of the U.S. currency has risen about 1.8%. Among equity benchmarks, the S&P 500 Index has gained almost 4% in 2021. Furthermore, the report also notes that gold’s decline in 2021 has been accompanied by “a steady drawdown in holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded funds.” According to the report, “global ETF volumes have sunk to the lowest since June, losing about 150 tons so far in 2021.” Meanwhile, in laying out his predictions for the precious metal, the portfolio manager hints at possible headwinds for the commodity. Koesterich points to “more stimulus and improving vaccine distribution (which) suggest the possibility of an economic surge” as his reasons for the negative prediction. Coincidentally, Koesterich’s sentiments about gold’s prospects are also shared by ABN Amro Bank, which warned in January “that gold had peaked and would drop.” Do you agree with Koesterich’s sentiments about gold? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Japanese authorities aren’t hesitating in hunting down anyone considered a crypto tax evader. A court in Ishikawa has sentenced one of them, a 56-year-old man that will spend one year in prison, plus pay a $200,000 fine. Sentenced Man Didn’t Disclose His BTC Trading Activity of the Period 2017-2018 According to Chunichi, a judge at the Kanazawa District Court imposed a fine of over 22 million yen ($200,000) and gave a one-year-long sentence to Hideji Matsuda, an office worker in Ishikawa, for violating the Income Tax Law. The judge concluded that the man didn’t file accurate tax declarations knowingly on his bitcoin (BTC) trading activity. Per court documents, Matsuda didn’t declare the period 2017-2018. Moreover, the court stated that the office worker falsified data on his tax submissions because he claimed to had just earned 1.2 million yen ($11,000) in profits. In reality, he received a total income of 74 million yen ($678,000) and he didn’t pay any tax whatsoever. When his lawyers on the hearings interviewed Matsuda, he claimed that he didn’t have clarity on calculating the profits of incomes earned from cryptos. However, prosecutors stated otherwise. In fact, they believe the 56-years-old man was “selfish and self-centered.” Matsuda’s lawyers already pledged for pardon, as they stated the man submitted petitions to amend the issue and file the tax documents properly. However, the judge rejected such a proposal and proceeded with the sentence. At the end of the trial, Matsuda just commented on the sentence: “there is no doubt.” An Unprecedented Case in Japan This legal case is the first-of-its-kind in Japan, making Matsuda the first person in the land of the rising sun to be sentenced for being a bitcoin tax evader. The legal proceedings started in 2020. In the Asian country, crypto-related activities such as mining, trading, and lending profits are subject to taxes as high as 55%. What do you think about the sentence given to the Japanese crypto tax evader? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

A myriad of gold bugs like to compliment the yellow precious metal for its ostensible scarcity, as estimates say only 2,500 to 3,000 tons of new gold is produced annually. While new gold discoveries have seemingly slowed, investigative studies also show that in some areas, gold is being smuggled into the economy by the ton, and often never accounted for as far as per annum issuance estimates. Recently, reports show a whole mountain of gold was discovered in the Congo, as the Democratic Republic of the Congo is well known for being a region that sees tons of smuggled gold filtered into the global financial system unreported. Surprise Gold Deposits Continue to Crack the Precious Metal’s Scarcity Proposition It has always been said that the precious metal gold (Au) is scarce, and some reports even say that gold mining on earth will end by the year 2050. Additionally, estimates also show that there’s roughly 2,500 to 3,000 tons of new gold that is accounted for and enters into the financial economy every single year. However, one unfortunate thing for those who believe gold is very scarce is the fact that surprise discoveries happen all the time. Lots of these gold discoveries go unaccounted for exceeding the so-called 3,000 tons of new gold dug up every year. In recent times, analysts have questioned gold’s safe-haven status, as central banks worldwide hoarding bullion could flood the market. Data from 2008’s economic crisis shows that central banks oversaturated bullion markets during the subprime mortgage disaster. Surprise gold deposit finds and underreported issuance by artisanal miners also make it hard to prove gold is truly scarce. For example at the end of October 2020, Bitcoin.com’s newsdesk reported on a surprise find of approximately 40 million troy ounces of gold in Russia’s Siberian region. The only reason the public hears about these discoveries, is if the gold find was discovered by local media sources. For instance, in August last year, the historical region of Central Europe, situated in Poland and called Silesia, suddenly saw the discovery of 5,000 tons of gold ore. The massive gold deposits found in the Silesian village of course was taken over by the country’s Ministry of the Environment. The 350 residents that live in Silesia had zero rights to the tonnage, but the news caused wider interest in the region. The news reporter, Anne Chatham, explained that no date was set to begin mining the ore, but local people “expressed their hopes that the discovery will benefit the region or attract tourists.” Last Week Villagers from the Congo Discovered a Mountain Filled With Gold During the first week of March 2021, a Yemeni freelance journalist based in the capital Sana’a, Ahmad Algohbary, reported on a massive mountain of gold discovered in the Congo. There are no confirmed estimates as to how much gold was found in the region, but the country’s authorities banned artisanal mining throughout the Congo’s South Kivu province. “A video from the Republic of the Congo documents the biggest surprise for some villagers in this country, as an entire mountain filled with gold was discovered,” Algohbary tweeted. “They dig the soil inside the gold deposits and take them to their homes in order to wash the dirt [and] extract the gold.” Algohbary shared another video of residents from the Republic of the Congo panning for gold and finding significantly-sized deposits from the mountain. Yemeni freelance journalist based in the capital Sana’a, Ahmad Algohbary, shared a video from the Congo that went viral last week. The video shows people who swarmed to the village in the Congo’s South Kivu province because of a mountain found there has shown the soil was littered with gold deposits. The issue with gold deposits in areas like the Congo is that a recent United Nations (UN) report has found gold production in the Democratic Republic of Congo “continues to be systematically underreported.” The recent UN report says the Congo and other countries alongside the eastern border have been known to be major gold regions worth billions. The gold is being mined out of the earth by what people call “artisanal” miners. It has been said that artisanal miners mine by rudimentary means like using shovels in contrast to major operations with powered excavators. Massive amounts of gold in the Congo alone filters into the financial system underreported, and derive from regions like the provincial capital of Bukavu, Ituri province, and Luhihi. Bitcoin Is Scarcer Than Gold and This Can be Proven in Code, Gold Scarcity Based on Faith and Unreliable Estimates The mountain of gold discovered during the first week of March stemmed from Luhihi, and caused a significant gold rush of shovelers and artisanal miners. The gold mountain invoked thousands of people to swarm the village in the Congo’s South Kivu province. South Kivu’s Minister, Venant Burume Muhigirwa, said the gold rush added pressure to the small village of residents. Muhigirwa and local authorities forced artisanal miners and even members of Congo’s armed forces (FARDC) to leave the mountain of gold. “All mining activities were suspended until further notice,” Muhigirwa said. The United Nations’ report says that gold leaving the Congo and other countries alongside the eastern border is usually “systematically underreported.” The stories and the recent UN report, ultimately show that the shiny, yellow precious metal called gold (Au) may not be as rare as we think it is or are led to believe. Discoveries like the mountain of gold in the Congo and the 5,000 tons found in the Silesian village in August, indicate that massive gold deposits are found regularly and lots of gold finds are systematically underreported. The digital asset bitcoin (BTC) protocol, on the other hand, is known to have a maximum supply limit of 21 million. A crypto-asset like BTC is considered a lot scarcer than gold, and the protocol ensures there won’t be any surprise discoveries or underreported issuance. New and massively sized gold deposits found in regions all around the world, not to mention the untapped ore under the ocean (20 million tons) and the gold that could be mined from asteroids, makes it awfully hard for someone to prove that gold is the scarcer asset in comparison to bitcoin. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has recently been contemplating building a spacecraft called the “Psyche.” The spacecraft aims to capture images of a metal-rock asteroid dubbed “16 Psyche.” The 226-kilometer wide asteroid is made of gold and other metals with an estimated value of around 10,000 quadrillion-dollars. What do you think about the mountain of gold found in the Congo’s South Kivu province? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Crypto regulation in Spain remains on the political talks amid the current bull-run seen in the bitcoin prices. Now, the country’s Ministry of the Economy is about to create a new Financial Customer Ombudsman for crypto-related matters. Independent Financial Customer Body Will Abide by the MiCA Ruling Per La Información, Minister Nadia Calviño seeks to extend its guardianship to the financial body to cover topics such as protecting consumers in cryptocurrency services. To make it a reality, the minister will submit the initial proposal to a public consultancy “as soon as possible.” Overall, Calviño also wants to canalize all conflicts between banks and their customers through the Financial Customer Ombudsman, including all businesses in the fintech sector. However, the Ministry clarified they’re expecting to abide by the rulings of the future “Regulation Of The European Parliament And Of The Council On Markets In Cryptoassets and the Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation” (MiCA). Such ruling, however, is still in development in Brussels. According to the media outlet, Calviño’s proposal wants that the Independent Financial Customer Ombudsman’s future decisions will be binding, but up to a certain amount on a dispute. Sources quoted by La Información claim that such an amount could be around 30,000 euro ($35,800). European Regulation Could Be Incompatible With Defi Industry, Experts Say There are no major details on who could be leading the independent body overseeing crypto-related matters with consumers. If the proposal is granted a green light during the public consultancy, it will be the only independent resource to solve conflicts for all financial matters in Spain. But the fact of abiding by the in-development EU MiCA rulings is still sparking controversy among the crypto sphere. In fact, a survey performed by the International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications (INATBA) unveiled that European crypto experts believe incoming legal frameworks could be excessively challenging for the industry. Moreover, these rulings could have an “incompatibility” with decentralized finance (defi) applications and protocols. What do you think about the proposal presented by the Spanish Ministry of Economy? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

On March 12, the publicly-listed firm Microstrategy announced the company purchased an additional 262 bitcoin for $15 million in cash. The company’s CEO Michael Saylor announced the acquisition of the coins during the morning hours on Friday (ET) to his 623,000 Twitter followers. Microstrategy Tells US Regulators It Swapped $15 Million in Cash for 262 Bitcoin Seven days ago, on March 5, Bitcoin.com reported on Microstrategy leveraging $10 million in cash to purchase 205 bitcoin (BTC). On March 12, Microstrategy announced another acquisition of $15 million worth of bitcoin in a Form 8-K Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. The March 12 SEC filing explains the firm’s move to purchase the 262 bitcoin (BTC). Meanwhile, bitcoin bull and Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor revealed the purchase via Twitter on Friday morning. Similar to Saylor’s prior tweets, the CEO explained how much Microstrategy purchased, the price the company paid, the number of bitcoin the company now holds, and the average price the firm paid per coin using the strategy. Saylor tweeted at 8:00 a.m. (ET): Microstrategy has purchased an additional ~262 bitcoins for ~$15.0 million in cash at an average price of ~$57,146 per bitcoin,” Saylor wrote on Twitter. As of 3/12/2021, we hodl ~91,326 bitcoins acquired for ~$2.211 billion at an average price of ~$24,214 per bitcoin. Dollar-Cost Averaging Buying Scheme Pays off for Microstrategy Despite the announcement, bitcoin (BTC) has slid during Friday morning’s trading sessions to a low of $55,011 per unit at 8:25 a.m. losing over 2.7%. This was after BTC touched a monthly high at $58,156 per coin nearing the decentralized crypto asset’s all-time high (ATH) at $58,350 per coin. Even though the price is lower than what Microstrategy paid this week ($57,146 per BTC), the company’s dollar-cost averaging strategy has paid off so far. The company’s 91k+ BTC stash is worth over $5.1 billion but the average cost of the BTC at $24,214 shows they purchased it all for $2.2 billion. Moreover, the business intelligence (BI) company’s balance sheet with 91,326 bitcoin is only 8,674 BTC away from hitting 100,000 BTC. Using today’s exchange rates, that’s around $482 million worth of bitcoin. What do you think about Microstrategy purchasing $15 million worth of bitcoins? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

An anonymous group has claimed that Blockfi, which has an estimated $1.8 billion in customer assets invested in Grayscale Investment’s GBTC, is facing potential insolvency issues associated with the negative premium on the GBTC shares. Using the negative premium of minus 7.89% on the GBTC shares to illustrate the extent of the problem, the anonymous group posits that Blockfi faces a loss of $232 million. Anonymous Group Alleges Blockfi Insolvency Threat According to a statement posted on the anonymous group’s website, Blockfi, which is promising its investors an annualized interest rate of 6%, can make only make a profit for its investors if the premium on GBTC shares is above 8%. This happens because Blockfi still has to pay a management fee of 2% on top of the 6% that it promises to pay its investors. Yet, as recently reported by Bitcoin.com, the premium (or discount) on the GBTC briefly dropped to a record low of nearly minus 12% on March 4. At the time of writing, however, this figure discount had narrowed to minus 4.73%. Meanwhile, throughout its largely anti-Blockfi dossier, the anonymous group accuses the crypto lending firm of pursuing business strategies that are detrimental to the interests of its investors. For instance, the group, which calls itself the Ditchblockfi team, claims to have been informed by “Blockfi investors and institutional borrowers that the crypto lender has over $2 Billion dollars worth of unsecured loans to proprietary trading firms.” The In-Built Clause In describing the alleged unsecured loans, the anonymous group claims that these “are off-platform, opaque private contracts that are not disclosed on Blockfi’s website or terms of service.” The group then adds: Even if these are very successful trading firms, defaults will happen and Blockfi is the central counterparty for every retail depositor as well as every corporate borrower. Since we understand that many of their loans are concentrated, $100M+ sized loans, a single default can easily wipe out Blockfi’s equity base and put them into insolvency. Meanwhile, to shield itself from the potential losses that may be incurred as a result of its risky business practices, Blockfi states in its terms and conditions that in times of “extreme market conditions” withdrawals may be halted permanently. However, using this clause to expose Blockfi, the Ditchblockfi team suggest that this may have been “built-in for market conditions that would cause their unsecured borrowers to default on their loans, causing Blockfi to be unable to pay out on deposits.” Still, since Blockfi is not recognized as a bank, it is, therefore “not regulated to hold deposits as a bank,” the accusations say. This, therefore, means that “if there are solvency issues, it (Blockfi) will not be bailed out by the U.S. Federal Reserve.” Public Discussions In the meantime, the anonymous group tries to buttress its claims against Blockfi by sharing screenshots of recent “public discussions” where Twitter users appear to discuss the lender’s unfavorable financial position. The anonymous group then ends its dossier by asking other whistleblowers who may have any information to share to reach out. Meanwhile, Blockfi recently complained of a barrage of attacks this week when it saw 1,000 phony registration emails spamming the platform’s sign-up page. Additionally, on Friday, the financial services platform Blockfi announced it raised $350 million in a Series D financing round. What are your thoughts on the anonymous group’s allegations against Blockfi? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

One of the biggest asset managers in Israel allocated millions of dollars into the shares of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). Altshuler Shaham is now gaining exposure to bitcoin by investing $100 million in shares, according to a local media outlet. Altshuler Shaham Currently Holds $150M Worth in BTC Per Globes Israel, the multi-million-dollar investment yielded a return of almost 100%. That’s because the exposure was made by the investment house in December 2020, when bitcoin (BTC) prices were hovering around the $21,000 level. Afterward, Altshuler Shaham took profits when BTC hit new all-time highs in February. According to Global, the investment house closed its position on about a third of its holdings in GBTC fund. Gilad Altshuler, CEO and co-founder of the asset manager, stated that Altshuler Shaham currently holds $150 million worth in bitcoin as of press time. He added: The $100 million investment has become $200 million, and of the $200 million we have already sold about a third. This is a new investment for us. It took several months until we received all the relevant approvals and all the opinions that approved our investment in the field. Will the Firm Increase Its Investment? However, Altshuler confessed the firm was “a bit intimidated” with the speed of the BTC prices surge across the board. In fact, he claimed that fact even worried them as asset managers. On whether they’ll increase the investment this year or not, Altshuler Shaham CEO said it all depends on the crypto prices. So far, the firm is the only publicly known Israeli asset manager that has made its inception into the crypto industry. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust fund is currently managed by Grayscale Investment. When the latest bitcoin halving happened in 2020, Grayscale Investments purchased more than 1.5 times the number of bitcoins mined since the third BTC halving for its bitcoin trust. May 12 and May 18, the week following the halving, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust acquired 12,021.15320371 bitcoins representing $112,336,936 at that time. What do you think about the maneuver done by Altshuler Shaham? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article