DAILY TL;DR W/ CHESLINK
JANUARY 22ND – 26TH
January 26th
- BTC/BCH NEWS
- IN OTHER NEWS
MARKETCAP ANALYSIS
Recap from 11/20
Market Cap: $243,311,416,536
24h Vol: $7,403,167,283
BTC Dominance: 56.2%
As of 12/31
Market Cap: $592,941,301,681
24h Vol: $33,207,433,786
BTC Dominance: 38.0%
As of 1/8
Market Cap: $743,509,110,252
24h Vol: $49,897,768,988
BTC Dominance: 34.2%
As of 1/15
Market Cap: $644,874,662,903
24h Vol: $38,996,461,258
BTC Dominance: 34.4%
As of 1/22
Market Cap: $508,289,748,517
24h Vol: $30,645,248,592
BTC Dominance: 35.0%
As of 1/24
Market Cap: $547,151,289,206
24h Vol: $28,474,334,892
BTC Dominance: 34.6%
As of 1/24
Market Cap: $537,183,052,350
24h Vol: $28,587,095,263
BTC Dominance: 34.5%
BTC/BCH NEWS
Bitcoin (2014) vs Amazon (2018)
• https://www.tradingview.com/chart/BTCUSD/xA6hUmUK-BTC-The-Battle-Between-the-Bulls-and-Bears
A comparison to Amazon from the 2001 bubble and Bitcoin from the 2018 bubble.
Ukranian Politicians Hold $200 mil+ of BTC/BCH
• https://www.trustnodes.com/2018/01/26/ukrainian-politicians-declare-200-million-worth-bitcoin-bitcoin-cash-holdings
57 Ukranian politicians, government officials and company CEOs have declared holdings of more than 21,000 bitcoins, with Bitcoin Cash following as their biggest second crypto holdings.
Some of the biggest declared bitcoin holdings are by Golubov Dmitry Ivanovich, a millennial apparent former hacker of sorts, now a member of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada in Ukrainian.)
A combined total of 21,128 bitcoins were declared, currently worth $222 million, after Ukrainian officials were required to declare their holdings in an ant-corruption probe.
Dmitry V. Palpatin declared the largest holdings of any crypto other than bitcoin, so having 7,711 Bitcoin Cash, now worth around $11 million.
The 28 year old was elected to the country’s parliament in 2015 following some curious PR based on his last name, with his official title being “Emperor” at LLC Palpatine Finance Group.
Bitcoin Solutions with Schnorr Signatures
• http://bitcoinist.com/new-schnorr-based-multi-signature-scheme-coming/
The Schnorr signatures algorithm could help to address Bitcoin’s scalability problem because it reduces the number of signatures required in a transaction. Indeed, Schnorr signatures could help reduce storage and bandwidth by at least 25 percent. Also, Schnorr signatures could help shield Bitcoin from certain types of spam attacks.
Now, Gregory Maxwell, Andrew Poelstra, Yannick Seurin, and Pieter Wuille have published a paper entitled “Simple Schnorr Multi-Signatures with Applications to Bitcoin.” In it, the researchers propose a new Schnorr-based multi-signature scheme, MuSig, which they define as “a protocol that allows a group of signers to produce a short, joint signature on a common message.”
MuSig brings a new concept, key aggregation. This scheme further reduces the number of signatures in a multi-signature scheme to one single signature. Dr. Wuille explains:
In a multi-signature scheme that supports key aggregation, the multi-signature looks like a single-key signature, but with respect to an aggregated public key that is a function of only the participants’ public keys. This means that verifiers don’t actually need to know the original participants’ public keys anymore – they can just be given the aggregated key instead.
Therefore, by implementing key aggregation, verifiers no longer need to know the original participants’ public keys. Instead, verifiers require only the aggregated key.
IN OTHER NEWS
CoinFi Aims to be the Crypto Bloomberg Terminal
• https://news.bitcoin.com/pr-kucoin-becomes-first-cryptocurrency-exchange-to-list-coinfi-cofi-token-on-jan-29-2018/
Steemit+Coinigy+Cointracking
When the stock market and financial data transitioned from analog to digital networks in the 70s-early 80s, Michael Bloomberg launched a business that revolutionized the way equities traders processed information.
Because every serious trader required a Bloomberg terminal in order to trade effectively, Bloomberg LP still owns 29.4% of the $25 billion financial data industry - 36 years since its inception.
As finance moves from traditional markets to the blockchain, a similar disruption will occur.
As the market opportunity of providing financial intelligence to crypto investors continues to grow, Wall Street institutions will do what they always do - use their tremendous resources to build “toll-booth” businesses that will tax the eco-system.
Bloomberg costs $24,000 USD for an annual subscription and is only available to the elites. But unfortunately for them, the dominant market intelligence platform for crypto won’t be built through antiquated, pre-internet enterprise sales models.
Instead, it will be built around a token economy - a sustainable system that intelligently incentivizes & rewards those who provide value to the eco-system - the researchers, analysts, curators, and coders.
Coinfi Ecosystem Infographic Link
There is an arms race coming between Wall Street and the crypto community (see an interesting comparison of these projects here) to build the dominant market intelligence platform - the Bloomberg of the crypto markets.
CoinFi aims to be the Bloomberg for Crypto. We’re excited about the coming wave of disruption in the financial markets, and we’re proud to be the first exchange to bring you the CoinFi (COFI) token, which powers the CoinFi market intelligence platform. Starting on Jan 29, 2018, the CoinFi token will be available for trading on KuCoin.
For a deeper examination of the problems facing crypto traders and how CoinFi is solving them, we highly recommend this interview with CoinFi cofounder Timothy Tam.
RobinHood Announces Commission Free Trading
• https://www.reuters.com/article/us-robinhood-cryptocurrency/startup-robinhood-to-launch-commission-free-cryptocurrency-trading-idUSKBN1FE2DC
Robinhood has set up a new entity called Robinhood Crypto to offer the new, free service. It already allows individuals to trade U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds without paying commissions through its Robinhood Financial LLC subsidiary.
The company earns money by collecting interest on customer deposits and by directing orders to certain trading venues. It also offers a premium paid account for $10 per month, which gives users added features. Robinhood will broker customers’ cryptocurrency trades through existing exchanges and market-makers, Tenev said, though he would not identify which ones. Prices will reflect the fees Robinhood must pay those third-parties, a spokesman said.
While U.S. securities law requires stock brokers to disclose which venues they direct orders to, the rules are still in flux for cryptocurrency brokers.
Robinhood’s virtual coins will be stored offline to thwart hackers from stealing them, Tenev said. Cryptocurrency exchanges have been besieged by hackers, with billions of dollars worth of bitcoins and other coins stolen since 2011.
At least initially, Robinhood’s new service will only be available in California, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana and New Hampshire, where it has secured a money service business license. Founded in 2013, Robinhood was valued at $1.3 billion in its most recent round of venture capital funding in April.
Walton Partners with Mobius
• https://medium.com/@thelatemercutio/waltonchain-partners-mobius-a-protocol-for-the-future-of-blockchain-86d9a1d417a0
Mobius comes with a host of advantages for the Internet of Things, and it’s clear that Walton is leveraging their advanced hardware to combine with Mobius’ innovative patent-pending software. With Mobius, existing real world data and apps can be connected to smart contracts on the blockchain, and any coin or token can be integrated into existing apps. The Mobius network could be used for in-app payments in a dApp store, for example. Mobius’ live DApp Store allows companies to accept blockchain payments with over 1,000 TPS, displaying their immense scalability.
Working together with Waltonchain’s scalable child chain structure, you can imagine an ultra-scalable blockchain network, capable of handling large streams of data. But remember, Walton isn’t just using Mobius’ network. They are partnered with the guys who created it. They are going to work together to build new IoT solutions with the best hardware and software for the job.
Expanding further, Mobius has near-zero fees, allowing for micropayments between smart devices oracles. Their protocols allow for smart devices to share resources and make payments, which will create Smart Markets in a Machine-to-Machine economy. Mobius gives this example: “If a part fails, this could lead to bids between machines from a distributed grid of resources to order new parts, without the need for a middle-man.” Working together, secure and innovative smart contracting capabilities can take Waltonchain’s Internet of Things platform to the next level.
Banks Don’t Want XRP
• https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-25/ripple-wants-xrp-to-be-bitcoin-for-banks-if-only-the-banks-wanted-it
Banks, however, balked at XRP. They said there was no way they could use an instrument that regulators may never approve, according to an executive in the cross-border payment industry familiar with Ripple’s business. Moreover, the real power in the cross-border payment system wasn’t banks but the big companies that used it for their cash needs around the world. A corporate treasurer for a Fortune 500 company wasn’t going to tell its bank to use a startup with a digital currency, the person says.
So Ripple pivoted away from XRP and focused on RippleNet, which is similar to Swift in that it’s primarily a messaging system that tells banks where to send the money. It also has a service that helps banks settle transactions.
XRP has fallen 55 percent from $2.92 in early January. Swift’s Newman says such volatility is bound to turn off bankers and their clients. “If the value of a cryptocurrency is going up and down like a yo-yo, this isn’t a serious medium of exchange,” he says. “It adds unnecessary complexity. The solution is worse than the problem.”
Vouching for Bitfinex/Tether
• https://news.bitcoin.com/vouching-bitfinex-and-tethers-bank-accounts-hold-nearly-3-billion-usd/
Zhao Dong, a prominent Chinese early bitcoin adopter and shareholder in Bitfinex, recently posted on Weibo seeking to provide anecdotal evidence as to the integrity of Bitfinex and Tether’s financial reserves. The post claims that Zhao Dong and Lao Mao, the chief executive of Big.one, have witnessed first hand the balances of Bitfinex and Tether’s respective bank accounts during a meeting with Bitfinex’s chief financial officer, Giancarlo Devasini. The post alleges that the combined bank accounts of Tether and Bitfinex hold nearly $3 billion USD.
According to a rough translation, Zhao Dong’s Weibo post states “Lao Mao (and I) just had a look at the USD account of Tether and Bitfinex in Giancarlo’s (Boss of BFX, CFO) room, in which Tether’s account holds 1.8x billion USD and Bitfinex holds 1.1x billion USD. The total number of the two accounts is around 3 billion USD, which is beyond the current circulated supply of USDT. This debunks all rumors around USDT.”
Coincheck Theft Loses Over 500 million XEM
• https://cryptonews.com/news/coincheck-hacked-more-than-500-million-xem-stolen-1093.htm
This morning, the Japanese crypto exchange platform Coincheck was hacked and had 526 million XEM (c. USD 400 m) stolen, Lon Wong, President of the NEM.io Foundation, told Cryptonews.com.
“As far as NEM is concerned, tech is intact. We are not forking. Also, we would advise all exchanges to make use of our multi-signature smart contract which is among the best in the landscape. Coincheck didn't use them and that's why they could have been hacked. They were very relaxed with their security measures," Wong said.
As of right now, the XEM coin’s price has fallen by 18.46% in the last 24 hours (and the fluctuations are almost impossible to follow, because of their erratic behavior), which is significantly higher than its previous fall of a measly 1% in the week between January 18 and January 25. The coin dropped in price to USD 0.77 at 08:34 UTC today, not long after the news was published on Yahoo Japan. It eventually recovered to USD 0.78, where we are right now, but this is still a far cry from its last week average of USD 1.05. (source: coinmarketcap.com)
Chinese Officials say ICO Ban May End
• http://bitcoinist.com/chinese-official-new-regulations-2018-may-end-ico-ban/
Speaking at the Southeast Asia Blockchain Summit, Yang, who is also director of the Center for Financial Technology, further “denied” a blanket ban on cryptocurrency trading and ICOs would continue indefinitely.
Good ICO projects are allowed to develop in a legal and risk-controlled environment rather than simply adopting a one-size-fits-all approach. [The China Securities Regulatory Commission] may launch equity crowdfunding pilot program in the near future, which will be an opportunity for ICO to get in compliance.
Russian Legislator: Crypto May Be Traded on Stock Exchanges
• https://www.ethnews.com/russian-legislator-suggests-cryptocurrency-trading-on-stock-commodity-exchanges
Anatoly Aksakov, the head of the Financial Market Committee in the State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, has reportedly said that the Russian Federation's Central Bank may allow the launch of cryptocurrency trading on the Moscow Stock Exchange.
"We have the St. Petersburg International Commodity Exchange, the Moscow Stock Exchange, the [Russia Trading System], but they actually act as a non-profit partnership. Although they are also ready to participate in this process, and there are specialists in stock exchange operations there. I suppose that, the Central Bank is now considering the Moscow Stock Exchange, perhaps also the St. Petersburg Commodity Exchange for this purpose. But now there is a stronger urge to work with the Moscow Stock Exchange."
GigaFactory Sold to Blockchains LLC
• https://www.rgj.com/story/money/business/2018/01/23/industrial-park-houses-tesla-gigafactory-nearly-sold-out-after-blockchains-deal/1059002001/
The industrial park that plays host to Tesla, Google and Switch in the Reno area is almost sold out as a blockchain software company is finalizing plans to buy more than half of its land.
Blockchains LLC, is purchasing 64,000 acres at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, with the deal expected to fully close by the first week of February, said Lance Gilman, principal and director of the industrial park.
The company specializes in financial services, security, software and apps using blockchain technology — a secure digital ledger or record that is typically associated with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Blockchains LLC specifically deals with the Ethereum blockchain, which anchors the second-biggest cryptocurrency in the world. The Ethereum cryptocurrency is only trumped by Bitcoin in terms of market cap. Governments in Brazil and Ukraine, for example, are looking into using the technology to create more secure electoral records and platforms.
Wall Street Vets Raises $50 Mil for Crypto Funds of Funds
• https://www.coindesk.com/wall-street-veterans-raise-50-million-crypto-fund-funds/
After going down the crypto rabbit hole, Nader, who's also worked for Morgan Stanley, teamed up with a former private wealth analyst at Morgan Stanley, Jacob Kirschenbaum, and others to launch Cryptolux Capital, a crypto fund of funds. And revealed exclusively to CoinDesk, Nader has secured about $50 million of the $100 million the fund is seeking.
While the number of crypto hedge funds has grown from about 124 in October to 175 today, Nader positions his experience in one of the traditional financial system's worst hours as the key to Cryptolux's success.
"I look back to what I saw in the financial services world, and that really sets the stage for me to be excited about crypto," Nader said. "When you're watching the five biggest investment banks in the country either go out of business or change their entire business model, you realize that the banking system is not as strong as many people may have believed it was."
“I've got this view that this banking system is not infallible, and wouldn't it be nice if there was a system that went around, or was outside of the banking system for the use of wealth?"
The second way Nader aims to offset downside risk is by further hedging with cryptocurrency futures options. Nader said, initially the fund will establish short positions in the nascent bitcoin futures market. In the event of a market correction or pullback, he expects the bitcoin futures position will increase, providing Cryptolux with a buffer against the dips.
Currently, Cryptolux is only investing in bitcoin futures, but Nader expects to add ether futures should that product get approved by regulators. Hinting at which hedge funds Cryptolux is mixing into its fund of funds, Nader said he’s "excited" about Silver 8 Capital and MultiCoin Capital, though he's keeping an eye open for changes in the strategies of the fund managers over time, and could modify his own fund's composition accordingly.
For interested investors, there’s a $1 million minimum to join, with a 1 percent management fee and a 15 percent carry on money made from the investment. By early next month, Nader expects to reveal further details about the company’s risk management program along with other new features.
And if all goes as planned, he hopes to raise a second fund targeting $125 million.
According to Nadar, he’s primed to do it, saying: "Our view of what our value-add is, is we give you a diversified portfolio and we take care of the risk management component on top of that."