September 29, 2021
China bans bitcoin… again…
What’s this mean?
Probably the same thing it meant the last time.
Let’s allow Anthony Pompliano from The Pomp Letter to explain — proceed directly below.
Hot
Crypto investors ‘should be thanking China for this,’ says Anthony Pompliano
Wasting no time, crypto bulls already see last week’s banishment of crypto trading by the Chinese government as a boon to the emerging sector. Speaking at Yahoo Finance’s Crypto Investing Summit this week, the investor and podcaster, Anthony Pompliano, echoed the sentiment of many longtime investors of the asset class.
The Chinese government banned cryptocurrency activities at least 5 different times before last week, with this most recent action making crypto trading or offering any crypto-related services to Chinese citizens a financial crime. (Here’s the official statement from Chinese regulators.) Since the announcement, reports indicate that an exodus like what happened to the country’s crypto mining companies back in May is now underway for crypto companies in violation of the law.
Two of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance and Huobi, both halted registrations for new China-based customers over the weekend.
But Pompliano views the crackdown as a positive development, not only for the crypto sector but also for the U.S. economy.
“This is the most American technology that we have today, similar to the internet,” Pompliano told Yahoo Finance. “China is making a massive geopolitical mistake here. Now it’s up to the United States… If someone is going to benefit from this technology, we better make sure it’s us.”
Give the whole article a read — or a skim, if you will.
It’s worth a few minutes of your time.
Also, Click here to visit The Pomp Letter.
It is truly a top-notch newsletter.
CHINA’S BITCOIN “BAN” CREATES A MASSIVE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE U.S.
The world is being presented with a massive opportunity by way of China as they seem adamant about actually banning Bitcoin activity within their borders. As Blake Masters points out, if the US government was forward thinking, they would take the exact opposite approach and welcome Bitcoin with open arms, hold some in reserves, and encourage US citizens to build businesses and create services that increase Bitcoin’s utility.
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Regardless of whether or not the federal government gets exposure to bitcoin, the number of American citizens and businesses who hold bitcoin on their balance sheets is only going to increase from here. I also won’t be surprised when individual states announce they are accumulating and holding bitcoins in their treasuries. This would actually be much preferable to the Federal Government getting exposure. We want to embolden states while shrinking the Federal Government’s influence over the country.
It has never been less risky to hold and champion bitcoin. Over the course of this year some of the most potent Bitcoin FUD, which for the better part of a decade has revolved around the concentration of hashrate and ASIC manufacturing in China, has been thoroughly disarmed by the Chinese Communist Party as they decided to kick out mining operations in June and to kick out the ASIC manufacturers earlier today.
The opportunity is massive, Americans are trying to take advantage of it, and the only thing that can stop the industry in the US at the moment is an overarching Federal Government that gets jealous of its citizens succeeding. Hopefully we can build and ship as quickly as possible so that when that time comes it is too late. Onward!
Maybe we should take off our tinfoil hat, but events like this often make us speculate… is there possibly some kind of 4-D chess move at play?
Regardless, it is a great opportunity for the US.
Binance is preparing to launch crypto options trading later this year
Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges, is reportedly preparing to launch crypto options contracts. While the team did not confirm, The Block reported the exchange has been meeting with relevant players to hopefully go live in late Q2 or early Q3. This move would expand their derivatives offering after they launched futures trading last fall. Since then Binance has become the fourth most active futures exchange by volume.
Why it matters:
Competition for the growing crypto derivatives market has been heating up recently. While Deribit has historically been the only relevant player, more crypto exchanges such as OKEx as well as regulated exchanges like CME and Bakkt have all begun offering options in the last few months. Despite the new entrants, Deribit still maintains 85% of aggregate open interest of bitcoin options, however, that is down from 91% at the start of the year.
Excuse our French, but… this shit just got real.
Crypto
Crypto is helping faster-growing economies build financial rails
Developing economies are once again leapfrogging prior waves of technological innovation with the help of cryptocurrency.
Much like the way consumers in India and Indonesia a decade ago skipped landlines for cellphones, institutions in Africa are embracing the advancements in crypto over alternatives offered by the traditional plumbing of the global financial system.
…
Much like the way consumers in India and Indonesia a decade ago skipped landlines for cellphones, institutions in Africa are embracing the advancements in crypto over alternatives offered by the traditional plumbing of the global financial system.
As Elizabeth Rossiello, founder of the Africa-focused fintech platform AZA Finance, described at Yahoo Finance’s All Markets Summit Plus conference, crypto is helping improve everything from issues around Africa’s cross-border payments to operating during banking holidays tied to a dollar-dominated system.
Do you recall, in yesterday’s letter, our theory regarding a possible ‘roaring 20s’ period through the end of the decade?
Hmmm…
Headlines like this really do make you think.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says U.S. government should avoid regulating crypto
Tesla chief Elon Musk on Tuesday said the U.S. government should steer clear of trying to regulate the crypto market.
“It is not possible to, I think, destroy crypto, but it is possible for governments to slow down its advancement,” Musk said at the Code Conference in Beverly Hills, California.
Personally, we don’t pay too much attention to Musk these days, but he seems to really want a reputation in the crypto-sphere.
Whatever his actual aim, he does seem to always share his two cents regarding the latest crypto matters.
Nevertheless, it is always refreshing to see a big guy like Musk stick it to the man.
DeFi
Algorand launches virtual machine to increase smart contract capabilities
Blockchain platform Algorand has today announced the launch of the Algorand Virtual Machine, or AVM, a layer-1 protocol upgrade designed to enhance decentralized app scalability for developers and organizations, enable instant transaction finality and sustain a negative carbon output.
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“This AVM upgrade allows for the development of complex smart contract based applications in DeFi, the NFT marketplace, web3 and more. We’re already getting great feedback within the Algorand ecosystem, and look forward to continuing this momentum.”
We can’t help but ponder why the concept, “going green,” is so often reiterated ad nauseam by the press and media influencers regarding blockchain tech.
Crypto mining and its related compatriots seem to be the new favorite bad guy whenever energy consumption is put on the table.
Is it a convenient diversion from other energy-consuming industries?
Probably.
Fashion And DeFi: A How-To Guide With Nimbus CEO Alex Lemberg
For fashion brands, the benefit of Decentralized Finance, or DeFi as it is known, is difficult to understand and navigate. Although there is a lot of potential upsides for companies, large and small, in the fashion space to create opportunities within this blockchain-driven world. I spoke to Alex Lemberg, CEO of Nimbus, a DAO-governed ecosystem that offers 16 revenue streams for users on its one platform, on his perspectives on how engaging with DeFi can help the growth of fashion businesses worldwide.
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How can DeFi become an alternative to classical financial sources for a fashion brand?
Here, if we consider a small-medium fashion company participating in DeFi, it gains access to alternative financing which might not be available in classical financial institutions due to a whole list of factors checked during risk assessment by banks. DeFi might not substitute the bank as an intermediary needed to process transactions, but it might substitute it as a source of permissionless financing.
This headline caught us off guard.
We initially read it as, DeFi Fashion Guide, and were flabbergasted.
We immediately thought, “Good Lord, It’s going everywhere.”
Really, though.
It *is *going everywhere.
NFTs
NFL to teams: No cryptocurrency, NFT deals for now as league eyes digital market
The NFL informed teams last month they could not, for now, sell sponsorships to cryptocurrency trading firms, multiple club sources said. Teams also cannot sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as the league develops a strategy in the hot and cold market for sports digital trading cards and art.
Other leagues have opened the floodgates for digital assets, but the NFL is notoriously cautious with new commercial categories, going slowly, for example, with gambling and alcohol before relaxing its restrictions. In the case of cryptocurrency, the league will only, for the moment, allow teams to align with companies that are a step removed from the trading, the asset managers that sell funds to track the digital currency markets.
It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out.
It’s not surprising that they’re taking it slow in order to optimize their strategy and maximize profits.
We found an additional outlet covering the story as well, which we’ve linked below.
NFL NFTs Will Be ‘Very Different’ Than NBA Top Shot, Says Dapper Labs
With respect to the headlines below, we didn’t think commentary was necessary, however, we still thought these headlines may interest some readers.
Mark Cuban and Coinbase back Eternal, an NFT marketplace for trading Twitch streamer clips
This NFT investor spent $170,000 on a CryptoPunk to ‘flex’ online — it’s like ‘wearing that Rolex in real life’
Pawn Your CryptoPunk: A New NFT DeFi Lending Market Blooms
Metaverse
Supersocial raises $5.2M to make games for the Roblox metaverse
Making Roblox games isn’t just for teens anymore. Supersocial has raised $5.2 million to develop games for the fast-growing Roblox platform, as well as anything else that calls itself a metaverse.
Columbus, Ohio-based Supersocial has 24 full-time employees making games such as the upcoming Ghostopia for Roblox. It is one of many game development studios, such as Israel’s Toya, that is emerged to develop games for Roblox, which has about 43 million daily active players. Roblox is one of many companies trying to build the metaverse, the universe of virtual worlds that are all interconnected, like in novels such as *Snow Crash and *Ready Player One.
Supersocial wants to inspire people to collaborate, socialize, and express themselves through play, said Supersocial CEO Yonatan
“Yon” Raz-Fridman in an interview with GamesBeat.
Given what we reported on yesterday regarding the metaverse — here and here — it is definitely time to start paying attention.
There’s a new asset in town, and your portfolio is dying to see what it’s all about.
Metaverse Marketing Podcast: Defining A New Reality
On episode 1 of Adweek’s Metaverse Marketing Podcast, we’re joined by metaverse experts to hear how exactly they define the word “metaverse.”
You can listen to the episode below, or listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
We haven’t listened to this yet, but we believe it is worth sharing — Metaverse-related content, projects, and news is pouring out of the woodwork now, and this is the first Metaverse-focused content outlet we’ve come across.
Pour Conclure
And with that, we shall bid you farewell.
Until tomorrow, our blockchain buds.
Your Pal,
The Gopher
P.S.
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Disclaimer: None of this is to be deemed legal or financial advice in any way, shape, or form. You are reading opinions from an anonymous news publisher in Cartoon Gopher Format.
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