MicroStrategy sells Bitcoin to buy more, one big bank thinks cryptos are nonexistent assets, and a Nobel Prize winner says Bitcoin is just like Tesla. These stories and more this week in crypto.
Microstrategy Still Bullish on Bitcoin
One of the world’s largest Bitcoin holders, Microstrategy, has added to its Bitcoin stack throughout November and December. While the firm recently sold some coins ostensibly for tax reasons, it has also bought over 2,500 bitcoins in the past month. Nevertheless, the firm’s strategy has caused its stock to hit its lowest point in 12 months.
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JPMorgan: Crypto Is a Nonexistent Asset Class
JPMorgan’s head of institutional strategy, Jared Gross, is challenging any idea that large institutions are intending to invest in crypto. He claims that as an asset class, crypto is effectively nonexistent for most large institutional investors as the volatility is too high, and the lack of an intrinsic return that you can point to makes it very challenging.
Medvedev: Crypto will Outclass USD in 2023
According to Russia’s former president, Dmitry Medvedev, cryptocurrencies will gain strength while the U.S. dollar will continue to lose status as the global reserve currency. In a string of tweets, Medvedev gave his two cents on what 2023 holds for the US dollar and for crypto, calling it his humble contribution to the wildest predictions ahead of the new year.
Illegal Russian Funds Stolen by a Ukrainian
A Ukrainian living in the U.S. has hacked a major drug market on the Russian dark web, and diverted some of its crypto funds to charity. The man says he donated the digital cash stolen from the illicit website to an organization that delivers humanitarian aid across war-torn Ukraine.
Gemini Sued for Halting Staking Program
Disgruntled investors are suing crypto exchange Gemini for ending its staking program. The filing says that Gemini abruptly halted the program on November 16 after crypto exchange FTX’s bankruptcy filing and resulting market contagion caused a liquidity crisis. Gemini Earn had offered interest rates of up to 7.4% to customers for lending their crypto assets.
Binance.US Buys Voyager’s Assets
Binance.US announced that the company was purchasing the assets of Voyager Digital for a billion dollars, and the deal will be proposed to the relevant bankruptcy courts in early January. Voyager Digital filed for bankruptcy in July and had agreed to have its assets purchased by FTX, only to see FTX file for bankruptcy just a few months later.
SBF May Have Cashed Out $1.5M
An analyst claims funds tied to Sam Bankman-Fried were moving while the FTX founder has been on house arrest. The analyst said after SBF was released, his wallet sent all its remaining crypto to a new Ethereum address. In 3 hours, 100 new deposits were made to this wallet from addresses linked to SBFs defunct hedge fund, Alameda Research.
Renowned Economist Compares Bitcoin to Tesla
The Nobel Prize-winning economist, Paul Krugman, has compared Tesla to Bitcoin, claiming that it is mainly hype and faith that underpin both asset prices. He argued that Tesla lacks the network effects of Apple and Microsoft while Bitcoin has no clear use beyond money laundering, and its price is now being buoyed by a hardcore group of true believers.
That’s what’s happened this week in crypto, see you next week.
