OPINION
Powers On… When will we learn from recent history to protect our crypto and ourselves?
Stablecoins provide a false sense of security. They give the impression to the uninitiated and/or uncaring that a particular coin is pegged to the U.S. dollar, or an equivalent of the dollar in terms of value and stability, and that if you want to convert your stablecoin to dollars, you can do so easily and instantaneously. Yet, they do no such thing, as demonstrated by the recent collapse of Terra and its TerraUSD stablecoin and LUNA token and also made clear in September 2008 by the collapse of the Reserve Primary Fund money market fund during the height of the global financial crisis. Powers On… is a monthly opinion column from Marc Powers, who spent much of his 40-year legal career working with complex securities-related cases in the United States after a stint with the SEC. He is now ...
Galaxy Digital’s Novogratz finally clarifies the firm’s position following Terra crash
The Galaxy Digital CEO says the implosion is a reminder to investors to manage their risks He acknowledged that the algorithmic stable TerraUSD was a big idea that failed to live up to expectations The recent implosion of stable coin TerraUSD has demonstrated that cryptocurrencies still rank high among risk-on assets with extreme volatility. UST’s breakdown swept both retail traders and industry giants, and one CEO who’s felt the effects firsthand more than most is Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz. The American investor was a recognised LUNA enthusiast before the breakdown of Terra, but he now says recent events are a reminder to remain humble in investments. Breaking a Twitter hiatus that lasted about ten days, Novogratz shared a link to a letter addressing the recent harrowing exper...
FTX CEO favours PoS chains over Bitcoin for payment
Sam Bankman-Fried caused a stir on social media following remarks on Bitcoin’s inability to efficiently support millions of transactions per second He, however, believes the flagship cryptocurrency can serve as a store of value FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, earlier this week, weighed in on the Bitcoin utility discussion. The crypto entrepreneur remarked that the notion that Bitcoin could facilitate payments into the future is a flawed one. In a recent interview with Financial Times, Bankman-Fried explained that Bitcoin lacks the measure of scalability desired to achieve adoption as a payments network on a mass scale. “Things that you’re doing millions of transactions a second with have to be extremely efficient and lightweight and lower energy cost. Proof of stake networks...
“There is more damage to be done,” insists Galaxy Digital’s Novogratz
Yesterday, Galaxy Digital reported a $111.7 million loss in Q1 due to unrealised losses on crypto holdings Mike Novogratz expects volatile and testing crypto markets to continue over the next few quarters Fintech and asset management firm Galaxy Digital on Monday reported that it recorded a loss in the first quarter of the year. The financial services firm explained that the downturn was largely due to the price volatility of crypto markets. Specifically, Galaxy Digital said it saw a net loss of $111.7 million for the quarterly period ended March 31, which overturned the $858.2 million net comprehensive income gain recorded in Q1 last year. It was not all bad, or rather, it would have been worse were it not for its investment banking and mining operations. Galaxy Digital revealed that it l...
Netflix’s Crypto King: a riveting watch, but should it be better?
If you haven’t seen the new Netflix documentary, Crypto King, you should stop right here and go watch it. Even if you’re not into crypto, it’s worth watching. Although, considering you’re reading this on CoinText, I’m going to assume you are a crypto fan (still, I’ve read that there are actually some crypto people who are in relationships – who would have thought? So, your significant others will enjoy it too). With that said, I’m about to jump into some spoilers, so if you aren’t familiar with the crazy story, this is your last chance to avoid finding out. The Story Gerald Cotten was the founder of QuadrigaCX, a Canadian crypto exchange. He was a nerd; perpetually clad in clunky running shoes and ill-fitting jeans. He had glasses, and he even spoke like a nerd! Genuinely, he did. He sport...
44% of Germans motivated to invest in crypto, believe it’s the future of finance
On March 24, cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin released a report duped ‘Into The Cryptoverse 2022 Germany Report’ that showed at least 44% of Germans are interested in investing in crypto since they want to be part of the future of finance. The report basically explored the rate of cryptocurrency adoption in Germany and how the local population was getting involved in the decentralized industry. The report gave crucial insight into how the adoption of clear rules for cryptocurrencies in 2013 by Germany had affected cryptocurrency adoption rates in the country. Germany was the first country to recognize Bitcoin as a ‘unit of value’ and that it could be classified as a ‘financial instrument.’ Impact of crypto legal regulation in Germany The ongoing advancement of legal regulation for the decent...
Dogecoin co-founder believes DOGE is best suited as a digital currency
Dogecoin creator Billy Markus on Monday said that Dogecoin ought to exploit its advantages as a digital currency Markus also defended the Dogecoin project, saying it doesn’t belong in the ‘shit token’ category Through a series of tweets posted on Monday, Dogecoin creator Bill Markus shared his view on the future of the ecosystem’s native coin, DOGE. Popularly known on Twitter and in the crypto space as Shibetoshi Nakamoto, Markus was one of the influential people behind Dgecoin. Though he is no longer associated with the project presently, he suggested that by marketing itself as a currency, albeit virtual, DOGE could differentiate itself from thousands of digital speculation and utility tokens in the market. In his opinion, the coin is well-suited to be used as an ...
Dogecoin co-founder believes DOGE is best suited as a digital currency
Dogecoin creator Billy Markus on Monday said that Dogecoin ought to exploit its advantages as a digital currency Markus also defended the Dogecoin project, saying it doesn’t belong in the ‘shit token’ category Through a series of tweets posted on Monday, Dogecoin creator Bill Markus shared his view on the future of the ecosystem’s native coin, DOGE. Popularly known on Twitter and in the crypto space as Shibetoshi Nakamoto, Markus was one of the influential people behind Dgecoin. Though he is no longer associated with the project presently, he suggested that by marketing itself as a currency, albeit virtual, DOGE could differentiate itself from thousands of digital speculation and utility tokens in the market. In his opinion, the coin is well-suited to be used as an ...
PayPal CEO Dan Schulman asserts crypto will reshape the financial landscape
The PayPal executive doesn’t care much for the price of Bitcoin but rather its role in the financial system going forward PayPal has been delving deeper into crypto initiatives, recently revealing plans for a stablecoin Dan Schulman, the Chief Executive Officer of financial services company PayPal, has doubled down on his belief in the role of cryptocurrencies in an evolving financial world. Schulman spoke of his conviction in crypto as he responded to questions from CTech ahead of his scheduled speech at Axis Tel Aviv, an international investment and innovation conference to be held later this month. The FinTech CEO explained that he expects that, in addition to the ballooning utility of crypto payments, the convergence of virtual assets, including stablecoins, central bank digital ...
Stablecoins will remain relevant even with the dawn of the CBDCs era, says Tether CTO
CBDCs will leverage private blockchains for tech infrastructure They, however, won’t be issued on private chains like stablecoins are at present Chief Technology Officer at Tether, Paolo Ardoino, has dismissed concerns that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) will affect the currently offered private stablecoins. Ardoino was speaking in regards to the debate that has been happening in recent months, as more countries are declaring ambitions in CBDCs. CBDCs will power bank activities Explaining his view, Ardoino engaged his Twitter followers with the perspective that CBDCs are not built to digitise fiat currencies since most transactions in the modern day are already digital. Rather, he argued that these government-controlled digital currencies would essentially replace legacy pay...
FTX CEO speaks on market crisis amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Sam Bankman-Fried said Eastern European countries could consider Bitcoin an alternative to their destabilised currencies He also explored the contrasting positions between fundamental and algorithmic investors Early Thursday, reports of invasion into Ukraine by Russia’s military led Bitcoin and other crypto markets tumbling. Stock markets also fell along with cryptocurrencies as Russia started what President Putin called a demilitarisation operation in Ukraine. In a recent Twitter thread, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has shared his view on the massive correction that crypto markets saw. According to data provided by CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin fell as low as $34,459. Markets have recovered to some extent and the ticker is currently trading at $35,482. Conflicting sentiments on Bitcoin&#...
CoinDesk CEO reflects on the necessity of decentralised currencies
CoinDesk chief Emily Parker told CNBC yesterday that CBDCs present undue privacy concerns She also noted there is tremendous innovation around privacy in the crypto sector Speaking in an interview with CNBC yesterday, Emily Parker, the chief executive of cryptocurrency news outlet CoinDesk, faulted the possible negatives of a CBDC and rooted for a world where users have an option to hold decentralised currency. Parker inferred to Bitcoin’s fundamental philosophy – decentralisation away from control by centralised entities such as the government, such that no one can manipulate or shut down the network. User privacy concerns The CEO also told Power Lunch that the very definition of centralised currencies illustrates why a decentralised coin is so much needed. Centralised currencies ar...
