Cryptocurrency

Crypto election gusher has bipartisan payoff

28 Oct 2024

Digital currency businesses spent $200 mln in political donations, an absurd amount even compared to unions and Big Oil. Harris and Trump have different approaches, but both are friendlier than Biden. The spending will give crypto regulation legitimacy after the election.

Why stablecoins will entrench dollar’s supremacy

25 Oct 2024

A Russian plan to break the greenback’s grip met a cool reception at the BRICS summit in Kazan. The more important monetary news was Stripe’s $1 bln acquisition of digital-currency group Bridge. Dollar-pegged blockchain currency will keep Uncle Sam on top of the monetary order.

Ether ETFs spotlight crypto’s big ask for Trump

30 Jul 2024

Mainstream investors now have access to the second-largest cryptocurrency after a slew of new funds raised $100 mln. But they don’t yet match the perks of owning ether outright. As the presidential contender cozies up to the crypto crowd, it offers a clear deregulatory target.

MicroStrategy is hedge funds’ favorite meme stock

2 Jul 2024

The $26 bln firm’s shares have leapt on a bitcoin buying binge, funded by bonds that can turn into stock. Unlike GameStop’s ragtag punters, MicroStrategy depends on hedge funds such as Citadel piling in. Thing is, they rely less on a rising share price than a wildly volatile one.

Revolut’s desired $40 bln price tag is a stretch

24 Jun 2024

The UK fintech group wants to sell $500 mln of shares at a valuation far above its last level. To get to $40 bln, investors need to assume it’s like payment giant Adyen. With a lower margin and discounts warranted in other areas, Revolut’s value looks more like $20 bln.

Ethereum set to stress test US crypto deregulation

22 May 2024

Congress wants to dilute the SEC’s power over digital currencies. Its proposal could pave the way for new ETF products, which have turbocharged bitcoin. Financial wreckage from past laxity, and the industry’s own sketchy history, justify agency boss Gary Gensler’s resistance.

Crypto’s virtuous cycle is more of a spiral

15 May 2024

Bitcoin ETF approvals have boosted the cryptocurrency, helping FTX customers recover funds and prompting firms like $44 bln Block to hoard more of the digital coins. But it also fuels a new type of speculation. With companies getting deeper into crypto, a new bubble is inflating.

Even bitcoin has room for VIPs

19 Mar 2024

Digital asset manager Grayscale has become a victim of its own crusade for US ETFs tracking the cryptocurrency. The exodus from its trailblazing trust now exceeds $10 bln because of low-fee rivals. It’s offering goodies to keep customers, but a premium fund also holds value.

Crypto’s roaring comeback may be harder to undo

19 Mar 2024

Bitcoin’s price broke its record, nearly two years after crypto exchange FTX went bust. In this Exchange podcast, Andreessen Horowitz’s Arianna Simpson explains why digital assets and the ledgers underpinning them are inextricable, and what’s driving new excitement around both.

Coinbase adds more wobbly legs to stool

16 Feb 2024

Coinbase posted its first annual profit since 2021, sending its shares up 12%. But the $46 bln digital currency exchange is moving from volatile trading fees to even shakier revenue streams, such as interest on deposits and legally ambiguous staking.

Peter Thiel’s latest bitcoin bet is a coronation

13 Feb 2024

The billionaire’s Founders Fund pocketed $1.8 bln in 2022 on crypto investments before dipping back in last fall. Bitcoin has since been anointed with an ETF and technology that furthers its use. The currency isn’t yet legitimate, but Thiel’s return marks its growing status.

Gary Gensler crafts SEC into a mighty sandcastle

25 Jan 2024

The chief US securities watchdog has outpaced predecessors in making rules and extracting penalties from firms like Morgan Stanley and D.E. Shaw. But his aggressive approach has inflamed a wider war on regulation. Gensler’s accomplishments could yet wash away.

Jack Bogle’s ghost haunts Vanguard’s crypto plans

19 Jan 2024

The asset manager’s rival BlackRock is plunging into digital currency with a bitcoin ETF that brought in over $1 bln in a week. That strategy, divergent from Vanguard, highlights the desperation to differentiate. Bogle’s former firm’s decision to shun crypto may leave it behind.

Bitcoin ETFs only entrench one frivolous use case

10 Jan 2024

The SEC finally greenlit BlackRock, Grayscale and other funds to track the crypto price, with trading due to start this week. It’ll be easier to make – and lose – money in the volatile digital asset, but it’s no closer to being a currency, store of value or network for new apps.

Blockchain’s rebirth will pass United States by

19 Dec 2023

Regulators are cracking down on digital asset firms while Congress dithers over passing rules to govern them. Financial hubs like London, faster to set guidelines, will capture the value created not just by crypto, but by potentially powerful distributed ledger technology.

Bitcoin ETF race is a shiny distraction

15 Dec 2023

The digital token’s price has spiked as a US exchange-traded fund creeps closer to approval, bringing it back into the ranks of the world’s most valuable assets. But as with gold, economic swings, not accessibility or inherent value, will mostly determine its long-term worth.

Binance mega-fine fits go-big-or-go-home vibe

21 Nov 2023

The cryptocurrency exchange will pay $4.3 bln for violating US laws, and its founder will stand down. It’s more than HSBC and Goldman Sachs paid for big financial transgressions, and racked up in a fraction of the time. Crypto is precocious in its lows as well as its highs.

Lina Khan’s spirit haunts T-Mobile deal ghost

10 Nov 2023

Consumers are suing the $170 bln telecom company for its deal with Sprint. Given government watchdogs can’t bust up big tech, it seems ambitious. But recent jury verdicts illustrate rising movements against companies. Plus the hassle creates yet another deal impediment.

Capital Calls: Regulating crypto

7 Nov 2023

Concise views on global finance: The US Securities and Exchange Commission is struggling to hire digital token experts, partly because prospective recruits aren’t willing to acquiesce to the agency’s requirement that they sell their holdings in bitcoin and beyond.

SBF’s guilty verdict will help crypto break free

3 Nov 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried’s crimes worsened a rout that wiped trillions of dollars in value from digital assets. The FTX founder’s conviction suggests that, even in crypto, bad actors will be held to account. That could help rebuild trust in the idea of a trustless financial system.