Temporary register buys time for crypto firms from the FCA December 21, 2020 What happened? The UK crypto scene breathed a collective sigh of relief this month as the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) announced a temporary registration scheme for cryptoasset companies. The regulator’s announcement came just weeks before its original registration deadline of January 10, 2021. Firms that have already submitted applications which have not yet been processed, [...]
Bitcoin 2021 outlook and challenges in charts December 21, 2020 2020 has been crucial for Bitcoin, we see it as the year of legitimisation for the broader public and investors, accelerated by the COVID crisis and the consequent rapid escalation of QE. Our conversations with institutional clients have changed considerably over the course of 2020, what was typically a desire to speculatively invest has now [...]
A Crypto Carol: The Ghosts of Blockchain December 21, 2020 Tis the season for crypto-mania. It’s always lovely to see all the crypto girls and boys with pound signs in their eyes huddled around their bitcoin charts waiting to see if Santa Satoshi is going to bring them another bull run before the end of 2020. And of course, the spoiled children are trying to [...]
Macro matters December 21, 2020 Out of control Macro matters are very much back in focus as the European nations have begun to impose travel bans on the UK after it reported a more-infectious and “out of control” coronavirus variant. The BBC reported that Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium are all halting flights. The measures vary and [...]
Lockdown books December 21, 2020 The aftermath of the global financial crash of 2008 uncovered some unpalatable facts. First, it showed how national governments were hellbent on bailing out the private banks with public money. At the same time the little man was totally ignored and left to his own devices; to sink or swim with the former being the [...]
London-based cryptocurrency exchange CEX.IO celebrates seven years of innovation and growth December 18, 2020 2013 was the year Bitcoin came of age as an investment vehicle. At the start of 2013 the digital currency was trading at around $13.50 per Bitcoin. By the end of November 2013, Bitcoin was trading at over $1,075. At that time the cryptocurrency industry in the UK was new and still small and yet [...]
Relentless December 18, 2020 No stopping us now The relentless surge higher continued and at one point, Bitcoin was trading just $200 away from $24,000 level. Astounding, considering that it only broke through the $20,000 the day before. The open interest (OI) continued to tick higher and the CME reclaimed second spot on the leader board, with OKEx leading [...]
Cryptoexchange Coinbase confidentially files for IPO December 17, 2020 Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has said it has submitted the necessary paperwork to officially go public in an IPO. The company said it had “confidentially submitted our draft registration (Form S1) with the Securities and Exchange Commission.” There had been rumblings of a float over the summer according to Reuters reports. [...]
Can Tokenisation Save the Rainforest and Cure “Climate Cancer”? December 17, 2020 J.P. Thieriot in conversation with James Bowater. J.P. is the co-founder of the Universal Protocol Alliance (UPA) an alliance of companies out of which the first carbon neutral Bitcoin has been born. First, can we understand the mission of the UPA? The mission started off a couple of years ago, addressing the consumer side of [...]
Breaking the barrier December 17, 2020 Monkey of the back Bitcoin finally pierced its way through the key $20,000 level and more important for the longevity of the uptrend, the break did not result in an aggressive trigger of stops. Instead, the break was well managed and steady. The subsequent price action was equally steady, even if somewhat one directional and [...]