Weekly Roundup, Sept 14: Groundhog Day
Share this article
Do you ever feel like the news isn’t new? Sometimes we wake up in the morning, eager to see what the new day has in store, and realize that it’s not a new day at all. It’s yesterday, and we have to put up with Andie Macdonald… sorry, Andie MacDowell… for yet another week.
Crypto Briefing strives to keep you informed on the latest stories, like partnerships for international payments, or Nano price action, but is anything really changing?
When we cover the question of whether XRP counts as a security (probably), the juvenile BCH-BTC debate, Europe’s new blockchain capital (no, not that one), and the latest misrepresentations from Bloomberg, we can’t help but sense familiarity.
And there are several more that we left for the end of the week, for the simple reason that they feel like reruns. Here are some of this week’s déjà vus.
Price-Talk: Six More Months of Winter?
Just as you thought bear season was finally beginning to thaw, the groundhogs woke up and gave the most ominous warning sign of all: Lambo talk. No, it wasn’t Punxsutawney Phil seeing his shadow, but the discussion of thousand-fold gains by some of cryptocurrency’s leading figures should be a sign that there are still cold days ahead.
The discussion was prompted by a fairly level-headed remark from Vitalik Buterin, who told a conference in Hong Kong that crypto might be approaching a ceiling: “If you talk to the average educated person at this point, they probably have heard of blockchain at least once. There isn’t an opportunity for yet another 1,000-times growth in anything in the space anymore.”
Buterin later toned down his remark, but not before receiving a number of high-profile rebuttals. Among them was Binance’s Changpeng Zhao, who tweeted:
I still disagree with this. I will say "crypto will absolutely grow 1000x and more!" Just reaching USD market cap will give it close to 1000x, (that's just one currency with severely restricted use case), and the derivatives market is so much bigger. https://t.co/bvSttEeCmc
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) September 12, 2018
Now, there’s plenty of ground for an earnest debate over future growth, but when the discussion focuses on price rather than actual use—well, don’t get your shorts and sandals out yet.
Wall Street Adoption Ahead, Again
In other news, one of Wall Street’s leading banks has announced support for Bitcoin swaps, allowing investors to bet on the price of Bitcoin without actual custody. The news was leaked to Bloomberg from anonymous sources.
The idea of Wall Street dipping into cryptocurrencies was exciting when we first reported on it, earlier this year. Back then Goldman Sachs had announced its first Bitcoin trading desk, with similar signals from JPMorgan, Nasdaq and Intercontinental Exchanges.
Despite a (comparatively) low-key market reaction, the news from Morgan Stanley is a favorable omen that serious money is taking a serious look at crypto, even if still hesitant to reach out and hold hands.
USA is one Trump away from Venezuela
When the Trump Hindenburg erupts into crypto-news, you know it’s going to be bad.
Among the revelations in Fear, Bob Woodward’s secret account of the White House, is Trump’s not-that-surprising solution to the national debt: making more money.
“Just run the presses — print money,” Trump told Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, according to Woodward.
“You don’t get to do it that way,” Cohn told the President, apparently without rolling his eyes. ”We have huge deficits and they matter. The government doesn’t keep a balance sheet like that.”
A slight clarification might be in order here. The Federal Reserve doesn’t actually print money—the system is a bit more complicated, and involves selling bonds. But the math works out the same, and the dollar loses 2-4 percent of its value every year.
Cohn has since resigned from the White House over his disagreement with the President’s tariffs on foreign trade, which means that the only barrier between the dollar and hyperinflation is Donald Trump’s self-restraint.
Oh, the humanity.
Crypto Rocks Venezuela, Again
Speaking of Venezuela, one of the other stories you’ve already read is how readily some cryptos are finding use without a viable fiat currency. Although there’s nothing particularly new to report, here’s how you buy a footlong with Crypto:
CB Has Finally Made It!
Although some of these stories may sound familiar, Crypto Briefing does have some big news to report!
Besides recruiting new writers, community leaders, new readers, and reviewing new ICOs, we’ve just passed a major milestone: our first Twitter scammer. Someone took to our Twitter feed with grammatically-incorrect offers of Free Eth, putting Crypto Briefing in the same league as Vitalik Buterin and Elon Musk.
We were tempted to write a sarcastic story about all the free giveaways to be had, but then we remembered that these people steal a lot of money and shouldn’t be taken lightly. So, in case it wasn’t clear: we are never giving away ETH or any other crypto. Not even if you send us some first.
The author is invested in Ethereum, Dash, Bitcoin and other assets mentioned in this article.
Share this article
