What you need to know today in crypto and beyond May 17, 2021 If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive it, sign up here.
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Today's must-reads Top Shelf BTC BLEEDS: Bitcoin slipped to $42,212 early Monday, a 3.5-month low. Centralized exchanges recorded inflows of over 35,000 BTC in the past five days, according to data source IntoTheBlock. Investors typically move coins to exchanges when they intend to liquidate their holdings. The total cryptocurrency market cap shed more than $400 billion during this price pullback. RANSOM RISKS: Exposure to cryptocurrency could have a “profound” impact on the risk profiles of financial institutions, according to a new report by insurance giant Allianz. Firms that offer crypto trading or custody services take on new “third party” risks, including with cybersecurity or regulation. Indeed, a new Chainalysis report found cybercrime is on the rise: Ransomware-linked crypto addresses banked a record $406 million in 2020. BUTERIN BURN: Vitalik Buterin burned $6.7 billion worth of Shiba Inu (SHIB) tokens, sending the majority of his holdings of the so-called “DOGE killer” to a burner address. Buterin previously donated $1.2 billion worth of SHIB to a COVID-19 relief charity. The memecoin’s developers had sent half the token supply to Buterin, unsolicited, prompting the Ethereum co-creator to say today, “I don’t *want* to be a locus of power of that kind.” CRYPTO CLAMPDOWN: Iran is cracking down on crypto miners using household electricity. The measure comes as the country faces a hydropower shortage during unusually dry conditions, reports the Tehran Times. Meanwhile, Indian crypto traders are seeing their bank accounts close and bank transfers fail as an unofficial ban appears to take shape.
–Daniel Kuhn
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First COVID. Then Gamestop. Then Coinbase. The events of the last year have destined bitcoin to play an integral role in our world.
Next week at Consensus by CoinDesk, our virtual big-tent conference, we explore the place of bitcoin as an asset, as a worldview and as a response to the extraordinary policies coming out of our financial, technological and societal institutions.
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Overheard on CoinDesk TV Sound Bite "The blockchain community is a much bigger whale than what we can see Elon move."
–Lindsay Joo of BitBull Capital, on CoinDesk TV's "First Mover."
What others are writing... Off-Chain Signals
–D.K.
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A message from CoinDesk Introducing Unlocked 101 at Consensus by CoinDesk 2021 New to crypto? Here's a crash course. Unlocked 101 is a free educational series of sessions designed to give you the tools to navigate crypto. Sessions will be hosted May 4–20 to prepare you for Consensus by CoinDesk 2021, our virtual big-tent event.
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Putting the news in perspective The Takeaway Bitcoiners' Approach to the Climate Change Fights Isn't Working – This Might Tesla giving in on the bitcoin and energy fight doesn't mean Elon Musk actually believes bitcoin is a net harm for the environment. It just means Tesla has realized this is a fight that's not worth waging because it can't be won. Tesla is right.
–Brady Dale
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