What you need to know today in crypto and beyond May 13, 2021 If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive it, sign up here.
Send feedback to daniel.kuhn@coindesk.com – we'd love to hear from you!
Today's must-reads Top Shelf Elon Musk announced Tesla will suspend BTC payments due to environmental concerns. The total crypto market then shed some $350 billion.
DOGS RUGGED? Vitalik Buterin “rugged” several “dog tokens” yesterday and sent the proceeds to charity. The background: A number of dogecoin spin-offs had been trading on the Ethereum co-creator’s name, having sent a chunk of their supply to show they were “backed by Buterin,” a stunt that seemed to work… until it didn’t.
‘LOCKED OUT’: Dozens of Binance.US users have been locked out of their accounts, often without clear justification or path to retrieve their funds, a CoinDesk investigation has found. Crypto exchanges frequently place temporary restrictions on trading – during periods of market volatility or an individual’s KYC process, for instance – though for some Binance customers the freeze can last months. BLOCKS CHAINED? Bitcoin’s mining difficulty adjusted upwards 21.53% Thursday, making it more difficult than ever to mine. Microsoft will shut its Azure-based blockchain-as-a-service platform. Joseph Lubin is seeking to raise $75 million for a new blockchain venture fund. Finally, the Facebook-linked Diem Association is partnering with Silvergate Bank to pilot a dollar-pegged stablecoin. The group also withdrew its application for a Swiss Financial Markets Authority license, representing a complete capitulation on the original “libra” design. WATCHFUL EYES: The IRS could seize people’s crypto assets (treated as property, not currency, under current law) to settle unpaid taxes, an agency official said. South Korea’s central bank plans to monitor crypto transactions made through users’ bank accounts. Finally, the Reserve Bank of India has been unofficially encouraging banks to cut ties with crypto businesses.
–Daniel Kuhn
A message from Nexo Your digital assets deserve a savings account in their BEST INTEREST. Leading crypto lender Nexo treats you, your crypto and your fiat to industry-best Crypto & Fiat services, featuring:
* Up to 12% interest on digital assets, paid out daily! * Yields available on BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, XRP, XLM, EOS, TRX, LINK, BNB, PAXG, USDT, USDC, TUSD, PAX, DAI, HUSD, GBP and EUR. * No minimum or maximum limits on funds deposited, offering infinite opportunities to earn. * #ZeroFees on all transactions. * Military-grade wallet security and top-tier insurance on all custodial assets with SOC 2 Type 2 certified crypto custodian BitGo.
Get started at nexo.io
What others are writing... Off-Chain Signals
–D.K.
A message from Lisk Lisk.js 2021 is a free online event organized by Lisk, an open-source blockchain application platform. The two-day virtual event, open to all developers, blockchain enthusiasts and community members globally, will set the stage for the major reveal of Lisk's Interoperability solution. Developers can expect to learn how to develop a blockchain application with Lisk SDK in JavaScript, attend in-depth talks on blockchain interoperability, and get inspired by community members who have already built blockchain applications on Lisk.
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.
Sponsored Content
TrustSwap: Introducing Mint: closing the security loop for new token launches
Putting the news in perspective The Takeaway The Musk Motivation
The electric car manufacturer will hold on to its $2.5 billion BTC reserve and plans to resume accepting the orange coin if/when mining “transitions to more sustainable energy.”
There are many questions I, like many, have about this about-face. Did Tesla really not do due diligence on bitcoin’s coal-heavy provenance when moving into the market three months ago? Is the decision somehow tied to “renewable credits?” Can I sue? Musk’s motivations are often impenetrable. But it’s clear this is just the latest front in a longstanding debate over whether bitcoin, a global monetary layer accessible to any and all, is worth the ecological price everyone pays. The world’s second richest man is now somewhere in the middle of a messy continuum between those who think bitcoin is a useless drain on resources and those who might welcome razing the Amazon to build additional mining facilities.
He’s also a man with tremendous influence. On Feb. 8, the price of bitcoin jumped 14% after Tesla parked $1.5 billion in the asset. The Musk effect of a single DOGE meme often (though not always) leads to double-digit spikes. Yesterday, his tweets erased some $350 billion from the entire cryptocurrency market (it has since pared back some losses). Taking Musk at his word, Mike Novogratz said the space-faring, erstwhile comedian has presented bitcoiners with an ultimatum to go green or go home. Musk may be using his influence to achieve what other bitcoin heavyweights – like Twitter's Jack Dorsey and Ark Invest's Cathie Woods – have long promised: using bitcoin to drive renewable energy innovation. It’s an important goal. The bitcoin hashrate, a proxy for its energy consumption, has climbed to record highs during the recent bull run. Reuters reports mining consumers 66 times more electricity than in 2015.
Long the preserve of iconoclasts, cryptography nerds and free bankers, bitcoin this year moved into the financial mainstream. It’s no longer isolated from the larger political or social conversation. As long as people continue to like Earth and equality, bitcoin’s environmental and social “toxicity” will dominate headlines.
–D.K.
The Chaser...
ATTENTION: Scammers have been sending fraudulent emails with links to sites disguised to look like coindesk.com. If you are in doubt about a link, type https://www.coindesk.com directly into your browser; do not copy and paste. Remember, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Copyright © 2021 CoinDesk, All rights reserved.
250 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10003, USA You can manage your preferences here or unsubscribe from all CoinDesk email. |