August 12, 2020 | Issue #130

MUST READS

Big News: A Public Company Just Bought Bitcoin on Their Balance Sheet

Yesterday, MicroStrategy (MSTR), became the first large corporation to hold BTC as a cash reserve asset. And it's one of the strongest events we've seen over the last few years in regards to Bitcoin adoption.

Key Takeaways:

MSTR is not a blockchain/crypto company. They make no Bitcoin or blockchain-based products and are not trying to shill average-joe investors by adding blockchain or crypto to its name. MSTR is simply looking out for shareholder value in these unprecedented times.
The sheer size of MSTRs BTC purchase relative to their market cap warrants consideration for MSTR as a pure stock market play on Bitcoin with tech valuations. (MSTR is up 11% on news so far)
The news serves as another tipping point and catalyst for mainstream adoption. As the market matures, it's hard to believe that other publicly traded companies won't follow suit. (Just imagine if only 1% of organizations would do the same)

Here are some rapid reactions, courtesy of Marty Bent, Messari's Ryan Selkis and Eric Turner.

Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust Rose $1.6B Over Six Months

In a quarterly report filed last Friday, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) announced that the dollar value of total assets in GBTC went from $1.87 billion at the end of 2019 to $3.5 billion by the end of Q2 2020 – an increase of 90%.

Per the filing, the Bitcoin held in GBTC increased by 125,531 to nearly 387,000, a $1.15 billion increase in value based on bitcoin's spot price on June 30.

In other news, Grayscale has launched a new ad campaign for TV (You can see it here).

The 30 second commercial which is airing on CNBC, MSNBC, Fox, and Fox Business shows the evolution of money and ends with a call to invest in digital currencies.

You may remember that Grayscale previously aired the “DropGold” campaign, where it encouraged investors to ditch gold for crypto.

Could Digital Currencies Make Being Poor Less Costly?

Blockchain-based payment systems can bring the more than 1.7 billion people who are unbanked or underbanked into the formal economy – an opportunity made even more urgent by the pandemic.

This piece exemplifies how digital currencies and payments could simplify banking for the poor, while creating new efficiencies in current systems.

CryptoList: A Hand-Researched List of Over 8,000 Companies and People in Crypto

Whether you’re launching your own crypto startup, looking to connect with industry leaders, or just investing in crypto, you’ll be sure to get value out of CryptoList.

CryptoList compiles 8,600+ companies and people in crypto with 4,500+ verified email addresses to get you access to the businesses and individuals that matter most to your business.

We spent thousands of hours researching the crypto ecosystem so you don't have to.

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DEEP DIVE

DeFi went YAM today

This has been hands down one of the most bizarre days in all of DeFi.

YAM, DeFi's latest farm-fresh product, is nothing more than a monetary experiment. Yet, that’s not holding back traders from pumping the token’s price from $0 to $138 back to ~$14 all in about 24 hours or so.

Key takeaways:

Called a “rebase,” the project’s code will sprout new tokens at set intervals to push or pull YAM’s price back towards one dollar. Trader’s are rushing in to scoop up price gains before the rebase occurs.
The founders conducted no pre-mine and garnered no VC interest.
The project itself is an experiment, was built in 10 days, and the code base has never been audited – a fact the founders are quite upfront about.

Here's everything you need to know about YAMs protocol and staking reward contracts.

A Little Bitcoin Goes a Long Way

CoinShares research team digs into what makes the digital asset class unique, and how Bitcoin’s investment characteristics could affect modern multi-asset portfolios. The results are surprising...

Token Sales Are Back in 2020

As the price of Bitcoin rises, token sales have become trendy once more...

Ava Labs, the startup founded by Cornell professor Emin Gün Sirer, raised roughly $42 million in a public token sale for its Avalanche blockchain
Polkadot, the project spearheaded by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood, raised another $43 million in a private sale
NEAR raised $30 million from 1,500 participants even after breaking Coinlist's site twice
Binance Labs-backed project Sandbox is running a token sale in August with the aim of raising $3 million

In 2020, the playbook seems to be: the company raises venture capital and conducts a private sale, then the token-funded startup sells to the public through a platform that manages know-your-customer information and compliance.

How to Make (and Keep) a Fortune in the 2020 Crypto Bull Run

The next great crypto bull run is coming.

And if you position yourself correctly, you could make a fortune as these coins soar to new record highs.

Get your free copy of Crypto Revolution: Your Guide to the Future of Money.

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REGULATORY FRONT

New York Financial Regulator Greenlights 10 Tokens for Custody

The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has recently issued a “greenlist” of virtual currencies, which have been pre-approved by the regulator for licensees to list and trade.

On its greenlist, the regulator has pre-approved coins for custody and coins for listing.

Starting with custody, the approved coins are as follows:

Binance USD (BUSD)
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Ethereum Classic (ETC)
Ethereum (ETH)
Gemini Dollar (GUSD)
Litecoin (LTC)
Pax Gold (PAXG)
Paxos Standard (PAX)
Ripple (XRP)

The cryptos approved for listing are:

Binance USD (BUSD)
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Ethereum (ETH)
Gemini Dollar (GUSD)
Litecoin (LTC)
Pax Gold (PAXG)
Paxos Standard (PAX)