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COINS IN THE HOUSE: It’s a crypto double-header on Capitol Hill today, with hearings ongoing at two committees of the U.S. House of Representatives. One is focused on the emergence of digital assets and related regulatory issues, while the other looks at deeper questions like whether this stuff is really money.
So far, the lawmakers have been urged to tread carefully. "Hasty regulatory pronouncements are likely to miss the mark, have unintended consequences, or fail to capture important nuance," cautioned Daniel Gorfine, director of LabCFTC, the fintech program of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
For up-to-the-minute coverage, follow our Twitter hashtag #CryptoCongress.
BLOCKCHAIN TAX BREAKS: The South Korean government announced Wednesday that its agencies are working on an economic policy to renew existing tax rates, which will benefit companies associated with a range of 157 "new-growth technologies" in 11 areas, including blockchain.
The specific size of the tax deductions is TBD, but according to the government, further details of the proposal will be announced on July 26, with the changes expected to take effect by the first quarter of 2019. Full Story
COURTING THE UNBANKED: Paxful, a P2P bitcoin exchange with around 2 million users, revealed plans to open an office in Venezuela and launch its first mobile app on the Android platform, both in order to reach people under-served by the traditional financial system.
By entering the market in Venezuela, Paxful is hoping to address many problems in the hyperinflation-ridden country. According to the exchange’s co-founder, Ray Youssef, crypto could be both a more stable store of value and a more convenient medium of exchange there than what's available to Venezuelans. Full Story
RESEARCH BLAST
While there are unique qualities and attributes to each cryptocurrency, most of the market tends to move together. Most notably, any event that occurs in bitcoin will most likely affect the sentiment of the entire market. Q2 saw correlations of daily returns average about .83 (-1 negatively correlated and +1 positively correlated).
The crypto most closely correlated to bitcoin was ethereum at .93 and the least was EOS at .61. EOS dropped to almost -.5 around May 9 and ETC also hit 0 correlation on May 8 and June 20. Learn more research insights in our soon-to-be-released Q2 State of Blockchain report. More research |
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SPONSOR SECTION
 At Finova Financial, we see blockchain and crypto replacing Wall Street with something bigger and better. Taking business and investment to the blockchain will lower barriers to entry while creating a more transparent and agile environment for enterprises and entrepreneurs. Visit our website and see what blockchain and crypto pioneers like Jeremy Gardner and Finova’s Gregory Keough have to say. Learn More |
RISK BEFORE $8K: After reaching a 39-day high above $7,500 earlier Wednesday, bitcoin could potentially encounter a minor price pullback, according to the technical charts. Full Story
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BEST OF THE BEST
FINANCIAL TIMES: Data from Chainalysis, a blockchain research firm, shows that 3.7 million bitcoin (about $250 billion worth) is just floating out there in the proverbial ether, “either lost or probably lost.” That realization inspired this commentary piece by Financial Times reporter Hannah Murphy about how people have been coming up with ways to protect their crypto assets.
Among the current solutions, the most popular and mainstream approach is to hire custodians through exchanges or other third party services.
Nevertheless, Murphy argues, until people can figure out a simpler way to hold and ensure the safety of their cryptocurrencies, it is hard to imagine them being more widely adopted for everyday payments in the near future.
THE REST
WALL STREET JOURNAL: Can cryptocurrency save journalism from tech giants like Google and Facebook? At least one company believes so.
A New York-based software startup called Civil Media Company aims to sell up to $34 million worth of its cryptocurrency, which will be used to pay for the costs of creating news.
Interviewed by the Journal, Matthew Iles, the company’s chief executive, said he saw that in the current journalism business model, news organizations are heavily dependant on tech platforms like Google and Facebook which have “reaped the majority of digital ad revenue.” By bringing crypto to the field, his company is aiming to change the game.
FORTUNE: A Stripe executive explains why the payments startup lost interest in bitcoin and blockchain tech.
According to Claire Hughes Johnson, chief operating officer of Stripe, blockchain-powered payment services, including bitcoin, are "slow, impractical, and overhyped." In addition, she also expressed doubt that cryptocurrencies can really serve a "mainstream purpose."
Fortune framed her comments are “the latest reality check” for people who believed cryptocurrencies would become as ubiquitous as credit cards. But left unmentioned in the article is Stripe's close ties to Stellar. |
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WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER  |
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