Thursday, December 13, 2018

The Search Story 🔍

December 13, 2018

'What is Bitcoin' Ranked Among Most Google'd Questions of 2018

What people want to know

Google recently published its 2018 "Year In Search" which ranks the most searched terms during the year. The search engine company ranked the terms in numerous categories, like "News", "People", and "Diets".

"What is Bitcoin" came out as the top searched "What is..." question of 2018. The search term beat out other questions like "what is Fortnite" or "what is a government shutdown".

Google searchers' curiosity about Bitcoin was probably ignited by the crypto's downfall during the year and its resulting media acknowledgment.

While the search term ranked first, the popularity of the search term sort of mirrors Bitcoin's price. It peaked in January and has become ever less popular over the course of the year.

It's still early

Being the top-ranked "What is..." search shows just how young Bitcoin is. The top ranking indicates that many people still have no clue what Bitcoin is, but they want to find out.

During 2017, investors flooded to Bitcoin and crypto to strike riches, many didn't even know what they were buying. Now, as the price has declined, it seems that people are taking their time to understand the technology behind Bitcoin.

OPINION

Allianz CEO Says Cryptocurrencies Should be 'Outlawed'

Add to the list of critics

On Tuesday, Allianz CEO Andreas Utermann spoke during a panel discussion where he voiced his personal criticism of cryptocurrencies.

Allianz is a German-based financial services company. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. The company is one of the world's largest insurance companies and one of Europe's largest asset managers.

Utermann was forceful in his criticism of cryptocurrencies, his direct quote from the discussion was:

"You should outlaw it. I am personally surprised that regulators haven't stepped in harder."

His comments are even more notable when you put them in context. Sitting next to Utermann during the discussion was Andrew Bailey, the head of Britain's Financial Conduct Authority.

In response to Utermann's comments, Bailey responded that his department is watching the cryptocurrency space very closely, especially initial coin offerings.

Institutions polarized

Cryptocurrencies are the newest asset class to enter the market in some time. The rise of cryptocurrencies over the last decade has been met by differing opinions.

You will rarely see someone or some entity indifferent about cryptocurrencies. Peoples' opinions seem to be on an extreme, either for or against.

This polarity in the space is especially true when it comes to financial institutions. 'Experts' in the area of investments, banking, and payments either are choosing to adopt cryptocurrencies or are outright calling them frauds. Only time will tell which side is right.

STARTUP

This Startup is Taking Crypto Mainstream Through Credit

An extra $4 million

Announced Wednesday, crypto lending startup BlockFi has secured $4 million in its latest fundraising round from a handful of investors including Akuna Capital, Galaxy Digital, Morgan Creek Digital, and Devonshire Investors - a subsidiary of the popular financial institution Fidelity.

After this round, BlockFi has now raised over $59 million that will help the company bring a range of crypto financial products mainstream.

Building the future

While the crypto markets have faltered this year, BlockFi has been building products that could unlock new value in crypto from old ideas.

For example, in 2019 the startup is planning to launch three new innovative products:

Interest-earning crypto savings account
Portfolio line of credit
Crypto-backed credit cards

The hope is that this set of products will help "facilitate consumer adoption" as consumers find new use cases for their crypto holdings.

📖 RECOMMENDED READ

Previously the team at Unbankd sat down with BlockFi CEO Zac Prince to learn more about their innovative platform. To understand more about what BlockFi is doing and their vision moving forward, click here.

INTERNATIONAL

Venezuela's Government is Swapping Pension Funds for Petro

🛢 What is Petro? Petro is a cryptocurrency that was developed by the government of Venezuela in an attempt to provide stability to the South American country's inflation issues. In addition, the government also hoped the cryptocurrency would provide a loophole around trade sanctions, however, new legislation now includes the Petro as well.

Petro for pension

According to a local report from the Caracas Chronicle, the Venezuelan government is now automatically swapping citizen pension funds for the Petro.

Before, citizens would receive the country's fiat currency, the Bolivar, in their pension accounts and would then be able to transfer to a bank account for withdrawal.

Though this is part of the government's plan to onboard the cryptocurrency, the Petro cannot be used yet - leaving citizens with little choice but to swap their Petro back to the Bolivar before use.

BITS

But wait, there's more...

💸 Overstock is set to launch a myriad of blockchain-related products in 2019 as it refocuses its business.
🐻 A new court ruling could set a precedent to return mistakenly sent cryptocurrency.
🚜 IBM is teaming up with an agritech firm to help develop the African agriculture industry through blockchain.

MEME