Bitcoin's Rally Masks Uncomfortable Fact
Our friends at Bloomberg recently published a piece stating that, although Bitcoin's price is rising, hardly anyone is using the world's largest cryptocurrency for anything beyond speculation. Although they point out a couple of interesting facts... they're also missing an important part. - The uncomfortable truth: Only 1.3% percent of BTC transactions came from merchants so far this year (those using Bitcoin to sell goods). On top of that, 89.7% of all BTC transactions are exchange-related. Essentially, Bloomberg is still calling BTC a gambling device... that it's primary use-case, by far, is speculation.
- Where they got it wrong: "Almost nobody uses it "
Here's a friendly reminder that just because the majority of people are HODLing – it doesn't mean they aren't "users." Many crypto enthusiasts compare BTC to Gold – something that maintains a store of value, that has limited supply, and that they can hold on to for years on end. Pretty strong use-case, if you ask us.
| | SEC Charges Kik with Conducting $100M Unregistered ICO
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has finally made it official... They are suing Kik for conducting an illegal $100 million securities offering of the $KIN digital token. The SEC claims that Kik sold the tokens to U.S. investors without registering their offering as required by U.S. securities laws... while marketing Kin as an investment opportunity.
Why is this significant? Because Kik has fought back in a very controversial way. Their "Defend Crypto " campaign, which challenges the SEC's regulatory clarity, has taken the crypto industry by storm.
"We have been expecting this for quite some time, and we welcome the opportunity to fight for the future of crypto in the United States. We hope this case will make it clear that the securities laws should not be applied to a currency used by millions of people in dozens of apps."
Here's how to stay in the loop on all the rumblings.
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| | China, Bitcoin, and the Escalating Trade War
If China is telling the truth when it says, "China does not want a trade war, but it is not afraid of one and it will fight one if necessary," we are in for a long, painful time of uncertainty.
Here's why this is incredibly bullish for Bitcoin.
| | 🎙️[Podcast] Blockchain CEO Peter Smith on its Dark Pool, Crypto Lending Operation and Plans to Go Public
CEO of Blockchain, Peter Smith, joins Laura Shin on the Unchained Podcast to discuss the future of the purported "first and most trusted global cryptocurrency company."
Smith also gives a peek into how Blockchain is thinking about potentially going public, and how they would do so, especially given the crypto market's volatility and its effect on the revenues of any particular company.
| | Block.One Is Launching a Social Media Platform on the EOS Blockchain
It's been a while since we've highlighted any new crypto projects, and although there's been hundreds of product releases so far this year, this one caught our eye:
Peter Thiel and EOS backed Block.one recently announced that they are launching a new social-media platform called Voice. It's main focus? Giving users more control of their content. Plus, the founders are promising identity checks for every user, no bots, and rewards for content creation.
| | Op Ed: Debunking Bitcoin Myths: The 'Intrinsic Value' Fallacy
One of the earliest criticisms of Bitcoin was that the underlying token in the system had no intrinsic value. Here's why the critics were wrong.
| | SEC Says Some ICOs May Be Eligible for 'No-Action' Relief
Companies that conducted ICOs years ago may be eligible for relief from potential enforcement actions by the SEC according to agency official William Hinman. (Sorry Kik)
For the last year and a half, the regulator has been filing cases against projects that raised money by selling tokens without registering them as securities. But in his opening remarks at the SECs FinTech Forum in Washington, D.C., Mr. Hinman doubled down on previous statements that ICO-funded projects can become exempt from securities law if they become decentralized enough.
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