🏦 JP Morgan is Rolling Out the First US Bank-Backed Cryptocurrency
Last week JP Morgan announced that they will be launching JPM Coin – a fiat-backed coin that will be running on a private blockchain (Ethereum based "Quorum"). The coin will be used by JPM customers to settle and conduct international payments.
Despite what you may have already read on CNBC, we'll start off by saying that JPM Coin is NOT a cryptocurrency. This is important. Even in their own FAQ, JPM draws a distinction between JPM Coin and crypto.
How does it work?
In simple terms, let's say JPM customer A wants to send JPM customer B $10k. Instead of waiting for the standard, eye-gouging 2-day-ish transaction, customer A can now utilize JPM Coin, send $10k of JPM Coin to customer B instantaneously, who can then redeem those coins for $10k. Pretty straight forward – and not as sexy as it's been pent-up to be.
But just like every other big bank news splash – the crypto community was quick to jump on the wagons of echoed sentiments. Some were negative. Some were absurdly bashful (lol). And some were fairly positive.
For those interested in a more grounded approach, @nlw did a poll to gauge people's sentiment and, after reviewing dozens of takes, put together a short video arguing both sides of the argument.
Falling Demand for Cryptocurrency Mining Chips, Nvidia's Revenue Takes a Big Hit
Nvidia (NVDA) was the top performing stock in the S&P500 index in 2016, rallying a whopping 227%. 2015 and 2017 weren't bad either, as the stock went up by 66% and 82%, respectively.
The story of Nvidia's amazing rise, and subsequent fall, is a tale of wishful thinking, unintended consequences, and (of course) cryptocurrency mining.
Trolly's story couldn't have said it any better. In 2018, Nvidia got "caught with its pants down" and so far, 2019 numbers haven't cut them any slack. Here are the results from last week's highly-anticipated earnings call.
SPONSORED
7 Surprising Crypto Forecasts for 2019
A just-released report from a top crypto expert reveals 7 shocking crypto forecasts for this year. In it, he exposes 3 cryptos that will disappear completely... 2 that will disrupt global banks...and 1 coin that could soon skyrocket. See which cryptos are primed to generate massive profits in 2019.
Our friends at Multicoin Capital have released a comprehensive research report on Binance token (BNB), explaining why they ultimately chose to invest.
"Given that Binance has the industry's lowest fees, the widest global reach, and the highest volumes, we believe that it's the frontrunner in the race to be the world's dominant crypto exchange. We also believe that Binance's token, BNB, is dramatically undervalued, primarily because it is a novel asset with properties that many investors do not yet fully appreciate."
Still confused on what BNB actually is? Read this.
♂️♀️ The Blockchain Industry Still Sucks at Diversity
Diversity is a term that's thrown about often, and sometimes rather vacuously, but the fact of the matter is that blockchain technology and cryptocurrency need more of it.
Anatomy Of The Next Global Financial Crisis
Due in part to the timing of its launch, Bitcoin is said to have been born out of the financial chaos and scepticism resulting from the 2008 global financial crisis. Therefore, many Bitcoin investors and members of the crypto-currency community often seem to ask:
When is the next global financial crisis going to happen?
Due to the demand of this question, Bitmex decided to attempt to address the issue.
BTC Valuations
Willy Woo just released a trader's dream chart featuring 10 different approaches to valuing Bitcoin (BTC). The chart looks like it's in maintenance mode right now (not loading) but that won't keep us from sharing it. If you want a robust picture of valuation metrics, keep this link in your back pocket. For now, Willy has provided Twitter with a guided tour on all the madness.
Speaking of long-term BTC valuations, here's a new one introduced by Adaptive Capital's David Puell. This one's called the Bitcoin Delta Capitalization.
Grayscale Digital Asset Investment Report
Another quarter, another Grayscale Investment Report...
The most interesting tidbit? The majority of investment (66%) has come from institutional investors. For those that want more, here's the full report – hot-off-the-press courtesy of the world's largest crypto asset manager.
SPONSORED
🍕 Pass the Pizza Torch
It's looking like Crypto Twitter is still having some fun with the Lightning Network (LN). Except this time, we're dealing with pizza.
How the CFTC Can Take a Pro-Innovation Posture While Maintaining Orderly Markets
In a speech last autumn, CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz made worrying comments suggesting that developers could be held accountable for future misuse of their code. This line of thinking would have dramatic implications for not just cryptocurrency, but the entire open source community. Coincenter immediately responded with a post arguing that "writing and publishing code alone cannot be a crime," which the commissioner took to heart.
The Wyoming legislature has passed two groundbreaking blockchain bills that will now head to Governor Mark Gordon for signature. The special-purpose depository institution (SPDI) bill (HB074) and the corporate stock token bill (HB0185) are crypto-friendly bills that establish a clear regulatory framework for blockchain entrepreneurs and cryptocurrency investors.
In the big picture, as Drew Hinkes points out, Wyoming has laid out some pretty solid groundwork for others to follow.
The CoinSnacks weekly digest is a manually curated newsletter that delivers fresh content covering cryptoassets and the evolving blockchain community for investors around the world. The digest is curated by CoinSnacks employees and sent once a week.
CoinSnacks | 5500 Military Trail Suite 22-250 | Jupiter, Florida | 33458
In 2017, we launched the first Business of Blockchain conference with our partners at the Digital Currency Initiative, a research group out of the MIT Media Lab. Back then, "blockchain" was a term at the forefront of everyone's mind and the technology was poised to disrupt the global financial system. In just two short years we watched the meteoric rise and eventual crash of the crypto market.
Now that the mania has worn off, this technology is demonstrating real staying power in fintech and beyond. Its abundant benefits will be explored at Business of Blockchain 2019.
At this year's event, we're taking a serious look at how blockchain is changing how the world does business:
Rocket Lawyer's founder, Charley Moore, talks "smart" contracts, a powerful application of blockchain technology across industries.
FCC Commissioner Jessica Worsencel shares a not-to-be-missed regulator's perspective on blockchain governance.
Learn how Alibaba and the Monetary Authority of Singapore are navigating explosive growth of the blockchain market in the Asia Pacific region, amid crypto restrictions.
Discover how stable coins could be the solution to crypto volatility from the DCI's Robleh Ali and Haseeb Qureshi of MetaStable Capital.
These experts will join attendees from Walmart,BMW,The World Bank, J.P. Morgan, PwC, Stanford University, the White House, IBM, the U.S. Department of Transportation, Carnegie Mellon University, Fidelity, Deloitte, and many moreat Business of Blockchain 2019, this May.
The mission of MIT Technology Review is to bring about better-informed and more conscious decisions about technology through authoritative, influential, and trustworthy journalism.
Click here to manage your newsletter preferences and email settings.
MIT Technology Review, One Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142
To unsubscribe from all emails, including newsletters, follow this link.
