📌 Bakkt’s Game-Chaining Announcement, Tether Claps Back, and Crypto Startup School

MUST READS  Bakkt Expands Bitcoin Custody Service Beyond Futures Trading Clients Earlier this week, Bakkt officially announced custody services (the storage of tokens and private keys) for all institutional clients. Previously, Bakkt was only able to provide custody services to clients trading its Bitcoin futures contracts. Any signs of progress in this corner of the market is really good to see. Cryptocurrencies NEED the nod from large financial institutions in order to truly achieve mass adoption. And if there was one major roadblock plaguing this great shift of capital, it was the lack of institutional-grade custodianship. Here's a quote from Bakkt's COO that sums up the magnitude of their announcement: "When investors have ready access to regulated custodians whose security and processes they trust, the full potential of this emerging asset class and technology can flourish."   CME Says it Will Launch Bitcoin Options in January Derivatives exchange CME Group has announced it will launch options on its Bitcoin futures contracts in January. Although we shouldn't expect these options contracts to dramatically change the market (or price), the race for options between the CME and Bakkt has been fun to watch. Bakkt's options business is scheduled to launch next month... and CME's options will go live, as long as it gets the green light from regulators, on Jan. 13, 2020.    SPONSORED  Tech Insiders are Holding Their Breath for What's About to be Revealed A prediction that could mean the END for tech market giants... And has the potential to make early adopters life-changing gains... It's all happening on November 19th, with the return of the world's #1 tech futurist George Gilder.  Click here for details.    DEEP DIVE  Op Ed: In China, It's Blockchain and Tyranny vs Bitcoin and Freedom On October 24, 2019, President Xi Jinping gave a major speech about how China is going to make blockchain technology a national priority. He said China would "take the leading position in the emerging field of blockchain" and explore its use "in people's daily life." While that may sound like a big win for the industry... Alex Gladstein thinks otherwise. He claims it sounds like a play to dismiss Bitcoin and prep folks for the "better" state digital currency. In his own words – "this could be bad for human rights and privacy."   Tether's Response to Whale Manipulation Charge In last week's newsletter we covered a study claiming that last year's astronomical crypto surge was likely triggered by manipulation due to a single market whale (one very large Bitcoin trader). We stated: "Like with every mainstream media story, here at CoinSnacks, we get a little skeptical. Although the story is juicy, we find it pretty tough to draw such astronomical conclusions from all the data that's out there." Well now, Tether has clapped back saying that the study is faulty and based on incomplete data. And that the report is weak, watered-down, clumsy, embarrassing... etc etc in classic Bitfinex/Tether fashion.   The Bitcoin Reformation This report makes the case that the 21st century emergence of Bitcoin, encryption, the internet, and millennials are more than just trends; they herald a wave of change that exhibits similar dynamics as the 16-17th century revolution that took place in Europe. TLDR: here :)   a16z's Crypto Study Guide On the heels of a16z's new crypto startup school announcement, they just released a glossary of terminology and key concepts in the space. It covers the basics of cryptography and blockchain, smart contracts and applications, security/privacy, and other useful definitions. We hope this serves as a solid refresher.    SPONSORED  Bill Gates: "This Technology Will Be Worth 10 Microsofts Bill Gates – together with a few other billionaires – recently invested in a controversial new technology. He's on record as saying this technology will be worth 10 Microsofts. PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts it will create a $15 trillion fortune for early adopters and investors. If you're looking to strike it rich in tech stocks… this is THE technology to have on your radar right now.    REGULATORY FRONT  🇨🇳 China Reverses Bitcoin Mining Ban It's official – Bitcoin mining is now legal in China. The change was just announced in China's Industrial Structure Adjustment Guidance Catalog... and will take effect from the start of 2020. After several years of going back and forth on the subject, Chinese regulators finally decided that bitcoin mining should be allowed to continue without interference from the government. The bulls are seeing this as a BIG win for crypto in general. Remember, miners secure Bitcoin's network by making it difficult to attack, alter or stop. The more miners that mine, the more they secure the network.    TWEET OF THE WEEK  Other Articles You May Enjoy Why crypto will win   🗽 Tech and Liberty   TokenAnalyst compiled a visual graphic of the flow of Bitcoin between exchanges during 2019 (so far)   Gov't Official: Fed must launch FedNow ahead of Facebook's Libra   Canada's largest bank mulls crypto exchange   Hong Kong and Thailand plan to release their digital currency project report by Q1 2020   Alan Greenspan says there's 'no point' for central banks to issue digital currency   Billion-dollar-a-day crypto trader finds accolades are better than anonymity   First-time bitcoin buyers 'doubled' in Square's Q3 report   2019 bitcoin node performance tests   Crypto exchanges experiencing a steady drop in traffic since June, suggesting declining retail interest 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 Unsubscribe | View in Browser

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November 13, 2019 SUN ADMISSION: Justin Sun, founder of crypto platform Tron, said he is part of the investor group that recently acquired Poloniex from fintech firm Circle. Initially, he denyied his involvement. Speaking at a joint Tron-Poloniex event, Sun said Tron was among several investors in the exchange, but the exchange is operated independently from Tron. Full story FUTURE MOVE: Bitcoin futures market Bakkt intends to expand from its current physically-settled offerings to cash-settled futures before 2020, Bakkt COO Adam White announced at CoinDesk’s Invest: NYC conference. Sources said the new cash-settled monthly futures are to be offered through ICE Clear Singapore and traded on ICE Futures Singapore. Full story ON-CHAIN MIGHT: BitGo is processing more than 20 percent of bitcoin transactions, the company said at CoinDesk’s Invest: NYC on Tuesday. The announcement by the crypto custodian and issuer of hot and cold storage wallets means that a sizable share of on-chain transactions pass through its services, a sign of consolidation in the crypto space. Full story COURT PLEA: Messaging app firm Telegram has made a new appeal for a New York court to drop an action brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging its yet-to-be launched “gram” token is a security. In a filing published Tuesday, Telegram refuted all the allegations made by the SEC and maintained that “grams will not be securities when they are created at the time of launch of the TON Blockchain.” Full story VETERAN OFFERING: DigitalX, the first ever cryptocurrency firm to be listed on a major stock exchange, has launched a new bitcoin fund aimed at professional investors and high-net-worth individuals. The Australian firm is putting up 215 of its total holdings of 431 bitcoin as seed funding. Full story GARAGE INCUBATOR: A new blockchain incubator launched in Paris, reports TechCrunch. The Garage, founded by Cyril Paglino from Starchain Capital, Fabrice Le Fessant from Dune Network and Oussama Ammar from The Family, will provide early support to blockchain startups in exchange for 5 percent of equity in the firms. Five projects have already signed on with the company, with the goal of accepting 25 applicants per year. WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER Copyright © 2019 CoinDesk, All rights reserved.  Our mailing address is:  250 Park Avenue South New York, NY, 10003, US  Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Mastercard on why it left Libra / eToro CEO / China, not Libra, is the threat

Inside Libra presented by The Motley Fool.

Presented by Subscribe | View in browser 1. Mastercard has explained in an interview why it stepped away from Facebook's Libra. According to Ari Sarker, the co-president of Mastercard Asia Pacific, the multinational financial services corporation left the project because "basic core tenets were not being adhered to." Explaining further, Sarker highlighted that as a regulated business, Mastercard has commitments across its regulated frameworks and that it would be staying true to them. It was implied that Facebook wasn't living up to those expectations and that it wasn't ready to form part of a global financial network. –COIN GEEK       2. Yoni Assia, CEO of social investment platform eToro, has said in an interview that the company is a big fan of Facebook's Libra stablecoin. Assia believes that eventually, Libra will have a stablecoin in every country, "where you have regulated money issuers issuing it on the Libra blockchain." In his opinion, this is a more decentralized way of developing a global payment network that all Facebook users can use. Last month, Assia said that it was "inevitable" that central banks will launch digital currencies. Talking about this again in his interview yesterday, he went on to reiterate a similar sentiment. –DECRYPT       A MESSAGE FROM THE MOTLEY FOOL This stock could be like buying Amazon – in 1997 David Gardner, the investor who's tripling the returns of the market, just recommended a new stock… and he thinks it has the potential for Amazon-like returns. This is only the 5th time in 16 years he's recommended a stock like this. Click here to learn more. 3. In this opinion piece published in The Guardian, Kenneth Rogoff, a professor of economics and public policy at Harvard University, has said that a Chinese digital currency is the real threat and not Libra. The author of many books, including The Curse of Cash, wrote that a U.S.-regulated digital currency could be traceable by U.S. authorities; however, when it comes to the control of the underground economy, a state-backed Chinese digital currency could play a role in criminal activities, tax evasion, and terrorism. As Rogoff stated, "the U.S. would have far fewer levers to pull." While a Chinese digital currency could be banned by Western regulators, that wouldn't stop it from being used in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, which, in turn, see some underground demand in Europe and the U.S., he added. –THE GUARDIAN       4. A survey has found that 76 percent of German bankers believe that Libra could negatively impact the nation's monetary system. Conducted by the Center for Financial Studies (CFS) of Frankfurt's Goethe University, six percent of bankers think it could have serious effects on the stability of the economy. Notably, though, 61 percent said they would oppose placing a ban on it. According to the survey, while they believed Libra could potentially do more harm than good, they were also of the opinion that the government could allow it on a strict monitoring basis. Hubertus Väth, the head of the banking lobby Frankfurt Main Finance, said that this report proves the "financial industry is open to innovation." –BE IN CRYPTO       5. Christian Catalini, the head economist at Calibra, the Facebook subsidiary in charge of Libra's launch, said that users' social media information and financial data will be separate. Speaking during an interview with MIT's Sloan School of Management, Catalini said that people want a separation between the two. Going further, he added that from Facebook's point of view, the idea isn't to use the data to show more ads, but to compete with other features. –MIT MANAGEMENT SLOAN SCHOOL       6. Zhou Xiaochuan, former governor of the People's Bank of China (PBoC), has said that Libra would be trusted if an organization such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was running it. In a tweet, Xiaochuan said that "people will question the motive of Libra as it's initiated by a private company." He further said that the Libra Association is likely to make a profit from the project, with the money used for things such as other financial services. –COINTELEGRAPH       7. Christopher J. Giancarlo, former chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has stated that Libra has suffered because of Facebook's mismanagement of personal data. He went on to say that if it was any other organization handling it, it would have "received a better reception than this." –AMBCRYPTO       This newsletter was written and curated by Rebecca Campbell. She has been writing and reporting on various industries for the past 10 years, more specifically tech in the last three. Connect with her on Twitter. Edited by Inside Dev and Inside Deals editor Sheena Vasani.       Ad If you want to invest better, you want The Motley Fool.

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