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January 30, 2020 BOOMING BUSINESS: A lukewarm U.S. economy is slowing loan growth for big banks, but not crypto lenders like Genesis. The New York-based trading firm said Thursday that loans increased by 21 percent during the fourth quarter to $545 million. Full story ETHER ‘FLIP’: A greater share of value is being transferred via stablecoins over the ethereum network than its own native cryptocurrency ether, according to research conducted by crypto data aggregate Messari. Ryan Watkins, a research analyst at Messari, tweeted that stablecoin transfer value had “flipped” ether. Full story GOOGLE’S GAMES: Google recently suspended bitcoin rewards game “Bitcoin Blast” from its app store for allegedly deceiving users, but will not explain the problem to the developers. “If we don’t know what [Google] thinks is deceptive about the game, how can we possibly stop being deceptive?” said CEO Amy Wan. Full story US ‘HODGEPODGE’: Andrew Yang has said the U.S. needs a consistent legal framework for cryptocurrencies if it is to be a market leader. Speaking to Bloomberg, Yang said the current “hodgepodge of state-by-state treatments” is “bad for everybody. It's bad for innovators who want to invest in the space." Full story NO INTEREST: Trading volumes in bitcoin options listed on Intercontinental Exchange's Bakkt platform have slowed. As per the firm’s own data, not a single bitcoin options contract was traded last week on Bakkt, with activity last registered on Jan. 17, when 20 lots changed hands. Full story DEFENDING GAINS: Bitcoin remains on the offensive, having defended the former resistance-turned-support of $9,188 during the Asian trading hours. The current price consolidation is likely to make way for the next leg up toward resistance at $8,600. Should the range play end with a downside move, a retest of the 200-day average at $8,900 may be seen. Full story FO-MO-BILE: CoinDesk's Adam B Levine and John Biggs discuss the one stock poised to spread FOMO among coiners, in the latest Markets Daily podcast. Electronic car manufacturer Telsa announced it will ship Model Y cars beginning this quarter, causing a 12 percent rally in the TSLA stock that has recorded 109 percent gains in the trailing 12 months. Listen in WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER   Copyright © 2020 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

Go.Exchange is shutting down / Mercedes Benz tracks cobalt / BoJ should issue CBDC if public demands it

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Presented by Subscribe | View in browser Market Watch: Industry prices are in the green during Thursday trading as Bitcoin enjoys highs of over $9,000. Bitcoin: $9,369 (⬆️ 0.55%) // $170.4 billion market cap. Ethereum: $177 (⬆️ 0.83%) // $19.4 billion market cap. XRP: $0.237 (⬆️ 0.52%) // $10.3 billion market cap. Bitcoin Cash: $385 (⬆️ 0.44%) // $7.03 billion market cap. Top 100 Winner: Kick Token: $0001 (⬆️ 45.95%) // $78 million market cap. Top 100 Loser: Quant: $4.27 (⬇️ 9.98%) // $51 million market cap. Prices are as of 12:30 p.m. ET. 1. Crypto exchange GO.Exchange is shutting down, citing "increasing regulatory complexities and uncertainty." In an announcement, the platform said that it would be closing its doors on March 15, 2020. As of today, it won't accept any more customers or allow transactions to take place on the exchange, other than withdrawals, according to a statement. Existing customers will no longer be able to deposit or perform transactions, and they have until the closing date to withdraw their assets from the platform. Since launching in 2018, GO.Exchange applied for a Maltese license in order to operate in a regulated environment. However, the exchange said that "despite our advancement on the license, we decided to stop this effort due to external factors that came into the picture" such as regulations involving the crypto space. -DECRYPT 2. Mercedes Benz and blockchain startup Circulor are teaming up to launch a pilot that aims to track carbon emissions in the cobalt supply chain. The move is part of the Startup Autobahn initiative, which is aimed at identifying next-generation vehicles. With the blockchain, the technology will be used to trace the emissions of climate gases and materials that are recycled along the supply chain. The project will initially focus on cobalt, which is key to the creation of lithium-ion batteries. -COINTELEGRAPH A MESSAGE FROM THE MOTLEY FOOL 5 Stocks That Could Set You Up For Life Whether you’re an experienced investor or not, having time to research stocks can be a challenge. That’s where The Motley Fool comes in. We’ve put together an exclusive report with five stocks for building wealth, and we're offering it for free to Inside.com readers. That’s right: completely free. Click here to claim your free copy of 5 Stocks For Building Wealth! 3. Throwback Thursday: Paul Krugman's opinion on Bitcoin On January 29, 2018, Paul Krugman, a New York Times columnist and professor in the Graduate Center Economics Ph.D. program, wrote an opinion piece titled "Bubble, Bubble, Fraud and Trouble." Prior to writing this article, Bitcoin had enjoyed a soaring rise to $20,000 during the mid-December 2017 bull run; however, at the time of Krugman's article, the value of Bitcoin had dropped to over $11,000. In his article, Krugman questioned: "Bitcoin a giant bubble that will end in grief?" Answering himself, he said, "yes." Going on, he states that Bitcoins, like "$100 bills aren't much use for ordinary transactions: Most shops won't accept them." He then goes on to say that "Benjamins" are popular with drug dealers, tax evaders, and thieves, implying that Bitcoin is the same. In Krugman's opinion, Bitcoin is a bubble, "but it's also something of a cult whose initiates are given to paranoid fantasies about evil governments stealing all their money." Ending his article, the New York columnist states buying Bitcoin will end badly, "and the sooner it does, the better." 4. Masayoshi Amamiya, the deputy governor of the Bank of Japan, has said that the central bank must issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) should the public demand it. Speaking at a seminar, Amamiya said that the "speed of technical innovation is very fast," adding that "depending on how things unfold in the world of settlement systems, public demand for CBDCs could soar in Japan." He also highlighted the academic research into the usefulness of CBDCs and noted that this was "worth looking into." -REUTERS 5. Early Bitcoin investor Erik Finman has said that the environment surrounding Bitcoin isn't what it used to be. Finman, who became a millionaire at the age of 18, said that when Bitcoin first surfaced, it was "incredible." He went on to say that "it wasn't just cutting edge technology - it was bleeding edge. You just felt the energy in the air." Now, though, he's of the opinion that those days of "'unity' & 'cutting edge' technology seem to be left in the past," adding that the "community can't seem to get it together." -COINTELEGRAPH 6. Zermatt in Switzerland has become the second region in the country to allow taxpayers to pay their taxes in Bitcoin. To make the payment option possible, authorities in Zermatt have partnered with the crypto financial services company Bitcoin Suisse. According to the organization, Zermatt - home to the Matterhorn peak - started accepting Bitcoin as a means of payment on January 28, 2020. -BITCOIN SUISSE 7. Crypto trading platform Binance.US is to introduce staking rewards next month. Staking rewards will be made available for Algorand (ALGO) and Cosmos (ATOM), according to the platform. Other Proof-of-Stake (PoS) coins are expected to be added at a later date. In a blog from the company, it said that an easy and secure way to access staking "allows more people to earn rewards for contributing to the network by promoting network security, reducing validation costs, and simplifying consensus mechanisms." -BINANCE 8. A new study by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has found that crypto entering darknet markets has doubled for the first time since 2015. In its 2020 Crypto Crime Report, it found that darknet markets have increased their share of incoming crypto transactions in 2019, from 0.04 percent in 2018 to 0.08 percent the following year. According to the market, total market sales in crypto rose by 70 percent in 2019 to more than $790 million worth of cryptocurrency. -CHAINALYSIS 9. Crypto wallet Blockchain.com has launched a full banking integration for the Turkish Lira (TRY) to create a payment gateway that will enable users to deposit and withdraw the currency on the platform's exchange. On Blockchain.com Exchange, Turkish people are able to deposit, withdraw, and use TRY to purchase Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether. They can also change their crypto into fiat. -FINEXTRA 10. Japanese consulting firm Nomura Research Institute (NRI) has teamed up with cryptocurrency investment solution provider Intelligence Unit (IU) to a crypto-focused index. The index's name is NRI/IU Crypto-Asset Index is meant for use by financial institutions and takes data from crypto index platform MVIS and crypto data platform CryptoCompare. -IHODL 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 Kathleen Walder, staff writer at Inside. @katwalder on Twitter. Ad If you want to invest better, you want The Motley Fool.

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