weekly roundup – London Blockchain Week

It’s London Blockchain week and we’ll be closely following the news to come out of the events this week. Keep up to date with us on Twitter and LinkedIn to catch the big stories we spot.

We’re attending the CryptoCompare Digital Asset Summit on Tuesday. Both of our co-founders are speaking on panels, firstly along with regulatory, legal and compliance experts discussing the effect AMLD5 has had on market participants since its implementation in January, and what we should anticipate as FATF guidance comes into enforcement in June. Then our CEO will be discussing predictions for the decade ahead.

London Blockchain Ecosystem

In the spirit of London Blockchain Week, Outlier Ventures released this report about the London Blockchain ecosystem. The report cites London as a leading blockchain hub with London-based projects raising over $500m in equity funding post 2013.

What Kind of Safe Haven Asset is Bitcoin?

Great clear thinking from the Messari team in this report, released in the wake of the Coronavirus exploding as markets worldwide were sent into chaos:
“Bitcoin is not a hedge against a recession – it’s a hedge against fiat currency. What bitcoin provides protection against is not a slowdown in the economy, but the mismanagement of fiat monetary systems.”

Click to watch

Building Cardano

There are very few people who have created a top 20 cryptocurrency. Charles Hoskinson is one of them. In this conversation with Ryan Selkis, Charles details his path through a failed project with Dan Larimer, an unsanctimonious departure from the founding team of Ethereum, to ultimately creating Cardano. He lays out his philosophy and strategy for building a network that will one day no longer be reliant on its founders and how he views the overall competitive landscape.

Coronavirus – The Black Swan of 2020

I nteresting release by Sequoia sent to Sequoia founders and CEOs to provide guidance on how to ensure the health of their business while dealing with potential business consequences of the spreading effects of the coronavirus.

BitGo Launches Digital Asset Lending Services

BitGo, one of the largest crypto custodians, announced that they will be taking part in the rapidly growing digital asset lending markets. Having built a loan book of $150 million, they will begin competing with the likes of Genesis, BlockFi and Celsius who have built established businesses up to this point. BitGo will be offering loans in bitcoin, ether, litecoin, stablecoins and U.S. dollars. The crypto lending markets have been growing rapidly: In their Q4 snapshot Genesis Capital reported $545 million in loans outstanding, Babel Finance recently stated their loan book has grown to $380 million, and Celsius originated $2 billion loans last Autumn alone. This has led to some speculation around a looming credit bubble, however, practitioners believe the market is healthy as most loans are over collateralized. This isn’t BitGo’s first foray outside their core custody business. Last month they acquired Harbor, a regulated security token platform with subsidiaries include a broker dealing and transfer agent.

Fireside Chat with Colorado and Wyoming Governors – Focus on Caitlin Long’s Avanti Bank

After the recent exciting news about Caitlin Long’s Avanti Bank, this week’s Unchained, features a fireside chat with Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, two of the most crypto-friendly politicians in the U.S. Governor Gordon gives more details on the special-purpose depository institutions that Long will use to establish Avanti.

Crypto Custody Solutions

As Kyle Samani, Hedge Fund Manager at Multicoin Capital states – “There are a lot of investors where custodianship was the final barrier. Over the next year, the market will come to recognise that custodianship is a solved problem. This will unlock a big wave of capital.”
Crypto Research Report’s article provides insight into crypto custody in Germany from the perspective of a user.

Click to listen

Blockchain Insider Podcast – Shopify Joins Libra and the First US Crypto Bank Announced

In the latest episode of the excellent Blockchain Insider, Simon Taylor is joined by Helen Disney and Matthew Pollard to discuss some of the latest news stories to hit the space –
Blockchain Pioneer to build first crypto-native bank in teh US (02:52)
Shopify joins Libra (11:18)
Sweden starts testing first central bank digital currency (19:07)
Bank of England official says it’s crucial for central banks to consider digital currencies (23:40)
G-20 urges countries to adopt tough FATF rules on cryptocurrencies (33:20)
Blockchain-based ID system for credit union members made commercially available (40:00)