Author: Anna Galvez

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Crypto News

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Calls Bitcoin (BTC) A “Scam”

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon returned to his most critical comments about Bitcoin (BTC), calling the leading cryptocurrency in the market a “scam” and saying he had no “interest” in it, as Bloomberg reported yesterday, August 5th. Dimon was speaking at the Aspen Institute’s 25th Annual Summer Celebration Gala on Saturday, including cryptocurrencies as part of his general remarks on the US economic outlook.

His words were soon repeated in the mainstream press and online by prominent economic sources, notably Nouriel Roubini, who has also become known this year for his critical stance on Bitcoin (BTC).

According to Bloomberg, Dimon also “suggested that governments may move to shut down the crypto coins, due to the inability to control them.”

The story of the JPMorgan CEO with cryptocurrencies has been a checkered one

Having caused a stir in September 2017 when he initially called Bitcoin (BTC) a “fraud,” Jamie Dimon seemed to change his tact from then on, and then said he “regretted” the choice of his words.

“I wouldn’t put this in the category of important things in the world. But I’m not going to talk about Bitcoin (BTC) anymore,” he told reporters in October 2017.

In January, Dimon kept his promise and reported for the Cointelegraph crypto news portal that he “cannot respond” when asked how he felt about moving markets his previous comments triggered. However, he added that he is not “skeptical” about cryptos.

JPMorgan has mixed sentiments regarding Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies

In his recent interview published in the July-August issue of the Harvard Business Review, Jamie Dimon again refused to comment directly on crypto. “I probably shouldn’t say more about cryptocurrencies,” he said.

In the same interview, Dimon also commented calling blockchain technology “real,” while implying that crypto is not, saying that JPMorgan is “testing blockchain technology and will use it for a lot of things.”

Since then, mixed signals have emerged from other JPMorgan sources, including company’s Daniel Pinto who told CNBC in May that cryptocurrency “is real but not in its current form.”

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Crypto News

Starbucks Makes It Clear That They Won’t Accept Bitcoin (BTC) Payments

Contrary to what is reported by many crypto news portals, Starbucks will not accept payments in Bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptocurrencies.

Last week, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) unveiled its intention to create a new “global platform for digital assets” in collaboration with some prestigious companies, including Starbucks. Following the announcement, several information portals such as Bloomberg and CNBC published articles stating that Starbucks would soon allow the purchase of digital assets products.

However, in an interview published on Motherboard, a representative of the company stated that “customers will not be able to buy their milkshakes with Bitcoin (BTC).” However, the company has joined the ICE project to “convert digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) into US Dollars, which are instead accepted by Starbucks.”

At the moment, we are only announcing the launch of a system for trading and converting Bitcoin (BTC). However, we will continue to discuss with customers and regulators and will keep an eye on the evolution of the sector.

Starbucks’ representative

Starbucks won’t accept Bitcoin (BTC) payments, but Bitcoin (BTC) futures are just around the corner

In the official press release, published last Friday, is also explained that the project will also allow getting Bitcoin (BTC) futures in physical form:

Bakkt, the US-based platform for the futures exchange built by the Intercontinental Exchange, plans as an initial component of its offer the launch of Bitcoin futures contracts delivered physically and a physical deposit service by November 2018. This initiative will be subject to review and approval by the CFTC.

Already in May of this year, sources revealed to the New York Times that ICE intended to launch a service for the physical delivery of Bitcoin (BTC) futures contracts. These were, therefore, confirmed last week.

In July, Mike Novogratz, a former Wall Street executive, predicted that the mass adoption of cryptocurrency would take “another five or six years” to take place.

Think about how institutional investors operate. It’s hard to say to your boss, ‘I have money in places you’ve never heard of.’ You need a well-known custodian bank, such as a Japanese bank, HSBC, ICE or Goldman Sachs, to make institutional investors feel comfortable [with Bitcoin (BTC)].

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Crypto News

Bank of Thailand Permits Local Banks to Establish Subsidiaries for Cryptocurrencies-Related Businesses

The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has just enabled local banks to establish subsidiaries to deal with cryptocurrencies, according to the local news agency, the Blognone. According to a regulatory notice issued by the Bank of Thailand on August 1st, Thai banks can migrate to digital assets, offer crypto-related brokerage solutions, operate cryptocurrencies businesses and conduct investments in cryptos via subsidiaries.

Nevertheless, the latest news has confirmed that all banks and other financial institutions are still prohibited from trading directly in cryptocurrencies.

While banks are currently authorized to set up subsidiaries to operate with cryptocurrencies, such branches are not eligible for the provision of cryptocurrency-related products to their clients and the general public, and can interoperate only with other firms that are accredited by the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC).

Crypto-related subsidiaries should not counsel clients to invest in cryptocurrencies or buy cryptos with credit cards, the Bank of Thailand stated

Branches are authorized to make investment funds accessible to clients, except if they are willing to invest in digital assets that are intended to encourage “financial innovation” or expand the value of financial services, in which case they may use the Bank of Thailand (BoT) regulatory sandbox.

Earlier in 2018, the Bank of Thailand published a directive banning Thai banking entities from trading and investing in cryptocurrencies and engaging in the setting up of cryptocurrency exchanges, which are allegedly legitimate to do business across Thailand.

Also, the Bank of Thailand demanded banks not to counsel individuals about investment or trading in cryptocurrencies, and ban clients from purchasing cryptos with credit cards.

At the beginning of June, the Bank of Thailand unveiled that it is looking to deliver a “new way of carrying out an interbank settlement” through the use of a digital asset issued by the central bank, the CBDC. The adoption of its own cryptocurrency should lower transaction fees, as well as transaction and validation times “due to the reduced intermediation process required compared to current systems,” as the bank reported.

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Crypto News

NYSE Trader Said “Bitcoin (BTC) Is Very Iffy” After The Launch Of The Bakkt Bitcoin Exchange

A New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) dealer commented to Yahoo Finance in an August 3rd interview that Bitcoin (BTC) is “very iffy” at this moment, following the introduction of the new regulated Bakkt Bitcoin (BTC) exchange, ruled by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the holding entity of the NYSE.

Alan Valdes, Managing Director of international consultancy Silverbear Capital and NYSE trader, voiced his worry over BTC when questioned if the inception of Bakkt might be a signal that Wall Street is taking cryptocurrencies seriously.

How do you protect your Bitcoin (BTC)? These wallets seem doubtful at best. Anybody gets into her, it’s like losing cash, you’re out. So, I think Bitcoin [has] come a long way to involve an average person. Perhaps in some emerging markets, it will keep up that this cryptocurrency could be a little stronger, it could work. But I think here for the trade, I mean, we had $20,000. Are we gonna get back there? Everything is possible. But I’m not sure.

Alan Valdes

Bakkt Bitcoin (BTC) exchange platform is a new regulated crypto trading operator under the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent of NYSE

The Bakkt Bitcoin (BTC) exchange will reportedly cover federally regulated markets and storage in parallel to “commercial and consumer applications.”

“ICE says it plans to support Bakkt’s transaction flows into the $270 billion digital asset marketplace and make them secure and efficient,” added Valdes.

The sentiment of Wall Street investors about digital assets has improved, lately, as Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, who repeatedly declared that Bitcoin (BTC) “is not for him,” commented in May that a highly dedicated team of researchers had studied how Goldman Sachs can provide a variety of cryptocurrency-based solutions in response to clients’ requests.

In July, on the other hand, BlackRock, the largest exchange-traded fund (ETF) platform in the world, unveiled the establishment of a workgroup to evaluate the potential investment in Bitcoin (BTC).

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Crypto News Tech

Chinese Crypto Mining Equipment Manufacturer Launches Bitcoin (BTC) Mining TV With 2.8 TH/S Rate

Chinese crypto mining equipment manufacturer, Canaan Creative, announced on August 2nd, the AvalonMiner Inside, a Bitcoin (BTC) mining TV with a processing rate of 2.8 TH/s (Terahash per second).

Canaan Creative launches a Bitcoin (BTC) mining TV

The TV incorporates ASIC A3210 chips, explicitly developed for crypto mining, of 16 nanometers technology, and compatible with the Android operating system, which allows the use of a smartphone as a controlling device for the AvalonMiner Inside.

The new mining equipment, which works in ‘solo’ or standalone mode, can calculate the profitability of the operation in real time. The Bitcoin (BTC) mining TV itself boasts a 43-inch screen with a resolution of 8 million pixels.

The announcement follows Canaan’s introduction in May of an application for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which it hopes will raise $1 billion.

This Chinese company, the second largest crypto mining equipment manufacturer in the market, behind Bitmain, increased its revenues by 28 times and profits by 43 times between 2015 and 2017.

The second-largest crypto mining equipment manufacturer hopes to surpass Bitmain

Bitmain’s financial data outperforms that of Canaan Creative, by far, with a return on investment by ten times greater than that of Canaan in 2017, and net profits by 20 times higher.

Bitmain generated between $3 billion and $4 billion in operating profits in 2017, according to a report by Bernstein Research.

While Canaan shipped about 300,000 Avalon crypto miners in 2017, three times as many as in 2016, the company stated it applied to get listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in order to diversify its product line, so far comprised by different Avalon Miner models.

The announcement of the AvalonMiner Inside, the Bitcoin (BTC) mining TV, is seen as a step forward in that diversification and suggests that Canaan Creative is considering the supply of other appliances with built-in crypto mining capacity.

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