Fans’ Section
Evelyn Cheng - CNBC
Interactive Brokers Chairman Thomas Peterffy appears to be cooling his skepticism on bitcoin as a financial asset.
Peterffy: "I think that bitcoin being listed on two reputable exchanges gives a great deal of reputation to the product itself and I think as a result it will become even more popular than it's been before,"
DNT: It’s pretty interesting how important voices easily change their speech..It’s true, BTC now gains more legitimacy with the launch of futures contracts and I agree with Thomas Peterffy: it will be more and more popular.
FAO: So US brokers are starting to look at this from a different perspective, and it doesn’t look that bad. In fact it’s exactly the opposite...right? After all, a whole new asset class means new business for everybody: exchanges, brokers, advisors, techies...yeah yeah, for banks too, at some point in the future. After more regs into place, I presume. BTW, here’s an useful article...
Here’s How The U.S. And The World Are Regulating Bitcoin And Cryptocurrency
Francine McKenna - Market Watch
Regulators all over the world have begun to address the challenges presented by virtual currencies that bypass regulated banks, financial firms exchanges and central clearinghouses.
FAO: Oh, and speaking about new business for everybody in financial markets, here’s another useful article…
Bitcoin Fever Is Drawing Investors Into The Stock Market, Laszlo Birinyi Says
Patti Domm - CNBC
Deals, Investments & M&As
Investors Commit $100 Million to tZERO ICO
Brady Dale - CoinDesk
The initial phase of a token sale for Overstock.com subsidiary tZERO has seen significant investor activity, according to CEO Patrick Byrne. The first leg of the sale – in which the firm is selling Simple Agreements for Future Equity that will later be redeemed for tokens by accredited investors – began, albeit a bit later than planned. Hiccups aside, Byrne said the sale ultimately attracted a big crowd – some 2,000 accredited investors.
FAO: Better late than never...I like the name: tZERO. Might have some significance considering that Byrne has even advanced the idea of selling his retail business and going full crypto – more here.
*More content in this section on our Blockchain Daily News website.
Cryptocurrencies
Big Transaction Fees Are A Problem For Bitcoin — But There Could Be A Solution
Ryan Browne - CNBC
People are currently paying $28 on average to make transactions using the digital currency, according to data by BitInfoCharts. Ryan Radloff, co-founder and principal at CoinShares, pointed to a potential solution to the issue known as the "Lightning Network."
Inside the Big Plan to Make Ethereum Go Mainstream
Bloomberg (subscription)
Cryptocurrencies have exploded in 2017. But while prices are surging, transactions are facing long delays because the networks are flooded with traffic. This is the problem facing the Ethereum network. One man, Vlad Zamfir, has a plan to fix it. This week, Bloomberg’s Matthew Leising and Brad Stone speak to Zamfir about his big dreams for Ethereum and how his project (codenamed Casper) could pave the way for masses of ordinary internet users to join in the craze.
DNT: Read more about Vlad Zamfir’s Casper here, Cryptocurrencies Section too
Exchanges & Trading Venues
Coinbase to Add Bitcoin Cash; Will Investigate Early Price Move
Eric Lam - Bloomberg (subscription)
Coinbase Is Investigating Claims Of Insider Trading From Its Bitcoin Cash Launch
Jon Russell & Fitz Tepper - TechCrunch
Coinbase is investigating whether its employees took advantage of inside knowledge to profit on the launch of bitcoin cash when it was added the popular crypto exchange.
FAO: Will they also announce the results of this investigation?
South Korean Cryptocurrency Exchange To File For Bankruptcy After Hacking
Indian Express
Youbit, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, announced that it will file for bankruptcy, as it was hacked, which led to the exchange losing 17% of their assets.
FAO: Bye bye 17%...
Vendors
Bill Gates In 2014: Bitcoin Is 'Better Than Currency'
Kathleen Elkins - CNBC
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates hasn't been too vocal on the subject lately, but he has expressed a cautiously positive opinion in the past.
Gates: "Bitcoin is exciting because it shows how cheap it can be,"..."Bitcoin is better than currency in that you don't have to be physically in the same place and, of course, for large transactions, currency can get pretty inconvenient."
FAO: Recently (Vendors Section) Microsoft expanded its strategic partnership with R3 to accelerate adoption of R3’s Corda platform amongst businesses using Microsoft Azure.
*More content in this section on our Blockchain Daily News website.
Startups, Accelerators & Hubs
Bitcoin Is Booming In Nigeria As Both Business Users And Speculators Rush In
Yomi Kazeem - Quartz
Over the past 18 months, due to reasons ranging from needing to make international payment bitcoin adoption in Nigeria has spiked. This year, peer-to-peer bitcoin trading in Nigeria has increased by nearly 1,500% - surpassed only by China.
FAO: Nothing surprising if you consider bitcoin’s spike in price & popularity this year and the fact that Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and the seventh most populous country in the world.
Analysis
Sara Salinas - CNBC
As cyberattacks take aim at larger targets and higher ransoms, and with the price of bitcoin spiking, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said there's "absolutely" reason to believe North Korea has an appreciating pile of bitcoin to fund future attacks.
DNT: Check our FREE ARCHIVE, if you want more information about North Korea BTC activity.
*More content in this section on our Blockchain Daily News website.
Other news
Evelyn Chang - CNBC
More traditional money managers are worried about bitcoin than ever before. The soaring digital currency topped the list of "most crowded trades" — a measure of sentiment on which a popular investment could quickly reverse its gains — in Bank of America Merrill Lynch's December global fund manager survey. The survey found that 32% of respondents named bitcoin as the most crowded trade in the financial world, up from 26% in September when the digital currency first led the list.
FAO: Read this BDN bulletin for more details regarding that September BAML survey.
Opinion
The Bitcoin Boom: In Code We Trust
Tim Wu - The New York Times
What gives the Bitcoin bubble significance is that, like ’90s tech, it is part of something much larger than itself. More and more we are losing faith in humans and depending instead on machines. The transformation is more obvious outside of finance.
FAO: Florin Adrian Oprea, Editor-in-chief Blockchain Daily News DNT: Decebal Nicolaie Todarita, Editor Blockchain Daily News
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