Yes, it is March already and our experts brought you the following insights based on their experience as investors, entrepreneurs & executives.
Monday Ilias Hatzis our Greece-based crypto entrepreneur (Founder & CEO at Kryptonio a “keyless” non-custodial bitcoin and cryptocurrency wallet, that lets users manage bitcoin and crypto, without private keys or passwords and Weekly Columnist at Daily Fintech) @iliashatzis wrote A fight is won long before you step into the ring
Since last week, bitcoin’s price dropped over 25 percent, from a high over $58k to around $44k, as I write this post. This is its worst drop in a week, in nearly a year, since March 2020. Janet Yellen ripped into bitcoin, calling it highly speculative and inefficient: “Bitcoin is an extremely inefficient way of conducting transactions and the amount of energy that’s consumed in processing those transactions is staggering”. The European Central Bank (ECB) issued a stark warning about bitcoin and Christine Lagarde, ECB’s President said bitcoin is not a currency and cryptocurrencies are not money. Central banks are getting closer to issuing their own digital currencies. Earlier this year, the Bank of International Settlements published its latest survey showing that 86% of the 65 central banks it spoke to are doing some form of work on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), be it research, proofs of concept or pilot development. Almost 15% are moving toward actual research for pilots. The future of money might be a digital version of the cash that’s already in people’s wallets, potentially upending the currency system that the world has known for many decades. Such a future, is not the future that many libertarians and tech-savvy entrepreneurs and investors envision, who are pinning their hopes on bitcoin and decentralized cryptocurrencies.
Editor note: Ilias describes the tug of war between Bitcoin bullishness from corporate and institutional investors vs governments using their power to be negative
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Tuesday Bernard Lunn, CEO of Daily Fintech and author of The Blockchain Economy wrote: 4-parter on Coinbase “IPO” – Part 1 = 5 Reasons Why It Matters
The Coinbase “IPO” (actually a Direct Listing) is where the three worlds collide:
- Venture Capital – the old Wild West
- Cryptoworld – the new Wild West
- Wall Street – the old Regulated East
This post – the first in a 4 part series – explores 5 reasons why this collision is so important.
Editor note:Stay tuned for our analysis next week in Part 2 = Is Coinbase a good business?
Wednesday Alan Scott Managing Director EMEA at 24 Exchange @Alan_SmartMoney wrote Stablecoin News for the week ending Wednesday 5 March 2021.
This weekly snapshot is the news that matters in the Stablecoin market.
Bernard Lunn, CEO of Daily Fintech and author of The Blockchain Economy wrote: How this Bitcoin bull market will end and the next one will start.
No I do NOT know the timing or how far each bull market will go. Sorry. Anybody who tells you they can probably also has a bridge to sell you.
I can tell you how this Bitcoin bull market will end and the next one will start.
This Bitcoin bull market will end with two armies of suits fighting.
One set of suits belongs to the corporates and institutional investors buying into Bitcoin. The other set of suits belongs to the governments who want to protect their monopoly on creating money.
Editor note: Read this to dig below the price action charts to see the shape of Bitcoin bull and bear markets past present and future.
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Thursday
Rintu Patnaik, an Insurtech expert based in India, wrote: Is Pricing Innovation In Insurance A Zero Sum Game?
Pricing is no longer the cost-plus game in insurance it used to be. Insurers wrestle with demands of better and more agile pricing to stay competitive amid technology fueled market dynamics. Price-comparison websites have empowered consumers to compare products and decide best choices for their unique needs. Consumers are also more amenable to novel propositions based on evolving coverage types, which require new, dynamic pricing structures.
Editor note: Customers will definitely benefit. It is not so clear if all this competition will be good for Insurance providers.
Christian Dreyer @x3er, the Swiss based CFA who focusses on how XBRL changes our world wrote:XBRL News about blockchain, SASB and old ladies
Editor note: This weekly snapshot is the news that matters in the XBRL market.
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Friday Howard Tolman, a well-known banker, technologist and entrepreneur in London, wrote: Alt Lending for week ended 5 March 2021.
Editor note: This weekly snapshot is the news that matters in the Alt Lending market.
Your Editor is Bernard Lunn. He is also the CEO of Daily Fintech and author of The Blockchain Economy and occasional opinion columnist.
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