What happened this week in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies? The most relevant local and international events, along with engaging background reports, concisely summarized in the weekly review.
Selected articles of the week:
In late November 2022, the European Central Bank (ECB) blog published its first opinion piece by Ulrich Bindseil, Director General for Market Infrastructure and Payments, and his colleague Jürgen Schaaf on Bitcoin. At the time, the duo described it as a burst speculative bubble, claiming that the price stabilization below $20,000 was a manufactured last gasp before the cryptocurrency would fade into obscurity. Two years later, however, a spot-based Bitcoin ETF was trading in the U.S., Swiss state banks like PostFinance were offering clients direct trading, and the cryptocurrency’s price had surged by 160.1%. Now, the ECB’s payment specialists are doubling down. In a new 29-page report, Bindseil and Schaaf have once again compiled a collection of alarming misrepresentations, making the bold claim that Bitcoin impoverishes society and should be banned.
ECB employees Ulrich Bindseil and Jürgen Schaaf are once again warning about the devastating consequences of a potential Bitcoin price surge.
Bitcoin on Microsoft’s balance sheet
As part of its obligations as a publicly traded U.S. company, Microsoft must submit discussion points from its annual shareholders’ meetings to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). One proposal from the conservative think tank, the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), suggests diversifying Microsoft’s balance sheet by adding Bitcoin. According to NCPPR, publicly traded companies have a duty to protect their profits from inflation. Instead of holding the $484 billion balance in U.S. bonds, Microsoft should consider a small allocation to Bitcoin. The software firm MicroStrategy is highlighted as a prime example of a successful Bitcoin strategy. Microsoft’s board, however, recommends a vote against the proposal, which will be decided on December 10.
In a filing with the SEC, Microsoft revealed that shareholders will vote on a Bitcoin investment at the annual general meeting.
Paul Tudor Jones bets on Bitcoin and Gold
Billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones has issued a stark warning about the economic situation in the United States. In an interview with CNBC, PTJ described the current financial landscape as an “extraordinary moment in history.” National debt has surged to nearly 100% of GDP, a sharp increase from just 40% twenty-five years ago. According to Jones, the only viable strategy to address the debt crisis is to reduce its real value through inflation. To protect against this trend, the hedge fund manager advises against fixed-income investments. Instead, he holds tech stocks, commodities, gold, and Bitcoin.
Hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones warns of unsustainable U.S. debt, predicts inflation, and advises diversifying into Bitcoin and gold.
Largest acquisition of the crypto industry
Back in 2014, U.S. fintech Stripe experimented with crypto payments. However, a few years later, the then-young startup concluded that Bitcoin was not yet ready for mass adoption. This spring, Stripe made another foray into the world of crypto payments, but this time using stablecoins instead of Bitcoin. To accelerate this move, the payment giant acquired the stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion.
Fintech giant Stripe acquires stablecoin company Bridge for 1.1 billion US dollars to push further into the sector.
Another layer-2 blockchain
In addition: Uniswap, the largest decentralized exchange (DEX) in the crypto market and a pioneer of the crypto-native automated market maker (AMM) – which later became the industry standard for DEXs – currently holds over 46% of the market share. However, its dominance is being challenged by emerging DEXs that offer revenue sharing with token holders, not just liquidity providers. In response to this growing competition, Uniswap Labs has launched its own Layer-2 blockchain, “Unichain.” An analysis of the implications for Uniswap, Ethereum, and other Layer-2 solutions.
Uniswap Labs recently announced Unichain, which relies on the technical infrastructure of Ethereum Layer-2 Optimism’s OP Stack.
