What happened this week in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies? The most relevant local and international events as well as appealing background reports in a concise and compact weekly review.
Selected articles of the week:
Nearly two years ago, PostFinance, a subsidiary of the Swiss state-owned Post, announced the launch of a cryptocurrency initiative. The company observed a strong demand for trading and custody services. Specifically, over a billion Swiss Francs flowed from customer accounts to cryptocurrency exchanges within a few years. Preparations for its own offering began. In collaboration with crypto bank Sygnum, PostFinance prepared for a launch in the spring of 2024. With Swiss precision, the bank adhered to its schedule. This Wednesday, the 2.5 million PostFinance customers gained access to this new asset class for the first time, marking the entry of the first of Switzerland’s four systemically important financial institutions into the scene.
This week marks the launch of PostFinance’s long-awaited crypto offering, which includes trading and custody with eleven cryptocurrencies.
Reddit adds crypto to its balance sheet
Reddit is one of the largest social media networks with approximately one billion active users per month. The platform now aims for an IPO in the United States. As part of the mandatory disclosure of assets to the regulatory authority SEC, investments in the cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ether were made public. The social media giant has diversified a portion of its excess cash reserves into emerging technologies. The extent of these investments was not disclosed by Reddit, but the company continues to experiment with blockchain technology.
The social media giant Reddit reveals investments in the cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) in a registration statement.
Bitcoin remains worthless
Nearly 15 years ago, the pseudonymous founder Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin as a direct alternative to government-issued fiat currencies. Instead of a political committee, predictable algorithms were to define monetary policy. Unsurprisingly, some proponents of the central banking system harbor resentment towards the cryptocurrency. For example, staff on the official blog of the European Central Bank (ECB) have been warning of an impending Bitcoin collapse for years. They argue that the “fair value” of the cryptocurrency is still zero, attracting only speculators to their doom.
According to an ECB Director General, Bitcoin still has no intrinsic value, while the price increase is only driven by manipulation.
Birds join the monkeys
Yuga Labs is recognized as one of the most successful NFT studios. What began with the invention of the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection evolved into a comprehensive ecosystem. The company acquired rights to other successful collections, such as Crypto Punks. For some time, the studio owned the five highest-volume NFT collections. By acquiring Moonbirds and their partner projects, Yuga Labs expanded its portfolio.
Yuga Labs, widely regarded as the leading NFT studio, is expanding its reach. The company…
New NFT standard sparks interest
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are distinguished by their uniqueness. Art in the form of images, videos, or music files can be uniquely verified on the blockchain. Similar to traditional art markets, however, NFTs face liquidity problems. While collectors may not mind, this is often a thorn in the side for active traders. A new token standard on the Ethereum blockchain aims to counter the historical illiquidity of NFTs.
ERC-404 is an experimental semi-fungible token standard that combines ERC-20 and ERC-721 properties, showcased by projects like Pandora.
