Welcome to Around the Blockchain, Huobi Learn’s daily rundown of the crypto markets.
US millennials are seeking alternative financing methods like crypto to improve their financial well-being, according to a Jan report by business intelligence firm Morning Consult. The report’s author, financial services analyst Charlotte Principato, said crypto has “successfully held” consumer interest despite being a “volatile asset” — 48% of millennial households owned crypto last Dec, up from 30% 6 months prior. This trend may be the result of financial well-being scores that have stayed “persistently lower than the national average” since last June. Principato attributed this to COVID-19 variants, as well as rising inflation in the US. The report’s results also led her to predict that crypto “will boom in 2022”.
After calling BTC “rat poison” last year, Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman and Warren Buffett’s right-hand man Charlie Munger has once again expressed his searing hatred for crypto. He believes the US has made “a huge mistake” in permitting crypto activity, and likened it to “a venereal disease”. He further said crypto was an “ideal currency if you want to commit extortion, or kidnapping, or have a protection racket or something”, and that a “civilized government” should not legalize an “untraceable technology” run by people who “want to get rich quick doing very little”. Munger even called the “communist Chinese wiser” than the US, as they “just banned it”, adding that the US should follow suit immediately. He finished by expressing pride in his avoidance of crypto, which he regards as “beneath contempt” and “disgusting and contrary to the interest of civilization”.
US VC firm Sequoia Capital has announced the launch of a new $500 million to $600 million sub-fund dedicated to “liquid tokens and digital assets”. The firm said the goal of the fund was to “participate more actively in protocols, better support token-only projects, and learn by doing ourselves”. It also said it was “committed to working collaboratively with the crypto community, including providing ongoing support for open-source research”. So far, the firm has made investments in Metastable, Polychain, Binance, Huobi, Polygon, Orchid Labs and String Labs.
The White House will reportedly issue an executive order instructing government agencies to study the digital asset space in order to create a comprehensive regulatory framework. A Biden administration insider said it could be issued as early as next week, and would direct the Office of the Attorney General, the State Department and the Treasury Department to study the potential introduction of a US central bank digital currency (CBDC). Other agencies will assess the infrastructure needed to support a digital dollar, study financial stability issues related to crypto, consider measures to protect the markets, and report to President Biden on crypto risk mitigation methods.
A New York judge has ordered Terraform Labs and its CEO Kwon Do to comply with subpoenas issued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as part of its investigation into Terra’s DeFi platform Mirror Protocol. The platform allows users to create and trade ‘mirrored’ assets (mAssets) that mirror stock prices, including those of major stocks traded on US exchanges. Terraform sued the SEC in Dec 2021, claiming it had violated its own rules and the US Constitution’s Due Process clause in serving Kwon in Sep 2021.
USD Coin (USDC) operator Circle’s valuation has doubled to $9 billion, after revising its merger agreement with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Concord Acquisition Corp. The new agreement is expected to be finalized by 8 Dec this year, with the possibility of extension to 31 Jan 2023. In accordance with the original agreement, Circle will become a publicly-traded company once the merger is finalized a new company is established. The new company will acquire both Circle and Concord, and will be a publicly-traded business listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Show me the money
According to data from the Huobi Global, BTC fell rapidly last night to 40,983, with daily charts showing a more muted upward trend compared to the day before. ETH also fell, and daily charts are showing signs of a down-trend. Contracts-wise, Huobi futures data showed stable open interest (OI) for both BTC and ETH futures, with slightly decreased volume amid a relatively inactive contract market.
This 6.6% fall in BTC’s price was the largest daily drop since 21 Jan, occurring after it had seen its sharpest rise in weeks on Wednesday and coinciding with the growing tension between Russia and Ukraine. Edward Moya, senior market analyst at foreign exchange brokerage OANDA, said BTC was the “victim to a major de-risking environment on Wall Street” as investors saw “short-term geopolitical risks and potential overly aggressive (Federal Reserve monetary) tightening” as a risk. ETH and SOL also posted losses of around 7%.
New to Huobi? Register for a Huobi account and receive up to $300 as a ‘Welcome Bonus’ to help you start your investment journey! If you’re an existing user, check out Huobi Earn, where you can start earning interest from your idle cryptocurrencies!
