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Image of The Day, 1 of November: The Washington Post, CNBC, Daily Hodl and Others

02 November 2018 07:01, UTC
Daniil Danchenko

We're presenting "the image of the day". Bitnewstoday.com has chosen the most important news about the digital economy and virtual currencies. Only the most valuable stories from only the trusted sources. Each and every event from this list will change the world of the digital economy either way. The most important stories of this day in the most indicative quotes are below!

1. HOT OLD STUFF (The Washington Post)

One of the hottest things in cryptocurrency right now: stablecoins

A cryptocurrency whose price never fluctuates might sound nonsensical, particularly to entry-level traders who want to profit off a cryptocurrency’s appreciation. But many in the industry say the rise of “stablecoins” has in fact been instrumental for active investors — and could represent a crucial steppingstone to the future of money.

In recent months, dozens of stablecoin projects have been launched or announced. With names like TrueUSD, Paxos, Havven and Dai, this new crop of coins enjoys a combined market cap of more than $2.3 billion, according to CoinMarketCap, which tracks the price of hundreds of cryptocurrencies.

2. MAPPING THE FUTURE (Daily Hodl)

Morgan Stanley publishes “rapidly morphing thesis” on Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchain

In a new 65-page report dated October 31, Morgan Stanley maps out its “rapidly morphing thesis” on Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchain. From “digital cash” to “store of value,” researchers conclude that Bitcoin is a bona fide institutional asset class.

The report reveals that Bitcoin’s classification as a “new institutional investment class” was adopted in 2017, with crypto assets under management increasing since January 2016. Of the estimated $7.11 billion currently being stored, 48% are in hedge funds, 48% are in venture capital and 3% are in private equity.

3. GIVING THE MEAT TO KOREANS (Daily Hodl)

New Zealand bank used blockchain to send meat to South Korea

ASB, a subsidiary of Australia’s Commonwealth Bank, says it has conducted New Zealand’s first “bank blockchain” trade. Kiwi meat exporter Greenlea Premier Meats conducted the meat trade with a large Korean importer.

According to the release, all relevant documents relating to the trade were able to be uploaded, shared and updated within ASB’s blockchain platform.

4. FIGHTING OFF THE BEARS (CNBC)

Grayscale rakes in $330 million this year despite Bitcoin bear market

New York-based Grayscale, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, brought in $81.1 million in total investments for the third quarter, according to a company report published Thursday. The 33 percent uptick from the previous three months brings Grayscale's inflows for the year to $330 million, its strongest year-to-date total since the firm started five years ago.

"Bitcoin prices doing nothing but go down the entire year has not deterred our existing clients from putting more capital to work," Michael Sonnenshein, managing director of Grayscale Investment, told CNBC. "Asset inflows are really strong despite these price declines."

5. KIDS LOVE CRYPTO (Fox Business)

Rich millennials are investing in cryptocurrencies

Millennials may be skeptical of overarching financial institutions, but when it comes to cryptocurrencies, the largest generation in the U.S. eagerly embraces potential disruption, according to a new study published by Edelman.

Released in October, the report found that 25 percent of affluent millennials (anyone from the age of 24 to 38 who has at least $50,000 in investable assets or $100,000 in individual or joint income) are using or hold cryptocurrency. That’s on top of another 31 percent of millennials who expressed interest in using it.

6. ALL BETS ARE OFF (Wall Street Journal)

One guy went in crypto last year

In 2017 Bitcoin seemed almost unstoppable as investors and consumers poured money into the cryptocurrency. For one Dutch businessman and father of three, it was the year to make a radical change. Didi Taihuttu sold almost everything he owned, including his business, house and car, and put all that money into Bitcoin. He bet everything he had, and everything his family had, on a decentralized cryptocurrency future.

Mr. Taihuttu first bought into Bitcoin in February 2017 — with the price around $1,000 — he told The Wall Street Journal he was “in it for the long run.” He held on to his investment even as it hit historic highs of almost $20,000.

7. FRANKLY, I DON’T GIVE A TWO (Insider)

Jamie Dimon said he doesn't care about Bitcoin

Bitcoin still doesn't interest JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon. While its underlying blockchain technology is "real", he said overnight that he doesn't "really give a s--t" about the digital currency and can't see it rivalling fiat money.

Overnight, Dimon spoke at an Axios conference on various topics including the US-China trade war. And perhaps because yesterday marked the 10-year anniversary of Bitcoin, the moderator took the opportunity to get Dimon's latest thoughts on crypto. So, does he regret what he said about Bitcoin being a fraud?

8. BIG CATS ON CRYPTO (Venture Beat)

Dapper Labs raises $15 million to build more blockchain cats

Dapper Labs, the company behind the consumer blockchain collectible cats, has raised $15 million in a new round of funding. Venrock led the investment, with participation by Google’s GV and Samsung Next. The funds will help Dapper Labs, a Canadian company, expand locally and globally.

“The evolution of true digital ownership and the interoperability of smart contracts creates new ways for consumers, creators, and platform providers to interact completely peer-to-peer, with no middlemen,” said Roham Gharegozlou, CEO at Dapper Labs. “Our mission at Dapper Labs is to use games and entertainment to bring the values of decentralization to billions of consumers worldwide.”

9. A CLOUD IN DISGUISE (The Next Web)

ConsenSys commissioned a thorough benchmarking of EOS

A blockchain testing company claims it has found something quite shocking: EOS, a blockchain protocol that was worth $4 billion a few months ago, may not actually be a blockchain.

In a new experiment, benchmarking firm Whiteblock concluded that the EOS token (and its RAM market) is essentially a cloud service for computation — and is built on an entirely centralized premise. As such, it lacks some of blockchain’s most fundamental aspects, like immutability.

10. BITCOIN: 10 YEARS LATER

Bitcoin achieved nothing

Ten years ago today, someone using the name Satoshi Nakamoto sent an academic paper to a cryptography mailing list proposing a form of digital cash called "Bitcoin". Because it’s difficult, if not impossible, to tamper with the ledger, anyone can download the Bitcoin software and blockchain and participate in the network. There are no corporations that control entry into the network or government bureaucrats demanding that you file paperwork to participate.

For all of Bitcoin's success, it hasn't lived up to Nakamoto's dream of a currency for day-to-day transactions, remaining largely a medium for speculators. In part, that's because transactions are incredibly slow.