In brief
- Bitcoin hit record levels yesterday as the market approached $1.5 trillion.
- The market caps of crypto's biggest projects now make them larger than some of the world's biggest financial institutions.
- Stock markets continue to rally as earning reports outperform expectations.
It was another red-letter day for crypto as the bull run pushed the global market cap to just under $1.5 trillion.
The surge came thanks to Bitcoin’s climb above $48,000, breaking yet another record - the second in a week.
The result of the market gains puts Bitcoin’s market cap close to $900 billion. For perspective, that makes it larger than the market caps of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup combined, according to CompaniesMarketCap.
Ethereum has also grown larger than some of the world’s largest financial institutions after its recent run of good form. Thanks to growing sentiment around it becoming the de facto settlement network, it has spent 10 days above $1,500. As a result, Ethereum has a market cap larger than HSBC, Wells Fargo and the Bank of China.
In fact, Tether, Polkadot and Cardano are all inside the top 50 largest financial institutions. Which raises an interesting question, as Bitcoin’s and crypto's influence grows, how are governments, and regulators going to manage it? The WallStreetBets story may provide some clues.
Now that the dust has settled on the GameStop short squeeze, Massachusetts regulators have subpoenaed Keith Gill, one of the ring leaders on Reddit who encouraged traders to push up the price of the struggling gaming company.
WallStreetBets Folk Hero Who Made Millions From GameStop Has a Court Date
US regulators have subpoenaed one of the traders that corralled Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets subreddit to pump video game store Gamestop’s stock last month. According to the Boston Globe, Massachusetts regulators on Monday have subpoenaed Keith Gill, who posted videos on YouTube about the pump under the name “Roaring Kitty” and on Reddit under “DeepFuckingValue.” Massachusetts securities regulators are investigating whether the GameStop stock boom violated securities regulations, and whether people...
The reason? Investigators want to know whether the GameStop stock boom violated securities regulations, and whether people like Gill were licensed to provide financial advice.
Lawyers have also been asking questions of billionaires like Elon Musk and Michael Saylor, who have been instrumental in helping Bitcoin’s price increase.
Elon Musk’s Bitcoin Tweets Move Markets. Is That Illegal?
In July of last year, a Twitter user asked Elon Musk for some Bitcoin. It was almost certainly a gag—a reference to a hack that roped major accounts, including Musk’s, into a transparent crypto scam—and Musk responded in kind, pointing toward a more unsung digital asset: “Excuse me, I only sell Doge!” The reference here is to Dogecoin, the “meme coin” created by two bored tech workers back in 2013 as a sort of commentary on the trust-as-value proposition underpinning the broader cryptoverse. Na...
While there appears to be little appetite to pursue these figures now, that might change in future. Regulators and governments can’t rein in Bitcoin and Ethereum themselves, but they can certainly make life more difficult for its biggest fans.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq Hit Fresh Closing Day Highs
Similar to crypto, it was another bumper day for US stocks. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended yesterday with record breaking closing highs as tech stocks once again delivered gains for investors. Nvidia Corp rose 3.2% and Intel Corp 3.1% to make the tech sector the strongest performer of the day.
Mastercard and the Bank of New York Mellon also saw significant advances as they announced plans to incorporate digital currencies into their business.
Ethereum and Bitcoin Slide As Mastercard and Amazon Make Crypto Moves
It was a mixed day on the crypto markets. The mega caps, Bitcoin and Ethereum both saw nearly 4% losses. For Bitcoin, the currency appears to have found an oscillating rhythm between $45,500 and $44,500, according to data company Nomics. Wavy. IMAGE: Nomics Interestingly, Ethereum has found a similar groove with its price. It spent the last 24 hours wavering between peaks of $1,750 and troughs of $1,700. Both projects saw trading volumes down by more than 10%. Ethereum's peaks and troughs. IM...
Pair this with a bevy of much stronger than expected earnings results, with corporate profits rebounding much faster than expected despite the ongoing pandemic, a perfect storm is brewing for investors.
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