This Week in Crypto
The top 5 headlines, the top 5 tweets, and the top 5 memes
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Top 5 Headlines
Fidelity, Square and Others Launch Crypto Council
Fidelity Investments, Square Inc., and others have formed a global council that seeks to change the way digital assets are understood and regulated.
The Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI), launched Tuesday, will lobby lawmakers and develop resources to help both industries and investors better understand the elusive world of crypto. Exchange Coinbase and investment firm Paradigm are also initial council members.
Grayscale Files to Convert GBTC to ETF
Digital asset manager Grayscale Investments is “100% committed to converting the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust to an exchange-traded product,” the company announced Monday.
The Trust is currently structured similarly to a closed-end mutual fund. Investors are able to trade shares of GBTC, which are priced close enough to the underlying assets, like any other stock in their brokerage account, but an ETF provides added benefits.
GBTC does not currently trade on a national securities exchange and it does not have simultaneous creation and redemption. An ETF will offer both of these benefits.
Stacks Surges More Than 100% in 24 Hours
Stacks (STX) soared more than 100% to $2.92 early Monday to hit the highest level since the launch of the new Stacks blockchain in January.
STX is a newly tradable token that allows investors to earn up to a 20% yield in bitcoin (BTC) when they lock up their STX for two-week cycles. There is currently $788.7 million in STX locked.
Fei Roils Early Adopters As Stablecoin and Token Tumble After $1.3B Sale
Fei Protocol was one of the most anticipated project launches this year –– an algorithmic stablecoin backed by heavyweights like Andreessen Horowitz and Coinbase Ventures–– and it raised funds accordingly, attracting an eye-popping $1.3B in ether over the weekend. But it’s all spiraled down from there.
The high of the sale was immediately tainted by angry traders, as the project’s governance token slumped and the stablecoin has failed to hold its $1 peg. But that’s not all, today, the team found a vulnerability in its code (which it quickly patched, according to its Twitter account.)
Fei was trading as low as $0.92 earlier today and Tribe has slid 20% to $1.61 since it launched on April 3. Participants in the genesis event received both FEI and TRIBE, though some whales immediately sold TRIBE for ETH.
Peter Thiel Calls Bitcoin ‘a Chinese Financial Weapon’ at Virtual Roundtable
“I do wonder whether at this point, Bitcoin should also be thought [of] in part as a Chinese financial weapon against the U.S.,” Thiel said during an appearance at a virtual event held for members of the Richard Nixon Foundation. “It threatens fiat money, but it especially threatens the U.S. dollar.” He added: “[If] China’s long Bitcoin, perhaps from a geopolitical perspective, the U.S. should be asking some tougher questions about exactly how that works.”
Top 5 Tweets
Top 5 Memes
About Grokking Crypto
Crypto is moving so fast and trying to keep up with everything can feel a bit overwhelming. Dozens of crypto-related articles, podcasts, and YouTube videos are published every day. Moreover, 90% of these resources aren’t even worth reading or listening to, which makes the task of keeping up even more difficult.
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