Measuring the Binance Bump | Goldman Sachs will not use Bakkt for custody | The banks used by crypto firms
Bitcoin $6,500 ▼ Ethereum $204.65 ▼
Crypto Mkt Cap $209B ▼ BTC Dominance 53.90%
Here’s who some of the biggest crypto firms are banking with
Goldman Sachs and Galaxy Digital Ventures are investing in BitGo
“Rather than hold bitcoin, [institutions] actually prefer to hold more stablecoins, because the dollar is still the default currency in some of these countries. That's just one use case that we've seen that's different in this part of the world, versus other parts of the world.” - Wei Zhou, Binance CFO
The Big Block
In a little over a year, Binance grew from an unknown startup to the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. The exchange has 10 million registered users and is on track to generate between $500M-$1B in profit in 2018.
While a listing on Coinbase comes with the prestige and support of a well-regulated exchange, Binance is the proverbial golden goose for the majority of crypto projects. With its $1B+ in trading volume, global reach, and relatively lax listing requirements, Binance is the exchange of choice for projects that want to get their cryptoassets listed for trading.
In the crypto ecosystem, exchange listings come with the same flair and style of traditional IPOs. The news coverage, the investor enthusiasm, and — most importantly — the price boost. Whenever an exchange announces the listing of a cryptoasset, media outlets plaster their headlines with “Asset A rallying/pumping/rising/surging B percentages after listing on exchange B.”
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Around The Block
Goldman Sachs will not rely on Bakkt for a crypto custody product, but it might trade on the platform
Wrong information can travel around the world before the truth laces up its boots, as the saying goes.
And that’s certainly the case in the world of crypto, where information overload, false reports, and flat out scams are omnipresent. This week, Goldman Sachs was the latest victim of unverified crypto reports. The Abacus Journal, formerly ICO Journal, reported that a Goldman Sachs crypto custody product “will rely” on Bakkt, the crypto platform run by Intercontinental Exchange. “Goldman Won’t ‘Go It Alone’ With Crypto Custody Product; Will Rely On Bakkt Infrastructure,” the report’s headline read. — More
Here’s who some of the biggest crypto firms are banking with
In recent weeks, Bitfinex's banking relationships have been at the top of mind for many market observers in crypto. As The Block previously reported, Bitfinex and Tether are currently holding at least a portion of their funds at Deltec Bank and processing deposits through Bank of Communications via a private account of a shell company. Bitfinex previously banked with Noble Bank, but that relationship ended over the summer. As The Block previously reported, the firm banked briefly with HSBC. To be sure, Bitfinex isn't the only crypto exchange to draw criticism from the market. As bitcoin soared to $20,000 at the end of 2018, exchanges such as Kraken and Coinbase reported numerous outages in which customers couldn't trade coins. — More
Goldman Sachs and Galaxy Digital Ventures are investing in BitGo — More
Chinese mining hardware manufacturers to be impacted by U.S. tariffs — More
Close to 19% of mined Bitcoin blocks were empty — More
$4 million in bitcoins to be auctioned off by U.S. Marshals — More
SEC sets up new office to talk to ICOs projects — More