Also today, Robinhood is unlikely to list SHIBA INU anytime soon... and it's just had a difficult set of financial results.
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Editor's note — Supply Shock: Is Goldman Right about BTC?
Bitcoin devotees are firm in the belief that the world's biggest cryptocurrency can be worth millions of dollars one day.
There are only 21 million BTC, after all. And if adoption continues to grow, heightened demand and limited supply will cause prices to surge, right?
…right?
Not necessarily, says Goldman Sachs in a new memo. They say mainstream adoption "can be a double-edged sword" — and mean it is more closely correlated with other assets like stocks.
We're already seeing this play out. Bitcoin's correlation with stocks is now at an all-time high… and the narrative that BTC is a hedge against inflation isn't holding firm right now.
All of this means that BTC might not be a powerful tool for diversification. If Wall Street tumbles, Bitcoin will too.
Of course, it would be foolish to write off BTC altogether. Its value rose by 60% in 2021. The S&P 500, we hear you ask? 27%.
Goldman Sachs isn't saying that BTC isn't worth having — instead, it's maybe providing a reality check to investors.
But overall, I think its warning is premature. The impact that halving events have on Bitcoin's price is undeniable — and you could argue that we're yet to see how scarce BTC can truly be.
Right now, 900 BTC is still being mined. This will fall to 450 BTC a day in 2024, and 225 BTC a day in 2028.
Will Goldman Sachs be singing this same tune in six years' time? I'm not so sure.
Crypto rules 'matter of national security' 🚨
Joe Biden's administration wants to introduce new crypto regulations as a matter of national security, according to a report. Barron's says the White House will soon release an executive order that will give federal agencies responsibility for developing new rules that cover cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and NFTs. The White House National Security Council will be among the government bodies involved amid concerns over the implications that cryptocurrencies can have on the economy.
Coinbase 'profits from the coins it lists' 💰
Coinbase has been accused of profiting from the cryptocurrencies it lists — and failing to make disclosures about the projects it has invested in. A report by the Financial Times claims the exchange has unveiled support for 20 cryptocurrencies, all while holding an investment in a related project. Until recently, Coinbase Ventures had only listed 12 of these projects on its website. Last weekend, the company published a blog post about its practices in an attempt to frontrun the story.
Robinhood unlikely to list SHIB soon 💔
Robinhood's CEO has suggested that the exchange has no plans to list SHIBA INU any time soon. On an earnings call with investors after releasing financial results for the fourth quarter of 2021, Vlad Tenev has asked whether the trading platform plans to add further cryptocurrencies — with SHIB singled out specifically. In response, he said: "The main concern with adding a large number of coins is that platforms that are adding lots of them could be adding unregistered securities."
Quadriga co-founder working for DeFi protocol 👀
A co-founder of the doomed crypto exchange QuadrigaCX has been helping to run a decentralized finance protocol. Michael Patryn had also previously pleaded guilty to credit card fraud, burglary, grand larceny and computer fraud — and had spent 18 months in U.S. federal prison. It has now emerged that he is 0xSifu, and was serving as the treasury manager for Wonderland, which is based on the Avalanche blockchain. He has now been asked to step down from this position.
