As we enter the new month, let’s take a look at the three main topics that shaped the previous one: uncertainty surrounding stablecoins, Nouriel Roubini or Dr Doom entering the picture with some rather unpleasant views on crypto, and finally, the institutional investors, are they coming after all, and when?
Unstable stablecoins:
October 1
It was reported that Noble bank that is used by stablecoin USDT for its dollar backing has gone insolvent according to the Modern Consensus report.
This news has negatively shaken the market, and in reality, this was the first warning sign that the month will turn out badly for tether.
October 9
Japanese GMO Internet Group announced that it planned to release a yen-backed stablecoin GJY for Asian markets in 2019.
October 10
This was followed up the very next day with an announcement that OKCoin U.S. will issue Chinese Yuan stablecoin.
October 13
The world seems to be on a quest to understand and incorporate stablecoins and the American stock exchange operator Nasdaq said it was exploring a possibility of launching a platform for tokens with securities characteristics.
October 15
Tether woes continued when a huge sell off occured which send shockwaves through the market. Bitcoin price suddenly skyrocketed by almost 10% to $6900.
October 19
And now it’s also easier to hold stablecoins after the Singapore-based Huobi announced its wallet would now support all seven stablecoins currently existing in the market.
October 20
Tether withdrew 25% of its tokens from circulation, two further withdrawals occurred just a few days later as 500 million and then a 100 million more tether burned in the flames of redemption.
October 22
Bank of Japan came to announce that it has no plans to issue a stablecoin as stated by the Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya.
October 25
Then the UK government has come out forbidding the Royal Mint to issue a gold-backed token.
October 29
To contradict that, the Swedish central bank, Sveriges Riksbank (Riksbank), came to the conclusion that cash usage in the country was becoming a rare habit, and so an e-krona was a possibility. Let's see if that comes to life.
Nouriel Roubini aka 'Dr Doom' vs Crypto Community:
October 8
Now this one began when an American economist Nouriel Roubini, better known as "Dr. Doom," said that the cryptocurrency was more centralized than North Korea. Crypto community was displeased.
October 11
U.S. Senate debate on merits of crypto was held with Nouriel Roubini unsurprisingly speaking out against crypto, most specifically against bitcoin and ethereum.
October 15
Then TRON in the usual fashion proposed to sponsor a debate between Dr. Doom & Vitalik Buterin.
October 19
Nouriel Roubini’s negative words on crypto were so hurting for some that his students at New York University (NYU) had apparently told him to “shut up”.
Finally and most importantly all that talk of big investors joining the crypto market:
October 3
It has come to light that J.P. Morgan Chase is developing a digital transformation strategy that includes the use of blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and developments in the field of robotics. It’s rare for a big corporation to hint towards entering the blockchain world but this move set the tone.
October 5
American fintech company Circle Internet Financial Ltd. has presented to users a Circle Invest application for Android and iOS devices. This gave users an opportunity to make contributions to cryptocurrency actives, divided into three collections: “Privacy”, “Platforms”, and “Payments”.
October 12
The U.S. crypto exchange Gemini created by Winklevoss brothers came out to announce a strategic partnership with institutional investor trading platform Omniex to attract big players to the crypto market.
October 16
And then came what some say is the best piece of news for crypto of the year: Fidelity Investments, the fifth largest financial holding company in the world, announced the opening of Fidelity Digital Asset Services division, which would enable institutional investors to store and trade cryptocurrencies.
October 23
Then a crypto trading platform Bakkt created by the Intercontinental Exchange announced that it would launch bitcoin futures trading on December 12, 2018. But then reports surfaced that the approval may be obtained sooner.
October 24
The news the whole crypto community jumped at: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a memorandum of meeting, which the agency held on October 9 with VanEck, SolidX and CBOE companies interested in launching Bitcoin ETF. No decision as of yet but at least they are discussing it.
October 31
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway unexpectedly invested nearly $600 million in two fintech firms focused on emerging markets. Rather a big surprise, but if Warren is slowly changing his mind, maybe others will follow?
And the day continued from good to even a better one:
We heard that the NY-based investment bank Goldman Sachs “has been onboarding a small number of clients to actively trade” its Bitcoin derivative product. Despite that J.P. Morgan CEO then said some rather unpleasant things about the first crypto, the overall movement in terms of institutional investors looks promising.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to stay up to date on the latest crypto and blockchain news.