The CryptoCurrencyWire Videos Podcast

Conservative alt-coin podcast hosts Drew Taylor and Brent Bates recently welcomed guests and the audience to another episode of their wildly popular Wild West Crypto Show. The program took a somber turn to delve into current events in Afghanistan and remember service members and people who've given their lives for this country. The hosts split segments normally reserved for guests to discuss how global events will affect the markets, as well as share their takes on some wild times. Bates' Over the Fence Post segment showcased his personal riled-up experience to encourage others to attend city council meetings. Taylor's Cowboy Logic segment highlighted the topic of responsibility and the reasons our president needs to step up and take his full share. In addition, the hosts provided their insight on the roots of the USA in a unique comparison to cryptos. “The interesting thing is . . . we were the first fully decentralized government in the world. Every government before the U.S. government was centralized. There was either a centralized theocracy, monarchy or a dictator . . . We were the first to come along . . . and had some very wise men who set up a decentralized country,” Bates said. “And, in fact, cryptocurrency is going back to the roots of being decentralized. . .”

Conservative alt-coin podcast hosts Drew Taylor and Brent Bates recently welcomed guests and the audience to a lively episode of their wildly popular Wild West Crypto Show. The program delved into “another week at the speed of crypto.” “Folks, let me tell you something. If you're not diversified, out of just cash, out of just the stock market,” Taylor said, shooting straight with some cowboy friendly and common-sense advice to diversify into cryptos, gold, silver and other assets considering all that's going on with the financial markets, Afghanistan and world events. The show also featured CryptoCurrencyWire's Jonathan Keim, to discuss the three hottest stories of the week, as well as the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Brent's Over the Fencepost and Taylor's Cowboy Logic segments. A special guest to the program was the hosts' long-time buddy, Ronnie Moas, to discuss his book, filled with amazing stories of a time he literally walked 10,000 miles around the world with photographs detailing every bit of his journey. “I have just this insatiable appetite to travel. I mean you only live once, and I always knew, from the time I was in high school, that marriage/kids was not for me. I was not cut out for that . . . I did something that most people would never be able to do,” Moas says, discussing his long trek as well as a recent experience of seeing the beauty of Montana for the first time and his earliest travel days. “My first big trip was actually at age 35. I hadn't traveled that much . . . I went to Thailand, Japan and Hawaii, and I just got hooked.”

CryptoCurrencyWire's Jonathan Keim shared the latest and greatest in the world of cryptocurrencies, as well as special guest Greg Magarshak, the founder of Intercoin, and his team to discuss their project. “Intercoin was started with a vision that any community in the world — churches, yoga studios, also cities and universities — can have their own coin, their own currency,” Magarshak said, responding to Taylor's question regarding Intercoin and how it is changing the crypto space. Magarshak went on to explain how cities want to assist their communities, i.e., help the homeless with food, security, etc., but discussed the challenges in doing so without their own currency. Describing his first company's efforts to build apps for communities, now reaching 9 million people in 95 countries, Magarshak indicates that the idea of Intercoin is to build currencies on top of the social networking apps the team has created. To watch the latest episode, visit https://ccw.fm/541vg

CryptoCurrencyWire's Jonathan Keim's take on the latest trends in the world of cryptocurrencies. The Look and Learn segment further featured discussion surrounding the 24-hour globalization of crypto. “Crypto is 24/7. Its lights are on all the time,” Bates said, describing the nuances of cryptocurrency trading. “What a lot of people don't realize is, with crypto, you're not only your own compliance department … your own bank … your own back operations; you're your own trading platform. There are a whole lot of things you have to consider before you just go in there and hit sell… before you go in there and hit buy. I think what will happen over time, and we've been talking about this for four years, the exchanges are going to start to consolidate. They're going to start to give better service, more transparency,” he said, describing the projected future as compared to current trading as the wild, wild west. To watch the latest episode, visit https://ccw.fm/IZnkH

CryptoCurrencyWire's Jonathan Keim then shined the spotlight on the latest and greatest in the world of cryptocurrencies. Perhaps the most authentically wild part of the show was spent on the hosts' takes on the recent crazy ride of cryptos. Taylor described cryptos of late as “bucking like bodacious” and asked viewers whether they stayed on for the eight-second ride or ran for the fences. Bates then gave his view, spicing things up like Texas-style barbecue with some cowboy friendly investment advice. “Look, this ain't my first rodeo,” he said, with a knowing grin followed with some cowboy logic. “Just relax. If you stay in crypto long enough, you're gonna see this multiple times again… You know, folks, the closest you'll ever get to being an actual entrepreneur is investing in an early stage startup. You get a little flavor, and, I'm telling you, it's just a little flavor for those of us who are entrepreneurs that start something. Bootstrapping it out of the garage, or whatever it starts out at… You're gonna get that ride, and it's what makes you enjoy it when you get to the bottom line and you make some good money.” To watch the latest episode, visit https://ccw.fm/3FeGF

Crypto Currency Wire Communications Director, Jonathan Keim on The Wild West Crypto Show Episode 161 | BTC Taking in the Shorts, BUT Alt Coins are Rising BroadcastMay 14, 2021. The latest news from around the cryptocurrency/blockchain space with Crypto Currency Wire's Communications Director, Jonathan Keim. The Wild West Crypto Show is the brainchild of Drew Taylor. Drew created this platform as a tool to inform people about cryptocurrency so that they can make educated decisions about investing in this emerging market. Together with his co-host Brent Bates and with the help of industry experts, Drew and the Wild West Crypto Shows aims for providing valuable information for anyone interested in cryptocurrency, all while debunking myths and misinformation often spread about the movement.

CryptoCurrencyWire's Jonathan Keim shared the latest and greatest happenings in the world of cryptocurrencies. Richard Heart also joined the program to discuss the HEX project. “The government just prints money out of thin air,” Heart said. “The price of everything just shoots up through the roof. We've got all-time highs in the stock market, all-time highs in cryptocurrencies, all-time highs in gold. . . All-time highs in everything. . . And, why? Because they keep printing money.” Heart goes on to discuss inflation and explain the nuances of HEX. “In HEX, people are paid to wait. The longer you lock your money, the larger the share of inflation that you get. It took bitcoin ten years to get to 3.89 inflation, back when it was at $20,000.  We just jumped right to that after year one, and we said alright, we're going to have 3.6 now, right after the first year. And who's going to get that inflation? The people who lock up their money. And, the longer you lock it, the more you get. And that's a more fair and honest way that monetizes the time value of money that no other cryptocurrency in the world does. And it's the only thing any price cares about, is that people buy and hold. So, we directly monetize the only thing the price cares about.”

Crypto Currency Wire Communications Director, Jonathan Keim on The Wild West Crypto Show Episode 158 | Carnomaly Listed on KuCoin Broadcast Apr 23, 2021. The latest news from around the cryptocurrency/blockchain space with Crypto Currency Wire's Communications Director, Jonathan Keim. The Wild West Crypto Show is the brainchild of Drew Taylor. Drew created this platform as a tool to inform people about cryptocurrency so that they can make educated decisions about investing in this emerging market. Together with his co-host Brent Bates and with the help of industry experts, Drew and the Wild West Crypto Shows aims for providing valuable information for anyone interested in cryptocurrency, all while debunking myths and misinformation often spread about the movement.

Conservative alt-coin podcast hosts Drew Taylor and Brent Bates recently welcomed guests and the audience to a lively episode of their wildly popular Wild West Crypto Show. The program featured CryptoCurrencyWire's Jonathan Keim, in a segment appropriately deemed as “Keim Time,” to highlight the latest and greatest happenings in the world of cryptocurrencies. Kristin Boggiano, the president of CrossTower Exchange, also joined the program to discuss the unique features and nuances of CrossTower as compared to other exchanges. With a strong history in finance, Kristin is now able view what's happening in the digital assets space from a product-creation angle. She focuses on creation of products that enable sophisticated investors the ability to potentially access through a method that's more traditional. She also looks at various technological developments that help do define how to bring traditional players into the space. “Our product is not just an exchange. We do have spot. We have margin, we're offering futures and bringing in options,” Kristin said. “But we also have a variety of structured products that we're introducing to clients as well. In addition, we just hired the former global head of prime finance from Deutsche Bank… He's been developing our capital markets infrastructure. So, we're really an infrastructure company in the digital assets space trying to address traditional and emerging technologies.” To watch the latest episode, visit https://ccw.fm/wUVUk

CryptoCurrencyWire's Jonathan Keim also joined the program to highlight the latest and greatest in the world of cryptocurrencies. The show additionally welcomed in-house special guest — the late Rush Limbaugh's cousin, Andy Limbaugh. Andy shined the spotlight on the early days of Rush's career when he started “just really taking off” in the late 1989, early 1990 timeframe. Rush was concerned about the effect of his budding popularity on the national scale to the prominent Limbaugh family, attorneys and well-known figures in southeast Missouri. Now, with Rush's passing, the story has come full circle as Andy discusses carrying on the legacy. “There are some things coming in the Limbaugh family that are going to help keep some of that legacy alive, and freedom, liberty and other things, right?” Taylor asks the younger Limbaugh cousin of what's in store. Andy agreed that there is more and that all are going to do their best to “keep that ball moving down the field,” with a group effort, focus and thick skin required for what's to come. To watch the latest episode, visit https://ccw.fm/n614x

CryptoCurrencyWire's Jonathan Keim discusses the growing adoption of digital currencies. Keim also shines a spotlight on the latest and greatest innovations, including Crypto.com's Visa card, which is the most widely available of its kind in the world. Justin Renken, the new sponsor for the show's Daily Country Mile Update, also rounds up some exciting discussion surrounding the ARK project. “These last few months, the ARK team has been working harder than I've ever seen… We're working on this new platform that's coming out soon called MarketSquare,” Renken said. “It's a social platform designed to help users and developers connect with their favorite blockchain-powered projects and businesses. So, it's kind of like a cooler version of LinkedIn for the blockchain and crypto space.” To watch the latest episode, visit https://ccw.fm/Qy0En

Crypto Currency Wire Communications Director, Jonathan Keim on The Wild West Crypto Show Episode 154 | Trader Heaven, Markets Bouncing Like Superball Broadcast March 26, 2021. The latest news from around the cryptocurrency/blockchain space with Crypto Currency Wire's Communications Director, Jonathan Keim. The Wild West Crypto Show is the brainchild of Drew Taylor. Drew created this platform as a tool to inform people about cryptocurrency so that they can make educated decisions about investing in this emerging market. Together with his co-host Brent Bates and with the help of industry experts, Drew and the Wild West Crypto Shows aims for providing valuable information for anyone interested in cryptocurrency, all while debunking myths and misinformation often spread about the movement.

Crypto Currency Wire Communications Director, Jonathan Keim on The Wild West Crypto Show Episode 153 | Explosion of Cryptos, Deeper Network's Exciting DPN Project Broadcast Mar 23, 2021. The latest news from around the cryptocurrency/blockchain space with Crypto Currency Wire's Communications Director, Jonathan Keim. The Wild West Crypto Show is the brainchild of Drew Taylor. Drew created this platform as a tool to inform people about cryptocurrency so that they can make educated decisions about investing in this emerging market. Together with his co-host Brent Bates and with the help of industry experts, Drew and the Wild West Crypto Shows aims for providing valuable information for anyone interested in cryptocurrency, all while debunking myths and misinformation often spread about the movement.

Crypto Currency Wire Communications Director, Jonathan Keim on The Wild West Crypto Show Episode 152 | Golf Tournament to Raise Parkinson's Awareness Broadcast Mar 16, 2021. The latest news from around the cryptocurrency/blockchain space with Crypto Currency Wire's Communications Director, Jonathan Keim. The Wild West Crypto Show is the brainchild of Drew Taylor. Drew created this platform as a tool to inform people about cryptocurrency so that they can make educated decisions about investing in this emerging market. Together with his co-host Brent Bates and with the help of industry experts, Drew and the Wild West Crypto Shows aims for providing valuable information for anyone interested in cryptocurrency, all while debunking myths and misinformation often spread about the movement.

CryptoCurrencyWire's Jonathan Keim reviews the latest updates surrounding the world of cryptocurrency. In the show's new “Look and Learn” segment, the hosts also review “the good, the bad and the ugly” on exchanges. “There are 435 global crypto exchanges. And they're located all over the world,” Taylor says during the program, discussing the various sizes, large and small, of the exchanges and what they have to offer. “Binance is not the 800-pound… they're the 800,000-pound gorilla… Binance does more transactions in crypto than all of the other exchanges combined,” Taylor said, further clarifying sources for information on top exchanges, trust scores, volumes and details one needs to know when reviewing the various exchange options. To watch the latest episode, visit https://ccw.fm/G0V7Z

CryptoCurrencyWire's Jonathan Keim shineS a spotlight on the latest and greatest happenings in the world of cryptos. Taylor and Bates also covered the ongoing run on cryptos, a new milestone reached with cryptocurrency surpassing 100 million users for adoption, and took it back to the basics on cryptocurrency to discuss basic terminologies and whether it's a “21st century unicorn” or the money of the future. “You know what this reminds me of?” Taylor said, offering a cowboy analogy on the ability to get in on cryptos. “Years ago, we were elk hunting in Chama, New Mexico. We'd gone up there, taken our mules up there and we'd gone up on the trailhead… And, mules are different than horses, we hobbled the mules… You can hobble a horse, and it won't run… But we hobbled the mules, and mules learn to run like a rabbit. So they're running down the trailhead, and it was like bitcoin running. We were so happy when they got a little bit tired out so we could catch them.” To watch the latest episode, visit https://ccw.fm/NxDKi

Crypto Currency Wire Communications Director, Jonathan Keim on The Wild West Crypto Show Episode 148 | Markets are CRAY CRAY but Cryptos on Turbo Broadcast Feb 18, 2021. The latest news from around the cryptocurrency/blockchain space with Crypto Currency Wire's Communications Director, Jonathan Keim. The Wild West Crypto Show is the brainchild of Drew Taylor. Drew created this platform as a tool to inform people about cryptocurrency so that they can make educated decisions about investing in this emerging market. Together with his co-host Brent Bates and with the help of industry experts, Drew and the Wild West Crypto Shows aims for providing valuable information for anyone interested in cryptocurrency, all while debunking myths and misinformation often spread about the movement.

Keim reviews the latest and greatest happenings from the crypto world, including shining the spotlight on insight on Bloomberg's Mike McGlone's latest commentary on bitcoin being “less risky than the Dow.”  “For those who don't know Mike, he is Bloomberg's senior commodity strategist. So, definitely someone to pay attention to,” Keim says during the program. “He attributes bitcoin's recent jump to a rising tide of institutional investors adopting the cryptocurrency. He now views $20,000 as the ‘extreme downside level' that would only be revisited in case of a black swan event akin to the crash of the global markets back in March.” Polny provides a positive, faith-based perspective, advice to turn off the news and a solid reality check to viewers as he states, “Right now, you should be invested in precious metals, silver and gold. Right now, you should have cryptocurrencies if you've listened to our interviews over the past months… You should be invested; you should be in the game.” To watch the latest episode, visit https://ccw.fm/FvFHA

CryptoCurrencyWire's Jonathan Keim also shined a spotlight on the latest and greatest from the cryptocurrency world. The hosts also discuss a full week of a new president with a stack of executive orders and “jittery” financial markets. Randy, a guest from an undisclosed location, discusses events and problems as well as solutions related to civil unrest. “Our grandparents didn't call it prepping,” Bates said, introducing the segment. “In fact, one of the ways I got into it is I went hunting and didn't take enough food. Figured I'd live off of some of what I killed. I became a prepper real quick… It's called being prepared.” To watch the latest episode, visit https://ccw.fm/NzmPY

The episode covers another wild week in crypto, with bitcoin breaking and staying fairly well above the 20K milestone. CryptoCurrencyWire's Jonathan Keim also joined the show to share the latest and greatest from the cryptocurrency world.  Scott Heninger, the CEO of Carnomaly, also discussed creation of a new type of trading platform — one that benefits both consumers and dealers. “We're bridging the gap between the car business and the crypto blockchain space. Basically, we have three separate entities in our ecosystem. We have Carnomolly.com, which is the site where you go to research cars, find a vehicle, find a dealer, learn about vehicles and find your next car. Then we're going to have Carrchain.com, which is going to provide vehicle history reporting but gamified with blockchain technology . . . So, you do services on your vehicle, maintenance, inspections, and you'll actually earn points that will help to get you money for your vehicle, monetizing that scoring system later on down the road. And everything will be recorded into the blockchain. The third part is CarrDeFi. Basically, we're allowing people that hold crypto and car tokens to actually become the bank and loan to borrowers . . . using cryptocurrency and earning interest and returns from the people paying back those loans. So, all of this will come together to our ecosystem.” To watch the latest episode, visit https://ccw.fm/3SX3b

Conservative alt-coin podcast hosts Drew Taylor and Brent Bates recently rounded up guests and the audience to a lively episode 140 of their wildly popular Wild West Crypto Show. Taking the reins in the week's wild ride was bitcoin, its price climbing to a new all-time high of $22,000 at time of the show's taping. The program also featured CryptoCurrencyWire's Jonathan Keim to share the latest and greatest happenings in the crypto world, as well as David Kemmerer with CryptoTrader.tax to discuss a pain-relieving solution when preparing bitcoin and alt-currency taxes. The platform is a reliable crypto tax software and calculator that allows users to simply connect to their exchanges to import trades and download reports in minutes. Also among the wide range of rope-in ready topics was an explanation of what the traditional banks are planning as far as getting involved in crypto-related services and a down-home explanation of qualitative guidance. “My dad, my ‘pappy' used to always tell me, you know, don't listen to what they say, watch what they do,” Bates said when describing the guidance to watch out for in what looks to be major inflation coming down the road. To watch the latest episode, visit https://ccw.fm/KHZGb

Jonathan Keim, Communications Director of CryptoCurrencyWire, appeared with his usual trio of news developments. He kicked off his Weekly News Update with a report that: US Fed economists are exploring the ‘intrinsic' value drivers of CBDCs (https://ccw.fm/LiKvH). CBDCs are digital currencies issued by a central bank. They appear to differ from regular fiat currencies by being directly issued to consumers rather than through the banking system. The Fed is considering the possibility of issuing such a CBDC and has initiated a study to explore “the potential impact of a digital dollar on commercial banking and monetary policy.” Other countries, notably China, have already launched digital currency programs. In October, the People's Bank of China distributed 200 digital yuan ($29.75) each to 50,000 randomly selected consumers with online digital wallets, in a pilot project to test the waters. Central banks around the world are considering CBDCs, concerned that growing use of cryptocurrencies may reduce their ability to manage local monetary systems and economies, to detrimental effect. In other news:  Fund execs offer $1M bets that Bitcoin's S2F model won't come true (https://ccw.fm/3Wvo6). Two executives at crypto hedge funds are prepared to place bets against the Bitcoin stock-to-flow model, developed by Dutch investor Plan B, which predicts a price of $100,000-$288,000 before December 2021. Eric Wall, chief investment officer of crypto hedge fund Arcane Assets, is willing to stake $1 million that the prediction will fail. He's so sure, he's extended the wager period to 2025. And Ari Paul, CIO at BlockTower Capital, says he would give 3:1 odds on the same bet against the S2F model, which means he'll gain $1 million if he wins and have to pay out $3 million if he loses. Finally, InvestorBrandNetwork (“IBN”) Announces Latest Episode of Stock2Me Podcast Featuring Bestselling Author John Truman Wolfe (https://ccw.fm/38rC3). The Stock2Me Podcast, hosted by Stuart Smith, is an initiative of InvestorBrandNetwork (“IBN”), a multifaceted communications organization that connects public companies to the investment community. The podcast is designed to provide specialized content distribution via widespread syndication channels. The current episode features Strategic Financial Intelligence editor John Truman Wolfe sharing his perspectives on the continuing evolution and adoption of decentralized currencies, the impending rise of centralized digital currencies and the long-term effects of recent economic policy decisions in the U.S. To view the most recent episode of the Wild West Crypto Show, now on TV in 45 cities across the nation, including its ongoing segment from CryptoCurrencyWire featuring the latest news from around the world, visit https://ccw.fm/p1DyD

BTC is taking it in the shorts but the alts are rising!

Regarding the news in alt coin adoption trends, CryptoCurrencyWire Communications Director Jonathan Keim addressed subjects ranging from traditional financial service institutions' move toward offering services on a decentralized finance (“DeFi”) framework to rumors PayPal may launch its own alt coin in the next year. “I was just amazed at all the progress that's being made. … There's no doubt that this is the year that will be a key landmark in the history of digital finance,” Keim said. Keim noted that 86 percent of financial institutions that took part in a Europe-wide survey are implementing or assessing services that use DeFi. “But the really amazing thing is that 31 percent of those companies are reporting an enterprise-wide rollout or have at least deployed an actual use case of DeFi already,” Keim said. “And quite honestly I don't think I've ever seen banks move forward so quickly on anything. I remember hearing DeFi in just the last 12 months and here a third of these companies are already on the train.” Keim also noted that Singapore's largest bank plans to launch its own crypto exchange, establishing a relatively easy to access crypto on-ramp for people who bank in that country. Taylor compared it to JPMorgan Chase's announcement it is going to develop its own coin. “It'll be interesting to see how all this evolves and where all these big financial institutions fit into this,” Taylor said. Regarding PayPal's plans to potentially launch its own crypto in the next six to 12 months, Keim said the CSO for digital asset manager CoinShares is pointing out PayPal's immense base of more than 300 million active users and the fact that PayPal has left the Libra Association, which it joined last year to help govern Facebook's Libra digital currency project. PayPal announced in October that it has partnered with cryptocurrency company Paxos and that it plans to let its U.S. users buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies and eventually to use their crypto assets to fund PayPal purchases, but it has not stated it intends to launch its own coin (https://ccw.fm/KLquz). “I can't help but think that (CoinShare's CSO) knows more than we do and he just wants to be one of the first to call it,” Keim said. “(PayPal has) already got a fairly seamless way to put it in and take it out of your bank account,” Bates said. “I remember the very first show we talked about how difficult it was to get money from a bank into a crypto account. It came the other way real quick; it'll only take a day or two to get out of your crypto account and get into the bank but it took a week to 10 days to get from the bank to there. PayPal's already got that relationship, already has the portal of getting in and out.” The Wild West Crypto Show podcast appears online and in multiple markets across the country. Bates' and Taylor's purpose is to educate people about alt-currencies “so that they're not afraid of it.” To view the latest episode, which includes CryptoCurrencyWire's ongoing segment featuring recent news from around the world, visit https://ccw.fm/h6pks.

CryptoCurrencyWire Communications Director Jonathan Keim is a show regular, offering additional insights on crypto space news headlines from around the world. In this episode, Keim acknowledges new signs that alternatives to the dollar are gaining mainstream recognition. When Cointelegraph reported that U.S. Currency Comptroller Brian Brooks stated that decentralized finance movements will spawn “inevitable” change and will render many of the services banks provide obsolete, “just as email disrupted the postal service,” Keim called it a sign that “everybody is waking up” to a fact that he and the show's hosts have previously discussed many times. “It's just exciting when you hear people like Brian Brooks say these kinds of things. We're seeing so much movement in this past year. It's really insane. And not just here in the U.S. but abroad as well,” Keim added. Keim also noted that the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve has said its financial institutions aren't in a hurry to introduce central bank digital currency, which prompted Morgan Creek Digital co-founder Anthony Pompliano to argue that time is of the essence and if it doesn't act “the U.S. is going to fall really far behind China because it all comes down to accessibility.” “In our small town, we have a bank and a chicken place on every corner and a convenience store across the street. We've got plenty of all that sort of stuff,” Bates quipped. “The U.S. getting involved in this is going to help all those unbanked people and is going to help all these other economies by being able to provide liquidity and everything that the U.S. dollar and digital dollar could bring.” Bates expressed excitement at news that crypto gaming pioneer Cloudbet is adding Pax Gold coin to its platform to make betting with gold backing possible in a first for the gaming world. “You can't carry all your gold with you. It becomes heavy and kind of hard to lug around,” Bates said. “You take that little thumb drive around with you, it could have a billion dollars or it could have 59 cents and everything in between. It's so much more pragmatic for it to be digitized and to carry around a piece of it.” Keim said what he finds so interesting is that there are so many alternatives to the dollar “springing up all over the place” as means for currency transactions. “This world-first accomplishment is only feasible because a gold-backed crypto is easily divisible and easier to exchange,” he said. The Wild West Crypto Show podcast appears online and in multiple markets across the country. Bates' and Taylor's purpose is to educate people about alt-currencies “so that they're not afraid of it.” To view the latest episode, which includes CryptoCurrencyWire's ongoing segment featuring recent news from around the world, visit https://ccw.fm/YLUvo.

CryptoCurrencyWire Communications Director Jonathan Keim, who appears in each week's segment analyzing recent news in the market space, acknowledged alt-coin adoption by other companies making big investments into bitcoin. Regarding a CoinDesk report about Stone Ridge Asset Management's more than $100 million investment in bitcoin as part of a billion-dollar spin-off, echoing business intelligence company MicroStrategy in terming bitcoin a “primary treasury reserve asset,” Keim said he thinks the term is going to catch on. “Institutional asset managers like this one and others are really seeing bitcoin in a new light. They're even coming up with new terms, like this one,” Keim said. “So, it's helping everyone understand what bitcoin is and it's quite frankly getting contagious at this point.” Taylor also noted a Decrypt report on Fidelity Digital Assets' turnaround in regard to its views on bitcoin, shedding its adverse opinions three years ago to tout bitcoin as a unique vehicle among investment assets. “I really think Fidelity nailed it in their research,” Keim said. “Ultimately the research points out how bitcoin is uniquely decoupled from other asset classes. . . . In conclusion, the report said, ‘Bitcoin is a unique, investable asset with compelling differences relative to both traditional asset classes as well as conventional alternative investments.' And then, just rounding off the sentence, they said, ‘That could make it a beneficial addition to portfolios.' So they're kind of hinting, you know, this might be something you want to take a look at.” The Wild West Crypto Show appears on TV in multiple markets across the country as well as online as a humorous and educational forum for providing information with the intent of reducing some of the consumer wariness about alt-currency. To view the latest episode, which includes CryptoCurrencyWire's ongoing segment featuring recent news from around the world, visit https://www.ccw.fm/Tldyi

Jonathan Keim, the communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire, noted research showing growing adoption of cryptocurrencies, not just as an investment vehicle but as a liquid form of money. “The fact that 70% of the 35,000 respondents are now spending crypto, and not just HODLing it, means that it's really achieved currency status,” Keim said. “To all these restaurants we've been telling, ‘You can give yourself a raise if you just start accepting cryptocurrency and you're not paying' … people don't realize that because the credit card fees are 2 to 3%, if your profit margin's 12%, 25% of it's getting eaten up by processing fees,” Taylor added. Keim also discussed the logic of using cryptocurrencies in IRAs to gain tax-free benefits. “For those who were burnt by big gains reported in 2017 that later evaporated in the 2018 tax year, or they were just overwhelmed by the tracking requirements, it really makes total sense why IRAs are especially appealing to crypto traders,” he said. “An economist that advises iTrustCapital believes IRAs will be a key part of the $1.5 trillion of capital expected to move into the digital asset space within the next five to seven years.” Bates noted that using cryptocurrencies in IRAs takes off some of the pressure that comes from watching markets rise and fall, because the investor is instead using a long-term perspective for a sector that is continuing to grow over time. “The other problem that it solves . . . there are now insured funds and everything else, so that the people that have been afraid of losing all this in the crypto market because it's just a big black hole, you do have these insured funds, U.S. funds . . . where you can take self-directed IRAs and other things and put it in,” Taylor added. “If you believe in crypto the way . . . we do, they are going to be an appreciating asset that may outperform many other things.” And Keim noted that Bitcoin payment gateway Abra's CEO was recently quoted as saying he's “never been this excited about the potential of Bitcoin for a significant price appreciation in the short term,” looking at the possibility of “50,000 and beyond,” providing an insider's perspective on growing adoption. The Wild West Crypto Show is a podcast that appears on TV in multiple markets across the country as well as online, “educating people about cryptocurrency so that they're not afraid of it.” To view the latest episode, which includes CryptoCurrencyWire's ongoing segment featuring recent news from around the world, visit www.ccw.fm/KjKb9.

CryptoCurrencyWire (“CCW”) communications director Jonathan Keim reported as usual on some of the major developments in the crypto space, beginning with the headline: “Adoption: 101 Million Users Joined Crypto in 2020, According to Cambridge Report” (https://ccw.fm/F5Te8). A study by Britain's University of Cambridge and its Centre for Alternative Finance shows that 2020 has been a bumper year for cryptocurrencies. The report reveals that 101 million unique users signed up for Bitcoin and crypto-asset usage with service providers, such as cryptocurrency trading platforms and wallets, in Q3 2020. The Cambridge Report numbers indicate that the mining business is alive and well, although it has suffered contraction over the past year, with many outfits targeting more than one cryptocurrency.  The report notes that approximately 89% of crypto mining respondents are mining Bitcoin (“BTC”), with 35% mining ether (“ETH”), and with bitcoin cash at 30%. Next on Keim's Weekly News Update was the headline: “Payments Platform Wirex Reaches Target for First Crowdfund in 1 and a Half Hours” (https://ccw.fm/mLRBh). Capitalizing on increasing awareness of its platform, British digital payments processor Wirex was able to raise £1 million, as planned, in record time. The company also exceeded the fundraising target by taking in £1.6 million, an amount likely to increase, since its crowd-funding campaign seems set to remain open for some time. Wirex is the first cryptocurrency platform to be granted a MasterCard principal membership. The processor plans to issue a multicurrency Wirex Card, which will be supported by MasterCard and linked to 19 crypto and fiat currency accounts in the Wirex app. Wirex is regulated by the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority, with a license to issue crypto cards in Europe. Last but most definitely not least, comes a warning from U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) director Kenneth Blanco: “FinCEN Director Warns Banks about Cryptocurrency Risk Exposure” (https://ccw.fm/1Iu9R). At a recent anti-money-laundering (“AML”) conference, the FinCEN chief reminded banks about their obligations to institute effective AML policies, particularly with regard to cryptocurrency transactions. In 2019, crypto analytics firm CipherTrace Labs found that eight of the ten major U.S. retail banks had done business with illicit crypto money service businesses (“MSBs”). Many MSBs provide cryptocurrencies to customers in exchange for cash, a service which while not illegal per se, requires the MSB to be regulated. Individuals too have fallen foul of the law. Again, buying or selling a cryptocurrency is not in itself illegal but doing so “as a business” is. Conducting more than a handful of transactions can get someone accused of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, an offense that carries up to five years behind bars. To view the most recent episode of the Wild West Crypto Show, now on TV in 45 cities across the nation, including its ongoing segment from CryptoCurrencyWire featuring the latest news from around the world, visit https://ccw.fm/weke4.

The first item on Jonathan Keim's news update this episode, was this headline: There Are Now Over 10,000 Bitcoin ATMs Throughout the World (https://ccw.fm/pff4o). Bitcoin retail transactional capacity has progressed rapidly since Bitcoin ATMs first made their appearance in 2013. The seven years it has taken to reach 10,000 machines means their deployment has been one and a half times faster than that of regular cash ATMs in the 1970s. And although the first machine was installed in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the Waves Coffee House, presently the majority of Bitcoin ATMs can be found in the United States The second headline on Keim's list stated this: Cryptocurrencies Are Primary Investments for Many, Finds New Huobi Survey (https://ccw.fm/KIx6D). A Huobi (pronounced HO-BE) study has revealed that in “emerging markets across Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America,” many new consumers of financial products are purchasing “digital assets like Bitcoin (‘BTC') and ether (‘ETH'),” instead of more established ones, such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Digital assets appear to be a greater attraction for the less-experienced consumer, which may contribute to greater volatility in the cryptocurrency markets. Huobi is a cryptocurrency exchange with headquarters in Singapore. The name has been translated variously as “hot coin” or “popular coin.” Finally, Keim's last headline: Are We Dumb? Financial Illiterates ‘Twice as Likely to Own Crypto.' This news seemed to validate the results of the Huobi survey (https://ccw.fm/xwZwg). An investigation by Canada's central bank indicates that “financial literacy is positively associated with the awareness of cryptocurrencies but negatively associated with ownership.” The Bank of Canada's 2019 Cash Alternative Survey reveals that while many Canadians are familiar with both established and crypto financial products, very few of these financially literate consumers “actually hold any crypto assets.” Crypto assets, it seems, are purchased mainly by the less informed as financial neophytes, lured by the high expected returns, fail to take account of the risks. Not only are cryptocurrency markets notoriously volatile but they appear to operate independently of economic conditions in the real world, making it difficult if not impossible to identify their intrinsic characteristics, which is why the Wild West Crypto Show advises: never risk more than you would risk on a roll of dice in Vegas. To view the most recent episode of the Wild West Crypto Show, now on TV in 45 cities across the nation, including its ongoing segment from CryptoCurrencyWire featuring the latest news from around the world, visit https://ccw.fm/xWxXJ.

Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire, made his usual weekly cameo appearance. This week, his trio of news updates began with a headline that shows how, in the Bitcoin world, detractors become disciples: After $250 Million Bitcoin Buy, MicroStrategy Eyes More (https://ccw.fm/mn5ze). Back in 2013, Michael Saylor, CEO of Nasdaq-listed data analytics firm MicroStrategy, tweeted, “Bitcoin days are numbered. It seems like just a matter of time before it suffers the same fate as online gambling.” Now, seven years later, the MicroStrategy chief appears to have had an epiphany. His company recently purchased a quarter of a billion dollars' worth of Bitcoin, announcing the transaction with the declaration that Bitcoin “as the world's most widely adopted cryptocurrency, is a dependable store of value and an attractive investment asset with more long-term appreciation potential than holding cash.” Next up Keim shared this news: “Thai Central Bank's New Blockchain-Enabled Bond Infrastructure Passes Test with $1.6B Bond Sale” (https://ccw.fm/HEsIA). Monetary authorities in Thailand have managed to sell government savings bonds to the tune of 50 billion baht (approximately $1.6 billion) in just one week. A release issued by the Bank of Thailand said the blockchain-enabled platform would “enhance investors' buying experience, improve operational efficiency and reduce overall cost.” Thailand has enthusiastically embraced blockchain technologies and applications, including cryptocurrencies. To date, Thai regulators have approved 13 crypto businesses, including cryptocurrency exchanges, brokers and dealers, to legally operate in the country. In Keim's last report — no one can refuse China's digital currency, says central bank exec — authorities in the People's Republic have stamped the soon-to-be-issued digital yuan with their imprimatur (https://ccw.fm/XzAiN). In a recent press release, the deputy governor of China's central bank said the digital currency would be on par with existing fiat money. China's digital currency — digital currency electronic payment, or DCEP — has yet to be launched, but trials on its use have been underway for some time, according to a Bloomberg report (https://ccw.fm/JKVID). There is speculation that its debut may coincide with the 2022 Winter Olympics, set for Feb. 4–20, 2022. To view the most recent episode of the Wild West Crypto Show, now on TV in 45 cities across the nation, including its ongoing segment from CryptoCurrencyWire featuring the latest news from around the world, visit https://ccw.fm/a1w8n.

Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire, weekly news update began with a report that shows the lines between crypto and fiat are blurring: a new matching engine from Nasdaq Market Technology puts Bitstamp's tech on par with the world's top traditional exchanges (https://ccw.fm/ZztQK). Founded in 2011, Bitstamp is an exchange in Luxembourg that facilitates trading between U.S. dollars and Bitcoin. It is one of the earliest cryptocurrency exchanges and is presently Europe's largest by trade volume. With its adoption of the Nasdaq technology, Bitstamp will be able to manage the full range of trading functions — from price formation to order matching — for a wide range of assets. Nasdaq makes it technology available to exchanges and traders through its marketplace technology unit. In other news, the major card networks are upping their cryptocurrency game: MasterCard launches digital currency kit for central banks (https://ccw.fm/QTDYx). MasterCard has launched a blockchain-based platform that it hopes will win influential new customers, namely central banks. The Central Bank Digital Currencies Testing Platform, as it is known, will offer a way to experiment with the issue of digital currencies, perhaps ushering in a wave of sweeping change to current payment systems. Although cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are digital currencies, central bank-issued digital currencies would differ in that they would be regulated by a government authority and require proof of identity to use, just like fiat. Finally, a headline that's sure to grab attention: Buffett dumps Wells Fargo, amplifying bull case for gold and Bitcoin (https://ccw.fm/qf1fH). Famed investor Warren Buffett has sold 100 million shares, a large part of his stake in Wells Fargo, after the bank posted a loss of $2.4 billion in the second quarter, its first quarterly loss since the financial crisis of 2008. The drastic decline in earnings stems from the unusually high loan loss provisions made, as the coronavirus pandemic raises default risks for customers. The report raises moot points. How exactly selling shares in America's fourth-largest bank benefits Bitcoin is not clear, nor is how the share sale amplifies the “bull case for gold and Bitcoin.” Nevertheless, in some quarters, the cryptocurrency is considered to be a safe haven, despite having a volatility about twice that of gold (https://ccw.fm/HcifU). To view the most recent episode of the Wild West Crypto Show, now on TV in 45 cities across the nation, including its ongoing segment from CryptoCurrencyWire featuring the latest news from around the world, visit https://ccw.fm/kVEgU.

Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire (“CCW”), called in with his usual weekly update, which began with a revelation that may startle the IRS. Residents of Switzerland's canton of Zug, aptly named Crypto Valley, now have the option of paying their taxes in Bitcoin (“BTC”) and ether (“ETH”) (https://ccw.fm/1USWE). Zug acquired the crypto label because of its crypto-friendly policies. Despite its size — population of 30,000 — the small town is home to cryptocurrency exchange Shapeshift, as well as the Ethereum Foundation. Opening its arms to the latter has proven to be a game changer. The presence of the Ethereum Foundation has precipitated an entire ecosystem of service providers and developers within the community. With this latest pronouncement, which allows companies and private individuals to pay taxes up to an amount of 100,000 Swiss francs ($109,670), the canton maintains its place as a leader in crypto regulation. In other news, social content publishing platform The Capital claims that Bitcoin is now the sixth-largest world currency (https://ccw.fm/YpEMB). The Capital report states that “at its current market cap, Bitcoin has a money supply worth more than 170 different fiat currencies,” which is a good indication that contrasting the money supply of various world currencies to Bitcoin valuation may be a bit of an apples-to-oranges comparison. Despite being dubbed a currency, Bitcoin seems to lack three essential characteristics — medium of exchange, store of value and unit of account — that money must have. Many businesses and individuals will transact in Bitcoin, but the currency is still not widely enough accepted to be a medium of exchange. Moreover, its price fluctuations make it ill-suited to qualify as a store of value or a unit of exchange. Keim's final headline, CFTC Greenlights LedgerX Request to Move Beyond Digital Currency Products, shows regulators are warming to the idea of digital assets (https://ccw.fm/QgqEK). The CFTC has announced its approval of the LedgerX application to offer fully collateralized futures and options products in addition to the digital asset swaps it already provides. The CFTC order effectively removes the distinction between derivatives on digital assets and those with more established bases, such as commodities, stocks, bonds, interest rates and currencies. Now investors should find it a tad easier to cut risk as they search for returns in the current pandemic-plagued environment. To view the most recent episode of “The Wild West Crypto Show,” now on TV in 45 cities across the nation, including its ongoing segment from CryptoCurrencyWire featuring the latest news from around the world, visit https://ccw.fm/PlMwA

Jonathan Keim, director of communications at CryptoCurrencyWire, joined the show and brought everyone up to speed with developments in the crypto space. The big headline for the day: Fidelity President Files for New Bitcoin Fund (http://ccw.fm/2Res2). If anyone had doubts that cryptocurrencies are now totally mainstream, they can lay that uncertainty to rest. America's largest 401(k) provider, Fidelity, plans to start a new fund entirely devoted to Bitcoin. Called the Wise Origin Bitcoin Index Fund I, the fund may boost the investing behemoth's assets under management (“AUM”), which presently stand at $8.3 trillion. Fidelity has been an early supporter of crypto assets. The company began mining Bitcoin (“BTC”) and ether (“ETH”) in 2014 to develop knowledge of the technology, a venture that turned out to be quite profitable (http://ccw.fm/XVuYr). Second on Keim's list was this headline: Semtech and Helium Expand LoRaWAN Network Deployments (http://ccw.fm/uFy5P). The collaboration between Semtech and Helium has taken a step forward. Semtech is the developer of the LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) protocol, designed to wirelessly connect battery-operated “things” to the internet. Helium is creator of the LongFi technology, said to have a range 200 times that of Wi-Fi. The company has also developed the People's Network, the world's first peer-to-peer wireless network for low-power Internet of Things (“IoT”) devices to connect to the internet. With this partnership, IoT applications have now become a great deal more feasible. Finally, a news headline that shows managers of the U.S. Postal Service are no Luddites: US Rep. Darren Soto Is Excited about the Recent USPS Blockchain Voting Patent (http://ccw.fm/hqAaP). USPS has filed a patent for mail-in voting that draws on blockchain cryptographic security safeguards. The initiative comes at a time when new allegations that mail-in voting is vulnerable to fraud have surfaced. However, senior law-enforcement figures have expressed the view that it would be “extraordinarily difficult” for fraudulent mail-in voting to take place on a scale that would affect election results, “given the range of processes that would need to be affected or compromised by an adversary.” (http://ccw.fm/lUQc1). With Russia's election meddling an ongoing threat, this is a decidedly reassuring pronouncement. To view the most recent episode of the Wild West Crypto Show, now on TV in 45 cities across the nation, including its ongoing segment from CryptoCurrencyWire featuring the latest news from around the world, visit http://ccw.fm/LcK2Z.

Highlights of the show included Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire, who shared an intriguing trio of bulletins in his Weekly News Update. First off was the headline: Blockchange and Gemini Partner in Industry First to Bring Digital Assets to Registered Investment Advisors (http://ccw.fm/lCpXt). This news brief highlighted the collaboration between these two pioneers that makes it possible for registered investment advisers (“RIAs”) to offer their clients exposure to digital assets, which provides two immediate advantages: Clients' portfolios can benefit from the continuing upturn in those assets, and clients enjoy a further measure of diversification to their holdings, thus reducing overall risk. Blockchange is a digital asset investing platform for professional wealth managers. Gemini is a cryptocurrency exchange and custodian that allows customers to transact in more than 20 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin cash, ether, litecoin and Zcash. Next in line was the report that TRON and Waves are partnering on Inter-chain DeFi with Gravity (http://ccw.fm/tdyMj). This partnership between TRON and Waves means that the smart-contract languages of the two platforms will be integrated, which, among other things, will counter fragmentation in the digital asset space. Waves is a blockchain platform on which users can create their own new custom tokens for use in loyalty programs, as in-app currencies and for initial coin offerings (“ICOs”). TRON is a widely used blockchain platform that is particularly well suited to the development of decentralized applications (“DApps”). Keim's updates ended with a reassuring news headline for crypto skeptics: The Crypto Phenomenon Cannot Be Ignored, Says US Banking Regulator (http://ccw.fm/mMmoA). Brian Brooks, acting Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”), is seeing crypto moving further into the mainstream. His take on the crypto scene comes as no surprise. About a month ago, a directive from Brooks made it possible for banks to offer cryptocurrency custody services. The OCC is an arm of the Treasury Department, which charters, regulates, and supervises national banks, federal savings associations and agencies of foreign banks. “The crypto phenomenon cannot be ignored, especially in a world where 50 million American citizens hold cryptocurrencies and many more millions outside the U.S,” said Brooks. “Lot of people have this stuff, and they have it for good reasons. And we need to make sure it's accessible to them in the same safe and sound way that they can get the check in their account.” To view the most recent episode of the Wild West Crypto Show, now on TV in 45 cities across the nation, including its ongoing segment from CryptoCurrencyWire featuring the latest news from around the world, visit http://ccw.fm/gZnPc.

Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire, kicked off his report with the eye-catching news that Grayscale was debuting a new TV campaign focusing on the history of money (http://ccw.fm/2j0DA). Grayscale Investments, reportedly the world's largest digital currency asset manager, is launching an advertising “blitzkrieg” to raise awareness of its products. The company provides a suite of investment products based on crypto assets that includes Bitcoin Trust, Bitcoin Cash Trust, Ethereum Trust, Ethereum Classic Trust, Horizen Trust, Litecoin Trust, Stellar Lumens Trust, XRP Trust, Zcash Trust and Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund. The campaign will “illustrate how money has evolved over thousands of years” as well as how “we've ‘proceeded to wave goodbye to value, printing unlimited amounts of money.'” Next up, was the news that Coinbase now allows Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP holders to pay for goods directly from their accounts (http://ccw.fm/9QCwI). Coinbase, a large cryptocurrency exchange, has partnered with BitPay, the Bitcoin payment service provider, to allow crypto holders to become crypto consumers. The integration of the two companies' APIs will allow Coinbase users to “spend bitcoin, ether, XRP, USD Coin and other major cryptocurrencies to pay for goods offered by BitPay-supported merchants, which include Microsoft, Twitch and the Dallas Mavericks.” Keim's final feature showed that transacting in Bitcoin has become part and parcel of everyday life: one million Bitcoin wallets are now being used every day (http://ccw.fm/j3zM3). It appears that Bitcoin use has risen, once again, to levels not seen since late 2017. At that time, the cryptocurrency was trading at around $20,000. Bitcoin transaction levels tend to correlate positively with its price, but only since 2018, says Glassnode, the Bitcoin analytics firm that examined the data. Other factors — including increasing awareness and the potential to be a hedge against inflation — have historically influenced transaction volume, as indicated by the number of active addresses. To view the most recent episode of the Wild West Crypto Show, now on TV in 45 cities across the nation, including its ongoing segment from CryptoCurrencyWire featuring the latest news from around the world, visit http://ccw.fm/JE1OD

Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire (“CCW”), tuned in for his regular weekly news update, which kicked off with the intriguing headline: “Bloomberg: Americans Trade Depreciating Dollars for Bitcoin” (http://ccw.fm/pSNhF). Fearing an inflation-driven devaluation of the dollar, investors are shunning savings accounts, money market funds, and treasuries, and placing their cash in speculative assets such as stocks, gold and Bitcoin. This has pushed prices to record levels. In the last several months, the stock market has regained the lofty levels it had reached in late February while Bitcoin has appreciated by 55% and gold has climbed 29% to a level not seen since 2011. Keim's second headline looked at how one company is responding to inflation expectations: “Nasdaq-Listed MicroStrategy, Wary of Looming Dollar Inflation, Turns to Bitcoin and Gold” (http://ccw.fm/gSqL9). MicroStrategy, a Nasdaq-listed provider of business intelligence, mobile software and cloud-based services, plans to invest $250 million of its cash reserves in Bitcoin, gold and other alternative assets over the next 12 months as a hedge against U.S. dollar inflation. The company's CEO says it makes sense to “shift our treasury assets into some investments that can't be inflated away.” Finally, the news that a basic “banking product” will soon be available should bring cheer to the crypto community; this headline read “Genesis Partners with Luno to Create Alternative Savings Products, Extending Institutional Crypto Interest Rates to 4 Million Global Consumers” (http://ccw.fm/zICVV). Genesis, which provides digital-currency, prime-brokerage services, is joining forces with cryptocurrency exchange Luno to offer customers of the latter opportunities to earn interest on their crypto holdings. Earning interest on deposits is a defining characteristic of the established banking system. With this development, crypto has moved closer to convention. To view the most recent episode of the Wild West Crypto Show, now on TV in 45 cities across the nation, including its ongoing segment from CryptoCurrencyWire featuring the latest news from around the world, visit http://ccw.fm/cG3Oz

Jonathan Keim, director of communications at CryptoCurrencyWire, had a triplet of fascinating developments to report on. He started with the headline: Celsius Network Announces 25+ Cryptocurrencies as Loan Collateral (http://nnw.fm/OtKQp). Keim sees this announcement as a strong vote of confidence in the crypto markets, which historically have experienced a great deal of volatility. In January 2018, for example, Bitcoin was trading at over $17,000 but by December of the same year, it had plunged to around $3,400, a drop of some 80%.   Celsius offers its “community of HODLers,” or long-term owners of crypto assets, a convenient way to obtain some liquidity without having to dispose of any assets. The company provides loans of stable coins and fiat money using crypto assets as collateral. An additional benefit of this arrangement is that crypto owners avoid having to pay capital gains taxes, since no assets are sold. Access to such loans has now become easier after the announcement that “every asset accepted in the Celsius Network wallet will also be approved for loan collateral.” These loans can be backed by 26 different cryptocurrencies, including “stablecoins like TUSD, PAX, USDT, and GUSD, [and] altcoins such as DASH, ZRX, XLM, and for the first time the [Celsius] native token, CEL.” The facility is available in more than 200 countries with affordable rates that start at just under 1% APR.   Keim's second report featured speculation by Heath Tarbert, who heads the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), that “a ‘large part' of financial system could end up in blockchain format” (http://nnw.fm/j4jWv). The CFTC chairman marveled at the speed of development in the crypto space, noting that while the present financial system took several hundred years to evolve, the digital asset space has become a viable economic system within a decade.   Finally, a blurb for Bitcoin from Wall Street touted this: Major Investment Bank Recommends Bitcoin Over Gold (http://nnw.fm/auX1F). A senior analyst at investment bank Oppenheimer thinks that Bitcoin has potential for more appreciation than gold. At around $11,594, the cryptocurrency is a far way from its lofty levels at the end of 2017, while gold, hovering around $2,000, is at a 20-year high.   To view the most recent episode of the Wild West Crypto Show, now on TV in 45 cities across the nation, including its ongoing segment from CryptoCurrencyWire featuring the latest news from around the world, visit http://nnw.fm/pXqhx.

Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire, appeared with another trio of exciting updates, kicking off with this headline: eToro Quarterly Report: Q2 2020, stablecoins find a mainstream use case (http://ccw.fm/NHn2m). Results of a recent study, conducted by social investment platform eToro and its market research unit, the Tie, indicate that adoption of cryptocurrencies and assets are increasing globally. It's good to see headlines and anecdotal evidence substantiated with data from surveys. In other news, Keim reported MasterCard's increasing commitment to cryptos with the press release title: MasterCard Accelerates Crypto Card Partner Program, Making It Easier for Consumers to Hold and Activate Cryptocurrencies (http://ccw.fm/TlRua). The card network, the second largest after VISA with a 30% market share, is actively recruiting cryptocurrency companies to join its Accelerate program for crypto-card issuers. Additionally, the network is collaborating with London-based, crypto-payment-processor Wirex, which makes the latter “the first ‘native' cryptocurrency platform to gain principal membership.” The alliance allows Wirex to directly issue crypto payment cards. Now Wirex customers can top up their fiat currency designated payment cards using cryptocurrencies. Keim's final report — Banks in US Can Now Offer Crypto Custody Services, Regulator Says — shows that banks have found a safe way to get into the crypto space (http://ccw.fm/EpsuD). The Office of the Comptroller of Currencies, a major U.S. bank regulator, has given nationally chartered banks the green light to hold digital assets for their clients. On July 22, a senior official of the agency wrote a public letter stating that the OCC will allow banks to hold the unique cryptographic keys for a cryptocurrency wallet, opening the way for banks to provide electronic safety boxes for crypto customers. This development is one more indication that crypto adoption is continuing at rapid pace. For the most recent episode of the Wild West Crypto Show, which includes CryptoCurrencyWire's ongoing segment featuring the latest news from around the world, visit http://ccw.fm/USLFE.

Jonathan Keim, communications director at CryptoCurrencyWire, called in with his usual weekly triplet of exciting developments in the crypto space. He started with the headline: “CoinPayments Appoints Veteran Tech Marketer Ray Torresan as CMO to Drive New Branding & Global Growth” (http://ccw.fm/qDTuf). CoinPayments, a large cryptocurrency payments processor, has appointed Ray Torresan as chief marketing officer as part of the company's major rebranding initiative. That marketing repositioning is meant, in turn, “to support exponential revenue growth targets,” says the company. The CoinPayments platform allows merchants to accept Bitcoin and hundreds of altcoins in their stores by incorporating plugins, APIs and POS interfaces. As a result, the company, now with more than 2.2 million users in 182 countries around the world, has come a long way since 2013, when it became the first payment processor to support altcoins. CoinPayments now supports transactions in more than 1,900 coins. Next on Keim's list was the news that Jack Dorsey's Cash App is sponsoring NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace (http://ccw.fm/IvaiL). Wallace, perhaps best known for the role he played in getting NASCAR to ban displays of the Confederate flag at its events, has a new backer, and it's none other than Twitter co-founder and CEO, Jack Dorsey. The sponsorship deal requires Wallace's car to sport the logo of Cash App, the mobile payments platform from Square, which was also founded by Dorsey, as well as the Bitcoin emblem. Square's Cash App offers mobile banking services plus the ability to transact in stocks and Bitcoin. Finally, Keim reported on what is driving institutional interest in cryptocurrency investment, according to Huobi Global (http://ccw.fm/NSSEs). Huobi has experienced a surge in transactions as institutional investors have flocked to the company's futures market place. In early May, futures and swap trading transaction volume reached $5.2 billion. A substantial part of this was due to perpetual contract swaps that hit $2.2 billion during one 24-hour period, a remarkable achievement considering that perpetual swaps were launched on March 31. For the most recent episode of the Wild West Crypto Show, which includes CryptoCurrencyWire's ongoing segment featuring the latest news from around the world, visit http://ccw.fm/CpbTi.

Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire, appeared to give his usual weekly news update. He got the ball rolling with a headline that should put developers in good spirits: “Algorand Provides Native Support of the Pocket Network's Next-Generation Decentralized Infrastructure” (http://ccw.fm/uukO0). Pocket Network is a decentralized infrastructure platform for the development of peer-to-peer applications. Algorand's involvement means that developers will have easier access to the platform, which, by virtue of being decentralized, should reduce costs, improve scalability and security, and provide a wider range of blockchain development tools. Algorand is the world's first open-source, permissionless, pure, proof-of-stake blockchain protocol. Next Keim reported on developments in the crypto-mining space: “HIVE Blockchain Continues Increasing Bitcoin Mining Power Through Additional Purchase of Next-Generation Miners for Green Energy-Powered Quebec Facility” (http://ccw.fm/oXeVl). HIVE Blockchain Technologies plans to add 200 Bitmain Antminer S17e 60 Terahash per second (TH/s) SHA 256 mining machines to its Quebec operations, adding to the 750 Bitmain S17+ Antminer machines previously acquired. HIVE also owns digital-currency mining facilities in Sweden and Iceland. The company focuses primarily on the production of Bitcoin and Ethereum.   Finally, security software superstar John McAfee is back in the news, after launching the world's first private cell phone data service (http://ccw.fm/yB18m). McAfee claims his Ghost Cell Phone Data Service will be the first 4G data service to make connections to the network untraceable. The phone will employ a software SIM instead of a physical one. A special network will deploy a range of cryptographic techniques to ensure that connections can't be tracked. The system will support VOIP and other IP-based communication platforms. McAfee is inviting members of the media to beta test the service, which he plans to launch globally in September. McAfee is something of a curiosity in Silicon Valley, at least partially because he has orchestrated two unsuccessful presidential campaigns. For the latest episode of the Wild West Crypto Show, which includes CryptoCurrencyWire's ongoing segment featuring the most recent news from around the world, visit http://ccw.fm/NN96V.

Episode 116 of the Wild West Crypto Show, titled “Cryptos Looking Strong,” was chock-full of good stuff. The show, hosted as usual by Drew Taylor and Brent Bates, featured three pioneering crypto pros: Jon Allen of the Unitize Conference, Josh Tate from ForumPay, and a special segment featuring Bo “Knows” Polny, who declaimed on face masks, the Fourth of July holiday, and gold and silver, which he says are “God's money.” Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire, also appeared with his usual trio of newsbreaks, one of which recounted a fake gold scam in China. In addition, listeners enjoyed commentary on cryptocurrencies and the big board indices, all of which are looking strong. Bitcoin, for instance, maintains its position above $9,000, while stocks continue to rise from their low point in mid-March.   Allen talked at length about his project, a collaboration of Cointelegraph's BlockShow and the popular San Francisco Blockchain Week. Scheduled for July 6–10, the Unitize Decentralized Digital Conference delivered content continuously to audiences on a near-daily basis (http://ccw.fm/CSdeP). The event offered participants a chance to hear expert speakers on crypto and blockchain, as well as visit virtual exhibitions, interactive lounges and chat rooms. Networking was never so easy. An audio stream was available, so those who couldn't take part fully still had a way to participate.   Speakers included the Hon. Hester Peirce, SEC commissioner; Vitalik Buterin, creator of Ethereum; Silvio Micali, Turing-Award cryptographer and founder of Algorand; Tim Draper, founder of DFJ VC; California Senate Majority Leader Robert Hertzberg; and Alessandro Chiesa, an assistant professor at UC Berkeley and co-founder of Zcash & StarkWare.   During his segment on the show, Tate explained how his crypto payments platform is helping small businesses expand the range of payment options they offer their customers (http://ccw.fm/j5Ebd). ForumPay can be integrated into an online merchant's standard payment solution in only a few easy steps. The platform is a good way for online retailers to increase their customer base, as more and more people are paying for goods and services with cryptocurrencies.   Keim launched his triplet of updates with the headline “Curv Raises $23M Series a Round; Launches tX to Accelerate Institutional Adoption of Digital Assets” (http://ccw.fm/iea7p). Curv, a start-up that provides crypto custody services to institutions, has developed a platform to manage digital assets. The company's security technology allows cryptofinance products to be safely stored and transferred on a blockchain. News of the funding was accompanied by announcement of the launch of a community of cryptographers and engineers — tX — who use Curv's keyless technology.   In other news, Keevo announced a strategic partnership with Iron Mountain to protect crypto currency users and their heirs (http://ccw.fm/5uCsi). Keevo, which has developed a crypto hardware wallet, has formed an alliance with Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) to provide storage and information-management services to users of its wallet. Securing cryptocurrencies and other crypto assets has become increasingly challenging as their adoption has grown. For instance, in just the first half of 2019, more than $4 billion worth of cryptocurrencies disappeared, victim to the machinations of hackers.   Finally, Keim reported on a $2.8 billion fake-gold bullion scam (http://ccw.fm/yMjVO). Kingold Jewelry (NASDAQ: KGJI), a Chinese manufacturer of jewelry based in Wuhan, has been accused of putting up fake gold as collateral for $2.8 billion in loans the company received over the past five years. It seems the old saw — all that glitters is not gold — has been proven right once again.   For the most recent episode of the Wild West Crypto Show, which includes CryptoCurrencyWire's ongoing segment featuring the latest news from around the world, visit http://ccw.fm/bdM58.

In addition to the look back at the Harvey piece, the show included an appearance by Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire, who tuned in with his usual trio of developing stories. First was the headline: KuCoin P2P Fiat Market Supports Buying Crypto with USD Via PayPal (http://ccw.fm/xlKX0).   Starting in June, KuCoin will allow its customers to buy cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether and Tether, using U.S. dollars from their PayPal accounts. This development adds another fiat currency that KuCoin will accept as payment for transactions on its platform. The KuCoin P2P Fiat Market already supports payments made in the Canadian dollar (“CAD”), Chinese yuan (“CNY”), Indonesian rupiah (“IDR”) and Vietnamese dong (“VND”). Founded in 2017, KuCoin is a crypto exchange with one out of four crypto holders worldwide and an estimated 5 million users across 207 countries.   Next on Keim's list was the LATOKEN VCTV Weekly Announcement (June 8–12) (http://ccw.fm/B9cN0). LATOKEN VCTV is a broadcast platform focused on the venture capital (“VC”) industry. The broadcast regularly features discussion panels, road shows, pitch competitions, keynote addresses and a variety of other VC-related content, and is widely watched by the VC community.   LATOKEN VCTV's Weekly Announcement gives a heads-up on the agenda for the forthcoming week. The week June 8–12 began with an address by Giampaolo Parigi, chairman of a single family office discussing how to raise capital in the new normal. Other segments included a talk on how to get tech-style growth from old-economy businesses by Callum Laing, founder and CEO of MBH Corporation, and an online road show with the theme: Investments and Pivots during Pandemic: AI, Machine Learning  and Data.   Keim's final report was the news that BitPay has been selected as Frost & Sullivan's Company of the Year in the Alternative Payments space (http://ccw.fm/Z8yV5). BitPay is the world's largest provider of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment services. The company was founded in 2011 and is notable for a number of achievements. In 2016, it launched the BitPay Visa Prepaid Debit Card, the first prepaid Visa debit card for Bitcoin. And in 2018, it received a virtual currency license from the New York Department of Financial Services.   For the most recent episode of the Wild West Crypto Show, which includes CryptoCurrencyWire's ongoing segment featuring the latest news from around the world, visit http://ccw.fm/EO3bO.

In his weekly news update, Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire (“CCW”), furnished another trio of blockchain bulletins, starting with “CoinField Joins Open Payments Coalition to Launch PayID and Comply with FATF's Travel Rule” (http://ccw.fm/Bk62r). CoinField, a regulated, European-based, fiat-to-crypto exchange supervised by the Financial Intelligence Unit (“FIU”), has joined the Open Payments Coalition, a multinational alliance of industry leaders that developed a universal payment identification system. Known as PayID, the protocol simplifies the process of sending and receiving money globally across any payment network and any currency.   Second up was the news that “Binance Charity Pioneers COVID-19 Relief with First-Ever Fully Transparent Campaign” (http://ccw.fm/mZ64t). The Binance Charity Foundation, the philanthropic arm Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is providing a large quantity of personal protective equipment (“PPE”) to New York City. This initiative follows similar ones designed to support hospitals in a number of countries ravaged by COVID-19, including China, Italy and Spain.   The relief effort in New York City was marked by the creation of a social impact cryptocurrency, christened the PPE Token, which means donors can track how their funds are put to use, something they would be hard-pressed to do with a regular charity. In its first deployment, the PPE Token is killing two birds with one stone. Not only has it verified the successful, tamper-proof delivery of 200,000 N95 masks to 11 benefiting hospitals in New York City and the surrounding region, but it has served as a form of compensation for the couriers involved.   Last but certainly not least, the news that “Blockchain Heroes Collectible Digital Trading Card Set to Feature 50 Original Superheroes on WAX Blockchain” will give many adults the chance to act out some adolescent fantasies (http://ccw.fm/zLj9x). The new set of trading cards is based on the following question: What if there existed an alternate universe in which the inventors, investors, supporters and evangelists of blockchain were actually superheroes fighting for the virtues of decentralization, privacy, transparency and freedom?   According to the release: “Blockchain Heroes, an exciting collectible digital trading card set on the WAX blockchain, will make this alternative universe a reality in August 2020. Fifty unique superheroes in a variety of card rarities will be revealed in purchasable card packs. Similar to physical collectible trading cards, each pack of digital collectibles will be randomized and provide unknown surprises. With 50 total heroes, each pack of cards will have the chance to reveal common, uncommon, rare, epic, legendary or mythic versions of any hero in increasing rarity, each with its own special design.” One wonders, could Satoshi Nakamoto be one of those superheroes?   For the most recent episode of the Wild West Crypto Show, which includes CryptoCurrencyWire's ongoing segment featuring the latest news from around the world, visit http://ccw.fm/2RZ5a

Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire, captured another trio of fascinating headlines that revealed how fast the crypto revolution is disrupting conventional ways of doing business on this latest episode of the Wild West Crypto Show.   Legal agreements, for example, are as old as Methuselah but now, by incorporating blockchain technology, they are being reincarnated as “smart contracts” — self-executing, self-enforcing agreements that don't require costly, arduous execution or resolution processes. Smart contracts are similar to regular contracts, except that the contract terms are coded in a programming language and that code is enclosed in a blockchain. Some well-known blockchain protocols, such as Bitcoin, support smart contracts. But the one mostly widely used is Ethereum, which has its own smart contract language called Solidity. Other languages used for smart contracts include C++, Java and JavaScript.   But, says Blockstack founder Dr. Muneeb Ali, such languages are insecure because they are “undecidable.” So in collaboration with Dr. Silvio Micali, founder of Algorand, Ali has launched an independent, open-source project to support Clarity, the “first-of-its-kind smart contract language” (http://ccw.fm/J7tXt). Clarity is a “decidable” language, which means that “developers can know, with mathematical certainty, what a program will and will not do ahead of time.” Now that the value of smart contracts has crossed a billion dollars, it's time for “smart contract languages that are more safe, secure, and predictable in order to mature the industry beyond its current state,” say Ali and Micali.   In another news release — “Coca-Cola Amatil Vending Machines Accept Bitcoin via Centrapay” — one of the global beverage company's largest bottlers is giving its customers the option to pay with cryptocurrency (http://ccw.fm/ZUk5s). Coca-Cola Amatil is partnering with digital asset integrator Centrapay to offer the service to its customers, who can use their Sylo Smart Wallet at any one of Coca-Cola's 2,000-plus vending machines with a QR code payment sticker. Coca-Cola Amatil is the largest bottler and distributor in the Asia Pacific region, serving an estimated 270 million consumers and supporting some 140 brands.   Finally, the news that the National Science Foundation (NSF) is funding KRNC Blockchain to upgrade the U.S. dollar indicates the Feds have joined the crypto bandwagon (http://ccw.fm/Pqps1). The NSF is a federal government agency and the protocol it is funding — KRNC — could eliminate the need for private cryptocurrencies. KRNC allows existing electronic dollars to be retrofitted with new cryptographic features, including digital scarcity and smart contracts. “KRNC takes the positives of Bitcoin and adds them to money the public already owns,” said Clint Ehrlich, the project's chief scientist. “It's the virtual equivalent of taping gold to everyone's dollar bills.”   For the latest episode of the Wild West Crypto Show, which includes CryptoCurrencyWire's ongoing segment featuring the most recent news from around the world, visit http://ccw.fm/nMDe9

Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire, appeared with his usual weekly news update on this episode of the Wild West Crypto Show.   Keim started his trio of notable press reports with the news that Bitcoin IRA has released a new infographic to coincide with Bitcoin's halving in May (http://ccw.fm/Vfm45). Founded in 2015, Bitcoin IRA acts as a custodian for Bitcoin held in self-directed Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA's). Investor interest in adding Bitcoin (“BTC”) to IRA and 401(k) accounts has been on the increase, particularly in April and May as the cryptocurrency approached and underwent halving.   The infographic published by Bitcoin IRA shows why. After previous halvings, BTC has appreciated markedly. After the first halving in 2012, BTC price rose by 8,189%; in 2016, following the second halving, the value rose by an another 2,237%. Despite the uncertainty of present economics, many investors expect that the value of BTC will once again increase after the latest halving.   Next on Keim's agenda was the headline that OKEx expects to double its employee count over the next two years (http://ccw.fm/Cy3lM). OKEx is said to be the largest and most diverse cryptocurrency marketplace in the world, offering facilities to trade spot in major cryptocurrencies, as well as in a range of crypto derivatives that include futures and options. The company is also launching a mentorship program in Europe. Christened the OKEx Beacon Program, the scheme will enlist six persons for a one-month exclusive mentorship with CEO Jay Hao and director of financial markets Lennix Lai.   Finally, International Spirits & Wellness Holdings (OTC: ISWH), a global brand-management holdings company, has announced it's getting into the cryptocurrency mining business (http://ccw.fm/51sIs). The company is joined forces with Bit5ive LLC, a global leader in cryptocurrency mining and innovative turnkey mining solutions. The two companies are eyeing the Bitcoin technology market, valued at $293.66 million in 2019 and expected to reach $477 million by 2025.   For the latest episode of the Wild West Crypto Show, which includes CryptoCurrencyWire's ongoing segment featuring the most recent news from around the world, visit http://ccw.fm/nMDe9.  

Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire, appeared with his usual weekly news update on this episode of the Wild West Crypto Show.   South Korea's largest chaebol is ahead of the curve, as usual, as an intriguing headline – ‘Samsung Elevates Data Protection for Mobile Devices with New Security Chip Solution' – demonstrates (http://ccw.fm/ZHD9m). The group's semiconductor division, Samsung Electronics, has developed a cybersecurity protection system that employs a dedicated chip. Typically, cybersecurity defenses are software solutions. The product is made up of a Secure Element (SE) chip combined with enhanced security software, which offers protection for tasks such as booting, isolated storage, mobile payment and other applications. The security chip is Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level (CC EAL) 6+ certified, the highest level possible for a mobile component.   Bitcoin dominance is not just in the cryptocurrency arena. Traditional financial services are giving ground to its rapidly growing sway, as Forbes reported in a piece with a lengthy label: ‘Exploding Past $10 Billion, Interest Income and Lending Are Bitcoin's First Killer Apps' (http://ccw.fm/96wKP). A vibrant industry has developed around deposits and loans of cryptocurrencies, similar to how traditional banks operate.   The reasons are obvious. Cryptocurrency owners can park their holdings at institutions such as Genesis Capital and Celsius and earn as much as “8.1% annual percentage rate (APR) on their first deposited Bitcoin (BTC),” all while it would be difficult to find a fixed deposit that offers an APR over 2% with traditional fiat currency (http://ccw.fm/Y3u5V). There are benefits for borrowers, as well. They have the opportunity to receive cash without having to dispose of their crypto assets, which means that they not only retain exposure but avoid the capital gains taxes that selling would trigger.   Bitcoin was featured once again in the final news item: ‘Bitwage Rolls Out Bitcoin 401(k) Plan with Help from Gemini' (http://ccw.fm/tA1MY). Bitwage, which offers crypto payroll services, launched its bitcoin 401(k) employee pension account. The company plans to start offering the product to businesses that are struggling to meet the 75% payroll requirement in the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). To date, some $660 billion has been channeled to small businesses under the PPP established by the CARES Act. The program is meant to reduce layoffs as the economy falls into a possible corona virus-induced recession.   For the latest episode, which includes CryptoCurrencyWire's ongoing segment featuring the latest news from around the world, visit http://ccw.fm/8k6rI

Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire, appeared with his usual weekly news update on this episode of the Wild West Crypto Show.    First up in Keim's update was the news that the Crypto.com Visa card program received a green light in Canada (http://ccw.fm/PI0oq). Crypto.com started life as Monaco, a company offering a cryptocurrency-funded Visa debit card. Now, after a rebranding, the company will be known as the Crypto.com MCO platform and will offer the MCO Visa card, which links Visa cards with cryptocurrency accounts. The integration allows users to easily spend their cryptocurrency on everyday purchases, wherever Visa is accepted – and Visa is everywhere. The card network is the largest in the world, with more than 40 million merchants and 336 million cardholders.   Next up, Keim shared the news release ‘Huobi Rebrands Its Derivatives Exchange as Crypto Derivatives Surge in Popularity' (http://ccw.fm/UZ7Fg). Headquartered in Singapore, Huobi is a cryptocurrency exchange that has been offering a variety of derivative products. The rebranding has been prompted by increased interest in crypto-derivative products such as futures, forwards, swaps and options, from both large institutional and smaller retail investors. Now called Huobi Futures, the exchange's coin-margined, perpetual contracts have experienced a surge in trading since their launch in late March, already topping the market in cumulative trading volume. On May 12, the total 24-hour, coin-margin perpetual trading volume on Huobi Futures rose above $5.46 billion, outperforming by far the exchange's closest competitor.   Keim completed his round-up with the headline ‘World's Leading Crypto Payments Processor CoinPayments Announces Strategic Partnership with Shopify' (http://ccw.fm/Dt066). This collaboration, much like the MCO Visa card project, has the potential to markedly increase adoption of cryptocurrencies. “Under the terms of the partnership, CoinPayments will now be a visible payment option for merchants on the Shopify platform and will make cryptocurrency transactions easier and more accessible while reducing transaction fees,” the announcement stated. “Vendors will now get paid faster in any of the 1,800 cryptocurrencies supported by CoinPayments while gaining access to untapped markets globally. This partnership further enables cross-border payments, allowing merchants to eliminate the hassle of working with multiple payment processors across different jurisdictions.”   For the latest episode, which includes CryptoCurrencyWire's ongoing segment featuring the latest news from around the world, visit http://ccw.fm/t3ozS

The CryptoCurrencyWire segment kicked off with the news that JPMorgan is allowing crypto exchanges Coinbase and Gemini access to its banking services (http://ccw.fm/5vBmS). In April, the nation's largest banking firm took the plunge and opened accounts for the two exchanges – the first time it has served customers from the crypto sector. However, the bank will not be processing cryptocurrency transactions, only those denominated in U.S. dollars.In other news, digital asset trading platform FalconX has raised $17 million in new capital from a host of investors that includes Accel, Accomplice VC, Coinbase Ventures, Fenbushi Capital, Flybridge Capital Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Avon Ventures, a venture capital fund affiliated with FMR LLC, the parent company of Fidelity Investments (http://ccw.fm/Fd0jC). The funding will be used to introduce new products and expand FalconX's trade execution suite and scale infrastructure to support growing institutional demand for cryptocurrency.Finally, the tax man is coming. The IRS has initiated a plan to hire third-party contractors to help it examine crypto traders' tax returns (http://ccw.fm/fNdK6). The agency is looking for tax-software companies to assist its revenue agents in calculating taxpayers' gains or losses as a result of their transactions involving virtual currencies.

It's been another wild week in the crypto world, culminating in that most momentous event: the halving of bitcoin. On May 11, 2020, bitcoin halving took place, taking the reward earned by miners down from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC (http://ccw.fm/fNWp3). All week, anticipation had been growing, although on episode 108 of the Wild West Crypto Show, hosts Drew Taylor and Brent Bates maintained their usual cool. The two crypto cowboys are dedicated to keeping viewers in the loop in a calm, collected way. Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire, showed up with his usual trifecta of news items. This is the third time bitcoin has halved. The cryptocurrency has been programmed to do exactly that each time another 210,000 blocks are added. The first halving took place in 2012, taking the block reward to 25 BTC, down from its original 50 BTC. In 2016, the second halving reduced the reward even further to 12.5 BTC. Now, after the latest halving, a block reward is just one-eighth of what it was when the first bitcoin block was mined in 2009. The immediate effect is that some mining operations may become unprofitable. If those miners cease operation, the supply flow of bitcoin is likely to fall, at least in the short term. Keim kicked off his reporting with the news that the Stellar Development Foundation has invested $5 million in Abra, a global-investment platform that allows users in more than 150 countries to transact in over 100 different cryptocurrencies via a single app (http://ccw.fm/a2Mg8). The collaboration with Stellar, a fast, scalable, distributed ledger-based network, has advantages for both parties. Abra will be able to utilize Stellar as its blockchain backend, while the Stellar network will now feature a wider range of services. The review that followed – ‘Noncustodial Crypto Investing App Ember Fund Raises $700K Via Crowdfunding Sale' – shows that the crypto space is gaining increasing acceptance from the feds (http://ccw.fm/xWK5c). Ember Fund plans to use the funds on “customer acquisition and building out the smart contract technology that powers the Ember app.” The offering was made on the Republic investment platform and took the form of ‘Crowd SAFE' (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) securities, which can be converted into equity at some triggering event, such as an IPO or an acquisition by a strategic buyer. Keim's final report – ‘American Express and Credit Suisse Execs Join Blockchain Firm BlockFi' – was a real eye-opener, as it showed how adoption of crypto is increasing (http://ccw.fm/sAl1i). Wittney Rachlin, formerly of American Express, where she grew the business-card vertical by some 20%, has joined BlockFi as chief growth officer, while David Olsson has joined the company as global managing director of European and Asian markets. Previously, Olsson headed a Credit Suisse private banking team focused on ultra-high net-worth clients.

  Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire, popped in with another trio of interesting headlines, starting with ‘11 Lawmakers Urge US Treasury to Consider Blockchain for COVID-19 Relief'. In summary, a bipartisan group of legislators have penned a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin noting that blockchain and distributed ledger technologies were secure “new mechanisms” for moving money quickly and transparently, which could in turn boost liquidity in distributing funds via the federal CARES Act. If utilized, these new mechanisms would not only deliver financial relief to individuals and small businesses but help America retain its technological advantage (http://ccw.fm/nNC0Y). Second on Keim's list was the news that ‘Nasdaq Is Using R3's Corda for Managing Digital Assets'. Nasdaq has collaborated with R3 to offer a platform for digital asset marketplaces on the Corda blockchain. This platform allows participants in the capital markets to use Corda in the issuance, trading, settlement and custody of digital assets (http://ccw.fm/2W7cv). Corda is a distributed ledger technology with a difference. Unlike other blockchains that require the consensus of all nodes, a condition that slows the addition of blocks, Corda only requires consensus between the two parties effecting a transaction. This speeds up processing and makes Corda more amenable to payments platforms. To mitigate the ‘trust risk' caused by this two-party consensus arrangement, users of the mainnet are vetted by the host. Thus, Corda is best suited for private rather than public blockchains. Finally, the general populace is warming up to bitcoin. New data shows that bitcoin addresses with “at least 0.1 BTC' are increasing rapidly (http://ccw.fm/cQv8w). By April 27, the number of these addresses had climbed to 3,010,784. There is a suggestion that remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell may be partly responsible. In mid-February, Powell warned that the low-interest-rate environment may limit the central bank's ability to support the economy during a downturn (http://ccw.fm/vj1sJ).

On episode 106 of the Wild West Crypto Show, crypto cowboys Drew Taylor and Brent Bates, hosts of the show, were at it again, bringing their loyal fans up to speed with developments in the crypto space. The buzz about Virtual Blockchain Week, which took place April 26 through May 2, 2020, in Las Vegas, was evident.  Organized by Joel Comm and Travis Wright of the Bad Crypto Podcast, Virtual Blockchain Week 2020 was a global livestream event focused on blockchain, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. As always, the weekly news update with Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire, was a central feature of the show. First up was news of a recently released study on blockchain that highlighted two challenges – lack of awareness and scalability – that the technology must overcome (http://ccw.fm/blQE6). Despite these caveats, further development of distributed ledger applications continues to proceed, as the next item demonstrates. “Bitcoin ATMs pump to over 7,500 worldwide,” the news proclaims (http://ccw.fm/Mm4K1). Bitcoin ATM installation has climbed by around 70% over the past year, bringing the estimated total of ATMs to 7,500, two-thirds of which are in the United States. The pace of installation picked up this year, with approximately 1,200 units, or 16% of the total, being installed this year. This is a decidedly rapid increase. It took four years, from 2014 to 2018, for the number of bitcoin ATMs installed globally to reach 2,000. Finally, our communications director covered a headline that shows how the industry is taking the fight to the coronavirus: ‘Virtual Blockchain Week Partners with Binance Charity to Donate Funds to Crypto Against COVID Campaign' (http://ccw.fm/KfE25). Event organizers of Virtual Blockchain Week joined forces with Binance Charity, a nonprofit organization founded by Binance, to raise funds for the charity's campaign, Crypto Against COVID. Donations will be used to purchase medical supplies from vetted suppliers to support hospitals and first responders around the world who are risking their lives to tackle this virus.