Unemployment in the US is close to 50 year lows, growth is above 2% and yet this morning the Federal Reserve cut interest rates. It’s been a death spiral for a least a decade now, with Japan leading the way. Government’s are swamped by debt and ageing populations, this trend will continue and holding fiat money will have increasing costs. The chart of falling bond yields tells you something, they are bankrupt.
Tether now on Liquid
Blockstream’s Liquid network added another to string to its bow this week as the powerhouse USD stablecoin Tether launched on the platform. Tether’s total daily trading volume exceeds US$20 Billion, it has long been the highest volume asset behind bitcoin.
The Liquid network is a bitcoin sidechain. It benefits from the security of bitcoin and is tied to it through transactions but it is much faster more maneuverable and allows for scale.
Liquid has quietly added a number of features that have considerably improved its UX since its release last year, the chief of these being its integration into the Blockstream Green wallet service. The Blockstream Green wallet allows users to custody their assets securely, this now extends to all and any assets issued and traded on the Liquid platform.
Shortly following is the Liquid securities platform, which allows asset issuers to seamlessly tokenise any security. You will be able to host assets of all kinds, currencies, shares, commodities in a single wallet.
Slowly, this financial revolution is happening. Meanwhile, the world watches Netflix.
India proposes crypto ban
A proposed cryptocurrency ban in India gained momentum this week as a report recommended:
“all private cryptocurrency, except any cryptocurrency issued by the state government be banned in India because of volatility in their price and lack of intrinsic value backing it”.
A statement laced with irony. Firstly, the belief that the Indian Rupee itself has intrinsic value. Secondly, they don’t like cryptocurrency unless they are the ones issuing it.
We reveal the Emperor’s Clothes below.
Different worlds, different views
Further Senate hearings this week revealed a changing attitude amongst US regulators toward bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general. Senator Crapo (yes, we checked) from the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs committee conceded that he was “pretty confident we wouldn’t succeed” in banning cryptocurrency.
Well China did ban it a few years back but is now moving back from that position. The Bank of China published a note explaining how bitcoin, works and why it might be useful. That doesn’t happen unless someone in government says it can.
As the US regulators wrestle with Libra, bitcoin and their loss of monetary status, China has started moving in the other direction. Perhaps it’s a coincidence?
Bitcoin approaches 1 billion USD in fee revenue
Another milestone for bitcoin is approaching this week as total miner revenues from fees reach USD $1 Billion (price as at the time of payment).
An achievement eloquently summarised by author of the Bitcoin Standard, Saifedean Ammous :
“If a startup earns a billion dollars in 10 years for transferring money worldwide, would your university fiat economists still call it a tulip?”
