The Friday Focus: Issue 9
Weekly happenings
It’s been another busy week in the crypto market. El Salvador announced that they are building the world’s first Bitcoin city, financed with a new, innovative financial instrument: “Bitcoin bonds”. The day following the announcement, the IMF warned that El Salvador should drop Bitcoin as legal tender. On the institutional side, big investment banks continue expanding their crypto divisions, with both JP Morgan and Citi announcing available positions. Morgan Stanley has not been on a similar hiring spree but has increased its crypto exposure by buying more than 2.6 million shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust in Q3. Last week we saw big capital raises, as Moonpay raised $555 million, Royal raised $55 million, and GRIID secured a $525 million credit facility. So far in 2021, we have seen five times more VC money coming into the crypto industry than in 2020. We also see that traditional non-crypto companies are increasingly dipping their toes in the crypto space, proved by Adidas' recent partnership with Coinbase. DAOs continue to prove their potential in governance, with ConstitutionDAO almost succeeding in buying the only private example of the US constitution.
Weekend reading
Weekend listening
Bitcoin Magazine: How the latest macroeconomic news is impacting Bitcoin
The Breakdown, with NLW: Are El Salvador’s Bitcoin ‘Volcano Bonds’ an End Run Around the IMF?
Simon Dixon: Simon Dixon, Max Keiser & Samson Mow Discuss El Salvador Bitcoin Volcano Bond
The Tim Ferriss Show: Chris Dixon and Naval Ravikant — The Wonders of Web3, How to Pick the Right Hill to Climb, Finding the Right Amount of Crypto Regulation, Friends with Benefits, and the Untapped Potential of NFTs
The Breakdown, With NLW: What Jerome Powell’s Second Term Means for Bitcoin
Arcane’s weekend material
