Bitcoin

Bitcoin Is Now Identified as a Legal Virtual Asset Property by the Shanghai High Court

May 12, 2022 by Vignesh Karunanidhi

A recent judgment from China’s Shanghai High People’s Court has given the country’s experiment with cryptocurrency a fresh twist. While China’s expulsion of crypto miners and other judgments had effectively restricted crypto trading and associated operations within its borders, the Shanghai ruling may provide some relief to the community.

The judgment in question found Bitcoin to be a virtual asset with economic value that is protected by Chinese law. “The People’s Court has established a unanimous view on the legal position of bitcoin in actual trial practice and designated it as a virtual property,” it wrote on its official WeChat channel.

In China, the highest municipal court is the high people’s court, which is preceded by the people’s courts and intermediate people’s courts.

They are directly controlled by the central government and have a structure that is identical to that of the Supreme People’s Court, which sits above them. In China, the Supreme People’s Court is the highest court.

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China and Bitcoin

The High People’s Court was considering a lawsuit brought by Cheng Mou, another Shi Moumou, who was seeking the restoration of his (one) bitcoin. On October 10, 2020, Cheng Mou filed the complaint at Shanghai’s Baoshan District People’s Court, and Moumou was ordered to refund the bitcoin.

The defendant, however, declined to do so, and the case was sent to the Shanghai High People’s Court. While the case is still pending in China’s lower courts, the decision might be significant since it establishes a precedent for how virtual assets are viewed under Chinese law.

To date, the government has discouraged cryptocurrency trading and shunned miners in an effort to minimize energy use and discourage the entire business.

“Virtual currency-related business activities are illegal financial activities,” the People’s Bank of China said in September last year. It also warned Chinese citizens that crypto trading could “seriously endanger the safety of people’s assets.”

According to Liu Yang, a lawyer from Beijing’s Deheng Law Firm, the high court’s declaration would serve as a reference judgment for civil issues concerning bitcoin in the Shanghai area.

Coinbase Seems to Be the 1st Ever Bitcoin-Backed Loan Acquirer From Goldman Sachs

May 4, 2022 by Vignesh Karunanidhi

The mysterious corporation that took out Wall Street’s first bitcoin-backed loan from Goldman Sachs has been exposed as Coinbase, America’s largest crypto exchange. Goldman Sachs controls $2.5 trillion in assets as of 2021.

Coinbase has taken out a Bitcoin-backed loan from Goldman Sachs, according to Bloomberg, as part of a strategy to strengthen ties between the crypto and trading worlds.

Coinbase Institutional Head Brett Tejpaul said, “Coinbase’s work with Goldman is a first step in the recognition of crypto as collateral, which deepens the bridge between the fiat and crypto economies.”

The loan’s cash amount was not disclosed, but it was backed by a portion of Coinbase’s total holdings of 4,487 Bitcoin, which are presently valued at almost $170 million. The loan includes a 24-hour risk monitoring system, as well as a requirement that Coinbase fills up its BTC collateral if prices fall too low.

Coinbase’s first bitcoin-backed loan

While Bitcoin and other crypto-backed loans are common in the crypto industry, particularly on DeFi protocols, they are uncommon in traditional banking, where crypto is seen as far too risky and unpredictable as collateral.

Asset management firm Arca indicated in a May 2 blog post that potential borrowers are looking for more such opportunities. It claimed that “[this loan] demonstrates institutions’ willingness to utilize new tools with traditional methods.”

Brian Armstrong on free speech

Meanwhile, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has laid out his vision for decentralized social media networks that allow for free speech.

He told the Milken Institute on May 2 that Twitter, now owned by Elon Musk, had the opportunity to “essentially embrace adopting a decentralized protocol” that the network could function on.

“I believe that freedom in all forms is worth preserving, and a lot of crypto is about economic liberty.” Another version is the right to free speech.”

Armstrong argues that a decentralized social media network would enable content producers to choose their own moderation standards. Access to all material would be democratized rather than algorithmically determined.

This would prevent certain content streams on a platform from being stifled, allowing users to see whatever they want.

Bitcoin reaches $29k ‘floor-price’; Where is the next rally headed?

January 22, 2021 by Utkarsh Gupta

Bitcoin reached its new-all time high of $42,000 on the 8th of January. The exhilaration associated with the massive bullish was high and certain proponents expected the price to move above $55,000 by the end of Q1 2020. However, after its 2nd re-test at $40,000 on the 14th of January, BTC dropped all the way down below $30,000 over the past day. While the prices may have gone the $30k margin at press time, Bitcoin might be entertaining a radical shift in the market.

Bitcoin loses $36.5k and $33k resistance

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According to the analysis, BTC dropped down to $28,880, leading to a 31% drop since the new all-time high value. In doing so, Bitcoin failed to uphold its position over a couple of important support/resistance.

During the past week, BTC struggled to position itself above $36.5k, and over the past 48-hours, the asset has dropped below $33k as well. After dropping down to $29,000, many expected the price to attain another bullish rally, but it is far from certain as on-chain metrics indicated a different scenario.

Willy Woo suggested $29,000 as Bitcoin floor price

Last week, popular on-chain analyst Willy Woo suggested that the reset for the Bitcoin SOPR chart is likely to be followed by a price correction that will shake out weak hands off the market. In terms of finding a bottom, Woo indicated that the worst-case scenario would entertain BTC at a ‘floor price’ of $29,000.

His prediction has held true at press time, but Woo added that even after the asset drops down to $29,000, Bitcoin will rally right back up. Capital injection from HODLers has been strong, considering it has been a Whale Cycle.

Is the bottom definitely in?

According to the CryptoQuant CEO, it might not be the case. In a recent Twitter thread, Ki-Young Ju brought attention to the current Coinbase Premium. The analyst believed that whenever BTC has breached a fundamental resistance like $20k or $30k in the past, huge spot inflows from high net individuals have been observed.

Right now, the investors appeared to under a selling spree and there was not enough premium at press time. It is also important to consider that, Bitcoin’s longs and shorts contract have largely neutralized, indicating a drop in interest from the derivatives market.

Verdict

From a market structure prespective, for Bitcoin to maintain a bullish momentum, its consolidation above $31.5k-$32k would be essential in the next 48 hours. However, failure to do so would improve the possibility for another bearish leg down, as Bitcoin may retrace down to $25,000 in the charts.

Bitcoin ETP Worth $200M By CoinShares Is All Set To Make Its Debut On SIX Swiss Exchange

January 19, 2021 by Sahana Kiran

Bitcoin [BTC] has put the crypto industry on the top with its price change. The asset quadrupled and has insinuated a series of adoption. To facilitate and aid the growth of the king coin, several platforms have been onboarding new products as well as services. CoinShares, an asset manager based in the US was seen elevating the market with its latest venture.

Bitcoin ETP To Go Live On Swiss Stock Exchange

Bitcoin lovers were rejoicing as the king coin was seemingly making its way back to $40K. At the time of writing, BTC was trading for $37,331 with a 4.34% surge in the last 24-hours. The latest news about CoinShares launching a Bitcoin exchange-traded product [ETP], was a cherry on top. The asset manager affirmed that the Bitcoin ETP would go live on 19 January 2021 on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The product will reportedly be listed under BITC.

Speaking about CoinShares latest addition, Frank Spiteri, the Chief Revenue Officer of the company said,

“A lot of institutional clients have a very strong due-diligence process, and we wanted to bring to market a best-in-class product to embrace that demand. We are ready, as of January, to embrace the forthcoming demand from institutional clients.”

The custodians for this were reported to be, Coinshares, Ledger’s Komainu along with Nomura Holdings Inc. Furthermore, an expense ratio of 0.98% is said to be charged.

Several other platforms including the latest ETC Group of London rolled out a Bitcoin ETP on the Swiss Exchange.