Bitcoin Suffers Biggest Daily Drop in History; Gemini Considering Public Debut; Anchorage Becomes First Federally Chartered Digital Asset Bank

Hey ?? Blockchain & Cryptocurrency aficionados! Trust you had a wonderful week. This is the best Weekly Blockchain & Crypto Digest thus far. Enjoy!

P.S. Before we dive into what happened in Blockchain & Crypto last week, check out my Connecting the Dots Newsletter, where you will get much more. Every Week (the newest Monthly edition is out)????

Last week (11-16 January) was one hell of a week in Blockchain & Cryptocurrency space this year. Bitcoin has experienced the biggest daily drop in history ever (in dollar terms); Gemini is exploring opening up and debuting in public markets; Anchorage becomes the first federally chartered digital asset bank, and other super interesting news and developments.

Without further ado, let us dive into what has happened in the financial technology sector this week. Let’s connect the dots.

Bitcoin Suffers Biggest Daily Drop in History

Bitcoin maximalists were celebrating its surge past $40k when the inevitable correction happened.

After hitting a record after a record, Bitcoin’s price was going for an inevitable correction.

Crossing $40,000 mark on 9 January, Bitcoin has dropped to as much as $30,000 on 11 January. Since then it has rebounded, got close to $40k again, then dropped once more, and at the point of writing BTC is changing hands at close to $36,000.

This extreme price volatility upturned a lot of futures traders, liquidating $1.1 billion in long positions. And in real dollar terms, these losses represent the biggest Bitcoin crash ever.

THE TAKEAWAY

When there’s Bitcoin, correction is inevitable. As correctly pointed out by Scott Minerd, parabolic rise in Bitcoin price is not sustainable. Hence, setbacks are inevitable. After hitting $40,000, small investors were prone to selling and taking some profits home.

Gemini Considering Public Debut

Tyler and Cameron Winkelvoss are exploring a stock market debut for crypto exchange Gemini.

In an interview with Bloomberg, the twins who founded the exchange in 2013 said that going public is one option they are currently exploring for the firm. 

Gemini would join a growing list of crypto firms with ambitions to tap into the public markets. Some very strong names have already announced to go public. Bakkt announced at the beginning of the week that it would go public through SPAC while Coinbase filed a confidential S-1 to go public at the end of last year. 

If successful, it could be another pivotal move for the cryptocurrency market that could easily put Coinbase at least at a $50 billion valuation.

THE TAKEAWAY

Gemini is experiencing strong growth along with the whole crypto market, and it wants to capitalize on that. Given both Coinbase & Bakkt succeed, Gemini’s IPO might only be a question of time. One can note that on January 12, the firm announced it surpassed $10 billion in assets under custody. Two days later, they acquired FinTech startup Blockrize and plans to launch a credit card with up to 3% rewards in Bitcoin.

Anchorage Becomes First Federally Chartered Digital Asset Bank

The OCC has given Anchorage Digital Bank National Association the green light to launch the first federally chartered digital asset bank.

Founded by two former Square employees in 2017, crypto custodian Anchorage has announced being the first-ever digital bank with a federal charter.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency led by the crypto-friendly Brian Brooks has granted the company conditional approval for a national trust charter, and the creation of Anchorage Digital Bank.

One must note that Anchorage is the first crypto company to receive a federal charter, though Kraken and Avanti have both received state charters for digital banking services in Wyoming. While the Wyoming charter enables both Kraken and Avanti to operate nationally, it comes with certain limitations. 

THE TAKEAWAY

Although it’s a conditional approval and it takes quite a bit of time to become an operational national bank, this is a big news. In simple terms, the charter will allow traditional banks that don’t handle crypto to offer Anchorage’s services to clients hence broadening their offering and satisfying pro-crypto customers. Is more crypto demand just around the corner? ??

Extra Reads & Quick Bites for Curious Minds??:

• The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has begun piloting its central bank digital currency (CBDC) for in-store payments via contactless cards and wearables.
• When Binance IPO? CZ explains how his firm's 'path' forward is different from that of rival Coinbase.
• Cryptocurrencies could grow fivefold by 2025 into a $3 trillion market, under new projections from Bakkt.
• Lost Passwords Lock Millionaires Out of Their Bitcoin Fortunes (NYT).

Quote of the Week/??Food for Thought??

A must-read thread on Bitcoin.

Graph of the Week

A brilliant depiction of how Bitcoin is covered by the mass media.

Week in Brief

Bitcoin maximalists were celebrating its surge past $40k when the inevitable correction happened.

Tyler and Cameron Winkelvoss are exploring a stock market debut for crypto exchange Gemini.

The OCC has given Anchorage Digital Bank National Association the green light to launch the first federally chartered digital asset bank.

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P.S. You might enjoy my earlier pieces as well:

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About: I am a business developer, sales professional, FinTech strategist, as well as Cryptocurrency and Blockchain enthusiast. I'm highly passionate about Financial Technology and Digital Innovation, and strongly believe that it will change the world for the better. Apart from my daily job at a global payments startup where I'm leading the company's expansion into Europe, I'm an active member of the FinTech community and a TechFin evangelist.

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