Coinbase’s German Licence & New FinTech Offering; Robinhood’s S-1; Two More Billionaires Advocate for Bitcoin
Linas Beliūnas
Reinventing Finance 1% at a Time ?? | Scaling Digital Asset Infrastructure ?? | The only newsletter you need for Finance & Tech at ??linas.substack.com?? | Financial Technology | FinTech | Artificial Intelligence | AI
Hey ???Blockchain & Cryptocurrency enthusiasts! 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?Newsletter, where you will get much more. Every Week????
Last week (28 June - 3 July) was another interesting week in the?Blockchain & Cryptocurrency?space.?Coinbase?has secured a crypto?custody license in Germany?and launched a?new FinTech offering;?Robinhood?has shared its S-1 with the public showing massive numbers and?crypto impact; while?two more billionaires?started dipping their toes into?Bitcoin, and other super interesting news and developments.
Without further ado, let us dive into what has happened in the world of Blockchain & Crypto this week. Let’s connect the dots.
Coinbase’s German Licence & New FinTech Offering
Coinbase’s German entity?became the first firm authorized to provide crypto custody?in Germany while in the US the crypto exchange launched new savings account service?that lets users earn 4% annual percentage yield by lending out?USDC.
Last week was hot for?Coinbase.
On Monday Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, or BaFin, has given crypto exchange Coinbase the green light to carry out crypto custody business in the country. This will make the German entity of Coinbase the first company authorized to provide crypto custody services in Germany, according to BaFin.
On Tuesday, Coinbase has announced a new product offering that could set it apart from its FinTech rivals in a world of low interest rates. The crypto exchange unveiled a new savings account-like product that allows users to earn a 4% annual percentage yield (APY) by lending out USDC.?
"Coinbase’s high-yield alternative to traditional savings accounts offers 4% APY on your USD Coin, a stablecoin that can always be redeemed one-to-one for USD $1.00," the firm said in a press statement. "This means that by lending your USDC to Coinbase, you can earn 8x the national average of high-yield savings accounts."
THE TAKEAWAY
A path less followed.?Coinbase continues to follow the regulation/compliance first path, and the recent license from Germany only proves that. With the new capabilities in place, I expect Coinbase to be more aggressive in Germany which should further accelerate their European ambitions. When it comes to their savings account, it’s a pretty obvious move in a world of low interest rates. Attracting customers is one thing, but making them stay and trusting you with their money - that’s another story. Will 4% APY be enough though? ??
Robinhood’s S-1
Stock brokerage giant?Robinhood?has filed their S1 to go public on?Nasdaq. Their numbers are just mind-blowing... P.S. 17% of its first-quarter revenue stemmed from cryptocurrency transactions.
Key numbers & figures????
?? They have 18 million cumulative funded accounts, out of which 17.7 million are monthly active users. For the perspective,?Chime, the biggest neobank in the US, reportedly has 5 million customers in total.
?? $81 billion in assets under custody. For instance,?Coinbase, one of the biggest digital asset exchanges in the world, now has $90B in AUC and is worth north $51 billion in the public markets.
?? Robinhood did $522 million in 1Q21 revenue vs. $127.6 million in 1Q20. That's x4 growth over 12 months ??
?? More importantly, the brokerage app did $958.8 million in revenue in 2020 reporting $7.5 million in net income. For example,?Revolut, one of Europe's biggest FinTechs, reported a loss of $280 million in 2020.
?? Based on filings about 72% of the revenue (=$690M) came from PFOF (Payment for Order Flow). In other words, routing its clients' trades to a market maker.
?? 17% of its first-quarter revenue stemmed from cryptocurrency transactions.
THE TAKEAWAY
Despite all the negative publicity and challenges, Robinhood is growing, and their growth is just crazy??? Robinhood's tactics and retail focus have brought unwelcome regulatory attention, including a focus on its cryptocurrency services. Notable: The company also announced that?almost 34%?of its crypto revenue (6% of its total revenue) came from Dogecoin transactions.?All in all, I wouldn’t be surprised if it's going to be the biggest IPO this year…
George Soros' Investment Fund Is Reportedly Trading Bitcoin Products
The Hungarian-born American billionaire investor George Soros’ investment fund is actively trading bitcoin investment products, according to reports. Undisclosed sources reveal that bitcoin trading got the green light from the Soros Fund Management chief investment officer (CIO) Dawn Fitzpatrick.
Now a report stemming from undisclosed sources speaking with the news publication website?thestreet.com , says Fitzpatrick has allowed the Soros’ investment fund to trade bitcoin products.
The reporter, Michael Bodley, cites two sources that have said the CIO Dawn Fitzpatrick has given “the internal green-light to actively trade bitcoin.” According to Bodley’s report, the sources further noted that Soros Fund Management is also researching other types of digital currency investment vehicles.
THE TAKEAWAY
If the reports turn out to be true, Soros?is the latest billionaire to join the digital asset markets.
领英推荐
Ricardo Salinas Pliego, a Mexican Multibillionaire Supports Bitcoin
Billionaire Salinas says he’s working for his bank to be first in Mexico to take Bitcoin.
In a?tweet ?responding to fellow bitcoin enthusiast and MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, the Mexican billionaire said "me and my bank (Banco Azteca) are working to be the first bank in Mexico to accept #Bitcoin."
Saylor was commenting on a video featuring Salinas that was shared on Twitter by noted investor and bitcoin advocate Anthony Pompliano.
THE TAKEAWAY
Bitcoin is hot in LatAm.?The digital asset has been a very hot topic in Latin America since El Salvador adopted bitcoin as legal tender. Hence, Pliego tweeted that he was working with his bank, Banco Azteca, to be the?first in Mexico to accept bitcoin as well as encouraged his Twitter followers to “buy bitcoin now and not to sell.” Probably makes sense if your currency is collapsing… ??♂?
Extra Reads & Quick Bites for Curious Minds??:
??Money Moves??
Quote of the Week/??Food for Thought??
Worth the read!
Graph of the Week
Bitcoin network undergoes largest difficulty drop ever by nearly 30%.?This was largely caused by a crackdown on bitcoin mining in China, which is causing the hash rate?to migrate?as operations seek friendlier jurisdictions elsewhere.
Week in Brief
Coinbase’s German entity?became the first firm authorized to provide crypto custody?in Germany while in the US the crypto exchange launched new savings account service?that lets users earn 4% annual percentage yield by lending out?USDC.
Stock brokerage giant?Robinhood?has filed their S1 to go public on?Nasdaq. Their numbers are just mind-blowing... P.S. 17% of its first-quarter revenue stemmed from cryptocurrency transactions.
The Hungarian-born American billionaire investor George Soros’ investment fund is actively trading bitcoin investment products, according to reports. Undisclosed sources reveal that bitcoin trading got the green light from the Soros Fund Management chief investment officer (CIO) Dawn Fitzpatrick.
Billionaire Salinas Says He’s Working for His Bank to Be First in Mexico to Take Bitcoin.
Continue reading by subscribing to?Linas's Newsletter.?You will receive fresh news about Blockchain & Crypto with hot takeaways every week.
P.S.?You might enjoy my earlier pieces as well:
***
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.
If you've enjoyed this piece, don't hesitate to press like, comment on what you think, and share the article with others. Let's spread the knowledge together!
Global Marketing Access @ Merck KGaA | Marketing & Communications Expert | Brand Strategist | Digital Media | SEO | Content Marketing | Product Marketing | Masters in Expanded Media @ Hochschule Darmstadt.
3 年Very well articulated
Senior Economist | Prof & Speaker | Space?? | USMC????| Maine??| Derivatives| Blockchain| ????? | Energy????| Alt Invest
3 年Looking forward to #reading. -GSP-