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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Julius Wong who wrote (169026)3/1/2021 11:45:40 AM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 217739
 
Of course Citibank realised that this another venue where they can scam the investors, why should they pass on such an easy opportunity to make more money?



To: Julius Wong who wrote (169026)3/1/2021 7:29:34 PM
From: TobagoJack  Respond to of 217739
 
Bullish

bloomberg.com

Bitcoin Rises as Citigroup, Goldman Find Allure Hard to Resist
Olivia Raimonde
1 March 2021, 21:28 GMT+8
Bitcoin rallied after a volatile weekend session, riding a broad resurgence in risk assets, while Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. warm up to the largest cryptocurrency.

The digital asset rose as much as 9.4% before paring some gains to trade around $48,500 as of 2:19 p.m. in New York. Prices last week suffered the worst decline since March and dipped as low as $43,000 on Sunday. Bitcoin climbed to a record $58,350 on Feb. 21.

In a report by Citigroup’s Global Perspectives & Solutions, strategists laid out a case for Bitcoin to play a bigger role in the global financial system, saying the cryptocurrency could become “the currency of choice for international trade” in the years ahead. Bitcoin has advantages over the current global payment system, such as its decentralized design, lack of foreign exchange exposure and traceability, the strategists said.

Goldman restarting a trading desk for cryptocurrencies, a person familiar with the effort said. The Wall Street bank will begin offering Bitcoin futures among other products by mid-March after halting a similar effort started in 2018, according to the person, who asked to to be named because the plans haven’t been announced.

“The more banks that come out with constructive comments on Bitcoin, the more likely the speculative bubble will continue to grow,” said Ed Moya, senior market analyst for OANDA.



Citigroup’s full-throated backing of Bitcoin shows that crypto is continuing to win over the world’s biggest financial institutions. Dan Loeb, head of Third Point LLC, said in a Twitter post that he’s been “doing a deep dive into crypto lately,” adding that “it is a real test of being intellectually open to new and controversial ideas.”

While banks continue to dip their toes deeper into the world of digital assets, a small group of corporations are busy snapping up coins to add to their balance sheets. MicroStrategy Inc., announced Monday that it purchased an additional 328 Bitcoins increasing its pile to about 90,859. The company’s holdings are now worth over $4 billion.

Bitcoin plunged 21% last week as investors dumped speculative assets amid a run-up in bond yields. The volatility has raised questions about whether it can act as a store of value and hedge against inflation. Detractors have maintained the digital asset’s surge is a speculative bubble and it’s destined for a repeat of the 2017 boom and bust.

“Bitcoin’s wild ride is far from over, but it seems another attempt at $50,000 could be in the cards if the bond rout is truly over,” Moya said. “Bitcoin can survive a steady rise in Treasury, but not a skyrocketing move like we saw last week.”

Crypto MiningElsewhere, China’s Inner Mongolia banned cryptocurrency mining and declared it will shut all such projects by April, spurring concern the communist nation will take more steps to eradicate the power-hungry practice.

The autonomous region, a favorite among the industry because of its cheap power, also banned new digital coin projects, according to a draft plan posted on the Inner Mongolia Development and Reform Commission’s website Feb. 25. The aim is to constrain growth in energy consumption to about 1.9% in 2021.

The sheer amount of energy needed to mine Bitcoin and the prospect that governments will create more obstacles for the largest cryptocurrency point to the token losing “most of its value over time,” BCA Research Chief Global Strategist Peter Berezin wrote in the report released Friday.

— With assistance by Joanna Ossinger

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To: Julius Wong who wrote (169026)3/1/2021 7:30:59 PM
From: TobagoJack  Respond to of 217739
 
Mega bullish

bloomberg.com

MicroStrategy Raises Bitcoin Holdings to More Than $4 Billion
Olivia Raimonde
1 March 2021, 23:02 GMT+8

MicroStrategy Inc.’s Michael Saylor purchased more Bitcoin to raise the enterprise-software company’s holdings to more than $4 billion.

The Tysons Corner, Virginia-based company disclosed that it bought 328 Bitcoins for $15 million in cash, increasing its pile to about 90,859, acquired at an average of $24,063 each.

Saylor has been one of a handful of chief executives to put Bitcoin on their balance sheets, saying the relaxation of the Federal Reserve’s inflation policy helped to sour him on cash. The company has even issued convertible bonds to help finance its purchases of the coins. Square Inc. and Tesla Inc. have also made purchases.

Shares of MicroStrategy rose 2.6% to $769.80 as of 9:53 a.m. in New York. The stock has surged almost 500% in the past year. Bitcoin gained 6.5% to $48,176, after quadrupling in 2020.

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To: Julius Wong who wrote (169026)3/1/2021 7:33:16 PM
From: TobagoJack  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 217739
 
Super ultra mega bullish

bloomberg.com

Goldman Sachs Set to Jump Back Into Cryptocurrency Trading Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is restarting a trading desk for cryptocurrencies amid a surge in the value of Bitcoin, a person familiar with the effort said.

The Wall Street bank will begin offering Bitcoin futures among other products by mid-March after halting a similar effort started in 2018, according to the person, who asked to to be named because the plans haven’t been announced. A Goldman Sachs spokeswoman declined to comment.

Crypto was once shunned at elite firms like Goldman Sachs, but is now gaining credibility as other banks and financial institutions outline their efforts. BNY Mellon said in mid February that it will hold, transfer and issue digital currencies, a step it called the first by a global bank to provide clients with such services. Mastercard Inc. has also said it will allow cardholders to transact in cryptocurrencies on its network. The firm is “actively engaging” with central banks around the world on their plans to launch new digital currencies, it said last month.

Goldman’s restart comes as digital assets have skyrocketed over the last several months. Bitcoin has surged more than fivefold in the past year, with investors such as Paul Tudor Jones, Stan Druckenmiller and Elon Musk piling in. Musk’s Tesla Inc. announced a $1.5 billion purchase of the asset in February.

Two Bitcoin exchange-traded funds began trading in Canada last month, with the Purpose Bitcoin ETF selling almost $400 million in shares in its first two days.

Reuters reported the Goldman Sachs news earlier.

— With assistance by Jennifer Surane, and Michelle F Davis

(Updates with BNY Mellon and Mastercard starting in third paragraph)

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To: Julius Wong who wrote (169026)3/1/2021 7:35:45 PM
From: TobagoJack  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 217739
 
hyper super ultra mega bullish

bloomberg.com

New York Blasts Crypto Market as ‘High-Risk’ and ‘Unstable’
Erik Larson
2 March 2021, 00:52 GMT+8



Letitia JamesPhotographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

New York’s top law enforcement officer issued a scathing statement on the cryptocurrency market, warning consumers about its susceptibility to “speculative bubbles” and abuse by criminals.

“Cryptocurrencies are high-risk, unstable investments that could result in devastating losses just as quickly as they can provide gains,” Attorney General Letitia James said Monday in an investor alert.

It’s the strongest language James, who has taken several recent enforcement actions in the sector, has used to describe the rapidly evolving industry. Her warning comes after Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, quadrupled last year and has been hitting new highs this year.

“The recent dramatic run-up in price of virtual currencies (especially bitcoin) promises the lure of unrealistic returns and has opened the door for con artists and cheats,” James said.

Read More: Bitcoin Jumps as Citi Expresses Optimism, Risk Assets Rebound

But Eric Turner, director of research at Messari, said the attorney general was overstating the concerns. Messari provides research on the cryptoeconomy to investors, regulators and the public, according to its website.

James’s statements will “scare people” instead of “genuinely educating them about cryptoassets,” Turner said. He pointed to Goldman Sachs Inc.’s reopening of its crypto desk and other large institutions rolling out tools like trading and custody as evidence that James wasn’t on the right track.

“The fact is crypto is becoming a multitrillion-dollar space and creating high-paying jobs around the world,” Turner said. “If New York continues to treat the industry with unreasonable hostility you’ll see all of this opportunity pass the state by.”

All of the world’s cryptocurrencies have a $1.47 trillion market cap now.

James said trading in virtual assets exposes investors to increased chances of market manipulation as well as conflicts of interest among trading platform operators.

“Many operators of virtual currency trading platforms are themselves heavily invested in virtual currencies, and trade on their own platforms without oversight,” she said.

She warned investors that cryptocurrencies can be difficult to cash out of and offered limited protection from fraud.

“Virtual currency trading platforms operate from various places around the world, many of which are inaccessible to American law enforcement,” she said.

Wild SwingsJames highlighted the volatility of the currencies, which she said are “easy to create” and spread.

“Their underlying value is highly subjective and unpredictable,” she said. “As a result, prices can swing wildly upward and crash without warning or any change in the real economy.”

James, a Democrat, issued a separate warning to brokers, dealers, salespeople and investment advisers that they could face “both civil and criminal liability” if they fail to register with the state when doing business with virtual currencies.

The dual warning to investors and the industry is an effort at “leveling the playing field” amid examples of industry participants taking unnecessary risks with investors’ money, she said.

Crypto exchange Bitfinex reached a settlement with James last month over allegations that it hid the loss of commingled client and corporate funds and lied about reserves. Without admitting or denying wrongdoing, the officials who control Bitfinex and the affiliated stablecoin Tether agreed to pay $18.5 million and provide the state with quarterly reports on the composition of Tether’s reserves for the next two years. The companies will end all trading activity with New Yorkers.

Read More: Bitfinex Settles New York Probe Into Tether, Hiding Losses

“All investors should proceed with extreme caution when investing in virtual currencies,” James said. “We will not hesitate to take action against anyone who violates the law.”

— With assistance by Olga Kharif, and Dave Liedtka

(Updates with researcher’s comment in fifth paragraph.)

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To: Julius Wong who wrote (169026)3/1/2021 7:37:21 PM
From: TobagoJack  Respond to of 217739
 
Incredibly bullish

bloomberg.com

Bitcoin’s Long-Term Value Doubted Due to ESG, Tighter Rules
Joanna Ossinger
1 March 2021, 12:23 GMT+8

Bitcoin is nursing losses after its worst weekly plunge in almost a year and on one view its longer term outlook could be even worse because of environmental concerns and tightening regulations.

The sheer amount of energy needed to mine Bitcoin and the prospect that governments will create more obstacles for the largest cryptocurrency point to the token losing “most of its value over time,” BCA Research Inc. said.

The expense and slowness of Bitcoin transactions make it “unsuitable as a medium of exchange,” BCA Research Chief Global Strategist Peter Berezin wrote in the report released Friday. In addition, environmental, social and governance-focused funds are likely to shun companies associated with Bitcoin due to the large energy consumption by miners on computer networks.

Bitcoin is still up more than five times over the past year, a divisive rally pitting believers in a new asset class against naysayers who see a speculative bubble. Among notable recent developments are Tesla Inc.’s $1.5 billion purchase of the token. At the same time, Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen are among those signaling caution.



Governments will create more obstacles because they could lose billions of dollars in revenue from seigniorage -- the difference between the face value of money and the cost to produce it -- according to BCA.

“Many companies have cozied up to Bitcoin in order to associate themselves with the digital currency’s technological mystique,” BCA’s Berezin added. “As ESG funds start to flee Bitcoin, its price will begin a downward spiral. Stay away.”

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, was up 3% to about $46,615 as of 8:13 a.m. in London on Monday. That leaves it well off the record high of $58,350 set just over a week ago.

Other commentators remain bullish on the outlook for digital currencies. While there are many risks, Bitcoin is at a tipping point and we may be “at the start of massive transformation of cryptocurrency into the mainstream,” Citigroup Inc.wrote in a report.

The Citi team including Kathleen Boyle highlighted the token’s increased attractiveness for institutional investors and the argument that it can help to hedge inflation risk.

Bitcoin Is Red Hot. Can It Ever Be Green?: QuickTake

In the shorter term, investment flows into Bitcoin funds may be among the keys to the price outlook. JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists said inflows into the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust -- the largest traded crypto fund -- are “ceasing,” and the cash going into other Bitcoin vehicles isn’t “strong enough to prevent an overall slowing in the Bitcoin fund flow impulse.”

— With assistance by Eric Lam

(Updates with comment from Citigroup from the eighth paragraph.)

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To: Julius Wong who wrote (169026)3/1/2021 7:41:29 PM
From: TobagoJack  Respond to of 217739
 
'they' are throwing everything at bitgold / quickergold, bettergold

encompassing ESG, criminality, stoppage of mines, bombing of on- / off- ramps, etc etc

and now China China China CCP actioning

let's see how the now seriously limited BTC fights back, win or lose, bubble or insurrection, winner takes all

China Region Declares War on Crypto Mining, Stirring Wider Fear
Alfred Cang
1 March 2021, 17:56 GMT+8
Sign up for Next China, a weekly email on where the nation stands now and where it's going next.

China’s Inner Mongolia has banned cryptocurrency mining and declared it will shut all such projects by April, spurring fears the world’s No. 2 economy will take more steps to eradicate the power-hungry practice.

The autonomous region, a favorite among the industry because of its cheap power, also banned new digital coin projects, according to a draft plan posted on the Inner Mongolia Development and Reform Commission’s website Feb. 25. The aim is to constrain growth in energy consumption to about 1.9% in 2021.

Bitcoin extended gains on Monday amid reports of the move, increasing as much as 6% in the session to $47,970.

The announcement unnerved an industry that’s already been through a years-long Chinese campaign to clamp down amid concerns over speculative bubbles, fraud and energy waste. The draft policy was released weeks after China’s top economic planner blasted Inner Mongolia for being the only province to fail to control energy consumption in 2019.

The region now aims to cut emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 3% this year and limit incremental growth of energy consumption to about 5 million tons of standard coal, according to the draft plan.



Chinese officials first outlined proposals in 2018 to discourage crypto-mining -- the computing process that makes transactions with virtual currencies possible but consumes vast amounts of power.

Inner Mongolia, which is clustered with large coal mines, is famous for inexpensive energy and has attracted investment from a plethora of power-intensive sectors such as aluminum and ferro-alloy smelting over past decades. The region accounted for 8% of global Bitcoin mining computing power, according to the Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index compiled by Cambridge University. China overall had over 65% of the network’s total, with its appealing combination of inexpensive electricity, local chipmaking factories and cheap labor.

Bitcoin Is Red Hot. Can It Ever Be Green?: QuickTake

The local crackdown is reviving old fears. Beijing since 2017 has abolished initial coin offerings and clamped down on virtual currency trading within its borders, forcing many exchanges overseas. The country was once home to about 90% of trades but the lion’s share of mining and major players like Bitmain Technologies Ltd. have since fled abroad.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Nvidia Corp. are among listed chipmakers that supply crypto miners in China and around the world.

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