Digital Currency

U.S. mega-bank JPMorgan has 34 open blockchain job positions posted on its website. It’s quite possibly a record for any company in the space (JPMorgan has been noted for its enthusiastic blockchain hiring in the past). The majority of the job openings, posted this month and last, are spread across the U.S., India and Singapore. Many of the jobs relate directly to Onyx, the division created in October of last year to oversee JPM Coin, the bank’s wholesale payments token. By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to…

MicroStrategy, Tesla and Square have done it. So have many others, although more quietly. I’m talking about holding corporate treasury reserves in bitcoin (BTC, +1.92%). This trend is attracting attention even from trade press. Consultancies and crypto companies are scrambling to launch services to help businesses navigate the process. “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer thinks it’s “almost irresponsible” for companies to not do so. This week, sponsored content from Deloitteexplaining the benefits and risks appeared in the Wall Street Journal. You’re reading Crypto Long & Short, a newsletter that looks closely at the forces driving cryptocurrency markets. Authored…

“Today, the physical mural doesn’t exist. But it still exists with NFTs, and with value,” Boyart tells me from Paris. “This is very satisfying.” See also: What Are NFTs and How Do They Work? Subscribe to State of Crypto, our weekly newsletter on policy impact. SUBSCRIBE By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy. Boyart minted a non-fungible token (NFT) version of the mural, dividing it into 100 pieces and selling each one for 0.5 ETH. He would sell more NFTs. Many more….

India’s Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said the government needs to study national security risks posed by virtual currencies before making any decision on their legality. “We understand there is immense interest in these virtual currencies, but we also need to look at national security and security of Indians and individuals,” Thakur said while addressing an event organized by Entrepreneurs’ Organisation Punjab on Saturday. Thakur took a jab at the high price volatility of cryptocurrencies, saying that these coins often chart 10x price moves in weeks. “That doesn’t happen in…

Leuthold Group Chief Investment Officer Jim Paulsen told Reuters he is frustrated by not being able to hold bitcoin (BTC, +5.14%) for his clients. Leuthold Group manages $1 billion but regulatory barriers prevent the firm from holding cryptocurrency. “What I like about bitcoin is … its correlation to stocks and other assets is extraordinarily independent,” Paulsen told Reuters. In lieu of holding the asset itself, wealth managers are clamoring for the approval of bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that would meet the legal standards required of traditional investments, according to the report. The U.S. Securities and…

Galaxy Digital’s institutional-grade ether (ETH) funds have raised over $32 million since their February launch, according to documents filed Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Early returns – for an “onshore” $22 million fund and its Cayman-domiciled $10 million sibling – reveal a small but deep-pocketed clientele participated in the twin funds’ earliest days. Just five total investors have joined the funds since Galaxy unveiled them in late January. The funds debuted as ETH settled in the $1,500 range, well below highs set February when the native asset of the world computer…

Bitcoin ended the first week of March with little fanfare as the market reset after the prior week’s 21% plunge. There are more signs the global economic recovery might come faster than previously expected, and traders are speculating on what that might mean for the largest cryptocurrency. Bitcoin (BTC) trading around $49,196.78 as of 21:00 UTC (4 p.m. ET). Climbing 1.93% over the previous 24 hours. Bitcoin’s 24-hour range: $46,393.39-$49,462.13 (CoinDesk 20) BTC trades above its 10-hour and 50-hour averages on the hourly chart, a bullish signal for market technicians. Bitcoin trading…

The rapid growth of the earth’s population and the industrialization of developing countries are pushing global energy demand to unprecedented levels. The world’s energy dependence on fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas poses a major risk to the environment and is one of the main factors causing adverse climate change. With these challenges, new approaches to energy production and distribution are needed. The solution must support dynamic and sustainable global growth, for which the IEA came into being. The IEA Foundation was established by the Japanese IEA…