First Investments (crypto)

Трамп грозит задействовать войска для подавления волнений в США
Дженнифер Джейкобс, Джастин Синк и Мизирлена Эголфопулу
(Блумберг)
Президент США Дональд Трамп пригрозил задействовать военных для прекращения “бунтов и несоблюдения законов” в стране в ходе обращения в понедельник, происходившего на фоне разгона протестующих у Белого дома.
Трамп призвал губернаторов и мэров “занять главенствующее положение на улицах” и объявил, что направит тысячи вооруженных военнослужащих в столицу страны после нескольких дней протестов и вспышек насилия, последовавших за гибелью афроамериканца Джорджа Флойда, задержанного полицией Миннеаполиса
Трамп и чиновники Белого дома не ответили на вопрос о том, какими полномочиями президент может воспользоваться, чтобы задействовать военных за пределами столицы, находящейся под контролем федерального правительства, но три источника, знакомые с ситуацией, сказали, что Трамп рассматривает возможность опоры на Закон о противодействии мятежным действиям
Президент сказал, что задействует военных, “если какой-либо город или штат откажется принять меры, необходимые для защиты жизни и собственности их жителей”

China’s Digital Currency Could Challenge Bitcoin and Even the Dollar
Authorities are testing a new kind of money in four cities.By Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg Businessweek) People in China are no strangers to digital payments—if anything, it’s easier to move around and shop in Shanghai or Beijing with an Alipay or WeChat Pay smartphone app than it is bearing a pocketbook filled with yuan notes. Now the Chinese government has begun a pilot program for an official digital version of its currency—with the likelihood of a bigger test at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022. Some observers think the virtual yuan could bolster the government’s power over the country’s financial system and one day maybe even shift the global balance of economic influence.
Most money that gets swapped around electronically is just credits and debits in accounts at different banks. China’s digital cash is designed to be an electronic version of a banknote, or a coin: it just lives in a digital wallet on a smartphone, rather than a physical wallet. Its value would be backed by the state. But virtual cash would be quicker and easier to use than the paper kind—and would also offer China’s authorities a degree of control never possible with physical money.

Bitcoin Just Might Be Able to Hold Above $10,000 This Time
By Wes Goodman
(Bloomberg) Bitcoin is pushing past the $10,000 resistance barrier, and it might be able to hold the advance this time with a tailwind from U.S. stocks. It rose as high as about $10,400, a level not seen since February. This may signal it’s preparing to push past the bar, clearing the way for a sustained move higher. Bitcoin seems to be getting a lift from the demand for riskier assets that is also helping stocks. It’s 60-day correlation with the S&P 500 is 0.8, based on values.

Andreessen’s Haun Says More Libra-Like Crypto Projects to Follow
Venture capital firm is an investor in Libra, competitor Cello
‘We are in the dial-up days of internet money,’ Haun said
By Olga Kharif
(Bloomberg)
Katie Haun, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, said that in 10 years money will be digital, the same way books and music are today and that efforts such as Libra, which the venture-capital firm has invested in, will be key to getting there.
Libra, of course, is the controversial project started by Facebook Inc. a year ago, with the idea of creating a a global digital currency. The effort has run into regulatory and political resistance, and has had to regroup. But the pressure hasn’t made Andreessen less of a believer. The firm has invested in rival Cello as well.
“There will be other entrants in this category,” Haun said. “Fundamentally everybody on the planet has a need to transfer value.”
While many venture-capital firms remain wary of crypto, Andreessen has recently started a second, $515 million fund, which Haun co-manages, that’s investing in cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects. She serves on the boards of companies including digital exchange Coinbase Inc. Before joiningAndreessen in 2018, Haun spent a decade as a federal prosecutor focusing on fraud, cyber and corporate crime, and was involved in untangling the Mt Gox crypto exchange collapse.

УТРЕННИЙ ОБЗОР: Криптовалюты; “народные” ОФЗ; Уралхим
Андрей Лемешко
(Блумберг) Сегодня в российских изданиях. Доступ может быть платным.
Дату голосования по Конституции могут объявить в начале этой недели: Ведомости
В России может закрыться до 30% салонов связи: Ведомости
Интервью гендиректора Уралхима Сергея Момцемлидзе: Ведомости
В онлайн-торговле едой за весну появилось около 30 новых игроков: Ведомости
Авиакомпаниям разрешили полностью заполнять пассажирами салоны самолетов: Коммерсант
Из-за нового законопроекта о цифровых валютах в России могут запретить оборот криптовалют и участие в их создании: Коммерсант
Устройства для курения рекомендовано регулировать не по табачным правилам: Коммерсант

Trump Weighs Sanctions on China Finance Sector Over Hong Kong
By Saleha Mohsin, Jenny Leonard and Jennifer Jacobs
(Bloomberg)
President Donald Trump has discussed targeting China’s financial sector through sanctions and trade policy in retaliation for Beijing’s moves to curb Hong Kong’s autonomy, according to people familiar with the matter.
Trump is expected to announce a U.S. response to China’s plan to impose a new national security law on Hong Kong in a White House news conference at 2 p.m. in Washington. Trump has also sought to blame Beijing for the coronavirus pandemic as criticism of his handling of the outbreak has mounted.
The president may also impose unspecified visa restrictions on Chinese travelers, the people said. They asked not to be identified discussing Trump’s plans ahead of his announcement and declined to detail the new policies.
The financial sanctions the White House is expected to announce Friday will be targeted in order to leave the U.S. room for escalation if necessary, according to a fourth person familiar with the matter. Trump officials crafting the sanctions are wary of the impact on global financial markets and retaliation from Beijing, the person said.
The White House declined to comment.

TRUMP WEIGHS SANCTIONS ON CHINA FINANCE SECTOR OVER HONG KONG
TRUMP WEIGHS SANCTIONS ON CHINA FINANCE SECTOR OVER HONG KONG

Trump, Who Plans China Policies, Will Speak at 2pm in Washington
By Teaganne Finn
(Bloomberg)
President Trump will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. in the Rose Garden, according to the White House.
Previously, Trump said he plans to discuss new U.S. policies on China today

Powell Says Fed Crossed Red Lines When Virus Demanded Action (2)
Says Fed is “days away” from launching Main Street program
Fed chief stresses support is helping companies avoid layoffs
By Christopher Condon and Catarina Saraiva
(Bloomberg)
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell defended aggressive action to shield the economy as the coronavirus pandemic took hold and said the central bank was “days” away from launching its Main Street Lending Program.
“We crossed a lot of red lines that had not been crossed before,” Powell said Friday during an online event hosted by Princeton University’s Griswold Center for Economic Policy Studies. “I’m very confident that this is the situation where you do that and then you figure it out.”

Even a Dubious Buffett Can’t Stop This Crypto Casino Czar (1)
Early Bitcoin believer is building his own blockchain empire
Tron CEO hasn’t shied from controversy in consolidating power
By Zheping Huang
(Bloomberg)
When Justin Sun met Warren Buffett for dinner in January, he wasn’t seeking advice on stocks. The crypto mogul had spent a record $4.6 million at a charity auction for the opportunity to lecture the world’s most famous investor on the benefits of Bitcoin.
It was exactly the sort of behavior that Sun’s known for abrasive, ostentatious and, ultimately, impossible to ignore. Like the $200 billion crypto industry itself, he is young and hungry for the respect of traditional financiers like Buffett, who deems Bitcoin basically worthless.

BitClave to Return $25 Million to Coin Offering Investors
Around 9,500 invested in unregistered coin offering
BitClave also agreed to $400,000 civil fineBy Jennifer Bennett
(Bloomberg Law) BitClave PTE Ltd. agreed to give more than $25.5 million back to investors who contributed to its unregistered initial coin offering as part of a settlement with the SEC, the agency said Thursday.
The tokens BitClave offered and sold between June and November 2017 were securities, so the company needed to either register or qualify for an exemption, the Securities and Exchange Commission said. BitClave also agreed to pay more than $3 million in prejudgment interest and a $400,000 civil fine.
BitClave issued its tokens, meant to fund the development of a blockchain-based targeted consumer advertising platform, to around 9,500 investors, some of them based in the U.S., the settlement said. The company is headquartered in California and operates through a private Singapore entity.
The company wound down its operations after winning a state court suit in 2019 against a co-founder who misused some of the funds raised in the ICO, the settlement said. BitClave agreed to transfer its remaining tokens to a fund administrator, attempt to notify investors, and hold off on any voluntary dissolution proceedings in Singapore until it satisfies the settlement requirements.

Genesis Crypto Exchange Hires Lim to Lead Derivatives Push
Josh Lim joins from Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital Holdings
Genesis is the distributor for Grayscale Investments products
By Olga Kharif
(Bloomberg)
Genesis Global Trading, a cryptocurrency broker that specializes in large trades with institutional investors, hired strategist Joshua Lim from Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. to start a derivatives desk.
The operation will trade both cleared and bilateral over-the-counter derivatives in options and forwards. Clients have long been asking for derivatives products for strategies like hedging, according to New York-based Genesis.
“Here we are trying to replicate the very same products and services that Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan are able to offer to their investors,” Michael Moro, chief executive officer of Genesis, said in a phone interview.

GEMINI FIRST U.S. CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGE TO INTEGRATE WITH
GEMINI FIRST U.S. CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGE TO INTEGRATE WITH

Samsung Partners With Winklevoss Exchange to Expand Crypto Push
Gemini’s app will integrate with Samsung’s blockchain wallet
Partnership seen making crypto use easier on Samsung phones
By Olga Kharif
(Bloomberg)
Gemini Trust Co., the cryptocurrency venture run by the Winklevoss brothers, is partnering with Samsung Electronics Co. to allow users to more easily trade and store digital assets on mobile phones.
Gemini is the first crypto exchange to let U.S. and Canadian users of Samsung’s blockchain wallet view balances in their wallet app. Customers wishing to trade will be directed to Gemini’s mobile app, but won’t have to go through another log-in to start buying and selling.
Historically, using and trading cryptocurrencies has required multiple steps, and that complexity has been a major impediment to widespread adoption.
“It’s a full integration between the two apps that’s very transparent and very easy to use,” said Jeanine Hightower-Sellitto, managing director of operations at Gemini. “It’s all integrated.” Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

BOE’s Saunders Says It’s Safer to Err With Too Much Easing (2)
Policy maker has already voted to increase bond purchases
Michael Saunders gives a speech in Bank of England webinar
By Lucy Meakin and David Goodman
(Bloomberg)
It’s safer for the Bank of England to ease too much rather than too little as it responds to the coronavirus pandemic, according to policy maker Michael Saunders.
The U.K. is at risk of a relatively slow recovery from the crisis, which could prove especially damaging, Saunders said on a webinar Thursday. Failing to add more stimulus now could see the economy slip into a “lowflation trap.”
The pound weakened after the comments, which show how momentum is building behind more monetary easing as soon as next month. Saunders was one of two policy makers that wanted to expand asset purchases in May. While the majority wanted to wait, they accepted more easing might ultimately be needed. Since then, others, including Governor Andrew Bailey, have indicated additional measures could be on the way.

Green Shoots Emerge in World Economy as Virus Lockdowns Ease (2)
Activity, confidence numbers suggest recession has troughed
Unemployment, debt, lack of vaccine to slow any recovery
By Rich Miller, Fergal O'Brien and Michelle Jamrisko
(Bloomberg)
Slowly but not surely, the world economy is emerging from its coronavirus-enforced hibernation.
As governments ease lockdowns of businesses and allow consumers to travel and shop again, measures of high-frequency data and confidence increasingly suggest a bottom has been reached in the worst global recession since the Great Depression.

A new set of daily activity gauges from Bloomberg Economics finds almost all of the economies it monitors witnessed a pick-up in activity since late March and early April, although no country is yet approaching its pre-virus levels. Germany, Japan and France are among those rebounding the fastest, while Spain and the U.K. remain relatively weak.

Парламент Китая одобрил законопроект о безопасности Гонконга
Иэн Марлоу
(Блумберг) Законодатели КНР одобрили предложение о принятии нового законопроекта о национальной безопасности в Гонконге, игнорируя озвученную президентом США Дональдом Трампом угрозу решительных действий в ответ на меру, которая, как говорят сторонники демократии, ограничит основные свободы в городе.
Всекитайское собрание народных представителей КНР одобрило проект решения в четверг на своей ежегодной сессии в Пекине; теперь китайским чиновникам могут понадобиться месяцы, чтобы проработать детали законов, запрещающих подрывную деятельность, отделение, терроризм и иностранное вмешательство, прежде чем они будут переданы поддерживаемой Пекином администрации Гонконга для провозглашения

Blockchain Spending Steady in FY19, May Dip in FY20: This Is IT
Technology that backs Bitcoin considered for government uses
Early-stage work has lower value, potential remains for growthBy Laura Criste
(Bloomberg Government) The federal government’s exploration of blockchain technology was seen as a potential boon to companies that could provide applications, yet contract obligations remained steady from fiscal 2018 to 2019, and are on track to rise only slightly—or even decline—this year.
Blockchain is a semi-anonymous public ledger of verifiable and unalterable transactions, best known as the technology behind the virtual currency Bitcoin but with applications beyond finance that federal agencies want to implement.
In fiscal 2018, agencies obligated $13.3 million on blockchain-related contracts, more than double the obligations in fiscal 2017. Federal agencies formed a blockchain community of practice and came up with about 200 blockchain use cases during a forum in July 2017, including supply chain management, financial management, and smart contracts.

Число жертв вируса в США >100 тыс, в Ю.Корее новые заражения
Bloomberg News
(Блумберг) Число жертв коронавируса в США превысило 100 тыс., находясь на максимальном в мире уровне. Южная Корея сообщила о самом большом количестве новых заражений за 7 недель после вспышки в распределительном центре.
Южная Корея выявила 69 случаев, связанных со складским помещением крупного онлайн-ретейлера Coupang, что подчеркивает, как сложно сдержать распространение заболевания на постоянной основе в отсутствие вакцины
В Японии даже с учетом вируса в 1 кв. была отмечена более низкая смертность, чем в среднем за последние 5 лет, и экспертыговорят, что использование масок могло сыграть позитивную роль
Энтони Фаучи, ведущий эксперт правительства США по инфекционным заболеваниям, сказал, что есть “хорошие шансы” на появление готовой к использованию вакцины к ноябрю или декабрю

Coinbase Expands Institutional Services With Tagomi Purchase
Greg Tusar and fellow Tagomi co-founders to join Coinbase
Tagomi billed itself as the first live crypto prime brokerage
By Olga Kharif
(Bloomberg)
Coinbase Inc., the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, is expanding its services for institutional investors with the acquisition of digital brokerage Tagomi.
Tagomi’s platform is able to automate crypto trades valued at millions of dollars that many other firms still execute manually. Customers include family offices and crypto funds such as Pantera Capital, Bitwise and Multicoin Capital.
Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed. Tagomi was started in 2018 with backing from Founders Fund, Collaborative Fund and Digital Currency Group, among other investors. Its management includes co-founder Greg Tusar, a former global head of electronic trading at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
“If I wanted to buy $100 million of Bitcoin, we bring the tools to Coinbase to allow users to execute more efficiently,” Tusar said in an interview. “Coupled together with custody and deep liquidity in the Coinbase liquidity pool, together with the existing OTC operation, that’s a combination of things that no one else has.”