APRIL 17, 2022 | Issue 11
TO REPORT OR NOT TO REPORT?
For many of you, it's a holiday weekend and I'm expecting that crypto news is taking a back seat to family, festivities, and last minute tax issues.
I deliberated whether or not to skip this week. However, I woke up motivated to kick out an issue. It's a bit more concise than recent issues, but I am sure you'll find this issue just as valuable.
I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Have a great week and stay crypto curious!
Rich Hopen
richard.hopen@compass.com
908.917.7926
PS. You can find all CNR newsletters here.
CRYPTO & REAL ESTATE
On April 13, 2022, Propy sold its second NFT property for $215,000. The sale was not profitable given that public records show that Propy was the seller and they paid $215,000 for the property on January 24, 2022.
The NFT was listed on the MLS for $185,000 even though the listing agent shared a CMA showing a $220,000 market value.
It will be interesting to see if NFTs become a more profitable way to sell houses than today's traditional method.
CRYPTO NEWS
▸ Congress Focusing on Stablecoins
Republican Senator Pat Toomey, said "Stablecoins are the logical place to start and the place where there's the most interest in starting."
Stablecoins are a cryptocurrency that is tied to fiat (government issued) currency. The purpose of stablecoins is to counter crypto's volatility. The stability comes from linking the coins to a reserve of fiat currency or a commodity like gold.
Congress is looking at safeguards to ensure that adequate reserves exist so that buyers can redeem their stablecoins for currency.
The debate will focus on ho strictly to regulate the stablecoins. They could be regulated similar to banks or given a lot more leeway.
In 2021, the largest stablecoin, Tether, was investigated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for misrepresenting its dollar reserves. A $21 million settlement was reached. Common sentiment among industry leaders is that no legislation will be enacted until the next congressional session. The stablecoin market is $185 billion. The Wall Street Journal reported that dozens of the top stablecoins have grown 500% this past year. Circle Internet Financial announced it will apply for a banking license. Circle issues USD Coin and announced this week that it raised $400 million from BlackRock and Fidelity.
▸ NFTs in Hollywood
An all-things-NFT event in Los Angeles, lots of celebrities promoted their favorite NFTs.
Mark Cuban talked about the metaverse and his projects. Cuban brought Charlie Sheen on stage who admitted he didn't understand NFTs.
An event highlight was a metaverse installation that combined virtual reality with sensory feedback.
▸ Michael Lewis on Crypto Markets – "It's far more egalitarian than the stock market."
Best-selling author Michael Lewis who has written numerous books about finance, sports, and government, was asked in a Yahoo! Finance interview about the SEC only regulating a small part of where wealth is created.
Lewis agreed with the premise that most of the money earned goes to private equity firms, venture capital firms, and investment banks.
He said that crypto is building a separate financial structure unlike our current system and "it eliminates the middlemen." "When money is on a crypto exchange, you're not paying a broker to move your money. There aren't high frequency traders who pay for faster information about the exchange." Lewis said, "The whole gerry-rigging of the stock market isn't happening there. It's really clean. The mechanisms to build this are far more egalitarian. Participants in the marketplace aren't privileged in relationship to one another in the same way they are in the stock market."
CRYPTO CLASS – DOUBLE-SPEND PROBLEM
When bitcoin's creator Satoshi Nakamoto announced "a new electronic cash system that uses a peer-to-peer network" he proclaimed that it prevents double-spending.
If a bitcoin, or any cryptocurrency, could be used more than once, it wouldn't have any value.
The double-spend problem doesn't exist with physical currency because when I pay $10 to buy a sandwich, I surrendered the money to the seller.
With digital currency, what prevents a buyer from sending the same bitcoin to more than one seller?
Short answer, the blockchain.
Every single transaction is posted on the blockchain, time-stamped, and verified by a confirmation process (see Blockchain).
The first transaction would be verified, but the second payment with the same bitcoin would not be approved because there is a record of the first transaction.
INFLUENCERS - People to follow
Jack Mallers – @jackmallers
Jack Mallers jumped from the crypto bitcoin stage to the national stage when he appeared on 60 Minutes last Sunday. The 60 Minutes interview highlighted how El Salvador worked with Mallers' financial services firm, Strike, to enable El Salvador to implement bitcoin as El Salvador's official currency. It uses the Lighting Network which is a payment protocol that works with the bitcoin blockchain. Mallers said, "If we can help make the Bitcoin network more accessible and usable we believe we can change the world."
RESOURCES – Books, websites, podcasts, articles
Layered Money - From Gold and Dollars to Bitcoin and Central Bank Digital Currencies by Nik Bhatia. It's hard to discuss cryptocurrency without touching upon the meaning of money. In this fascinated book, Bhatia dives into how money evolved into the global monetary system. He then explains how bitcoin, the US dollar, and central bank digital currencies are reshaping the world.
CRYPTO WORDS – CRYPTO WINTER In December 2017, bitcoin hit a high price of $19,850 and then it began to drop in price. Bitcoin plunged more than 84 percent and panic ensued through the rest of the crypto market. It bounced back to a $68,990 high in November 2021. It is now $41,019.
OH, ONE MORE THING – I added my crypto spin to this New Yorker comic....
Thanks for reading! See you next week.
Go to Crypto News for Realtors to read previous issues.
Rich Hopen