Bitcoin and most altcoins remain in recovery mode following one of the most severe corrections since March 2020, but ongoing developments in mainland China and Hong Kong may continue to rock cryptocurrency markets in the months ahead. Last week, Beijing reiterated its prohibition of crypto trading, and now, Hong Kong is moving closer to exclude retail investors from trading cryptoassets.

As part of the proposal set to be presented before HK's legislature, the city’s Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau argued for a minimum investment threshold for crypto trading at about $1 million. If passed by the government, this provision will reportedly exclude about 93% of Hong Kong’s population from crypto markets.

Elsewhere, news that billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio already owns Bitcoin and that billionaire activist Carl Icahn is considering investing in Bitcoin, brought further public attention to digital assets. There are also rumours swirling that venture capital titan Andreessen Horowitz is in the process of buckling down on crypto – looking to raise $2bn for its third crypto fund. That’s double the size of what many people are expecting...

This week's top stories

Bitcoin Mining Council emerges following meeting with Michael Saylor and Elon Musk

Last week, MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor brokered meeting between Elon Musk and several prominent business leaders. Both revealed Monday that the Bitcoin Mining Council has been established following the high-level talks. The council is made up of several industry leaders, including Argos Blockchain, Blockcap, Galaxy Digital, Hive Blockchain, Hut 8 Mining, Marathon Digital and Riot Blockchain. They’ve all agreed to “promote energy usage transparency and accelerate sustainability initiatives worldwide,” Saylor tweeted Monday. Read More

Billionaire Ray Dalio says he owns Bitcoin, and its ‘greatest risk is its success’

Billionaire Ray Dalio disclosed during Coindesk’s Consensus conference Monday that he owns "some” Bitcoin and called the cryptocurrency a better inflation hedge than bonds. But Dalio maintains that the cryptocurrency still faces risk. “Bitcoin’s greatest risk is its success,” he said. And if it succeeds, “one of the great things, I think, as a worry is the government having the capacity to control Bitcoin, or the digital currencies. They know where they are, and they know what’s going on.” At the same event, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon also admitted that he holds some cryptocurrencies. Read more

Billionaire Carl Icahn eyes potential $1.5bn crypto investment

US billionaire and one-time cryptocurrency skeptic Carl Icahn is contemplating a potential $1.5bn investment in digital assets. The activist investor said he’s looking at investing in crypto in “a relatively big way,” clarifying that “big” could mean “a billion dollars, billion-and-a-half.” Icahn shared his thoughts via an interview on Wednesday with Bloomberg on topics including investor activism, GameStop shares and digital assets. Read more

In case you missed it..

⚡️One River files with SEC to create a carbon-neutral Bitcoin ETF.

⚡️Iran temporarily bans crypto mining ahead of peak electricity demand season.

⚡️PwC: Crypto hedge funds show growing appetite for DeFi.

⚡️HSBC CEO: 'We are not into Bitcoin as an asset class’.

⚡️Guggenheim founder Morley is backing a New York blockchain tower.

⚡️Blockchain payments platform Chia on an ‘accelerated timeline’ to IPO.

⚡️Goldman Sachs: Ether has a 'high chance' of eclipsing Bitcoin as crypto's dominant store of value.

⚡️Ripple waiting for SEC suit resolution before going public, says CEO.

⚡️PayPal exec says payments giant is working on crypto withdrawal capability.

⚡️Nebraska bill creating bank framework for digital asset firms signed into law.

⚡️Polygon debuts SDK for building Ethereum-compatible chains.

⚡️WisdomTree becomes the second to file for an ETH ETF with the SEC.

⚡️JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon: stay away from Bitcoin.

⚡️BurgerSwap hit by flash loan attack netting over $7m.

⚡️Ethereum devs close EIP-1559 loophole that could have overwhelmed blockchain.

⚡️KBC, one of Belgium’s largest banks is exploring the idea to launch its own cryptocurrency.

⚡️Flash loans strike: Belt Finance exploited for $6.2m.

⚡️Barclays, Monzo and Starling block payments to crypto exchanges.

From Copper

New award: Best Digital Assets Service Provider - InstitutionalAssetManager

We’re proud to have been recognised by InstitutionalAssetManager as the Best Digital Assets Service Provider. This award reflects our commitment to security, transparency, and technological innovation, and we’re grateful to all our clients and partners who voted for us this year. Read more

New Report: There were few metrics for DeFi, so we created some

Crypto needs better metrics to break away from correlations. We created some new ones that investors could use for better valuations against competing Decentralised Finance (DeFi) platforms! In this latest in-depth report, we take a deeper and candid look at project growth, competition, market share and token valuations across competing DeFI protocols: MakerDAO vs mStable, Compound vs Aave, and Enzyme vs dHedge. Read it here.