Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Jack Dorsey and Jay Z announce bitcoin fund as cryptocurrency goes mainstream

Jack Dorsey and Jay Z announce bitcoin fund as cryptocurrency goes mainstream

Bitcoin's big week got bigger with an announcement from rapper Jay Z and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey that the pair are establishing a bitcoin development fund.

Dorsey tweeted the news Friday, writing that they are taking applications for a "blind irrevocable trust" focused on Africa and India. He promises the fund will have "zero direction" from himself and Jay Z and that the partners are searching for three board members. Dorsey and Jay Z are investing 500 bitcoin into the project, currently worth roughly $23 million.

Bitcoin is already in Dorsey's portfolio. His other company, Square, bought 4,709 bitcoins in October 2020, equal to $50 million at the time. In 2018, the company expanded its mobile payment service Cash App to support bitcoin trading, even for users without a bank account. And in 2019 it launched Square Crypto, which awards grants to bitcoin developers and designers.

Also this week, a Twitter executive said in an interview that the company is reviewing other new uses of the digital currency, including employee pay.
Here's what else happened in bitcoin this week:

Tesla's big bet


The most valuable car company on the stock market, Tesla (TSLA), announced on Monday that it is holding some of its cash in bitcoin rather than traditional currency and might soon accept the cryptocurrency as payment for its cars.

In its annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla said that it expects "to begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for our products in the near future ... which we may or may not liquidate upon receipt."

That news followed the revelation that the automaker is holding $1.5 billion in bitcoin on its balance sheet as part of a move to "invest a portion of [the company's] cash in certain specified alternative reserve assets." Tesla lists $19 billion in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet as of December 31.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has lately been signaling interest in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In a December 20 tweet, he said that "Bitcoin is almost as bs as fiat money," suggesting his belief that it is perhaps less "bs" than traditional government-backed currencies.

Mastercard jumps in


The credit card company is bringing bitcoin to the checkout counter, announcing Wednesday that it will support "select cryptocurrencies" directly on its network at some point later this year.

Although Mastercard (MA) was short on specifics, the company said the process might work something like this: When a customer wants to buy an item with bitcoin, Mastercard's crypto partners will convert the digital currency into traditional currency and transmit the funds over Mastercard's network.

This change "will allow many more merchants to accept crypto" as well as "cut out inefficiencies, letting both consumers and merchants avoid having to convert back and forth between crypto and traditional [currency] to make purchases," Mastercard said.

Bitcoin comes to America's oldest bank


BNY Mellon -- America's oldest bank -- which dates back to Alexander Hamilton's founding of the Bank of New York in 1784 -- announced Thursday it formed a "digital assets" unit. It will begin helping clients address needs related to the growth of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, at an unspecified date later this year.

Client demand and clearer regulation "present a tremendous opportunity for us to extend our current service offerings to this emerging field," said Roman Regelman, Mellon's CEO of asset servicing.

Bitcoin is becoming an "alternative asset"


Following the news of Tesla's large investment, the cryptocurrency saw a boost in confidence.

"As more and more companies start accepting bitcoin, this will only lead to further increases in demand in a market which is limited in supply," wrote Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at ThinkMarkets, in a note to clients.

"Bitcoin is becoming an alternative asset," said Brad Bechtel, global head of FX at Jefferies. "It's not correlated to anything else in the market." And that makes it an attractive asset to add to a portfolio, he added.

That's pretty bullish for the long-term bitcoin outlook, even as some, notably Bank of America, have called the crypto rally "the mother of all bubbles."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×