Ray Dalio says Bitcoin is 'almost a younger generation’s alternative to gold'
This week's top crypto market insights and headlines
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Here’s what you need to know this week:
Bitcoin’s price is stalling below 50k: Bitcoin jumped above $49,000 on Wednesday, after Fed officials approved plans to reduce its bond-buying program faster than it initially projected, but is yet to break resistance at the $50,000 level.
Ray Dalio on Bitcoin: ‘It’s almost a younger generation’s alternative to gold,’
Sparkassen: German savings bank to offer crypto trading to 50M clients
Fed's Powell: ‘Stablecoins could be a useful part of the financial system,’
Nike buys NFT startup RTFKT: Nike delves deeper into the metaverse with the acquisition of RTFKT, a leading NFT fashion and collectibles brand
Kevin Durant signs multiyear deal with Coinbase: Pro basketball player KD will appear in advertising as a face of the Coinbase brand
Twitch Co-Founder enters NFT market: Justin Kan announced the launch of ‘Fractal’ a Solana-based marketplace for gaming NFTs
Tesla to accept Doge: Musk announces that Tesla will accept Doge as payment for some of its merchandise
AVAX adds USDC: Avalanche is adding a native version of USDC to its network
Trending over the past 24 hours:
‘Bitcoin is almost a younger generation’s alternative to gold’ says Ray Dalio
In a recent interview with MarketWatch, legendary investor Ray Dalio offered his insights on Bitcoin and gold.
Dalio says he’s amazed at what Bitcoin has achieved, ‘having it work and having it adopted the way it has been’.
Dalio went on to say that he’s not an expert on Bitcoin but he believes it has some merit as a small portion of a portfolio. “Bitcoin is like gold, though gold is the well established blue-chip alternative to fiat money.”
“It’s almost a younger generation’s alternative to gold and it has no intrinsic value, but it has imputed value and it has therefore some merit.“
However, Dalio still sticks to his statement from earlier this year that Bitcoin could be outlawed by governments: "If it is a threat to governments, it will probably be outlawed in some places when it becomes relatively attractive. I don’t believe that central banks or major institutions will have a significant amount in it.”
Fed chair Jerome Powell says he isn't concerned about crypto disrupting financial stability in the US for now
On Wednesday, Federal Reserve officials said the process of cutting back its stimulus programme would speed up in response to rising inflation with the consumer price index rising to 6.8%, the highest annual inflation rate since 1982 and 4.8% above the Fed’s target.
The move opens the door for at least three interest rate hikes in 2022 and even though the Fed’s rate forecast was slightly more aggressive than expected, risk-on assets rallied.
“I think the band aid is getting pulled off. The market’s been waiting for this. It was selling off on the rumour and it’s time to buy the event,” said Fundstrat’s Tom Lee.
Fed chair Jerome Powell, speaking at a press conference shortly after the announcement, said he didn’t see cryptocurrencies as a ‘financial stability concern’ for U.S. markets.
But Powell also described cryptocurrencies as speculative assets that are “risky” and “not backed by anything.”
Despite the harsh tone, Powell also went on to say that stablecoins could be a ‘useful efficient consumer serving part of the financial system if properly regulated.’
German savings bank to offer crypto trading to 50 million customers
Sparkasse, a German savings bank, is working to implement crypto trading for its 50 million customers, according to a report by Finance Forward.
Sparkassen is a market leader among German financial institutionss with about 370 branches.
The offering would enable 50 million Sparkasse clients to trade cryptocurrency from their checking accounts, which could launch as soon as in 2022.
Following the announcement from Sparkasse, German universal bank Commerzbank and a brand of cooperative banks, Volks- und Raiffeisenbank have also announced their intentions to launch crypto offerings for clients.