NEW APP (and Weekend Reads đ) - Unqualified Opinions
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NEXT WEEK IS THE LAST WEEK you can subscribe to UO for just $1 / day.
Weâre ramping up subscriber perks in anticipation of our Q2 market intelligence beta. Starting 3/25, rates go up to $699 / year and $75 / month to access our:
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Hereâs what you missed this week: our thoughts on the SECâs comments on Ethereum, an in-depth look at Cosmos, and insights into why USD stablecoins dominate vs. their EUR and JPY counterparts internationally.
Donât keep missing out or youâll die of FOMO:
Itâs FRIDAY.
Weâre keeping things light with some weekend reads and a new mobile app for iOS and Android! Download it. If you like it, leave a five-star review. If you hate it, private message us with feedback, and leave a one-star review here.
You asked, we answered!
đ Messariâs weekend reads:
Bitcoin and Central Banking - David Andolfatto
Broken is beautiful - Alex Taussig
Bill Perry is terrified. Why arenât you? - John F. Harris and Bryan Bender
Schnorr signatures & the inevitability of privacy in Bitcoin - Lucas Nuzzi
Facebookâs data deals are under criminal investigation - NY Times
On value capture at layers 1 and 2 - Kyle Samani
TCRParty wants to pay you for finding the smartest people on Twitter - David Z. Morris
Inside Binanceâs charity: What is the exchange doing for social good? - Isabel Woodford
Have a good weekend, yâall.
- The Messari Team
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Messari Compression Algorithm
Content and thoughts from around the web as summarized by the Messari team.
đ¸ [Analysis] Why open source finance will win - Richard Burton
Balance's Richard Burton claims half of all assets will live on open source financial systems in 50 years. Why? Because the entry barrier to fintech has been dramatically lowered. Those who dislike existing systems need only build their own on top of open source platforms like Bitcoin ($BTC) or Ethereum ($ETH). On-chain businesses like Maker ($MKR) and Uniswap are already taking off and point towards a future of community focused, highly adaptive financial world. (share or read more)
đ [Analysis] Investing in Bitcoin - Hasu and Su Zhu
A rise in the demand for Bitcoin ($BTC) comes from three main sources: demand for digital cash, demand for a neutral settlement network, and as a hedge against system failure. Current digital systems are digital payment systems while Bitcoin is digital cash, meaning it adopts the finality feature of cash within a digital framework. As the United States' monetary abuses continue to be thwarted and probably rejected, Bitcoin can serve as an international, non-political settlement network. Hedging against a catastrophic system collapse--'doomsday insurance'--is an increasingly acknowledged source of demand for Bitcoin. In this view, Bitcoin must only out compete the worst fiat, not the US dollar. (share or read more)
Quick Bits (Don't read that, I read it for you)
Choke Points (Exchange News)
đ CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) is not issuing Bitcoin ($BTC) futures (XBT) for March with the last trading futures set to expire in June if none are listed after this month. CFE's XBT trading volume have been trending low since May 2018, while competitor CME Group's BTC futures are looking to hit the highest quarterly trading volume since its product launched in late 2017. (share or read more)
đšđ A new three year plan by the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has been laid out to create infrastructure for digital assets and one-stop-shop digital capital market. The SET plans to work closely with stock holders to launch the holistic platform by 2020. (share or read more)
Startup Signals (ICOs, Cryptos, and Startups)
đľ After recent scrutiny, stablecoin Tether ($USDT) has updated its website to more lucidly describe its reserve policy, stating that it holds both traditional currency, cash equivalents, assets and receivables, and loans made to third parties. Bloomberg reviewed Tether's financials in December, stating that reserves most likely matched USDT circulation one-to-one. (share or read more)
𼞠The MakerDAO ($MKR) Foundation is weighing a fourth consecutive fee hike for stablecoin DAI in light of supply and demand imbalances leading to trades below the one dollar benchmark. In a statement, founder of the MakerDAO Foundation Rune Christensen said the prior hikes have only had 'superficial effects.' The Foundation has moved discussions to MakerDAO's Reddit Channel. (share or read more)
The Powers That Be (Legal/Reg/Policy)
đť Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of defunct Bitcoin ($BTC) exchange Mt. Gox, was given a two year prison sentence for tampering with records by a Japanese court. Karpeles, who pleaded innocent, was cleared of embezzlement charges. (share or read more)
đ¨ââď¸ The Singapore International Commercial Court ruled against crypto exchange Quonine, now named Liquid, over an April 2017 reverse trade dispute with crypto market maker B2C2. Quonine reversed a trade amounting to 3,092 Bitcoin ($BTC) after noting an abnormality in the exchange rate between Bitcoin and Ethereum ($ETH). Damages will be assessed at a later hearing. (share or read more)
Did I miss something?
Send me the link, your twitter handle and your best imitation compression algorithm write up. If I like it, Iâll include your bit next issue (with attribution).
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Hi team! I'm a subscriber of Unqualified Opinions since early days.
I have a quick question about pricing, early birds that paid ~90 USD per year would need to pay the standard price of 699 USD after the year is expired?
I couldn't find another place to write you. Maybe at info@messar.io but it seems to be focused on the onchainfx dashboard (https://messari.io/onchainfx/faq)
By the way, congratulations about your posts, it's awesome content.