Bloomberg Crypto

The equivalent of an earthquake jolted the crypto world this week:  Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced and then quickly reversed a proposal to buy out rival exchange FTX, which was reportedly facing a liquidity crisis and on the brink of collapse.   The companies are each owned by two of the most well known CEOs in crypto: Sam Bankman-Fried at FTX, who has been touted as crypto’s version of legendary banker J.P. Morgan, and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, known as  “CZ.”  Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that US authorities, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, are reviewing FTX for improper use of customer funds. Bloomberg’s senior crypto editor Philip Lagerkranser updates this moving story with fellow Bloomberg senior crypto editor Anna Irrera in this episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the core fundamentals that personifies the Bloomberg newsroom is its commitment to data. As part of that commitment, the Markets Live team does a weekly investor survey, asking questions about different elements of financial markets. It’s called the MLIV Pulse Survey - because it’s the Markets Live team taking the pulse of financial markets. In October, the team asked investors for their opinions about crypto.  On this episode, Bloomberg senior editor Kasia Klimasinska with the Markets Live team explains the survey’s results, joined by Bloomberg reporter Vildana Hajric.Editor’s Note: This episode is about a Bloomberg survey of investor sentiment relating to crypto. We collected the survey results before FTX revealed it was facing significant financial difficulties, triggering a market downturn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Evangelists of web3 - a term popularized by venture capitalist Chris Dixon - will often say that a big goal of the whole thing is giving more power to creators, and especially monetary power. Web3, these proponents say, allows artists, musicians, and creators of all stripes to cut out middlemen and intermediaries and to retain more of the financial benefits of their work. In other words, why pay a platform or an agent when you can keep all your royalties yourself? That’s where things get complicated. If you’re a musician or an artist and you sell your work as an NFT, you’ll definitely get paid the first time you sell that song or piece of art. But what happens if the person who bought it sells it to someone else? In the idealized world of web3, you’d get a royalty on that sale - automatically. In reality, most of these transactions aren’t setup that way. For more on the current state of NFTs, and how platforms are thinking about royalties, Bloomberg crypto reporter Olga Kharif and Lauren van Haaften Schick join this episode. Lauren is an Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at Wesleyan University’s Center for the Humanities.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the bigger fights in crypto right now is over the definition of a security - what counts as a security, and who gets to decide - and therefore regulate - that. This isn’t just about semantics: the answer to that question affects trillions of dollars of assets in the United States, including crypto assets. In December 2020, the SEC accused Ripple Labs, issuers of the Ripple token, of having conducted “an unregistered, ongoing digital asset securities offering that raised $1.3bn. Nearly two years later, that fight is still ongoing. Most recently, Ripple asked the court involved to dismiss the SEC’s complaint. Among other things, Ripple does not agree with the SEC’s assertion that its token counts as a security.  Who’s right? And what are the consequences, either way?  Bloomberg reporters Matt Robinson and Chris Dolmetsch and attorney Elizabeth Davis join this episode to explain.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Given how the crypto industry feels about fast cars and men with big personalities, it’s perhaps no surprise that crypto is emerging as one of the biggest sponsors of Formula 1. Formula One racing is marketed as being all about competition that rewards instinct, speed, engineering innovation, and sheer adrenaline. Companies ranging from FTX to Crypto.com have spent millions of dollars on flashy deals.  Around 80% of F1 teams have at least one crypto partner. Crypto.com even has a $100 million deal with the Formula One Group itself.  But in this current market environment, how long can crypto firms keep splashing the cash? In this episode, Bloomberg senior editor Anna Irrera and Bloomberg crypto blogger Emily Nicolle discuss the future of crypto’s fast car sponsorships.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the second audio excerpt from this week's special issue of Businessweek magazine, The Crypto Story. Bloomberg columnist Matt Levine uses the full issue to explain where crypto came from, what it means and why it matters. This episode is voice by Bloomberg Businessweek editor Mark Leydorf. See https://omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our colleagues on QuickTake, Tim Stenovec and Katie Greifeld, host a weekly video series called QuickTake IRL - In Real Life. Just for listeners of the Bloomberg Crypto podcast, we've got an audio version of their latest episode.  Enjoy! Find the full video experience of the shows here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been another pretty unpredictable week in crypto. Now that Elon Musk is at the helm of Twitter, what do his plans for the social media company have in store for digital assets? Why is Dogecoin rallying? And what’s the outlook for crypto earnings this quarter? Bloomberg crypto senior editor Dave Liedtka and deputy editor Beth Williams join this episode for a look at the top stories of the week in the cryptoverse. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As our colleague David Pan has been reporting, Bitcoin miners have been having a very rough time of it. To paraphrase one of his recent stories, falling Bitcoin prices and rising energy costs “led to combined second-quarter losses of more than $1 billion for the top three US publicly traded players — Core Scientific, Marathon Digital and Riot Blockchain.” Yikes.This crunch has led to miners trying to raise cash by selling off their emergency stockpiles of Bitcoin - into the teeth of a down market. At the same time, miners continue to flock to places like Texas - and not everyone is a fan of these relatively recent arrivals. Texas isn’t known for having the world’s most stable power grid, so miners and state officials have sought to pilot ways to address concerns about energy consumption.  Bloomberg reporters David Pan and Michael Smith join this episode for more on how the miners are holding up.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crypto is notorious for its volatility. All its wild swings in prices have become a trademark of the market. And it’s also something that has for years now shaped the trading behaviors of investors looking to make a quick profit. But what happens when the market’s largest digital asset, Bitcoin, starts losing its volatility? For the last four months, the coin has traded in a tight range around $20,000, unable to break out in any real way. How have crypto investors– who are used to trading on the ups and downs of the coin– responded? How have their investing strategies shifted? For more on how traders are dealing with Bitcoin’s stasis, guest host and Bloomberg reporter Vildana Hajric is joined by Bloomberg reporter Katie Greifeld.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.