Bloomberg Crypto

In June, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Cynthia Lummis introduced a sweeping Senate bill that would regulate crypto assets. Influential crypto insiders have hailed the proposal as a great starting point - a reception which suggests it might be perceived as relatively friendly to the digital asset community. Hilary Allen, a law professor at American University, is among those who think the proposed legislation doesn’t go far enough, especially when it comes to consumer protection. She joins this episode for a critical look at the proposed legislation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the most closely-watched fights in crypto might sound a little obscure, but it’s really important. It pits a company called Grayscale Investments against the US Securities and Exchange Commission, a crucial regulator. And it involves so-called exchange traded funds, an extremely popular type of investment vehicle, and Bitcoin, the largest and most liquid cryptocurrency.  Grayscale had been lobbying regulators to allow it to convert one of its existing crypto products into an exchange traded fund, or ETF. This week, the SEC rejected their petition. Grayscale has been very clear that they’re preparing for a fight and intend to take the fight to court, and they’ve geared up accordingly. They hired Donald Verrilli, a top White House lawyer during the Obama administration. Bloomberg reporter Katie Greifeld joins me to examine why this fight is so important to crypto. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It might feel like there’s always some kind of election happening in the US - and that’s because there is. State and local elections can happen every year, while ​​Congressional mIdterms occur every other year, allowing US voters to decide who will represent them. These elections really matter, and crypto executives are spending significant amounts of money to influence them. In 2022, for the very first time, political spending by major figures in the crypto industry has eclipsed the dollars being spent by traditional donors in big tech and pharma. Today, Bloomberg reporter Allyson Versprille joins this episode to share her reporting on why crypto is emerging as a significant financial force in US politics. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rishi Sunak, one of the most senior people in the UK government, this year announced he wanted to establish the country as a global hub for crypto . He’s got some catching up to do: the competition between countries trying to attract crypto talent is only getting more intense. But this environment, in which politicians seem to be willing to make major concessions to the crypto industry, gives rise to an important question: who’s standing up for consumer protections? Bloomberg reporter Will Shaw joins this episode to share more about the regulatory landscape for consumer protection in the UK.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the features that early crypto investors would talk about is something called correlation - specifically, the lack of it. Correlation refers to the relationship between different financial assets - if the gold price goes up, and the price of oil also goes up, you could say those prices are positively correlated. For investors looking to diversify their portfolios, correlation isn’t always a good thing. What they want is something that doesn’t move in the same direction as everything else. And for a while, it looked like cryptoassets might fit the bill.  Over the past year, as inflation rates have begun to rise- the price of crypto has fallen in line with stocks. What does this mean for crypto’s supposed independence from other markets? Bloomberg reporter Vildana Hajric joins this episode to explore these questions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

California’s Silicon Valley is both a place and a philosophy. It’s hailed as *the* place for US tech startups to get funding and attract talent. VCs, or venture capitalists, are integral to this mythology.  These are the people who provide the private capital - billions of dollars worth - so tech startups can chase the next big thing. Despite the volatile crypto market, some of those VCs are still betting big on the potential of the blockchain. Bloomberg reporter Hannah Miller joins this episode for a look at how crypto is influencing VC—and vice versa.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, the Ukrainian government and the country’s crypto community would not have been described as allies. There was skepticism, distrust and even a few police raids on unlicensed crypto exchanges. That shifted with the war: Digital asset leaders in Ukraine are now hailed, by some, as heroes because of their work with the Ukrainian government to finance the war effort. Ukraine's deputy minister for digital transformation said crypto donations have enabled the army to buy military equipment, and medicine. In this episode, Bloomberg reporter Alastair Marsh discusses his reporting on how Ukraine has been using crypto during the war to support its armies and its population. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Washington Nationals baseball team didn’t have a great start to their season, and that’s not just because of their losing record. They also managed to debut a sponsorship deal with the organization behind the not-so-stable stablecoin, TerraUSD. The name of that organization, Terraform Labs, is now splashed all over billboards, uniforms, seats – everything. It might have seemed like a good play when they signed the contract, but by the time TerraUSD crashed and burned in early May, it started to look more like a strikeout. In this episode, Bloomberg senior editor Mike Regan, joins the conversation to sort through how crypto companies are changing the sports landscape.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

El Salvador’s millennial president Nayib Bukele is no tourist when it comes to Bitcoin. Last year, under his leadership, El Salvador became the first country in the world to approve Bitcoin as a form of legal tender. Since then, President Bukele has bought more than 2,000 Bitcoins using public funds. He doesn’t appear to be stressed by the market volatility, or by the drumbeat of international organizations like the IMF that have criticized his crypto decisions. He’s even created a so-called “Bitcoin beach” in the coastal town of El Zonte as a pilot project. In this episode, Bloomberg reporter Mike McDonald joins to talk more about the sustainability of El Salvador’s Bitcoin strategy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Bloomberg Crypto, Bloomberg reporters Claire Ballentine and Charlie Wells join stacy-marie to talk about crypto addiction. There are rehab centers for people seeking treatment for addictions to drugs and alcohol, to gambling, and more recently, to online experiences like gaming. Now, these centers are seeing an uptake in people looking for help controlling their crypto trading. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.