The top daily news from the cryptocurrency and blockchain space:
- U.S. President Donald Trump believes Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are “not money.”
- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell comments on Bitcoin as a store-of-value in testimony before U.S. Senate.
- SEC qualifies second crypto project’s Reg A+ application in as many days.
At the time of writing, bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) are trading at $11,371.0 (-1.7%) and $270.1 (-1.2%), respectively. As for the MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 10 Index, it is currently tracking at 4,158.4 (+0.7%).
U.S. President Donald Trump: Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies ‘Not Money’
For the first time ever, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, stating he was “not a fan” of them and that they are “not money.” He went on to reference price volatility of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies overall, before pointing out that unregulated cryptoassets “can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity.”
U.S. President Trump also criticized Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency in a follow-up tweet, saying it “will have little standing or dependability.” He went onto tweet that, “if Facebook and other companies want to become a bank, they must seek a new Banking Charter and become subject to all Banking Regulators (sic), just like other” bank, be they U.S.-based or international.
Fed Chair Powell on Bitcoin as a Store of Value
In the second of his two consecutive days of testimony before U.S. Congress, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told the Senate Banking Committee he can envision a return to an era wherein multiple currencies are in use within the U.S.
“Really, almost no one uses bitcoin for payment, they use it more as an alternative to gold really,” Fed Chair Powell told Congress during his testimony, “it’s a store of value. It’s a speculative store of value like gold.”
On Wednesday, Powell cautioned regulators about Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency, stating the development of the project cannot “go forward” without firstly addressing “serious concerns” like those related to money laundering, privacy, and customer protection.
U.S. SEC Qualifies Second Crypto Project’s Reg A+ in as Many Days
One day after the ground-breaking news that Blockstack announced the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had – for the first time ever – approved its Reg A+ application to use an allocation of Stacks Token (STX), influencer live-streaming app YouNow’s spin-off Props announced it too had been granted Reg A+ qualification by the financial watchdog.
Unlike Blockstack, however, Props will not be conducting a token sale. Instead, it will reward users and creators with Ethereum-based Props Tokens (PROPS) in exchange for engagement with apps like YouNow and xSplit, a video-game streaming app.
“This is a fundamental shift in the way content creation platforms partner with and more fairly reward their communities,” read a blog post by Props commemorating the SEC approval. “We are pioneering the industry’s evolution, by better aligning the interests of technologists, investors, users, and developers.”
