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Despite an inflated US dollar and freeze orders, Goldman Sachs’ Blankfein wonders why the cryptocurrency isn’t having a moment.

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On Sunday, Lloyd Blankfein, the current senior chairman of Goldman Sachs, tweeted about cryptocurrency. From 2006 to September 2018, Blankfein was the chairman and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs.

He stated that he is keeping an open mind when it comes to cryptocurrency. However, he questioned why it isn’t “having a moment” given “the inflating US dollar” and governments demonstrating that they “can and will freeze accounts and block payments under certain circumstances.” “Not seeing it in the price, so far…” he said.

Goldman Sachs' Blankfein Asks Why Crypto Isn't Having a Moment Despite Inflating US Dollar, Freeze Orders

Recently, the Canadian government froze accounts tied to the Freedom Convoy trucker protest. Furthermore, since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, a growing number of governments are placing sanctions on certain Russian individuals and entities, which may include freezing accounts tied to them.

While bank accounts and crypto assets held at exchanges can be frozen, decentralized cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin and ether, cannot be frozen directly within the network. The CEOs of crypto exchanges Coinbase and Kraken have advised that anyone worried about their crypto assets being frozen should transfer them off exchanges and self-custody them. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz described: “One of the reasons why I’m so bullish on bitcoin is because it is decentralized and not controllable.”

As for inflation, many people view bitcoin as a hedge against rising inflation, including famed hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones, who said in October last year that he prefers bitcoin to gold as an inflation hedge. Blankfein’s investment bank, Goldman Sachs, said in December 2020 that bitcoin is “the retail inflation hedge.”

Many People Reply to Blankfein’s Crypto Question

The Goldman Sachs senior chairman received many replies on Twitter. Some people agreed with him that the price of bitcoin should have risen a lot more while others argued that BTC has already gone up tremendously, especially compared to other assets.

“Interesting observation and I kind of agree,” one Twitter user wrote. “Although, the only thing having a moment right now is oil, energy, and wheat.”

Crypto analyst Tuur Demeester wrote:

Bitcoin is up 10,000% in 72 months, with compounding annual returns of 116%. Kindly give it a minute.

Another Twitter user told Blankfein: “Oh it’s definitely in the price, Lloyd. Zoom out! Now imagine when you, Ken Griffin, DHH [Ruby on Rail creator David Heinemeier Hansson], and the rest of the new 2022 converts start buying in size. This adoption wave will be bigger than when Druck [Stan Druckenmiller] and PTJ [Paul Tudor Jones] started buying in 2020.”

Chris Burniske, a partner at VC firm Placeholder, commented: “Don’t paper hands it, Lloyd.”

Some people are more skeptical about cryptocurrency. One tweeted: “Crypto is on the verge of being destroyed, by restrictive government regulation, as BTC and other cryptocurrencies are being used by Russian oligarchs as a vehicle for mass money laundering and evasion of sanctions. That is the ‘moment’ we are probably about to see.”

Digital asset manager Eric Weiss replied:

It’s just a matter of education. So few people understand bitcoin’s value proposition. You clearly do. Just hodl with us Lloyd. We are going to make it.

Janet Yellen: Under Biden’s Crypto Executive Order, the US Treasury and other departments will publish a report on money.

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(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement late Tuesday that a presidential executive order on cryptocurrencies would “support responsible innovation” by coordinating U.S. policy across agencies.

Yellen said the department’s work in response to the executive order would “complement” its ongoing and existing efforts in a press release dated March 9 but published on March 8. President Joe Biden is widely expected to sign the executive order on Wednesday.

Treasury will collaborate with interagency colleagues to produce a report on the future of money and payment systems, according to the executive order, Yellen said. “Because the issues raised by digital assets frequently have significant cross-border implications, we’ll collaborate with our international partners to promote strong standards and a level playing field.”

Yellen also stated that the Department of the Treasury would continue to collaborate with the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which met last year to discuss stable coins. Last December, the group released a report that identified stable coins and decentralized finance as two risk areas for US financial stability.

Other efforts to discuss crypto regulations have been overseen by the Treasury Department, including a report on stable coins by the President’s Working Group for Financial Markets. Last year, the report requested that Congress pass legislation giving federal bank regulators explicit oversight authority over the stable coin sector.

‘Washington Does Not Play Fair Anymore,’ says renowned investor Jim Rogers, who sees the end of the US dollar.

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In an interview published by the Economic Times on Sunday, renowned investor Jim Rogers discussed the end of the US dollar and the future prospects for cryptocurrency. Rogers is a former business partner of George Soros, with whom he co-founded the Quantum Fund and Soros Fund Management.

He was asked about the outlook for the US dollar and where he thinks the dollar index will go in the future. “One of the reasons I own US dollars is that when things get tough, people look for a safe haven. For historical reasons, they believe the US dollar is a safe haven,” Rogers explained.

However, the veteran investor added:

But what is happening with the U.S. dollar now is the end of the U.S. dollar because an international currency is supposed to be neutral but in Washington, they are now changing the rules.

“Now if Washington does not like you, they put sanctions on you and you cannot use U.S. dollars,” he stressed.

“So, many countries are starting to look for a competitor — China or Russia or India, Iran, Brazil … some countries are starting to look for a competing currency, and they should because Washington does not play fair anymore,” he continued.

Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, the United States as well as a growing number of other countries have been placing sanctions on Russia.

Russia has about 16% of its reserves in U.S. dollars and 32% in euros. As billionaire investor Bill Miller recently described: “They have almost 50% of their reserves in currencies that are controlled by people who want to do them harm.” Miller agrees with Rogers that other countries are starting to look for alternative currencies to the U.S. dollar.

Rogers added:

Of course, the U.S. is the largest debtor nation in the world. So, for fundamental reasons and political reasons, people are looking for competing currency.

“I do not know what it will be yet. I hope I am smart enough to buy it when you find it. I do not like saying it. I am an American but I do not like to see what they are doing to the American dollar,” he opined.

Rogers was also asked, “Can cryptos ever be an alternative to the U.S. dollar index?” He replied: “Well it could be. Many people have made a lot of money trading crypto.”

He explained that crypto bulls say that cryptocurrency will be the new money. “I know that every country in the world is working on computer money now, including the U.S.,” he pointed out. However, he said that the U.S. will not say it is new money.

Regarding cryptocurrency, he noted that “Governments like control” and “Governments like monopoly.” The veteran investor elaborated:

I do not like it but that is the way governments are, and I just suspect that they will either tax it or regulate it or outlaw it or something because they do not want to lose control.

Rogers has warned that governments could ban cryptocurrencies on several occasions. He said it is the reason he did not invest in bitcoin. However, in May last year, he said he regretted not investing in BTC.

According to reports, Biden is expected to sign an executive order on cryptocurrency this week.

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According to Bloomberg and Reuters reports, citing people familiar with Biden’s plans, President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order this week summarizing the US government’s strategy for dealing with cryptocurrencies.

  • The order would direct federal agencies to consider potential regulatory changes, in addition to the national security and economic implications of cryptocurrencies, according to Bloomberg.
  • The White House has been under pressure to play a more central role in setting policies for and regulating digital assets. That pressure has only increased with the sanctions imposed against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, and concerns that companies and individuals could use cryptocurrencies to circumvent them.
  • The White House has been working on the order since last year, and in January, reports surfaced that the order was coming soon.
  • The order will require federal agencies to report later this year on their progress with respect to dealing with digital tokens, according to Bloomberg.
  • CoinDesk has reached out to the White House to confirm the report but had not received an answer by press time.

According to Kevin O’Leary, US lawmakers are working on a policy to open crypto markets to institutional investors.

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Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary revealed in a series of tweets Thursday that he just had a bipartisan meeting with a group of U.S. lawmakers to discuss crypto regulation.

He tweeted:

Spent my day at the senate with a bi-partisan group of policy makers who get the joke on crypto. They are working on policy that will open these markets to institutional investors.

O’Leary added: “The good news is they are all over it and agree that there is a tremendous opportunity once they pass policy. Stay tuned, I left them feeling optimistic.”

The Shark Tank star also thanked Senator Cynthia Lummis for hosting the meeting. The pro-bitcoin senator from Wyoming replied to him via Twitter: “It was great to have you, Kevin O’leary. What a turnout (bicameral and bipartisan). Big things are coming. Feeling bullish. ”

Mr. Wonderful replied: “Senator Lummis is 100% right. Whoever heard of going to the Hill and having a bipartisan discussion. I thought I was dreaming.”

In a different tweet last week, O’Leary opined:

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon, all these blockchains — it’s all software. The growth rate of these new innovations is phenomenal, and there’s capital coming in from all around the world.

O’Leary has been saying repeatedly that many institutional investors are waiting to be able to invest in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

In February, he said he expects the price of bitcoin to “appreciate dramatically” in two to three years “when institutions can finally buy it.” He explained that “In the indexing business, for all the hype around bitcoin, none of those institutions own a single coin. And they are not going to until their compliance departments allow for the ESG mandates.”

Rarify, a provider of NFT infrastructure, has received a $10 million investment in a Series A funding round led by Pantera Capital.

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Rarify, a company that deals with producing infrastructure for third parties to integrate NFT services, has raised $10 million in its recent Series A funding round. The round, which led Rarify to reach a valuation of $100 million, was led by Pantera Capital with the participation of other companies, including Eniac Ventures, Greycroft, Hyper, and Slow Ventures.

Rarify aims to simplify the whole process of creating and selling NFTs in the same way that “Square made it super easy to accept payments,” according to statements given by its co-founder Revas Tsivtsivadze. The company will use the funds raised in the funding round to start hiring more aggressively and launch NFT products with corporate partners.

Pantera partner Paul Veradittakit stated:

Rarify removes the biggest hurdles companies face when introducing NFTs to their existing products.

He further explained that Rarify’s solutions could “make NFTs accessible to companies and, by extension, consumers at large.”

Rarify’s new funding round is the product of the growth of the NFT market and the applicability of NFTs in several industries, including art and gaming. While some still criticize the validity of these tools, there is a sizable market behind them, with one of the main NFT markets, Opensea, having crossed the $20 billion all-time sales mark last month.

Traditional gaming companies are also experimenting with adding NFT support to their products. This is the case for Ubisoft, which created its own NFT market called Quartz. Rarify’s goal is to get to these companies adding NFTs into their business models, offering solutions so “that teams don’t need to stitch together disparate systems or spend months integrating blockchain technology,” according to the mission described on its website.

The seed funding round of the company managed to raise $2 million dollars in September. Jon Oringer, the founder of Pareto and Shutterstock, who also participated in that round, stated:

Opportunity is best harnessed by early movers and Rarify makes NFT feasible for more companies than ever before possible.

Billionaire Bill Miller “Bitcoin is very bullish right now.”

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In an interview with CNBC Wednesday, famed value investor Bill Miller talked about the outlook for crypto amid a war between Russia and Ukraine in an interview. He is the founder of Miller Value Partners and currently serves as its chairman and chief investment officer. He manages the firm’s opportunity equity and income strategy funds. Prior to Miller Value Partners, he co-founded Legg Mason Capital Management.

Following its invasion of Ukraine, a growing number of countries have imposed sanctions on Russia. This has caused the Russian ruble and stocks of Russian companies listed abroad to plummet. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last week: “We will paralyze the assets of Russia’s central bank. This will freeze its transactions. And it will make it impossible for the central bank to liquidate its assets.”

Miller explained: “If you look at Russia right now, Russia has 16% of their $640 billion of reserves in dollars. They have 32% in euros. So they have almost 50% of their reserves in currencies that are controlled by people who want to do them harm.” He elaborated:

From Russia’s point of view, that’s not a great position to be in. They have 22% in gold and that’s the only part of their reserves which other countries can’t control.

The billionaire investor opined: “So I think if you are a country out there that has a non-reserve currency — there’re about a hundred of them — you might think about saying: ‘You know what, maybe we could have something else out there that other countries cannot harm us with, and is impervious to inflation or to being manufactured in greater quantities.” He concluded:

So I think it’s very bullish for bitcoin particularly.

Miller then proceeded to talk about other cryptocurrencies. “The rest of crypto is different,” he added. “I think bitcoin is unique, and the rest of the cryptos should be considered as adventure investments because they all try to solve other problems.

The famed value investor has been a bitcoin bull for quite some time. In February, he said he had a “very big” bitcoin position and likened the crypto to digital gold in terms of a hedge against inflation. He also called BTC “insurance against financial catastrophe.”

Officials claim that cryptocurrency allows Ukraine to “operate internationally.”

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Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany - April 17, 2018: Many coins of various cryptocurrencies

Ukraine has been increasingly relying on cryptocurrency donations to solve humanitarian problems and fund its defense efforts as hostilities with advancing Russian forces continue. According to a high-ranking government official, cryptocurrency helps the country receive and quickly distribute the money as well as to conduct international business.

Since the Russian military assault started, Ukraine has been actively seeking financial support in the form of crypto donations. “It’s a very rapid way to get a payment — in times like that you can’t just wait for days to get money and then you have to distribute them,” the country’s Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation Oleksandr Bornyakov said in an interview.

The official noted that the government in Kyiv set up a cryptocurrency fund in partnership with a major exchange right after the invasion began. “So money immediately started to go in. And so far we have collected more than $30 million,” Bornyakov told Fox News.

The fund he was referring to accepts contributions for defense purposes but Bornyakov pointed out that other funds successfully raise money for humanitarian tasks in support of Ukraine’s civilian population. “I think, so far we’ve collected around $100 million for different purposes,” he detailed, without specifying whether he meant crypto assets.

The deputy minister explained that Ukraine can convert the digital money it receives into other currencies such as U.S. dollars and euros as he also emphasized:

The positive side of crypto is that we are able to operate internationally.

Oleksandr Bornyakov elaborated that right now it’s very difficult for Ukrainian authorities to supply anything from abroad because Russian forces have been advancing from multiple directions. “The crypto fund is really helping to do that very quickly,” he said.

Talking about warnings that Russia might also use cryptocurrency to evade western sanctions, Bornyakov pointed out that Ukraine had been in touch with major crypto exchanges, blockchain forensics firms, and anti-money laundering bodies to provide them with information about Russians to which the restrictions apply.

Although the Ukrainian official is skeptical about Russia’s potential to employ crypto to circumvent the sanctions, his government has been trying to expose crypto wallets used by politicians in Moscow but failed to convince platforms like Binance and Kraken to freeze all Russian accounts as Kyiv had requested.

Having received millions in bitcoin and ether, Ukraine has also been expanding the list of accepted cryptocurrencies to include coins such as polkadot and dogecoin. The global crypto community has supported humanitarian efforts in the country, with Binance pledging $10 million while facilitating assistance from third parties through a crowdfunding initiative.

US Senator has urged regulators to tighten their scrutiny of cryptocurrency, warning that it could jeopardize Russia’s sanctions.

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As governments worldwide are placing sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is worried that cryptocurrency could give Russia a way to evade sanctions. The senator from Massachusetts tweeted Monday:

Cryptocurrencies risk undermining sanctions against Russia, allowing Putin and his cronies to evade economic pain.

“U.S. financial regulators need to take this threat seriously and increase their scrutiny of digital assets,” she added.

Senator Warren’s tweet was heavily criticized in the crypto community. Some people called her ignorant while others said she lied. One person tweeted: “So what you’re saying is that a stateless, permissionless, decentralized, and censorship-resistant currency is out of your control so it must be stopped?”

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz from Texas recently said that Senator Warren does not like bitcoin and cryptocurrency because she cannot control them.

Senator Warren’s tweet includes an article by the New York Times titled “Russia Could Use Cryptocurrency to Blunt the Force of U.S. Sanctions.” Jerry Brito, executive director of D.C.-based think tank Coin Center, pointed out some problems he found in the New York Times article Senator Warren cited.

For example, the article mentions “new tools developed in Russia” that can help mask the origin of cryptocurrency transactions. However, it does not explain what the tools are or give any reference, Brito noted. “And to think that ransomware could make up the income lost to sanctions is to misunderstand the scale of the blockade being imposed,” he added, elaborating:

Could crypto be used to evade sanctions? Of course. Could it be used at a scale that would undermine the measures being taken? I don’t see how.

“Will legitimate crypto intermediaries comply with sanctions obligations? Better than a lot of banks, if recent history is any guide,” the Coin Center executive concluded.

Ukraine’s tease of an airdrop has sparked a flood of microdonations.

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Ukraine’s airdrop tease is prompting an influx of microdonations on the Ethereum blockchain.

Since the country tweeted “airdrop confirmed” early Wednesday morning, Ethereum users have made thousands of donations ranging from 0.0001 ETH to 0.01 ETH (approximately $0.30 to $30) to Ukraine’s official Ethereum wallet, according to data from Etherscan.

Ukraine has raked in over $40 million in donations since the country’s Twitter account first tweeted it would begin accepting donations in cryptocurrency on Feb. 26.

The number of unique wallets that donated cryptocurrency in the 18 hours since the airdrop tweet has already surpassed the number of unique wallets that donated prior to the tweet, according to data from Dune Analytics.

The influx of donations suggests Ethereum users are trying to game the airdrop via a Sybil attack on Ukraine’s Ethereum wallet. The method typically involves one user making small donations from multiple wallets, as opposed to a larger donation of one larger sum.

The advantage, experts say, is that Ukraine could potentially airdrop the teased “reward” to unique wallets, thereby giving the owner of multiple donor wallets multiple helpings of the anticipated airdrop.

Historically, some decentralized finance (DeFi) users have deployed such a method to increase the total of their token airdrops. Now, instead of being used to game DeFi protocol airdrops, the method appears to be in use to game the rewards for donating to geopolitical crises.

However, it is still unclear what mystery item(s) Ukraine will actually airdrop, or the criteria the country will use to evaluate eligible recipients.

For example, one way Ukraine could combat such an attack is to restrict airdrops only for wallets that have donated above a certain amount.

Ukraine has announced that a snapshot will be taken at 6 p.m. Kiev time (4 p.m. UTC) on March 3. The snapshot likely refers to a list of all wallet addresses that have donated to Ukraine’s cause. The timing also means the Ethereum microdonations could continue for another day.

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