Fully Vested

Full Derp for Crypto

Episode Summary

This week we discuss several interesting aspects of the cryptocurrency markets including the impact of Elon Musk and Tesla, Dogecoin, the environmental impacts of proof of work and various government/regulatory responses to cryptocurrencies.

Episode Notes

General

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Overview

• Cryptocurrency markets have seen their biggest bull run yet. After a pretty docile couple years since the last bubble in late 2017.
• Crypto prices began picking up in Q4 2020 as more institutional interest poured into the space. Open interest in Bitcoin (BTC) futures on the CME went from roughly $400M in October 2020 to $1.6B in January 2021. Crypto exchanges saw a similar run-up in volume.
• Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) also began to see some price traction starting in mid-Q3 2020. Ethereum, a blockchain platform which enables decentralized applications, also started to firm up plans for Ethereum 2.0, which would take the platform away from Proof of Work and toward Proof of Stake
• At time of recording, both Bitcoin and Ethereum hit all-time highs in Q2 2021. Ethereum hit nearly $4,400 per coin on Coinbase in mid-May and Bitcoin hit roughly $65,000 in mid April.

Other weird side-tangents

• Elon Musk and Tesla's will-they won't-they stance on Bitcoin
  • February 8, 2021. Tesla buys $1.5 billion in bitcoin, plans to accept it as payment (Steve Kovach for CNBC)
  • February 9, 2021. A Brief History of Elon Musk's Devotion to the Crypto Cause (Kristine Servando for Bloomberg)
  • May 1, 2021. Elon Musk’s History in Crypto: the Good, the Bad and the Doge (Andrey Kartsev for CoinMarketCap)
  • May 13, 2021. As much as $365 billion wiped off cryptocurrency market after Tesla stops car purchases with Bitcoin (Arjun Kharpal for CNBC)
  • May 23, 2021. Elon Musk Has Become Bitcoin's Biggest Influencer, Like It or Not (Akane Otani for the Wall Street Journal )
• Environmental impacts of proof-of-work
  • Proof of Work (PoW) definition on Investopedia.com
  • Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index is a project from Cambridge University tracking estimated electricity consumption of the Bitcoin mining network.
  • April 2021. Why Bitcoin is Bad For The Environment (Elizabeth Kolbert for The New Yorker)
  • September 2018. Why Bitcoin Is Not an Environmental Catastrophe(Diego Zuluaga for The Cato Institute)
  • April 2021. Policy assessments for the carbon emission flows and sustainability of Bitcoin blockchain operation in China
• Currency controls and banking restrictions imposed by non-U.S. financial regulators (e.g. China)
  • August 2020. Cryptocurrencies help Chinese evade capital and currency controls in moving billions overseas (Karen Yeung for the South China Morning Post)
  • March 1, 2021. China's furtive bitcoin trade heats up again, worrying regulators (Samuel Shen and Andrew Galbraith for Reuters)
  • May 18, 2021. China bans financial, payment institutions from cryptocurrency business (Reuters newswire)
  • May 19, 2021. Bitcoin's Obstacles Mount amid China Cryptocurrency Warning (Vildana Hajric and Joanna Ossinger for Bloomberg Quint)

About The Co-Hosts

• Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
• Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.