Transaction URL: https://etherscan.io/tx/0x6c72b19d207f3b144db73fc2bb6a8faf4f37537a90c7146ba3570ae37bcd289b
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You’ve probably heard by now that ETH is a cursed asset. Doomed.
Maybe you’ve read tweets that say Ethereum is destined to go the way of Intel — a stock that has collapsed in value by two-thirds over the past five years while competitors (Nvidia and AMD) have thrived by comparison.
It’s a take that only works if you focus solely on price and ignore how much activity persists on Ethereum and its surrounding web of layer-2s and layer-3s.
Ether has only gained 30% in the past year while its direct rival, SOL, has about doubled.
Even XRP has easily beaten ETH over the bull market to…
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Digital Asset staking has a problem.
Major institutional players increasingly want to participate, but most of today’s staking providers aren’t regulatory or enterprise-friendly. The status quo is infrastructure pieced together by small, sometimes inexperienced teams on centralized Big Tech clouds that are not tuned for digital assets – nor engineered to meet the regulatory compliance standards that major players like BlackRock demand. The traditional financial world has long-established standards for robust risk management strategies crucial to fulfilling institutional needs, and their service providers in the decentralized financial world must meet these requirements.
And…
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Intesa Sanpaolo, the premier bank in Italy, made headlines with a bold leap into the cryptocurrency market, purchasing 11 bitcoins for $1 million. On January 13th, this groundbreaking transaction occurred at 11 a.m. CET, marking the bank’s initial foray into Bitcoin with the price per coin standing at around $92,800. This move could signal a changing tide in the regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies in Italy.
According to a leaked internal email from Niccolò Bardoscia, Head of Digital Assets Trading & Investments at Intesa Sanpaolo, this investment is just the starting point. The bank’s venture into Bitcoin reflects a growing acceptance and could potentially catalyze further institutional engagement across Italy and beyond. Currently, over 1.4 million Italians hold cryptocurrencies, collectively valued at €2.2 billion.
Despite recent government plans to hike taxes on crypto gains, public pushback has kept rates steady, aligning with those of stock market gains. This could set a favorable stage for continued investment in cryptocurrencies. With Italy’s largest bank now officially in the game, even skeptical investors might be swayed to explore this burgeoning sector.