2024-07-27 16:06

The financial services company will start with $2 billion in lending. NASHVILLE — Financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald will open a bitcoin financing business, CEO Howard Lutnick said at the Bitcoin Conference Saturday. "We are going to launch with $2 billion in lending," Lutnick said, and increase the facility in $2 billion tranches as needed. He later added: "We are going to welcome bitcoin into the financing family of the global financial markets." The business will provide leverage to bitcoin holders, according to a press release. Cantor Fitzgerald's new lending facility isn't its first step into crypto; It already does business with stablecoin issuer Tether. The firm additionally owns a "s***load" of bitcoin, Lutnick said. Cantor Fitzgerald is well known on Wall Street as one of the world's biggest bond brokerages and already handles U.S. Treasury trading with the biggest stablecoin issuer, Tether. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/07/27/wall-streets-cantor-fitzgerald-to-open-bitcoin-financing-lending-business/

2024-07-27 15:40

Democratic members of Congress wrote a letter to the Democratic National Committee asking for it to embrace pro-crypto policy. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris “understands” crypto and may embrace it as an issue in her nascent campaign for the White House, Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-NC) said at the Bitcoin Nashville conference on Saturday. "We had a total reset of the presidential election," Nickel said, adding "we’ve been working hard to get a reset from Vice President." The comments come as twenty-eight democratic officials, including a dozen or so members of the House, pressed party leaders for a "reset" on crypto policy, Nickel said. Some factions of the party are pressing the Harris campaign to come out in favor of crypto, Nickel said. Crypto continues to emerge as a campaign issue in the 2024 election, which has already been flooded by tens of millions of fundraising dollars from industry leaders. Democrats have fallen well behind former President Donald Trump’s promise to be friendly to Bitcoin and crypto proponents that bristled at President Joe Biden’s administration and heavy-handed financial regulators. But Trump once himself bristled at crypto: he called bitcoin a "scam" when he last held the White House from 2017-2020. Onstage Nickel needled Trump for this policy flip-flop, promoting hearty boos from the packed convention hall peppered with red MAGA hats. Trump is scheduled to speak later in the day. This is a developing story. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/07/27/democrats-pushing-harris-campaign-for-reset-on-crypto-stance-house-rep-says/

2024-07-27 15:00

Crypto advocates in the U.S. House want their party to adopt a "forward-looking approach" to digital assets. Several Democrats want their party to match the pro-crypto stance already occupied by their Republican rivals by adding new language to the party platform. The letter calls for the replacement of Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler with a "pro-innovation" agency head. More than a dozen Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives and a long list of candidates for congressional seats are pushing their national committee to adopt a pro-crypto stance, according to a letter they sent on Saturday. Lawmakers including Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) and others signed the letter to the Democratic National Committee requesting a "forward-looking approach" to digital assets, asking their party to add supportive language to the official platform, pick a vice-presidential candidate who favors crypto and replace Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler with an agency chief that supports crypto. "We believe this technology is non-partisan, and the Democratic Party should also champion these innovations to help reaffirm the U.S.'s position as the leader in the global digital economy," according to the letter from 14 sitting lawmakers and another 14 candidates for congressional office, which the lawmakers also announced at the Bitcoin 2024 event in Nashville, Tenn. The Republican Party had previously adopted a crypto-friendly addition to its own official platform. Read More: Trump Speaks Saturday at the Bitcoin Conference. Here's What Attendees Like 'The Crypto Patriot' Hope He Says. The Democrats specifically target the SEC's Gensler, asking that the party leaders officially advocate for a "pro-innovation" SEC chair "who takes a regulatory approach to digital assets that fosters innovation, secures American global competitiveness, promotes financial inclusion and protects consumers." "With the Democratic Party going through a historic moment of generational change, we are very proud to see these Democratic leaders and future leaders unite in their support for innovation and the next generation of financial services," said Colin McLaren, the engagement director for the Cedar Innovation Foundation, a crypto industry advocacy group, in a statement. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/07/27/democratic-crypto-supporters-call-for-crypto-friendly-party-platform/

2024-07-26 21:59

After years of consequential silence on digital assets, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee stormed a Bitcoin 2024 stage as a booster. The Senate Banking Committee has so far failed to move crypto legislation, despite this year's progress in the U.S. House, but ranking Republican Tim Scott has now joined those advocating for crypto-friendly regulation. He and other U.S. lawmakers spoke in support of the industry at the Bitcoin 2024 event in Tennessee, and several speakers specifically favored using bitcoin as a reserve asset for the U.S., including MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor and ARK Invest's Cathie Wood. The event is preparing for an appearance from candidate and former President Donald Trump, who has recently turned his longtime crypto resistance into strong advocacy. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee who may be in position to be its next chairman, argued at a Bitcoin 2024 appearance on Friday that the government should "make it easy" for the crypto industry to innovate in the U.S. It's a common refrain from Republican lawmakers these days, but Scott – the direct counterpart of crypto skeptic Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) – had stayed relatively quiet on crypto as that committee became the bottleneck for U.S. legislation. He broke that reticence with his lively crypto debut at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville, Tenn., where he shouted the merits of digital assets. Scott could become chairman of that committee, which oversees U.S. financial regulation, if Republicans retake the Senate majority after the November elections. "We have to get rid of the folks who are in the way," he said, speaking alongside U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), and lambasting Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler as a crypto-policy roadblock. "Chairman Gensler, lord have mercy … Hit the road, Jack, and don't you come back, no more, no more, no more." Before Friday, Scott, who'd been among those running for the Republican presidential nomination this year, had been relatively quiet on crypto issues, even as Democrats on the committee – such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) – became outspoken critics of the industry. His potential for grabbing the chairman gavel on the Senate Banking panel next year repeatedly came up during his time on stage with Lummis, and he said that if it happened, he'd make sure her legislation gets a prompt vote, "setting bitcoin free here at home." Lummis has reportedly been pushing recently for a bill that would call for the Federal Reserve to hold some bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset. She didn't get into the topic during her appearance on Friday, though many at the event hope former President Donald Trump mentions that idea when he's set to appear at the conference on Saturday. "The innovations of Bitcoin are now becoming more clear in the U.S. Senate, and it's also becoming more clear who wants to protect the innovation and who wants to regulate it," Lummis said. Legislation to regulate crypto has passed in the House of Representatives but is so far languishing in the Senate. Advocates are still hoping something can get through at the end of the year, but the odds remain slim. As for new crypto legislation at this stage of the congressional session – with the 2024 election looming and the session speeding toward its end – it's unlikely to find sufficient traction to become law, but such efforts can sometimes begin a negotiation for future bills. The senators took the stage soon after Michael Saylor, executive chairman of software firm MicroStrategy (MSTR), the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, advocated that the U.S. should aim to acquire 4 million BTC to boost its Treasury and build its financial strength. He said only one or two nations will have an opportunity to enjoy what he described as the token's massive future growth to that extent. "Bitcoin is not the solution to all our problems," Saylor said. "It is the solution to half our problems." Read More: Germany Almost Done Selling Bitcoin, Holding Less Than 5K Tokens After Latest Moves ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood also praised the notion of a strategic bitcoin reserve for the U.S. "If they do it in the right way, meaning this is not an instrument of monetary policy at all, but it simply goes on our balance sheet … this could be transformational," she said. The conference also saw Robert F. Kennedy, the independent presidential candidate who has been a longtime supporter of digital assets, promise to make bitcoin a strategic reserve asset if he's elected president (though polls suggest he remains a long-shot candidate). There had reportedly been last-minute discussions with representatives of Vice President Kamala Harris about attending, but she won't be appearing. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/07/26/key-us-senate-republican-tim-scott-makes-crypto-fan-debut/

2024-07-26 20:18

“I want to hear [Trump] give a bold statement on the future of crypto and spark up what we all want," one person said. Former President Donald Trump speaks Saturday at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville. Attendees shared their hopes for the speech with CoinDesk. NASHVILLE — It's finally here: President Donald Trump Bitcoin Conference Speech Eve. That means Friday is the last weekday you'll exist in a world where a U.S. presidential candidate hasn't given the keynote speech at the Bitcoin Conference. As his appearance looms, people wonder: What will he talk about? There is speculation he'll announce plans, or at least hopes, for the U.S. government to hoard a bitcoin strategic reserve. Trump has spoken previously about wanting bitcoin (BTC) to be made in America, so perhaps that'll come up again. Maybe he'll diss his likely opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, for declining an invitation to the very conference he's speaking at. CoinDesk journalists are in Nashville for the event. Here's what attendees on the show floor and speakers on stage had to say. 'A bold statement' Fred Thiel, CEO of bitcoin miner Marathon Digital, echoed talking points many hope the former president embraces: "If the U.S. were to have a strategic reserve for bitcoin, they could project power," he said on stage. "The U.S. needs to be the largest holder of bitcoin and the largest miner of bitcoin." Others buzzing around the conference floor are excited about what Donald Trump will say tomorrow – or want him to amp them up. "I want to hear [Trump] give a bold statement on the future of crypto and spark up what we all want," someone who gave his name as Caesar and said he founded the MAGA VP memecoin told CoinDesk during an interview. "And that's a movement and that's a run. And that's what we're here for and that's what we're here to promote. We are all chasing the dream of that freedom." Whether "movement and run" is in reference to a bitcoin price spike or more empowerment or wider liberty or further freedom is up to interpretation, though the answer could easily be "all of the above." Help the dollar with bitcoin And then there was The Crypto Patriot, the pseudonym for a member of the MAGA MEME PAC. That's a group of crypto advocates who are visiting swing states to register voters in an attempt to unify the crypto vote. (Despite the name, MAGA Meme PAC is not an officially registered political action committee.) "I hope [Trump] just keeps his same tune," The Crypto Patriot said, adding that he’s a fan of the U.S. having a bitcoin reserve. "Hopefully they're going to back our reserve with bitcoin and that's what I'm hoping, to give the dollar some stability," he added. "The dollar is currently under attack and the rest of the world is catching on to what we're doing. If we can back it with bitcoin and bring back that standard where the dollar can't be inflated, I think that would be a great strategic move to not only grow the entire crypto sphere but also help America prosper." Crypto advocate and former political candidate Michelle Bond remarked on the evolution of Trump's crypto stance from hater to fan. "Look at how he's come full circle. We know what's on the platform already, but I think the message should be: We're going to do everything we can to keep this industry onshore and keep the United States the leader in this space." She added: "I would really like to hear him detail the ways to get there. Also, I think the biggest and best way to do that is through the tone of the talk. You have this positive message and then you say: 'All right, what do I need to do?' and you put in the right financial regulators, you nominate people who are not anti-crypto. One of my ideas for him is to create a crypto czar in the administration and that person be the coordinator among the regulatory agencies and crypto. And he can do executive orders, we have lots of negative executive orders, what about a positive one?" 'Some red meat' While many are excited about the Trump speech, not everyone has excitable views on the topic. Bittrex Global CEO Oliver Linch, who is British, brings a more laissez-faire view on the Trump speech. "Will there be any show stoppers, like the bitcoin reserve? Who knows? There'll be some red meat for the crypto enthusiasts, because of course there will be, but I think the fact that he's doing it at all is the story." Linch added: "In the U.K., neither major party even mentioned crypto" in the leadup to that nation's recent election. And then there are the regular attendees, unattached to any sort of organization – someone like Phil Whatley, a retired software developer from Alabama, who told CoinDesk he hopes Trump clarifies that bitcoin transactions are tax-free. "If you're trading peer-to-peer, with a truly distributed system, then how're you going to tax them?" What will happen after Trump's Saturday speech? Will bitcoin pump? Will it dump? Will it do nothing? Who knows, though it's hard to see how Trump, the current favorite to win the election, speaking about the topic does anything but help the crypto market. Something that might get it there? Copying the bullishness of fellow presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent. At a conference side event called Karate Combat, he said: "I am a huge supporter of bitcoin. I have most of my wealth in bitcoin. I am fully committed." CORRECTION (July 26, 2024, 22:05 UTC): A previous version of this story incorrectly said Peter Thiel spoke at the conference. It was actually Marathon's Fred Thiel. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/07/26/trump-speaks-saturday-at-the-bitcoin-conference-heres-what-attendees-like-the-crypto-patriot-hope-he-says/

2024-07-26 20:14

The crypto would require an average annual return of 29% between now and 2045 to reach that level, he said. It will surprise approximately no one that Michael Saylor remains wildly bullish on Bitcoin (BTC) and the MicroStrategy executive chairman didn't disappoint on Friday, saying he sees the world's largest crypto's price rising to $13 million by 2045 in his base case scenario. Delivering a keynote address at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Saylor noted that at bitcoin's current price around $65,000, it's got a market cap of $1.3 trillion, or just 0.1% of all global wealth. For bitcoin to get to his base case of $13 million in 2045, said Saylor, would require an annual rate of return of 29%. At that level, he continued, bitcoin would have a market cap of $280 trillion and account for 7% of global wealth. In a bull case, Saylor said bitcoin could be worth as much as $49 million and account for 22% of global wealth; his bear case was a value of $3 million and 2% of global wealth. Under Saylor's leadership, business software company MicroStategy has accumulated a bitcoin stack of 226,331 tokens over the last four years that's currently worth about $15 billion, or roughly 80% more than the cumulative purchase price. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/07/26/bitcoin-to-account-for-7-of-global-wealth-be-worth-13m-in-21-years-michael-saylor/