Bank of America has predicted that the sports betting portion of the prediction market industry could grow into a $1.1 trillion business in the U.S. That would give it an annual income of about $10 billion, Bloomberg reported. Prediction markets allow users to place yes or no/A or B bets on nearly anything, from cryptocurrency prices to culture and election results, as well as the outcome of sporting events. They have gained a reputation for being more accurate than traditional polling results, as users must put their money where their mouths are. Fox News, CNN and CNBC have partnered with Kalshi, the leading U.S. prediction market, while Dow Jones, the…
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White House Backs Stablecoin Rewards
New report says threats to community lending are overblown
A new report issued today by the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) argues that banning interest or yield on stablecoins would do little to help banks, especially community banks, and could instead deprive consumers of better returns. The report comes amid a debate between banks and crypto firms: banks warn that yield-bearing stablecoins could pull deposits away from them, while crypto companies say restricting yields would stifle innovation. According to the CEA’s analysis, delightfully titled “Effects of Stablecoin Yield Prohibition on Bank Lending,” even eliminating stablecoin yield would have only a minimal impact on bank lending—raising it by about $2.1 billion, or just 0.02%. Most of that benefit…
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G’Day, Coinbase!
Goliath exchange gets Aussie permission; closer to “everything exchange” by expanding offerings and geography
Coinbase must be cranking AC/DC, the Little River Band and Rick Springfield in the halls of its SF headquarters. Securing an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) is a significant step toward expanding its global footprint, positioning itself ahead of new regulatory requirements that will soon apply to digital asset platforms in the land down under. The move effectively transitions Coinbase from a long-standing market participant into a fully regulated financial services provider within Australia. “The AFSL – granted ahead of incoming legislation that will require digital asset exchanges to hold one – provides us with the regulatory foundation to bring the Everything Exchange to Australia,” the company said in a…
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Back to the Future with Misinformation About Crypto
Wall Street Journal sets off a firestorm regarding Hamas fundraising then fails to correct the record
On October 10th, the Wall Street Journal ran a story with the headline, “Hamas Militants Behind Israel Attack Raised Millions in Crypto. Digital currency transactions highlight how U.S. and Israel have struggled to sever the access of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah to foreign funding.” The story stated: “Digital-currency wallets that Israeli authorities linked to the PIJ received as much as $93 million in crypto between August 2021 and June this year, analysis by leading crypto researcher Elliptic showed.” It also cited research by crypto analytics firm BitOK suggesting that Hamas received $41 million. Ten days later the paper followed up with “Why Hamas Uses Crypto to Raise Money”,…
