FalconX, a cryptocurrency exchange focused on institutional investors, has raised $50 million from Tiger Global and B Capital Group — highlighting once again that digital assets are becoming more mainstream. FalconX didn’t specify how the funds would be deployed, but if it’s anything like previous fundraisers, the money will likely go towards business development. FalconX raised $17 million in May 2020 to finance several growth initiatives, including adding new infrastructure and expanding its product offerings. At the time, FalconX told Cointelegraph that it uses data science to provide a more competitive trading environment for professional investors. In addition to Tiger …

JPMorgan Chase has designed a new debt instrument that provides investors direct exposure to a basket of crypto-focused companies, according to a new filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. JPMorgan’s Cryptocurrency Exposure Basket (Mar 2021) is described as an “unequally weighted basket consisting of 11 Reference Stocks of U.S.-listed companies" that operate businesses directly and indirectly related to cryptocurrencies. The instrument allocates 20% to MicroStrategy, the data analytics firm with 91,064 BTC on its balance sheet. It also provides direct exposure to Square (18%) and Riot Blockchain (15%), two companies with significant exposure to Bitcoin. …

Strategists at Wall Street banking giant JPMorgan have suggested that a one percent portfolio allocation to Bitcoin would serve as a hedge against fluctuations in traditional asset classes such as stocks, bonds, and commodities. A small percentage allocation was advised to mitigate the risk of any large downturns in the digital asset’s value. Bitcoin has declined 20% since its all-time high of over $58,000 on Feb. 21 but it is up 60% since the beginning of this year. According to Bloomberg, JPM strategists Joyce Chang and Amy Ho stated in a note to clients: “In a multi-asset portfolio, investors can …

This week's correction in the price of Bitcoin (BTC) showed that a market doesn’t go up in a straight line. Meanwhile, another topic has been gaining attention, namely the big rise in the 10-year yields of United States government bonds. In recent weeks, the 10-year Treasury yield of U.S. government bonds has surged 35% to a new high of 1.44%, the highest point since the cross-asset crash in March 2020. Treasury yield bounces from a 60-year low The 10-year Treasury yield has been accelerating massively in recent weeks, similar to the run-up to the economic downturns in 2000 and 2008. …

Nvidia’s ongoing supply problems won’t stop the company from selling $50 million worth of its new CMP chip range in the first quarter of 2021, the company’s chief financial officer Colette Kress forecasted on Feb. 24. Nvidia failed to meet demand from its core gaming customer base in 2020, and the trend looks set to continue into 2021. Added demand from a horde of cryptocurrency enthusiasts keen to direct Nvidia’s new RTX 30 series GPU to Ether (ETH) mining initially appeared to pile pressure on the company. But the firm’s CFO expects the recently announced Cryptocurrency Mining Processor product line …

The State Bank of India, or SBI — a major Indian government-owned bank — is looking to improve cross-border payments with a blockchain solution by United States investment bank JPMorgan Chase. According to a Tuesday report by The Economic Times, the SBI has joined Liink, a new blockchain-based interbank data network developed by JPMorgan. By integrating the technology, the bank expects to reduce transaction costs and improve cross-border payments for its customers. SBI deputy managing director Venkat Nageswar said that the bank has already gone live on Liink. “We are excited to be the first bank in India to go …

Reports that legacy banks like BNY Mellon and Deutsche Bank are becoming active in the cryptocurrency space, including through custody services, should come as welcome news for crypto investors. Lost or misplaced private keys, after all, are a bane of the crypto world — just recall the Welshman who lost 7,500 Bitcoin (BTC), worth about $400 million today, when he landfilled his PC’s hard drive, forgetting it was the sole repository of his private key. Meanwhile, traditional banks are society’s safekeepers par excellence, so maybe they can improve the crypto user experience with regard to private keys at the very …

Analysts at American investment bank JPMorgan Chase have delivered another skeptical statement on Bitcoin (BTC), arguing that its current price is much higher than its fair value. In a regular memo for investors, JPMorgan argued that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are an “economic side show” and the poorest hedge against a decline in equity prices, Reuters reports Friday. The analysts said that the mainstream adoption of Bitcoin increases its correlation with cyclical assets, which makes it a less attractive asset for portfolio diversification: “Crypto assets continue to rank as the poorest hedge for major drawdowns in equities, with questionable diversification benefits …

Morgan Stanley, one of the biggest investment banks in the U.S., is reportedly considering investing in Bitcoin (BTC), according to reports. Bloomberg reported that Morgan Stanley’s $150 billion investing arm called Counterpoint Global could place Bitcoin to “its list of possible bets.” Bitcoin begins recovery after the news Hours before the news was released, the price of Bitcoin dropped by nearly 4% from $48,000 to as low as $46,252 on Binance. The price of Bitcoin began to recover when the news broke, rising from around $46,300 to above $47,300, by nearly 3%. Morgan Stanley’s Counterpoint Global considering Bitcoin as an …

Major U.S. investment bank JPMorgan Chase will eventually have to get involved in Bitcoin (BTC), co-president Daniel Pinto believes. The executive told CNBC Friday that JPMorgan’s decision to introduce Bitcoin services would depend on the client demand to trade Bitcoin. Although the current demand is not strong enough, Pinto is confident that it could grow further: “If over time an asset class develops that is going to be used by different asset managers and investors, we will have to be involved [...] The demand isn’t there yet, but I’m sure it will be at some point.” Pinto’s latest remarks follow …

Strategists at JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest investment banks in the United States, believe that Tesla’s $1.5 billion Bitcoin (BTC) purchase will not necessarily trigger a ton of similar investments. A group of JPMorgan strategists led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou reportedly argued that Bitcoin’s highly volatile nature could keep mainstream corporate treasurers away from Bitcoin. “The main issue with the idea that mainstream corporate treasurers will follow the example of Tesla is the volatility of Bitcoin,” the strategists wrote in a note to investors, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. According to JPMorgan, even a small portion of Bitcoin in corporate treasures’ portfolios …

One of the most enduring cryptocurrency-related narratives revolves around the search of crypto’s definition as an asset class. Is Bitcoin (BTC) more of a digital currency or digital gold? Do its unique properties warrant viewing it as something completely distinct from the established categories of financial instruments? A recently published report by JPMorgan Chase’s strategists has sparked yet another round of such debates. The conclusions that the report presents are at odds with the “Bitcoin as a safe-haven asset” trope that has become somewhat conventional wisdom lately. The authors contend that the original cryptocurrency is actually not that great of …