IBM Executive Reveals Plans to Help Banks Capitalize on DeFi

IBM could teach banks a thing or two about DeFi. In a Cointelegraph interview, director of IBM financial services and digital assets, Nitin Gaur, shared how the technology company is helping financial institutions to capitalize on the DeFi movement. Gaur — the author of Blockchain for Business — says it is essential that banks understand and embrace DeFi space.

Following OCC Letter, Some US Banks Appear Open to Providing Crypto Services

Nationally regulated banks want the OCC to clarify just how and when they can provide cryptocurrency services, hinting traditional financial institutions are paying close attention to the space.

Researchers Find Bugs that Could Expose Crypto Wallets on Exchanges

Security experts said they have unveiled a number of vulnerabilities in the open-source libraries used by numerous crypto exchanges and financial institutions – which could be exploited by hackers looking for a way into users’ wallets. At a recent Black Hat cybersecurity conference, experts said that some of the issues that affected exchanges have now been fixed –

Nasdaq-Listed Company Sued for Backing $2 Billion Loans With 83 Tons of Fake Gold

The Nasdaq-listed company that allegedly used 83 tons of fake gold bars as collateral to secure loans worth about $2 billion from multiple financial institutions in China is now in default and facing several class-action lawsuits.

Cryptocurrency Cards: An Unnecessary Solution That Should Be Stopped

It is high time for traditional financial institutions to see that the crypto industry has matured enough and does not possess high risks. Crypto cards have become a must-have for many crypto services.

Financial Services Provider to Coinbase Teams With Circle to Offer EU Institutions Stablecoin Payments

BCB Group will integrate with Circle's platform in a bid to make the USDC stablecoin more widely available.

Goldman Sachs Sees ‘Resurgence of Interest’ in Crypto from Institutions

There is currently a “resurgence of interest” in cryptocurrencies, but this time around it’s not from retail investors, but rather the financial institutions, the new head of digital assets at investment banking giant Goldman Sachs revealed in a recent interview. Mathew McDermott, the recently appointed head of digital assets at the investment bank, told CNBC that the bank

XRP Jumps As Ripple Sees Stronger Demand From Institutions

Source: Adobe/Тихон Купревич After a decline in its sales of XRP tokens in the first quarter of the year, the California-based fintech firm Ripple sold more in the second quarter thanks to demand from institutional buyers.

Google Pay bank accounts coming in 2021 with six new partners

Banks look to big tech to court new customers, and the list of institutions just got a whole lot larger today.

Electric Capital’s New $110M VC Fund Is 90% Institutions

Crypto VC firm Electric Capital has closed its second fund at $110 million.

Exclusive: Fidelity Digital Assets Explains the Core Concerns Traditional Institutions Still Have Towards Cryptocurrencies

Blockchain.News spoke with Christine Sandler, the Head of Sales and Marketing at Fidelity Digital Assets to understand more about the concerns institutional investors may have and the barriers to entry to the cryptocurrency market.

Maturity of the Crypto Derivatives Market Attracting More Institutional Investors

Bybit exchange’s CEO believes maturity of the crypto derivatives market plays an important role in attracting more institutional investors. In a Cointelegraph China Great Bay Area International Blockchain Week pre-event interview on July 29, Ben Zhou, CEO of derivative exchange Bybit, argued that the maturity of the derivatives market is the main reason for institutions to enter the crypto space.  Biggest concerns for institutional investors   Zhou says that the biggest concern for any institution exploring crypto is the need for proper financial tools to run risk management.

Dubai Debuts Nationwide Data Platform Powered by Blockchain

The United Arab Emirates is debuting a blockchain-based Know Your Customer, or KYC, platform. This platform is set to become a nationwide system for exchanging verified customer data. Dubai’s Department of Economic Development, or DED, and state-run bank Emirates NBD are rolling out their so-called UAE KYC Blockchain Platform. 120 local firms already signed up for the platform with Emirates NBD First revealed in February 2020, the new blockchain platform is designed to unlock digital customer onboarding, instant bank account functions, and verified KYC data sharing between licensing authorities and financial institutions.

Dubai Economy Gets Powered by UAE KYC Blockchain Platform for Safe Digital Customer Onboarding

The Dubai economy has gone live on the UAE KYC (Know-Your-Customer) blockchain platform making instant bank accounting functionality, secure digital customer onboarding, and sharing of verified data between financial institutions and licensing authorities possible.

Synthetix Founder: DeFi Makes Legacy Fintech Obsolete

The founder of Synthetix believes that the DeFi ecosystem is realizing many of the promises that the fintech sector has failed to deliver. Kain Warwick, founder of DeFi derivatives platform Synthetix, argues that projects built on Ethereum can finally deliver on many of the promises that fintech failed to. Despite ten years of development, Warwick said the fintech sector has been hamstrung by “trying to build overlays for the legacy infrastructure.”  They faced issues with a lack of interoperability between the “siloed” systems of financial institutions, regulatory barriers to innovation, and the vast expenses associated with mainstream compliance regimes.

Mastercard Exec Accused of Money Laundering Cover-Up at Bank With Ties to Wirecard

Wirecard has been implicated in a new report on alleged criminal activities by a Mastercard executive operating at the FBME bank in Cyprus. Controversial German payments processor Wirecard — the issuer of several crypto debit cards — has been implicated in a new report on alleged criminal activities by a Mastercard executive operating at the troubled FBME bank in Cyprus. In 2014, the United States’ Financial Crime Enforcement Network had banned US financial institutions from dealing with FBME after the bank was accused of being used to “facilitate money laundering, terrorist financing, transnational organized crime, fraud, sanctions evasion and other illicit activity.”  The allegations included facilitiating the processing of money tied to the Syrian chemical weapons’ program and internet child sex abuse, according to a July 27 report from The Times. FBME’s purported ties to Wirecard  FBME is reported to have ties to Wirecard via an unnamed key client, which has itself recently become mired in its own scandal after being unable to account for a missing $2.1 billion in cash on the company books.  The uncovering of the missing funds spurred Wirecard to file for insolvency and resulted in the arrest of the firm's CEO, Markus Braun, in Germany.

Mainstream Institutions No Longer Have Regulatory Reasons to Fear Crypto

Institutions on the fence about crypto involvement may no longer fear legal uncertainty, given recent crypto custody regulatory clarity. Recent regulatory transparency provided by US banking regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, may give interested institutions the confidence to enter the crypto industry. “For those of us who have been building up this ecosystem for years, it’s hugely validating of those efforts,” Diogo Monica, president of crypto custody service Anchorage, told Cointelegraph on July 23, referring to the OCC’s actions. He added: “But the real significance here is for the kinds of institutional players who may have been sitting on the sidelines in the absence of clear regulatory guidance.

BTCS Crypto Portfolio Expands Over 280% in Q2 2020 Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

While many institutions struggled to recover from the market downturn experienced in March, publicly traded, blockchain focused firm BTCS Inc.

Banks Won’t Rush to Hold Crypto – But OCC’s Regulatory Approval Makes It Harder to Ignore

Regulatory approval doesn't mean banks are about to begin providing crypto custody, but it is accelerating a conversation about financial institutions safeguarding bitcoin.

Microsoft and Finastra Open Cloud Solution to Exponentially Accelerate Innovation for 8,500 Banks and Institutions

Finastra and Microsoft Corp have announced a strategic, multiyear cloud agreement to help accelerate the digital transformation of financial services and help realise and open source future for finance.

In COVID-19’s Wake, the New Normal Creates Crypto Opportunities

In a global economic recession, individuals and institutions have been turning away from traditional assets and seeking opportunities in cryptocurrency. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for everyone, but it has created many opportunities for us in the blockchain industry.

Crypto Tidbits: Twitter’s “Bitcoin Scam,” Elon Musk & Dogecoin, Institutions Want BTC & ETH

Another week, another round of Crypto Tidbits.

Institutions are Pouring $57.8M into Bitcoin Each Week, New Report Reveals

Bitcoin’s price has been stagnant for the past few months, but this hasn’t stopped institutions from pouring money into the benchmark digital asset.

Top Spanish Banks Finalize Trial of Payments Using Smart Contracts

Five major Spanish banking institutions have completed a proof-of-concept for payments using smart contracts. Multinational banking giant Banco Santander and four Spanish banks have successfully finalized a proof-of-concept for payments using smart contracts. The PoC was coordinated with IberPay, the company that oversees the Spanish Payment System. Trial confirms blockchain’s feasibility for payments In a statement on July 15, IberPay said the PoC had “confirmed the feasibility of applying blockchain technology to the field of payments" and its successful connection to the national payment system. Using smart contracts automates the execution and settlement of payments once certain pre-conditions are met. Alongside IberPay and Banco Santander, the four banks involved were Banco Sabadell — Spain’s fifth-largest banking group — BBVA, Bankia and Caixabank.  Grant Thornton provided consultancy services to IberPay in testing the PoC using an interbank blockchain network with seven operating nodes and successfully executing over 20,000 automated immediate transactions. The average processing time per completed payment was reportedly 2.5 seconds, fostering confidence in its applicability to the real world. IberPay has said the PoC functioned “with the maximal guarantees of security, efficiency, traceability and integrity, as well as compliance with current regulations.” Santander’s previous use of blockchain technology As reported, Banco Santander has been a forerunner in testing and implementing blockchain technology for financial services, last winter redeeming a $20 million bond using the public Ethereum blockchain. Santander had issued its first end-to-end blockchain bond using the public network in September 2019.  The bank has also integrated Ripple’s xCurrent technology into its global payments services for retail clients, most recently announcing plans to extend the services to Latin America.

Crypto Custodian Curv Is Helping Institutions Dabble in DeFi With Compound Integration

Custody startup Curv is using Compound, the leading lending protocol in DeFi, to help institutions earn interest on idle crypto.

New Grayscale Report: Digital Assets Fund Adds $905M in Record Quarter

Grayscale Investments Q2 report shows a record $905 million inflow as institutions continue to move into Bitcoin, Ethereum and other digital assets. Grayscale Investments has just released its quarterly report which shows that institutional demand for Bitcoin and other digital assets is still on the rise despite the lack of action from Bitcoin price (BTC).

Grayscale Says Institutions Invested Record $900M in Crypto Products in Q2

Two consecutive record quarters for Grayscale mean cumulative capital inflows have doubled in the past six months to $2.6 billion.

Bitcoin driven by institutions will not help price

Since Bitcoin began entering mainstream finance there was always anticipation around 'when will the institutions arrive?' Motivation was merely price-centered, and the logic for the same went somethin The post Bitcoin driven by institutions will not help price appeared first on AMBCrypto.

Key Metrics Show Institutional Interest in Crypto Is High and Rising

As institutions flock to crypto, here are the fundamental metrics that can be used to track their interest. The growth of the crypto derivatives market in 2020 has been a story of its own, mainly driven by Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) options traded on exchanges such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Deribit, OKEx, Binance and Houbi.  Record Bitcoin options volumes are indicative of an increasing institutional interest in crypto, but there are better quantitative and qualitative indicators to use, such as open interest, Bitcoin’s price, frequency of block trades, institutional Know Your Customer processes and others. Compared with traditional derivatives, the proportion of institutional investors in the entire pool is still small, but it is clear that the definitive rise in interest is driven by financial instruments such as options and futures.

Bitcoin-Focused Investors Missing Out on ‘Mini Altcoin Boom’ - Head Trader

Despite bitcoin (BTC) being the focus of most financial institutions that are dipping their toe in crypto, the altcoin market is where the action really happens, according to a head trader at New York-based crypto trading firm GSR. Speaking with Bloomberg Radio, Richard Rosenblum, Co-founder and Co-head of trading at GSR, said that he believes there is a “mini altcoin

London Stock Exchange Parent Assigns Financial ‘Bar Codes’ to 169 Cryptos

The addition of bitcoin and its ilk to LSEG's database, in response to customer demand, is a sign that institutions are slowly embracing the asset class.

Tata Consultancy Launches Crypto Trading Solution for India’s Financial Firms

India's crypto renaissance continues, with Tata Consultancy unveiling a solution allowing banks and financial institutions to offer digital asset trading.

Hong Kong’s National Security Law Could Threaten Local Crypto Brokerages

The US sanctions on financial institutions in Hong Kong could put the city’s growing crypto brokerage businesses in jeopardy.

Institutions Will Drive Mass Adoption of Blockchain in Finance, Says Expert

Blockchain experts discuss how institutions will play a major role in the mass adoption of blockchain-based financial infrastructure. Benjamin Soh, founder of blockchain development firm STACS, said that institutional players, not business-to-consumer companies, will drive the mass adoption of financial infrastructure built on blockchain technology.  During the Unitize virtual conference, Soh said that if they could bring bank institutions to use the blockchain, millions of bank customers will automatically be a part of the blockchain finance infrastructure without them even knowing. Providing bank customers with a blockchain-based wallet while still using the traditional payment gateways will be the necessary first step towards bringing the efficiencies of distributed ledger technology to the financial system, Soh added. Asia is leading in blockchain finance Speaking about the development of blockchain-based finance in Singapore, Soh noted that except for Switzerland, there are hardly any other European countries that are as supportive of blockchain finance as Singapore.  According to Soh, Singapore is the closest to fully replacing the current financial infrastructure with one based on distributed ledger technology. He also highlighted that the governments of other Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand, China, Japan, and South Korea were taking strong initiatives to bring distributed ledger technology into finance.  Reflecting on a similar point, Vinay Mohan, one of the early members of ConsenSys Singapore, said that the more SMEs and retail users gain access to democratized finance, the more mature Asia’s financial infrastructure will become.  Mohan stated that due to the complex nature of current banking infrastructure, 70% of South-East Asian SMEs struggle with proper digital financial services and the advent of blockchain and central bank digital currencies may pave the way to deliver banking services to those Asian businesses and

Indian IT Giant TCS to Help Financial Institutions Offer Cryptocurrency Trading

Indian IT giant Tata Consultancy Services announced its foray into the field of cryptocurrencies through a new solution.

Bitcoin Futures Premium Shows That Institutions are Bullish on BTC

Bitcoin futures have seen a rising premium over spot BTC in recent months, which seems to indicate that traders are bullish on the benchmark cryptocurrency.

Binance Donates $70k of PPE Equipment to Hospitals in the Philippines

Binance Charity (BC) has donated $70k worth of personal protective equipment (PPE) to eighteen hospitals and government institutions in the Philippines.

Major Indian Farmer Producer Organization to Use Blockchain for Supply Chains

One of India’s largest farmer producer organizations plans to use blockchain to help farmers receive higher pay. One of India’s largest farm producer organizations (FPO), Sahyadri Farmers Producer Co, is integrating blockchain into its business process. FPOs are member-based institutions of farmers that are the result of a government-led initiative.  The organizations help fars sell agricultural produce at the most advantageous prices.  Local news outlet The Hindu Business Line reported that Sahyadri will use blockchain for its supply chains to increase efficiency and transparency in the traceability of food products. A win-win for customers and farmers The founder of Sahyadri, Vivek Shinde, said that in the present scenario, farmers get only 25% of the final price of sold goods.

Record Bitcoin Options Market Volume Shows Institutions Keen on Crypto

Record surges in regulated Bitcoin options market volume signals increasing interest and participation from institutional investors. A CryptoCompare report published on July 6 has closely analyzed monthly trends in the cryptocurrency exchange market and found that crypto derivatives volumes have begun to taper off after peaking this May.

Interoperable Blockchains May Be the Future of Finance but Have a Ways Yet to Go

As interoperable blockchain solutions gain traction, many believe that the technology is still relatively nascent and needs more polishing. Cross-chain interoperability is a domain that has piqued the interest of many financial institutions over the years, as it stands to produce a technology that can potentially mitigate a whole host of their recurring operational issues — such as data leakages, loss of customer funds during international transactions and poor accountability — in a totally automated fashion. In this regard, European payments provider SIA recently revealed that it has partnered with United Kingdom-based tech firm Quant Network after having successfully concluded a series of cross-blockchain interoperability tests designed to facilitate data transfers between different protocols. Through the deployment of such frameworks, it can gradually become possible for developers to come up with different cross-platform applications and services that can be used by banks as well as other financial institutions, thus allowing them to easily tackle a number of blockchain-integration-related issues facing them today. Is mainstream use ready? Even though it is important to establish collaboration between various businesses to foster interoperability between their protocols, it is worth remembering that most solutions currently available on the market today still exhibit a certain level of centralization.

Retail May Consume 50% of Bitcoin Supply After Next Halving – Report

Despite all the talk of financial institutions entering bitcoin (BTC), retail demand may in fact end up consuming more than half of all physical supply of bitcoin after the next halving, a new report by crypto derivatives exchange Zubr said. According to the report, which analyzed data from analytics provider Chainalysis, Bitcoin’s next halving, which is expected to occur in

Gold Industry Shaken as 83 Tons of Fake Gold Bars Used to Secure $2 Billion Loans in China

The gold industry has been shaken after it was discovered that 83 tons of fake gold bars have been used as collateral for loans worth 20 billion yuan from 14 financial institutions to a major gold jewelry manufacturer in Wuhan, China.

Cointelegraph Talks Recap: Blockchain Giving Power to the LGBTQ+ People

Seven experts from different institutions and organizations discussed topics relating to diversity, inclusion, challenges and opportunities for LGBTQ+ with Cointelegraph. Yesterday, Cointelegraph hosted another episode of “CT Talks,” dedicated to Pride Month and addressing important questions on diversity, inclusion, stigmatization, acceptance, challenges and opportunities for the LGBTQ+ community in the crypto and blockchain space. For many people — mostly heterosexuals — the terms “blockchain” and “LGBTQ+” used so close together might seem irrelevant.

Amid the Crisis, a New Generation Is Ready for the Crypto Revolution

As the world’s nations and financial institutions plan their recovery from the unprecedented economic upheaval in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, more and more people are turning to digital assets.

Bitcoin Analyst: Central Bank Rate Cuts Mean ‘World Has Gone Zimbabwe’

Zimbabwe-style mayhem is a possible outcome from a flood of cheap money hitting the global economy, warns MMCrypto. Bitcoin (BTC) supporters are watching as almost every central bank in the world lowers interest rates and the global fiat money supply skyrockets. Statistics compiled by Charlie Bilello, CEO of wealth manager Compound Capital Advisors, show that in 2020, 84 of the world’s 118 central banks cut interest rates. “Bitcoin cannot be printed!” Largely due to coronavirus, institutions have slashed rates by as much as 1,700 basis points, with Argentina leading the way. Israel changed the least, with a 15 basis point reduction, while Ukraine, Pakistan, Barbados and the East Caribbean joined Argentina at the top of the list. Argentina’s current central bank interest rate is 38%, the highest of any central bank on the list. Lower rates are designed to incentivize borrowing and spending and go hand in hand with quantitative easing policies, under which the money supply of fiat currencies can increase exponentially. Missing from the rankings are countries such as Venezuela, Iran and Lebanon, where currency meltdowns have become an unavoidable feature of central bank policy.

Beijing Plans to Foster DLT Unicorns Through New Blockchain Investment Plan

China’s capital city has unveiled an ambitious plan to transform Beijing into a global hub for private blockchain innovation and leader in public DLT deployment. The municipal government of Beijing has unveiled a 20-point plan to accelerate the development and deployment of distributed ledger technologies (DLT) and turn Beijing into both a global and national hub for blockchain tech. According to an announcement published on July 1, the plan seeks to “promote theoretical innovation, technological breakthroughs, [...] talent cultivation,” and “create new economic growth.” The government will provide continued financial support for the plan throughout its course. Beijing wants to host DLT unicorns The Beijing Blockchain Innovation Development Action Plan 2020–2022 outlines the city’s intent to solidify itself as a global leader in both private blockchain innovation and public DLT deployment by the end of the next year. Fostering a good business climate for blockchain innovation is cited as a top objective of Beijing, with “cultivating a group of unicorn enterprises” listed among the plan’s goals. To promote innovation, the city will establish a “blockchain industry innovation development base” spanning the city's top districts for financial and technological innovation.  Beijing also plans to promote the establishment of standards of practice for the blockchain sector. The city hopes to “cultivate a group of unicorn enterprises and leading enterprises with global influence” through its initiatives. Beijing to establish blockchain research institutes The plan outlines initiatives to support research in key areas relating to DLT — including cryptography, high-performance computing and chip technology. Beijing will establish a blockchain-focused research and development institution that will work closely with China’s existing research institutions and universities.

China Highlights Blockchain in Pandemic Preparedness Strategy

China is looking into the use of blockchain technology to promote data sharing among medical institutions amid future pandemics. Chinese authorities are trying to strengthen their epidemic preparedness and have identified blockchain as a key component of the response.  The Chinese Circular of the National Health Commission released its plan on June 30 on how to ramp up its information technology support amid future pandemics.

Gold vs. Bitcoin: $2.8B Fake Bullion Scam Highlights BTC Benefits

A huge corruption scandal involving Chinese loans backed by fake gold is pressuring its supporters to defend it against unforgeable Bitcoin. The Bitcoin (BTC) versus gold debate rages on this week as reports reveal fake bars fuelled a $2.8 billion corruption scheme. As Chinese media outlet Caixin reported on June 29 via Nikkei, a loans deal between Chinese financial institutions and Wuhan Kingold Jewelry — with gold as collateral — fell apart when it became known the gold was gilded copper. Schiff: Bitcoin holders are “stupid” According to Caixin, “at least some” of the gold bars involved were simply copper, with the loan lenders seriously out of pocket as a result. “That has left lenders holding the bag for the remaining 16 billion yuan of loans outstanding against the bogus bars,” it reported. The saga is just the latest involving fake gold to engulf high-profile entities.

First Mover: The Return of the Bitcoin Retail Investor (And Why That’s a Good Thing)

It's been assumed for years that well-heeled financial institutions would become the main driving force and primary investor class in crypto.

Shareholders File Criminal Complaint Against EY for Alleged Role in Wirecard Scandal

Shareholders in German fintech Wirecard are taking legal action against Big Four auditor EY in the fallout from the scandal now engulfing the company. Shareholders in German fintech Wirecard are taking legal action against Big Four auditor EY in the fallout from the scandal now engulfing the company. Earlier this month, the auditor had refused to sign off the fintech’s 2019 financial report after discovering a shortfall of €1.9 billion (roughly $2.1 billion) on its books.  Following EY’s discovery, German authorities arrested Wirecard’s (now-former) CEO, Markus Braun, who had been at the helm of the fintech for almost two decades.  Braun has been accused of conspiring to inflate the company’s assets and misrepresent what amounted to over 32% of Wirecard’s assets — $2.1 billion of a claimed $6.5 billion. According to CNBC on June 26, EY said that there are “clear indications that this was an elaborate and sophisticated fraud, involving multiple parties around the world in different institutions, with a deliberate aim of deception.”  The auditor defended its position, claiming that “even the most robust and extended audit procedures” would not be able to derail a “collusive fraud” of this nature. The German shareholders’ association, Schutzgemeinschaft der Kapitalanleger e.

$185 Million Of Bitcoins: This Is the Amount Bought by Grayscale Only Last Week

The popular cryptocurrency investment company oriented toward institutions, Grayscale, has reportedly added another 19,879 BTC to their Bitcoin Trust in the last week alone.

Major Japanese Firm Reveals Plans for a Digital Securities Exchange

Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings, a major Japanese traditional financial institution, is working towards launching a digital security exchange in Japan. Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings, one of the major traditional Japanese financial institutions, has unveiled a plan to develop a security token exchange.

Bitcoin (BTC) Gaining More Public Trust Amid Waning Confidence in Banks: Survey

A survey of 4,852 individuals in 17 countries reveals a growing confidence in Bitcoin (BTC) as public trust in financial institutions and traditional assets wanes.

Financial Inclusion, Cryptocurrency and the Developing World

Regions of the world with fast-growing economic potential and young populations, such as India and Africa, will become leaders in crypto adoption. Beyond rapidly changing how we create, store and transfer value, cryptocurrencies are accelerating financial inclusion in a way that traditional financial institutions have either been unwilling or unable to.

Crypto and the FATF: ING Develops Travel Rule Protocol for Tracking Crypto Transfers Ahead of FATF Plenary Meeting

The FATF has a wide range of recommendations, a total of 40 to ensure regulatory alignment between the compliance imposed on financial institutions and the regulations in its member states.

Messari: 1% Allocation From Institutions Could Drive BTC to $50,000

Crypto research firm Messari has estimated that Bitcoin could trade for $50,000 each if institutions allocate a low-single-digit portfolio percentage to BTC. Messari’s Ryan Watkins has crunched the numbers and predicts that if institutions allocate just 1% of their portfolios to Bitcoin, then BTC’s market cap could rise to above $1 trillion, Watkins’ research sought to calculate the impact on the BTC price of institutions following the famed hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones’ example of investing a “low single-digit percentage” into Bitcoin.   $1 trillion BTC market cap The researcher predicts that a tiny percentage allocation from endowments & foundations, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and mutual funds to BTC would result in around $480 billion in new money entering the Bitcoin markets. Citing research by crypto researcher Chris Burniske that found fiat flows into crypto to typically drove price gains of between two times and 25 times during the 2017 bull trend, Watkins estimates that “an aggregate 1% institutional allocation to Bitcoin can easily bring Bitcoin’s market cap above $1 trillion, or over $50,000 per BTC”. Estimated impact of 1% institutional allocation to BTC on Bitcoin’s market cap: Messari  Which institutions will lead the crypto charge? While Watkins believes that “Bitcoin may not need institutions to succeed” he says that “if Bitcoin is to become a globally adopted non-sovereign store of value, it will need to convince institutional investors to transfer wealth into the asset.” Watkins predicts that hedge funds will lead the institutional charge into crypto, however Ryan Radloff, the CEO of multi-billion custodian Kingdom Trust predicts that the $28 trillion US retirement sector will be the first-mover as consumers demand the ability to allocate digital assets toward their retirement portfolios. Other analysts believe that institutions will be brought into the fold by i