Weekly recap: Bitcoin named ‘best investment of the decade’ ?

It’s Friday. It’s the holiday season. You’re about ready to lean into a well earned break. But put down the eggnog for two minutes and wrap your eyes around this week’s crypto tomfoolery. It will be worth your while.

Bitcoin was the best investment of the decade ?

A new report from Bank of America Securities has named Bitcoin the best investment of the decade, beating out competition from stocks, bonds, commodities, and fiat currencies worldwide.

The report found that a measly $1 investment in Bitcoin at the start of 2010 would be worth more than $90,000 today (at its current valuation of $7,000). An incredible return for any early hodlers! Here’s to 2030’s article announcing similar returns.

Although Bitcoin has been the star investment of the 2010s, there was worse news if you went all in on Myanmar’s local currency, the kyat. Following 10 years of ethnic conflicts, violence and instability, a dollar invested in a kyat at the start of 2010 is worth just 4 tenths of one US cent today. The Greek equity market has fared little better, with $1 invested a decade ago now worth only 7 cents. Ouch.

European Central Bank builds proof-of-concept for digital currency ??

The Financial Times reported last month that the European Central Bank (ECB) is examining whether to develop a digital currency as an alternative to cash. It would appear that they are now progressing in their efforts, with a report released by the agency this week announcing the development of a proof-of-concept (PoC).

In its latest report, published on Tuesday, the ECB outlined details of a partially anonymous central bank digital currency that seeks to merge privacy with compliance. The currency was developed on the DLT platform Corda and builds on past PoCs based around the technology.

“The proof of concept shows that it is possible, using the Corda platform, to build a simplified CBDC payment system that safeguards users’ privacy for lower-value transactions, while still ensuring that higher-value transactions are subject to mandatory AML/CFT checks,” the report states.

Last month, the head of a new unit at the ECB’s Bank for International Settlements, Benoît Cœuré, explained the motivation at a conference in Brussels. “A central bank digital currency could ensure that citizens remain able to use central bank money even if cash is eventually no longer used,” he said.

The paper does, however, make clear that the ECB has not decided to issue a CBDC, and the project is just a PoC, not a practical implementation.

Iran’s President proposes cryptocurrency for Muslim nations ??

The ECB aren’t the only group of nations considering a digital currency. At an Islamic conference in Malaysia this week, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has proposed that Muslim countries band together to create a cryptocurrency for use in trade between them.

Rouhani argued for the new cryptocurrency as a measure that the Muslim world should adopt “to save themselves from the domination of the United States dollar and the American financial regime”. He cited the US’s longstanding economic sanctions against Iran, calling them the “main tools of domineering hegemony and bullying” of other nations.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Mahathir Bin Mohamad, agreed with Rouhani’s proposal, noting: “It looks like sometimes when we use the US dollar, there are sanctions that can curb economic development. We can use our own currencies or have a common currency.” Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was less keen on the idea, arguing rather that Muslim countries should focus on Islamic financing.

Ethereum is still the king of the dapps, says DappRadar report ?

Bitcoin might be the decade’s best investment, but Ethereum can sleep safely knowing that it is still King of the dApps. According to dApp tracking service DappRadar’s latest yearly report on the general state of the sector, Ethereum’s dApp ecosystem rose 118% this year, with daily value surging 166%.

The EOS blockchain saw daily user activity decline 48%, while the TRON dApp ecosystem rose strongly in the first half of 2019 but then declined. Overall, its user base rose 93%, but it remains heavily concentrated in the Gambling and High-Risk categories.

“As well as being the first smart contract blockchain, Ethereum remains the most significant in terms of the number of active dApps deployed, the depth of its development community, and growth in terms of users and value during 2019,” the report states.

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