Leading banking institutions in traditional finance (TradFi) are reportedly partnering with US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) to explore pilots related to stablecoins, custody solutions, and trading options. 

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced this during his appearance at the New York Times Dealbook Summit on Wednesday, as reported by Bloomberg.

Coinbase CEO Cautions Banks On Crypto Resistance

Armstrong emphasized that leading financial institutions recognize this as an opportunity for growth. “The best banks are leaning into this as an opportunity,” he stated, although he refrained from naming any specific banks involved in these initiatives. 

During his speech, the executive also voiced his concerns about institutions that resist participating in the digital asset ecosystem. He asserted that those who oppose it will be left behind.

This sentiment aligns with remarks Armstrong made six months ago, where he predicted that eventually, every major bank would integrate cryptocurrency into their operations. 

He views this technology as a means to modernize the financial system, stating, “We can power a variety of things for them.” He noted that some banks are looking for custodial solutions, while others are interested in developing their own stablecoins.

COIN Shares Surge 5%

Adding weight to this discussion, Larry Fink, CEO of the world’s largest asset manager and crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuer BlackRock, participated in the event alongside Armstrong. 

Fink, who previously voiced skepticism about cryptocurrencies, described Bitcoin (BTC) as a safe haven asset despite the cryptocurrency’s crash toward $83,000 on Monday. 

“You own Bitcoin because you’re frightened of your physical security. You own it because you’re frightened of your financial security,” he remarked. 

On the financial side, Coinbase’s stock performance reflects the positive sentiment in the cryptocurrency market amid recovering prices. Trading under the ticker COIN on the Nasdaq, Coinbase’s shares closed Wednesday at nearly $277, marking a 5% increase. 

This uplift coincides with broader gains in the cryptocurrency sector, notably led by the recent price performance of Ethereum (ETH), followed by Bitcoin, XRP, Binance Coin (BNB), and other notable tokens such as Solana (SOL), all of which have shown significant recoveries this week after a challenging month.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

In a turbulent market marked by falling prices, Bitcoin (BTC) has once again dipped below the $85,000 threshold, driven by growing speculation that Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, may be on the verge of selling some of its Bitcoin holdings. 

This intensified after a recent interview on the What Bitcoin Did podcast, during which Strategy CEO Phong Le was directly asked whether the company would consider parting with any of its BTC holdings. 

While the firm’s former CEO, Michael Saylor, has consistently maintained a resolute stance against selling, Le’s comments have raised concerns about potential sales in the future.

Is A Bitcoin Sell-Off Imminent? 

Le indicated that if Strategy’s stock trades below the actual value of its Bitcoin holdings and the company is unable to raise additional capital for preferred dividends, selling some Bitcoin could become a necessity. 

“If the stock trades below the value of our Bitcoin… then mathematically we would have to sell some Bitcoin. It would be the last resort,” he explained. 

While this does not confirm an imminent sale, it visibly places the option on the table, leading to increased speculation about a forced sale as preferred dividend payments approach due on December 31.

Adding to the unease, Strategy disclosed in a recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it has established a USD Reserve of $1.44 billion to cover these upcoming preferred dividends and mitigate the interest on its substantial debt. 

This reserve was funded through the proceeds from sales of its class A common stock under the company’s at-the-market offering program. Such moves have diluted current shareholders and contributed to a nearly 11% drop in Strategy’s stock price.

Strategy Downgrades BTC Price Forecast

This shift contrasts sharply with the company’s previous forecasts, which predicted that Bitcoin would soar to $150,000 by the end of the year. Strategy has now revised its expectations, projecting prices to range between $85,000 and $110,000. 

The forecast for BTC yields has also been revised down to 24% from a previous estimate of 30%, along with projected Bitcoin gains decreasing significantly from $20 billion to $10.6 billion at the midpoint.

As Bitcoin’s value continues to plummet, it further unravels Strategy’s financial outlook. Nevertheless, social media experts have pointed to a paradox within the company’s messaging. 

AlejandroXBT noted that while Saylor has consistently stated he will never sell Bitcoin, he has been conducting private presentations to clients outlining various strategic approaches, suggesting a potential disconnect between public declarations and private planning.

When writing, the market’s leading cryptocurrency trades at $84,880, recording major losses of over 7% in the 24-hour time frame. 

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com 

There’s been a lot of talk of an AI bubble lately, especially regarding circular funding involving companies like OpenAI and Anthropic—but Clem Delangue, CEO of machine-learning resources hub Hugging Face, has made the case that the bubble is specific to large language models, which is just one application of AI.

“I think we’re in an LLM bubble, and I think the LLM bubble might be bursting next year,” he said at an Axios event this week, as quoted in a TechCrunch article. “But ‘LLM’ is just a subset of AI when it comes to applying AI to biology, chemistry, image, audio, [and] video. I think we’re at the beginning of it, and we’ll see much more in the next few years.”

At Ars, we’ve written at length in recent days about the fears around AI investment. But to Delangue’s point, almost all of those discussions are about companies whose chief product is large language models, or the data centers meant to drive those—specifically, those focused on general-purpose chatbots that are meant to be everything for everybody.

Read full article

Comments

The post [Video] Detectify CEO Rickard Carlsson on The Top Entrepreneurs appeared first on Detectify Blog.