Blockchain
New Comptroller of the Currency announced: Will he be as good for crypto?


The head of the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Brian P. Brooks has officially announced that he is stepping down on January 14, 2021.
In a statement dated January 13, the organization said that Chief Operating Officer Blake Paulson will become Acting Comptroller of the Currency, replacing Brooks who has served for eight months.
Brian P. Brooks to Step Down, Blake Paulson to Become Acting Comptroller of the Currency on January 14, 2021 https://t.co/bGpnNapT1F
— OCC (@USOCC) January 13, 2021
The outgoing chief Brooks, formerly head of legal at Coinbase, has been a breath of fresh air with his forward looking approach. On January 12, he suggested that DeFi can root out bias and fraud in traditional banking, and that regulations need to be reconfigured for an age of algorithms.
Following several years of regulatory uncertainty the agency, which falls under the scope of the U.S. Treasury, recently made moves to allow banks to use independent blockchain nodes and stablecoins.
The announcement acknowledged these achievements adding that Brooks had helped ensure the “federal banking system could evolve to meet the changing demands of consumers and markets by clarifying bank and thrift authorities regarding certain activities related to crypto assets.”
Outgoing President Donald Trump formally nominated Brooks for a full five-year term in November, but resistance came from the Democrats who believed President-elect Joe Biden should oversee the selection.
Brooks, a former Coinbase executive, said he was leaving the OCC in capable hands. His replacement, Paulson, is a career bank examiner and has served as Chief Operating Officer for the agency since June 2020. Prior to his role at the agency, Paulson was responsible for supervising around 1,100 national banks and federal savings associations so he is in essence a veteran traditional banker.
It is unclear how Paulson will approach crypto assets, but Democratic members of the U.S. Congress have previously criticized Brooks for putting too much emphasis on moves towards digital banking services and not enough focus on Covid-19 relief.
The OCC supervises nearly 1,200 national banks, federal savings associations, federal branches, and agencies of foreign banks, that between them conduct approximately 70% of all banking business in the U.S.
Blockchain
Southeast Asia’s first Bitcoin fund launches to meet local institutional demand


The Malaysia-based BCMG Genesis Bitcoin Fund-I, or BGBF-I, has officially launched, claiming to have become the first insured institutional crypto product available in the Southeast Asian region.
An announcement states the fund launched in response to a growing demand for institutional crypto products in Southeast Asia. The fund leverages an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered blockchain-based platform provided by Calfin Global Crypto Exchang, which purports to offer increased security for customer holdings.
BGBF-I is regulated in Labuan, Malaysia, where IBH Investment Bank serves as the fund’s main advisor. Professional financial services provider, Hong Kong-based Alpha Calibration, will provide regulatory compliance services, and be audited by HLB Hodgson.
The investment vehicle also offers insurance coverage and underwriting for Public Offering Security Insurance.Fund Manager, Subbu Vempati explained:
“BGBF-I is a secure, insured and regulated platform where investors can get exposure to the Digital Assets industry. Investors get to benefit from our expertise in the financial, technical, and security aspects of Bitcoin investments, as well as enter this class with a peace of mind without any challenges or risk in directly handling the Digital Asset.”
According to its official website, the BGBF-I Fund projects a minimum return of 12% per year, while noting that BTC itself has gained 266.5% over the past 12 months.
All accredited Asian investors must go through mandatory Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) screenings to access the fund.
The Bitcoin fund is one of many that have been recently launched to address growing institutional appetites BTC and other digital assets. In mid-February, the first physically settled North American Bitcoin ETF was approved in Canada. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust also continues to grow, with its assets under management recently tagging $39.8 billion.
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Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/southeast-asia-s-first-bitcoin-fund-launches-to-meet-local-institutional-demand
Blockchain
Former DC comic book artist fetches $1.85M auctioning Wonder Woman NFTs

José Delbo, an artist who illustrated the comic book series Wonder Woman during the late 1970s, has made $1.85 million in an auction selling non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, depicting the popular heroine.
The 87-year-old Argentian, who also worked on Batman, Transformers, and The Beatles‘ Yellow Submarine comic book, collaborated with Milan-based crypto art duo Hackatao to produce the NFT drop, dubbed “Heroines.”
In total, 914 individual NFTs were auctioned, with the tokens each featuring one of seven illustrations or animated gifs depicting Wonder Woman in scenes invoking themes relating to the empowerment of women.
The tokens auctioned included two one-of-a-kind editions, four “open limited editions” — where an unlimited amount of NFTs can be minted only while the auction is ongoing, and one edition for which no more than 10 copies could be sold.
The most expensive piece sold was “Heroines – Weight of the World,” an animated gif that illustrates Wonder Woman holding the world against a backdrop invoking themes of empowerment. The bidder “888” got their hands on the piece for a total of 88.888 Ether, worth approximately $136,000.

The open edition, “Heroines – Stand Out” , spanned 10 copies in total, with two being reserved for the artists, seven given away to raffle winners. The last remaining copy was auctioned for 15 Ether, or roughly $23,000. All proceeds from the sale were donated to Girls Who Code, an organization that works to closi the gender gap in the tech industry.
“Heroines – Shine Bright” was the highest performing open limited edition, with a total of 151 copies selling for a combined total of $450,000.
José Delbo illustrated the Wonder Woman comics between 1976-1981 and is no stranger to the crypto world, holding a week-long exhibition of his comic book art in the Ethereum-based virtual reality world Decentraland during July 2020.
Comic book characters are increasing in popularity in the crypto art markets, with Marvel officially launching a Spiderman NFT that sold for $25,000 in February of this year.
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Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/former-dc-comic-book-artist-fetches-1-85m-auctioning-wonder-woman-nfts
Blockchain
TA: Bitcoin Rallies above $52K, Why BTC Could Soon Hit $55K

Bitcoin price rallied over 5% and it even broke the $52,000 resistance against the US Dollar. BTC is now above $53,000 and it is likely to continue higher towards $54,500 and $55,000.
- Bitcoin extended its rise above the $51,500 and $52,000 resistance levels.
- The price is now trading well above $52,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.
- There was a break above a key resistance trend line at $52,800 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
- The pair could correct a few points, but it is likely to find support near $52,800 and $52,000.
Bitcoin Price Extends Increase
Yesterday, we saw a fresh increase in bitcoin above the $50,000 resistance zone. BTC remained in a bullish zone and it was able to extend gains above $52,000 after a short-term downside correction.
The bulls gained strength, resulting in a strong push above $52,000. There was also a break above a key resistance trend line at $52,800 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. The pair cleared the 76.4% Fib retracement level of the key decline from the $52,748 swing high to $46,350 swing low.
Bitcoin is now trading well above $52,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. The price is trading nicely above the $53,000 level and it is likely to continue higher.
Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
An immediate resistance is near the $54,000 level. The first key resistance is near the $54,250 level. It is close to the 1.236 Fib extension level of the key decline from the $52,748 swing high to $46,350 swing low. The next major resistance for the bulls is near the $55,000 level. Any more gains could lead the price towards the $58,000 resistance zone and the all-time high.
Dips Supported in BTC?
If bitcoin starts a downside correction, it is likely to remain well bid above $52,000. An initial support on the downside is near the $53,000 level.
The first key support is near the $52,700 level and the broken trend line. Any more downsides might call for a test of the main $52,000 support zone in the coming sessions.
Technical indicators:
Hourly MACD – The MACD is now gaining momentum in the bullish zone.
Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now well above the 60 level.
Major Support Levels – $53,000, followed by $52,700.
Major Resistance Levels – $54,000, $54,250 and $55,000.
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Source: https://www.newsbtc.com/analysis/btc/bitcoin-btc-could-soon-hit-55k/
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