January Highlights

BTC +30%

CME Launches Regulated Bitcoin Options
Former CFTC Chair Creates Nonprofit to Promote Digital Dollar Creation
World Economic Forum Announces Mission to Focus on Innovation & Governance of Stablecoins
Genesis Capital Announces $3.1bn In Crypto Loans in 2019
WisdomTree Leads $18m Series A for Security Token Platform Securrency
WisdomTree Announces Plans to Launch Regulated US Stablecoin
SEC Highlights Crypto Priorities For 2020
Libra Forms Five Member Technical Committee to Oversee Development
Square Awarded Patent For Fiat-To-Crypto Payments Network
Telegram Refuses to Show Bank Records in Case Against SEC
Qatar Bans Crypto Trading

February Highlights

BTC -8%

Bitcoin Price Has “Golden Cross”
Fed Chair Powell Testifies to Congress About CBDCs and Libra
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Testifies to Senate That FinCEN Is Rolling Out Crypto Regulations Soon
Swedish Central Bank Begins Tests Blockchain-based Digital Currency
Shopify Joins Libra Project
SEC Commissioner Peirce Proposes 3-Year Safe Harbor for Token Sales
Bitcoin Lender BlockFi Raises $30m Series B
Coronavirus Delays Launch of China’s Digital Currency DCEP
JPMorgan in Talks to Merge Blockchain Business with Consensys

March Highlights

BTC -25%

Facebook Revamps Libra, Conceding to Regulators
India’s Top Court Strikes Down Laws That Outlawed Cryptocurrencies
South Korea Parliament Votes to Enact New Crypto Regulation
Bitmex Experiences “Black Thursday”, Nearly Collapsing
U.S. Comptroller Names Former Coinbase Exec As COO
Fiscal Stimulus Bill Includes and Then Removes Digital Dollar Language
SEC Calls Telegram A Likely Security Issuance, Halts Token Issuance

April Highlights

BTC +34%

A16Z Crypto Raises $515mm Second Fund
Renaissance Technologies Begins Trading CME Bitcoin Futures
China Rolls Out Testing of DCEP App
Facebook Further Redefines Libra, Releasing New Whitepaper
Congress Introduces 32 Bills Relating to Cryptocurrency & Blockchain
Binance Acquires CoinMarketCap for $300-$400mm

May Highlights

BTC +9%

Paul Tudor Jones Takes Significant Bitcoin Position, Publishes Thesis
JPMorgan Extends Banking Services to Coinbase and Gemini Trust
Square’s Cash App Bitcoin Q/Q Volume Grows To $306mm from $178mm
Genesis Acquires Custodian To Launch Prime Brokerage Business
Genesis Loan Book Increases $2bn in Q1
BitGo Launches Prime Brokerage Business
Coinbase Acquires Tagomi for $70-$100mm
Coinbase Custody Begins Accepting Tether
ErisX Launches First CFTC Regulated ETH Future
FTX Launches US Exchange
Facebook Rebrands Libra Wallet from Calibra To Novi
Telegram ICO Cancels Project & Returns Funds to Investors

June Highlights

BTC -3%

PayPal, Venmo to Roll Out Crypto Buying and Selling
NYDFS Proposes New Rules Making BitLicenses Easier to Apply For
SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce Is Nominated for Second Term
Bloomberg Senior Commodity Strategist Calls For $20,000 in 2020
Former CFTC Chair Testifies to Congress on Digital Dollar
Three Arrows Capital Files 13G – Owns >6% of GBTC
Bitcoin Bank River Financial Raises $5.7mm

July Highlights

BTC +24%

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Allowing Banks to Custody Crypto
Bitcoin Deemed Money in Federal Court Under Money Transmitters Act
Mastercard Expands Program to Allow More Crypto Firms to Issue Cards
VISA Unveils Roadmap to Further Integration with Bitcoin and Other Crypto
Paypal Chooses Paxos Exchange For Crypto Trading Business
Chinese Police Arrest 27 Alleged Masterminds Behind Plus Token Scam
Massive Twitter Back-end Hack Utilizes Simplistic Bitcoin Scam

August Highlights

BTC +3%

MicroStrategy Buys $250mm of Bitcoin, First Public Company to Do So
SEC Confirms “Crypto Mom” Hester Peirce As Commissioner Through 2025
FTX Acquires Blockfolio for $150mm
Square Reports Record $858mm of BTC Purchased in Q2 Via Cash App
Grayscale Reports Record $751mm of Inflows into GBTC in Q2
Coinbase Begins the Process of A Direct Listing IPO
Digital Currency Group Commits $100mm for North America Bitcoin Mining
IRS Releases Memo Saying Crypto Payments for Microtasking Is Taxable
Tether Daily Value Transfer Tops Paypal
Coinbase to Offer Bitcoin-Backed Loans to US Customers
Fed Partners with MIT to Develop “Hypothetical Digital Currency”
Goldman Hires New Head of Digital Assets, Contemplates Stablecoin Plans
USPS Files Patent for Blockchain-Based Secure Voting System

September Highlights

BTC -8%

BitMEX Charged by CFTC and DoJ For Illegal Trading Operations and AML Violations
MicroStrategy Buys $175mm More Bitcoin, Brings Total to $425mm
Bermuda Stock Exchange Approves Listing of World’s First Bitcoin ETF
US State Bank Regulators Agree to Blanket Set of Rules for Money Transmitter Licenses
Kraken Wins Bank Charter in Wyoming, First Ever for Crypto Company
OCC Allows Federally Chartered Banks to Custody Stablecoin Reserve Accounts
Gemini Announces Support for Shielded Zcash Withdrawals
BitMEX and Binance Both Update Trading Operations To Prevent Spoofing
Asian Crypto Exchange KuCoin Hacked for $150mm in Crypto
Libra Co-Founder Morgan Beller Leaves Libra to Join VC Fund

October Highlights

BTC +28%

PayPal & Venmo Introduce Cryptocurrency Buying, Selling & Shopping
Public Company Square Buys $50mm of Bitcoin on Balance Sheet
Singapore’s Largest Bank DBS Announces Crypto Exchange & Custody
PayPal Rumored To Be Acquiring Leading Custodian BitGo
JPMorgan Launches Digital Asset Business Unit, Rumored to Buy Custodian
Franklin Templeton Invests in Series A Round of Crypto Custodian Curv
Stone Ridge’s NYDIG Raises $50mm, Announces 10,000 BTC in Custody
Chairman Powell Says CBDC Could Improve US Payments
CFTC Chairman Makes Highly Positive Public Remarks About Ethereum
US Attorney General Releases Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework
US National Security Council Names DLT As One of Twenty Focus Areas
FCA Bans Sale of Crypto Derivatives to UK Retail Customers
OKex Founder Arrested by Chinese Government, Withdrawals Suspended
BitMEX Implements Strict KYC Regulations After CFTC & DoJ Charges
FinCEN Fines Bitcoin Mixing Operator Helix $60mm
Iran Government to Use Iranian-Mined Bitcoin For Payments
2017 $257mm ICO Filecoin Launches

November Highlights

BTC +43%

Stanley Druckenmiller Announces Bitcoin Position
Bill Miller Strongly Recommends Bitcoin
Citigroup Research Publishes YE 2021 BTC Price Target as High as $318k
Blackrock Fixed Income CIO Rick Rieder Says Bitcoin Could Replace Gold
Guggenheim Files to Buy Up to 10% GBTC Position in $5.3bn Macro Fund
BTIG Research Publishes YE 2021 BTC Price Target of $50k
AllianceBernstein Recommends Allocation to Crypto
Skybridge Files SEC Amendment to Invest in Bitcoin with $3.6bn Fund
Ray Dalio Says He “Might Be Missing Something” With Bitcoin
Niall Ferguson Writes Bloomberg Opinion “Bitcoin Is Winning the Covid-19 Monetary Revolution”
Square Reports Q3 Bitcoin Revenue and Gross Profit +11x & 15x YoY
Wyoming Elects Bitcoin Bull Cynthia Lummis As US Senator
Jay Clayton Steps Down as SEC Chairman
Alameda Research & FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Donates $5mm To Biden Campaign
OCC’s Brian Brooks Testifies to Senate on Importance of Crypto
China Construction Bank to Issue $3bn in Bonds on a Blockchain, Tradeable for Bitcoin and Dollars
OKex Exchange Resumes Withdrawals After More Than A Month Frozen

December Highlights

BTC +48%

MicroStrategy Announces $400mm Convert to Buy Bitcoin; Upsizes to $550mm; Closes $650mm
MicroStrategy Buys $650mm Bitcoin at $21,925
MassMutual Buys $100mm of Bitcoin and Minority Stake in NYDIG
$27bn AUM Hedge Fund Ruffer Announces $740mm Bitcoin Position
One River Asset Management Announces $600mm Bitcoin Purchase, Commitment to $1bn
MicroStrategy Buys $50mm of Bitcoin at $19,427 Average Price
JPMorgan Estimates A 1% Allocation to BTC From Pensions and Insurance Companies Would Require $600bn of Buying
Guggenheim CIO Scott Miners Says Bitcoin Fundamental Value Is $400,000
NFL Player Russell Okung To Receive Half of $13mm Salary in Bitcoin
Coinbase Files S-1
CME Announces Ethereum Futures Product to Launch February 2021
Bitwise 10 Becomes First Publicly Traded Crypto Index
JPMorgan Says Gold Will Suffer for Years Because of Bitcoin
Fidelity Digital to Hold Bitcoin as Collateral for Cash Loans
Jefferies Head of Global Equity Strategy Cuts Gold Exposure for Bitcoin
SkyBridge Capital Registers Fund to Buy Bitcoin and Buys $182mm
Standard Chartered bank to Launch Crypto Trading
BBVA To Launch Crypto Services
Visa Partners with USDC and Adds 60 Million Merchants
S&P Dow Jones To Launch Crypto Indexes in 2021
Spotify Hiring for Crypto Payments Project Leader
SBI Financial Services Acquires Crypto Trading Firm B2C2
American Express Ventures Invests in Crypto Trading Platform FalconX
Bitso Raises $62mm to Expand Crypto Footprint in Brazil
Tether Surpasses $20bn Market Cap
Bitcoin Chart Tops 3.4mm Views on TradingView in November, +80% Since October
Warren Davidson and Three Other Congressmen Write Public Letter to Mnuchin in Protest of Heavy-Handed Legislation
FinCEN Releases More Stringent KYC Regulation for Crypto Exchanges
SEC Files Suit Against Ripple for Sale of Unregistered Securities
Coinbase, Bitstamp, Binance US and Other Exchanges Announce XRP De-listing
Ledger Hacked; Exposes Email Addresses and Mailing Addresses