Coinigy Compendium #10

Coinigy Compendium #10 is out! Apart from the product updates and other research pieces we do, the Compendium series aims to highlight key pieces of work from the community as a whole. Along with this, we briefly describe key industry news developments that took place during the past week that community members may have missed. If you have any questions or think we missed something important, feel free to let us know!

Research and Insights

Mapping out Pantera Capital's Portfolio by Stephen Zheng at The Block

• Continuing their great breakdowns of different parts of the cryptoasset industry, The Block takes a look at the investments of Pantera Capital, one of the largest crypto-focused venture funds. Pantera recently raised a $125 million round for its third fund, showing just how strong the firm and investors believe in the future of the space.

The Best Time to Buy & Build Tokens by Chris Burniske of Placeholder VC

• Currently, investments in tokens, once the popular way of investing in the crypto space, is shrinking compared to investments in more traditional equity in crypto companies. This switch is propelled by the prolonged bear market that the industry, and thereby coin prices, have been facing. But during the next bull market, we will see tokens that provide real utility seeing those exponential returns again. "That said, just as people in 2017 regretted their 2014/2015/2016 decision to abandon bitcoin for blockchain, many people in 2021 will regret their 2018/2019/2020 decision to abandon tokens for equity."

The nothingness value of cryptocurrencies by Thomas Hale

• Hale builds on Martin Walker's idea of cryptoassets being zero perpetual bonds, ones that pay no return and never get repaid. He uses the idea of nothingness to explore how the value of cryptoassets might actually be based on nothing. Value for an asset that spawns out of nothingness is uncommon (think the early history of gold and its allure), but when it happens, their is demand for these assets because of the potential reward one could receive. This nothingness value will change as Bitcoin finds a hard use because it turns into a value of something, such as a method for tax-exempt transacting or something else.

Prototype of running clinical trials in an untrustworthy environment using blockchain by Daniel R. Wong, Sanchita Bhattacharya, & Atul J. Butte

• Here, researchers explore the potential of a blockchain-based system for clinical trial processes. This paper explores how such a system could aid in making the data from these trials immutable, traceable, and potentially more trustworthy. While not necessarily a new idea, this paper exemplifies all of the research being down in exploring how crypto technology can benefit a wide array of industries.

Industry News Bits
Retail cryptoasset platform Coinbase has added controversial coin XRP to its platform for buying and selling.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett stated that Bitcoin is a 'delusion' and has 'no unique value' but does see potential in blockchain technology.

The University of Michigan's endowment is considering allocating further money to the crypto space beyond its recent investment in Andreessen Horowitz's crypto fund.

Cryptoasset exchange Kraken is offering up to $100,000 for information that leads to the uncovering of coins lost after the death of Canadian exchange Quadriga CX's CEO.

Bitfinex has returned 27.66 BTC to users recovered by the U.S. government from their 2016 security breach of tens of thousands of bitcoin.

In their ongoing investigation, the FBI is seeking out investors who may have been victims of Bitconnect, a notorious crypto scam that went bust in early 2018.

A number of central securities depositories (CSDs) based in Europe and Asia are exploring infrastucture options concerning cryptoasset custody.

Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, has called for the use of blockchain technology for bettering supply chain mangement in the agriculture industry.

Former CEO of notorious cryptoasset exchange Mt. Gox, Mark Karpeles, was denied a motion to stay in a U.S. court case brought on by former investors.

Facebook is reportedly deep into the process of creating their own crypto coin, so much so that they have started reaching out to exchanges about listing it at launch.

The government of Thailand will soon allow the trading of blockchain-based tokenized securities in the country.

South Korean exchange Coinbin has filed for bankruptcy with damages of ~$26 million following employee mismanagement.

CoinDesk has revealed that BHB, an ethereum-based platform marketed as a solution for peer-to-peer lending that raised $20 million, stole the identity of two unaffiliated people for its team page.

One of the Big Four accounting firms, PwC, is in the process of trialing its blockchain-based system for employee credential verification.

The Supreme Court of India has given the government four weeks to produce substantial policy on the regulation of cryptoassets.

Controversial browser-based Monero miner Coinhive is shutting down, citing a large drop in hash rate and crashing prices.

In conjunction with Mastercard, Everledger, and others, global consultancy firm Accenture announced their blockchain-based platform for rewarding business that conserve natural resources.

A former Goldman Sachs executive has joined MaiCapital, an asset management firm focused on cryptoassets.

One of the most popular and well-known cryptoassets, Ethereum, successfully completed its so-called Constantinople and St. Petersburg upgrade.

Inveniam Capital Partners is planning to tokenize over $260 million in private real estate.

Figure, a company utilizing blockchain technology to issue home equity loans, has raised $65 million in new funding.