Kalam Crypto #41: SEED bitcoin partnership & rising institutional adoption

“To know what people really think, pay attention to what they do, rather than what they say.” Descartes

Ahlan wa sahlan, and welcome to the 41st edition of CoinMENA's weekly newsletter, Kalam Crypto. Every week we bring you the latest news and developments from the exciting world of cryptocurrencies. This week, despite fears of a global recession and the Fed increasing interest rates again, institutional adoption is on the rise, and bitcoin hodlers remain unwavering. All that and more, so let's dive into this week's letter, and talk crypto: Prefer to listen to Kalam Crypto instead? Check out our podcast:

Lightning Round ⚡️

Before we dive into the biggest stories of the week, here’s a quick rundown of the week’s other headlines: 

US Fed hikes interest rates, again: The federal reserve raised interest rates by another 75bps, increasing the interest rates to 3.25%, the highest since 2008.

Nasdaq to offer crypto custody solutions: The world’s second-largest stock exchange is looking to capitalize on institutional appetite for crypto. The newly created Nasdaq Digital Assets group will start with custody services for bitcoin and Ether.

SEC’s Ripple lawsuit to go to federal court: A federal judge will determine whether XRP is a security, which could set a precedent and have huge ramifications on other cryptocurrencies.

Interpol issues red notice for Do Kwon: CEO of Terra Labs. The developer behind the biggest collapse in crypto history is on the run and not cooperating with South Korean authorities.

Global News 🌍

Institutional adoption, in a bear market: In the mainstream press, the majority of the focus is understandably on short-term price action, which is not good for any asset class in the world right now, including crypto. However, despite being in the midst of a global recession (and maybe worse), major institutions announced they plan to offer crypto services to their clients. Nasdaq, the second largest stock exchange, is launching a crypto custody service. BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, began offering exposure to bitcoin for their institutional clients. Traditional investment firm giants Charles Schwab, Citadel, and Fidelity launched a new cryptocurrency exchange named EDX. These firms have been in the “money business” for decades and manage trillions of dollars. While statements of JP Morgan’s CEO about bitcoin make for good sensationalist headlines, we are reminded of the quote by Descartes at the top of today’s newsletter: “To know what people really think, pay attention to what they do, rather than what they say.”, and what giant investment firms are saying with their actions speaks volumes.

Local News 📍

UAE Royal Family Company partners with bitcoin company: Seed Group, a company of the Private Office of Sheikh Saeed bin Ahmed Al Maktoum, has entered into a strategic partnership with CoinCorner, to facilitate the purchase and sale of Bitcoin across the world. Among many things, the agreement aims to market Bitcoin and Lightning transaction solutions in the UAE. At CoinMENA, we are feeling very fortunate to be based in a region that is rapidly developing into a global crypto hub. Onwards and upwards!

Blog of the week 📝: In her latest blog, Co-Founder and Managing Director of CoinMENA Dina Sam’an writes about the current state of the macroeconomy and answers the question on everyone’s mind: Is the worst behind us?

CoinMENA News 🗞

Become a satoshi millionaire: We are giving away 100,000,000 satoshis (1 BTC) to 200 users! Each winner gets 500,000 sats, and all you have to do to qualify is trade (buy/sell) for $10 or above. It’s that simple! 

Tweet of the week 🐥

Quiz Corner ✅ 

Last week’s question: Which of the following is the oldest cryptocurrency?

Answer: Bitcoin

This week’s question: How many satoshis (sats) are there in one bitcoin?

1. 10,000

2. 1,000,000

3. 100,000,000

See the answer in next week’s newsletter.