Riding The Wave News Summary #27
Thailand Bans Crypto as Means of Payment, Figure Technologies Reveals Crypto-Backed Mortgage Products...
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Table of Contents
Tweets
‘No more 4-year cycles’ — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week
‘We’re already buying’: Terra founder plans to obtain $10B BTC for reserves
Tweets
Thailand Bans Crypto as Means of Payment
Thailand’s Security and Exchange Commission said on Wednesday that it will ban the use of crypto as a means of payment from April 1.
The regulator cited money laundering concerns and the inability of the central bank to step in and provide assistance as the reason behind the ban.
The Thai SEC stressed this is not a ban on crypto trading and digital assets, which has become more popular among the locals in the last two years, just a ban on the use of crypto for payments.
In January, Thai authorities announced a plan to regulate digital asset payments in the country.
As countries figure out where to set the bar in terms of crypto law, bans based around cryptos’ current state rather than their potential capabilities are going to be common. Part of this is that due to how complicated crypto is it makes it hard for lawmakers to make informed decisions without heavy research and another part is that not many countries have created and enforced crypto laws. As more countries test out what works and what doesn’t, countries that are late to the party will likely follow their lead making the international laws more consistent.
Figure Technologies Reveals Crypto-Backed Mortgage Products
Blockchain lending startup Figure Technologies unveiled Crypto Mortgage and Crypto Mortgage PLUS, both of which allow users to borrow against their bitcoin (BTC) or ether (ETH) to fund home purchases.
"Any amount up to $20 million, for a 30-year mortgage," said co-founder Mike Cagney on his LinkedIn page. The loans will also be 100% loan-to-value (LTV), i.e. "you put up $5 million in bitcoin or ether, we give you a $5 million mortgage."
These are cool but I would urge anyone considering taking a crypto-backed mortgage to be cautious. As this is a developing area there aren’t many laws to protect the individual against situations that might cause them major losses. An example is that people have been told by programs like this that they need to add more collateral after a price drop (30%+) within time frames as short as a week or else their loan will be deemed invalid and their Bitcoin will be taken.
Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater reportedly backing a crypto fund means the world’s largest hedge fund and one of Bitcoin’s former skeptics is taking it seriously
Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates is planning to back an external fund dedicated to crypto, two sources confirmed to CoinDesk.
Bridgewater Associates doesn’t intend to directly invest in crypto itself yet, but do so by backing an “external vehicle” instead. Its investment is “minuscule” compared to its total $150 billion in assets under management, CoinDesk wrote.
And it’s even more interesting that Bridgewater is a hedge fund run by a man who has been a crypto skeptic in the past.
Though Dalio confirmed in May that he personally owns Bitcoin, he has previously said that it’s “too volatile.” He also has expressed concern over the potential for the government banning it and its use in ransomware attacks.
Investment groups have been taking this approach to dip their feet into crypto where they invest in a company using crypto as one of its core services to give them some exposure with less risk and without the legal hassle that crypto investing causes larger funds. Warren Buffet recently invested in Nubank which is a similar type of play that provides them crypto exposure.
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