The first week of October has been exciting for the cryptocurrency markets. Perhaps the biggest news is that Yale University reportedly invested in a pioneering cryptocurrency fund. CNBC reported that the Ivy League university recently invested in two crypto funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz and Paradigm. David Swensen, Yale's chief investment officer, who runs the university's $29.4 billion endowment, invested an undisclosed sum in the two crypto funds. As Swensen is considered one of the world's top money managers, his move can be seen as vote of confidence in the crypto sector that might spur further investment from university endowments.
Here is the rest of the week in review:
Fintech company and cryptocurrency exchange Circle has agreed to acquire SeedInvest, a startup that helps privately held companies crowdfund from individuals over the Internet. Led by CEO Ryan Feit, SeedInvest has raised about $11 million for itself, and has helped startups raise more than $120 million on its platform. SeedInvest will add 30 employees to Circle's New York office. The acquisition terms were not disclosed to Bloomberg. If financial regulators approve the acquisition, then Circle would be one step closer to listing security tokens as a broker-dealer.
A bipartisan group of US Senators is pushing for stronger sanctions on Venezuela's state-backed petro cryptocurrency. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Bill Nelson (D-FL), John Cornyn (R-TX), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced a bill to combat using the petro to circumvent US sanctions on Venezuela. It would prohibit US residents from providing software to help Venezuela launch and promote the petro.
Rapper Soulja Boy released a new song called "Bitcoin" for his new album Young Draco. On the track, he boasts of making $1 million in profit from buying Bitcoin (BTC) at $6,000. The lyrics state: "Man, this going crazy the cryptocurrency man. I made 100 racks off of Bitcoin. You can catch me trapping with the Bitcoin. You can catch me running up the Bitcoin. I spent 6,000 on the Bitcoin." Other prominent artists who have mentioned Bitcoin in their music include Eminem, Royce Da 5'9', and Snoop Dog.
Crypto prices traded in a tight range before falling slightly this week. The sector is currently below the $220 billion level. BTC dominance remains high at 52.6 percent. In the top 100, the biggest losers are Namecoin (NMC), down 19 percent, Bitcoin Interest (BCI), down 19 percent, and Global Currency Reserve (GCR), down 18 percent. The biggest winners are Nebulas (NAS), up 19 percent, DigitalNote (XDN), up 19 percent, and Siacoin (SC), up 18 percent. The volatility that many traders had anticipated has yet to return.
The author owns a small amount of BTC.