JP Morgan Bets Big on Bitcoin

news coming from M. Corey Goldman via The Street

In a research note to clients, analysts at JPMorgan Chase predicted a long-term bitcoin price target of more than $146,000 based on the assumption that the cryptocurrency will grow in popularity as an alternative to gold, which has traditionally been used as an inflation and volatility hedge, as well as protection against a falling U.S. dollar.

“A crowding out of gold as an ‘alternative’ currency implies big upside for bitcoin over the long term,” wrote JPMorgan Chase strategists led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou. However, “a convergence in volatilities between bitcoin and gold is unlikely to happen quickly, and is in our mind a multiyear process.

TradingShot Chart via Trading View

“This implies that the above $146,000 theoretical bitcoin price target should be considered as a long-term target, and thus an unsustainable price target for this year,” they said.

US Federal Regulator Says Banks Can Conduct Payments Using Stablecoins

news coming from Nikhilesh De via CoinDesk

Brian Brooks, the Acting Comptroller of the Currency, said in a statement that while other nations have built real-time payments systems, the U.S. “has relied on” the private sector to create such technologies, seemingly endorsing the use of cryptocurrencies – specifically stablecoins – as an alternative to other real-time payment systems.

Brooks has overseen the publication of two other interpretative letters and a number of other crypto-friendly moves during his time overseeing the agency, including a letter telling federal banks they can provide services to stablecoin issuers and store reserves for stablecoins.

Last month, Brooks announced his support of a letter by the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets that outlined how stablecoins should be regulated within the U.S.

President Donald Trump has twice nominated Brooks to serve a full five-year term heading up the agency, including earlier this week. However, it’s unclear whether the U.S. Senate will schedule a confirmation vote. As of press time, it does not appear likely it will do so before President-elect Joe Biden takes office on Jan. 20.

Bitcoin Fighting Regulators 👀

news coming from CoinDesk

11th hour?A comment period for a proposed set of rules that would increase reporting requirements for crypto exchanges and minimize blockchain user privacy closed yesterday, with many major crypto firms rejecting the maneuver.

Spearheaded by the U.S. Treasury Department in December, but shaped primarily by the global Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the set of rules would see exchanges implement know-your-customer (KYC) requirements for transactions sent to unhosted wallet addresses, or addresses that exist outside a centralized or custodial setting.

This would mean many types of personal wallets as well as counterparties to exchanges’ customers would need to be identified. Reporting limits would be set for private wallets that receive more than $10,000 in 24 hours, and record-keeping rules for transactions valued at over $3,000. FinCEN and the Treasury Department claim the increased surveillance will aid criminal enforcement and reduce financial malfeasance.

The proposal was rushed out late on Friday, Dec. 18 – a week before many U.S. employees might expect to break for the winter holiday season – with the Treasury setting only a 15-day comment period. Many crypto industry commentators referred to the rushed timeline as onerous and potentially illegal.

Still, some 6,000 comments were filed with FinCEN within this narrow window, with firms such as Square, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Kraken as well as civil liberties organizations including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Coin Center coming out hard against the proposal. The reporting period has since been “extended” until Jan. 7.