Weekly Roundup - January 6th 2020

Happy new year! Welcome to 2021.

It's a brand new year with brand new opportunities. Hopefully, you were able to see and be with your family and loved ones over the holiday and new year break. Crypto definitely didn't sleep or take any time off with brand new all-time highs constantly being reset and broken day after day!

2021 has the potential to be the biggest year in crypto since it first started over 12 years ago. Here are just a few things to look out for in 2021 from our CEO Jeff Hancock.

• Institutional interest in Bitcoin is set to soar
• Investors that were "right" years ago are now convincing their family, friend and colleagues, that bitcoin is here to stay
• Continued innovation in the Defi space attracting new talent, capital and innovation, Defi will continue to make waves in 2021
• Regulation is set to ramp up and create even better investing, trading and wallet applications to increase security and punish the bad actors in the space.
• SEC and Ripple is just the start. Further tokens, unregulated exchanges and ICO/IEO's will continue to attract regulator attention for past transgressions

So what does this mean for you? Keeping a watchful eye on the crypto space is more than a full-time job, it takes a team and a community which is what coinpass.com is here for! Here are 3 ways to stay up to date, informed and continuing to grow your education and knowledge:

• Social Media: Filter out the noise and follow and engage with those who are active in the space offering real insight
• Youtube: Watch regular contributors create real educational content, not just the paid token sponsorships
• Get involved: Spend 1 hour a week actually investing, trading and managing your portfolio, invest in your future
• Talk about it: Get your friends, family and colleagues involved and share your experiences
• Join our community: Join us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and get involved in the conversation around crypto and bitcoin.

We're very excited about 2021 for both the potential of the crypto market but also for coinpass.com. Stay tuned for more insight coming soon!

Here's some of the top news from this week.

Ukraine central bank chooses Stellar (XLM) for their CBDC
Ukraine is making bigger moves to launch digital currency and has pushed XLM to record highs in doing so - Ukraine selects Stellar and in turn pushes the XLM ahead. Stellar may see more partnerships in the future, as it offers decentralized, fast, and scalable payments network for cross-border payments, much like its counterpart Ripple.
https://blockchain.news/news/xlm-price-surges-ukraine-selects-stellar-lumens-cbdc-development

The US OCC allows banks to use public blockchains and stable coins
OCC opens the floodgates for stable coins. Expect a flood of new coins to be issued by banks and more institutions.
https://coingape.com/occ-greenlights-the-use-of-stablecoin-by-federal-banks/

Bitcoin on the front page of the Financial Times
The 132-year-old Financial Times, one of the biggest international business newspapers in the world, has featured Bitcoin’s ascent to $30,000 on its front page & there no mention of a bubble
https://u.today/bitcoins-rally-to-30000-featured-on-front-page-of-financial-times

Bitcoin could be a choice of top athletes for their salary
Bitcoin makes its way to sports contracts
https://blockchain.news/news/nfl-carolina-panthers-russell-okung-will-receive-half-his-13-million-contract-bitcoin