#18 - Covid19 vaccination proof is coming to a phone near you
Markets closed 2020 at record highs. Dancing robots, SpaceX launch in UK and Bitcoin turns 12 years old and breaks through USD 30,000+
"Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws"
— Mayer Amschel Bauer Rothschild
Markets
US stocks closed higher on Thursday to finish 2020. The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 both closed at record highs, while the Nasdaq had its best year since 2009, gaining 43%. The S&P 500 gained 16% in 2020, while the Dow gained 7%.
Health
Spain plans to collect and share with other European Union nations information about residents who decide not to get vaccinated for Covid-19, the country’s health minister said on Monday.
COVID Vaccination Proof to Apple Wallet
Covid-19 vaccine recipients in Los Angeles County, a major virus hot spot, will be offered a digital record that will help ensure they get a second shot and could, eventually, be used to gain access to concert venues or airline flights.
Technology
This is not GGI (Computer-generated imagery) - I can’t help but wondering what the world will look like in the coming decade.
SpaceX begins to offer Starlink Internet service to select customers in the United Kingdom. SpaceX is in the process of deploying thousands of internet-beaming Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit where they will connect users globally to the world wide web. With approximately 960 Starlink satellites already orbiting Earth, SpaceX is providing a Starlink Beta broadband internet service to select customers living in high-latitudes by invitation only.
Bitcoin
Happy 12th birthday Bitcoin!
On 3 January 2009, the bitcoin network came into existence with Satoshi Nakamoto mining the genesis block of bitcoin (block number 0), which had a reward of 50 bitcoins. Embedded in the coinbase of this block was the text: The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.
Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary of the United States, is looking to implement a new regulation that would require financial institutions to verify the identity of both senders and recipients of any Bitcoin transaction, over $3000.
“It’s warrantless surveillance, it’s mass data collection, just like Snowden revealed for emails and things, just for our financial records. So, we don’t like it, but at the very least we should have equal treatment suffering under this regime.”
— Peter Van Valkenburgh, Coin Center
Jerry Brito and Peter Van Valkenburgh, Coin Center Executive Director and Research Director discuss the implications of the new regulations, the key issues and what you can do to prevent them from passing.
I am often asked when it would be a good time to sell bitcoin. It is a very individual decision so there is no universal answer, however, if you have found a better investment or you want to take profit to pay off debt for example, it could be a good time for you to sell some.
Michael Saylor was recently asked the same question:
Umbrel 0.3.0 is released
The Umbrel App Store is live with seven amazing open-source applications available at launch, and many more coming soon. Umbrel enables you to run your personal Bitcoin and Lightning Network node and self-host open source apps - for free.
Bitcoin is now the 8th biggest asset measured by market cap after having passed Warren Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway and Alibaba Group this past week. You can follow the progress from AssetDash.com
Bitcoin 2020 annual review by Jameson Lopp. Comprehensive coverage of metrics across a number of different verticals in the Bitcoin ecosystem to gauge performance in 2020
This week’s headlines:
Russell Okung becomes first NFL player to be paid in bitcoin
Miami could become first city in US to allocate reserves into bitcoin
Select tweets:
This newsletter is for informational purposes only. Individuals and entities should not construe any such information as legal, tax, investment, financial, accounting or other advice. Nothing contained in this newsletter constitutes a recommendation or endorsement by the author to buy or sell bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, music rights or other financial instruments. #DYOR
Don’t trust. Verify.
À Bientôt