Former crypto skeptic Carl Icahn, the founder of Icahn Enterprises, told Bloomberg he’s set to enter the crypto market in a “big way” — teasing an investment of around $1.5 billion. Icahn is an investor and former advisor to the Trump administration, who has a net worth of $15.6 billion according to Forbes. In 2018, Icahn told CNBC that crypto is “ridiculous” and added, “maybe I’m too old for them, but I wouldn’t touch that stuff.” But speaking on Wednesday, Icahn explained he’s now considering a large investment and that entering the market in such a manner would “not be …

As corporate finance leaders prepare to set sail into the post-COVID-19 world amid inflation storm warnings, an increasing number of corporations are taking stock of their treasury reserve holdings. If the worst happens, and the dollar and other reserve currencies weaken, are they sure that all their balance-sheet cash is lashed down securely? It surely hasn’t escaped their notice, after all, that a number of public companies that “joined” Bitcoin (BTC) in a big way over the past year recently broadcast strong Q1 2021 earnings. Square, which holds $472 million worth of BTC, for instance, reported a quarterly gross profit …

On April 28, MercadoLibre (MELI), the largest Latin American online marketplace, launched a real estate section dedicated to cryptocurrencies. Although the company does not settle property transactions directly, it legitimizes the category as a payment system. The $81 billion retailer is the second largest company in South America and is present in 18 countries, including its three largest markets, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico. The group also owns Mercado Pago, a digital payments system for online and offline transactions, along with Mercado Envios, a logistics platform that provides fulfillment, warehousing, and shipping services. The current offers include houses, condos, vacant lots, …

No fewer than 47 companies have cited the term “inflation” in their earnings calls for Q1 2021. According to a report by financial market data provider FactSet on Monday, the figure represents the highest number of companies to do so in the last decade. Earlier in April, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics released its “Producer Price Index” report showing a 4.2% year-on-year increase in PPI, the highest since September 2011. While Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell continues to argue that current inflation and consumer price index numbers are only temporary, there is a counter-argument that businesses will move …

As the Bitcoin (BTC) price edges closer to $59,000, its value relative to gold is approaching new all-time highs, possibly hinting at the emergence of a new preferred store of value. Measured against gold, Bitcoin’s price reached 34.94 ounces on Tuesday. The BTC-gold comparative peaked at 35.35 ounces on March 13 as Bitcoin surged past $61,000. Bitcoin’s value relative to gold has more than doubled over the past three months and has grown nearly sevenfold since October 2020. Gold futures, meanwhile, plunged below $1,700 a troy ounce Tuesday on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price …

Soros Fund Management chief information officer Dawn Fitzpatrick said Bitcoin (BTC) may once have been considered a fringe asset, but the inflation of the United States dollar has changed that. Speaking to Bloomberg, Fitzpatrick said her firm — an asset management fund created by global investor George Soros — had recently begun to take an interest in Bitcoin. “We think the whole infrastructure around crypto is really interesting, and we’ve been making some investments into that infrastructure — and we think that is at an inflection point,” said Fitzpatrick. That inflection point is coming as a result of fiat inflation, …

With the price of gold down more than 11% over the last six months, some investment managers are questioning its status as a hedge asset. According to Bloomberg, Russ Koesterich, portfolio manager at BlackRock’s Global Allocation Fund, gold is currently failing to prove its effectiveness as a viable hedge against inflation. Indeed, Koesterich countered the popular hedge asset narrative for gold, stating, “Gold’s ability to hedge against inflation has been somewhat exaggerated. While it is a reasonable store of value over the very long-term — think centuries — it is less reliable across most investment horizons.” The current investment horizon …

A hotly awaited upgrade to the Ethereum network that may result in ETH becoming a deflationary asset is now scheduled for the “London” hard fork in July. Ethereum lead developer Tim Beiko previously teased that the decision would be made today two weeks ago, and proposed the inclusion on the Core Developers call today. There were no verbal objections. “We’re in a spot where the EIP is sound,” said Beiko on the call. “[...] We’re in a spot, I think, where it’s ready to be included in an upgrade.” The proposal, co-authored by Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin, will transition Ethereum’s …

BCB Group, a global digital financial services firm, is planning to help corporations navigate cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) by launching a dedicated service. According to a Feb. 19 announcement, BCB Group has launched BCB Treasury, a new service designed for corporate treasury departments seeking to get involved in Bitcoin à la Tesla. The new service aims to provide a specific solution enabling access to treasury management for companies willing to invest their capital into Bitcoin and other digital assets. With BCB Treasury, executives can enter, hold, manage, and report on a Bitcoin-focused treasury strategy, the announcement states. BCB Group founder …

Sandeep Biswas, managing director and CEO at Newcrest Mining, believes crypto investors should consider buying some gold to protect themselves against highly unstable prices of cryptos like Bitcoin (BTC). “If you’re into cryptos, you want to consider having some gold,” Biswas said on Bloomberg TV Thursday, stressing that gold is less volatile than crypto. The exec emphasized that gold is a different class of investment. “It’s a tangible asset: you can see it, you can touch it, you can feel it, you can mold it, you can make it into jewelry, whatever you want.” Biswas noted the scarce nature of …

United States President Joe Biden has rejected a Republican proposal for a COVID-19 relief bill that would have seen $618 billion allocated to struggling American households and businesses. Biden and newly appointed Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, dismissed the sum — just under the size of Bitcoin’s entire market capitalization — as insufficient for stimulating the economy amid the ongoing pandemic, Reuters reported. Democrats voted along party lines in the U.S. Senate on Jan. 2 to push through Biden’s relief bill that would see the GOP’s proposed sum more than trebled to $1.9 trillion. Senate leader Chuck Schumer told reporters anything …

Argentina's brittle economy — stricken by endemic problems that have only worsened amid the COVID-19 pandemic — has sparked rising unrest in the country's agricultural sector. Earlier this month, representatives of the bulk of national producers rejected President Alberto Fernandez’s government's decision to suspend all exports of corn as part of its efforts to stem inflation and exert downward pressure on domestic corn prices. The farmers' strike followed a similar wave of resistance in the oilseed and soy industries in December 2020. The rise in labor unrest poses a challenge for the stewards of the national economy, given that agriculture …