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Fundstrat’s Tom Lee: Jack Dorsey’s departure from Twitter is “bullish for crypto”

  • Dorsey, also the CEO of payments firm Square, stepped down on Monday

  • Tom Lee says its people like Dorsey who can marshal support for crypto innovation

  • Square has increasingly set itself as a pro-Bitcoin firm, including unveiling plans for a bitcoin decentralised exchange

Jack Dorsey’s decision to exit Twitter as the firm’s CEO could end up benefiting cryptocurrency, Fundstrat Global Advisors co-founder and managing partner Tom Lee has said.

Dorsey, who stepped down on Monday and plans to focus on payments firm Square, is also a vocal supporter of crypto (more so the pioneer cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC)).

Notably, it’s Square that might be at the center of Dorsey’s focus on crypto and Bitcoin innovation, an outlook that sees Lee opine that the ex-Twitter CEO’s exit is bullish for cryptocurrency.

Lee notes that the crypto space doesn’t have “enough capital actually allocated toward crypto innovation.” During an interview with CNBC’s “Tech Check”, the Fundstrat chief explained that its people like Dorsey have the capacity to really invest and marshal support for broader crypto development.

Square taking steps towards crypto innovation

Square, MicroStrategy and Tesla are three of Wall Street’s biggest bitcoin-invested companies, with the addition of BTC on the firm’s balance sheet contributing to increased revenues amid rocketing prices. But that’s not all.

Square’s focus on making it easier for people to invest and spend their BTC has been gaining traction lately and could accelerate now that Dorsey could be fully immersed at the company.

In July, the payments firm announced plans to have the Bitcoin network work with decentralised finance (DeFi) applications. In October, Dorsey revealed that the platform was considering setting up a solar Bitcoin mining operation.

Other than that, Square announced in June that it was working on a Bitcoin hardware wallet targeted at institutional investors and is in the process of developing a decentralised exchange (DEX) as detailed in a recently released whitepaper.

The spike in crypto interest has been driven by major developments in the DeFi, NFTs, and currently Metaverse sectors. Yet, Lee thinks Square’s Dorsey could do even more, telling CNBC that he doesn’t believe the burgeoning cryptocurrency sector “is over-invested yet.”  

Lee’s perspective resonates with that of GK ETF founder and CEO Ross Gerber, who also believes Dorsey’s resignation from Twitter makes sense and could be beneficial to Square Inc.

According to Lee, cryptocurrency provides for the “intersection of financial services and technology,” which means it potentially touches on “literally 60% of the economy.”

Meanwhile, the Fundstrat exec sees Black Friday’s markets sell-off as “horrific” and a massacre largely driven by panic selling. The downside was also heightened by the shortened trading day in the equities markets. But he notes that it offered a window of opportunity to investors.

Bitcoin is trading around $56,986 at the time of writing, about 1.3% down on the day and nearly 18% off since reaching its all-time peak of $69,044 on 10 November.

The post Fundstrat’s Tom Lee: Jack Dorsey’s departure from Twitter is “bullish for crypto” appeared first on Coin Journal.

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Africa holds unique opportunities for crypto adoption, says Binance CEO

Changpeng Zhao says challenges such as currency devaluation, difficulty in making cross-border payments and remittances, and the need for financial freedom are driving crypto adoption in Africa.

As the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, Binance has continued to attract customers from across Africa, one of the fastest-growing destinations for crypto adoption.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has reiterated that Africa offers unique opportunities, not just for the adoption of cryptocurrencies, but also for broader development of the industry.

Why Binance is bullish on Africa

The Binance chief’s comments in an interview with TechCrunch also revealed why the exchange remains bullish on the continent.

According to Zhao, Africa offers inimitable opportunities and is ripe for crypto adoption. He notes that crypto’s capacity to help solve problems related to cross-border payments and money transfer is seeing more and more people look to buy and use cryptocurrencies.

The number of the unbanked across the continent is also quite big, Zhao added, a fact that provides an opportunity for crypto adoption opportunities. Meanwhile, high unemployment has seen African youths venture into crypto and blockchain projects.

Asked to explain what could be fueling crypto adoption on the continent, Zhao said:

“I think it’s always a combination of many things,” before he went on to explain some of the catalysts towards broader adoption.

Changpeng on what’s fueling crypto adoption in Africa

The Binance boss, one of the most prominent personalities in crypto, believes that challenges such as currency devaluation have contributed to the rising adoption of crypto assets and stablecoins. Many people thus see cryptocurrencies as providing a better hedge against spiraling inflation.

Difficulties in making cross-border payments, or remittances, are another reason crypto is proving attractive to many Africans. Users do not just get to easily send money from abroad or across the continent but to also do so faster and at very low costs.

That’s not all. The need for financial freedom is seeing many people put their money into cryptocurrency investments, Zhao added.

“Much like Southeast Asia and Latin America, millions of people [in Africa] live below the poverty line. So it’s natural that they are interested in innovative, non-traditional ways of wealth creation.”

CZ, as he is known in the crypto space, recently said crypto needed proper regulation, adding that this will help the crypto industry build trust as it moves towards mass adoption. He also holds that effective regulation of the crypto sector in Africa will be critical to protecting consumers as well as spurring further growth.

Zhao also talked about some of the crypto and blockchain projects that could be greatly transformative for Africa. He believes infrastructure and systems in the sectors of GameFi, Sports Fan Tokens, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will play a huge role in transforming lives and offering financial freedom to many.

The post Africa holds unique opportunities for crypto adoption, says Binance CEO appeared first on Coin Journal.