The blockchain/crypto week in quotes

“Thank you Facebook Libra. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” Hedera

“Libra would have to meet the highest standards of prudential regulation and consumer protection. It must address issues ranging from anti-money laundering to data protection to operational resilience. Libra must also be a pro-competitive, open platform that new users can join on equal terms. In addition, authorities will need to consider carefully the implications of Libra for monetary and financial stability. Our citizens deserve no less.” Bank of England’s Mark Carney

“Bitcoin crossing $10k doesn’t come as a surprise to people in crypto. At this point, most people have heard of Bitcoin, and there are millions who “get it” and believe it will soar to become the equivalent of gold in the digital age. There are many who bought Bitcoin in 2017 and sold it at a loss only to see it bottoming at a higher price than last time around and coming back stronger. They’re not selling again. Some of these people are institutions who have now established crypto-custody solutions and far more knowledge than before. News like Libra — which is not directly competitive to Bitcoin  — will only help to fuel the fire.” Yonatan Sela, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer, Props

“Given Facebook’s troubled past, I am requesting that it agree to a moratorium on any movement forward on developing a cryptocurrency until Congress and regulators have the opportunity to examine these issues and take action.” Rep. Maxine Waters, Chairwoman of the United States House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee

“Supply and demand dynamics made it inevitable that BTC would break $10,000. All the data compiled by the Digital Assets Data platform shows that citizens of countries with high inflation are adopting BTC independently of price movements. Now that it has reached the $10k mark, we could see all-time highs in short order, as attention in developed economies focuses back on BTC as an alternative to the Modern Monetary Theory approach taken by most central banks and policymakers.Personally, I’m looking for $50-60k this cycle and think we could see prices that high sooner rather than later.” Mike Alfred, Cofounder and CEO, Digital Assets Data 

“The market has matured greatly since the last time Bitcoin crossed $10,000. This run is far more justified given the current level of adoption — the Bitcoin blockchain has remained consistently above 3.5 transactions per second since January. With Facebook making a grand entrance into crypto this week as well, it’s likely that the market is anticipating greater institutional participation in the coming weeks and months.” Mati Greenspan, Senior Market Analyst, eToro