In today’s cryptocurrency news, musical artist Drake references BTC in his new track, Robinhood’s initiative to tokenize stocks on its upcoming blockchain may redirect liquidity from the NYSE and other prominent exchanges, and a Coinbase executive conjectures over the slight chance that the recent transfer of $8.6 billion in Bitcoin could have been due to a hack.
Drake incorporates Bitcoin into new track
Musical artist Drake referenced Bitcoin (BTC) in his latest single “What Did I Miss?” The track was launched on Saturday and is quickly capturing the interest of Bitcoin enthusiasts on social media.
Previously, Drake wagered $1 million in BTC on the 2022 Super Bowl’s outcome; the championship event of American football. The specific line from the track states:
“I perceive this situation like a BTC, might be down this week, yet I’ll rise next week. I don’t care if you adore me. I don’t care if you approve of me. Inquiring ‘How did it feel?’ Can’t claim it didn’t take me by surprise.”
Mainstream pop culture references to Bitcoin suggest that the digital currency is progressively evolving from a niche interest into widespread acceptance.
Robinhood’s all-day tokenization venture jeopardizes NYSE earnings: Galaxy Digital
Robinhood’s strategy to tokenize stocks on its newly designed Ethereum-compatible blockchain may divert trading activity from established exchanges like the NYSE, undermining their primary income from trading fees and market information, as per Galaxy Digital.
During the EthCC conference this week, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev outlined intentions for “Robinhood Chain,” an Ethereum-compatible layer-2 on Arbitrum Orbit. This blockchain will enable users to trade tokenized versions of stocks directly on-chain, facilitating asset transactions beyond traditional exchange hours.
A report from Galaxy Digital noted that Robinhood’s tokenization strategy effectively removes assets from conventional market avenues and transitions them on-chain, directly challenging the concentrated liquidity and transactions that provide major TradFi exchanges like the NYSE their competitive edge.
“This directly contests the substantial concentration of liquidity and transactions that give major TradFi exchanges (e.g., NYSE) their competitive advantage,” Galaxy Digital remarked.
‘Minor likelihood’ $8.6B Bitcoin transfer was a hack: Coinbase executive
Conor Grogan, Coinbase’s head of product, suggests there’s a minor chance the $8.6 billion worth of Bitcoin transferred on Thursday — from eight wallets that had stored the Bitcoin for over 14 years — could be attributed to a hack, which, if accurate, would mark the largest theft in history.
“If this is valid (again, I’m merely speculating), this would undoubtedly be the most significant heist in human history,” Grogan mentioned in an X post on Friday, after hinting that the $8.6 billion worth of Bitcoin shifted from eight distinct wallets might involve malicious actors.
“There exists a minor chance that the $8 billion in BTC that has recently become active may have been hacked or that private keys were compromised,” Grogan noted, highlighting a questionable Bitcoin Cash transaction prior to the significant transfers on Thursday involving 10,000 Bitcoin each.
