Ep. 68. Tether the unstable coin plus a fireside chat with Blythe Masters

Simon and Sara are in the studio with Hugh Karp, Founder of Nexus Mutual. First up, Fidelity launches company to facilitate crypto trading. Fidelity has launched a company to facilitate cryptocurrency trading for hedge funds, endowments and family offices. The Boston-based investment giant said it would offer institutional investors access to “enterprise-quality custody and trade execution services” for cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin or ethereum, as a first step towards creating a full platform for the nascent industry. Why crypto traders are so worried about Tether. Blockchain isn't about democracy and decentralisation – it's about greed. A controversial article by Nouriel Roubini. SpankChain loses $40k in hack due to smart contract bug. A cryptocurrency project focused on the adult industry, has suffered a breach that saw almost $40,000 in ethereum (ETH) stolen. The intrusion, which the post said was made possible by a bug in the network's payment channel smart contract, also caused $4,000 in SpankChain's BOOTY token to be frozen. Barclays halts work on cryptocurrency trading project. The investment bank put together a senior team earlier this year to look at how it could incorporate the trading of digital assets into its markets business. The initiative, however, has been put “on ice”. Chris Tyrer, the bank’s former head of energy trading, moved into a full time role leading the so-called ‘digital assets project’ earlier this year but left the bank in September after the decision was taken to shelve the cryptocurrency trading project. Liquid Goes Live: Blockstream's first Bitcoin sidechain has finally arrived. Three years in the making, bitcoin's first sidechain "Liquid" is now live. Liquid is arguably the most advanced implementation of a technology called sidechains that's long been a holy grail for bitcoin coders (though what's being launched today may be a watered-down version of the original "trustless" vision). Liquid will now be used to carry large volumes of transactions at a higher speed for several of bitcoin's largest companies. CFTC Chair Giancarlo says institutional investors will help crypto 'mature'. An influx of institutional investors to the cryptocurrency markets may help the space "mature," U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair J. Christopher Giancarlo said last week. We also have a great Tweet of the Week from 'Elon Musk'. Hmm.. Tying up the show, we have a great fireside chat with Blythe Masters from Blockchain Live. All this and so much more on this week's episode of Blockchain Insider. And if you enjoyed our tweet of the week why not send us your best tweets? See if you can get a shout out on the show! We hope you enjoy the show and, as ever, don't forget to subscribe! Want to join the conversation on all the topics discussed? Tweet the show @bchaininsider and if you really love the show, please leave us a review on iTunes. This week's episode of Blockchain Insider was produced by Laura Watkins and Petrit Berisha. Edited by Michael Bailey. Special Guests: Blythe Masters and Hugh Karp. Links: Fidelity launches company to facilitate crypto trading | Financial Times Why Crypto Traders Are So Worried About Tether - Bloomberg Blockchain isn't about democracy and decentralisation – it's about greed | Nouriel Roubini | Technology | The Guardian SpankChain Loses $40K in Hack Due to Smart Contract Bug - CoinDesk SpankChain Says Hacker Returned Stolen Crypto Funds - CoinDesk Barclays halts work on cryptocurrency trading project - BusinessTelegraph Liquid Goes Live: Blockstream's First Bitcoin Sidechain Has Finally Arrived - CoinDesk CFTC Chair Giancarlo Says Institutional Investors Will Help Crypto 'Mature' - CoinDesk