Daily Digest - 4 November 2022

Headlines

▌Opinion: Google Is Working on the Cryptocurrency Space

Google’s partnership with Coinbase shows that Google is working on the cryptocurrency space. The collaboration between cryptocurrencies and tech giants has been called a nod to blockchain. Based on recent headlines and Google Inc., one would think that Google is dipping its toes into the crypto space. However, some see the tech giant's choice of partner, Coinbase, as proof that Google is just sounding out. A few weeks ago, Google and Coinbase issued a joint press release titled “Google Cloud and Coinbase Launch New Strategic Partnership to Drive Web3 Innovation.” A few days later, Google Cloud launched its Ethereum blockchain node engine.

Cryptocurrency

▌Coinbase’s Third-Quarter Loss Halved

Third-quarter losses shrank 50 percent to $545 million from $1.1 billion in the second quarter, as the company reined in costs and cut workers and increased interest income. However, the company said in its shareholder letter that its trading revenue continues to be significantly impacted by macroeconomic and crypto market headwinds, which it expects to continue into 2023, as well as a shift in trading volumes overseas. Transaction revenue was $366 million, down 44% from the second quarter, due to lower transaction volumes. One of the factors cited by Coinbase for this decline is that “transaction volumes have shifted away from the U.S., where our operations are concentrated.” It noted that this shift is in part due to some digital asset issuers possibly having “inconsistencies with the U.S. cryptocurrency regulatory framework.” Overall net income was $576 million, below the FactSet analyst consensus estimate of $646 million and below the $803 million in the second quarter.

▌Musk Wants to Cut the Cost of Twitter by $1 Billion, or Cause Twitter to Face the Risk of Paralysis

Musk has directed the Twitter team to save more than $1 billion in annual infrastructure costs by cutting cloud services and additional server space, according to people familiar with the matter. Musk is aiming to save $3 million a day on infrastructure, sources said. Such drastic cuts could put the Twitter site and app at risk of crippling under heavy traffic, such as the upcoming U.S. midterm elections.

▌India's High Tax On Crypto Is Probably Going To Kill The Industry: CZ

Binance Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said India’s onerous taxes on cryptocurrency transactions will probably “kill the industry” there.Zhao’s comments add to a litany of warnings on the outlook for India’s crypto industry, after the government this year introduced a tax package that’s caused trading volumes to evaporate. Instead of introducing comprehensive regulations, India has opted for heavy taxes on capital gains and transactions to curtail the business.

▌Goldman Sachs cooperates with MSCI and Coin Metrics to develop the first digital asset index for institutional investors

Goldman Sachs is working with index provider MSCI and encrypted data firm Coin Metrics to develop a digital asset index. The service will be called Datonomy and will primarily target institutional investors. Under the service, fund managers at hedge funds and asset managers will be able to consider cryptocurrencies with a more granular focus, said Anne Marie Darling, head of client strategy at Goldman Sachs’ Marquee platform.

▌Meta to Let Users Mint and Sell Polygon-Powered NFTs on Instagram

Instagram users will soon be able to use the site to mint, showcase and sell digital collections powered by non-fungible token (NFTs) on Polygon, giving creators a new way to engage with and monetize their fan communities. Meta, which owns Instagram, today announced it will soon test these new features with a small group of creators in the U.S. first with the goal of expanding to more users and countries soon. Instagram plans to integrate a full end-to-end toolkit that can be used for the whole process — from creation, starting on the Polygon blockchain, to showcasing and selling NFTs both on and off the popular social media site. “This move represents a remarkable milestone in the evolution of Instagram’s existing NFT functionality and a natural next step to bring Web3 to the mainstream,” said Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal. "The value added to the creator economy is unmatchable and championing verifiable digital ownership on a platform with such reach will help us further our goal of onboarding the next billion users to Web3."