Canadian fintech firm Mogo, which is listed on the Nasdaq and the Toronto stock exchange, has announced it plans to make a corporate investment of up to CA$1.5 million (US$1.16 million) in bitcoin.

Bitwise Asset Management’s Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW) has liquidated its position in XRP, one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Ripple.

Cryptocurrency asset manager Grayscale Investments has added $3.4 billion in assets under management in a week, going from a total of $13 billion in AUM to $16.4 billion in said time.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Nasdaq-Listed Canadian Firm to Buy Over $1 Million in Bitcoin
• Bitwise’s Crypto Index Fund Liquidates XRP Position After SEC Sues Ripple
• Grayscale Investments Added $3.4 Billion to Assets Under Management in a Week

Nasdaq-Listed Canadian Firm to Buy Over $1 Million in Bitcoin

Canadian fintech firm Mogo, which is listed on the Nasdaq and the Toronto stock exchange, has announced it plans to make a corporate investment of up to CA$1.5 million (US$1.16 million) in bitcoin.

The firm will reportedly consider additional purchases over 2021, and the funds will come from its investment portfolio with $13.2 million in it. The initial investment represents around 1.5% of the company’s total assets as of the end of Q3 2020.

Greg Feller, Mogo’s president and CFO, was quoted as saying:

“We are strong believers in bitcoin as an asset class and believe this investment is consistent with our goal to make bitcoin investing available to all Canadians.”

The move would see Mogo join a number of publicly traded companies that have invested in the flagship cryptocurrency, including Square and MicroStrategy, which has 70,470 BTC in its treasury reserve.

Bitwise’s Crypto Index Fund Liquidates XRP Position After SEC Sues Ripple

Bitwise Asset Management’s Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW) has liquidated its position in XRP, one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Ripple.

Bitwise revealed its decision to liquidated its position in XRP was based “on consideration of new public information from the SEC’s complaint.” Before the sale, XRP was approximately 3.8% of the fund, the press release notes. The proceeds from the sale were reinvested in other portfolio assets. It adds:

“The Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund does not invest in assets that are reasonably likely to be deemed securities under federal or state securities laws.”

The Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund was launched in 2017 and “employs a research-driven investment approach that seeks to provide market-cap-weighted exposure to the 10 largest cryptoassets, accounting for approximately 80% of the cryptomarket.” 

The SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple alleges the firm paid cryptocurrency exchanges to permit “the buying and selling of XRP” on their platforms. Per The Wall Street Journal, at the heart of the lawsuit is whether XRP is a security that should have been registered with the regulator or not.

Grayscale Investments Added $3.4 Billion to Assets Under Management in a Week

Cryptocurrency asset manager Grayscale Investments has added $3.4 billion in assets under management in a week, going from a total of $13 billion in AUM to $16.4 billion in said time.

Data the firm shared revealed its largest holdings remain in bitcoin, with the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) having $14.1 billion, while its Ethereum Trust (ETHE) has $1.81 billion in assets under management.

Grayscale’s trusts for litecoin, bitcoin cash, and ethereum classic have $125 million, $70.7 million, and $67.7 million respectively. Other trusts with less significant holdings include those of XRP, XLM, and zcash.

Your Private Keys Are Yours Only, Keep It That Way

When bad actors know you have bitcoin they will try to target you, and anything they can use against you is another weapon in their arsenal. Data breaches and leaks give them plenty of weapons to work with, but they can only access your funds if you give them access.

Cryptocurrency users have over the last few days started receiving death threats over email. These emails include their home addresses and other personally identifiable information, likely because of some data leak.

Often these are auto-generated emails meant to extort as many people as possible, and the private information listed is meant as an intimidation tactic. In one case, a victim of a data leak received a phone call threatening kidnapping and murder.

While often these are intimidation tactics, the threats should be taken seriously. If the bad actors come after you don’t reply to them, but contact your local authorities. Do not give them your private key or recovery seed phrase.

Doing so would only fund their efforts to keep going, to threaten and harass other cryptocurrency users. At the end of the day, they can only access your funds if you give them access.

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