All posts by ABechtel
Trump’s crypto policy triggers dispute between ECB and EU Commission
By Alexander Bechtel The ECB and the European Commission are wrestling over the future of stablecoin regulation. It is also about the digital euro – and whether Europe is promoting innovation or slowing itself down in the race for digital sovereignty. The European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission are not known for discussing…
AllUnity: the new stable standard
By Alexander Bechtel and Simone Conti DWS, Galaxy Digital and Flow Traders launch AllUnity, a new euro stablecoin to promote the on-chain economy. This regulated stablecoin is intended to offer a trustworthy alternative in the global US dollar-dominated stablecoin market. One of DWS’s core convictions in the area of digital assets is that significant parts…
Strategic Bitcoin reserve: Trump makes Bitcoin a state affair
By Alexander Bechtel With a new executive order, Donald Trump is creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the USA. A smart move against geopolitical rivals or just politics for crypto bro’s? Donald Trump remains true to his style. After just under two months in office, he continues to sign one executive order after another. On…
How Trump’s memecoin became a cash cow
By Alexander Bechtel and Maximilian Vargas With his memecoin, Trump could profit twice: In addition to collecting millions in trading fees, companies close to Trump also control tokens currently worth around 14 billion US dollars, which are gradually being released. Shortly before his inauguration, Donald Trump caused quite a stir: The now incumbent US president…
How a blockchain-based betting platform could influence the federal elections in Germany
By Alexander Bechtel and Jonas Koch The forecasts on the blockchain-based betting platform Polymarket were impressively accurate during the US elections. The first forecasts for the German federal elections are now available. However, the platform operates in a regulatory gray area. As Germany prepares for the federal elections on February 23, 2025, a new betting…
Siemens Issues 300 Million-Euro Bond on the Blockchain
By Viktor Banh, Alexander Bechtel, and Manuel Klein The largest issuance of a crypto security in Germany to date was made possible through the collaboration of Siemens and key financial and technology service providers. On September 3, representatives from six major German financial institutions and technology service providers met virtually with Siemens’ treasury team to…
Ethereum ETFs are live and expectations are high
By Alexander Bechtel and Kasper Luyckx Crypto ETFs in the US are entering their second round: Nine Ethereum ETFs recently started trading. The expectations are high. August 29, 2023 marked a historic milestone for the crypto industry. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had wrongly…
What is the fair value of Bitcoin?
By Alexander Bechtel The debate about the fair value of Bitcoin is polarizing the financial world. While critics dismiss the cryptocurrency as a worthless object of speculation, the number of supporters is growing – also in traditional financial circles. The debate about the fair value of Bitcoin is often conducted with great passion and polarizes…
Tether: The most profitable business model in the world?
By Alexander Bechtel Tether, the company behind the largest dollar stablecoin USDT, earned more than most major European banks last year. Does this make the issuance of stablecoins one of the most profitable business models in the world, or is there a catch? Jean-Louis van der Velde is one of the most successful CEOs of…
The Bitcoin ETF – a milestone despite the lack of a price explosion
By Alexander Bechtel The US regulatory authority SEC approves a total of eleven Bitcoin ETF applications. A milestone for Bitcoin, but the hoped-for price explosion has failed to materialize. Here are the reasons. Last week, the financial markets experienced one of those moments that could go down in history. It started on Tuesday with a…