  What you need to know today in crypto and beyond March 23, 2021 Sponsored By:  If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive it, sign up here.
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Today's must-read Top Shelf  SHUTTERED EXCHANGE: The South Korean arm of cryptocurrency exchange OKEx will close in face of slim profits, the difficulty of forming a banking relationship and new anti-money laundering (AML) safeguards in the country. Under new legislation in line with the Financial Action Task Force's "Travel Rule," "virtual asset service providers" in the country must undergo compliance inspections and verify customer identities. something the exchange said it is unwilling to do in this case, according to CoinDesk Korea.
WHAT IS BITCLOUT? A blockchain-based social media project is reproducing people's Twitter profiles, creating markets for social tokens based on those identities and raking in cash from high-profile investors. The project, built by anonymous developers, is receiving pushback from those who never signed up for this alternative social network. CoinDesk's Brady Dale goes deep.
– Daniel Kuhn
Overheard on CoinDesk TV Sound Bite  "When you get to a digital currency issued by a government, obviously that will ultimately, probably, supplant tether."
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A message from CoinDesk  Introducing 'Coin Toss,' debating the future of money on CoinDesk TV
From the world leader in crypto news and events, the all-new CoinDesk TV covers the rapidly evolving world of digital finance and its role in the global economy.
Hosted by CoinDesk Podcasts Managing Editor Adam B. Levine, "Coin Toss" sets the stage for debate between guests with opposing views on policy and regulation, privacy and data integrity, fraud and crime and more.
Watch "Coin Toss" Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. ET on YouTube or CoinDesk.com.
What others are writing... Off-Chain Signals  The FTX cryptocurrency exchange is one vote away from winning a naming-rights deal for the Miami Heat's arena. (Miami Herald) Britain's Financial Conduct Authority revealed new research on crypto traders. "They tend to be female, under 40 and from a [Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic] background, using social media for tips and news," Reuters reports. When robotics meets NFTs: Hanson Robotics' "humanoid" Sophia is auctioning her first work. (Reuters)
– D.K.
A message from NEM GROUP  Symbol from NEM, the next-generation public blockchain, launched March 15th, marking a milestone in NEM's vision for a new economic and digital system. Boasting enterprise-grade security and programmability, Symbol smooths business friction and increases the flow of data to supercharge the creation, exchange and protection of assets. NEM Group - comprising NEM Software, NEM Trading, and NEM Ventures - nurtures a strong and healthy ecosystem to shape the development and future of blockchain technology for generations to come.
Putting the news in perspective The Takeaway  Biden Can Clean Bitcoin My brother posed a tough question on Zoom recently.
How could I, as someone working in the cryptocurrency industry, justify bitcoin's energy footprint in the age of climate change?
Didn't I used to write about global warming and the dangers it poses? (I did).
A lot of people are having some version of this discussion at the moment.
With BTC's price rising and lots of green-minded VIPs, like Elon Musk, endorsing the idea, the long-running bitcoin energy debate is seeing new life.
I replied as many people working in bitcoin do: It's not as bad as the mainstream media says. The fiat money system also uses a lot of energy. It's going to get cleaner as renewables come online.
Later, I wished I'd framed it differently.
What I really think is 1) bitcoin is currently dirty but ultimately worth it and 2) technology will fix the problem. Let me explain.
Bitcoin is worth it because it is a fundamental innovation with many uses in itself and for humanity at large. Shutting it down now, as some would like to do for climate reasons, would be like stopping car development with the Model T. You have to give it time.
Technology will fix the problem because that's what technology does. In fact, it might already be happening.
As CoinDesk's Michael Casey wrote last week, there are lots of promising experiments underway to co-locate bitcoin mining with renewable energy production, funding the latter while cleaning up the former. Even more interestingly, bitcoin has potential as a "money battery," soaking up excess renewable power where it can't be consumed and transferring it to where it can be used effectively. (Nick Grossman, of Union Square Ventures, posted a nice write-up of the concept over the weekend.)
The takeaway? This debate needs to move on. We need to stop arguing about the exact size of the bitcoin energy issue or about whether it's really a problem and start talking about what we're going to do about it.
The best place to start is the grid itself and incentives to lower the cost of electricity. If renewables are cheaper and more plentiful, everyone, including and especially miners, will use them.
So here's a proposal. As the Biden Administration considers a massive bill to integrate and upgrade the U.S. grid, what about incentives for miners and renewable power companies to work together?
Together, they could really fund a new generation of cleaner energy while also bringing a new form of money with myriad benefits for the world. The problem isn't a lack of power to run everything, it's a lack of coordination in using that power efficiently and where it's needed. Bitcoin is a burden but it's also a possible helpful fix. Let's embrace the challenge rather than run away from it.
– Ben Schiller
A message from CoinDesk  What are bitcoin and ether's value propositions for investors? A new report by CoinDesk Research explains how the two most popular cryptocurrencies by market capitalization behave in the market, how their infrastructure differs, and what on-chain metrics say about them.
Download "Bitcoin + Ether: An Investor's Perspective" from the CoinDesk Research Hub.
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Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Buried Treasure
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