Today in crypto, musical artist Drake mentions BTC in new song, Robinhood’s plan to tokenize stocks on its new chain could divert liquidity from NYSE and other major exchanges, and a Coinbase executive speculates over the slight possibility that the recent movement of $8.6 billion worth of Bitcoin was the result of a hack.
Drake drops Bitcoin reference in new song
Musical artist Drake mentioned Bitcoin (BTC) in his latest song “What Did I Miss?” The song was released on Saturday and is already drawing attention from Bitcoiners on social media.
Drake previously bet $1 million in BTC on the outcome of the 2022 Super Bowl; the championship game of the American contact sport. The specific verse from the song goes:
“I look at this shit like a BTC, could be down this week, then I’m up next week. I don’t give a fuck if you love me. I don’t give a fuck if you like me. Askin’ me ‘How did it feel?’ Can’t say it didn’t surprise me.”
Pop culture references to Bitcoin indicate that the digital asset is gradually shifting from a niche phenomenon into the mainstream.
Robinhood’s 24/7 tokenization push threatens NYSE revenues: Galaxy Digital
Robinhood’s plan to tokenize stocks on its new Ethereum-compatible blockchain could shift trading volume away from traditional exchanges like the NYSE, undermining their core revenues from trading fees and market data, according to Galaxy Digital.
At the EthCC conference this week, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev detailed plans for “Robinhood Chain,” an Ethereum-compatible layer-2 on Arbitrum Orbit. The blockchain will let users trade tokenized derivatives of stocks directly onchain, moving asset trading outside traditional exchange hours.
In a Friday report, Galaxy Digital said that Robinhood’s tokenization move removes assets from traditional market channels and brings them onchain, directly challenging the concentrated liquidity and activity that give major TradFi exchanges like the NYSE their edge.
“This directly challenges the deep concentration of liquidity and activity that gives major TradFi exchanges (e.g., NYSE) their competitive advantage,” Galaxy Digital wrote.
‘Small possibility’ $8.6B Bitcoin transfer was a hack: Coinbase exec
Conor Grogan, Coinbase’s head of product, says there’s a slight chance the $8.6 billion worth of Bitcoin moved on Thursday — from eight wallets that had held the Bitcoin for over 14 years — was caused by a hack, and if so, it could be the largest robbery ever.
“If true (again, I’m speculating on straws here), this would be by far the largest heist in human history,” Grogan said in an X post on Friday, after raising the slim chance that the $8.6 billion worth of Bitcoin moved from eight separate wallets was the work of bad actors.
“There is a small possibility that the $8B in BTC that recently woke up were hacked or compromised private keys,” Grogan said, pointing out a suspicious Bitcoin Cash transaction made before the significant transfers on Thursday involving 10,000 Bitcoin at a time.
