BitDigest March 27 · Issue #624

• Digital currencies end week in the green with the total market cap back above $185 billion
• US Government indicts Venezuelan Preisdent for drug trafficking and conspiracy to fraud US treasury through use of petro
• Major investors are looking for refund from Telegram ICO

If you know me, you probably know that I have developed a passion for video gaming and esports that matches my interest for digital currencies and blockchain (it’s a passion but don’t ask me for my online name, I am not a very skilled player).  While I started playing video games in the early 70’s with a Pong console and black and white television, it was not until last year that I really recognized the magnitude of the gaming sector.

2.6 billion people spend an average of 25 minutes a day playing video games. Before you discount this fact, I ask you to consider how much time do you spend on your mobile phone. Gaming is not just about playing Overwatch and League of Legions on a PC, or Madden and NBA2K on your Xbox or PlayStation console, looking at my iPhone (mobile games account for over 60% of all gaming activity), the top games include Pizzalolo (where you run your own pizza shop), Call of Duty (the legendary first person shoot and my current go-to game), and Monopoly (do I really need to explain it). I recently spoke with two different friends who initially had no interest in discussing video games and when I asked them where they were spending their time on their phones they admitted it was playing DOTS and Toon Blast (I promised not to reveal who they are but they are daily readers of BitDigest). Gaming is an obvious fit for digital assets. Video games have their own native tokens, the development of blockchain technology allows for in-game assets to become scarce and tradable, and most importantly you have the players already digitally native (USERS). In fact, I would guess that my 8-year-old knew the value of vbucks (Fortnite) and minecoins (Minecraft) before he understood the value of the US dollar.So why am I writing about gaming this week? Because as most of us undergo stay-at-home orders, one activity that has increased considerably is the time people are playing video games. It is still too early to find reliable numbers but on March 15th, the Steam online gaming platform recorded a record 20 million users playing simultaneously, and last weekend, March 21st and 22nd were record breakers for live streaming platform Twitch with 47 million and 47.7 million hours watched respectively over the 48 hour period. In Italy, so many people are playing Fortnite that it has begun slowing the nation’s internet network.

Gaming is not just about playing on your computer, it’s the future of entertainment, media, social communication, leisure, culture and education. If you don’t know about gaming or haven’t played since college, I’d be happy to talk about it (I may actually be able to beat you).

BitDigest Moving to FS Insights

When I started writing BitDigest in early 2017, my intention was to share the key government and corporate stories occurring in the digital asset and blockchain ecosystem. I wanted to show that this relatively new development was much more than an anonymous digital currency used on the dark web. Since then I have woken early every weekday morning and written this update. Throughout this process I have always wanted to add more information and analysis, but my sleep schedule and being a one-man, pre-office hours operation did not allow this. I am therefore pleased to announce that BitDigest has been welcomed as the latest addition to FS Insight Digital Assets, an institutional-grade research portal by Tom Lee and the team at Fundstrat Global Advisors.

FS Insight bridges the gap between the digital asset and investment worlds, providing investors with a framework for understanding fundamental valuations and market risks. Beside BitDigest, FS Insight Digital Assets contains numerous other letters and presentations including reports with in-depth market analysis and portfolio strategy recommendations, technical updates, valuation and benchmark indices, and of course Tom’s insights on the digital currency market. In addition, the FS Insights team will be holding conference calls / webinars.

I am proud of the work I have achieved with my daily letter and appreciate all the feedback I have received over the past few years. Over the next couple of week, I will working with the FS Insight team to integrate my letter into their site. In the meantime, I would ask you to take a look and see what they have to offer: FS Insight Digital Assets

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