Gold
Bitcoin continues its upward climb, enjoying several days of all-time high prices during the week. Yesterday, bitcoin reach price parity with gold for the first time. The highs are attributed, in part, to the pending decision from the SEC about a mainstream bitcoin ETF. Via Bloomberg
Enterprise ethereum
In another nod of mainstream acceptance, a consortium of major financial institutions has formed to investigate using ethereum’s blockchain in large-scale commercial financial transaction situations. The news caused a significant surge in ethereum’s price during the week and broke $20 yesterday. Via CryptoLab
ICO speculation
CoinDesk has a report out this week about the continued growth in initial coin offerings, or the birth of new cryptocurrencies. One takeaway is that the creation of new cryptocurrencies is still a huge portion of the overall blockchain industry. This from the report: “Most notably, perhaps, the popularity of ICOs continued to gain traction in 2016 as total funds diverted to such projects approached half (48%) of the industry’s total venture capital funding.” Via CoinDesk
Dash
While bitcoin and ethereum enjoyed a big week, the lesser-known cryptocurrency, Dash, also went on a tear, hitting $60 yesterday. The high mark was followed by a quick drop, and a lot of conversation about Dash and its relative value. Via CoinDesk