The cryptocurrency market never closes, and the industry itself is growing faster than ever. This means there’s more breaking news, and more vital information emerging than ever before. This Week in Crypto is Covesting’s weekly news recap aimed at providing the most complete coverage across the cryptosphere.

Bitcoin’s Whitepaper Turns Ten: Happy Birthday Bitcoin!

Ten years ago, on October 31, 2008, during the aftermath of the global economic crisis, the mysterious and unknown creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, first published the Bitcoin whitepaper to a Cypherpunk newsletter.

A decade later, what started as an experiment has created an entire new asset class, and has turned the financial technology sector upside down due to the promise of blockchain – the technology Bitcoin is built on.

The young cryptocurrency still has a long way to go before it can achieve what many believe it eventually will become: the world’s global currency.

Ledger Wallet Celebrates With Whitepaper Edition Nano S, Adds Support for Stablecoins

Cryptocurrency hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger, has released a limited edition Bitcoin Whitepaper version of its popular Nano S cold storage wallet. The special edition wallet retails for $99 and includes special commemorative packaging and a white finish on the hardware wallet.

The firm also announced that it will be expanding its support for stablecoins, including the controversial Tether that has become a dark cloud hanging over the cryptocurrency market.

Listen to the Sound of the Crypto Total Market Cap Price Chart

Reddit user u/synthsucht had an interesting idea: Take the total cryptocurrency aggregate market cap price chart, and run it through a sound generator to not only see the movements in price over the last couple years, but to be able to hear them too.

Who knew that the sound of gaining and losing billions of dollars in value could sound so soothing?

Morgan Stanley Says Crypto Has Become an Institutional Asset Class

Move over retail investors, institutions are taking over the cryptocurrency market. In a new report from finance firm Morgan Stanley, cryptocurrency is “rapidly morphing” into an institutional investment class, from its early days being billed as digital cash, and more recently, the store of value narrative.

The report points out that the number of crypto assets managed by hedge funds, venture capital firms, and private equity firms have steadily grown to $7.11 billion since January 2016.

Previously, the growth in cryptocurrency prices were largely attributed to retail investor FOMO – the fear of missing out – which creates a bubble effect that soon after pops. The most recent bubble popped on December 17, 2017, and crypto has been stuck in a bear market ever since.

BitMex CEO Warns Bear Market Could Last Another 18 Months

Outspoken CEO of margin-trading platform BitMex, Arthur Hayes, believes that the bear market crypto is currently experiencing could last another year and a half. Hayes clarifies that he doesn’t necessarily expect to see further price declines, but thinks that due to the lack of volatility in the market, and low trading volume, it could point to “the flatness” currently seen continuing for an extended period.

BitMex, which generates revenue from trading fees, says that they are “well positioned to weather the low volatility,” and sustain operations despite a lack of overall movement in the market. Due to the lack of price movement, even traders have begun exiting the market, or are at least sitting on the sidelines waiting for a breakout to occur.

Coincheck May Not Reopen After Historic Hack

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck, which earlier this year suffered a hack that resulted in over $500 million in crypto being stolen from its customers, may not be reopening, according to some local sources close to the matter.

MineCC, a Japanese cryptocurrency analyst and miner tweeted that Coincheck President Oki Matsumoto revealed: “I do not know the prospectus of reopening.”

Ron Paul Says Crypto Could Prevent Recession, Calls for Tax Exemption

Former Presidential candidate and US Congressman Ron Paul fears that a Federal Reserve-created recession is coming “sooner or later,” and believes that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum may be the answer.

Paul believes the economic crash “could be the major catastrophe that leads to the end of fiat currency,” and points to crypto as a possible solution. He further suggests that “all transactions in precious metals and cryptocurrencies” shoud be exempt from all taxes, including capital gains tax.

Goldman Sachs Has Begun Signing Up Customers for Bitcoin Product

Investment firm Goldman Sachs has silently begun onboarding customers to begin using a new Bitcoin trading product, according to a new report.

Sources say that Goldman Sachs has offered the product to a “small number of clients” to trade a cash-settled Bitcoin product that is similar to a futures contract.

Goldman Sachs has reportedly been working on a crypto trading desk over the past year. Rumors circulated last month that the firm had ditched the plan, but the company later said the rumors were “fake news.”