Current Bitcoin Price: $8749 (as of 8:15 AM PST)

We started the weekend off with a lot of red, and prices have been up and down since then. However, in the last few hours we’ve seen the market pick up again, and as a result, most major cryptocurrencies have recovered in the last 24 hours.

Moving on from the numbers, we’ve selected not 3, but 5 big news stories from this weekend — because the crypto world never sleeps! Among the stories are banks and investors getting increasingly involved in the space, along with a fantastic thought piece on why security tokens will make 2018 a great year for cryptocurrency adoption.

Top Bitcoin & Crypto News Stories for 14th May 2018

Security tokens are the crypto mega trend of 2018

Broadly speaking, there are three kinds of token or coin that we come across in cryptocurrencies: currency coins, which can be used to store or transfer wealth (like Bitcoin); utility tokens, which are used to interact with blockchain technologies (like using Ether for smart-contracts on the Ethereum network); and the massively under-appreciated security tokens, which tokenize any kind of income-producing investments.

In this article, the author points to security tokens as the next big step for crypto, which he predicts will make huge progress in 2018. He writes:

“Institutional investors & hedge funds have been slow to enter the speculative cryptocurrency space. With the tokenization and optimization of the investments they are already familiar and comfortable with, that will rapidly change. Security tokens are the catalyst to the influx of big money.”

Morgan Stanley says cryptocurrency could save banks from financial crisis

Morgan Stanley has been crunching the numbers on blockchain recently, even conducting their own research with strategist Sheena Shah at the head of the project.

A recent report of their findings shows that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies could help banks cut interest rates, reducing the impact of any future financial crises.

The research also suggested that the use of cryptocurrency could help banks reduce fees — then again, most cryptocurrency proponents already knew that!

Chief Financial Officer of CBA quits for crypto role

Rob Jesudason, former Chief Financial Officer of Australia’s Commonwealth Bank, has resigned from his post to become Chief Operating Office of Block.one — the developers of the popular EOS token.

The move comes as a surprise after spending less than a year in his previous role.

Chief Executive of Block.one, Brendan Blumer, says that “His alignment with our organisational priorities of creating compliant, high performance blockchain solutions, is an ideal fit for Block.one, and is an exciting conclusion to our thorough search for the right individual.”

UK banking giant HSBC completes first blockchain deal

HSBC is a huge, UK-based banking organization serving over 80 countries — and they’ve also been dipping their toes in the crypto space.

In fact, they’ve just completed the “world’s first commercially viable trade-finance transaction using blockchain”, which processed a letter of credit for Cargill, the US food and agricultural group.

The trade finance industry is valued at an estimated $9 trillion; this deal supposedly opens the door to the adoption of blockchain technology across the industry.

Billionaire Mike Novogratz says not investing in Bitcoin is “Almost Irresponsible”

Mike Novogratz, former partner at Goldman Sachs and hedge fund manager at Fortress Investment group, is a long-time billionaire proponent of cryptocurrency.

He recently told CNN that every investor should have 1 or 2 percent of their portfolio in Bitcoin — not to do so is “almost irresponsible”.