 MoneyGram gets into crypto. After news broke, MoneyGram shares climbed the most they have in 10 months. XRP went up by 15%. With blockchain, fees are lower, transactional times shorter. Ripple's transaction time, about 2 to 3 seconds, Bitcoin can take up to 51 minutes. MoneyGram has to get ahead of the train or go under it. This gives them the edge on their main competitor, Western Union. This is good news for both parties. But does working with a big bank go against the main ideas behind decentralization? Crypto enthusiasts believe so, voicing their disappointment all over the internet. Warren Buffett, cryptocurrencies are coming to a bad end. I can say with almost certainty that cryptocurrencies will come to a bad ending. No timeframe in mind, but it is a case of when, not if. Buffett admits to not knowing anything about cryptocurrencies. Eleven schools will visit Buffett's firm on Friday. Bitcoin will be the subject of a lot of students' questions. I won't know the answer to any of them, Buffett said. If he is sure about one thing, it is that investing in crypto is a bad idea. If I could buy a five-year put on every one of the currencies, I'd be glad to do it, but I would never short a dime's worth. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, has changed his mind about Bitcoin, taking back previous comments that they are a fraud. If Dimon can rethink his position, in time Buffett might do the same. The Goldman Sachs of crypto. Novogratz is back. Goodbye crypto hedge fund, hello crypto merchant bank, in four easy steps. One, Novogratz Galaxy Digital LP buys Canadian startup First Coin Capital. Two, reverse takeover of a Canadian shell company, Radmer Pharmaceuticals. Use that entity to raise a modest 200 million in a private placement. Finally, it is a listed shell, so it's going to start trading in Toronto on the TSX Venture Exchange. It will be the first publicly traded crypto merchant bank, specializing in cryptocurrencies and blockchain ventures. It will focus on trading, principal investing, assets management, and advisory work, best in class, full service, institutional quality, merchant banking business, in cryptocurrency and the blockchain space, Novogratz said. Facebook decentralized. In a personal challenge post on Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg wrote, that he will dedicate 2018 to understanding decentralization, and study encryption and cryptocurrencies. According to Zuckerberg, many tech companies first wanted to use technologies to give people more power. But they failed and let governments watch and control people's lives, eventually leading to more centralization. In previous years, Zuckerberg has visited all U.S. states, built AI for his home, learned Mandarin, read 25 books, and ran 365 miles. Crypto Kodak. Kodak Company announced the launch of Kodak Chain, as part of Global Blockchain Platform for Photographers, Kodakome. It will allow photographers to register, manage the rights, and search for unauthorized use of their work. Kodakoin will be launched by ICO in January 31st. Kodak has always sought to democratize photography and make licensing fair to artists. These technologies give the photography community an innovative and easy way to do just that, Kodak CEO Jeff Clark said. Kodak stock price doubled in value after the announcement. Jamie Dimon, I regret. In September 2017, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, called Bitcoin a fraud. This immediately made him an anti-hero of Bitcoin. And made Jamie a meme within the crypto community. Today, in an interview with Fox News Network, he said he regretted his criticism. But added that, personally, I am not interested in the subject at all. Dimon believes that the only cryptocurrencies that will see mainstream adoption will be government-backed fiat, like a digital dollar.