PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- BTC ($8,000): -21% / +114%
- ETH ($170): -19% / +27%
- LTC ($54): -26% / +77%
- XRP ($0.24): -14% / -32%
- Crypto Market Cap ($213B): -20% / +70%
- BTC Dominance: 68%
THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- The price of bitcoin slipped below $8,000 this week for the first time in three months, though the cryptocurrency is still more than double its level at the start of 2019. Link.
- The US dollar will make up the majority of the "basket" of currencies underpinning the value of Facebook's proposed Libra cryptocurrency. The dollar will represent 50% of the stablecoin, with the Euro representing 18%, the Yen 14%, the British Pound 11%, and the Singapore dollar 7%. Notably the Chinese yuan will be excluded from the basket despite being the legal tender of the world's second-largest economy. Link.
- According to a recent survey from Deloitte, 53% of senior executives around the globe identified blockchain technology as a critical priority for their organization this year. Despite this, adoption is still in its infancy with 23% of respondents saying they had initiated some type of blockchain deployment. 86% of those surveyed believe blockchain will achieve mainstream adoption. Link. Direct DL of report.
- Kik announced it was shutting down its popular messaging app and focusing the company on its native cryptocurrency, Kin. At the center of the dispute is Kik's $100 million ICO in 2017 for its kin tokens. The SEC believes that the company issued unregistered securities while the company argues the tokens are 'utility' tokens. Link.
- The NBA told Brooklyn Nets player Spencer Dinwiddie that he would not be permitted to tokenize his contract. Dinwiddie had wanted to create a $D8 token that would allow him to sell a portion of his contract to accredited investors in $150k or larger allocations. The security would be backed by Dinwiddie's contract and pay back the principal amount plus a few percentage points of interest. Link.
- Binance announced its new cryptocurrency staking platform, with support for eight assets: NEO, ONT, VET, XLM, KMD, ALGO, QTUM, and STRAT. The new platform will enable Binance users to receive monthly rewards and distributions simply by depositing and holding funds on Binance. Coinbase Custody launched a similar program back in March, with support for staking Tezos. Link.
- Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg is expected to testify before US Congress next month to discuss Libra. Link.
- Unilever and IBM have been working on a blockchain solution centered around increased transparency and ad reconciliation, the process by which advertisers ensure contracted agreements are actually delivered. Unilever has saved two to three percentage points using the blockchain solution. Savings come from eliminating middlemen and also more accurate performance tracking. Link.
- Investment app SoFi has opened up its crypto trading service for its over 800,000 users. SoFi users can buy and sell three cryptocurrencies: bitcoin, ether, and litecoin. The minimum order size is $10 and maximum is $50k. Link.
- Filecoin, a blockchain datas torage network that will allow users to buy and sell unused storage on an open market, announced it would launch its testnet on December 11 with a mainnet launch planned for March 2020. The project, run by Protocol Labs, has been delayed at least twice. Filecoin held one of hte largest token sales in 2017, where it raised over $205 million in a SAFT sale. Link.
- Harbor Square Investments, a subsidiary of tokenized securities platform Harbor, has received a broker-dealer license from FINRA. With the broker-dealer license Harbor will be able to buy and sell securities on their own and on behalf of their clients, making them a one-stop shop for for digital asset issuers. Link.
- Tencent has led a $20 million Series A for blockchain supply chain startup Everledger. Evelerdger uses blockchain and other emerging tech to help businesses track the supply chain of products such as diamonds and wine. Link.
- A new Canada-based crypto custody provider called Knox has come into market providing 100% insurance coverage for clients' assets via a partnership with insurance giant Marsh. The startup recently raised $6.2 million in funding led by Initialized Capital and iNovia, with participation rom Fidelity Investments Canada. Link.
- Elementus, a startup focused on spotting illicit transactions made with cryptocurrencies, raised $3.5 million in seed funding from Morgan Creek Digital and Fidelity Investments. Elementus will provide crypto exchanges and law enforcement agencies with blockchain analytics, allowing them to identify suspicious transaction patterns and ensure compliance with banking regulations. Blockchain analytics is a growing sector: Elliptic closed a $23 million Series B round earlier this month; CipherTrace closed $14 million in February; and Chainalysis closed a $36 million Series B round earlier this year. Link.
- Bittrex, a US crypto exchange, is using Chainalysis' real-time monitoring software for transactions to flag suspicious activity across many of its leading coins including bitcoin, dai, gemini, among others. Link.