PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD

- BTC ($8,619): -5% / +130%
- ETH ($186): -2% / +40%
- LTC ($60): -6% / +98%
- XRP ($0.27): -5% / -24%
- Crypto Market Cap ($236B): -4% / +88%
- BTC Dominance: 66%

THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO

- Financial regulators in China appear to be cracking down on crypto trading again, just weeks after President Xi Jinping publicly announced China's interest in blockchain technology. Regulators are targeting businesses that conduct crypto trading, token sales, or facilitate token distributions from overseas ICOs. These businesses will likely be required to shut down. China's social media platform Weibo also banned users from publishing any posts that contain "blockchain" and "crypto trading". China banned all crypto exchanges and ICOs in 2017. Link. 

- Crypto exchanges around the world have been experiencing a steady decline in traffic since June, suggesting declining interest from retail investors. The Block analyzed 37 crypto exchanges and found that monthly traffic declined by 37 percent from June to September. The decline in traffic also coincided with lower traded volumes on those exchanges. Link. 

- Arweave, a blockchain protocol focused on storing internet information permanently, secured $5 million in seed funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, and Multicoin Capital. Arweave's platform allows internet users to permanently record digital files such as webpages, emails, and social media posts on its blockchain through its browser extension. Over 40,000 objects were stored and over 100 apps have been built on the Arweave mainnet since the platform launched last June. Link. 

- Coinbase Custody announced staking services for all US customers, starting with Tezos. Customers holding any Tezos on the exchange are eligible to receive staking rewards of approximately 5 percent. Previously the staking service was available only to institutional clients. Coinbase reportedly has plans to expand its staking rewards beyond Tezos to other proof-of-stake systems. Link. 

- A new report from Chainalysis shows that BitForex exchange could be faking its bitcoin trading volume. For every one bitcoin recorded entering the exchange between January and November, BitForex claimed 40,000 bitcoins traded. By comparison, other exchanges typically see 6 bitcoins traded for every 1 bitcoin that enters their platform. Exchanges have been accused of overinflating volume and popularity in order to attract new traders; typically the higher an exchange is ranked the more visible they are to customers, similar to SEO rankings. Link. Link. 

- The Libra testnet has registered more than 51,000 transactions since it launched in September. Developers have built 34 projects on the testnet, including 10 wallets and 11 blockchain explorers. Link. 

- Crypto mining manufacturer Canaan, the largest competitor to Bitmain, is going public on Nasdaq next week under the symbol "CAN". The company is raising $100M at between $9 and $11 price per share, giving it a market cap of around $1.6 billion. In its IPO filing the firm said it controlled 23 percent of the global bitcoin mining machine market in 2019 and generated $394 million revenue in 2018. Bitmain owns 65 percent of the market. Link. Link. 

- Coinmine, which sells a plug-and-play hardware for crypto mining at home, is now offering 6.5 percent APR on earnings held in Coinmine wallets. It also announced a $100 price drop, bringing the cost of the machine to $799. Link. 

- The US Federal Reserve is apparently researching how to integrate digital currencies to its retail payments section. According to a job posting the central bank is hiring a manger to oversee its traditional payments division, as well as research digital currencies, stablecoins, distributed ledger technology, and digital innovation in retail payments. The posting comes after a Fed official recently said that the central bank was "actively" debating developing a digital dollar. Link. 

- Square posted $148 million in quarterly bitcoin sales for Q3 2019, up 20% on volumes from last quarter and up more than 245% year over year. The firm credits Cash App's redesigned customer interface for the increased adoption of Bitcoin, noting that the number of first-time bitcoin buyer has doubled since the redesign. Link. 

- Micree Zhan, co-founder of crypto mining giant Bitmain, plans to take legal action against the company after he was abruptly ousted as CEO earlier this month. In an open letter posted on his WeChat account, Zhan said that he was removed without his consent while he was on a business trip. Jihan Wu, co-founder of Bitmain who was CEO until he was forced out earlier this year, has taken over as CEO again. Bitmain has struggled over the last year and was forced to postpone its IPO. Link. 

- Walmart Canada has developed a blockchain solution to track deliveries, verify transactions and automate payments of its carriers, which deliver inventory to over 400 retail stores across Canada annually. The solution, dubbed blockchain-based freight and payment network, was built in an association with blockchain startup DLT Labs and will improve operations and reduce costs. The solution is scheduled to go live by Feb 1, 2020 for Walmart Canada's third-party carriers. It synchronizes all the supply chain and logistics data in “real time” and aggregates it on a shared ledger between Walmart Canada and its carriers. Link. 

- The Unknown Fund, organized by a group of anonymous people, plans to invest and donate $75 million in bitcoin to startups working directly or indirectly on enhancing privacy. The fund will focus on four niches: personal data protection, tools for online anonymity, cryptocurrencies and blockchain. Organizers of the fund are from different countries and met on 4chan. Link. 

- The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded $200,000 to blockchain startup Digital Bazaar for building a credential management solution. Digital Bazaar blockchain-based technology solution digitizes the process of issuing, validating and verifying licenses, combats forgery and counterfeiting, and allows data validation between groups. Link.