Cryptocurrency
6-Figure Influential Bitcoin Trader Forecasts a Continued BTC Price Slump
- Zoran Kole, a highly respected crypto trader, states that the bottom of the pit is yet to be seen.
- The effects of Bakkt's launch on the digital assets market are yet to match the hype that was mounting during the project's development.
Stellar Burns $4.7 Billion Worth of XLM
- Out of the 105 billion XLM tokens that were in existence, the Stellar Development Foundation decided to destroy 55 billion of its own tokens.
- The tokens came mainly from the organization's giveaway and partnership programs, which have now been ended.
Paxos Expands its Gold-Backed Token’s Ecosystem
- The new partnership with Alpha Bullion allows PAXG token holders to redeem in small sizes of gold.
- The gold-backed token is now available for trade against the USD, EUR, BTC and ETH on the Kraken exchange.
Researchers Describe Bitcoin Attack That Could Halt Lightning Payments
- According to the paper by Schmid, Tochner and Zohar, a DoS attack might be carried out easily once the network is used heavily.
- Of course, this attack is still conceptual and by the time it is achievable there should be a way to stop it.
Draft Bill Claims Stablecoins Are Securities
- The "Stablecoins are Securities Act of 2019" aims to put all stablecoins under the regulatory supervision of the SEC.
- Facebook's Libra seems to be at the core of this new bill as fears of its imminent launch in 2020 grip policymakers.
Fractional-Reserve Stablecoin to be Released by Former Fed Nominee
- Stephen Moore plans to release a stablecoin, Frax (FRX), with its value fixed to the dollar, but not backed 1:1 by it.
- The "algorithmic, fractional-reserve stablecoin" will use on-chain lending to create interest cash flow, which will maintain the price of FRX.
Facebook Could Issue Several Stablecoins Instead of Just One
- David Marcus reportedly said that Facebook is considering dropping its plan of a single stablecoin, for a number of fiat-pegged stablecoins.
- This move could be the result of a recent report from the Financial Stability Board, which said that "global stablecoins" as a threat to financial stability.
Bank of America Discretely Pilots Ripple Service
- A presentation that was led by Ripple upper management clearly shows Bank of America’s involvement.
- While Bank of America’s management were skeptical back in the day, it now seems that they are preparing to enter the DLT industry.
Can the Next Bitcoin Halving Push Small-Scale Miners Out of Business?
- The uptrends during the previous two halvings do not guarantee that the same thing will happen again.
- After rewards get reduced, the popular mining machines of today would not be able to turn a profit for their operators.
G7: Financial Stability at Risk from Global Stablecoins
- Even though G20 leaders previously admitted that crypto assets are not a risk to global financial stability, the new report says stablecoins come with their own challenges and risks.
- The report also says that even if stablecoin projects can address all the legal, regulatory and oversight challenges and risks, they might still not get approved.
OpenLibra – a Permissionless Fork of Facebook’s Libra
- The project plans to become "an alternative to Facebook's Libra", focusing on open governance and economic decentralization.
- Reportedly, anything that can run on Facebook's Libra can be dragged and dropped into the new permissionless fork.
Traders Can Now Bet on Whether Libra Will Launch in 2020
- Crypto exchange CoinFlex will soon launch its Libra initial futures opening (IFO), which will let traders bet on whether the project will launch before December 30, 2020.
- The initial price of the contract will be set at $0.30, which represents a 30% chance for the project to launch before its settlement date.
Apple Has No Plans of Launching its Own Cryptocurrency
- Tim Cook said that "money must remain in the hands of states", and that private companies should not create competing currencies.
- The reason for Apple to stay away from crypto could be Facebook, which has been under heavy fire from regulators for its Libra stablecoin initiative.
Coinbase Users Can Now Earn Interest on Their USDC Holdings
- The exchange's new rewards program allows its users to earn a 1.25% annual percentage yield (APY) for every USDC in their accounts.
- The rewards will be distributed on a monthly basis, and can be used to buy other cryptocurrencies listed on the exchange.