USDC Crosses $600 Million In Market Capitalization; Work as Collateral For MakerDAO
Working as a globally acclaimed fully collateralized US dollar stablecoin, USDC has achieved two celebratory milestones for its global customer base. Firstly, the renowned stablecoin project has crossed the whopping mark of $600 million in market capitalization. Secondly, USDC has been adopted by MakerDAO to work as an alternative form of collateral, which implies that the investors will now be allowed to use the stablecoin for opening Vaults to generate DAI.
According to the reports, on March 16, 2020, the MKR governance token holders indulged in voting to pass the proposal concerning the addition of USDC as collateral in the network. The positive results shown in the voting procedure were directly linked to the recent events related to the DeFi application MakerDAO. The sharp fall of ETH from $194 to $124 in a short span of hours created a surprising situation leading to the liquidation of over $4MM CDP positions. The move is likely to trigger a surge in DAI liquidity and stability.
Launched in 2018, USDC is a brainchild of CENTRE Consortium, which serves as an open-source technology project co-founded by Coinbase and Circle. Owing to its stability, security, and transparency, the stablecoin evolved as the second-largest stablecoin in the world in terms of market capitalization. USDC can be effectively used for safe cross-border transactions and remittances, for buying, selling, lending, investing, and trading in Dapps and crypto exchanges, as well as a programmable dollar for developers and fintech entities.
USDC is backed by the US dollar that is held in a reputed US bank. Also, its reserve balances are attested to by top-five accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP. Coinbase allows its customers to convert their USDC funds into any cryptocurrency listed on the exchange platform or convert and withdraw in US dollars.
Working as a globally acclaimed fully collateralized US dollar stablecoin, USDC has achieved two celebratory milestones for its global customer base. Firstly, the renowned stablecoin project has crossed the whopping mark of $600 million in market capitalization. Secondly, USDC has been adopted by MakerDAO to work as an alternative form of collateral, which implies that the investors will now be allowed to use the stablecoin for opening Vaults to generate DAI.
According to the reports, on March 16, 2020, the MKR governance token holders indulged in voting to pass the proposal concerning the addition of USDC as collateral in the network. The positive results shown in the voting procedure were directly linked to the recent events related to the DeFi application MakerDAO. The sharp fall of ETH from $194 to $124 in a short span of hours created a surprising situation leading to the liquidation of over $4MM CDP positions. The move is likely to trigger a surge in DAI liquidity and stability.
Launched in 2018, USDC is a brainchild of CENTRE Consortium, which serves as an open-source technology project co-founded by Coinbase and Circle. Owing to its stability, security, and transparency, the stablecoin evolved as the second-largest stablecoin in the world in terms of market capitalization. USDC can be effectively used for safe cross-border transactions and remittances, for buying, selling, lending, investing, and trading in Dapps and crypto exchanges, as well as a programmable dollar for developers and fintech entities.
USDC is backed by the US dollar that is held in a reputed US bank. Also, its reserve balances are attested to by top-five accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP. Coinbase allows its customers to convert their USDC funds into any cryptocurrency listed on the exchange platform or convert and withdraw in US dollars.
Oil Price Down After OPEC Deal Failure, Crypto Markets Severely Hit
Global oil prices plunged more than 26% on Sunday after the OPEC failed to strike a price deal with its allies. Saudi Arabia, the largest producer of crude oil in the world, slashed the oil prices along with planning to increase oil production further to be ready for a possible price war. Consequently, the crypto market felt several shocks as Bitcoin was down by 10% within 24 hours.
As per a report published by CNBC, the price of the US West Texas Intermediate Crude dropped by 27.62% to $29.88 per barrel, while the Brent crude futures fell by 24.4% to $33.32 per barrel on Monday. On the other hand, Bitcoin, which was around $9,130+ on Saturday, is bleeding at less than $7,960 at the moment.
Likewise, other major cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, etc. also witnessed more severe double-digit percentage losses. While such volatility is common in the industry, this is easily the worst downward movement in several weeks. However, the downward trend could also lure new investors in the crypto industry. While speaking to the news agency, co-founder of Kenetic Capital, Jehan Chu said,
“For those who have long term investment horizons, bitcoin is absolutely a buy during these dips. We can expect more of this volatility sparked by macro health and financial shocks, but ultimately long-term investments in the digital future and it’s key asset Bitcoin will be a winning strategy.”
On the flip side, the mass-selling spree of Bitcoin investors could have also been because the investors want to park their investments in oil commodities, as the low prices might also prove to be a tempting opportunity for investors.
Financial markets across the globe are facing a downward trend. The NYSE was trading below 241 points, while the BSE was down by a heart-wrenching 1941 points. This indicates the Bitcoin and other cryptos are running in parallel with other markets, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Global oil prices plunged more than 26% on Sunday after the OPEC failed to strike a price deal with its allies. Saudi Arabia, the largest producer of crude oil in the world, slashed the oil prices along with planning to increase oil production further to be ready for a possible price war. Consequently, the crypto market felt several shocks as Bitcoin was down by 10% within 24 hours.
As per a report published by CNBC, the price of the US West Texas Intermediate Crude dropped by 27.62% to $29.88 per barrel, while the Brent crude futures fell by 24.4% to $33.32 per barrel on Monday. On the other hand, Bitcoin, which was around $9,130+ on Saturday, is bleeding at less than $7,960 at the moment.
Likewise, other major cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, etc. also witnessed more severe double-digit percentage losses. While such volatility is common in the industry, this is easily the worst downward movement in several weeks. However, the downward trend could also lure new investors in the crypto industry. While speaking to the news agency, co-founder of Kenetic Capital, Jehan Chu said,
“For those who have long term investment horizons, bitcoin is absolutely a buy during these dips. We can expect more of this volatility sparked by macro health and financial shocks, but ultimately long-term investments in the digital future and it’s key asset Bitcoin will be a winning strategy.”
On the flip side, the mass-selling spree of Bitcoin investors could have also been because the investors want to park their investments in oil commodities, as the low prices might also prove to be a tempting opportunity for investors.
Financial markets across the globe are facing a downward trend. The NYSE was trading below 241 points, while the BSE was down by a heart-wrenching 1941 points. This indicates the Bitcoin and other cryptos are running in parallel with other markets, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
How Blockchain Can Transform Cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is one of the prime concerns of the present world in which businesses are witnessing newer threats with each passing day. Although, the future of cybersecurity will always be unpredictable, yet it is important to prepare the assessment of possible vulnerabilities and potential security innovation to keep the customer consistent. The combination of block-building algorithms and hashing makes blockchain a great solution in the cybersecurity portfolio. It enhances the data security during transactions of any value which are being processed in the distributed network. Blockchain is changing the cybersecurity solution in several ways. As per the new Breach Level Index (BLI) in 2017, more than 2.5 billion data records have been compromised. As a result, it is expected that in the upcoming digital age, comfort and flexibility will be overtaken by privacy and security. Blockchain provides data security and privacy for confidential information and is likely to be a great charmer for many business applications to provide better privacy and security.
Blockchain will impact cybersecurity by providing decentralized storage solutions. As data is going to become the most valuable asset in the future, hence there is a need of creating applications and systems which can assure the safety of data. Also, the blockchain experts would be able to combine the data security option along with other trending technologies for storing data. Safe DNS is one of the main concerns currently. As it is centralised hence is easily accessible by the hackers. DNS system can be expected to be more secure with the help of blockchain system. As blockchain system is decentralized, hence it is not vulnerable and ensures complete safety of your information.
Blockchain technology is progressive and forward-looking, and it uses a systematic way that combines a computational algorithm and a data structure to work out the ever-lasting problem of many areas. It can be used in conflict situations as it connects not only trusted parties but also the untrusted parties. Today, there is a need of system transparency. If an organization’s business model demands that it must have transparency to their customers or suppliers throughout the supply chain, distributed-ledger technology can play a significant role to provide end-to-end visibility of the supply chain operation and management system. There is also a need of data immutability. If there is a need of building up a highly secured append-only database by the organization, then it can be done using cryptography hashing and using digital signatures and help build a highly secure ledger.
In this ever-evolving age of technology, blockchain technology is providing boost to cybersecurity. Distributed Denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks where there is an attack on multiple computer systems and cause a denial of service for users of the targeted resource. These attacks have been happening at an increased rate recently and are affecting giants like Sound Cloud, Spotify and more. The implementation of blockchain technology would decentralize Domain Name System (DNS). It can surely distribute the large amount of contents to different nodes and hence making it nearly impossible for hackers to hack the system. It is also useful in identity theft and fraud protection. Criminals generally use the identity of a dead person to get away with a crime but it can be put an end to with the help of blockchain technology. Also, to keep the information secure many messaging systems use either end to end encryption or blockchain technology. The growing secure communication systems like blockchain and others are working towards developing unified communication.
Cybersecurity is one of the prime concerns of the present world in which businesses are witnessing newer threats with each passing day. Although, the future of cybersecurity will always be unpredictable, yet it is important to prepare the assessment of possible vulnerabilities and potential security innovation to keep the customer consistent. The combination of block-building algorithms and hashing makes blockchain a great solution in the cybersecurity portfolio. It enhances the data security during transactions of any value which are being processed in the distributed network. Blockchain is changing the cybersecurity solution in several ways. As per the new Breach Level Index (BLI) in 2017, more than 2.5 billion data records have been compromised. As a result, it is expected that in the upcoming digital age, comfort and flexibility will be overtaken by privacy and security. Blockchain provides data security and privacy for confidential information and is likely to be a great charmer for many business applications to provide better privacy and security.
Blockchain will impact cybersecurity by providing decentralized storage solutions. As data is going to become the most valuable asset in the future, hence there is a need of creating applications and systems which can assure the safety of data. Also, the blockchain experts would be able to combine the data security option along with other trending technologies for storing data. Safe DNS is one of the main concerns currently. As it is centralised hence is easily accessible by the hackers. DNS system can be expected to be more secure with the help of blockchain system. As blockchain system is decentralized, hence it is not vulnerable and ensures complete safety of your information.
Blockchain technology is progressive and forward-looking, and it uses a systematic way that combines a computational algorithm and a data structure to work out the ever-lasting problem of many areas. It can be used in conflict situations as it connects not only trusted parties but also the untrusted parties. Today, there is a need of system transparency. If an organization’s business model demands that it must have transparency to their customers or suppliers throughout the supply chain, distributed-ledger technology can play a significant role to provide end-to-end visibility of the supply chain operation and management system. There is also a need of data immutability. If there is a need of building up a highly secured append-only database by the organization, then it can be done using cryptography hashing and using digital signatures and help build a highly secure ledger.
In this ever-evolving age of technology, blockchain technology is providing boost to cybersecurity. Distributed Denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks where there is an attack on multiple computer systems and cause a denial of service for users of the targeted resource. These attacks have been happening at an increased rate recently and are affecting giants like Sound Cloud, Spotify and more. The implementation of blockchain technology would decentralize Domain Name System (DNS). It can surely distribute the large amount of contents to different nodes and hence making it nearly impossible for hackers to hack the system. It is also useful in identity theft and fraud protection. Criminals generally use the identity of a dead person to get away with a crime but it can be put an end to with the help of blockchain technology. Also, to keep the information secure many messaging systems use either end to end encryption or blockchain technology. The growing secure communication systems like blockchain and others are working towards developing unified communication.
Власти поручили закрыть кинотеатры и ночные клубы по всей России и запретили курить кальяны в кафе и ресторанах
Elon Musk is known around the world for his philanthropic efforts, and in these disastrous times of the global pandemic, the Tesla chief is making a great effort to do his bit. Recently, he met with the Medtronic team to discuss the engineering of state-of-the-art, and was all praise for. He tweeted that Medtronic has an impressive team.
Replying to Musk’s tweet, Medtronic emphasized on the collaborative fight against novel Coronavirus, which has, as of date, killed over 14,000 and infected more than 343,000 in at least 190 countries. It said,
“Addressing #COVID19 is a group effort. We are grateful for the discussion with Elon Musk and Tesla as we work across industries to solve problems and get patients and hospitals the tools, they need to continue saving lives. We’re all in this together.”
Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak and President Geoff thanked Elon Musk, and also emphasized on working together against the deadly virus, while also informing that Medtronic is trying to bring more and more ventilators in the market. As we have come to know, ventilators are among the essential medical machinery required to treat victims of COVID-19, and due to the sudden explosion of the disease, there’s a serious shortage of machines all over the world.
Apart from this, Elon Musk and Tesla also donated 50,000 units of N95 masks to UW Medicine, out of the promised 250,000 units that will be sent in a phased manner.
Elon Musk is known around the world for his philanthropic efforts, and in these disastrous times of the global pandemic, the Tesla chief is making a great effort to do his bit. Recently, he met with the Medtronic team to discuss the engineering of state-of-the-art, and was all praise for. He tweeted that Medtronic has an impressive team.
Replying to Musk’s tweet, Medtronic emphasized on the collaborative fight against novel Coronavirus, which has, as of date, killed over 14,000 and infected more than 343,000 in at least 190 countries. It said,
“Addressing #COVID19 is a group effort. We are grateful for the discussion with Elon Musk and Tesla as we work across industries to solve problems and get patients and hospitals the tools, they need to continue saving lives. We’re all in this together.”
Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak and President Geoff thanked Elon Musk, and also emphasized on working together against the deadly virus, while also informing that Medtronic is trying to bring more and more ventilators in the market. As we have come to know, ventilators are among the essential medical machinery required to treat victims of COVID-19, and due to the sudden explosion of the disease, there’s a serious shortage of machines all over the world.
Apart from this, Elon Musk and Tesla also donated 50,000 units of N95 masks to UW Medicine, out of the promised 250,000 units that will be sent in a phased manner.
Peter Brandt: Precious Metals, Gold and Bitcoin Should Be Viewed as Insurance Policies
Renowned financial analyst Peter Brandt tweeted on Monday that, in his opinion, people should consider gold and Bitcoin as “catastrophic insurance policies.” He further added that these assets must be treated as policies for which premium is paid, but people hope that they are never needed.
In another tweet, he made an argument against precious metals being hedged against inflation. Brandt said,
“Many claim that Gold and Silver are excellent long-term hedges against inflation and are stores-of-value. Definitely NOT true for Silver, and Gold is finally back to inflation-adjusted levels from 40 years ago.”
Days after bleeding below $6,000 apiece, BTC showed some signs of recovery on Tuesday, as it is moving at more than $6,788 at the time of writing this article. However, this is still significantly lower than what it was at the beginning of the Coronavirus outbreak in late February. Since 01st March, Bitcoin lost almost 50% value on a couple of occasions, which is correlated to the crash in global financial markets.
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis president James Bullard predicted that unemployment rate in the US would hit 30% in the coming 90 days, while the GDP could witness a fall by as much as 50%, and that could prove to be devastating, not only of the United States but for the entire planet. If Peter Brandt’s words turn out to be true, the future could be even darker as then there wouldn’t be any possible hedge available against the inflation.
Renowned financial analyst Peter Brandt tweeted on Monday that, in his opinion, people should consider gold and Bitcoin as “catastrophic insurance policies.” He further added that these assets must be treated as policies for which premium is paid, but people hope that they are never needed.
In another tweet, he made an argument against precious metals being hedged against inflation. Brandt said,
“Many claim that Gold and Silver are excellent long-term hedges against inflation and are stores-of-value. Definitely NOT true for Silver, and Gold is finally back to inflation-adjusted levels from 40 years ago.”
Days after bleeding below $6,000 apiece, BTC showed some signs of recovery on Tuesday, as it is moving at more than $6,788 at the time of writing this article. However, this is still significantly lower than what it was at the beginning of the Coronavirus outbreak in late February. Since 01st March, Bitcoin lost almost 50% value on a couple of occasions, which is correlated to the crash in global financial markets.
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis president James Bullard predicted that unemployment rate in the US would hit 30% in the coming 90 days, while the GDP could witness a fall by as much as 50%, and that could prove to be devastating, not only of the United States but for the entire planet. If Peter Brandt’s words turn out to be true, the future could be even darker as then there wouldn’t be any possible hedge available against the inflation.
Amid Reports of Growing Scammers and Imposters, Ripple Shares Tips to Spot XRP Giveaway Scams
Being a relatively young industry, crypto space is more vulnerable to scammers and imposters, with the community losing billions of dollars in crypto frauds over the years. Responding to the growing giveaway scams in their name, Ripple has posted an article explaining to its community members how to spot XRP giveaway scams.
The article posted on the company’s official website is an attempt to create awareness among the vulnerable sections of the community. As per the post, the first warning one can get that a giveaway is a scam is if it asks the users to send some amount of money in order to receive the rewards that are much bigger than the money asked for. Ripple added that any legit giveaway will never ask for money or any other financial information, as winnings are always free. It further added,
“In response to the numerous XRP giveaway scams and impersonations, Ripple has hired an external cybersecurity and digital threat intelligence vendor to help with reporting and takedown efforts. Additionally, we have built our own submission form for the community to report unusual activity. Where there is money, there will always be people looking to steal it. Be mindful of what you see on social media, check for signs of scam posts and protect yourself.”
Ripple co-founder and CEO Brad Garlinghouse seemed to be upset with another of his imposters on YouTube. In a tweet on Wednesday, Brad said that social platforms need to hold scammers, from crypto and other sectors, accountable for stealing money from the vulnerable users through fake giveaways.
Garlinghouse also said,
“My semi-annual PSA: @Ripple and I have not, nor will we ever, conduct a giveaway like the scams that continuously pop up impersonating me on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Action needs to be taken – more to come soon.”
Being a relatively young industry, crypto space is more vulnerable to scammers and imposters, with the community losing billions of dollars in crypto frauds over the years. Responding to the growing giveaway scams in their name, Ripple has posted an article explaining to its community members how to spot XRP giveaway scams.
The article posted on the company’s official website is an attempt to create awareness among the vulnerable sections of the community. As per the post, the first warning one can get that a giveaway is a scam is if it asks the users to send some amount of money in order to receive the rewards that are much bigger than the money asked for. Ripple added that any legit giveaway will never ask for money or any other financial information, as winnings are always free. It further added,
“In response to the numerous XRP giveaway scams and impersonations, Ripple has hired an external cybersecurity and digital threat intelligence vendor to help with reporting and takedown efforts. Additionally, we have built our own submission form for the community to report unusual activity. Where there is money, there will always be people looking to steal it. Be mindful of what you see on social media, check for signs of scam posts and protect yourself.”
Ripple co-founder and CEO Brad Garlinghouse seemed to be upset with another of his imposters on YouTube. In a tweet on Wednesday, Brad said that social platforms need to hold scammers, from crypto and other sectors, accountable for stealing money from the vulnerable users through fake giveaways.
Garlinghouse also said,
“My semi-annual PSA: @Ripple and I have not, nor will we ever, conduct a giveaway like the scams that continuously pop up impersonating me on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Action needs to be taken – more to come soon.”
USD Surpasses the Search Volume of Bitcoin Again: Google Trends
The U.S. Dollar, being the strongest currency has been one of the most used parameters to evaluate other national currencies, assets and even cryptocurrencies. It is very much visible right now that global economies are under great threat owing to the ongoing pandemic Coronavirus.
Amid that, Google Trends has sensed a notable difference regarding the search volume of USD. Up till now, USD has been the one which holds better search volume as compared to Bitcoin. However, a minor fluctuation has been found on March 13, when Bitcoin had breached way below its key support levels.
BTC had traded even below $4000 triggering extreme volatility in the crypto market. This is, perhaps a major factor behind the incredible surge in BTC’s search volume.
By the time when the crypto market started seeing a recovery, USD managed to improve its search volume. While the shoot up in USD’s search volume largely seems to be depending upon its strength, there is one more factor which might have played a vital part.
Coronavirus, the scariest of all disease has somehow taken the world under its vicious control as most of the nations are suffering from its outbreak. While China has slowly started to come out of its dreadful impacts, Italy, a country that is renowned for its efficient medical services is still witnessing an increase in Corona positive cases. Notably, thousands have already died due to this in a country like Italy.
Meanwhile, a piece of news is making rounds these days that the US may become the next epicenter of Coronavirus. Citizens of the USA were already panicked regarding the lethal virus and this prediction has triggered fear amongst people all over again. This situation has caused almost everyone to get locked down in their own houses with required stuff like food and medicines.
This happens to be one of the chief reasons why people have started to sell off their investments including BTC. The need for hard cash and the current economic crash has pushed most of them to hold cash and not the investments. In order to avoid liquidity crunch, masses are opting to encash their investments. Chances are higher that this has caused USD’s search volume to rise significantly on Google Trends.
The U.S. Dollar, being the strongest currency has been one of the most used parameters to evaluate other national currencies, assets and even cryptocurrencies. It is very much visible right now that global economies are under great threat owing to the ongoing pandemic Coronavirus.
Amid that, Google Trends has sensed a notable difference regarding the search volume of USD. Up till now, USD has been the one which holds better search volume as compared to Bitcoin. However, a minor fluctuation has been found on March 13, when Bitcoin had breached way below its key support levels.
BTC had traded even below $4000 triggering extreme volatility in the crypto market. This is, perhaps a major factor behind the incredible surge in BTC’s search volume.
By the time when the crypto market started seeing a recovery, USD managed to improve its search volume. While the shoot up in USD’s search volume largely seems to be depending upon its strength, there is one more factor which might have played a vital part.
Coronavirus, the scariest of all disease has somehow taken the world under its vicious control as most of the nations are suffering from its outbreak. While China has slowly started to come out of its dreadful impacts, Italy, a country that is renowned for its efficient medical services is still witnessing an increase in Corona positive cases. Notably, thousands have already died due to this in a country like Italy.
Meanwhile, a piece of news is making rounds these days that the US may become the next epicenter of Coronavirus. Citizens of the USA were already panicked regarding the lethal virus and this prediction has triggered fear amongst people all over again. This situation has caused almost everyone to get locked down in their own houses with required stuff like food and medicines.
This happens to be one of the chief reasons why people have started to sell off their investments including BTC. The need for hard cash and the current economic crash has pushed most of them to hold cash and not the investments. In order to avoid liquidity crunch, masses are opting to encash their investments. Chances are higher that this has caused USD’s search volume to rise significantly on Google Trends.
Justin Sun Highlights Major Updates for BitTorrent Ecosystem in the Last Month
In these testing times of the Coronavirus pandemic, when the crypto industry is bleeding badly, TRON CEO Justin Sun has come up with some refreshing updates about the BitTorrent ecosystem. In a Twitter thread posted on Friday, Justin shared all the BTT updates for the last 30 days.
As per 29-year-old crypto entrepreneurs, BTT products have increased dramatically, including their Windows, macOS, Android, and Web clients, BitTorrent Speed, BTFS, and DLIive, with windows, have the highest number of users at 21 million. DLive showed a 100% growth, the highest among all platforms, and the Web saw a 50% growth. He further added,
“We’ve rolled out BitTorrent Speed partially to fresh installs & will roll out 100% to fresh installs in April. In the Q2, we’ll update Speed with $BTT to all 30 mil DAU. So far, the network’s stability & network effects have improved dramatically since BTT was introduced. We launched #BTFS in March. On the demand side, lots of amazing decentralized products are in the pipeline ready to launch BTFS.”
Justin also said that the decentralized products would first go live on DLive since it has a huge storage demand. As far as the supply is concerned, he stated that they would roll out fresh installs in the second quarter, which will further enhance BTFS network effects.
As far as the crypto industry goes, Justin Sun and TRON Foundation have been among the prominent names to come forward in tackling the Coronavirus pandemic. They have contributed towards providing medical supplies, like masks and medical kits in the affected regions.
In these testing times of the Coronavirus pandemic, when the crypto industry is bleeding badly, TRON CEO Justin Sun has come up with some refreshing updates about the BitTorrent ecosystem. In a Twitter thread posted on Friday, Justin shared all the BTT updates for the last 30 days.
As per 29-year-old crypto entrepreneurs, BTT products have increased dramatically, including their Windows, macOS, Android, and Web clients, BitTorrent Speed, BTFS, and DLIive, with windows, have the highest number of users at 21 million. DLive showed a 100% growth, the highest among all platforms, and the Web saw a 50% growth. He further added,
“We’ve rolled out BitTorrent Speed partially to fresh installs & will roll out 100% to fresh installs in April. In the Q2, we’ll update Speed with $BTT to all 30 mil DAU. So far, the network’s stability & network effects have improved dramatically since BTT was introduced. We launched #BTFS in March. On the demand side, lots of amazing decentralized products are in the pipeline ready to launch BTFS.”
Justin also said that the decentralized products would first go live on DLive since it has a huge storage demand. As far as the supply is concerned, he stated that they would roll out fresh installs in the second quarter, which will further enhance BTFS network effects.
As far as the crypto industry goes, Justin Sun and TRON Foundation have been among the prominent names to come forward in tackling the Coronavirus pandemic. They have contributed towards providing medical supplies, like masks and medical kits in the affected regions.
Bitcoin Halving and COVID-19: Impact on the Value of Bitcoin
We are fast approaching the event of Bitcoin halving and the turbulence in the economic system created by the coronavirus is bound to have implications for the world’s economy. The various sectors of the economy are reeling under the heat of the COVID-19 and this has led to the many investors panic under the possibility of the impending global economic recession.
Federal Reserve and its preparations
Neel Kashkari, who is the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said that the situation in the US is going to be severe and the exact damage caused by the coronavirus can be ascertained only after some few days. But if the present signs of the crisis are anything to go by, then the world economy is heading towards a difficult phase. Alleviating the fears about lack of cash, Kashkari said that nobody should be concerned about lack of liquidity in the system and in fact, the top echelon went on to emphasize that the Federal Reserve has an infinite amount of cash to counter any kind of contingency situation in the future. The very specific reason for the existence of the Federal Reserve, according to Khashkari, is to provide support to banks and financial Institutions in such specific situations of trouble and acts as a buffer for the country’s financial structure and support system. It is important to note that the Federal Reserve has got a mandate from the US congress to inject much-needed liquidity into the financial system without any inhibition regarding the devaluation of the currency. The head of the Federal Reserve said that they would print the money and provide to customers through direct withdrawal, ATMs, or other means.
Bitcoin Halving
In the backdrop of these economic conditions, the Bitcoin halving event has become even more interesting for investors and financial experts. All eyes are on what specific impact the Bitcoin halving will have on the future prices of the digital currency, which is largest in terms of market capitalization. Before the outbreak of COVID-19, a large consensus was among the experts that the Bitcoin halving event was going to increase the valuation of the cryptocurrency by reducing its supply in the market. It made sense as the decrease in the supply of the digital coin should ideally lead to an increase in its value owing to more and more people wanted to purchase the coin in anticipation of a good return. According to the prediction of various crypto experts and enthusiasts, the halving event is expected to push the value of Bitcoin at least beyond the level of $10,000. Some financial experts are also predicting that the value of Bitcoin might go well past $300k within the next two years, which seems to be a very optimistic forecast but well within the scope of the reality.
We are fast approaching the event of Bitcoin halving and the turbulence in the economic system created by the coronavirus is bound to have implications for the world’s economy. The various sectors of the economy are reeling under the heat of the COVID-19 and this has led to the many investors panic under the possibility of the impending global economic recession.
Federal Reserve and its preparations
Neel Kashkari, who is the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said that the situation in the US is going to be severe and the exact damage caused by the coronavirus can be ascertained only after some few days. But if the present signs of the crisis are anything to go by, then the world economy is heading towards a difficult phase. Alleviating the fears about lack of cash, Kashkari said that nobody should be concerned about lack of liquidity in the system and in fact, the top echelon went on to emphasize that the Federal Reserve has an infinite amount of cash to counter any kind of contingency situation in the future. The very specific reason for the existence of the Federal Reserve, according to Khashkari, is to provide support to banks and financial Institutions in such specific situations of trouble and acts as a buffer for the country’s financial structure and support system. It is important to note that the Federal Reserve has got a mandate from the US congress to inject much-needed liquidity into the financial system without any inhibition regarding the devaluation of the currency. The head of the Federal Reserve said that they would print the money and provide to customers through direct withdrawal, ATMs, or other means.
Bitcoin Halving
In the backdrop of these economic conditions, the Bitcoin halving event has become even more interesting for investors and financial experts. All eyes are on what specific impact the Bitcoin halving will have on the future prices of the digital currency, which is largest in terms of market capitalization. Before the outbreak of COVID-19, a large consensus was among the experts that the Bitcoin halving event was going to increase the valuation of the cryptocurrency by reducing its supply in the market. It made sense as the decrease in the supply of the digital coin should ideally lead to an increase in its value owing to more and more people wanted to purchase the coin in anticipation of a good return. According to the prediction of various crypto experts and enthusiasts, the halving event is expected to push the value of Bitcoin at least beyond the level of $10,000. Some financial experts are also predicting that the value of Bitcoin might go well past $300k within the next two years, which seems to be a very optimistic forecast but well within the scope of the reality.
Bitcoin Gains Intraday Momentum and Readily Surges Above $6.4k
Bitcoin (BTC), at the time of writing, was seen hitting the intraday high above $6,400 after hitting a weekly low around $5,800. Yet, this was quite an anticipated dip that was lined up after the price of BTC faced a “death crossover” and price accumulation above $6k and $6.5k over a period of 7 days. However, the dip seemed to have been temporary as the price of the coin has again surged to $6.3k after two days of the correction below $6.5k. Bitcoin is retaining its strong support at $5.8k, and further fall is likely to bring back the bear market and aligned losses.
Moreover, the financial crisis has taken the ground as the investment assets have faced the major blows of all times due to the spread of Coronavirus all over the world. The greenback is now the new safe haven as people fear liquidity crunch in the upcoming days.
Analyzing the intraday movement of BTC/USD, we see that yesterday’s fall was obvious and anticipated due to technical force or the “death crossover” complexity that was building up in the global crypto market. However, the first day of the week started with an uptrend as the price of BTC soared as high as $6,428.17 and regained support from 50-day and 200-day daily moving average. Moreover, the 20-day Bollinger Bands are showing up no extremities as of now. Therefore, we do not anticipate an unusual blow in the near future for Bitcoin.
Technical Indicators:
The technical indicators laid on the intraday movement of the coin appear slightly bearish as the price has slightly plummeted below the intraday high, and thereby, we see the signal line crossing above the MACD line.
While the RSI of the BTC is at 52.46 and holds no trading extremities at present.
Bitcoin (BTC), at the time of writing, was seen hitting the intraday high above $6,400 after hitting a weekly low around $5,800. Yet, this was quite an anticipated dip that was lined up after the price of BTC faced a “death crossover” and price accumulation above $6k and $6.5k over a period of 7 days. However, the dip seemed to have been temporary as the price of the coin has again surged to $6.3k after two days of the correction below $6.5k. Bitcoin is retaining its strong support at $5.8k, and further fall is likely to bring back the bear market and aligned losses.
Moreover, the financial crisis has taken the ground as the investment assets have faced the major blows of all times due to the spread of Coronavirus all over the world. The greenback is now the new safe haven as people fear liquidity crunch in the upcoming days.
Analyzing the intraday movement of BTC/USD, we see that yesterday’s fall was obvious and anticipated due to technical force or the “death crossover” complexity that was building up in the global crypto market. However, the first day of the week started with an uptrend as the price of BTC soared as high as $6,428.17 and regained support from 50-day and 200-day daily moving average. Moreover, the 20-day Bollinger Bands are showing up no extremities as of now. Therefore, we do not anticipate an unusual blow in the near future for Bitcoin.
Technical Indicators:
The technical indicators laid on the intraday movement of the coin appear slightly bearish as the price has slightly plummeted below the intraday high, and thereby, we see the signal line crossing above the MACD line.
While the RSI of the BTC is at 52.46 and holds no trading extremities at present.
Cardano (ADA) Experiences Intraday Trend Reversal; Trades at $0.0294
Cardano, at the time of writing this article, was trading at $0.029 after recording a 6% dip from the weekly high of $0.0315
ADA retains immediate support from the 50-day MA, while loses the long-term support from 200-day MA as it experienced an intraday correction
The 20-day Bollinger Bands hold a moderate opening, and therefore, we are likely to experience volatility in the upcoming days
The price of ADA coin recovered as it rose above 38.20% Fib after marking a weekly low at $0.0278
Cardano appears bullish as it marks an impressive intraday recovery from the trading price of $0.0280 to currently rising above $0.029 and regained the lost support.
Cardano Price Analysis
Taking a glance at the intraday price movement of ADA/USD, we see that the coin has been exhibiting an intraday bullish streak yet drawing a potential downtrend and consistent lower highs. However, the candlesticks have turned above the potential downtrend formed, and a further gained momentum is likely to reverse the current trend. This has also taken the price trend of ADA coin above 38.20% Fib Retracement Level along with moderate volatility. Nonetheless, Cardano faced a price accumulation before it marked a weekly high at $0.0315, which is now major resistance. Alongside this, the immediate support for the ADA coin lies at $0.027, followed by $0.025.
However, the intraday volatility has hit the market quite tight as seen, the price of BTC has slid below $6k after a week of bullish crossover. Moreover, the financial crisis has been digging deeper as the virus has been spreading widely.
Technical Indicators
The technical indicators appear bullish as the intraday experienced a trend reversal, and the MACD crossed above the signal line.
Similarly, the RSI of Cardano coin is at 62.12 and is holding a bullish divergence.
Cardano, at the time of writing this article, was trading at $0.029 after recording a 6% dip from the weekly high of $0.0315
ADA retains immediate support from the 50-day MA, while loses the long-term support from 200-day MA as it experienced an intraday correction
The 20-day Bollinger Bands hold a moderate opening, and therefore, we are likely to experience volatility in the upcoming days
The price of ADA coin recovered as it rose above 38.20% Fib after marking a weekly low at $0.0278
Cardano appears bullish as it marks an impressive intraday recovery from the trading price of $0.0280 to currently rising above $0.029 and regained the lost support.
Cardano Price Analysis
Taking a glance at the intraday price movement of ADA/USD, we see that the coin has been exhibiting an intraday bullish streak yet drawing a potential downtrend and consistent lower highs. However, the candlesticks have turned above the potential downtrend formed, and a further gained momentum is likely to reverse the current trend. This has also taken the price trend of ADA coin above 38.20% Fib Retracement Level along with moderate volatility. Nonetheless, Cardano faced a price accumulation before it marked a weekly high at $0.0315, which is now major resistance. Alongside this, the immediate support for the ADA coin lies at $0.027, followed by $0.025.
However, the intraday volatility has hit the market quite tight as seen, the price of BTC has slid below $6k after a week of bullish crossover. Moreover, the financial crisis has been digging deeper as the virus has been spreading widely.
Technical Indicators
The technical indicators appear bullish as the intraday experienced a trend reversal, and the MACD crossed above the signal line.
Similarly, the RSI of Cardano coin is at 62.12 and is holding a bullish divergence.
Prosecutors Charge Two Men over Coincheck Hack, But Not For Hacking
Tokyo prosecutors have formally charged two men with handling stolen cryptoassets as part of the investigation into the January 2018 hack on crypto exchange Coincheck – still the biggest crypto heist in human history.
Per media outlet Nikkei, the two men, an Osaka-based 39-year-old and a doctor, aged 30, from Obihiro, Hokkaido, under the terms of the Act on Punishment of Organized Crimes and Control of Crime Proceeds.
Per the terms of the indictment, the two men have not yet been accused of hacking – meaning the malicious actors responsible for the theft may still be at large. But Nikkei says that police officers are currently deciding if they have enough evidence to charge the men under the terms of the nation’s principal cybercrime law, the Act on Prohibition of Unauthorized Computer Access.
So far, the men have been charged with taking part in a purchase deal for millions of discounted NEM (XEM) tokens in February-March 2018. Prosecutors say the men obtained the cryptoasset, knowing full well that it had been stolen from Coincheck, and went on to sell it, earning “billions of yen” in the process.
Prosecutors say that the men appear to have exchanged hugely discounted NEM tokens for another, unnamed cryptocurrency.
Some 260,000 customers’ NEM wallets were raided as part of the attack, which forced the Japanese government and its financial regulators to radically rethink its policing of crypto exchanges and security protocols.
After a largely fruitless initial search for the hackers, Tokyo police began to close the net on suspects in December last year.
At pixel time (10:22 UTC), XEM, ranked 27th by market capitalization, trades at c. USD 0.0369 and is up by 1% in a day, trimming its weekly losses to less than 3%. The price is down by 30% in a month and 50% in a year.
Tokyo prosecutors have formally charged two men with handling stolen cryptoassets as part of the investigation into the January 2018 hack on crypto exchange Coincheck – still the biggest crypto heist in human history.
Per media outlet Nikkei, the two men, an Osaka-based 39-year-old and a doctor, aged 30, from Obihiro, Hokkaido, under the terms of the Act on Punishment of Organized Crimes and Control of Crime Proceeds.
Per the terms of the indictment, the two men have not yet been accused of hacking – meaning the malicious actors responsible for the theft may still be at large. But Nikkei says that police officers are currently deciding if they have enough evidence to charge the men under the terms of the nation’s principal cybercrime law, the Act on Prohibition of Unauthorized Computer Access.
So far, the men have been charged with taking part in a purchase deal for millions of discounted NEM (XEM) tokens in February-March 2018. Prosecutors say the men obtained the cryptoasset, knowing full well that it had been stolen from Coincheck, and went on to sell it, earning “billions of yen” in the process.
Prosecutors say that the men appear to have exchanged hugely discounted NEM tokens for another, unnamed cryptocurrency.
Some 260,000 customers’ NEM wallets were raided as part of the attack, which forced the Japanese government and its financial regulators to radically rethink its policing of crypto exchanges and security protocols.
After a largely fruitless initial search for the hackers, Tokyo police began to close the net on suspects in December last year.
At pixel time (10:22 UTC), XEM, ranked 27th by market capitalization, trades at c. USD 0.0369 and is up by 1% in a day, trimming its weekly losses to less than 3%. The price is down by 30% in a month and 50% in a year.
Bitcoin And Altcoins Look Primed For Further Upsides
👉Bitcoin price is up 5% and it broke the key USD 6,550 resistance.
👉Ethereum surpassed the USD 135 resistance and XRP is approaching USD 0.178.
👉DGTX, QNT, NRG, GNT, STX, and DGB are up more than 8% today.
After a short term corrective decrease, bitcoin price found support near the USD 6,200 level. BTC/USD started a fresh bullish wave and gained momentum above USD 6,400. The price was able to surpass the key USD 6,550 resistance and it seems like it could continue to rise towards the USD 6,850 and USD 7,020 levels.
Similarly, many major altcoins are gaining (08:30 UTC) bullish momentum, including ethereum, XRP, litecoin, bitcoin cash, BNB, EOS, TRX, ADA, and XLM. ETH/USD succeeded in clearing the USD 135 resistance area and it could even surpass USD 140. XRP/USD is rising and it may soon test the USD 0.178 and USD 0.180 levels.
Bitcoin price
The USD 6,200 support prevented more downsides in bitcoin price , which resulted in a fresh increase. BTC/USD rallied around 5% and climbed above a few key hurdles, starting with USD 6,400 and up to USD 6,600. The price even tagged the USD 6,700 zone and it is currently consolidating gains.
An upside break above the USD 6,700 level is likely to start another upward move. The first major resistance is near USD 6,850, above which bitcoin is likely to rise towards the USD 7,020 level.
Ethereum price
Ethereum price also followed BTC and traded above the USD 135 resistance area. ETH/USD is likely to continue higher towards the USD 142 and USD 144 resistance levels. Any further gains could lead the price towards the USD 155 level.
On the downside, an initial support is near the USD 135 level (the recent breakout resistance), below which the price could test the USD 132 support area.
Bitcoin cash, litecoin and XRP price
Bitcoin cash price is back above the USD 220 resistance level. BCH/USD is up around 5% and it approaching the USD 230 resistance. A successful follow-through above the USD 230 level might open the doors for a move towards the USD 250 resistance level. On the downside, the USD 220 level is likely to provide support.
Litecoin is rising steadily above the USD 38.50 resistance area. However, LTC/USD must surpass the USD 40.50 resistance area to continue higher. The next major resistance is near USD 41.20, followed by USD 42.50. On the downside, the USD 36.50 level is the most important support for the current wave.
XRP price is up around 2% and it broke the USD 0.175 resistance area. It seems like the price is likely to test the USD 0.178 and USD 0.180 levels. Any further gains are likely to lead the price towards the USD 0.188 level. On the downside, the main supports are near USD 0.170 level.
Other altcoins market today
In the past three sessions, many small-capitalization altcoins jumped more than 5%, including DGTX, QNT, NRG, GNT, STX, DGB, SEELE, CKB, HEDG, ELF, HOT, CHZ, XVG, and STEEM. Out of these, DGTX gained more than 25% and QNT is up close to 20%.
Overall, bitcoin price is gaining bullish momentum above the main USD 6,550 resistance area. It seems like BTC/USD is likely to continue higher towards USD 6,850 and USD 7,020. Conversely, there might be a downside correction towards USD 6,550 or USD 6,400 in the coming sessions.
Total market capitalization:
👉Bitcoin price is up 5% and it broke the key USD 6,550 resistance.
👉Ethereum surpassed the USD 135 resistance and XRP is approaching USD 0.178.
👉DGTX, QNT, NRG, GNT, STX, and DGB are up more than 8% today.
After a short term corrective decrease, bitcoin price found support near the USD 6,200 level. BTC/USD started a fresh bullish wave and gained momentum above USD 6,400. The price was able to surpass the key USD 6,550 resistance and it seems like it could continue to rise towards the USD 6,850 and USD 7,020 levels.
Similarly, many major altcoins are gaining (08:30 UTC) bullish momentum, including ethereum, XRP, litecoin, bitcoin cash, BNB, EOS, TRX, ADA, and XLM. ETH/USD succeeded in clearing the USD 135 resistance area and it could even surpass USD 140. XRP/USD is rising and it may soon test the USD 0.178 and USD 0.180 levels.
Bitcoin price
The USD 6,200 support prevented more downsides in bitcoin price , which resulted in a fresh increase. BTC/USD rallied around 5% and climbed above a few key hurdles, starting with USD 6,400 and up to USD 6,600. The price even tagged the USD 6,700 zone and it is currently consolidating gains.
An upside break above the USD 6,700 level is likely to start another upward move. The first major resistance is near USD 6,850, above which bitcoin is likely to rise towards the USD 7,020 level.
Ethereum price
Ethereum price also followed BTC and traded above the USD 135 resistance area. ETH/USD is likely to continue higher towards the USD 142 and USD 144 resistance levels. Any further gains could lead the price towards the USD 155 level.
On the downside, an initial support is near the USD 135 level (the recent breakout resistance), below which the price could test the USD 132 support area.
Bitcoin cash, litecoin and XRP price
Bitcoin cash price is back above the USD 220 resistance level. BCH/USD is up around 5% and it approaching the USD 230 resistance. A successful follow-through above the USD 230 level might open the doors for a move towards the USD 250 resistance level. On the downside, the USD 220 level is likely to provide support.
Litecoin is rising steadily above the USD 38.50 resistance area. However, LTC/USD must surpass the USD 40.50 resistance area to continue higher. The next major resistance is near USD 41.20, followed by USD 42.50. On the downside, the USD 36.50 level is the most important support for the current wave.
XRP price is up around 2% and it broke the USD 0.175 resistance area. It seems like the price is likely to test the USD 0.178 and USD 0.180 levels. Any further gains are likely to lead the price towards the USD 0.188 level. On the downside, the main supports are near USD 0.170 level.
Other altcoins market today
In the past three sessions, many small-capitalization altcoins jumped more than 5%, including DGTX, QNT, NRG, GNT, STX, DGB, SEELE, CKB, HEDG, ELF, HOT, CHZ, XVG, and STEEM. Out of these, DGTX gained more than 25% and QNT is up close to 20%.
Overall, bitcoin price is gaining bullish momentum above the main USD 6,550 resistance area. It seems like BTC/USD is likely to continue higher towards USD 6,850 and USD 7,020. Conversely, there might be a downside correction towards USD 6,550 or USD 6,400 in the coming sessions.
Total market capitalization:
In the United States, three cryptocurrency traders are accused of creating a $ 35 million pyramid
A lawsuit was filed with the federal court of Florida against three cryptocurrency traders who organized a financial pyramid and lured over $ 35 million from more than 100 investors.
The defendants in this lawsuit are James Seijas, who until March last year worked as a financial consultant at Wells Fargo Bank, surgeon Quan Tran, and Michael Ackerman, an institutional broker with the New York Stock Exchange.
The rights of investors will be protected by the legal education of Q3 Investment Recovery Vehicle. According to the lawsuit, fraudsters promised investors a profit from their break-even trading strategy, but they deceived them.
“The scammers claimed that they were able to develop an incredibly successful algorithm that will be used to profit in the cryptocurrency trading process,” the prosecutors said.
According to investors, of all the funds raised for trading in cryptocurrencies, less than $ 10 million was used "or even less than $ 5 million." At the same time, at least $ 20 million was spent on personal needs.
The lawsuit alleges that the pyramid was funded with money raised between August 2017 and December 2019. For example, scammers bought medical-related Facebook ads. It is because of this that many doctors believed the tricks of fraudsters and invested their money.
A lawsuit was filed with the federal court of Florida against three cryptocurrency traders who organized a financial pyramid and lured over $ 35 million from more than 100 investors.
The defendants in this lawsuit are James Seijas, who until March last year worked as a financial consultant at Wells Fargo Bank, surgeon Quan Tran, and Michael Ackerman, an institutional broker with the New York Stock Exchange.
The rights of investors will be protected by the legal education of Q3 Investment Recovery Vehicle. According to the lawsuit, fraudsters promised investors a profit from their break-even trading strategy, but they deceived them.
“The scammers claimed that they were able to develop an incredibly successful algorithm that will be used to profit in the cryptocurrency trading process,” the prosecutors said.
According to investors, of all the funds raised for trading in cryptocurrencies, less than $ 10 million was used "or even less than $ 5 million." At the same time, at least $ 20 million was spent on personal needs.
The lawsuit alleges that the pyramid was funded with money raised between August 2017 and December 2019. For example, scammers bought medical-related Facebook ads. It is because of this that many doctors believed the tricks of fraudsters and invested their money.
NIFA: “cryptocurrency exchanges falsify trading volume data”
The National Internet Finance Association of China (NIFA), a self-regulatory organization created by the People's Bank of China, has warned that cryptocurrency exchanges falsify trading volume data.
On Thursday, NIFA published a report in which it stated that foreign trading platforms use "robotic programs to falsify data or create the appearance of development in the market of active trading in virtual currencies."
“We carried out a sample analysis and found that 40 coins have a daily turnover of 100%, and another 70 have this figure above 50%. The prices of these assets are relatively low, but the trading volumes are unreasonably huge. Some exchanges even copy transactions from other platforms, thereby providing false trading data, ”writes NIFA.
The association also announced the use of various tricks to attract new users. For example, some platforms intentionally inflate the hype around the fact that cryptocurrencies are capable of playing the role of a safe asset along with gold and silver. NIFA believes that this is far from the case.
“First, investors are beaten up to invest in cryptocurrencies, and then some exchanges begin to manipulate the market to appropriate other people's assets to themselves,” the report says.
Some exchanges can stop the operation of their systems for a certain time so that users cannot carry out trading operations and thereby suffer significant losses. At the same time, the operators of cryptocurrency exchanges are “relatively hidden” and often do not indicate their real location.
In September last year, Bitwise Asset Management stated that approximately 95% of the Bitcoin trading volume was created by exchanges “from the air”, and in March an anonymous group of researchers CryptoIntegrity published a report according to which 86% of transactions and 88% of the trading volume on cryptocurrency exchanges.
The National Internet Finance Association of China (NIFA), a self-regulatory organization created by the People's Bank of China, has warned that cryptocurrency exchanges falsify trading volume data.
On Thursday, NIFA published a report in which it stated that foreign trading platforms use "robotic programs to falsify data or create the appearance of development in the market of active trading in virtual currencies."
“We carried out a sample analysis and found that 40 coins have a daily turnover of 100%, and another 70 have this figure above 50%. The prices of these assets are relatively low, but the trading volumes are unreasonably huge. Some exchanges even copy transactions from other platforms, thereby providing false trading data, ”writes NIFA.
The association also announced the use of various tricks to attract new users. For example, some platforms intentionally inflate the hype around the fact that cryptocurrencies are capable of playing the role of a safe asset along with gold and silver. NIFA believes that this is far from the case.
“First, investors are beaten up to invest in cryptocurrencies, and then some exchanges begin to manipulate the market to appropriate other people's assets to themselves,” the report says.
Some exchanges can stop the operation of their systems for a certain time so that users cannot carry out trading operations and thereby suffer significant losses. At the same time, the operators of cryptocurrency exchanges are “relatively hidden” and often do not indicate their real location.
In September last year, Bitwise Asset Management stated that approximately 95% of the Bitcoin trading volume was created by exchanges “from the air”, and in March an anonymous group of researchers CryptoIntegrity published a report according to which 86% of transactions and 88% of the trading volume on cryptocurrency exchanges.
BIS: "the COVID-19 pandemic will accelerate the introduction of state-owned cryptocurrencies»
The Bank for international settlements (BIS) believes that the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic will accelerate the widespread adoption of state-owned cryptocurrencies from Central banks.
According to a report published by BIS, COVID-19 changes people's attitude to cash, despite the opinions of various scientists that the possibility of Contracting the virus through banknotes or coins is unlikely. Regardless of whether these fears are justified or not, people have become massively interested in digital forms of payment, including digital currencies from Central banks.
However, according to BIS researchers, if cash is no longer used as a means of payment, there may be a "stratification" of the public between those who have access to cryptocurrencies and those who do not have the ability to make digital payments, especially the elderly population.
BIS analysts believe that state stablecoins should be as simple and convenient to use as possible. Developers need to take into account the needs of people who do not have even minimal knowledge about cryptocurrencies or access to banking services. At the same time, the infrastructure of stablecoins must be resistant to various threats, whether it is an epidemic or hacker attacks. States will also need to be socially responsible to the population by allowing people to use different payment methods.
The other day, first Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia Olga Skorobogatova said that she is skeptical about crypto assets and blockchain. She believes that state-owned cryptocurrencies are no different from conventional electronic payments, so they have no value.
The Bank for international settlements (BIS) believes that the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic will accelerate the widespread adoption of state-owned cryptocurrencies from Central banks.
According to a report published by BIS, COVID-19 changes people's attitude to cash, despite the opinions of various scientists that the possibility of Contracting the virus through banknotes or coins is unlikely. Regardless of whether these fears are justified or not, people have become massively interested in digital forms of payment, including digital currencies from Central banks.
However, according to BIS researchers, if cash is no longer used as a means of payment, there may be a "stratification" of the public between those who have access to cryptocurrencies and those who do not have the ability to make digital payments, especially the elderly population.
BIS analysts believe that state stablecoins should be as simple and convenient to use as possible. Developers need to take into account the needs of people who do not have even minimal knowledge about cryptocurrencies or access to banking services. At the same time, the infrastructure of stablecoins must be resistant to various threats, whether it is an epidemic or hacker attacks. States will also need to be socially responsible to the population by allowing people to use different payment methods.
The other day, first Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia Olga Skorobogatova said that she is skeptical about crypto assets and blockchain. She believes that state-owned cryptocurrencies are no different from conventional electronic payments, so they have no value.
Unemployment Seemingly Next Pandemic in the US
Coronavirus epidemic is wreaking havoc on the nations all across the world, thrashing away the world economy, which will soon result in massive unemployment all across the world.
To this tweet from the leading news agency, some followers expressed grief and concern and some even retweeted that this unemployment caused due to the lethal COVID-19 fear will quadruple the record of 1982 and the entire world economy will be engulfed by the Coronavirus layoffs. As such, millions of people are already being laid off; some are even being asked to take unpaid leave for an indefinite period of time. Such a crisis will soon transform into a global pandemic of unemployment, all because of the Corona aftermath.
Amidst this COVID-19 crisis, there is good news coming up for all those who have lost their jobs owing to this virus outbreak. The US government has come up with an unemployment insurance program to “provide unemployment benefits to eligible workers who become unemployed through no fault of their own.” To avail such benefits, there is each state’s website that has all the necessary information on how to apply for availing those benefits in this crucial hour of crisis. But unfortunately, there has been so much demand that sites are crashing, and phone lines are being engaged for long waiting times.
Earlier this week, the unemployment insurance claimed that unemployment case filings had spurt to around 3 million (in fact 3.28 million as per recent updates) in the US that has long surpassed the Great Recession crest of March 2009, which was around 665,000, and around 695,000 unemployment cases in 1982. These counts do not include freelance workers, self-employed owing to their ineligibility for availing unemployment insurance in many of the US states.
Such expanded unemployment-insurance payouts will enable low wage workers to continue to pay their utility bills like house rent, groceries, etc. This sector of the low-wage workers, service-sector workers, and those engaged with industries like restaurants and hospitality management were hit the most by the COVID-19 outbreak. These workers are already struggling to get by with their current payment levels. Further reducing their take-home pay without an inadequate replacement rate would impose extreme hardships on these workers. Therefore, the US government has decided to bring these daily wage earners under the periphery of the unemployment insurance program.
Apart from the federal government, banks and other finance lenders are doing their best to assist people during this crisis period. Now it is time for the people to give the government gratitude in return only through a little cooperation that only demands us to stay at home. To stop this global epidemic from further spreading, lockdown is the only inevitable way, but very few have till now understood the gravity of this global crisis. The government has ordered a lockdown period long before and is also trying to help people in every way possible. For example, the student loan borrowers, have been allowed to put off their federal students’ loan payments without a penalty until September 30th under the Senate Coronavirus bill passed on this Wednesday.
Coronavirus epidemic is wreaking havoc on the nations all across the world, thrashing away the world economy, which will soon result in massive unemployment all across the world.
To this tweet from the leading news agency, some followers expressed grief and concern and some even retweeted that this unemployment caused due to the lethal COVID-19 fear will quadruple the record of 1982 and the entire world economy will be engulfed by the Coronavirus layoffs. As such, millions of people are already being laid off; some are even being asked to take unpaid leave for an indefinite period of time. Such a crisis will soon transform into a global pandemic of unemployment, all because of the Corona aftermath.
Amidst this COVID-19 crisis, there is good news coming up for all those who have lost their jobs owing to this virus outbreak. The US government has come up with an unemployment insurance program to “provide unemployment benefits to eligible workers who become unemployed through no fault of their own.” To avail such benefits, there is each state’s website that has all the necessary information on how to apply for availing those benefits in this crucial hour of crisis. But unfortunately, there has been so much demand that sites are crashing, and phone lines are being engaged for long waiting times.
Earlier this week, the unemployment insurance claimed that unemployment case filings had spurt to around 3 million (in fact 3.28 million as per recent updates) in the US that has long surpassed the Great Recession crest of March 2009, which was around 665,000, and around 695,000 unemployment cases in 1982. These counts do not include freelance workers, self-employed owing to their ineligibility for availing unemployment insurance in many of the US states.
Such expanded unemployment-insurance payouts will enable low wage workers to continue to pay their utility bills like house rent, groceries, etc. This sector of the low-wage workers, service-sector workers, and those engaged with industries like restaurants and hospitality management were hit the most by the COVID-19 outbreak. These workers are already struggling to get by with their current payment levels. Further reducing their take-home pay without an inadequate replacement rate would impose extreme hardships on these workers. Therefore, the US government has decided to bring these daily wage earners under the periphery of the unemployment insurance program.
Apart from the federal government, banks and other finance lenders are doing their best to assist people during this crisis period. Now it is time for the people to give the government gratitude in return only through a little cooperation that only demands us to stay at home. To stop this global epidemic from further spreading, lockdown is the only inevitable way, but very few have till now understood the gravity of this global crisis. The government has ordered a lockdown period long before and is also trying to help people in every way possible. For example, the student loan borrowers, have been allowed to put off their federal students’ loan payments without a penalty until September 30th under the Senate Coronavirus bill passed on this Wednesday.
Technology Vs. Virus! How Blockchain Can Help Fight COVID-19 Pandemic
Blockchain technology has made significant advancements since its inception and has constantly been advancing into different areas. Few of them are as critical as medicine and sustaining medical facilities. The recent outbreak of the COVID-19 global epidemic has brought blockchain technology into the limelight as it can play an important role in containing the spread of the virus. US Homeland Security has also recognized the potential of this technology as cases of the infection have touched overwhelming numbers in the country. WHO has also recognized blockchain as the choice of technology to create a ‘COVID-19 information highway.’ Still, our focus here is primarily on the role of blockchain in the medical sector.
Hasshi Sudler of the Villanova College of Engineering has talked about two critical areas where blockchain could come to the rescue in the fight against the pandemic. He said, “As individuals travel across borders, medical facilities need immutable, trustworthy medical data quickly and electronically. A critical requirement to contain coronavirus is to track any individual having tested positive and to track the health of anyone who has come in contact with that individual, even if those encounters were across borders.” Thus blockchain could act as a database globally where the information can be accessed by medical facilities anywhere, although he also warns against potential cases of misinformation. Blockchain can allow medical facilities to access the data on the persons tested, the test results, and kits on a real-time basis to identify and curtail false information.
The technology should also be used to ‘validate quality medical advice’ and recognize sources of misinformation as these can have serious effects during such crises. Currently, social media has caused several myths and other ill-represented facts, conspiracies to spread like wildfire. Sudler remarked, “the blockchain can serve as a means to verify quality advice the public should follow versus false claims the public should disregard.” Most countries have taken measures of lockdown and shelter-in-place to restrict the spread of the virus while healthcare providers are working round the clock to provide essential services. This has already put tremendous pressure on this sector, where telemedicine has emerged as a viable option as people need to stay in isolation. “Telemedicine is the remote use of telecommunications to deliver care, like trading the typical doctor’s appointment for a private, secure video call with a medical profession.” Therefore it can be used for medical consultation without a physical visit, which has naturally led to a boom in this sector, presently.
Blockchain already works on an immutable ledger, technologies like zero-knowledge proofs and multiparty computation can add a degree of privacy to this ledger. The data needs to be provided to the healthcare sector while also protecting it from any breach. As telemedicine can help in cutting costs, both for the patient and the healthcare providers, various blockchain-based startups like BitMED aims to provide free telemedicine ‘through a platform built around its BXM token.’
Medicalchain is another example that provides access to complete healthcare records and allows users to share them with doctors through a system of MedTokens. The tokens can also be used for remote video consultations with desired doctors on the company’s MyClinic.com website. Several others provide blockchain telemedicine services through their own tokens like Docademic’s doc.com.
Blockchain technology has made significant advancements since its inception and has constantly been advancing into different areas. Few of them are as critical as medicine and sustaining medical facilities. The recent outbreak of the COVID-19 global epidemic has brought blockchain technology into the limelight as it can play an important role in containing the spread of the virus. US Homeland Security has also recognized the potential of this technology as cases of the infection have touched overwhelming numbers in the country. WHO has also recognized blockchain as the choice of technology to create a ‘COVID-19 information highway.’ Still, our focus here is primarily on the role of blockchain in the medical sector.
Hasshi Sudler of the Villanova College of Engineering has talked about two critical areas where blockchain could come to the rescue in the fight against the pandemic. He said, “As individuals travel across borders, medical facilities need immutable, trustworthy medical data quickly and electronically. A critical requirement to contain coronavirus is to track any individual having tested positive and to track the health of anyone who has come in contact with that individual, even if those encounters were across borders.” Thus blockchain could act as a database globally where the information can be accessed by medical facilities anywhere, although he also warns against potential cases of misinformation. Blockchain can allow medical facilities to access the data on the persons tested, the test results, and kits on a real-time basis to identify and curtail false information.
The technology should also be used to ‘validate quality medical advice’ and recognize sources of misinformation as these can have serious effects during such crises. Currently, social media has caused several myths and other ill-represented facts, conspiracies to spread like wildfire. Sudler remarked, “the blockchain can serve as a means to verify quality advice the public should follow versus false claims the public should disregard.” Most countries have taken measures of lockdown and shelter-in-place to restrict the spread of the virus while healthcare providers are working round the clock to provide essential services. This has already put tremendous pressure on this sector, where telemedicine has emerged as a viable option as people need to stay in isolation. “Telemedicine is the remote use of telecommunications to deliver care, like trading the typical doctor’s appointment for a private, secure video call with a medical profession.” Therefore it can be used for medical consultation without a physical visit, which has naturally led to a boom in this sector, presently.
Blockchain already works on an immutable ledger, technologies like zero-knowledge proofs and multiparty computation can add a degree of privacy to this ledger. The data needs to be provided to the healthcare sector while also protecting it from any breach. As telemedicine can help in cutting costs, both for the patient and the healthcare providers, various blockchain-based startups like BitMED aims to provide free telemedicine ‘through a platform built around its BXM token.’
Medicalchain is another example that provides access to complete healthcare records and allows users to share them with doctors through a system of MedTokens. The tokens can also be used for remote video consultations with desired doctors on the company’s MyClinic.com website. Several others provide blockchain telemedicine services through their own tokens like Docademic’s doc.com.
StarChain - Global Digital Asset Chain In Culture & Entertainment, fastest blockchain app landing & realization of blockchain incremental market
StarChain is the world's first high-performance public chain in Culture & Entertainment industry, adopts the advanced dBFT(delegated BFT) consensus mechanism module, use multi-chain parallel cross-chain technology to achieve million +TPS, it can also support large-scale commercial applications and confirm transaction in seconds.
✴️ Application Scene
1️⃣ Stars value operation: Assets Issuance, Implications, Fans New Economy - Community, Interaction, Consumption, Equity Exchange, Value Asset Operations
2️⃣ Film and television applications: Film and television crowdfunding, Box office anti-counterfeiting pre-sale clearing, advertising announcement
3️⃣ IP digital assets: IP explore, incubation, transaction, crowdfunding, management, equity, sharing, packaging, derivative products
4️⃣ Original contents: Digital assets, right distribution, content incubation platform, assets distribution of original contents such as novels, movies, dramas, games, animations, dramas, music, and variety show
5️⃣ Entertainment industry applications: Multiple chain coexistence, cross-chain, cross system, cross sector, entertainment application development, asset replacement, high adaptation entertainment business model
6️⃣ Decentralized Exchange: Global decentralized IP, equity, digital virtual currency trading platform
✴️ Technological Innovation
1️⃣ STC-StarChain: StarChain - the public chain providing underlying service, supplies high-adaptability services and supports for StarChain ecosystem and various blockchain application DApps
2️⃣ STC-StarChain Modular Framework: StarChain custom module framework with high-performance can provide modular and customized support for the commercial business model in Entertainment Industry, highly adapted to the Entertainment Industry
3️⃣ STC Protocol Group: According to relevant work/business/scenes in Entertainment Industry, StarChain Protocol Group provide and compatible with various types of interactive protocols. Which can support various scenes of the Entertainment Industry such as copyright distribution, crowdfunding, asset issuance, value evaluation, cross-chain, cross-system, cross-domain application
✴️ We are currently listed on BitTrex, and we will be listed on more exchanges soon!
Join our community to keep posted on the latest update:
✅ Telegram: https://t.me/starchainofficial
StarChain is the world's first high-performance public chain in Culture & Entertainment industry, adopts the advanced dBFT(delegated BFT) consensus mechanism module, use multi-chain parallel cross-chain technology to achieve million +TPS, it can also support large-scale commercial applications and confirm transaction in seconds.
✴️ Application Scene
1️⃣ Stars value operation: Assets Issuance, Implications, Fans New Economy - Community, Interaction, Consumption, Equity Exchange, Value Asset Operations
2️⃣ Film and television applications: Film and television crowdfunding, Box office anti-counterfeiting pre-sale clearing, advertising announcement
3️⃣ IP digital assets: IP explore, incubation, transaction, crowdfunding, management, equity, sharing, packaging, derivative products
4️⃣ Original contents: Digital assets, right distribution, content incubation platform, assets distribution of original contents such as novels, movies, dramas, games, animations, dramas, music, and variety show
5️⃣ Entertainment industry applications: Multiple chain coexistence, cross-chain, cross system, cross sector, entertainment application development, asset replacement, high adaptation entertainment business model
6️⃣ Decentralized Exchange: Global decentralized IP, equity, digital virtual currency trading platform
✴️ Technological Innovation
1️⃣ STC-StarChain: StarChain - the public chain providing underlying service, supplies high-adaptability services and supports for StarChain ecosystem and various blockchain application DApps
2️⃣ STC-StarChain Modular Framework: StarChain custom module framework with high-performance can provide modular and customized support for the commercial business model in Entertainment Industry, highly adapted to the Entertainment Industry
3️⃣ STC Protocol Group: According to relevant work/business/scenes in Entertainment Industry, StarChain Protocol Group provide and compatible with various types of interactive protocols. Which can support various scenes of the Entertainment Industry such as copyright distribution, crowdfunding, asset issuance, value evaluation, cross-chain, cross-system, cross-domain application
✴️ We are currently listed on BitTrex, and we will be listed on more exchanges soon!
Join our community to keep posted on the latest update:
✅ Telegram: https://t.me/starchainofficial
Adv Ashim Sood: “We Argued That RBI Has No Power to Impose a Banking Ban on Crypto”
The banking ban RBI imposed on the crypto industry in April 2018 was recently struck down by the Supreme Court. This brought joy and happiness to thousands of the Indian crypto community members, and the man responsible for the success was Adv Ashim Sood, who represented IAMAI in the petition. Adv Sood was recently interviewed by Crypto Kanoon co-founder Kashif Raza, in which he explained the arguments presented in the court in detail.
The interview was released by Crypto Kanoon, which was coincidentally launched on the same day when the RBI released the circular imposing the banking ban, on their second birthday on April 06. In the interview, Kashif requested Adv Sood to break down the entire case in simpler terms. In response, Adv Sood said that the first argument that they made was that crypto was a legal activity and that there was no law banning. “with all legal activities only the Parliament of India can decide whether they should be made legal or criminalized or anything of the sort,” he added.
Therefore, he said, the RBI has taken over the decision-making function of the parliament and rendered an otherwise legal activity illegal.
“What I told the court was that the implications of that are immense because tomorrow at the RBI decides that it wants to, for example, impose prohibition in the country by which I mean no alcohol should be distributed or sold in the country, it could easily come and say that the spread of alcoholism is affecting productivity, and therefore, the economy. and it could say that we will be withdrawing our banking services to everyone who is using alcohol.”
The second argument that the petitioners demanding the striking down of the infamous circular made was that even if the RBI had the power to label crypto illegal, it did not follow an honest process to examine the impact before banning crypto. Adv Sood argued that if the RBI felt that crypto could have harmful effects on the economy, they could have examined the material facts. “But what we showed the court again and again and again that there was no material proof that could possibly cause it to believe that there was any harm that merited a ban,” he said. The petitioners showed to the court the cryptocurrencies are causing no harm to the economy based on the material facts.
The final argument, according to Adv Sood, was that the argument of proportionality. This means that whenever a governmental organization decides to ban anything, it will first look into alternatives that can help realize the objectives that compelled it to decide on the ban in the first place. The petitioners argued that banning anything is the most extreme measure and should be reported only if there’s no other way of realizing the objective remains.
The banking ban RBI imposed on the crypto industry in April 2018 was recently struck down by the Supreme Court. This brought joy and happiness to thousands of the Indian crypto community members, and the man responsible for the success was Adv Ashim Sood, who represented IAMAI in the petition. Adv Sood was recently interviewed by Crypto Kanoon co-founder Kashif Raza, in which he explained the arguments presented in the court in detail.
The interview was released by Crypto Kanoon, which was coincidentally launched on the same day when the RBI released the circular imposing the banking ban, on their second birthday on April 06. In the interview, Kashif requested Adv Sood to break down the entire case in simpler terms. In response, Adv Sood said that the first argument that they made was that crypto was a legal activity and that there was no law banning. “with all legal activities only the Parliament of India can decide whether they should be made legal or criminalized or anything of the sort,” he added.
Therefore, he said, the RBI has taken over the decision-making function of the parliament and rendered an otherwise legal activity illegal.
“What I told the court was that the implications of that are immense because tomorrow at the RBI decides that it wants to, for example, impose prohibition in the country by which I mean no alcohol should be distributed or sold in the country, it could easily come and say that the spread of alcoholism is affecting productivity, and therefore, the economy. and it could say that we will be withdrawing our banking services to everyone who is using alcohol.”
The second argument that the petitioners demanding the striking down of the infamous circular made was that even if the RBI had the power to label crypto illegal, it did not follow an honest process to examine the impact before banning crypto. Adv Sood argued that if the RBI felt that crypto could have harmful effects on the economy, they could have examined the material facts. “But what we showed the court again and again and again that there was no material proof that could possibly cause it to believe that there was any harm that merited a ban,” he said. The petitioners showed to the court the cryptocurrencies are causing no harm to the economy based on the material facts.
The final argument, according to Adv Sood, was that the argument of proportionality. This means that whenever a governmental organization decides to ban anything, it will first look into alternatives that can help realize the objectives that compelled it to decide on the ban in the first place. The petitioners argued that banning anything is the most extreme measure and should be reported only if there’s no other way of realizing the objective remains.
Crypto Kanoon Turns 2, Grows to Become Prominent Crypto News and Analysis Firm in India
One of India’s leading crypto news and analysis platforms, Crypto Kanoon, is celebrating its 2nd birthday today, and on occasion, it has shared its journey on various social networks so far. At the moment, Crypto Kanoon holds an influential position in the Indian crypto industry, with a strong presence on various social networks like YouTube, Twitter, Telegram, and more.
Interestingly, Crypto Kanoon came into existence on the same day when the Reserve Bank of India released the infamous circular prohibiting commercial banks from serving to crypto-related businesses and transactions. Since then, the Indian crypto community had been on a two-year-long legal battle with the RBI that ended last month, when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the industry.
The platform continued to raise the issue of the RBI ban order and worked hard to create awareness among the industry, while also providing essential information and analysis about the industry. Crypto Kanoon has, in fact, maintained a record of raising issues and shedding light on the topics that few others do.
Recently, Crypto Kanoon interviewed Adv. Ashim Sood, the lawyer who presented the crypto community in the Supreme Court. It will be posted soon, in which Adv. Sood demystifies the apex court’s judgment.
“We are happy to announce that the most awaited interview of the year 2020 will be released tomorrow. On 06-04-2018, the RBI banking ban came into existence and it’s a beautiful coincidence that on 06-04-2020 advocate Ashim Sood will demystify judgment himself.”
One of India’s leading crypto news and analysis platforms, Crypto Kanoon, is celebrating its 2nd birthday today, and on occasion, it has shared its journey on various social networks so far. At the moment, Crypto Kanoon holds an influential position in the Indian crypto industry, with a strong presence on various social networks like YouTube, Twitter, Telegram, and more.
Interestingly, Crypto Kanoon came into existence on the same day when the Reserve Bank of India released the infamous circular prohibiting commercial banks from serving to crypto-related businesses and transactions. Since then, the Indian crypto community had been on a two-year-long legal battle with the RBI that ended last month, when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the industry.
The platform continued to raise the issue of the RBI ban order and worked hard to create awareness among the industry, while also providing essential information and analysis about the industry. Crypto Kanoon has, in fact, maintained a record of raising issues and shedding light on the topics that few others do.
Recently, Crypto Kanoon interviewed Adv. Ashim Sood, the lawyer who presented the crypto community in the Supreme Court. It will be posted soon, in which Adv. Sood demystifies the apex court’s judgment.
“We are happy to announce that the most awaited interview of the year 2020 will be released tomorrow. On 06-04-2018, the RBI banking ban came into existence and it’s a beautiful coincidence that on 06-04-2020 advocate Ashim Sood will demystify judgment himself.”
