Archive September 2020

As blockchain use cases like digital bonds, lending platforms and more takeoff, companies are finding the need for greater flexibility in their blockchains. Stratis, a popular company focused on "Blockchain as a Service (BaaS)" companies, recognized this and just announced STRAX.

Strax

The outbound Stratis blockchain, and its associated STRAT tokens, will be replaced by the blockchain STRAX and STRAX tokens.

Stratis notes several reasons that required this update / pivot - the main one being business adoption. The company did not measure words when describing where this adoption could take place. Stratis says,

"We believe that our platform provides a fantastic platform for the development and deployment of DeFi-based Smart Contracts"

In order for STRAX to realize its potential, Stratis assembled a team specifically tasked with creating a library of DeFi applications.

Included in this pivot for DeFi is Stratis' continued support for capital generation events, such as digital security offerings - support brought in the recent launch of its STO platform in July 2020.

Other key updates offered by STRAX include, but are not limited to,

• Ethereum interoperability
• Cold cuttings
• Oracles
• Mon-Wit
• Renewed block times and block rewards
• To learn more about this next blockchain, and how it will work, be sure to peruse the recent introduction to STRAX by Stratis itself, HERE. The team indicates that an updated roadmap will be released soon.

Token use cases

Different blockchains use native tokens in different ways. Some may be wondering what purpose the newly proposed STRAX tokens will serve in this next blockchain. Stratis provided the following use cases as examples of these.

• To receive a token in a sidechain that can be used to execute smart contracts
• As a guarantee to operate masternodes through the Stratis Platform that can result in subscribers receiving fees
• To buy customizable private sidechains, which are connected to the Stratis blockchain
• These can be used by the subscriber to perform their own initial offering of security token offering coins
• Sign up for ICOs and STOs that are run by certain third parties using the Stratis platform
• Pay for various goods and services using a small number of third-party payment processors.

From the information provided, it appears that STRAX tokens will pull their weight, serving various purposes in the next blockchain.

Status - Pending

It should be noted that while the news from STRAX is intriguing, the launch of this blockchain in its current form is not a given. For the launch to take place, the Stratis community needs to vote and agree to certain proposed changes. More specifically, it is necessary to vote on whether or not the Stratis community is doing well to increase the supply of tokens. An increase that would cause an additional 25,000,000 tokens to be created and used for the development of the platform.

The Stratis community is widely expected to vote in favor of this change.

Special Chains

The creation of a new and more flexible blockchain, better suited to the emergence of digital titles and DeFi, is not an exclusive Stratis idea. While the company's latest announcement contains some unique approaches, the following are examples of other companies that have also launched "new-look" blockchains.

Polímesh by Polímula

As a company synonymous with digital titles, polymath quickly noted that a blockchain, built to serve this sector, was a necessity. As a result, Polímamo has developed, and is in the early stages of launch, 'Polymesh'.

Previously, we did several analyzes on what this blockchain will entail, with an overview of the offer found HERE.

Symbol by NEM

NEM has been one of the pillars of the blockchain world for years. This is partly due to the company's ability to adapt and revolve around obstacles and developments in the sector. Like Stratis and Polymath, the team behind NEM noted the need for a tailored blockchain, bringing greater flexibility and support for digital titles. This blockchain is known as Symbol, and is expected to be released in the coming months.

We recently completed an exclusive interview HERE, with NEM Group CIO Dave Hogson, where both Symbol and NEM's trajectory were discussed.

Market response

If one thing has become clear in recent months, it is that anything related to DeFi is going to gain huge amounts of attention. Most of the time, this has led to rapid increases in prices - whether guaranteed or not.

This commonly seen increase in prices did not escape Stratis, as the company saw its existing STRAT tokens jump from around $0.36 to $0.56 USD in the 48 hours leading up to writing time.

About a month ago, when NEM announced opt-in dates for receiving Symbol tokens, the company saw a similar increase in token prices to what Stratis is experiencing. At the time, XEM tokens jumped from about $0.09 to $0.16USD over a 72-hour period.

Stratum

Founded in 2016, Stratis is headquartered in the United Kingdom. Above all, Stratis strives to develop blockchain-based solutions for companies, with the goal of making technology "simple".

The CEO, Chris Trew, currently oversees the company's operations.

source: securities.io

Cardano (ADA), Tezos (XTZ), Fantom (FTM) and Cosmos (ATOM) are the four main crypts in terms of technology.

One of the leading crypto rating agencies, Weiss Ratings, recently revealed that many cryptocurrencies are having a better technology experience than XRP and the world's flagship cryptography, Bitcoin.

He also explained that he was able to make such a judgment using a unique model that measures data points by classifying each cryptocurrency into categories such as technology, investment risk, adoption and market dynamics.

The model used by Weiss Crypto Ratings to determine cryptography with superior technology included measuring the potential of each cryptocurrency to achieve a variety of objectives, including high transaction speeds and others such as governance capabilities, flexibility for updating, escalation solutions, decentralization , energy efficiency, the sophistication of monetary policy.

One of the leading crypto rating agencies, Weiss Ratings, recently revealed that many cryptocurrencies are having a better technology experience than XRP and the world's flagship cryptography, Bitcoin.

He also explained that he was able to make such a judgment using a unique model that measures data points by classifying each cryptocurrency into categories such as technology, investment risk, adoption and market dynamics.

The model used by Weiss Crypto Ratings to determine cryptography with superior technology included measuring the potential of each cryptocurrency to achieve a variety of objectives, including high transaction speeds and others such as governance capabilities, flexibility for updating, scaling solutions, decentralization , energy efficiency, the sophistication of monetary policy.

Weiss Ratings chose Cardano (ADA), Tezos (XTZ), Fantom (FTM) and Cosmos (ATOM) as the top four technology crypto, giving them all an “Excellent” rating. Holo (HOT), Ethereum (ETH), Iota (IOTA), Bitshares (BTS), Grin (GRIN) and Nexus (NXS) received a “Good” rating from Weiss. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) and XRP received “Reasonable” ratings.

Quick fact about some of the best rated crypts:

• Cardano is a type of blockchain that allows people to receive and send funds. ADA currency is the name of the cryptocurrency. It uses the Cardano blockchain. It also allows people to draw up smart contracts like Ethereum. The chip can store private keys and the system proposed by Cardano's founder will allow them to be transferred from one chip to another.
• Tezos, which was designed as a “self-correcting cryptographic ledger” and uses the so-called verification model, has emerged as a huge fan of real estate tokens and security tokens.
• Cosmos was designed to allow a network of cryptographic networks joined by open source tools to optimize the transactions around you. The Cosmos Hub, a bet-proof blockchain, is powered by its native ATOM cryptocurrency.
• FANTOM is a Smart Contract platform based on Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG), designed to solve the scalability problems of distributed ratio technologies.

source: nairametrics.com

In the recent report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), the XRP was shown as the most suitable currency for the CBDC space.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) cited XRP, Ripple's token, as the most suitable currency for the newly developed CBDC, the central bank's digital currency.

In a report published earlier this year, the WEF said that central banks and government agencies are examining the potential of CDBs to solve global problems, such as the stability of payment systems. The Geneva-based international organization also clearly showed the difference between CBDCs and cryptocurrencies:

"CBDC is a digitized version of the sovereign currency created and published by the country's monetary authority and its obligation. CBDC differs from other forms of digital or virtual currency, including cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and 'stablecoin' that are not issued by central banks or they are not normally accepted as legal payments.

"CBDC is a digital currency issued by the country's monetary authority and whose obligations belong to this institution. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and fixed currencies are not issued by central banks and are not accepted as legal instruments of payment.

Although the organization makes a very clear distinction between cryptocurrencies and CBDCs, the 4th largest cryptocurrency, XRP; The CBDC world did not hesitate to show it as the most suitable currency for payments and interbank transactions.

Claiming that central banks recently entered a race for their digital currencies, Ripple issued a statement on how XRP will facilitate the use of CBDCs:

The on-demand liquidity service from "RippleNet" "allows financial institutions to transact in real time in various global markets using XRP. This solution can also support direct exchange of CBDCs. XRP is faster, cheaper and more scalable than than other digital currencies as an ideal instrument for connecting two different currencies. "

source: somagnews.com

South Korean financial services provider Nonghyup (NH Bank) has started issuing more than a dozen digital certificate forms using a blockchain powered system and an electronic wallet that will be able to contain hundreds of types of blockchain verified forms of authentication .

According to the Electronic Times, the bank's electronic wallet gained official government approval earlier this month, and launched today with support for 13 initial forms of identification, including citizens and residents registration documentation.

The bank said that until next year, the electronic wallet will provide support for "more than 300 types" of documentation.

The bank also claimed that its blockchain-powered system will allow customers to sweeten paper-based document submission processes - instead, allowing users to prove their identity online. The move is in line with Seoul's recent push for non-contact digital solutions that leverage industry 4.0 technology.

The wallet was launched as part of the NH Smart Bank offering, and allows customers to send the type of tax payment certificates and health insurance qualification certificates generally needed to conduct financial transactions digitally.

The bank added that customers could also use the wallet to access queries for business-related matters, or register with banking services without having to go through "complicated document preparation protocols".

And NH added that it planned to expand the infrastructure of its blockchain-powered e-wallet "within 2020" - claiming that "public institutions and other financial institutions" would also be able to accept digital certificates as valid forms of authentication.

source: cryptonews.com

Brazil is about to revolutionize its banking system. In just over a month, the country will bid farewell to an infrastructure that has made payments a nightmare, although Brazil boasts one of the most prosperous economies in the world.

This is the potential that Brazil has to offer, that Ripple chose that country to install its offices in Latin America and expand throughout the region.

Even top Ripple executives - including the creator of the infamous Bitlicense - met with the president of the Central Bank of Brazil to discuss confidential matters, and some Brazilian banks have successfully tested Ripple's technology to process international payments.

But all of that is about to change.

Type PIX

As of November, the Central Bank of Brazil announced that all banks would implement a new banking infrastructure to process transactions between platforms.

Without considering the whole philosophical part, the new PIX system is the dream of every cryptocurrency enthusiast (and anyone with a bank account). It will allow free interbank transfers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with readable data - such as email, identification number or telephone instead of long abstract account numbers, instantly and without limits.

Currently, transfers are processed only on business days, from 8 am to 5 pm, and have costs ranging from 0 to 16 reais (R$2.8). The time it takes for the money to appear in an account ranges from a few minutes to several hours or days, depending on the method and bank chosen.

Thus, once the PIX becomes public, the appeal of many cryptocurrencies can lose many points as a means of payment. In fact, it would be like applying Ripple technology to banks … but better.

So, will cryptocurrency die in Brazil? Probably not, but its use will remain relatively low. There is still no bitcoin culture in Brazil, and cryptocurrencies are seen more as risky investments than as Value Stores or means of payment.

And if PIX delivers what it promises, it will likely beat many cryptocurrencies in its own game. Let's take two examples to see which an ordinary citizen prefers:

The decision may seem obvious.

Fiat vs. Crypto, or PIX vs. ODL from Ripple.

Ripple's promise to offer quick and cheap payments would lose against the Central Bank and its instant, free payments. In fact, according to estimates by the news agency see, Brazilians will save at least R$19 billion per year in transaction fees alone.

"The lack of cost, coupled with the simplicity and speed of the transaction, indicates that the PIX will have a significant impact on banks and card payment processing companies. It is estimated that these two sectors will lose approximately R$19 billion in revenue per year.

This volume of financing is related to the amount that financial institutions collect with TED and DOC transfer fees, use of self-service terminals, fees for card transactions and fees for the generation of payment receipts. All of this can, in part, be replaced in the new model. "

So far, Ripple has not commented on its interests in the region. Still, considering the situation, they may have to focus on offering efficient alternatives to the international payment market, as Brazilians will be very passionate about the central bank when transferring money between themselves.

source: cryptopotato.com

KEY POINTS

• Novogratz believes US elections add uncertainty to actions
• Bitcoin and gold are known for being stock shops and hedges against inflation
• The billionaire said the correlation between Bitcoin and the stock market will not last forever

With just 35 days to go until the 2020 presidential election, Michael Novogratz, the CEO of Galaxy Digital, said being at the bottom of the stock market right now is dangerous. Despite the recent rise of the greenback, Novogratz said he is more optimistic about Bitcoin and gold and skeptical about U.S. dollars ahead of the November event.

In an interview with CNN, Novogratz explained that the stock rally that the market has witnessed in recent months would soon be weakened. Pointing out that the increases in shares of Tesla and Apple have already been reached, it is now possible for Nasdaq to trade lower, somewhere around 10,000 or another 11% below current levels, he added.

Novogratz explained that the main external factor for the high volatility of stocks is the upcoming elections. The billionaire said that at some point, it is okay to buy shares. But that is not the case at the moment, which would depend on who wins the elections. He also said he thinks Democratic candidate Joe Biden would win, but the market may not like it, citing some of Biden's campaign promises. "If Biden wins, he is raising taxes and he is raising the capital gains tax, more specifically. The market is not going to digest very well," he emphasized.

Although Bitcoin is correlated with the stock market, Novogratz thinks the correlation will not last forever. "To illustrate, if Nasdaq were to fall 5% today, bitcoin would probably be smaller, not higher. But I think you will see these correlations break," he told CNBC.

He also briefly touched on quantitative easing measures, including printing more money to reenergize the economy in the midst of the pandemic. "We don't know what's going to happen, the level of uncertainty around the dollar and inflation has to be significantly higher than any other in our sales over a lifetime," he said.

Gold and Bitcoin are often seen as hedges against inflation. Novogratz said he preferred Bitcoin because it is still much earlier in the adoption cycle. He mentioned that although he thinks the price of gold will continue to rise, he expects Bitcoin to rise to $50,000 over the next two years.

source: ibtimes.com

The Bitcoin network spent 18.5 million bitcoin in circulation. This means that less than 2.5 million remain to be mined.

Interestingly, half of that 2.5 million will be mined in the next 4 years alone.

Below is the description of the numbers as percentages:

• 18,500,000 extracted (88.1%)
• 2,500,000 not mined (11.9%)
• 1,250,000 to be extracted by 2024 (6%)
• 21,000,000 to be extracted by 2140 (100%)

2020, unlike previous years in the history of bitcoin, has seen remarkable interest in bitcoin and crypto with institutional investors substantially increasing their bitcoin allocations, regardless of short-term price drops.

Although Bitcoin's 2020 halving did not come with the expected post-halving rally, it doesn't seem to have deterred investors at all.

Interest in crypto comes largely from the belief that the market will improve with regulations for the crypto market becoming clearer in the future.

Here are some statistics that show the level of interest in bitcoin in 2020:

• Macro-investor and billionaire, Paul Tudor, confirms he bought 21,454BTC
• GrayScale Investments, now has about 500,000 (2.4% of the current bitcoin offering) under its management
• Bakkt, an ICE-regulated crypto asset custody platform, reports that BTC futures contracts trade more than $200 million daily
• Daily bitcoin contracts at Binance, the world's largest exchange by volume, amount to more than $2.5 billion
• The Norwegian Government Pension Fund, the largest cryptocurrency sovereign fund in the world with more than $1 trillion in assets, now has 577.6 bitcoins
• MicroStrategy, the world's largest smart business company, adopts bitcoin as its primary reserve asset by buying 38,250 bitcoins worth $425 million at the time of purchase
• Bitcoin is the 6th largest currency in the world so far with a market capitalization of over $200 billion.

As conversations about crypto regulation spread across the world and the global economic climate amid the Covid-19 pandemic continues to take hold, bitcoin will continue to be seen as a valuable and active hedge reserve and its value will only go up .

source: bitcoinke.io

Ebang International Holdings Inc., a Chinese manufacturer of bitcoin mining hardware, reported a net loss of $6.96 million in the first six months of this year, down from $19.07 million a year ago, as demand fell due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Revenue fell 51%, to $11.04 million, from $22.35 million previously, the company said in a results statement shared with the news. Bitcoin.com.

During the semester, Nasdaq-listed Ebang sold a total of 0.25 million tera hash per second (TH / s) of Bitcoin hash power. The figure represents an 86% drop from the 1.82 million TH / s sold in the same period in 2019.

Ebang's shares rose 0.3% to $9.88 on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange at the time of writing. The shares have fallen more than 30% since being listed on the stock exchange in June. Then, it was traded at a high of $14.95. Ebang hit a low of $3.80 during this period as well.

Dong Hu, Ebang's president, and CEO, blamed the loss of the Covid-19 induced global economic recession and Bitcoin's scheduled May 11 cut in supply, which cut miners' profits and reduced demand for equipment suppliers. mining. He stated:

"Measures to contain Covid-19, such as travel restrictions, mandatory quarantines and suspension of business activities, have caused serious disruptions and uncertainties to our business operations and have negatively affected our results of operations and financial conditions. Our chip suppliers have reduced their production capacity due to the impact of covid-19, resulting in a shortage of raw materials in the first six months of 2020."

For the review period, Ebang, which makes application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips used in bitcoin mining, reported total operating expenses of $7.71 million compared to $9.60 million in the comparable period last year.

Bitcoin mining hardware manufacturers have seen a decline in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. Competitor Canaan Creative recently reported that losses in the second quarter of 2020 decreased to $2.4 million from $5.6 million in the previous quarter, but demand also fell due to Covid-19.

Ebang's Dong Hu now hopes to take advantage of new crypto exchanges and online brokers that are due to open soon in Singapore and Canada. He said the company plans to "capture the entire value chain of the blockchain industry" through a combination of blockchain-compatible and conventional financial businesses

source: news.bitcoin.com

KEY POINTS

• Bitcoin still trades above $10,000
• Traders look for opportunities in altcoins and DeFi tokens
• Tokens like LINK and BNB have double-digit increases in the last seven days

After Bitcoin closed Monday at $10,689, it became apparent that the trend is currently on the sidelines, prompting traders to look for decentralized altcoins and financial tokens to make a profit in the short term.

Bitcoin opened at $10,777 Monday and reached $10,947, which at that time could have recouped the losses from the September 21 crash. However, the increase was short-lived, with the benchmark cryptocurrency closing at $10,689.

The clear obstacle is still $11,000, the Cointelegraph reported. A chart shared by the publication suggests that traders are reluctant to participate and are waiting for $12,000 before opening new positions.

In the weekly period, $10,000 and $10,500 were kept as key holders. Bitcoin has never closed below $10,000 in the past 64 days. With a new month starting, there is a possibility that the price will rise further. "Ultimately, nothing has changed and the price of Bitcoin simply continues to grind slowly higher," added Cointelegraph.

Bitcoin's lateral behavior has led traders to look for opportunities in altcoins and DeFi tokens. At the time of this writing, some currencies like Polkadot (DOT) and Binance Coin (BNB) registered increases of 5.6% and 6.8%, respectively.

In the weekly period, some tokens printed double-digit increases from 4.8% Bitcoin. The DOT registered 10.4% while the BNB had an increase of 17.5%. The Chainlink (LINK) is still below half its previous high of $20 and is currently trading at $10.29. Still, it increased 18.1% over the last seven days.

With DeFi currencies also losing steam, traders are also looking for the next DeFi "thing". The belief stemmed from the fact that several DeFi tokens in the past have increased dramatically in a few days. YFI, Yearn Finance's governance token, increased from $30 to $43,966, while UNI went from zero to $8.40.

Because of this, traders flocked to an unreleased project from Yearn Finance creator Andre Cronje. According to Cointelegraph, this new project, called Eminence, was not yet finished and was intended to be released in about three weeks. But started putting money into the protocol soon after it was announced and it did not take long for a hacker to exploit and drain the project of funds.

In a bizarre turn of events, the hacker opted to transfer $8 million of funds back to Cronje, who then promised to release the funds back.

source: ibtimes.com

• Goguen will bring metadata transactions that have already been integrated into the wallet and the node.
• In the next few days, the first project will be announced, which will migrate from Ethereum using the ERC20 converter.
• The Bittrex Cardano (ADA) wallet is back online.

In an AMA yesterday, Cardano's inventor Charles Hoskinson announced new details about Goguen. As Hoskinson explained, Goguen will be released in three phases. A first step will be that cardano will be able to transfer metadata, in addition to ADA transactions. The feature was already developed in the last month and will be released with Goguen.

And now we are starting to use the metadata fields for the credential verification program that we are doing in Georgia, things like Beefchain and other things that are related to identity and tracking and so on. And it is a big milestone when Goguen comes.

The second step for Goguen will be the transition from a single asset to a multi-active system, allowing users to create their own tokens. As part of this, IOHK is also developing the "ERC20 token converter", which will allow companies to migrate from Ethereum to Cardano. According to Hoskinson, Cardano's multi-asset standard is far superior to Ethereum's because the ERC20 is "because the ERC20 is a smart contract built on top of Ethereum, and is very different from Ether".

In contrast, Cardano's multi-asset standard has been designed in such a way that "its issued assets are actually treated in the same accounting way as the ADA is," said Hoskinson. So, this results in huge advantages when it comes to "layer 2 infrastructure, optimizations, cost savings and so on". As a result, projects will have a strong incentive to move to Cardano. This week there will be the first announcement of a project that will migrate from Ethereum to Cardano, as Vazou Hoskinson.

The third area will be "programmability", where Plutus and DSL's (Domain Specific Languages) like Marlow play a central role. New details and progress for both technologies, Plutus and Marlow, will be announced by the end of the month, as Hoskinson promised. The IOHK CEO also announced:

"And we will have a lot more to say especially about Marlow in October and in the coming weeks and months, there will be a slew of releases and discussions."

In another update, Hoskinson also revealed that, after Shelley was activated on the main net about two months ago, the last and oldest exchange, Bittrex, has already successfully completed its migration. As Hoskinson explained via Periscope, this ends weeks of collaboration and testing with Bittrex to get the wallet back up and running.

source: crypto-news-flash.com