Crypto Research

THE HEADLINES [Members Area Crypto] FED PROVIDES UPDATE ON HYPERLEDGER FABRIC TESTS www. federalreserve. gov The Federal Reserve has published details of “FooWire,” a 2019 payment trial using Hyperledger Fabric’s blockchain and noted that the platform “generally met the team’s design requirements of a closed network, mature technology, and enterprise readiness” and “highlighted the need for more experimentation to better understand the possibilities for wide-scale adoption and use of any...

WEEKEND READINGLibra executive Dante Disparte published an article in The Harvard Business Review suggesting that blockchain-based payments can help bring more than 1.7 billion unbanked and underbanked people into the formal economy and help eliminate the expense structures that currently exist.The Financial Times published a profile on Ripple and its effort to “ find [a] compelling [use] for the blockchain technology underpinning … currency .”👍German based crypto VC Greenfield One has published a detailed report on the state...

Highlights from the North American listed crypto, blockchain and mining stocks:Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (OTCQX: GDLC) was the top performing stock in the blockchain and crypto universe, posting a 7.4% return, and the only company that achieved a positive return on the week.Marathon Patent Group (NASDAQ: MARA) and Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT) both started the week achieving all-time-highs before beginning a gradual decline in price.Hut8 Mining (TSX: HUT. TO) announced various operational updates last...

THE HEADLINES [Members Area Crypto] PBOC TO DEPLOY DCEP IN GREATER BAY AREA www. decrypt. co The People’s Bank of China announced that it would formally launch its DCEP (digital currency electronic payment) in the Greater Bay Area, a region comprising of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau. [Members Area Crypto] GERMANY TO INTRODUCE ELECTRONIC SECURITIES www. jonesday. com Germany is planning to allow the issuance of digital securities, “bearer bonds”,...

For a full copy of this report in PDF format please click here MARKET ANALYSIS For the second time in two weeks, Bitcoin climbed above $12,000. Overall, it finished the week ended 8/11 up 5.6% at $11,878. Notably, it traded above $11,000 for the entire week for this first time since August 2019. Source: FSInsight, Bloomberg Source: FSInsight, Bloomberg Bitcoin led all other major crypto assets by 3% - 9%...

CRYPTO FEAR AND GREED INDEX The Fear & Greed Index for bitcoin and other large cryptocurrencies has reached its highest level in 13 months, gaining 12 points this week. THE HEADLINES [Members Area Crypto] IRELAND FINALIZING BILL FOLLOWING EU MONEY LAUNDERING DIRECTIVE www. irishexaminer. com Ireland’s cabinet plans to publish the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Amendment Bill 2020 that will install new tougher regulations on virtual currency providers and...

WILL BLOCKCHAIN BECOME THE NEXT TECH BATTLE GROUND WITH CHINA Like many others, I spent the weekend reading about President Trump’s decision to ban Americans from carrying out transactions with Chinese owned apps TikTok and Wechat. This morning, I discovered that China has released an international website for its national blockchain, the Blockchain Service Network (BSN), inviting developers to create new applications to run on this seemingly-centralized network. Given that China appears to be...

THE HEADLINES [Members Area Crypto] FED APPROVES CORE FEATURES OF FEDNOW www. federalreserve. gov Fed Governor Lael Brainard says that based on stakeholder feedback, the Fed has approved the core features and functionality of FedNow, a consumer focused instant payments system which is expected to be operational by 2023-24 [Members Area Crypto] FSA CHIEF WARNS DEREGULATING CRYPTOCURRENCIES MAY NOT PROMOTE TECHNICAL INNOVATION www. reuters. com Japan’s new top financial regulator...

Highlights from the North American listed crypto, blockchain and mining stocks:The Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (OTCQX: GDLC) was the top performer among the North American blockchain and crypto stocks reporting a 142% price increase. GDLC’s premium to NAV jumped from 27.8% to 189.9%.For the second week in a row, Marathon Patent Group (NASDAQ: MARA) posted a a considerable return with a new all-time-high of $4.79. MARA is up 130% over the past seven days...

MARKET ANALYSIS After last week’s spike, BTC continued its rise nearing $12,000 before a $1 billion liquidation event caused the price to crash $1,500 and then stabilize above $11,000. BTC finished the 7-day period ending August 3rd up 1.7%. As the dollar suffered this week (measured by the DXY), Bitcoin and gold continued their outperformance compared to all other asset classes. Ripple and Ethereum both surged this week up 37%...

CRYPTO FEAR AND GREED INDEX The Fear & Greed Index for bitcoin and other large cryptocurrencies fell four points over the past seven days to 72. The index hit a 12-month high reaching 80 on Sunday. The last time the index printed above the seventies was in July 2019 when bitcoin (BTC) was trading at current levels. KEEPING YOUR PRIVATE KEYS SAFE It is always good to get a reminder on best...