Image of The Day, 14 of November: Mashable, CNBC, Los Angeles Times and Others
We're presenting "the image of the day". Bitnewstoday.com has chosen the most important news about the digital economy and virtual currencies. Only the most valuable stories from only the trusted sources. Each and every event from this list will change the world of the digital economy either way. The most important stories of this day in the most indicative quotes are below!
1. A RECORD WORTHY OF A RECORD (The Next Web)
Christie’s auctioneers set history in stone
Major auction house Christie’s has made history by tracking $317.8 million worth of art auctions via blockchain, as one of the greatest privately owned collections of American Modernist art went under the hammer overnight.
In a record-breaking slew of auctions, 42 pieces were sold, with details of the auctions recorded on a permissioned (private) implementation of the Ethereum blockchain managed by software company Artory.
2. FORKING MADNESS! (Mashable)
Bitcoin Cash is set to hard fork, and people are losing their heads
Nothing says the future of finance like a good old-fashioned meltdown, and the upcoming bitcoin cash hard fork has that in spades. This is thanks, in no small part, to a man named Craig Wright. Wright, derisively known as "Faketoshi" for his dubious claim that he is in fact Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, has gone on a strange rant in support of his version of Bitcoin Cash's (BCH) future known as Bitcoin SV (Satoshi’s Vision).
Deep into a rambling, multi-day tweet bender, Wright has taken it upon himself to spew invective at anyone he believes threatens his plans for Bitcoin SV — especially those defending the Roger Ver-backed rival project Bitcoin ABC.
3. BEAR TAKE OVER (FXStreet)
Bears are in full control, targeting $5,990
Bitcoin took a hit and dipped below $6,200. The granddaddy of digital coins carried other cryptocurrencies down with it. The technical picture does not look good. The next support line is only at $6,065 where we see last month's low. The bottom line to watch is $5,990 where we see the Pivot Point one-month support.
Resistance is much more significant. A considerable cluster of resistance lines awaits at $6,232. It includes the BB 4h-Lower, the Fibonacci 23.6% one-month, and the PP one-day Support 1.
It is closely followed by $6,252 which is the confluence Simple Moving Average 10-1h, the Pivot Point one-month Support 1, the SMA 50-15m, and the yesterday's low.
4. JUST AROUND THE CORNER (MarketWatch)
A central bank digital currency could be around the corner
The head of the International Monetary Fund believes it’s time for global central banks to explore the idea of a state-backed digital currency: “I believe we should consider the possibility to issue digital currency. There may be a role for the state to supply money to the digital economy,” said Christine Lagarde in prepared remarks for delivery Wednesday local time at the Singapore Fintech Festival.
Focusing on domestic use of the nascent technology, Lagarde said virtual currencies could improve businesses conditions in remote regions where cash may no longer be an option, adding that the private sector shows little interest in helping marginalized communities: “We know that banks are not exactly rushing to serve poor and rural populations.”
5. A NEW LOW (CNBC)
Bitcoin's moment of relative stability ended abruptly
The world's largest cryptocurrency hit its lowest level of the year, falling as much as 9 percent to a low of $5,640.36, according to CoinDesk. Bitcoin had been trading comfortably around the $6,400 range for the majority of the fall, a stark contrast from its volatile trading year.
Other cryptocurrencies fared even worse on Wednesday. Ether fell as much as 13 percent while XRP, the third largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, dropped 15 percent, according to CoinMarketCap.com.
6. ART FOR THE CRYPTOMASSES (Daily Hodl)
Maecenas continues to put art on blockchain
The decentralized art investment platform Maecenas says it will tokenize a work of art by Picasso using Ethereum-based ERC721 and ERC20 tokens. Earlier this year, Maecenas powered the tokenization of “14 Small Electric Chairs (1980),” a $5.6m painting by Andy Warhol, making it the first multi-million dollar piece of art to be tokenized and sold using blockchain technology.
“We are tokenizing a masterpiece, and making the painting perpetually inaccessible. Any eventual release date of the physical painting can only be decided via a voting process by token holders, after the minimum amount of time has passed well into the future.”
7. AND ANOTHER SCAM (The Next Web)
Japan has another cryptocurrency scam to recover from
Today, Tokyo police arrested eight men thought to be connected to a Ponzi scheme that collected over $68 million in cryptocurrency from around 6,000 people, local news the Asahi Shimbun reports.
The perpetrators had been using cryptocurrency to fund their pyramid scheme and maintain some anonymity. Cryptocurrency transactions are not recognized by the FIEL as securities, and so went unnoticed until victims began to speak up.
8. NINES ZEROES MEN (Forbes)
Brian Armstrong becomes a billionaire
In late October, Brian Armstrong, the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange operator Coinbase, oversaw a financing round in which the company he cofounded raised $300 million at a valuation of $8 billion.
At that valuation, Armstrong’s stake in Coinbase is worth an estimated $1.3 billion, after applying a customary discount for privately held companies. In January, Forbes had estimated that Armstrong’s net worth was between $900 million and $1 billion.
9. A CRYPTO PICKAXE (Los Angeles Times)
When there's a gold rush, sell picks and shovels
When there's a cryptocurrency rush, the same wisdom may well hold.
That’s the thinking behind a Los Angeles start-up that’s trying to make mining for cryptocurrency as easy as plugging in a PlayStation. Coinmine’s first device, which begins selling Wednesday for $799, aims to be a consumer-friendly gateway to cryptocurrency mining that enables anyone with electricity, an internet connection and a smartphone to start amassing digital wealth.
“It’s not just about being easy to set up,” said Farbood Nivi, who co-founded Coinmine with industrial designer Justin Lambert. “It’s about what’s coming, and not missing out on the new promising networks like you missed out on bitcoin and ethereum in the early days.”
10. A CRUCIAL STAGE (Independant)
Marshall Islands' plan for a national cryptocurrency survives a crucial vote
The Pacific Island nation intends to issue a local cryptocurrency called the sovereign (SOV) as a second legal tender, alongside the US dollar, despite concerns being raised about the economic risks involved with such an endeavour. President Heine faced a vote of no confidence after eight senators accused her of damaging the reputation of the country by backing of the proposed currency. However, she survived by a single vote.
Finance Minister Brenson Wase said the Marshallese government would now move forward with plans for the sovereign cryptocurrency, according to the Nikkei Asian Review. The government hopes to raise funds by selling half of the cryptocurrency's initial allocation to foreign investors. The remainder will either be kept in a governmental trust fund or distributed to citizens of the Marshall Islands.