Image of The Day, 21 of September: Bloomberg, Independent, The Next Web 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. JOINT EFFORT (Forbes)
Bitcoin core developer joins forces with former Morgan Stanley exec to warn SEC
Several prominent leaders representing nearly every aspect of both traditional and cryptocurrency finance have jointly submitted a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission urging the regulator to modernize its methods.
In the letter, published late last night, Bitcoin Core developer Bryan Bishop, former Morgan Stanley managing director Caitlin Long, e-commerce coding pioneer Chris Allen, founder of Ernst & Young’s blockchain team Angus Champion de Crespigny and fund manager attorney Gavin Fearey warned the SEC against certain types of enterprise adoption.
2. BRAVE BRITISH BREXIT STANCE (Bloomberg)
City of London wants to leash the crypto
It’s good to see politicians belatedly waking up to the risk of crypto-currencies. British lawmakers are banging the drum for the regulation of Bitcoin, Ethereum and their brethren in order to protect consumers. It may be too late for all those unfortunates who got burned this year, but it’s still a better look than George Osborne eagerly using a Bitcoin ATM back in 2014.
Yet there’s little to suggest Brexit Britain will have the financial muscle or diplomatic clout to do much beyond grab at low-hanging fruit when it comes to digital cash. The fight against money-laundering and financial crime needs serious funding and regional co-operation, both of which will be hampered by an exit from the EU.
3. DUTCH ORANGE JUICE BLOCKCHAIN (The Next Web)
Dutch supermarket giant uses blockchain to make orange juice transparent
The largest Dutch supermarket chain, Albert Heijn, is planning its own blockchain makeover.
Albert Heijn wants to stamp bottles of its private-label juice with special QR-codes. Customers can scan them with an app that will show details about its origin and supply chain.
Along with major supplier Refresco, Albert Heijn will store all information related to the sourcing, production, and distribution on a distributed ledger. It’s all part of a greater plan to provide its customers with more information. The reason is simple and understandable — growing consumer concern for the origin of products, and particularly fresh produce.
4. ROBINHOOD STANDS FOR HIS HONOR (News.Bitcoin)
ROBINHOOD responds to accusations of favoring wall street over its users
Seeking Alpha has published an exposé by Logan Kane regarding free stock and crypto trading smartphone application Robinhood. Mr. Kane alleges the company “takes from the millennial and gives to the high-frequency trader” by accepting payment for order flow and selling order data for “over ten times as much as other brokers who engage in the practice.” Robinhood reached out to news.Bitcoin.com in response, explaining and defending its practices.
The company explained how it, “unlike many other brokerages, has established the same payment rate (listed in SEC Rule 606 disclosure) with its leading execution venues.” This eliminates any incentive to direct orders to a certain execution venue. Robinhood algorithmically routes orders to a variety of different execution venues based on which is most likely to provide the greatest execution quality and price improvement on that order in addition to the NBBO. No other factors impact where customer orders are routed.
5. A NEW CHALLENGER APPEARS (Independent)
Bitcoin rival XRP suddenly doubles in value in extraordinary price surge
The cryptocurrency market has experienced a dramatic surge, with Bitcoin, Ether (Ethereum) and XRP rising in price by between 5 per cent and 100 per cent over the last 48 hours.
XRP – the digital asset of US tech firm Ripple – saw the biggest gains, doubling in price since Wednesday to rise above $0.50 for the first time since June.
Cryptocurrency experts and market analysts have struggled to explain the sudden market shift, though many have pointed to the development of xRapid – a new product related to Ripple.
6. YOU SHALL NOT LEAVE! (Reuters)
Switzerland tries to stem blockchain exodus by improving access to banks
In an effort to maintain its status as a cryptocurrency hub, Switzerland has taken steps to help blockchain companies access the traditional financial system by making it easier for them to open corporate bank accounts.
The banks are worried because some of the companies that carried out ICOs did not do AML checks on their contributors, meaning the banks themselves could fall foul of AML rules, the sources said. But the new guidelines spell out separate checks that the association recommends when opening accounts for blockchain firms that carry out ICOs and those that do not.
7. TAILS OE EAGES (Forbes)
Bitcoin traders should watch $5,600 and $8,900
The traders should watch these two prices closely: $5,613.89 and $8,931.47.
The first price is the average of Hayes' and Wheatley's models. “Something I found interesting is that the average of Hayes' and Wheatley's models is beginning to converge closer to Bitcoin's actual price,” says Greg Giordano, my co-author of a research paper on bitcoin prices. “The average of Hayes' and Wheatley's models is currently $5,613.89 compared to Bitcoin's price at a little over $6,300.”
The second price is an estimate produced by the Market Model, which combines the Hayes' and Wheatley's models. Simply put, the two prices reflect both demand and supply factors rather than just demand or just supply factors, as is the case with prices estimated separately by either the Hayes' or the Wheatley's models. And that makes them less extreme.
8. CHINA DISAPPROVES (News.Bitcoin)
China updates crypto rankings, downgrades Bitcoin
The China Center for Information Industry Development has updated its crypto rankings. The list contains 33 crypto projects, ranked overall and in three separate categories. High up in the overall ranking are EOS, Ethereum, and Bitshares. Bitcoin, however, has been downgraded.
BTC was downgraded from the 10th place to the 16th place while BCH fell a few places, from the 29th place to the 31st place. In the innovation category, however, BTC tops the list, with EOS in the 3rd place.
9. SURGE OF POWER (Market Watch)
Crypto’s surge adds $25 billion to market value in broad-based friday rally
Bitcoin and major digital currencies were trading higher Friday, putting most coins on track for back-to-back winning weeks. After trending lower for most of the week, Bitcoin the world’s largest digital currency has jumped out of its recent short-term trading range, making a two-week high at $6,769.35. In Friday trading, a single Bitcoin was last going for $6,714.53, up 5.3% since Thursday at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the Kraken Exchange.
Analysts at FX Pro said a number of material projects had generated optimism among crypto aficionado's. “A number of factors helped form this price [move higher],” wrote the analyst team. “Ripple’s CEO hints about the launch of a new product based on xRapid’s XRP coin as early as next month; access to the biggest Asian cash remittance market including India, Sri-Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, and fintech start-up also begins working in Africa.”
10. EL PETRO THE CLOWN (The Next Web)
Venezuela’s useless Petro cryptocurrency will hit international markets in October
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is showing now signs of slowing down on his dream of making national cryptocurrency, the Petro, a thing Yesterday, Maduro got on state television to reveal his cryptocurrency brainchild will be used in international transactions starting from October 1, 2018.
Maduro has been pushing the Petro for some time. He has declared its use for housing the homeless, conducting oil trade, and even paying salaries. He also claimed it will help curtail the country’s savage levels of hyperinflation. But what these “international transactions” will actually be, remains to be seen.