Image of The day, 7 of September: Independent, Kyodo News, Bloomberg 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.FAKE NEWS! (CNBC)
Goldman Sachs CFO says bank is still working on bitcoin derivative for clients.
A top Goldman Sachs executive looked to clear the air Thursday about the bank's cryptocurrency ambitions after reports that it was abandoning plans to open a trading desk for cryptocurrencies.
"I never thought I would hear myself use this term but I really have to describe that news as fake news," Goldman Sachs Chief Financial Officer Martin Chavez said on stage at the TechCrunch Disrupt Conference in San Francisco.The CFO said Goldman is working on a type of derivative for bitcoin because "clients want it".
2. WATCHDOG IN DENIAL (Kyodo News)
Japan financial watchdog denies approval of cryptocurrency exchange
A cryptocurrency exchange in Japan was forced to shut down after the country's financial watchdog on Thursday refused to authorize it to do business, the first such decision since regulations requiring approval were introduced last year.
The Financial Services Agency said it turned down Yokohama-based FSHO's application to register as a handler of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin after the company failed to implement sufficient safeguards against money laundering.
3. NOWHERE TO RUN (Bloomberg)
Nowhere to Hide In Crypto as Digital Asset Ties Tighten in Slump
Digital coins are famously uncorrelated to other assets but they’re highly correlated with each other. That lifted the whole market up last year, but this year it means they’re all falling together, leaving crypto investors with little refuge.
Correlation between Bitcoin and MVIS CryptoCompare indexes of the 10 biggest and the 100 smaller coins has picked up since the assets made new highs between December and January. Correlation has jumped to 0.7 from lower than 0.1 at the start of the year, where 1 signals a strong positive correlation (assets moving in the same directions), and -1 signals a strong negative correlation (asset moving in opposite directions).
4. IT’S A ROLLERCOASTER (AGAIN) (Independent)
Cryptocurrency value plummets below $7,000
Bitcoin's recent recovery came to a dramatic end at the start of September, when a cryptocurrency market crash that its value drop by around $1,000 in the space of 24 hours.
The collapse followed bitcoin's worst ever start to a year, having traded close to $20,000 as recently as December. Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and other major cryptocurrencies were also hit by the sudden downturn.
5. ALL IN (CNN)
IBM is betting big on blockchain technology.
Industry watchers say it's a risky move, given the relative novelty of the technology and the hype surrounding it, but say IBM is well positioned to make it pay off.
For the uninitiated, the blockchain is essentially a shared digital ledger. Once entered, transactions cannot be changed, creating an immutable record.
The technology is most associated with cryptocurrency, but several companies, including Microsoft (MSFT), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), and American Express (AXP), are exploring its use in other areas. IBM (IBM) has 1,500 employees working on more than 500 blockchain projects in industries like shipping, banking, healthcare and food safety. It also has forged partnerships with the likes of Columbia University to develop still more uses for the tech.
6. NONBLOCKCHAIN ENABLED BLOCKCHAIN (Financial Times)
Britain's first blockchain-enabled co-working space isn't blockchain-enabled
Primalbase is a company that raised money through an initial coin offering (ICO) last summer and is now fulfilling its promise to token-holders — launching UK’s first blockchain-enabled shared workspace launches in London.
Although the space is not finished, it will open in october, it looks very nice! It occupies the entire 32nd floor of the CityPoint tower near Moorgate and has panoramic views of London. But there is not much evidence that it’s being “blockchain-enabled”. It looked and felt and was pretty much like any other shared office space, except men in orange hats were busy constructing stuff, and there weren't any desks or coffee machines or free beer in it yet. But there didn't seem to be much high-tech stuff to come either.
7. LAY OFFS (Bloomberg)
Crypto Exchange Kraken Is Laying Off 57 Employees
Kraken, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is laying off 57 North America-based employees, according to Chief Executive Officer Jesse Powell.
The move represents roughly 10 percent of San Francisco-based Kraken’s client services team, Powell said in an emailed response to questions after speculation surfaced on social media platform Reddit that Kraken employees were laid off because of a security breach. The thread also mentioned the exchange was reducing staff after trading volumes had dropped.
8. NEW IN BLOCKCHAIN (Forbes)
Blockchain Research Labs Are Being Built By Both New Projects And Major Organizations
There's a new trend taking place within the blockchain arena, and for once it doesn't have to do with the technology disrupting an industry. It's "home-made" research labs.
There is a trend of blockchain projects focusing on developing, investing and partnering with research labs to ensure they build on top of strong fundamental foundations. Such research labs consist of developers, designers, organizational strategists and thought leaders — each of whom has a deep understanding of the blockchain paradigm.
9. LAUGHING OUT LOUDLY (The Next Web)
Facebook’s blockchain developer groups are a delightful tub of unintentional hilarity
Blockchain is for everybody! Or so it would seem. We know blockchain and bitcoin protocols are open source, but that doesn’t mean that we all have to use them. Sometimes, maybe it is better to err on the side of caution before diving into the deep dark world of blockchain and cryptocurrency development.
As a fledgling writer here at Hard Fork I am always looking for new ways of sourcing content to explore and write about. In an attempt to open a new avenue for myself I started to join some Facebook groups on blockchain. But not just any groups, I joined ones for blockchain and cryptocurrency developers and enthusiasts. Results were a real blast.
10. GUTENBERG PREDICTION (Venture beat)
Investor Daniel Gutenberg predicts blockchain will peak in 2025
In the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies choosing who to invest in is an art. With over 1,000 projects either failing to appear or being outright scams (according to data tracked by sites like Coinopsy and DeadCoins), picking the potential winner in each vertical is essential.
But while a project monopoly could exist, it is important to remember that blockchain is about decentralized data, processes and transactions. And things aren’t slowing down in this marketplace. Gutenberg sees a bright future for blockchain technologies.