Image of The Day, 16 of November: Financial Times, Forbes, The Economist 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. BATTLE OF EGOS (The Next Web)
The Bitcoin Cash clash over hash war has no real winners
Bitcoin Cash has forked into two rivalling cryptocurrencies – BAB, maintained by Bitcoin-ABC, and BSV, maintained by Craig Wright’s nChain – it remains to be seen which network will surface as the dominant chain.
The most concerning development is that it appears both newly-spawned Bitcoin Cash forks are currently losing from the split. Most exchange services have temporarily halted Bitcoin Cash trading until consensus has been reached about the hard fork, but chances are both cryptocurrencies will experience a significant drop in price.
2. REINVENTING THE BICYCLE (The Daily Hodl)
Ethereum, Ripple and crypto are pushing to reinvent money
Speaking before an audience at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2018, managing director and chairwoman of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde made the case for digital currency:
“A new wind is blowing, that of digitalization. In this new world, we meet anywhere, any time. The town square is back – virtually, on our smartphones. We exchange information, services, even emojis, instantly… peer to peer, person to person. We float through a world of information, where data is the ‘new gold’– despite growing concerns over privacy, and cyber-security. A world in which millennials are reinventing how our economy works, phone in hand.”
3. BREXIT SAVES THE BLOCKCHAIN! (Forbes)
Can Brexit save blockchain?
Exchange rates, trade, and currency have been one of the main concerns throughout Brexit negotiations. However, for some the decentralization of cryptocurrency can pave a way forward. Industry insiders believe that this new era in trade between the U.K. and the EU could encourage widespread cryptocurrency use in an attempt to bypass the potential turmoil in traditional markets.
Blockchain based trade finance solutions can enable access to liquidity trapped in assets to provide much-needed cash-flow through the upheaval of Brexit negotiations. Blockchain will also provide provenance and certification of goods. Provenance of goods during the transition will be more important than ever, as laws around pesticides, labor, and source of products will become vaguer without legal protections in place. Overall, blockchain lowers the barriers to entry for new business and innovation.
4. LIKE TEARS IN THE RAIN (Blokt)
Bitcoin’s market cap falls below $100B
Based on data from CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin was still trading at $6,365.90 at 17:34 UTC+8 on November 14, 2018, well within the narrow price range that the coin has been trading at in the past weeks. However, things quickly went south from there. BTC dipped to as low as $5,568.98 which meant that the crypto lost $796.92 in a matter of less than 12 hours.
With the downward price trend of the world’s largest crypto, the overall cryptocurrency market likewise mirrored BTC’s decline during the same period. From $209.5 billion, the cryptocurrency market fell to $182 billion during the 11 hour period, posting a massive $27.5 billion decline based on data from CoinMarketCap.
5. DNA CHAIN ON THE BLOCKCHAIN (Wired)
They want your DNA!
In 2018, people started using the blockchain to battle deepfakes, track sushi-grade tuna from Fiji to Brooklyn, and even cast a (symbolic) vote. It was only a matter of time before someone figured out how to put all 6 billion bits of your genetic source code on the blockchain too.
Starting this week, a startup called Nebula Genomics is doing just that, offering whole-genome sequencing for free, as a way to stock up for its real ploy: a blockchain-based genetic marketplace.
6. THE MORNING AFTER (CNBC)
Nvidia nurses 'crypto hangover'
Chipmaker Nvidia was a major beneficiary of the crypto-boom last year. But by now, the party is over and the hangover is starting to set in. In its disappointing earnings report Thursday, Nvidia executives outlined a drop in revenue for the current quarter based on lack of demand for its gaming cards.
Despite the drop, Citi is bullish on other parts of the business. "Net-net, while crypto impact is disappointing, underlying growth in gaming, data center, and auto markets remains on track," Citi said in a note to clients. "As such, we remain buy-rated on the stock but are lowering our [target price] again to $244 from $270."
7. HEAVY HAND OF THE LAW (Wall Street Journal)
Firm tied to cryptocurrency entrepreneur faces SEC investigation
Securities regulators are investigating a company’s $50 million cryptocurrency sale, an executive with the firm said, and people familiar with the probe said it includes looking at whether a prominent bitcoin entrepreneur broke the law by getting involved with the company’s fundraising.
The entrepreneur, Erik Voorhees, is chief executive of ShapeShift AG, a digital-asset exchange that suspected criminals have used to launder millions of dollars in allegedly ill-gotten gains.
8. WE HAVE NOTHING TO DO IT (The Next Web)
Twitter says the Bitcoin scam wave came from third-party app
In an email to Hard Fork, a Twitter spokesperson confirmed attackers exploited a third-party marketing solution to blast fake Bitcoin giveaway links from a slew of verified accounts, including Google and Target. However, Twitter refrained from naming the app in question.
The confirmation comes only days after a number of high-profile public figures and brands – including Google and retail giant Target – got their accounts breached to propagate malicious cryptocurrency giveaway links.
9. OFF TO A ROCKY START (Bloomberg)
Bitcoin Cash fork hits investors' pocketbooks as two coins slip
Bitcoin Cash’s split is off to a rocky start.The combined value of the two coins spawned from the so-called forking is less than that of a single Bitcoin Cash coin Wednesday, according to data from exchange Poloniex. Bitcoin Cash SV, as one version is called, is trading at about $96.50, and Bitcoin Cash ABC, the other is $289, or lower than what Bitcoin Cash closed at $425.01 yesterday.
The two coins are likely trading sideways amid uncertainty over whether both of them will stick around, and which one will end up leading further development on the main branch of Bitcoin Cash. Companies and investors supporting each version are jockeying for dominance, and "it’s too early to tell" which will win out, said Lucas Nuzzi, director of technology research at Digital Asset Research.
10. TRADITION AGAINST YOUTH (Daily Hodl)
Ron Paul releases new survey pitting Bitcoin and crypto against traditional investments
Former US Representative and three-time presidential candidate Ron Paul posted a poll on Twitter asking followers if they’d prefer Federal Reserve Notes, gold, Bitcoin or US 10-year Treasury bonds if they were given a $10,000 gift that they couldn’t touch for 10 years.
At time of writing, Bitcoin was in the lead, with 51% of the votes. Gold is next at 37%, followed by 10-year US Treasury bonds at 10% and Federal Reserve notes at 2%. Despite Bitcoin’s 12% dip over the past two days, the poll results largely reflect Paul’s fan base. The popular libertarian, who has 638,000 Twitter followers, has said that America should “end the Federal Reserve,” and revert to the gold standard.