Month: March 2019

Chinese Shipping Giant to Explore Blockchain for Upstream Supply Chain Financing

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China Shipbuilding Industry Company Limited (CSICL) is going to explore how it can apply blockchain to financing its upstream suppliers, reports official Chinese newspaper People’s Daily on March 27. CSICL is a subsidiary of one of the two largest Chinese shipping conglomerates, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC). CSICL signed a strategic cooperation agreement on supply chain services with Shanghai Bank. Per the terms of the agreement, CSICL and Shanghai Bank will purportedly develop an blockchain-based online supply chain finance platform for upstream suppliers of CSIC. The platform would ostensibly provide…

Crypto Fundamentals Are Booming, But That Doesn’t Imply a Bitcoin (BTC) Rally

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Booming Crypto Industry Many argue that it’s hard to make a case that the crypto industry is healthy. The value of Bitcoin (BTC) collapsed by 80% of 2018, as the zany bubble of 2017 unwound; retail investors fled; and many Wall Street firms, who were previously enthused about cryptocurrencies, pulled their partnerships, deals, and ambitions. However, MarketWatch reports that Flipside Crypto, a Boston-based industry analytics provider, believes that fundamentals are, believe it or not, stronger than ever. Huh? Flipside’s FCAS 25 index, which tracks the market maturity, developer behavior, and…

Experts: Ethereum Losing Ground to New Networks

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The Ethereum network is  losing ground as developers switch to other projects, various experts told Bloomberg on March 28. Ethereum, which debuted in 2015, initially provided a platform on which developers could build decentralized apps (DApps), conduct initial coin offerings (ICOs) and write smart contracts. Many saw it as being the successor to Bitcoin (BTC). According to Bloomberg, developers are now opting for other platforms like EOS and Stellar. In January, only 28 percent of DApps users were on the Ethereum network, while the EOS network saw 48 percent and…

Crypto Bear Market Provides Opportunity For Major Corps, As CP Group Acquires Omise

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The crypto bear market has been the longest on the record books, causing most cryptocurrencies to decline in value by 85% or higher. While the flight of capital from the crypto market has been brutal for retail crypto investors who bought in at the height of the hype bubble, the bear market has proven to be a unique opportunity for corporations seeking to enter the blockchain or cryptocurrency arena. The latest example of this was demonstrated by the acquisition of Omise, by Thailand’s wealthiest company, CP Group. CP Group is…

Sharp Bitcoin Rally in 2019 Unlikely: Analyst

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The chance of Bitcoin (BTC) recovering to its former five-digit highs this year is unlikely, a trading expert told MarketWatch on March 29. While 2018 was a bear year throughout, in November a massive sell-off saw the valuation of major coins crash by double-digit percentages, with Bitcoin dropping below $5,600 for the first time that year. Options trading — which allows traders to bet on whether the price of an asset will reach a certain level — has reportedly been gaining traction in the cryptocurrency space. Emmanuel Goh, a former…

Major Private Indian Bank Partners With Ripple for Cross-Border Remittances

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India’s Federal Bank, a commercial private bank, has partnered with Ripple to use its network for cross-border remittances. The bank announced the development in a letter on March 28. The partnership with Ripple comes as part of a wider initiative to apply new technologies to the bank’s remittances network. Also on March 28, Federal Bank launched two remittance platforms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for making payments to India. One of the platforms will purportedly allow non-resident Indians in the UAE to send money through exchange houses and banks…

Solid Progress: Bakkt Continues Work On Bitcoin (BTC) Futures, Unveils Stacked Board

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Bakkt Delivers Much-Needed Update At long last, Bakkt, the most-awaited crypto startup of the past year, has released its latest update. In a Medium blog post published Friday, Kelly Loeffler, the chief executive of the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)-backed initiative, explained how her firm’s foray into Bitcoin (BTC) futures and other offerings is faring. Loeffler explained that while she is unable to divulge a launch date (target), Bakkt is “making solid progress” in bringing the first physically-delivered BTC futures contract to market. She, a former member of ICE’s C-suite, adds that…

Canadian Oil Companies are [Somehow] Mining Bitcoin: the Next Big Trend?

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Mining for Bitcoin is a unique and modern twist on what has typically been a traditionally non-digital activity that has powered economic growth around the world for centuries – oil mining. Although mining for oil and mining for Bitcoin share few similarities beyond the principle concept, a unique system in place at a Canadian oil field creates an unlikely partnership that essentially generates Bitcoin as a byproduct of oil. Natural Gas to Power Bitcoin Mining Operations  The operators of a large oil field in Canada are cashing out on the…

This Bitcoin Price Rally is Masking a Serious Problem

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By CCN.com: This week is looking to end on a positive note for bitcoin, as the cryptocurrency clawed its way above $4,100, adding $1 billion to its market cap in the process. Bitcoin Price Cracks $4,100 as Bullish Sentiment Grows The bitcoin-to-dollar rate established an intraday high at $4,103, up 2.24-percent since Friday’s opening price. The session peak also marked bitcoin’s highest mark since February, leading many to believe that the cryptocurrency was finally breaking out of its prolonged bearish bias. The shift in sentiment has been building since bitcoin’s…

Largest Austrian Energy Provider Debuts DLT-Based E-Car Charger

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Wien Energie, the largest energy provider in Austria, has announced a charger for electric cars based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) in a press release on March 28. Per the release, Wien Energie in partnership with blockchain tech firm Riddle & Code are testing an electric vehicle charging station with “integrated secure machine identity” in Vienna. The new machines purportedly aim to provide immutable data interfaces that connect various aspects of the power supply chain, including smart meters, producers and consumers. In its initial stages, the station will purportedly allow…