Day: February 19, 2020

Former Ripple Business VP Takes Role at Major Bank Standard Chartered

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Kahina Van Dyke, former senior vice president of business and development at blockchain firm Ripple, took on the role of Global Head, Digital Channels and Client Data Analytics at major bank Standard Chartered. According to an official announcement published by Standard Chartered on Feb. 19, Van Dyke joined the bank’s Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking (CCIB) division. Improving Standard Chartered’s data analytics The CCIB division focuses on corporate clients, financial institutions, and investors. The experts working on the team connect those clients with each other, and provide them advice and…

On-chain Activity Suggests Bitcoin Price Volatility Will Continue, Thanks to ‘Whales’

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Bitcoin’s (BTC) price volatility spiked in January and could further increase over the near term because “whales” have surfaced. The cryptocurrency’s annualized volatility grew roughly eight percentage points in January to a three-month high of 58.2 percent, according to Kraken’s monthly report.  Volatility rose as bitcoin’s price rallied from lows near $6,850 on Jan. 3 to a three-month high of $9,570 on Jan. 31. The cryptocurrency closed out January with 30 percent gains, registering its best January performance since 2013.  With the price rally, whales – those buyers of large…

Uber Risks Becoming Another WeWork Disaster Unless It Abandons Reckless Strategy

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Uber is aiming to register a profit before the end of fiscal 2020. The ride-hailing firm’s growth-at-all-costs strategy has been the key driver of losses. If it needs a lesson on the deficiencies of the strategy, the ride-hailing service only needs to look at WeWork. The tech sector has become famous for adopting the growth-at-all-costs strategy. Some firms have succeeded with the mentality while others have failed spectacularly. Besides WeWork, Uber (NYSE:UBER) ranks highly among the firms that have achieved mixed results with this approach. At Uber, the practice not…

Dow & Gold Rally in Unison as Fear Mixes with Euphoria on Wall Street

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Stock market euphoria returned on Wednesday as the Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 pushed back towards record highs. This confidence in risk assets belies demand for safe-havens as the price of gold continues to surge. Concerns about risk-taking and the impact of the coronavirus are potential causes for the jump in XAU/USD. The Dow Jones staged a relief rally on Wednesday, moving 141.73 points higher to 29,373.92 amid a strong return for risk appetite. Despite the jump in the stock market, moves in the gold price demonstrate that there…

EU Official: We Can’t Regulate Libra Without More Details

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The European Union is still trying to figure out what to do about Libra, according to a memo released Tuesday by European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis. The indecisiveness stems from a lack of actionable information. Specifically, Libra “lacks detail,” according to Dombrovskis.  Despite repeatedly asking the Facebook-launched Libra Association for information about its payments ecosystem and eponymous stablecoin, the Commission – the EU’s executive branch – has yet to determine what, exactly, Libra is. “As Libra is still a project, and thereby a moving target, the information provided remains…

Chainlink’s Sergey Nazarov on What DeFi Can Learn From Early Exchange Hacks

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Sergey Nazarov joins today’s episode of The Breakdown to discuss the role of price oracles in the recent DeFi attacks, plus what DeFi can learn from early exchange hacks. The DeFi world continues to dissect the recent attacks on bZx. To most, the amount lost in the attacks is far less relevant than what the attacks suggest about how DeFi applications need to be designed.  Within that, one key topic of conversation is the role of price oracles – the systems by which DeFi applications check the prices of assets…

Defi for Bitcoin: Collateral Peg Platform Provides Noncustodial BTC Lending on Ethereum

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During the second week of February, a new project called tBTC was unveiled that is similar to the Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) created with the Ethereum network. However, the tBTC effort claims to be a noncustodial application that allows users to deposit BTC, mint tBTC, and lend it with interest. Also Read: Market Update: Bitcoin Halving Hype, Golden Cross Signals, and GBTC’s 41% Premium tBTC Project Launches on Ropsten Testnet On January 30, 2019, the Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) project launched on the Ethereum network using the ERC20 standard. WBTC allows people…

Bitcoin Gold Is Held Captive by Whale With Almost Half the Supply

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Bitcoin Gold (BTG)’s price is being manipulated by a whale controlling close to half of the circulating supply. These are the findings of an analysis conducted by an independent trader and analyst, who preferred to remain anonymous. He published his findings in a blog post, where he explained why he believes a single group of people accumulated their way into a huge Bitcoin Gold position, and are now using that supply to control the market. Accumulation through Bitfinex The events started in August 2018, when Bitfinex margin long positions began…

Crypto’s Top Exec Thinks This Key Mining Factor Will Drive Strong Bitcoin Growth

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The Chief Executive Officer at leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance believes the Bitcoin halving is not priced in. Whilst reluctant to give a specific price target, Changpeng Zhao is “pretty positive” the upcoming supply shock will result in higher prices. Zhao believes that the current market is not efficient and that future events, even if they’re known in advance, are not necessarily reflected immediately by price. He also says that a reluctance to sell amongst miners will create an even greater supply/demand imbalance. Zhao: Bitcoin Halving Not Priced In One of…

Gold’s Epic Rally Clears the Way for an Even More Insane Milestone

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Gold came within $5 of a new seven-year high, gaining 0.7% on the day. Bullion is rallying on renewed haven demand as investors assess the economic blow back of coronavirus. Citigroup is calling for $2,000/oz. gold in the next 12 to 24 months. The price of gold was approaching seven-year highs on Wednesday, as investors shrugged off a surging dollar that’s normally seen as a headwind for precious metals. Gold is rallying on the back of renewed haven demand as central banks prepare more easing measures to prop up sagging…