Last Week in the Ledgers
Cryptocurrencies, blockchains, regulators and more!
Zuckerberg testifies before US congress over its Libra project
Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, testified in front of the US congress over the Libra cryptocurrency the company aims to launch next year. Relevant takeaways are as follows:
Zuckerberg said that Facebook would leave the Libra Association in case that the latter goes ahead with the project even if it does not have the approval of regulators.
He reassured that the Libra Association is a centralized organization.
He recognized that Libra’s implementation and plans could change based on circumstances and regulatory engagement.
He said that Libra is a payments system and not a new currency as originally stated.
China’s Xi pushes for blockchain development and further innovation
Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, last Thursday said that China must increase investment and accelerate the development of the blockchain technology within the country.
“We must take the blockchain as an important breakthrough for independent
innovation of core technologies,” Xi told committee members.
“[We must] clarify the main direction, increase investment, focus on a number of key
core technologies, and accelerate the development of blockchain technology and
industrial innovation.” Xi
It should be clarified that China’s leader did not mention Bitcoin in his speech. Bitcoin trading has been banned in China since 2017. The only way to trade Bitcoin in China is through P2P and OTC channels.
Bitcoin surges more than 40% in one day
Bitcoin’s price surged almost 40% last Friday, growing in value from about $7,300 to over $10,000 briefly before selling off at the end of the day. Bitcoin’s rally was motivated by the pro-blockchain sentiment offered in Xi Jinping’s speech.
Source: Coindesk’s Bitcoin Price Index
Jack Dorsey says Bitcoin is the currency of Internet
Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, has said publicly that he and his companies, Twitter and Square, would not participate or embrace any centralized digital currency like Facebook’s Libra.
He went a step further, saying that he believes Bitcoin is the currency of the Internet.
“I think the Internet is somewhat of an emerging nation-state in almost every way. It
almost has a currency now in the form of cryptocurrency and Bitcoin" Jack Dorsey
According to Dorsey, Twitter has recruited teams of engineers to experiment with blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies, as well as collaborate with the open source community that supports the Bitcoin network.
MORE NEWS!
Bakkt, the digital assets company that offers exchanging and custody services, plans to launch a crypto consumer app to help its retail investors buy their coffee with their crypto investments (Coindesk).
Bakkt also plans to launch Bitcoin options in its futures contracts platform. (Decrypt)
Samsung has added support for the TRON token in its phones via its Blockchain Keystore SDK. TRON becomes the fourth coin to be supported by the phones of the South Korean company. (Decrypt)
China’s congress, one day after Xi’s pro-blockchain speech, passed a law to regulate cryptography. The law will take effect on January 1, 2020. (Coindesk)
Argentina’s citizens will not be able to buy more than $200 dollars per month, according to an update made by the nation’s central bank. (The Block)
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, is planning to expand to Russia. According to its CEO: “Russia is our key market, one of the most active markets in the global blockchain space.” (Coindesk)
Bitmain and Canaan, two of the largest mining hardware manufacturers in the world, have each filed for IPOs in the US (Finance Magnates)
Diego Puerto
Digital Assets Analyst
October 31, 2019
Florianópolis, Brazil.