Stellar giveaway

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November 6, 2018 FREE TOKENS: Crypto wallet provider Blockchain is about to stage what it's calling the "largest crypto giveaway in history." The company said Tuesday that it will distribute $125 million in Stellar lumens (XLM) – nearly half a billion tokens – to all Blockchain wallet holders, with some to receive tokens within the week. The amount of XLM being dropped to each wallet was not disclosed. Blockchain CEO Peter Smith said the Stellar network was chosen as it's "built for scalability" and has "an active and growing ecosystem." The airdrop is part of an effort to put "users first," he added, allowing them "to test, try, trade, and transact with new, trusted cryptoassets in a safe and easy way." With the news, Stellar becomes the first partner for Blockchain's airdrop program and guiding framework announced last month. Full Story SPEED HIKE: Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp is to roll out a new matching engine developed by exchange and clearing technology solutions provider Cinnobar.  Cinnobar’s TRADExpress Trading System will replace the in-house matching engine Bitstamp currently uses, dramatically increasing the exchange’s capacity for pairing orders. Bitstamp CTO David Osojnik told CoinDesk that this is especially important for periods of high market activity. “Our order matching speed is expected to become 1,250 times faster, while throughput will increase by 400 times,” he said, adding that the increased throughput will ensure the platform is able to handle “any level of demand.” Full Story STABLECOINS STUDY: Global accounting and consulting firm PwC's Hong Kong branch is looking into the best practices for issuing stablecoins as part of a joint initiative with the Loopring Foundation.  The two plan to examine stablecoins from a potential regulatory perspective, to determine how issuers can reassure investors that their tokens are safe to use.  PwC risk assurance emerging technology leader for China and Hong Kong, William Gee, said that the space needs greater trust than at present.  "So we are asking how things would look inside a regulated context; what are the standards, protocols, best practices and how would they fit," he explained. Full Story We're excited to announce that CoinDesk has partnered with MarketWatch to release our Crypto Sentiment Survey, sponsored by Zion Trades. In the above research, we find two interesting points that jump out. First, almost 50 percent of CoinDesk readers believe that large institutional participants will enter the cryptocurrency markets in the next year, marking a stark difference from MarketWatch readers. Almost 40 percent of MarketWatch readers believe those institutions will never enter. For more insights in this sentiment survey, check out the full report here. Jay Clayton Chairman of the SEC Kelly Loeffler CEO of Bakkt Dr. Mohamed A. El-Erian Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz Jeffrey Sprecher Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange & Chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.   Register Now LEVEL TO WATCH: Bitcoin is struggling to clear the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) of $6,450, despite having witnessed a symmetrical triangle breakout over the weekend. As a result, the immediate bullish outlook has been neutralized. A break above the key SMA may allow a test of key resistance lined up at $6,64. Full story BEST OF THE BEST THE GUARDIAN: The South American nation of Paraguay is becoming a hot-spot for cryptocurrency mining, according to a feature from The Guardian.  That’s because the country shares a huge hydroelectric dam with Brazil that is drawing mining outfits seeking cheap, green energy to power their rigs. But now Paraguay faces a quandary: Should it sell the dam’s output abroad to better help the quarter of its population that currently lives in poverty, or allocate more power to crypto mining firms and bring great riches to the few? One local entrepreneur argued, “In 10 years, it would generate enough money to pay Paraguay’s external debt. … The best chance we have is not selling our energy to Brazil but investing in cryptocurrency.” A growing group of politicians, academics and others, though, would rather negotiate a fairer price with neighboring Brazil and spread the income more broadly across society. THE REST THE NEW YORK TIMES: The time is ripe for moving America's – and potentially other nations' – voting platforms to digital systems is now, argues Alex Tapscott, co-author of the book "Blockchain Revolution." More specifically, he wrote in the New York Times, blockchain can ensure that such systems are secure and accurate. Issues with in-person voting can range from the risk of votes being tampered with to elected leaders trying to suppress political votes.  Voting online solves both of those issues, but leaves the door open to potential voter fraud. Blockchain mitigates that risk by eliminating the "double-spend problem."  Rather than a voter sending a copy of their ballot to election officials, voters would be sending their actual digital ballot, which can ensure that any such digital voting platform remains free of fraud, Tapscott said. BLOOMBERG: Passengers will soon be able to use cryptocurrencies to pay for limousine rides between Tokyo and its two main airports, Bloomberg reports. A trial service launched by limo fleet owner Hinomaru and Remixpoint, the operator of licensed Japanese crypto exchange BITPoint, will start this month, according to sources.  The service is said to be supporting payments in bitcoin, bitcoin cash and ether. WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER Consensus: Invest Keynotes Jay Clayton Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission Dr. Mohamed A. El-Erian Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz Register Now Copyright © 2018 CoinDesk. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 250 Park Avenue South New York, NY, 10003, US Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list