Monday, December 10, 2018

Shuttering the unnecessary 🤭

December 10, 2018

Bitmain Shutters Its Israeli Development Center

All 23 Gone

The market is weighing heavy on crypto startups and Chinese mining giant Bitmain is no exception.

According to Globes, an Israeli news outlet, Bitmain is now shutting down its Israel-based development center and firing all 23 of its current employees.

That number includes Gadi Glikberg - a longstanding employee that is not only head of the Israeli branch but also Bitmain's vice president of international sales and marketing.

Citing the collapse

To explain the closure, Glikberg told Globes that it was linked to the market's recent downturn.

Specifically, Glikberg mentioned that the downturn has "forced Bitmain to examine its various activities around the globe and to refocus its business."

IPO worries

This isn't the only thing worrying investors ahead of Bitmain's forthcoming IPO. Aside from two lawsuits the mining firm is facing from unethical mining practices, it is also rumored to have had its worst quarter on record.

Allegedly, the firm lost $740 million in the third quarter of 2018 and largely attributed the losses to inventory levels and Bitcoin Cash performance.

Still unconfirmed

Bitmain's poor third quarter performance is still unconfirmed and the overall health of the business is unknown. However, one thing is clear: Bitmain isn't getting the type of momentum it needs for a successful IPO.

ADOPTION

Facebook Posts Five Job Openings for its Blockchain Team

Facebook's history with crypto

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has long been interested in cryptocurrencies. On January 4th, he took to his personal Facebook page to share his thoughts about the technology, he posted:

"With the rise of a small number of big tech companies — and governments using technology to watch their citizens — many people now believe technology only centralizes power rather than decentralizes it. There are important counter-trends to this --like encryption and cryptocurrency -- that take power from centralized systems and put it back into people's hands. But they come with the risk of being harder to control. I'm interested to go deeper and study the positive and negative aspects of these technologies, and how best to use them in our services."

Back in May, a report surfaced from Cheddar claiming Facebook is planning on launching its own crypto. Around the time of the report, Facebook announced a new team led by David Marcus to "explore how to best leverage blockchain across Facebook, starting from scratch".

Since Cheddar's report, Facebook's initiatives related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain has been very quiet. This year has been tumultuous for both Facebook and cryptocurrencies. Facebook has been plagued by privacy and data scandals resulting in its stock taking a substantial hit. During the same period of time, cryptocurrencies have dropped in value an even greater amount.

Crypto resurgence at Facebook

Months after Facebook reportedly began a blockchain initiative, the company has now posted five job openings for blockchain talent.

The company has still not disclosed its plans for utilizing the technology, but the job postings include its mission for the tech being to provide "billions of people with access to things they don't have now [...] equitable financial services, new ways to save, or new ways to share information".

The postings also indicate that the blockchain initiative is being treated as a startup within the firm. The five postings include roles for a data scientist, data engineer, software engineer, and a product marketing lead.

REGULATION

China Extends Crypto Ban to Security Token Offerings

💰 What is a security token? Security tokens are similar to ICO tokens but are backed by a company's revenue, earnings, or assets. They are essentially a hybrid between ICO tokens and shares of stock.

Brief recap of China's ban

China has been arguably the most strict nation on cryptocurrency regulation. The government has imposed a blanket ban on pretty much all things crypto including, trading, ICOs, and media publications.

Despite all of these bans, China is home to a significant amount of Bitcoin's miners and citizens are allowed to own cryptocurrencies.

Ban being extended

Security tokens have gained more interest in the cryptocurrency space as the SEC has been cracking down on initial coin offerings (ICO). Security token offerings (STO) are being proposed as a way to hold an ICO that is in compliance with securities regulations.

As STOs are gaining popularity, China has now made sure to make it clear that STOs are not allowed within its borders like all of the other crypto related activities.

In its announcement of the STO ban, China's central bank cited that crypto's role in illicit activities is the motivation for the country to restrict activity involving digital currencies.

TRADING

Bitcoin Volatility has Tripled in the Last Month

After Bitcoin broke through the $6,000 price level and proceeded to hit record lows, the cryptocurrency's volatility has tripled to levels not seen since March.

According to the Bitcoin Volatility Index, Bitcoin's 30-day volatility now stands at 5.73% - a far more recognizable figure for crypto than early November's measly 1.03%.

Though volatility has increased in the last month, it's still about 2% lower than when Bitcoin began to tumble from its all-time highs in early January.

Almost a year later, some experts hold that volatility will only continue to decrease as institutions begin entering and stabilizing the market.

BITS

But wait, there's more...

🏛 A Japanese lawmaker is proposing 4 new changes to ease crypto tax burdens and encourage adoption.
🎁 PayPal has launched a blockchain-based reward system for its employees.
🍗 KFC in Venezuela will begin accepting Dash payments within the week.

MEME