Market Watch: Bitcoin remains above $9,000 Tuesday trading; however, the biggest surprise comes from altcoin Noah Coin, which is, reportedly, up over 1,000 percent over 24 hours.
1. A Chinese state paper is urging for calm following President Xi Jinping's comments about the blockchain, stating that people shouldn't "speculate" in cryptocurrencies. The People's Daily newspaper, which is published by China's ruling Communist Party, stated that while blockchain's future is here, people must "remain rational." The publication went on to say that while there is a rising interest in the blockchain, that doesn't mean cryptocurrencies should be speculated on. The remarks come at a time when Xi said last week that China should "seize the opportunity" with blockchain adoption. –REUTERS
Why it Matters: China's position of cryptocurrencies hasn't changed just because its president has given the green light to embrace the blockchain. However, the market has recovered positively despite the country's ban on digital assets.
2. Worldwide searches for the term Bitcoin have hit a three-month high, according to Google Trends. The last time interest was this high was back in August when Bitcoin was around $11,700. Of the regions that have seen the most searches, Nigeria, South Africa, Austria, Ghana, and Brazil make up the top five. However, blockchain searches haven't been as significant despite China's President Xi Jinping calling for the country to adopt the technology. Experts have long argued that there is a correlation between search activity for Bitcoin and the coin's price. –COINTELEGRAPH
3. Russian Mining Company (RMC) is planning to open a new Bitcoin mining facility and corner 20 percent of the international market. The RMC is hoping to reuse a Russian factory that was closed in 2018 due to U.S. sanctions. According to ombudsman CEO Dmitry Marinichev, the idea is to convert the factory and sell the computing power as a service. Those involved have said that mining crypto, in particular, Bitcoin, is still profitable. The announcement comes at a time when Bitman revealed last week that it was opening, what it called, the world's largest facility for mining Bitcoin in Texas. –RBC
4. The German federal parliament has said that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin aren't real money. As per an announcement published yesterday, it reads that crypto tokens "at best only very limitedly fulfill the economic functions of money in the classical sense." Going further, the writer states that stablecoins "do not establish themselves as an alternative to state currencies, thereby calling the existing monetary system into question." Highlighting Facebook's Libra currency, the German parliament added that it had yet to determine whether it was lawful with German law. The whitepaper published by the project is not a reliable source to answer this, according to the announcement. –GERMAN FEDERAL PARLIAMENT
5. China's Communist Party (CPC) has asked its members to pledge their support for the blockchain. Following President Xi Jinping's "seize the opportunity," comment regarding blockchain adoption in the country, the CPC's dapp, "Original Intentions Onchain," allows members to support the technology and record it on the blockchain, which can then be seen by others. Last week, Jinping said that the technology should be seen as an "important breakthrough for independent innovation of core technologies." –COIN DESK
6. Over 60 percent are not in favor of Ethereum reversing transactions. Vitalik Buterin posted a survey on Twitter over the weekend asking for his followers' opinion in reversing chain activity in the event of a hack. However, 63 percent of the 14,577 people who answered said that "intervention [is] never okay." He also asked how many coins need to be at stake for users to support a potential reversal, with 16 percent stating between 10-100 million, 12 percent for less than a million, and nine percent for between one and 10 million. –@vitalikbuterin
7. Libra "should be banned" if it can't abide by international foreign exchange regulations, according to a senior Chinese regulator. Making an address at the Bund Summit in Shanghai, Sun Tianqi, chief accountant of China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), said that while financial technology can boost innovation, it could also increase illegal cross-border financial activities. –REUTERS
8. Huang Qifan, vice chair of China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), is of the opinion that China's central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBoC), will be the first to launch a digital currency. Speaking of the SWIFT payment system, Qifan argued that it is "outdated, inefficient, and costly." Even though the PBoC said it's central bank digital currency was ready in August. However, a month later it stated that "no timetable" had been set for it. –PANDAILY
9. The Korea Internet Security Agency (KISA) is to support blockchain-related projects next year, providing around $9 million in funding. In 2020, 10 projects will be picked, with one or two receiving funding for several years. The maximum amount of funding that each project can get is $1.2 million. This will be the third year that the section from the Korean government will provide funding. –COIN DESK
10. In 2020, enterprises should turn their attention to integrating the blockchain with data systems and making sure they can communicate with other blockchains, research shows. According to Forrester Research's 2020 Predictions report, even though there is still excitement around the technology, attention was now being focused on how the blockchain can "deliver a particular benefit." –COMPUTER WEEKLY
This newsletter was written and curated by Rebecca Campbell. She has been writing and reporting on various industries for the past 10 years, more specifically tech in the last three. Connect with her on Twitter.
Editor: David Stegon (senior editor at Inside, whose reporting experience includes cryptocurrency and technology).
