Binance buys India's WazirX / Shenzhen's crypto warning / BTC attractive in recessions

Inside Bitcoin presented by Ledger.

Presented by Subscribe | View in browser Market Watch: Bitcoin has fallen below $8,000 as the downtrend with market prices continues. Reports suggest that it could be down to the fact that Binance's Shanghai office has closed down amid a crypto crackdown. Bitcoin: $7,624 (⬇️5.72%) // $137.7 billion market cap. Ethereum: $160 (⬇️ 9.42%) // $17.4 billion market cap. XRP: $0.241 (⬇️ 4.54%) // $10.4 billion market cap. Tether: $1.01 (⬇️ 0.21%) // $4.1 billion market cap. Top 100 Winner: Molecular Future: $0.915 (⬆️ 30.63%) // $39 million market cap. Top 100 Loser: EDUCare: $0.082 (⬇️ 15.82%) // $82 million market cap. Prices are as of 12:30 p.m. ET.       1. Crypto platform Binance has announced that it has acquired India's leading digital asset platform WazirX so that it can launch several fiat-to-crypto gateways. According to a post published on the platform's website today, users will be able to use Indian rupees to buy and sell crypto through the Binance Fiat Gateway as soon as November 25. Additionally, during Q1 2020, WazirX's auto-matching engine will be integrated into the Binance Fiat Gateway platform, bringing crypto access to over a billion people. According to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, "the young demographic in India give an edge to adopt and build on new financial technologies" and he believes this will help to spur the adoption of crypto to the wider public in the country. –BINANCE BLOG       2. The Chinese city of Shenzhen has issued a warning against illegal activities involving cryptocurrencies. The warning from the technology capital follows after the nation's president, Xi Jinping, endorsed the adoption of the blockchain last month. Despite China banning initial coin offerings (ICOs) and local platforms from operating in the country in 2017, there has been renewed speculation in cryptocurrencies in China since Xi's speech. As a result, Shenzhen's Leading Group for Remediation of Internet Finance Risks will be collecting and investigating evidence on illegal activities involving cryptocurrencies, which have, reportedly, increased. –EASTMONEY       A MESSAGE FROM LEDGER Ledger Nano X Limited Edition - only a few units left For our 5 years anniversary, we released a limited edition of our star product, the Ledger Nano X. It's only been a few weeks and we are already almost out of stock! Don't miss your opportunity to get one. Buy now 3. Throwback Thursday: 2015 is a good year for Bitcoin At the end of 2015, the price of Bitcoin was up by around 37 percent against the U.S. dollar. According to CoinDesk's composite index, the price of the crypto asset was $313 at the start of the year but by the end of 2015, it rose to $430. This increase in value came after the digital asset saw its price drop to $175 mid-January. It's not known what caused the spike in value but observers noted that a 70 percent rise in Bitcoin's value over a one-month period may have been down to Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss launching their Gemini exchange.       4. Charles McGarraugh, head of markets for crypto wallet provider Blockchain, believes that Bitcoin is an attractive asset during times of recession and global uncertainty. McGarraugh was part of a panel that also featured John Pfeffer, founder of Pfeffer Capital, along with Travis Kling, founder and CIO of Ikigai Asset Management. Sitting down with Bloomberg's Alastair Marsh at the Future of Digital Assets meeting in London, the three spoke about Bitcoin and its role during geopolitical tensions. Adding to McGarraugh's comments, Pfeffer said that "sooner or later" Bitcoin will become digital gold. Kling, on the other hand, stated that people aren't investing in Bitcoin as a "store of value today" but rather they are "speculating" that it will become a "good store of value." –BLOOMBERG       5. Venezuela is planning to back its national cryptocurrency, the Petro, with 30 million barrels of oil, which is less than the originally reported five billion barrels. According to the nation's president, Nicolas Maduro, the oil is ready to serve as a "liquid, physical, material backing" for the Petro. Maduro's comments come as his government tries to push the use of Petro and as inflation continues to wipe out Venezuelans' salaries. –REUTERS       6. An ice-cream shop in Berlin said that a chat with the "super nice" Andreas Antonopoulos inspired the store to encourage the local community to adopt Bitcoin. According to retailer "Chipi Chipi Bombón" in a series of tweets, the Bitcoin evangelist and educator explained the basics of the crypto asset, sparking their interest in adopting Bitcoin rather than using BitPay and euros. Following the tweet thread, Antonopoulos responded by saying "I remember our discussion and I'm glad you've taken it so far." –@CHIPICHIPIBMBN/TWITTER       7. Two Texas representatives, Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) and Lance Gooden (R-Texas), have proposed a bill that would put Facebook's Libra under U.S. securities law. The bill, Managed Stablecoins are Securities Act of 2019, could bring more regulation to the stablecoin if it passes. The legislation comes after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivered testimony in front of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee last month. According to Garcia, she walked away from the hearing feeling "disappointed" in his answers. –CNBC       8. Ryan Montoya, CTO of the Sacramento Kings, said that people stopped using Bitcoin to pay for merchandise after its price went up. In an interview, Montoya said that when they first started accepting Bitcoin in 2014, sports fans were using the coin to purchase items such as tickets, Kings jerseys, and other Kings gear. However, when the price of the coin rose to $1,200, they stopped using Bitcoin. –FRONT OFFICE SPORTS       9. The People's Bank of China (PBoC) set standards for 17 fintech categories, including blockchain. According to the central bank's vice president Yifei Fan, the bank aims to better regulate new technologies within the financial industry, including artificial intelligence and cloud services. Fan went on to say that the financial industry either "lacks the standards" or needs to update the existing ones. –COIN DESK       10. The number of blockchain patent applications in China has reached 7,600, surpassing the U.S. by three times. According to Tokyo-based research firm Astamuse, China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and the U.S. have submitted 12,000 blockchain-related patents from 2009 through to 2018. China took the lead with the number submitted, accounting for 60 percent of the five-country total. –NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW       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. Edited by Inside Dev and Inside Deals editor Sheena Vasani.

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