PBoC currency "progressing smoothly" / Ripple can't dump XRP / Ronnie Moas calls out McCormack

Inside Bitcoin presented by Andela.

Presented by Subscribe | View in browser Hi everyone! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a fantastic New Year.  So, it's 2020! Where have the last 10 years gone and what have you achieved in that time? As we look to the new year ahead, what do you think is in store for the crypto market? Already John McAfee has said that he won't be eating a certain part of his anatomy after Bitcoin failed to reach $1 million, arguing that it's an ancient technology, but did anyone really believe him?? And Vinny Lingham has called for Ronnie Moas to make his $20,000 bet to charity after Bitcoin didn't hit $28,000 as predicted when a bet was made in Vegas in 2018. Check out the tweet thread here to see the responses between the two. Already it's starting to look like an exciting year in crypto land. So without further ado, let's check out today's Bitcoin newsletter to get you back up to speed with what's been happening in the industry.       Market Watch: The industry is showing positive trading today with most coins in the green as we start the working week again. Bitcoin has yet to climb back to $8,000 and for now has settled within the $7,500 price range. Bitcoin: $7,552 (⬆️ 0.65%) // $137 billion market cap. Ethereum: $139 (⬆️ 2.14%) // $15.2 billion market cap. XRP: $0.197 (⬆️ 0.88%) // $8.5 billion market cap. Bitcoin Cash: $236 (⬆️ 5.24%) // $4.3 billion market cap. Top 100 Winner: MaidSafeCoin: $0.098 (⬆️ 17.05%) // $44 million market cap. Top 100 Loser: Bytecoin: $0.0002 (⬇️ 13.38%) // $42 million market cap. Prices are as of 12:30 ET.       1. The People's Bank of China (PBoC) has said that its central bank digital currency (CBDC) is "progressing smoothly." The update on what's happening was mentioned at the central bank's yearly work conference in Beijing; however, a launch date was not announced. The PBoC said "we will continue to steadily advance the development of legal digital currencies" this year. Since 2014, the central bank has been working on its digital currency and in recent months has ramped up efforts following the news of Facebook's Libra stablecoin plans. Libra is projected to launch in this year but has faced tough hurdles from global regulators. Once the PBoC launches its digital currency in a pilot phase, the first cities to use it will reportedly be Shenzhen and Suzhou. –THE BLOCK       2. Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of blockchain network Ripple, has stated in an interview that the company would never dump the XRP coin, which it owns a lot of. Garlinghouse said that as the biggest owner of the XRP ecosystem, Ripple is the "most interested party in the success" of the coin's development. He added that the organization has taken steps to lock up most of the XRP in escrow so that they can't touch it. His comments come at a time when XRP has jumped in value by nearly 10 percent in a 24-hour period. –CNN       A MESSAGE FROM ANDELA Scaling your engineering team in 2020? Here's (nearly) everything you need to know about hiring [e-book]. Hiring new talent is a challenge for all companies. It's even more difficult to hire talented engineers, who will also mesh well with your company culture. Read this guide to learn (nearly) everything there is to know about hiring developers. Read it Now 3. The Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution has said that Bitcoin should be listed directly on the Korea Exchange (KRX). The group, which was set up by the Korean government, has said that crypto products, including Bitcoin derivatives, should be allowed in the country. According to the committee, as the government is "no longer possible to stop crypto-asset trade," it has also been advised to consider introducing guidelines for crypto platforms. –BUSINESS KOREA       4. Ronnie Moas, founder of Standpoint Research, has hit out at Peter McCormack, host of What Bitcoin Did, for making comments regarding a public Twitter exchange between Moas and Vinny Lingham, CEO of blockchain identity startup Civic, involving a $20,000 bet. The debate, which took place at the beginning of January, revolves around a pledge that Moas made in 2018. At the time, he stated that if Bitcoin failed to reach $28,000 by the end of 2019, he would donate $20,000 to FreeRoss.org, the charity working to free jailed former Silk Road owner, Ross Ulbricht. Moas has since said that he will honor the bet but will distribute the money to organizations listed on his website, claiming that "disturbing info [regarding FreeRoss] came to [his] attention" and he can't support it. A day later, McCormack tweeted that he would be happy to donate $1,000 if the bet is not honored and someone can crowdfund the $20,000. Moas argued that McCormack was attempting to use the debate for his own publicity. –TWITTER/@RONNIEMOAS       A MESSAGE FROM KUSHY CBD Hemp, hemp, hooray! KushyCBD is an award-winning line of CBD products. We bring you "wellness in a daily dose" from right here on the California coast. We're here to help you optimize. To soothe whatever ails you (and your furry friends!). Save 20% with code: INSIDECBD 5. Brian Armstrong, Coinbase CEO, has said in a published post that over the next 10 years there will be a blockchain that will include privacy features and gain mainstream adoption. He went on to state that just as "the internet launched with HTTP...I believe we'll eventually see a 'privacy coin' or blockchain with built-in privacy features get mainstream adoption in the 2020s." In Armstrong's opinion, it doesn't make sense to broadcast each payment on a transparent ledger. –COINBASE BLOG       6. Winklevoss Capital has joined a $5 million funding round for TaxBit, a tax reporting platform. Winklevoss Capital, which is run by crypto exchange Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, joins the likes of Dragonfly Capital Partners, Collaborative Fund, TTV Capital, and Valar Ventures, among others. TaxBit, which assists with the automation of crypto tax calculations, is looking to use the money to grow its software platform. –TAXBIT       7. The Turkish regulator Sermaye Piyasası Kurulu is intending to boost its efforts toward crypto regulation during 2020 due to an increase in crypto trading interest in the country. The announcement comes at a time when a survey conducted by German data company Statista shows that one in five Turks noted that they had used or currently owned cryptocurrency. –FINANCE MAGNATES       8. IBM is to use the blockchain so that it can trace coffee. In a new app called Thank My Farmer, coffee drinkers will be able to trace their coffee beans back to the farmer. It will also enable them to learn more about their coffee and to support the farmer who harvested the beans. It's hoped that this will bring the coffee supply chain, which supports a $200 billion industry, improved traceability, efficiency, fairness, and communication. –VENTURE BEAT       9. Burger King in Venezuela has seen a new partnership that will see Bitcoin being accepted at the fast-food chain. So far, one Burger King branch in the Sambil area of Caracas accepts Bitcoin along with Ether, Litecoin, Binance Coin, and Dash, as well as stablecoin Tether; however, a total of 40 places are projected to take crypto payments throughout 2020. –COINTELEGRAPH       10. According to the Israeli Bitcoin Association, the number of Israel-based blockchain and crypto-focused startups rose by 32 percent in 2019. It found that by the end of the year, there were 150 active blockchain firms in the country. In 2018, 113 crypto-related organizations were operating in Israel; however, out of those 113, only 63 are functioning today. –CROWDFUND INSIDER       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.         Ad Scaling your engineering team in 2020? Read the Guide to Onboarding Developers today KushyCBD. Soothe whatever ails you (and your furry friends!)

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