Playing with lightning

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February 12, 2020 LIGHTNING FISTS: Two bitcoin developers faced off in a digital boxing match at the Advancing Bitcoin event in London recently. More than just a video game, “Raiki” from bitcoin startup Zebedee, highlights the power of the lightning network by allowing the audience to influence play with the strength of their wallets. Full story DIFFICULT TIMES: After posting solid gains in January, a key measure of competition among bitcoin miners, programmatic difficulty, has stagnated in the past two weeks as the coronavirus outbreak disrupts economic activity in China. Full story CIRCLE SALE: Voyager has acquired the retail-focused Circle Invest app from Circle. Voyager told the app’s users it is in the process of converting accounts to its own platform, promising commission-free trading, on-chain access and lock-up free interest yield. Full story WEED WATCHING: Vermont regulators will track hemp production on the ethereum mainnet in partnership with cannabis supply chain startup Trace. The five-year deal, announced Monday by Vermont’s Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM), is a production-ready solution for every level of the hemp trade, said the startup. Full story SLEEPING EASY: The U.K.'s proposed ban on retail trading of crypto derivatives will have a "minimal" impact on eToro’s business, an executive with the large crypto derivatives platform said. Iqbal Gandham, eToro's U.K. managing director, said retail investors prefer to hold crypto assets, not crypto contract-for-difference products. Full story STRETCHED RALLY? Bitcoin has found acceptance in five figures, but further gains toward the $11,000 mark may remain elusive as the cryptocurrency looks overbought on the three-day chart. A corrective pullback may be seen in the near term if the bulls fail to establish a foothold above resistance near $10,350. Full story   OF MINES AND MEN: In addition to a markets and news roundup, today's Markets Daily podcast features an interview with CoinDesk Senior Markets Reporter Brad Keoun on his in-depth reporting on a feud between childhood friends that may breakup North America's largest bitcoin mine. Listen in WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER   Copyright © 2020 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

Fed chair: Libra "really lit a fire" / Libra can't ignore money laundering / Libra's basket of currencies

Inside Libra.

Presented by Subscribe | View in browser 1. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has said that Facebook's Libra stablecoin "really lit a fire" under the central bank's efforts when questioned about its digital currency efforts. Powell was speaking before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services yesterday when he made his remarks. When Rep. Bill Foster (Dem. IL) asked the chair about the progress being made on a central bank digital currency (CBDC), Powell responded: "We're working hard on it, we have a lot of projects going on, lot of efforts going on on that right now." In his opinion, Libra "was a bit of a wakeup call." Despite interest from China to create its own CBDC, Powell added that the Fed hasn't officially started on creating its own digital currency, stating that "many questions" need to be answered regarding a digital currency for the U.S., including cyber and privacy issues. -THE BLOCK 2. In an interview, Dan Schatt, co-founder of Cred, a decentralized lending and borrowing platform, has spoken about Libra when questioned about the main challenges facing the crypto industry. In his opinion, one of the reasons Libra caused so much concern among U.S. lawmakers was because they looked at Libra's token "as a basket of different currencies, not just one." He added that he doesn't think any government would want to see its currency "diluted in that way," noting the fact that if the U.S. dollar is held alongside another reserve currency, you don't need any many U.S. dollars, which could decrease its value. -COINTELEGRAPH A MESSAGE FROM ATHLETIC GREENS Health experts, top performers and pro athletes all agree that the perfect diet doesn’t exist...so then what? They use Athletic Greens. It’s the all-in-one daily nutritional beverage that gives you 75 vitamins, minerals, and whole-food sourced ingredients–plus the antioxidant equivalent of 12 servings of fruits and veg, gut health benefits, and adaptogens for hormonal support. You’d struggle to find a better go-to source for comprehensive nutrition. We’re giving inside readers 20 Free Travel Packs with their first order! Order Now 3. Jamal El-Hindi, the deputy director of the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), has said that social media crypto projects can't ignore money laundering risks. El-Hindi was giving a speech at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association 20th Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Financial Crimes Conference in New York earlier this month when he made his remarks. He said that social media and messaging platforms can't "turn a blind eye to illicit transactions that they may be fostering." -FINCEN 4. According to this report, Facebook's Libra may have nudged central banks into the world of digital currencies but China's plans to create its own central bank digital currency (CBDC) has pushed them to take action. It goes on to point out that a World Economic Forum report (WEF) has provided guidelines on how to study digital currencies, adding that around 80 percent of central banks are exploring the possibilities of CBDCs. -CRYPTO BRIEFING A MESSAGE FROM SALESFORCE Drive Productivity for Enterprise Employees with Salesforce Learn how savvy IT departments can provide better workplace technology as the key to improving employee experience and driving organizationwide growth. Learn More 5. This recently published article questions whether we should be worried about Libra and if it "would cut into countries' monetary sovereignty." According to Lee Hills, CEO of blockchain regulatory specialist SolutionsHub.im, if a new party is introduced into the financial system overnight, it could introduce "unacceptable levels of unaccountability, and risk to sovereign monetary policy." However, he adds that while Facebook and other social media companies need to be more responsible in regards to data protection, he believes that if Libra can proceed unrestricted, then the "advantages to developing countries could be enormous." -IOM TODAY 6. Will Libra launch this year, or at all? That's the question posed by this article from Finance Magnates. In an analysis, the author looks at the hurdles that Facebook has had to ensure since Libra was first announced last June. It goes on to point out, though, that while plans for Libra may be different from its original proposal, "the project is still alive and kicking." -FINANCE MAGNATES 7. As we undergo 2020, what does the year hold for blockchain? According to this article, it looks at seven points, which are: greater regulation, a greater institutional footprint, the death of more initial coin offerings (ICOs), increased funding for viable blockchain projects, bitcoin to continue its market denomination, the launch of a few national cryptocurrencies, and the make or break year for Libra. -FX EMPIRE 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 Beth Duckett, staff writer at Inside. Ad The daily habit that sets you up for a healthy future. Order Now Ad Empower everyone to build apps fast with low code on the Lightning Platform.

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