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Thursday, July 12, 2018
Stellar.org Monthly Roundup - June 2018
People’s Bank of China Doubles Down on Crypto Regulations
| July 12, 2018 | Read in Browser |
 QUOTE OF THE DAY  |
| "Lost coins only make everyone else’s coins worth slightly more. Think of it as a donation to everyone." - Satoshi Nakamoto |
Happy Thursday! Don't miss out on us giving away 3 copies of @cointradernik's newest book An Altcoin Trader's Handbook to our newsletter subscribers! You must follow the rules listed in the section titled 'Giveaway' to enter.
Cheers,
Blockchain Brew Team
| MARKETS |
| COIN | PRICE | 24H |
| | ||
| BTC | $6,196.32 | -3.57% |
| | ||
| ETH | $433.001 | -2.83% |
| | ||
| XRP | $0.434241 | -3.62% |
| | ||
| BCH | $681.298 | -3.56% |
| | ||
| EOS | $6.79599 | -5.44% |
| | ||
*Information as of 9:30 AM EST
| REGULATION |
People’s Bank of China Doubles Down on Crypto Regulations
RECENT MEETING
- A People’s Bank of China committee recently gathered to discuss China’s future plans with cryptocurrency
- The country originally banned all initial coin offerings in September of 2017 and is mulling blocking all crypto related websites
- The head of the committee voiced his opinion in the meeting that they are in a critical stage and must act swiftly to protect the country’s financial safety
- He recommended that the country focus on three aspects for plan: defining the standards of blockchain and online lending, reinforcing the boundaries of online insurances and non-bank payment services operating on digital currencies, and clarifying the legality of ICOs on all its forms
WHERE’S YOUR LICENSE?
- The committee restated that any payment service must be licensed by the government regardless if they are operating in fiat currency or cryptocurrency
- The ICO ban was also reinforced, the committee reminding everyone that raising funds via an initial coin offering or promoting a foreign ICO within China is illegal
HOPE LOST FOR CHINA
- Cryptocurrency enthusiasts have always held out hope that the Chinese market would return to industry, but now it looks extremely unlikely this will happen anytime in the near future
- The committee hopes to have clear regulations for cryptocurrencies within the next two years, setting a deadline for June 2019
- It is still not clear what all of this means for Chinese cryptos that are already funded and operating in China
| ADOPTION |
Litecoin Foundation Acquires Portion of German Bank
ACQUISITION
- The Litecoin Foundation has acquired 9.9% equity in the German bank, WEG Bank AG
- The acquisition deal is an agreement with crypto-to-fiat firm TokenPay
- In exchange for equity in the bank, the Litecoin Foundation will provide TokenPay and WEG Bank AG technical assistance in helping the bank bring cryptocurrency payments to its customers
- TokenPay acquired its original shares of the bank in May for an undisclosed amount and has the option to purchase the remaining shares of the bank if regulators allow
Charlie Lee, Litecoin’s founder, commented on the acquisition saying:
"I'm looking forward to integrating Litecoin with the WEG Bank AG and all the various services it has to offer, to make it simple for anyone to buy and use Litecoin."
TABLES TURNED
- This is a major triumph for Litecoin and cryptocurrencies in general, many predicted banks would begin to acquire or build their own cryptocurrencies but few could’ve predicted cryptocurrencies would be buying banks
- Having ownership in a bank could be extremely beneficial, many banks are unwilling to get involved in cryptocurrencies, so as a cryptocurrency it helps to be a bank
- It wouldn’t be surprising to see more moves similar to Litecoin’s by other foundations that support cryptocurrencies
- Cryptocurrency was created to nullify the need for a bank, but bringing banking to cryptocurrency will help with adoption
| NEWS |
Uber Angel Investor Long on Bitcoin Because it is the 'People's Currency'
JEFFREY WERNICK
- Jeffrey Wernick is a successful angel investor for many tech companies you've probably heard of
- Wernick has always been interested in investing in the sharing economy shown by his investment history that includes notable names such as Uber and Airbnb
- Wernick tends to mostly play in Silicon Valley companies, however, he has now opened up about his beliefs about Bitcoin
PEOPLE'S CURRENCY
- In a recent interview with Business Insider, Wernick opened up as to why Bitcoin is so attractive to him
- The main reason he started acquiring Bitcoin in 2009, the year it was created, was because of his obsession with hard money and and the idea of decentralization
Wernick told Business Insider that since 1971 when President Richard Nixon took the U.S. dollar off of the gold standard there has been an untrustful relationship between citizens and the government:
"Now the government can do a lot of things without the consent of the people because as long as the people don’t have to pay for it, they feel that they’re less interested in it."
However, with Bitcoin, Wernick believes a trustful relationship can once again return as it solves the problems with fiat currency:
"So it’s a people’s currency, it’s defined by the people, and it’s defined by rules and a protocol that people trust. And I think in a world where people don’t trust anything anymore, that it’s good to have protocols that people trust that they control themselves, that are not controlled by third parties."
| MINING |
GPU Prices Slump in Tandem With Market Bleed
TREND REVERSAL
- As the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies took to astronomical highs in late 2017, so did the prices of the high-end GPUs responsible for mining
- However, new reports from Computerworld suggest that the trend is reversing and high-end GPUs are seeing losses in value
C. Robert Dow, a manager of digital media at Jon Peddie Research told Computerworld his firm had predicted the drop in GPU prices due to consumer behavior:
"The cost to run the mining rigs is not insignificant, so when the price for the currencies drop... people will run rigs and choose to dump AIBs on the secondary market hoping to recover some cost."
$776 MILLION SPENT
- Results from a survey released by Jon Peddie Research suggested that around 3 million add-in boards (AIB) were purchased in 2017 for a value of $776 million
- Since many manufacturers like AMD and Nvidia couldn't keep up with the demand, prices for the mining hardware rose on the open market
- Now as the crypto craze is largely over, AIB prices have slid with AMD's OEM 4GB RX 580 six-pack declining from a price of $3,600 to $2,500 and Nvidia's leading graphics card declining from $1,050 to as cheap as $709
C. Robert Dow commented on the current trend and when it might change:
"Prior to the surge in buying of AIBs for cryptocurrency mining, AIB prices were flat to declining slightly which is a trend that will continue at least until new families of cards are introduced."
| GIVEAWAY |
IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!
That's right. It's giveaway time. This time we are giving away 3 copies of @cointradernik's newest book An Altcoin Trader's Handbook!
HOW TO ENTER:
- Click the 'Win Your Copy' button above
- Forward the Blockchain Brew newsletter to 3 new people
That's it! We will be tracking the results and announcing winners in the Friday, July 20th newsletter.
P.S. Don't miss this opportunity...this may be the easiest way to get a free book in your lifetime:)
| TODAY'S SPONSOR |
| MORE BREWING |
- Saudi Regulator Approves First Two Fintech Licenses
- Trump Task Force to Aid Crypto Crime Investigations
- TenX Co-Founder Still ‘Quite Confident’ Bitcoin Can Hit $60,000 This Year
| TODAY IN CRYPTO |
Aion (AION)
MOAR AION in Circulation! The 8th Release (monthly) of 6.25% of AION Tokens for those who participated in AION's Token Release Schedule.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Meetup at 7PM at Betty's in Toronto. Get free Bitcoin Cash (BCH) by bringing a new or slightly used article of clothing.
Ark (ARK)
The ARK team will be speaking in Seoul, South Korea on the 12th and 13th this month at the Korean Blockchain Summit.
Today in Crypto is powered by coinmarketcal.com
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