 QUOTE OF THE DAY  |
| “The governments of the world have spent hundreds and hundreds of trillions of dollars bailing out a decaying, dickensian, outmoded system called banking, when the solution to the future of finance is peer-to-peer. It’s going to be alternative currencies like Bitcoin and it’s not actually going to be a banking system as we had before 2008.” - Patrick Young |
Happy Monday! Wishing the entire Brew Crew a productive start to the week. In addition we have stickers to give away! Follow us on Twitter and direct message us if you would like to get Blockchain Brew stickers shipped.
Cheers,
Blockchain Brew Team
| COIN | PRICE | 24H |
|
| BTC | $6,608.72 | +3.91% |
|
| ETH | $474.242 | +6.11% |
|
| XRP | $0.463166 | +4.12% |
|
| BCH | $769.182 | +6.83% |
|
| EOS | $7.75538 | +8.61% |
|
*Information as of 9:30 AM EST
$6.3 Trillion BlackRock is Allegedly Now Exploring the World of Cryptocurrencies
DIVING IN
- Today, reported by Financial News, BlackRock is allegedly diving into the world of cryptocurrencies by creating a research team to explore the new industry
- This research team is set to focus on ways BlackRock can implement blockchain in its own business model as well as examine competitors' investments in cryptocurrencies
- BlackRock is currently the world's largest asset manager with $6.3 trillion in assets under management
OPINION U-TURN
- BlackRock has never been too fond of cryptocurrencies in the past
In November 2017, CEO of BlackRock Larry Fink discussed his distaste with Bitcoin:
"[Bitcoin] is a very speculative instrument. More importantly, it is an instrument that people use for money laundering."
- However, as more companies jump on the cryptocurrency bandwagon, more seem to join due to the fear of getting left behind
LOOKING FORWARD
- If confirmed, BlackRock's involvement would legitimize the cryptocurrency markets in the eyes of regulators
- As the world's largest exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider, BlackRock could be looking to lead the charge of Bitcoin ETFs once the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approves it
Cobinhood Announces Fiat Trading
COBINHOOD
- Cobinhood is a cryptocurrency exchange that boasts no trading fees
- At the time of this writing, Cobinhood ranks as the 108th biggest cryptocurrency exchange, hosting more than $1 million in trading volume in the last 24 hours
WELCOME USD
- Cobinhood has announced that they will be adding crypto-fiat pairings, allowing their users to buy and sell crypto with USD and pay no fees
- USD deposits will not begin until July 20th
- The exchange has had to implement strict know your customer protocols to comply with regulations to support fiat trading
- Epay was disclosed as Cobinhood's partner to handless the payment processing
- Looking past the implementation of fiat pairings, Cobinhood is planning on releasing a decentralized exchange in the future
Cobinhood's founder, Popo Chen, is predicting a market turn around and explains it is a great time to add fiat:
"In several instances, the market is not reflecting tremendous progress being made at cryptocurrencies worldwide. Traders know there are opportunities abound for value, so it’s a very synergistic time to debut fiat trading on the COBINHOOD platform. There’s no doubt in my mind that many value investors were waiting on the sidelines until prices rationalized, and so the near term promises to be an exciting time for exchanges that can offer the liquidity fiat options provide."
Credit Giant American Express Files for Blockchain-Based Patent to Improve Payments
NEW PATENT
- In a patent application released last week, American Express is exploring using a "blockchain-based system" to get "payment confirmation including a transaction amount and a merchant identifier"
- This system would aid American Express in creating transaction evidence to retain "transaction data, contract data, proof-of-payment data, identification data, and/or other information as desired"
- By casting a wide net, American Express could apply this technology in a variety of different use cases
American Express explained its vision for the new system in its patent:
"[System data] could unlock a hotel, rental or shared economy property door using the card (e.g., that was used for the payment) to look up proof of payment on a blockchain. [In addition] the system may be leveraged to provide ticketless access to venues (e.g., movie theater, sports event, concert, etc.) to a customer."
PUBLIC V.S. PRIVATE
- One ongoing discussion is whether or not institutions who implement blockchain technology will create public or private ledgers
- Though a private ledger could aid in efficiency, it does not help the firm become more transparent
- As for American Express' patent, they did mention that "public networks may leverage the cumulative computing power of the network to improve security"
Research Finds That 38% of South Africans Wish They Had Invested in Crypto
A survey completed by South African financial services company Old Mutual uncovered some interesting insights about how the country views cryptocurrency
OPINION ON CRYPTO
- The survey found that 38% of respondents who are aware of what cryptocurrency is, wishes that they had invested in them earlier
- While a significant amount responded that they wish they invested in crypto and 71% of South Africans have a positive opinion about crypto, not all of the country had the same opinion
- 43% of South Africans indicated that they view cryptocurrencies as scams like pyramid schemes
UNAWARE
- The report also found that 60% of South Africans have never even heard of cryptocurrencies, showing the room for growth for the space
- Only 4% of respondents indicated that they have a high level of knowledge about cryptocurrencies
NOT CURRENCIES
- The South African government has intervened on the cryptocurrency market and said that they are intangible assets not currencies
- Classifying them as an asset means that South Africans are required to report gains and losses as income on their taxes
- The country's central bank actually refers to cryptocurrencies as "cyber-tokens" because they don't think they are currencies
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:)
- Top Swiss Stock Exchange Says It Is ‘Open’ to Offering Crypto Trading on Its Platform
- Bitcoin Price Spikes After Lowest Volatility Since All Time High
- ‘Bond Coin’: Thailand Plans Blockchain Token for Instant Securities Settlement
Monero (XMR)
Riccardo Spagni will be a speaker at The Global Blockchain Congress (July 16 - 17, 2018).
aelf (ELF)
Aelf is hosting an exclusive invitation only event together with Michael Arrington and SIgnum Capital on the July 16th in Seoul.
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