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BITSTAMP BOUGHT: Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp has been acquired by an investment firm subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate NXC, which also owns Nexon, a maker of popular games for both desktop and mobile platforms.
Signed last Thursday, the deal sees a majority ownership stake in the exchange pass to Brussels-based investment firm NXMH, although Bitstamp CEO Nejc Kodrič will retain a minority ownership stake and continue running the startup's operations. The terms of the deal, including the sale price, were not disclosed.
Bitstamp customers will not see any immediate change in services, Kodrič told CoinDesk. The exchange has an existing roadmap for improvement, which it intends to stick to for the time being. Full story
ICO CHAMPION: While South Korea banned initial coin offerings last year, Min Byung-doo, a member of the ruling Minjoo Party and Chairman of the National Policy Committee, has spoken out in favor of token-based fundraising.
In an interview, Min spoke of the conflict between different political groups in the country, with some determined not to allow ICOs due to fears of “fraud, speculation or money laundering,” and others are “wholeheartedly devoted to promoting them.”
Min said he personally was “strongly committed” to passing legislation to once more allow token sales, since they open up a major source of funding for companies and offer the possibility of new ways of doing business.
The way forward may not be easy however – parts of government “have a negative view of ICOs,” he said, while regulators seem happy with the law as it stands. Yet, if Korea's blockchain industry fails to develop because of the ban, “the government should be held accountable,” Min said. Full story
TETHER'S CHALLENGERS: Tether may be the most dominant stablecoin at present, but this hasn't stopped exchanges and other startups from trying to create a replacement.
Since USDT broke its dollar peg in mid-October, a number of other stablecoins have made gains in total supply being circulated, with TrueUSD and USD//Coin seeing greatest jumps.
And yet, USDT saw almost no losses in exchange volume, though its challengers did significantly increase their on-chain transaction volume. Full Story |
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 CoinDesk Research tracks many different metrics in the crypto economy. Social interest is important in determining the engagement of various coin communities. We observed Reddit post volume on each cryptocurrency's unique subpage for Sunday, Oct. 28. Bitcoin's (BTC) had the highest share at 29 percent followed by Bitcoin Cash (BCH) with 23 percent. VeChain (VEN) came in third place and accounted for 8 percent of the total post volume. This could be down to the subreddit's highly engaged “Daily Discussion” posts that see a large number of comments. It's helpful to also consider the number of subscribers of each subpage. This helps indicate if the volume is underperforming or over-performing for its size. VEN is in 13th place when it comes to subscribers, but was able to maintain a high flow of posts. This indicates VEN’s subreddit has a very engaged user base. For more research insights, check out the CoinDesk Research section here and follow the author of this Blast, @_peterryan, on Twitter. |
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| SUDDEN DROP: Bitcoin's price fell nearly $200 Monday morning after spending just under two weeks trading around $6,400. By 12:00 UTC, it hit a two-week low of $6,243, breaking open what had been its least volatile period since April 2017. Most major cryptocurrencies are similarly showing a 24-hour decline greater than 3 percent. Full Story |
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BEST OF THE BEST FINANCIAL TIMES: The “Big Four” accounting firms are hiring hundreds of blockchain experts to offer auditing services to companies involved in the crypto sector, says an article from the FT. PwC, for instance, now has about 400 blockchain experts globally. Furthermore, both PwC and EY launched their own blockchain auditing tools this year, targeting clients that include crypto exchanges and mining firms, as well as traditional companies using blockchain technology. Though crypto prices have been depressed this year, the accounting firms believe that businesses will continue to use the blockchain technology underpinning it. THE REST AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW: The head of JP Morgan's blockchain initiative, Umar Farooq, has revealed that the firm's Quorum blockchain platform is being used to tokenize and track gold bars – potentially creating a new opportunity for commodity traders. Farooq explained at the Sibos banking conference that, by coding the data of gold shipments – starting at the mine – onto a blockchain, traders will be able to buy and sell digitally via a distributed network, which will bring lower costs and risks. Further, sustainably mined gold can fetch a premium on the markets, he said, since the blockchain can prove provence of the precious metal. "If you know it's a socially responsible mine, someone will be willing to pay a higher spread on that gold versus if you don't know where it comes from," he said. FORBES: Blockchain is set to revive the manufacturing sector, suggests Forbes. This is mainly because blockchain technology helps improve the efficiency of supply chains, the foundation of every manufacturing business. With improved order accuracy and better control over product quality and traceability, manufacturers are expected, as a result, to sell more. The post cites various studies stating how blockchain could help cut costs and add value to manufacturing businesses. For instance, Capgemini found that typical product recalls cost around $8 million – and many of those could be avoided with improved tracking enabled by blockchain tech. It also cites Gartner as saying that the increased value blockchain will bring to enterprises could grow to over $176 billion by 2025, and then to at least $3.1 trillion by 2030. |
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Consensus: Invest Keynotes |
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|  Jay Clayton Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission |
|  Dr. Mohamed A. El-Erian Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz |
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WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER  |
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