Leap forward

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Sponsored by   September 26, 2019 ASK THE ORACLE: Chainlink CEO Sergey Nazarov says there’s one big thing holding back corporate adoption of blockchain technology: reliable oracle services that connect blockchain systems to real-world events, and vice versa. He believes making blockchain-based contracts pegged to real-world events – in a reliable and secure manner – is the next “leap forward” that will launch the industry to new heights. At CoinDesk’s Invest: Asia conference, Nazarov sat down with reporter Christine Kim to talk about the company’s plans for user adoption in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. See the video CATCHING UP: Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced that New York residents now have access to two cryptocurrencies launched for other jurisdictions months ago. In two tweets late on Wednesday, the exchange said customers based in New York state can now hold, buy, sell, send and receive both Stellar lumens (XLM) and Chainlink’s LINK token. XLM had previously been launched in most jurisdictions on Coinbase back in March, while LINK followed in June. Full story MEDICI RETURNS: A new crypto-friendly bank with a historic pedigree is about to take on its first clients. Revealed exclusively to CoinDesk, Medici Bank is launching into private beta in October. The Puerto Rico-based bank will be testing the digital onboarding process, web portals and its API with five companies from around the globe – two or three of which will be crypto businesses and at least one of them an exchange, Ed Boyle, CEO of Medici, told CoinDesk. Full story IDENTITY INVESTMENT: Blockchain-based identity firm Evernym has received a $2 million investment from Overstock subsidiary Medici Ventures, according to the startup. Medici participated in Evernym’s Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE), which will be converted into preferred stock at a later (undisclosed) date. Medici Ventures already owns stakes in other identity-focused portfolio companies, Netki and FinClusive. Full story RETAIL SHOWCASE: Cryptocurrency is coming to the Mall of America. Flexa, a startup making it easier to use crypto for purchases in the real world, will advise on a new demonstration store at the largest U.S. mall near Minneapolis. The demo, meant to showcase new brands and technologies for enhancing the retail experience, is being organized by management consulting firm McKinsey. “The big thing for us is showing that cryptocurrency is an extremely legitimate if not the best form of digital payment,” Flexa CEO Tyler Spalding told CoinDesk. Full story SPONSOR SECTION BRIEF BOUNCE? Bitcoin is defending a crucial long-term average support for a third straight day and may chart a minor bounce in the next day or two. Any corrective move higher, however, is likely to be short-lived, as a host of technical indicators are aligned in favor of the bears. The cryptocurrency, therefore, remains on track for a drop to $7,500 as long as a key resistance near $9,100 remains intact. Full story   DECENTRALIZED, REALLY?:  For all the talk of web decentralization, many blockchains are hosted in the most conventional way. More than 60 percent of ethereum nodes, for instance, rely on cloud-based services; 25 percent run on Amazon Web Services alone, according to analysis from Chainstack. "In the past, people have referred to Ethereum as an AWS-killer, but this research suggests it’s more akin to AWS-enabler," writes Robert Stevens in Decrypt.  WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER   Copyright © 2019 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