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STARBUCKS CONFIRMED: Bakkt plans to launch a consumer app for retail shopping using cryptocurrencies. Chief product officer Mike Blandina hinted that the app might support more than just bitcoin, which is currently the only digital asset Bakkt and its parent company Intercontinental Exchange provide futures contracts for. Notably, Starbucks will be Bakkt’s first launch partner when the app goes live sometime in the first half of 2020. Full story
BLOCKCHAIN RAMIFICATIONS? China passed a cryptography law on Saturday to tackle emerging regulatory and legal challenges in commercial cryptography, as the country pushes to be more competitive in the blockchain space. Effective starting January 1, 2020, the draft legislation was published ahead of the launch of the nation's digital currency. Full story
BLOCKCHAIN 500: More than 500 blockchain projects have been registered with the Chinese government since March, according to data published by the Cyberspace Administration of China. The filings reveal some of the largest Chinese banks and tech companies are working with the technology. Further, several government offices, including courts and tax bureaus, are testing blockchain platforms to execute administrative tasks. Full story
CHINA CALL: The head of the technology department at the People’s Bank of China has called for commercial banks to adopt blockchain technology in digital finance. As reported by Reuters, bank official Li Wei spoke Monday at a forum in Shanghai on commercial bank adoption. The central bank is already currently developing its own digital yuan that is expected to launch soon to counter the potential launch of the Facebook-led Libra. Full story
CRYPTO CHARGES: Oz Yosef, principal of payment processor Crypto Capital, has been indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York on Wednesday. According to court documents, Yosef was charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Following criminal investigations by multiple international bodies, including U.S. authorities, this spring, Crypto Capital’s funds were frozen – of which $880 million belonged to crypto exchange Bitfinex. Full story |
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| STILL BEARISH: Despite a 16 percent climb, bitcoin remains trapped in a four-month-long bear trend. The cryptocurrency now risks falling to the former resistance-turned-support of $8,800, as the intraday charts are now reporting signs of buyer exhaustion. A sustained move above $9,700 is needed to confirm an end of the interim bear trend and a resumption of the rally from the low near $4,000 seen in the beginning of April. Full story |
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| | GROWING PAINS: Finding the technology immature or hard to sell, a number of founders that started blockchain businesses are now shying away from the technology, reports Wired . Natalia Karayaneva, CEO of Propy, a land-registry startup, said the term blockchain rarely appears in its marketing materials meant to woo customers and investors, who soured on the subject. Amos Meiri, CEO of Colu, a startup that issues city-specific tokens to spur local shopping, exited blockchain altogether. “You can make the experience work with Amazon AWS, just like any other payments or rewards platform,” he said. |
WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER
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Bakkt's back