The cryptocurrency market is undergoing a slight price correction as Bitcoin (BTC) struggles to cross above the $10,000 level. At the time of writing this article, Bitcoin has lost 3.1% in the past 24 hours to trade at $9,575.01. Ether (ETH) has lost 4% to trade at $261.80. Likewise, XRP has lost 4.1% to trade at $0.2695. Other major (top 20 by market cap) altcoins which have lost in the past 24 hours includes IOTA (IOTA-$0.2597, -6.4%), Cardano (ADA-$0.0584, -3.1%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH-$369.57, -8.2%), Monero (XMR-$78.29, -8.0%), Dash (DASH-$102.26, -4.8%), Tron (TRX-$0.0197, -6.4%), Stellar (XLM-$0.0683, -6.1%), EOS (EOS-$4.07, -6.5%), Litecoin (LTC-$74.18, -5.7%), ChainLink (LINK-$3.84, -8.4%), Huobi (HT-$4.59, -3.4%), Ethereum Classic (ETC-$9.25, -3.8%), Binance Coin (BNB-$21.66, -6.2%), Cosmos (ATOM, $4.29, -12.8%), Tezos (XTZ-3.05, -11.7%), OKB (OKB-$5.99, -8.5%). The only major (top 20 by market cap) altcoin which has gained in the past 24 hours is LEO (LEO-$0.9493, 0.3%).
Government level initiatives
Sweden trialing the e-krona in an effort to get a DBDC up and running
Sweden has started piloting e-krona, another step forward in the government’s plan to roll out a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The trial program will continue for one year, until February 2021. Notably, the country is already referred to as a cashless society.
It is believed that blockchain technology-based e-krona, once launched for public use, will lead traditional payments and other banking operations across Sweden. Instead of making cash or card-based payments, the public is expected to start using e-krona, implying transactions will be recorded on the blockchain.
Sweden could become the second country to introduce central bank digital currency, with the Bahamas leading the fray. The CBDCs trial program was launched by the Bahamas in December 2019 and intends to roll out sometime in the second half of this year.
Private sector initiatives
Boston, Massachusetts-based investment solutions provider, Fidelity, who manages assets worth $2.45 trillion, has invested in BC Group, the holding company of OSL, a renowned institution-level digital asset trading platform provider. By investing HK$110.5 million (~$14.20 million), Fidelity has bought 17 million shares for a 5.6% ownership, implying a value of HK$6.50 (~$0.83) per share of BC Group.
The investment is a portion of the $36 million share placement program conducted by BC Group in January. An interrelated HKEx filing indicates that 19 million shares were awarded to Fidelity International on February 12th.
BC Group runs two prominent firms: OSL, an institution-centered digital asset platform, and Branding China, a PR, and marketing company. OSL is a crypto asset platform offering a range of services for institutions that are keen on cryptocurrencies. The firm provides Software as a Service (SaaS) tools to interact with digital assets, Over Counter (OTC) broking for high net worth customers, custodian services, and cryptocurrency exchange for institutions.
Commenting on the investment round, BC Group CEO Hugh Madden said: “The raise represents a new phase of growth for the Group. It allows us to further invest in key areas such as technology and compliance, which will be essential as we compete and win in this dynamic environment.”
Shopify joins up with Libra Association
E-commerce firm Shopify has joined Libra Association, which is made up of founding members of Facebook’s stablecoin venture Libra. Canada-based Shopify, which hosts over one million vendors, will partner to set up a payment network serving members of the Libra Association. Through a Facebook post, Libra Foundation has revealed the plan, underlining that Shopify will turn out to be an “incredible partner in making widespread economic participation a reality.”
Shopify has emphasized that it primarily became a member of the network to address the issue of cross-border payments. As per Shopify, “much of the world’s financial infrastructure was not built to handle the scale and needs of internet commerce.”
Shopify additionally stressed that as a significant worldwide e-commerce platform, the company should not hesitate to question prevailing norms in the international payment system with the intention of bringing “transparent fees and easy access to capital,” while guaranteeing the safety and privacy of vendors.
Shopify said: “Our mission is to make commerce better for everyone and to do that, we spend a lot of our time thinking about how to make commerce better in parts of the world where money and banking could be far better. That’s why we decided to become a member of the Libra Association. This is one step, but not the only step we’ll be taking to be a part of the solution to this global problem.”
Bista supports the privacy centered altcoin, Monero
Bitsa, Italy-based crypto-focused debit card provider, has started supporting privacy-centered altcoin Monero (XMR). Bitsa, headquartered in Monaco, offers both card and complete electronic accounts, facilitating its users to move funds and make a settlement for facilities in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA).
Following its launch in Q3 2019, Bitsa Card has issued roughly 30,000 prepaid cards and anticipates having over 150,000 users by the end of this year. Bitsa CEO Luis Vaello stated that Bitsa Card supports 12 cryptos, including Bitcoin (BTC), in addition to EUR bank transfers.
By adding Monero to the list of cryptos supported by Bitsa Card, the company paves the way for conducting “all types” of XMR-based card dealings at vendor locations and online, in addition to card-to-card transfers and Monero to the euro (EUR) exchange. Bitsa stressed that transactions using Monero could not be tracked due to the anonymity offered by the crypto. “While the vast majority of cryptocurrency transactions are verifiable and traceable by anyone, the addresses (sender and receiver) and the amounts sent are hidden in Monero. Therefore, since there is no trace due to its high privacy, it is impossible to distinguish these tokens.”
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