The cryptocurrency market remains exceptionally volatile, with Bitcoin (BTC) plummeting to $27,700, from $34,000 yesterday, and then rebounding sharply to 31,000 levels. When writing this article, Bitcoin was trading at $31,286, down 5.2% in the last 24 hours. Ether (ETH) was trading at $1,097.60, an increase of 9.6% in the same period. However, XRP, which is under tremendous selling pressure due to the US SEC’s lawsuit (Securities and Exchange Commission), has gained 1.5% to trade at $0.2268.
Major altcoins which have gained ground in the last 24 hours include ChainLink (LINK-$13.46, 0.1%), IOTA (IOTA-$0.3252, 6.40%), Cosmos (ATOM, $5.78, 1.3%), Cardano (ADA-$0.2129, 4.20%), Tezos (XTZ-2.20, 4.20%) and Stellar (XLM-$0.1527, 12.4%).
Altcoins, which have lost ground in the last 24 hours include USD Coin (USDC-$0.9566, -5.9%), Binance Coin (BNB-$39.39, -5.7%), Dash (DASH-$84.90, -4.2%), Polkadot (DOT-$9.35, -5.20%), EOS (EOS-$2.71, -6.1%), Tron (TRX-$0.0272, -8.5%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH-$398.40, -1.60%), Bitcoin SV (BSV-$161.58, -7.2%) and Monero (XMR-$127.66, -6.4%).
Private sector initiatives
Cashaa and United Multistate Credit establish a physical crypto bank in India
India-based cryptocurrency banking system provider Cashaa and United Multistate Credit Co-op Society has established a physical cryptocurrency bank in Jaipur (Rajasthan state). Earlier in October, Multistate revealed its intention to provide online and physical cryptocurrency banking facilities in all its 34 branches across India’s northern part.
By the end of January 2021, similar facilities are expected to be rolled out in 13 more locations across three states. By 2022, both parties intend to establish over 100 branches. The bank will offer both fiat and crypto-related services. Unicas will also offer instantaneous loans with cryptos as collateral.
Despite a lack of regulatory clarity, India is witnessing a surge in crypto adoption, mainly in the p2p trading domain. In the meantime, India’s government is looking at the option of amending its tax rules to generate revenue from Bitcoin dealings.
Enviva and GoChain collaborate on biomass tracking trail
Enviva, bioenergy enterprise, and blockchain company GoChain collaborated for a trial structured to improve eco-friendly biomass or wood pellets’ tracking. The trial is one of the enormous ventures in the biomass sector. The trial outcome may offer a clear idea about the way to enhance Enviva’s prevailing exclusive Track & Trace platform.
Enviva. The NYSE listed company with a $1.80 billion market cap is the biggest producer of wood pellets for industry usage. These wood pellets, a substitute for coal, are burned to generate power and heat. The company has stressed that it utilizes low-quality wood that is usually disposed of before planting trees.
A chosen team of Enviva’s suppliers from the US tracked several data constituents, including forest stretch and weight of consignments. Using a different QR code provided by GoChain’s blockchain, Enviva tracked wood fiber transit on a real-time basis, from wood collection to delivery at wood pellet production plants. More than 1000 consignments of biomass were documented on the blockchain during the trial.
Miscellaneous
Crypto miners moving from China to the West due to abundant power supply at a low cost
Cryptocurrency miners are shifting their base from China to the West, as per a Bloomberg report. The abundant supply of power at low cost is perceived to be one reason for shifting mining facilities. Officially, Beijing has not issued a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies.
However, the rules enforced by the local government authorities have made it difficult for Chinese miners to operate in the country. Almost 74% of mining operations have been suspended in China in the last few years, as per data published in November by QCP Capital.
Bitcoin mining centers that were established three years back in Sweden and Norway have started generating profits. The migration of miners was also fueled by the sharp rise in the price of Bitcoin in recent times. According to Bloomberg, the Nordic region has recorded an increase in power generation that allowed energy costs to “stay close to 0 for long periods.”
In comparison to the European Union, energy prices in Norway and Sweden are considerably lower. The sharp drop in energy prices has been a boon to the industries operating in that region. Philip Salter, operations director at Genesis Mining Ltd., revealed that Swedish operations’ profits had tripled this year.
UN supports refugees under the World Food Program
The United Nations supports refugees with cash payments under the World Food Program (WFP). For effecting direct, secure, and reliable cash transfers using blockchain technology, the organization established Building Blocks. Usually, cash is disbursed using debit cards. However, people living in conflict zones face difficulty in receiving payments.
Furthermore, the process of distributing money via debit cards is not highly secure and reliable. Building Blocks was created to resolve these issues where participants of the program will be able to receive mobile payments. The system now serves over 100,000 Syrian refugees living in Jordan-based camps.
The UN stores cash pertaining to every program participant on the blockchain ledger, and a permissioned blockchain records all transactions. Building Blocks has also joined hands with UNHCR, which offers a biometric-based identification system to secure the system.
By scanning the eyes, refugees will be able to pay for food sold in refugee camp shops. All program participants were given encrypted IDs for distinct identification. More than $2.10 billion was disbursed under the WFP to 28 million people across 64 countries last year. The Building Blocks platform currently aids more than 400,000 refugees across the globe.
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