The cryptocurrency remains range-bound with a slight bullish bias as Bitcoin (BTC) has regained $19,000 levels once again. When writing this article, Bitcoin was trading at $19,350.38, up 1.6% in 24 hours. Ether (ETH) has rallied 0.7% to trade at $589.01. XRP, however, has lost 1% to trade at $0.5018.
Other major altcoins which have gained ground in the last 24 hours include Tether (USDT-$0.9997, 0.1%), USD Coin (USDC-$1, 0.1%), Binance Coin (BNB-$30.03, 0.6%), ChainLink (LINK-$12.83, 0.4%), Dash (DASH-$97.16, 0.5%), Polkadot (DOT-$4.94, 1.20%), EOS (EOS-$2.85, 1%), IOTA (IOTA-$0.3037, 2.10%), Tron (TRX-$0.0292, 1%), Cosmos (ATOM, $5.21, 1.9%),Cardano (ADA-$0.1594, 4.6%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH-$279.40, 1.9%), Bitcoin SV (BSV-$168.62, 0.3%) and Monero (XMR-$154.57, 1.8%).
Major altcoins that have lost ground in the past 24 hours are Tezos (XTZ-2.23, -1.20%) and Stellar (XLM-$0.1733, -0.7%).
Government level initiatives
Russia requires a full discovery of crypto-related investments
Russia has directed its state employees to disclose their crypto holdings. In this regard, the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has inked an order that seeks full disclosure of crypto-related investments by government officials by the end of June next year.
The order specifies new steps for implementing recently endorsed crypto law referred to by the name “On Digital and Financial Assets (DFA).” The form necessitates government officials to reveal info such as the name of the crypto, purchase date, the value of crypto assets held, and data about the issuer of digital asset, for instance, country of registration.
Even crypto holdings of spouses and young children should be disclosed. The process of disclosure begins on January 1st, 2021. Maria Stankevich, chief of business development at cryptocurrency exchange EXMO, opined that the order indicates that the “official establishment will be as compliant as common citizens with no exceptions.”
Private sector initiatives
Bank Hapoalim becomes a member of Digital Bank Guarantee
Bank Hapoalim, one of Israel’s top banks, has become a member of a blockchain-powered platform recently unveiled by IT firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). The platform, named Digital Bank Guarantee (DBG), is powered by Quartz blockchain and focuses on Israel’s digital banking sector. The latest platform will aid banks in effectively handling bank guarantees, from issuance, amendment, cancellation to invocation.
Bank guarantees are a form of payment assurance issued by banks on behalf of their clients. Provided the terms of a contract are met, the bank will settle the payment if a client refuses to do so. A dedicated node is used to transmit bank guarantees by issuers. As per TCS, the platform will ultimately be extended to other real-world use cases in addition to bank guarantees.
As per Bank Hapoalim’s CEO Dov Kotlerr, DBG will permit the bank to offer its service to corporations, SMEs, and individuals.
IBM’s blockchain platform monitors the wine production process
IBM’s blockchain-powered platform has paved the way for people to monitor the entire process of wine production, from vineyard to local store. To make this a reality, IBM has partnered with wine tracking company eProvenance to unveil the VinAssure platform. Developed on IBM Blockchain Transparent Supply, VinAssure will supposedly function on IBM Cloud and permit wine producers, transporters, importers, restaurants, distributors, retailers, and others to monitor the distribution logistics of bottles “through a permissioned, permanent and shared record of data.”
Other users of VinAssure include North Carolina-headquartered wine importer De Maison Selections, which posted annual revenue of $22 million. IBM stated that Bordeaux-based wine manufacturer Maison Sichel and export unit of Sainte Michelle Wine Estates aim to utilize the blockchain-powered supply chain tracking platform soon, implying that the platform will be used for tracking “millions of bottles of wines moving through the global supply chain.”
André Tamers, the owner of De Maison Selections, said, “We believe the future of the wine industry lies in verifiable provenance, transparency, and traceability.”
The IBM system will supposedly pave the way for wine lovers to utilize tracking codes on bottles to understand the “provenance and flavor profiles” along with any standards associated with organic, biodynamic, or sustainability activities. Also, data about the distribution process of wine, from vineyard to vendor shelves, can be obtained.
Miscellaneous
MicroStrategy plans to add more Bitcoin
Business intelligence company MicroStrategy (MSTR) revealed that it plans to add more Bitcoins (BTC) to its treasury, highlighting the company’s CEO Michael Saylor’s trust in the prime crypto asset. In this regard, the company has generated $650 million by selling senior convertible notes carrying a yield of 0.750% and maturing in 2025. Beginning next year, the semi-annual interest is payable on June 15th and December 15th.
The media release states: “MicroStrategy intends to invest the net proceeds from the sale of the notes in bitcoin following its Treasury Reserve Policy pending identification of working capital needs and other general corporate purposes.”
The notes were offered to institutional investors as per Rule 144A of the Securities Act (1933). The company had initially planned to raise $400 million. With $650 million, the company will be able to purchase ~36,000 BTC (based on the price of $19,000).
The company currently holds 40,824 Bitcoins, valued at ~$734 million. That reflects a gain of roughly $260 million in a matter of a few months.
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