The cryptocurrency market remains weak with almost all the top 20 cryptos in the red. Bitcoin (BTC) is struggling to hold above $10,000. Bitcoin has lost 3.3% in the past 24 hours to trade at $10,289.07. Likewise, Ethereum is trading at $217.50, reflecting a loss of 3.9%. XRP, the native currency of blockchain-based real-time gross settlement platform provider Ripple, has lost 2.8% to trade at $0.3209.
Other altcoins, which have been losing ground in the past 24 hours include Bitcoin Cash (BCH-$313.33, -2.9%), Binance Coin (BNB-$30.65, -0.6%), Monero (XMR-$82.91, -1.3%), Tron (TRX-$0.0268, –9.9%), Cosmos (ATOM-$3.95, -7.4%), NEO (NEO-$12.03, -7.6%), IOTA (MIOTA-$0.3012, -4.2%), Litecoin (LTC-$94.46, -5.1%), Stellar (XLM-$0.0883, -3.5%) and Dash (DASH-$114.21, -3.6%). Interestingly, Huobi (HT) crypto coin has gained 5% to trade at $4.86.
Government level initiatives
Thailand’s Central Bank looking into Facebook’s Libra
Veerathai Santiprabhob, Bank of Thailand’s Governor, stated that the central bank is willing to enter into discussions regarding Libra, the stablecoin intended to be launched by Facebook. At the Bangkok FinTech Fair, Santiprabhob stated that Facebook has already made several attempts to reach out to the central bank. The governor also revealed that the central bank had assembled a new team to thoroughly understand Libra’s whitepaper, but the report is not expected anytime soon. He said, “We are not going to rush into a decision of Libra as yet.”
Santiprabhob stressed the importance of safety: “All kinds of new digital money have been emerging, therefore the Bank of Thailand monitors all and don’t give favoritism to any particular financial service. Security in financial services is the bank’s top priority. It will take time.”
Santiprabhob opined that Libra would not be able to act as a substitute for the Thai baht. He summed up his argument by saying that “Libra cannot just step in and replace all currencies and digital money.”
Private sector initiatives
E.ON attempting to register a patent for a blockchain-enabled data collector
German energy network company E.ON is trying to secure a patent from the European Patent Office for its blockchain-powered data collector. The system uses sensors to obtain information, which can then be sold as data analytics. The data is provided by smart home applications of users.
E.ON has stated that the clients will have complete control over who gains access to their particular data. The restriction even applies to E.ON, which cannot access the customer’s data without clear approval.
Blockchain technology is used in the system to ensure data privacy. The system also uses “highly secure encryption” to safeguard data.
Matthew Timms, Chief digital and technology officer, stated that the latest innovation allows clients to choose and sell their data for the purpose of analysis. Timms said: “Our Future Lab team has managed to combine blockchain and big data with a simple hardware solution. We want our customers to have absolute control over the analysis of their data. The ability to sell parts of these analyses within a more secure, traceable framework is completely new.”
KPMG collaborates with various tech firms
Through an official blog post, KPMG, the business advisory firm, revealed that it had joined hands with tech firms such as Tomia, R3, and Microsoft to develop a blockchain-based settlement mechanism for the telecom sector, in expectation of 5G network services.
The planned blockchain system aims to utilize smart contracts to minimize issues between mobile operators and carriers. Such smart contracts would include crucial data such as destination, rates, and bilateral contract information.
With this blockchain system, KPMG believes that settlements will be carried out in a quicker and more cost-effective manner than in the past by erasing the need for telecom enterprises to depend on third-parties for settlements.
Currently, cross-border and inter-carrier settlements are cumbersome and time-consuming tasks. Furthermore, it takes several weeks for settlements to be completed and is often handed over to third parties because of the complexity.
The process of outsourcing puts a hole in customers’ budgets. A recent survey indicates that the amount spent on global mobile data roaming charges alone would reach $31 billion by 2022. The settlement procedure is forecast to become cumbersome with the arrival of 5G mobile services as the data transfer between users is expected to increase exponentially.
Miscellaneous
Data Gumbo claims a decrease in expenditures for oil companies
Blockchain startup Data Gumbo has stated that international oil companies will be able to minimize their expenses by at least 30% by incorporating blockchain in their infrastructure. The assessment was made on the basis of a study conducted by the company. Data Gumbo has pegged the value of the oil and gas market at $2.60 trillion in 2017. Furthermore, Andrew Bruce, CEO of American blockchain startup Data Gumbo, explained blockchain-based mechanized execution of contracts in the oil sector.
Notably, Data Gumbo raised $6 million in May from several energy firms, including Equinor’s venture subsidiary Equinor Technology Venture and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, a firm owned by Saudi Aramco.
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