The cryptocurrency market remains bullish, with Bitcoin (BTC) hovering around $59,000 levels. While writing this article, Bitcoin was trading at $59,030, up 2% in the last 24 hours. Ether (ETH) has rallied 3.3% to trade at $2,129. XRP has made a whopping 30.7% gains to trade at $0.8525.
Major altcoins, which have gained ground in the past 24 hours, include Bitcoin Cash (BCH-$640.65, 14.5%), Bitcoin SV (BSV-$247.16, 6.7%), Stellar (XLM-$0.5063, 16.4%), IOTA (IOTA-$1.67, 9.7%), EOS (EOS-$6.73, 8.3%), Dash (DASH-$267.18, 0.5%), Polkadot (DOT-$45.09, 0.3%), Binance Coin (BNB-$365.65, 6.1%), Cosmos (ATOM, $21.18, 0.2%), Tron (TRX-$0.1344, -1.8%), Tezos (XTZ-6.12, 18.6%), Cardano (ADA-$1.20, 2.2%) and ChainLink (LINK-$31.84, 4.8%).
The only major altcoin, which has lost ground in the last 24 hours, includes Monero (XMR-$262.53, -1.7%).
Government level initiatives
Banco Hipotecario becomes a Ripple payments network member
Banco Hipotecario, a bank owned by El Salvador, has become a Ripple payments network member. In the 2020 annual report published earlier this month, Banco Hipotecario has stated that it has started using a unique platform based on the Ripple network for cross-border payment.
Notably, experts believe that Nium was responsible for the initiative. In October, Nium, a robust Ripple partner, disclosed a strategic partnership with Banco Hipotecario, in which the government of El Salvador has a 40% stake.
The partnership is intended to enhance global remittance services for businesses and consumers throughout the country.
Furthermore, the announcement stated that the collaboration would pave the way for new global payment channels beyond Latina America, offering safe, convenient, and instantaneous international payment options to corporate and retail clients of Banco Hipotecario.
Along with South America, the UK, the US, and Europe were also listed as target markets.
Private sector initiatives
Latvian airline takes the lead in the adoption of Cryptos
Latvian airline airBaltic has once again taken the lead in the adoption of cryptos. The airline has stated that passengers will be able to settle the invoice for air tickets using Dogecoin (DOGE) and Ether (ETH) as a payment mode.
Other cryptocurrencies which are already accepted are Bitcoin Cash (BCH), USD Coin (USDC), Gemini Dollar (GUSD), Binance USD (BUSD), and Paxos Standard (PAX).
The airline started accepting Bitcoin (BTC) payments in July 2014. AirBaltic is the first national carrier in the world to begin accepting cryptos as payment.
Additionally, airBaltic has pointed out that ticket prices will be displayed only in euros but not denominated in any of the cryptos mentioned above. Crypto gateway BitPay handles the conversion of crypto payments to fiat.
Commenting on the airline’s decision, airBaltic CEO Martin Gauss said: “Over the years, around 1,000 clients have used the payment option, which may not seem like a lot, but still offers passengers a unique payment option hard to find. Elsewhere.”
Ripple acquires 40% stake in Tranglo
Ripple is acquiring a 40% stake in Malaysian payment processing firm Tranglo. As per the agreement, Tranglo will start using Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) platform, which utilizes XRP.
At the end of September 2020, Tranglo, which has offices in Asia, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Dubai, and London, had completed transactions worth $6.91 billion.
It also has agreements with telecom companies such as Singapore’s Singtel, UAE’s Etisalat and claims to have links with about 2,500 telecoms (mobile) operators.
Furthermore, Tranglo also states that it is connected with 1,300 banks (& wallets) and 130,000 cash pickup venues.
Ripple’s media release further states that the payment processing firm would utilize Ripple’s ODL in prevailing channels such as the Philippines while establishing new ODL channels. Tranglo will also use Ripple’s Line of Credit, which acts as an incentive in working capital for payment processing firms.
Regarding the partnership, Tranglo CEO Jacky Lee said, “By partnering closely with Ripple and introducing On-Demand Liquidity to new markets, we aim to further that ambition to provide accessible and equitable financial services to the masses.”
HEMA to use a blockchain tracking platform for coffee products sold
HEMA, a Dutch variety shop, will start utilizing farmer connects blockchain platform to track the distribution chain of coffee products sold in shops. HEMA will be the foremost top vendor to become a member of farmer join’s coffee tracking network.
Nearly 27products, including pods, beans, and capsules, will be monitored by farmer connect’s technology.
Commenting on the data, Lian Enting of HEMA, “Now 70% of our range is traceable, our ambition is only to offer coffee products with full supply chain traceability.”
Established in 2019, farmer connects objective is to “humanize consumption through technology.” It fosters maintainable and traceable farming via blockchain and is presently centered on coffee and cocoa monitoring.
IBM’s Food Trust system forms the core of the blockchain and includes three products: connect hub, Farmer id, and thank my farmer. HEMA will adopt the thank my farmer app, which paves the way for consumers to access data related to a product by scanning a QR code on the package.
Via the app, thank my farmer platform has taken steps beyond tracking the origin and supply chain of coffee beans. For illustration, consumers can interact with the domestic farming community that harvested the beans and easily participate in programs aiming to achieve sustainability.
Disclaimer: Any financial trading analysis offered here is our opinion and is not intended as advice or direction for investors. We cannot guarantee the success of any trades made as a consequence of this article, and we encourage traders to incorporate a strong money management strategy to limit losses when they enter the markets. Please use this article as part of your own research before formulating strategies prior to trading.
