The cryptocurrency market entered into a deep correction mode yesterday with all but two major altcoins losing considerable ground against the US dollar. Bitcoin (BTC), the most tracked crypto, lost 2.8% to trade at $8,381. In the past week, Bitcoin has lost 17.4%.
Correspondingly, the market cap declined to $150.50 billion. Ether (ETH), the native crypto of Ethereum blockchain, has lost 1.9% in the past 24 hours to $168.87. XRP trades flat at $0.2427 at the time of writing this article. However, the crypto has lost about 22% in the past week.
Other major altcoins which have lost in the past 24 hours include EOS (EOS-$2.83, -2.5%), Bitcoin Cash ($224.3, -3.6%), Huobi (HT-$3.21, -4.4%), Ethereum Classic (ETC-$4.71, -1.4%), and Cosmos (ATOM-$2.26, -5.2%), Tron (TRX-$0.0129, -4.1%), LEO (LEO – $1.04, -0.8%), Cardano (ADA-$0.0383, -3.0%), Binance Coin (BNB-$15.90, -1.7%), Monero (XMR-$58.06, -3.7%), OKB (OKB-$2.12, -4.6%), Litecoin (LTC-$56.28, -1.5%), Dash (DASH-$71.91, -3.1%), Tezos (XTZ-$0.8448, -4.2%) and ChainLink (LINK-$1.74, -4.5%).
Altcoins which have appreciated in the past 24 hours include IOTA (IOTA-$0.2575, 2.9%), and Stellar (XLM-$0.0572, 0.5%).
Government level initiatives
A new bill is cleared allowing FinCEN to investigate blockchain tech
The US House of Representatives has cleared a bill that directs the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to explore blockchain technology in its battle against financial fraud. On Tuesday, the Senate received the bill and tabled it to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
The House approved the bill “Advancing Innovation to Assist Law Enforcement Act,” which suggests Kenneth Blanco, the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, to undertake a study on the employment of promising technologies, including blockchain, within FinCEN.
The bill also stipulates the job of the director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. “The Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) shall carry out a study on […] whether AI, digital identity technologies, blockchain technologies, and other innovative technologies can be further leveraged to make FinCEN’s data analysis more efficient and effective.”
Private sector initiatives
Marsh looking into blockchain-powered digital placement software
Marsh, the renowned insurance and risk management enterprise, is testing blockchain-powered digital placement software. The Risk Exchange platform intends to provide a clearer and safe digital placement and permit users to obtain real-time data and response on the placement and obligatory procedures. Insurance placement is the process of buying a new or renewing an existing insurance product.
As part of the trial, clients of Marsh, Dow Inc, and domestic appliance manufacturer SharkNinja will link the US trade credit guidelines with carriers AIG and Euler Hermes, gathering real-time status notifications during the entire process.
Nick Robson, head of global credit specialties at Marsh JLT Specialty, explained the benefits of blockchain-based financial solutions: “Digital platforms powered by blockchain are ideally suited for organizations that either generate or finance large amounts of account receivables. By digitizing the invoices, payments, and other trade and insurance documents of the parties involved, we can streamline the trade credit insurance placement process, drive efficiencies, and improve the overall buying experience.”
Uruguay Can to incorporate Aeternity
Aeternity, a blockchain firm facilitating the creation of decentralized applications, will be utilized by Uruguay Can, a cannabis producer, to establish a state-of-the-art supply chain management platform. In this regard, Aeternity revealed that it is developing an appropriate supply chain management platform for the cannabis firm by integrating the internet of things and DApps.
Aeternity Americas CEO Pablo Coirolo elaborated about the blockchain-based system and its benefits to consumers: “We want to be the first to offer a business-level solution in partnership with leading technology providers and cannabis producers, processors and distributors. […] æternity technology is ideal for tracking the entire cannabis production process, from seed to full plant growth, throughout the entire supply chain, which ensures consumer safety while complying with regulations.”
The deployment of the initial phase of the supply chain management system is expected to take place in October, while the final stage is anticipated to be completed by January 2020. Full-fledged deployment is targeted for completion by mid-2021.
Uruguay Can CEO Eduardo Blasina explained how the development will help both the cannabis and pharma sector: “We are proud to be the first company in Uruguay that can guarantee the quality of our products in a transparent and verifiable way. […] The ability to trace the source and the way cannabis is produced is beneficial for both the cannabis and pharmaceutical industry as well as its consumers and end-users, who should feel more secure about the product that they are consuming.”
Miscellaneous
KPMG survey shows US customers enjoy the ease of payments using blockchain tokens
According to a survey conducted by “Big Four” auditing firm KPMG, 63% of US consumers believe that blockchain tokens enable payment in an easy manner.
Arun Gosh, KPMG’s blockchain head for the US, has explained the advantages of tokenization: “Tokenization […] provides inspiring new ways to classify value, either by creating new assets or reimagining traditional ones […] Businesses that take advantage of tokenization can open the door to entirely new process improvements, revenue streams, and customer engagement opportunities.”
Even though only 33% of consumers have credible knowledge of blockchain-based tokens, 55% trust that they can facilitate loyalty reward programs in a better manner.
Furthermore, 82% of respondents to the survey are ready to use blockchain tokens as part of a prevailing loyalty reward scheme. 79% of consumers wish to try making payments using blockchain tokens, in case they are demonstrated to be simple to use. KPMG, based on the survey, has asserted that the blockchain framework can provide considerable value to commerce.
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