The cryptocurrency market remains range bound with slight bullish bias. Bitcoin (BTC) is trying to hold above $9,000, after failing to cross above $10,000 level for more than three times. In the past 24 hours, Bitcoin has gained 1.2% to trade at $9,256.65. Ether (ETH) is gaining 2.9% to trade at $231.83. XRP, the native crypto of Ripple, has gained 0.8% to trade at $0.1769. Other major altcoins which has gained ground in the past 24 hours include ChainLink (LINK-$4.81, 5.4%), Stellar (XLM-$0.0702, 5.2%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH-$223.82, 0.4%), Ethereum Classic (ETC-$5.74, 0.5%), Tezos (XTZ-2.40, 1.8%), Cardano (ADA-$0.0843, 2.8%), Litecoin (LTC-$41.77, 1.4%), Tron (TRX-$0.0172, 5.2%), IOTA (IOTA-$0.2343, 4.2%), EOS (EOS-$2.38, 0.6%), Binance Coin (BNB-$15.94, 3.3%), Huobi (HT-$4.13, 0.4%), Cosmos (ATOM, $2.68, 3.4%), OKB (OKB-$5.09, 1.0%), Monero (XMR-$64.51, 1.3%), Dash (DASH-$68.28, 0.4%) and Bitcoin SV (BSV-$158.04, 0.3%). The only altcoin which has lost ground in the past 24 hours is LEO (LEO-$1.25, -1.1%).
Government level initiatives
China fighting COVID and future pandemics with blockchain
China authorities are taking necessary measures to fight the COVID-19 epidemic with blockchain as one of their primary tools. In this regard, the Chinese Circular of the National Health Commission has revealed its detailed strategy to improve data sharing ability in case of future pandemics. One of the ideas proposed is to use blockchain technology for improving data sharing between medical institutions.
The Commission has asked local health organizations to encourage data sharing and partnership between hospitals and other medical institutions. Additionally, the Commission has stated that blockchain technology should be adopted to attain secure transfer and verified access to patients medical information.
“Local health departments should promote the data docking between ‘internet hospitals’ and regional information platforms and medical institutions at all levels, connect online and offline service links, and provide patients with whole process continuous services covering pre-diagnosis, during diagnosis and after diagnosis.”
Private sector initiatives
BHP Group completes iron ore shipment using a blockchain platform
BHP Group, the world’s largest miner, has stated that it has finished a $14 million iron ore shipment utilizing a blockchain platform built by the Canada based tech firm MineHub Technologies. The trade was conducted between BHP and China Baowu Steel Group, a sister concern of China Baoshan Iron & Steel, the world’s largest steel manufacturer, popularly referred to as Baosteel. During the transaction, BHP utilized the blockchain platform to electronically process agreement rules, share documents, and provide live cargo tracking facility. The deployment of blockchain by BHP is another step forward in its more extensive plan to digitize documents involved in commodity trading.
Cardano upgrades to the Shelley protocol
Cardano (ADA) blockchain has successfully upgraded to “Shelley” from the “Byron” protocol. The latest protocol ensures improved decentralization, while establishing the foundation for Goguen, which will support smart contracts. Daedalus wallet supporting Shelley protocol was also introduced by IOHK, which is involved in the development and advancement of Cardano blockchain.
Regarding the update, the company issued the following statement: “We’ve been successfully running node v 1.14.2 on the Shelley public testnet for over a week now. And we can confirm that we’ll deploy the new node to the Cardano mainnet… today, 30th June as per the first date in the rollout plan.”
Pundi X now supports PayPal in Xpos
Blockchain focused Singapore based firm Pundi X has started supporting PayPal in its PoS gadget ‘Xpos.’ With this integration, PayPal becomes the first mobile payment processing platform to get integrated with Xpos. The integration permits users of over 30 countries to receive funds via the payments processor.
The integration will happen in two phases. Initially, the US-based merchants using Xpos will be able to utilize PayPal based keyed transactions. In the next stage, a PayPal app will be integrated with Xpos devices.
Pundi X selected PayPal on the basis of a Twitter-based survey asking its followers to vote for their first choice of a mobile app to be integrated with Xpos. By garnering 70% votes, PayPal easily beat its competitors such as WeChat Pay, GoPay, and Alipay, among others.
The integration paves the way for credit card payments at vendors supporting Xpos and also facilitates the purchase of cryptos via PayPal. Zac Cheah, CEO and co-founder of Pundi X, stressed that integration with platforms of renowned firms such as PayPal would aid the adoption of blockchain-powered facilities and products by people who are not associated with the crypto community in any manner.
“To be able to support a leading online payment provider in our XPOS devices can give people more confidence in using them, and can move usage of blockchain technology closer to the mainstream.”
Miscellaneous
Microsoft reveals Indonesia is the most hit malware country in the Asia Pacific
A Microsoft research report reveals that Indonesia tops the list of malware hit countries in the Asia Pacific region last year. They further decided that this signals a sharp rise in ransomware attacks and crypto-jacking. The report also pointed out that the region is facing a “higher-than-average” malware and ransomware attacks of 1.6 and 1.7 times more prominent than in other parts of the world.
Last year Indonesia had a 10.68% malware attack rate, reflecting a 39% decline, but twice higher than the regional average, as per Microsoft. With 14% attack rates, Indonesia has also taken second place in the list of countries facing ransomware attacks. It is roughly 2.8x the average recorded in several countries in the region.
Haris Izmee, president director of Microsoft Indonesia, stated: “While recent fluctuations in cryptocurrency value and the increased time required to generate cryptocurrency have resulted in attackers refocusing their efforts, they continue to exploit markets with low cyber awareness and low adoption of cyber hygiene practices.”
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.
