The crypto market saw a slight recovery yesterday, but unfortunately, did not last long. The market has again turned red this morning. Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $4,100 levels, after recording a low of about $3,650 on Tuesday. However, Bitcoin is struggling to stay above $4,200, which is crucial for a major trend reversal.
After gaining between 3%-7% in the past 24 hours, most of the major altcoins, including Ripple (XRP), Ethereum (ETH), Tron (TRX), EOS (EOS), Stellar (XLM), and Cardano (ADA) have lost around 2% so far today. Sirin Labs Token is a notable winner with a gain of about 1.7% today, 33% in the past 24 hours, and 27% in the past one week. The company will begin shipping its first blockchain smartphones this week, as discussed below. That is one of the reasons for the crypto to rally.
Government level initiatives
FDA exploring blockchain for track and trace for food safety
The outbreak of E. coli in the United States has been found to have a link with romaine lettuce. To avoid a repeat of such incidents, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is exploring better track-and-trace methods, including the use of blockchain technology.
FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb revealed that the government agency had roped in Frank Yiannas, the vice president of food safety at Walmart, as the food and veterinary medicine deputy commissioner. Yiannas is anticipated to bring in new tools for better tracking by the agency.
Gottlieb further stated that blockchain technology would be able to identify the specific distributor or agricultural farm whenever there are food-related outbreaks, which will avoid the need to issue blanket warnings that would affect all distributors.
Malaysia planning enaction of crypto regulations and ICO in 2019
Malaysia is planning to enact regulations for cryptocurrency and Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) in Q1 2019. Finance minister Lim Guan Eng has stated that the country’s regulator, the Securities Commission (SC), had informed him about the timeframe for the new rules. The enactment of crypto rules will be “part of the SC’s efforts to facilitate alternative fundraising avenues and new investment asset classes.” The country began the process of drafting crypto and ICO regulations in late 2017.
In the meanwhile, authorities took necessary actions as and when needed. While speaking in parliament, Lim told that firms aiming to issue cryptocurrencies must discuss this with the country’s central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia.
Private sector initiatives
Birks Group now accepts Bitcoin as payments
Birks Group, a well-known Canada-based jewelry manufacturer and retailer, has started accepting Bitcoin (BTC) as payment. Birks revealed that the transactions are handled by BitPay, a US-based payment processor. On a trial basis, Birks, which was established in 1879, will initially accept Bitcoin in eight of its 30 showrooms in Canada. Notably, seven of the shops are already receiving Bitcoin payments and the company’s Graff and Patek Philippe stores in Vancouver will join the list “soon.”
Gustav Gerig AG using Ethereum to track fish products
Swiss food manufacturer Gustav Gerig AG, established in 1923, has become the first company in Europe to use the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain to track fish products. In this regard, the company has partnered with Pacifical c.v., a global tuna marketing company that allows clients to certify the tuna origin using blockchain technology.
The cans in the range will soon include a QR code that consumers can scan to find information such as the production date, type of tuna, and even the boat it was caught on. Blockchain implementation is provided by Thailand-based Atato, a blockchain service provider developing enterprise-grade decentralized applications in collaboration ConsenSys, the startup owned by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin.
SIRIN Labs to ship its first blockchain powered smartphone – the FINNEY phone
Starting today, blockchain-focused electronics goods manufacturer SIRIN Labs will ship its first blockchain-powered smartphone. Following a funding round in December 2017 that raised $157 million through an initial coin offer (ICO) for a blockchain-powered phone, the Swiss company disclosed this summer that it would introduce its blockchain-based FINNEY smartphone in November 2018.
FINNEY phone will also support a cold-storage crypto wallet and provide secure encrypted communications based on Android and SIRIN’s open-source operating system (OS), SIRIN OS. The smartphone, priced at $1,000, will also offer a Token Conversion Service (TCS) that eliminates the need for visiting other crypto exchanges for converting tokens and coins supported by the phone.
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