The crypto market continues to move in an extremely narrow range. Bitcoin (BTC) remains rock solid at $6,500 levels. The buying pressure seems to be building up. Many Wall Street analysts have forecast Bitcoin to cross $10,000 by the end of this year. Specifically, Tom Lee, head of research, Fundstrat Global Advisors, has stated that Ethereum will breach the $1,900 mark by the end of the year. The forecast price is nearly 40% higher than Ethereum’s historical high of $1,349, recorded on January the 13th, 2018.
Government level initiatives
Mirella Liuzzi, Italy Parliament member, has revealed that the country has joined the European Blockchain Partnership, which is a collaboration of 26 EU nations. In this regard, Italy’s Minister of Economic Development, Labor and Social Policies, Luigi Di Maio, had signed the membership agreement on Friday of last week. Luizzi, who is a member of the ruling Five Star Movement, has also stated that the government will employ blockchain experts to draft a national strategy for the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector. Back in April 2018, the European blockchain partnership was created to bring about cooperation among the EU member states. The organization initially had 22 countries, but later extended to 26 as Romania, Cyprus, Denmark, and Greece joined the group.
In China, the state-owned Bank of Communications (BoCom) has distributed $1.3 billion (9.3 billion yuan) worth of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) through blockchain technology. BoCom, the fifth-largest bank in China according to a listing provided by S&P Global recent stats, used a custom-built platform named Juicai Chain to distribute the mortgage-backed securities. Juicai Chain was unveiled by BoCom in June. By utilizing blockchain, all participants taking part in the funding can monitor assets, administer cash flow, and accomplish other business operations. Furthermore, blockchain will significantly minimize risks, shorten RMBS issuance time, while providing assets’ authenticity. During the month of July, the first phase of issuing digital RMBS began and was followed by due diligence in August. BoCom’s digital mortgage base can be accessed by intermediaries such as multinational law firm Zhonglun and global consulting company PricewaterhouseCoopers, among others.
In Mongolia, the largest mobile telecom firm Mobicom’s financial arm Mobifinance has received a license from the central bank to distribute its own digital currency. The cryptocurrency, named “Candy,” was granted official permission at the Bank of Mongolia’s headquarters last week. The approval comes five months after the central bank cleared formal digital currency regulation. The digital currency, Candy, is already used by Mongolian consumers to pay for various goods and services with a range of businesses.
Private level initiatives
Opera has joined forces with blockchain advisory and financial solutions firm Ledger Capital to study possible blockchain applications. According to the declaration, both firms are looking to explore real-world use cases of the blockchain, while looking at the possibility of employing the technology within tools offered by Opera. Opera was the first major web browser to introduce a built-in crypto wallet. Charles Hamel, Product Lead of Opera’s crypto wallet, said “paying with the crypto wallet is like sending digital cash straight from your phone … This opens up new possibilities for merchants and content creators alike.” Opera also unveiled a unique version of its desktop web browser (“Labs”) last month, with a built-in crypto wallet. The new edition will facilitate clients to validate Web 3.0, and decentralized application (DApp) trades made on their system using their Android phone. “Labs” is supposedly fully interoperable with the mobile crypto wallet.
Beijing Sci-Tech Report (BSTR), China’s oldest magazine covering the tech industry, has stated that it will accept payments for subscriptions in Bitcoin (BTC). China is well known for its harsh stance on cryptocurrencies and ICOs. The country continues to crack down on the use of cryptocurrencies, and this announcement has raised eyebrows among crypto investors. The firm has announced that readers of ‘Tech Life’ magazine can pay the subscription fee of about $65 in Bitcoin (0.01 BTC).
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.
