Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 10:05 AM on Wednesday, July 31st, 2019
SPONSOR: ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE) Led by
legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a Canadian-based
venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed small-cap
companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More than just
lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest small-cap
exits. Click Here For More Information.
Crypto Markets See Second Day of Green, Bitcoin Above $9,700
crypto markets are seeing widespread green, with Bitcoin (BTC) breaking back above $9,700 and many large market cap altcoins seeing solid gains of between 3 and 9% on the day.
Wednesday, July 31 — crypto markets are seeing widespread green, with Bitcoin (BTC) breaking back above $9,700 and many large market cap altcoins seeing solid gains of between 3 and 9% on the day.
Despite trading in a lower price range since dropping back to a four-figure price point in a recent corrections, BTC is today up a solid 2.4%, bringing it to $9,717 by press time.
This mild uptick nonetheless stops short of bringing the coin back
into the green on its 7-day chart, where Bitcoin is still reporting a
fractional 0.7% loss. On the month, losses are starker, topping 8%.
Yesterday, Peter Tchir — a former Executive Director at German multinational investment bank Deutsche Bank — argued
that Bitcoin is an indicator of hidden geopolitical tensions, pointing
to the coin’s momentous performance this May at a time of fraught trade
talks between the United States and China.
Also this week, erstwhile Bitcoin bear and CNBC host Joe Kernen predicted that the top coin could hit $55,000 — a 500%+ price surge — by the time of its next halving in May 2020.
Top altcoin Ether (ETH) — which celebrated its fourth birthday
yesterday — has posted a 1.9% to trade around $212 by press time. In
corrections earlier this week, the coin had circled perilously close to
the round $200 mark, but has since recovered ground and is just slightly
in the red, at 2.2%, on its 7-day chart. On the month, however, Ether
is down over 18%.
XRP is
reporting a 2.7% gain on the day, while among the remaining top ten
coins several alts are seeing stronger upward momentum: Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is posting a 7.5% gain on the day, Litecoin (LTC) is up 3.6% and Binance Coin (BNB) is up 4.1%.
In the context of top twenty coins, Tezos (XTZ) is outstripping all
other assets, seeing a 24% gain on the day following news of the token’s
listing on major United States crypto exchange Coinbase. At press time, XTZ is trading at $1.24
Still among the top twenty, strong gains are being reported by Chainlink (LINK) — up over 9% — as well as by NEO (NEO), IOTA (MIOTA) and Cosmos (ATOM), all of which are up by 4-5%.
Total market capitalization for all cryptocurrencies is at $261,434,827,781 at press time, according to Coin360 data.
Dominating the crypto headlines this week is the hearing devoted to
examining regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies and blockchain held
at the United States Senate Banking Committee. Cointelegraph reported live on the most important developments during the hearing as it unfolded.
Yesterday’s Committee hearing notably follows upon earlier hearings in mid-July that had examined the regulatory hurdles surrounding Facebook’s Libra.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 3:36 PM on Tuesday, July 30th, 2019
SPONSOR: ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE) Led by
legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a Canadian-based
venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed small-cap
companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More than just
lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest small-cap
exits. Click Here For More Information.
Branson-backed cryptocurrency firm launches a super-fast exchange to take on Coinbase
Blockchain’s exchange is the result of work led by a team of former trading industry executives.
The exchange can execute orders in a matter of “microseconds,†according to CEO Peter Smith.
The firm has raised $70 million from investors including Richard Branson, Alphabet and Lakestar.
Blockchain CEO Peter Smith.
Krisztian Bocsi | Bloomberg via Getty Images
Blockchain, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency wallet
platforms, says it’s launched a digital currency exchange aimed at
delivering “lightning-fast†trades.
The company’s exchange, called The PIT, is the result of a
behind-the-scenes effort led by a team of former executives from the New
York Stock Exchange, TD Ameritrade, Google and Goldman Sachs.
According to Blockchain CEO Peter Smith, the new exchange’s matching
engine Mercury can execute buy or sell orders in “40 to 50
microseconds,†an “order of magnitude faster than other market playersâ€
like Coinbase and Binance.
Founded in 2011, Blockchain initially started out with what’s known
as a block explorer — kind of like an internet browser for
cryptocurrency data — and then built digital wallets for users to store
and exchange their crypto. It derives its name from the eponymous
blockchain network that records bitcoin transactions.
Having enjoyed popularity with bitcoin enthusiasts — Blockchain
claims to account for about 25% of daily activity on the bitcoin network
— the company is hoping its exchange platform will help lure in the
uninitiated.
“There’s a huge audience of people who have not yet placed their
first bitcoin trade,†Nicole Sherrod, head of trading products at
Blockchain, told CNBC in an interview. Sherrod previously led the active
trading product team at online stock broker TD Ameritrade before
joining Blockchain.
Sherrod said the new trading platform would give investors a degree of liquidity not seen in competitor exchanges.
“In volatile markets in particular, speed is of utmost importance,â€
she said. “I would not feel comfortable delivering a platform to retail
investors that puts them in a position where they couldn’t get in and
out of a trade with lightning-fast speed.â€
Blockchain CEO Peter Smith says the cryptocurrency firm’s new exchange can executive order in a matter of “microseconds.â€
Blockchain
Cryptocurrencies have gained a reputation for their volatile price
swings. Bitcoin in late 2017 skyrocketed to a near-$20,000 record high,
before plummeting the following year to as low as $3,122. The world’s
best-known digital currency has been on the rise this year, however,
last trading at $9,502.
Bitcoin’s rise in 2019 was attributed in part to Facebook’s plans to
create a cryptocurrency, with analysts saying it brings some much-needed
credibility to cryptocurrencies. Facebook’s Libra project has been
panned by regulators, however, concerned by the risks it may pose to
consumers.
One big hurdle for the industry to overcome is bringing institutional
investors with deep pockets on board. That may be slowly starting to
happen, with financial services giant Fidelity signaling it’s warming to the space. Sherrod said that Blockchain’s crypto exchange is providing liquidity through “institutional-level market makers.â€
Blockchain said its exchange will be available in more than 200
countries, starting with 26 trading pairs. Users will be able to link
their bank account with Blockchain and use U.S. dollars, euros and
sterling to trade cryptocurrencies.
The company has raised over $70 million from investors including
British billionaire Richard Branson, Alphabet venture arm GV and early
Spotify backer Lakestar. It has also accrued over 40 million users,
Blockchain said, who will be able to transfer crypto from their wallets
to the exchange.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 2:44 PM on Tuesday, July 30th, 2019
SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel (TN:CSE)
Kenbridge Property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14
million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper. Tartisan also has
interests in Peru, including a 20 percent equity stake in Eloro
Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property. Click her for more information
Battery metals tracker Adamas Intelligence says electric vehicle manufacturers deployed 57 percent more nickel in passenger EV batteries in May this year, compared to 2018.
The Toronto-based research company, which tracks EV registrations and battery chemistries in
more than 80 countries says the nickel metal equivalent used in
lithium-ion batteries (primarily in the form of nickel sulphate)
increased by 69 percent whereas the amount used in nickel metal hydride
(NiMH) batteries (primarily in the form of nickel hydroxide and AB5
nickel-REE alloy) increased by 26 percent.
The deployment of nickel also outpaced the growth of the EV market
overall. In May this year, total passenger EV battery capacity deployed
globally was 48 percent higher year-on-year, according to Adamas data.
Nickel’s inroads are mainly due to shifting chemistries of nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) battery cathodes.
First generation NCM111 batteries had a chemical composition of 1
part nickel, 1 part cobalt and 1 part manganese, but NCM batteries with
higher nickel content (622 and 523 chemistries) are quickly becoming the
standard in China, which is responsible for half the world’s electric
car sales, and a much greater proportion of EV battery manufacture.
With worries about the security of supply of cobalt persisting, the
industry is now fast moving towards even higher nickel content with the
market share of NCM811 increasing to 2 percent worldwide and 4 percent
in China in May, a doubling of market share in just one month.q Related: China’s Crude Oil Imports Rise In June
Adamas points out that in China the increased deployment coincided
with the launch of a number of new EV models in China using NCM811 cells
from battery leader CATL.
The world’s number one carmaker, Volkswagen, is spending more than $50 billion on batteries to
start mass producing EVs by mid-2023 and the company announced earlier
this month that from 2021 it would use the NCM811 composition.
Nickel touched $13,000 a tonne for the first time since April on
Wednesday. The price is up just over 19 percent in 2019 as the EV boom
creates additional demand and primary use of the metal today – stainless
steel production – continues to grow.
Cobalt is now worth $28,000 a tonne after peaking at $95,000 little
more than a year ago as miners in the Congo – responsible for two-thirds
of output – ramp up production.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 11:49 AM on Monday, July 29th, 2019
SPONSOR: ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE) Led by
legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a Canadian-based
venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed small-cap
companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More than just
lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest small-cap
exits. Click Here For More Information.
——————
Blockchain is finally becoming the next-gen database of choice
Image Credit: TimeStopper/Getty
In short, a blockchain is a server that can’t crash and a database that can’t be corrupted — all in one easy to deploy package.
When I think of why we need a blockchain, I think of one guy. There was a dev we had hired to build a few important parts of our product for us. A few years previously, in another life, he had been hosting his own servers and one of them crashed. He was telling me this with tears in his eyes: The database, a massive mess full of customer data, point-of-sale info, and inventory information had gone up in smoke. The backups were hosed, as well. And there was no way to rewind the data.
He spent almost 24 hours in an air-conditioned server room, a monitor
attached to the rack and a keyboard on his knees, trying to resurrect
it. He was partially successful, but the real question was whether the
data was accurate. Whether the transactions all matched up, whether he
would keep his job in the morning.
Everything turned out fine and, since then, it has gotten a lot
easier to do his job. Cloud replaced servers while also being cheaper
and more reliable. His lingering fear never went away though. Things are
better, but he can’t be 100% sure things will never go sideways again.
He believes, though, that there’s a stronger safety net available now
than we’ve had before: blockchain.
Benefits like disaster recovery,
security, availability, and automation are all baked into blockchain.
The serverless architecture of public blockchains makes them powerful
proofs of how blockchain can deliver on enterprise-grade reliability for
business databases. The costs are also not much higher: Blockchain’s
ability to instantly replicate may even allow you to safely get away
with the same (or even less) redundancy compared to a traditional
database. Perhaps the biggest advantage? Smart contracts
will regulate changes, so a new hire can’t throw a wrench into
everything — the blockchain will protect you from changes that could
compromise data or stability.
In short, a blockchain is a server that can’t crash and a database that can’t be corrupted — all in one easy to deploy package.
To be clear, blockchain isn’t perfectly suited to solve certain data
problems, the same way that email isn’t suited for instant messaging.
Big data analytics is crazy expensive to replicate, and unless you are
directly monetizing the data (like selling ads), it is not worth the
cost to shoehorn blockchain into an analytical workload. Blockchains are
best for core business transactional data, like your account balance.
They are absolutely mission-critical when it comes to account data and
ownership records, the loss of which would be an existential threat to a
company. A company like Walmart can probably survive the loss of all
website traffic data, but it would be very much at risk if it lost its
inventory ledger.
Business continuity is a major concern for enterprise players as
customers demand nothing less than always-on availability. As businesses
grow though, the pains of migrating databases and updating systems can
lead to massive fumbles. According to Boston Computing Network’s
research, 60 percent of companies that lose their data will shut down
within six months of the disaster. There exists an entire industry of
SysOps, DevOps, and others who monitor code pushes and database
migrations, giving humans plenty of chances to foul up a launch.
So blockchain represents a big opportunity for businesses to move quickly while keeping their operations secure.
Today, it isn’t just about the speed of transactions, it’s also about
verifying and securing those transactions. That’s what has always been
missing in system management and is something that anyone from our
beleaguered dev to the teams that run databases for Twitter, Facebook,
and LinkedIn are learning.
Blockchain tech is the evolution of the database. Smart contracts
enforce business rules, while databases are backed up and verified
continuously. All of the infrastructure and computational needs are
calculated before deployment, and embedded rules ensure compliance from
day one onward.
In fact, it looks a lot like the next generation of what APIs look
like. You’re encapsulating processes, tying them together with requests
for data, and expecting results. Right now, the business logic is
processed on central servers of some kind. What’s innovative with
blockchain is that you can take that logic, wrapped as a smart contract,
and run it on your own. It still adheres to the rules set by the people
who created it, and it must interact as expected.
Now, imagine databases on blockchain using these same robust rules.
Robust databases that are unkillable. You don’t have to worry about your
main server going down. Replication is built-in. Immutable laws exist
that you can’t lose or change. If you’re on a public blockchain, this is
as robust as possible, and you don’t have to pay for any servers. With a
public blockchain, your data is stored cryptographically by the
blockchain’s miners all around the world. If you’re on a private
blockchain, you may run several replicated systems. Or, you can own all
the nodes. You can also use blockchain on cloud platforms like Amazon
Web Services and Microsoft Azure. The key is that blockchain is built to
be replicated, again and again. Traditional databases must be migrated
in specific, expensive ways under certain conditions to guard against
data loss.
Ultimately, this is where blockchain really proves its worth:
combining the basic elements of security, robustness, replication, and
business logic all in its “DNA.†Smart contracts are safe, distributed,
and secure. Your entire dataset is more secure this way, too. This is
why blockchain promises to be the next-generation database.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 10:26 AM on Thursday, July 25th, 2019
SPONSOR: ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE) Led by
legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a Canadian-based
venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed small-cap
companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More than just
lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest small-cap
exits. Click Here For More Information.
————-
The Future Of Banking: Is It All Bitcoin And Blockchain?
At the beginning of July, news broke of Deutsche Bank staff being
sent home as 18,000 job cuts began unraveling before our very eyes. This
news was brought to life with an iconic image of two suited men
carrying their possessions past the doors of a Deutsche Bank branch in
London along with a bag branded “Bitcoins.”
Unfortunately, that image turned out only to be an incredible piece
of timing and coincidence as the men were not now out-of-work bankers
hoofing it from their formal institutional workplace brandishing the
‘future of money,’ on their bags, instead they were tailors walking past
at the right time.
Still, that near-perfect latent image of the finance’s future did
spark a few questions in my mind, and the minds of others. Just how far
are we from a future predicated on Bitcoin and blockchain in banking?
The beginning of the end for banks
To answer this question, I had to look at what is happening in the
world of banking that has led to job cuts and the concerns for the
traditional way of doing things in finance. Living in the United
Kingdom, London is a historical hotspot for banking and the seat of
power for some of the world’s biggest banks.
However, beyond the high-rise glass structures in the city center,
there are signs – usually in the tube stations and bus stops – of a new
way of managing and controlling your money on a day to day basis. No, it
is not Bitcoin – yet – it is the challenger banks.
Challenger banks, as defined,
are: “Small, recently-created retail banks in the United Kingdom that
compete directly with the longer-established banks in the country,
sometimes by specializing in areas underserved by the “big four” banks.”
These banks, also called App-banks, are usually highly customer
focused and made to be as user-friendly and as easy to operate on a day
to day basis as they can. In comparison with traditional banks,
challenger banks try and play to general user frustrations from your big
institutional banks. Sound familiar?
Challenging the legacy
I spoke with Anne Boden, a banking doyen with 30 years experience in
some of the most important financial institutions in the world, and now
the founder and CEO of Starling Bank – one such challenger bank in the UK.
Talking to her about the future of banking was fascinating for
although Boden is aware of Bitcoin, blockchain, and its potential it has
in the banking sector, she believes its time is still far on the
horizon.
In her recently released book, “The Money Revolution” Boden
states: “[Blockchain] is easily the most revolutionary money change on
the horizon and may make a huge difference across the fintech sector.”
BERLIN, GERMANY – NOVEMBER 30: CEO of Starling Bank Anne Boden speaks
on stage during TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin 2018 at Treptow Arena on
November 30, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images
for TechCrunch)
Getty Images for TechCrunch
Her thoughts on how traditional banks will need to change and evolve
because of several different factors could easily be viewed in the same
way, but with blockchain and cryptocurrency-tinted glasses
“I spent 30-odd years in traditional banking, I worked for all the
big banks, I worked for Lloyds Bank, Standard Chartered, UBS, Zurich,
and RBS. Then I went into AIG, post-financial crisis, to do the
turn-around and I came to the conclusion that it was easier to start a
new bank than to fix the old,” Boden told me.
Indeed, the banking legacy and way of doing things has become so
stagnant that the wants of the banks and the needs of the customers
almost do not line up anymore – especially on a day to day basis.
Challenger banks are this fresh start customers have been baying for,
but in comparison, cryptocurrencies and blockchain could be an entirely
fresh system.
“In this era, it is people like Atom, Monzo, and Starling that have
come to market, and the ones that have been successful are the ones that
have built their own technology,” Boden added. “All these organizations
have been called challenger banks, but you can only really disrupt when
you have a current account – because people are using that every day –
and when you have your own technology.”
Again, Boden is not necessarily referring to that technology as being
blockchain; however, one can see how blockchain is a prime example of
disruptive technology for the banking sector. The world is changing, and
the way people do everything is different, and this is also down to
technology.
“Customers have changed. Customers are buying music differently; they
are shopping on Amazon; they are doing things very differently,” said
Boden. “Technology has changed. Everyone is wandering around with their
smartphones, these phones have better penetration than the laptop, and
then all the time the regulations are changing as well, and that is a
perfect storm to bring something like Starling to the market.”
Starling is one of several challenger banks that are succeeding at
disrupting the banking hegemony with their customer focus, their
everyday usability, and their own technologies. Their success is indeed a
challenge to institutional financial systems, but because this is a
fast-moving space, there are already challengers to the challenger
banks.
A new weapon in the arsenal
Challenger banks, App-banks, mobile payment companies, merchant
services aggregator, peer-to-peer payments companies, are all financial
services that are looking to take a piece of the pie that traditional
banks have held for so long – and it is not just a UK phenomenon.
Circle, Square, and even Revolut,
which is coming to the USA are also disruptive forces in the financial
space, but what they all have in common is a cryptocurrency offering.
Cryptocurrency may be a long way off from being as popular as the Pound
or the Dollar in regards to payments, but some of these companies are
still offering the chance to use this alternative payment method, should
you be so inclined.
This took me to the offices of two other App-banks in the UK, Wirex, and Zeux.
Both companies operate as an alternative banking solution, allowing for
payments and money transfers, but they also each have cryptocurrency
offerings as well.
These offerings are of course not going to be nearly as popular as
the general fiat services of Starling, for example, but they are not
supposed to be – as yet.
“App-banks, or digital banks, are making things more convenient for
everyday customers to manage their banking, “Frank Zhou, CEO of Zeux,
told me. “There are a lot of needs in the early adopter space who are
interested in cryptocurrency, from trading, investing, using it for
payments. Those types of customers are easier to reach as they follow
the newest developments and are willing to give it a try,”
Pavel Matveev, one of the founders at Wirex, explained that the use
of cryptocurrencies need not only be for experimenting though. There are
tangible use-cases within the payment sphere already.
“While App-based and digital banks offer a more convenient means of
managing money, they are still largely based on conventional payment
infrastructure. This means that cross-border payments still take 3-5
days to settle and command relatively high fees,” said Matveev
“Decentralised digital currencies have the potential to revolutionize
many aspects of the payments industry due to their transparency,
mobility, and ease-of-use,” added Dmitry Lazarichev, also of Wirex.
“One of the most significant areas is international remittance.
Cross-border crypto transactions are significantly faster than
conventional methods of transferring money abroad and require very
little in the way of fees and charges.”
Different offerings
What Matveev and Lazarichev, as well as Zhou, had to say about
including cryptocurrencies into the new era of banking, reminded me of
Boden’s view for the future of the industry. The hopes of the two
crypto-offering App-banks is that they can fill small niches for people
with this new technology, and for Boden, the view is that traditional
banks will face stiff competition in these small niches of finance
services.
“What is going to happen is other things happening in the environment
will catch up with the banking industry, they will surprise the banking
industry,” said Boden “The combination of 5G internet of things,
self-driving cars, AI and machine learning will change the profile of
how payments are made.”
“So I think that the nature of payments will change and you will get
new entrants providing some of those new payment mechanisms, and I think
in that environment the incumbent banks will find it harder to compete.
Some will survive and mutate to something relevant, and many of them
will die.”
If cryptocurrency is to become one of those new payment mechanisms,
getting an early foot in the door is vital, but even more important is
offering a service that is usable. Zeux may see this as using
cryptocurrency for general payments, while Wirex could believe
remittances are key for the digital currencies; neither is more right
than the other and perhaps that is the point – there will be a bevy of
offerings in the future.
“Like previous studies of mass adoption, it happens when the majority
can use it as easily as they would use it normally. For example, from
cash to PIN card, Pin card to contactless cards, contactless to mobile
payment. An easy-to-use experience is key to bringing adoption,” said
Zhou.
“I think the market is ready for crypto mass adoption. But, there
needs to be a solution before the mass demand surfaces. Once all the
customers know they can spend their cryptos easily everywhere in any
shops, it increases their willingness to accept cryptos as payment in
the first place. Mass adoption only happens after the solution appears,
not before.”
A changing future
The banking world has, for almost the last century, continued in
pretty much the same way with little to no threat from alternatives.
That is all changing. People would like to believe that the power of
blockchain in the financial system, and the option of cryptocurrencies,
are about to shake up the entire banking space, but they would be
wrong.
There is little doubt that banking will start to incorporate
blockchain, as Boden explains: “I think that blockchain is likely to be
used in certain aspects of the banking business, so probably for trade
finance where you have lots of parties collaborating on a transaction,
but I think you will see blockchain implementation in niche areas of the
business, you won’t see it as a wholesale change for the banking
platform.”
However, for an entire, legacy-based industry of such a traditional
magnitude to overhaul its entire system for a nascent technology is
foolhardy.
In saying that, cryptocurrencies will start to gain more mass appeal.
This does not mean these two sides of the same industry will be what
changes the face of banking. Still, the face of banking is changing, and
that is why traditional banks that are oblivious to this are starting
to show cracks.
Everyday usage of money and payments is already on the march, and
because of the needs of customers, there is an emerging market of
challenger banks, app-banks, financial institutions and payment
facilitators in the wings. Some are already offering blockchain and
crypto services, some may do so down the line, but to say that the only
way to the future of banking is with blockchain and crypto is
short-sighted – there are much bigger demands and many more niches to be
filled.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 4:33 PM on Wednesday, July 24th, 2019
SPONSOR: ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE) Led by
legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a Canadian-based
venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed small-cap
companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More than just
lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest small-cap
exits. Click Here For More Information.
————-
What Blockchain Executives Think About The Uproar Around Facebook’s Libra
On the week of July 15, 2019 Facebook met in front of a US congressional committee to discuss the tech giant’s ambitious plans of creating a global digital currency named Libra.
At the hearing, US congressional staff probed Libra executives as well as notable cryptocurrency experts on the project’s intentions and concerns.Â
On the week of July 15, 2019 Facebook met in front of a US congressional committee
to discuss the tech giant’s ambitious plans of creating a global
digital currency named Libra. At the hearing, US congressional staff
probed Libra executives as well as notable cryptocurrency experts on the
project’s intentions and concerns.
The takeaways from the hearing included strong concern from central authorities that Libra could pose a significant risk to the global financial system. These risks include money laundering, terrorist financing, and loss of regulatory power.
As a Swiss-entity, the Libra
foundation promised to comply with international financial bodies and
cooperate in general with lawmakers. The goal is simple. Libra wants to
create financial inclusion for millions of unbanked people around the
world using a stable coin. There are expected to be many more hearings
to further the conversation.
With a wide range of opinions
presented, this article turns to industry experts and entrepreneurs to
get their feedback on Libra and the future of banking and digital
currencies.
At Intergalaxy,
we have noticed two main reactions from the recent Libra news. One was
from critics that feel threatened or concerned and the other from
supporters that see the project’s potential to create a new global
financial solution. Both are completely understandable given how early
it is in the project’s inception.
The critics see Facebook, the company
backing Libra, as an entity that has proven to be unreliable with data
and will ultimately be pulling the strings to stipulate Libra’s price.
According to the whitepaper and intentions stated, there are significant
concerns about the viability and scalability of the project. Also, the
target audience is largely Facebook users so the ability to control
these users by Facebook and Libra could become problematic if the
safeguards in place fail.
The supportive group, on the other
hand, is the same community that already finds itself in the billions of
active users that understand digital currencies and can act as
spokesman to the rest of the world. In this scenario, visibility to the
benefits of cryptocurrencies will be bigger and it will benefit more
people, globally speaking.
In these meetings, we may have finally seen the recognition that the
cryptocurrency industry deserves. In either way, the impact on the
industry will be huge.
Antoni Trenchev, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Nexo
At Nexo,
we are happy to see that the current focal point on Libra and the
cryptocurrency market will help spark the long-awaited conversations on
Capitol Hill about regulation surrounding digital assets that will
benefit the entire crypto space and especially crypto banking which is
the field that Nexo dominates. It is our hope that business-friendly and
technology-fostering rules will be the by-product of this political
discourse.
Paving the way to financial inclusion
for the 2 billion underbanked that Libra can access via the platforms
maintained by Facebook is the financial innovation of phenomenal
proportions. Even more so given the fact the concept of Libra will
prevail as it offers a lot of advantages such as ultra-low-cost
cross-border transactions, cheaper acquisition of payments for merchants
and no FX cost. It’s only a matter of time and adequate regulation
basis for its revolutionary potential to be put in widespread use.
The value propositions by entities of
financial innovators are obvious everywhere and companies like Nexo are
already counteracting another important plague of our time – the
inability to earn high-yield interest in a safe manner. Given the
extremely low-rate environment facilitated by the FED and ECB, Nexo
offers 8% annual returns, incredibly attractive to both retail and
financial institutions. We are interested in further teaming up with
Libra in this endeavor.
Nexo has always shown its support to
the big-movers in the space, further attested by the news of
transitioning at least 10% of its NEXO Tokens from the Ethereum
blockchain to the BEP-2 standard of Binance’s own blockchain called
‘Binance Chain’ in order to ensure faster transactions, lower fees and
the trading of NEXO on the Binance DEX.
This is the latest move in a
year-long collaboration between Nexo and Binance which began in July
2018 when Nexo became the first company to ease the selling pressure and
allow holders of Binance Coin (BNB) to borrow against their
cryptocurrency using Instant Crypto Credit Lines™. The newly built
two-way token swap mechanism will allow holders to convert BEP-2 to
ERC-20, and vice versa, while paying #ZeroFees and will be available
within the Nexo Wallet on both web and mobile.
The more legitimate strategic
partnerships the industry sees, such as this, the more the public will
see the value in the industry. Libra is a good example with its
consortium of backers.
The deep concern shown by U.S. and
global policymakers around Libra’s initial vision is justifiable and not
surprising. By proposing the creation of an open payment and developer
network with limited, hands-off regulatory compliance, Facebook should
have foreseen this sort of push back. Given that Facebook has over 2.3
billion active monthly users, the balance of innovation and regulation
is a careful one.
Even pre-Libra, Facebook has had to
face increasing criticism thanks to its data harvesting practices and
the significant data hacks its users have fallen victim to. If Facebook
can’t secure its current social platform and messaging apps with proper
security and privacy technologies, then why should its user base trust
in Libra?
Privacy issues are abound in the big
data industry, which encompasses any company that has, uses, and sells
large amounts of personal data, such as Facebook. Protecting the privacy
of both users and corporations while allowing all to realize the value
of blockchain technology is one of the main reasons we built Quras in the first place.
We cannot get to a place of trusted blockchain adoption without
giving individuals a digital ID that allows them to control their
identity in detail while putting a data permission hierarchy into place
with various privacy levels for any given purpose. This will ultimately
allow regulatory compliance and more real-world use cases to surface.
One thing is undeniable with the
recent news about Libra, digital currencies and blockchain technology
just took the global stage. I see this as an extremely positive thing
despite the visible hesitation seen by lawmakers. With any new
industry, questions and concerns are to be expected and we welcome that
as an exchange.
Right now, we need to take this
opportunity to continue educating the people around us about digital
currencies and their massive potential and give confidence to them. This
is why OKEx
recently donated $4.5 million Bitcoin to its perpetual swap market
insurance fund to support the Power Lunch, a charitable luncheon between
a handful of crypto magnates and legendary Wall Street investor Warren
Buffett in our way. This lunch is a great way to generate discussions
but we decided to place our resources where the crypto community can
directly benefit.
The more hearings we see the clearer
this should all become. A couple of brave congressmen showed astute
understanding of the industry during the hearings proving that even
lawmakers can grasp the intricacies of digital currencies when they want
to.
Will Libra launch and be a success? Time will tell. For the awareness of digital currencies, the
news is welcomed and we look forward to the process of educating and
serving millions of more customers on OKEx in the near future.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 10:54 AM on Wednesday, July 24th, 2019
SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel (TN:CSE)
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million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper. Tartisan also has
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Battery raw materials could face a supply crunch by the mid-2020s. In every electric vehicle (EV) battery, there’s a complex chemistry of metals – cobalt, lithium, nickel and more. The electrification of transport
is transforming the demand and supply of those battery raw materials.
In fact, we expect to see double-digit growth for battery raw materials
over the next decade. And our latest research suggests they could face a
supply crunch by the mid-2020s, increasing the pressure on the raw
material supply chain.
What does the long-term outlook for battery raw materials mean for electric vehicle penetration, the metals supply chain and those who invest in it?
Global electric car sales (with a plug) will account for 7% of all passenger car sales by 2025, 14% by 2030 and 38% by 2040
Battery pack sizes continue to trend larger through the medium term
NMC 811 cells are being produced on a greater scale resulting in increased nickel demand at the expense of cobalt and lithium
Most automotive manufacturers plan to go completely electric by 2050
Retreat in lithium prices underway
Spot prices for lithium carbonate have fallen by just under US$7,000/t since June 2018.
We are seeing the same weakness in the realised prices of the majors
and their expectations for H1 2019. And this is in an environment where
the major brine producers in South America have failed to ramp up
capacity. Clearly, the first responders to the lithium boom – Australian
hard rock mines – have the capability to quickly deliver the required
tonnages. Meanwhile, the bottleneck in Chinese conversion capacity that
was supporting prices is giving way as China emerges as a net exporter
of lithium chemicals to the region.
It has only taken a few years for the battery sector to become the
largest demand driver for lithium. Lithium’s use in every lithium-ion
battery type means it will have double-digit annual growth, making up
over 80% of total lithium demand by 2030.
Cobalt prices have plummeted this year
Like lithium, cobalt prices have softened over H1 2019. The low
prices may defer some mine projects and are likely to see reduced
artisanal output from the DRC. However, the industry must still contend
with an oversupply of intermediates until 2024. And the existence of
swing supply in China is likely to keep a lid on any major price upside.
Although cobalt looks challenging in the long-term, the adoption of
high-nickel batteries in EVs means the emerging deficits look more
achievable than previously expected.
Indonesia key for nickel
Although the battery sector share of nickel demand is much smaller
than other metals, getting the quantity of nickel that EVs will need by
the mid-2020s will be a challenge. A low nickel price has hindered any
project development and with lead times often up to 10 years, investment
needs to happen now.
While high-nickel ternary batteries will mean higher corresponding
demand for nickel, like cobalt, our long-term deficits are becoming more
feasible. Much of this is due to growing capacity in Indonesia, to
serve both the stainless steel sector and emerging battery demand.
Business as usual for graphite
For graphite, there is little change in fundamentals. While the scale
of demand is huge, we don’t expect any supply-side challenges in terms
of natural graphite flake due to the growing supply out of East Africa.
Synthetic graphite presents more of a challenge, given potential
disruption to needle coke feedstock as a result of the new IMO 2020
regulations and growth in China’s steel sector.
Manganese central to NMC batteries
The manganese industry is overwhelmingly driven by the steel sector,
something unlikely to change no matter how many EVs are on the road.
While a steady supply of manganese sulphate will be crucial for NMC
battery producers, we do not foresee any supply-side issues in this
space.
What does this mean for investors in battery raw materials?
Despite strong growth in demand on the horizon, there’s not yet much
for investors to get excited about. Meeting demand is not a challenge
for key metals at present. In many cases supply is chasing demand.
Increase electric vehicle penetration to 10% and above, and it is a
different matter altogether. Are the current falling prices and weak
sentiment setting the world up for a crunch down the road?
Unless battery technology can be developed, tested, commercialised,
manufactured and integrated into EVs and their supply chains faster than
ever before, it will be impossible for many EV targets and ICE
(internal combustion engine) bans to be achieved – posing issues for
current EV adoption rate projections.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 4:58 PM on Tuesday, July 23rd, 2019
SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel (TN:CSE)
Kenbridge Property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14
million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper. Tartisan also has
interests in Peru, including a 20 percent equity stake in Eloro
Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property. Click her for more information
Demand for electric vehicles bodes well for nickel
The reason many are bullish on prices long-term is the expected demand for nickel for EVs, a key component in electric batteries.
Right now, two-thirds of the world’s nickel is used for stainless steel production, and three per cent for batteries.
By: Darren MacDonald
While nickel analysts expect the price of nickel to dip again despite
the impressive gains it has made in recent weeks, demand for the metal
is bright thanks to the increasing demand for electric vehicles.
Nickel was trading at US $6.40 on Monday afternoon on the London
Metals Exchange (LME), down from last week’s high of US $6.85, but still
up more than 20 per cent in the last two weeks.
Commonwealth Bank commodities analyst Vivek Dhar told the Financial Review that
the reasons some have given for the recent surge – falling LME
stockpiles and an impending export ban in Indonesia – are not new
revelations, and are factors traders have known for a long time.
“That’s what’s got all of us scratching our heads,” Dhar
said in the article. “It’s not like LME stockpiles have just fallen in
July. They’ve been heading down for a while, so why would you see an
acceleration in price like just now?
“In terms of how sustainable is it, we’re very bullish over the long
run but in terms of the rise since the beginning of July, it’s come out
of nowhere.â€
The reason many are bullish on prices long-term is the expected
demand for nickel for EVs, a key component in electric batteries. Right
now, two-thirds of the world’s nickel is used for stainless steel
production, and three per cent for batteries.
“Changes in battery technology that improve the longevity and cost
profile of batteries are likely to lift the proportion of nickel used in
batteries, which combined with significantly higher battery production,
is expected to open new opportunities for nickel producers from the 2020s onward,†says a June analysis by the Australian government.
“World consumption is forecast to increase from 2.3 million tonnes in 2018 to 2.7 million tonnes in 2021, growing at an average rate of 4.7 per cent a year.â€
Devin Arthur, president of the Electric Vehicle Society’s Greater Sudbury chapter, says car makers such as Ford and Volkswagen and Toyota are ramping up their capacity to build electric batteries, joining Tesla in the race to build fully electric cars.
“All that means is people are going to need more nickel,†Arthur said. “We have a lot of it, so it’s good for us.â€
Up until now, car makers have usually contracted out production of
batteries from companies with limited production capacity. Tesla decided
it would make its own batteries, and other car makers are following
suit.
“Volkswagen, for example, have kind of said ‘OK, we need make our own
battery factories,’†Arthur said. “We’re going to do it all in-house.
So right now we’re in this really large kind of transition period where
all these companies are investing billions of dollars in battery plants.
“Once these plants are up and running, I think you’re going to see nickel prices just shoot through the roof.”
It’s not just Arthur saying that – according to the Australian government’s analysis, there is a chance it could “boom.
“There is potential for nickel consumption to boom, as electric
vehicle battery manufacturing picks up and technological advances are
married with market developments, supportive policy and changing
consumer preferences,†the analysis said.
The evolution of the batteries is important too, Arthur said. His
Chevy Bolt can go as far as 400 kilometres between charges, depending on
the temperature and other conditions. With improvements to battery and
charging technology, longer and longer trips with shorter and shorter
recharging times are on the way.
Porsche says a high-voltage charger it has developed can recharge a EV battery in eight minutes, Arthur said.
“So a typical charge stop would probably take as long as pumping gas – if not shorter,†he said.
And software can tell a driver how much they need to charge their
car, depending on the length of the trip and the location of the next
charging station.
“A lot of the newer vehicles, you’re looking at the 500-600 kilometre
ranges on a full charge,†he said. “The technology is evolving so fast
that you’re going to see is just massive updates every time they come up
with new models. I think once Volkswagen and other major manufacturers
start actually releasing their models, I think you’ll this ‘range
anxiety’ isn’t going to be much of a problem anymore.â€
With production ramping up, and EV production expected to take off
beginning in 2021 and beyond, Arthur said groups like the Electric
Vehicle Association – which has chapters across the province – is
working to not only spread the EV message, but advocate for the charging
infrastructure to be in place to meet the demand for new EV owners. In
Sudbury, the number of EV owners has grown to about 170, up from 95 last
year, with the growth rate expected to increase as more products hit
the marketplace.
In addition to new companies developing charging stations, traditional companies such as Petro Canada have plans to build a national charging network from coast-to-coast.
“I guess even (fossil fuel companies) know that this is the future
and if they don’t get get in now, you know, they’re kind of going to be
left behind,†Arthur said. “So the future will see charging stations
everywhere the way we see gas stations today.â€
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 4:40 PM on Monday, July 22nd, 2019
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mhealth Solutions Market to witness major growth in coming years
mhealth Solutions Market size is projected to experience significant growth from 2019 to 2025.
Growing prevalence of chronic diseases such as blood pressure and cardiac diseases will drive cardiac health related mobile devices growth in the coming years.
mHealth technology is viewed as the solution to improve healthcare cost-efficiency as healthcare providers seek to maximize their patient outreach while minimizing costs, thus leading to industry growth.
Increasing penetration of tablet and
smart phones users and growing need for remote patient monitoring
services will boost mHealth solutions market growth in the future.
Increasing demand for healthcare information systems and launch of new
applications of mHealth technologies are the factors driving the growth
of mHealth solutions market.
Favorable government initiatives will
boost mHealth solutions industry in the upcoming years. For instance, in
Europe, European commission had launched a public consultation project
to gain input from various participant of digital health industry to
promote digital health innovations and care for European citizens. Such
government initiatives should propel industry growth over the forecast
timeframe.
However, lack of lack of favorable
reimbursement policies may restrict growth of mHealth solutions market.
Highly fragmented mHealth solutions market can hamper revenue generation
and company growth in the future.
Glucose meter market will show
tremendous growth during the forecast period. Rising incidence of Type-1
and Type-2 diabetes across the globe, increasing usage of homecare
devices and growing significance of remote blood glucose monitoring will
boost business growth. Moreover, risk of diabetes among the obese
individuals and increasing popularity of less invasive glucose
monitoring devices has led to rise in demand for digital glucose meters.
Fitness apps market will witness
remarkable growth over the forecast period and similar trend is expected
in the future. Fitness apps permits consumers to keep a track and
monitor on their fitness levels and sports related activities by using
smartphones. These apps also help users to keep track on their heart
rate and the number of calories lost during workout thus having positive
impact on segmental growth.
U.S. will dominate North America mHealth
solutions market in the forecast period. U.S. is in forefront for
technology adoption. The country is working towards developing smart
manufacturing infrastructure that will help operators to make real time
use of big data. The implementation of HITECH Act and HIPAA Act are
promoting the use of mHealth solution in the country, thus propelling
business growth in U.S. during projected timeframe.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:45 PM on Sunday, July 21st, 2019
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As Facebook Struggles For Blockchain Support, A Truly Decentralized Challenger Emerges
So, what is Celo? In a similar fashion to Libra, Celo is at its core a stablecoin platform
This means that the key value proposition of the assets running on top of the platform is that they are immune to the wide swings in volatility that have plagued leading crypto assets in recent years
Creates an opportunity for companies and projects like Celo, which are building pure blockchain-based financial services aimed at linking the nearly 2 billion people in the world that do not have access to bank accounts or the ability to verify their identity
As Facebook Blockchain Lead David Marcus tries to simultaneously use his testimony in front of U.S. lawmakers to restore trust in the company, and convince them that Facebook will not always be the driving force of its Libra project, it is easy to see why some of its key blockchain competitors are enthusiastic about the company’s entrance in the space.
The prevailing belief is that at some point the inherent contractions
in Facebook’s blockchain strategy and the Libra project are going to
become too much to overcome. Of course, this assumes that the project
launches at all, which is not certain given the regulatory scrutiny it
faces around the world.
This creates an opportunity for companies and projects like Celo,
which are building pure blockchain-based financial services aimed at
linking the nearly 2 billion people in the world that do not have access to bank accounts or the ability to verify their identity.
To the point, it is interesting that some of Libra’s first members,
including venerated venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and
crypto-unicorn Coinbase, have invested in Celo. Some of Celo’s other high-profile investors include LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and Twitter/Square CEO Jack Dorsey.
Understanding Celo
So, what is Celo? In a similar fashion to Libra, Celo is at its core a
stablecoin platform. This means that the key value proposition of the
assets running on top of the platform is that they are immune to the
wide swings in volatility that have plagued leading crypto assets in
recent years. Many are designed to mirror the price movements of
traditional currency, and most have names that reflect their fiat
brethren, such as the Gemini Dollar. This is a critical need for the
industry, as no asset will be able to serve as a currency if it does not
maintain a consistent price.
A man walks past signs advertising money transfer services and loans
outside a business in Mexico City, Tuesday, April 5, 2016. (AP
Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
However, rather than being a centralized issuer that supports the
price pegs with fiat held in banks, Celo has built a full-stack platform
(meaning it developed the underlying blockchain and applications that
run on top), that can offer an unlimited number of stablecoins all
backed by cryptoassets held in reserve.
Furthermore, Celo is what is known as an algorithmic-based stablecoin
provider. This distinction means that rather than being a centralized
entity that controls issuances and redemptions, the company employs a
smart-contract based stability protocol that automatically expands or
contracts the supply of its collateral reserves in a fashion similar to
how the Federal Reserve adjusts the U.S. monetary supply. In this vein,
Celo co-founder Rene Reinsberg told me that the company actually
“Maintains overcollaterization via a multi-asset crypto reserve composed
of Celo’s native asset, Celo Gold, and a basket of other crypto assets,
such as bitcoin.†This overcollateralization is important, and common
in crypto lending and stablecoin platforms, because it serves as a
buffer against potential volatility.
Additionally, a key differentiator for Celo from similar projects is
that for the first time its blockchain platform allows users to
send/receive money to a person’s phone number, IP address, email, as
well as other identifiers. This feature will be critical to the
long-term success for the network because it eliminates the need for
counterparties in a transaction to share their public keys with each
other prior to a transaction.
And now today, Celo is open-sourcing its entire codebase and design
after two years of development. Additionally, the company is launching
the first prototype of its platform, named the Alfajores Testnet, and
Celo Wallet, an Android app that will allow users to manage their
accounts and send/receive payments on the testnet.
This announcement and product is intended to be just the first of
what will be a wide range of financial services applications designed to
connect the world.
A Bright Outlook But Significant Question Remain
With all of that said, the company’s near and long-term success will
depend on its ability to navigate and address some key hurdles. Three in
particular immediately come to mind:
Stability of the Network. There are currently no
algorithmic/smart-contract based stablecoins in circulation today that
have seen widespread adoption. There are multiple reasons for this.
First, it is simpler to issue stablecoins on a 1:1 basis for fiat kept
in reserves. Second, it is nearly-impossible to design a complex system
that can account for and overcome any threat or challenge. It is likely
that at some point the future the network’s governance structure will be
challenged or that a critical flaw will be discovered in the underlying
code. The platform’s ability to rebound from these challenges without
compromising its decentralized nature will be a key determinant of its
future.
Ability to Adapt to Highly Volatile Fiat. A key
differentiator between Celo and other stablecoin issuers is that anyone
that participates in its governance function can propose a new currency.
The intention is that the platform will support a wide range of global,
national, and local currencies. Given that it is first targeting users
in the developing world, where the currencies are notoriously volatile,
there is a chance that the system could be strained as it seeks to
maintain constant pegs across the network. It is worth noting that the
company has given great thought and care to ensure that it is anti-fragile, and part of this strategy involves using a diverse basket of collateral to support all assets on the network.
Regulation. If the Libra hearings in front of Congress
proved nothing else, lawmakers are very concerned about crypto being
misappropriated for illicit uses. All issuers will need to comply with
existing AML/KYC laws. I asked Rene about this challenge and whether or
not their ability to comply will be hindered by the firms ability to
onboard users with little more than a phone number or some other
numerical identifier. His response was, “Yes, we’ve had conversations
with regulators both in the US and around the world. We think regulation
is critical for this space, particularly when it comes to protecting
consumers. We will absolutely comply with US laws and laws around the
world. We’re looking forward to sharing more on this at a later stage,
closer to mainnet launchâ€
Conclusion
There is a saying “nothing worth having comes easyâ€, and that
certainly applies to Celo and its diligent approach to development.
Additionally, the irony of its launch’s juxtaposition with the Libra
hearings underscores the need for a decentralized approach to connecting
the world.
