This Week in Crypto
It has been another roller coaster week in the world of cryptocurrencies with the experts forecasting unforeseen highs by the end of 2018 and beyond, and the markets slow to react. A week ago, the price of one Bitcoin stood at $7400. After hitting a week-high of $7750 on Monday, the price at the time of writing settled at the $7600 mark. It seems like another lifetime that monthly gains of thousands of dollars were the norm, but thanks to increased government scrutiny of crypto assets and small players being unable to weather the current storm, we should continue to expect minor changes from week to week at best.
Despite the less than impressive $200 rise in Bitcoin’s price from last week, however, the overall crypto market saw a total gain of almost $20 billion, rising from $323 billion seven days ago to about $342 billion today. This keeps investor hopes alive that we may still yet see the crypto market hit half a trillion dollars before the end of the year, although it should be noted that such a rise will largely depend on Bitcoin nearing its all-time-high’s once again. For long-term investors, Bitcoin and all of the other major crypto assets are still a hold. However, for those who are looking for a little excitement, not all hope is lost! There are still plenty of projects that can deliver the astronomical rewards that most crypto enthusiasts crave. For example, X-Coin (XCO) appreciated over 800% over the last seven days! Having said this, however, we do not give investment advice, so always do your due diligence before investing, and may the odds be ever in your favor!
NEWS
South Korea considers lifting ongoing ICO ban
South Korea is home to some of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world in terms of volume, but the country shook the market a few months ago by announcing that it was going to ban ICOs and anonymous trading altogether. It seems things have cooled down somewhat, however, and the country is now considering how and when, if ever, ICOs will be made legal once again. This may be due, in part, to more global acceptance of crypto and alternative currencies; governments now seem to be more in favour of facilitating and enabling the technology and putting it to good use than standing in its way outright.
EOS vulnerabilities are discovered and fixed the same day
EOS, which famously raised $4 billion in a year-long token sale that just wrapped up on June 2, reportedly faced ‘epic’ bugs that were, thankfully, patched the same day. It is yet to be seen whether or not EOS will become the Ethereum-killer it has been touted to be, but it is definitely a project to watch out for as more and more decentralized apps are built on the platform.
Former NBA commissioner backs Ethereum-based cryptocurrency
Former NBA commissioner David Stern emerged from retirement to proclaim his backing of FanChain, a token that rewards you for doing what you like to do best: talking about your favourite sports team. In an interesting departure from a number of crypto projects in the sports space, all of which involved betting and playing games in one form or another, Mr Stern’s endorsement of a fan-fueled project such as this is a good omen for the sports industry at large. It could possibly unlock untapped potential within the industry and bring other sports assets such as betting, merchandising, sports contracts, and broadcasting licenses to the blockchain.
ICO mania
HybridBlock (HYB), an online digital exchange, and ScanetChain (SWC), an augmented reality project that is creating a database of online and offline objects that will be identifiable by smartphones and other devices, are two interesting ICOs that both close this week. In addition, PeerMountain (PMTN), which is a protocol for connecting sovereign ID holders with businesses to enable commerce at scale, is a trending ICO that is preparing for launch soon. Stay tuned for updates on how these and other trending projects progress.
Hack of DNA website exposes data of 92 million accounts
MyHeritage, which is a consumer genealogy website based in Israel, announced that email addresses and password information of over 92 million user accounts were compromised in what is tentatively being called an isolated hacking incident. Isolated or not, such hacks point to an undeniable truth: centralized systems are a thing of the past, and they can no longer be trusted as platforms that collect and use private user data. Decentralized blockchain in every industry is the only way forward.
Get ready for TRON!
TRON, the tenth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, launched a beta for its mainnet this week scheduled for June 25. With a valuation of $4bn, TRON has grown at a pace rarely seen by top-flight cryptos, but whether or not it will stand the test of time and truly replace Ether as the dApp platform of choice is yet to be seen. Here’s wishing the TRON team well for their June 25 launch!
ADOPTION
Ripple donates $50 million to 17 universities to boost blockchain tech and crypto adoption
Ripple, the blockchain-based payment network, plans to donate $50 million to 17 universities around the globe to promote the use of, and research into, blockchain technologies. Dubbed the University Blockchain Research Initiative, this project was announced on June 4. It is worth noting that the donations will be made in U.S. dollars, not in cryptocurrency.
Bitcoincashers.org launched by Bitcoin Cash to accelerate crypto adoption
BitcoinCashers.org was recently created by the Bitcoin Cash Fund (BCF) to educate businesses and individuals on BCH and how it can be used as a secure, decentralized method of payment. Initiatives such as this are crucial for building bridges between the tech communities that run crypto projects and the general public that is meant to use them.
Crypto in Africa
A third of the world’s population is under 20 years old, but some countries are younger than others. In about 40 different African countries, over half the population is under 20. Studies have shown that many people below the age of 30 have embraced digital currency in Africa, and the continent shows great potential to become a leader in peer-to-peer financial transactions, especially in highly populated countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Ghana, where cross-border remittances and payments are a standard part of everyday life. mCoin is a
cryptocurrency that works on any mobile platform and it is setting itself up to help African countries improve crypto adoption across the board. The company has plans to launch a virtual SMS wallet to allow individuals to access their virtual wallets and to interact with other people through a simple SMS interface. Talk about bridging the gap between old and new technologies and modes of communication in one comprehensive project!
This week on the blog
Digitex Development Update Digitex Futures CEO, Adam Todd gives a quick update on the development team and the futures exchange.
Intro to EOS EOS has the potential to be the most powerful smart contract platform out there. Learn why here.
Profiting From a Bounce Interested in learning how to profit from a bounce? These simple tips will get you started
Will We Have a Digital Permanent Record?
Will the blockchain tame the wild west of the Internet? Find out here
The Most Creative Ways Blockchain is Being Used Here are some exciting Blockchain platforms that you should know about
Technical Analysis Weekly – June 4th, 2018 We use technical analysis indicators to look at the recent price movement of 6 major cryptocurrencies: BTC, ETH, XRP, BCH, EOS and LTC https://blog.digitexfutures.com/cryptocurrency/this-week-in-crypto-5/