China’s new crypto law

“A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead.”

- Graham Greene

In today's newsletter, we will be covering:

• The launch of open source exchange HollaEx

• China enacting crypto law in run-up to state digital currency debut

• Wells Fargo's Mike Mayo claiming we live in the golden decade of banks and technology

Daily Market Summary - Bearish 

Total Market Cap: ~$190.6 billion (~1.5%)                     BTC Price: ~$7,170 (~1.5%)

24-Hour Volume: ~$61.2 billion (~20.5%)                      BTC Dominance: ~68.2% (~0%)

Notable movers: Seele (SEELE) (~9.6%)    

BTC is currently trading at ~$7,170, down ~1.5% over the past 24 hours. On the daily chart, BTC continues to be trading below its 100-day EMA line, and RSI currently stands at ~44 (it has been in this region for the past 2 weeks). On the weekly chart, BTC continues to hold its 100-EMA line, a level it has been battling to hold for the past month. 

BTC is still trading within its lower highs and lower lows trading pattern/ channel/ zone it has been trading within since late June this year. It is currently testing the lower bound. 

Poll of the Day

How much do you agree with this statement: "We will see BTC surpass the $20,000 mark in 2020"

Why or why not? Share with me in the polls!  

Open for trading

A crypto trading platform engineered with open-source exchange software by bitHolla, HollaEx.com, has opened for trading. It launched with a promotion of 30% reduced trading fees for users who register with the referral link.

bitHolla's objective is to offer an exchange solution that is flexibility and easy to use, and one that stays true to the cryptocurrency industry as it is built by local crypto veterans and professionals.

bitHolla CEO, Ali Beikverdi, claims that its innovative exchange software "will become a ubiquitous part of any business and we [they] will be striving to offer 'outside the box' solutions," allowing smart businesses to use open marketplace technology in new ways unlike any other.

Inevitable

China Money Network reported on 1 Jan that China has officially implemented a law that governs cryptographic password management as part of its pre-release plans for its central bank digital currency (CBDC). 

The Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress in China first passed the law on 26 Oct, 2019, separating passwords at large into 3 distinct categories: passwords, common passwords and commercial passwords. 

It aims to facilitate the country's shift to blockchain technology, and recognizes that "the development of blockchain technology can not be separated from the progress of cryptography technology," as referenced from Japan Economic News' report.

Golden epoch 

In a CNBC news segment on 30 Dec, Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo declared that "this is the golden decade of banks and technology." 

He explained that while banks failed in the 1990s to integrate systems, and met with "tears" due to the 2007-2009 financial crisis despite excessive growth in the 2000s, technology better enabled for banks in this decade will "ensure efficiency and better returns."

Mayo predicts that the financial sector will make "big advances" over the next 10 years, and will embark on a "big decade that Wall Street might not be expecting."

While Mayo did not mention specifically which technologies will allow such advances for the banking industry, blockchain may be an important element in the future. According to recent findings from CBinsights, blockchain technology has become the 7th most popular investment area for banks in 2019.

Other news 

• Ripple is releasing funds from its escrow worth $192 million, continuing its 55-month escrow schedule of releasing 55 billion XRP over 55 months to incentivize investors to be interested and to keep XRP usage consistent.

• Turkey's Istanbul Clearing, Settlement and Custody Bank, Takasbank, announced that its blockchain-based, physical gold-backed transfer system BiGA Digital Gold, is live. It plans to create an infrastructure that allows dematerialized gold to be transferred, keeping their physical equivalents safe with blockchain technology.

• A few analysts claimed that the Ethereum network was targeted in a coordinated attack after reports of some Parity Ethereum nodes losing sync with the network. Software developer Liam Aharon analyzed the attack and concluded it almost took down the whole network.

Blockchain term of the day - Fork

Forks, or chain splits, create an alternate version of the blockchain, leaving two blockchains to run simultaneously. An example is Ethereum and Ethereum Classic, which was forked after the DAO hack.

Crypto calendar  

TBA         - Justin Sun's lunch with Warren Buffett

What you said

"How much do you agree with this statement: "2019 was a good year for crypto""

The average vote was 5.1. 

"Why or why not?"

 

 

I acquired a lot of coins through day trading that are worth less the more I collect, go figure? – Hahaha. I mean, did you collect the ones that matter tho?

 

 

Terrible performance and no recovery in sight – All in due time, my friend. All in due time… This is how capitulation looks like. 

 

 

No growth but lots of technical progress – Yes. Def pleased with that. 

 

 

 

Many altcoins increased in value and then fell to even lower prices. I don't call that a good year! – Def a bad year, price-wise, for the alts. They’ve taken a beating. 

 

 

The only good thing about crypto 2019 is the limited regulatory progress that was made. – Interesting thought, although I would say that regulation is important to a certain extent. Regulation can bring about legitimacy to the space as it can encourage more participation from traditional financial institutions. 

 

 

yes and no. got caught in the arbitrage scam. which is apex now . and yes, i was able to get a small portion out . i bought bitcoin im hoping i can get some of my losses back. i have become a believer in the space thru the experience. im holding bitcoin until i get even. ill hold some for the trip to the moon. could you please contact elon musk and buy that ticket! – Hahaha Elon seems to be a proponent of BTC. 

 

 

For my family and I we accumulated the most this year than the last 3 years combined. A sale is a sale . – Heh, you guys know whats up.

 

 

Expecting it to be beyond $15, 000 and above – Hmm, my prediction is that it will take some time…

 

 

It was good for bitcoin and the fact that there were new developments in the cryptos space that was not reflected in prices but making the future look brighter. It was not good for the altcoins although it appears that it was a good year for them establishing a solid base for future growth. – Yup!

 

 

Besides the fact that BTC price doubled from a year ago today. Besides China and other countries joining the movement, Crypto is maturing into an adult and that is best thing about year for me. It shows that it something to take serious, it shows it the future, yes there a lot I will still see happening, but crypto is poised to rock the roaring 20's. – More people are def starting to take notice. 

 

 

Much progress has been made and it is becoming easier and faster to operate with crypto. The vertical growth within existing platforms is encouraging and developing quickly. – Yes, and there are so many more places where you can make purchases with crypto now. 

See you again tomorrow!

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Bring it on, 2020!