The second to last week of November has been exciting for exciting for the blockchain and cryptocurrency markets. Perhaps the biggest news is that the European Union (E.U.) established a new investment fund aiming to prevent the E.U. from falling behind the U.S. and China on blockchain and artificial intelligence innovation. The European Investment Fund and the European Commission put up €100 million for a dedicated fund to make capital available to A.I. and blockchain projects. In addition, the E.U. expects private investors to contribute up to €300 million into the fund, meaning a total of at least €400 million. The new fund could reportedly raise up to €2 billion under the InvestEU Program eventually. The new fund is meant to address the fact that relatively little is spent in the EU on developing larger scale AI and blockchain endeavors.

Here is the rest of the week in review:

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled hesitation around a digital U.S. dollar (USD). In a November 19 letter responding to questions from lawmakers, Powell said the Fed noted the efforts of other countries exploring a central bank digital currency, and he added that the Fed continues to "carefully analyze the costs and benefits of pursuing such an initiative in the U.S." The letter from lawmakers had expressed concerns over the potential risks to the dollar if a nation or private firm creates a widely used cryptocurrency. While the U.S. central bank is currently researching the potential benefits of a fully digital dollar, Powell stressed the Fed is not actively developing one. The central bank chief added that a new digital dollar would also raise important questions regarding law, monetary policy, financial stability, regulation, and operations.

Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, announced it purchased the WazirX exchange and entered the Indian market. The firm's entry into India might seem surprising, as the country's crypto industry is disrupted by a ban on banking services for crypto firms enacted by the central bank in April 2018. But Binance has a method around the banking issue, after recently launching Indian rupees (INR) on its Binance Fiat Gateway. Binance chief executive Changpeng Zhao wrote: "The acquisition of WazirX shows our commitment and dedication to the Indian people and strengthening the blockchain ecosystem in India as well as another step forward in achieving the freedom of money." However, Binance faces a tough obstacle, since an Indian government panel is considering legislation that would fully ban cryptos in the country.

Crypto prices tumbled to $195.5 billion this week, after a massive wave of volatility. For the majors, all coins except Tether (USDT) plunged, with EOS, Litecoin (LTC), and Binance Coin (BNB) posting the worst losses. In the top 100, the biggest losers were Komodo (KMD), down 34%, V Systems (VSYS), down 32%, and Huobi Token (HT), down 32%. The biggest gainers were MMOCoin (MMO), up a whopping 2,095%, Seele (SEELE), up 47%, and Molecular Future (MOF), up 35%. Next week traders will see if crypto can retake the $200 billion level.

The author owns a small amount of LTC.