As the fourth week of October unfolded, big moves were made in the world of blockchains and cryptocurrencies. Perhaps the biggest news that occurred if that Chinese President Xi Jinping praised blockchain and called on China to research and develop it. On Thursday, at the 18th collective study of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, Xi said the country needs to "seize the opportunity" afforded by blockchain technology. He added that blockchain tech offers a wide array of applications within China, on topics ranging from financing business to mass transit and poverty relief. "We must take the blockchain as an important breakthrough for independent innovation of core technologies," Xi told committee members, adding that China must "clarify the main direction, increase investment, focus on a number of key core technologies, and accelerate the development of blockchain technology and industrial innovation." Xi also urged a top-down approach toward implementation and regulation. The Chinese President's remarks on blockchain are his first in-depth comments on the technology, and the central bank is working on a digital yuan (RMB) to debut soon.
Here is the rest of the week in review:
The U.S. Treasury Department committed to monitoring the Facebook's
Bakkt, an Intercontinental Exchange
Crypto prices jumped to $252 billion this week. For the majors, only Tether (USDT) slipped, while Bitcoin SV (BSV), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Bitcoin posted outsized double-digit gains. In the top 100, the biggest losers were 0x (ZRX), down 14%, Swipe (SXP), down 14%, and LUNA (LUNA), down 9%. The biggest gainers were Bytom (BTM), up a whopping 187%, Ontology (ONT), up 64%, and NEO (NEO), up 63%. Next week traders will see if crypto can keep above the psychologically important $250 billion level.
The author owns a small amount of BTC.
- 1. https://www.coindesk.com/president-xi-says-china-should-seize-opportunity-to-adopt-blockchain
- 2. https://www.coindesk.com/us-treasury-to-monitor-libra-over-possible-financial-risks
- 3. https://medium.com/bakkt-blog/bakkt-bitcoin-options-on-futures-to-launch-december-9-an-industry-first-8fb2bd686abb