The State of The Market — October 30, 2018BTC: $6,342.73 (-0.12%)ETH: $197.61 (-0.03%)XRP: $0.4461 (+0.85%)
Yesterday the overall cryptocurrency market took a downturn and shed more than $6 billion from the overall market cap which currently sits around $203 billion. Bitcoin has struggled to recover above $6,350 and Ethereum remains below $200. On Monday Tether (USDT) briefly regained parity with the U.S. dollar and currently the stablecoin trades for $0.9946.
In other news, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has invested $600 million in two fintech firms. Both firms focus on mobile payment systems and are located in emerging markets. Also, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority will have the final say on a proposal to ban cryptocurrency derivatives. A recent statement by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) indicates that consultations on whether to ban cryptocurrency derivatives will begin at the start of Q1 in 2019. Cryptocurrency derivatives, futures, options, and contracts could be fully prohibited if the proposal is approved by the FCA.
1) Today Coinbase revealed that it will add an additional $300 million through a Series E financing round led by Tiger Global Management. Y Combinator Continuity, Wellington Management, Andreessen Horowitz, and Polychain are also involved in the fundraising. A Medium post from Coinbase President and COO Asiff Hirji explained that the funds will be used to build infrastructure between fiat and crypto in regulated markets worldwide. The funds will also allow Coinbase to offer additional crypto assets and support institutions seeking to invest in cryptocurrency. The current round of Series E fundraising brings Coinbase’s post-money valuation to over $8 billion. (Read More)
2) Nexo (NEXO), a cryptocurrency-backed loan platform, announced Monday that it will soon offer 6.5% interest on major stablecoins stored on their platform. The qualified stablecoins include TrueUSD (TUSD), Circle’s USDCoin (USDC), Gemini Dollar (GUSD), Paxos Standard Token (PAX) and Maker’s Dai (DAI) will qualify for 6.5% when stored on the Nexo platform. Nexo, currently, is holding a $101.5 million market cap and is gearing up for its first dividend payment on December 15, when it will distribute 30% of the platform’s profits to NEXO holders. At the time of writing, Nexo is trading at $0.18, up 0.78% in the last 24 hours. (Read More)
3) IBM and Smart Dubai have rolled out the Dubai Blockchain Platform, a blockchain-as-a-service platform that is backed by the government. The BaaS will run on IBM’s cloud, which is based in the UAE. The Dubai Blockchain Platform is compliant with the Information Security Regulation of the Dubai government and will allow private companies and government entities to shift to DLT testing and development in a quick manner. According to IBM’s Amr Refaat, this new service will assist organizations in using blockchain technology cost-effectively by freeing them of platform integration problems and security issues. It will also allow transparency and more efficient collaboration between government organizations and private entities. (Read More)
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