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Bitcoin Price Nearly Doubles Off February LowsFebruary 20, 2018 – Last Tuesday, bitcoin hit a three-week high of over $11,000 USD. The move put it close to a 100% gain over its yearly low of $6000 on February 5th. Following this surge, the price has settled and has been hovering around $10,000 USD. Contributing factors to this rally include the introduction of SegWit technology on major exchanges, as well as South Korea’s financial regulator easing its stance on cryptocurrencies. Many other cryptocurrencies have also experienced substantial rises in price over the past week. In their latest research note, Canaccord Genuity said “Bitcoin’s price history suggests that months of consolidation are followed by weeks of rapid advancement”. Canaccord suggests that “the safest way to benefit from potential bitcoin price appreciation is to buy and hold for the long term; trying to time it might be too difficult”. Read the full article here. |
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Canada and India Team Up to Lead Blockchain RevolutionFebruary 21, 2018 – Blockchain technology is significantly changing the way Canadians do business, particularly within financial services, corporate transactions, and investments. Canadian firms are itching to go global, and government-backed researchers have now linked-up with major tech firms in India. India’s Nasscom and Canada’s Blockchain Research Institute signed a memorandum of understanding, which includes the creation of a center of excellence in India said to provide “high-end technology capabilities”. Together, the two firms are looking to create a global epicenter for researching the applications of blockchain technology. The news coincided with Justin Trudeau’s visit to India this past week, where he re-iterated Canada’s efforts to maintain a strong relationship with India’s businesses and government. Read the full article here. |
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Major Crypto Exchanges Integrate “SegWit” Bitcoin UpgradeFebruary 20, 2018 – Two major cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase and Bitfinex, have announced they will be implementing the Segregated Witness (SegWit) scalability upgrade for Bitcoin. Coinbase announced this information on Feb 20th via Twitter, and they expect Segwit to be fully integrated next week. This upgrade has been long awaited in the recent period of rising fees and slow transactions. Implementing SegWit will serve to lower transaction fees, improve transaction speeds, and increase the total network capacity of Bitcoin. “We store billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin on behalf of customers and any change to our infrastructure is done with significant planning and consideration for the security and stability of our platform” said Coinbase in a previous blog post. Read the full article here. |
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PayPal CFO: “Very High Likelihood” of Bitcoin Payment DominanceFebruary 20, 2018 – It’s hard not to think about the massive potential of cryptocurrencies within payment processing companies such as Square or Paypal. Both public companies have had tremendous share price growth thanks to innovative payment solutions, and cryptocurrencies could be their next target. In an interview with Wall St. Journal last week, one of the top executives for PayPal says he wouldn’t rule out bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a major form of payment in the future. Paypal’s CFO, John Rainey, said that there is a “very high likelihood” cryptos will become a popular payment method. “The technology, there is real merit to it. I do think, though, it will be years down the road before we see the kind of ubiquity and acceptance that makes it a form of currency that is used every day”. He also noted that PayPal was an early adopter of bitcoin as a payment method. Read the full article here. |
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Bank of America Admits Cryptos are a Business Model ThreatFebruary 23, 2018 – Bank of America admits in an annual SEC report that cryptocurrencies pose a competitive threat to their business. The bank, which recently barred its customers from using credit cards to purchase cryptocurrencies, reveals that policies like this may cost the firm clients. “Clients may choose to conduct business with other market participants who engage in business or offer products in areas we deem speculative or risky, such as cryptocurrencies” Widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies may require the bank to make “substantial expenditure” to update its existing services and remain competitive. This represents one of the first public admissions by a major U.S bank that cryptocurrencies are a real threat to their business model. Read the full article here. |
