EncryptoTel weekly digest (17.03.20)
Bitcoin crash, coronavirus among blockchain developers and digital pound sterling
Bitcoin crashed to $ 5300
The price of the first cryptocurrency dropped to a record of $ 5300 last week. This was caused by the oil market crisis, fueled by a negative scenario for the coronavirus pandemic. Bitcoin has not been on this level since May 2019. Back in the middle of February, Bitcoin was trading at $ 10,500, which means a 50% drop compared to today’s price.
The fall in cryptocurrency rates reflects the global trend for selling high-risk assets amid the financial crisis. Investors exit volatile assets, such as stocks and cryptocurrencies, and move into less risky assets, such as government bonds. This week, for the first time in history, 30-year US Treasury bonds fell briefly below 1%. This was a sign of unprecedented investor demand for US government debt.
Investors are worried that in the coming weeks, the coronavirus pandemic will lead to a sharp reduction in consumer spending on travel and leisure services. This short-term cost slowdown, in turn, can create a ripple effect that will cut costs in other sectors of the economy.
A lawsuit has been filed against Canaan mining company
Rosen Law Firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of a group of investors accusing Canaan, a Chinese mining equipment manufacturer, of making false and misleading statements during an initial public offering (IPO).
According to the lawsuit, Canaan did not disclose material information, namely, it did not inform its investors that the strategic partnership with Grandshores, whose shares are traded on the Hong Kong Exchange (HKE), was in fact a cooperation with a related party. Canaan also did not provide investors with correct information about their financial situation, which, in their opinion, was worse than stated by the company.
In addition, The Schall Law Firm initiated an investigation on possible violations of the US securities laws by Canaan. The firm said it is acting on behalf of Canaan investors. Canaan held an IPO at the end of November 2019 and raised $ 90 million, which is 75% less than originally planned ($ 400 million).
Coronavirus found among participants of several Ethereum conferences
On March 11, co-founder of the decentralized TorusLabs service, Zhen Yu Yong, tweeted that he was diagnosed with the coronavirus Covid-19. Zhen called on those with whom he contacted during the Ethereum Developer Hackathon in London ETH London from February 28 to March 1 and during the Ethereum Community Conference (ECC) in Paris from March 3 to 5 to take precautionary measures or undergo testing for coronavirus.
Zhen also wrote that judging by the fact that the symptoms of the disease, such as fever and cough, appeared on March 9, it was unlikely that he would become infected at the events he attended in the first half of February — the blockchain conference at Stanford or the Ethereum conference at Denver. Referring to the words of his attending physician, most likely, he got infected at a conference in Paris.
Bank of England is thinking about releasing national stablecoin
The Bank of England is considering issuing digital money. The digital currency of the central bank (CBDC) of England will function as a means of accumulation and can be used for settlements with households and companies. This is stated in the document prepared by the regulator. The digital currency will help reduce the use of cash, which, according to 2018 data, accounts for 28% of payments in the UK.
According to the document, the digital pound has both advantages (high efficiency, cheap and fast cross-border transactions), and disadvantages (low demand for bank services may undermine the entire existing financial system).
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