Our esteemed Project Lead James Preston has, once again, absconded from his newsletter duties, so I’m stepping in this week and next, to cover for him. Luckily, we do know where James is (He’s Going Big In Japan!) as he’s presenting at a conference, and once again preaching the good word of how Bitcoin is changing the world. We didn’t need any convincing, but we all know the world remains regularly hesitant to accept the flurry of extensive change and opportunity that crypto ushers in. A little peek around this week’s news headlines tell me, however, that change isn’t just coming: It’s here.
A big thank you to the legendary Marc Forrest for helping me crack the podcast link again, and to Luke Venediger for putting up with me badgering him into getting the podcast together. Team work makes the dream work and all that, especially while James is trying to hunt down RWC tickets in another country.
Let’s take a look at what’s gone down in the realms of crypto and blockchain this week:
If you’d prefer to listen, rather than read, this week’s news roundup, check out the podcast here:
$30 Billion Dumped in BTC
The markets are a bit of a ‘mare this week, but then our excellently perceptive Financial Analyst did say we should expect something to happen this week. And then it did. Let’s just get this one out of the way, and state what everyone sees: this isn’t the best news for ending off the week. Alts got hammered hard too, and I need to go read a nicer story now. That said, this will never be a road that comes to an end, and I just use it as a reminder to HODL for as long as I can.
Blockchain and Caffeine Goes Big
GrainChain, an agricultural startup, backed by Medici Ventures, has put plans in motion to unite the Honduran coffee industry, using its blockchain platform. Announcing this in a press release, GrainChain detailed how they have signed several agreements with members of the country’s coffee industry, and bring the entire supply chain on board with its network. They’ve thrown in a bunch of great facilities, including loan application facilities for farmers, real-time inventory monitoring, and more!
Cointelegraph carried this story.
Barclays Hosts Another Hackathon
Information silos are a serious problem in multiple industries, but the financial services sector seems to battle the most when transferring important data from one arm to the other. I mean, just think about the last time you had to take a proof of address document into the bank so that you could access extra funds from your mortgage, that’s attached to that same address. Yeah, data silos aren’t optimal. Anyway, Barclays is hosting a hackathon to try and solve that problem of data silos, during October, in both New York and London.
Supply Chain Tracking in Uruguay
Aeternity, a decentralized application-focused blockchain outfit, is expanding its reach to begin tracking the supply chain of a very specific Uruguay company. Owing to the company’s progressive legislation and approach to the industry, Aeternity is taking its blockchain to the blooming sector, and has planned full implementation by mid-2021. (spoiler: this article is about cannabis :P)
Cointelegraph shared their perspective.
Daimler Completes First Transaction on the Marco Polo Finance Network
Renowned vehicle manufacturer, Daimler, has completed its first transaction on the blockchain-based Marco Polo finance network. Using this transaction as a pilot for future transactions and programmes, Daimler processed the data required to exchange payments with the engineering firm and parts builder, Durr, aided by German bank, LBBW.
Coindesk revved its engines with this story.
Centbee Ruffles Feathers In South Africa
This week, members of our larger Global Crypto community commented on Centbee’s current marketing campaign, being rolled out in collaboration with 5FM. Having apportioned quite a bundle of their funding towards marketing, Centbee has ruffled a few feathers with its approach. Big note: this campaign is related to Bitcoin SV, and not Bitcoin. Let’s be very clear on that one!
What Else Is Happening?
- BitBucks is now available for Android
- Learn a little about the math of token velocity
- British police auction off over $620,000 worth of confiscated BTC
- A new tax service in the US for crypto transactions
- Boerse Stuttgart launches exchange for digital assets
- Luno created this helpful guide to the crypto market cycles
- Coindirect launches brokerage-style Crypto platform
And that’s all for this week! We’ll catch you next week with more news from the world of blockchain and crypto.
