Xi Jinping’s announcement relates to the presentation of Joe Biden’s international agenda. The World Economic Forum works on the development of payment methods for the region.

Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to strengthen trade partnership between his country and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ANSA). 

“We are going to build a digital silk road,” he assured during his participation in the China-ANSA Exhibition, which was led in the city of Nanning, in the southwest of the country.

The president, who has governed the Asian giant since March 2013, added that “China will unwaveringly expand its openness to the outside world”. For him, the upgrade of China’s international ties will be something from which “all the countries of the world” can benefit.

Xi made these announcements just days after Joe Biden, who expects the election by the Electoral College as the next president of the United States, announced his foreign policy agenda.

According to Biden, during his tenure, he will strengthen the alliances of the American country with the Asia-Pacific region.

The countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with which China seeks to increase its digital ties, are Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

As Shi Yinhong, a professor at Renmin University in Beijing told the press, “ASNA members differed in their acceptance of the digital silk road proposal” that the Chinese government proposed.

Relations between China and Southeast Asia on the world agenda

Consolidating the digital economy between China and the ANSA countries is not a unilateral wish of China, but is on the agenda of the World Economic Forum.

This body, which defines itself as “neutral and impartial”, developed in 2019 a Coalition of Electronic Payments for ANSA countries. The Coalition is built up and formed by banks, e-commerce companies, and regulators, among others, and aims to “support the growth of cross-border e-commerce.”

Inside the Coalition, there is a Working Committee on the Payment and Settlement System that seeks to explore the best ways to “establish a regular and sustained process” when it comes to payment methods. So far, the Coalition has not made any announcement about the digital currencies, but it is unclear if their goal is to make developments in that regard.

In May 2020, the creation of a common digital currency for the region was proposed within the legislative palace of Beijing, which could receive a backup from the Chinese yuan, the Japanese yen, the South Korean won, and the Hong Kong dollar.

For now, that remains only an idea, although China’s experience with its digital yuan could serve as a test method to carry it out shortly. The Central Bank of China digital currency is in an advanced stage of testing before its official launch.

Also, banks in Southeast Asian countries’ involvement are progressively increasing regarding the use and trade of cryptocurrencies. The clearest example of this is the largest bank in the region, Singapore-based DBS, which possesses its bitcoin and crypto exchange under development.

By: Jenson Nuñez.

The IMF believes that central banks are defying monetary law with digital currencies. Users trade Stablecoins from Argentina and Brazil against ETH, BTC, and other stablecoins.

The most important news of recent days includes the ratification of Ethereum 2.0 phase 0 on December 1^st. It is the initial phase, the beacon chain, which will not represent any change for the users of the network. It will only keep track of the validators of the new chain.

Regarding Bitcoin, its price recorded a decrease last week after having reached USD 19,000, close to its all-time high of 2017. After that abrupt fall, the price of the cryptocurrency is rising again, with a weekly average of 2, 6%. At the time of writing this article, BTC is trading at USD 18,382, according to the market price of Latin America and Spain.

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Beacon chain is already active since 100% of the required 524,288 ethers (ETH) are already in the corresponding smart contract. Users can now contribute, even if they do not have all the funds, using staking services or pools. In them, traders gather several cryptocurrencies to participate with a validating node.

A non-fungible token (NFT) that honors Diego Maradona is also for sale on the Ethereum network. The OpenSea Digital goods market launched 10,000 units of the token after news of the former soccer player´s death became public knowledge.

In a document that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently published, this agency makes reviews existing financial legal provisions. They conclude that a reform of the laws will allow central bank digital currencies (CBDC) to acquire status as legal tender. Although this law authorizes the issuance of currencies in either paper or plastic form, nothing has legal support in digital form, which poses a challenge.

Satoshi Nakamoto may have been in London during the time he was working on the new technology. It is possible to place him there taking into account posts by Satoshi, messages sent to mailing lists, the Bitcoin Genesis block, and files on Internet webpages from the time. Based on schedules and other evidence, the Bitcoin creator’s operation center at that time seems to be the United Kingdom.

Stellar launched two new stablecoins pegged to the Argentine peso (ARS) and the Brazilian real (BRL). The network partnered with international payment company Settle Network to issue the ARST and BRLT stablecoins. The aim is that users will be able to send remittances in those crypto assets.

The Coordinator of the FinTech Observatory of the Circle of Legislators of the Argentine Nation (CLNA), Ignacio Vitale, spoke about the Crypto Asset Regulation Bill, which has just entered the Argentine Congress. He said that they seek to create a regulatory framework that benefits the growth and promotion of the crypto sector.

Chinese security forces seized more than 194,000 BTC from members of the PlusToken Ponzi scheme, a sum equivalent to more than 1% of the total supply of Bitcoin in circulation. They also held funds in Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), EOS, DASH, Ripple (XRP), Dogecoin (DOGE), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Tether (USDT). The funds total around USD 4.2 billion. The Chinese court says that the authorities will process the funds under the local law and the revenues will go to the National Treasury.

By Alexander Salazar

Bitcoin lost 14% of its market value after the crash that occurred in recent days. After its highest point in the last week, Bitcoin shows an appreciation of 11%.

After reaching the price of USD 19,200, Bitcoin recorded a strong correction of 11% in recent days. In just 24 hours, the price of Bitcoin reached a weekly low of USD 16,326. This represented a deterioration in its price close to USD 3,000, in addition to its market capitalization declining by around USD 60,000 million.

Bitcoin’s abrupt correction occurred when the deterioration of the price was already around 15%. Possible reasons include the increase in BTC on exchanges due to whales selling their positions for profit.

Another possible reason for Bitcoin’s correction is the reactivation of withdrawals on OKEx after more than a month of suspension. In addition to this, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong warned about potential new regulations against cryptocurrencies.

However, the price of Bitcoin resumed its upward trend, to reach and slightly exceed its pre-crash price. Bitcoin’s fundamentals appear healthy despite that correction. At the time of writing this article, the price of Bitcoin is above USD 18,507.

Dissecting Bitcoin’s Boom

According to a study by Coin Metrics, the current upward cycle of the pioneer cryptocurrency is due to two factors: China’s strict regulations on the sale of Bitcoin in that country and the growing institutional investment in this crypto asset.

Concerning the fact that miners and exchanges in China cannot sell their coins; data from Coin Metrics shows evidence of the decrease in the amount of Bitcoin that miners are holding. The increase in the BTC that they transfer is also evident.

Concerning the influence of institutional investments in the current boom, Coin Metrics contrasts the evolution of the BTC held during the bullish run of 2017 with that of this year.

During the 2017 bubble, the BTC held increased as Bitcoin progressed towards its all-time high. That year, the BTC held to show a significant decline. Coin Metrics concludes that institutional investments have grown significantly and seem to be a key factor in the boom. However, they are not reflected in the exchanges as they occur in OTC markets.

More Whales Than Ever and Bitcoin Decoupling from Gold

Entities (people or institutions) with more than 1,000 BTC are also a relevant indicator of the growing adoption of Bitcoin, which is tied to institutional adoption. Those whales reached 2,000 BTC, a figure not seen since 2016, according to data from Glassnode.

Wealthier whales own more than 10,000 BTC or an equivalent of more than USD 180 million. According to Glassnode, there are only 114, but although they slightly exceed a hundred, they also represent an all-time high. Another important fact is that most whale’s coins have not moved for around 52 weeks.

They support Bitcoin as a store of value and coincide with the decoupling between the price of Bitcoin and that of gold. The correlation between the two assets recently reached a low of –0.7.

Mike Novogratz Recommends Investing in Bitcoin

Mike Novogratz, the founder of crypto bank Galaxy Digital, says that every investor, large or small, should invest between 2% and 3% of their assets in Bitcoin. The investor highlighted the difference between the current bullish cycle and the bubble of 2017, in which he noted that “a speculative mania” prevailed.

Institutional investors who have been gradual are currently supporting Bitcoin’s boom, Novogratz states. Stan Druckenmiller is a highly relevant investor in the institutional investment space. Druckenmiller is one of the most successful investors and hedge fund managers in the United States.

Regarding the all-time high of the price of Bitcoin, there is no consensus on the peak that occurred on December 17^th, 2017. What experts agree on is that it was very close to USD 20,000. However, there are many versions of that record, which does not allow specifying how close it was to that value. There are even exchanges that record values above USD 20,000, although most record figures below that value.

By Alexander Salazar

A significant amount of users preferred to seek other options and withdraw their funds. The incentives that the platform offers do not seem to convince users.

More than 29,300 bitcoins ($ 498 billion) left OKEx on Thursday after the cryptocurrency exchange resumed withdrawals that it had suspended for six weeks. The figure is the largest exodus of crypto ever observed on the platform since March when the stock markets collapsed after the declaration of a pandemic by COVID-19.

Data from blockchain analytics tool Glassnode shows that during the significant asset outflow on OKEx, there was also a deposit of 21,600 BTC. The withdrawals and deposits together had a depreciating effect on the exchange’s overall balance, which fell to about 212,000 bitcoins.

The figure is significant if you take into account that on October 31^st, there were about 200,000 bitcoins blocked on the exchange. Data from analytics firm CryptoQuant shows that OKEx’s bitcoin reserves suddenly fell off a cliff, even dwindling to roughly 6,000 bitcoins, before showing a slight recovery.

The reports also show that the BTC withdrawn from OKEx would have entered other exchanges, Binance, Huobi, and Bitfinex, which on November 26 recorded considerable income.

OKEx suspended the withdrawals on October 16, claiming that one of the holders of the service’s private keys was “cooperating with a public security bureau where he was required.” The owner was later identified as the founder of the platform, “Star” Xu.

The latter later claimed on a WeChat channel that the investigation in which he was involved was related to the purchase of LEAP Holdings, a company with roots in the Hong Kong stock exchange.

According to Chinese reporter Wu Blockchain, OKEx bought LEAP Holdings to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange. However, questions arose about the millions of dollars “Star” Xu raised to buy the company; there are no further details about it.

OKEx said in a statement last week confirming that OKEx was not involved in fraudulent or illegal activities and that the owner of the private key rejoined its activities. They also denied that company executives suffered any detaining by the police, which they classified as “a rumor without roots or leaves.”

OKEx’s is attempting to retain its users

After all the inconvenience that paralyzed withdrawals from the exchange, OKEx promised to launch a compensation and rewards program to express gratitude and convince customers to stay.

This program includes one-time payments that are proportional to the balances that users maintain: These payments include discount cards and incentives for fares every Friday from December. It is relevant to take into account that the volume of deposits on Thursday may suggest that the exchange’s promises convinced many users.

In a statement, the OKEx team said on Friday that, although it has an extensive backup mechanism to guarantee the activation of private keys in the event of long-term disability, such as death or memory loss of its holders.

Other specific scenarios, such as headlines are losing access due to unforeseen circumstances. Around this, they promised to take action soon.

By: Jenson Nuñez.

Libra, the cryptocurrency proposed by Facebook could see its launch in January, even though is not as expected, but in another format and in a limited way, according to a report by an American digital medium.

The Libra Association, of which Facebook is one of its 27 members, will launch a stablecoin that receives a backup one to one by the US dollar. It will not be the digital version of the currencies of various countries as they said before in March.  Various sources reported this to the Financial Times.

The launch date of the stablecoin is depending on when it receives its approval to operate as a payment service from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). However, the schedule sets for January, according to the abovementioned media outlet.

On the other hand, a person in the development of the Novi wallet, which will support the stablecoin Libra, told the Financial Times that they already finished the product, but initially, its launch will be limited.

For that reason, the Libra Association would prioritize six high-volume remittance corridors, including some from the United States and Latin American countries.

Facebook is making some changes

Facebook began making some essential changes to its project after succumbing to pressure from regulators. The concerns dance around the influence that the social network could have on the development of a cryptocurrency and its impact on international monetary policies.

The project emerged in June 2019 and initially received support from payment companies such as Visa and Mastercard. However, before long the concerns of banks and regulators triggered the exodus of several initial sponsors.

The fears were centered on money laundering, as it was thought that the Libra cryptocurrency could allow criminals to move money across national borders quickly, silently, and without supervision or preventive measures. Many also feared the influence that a social network like Facebook could have in the world of finance.

Subsequently, Libra’s main forerunners were pulled from the project due to mounting regulatory pressure. In December of last year, the president of Switzerland said that the Facebook project just failed as it had been planned until then and needs to redefine some details to get its approval.

Investing in Libra Coin is the foremost theme

 Some investors are wondering how to invest in this new cryptocurrency that Facebook is leading; they are open to learning the strategies on how to invest in Facebook Libra Coin today.

 This new digital currency is targeting a 1.7 billion unbanked population. The race already started for libra coin buyers and investors on how they can take advantage of this new currency.

Facebook’s Libra started to gain the attention of the cryptocurrency market, and Libra’s potential investors are waiting impatiently for its release due to its favorable offers and business opportunities in a trusted environment. Speculations on how to cash-in using the digital currency have come to light, these speculations say that one should and must be able to acquire Facebook shares or purchase Libra.

By: Jenson Nuñez.