Huobi Adds Support for XRP in its OTC Platform

Andres Chavez
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Huobi Adds Support for XRP in its OTC Platform

The Ripple protocol and its associated cryptocurrency, the XRP, are spreading around the industry and continually expanding their services to reach more markets and, ultimately, people. After all, XRP continues to be on the upswing at the time of writing this piece, trading at $0.31 (up 1.17 percent in the last 24-hour period.)

After XRP was added to the Coinbase list of offered cryptocurrencies last week, now it is Huobi’s turn to host Ripple: to be more precise, the Peer to Peer (P2P,) Over The Counter (OTC) department of the Chinese exchange is the platform that will incorporate support for the market’s third largest digital asset by market cap.

A Wide Array of Cryptocurrencies Supported

The news that Huobi OTC started to offer support for XRP was published via a press release on Wednesday, March 6th. Therefore, Huobi OTC will now support assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT), Eos (EOS) and Huobi Token (HT.)

The newest OTC update can be accessed by users in 24 different currencies across the globe; among them are USD, GBP, CND, CAD, EUR, and more. The maker fee will vary for different currencies, but the taker fee, on the other hand, will be set at 0%, according to reports.

For reference, an Over-The-Counter marketplace is a decentralized platform that has no central physical location, and the participants perform direct operations through telephone, email, and proprietary electronic trading systems. In this ecosystem, the dealers act as market makers and they quote the prices at which they are going to buy or sell a determinate security, currency, or financial product.

An Escrow to Dealers

Huobi OTC is, therefore, a different marketplace than the regular Huobi exchange. The company’s web page states that the former’s objective is offering an exchange bridge between fiat and digital assets, serving as an escrow to dealers that post ads for selling or buying on the platform.

The press release quotes one of the biggest authorities of Huobi Global, Livio Weng (currently acting as its CEO) as saying that the Huobi OTC marketplace is crucial to the company because it represents Huobi’s primary onramp and “main platform for users who prefer peer-to-peer trading.”

Right now, Huobi Global is well positioned among the user’s preferences when it comes to cryptocurrency exchanges, being ranked as the eight largest such company in the planet by daily trading volume, with an impressive $738.6 million exchanging hands on average every 24 hours.

The Future of Crypto Trading Is Here

It is becoming evidently clear that institutional investment represents the future of crypto trading, and it is no coincidence that most platforms, including Huobi, Binance, and Bittrex (among others) have recently decided to launch or develop their own OTC platforms.

The phenom is, slowly but surely, spreading around the globe and achieving worldwide reach, as about February, South Korean’s primary digital assets exchange Bithumb also made the launch of its OTC trading desk official.

By Andres Chavez

Five Japanese Join Forces to Create Blockchain-Based Finance Services Platform

Andres Chavez
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Five Japanese Join Forces to Create Blockchain-Based Finance Services Platform

Blockchain technology is a trendy development at a global scale as a resource that can substantially improve several industries and sectors. However, it has become particularly popular in Asia, most specifically in Japan, where lots of enterprises and companies have adopted it and reaped the benefits of doing so.

The latest news involves five banks from Japan that have united forces with the intention of launching a blockchain-based financial services infrastructure. The information was published via a press release last week.

The Financial Institutions in Question

The five financial institutions that have officially adopted blockchain as a tool to improve services are the Bank of Iwate, Bank of Yokohama, Aomori Bank, Akita Bank and Yamanashi Chuo Bank. The name of the ecosystem will be “Fitting Hub,” and the launch of the first service available on the platform is scheduled for April 2019.

The alliance first came up in early 2018. Back then, Japanese news hub Nikkei stated that tests were scheduled for July 2018 and the full deployment of the platform for “within a year,” so the pact beat the deadline for a few months.

The “Fitting” Hub as a Platform that Improves Overall Efficiency

The “Fitting Hub” will improve efficiency in several ways by implementing blockchain in various financial operations and leveraging IBM’s experience in the area for the duration of the development stage.

“The platform is a service provision infrastructure system built on the cloud in order for banks and business operators to jointly provide financial services,” according to the press release. By integrating authentication functions, users are able to use the ecosystem to their advantage.

IBM is one of the planet’s most renowned companies in Information Technologies (IT,) and it has been focusing heavily on developing blockchain-based platforms and ecosystems for enterprise applications.  It has a complete suite of blockchain services.

Receive and Manage Data from Multiple Financial Institutions

“With the electronic delivery service that will be launched this time, it is possible to receive and manage form data from multiple financial institutions and companies on one screen,” according to the press release.

“For financial institutions and business operators who provide services, such joint service provision can make the system inexpensive compared to separate systems, as well as greatly reduce postage and mailing costs,” it also read.

This is not the first piece of news related to the Japanese banking sector experimenting with the blockchain technology. Earlier this year, local financial institution Mizuho made public that it was going to launch proprietary crypto platforms, with an associated stablecoin to boot.

Daiwa, Japan’s second biggest securities brokerage, also announced recently that it had completed the testing period of a blockchain post-trade processing platform, as well.

The newly created initiative has its own website, and according to information found in it, the alliance will also incorporate financial authentication and settlement functionality as some of the key features that users will be able to enjoy.

By Andres Chavez

Is a New Bitcoin Slide Possible in the Near Term?

Andres Chavez
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Is a New Bitcoin Slide Possible in the Near Term?

The amount of $3,740: that was Bitcoin’s price at the time of writing this piece, down 2.14 percent from what it was 24 hours ago. No matter how many steps forward the market takes these days, the backward ones seem to be even more. A few days ago, it looked like it was going to finally surpass the $4,000 barrier again, but it dropped yet again.

Since January 2018, when BTC was trading at nearly $20,000, all that the world’s premier cryptocurrency has done is alternate stability periods with downturns in value. The lowest point since that month was a little under $3,200: could it be that Bitcoin falls even further than that?

BTC Cannot Break through

The period that started on January to this date (a two-month span) has seen Bitcoin’s price hover around $3,200 and $4,000, and its inability to break through crucial resistance levels over $4,200 is worrying. It is important to high light that, the September 2018 – November 2018 timeframe was similar when it comes to market behavior: it moved between $6,100 and $6,700 before collapsing to less than $3,200 in a matter of weeks.

The situation has caused some traders in the community to speculate on what would be next for Bitcoin: a sizable number of people within the industry think that the leading digital asset may be vulnerable to a similar slide in the short-term if it does not begin showing momentum soon.

Momentum is Everything

Of course, what happened in the past should be no clear reference to what the future may hold. However, it serves as a standard or reference to speculate on what could happen this time around.

The account @Sawcruhteez (Financial Survivalism) made its sentiments clear via Twitter in the past few days. “The longer we stay stuck in this range the more I feel like we will mirror the price action from September 20th, 2018 – November 25th, 2018.” That was the timeframe in which Bitcoin’s price fell from the $6,000 range to the $3,100-$3,300 range, and before that, in last year’s first few months, it has already lost 70% of value.

The worry around the industry is that BTC’s price has not yet hit rock bottom. The past five corrections have seen its value fall about 85% on average from its historically highest point, and that is the moment when a bottom is found and when an accumulation process begins.

Impressive Resilience

As a member of the online community of analysts, nicknamed “Hsaka”, points out, BTC price chart suggests that it has impressive resilience from steep corrections, and has a notable ability to show recovery in longer timeframes.

Jeff Sprecher, who is the Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, observed that in spite of the crude and long bear markets that BTC has had to endure in history and the rise and popularity of other digital assets with seemingly better infrastructures and technologies, Bitcoin’s survival ability is still unmatched.

“Somehow bitcoin has lived in a swamp and survived. There are thousands of other tokens that you could argue are better but yet bitcoin continues to survive, thrive and attract attention.”

Four years have passed since 2015 and the world’s premier crypto asset has consistently shown higher year lows. If the trend continues, the odds are high that BTC will not fall further than the 2018 low of $3,200 by the time the new year comes around.

By Andres Chavez

ExxonMobil, Chevron and Five other Oil Companies Create a Blockchain Consortium

Maria Rodríguez
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ExxonMobil, Chevron and Five other Oil Companies Create a Blockchain Consortium

These important multinational companies will use this technology for proof of concept

The blockchain technology reaches more and more spaces. This time, seven global oil and gas companies, including US industry giants like ExxonMobil and Chevron, decided to team up to form a consortium of block of chains.

The information was given through a press release on February 26th. The group will be called Oil & Gas Blockchain Consortium. Its goal is to drive proof-of-concepts (PoC) to explore and apply the benefits of blockchain technology in its industry, as well as contribute to the global adoption of blockchain technology.

According to the press release, the consortium is the first initiative of this kind in the oil and gas industry in the United States of America. The founding members include two of the 10 most important oil and gas producers in the world. ConocoPhillips, Pioneer Natural Resources, Hess, Equinor and Repsol are part of the association.

Rebecca Hofmann, Chair of the Offshore Operators Committee (OOC) board of directors, said that the creation of the consortium is an important step, especially for the establishment of a basis for standards, frameworks and capacities oriented to blockchain technology for the oil and gas industry.

“The blockchain technology is a catalyst for reimagining the way we do business, and this consortium represents a collaborative effort to explore the potential of technology, in order to take advantage of learning to boost the adoption of the industry”, she said.

Also, in February, Vakt, a post-trade platform for oil, got four new clients, including BP, Shell, and Total, as well as industry giants such as Chevron, Equinor, and Reliance Industries.

Designed to improve product trading and reduce paperwork, Vakt was launched in November 2018 and, so far, continues to add success. Etienne Amic, former Executive Director of JPMorgan Chase, was appointed new CEO of Vakt to provide the platform with his direct experience in commodities trading.

In the other hand, JD Franke, Vice President of the board of directors, said: “The consortium is eager to start building a foundational network of business partners to advance collaboratively, especially in cases of use within exploration, finance, IT, the land, the operations and the supply chain, while taking advantage of the apprenticeships among our members”.

Once again, blockchain technology shows its effectiveness and inherent benefits for the implementation of its use in several different areas, from the commercialization of oil to the monitoring of food supply chains. This type of initiative, without a doubt, will highlight the name of a technology which came to stay and that, as we know, has the potential to change the world.

Chevron and ExxonMobil, two of the 10 largest oil and gas companies in the world, have revenues of 237,000 million dollars and 134,000 million dollars, respectively. The US oil giants now adopt blockchain as a tool to test the new concepts and ideas to be implemented in the global gas market. Blockchain continues to surprise and scale new areas to develop and remain in important methods of payment and organization worldwide.

By María Victoria Rodríguez

FDA, a Blockchain App Platform, to Make Significant Personnel Cut Because of the Bear Market

Andres Chavez
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FDA, a Blockchain App Platform, to Make Significant Personnel Cut Because of the Bear Market

Whilst the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries both made strides in 2017 and 2018, it is no secret that the bear market that took the scene for most of last year has severely affected investors and companies alike, especially those who bought in when Bitcoin and altcoins were at their respective peaks.

First Digital Assets (FDA,) an Israeli blockchain application platform registered under Gibraltar jurisdiction, is the latest company that has conceded defeat when it comes to sustainability of operations and personnel, although the firm has plans to keep functioning and will endure a significant, but necessary restructuring period.

The firm announced via the Globes news hub on Monday, March 4th, that it would dismiss the majority of its workers because of the financial issues created, in part, by the hostile environment that has plagued the cryptocurrency market ever since it began to slide last year.

A Turn for the Worst

Bitcoin, for example, was trading at more than $19,000 at the start of 2018. However, the collapse started that same month, and every time the coin seemed to find a stability period, it started a new downturn: in mid November, after weeks of hovering around $6,000 – $6,500, it began a new tumble that saw it drop as low as $3,200.

As of the moment of this writing, a full recovery has not even started yet. The world’s premier cryptocurrency was trading at $3,759.53, which represents a 1.27 fall in the last 24 hours. Total market capitalization has fallen considerably since those early 2018 days and is now at $66,060,377,789 USD, with an $8,861,065,044 USD trading volume in the last day.

First Digital Assets manages several spin-off firms related to the blockchain, but due to the crude market conditions and the consequent decision to cut personnel, it will merge all but one into their parent company. The research department, One Alpha, will be shut down entirely.

Among the spin-offs that will be merged into the parent company will be K1, Stamina, Titan, and Knox. Some of the firm’s investors are Ronald Cohen (Apax Partners’ founder,) the Mangrove fund, German-Israeli fund TargetGlobal, the Scale-Up Crypto Capital fund, and iAngels. FDA has raised $21 million to date.

Focus on Liquidity

“The cryptocurrencies market experienced an earthquake last year, which forces us to be brave and consider First Digital Assets’ various activities. We are… focusing on our liquidity activity, which continues to be fruitful, while at the same time channeling our development efforts to creating new solutions in blockchain, which we believe is the technology of the future,” company representatives told Globes.

It was not indicated how many employeed FDA would dismiss because of the controversial decision. The company is not the first one to implement drastic moves to try to save money because of the bear market, and it probably will not be the last.

Several businesses venturing in the crypto space have been forced to close, cut down the number of employees, or reorganize their paths, even restructuring specific areas to shift focus to other objectives that would ensure better opportunities. Bitmain is one of the most resounding names, laying off 23 employees after closing operations in Israel. Huobi and ConsenSys had to take similar decisions, as well.

By Andres Chavez

Major Financial Institutions Continually Deny “Basic Banking Services” to Crypto Companies

Andres Chavez
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Major Financial Institutions Continually Deny “Basic Banking Services” to Crypto Companies

Whilst cryptocurrencies are shaping up to be the “future’s money,” the present is not always smooth or easy. For example, prominent financial institutions often fail to serve as facilitators for crypto-related companies to open accounts, which can create further issues down the road.

As reported by Bloomberg on Sunday, March 3rd, crypto related firms are still having issues to open bank accounts in major financial institutions. Several years have passed since the crypto boom and today, in 2019, the situation is still problematic.

Closing the Door on the Future

As Bloomberg puts it, “the gatekeepers of mainstream commerce are keeping their doors shut to cryptocurrency companies,” and the issue is evidenced day in and day out by crypto companies of several locations that are continually denied basic banking services by influential banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and HSBC Holdings Plc, just to name a few.

The reason behind the situation is because banks still think, despite some strides achieved in the last couple of years, that crypto related ventures are “ticking regulatory time bombs,” which means that they see the failure of digital assets to find common ground in the legal department as a major red flag.

Sam Bankman-Fried has been one of the primary voices when it comes to complaining about the situation, which is seen by many as unfair. Bankman-Fried is the Chief Executive Officer of Alameda Research, a famous quantitative trading firm. He states that the “standard answer of ‘just go to your local Chase branch’ doesn’t work in crypto.”

A Massive Compliance Headache

Whilst the Alameda’s CEO adds that there would be no illegal proceedings if a bank serves crypto projects, it represents a “massive compliance headache that they don’t want to put the resources in to solve.”

“No bank is willing to help them out. I have met some really stand-up people in crypto that don’t deserve such a bad reputation and want the sector to be regulated, yet for every one of those, there are plenty of others trying to scam the public, launder money or evade taxes.” According to Robby Houben, a lawyer and professor at the University of Antwerp responsible for co-authoring a paper for the European Parliament on financial crime involving cryptocurrencies.

The problem is more evident with large companies in the financial world, but there is a silver lining: small banks are making an honest attempt to attend this segment of the market. One of such institutions is the Silvergate Bank in the city of San Diego, a company that stated in November that crypto firms have up to $40 billion to deposit.

Examples in the Industry

BitPay is a perfect example of a firm that has been rejected by banks for quite some time now. According to Bloomberg’s report, Sonny Singh, the crypto payment processor’s Chief Commercial Officer, expressed that BitPay has been rebuffed by numerous financial institutions, not just one.

NKB Group, a blockchain trading, investment, and advisory company, is yet another example to establish successful relationships with traditional banks. According to Ben Sebley, the firm’s head of brokerage, stated that “denying basic banking is madness, impedes sector growth and forces companies to get creative to solve the problem […] The banks are being overly prudent.”

By Andres Chavez

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