Blockchain News for the Week

Bitcoin – Indecision on Price

It was a “3 steps forward, 2 steps back” week for Bitcoin. Any parabolic rise will dip sharply across all time frames, and it was in full effect right in front of us. Our digital gold dropped over 20% from a high of $13.8k to $10.3k as both shorts and longs were punished across the board. Coinbase, Bitmex, and Blockfolio all experienced outages, causing flashbacks to the 2017 bull market.

All systems have been restored, but this is a sharp reminder that these things do happen. Coins NOT actively traded should always be stored OFF exchanges.

This last set of swings has been attributed to Facebook’s Libra, Iran confiscating ASIC miners, Trade Negotiations, and the phase of the moon. Trading it has proven challenging, and hodlers from the bear market have done well.

Coinbase: Cryptocurrency Awareness Continues

Coinbase has released a new study showing the increase of consumer awareness towards Bitcoin. Today the international exchange revealed that 58% of Americans have heard of Bitcoin, with California leading in citizens who own at least a fraction.

Driving factors seem to be the investment opportunity, distrust in banks, and innovative technology. Institutions are already showing their hand in adoption. Fidelity Investments has 22% of its institutional investors, owning at least one digital asset. In case you read that too fast, the $2.45 TRILLION investment firm has over 20% of its clients in crypto.

Over 70% of the US states have enacted legislation governing the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector. Wyoming leads the pack with 13 new laws, including recognizing cryptos as money. With the G-20 taking place now, I anticipate whatever news coming out to affect the market for the next week.

Bitrue Exchange Loses Millions in Hack

It seems like everyone is copying Binance, for better or for worse. The Singapore exchange Bitrue has been hacked for $4.2 million in ADA and XRP. The company sent out a tweet stating the loss on Twitter, adding that all lost cryptos would be refunded to customers using Bitrue’s own funds.

As Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies gain more attention due to price and acceptance, expect to see more of these hacks take place. While customers will be made whole by Bitrue, many exchanges have gone out of business due to hacks in the past. Security experts like Jameson Lopp encourage consumers to store their coins off exchanges using a hardware wallet, or paper wallet.

Walmart Partners with VeChain

VeChain and Walmart China have announced they are working together to bring transparency to its supply chain. Already in use for certain non-perishables, by the end of next year over 50% of the meat delivered to Walmarts in China will be registered on VeChain. They also plan to add 100 different products to the tracking system by the end of the year.

China is an ideal place to test supply chain management on the blockchain as it is no stranger to food contamination. Videos of dumped oil being filtered and reused have been on YouTube for years, and 6 children died in 2008 due to poisoning from faulty baby formula

The world's largest company by revenue, Walmart, has been piloting blockchain use cases since 2016 when it partnered with IBM to develop a system to track recalled food. "Big Blue" is also working with the FDA to establish a similar protocol to follow the distribution of prescription drugs. Expect to see Walmart pilot the initiative near 2023.

VeChain (VET) rose to $0.01 before correcting to $0.008 in response to the news. Walmart's stock remained unaffected.