From a Bitcoin pivot to a new warning from the founder of Cardano, here’s a look at some of the stories breaking in the world of crypto.
Bitcoin
Jan Van Eck, the CEO of VanEck Associates, told CNBC that Bitcoin traders are pivoting to gold in early 2019 after Bitcoin pulled some demand away from gold last year.
“We just polled 4,000 Bitcoin investors and their number one investment for 2019 is actually gold. So gold lost to Bitcoin, and now it’s going the other way.”
At the same time, the case for gold as a reliable store of value is taking a hit from crypto supporters, after the Bank of England denied Venezuela’s request to withdraw its gold, worth an estimated $1.2 billion.
Ripple and XRP
The fintech startup Transpaygo says it will use Ripple’s XRP-based xRapid to boost payments between Mexico and the Philippines. The Vienna-based company, which specializes in international payments for small and medium-sized enterprises, told the German tech outlet Der Brutkasten that xRapid generates significant time and money savings.
“Thanks to Ripple, we can tap the promising markets of Mexico and the Philippines in a whole new way for money transfers. In this partnership, we see the future: Safer and cheaper money transfers abroad, with payments that execute in a matter of minutes.
There is much debate in the financial industry about blockchain. But the potential has not been exploited, until now.”
Ethereum
The latest ConsenSys-sponsored Week in Ethereum blog post is out. This week’s edition covers a slew of developer updates as well as news on a number of Ethereum-based platforms, including Zilliqa and Kyber.
Litecoin
After refining the platform’s logo, the Litecoin Foundation just released a new set of detailed brand guidelines for supporters and companies to follow.
“This new look represents an exciting time in Litecoin’s history as it symbolizes new ambitions and the relentless drive to become globally adopted.”
Cardano
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson says ‘Cardano Classic’ is a scam. ‘Cardano Classic’ recently emerged on Twitter, promising to provide an “open-source online royalty payment model.” The Twitter account has since been shut down.
Tron
Tron says BitTorrent users will soon be able to use the new BitTorrent token (BTT) to pay for BitTorrent Pro.
The professional version of the file-sharing software features unlimited downloading with ?le conversion, anti-virus, and an HD media player built in. The BitTorrent Token is set to launch on Monday, January 28th at 7:00 a.m. PST.
