XRP
The Ripple-backed gaming company Forte says it’s pushing to utilize XRP and the Interledger Protocol to build games based on blockchain technology and leverage XRP as a settlement currency.
In a new blog post, co-founder Brett Seyler says the company is specifically looking at how the technology can be used to help companies in the $140 billion industry create free-to-play games that give players the option to purchase in-game assets, such as upgraded swords and armor.
“The free-to-play business model dominates the way games are run now. This model has grown the gaming industry more than any other business model in the last ten years.
However, due to increased sophistication and competition of the free-to-play model, modern game economies are now staggeringly complex and difficult to manage.”
Back in March, Ripple and Forte announced they will jointly invest $100 million in companies that create games utilizing blockchain and crypto assets.
Bitcoin and Ethereum
US-based crypto lending platform BlockFi says it is now giving users the option to trade Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Gemini Dollar (GUSD).
The platform, which offers savings accounts for Bitcoin and Ethereum with interest rates as high as 8.6%, says people can now send funds to its platform to buy, sell and trade the three crypto assets.
?Trade your crypto on BlockFi! ?We just launched BlockFi Trading, a way to easily trade your BTC, ETH, and GUSD while simultaneously earning compound interest paid out in the currency of your choice! No minimum to start ?https://t.co/uXrT7mYPM2
— BlockFi (@BlockFi) December 5, 2019
BlockFi launched in March and is backed by a long list of investors including Galaxy Digital, Susquehanna, Akuna Capital, Fidelity, Recruit Strategic Partners, Coinbase Ventures, ConsenSys Ventures and Morgan Creek Digital.
Litecoin
The Litecoin Foundation is pondering LTC’s falling hashrate.
In a new blog post, Litecoin Foundation director Franklyn Richards says the hashrate, which represents the raw computing power on the network and how mining rigs are up and running, may have hit a bottom.
“According to data from BitInfoCharts, Litecoin’s hashrate is currently exactly where it was in December of last year at what many believe was the ultimate bottom of this market cycle.
Back then the market price was half what it is now but with the mining reward having just been halved it makes perfect sense why hashrate is where it currently is. The question now is, will it make a lower low or has it formed a double bottom and due a strong rebound?”
Litecoin’s hashrate has fallen 69.9% since its yearly high, which was set on July 14th, just before the coin’s halving kicked in and cut in half the reward miners earn for powering the network.
