Sweden To Launch Its Own State-Backed Digital Currency
Sweden is one of the many developed countries that are rapidly moving towards a cashless society.
As the European state moves closer towards a cashless future, there are concerns that its citizen will turn to currencies that are not state-guaranteed digital cash.
Although not identified specifically, these currencies would likely be cryptocurrencies that are not under any sovereign state.
With this in mind the government is mulling over issuing its own state-backed digital cash, e-krona.
The initiative has been reported to start pilot scheme on 2019 with the goal of beginning to implement the digital currency by 2021 upon public approval.
The move highlights the affinity of most buyers, merchants and retailers towards digital means of payment.
In a recent survey only 13% of Swedes paid for their latest purchase in cash.
Whether this recent move from the government will be a positive or negative development for cryptocurrencies at large remains to be seen.
On one hand this would provide a strong competition to established cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as many citizens, due to current level of blind trust in national government and central banks, will likely use this new digital currency in lieu of Bitcoin and prevent money flowing into it.
On the other hand this might provide significant exposure to Bitcoin and a legitimization of cryptocurrencies at large.
It will also be interesting to know how much of the technology that came from cryptocurrencies will make it to the new state-backed cryptocurrency if any.
However without the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies, it would only be a government database of transactions without a blockchain.
Bakkt Bitcoin Futures Approval To Be Seen Within A Week
Bakkt, the cryptocurrency platform of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), may get their bitcoin futures product approved within a week according to anonymous sources who are aware of the current situation.
The Bakkt team has been coordinating with Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to get its product approved.
A source has revealed that at the rate how things are going between Bakkt and CFTC, the latter could approve a Bitcoin (USC) Daily Futures Contract by the first week of November.
On an earlier report, Bakkt announced that its futures contracts would begin trading on December 12 pending regulatory approval.
With recent developments the cryptocurrency platform will most likely hit its target launch date.
Bitcoin futures allow traders to bet on the future price of the coin or hedge their position in the underlying bitcoin market.
However the Bakkt’s bitcoin futures contract is different from the ones trading on CME and Cboe as it is a physically-settled future, not cash-settled.
Which means traders, at the end of the contract lifespan, will receive a payout in bitcoin itself and not cash on a winning bet.
DV trading, a Chicago trading shop, will trade Bakkt’s product with Goldman Sachs is considering trading on Bakkt.
It remains to be seen if this new initiative will be able to stimulate positive price movements in bitcoin similar to what it did last year when CME and Cboe released their bitcoin futures but one thing is sure more and more institutions coming from traditional financial industry are looking into cryptocurrencies for new financial products and services to offer their clients which can only be seen as a generally positive development in cryptocurrency as a whole.
Coinbase’s IPO Soon
Ran Neuner, the host of the cryptocurrency trader program on CNBC Africa, said that Coinbase is almost ready to announce its first Initial Public Offering (IPO).
He said that details on Coinbase’s IPO are to be disclosed soon live on the CNBC Cryptocurrency Trader Program.
According to the famous host, Coinbase’s current clients number at around 25 million with 600,000 trading regularly on its exchange platform.
Moreover, it has made around $90 million in revenue within the previous quarter and stands to earn $450 million in Q4 of 2018.
80% of its revenue comes from its retail clients while 15% comes from institutional accounts, the remaining 5% are undisclosed.
Late last year the President of Coinbase, Asiff Hirji talked about an IPO stating that it is certainly in the interest of the company’s investor and obvious path of Coinbase to go public at some point in time. If sources are true then that time might have come already.
On another news two anonymous sources reveal that Coinbase had almost sealed a deal which would have value the firm at around $8 billion.
The deal was reported to be with Tiger Global for an investment of $500 million USD.
Coinbase joins a growing number of cryptocurrency-based companies that is mulling over conducting IPOs from around the world, these includes Chinese Company Bitmain, the largest bitcoin mining equipment manufacturer as well as Bitfury, a Europe-based cryptocurrency mining company who has recently reported to be weighing in on the prospect of conducting an IPO as well.
Hublot’s Bitcoin’s 10th Anniversary Watch
Hublot, the Swiss luxury watch brand has recently opened pre-order for its limited edition Big Bang watch that commemorates Bitcoin’s 10th anniversary.
The time pieces will be available for sale through its collaboration with Octagon Strategy Limited (OSL).
Each watch is hand-assembled and can be bought with Bitcoins only.
The price tag of this time piece is around $25,000 and will be limited to 210 pieces which can be seen as a reference to the limited supply of 21 million Bitcoin that will ever exist.
Hublot states that the timepiece represents a fusion between top-notch Swiss watchmaking and cutting-edge FinTEch.
Hublot has partnered with OSL to promote the new model which will be launched in November 6th and will be delivered to customers January 3, 2019.
OSL, a digital asset brokerage firm, will help process customer data during the pre-sale and promises customers a safe and secure
shopping experience.
However this might pose some concern from buyers that value their privacy as a know-your-customer (KYC) process is required to order the watch as if you are registering for a regulated Bitcoin exchange.
Prospective buyers will be asked to provide full name, address and phone number as well as to upload copies of their government ID, Passport and Proof of Address.
Hublot is not the first brand to release bitcoin themed watches.
Cryptomatic has been producing such watches since 2014 and offers a much more affordable option at an $800 price tag which is about 30 times cheaper than Hublot’s new Big Bang Watch.
Visa CEO Open To Embrace Cryptocurrency
Al Kelly, the CEO of Visa has recently revealed in an interview that Visa is open to support digital currencies in the future at any point when the demand and adoption raises.
Mr. Kelly further explains that his company is not threatened in anyway by the new asset class.
He states that cryptocurrencies should move similarly to fiat currencies and if it goes in the same direction, the company will move the same.
Visa wants to be in the middle regardless how it happens and what is the underlying currency.
The CEO notes that cryptocurrencies is more of a commodity than a payment vehicle.
The leading credit card service firm could impact heavily the crypto-world and its adoption.
However Visa will only utilized the technology that has reached mainstream level.
On a side note, Monaco, a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency debit card who runs Crypto.com, is the lucky company that has applied for license to prepare 100,000 crypto Visa Cards.
The cards are set for launch within the next two months, and Singapore will be the starting point followed by the rest of the Asian Continent.
According to Kris Marzalek CEO of Crypto.com the card users will be able to liquidate their digital assets into fiat whenever they want giving them unprecedented peace of mind.
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