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Coinspeaker XRP Is Down 16% since Swell, Will It Ever Rise Again?In what has been seen by many in the crypto space as a massive disappointment, Ripple Labs’ XRP token has fallen 16% to new lows since the swell event which held earlier this month in the Island Nation of Singapore. The token which has been seen by many to be one of the most innovative in the cryptocurrency basket has filed to meet the expectations for many factors some of which can be directly traced to actions by the parent company.Firstly, the burning of 55 billion Stellar Lumens (XLM) by the Stellar Development Foundation has had a massive effect on other tokens especially XRP. The limited supply of Lumens has created a scarcity that raised prices. At the same time, the continuous release of XRP tokens from escrow by Ripple Labs Inc has also created an oversupply of the token thus ensuring that prices have remained depressed.This, of course, has hampered the long-term prospects of the price rise of the token to all-new highs. Like and retweet if you would like for Ripple executives to stop dumping #XRP so price can finally move up.— CryptoBull (@CryptoBull2020) November 12, 2019However, there are still people who are still quite bullish about the token’s prices. This has led to outlandish predictions which many consider being “out there”. And these folks also have the strong support of XRP fans globally.So many people on here are bitching that #XRP will never hit $10-$50 even $100 because it can’t even stay above .30! When it moves it’s going to be so fast it will melt faces! You whiny little bitches just better hope you have your big boy/girl pants on when it goes! #XRPcreche— BrumDogMillionaire (@BrumDogMillion) November 9, 2019In all honesty, considering the current climate which has seen the token go to new lows, XRP may still go down to as low as $0.25 all factors considered. This, of course, may also reverse as the crypto space is topsy-turvy at the moment.However, there are other ways this can play out as well. In terms of adoption, the XRP token has been one of the fastest adopted tokens and this has generated lots of interest not just in the token but in cryptocurrencies in general. With over 200 institutions on RippleNet and loads of partnerships, one would have expected that prices would have been riding to new highs but as of yet, there is no end in sight for the prices to be in the clear just yet.One factor that could change all of this is the recent addition of XRP to the Coinbase card (powered by Visa) which is aimed at 29 European countries but can only currently be used in Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Hungary, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Poland, Romania, and Sweden. As we have already covered it in our articles, the card converts cryptocurrencies on-the-fly into fiat currency and can be used for just about anything.Other cryptocurrencies that have been added to the Coinbase card include XRP, Basic Attention Token (BAT), Augur (REP), 0x (ZRX) and Stellar (XLM).While this may just cause a slight blip in XRP prices, support from ZB.com could also boost prices as well.For now, though, any price increases in XRP will be next year as this year rounds up.XRP Is Down 16% since Swell, Will It Ever Rise Again?

Coinspeaker Marsh Secures $150 Million in Crypto Insurance for Ledger’s Vault UsersA global leader in securing crypto assets and one of the most popular hardware wallets Ledger has decided to lure investors to custody their digital assets using its wallet. To achieve this goal, Ledger has partnered with a famous insurance broker Marsh that will help in securing insurance.Marsh has already arranged a $150 million insurance policy from Lloyd’s through Arch, its London-based syndicate. This sum will be used to custody various types of cryptocurrencies for users of the Ledger Vault technology platform.Our B2B solution, the Ledger Vault, has obtained a groundbreaking custom crime #insurance policy, insuring the #crypto assets managed through it for up to a massive $150 million!Read more: https://t.co/0BhDNnj9Iz#LedgerVault pic.twitter.com/9ecQnsK02C— Ledger (@Ledger) November 14, 2019This initiative not only marks the entrance of Ledger Vault to services for institutional investors but also signifies the penetration in the crypto industry by both the firms. As the companies have explained, the Ledger Vault insurance allows individual companies to opt to get their own insurance in addition to Ledger’s platform-wide cover. Customers will be protected from the loss of their private keys in both the case of a physical breach of a hardware security module (HSM) in a Ledger data center and an insider employee theft. Besides, customers will not have to pay any extra fees for the insurance cover.Demetrios Skalkotos, global head of Ledger Vault, commented:“The policy also covers the clients’ onboarding process, their personal security devices and the secure encrypted communication channel that is established when using the Vault platform.”He added:“The combination of Ledger Vault’s secure hardware and software operating systems, along with our governance protocols, allowed Marsh and Arch to expand standard cold storage coverage to the Ledger Vault solution. This unique policy is a true end-to-end solution that gives our customers the flexibility to both store and move funds without compromising on security and governance.”It has been revealed that during the past year, Marsh has been working with Ledger on developing this insurance policy. According to James Crome, vice president at Arch specie, it took spent six months for the underwriter to complete the customized offering for Ledger’s customers.“This $150 million policy underscores just how impressed we are with the security technology platform they’ve built,” stated he.Many crypto firms have already considered insurance covers and came up with their offers, most of which are connected with providing custodian services. For example, recently, Bakkt announced the launch of its custody service earlier this week. But in comparison with other companies, Ledger Vault does not offer custodian services but allow investors to use its technology to custody their crypto assets.Marsh Secures $150 Million in Crypto Insurance for Ledger’s Vault Users

Coinspeaker Coinbase Visa Card Expands Offerings in Europe with 5 New CryptosIt is no secret that cryptocurrency is been used more and more around the world as both an investment tool but also for everyday use and this is being facilitated by many merchants around the globe who are starting to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment for their goods and services and also the many platforms that are facilitating the easy spending of cryptocurrency. One of these is the Visa debit card by Coinbase that allows customers to spend the cryptocurrency out of their Coinbase account as easy as they would fiat currency and this is believed to be one of the next steps in the maturation of cryptocurrency in the global market.It seems Coinbase intends to expand on its already impressive efforts as it was recently announced of their Visa debit card will be adding five more cryptocurrency options to its roster as well as expanding its availability to 10 more European countries.New Offerings and New RegionsThe five new cryptocurrencies that have been added to the roster for Coinbase’s Visa debit card are XRP, Basic Attention Token (BAT), Augur (REP), 0x (ZRX) and Stellar (XLM) and these are in addition to Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC) which are already available. An expanded list of cryptocurrencies is not the only benefit for customers as the card is now available in more European countries such as Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Hungary, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Poland, Romania, and Sweden. According to the management of Coinbase, this new effort is to benefit customers and also to expand the use of the card across the globe.“By more than doubling the number of assets our customers can spend on Coinbase Card, as well as introducing the card to 10 new countries, Coinbase continues to help drive crypto’s role as a utility, and not just an investment,” said Zeeshan Feroz, CEO at Coinbase UK. This is a rather interesting take as it is well known that there are many who view cryptocurrency as a valid investment and a good means of making a profit but do not have great confidence in it as a store of value. Some of the reasons for this include a constantly fluctuating value of many cryptocurrencies as well as the fact that they are decentralized and this according to some, makes them not a real currency. Thankfully, attitudes towards cryptocurrency use are changing and the expansion of the offerings of the Coinbase Visa debit card shows that there is truly a market and an audience for the use of cryptocurrency for everyday goods and services payment.Coinbase Visa Card Expands Offerings in Europe with 5 New Cryptos

Coinspeaker Alibaba Set to Raise Close to $14 Billion from Upcoming Hong Kong ListingAlibaba Group Holding Ltd., has announced pricing for its soon-to-come share listing in Hong Kong. Estimated to have a target to raise $13.8 billion, the company will be selling 12.5 million shares exclusively to retail investors and has pegged it at HK$188 per share. Roughly $24, the sale will easily take its place as Hong Kong’s most expensive initial sale in history.The company plans to sell a total of 500 million ordinary shares in the Hong Kong listing, finally placing its focus on the Hong Kong financial market after such a long time. Interestingly, Alibaba still has the option of increasing the number of shares available for retail investors, from the stipulated 12.5 million, to a full 10% of the 500 million – a substantial 50 million.Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang in a recent letter to investors praised the Hong Kong financial atmosphere and even lamented the company’s inability to get into the Hong Kong space when it went public. At the time, Alibaba decided to opt for the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) instead of Hong Kong because the company was interested in the dual-class stock, something Hong Kong disallowed. Now, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has changed its rules, allowing Alibaba to step in.Zhang said:“When Alibaba Group went public in 2014, we missed out on Hong Kong with regret. Hong Kong is one of the world’s most important financial centers. Over the last few years, there have been many encouraging reforms in Hong Kong’s capital market [and] we continue to believe that the future of Hong Kong remains bright. We hope we can contribute, in our small way, and participate in the future of Hong Kong.”The letter also specifies that Alibaba intends to use funds received from the issuance, to expand user growth and engagement, as well as the promotion of “digital transformation.”It is somewhat expected that Alibaba’s entrance into the Hong Kong market might do a lot to excite the Chinese government who have been unhappy about large companies in the country going to seek funding externally. In addition, it might also be a more than welcome change of pace for Hong Kong which has been plagued with pro-democracy protests for quite a while now. Lastly, it will be a great move for Zhang who only recently resumed as CEO after co-founder Jack Ma left the position.Alibaba is set to overtake Uber’s May initial public offering (IPO), as the biggest one in 2019 after surpassing $8 billion back in May. If successful, Alibaba will not just have the crown for 2019, but will also be the biggest IPO in history at $25 billion.It might be important to note that there’s a very strong chance Alibaba may not hold this position for long. Saudi Aramco is already set to go public in just a few days and is currently touted as the world’s largest public issue, expected to raise over $30 billion.Alibaba Set to Raise Close to $14 Billion from Upcoming Hong Kong Listing

Coinspeaker Bitcoin Price Slips below $8700 despite High Open InterestAfter consolidating its position above $8700 levels for the past few days, the Bitcoin price crashed another 1% today. At press time, Bitcoin is trading at $8640 with a market cap of $155 billion.The latest price drop comes as Bitcoin has been a victim of sideways trading ever since it failed to sustain above $9000. With this move, Bitcoin has slipped below its major support of $8700. This move has clearly raised the exposure of further slipping to its next support of $8550.Over the last month, Bitcoin’s performance has remained quite volatile. In the last week of October 2019, the Bitcoin price showed a huge momentum jumping almost 30%. In the price spike, Bitcoin went all the way from $7500 to $9500 levels. Bitcoin started this month on a good note. However, it has lost almost 15% just within the first fifteen days.Bitcoin Sees Rise in Open InterestThe bears have managed to break BTC’s crucial support fo $8700 levels. While investors are closely watching is behavior for the next support levels, BTC is getting huge open interest.This open interest suggests the underlying bullishness and can trigger the next bull run according to some analysts. Crypto expert and analyst Mr. Anderson expects a big move ahead for the cryptocurrency. He said:“$BTC Open Interest: Don’t fall asleep and Don’t blink! Open Interest tells me that someone will light a match to some Rocket Fuel soon. Liquidations are coming soon”.Another popular crypto analyst Cantering Clark that the bulls have been aggressively buying at each Bitcoin price drop. He adds that this shows wider support for Bitcoin than expected.“1/1- I get the impression that much of this open interest increase is attributed to aggressive bulls, it would seem as though they are buying every dip. Premium supports that thesis. If that be the case I doubt our local support is more than butter,” added Clark.It remains to be seen as to who among the two – bears or bulls – dominate in the coming times.It is not just Bitcoin but the overall crypto market which is on downtrend today. Almost all of the top ten cryptocurrencies are facing downward pressure. Once cryptocurrency which has managed to surprise us all is Tezos.Tezos continues with its upward journey posting 11% gains today. At press time, Tezos is trading at $1.24. Over the last month, Tezos price has surged by more than 50%.Bitcoin Price Slips below $8700 despite High Open Interest

Coinspeaker Walmart Canada Launches Blockchain Initiative for Freight Tracking and Payments ManagementAccording to a November 14, 2019 press release, Walmart Canada is now embracing the use of blockchain as they will be launching its use for freight tracking and payment info management.And such an initiative is not surprising. Besides cryptocurrency, it’s most famous offering, taking over the world, there has also been the talk of blockchain becoming the next big technology used across various industries and this is for good reason. Blockchain, by its design, creates an irrefutable ledger of all transactions that are tracked across it and this has made its particularly favored within industries that require a lot of tracking such as supply chain, payroll management and so on. Even universities across the globe have started issuing their degrees via blockchain in a means to combat certificate fraud as everything recorded on the blockchain can never be removed and can always be made reference to with ease.Bringing Blockchain to WalmartThis new initiative was developed in conjunction with DLT Labs and allows customers to track their orders, manage their payments and verify transactions. This new development allegedly can also fit into a business’ legacy system and help them coordinate the various aspects, as in the case of Walmart, it “manages, integrates and synchronizes all the supply chain and logistics data in real-time, aggregating the data between Walmart Canada and its fleet of third-party trucks on a shared ledger.”This is particularly beneficial for them because their business model has to do with large amounts of inventory and blockchain gives them the chance to keep all of it tracked in a single place across various actors and locations with ease.“This new dynamic and interactive blockchain technology platform is creating complete transparency between Walmart Canada and all of our carrier partners. Blockchain is enabling a material advance in our smart transportation network, with expedited payments, extensive cost savings and other benefits among our supply chain. Moreover, this degree of improved efficiency represents a powerful platform for us to continue to reduce our environmental footprint and continue our leadership in environmental sustainability,” said John Bayliss, senior vice-president of logistics and supply chain at Walmart Canada. This is not the first time that Walmart as a corporation is embracing blockchain as in 2018, they launched an initiative that would help in the tracking of fresh produce to prevent E. coli in the United States. It was also applied in August 2019 to some of their Sam’s Club locations in order to track their shipment of shrimp which came from India. Also, superstores such as Carrefour have also been implementing blockchain into some of their products by giving consumers the ability to trace the product to its point of origin and this has proven particularly popular for those who have dietary restrictions and so on.Walmart Canada Launches Blockchain Initiative for Freight Tracking and Payments Management

Coinspeaker Crypto Lending DeFi Startup Compound Finance Raises $25 Million Led by Andreessen HorowitzCompound Finance, a crypto lending and decentralized finance (DeFi) startup has recently raised a massive $25 million in its latest funding round led by venture capital Andreessen Horowitz. This is reportedly one of the largest investments in any DeFi startups to date.Andreessen Horowitz will be pouring money into Compound through its a16z crypto fund. Besides, other investing firms include Bain Capital Ventures, Paradigm, and Polychain Capital.Currently, Compound holds nearly $103 million worth of cryptocurrencies locked in its automated systems. The automated lending platform provides collateralized loans against Ethereum-based tokens. Compound’s automated crypto-lending platform leverages smart contracts to bring crypto lenders and borrowers.During an interview with Fortune, Compound CEO and co-founder Robert Leshner that the new funding will help them expand their services and make them accessible to ordinary people. He further added that the company plans to further “decentralize” Compound’s automated protocol so that the crypto trading platforms and custodians can maintain this protocol going forward. Leshner said:“We’re planning to integrate Compound into as many custodians, exchanges, wallets, and brokers as we can, to allow exchanges and custodians to be the interface of the protocol. Our goal is to slowly transition the very limited functions that we control to the community over the next two years. Our highest priority is building something that is sustainable. … From there we could probably build on top of the protocol.”Leshner noted that currently on its platform, there are primarily two types of borrowers. The first types are several cryptocurrency companies raising tens of millions of dollars to serve their operations costs and expand their businesses. These companies have borrowed money by pledging their Ethereum tokens.The second types include small hedge funds and traders willing to leverage their Ethereum holdings for short-term investments.Commenting on the partnership, Andreessen Horowitz general partner Chris Dixon said:“Compound is a lending protocol that is open to anyone in the world, that disintermediates banks and allows anyone to earn interest on their money […] We’ve worked with Robert and his team for over two years and think they are world-class technologists and entrepreneurs.”Craig Hammell, an engineer lending on Compound told the publication that his returns on the platform have been close to 5%. These are a bit less compared to 8% returns he got during the summer. However, Hammell added that he is quite satisfied with lending on the DeFi platform.“What makes it cool to me is how it sits right at the intersection of simplicity and utility. All it does really is let people deposit to a pool, and others withdraw from that pool. The more borrowed money relative to supplied money, the higher the interest rate. Supply and demand is economics 101 and everyone can understand it,” explained he.Crypto Lending DeFi Startup Compound Finance Raises $25 Million Led by Andreessen Horowitz

SEBA, a cryptocurrency bank based in Switzerland, has announced that it is now authorized to handle both traditional fiat currency as well as digital money like bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
SEBA Offers Both Traditional Money and Crypto
Customers can open accounts with the bank as a means of storing both their traditional funds and their cryptocurrencies. Clients of SEBA typically rank as asset managers, private investors and corporate businesses.
Switzerland is one of the most prominent crypto countries in all of Europe. Aside from its loose crypto regulations, the country is also home to what’s affectionately known as “Crypto Valley,” a region that houses several hundred cryptocurrency or blockchain-based businesses and startups.
The area gets its name in part from Silicon Valley, housed in Northern California. While Silicon Valley is home to some of the world’s leading tech companies, i.e. Facebook, Google and Apple, Crypto Valley is devoted purely to enterprises that focus on blockchain and digital products.
Some of Switzerland’s openness towards cryptocurrency has rubbed off on its European neighbors like Malta, which is also known for its very easy-going crypto attitude and loose regulations. Recently, several companies stationed in various Asian countries (i.e. Binance) have called it quits with their originating continent due to its continued attempts to halt blockchain innovation. They have since picked up and moved their head offices to Malta, where they can potentially explore easier options for operation.
SEBA is a relatively new institution, having only earned its banking license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) last August. At only three months old, however, the company is already making huge headway and is one of the only ventures in the world designed to handle both traditional fiat and crypto, though to be fair, other banks are trying similar measures.
One such example is the Royal Bank of Canada, which has recently opened a new crypto platform for business. While the company is not necessarily regulating crypto action and is still largely designed primarily for the housing of traditional assets and money, users can now trade crypto should they so desire.
Crypto and Fiat: One and the Same?
In a statement, the bank has explained that it’s looking to “bridge the gap” between crypto and standard fiat. It says that in many ways, both are one and the same. The primary difference is that one is mainly used for speculation, while the other is used to survive. However, both boast elements of each other that can potentially expand or enhance their respective properties.
In addition, the bank has also explained that it’s upping its security system to cover the crypto assets its likely to list in the future. At the time of writing, SEBA offers five cryptocurrencies that customers can trade, purchase and sell: bitcoin, Ethereum, stellar, Litecoin and Ethereum Classic.
The post Swiss Bank SEBA Is Looking to “Bridge the Gap” Between Fiat and Crypto appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

Coinspeaker African Gemstones to Be Tracked by Credits BlockchainAs previously reported, Mina Stones and Credits entered into a partnership agreement involving the introduction of innovative blockchain technology into the current African gem supply chain. The solution helps to eliminate potential vulnerabilities by providing complete transparency and the ability to track and validate ongoing processes.An updated version of the supply chain from the mine site in Nigeria and smelter to required parties now becomes in the plain sight. All participants in the process have access to the entire history of the movement of precious stones. This trusting approach is achieved by creating an unchanged audit trail on the blockchain, providing evidence of jewelry production from the mine to the end-user.Igor Chugunov, Ceo & Founder of Credits, said:“Our blockchain platform is a highly secured technology that provides a unique opportunity for a comprehensive gemstone industry to carry out full risk management procedures in the framework of the whole supply chain. Together with the Mina Stones team, we are proud to introduce this great value to our customers.”Mutual understanding and the desire to provide the customers with high-quality goods and services allowed Credits and Mina Stones to take a cardinal step towards improving the processes of the African mining and jewelry industry, providing reliable and accurate information about precious stones and their extraction.African Gemstones to Be Tracked by Credits Blockchain