Crypto News from last week you don’t want to miss ! Week #15

Top Stories Of The Week

– France becomes the first nation to test its digital currency in the race for the adoption of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

– Mastercard, ⁠Microsoft, and Nokia are among the 35 multinational companies that filed 212 blockchain patents in China as of the end of March 2020.

– Class Action Lawsuits Lodged against major cryptocurrency exchanges and token issuers pointing towards market manipulations and sales of unlicensed securities.

Class Action Lawsuits Lodged Against Binance, Bitmex, Tron And Others

Major crypto exchanges and top token issuers have been caught in the net in a recent lawsuit filed by an American law firm. The suit accused the defendants of selling unlicensed securities without brokerage or dealer licensing certification and market manipulation.

The law firm which is known to have previously filed many lawsuits against most crypto companies had on April 6th made a press release stating why the crypto exchanges and token issuers were liable.

The latest suit was targeted at top echelon crypto exchanges such as Binance, BitMex Bibox, and Kucoin. Token issuers like Tron Foundation, Block.One, Quantstamp, KayDex, Civic, BProtocol, and Status were also mentioned in the lawsuit.

Sony and Other Major Multinationals File 212 Blockchain Patents in China in 2020

Mastercard, ⁠Microsoft, and Nokia are among the 35 multinational companies that filed 212 blockchain patents in China as of the end of March 2020. This has further positioned China as the hotspot for blockchain patents and development. In the race for mainstream blockchain adoption, top multinational companies have shown by action their competitive interest in the noble technology.

According to the latest Global Times report, a total of 35 multinationals have joined the race for blockchain adoption. Mastercard, Walmart, Microsoft, Intel, and Sony now tops the list. Even though all of these companies are yet to start a blockchain-related business, however, this is considered as a big step in the right direction.

Major Chinese Mining Pool Drops out of BTC Mining Race, Looking to Altcoins

Uncertainties loom as the crypto community awaits the 3rd Bitcoin halving, most analysts are already recounting the potential effect of the halving on miners. While some analysts believe that the halving will see some miners seize operations for the short term. Just less than 30 days to the next Bitcoin halving, most miners have already fallen out of business.

Baite Mining Pool, one of the top Chinese pools has seized operation as one of the custodians of the Bitcoin network. This decision comes after Baite mining pool hash rate decreased significantly from 4000 to 200 petahashes per second earlier in March. This is a pointer to the fact that more miners are likely to follow suit if the upcoming halving takes a negative toll on mining profitability.

CoinGecko COO: ‘Hard for CoinMarketCap to Stay Neutral’

Barely one week after Binance acquired the world’s largest crypto data reporting site Coinmaketcap, most prominent figures around the cryptocurrency industry are already expressing their dissatisfaction with the move. In case you missed it, Binance had in the previous week acquired CMC for over $400 million in a move to expand its line of business.

In a recent interview with Bobby Ong, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of CoinGecko, he explicitly stated that Coinmarketcap had just lost its right as a supposed independent crypto data reporting website. Ong noted that it will be hard for CoinMarketCap to stay neutral and independent in its reporting style.

Bitcoin Cash Halving Met with 11% Price Surge; BSV Follows with 19%

The two most popular Bitcoin forks had halved in the just concluded week. To what could be considered as a non-event, many well-meaning individuals have expressed their dismay with the performance of the duo as they had struggled to print two-digit gains within the week.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin SV (BSV) went through with their first block reward halving on Wednesday and Friday respectively. BCH managed to sustain some 11.2% gain on the day while BSV surged 19.4% in the same timeframe.  This disappointing performance further broadens the belief that the upcoming Bitcoin halving might not be worth the hype after all.

Top Adoption Of The Week

France’s CBDC Test Moves Digital Euro One Step Closer to Reality

Recently, there have been a lot of talks about the purported Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). This move is considered a huge step towards the adoption of digital currency and a lot of experts have seized this opportunity to point out its positive impact on the entire crypto community.

While most national banks are still drafting plans, France has already taken the lead. Bank of France is on the hunt for a central bank digital currency that can ease interbank settlements as contained in a report published on March 30. The test of the digital currency is currently ongoing which could pave way for the digital EURO.

Top Prediction Of The Week

Bobby Lee Calls For BTC to Reach All-Time High in 2020

Speculation is an important aspect of the Bitcoin pricing model. A lot of price prediction has trailed the Bitcoin market ahead of the upcoming halving. This week, Crypto exchange founder, Bobby Lee claims that Bitcoin has the potential to brace an all-time high of $25,000 before the close of the year 2020.

Lee has cited the decreasing inflation rate of Bitcoin as a major driver of his bullish sentiment about the noble asset. Lee also pointed out that the pandemic effect of the coronavirus is likely to greatly devalue fiat currencies which will drive prudent investors to Bitcoin as a safe-haven to preserve their wealth.