A rather busy week in the crypto and blockchain space. Fidelity caught the ‘crypto limelight’ this week with Abigail Johnson speaking high of blockchain and cryptocurrencies and then Fidelity’s Digital Assets division tweeting an article about how ‘Bitcoin obsoletes ALL Money supply’.

Excitement doesn’t stop there, Cambodia is issuing its own digital currency and Mercedes-Benz is starting a blockchain pilot project. And more crypto news this week. Read on.

Note: You can catch all the important blockchain and cryptocurrency news from 2017 onwards on our weekly cryptocurrency news compilation page.

Bitcoin halving may happen 3 weeks sooner, maybe even in April!

According to the Binance Bitcoin halving tracker, Bitcoin Halving may happen in 91 days, putting the halving date on end of April or first week of May, instead of end of May as was anticipated before. Industry considers Binance’s tracker as much more accurate than other tools and with increasing hash power by each passing day – some expect that it could beat the earlier expected date by 3 weeks to around the end of April or 2nd or 3rd of May, 2020.

Fidelity’s tweet about how ‘Bitcoin obsoletes ALL money’ catches attention





Fidelity’s Digital Assets twitter handle tweeted an article with a comment stating “What we’re reading: @parkeralewis discusses the role of money in civilization, how the world might converge to a single currency, and why bitcoin will be the currency to obsolete all others.” This tweet linked to the article on Unchained Capital titled “Bitcoin Obsoletes All Other Money” goes in depth about how Bitcoin’s ability to be single truth for global currency and how its scarcity makes it more valuable than what people realize, and how, it will gradually and then suddenly obsoletes money as we know it has caught fire on social media.







Fidelity’s CEO Abigail Johnson says she is a [Bitcoin] believer

This week Bitcoin (and by that token digital currencies and blockchain technology) found an unlikely evangelist in Abigail Johnson. “It’s no accident that I’m one of the few standing before you today from a large financial services company that hasn’t given up on digital currencies,” she said, “I am still a believer.” She went on to say that there will be an array of markets/products built on this technology. “I’d like to think that huge new markets and products are going to be built on these open platforms,” she said. “Blockchain technology isn’t just a more efficient way to settle transactions, it can fundamentally change market structures and perhaps even the architecture of the internet itself.”

DMCC Announces Crypto Valley in Dubai

‘World’s largest ecosystem for cryptographic, blockchain and distributed ledger technologies to launch in Dubai,’ according to a press release this week. Dubai Multi Commodities Center (DMCC) announced that it will soon launch a tax-free ‘Crypto Valley’ in Dubai. “DMCC is delighted to sign this agreement with CV VC, and launch the Crypto Valley in Dubai, at the very heart of Dubai’s leading business district,” said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DMCC, in a press release. “The launch of the Crypto Valley in DMCC will enhance the city’s dynamic business environment, and support the wider strategy of the UAE Government to attract the innovators, entrepreneurs and pioneers that will shape the future economy,” he added.

Deutsche Bank report on Digital Currencies

The report from Deutsche Bank has a positive view on Bitcoin and Digital Currencies and hints toward the inevitability of digitization of money as we know it. The summary page of the report states “if the growth in blockchain wallet users continues to mirror that of internet users, then by the end of the decade, they will number 200 million, quadruple the current level. This will be encouraged by governments, banks, corporates, and payment providers who all stand to benefit from the digitalisation of payments. And when countries and companies eventually look back at the way they transitioned to digital payments, it may become very apparent how they achieved their standing in the world economy.”

Iran issues 1000 Crypto mining licenses

Financial Tribune reported that Iran has issued more than 1000 licenses for Crypto Mining businesses. “Our studies show that the crypto mining industry has the potential to add $8.5 billion to the economy…but high electricity tariffs plus stringent regulations have made the sector less appealing for small investors,” Amir Hossein Saiedi was quoted as saying by IBENA. Some of these mines are already active and the numbers are expected to soar in light of the permits issued.







Bakkt to launch ‘PayPal’ like app in 2020

Bakkt is working on rolling out an app that could support cyrptocurrency payments along with equity and loyalty rewards. According to this news, speaking at Davos Conference, Bakkt’s President Adam White. The app is expected to be geared to facilitate the institutional consumer base as well as retail clientele.

Cambodia to issue its own digital currency

‘The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) will launch a Blockchain-based, peer-to-peer payment and money transfer platform in the next few months’, its director-general Chea Serey told The Post. Cambodia joins the league of other nations who are issuing their own version of digital currencies on top of blockchain technology. There are many benefits of running cash supply on blockchain, for one, every penny spent will always be tracked and counterfeiting is virtually impossible, thanks to Blockchain’s immutability. “We are in the final stages of the deployment. It has taken a little longer than expected because we were ensuring that the system is as useful and convenient for the users as possible. We will offer the service as soon as it launches,” said Phnom Penh Commercial Bank (PPCBank) president Shin Chang Moo.

Mercedes-Benz starts Blockchain based pilot project

To further its sustainability ambition to provide carbon neutral fleet in less than 20 years, Mercedes-Benz “has started a pilot project with a key battery cell manufacturer and Circulor, a start-up specializing in blockchain technology,” according to the Press Release. “A blockchain-based system maps the production flow of the materials as well as the associated CO2 emissions,” according to the release.

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