TL;DR: Welcome to In Case You Missed It (ICYMI), a daily crypto news update. Georgia mining industry gobbles 10% of their total power. Bakkt now offers cash settled bitcoin futures. China to test its own digital currency. LedgerX puts founders on administrative leave. SLP token market cap doubled in two months, and South Korea will tax cryptocurrency capital gains.



Georgia Crypto Mining Consumes 10% of the Nation’s Power

The country of Georgia is facing a power shortage due to the rise in cryptocurrency mining fueled by the cheap electricity tariffs. It’s estimated that 10% of the power produced in Georgia is being used to mine bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. This has created a problem in regions where power is totally free due to the harsh conditions, like Svaneti. There have been multiple outages due to the rise in mining facilities in the area, with residents protesting mining operations.

Bakkt Launches Cash Settled Bitcoin Futures and Options

We just launched two new products: • Bakkt Bitcoin Monthly Options:

The first CFTC regulated option on futures contract for bitcoin

• Bakkt Bitcoin Cash Settled Futures:

A new cash settled futures contract available on ICE Futures Singaporehttps://t.co/7CqqZXRJKN — Bakkt (@Bakkt) December 9, 2019

Bakkt introduced two new crypto investment products in its portfolio: Bitcoin options and the long-expected cash-settled Bitcoin futures contracts. With these products Bakkt hopes to extend its business to more institutions interested in tapping into the cryptocurrency market. The company explained how “these new contracts represent an important milestone in the development of this emerging asset class and our bitcoin product complex.” 1,000+ of these cash-settled contracts have already been traded.

China to Test Its Own Digital Currency

China will conduct tests with its own digital currency in several cities of the country this coming new year. The pilot tests will include the cities of Shenzhen and Suzhou, and will be carried by four state-owned banks and three telecom carriers. The digital currency will be used in areas like education, transportation, and commerce.

LedgerX Places CEO & Founder on Leave

LedgerX, the institutional cryptocurrency exchange, put founder and CEO Paul Chou on administrative leave without announcing any reason associated with the move. Chou protested what he believed to be an unfair situation with the CFTC a while back, claiming the agency delayed the company’s application to allow Bakkt as the first physically settled Bitcoin Futures exchange on the market. Chou will be succeeded by Larry E. Thompson, a Wall Street veteran with more than 30 years of expertise in high management positions.

SLP Token Market Cap Doubled in Two Months

The market cap of SLP tokens has more than doubled in the last two months! Developers are quickly realizing that the Simple Ledger Protocol built on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain is ready for business. Filter https://t.co/4IMpRkNv4A for only SLP tokens to see for yourself. pic.twitter.com/wZnAy4LK1k — Bitcoin.com Official (@BitcoinCom) December 9, 2019

The Simple Ledger Protocol reached yet another milestone with tokens built on Bitcoin Cash doubling its market cap in just two months, according to the Bitcoin.com exchange. Honest Coin, SPICE (not associated with CoinSpice), Sai, ACD Coin, GoCrypto and FlexCoin have helped the market cap grow to more than $55 million. More and more tokens are being issued and used for different purposes in different areas.

South Korea to Tax Cryptocurrency Capital Gains

The government of South Korea is making advancements toward collecting taxes for gains derived from cryptocurrency trading, according to an article published in The Korea Times. “The revised bill will be drawn up by the first half of next year,” said a ministry official. However, implementing such a bill if it gets approved won’t be trivial. Unlike other assets, cryptocurrencies have different prices on different exchanges, so the government would require access to cryptocurrency movements/trades of taxpayers to make assessment accurate.

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DYOR: CoinSpice is your home for just spicy crypto things. We’re not affiliated with any cryptocurrency project or token. Each published piece is intended for information purposes only, not investment advice and not in the hope of impacting speculative markets. There are plenty of trading sites and coin-specific advocacy journals out there, we’re neither. CoinSpice strives for rigorous accuracy in our reporting. Information presented here is contingent usually on a host of factors, and the ecosystem moves fast — prices change, projects change, and at warp speed. Do your own research.