Top stories in today’s Crypto Roundup:

• ECB executive says Libra stablecoin “undoubtedly” a wakeup call for central banks.
• Venezuela’s central bank considers adding bitcoin and ether to its reserves, Bloomberg reports.
• Binance unveils latest product: Binance Staking.

BTC/USD fell back below $8,000 overnight (UTC) after having rebounded above the psychologically significant level on Thursday evening. Many of the 10 most valuable cryptoassets by market capitalization are now trading at their lowest USD-denominated value in over six months.

At the time of writing, bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $8,017.7 (-4.53%) with a daily trusted volume of $2.60 bn. As for ether (ETH) it is trading at $165.4 (-2.37%) with a daily trusted volume of $578.29 mn. The MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 10 Index is currently tracking at 2,679.62 (+1.92%).

ECB Executive: Libra ‘Undoubtedly’ a Wakeup Call for Central Banks

Speaking on Wednesday at the German federal parliament Bundestag, European Central Bank executive board member Benoit Coeure said that Facebook’s proposed Libra stablecoin has “undoubtedly been a wakeup call for central banks and policymakers.”

The demand for “fast, reliable and cheap” cross-border payments is only going to trend upward, he explained; providing a strong incentive for developers to build borderless stablecoin initiatives. Coeure’s remarks come as the International Monetary Fund published on Thursday the second of its two-part blog series on stablecoins.

Also on Thursday, Libra released a new version of its LibraBFT protocol (i.e., LibraBFTv2). According to a blog post authored by Calibra research engineer Mathieu Baudet, the protocol “operates at the heart of the Libra blockchain to guarantee secure state machine replication.”

Venezuela’s Central Bank Considers Adding Bitcoin, Ether to Reserves

The central bank of Venezuela is running a test to find out whether it can hold bitcoin and ether as part of its international reserves, according to a report published by Bloomberg.

Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA)—a state-owned oil and natural gas company—reportedly submitted a formal request to have the Venezuelan central bank pay its suppliers, on its behalf, using its reserves of bitcoin and ether. It is not known how the PDVSA has obtained these reserves.

Binance Staking Unveiled

Leading cryptoasset exchange Binance announced on Thursday its new cryptocurrency staking platform. Initially, Binance Staking will support eight cryptoassets: NEO (NEO), Ontology (ONT), VeChain (VET), Stellar (XLM), Komodo (KMD), Algorand (ALGO), Qtum (QTUM), and Stratis (STRAT).

Binance’s newest product will allow users "to grow their funds by receiving monthly rewards [and] distributions simply by depositing and holding funds on Binance,” an announcement stated. "Users will earn staking rewards without needing to set up any nodes, worry about minimum staking amounts, time lengths, or any other technical requirements.”

Join us at the Mondo Visione Exchange Forum on 1st October

On 1^st October, CryptoCompare's Chief of Staff Alissa Ostrove will be speaking about exchange volumes and the current state of the digital asset market at the 2019 Mondo Visione Exchange Forum.

Produced by Mondo Visione, a leading source of insight and knowledge about the world’s exchanges and trading venues, the Exchange Forum brings together senior executives of trading venues, their customers, suppliers and regulators, to learn about and exchange views on current issues.

Chaired by the Sheriff Elect of the City of London, Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli, the 1-day event is an innovative and interactive platform providing in-depth industry discussions and debates on the issues that will likely impact which way the markets will go this year.

The 2019 Mondo Visione Exchange Forum will be held at Haberdashers’ Hall in London, meet us there on 1^st October!

Press Release

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

Build your project with CoinDesk Data

Terms | Privacy

13 Charles II St, SW1Y 4QU

London, UK

This email may include advertisements by third parties. None of the advertised or promoted products and services have been verified or approved by us and this email is not any endorsement by us of the third party or of their products or services.