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What Moved Global Markets
Coronavirus update:
– Global cases cross 755,500
– Global deaths: At least 36,200
- French health authorities reported 418 new deaths from coronavirus, taking the total to 3,024 or an increase of 16%, France becoming the fourth country to cross the 3,000 fatalities threshold after China, Italy, and Spain.
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has declared that we have entered a global recession – as Kristallina Georgieva said, “as bad as or worse than in 2009.” 80 countries have already requested emergency assistance from the IMF. Meanwhile, the G20 has reported fiscal measures totalling some 5 trillion dollars or over 6% of global GDP.
- Millions of Americans already have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus crisis and the worst of the damage is yet to come, according to a Federal Reserve estimate. Economists project total employment reductions of 47 million, which would translate to a 32.1% unemployment rate.
- A record $2.2 trillion in aid and policy easing from the Federal Reserve helped equities recover some of their losses last week. The Dow Jones was up 500 points, or 2.2%. The S&P 500 climbed 2.4% while the Nasdaq Composite traded 2.9% higher. Tech stocks such as Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon led the way higher for Wall Street. Microsoft jumped more than 5% while Alphabet and Amazon climbed 2.6% and 3.6%, respectively.
Crypto Prices (from CoinMarketCap)
Bitcoin: Up 8.73% to $6,487.03
Total trading volume (24h): $37.90+ billion USD
Ethereum: Up 5.78% to $133.71
Total trading volume (24h): $11.87+ billion USD
3 biggest movers 24 hours
Biggest Mover 1: Rapidz (RPZX) is up 501.34% to $0.001075
Biggest Mover 2: Gleec (GLEEC) is up 219.06% to $5.69
Biggest Loser: Acute Angle Cloud (AAC) is down 87.22% to $0.001807
What Moved Crypto Markets (i.e. digital assets)
- The price of Bitcoin (BTC) retraced to $5,800 during the weekend, which left the markets with an open CME gap between $5,900 and $6,620. Aside from that, buyers have stepped in at the $5,850 level, leading to a $600 rise in the price on Monday.
- According to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, the Ethereum 2.0 team will likely move ahead with multiclient testnets in April.
- ETH 2.0 specifications recently underwent an audit by technology security firm Least Authority, which highlighted the protocol’s peer-to-peer (P2P) messaging system and the block proposer system as two areas with potential security vulnerabilities.
- The Tron Foundation revealed its own MakerDAO-like stablecoin system called “Djed.” The new system was unveiled by Tron founder Justin Sun on Twitter on Saturday. Sun initially revealed the project in January. At the time, he said the TRON community would launch a new decentralized stablecoin backed by Tron (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT) tokens.
- The new stablecoin is called “USDJ,” a USD-pegged coin backed by collateral assets, according to Djed’s whitepaper. “USDJ is a new currency generated through decentralized smart contracts on the TRON network. Anyone can pledge TRX as collateral to generate USDJ. USDJ enters into free circulation as any other cryptocurrency does once generated. It is pegged to the US dollar through Collateralized Debt Positions (CDPs), and also has autonomous feedback mechanisms.”
Other Specialties
Fintech: France’s central bank wants to experiment with integrating digital currencies. On March 27, the Banque de France published a request for proposals for central bank digital currency “experiment” applications. These projects will help France’s central bank understand the risks and mechanisms of CBDCs and also contribute to the eurozone’s digital cash conversation. Coindesk notes that the Banque de France has advocated for experimental and advanced fintech projects for at least four years.
Healthtech: Apple became the next tech giant to jump into the coronavirus resource space, with the launch of its COVID-19 website and corresponding app. The new site, which serves as both a screening tool and information platform, was born out of a collaboration with Apple, the CDC, the White House Coronavirus Task Force and FEMA. Users are able to go onto the site and answer a list of questions including symptoms, risk factors and exposure. At the end of the survey, users are given a directive about possible next steps. For example, “self-isolate” or “contact your work’s occupational health provider.” Users can ask Siri about coronavirus symptoms and get guidance resources from the CDC and directions to telehealth apps.
AI: US scientists develop AI that can turn brain activity into text. While the system currently works on neural patterns detected while someone is speaking aloud, experts say it could eventually aid communication for patients who are unable to speak or type.
Smart cities: Blockchains’ plan for an ambitious smart city development in Nevada is facing some challenges but will break ground in 2022, according to an update from the company. The initiative to build a 68,000-acre innovation park based around blockchain in Nevada was announced in 2018. The company’s CEO, lawyer and cryptocurrency millionaire Jeffrey Berns, said the site is “roughly the size of Reno” and described the proposal as “a series of projects” to highlight the power of public blockchain. It will include houses, banks, shops and schools, all using blockchain.
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