Listen to the audio:
Write-up:
What Moved Global Markets
– Wall Street now believes President Donald Trump’s trade battle with China will determine how the markets close out the year.
– Stocks reveal investors’ cautiousness. Wall Street stocks have climbed to record highs as worries over U.S.-China trade relations and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy have receded, but cautious investors have been sticking with technology shares over value stocks and more speculative plays such as IPOs.
– A concentrated burst of interest rate cutting and other measures to loosen global financial conditions by the world’s central bankers looks to have largely run its course, and policymakers now appear content to wait and see if their handiwork staves off a deeper slowdown in the months ahead.
– Saudi Arabia’s giant state oil company finally kick-started its initial public offering (IPO) on Sunday, announcing its intention to float on the domestic bourse in what could be the world’s biggest listing as the kingdom seeks to diversify its economy away from oil.
Crypto Prices (from CoinMarketCap)
Bitcoin: Down 1% to $9,241 after some weekend gains and a high of $9,377.
Total trading volume (24h): $21.1+ billion USD
Ethereum: Down 1.1% to $182.20 from the peak of $185 over the weekend
Total trading volume (24h): $8.75+ billion USD
3 biggest movers 24 hours
Biggest Mover 1: KAASO up 250.1% to $0.16781
Biggest Mover 2: ADT up 142% to $0.011394
Biggest Loser: CLO (Callisto Network) down 48.3% to $0.0132
What moved Crypto Markets (i.e. digital assets)
– The United Kingdom’s tax authority issued crypto taxation guidance for businesses on Friday, stressing that crypto like bitcoin are neither currency nor securities.
– Despite the controversial SEC lawsuit, Telegram released a test crypto wallet for its “gram” token.
– Binance’s new U.S. operation continues to hit new highs, and now it is enabling customers to purchase cryptocurrency with debit cards. As per data compiled by The Block, Binance.US has increased its daily volumes to over $15 million.
Crypto ‘buzz’ Trending in Social Media
A settlement agreement has apparently fallen apart in the Kleiman v. Wright litigation in Florida federal court. According to a motion filed by plaintiffs on November 1, an early September settlement in principle was broken by Craig Wright. Plaintiffs were, without any advance notice, informed that Craig Wright could no longer finance the settlement and was “breaking” the non-binding settlement agreement.
Other Specialties
Fintech: Accounting and business consulting firm Armanino launched a new blockchain-based tool Wednesday promising firm-originated financial audits in seconds. Called TrustExplorer 2.0, the product is one of several promising to overturn how accounting is done within companies.
Healthtech: Google doesn’t want to let Apple run away with the health-tracking market, but it may be too late. Apple Watch is dominating in the wearables market, especially in North America. Alphabet, Samsung, and Amazon are now looking for ways to catch up.
Al: AI could help us deconstruct why some songs just make us feel so good. Machine learning can map which musical qualities trigger what types of physical and emotional responses. One day the technique could even be used in music therapy.
Smart cities: Alphabet subsidiary Sidewalk Labs has clipped its ambitions for smart city development in Toronto in order to secure a deal to keep the project alive after pushback from local authorities and activists. Sidewalk and Waterfront Toronto, the government body overseeing the high-tech development, reached an agreement to allow the project to go forward.
Since 2017, Sidewalk has been drawing up plans to develop the Toronto neighbourhood “from the internet up”, including self-driving cars, moving sidewalks, and underground delivery robots. Their approach calls for “ubiquitous sensing” throughout the smart city, collecting data on everything from rubbish disposal to park benches.
NexChangeNOW Pick of the Day
NexChange Interview Series with Adam Vaziri, CEO of Blockpass, Part 1 – http://www.nexchangenow.com/videos/71435/new-fatf-regulations-will-bite-next-year-nexchange-interview-series-with-adam-vaziri-ceo-of-blockpass-pt-1/