NexChangeNOW Daily Briefing – Wednesday Nov 06, 2019

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    Write-up:

    What Moved Global Markets
    – A trade war between the world’s top two economies cut U.S. imports of Chinese goods by more than a quarter, or $35 billion, in the first half of this year and drove up prices for American consumers, a U.N. study showed on Tuesday. “Overall, the results indicate that the United States tariffs on China are economically hurting both countries,” the report said. “United States losses are largely related to the higher prices for consumers, while China’s losses are related to significant export losses”.
    – Meanwhile, China is said to be pushing U.S. President Donald Trump to remove more tariffs as part of a “phase one” U.S.-China trade deal.
    Oil gains 1%, European shares hit more than four-year highs, stock rally stalls.

    Crypto Prices (from CoinMarketCap)
    Bitcoin: Down 0.67% to $9,353.89
    Total trading volume (24h): $21.1+ billion USD

    Ethereum: Up 1.65% to $189.29
    Total trading volume (24h): $8.75+ billion USD

    3 biggest movers 24 hours
    Biggest Mover 1: Jewel (JWL) up 166% to $0.6100
    Biggest Mover 2: InvestDigital (IDT) up 74.39% to $0.013165
    Biggest Loser: SPIKE down 35.75% to $0.001497

    What moved Crypto Markets (i.e. digital assets)
    The European Central Bank should consider issuing a public digital currency, an EU draft document said, after plans by Facebook to introduce a private one met with a hostile response from global regulators.
    And Turkey! Turkey is working to issue a blockchain-based national digital currency. Resmi Gazete, Turkey’s only official journal that publishes new legislation and official announcements, published a document Monday, which says that the first trials of digital lira should be conducted and finalized by the end of 2020.
    Coinbase’s legal chief is calling for private sector leadership in developing America’s digital currency.
    – For all those wanting to issue their own stablecoins: The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), a global securities watchdog, has said that stablecoin proposals and initiatives, such as the Facebook-led Libra project, could come under some existing securities market regulations.

    Other Specialties
    Fintech: The U.S. Federal Reserve is hiring a manager to oversee its traditional payments section, while adding new responsibilities to the role, including researching how to integrate digital currencies, stablecoins and distributed ledger technologies.
    Healthtech: Medopad, the U.K. startup that has been working with Tencent to develop AI-based methods for building and tracking “digital” biomarkers — measurable indicators of the progression of illnesses and diseases that are picked up not with blood samples or in-doctor visits but using apps and wearables — has announced another round of funding to expand the scope of its developments. The startup has picked up $25 million, led by pharmaceuticals giant Bayer.
    Al: The U.S. Postal Service will use Nvidia Corp’s artificial intelligence technology to improve the efficiency of package data processing, the chip designer said on Tuesday. The new AI system will help process package data 10 times faster for the Postal Service, which processes and delivers about 146 billion pieces of mail in a year, Nvidia said.
    Smart cities: Hungary’s foreign minister opened the way on Tuesday for Chinese telecoms giant Huawei to be involved in the rollout of the country’s high-speed 5G network.

    NexChangeNOW Pick of the Day
    China has launched a blockchain-based identification system for smart cities, aimed at better connectivity and data sharing between these cities. http://www.nexchangenow.com/news/smart-cities/71470/china-unveils-blockchain-based-smart-city-identification-system/