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What Moved Global Markets
– While tensions between the US and Iran continue to spike, markets react. Oil prices edged up on Monday (Brent touched above $70 a barrel). Gold prices shot to almost seven-year highs.
– The U.S. stock market’s relentless drive higher has caused some nail-biting on Wall Street that the rally is about to end. Geopolitical risks are just one on a list of worries for 2020. Check out the full list on Reuters analytic report.
– Goldman Sachs commodity strategists have suggested that gold is a stronger hedge than oil for investors seeking safe returns amid the escalation of tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Crypto Prices (from CoinMarketCap)
Bitcoin: Up 5.59% to $7,915.69
Total trading volume (24h): $24.98+ billion USD
Ethereum: Up 4.73% to $144.71
Total trading volume (24h): $9.29+ billion USD
3 biggest movers 24 hours
Biggest Mover 1: DEX (DEX) is up 501.90% to $0.140390
Biggest Mover 2: ChronoCoin (CRN) is up 69.60% to $0.011124
Biggest Loser: Agrocoin (AGRO) is down 45.08% to $0.035031
What moved Crypto Markets (i.e. digital assets)
– Elections on blockchain are not just a test! A lawmaker in Virginia has submitted a resolution that calls on the state government to study the use of blockchain in elections. The bill, prefiled just before the end of the year by State Delegate Hala S. Ayala, calls for the state’s Department of Education to “study the use of blockchain technology to protect voter records and election results.”
– Telegram will not integrate a crypto wallet into its messaging app, at least until it gets the green light from U.S. regulators, the company said Monday on its official website. The announcement comes ahead of Telegram’s CEO deposition in Dubai on Tuesday. The statement purports to detail Telegram’s dedication to legal compliance, even as the company fights the SEC on claims that it intended to flood U.S. capital markets with unregistered securities. “Grams are NOT investment products and there should be NO expectation of future profit or gain from the purchase, sale or holding of Grams,” the notice reads, adding that the tokens don’t represent equity in Telegram, dividend rights or governance rights in Telegram “and its affiliates,” although it’s not specified what entities are meant by this term.
– Baidu launches a public beta for its blockchain project. On Jan. 6, Baidu Xuperchain announced the launch of its public beta during an online press conference. Until March, users can pay as low as 1 Chinese yuan, or approximately $0.14, to deploy a blockchain application, according to the company’s website.
Other Specialties
Fintech: In South Korea financial institutions should be allowed to offer cryptocurrency products such as derivatives. In a new report, the Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (PCFIR) of South Korea proposed that the government could move to bring cryptocurrencies into the mainstream of finance through a number of measures, including derivatives. With cryptocurrency trading surging worldwide, “it is no longer possible to stop crypto-asset trade,” said the PCFIR, as per a report by Business Korea on Monday. The committee said the government could follow the lead of U.S. regulators and sanction products such as futures contracts tied to bitcoin. Institutions would also be allowed to offer other cryptocurrency services such as trading.
Healthtech: AI finally comes to surgery operating room. Brain surgeons are bringing artificial intelligence and new imaging techniques to diagnose tumors as accurately as pathologists, and much faster, according to a report in the journal Nature Medicine. The new approach streamlines the standard practice of analyzing tissue samples while the patient is still on the operating table, to help guide brain surgery and later treatment.
Al: LG event during the CES conference has made a lot of noise. In its press conference at CES today, LG presented its upcoming lines of TVs and kitchen appliances for the coming year. This year, the emphasis was on AI: in fact, the first 20 minutes of the presentation pushed a speculative look at the future of AI as a consumer service. For example, once LG started with its newest kitchen appliances, the LG ThinQ washer and dryer was presented. According to LG, the washer will not only detect the volume and weight of laundry but also the type of fabric used in each load. It can also automatically select the optimal wash cycle.
Smart cities: From making cars talk using Alexa’s voice to managing data from factories full of robots, Amazon.com wants a big piece of the action in transportation, and this week at CES will unveil more about its strategy to achieve that goal than ever before. The tech powerhouse is about to showcase its transportation drive at world’s largest tech show this week. Looking forward!
Meanwhile, Qualcomm announced new chips to give cars autonomous capabilities. The system, called Snapdragon Ride, will ship to carmakers later this year and could be included in production as soon as 2023, Qualcomm said. The system will support features like lane-keeping as well as the development of full self-driving applications like robo-taxis.
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