The Month in Crypto — August 19

China’s state-back cryptocurrency, Telegram TON blockchain launch, Coinbase acquire Xapo.

The News

• China seems set to launch a state-backed cryptocurrency with further details released about the project. Reports indicate the first to receive the cryptocurrency are the two largest banks and the tech giants, Tencent and Alibaba. forbes
• Two of the most anticipated ‘3rd generation’ blockchain projects are approaching beta launch in September. Telegram, who raised $1.7 billion in 2018, will reportedly release the code for their blockchain today. coindesk Hedera Hashgraph, who raised $124 million in 2018 also announced it will launch a beta network on the 16th September. hedera
• Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced a stablecoin project dubbed project Venus. Similar to Facebook’s stablecoin project, Libra, it will be pegged to different currencies across the globe. binance

Capital

• The American crypto exchange, Coinbase, acquired crypto custodian Xapo for $55M. Coinbase now have $7 billion in assets under custody. coinbase
• BlockFi, the crypto wealth management company announced a $18M series A round led by Valar Ventures, Peter Thiel’s VC firm. blockfi

Adoption

• Walmart have filed for a patent to use a USD-pegged digital coin for faster transactions and loyalty features. bloomberg
• Insurance giant Allianz is set to launch a blockchain token for payments. theblockcrypto
• The World Bank raised $33.8M issuing bonds on a private version of the ethereum blockchain. coindesk

Market:

The cryptocurrency markets continued to slide in August. The overall market capitalisation fell 9%. Bitcoin was one of the strongest performers, falling only 3% and finishing at $9,600 USD. Along with most of the ‘altcoins’, ethereum fell significantly, ending August at $172 USD and 19% down.