Official Newsletter of 1/14
One week into 2019, Bitcoin’s price has slid to $3,500. Bitcoin isn’t all to blame though. If only we had just kept our resolution to go to the gym more! As the immediate future of the economy remains uncertain, we can only hope that Bitcoin won’t follow the S&P’s 2018 losses.
Monthly Pivots
Weekly Pivots
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Hacking
Ethereum Classic Hit by 51% Attack
On January 7th, hackers reportedly stole over $1 Million of Ethereum Classic, or 219,500 ETC, from the 18th-largest cryptocurrency. Coinbase substantiated that claim with multiple published data reports of 51% attacks.
Despite the attack, the ETC price has seen little decline. Some credit this to the die-hard coin-whales that hold the majority of the currency, but what would happen if Bitcoin was successfully attacked? Would its price sink?
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Business
McKinsey Reports Doubt in Practical Blockchain Use Cases
“Blockchain has yet to become the game-changer some expected […] given the amount of money and time spent, […] little of substance has been achieved.”
The McKinsey article’s authors are skeptical that the technology can jump into the McKinsey second stage of their life-cycle hypothesis.
Blockchain payment niche applications still make it viable, but it remains to be seen if Blockchain’s disruptive technology can overcome the inertia established by traditional fiat state-currency and credit cards. For Blockchain payment technology to prevail, it would need to continue to prove its value to users and institutions.
For further reading, check out the actual McKinsey Report
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Politics
French Yellow Vests Meet Crypto
The Yellow Vest protests in France have brought political turmoil to the country, but if the estimated 126,000 protestors all made a bank run, would this be enough to destabilize the financial institutions? Like the Cyprus crisis of 2013 and the recent political strife in Venezuela, decentralized currency offers an enticing alternative to unstable fiat currencies or oppressive regimes.
Bitcoin is famously linked to Anarchists. It certainly has that potential to destabilize governments, but are people’s’ willingness to abandon their traditional currencies and institutions strong enough?
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Daily Debunk
How to Fix Fake News
Facebook has been targeted by media and lawmakers alike for fake news problems, but maybe blockchain is their answer? Identity verification through blockchain could help Facebook crack down on the rise of fake accounts and mass promotions of falsified news. Furthermore, blockchain could help secure accounts from hackers boosting authenticity and accountability, and blockchain can do it all faster than machine learning and AI can.
AI deals in patterns and statistical probability, but if people on two different sides can’t agree on what is and isn’t “fake news”, AI struggles with making that distinction due to our use of sarcasm, for example.
Check out Cornell Professor James Grimmelmann’s essay on “fake news and platform moderation”
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Further readings we found interesting!
Maker Dai: Stable, but not scalable
Understanding the SEC’s Guidance on Digital Tokens
The Report following that article
