China is taking charge in the digitization of the world economy.
Yesterday, it revealed a testing environment for its DC/EP central bank digital currency (CBDC), which may one day supplant physical cash in the second largest economy. Further, high ranking officials set April 25 for the launch of its national blockchain platform, the Blockchain Service Network (BSN), which will enable developers to plug in and code blockchain applications on a centralized platform.
You’re reading Blockchain Bites, the daily roundup of the most pivotal stories in blockchain and crypto news, and why they’re significant. You can subscribe to this and all of CoinDesk’s newsletters here. Here’s the story:
Crypto’s Great Leap Forward
CoinDesk Live is back! Twice a week, the Lockdown Edition will feature timely discussions and public AMAs via Zoom – and shared on your favorite social platform, Twitter – with key speakers from the Consensus: Distributed agenda. Here you’ll get a preview of the content we have planned for our first fully virtual, fully free (!) conference happening May 11-15.
Register to join the first CoinDesk Live with Alex McDougall, co-founder and chief investment officer at Bicameral Ventures, on Thursday, April 16, at 4:00 p.m. EST / 1:00 p.m. PST. Then join us at Consensus: Distributed May 11-15. There’s already more than 200 sessions and tons of interactive networking opportunities.
Stacking Sats?
Investors are accumulating bitcoin ahead of next month’s miner reward halving, recent data suggests. The seven-day moving average of the total number of bitcoin held in exchange addresses fell to 2,214,365 on April 14 – the lowest level since last June – according to numbers from blockchain intelligence firm Glassnode.
Digital Gold
Is physical gold leaving digital gold behind? The gap between gold and bitcoin returns has frustrated traders who predict that trillions of dollars of coronavirus-related emergency aid and monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve and other authorities will eventually lead to inflation, argue CoinDesk’s Brad Keoun and Omkar Godbole in the latest First Mover newsletter. You can subscribe here.
CoinDesk Research
March 12 changed how investors look at crypto markets and assets, shook out some participants and left others unmoved. The CoinDesk Quarterly Review is a Q1 analysis of how the narrative has changed for crypto blue-chips like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which assets outperformed, and how the participants in crypto markets are shifting in the wake of Q1’s defining event. Read the full report.
CoinDesk Research Webinar
March 12 changed how investors look at crypto markets and assets, shook out some participants and left others unmoved. The CoinDesk Quarterly Review is a Q1 analysis of how the narrative has changed for crypto blue-chips like Bitcoin and Ethereum. On Wednesday, April 15 at 2pm ET, CoinDesk Research hosts a webinar to review and discuss our analysis. Sign up here.
Not More COVID-19 News
The coronavirus pandemic may be dominating headlines, but crypto is advancing untethered by the crisis. From regulation-related shutdowns to a human IPO and G20 warnings about stablecoins, NLW breaks down a set of crypto trend stories that really aren’t about COVID-19 on the latest episode of The Breakdown.
Blockchain Bites is CoinDesk’s daily news roundup of the most important stories in blockchain tech from this site and around the web. You can subscribe here.
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The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.