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- Cuba looks at cryptos to tackle the USA
- eToro add ERC-20 tokens to the wallet
- Electrum Wallet adds Lightning
- Record June for CME BTC Futures
In an experimental move this week, Blockstream has created a tool for atomic swaps which is labeled as Liquid Swap Tool. This tool is believed to enable users to trade “trustlessly” easily between tokens launched on its Liquid sidechain. Blockstream plans to use “atomic swaps,” that will serve as the backbone for its newer decentralized exchanges which is currently in development. This specific atomic swap tool is specifically geared for tokens launched on Liquid, a sidechain that’s pegged to bitcoin.Dogecoin jumps on Binance Listing
Coin listings on prominent exchanges are events that have a positive impact on a coin’s price.).Cuba looks at cryptos to tackle the USA
This week, geo political crises did force a country to turn to cryptos. According to Reuters, Cuba is exploring to use cryptocurrency to avoid U.S.-imposed sanctions. In a public address, Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Candel said the plan will raise capital for about a fourth of the population and help pay for reforms. Cuba has felt the waves of financial dismay from Venezuela, which prior to its own economic calamity, was a major source of aid.eToro add ERC-20 tokens to the wallet
eToro, the social trading and investment platform, has taken another step in its crypto offerings. Its crypto company eToroX announced that it had added 5 Ethereum tokens to the eToro wallet. It is just the first series out of the total 120 Ethereum standard tokens that the firm plans to add to their wallet. The first 5 tokens which have been launched are BAT (Basic Attention Token), MKR (Maker), OMG (OmiseGO), eToro USDX (US DollarX), and eToro EURX (EuroX). The last two tokens of the five listed are stablecoins of eToro.Electrum Wallet adds Lightning
This week, another wallet added support to Bitcoin’s Lightning Network and its Electrum. According to the latest news, the popular wallet service Electrum has decided to soon to add support for bitcoin’s lightning network. Electrum’s founder Thomas Voegtlin who was speaking BIP001 blockchain event in Odessa, Ukraine, announced that work on the solution for sending lightning transactions with the Electrum wallet is now close to its official release.Record June for CME BTC Futures
The rise in the crypto market also showed its impact on CME Bitcoin Futures. This week, the CME Group has seen a record massive surge in open interest for Bitcoin Futures contracts. While this surge is considered healthy, many on the street are connecting this towards rising institutional participation. With the growing institutional demand, the open interest for Bitcoin Futures has reached a record of 6069 contracts in June. Moreover, as on June 26, the notional value of Bitcoin Futures traded has hit a record $1.7 billion.
Note: This article is the rework of the thoughts put forward by Anthony Pompliano.
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read moreThe Bankhaus von der Heydt, a German-based private bank, has partnered with Bitbond to incorporate blockchain in its asset structuring as well as asset servicing.
Bitbond is a global marketplace lending platform for small business loans, and specializes in providing blockchain-based solutions for financial markets. They also provide online lending and tokenization services.
We have been observing the blockchain space with regards to financial service solutions for quite some time now as we believe that it will offer our clients outstanding added value. We are therefore very pleased that asset tokenization is now ready for the market from a regulatory and technological perspective and hope that, as one of the first providers of digital asset custody solutions in the market, we will gain a decisive strategic advantage over large and less agile universal banks.
We are working with several banks and financial intermediaries on various projects in the field of tokenization and custody of digital assets. We are particularly pleased to cooperate with von der Heydt, as the bank is one of the first to use blockchain technology in the area of securitization and private placements.
Bankhaus von der Heydt also offer securitization services, and according to the bank’s website, the services offer “modern solutions to make a wide variety of assets liquid.” Bitbond says the bank also plans to issue security tokens and develop its own Euro-backed stablecoin.
In December 2019, the German parliament passed the 'Law Implementing the Amending Directive to the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive', allowing banks to buy, sell, and store digital assets. It is interesting to see the Bankhaus von der Heydt (with the assistance of Bitbond) being the first to capitalize on this novel opportunity in Germany.Fukuoka is famous for delicious food, especially ramen. I am pretty sure many of you are ramen fans. If you’re planning on visiting Japan to taste the best bowl of delight ever, you will be missing out if you don’t stop by Fukuoka.
Nagahama ramen is a popular type of ramen in Fukuoka, and nowadays it is considered the same thing as Hakata ramen, although originally they were different. Basically both kinds have a tonkotsu (pork and bones) based soup, which looks milky-white, and very thin noodles. Two distinguishing characteristics of these similar ramen types are that you get to order what stiffness you want your noodles to be and that you can get a second serving of just the noodles.
However, Nagahama ramen in particular is known to be the ramen they serve in restaurants and yatais (food stands) in the Nagahama area in central Fukuoka City. Being a port and a huge fish market, Nagahama made ramen originally for the participants of the market to eat in between auctions, and that’s why they use super thin noodles that don’t take much time to boil. The tonkotsu-based soup is relatively light regarding the fact that it is made out of pork meat and bones. On the table, they normally they have ramen sauce, red pickled ginger, pepper, and sesame so you can arrange your ramen the way you like it.
So you may be wondering, out of all the ramen shops in Nagahama, which restaurant or yatai serves the best Nagahama ramen? Honestly, that depends on the person, but I guess I should give you some idea, so I will introduce you to the Nagahama ramen eatery I’ve heard is most loved by the local gourmets.
The restaurant I visited was Nagahama Number One (長浜ナンバーワン). They are actually famous for their yatai (they have both a restaurant and a yatai), but unfortunately when I went to check that one out, it wasn’t open yet. They usually open around 7:30pm, and especially during the weekends, long lines form in front of the small stand. Since I was extremely hungry and couldn’t wait for another hour to have my supper, I decided to go to the restaurant instead. Interestingly, the eatery and the yatai are very near each other. As I had my Nagahama ramen, I noticed how different the ramen is compared to the tonkotsu-based ramen I have in Tokyo–usually I get tired of the taste after eating half of the bowl, but for this Nagahama ramen I had that feeling never occurred. The lightness of the pork-based soup was just perfect, with the richness of pork still spreading in your mouth. Adding some pepper made the ramen my own personal bowl of happiness.
Although the yatai version of Nagahama Number One has a higher reputation, this eatery is good enough to make all extreme ramen lovers gratified. But if you are hardcore enough, wait in line outside and try the yatai for sure, and it will be a life-changing experience for you.
South Africa's hotels are preparing to open their doors to their biggest and most diverse international delegation yet. So will they win over the crowds? Penny Jones investigates.
On 11 June 2010 South Africa will be presented on a platter to the world. In the nation’s biggest showcase yet, the soccer World Cup, organised by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), will put the nation’s newest infrastructure, from roads and rail transport to stadiums and hotels, to the test.
It will be a challenge, but hosting an international football tournament for a month – one of the biggest sporting events in the world – was one South Africa wanted.
At one point, world pundits questioned if the competition would be able to go ahead. The power strikes that plagued the nation’s mining industry – the nation’s largest employer – also put the World Cup in doubt. Until recently, South Africans lived with power rationing, but the government has since said power will flow at desired levels when an expected 450,000 fans and tourists hit the republic next year.
There have also been concerns about public transport, but not only have the country’s airports undergone significant upgrades for the World Cup, its road and rail transport systems, feared inadequate for such large crowds, have also seen major improvements.
Once the games begin, however, it is South Africa’s hotels that are likely to come under intense scrutiny.
The hotel industry, used to handling a local business market, has never had to deal with an event the size of the World Cup before. Hotel intake over a short period