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MORNINGSTAR’S BLOCKCHAIN BET
Morningstar made its name rating mutual funds from the likes of Fidelity and Putnam. Now it’s primed to make a big impact in blockchain by becoming the largest credit ratings agency with a number of custom crypto services. It’s working on two efforts designed to change the way debt securities—a $117 trillion industry— are rated.
The first will put Morningstar’s system for rating bonds directly on the Ethereum blockchain, so a bond rating could be used as a term in a smart contract, and the second will put the company’s internal rating models on a blockchain so investors could use it to test the quality of an investment on their own.
CRYPTO MARKETS
After its major sell off, bitcoin inched slowly back to life, climbing 8% in 24 hours at the beginning of the week.
And though an altcoin resurgence would pose no real threat to bitcoin, ether overtook the most popular cryptocurrency last week in total daily USD-denominated transaction fees, and miners of ether collected more fees than bitcoin miners this past week.
So, what caused the spike in transaction fees? It appears the blame can be placed on a gambling game called FairWin. According to crypto market analytics firm Glassnode, FairWin has recently been consuming up to half of the gas spent on the Ethereum network at any given time.
$1 MILLION PER BTC BY 2020?
In an interview, software pioneer John McAfee explained why he’s sticking with his 2017 prediction that bitcoin will reach a price of $1 million next year, which would represent a 12,193% gain from current levels.
“I’m just a very conservative man,” McAfee said. “I said one [ million] and I’m sticking to one.”
BITLICENSE FAULT LINES IN CALIFORNIA
California’s AB 1489, a new law that seeks to regulate companies engaged in virtual currency business activity in the state, has exposed divisions within crypto trade organizations and advocacy groups. Read more here.
ENTERPRISE
Popular Japanese messaging app LINE is positioning itself as a leader in the blockchain and cryptospace. It’s one of the first publicly traded companies to launch a proprietary blockchain mainnet with its own cryptocurrency, and it recently opened the doors on its exchange BITMAX. The app, which boasts 81 million users, has achieved the full backing of the Japanese Financial Services Agency, the watchdog that has cracked down on exchanges in the country following the hacks of Mt. Gox and Coincheck.
ELSEWHERE
U.S. Congressmen Ask Fed to Consider Developing ‘National Digital Currency’ [CoinDesk]
Visa, Mastercard, Others Reconsider Involvement in Facebook's Libra Network [Wall Street Journal]
The World’s Most-Used Cryptocurrency Isn’t Bitcoin [Bloomberg]
