This Week In Cryptocurrency – Friday, Oct. 12

AH, My Eyes! It Burns!

So much for stability. Just when we thought the worst times were behind us, the market decides to take another dip into the depths below. The entire crypto market was hovering around $220 billion for the majority of the week before shedding off over $20 billion towards the end. It currently sits at just over $202 billion – a 7.34% drop on the week.

Let’s check in on our top three cryptos:

Bitcoin was the only coin with single digit loses, falling 4.22% this week.

Ethereum got hammered hard with an 11.03% fall.

XRP took a beating, dropping 16.57% in the last seven days.

Cryptocurrency Market Stats (10/12/18) 

Domestic News

Gemini Secures Insurance for Hot Wallets: In what may be an industry first, Gemini has now obtained insurance for the digital assets held in the company’s hot wallets. The insurance is arranged Aon, a global professional services firm specializing in risk, retirement, and health solutions. Now, Gemini maintains insurance for its users’ cryptocurrency as well as their U.S. dollar funds through traditional FDIC guarantees.

Hopefully, other custodial exchanges follow suit. The risk of hackers has certainly been a deal breaker for many potential cryptocurrency investors, so this extra layer of fund security should help to bring more people into the space.

IBM Launches Food Blockchain: On Monday, IBM announced the launch of IBM Food Trust, a food-tracking blockchain for commercial use. And already, some notable companies have signed up. The list includes Nestle, Dole Food, Kroger, and Unilever among others. The Food Trust network runs on the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain protocol and costs $100 to $10,000 per month to utilize.

Other than the Food Trust, IBM also runs blockchain initiatives regarding shipping, global trade, insurance, and even entertainment. In our current bear market, it’s adoption like this that should give you hope.