Bitcoin is down slightly at $40,466
Ethereum is down 1% at $2,678
and Binance Coin is down .5% at $376

Digital bits up 20%

HSBC joins the sandbox

Yuga Labs is planning to launch a virtual world ft. land sales and an APECoin token as currency.

DeFi protocols Agave and Hundred Finance exploited on the Gnosis chain

DeFi analytics firm Treehouse lands $18M in seed funding.

Links:

• SEC registrants seek DeFi and physically backed Bitcoin ETF approval
• Leaked Slides Show How Chainalysis Flags Crypto Suspects for Cops — CoinDesk
• HSBC CEO backs CBDCs against crypto and stablecoins

Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Down 16%

Houbi Denies Rumor

HSBC Drops Bangladesh Trade Finance Time

Links:

• Bitcoin just had its biggest mining difficulty drop since 2011
• Huobi Denies Rumors a Senior Executive Was Arrested - CoinDesk
• HSBC Carries Out Bangladesh's First Blockchain Letter-of-Credit Transaction - CoinDesk

Bitcoin is down 1% at $10,876
Ethereum is up 4% at $382
and XRP is up 3% at 25 cents

Top gainers in the last 24 hours:
KCash up 60%
Just up 23%

Kraken is in the first exchange to be recognized a US bank.

Libra has hired the former HSBC CEO James Emmett.

PowerTrade has pulled in 4.7 million of funding from Pantera Capital.

Uniswap is launching a governance token as it works to keep up with SushiSwap.

This episode sponsored by Ungrocery.com

Links:

• Libra.org
• New Bitcoin Options App Raises $4.7M in Round Led by Pantera Capital - CoinDesk
• Kraken Becomes First Crypto Exchange to Become a US Bank - CoinDesk
• Coinbase Pro Lists Uniswap's New Token Just Hours After Launch - CoinDesk
• Uniswap | Introducing UNI

Bitcoin is down 2% at 6,125
Ethereum is up slightly at $128
and XRP is up 2% at 17 cents

Top gainers in the last 24 hours:
Status up 28%
HOLO up 18%
Datum up 19%

Banking regulators have announced a year-long delay for elements of the Basel III banking rules.

Bitwise is taking steps towards listing its crypto index fund on OTC markets.

HSBC has put 10 billion dollars of paper based private placement records on R3s Corda blockchain.

Links:

• Banking regulators announce year-long delay for Basel III capital rules due to coronavirus - The Block — act
• HSBC Puts $10B of Private Placements on R3's Corda Blockchain - CoinDesk
• Bitwise Asset Management is seeking to list its crypto index fund on OTC Markets - The Block

HSBC Migrates Records to Blockchain

Ethereum Block Propagation Time Cut Proven

Benoit Coeure Gets New Gig

Links:

• ECB Archives - CoinDesk
• HSBC Archives - CoinDesk — HSBC
• Ethereum Archives - CoinDesk

SEC Takes Second Look at BTC ETF

Crypto Is Go-To in Turmoil

Political Hacks Encouraged

Links:

• US SEC Takes Another Look at Rejected Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Proposal
• Spotlight on Bitcoin as HSBC Shuts Hong Kong Protest-Linked Account
• Hacker Offers $100K in BTC as Bounty for Hacking Halliburton