Huobi Research Weekly（Vol.84）
Abstract
This week, the overall market capitalization for the top 100 cryptocurrencies decrease of 1.1%, with 34 projects increased in value to varying degrees. According to coinmarketcap, as of October 20, 2019, the total market cap of cryptocurrencies was 222,84 billion U.S. dollars, decreased by 1.1%, and the total market cap of the top 100 cryptocurrencies was 219,83 billion U.S. dollars, decreased by 0.75% from last week. 6 cryptocurrency projects entered the top 100 this week, namely Maximine Coin 、OKB、BitForex Token、Steem、LUNA，Dimension Chain. As of October 20, 2019, Bitcoin was traded at 8222.08 USD, 1.54% lower than its price last week. Ethereum was traded at 175.53 USD, decreased by 3.7%. The market segment distribution of the top 100 cryptocurrencies remained stable.
This week, the Hashrate of Bitcoin decreased and the Hashrate of Ethereum remained the same. The difficulty of mining Bitcoin and the difficulty of mining Ethereum both increased. The average number of transactions per block of Bitcoin and the average block size of Bitcoin both increased. The average number of transactions per block of Ethereum and the average block size of Ethereum both increased. The average transaction fees of Bitcoin decreased and the average transaction fees of Ethereum increased. INS was the most active project on GitHub this week.
Bitcoin’s Hashrate was 94.69EH/s, decreased by 3.79% from last week and Ethereum’s Hashrate was 191.094TH/s, remained the same with last week. The difficulty of mining Bitcoin was 13.008T, increased by 1.54% from last week. The average difficulty of mining Ethereum this week was 2480.646H, increased by 0.79% from that of previous week.
In network activity, the average number of transactions per block of Bitcoin increased and the average block size of Bitcoin increased. The average number of transactions per block of Ethereum increased and the average block size of Ethereum increased this week. As of Octorber 20th, 2019, the average transaction fees on the Bitcoin network this week was $0.439, decreased by 9.3% from last week. The average transaction fees on the Ethereum network this week was $0.126, increased by 4.13% from last week. Total number of addresses on the Blockchain and Ethereum network reached 42.70 million and 75.90 million, increased 0.16(0.4%) million and 0.64(0.84%) million respectively. INS was the most active project on GitHub this week, with 161 commits submitted in the past week.
In terms of community activity, Tron, Bitcoin and Ethereum are the most popular communities on Facebook. On Twitter, the most popular communities are Bitcoin, Ripple and Tron.
1 investment activities took place in the blockchain industry this week, Bitso got B round investment.
1. Weekly Market Review
1.1 Market overview
This week, the overall market capitalization for the top 100
cryptocurrencies decreased of 1.1%, with 34 projects increased in value
to varying degrees. According to coinmarketcap, as of October 20th, 2019,
the total market cap of cryptocurrencies was 222.8 billion U.S. dollars,
decreased by 1.1%, and the total market cap of the top 100 cryptocurrencies
was 219.83 billion U.S. dollars, decreased by 0.75% from last week, among
which, Maximine Coin had the largest increased of 102.62%, bringing its
market cap ranking from №146 to №58, FXC had the largest decreased of
-21.81%, bringing its market cap ranking from №76 to №90. In addition,
there were 6 projects that entered TOP100, namely, STEEM(STEEM, Now
№96), OKB(OKB, Now №99), BITFOREX TOKEN(BF, increased
29.14%, from №106 to №85), Maximine Coin(MXM, Now №58),
LUNA(PZM, Now №44), Dimension Chain(EON, Now №64). As of
October 20th, 2019, Bitcoin was traded at 8222.08 USD, 1.2% lower than its
price last week. Ethereum was traded at 175.53 USD, 3.7% lower than its
price last week.
The overall 24h trading volume decreased this week. Overall, the 24h
trading volume increased by 13.66% compared with the same period of last
week. In this week, 50 of the top 100 projects increased in 24h trading
volume, among which, 24 of the top 100 projects increased by more than
20% in 24h trading volume, 15 of the top 100 projects increased by more
than 50% in 24h trading volume, led by STEEM with a weekly increase of
562.71%; there were 48 projects decreased in their 24h trading volume,
there were 24 projects that saw over 20% decrease in their 24h trading
volume, while 9 projects fell by more than 50%, led by FXC, with a
decreased of 72.38%.
Figure 1.1: The Market cap and 24-hour Trading Volume for TOP100 cryptocurrencies
Source: coinmarketcap
The top 10 cryptocurrencies’ market value increased, the market share
distribution remained stable. On October 20th, 2019, the overall market
cap of the top 10 cryptocurrencies was 1999.84 billion USD, decreased by
0.84% from last week, accounting for 89.75% of the total market
capitalization of cryptocurrencies, increased by 0.26% from last week. The
market value proportion of TOP10 project basically stable. BTC’s
dominance was 66.43%, decreased by 0.1% from last week.
Figure 1.2: TOP10 Cryptocurrencies’ Market Share of Total Cryptocurrencies Market
Source: coinmarketcap
Figure 1.3: TOP10 Cryptocurrencies’ Market Share of Total Cryptocurrencies Market Changes
Source: coinmarketcap
1.2 Segment Analysis
Among TOP 100 cryptocurrency project segments, the total market cap
and the average market cap of application class projects got the largest
increase. As of October 20th, 2019,the total market cap of coin projects
reached 1649.41 billion USD, decreased by 0.73%. The average market cap
of coin projects reached 4.02 billion USD, decreased by 10.41%. The total
market cap of platform projects reached 27.24 billion USD, decreased by
3.9%. The average market cap of platform projects reached 1.09 billion
USD, increased by 3.22%. The total market cap of application class projects
reached 23.04 billion USD, increased by 3.22%. The average market cap of
application class projects reached 8.53 billion USD, increased by 7.05%.
The total market cap of asset-backed token projects reached 4.61 billion
USD, decreased by 1.34%. The average market cap of asset-backed token
projects reached 0.92 billion USD, increased by 18.4%.
Figure 1.4: TOP100 Cryptocurrencies Market Segment Capitalization
Source: coinmarketcap
Figure 1.5: TOP100 Cryptocurrencies Segment Average Market Cap
Source: coinmarketcap
The market segment distribution of the top 100 cryptocurrencies
remained stable. As of October 20th, 2019, among the top 100 projects,
the number of coin class projects increased 4, application class projects
and asset-backed token class, and platform class projects remained the
same. The largest overall market cap by segment was still coin projects,
accounting for 75.03% of the total market cap of top 100 projects.
Note: According to the different attributes of cryptocurrencies, Huobi Academy of Blockchain
Application will divide them into four categories: Coin, Application Class, Platform Class and
Asset-backed Token.
Coin Project: Refers to a type of asset developed based on blockchain technology that does not
correspond to a specific use scenario and whose main function is only the transaction target. Its asset
value is mainly reflected by liquidity.
Platform Class Project: A type of asset that is associated with the development of the underlying
technology of the blockchain and is supported by the right to use or participate in the platform.
Application Class Project: Refers to a type of asset that is associated with a specific application
scenario and is supported by a certain right of use, participation, or dividend.
Asset-backed Project: Refers to a class of assets that is linked to actual assets such as gold and US
dollars and supported by the value of physical assets.
2. Technical Statistics
2.1 Cryptocurrency Mining Statistics
The hashrate of Bitcoin decreased and the hashrate of Ethereum almost
remain the same this week. From October 14th, 2019- October 20th, 2019,
the average bitcoin Hashrate for the entire network reached 94.69 EH/s,
decreased by 3.79% from the previous week.
Average Hashrate for the entire Ethereum network was 191.094TH/s this
week, almost remain the same with last week.
Figure 2.1: Bitcoin Hashrate Changes
Source: blockchain.info
Figure 2.2: Ethereum Hashrate Changes
Source: etherchain
This week, the difficulty of mining Bitcoin increased and the difficulty of mining Ethereum increased. As of October 20th, 2019, average difficulty for mining Bitcoin this week was 13.008T, increased by 1.54% from last week. The average difficulty of mining Ethereum this week was 2480.646TH, increased by 0.79% from that of previous week.
The number of blocks in Bitcoin decreased by 2.1%. F2Pool、AntPool rankings remained in top 5, BTC.com and Poolin rankings raise, Huobi.pool rankings fall. The overall distribution of the Ethereum mining pools rankings almost remain the same, the number of blocks inreased 0.63%. In the past week, Bitcoin mined 1026 blocks, decreased 2.1% from the previous week. Among the top five pools were Poolin, F2Pool, BTC.com, AntPool, ViaBTC these 5 pools mined 176, 170, 158, 97 and 86 blocks respectively, accounting for 17.15%, 16.57%, 15.40%, 9.45% and 8.38% of all Bitcoins mined this week. The Hashrate was 16.28EH/s, 15.72EH/s, 14.61EH/s, 8.97EH/s and 7.95EH/s respectively.
In the past week, Ethereu’s entire network mined 45803 blocks, increased 0.63% from the previous week. The top five pools were SparkPool, Ethermine, F2pool_2, Nanopool and Zhizhu.top, each mined 13529, 10237, 5380, 4000 and 2210 blocks respectively, accounting for 29.53%, 22.35%, 11.74%, 8.73% and 4.82% of all Ethereum mined this week, respectively.
Figure 2.5: Distribution of Bitcoin Mine Pool
Source：BTC.com
Figure 2.6: Distribution of Ethereum Mine Pool
Source：etherscan.io
2.2 Activity Statistics
The average number of transactions per block and the average block size of Bitcoin both increased. The average number of transactions per block increased and the average block size of Ethereum increased this week. According to blockchain.info, from October 14th, 2019-Octorber 20th, 2019, the average size of each block was 0.999MB, increased 3.31% form last week; there were on average 2186 transactions recorded in each block, decreased by 2.53% from the previous week.
According to etherscan, the average number of transactions per block in Ethereum this week was 106.55, increased by 0.82%. The average size of each block was 18765 bytes, increased by 7.46% compared to last week.
Number of unconfirmed transactions in Bitcoin decreased by 3.16%. Number of unconfirmed transactions in Ethereum decreased by 0.47% from the previous week. As of October 20th, 2019, the number of 7-day average unconfirmed transactions in Bitcoin network was 5054, decreased by 3.16% from last week. There were 32485.503 unconfirmed transactions in the Ethereum network, decreased by 0.47% from last week, with the lowest amount of unconfirmed transactions in the week being 6409 and the highest amount being 42576.
Figure 2.11: Unconfirmed Transaction in Bitcoin
Source: blockchain.info
Figure 2.12: Unconfirmed Transaction in Ethereum
Source：etherscan.io
Total transaction fees of Bitcoin decreased. Total transaction fees of Ethereum increased this week. As of October 20th, 2019, average transaction fees of Bitcoin this week was $0.439, decreased by 9.3% from last week. Average transaction fees of Ethereum this week was $0.126, increased by 4.13%.
Figure 2.13: Bitcoin, Ethereum Average Transaction Fees
Source：bitinfocharts
The average number of distinct miners per day in Ethereum increased by 2.99 from last week. From October 14th, 2019-October 20th, 2019, the average number of distinct miners per day in Ethereum this week was 5, incresed 2.99％ from last week.
Figure 2.14: Number of Distinct Miners Per Day
Source：etherchain
The number of nodes in Bitcoin decreased and the number of Ethereum decreased this week. As of October 20th, 2019, there were 9327 Bitcoin nodes, decreased by 0.91% compared to last week, of which 2405 nodes were in the U.S, 1903 nodes were in Germany, and 314 nodes were in China(№7), each accounting for 25.79%, 20.40% and 3.37% of the total number of Bitcoin nodes, respectively.
As of October 20th, 2019, there were 6522 Ethereum nodes, decreased by 12.41% from the previous week. Specifically, there were1726 nodes in the U.S, 1013 nodes in China, and 587 nodes in Germany, each accounting for 26.46%, 15.53%, 9.00% of total number of nodes, respectively.
Figure 2.15: Bitcoin nodes ranking
Source：bitnodes
Figure 2.16: Ethereum nodes ranking
Source：Ethernodes
This week, the growth rate for new addresses of Bitcoin and Ethereum both increased. According to the data on blockchain.info, as of October 20th, 2019, the total number of Blockchain accounts reached 42700735, increased by 158428 (0.84%) this week.
According to the data on etherchain, as of October 20th, 2019, the total number of Ethereum addresses was 75901625 increased by 635947(0.84%) this week.
INS was the most active project on GitHub this week. From October 14th, 2019-October 20th, 2019, INS was the active project repository on GitHub with a total of 90 commits.
Figure 2.19: GitHub Code Activity
Source：cryptomiso
2.3 Community Activity Statistics
The top three most popular cryptocurrencies on Facebook were Tron, Bitcoin and Ethereum in descending order, with 978k, 499k and 156k fans respectively. The top three most popular cryptocurrencies on Twitter were Bitcoin, Ripple(XRP) and TRON, with 986k, 940k, and 477k followers, respectively.
3. Weekly Blockchain News Review
3.1 Industrial Application
1. HSBC Enacts First Letter of Credit on a Blockchain in Malaysia
Major bank HSBC has announced the successful enactment of a letter of credit (LC) on a blockchain in Malaysia.English language local fintech news outlet Fintech News Malaysia reported the development on Oct. 14, noting that the transaction involved packaging firm Simply Packaging importing resin from an unspecified Singaporean chemicals company. The issuing bank was HSBC Malaysia and the nominated bank was HSBC Singapore.Per the report, this is the eleventh blockchain-powered transaction carried out by HSBC and the first such pilot carried by its Malaysian branch. HSBC Malaysia CEO Stuart Milne commented on the successful test:“I am very pleased that HSBC has pioneered Malaysia’s first pilot blockchain LC transaction. This showcases our strong commitment and ability to support cross-border trade by Malaysian businesses using cutting-edge technology platforms.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/hsbc-enacts-a-letter-of-credit-on-a-blockchain-in-malaysia
2. Major Singapore Bank Completes First DLT Trade Financing Transaction
A Singaporean banking branch of CIMB Group, one of the largest Asian investment banks, has completed its first blockchain-based trade financing transaction.The transaction was processed using a blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT) platform developed by local trade financing firm iTrust Trading, Yahoo Singapore reports Oct. 17.By applying iTrust’s blockchain-based IoT, CIMB intends to minimize the risks associated with commodity trade financing and facilitate credit extension for its customers by gaining access to real-time monitoring of the cargo data in transit and in the warehouse. The technology reportedly provides all stakeholders with secured accessibility and data integrity of digital documents that are recorded on a distributed ledger.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/major-singapore-bank-completes-first-dlt-trade-financing-transaction
3. Broadway’s Biggest Ticket Operator to Use IBM Blockchain Against Scams
Broadway’s largest ticket operator, the Shubert Organization, is integrating a blockchainsolution into its business in a forthcoming pilot targeted at combating ticket fraud.The organization, via its Telecharge and Shubert Ticketing divisions, has partnered with Boston-based startup True Tickets, which offers an IBM blockchain-powered mobile ticketing solution. News of the partnership was revealed in an Oct. 16 report from Fast Company.True Tickets, which was selected to take part in this summer’s inaugural Broadway Tech Accelerator, will see its digital ticketing service integrated into components of the organization’s ticket sales businesses, including Telecharge.com and its group discounts service Broadway Inbound.True Tickets CEO Matt Zarracina has said the pilot enables the startup to implement its blockchain solution for the benefit of clients as part of a “massive multichannel marketplace.”As Fast Company notes, Broadway — like many entertainment industries — is plagued by ticketing scams, such as the resale of fake or duplicate tickets. Therefore, it is hoped that blockchain can go some way toward restoring transparency for businesses and consumers.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/broadways-biggest-ticket-operator-to-use-ibm-blockchain-against-scams
4. Sacramento Kings Pro Basketball Team Launches Crypto Collectibles
The Sacramento Kings NBA basketball team has partnered with CryptoKaiju to launch crypto-collectibles.In a press release on Oct. 16, the Sacramento Kings announced a new collaboration with the creator of Ethereum-based Kaiju toys, CryptoKaiju. The companies will give away 100 limited-edition Kaiju collectible toys throughout the 2019–2020 basketball season.Each collectible is backed by a non-fungible token, meaning that no two are the same. 15 of these toys will come with a unique experience or prize, such as courtside seats, VIP tours, and signed merchandise, among others.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/sacramento-kings-pro-basketball-team-launches-crypto-collectibles
5. Ripple Partners With World’s Third-Largest Fintech Firm Finastra
London-based Finastra — the third-largest financial services technology firm in the world — has partnered with Ripple to grant its customers access to the RippleNet blockchain network.As reported by the Fintech Times on Oct. 16, the cooperation between the two firms will see Ripple’s over 200 existing clients reciprocally access Finastra’s extensive banking network, which includes 48 of the top 50 banks globally. Finastra was formed in 2017 after a merger between Misys and D+H, with the development hailed at the time as the establishment of “a global behemoth in the market for financial software.” According to the Fintech Times report, Finastra customers and existing RippleNet partners will be able to transact cross-border with end-to-end tracking and transparent oversight of fees, delivery time and status.Customers will be hosted on Ripple’s cloud solution in order to improve speed, as well as having the option to use Ripple’s XRP-powered On-Demand Liquidity solution, which purportedly offers a 3-second settlement time for international payments.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ripple-partners-with-worlds-third-largest-fintech-firm-finastra
3.2 International Policies
1. FINRA Approves Grayscales’s Public Quote for Crypto Fund Shares
New York-based digital asset management fund Grayscale Investments has received regulatory approval to publicly quote the shares of its diversified cryptocurrency fund.Grayscale was approved by the United States Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to publicly quote its Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLCF) on over-the-counter (OTC) markets, according to a press release on Oct. 14.The recent approval purportedly enables the first publicly-quoted security based on a selection of digital currencies in the U.S., the firm stated. The shares will be available for purchase through investment accounts similar to other unregistered securities.There will be no trading volume in the shares’ public quotation until they are eligible with the Depository Trust Company (DTC), one of the world’s largest securities depositories. According to the press release, Grayscale is expected to get the shares DTC-eligible in the near future.The GDLCF comprises of several different major cryptocurrencies. As of Sept. 30, 2019, the fund was over 80% Bitcoin (BTC), 9.9% Ethereum (ETH), 5.8% XRP, while Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC) accounted for 2.2% and 1.8%, respectively.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/finra-approves-grayscales-public-quote-for-crypto-fund-shares
2. UAE Financial Watchdog Asks for Public Feedback on Crypto Regulation
The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Securities and Commodities Authority
(SCA) has published draft regulations for crypto assets.–According to
an official statement from Oct. 15, the SCA will be collecting public
feedback on the draft regulations until Oct. 29 before providing the final
drafted legislation regarding the industry.All parties involved in the crypto
industry — including investors, brokers, financial analysts, researchers and
the media — are invited to provide their feedback on the document, with
the SCA adding that the proposals will be taken into consideration for the
final regulation.As noted in the statement, the draft consists of 28 parts
covering all aspects of the crypto asset industry in the UAE, including
requirements for token issuers, security and custodial policies, measures for
protecting investors and combating financial crimes, information security
controls, as well as technology governance standards, among others.Once
the regulation is implemented, market participants will reportedly be able to
request the SCA’s guidance on a specific part of the industry and regulatory
requirements through its electronic services system, the authority said.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/uae-financial-watchdog-asks-for-public-feedback-on-crypto-regulation
3. Supreme Court of India Postpones Cryptocurrency Ban Hearing to November
The Supreme Court of India has postponed a hearing that would consider
the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) ban on providing services to
cryptocurrency-related business.In an Oct. 16 session on the ban that
prohibits banks and financial institutions from providing digital
currency-related services, the court shifted the date of the next hearing to
Nov. 12. The date was further extended to Nov. 19 due to national holidays
in India, which fall on the date initially set.In late August, the Supreme
Court slammed the country’s central bank over its handling of the
cryptocurrency business ban and ordered it to address complaints, giving
the bank two weeks to justify it.Originally issued in early April 2018, the
RBI’s crypto circular prohibits banks from providing services to any
individual or business that deals with cryptocurrencies while adding that it
was also exploring releasing its own cryptocurrency in the future.Following
the circular release, the High Court of Delhi criticized it — stating that the
RBI’s decision to end dealings with crypto businesses violates the
constitution. The Supreme Court has continued to uphold the RBI ban even
after hearing a number of petitions.
4. Telegram Writes Investors to Counter FUD Before Feb. SEC Hearings
In a letter to investors, Telegram encouraged investors to view the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) hearing recently rescheduled for February as “a positive step.”The letter, sent on Oct. 19, briefly reassures investors that the recent rescheduling of hearings until Feb. 18–19 is good news while maintaining that the company will not be distributing Gram tokens until that time. In their own words: “Telegram views this development as a positive step towards resolving this matter through the court system in an expeditious manner, and we and our advisers will be using the time to ensure that Telegram’s position is presented and supported as strongly as possible at the February hearing.”Telegram’s argument has largely been that its Gram tokens do not qualify as securities and thus do not fall under the purview of the SEC. In the letter, the Telegram team anticipated the February hearings resolving this matter more satisfactorily than the originally scheduled Oct. 24th hearing
https://cointelegraph.com/news/telegram-writes-investors-to-counter-fud-before-feb-sec-hearings
3.3 Technological Breakthrough
1. Qtum’s First-Ever Hard Work Qtum 2.0 Is Now Active
Major Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain Qtum has gone through its first-ever hard fork today, updating the network to Qtum 2.0.Qtum blockchain has had its first hard fork as scheduled, Qtum Official tweeted on Oct. 17.The hard fork happened at block 466,000, upgrading the Qtum network to unlock a number of significant features such as smart contract and block spacing improvements, as previously announced by the firm.According to Qtum blockchain explorer Qtum Insight, the number of blocks on Qtum blockchain has crossed the 466,000 mark, amounting to 466,621 at press time.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/qtums-first-ever-hard-fork-qtum-20-is-now-active
4.Weekly Investment Activities
1 investments activities took place in the blockchain industry this week, Biggest Mexican cryptocurrency exchange Bitso got B round investment.
Huobi Research
About Us：
Huobi Research was founded in April 2016 and started research and explorations in various aspects in Blockchain area since March 2018. We cover various fields such as Blockchain technology research, industry analysis, application innovation and economic model explorations. We aim to establish a research platform and to offer theoretical foundations as well as judgements of trends in Blockchain to the public, ultimately promoting the development of the Blockchain industry.
Huobi Research Weekly aims to provide participators of the cryptocurrency market with the most up-to-date and comprehensive database to help them facilitate decision-making process.
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