Welcome to the daily crypto news :

• Bitcoin Price May Hit $5.5K in 2020 to ‘Wear Out Bulls’ — Peter Brandt;

• US Congress Wrestles With Financial Technologies and Data Privacy;

• The Case for a Bitcoin ETF;

• Oman Sees First Trade Finance Transaction on Blockchain;

• Crypto News From the German-Speaking World: Nov. 17-23;

Bitcoin Price May Hit $5.5K in 2020 to ‘Wear Out Bulls’ — Peter Brandt

Bitcoin (BTC) could spend months trading at $5,500 before it recovers, one of the best-known analysts in the industry has warned.

In a tweet on Nov. 21, Peter Brandt revealed his target for Bitcoin price was a floor of $5,500. Negative pressure had engulfed markets on the day, sending BTC/USD to lows of $6,850.

Brandt: length of bear market “might be surprise”

What happens next, he argued, could continue that trend — and make it last longer than the general consensus suggests.

“My target of $5,500 is not far below today's low. But I think the surprise might be in the duration and nature of market,” he wrote.

Brandt continued:

“I am thinking about a low in July 2020. That will wear out bulls quicker than a price correction.”

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US Congress Wrestles With Financial Technologies and Data Privacy

On Nov. 21, the United States Congressional Task Force on Financial Technologies held a hearing on the role of big data in financial services.

The last major legislation focused on the subject was the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, which formalized a financial service firm’s obligations to clients — specifically, how they share client information. Given the field’s expansion over the past 20 years, the Fintech Task Force’s posture on Thursday was that of an early exploration of options and opportunities for new and major legislation.

The current conundrum

Obviously, the scene has changed remarkably since 1999. Financial services are more accessible than ever. Smartphones and powerful free apps have put financial capabilities previously reserved for industry professionals literally into the hands of everyday consumers. The flip side, as the task force seemed to acknowledge, is that many of those financial opportunities approach consumer data predatorily. The old axiom “if you are not paying for the product, the product is you” seemed to frame the conversation.

While the public eye was largely directed at the ongoing Trump impeachment hearings the same day, the members of the Fintech Task Force — led by chairman Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and ranking member Tom Emmer (R-MN) — questioned five expert witnesses who testified as to the state of the industry and appropriate measures to rein in big tech.

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The Case for a Bitcoin ETF

David Weisberger is co-founder and CEO of CoinRoutes and a veteran of building trading desks and financial technology businesses. The opinions expressed in this article are strictly his own.

The following article originally appeared in Institutional Crypto by CoinDesk, a free newsletter for the institutional market, with news and views on crypto infrastructure delivered every Tuesday. Sign up here.

Issuers have submitted proposal after proposal for a bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (ETF), and the SEC has delayed or rejected each one. It’s time, however, to ask why and if the SEC’s frustration over not having jurisdiction over cryptocurrencies is clouding their judgment. In my opinion, the answer might well be yes.

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Oman Sees First Trade Finance Transaction on Blockchain

Oman Oil and Orpic Group and HSBC Bank Oman SAOG have conducted the first trade finance transaction on the blockchain in the country using R3’s Corda platform.

As news publication the Oman Observer reported on Nov. 23, Oman Oil and Orpic Group — one of the largest oil and gas businesses in Oman — and HSBC Bank executed the country’s first blockchain-based trade finance transaction: a sale of polypropylene to Abu Dhabi National Carpet Factory. The transaction was carried out using R3’s Corda, an open-source blockchain platform.

Fully digitized letter of credit

In the transaction, HSBC Oman advised a fully digitised letter of credit on the blockchain, while Oman Oil and Orpic Group was the beneficiary of the letter of credit. The application of blockchain technology allowed the parties to complete the transaction within 24 hours instead of the usual 5 to 10 days.

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Crypto News From the German-Speaking World: Nov. 17-23

The past week has seen a range of crypto- and blockchain-related developments in the German-speaking world. The German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection is planning to sponsor a research project of the University of Marburg on legal issues surrounding blockchain technology, the Swiss online bank Swissquote began offering its customers the trading of a real estate portfolio-covering security token, and an Austrian research project provided proof of profitability for blockchain technology-based decentralized marketplaces.

Below is the past week of crypto and blockchain news in review, as originally reported by Cointelegraph auf Deutsch.

The German Ministry of Justice donates 900,000 euros ($991,916) for blockchain research

The research project "Blockchain and Law" from the Institute for the Law of Digitization (IRDi) at the Philipps-University in Marburg aims to eliminate "the enormous legal uncertainties in technology" that are currently hindering entrepreneurial initiatives.

By implementing the project, the country intends to compete with the United States and Asia from within the European Union, as they have "already become active in many issues while the EU is still in the exploratory phase". Markus Uhl, the responsible reporter of the Committee on Budgets, said:

"The blockchain and law project will focus on unexplained legal issues, such as cryptocurrency and assets or public registers, such as the suitability of blockchain for maintaining the land register and commercial register. [...] Of course, the IRDi will also define the legal nature of the blockchain and the applicable law. "

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