Further details on Bitmain layoffs emerge

• More
  details emerge on Bitmain layoffs

The main Chinese mining company Bitmain can not own cryptocurrencies
they seem to take a break lately. Only a few months after the filing to become public on Hong
Hong Kong Stock Exchange, these plans have apparently been set aside as complete
the restructuring of the company's business is apparently underway.

"There were some
adaptation to our staff this year as we continue to build in the long term,
sustainable and scalable business. Part of this is having to really focus
things that are fundamental for that mission and not things that are auxiliary " a
company representative said in a statement released in Coindesk.

Chinese social media have been teeming with discussions
about Bitmain firing his staff, with some sources suggesting more than
50% of workers will be forced to find new accommodations.

"It is affirmative
the dismissal will start next week and will involve more than 50% of the total
The staff of Bitmain, " commented a member of the verified Bitmain staff on Maimai,
Chinese version of LinkedIn.

Popular "precursor of the fate of Bitmain" Dovey Wan commented on his Twitter that layoffs are a clear case of "adjustment of staff at the end of the year". According to its sources, layoffs will have a greater impact on the BCH customer and the mining sector. At the same time, it reveals that the Bitmain office in Beijing will be reduced from 1000 to 300 employees, while the company's Shenzhen office will also see similar reductions (from 700 to 200).

• Jordan
  Peterson accepts Bitcoin in light of the Patreon controversy

Jordan Peterson, popular professor of psychology, lawyer on duty,
it's just one of many people who have decided to start accepting Bitcoin donations
on his website.

Peterson recently reacted to Patreon's controversy, a
crowdfunding platform used by online creators looking for alternative ways to
financing, selectively banning various creators / supporters of free speech for seemingly
politically motivated reasons. Peterson criticized these practices:

"Imagine if the banks
he started to cancel the accounts of people who did not commit any crime but they did
do not respect their corporate mission? We would have political banks ".

Since then the man has been swarmed by a number of people
suggesting that it should switch to Bitcoin, the payment system it was
built to counter politics and censorship in finance. A Twitter user summed it up
nicely:

"The answer lies in an emerging sector that has been
developing from the crash of 2008: cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin driving the
packaging; an independent, open source, peer-to-peer cash system with an immutable value,
public ledger. "

It would seem that Peterson knew before Bitcoin
or was illuminated by the large number of pro-cryptocurrency messages on his social media
as its website currently offers a way to donate Bitcoin. As traditional
payment platforms start to become more political and more restrictive in terms
of those who come to enjoy their fundamental human right to be paid for their work, us
should expect to see even more creative embrace cryptocurrency payment options.

• XML-based
  exchange Airdrops tokens to their users as a sign of gratitude

Keeping up with the festive spirit of the Christmas holidays, based on XLM
Financial services platform Stronghold has transmitted 100,000 SHX tokens to its own
users.

Stronghold is a financial services platform that allows
payments, trading and reserves in USD using their products such as Stronghold USD
and their platform APIs. Stronghold
The USD is a stablecoin supported by the USD pair of the platform; in collaboration with
The Stronghold API, the token allows users to create portfolios, accept and create
payments and perform other transactions.

This small show of appreciation from Stronghold has been made available
only for users registered with the KYC of the platform. Details of a complete airdrop can be
found here
Overall, the move is expected to lead to greater adoption and liquidity for both
Stronghold and XLM ecosystems. Team Stronghold suggested that similar
announcements could be expected in the near future.

• XRP is a
  example of "mature cryptocurrency," says PwC

Advice, insurance, tax and financial consultancy based in London
The company called PricewaterhouseCoopers (or PwC) has recently had some positive words
on XRP. The speed, simplicity and the inexpensiveness of cross-border transactions
that this Ripple cryptocurrency offer apparently impressed the
the PwC bulls, in particular Henri Arslanian, an encrypted employee of the
company.

Henri Arslanian, FinTech and Crypto Leader of PwC for Asia
as well as the President of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong, believes that Ripple
and its XRP token is a great example of how the future of criptos can be.
He believes that Ripple already has many partners and owns a SWIFT type
payment system that is already able to cross borders at high speed and low cost
transactions are clear indicators that will be at the forefront of cryptography
Revolution.

Arslanian expects the 2019 year to rise
institutional investments, and cites this as one of the most interesting perspectives
in the cryptography industry. Big banks and financial institutions will probably look to
get a solid point of support in the crypto market and Ripple's Ripplenet represents a
solid door in space. To conclude, he stated that 2019 will be the year
when the partnership between encryption and regular finance becomes much more
solidified.