VIDEO - Blockchain Update October 2018

During October, both the blockchain and cryptocurrency spaces had a number of notable landmarks throughout the month, including tech giants releasing various updates and bitcoin celebrating a milestone birthday.

Unlike other months in 2018, bitcoin had a relatively stable October. The digital currency touched a low of just under US$6,300 on October 12, but reached a month-high of US$6,900 on October 16. By the end of the month, bitcoin settled back at roughly US$6,300 just in time to celebrate its 10th anniversary on October 31.

Bitcoin is, of course, the world’s first digital currency and—since its first birthday—there have been over 3,000 digital currencies created, which includes 1,000 ones that are now dead.

In terms of ethereum, the second top cryptocurrency was on a steady decline throughout the month from approximately US$229 to US$197, which is a 13 percent decrease. Meanwhile ripple dipped form US$0.58 to US$0.44, representing a 24 percent dip.

Meanwhile, tech mammoth IBM (NYSE:IBM), which is always making headlines in the blockchain space, had two notable updates in October. Early in the month, the company announced it had been granted a patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a blockchain solution that will detect security breaches. As of October 3, IBM is the second-leading company in terms of blockchain patents with 89.

IBM’s second piece of news was the official roll out of its Food Trust blockchain platform, which spent 18 months in testing prior to the launch. Retailers and suppliers in the food industry are now able to track food back to their sources using the Food Trust platform. IBM first revealed Food Trust back in 2016 through a partnership with Walmart (NYSE:WMT).

October, of course, was not just about IBM. In fact, the Canadian sector saw several noteworthy bits of development, including First Block Capital launching its blockchain-based ETF on the Aequitas NEO Exchange. Called the FBC Distributed Ledger Technology Adopters ETF, it tracks 40 companies in the blockchain space, all with equal weighting.

Vancouver-based DMG Blockchain Solutions (TSXV:DMGI) announced it is dipping into the cannabis industry with the development of a supply chain management platform for the legalized market in Canada. Once the system is officially deployed in the country, the company said it will consider rolling out the platform globally.

And—last but not least—it was revealed that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will be trial running a blockchain-based digital shipping service developed by IBM and Maersk, called TradeLens. The CBSA is one of the only border agencies currently testing the platform out of 94 organizations already participating in the platform./

Watch the video above for more on what happened during the month of October.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Jocelyn Aspa, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.