Bitcoin Garden Forum
Crypto earning, products, services & tools => Useful Cryptocurrency Resources => Topic started by: coincrypto on May 22, 2019, 07:43:57 PM
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Circle Sheds 10% of Workforce as CEO Blames Restrictive US Regulatory Climate
The CEO of Goldman Sachs-backed crypto finance startup Circle blamed a hostile regulatory climate in the United States as he confirmed layoffs of 30 staff on social media May 21.
Following a blog post in which he described the difficulties operating in the U.S., Jeremy Allaire said that executives had taken the decision to release roughly one in ten of Circle’s employees.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/circle-sheds-10-of-workforce-as-ceo-blames-restrictive-us-regulatory-climate
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May to Become Strongest Month for CME’s Bitcoin Futures Trading: Report
CME Group, the second global exchange to list bitcoin (BTC) futures, is about to record the biggest trading month for BTC futures trading, industry news outlet The Block reports May 21. The publication has reportedly cited data from an external email from CME.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange purportedly revealed that the average daily bitcoin futures trading volume hit a new high of 14,000 contracts solely in May 2019.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/may-to-become-strongest-month-for-cmes-bitcoin-futures-trading-report
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US Telecoms Giant AT&T Now Accepting Crypto Payments via BitPay
United States telecom and media giant AT&T now accepting cryptocurrency for paying phone bills online, according to an official press release on May 23. AT&T will process bills paid in cryptocurrency using crypto payments platform BitPay.
BitPay is a platform that converts cryptocurrencies to fiat and is used by over 20,000 businesses. AT&T is reportedly the first United States-based business in the wireless network industry to offer bill payments with BitPay.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-telecoms-giant-att-now-accepting-crypto-payments-via-bitpay
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E-Commerce Giant Alibaba to Integrate Blockchain Into Intellectual Property System
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba will integrate blockchain technology into its intellectual property system of global enterprises and brands, local news outlet Sohu reported on May 23.
Ali Xizhi, the company’s director of intellectual property protection, reportedly said that Alibaba is in the process of upgrading the filing of intellectual property rights by utilizing blockchain. Alibaba is planning to fully implement the technology in September, after which it will be expanded to digital copyright protection, including visual content.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/e-commerce-giant-alibaba-to-integrate-blockchain-into-intellectual-property-system
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Facebook in Talks With Coinbase, Winklevoss’ Gemini to Launch Its Globalcoin: FT Report
Social media giant Facebook has reportedly held talks with major United States-based crypto exchanges about the issuance of its own crypto, the Financial Times (FT) reports on May 24.
Citing two people familiar with Facebook’s “Globalcoin” project, the FT wrote that Facebook has discussed the initiative with major crypto exchange and wallet Coinbase. The article also notes that Facebook reportedly spoke with the Gemini exchange, which was founded by the Winklevoss twins, the well-known rivals of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/facebook-in-talks-with-coinbase-winklevoss-gemini-to-launch-its-globalcoin-ft-report
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Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin Proposes Creating On-Chain Ether Mixer
In his note, Buterin argues that the Ethereum ecosystem needs more privacy, and points out that the default behavior is to do everything through a single account, allowing for all of the user’s activities to be linked to each other. Furthermore, he notes that simply spreading the ether across multiple addresses is not a solution, since the transactions sending ETH to those wallets connect them.
Buterin also linked to a Twitter thread where it has been brought to his attention that to apply for the HumanityDAO initiative, users are asked to simply tweet their Ethereum address. Twitter user Mooncritic noted: “You can now look up many people's Ethereum balance by their Twitter handle.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-co-founder-vitalik-buterin-proposes-creating-on-chain-ether-mixer
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Bitcoin Holds Over $8,000 as Top Altcoins See Minor Losses
Saturday, May 25 — most of the top 20 cryptocurrencies are reporting moderate losses on the day by press time, as bitcoin (BTC) still holds over the $8,000 mark, with minor gains on the day.
Bitcoin is a fraction of a percent up on the day, trading at $8,025 at press time, according to CoinMarketCap. Looking at its weekly chart, the coin is up about 9.4%.
Ether (ETH) is holding onto its position as the largest altcoin by market cap, which currently stands at $26.6 billion. The second-largest altcoin, XRP, has a market cap of $16.2 billion at press time.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-holds-over-8-000-as-top-altcoins-see-minor-losses
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Major Swiss Telecoms Firm Swisscom to Distribute Tokenized Artwork
Major Swiss telecommunications company Swisscom announced its plans to distribute tokenized artwork through its Swisscom TV television network. The news was reported by Cointelegraph auf Deutsch on May 24.
Per the company’s press release, limited artworks — initially 100 works by 30 artists — from selected artists are exclusively available on the Swisscom TV box through the NOOW app. The app was developed by Swiss tokenization startup Dloop.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/major-swiss-telecoms-firm-swisscom-to-distribute-tokenized-artwork
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BCH May Have Sustained $1.3 Million+ Double Spend: BitMex Research
Following its hard fork on May 15, bitcoin cash (BCH) appears to have experienced a two-block chain reorganization resulting in a 3,392 BCH (about $1.35 million at press time) double spend. The claim was made in a report released by the research arm of cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMex on May 24.
Per the report, the recent BCH hard fork experienced three interrelated issues. Firstly, an apparent bug evidently exploited by an attacker right after the hard fork. The attacker was able to “broadcast transactions which met the mempool validity conditions but failed the consensus checks.” Miners attempting to produce blocks with said transactions were not able to, instead producing empty blocks.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bch-may-have-sustained-13-million-double-spend-bitmex-research
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Franck Muller Releases Luxury Watch With Bitcoin Cold Wallet Functionality
High-end Swiss watchmaker Franck Muller has partnered with alternative assets investing firm Regal Assets to release the bitcoin (BTC) storage watch “Encrypto,” according to a report by Cointelegraph Brasil on May 23.
In addition to being a high-end fashion accessory, with a price ranging from $9,800 to $50,600, the watch reportedly also functions as a cold wallet for BTC. The watch is reported to be engraved with a public address on its dial and comes paired with a private key on a USB drive. According to the firm, the “deep cold storage wallet” is unhackable and uses “offline generated, non-deterministic TRNGs (True Random Numbers Generated).”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/franck-muller-releases-luxury-watch-with-bitcoin-cold-wallet-functionality
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Bitwise White Paper: Fake Trading Volumes by Exchanges Do Not Impact BTC Prices
American crypto investment manager Bitwise released a paper claiming that fake trading volumes by crypto exchanges do not impact bitcoin’s (BTC) price. Released on May 24, the white paper is an extended version of Bitwise’s March presentation alleging that 95% of volume on unregulated exchanges is fake.
Published on the official website of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the new white paper is based upon the research that Bitwise Asset Management presented to the SEC on March 17, 2019, as specified in the document.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitwise-white-paper-fake-trading-volumes-by-exchanges-do-not-impact-btc-prices
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BitMEX Operator Firm Donates to MIT to Conduct Crypto, Bitcoin-Related Research
The owner and operator of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX has donated to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to conduct cryptocurrency-related research, according to an announcement published on May 28.
HDR Global Trading Limited has made a donation to the MIT Digital Currency Initiative (DCI), the objective of which is to conduct the research necessary to support the development of digital currency and blockchain technology. Specifically, the funds will be allocated to support Bitcoin Core developers Wladimir van der Laan and Cory Fields.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitmex-operator-firm-donates-to-mit-to-conduct-crypto-bitcoin-related-research
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US LocalBitcoins Trader Who Offered Fake Real Estate Gets 21-Month Jail Term
United States authorities have brought criminal charges against a LocalBitcoins trader in connection with operating an unlicensed money transmission business, a government press release confirmed on May 28.
As revealed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, Las Vegas resident Morgan Rockoons will serve 21 months in federal prison for his activities, which also included a bitcoin (BTC)-based real estate fraud scheme.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-localbitcoins-trader-who-offered-fake-real-estate-gets-21-month-jail-term
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Rakuten Wallet Partners With CipherTrace to Assure Safety of Its Upcoming Crypto Exchange
A subsidiary of Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, Rakuten Wallet, has partnered with blockchain security firm CipherTrace to assure Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance for the company’s upcoming crypto exchange. The development was announced in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on May 29.
CipherTrace — which develops cryptocurrency AML, forensics and regulatory monitoring solutions — will work on improving the safety of Rakuten Wallet’s investors as well as the protection of the integrity and compliance of the exchange
https://cointelegraph.com/news/rakuten-wallet-partners-with-ciphertrace-to-assure-safety-of-its-upcoming-crypto-exchange
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Coinbase Now Supports Cryptocurrency Token EOS
Major United States-based cryptocurrency exchange and wallet service Coinbase has added support for EOS, according to a press release on May 30.
The new addition is reportedly available for trading and storage in most areas covered by Coinbase, with the exception of the United Kingdom and New York at press time.
The announcement also notes that there are no transaction fees associated with EOS; the cost is instead paid in computing resources, such as a tax on RAM, CPUs, or network bandwidth. Users that run the network also earn EOS by contributing to the computational power needed to run transactions.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-now-supports-cryptocurrency-token-eos
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Cryptocurrency Custodian Anchorage Adds Insurance Coverage
In the post, Anchorage — which raised $17 million in a Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz — announced insurance coverage for institutions that covers digital assets under custody.
The coverage comes as the result of a partnership with major insurance broker Aon. Previously, Aon stated that the firm was seeing more cryptocurrency-specific protections catering to the new cryptocurrency industry.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/cryptocurrency-custodian-anchorage-adds-insurance-coverage
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Bitcoin and Top Altcoins See Losses as US Stock Market Sees Slight Uptrend
Friday, May 31 — most of the top 20 cryptocurrencies are reporting moderate losses on the day by press time, as bitcoin (BTC) still holds over the $8,300 mark, with minor gains on the day.
Bitcoin is nearly 5% down on the day, trading at $8,320 at press time, according to CoinMarketCap. Looking at its weekly chart, the coin is up over 3.7%.
Michael Novogratz, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency merchant bank Galaxy Digital, has said that he expects bitcoin to consolidate in the $7,000-$10,000 range.
Ether (ETH) is holding onto its position as the largest altcoin by market cap, which currently stands at $27.4 billion. The second-largest altcoin, XRP, has a market cap of $17.8 billion at press time.
CoinMarketCap data shows that ETH has seen virtually no movement over the last 24 hours. At press time, ETH is trading around $258. On the week, the coin has also seen its value increase over 2.7%.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-and-top-altcoins-see-losses-as-us-stock-market-sees-slight-uptrend
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Liquidators of Hacked Cryptopia Exchange Release Report, Note $4.2M Owed to Creditors
The liquidators of now-defunct New Zealand crypto exchange Cryptopia have released the first report on the state of affairs of the firm, according to the documents published on May 31.
Cryptopia’s recently assigned liquidator, Grant Thornton, has released an estimation statement of the financial state of the firm, reporting that the hacked exchange owes a total of $4.22 million to its creditors.
According to the report, there are 69 unsecured creditor claims totalling $2.439 million, with the liquidators adding that they expect to receive further claims, thus raising the amount.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/liquidators-of-hacked-cryptopia-exchange-release-report-note-42m-owed-to-creditors
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US, Japan Top Sources of Traffic to Crypto Exchanges Globally: Study
The United States is the top source of traffic to cryptocurrency exchanges globally, Cointelegraph Japan reported on June 1.
The research was released by crypto news outlet The Block on May 31. The study shows that 24.5% of the total traffic directed to crypto exchanges originates in the U.S. Japan came in second, with 10% of the total traffic, while South Korea got about 6.5% and Indonesia about 4.5%.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-japan-top-sources-of-traffic-to-crypto-exchanges-globally-study
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Chainalysis: 64% of Ransomware Attackers Launder Proceeds via Crypto Exchanges
United States-based blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis claims that 64% of ransomware attack cash-out strategies involve the laundering of funds via cryptocurrency exchanges. The data was revealed in a Chainalysis webinar attended by Cointelegraph on May 30.
A ransomware attack involves the infection of a target with malware and the demand of a ransom payment — frequently denominated in cryptocurrencies. The payment is demanded in return for the ostensible delivery of a decryptor tool that can help victims recover access to their data.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/chainalysis-64-of-ransomware-attackers-launder-proceeds-via-crypto-exchanges
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Open Positions on Chicago Mercantile Exchange Bitcoin Futures Hit Record High
Open Positions on Chicago Mercantile Exchange Bitcoin Futures Hit Record High
The number of open contracts for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s (CME) bitcoin (BTC) futures is reportedly at an all-time high, cryptocurrency news outlet Coindesk reported on June 3.
According to visible data released by the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data, the number of open positions for the aforementioned future contract in the week from May 27 to June 3 is 5,190.
Coindesk claims that this is the highest number of open positions that CME’s bitcoin futures have ever reported and a 7% increase over the previous week.
Per the report, the recent increase in futures trading activity could be a sign of increased institutional interest in bitcoin. This is a continuation of the trend lately reported by the bitcoin futures, that also saw record volume on May 13.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/open-positions-on-chicago-mercantile-exchange-bitcoin-futures-hit-record-high
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Binance Cryptocurrency Exchange Testing British Pound Stablecoin
Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance is apparently testing a British pound stablecoin on its native blockchain, Binance Chain, according to a Twitter post on June 3.
Twitter user CryptosBatman noticed that the listing “$BGBP” appeared on the Binance platform.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has commented on the tweet, confirming that a pound stablecoin is in the testing phase, with only £200 minted.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-cryptocurrency-exchange-testing-british-pound-stablecoin
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Binance Cryptocurrency Exchange Testing British Pound Stablecoin
Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance is apparently testing a British pound stablecoin on its native blockchain, Binance Chain, according to a Twitter post on June 3.
Twitter user CryptosBatman noticed that the listing “$BGBP” appeared on the Binance platform.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has commented on the tweet, confirming that a pound stablecoin is in the testing phase, with only £200 minted.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-cryptocurrency-exchange-testing-british-pound-stablecoin
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good news for people in the ik i guess who can trade against their own currency with bgbp instead of usd.
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LocalBitcoins Confirms Removal of Local Cash Trades
Global peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto exchange LocalBitcoins has officially confirmed the removal of trading in local fiat currencies, the firm announced in a tweet on June 4.
As previously reported, the Finland-based exchange silently removed cash trading on June 1, which immediately caused some outrage in crypto community.
In the official statement, LocalBitcoins noted that its liabilities are determined by the Act on Detecting and Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, which requires the exchange to follow certain sanctions.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/localbitcoins-confirms-removal-of-local-cash-trades
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Russia: Supreme Arbitration Court Judge Urges for Inclusion of Crypto in Civil Law
A judge at Russia’s Supreme Arbitration Court has argued that the term digital assets should be included in the Russian Civil Law, local state-backed media agency Federal Press reports on June 4.
Lyudmila Novoselova, chairman at the Court for Intellectual Rights of Russian Federation and a judge at the Supreme Arbitration Court, has introduced the institution’s plans for the development of legislation for digital rights. The official delivered her testimony at the first retreat of the presidential council in Ekaterinburg devoted to civil law
https://cointelegraph.com/news/russia-supreme-arbitration-court-judge-urges-for-inclusion-of-crypto-in-civil-law
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Former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles to Serve as CTO of New Japanese Blockchain Venture
Mark Karpeles — the former CEO of the now-defunct bitcoin (BTC) exchange Mt. Gox — has revealed he will serve as the chief technology officer of a new Japan-registered blockchain technology firm. The news was reported by Japanese daily newspaper The Mainchi on June 5.
Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan earlier today, Karpeles reportedly declared his intention to make the country a global leader in blockchain technology by undertaking his new role as CTO of the new Tokyo-based firm, Tristan Technologies Co.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/former-mt-gox-ceo-mark-karpeles-to-serve-as-cto-of-new-japanese-blockchain-venture
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EU: Malta Needs to Improve Readiness to Respond to Cryptocurrency Crime
The European Union has told Malta it needs to improve the resources it has to fight potential financial crime as a result of cryptocurrency popularity, local daily news outlet Malta Today reported on June 5.
In a letter to member states advising how to spend EU funds, the European Commission flagged Malta’s burgeoning cryptocurrency sector as a potential weak link in the fight against financial crime.
“The Commission, in its recommendations to member states for the use of EU funds, said that the size of Malta’s financial and gaming sector, and the efforts to attract crypto-currency operators required an effective anti-money laundering enforcement,” Malta Today summarized.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/eu-malta-needs-to-improve-readiness-to-respond-to-cryptocurrency-crime
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President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro: ‘I Do Not Know What Bitcoin Is’
The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has stated that he does not know what bitcoin (BTC) is, and endorsed the suspension of a project that would create a crypto for indigenous people to use,.
Bolsonaro supported the Minister of Women, Family and Human Rights, Damares Alves in the termination of a project worth 44.9 million Brazilian reals ($11.5 million) between the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) and the Federal Fluminense University (UFF), which promoted the creation of a cryptocurrency for indigenous people to use. Bolsonaro delivered his comments during an interview with Ratinho's SBT show on June 4.
After saying that the Minister acted properly in blocking the project that "wanted to teach the Indian to use bitcoin," the president was asked by a show participant if he knew what bitcoin was. Bolsonaro replied:
"I do not know what bitcoin is."
https://cointelegraph.com/news/president-of-brazil-jair-bolsonaro-i-do-not-know-what-bitcoin-is
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Binance to Reportedly Introduce Its Own Stablecoins ‘Within Two Months’
Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance will reportedly issue its own stablecoins within two months.
Binance’s Chief Financial Officer, Wei Zhou told Bloomberg that the exchange will start issuing its own stablecoins “in a matter of weeks to a month or two," with the goal to make stablecoins available for more of the world’s currencies.
The exchange’s first stablecoin dubbed “Binance GBP” will reportedly be denominated in and 100% pegged to the British pound. Zhou also revealed that Binance will make money off of interest on fiat deposits, like tether (USDT) does.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-to-reportedly-introduce-its-own-stablecoins-within-two-months
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Mt. Gox’s Karpeles: Press Rumors About My Blockchain Plans Are False
The former CEO of long-defunct Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox denied press claims he is returning to blockchain in comments to Cointelegraph on June 7.
Mark Karpeles, whom a judge acquitted of embezzlement in March and is currently appealing a lesser conviction of data manipulation, says his activities with Tristan Technologies will not involve the cryptocurrency sector.
Responding, Karpeles told Cointelegraph:
“I believe I've been quite clear during the press conference and I'm not sure how this got reported wrong, and been even asked if I wouldn't consider returning to the crypto space (to which I replied I had no plan to for now).”
He added that “the goal to try to bring back Japan near the top of the IT industry is indeed there”
Reports about his involvement at Tristan and its sphere of operation also received clarification, with Karpeles underlining that “it is not a new company, it is not a blockchain company.”
“Tristan Technologies isn't exactly a startup per se, since the company has been up and running for years and is now self sufficient. We focus on IT solutions, mostly cloud-based, and offer services such as a Google Drive/Dropbox replacement [...] (among other things),” he noted.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/mt-goxs-karpeles-press-rumors-about-my-blockchain-plans-are-false
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Multiple sources are expecting Facebook to launch its stablecoin on June 18, IT and fintech magazine TechCrunch reported on June 6.
Citing people familiar with the plans, the publication added strength to existing suggestions from both within and outside the company that its secretive cryptocurrency project would appear this month.
Previously, rumors had suggested it would be 2020 before Facebook made a commitment to bring its product, which should focus on remittances, to market.
“It’s currently scheduled for a June 18th release of a white paper explaining its cryptocurrency’s basics,” TechCrunch states.
That date had also come from Laura McCracken, Facebook’s Head of Financial Services & Payment Partnerships for Northern Europe, who said in an interview with German finance magazine Wirtschaftswoche this week the stablecoin would not only involve a U.S. dollar peg.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/facebook-sources-say-that-stablecoin-white-paper-will-come-on-june-18
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Dutch Billionaire Yet Another Victim of Deceptive Crypto Ads, Sues Facebook
Earlier this week, Dutch billionaire John De Mol launched a lawsuit against Facebook over crypto ads using his image without permission.
De Mol claims that consumers have lost as much as 1.7 million euros (over $1.9 million) due to the ads, and his reputation was damaged as a result.
It is not the first time the California-based media giant is being sued over fake bitcoin ads — and, despite Facebook’s efforts to eliminate the problem, it seems that the issue persists.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/dutch-billionaire-yet-another-victim-of-deceptive-crypto-ads-sues-facebook
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Russian Region Yugra to Launch Blockchain-Enabled Tourism Platform
The Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra, a federal subject of Russia, will launch a blockchain-enabled tourism platform, major state-owned media outlet Tass reported on June 7.
Per the report, during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum this week, the general director of the region’s development fund, Roman Genkel, signed an agreement with Alexander Borodich, the CEO of blockchain startup Universa, to launch the platform.
According to a blog post from Universa on June 7, the system will enable tracking public spending and investment to ensure transparency. The company claims:
“Tagging the money using distributed ledger technology will protect government grants and investments against misuse.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/russian-region-yugra-to-launch-blockchain-enabled-tourism-platform
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Why Lobbying Growth Is a Sign That Crypto Is Maturing
Crypto is on the march, and not just in terms of market price. Not only does data indicate that the number of ID-verified users of cryptocurrency doubled over 2018, but there are various other metrics that suggest that adoption is gaining traction. As many as 84% of companies worldwide are involved with blockchain-based technologies in some way, while cryptocurrency ownership is twice as high among young Americans than among the general United States population. And at a time when there's plenty of talk about the need for crypto to standardize and regulate itself before adoption can really take off, it would now seem that lobbying on cryptocurrency-related issues is also increasing.
This indicator of growth emerged at the end of April, when the U.S. Congress released its latest quarterly data on lobbying on Capitol Hill. Its statistics revealed that the number of companies and organizations lobbying for crypto had increased between Q4 2018 and Q1 2019, with lobbying efforts from the likes of Mastercard, Accenture and EY underlining how the regulatory fate of blockchain and cryptocurrencies isn't of interest only to Coinbase, Coin Center and other representatives of the crypto industry.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/why-lobbying-growth-is-a-sign-that-crypto-is-maturing
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Crypto Advocacy Center Says Proposed UK AML Regulations Violate Privacy Rights
Coin Center — a nonprofit research and advocacy center focused on crypto-related public policy issues — has urged Her Majesty’s Treasury not to over-broaden the scope of the United Kingdom’s anti-money laundering/counter terrorism financing (AML/CFT) regulations.
The development was revealed in an official Coin Center news release published on June 10.
Coin Center’s central concern regards HM Treasury’s plans to ostensibly “impose data collection and reporting requirements on not only cryptocurrency developers, but all open-source software developers and others who facilitate the peer-to-peer exchange of cryptoassets,” as the news release states.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-advocacy-center-says-proposed-uk-aml-regulations-violate-privacy-rights
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Coinbase Earn Now Supports Ethereum-Based Dai Stablecoin
According to the post, dai is the first stablecoin covered by Coinbase Earn, which will offer videos and quizzes to help users learn about the token, and receive some Dai for their efforts.
As summarized in the announcement, the Ethereum-based stablecoin Dai is backed by its sister token maker (MKR) and is balanced around retaining a stable value of $1 over time.
Coinbase first announced that they were adding dai to their exchange on May 23. At the time, Coinbase commented that it would be available in most jurisdictions with the exception of New York.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-earn-now-supports-ethereum-based-dai-stablecoin
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Liquid Cryptocurrency Exchange to Host Public Phase of Telegram ICO
Cryptocurrency exchange Liquid will be the first to host encrypted messaging app Telegram’s Gram tokens when they go on public sale, a press release confirmed on June 11.
Telegram, which has not provided an official statement on the move, became the focus of international attention last year when it held a private initial coin offering (ICO) for Gram, which raised $1.7 billion for its Telegram Open Network (TON) project.
At the time, it was thought no public phase would follow, but the largest Gram holder organization, Gram Asia, will now offer an undisclosed number before a full sale in October
https://cointelegraph.com/news/liquid-cryptocurrency-exchange-to-host-public-phase-of-telegram-ico
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Philippines’ Central Bank Will Continue to Closely Monitor Crypto, Citing Terror Financing
The governor of the Philippines’ central bank, Benjamin Diokno, has warned against the potential use of cryptocurrencies for terrorism financing and underscored that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will continue to closely monitor their use in the country. The news was reported by local English language newspaper The Philippine Star on June 10.
In addition to Diokno’s remarks, BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo reportedly provided further insights into the institution’s stance toward cryptocurrencies during the launch of an unnamed book about bitcoin (BTC).
Diokno ostensibly criticized bitcoin’s potential to function as a unit of account, medium of exchange and store of value, claiming that the top cryptocurrency’s volatility inhibits its usefulness on all three points.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/philippines-central-bank-will-continue-to-closely-monitor-crypto-citing-terror-financing
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CCN Casts Doubt on Shutdown Plans as Google Appears to Correct Visibility
Cryptocurrency news outlet CCN.com (formerly CryptoCoinsNews) has U-turned on its abrupt decision to shut down, staff confirmed in an article on June 12.
CCN, which on Monday published a warning that it would cease operations immediately over an ongoing Google indexing debacle, says it is still working to understand changes in its online visibility.
As Cointelegraph reported, an update to Google’s algorithm allegedly produced an instantaneous 70% drop in traffic for CCN, with executives subsequently saying they had no choice but to abandon the project.
Now, support from Google has apparently changed the plans for a total shutdown, thanks to further unanticipated behavior from algorithms, which are reportedly flagging articles under CCN’s old CryptoCoinsNews identity.
“While we’ve been working in the dark, trying to get to the bottom of our massive visibility drop on Google, a friendly helper in Google’s forum mentioned that ‘CryptoCoinsNews.com’ — our previous domain — is reappearing in Google searches,” Wednesday’s update, written by CCN Markets director Jonas Borchgrevink, states.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ccn-casts-doubt-on-shutdown-plans-as-google-appears-to-correct-visibility
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CryptoCompare Launches Exchange Benchmark in Response to Concerns Over False Volume Reporting
London-based crypto data provider CryptoCompare has launched an Exchange Benchmark product that ranks over 100 crypto spot exchanges worldwide. The news was revealed in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on June 12.
According to CryptoCompare, the new product has been launched in response to growing industry concern sparked by research indicating that a significant number of crypto exchanges globally have been using wash trading and other strategies — including spoofing and incentivized trading schemes — to artificially inflate trade volumes.
The press release outlines:
“The problem has been getting worse with lower quality exchanges (ranked C-F) increasing market share by 30% in the last 12 months, demonstrating the need for a ranking methodology that does not rely on aggregate volumes.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/cryptocompare-launches-exchange-benchmark-in-response-to-concerns-over-false-volume-reporting
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Bakkt Names Launch Date for Bitcoin Futures Testing
Institutional cryptocurrency platform Bakkt will begin testing its first product, physically-delivered bitcoin (BTC) futures on July 22, the company announced in a blog post on June 13.
Bakkt, which has seen multiple delays over regulatory compliance since its original announcement in August 2018, will offer futures as the first in a series of offerings, full details of which remain unclear.
“On July 22, two days after Apollo 11’s 50th anniversary, Bakkt will initiate user acceptance testing for its bitcoin futures listed and traded at ICE Futures U.S. and cleared at ICE Clear US,” chief operating officer Adam White wrote in the blog post, adding:
“This is no small step. This launch will usher in a new standard for accessing crypto markets. Compared to other markets, institutional participation in crypto remains constrained due to limitations like market infrastructure and regulatory certainty.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bakkt-names-launch-date-for-bitcoin-futures-testing
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McAfee Trading Platform Suffers DOS Attack Upon Launch
Cryptocurrency enthusiast John McAfee's crypto trading platform was immediately targeted by hackers with a denial of service (DOS) attack following its launch, according to an official Twitter post from McAfee on June 12.
According to the post, the web servers for the “McAfeeMagic” trading platform, were hit with a cloaked High Orbit Ion Cannon (HOIC) DOS attack. Cybersecurity website Imperva describes an HOIC DOS attack as stressing a network by “flooding target systems with junk HTTP GET and POST requests.”
However, McAffee tweeted the same day that the website was operational again. According to the same post, the McAfeeMagic trading platform allows users to trade on 8 crypto exchanges, shadow trade professional crypto traders, and make fiat-to-crypto conversions with an over-the-counter (OTC) desk.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/mcafee-trading-platform-suffers-dos-attack-upon-launch
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WSJ: Facebook Crypto Project Seals $10M Investment Each From Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, Uber
Facebook has allegedly sealed backing from over a dozen firms that include Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Uber for its soon-to-be-unveiled cryptocurrency project. The news was reported by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on June 13.
Source ostensibly familiar with the matter told the WSJ that the firms — extending across the finance, e-commerce, venture capital and telecoms industries — have each invested around $10 million in a consortium that will govern Facebook’s forthcoming digital token, dubbed Libra.
The WSJ’s sources reiterated details that had previously surfaced in regard to the highly secretive project, notably that the social media giant’s forthcoming crypto will allegedly be a fiat-pegged stablecoin, pegged to a basket of national fiat currencies to avoid price volatility.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/wsj-facebook-crypto-project-seals-10m-investment-each-from-visa-mastercard-paypal-uber
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Binance to Stop Serving US Traders Following Announcement of US-Dedicated Platform
Major crypto exchange Binance announced today, June 14, that it has updated its terms of use, which notably includes a restriction of services to United States-based individual and corporate traders. The restriction follows yesterday’s news that the company is launching a separate, fully regulated fiat-to-crypto platform for the U.S. market.
Today’s announcement provides a timeline for the new terms to come into effect, specifying that:
“After 90 days, effective on 2019/09/12 [12th September 2019], users who are not in accordance with Binance’s Terms of Use will continue to have access to their wallets and funds, but will no longer be able to trade or deposit on Binance.com.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-to-stop-serving-us-traders-following-announcement-of-us-dedicated-platform
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Blockchain Developer Dispatch Labs Suffers Losses Despite Market Recovery
Blockchain company Dispatch Labs is incurring considerable losses despite extensive investment and a recovering cryptocurrency market, technology-focused news outlet Cryptobriefing reported on June 14.
Initially, Dispatch Labs received funding from its executive team, subsequently raising over $13 million in a series of private rounds from other investors such as China-based capital firm Fenbushi Capital during the first half of 2018. However, the value of the raised capital slumped considerably following the market drop in the first quarter of the year.
The company’s CEO Matt McGraw reportedly said that the team had indicated the threat driven by the market downturn, however the company did not have sufficient over the counter (OTC) availability at the moment to liquidate millions of dollars’ worth of digital currency.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/blockchain-developer-dispatch-labs-suffers-losses-despite-market-recovery
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United States Residents Will Lose Access to Many Altcoins Starting in September
Crypto enthusiasts living in the United States will have no trading options for a many cryptocurrencies when the major crypto exchange Binance becomes unavailable for them in September, according to a report by CryptoPotato on June 14.
The report draws this conclusion based on the following table, which shows which cryptocurrencies will still available for U.S.-based traders after Binance discontinues its U.S. service:
The foregoing exchanges listed are Coinbase, Bittrex, Poloniex, Kraken, HuobiUS, and eToro.
The report also highlights that, in addition to the cryptocurrencies with no trading outlet in the U.S.—the all-white rows—there are also a number of tokens listed on only one exchange after Binance drops off, including ARK, BTT, IOTA, PIVX, and ZIL.
These “endangered” exchange tokens, as well as the (temporarily) extinct tokens, will likely witness a large drop in volume, according to the report.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/united-states-residents-will-lose-access-to-many-altcoins-starting-in-september
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South American Online Marketplace Working With Facebook on Crypto Project
South American online marketplace Mercado Libre is working with Facebook on the social network’s Libra cryptocurrency project, Cointelegraph Brazil reports on June 14.
A MercadoLibre executive told Cointelegraph Brazil that the purported cryptocurrency will be integrated into the e-commerce platform as a form of payment. While the anonymous executive confirmed the partnership, further details were not forthcoming.
The executive stated that it was likely the company would operate as a node in Facebook’s purportedly forthcoming blockchain network.
Mercado Libre is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms in South America with operations in 19 countries.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/source-south-american-online-marketplace-working-with-facebook-on-crypto-project
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Russia Is Getting Serious About Blockchain, but Remains on the Fence About Cryptocurrencies
Last week, an annual forum featuring Russia’s top people from the economic sector was held in St. Petersburg, and cryptocurrencies were a hot topic there. Notably, government agents and state-controlled businesses were vocal about their interest in blockchain, but seemed to distance themselves from digital tokens.
Meanwhile, the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies is still missing in the country, despite the fact that local authorities have been tasked to prepare the needed amendment a while ago. So, where is Russia heading in terms of crypto and blockchain?
https://cointelegraph.com/news/russia-is-getting-serious-about-blockchain-but-remains-on-the-fence-about-cryptocurrencies
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Bloomberg: UK Interdealer Broker TP ICAP to Sell CME’s Bitcoin Futures
United Kingdom-based interdealer broker TP ICAP will sell bitcoin (BTC) financial derivatives, Bloomberg reports on June 17.
Per the report, the ICAP unit of the firm now allows its customers to buy or sell the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s (CME) bitcoin futures. In June, the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s bitcoin futures will expire with no current plans for renewal, leaving the CME as the sole offerer of BTC futures.
TP ICAP also reportedly expects to add non-deliverable forwards tied to the largest cryptocurrency, and then plans to open desks in Asia and the United States. Bloomberg claims that the company took the decision due to a decrease of its core business model:
“Interdealer brokers have traditionally relied on handling trades for banks, but their volumes shrunk in the aftermath of the financial crisis. A profit warning last year wiped 36% from TP ICAP’s market value in a day. It’s regained about 10% since then to 1.6 billion pounds ($2 billion).”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bloomberg-uk-interdealer-broker-tp-icap-to-sell-cmes-bitcoin-futures
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Ripple to Invest Up to $50M in MoneyGram Following New Partnership
Major money transmission network MoneyGram has entered into a strategic partnership with blockchain-based payments firm Ripple, according to a press release on June 17.
As part of the two-year agreement, the two firms will become partners in cross-border payments and foreign exchange settlements with digital assets. As part of the agreement, MoneyGram will be able to draw up to $50 million dollars from Ripple in exchange for equity.
MoneyGram will purportedly use Ripple’s xRapid liquidity product, which allows money to be sent in one currency and instantly settled in the destination currency. In using Ripple’s XRP token for such transfers, xRapid can purportedly settle such transactions faster than with fiat currencies or other major digital assets.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ripple-to-invest-up-to-50m-in-moneygram-following-new-partnership
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US CFTC Brings Action Against $147 Million Bitcoin Investment Scheme
The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) launched action against a reportedly fraudulent $147 million bitcoin (BTC) scheme, fintech news outlet FinanceFeeds reports June 18.
On June 17, the regulator reportedly filed a complaint with the New York Southern District Court against now-defunct United Kingdom-based entity Control-Finance Ltd, which reportedly defrauded more than 1,000 investors to launder at least 22,858 bitcoin.
The CFTC also brings actions against the entity’s head, Benjamin Reynolds, stating that Control-Finance and Reynolds “exploited public enthusiasm for Bitcoin” from May 1, 2017, to October 31, 2017. The action seeks civil monetary penalties, including “permanent trading and registration bans, restitution, and disgorgement,” the report notes.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-cftc-brings-action-against-147-million-bitcoin-investment-scheme
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Facebook Releases Cryptocurrency White Paper for Libra Currency
Social media giant Facebook has released the white paper for its long-awaited cryptocurrency and blockchain-based financial infrastructure project today, June 18.
According to the paper, Facebook’s global stablecoin, dubbed “libra,” will operate on the native and scalable Libra blockchain, and be backed by a reserve of assets ostensibly “designed to give it intrinsic value” and mitigate volatility fluctuations.
These assets consist of a basket of bank deposits and short-term government securities that will be held in the Libra Reserve for every Libra that is issued.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/facebook-releases-cryptocurrency-white-paper-for-libra-currency
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Japan: Securitize, Local Advocacy Group Partner to Promote Digital Securities Adoption
Securitize — a compliance platform and protocol for token issuers backed by United States crypto exchange Coinbase — is partnering with the Japan Security Token Association (JSTA) to promote the creation of a security token ecosystem in Japan. The news was reported by Cointelegraph Japan on June 19.
The JSTA is an advocacy organization focused on the digital securities industry. As Cointelegraph Japan reports, the new partners intend to closely collaborate with Japanese banks as well as local and international regulators in a bid to foster further development of the nascent industry.
Their joint initiative will ostensibly aim to foster security token adoption in financial markets by promoting their practical use cases and clarifying regulatory and legal frameworks.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/japan-securitize-local-advocacy-group-partner-to-promote-digital-securities-adoption
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Euroclear, EIB, Santander and EY to Pursue Blockchain Pilot for ECP Settlement
Euroclear, one of the world’s largest securities depositories, says it will push forward with building a pilot blockchain-based platform for the issuance and settlement of European commercial paper (ECP). The news was reported by EuroClear on June 19.
Euroclear settled €791 trillion ($885.48 trillion) in securities transactions and held an average of €28.8 trillion ($32.24 trillion) in client assets in 2018, according to results published this March.
The financial services titan has today revealed that it successfully completed a proof-of-value study for an ECP-focused blockchain platform together with the European Investment Bank, Spain’s Santander and “Big Four” auditor EY.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/euroclear-eib-santander-and-ey-to-pursue-blockchain-pilot-for-ecp-settlement
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QuadrigaCX Co-Founder Used User Deposits for His Own Trading, Created Fake Accounts
The deceased owner of the now-defunct Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX was allegedly transferring user funds off the exchange and using them as a security for his own margin trading on other platforms.
The news was revealed in the fifth report from court monitor Ernst & Young (EY), filed on June 19 with the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.
EY has outlined its principal concerns in relation to the exchange, noting that its operations were “significantly flawed from a financial reporting and operational control perspective.”
In addition to most of the activities being directed by a single individual — the now-deceased co-founder Gerald Cotton — EY notes that there was neither segregation between duties and basic internal controls, nor any segregation of assets between Quadriga’s and user funds.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/quadrigacx-co-founder-used-user-deposits-for-his-own-trading-created-fake-accounts
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Time to Chain Up: Is Blockchain About to Change the Gaming Industry?
The gaming industry has grown dramatically in recent years, partially because the world of video games is keeping up with the latest technological advances and even tries to get ahead of them. As such, it couldn’t bypass the blockchain. It’s not surprising that, from time to time, gaming companies announce the development of games based on this technology. So, the French gaming giant Ubisoft, known for the Assassin's Creed and Far Cry franchises, has announced that a blockchain will be integrated into its games. So, what can a blockchain give to the world of games and does it even need to be included at all?
Game monetization
The video game industry is currently alluring for any entrepreneur. So, it is no wonder that initial coin offerings (ICOs) are very popular among video games developers. But why exactly is the blockchain so useful that it is now becoming so attractive to the gaming industry?
Gaming apps that use blockchain began to emerge back in 2014, when players started to earn money with HunterCoin or CryptoKitties, the latter of which managed to become extremely popular in its first year. Their popularity was due to the main component of blockchain: the immutable ledger, in which players are unable to change the data. This means there is an established trust between all industry participants, from developers to players.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/time-to-chain-up-is-blockchain-about-to-change-the-gaming-industry
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Bitcoin Price Hits New 2019 High Inching Closer to $10,000 ‘FOMO’
Bitcoin (BTC) set a new 2019 high on June 21, hitting $9,800 and firmly beating daily returns of almost all major cryptocurrencies.
Data from Coin360 put BTC/USD trading at around $9,675 at press time Friday after a minor correction from earlier highs.
The performance further cements bitcoin’s bullish progress over the past three months, surprising investors once more after retaking the $9,000 mark this week.
Monthly (30-day) gains for bitcoin investors now stand at 26.5%.
Previously, commentators had begun forecasting a break to $10,000 would spark considerable demand among prospective buyers, who would then push the bitcoin price higher. They included serial bitcoin bull Tom Lee, who in a note to clients of his Fundstrat Global Advisors said 2019 could see BTC/USD reach as high as $40,000.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-hits-new-2019-high-inching-closer-to-10-000-fomo
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Bitcoin Hash Rate Climbs to New Record High Boosting Network Security
The Bitcoin (BTC) hash rate — the total computing power of the bitcoin network — reached new all-time highs this week, data from monitoring resource Blockchain.com confirmed on June 19.
As the Bitcoin price set a new annual record above $9,000, hash rate, which can be taken as a measure of how much interest there is in mining bitcoin, shot higher than ever before.
For Wednesday this week, the most recent day for which data is available, bitcoin’s hash rate had reached 65.19 trillion hashes per second (Th/s).
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-hash-rate-climbs-to-new-record-high-boosting-network-security
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Russian Ministry of Finance Considers Allowing Cryptocurrency Trading
A representative of the Russian Ministry of Finance (MinFin) says the ministry is considering allowing cryptocurrency trading, Russian news service Interfax reported on June 21.
Per the report, the Deputy Minister of Finance Alexei Moiseyev told journalists on Friday that, while MinFin had reached no final decision, cryptocurrency trading may be allowed in the coming bill on the circulation of cryptocurrencies in the Russian Federation.
A bill prohibiting the use of crypto assets as a means of payment in the Russian Federation passed in May of last year.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/russian-ministry-of-finance-considers-allowing-cryptocurrency-trading
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FATF to Strengthen Control Over Crypto Exchanges to Prevent Money Laundering
Today’s Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) announcement focused on digital currency’s role in money laundering and heightened regulation, as Secretary Steven Mnuchin noted in his closing remarks.
The FATF — an intergovernmental organization that focuses its efforts on fighting money laundering — is planning to strengthen control over cryptocurrency exchanges to preclude digital currencies from being used in money laundering and related crimes.
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin said that the new measure will require that crypto assets service providers comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) procedures in the same way traditional institutions do. The organization’s final guidance pamphlet went into greater detail on this subject.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/fatf-to-strengthen-control-over-crypto-exchanges-to-prevent-money-laundering
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CabbageTech Crypto Scheme Operator Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud
46-year-old New York resident Patrick McDonnell admitted to stealing funds obtained from his clients instead of investing them in cryptocurrency, Bloomberg reports on June 21.
Per the report, McDonnell — who calls himself the “coyote of Wall Street” — pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Friday in federal court in Brooklyn. He allegedly declared:
“I claimed to invest it in virtual currency and spent it on personal expenses.”
McDonnell attracted investors to his firm CabbageTech by claiming on social media to have traded over $50 million worth of bitcoin (BTC) for thousands of clients. Bloomberg reports that, instead of investing in the interest of his clients, McDonnell appropriated the funds for his own use and spent at least $194,000.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/cabbagetech-crypto-scheme-operator-pleads-guilty-to-wire-fraud
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Report: Two Israeli Brothers Arrested for Hack of Bitfinex Crypto Exchange
Two Israeli brothers have been arrested in connection with the hack of cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex and other crypto-related phishing attacks, finance news outlet Finance Magnates reports on June 23.
An Israeli police spokesperson reportedly told Finance Magnates that Eli Gigi and his younger brother Assaf Gigi netted tens of millions of dollars. The two are suspected of being responsible for long-term systematic theft of cryptocurrencies by maliciously obtaining access to other users’ accounts.
The two allegedly created credential-stealing clones of major online cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets and sent links to those phishing sites on Telegram groups and other cryptocurrency-related communities. The two are also accused of being responsible for the 2016 Bitfinex hack, which saw multiple accounts being compromised.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/report-two-israeli-brothers-arrested-for-hack-of-bitfinex-crypto-exchange
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Google Searches for ‘Bitcoin’ Starting to Catch Up With $10K Euphoria
Data from Google Trends’ search analytics resource indicates that internet googling of ‘bitcoin’ (BTC) is approaching a monthly high as of today, June 24.
According to the data, searches for bitcoin are continuing their ascent in the week after the unveiling of Facebook’s new cryptocurrency and blockchain-powered financial infrastructure project, Libra, even as searches for Libra itself have tapered off since June 18 — the date the white paper for the forthcoming token was published.
The resurgent public interest is seemingly correlated with the renewed bull market, with bitcoin is currently trading at $10,881, up almost 35% on the month, according to coin360 data.
By country, the top five nations currently googling bitcoin are Nigeria, South Africa, Austria, Switzerland and Ghana — as compared with Uruguay, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Albania and Panama for Libra.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/google-searches-for-bitcoin-starting-to-catch-up-with-10k-euphoria
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Key Bitcoin Price Indicator Suggests $21,000 ‘Fair Value’ By End Of 2019
The bitcoin (BTC) price is unlikely to break $40,000 in 2019, Bitcoin Knowledge podcast host Trace Mayer declared as part of new analysis on June 24.
Uploading fresh readings from his price forecasting tool, the ‘Mayer Multiple,’ the serial commentator and bitcoin proponent said that current trajectory should favor an end-of-year bitcoin price of $21,000.
This, while below the estimates of other industry figures such as Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, still places the largest cryptocurrency ahead of its record high set in December 2017.
The Mayer Multiple is a calculation achieved by dividing the current bitcoin price by its 200-day moving average. Currently at 2.09, the metric has only seen higher readings 14.79% of the time, meaning that a giant leap to $40,000, in particular, is unwarranted.
“...Very low probability of $40k in a few months,” Mayer summarized.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/key-bitcoin-price-indicator-suggests-21-000-fair-value-by-end-of-2019
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Europol Arrests Six People Allegedly Behind $27 Million Bitcoin Theft
Europol, in conjunction with the United Kingdom’s South West Regional Cyber Crime Unit, the Dutch police, Eurojust, and the U.K.’s National Crime Agency (NCA), has coordinated the arrests of six people suspected of stealing over $27 million in cryptocurrency, according to a press release on June 25.
The attackers reportedly were involved in typosquatting, a fraudulent means to steal credentials by setting up a scam website with a similar name to an established one—hence the “typo” in “typosquatting”—and then recording login data.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/europol-arrests-six-people-allegedly-behind-27-million-bitcoin-theft
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Walmart China Will Track Food in Supply Chain with Vechain's Thor Blockchain
Walmart China plans to track food through its supply chain with VeChain’s Thor blockchain, reveals a VeChain press release published on June 25.
Per the release, the Walmart China Blockchain Traceability Platform (WCBTP) will be a joint venture by Walmart China, VeChain, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), cattle company Inner Mongolia Kerchin, and the China Chain-Store & Franchise Association. WCBTP has been reportedly announced at the 2019 China Products Safety Publicity Week Traceability System Construction Seminar jointly organized by Walmart China and the CCFA in Beijing.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/walmart-china-will-track-food-in-supply-chain-with-vechains-thor-blockchain
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Survey: 27% of UK Residents Want to See Crypto in More Real-World Applications
27% of surveyed United Kingdom citizens hope to see cryptocurrencies in “real-world applications," according to recent research by U.K.-based crypto exchange CEX.io, technology news outlet BTCManager reported on June 27.
CEX.io provided BTCManager the results of its recent survey focused on the level of adoption, application, and expectations of digital currencies in the U.K. The report — which was prepared in collaboration with London-based research firm qriously — highlights answers from 1,013 respondents.
Per the survey, 32% of respondents said that they would like the technology to be better integrated with "everyday technology" like payments apps and mobile storage, while 27% revealed they want to see crypto in “real-world applications such as credit card payments or sending money abroad.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/survey-27-of-uk-residents-want-to-see-crypto-in-more-real-world-applications
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Former Visa Exec-Led Startup Ships Nearly 4,000 Crypto Cards in a Week
Crypterium, crypto payment firm led by former Visa exec, has shipped about 4,000 crypto debit cards in a week since the launch of the card, according to a press release on June 27.
Crypterium, an Estonia-headquartered fintech company, launched its Crypterium Card on June 12, offering global community a prepaid card loaded with major cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), litecoin (LTC), USD Coin (USDC), as well as Crypterium’s own CRPT token.
As the company wrote in the announcement, the new bitcoin card operates “in the same way as a traditional prepaid card,” enabling online and in-store crypto purchases on a number of services including Amazon, Netflix, as well as tuition fees, or medical bills, among others. With that, users can also cash out from “any of the 2 million” automatic teller machines (ATMs), with funds converted automatically to local currencies.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/former-visa-exec-led-startup-ships-nearly-4-000-crypto-cards-in-a-week
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Amazon-Owned Twitch Quietly Brings Back Bitcoin Payments
Amazon-owned, leading game streaming platform Twitch has enabled bitcoin (BTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH) payments again, Cointelegraph Brazil reports on June 25.
As Cointelegraph reported at the time, in March Twitch quietly removed bitcoin and bitcoin cash as payment options for subscriptions by removing Bitpay as a payment method. Per the report, Bitpay has been enabled again as a payment processor on the platform.
Bitcoin and bitcoin cash can be found as payment options in the section dedicated to the less common payment methods of the subscription payment page. The renewed enabling of those coins as payment options has not been announced on the company’s blog or in a press release.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/amazon-owned-twitch-quietly-brings-back-bitcoin-payments
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Weiss Ratings: Litecoin ‘Excellent’ in Adoption and Investment Returns
American provider of investment data Weiss Ratings has ranked Litecoin (LTC) as “excellent” in regards to investment rewards and adoption
Digital currency ratings unit Weiss Crypto Ratings has classified the fourth largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization LTC as “excellent” when it comes to investment rewards and adoption. At the same time, the agency ranked the altcoin’s investment risk factor as “fair,” which resulted in the B- rate in the risk to reward ratio.
Litecoin — a cryptocurrency and an open-source project released in 2011 with the idea to make a faster and cheaper to use alternative to bitcoin (BTC) — started out at the modest $4.30 price mark and had been hovering around that point throughout several subsequent years until the crypto market surge in December 2017.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/weiss-ratings-litecoin-excellent-in-adoption-and-investment-returns
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Huobi Unveils ‘Finance Chain’ For Building Enterprise Blockchains
Huobi Group is jointly developing a new public blockchain for decentralized financial (DeFi) services, according to a press release on July 1.
Major global digital asset financial service provider Huobi has partnered with Chinese blockchain startup Nervos enabling companies to deploy their own blockchains, tokenized assets, as well as DeFi services, according to the announcement.
The joint initiative, provisionally called “Huobi Finance Chain,” is targeting enterprises, financial institutions, as well as exchanges, and is set to operate as a regulatory-compliant financial blockchain network.
Specifically, Huobi is planning to enable regulators to access the network and contribute to it as validators. The network will also feature major regulatory tools and requirements including decentralized identifier (DID), Know Your Customer (KYC), and Anti-Money Laundering (AML).
https://cointelegraph.com/news/huobi-unveils-finance-chain-for-building-enterprise-blockchains
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From 'Ponzi' to 'We're Working on It’ — BIS Chief Reverses Stance on Crypto
The head of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has appeared to U-turn on issuing digital currencies after a fresh interview with the Financial Times on June 30.
Speaking to the publication, BIS chief Augustin Carstens actively endorsed the creation and issuance of digital versions of national fiat currencies.
“Many central banks are working on it; we are working on it, supporting them,” he said.
“And it might be that it is sooner than we think that there is a market and we need to be able to provide central bank digital currencies.”
The comments struck a curious note with many, coming just months after Carstens emphatically advised against issuing such digital currencies. In a speech in March, he listed various risks for banks considering doing so, arguing innovation should not come too fast.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/from-ponzi-to-were-working-on-it-bis-chief-reverses-stance-on-crypto
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British Regulator FCA Prepares a Potential Ban of Crypto CFDs for Retail Investors
British financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), is preparing a potential ban on the sale of crypto derivatives to retail investors, according to an official document released on July 1.
In the document, titled “Restricting contract for difference products sold to retail clients,” the FCA revealed that the regulator will soon publish a consultation paper (CP) on a potential ban on crypto derivatives such as bitcoin (BTC) futures and other crypto-related trading products.
The FCA wrote:
“We will shortly publish a CP on a potential ban on the sale to retail clients of derivatives and certain transferable securities that reference cryptoassets.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/british-regulator-fca-prepares-a-potential-ban-of-crypto-cfds-for-retail-investors
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Crypto Exchange Bitfinex Repaid $100 Million to Stablecoin Operator Tether
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex announced that it repaid $100 million of outstanding loan facility to stablecoin operator Tether in a post on its official blog on July 2.
Per the announcement, Bitfinex made the repayment via wire transfer to Tether’s bank account and the amount was not yet due to be paid to the operator under the facility. Still, the exchange reportedly made the decision to complete the prepayment based on its financial position at the end of the second quarter of 2019. The post concludes:
“Also on July 1st, Bitfinex fully prepaid all interest accrued under the loan facility to Tether up to the end of day on June 30, 2019, also in fiat.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-exchange-bitfinex-repaid-100-million-to-stablecoin-operator-tether
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US Congress Requests Moratorium on Facebook’s Libra Stablecoin
The United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services requested Facebook and its partners to stop the development of the Libra stablecoin.
In a July 2 letter addressed to Facebook CEOs Mark Zuckerberg and David Marcus, and COO Sheryl Sandberg, the lawmakers request that Facebook and its partners immediately agree to a moratorium on the development of Libra and its dedicated Calibra wallet.
The committee claims that the project may lead ”to an entirely new global financial system that is based out of Switzerland and intended to rival U.S. monetary policy and the dollar.” The committee notes that it believes such an endeavor could have serious implications:
”This raises serious privacy, trading, national security, and monetary policy concerns for not only Facebook's over 2 billion users, but also for investors, consumers, and the broader global economy.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-congress-requests-moratorium-on-facebooks-libra-stablecoin
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French Regulators Notice Uptick In Crypto-Related Complaints
French financial regulators have observed an increase in complaints regarding cryptocurrencies this year.
Investors in the country are increasingly filing complaints about digital currencies with France’s Financial Markets Authority (AMF) since January 2019, according to the AMF’s 2019 Risk Map report published on July 2.
The Risk Map analyzes the major factors that have an impact on the country's financial markets along with associated risks.
At the same time, 2019 has reportedly seen a drop in the number of enquiries received by the AMF’s consumer contact center in regard to digital currency. The document further notes that investors continue to express interest in speculative products like binary options, foreign exchange, contracts for difference and crypto, despite the AMF’s efforts to limit the marketing of such products.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/french-regulators-notice-uptick-in-crypto-related-complaints
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Bitcoin Could See FOMO Fireworks For 4th of July: New Report
A new report from crypto analytics site SFOX suggests bitcoin (BTC) could see a price hike on American Independence Day — July 4th.
In a July 3 blog post, SFOX analyzes the apparent impact that holidays can have during a crypto bull market, arguing that they appear to spark fresh FOMO — or fear of missing out:
“Thanksgiving of 2017 marked the beginning of bitcoin’s run-up from the low $8000’s to its peak of almost $20,000 on December 17th [...] in February of 2019 during the two week Spring Festival celebrated throughout China [...] the price to buy bitcoin climbed 14%, from $3419.17 to $3908.97, peaking at $4027.83 a few days later before deflating back to the $3750 level.”
Holiday-driven price fluctuations appear to be backed by Google Trends data for retail interest in bitcoin, SFOX notes, remarking that during the winter 2017 bull run, United States search volume for ‘bitcoin’ surged in the days immediately following both Christmas and New Year.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-could-see-fomo-fireworks-for-4th-of-july-new-report
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President Maduro Orders The Bank of Venezuela to Accept Petro Crypto
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro ordered the country’s leading bank, Banco de Venezuela, to accept the nation’s cryptocurrency, the Petro (PTR) at all of its branches, the country’s Finance Ministry tweeted on July 4.
According to the tweet, Maduro gave “the express order to open Petro desks in all the branches of the Bank of Venezuela.” The announcement apparently came during an event celebrating the tenth anniversary of the nationalization of the bank in question.
On June 19, Maduro announced that 924 million bolivars (over $92.5 million) were allocated to the Digital Bank of Youth and Students to open one million Petro wallet accounts for the country’s youth. José Angel Alvarez, president of the country’s National Cryptocurrency Association, commented to cryptocurrency news outlet CCN:
“It is a bold and correct decision to move forward towards a hybrid economy where the fiduciary currency of a country competes face to face with cryptocurrency.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/president-maduro-orders-the-bank-of-venezuela-to-accept-petro-crypto
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‘I Guess I’ll Have to Hodl It’ — Peter Schiff Admits to Having Bitcoin
‘I Guess I’ll Have to Hodl It’ — Peter Schiff Admits to Having Bitcoin
Veteran gold bug and bitcoin (BTC) skeptic Peter Schiff has accepted delivery of $1,350 worth of the cryptocurrency after the industry sent him donations on July 4.
Schiff, who is well known for warning investors not to trust bitcoin as a replacement for gold, triggered the goodwill gestures after becoming the topic of a Twitter debate with Morgan Creek Digital co-founder, Anthony Pompliano.
Pompliano (also known as Pomp), highlighted the fact that Schiff does in fact own some BTC despite his negative comments.
Schiff responded that the BTC was a token amount given as a gift - just $100 - after which Pompliano requested his BTC address in order to double it.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/i-guess-ill-have-to-hodl-it-peter-schiff-admits-having-bitcoin
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Electrum Will Support Bitcoin Lightning Network, Wallet’s Creator Reveals
Bitcoin (BTC) wallet Electrum will soon host support for the Lightning Network (LN), Russian cryptocurrency news outlet Forklog reported on Telegram July 5.
In a social media update, the publication said founder Thomas Voegtlin had revealed the upcoming release at the ongoing BIP001 conference in Odessa, Ukraine.
Electrum, one of the oldest bitcoin wallets on the market since 2011, said LN functionality would come as part of an impending major upgrade.
The most recent version of the wallet came earlier this week.
Electrum will be one of the first major wallets to bring LN to the mainstream, the technology itself still remaining in an experimental phase.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/electrum-will-support-bitcoin-lightning-network-wallets-creator-reveals
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Crypto Bubbles: Why Traders Believe Altcoins Are Overpriced
The cryptocurrency community is no stranger to accusations of crypto being a bubble. As far back as 2014, media pundits were referring to the bursting of the Bitcoin (BTC) bubble, with a Financial Times article from September of that year even containing the ill-fated prediction, "We’re going to stick our neck out at this stage and call this the end of Bitcoin."
Well, Bitcoin certainly didn't end in 2014, but this hasn't stopped other experts and commentators from throwing the word “bubble” around with gleeful abandon in the half-decade since the cryptocurrency's prematurely reported demise. However, while certain mainstream observers simply regard the entire cryptocurrency market as one giant balloon, other individuals have been offering more nuanced claims recently, assertions that revolve around a distinction between Bitcoin and the vast majority of altcoins.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-bubbles-why-traders-believe-altcoins-are-overpriced
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Iranian Official Says US Congress is Working to Block Iran’s Crypto Mining
Saeed Zarandi, Iranian Assistant Minister of Industry, Trade, and Supply, said that US Congress is working to stop Iran’s access to cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin (BTC) mining, as reported by local news service Al-Fars on July 6.
According to Zarandi, Congress considers cryptocurrency a tool for evading sanctions and money laundering, and is therefore trying to legislate against Iran’s access to it, complicating Iran’s legislation.
Commenting that the issue of cryptocurrencies remained unsettled in Iran, Zarandi reportedly said that Iranian ministries are working with the Central Bank of Iran to settle the subject of cryptocurrencies and their usage within Iran.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/iranian-official-says-us-congress-is-working-to-block-irans-crypto-mining
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Survey: Generation Z Does Not Plan to Buy Cryptocurrency
Generation Z does not plan to buy cryptocurrency, according to the results of a survey conducted by Business Insider released on July 5.
Per the report, SurveyMonkey Audience partner Cint surveyed 1,884 U.S. residents between ages 13 to 21 to learn the opinions Generation Z. The survey participants were asked how likely they were to purchase cryptocurrency in the next six months, and over 52% answered: “not at all.”
Furthermore, only 5% answered “extremely likely,” 6% “very likely,” 15% “somewhat likely,” and 17% “not so likely,” while 4% gave different, unspecified answers. Still, while the results of the survey have just been released, it was conducted in January, before the recent bull market started.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/survey-generation-z-does-not-plan-to-buy-cryptocurrency
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The Bitcoin (BTC) hash rate reached a new all-time high today, according to data from monitoring resource Blockchain.com on July 7.
The previous record was broken in the second half of June, when bitcoin’s hashrate reached 65.19 TH/s and growth has steadily continued since then.
Hash rate is the number of calculations that a given hardware or network can perform every second. It is a very important parameter for miners, as a higher hash rate will increase their chances of solving the mathematical problem, sealing off the block and collecting their reward. A higher network hashrate also increases the amount of resources needed for performing a 51% attack, making the network safer.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-hash-rate-hits-new-all-time-high
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Bitcoin Back Near $12K as BTC Shorters Lose $44 Million in One Morning
Bitcoin price (BTC) reached $12,000 on some exchanges on July 8 after a fresh uptick saw daily gains top another 6%.
Data showed BTC/USD just hit its latest significant psychological level in trading at press time, having begun the day below $11,500.
On major exchanges, USD spreads meant bitcoin was yet to reach $12,000 universally, with Bitfinex the first to record the higher price point, topping out at $12,040.
Bitstamp, traditionally one of the more conservative price trackers, recorded $11,940.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-back-near-12k-as-btc-shorters-lose-44-million-in-one-morning
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China’s Central Bank Developing Own Digital Currency in Response to Libra
China’s central bank is reportedly developing its own digital currency in response to Facebook’s Libra as the latter could purportedly pose a risk to the country’s financial system, the South China Morning Post reported on July 8.
Wang Xin, director of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) research bureau, argued that “if [Libra] is widely used for payments, cross-border payments in particular, would it be able to function like money and accordingly have a large influence on monetary policy, financial stability and the international monetary system?”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/chinas-central-bank-developing-own-digital-currency-in-response-to-libra
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Fed Chair Says Facebook Needs to Satisfy Regulatory Concerns Regarding Libra
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said there needs to be broad satisfaction with the way Facebook is handling regulatory concerns regarding its forthcoming stablecoin Libra. Powell gave his comments in a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee on July 10.
Rep. Steve Stivers asked Powell during the meeting, “if Facebook can’t sufficiently answer your questions about anti-money laundering, Know Your Customer, what would your message be to the banks that provide banking to Facebook, and what would your advice to Facebook be?” Powell replied:
“ … I just think it cannot go forward without there being broad satisfaction with the way the company has addressed money laundering, all of those things. The number of concerns that I list at the beginning, data protection, consumer privacy, all of those things will need to be addressed very thoroughly and carefully.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/fed-chair-says-facebook-needs-to-satisfy-regulatory-concerns-regarding-libra
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Charlie Lee: Next Month’s Halving Will Be a ‘Shock’ to Litecoin Mining
Litecoin (LTC) creator Charlie Lee has predicted that miners may shut up shop after the coin’s upcoming halving this summer.
In an interview with Australian crypto news site Mickey on July 10, Lee reflected on the possible implications for Litecoin’s mining ecosystem when the planned halving kicks in and current block rewards on the network are reduced by 50%. “It’s always kind of a shock to the system,” he said, explaining:
“When the mining rewards get cut in half, some miners will not be profitable and they will shut off their machine. If a big percentage does that, then blocks will slow down for some time. For litecoin it’s three and a half days before the next change, so possibly like seven days of slower blocks, and then after that, the difficulty will readjust and everything will be fine.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/charlie-lee-next-months-halving-will-be-a-shock-to-litecoin-mining
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BTC Peer-to-Peer Trading Rises Amid Ban on USD in Zimbabwe: Report
Bitcoin (BTC) trading in Zimbabwe has continued to surge after the government banned the use of foreign currencies on June 24, business news agency Quartz Africa reported on July 10.
The country is reportedly seeing a rise in peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto trading as there are no local exchanges offering cryptocurrency transactions due to the existing ban on providing such services enacted by Zimbabwe’s central bank in May 2018.
Since Zimbabwe recently re-introduced its local currency, the Zimbabwe dollar (ZWD), after abandoning it in 2009, Bitcoin has apparently become a more attractive store of value than the new fiat currency, associated as it is with uncertainty, the report notes. As such, over the past week, Zimbabwean citizens have reportedly been using services such as Paypal, Western Union and Moneybookers to trade Bitcoin outside the country at prices of up to $12,700.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/btc-peer-to-peer-trading-rises-amid-ban-on-usd-in-zimbabwe-report
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Iran Plans to Allow Crypto Mining, Central Bank of Iran Governor Says
Iranian authorities are planning to authorize cryptocurrency mining, as the governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) declared, news agency PressTV reported on July 10.
CBI governor Abdol Hemmati reportedly claimed that the Iranian government has approved some parts of an executive law that would authorize mining of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) in Iran. Hemmati’s claim follows a lengthy back-and-forth on the legal status of cryptocurrencies in Iran.
As Hemmati explained, the planned law will require crypto mining in Iran to abide with the price of electricity for export, rather than allowing miners to use the heavily subsidized internal energy grid. According to the report, Iran exports power to neighboring countries at prices from 40-100% higher than it provides internally.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/iran-plans-to-allow-crypto-mining-central-bank-of-iran-governor-says
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Trump Tweeting About Bitcoin Is ‘Achievement Unlocked,’ Says Coinbase CEO
Donald Trump saying he is not a fan of Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency is “yuge” for the industry, commentators were suggesting after new tweets on July 12.
In the hours after the United States’ president delivered his lackluster appraisal of crypto, the Bitcoin price stayed stable, only to then begin growing to hit 1% gains Friday.
Negative or not, for proponents, the event marked a psychological milestone for Bitcoin, as Trump had previously held off from mentioning it in public.
The fact that he felt the need to bash Bitcoin publicly feeds the narrative that it is both independent of global powers and unable to be crushed by them, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated, leading the responses.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-industry-celebrates-achievement-unlocked-as-trump-pumps-market
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Iran Plans to Allow Crypto Mining, Central Bank of Iran Governor Says
Iranian authorities are planning to authorize cryptocurrency mining, as the governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) declared, international Iranian news agency PressTV reported on July 10.
CBI governor Abdol Hemmati reportedly claimed that the Iranian government has approved some parts of an executive law that would authorize mining of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) in Iran. Hemmati’s claim follows a lengthy back-and-forth on the legal status of cryptocurrencies in Iran.
As Hemmati explained, the planned law will require crypto mining in Iran to abide with the price of electricity for export, rather than allowing miners to use the heavily subsidized internal energy grid. According to the report, Iran exports power to neighboring countries at prices from 40–100% higher than it provides internally.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/iran-plans-to-allow-crypto-mining-central-bank-of-iran-governor-says
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Tether Mistakenly Minted 5 Billion USDT and Immediately Burned Them
Stablecoin operator Tether accidentally minted and subsequently burned 5 billion USDT tokens, Whale Alert tweeted on July 13.
Whale Alert — a Twitter account dedicated to reporting large cryptocurrency transactions — noted that 50 million USDT tokens were transferred from cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex to the Tether Treasury via the Omni protocol on the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain. The account subsequently reported that Tether Treasury minted 5 billion USDT tokens on the Tron blockchain, after which it burned them.
Then, Tether minted another 50 million USDT on the same chain, burned another 4.5 billion USDT, and finally transferred 50 million Tron-based USDT tokens to a wallet presumably belonging to Poloniex.
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/tether-mistakenly-minted-5-billion-usdt-and-immediately-burned-them
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Drafted “Keep Big Tech out of Finance” Act Surfaces Days Before Libra Hearings
A drafted bill entitled “Keep Big Tech out of Finance” has surfaced online, allegedly deriving from within the United States House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. The document’s metadata dates it July 12.
The bill’s provenance is unconfirmed, but crypto news site The Block quotes an inside source as saying it is with the Financial Services Committee.
The document reads:
“A large platform utility may not establish, maintain, or operate a digital asset that is intended to be widely used as medium of exchange, unit of account, store of value, or any other similar function, as defined by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.”
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/tether-mistakenly-minted-5-billion-usdt-and-immediately-burned-them
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UK Finance Minister Says Regulators Should Decide on Libra, Not Lawmakers
The United Kingdom Finance Minister Philip Hammond said that regulators and not lawmakers should decide on how to regulate Facebook’s stablecoin Libra, CNBC reported on July 15.
In an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Hammond said that lawmakers should not decide to require the social media giant Facebook to acquire a bank license as it is “an issue for regulators to determine, not for politicians to determine.” Hammond said that Libra could be “a very positive thing” once it is properly regulated, and added:
“We’re not going to turn our back to it or try to stop it. We’re going to engage with it and try to work with others to ensure that it is effectively regulated.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/uk-finance-minister-says-regulators-should-decide-on-libra-not-lawmakers
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US Treasury Secretary Shares Trump’s Concerns on Crypto, Stresses Compliance
United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin shares President Donald Trump’s concerns on the use of cryptocurrency to finance illicit activity, and stresses the role of enforcing FinCEN regulations with respect to crypto-dealing organizations. Mnuchin made his remarks at a press conference on July 15.
Mnuchin called the use of cryptocurrencies to fund illicit activity a national security issue, saying that billions of dollars have been used for this purpose:
“Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have been exploited to support billions of dollars of illicit activity, like cybercrime, tax evasion, extortion, randomware, illicit drugs, human trafficking … This is indeed a national security issue.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-treasury-secretary-shares-trumps-concerns-on-crypto-stresses-compliance
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Bitcoin Dips Below $10,000 for the Second Time in July
The Bitcoin (BTC) price has dipped below the $10,000 price mark on July 16, while all top 20 coins by market cap are seeing significant losses.
Bitcoin has dipped below $10,000 threshold for the second time this month after the biggest cryptocurrency broke a multi-month high above $13,700 on June 26. After Bitcoin attempted another recovery to reach nearly $11,000 yesterday, the major coin has dropped to $9,616 at press time, down 8.22% over the past 24 hours. The biggest cryptocurrency is down more than 22% over the past 7 days.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s dominance on crypto markets has continued to surge, breaking new highs since April 2017. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin dominance increased by around 0.5% to reach 66.6% for the first time since mid-April 2019, according to CoinMarketCap.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-dips-below-10-000-for-the-second-time-in-july
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US Senators Grill Facebook on Privacy, Trust Issues in Libra Hearing
At the ongoing hearing on Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project with the Banking Committee of the United States Senate, lawmakers are interrogating Facebook on privacy and trust concerns. As a Cointelegraph correspondent reports on July 16, David Marcus, head of Facebook’s crypto wallet Calibra, is stressing the project’s trust and regulatory compliance, while some senators are not convinced.
Senator Jon Tester asked about Libra's ability to make assurances against fraudulent purchases or loss of funds, along the line of credit cards or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Marcus responded that “we will do our best to resolve those types of issues and claims as quickly as possible.” Tester stated that “it is critical that that is resolved before it goes live.”
Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio took a more critical stance towards the project, asking "Do you really think people should trust Facebook with their hard-earned money?" Marcus said that Facebook “will have no special privilege,” at which point Brown interrupted: “Mr. Marcus, you know better than that.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-senators-grill-facebook-on-privacy-trust-issues-in-libra-hearing
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Cryptocurrency Grin Follows Through With Anticipated July 17 Mainnet Hardfork
Privacy-focused cryptocurrency Grin has completed the first hardfork so far on its mainnet. The fork occurred at block height 262,080 on July 17, as shown on the Grin block explorer Blockscan.
According to an official announcement from Grin core dev Quentin Le Sceller, the latest blockchain hardfork is designed to discourage Grin mining through dedicated application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and also includes a new iteration of its “bulletproof rewind scheme” for Grin wallets.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/cryptocurrency-grin-follows-through-with-anticipated-july-17-mainnet-hardfork
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CNBC: Facebook Has Not Contacted Swiss Regulators On Libra’s Registration
Social media giant Facebook has reportedly not contacted Swiss regulators regarding the registration of its long-awaited cryptocurrency project Libra.
On July 16, Hugo Wyler, a spokesman for and head of communication at the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC), told CNBC that the agency has not been contacted by the promoters of Libra. Notably, the Libra project’s head, David Marcus mentioned in his testimony that the FDPIC would be the Libra Association’s privacy regulator:
“For the purposes of data and privacy protections, the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner will be the Libra Association’s privacy regulator.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/cnbc-facebook-has-not-contacted-swiss-regulators-on-libras-registration
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Steve Wozniak Co-Founds Blockchain-Based Energy Saving Firm in Malta
Steve Wozniak, co-founder of American tech giant Apple, has invested in a new blockchain-based company headquartered in Malta. Wozniak is now the co-founder of energy efficiency company Efforce, according to a report by Maltese news daily The Malta Independent on July 18.
Wozniak co-founded the company alongside Jacopo Visetti, who — according to his LinkedIn profile — works in the renewable energy and environment sector. According to this page, Visetti co-founded Efforce in January, 2018 — approximately one year and seven months ago.
According Efforce's LinkedIn page, the company provides the first blockchain-based platform focused on investing in energy efficiency, with its stated goal “to be recognized as the first and main platform in the world for tokenized energy savings.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/steve-wozniak-co-founds-blockchain-based-energy-saving-firm-in-malta
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BTC Price Reclaims $10K After US Lawmaker Says Bitcoin Can’t Be Killed
Bitcoin (BTC) has retaken $10,000 today following a moderately volatile month, according to data provided by Coin360.
Bitcoin starting its parabolic advance in April which culminated in retaking the 5-figure mark in June for the first time since March 2018. At the time, BTC was on a slow-and-steady bull run that peaked just shy of $14,000 on June 26.
Since then, BTC has moved around a decent amount, dipping below $10,000 on July 2, retaking $13,000 on July 10, and slumping below $10,000 again on July 16.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/btc-price-reclaims-10k-after-us-lawmaker-says-bitcoin-cant-be-killed
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‘Samsung Coin’ Trademark Filing Unaffiliated With Samsung
On July 10, Kim Nam-jin applied for a Trademark 5 (TM5) on the name “Samsung Coin” with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). As per the filing, it appears that Nam-jin is seeking to trademark the name in both its Korean spelling in Hangul as well as in English.
However, per a July 19 report, a Samsung representative told CoinDesk that Kim Nam-jin is not affiliated with the Korean tech giant Samsung. “We don’t work this way,” the representative apparently said.
Additionally, the report says that the trademark was listed under categories including downloadable electronic money computer program, electronic money card, electronic encryption device, and IC card with electronic money function, although blockchain and cryptocurrency are not mentioned anywhere.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/samsung-coin-trademark-filing-unaffiliated-with-samsung
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Ex-CEO of BTC-e Exchange’s Spin-Off WEX Is Arrested in Italy
Former CEO of now-defunct crypto exchange WEX, a spin-off of controversial BTC-e exchange, was arrested in Italy.
No official statement to date
Dmitri Vasilyev, who reopened BTC-e exchange as WEX.nz in September 2017, was detained by Italian prosecutors. While no official statement has been disclosed to date, BBC Russia reported the arrest on July 19. In the report, the publication cited an unnamed friend of Vasilev and two anonymous WEX investors. The reason for detention remains unclear.
In April 2019, Vasilyev became the subject of a criminal investigation by the police department in Kazakh city Almaty, as the alleged suspect was charged with defrauding a local investor in the amount of $20,000 through WEX exchange, as crypto media outlet Forklog reported. According to the report, the 32-year-old suspect was announced wanted under an international arrest warrant in the territory of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ex-ceo-of-btc-e-exchanges-spin-off-wex-is-arrested-in-italy
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Alleged Silk Road Drug Dealer Arrested in the United States
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey S. Berman announced the arrest of alleged dark web drug dealer Hugh Brian Haney in a press release published on July 18.
Per the release, Haney has been charged with money laundering. He allegedly used cryptocurrency to launder more than $19 million of profits earned selling illegal drugs on the now-defunct darknet market Silk Road. Berman commented to the development:
“Today’s arrest should be a warning to dealers peddling their drugs on the dark web that they cannot remain anonymous forever, especially when attempting to legitimize their illicit proceeds.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/alleged-silk-road-drug-dealer-arrested-in-the-united-states
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Bank of Thailand Is Open to Discuss Libra, Concerned Over Security
Bank of Thailand governor Veerathai Santiprabhob said that the institution is open to discussing Facebook’s Libra stablecoin with the company, local media Xinhuanet reported on July 19.
Per the report, Santiprabhob made his remarks at the Bangkok FinTech Fair on July 19, pointing out that Facebook had already contacted the central bank many times. He also noted that the institution had established a new team to study Libra’s whitepaper, but their analysis will take time. “We are not going to rush into a decision of Libra as yet,” Santiprabhob reportedly said, continuing to emphasize the importance of security:
“All kinds of new digital money have been emerging, therefore the Bank of Thailand monitors all and don't give favoritism to any particular financial service. Security in financial services is the bank's top priority. It will take time.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bank-of-thailand-is-open-to-discuss-libra-concerned-over-security
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Bank of America Files Patent for Settlement System Citing Ripple
Bank of America has filed for a patent for a settlement system citing the Ripple ledger, according to a filing on Google Patents.
The patent in question — the application of which was published on June 6 — describes a system using distributed ledger technology (DLT) as an interbank communication tool. The proposed system would enable real-time settlement with transactions being communicated through a shared, decentralized ledger to which both the banks would have access.
The decentralized network would both verify the identity of the payer and the payee and enable communication between the institutions. Notably, multiple illustrations included in the patent explicitly cite Ripple DLT. Ripple’s base asset and proposed settlement gateway asset XRP is not mentioned in the patent.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bank-of-america-files-patent-for-settlement-system-citing-ripple
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Number of Crypto Notables on Buffett Lunch Guest List Grows
Justin Sun, the founder of Tron and winner of the annual auction for a lunch with renowned investor Warren Buffett, has invited more notable figures from the crypto industry to attend.
Earlier today, July 21, Sun invited the founder and CEO of trading platform eToro, Yoni Assia, to the lunch with the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway via tweet. Assia quickly responded saying, “Justin, it is my honor to join you for lunch with @WarrenBuffett. A big step for bridging between the traditional finance world and the new one!”
Yesterday, Sun invited the head of the Binance Charity Fund, Helen Hai. Hai reportedly responded within minutes and said the luncheon would be an opportune chance to discuss cryptocurrency and philanthropy. Binance Charity is the philanthropic arm of cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/number-of-crypto-notables-on-buffett-lunch-guest-list-grows
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Domain Registrar EnCirca Accepting Applications for Ethereum Addresses
Domain registrar company EnCirca has announced that it is accepting pre-registration applications for the Ethereum website extension, “.ETH”. EnCirca said that it will be accepting applications until August 10, in a press release on July 18.
EnCirca also said that they were the first registrar approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to accept applications for Ethereum domain websites.
According to its website, ICANN is a not-for-profit public-benefit group that serves to coordinate and develop policy for Internet naming conventions.
According to the press release, EnCirca was motivated to start including blockchain-related extensions in its registrar due to the lack of regulation for these extension names. Encirca says that some domain names like “.COM” and “.ORG” are regulated, while blockchain domain names are not.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/domain-registrar-encirca-accepting-applications-for-ethereum-addresses
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Bakkt Begins Testing Bitcoin Futures Platform Following Hype and Delays
Bakkt, the long-awaited Bitcoin (BTC) futures platform from the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), has begun testing the delivery of BTC futures, according to an official tweet on July 22.
Per the tweet, user acceptance testing for Bitcoin daily and monthly futures began today with participants from around the world.
The platform initially announced the launch of futures testing in June, when Bakkt COO Adam White stated, “On July 22, two days after Apollo 11’s 50th anniversary, Bakkt will initiate user acceptance testing for its Bitcoin futures listed and traded at ICE Futures U.S. and cleared at ICE Clear US.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bakkt-begins-testing-bitcoin-futures
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Judge Denies AT&T Request for Dismissal in $224M SIM Swap Crypto Case
The federal judge overseeing Terpin v. AT&T — a legal battle pertaining to stolen crypto via SIM-swapping that has been going on for almost a year — has denied the telecom giant’s motion for dismissal.
As previously reported by Cointelegraph, investor Michael Terpin had sued AT&T for $224 million. Terpin reportedly lost $24 million as a result of theft, and is seeking an additional $200 million in punitive damages. Terpin claims that he lost the foregoing assets in two hacks within seven months, due to the telecom provider’s alleged cooperation with the hacker and gross negligence.
Judge Wright denied AT&T’s request to ignore their own 2011 Consent Decree with the Federal Communications Commission, according to a press release by Terpin’s legal representatives at Greenberg Glusker on July 22. This consent decree purportedly holds AT&T responsible for protecting customer data.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/judge-denies-att-request-for-dismissal-in-224m-sim-swap-crypto-case
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Justin Sun Posts Video From San Francisco Following Investigation Reports
Tron founder Justin Sun broadcast a live video from San Francisco to disprove reports that he was prevented from leaving China due to a police investigation.
On July 23, Sun launched a live video on Twitter to deny rumors that he was prevented from leaving China by local authorities based on charges of money laundering, gambling and spreading pornography.
Additionally, Sun posted a picture with him and his “aka bodyguard” Cliff Edwards, the Tron director of communications, with the Bay Bridge in the background.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/justin-sun-posts-video-from-san-francisco-following-investigation-reports
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Germany: Crypto Businesses Will Require a BaFin License Next Year
Starting next year, new Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations will come into effect in Germany. The regulations will require cryptocurrency businesses to hold a Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin)-issued license, Cointelegraph Deutschland reported on July 24.
Possible innovation obstruction
Per the report, the new regulations will require cryptocurrency-related businesses such as exchanges and wallet providers to be licensed by BaFin and comply with AML regulation, since crypto assets will be considered a financial instrument starting on January 1, 2020. According to local media FAZ, Bundestag Free Democratic Party Frank member Schäffler commented suggesting that the government is hurting local innovation and forcing crypto businesses to move to other EU states.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/germany-crypto-businesses-will-require-a-bafin-license-next-year
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South Korean President Stresses Regulatory Innovation for Blockchain
South Korea’s President Moon Jae-In stated that regulatory innovation regarding blockchain technology is now a question of survival.
Regulatory innovation is not a matter of choice anymore, it is a question of survival
The President of South Korea stressed the importance of the development of new regulatory approaches towards new technologies such as blockchain in the light of the selection of Busan city as a regulation-free zone, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on July 24.
In the press release, Moon compared the era of industrialization to the ongoing fourth industrial revolution, claiming that the latter requires regulatory innovation as a basic must.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/south-korean-president-regulatory-innovation-is-question-of-survival
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Tron Creator Justin Sun Apologizes to China in Deleted Social Media Post
Blockchain platform Tron’s founder, Justin Sun, sparked fresh controversy this week after he first posted and then deleted an online apology in an ongoing PR debacle.
Cryptocurrency-focused news outlet Cryptoslate reported the events, providing their own translation of comments Sun reportedly wrote and later removed from Chinese social media platform Weibo on July 25.
Sun was due to have lunch with infamous Bitcoin (BTC) naysayer Warren Buffett on Thursday, a date he recently abruptly postponed due to reported ill health.
At the same time, Sun’s intense marketing of Tron, for which he himself became well known, appeared to backfire as Chinese authorities allegedly raised suspicions over the platform’s legal status.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/embattled-tron-creator-sun-apologizes-to-china-in-deleted-social-media-post
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John McAfee Reportedly Released Following Detainment in the Dominican Republic
Cryptocurrency enthusiast and antivirus software namesake John McAfee appears to have been released by authorities in the Dominican Republic today. McAfee posted a picture on his official Twitter account with the caption:
“Leaving detention (don't judge my looks — four days of confinement). I was well treated. My superiors were friendly and helpful. In spite of the helpful circumstances, we've decided to move on. More later.”
On July 23, a post was made on McAfee’s twitter account, allegedly by McAfee’s campaign manager Rob Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Loggia-Ramirez, saying that McAfee and his boat crew had likely been detained. McAfee announced that Loggia-Ramirez would be his presidential campaign manager in October 2018.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/john-mcafee-reportedly-released-following-detainment-in-the-dominican-republic
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Huawei CEO: Why Wait for Facebook? China Can Issue Its Own ‘Libra’
The CEO of Chinese tech giant Huawei thinks that China can compete with Facebook for market share by issuing its own digital currency.
Huawei CEO: “Why wait for others to issue it?”
As national news outlet Sina reported quoting a press conference in Italy on July 18, Ren Zhengfei believes China can easily create a digital currency with the same value proposition as Facebook’s Libra.
“China can also issue such a currency by itself. Why wait for others to issue it? The power of a country is always stronger than an Internet company,” he said responding to a question from Italian economics journalist, Fabio Savelli.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/huawei-ceo-why-wait-for-facebook-china-can-issue-its-own-libra
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ECB Money Printing Is ‘Rocket Fuel’ for Bitcoin Price, Says Pompliano
Morgan Creek Digital Assets co-founder Anthony Pompliano says the European Central Bank (ECB)’s expected dovish turn will be “rocket fuel” for Bitcoin.
In a tweet posted on July 26, Pompliano commented on a fresh Bloomberg article investigating the ECB’s imminent policy moves — potentially including interest-rate cuts and renewed quantitative easing — designed to boost a faltering Eurozone economy. He said:
“ROCKET FUEL: They’re going to cut rates and print money right as we march towards the Bitcoin halving. Buckle up. This will be wild 🚀”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ecb-money-printing-is-rocket-fuel-for-bitcoin-price-says-pompliano
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Bank of China’s New Infographic Shows Why Bitcoin Price Is Going Up
The Bank of China, one of the four biggest state-owned commercial banks in the country, released on its website an infographic illustrating what is Bitcoin (BTC), how it works and why it’s valuable on July 26.
A brief story: from Bitcoin to Libra
The infographic illustrates the story of Bitcoin, starting with the publication of its whitepaper in 2008, the mining of the first 50 BTC in 2009, 10,000 BTC having been spent for pizza in 2010, and other major milestones for the system, ending with the announcement of Facebook’s Libra.
“Yesterday, the Bank of China posted up an article about Bitcoin,” commented Blockstream CSO, Samson Mow. “They explained how BTC works, why the price is going up, and why it’s valuable. Never thought I’d see that happen. #Bullish”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bank-of-chinas-new-infographic-shows-why-bitcoin-price-is-going-up
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Bitcoin Price Crashes $800 in Minutes as Bears Eye $9K Support Next
Bitcoin (BTC) price dropped $800 in 15 minutes July 27 after a dramatic bearish move destroyed support at $10,000.
Bitcoin traders eat their wallets
Traders were scratching their heads on social media Saturday in the wake of the sudden losses, with BTC/USD crashing from $10,180 to $9,410.
At press time, the pair had recovered marginally to circle $9,500, while a lack of obvious factors left commentators struggling to understand the market.
As Cointelegraph reported, a return to $10,000 earlier came as a surprise after a similar uptick occurred in a matter of minutes.
Previously, regular commentator Josh Rager had eyed a break below $9,600 as a gateway to lower levels, with the potential for $9,000 to also fall.
Some had anticipated volatility continuing in the short term. On Twitter, the trader known as CryptoCohen sounded the alarm hours before the $800 losses.
“Could be a larger correction in play — could take a lot longer too — longer than many would expect/hope. But good things come to those who wait,” he summarized.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-crashes-800-in-minutes-as-bears-eye-9k-support-next
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Iranian Gov’t Authorizes Cryptocurrency Mining as Industrial Activity
The Iranian government has authorized cryptocurrency mining as an industrial activity.
A report from IIDO-owned Mehr News Agency on July 29 revealed that the decision was taken this weekend, during a Sunday cabinet session chaired by Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani.
First step towards legalizing crypto?
Now that mining has been officially authorized, entities engaged in the activity will be required to seek a license from Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, the report notes.
Mehr News claims that many experts are interpreting the move as being the first step towards the legalization of cryptocurrencies in Iran, noting the potential use of the asset class to countervail the crippling impact of the United States’ sanctions against the country.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/iranian-govt-authorizes-cryptocurrency-mining-as-industrial-activity
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Australian Draft Bill Excludes Digital Currency From New Cash Payment Limit
Australia’s government has delivered supportive statements on cryptocurrency as it looks to exclude the sector from new restrictions on cash payments.
In an explanatory memorandum issued late last week, the country’s treasury said it wished to ban cash payments for goods and services which exceeded 10,000 AUD ($6,900).
However, a number of exclusions would apply, including transactions involving what it describes as digital currencies.
The reason, lawmakers state, is in order to prevent the disappearance of such currencies from the local economy, which in turn would lead to a block on freedom to innovate. The memorandum reads:
“Digital currency is a new and developing area in the Australian economy. Unlike physical currency, it does not have a firmly established regulatory framework or industry structure. This makes it difficult to apply the cash payment limit in a way that would not largely prevent the use of digital currency in Australia or significantly stifle innovation in the sector.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/australian-draft-bill-excludes-digital-currency-from-new-cash-payment-limit
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Major Indian Trade Organization Speaks Out Against Proposed Crypto Ban
Nasscom, a major Indain trade organization, has said that it is against a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies, which was recently proposed by a governmental panel in the country According to a report by local financial periodical The Economic Times on July 30, Nasscom commented:
"Nasscom believes that the recent proposal of the inter-ministerial committee of the government to ban all cryptocurrencies barring those that are backed by the government, is not the most constructive measure. [...] Instead, the government should work towards developing a risk-based framework to regulate and monitor cryptocurrencies and tokens.”
As per the report, Nasscom claims that crypto projects can always be tested in regulatory sandboxes prior to launch. Nasscom also reportedly believes that banning crypto will only serve to push away legitimate businesses who are already pro-compliance.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/major-indian-trade-organization-speaks-out-against-proposed-crypto-ban
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Live: Crypto, Blockchain Hearing at US Senate Banking Committee
During today’s United State Senate Banking Committee hearing on the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and blockchain, Cointelegraph will be updating live with the most important developments.
The July 30 hearing, titled “Examining Regulatory Frameworks for Digital Currencies and Blockchain,” follows the previous hearings in mid-July that examined the regulatory hurdles surrounding Facebook’s Libra.
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire will be a witness today in front of the Senate Committee on Banking, House, and Urban Affairs on behalf of The Blockchain Association, along with Rebecca M. Nelson, a specialist in international trade and finance, and Mehrsa Baradaran, a professor of law at University of California, Irvine School of Law.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/live-crypto-blockchain-hearing-at-us-senate-banking-committee
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Ex-Goldman Sachs Exec Confident ‘Nothing Else Has Payoff’ as Bitcoin
Raoul Pal, a former head of equities and equities derivatives at Goldman Sachs UK office and the founder of Global Macro Investors and Real Vision Group, believes that Bitcoin (BTC) is worth betting on in the long term — even if it’s just a 1% chance. This and other insights Pal shared while speaking on the Stephen Livera podcast this week. Pal said:
“I know all these macro guys, they’re all in it. They get it. They get the optionality. They may be complete believers, part believers, partial believers. But even then, if it’s a 1% chance of being right and the upside is 100x from here, you’d do this all day.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ex-goldman-sachs-exec-confident-nothing-else-has-payoff-as-bitcoin
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CFTC Did Not Yet Approve LedgerX Physically-Settled Bitcoin Futures: Report
The United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has confirmed that LedgerX has not yet been approved by the agency to offer physically-settled Bitcoin futures, in a statement obtained by CoinDesk.
Allegedly fake CFTC approval announcements
As Cointelegraph reported yesterday, LedgerX said in an announced on July 31 that its physical futures offering was live on its Omni trading platform. However, the latest confirmation from the CFTC suggests that this could not have occurred.
Derivative specialist Thomas G. Thompson pointed out on Twitter that “the CFTC does not show any futures contracts certified by” the firm. He concludes that LedgerX may indeed have just launched their existing swaps on their new futures platform. Nevertheless, he concluded:
”Still important development because now retail can trade bitcoin options and swaps.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/breaking-cftc-did-not-yet-approve-ledgerx-physically-settled-bitcoin-futures
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Leicester City FC Renews Partnership With Crypto Investment Platform
On Aug. 2, English Premier League football club Leicester City FC announced the renewal of its partnership with multi-asset and cryptocurrency investment platform eToro.
EToro’s second season with the Foxes
The Foxes’ head of partnerships Harj Hir added:
“Our relationship with eToro last season was a really positive one so we’re pleased to renew the partnership and continue our work with such an exciting, innovative industry leader. The global reach of eToro is huge and we hope to further strengthen our relations with them as we embark on our second season together in 2019/20.”
Per the press release, “a landmark sponsorship deal was signed by the Football Club and e-Toro at the start of the 2018/19 campaign, which saw the company become an Official Club Partner while the agreement was the Premier League’s first deal paid using Bitcoin (BTC)”.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/leicester-city-fc-renews-partnership-with-crypto-investment-platform
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Grayscale to Conduct One of Largest Single Day Crypto Transfers
Today, digital asset management fund Grayscale Investments will transfer nearly $3 billion worth in cryptocurrency holdings to American major crypto wallet provider and exchange exchange Coinbase.
Largest single crypto transfer?
As Forbes reported on Aug. 2, Grayscale is going to move almost $3 billion worth of its digital currency holdings, including Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Ripple (XRP), among some other tokens, to Coinbase, wherein Coinbase Custody will serve as custodian of the underlying assets for the company’s products.
Together with its cryptocurrency holdings, Grayscale will transfer its publicly quoted cryptocurrency trusts and its Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund to Coinbase. The transfer will thus apparently be one of the largest single day transfers of crypto assets ever conducted.
Commenting on the deal, Sam McIngvale, Coinbase Custody chief executive, said:
"As a NY State-chartered trust company, Coinbase Custody is held to the same fiduciary standards as national banks. We also offer some of the broadest and deepest insurance coverage in the crypto industry."
https://cointelegraph.com/news/grayscale-to-conduct-one-of-largest-single-day-crypto-transfers
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Bitcoin Nears $11,000 Mark While Altcoins See Mixed Resul
Sunday, Aug. 4 — Bitcoin (BTC) has continued to gain momentum today, with its price nearing the $11,000 mark. The top 20 cryptos by market capitalization are seeing mixed results on the day, with most gains and losses around or under 2%.
Market visualization from Coin360
Bitcoin has seen a major bullish move this week, up 15% from around $9,500 to almost $11,000 at press time. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin has continued to grow steadily, having its price increase by 1.66% to $10,944 at press time.
Ether (ETH), the second cryptocurrency by market cap, is down around 0.6% to trade at $219.95. Still, over the past week, Ether is up almost 6%, according to CoinMarketCap
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-nears-11-000-mark-while-altcoins-see-mixed-results
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China’s Central Bank Prioritizes Development of Digital Currency
China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) announced that it accelerated the development of its cryptocurrency.
In an Aug. 2 statement, PBoC summarized the proceedings of a video conference, in which the bank conveyed the Party Central Committee and the State Council priorities on economic and financial initiatives ranging from monetary policy to support for small businesses.
PBoC suggested that it should accelerate the research and development of its digital currency. Furthermore, the statement also indicates that much attention should be also given to other domestic and foreign cryptocurrencies.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/chinas-central-bank-prioritizes-development-of-digital-currency
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Coinbase Exploring Eight New Assets in Bid to Expand Market Access
Major crypto platform Coinbase announced today that it is exploring support for eight new digital assets. The expansion is part of a larger agenda by the exchange to give customers access to 90% of the aggregate market capitalization of all digital assets.
Coinbase announced its plans in an official blog post on Aug. 5. As part of the announcement, Coinbase noted that they may roll out public-facing APIs and show other indications of engineering work during the exploratory phase.
Per the announcement, the exchange is currently exploring support for Algorand (ALGO), Cosmos (ATOM), Dash (DASH), Decred (DCR), Matic (MATIC), Harmony (ONE), Ontology (ONT) and Waves (WAVES).
https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-exploring-eight-new-assets-in-bid-to-expand-market-access
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US Federal Reserve Launching Payment System, Crypto Bulls Nonplussed
The United States Federal Reserve Board is planning to release a real-time payments and settlements service in order to boost the payments infrastructure in the country.
A press release published on Aug. 5 reads that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System has requested that Federal Reserve Banks develop a new interbank real-time settlement service to support faster payments in the U.S. The payment system is called FedNow and will purportedly launch in 2023 or 2024.
By launching FedNow, the Fed aims to modernize the country's payment system with a real-time service that can transfer funds around the clock and on weekends and weekdays. The service will purportedly be available to both businesses and the general public.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-federal-reserve-launching-payment-system-crypto-bulls-nonplussed
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UK’s Tax Authority Requests User Data From Crypto Exchanges: Report
The United Kingdom’s tax, payments and customs authority Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has reportedly requested that digital currency exchanges provide it with information about customers’ names and transactions aiming to identify cases of tax evasion.
Crypto exchanges come under fire
According to fintech-focused media outlet Coindesk, industry sources said that the agency has sent letters to at least three crypto exchanges in the U.K., including Coinbase, eToro, and CEX.io, requesting that they provide lists of users and transaction data.
HMRC is reportedly aiming to cooperate with crypto exchanges in a bid to identify individuals who evade taxes. According to the cited sources, the agency will probably only go back two or three years:
“If they [HMRC] do only go back two or three years, I think the interesting thing here is, that the individuals who went into crypto very early on in 2012-13 will not be affected. The ones who probably made the largest gains won’t be affected, it will be the people who came in around the time crypto peaked.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/uks-tax-authority-requests-user-data-from-crypto-exchanges-report
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Facebook Hires Former Aide to US Sen. Mike Crapo to Lobby for Libra
Facebook hired former assistant of United States Republican senator Mike Crapo, Susan Stoner Zook, to join the lobbying team for its Libra stablecoin.
Facebook doubles down on Libra lobbying
News outlet Politico reported on Aug. 5 that Zook had been hired onto Facebook’s team of lobbyists working to win lawmakers over to Libra. Per the report, she wrote in an email that she will focus her work at the company on lobbying Republican senators.
As Cointelegraph reported in July, Crapo stressed the importance of building an overarching regulatory framework for data protection — not just for Facebook, but for all Internet companies looking to launch their own cryptocurrencies, á la the Financial Stability Oversight Council for banks. Still, he did not rule out Libra’s deployment.
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Bitcoin Breaks $12,000 Before Plunging, Crypto Markets Turn Downward
Wednesday, Aug. 7 — Most of the top 20 cryptocurrencies are reporting moderate losses on the day by press time, as Bitcoin (BTC) briefly broke the $12,000 mark and subsequently fell.
The Bitcoin price is currently down 0.67% on the day, trading at $11,673, according to Coin360. Looking at its weekly chart, the coin is up by about 17.27%.
As Cointelegraph reported earlier today, the correlation between Bitcoin, often referred to as digital gold, and physical gold has almost doubled in the past three months.
While the seminal cryptocurrency is down today, it has been in a general uptrend for the past several months, as more investors are using it as a hedge or safe haven from financial instability fomented by geopolitical tensions.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-breaks-12-000-before-plunging-crypto-markets-turn-downward
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Binance Investigating ‘KYC Leak FUD’ as User Selfies Allegedly Exposed
In a tweet Aug. 7, Changpeng Zhao described rumors circulating about the alleged Know-Your-Customer (KYC) data leak as an attempt to spread “FUD” (fear, uncertainty and doubt).
“Don't fall into the ‘KYC leak’ FUD. We are investigating, will update shortly,” he wrote.
Social media users had panicked earlier after what appear to be fake warnings showed figures posing with personal documents, apparently of Binance users.
In an official statement, Binance said:
“We would like to inform you that an unidentified individual has threatened and harassed us, demanding 300 BTC in exchange for withholding 10,000 photos that bear similarity to Binance KYC data. We are still investigating this case for legitimacy and relevancy.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-investigating-kyc-leak-fud-as-user-selfies-allegedly-exposed
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Bitcoin Network Hash Rate Hits 80 Quintillion for the First Time
Bitcoin (BTC) has passed another network performance milestone this week as the largest cryptocurrency’s hash rate hit a new record high.
Bitcoin secured by 80 quintillion hashes per second
Data from monitoring resource Bitinfocharts confirmed Bitcoin’s hash rate exceeded 80 quintillion SHA256 hashes per second Aug. 8, the first time such a level has been reached.
Hash rate refers to the amount of computing power used to validate Bitcoin transactions. The more power, the costlier it becomes for malicious actors to attack the network.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-hash-rate-hits-a-whopping-80-quintillion-for-the-first-time
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3 Reasons Bitcoin Is Turning Into a Global Safe Haven for Investors
China’s recent currency devaluation seems in line with similar policies taking place across the globe. Let’s take a look why Bitcoin price is rising as a result and why investors are increasingly considering taking shelter in Bitcoin — a neutral and borderless network for storing and transferring value — alongside traditional safe haven assets.
Every fiat currency is devaluing itself on purpose
As the U.S. and other countries attempt to bolster economic growth through rate cuts, investors are beginning to flock to gold, cash, government bonds and increasingly Bitcoin as a hedge, according to economist, Raoul Pal.
In a Twitter thread, the former Goldman Sachs executive makes the case for why the world is fast approaching a currency crisis. Pal also believes Bitcoin will thrive throughout the impending monetary carnage. He warns that:
“We are at the most important juncture in FX markets in my entire 30 year career. The dollar appears at risk of an uncontrolled rise.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/3-reasons-bitcoin-is-turning-into-a-global-safe-haven-for-investors
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Ripple CEO: MoneyGram Using XRP a Bigger Deal Than Facebook’s Libra
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse says the firm is looking into multiple investments and acquisitions following its $30 million partnership with MoneyGram this June.
As Yahoo! Finance reported on Aug. 9, Ripple’s deal with MoneyGram — the second-largest remittances firm worldwide — saw it purchase a 10% stake in the entity, with an option to increase its investment by a further $20 million within two years.
MoneyGram starts using xRapid
MoneyGram began using Ripple’s xRapid liquidity product on Aug. 3 — a central stipulation of the $30 million deal — as revealed by MoneyGram CEO Alex Holmes during the company’s second-quarter earnings call earlier this month.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ripple-ceo-moneygram-using-xrp-a-bigger-deal-than-facebooks-libra
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Billionaire Mark Cuban: ‘I See Gold and Bitcoin as Being the Same Thing’
Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks professional basketball team, has said that he hates gold as an investment, and views Bitcoin (BTC) as fundamentally similar to gold.
Cuban delivered his remarks in an interview with Kitco News on Aug. 9. He did note that he views Bitcoin’s finite supply as a bonus to its investment value, saying:
“They’re both collectibles. The value is based off supply and demand. And the good news about Bitcoin is there’s a finite supply that’ll ever be created.”
However, Cuban did say that he sees gold and Bitcoin as “being the same thing,” and has a very low view of gold. Regarding his stance on the precious metal, Cuban emphasized that to convey his feelings on gold as an investment, he would have to say:
“Hate with extreme prejudice is not enough. Hate with double-extreme prejudice with an ounce of hot sauce.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/billionaire-mark-cuban-i-see-gold-and-bitcoin-as-being-the-same-thing
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Telegram Vs. Facebook: The Ultimate Showdown for Crypto Supremacy
Last month, Facebook rocked the world with its blockbuster Libra announcement. Even a year ago, the idea that an iconic United States company would launch a digital currency or that a sitting president would tweet about it seemed insane.
Welcome to the new normal.
The Libra announcement sent politicians scrambling, hit the mainstream media like a hurricane, and left many crypto influencers wondering if the social network giant just turned 90% of altcoins worthless. What tiny crypto project with a few dozen programmers can stand against the combined might of not just Facebook but also the titans of the tech and payment processing world, such asUber, Lyft, Paypal, Visa and Mastercard?
But there’s a new hope on the horizon. One company on the planet has the power to take on the social media monster and win: Telegram.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/telegram-vs-facebook-the-ultimate-showdown-for-crypto-supremacy
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New Jersey Governor Signs Bill to Establish Blockchain Task Force
Governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy recently signed bill S2297, which is an act to create a so-dubbed New Jersey Blockchain Initiative Task Force. The purpose of the task force is purportedly to study blockchain solutions for the benefit of the state.
The news that Murphy passed this bill comes by way of an announcement on the official site of the state of New Jersey on Aug. 8. According to the press release, the taskforce will study the risks and rewards related to blockchain and distributed ledger technology; public blockchains, private blockchains and consensus algorithms; current projects and use cases around the world and their potential within the state; and what laws could be changed for secure and paperless recordkeeping.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/new-jersey-governor-signs-bill-to-establish-blockchain-task-force
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XMR Cryptojacking Malware Smominru Updated, Now Targeting User Data
Malware Smominru mines Monero (XMR) on at least half a million infected computers and now also steals sensitive personal data.
An updated malware
Cybersecurity company Carbon Black claimed that its Threat Analysis Unit “uncovered a secondary component in a well-known cryptomining campaign” in a report published on Aug. 7. According to the firm, the malware has now been updated to “also steal system access information for possible sale on the dark web.” Per the report, the update is part of a broader trend in malware development:
“This discovery indicates a bigger trend of commodity malware evolving to mask a darker purpose and will force a change in the way cybersecurity professionals classify, investigate and protect themselves from threats. ”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/xmr-cryptojacking-malware-smominru-updated-now-targeting-user-data
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Crypto Exchange Binance Points out a Dusting Attack Against Litecoin
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance claims that a dusting attack occurred against fourth-biggest altcoin, Litecoin (LTC).
A large scale attack against privacy
The official Twitter exchange of cryptocurrency exchange Binance claimed that a major attack against users of altcoin Litecoin took place yesterday. The firm made this claim in a tweet on August 9:
“Approximately 5 hours ago there was a large-scale dusting attack on $LTC @Litecoin users.”
The tweet also links to a transaction — which according to Binance is part of the attack — sending a fraction (0.00000546 LTC) of a coin to 50 addresses. Furthermore, the exchange also links to an explanation of a dusting attack, which defines it in the following way:
“A dusting attack refers to a relatively new kind of malicious activity where hackers and scammers try and break the privacy of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency users by sending tiny amounts of coins to their personal wallets.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-exchange-binance-points-out-a-dusting-attack-against-litecoin
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Zcash ‘Brexits’ as Coinbase Delists Privacy-Focused Altcoin in the UK
United Kingdom-based customers of Coinbase are reportedly being informed that the exchange will be dropping support for the privacy-focussed Zcash as of Aug. 26, 2019. The same does not appear to apply to United States or European Union customers, however, prompting speculation on the reasoning behind the move.
Convert, send, or be liquidated
The communication being sent to customers gives a number of options on how to proceed. Option one, any Zcash held on Coinbase can be converted into any other cryptocurrency on the exchange. Option two, simply send the Zcash to an external wallet or another exchange.
Failing either of these options being carried out, any Zcash still held on the exchange by the Aug. 26 deadline will be liquidated into GBP. The ZEC wallet will then be removed from the Coinbase account.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/zcash-brexits-as-coinbase-delists-privacy-focused-altcoin-in-the-uk
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Goldman Sachs Gets Bullish on Bitcoin With a Price Target of $13,971
In a note to customers, Goldman Sachs gave a bullish forecast for Bitcoin price. Shared on Twitter, Aug. 11, the note suggests a short-term target of $13,971.
Bullish analysis based on Elliott Waves
The target given is based on Elliott Wave Theory, which forecasts market trends by identifying extremes in investor psychology, along with price highs and lows.
According to the analyst, Bitcoin will rebound from support around $11,094, leaving room for at least one leg higher towards $12,916 and $13,971. This could complete a V wave count from July, producing a short-term top or consolidation.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/goldman-sachs-gets-bullish-on-bitcoin-with-a-price-target-of-13-971
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PIVX, Possibly Other PoS Chains Vulnerable to Bug, Attackers Profit
Private transactions cryptocurrency PIVX and over 200 other blockchains are vulnerable to a vulnerability allowing the attacker to obtain disproportionately high staking rewards.
A major staking vulnerability
Cryptocurrency consulting firm Lunar Digital Assets claimed in a post published on its website on Aug. 12 that a staking vulnerability is being used across PIVX and its forks. The weakness reportedly allows the attacker to obtain mathematically impossible staking rewards on vulnerable Proof of Stake (PoS) chains.
According to the post’s author, the PIVX development team claimed to have solved the issue in January. Nonetheless, a core developer of PoS altcoin BitGreen (BITG) noticed that the vulnerability in question is allegedly being exploited again. The consequences are explained in report in the following way:
“To put it bluntly, someone or some entity has figured out a way to game the PIVX PoS algorithm. This has crippled the rewards system of several chains, and BitGreen has notified of all exchanges that it is listed on to halt all deposits and withdrawals until further notice.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/pivx-possibly-other-pos-chains-vulnerable-to-bug-attackers-profit
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Blockstack Joins Lambda School for New Platform to Teach App Coding
Privacy-centric computing network and app ecosystem Blockstack has announced a partnership with Lambda School. Students enrolled in the program can reportedly now learn how to code Blockstack apps and earn monthly revenue through its App Mining Program.
Gain the skills to pay the bills
According to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on August 12, Lambda is a skills-based online school with a curriculum designed around the requirements of employers. This reportedly ensures that graduates master all the skills required to succeed. In addition, it offers tuition at no cost until the student is hired, thus removing barriers to high-paying careers.
According to CEO Austen Allred, the partnership with Blockstack “gives Lambda School students a direct path for gaining real-world development experience while earning additional income for their work."
https://cointelegraph.com/news/blockstack-joins-lambda-school-for-new-platform-to-teach-app-coding
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Blockstack Joins Lambda School for New Platform to Teach App Coding
Privacy-centric computing network and app ecosystem Blockstack has announced a partnership with Lambda School. Students enrolled in the program can reportedly now learn how to code Blockstack apps and earn monthly revenue through its App Mining Program.
Gain the skills to pay the bills
According to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Aug. 12, Lambda is a skills-based online school with a curriculum designed around the requirements of employers. This reportedly ensures that graduates master all the skills required to succeed. In addition, it offers tuition at no cost until the student is hired, thus removing barriers to high-paying careers.
According to CEO Austen Allred, the partnership with Blockstack “gives Lambda School students a direct path for gaining real-world development experience while earning additional income for their work."
https://cointelegraph.com/news/blockstack-joins-lambda-school-for-new-platform-to-teach-app-coding
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PIVX, Possibly Other PoS Chains Vulnerable to Bug, Attackers Profit
Private transactions cryptocurrency PIVX and over 200 other blockchains are vulnerable to attackers obtaining disproportionately high staking rewards.
A major staking vulnerability
Cryptocurrency consulting firm Lunar Digital Assets claimed in a post published on its website on Aug. 12 that a staking vulnerability is being used across PIVX and its forks. The weakness reportedly allows the attacker to obtain mathematically impossible staking rewards on vulnerable proof-of-stake (PoS) chains.
According to the post’s author, the PIVX development team claimed to have solved the issue in January. Nonetheless, a core developer of PoS altcoin BitGreen (BITG) noticed that the vulnerability in question is allegedly being exploited again. The consequences are explained in report in the following way:
“To put it bluntly, someone or some entity has figured out a way to game the PIVX PoS algorithm. This has crippled the rewards system of several chains, and BitGreen has notified of all exchanges that it is listed on to halt all deposits and withdrawals until further notice.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/pivx-possibly-other-pos-chains-vulnerable-to-bug-attackers-profit
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Ripple’s Xpring Gives $265 Million in XRP to Content Platform Coil
Ripple’s infrastructure development and XRP adoption initiative Xpring announced a 1 billion XRP (roughly $265 million) grant to web monetization platform Coil on Aug. 15. Coil will reportedly use the funds to build an ecosystem of creators, developers, companies and nonprofits that use XRP through the Web Monetization open standard.
Giving creators control over distribution and monetization
Coil is a platform that provides an alternative method for creators to monetize their content on the internet. Users can post public and exclusive content on the platform, which is automatically enabled for streaming payments. Alternatively, creators can monetize their own websites by adding a simple tag. Coil CEO Stefan Thomas commented:
"Creators want more choice and control over how their content is monetized and distributed [...] Web Monetization provides a solution that is more fair, open and inclusive for creators and fans around the globe.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ripples-xpring-gives-265-mil-in-xrp-to-content-platform-coil
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Institutional Crypto Lending Platform Receives Gibraltar DLT License
Fully collateralized crypto-to-crypto lending platform Lendingblock has received a distributed ledger technology (DLT) provider license from Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC), reports Crowdfund Insider on Aug. 15. The accreditation brings the institution-focused platform one step closer to launch.
The GFSC awarded an in-principle DLT provider license in late 2018.
New capital lending model for digital assets
Providing collateralized lending and borrowing reportedly allows Lendingblock to support short-term trading, hedging and working capital needs. This mirrors traditional financial markets, which the company aims to reinvent with a better model to service the digital asset lending market.
To this end, it recently created the first Global Digital Assets Lending Agreement, hoping to establish a new benchmark and crypto industry standard.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/institutional-crypto-lending-platform-receives-gibraltar-dlt-license
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US Lawmakers to Visit Switzerland to Discuss Crypto, Facebook’s Libra
A delegation of the United States House of Representatives will visit Switzerland on cryptocurrency concerns, with Facebook’s not-yet-released stablecoin Libra being in the focus.
As local weekly news outlet NZZ am Sonntag reported on Aug. 17, a six-member delegation from the House Financial Services Committee is going to meet with Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) Adrian Lobsiger to exchange views about digital currencies.
A spokesperson told NZZ am Sonntag that Libra will be the focal point of the dialogue between the regulator and U.S. lawmakers. The delegation is led by the chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, Maxine Waters, who previously requested that Facebook halt Libra’s development until the purported risks it poses could be properly understood.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-lawmakers-to-visit-switzerland-to-discuss-crypto-facebooks-libra
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Major Coins Report Mild Losses, Bitcoin Price Hovers Around $10,700
Tuesday, Aug. 20 — following a brief period of recovery, almost all of the top-20 coins by market capitalization have entered the red again, with Bitcoin (BTC) hovering around $10,700.
The leading digital currency BTC is struggling to stay in positive territory, being up by a modest 0.26% on the day to trade at around $10,735 as of press time. BTC started the day near $10,697, subsequently dipping to a daily low of $10,564, while the coin’s high today was $10,965.
BTC hash rate broke yet another record high, according to Aug. 19 data from monitoring resource Blockchain.com. The top coin’s hash rate has continued to break records throughout the summer, hitting a whopping 82.5 TH/s yesterday.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/major-coins-report-mild-losses-bitcoin-price-hovers-around-10-700
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Travelport and IBM Work on Blockchain Platform for Hotel Commissions
Artificial intelligence-enabled travel platform Travelport, IBM and travel management company BCD Travel are jointly developing a blockchain platform to streamline hotel commission reconciliation.
Per a press release on Aug. 20, the companies are collaboratively working on the creation of a blockchain-based platform in a bid to optimize hotel commission processing. Specifically, the product will purportedly allow users to track and account for commission payments hotels owe for services that travelers bought through booking agencies.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/travelport-and-ibm-work-on-blockchain-platform-for-hotel-commissions
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India: Supreme Court Gives Central Bank 2 Weeks to Justify Crypto Ban
India’s Supreme Court has slammed the country’s central bank over its handling of a cryptocurrency business ban and ordered it to address complaints.
Judge: RBI has not properly responded to representation
In the latest session of an ongoing hearing into the actions of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Aug. 21, the court ruled that officials had not appropriately responded to concerns from the cryptocurrency industry over its actions.
The RBI forbade banks from servicing crypto operators such as exchanges in July 2018 — effectively stopping such platforms from continuing to operate in India.
On Wednesday, the move came in for severe criticism from Supreme Court Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/india-supreme-court-gives-central-bank-2-weeks-to-justify-crypto-ban
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Bitcoin Price ‘Not at the Top’ of New Bull Cycle Yet, Data Shows
Bitcoin (BTC) prices have far higher to go during their current market cycle if crowd sentiment takes charge, according to analysis of the Bitcoin Days Destroyed (BDD) technical metric.
In social media posts on Aug. 22, Hans Hauge, senior qualitative researcher at crypto investment fund Ikigai, identified Bitcoin sentiment as being similar to early 2017. That was just months before the cryptocurrency reached its all-time high of $20,000.
In a tweet accompanied by a corresponding chart, Hauge wrote: “Bitcoin bubble tops are clearly identified with a dark red cluster of Adjusted Binary BDD.” He added:
“Until that happens, we're not at the top. Public opinion is key here because that red cluster is caused by the assumption of the crowd and is self-fulfilling (reflexivity).”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-not-at-the-top-of-new-bull-cycle-yet-new-data-shows
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Crypto Advocate Patrick Byrne Resigns as CEO of Overstock
Noted crypto advocate Patrick Byrne resigns as CEO of Overstock.
Per a letter of resignation and company statement posted on Twitter Aug. 22, Patrick Byrne will be stepping down as CEO of Overstock.
Having led crypto-friendly e-commerce at the company, including the launch of tZero, Overstock’s crypto token platform, and Overstock’s acceptance of Bitcoin payment, Byrne’s announcement follows the announcement of disappointing Q1 earnings for 2019.
More directly, Byrne cited the recent announcement of his controversial relationship with Maria Butina as the impetus for cutting ties with Overstock.
In his letter of resignation, Byrne reaffirmed his faith that “the blockchain revolution will reshape key social institutions.” However, it is questionable to what degree this faith will direct Overstock’s future in Byrne’s absence.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-advocate-patrick-byrne-resigns-as-ceo-of-overstock
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US Man Pleads Guilty to Running $25 Million Bitcoin Laundering Scheme
A Los Angeles man has pleaded guilty to running a $25 million Bitcoin (BTC) money laundering scheme and selling methamphetamine.
Possible life sentence
News outlet U.S. News reported on Aug. 23 that Kunal Kalra has pleaded guilty to charges including money laundering and distributing methamphetamines. The 25-year-old is facing life in prison.
The authorities say that, from 2015 to 2017, Kalra exchanged BTC and dollars, ran a Bitcoin ATM, and admitted to making deals with drug dealers and other criminals.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-man-pleads-guilty-to-running-25-million-bitcoin-laundering-scheme
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Thailand’s securities regulator has warned the public about scam entities posing as legal digital currency trading firms operating overseas.
Investor losses are not known
The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has discovered a new crypto scam where investors are lured into operating with companies outside the country, local English-language news outlet Bangkok Post reports on Aug. 25.
The regulator has become aware of several fraudulent companies involved in the case, including the alleged scam entity named FX Trading Corporation, which is not authorized to trade in digital currencies, the report notes. The SEC stated that the amount of losses caused by the scam is not known to date.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/thai-sec-warns-public-about-new-crypto-scam-operating-overseas
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Bitcoin Realized Market Cap Hits $100 Billion for the First Time
The Bitcoin (BTC) network passed a new milestone this week, as new data revealed the extent of altcoins’ losses.
According to data aggregator Coinmetrics.io on Aug. 25, so-called realized market cap has become the latest indicator flashing bullish for Bitcoin.
Realized Bitcoin market cap surpasses $100 billion record
Realized market cap, an alternative calculation of Bitcoin’s market capitalization, is now at record highs.
Calculated from multiplying the price each bitcoin last traded by the size of each trade, the figure for Bitcoin passed $100 billion on Sunday.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-realized-market-cap-hits-100-billion-for-the-first-time
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Following a visit to Switzerland to meet with the country’s financial regulators, United States lawmakers are still concerned over Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency project, Libra.
Meetings with multiple agencies
According to an official statement from Rep. Maxine Waters published on Aug. 25, members of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee met with multiple regulatory agencies and lawmakers. These included the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters, the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner, and the Financial Market Supervisory Authority.
As announced earlier this month, the representatives aimed to clarify how various Swiss authorities would regulate Libra and learn more about the status and magnitude of the project. Despite being helpful, Waters said of the meetings:
“While I appreciate the time that the Swiss government officials took to meet with us, my concerns remain with allowing a large tech company to create a privately controlled, alternative global currency.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/after-switzerland-visit-crypto-concerns-remain-for-us-regulators
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The Bug Bounty Program for Facebook’s Libra Is Now Open to the Public
The Libra Association has opened its bug bounty program to the public to address security concerns in advance of Libra’s anticipated 2020 launch.
Expanding the playing field
The announcement comes via a post on Libra’s website on Aug. 27. The post emphasized that the expansion of the program would promote values critical to the Libra Association like “openness, transparency, and global access,” and ensure minimal issues come launch date.
The association wrote that it expects opening the bug bounty program up to the public will encourage “many more people with diverse skills and backgrounds” to test the security of Libra’s blockchain.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-bug-bounty-program-for-facebooks-libra-is-now-open-to-the-public
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CoinMarketCap Sets November Target Date for New Liquidity Rankings
CoinMarketCap (CMC), a major source of data about all traded cryptocurrencies, has set the target date of Nov. 12, 2019 to announce a new liquidity ranking system.
DATA Membership
CMC revealed the news during the first virtual roundtable held today, Aug. 27, of the Data Accountability & Transparency Alliance (DATA), a group of exchanges and projects in the crypto space formed in May 2019.
DATA currently counts Binance, Bittrex, Huobi, OKEx and others as members.
During the DATA roundtable, CoinMarketCap presented three topics for the alliance’s general consideration: the use of liquidity metrics, self-reported data and a unified crypto asset ID database. A dashboard for self-reporting data will also launch on Oct. 14, 2019.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinmarketcap-sets-november-target-date-for-new-liquidity-rankings
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EY Requests to Move QuadrigaCX Crypto Exchange Bankruptcy Case
EY, the Big Four accounting firm appointed to work on the QuadrigaCX crypto exchange bankruptcy case, wants to move the proceedings from Halifax to Toronto.
Local news outlet The Star reports on Aug. 28 that EY has asked a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge to move the case to Toronto. The firm states that the involvement of four law enforcement agencies has added to the complexity of the case, which has shifted focus to entities based in Ontario.
Bankruptcy proceedings began earlier this year when the exchange’s founder Gerry Cotten passed away unexpectedly. Cotten was the sole individual in possession of the keys to unlock the exchange’s cold wallets containing some $145 million in user assets.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ey-requests-to-move-quadrigacx-crypto-exchange-bankruptcy-case
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Bakkt Clients Can Start Warehouse Deposits on Sept. 6
Bakkt clients will be able to start depositing their funds in the Bakkt Warehouse for physically delivered Bitcoin (BTC) futures starting Sept. 6.
Bakkt to debut futures trading on Sept. 23
On Aug. 28, the much-anticipated crypto trading platform Bakkt announced on Twitter that its qualified custodian, Bakkt Warehouse, will begin offering storage of customer’s Bitcoin in early September.
Storage will start weeks before the scheduled launch of its platform for daily and monthly crypto futures in the United States on Sept. 23. The platform will enable physical delivery of Bitcoin with end-to-end regulated markets and custody.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bakkt-clients-can-start-warehouse-deposits-on-sept-6
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US Banking Giant PNC Starts Using RippleNet for Cross-Border Payments
PNC — the United States’ eighth-largest bank, with almost $400 billion in assets — has become the country’s first to start using the RippleNet blockchain network for cross-border payments.
Fintech Futures reported on Aug. 29 that PNC Treasury Management is now offering RippleNet-based cross-border payments solutions to its commercial clients, claiming that the blockchain solution will give them:
“The ability to receive a payment from an overseas buyer against their invoices instantly, transforming the way they manage their global account receivables and allowing them to better manage their working capital.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-banking-giant-pnc-starts-using-ripplenet-for-cross-border-payments
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Portugal Tax Authority: Bitcoin Trading and Payments Are Tax-Free
Portugal’s Tax Authority has clarified that both cryptocurrency trading and payments in crypto will not be taxed in the country, Cointelegraph en Español reported on Aug. 27.
According to a report published on Aug. 26 by Portuguese business newspaper Jornal de Negócios, the Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority have confirmed that crypto transactions or payments are exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT).
The agency reportedly provided the clarification to a local crypto mining company, publishing an official ruling document. In the document, the authority states that the exchange of crypto for fiat money is free of VAT, adding that crypto users do not have to pay any income tax.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/portugal-tax-authority-bitcoin-trading-and-payments-are-tax-free
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Bitcoin Miners Made $14 Billion to Date Securing the Network
All-time revenue for Bitcoin (BTC) miners has topped $14 billion, according to fresh data from Coin Metrics.
As Yahoo! Finance reported on Aug. 30, despite the massive increase in the network’s hash rate — a factor that depresses the profitability of mining — there’s still more money in the game for miners than ever before.
Bitcoin miner revenue growing exponentially
The report notes that as of the Bitcoin network’s inception, it took eight years for miners’ total revenue to break past the $5 billion mark; the next $5 billion were exponentially faster, taking only a further eight months for revenue to break $10 billion.
If current mining profitability remains on track, the $20 billion revenue mark will be broken sometime in early 2020.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-miners-made-14-billion-to-date-securing-the-network
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Billionaire Alan Howard Eyes $1 Billion Crypto Fund Management Venture
Elwood Asset Management — owned by British billionaire and Brevan Howard founder Alan Howard — is planning a $1 billion venture into the crypto hedge fund space.
The Financial Times (FT) reported on Aug. 30 that the asset manager is developing a platform that would tailor portfolios of cryptocurrency funds for institutional investors.
Weeding out the crypto hedge fund space
Elwood Asset Management CEO Bin Ren told the FT that the venture will aim to steer investors towards a selection of vetted crypto funds that have passed robust due diligence so that market participants can avoid the risks associated with the emerging sector.
Ren — who formerly served as chief investment officer at Brevan Howard’s Systematic Investment Group — said that screening of the sector had resulted in Elwood identifying up to 50 crypto hedge funds as “probably satisfy our due diligence.”
While details of the product remain to be finalized, the new fund could enable investors to determine input factors such as the level of risk they are willing to court, their expectations of returns, as well as liquidity terms. It will also measure the potential correlation of the tailored crypto hedge fund portfolio with the rest of their existing assets.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/billionaire-alan-howard-eyes-1-billion-crypto-fund-management-venture
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How Facebook Libra Is Seeking Compliance, but May Not Launch by 2020
For the cryptosphere, August was marked by the hotly debated announcements of world giants regarding the releases of international cryptocurrencies. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) announced the imminent release of a national digital currency, Walmart began developing its own blockchain, Binance launching the Venus project, and Pavel Durov’s TON finally shared its release date.
The race was also joined by Facebook, which kept the development of its cryptocurrency a secret until the very last second. At the moment, the company is actively hiring specialists who can convince financial regulators to give the Libra coin the right to exist — and even launched a testnet of the future network.
Will the entities behind Libra (i.e., the Libra Association, which includes Facebook) be able to defeat the skepticism of regulators and the fear of world governments?
https://cointelegraph.com/news/how-facebook-libra-is-seeking-compliance-but-may-not-launch-by-2020
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US-China Trade War and Its Effect on Cryptocurrencies
The People’s Bank of China (PBoC), the country’s central bank, has announced that it is planning to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC), inspired in part by Facebook’s Libra project.
David Marcus, the head of Facebook cryptocurrency wallet Calibra, and known as the co-creator of the company’s venture into cryptocurrencies, had this to say on Twitter:
“Like I said: if we don't lead (and by ‘we’ I mean the Free World, *not FB*) others will. It wasn't a figure of speech, an exaggeration, or a spin of the reality we face. It was the truth.”
In the shadow of United States President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, we are beginning to see the battle lines drawn in a war for global monetary supremacy, with China’s offering representing centralized control and including the suppression of foreign influences. Marcus’s tweet clearly alluded to this clash of East vs. West — but it’s notable that he is taking aim at U.S. regulators and Congress — in particular, the House Financial Services Committee, which is chaired by Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters — to espouse a contrasting regulatory approach based on capitalism, freedom and less central regulation.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-china-trade-war-and-its-effect-on-cryptocurrencies
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US Air Force Steps Up Blockchain Use: What Else Is Pentagon Up To?
This week saw twin reports from smart contract startup Simba Chain and blockchain data management firm Constellation, both of whom announced contracts with the United States Air Force.
New utility in USAF
Judging by these developments, the U.S. Air Force is looking seriously at new tech to shore up supply chains and rearrange data. Simba Chain has reportedly been tasked with prototyping a blockchain approach for the registration and tracking of additive manufacturing — also known as 3D printing — components throughout their lifecycles. Meanwhile, according to the original press release:
“Constellation's technology will help securely unlock traditionally siloed and non-accessible data and data sources. This is commonly referred to as Multi-Domain Command and Control (MDC2) at the U.S. Air Force.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-air-force-steps-up-blockchain-use-what-else-is-the-pentagon-up-to
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North Korea Denies It Stole $2 Billion From Crypto Exchanges and Banks
North Korea is denying accusations of obtaining $2 billion through hacking banks and cryptocurrency exchanges.
North Korea accuses the United States of spreading rumours
On Sept. 1, the country’s official state media, the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) denied allegations of massive theft by North Korean agents.
As Cointelegraph previously reported, the United Nations Security Council North Korea sanctions committee said that “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea cyber actors were raising money for its WMD (weapons of mass destruction) programs, with total proceeds to date estimated at up to two billion US dollars.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/north-korea-denies-it-stole-2-billion-from-crypto-exchanges-and-banks
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Sierra Leone Aims to Finish National Blockchain ID System in Late 2019
The government of Sierra Leone plans to fully adopt a blockchain-enabled national identity system by the end of 2019.
United Nations involved
President of Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio reportedly claimed that the new infrastructure will allow financial institutions to verify identities and build credit histories, tech publication NFCW reported on Sept. 2.
The new project, called the National Digital Identity Platform (NDIP), is a collaboration between the United Nations and San Francisco-based nonprofit Kiva, a key technology partner of Sierra Leone since September 2018.
According to the report, the NDIP is being deployed in two major stages. The first involved identities being digitized — and the second, due to be finished by the end of the year, involves creating non-duplicating, non-reusable and universally recognized National Identification Numbers.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/sierra-leone-aims-to-finish-national-blockchain-id-system-in-late-2019
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Craig Wright Challenges Court Order Requiring Him to Pay 500K Bitcoin
Self-proclaimed creator of Bitcoin (BTC) Craig Wright is questioning a recent court order requiring him to pay 500,000 BTC to the estate of a former colleague.
Wright questions judge's power
On Aug. 30, Wright’s attorney Andres Rivero filed a document with the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida — asking for a 14-day extension to file a motion challenging Magistrate Bruce Reinhart’s order in favor of Dave Kleiman’s estate.
Spelling the judge’s name wrong in the document, Rivero stated that Wright “does not concede that Magistrate Reinhardt had the power to enter the order that he did” — adding that entrepreneur’s legal team will need an additional 14 days to address the legal validity of the order.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/craig-wright-challenges-court-order-requiring-him-to-pay-500k-bitcoin
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Bitcoin Dominance Hits 70% as Keiser Warns Altcoins ‘Not Coming Back’
Bitcoin (BTC) now has the highest share of the overall cryptocurrency market since before its record-breaking $20,000 bull run in 2017.
According to data from major monitoring resource CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin now accounts for 70.5% of the total cryptocurrency market cap as of Sept. 3.
Bitcoin market cap hits pre-$20K high
That figure has not been seen since March 2017, and comes as BTC/USD makes gains at altcoins’ expense.
As Cointelegraph reported, continued underperformance in cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin has triggered warnings from traders and analysts alike.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-dominance-hits-70-as-keiser-warns-altcoins-not-coming-back
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VanEck, SolidX to Offer Limited Bitcoin ETF for Institutions Via Exemption
Following another delay on Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), asset managers VanEck and SolidX plan to offer a limited version of their Bitcoin ETF to institutional investors.
VanEck Securities and SolidX Management want to start selling shares in a limited version of a Bitcoin ETF, using a rule that exempts the shares from securities registration, under which shares can be sold only to certain institutional investors, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sept. 3.
VanEck, SolidX Bitcoin ETF launching Sept. 5
According to the report, the investment management firms are planning to start selling on Sept. 5 under the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Rule 144A, which allows the sale of privately placed securities to “qualified institutional buyers.”
By using the SEC’s exemption, VanEck and Solid will be able to offer shares of their VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust to institutions such as banks and hedge funds, but not retail investors, the report notes.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/vaneck-solidx-to-offer-limited-bitcoin-etf-for-institutions-via-exemption
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Burundi Bans Cryptocurrency Trading Due to Lack of User Protection
The Republic of Burundi in central Africa has banned the trading digital currencies in the country due to associated risks.
As Bloomberg reported on Sept. 4, some Burundian citizens urged the government to take action regarding cryptocurrency trading after they lost money while dealing with virtual currencies. The government subsequently banned crypto trading explaining that it cannot provide appropriate user protection.
Commenting on the issue, Alfred Nyobewumusi, a director at the central bank’s micro-finance department, said, “Strong measures could be taken against all those who will not respect this decision.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/burundi-bans-cryptocurrency-trading-due-to-lack-of-user-protection
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Bitcoin Network Computing Power Nears 90 Quintillion Hashes per Second
Bitcoin (BTC) has seen yet another sharp increase in its computing power after its network hash rate grew 25% in a week.
Hash rate climbs to all-time high
Data from monitoring resource Blockchain puts Bitcoin’s hash rate at 87 quintillion hashes per second (h/s) as of Sept. 3.
The figure passed 80 quintillion h/s for the first time in early August, and has set new highs on an almost daily basis in recent months.
Hash rate refers to the overall computing power involved in processing Bitcoin transactions. The greater the metric, the more power available, and hence the more secure the Bitcoin network is.
Additionally, a rising hash rate means that forward-looking miners are investing vast amounts of resources to expand their operations, i.e. betting on Bitcoin’s value to increase in the future.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-network-computing-power-nears-90-quintillion-hashes-per-second
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NSA Working to Develop Quantum-Resistant Cryptocurrency: Report
The United States’ National Security Agency (NSA) is allegedly working to develop a quantum-resistant cryptocurrency.
The claim was made in a tweet by Bloomberg Technology reporter William Turton on Sept. 4, who was in attendance at the Billington CyberSecurity 10th annual summit in Washington D.C.
NSA: North Korea “creative” in its use of cryptocurrency
Turton’s tweet gives only a laconic hint at the agency’s apparent plans, with reference to the quantum-resistant cryptocurrency project confined to an aside. He wrote:
“Anne Neuberger, Director of NSA’s new Cybersecurity Directorate says that the agency will propose hardware and software standards again. Also notes agency is working to build quantum resistant crypto.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/nsa-working-to-develop-quantum-resistant-cryptocurrency-report
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Apple Exec Says Cryptocurrency ‘Interesting’ — Has Long-Term Potential
Jennifer Bailey, the vice president of Apple’s payments service, Apple Pay, said that the company sees potential in cryptocurrencies.
CNN reported on Sept. 5 that Bailey told the outlet’s chief business correspondent Christine Romans at a private event in San Francisco:
“We're watching cryptocurrency. [...] We think it's interesting. We think it has interesting long-term potential.”
A shot in the arm for crypto
Apple’s interest in cryptocurrencies follows a similar widely-covered move announced by the social media giant Facebook, which announced its Libra cryptocurrency in June. CNN quotes Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, commenting:
“This would be a major shot in the arm for crypto if Apple headed down this [the same as Facebook] path. [...] Given where Apple strategically is focused, a move into crypto could make sense given its sights on further monetizing its consumers over the coming years.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/were-watching-crypto-apple-exec-acknowledges-long-term-potential
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Turkish Takasbank Announces Blockchain Platform for Gold Trading
Turkey's Istanbul Clearing, Settlement and Custody Bank (Takasbank) has announced its blockchain-based platform for trading physical gold.
Dubbed BiGA, Takasbank’s new project aims to enable people to transfer physical gold stored at the Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange (BIST), Turkey's sole exchange entity, through digitized gold units on a blockchain, the bank announced on Sept. 6.
The units, which are similar in form and function to physically-backed stablecoins, have their value tied to the traded gold. As “BiGA” is the Turkish abbreviation for one gram of gold, one BiGA is equivalent to one such amount, according to the project’s website.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/turkish-takasbank-announces-blockchain-platform-for-gold-trading
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Mystery 94K BTC Transaction Becomes Richest Non-Exchange Address
The recipient wallet of the $1 billion Bitcoin (BTC) transaction on Sept. 6 is now presumed to be the first richest non-exchange address.
The recipient wallet of the massive 94,504 Bitcoin ($1.031 billion) transaction is the top richest Bitcoin address that is not reportedly associated with any crypto-related company, according to data from monitoring resource Bitinfocharts.
A third of the coins came from Huobi
According to data by London-based blockchain data provider TokenAnalyst, at least one third of the mysterious transaction directly originates from Huobi exchange. Another analyst, blockchain data and metrics firm Glassnode tweeted that at least 73,000 BTC from the transaction originate from Huobi.
According to an earlier tweet by Crypto Herpes Cat, at least two Bitcoin wallets involved in the notable transaction belong to Huobi. One of the specified wallets is directly involved in the transaction.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/mystery-94k-btc-transaction-becomes-richest-non-exchange-address
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Crypto Exchange Binance.US to Launch ‘in the Coming Weeks’
Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance’s United States-based branch Binance.US will launch in the coming weeks, preceded by Know Your Customer (KYC) registration a few days earlier.
According to a Medium post published by Binance.US on Sept. 6, while the launch of the trading platform itself is expected in the following weeks, KYC onboarding will start a few days earlier. The aim of this is to ensure that users will have time to verify their accounts and deposit their funds.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-exchange-binanceus-to-launch-in-the-coming-weeks
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Jack Dorsey: Twitter Has No Interest in Creating Libra-Like Crypto
Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey stated that there are no plans for a platform-specific “Twitcoin” cryptocurrency, noting that he will instead focus on promoting Bitcoin (BTC).
Open standards are better
According to Australian news outlet The Sydney Morning Herald’s article published on Sept. 5, Dorsey is confident that Bitcoin is still the most likely candidate to beсome the internet's native currency. Twitter CEO noted:
“I think open internet standards serve every person better than ones controlled or started by companies.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/jack-dorsey-twitter-has-no-interest-in-creating-libra-like-crypto
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Stellar Development Foundation and Keybase Jointly Launch $120M Airdrop
The Stellar Development Foundation, a non-profit founded to support the development of the open-source Stellar network, is launching a $120 million airdrop in collaboration with encrypted messenger Keybase.
According to a Sept. 9 blog post, Keybase will be giving 100 million Stellar (XLM) each month over the next 20 months to their users, which totals to 2 billion XLM, or almost $120 million. Keybase will distribute XLM among its more than 300,000 users.
*Certain conditions may apply
The foundation states that eligible participants in the airdrop must have had a Keybase account before today’s announcement or, if they are new to the messenger, must connect the Keybase account to a Github or HackerNews account that was registered before Sept. 9.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/stellar-development-foundation-and-keybase-jointly-launch-120m-airdrop
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Bitcoin Deposited in Bakkt Warehouse Protected by $125M Insurance
Bitcoin (BTC) deposited at the Bakkt Warehouse is protected by a $125 million insurance policy, according to an announcement on Sept. 9.
The company started accepting deposits and withdrawals on Sept. 6, ahead of the planned launch of its futures products on Sept. 23.
Deposits launch as planned
It took Bakkt a lot of time and effort to gain regulatory certification for its upcoming daily and monthly physically delivered Bitcoin futures products.
Since approval was given, things has been full speed ahead — with deposits in its freshly certified custodial warehousing solution happening as planned.
News of the insurance policy covering client deposits removes yet another concern for the institutional investors that Bakkt hopes to attract.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-deposited-in-bakkt-warehouse-protected-by-125m-insurance
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Coinbase Launches USDC-Based Initiative to Support DeFi Developers
Cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase has launched the new USDC Bootstrap Fund aimed at the improvement of Decentralized Finance (DeFi).
As the company announced on Sept. 10, Coinbase set up the USDC Bootstrap Fund to support developers who build DeFi protocols by investing USD Coin (USDC) directly in the protocol. Coinbase and payment startup Circle jointly launched their own stablecoin USDC in September 2018.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-launches-usdc-based-initiative-to-support-defi-developers
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Survey: 40% of Millennials Look to Crypto in the Event of Recession
New data suggests 40% of millennials would prefer to invest in crypto assets in the event of a recession.
In a news release shared with Cointelegraph on Sept. 10, multi-asset investment platform and social network eToro cited a survey on generational investment conducted from July 18 to July 31 among 1,000 online investors in the United States. Respondents aged between 20 and 65 years represented Generation Z, millennials, and Generation X.
The survey found that more than two-thirds of U.S.-based investors are afraid of a recession, and would consider converting part of their stock portfolios to safer investments or hedge with crypto assets, commodities or real estate.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/survey-40-of-millennials-look-to-crypto-in-the-event-of-recession
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Bug on Kraken Let Users Buy Bitcoin $2K Cheaper and Sell $2K Higher
Some Kraken clients were buying Bitcoin (BTC) for $2,000 cheaper than the market price and selling it for nearly $12,000 on Sept. 13.
On Friday, United States-based crypto exchange Kraken experienced a bug that allowed some users to buy or sell Bitcoin at a notably different price from Bitcoin’s actual market price due to a reported system bug.
On Sept. 14, Kraken posted a Twitter thread explaining that the bug resulted from testing an unreleased advanced order type. While Bitcoin was trying to hold $10,300 mark on the day of the reported system glitch, the exchange wrote that some clients “bought from the tester at $8,000 and others sold at $12,000 without clearing the intervening liquidity” through the bug.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bug-on-kraken-let-users-buy-bitcoin-2k-cheaper-and-sell-2k-higher
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$250K Bitcoin Price Prediction Is Now 'Conservative,' Says Tim Draper
Major Bitcoin (BTC) bull Tim Draper now thinks that his own prediction that BTC price will hit $250,000 by 2022 may be understating the power of Bitcoin.
BTC price to grow with adoption
In an interview with crypto news network Blocktv on Sept. 13, the famous American venture capital investor has once again expressed his bullish stance to Bitcoin, forecasting the soon-to-come mass global adoption that will push the price of Bitcoin higher and higher.
Draper stated in the interview:
"$250,000 means that Bitcoin would then have about a 5% market share of the currency world and I think that maybe understating the power of Bitcoin."
https://cointelegraph.com/news/250k-bitcoin-price-prediction-is-now-conservative-says-tim-draper
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Big Four Auditing Firm Deloitte Lets Staff Pay for Lunch in Bitcoin
"Big Four" auditing firm Deloitte is now allowing its staff to pay for food in the canteen using a mobile Bitcoin (BTC) wallet.
The English-language Luxembourg Times reported on Sept. 17 that Deloitte is testing Bitcoin among its employees to “see how the audit giant could use the cryptocurrency.”
Laurent Collet, a partner at Deloitte's advisory arm, said:
“We think it's good to have our employees assess this new technology.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/big-four-auditing-firm-deloitte-allows-staff-to-pay-lunch-in-bitcoin
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Bitcoin Addresses Worth $100,000 or More Hits All-Time-High
The number of Bitcoin (BTC) wallet addresses holding a minimum of 10 BTC — worth over $100,000 to press time — has hit an all-time high, multiple data sources reveal.
According to BitInfoCharts’ Bitcoin Rich List, as of Sept. 17, there are 157,210 addresses holding between 10 and 1,000,000 BTC.
Earlier this month, Coin Metrics’ State of the Network report had plotted the latest data historically to reveal that these mega-holders are at an all-time high for the network.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-addresses-worth-100-000-or-more-hits-all-time-high
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CipherTrace Expands Monitoring Platform to 700 Tokens
United States-based blockchain security firm CipherTrace has expanded its crypto intelligence platform to 700 tokens.
Tracing hundreds of ERC-20 tokens
With the expanded platform launched on Oct. 15, CipherTrace now allows clients to trace more than 87% of the transactional volume of the top 100 cryptos such as Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC), the firm said in a press release.
CipherTrace’s increased monitoring support also includes the capability of tracing several hundred ERC-20 tokens, the company added.
CipherTrace has not specified to Cointelegraph what cryptocurrencies will not be supported on the platform at publishing time. This piece will be updated with comments when they are available.
The expanded capabilities are included in the latest CipherTrace Cryptocurrency Intelligence platform and are available to end-users immediately via CipherTrace API for automated monitoring.
Users and financial investigators will be able to trace crypto addresses and access data on transactions, wallets, exchanges and smart contracts.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ciphertrace-expands-monitoring-platform-to-700-tokens
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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.
Seeking feedback from the industry
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, media and others, are invited to provide their feedback on the document, the SCA noted, adding that the proposals will be taken into consideration for the final regulation.
Providing guidance after enforcing 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
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Bitcoin ‘Maybe Is a Partial Store of Value,’ Concedes Nouriel Roubini
Economist Nouriel Roubini — also known as “Dr. Doom” for his prediction of the 2007–2008 financial crisis and his criticism of cryptocurrencies — has conceded that Bitcoin (BTC) is “a partial store of value.”
Roubini made the concession during a panel alongside high-profile crypto industry figures such as Brock Pierce, Bobby Lee and Tone Vays during the CC Forum 2019 conference in London on Oct. 16.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-maybe-is-a-partial-store-of-value-concedes-nouriel-roubini
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NY District Court Postpones Telegram’s TON Hearing to 2020
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has postponed the hearing regarding the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) injunction filing against Telegram Open Network (TON) and its Gram token to Feb. 18–19, 2020.
As Cointelegraph reported recently, following Telegram’s counterclaim on Oct. 16, where the firm argued that its native crypto is not a security and the preliminary injunction should be denied, the SEC has responded with a new filing in the New York Court on Oct. 17.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ny-district-court-postpones-telegrams-ton-hearing-to-2020
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Former IBM, Google Russia Exec Joins Blockchain Firm Credits as CBO
Former Google Russia chief technology officer Jennifer Trelewicz has joined blockchain platform Credits (CS) as its new chief business officer (CBO).
According to an official announcement published on Oct. 11, Trelewicz’s first experience working with blockchain was during her time as the CEO of Russian technology startup S7 TechLab.
In the past, she also worked as the director of IBM’s systems and technology laboratory and the director of risks and market data at Deutsche Bank.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/former-ibm-google-russia-exec-joins-blockchain-firm-credits-as-cbo
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California Man Sues AT&T Over Loss of $1.8M and Crypto Accounts
California resident Seth Shapiro has filed a lawsuit against wireless service giant AT&T alleging that its employees helped to perpetrate a SIM-swap which resulted in the theft of over $1.8 million in total, including cryptocurrencies.
The complaint filed on Oct. 17 claims that Shapiro is “a two-time Emmy Award-winning media and technology expert, author, and adjunct professor at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts.” The lawsuit alleges that between May 16 and May 18 AT&T employees transferred access to Shapiro’s mobile phone to outside hackers:
“AT&T employees obtained unauthorized access to Mr. Shapiro’s AT&T wireless account, viewed his confidential and proprietary personal information, and transferred control [...] to a phone controlled by third-party hackers in exchange for money. [...] The hackers then utilized their control over Mr. Shapiro’s AT&T wireless number [...] to access his personal and digital finance accounts and steal more than $1.8 million.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/california-man-sues-att-over-loss-of-18m-and-crypto-accounts
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Former Trump Advisor to Release Stablecoin Backed by Fractional Reserve
A former campaign adviser to United States President Donald Trump is planning to release a stablecoin based on a fractional reserve.
As Fortune reported on Oct. 21, Stephen Moore announced plans to launch a stablecoin dubbed Frax, which will be backed by a fractional reserve of U.S. dollars.
As such, the planned stablecoin will not be pegged one-to-one to a reserve of dollars but is based on algorithms that will loan out its reserves and gain interest in order to make certain that the value of the coin remains fixed to the dollar.
Moore and his business partner and co-founder of Frax, Sam Kazemian, said that the stablecoin — which is expected to be launched in the coming months — will be built upon established blockchains that ensure a tamper-resistant public record.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/former-trump-advisor-to-release-stablecoin-backed-by-fractional-reserve
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The Chainsmokers Back Blockchain-Based Ticketing Platform Yellowheart
American EDM-pop duo The Chainsmokers are backing a new blockchain-based ticketing platform.
Platform allows artists to control the secondary ticketing market
Alongside their manager Adam Alpert, the 2017 Grammy Award winners invested in YellowHeart, a decentralized ticketing platform designed to facilitate transparent ticketing sales by artists, music industry publication Music Business Worldwide reports on Oct. 21.
Founded by music executive Josh Katz, the YellowHeart platform uses a public blockchain to enable artists and venues to directly control the ticketing process, including sales on secondary markets.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-chainsmokers-back-blockchain-based-ticketing-platform-yellowheart
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Rep. Warren Davidson: You Have to Defend Money to Defend Freedom
In an interview with Cointelegraph on Friday, Oct. 18, United States Representative Warren Davidson gave his thoughts on the Securities Exchange Commission’s (SEC) flawed approach to regulating digital assets as well as Mark Zuckerberg’s upcoming Oct. 23 testimony before the House Financial Services Committee.
Congressman Davidson (R-OH) is a figure familiar to many in the crypto world for his role in authoring the Token Taxonomy Act, as well as his general optimism about the role of blockchain in the U.S.
On regulating Libra as a security
While discussing regulating cryptocurrencies at large as opposed to Libra, Davidson was highly precise in his taxonomic definitions:
“We use the term ‘cryptocurrencies’ to refer to everything in the crypto space, which is sloppy language. What we need to focus on is, what is Libra’s goal? Its goal is to be a currency. Let’s not conflate that with what other things in the space want to do and how we regulate them. How we look at Libra would be to apply, in my view, the Token Taxonomy litmus test.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/rep-warren-davidson-you-have-to-defend-money-to-defend-freedom
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Zuckerberg: Facebook Would Leave Libra if It Launched Too Early
Facebook could withdraw from the Libra Association — the governing body of the eponymous stablecoin project — should it launch without approval from regulators in the United States.
Libra could lose its primary member
In a Congressional hearing on Oct. 23, Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg reiterated the company’s commitment to not launch its planned cryptocurrency project until it receives the green light from U.S. regulators.
Zuckerberg delivered his statements before the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, where lawmakers grilled him on various aspects of the company’s activities including Libra, data practices and the handling of hate speech on its platform.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/zuckerberg-facebook-would-leave-libra-if-it-launched-too-early
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Security Numbering Association to Consider Standards for Digital Assets
A global association of national numbering agencies has set up a new task force to assess the adoption of name standards for digital assets.
All types of tokens to be considered
The Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) will examine the identification of digital assets such as tokens and cryptocurrencies, the organization announced on Oct. 23.
ANNA oversees the work of global national numbering agencies — organizations responsible for issuing International Securities Identification Numbers (ISINs) — and will now consider the role and scope of ISINs in regard to the identification of digital assets.
Within the new initiative, ANNA will provide recommendations on the potential advantages of creating global standards for the assignment of ISINs to all types of digital assets including asset tokens, payment tokens, utility tokens and hybrid tokens, the association clarified.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/security-numbering-association-to-consider-standards-for-digital-assets
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Bakkt Announces First Regulated Options Contract for Bitcoin
Bakkt announced on Oct. 24 that it will be launching the first regulated options contract for Bitcoin (BTC) futures on Dec. 9.
Bakkt options contract is certified with CFTC
According to the Bitcoin futures exchange, the key features of the Bakkt Bitcoin Options contract include capital efficiency, cash or physical settlement, European-style options, low fees, as well as instant messaging, block trades and options analytics.
A European-style option is an option contract that limits the opportunity for early execution and reduces operational burdens, the firm noted.
The new options product is based on customer feedback, explains CEO Kelly Loeffler and is designed to hedge or gain bitcoin exposure.
Bakkt adds:
“ICE Futures U.S. has self-certified the contract with the CFTC and we’re excited to leverage the benchmark futures prices and institutional-grade custody to meet the needs for a regulated options contract.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/breaking-bakkt-announces-first-regulated-options-contract-for-bitcoin
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Bitcoin Price Skyrockets to $8.7K Confirming Previous Bottom Signals
Bitcoin (BTC) price just made a $1,200 rally towards $8,700, leaving bears and shorts behind. Several signals were pointing towards a potential trend shift and price reversal, while the overall market sentiment was still extreme fear.
The majority of the market was looking for lower levels to buy and most often when the majority expects one thing, the opposite happens.
However, what were the reasons behind this latest push?
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-skyrockets-to-87k-confirming-previous-bottom-signals
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Bitcoin Price Soars 42% to $10,500 — Biggest Daily Gain Since 2011
By Thursday, BTC/USD was sitting on the bottom trendline of the descending channel and many investors and analysts were calling for a drop to $7,000.
A few even predicted that a revisit to the long-term support at $6,500 was on the cards. Despite the bearish bias, traders like Scott Melker and Michaël van de Poppe spotted a series of bullish divergences on the 4-hour and daily timeframe and by Friday morning (Oct. 25) the chart and various indicators on the hourly and 4-hour timeframe were flashing bullish.
Investors believed that a quick upside move to $7,700-$7,800 would occur and many expected that bears would open their short positions at the top of this range and eventually push Bitcoin price back down to the mid $7,000s or high $6,000s at worst.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-soars-42-to-10-500-biggest-daily-gain-since-2011
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China Passes First-Ever ‘Crypto Law’ Going Into Effect January 2020
The Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress in China has passed a new law regulating cryptography on Oct. 26 that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2020, reports local news outlet CCTV.
Per the report, the new regulatory framework aims to set standards for the application of cryptography and the management of passwords. The new regulatory framework establishes the role of a central cryptographic agency meant to lead public cryptographic work, creating guidelines and policies for the industry.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/china-passes-first-ever-crypto-law-going-into-effect-january-2020
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Where to Spend Bitcoin: A Global Overview From Ljubljana to Zurich
There’s no easy way to buy, send or spend cryptocurrency in person — not even for a slice of pizza or a cup of coffee, or so it’s been said. Meanwhile, the number of physical merchant locations that accept crypto payments keeps growing.
As of late October 2019, 15,558 business venues worldwide were accepting Bitcoin (BTC) as a method of payment, up 18% from a year earlier, according to Coinmap.org. The crowdsourced heatmap, devised by Satoshi Labs in 2013, draws on input from consumers and merchants.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/where-to-spend-bitcoin-a-global-overview-from-ljubljana-to-zurich
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China Studying Blockchain and AI for Cross-Border Financing
China is looking into the application of blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to cross-border financing, Reuters reports on Oct. 27.
Blockchain in risk management
Lu Lei, the deputy head of the Chinese regulator State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), reportedly said that there are plans to use blockchain and AI in cross border financing, with particular attention devoted to risk management applications.
Lei noted that SAFE promotes the application of fintech and AI to international finance and macro-prudential management.
His urge to innovate is in line with the remarks of China’s President Xi Jinping, who recently called for the country to accelerate its adoption of blockchain technologies as a core for innovation. Lei also highlighted the importance of managing the risk:
“We need to pay special attention to the rapid development of digital finance and fintech. [...] When we are not entirely certain where a (new) form of business is heading, we must pay attention to risk management.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/china-studying-how-blockchain-and-ai-can-be-used-in-forex
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China to Be First to Launch Digital Currency, Says Think Tank Exec
An executive at a Chinese economics think tank has said that China’s central bank will be the first to launch a digital currency successfully.
According to Chinese tech news outlet Pandaily, Huang Qifan, vice chairman of China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), confidently believes that China’s central bank will win the race for the first central bank digital currency (CBDC).
A digital renminbi to replace SWIFT
Qifan’s remarks came at the Inaugural Bund Financial Summit of 2019 in Shanghai. Per the report, Qifan was dissatisfied with current dependence on the United States’ SWIFT and CHIPS payments systems, on which cross-border exchange of the renminbi currently depends. His complaints were on the basis of both U.S. sanctioning using the platforms and their technical limitations. He said:
“SWIFT is an outdated, inefficient and costly payment system. Since the establishment of SWIFT 46 years ago, the technology has been updated slowly and the efficiency has been relatively low.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/china-to-be-first-to-launch-digital-currency-says-think-tank-exec
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Bakkt Teases Launch of Consumer Payments App Scheduled for 2020
Cryptocurrency custody and futures trading platform Bakkt has announced its coming entry into mobile payments with a consumer app.
Per an Oct. 28 blog post from the company, Bakkt will follow its recent successes in trading Bitcoin (BTC) futures with a consumer app. According to the company, the app will help consumers “unlock the value of digital assets, as well as ways in which they can transact or track them.”
Starbucks on board
Though the announcement is vague on the specifics of the app’s functionalities, coffee empire Starbucks is the first major retailer to commit to the new payments application. Maria Smith, Starbucks’ vice president of partnerships and payments, said:
“As the flagship retailer, Starbucks will play a pivotal role in developing practical, trusted and regulated applications for consumers to convert their digital assets into US dollars for use at Starbucks.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bakkt-teases-launch-of-consumer-payments-app-scheduled-for-2020
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China Warns Against Cryptocurrency ‘Speculation’ Amid Blockchain Hype
China should embrace blockchain technology but not “speculate” about cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), state media claim.
State newspaper: “We must remain rational”
As Reuters reported on Oct. 29 quoting local news outlet the People’s Daily, Beijing’s previously-announced support for blockchain should not be read as support for crypto.
The People’s Daily is a publication under the direct control of the ruling political power, the Communist Party of China.
“Blockchain’s future is here but we must remain rational,” it wrote. The publication continued:
“The rise of blockchain technology was accompanied by that of cryptocurrencies, but innovation in blockchain technology does not mean we should speculate in virtual currencies.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/china-warns-against-cryptocurrency-speculation-amid-blockchain-hype
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CME Head Tim McCourt Explains How Bitcoin Options Work
Still in its infancy, the cryptocurrency market currently only offers a fraction of the trading and investment products available in traditional financial markets. Over the past few years, however, the crypto space has continued to develop with products around Bitcoin (BTC) and other crypto assets, such as BitMEX futures and Deribit options.
Mainstream financial entities have also continued to enter the growing sector with crypto trading and investment products, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s (CME) cash-settled Bitcoin futures and Bakkt’s physically-settled Bitcoin futures.
Back in September 2019, CME announced plans to launch Bitcoin options on its Bitcoin futures trading products in early 2020.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/cme-head-tim-mccourt-explains-how-bitcoin-options-work
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China Is Pushing Blockchain Adoption, Seizing the Momentum From US
Recently, the National People’s Congress in China cleared a new law that will allow local authorities to start regulating all of the country’s cryptography-related activities starting from Jan. 1, 2020. By creating a new regulatory framework, the Chinese government is looking to establish a uniform standard for mainstream application of cryptographic techniques and the management of passwords and other sensitive data.
The initial proposal for the law was published all the way back in May. At the time, the rough draft focused quite strongly on government-centralized password management and did not mention crypto-related matters in detail, although, it is believed that this very law will be used by Chinese officials to govern their upcoming national CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) — even though there is no official timetable for the launch.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/china-is-pushing-blockchain-adoption-seizing-the-momentum-from-us
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The SEC Files as the CFTC Settles Charges Against Swiss Securities Dealer
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against XBT Corp. SARL on the same day that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) settles charges against the same company.
SEC allegations
In a press release on Oct. 31, the SEC alleged that the Switzerland-based securities dealer, XBT Corp. SARL, operating under the name First Global Credit, offered and sold unregistered security-based swaps to U.S. investors without complying with the registration and exchange requirements governing security-based swaps.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-sec-files-as-the-cftc-settles-charges-against-swiss-securities-dealer
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11 Years Ago Today Satoshi Nakamoto Published the Bitcoin White Paper
Today, Oct. 31, marks eleven years since the publication of the Bitcoin white paper by the still-mysterious person or group pseudonymously identified as Satoshi Nakamoto.
A revolutionary text
Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System — published on Oct. 31, 2008 — outlined a tamper-proof, decentralized peer-to-peer protocol that could track and verify digital transactions, prevent double-spending and generate a transparent record for anyone to inspect in nearly real-time.
The protocol represented a cryptographically-secured system — based on a Proof-of-Work algorithm — in which Bitcoins (BTC) are “mined” for a reward by individual nodes and then verified by other nodes in a decentralized network.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/11-years-ago-today-satoshi-nakamoto-published-the-bitcoin-white-paper
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Telegram’s Grams Wallet Is Available on GitHub in Test Mode
Telegram’s crypto wallet Grams Wallet is now available for MacOS, Windows and Ubuntu in testing mode, with the source code published on GitHub.
Grams Wallet users can get test tokens
Users can now download the test wallet client from its website, create an address and receive private keys as well as request and test Gram tokens in the app via a special Telegram bot called TestTonBot.
Specifically, TestTonBot invites users to test out the service by requesting 5 to 20 tokens to the generated crypto address on the app. After users request a specific amount of tokens, the bot notifies them about the start of the request execution before sending a separate message that test Grams were credited to the wallet.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/telegrams-grams-wallet-is-available-on-github-in-test-mode
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Two Pro-Crypto US Congressmen Note Bitcoin White Paper’s 11th Birthday
U.S. Representatives Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Warren Davidson (R-OH), have encouraged Bitcoin (BTC)-powered innovation on the Bitcoin white paper’s 11th birthday.
U.S. policymakers should not attempt to deter Bitcoin’s tech
U.S. congressman McHenry, who represents North Carolina’s 10th District, urged that American authorities should not stifle the new technology in a tweet on Oct. 31.
According to the official, policymakers should facilitate the development of new technologies. McHenry reiterated his previous bullish sentiments about Bitcoin, stating:
“The world that Satoshi Nakamoto envisioned, and others are building, is an unstoppable force. As policymakers, we should not attempt to deter this technology, but instead ask ourselves: what are we doing to meet the challenges & opportunities of this new world of innovation?”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/two-pro-crypto-us-congressmen-note-bitcoin-white-papers-11th-birthday
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Bitcoin Price: Big Move Brewing as $9.5K Becomes Next Key Battleground
Bitcoin price (BTC) closed the week at $9,207, down 3.66%. Despite a surprisingly low volatility weekend, the bulls helped keep Bitcoin price above $9,000 for 10 days and at the time of writing the price continues to consolidate.
So far Monday has brought a move higher to retest $9,300, representing a 1% gain. EOS (EOS) and Ether (ETH) have had notable gains on the day with EOS trading over $3.50 and Ethereum at $185. The total crypto market cap is $249 billion, with Bitcoin dominance at 67.2%
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-big-move-brewing-as-95k-becomes-next-key-battleground
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New Official Register in San Marino Recognizes and Regulates Blockchain Firms
The Republic of San Marino has officially adopted the Register of Blockchain Entities, inviting companies in the industry to apply for certification.
Companies can apply for blockchain certification online
The project was initiated by San Marino’s fully state-owned tech innovation company, the Institute for Innovation of the Republic of San Marino, Cointelegraph Italia reports Oct. 22.
According to local public service broadcaster San Marino RTV, companies in the microstate of San Marino can now apply to be recognized as a blockchain entity via an official form on the official website of the Republic of San Marino Innovation Institute. As per the report, the certification will be granted in accordance with the provisions of the Delegated Decree number 86 of 2019.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/new-official-register-in-san-marino-recognizes-and-regulates-blockchain-firms
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Manipulation? CME Bitcoin Futures Flash Crash to Fill $8.5K ‘Gap’
Bitcoin (BTC) trading is coming under the spotlight this week after another flash crash sparked concerns that traders are manipulating markets.
As various social media users noted, including statistician Willy Woo on Nov. 5, unusual occurrences on exchanges give reason to be critical of Bitcoin price movements.
Woo: I’m “highly suspicious” of BTC/USD
As Cointelegraph reported, last week saw sudden erratic behavior at two exchanges — Deribit and Coinbase Pro — which appeared to influence BTC/USD.
On Tuesday, it was CME Group’s Bitcoin futures which continued the trend. In early trading, BTC/USD futures suddenly tanked to below $8,500 before rebounding to $9,300.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/manipulation-cme-bitcoin-futures-flash-crash-to-fill-85k-gap
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President Erdogan: Turkey to Finish Testing Digital Lira in 2020
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan directed that the government should finish testing the national central bank digital currency (CBDC) in 2020. The country’s national blockchain-based digital lira is planned to be issued by the Central Bank in accordance with the 2020 Annual Presidential Program, Cointelegraph Turkey reported on Nov. 5.
Digital lira ‘instant payment’ pilots should be finalized by the end of 2020
Published on Nov. 3, the Presidential Program specifies that the first trials of the digital lira should be conducted and finalized by the end of 2020, according to a document published by Turkey’s official national publication Resmi Gazete on Nov. 4.
Within the pilots, the government reportedly plans to develop a software platform for instant payments based on the digital lira. Alongside the central bank, the project will also involve the national tech innovation agency — the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, also known as TUBITAK.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/president-erdogan-turkey-to-finish-testing-digital-lira-in-2020
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Bakkt Rolls Out ‘Critical’ Bitcoin Custody After NY Gives Green Light
Institutional Bitcoin (BTC) trading platform Bakkt has announced it has launched its custody feature for its entire client base following regulatory approval.
Bakkt: custody is “critical link” in BTC adoption
In a blog post on Nov. 11, Bakkt said it had received the go-ahead from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to offer custody services to any institution. Previously, the option was only available for those trading its Bitcoin futures.
Commenting on the release, Bakkt described the custody tool as “the critical link in the institutional adoption of Bitcoin.”
“Safely storing digital assets demands a comprehensive approach to custody. Institutions and sophisticated investors need more than cutting-edge technology. They require proven infrastructure, robust operational controls, and independent oversight,” the blog post added.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bakkt-rolls-out-critical-bitcoin-custody-after-ny-gives-green-light
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Dutch Court Orders Facebook to Remove Fake Bitcoin Ads
A Dutch court has ruled that Facebook must remove Bitcoin (BTC)-related fraudulent investment ads following local billionaire and television producer John de Mol’s lawsuit against the company, Reuters reported on Nov. 11.
De Mol initiated judicial proceedings against the social media giant in June 2019, claiming that Facebook failed to respond to multiple requests to remove ads of a scam that misused his and other celebrities’ images and eventually resulted in the loss of 1.7 million euros ($1.8 million) by investors.
The ruling, fine and Facebook’s stance
Following de Mol’s claim, a Dutch court ruled that Facebook must pull the ads and provide all available information about the individuals who stood behind the scam ads. Otherwise, the social media giant could be fined up to 1.1 million euros ($1.2 million). The court said:
“Facebook’s arguments that it is just a neutral funnel for information, and therefore cannot be obligated to act, is not acceptable. The company plays too active a role with respect to advertisements, which form its primary business model, to argue that.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/dutch-court-orders-facebook-to-remove-fake-bitcoin-ads
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Tron Founder Justin Sun Admits Investment in Crypto Exchange Poloniex
Tron (TRX) founder Justin Sun admitted to being one of the investors that recently acquired cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex from financial technology firm Circle.
Sun said he was one of the investors who acquired the trading platform in a livestream published by the official Poloniex Twitter profile on Nov. 12. Furthermore, he noted that the exchange operates independently from his firm, the Tron Foundation.
In October, Sun refuted reports suggesting that he is leading an investment group behind the acquisition of cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex. Following the acquisition, Poloniex spun out from Circle as an independent company. During the livestream, Sun claimed that the investors intend to help Poloniex grow.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/tron-founder-justin-sun-admits-investment-in-crypto-exchange-poloniex
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UPS and Agritech Firm Use Blockchain to Verify Beef Shipment From US to Japan
American logistics giant UPS has successfully delivered a blockchain-verified beef shipment from the United States to Japan. The company partnered with agritech firm HerdX to incorporate its packaging technology into a blockchain network to trace the journey of beef from Kansas to Japan, the firm announced on Nov. 11.
As announced by UPS, the jointly-delivered shipment involved a blockchain partner network developed by HerdX. Meanwhile, UPS provided its visibility tool that integrates with HerdX's blockchain technology and records live updates, registering details throughout the journey.
U.S. Embassy and Japanese officials checked the blockchain-recorded beef
The pilot was supported by the United States Embassy in Japan and was announced at a special dinner event in Tokyo, UPS stated.
The steak reportedly left Kansas on Nov. 4, after which it arrived at a steakhouse in Tokyo where guests including U.S. Embassy and Japanese officials were able to scan QR codes to access data about the food’s journey.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ups-and-agritech-firm-use-blockchain-to-verify-beef-shipment-from-us-to-japan
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Grayscale Files Form to Become First Bitcoin Fund to Report to SEC
Publicly traded Bitcoin (BTC) fund Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) filed Form 10 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to become the first crypto fund to report to regulator.
Grayscale announced in a blog post published on Nov. 19 that, if the filing will be deemed effective by the SEC, several aspects of the fund’s operations could change.
In the event of approval
The firm notes that, if the regulator deems the filing effective, the structure of the trust will remain the same and it will not be added to a national securities exchange. However, there will be some changes to Grayscale’s scope and operations.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/grayscale-files-form-to-become-first-bitcoin-fund-to-report-to-sec
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Canada’s Largest Bank Refutes Rumors About It Launching Crypto Exchange
The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) — the largest bank in Canada with $499 billion in assets under management — will not launch its own digital currency trading platform, contrary to previously published news.
Last week, rumors that the RBC was exploring the possibility of launching its own cryptocurrency exchange began circulating the internet on a range of finance and economics-focused publications.
At the time, it was reported that the trading platform would “facilitate buying and selling of individual digital coins, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), as well as the transfer of funds combining different types of cryptocurrencies.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/canadas-largest-bank-refutes-rumors-about-it-launching-crypto-exchange
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Indian PM Awards Crypto App Creator as Supreme Court Deliberates on Ban
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi awarded young entrepreneur Harshita Arora, the developer of a cryptocurrency price tracking application, amid an ongoing battle in her home country over the status of cryptocurrency.
In a tweet on Jan. 24, Modi said that Arora’s “passion towards science, technology and human welfare are clearly visible.” She received the Bal Shakti Puraskar 2020: an award recognizing youth’s contributions in the fields of social service, innovation, bravery, sports, art and culture and scholastics.
Arora was born on Oct. 2, 2001, and “created an app to safeguard investors from scammers,” according to Modi’s tweet. Her app, Crypto Price Tracker, is a portfolio management and price tracking app.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/indian-pm-awards-crypto-app-creator-as-supreme-court-deliberates-on-ban
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One Wallet Owns 27% of Ether Behind MakerDAO’s Sai Stablecoin
Of all the Ether (ETH) locked in the collateralized debt positions (CDPs) of the old MakerDAO system, 27% belongs to a single Ethereum address. Financial technology data firm Digital Assets Data shared these findings with Cointelegraph on Jan. 26.
Dai, which was created by MakerDAO, allows users to borrow or generate the stablecoin by staking their cryptocurrency holdings as collateral. Dai was not supported with bank accounts of reserve currencies but rather is generated by putting Ether into a CDP smart contract.
In November 2019, the Dai stablecoin reached its 100 million token debt ceiling and introduced multi-collateral Dai (MCD) that can be backed by multiple assets.
The old, single-collateral Dai — Dai that generated only with Ether — became known as “Sai,” while the new MCD is now referred to as “Dai.” CDPs for different assets were rebranded as “vaults” i.e. Ether is stored in an Ether vault, while Basic Attention Tokens (BAT) are stored in a BAT vault.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/one-wallet-owns-27-of-ether-behind-makerdaos-sai-stablecoin
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Trezor Wallets Can Be Hacked, Kraken Reveals
Kraken Security Labs revealed on Jan 31. that Trezor hardware wallets and their derivatives can be hacked to extract private keys. Though the procedure is quite involved, Kraken claims that it “requires just 15 minutes of physical access to the device.”
The attack requires a physical intervention on the Trezor wallet by either extracting its chip and placing it on a special device or soldering a couple of critical connectors.
The Trezor chip must then be connected to a “glitcher device” that would send it signals at specific moments. These break the built-in protection that prevents the chip’s memory from being read by external devices.
The trick allows the attacker to read critical wallet parameters, including the private key seed.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/trezor-wallets-can-be-hacked-kraken-reveals
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Investigators Bust €6 Million Bitcoin and Gold Fraud Scheme
French, Belgian and Israeli investigators have brought down a scheme that defrauded €6 million ($6.64 million) from French and Belgian citizens, a Jan 29. press release from Europol reads.
The fraudsters promised significant returns for the victims’ investment in what appears to have been a Ponzi scheme.
The international network of fraudsters was allegedly masterminded by a French-Israeli citizen. Authorities arrested nine suspects connected with the scam in 2019.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/investigators-bust-6-million-bitcoin-and-gold-fraud-scheme
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Silk Road Marketplace Senior Adviser Pleads Guilty in US Federal Court
A senior adviser to the operator of the Silk Road dark web marketplace has pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics in a Manhattan federal court. According to a United States Department of Justice press release dated Jan. 30, Roger Thomas Clark was a key figure in the development of Silk Road, advising on all aspects of the enterprise, and even attempting to arrange a murder-for-hire to protect its interests.
Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht described Clark, who used a number of online aliases such as “Variety Jones,” and “Plural of Mongoose,” as a “real mentor,” who advised about the security and running of the site.
Clark was purportedly instrumental in advising Ulbricht to concoct a cover story that he had sold the Silk Road website, and was responsible for gathering information on the authorities’ investigation of the site.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/silk-road-marketplace-senior-adviser-pleads-guilty-in-us-federal-court
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Rising BTC Price, Justin Sun’s Harassment Suit, and More on the Bad Crypto Podcast
Those of you seeking yet another angle on consuming the latest and greatest crypto news should know about The Bad Crypto Podcast. This week’s episode starts with the good news that Bitcoin is on the rise, touches on Justin Sun’s harassment suit, and even takes a moment to acknowledge Peter Schiff’s remarkable public Bitcoin mistakes.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/rising-btc-price-justin-suns-harassment-suit-and-more-on-the-bad-crypto-podcast
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2019's Top 10 Institutional Actors in Crypto
Slowly but surely, institutional players are moving into the crypto/blockchain neighborhood.
According to a 2019 Fidelity Investments survey, about 22% of institutional investors already have some exposure to digital assets, with most investments having been made within the past three years. Moreover, 4 in 10 respondents say they are open to future investments in digital assets over the next five years.
“Institutional investor involvement in cryptocurrency in 2019 has been primarily about getting the infrastructure in place, such as the opening of Fidelity Digital Assets and Bakkt,” Jonathan Levin, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Chainalysis, told Cointelegraph, adding:
“Now that the infrastructure is in place, we expect institutional volume to come as long as they can get comfortable with the compliance and market risks of cryptocurrency.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/2019s-top-10-institutional-actors-in-crypto
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Is the Future of Blockchain Tech Innovation in the East?
Since the end of World War II, the United States has been an undisputed global leader in innovation. From putting a man on the moon to the “Traitorous Eight” of Fairchild and the birth of today’s Silicon Valley, the U.S. has been at the forefront of embracing emerging technology. This position has given the country a strategic advantage in dictating how technology is adopted and setting the basic standards for its use. However, as we enter the new decade, the U.S. is at risk of losing its place as the leading innovator to Asia, impacting our technological future significantly.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/is-the-future-of-blockchain-tech-innovation-in-the-east
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Coinbase Says Bitcoin Will Become Closer to Digital Gold in 93 Days
With May’s Bitcoin halving event drawing ever closer, Coinbase recently took to pushing the “Bitcoin as digital gold” narrative. In a tweet-storm to promote an accompanying blog-post published Feb. 7, it covered the key reasons why the halving and subsequent supply rate reduction will further cement that link.
Scarcity creates value
Since the gold standard was broken in 1971, the dollar’s value has declined and gold’s value, in dollar terms, has risen over 4000%. Gold has more value than similar metals such as copper due to its relative scarcity and difficulty to acquire.
Bitcoin has been designed to be scarce like gold and is artificially difficult to acquire through the Proof-of-Work process of mining. However, it also has an advantage over gold in being transferable through a communications channel.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-says-bitcoin-will-become-closer-to-digital-gold-in-93-days
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Bitcoin May Dip to $6.8K Without New Coronavirus-Style Event — Trader
Bitcoin (BTC) may have come within 2% of $10,000 this week, but its 40% gains in 2020 are now making traders bearish about the future.
Speaking to Cointelegraph in a Market discussion on Feb. 7, two trading heavyweights highlighted what they consider to be the increasing potential for Bitcoin to lose value in the short term.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-may-dip-to-68k-without-new-coronavirus-style-event-trader
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One Coin, Much Drama: OneCoin Ponzi Scheme Lives on as TV Show
The co-founder of cryptocurrency-inspired Ponzi scheme OneCoin faces charges of fraud and money laundering in her absence — but will now become a movie star.
As Hollywood news outlet Deadline reported on Feb. 4, a United States production company has won the rights to a podcast about Ruja Ignatova originally aired by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in the United Kingdom.
OneCoin drama plans to “get the word out”
Charting the rise, fall and disappearance of Ignatova, “The Missing Cryptoqueen” saw 3.5 million downloads in four months when it went live in 2019.
Now, New Regency Television will turn the podcast into a full-fledged television drama.
“Hope it continues to get word out about OneCoin around the world,” producer and co-writer, Georgia Catt, tweeted following the news.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/one-coin-much-drama-onecoin-ponzi-scheme-lives-on-as-tv-show
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Ethereum Price Sets 2020 High — Are Investors Buying the ETH 2.0 Hype?
Altcoin price action has been the talk of the town for the past two weeks — and for good reason. Since the start of 2020, altcoins like Icon (ICX), AION and WanChain (WAN) have surged more than 200%, 120% and 60% respectively, leading some analysts to suggest that a new altcoin season has begun.
Now, Ether (ETH) appears to have joined the party, and since the altcoin dropped to $115.95 on Dec. 18, 2018, it has quietly rallied 90% to reach a 2020 high at $220.81 on Feb. 6.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-price-sets-new-2020-high-as-defi-market-value-hits-1-billion
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Last Bitcoin Price Dip Before $10,000? Here’s How Low It Can Go
After an impressive performance over the past two weeks, Bitcoin (BTC) price appears to be taking a breather which on Feb. 7 saw the price trade in the $9,730 to $9,800 range. The weekly high at $9,910 appears to be standing as resistance and the price traded sideways under this level throughout the day.
So far, $9,730 has functioned as a level of support and a pullback below this point could see the price drop slightly below the Bollinger Band moving average at $9,450 and below this, the 6-hour chart shows the possibility of a bounce at the 50-day moving average ($9,350).
If the digital asset is entering a period of consolidation, it would be perfectly natural for it to revisit the lower support at $9,472, as was the case during the previous weeks when Bitcoin climbed from $7,300 in a step and stairway pattern.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/last-bitcoin-price-dip-before-10-000-heres-how-low-it-can-go
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BSV and BCH Are Surging With Their Halvings a Month Before Bitcoin
Recently, Bitcoin (BTC) has been picking up momentum as the halving in May 2020 moves closer. However, large-cap Bitcoin forks namely, Bitcoin SV and Bitcoin Cash, will have their own halvings in April and the effects are already showing. This year, they gained 270% (BSV) and 132% (BCH) already, compared to Bitcoin’s 40%.
The USD chart of Bitcoin SV is showing an impressive breakout from the downtrend, which made the coin surge from $100 to $450, an increase of 350%.
Such a massive move upwards is always going to retrace as it’s unhealthy to go up in a straight line. The retracement occurred in the days after and seemingly found support at the $245 level.
The $245 level is significant, as the price of Bitcoin SV couldn’t break through this barrier earlier in June 2019.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bsv-and-bch-are-surging-with-their-halvings-a-month-before-bitcoin
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Mysterious ‘Binance Cloud’ Launching in 10 Days, CEO CZ Hints
Mysterious ‘Binance Cloud’ Launching in 10 Days, CEO CZ Hints
In a wide-ranging ask-me-anything (AMA) on Feb. 7, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced big plans for the cryptocurrency exchange in 2020. One of the most imminent and least explained was the hinted arrival of a new product called Binance Cloud, which will reportedly be unveiled in the next 10 days.
Taking Binance into the cloud
Exactly what Binance Cloud might entail was not explained, as Zhao remained tight-lipped during the AMA. However, the company is currently advertising for a Senior Cloud Engineer, to join the Cloud Engineering and Architecture Team.
The position describes “large scale, massive parallel and highly available compute[r] systems on the advanced Cloud Computing platform,” and requires someone who can “improve, scale and automate this business critical Cloud-based architecture.”
How this translates into a consumer product remains unclear, although seemingly the answer is just days away. Zhao followed up the AMA by tweeting a GIF of some clouds, to increase the speculation.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/mysterious-binance-cloud-launching-in-10-days-ceo-cz-confirms
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CFTC’s Fintech Research Unit to Hold Office Hours for Innovators
The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s fintech lab will host office hours during New York Fintech Week.
In April, the CFTC’s fintech research unit, LabCFTC, will host office hours during New York Fintech Week to engage with innovators in the field, according to a recently published announcement.
LabCFTC’s objective is to promote market-enhancing fintech innovation and competition, as well as provide the CFTC with a better understanding of emerging technologies. The office hours will enable interested parties to participate in dedicated discussions and give a presentation to regulators.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/cftcs-fintech-research-unit-to-hold-office-hours-for-innovators
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Tether to Track Stablecoin Network Activity With Chainalysis Suite
Chainalysis is rolling out a global compliance solution for Tether (USDT), a Feb. 12 press release announced. The stablecoin’s issuer is now able to identify “high risk” transactions occurring on its network.
The tracking is made possible by Chainalysis’ Know Your Transaction (KYT) suite, which allows token issuers to monitor the activity of their assets. The real-time Anti-Money Laundering (AML) solution assists compliance efforts by tracking the entire chain of a token’s life, from issuance to redemption.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/tether-to-track-stablecoin-network-activity-with-chainalysis-suite
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Egyptian National Bank Turns to Blockchain to Boost Remittance Business
Another major financial institution has partnered with blockchain-based payments firm Ripple.
The National Bank of Egypt has signed a cooperation agreement with Ripple to establish new channels for inward remittances, according to a Feb. 11 report from local daily news site Youm7.
The agreement reportedly makes the National Bank the country’s first to venture into the blockchain sector.
Remittances: an almost $600 billion global market
The global remittance market — referring to the money or goods that migrants send back to family and friends in their home countries — is expected to reach $597 billion in 2020, according to data from the World Bank.
Egypt was projected to be the fifth highest remittance recipient country worldwide in 2019 ($26.4 billion), following India, China, Mexico and the Philippines.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/egyptian-national-bank-turns-to-blockchain-to-boost-remittance-business
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Bitcoin Price Tackles $10.4K Level as Futures Markets Hit 5-Month High
Bitcoin (BTC) tried to clear fresh key resistance at $10,400 on Feb. 12 as its rebound, which began on Tuesday, continued to produce surprises.
BTC posts 7% daily gains
Data from Coin360 and Cointelegraph Markets showed BTC/USD briefly hit local highs of $10,495 on Wednesday. This capped a highly successful 24 hours for the pair, which just a day earlier traded at close to $9,700.
At press time, Bitcoin was hovering just below the new local highs, trading at $10,340, still up almost 6%.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-tackles-104k-level-as-futures-markets-hit-5-month-high
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FC Barcelona Dives Into Crypto, Partnering With Chiliz to Create Token
Spanish soccer powerhouse FC Barcelona, or Barca, has teamed up with fintech platform Chiliz to create a blockchain-based token for the sports franchise.
As part of the partnership with FC Barcelona, Chiliz created Barca Fan Tokens (BAR) for use on its social mobile app called Socios, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph.
“We are really proud to launch the Barca token on the Chiliz blockchain platform,” Chiliz and Socios CEO and founder Alexandre Dreyfus said, referring to Chiliz’s own Ethereum-based blockchain. “This is the ultimate goal and the best confirmation of our long term vision about fan engagement and monetization.”
Several months ago, Chiliz began working on Socios, seeing 100,000 users during beta testing, Dreyfus told Cointelegraph in an email, confirming that the platform is no longer in the beta phase.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/fc-barcelona-dives-into-crypto-partnering-with-chiliz-to-create-token
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Coin Ninja CEO Arrested for Allegedly Laundering $311M With Bitcoin Privacy Tools
Larry Harmon, the CEO of Bitcoin media site Coin Ninja and founder of crypto wallet provider DropBit, is facing federal charges related to his use of Bitcoin privacy tools.
United States federal prosecutors are charging Harmon with conspiracy to launder money and operating a money transmitting business without a FinCEN license.
According to an arrest warrant filed earlier this month, Harmon allegedly laundered over 354,468 Bitcoins (BTC) (worth $311 million at the time of the transactions), allowing the users of a privacy tool named Helix, and a darknet search engine named Grams, to make transactions on AlphaBay, a known dark market that was shut down in 2017.
Helix allowed users to mix the coins before spending through a CoinJoin transaction. The mixing of coins has been associated with money laundering and other illicit activities.
Harmon is facing a 30-year prison sentence for these alleged crimes.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/coin-ninja-ceo-arrested-for-laundering-311m-with-bitcoin-privacy-tools
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Coinbase Custody Obtains Two Major Security Evaluations
The crypto custody arm of major United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, Coinbase Custody, obtained two new security evaluations.
According to a press release published on Feb. 12, Coinbase Custody was granted a Service Organization Control (SOC) 1 Type 2 and a SOC 2 Type 2 report by major accounting firm Grant Thornton.
System Organization Control reports
In obtaining the reports, Coinbase Custody is able to prove to clients that they are compliant with a variety of security and reporting standards.
According to Grant Thornton’s website, SOC reports are meant to provide information on “the existence and strength of financial, operational and information security controls in an organization.” An SOC 1 report provides information on the internal controls relevant to a user organization’s financial reporting. In other words, “SOC 1 reports are intended to be auditor to auditor communications.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-custody-obtains-two-major-security-evaluations
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Bitcoin Price Suddenly Drops $300 in 1 Hour After $10,500 Rejection
Bitcoin (BTC) fell by almost 2% in an hour on Feb. 13 as markets faced rejection after reaching higher levels around $10,500.
BTC suddenly dives to $10,150
Data from Coin360 and Cointelegraph Markets showed BTC/USD dropping suddenly by over $300 on Thursday, hitting daily lows of $10,150.
A bounce had secured support slightly higher by press time, but volatility was conspicuous as Bitcoin failed to crack $10,500 resistance for the second time in a week.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-suddenly-drops-300-in-1-hour-after-10-500-rejection
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Bitcoin Price Grapples With $10K — 2 Scenarios for the Week Ahead
Bitcoin (BTC) bears took their pound of flesh last Wednesday. However, was this simply a long-overdue correction that was needed for Bitcoin to continue to rally to fresh highs?
Today I’m going to look at the two scenarios that could play out next week.
Daily crypto market performance
It was a devastating blow for bulls last week on Wednesday, Feb. 19, as Bitcoin fell by approximately 10% in a single hourly candle. However as can be seen in the chart above, this channel had already been invalidated two candles prior, and what followed next is what seems to be a blatant display of whale flexing designed to leave both left both longs and shorts completely rekt.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-grapples-with-10k-2-scenarios-for-the-week-ahead
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Are the BZx Flash Loan Attacks Signaling the End of DeFi?
Earlier this week, the decentralized lending protocol bZx was exploited in back-to-back “flash loan” attacks. While the two exploits were distinct, the end results remained the same. In total, $954,000 was gleaned from the platform. But what exactly happened? Was it an exploit, a simple case of arbitrage or a malicious attack? And where does decentralized finance go from here?
It hasn’t been a good PR week for the DeFi sector. For some, the movement promising an alternative to the legacy financial system is starting to look like a failed experiment. For others, the attacks amounted to little more than being caught on the wrong side of a trade. But regardless of semantics, whether these attacks transpired from a legitimate loophole or were the result of a premeditated attack, faith in DeFi is truly being tested.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/are-the-bzx-flash-loan-attacks-signaling-the-end-of-defi
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Bitcoin Cash Faces ‘Slow Death’ After Alleged $30M Hack — Commentator
Altcoin Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has become the subject of intense speculation after a major investor claimed he lost $30 million in a wallet hack.
In a now-deleted Reddit post from Feb. 22, the investor, who appears to be Dreamhost founder Josh Jones, said the attacker also stole 1,500 Bitcoin (BTC) worth $14.4 million.
Hacker steals reported $45M
The hack came in the form of Jones’ SIM card being compromised. So far, he has not confirmed whether this was a so-called “SIM swap,” or whether the funds were commandeered by other means.
In the deleted post, Jones appealed to BCH miners not to validate the transactions. He wrote:
“It’s only had 3 confirmations, if any miners/the community can help somehow, I’ve got the private keys. Help help help.. Big reward obviously.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-cash-faces-slow-death-after-alleged-30m-hack-commentator
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Crypto Appears on Simpsons Where Jim Parsons Explains It's 'Cash of the Future'
One of the latest episode of "The Simpsons" aired has just aired featuring Jim Parsons of Big Bang Theory appearing as a guest star to explain cryptocurrencies and how a blockchain works.
In the song and dance predicts cryptocurrency to be the future money, the animated ledger states: "Each day I'm closer, to being the cash of the future. Not in your wallet, I'm in your computer!
At the end of Jim’s talk, there is a subliminal message on screen. It further explains how cryptocurrencies work, part of which says:
"Using the word "cryptocurrency" repeatedly while defining cryptocurrency makes it seem like we have a novice's understanding of cryptocurrency. Well that is a total pile of cryptocurrency. In this system, rules are defined for the creation of additional units of cryptocurrency. They can be generated by fiat like traditional currency or just thrown around randomly or all given to LeBron."
https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-appears-on-the-simpsons-where-jim-parsons-explains-its-cash-of-the-future
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Why Another Drop Below $9.4K Would Not Bode Well for Bitcoin Price
While the equity markets are taking a huge hit today, the cryptocurrency market and Bitcoin (BTC) price are remaining relatively stable over the weekend and into the start of this week. As the stock market pulls back traders will begin to speculate on whether the crypto market will react in a bearish or bullish manner. Is this just the calm before the storm?
One thing to note is crypto trading volume has drained away over the past few days. With volume going down, perhaps this is a signal that a big move will take place in the market soon.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/why-another-drop-below-94k-would-not-bode-well-for-bitcoin-price
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Crypto Exchange Binance Adds Hong Kong Dollars to Fiat Gateway
Binance, one of the world’s foremost cryptocurrency exchanges, now allows deposits in Hong Kong dollars.
According to a Feb. 21 announcement, Binance now offers both deposits and withdrawals in Hong Kong dollars without deposit fees. After depositing Hong Kong dollars, users are free to spend them on cryptocurrency.
Deposits are enabled through a partnership between Binance and payment processor Epay. Users can deposit with a swift code, wire transfer, SEPA, Fasapay, PM and other e-currency deposit and withdraw services.
Binance is apparently trying to drive more liquidity into the cryptocurrency market. As Cointelegraph reported earlier this month, the exchange recently added 15 additional fiat currency options for Visa and Mastercard purchases on its platform. Shortly before this announcement, the firm also added Russian ruble pairs for its peer-to-peer trading platform.
All these efforts indicate that Binance is trying to attract people to join the cryptocurrency market during this new bull market. Still, the increase in user base is not without its consequences.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-exchange-binance-adds-hong-kong-dollars-to-fiat-gateway
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Crypto Prime Broker Tagomi To Join Libra Association
Tagomi, a crypto prime broker headquartered in New York, will join the Libra Association, the governing body for the Facebook-led stablecoin. Tagomi was founded by Jennifer Campbell in 2018, a former associate at Union Square Ventures.
Tagomi will become the Libra Association’s 22nd member. Members of the association are expected to contribute at least $10 million to the Libra Reserve, which holds the assets that back the cryptocurrency.
Tagomi has raised $28 million to date, making a $10 million commitment a large amount for a two-year-old startup. It should be noted that some of the biggest names in crypto are listed as clients on the company’s website: Galaxy Digital, Pantera and Electric Capital amongst others. Tagomi’s value proposition on its website is simple: “Executing large orders of digital assets is really hard. Tagomi makes it simple.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-prime-broker-tagomi-to-join-libra-association
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CryptoKitties Creator and UFC to Launch Tokenized MMA Tamagotchis
Dapper Labs, the company behind CryptoKitties, has announced a partnership with leading mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
According to a press release on Feb. 25, the partnership will see the development of “a new digital experience” for UFC fans, including opportunities to own, maintain, and trade UFC-branded collectibles on Dapper Labs’ Flow platform.
Dapper Labs to launch Flow this year
Flow is Dapper Labs’ forthcoming blockchain project, which the firm describes as a developer-friendly platform for building blockchain apps, games and digital assets. The company will launch Flow before 2021, with the development of UFC collectibles starting this quarter.
The platform will allow fans to own gamified “tokenized representations of their favorite fighters” resembling Tamagotchis, with fans able to train, level up, and manage diets to qualify for different weight classes.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/cryptokitties-creator-and-ufc-to-launch-tokenized-mma-tamagotchis
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Moody’s Gives Thumbs Up to UAE’s Know Your Customer Blockchain Platform
Moody’s Corporation has said that a new blockchain-based Know Your Customer (KYC) platform in the United Arab Emirates is credit positive for the nation’s lenders.
According to a report by local media outlet The National on Feb. 26, the ratings agency has said that the platform will improve asset quality and boost profits.
As Cointelegraph reported last week, a consortium of six banks, holding nearly 45% of total banking assets in the UAE, was formed this month to share verified customer data using blockchain technology.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/moodys-gives-thumbs-up-to-uaes-know-your-customer-blockchain-platform
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China's Digital Yuan Research Delayed Amid Coronavirus Epidemic
Research on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in China has been delayed as the coronavirus epidemic continues.
Global Times reported on Feb. 25 that the epidemic’s impact on staff has resulted in significant setbacks. A source familiar with the matter reportedly said:
“The coronavirus outbreak has led to postponed work resumption in government institutions, including the People's Bank of China. Policymakers and research staff involved in the DCEP [Digital Currency Electronic Payment] project are no exception, which weighs on the development process.”
Shentu Qingchun, the CEO of Shenzhen-based blockchain company BankLedger — which is involved in the project — said that the central bank was expected to make an important announcement during Q1 2020.
He noted that there is just one month left in the quarter, “So chances that the announcement could be made on time are slim.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/chinas-digital-yuan-research-delayed-amid-coronavirus-epidemic
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Coronavirus, Drug Dealers and Buffett’s BTC: Bad Crypto News of the Week
The experts have had a rough few days. Anthony Pompliano, co-founder and partner at Morgan Digital Creek, spoke to CNN about Warren Buffett’s poor view of Bitcoin. The Sage of Omaha had said that he doesn’t own any BTC and sees no value in digital currencies. Pompliano argued that Buffett might be a whiz when it comes to spotting stocks but he’s not so great when it comes to technology.
Someone else who turned out not to be so great at technology is an anonymous Chinese crypto whale who is reported to have lost $30 million worth of BCH and $15 million worth of BTC in a sim swap. We’ve seen those before so keeping that kind of money in such a vulnerable spot… well, that’s about as thoughtless as not seeing any value in digital currencies.
At least that whale can say he was robbed though. Irish drug dealer Clifton Collins has just lost nearly $60 million worth of Bitcoin. The former beekeeper had used his drug money to buy 6,000 Bitcoins in 2011, when the currency cost just $5 each. He stored his private key in the cap of a fishing rod. When he was jailed for possession of cannabis, his landlord cleared out his things, including the rod, which is believed to have been incinerated. If the cryptocoins weren’t lost, the Irish state would have confiscated them.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/coronavirus-drug-dealers-and-buffetts-btc-bad-crypto-news-of-the-week
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‘You OK Boomer?’ Gold Sees Biggest Loss Since 2013 as Bitcoin Steadies
Bitcoin (BTC) saw a difficult week as it hit one-month lows, but on gold markets, traders were nursing the biggest daily falls in over seven years.
According to data tracking XAU/USD on Feb. 29, Friday saw the precious metal’s worst 24-hour drop since 2013.
Gold drops 7% in 5 days after coronavirus sell-off
Over the past five days, gold broadly succumbed to the sell-offs affecting traditional markets due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Between Feb. 24 and Feb. 29, XAU/USD lost a total of 7.3% before a slight rebound.
The fragile performance puts gold roughly on par with “digital gold,” Bitcoin, the weekly losses for which currently stand at around 9%.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/you-ok-boomer-gold-sees-biggest-loss-since-2013-as-bitcoin-steadies
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Market Analysts Naeem Aslam and Ian Balina Debate Coronavirus and Crypto
In today’s crypto market discussion, Cointelegraph is joined by crypto analyst Naeem Aslam, and the CEO of Tokenmetrics Ian Balina to discuss the impact of the coronavirus on the cryptocurrency markets.
Will the economic impacts of the coronavirus leave people flocking to cryptocurrencies as a safe haven?
Naeem Aslam is skeptical of Bitcoin’s purported ‘safe haven’ status, emphasizing that Bitcoin is a haven from central bank monetary policy, and not infectious diseases:
“I think when we talk about Bitcoin as a safe haven asset, we're really talking about in relation to central banks and their monetary policies. Right now, we don't have that fear in the market right now. The fear in the market is about influence of coronavirus [...] when we have something going wrong with the monetary policy, then, yes, we could see the momentum coming in because obviously Bitcoin the entire fundamentals base against the traditional monetary policy that the central banks are running.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/market-analysts-naeem-aslam-and-ian-balina-debate-coronavirus-and-crypto
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The BCH Question: How to Recover After $30M Hack and Mining Tax Row?
Each crypto token commands a small army of fierce supporters. For many, the sole cryptocurrency that is worthy of such staunch support is Bitcoin (BTC). But what truly is Bitcoin, what is its purpose, and how can it be fully optimized?
The division among those trying to answer these questions led to the creation of Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin’s most successful offshoot. While for some, BCH has been the answer to crypto’s woes, but the coin has had some significant issues of its own over the past few months. From a multimillion-dollar hack to a new mining tax, BCH is dividing its community like never before.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-bch-question-how-to-recover-after-30m-hack-and-mining-tax-row
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Elon Musk Voices Support for Dogecoin After Recent Bitcoin Bashing
Just over a month after delivering sceptical remarks on Bitcoin (BTC), SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is apparently rooting for major altcoin Dogecoin (DOGE) again.
Already known as a big fan of DOGE, Musk has made yet another endorsement for the cryptocurrency in a March 3 tweet. While the initial tweet isn’t exactly crypto-related but just a shoob meme with caption “Dogs rock,” the subsequent tweet — “They have the best coin — clearly shows Musk was talking about the Dogecoin.
Musk is a known fan of Dogecoin so far
This is not the first time when the Tesla CEO has expressed his positive stance to Dogecoin though. In April 2019, Elon Musk tweeted that DOGE “might be” his favorite cryptocurrency, adding that it’s “pretty cool.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/elon-musk-voices-support-for-dogecoin-after-recent-bitcoin-bashing
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Major Crypto Exchanges Lament Outsized Scrutiny From US IRS
Representatives of major crypto exchanges today told the United States Internal Revenue Service that they want to see clear regulations rather than vague suspicion from the tax authority.
In a March 3 panel that is a continuation of a broader crypto summit at the IRS building in Washington, D.C., representatives from Coinbase, Kraken, and major accounting firm RSM US LLP argued that the crypto world had experienced outsized scrutiny from regulators compared to its size and darkness.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/major-crypto-exchanges-lament-outsized-scrutiny-from-us-irs
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Coronavirus Will Send Bitcoin Price to $100,000 in 2020 — Max Keiser
Bitcoin (BTC) will reach $100,000 and Jamie Dimon will be “begging” the United States Federal Reserve for money to buy some.
Those were just two of the predictions from Max Keiser on March 5, as the coronavirus outbreak sees financial markets tumble again.
Keiser: 2020 is “part two” of the 2008 crisis
Speaking on the latest edition of his RT news magazine, The Keiser Report, the well-known Bitcoin proponent said that global panic would have a profound impact on Bitcoin uptake this year.
2020, he explained, was “part two of the global financial crisis” which originally spawned the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2009.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/coronavirus-will-send-bitcoin-price-to-100-000-in-2020-max-keiser
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South Korea Passes Law to Introduce Permit System for Crypto Exchanges
On March 5, South Korea’s National Assembly passed a revised bill on the reporting and use of special financial transaction information, focusing on the introduction of a permit system for cryptocurrency exchanges.
Accordingly, virtual asset operators such as cryptocurrency exchanges would have to report their operations to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Financial Services Commission after obtaining "real name-confirmed accounts" from commercial banks. Failure to report operations could result in up to five years in prison or 50 million won ($42,000) in fines.
The bill, to be implemented in March next year, calls for existing crypto exchanges to meet requirements for a real-name account and ISMS authentication, and to report their operations within six months after the law's implementation.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/south-korea-passes-law-to-introduce-permit-system-for-crypto-exchanges
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Indian Crypto Exchanges Resume Fiat Services 24 Hours After Supreme Court Ruling
Major Indian crypto exchanges Unocoin and WazirX have resumed fiat deposits less than a day after the Supreme Court quashed restrictions on banks’ services to crypto firms in the country.
Unocoin, which claims to have been the first entrant into the Bitcoin space in India since its founding in 2013, has been described by local analysts as an “icon of the crypto industry.”
The exchange went live with rupee (INR) and bank account deposits and withdrawals earlier today, March 5, followed by INR deposits on Binance-owned WazirX.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/indian-crypto-exchanges-resume-fiat-services-24-hours-after-supreme-court-ruling
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‘100+ Events’ Imply $100K Bitcoin by 2022, Says Market Analyst PlanB
Bitcoin (BTC) rising to $100,000 next year has “more one hundred-plus events” backing it up, price analyst PlanB has confirmed.
In the ongoing Twitter debate over his stock-to-flow Bitcoin price model, the famously bullish PlanB said that it calls for a mid-term price tag of six figures — but how quickly or slowly Bitcoin gets there is “irrelevant.”
PlanB eyes BTC price co-integration
He was responding to criticism of what he believes will happen to BTC/USD after May’s block reward halving. As Cointelegraph reported, PlanB stated that he expects the event to have a catalytic effect on the price, just as during the 2012 and 2016 halvings.
A Twitter user quizzed him on the speed of this year’s future gains. The price rise was more gradual in 2016 than in 2012, the user said, and it was, therefore, necessary to consider which style 2020 would follow.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/100-events-imply-100k-bitcoin-by-2022-says-market-analyst-planb
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Bitcoin Slips Under $9K but Don’t Panic Until This Price Level Breaks
In the past few hours, Bitcoin (BTC) price dropped 3.85%, losing $9,000 and pulling back to $8,835.
The abrupt downside move occurred after Bitcoin price rallied to $9,188, slightly above the $9,150 target many traders had suggested the asset would reach before attempting a more decisive move toward $9,300.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-slips-under-9k-but-dont-panic-until-this-price-level-breaks
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ICOBox Startup Fails to Acknowledge US SEC Action, Owes $16M
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has ordered that ICO broker ICOBox must pay $16 million after the startup failed to act on previous legal action from the commission.
U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer of California sided with the SEC in a default judgement, after the alleged unregistered broker failed to respond to the commission’s lawsuit against the startup from September 2019, according to a March 6, 2020 statement.
ICOBox allegedly conducted an unregistered token offering, as well as unregistered broker activities. The SEC filed with California courts in January 2020 seeking such a default ruling.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/icobox-startup-fails-to-acknowledge-us-sec-action-owes-16m
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‘Bitcoin Coronavirus’ Search Traffic Overtakes ‘Bitcoin Halving’
Curiously, the search term “bitcoin coronavirus” has overtaken “bitcoin halving” on Google Trends.
The odd search term is seeing the most traffic from Europe. Research indicates that Austria, Switzerland, and Ireland comprise the three jurisdictions that produce the most searches for “bitcoin coronavirus.”
Singapore, Germany, Australia, and Canada are also producing significant traffic for the keyword, while the United States ranks 13th.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-coronavirus-search-traffic-overtakes-bitcoin-halving
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A pending bill may still inhibit cryptocurrencies from flourishing in India, with India’s parliament yet to rule on the "Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill" from 2019, Business Insider reported on March 7.
If passed, the bill will introduce unique regulatory frameworks for virtual currencies, utility tokens, and commodity-backed tokens — likely creating a complex exclusionary legislative apparatus for blockchain businesses to navigate.
Supreme Court repeals Reserve Bank of India’s crypto ban
On March 4, India’s crypto community rejoiced as India’s Supreme Court ruled that the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) ban was “disproportionate and unconstitutional.
The circular had prevented financial institutions from providing banking services to companies operating with cryptocurrency. The ban had been in place since April 2018, and targeted companies offering “any service in relation to virtual currencies.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/indias-crypto-industry-still-threatened-by-ban-as-pending-bill-looms
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Belgian Gov’t Will Sell $125K of Seized Bitcoin in Irish Public Auction
Major United Kingdom and Ireland-based auction house Wilsons Auctions is putting $125,000 worth of Bitcoin (BTC) under the hammer later this month.
In an announcement on March 6, Wilsons revealed the auction will be hosted by Wilsons Auctions Dublin on March 24.
The Bitcoin is being sold on behalf of the Belgian Federal government, which seized the cryptocurrency in criminal cases and is now cooperating with Wilsons’ Asset Recovery Department to dispose of the Bitcoin.
The auction will be unreserved, i.e. without a minimum price set for the winning bid.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/belgian-govt-will-sell-125k-of-seized-bitcoin-in-irish-public-auction
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China’s Central Bank to Inject $4.7M into Blockchain Trade Platform
The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has secured $4.7 million in funding from China’s central government for its blockchain trade finance platform. The funding will be administered over three years and has been designated for research and development projects.
The blockchain platform was initially revealed by the PBoC in Shenzhen during September 2018. The platform is intended to facilitate transfers and create an untamperable ledger for secure information sharing between businesses and government departments.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/chinas-central-bank-to-inject-47m-into-blockchain-trade-platform
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Central Bank Officials: DLT Can Improve the Global Financial System
On March 7, three monetary and cryptocurrency experts discussed the challenges and prospects of central bank-issued digital currencies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Bitcoin Expo 2020.
The panelists acknowledged that distributed ledger technologies (DLT) could improve the existing global monetary system, however, argued that significant challenges persist regarding the privacy, interoperability, and scalability of blockchains.
IMF official: central banks must not rush to adopt DLT
Sonja Davidovic, an economist with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), warned central banks not to rush to implement blockchain systems without properly vetting the technology first.
She stated: “What we've seen a lot is that there's a hype out there and people are quickly jumping to choosing that technology just because it's popular."
https://cointelegraph.com/news/central-bank-officials-dlt-can-improve-the-global-financial-system
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Bitcoin Drop Due to 13K BTC PlusToken Scam, Not Coronavirus — Analysts
Bitcoin (BTC) began its sudden crash due to another giant sell-off from the PlusToken pyramid scheme, analysts are suggesting as BTC/USD lost $8,000 support.
According to various online commentators citing Blockchain data, participants in the $2.9 billion scheme are again attempting to rid themselves of their BTC.
Mixer moves likely mean selling
Ergo, the Twitter account that closely tracks PlusToken’s activities, put the total funds involved at around 13,000 BTC or roughly $210 million at the current market price.
This time, Ergo said, the coins were going to mixing services to hide their traceability. Two feeder addresses have been identified, shedding their balances on March 5.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-drop-due-to-13k-btc-plustoken-scam-not-coronavirus-analysts
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Bitcoin Should Now ‘Behave Badly’ Says Analyst as IMF Warns of Crisis
Bitcoin (BTC) continued choppy trading behavior on March 11 as analysts revealed that the “black swan” state of the markets could produce fresh losses.
Filfilb expects “bad behavior” from BTC
Data from Coin360 and Cointelegraph Markets painted a precarious picture of BTC/USD strength on Wednesday. $7,750 support had remained since Monday, but resistance at $8,000 was once again keeping gains firmly in check.
At press time, Bitcoin circled $7,800, but there was little confidence that even those levels would endure for long.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-should-now-behave-badly-says-analyst-as-imf-warns-of-crisis
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Australian Tax Watchdog Contacting Crypto Holders to ‘Remind Them’ to Pay Up
In the coming weeks, hundreds of thousands of Australian crypto investors are set to receive a reminder of their tax obligations from the country’s authorities.
Citing an unnamed Australian Tax Office (ATO) representative, news.com.au reported on the forthcoming campaign on March 11.
“Up to a million” Australians estimated to be buying or selling crypto
In 2019, ATO had published its guidance framework on the taxation on cryptocurrencies, defining Bitcoin (BTC) and other crypto-assets as taxable forms of property.
In addition to this, the office published a Data Matching Protocol for cryptocurrency, which it uses to obtain transaction data from crypto exchanges on all taxpayers who have bought and sold cryptocurrency, the ATO representative explained, adding:
“Using this data we’ve found that due to the complex nature of cryptocurrencies, some people may not be aware that there may be tax obligations, so our campaign is designed to help raise awareness and give people the opportunity to fix any mistakes.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/australian-tax-watchdog-contacting-crypto-holders-to-remind-them-to-pay-up
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Blockchain Lender Reports 300% Surge as Fed Slashes Interest Rates
A blockchain lending firm has seen the value of total loans funded surge to $1 billion since the United States Federal Reserve announced its emergency stimulus interest rate cut last week.
In an announcement on March 10, Figure Technologies — which claims to be the industry’s first fintech to bring lending to the blockchain — said loan applications with the firm had soared by 300% since the Fed’s action.
Unprecedented low interest rates
Since its launch in 2018, Figure Technologies has used its blockchain, Provenance, to process consumer loans; one year on, the firm claims it was originating $85 million of loans per month for itself and other major lenders.
In December 2019, it went on to seal over $100 million in a Series C funding round led by Morgan Creek Digital, with participation from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s venture capital arm, MUFG Innovation Partners.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/blockchain-lender-reports-300-surge-as-fed-slashes-interest-rates
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Intel SGX Vulnerability Discovered, Cryptocurrency Keys Threatened
A vulnerability has reportedly been discovered in Intel’s Software Guard eXtensions (SGX) allowing passwords, encrypted keys, and other sensitive data to be siphoned from a computer’s memory.
On March 10, computer researcher Daniel Gruss uploaded a video to YouTube describing how the proof-of-concept attack, dubbed a “Load Value Injection [LVI],” can be used to steal sensitive data from Intel SGXs — including encrypted keys for cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets.
The attack is significant as SGX processors are designed to provide secure storage sensitive stored within a computer's memory, even when in the presence of a malicious operating system.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/intel-sgx-vulnerability-discovered-cryptocurrency-keys-threatened
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Cardano to Roll Out Commercial Infrastructure, Denies Coronavirus Delay
Proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain Cardano (ADA) is working on implementing commercial infrastructure. The coin’s officials have reassured the public that development is on schedule.
During a March 13 YouTube livestream, Charles Hoskinson — the CEO of IOHK, the firm behind Cardano — said that official updates about the coin’s critical commercial infrastructure should be expected in the coming months, but reassured that things are proceeding as expected.
Hoskinson explained that the people involved in the coin’s development are starting to set aside funding for dedicated commercial infrastructure, which he explained as follows:
“Cardano commercially critical infrastructure are things that Cardano needs for it — in our view — to be competitive against other cryptocurrencies.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/cardano-to-roll-out-commercial-infrastructure-denies-coronavirus-delay
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Using Digital Currency for Climate Markets
Climate change has created a rapidly growing global market for a digital eco-commodity called carbon credits. Current estimates value these carbon markets at over $100 billion annually. A carbon credit represents one metric ton of CO2 and is connected to efforts to reduce carbon emissions that cause climate change.
Carbon markets are one of the best tools that companies and policy-makers have for reducing carbon emissions, putting a value on a ton of CO2 so that markets can get to work creating price signals for reducing emissions. Various initiatives over the years have created a global patchwork of carbon markets that are now looking to interconnect as part of the UN Paris Agreement.
Related: Green Policy and Crypto Energy Consumption in the EU
https://cointelegraph.com/news/using-digital-currency-for-climate-markets
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The UN Paris Agreement to combat climate change was agreed in 2015 and became operational this year. One of the cornerstones of the Paris Agreement is the ongoing creation of carbon markets within and between countries. All of these interconnected systems will need to rely on the transparent and accurate accounting of carbon emissions and carbon removals at the national and regional level. At the subnational level, companies will also need to account for their carbon emissions. It’s no wonder that blockchain solutions are being heavily discussed to make the Paris Agreement and future carbon markets operational.
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US Sanctions Strategy and Crypto: The Cracks Are Showing in Iran
Running up against limited experience and resources for monitoring potentially illegal use of digital assets, United States authorities delegate sanctions monitoring to cryptocurrency exchanges and industry players. But do current practices do more harm than good?
Who will watch the watchlist?
Within the U.S. Treasury, the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) is responsible for sanctioning individuals and entities the country considers threats to national security.
Earlier this month, OFAC added two Chinese nationals accused of laundering money for North Korea’s infamous Lazarus Group. Notably, OFAC’s designation included crypto addresses for these individuals, a measure OFAC first introduced near the end of 2018 while targeting two Iranians for sanctions.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-sanctions-strategy-and-crypto-the-cracks-are-showing-in-iran
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3 Silver Linings to Last Week’s Epic 50% Bitcoin Price Crash
Bitcoin (BTC) hodlers deserve a pat on the back for making it through this last week, as BTC witnessed its largest sell-off in history, in terms of USD value, causing the leading digital asset to shed $70bn of its market cap in a single 24-hour period.
I shudder to think about the fortunes that were lost, but as we are left reeling in the aftermath of this selloff, a question remains. Could anyone have seen this coming? And has the outlook for Bitcoin now changed?
https://cointelegraph.com/news/3-reasons-last-weeks-epic-bitcoin-price-crash-has-a-silver-lining
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Brave Browser Delivers on Promise, Files GDPR Complaint Against Google
Earlier today, March 16, Brave filed a formal complaint against Google with the lead General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) enforcer in Europe.
In a February Cointelegraph interview, Dr. Johnny Ryan, Brave’s chief policy and industry relations officer, explained that Google is abusing its power by sharing user data collected by dozens of its distinct services, creating a “free for all” data warehouse. According to Ryan, this was a clear violation of the GDPR.
Aggravated with the situation and the lack of enforcement against the giant, Ryan promised to take Google to court if things don’t change for the better.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/brave-browser-delivers-on-promise-files-gdpr-complaint-against-google
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Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Resigns to Oversee US National Banking System
Amid an ongoing global health and financial crisis, Coinbase, one of the most popular cryptocurrency trading platforms in the United States, is losing another key executive.
Brian Brooks, Coinbase’s chief legal officer will resign from the company to join the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), an independent banking regulator operating under the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the OCC announced on March 16.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbases-chief-legal-officer-resigns-to-oversee-us-national-banking-system
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Market Recession Was a Long Time Coming, Not Coronavirus Surprise: Research
Analysts had predicted a recession for years and it should not come as a surprise, according to crypto-focused market research firm Crebaco.
Crebaco claims in a report shared with Cointelegraph that the recession that has taken hold of the markets was anticipated by many analysts over the last several years. The document reads:
“The Global markets have been correcting since [the] last few days. Some blame it on CoronaVirus, some curse on crude oil.”
As the report points out, Bitcoin (BTC) corrected by over 50% in 36 hours while the CAC, DAX, S&P500, Nasdaq, HK Stock Exchange and Nikkei and few other global equity markets collapsed at the same time by about 20% on average. Furthermore, oil-related stocks have also seen a downturn because of the price war on crude oil between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/market-recession-was-a-long-time-coming-not-coronavirus-surprise-research
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Russia’s Central Bank Seeks to Ban Crypto Issuance and Circulation
After years of uncertainty about its cryptocurrency regulation, Russia is further confusing its proposed crypto law as the country’s central bank made yet another statement on the issue.
According to a legal executive at the Bank of Russia, the country’s major but still unfinalized cryptocurrency legislation — a bill “On Digital Financial Assets” — will ban the issuance and circulation of cryptocurrencies.
Alexey Guznov, head of the legal department at Russia’s central bank, revealed the news in an interview with local news agency Interfax on March 16.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/russias-central-bank-seeks-to-ban-crypto-issuance-and-circulation
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MakerDAO Governance Approves USDC Stablecoin as Collateral
The MakerDAO governance has approved the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin as the third collateral type accepted in the Maker Protocol, according to a community post on March 17.
The decision was put to an extraordinary executive vote outside of the usual weekly schedule, with the aim of urgently increasing Dai (DAI) liquidity following last week’s market instability.
USDC joins Ether and Basic Attention Token
USDC now joins Ether (ETH) and Basic Attention Token (BAT) as accepted forms of collateral which can be used to open vaults and generate Dai.
The move follows extensive discussion in the Maker community on the merits of adding USDC, and appropriate risk parameters for the token. There was also a public discussion of the potential impact of adding a centralized stablecoin as a collateral type.
Ultimately, the community decided that the swift addition of USDC might address Dai price instability and liquidity issues that have been prevalent since the Ether market crash last Thursday.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/makerdao-governance-approves-usdc-stablecoin-as-collateral
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Bitcoin Price Hitting $2.8K ‘Not Scary’ Before May Halving — Tone Vays
Bitcoin (BTC) trading at $2,800 isn’t scary as long as it happens before May’s block reward halving, Tone Vays believes.
In the latest edition of his Trading Bitcoin YouTube series on March 18, the celebrated trader said that as of now, he is eyeing a floor for BTC/USD of $2,000.
Vays: I “always anticipated” $2,800 BTC
In his view, Bitcoin had room to halve in value in the period prior to the halving, scheduled for around May 9.
“It’s scary after the halving; it’s not scary before the halving,” he summarized about a $2,800 level.
“In fact, I always anticipated it before the halving — so it’s getting there, even if it’s a few weeks before the halving, I am perfectly fine with it.”
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-hitting-28k-not-scary-before-may-halving-tone-vays
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Judge Rules Craig Wright Must Only Pay 20% of Kleiman's Attorney Fees
United States Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart has ruled that the self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto, Craig Wright, must pay only 20% of the legal fees requested by the estate of the late-Dave Kleiman.
According to March 16 court documents, the attorneys representing Dave’s brother Ira requested a total of $592,558 for legal fees for hourly rates of between $610 and $1,050, and roughly $66,000 in other expenses.
Kleiman estate requested nearly $660,000 in fees and expenses
Court documents show that Judge Reinhart found the quoted rates to be excessive, stating, “I am personally familiar with the hourly rates charged by the top civil litigators in Palm Beach County. Those rates range between $600 and $700 per hour.”
The case relates to Ira Kleiman’s allegations that Wright sought to fraudulently gain access to an enormous sum of Bitcoin (BTC) held by his brother, with the court ruling that “Satoshi Nakamoto” comprised a partnership between Wright and Kleiman during the proceedings.
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Indian Ministry Reveals Investigations Into Bitcoin Businesses
A filing submitted in the lower house of India’s parliament — the Lok Sabha — has revealed an investigation into fraudulent practices by so-called “bit coin companies” operating in the country.
An official question was submitted by center-left parliamentarian Mohammed Faizal and was answered by Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur on March 16.
Indian politician requests investigation into regulatory status of crypto companies
Faizal asked the Minister of Corporate Affairs three questions relating to cryptocurrency companies in India. Firstly, he asked if the government is aware of an increasing number of reports alleging “cheating and fraudulent practices by bit coin companies.”
He also asked if said crypto firms “are repeatedly violating rules laid out by the Corporate Affairs Ministry by not filing annual balance sheets,” lastly requesting details concerning any action taken against the offending companies.
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/indian-ministry-reveals-investigations-into-bitcoin-businesses
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Hawaii Launches Digital Currency Sandbox to Attract Crypto Firms
The governor’s office of Hawaii revealed its new ‘Digital Currency Innovation Lab’ on March 17 — a blockchain and cryptocurrency incubator developed through collaboration between the state’s Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Division of Financial Institution (DFI), and the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation (HTDC).
The initiative will run for two years, and will allow “digital currency issuers to do business in Hawaii without obtaining a state money transmitter license during the effective period of the pilot program.”
Through the program, Hawaii aims to “achieve a more in-depth perspective of digital currency” and inform future cryptocurrency regulation in the state.
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/hawaii-launches-digital-currency-sandbox-to-attract-crypto-firms
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Bitcoin Price Surges 10% to $5.6K as Stocks React to €750B EU Stimulus
Bitcoin (BTC) made unexpected gains on March 19 as another day of coronavirus misery suddenly turned positive for investors.
Data from Coin360 and Cointelegraph Markets showed BTC/USD moved up 11% in the 24 hours to press time on Thursday.
Current levels of $5,630 mark Bitcoin’s highest since March 13, when the cryptocurrency fell to lows not seen since 2018. Since then, it has recovered by over 50%.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-surges-10-to-56k-as-stocks-react-to-750b-eu-stimulus
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Fundstrat & eToro Analysts Predict Coronavirus Crisis May Strengthen Bitcoin
What has been driving recent Bitcoin price action? Or perhaps more importantly, who? And why does it matter?
Lead Digital Strategist at Fundstrat David Grider and Platinum Account Manager at eToro Simon Peters break down Bitcoin’s next move, how the coronavirus and financial crisis may impact the halving, and how Bitcoin’s fundamentals will affect its long-term prospects.
Who Is Behind Bitcoin Price Movements?
Bitcoin has experienced an incredible amount of volatility over the past two weeks amidst the coronavirus pandemic and global financial crises. A Chainalysis report found professional traders and investors were usually the drivers behind recent major price movements, despite only moving about 5% of the total supply of Bitcoin.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/fundstrat-etoro-analysts-predict-coronavirus-crisis-may-strengthen-bitcoin
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Bitcoin Was Designed for a Financial Crisis — So far it’s Working Well
If you’ve been in Bitcoin (BTC) long enough most likely its Genesis Block has been mentioned quite a few times. If not, the image below should be self explanatory.
It doesn’t really matter if people consider Bitcoin as a store of value competing with gold and real estate, a medium of exchange for uncensored transactions, or a potential unit of account due to its non-inflationary model. As the digital currency supporters say, “honeybadger doesn’t care” and they’re right in that sense. Most likely there will never be a consensus on what Bitcoin’s main usage is and some would argue that there is no need for one.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-was-designed-for-a-financial-crisis-so-far-its-working-well
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IMF Weighs the Pros and Cons of a Central Bank Digital Currency
In a recent keynote speech to the London School of Economics, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Deputy Managing Director, Tao Zhang, briefed the positives and negatives of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Zhang pointed toward greater efficiency and lower costs associated with a CBDC. “In some countries, the cost of managing cash can be very high on account of geography, and access to the payments system may not be available to the unbanked, rural, or poorer population,” he said in the Feb. 28 speech, which hit the web on March 19.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/imf-weighs-the-pros-and-cons-of-a-central-bank-digital-currency
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SEC Seeks Early Judgement in Lawsuit Over Kik’s $100M ICO
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has requested an early summary judgment in its lawsuit against Kik over the messaging company’s $100 million KIN initial coin offering (ICO) during 2017.
The SEC first brought its case against Kik in June 2019. The commission argued that the company’s ICO comprised a clear issuance of securities. While Kik has sought to claim that KIN comprises a currency and not a security, the SEC claims to have “undisputed evidence” to the contrary. The SEC states that:
“Kik’s 2017 offer and sale of Kin was an offer and sale of investment contracts to the public, which was not registered with the SEC, and for which there was no exemption from registration under the act.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/sec-seeks-early-judgement-in-lawsuit-over-kiks-100m-ico
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Kik sold over half a trillion tokens to investors outside of Canada and raised $100 million via its ICO during September 2017.
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Bitcoin (BTC) abruptly moved higher on March 23, beating $6,000 as global markets reacted to fresh stimulus plans from the United States Federal Reserve.
BTC bounces with Wall Street yet to open
Data from Coin360 and Cointelegraph Markets tracked BTC/USD reaching 24-hour highs of $6,310 on Monday — daily gains of almost 5%.
Current levels put Bitcoin back in the position in which it traded before a downturn caught markets on Sunday.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-charges-past-6k-as-fed-stimulus-plans-boost-markets
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'This Will and Needs to Be Bitcoin’s Year' Says Mike Novogratz
With vast swaths of the world markets in virtual lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic, some predict that the shocks rippling through the global economy in early 2020 may yet come to dwarf the magnitude of the 2008 financial crash.
Just as Bitcoin (BTC)’s creation is bound up with 2008 and the Great Recession, Galaxy Digital founder Mike Novogratz sees this year as make-or-break for the cryptocurrency.
In a tweet posted on March 22 — just hours after the United States Congress failed to reach a bipartisan agreement on a proposed $2 trillion economic support package — Novogratz wrote:
“$BTC will continue to be volatile over the next few months but the macro backdrop is WHY it was created. This will be and needs to be BTC’s year.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/this-will-and-needs-to-be-bitcoins-year-says-mike-novogratz
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BitMEX Defends Insurance Fund Being ‘Barely Used’ in BTC Price Crash
Bitcoin (BTC) derivatives exchange BitMEX continues to field criticism after attempting to explain a mass liquidation event during which BTC/USD crashed 60%.
In a blog post on March 23, BitMEX addressed what it says were “a number of questions” from traders since the event occurred eleven days ago.
BitMEX: insurance fund functioned as normal
At the time, BitMEX appeared to suffer from what various sources have called a cascading margin call, forcing out traders and sustaining the price of Bitcoin plummeting in the process. The exchange then went offline for around half an hour, after which the price recovered.
After fending off claims of foul play, BitMEX still faced queries over why its giant insurance fund — a bank of over 35,000 BTC ($205.6 million) — was not used to help.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitmex-defends-insurance-fund-being-barely-used-in-btc-price-crash
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Baidu and Google Trends See Increased Interest in Purchasing Bitcoin
Don’t worry — this time there’s news coming out of China that isn’t connected to the coronavirus outbreak.
With so many people around the world working from home, social distancing, and self-quarantining after possible exposure to COVID-19, online searches surrounding cryptocurrencies have gotten a bump.
According to a report available to Cointelegraph, the Chinese search engine Baidu has seen a considerable jump in searches for “Bitcoin” (BTC). The data index shows searches for BTC increased by 183% over the past thirty days, while the number of those looking for information on the cryptocurrency on mobile devices also shot up.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/baidu-and-google-trends-see-increased-interest-in-purchasing-bitcoin
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Alipay Patents Reveal More Details About China's Forthcoming CBDC
Alipay Patents Reveal More Details About China's Forthcoming CBDCNEWS
In the past month, Chinese payments platform Alipay has disclosed a number of patents relating to and revealing more details of China’s planned central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital yuan.
According to a report in local media outlet Interchain Pulse on March 23, Alipay is set to play an integral part in the major functions of the currency when it is launched.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/alipay-patents-reveal-more-details-about-chinas-forthcoming-cbdc
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Mt. Gox Creditors to Meet Tomorrow As Reimbursement Process Inches Forward
Mt. Gox Creditors to Meet Tomorrow As Reimbursement Process Inches ForwardNEWS
In the latest sign of a step forward in a lengthy compensation process, the infamous hacked Bitcoin (BTC) exchange Mt. Gox appears to be hosting a new meeting for its creditors tomorrow, March 25.
In an official announcement posted to the now-defunct exchange’s website on March 24, Mt. Gox’s rehabilitation trustee notified creditors of a new portal through which they will be able to access all documents to be distributed at tomorrow’s meeting.
As previously reported, as many as 24,000 creditors are thought to have been affected by Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox’s 2011 hack and later collapse in early 2014, which resulted in the loss of 850,000 BTC valued at roughly $460 million at the time.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/mt-gox-creditors-to-meet-tomorrow-as-reimbursement-process-inches-forward
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ZenGo Warns of Major Security Flaw Among DApp Wallets
Cryptocurrency wallet provider ZenGo has built a testnet to demonstrate a major security flaw prevalent among decentralized application (DApp) wallets.
On March 23, ZenGo published an article highlighting that, when authorizing a specific transaction, many DApp wallets actually grant access over all of that particular token stored in the connected wallet:
“As a result, if the DApp is vulnerable to a security issue or is rogue to begin with, attackers can abuse these highly excessive privileges to steal ALL of the DApp’s users holdings (in the approved tokens) without any further user consent. They can do so at any point in the future, even if the user no longer uses the DApp.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/zengo-warns-of-major-security-flaw-among-dapp-wallets
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Fintech Giant Revolut Launches in the US, Initially Without Crypto Support
Fintech Giant Revolut Launches in the US, Initially Without Crypto SupportNEWS
United Kingdom-born digital banking app Revolut is launching today, March 24, in the United States — but investors will have to wait for its crypto trading functionality to be up and running.
Revolut’s rollout in the U.S. follows a major partnership with Visa back in October, which paved the way for the fintech’s global expansion to 24 new markets, including North America. That same month, it expanded its partnership with Mastercard to further support its U.S. offering.
The neobank and smartphone app is already firmly established in Europe — with over 10 million users, according to an email shared with Cointelegraph on March 24.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/fintech-giant-revolut-launches-in-the-us-initially-without-crypto-support
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Digital Dollars, Bakkt CEO Scandal, & a Continuing Pandemic: Bad Crypto News of the Week
Digital Dollars, Bakkt CEO Scandal, & a Continuing Pandemic: Bad Crypto News of the WeekAUDIO
Bitcoin has continued its recovery. It’s up around 23 percent over the last week, even as the Bitcoin clock continues its countdown. We’re now entering the last 50 days of a 12.5 BTC reward.
These are strange times for everyone but despite Bitcoin’s volatility, the digital coin seems to have held up. Marcel Pechman argues that Bitcoin was designed for a financial crisis and says that in the current pandemic, it’s working well.
Cryptocurrencies could work even better though if politicians would get their act together. The economic stimulus bill originally contained a requirement to create a digital dollar, but a 1,400-page update removed it. Rep. Maxine Waters and Sen. Sherrod Brown later submitted separate bills to reinstate the requirement. That’s almost as much whiplash as a week of crypto trading. The courts aren’t helping much, either. A United States District Court has ruled that Telegram can’t release its GRAM tokens. They’re unregistered securities, the court says.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/digital-dollars-bakkt-ceo-scandal-a-continuing-pandemic-bad-crypto-news-of-the-week
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Network of Fake Bitcoin QR Code Generators Stole $45,000 in March
Network of Fake Bitcoin QR Code Generators Stole $45,000 in MarchNEWS
A network of malicious QR code generators has stolen more than $40,000 from Bitcoin (BTC) users in one month.
At least nine fake Bitcoin-to-QR code generators have been spotted in recent weeks, with security researcher, Harry Denley, first tweeting that he had identified two domains hosting fake QR code applications on March 22.
Denley later identified seven other domains sharing the same interface — suggesting that they are all created by the same developer.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/network-of-fake-bitcoin-qr-code-generators-stole-45-000-in-march
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Ethereum-Based Social Video Network Integrates Zoom for Live Streaming
The Ethereum-based social media app, Pepo, has integrated with video conferencing platform, Zoom, to facilitate live streaming.
Pepo Live Events is currently exclusively available in beta on the platform’s website and has not given an estimate for when it plans to enable mobile functionality.
Pepo integrates Zoom for live streaming
Only Pepo community admins are able to stream live, however, anyone can participate in the live events. All events streamed on the platform are recorded, and are limited to a time limit of three hours.
Pepo's decision to integrate Zoom suggests an increase in demand for live streaming services amid the coronavirus lockdown.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-based-social-video-network-integrates-zoom-for-live-streaming
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Bitcoins on the Move — Is BTC Price Inversely Correlated to Mempool Size?
Bitcoins on the Move — Is BTC Price Inversely Correlated to Mempool Size?MARKET ANALYSIS
After making a strong recovery from $3,775 to $6,450, Bitcoin’s (BTC) price has traded in a tight range which has seen the price struggle to push above resistance at $6,400 and $6,850. Despite the current pullback, technical indicators like the Stock-to-Flow model and the network’s consistent growth in hash rate show that investors have regained a small amount of confidence.
Another factor worth considering is Bitcoin’s mempool size as it also can provide some insight into how buyers and sellers are reacting during these uncertain times.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoins-on-the-move-is-btc-price-inversely-correlated-to-mempool-size
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Russia Postpones Its Crypto Law Again, Now Blaming Coronavirus
After facing multiple delays, the adoption of Russia’s major cryptocurrency law will be postponed again, now due to the coronavirus.
Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, says that the country’s crypto law — the bill “On Digital Financial Assets” — is now finalized but won’t be adopted before the end of the spring 2020.
Russian authorities have been arguing about crypto regulation since January 2018
According to a March 31 report by Russian news agency RBC, Aksakov has admitted that previous delays in the bill’s adoption were caused by disagreement on the new asset type between local authorities. Aksakov, who is also chairman of National Banking Council at Russia’s central bank, reportedly elaborated that the central bank opposed legalization of crypto while the State Duma advocated some crypto initiatives.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/russia-postpones-its-crypto-law-again-now-blaming-coronavirus
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BCH, BSV Block Halvings Will Force Miners to Bitcoin (BTC) — Report
Bitcoin (BTC) miners will continue to capitulate due to low prices, but upcoming events for Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin SV (BSV) will fuel the turmoil, says a new forecast.
In the latest edition of its State of the Network reports on March 31, Coin Metrics argued that Bitcoin was in a spiral of miner capitulation. This, it said, would get worse before it got better.
Coin Metrics expects “pattern of capitulation”
Despite BTC/USD recovering over 70% in two weeks since hitting lows of $3,700, prices are still “almost certainly declined below the breakeven price” for less efficient miners.
This is supported by the recent drop in Bitcoin’s mining difficulty, which at nearly 16% was the largest negative move since 2011. Before the mining sector recovers, more pain is in store.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bch-bsv-block-halvings-will-force-miners-to-bitcoin-btc-report
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‘Prime Brokerage’ for Crypto: Apifiny Launches Institutional Platform to Connect Exchange Liquidity
Institutions will now be able to trade on every single crypto market simultaneously thanks to GlobalX, an API platform launched on March 31 by San Francisco-based firm Apifiny. The startup hired former executives of Google X, Kraken and AlphaPoint to promote the service.
Specifically, Josh Li will act as Apifiny’s chief business officer, having previous experience in Google and Google X, Alphabet’s innovation arm. Michael Fertman will lead the B2B marketing efforts as VP Marketing of Apifiny, coming from the security tokens startup AlphaPoint.
Finally, Scott Eilbeck was brought on as VP of strategic partnerships and institutional sales. He recently served as head of Over the Counter (OTC) markets at Kraken, while counting JP Morgan and Bear Stearns under past experiences.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/prime-brokerage-for-crypto-apifiny-launches-institutional-platform-to-connect-exchange-liquidity
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Bitfury Becomes Latest Crypto Industry Player to Join COVID-19 Research Project
Blockchain development firm Bitfury is re-assigning the computing power it uses for digital currency transaction processing to COVID-19 research.
In an announcement on March 31, the company revealed that it had been allocating its high-powered GPU-enabled computing nodes to run COVID-19 calculations as of March 20.
The redirection of Bitfury’s resources is contributing to a distributed computing endeavor, Folding@Home (F@H), created by a consortium of scientific research labs across North America, Europe and Asia.
In the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic, F@H has launched a project to run simulations of the virus’ molecular structure in an effort to contribute to the development of effective therapeutics.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitfury-becomes-latest-crypto-industry-player-to-join-covid-19-research-project
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Decoupling? Bitcoin Price Surges Above $6.7K as Stocks Again Bearish
Since topping out at $6,500 on March 31, Bitcoin (BTC) price had spent the majority of Wednesday in a steady slump which saw the price drop from $6,494 to $6,147. The pullback mirrored the poor performance in traditional markets where the S&P 500 and Dow dropped by 4.41% and 4.44% respectively.
The slump in traditional markets appeared to be a reaction to dismal news that the United States surpassed more than 200,000 Coronavirus cases. Earlier this week the White House also stated that it concurs with the estimate that up to 240,000 Americans could die from COVID-19 within the next 3 weeks.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/decoupling-bitcoin-price-surges-above-67k-as-stocks-again-bearish
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‘Breakthrough’ as Lightning Uses Web's Forgotten Payment Code
‘Breakthrough’ as Lightning Uses Web's Forgotten Payment CodeNEWS
Lightning Labs has published its draft specification for Lightning Service Authentication Tokens (LSAT) — a protocol standard that promises to redefine online payments through employing a little known HTTP status code.
According to a March 30 blog post authored by Lightning Labs CTO Olaoluwa Osuntokun, LSAT facilitates automated logins and payments using cryptographic credentials — doing away with the current system of credit cards, usernames, and passwords.
LSAT leverages 402 error code
Osuntokun states that the LSAT protocol leverages the “widely underused” HTTP 402 ‘payment required’ status code.
The 402 error is returned when a user attempts to access a web page that they have not paid for. Wikipedia reports the code is “reserved for future use” and that it was originally intended to be used by a digital payment system, despite no form of digital cash existing when the specification was drafted.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/breakthrough-as-lightning-uses-webs-forgotten-payment-code
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Ethereum Founder Tells Bitcoin Dev: BTC Wasn’t Always ‘Digital Gold’
Ethereum Founder Tells Bitcoin Dev: BTC Wasn’t Always ‘Digital Gold’NEWS
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin was involved in a spat with a Bitcoin developer on Twitter yesterday, when he suggested BTC was originally designed to be P2P cash, not digital gold.
Replying to Blockstream employee Zack Voell who claimed that Bitcoin was, is, and always shall be digital gold, Buterin pointed out the narrative had changed since 2011:
“I joined Bitcoin land in 2011 and back then I remember a clear vibe that Bitcoin was P2P cash first and gold second.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-founder-tells-bitcoin-dev-btc-wasnt-always-digital-gold
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New York Judge Says Telegram Can’t Distribute Grams Outside U.S. Either
A New York judge has ruled that the injunction barring Telegram from issuing its Gram tokens extends to all entities in the United State and overseas.
On April 1, U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel, responded to the encrypted messaging firm’s request for clarification as to the scope of the court’s March 24 preliminary injunction. He denied Telegram’s move to distribute tokens to the non-US-based participants of its 2018 initial coin offering (ICO).
Approximately $1.27 billion of the funds raised to finance the development of the Telegram Open Network (TON) came from overseas-based investors
https://cointelegraph.com/news/new-york-judge-says-telegram-cant-distribute-grams-outside-us-either
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Bitcoin Price Now in a ‘Key Spot’ to Conquer $6.9K Before Weekly Close
As the weekend began Bitcoin (BTC) price traded in a relatively tight range after making a second attempt at $7,000 on April 4. The digital asset surged to $6,988 before pulling back to the $6,800 range for the remainder of the day.
As Bitcoin spent Saturday trading sideways, the majority of the top-ten altcoins posted marginal gains. Ether (ETH) gained 1.57%, Litecoin (LTC) added 1.02%, and Binance Coin (BNB) managed to gain 2.31%.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-now-in-a-key-spot-to-conquer-69k-before-weekly-close
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7 Crypto Firms Targeted by 11 Lawsuits in New York
Seven crypto companies have been targeted by 11 lawsuits that were filed in a New York federal court on April 3.
The suits were filed by Roche Freedman — the same law firm representing the estate of the late Dave Kleiman in the ongoing dispute with self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto, Craig Wright.
Eleven lawsuits target seven crypto companies
The eleven putative class action suits name dozens of parties including cryptocurrency exchanges Binance, KuCoin, BiBox, and BitMEX and parent company HDR Global Trading Limited, and alleged crypto issuers Block.one, Quantstamp, KayDex, Civic, BProtocol, Status, and the Tron Foundation.
Many of the company’s principals are named, including several leading figures in the crypto sector such as Changpeng Zhao, Dan Larimer, Vinny Lingham, and Brendan Blumer.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/7-crypto-firms-targeted-by-11-lawsuits-in-new-york
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BIS Calls for Central Bank Digital Currencies Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has issued a report arguing in favor of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and digital payments amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bulletin published by the BIS, a 600-member international financial institution representing the central banks of 60 countries, urges central banks to consider developing CBDCs in light of concerns regarding the spread of coronavirus through existing payment methods.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bis-calls-for-central-bank-digital-currencies-amid-coronavirus-pandemic
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Bitcoin’s Hedging Performance in the Wake of the Coronavirus Outbreak
The recent coronavirus outbreak has far-reaching consequences beyond the spread of the disease and efforts to quarantine it. Recently, we’ve experienced one of the most severe stock market crashes in modern times: On March 9, 2020, the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded a drop of -7.8%, which happened to be its worst single-day loss ever. However, on Thursday, March 12, 2020, the Dow then recorded the fifth-largest drop in modern history based on percentage points by a staggering amount of almost 10%. Unfortunately, the losses did not stop there. Four days later, on March 16, the Dow hit a new record of almost 13%. Since the COVID-19 outbreak became an international issue, it is unsurprising that equity markets worldwide have experienced severe losses.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoins-hedging-performance-in-the-wake-of-the-coronavirus-outbreak
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Kraken Appoints SAFT Architect Marco Santori as Chief Legal Officer
The U.S. based crypto exchange Kraken has appointed Marco Santori as the company’s new chief legal officer (CLO), according to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph on April 6th.
Santori’s background in crypto law
Santori is known for his work in litigating, advising and creating new laws in the crypto industry.
Among his professional experience, Kraken’s new CLO worked for Blockchain.com as President, in addition to being part of the Cooley LLP and Pillsbury Winthrop team.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/kraken-appoints-saft-architect-marco-santori-chief-legal-officer
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Ethereum Co-Founder: Finding Satoshi Is Like Finding a Malware Author
Charles Hoskinson suggests applying stylometric techniques to find Satoshi Nakamoto, but there is a caveat.
Stylometrics
In an April 5 interview, Ethereum (ETH) co-founder and founder of Cardano (ADA) Charles Hoskinson suggested that the most effective way to find the person or team behind Bitcoin (BTC) is to apply stylometric techniques.
Stylometry is the application of the study of linguistic style, usually to written language. This technique had been previously applied to Satoshi Nakamoto’s writing without conclusive results.
Use the code instead
Hoskinson suggested instead of using Nakamoto’s writing, use his code. Hoskinson explained to Cointelegraph why this could be a more effective technique:
“Yes dramatically more efficient. Code stylometry is much more accurate. Here's a paper on the topic https://usenix.org/node/190845. It's commonly done to track malware authors and usually is very effective”.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-co-founder-finding-satoshi-is-like-finding-a-malware-author
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Bitcoin Scam on YouTube Masquerades as Coinbase CEO AMA
A popular YouTube channel has been hijacked and is currently live-streaming a purported ask-me-anything (AMA) with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.
However, the stream, which appears to have been running for 12 hours at press time on April 6, is a scam, encouraging users to send Bitcoin (BTC) payments, with the promise of a non-existent 5,000 BTC giveaway.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-scam-on-youtube-masquerades-as-coinbase-ceo-ama
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Celsius Lists Libra Challenger for 9.9% Potential Interest
Crypto lending platform Celsius Network has listed startup Saga’s SGA stabilized asset, unlocking the potential for token holders to earn interest.
“Saga has partnered with leading cryptocurrency interest income platform, Celsius Network,” Saga founder Ido Sadeh Man told Cointelegraph.
The collaboration and listing means “users can both preserve their assets’ value with SGA’s proven stabilization mechanism (the IMF's SDR, a basket of currencies designed to offset currency fluctuations), as well as earn attractive interest through the Celsius network,” Man explained.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/celsius-lists-libra-challenger-for-99-potential-interest
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3 Options for Traders as Bitcoin Price Is on the Verge of a Breakout
Bitcoin price (BTC) is currently in a sort of stasis, unexcitedly trading in the expected range and over the past 48-hours dropping to the former rising wedge trendline at $7,150 and again to the $7,200 support before rebounding to the low $7,400 region.
For the time being, the price is consolidating within the $7,200 to $7,460 range. The next thing bulls will be looking for is for BTC price to push above the recent high to set a higher-high above $7,663 before launching a move toward $7,992, where the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement currently resides.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/3-options-for-traders-as-bitcoin-price-is-on-the-verge-of-a-breakout
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BCH Post Halving: Two Hour Blocks, Hash Rate Hit
Not even a day has passed since the Bitcoin Cash halving and already the hash rate has taken a hit and block generation slowed significantly.
Many predicted that at least some miners would abandon BCH and move to more profitable coins like Bitcoin (BTC) after their rewards were halved from 12.5 to 6.25 BCH. But as hash rates rise and fall each day, the data for BCH is open to interpretation.
Fork.lol shows a 60% fall in the BCH hash rate from 4.36 EH/s yesterday to 1.6 EH/s at the time of writing (using a 12 hour average). Coinwarz has it falling from 3.9944 EH/s to 2.4595 EH/s, while Bitcoin.com’s chart actually shows the rate increasing slightly to 3.5 EH/s.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bch-post-halving-two-hour-blocks-hash-rate-hit
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COVID-19 Has Reduced the Risk of a Post-Halving Price Dump
COVID-19 Has Reduced the Risk of a Post-Halving Price DumpNEWS
The recent COVID-19 market crash has reduced the risk of a halving price dump and could have set up a Bitcoin bullrun, some cryptocurrency experts believe.
Earlier today Chainalysis brought together a group of industry experts for an online panel to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on Bitcoin and what it means for the future.
Chris Bendikson, Head of Research at CoinShares, said he believed the recent price crash in March had prepared miners early for the halving, which will reduce the sudden impact it could have had on their profitability.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/covid-19-has-reduced-the-risk-of-a-post-halving-price-dump
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Justin Sun Accused of Bribing His Way to the Top of the Steem Hierarchy
Major Steem stakeholder Dan Hensley has levied heavy accusations at TRON founder and CEO Justin Sun. According to Hensley’s April 8 writeup, Sun “bribed” his way to the top of the Steem hierarchy with “money, power and users.”
As Cointelegraph reported in early March, Steem was the subject of what many supporters deemed a hostile takeover by Justin Sun. Hensley’s latest allegations shed new light on how the TRON founder allegedly influenced prominent Steemians into doing his bidding. A TRON representative declined to comment on this story.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/justin-sun-accused-of-bribing-his-way-to-the-top-of-the-steem-hierarchy
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Craig Wright Abandons Libel Suit Against Adam Back, Pays All Legal Fees
Crag Wright, the self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto and chief scientist at NChain, has dropped a libel lawsuit against Adam Back over the Blockstream chief executive’s assertion that Wright was fraudulent in claiming to be the creator of Bitcoin (BTC).
Wright filed the complaint alongside similar suits targeting Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin, Bitcoin.com founder Roger Ver, podcaster Peter McCormack, and Twitter user ‘Hodlnaut’ one year ago.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/craig-wright-abandons-libel-suit-against-adam-back-pays-all-legal-fees
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Winklevoss: Bitcoin Faces Coronavirus ‘Inflection Point’ Amid Oil Woes
Bitcoin (BTC) will see a historic “inflection point” in its life thanks to coronavirus, says entrepreneur Cameron Winklevoss.
In a series of tweets on April 12, one-half of the Winklevoss twins who own cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, underlined the importance of Covid-19 for Bitcoin and its users.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/winklevoss-bitcoin-faces-coronavirus-inflection-point-amid-oil-woes
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Chinese Public Blockchain Index Ranks Bitcoin 14th While EOS Tops List
The Blockchain Research Institute headed by China’s Center for Information and Industry Development (CCID) released its 17th Global Public Chain Technology Evaluation Index on April 10.
The index ranks 37 of the most widely used public blockchains by evaluating them under three different criteria: basic technology, applicability and creativity. The ranking of each project is then decided based on the sum of its scores under all the three sections.
According to the latest index, EOS ranks as the best performing blockchain project, while the most widely used blockchain, Bitcoin, has slipped down three places and now ranks 14th on the list.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/chinese-public-blockchain-index-ranks-bitcoin-14th-while-eos-tops-list
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Singapore Court Locks Crypto Exchange KuCoin’s Web Domain
KuCoin.com, the primary web domain of cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin, has been locked since the end of March by order of the High Court of Singapore.
The court issued a temporary injunction on March 24 barring KuCoin from moving its assets, including its website, from the country. A March 30 email from domain registrar GoDaddy provided to Cointelegraph shows that GoDaddy is complying with the court order.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/singapore-court-locks-crypto-exchange-kucoin-s-web-domain
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Oil Companies Will Dominate BTC Mining in Five Years: Marty Bent
Mining Bitcoin (BTC) has often been criticised for its exorbitant power usage, but podcaster Marty Bent has embraced a solution that he says actually reduces waste in the oil and gas (O&G) sector.
In an April 15 blog post, Bent revealed that since last year he had been mining Bitcoin with the Great American Mining (GAM) company, using excess gas formed as a byproduct of mining oil to power the rigs.
GAM deployed their first small mining operation in the form of a shipping container in an oil field last December. Bent said it was the first step in encouraging O&G producers to become “some of the biggest miners within the Bitcoin network”.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/oil-companies-will-dominate-btc-mining-in-five-years-marty-bent
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Grayscale Now Holds 1.7% of Bitcoin Supply After Record $500M Quarter
Almost 2% of the world’s Bitcoin (BTC) supply is now under the control of a single company: Grayscale and its Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).
In its latest quarterly report on April 16, Grayscale revealed that GBTC now contains 1.7% of the circulating supply of Bitcoin.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/grayscale-now-holds-17-of-bitcoin-supply-after-record-500m-quarter
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Hospitals Still Being Attacked Despite Big Fall in Ransomware
The number of ransomware attacks globally has dropped significantly since the coronavirus crisis intensified in March, according to a new report from Chainalysis.
The blockchain analytics firm said the drop was particularly significant given there were growing concerns over the impact of ransomware attacks against hospitals and other healthcare organizations during the crisis.
Hospitals are a favoured target for ransomware gangs. Security software provider Emsisoft reported that over the course of 2019, at least 764 healthcare providers in the U.S. had been attacked. In mid-March Emsisoft publicly implored ransomware gangs to stop targeting hospitals due to the potential fatal impacts during the crisis.
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/hospitals-still-being-attacked-despite-big-fall-in-ransomware
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Terpin Fires Back at AT&T’s Motion to Dismiss $200M ‘SIM Swap’ Claim
Crypto investor Michael Terpin has filed an opposition to telecom giant AT&T’s motion to strike out his $200 million punitive damages claim in the long-running SIM swap case
Terpin was the victim of attacks in 2017 and 2018 and lost $24 million in cryptocurrency. The investor asserts that his device was compromised as a result of AT&T’s negligence.
A SIM swap attack typically occurs when a criminal tricks a carrier into switching a victim’s phone number to a SIM card they control, in order to accept 2FA prompts. This allows a scammer to steal cryptocurrency.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/terpin-fires-back-at-atts-motion-to-dismiss-200m-sim-swap-claim
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Terpin told Cointelegraph he was frustrated with AT&T’s ongoing attempts to waste time and money in court to “slow down the day of reckoning”. AT&T called the attacks “unfortunate” but said it was determined to continue to fight the case.
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Alibaba Subsidiary Ant Financial Launches New Consortium Blockchain Platform for SMEs
Ant Financial — the Chinese fintech company formerly known as Alipay— has launched a new consortium blockchain platform called OpenChain.
According to an announcement on April 16, the platform would allow developers and small and micro enterprises to utilize innovative blockchain tools. They can now explore the technology further and develop better applications and smart contracts on the blockchain.
Ant Financial’s General Manager, Jin Ge, claims that the launch of OpenChain will boost the efforts of almost one million SMEs and developers over the next three years.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/alibaba-subsidiary-ant-financial-launches-new-consortium-blockchain-platform-for-smes
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Crude Oil Gutted to Sub-Zero Prices as Bitcoin’s Purchasing Power Soars
An unprecedented sell-off has taken Bitcoin’s purchasing power sky high. Following a market downturn, crude oil is now so cheap that a single Bitcoin (BTC) can buy over 600 barrels.
According to data from monitoring resources, including Bloomberg on April 20, futures for a barrel of WTI expiring in May shed 36% on the day.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-now-buys-600-barrels-of-crude-oil-as-prices-fall-below-zero
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Facebook’s Calibra Has 50 New Jobs in the Pipeline for Its Dublin-Based Team
Facebook’s Calibra is looking to create 50 new roles for its workforce in Ireland, as the firm seemingly bucks the trend of private-sector layoffs during the coronavirus crisis.
An Irish Times report on April 20 revealed that Calibra’s small team in Dublin is set to be significantly expanded this year, with Facebook noting that its Irish operations are “critically important” for its roadmap.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/facebooks-calibra-has-50-new-jobs-in-the-pipeline-for-its-dublin-based-team
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Tencent Taps DAML Smart Contract Language for Chinese State Blockchain Network
Tencent’s digital bank WeBank is exploring the integration of the DAML smart contract language for its consortium blockchain FISCO BCOS — the chain that will undergird China’s national Blockchain-Based Service Network (BSN).
On April 16, WeBank announced that integration of the Digital Asset Modeling Language (DAML) — open sourced by its creator, software firm Digital Asset, last year — would help it deliver pioneering blockchain solutions across finance, supply chain and other sectors in China and worldwide.
Developed back in 2016, DAML is an expressive language designed for financial institutions to model and execute agreements using distributed ledger technology (DLT). Digital Asset has ostensibly designed the language for optimal use in private execution environments, rather than open ones.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/tencent-taps-daml-smart-contract-language-for-chinese-state-blockchain-network
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BitMEX Joins COVID-19 Relief Efforts with Dedicated $2.5M Fund
Seychelles-registered crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX has become the latest industry actor to join philanthropic efforts to fight the COVID-19 global health crisis.
On April 20, the exchange’s operator, HDR Global Trading, launched a dedicated COVID-19 Response Fund and announced its contribution of a total $2.5 million in grants to four recipients.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitmex-joins-covid-19-relief-efforts-with-dedicated-25m-fund
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What Halving? 2 Factors Making Some Analysts Turn Bearish on Bitcoin
As the Bitcoin price dropped to sub-$7,000, technical analysts pointed out that BTC broke down from a crucial trendline dating back to March 16. While markets signal for short-term relief, traders foresee a severe pullback occurring for two key reasons despite less than three weeks remaining before the much-anticipated Bitcoin halving.
The two compelling cases for a Bitcoin correction in the foreseeable future are a breach of a major trendline signaling overhead resistance and a lower high pattern at a high time frame.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/what-halving-2-factors-making-some-analysts-turn-bearish-on-bitcoin
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Winklevoss' Gemini Cryptocurrency Exchange Scores Another Security Qualification
The Winklevoss brothers' Gemini cryptocurrency custodian and exchange has obtained a new security qualification, SOC 1 Type 1.
According to an April 21 blog post by the company’s head of risk, Yusuf Hussain, Gemini became the world’s first digital currency custodian and exchange that was granted a Service Organization Control (SOC) 1 Type 1 certification. The examination was carried out by Big Four accounting firm Deloitte.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/winklevoss-gemini-cryptocurrency-exchange-scores-another-security-qualification
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Blockchain Startup Launches App to Encourage People Stay at Home Amid COVID-19
Crypto- and blockchain-focused companies around the world have been making efforts to support people amid the coronavirus pandemic, with some of them donating funds to nonprofits and providing supplies to hospitals.
Israeli blockchain startup Orbs came up with an idea to encourage people to self-quarantine by using a newly launched app.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/blockchain-startup-launches-app-to-encourage-people-stay-at-home-amid-covid19
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Power Ledger Rolls Out Blockchain-Based Solar Energy Trading in Western Australia
As the benchmark oil futures contract in the U.S. fell into negative territory this week, blockchain devs have been focusing on greener, sustainable energy projects.
As the benchmark oil futures contract in the United States fell into negative territory this week for the first time in history, blockchain devs have been focusing on greener, sustainable energy projects.
Australian blockchain firm Power Ledger has just signed a deal with the largest medium-density residential developer in Perth to roll out its blockchain-based solar energy trading platform for local residents over the next three years.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/power-ledger-rolls-out-blockchain-based-solar-energy-trading-in-western-australia
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The Next Bitcoin Halving: To Halve and to Hold?
The upcoming Bitcoin halving may result in greater demand and higher prices, but what are the challenges for the 2020 halving?
Sometimes less is more. That’s a tenet of modern design, but it’s also a central belief of many in the decentralized cryptocurrency community. Throughout the Bitcoin (BTC) world — in Twitter threads, on crypto news websites and in private Telegram and Discord channels — conversation almost invariably turns to one topic: the May halving that will reduce the amount of newly minted Bitcoin by 50%. Less Bitcoin being produced may mean greater demand and higher prices, but to understand just why the community at large is thrilled we need to take a look at Bitcoin’s history.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-next-bitcoin-halving-to-halve-and-to-hold
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Bitcoin Price Surges 10% to $7.7K as Bulls Smash Key Resistance Level
Bitcoin (BTC) surged above key resistance levels on April 23 as bulls gained control and propelled markets 10% higher.
Data from Coin360 and Cointelegraph Markets showed BTC/USD gaining $700 during Thursday trading, topping out at $7,760 before reversing lower.
Volatility was high at press time in light of the swift advance, Bitcoin circling $7,520.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-surges-10-to-77k-as-bulls-smash-key-resistance-level
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GoDaddy Email Confirmed: New Details on KuCoin’s Legal Troubles in Singapore
Last week, Cointelegraph reported that KuCoin’s primary web domain, Kucoin.com, had been locked by a Singaporean court. In a statement posted on its website and in its public Telegram channel throughout the past week, KuCoin alleged that our reporting was “unverified” and “untrue.” In response, Cointelegraph is now publishing further evidence of its original reporting.
Authenticity of the email: Confirmed
In the original article, Cointelegraph contributor Andrew Capon published a screenshot of a GoDaddy email showing that the web domain registrar is complying with a court order issued by the High Court of Singapore. Cointelegraph has since obtained the original email file of the message sent by GoDaddy.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/godaddy-email-confirmed-new-details-on-kucoins-legal-troubles-in-singapore
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Why Bitcoin Price Can Hit $9K With Less Than 17 Days Before Halving
Bitcoin price is now facing stiff resistance at $7,800 with less than 17 days remaining before the much-anticipated halving event.
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has been stagnating between $6,600 and $7,200 for a few weeks, but finally, a breakout occurred to the upside, which meant a 10% push towards $7,750.
But Bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency that has been showing strength as altcoins are also following suit with Cardano (ADA) jumping by 22% and Ethereum (ETH) by 16%.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/why-bitcoin-price-can-hit-9k-with-less-than-17-days-before-halving
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Crypto Industry Divided Over Introducing Circuit Breakers on Exchanges
Recent turbulence has brought traditional tools such as circuit breakers to the forefront of crypto community discussions.
Since the inception of Bitcoin, volatility has been a part of the cryptocurrency narrative even before exchanges and the current mainstream mentions. Now that traditional markets are showing volatility further exacerbated than anti-fragile cryptocurrency during the coronavirus pandemic, the community is seeing how traditional marketplaces like the New York Stock Exchange handle equity and commodity volatility through circuit breaker implementation.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-industry-divided-over-introducing-circuit-breakers-on-exchanges
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No, Bitcoin Isn’t Trading for $15K in Lebanon After Currency CollapseNEWS
With Lebanon’s currency hitting new record lows of 4,000 Lebanese lira (LBP) per $1, chaotic prices are being listed by Lebanese Localbitcoins traders.
As of this writing, spreads between listings on both sides of the order book appear to exceed 90%, leading to reports claiming that Bitcoin (BTC) is trading for $15,000 in Lebanon.
The spreads appear to be fuelled by an extreme disparity between the market value and official peg of 1,507 lira per U.S. dollar.
As such, BTC appears to be trading for a more modest 5% premium at $7,850.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/no-bitcoin-isnt-trading-for-15k-in-lebanon-after-currency-collapse
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Binance Sees 2,000% Employee Increase in Under 3 Years
Major crypto exchange, Binance, now has over 1,000 employees, showing tremendous company growth since its 2017 start.
"When Binance first started in 2017, there were under 50 people," Binance co-founder, Yi He, told Cointelegraph on April 23. "We have more than 1,000 employees today (currently at 1,002 and counting; we are welcoming new hires almost every day)."
https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-sees-2-000-employee-increase-in-under-3-years
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Bullish? Popular Bitcoin Metric Ends Record 7 Weeks of ‘Extreme Fear’
The bullish momentum behind Bitcoin, in particular, continues as the Crypto Fear & Greed Index finally flashes greener.
Bitcoin (BTC) bulls have a reason to celebrate as a classic indicator is emerging from the longest hyper-bearish phase in its history.
According to data last updated on April 27, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index has exited its lowest possible reading — “extreme fear” — after seven weeks.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bullish-popular-bitcoin-metric-ends-record-7-weeks-of-extreme-fear
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Binance Launches Crypto Mining Pool Amid Centralization Concerns
Top crypto exchange Binance has launched its mining pool, however, the crypto community is concerned about the centralization of hashing power.
Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance launched its mining pool "Binance Pool" on April 27.
The pool will operate with zero fees until May 31, after which the rate will be set at 2.5%. The press release for the pool states that large miners can contact Binance to negotiate an extension of the fee-free period.
Approximately 15 of Binance’s more than 1,000 employees work full-time towards the pool’s operation.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-launches-crypto-mining-pool-amid-centralization-concerns
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Ngrave Announces ‘Military-Grade’ Hardware Crypto Wallet
Ngrave has launched what it claims is the first cryptocurrency wallet boasting EAL7-certification — one of the highest security gradings in the world.
Digital asset security firm Ngrave announced sales for its flagship product, the fully offline hardware wallet Ngrave Zero, will launch next month.
The devices will be made available for purchase on Indiegogo from May 26 and are slated for shipping in October.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ngrave-announces-military-grade-hardware-crypto-wallet
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China Launches Blockchain-Based Service Network for Global Commercial Use
Six months after the beta test launch, China’s Blockchain-based Service Network — or BSN — is now officially available for global commercial use.
Various Chinese government officials and heads of organizations gathered for a meeting in Beijing on April 25 where they announced the public launch of the BSN.
The BSN is a global infrastructure to help blockchain projects create and run new blockchain applications for a lower cost. It also aims to accelerate the development of smart cities and the digital economy.
China Mobile, China UnionPay, and Huobi China together worked towards the creation of the BSN.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/china-launches-blockchain-based-service-network-for-global-commercial-use
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Tron DApps Arrive on the Samsung App Store
Tron is extending its ecosystem partnership with Samsung Blockchain as a new section featuring some blockchain games will be offered on its mobile devices.
Tron DApps Arrive on the Samsung App Store
The Tron (TRX) project announced on April 27 that apps built on its blockchain will be featured in the Samsung Galaxy Store.
Owners of Samsung smartphones in specific countries will see Tron decentralized apps, or DApps, in an alternative app store.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/tron-dapps-arrive-on-the-samsung-app-store
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After Steem Voting Controversy and Hardfork, Binance Lists
Binance has launched support for HIVE the month after the exchange participated in a controversial governance vote that sparked the Steem hard fork.
In response to customer demand, leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance launched trading support for the community-led Steem (STEEM) hard fork Hive (HIVE) on April 27.
HIVE can now be traded against Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT), and Binance Coin (BNB), however, withdrawals and deposits will not go live until April 29.
While Huobi’s recently introduced support for HIVE skyrocketed the token’s price over 600% in three days, Binance’s announcement appears to have resulted in a bearish pull-back — with HIVE dropping 20% from $0.95 to $0.75 over the past 11 hours.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/after-steem-voting-controversy-and-hardfork-binance-lists-hive
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Bitmain Calls Ex Co-Founder’s Claims of Holding 36% Equity Baseless
Bitmain releases a public statement saying that co-founder Zhan’s claims of owning a 36% stake in Fujian Zhanhua are baseless.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency mining rig producer Bitmain released a statement on April 27 condemning deposed co-founder Micree Ketuan Zhan’s attempts to regain control over Fujian Zhanhua Intelligence Technology Co. Ltd.
In an email on October 29, 2019, co-founder Jihan Wu disclosed that he was dismissing his Bitmain partner and chairman Micree Zhan. He also issued a strict warning to all Bitmain staff not to contact or attend meetings with Zhan.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitmain-calls-ex-co-founders-claims-of-holding-36-equity-baseless
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The Need for a New Reserve Currency Is More Prevalent Than Ever Before
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the necessity for a brand new reserve currency, and it is time for crypto.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought into focus the need for international cooperation and support. Coupled with a crumbling economy, it’s shown us that now is the time for a modern, accessible reserve currency. However, markets don’t exist in a vacuum of supply and demand — there are reasons why the United States dollar is the world’s reserve currency. To understand the structural value of an economy and different markets, you first must understand how different types of production operate in times of crisis.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-need-for-a-new-reserve-currency-is-more-prevalent-than-ever-before
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New York Crypto Regulator Adds Silk Road Investigator as General Counsel
April 28, New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) announced that it is adding a former Silk Road investigator as general counsel.
The Department regulates financial services and products, which include cryptocurrency-related businesses. It awards the two types of licenses that many crypto businesses seek — a money transmitter license and a BitLicense.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/new-york-crypto-regulator-adds-silk-road-investigator-as-general-counsel
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Blockchain, Not Crypto, Is at Core of Facebook’s Libra, Vice Chair Says
Since white paper’s release in June 2019, Facebook’s Libra has continued to rely on blockchain architecture, vice chair Dante Disparte says.
Despite existing concerns that blockchain is not mature enough to bring the new era of payments, the technology is being increasingly explored by global central banks. Blockchain technology meanwhile remains at the core of Facebook’s digital currency Libra, according to a top project executive.
Since Libra’s white paper release in June 2019, the not-yet-launched stablecoin has continued to rely on blockchain architecture, Libra Association’s vice chair Dante Disparte explained.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/blockchain-not-crypto-is-at-core-of-facebooks-libra-vice-chair-says
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World Economic Forum Looks to Blockchain to Restart Global Economy
The World Economic Forum published a report looking at how the deployment of blockchain-based solutions can address the supply chain inefficiencies and failures that have been exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alongside the report, the WEF has released a blockchain deployment toolkit intended to assist government and businesses in adapting their supply chains to the current economic climate and to “accelerate an economic rebound post-COVID-19.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/world-economic-forum-looks-to-blockchain-to-restart-global-economy
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SEC’s CryptoMom on Outlook for the Digital Dollar and the End of Her Term in June
In a recent panel, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce AKA CryptoMom opened up about the prospect of a digital dollar as well as the end of her term, coming in June.
A noted crypto defender at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission has spoken to the end of her term scheduled for June, as well as the relationship between a potential digital dollar and independent crypto.
A digital dollar and other stablecoins
In an April 28 webstream with Crypto Finance Conference St. Moritz, Commissioner Hester Peirce, sometimes known as CryptoMom, addressed the increasingly visible role of a potential digital dollar, but doubted that it posed a threat to digital currency in particular.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/secs-cryptomom-on-outlook-for-the-digital-dollar-and-the-end-of-her-term-in-june
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Digital Yuan already made and, of course, US don't want to left behind China. I'm pretty sure that we'll see crypto Dollar at the end of the year
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Bitcoin Hasn’t Done This Since 2015 Before Its 10,000% Bull Run
Bitcoin price experienced a huge 20% surge in value last week, but one indicator suggests BTC could still be in a downtrend.
The price of Bitcoin (BTC), the top-ranked cryptocurrency, currently sits around $9,000, after last week's impressive 20% rally in a single day. With the halving now less than 2 weeks away, it might seem like a no brainer to go long on Bitcoin to catch the next explosive move.
However, there is one chart view that suggests we may have topped out, and that is what I’ll start with today.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-hasnt-done-this-since-2015-before-its-10-000-bull-run
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Gold Ownership Has Been Difficult, Until the Days of Crypto
Gold’s history as a symbol of value dwarfs that of any other artifact. Used as money in both ancient Greece and the Roman empire, gold was also the preferred method of payment for goods along the Silk Road. When modern banking emerged during the Italian Renaissance, the concept of paper money convertible into gold was invented. This practice ended a half-century ago, but the value of gold remains timeless.
Starting with England in 1717, modern nations began anchoring their national systems of money to gold in what became known as the “gold standard.” By the late 1800s, and until World War I, the most advanced economies were united in this approach. Today, although the money of nations is no longer anchored to it in any way, gold has retained considerable economic utility. Whether used to preserve savings or as a hedge against financial instability, gold has been a mainstay in individual, institutional and state portfolios.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/gold-ownership-has-been-difficult-until-the-days-of-crypto
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Bitmain Recovers, Claims Profits Despite Pandemic and Power Struggle
Chinese cryptocurrency mining hardware producer Bitmain is now poised for a rebound after hitting a rough patch.
Chinese cryptocurrency hardware manufacturer Bitmain seems to be bouncing back after a streak of dismal reports. Earlier this week, a local industry blog revealed that the mining giant has accumulated over $300 million in revenue so far this year and is rewarding employees with massive bonuses on Labor Day.
Bitmain has since confirmed that information to Cointelegraph but ignored additional questions. Therefore, how does a mining company go about scoring profits amid the pandemic and the Bitcoin halving frenzy, the latter of which is said to shake things up for miners?
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitmain-recovers-claims-profits-despite-pandemic-and-power-struggle
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OmiseGO's Parent Company Changes Name to SYNQA
Omise Holdings, parent company of OmiseGo, now goes by the name SYNQA.
Asian fintech company Omise Holdings, now goes by the name SYNQA.
"Forging into 2020, this new corporate identity reinforces their position as a holding company with a portfolio of companies and as the go-to partner in Asia for all fintech and innovation matters," an April 30 statement from SYNQA said.
OmiseGo conducted its ICO in 2017
Omise, under Omise Holdings, garnered significant funds for its OmiseGo payment solution during the great crypto boom several years back. The company's ICO ran during the summer of 2017, raising roughly $25 million from selling Ethereum-based OMG tokens.
At a press time price of $0.74, OMG sits in the shadow of its former glory, once priced at a hefty $25 per token.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/omisego-s-parent-company-changes-name-to-synqa
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Bitcoin Price Hits $9K as US Gov’t Asks for Another $3 Trillion
Bitcoin price has recovered from its weekend losses back above $9,000 as the U.S. government seeks another $3 trillion in an attempt to revive the economy.
On May 5, Bitcoin (BTC) price recovered a significant portion of its losses from Sunday’s weekly close correction and data from Cointelegraph Markets and CoinMarketCap shows that within the last hour the digital asset crossed above the $9K mark again.
Despite correcting to $8,500 on Sunday, Bitcoin price quickly rebounded and found support in the $8,700-$8,850 range before spending the majority of Monday consolidating in this zone.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-reclaims-9k-as-us-govt-asks-for-another-3-trillion
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CZ Insists That DDoS Attacks Were Foul Play From Binance Competitors
Binance’s CEO suspects that recent DDoS attacks came from competing exchanges looking to damage Binance’s reputation rather than steal crypto.
As Zhao told Cointelegraph on May 4, the April 29 attack was “well-coordinated” and focused on making Binance services unavailable in some countries of Asia.
Competitors behind the attacks?
Zhao emphasized that there are “a number of tell-tale” signs that such attacks came from competing exchanges.
In the statement, Binance’s CEO stated that DDoS attacks were more expensive for hackers than for the exchange itself.
CZ provided more details regarding specific DDoS targets:
“The attacks focused on all of our public endpoints in those targeted regions simultaneously. We use a wide range of caching, clustering, and distribution services to optimize the performance of user access from every corner of the world. And for each region, we use different combinations of services and architecture.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/cz-insists-that-ddos-attacks-were-foul-play-from-binance-competitors
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New Season of 'Billions' Opens With Bitcoin Mining Bust
Crypto fans have been discussing actively on social media about the new Bitcoin-related episode of “Billions” series.
Showtime released the first episode of the fifth season of financial drama series “Billions,” which opened with a Bitcoin mining bust.
The new season, based on the life of the former New York District attorney Preet Bharara, began on May 3 with a plot revolving around a group of cryptocurrency miners operating an illegal Bitcoin (BTC) farm.
Previous seasons talked about the world of the stock markets and legal disputes with hedge fund managers on Wall Street. Crypto enthusiasts may find the new episode more familiar
https://cointelegraph.com/news/new-season-of-billions-opens-with-bitcoin-mining-bust
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Telegram Won’t Let American TON Investors Get 110% Refund in 2021
American TON investors will be reportedly only eligible for an immediate 72% repayment instead of a 110% refund option in April 2021.
Soon after missing the April 30 deadline to launch the Telegram Open Network (TON), Telegram sent another letter to its investors. In the new letter, Telegram reportedly said that American TON investors will not be able stay in the TON project for another 12 months.
American TON investors will be only eligible for an immediate 72% repayment instead of a 110% refund option in April 2021, Russian news agency RBC reports on May 4.
Telegram had to retract the 110% option due to regulatory uncertainty in the U.S.
The news comes after Telegram offered to refund its investors on April 30. As reported, the firm proposed two options — an immediate 72% refund, or 110% in 12 months. The firm offered the second option as a “a token of gratitude” of trust in TON, promising to provide interested investors with a loan agreement shortly.
According to an investor letter seen by RBC, Telegram had to retract the second option for its American investors due to “uncertain stance by regulatory authorities in the United States.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/telegram-wont-let-american-ton-investors-get-110-refund-in-2021
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Warm-up? History Shows Bitcoin May See Epic Rally After 150% Gain
Bitcoin price is preparing for a powerful mid-term rally and a new BTC price cycle, according to historical market data and previous halving events.
Bitcoin (BTC) price may be at the start of an unprecedented mid-term rally after the top-ranked cryptocurrency by market capitalization registered a 150% gain since March.
Historical data shows that when the long-term price trend of Bitcoin shifted at a local bottom with a strong reaction from buyers, it saw an extended uptrend.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/warm-up-history-shows-bitcoin-may-see-epic-rally-after-150-gain
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Most of Cash App’s $528M Revenue in Q1 Came From Bitcoin
Square reports that Bitcoin composed the bulk of Cash App’s revenue in the first quarter, though it added much less to profit.
On May 6, Square released its filings for the first quarter of 2020. The filings publicized revenue for Square’s Cash App, a majority of which came from Bitcoin.
The numbers for Q1 and Bitcoin’s role
$306 million of Cash App’s $528 million revenue for the first quarter of the year came from Bitcoin.
Despite those numbers, Bitcoin composed a small fraction of Cash App’s profit, only $7 million of $183 million total profit. The company explained why it separated Bitcoin revenue as being more of a core mission:
“We deduct bitcoin revenue because our role is to facilitate customers’ access to bitcoin. When customers buy bitcoin through Cash App, we only apply a small margin to the market cost of bitcoin, which tends to be volatile and outside our control.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/most-of-cash-apps-528m-revenue-in-q1-came-from-bitcoin
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Silvergate Bank Reports 75% Increase in BTC Trading Volume
The crypto-friendly bank saw an increase in the number digital currency customers and Bitcoin trading volume in the first quarter of 2020.
Bitcoin trading and transaction volumes surged at the pro-crypto Silvergate Bank in the first quarter of 2020.
According to an April 29 transcript filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on its Q1 2020 earnings, Bitcoin (BTC) trading volume on the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN) grew 75% over the previous quarter. SEN’s BTC transaction volume also increased 118%, with more than 31,000 transactions.
As of April 2020, the bank is serving 850 digital currency-related clients including cryptocurrency exchanges and miners, custodians, and global investors.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/silvergate-bank-reports-75-increase-in-btc-trading-volume
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A Single Chinese Region Accounts for One-Third of Global BTC Hash Rate
Cambridge University has launched a ‘Bitcoin Mining Map’ that shows the distribution of hashing power worldwide as well as within China.
The Cambridge University’s Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) has launched a Bitcoin Mining Map that provides the average monthly hash rate produced by each country across the globe.
The map is informed by the data of mining pools ViaBTC, Poolin, and BTC.com. Cambridge claims the platform is the first to publicly offer a geographic breakdown of Bitcoin (BTC) hash power distribution.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/a-single-chinese-region-accounts-for-one-third-of-global-btc-hash-rate
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Bitcoin Miners Sell BTC Months After Halving, On-Chain Data Suggests
On-chain data suggests that a strong selloff may not necessarily follow the upcoming Bitcoin halving.
Bitcoin’s third halving is less than a day away and the cryptocurrency community remains divided on whether the price will rise or drop after the event. Interestingly, on-chain data from previous halvings suggests that after the halving Bitcoin price may not see an immediate drop.
Google Trends data shows that searches for the halving have already surpassed previous all-time highs, and the crypto community has been issuing a variety of price estimates for the post halving price.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-miners-sell-btc-months-after-halving-on-chain-data-suggests
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Halving Hype Drives Second-Strongest Spot Volume on Record
The run-up to Bitcoin’s halving has driven near-record volumes, with April 30 posting the second-largest daily trade on record.
Pre-halving speculation has driven historic volumes of crypto trade, with April 30 producing the second-strongest single day for volume on record according to a report published by market data aggregator, CryptoCompare.
Notional volume for BTC options on Chicago Mercantile Exchange, or CME, also tagged a new record in recent days, with 202 contracts changing hands on May 5.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/halving-hype-drives-second-strongest-spot-volume-on-record
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Iran Ditches Rial in Hyperinflation Crisis — Bitcoin Demand Rises
Iran is set to redenominate its fiat currency, removing four zeros to create a new fiat called toman as demand for crypto is surging.
Ravaged by crippling hyperinflation, Iran’s Parliament has sanctioned the redenomination of its fiat — the rial — by replacing it with a new currency called the toman. According to the plan, each toman will be worth 10,000 rials.
The redenomination plan effectively removes four place values (four zeros) from the Iranian national currency as part of efforts to kickstart an economic recovery from the country. It is a move that echoes steps taken by other countries like Venezuela and Zimbabwe amid huge inflation.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/iran-ditches-rial-in-hyperinflation-crisis-bitcoin-demand-rises
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Top 5 Cryptocurrencies to Watch This Week: BTC, ETH, XTZ, ADA, NEO
Several major cryptocurrencies have seen strong buying at lower levels, suggesting that the uptrend is likely to resume once Bitcoin finds support.
Bitcoin (BTC) rallied above $10,000 on May 7 and just when everyone was getting ready for the long-anticipated halving surge the top-ranked cryptocurrency on CoinMarketCap plunged over 15% to hit a low of $8,130.58.
However, the sharp fall in price did not attract further selling, which suggests that traders are not panicking and dumping their positions. This indicates that the sentiment is to continue buying on the dips.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/top-5-cryptocurrencies-to-watch-this-week-btc-eth-xtz-ada-neo
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Cambridge University has launched a ‘Bitcoin Mining Map’ that shows the distribution of hashing power worldwide as well as within China.
Cheap electricity and all mining hardware made in China, it's obvious ;D
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YouTube Cancels Cointelegraph's BTC Halving Livestream for Being 'Harmful Content'
What a twist! YouTube pulled the plug on our seven-hour livestream.
YouTube’s censorship rabbit hole is deep, especially as it pertains to cryptocurrency topics.
Cointelegraph had a full day of programming lined up for a livestream that covered Bitcoin’s third block halving on May 11. The agenda mostly went off without a hitch — fintech luminaries like Tim Draper, Roger Ver, Meltem Demirors, and many more shared their time and opinions with Cointelegraph editorial staff over the course of a livestream that lasted just under seven hours.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/youtube-cancels-cointelegraphs-btc-halving-livestream-for-being-harmful-content
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Ashton Kutcher Participates in Lolli’s $3M Seed Round
Notable entrepreneurs are backing the seed funding round led by Pathfinder that aims to strengthen Lolli’s app.
Bitcoin (BTC) rewards company Lolli announced on Monday the close of an oversubscribed $3 million seed-II funding round led by Pathfinder and investors such as Michelle Phan, Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary.
According to the announcement, the funding will help launch the company’s mobile application and expand it internationally, with a tentative launch date for the summer.
Lolli assures that the app will allow greater accessibility to Bitcoin, allowing users to earn from merchants on both web and mobile.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ashton-kutcher-participates-in-lollis-3m-seed-round
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Main Barrier to CBDC Is Philosophy Not Tech, Says European Central Bank Rep
European Central Bank executive board member Yves Mersch believes that the main impediment for CBDC is philosophical rather than technological.
A number of countries such as China and Sweden are already experimenting with central bank digital currencies, which are also referred to as CBDCs. The implementation of this new type of money requires a number of aspects including technology advancement and specific regulation. According to a key official at the European Central Bank, the main challenge of CBDC is philosophical rather than technological.
Yves Mersch, an executive board member at the ECB, has again discussed CBDC issues at an "ask me anything" session hosted by Consensus: Distributed on Monday. At the session, the ECB executive reiterated that the central bank remains engaged with CBDC issues and is working closely with the global central bank community regarding CBDC development.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/main-barrier-to-cbdc-is-philosophy-not-tech-says-european-central-bank-rep
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Top Crypto Traders Predict Bitcoin Price Direction After BTC Halving
Bitcoin’s price saw wild volatility leading up to the halving. Top crypto traders discuss where the price is likely headed to next.
Bitcoin’s (BTC) price has been showing extreme levels of volatility as it consolidates under a key level of $10,000. Previously, the price dropped to as low as $8,100 on May 10, merely a day before the highly anticipated mining rewards halving.
Following the 20% drop, traders remain divided on where the Bitcoin price would go next with some traders believing that BTC could immediately see an upsurge to the $14,000 to $15,000 resistance area.
Historically, when Bitcoin’s price saw an extended rally, it went past key resistance levels with ease. For instance, it took BTC 28 days to increase from $8,000 to $20,000 in December 2017. In June 2018, Bitcoin’s price rose from $7,500 to $14,000 in merely three weeks. So, BTC’s price has the tendency to increase by a large margin in a short period of time, especially when it’s met with huge demand from retail investors.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/top-crypto-traders-predict-bitcoin-price-direction-after-btc-halving
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Bitcoin Price Chart Fractal Seen in 2019 Hints at $14K Within Months
Bitcoin price is moving similarly as in April 2019, when BTC surged from the $5,000s to $14,000 in 62 days.
Bitcoin (BTC) price is portraying a similar trend seen in April 2019, when BTC surged from $5,000s to $14,000 within two months. Based on the similarity of the price action, there is a possibility that the top-ranked cryptocurrency by market capitalization could gear toward a new local peak in the second half of 2020.
After a price drop right before the halving to $8,200 on May 11, BTC recovered swiftly to over $9,100 within a 48-hour span. It indicates the strength of the current momentum of BTC.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-chart-fractal-seen-in-2019-hints-at-14k-within-months
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A Closer Look at the Bitcoin Network’s Post-Halving Hash Rate
We have now officially entered the 6.25 block subsidy era, and the fourth Bitcoin halving started to count down.
The cryptocurrency industry has just experienced the most anticipated event, Bitcoin’s (BTC) third halving. The last 12.5 Bitcoin block was mined by F2Pool and encoded the message: “NYTimes 09/Apr/2020 With $2.3T Injection, Fed’s Plan Far Exceeds 2008 Rescue,” paying tribute to Satoshi Nakamoto, the token’s creator. Antpool was in luck, mining the first 6.25 Bitcoin block. The first Bitcoin halving happened in Nov. 2012 and was mined by Slushpool, while the second having happened in July 2016 and was mined by F2Pool.
The post-halving will still see a positive adjustment
The market experienced some volatility during the last 60 blocks leading up to the halving, however, the Bitcoin price stayed within the $8,500–$9,000 range for a 24-hour window during the event.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/a-closer-look-at-the-bitcoin-networks-post-halving-hash-rate
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Bitfinex Launches Institution-Grade Custody Services With New Koine Partnership
Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange has partnered with London-based digital asset custodian Koine to roll out institution-grade custody and post-trade services.
Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange has partnered with London-based digital asset custodian Koine to roll out institution-grade custody and post-trade services.
On May 13, Bitifinex announced that Koine would be providing the exchange with a series of services that can help professional traders to mitigate the counterparty and settlement risks associated with cryptocurrency trades.
Bitfinex, which caters some of its offerings to professional clients by supporting algorithmic and over-the-counter trading, claims the new suite of services will help to encourage institutional participation in crypto markets.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitfinex-launches-institution-grade-custody-services-with-new-koine-partnership
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The Number of Women in Crypto and Blockchain Is Skyrocketing in 2020
Recent reports show an unprecedented increase in the number of women involved in the crypto market, some exchanges see a 160% surge.
It is widely believed that the cryptocurrency and blockchain sectors are almost exclusively male-dominated. However, a report released by CoinMarketCap on April 30 suggests otherwise. According to analysts, the number of women in the cryptocurrency industry increased by 43.24% in the first quarter of 2020.
Below is a breakdown of key factors that contributed to this record growth and why the numbers vary from region to region.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-number-of-women-in-crypto-and-blockchain-is-skyrocketing-in-2020
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SoftBank Loses Alibaba’s Jack Ma and Posts Worst Losses in History
Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma resigns from SoftBank’s board of directors as the firm posts the worst operating losses in its history.
Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma is stepping down from the board of Japanese tech giant and major blockchain backer SoftBank. After 13 years of close involvement with SoftBank, China’s richest man leaves the board amid SoftBank posting its worst operating losses in its history.
According to a May 17 report by Japanese publication Nikkei, Ma’s departure announcement amid Softbank’s Vision Fund reporting record-breaking losses of 1.8 trillion yen ($16.7 billion). Softbank’s total annual losses accounted for 1.36 trillion yen ($12.7 billion) for the year ending March 31, the company reported.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/softbank-loses-alibabas-jack-ma-and-posts-worst-losses-in-history
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Free TON Launches First Contests to Distribute Tokens Among Contributors
Free TON launches first community contests, planning to distribute thousands of TON Crystals among winners and participants.
Free TON, a decentralized blockchain network derived from Telegram’s TON blockchain, is launching the first community contests to power its network. Starting Monday, users, developers and validators are invited to participate in three separate contests, with Free TON planning to distribute thousands of TON Crystals, or Tons, as rewards.
On Monday, the Free TON Community officially introduced proposals for the first community contests on the Free TON forum. Each contest aims to distribute at least 50,000 Tons among winners, participants and juries. The three contests are expected to close on May 25.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/free-ton-launches-first-contests-to-distribute-tokens-among-contributors
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Bitcoin Block Generation Speed Falls to 2017 Lows
Only 95 blocks were generated on the Bitcoin blockchain on Sunday due to the recent halving, an analyst argues.
There were only 95 blocks generated on the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain on Sunday, according to data presented by pseudonymous Bitcoin analyst digitalik.net.
“In last 10 years we had only 8 days with less than 100 blocks,” the analyst tweeted, referring mostly to the 2017 third-quarter period.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, digitalik.net attributed the low block time to the recent Bitcoin halving and the decreased BTC hash rate in particular:
“Many miners cannot generate a profit now because their expenses are still the same and income cut in half.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-block-generation-speed-falls-to-2017-lows
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BitMEX Faces Lawsuit for Alleged Racketeering and Extensive Illicit Activities
BitMEX, one of the world’s largest crypto derivatives exchanges, has been accused in court of being “deliberately designed, from the ground up” to facilitate “a myriad of illegal activities.”
The allegations were made in a major new lawsuit filed by BMA LLC in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on May 16.
The plaintiff accuses BitMEX’s parent company, HDR Global Trading, and the exchange’s top executives — Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo and Samuel Reed — of engaging in or abetting multiple crimes that include racketeering, money laundering, wire fraud and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitmex-faces-lawsuit-for-alleged-racketeering-and-extensive-illicit-activities
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Public Service Announcement: Beware of Imposters Posing As Cointelegraph Journalists
Recently there has been a rise in the number of attempts to impersonate Cointelegraph team members and request money from organizations and individuals in return for the promise of positive coverage.
Crypto community, be vigilant: Cointelegraph has recently noticed an increase in scammers purporting to be our journalists on Telegram, LinkedIn and other social media.
While this is by no means a new phenomenon, this fraudulent activity has seemingly ramped up in recent weeks. Thankfully, their current methods mean that they are not particularly hard to identify.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/public-service-announcement-beware-of-imposters-posing-as-cointelegraph-journalists
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CME Traders Prefer Cash-Settled Bitcoin Products
CME customers would rather trade cash-backed Bitcoin products at present.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange's, or CME, global head of equity index and alternative investment products, Tim McCourt, said traders prefer cash-settled Bitcoin trading over products backed by physical Bitcoin (BTC).
"So far, clients have expressed a clear preference and priority for a cash-settled product," McCourt told Cointelegraph in an email when asked why the CME chose to go the cash-settled route for its Bitcoin futures trading product back in 2017.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/cme-traders-prefer-cash-settled-bitcoin-products
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'Americans Are Getting Screwed' With Lab Testing, Says Pomp Interviewee
Julia Cheek, CEO of at-home medical testing company Everlywell, called U.S. lab testing problematic.
'Americans Are Getting Screwed' With Lab Testing, Says Pomp Interviewee NEWS
In a recent interview with Anthony "Pomp" Pompliano, Julia Cheek, CEO of home medical testing company Everlywell, called for major reform in the U.S. lab testing sector.
“I’ve been fighting this battle for five years, talking about how lab testing is broken and Americans are getting screwed,” Cheek said in a May 19 podcast interview with Pompliano, adding:
“Lab testing is cheap, it can be affordable, you should know how much your tests are going to cost, period. [...] There is no excuse for that, especially as you’re having to pay for it out of pocket more and more.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/americans-are-getting-screwed-with-lab-testing-says-pomp-interviewee
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BlockFi’s Data Breach May Allow Criminals to Extort Rich Clients
BlockFi disclosed a data breach that potentially leaked the physical addresses and account activity of its customers, highlighting the risks of KYC finance platforms.
Crypto lending provider BlockFi reported on Tuesday that it suffered a data breach that may put some of its clients in physical danger.
According to its incident report, some of the company’s client data was breached through a SIM card swap attack performed on one of its employees.
The attackers successfully stole the email account and phone number used for the employee's account verification procedure, which allowed them to access BlockFi’s records.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/blockfis-data-breach-may-allow-criminals-to-extort-rich-clients
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Crypto YouTuber Moves to Saipan to Escape ‘Totalitarian Tyranny’
CoinText founder Vin Armani moved to Saipan in April, fearing being labeled an “undesirable” in the continental US and “disappeared”.
Vin Armani, the crypto YouTuber and former star of Showtime’s “Gigolo’s”, packed up his life and family and moved to a tiny Pacific island in April to ride out the pandemic and escape the ‘totalitarian tyranny’ he predicted was about to occur.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, the founder of CoinText said he believed there was a very good chance of him “being disappeared” if he had stayed in California as he was “an undesirable” in the eyes of unnamed forces.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-youtuber-moves-to-saipan-to-escape-totalitarian-tyranny
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Craig Wright Denies Transferring ‘Satoshi’ Coins, Leaving Him in Legal Catch-22
Wright has denied moving 50 Bitcoin from one of the ‘Satoshi’ accounts he claimed in court as his own, leaving him in a legal quandary.
Bitcoin SV’s billionaire benefactor Calvin Ayre revealed Satoshi claimant Craig Wright has denied moving 50 BTC from a long-dormant address thought by some to belong to the Bitcoin founder.
On Wednesday, an unknown party moved 50 BTC — roughly $486,000 worth — from an address containing coins mined barely one month after the launch of the Bitcoin mainnet in 2009.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/craig-wright-denies-transferring-satoshi-coins-leaving-him-in-legal-catch-22
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Coinbase Will Allow Employees to Work Remotely After Lockdown
Coinbase will transition to a permanent “remote-first” future after the quarantine is over.
U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase has announced it will transition to a “remote-first” workplace after the pandemic lockdown is over in an effort to guard against location-centric risks and to improve decentralization.
In an open letter to all employees, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said:
“After the restrictions of quarantine are over, Coinbase will embrace being ‘remote-first’, meaning we will offer the option to work in an office or remotely for the vast majority of roles.”
An estimated 20% to 60% of all Coinbase employees will continue to work remotely once all COVID-19 restrictions are removed.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-will-allow-employees-to-work-remotely-after-lockdown
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No, ISIS Does Not Have $300M in a Bitcoin ‘War Chest’
Blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis has debunked several high-profile stories about the use of crypto to fund terror groups.
Blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis has published a report debunking a number of popular narratives surrounding the use of crypto to finance terrorism.
The report emphasizes the harm of false reporting in spreading misinformation and damaging the reputation of firms operating with virtual currencies.
As “a trusted investigative partner to governments around the world, preventing terrorists from using cryptocurrency is one of our primary objectives,” Chainalysis states.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/no-isis-does-not-have-300m-in-a-bitcoin-war-chest
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FOMO Risk? THETA Outpacing Bitcoin With 1000% Gains Since March Crash
As Bitcoin struggles to find support, THETA and THETA Fuel have rallied more than 1000%, leading investors to wonder if other altcoins will follow.
As the halving hype has now passed for Bitcoin (BTC), altcoins are beginning to regain traction. In that regard, many altcoins have been showing significant movements in the past two weeks.
One of the biggest gainers is Theta Token (THETA), which gained 1,000% since the crash on Black Thursday, March 12. The second token of the Theta platform is called Theta Fuel (TFUEL) has also surged more than 1,150% in a matter of one week.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/fomo-risk-theta-outpacing-bitcoin-with-1000-gains-since-march-crash
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Telegram Puts Final Nail in GRAM's Coffin After Withdrawing Appeal
Telegram has dropped its appeal against a U.S. federal court’s injunction that forbade Gram distribution, putting a halt to the TON project.
Telegram has withdrawn its appeal against a United States federal court’s injunction that froze Gram token issuance and distribution, according to court documents dated May 22.
The move seems to suggest that the company has fully abandoned its TON plans. Earlier this month, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced their “active involvement” with the project was over, criticizing U.S. regulators for overextending their power.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/telegram-puts-final-nail-in-grams-coffin-after-withdrawing-appeal
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Turkish Stablecoin Receives Spot Listing on BTSE Exchange
Over-the-counter and cryptocurrency futures exchange BTSE today launched support for BiLira’s Turkish stablecoin TRYB. TRYB can now be traded against Tether (USDT) on BTSE’s spot markets.
Cointelegraph spoke to BiLira and BTSE to find out more about what the listing means for Turkey’s burgeoning cryptocurrency sector.
BTSE co-founder and CEO Jonathan Leong stated that the listing “enables Turkish users to facilitate lower fees via remittances, as well as instantaneous settlement times for TRYB users.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/turkish-stablecoin-receives-spot-listing-on-btse-exchange
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Italian Cryptocurrency Project Plans to Pay Users to Watch Porn
A novel cryptocurrency project called PornVisory plans to reward its users with blockchain tokens for watching porn on its platform.
A novel cryptocurrency project called PornVisory plans to reward its users with tokens for watching porn on its platform.
PornVisory's founder, Veronica Noschese, explained to Cointelegraph that there’s a natural synergy between the cryptocurrency and pornography industry, which desperately needs anonymous financial systems.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/italian-cryptocurrency-project-plans-to-pay-users-to-watch-porn
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Telegram has dropped its appeal against a U.S. federal court’s injunction that forbade Gram distribution, putting a halt to the TON project.
Why only best leave us :(
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Binance Futures Traders Long BTC and Altcoins, Even as Bitcoin Price Falls
Despite Bitcoin’s bearish price action, top traders on Binance Futures are aggressively longing cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Binance Futures Traders Long BTC and Altcoins, Even as Bitcoin Price FallsMARKETS NEWS
The majority of top traders on Binance Futures are longing Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and 8 other cryptocurrencies. In fact, more than 50% of traders are long on 10 crypto assets despite the current decline in the price of BTC.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-futures-traders-long-btc-and-altcoins-even-as-bitcoin-price-falls
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Twitter Bitcoin Mentions Now Almost Exactly Mimic Market Cap Dominance
Tweets including Bitcoin are far ahead of altcoins, but there are major similarities between Twitter and market cap rankings.
Bitcoin (BTC) the most mentions on Twitter may seem logical — but the reason behind it may be more calculated than many imagined.
According to the latest data, Bitcoin’s popularity on Twitter by the number of tweets is not only the highest of all the cryptocurrencies — it is proportional to market cap.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/twitter-bitcoin-mentions-now-almost-exactly-mimic-market-cap-dominance
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Telegram Puts Final Nail in GRAM's Coffin After Withdrawing Appeal
Telegram has withdrawn its appeal against a United States federal court’s injunction that froze Gram token issuance and distribution, according to court documents dated May 22.
The move seems to suggest that the company has fully abandoned its TON plans. Earlier this month, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced their “active involvement” with the project was over, criticizing U.S. regulators for overextending their power.
Announced in 2017, Telegram’s TON is a blockchain platform aimed at facilitating payments via Gram tokens and hosting decentralized applications at high scalability levels. After it raised almost $1.7 billion in two private token sale rounds next year, it drew the attention of authorities.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/telegram-puts-final-nail-in-grams-coffin-after-withdrawing-appeal
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Turkish Stablecoin Receives Spot Listing on BTSE Exchange
The Turkish stablecoin BiLira has received a spot listing on BTSE, offering a new on-ramp for Turkish investors to access crypto markets.
Turkish Stablecoin Receives Spot Listing on BTSE ExchangeNEWS
Over-the-counter and cryptocurrency futures exchange BTSE today launched support for BiLira’s Turkish stablecoin TRYB. TRYB can now be traded against Tether (USDT) on BTSE’s spot markets.
Cointelegraph spoke to BiLira and BTSE to find out more about what the listing means for Turkey’s burgeoning cryptocurrency sector.
BTSE co-founder and CEO Jonathan Leong stated that the listing “enables Turkish users to facilitate lower fees via remittances, as well as instantaneous settlement times for TRYB users.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/turkish-stablecoin-receives-spot-listing-on-btse-exchange
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Bitcoin Price Surges Past $9.4K as Week of Gains Targets Five Figures
$10,000 is edging ever closer for Bitcoin, which has gained $800 in the past few days and taken little notice of resistance levels.
Bitcoin (BTC) hit $9,400 on May 28 in its latest attempt to upend a downward trend which had seen $8,640 lows just days before.
At press time, $9,400 had just been clinched, rising to $9,460 before a slight reversal. Those levels come a day after Bitcoin reclaimed the $9,000 and $9,200 zones respectively.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-surges-past-94k-as-week-of-gains-targets-five-figures
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Brave Browser Launches Encrypted Video Calls Before Zoom
Brave has launched in-browser video calls featuring end-to-end encryption.
Brave, the privacy-centric cryptocurrency-powered web browser has launched in-browser video calls featuring end-to-end encryption.
The encrypted video service, dubbed ‘Brave Together’ can be used to make unlimited encrypted video calls featuring two participants. All Brave users can access the feature, with no account sign-ups needed.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/brave-browser-launches-encrypted-video-calls-before-zoom
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Grayscale Is Now Buying 1.5 Times the Amount of Bitcoin Being Mined
Independent researcher Kevin Rooke estimates that Grayscale has ramped up its Bitcoin accumulation to a rate equivalent to 150% of the new BTC created since the halving.
Crypto fund manager Grayscale Investments is accumulating Bitcoin at a rate equivalent to 150% of the new coins created by miners since the May 11 block reward halving.
According to data published by independent crypto researcher Kevin Rooke, Grayscale has added 18,910 BTC to its Bitcoin Investment Trust since the halving, while only 12,337 Bitcoins have been mined since May 11.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/grayscale-is-now-buying-15-times-the-amount-of-bitcoin-being-mined
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