Bitcoin ABC, Jiang Zhuoer Appear Determined to Implement a Mining Tax on Bitcoin Cash Despite Community Backlash
- Major ecosystem participants, including former supporters of the proposal, have publicly criticised the actions of the most popular Bitcoin Cash node implementation and its representatives.
Unibright Updates Workshop Packages, Pushes For More UBT Adoption
- The smallest workshop package is no longer available, while the workshop price of UBT has been re-evaluated to $0.42.
- UBT is unaffected by the latest crypto market dump and has skyrocketed in 2020 from $0.018 to $0.25, a 1,288% increase.
Binance Expands To Singapore With New License Application
- The firm's CEO and co-founder, Changpeng Zhao, has said that their Singaporean entity was in close touch with local regulators.
- If approved, Binance will be regulated under Singapore's current AML and counterterrorist-financing rules.
BlockFi Raised $30M in Series B Round After a Period of Rapid Growth
- BlockFi’s main aim in 2020 is to work towards mainstream crypto adoption.
- Valar Ventures led the funding round and believes that BlockFi is one of the most successful companies it has invested in.
Roger Ver Explains The Motivations Behind The @Bitcoin Twitter Handle Ownership Change
- In Ver's words, the original owner was one of the earliest popular bitcoiners who lost his cryptocurrency fortune to a hack.
- Selling Twitter accounts is prohibited by the service's policies.
Wells Fargo Invests in Elliptic’s Series B Funding Round
- The fresh $5 million investment will not only help Elliptic expand in Asia, but also fuel the roll out of a new products.
- Elliptic's Series B round has now raised more than $28 million.
Coinbase Pro Now Provides Margin Trading to Eligible Clients
- Margin trading is suitable for advanced traders who follow complex strategies and want to use the deepest pool of crypto liquidity.
- Every potential client has to check whether the feature is available in their region at the moment.
Tether To Use Chainalysis’ AML Compliance Tools
- With the help of Chainalysis' Know-Your-Transaction tool, Tether will be able to track potential criminal activities.
- While Tether can not confiscate the tokens used in a "high risk" transaction, it can still freeze the wallets that contain them.
JPMorgan Considers Merging Quorum With ConsenSys
- No JPMorgan projects running on the Quorum blochchain, such as the IIN, will be affected by the merger.
- It is still not clear whether people working on Quorum will actually join ConsenSys .
Editors' Picks
London-Based Startup to Apply for U.K. Banking License to Serve Crypto Firms
- This will be DAG Global's second attempt at a full banking license in the U.K., after its failed attempt in 2018.
- The company is hopeful regulators will approve its application this time, seeing how it has not raised any "red flags" so far.
Coronavirus Spread Can Be Observed Via Acoer Application, Powered by Hedera Hashgraph
- The Coronavirus HashLog dashboard provides info on the number of confirmed cases and the deaths and recoveries per hundred infections.
- This is a great example of how DLT technologies can serve the healthcare and public health areas.
Andrew Yang Shares Standpoint on Crypto Regulation, Blockchain Technology
- In an interview with Bloomberg, Andrew Yang talked about how we need a strict set of rules regarding digital assets.
- He also mentioned that blockchain technology has a high potential and that "we should be investing in it".
Anti-Coronavirus Foundation to Leverage Blockchain in Search for Vaccine
- The foundation aims to raise $30 million to fund an anyone who comes up with a vaccine.
- The coronavirus has killed at least 17 people in Wuhan, China, with hundreds already diagnosed and the virus spreading to the United States.
Deloitte Report Provides Balanced, Objective Viewpoint on Libra
- Split in eight sections, the report concisely summarizes the current state of the Libra project.
- One of the key takeaways from the report is how Libra spurred a serious discussion on digital assets as a result of the regulatory scrutiny over the project.
6 Central Banks Join Hands in CBDC Research
- Members of the new research group are the central banks of Canada, England, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, the ECB and the BIS.
- The goal of the new working group is to share each group member's experience, and to also study the potential use cases for CBDCs.
US Lawmakers Considering a Tax Exemption for Small Cryptocurrency Trades
- The newly-introduced bill would exempt all realised cryptocurrency gains under $200 from taxation.
- The current state of the USA tax law stifles microtransaction-based innovation and discourages small-time traders from participating in the markets.
Opinion
Can Bitcoin be Used as a Central Bank Digital Currency?
- As unlikely as it might be, we took a look at bitcoin being used as a central bank digital currency.
- We listed the pros and cons, as well as the necessary evolution bitcoin would have to go through in order to be used as a CBDC.
Opinion: 2020, The Return of Cryptocurrency
- With three bullish trends dominating this January alone, the crypto market is showing strong signs of an all-out bull charge.
- The quick progress of blockchain and digital assets into a multitude of industries is fueling a new bubble, bringing up memories of the 2018 Armageddon.
Democratic Presidential Candidates Should Talk About Cryptocurrency
- Aside from a few generic mentions, cryptocurrency has been left out of the 7 Democratic debates so far.
- The digital assets sector has matured enough to demand the attention of top-level lawmakers as regulatory uncertainty keeps hindering innovation.
Fraud is Holding Back the Crypto Market. Will it Ever End?
- Investors need to start evaluating projects more critically, opting to invest in what people do, not what they say.
- More than $4 billion worth of cryptocurrency have been stolen in 2019, compared to $1.7 billion in 2018.
Why Are You Still Not Using Brave?
- The privacy-focused browser is quickly gaining momentum after its 1.0 version release.
- With features like Brave Rewards, seamless security, and top speed, Brave is gradually turning into the benchmark browser of the future.
Can China’s Blockchain Push Unleash the End-of-Year Bulls?
- China publicly announcing their support for blockchain innovation seems to have given the bulls a reason to charge again.
- Total crypto market cap has jumped by more than $40 billion in a matter of hours, with Bitcoin closing in on $10,000.
Why the Libra Exodus Might be Good for the Project
- With organizations withdrawing in droves, thoughts of Libra's downfall naturally come to mind.
- However, with the seeming invulnerability of the project now shattered, policymakers might take a more objective approach towards the venture.
In Other News
BitGo Launches Two New Crypto Custody Entities in Europe
- In order to expand its global reach, the firm decided to launch two new custodial subsidiaries in Switzerland and Germany.
- By being regulated by different financial authorities, the two entities will provide its clients with the option to choose a jurisdiction.
Tael Ecosystem Obtains Medical License, Enters Vital Industry Sector
- Tael is focused on protecting consumers in the medical industry where no fake products should be sold.
- The Tael Ecosystem includes more than 360 technology-protected products, available in every Chinese province.
Nexo’s First Wave of Policy Change Going Live Today
- Despite the early announcement, the market reaction only occurred as the changes were about to go live.
- The company is also working on additional features that could increase the demand for Nexo tokens significantly.
Tether Deploys on Algorand
- Tether announced back in July, 2019, that they will deploy on Algorand.
- Algorand has become only the fifth blockchain where USDT is available for trading.
Top 10 Crypto Predictions For 2020 Based On 2019 Growth Pattern
- 2019 growth percentages dictate Bitcoin at $13,706, Binance Coin at $31, and Tezos at $4 towards the end of 2020.
- As FOMO kicks in again, 2020 will surely set its own pace, but there's still a lot of things to learn from 2019.
U.S. Federal Reserve Now Open To The Idea Of CBDC, Researches DLT
- The U.S. Federal Reserve has followed the example of 80% of the world's central banks, and started researching the potential use cases o DLT.
- The sudden change in stance is probably due to concerns over privately issued digital currencies.
OKEx Announces 10th IEO – HyperDAO
- OKEx and HyperDAO share a common belief in decentralized finance, which led to this partnership.
- Users can participate from both the OKEx app and OKEx website, but have to complete their KYC2 verification before that.
Fidelity’s VC Arm Leads $13M Funding Round For Blockchain Startup Clear
- The new capital will be used to expand Clear's 30-strong team and telecom operations, as well as to look into possible expansion in other industries.
- Led by Fidelity's VC arm, the Series A funding round saw participation from a number of venture funds belonging to global telecoms leaders.
Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales Announced as Keynote Speaker at The CoinGeek London Conference (Updated)
- The conference is advertised as an opportunity to meet and chat with Craig Wright himself.
- Wales has expressed severe scepticism of Wright's claims in the past.
Bitcoin ABC, Jiang Zhuoer Appear Determined to Implement a Mining Tax on Bitcoin Cash Despite Community Backlash
- Major ecosystem participants, including former supporters of the proposal, have publicly criticised the actions of the most popular Bitcoin Cash node implementation and its representatives.
Unibright Updates Workshop Packages, Pushes For More UBT Adoption
- The smallest workshop package is no longer available, while the workshop price of UBT has been re-evaluated to $0.42.
- UBT is unaffected by the latest crypto market dump and has skyrocketed in 2020 from $0.018 to $0.25, a 1,288% increase.
Binance Expands To Singapore With New License Application
- The firm's CEO and co-founder, Changpeng Zhao, has said that their Singaporean entity was in close touch with local regulators.
- If approved, Binance will be regulated under Singapore's current AML and counterterrorist-financing rules.
Roger Ver Explains The Motivations Behind The @Bitcoin Twitter Handle Ownership Change
- In Ver's words, the original owner was one of the earliest popular bitcoiners who lost his cryptocurrency fortune to a hack.
- Selling Twitter accounts is prohibited by the service's policies.
BlockFi Raised $30M in Series B Round After a Period of Rapid Growth
- BlockFi’s main aim in 2020 is to work towards mainstream crypto adoption.
- Valar Ventures led the funding round and believes that BlockFi is one of the most successful companies it has invested in.
Wells Fargo Invests in Elliptic’s Series B Funding Round
- The fresh $5 million investment will not only help Elliptic expand in Asia, but also fuel the roll out of a new products.
- Elliptic's Series B round has now raised more than $28 million.
JPMorgan Considers Merging Quorum With ConsenSys
- No JPMorgan projects running on the Quorum blochchain, such as the IIN, will be affected by the merger.
- It is still not clear whether people working on Quorum will actually join ConsenSys .
London-Based Startup to Apply for U.K. Banking License to Serve Crypto Firms
- This will be DAG Global's second attempt at a full banking license in the U.K., after its failed attempt in 2018.
- The company is hopeful regulators will approve its application this time, seeing how it has not raised any "red flags" so far.
BitGo Launches Two New Crypto Custody Entities in Europe
- In order to expand its global reach, the firm decided to launch two new custodial subsidiaries in Switzerland and Germany.
- By being regulated by different financial authorities, the two entities will provide its clients with the option to choose a jurisdiction.
Coinbase Custody, Bison Trails to Push for Clearer Staking Regulation
- Coinbase Custody and Bison Trails have both joined the Proof of Stake Alliance in its mission to promote legal and regulatory clarity around staking.
- The alliance already has more than 18 members, representing a wide range of Proof of Stake communities.
Andrew Yang Shares Standpoint on Crypto Regulation, Blockchain Technology
- In an interview with Bloomberg, Andrew Yang talked about how we need a strict set of rules regarding digital assets.
- He also mentioned that blockchain technology has a high potential and that "we should be investing in it".
Singapore Strengthens Consumer Protection With New Payment Services Act
- Crypto-related businesses will be required to follow current AML and counterterrorist-financing rules.
- Once registered with the MAS, crypto businesses will have six months to apply for a payment institution license.
Over 1,000 Crypto Mining Licenses Issued in Iran
- Despite these crypto mining licenses, the country's new regulations did not attract much foreign investment.
- The Iranian ICT Guild Organization is reportedly working on improving the crypto mining conditions in Iran.
Tael Ecosystem Obtains Medical License, Enters Vital Industry Sector
- Tael is focused on protecting consumers in the medical industry where no fake products should be sold.
- The Tael Ecosystem includes more than 360 technology-protected products, available in every Chinese province.
U.S. Federal Reserve Now Open To The Idea Of CBDC, Researches DLT
- The U.S. Federal Reserve has followed the example of 80% of the world's central banks, and started researching the potential use cases o DLT.
- The sudden change in stance is probably due to concerns over privately issued digital currencies.
Coronavirus Spread Can Be Observed Via Acoer Application, Powered by Hedera Hashgraph
- The Coronavirus HashLog dashboard provides info on the number of confirmed cases and the deaths and recoveries per hundred infections.
- This is a great example of how DLT technologies can serve the healthcare and public health areas.
Read More
NEWS
BlockFi Raised $30M in Series B Round After a Period of Rapid Growth
- BlockFi’s main aim in 2020 is to work towards mainstream crypto adoption.
- Valar Ventures led the funding round and believes that BlockFi is one of the most successful companies it has invested in.
Wells Fargo Invests in Elliptic’s Series B Funding Round
- The fresh $5 million investment will not only help Elliptic expand in Asia, but also fuel the roll out of a new products.
- Elliptic's Series B round has now raised more than $28 million.
JPMorgan Considers Merging Quorum With ConsenSys
- No JPMorgan projects running on the Quorum blochchain, such as the IIN, will be affected by the merger.
- It is still not clear whether people working on Quorum will actually join ConsenSys .
Binance Expands To Singapore With New License Application
- The firm's CEO and co-founder, Changpeng Zhao, has said that their Singaporean entity was in close touch with local regulators.
- If approved, Binance will be regulated under Singapore's current AML and counterterrorist-financing rules.
Coinbase Pro Now Provides Margin Trading to Eligible Clients
- Margin trading is suitable for advanced traders who follow complex strategies and want to use the deepest pool of crypto liquidity.
- Every potential client has to check whether the feature is available in their region at the moment.
Gemini Becomes First Crypto Exchange to Integrate with TradingView
- The integration allows users of TradingView to trade digital assets directly on the platform.
- Only cryptocurrencies supported by Gemini can be traded, including BTC and ETH.
Coinbase Custody, Bison Trails to Push for Clearer Staking Regulation
- Coinbase Custody and Bison Trails have both joined the Proof of Stake Alliance in its mission to promote legal and regulatory clarity around staking.
- The alliance already has more than 18 members, representing a wide range of Proof of Stake communities.
Andrew Yang Shares Standpoint on Crypto Regulation, Blockchain Technology
- In an interview with Bloomberg, Andrew Yang talked about how we need a strict set of rules regarding digital assets.
- He also mentioned that blockchain technology has a high potential and that "we should be investing in it".
Singapore Strengthens Consumer Protection With New Payment Services Act
- Crypto-related businesses will be required to follow current AML and counterterrorist-financing rules.
- Once registered with the MAS, crypto businesses will have six months to apply for a payment institution license.
The Winklevoss Brothers Awarded 6 Stablecoin Patents
- One of the Winklevoss' patents describes how financial transactions, conducted via smart contracts, could use stablecoins as collateral.
- Another, explains how banks and "other trusted entities" can be used to create and issue new tokens.
IBM Patents a “Self-Aware Token”
- IBM's patent describes a a ledger-based payments system, which uses "self-aware tokens" to track and record offline transactions.
- The company claims that the system's ability to track the history of a token will "bolster trust and viability" within a new token-based economy.
SEC Charges Opporty Over $600,000 Fraudulent Security Offering
- From September 2017 to October 2018 Opporty raised around $600,000 from approximately 200 investors via SAFTs.
- The company claimed to have on-boarded thousands of “verified providers”, and had more than 17 million businesses in its database, both of which were untrue.
FCA Warns Investors of a Potential Crypto Scam, Site Goes Down
- All companies providing financial services in the UK have to be authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority.
- The content on the Pro-Options website contained grammar and spelling errors, with some parts being rather comical.
VeChain Foundation Loses $6.6 Million in VET Token Hack
- At 12:27 UTC on Friday, the VeChain Foundation lost around 1.1 billion VET tokens from its buyback wallet.
- The company is already tracking the stolen funds and has informed law enforcement agencies in Singapore.
CipherTrace: Crypto Crime Losses up to $4.4 Billion
- Two huge crypto crimes accumulated more than $3 billion in losses for users.
- Attempts of fraud constitute the bigger percentage of crypto-related crimes, leaving the pure acts of thefts second.
Tael Ecosystem Obtains Medical License, Enters Vital Industry Sector
- Tael is focused on protecting consumers in the medical industry where no fake products should be sold.
- The Tael Ecosystem includes more than 360 technology-protected products, available in every Chinese province.
U.S. Federal Reserve Now Open To The Idea Of CBDC, Researches DLT
- The U.S. Federal Reserve has followed the example of 80% of the world's central banks, and started researching the potential use cases o DLT.
- The sudden change in stance is probably due to concerns over privately issued digital currencies.
Coronavirus Spread Can Be Observed Via Acoer Application, Powered by Hedera Hashgraph
- The Coronavirus HashLog dashboard provides info on the number of confirmed cases and the deaths and recoveries per hundred infections.
- This is a great example of how DLT technologies can serve the healthcare and public health areas.
Tether To Use Chainalysis’ AML Compliance Tools
- With the help of Chainalysis' Know-Your-Transaction tool, Tether will be able to track potential criminal activities.
- While Tether can not confiscate the tokens used in a "high risk" transaction, it can still freeze the wallets that contain them.
Tether Deploys on Algorand
- Tether announced back in July, 2019, that they will deploy on Algorand.
- Algorand has become only the fifth blockchain where USDT is available for trading.
WisdomTree Considers Launching a Stablecoin in the U.S.
- The asset manager, who oversees around $63 billion in assets, will first try to obtain the approval of the SEC.
- The regulatory agency might be a bit more welcoming towards WisdomTree, given that it is an established U.S. financial firm.
U.S. Marshals Service to Auction 4,040 Confiscated Bitcoin in February
- Worth nearly $40 million, the confiscated Bitcoins come from over 50 administrative forfeitures and legal cases.
- Potential bidders are required to deposit $200,000, and will have until 12 February to register for the auction.
Bitcoin IRA Exceeds Record-High $400M
- Bitcoin IRA’s platform allows users to easily create a new retirement account, track holdings in real-time and trade cryptocurrency 24/7.
- According to COO Chris Kline, Bitcoin IRA is continuing to raise the bar in the industry with its one-of-a-kind features.
Despite Potential Drop to $6,000, Bitcoin Might Hit $25,000 by 2021
- The prediction was made by Galaxy, a prominent crypto trader and researcher.
- Other crypto enthusiasts such as Dave the Wave, Travis King, and Mike Novogratz, have also predicted that Bitcoin will hit $25,000 by 2021.
Unibright, Chainlink, Anyblock Analytics Form EMINENT Task Force
- The goal will be to produce open-source standards that will make it easy for enterprises to integrate with the Ethereum mainnet.
- The task force expects to be done within 18 - 24 months, though intermediate updates will be released to the public.
Testnet Split Caused by Ethereum’s Istanbul Early Arrival
- The update came in 2 days earlier, causing a split of the Ropsten testnet.
- There shouldn't be any problems when the update is activated on the main Ethereum network, Hudson Jameson, community manager of the Ethereum Foundation, explained.
Ethereum Foundation’s Director Will Now Help Businesses Use Public Blockchain
- Aya Miyaguchi made a statement where she noted that EEA wants to impact the industry.
- Joseph Lubin commented on the attention by businesses to the Ethereum network.
Ripple Enables Fast Cross-Border Remittance Services Between The U.S. And Mexico
- MoneyGram has already implemented RippleNet’s On-Demand Liquidity service and is planning to expand its usage.
- Intermex will reduce costs for one of the most heavily used remittance corridors – the one between the USA and Mexico.
Rumours About XRP Support on BitPay Confirmed
- Gift card merchant eGifter and humanitarian organisation CareUSA will be the first merchants to accept XRP through BitPay.
- Support for the cryptocurrency has been achieved through collaboration with Xpring.
Elliptic Finds Only $400 Million in XRP Transactions Are Illicit
- Illicit activity includes a variety of Ponzi schemes and darknet activities, but only represents 0.2% of all transactions.
- Elliptic started analyzing XRP transactions over a year ago and identified several hundred accounts with illegal activity.
Bitcoin ABC, Jiang Zhuoer Appear Determined to Implement a Mining Tax on Bitcoin Cash Despite Community Backlash
- Major ecosystem participants, including former supporters of the proposal, have publicly criticised the actions of the most popular Bitcoin Cash node implementation and its representatives.
Roger Ver Explains The Motivations Behind The @Bitcoin Twitter Handle Ownership Change
- In Ver's words, the original owner was one of the earliest popular bitcoiners who lost his cryptocurrency fortune to a hack.
- Selling Twitter accounts is prohibited by the service's policies.
Bitcoin Cash: Updated Infrastructure Fund Proposal, Bullish Market Prediction
- The second edition of Zhuoer's proposal has removed the unaccountable Hong Kong corporation and integrated a democratic process for decision making going forward.
- The proposal hints towards a bullish expectation of $2,000 per BCH in 2021.
Rewards for Miners Have Been Halved on Litecoin’s Network
- Today the Litecoin network reached block height of 1,680,000, which reduced its miners block rewards by a half, from 25 LTC per block to 12.5 LTC.
- Even though the increased scarcity could push the price of the token up, it could also have an effect on the interest of Litecoin mining.
Litecoin Outshines Rivals in Advance of August Reward Halving
- Litecoin has seen fantastic progress in both pricing and non-price metrics in 2019.
- This superb performance could be connected to the mining reward halving that will happen on August 6.
Litecoin ranked ‘Excellent’ in Adoption and Investment Return
- Litecoin ranked highly by the respected Weiss Ratings.
- The Litecoin Foundation has valuable partnerships and new goals ahead.
Unibright Updates Workshop Packages, Pushes For More UBT Adoption
- The smallest workshop package is no longer available, while the workshop price of UBT has been re-evaluated to $0.42.
- UBT is unaffected by the latest crypto market dump and has skyrocketed in 2020 from $0.018 to $0.25, a 1,288% increase.
Stellar Burns $4.7 Billion Worth of XLM
- Out of the 105 billion XLM tokens that were in existence, the Stellar Development Foundation decided to destroy 55 billion of its own tokens.
- The tokens came mainly from the organization's giveaway and partnership programs, which have now been ended.
Stellar to Airdrop 2 Billion XLM
- Stellar Development Foundation CEO explained that Keybase is an important part of their adoption strategy and advocate their vision.
- All the big messaging apps and Keybase competitors are soon to enter the cryptocurrency game but with a different approach.
TECHNOLOGY