Crypto Self-Regulatory Organization, 100 BTC Whistleblower Reward
In today’s edition of Bitcoin in Brief we cover a couple of stories that show how the cryptocurrency industry is trying to police itself. One group of companies has begun working on the formation of a self-regulatory organization and another has created a 100 BTC whistleblower reward pool. A number of companies have jointly formed […]
Bitcoin’s Price May Be Charting a Previous Bull Pattern
History often has a way of repeating itself. The current price pattern in the bitcoin market is eerily similar to the one observed in the run-up to a major rally that occurred on April 12. To start with, bitcoin charted a long-tailed candle on Aug. 14, similar to the one seen on Apr. 1, signaling […]
Threats Fly As Fight Over $200 Million Siacoin’s Crypto Code Intensifies
An effort to keep the $200 million siacoin blockchain free from corporate interests is devolving into chaos amid accusations against the companies at the center of the effort. At issue is the conduct of the protocol’s coders, and the motivations behind their push to alter the rules of the blockchain they maintain. With a proposal, […]
Trump vs Erdogan: Bitcoin Is the Answer to Turkey’s Financial Chaos
Latest reporting out of Washington appear to signal no deal struck between the Trump administration and the government of Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, potentially deepening an already fragile financial situation. Turkey’s lira has crashed double digits in recent months, and further as tensions between the two countries, over an American pastor’s jailing, continue […]
Alarm Over Bitcoin Mining
The amount of electricity consumed by bitcoin mining is not the global environmental crisis it is often portrayed to be. This is the professional assessment of Dr. Katrina Kelly-Pitou, a research associate in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. ‘New Technologies Are Energy Intensive’ Writing in an article penned for non-profit academic media outlet […]
Chinese Police Arrest Crypto Hackers
Chinese police from multiple cities have arrested three individuals who allegedly stole bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies worth around $87 million. Chinese news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday that the three were busted on Aug. 15 in Hunan, Changchun provinces, and the capital city Beijing, respectively, after a months-long investigation launched by the police. According to the report, […]
Bitcoin Remains Below $6,500
August 17 saw the first major attempt to reverse fortunes, but these gains have not been widely consolidated. At press time, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading below the $6,500 price point and Ethereum (ETH) has dipped below $300. Bitcoin (BTC) is currently seeing almost no change over the past 24 hours at press time, trading at […]
US Border Officials to Test Blockchain
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) plans to trial blockchain technology to verify North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) certificates. CBP Division of Business Transformation and Innovation head Vincent Annunziato said the agency was beginning a “live fire testing” of a blockchain platform to certify that imported products […]
Binance LCX Launches Fiat-to-Crypto Exchange
Binance LCX, a joint venture between Binance and Liechtenstein Cryptoassets Exchange (LCX), has announced the launch of a fiat-to-crypto exchange, according to a press release published August 16. The new trading platform will be located in Liechtenstein and offer trading between Swiss Francs (CHF) and euros (EUR) against major digital currencies pairs, subsequently adding more […]
Ripple Considering Chinese Market to Speed Up Payment Solutions
Ripple is considering breaking into the Chinese market to apply its distributed ledger technology (DLT) to cross-border payments, a Ripple executive told CNBC August 15. Jeremy Light, vice president of European Union strategic accounts at Ripple, said in a phone interview that the company is looking to enter the Chinese market to speed up international […]
Coinbase is Registering 50,000 New Users per Day
Brian Armstrong, CEO of the cryptocurrency platform giant Coinbase, claimed in an interview with Bloomberg that around 50,000 new users continue to register for its services every day — despite recent year-to-date lows. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong sat down with Bloomberg yesterday to discuss the future of cryptocurrency at the Bloomberg Players Technology Summit held […]
Salary Systems to Petro Cryptocurrency
Venezuela is set to begin using its “petro” cryptocurrency as an official accounting unit, according to the country’s president. ABC International reported the development on Tuesday, citing a televised announcement by President Nicolas Maduro, who first unveiled the petro back in December. As part of the change, the state oil and gas company Petróleos de […]
South Korea Budgets a Trillion Won for Blockchain Tech in 2019
South Korea’s government has earmarked a 5 trillion won ($4.4 billion) budget toward its ‘Growth through Innovation’ investment program in eight critical sectors with a particular focus on blockchain and AI. In a meeting in Seoul on Monday, South Korea’s finance minister Kim Dong-yeon confirmed plans of a 5 trillion won investment toward its innovation […]
Cryptocurrency Scammers Stole $2.3 Million in Q2
Cybercriminals earned more than $2.3 million from cryptocurrency scams during the second quarter of 2018, according to a new report from Kaspersky Lab. In its Spam and Phishing in Q2 2018 report, the company reported that it had prevented almost 60,000 attempts by users from visiting fraudulent web pages featuring popular cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges […]
Square Cash Opens Bitcoin Buying and Selling in All 50 States
Less than two weeks after sharing Square’s cryptocurrency profits had doubled in the second quarter, the payments company made the long-awaited announcement on Twitter: users can now use Cash App to buy bitcoin in all fifty states. The move is yet another in a string of moves and statements by Square CEO Jack Dorsey, who […]
Thailand Police Seek More Arrests in $24 Million Bitcoin Fraud
Thailand’s Crime Suppression Division (CSD) has sought arrest warrants of six more people in an ongoing $24 million Bitcoin scam case. The law enforcement agency has confirmed that among the six wanted individuals, two are siblings of the famous Thai actor Jiratpisit Jaravijit. One of them is the elder brother of Jaravijit, Prinya Jaravijit, while […]
BITMAIN IPO MAKES CRYPTO INDUSTRY UNEASY
Cryptocurrency mining giant Bitmain continues to gain attention over its initial public offering (IPO) as critics raise the alarm over its financial outlook. As bitrix.fi reported at the end of July, the manufacturer announced its plans to hold a $14 billion IPO before the end of 2018, having achieved Q1 profits of over $1 billion. […]
Bitcoin Trading is ‘Illegal in Saudi Arabia’
A standing committee comprised of various governmental ministries and the central bank of Saudi Arabia has warned that trading of ‘unauthorized’ cryptocurrencies like bitcoin is illegal in the country. In a statement published by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) – the sovereign Arab state’s deface central bank – on Sunday, a governmental committee declared […]
