Cryptocurrency News (14 Aug 2018)

Bitcoin trading is illegal in Saudi Arabia: A governmental committee comprised of Saudi Arabian regulators has issued a statement, according to which the standing committee warned against trading in cryptocurrencies due to negative consequences and high risks on traders as they are out of government supervision, but there is no indication of possible consequences for parties found to be trading in cryptocurrencies.

Americans are the main targets for crypto hackers, new study reveals: A Russian based computer forensics and information security firm, revealed that in 2017, the number of “compromised login data” increased by 369 percent in comparison to 2016, while in January 2018 alone, there were 212 leaks of login data, which represented an increase of 689 percent to the monthly average experienced in 2017. According to the study, the three major countries that are targeted the most by hackers are the United States, Russia, and China and one in every three victims were Americans.

Communist Party of China Releases Primer on Blockchain Technology: The book by China’s Communist Party provides a scientific description of key blockchain features, its origin, future application scenarios, as well as major challenges associated with the adoption of the new technology. The Chinese political party aims to assist government authorities in understanding the concept of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and consider the benefits and challenges of adopting blockchain on a national scale. Earlier yesterday, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) listed a blockchain laboratory as one of the key labs for the year of 2018. The MIIT’s blockchain lab aims to improve data security and IT systems with the new DLT developments, and will operate under the oversight of the National Industrial Information Security Development Research Center.

FinCEN says it receives 1500 crypto complaints in a month: The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) receives more than 1,500 reports every month from financial institutions regarding cryptocurrencies. FinCEN director Kenneth Blanco discussed the role his agency takes in regulating cryptocurrencies. He emphasized the importance of Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) filings – a type of document that financial institutions must file following a suspected incident of money laundering or a fraud.

Cryptocurrency News Update (10 Aug 2018)

Blockchain Startup Enables Litecoin Transactions via Telegram Messenger: Lite.im will allow users to send commands to check their current LTC balance and send LTC to a wallet or an email address.

Bank of China CIO Says Bank to Increase Investments in Blockchain, Fintech: Bank of China has revealed plans to increase the company’s investments in research and development technologies such as blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), and fintech. Bank of China has been applying blockchain technology in 12 different projects.

Binance Offers First Look At Planned Decentralized Crypto Exchange: Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume, announced back in March that it plans to launch a new public blockchain for the purposes of developing the Binance Chain, a platform to transfer and trade different crypto assets without a centralized operator. This week, CEO Changpeng Zhao provided the first demonstration of the Binance Decentralized Exchange and the Binance Chain.

Google Search Can Predict Bitcoin Price Increases, Study Finds: This study incorporates data from consumer activity on search forums such as Google and social media sites such as Twitter. It found that a standard deviation increase in searches for keywords such as “bitcoin” forecasted a small increase in the token’s price in the following weeks.

Cryptocurrency News Update (6 Aug 2018)

Bank of Thailand Allows Banks to Open Subsidiaries for Crypto Dealings: Thai banks can now issue digital tokens, provide crypto brokerage services, run crypto-related businesses, and invest in cryptocurrencies through subsidiaries.

Goldman Sachs Investment Strategy Group: ‘Crypto Mania’ a Risk to Stable 2018 Outlook: GS highlights “cryptocurrency mania” as one of several factors that could affect their initial market outlook for this year. The investment bank expects cryptocurrency markets to “further [decline] in the future given our view that these cryptocurrencies do not fulfill any of the three traditional roles of currency.

Bitcoin Whale’s Bad Trade Leaves Counterparties Holding the Bag: A long position in Bitcoin futures listed on OKEx was forced to liquidate on Tuesday, but the exchange was unable to cover the trader’s shortfall as Bitcoin’s price slumped.

 

 

Cryptocurrency News Update (3 Aug 2018)

Bitcoin needs to hit $213,000 to replace money supply: UBS says they may have to wait a while since it can’t be considered money or even a viable asset class yet. For Bitcoin to replace U.S. money supply – paper bills, coins, travelers’ checks and the like — it’s price could need to hit nearly $213,000, or its network’s processing capabilities would need to dramatically improve, a new report by UBS found. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-02/bitcoin-needs-to-hit-213-000-to-replace-money-supply-ubs-says1. Bitcoin needs to hit $213,000 to replace money supply: UBS says they may have to wait a while since it can’t be considered money or even a viable asset class yet. For Bitcoin to replace U.S. money supply – paper bills, coins, travelers’ checks and the like — it’s price could need to hit nearly $213,000, or its network’s processing capabilities would need to dramatically improve, a new report by UBS found.

Former hedge fund manager Novogratz’s crypto bank drops in stock market debut: Despite a cooling fever for cryptocurrency, former Goldman Sachs macro trader Michael Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital went through with plans to list on Canadian stock exchange. GLXY shares fell 20 percent after opening at 2.75 Canadian dollars on Toronto’s TSX Venture Exchange. The company lost $134 million in the first quarter as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies lost half their value.

Korea’s financial regulator wants to use the blockchain for stock trading: Financial Supervisory Service’s (FSS) conducted a study that encourages South Korean regulatory agencies and companies to collaborate on the development of the proposed system, and also examines the use of the blockchain by stock operators around the globe.

Cryptocurrency News Update (2 Aug 2018)

Banking giants sign up for a trial blockchain project: Nine banking giants including Citigroup and Barclays are participating in an app store trial for programs based on the technology. The currently in-trial app store, LedgerConnect, was announced Monday by foreign exchange processing giant CLS and tech titan IBM. It’s expected to launch in the coming months.

Binance acquires Trust Wallet in push to expand crypto services: Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, has purchased Trust Wallet, a decentralized wallet service for digital tokens that also serves as a browser for so-called decentralized applications. This is Binance’s first acquisition, and points to the future ambitions of a company that emerged from nowhere in 2017 to be an industry leader that reportedly posted profits of between $500 million and a billion last year alone.

Asset management firm Northern Trust to start crypto custody business: Northern Trust Corp., which provides investment management, asset and fund administration services, is looking to get into the business of safeguarding digital assets such as cryptocurrencies. The 129-year-old Chicago-based company has begun developing a way to secure digital assets held in custody while seeking to charge lower fees than existing crypto custodians.

U.S. blockchain investment in 2018 has already outstripped 2017’s total: New analysis from KPMG shows that blockchain investment in the U.S. in the first half of 2018 has exceeded the overall total seen in 2017. KPMG suggests that blockchain tech is “moving beyond experimentation” to draw “significant” attention from investors in the first two quarters of 2018.

Cryptocurrency News Update (30 July 2018)

Iran is planning to launch its own cryptocurrency: Iran is moving ahead with a plan to introduce a national cryptocurrency, partly as a way of busting U.S. sanctions. The Iranian government said in April that it had developed an experimental domestic cryptocurrency. With the U.S. having since pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal and restored more sanctions—a ban on buying U.S. dollars comes into force next month, and crude oil sanctions will follow in November. https://www.rt.com/business/434537-iran-national-cryptocurrency-oil/1. Iran is planning to launch its own cryptocurrency: Iran is moving ahead with a plan to introduce a national cryptocurrency, partly as a way of busting U.S. sanctions. The Iranian government said in April that it had developed an experimental domestic cryptocurrency. With the U.S. having since pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal and restored more sanctions—a ban on buying U.S. dollars comes into force next month, and crude oil sanctions will follow in November.

Crypto bank Galaxy Digital loses $134M in first quarter: Galaxy Digital, chaired by billionaire investor Michael Novogratz, said it saw a “net unrealized loss” of $85.5 million on digital assets, and a further $24 million loss on investments, totaling $109.6 million overall in its first-ever quarterly earnings report. The firm also spent $11 million in operating expenses and saw a $13.5 million loss from its income, resulting in roughly $134 million lost in the first quarter, according to the report.

‘Crowd psychology’ drives Bitcoin’s price, survey finds: According to a recent survey, more than half (52%) of the respondents said they believe crowd psychology is the main driver of the price of the No. 1 digital currency. “Finance professionals make their livings by analyzing asset values through the lens of fundamental/quantifiable factors. That more than half of respondents believe valuation in the crypto space is ‘purely a function of crowd psychology’ is refreshing in its honesty,” wrote Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research.

Cryptocurrency News Update (27 July 2018)

Coinbase finds no insider trading of Bitcoin Cash: Coinbase, the biggest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, launched an inquiry last December into whether its employees engaged in improper trading related to the digital currency known as Bitcoin Cash. The company has wrapped up the investigation and concluded no wrongdoing took place.

Bitwise files with SEC to launch crypto ETF: Digital asset manager Bitwise has filed with the SEC to launch a regulated exchange-traded fund for cryptocurrency. The Bitwise HOLD 10 Cryptocurrency Index will include 10 cryptocurrencies, and will track the Bitwise HOLD 10 Private Index Fund that was founded in November.

Controversial blockchain project Tezos to be audited by PwC: The Tezos Foundation has announced that the international professional services giant PricewaterhouseCoopers Switzerland will conduct an external audit of its finances and operations. The project claims to be “committed to operating with the highest degree of integrity.”3. Controversial blockchain project Tezos to be audited by PwC: The Tezos Foundation has announced that the international professional services giant PricewaterhouseCoopers Switzerland will conduct an external audit of its finances and operations. The project claims to be “committed to operating with the highest degree of integrity.”

Singapore Airlines launches blockchain-based loyalty wallet: Singapore Airlines has launched its own airline loyalty digital wallet that uses blockchain technology. The software has been co-developed by Microsoft and KPMG Digital Village. The new wallet converts frequent flyer miles into digitized ‘KrisPay miles’ that can be used to pay for retail purchases via a mobile app.

TRON acquires major P2P platform operator BitTorrent: TRON’s long-rumored acquisition of BitTorrent Inc., the operator of popular torrent client uTorrent, has been confirmed by TRON founder Justin Sun. The BitTorrent protocol launched in 2001 and relies on distributed “seeding’” by users who upload shareable content.