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Showing posts from August, 2018

Japan’s National Police Installing Crypto Transaction Tracking System

The Japanese National Police Agency is reportedly installing a system to track the flow of crypto transactions in order to aid investigations of cryptocurrency-related cybercrime. The system is expected to be limited to major cryptocurrencies, according to local media. Also read:  Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Tracking Crypto Transactions Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) announced on August 30 that it “ has mapped out a policy to introduce software next fiscal year to visualize the transaction history of virtual currencies in the face of increasing money laundering, massive theft and other cases related to cryptocurrencies,” the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. “Traditionally, many criminal offenses concerning virtual currencies involve transactions via multiple accounts,” Fisco news outlet conveyed, adding that the police “had to trace [an] enormous [amount of] records during investigations.” Elaborating on the new crypto tracking system, the publication descr

Rakuten Acquires Crypto Exchange to Fast-Track Into the Japanese Market

Japanese mega e-commerce and internet company Rakuten Inc. is entering the crypto space. Instead of submitting a new application to the country’s financial regulator, Rakuten is acquiring an existing crypto exchange to fast-track into the Japanese crypto market. Also read:  Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Rakuten to Operate Crypto Exchange Rakuten Inc. announced Friday that “it decided to acquire Everybody’s Bitcoin Inc. through its subsidiary, Rakuten Card Co. Ltd.” After the stock acquisition, which is expected to take place on October 1, Everybody’s Bitcoin will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rakuten. The acquisition cost is listed as 256 million yen (~US$2,305,484). The e-commerce giant wrote: We expect that the role of cryptocurrency-based payments in e-commerce, offline retail and in P2P payments will grow in the future. In order to provide cryptocurrency payment methods smoothly, we believe it is necessary for us to provide a cryptocurrency exch

Kiev’s Bessarabsky Market Accepts Cryptocurrencies for Groceries

Bessarabsky market, a landmark of Ukraine’s capital, is introducing crypto payments. Fruits and vegetables are already sold for a number of cryptocurrencies including bitcoin cash (BCH). The initiative to offer the alternative payment option aims to show how simple it is to use cryptocurrency in everyday life.   Also read: New Bill Clarifies Crypto Taxation in Poland BCH and BTC Accepted for Fruits and Vegetables Kiev’s historic Bessarabsky market, an indoor marketplace located in the center of the capital city, is accepting cryptocurrencies, the public communal company that operates it announced on Facebook. Locals and visitors can now buy fresh produce with a variety of digital coins thanks to a partnership with crypto payments processor Paytomat. Currently supported are payments in bitcoin cash (BCH), bitcoin core (BTC), bitcoin gold (BTG), litecoin (LTC), ethereum (ETH), nano, dash, waves, EOS, and NEM. During this initial, experimental stage customers can spend their crypto a

August 2018 Volume Rankings Report: ETC and Dash Top Ten

During August, the monthly volume posted by the majority of leading cryptocurrency markets continued to decline. Despite such, the ETC and Dash markets again defied the trend to post an increase in trade volume, with XRP also bucking the downward trend this month. Also Read:  160 Crypto Exchanges Seek to Enter Japanese Market, Regulator Reveals Top 5 Most Traded Cryptocurrency Markets Posts Month-Over-Month Decline in Volume Trade volume for BTC pairings declined by 5.34% during August – falling from $131 billion USD last month to $124 billion during the last thirty days, according to Satoshi Pulse . USDT saw the smallest volume fluctuation of the major cryptocurrency markets this month, with $82.9 billion worth of Tether changing hands during the last thirty days – a 3% drop in trading activity when compared with July. ETH has maintained its position as the third most traded cryptocurrency, however, saw a drop from July’s $53 billion in thirty-day trade volume to post $45.75

The Daily: Cboe Close to Ether Futures, Brave Boasts Millions of Downloads

Cboe is getting closer to launching ether futures and we’ve covered the report in The Daily. Also, Brave has reported 10 million downloads of the Android version of its privacy-oriented browser, the Russian telecom regulator says it would unban Telegram if the messenger follows court orders, and IOTA Foundation has released its Trinity desktop wallet app in beta. Also read: Huobi Nears Backdoor Listing, Musk Still Loves Scambots Report: Cboe to Launch Ether Futures in 2018 The US-based exchange behind the first bitcoin (BTC) futures, Cboe Global Markets, is now getting close to launching futures for ether, Business Insider UK reports quoting knowledgeable sources. The report further details this could happen as early as this year. The outlet notes that the announcement of the new products could create conditions for the wider trading in the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap and possibly open the door for an ETF. Danny Kim, head of growth at the crypto trading firm SFOX co

160 Crypto Exchanges Seek to Enter Japanese Market, Regulator Reveals

Japan’s top financial regulator has revealed exclusively to news.Bitcoin.com the number of crypto exchanges seeking to enter the Japanese market. The agency also confirms the number of existing exchanges that have exited the industry, leaving only three applications currently being reviewed. Also read:  Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Three Quasi-Operators Are Left Cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan are licensed by the country’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA). The FSA has licensed 16 crypto exchanges so far. In addition, it has allowed 16 more companies, including Coincheck, to operate crypto exchanges while their applications are being reviewed. These companies are sometimes referred to as “quasi-operators” of crypto exchanges. However, since the hack of Coincheck in January, the FSA has stepped up its oversight of crypto exchanges. It has issued many business improvement orders and temporary shut down some exchanges. With stri

Yahoo! Finance Rolls Out Bitcoin Core, Ethereum, Litecoin Trading

“The virus is spreading,” tweeted Morgan Creek Digital’s Founder & Partner Anthony Pompliano at the news Yahoo! Finance (YF) had integrated bitcoin core (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and litecoin (LTC) into their trading platform. He was one of many enthusiasts to insist the event was an important step in the quest for mass cryptocurrency adoption. Also read: Venezuela Loves Dash: Altcoin Surges 30% on Adoption Push Yahoo! Finance Integrates Bitcoin Core, Ethereum, Litecoin Trading “You can now buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin on Yahoo Finance,” Mr. Pompliano announced through his popular Twitter account. YF’s embrace of cryptocurrency has many in the ecosystem excited about future prospects for more mainstream adoption. That indeed could be the case, or it might also be a deep wish as fans of digital assets slog through a brutal bear market. YF is, of course, a subdivision of Yahoo!, one of the original web portals in the net’s early days. YF has been around for over two decades

Storing a Lot of Bitcoins in One Wallet Is a Bad Idea

Interest has piqued in a bitcoin wallet that’s lain dormant for four years. This week’s movement of the funds it contains, worth close to $850 million, has sparked intense debate over whose address it might be. Regardless of which whale holds the rights to it, the wallet’s very existence demonstrates the drawbacks of holding a lot of bitcoins in one address. Also read:   Payment Platform Bitpay Adds Bitcoin Cash Settlement Services Mt Gox, Silk Road, and the Mystery of the Whale-Sized Wallet Gawping at the fortunes of the super rich is a universal pastime with a storied past. In centuries gone by, the poor would watch in envy as the rich rattled past on their horse-drawn carriages clad in the finest scarlet robes. Today, the rich retain much of their fortune in digital form, and the closest we get to inspecting it is on a blockchain explorer. In many other respects though, little has changed. Observers have been transfixed, over the past 72 hours, by the movement of funds from a w

Report: Miner Spends Only $1567 per Bitcoin

Electricity is the number one cost for cryptocurrency mining, giving an edge to whoever can secure it for the lowest price. Bitfarms, which has access to cheap renewable energy in Canada, reports that mining a single BTC cost the company just $1567 in the first half of the year. Also Read: The Daily: Huobi Nears Backdoor Listing, Musk Still Loves Scambots $1567 Per BTC Tel Aviv Stock Exchange listed firm Bitfarms Technologies Ltd. (TASE: BLLCF), today reported its consolidated results for the half-year period which ended June 30, 2018. The report shows that the company generated 1,923 BTC, 2,222 BCH, 3,324 LTC, 567 ETH and 220 DASH during the first six months of 2018. And the figures also reveal that it cost Bitfarms just $1567 to mine each BTC. Financial highlights for the period include mining operations segment revenue of $21.1 million, gross profit of $12.3 million (58% gross profit margin), gross mining profit of $17 million (80% gross mining margin), operating income of $

The Daily: Huobi Nears Backdoor Listing, Musk Still Loves Scambots

In today’s edition of Bitcoin in Brief we cover stories that show how Houbi is nearing a possible backdoor listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, why Elon Musk is still impressed by the quality of cryptocurrency scambots on Twitter, and an Italian football club bought with crypto. Also Read: Binance, Okex, Huobi and Upbit Back New Stablecoin, Terra Huobi Nears Backdoor Listing Huobi Global has issued a joint announcement with Pantronics Holdings (HKEX: 1611), a firm listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, about the acquisition of shares in the public company by the cryptocurrency exchange operator. Huobi is now the majority shareholder in Pantronics, which it can use to perform a backdoor listing for itself. This means that the cryptocurrency exchange now has the option of becoming a public company without having to go through an IPO, giving it the credibility that such a status holds among traditional investors and an ability to raise funds by selling stocks, options or bonds.

Bitcoin Cold Storage in DNA

Savvy Bitcoiners know: whoever controls keys and passphrases, controls the coins. As cryptocurrency becomes part of everyday life and investment, enthusiasts are increasingly searching for unique, secure ways to store access to their digital assets. Enter Carverr, the startup claiming to keep passwords and keys in a microtube of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). It’s just so crazy sounding it might work.   Also read: Venezuela Loves Dash: Altcoin Surges 30% on Adoption Push Store Bitcoin Passwords in DNA Some keep them on hard drives; others, paper, separated, and in two locations. Still others employ complex safety deposit box schemes. Indeed, as cryptocurrency takes on greater significance in more financial plans, what to do with essential access to it becomes of utmost importance. Carverr is offering what it calls a “DNA-based cold storage for digital currencies. Our system is the safest method of cold storage on the planet, developed by a group of experienced asset managers and bi