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Showing posts from December, 2018

Rick Falkvinge: Imminent Financial Crisis Perfect Opportunity to Convert the Masses to Crypto

Warnings of an imminent financial crisis are in the media more than ever before. But could such an event be the tipping point that puts Bitcoin and cryptocurrency firmly into the mainstream? Politician and tech entrepreneur Rick Falkvinge says it would be the perfect time to finally convert people to crypto.  Also read:  Billions Living Under Authoritarian Regimes Need Bitcoin Says Human Rights Activist “Storm Clouds Building” A global financial crisis is imminent – and we’re not prepared, experts have warned. The deputy head of the International Monetary Fund, David Lipton, said in December that he sees “storm clouds building” and fears “the work on crisis prevention is incomplete.” While Janet Yellen, the former chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, has said the loss of authority by banking regulators and a move toward deregulation are also warning signs of another economic disaster.  A sustained trade war between the U.S. and China could damage the global economy, it has been warn
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Bakkt Completes First Round of Funding With $182.5 Million

Intercontinental Exchange’s upcoming cryptocurrency trading platform, Bakkt, has raised $182.5 million from a dozen investors. The funds will help develop an institutional-grade regulated crypto exchange, clearing and warehousing services for physical delivery and storage. The company now expects to provide an updated timeline on launching bitcoin daily futures contracts in early 2019. Also Read: Israeli Exchange to Launch Crypto Payments API for Businesses Bakkt Raises $182.5 Million Bakkt, the digital assets subsidiary of the parent of the New York Stock Exchange ,  Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE), has announced it’s completed a first round of funding. The investors include Boston Consulting Group, CMT Digital, Eagle Seven, Galaxy Digital, Goldfinch Partners, Alan Howard, Horizons Ventures, Intercontinental Exchange, Microsoft’s venture capital arm, M12, Pantera Capital, Payu, the fintech arm of Naspers, and Protocol Ventures. “I am pleased to confirm that we have complet
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67 Cryptocurrency Companies Probed by UK Regulator

The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has reportedly provided an update of its investigations of crypto companies. A total of 67 inquiries were launched, 49 of which have been closed, leaving 18 businesses currently under investigation. The UK government has reportedly said it is ready to give power to the FCA to regulate the crypto industry. Also read:  Indian Supreme Court Moves Crypto Hearing, Community Calls for Positive Regulations More Crypto Companies Under Investigation The U.K.’s FCA has released new information regarding its investigations into crypto businesses to The Telegraph in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. The publication reported on Saturday that the FCA revealed that “as of Nov. 12 it had opened inquiries into 67 firms involved in cryptocurrency businesses.” The Financial Times elaborated: The Financial Conduct Authority on Sunday confirmed it was investigating 18 businesses involved in the sale of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. T
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Iran Labels Telegram’s Coin a Threat to National Security

Tehran has once again targeted the users of the popular messaging application Telegram. A law enforcement official warned Iranian citizens against providing any support for the launch of the instant messaging app’s native token, the Gram. Also read: Bill to Curb Iranian National Crypto Filed in US Congress ‘Disruption to the National Economy’ Authorities in Iran would interpret any cooperation with Telegram on the issuing of their crypto as “an action against the national security” of the Islamic Republic. That’s according to a recent statement by Javad Javidnia, secretary of the country’s Criminal Content Definition Task Force. Javidnia emphasized that instances of providing such support “will be dealt with as a disruption to the national economy.” Quoted by the Fars news agency on Sunday and later by the English-language newspaper Tehran Times, the official also stated: One of the most important factors in banning Telegram was the sense of a serious economic threat from its a
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The Daily: Arguing Over Augur, Regulated Stablecoins Attract Flak

Welcome to the final installment of The Daily for 2018. It seems fitting that the year’s ultimate edition should focus on one of 2018’s overarching themes within the cryptoconomy – stablecoins. We’ve also got space to squeeze in a critique of Augur’s crowdsourced prediction market and to consider yet another bitcoin-based Patreon alternative. Also read:  1 in 7 Chinese Have Invested in Cryptocurrency   Regulated Stablecoins Attract Ire Regulated stablecoins such as USDC, PAX, and GUSD have become increasingly popular through the latter half of 2018. These dollar-pegged coins, which are promoted as a more clearly audited take on tether (USDT), require corresponding fiat deposits for each token in circulation. One trader has ran into trouble, however, when trying to redeem his PAX tokens for fiat currency, with the story provoking mixed reactions from the crypto community. CCN first reported on the trader, who was asked a plethora of questions by Paxos, the issuer of the PAX stable
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Two Mining Companies Among Georgia’s Major Electricity Consumers

Two companies mining cryptocurrencies have topped a list of the largest consumers of electricity in Georgia. In this crypto-friendly nation, however, that’s not necessarily a sin or a disadvantage. Energy-intensive enterprises in the Caucasian country purchase the power they need at wholesale prices. Also read: Huobi and Major Russian Bank to Provide Legal Help to the Crypto Industry Bitcoin Miners Buy Electricity on Wholesale Market Georgia is among several jurisdictions in the post-Soviet space that have been attracting crypto miners with lax regulations and relatively low operating costs, including the price of electricity which is a major expense in the business of minting digital coins. Reports earlier this year have indicated that the country ranks second only to China in terms of mining profitability. According to Eurostat , in the first half of 2018 the average electricity price for Georgian households was just under €0.07 per kWh (~$0.08) and less than €0.05 per kWh (~$0
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Chatter Report: Troutner Proposes Algorithmic Stablecoin on BCH, Sztorc Believes Austrian Economics Unnecessary

In today’s roundup of crypto chatter, Chris Troutner and Andreas Brekken play around with the idea of building an algorithmic stablecoin on BCH. Vin Armani debates with Painted Frog on Bitcoin’s similarities to Visa. Also, Paul Sztorc thinks that understanding Austrian economics is not that important to comprehend Bitcoin.   Also read: Developer Paul Sztorc Launches the First Version of Drivechain Building an Algorithmic Stablecoin on BCH Recently Shitcoin.com CEO Andreas Brekken took to crypto Twitter to wish everyone a happy new year. In his tweet, Brekken casually mentioned algorithmic stablecoins, an idea that Bitcoin.com senior developer Chris Troutner picked up on. Do you know of any algorithmic stable coins worth checking into, other than DAI? — Chris Troutner (@christroutner) December 30, 2018 Troutner queried Brekken for alternatives to the DAI, but the latter was not familiar with the field. Brekken then explained that he was optimistic about the technology, even th
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2018 Was the Reality Check. 2019 Starts the Crypto Comeback

Micah Winkelspecht is CEO and founder of Gem, a crypto portfolio app company based in Los Angeles, The following is an exclusive contribution to CoinDesk’s 2018 Year in Review.  If 2017 was the year of irrational exuberance, 2018 became the year of reality checks when the market sputtered and crashed. I predict that this year will […] from CoinDesk http://bit.ly/2BPce7v
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2018 Was the Reality Check. 2019 Starts the Crypto Comeback

Micah Winkelspecht is CEO and founder of Gem, a crypto portfolio app company based in Los Angeles, The following is an exclusive contribution to CoinDesk’s 2018 Year in Review.  If 2017 was the year of irrational exuberance, 2018 became the year of reality checks when the market sputtered and crashed. I predict that this year will […] from CoinDesk http://bit.ly/2BPce7v
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Australian Crypto Company Rapped for Paying Bounty Hunters for Glowing Reviews

Securities commissioners and trade experts have refused Australian blockchain startup Power Ledger a clean bill of ethical health after it emerged that the company paid rogue “bounty hunters” to shore up interest in its cryptocurrency. The project’s “powr” crypto has fallen 90 percent in value over the past year amidst bearish market conditions. Also read:  Russian Bitcoin Mining Granny is Bullish on Industry’s Future Bounty Hunters Make False Claims Spruikers, sponsored creators of glowing reviews, falsely claimed that Power Ledger, a peer-to-peer electricity-trading startup, had attracted the interest of Tesla founder Elon Musk, and was on a path to revolutionize the industry, in addition to other exaggerations. According to local newspaper Financial Review , the Australian company rewarded spruikers with free allocations of its powr token, but denies responsibility for their embellishments. Power Ledger chairman Jemma Green maintains that spruikers posted the misleading review
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Israeli Exchange to Launch Crypto Payments API Service for Local Businesses

There is a new option on the way for Israeli companies that wish to accept orders from cryptocurrency users while they keep managing their books in fiat. A local bitcoin exchange, Bits of Gold, is launching an API service for regulated crypto payments. Also Read: Billions Living Under Authoritarian Regimes Need Bitcoin Says Human Rights Activist New Tools for Israeli Businesses Tel Aviv-based cryptocurrency exchange  Bits of Gold  has developed an application program interface (API) service meant to enable companies to accept payments in crypto and receive the value in Israeli shekels or U.S. dollars. The exchange has also developed a complimentary service that allows businesses to get paid in shekels and receive the value in cryptocurrency. The trading venue expressed hope that the new service will allow more companies to enter the field and thus expand the payment options for Israeli crypto users. The exchange also plans to soon launch cash registers that will enable retailers
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Litigation Firm Files Lawsuit Against Nvidia for Statements Regarding Crypto

Shall Law Firm, an American shareholder rights litigation firm, has announced the filing of a class action lawsuit against Nvidia with regards to statements pertaining to the company’s outlook regarding the effect that declining cryptocurrency prices could have on the performance of its shares. Also Read:  Bitcoin Whales and the Rise of Crypto-Fueled OTC Desks in 2018 Firm Files Class Action Against Nvidia A Los Angeles-based law firm has announced the filing of a class action lawsuit accusing graphics card manufacturer, Nvidia, for “violations of §§10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.” Nvidia is accused of making “false and misleading statements to the market” regarding assertions that a significant decline in demand for graphics processing units (GPUs) would not negatively impact the company’s operations and performance due to high demand from the gaming sector. Schall Law Fi
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Billions Living Under Authoritarian Regimes Need Bitcoin Says Human Rights Activist

When reporting on cryptocurrency, the mainstream media often focuses on price drops relating to USD. But a human rights activist reminds the general public that Bitcoin is not another commodity or stock on the market, rather, a tool for liberation. Also Read:  Iranian Students in the UK Use Bitcoin to Bypass Banks Bitcoin is a Tool for Freedom, Not Speculation Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation, has published an article titled ”Why Bitcoin Matters for Freedom” in Time Magazine . In it he explains how cryptocurrency can help people retake control of their lives from oppressive regimes. “Speculation, fraud, and greed in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry have overshadowed the real, liberating potential of Satoshi Nakamoto’s invention,” writes Gladstein. “For people living under authoritarian governments, Bitcoin can be a valuable financial tool as a censorship-resistant medium of exchange.” The article focuses on the current situation in V
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The End of the First Crypto Decade

Massimo Morini is a veteran in investment banks and financial institutions including the World Bank. Some of his research on blockchain was reported here and here. The following is an exclusive contribution to CoinDesk’s 2018 Year in Review.  The end of 2018 is not the end of a year. It is the end of a decade, a decade that changed the world […] from CoinDesk http://bit.ly/2BNieOb
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The End of the First Crypto Decade

Massimo Morini is a veteran in investment banks and financial institutions including the World Bank. Some of his research on blockchain was reported here and here. The following is an exclusive contribution to CoinDesk’s 2018 Year in Review.  The end of 2018 is not the end of a year. It is the end of a decade, a decade that changed the world […] from CoinDesk http://bit.ly/2BNieOb
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