Online Cash Bitcoin Could Challenge Governments, Banks

Minimalist · Feb 15, 2019

Brazilian Bank Bradesco Closes Accounts of Local Crypto Exchange and Owners

One of the largest Brazilian banks, Bradesco, has notified crypto exchange Bitblue that its banking accounts will be closed late February, local crypto outlet Portal do Bitcoin reported on Feb. 13.

As the outlet has learned from unnamed industry insiders, Bitblue will face the closure of its accounts in Bradesco on Feb. 26. Moreover, the decision extends to the private accounts of Bitblue owners.
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/repo...-accounts-of-local-crypto-exchange-and-owners

Minimalist · Feb 15, 2019

Trading Crypto: Centralized Vs. Decentralized

Crypto exchanges have played a pivotal role in the development of the blockchain industry. The ability to access these crypto assets, to trade them, and to keep them safe, is a responsibility set that goes well beyond the conventional expectations of an exchange. Some of these fintech pioneers have been rewarded for exploring the crypto world ahead of their peers, while others have ended in complete ruin, unprepared for the dangers of dealing with this new asset class. Now, 10 years after the creation of the first crypto asset, we are still evaluating the risk and rewards associated with exchanges, and particularly, the pros and cons of centralized and decentralized exchanges.
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https://hackernoon.com/trading-crypto-centralized-vs-decentralized-ca657b4d9063

guest · Feb 15, 2019

‘Make Bitcoin Fun Again’: New Lightning App Lets You Buy Pizza With BTC
February 15, 2019
https://www.coindesk.com/pizza-lightning-bitcoin

Over 150 people bought pizza with bitcoin this week by using the Lightning Network.

The crypto payments startup Fold, which launched the web-based Domino’s portal on Wednesday, basically makes fiat pizza purchases on behalf of hungry lightning users. Fold product lead Will Reeves put it this way:

“We’re trying to make bitcoin fun again and illustrate that lightning is at a point where it is mainstream-ready.”
According to 1ML, the overall network set new record highs this week with more than 26,588 payment channels able to facilitate $2.4 million, a 39 percent increase compared to last month. Reeves said orders came in from every state across the U.S.
“It was pretty evenly spread across the country, which was great to see,” he said.
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guest · Feb 15, 2019

Russian minister: Don’t regulate cryptos, they aren’t payment methods
February 15, 2019
https://coingeek.com/russian-minister-dont-regulate-cryptos-arent-payment-methods/

Cryptocurrencies are still a nascent technology which the Russian constitution doesn’t recognize as a means of payment. Therefore, there is no need to make regulations to govern the industry. This is according to Alexander Kolanov, the Minister of Justice for Russia.

The regulatory framework in the country has continued to take a wait-and-see approach regarding cryptos. The government has warned its citizens against the risks posed by cryptos. However, it has not banned cryptos outright.
Kolanov explained why the government is yet to regulate the industry stating “Neither the Constitution nor the current legislation on the financial system categorically allows the use of cryptocurrency as a means of payment.” In legislative terms, cryptos should be categorized as “other property,” he explained.
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guest · Feb 16, 2019

Breaking: Major Crypto Brokerage Coinmama Hacked, 450,000 Users Affected in Massive Worldwide Breach
February 16, 2019
https://www.ccn.com/breaking-major-...00-users-affected-in-massive-worldwide-breach

Coinmama, one of the largest crypto brokerages in the global market with 1.3 million active users, suffered a security breach on February 15.

The official statement of the exchange disclosed that 450,000 email addresses and passwords were leaked in a massive global hacking attack involving 24 websites and some 747 million records.
The Coinmama team said: [...]
NOT EXCLUSIVE TO CRYPTO BUT COULD BE A BAD LOOK
The security breach which Coinmama fell victim to is not exclusive to the platform or the cryptocurrency sector.

Speaking to TechCrunch, IntSights research team leader Ariel Ainhoren stated that the same vulnerability from previous attacks was used to break into the databases of large-scale platforms.
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Minimalist · Feb 16, 2019

5 new crypto exchanges join Japan’s Exchange Association

Continuing its expansion, Japan’s self-regulatory body — the Virtual Currency Exchange Association — is onboarding five additional exchanges into its new ‘Type II’ membership category.
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https://bravenewcoin.com/insights/5-new-crypto-exchanges-join-japans-exchange-association

Minimalist · Feb 16, 2019

Norway: Anarcho-Capitalist Smart City Adopts Crypto as Sole Recognized Medium of Exchange

Liberstad — a private, anarcho-capitalist city in Norway — has adopted a cryptocurrency native to its blockchain-powered smart city platform as its official medium of exchange, according to a press release published on Feb. 12.
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/norw...-crypto-as-sole-recognized-medium-of-exchange

guest · Feb 16, 2019

Bitcoin Really Is Money, Here's Why
February 16, 2019
https://www.forbes.com/sites/investor/2019/02/15/bitcoin-really-is-money-heres-why/#2a44ab9179d2

It’s a litany I keep hearing, so it’s about time someone buried this trope in a small but deep hole where it belongs.

You can’t reverse a bitcoin payment like a payment by credit card. That happens often enough with credit card payments for services these days.
You can’t do this with bitcoin. You can’t bounce a bitcoin or charge back a bitcoin. You can’t forge a bitcoin. You can’t receive it and claim you didn’t, like ever other coin-op vending machine you ever used.

Unlike old fashioned money, BTC arrives in minutes from distant clients and you can tell the minute they have sent it that its coming, even if they are in Kathmandu.
What is more, within minutes you can convert your crypto into pounds or dollars with no outrageous currency conversion gouging by your friendly banksters.
However, the argument is that bitcoin isn’t a store of wealth, which is obviously wrong as I have wealth stored in it now. [...]
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Minimalist · Feb 17, 2019

Japan: E-Commerce Giant Rakuten’s New Payment App Appears to Support Crypto

Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten announced that a major update of its Rakuten Pay mobile app will be released on March 18, according to the firm’s 2018 earnings release, published on Feb. 12. The app’s new structure appears to indicate that it will support cryptocurrency payments in addition to fiat.
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/japa...ens-new-payment-app-appears-to-support-crypto

guest · Feb 17, 2019

Buterin Addresses Concerns Regarding Potential Attack Vectors in Upcoming Ethereum Upgrade
February 17, 2019
https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/...-attack-vectors-in-upcoming-ethereum-upgrade/

Several Ethereum (ETH) developers have expressed concerns regarding a potential security vulnerability in a new type of smart contract creation feature - which will be integrated into Ethereum’s codebase in its upcoming Constantinople hard fork upgrade.

In response to these concerns, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated, during a developers meeting on February 15, that the scheduled codebase modifications will not create vulnerabilities on the Ethereum blockchain .
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Minimalist · Feb 18, 2019

Indonesia’s Commodity Futures Regulator Releases Regulation for Crypto Futures Market

Indonesia’s commodity futures regulator has established a legal framework for operating crypto and digital assets futures markets, according to an official press release published on Feb. 18.
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/indo...releases-regulation-for-crypto-futures-market

Minimalist · Feb 18, 2019

Crypto Crime Trends Evolving as Users Wise Up: Exchange Hacks, Darknet and Money Laundering

Two prominent research papers have shed light on the latest crime trends affecting the cryptocurrency community over the past two years.

Crypto analytics companies Chainalysis and CipherTrace released reports at the end of January that unpack some interesting data on the methods that criminals have used to steal and defraud users within the cryptocurrency and blockchain space.

These reports paint an interest picture of the ever-changing cryptocurrency landscape and provides some food for thought about the use of crypto in criminal activity around the world.
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/cryp...p-exchange-hacks-darknet-and-money-laundering

guest · Feb 18, 2019

Buy cryptos at the post office: It’s now possible in Liechtenstein
February 18, 2019
https://coingeek.com/buy-cryptos-post-office-now-possible-liechtenstein/

Citizens of Liechtenstein will now be able to purchase cryptocurrencies at their post offices.
The country’s postal service announced that it would kick off the service in the nation’s capital of Vaduz. Initially, clients will only be able to purchase Bitcoin Core (BTC) with their fiat currencies; however, the service will soon be available in the other post offices.

Liechtensteinische Post AG further revealed that after the introductory phase, it would expand the service. It intends to support other cryptos as well including Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash (BCHABC).
According to the press release, the client will receive a physical wallet that will generate private and public keys.
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Minimalist · Feb 18, 2019

Cigna, Sentara Healthcare join IBM blockchain initiative

The group of providers building a health utility network using blockchain has just grown by two members, with not-for-profit system Sentra Healthcare and Cigna joining the IBM-backed network.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/cigna-sentara-healthcare-join-ibm-blockchain-initiative

ronjor · Feb 18, 2019

Brock Pierce, Mark Karpeles and the War of Words Over Mt Gox’s Future

Nikhilesh De Feb 18, 2019
Brock Pierce wants Mt. Gox creditors to receive 100 percent of whatever they’re owed – or so he says, anyway.
Weeks after announcing Gox Rising – his ambitious effort to unite the long-defunct exchange’s creditors, submit a civil rehabilitation plan and relaunch the Mt Gox exchange itself – Pierce, a prominent crypto-entrepreneur, is walking back just how concrete these plans are.
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guest · Feb 18, 2019

Report: Bitcoin Unable to Solve Problems of Traditional Payment Systems
February 18, 2019
https://cointelegraph.com/news/repo...solve-problems-of-traditional-payment-systems

An official from Spain’s central bank, the Bank of Spain (BDE) believes that Bitcoin (BTC) is unable to resolve the problems faced by major payment systems. BDE’s Deputy General Director for financial innovations and market infrastructure, Carlos Colesa, gave his opinion on the leading cryptocurrency in a report published on Sunday, Feb. 17.

Colesa compared Bitcoin to traditional payment systems and financial intermediaries. First, he says that the Bitcoin blockchain processes only 250,000 transactions daily, which is a relatively small volume for a global system
Given that the miners have to approve transactions, Bitcoin payments are slow, and the time required for a transactions is purportedly unpredictable. [...]

“It is unlikely that Bitcoin in its current modification will have any significant impact on the finance sector as an alternative to traditional payment systems.”
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ronjor · Feb 19, 2019

Coinbase buys blockchain intelligence startup to boost security and new asset discovery

Jon Russell@jonrussell 19 Feb 2019
Coinbase, the world’s most valuable crypto company, is gearing up to add more cryptocurrencies to its exchange thanks to its latest acquisition.
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Minimalist · Feb 19, 2019

About the Relationship Between Stablecoins and Security Tokens

Crypto news last week were dominated by the headlines of J.P Morgan announcing the intentions to launch its own stablecoin dubbled “JPM Coin”. My initial reaction to the news were mixed. On one hand, the JPM Coin represents a strong validation for the stablecoin market and will certainly pave the way for new banks to join this trend. However, we can’t be oblivious to the fact that commercial-bank-backed stablecoins are likely to contribute to the fragmentation of the space and basically be a temporary solution until central banks decide to issue their own stablecoin(more about that in a future post). The launch of the JPM Coin made me reflect about a thesis I’ve been exploring lately about the relationship between stablecoins and security tokens. With stablecoins quickly consolidating as an important building block of the crypto-ecosystem, it is important to explore how they will influence the next generation of digital securities.
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https://hackernoon.com/about-the-relationship-between-stablecoins-and-security-tokens-a26e43f15d9a

guest · Feb 20, 2019

Elon Musk Calls Bitcoin ‘Brilliant,’ Better Than Paper Money for Value Transfer
February 20, 2019
https://www.coindesk.com/elon-musk-...nt-better-than-paper-money-for-value-transfer

Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has officially gone public with his belief cryptocurrency offers an improved alternative to conventional money.
In a podcast interview with investment firm ARK Invest on Feb. 19, Musk talked about his views on the future of his companies and responded specifically to questions about his thoughts on cryptocurrency.

To that end, Musk said he believes bitcoin’s structure “is quite brilliant,” ading:

“It [crypto] bypasses currency controls. … Paper money is going away. And crypto is a far better way to transfer values than a piece of paper, that’s for sure.”
Speaking to the downsides of cryptocurrency [...] “It’s very energy intensive to create bitcoin at this point,” he said.
Notably, this is not the first time that Musk had made remarks on cryptocurrency. In October last year, he made a mysterious tweet about buying bitcoin that whipped up speculation on social media.
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Minimalist · Feb 20, 2019

First Pension Funds Investing in Crypto — a Sign of Things to Come?

Positive moves are being made for investor sentiment in the cryptocurrency space despite a year-long bear market.

This comes after $40 million was raised by cryptocurrency investment firm Morgan Creek Digital, which is headed up by its founder, Anthony Pompliano. The crypto-focused hedge fund is part of Morgan Creek Capital, which manages over $1 billion in assets.
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/first-pension-funds-investing-in-crypto-a-sign-of-things-to-come

Minimalist · Feb 20, 2019

Crypto Investment Services Firm BitGo to Add Support for TRON

Institutional-grade cryptocurrency investment services firm BitGo will provide wallet and custody support for cryptocurrency Tron (TRX), according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Feb. 20.

Per the release, BitGo will add support for TRX later this year, making it available for institutional investors. TRX thus joins over 100 other digital currencies already supported by BitGo.
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-investment-services-firm-bitgo-to-add-support-for-tron

guest · Feb 20, 2019

Cheap Fees Are Sooo 2018! Somebody Paid Over Half a Million USD in Fees To Send 25 Bucks Worth of ETH
February 20, 2019
https://ethereumworldnews.com/misterious-wallet-pays-500k-usd-fees-22-usd-transactions-eth/

On February 19, 2019, a user completed five Ethereum transactions for a total of about $20 and perhaps wanted to be very very sure that the transaction would be quickly confirmed because he paid excessive fees… +500K excessive
Not One Mistake… Not Two… Not Three… Are These Really Just “Mistakes”?
The Wallet [...] was responsible for the transactions. In the first payment, done at 1:10 am UTC it sent 0.01ETH which is an approximate of $1.47 to the wallet [...] and paid 210 ETH in fees ( totaling $30,972.9 at the moment) [...]
The Community Explains: From a “Very” Generous Person to an ETH Laundering Operation
The community has tried to explain the reasons behind this strange series of events, however until now it is impossible to know for sure what the real reason is since the wallet is anonymous.

Mati Greenspan, an eToro analyst, commented that it could be a human error resulting from the bad programming of a Smart contract or trading bot. This is quite plausible because we wouldn’t be in the presence of someone who made the same mistake several times but of a programmer who made only one mistake and didn’t do the necessary tests.
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guest · Feb 21, 2019

$430K in Confiscated Crypto to Be Sold Off by Irish Auction House
February 21, 2019
https://www.coindesk.com/430k-in-confiscated-crypto-to-be-sold-off-by-irish-auction-house

Cryptocurrencies seized by Belgian law enforcement from online drug dealers are to be put under the hammer by an Ireland-based auction house.

Wilsons Auctions announced Monday that it has signed an agreement with the federal government of Belgium to hold an auction of the crypto funds with no reserve, including 104.99 each of bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH) and bitcoin gold (BTG).
The total market value of the cryptocurrencies is around $431,660 at the time of writing.

“The bitcoins were seized by the Belgium police as a result of a drug trafficking case in which the criminals used the DarkNet to sell drugs,” Wilsons Auctions said.
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guest · Feb 21, 2019

Cryptocurrency companies use 'backdoor' listings to ease into mainstream
February 22, 2019
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...istings-to-ease-into-mainstream-idUSKCN1QB00B

Several cryptocurrency exchanges have moved closer to mainstream markets by buying listed companies, looking to raise funds and present themselves as embedded in the traditional financial services world they once spurned.
Such purchases, also known as reverse mergers, allow companies to offer shares to the public without the rigors and regulatory scrutiny of a full initial public offering (IPO).
LEGITIMACY
Crypto experts said the deals could help the industry gain greater mainstream acceptance.
WRESTLING WITH REGULATORS
Public listings of cryptocurrency exchanges also pose a challenge for regulators, who are only beginning to grapple with the issues of overseeing the trading of digital currencies.
“It’s possible a crypto exchange could incubate a new crypto business inside a Hong Kong-listed company, maintain the listed company’s existing operations, and not be treated as a new IPO, but it is a very difficult tightrope to walk,” [...]
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Minimalist · Feb 22, 2019

New Platform Converts Crypto to Fiat Without Know Your Customer Requirements

Cryptocurrency wallet MyEtherWallet (MEW) in collaboration with crypto finance firm Bity are releasing a platform to convert cryptocurrency to fiat without Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements. MEW announced the news in a blog post published on Feb. 20.
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/new-...-fiat-without-know-your-customer-requirements

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