Nearly six months after parting ways with its auditor, Tether has finally produced a third-party report proclaiming that its cryptocurrency is fully backed by U.S. dollars – with some big caveats. The state of Tether’s reserves has been the subject of controversy for months, with online critics claiming the company has been issuing more tokens than it had dollars in the bank – printing money, essentially. Tether has consistently denied this, but has not produced conclusive evidence that it is reserved 1-for-1. The matter has broad implications for the crypto…
Month: June 2018
IBM Launches a Free Blockchain Program for Students in India
The rise of blockchain technology is fueling demand in relevant skill sets, with institutes and countries around the world launching educational initiatives. The latest to introduce such a program is the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In collaboration with American technology giant IBM, India’s National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) launched a 12-week online course on blockchain architecture, design and uses, on June 19, 2018. The authority noted the benefits of blockchain technology, and acknowledged UpWork’s Skills Index for Q1 2018 which considers “blockchain skills” as the most “in-demand…
Bitcoin Price Steady Above $6K Despite Bithumb Hack
Bitcoin (BTC) suffered a minor dip last night after it was revealed that hackers had again breached a major cryptocurrency exchange, but the charts still favor a corrective rally to $7,000. The cryptocurrency fell from $6,740 to $6,560 after Bithumb – the sixth largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by trading volume – confirmed that the attack had happened between late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning local time, adding that about $31 million-worth of cryptocurrencies had been stolen. The Seoul-based cryptocurrency exchange has now halted all deposit and withdrawal service…
Bithumb Hack Prevents Corrective Cryptocurrency Rally, Market Drops
South Korea’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb experienced a hacking attack that led to a $30 million loss on June 20, leading the cryptocurrency market to drop by $6 billion within hours. Major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Bitcoin Cash, which successfully picked up some momentum throughout June 17 to 19, ended their corrective rallies and have fallen by around 1 percent over the past few hours. Tokens including Ardor, Ethos, Polymath, and Aion have continued their downward trend against both Bitcoin and the US dollar, triggered by the…
EOS Locked 7 Accounts and This Has Implications for Everyone in Crypto
In an effort to stop several thefts, seven accounts on the EOS blockchain were frozen on June 17. At face value, many will see this move by the 21 block producers (BPs) in charge of validating transactions on the newly live blockchain as a success in stopping malicious actors from bilking several users out of more than $20,000 in EOS. But others are concerned that such a decision will have far-reaching implications – and not just for EOS, but many other blockchains as well. But first, it’s helpful to understand…
BitTorrent Has ‘No Plans to Change’ After $120 Million Tron Acquisition
Peer-to-peer file sharing service BitTorrent seemingly pushed back against claims it would begin using cryptocurrencies after being acquired by the Tron Foundation. In a statement posted to its website Tuesday, BitTorrent wrote that the company has “no plans to change” its business model and will not charge fees for any of its services. Further, the company stated that it has “no plans to enable mining of cryptocurrency now or in the future.” The company was recently acquired by the Tron Foundation’s Justin Sun, according to a report from Variety. The…
Crypto Startup Circle Reveals How It Chooses New Token Listings
Blockchain startup Circle has released new details about how it will select cryptocurrencies for its trading and investment platforms. On Tuesday, the firm published its Asset Framework, providing a rough outline of what aspects are evaluated when assets are added to the Poloniex cryptocurrency exchange, as well as its Circle Invest and Circle Trade product lines. These criteria cover five different categories, which include the project’s fundamentals, the technology underpinning a token, the people behind a project, the business model employed and the available market, according to the document. In a release,…
Ethereum Price Watch | ETH/USD Shoots Higher, Reaches Week High
Ethereum price watch: Ethereum edges higher today. Key Highlights: Ethereum price moved up by about 5% on Tuesday morning, reaching a seven-day high of $548.80. ETH/USD is currently on a major bullish run to test a resistance at $550. The cryptocurrency market continued its recovery from last week, adding $12 billion in 24 hours. Ethereum Price Watch: ETH/USD Edges Higher, Hits Weekly High Ethereum price edged higher on Tuesday morning, hitting a weekly high of $548.80. Currently, ETH/USD is in the $530-$540 price range. A major support has been established…
Jack Dorsey’s Square Cash App Receives Tough BitLicense Approval
Square, a payment processing tech company owned by Jack Dorsey, just announced that it has obtained a New York BitLicense. Square App is just the seventh company to receive this approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). ? Our customers in New York state can now buy and sell Bitcoin instantly with Cash App! https://t.co/4R0n5sbNpM ? pic.twitter.com/1WzjiQ751I — Cash App (@CashApp) June 18, 2018 A Twitter user replied to the post with a question about sending and receiving Bitcoin and Cash Support responded to the question by…
Tron Price Pumps Following BitTorrent Acquisition
The Tron price surged more than 17 percent on Tuesday amid reports that founder Justin Sun is now in the final stages of closing a deal to acquire peer-to-peer protocol developer BitTorrent. Tron Founder Justin Sun to Acquire BitTorrent for $140 Million Rumors about the acquisition had circulated for weeks, but several disputes — including allegations that BitTorrent had violated a no-shop clauses — had hampered the negotiations. However, TechCrunch is now reporting that Sun and Tron have agreed to acquire BitTorrent for $140 million and that approval documents have…