Day: July 5, 2018

Crypto Markets See Small Slump, Bitcoin Keeps Above $6,500 Threshold

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Thursday, July 5: crypto markets are seeing some red, with most major coins down up to 3 percent in 24 hours to press time. The total market cap has dropped by $4 billion since the same time yesterday, according to Coinmarketcap. Market visualization from Coin360 Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading at around $6,597. The coin is down about 1.5 percent over the past 24 hours, but it’s still keeping above the psychologically important $6,500 mark. Bitcoin is still up on the week with an 8 percent increase in value. Bitcoin…

Former Jefferies Asia CEO to Lead $1 Billion EOS VC Arm

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The former CEO in Asia for Jefferies Group LLC, a major global investment banking firm, has joined as head of EOS’ $1 billion venture capital arm effective Thursday, July 5. The news has been revealed in an official announcement from EOS creator Block.one. After serving almost eight years in his former post, Michael Alexander will be based in Hong Kong and serve as a member of the Block.one Executive Committee. As the new CEO of EOS’ VC unit, Alexander will manage both direct venture investments and EOS VC partnerships, with…

South Korea Legitimizes Blockchain Industry With Major New Classification Standards

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The South Korean government is drafting major new industry classification standards for the domestic blockchain industry, local crypto news outlet The BChain reports Thursday, July 5. Three Korean ministries – the National Statistical Office, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Information and Communication – are said to have been working since the end of last month to produce the final draft of a new blockchain industry classificatory scheme by the end of July.   The scheme will reportedly serve as a basis for policy making, notably aimed…

Chinese Search Giant Baidu to Launch Rewards on Blockchain Platform

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Baidu, widely dubbed as the Google of China, is going to launch rewards and announce the blockchain layout of their project “Totem” in an upcoming conference on July 18. Totem, a blockchain-based platform, was launched by Baidu in April. Totem utilizes blockchain technology to manage the intellectual property rights of images. They aim to enable more efficiency in the ownership of images and preventing infringements, according to its website. “The copyright information of the work is permanently written into the blockchain. Based on the credibility and incomprehensibility of the blockchain, combined…

Huobi Launches Australian Exchange Ahead of Blockchain Investment Plans

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Chinese cryptocurrency exchange Huobi has confirmed trading on its new Australian platform begins today, July 5. The exchange is fourth largest in the world as of press time, with $713 million in daily trade volume, according to Coinmarketcap. In an announcement, Huobi, which last week also unveiled its London-based operation serving the European market, said trading pairs would be phased in throughout Thursday from 10am Sydney time. Ten pairs will initially be on offer for Australian dollar, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ethereum Classic and Bitcoin Cash. “In the future, Huobi…

BIS Chief Bashes Cryptocurrency Again in Scathing Review of Its ‘Failure’ as Money

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The head of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) continued the institution’s critical stance on cryptocurrency, saying it “cannot assume the functions of money,” BIS reports July 4. Speaking to Swiss newspaper Basler Zeitung last week, subsequently published by BIS itself, general manager Agustin Carstens cautioned “young people” against “trying to create money,” drawing comparisons to Bitcoin mining. “Those who have the biggest incentive in the system of these so-called cryptocurrencies are those who produce the assets – the miners… This incentive, however, is not compatible with maximising the usefulness…

Thai Regulator Confirms July Start Date for Regulated ICOs

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In an announcement July 4, Thailand has confirmed its long-awaited ICO regulations will come into effect July 16, cementing the fundraising instrument’s status in the country. In summary comments, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finalized details of how ICOs will operate going forward. The new regulation will take the form of a two-tier vetting procedure, with accredited “ICO portals” in charge of selecting applicants to pass to the SEC for a final screening. “Once approved by an ICO portal, the SEC will begin to consider applications for the…

Bitcoin Rally Hits a Speed Breaker at $6,750

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Bitcoin (BTC) needs to overcome a key technical resistance to keep the short-term bull market going, the technical studies indicate. The leading cryptocurrency rose to $6,785 on Bitfinex on Wednesday – the highest level since June 22 and looked set to test the psychological hurdle of $7,000, as suggested by Monday’s bullish breakout. However, the bulls failed to muster enough momentum to cross $6,754 (23.6 percent Fibonacci retracement of the drop from $9,990 to $5,755) on a daily closing basis (as per UTC), establishing the Fibonacci level as a stiff resistance.…

Spain’s Securities Regulator Undertakes a Blockchain Pilot

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Spain’s securities regulator Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), BME and various banking and financial institutions Banco Santander, BBVA, BNP Paribas, CaixaBank, Commerzbank and Société Générale have announced the completion of the pilot test for the Fast Track Listing (FTL) project. In a statement the CNMV has announced: “The objective has been to simplify processes and reduce the amount of time needed to register issuances. It has been proven that the use of blockchain technology can improve efficiency in terms of time and resources, as well as increase the security…

Bitcoin Price Watch: BTC/USD Consolidating Below $6,700

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Key Points Bitcoin price remained well supported, but it struggled to break the $6,700-6,800 resistance against the US Dollar. There is a major bullish trend line formed with support at $6,550 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken). The pair is currently trading in a range below the $6,700 resistance and is preparing for the next move. Bitcoin price is placed nicely above $6,500 against the US Dollar. BTC/USD may slowly climb higher to a new monthly high as long as it is above $6,400.…