Day: September 4, 2018

Belgium’s Financial Watchdog Adds 28 Sites to Crypto Scam Blacklist

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Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) has added 28 new sites to its crypto-related fraud blacklist, as it reiterates its warnings to consumers in a fresh alert posted today, September 4. The FSMA has said that despite its prior risk alerts, the agency continues to receive complaints from consumers swindled by fraudsters capitalizing on the cryptocurrency “hype.” The warning says that scammers are canny enough to lure victims in with easy-seeming profits, but that at this point, “the only thing they actually do […] is take the customers’ money…

IBM Reveals Stellar-Based ‘Near Real-Time’ Blockchain Payment Network

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IBM has brought its Blockchain World Wire (BWW) payment network out of beta this week, according to a ?? post on IBM’s website. BWW, which uses digital currency on Stellar’s blockchain to facilitate international settlements between banks in “near real-time,” is the latest step forward for IBM and Stellar, which have been eyeing blockchain payment options since October last year. “The solution uses digital assets to settle transactions — serving as an agreed-upon store of value exchanged between parties — as well as integrating payment instruction messages,” a new summary…

Litecoin Price Nears $70 to Hit One-Month High

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Litecoin’s (LTC) price hit a one-month high on Monday amid a broader bullish tone in the cryptocurrency market. The world’s seventh largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization reached $68.59 at 12:10:00 UTC – its highest price since August 7th, according to CoinDesk’s Litecoin Price Index  – and was last seen trading at $68.18, up roughly 4.2 percent on the day.  The recent bullish mood in cryptocurrency markets could be attributed to bitcoin’s 20 percent rally from the August low of $6,000. More importantly, the world’s leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization is…

Bitcoin Price Intraday Analysis: BTC/USD Near Breakout

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Bitcoin on Tuesday continued its uptrend, rising close to 3 percent since its intraday low from yesterday. The BTC/USD pair today opened near 7272-fiat while correcting from its previous low around 7248-fiat. At the beginning of the Asian trading session, the pair stayed on a stable and steady uptrend. As the session matured, and European hours came into play, the uptrend intensified and eventually formed higher highs towards 7415-fiat. At the same time, BTC/USD continued to flirt with the Rising Wedge resistance level. BTC/USD Technical Analysis While BTC/USD continues to…

Robinhood Crypto App Adds Candlestick Charts Due to Popular Demand

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Mobile trading app Robinhood is rolling out candlestick charts to “better inform” its users, the company announced Tuesday. After a rollout over the next two weeks, all Robinhood users will be able to see the new chart option – a tool traders use to monitor price activity – for each of the 16 different cryptocurrencies currently listed on the app, along with with the other stocks, options and exchange-traded funds offered, a spokesperson told CoinDesk. She explained: “Candlestick charts help investors better understand how prices move. They show the open,…

Crypto Wallet Abra Announces Direct Transactions From EU Banks in SEPA

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Global crypto wallet Abra has enabled the direct purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies for European bank accounts, according to a press-release published by PR Newswire Tuesday, September 4. Abra, which offers 28 cryptocurrencies for consumers worldwide, will now support Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) bank accounts. As the company’s official Twitter states, the launch of in-app European bank purchases of digital currency has already started. Customers can now transfer euros or several other national currencies directly to their wallet which can, in turn, can be converted into the 28 cryptocurrencies…

Greek Supreme Court Rules to Extradite Alleged BTC-e Owner Alexander Vinnik to Russia

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The Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece has ruled to extradite alleged BTC-e owner Alexander Vinnik to Russia to face several cyber fraud charges, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reports Tuesday, September 4. The formal decision on extradition to Russia will be issued September 14, coming into force the same day. During the actual hearing, the Supreme Court will also consider France’s request on the alleged BTC-e owner’s extradition. According to RIA, Vinnik agreed with his extradition to Russia. “[This case] is now up to politicians and their…

Smart Banking Ecosystem to Shield Consumers From Volatility in Cryptocurrency Prices

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A new smart banking ecosystem based on blockchain technology is offering an all-in-one platform for managing cryptocurrencies, fiat money and stocks — and hopes to make crypto payments practical and widespread. Platio believes that, eventually, all financial assets are going to be tokenized and run on blockchains — completely transforming the international financial system. However, the company says progress has been slow because some cryptocurrency features are making businesses and consumers anxious. Its platform is going to provide users with peace of mind knowing that their financial assets are safe…

Australia’s Brisbane Becoming a Cryptocurrency Hub For Travelers

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Australia has been at the forefront of blockchain development and cryptocurrency acceptance this year. With several deals inked between major banks and corporations and an increasing adoption of digital currencies nationwide it is growing into a crypto powerhouse. Crypto Payments For Queensland Travel Brisbane has a huge tourism industry and it is banking on crypto to give that a boost by enabling crypto payments in as many places as possible. Local startup, TravelbyBit, has been given a grant by the Queensland government to turn the city into a crypto haven. According…

There’s a Problem With Crypto Funding – And Vitalik Just Might Have a Solution

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There are free-riders in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. At least, that’s the contention of a new paper, shared with CoinDesk on Monday, written by ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, Microsoft researcher Glen Weyl and Ph.D. of economics at Harvard, Zoë Hitzig. And free-riders pose a problem. Described in the paper, free-riders are people or businesses that profit from the under-provision of public goods. And, on top of that, “the more people [these public goods] benefit the more they will be under-provided.” It’s an issue that plagues development even outside the cryptocurrency space, but the…