Day: September 10, 2018

Gemini Launches NYDFS-Regulated Crypto Pegged to the Dollar

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Crypto exchange Gemini announced Monday that it is launching a dollar-backed stablecoin built on ethereum. The Gemini dollar is designed to provide liquidity for users hoping to send or receive U.S. dollars through the ethereum network, a press release stated. It will be “strictly pegged” to the dollar, with the Gemini Trust Company holding USD deposits corresponding to the number of tokens in circulation. Notably, the release stated, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has reviewed and approved the Gemini dollar. To safeguard its holdings, Gemini will hold the…

Back Below $200 Billion: Crypto Market Cap Sinks to 10-Month Low

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The total market capitalization for all cryptocurrencies fell to its lowest point in over 10 months on Saturday. The development followed a particularly bearish week for the broader cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped over $1000 on Sept 5. and Ether (ETH), the world’s second largest cryptocurrency, fell to its lowest level in over 12 months. The bearish milestones were among many others, causing the total market capitalization to shed nearly $44 billion since the start of last week to reach $191.1 billion on Sept 8. –…

Crypto Research Firm Adds Nobel Prize Winners as Advisors

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Blockchain research firm and accelerator Cryptic Labs has just taken on two Nobel-winning economists as advisors. Announced in a press release Monday, joining the firm’s economics advisory board are Dr. Eric S. Maskin and Sir Christopher Pissarides, who will “provide insights in incentive mechanisms, game theory and macro-economic policies.” Dr. Maskin, currently a professor at Harvard University, will bring to the company his knowledge of game theory and mechanism design, in particular advising on how blockchain projects can develop user incentives. Dr. Maskin won the 2007 Nobel Prize in Economics for laying…

Ripple’s Former Legal Chief Joins Crypto Payments Startup

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Former Ripple general counsel Brynly Llyr is taking on the same role for crypto payments startup Celo. Llyr, who left Ripple last Friday, will take charge of “all aspects of legal strategy at Celo,” the company announced Monday. These include policy, regulation, partnerships and intellectual property. Llyr will also play a role in Celo’s efforts to expand both within the U.S. and globally. A spokesperson for the company told CoinDesk that she will specifically be involved in day-to-day operations as well. The startup seeks to simplify the adoption process for using…

72% of Cryptocurrency Investors Plan to Buy More this Year: Survey

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A majority of accredited cryptocurrency investors and nearly three-fourths of retail investors plan to increase their cryptocurrency holdings in the next 12 months, a new survey suggests. That survey, conducted by securities trading platform SharesPost in July and eliciting responses from 2,490 retail investors and 528 accredited investors, found that current cryptocurrency owners remain highly-bullish on the nascent asset class, though they now expect mainstream adoption to take longer than they had when asked earlier in the year. Respondents in both groups now expect cryptocurrency to achieve widespread adoption in…

Stellar-Focused Firm Acquires Visa-Backed Blockchain Startup Chain

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Financial services blockchain startup Chain has been acquired by the Stellar-focused firm Lightyear, Reuters reports today, September 10. Chain CEO Adam Ludwin told Reuters that a new company, dubbed Interstellar, will “migrate” Chain’s customer network and existing products onto Stellar’s global public blockchain, aiming to thereby create a new public digital assets management platform: “We were looking for a way to help our customers move the projects that we have been working on from a private network to a public one.” Ludwin explained that the move comes as the firm…

Crypto Wallet Provider Released New App to Store Collectibles and Game Assets

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Established crypto wallet provider Lumi announced the release of the “first real app” for collectibles. Unlike the apps that are based on built-in browsers, Lumi Collect is a separate platform designed to run on the Android and iOS devices. “We consider an app solution more secure than the web extension one,” the company says. Lumi allows users to keep all their collectibles in one wallet — including the unique ones and game assets based on Ethereum and ERC-721 tokens. Wallet functions Lumi’s wallet displays all collectible assets associated with the…

Blockchain Startup Chain Acquired by Stellar-Backed Interstellar

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Blockchain Startup Chain Acquired by Stellar-Backed Interstellar September 10, 2018 by Ian Edwards Visa-backed startup Chain announced on September 10th that it had been acquired by Lightyear Corporation, a for-profit company created last year with the support of the Stellar Development Foundation. Interstellar, as the new company will be known, plans to integrate private blockchains with Stellar’s public network. Also see: Paul Wasensteiner: Why We Started the Bitcoin Cash Association Subscribe to the Bitsonline YouTube channel for great videos featuring industry insiders & experts Stellar Development Foundation to Remain Independent The news was…

Vitalik Buterin | Large Crypto Growth Won’t Happen Again

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Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin just recently had an interview with Bloomberg and stated that crypto has neared its “ceiling.” Buterin feels that the days of explosive crypto growth have likely come and gone. Blockchain Ceiling in Sight “The blockchain space is getting to the point where there’s a ceiling in sight,” Buterin told Bloomberg. “If you talk to the average educated person at this point, they probably have heard of blockchain at least once. There isn’t an opportunity for yet another 1,000-times growth in anything in the space anymore.” Vitalik…

‘BitLicense’ Regulator Approves Two USD-Pegged Cryptocurrency Tokens

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One of the strictest cryptocurrency regulatory regimes in the United States has approved proposals from two companies under its oversight to issue cryptocurrency tokens whose values are pegged to the U.S. dollar. NYDFS Approves Two Stablecoins In a statement published Monday, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), creator of the “BitLicense” framework for cryptocurrency companies, confirmed that it had given two chartered companies, Gemini Trust Company and Paxos Trust Company, permission to begin issuing these so-called “stablecoins” to clients. At present, stablecoins — the most well-known of which…