Day: September 13, 2018

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz Calls Crypto Price Bottom

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Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital Capital Management, said that cryptocurrency prices have hit a bottom in a tweet today, September 13. Novogratz also pointed out that the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index (BGCI), which is designed to measure the performance of the largest cryptocurrencies traded in U.S. dollars, “retouched the highs of late last year and the point of acceleration that led to the massive rally/bubble.” This is the BGCI chart…I think we put in a low yesterday. retouched the highs of late last year…

Bitcoin’s Energy Consumption in Summer: Rise or Fall?

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It’s no secret that Bitcoin (BTC) mining is an expensive business, and in more ways than one. Not only has it become less profitable since July 2016’s halving of mining rewards to 12.5 BTC, but competition among miners and an increasing hashrate have resulted in ever-higher energy consumption, with all the damage to the environment that implies. Yet, as energy-intensive as Bitcoin mining is, a question still remains: Is there a seasonal variation in the cryptocurrency’s energy consumption? Even if consumption is rising on the whole, does something different happen…

Blockchain Browser Brave Files Adtech Complaints Against Google for User Data Practices

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Brave browser, developed by Mozilla co-founder Brendan Eich, has filed privacy complaints in Ireland and Britain against Google, Reuters reported September 13. Brave is an open-source blockchain-powered browser, which blocks ads and website trackers. The browser is designed to improve online privacy by sharing less personal data with advertising customers, yet targeting web ads by analyzing anonymized user browsing behavior. The complaint reportedly states that Google and the advertising technology (adtech) industry practice “wide-scale and systematic breaches of the data protection regime” in the way they publish personalized online ads.…

BitGo Gets Approval From State Regulators to Launch Custody Service

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BitGo has received the green light from the South Dakota Division of Banking to act as a qualified custodian for digital assets, according to a Business Wire press release. The approval means the BitGo Trust Company can now offer secure storage for digital assets “designed for institutional customers,” Chief Compliance Officer Shahla Ali told Bitcoin Magazine. “Built on BitGo’s multisignature security, BitGo Custody delivers modern security for modern assets,” Ali continued. Ali went on to explain that “BitGo has been working on its application for its charter to be a…

Morgan Stanley Eyes Bitcoin Swap Contracts Tied to Futures Prices

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Morgan Stanley is joining Wall Street’s race toward an institutional-friendly bitcoin derivative. According to anonymous sources reporting to Bloomberg, the financial institution is devising price return swaps tied to bitcoin. These derivatives would allow investors to indirectly invest in the market’s flagship currency, allotting them the option to buy into long or short positions through the contracts. Taking their prices from bitcoin futures, the swaps will not handle bitcoin directly. Seeing as Morgan Stanley is a regulated and established financial institution, tying the product to futures contracts is a safer…

Huobi Enters Japanese Market With BitTrade Acquisition

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Huobi Japan Holding Ltd. has acquired a majority stake in Japanese cryptocurrency exchange BitTrade, marking the top-three exchange’s formal entry into the Japanese market. BitTrade, which is one of the 16 government-approved crypto exchanges in the country, announced the news yesterday, September 12, 2018. Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) began issuing exchange operating licenses in 2017, but in light of the Coincheck hack in January 2018, the approval rate has plummeted as the agency has tightened its requirements. Huobi Japan, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Huobi Global, plans…

BitPay CCO Predicts Altcoins to ‘Never Come Back,’ Bitcoin to ‘Rebound’ in 2019

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The CCO of global crypto payment processor Bitpay said that altcoins “will never come back,” while Bitcoin (BTC) will “rebound” in 2019, in an interview with Bloomberg September 12. The Chief Commercial Officer of BitPay Sonny Singh said that cryptocurrency markets are now on the threshold of a new stage of progress, which requires a certain “defining moment,” or a “catalyst.” According to Singh, that “defining moment” will come when big institutional investors, such as Goldman Sachs and BlackRock, “become real” in 2019. “But next year you’ll see the talk…

Constantinople Ahead: What You Need to Know About Ethereum’s Big Upgrade

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Constantinople, ethereum’s next system-wide upgrade, is coming soon to a node near you. Finalized August 31, Constantinople includes five different ethereum improvement proposals (EIPs). Once released on ethereum, the proposals will permanently alter the blockchain with a host of new backwards-incompatible upgrades. This means that nodes — the network of computers that run ethereum software — must either update together with the whole system or continue running as a separate blockchain entity. More formally known as a “hard fork,” system-wide upgrades have instigated a fair amount of drama in the…

Central Bank’s Blockchain Trade Finance Platform Pilots in Shenzhen

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A new trade and finance blockchain platform, backed by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), has started official pilot operations in Shenzhen, local news outlet 21jingi reports September 12. The “Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Dawan District Trade Finance Blockchain Platform” aims to provide a blockchain-powered ecosystem for cross-border trading across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau Bay Area. The platform is reportedly being jointly promoted and organized by the PBoC’s Central Bank Digital Currency Research Lab and the Central Bank Shenzhen Central Branch. 21jinji cites Xu Honghui, vice president of…

BitGo Receives Regulatory Approval to Custody Crypto Assets

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Crypto security startup BitGo has received approval in the U.S. to act as a qualified custodian for digital assets. The company, which has spent most of 2018 attempting to launch a regulated custodian entity, announced that the BitGo Trust had been approved by the South Dakota Division of Banking on Thursday, meaning it can now offer institutional clients a regulated storage solution for digital assets, said chief compliance and legal officer Shahla Ali. Ali told CoinDesk that this may mark the first time a regulated custodian was designed and built from scratch specifically…