Day: September 20, 2018

LINE’s Token-Powered Ecosystem | Plans have been Unveiled

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Plans for LINE’s token-powered ecosystem have been unveiled. The messaging app giant from Japan announced its new venture at CoinDesk’s Consensus: Singapore event this morning. LINE’s plans are ambitious; it wants to launch its new system by the end of 2018. Will it do it? LINE’s Token-Powered Ecosystem It can have such ambition because LINE already has more than 164 million monthly active users across four key countries. It is this user-base that the app giant will capitalize on to launch its token-powered ecosystem. LINE’s token-powered ecosystem centers around its previously announced LINK token. The…

Streaming Platform for Gamers Starts Public Beta Testing of Its Own Blockchain

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On Sept. 19, the Play2Live streaming platform for gamers and esports fans has officially announced the launch of the open beta testing of their blockchain streaming platform to the general public. The new blockchain platform aims to let participants benefit from monetization schemes — involving streamers, viewers and esports tournament organizers. As Play2Live told Cointelegraph earlier, “Everybody can be part of the peer-to-peer interaction, and everybody,  even the viewer, is able to earn money.” Gathering gamers and influencers As the company reported to Cointelegraph, on Aug. 15, the access to…

IBM Patent Eyes Blockchain for Drone Fleet Security

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Computing giant and prolific blockchain researcher IBM has applied to patent a system that would use distributed ledger technology (DLT) to address privacy and security concerns associated with the increasing usage of drones in both commercial and recreational applications. According to documents made public on Thursday by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), IBM first applied for the patent, the latest in its growing library of prospective blockchain applications, in March 2017. In the patent application, the authors detail how a blockchain ledger could be used to store data…

Ripple Soars as Wider Crypto Markets See Flush of Green

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Thursday, September 20: virtually all of the large-market-cap cryptocurrencies are in the green today, posting solid gains across the board, as data from Coin360 data shows. Market visualization from Coin360 After a volatile week, Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded past the $6,400 mark yesterday night, hitting as high as $6,450 before correcting slightly and then trading sideways to seal its current trading price of $6,410. Bitcoin’s 24-hour growth is at 1.8 percent, according to Cointelegraph’s Bitcoin Price Index. On the week, the top coin is up around 1.1 percent, but down by…

Australian Financial Regulator Issues Warning on ‘Misleading’ ICOs

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Australian financial watchdog, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), has issued a warning on “misleading” Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and crypto-asset funds targeted at retail investors. The document was published Thursday, September 20, on ASIC’s official website. According to the release, ASIC has stopped five different ICOs from raising capital since April 2018. This was done due to the lack of appropriate investor protection measures on part of the fundraisers in question. As the watchdog states, these offerings had to be restructured to meet existing legal standards. In September,…

Kraken Joins Coinbase in Rebuking ‘Malicious’ Implications in New York Attorney General’s Exchange Report

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Another major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange criticized a report from New York’s Attorney General Wednesday, September 19, after it chose not to respond to a voluntary information request. Kraken, which is headquartered in California, joined one of the largest U.S. players Coinbase in denouncing certain aspects of Barbara Underwood’s report as unfair. Mentioning several times that Kraken “refused” to take part in supplying information, Underwood, the exchange alleges, appeared to suggest it had something to hide, such as offering services to New York residents without holding a BitLicense. “We must… object…

US Lawmakers Say IRS Too Focused on Enforcement, Should Provide Clarity for Crypto Taxation

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U.S. lawmakers have called on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to issue clarified and “comprehensive” crypto taxation guidance, in an open letter submitted yesterday, September 19. The letter was sent to acting IRS commissioner David Kautter by Congress members David Schweikert, Darin LaHood, and Brad Wenstrup, Kevin Brady and Lynn Jenkins from the Committee on Ways and Means. It opens by calling attention to a prior letter sent by the representatives in May of last year, which had already questioned the agency’s lack of a comprehensive crypto taxation strategy. Since…

Another Cryptocurrency Exchange Hack Hits Japan

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Another cryptocurrency heist has shaken Japan. This time, 6.7 billion yen ($60 million USD) worth of company and user funds have vanished from Japanese cryptocurrency exchange platform Zaif. Tech Bureau Corp, the Osaka-based company that operates Zaif, estimates the heist occured on September 14, 2018, between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time. The exchange detected the breach on September 17, 2018, and reported the event to authorities the following day. Of the stolen money, the hacker siphoned 4.5 billion yen (about $40 million USD) from user accounts and 2.2…

Why Your Financial Advisor Won’t Talk to You About Bitcoin

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Bitcoin is in the news, and we’ve all seen the stories about early investors who’ve made millions and driven away in new lambos. So it’s only natural that people who haven’t invested already are wondering if they should. Unfortunately, when they turn to their financial advisors for help, they’re often let down by professionals who can’t or won’t discuss it. Why won’t more financial advisors talk to their clients about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies? Here are several explanations. Your Advisor’s Firm Forbids Recommending Cryptocurrency Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and…

Kraken CEO Powell ‘Thanks’ New York AG For Its Crypto Research

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Jesse Powell, CEO of Kraken, doesn’t like the way the New York State cryptocurrency regulators have treated him, but he doesn’t think their research is without its merits. After calling the regulators abusive in an earlier tweet today, he followed up by tweeting that the agency’s research in a recently released report has saved his product team a lot of time by providing information on his competitors. He commends the report for its overview of issues and a suggested list of questions for customers to ask. Powell also thanked New…