Arrests Making Headlines Across the Globe

Gone are the days when shady dealings in crypto were perceived as immune to the clutches of law enforcement. Illicit crypto proceeds can be shuttled between wallet addresses at the click of a mouse, and their obfuscation behind the multiple strings of numbers and letters of wallet addresses can create a dizzying — if not impenetrable — cryptographic maze for authorities to navigate. But the criminals themselves present a more concrete target, and as they interface with everything from crafty code to unwieldy hardware to ‘traditional’ firearms, there has been…

New Pos by Pundix Allows Nigerians to Make Payments in Bitcoin

Indonesian cryptocurrency and payments company Pundix has introduced a point of sale terminal at a shop in Nigeria, allowing people in the West African country to make purchases using cryptocurrency, including bitcoin. The move is seen as key to scaling up cryptocurrency adoption and development in Africa’s biggest bitcoin market. Also read: Payments Platform Wirex Launches Iban For Spanish and French Users, Doubles Account Limits Payments Go Crypto With ‘a First for Africa’, in Nigeria, by Pundix A Nigerian importer and distributor of agriculture products has installed a point of sale…

Fidelity Expressing Further Interest in the Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Industry

Fidelity Investments is a 72-year company with more than $7 trillion in investor’s funds under management, and despite their well-established position within the traditional retail markets, they are incredibly open to nascent technologies, like cryptocurrency and blockchain. Fidelity’s openness to blossoming new technologies is setting themselves into a unique niche. In certain ways, it is making itself as much of a technology company as they are a finance company, positioning themselves to compete with Silicon Valley giants like Google and Nvidia. Fidelity Has a Long History of Interest in Revolutionary…

Bitcoin Price Rally Inbound in Q1 2019

Perennial bitcoin bull Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital, claims bitcoin is positioned for major growth now that institutions are investing in it and big compananies are starting to accept it. Novogratz told CNNMoney’s “Markets Now” that big companies like Microsoft and Starbucks are allowing customers to use bitcoin and that, in the short term, more institutions will invest for fear of missing out (FOMO). Novogratz, a former principal at Fortress Investment Group, last week said bitcoin would post a 30 percent increase by the end of the year…

SEC, CFTC, FBI Take Action Against Bitcoin-Funded Securities Dealer 1Broker

Three U.S. agencies have taken action against international bitcoin-funded securities dealer 1pool Ltd., aka 1Broker. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says 1Broker violated federal securities laws. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) says it violated the Commodity Exchange Act. Meanwhile, the company says it is working on letting customers withdraw their funds. Also read: 160 Crypto Exchanges Seek to Enter Japanese Market, Regulator Reveals SEC’s Action The SEC announced Thursday that it has filed charges against Marshall Islands-registered 1pool Ltd., aka 1Broker, and its Austria-based CEO, Patrick Brunner, “for allegedly…

Ripple Leads Crypto Coalition Seeking Gov’t Oversight Encouraging Crypto, Blockchain

Ripple will lead a group of crypto startups to lobby lawmakers and financial regulators in D.C. to support crypto and blockchain innovation, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, September 27. According to the report, the coalition of San-Francisco-based crypto firms is planning to pay Klein/Johnson Group, a bipartisan lobby group, to assist the crypto and blockchain community in conveying to regulators that the industry needs support from the government. The new group, called the Securing America’s Internet of Value Coalition, aims to soften the government’s stance in order to encourage innovation and…

Leading Analyst: $6,000 Is Key For Bitcoin (BTC), Momentum Is Reversing

Despite Lower Highs, Bitcoin May Be Bottoming On Friday, Tom Lee, who recently revealed that he expects for Ethereum to eclipse $1,900 by year’s end, made an appearance on Bloomberg to discuss Ethereum’s cousin or near relative, so to speak. Opening the cryptocurrency segment, the Bloomberg host, highlighting the fact that Bitcoin has found some support in the $6,000 range, asked Lee what Bitcoin’s current price level indicates. Lee, who is currently Fundstrat Global Advisor’s head of research and its in-house cryptocurrency advocate, first jokingly pointed out that Bitcoin’s lack…

Indian Govt. Think Tank, Oracle Aim for Blockchain Drug Logistics

Indian Govt. Think Tank, Oracle Aim for Blockchain Drug Logistics September 29, 2018 by Akshay Makadiya Indian government think tank NITI Aayog has officially signed a partnership with info-tech heavyweight Oracle and others to pilot a blockchain-powered pharmaceutical logistics system aimed at combating the growing spread of counterfeit drugs. Also see: Wealth Manager App B21 Secures Enterprise Account at OKCoin Subscribe to the Bitsonline YouTube channel for great videos featuring industry insiders & experts Weeding Out the Counterfeit Drugs The National Institute of Transforming India (NITI Aayog) and Oracle India have inked an…

CFTC Shows Force Against Crypto Scammers, but Maintains ‘Do No Harm’ Approach

This week, a United States federal district judge ruled that an allegedly fraudulent crypto token meets the definition of a commodity. That brought the case under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) purview, which has long argued that virtual currencies constitute commodities. Here what it means — and how the watchdog has been supporting its stance on cryptocurrencies’ legal status. Are cryptocurrencies commodities or securities? Well, they can be both The regulatory approach to cryptocurrencies in the U.S. is complex. While the Congress holds supreme power over federal regulatory agencies…

Cryptocurrency Markets Mainly See Red, Bitcoin Hovers Below $6,600

Saturday, September 29: crypto markets are mainly seeing red today, with only five out of the 20 top cryptocurrencies by market cap seeing some growth by press time, according to CoinMarketCap. The daily trade volume has dropped below $16 billion, currently amounting to $15.6 billion. Market visualization from Coin360 Bitcoin (BTC) has failed to hold $6,700 support, dropping below the $6,600 price point over the day. The top cryptocurrency is down around 1.8 percent over a 24 hour period, and is trading at around $6,539 at press time. Shortly after…