Day: October 24, 2018

Coinbase Adds Its First Stablecoin Tied to the US Dollar

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Crypto exchange Coinbase announced support for the Circle-issued stablecoin Tuesday. In a blog post, the exchange said U.S. customers outside the state of New York can now buy, sell, send and receive the USD//Coin (USDC) through the company’s iOS and Android apps, as well as coinbase.com, which was first announced last month. It intends to offer the coin to customers in different regions going forward. USDC is the first stablecoin supported by Coinbase, and is only the second ERC-20 token the exchange’s customers can trade after it added the 0x…

New SEC Commissioner Briefed on Bitcoin ETF in October Meeting

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The newest commissioner with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission met with representatives from money manager VanEck and blockchain startup SolidX earlier this month to discuss a bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (ETF). Commissioner Elad Roisman, who took office in September, met with Dan Gallancy and Dimitri Nemirovsky at SolidX, Laura Morrison and Kyle Murray from the Cboe and Adam Phillips from VanEck to discuss a rule change proposal the companies submitted as part of an effort to launch a bitcoin ETF, according to a document dated October 9. The ETF’s proponents…

Oxfam in Sri Lanka Will Use Ethereum to Deliver Microinsurance

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Oxfam in Sri Lanka, part of the non-profit group focused on alleviating global poverty, has teamed up with blockchain startup Etherisc to help bring affordable insurance to paddy rice farmers. The tie-up between Etherisc, which applies the ethereum public blockchain to the world of insurance, and Oxfam in Sri Lanka was announced Tuesday at CoinDesk’s first “Blockchain for Social Good” event in London. So-called “microinsurance” is often defined as coverage for people on very low incomes. Using a blockchain to program in the conditions under which a payout will automatically be…

Coinbase Approved to Offer Crypto Custody Services in New York

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Coinbase has received approval from New York regulators to form a qualified custodial firm for cryptocurrencies. The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) said Tuesday that it granted Coinbase’s application to create the Coinbase Custody Trust Company LLC, as well as approving the Coinbase Trust to offer custody services for bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum, ethereum classic, litecoin and XRP. Notably, while Coinbase already allows customers to buy, sell or trade the first five of those cryptocurrencies, it does not currently offer XRP on any of its trading platforms. In…

Boost VC Just Fulfilled a Crypto Funding Pledge 4 Years in the Making

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Boost VC has officially backed crypto startup number 100. With the news, confirmed Tuesday by CoinDesk, the San Mateo incubator has finally fulfilled a funding pledge made all the way back in March 2014, when co-founders Adam Draper and Brayton Williams boldly declared they would invest in 100 bitcoin startups over the next three years. Though it may have taken a bit longer than planned, the milestone is perhaps a testament to the pre-seed fund, which has maintained a major emphasis on crypto since its earliest days, riding the twists and…

MIT Professor’s Blockchain Protocol Nets $62 Million in New Funding

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Algorand, the blockchain protocol founded by MIT professor and Turing Award winner Silvio Micali, has raised $62 million in new funding. The investment comes from a “broad global investment group representing the venture capital, cryptocurrency and financial services communities,” according to a press release published Wednesday. The company told CoinDesk in an email that, with the new capital, it’s now planning to further expand its engineering team as it moves towards the protocol’s launch. The new funding comes months after Algorand secured $4 million in a seed founding round from Pillar and Union…

There’s Money Still to Win in the 310 Bitcoin Challenge – Here’s Some Hints

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Over a million dollars’ worth of bitcoin was hidden in a picture – and there’s still some left to be found. Called the 310 BTC Bitcoin Challenge, a pseudonymous user going by the name “Pip” stashed a total of 310.61 BTC (worth $2,011,267 at press time) into four digital wallets earlier this month – with the recovery code for unlocking each wallet decipherable through careful investigation of a single black-and-white image. It’s a familiar concept within the space. Earlier this year, a crypto enthusiast won $50,000 worth of bitcoin by…

Caspian Token Sale Rakes in $19.5 Million Target Ahead of Deadline

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A crypto project has revived the investors’ trust in initial coin offerings by raking in $19.5 million via crowdfunding. Caspian, a Cayman Island-based project, achieved its hard cap before the set date, implying a successful kick-start for the development of its institutional crypto trading platform. A beta-testing round of the platform is live already, which displays the crypto listings of the biggest crypto exchanges, including Techemy, Blockstars, OSL, and Galaxy Digital, in a single user interface. Further Developments The raised $19.5 million would be channeled to enhance the research & development…

Japanese Crypto Exchange Group Gets Legal Status to Self-Regulate Industry

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The Financial Services Agency (FSA), Japan’s finance regulator, has formally approved a cryptocurrency exchange association as a self-regulatory industry body. The FSA said in a notice on Wednesday that it has accredited the Japanese Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) as a “certified fund settlement business association,” a status that will let the body set rules for the nation’s exchanges and take action over any violations. While the group has not announced any rules yet, a recent report from Reuters said it may require member exchanges to hold separate bank deposits…

Police Arrest Indian Crypto Exchange Co-Founder for Unregistered ‘Illegal’ Bitcoin ATM

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The co-founder of Indian crypto exchange Unocoin has been arrested shortly after setting up an allegedly unregistered Bitcoin (BTC) ATM machine in Bangalore, English-language daily Times of India reports Oct. 24. The 37-year-old co-founder, Harish BV, was apprehended by police after having reportedly  installed the ATM kiosk at Kemp Fort Mall on Old Airport Road, together with fellow Unocoin co-founder Sathvik Viswanath. The latter has not been arrested, as per media reports. Indian business magazine Business Today (BT) cites a press statement from the Central Crime Branch (CCB), which claims…