Day: November 12, 2018

Early Trading Shows Clear Preference In Divide Over Bitcoin Cash Fork

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An experimental market on a major crypto exchange suggests that bitcoin cash users may favor the more established version of the software, Bitcoin ABC, ahead of an expected fork this month. Due to the technical design of the cryptocurrency, currently the fourth-largest by market capitalization, bitcoin cash users must “hard fork” the blockchain, or adopt a new software version with changes as decided by open-source developers, every six months. Things are different this time around, though, amid the emergence of a rival version of the software called Bitcoin SV. As…

Korean Lawyers Urge Government to Draw Up Blockchain Rules

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The body governing South Korean lawyers has called on the government to hasten the introduction of blockchain regulations. According to a report from Reuters on Thursday, the Korean Bar Association said the government should “quickly” develop blockchain laws in the country to help develop the tech industry and protect investors. Kim Hyun, president of the Korean Bar Association, was quoted as saying: “We urge the government to break away from negative perceptions and hesitation, and draw up bills to help develop the blockchain industry and prevent side effects involving cryptocurrencies.”…

Judge Lifts Order to Freeze Charlie Shrem’s Assets in Winklevoss Case

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Early bitcoin supporter and entrepreneur Charlie Shrem has won his first battle in an ongoing lawsuit filed against him by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss and their firm, Winklevoss Capital Fund. According to a court document filed Thursday by federal Judge Jed Rakoff, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, a $30 million attachment initially granted against Shrem was lifted after a hearing earlier in the day. The attachment order, which was granted on Oct. 2 but remained under seal until Oct. 26, allowed the U.S.…

Canadian Bank Opens Deposit Box for Cryptocurrency Firms

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A Canadian bank says its digital safety deposit box is ready for prime time. VersaBank announced Thursday that its new VersaVault project had successfully completed beta testing. The digital-only bank plans to offer the virtual lockbox to cryptocurrency exchanges and crypto investment funds to store digital assets. VersaBank Director of Investor Relations Wade MacBain told CoinDesk that the bank has already received over 200 inquiries about VersaVault. In a statement, VersaBank CEO David Taylor added: “While many are considering ideas and plans for a digital safety deposit box, we have designed…

Venezuela to Present Petro at OPEC as the ‘Digital Currency for Oil’

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Venezuela is hoping the world’s oil markets will start using its controversial national cryptocurrency, the petro. Manuel Quevedo, the country’s minister of petroleum and the president of state-owned oil company PDVSA, announced in a tweet on Wednesday, that Venezuela will take petro to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 2019, as the “main digital currency backed by oil.” Another PDVSA tweet shows a news clip of Quevedo talking on the subject, captioned with the quote: “Petro will become the digital currency of oil transactions worldwide; we will present…

Malaysian Government, Universities Team to Put Degrees on a Blockchain

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Malaysia’s education ministry has formed a new consortium of universities to harness blockchain tech in tackling the massive industry in fake certificates. The Ministry of Education announced in a press release posted on Twitter Thursday, that alongside the new consortium of six universities, it has launched a blockchain-based system called e-Scroll for the issuance and verification of university degrees. The solution, it said, was prompted by a rise in cases of fraudulent degrees and the ease with which they can be obtained over the internet. Citing a BBC Radio report describing…

Victims Sue AT&T, T-Mobile Over ‘SIM Swap’ Crypto Hacks

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Silver Miller. a cryptocurrency-focused law firm based in the U.S., says it has filed arbitration claims against AT&T and T-Mobile on behalf of victims of “SIM swapping” cellphone hacks. Initiating the court actions on behalf of clients that have lost funds to criminals that used the increasingly common method of infiltrating mobile devices to access cryptocurrency wallets and two-factor authentication codes, the firm alleges: “By leaving holes in their security protocols and failing to properly train and monitor their employees, cellphone providers have assisted thieves in remotely taking over the SIM…

Ethereum Sets Tentative January Goal for Next Blockchain Upgrade

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Developers are eyeing January 16th as the date on which Constantinople, ethereum’s upcoming network hard fork, could launch. The upgrade for the world’s second-largest blockchain was originally targeted for November, bringing with it a host of design changes aimed at streamlining the platform’s code in a bid to boost performance. Yet the November launch window was ultimately due to unanticipated problems with the test release, necessitating a longer development period. While the Jan. 16 date was reached by way of a non-binding verbal agreement, it’s not fixed or final. Indeed,…

Carbon’s Stablecoin Can Now Be Swapped Between EOS and Ethereum

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The U.S. dollar-pegged crypto token CarbonUSD has just launched as the first stablecoin on the EOS platform. The token’s developer, Carbon, announced the news in a press release Friday, adding that it believes making the token interoperable across “key” blockchain networks will provide “most value for the crypto industry in the long-term.” CarbonUSD, which has been live on ethereum for two months, can now be transferred onto the EOS blockchain, giving users “even lower fees and faster settlement than on ethereum,” according to the firm. Carbon also offers a portal that provides…

The ‘Coinbase Effect’ Turns Bearish After BAT Prices Drop Post-Listing

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The price of browser startup Brave’s Basic Attention Token (BAT) fell by as much as 20 percent in the past 24 hours. Trading for BAT officially went live yesterday on Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., a move that followed the token’s inclusion on Coinbase’s professional platform.  Coinbase initially teased the idea of listing BAT among four other cryptocurrencies on July 13, triggering a 27 percent jump in its price at the time. BAT was able to reach a 3-month high of $0.45 just 11 days later. Yet as…