Day: December 4, 2018

Fidelity, Bitmain and More Invest $27 Million in Crypto Trading Platform ErisX

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Crypto trading platform ErisX has closed a Series B funding round that raised $27.5 million, the company said Tuesday. Bitmain, ConsenSys, Fidelity Investments, Nasdaq Ventures and Monex Group participated in the funding round, investing in the new derivatives and digital asset trading platform for the first time. ErisX, which is being built by derivatives market provider Eris Exchange, was previously announced as a platform for trading a number of cryptocurrencies, as well as bitcoin futures. CTC Group Investments, Digital Currency Group, DRW Venture Capital, Pantera Capital and Valor Equity Partners…

Financial Watchdog Warns Two Banks Over Poor Crypto Transaction Management

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A South Korean financial authority has warned two major domestic banks about their lack of management of cryptocurrency transactions and anti-money laundering (AML) regulation, local online media outlet The Daily reports Dec. 4. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has reviewed Kookmin Bank and Nonghyup Bank and found “unreasonable elements related to virtual [currency] handling business.” However, the article notes that the regulation standards are not clear, and the FSS’s order applies only to some accounts that have been contracted with a real name verification service, not crypto counterparty (exchange) accounts.…

Crypto Bear Market Strikes: Ethereum Classic (ETC) Development Group Folds

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While crypto’s unbridled optimists have done their best to keep this market afloat, incessantly imploring Bitcoin investors to “HODL” and “BUIDL,” their cries haven’t stopped a key Ethereum Classic development group from unfortunately capitulating. Ethereum Classic Ecosystem Loses Key Player Amid Market Tumult After a multi-month downturn in the cryptocurrency world, which has seen $700 billion evaporate from this industry’s market value, ETCDEV, an essential player in the Ethereum Classic ecosystem, has announced its closure on December 3rd, 2018. For those who aren’t in the loop, ETCDEV is an Ethereum-centric development…

State Agency Backs Blockchain Accelerator Launched by Venture Capital Firm

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Singaporean governmental body Enterprise Singapore, along with other partners, has supported a new blockchain accelerator launched by a local venture capital firm, daily local newspaper The Straits Times writes Tuesday, Dec. 4. Trive Ventures has launched the initiative, dubbed Tribe Accelerator, to support later-stage startups. According to the unnamed investor cited by The Straits Times, the accelerator is designed for a six-month period and will focus on the mass adoption of blockchain, decentralized applications (DApps), and back-end digital solutions that deal with blockchain. The managers for Tribe Accelerator will initially…

Nasdaq’s Bitcoin Futures Will Launch in ‘First Half’ of 2019

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The world’s second-largest stock exchange, Nasdaq, has confirmed it plans to launch Bitcoin futures in the first half of 2019, United Kingdom daily tabloid The Express reported Monday, Dec. 3. As reported, two insider sources had already leaked the plans to Bloomberg in late November. Yesterday’s confirmation from Joseph Christinat, vice president of Nasdaq’s media team, clarified the launch remains subject to approval from the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), although reportedly “there’s been enough work put into this to make [the question of regulatory approval] academic […]…

Japan Updates ICO Regulations While BitTrade Joins Huobi Family

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Japan’s crypto friendly status has been achieved through a solid regulatory framework which protect investors without stifling trading or innovation. This has been strengthened this week when its financial watchdog announced plans for further ICO regulation. ICO Regulation for Investor Protection Earlier this week Japan announced that it was ready to launch ICO regulations to protect investors from the ever growing number of scams in the industry. According to local media, citing sources familiar, the Financial Services Agency is set to go ahead with new procedures to limit the amount…

Dash Claims Crypto Industry First with Automatic InstantSend Transactions

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2018 hasn’t been the best of years for crypto. The sprint for mass adoption has converted into a triathlon in which contestants are starting to sink in the water. One of the (multiple) issues is scaling blockchains for wider use. But if we want more users, we can’t expect payments to take longer than they do now. The technology has to be better. If consumers have to stroll idly around a store waiting for a transaction confirmation, we’re taking a backward step. Dash InstantSend transactions by default may just hold…

Bitcoin Will ‘Surpass’ All-Time Price Highs by End of 2019, Says Quoine CEO

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The CEO of Japanese fintech firm and crypto exchange operator Quoine has said he believes Bitcoin (BTC) will “surpass” its all-time price highs by the end of 2019, during an interview with Bloomberg Markets: Asia Dec. 4. Speaking during the aftermath of an industry-wide price slump, Mike Kayamori said he expects new crypto market sentiment and momentum to set in after the new year, noting that “there’s nothing new, no catalyst” in the immediate future to drive prices back up. The CEO stated that whereas many had called $4,000 as…

ETH Incubator ConsenSys Gets ‘Lean and Gritty’ in Competitive Market

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Major Ethereum (ETH) blockchain startup and incubator ConsenSys plans to streamline and toughen its business style amid an increasingly “crowded” competitive blockchain space. The shift in strategy was reported by online tech journal Breaker on Dec. 3. Breaker cites a letter to staff from ConsenSys CEO and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, reportedly sent late last Friday night, which outlines a new phase in the Brooklyn-headquartered company’s work. As per the letter, ConsenSys — which employed over 1,100 employees as of February 2018, across 29 countries — is entering what Lubin…

Global Retail Giant Auchan Expands Blockchain Tracking Solution to Five More Countries

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Global retail giant Auchan is expanding TE-FOOD’s blockchain solution to improve the transparency of products’ history, U.S.-based news agency Cision PRWeb reports today, Dec. 4. The French retail group, which is reportedly the 13th largest food retailer globally with operations in 17 countries, has extended TE-FOOD’s FoodChain solution to five more countries. FoodChain is the international traceability information ledger by TE-FOOD, first applied by Auchan in its Vietnam branch. After a 18-month test of TE-FOOD’s blockchain tool in Vietnam, Auchan has now decided to deploy the products’ traceability solution in…