Day: December 13, 2018

Gov’t Report Recommends $570 Million Blockchain Investment

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French political deputies want to spend €500 million (about $569 million) on state-level blockchain deployments over the next three years, local daily news outlet Les Echos reported Dec. 12. Citing a report published Wednesday, the publication said both blockchain and cryptocurrency interaction was high on the agenda of two members of parliament (MP), who are pushing the initiative forward in an effort to make France a “Blockchain Nation.” The politicians are also looking to play an active role in fostering Bitcoin mining in the country. “2018 was the ‘year zero’…

Chief of Allianz Global Investors Asks Regulators to Introduce Crypto Ban

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Photo: Sebastian Rittau / Flickr As the global regulatory bodies continue to explore different possibilities for digital currencies, global chief investment officer and CEO of Allianz Global Investors Andreas Utermann wants regulators to completely “outlaw” cryptocurrencies.  On Tuesday, December 11, Reuters reported Utermann speaking at a panel discussion in London. Citing the huge losses incurred by the investors in this year’s crypto-market crash, Utermann said: “You should outlaw [crypto assets].” By “you” he certainly meant all the global regulatory bodies as he even urged them to declare the entire crypto industry as…

Venezuela Converts Pension Bonuses into State-Issued Crypto Petro

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Venezuela has automatically converted pensioners’ most recent monthly bonus into its national oil-backed cryptocurrency, the Petro (PTR), according to a report from English-language politics blog Caracas Chronicles Dec. 12. First launched as a pre-sale in February, the controversial Petro has been in circulation as one of Venezuela’s two official currencies as of August 20: the second being a rebranded fiat currency, the Bolívar Soberano (Sovereign Bolivar, or Bs.S.), which is indexed to the Petro. According to Caracas Chronicles, pensioners’ recent government payouts Dec. 7 arrived initially in Bs.S. to pensioners’…

Ethereum Hacks on the Rise Again as Price Remains Below $100

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A fresh wave of hacks targeting Ethereum (ETH) holdings continues, despite the altcoin’s price trailing at 18-month lows, tech magazine ZDNet reported Dec. 10. Citing research by cybercrime monitoring company Bad Packets LLC, the publication revealed that the downturn in ETH/USD has failed to stop malicious parties attempting to steal funds from miners and investors. Scanning the network, hackers are trying to identify mining rigs and wallets with an exposed port 8545, which ultimately allows them to gain control and redirect ETH funds elsewhere. “Despite the price of cryptocurrency crashing…

Bitcoin Price & Technical Analysis: BTC Looking for New Lows

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Photo: Roboforex / TradingView Bitcoin is again under pressure on Thursday, Dec 13, trading at $3,463, reports Dmitriy Gurkovskiy, Chief Analyst at RoboForex. In the midterm, i.e. on H4, the price is testing the descending channel resistance one more time. At the same time, BTC is trying to break out the short term correctional channel support. This way, if the price bounces off the resistance and stays below the support, it may go down to the major support at $2,660. In the short term, on H1, there is a descending…

Major Crypto Exchange Kraken Values Itself at $8B: is it Too Much?

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Amid a multi-month bear market in crypto land, this industry’s leading startups have still shot for the stars. Case in point, leaked documents indicate that a distinguished crypto exchange, Kraken, is seeking to be valued at a jaw-dropping sum, which may place the platform among the ranks of Earth’s foremost startups. While the firm’s appetite for grandeur is respectable, analysts fear that the startup could be well overshooting the mark. Report: Crypto Exchange Seeking $4 Billion Valuation According to an exclusive report from Finance Magnates, Kraken, a U.S.-centric crypto exchange…

The Daily: Uber Meets Bitcoin, Basis Stablecoin Shuts Down

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The Daily In Thursday’s installment of The Daily, we report on a highly anticipated stablecoin project that’s failed before it’s even launched, and explore the strangely centralized world of crypto Twitter. First though, we’ll start with the news that a third party app has made it possible to pay for your Uber ride using BTC. Also read: Benchmark University Study Shines a Spotlight on Crypto Assets Fold Brings Bitcoin to Uber Fold, an app dedicated to making it easy to spend BTC in the real world, has added one of its…

London company fined after 14.8m spam texts sent

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London-based firm Tax Returned Limited has been fined £200,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for sending out millions of unsolicited marketing text messages. The ICO’s investigation found that, between July 2016 and October 2017, the company broke the law by sending 14.8 million marketing text messages without valid consent through a third party service provider. As the instigator of the campaign, Tax Returned should have taken reasonable steps to make sure the data they obtained complied with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulation (PECR), which includes getting specific, prior…

Bitcoin Price Consolidates Sub-$3.5K With Bulls and Bears in Stalemate

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Bitcoin (BTC) is consolidating below $3,500 for the third day straight. The challenge now is to gauge whether the bulls or the bears will win out in the coming days. As discussed yesterday, the leading cryptocurrency could soon see a corrective rally if prices manage to clear the crucial resistance at $3,633 (the high of an “inverted hammer” candle on the 3-day chart) by Friday’s UTC close. The bull case is also bolstered by bitcoin’s 14-week relative strength index, which is reporting oversold conditions for the first time since January…

Sign Of The Times: Basis Shutters $133M Crypto Project Due To Regulation

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Although crypto startups have been capitulating en-masse due to financial restraints, a direct byproduct of Bitcoin’s rapid drawdown in value, reports indicate that a promising stablecoin venture has folded due to regulatory qualms. $133M Crypto Project Folds Due To “Regulatory Headwinds” In recent months, stablecoins, cryptocurrencies tied to an asset deemed “stable” (ex. U.S. dollar, gold, etc.), have seen an unparalleled rise to prominence. Collaborating with Coinbase, Boston-based Circle launched USD Coin (USDC), while Winklevoss Twins-led Gemini, Paxos, and other leading startups also joined the fray with their own promising forays into…