Crypto Exchange Coinbase Decides to Withdraw Its ‘BUIDL’ Trademark Application

Major United States-based cryptocurrency exchange and wallet service Coinbase has withdrawn its application to trademark the term “BUIDL.” The official status of the application was changed to “abandoned” on Wednesday, Dec. 19,  according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) website. According to the USPTO’s records, the trademark application is no longer active due to Coinbase filing an express abandonment on Dec. 14. Coinbase first filed an application to trademark the term “BUIDL” on Oct. 2. The intentionally misspelled word “buidl” refers to a cryptocurrency community concept that implies…

Crypto Exchange Coincheck to Receive Full Licensing from Japanese Authorities

Coincheck, the crypto exchange that lost over $500 million in investors funds in early-2018, is now close to receiving full licensing from Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA), signaling that the exchange tightened their platform’s security and cleaned up the management practices that led to the hack. The news regarding the regulatory authority’s decision to issue the exchange their operational licensing was first reported by Nikkei Asian Review, who stated that the license will be issued by the end of 2018. Crypto Exchange Regulation to Reduce Chances of Future Hacks As…

Bitcoin Exchange HBUS Continues Comedic Billboard Campaign

HBUS, the exclusive US partner of massive Asian exchange Huobi, continued its funny billboard campaign this week with a new installment. The new billboard depicts an aged man and reads: Who says crypto is stressful? I’m 28 and I feel fine. It then encourages the viewer to enjoy stress-free trading at HBUS, which still has a couple weeks of fee-free trading left to encourage new users to try them out. As previously reported, they opted to cut fees out entirely for the remainder of 2018 earlier this year. Located at…

Ledger to Accept Crypto Payments Following MoU With Hong Kong Startup

Crypto hardware wallet supplier Ledger has signed an agreement with crypto payment startup Crypto.com to allow users to pay for its products with crypto, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Dec. 19. Hong Kong-based Crypto.com has reportedly signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ledger that will enable Ledger to adopt their service Crypto.com Pay. The payment platform will purportedly allow Ledger clients to pay for products with cryptocurrency. Crypto.com Pay will purportedly be incorporated into Ledger’s online store, where customers will able to make purchases via…

The Crypto Donations Continue! Vitalik Buterin Donates $300K

Crypto donations are not new. They weren’t in 2017, the year of the crypto boom, nor are they in 2018. But each time they happen, whether it’s donations in cryptocurrencies or fiat currencies, it’s proof that not everyone in the crypto space is there for only themselves. Vitalik Buterin (age 24), the creator of Ethereum, was the latest to make a donation.  Crypto Donations Continue Back in May of 2018, Ashton Kutcher, alongside Ripple, donated $4 million to the Ellen Wildlife Fund. In June, Ripple gave a whopping $50 million…

Bithumb Denies Accusations of Faking Trade Volume

South Korea-based cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has denied allegations of faking trade volume, Forbes reported on Dec. 19. Cryptocurrency exchange ratings and analytics service CER has accused Bithumb of faking up to 94 percent of its trade volume since the late summer of 2018. In response to the accusations, Bithumb reportedly told Forbes that “Bithumb is doing nothing to inflate trade volume. Bithumb is not selling mining-based coin. Bithumb is trying to get more customers by providing various promotions just like any other company in the world as a normal business.”…

Bitcoin Price Rejects Doji as US Session Take Charge, Rises 8%

Bitcoin price on Tuesday was looking to correct lower after forming a Doji candlestick. But the US session somewhat saved the day. The Bitcoin/Dollar rate on Wednesday has extended its upside momentum, rising circa 8% on a 24-hour timeframe, according to CoinMarketCap.com. The pair today established a fresh intraday high towards 3927-fiat on Coinbase during the mid-European session after finding more firm support in 3450-3500 area. Reminding that it isn’t exactly a dream bull run yet – not unless bitcoin price surpasses key resistance areas lurking at its 50-period and…

Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, EOS, Stellar, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Bitcoin SV, TRON, Cardano: Price Analysis, Dec. 19

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision. Market data is provided by the HitBTC exchange. Mark Dow, a former International Monetary Fund (IMF) economist who had bet short on Bitcoin in December of last year, has tweeted that he has covered his positions. However, Dow also mentioned that he has not opened a long position and has no interest…

$120 Million Raised by Waves Platform as Launch of Private Blockchain Nears

Waves Blockchain network Waves Platform has raised US$120 million in a funding round allowing it to roll out Vostok, a private blockchain platform and system integrator that was developed with public institutions and large enterprises in mind. The fundraising round was led by Dolfin, a financial services group based in London, and mostly involved private investors, according to Bloomberg. The Waves Platform cryptocurrency reacted positively to the news appreciating by close to 50%. Waves has now attained a market capitalization of over US$400 million. Per the founder of Waves Platform,…

How One Project Is Going to Save Trees In Paraguay Via Blockchain

A group of German entrepreneurs have come up with a blockchain-based project that aims to help save trees in Paraguay, one of the countries most affected by deforestation. Every minute, our planet loses 27 soccer fields worth of forests. In a year, that makes up to more than 75,000 square kilometers, and in 2016, according to a study by the University of Maryland, a sad record has been set: About 297,000 square kilometres of forests have been cut down, slightly less than the entire territory of Italy. The consequences are…