Day: January 3, 2019

Irish Gov’t Approves Anti-Money Laundering Bill Affecting Cryptocurrency

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The Cabinet, the executive organ of the government of Ireland, has approved a bill that would give effect to the European Union (EU) Fifth Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Directive, the Irish Times reported Jan. 3. The directive — which came into force on July 9, 2018 — sets a new legal framework for European financial watchdogs to regulate digital currencies in order to protect against money laundering and terrorism financing. Specifically, the directive will extend the scope to crypto platforms and wallet providers, end the anonymity of bank and savings accounts,…

Proof of Keys: Several Exchanges Said to Be “Failing” Bitcoin Ownership Event

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HitBTC are apparently not the only ones who are “failing” the Proof of Keys event today. The event is intended to prove the Bitoin solvency of each exchange. Every user is encouraged to withdraw all Bitcoin to private keys that they control. However, according to Trace Mayer and the Proof of Keys’ event’s official page, in addition to HitBTC, several exchanges had issues leading up to or on the day of the event (today). Not All Exchanges Actually Caught Not all of the exchanges listed in the “failures” section of…

Several Exchanges Said to Be “Failing” Bitcoin Ownership Event

boss

HitBTC are apparently not the only ones who are “failing” the Proof of Keys event today. The event is intended to prove the Bitoin solvency of each exchange. Every user is encouraged to withdraw all Bitcoin to private keys that they control. However, according to Trace Mayer and the Proof of Keys’ event’s official page, in addition to HitBTC, several exchanges had issues leading up to or on the day of the event (today). Not All Exchanges Actually Caught Not all of the exchanges listed in the “failures” section of…

Crypto Giant Coinbase Made Strides In Q4 2018, Even As Bitcoin (BTC) Plunged 40%

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Although Coinbase has recently become a controversial company, especially as it began to add crypto assets left and right, the company has long had an unrelenting drive for innovation. Since setting up shop in 2012, the San Francisco-headquartered startup, headed by a former Airbnb employee with visions of grandeur, has quickly set the industry standard in a number of subsectors. The firm may have started as a consumer-centric exchange, which sported a simple (near-)one-click interface, but Coinbase has evolved far beyond its original premise now. And interestingly, even as digital assets…

Anti-monopoly Court Rules to Keep Crypto Exchanges’ Bank Accounts Open

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The Chilean anti-monopoly court has again granted protection to local cryptocurrency exchanges by forcing banks to keep their accounts open, financial news outlet Diario Financiero reported Jan. 2. According to a recent statement from Buda.com — one of the crypto exchanges affected by previously upheld banking restrictions — the anit-monopoly court known as the Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia (TDLC) has held a poll, and most of its members voted in favor of the crypto firms. The next few hearings are scheduled for February, when the TDLC will…

No One Knows What Venezuela’s Petro Cryptocurrency is Actually Worth

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The value of Venezuela’s oil-backed cryptocurrency, the petro, is seemingly currently unclear, and even taking a look at official government sources yields inconclusive results, given substantial price differences. The petro, announced in December of 2017 as a tool for the South American nation to combat international sanctions, has been a controversial currency so far. Supposedly, the government has pegged its fiat currency — the sovereign bolivar — to the petro and started using it to send pensioners payments. Each petro is purported to be backed by one barrel of oil. A…

No One Knows What Venezuela’s Petro Cryptocurrency is Actually Worth

boss

The value of Venezuela’s oil-backed cryptocurrency, the petro, is seemingly currently unclear, and even taking a look at official government sources yields inconclusive results, given substantial price differences. The petro, announced in December of 2017 as a tool for the South American nation to combat international sanctions, has been a controversial currency so far. Supposedly, the government has pegged its fiat currency — the sovereign bolivar — to the petro and started using it to send pensioners payments. Each petro is purported to be backed by one barrel of oil. A…

Proof of Keys Event Aims to Challenge Perceived Centralization of Cryptocurrencies

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The “Proof of Keys” event aimed against centralized exchanges is happening today, Jan. 3, spearheaded by Bitcoin (BTC) investor Trace Mayer. The Proof of Keys event is essentially a bank run on centralized exchanges, wherein activists are called to withdraw all their cryptocurrency funds from centralized trading platforms and store them in their own wallets. The idea behind this is to reassert holder control over their crypto assets and to make sure that exchanges are actually in possession of as much funds as they claim. In a YouTube video giving…

Banking Struggle Drives Bitcoin ATM Manufacturer Lamassu to Switzerland

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Hardware While governments and banks in some countries are trying to hamper the development of cryptocurrency-related businesses, other locations are cashing in on the investments and new jobs that the industry brings. The latest example of this is the establishment of bitcoin ATM manufacturer Lamassu in Switzerland. Also Read: European Exchange to Offer Investing in Stocks With Cryptocurrencies Lamassu Industries AG Lamassu, the well-known cryptocurrency ATM manufacturer, which assembles its machines in Portugal, announced on Jan. 1 that after years of searching for a home, it is now officially Lamassu Industries…

Major Exchange OKEx Adds 7 New Pairs to Crypto Derivative Product

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Major cryptocurrency exchange OKEx has added multiple new crypto derivative pairs to its platform, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph Jan. 3. As Cointelegraph reported in late December, the exchange first launched a derivative product called a “perpetual swap” that supports BTC/USD,with up to 100x leverage. As Cointelegraph reported at the time, the product is a margin trading instrument that lets users speculate on the future value of a given cryptocurrency against USD, according to OKEx’s index. Today, the exchange announced it will add perpetual swaps contracts for…