Day: January 21, 2019

Swiss Bank Falcon Launches Crypto Wallet With Withdrawals to Fiat

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Switzerland-based Falcon Private Bank has introduced support for direct transfers and storage of select cryptocurrencies, according to an official press release published on Jan. 21. The bank announced that both private and institutional investors can now directly transfer a selection of major cryptocurrencies to and from the institution’s own “segregated Falcon wallets,” as well as convert crypto into fiat money. To start, Falcon reportedly only supports four major cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC), the press release notes. With the recent move, Falcon claims its…

Bitcoin Must Depart From Proof-of-Work

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Bitcoin’s (BTC) problems are only solvable by departing from a proof-of-work (PoW) system, according to research published by the Bank for International Settlement (BIS) on Jan. 21. According to the paper, when in the future Bitcoin’s block rewards fall to zero — given that only a limited number of new Bitcoin will ever be created — transaction fees alone will not be able to sustain mining expenses. The argument implies that the Bitcoin network would become so slow that it would be virtually unusable, stating: “Simple calculations suggest that once…

London’s Blockchain Conference; Blockchain Expo Global Exhibition announces expert speakers

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About Richard Kastelein Founder and publisher of industry publication Blockchain News (EST 2015), partner at ICO services collective CryptoAsset Design Group ($500m+ and 50+ ICOs), director of education company Blockchain Partners (Oracle Partner) – Vancouver native Richard Kastelein is an award-winning publisher, innovation executive and entrepreneur. He sits on the advisory boards of some two dozen Blockchain startupsand has written over 1500 articles on Blockchain technology andstartups at Blockchain News and has also published pioneering articles on ICOs in Harvard Business Review and Venturebeat Ad honorem – Honorary Ph.d –…

TRON Records 2x Increase in Price Since November, What Caused it?

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Tron has become an exception in a long-running bear market of cryptocurrencies. The decentralized blockchain protocol experienced a twofold surge in the value of its native token TRX. Between November 20, 2018, and January 18, 2018, the TRX/USD pair rose from 0.0132 to 0.0249, according to CoinMarketCap.com. In the same timeframe, the Bitcoin price dropped 18.37%, from $4474.58 to $3,652.50 while TRX’s closest competitors Ether and EOS experienced 18.39% and 33.42% worth of losses in US Dollars, respectively. Source: CoinMarketCap.com The surge assisted TRX to maintain its position among the…

Saudi Arabia and UAE Agree on joint cryptocurrency for cross-border payments

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Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have joined together to launch a new cryptocurrency, according to UAE’s national press agency WAM. The Saudi-Emirati Coordination council, during its first meeting in Abu Dhabi, launched its Strategy of Resolve with seven initiatives in vital sectors for collaboration between both countries, including the Saudi-Emirati Pilot cryptocurrency. The cross-border digital currency will be targeted for banks at an experimental phase. The countries aim to better understand the implications of Blockchain technology and facilitate cross-border payments. As per the press agency, the virtual currency will use…

Swiss ‘Smart Card’ Crypto Wallet Tangem Gets $15 Million From Japan’s SBI Group

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Switzerland-based Cryptocurrency ‘smart card’ wallet manufacturer Tangem has secured $15 million in funding from Japanese finance giant SBI Group, the company confirmed in a press release Jan. 21. Tangem, which began issuing its first wallets in June 2018, aims to increase cryptocurrency adoption by making assets spendable in a manner similar to conventional smart cards often used in transport and loyalty settings. Ticketing and loyalty will now form two of the target industries Tangem hopes to leverage to spread crypto smart cards, according to Tangem’s press release. The company also…

Centralized Exchanges Still Overwhelmingly Dominate Market, New Report Shows

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Despite a significant uptick in the creation of decentralized crypto exchanges (DEX) in 2018, their centralized counterparts continue to control the lion’s share of global industry trade volumes. The finding was reported in the 2018 Cryptocurrency Exchange Annual Report from crypto and blockchain research organization TokenInsight, shared with Cointelegraph Jan. 21. TokenInsight’s report, which has reportedly analyzed data from over 400 global crypto exchanges, indicates that DEX account for just 19 percent of the global exchange ecosystem. Further, the trading volumes on DEX amount to less than 1 percent of…

Seven Jailed In Taiwan for Bitcoin-Ponzi Operation

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The Taiwanese authorities have officially pressed charges against the seven fraudsters who were arrested in June last year for allegedly running a bitcoin-powered Ponzi scheme, reported local news source Focus Taiwan on January 18, 2019. Multiple Banking Laws Violated Per sources close to the matter, the Taichung District Prosecutors Office has indicted seven residents for allegedly organizing a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that according to data gathered by the nation’s Investigation Bureau, which is under the remit of the Ministry of Justice, generated about USD 51 million from more than 1,000…

Coinbase Hires New Compliance Chief for UK Operations

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U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has hired a new U.K. head of compliance with three decades of experience in the industry. The new hire, Mark Kelly, joins the prominent crypto startup after almost five years as a director at London-based regulatory reporting firm Abide Financial. According to his LinkedIn profile, Kelly joined the exchange this month. While at Abide, Kelly advised clients on regulatory compliance areas such as anti-money laundering rules, the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and the European Market Infrastructure Regulation. In total, he comes with over 30 years of experience…

Startup to Clamp Down on Illicit Activities and Welcome Consumers

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For the everyday consumer, cryptocurrencies and blockchain are still shrouded in mystery. User interfaces that are difficult to understand represent a major barrier to entry, with slow transaction speeds frustrating open-minded people who are trying to use the technology for the first time. An upcoming blockchain network says change is desperately needed if crypto is ever going to reach its full potential and enjoy mass adoption. The World Open Network (WON) plans to offer products and services that are centered on users — with intuitive front-end systems that can be easily…