Day: January 23, 2019

Bitfury Launches Set of Tools to Drive Lightning Network Adoption

boss

Blockchain technology firm Bitfury Group has released a series of new tools for merchants and developers in a bid to drive wider adoption of the Lightning Network (LN). The launch was announced in a blog post from Bitfury’s LN engineering team, “Lightning Peach,” Jan. 23. Bitfury’s new LN-related offerings span an open source LN-enabled Bitcoin (BTC) wallet, a hardware LN payments terminal and e-commerce software for merchants, a host of developer tools, and a public LN node to facilitate users’ creation of LN payment channels. The Lightning Network is a…

Ripple and Major Beijing University Launch Blockchain Research Scholarship

boss

A major Chinese research university has launched a blockchain research scholarship with the support of Ripple, according to a press release published on Jan. 18. In collaboration with blockchain payments firm Ripple, the Institute for Fintech Research at Beijing’s Tsinghua University (THUIFR) has announced the Blockchain Technology Research Scholarship Program (BRSP). The program reportedly intends to bring together the best graduate students in China in 2019 to study global blockchain regulations and industry development. Participants in the new educational program will reportedly have access to advanced knowledge in the blockchain…

B2C2 Now Offering Clients Point-and-Click OTC Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash Trading Execution

boss

B2C2, a leading cryptocurrency over-the-counter (OTC) liquidity provider for digital assets exchanges and financial institutions, has announced its streaming pricing feature aimed at enabling OTC traders to carry out “point-and-click” trading execution, according to a Business Wire press release on January 21, 2019.   OTC Traders’ Orders Executed in Real Time In its bid to eliminate all forms of delays in OTC order execution, B2C2 has launched a new secure web interface to enable its OTC cryptoassets traders to execute trades in real-time on a two-way market. As stated in…

Bitcoin Wallet Xapo Leaves Hong Kong for Switzerland Due to ‘Opaque’ Regulations

boss

Major global Bitcoin (BTC) wallet Xapo will relocate key business operations from Hong Kong to Switzerland, according to Swiss news agency Swissinfo on Jan. 21. Speaking at the World Web Forum in Zurich, the wallet’s president Ted Rogers revealed that the main purpose of the move was the search for a better crypto regulatory environment. According to Xapo’s president, Hong Kong used to be thought of as “the holy grail of crypto regulations,” but that in fact the jurisdiction has “become more opaque.” Rogers argued that he always considered Switzerland…

Nasdaq Leads $20 Million Funding Round for Blockchain Startup Symbiont

boss

Enterprise blockchain startup Symbiont has closed a $20 million Series-B funding round led by Nasdaq Ventures with participation from Galaxy Digital, Citi, Raptor Group and others. The firm, which has kept a fairly low profile the last two years as the cryptocurrency market’s gyrations overshadowed the enterprise sector, previously raised a combined $15.4 million from a seed round in 2014 and Series A in 2017. Symbiont CEO Mark Smith told CoinDesk that the firm doubled its staff last year, and now has more than 60 employees. “We have been very…

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Rises Over 7% in a Day

boss

Image: Shutterstock By CCN.com: Bitcoin Cash ABC opened Wednesday in positive territory, rising more than 7.5% against the US Dollar on a 24-hour adjusted timeframe. At 1130 GMT, the BCH/USD pair was trading at $129.83 according to aggregated data provided by CoinGecko.com. The total market cap, at the same time, was close to $2.282 billion, Bitcoin Cash’s best since January 15, 2019, while its 24-hour adjusted volume was above $256.244 million. Bitcoin Cash 24H Chart Performance | Source: CoinGecko In comparison, other top cryptocurrencies underperformed. While Bitcoin’s valued surged by…

UK Financial Regulator Releases Consultation Paper on Crypto

boss

The United Kingdom’s financial regulator has published a consultation paper titled “Guidance on Cryptoassets” today, Jan. 23. The stated goal of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) paper on cryptocurrency is to provide more regulatory clarity on the subject for market participants. The consultation period on crypto, which the paper initiates, is scheduled to end on April 5, 2019, after which a policy statement with final guidance is set to be released. In its introduction to the paper, the FCA declares that the final version is meant to “help market participants…

Bitcoin Price Will Tank to ‘Zero’, Claims Investment Firm Chief at Davos

boss

By CCN.com: Heated debates are warming up the icy snow-capped city of Davos during this year’s World Economic Forum. BOE senior adviser yesterday said that cryptocurrencies were worthless. Today, BCG Digital Ventures founder Jeff Schumacher said Bitcoin price will fall to zero. Schumacher is a top investor and relative veteran in the space. He told an open-mouthed CNBC panel that he believed bitcoin has no value and that it was useless as a currency. Instead, he’s far more interested in blockchain technology. ‘Bitcoin will go to zero’: Davos talks up…

Bitcoin Price Will Tank to ‘Zero’, Claims Investment Firm Chief at Davos

boss

Image: Shutterstock By CCN.com: Heated debates are warming up the icy snow-capped city of Davos during this year’s World Economic Forum. BOE senior adviser yesterday said that cryptocurrencies were worthless. Today, BCG Digital Ventures founder Jeff Schumacher said Bitcoin price will fall to zero. Schumacher is a top investor and relative veteran in the space. He told an open-mouthed CNBC panel that he believed bitcoin has no value and that it was useless as a currency. Instead, he’s far more interested in blockchain technology. ‘Bitcoin will go to zero’: Davos…

Controversial Content Creators Shift to Crypto After Censorship

boss

A number of online crowdfunding sites and wallet providers have been embroiled in controversy  after a series of high-profile account cancellations associated with alt- and far-right views. Although the move to “deplatform” those seen to be allegedly promoting hate speech has received popular support, several high-profile political commentators and libertarian media personalities consider this to constitute and unacceptable assault on free speech. As a result, some of the online crowdfunding platform Patreon’s top content creators decided to leave the platform in favor of Bitcoin funding, each taking with them tens…