Day: January 30, 2019

Regulator Warns of Online Scam Claiming Gov’t Adoption of Crypto

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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has warned the public against an alleged scam claiming that a cryptocurrency is officially adopted by the government, according to an official statement on Jan. 29. MAS, which is both Singapore’s central bank and the country’s financial regulator, writes that the fraudulent scheme is being spread through websites that offer crypto investment using false data attributed to the government. The fraudulent websites reportedly claim that Singapore is adopting a cryptocurrency as its official coin, and ask users to provide personal and financial data to…

Gaza’s Ruling Group Hamas Seeks Funding in Bitcoin to Combat Financial Isolation

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The militant arm of Hamas — the de facto ruling authority of the Gaza Strip in Palestine — has appealed to its supporters to send it funds using Bitcoin (BTC). The appeal was made via the official Telegram channel of Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas’ Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, on Jan. 29. Hamas — which comprises social service arm “Dawah” and militant faction “Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades,” is deemed to be a terrorist organization, in whole or in part, by several countries and international organizations — including the United…

How Fidelity Bitcoin Custody Launch in Q1 Crucially Shows Institutional Demand Still Exists

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On January 30, Bloomberg reported that Fidelity, the world’s fourth-largest asset manager, is set to launch its Bitcoin custody service by the end of the first quarter of 2019. Three sources who asked to remain anonymous reportedly said that the plans are still private but the firm plans to introduce Bitcoin storage first, followed by Ethereum (ETH) custody. Why Fidelity Pushing Forward With Bitcoin Custody is Meaningful As one of the biggest mutual fund operators in the U.S., Fidelity works with more than 13,000 financial institutions. It established its intent…

What Made Ripple’s XRP Gain 9% Against US Dollar in Just Three Hours?

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Ripple on Wednesday posted 9% gains soon after Swift announced a partnership with R3, a blockchain consortium. Ripple surged 9% on Swift announcement | Source: Binance At 0800 UTC, the XRP/USD was trading at 0.2934 on Binance. As the market sentiment kicked in, the pair posted three consecutive hourly sessions in green, taking the value to as high as 0.3292. By 1300 UTC, Ripple had risen to 12.2%. In comparison, Bitcoin surged at a modest 1.29%, and Ethereum gained 2.65% against the US Dollar. Swift Brings the Bulls Brussel-based global…

Decred Realized Disputes in Blockchain Projects Were Inevitable: Joshua Buirski

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Decred Realized Disputes in Blockchain Projects Were Inevitable: Joshua Buirski January 30, 2019 by Jon Southurst It’s inevitable that disputes will arise over a cryptocurrency project’s direction, says Decred’s APAC outreach director Joshua Buirski. In this interview with Bitsonline‘s George Levy, he describes how Decred learned from the early Bitcoin development days and why it made a built-in governance mechanism a fundamental part of its code. Also see: Planet Digital Partners Brings Gaming Industry Heavyweights Together Subscribe to the Bitsonline YouTube channel for great videos featuring industry insiders & experts Buirski: All Stakeholders…

Wikipedia Now Accepts Bitcoin Cash Donations via Bitpay

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Services Users from all over the world can now support the widely popular free encyclopedia Wikipedia with bitcoin cash donations via Bitpay. The non-profit model and global nature of the organization means it has to find a universal and cost-effective payment solution, and cryptocurrencies are an obvious choice.    Also Read: Blockchain.com Launches New Educational Resource With BCH Report Accepting Bitcoin Cash Is a Natural Step The Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia and similar free knowledge projects, has partnered with Bitpay, the popular cryptocurrency payment processor, to accept…

Japanese Finance Giant SBI Holdings, Blockchain Firm R3 Officially Announce Joint Venture

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Japanese financial services company SBI Holdings has officially announced a joint agreement with the United States blockchain consortium R3 to work in Japan, according to a press release published on Jan. 29. Back in December, SBI Holdings had already revealed its plans — according to an interview with R3’s CEO — to partner with software enterprise R3 to develop local use of its Corda blockchain platform, Cointelegraph reported on Dec. 6. Yesterday’s press release was an official announcement of the partnership. SBI Holdings and R3’s joint agreement aims to promote…

Research Reveals $1.7 Billion Obtained via Crypto Thefts and Scams in 2018

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About $1.7 billion in cryptocurrency had been obtained via illicit means in 2018, according to research published by crypto analytics company CipherTrace on Jan. 29. Of that $1.7 billion, over $950 million was stolen from crypto exchanges, representing a 3.6 times increase over 2017. On the other hand, at least $725 million was lost in 2018 to scams such as ponzi schemes, exit schemes and fraudulent initial coin offerings (ICOs). CipherTrace also listed what the company believes to be the top ten cryptocurrency threats: the highest is SIM swapping, which…

Russia’s Ministry of Education Introduces System for Tracking Diamonds via Blockchain

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Russia’s Ministry of Education and Science (Minobrnauki) has introduced a blockchain-enabled platform for tracking natural diamonds, government-backed news agency TASS reports today, Jan. 30. The new Russian diamond tracking technology claims to fully guarantee the authenticity of diamond products across all the supply chain, from extraction and polishing to the final owner. Based on emerging IT technologies and blockchain, the new system intends to prevent market participants from losing their financial assets since the diamond market has both natural and synthetic diamonds, as well as fake stones, TASS reports. According…

Iran Reportedly in Talks With 8 Countries to Use Crypto Transactions

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Iran is reportedly negotiating with eight countries to carry out financial transactions in cryptocurrency, local daily newspaper Tehran Times reports on Monday, Jan. 28. According to the article, Iran has already entered negotiations with Switzerland, South Africa, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria, Germany and Bosnia, and the countries have reportedly visited Iran to discuss the matter. It was not immediately clear whether the news concerns the national cryptocurrency that Iran is allegedly set to launch vin the near future. However, the article notes that the talks on crypto transactions…