SEC Reaches $24 Million Settlement With EOS Parent Firm Block.one

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reached a settlement with Block.one to pay $24 million in penalties for conducting an unregistered initial coin offering (ICO). On Sept. 30, the SEC announced in a press release that it has settled the charges against the firm behind the EOS network and corresponding token in the form of a civil monetary penalty. Block.one settled the charges without admitting or denying the findings. According to the press release, Block.one’s ICO of 900 million tokens “began shortly before the SEC released the…

Bitcoin Hash Rate Slows Uptrend as Fire Scorches Mining Farm

Ouch, Crypto Mine on Fire While Bitcoin is a digital coin, it has a physical component: nodes and miners. A network of tens of thousands of mining machines constantly process transactions and place them into blocks, creating a chain. Due to their physicality, these machines are susceptible to risk. A “mega farm” recently found this out the hard way. According to a video clip first circulated by a long-time cryptocurrency miner Marshall Long, a farm from industry giant Innosilicon (purportedly located in China) recently went up in flames, leaving the…

Financial Giant Fidelity Backs Bitcoin Derivatives Yield Fund

The Los Angeles-based Wave Financial has announced the launch of a bitcoin derivatives-based yield fund and Fidelity will provide custody for the fund’s BTC reserves. Wave Financial’s crypto fund commencement is part of a growing trend toward launching BTC derivatives products. CME Group has also revealed the derivatives marketplace will provide options on its bitcoin futures during the first quarter of 2020. Also read: Fidelity’s Cryptocurrency Arm Starts Offering Institutional Investor Services Wave Financial Launches Bitcoin Derivatives Yield Fund Option strategies are becoming a popular trend within the cryptocurrency industry…

US Department of Homeland Security Awards $143K Grant to Blockchain Firm

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded $143,478 to Vienna-based Danube Tech to develop blockchain security solutions. Silicon Valley Innovation Program On Sept. 26, the United States DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced in a press release that Danube Tech was awarded a contract to assist the department in its ongoing fight against forgery and the counterfeiting of certificates and licenses.  The news release states that services such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Transportation Security Administration, and Citizenship and Immigration Services can all…

Crypto Markets Showing Signs of Recovery, Bitcoin Hovers Around $8,200

Monday, Sept. 30 — Bitcoin (BTC), together with most altcoins, has been trading relatively flat in the last 72 hours, but the overall crypto market seems to be ready to turn around. Cryptocurrency market daily overview. Source: Coin360 Bitcoin has not yet been able to recover from last Tuesday’s double-digit losses, but the coin is showing signs that a recovery phase might be on the horizon. While billionaire technology investor Mark Cuban said that he would be happier owning bananas than Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency has been trading around the…

Are Trading Vehicles Dragging Crypto Into Maturity?

Just a decade ago, speculating on cryptocurrency prices meant figuring out a way to buy Bitcoin (BTC) and add it to your blockchain wallet. This was a feat that was worthy of bragging rights: In 2010, there were few exchanges, low liquidity and barely any infrastructure, meaning that crypto was less a financial instrument and more a digital novelty.  Larger centralized exchanges unlocked the idea that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have relative value and made it possible to speculate on their value versus fiat currency. Since then, a slow proliferation of a…

Early Arrival of Ethereum’s Istanbul Hard Fork Causes Testnet Split

Ethereum’s system-wide activation of the Istanbul hard fork has arrived two days early and caused a split of the Ropsten testnet. Huge miner pushing the non-forked chain On Sept. 30, the community manager of the Ethereum Foundation, Hudson Jameson, explained on Twitter that there are miners still relying on the old Ropsten testnet, while others are already mining on the new one. Cointelegraph previously reported that Jameson said that the testnet launch of the hard fork was scheduled to take place at the beginning of October. He added: “For anyone listening in who…

Price Analysis 30/09: BTC, ETH, XRP, BCH, LTC, EOS, BNB, BSV, XLM, LEO

Most major cryptocurrencies have stopped falling. They can start a pullback, which will offer buying opportunities for aggressive traders. Various cryptocurrency operators have joined hands to launch a rating system that will define how close a digital asset resembles a security. On a scale of one to five, one will be awarded to cryptocurrencies that are  least characteristic of a security, whereas five will have the most similarities to a security. This rating system will provide clarity to asset managers who have stayed away due to the uncertain legal status…

Bitcoin Price Bounces Back to $8.4K but Bearish Bias Remains

Bitcoin (BTC) price has had a volatile start to the week. Asia kicked off the trading week with a 4% selloff that brought Bitcoin price from $8,050 to $7,700. The ball was then passed to the Europeans who started a rally which continued through to the New York trading session. By the end of the day, Bitcoin had rallied 8% from the bottom to highs of $8,325, which was near a 3.5% gain for the day.  Altcoins have also been moving higher on the same basis, with Ethereum and XRP…

Cryptocurrency Faces Challenges in Cuba Despite Growing Crypto Adoption

Cuba rolled out mobile across the country last year, and this has resulted in increased usage of cryptocurrency. Most Cubans are increasingly using cryptocurrencies to circumvent economic sanctions levied by the US to access the global marketplace. However, despite this increasing adoption, crypto still faces several challenges in Cuba. Some of the challenges include restricted access to cryptocurrency exchanges, lack of proper regulations, as well as the growing acceptance of the gold-backed MLM stablecoin. Using Crypto to Circumvent Sanctions A report published on September 12 by Reuters included passages from…