After Multiple False Starts, Venezuela May Have Its First Bitcoin ATM

According to data by Coin ATM Radar, Venezuela has finally gotten its very first Bitcoin ATM. Multiple attempts to install Bitcoin ATM Venezuela’s first crypto ATM was installed on Sept. 10, in the city of San Antonio del Táchira, according to data by Coin ATM Radar, a website that facilitates the online search for the nearest Bitcoin ATM.  Latin American firm Panda BTM installed the Bitcoin ATM inside a small convenience store, called Viajes e Inversiones HC. The machine supports cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and DASH, as…

The Company Behind Zcash Announces Proposed Solution to Trusted Setup

Electric Coin Company (ECC), which launched and supports the development of privacy-coin Zcash recently published a paper called: Halo: Recursive Proof Composition without a Trusted Setup. On Sept. 10, ECC announced in a blog post that engineer and cryptographer Sean Bowe had discovered a way of “creating practical, scalable and trustless cryptographic proving” techniques, which claims to end a 10-year-long pursuit by the cryptography communities. He called the solution Halo. Halo takes away the need for a ‘trusted setup’ The strategy of Halo reportedly holds the potential of compressing limitless…

France Pushes to Block Development of Libra in Europe

France’s Minister of the Economy and Finance has said the country will block the development of Libra in Europe as it threatens “monetary sovereignty.” Bruno Le Maire stated that he had serious concerns about the disruption the planned Facebook-led cryptocurrency could have on governments’ economic power at a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris. “This eventual privatization of money contains risks of abuse of dominant position, risks to sovereignty and risks for consumers and for companies,” said Le Maire on the subject of Libra. Libra would be decentralized like…

Startup Particl Reveals Marketplaces Creation and Management Feature

Privacy-focused blockchain software project Particl has announced a market management option that allows vendors to create and manage stores for specific audiences. Particl revealed the development in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Sept. 12. With the new feature for its Open Marketplace product, Particl will enable vendors to set up an unlimited number of marketplaces within the ecosystem and share them with a specific group of customers. Such marketplaces will be available to only those users who have a market’s Market ID. Creation of personalized stores As such,…

US Treasury Sanctions North Korean Hacker Groups for Cyber Attacks

The United States Treasury Department announced further sanctions against three North Korean state-sponsored hacker groups, responsible for “North Korea’s malicious cyber activity on critical infrastructure.” Continue to enforce existing U.S. and U.N. sanctions against North Korea On Sept. 13, the U.S. Department of Treasury announced sanctions against North Korean hacking groups, more specifically the renowned Lazarus group, and two lesser-known entities, Bluenoroff and Andariel. Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence said: “Treasury is taking action against North Korean hacking groups that have been perpetrating cyber attacks…

Non-Custodial Exchange KyberSwap Launches Fiat-to-Crypto Gateway

Non-custodial exchange KyberSwap has launched fiat-to-crypto gateway in collaboration with cryptocurrency exchange Coindirect. According to a Sept. 13 blog post, KyberSwap’s users can now buy digital currencies directly with fiat currencies, taking into account that the exchange currently supports trading of Ether (ETH) and ERC-20 tokens only. The partnership with MakerDAO-backed third-party service Coindirect enables KyberSwap’s customers to purchase cryptocurrencies using Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards. Other industry players offering fiat-to-crypto KyberSwap thus joined the ranks of other industry projects supporting fiat-to-cryptocurrency trading. At the beginning of the…

Crypto M&A Picks Up Momentum in Asia and Europe, Says PwC

Even a few years ago, not many would have thought that crypto M&A, or mergers and acquisitions, were ever going to be a thing. However, it needs to be kept in mind that the crypto space has grown and evolved at a remarkable pace over the course of the past few years. Nowadays, the industry surrounding cryptocurrencies has not only evolved dramatically, but an actual ecosystem has emerged. Key Details According to a new report by the consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, most of the fundraising, as well as M&A, work in…

Square’s Cash App Is Testing a Stock Trading Feature

Square’s cryptocurrency-friendly payment app Cash App is reportedly testing a new feature allowing customers to buy and sell stocks. Expanding Cash App Citing a source familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 12 that the San Francisco-based startup’s employees began testing the new feature in recent weeks. Once released, it will allow Cash App users to make free stock trades. Square has reportedly not yet determined the exact date of the new option launch. Cash App and crypto Square made Bitcoin (BTC) deposits available on Cash App in late…

Dismal Jobs Growth and Consumer Spending to Supercharge Bitcoin – CCN.com

Being bearish on bitcoin has become fashionable, but one analyst explains why it’s never a good idea to bet against the largest cryptocurrency. | Source: Shutterstock Bitcoin bears have come out of hiding over the last few weeks as the number one cryptocurrency struggles to stay above $10,000. Since the digital asset printed a 2019 high of $13,880 on June 26th, market participants started to feel jittery. In the last month, market sentiment has ranged from fear to extreme fear. Crypto market participants are gripped with fear. | Source: Alternative.me…

$800 in Bitcoin are Worth More Than $10k on the Dark Web

According to news published by Forbes on September 13, 2019, Armor’s Threat Resistance Unit (TRU) research team has been studying the dark markets and spotted a new possibility to pay a seller $800 in bitcoin and have $10,000 transferred to a bank account via Western Union, PayPal or similar. Black Markets are Renewing According to the Black Market Report released by cloud security-as-a-service provider Armor, the number of black markets in which financial data and personal information can be purchased is flourishing. The interesting thing is that like any successful…