December 11, 2019

This Year Proved Asia Is Ahead in Crypto-Blockchain Adoption

December 11, 2019 boss

Singapore, one of the leading hubs for blockchain adoption, now boats over 400 fintech firms within the island nation, one for every 14,000 people living in the country. “Blockchain” is the fastest growing job skill in Singapore, and among the top 3 in China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Vietnam, according to LinkedIn studies. While BTC and ETH continue to enjoy popularity within the region, altcoins like TRON and EOS have special status in Asia. With all of this activity, the region’s regulators have been paying attention. This…

Bitcoin Is Closing on Historically Strong Price Support

December 11, 2019 boss

Buyers, however, remained elusive and the average support, then located around $6,100, was convincingly breached in mid-November with high volumes. The violation of the support likely triggered stops on long positions, leading to a violent sell-off. Source

Central Bank ‘Parental Controls’ Obsolete for Crypto: Bank of Lithuania

December 11, 2019 boss

The Bank of Lithuania said that central banks’ “parental controls” are obsolete when it comes to crypto assets, but that should not prevent them from entering the space in order to understand it. In an analysis dedicated to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) released on Dec. 10, the Bank of Lithuania argued that banks should participate in the digital asset space in order to gain experience with the rapidly developing asset class. Bank board member Marius Jurgilas said in an accompanying statement: “It is fascinating to follow how fast the…

Here’s a New Banking Tool for Vetting Crypto Exchanges

December 11, 2019 boss

“Most banks at the moment have a zero-tolerance approach to crypto,” said Tom Robinson, Elliptic’s chief scientist and co-founder. “They don’t have any visibility into the risks that a particular exchange may possess – they all look the same to them. So, many of them won’t bank any exchanges.” Source

Bitcoin ‘Can Be’ A Reliable Financial Instrument After All: Mark Cuban

December 11, 2019 boss

One of the most outspoken critics of Bitcoin (BTC) has delivered mixed messages about its reliability as a financial asset. In comments to Forbes published on Dec. 10, Mark Cuban appeared to contradict himself on Bitcoin’s overall utility. When asked whether or not the cryptocurrency could become a “reliable financial instrument,” the Dallas Mavericks owner gave two differing responses. “Not a chance,” he wrote at first. Subsequently, he added, “It is a collectible. If you consider art or gold a viable stable financial asset, then yes. It can be.” Fiat…

Russia’s National Energy Grid Operator Tests Blockchain for Retail Payments

December 11, 2019 boss

Russia’s national energy grid operator Rosetti is testing a blockchain solution for payments in the retail electricity sector. The system — initiated by Rosseti and developed by the Russian distributed ledger technology (DLT) startup Waves — aims to automate and make transactions between energy producers, suppliers and consumers more transparent, as a Dec. 10 blog post from Waves has outlined. Domestic energy sector battling debt Waves indicates that the main driver for the project is the inefficiency, opacity and mounting debt that currently besets the domestic industry. The blog post…

Hackers Seize Argentinian Government’s Data and Demand Ransom in Bitcoin

December 11, 2019 boss

A data center of the government in Argentina was recently attacked by blackhat hackers who demanded a ransom in Bitcoin(BTC)trade. Sensitive data regarding local government in files was compromised during the attack. Argentina’s Minister of Science and Technology Alicia Bañuelos, representative of the local government of San Luis, gave details of the cyber attack and stated that it happened on November 25th. Agencia de Noticia de San Luis, a news outlet, discussed the details of the attack with Bañuelos in an interview on December 2nd. She shared that the data…

Bitpay Launches Support For Three USD Stablecoins — But Not Tether

December 11, 2019 boss

Controversial cryptocurrency payment processor BitPay has announced it is adding three stablecoins to its list of supported tokens. In a press release on Dec. 10, BitPay confirmed businesses could now accept payment in USD Coin (USDC), Gemini Dollar (GUSD) and Paxos Standard Token (PAX). All are pegged to the U.S. dollar. BitPay steers clear of USDT The rollout brings the total number of available cryptocurrencies to six, alongside Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Ether (ETH). Notably absent from BitPay’s choice is Tether (USDT), the stablecoin with by far the…

China’s SEC May Soon Have a Crypto-Savvy Department Chief: Report

December 11, 2019 boss

China’s securities watchdog is reported to be hiring Yao Qian, the former head of the central bank’s digital currency initiative, as the chief of its new tech regulation bureau. Source

US Senator Bernie Sanders’ “High-Speed Internet for All” Would Boost Crypto

December 11, 2019 boss

US Senator Bernie Sanders believes that one day internet connection should be available to every American citizen just like electricity. This premise just might be a huge benefit to one unexpected player: Crypto. “High-Speed Internet for All” must be the senator’s dream right now. A world where anyone and everyone has easy access to internet connection would be a great one to live in. Then and only then we would fully benefit from the unending potential the internet holds. Even more, then and only then would Bitcoin(BTC)trade and other cryptocurrencies…