Day: December 22, 2019

U.S. SEC Postpones Decision on Bitcoin ETF Proposal till February

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The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided to postpone the Wilshire Phoenix’s Bitcoin ETF proposal. According to a document released by the commission, they will continue putting the proposal under review. By February 26th, 2020, the SEC will approve or disapprove the rule changes that will determine the status of the ETF. This decision essentially puts in limbo the status of the ETF. It also indicates the cold feet that the SEC has towards new Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency ETFs as well. U.S. SEC Has Issues with…

US Congress Examines ‘Crypto-Currency Act of 2020′ to Define Agencies’ Role

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U.S. Congress has been looking at regulatory measures for cryptocurrencies since the inception of Facebook’s Libra project, and has no created a draft of a proposed bill called ‘Crypto-Currency Act of 2020’. The bill will be used to categorize Federal agencies and what specific digital assets they regulate in order to make it easier for them to inform the public of Federal licenses, documents, certificates or any other registrations to develop or trade crypto assets. The bill contains the following elements: it assigns a definition to the ‘Federal Digital Asset…

Institutional Investment in Crypto: Top 10 Takeaways of 2019

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This post is part of CoinDesk’s 2019 Year in Review, a collection of 100+ op-eds, interviews and takes on the state of blockchain and the world. Scott Army is the founder and CEO of digital asset manager Vision Hill Group. The following is a summary of the report: “An Institutional Take on the 2019/2020 Digital Asset Market”. No. 1: There’s bitcoin, and then there’s everything else. The industry is currently segmented into two main categories: Bitcoin and everything else. “Everything else” includes: Web3 innovation, Decentralized Finance (“DeFi”), Decentralized Autonomous Organizations,…

XRP is Down 95% from Its 2018 Peak; What’s Next for the Crypto?

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Despite what the news may imply, Bitcoin (BTC) is up on the year, having posted an over 70% gain. XRP, Ethereum, and other altcoins, on the other hand, have suffered, plunging under the weight of a volatile Bitcoin. Some cryptocurrencies have been hurt more than others. The most hurt altcoin in the top 10 has to be XRP, which was recently noted by analysts to have collapsed by 95% since the euphoria of the 2018 peak. Just look at the chart above, which shows that the cryptocurrency really hasn’t had…

XRP is Down 95% from Its 2018 Peak; What’s Next for the Crypto?

boss

Despite what the news may imply, Bitcoin (BTC) is up on the year, having posted an over 70% gain. XRP, Ethereum, and other altcoins, on the other hand, have suffered, plunging under the weight of a volatile Bitcoin. Some cryptocurrencies have been hurt more than others. The most hurt altcoin in the top 10 has to be XRP, which was recently noted by analysts to have collapsed by 95% since the euphoria of the 2018 peak. Just look at the chart above, which shows that the cryptocurrency really hasn’t had…

Coinbase Secures Patent for Bitcoin Transactions via Email Addresses

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The CEO of one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, has recently been granted a patent which will allow consumers to trade Bitcoin through email, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The cryptocurrency patent, which was granted in the U.S., portrays a digital system for crypto consumers to make payments in cryptocurrencies through a more common medium like email addresses. The patent essentially describes how these far more convenient addresses will operate similarly – yet, obviously more easily – to traditional crypto wallet…

2 Key Metrics Hint at Big Dip Before Next Bull Market

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On Dec. 18 Bitcoin (BTC) price thrilled investors by providing a $1,000 move from $6,430 to $7,450 after bouncing off the descending channel trendline near $6,400.  Multiple analysts from Cointelegraph contributor filbfilb to veteran commodities trader Peter Brandt all pointed to a popular logarithmic model that stressed the importance of the $6,400 level.  BTC USD 3-day chart. Source: TradingView This week’s bounce off $6,400 is provided some short-term relief from investors believing that a BTC price catastrophe was avoided. Nevertheless, Bitcoin is not fully out of the woods yet.  Bitcoin…

Hanukkah Reflections on My Year of Toying With Bitcoin

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‘Tis the season for introspection. And this year, my thoughts are on bitcoin.  As Jewish people around the world celebrate Hanukkah this week, inspired by the ancient miracle that a sacred flame lasted for eight days of battle although the oil supply was dangerously low, I’m pondering how the hell I’ll keep experimenting with this technology without burning the metaphorical candle at both ends.  I spent 2019 trying a variety of products and services to test how easy it is to actually use cryptocurrency. I ran a Casa bitcoin-lightning node,…

TRON CEO Justin Sun Donates to Greta Thunberg’s Fight $1M in Crypto

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Having heard the cry of the young climate change activist Greta Thunberg, the Chief Executive Officer of TRON Justin Sun has responded to the wake up call by donating one million US dollars in crypto to help saving the planet. In a tweet directed to the young activist, Justin Sun says: As a young entrepreneur, I share @GretaThunberg’s passion to change the world. Crypto will contribute immensely on reducing carbon footprint by implementing decentralized settlement. I would like to personally commit USD$1 Mil to @GretaThunberg ’s initiative. #cop25 — Justin…

Deep Truths of Deepfakes — Tech That Can Fool Anyone

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In its most basic sense, a deepfake is a combination of face- and voice-cloning AI technologies that allow for the creation of life-like, computer-generated videos of a real person.  In order to develop a high-quality deepfake of an individual, developers need to accumulate tens of hours of video footage associated with the person whose face/voice is to be cloned, as well as a human imitator who has learned the facial mannerisms and voice of the target. There are two humans involved in the creation of a deepfake, such that the…