Month: December 2019

Bitcoin Price Takes Aim at $7.4K Resistance — $7.6K by Monthly Close?

boss

With the end of the year just a few days off, Bitcoin (BTC) looks set to close 2019 under $10,000. Despite the digital asset’s inability to change the bearish trend that has held a tight grip on price since June 26, the most recent price action has been a godsend for intraday traders playing the relatively predictable range. Cryptocurrency market daily overview. Source: Coin360 Will volatility increase ahead of the monthly close? The daily chart shows Bitcoin price continues to trade in a tightening range and the Bollinger Bands indicator…

Huobi Indonesia Launches Trading Between Indonesian Rupiah and Tether

boss

Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi is launching a fiat gateway in Indonesia to enable fiat-to-crypto trading between the Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) and Tether (USDT). In a Dec. 27 press release, the Huobi Group announced that the launch of the new fiat-currency gateway will make it possible for Indonesian investors to utilize the IDR to trade more than 250 cryptocurrencies available on its Indonesian subsidiary, Huobi Indonesia. Senior director of Huobi Cloud David Chen commented: “The new fiat gateway is part of Huobi’s global expansion strategy and reflects our ongoing commitment to working…

What’s Next For YouTubers Impacted By Crypto-Related Content Ban?

boss

On Dec. 23, thousands of YouTubers received emails from the video giant notifying them that their crypto-related videos had suddenly been deleted from the platform. The ban, which lasted about four days before YouTube began reinstating videos, impacted YouTubers whose channels reached thousands of subscribers, as well as those with smaller audiences. Unsurprisingly, many of the YouTubers impacted have now turned to decentralized video platforms to share their content. Creating engaging and informative blockchain and cryptocurrency videos has become a source of income for many of these individuals, which is…

Bitfinex Beefs-up KYC Requirements, Asks Users for Additional Info

boss

Cryptocurrency exchange, Bitfinex, has reportedly strengthened its know your customer (KYC) requirements, sending an email to verified users asking for more identifying information. Additional personal data requested According to a Dec. 27 report from the Block, the purpose of the email from Bitfinex was to enhance the exchange’s due-diligence procedures, and bring all of its client accounts “to the same level.” Verified users were apparently asked to share information on the source of — and use of — funds, along with proof of residential address, such as a utility bill.…

Camila Russo and David Hoffman on the 2020 DeFi Outlook

boss

Sometimes things are clear, and to both Camila Russo (write of The Defiant newsletter) and David Hoffman (co-host of the Crypto POV podcast), it couldn’t be clearer that the essential narrative of 2019 was the rise of DeFi as a true market force. In individual interviews as part of The Breakdown’s end of year coverage, each also makes a 2020 DeFi prediction. For David, it’s all about increased attention on the space and the power of composability, while for Camila, it’s a bet that we’ll start to see the first…

Treadway Commission to Issue Blockchain Security Guidance in 2020

boss

An organization that combats corporate fraud will issue guidance for firms using blockchain technology. The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), commonly referred to as the Treadway Commission, will issue guidance to strengthen controls over uses of blockchain in supply chain management and financial services. The Wall Street Journal reported first on the guidance, which is due in the first quarter of 2020.  The Treadway Commission was founded in 1985 to advise on corporate governance and risk management in the private sector. Its recommendations are opt-in and…

Sovereign Powers Could Be Key To Mass Crypto Adoption

boss

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. Ryan Zurrer is founder of Dialectic, a Swiss-based crypto-asset firm focused on on-chain opportunities. Previously, he led investments at Polychain Capital and served as Chief Commercial Officer at the Web3 Foundation.  Nation-states made a more substantive impact this year than the ten previous years of crypto combined. China’s statist approach, in particular, may prove to be a catalyst to the still elusive “mass adoption…

No Bail for Ethereum Researcher Turned North Korea Advisor Following Incriminating Texts

boss

Ethereum Foundation researcher Virgil Griffith has reportedly been denied bail in New York. Currently detained, Griffith is appealing the action.  “Griffith was presented yesterday and ordered detained,” James Margolin, the chief public information officer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Southern District of New York, told Cointelegraph in an email on Dec. 27. “He is appealing and there will be [a] hearing before Judge Broderick,” Margolin said, naming Jan. 9 as the preliminary hearing date.  The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) rejected the option…

Twitch Users Can Now Tip Streamers With MenaPay Stablecoin

boss

Mobile payments service MenaPay announced support for Twitch tipping with their MenaCash stablecoin. Blockchain-based payments service MenaPay updated its mobile app to add support for Twitch donations, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph Turkey on Dec. 27. Twitch viewers are now able to use their MenaPay mobile app to tip their favorite Twitch players while watching their streams with MenaCash, a USD-pegged stablecoin built by the same team. This move comes weeks after MenaPay let streamers use MenaPay app to collect donations on a blockchain-based environment. Per the…

South Korean Central Bank to Organize a CDBC Task Force

boss

South Korea’s central bank is organizing a task force to research central bank digital currencies (CDBCs).  Announced in a Dec. 26 report titled “Monetary Policy for 2020,” the Bank of Korea will hire experts to study the effects of distributed ledgers, cryptocurrencies and CBDCs on financial settlements and security. The group will also “keep an eye” on other countries’ experiments with CBDCs. The task force could be formed as early as January 2020, reports CoinDesk Korea.  In the past year, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank announced…