Day: January 8, 2020

DeFi is coming to Bitcoin: Money on Chain is Building a Crypto Lending Platform on Rootstock

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Money On Chain is creating a protocol that allows the creation of a bitcoin-collateralized stablecoin as well as DeFi products based on bitcoin. Their infrastructure is developed using Bitcoin’s sidechain rootstock (RSK). The 2019 Trend was DeFi The history of blockchain can be categorized according to the prevailing trends during certain periods of time. Although in general Bitcoin represents the market reference point, with the advent of the altcoins, in particular of Ethereum, the focus has shifted to this category of digital assets that offer more flexibility in terms of…

BlockFi Adds Litecoin, USDC to Its Lending Product Suite

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Crypto lending startup BlockFi now supports litecoin and dollar-backed stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) on its platform, enabling users to earn interest on, trade and receive loans backed by the assets. The initial annual percentage yield on the assets will be 8.6 percent for USDC and 3.78 percent for litecoin.  In 2020, the company aims to add five to 10 new assets including USDC and LTC and is looking most aggressively at the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization and U.S.-domiciled dollar-backed stablecoins, said Zac Prince, BlockFi’s CEO and founder. USDC…

Google Trends Sees ‘Bitcoin Iran’ Surge 4,500% on Safe Haven Narrative

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Bitcoin (BTC) benefiting from the Iran crisis has captured the imagination of internet users worldwide, with its Google search popularity up almost 5,000%. According to data from Google Trends, the search term “Bitcoin Iran” surged 4,450% in the seven days to Jan. 8.  Bitcoin search popularity follows price The term “Bitcoin” itself also saw a significant uptick around the globe, reaching a normalized score of 100 on Wednesday versus 40 a week ago. Nigeria topped the list for both terms’ most frequent country of origin. Canada, Singapore and the United…

Bitcoin Suisse Readies Initial Public Offering (IPO)

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Bitcoin Suisse AG, a Zug-based financial intermediary and pioneer in crypto-financial services, is putting preparations in top gear to become a publicly listed firm via an initial public offering (IPO). Bitcoin Suisse hopes the move will enable it to maintain its lead in the Swiss crypto ecosystem, reports Finews on January 8, 2019. Bitcoin Suisse Eyeing an IPO Just like Asia’s Bitcoin mining giants and leading ASICs chip maker Bitmain and Canaan Creative, Switzerland’s seminal bitcoin trading venue and crypto-financial service provider, Bitcoin Suisse is looking to tread the IPO…

HEX Owner Cashes Out $7 Million Ethereum Pile for Profit Rally

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Bulk of the remaining Ethereum used to buy HEX has been emptied from original address. Creator Richard Heart refuses to acknowledge any involvement with the ETH in question. Surprisingly, the ETH now sits in 36 different addresses and has not been sold. Nearly $7 million worth of Ethereum has been emptied out of the HEX purchase address in the past few days. $7 Million Worth of Ethereum on the Move A series of 36 transactions, each containing 1,337 ETH, depleted the bulk of the remaining Ethereum which had been sent…

Former Bakkt CEO to Help Oversee CFTC in Congress

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The former chief executive of bitcoin derivatives exchanges Bakkt is to join the committee that oversees the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), raising concerns of a possible conflict of interest. The newly appointed senator, Kelly Loeffler (R., Ga.), will serve on the Senate Agricultural Committee, which is responsible for defining the CFTC’s remit and approving nominations for commissioners and chairmen. It also includes reauthorizing the CFTC as a federal regulator. Loeffler was appointed CEO of Bakkt when it launched under its parent company Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in August 2018. Under…

Ant Financial Aims to Launch Its Enterprise Blockchain Platform This Month

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Ant Financial, the financial affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, is reportedly launching its enterprise-focused “Ant Blockchain Open Alliance” platform this month. Local news agency Bihai123 reported on Jan. 8 that Ant Financial Group vice president Jiang Guofei, who is also president of Ant’s smart technology business group, revealed that the network has been live in beta as of Nov. 2019, and will imminently be launched as a fully operational chain. Interfacing with small-scale enterprises The vice president alleges that the Ant Blockchain will be the first open alliance chain…

Why China Is Banning Crypto But Is Bullish on Blockchain

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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. Flex Yang is co-founder and CEO of Babel Finance.  Babel Finance is one of China’s largest financial service providers.  The firm works with crypto mining companies to fund the volatile industry and products including crypto-backed loans, deposit services, margin trading and derivatives. Since July 2018, Babel has issued $110 million in crypto-backed loans with a balance of $88 million outstanding. Before pivoting to crypto,…

Crucial Indicator Shows Bitcoin Price 250% Higher in 2020

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Bitcoin could establish a new all-time high above the $20,000 level in 2020 as it hits crossroads with a bias-defining indicator. The benchmark cryptocurrency’s latest move uphill prompted it to retest its 20-weekly moving average on Wednesday. The technical indicator is conclusively accurate when it comes to defining bitcoin’s long-term trends. When the cryptocurrency breaks above the MA, it tends to stage parabolic bull runs, as shown in the chart below. Bitcoin rebounds after testing 20-weekly MA | Source: TradingView.com, Coinbase In April 2019, the bitcoin-to-dollar exchange rate closed above…

Cryptocurrencies Show Signs of Maturing But Remain Too Risky

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Bitcoin (BTC) presented historically low volatility this year, argues the Dec. 2019 SFOX report released on Jan. 8. Coupled with a lower correlation with altcoins, there are emerging signs that the market could start to behave in a more predictable way. However, the cryptocurrency asset class remains disproportionately risky compared to the stock market. In its final monthly report for 2019, the analytics firm SFOX analyzed the yearly performance of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Compared to traditional assets such as gold and stocks, Bitcoin held a remarkably low correlation index…