Officials of China reported about 11 deaths and more than 500 people infected by the virus. The city where 11 million people are living, had its central market as the primary source of the virus. One of the city residents said to BBC journalists that ”the atmosphere there felt like the end of the world”. Many Chinese folks continue traveling around the country during the holidays. Also, people in Belarus, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Vietnam reportedly have been visiting doctors in regards to the coronavirus. Outlets reported the first case in the…
Month: January 2020
Amun’s Inverse Bitcoin ETP to Enable Traders Profit from Bitcoin Price Crash
Amun AG, a Swiss-based financial technology firm that creates financial on-ramps for the acquisition, trading and storage of cryptoassets, has announced the launch of its 21Shares Short Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP). The new ETP is listed on Switzerland’s SIX Stock Exchange and it allows bitcoin (BTC) traders to make a profit whenever the price of bitcoin (BTC) falls, reports The Block on January 23, 2020. Amun Enables Traders to Bet Against Bitcoin While Bitcoin (BTC) ‘hodlers’ are always praying for the price of the world’s flagship cryptocurrency to hit the…
BCH Script Meeting Aims to Enhance the Programming Language in Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoin Cash developers actively participate in video meetings in order to discuss the ongoing development of the BCH ecosystem. BCH software engineers met for the first time in 2020 last Thursday to examine the May upgrade and specification work. Following the meeting, on January 23, BCH developers will sit down again to address practicable optimizations to the script language in Bitcoin Cash. Also read: Meet Nimbus, a Concept for Enhancing BCH Smart Contracts Bitcoin Cash Script Enhancements BCH developers plan to converse about improving the script language in Bitcoin Cash…
Crypto News Roundup and Interviews for Jan. 23, 2020
In addition to our news roundup, for the next few episodes we’ll also be highlighting select interviews from the CoinDesk crew reporting inside the world economic forum in Davos, Switzerland. Today we’ll hear from former CFTC Chair Christopher Giancarlo on his proposed Digital Dollar push. We’ll end the show by taking a walk with a modern cypherpunk and senior reporter Leigh Cuen. Disclosure Read More The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial…
No Evidence of Mass Transition From CBDC Research to Pilots and Experiments
A new survey from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) revealed that only 10% of central banks are likely to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for the general public in the short term. According to a report the BIS shared with Cointelegraph on Jan. 23, the bank surveyed 66 central banks from around the world to investigate their eagerness to develop and issue a CBDC. Out of them, respondents represented 21 advanced economies and 45 emerging market economies (EMEs), thus covering 75% of the world’s population and 90%…
BitMex to Launch XRP Swaps, Delist 2 Other Derivatives
BitMEX is releasing an XRP-U.S. dollar quanto swap targeted at crypto’s budding derivatives market. A quanto swap is a cross-currency interest rate swap where one counterparty pays the other a foreign interest rate. When the contract expires, the notional amount gets settled in cash at a pre-defined exchange rate. These kind of swaps can be beneficial for speculators in search of liquidity and where they can post margin in their preferred currency. The XRP/USD quanto product is set to go live on Feb. 5. The move coincides with the delisting…
Tether Says Its Newest Stablecoin Is Backed by Gold in Swiss Vault
Stablecoin issuer Tether is launching a new token backed by physical gold. Tether Gold “represents ownership of one troy fine ounce of physical gold on a specific gold bar,” a press release said Thursday. The new stablecoins, with the XAU₮ ticker, will be issued on ethereum and tron as ERC-20 and TRC20 tokens. “Tether Gold is launching in response to the growing demand for a digital asset that provides exposure to the world’s most enduring asset and a geopolitical need for an alternative financial system,” a spokesperson said in an…
Industry Leaders at Crypto Valley Summit See Major Role for Blockchain in Traceability
At the Crypto Valley Summit during the World Economic Forum in Davos, ecological sustainability for the future is one of the primary talking points. Even though blockchain is on the fringes of global discussion, several experts see its usage in traceability as one of the key technologies for improving sustainability. Industry’s current applications Supply chain blockchain solutions allow tracking of the entire production chain of certain products. Their usage ensures that consumers and companies always know where a particular product or material comes from. This helps prevent counterfeiting, an issue…
Greece Extradites Alleged Launderer of $4B in BTC Alexander Vinnik to France
Greece’s Council of State ruled for the extradition to France of former operator of now-shuttered crypto exchange BTC-e and Russian national Alexander Vinnik. English-language local news outlet Greek Reporter reported on the court’s decision on Jan. 23. Yesterday, Russian news agency TASS reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov protested: “The decision to extradite him to France is inadmissible as long as no explanations have been provided why he is not extradited to Russia. His family has been broken up, his right to life and health violated. Greece is obliged…
BitPay Taps Simplex to Make BitPay App an All-In-One Solution
Crypto Purchasing With Credit Cards Brings New Usability to the BitPay App BitPay, the world’s largest provider of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment services, today announced a partnership with Simplex, the best-in-class processor of fiat-to-crypto transactions, that gives BitPay app users the ability to buy Bitcoin and other supported cryptocurrencies directly in app with a credit card. Users can now buy cryptocurrency, transfer funds, make purchases, buy gift cards and pay friends around the world all from a single app. With the addition of Simplex’s credit card purchasing, BitPay aims to improve…