Traders are taking a break after the most recent volatility which suggests that most major cryptocurrencies will remain range-bound for the next few days. Recently Hiromi Yamaoka, the former head of payments and settlements at the Bank of Japan, said that Facebook’s Libra has forced central banks to research and consider issuing central bank digital currencies (CBDC). Currently China is leading the race in developing a CBDC but it appears that other nations are now attempting to play catch up. In a press release, the Bank of England said that…
Month: January 2020
Venezuelans Selling Petro on LocalBitcoins at Half the Official Price
Venezuelans are reportedly selling the state-launched Petro (PTR) cryptocurrency that was airdropped to them recently. Though the government claims to have fixed the value of one PTR at $60, the market price on LocalBitcoins is reported to be only half of that. According to a Reddit thread, Venezuelans are turning to LocalBitcoins to sell their airdropped Petro amid disastrous economic conditions. This follows an airdrop to a claimed 6 million people in December. The Reddit user claims that the government initially allowed the usage of Petro to buy products through…
As Australia Burns, Cointelegraph and Oxygen Seven Raise Relief Funds
As megablazes ravage Australia, destroying vast amounts of land and wildlife, Cointelegraph and Oxygen Seven have partnered in a Bitcoin fundraising effort to benefit recovery efforts in the country. Fighting fire with fundraising The announcement between Cointelegraph and Oxygen Seven came last week. Through a page on Cointelegraph’s website, users can make anonymous or attributed donations in Bitcoin. The Bitcoin wallet address belongs to Oxygen Seven, which in turn is contributing all of the funds to the Australian Wildfire Fund. It’s a natural fit for Oxygen Seven, which focuses on…
Grayscale to Fund Ethereum Classic Developers for 2 More Years
Grayscale Investments has committed to financially supporting development of the ethereum classic (ETC) cryptocurrency for another two years. Announced Wednesday, the asset manager will continue to donate one-third of the management fees from its Grayscale Ethereum Classic Trust to the ETC Cooperative each quarter through 2021. “It is a big vote of confidence which we deeply appreciate. This funding allows us to continue our support of the ETC protocol and ecosystem,” ETC Cooperative executive director Bob Summerwill said by private message. “We will provide grants for key projects, as we…
Ether Was the Cryptocurrency Most Correlated to Other Coins in 2019
Recent research shows that Ether (ETH) was the cryptocurrency most correlated to the rest of the crypto market in 2019. In a report published on Jan. 22, the research arm of major cryptocurrency exchange Binance suggests that throughout 2019, ETH had an average correlation coefficient of 0.69. The paper, which compared correlation data of 20 top cryptocurrencies, reads: “Ether (ETH) is the highest correlated asset. With an average correlation coefficient of 0.69 throughout 2019, it is consistently among the most correlated assets. The coefficient started at 0.69 in Q1 and…
Busted: SEC Charges Blockchain Marketplace Founder Sergii “Sergey” Grybniak for Fraudulent ICO 2017
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged former Stevie Award winner and SEO champion Sergii “Sergey” Grybniak and his company Opporty International, Inc. – a blockchain marketplace company with conducting a fraudulent initial coin offering (ICO) of unregistered digital asset securities. As alleged in the SEC’s complaint, it raised approximately $600,000 from nearly 200 investors in an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) of what the SEC claim were Opporty’s unregistered digital asset securities called “OPP Tokens.” comp24723 Grybniak pitched Opporty’s platform as a place where SME’s could list their…
Crypto News Roundup for Jan. 22, 2020
Join CoinDesk Podcast Editor Adam B. Levine and Senior Markets Reporter Brad Keoun for a daily, time saving rundown of top news impacting crypto markets today. Source
Bitcoin’s Lighting ‘Torch’ Reignites, Blazes Through 38 Countries in 3 Days
Bitcoin’s lightning torch is back, and it’s zipped through at least 38 countries already. The torch is a digital game first ignited in January 2019 by pseudonymous bitcoin enthusiast Hodlonaut, known for his Twitter avatar of a cat in a spacesuit. Each “torchbearer” sends a tiny amount of bitcoin to the next. A key rule is to add a little bit more money to the payment each time it moves to someone new. The goal is to highlight the speed and global nature of the lightning network, a payment technology…
Bitcoin’s Lighting ‘Torch’ Reignites, Blazes Through 38 Countries in 3 Days
Bitcoin’s lightning torch is back, and it’s zipped through at least 38 countries already. The torch is a digital game first ignited in January 2019 by pseudonymous bitcoin enthusiast Hodlonaut, known for his Twitter avatar of a cat in a spacesuit. Each “torchbearer” sends a tiny amount of bitcoin to the next. A key rule is to add a little bit more money to the payment each time it moves to someone new. The goal is to highlight the speed and global nature of the lightning network, a payment technology…
DC Blockchain Advocacy Group US Chamber of Digital Commerce Supports Telegram Vs. SEC Case
The Blockchain Advocacy Group The US Chamber of Digital Commerce (CDC) is filing an amicus brief advocating for a predictable legal environment for the blockchain industry in an attempt to counter the SEC’s motion for a summary judgment against Telegram Group Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary TON Issuer Inc. The Blockchain lobbyists at the CDC filed the documents with the New York Southern District Court on January 21, 2020, in an attempt to try to make the Court consider its amicus curiae brief. The latter is a statement by someone…