Crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank has made its first hire from the hardcore bitcoin community to support an ambitious roadmap for its business serving digital currency clients. Benjamin Richman, formerly director of business development and partnerships at bitcoin tech startup Blockstream, joined the La Jolla, Calif.-based bank at the end of last month as director of digital currency. “We’ve hired other folks that are from tech companies that were providing services to some crypto companies, and we’ve hired former law enforcement to help us with AML/KYC/BSA, but in the pure crypto space…
Month: January 2020
In First ‘Pure Crypto’ Hire, Silvergate Bank Recruits Blockstream Liquid Network Exec
Crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank has made its first hire from the hardcore bitcoin community to support an ambitious roadmap for its business serving digital currency clients. Benjamin Richman, formerly director of business development and partnerships at bitcoin tech startup Blockstream, joined the La Jolla, Calif.-based bank at the end of last month as director of digital currency. “We’ve hired other folks that are from tech companies that were providing services to some crypto companies, and we’ve hired former law enforcement to help us with AML/KYC/BSA, but in the pure crypto space…
Ether, XRP, and DASH Push Higher as the Altcoin Market Gains Momentum
Altcoins have been stealing the show recently, as some large caps have seen tremendous surges along the field. Bitcoin Cash ABC (BCH), Bitcoin Cash SV (BSV), Dash (DASH), and Ethereum Classic (ETC) have all shown increases of more than a hundred percent recently but it is a bit premature to be calling for celebrations at the new altcoin season? Perhaps no, but at least it’s a reason to dedicate some attention to altcoin market analysis. Crypto market daily performance. Source: Coin360 Total altcoin market capitalization breaks downtrend and facing resistance…
Asset Tokenization Will Go Mainstream in Two Years
Jeremy Allaire, CEO of crypto payments firm Circle, projected that in the next two or three years the securitization of assets through tokenization will become much more realistic. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 21, Allaire and Neha Narula, the director of the Digital Currency Initiative in the MIT Media Lab, discussed how tokenization can make liquid assets — assets that can be converted into cash within a short period of time without losing value — more accessible without creating new systemic financial risks. Need for…
Libra Still Faces Uphill Battle Despite Softened Swiss Stance
A Swiss government memo appears to show a softening in the nation’s stance towards Libra, the proposed digital coin led by Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), just weeks after its former president described the project as a failure. The memo, seen by Bloomberg, shows the Swiss government refusing to rule out the possibility that Libra may one day be granted regulatory approval in Switzerland, despite major reservations being held by EU regulators. Government officials will continue to monitor the progress of the project, paying particular attention to “the form which Libra may take…
3 More Execs Leave Swiss Stock Exchange’s $100M Blockchain Project
Three executives have left SDX, the blockchain-based digital asset trading venue owned by Swiss stock exchange operator SIX Group, since the year began, including two founding team members. Ivo Sauter, SDX’s head of clients and products, and Sven Roth, its chief digital officer, both left their full-time positions. Roth will continue as an external advisor to SDX, a SIX spokesperson said. Both joined from Falcon Private Bank in 2018. Alex Zinder, an architecture lead at SDX, hired a year ago and based in New York, also left this month, the…
3 More Execs Leave Swiss Stock Exchange’s $100M Blockchain Project
Three executives have left SDX, the blockchain-based digital asset trading venue owned by Swiss stock exchange operator SIX Group, since the year began, including two founding team members. Ivo Sauter, SDX’s head of clients and products, and Sven Roth, its chief digital officer, both left their full-time positions in January. Roth will continue as an external advisor to SDX, a SIX spokesperson said. Both joined from Falcon Private Bank in 2018. Alex Zinder, an architecture lead at SDX, hired a year ago and based in New York, also left this…
How Not to Lose Your Coins in 2020: Alternative Recovery Methods
When Peter Schiff claimed that his wallet lost his Bitcoin (BTC), many in the crypto community were skeptical. While some believe that Schiff simply lost his password, others, like Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, highlighted that losing private keys remains an important issue for cryptocurrency users. Being your own bank is hard Keeping custody of your own cryptocurrency is quite complex, especially for non-tech savvy users. Most wallets require the user to write down the private key before accessing the wallet. Storing the key can be done by simply writing it…
Kevin Owocki on Gitcoin and the Future of Open-Source Funding
The founder of one of crypto’s most buzzed-about projects discusses the origins of Gitcoin, controversy and why open source funding needs to evolve. Ever since announcing its fourth round of grants, Gitcoin has been a major subject of conversation across the Twittersphere. In addition to all the excited buzz from both technical projects and media creators vying for grants matched based on E. Glen Weyl and Vitalik Buterin’s quadratic funding model, there has been controversy. Some of that controversy has been from outside the Ethereum community, pointing to Consensys and…
Here’s Why Wall Street Veteran Thinks Bitcoin Isn’t a Viable Money, Yet
2019 was marked by some of the world’s most powerful people talking about Bitcoin in public settings. President Donald Trump said in a surprise Twitter thread that cryptocurrencies, from BTC to Libra, are no something he is a fan of, citing their potential to be used in crime. Tesla’s Elon Musk said in a podcast that he thinks Bitcoin’s structure is “brilliant” and other digital assets may have some merit. It seems that this trend of large investors and entrepreneurs talking cryptocurrency has continued to the new year. This time,…