Day: March 2, 2020

US Government Sanctions Two Chinese Nationals in Connection With Lazarus Group Hack

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The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned two Chinese nationals accused of laundering cryptocurrency that was stolen in a 2018 crypto exchange hack. At the same time, the Department of Justice announced an indictment for money laundering against the same two individuals. Their activity is linked to Lazarus Group, a hacking group allegedly connected to the North Korean government. OFAC accuses Yinyin Tian and Juiadong Li of assisting “a malicious cyber-enabled activity.” Secretary Steven Mnuchin gave the following statement: “The North Korean regime has…

Bitcoin Enters Accumulation Phase as Analysts Watch These Key Levels

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Bitcoin’s turbulent price action seen throughout 2020 has primarily favored bears over the past week, with the cryptocurrency’s recent rejection at $10,000 sparking an intense downtrend that led it as low as $8,400. In the time following this intense selloff, however, the cryptocurrency’s bulls have been able to garner some strength, leading Bitcoin to rally towards resistance within the upper-$8,000 region. Analysts are now noting that all of BTC’s recent price action seems to further confirm the notion that the cryptocurrency is currently caught within an accumulation phase, which could…

Don’t Let the Dow Rebound Fool You Into Buying This Market Crash

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The Dow Jones Industrial Index rebounded by more than 2% Monday. Many investors might be tempted to buy more stocks, thinking the rebound will continue. In most cases, they should wait to see the full economic impact of the coronavirus. The Dow Jones Industrial Index (DJIA) fell 12.4% last week. The index hasn’t plunged that much since the financial crisis of 2008. On Monday, the DJIA rose by more than 2%. After last week’s massive market crash, investors might be tempted to load up on quality stocks to profit from…

Coronavirus Is Doing More to Topple Iran’s Regime Than Trump Ever Could

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The Iranian government faces a crisis of legitimacy as the coronavirus outbreak exposes the weaknesses of its authoritarian rule. Iranian authorities may be underreporting the extent of the outbreak and suppressing dissidents. Covid-19 is literally killing government officials and could do more to lead to regime change than the Trump administration ever could. The assassination of Qasem Soleimani was a watershed moment. It demonstrated the lengths to which the Trump administration was prepared to go to achieve its foreign policy goals in the Middle East. But the coronavirus outbreak may…

Coronavirus Is Doing More to Topple Iran’s Regime Than Trump Ever Could

boss

The Iranian government faces a crisis of legitimacy as the coronavirus outbreak exposes the weaknesses of its authoritarian rule. Iranian authorities may be underreporting the extent of the outbreak and suppressing dissidents. Covid-19 is literally killing government officials and could do more to lead to regime change than the Trump administration ever could. The assassination of Qasem Soleimani was a watershed moment. It demonstrated the lengths to which the Trump administration was prepared to go to achieve its foreign policy goals in the Middle East. But the coronavirus outbreak may…

Fed’s Big Rate Cut Won’t Save the U.S. Stock Market from Coronavirus

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Both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones are attempting to rebound after a brutal selloff last week. The Fed is very likely to aggressively cut rates to support the stock markets. The rate cuts may inspire an immediate bounce but the long-term impact of the virus on the economy may eventually cripple the stock market. The coronavirus (COVID-19) is showing no signs of slowing down. The stock market has been reacting like the virus is a legitimate black swan event. Last week, coronavirus fears ignited a vicious selloff that wiped…

Fed’s Big Rate Cut Won’t Save the U.S. Stock Market from Coronavirus

boss

Both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones are attempting to rebound after a brutal selloff last week. The Fed is very likely to aggressively cut rates to support the stock markets. The rate cuts may inspire an immediate bounce but the long-term impact of the virus on the economy may eventually cripple the stock market. The coronavirus (COVID-19) is showing no signs of slowing down. The stock market has been reacting like the virus is a legitimate black swan event. Last week, coronavirus fears ignited a vicious selloff that wiped…

This Major Turkish Bank Is The Latest Binance Partner for Fiat-to-Crypto Transfers

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Major crypto exchange Binance announced that their fiat on-ramp for Turkish Lira is live thanks to a partnership with major Turkish bank Akbank, Cointelegraph Turkey reported on March 2. Binance users from Turkey can now deposit and withdraw directly through money order or EFT, whether they have an Akbank account or not. “As one of the biggest banks in Turkey, Akbank is serving the crypto community since 2017,” Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao told Cointelegraph. He continued: “By working with Akbank, Binance KYCed users who have Turkish bank accounts will…

Institutional Custody Is Key as KPMG Estimates $9.8 Billion in Crypto Stolen Since 2017

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Owning cryptocurrency is still considered a risk by institutional investors, according to a March 2 KPMG report shared with Bloomberg. The accounting firm estimated that more than $9.8 billion worth of crypto has been stolen since 2017. The findings revealed that lax security and poorly written code were responsible for most thefts. As institutional investors adopt Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) to their portfolios, securing the tokens becoming a critical issue, KPMG argues. The need to satisfy this market demand resulted in several companies offering custody services, both from traditional…

LocalBitcoins Hits a 7-Year Low of Weekly Traded Bitcoins

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Popular peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto trading exchange LocalBitcoins saw a major decline in Bitcoin (BTC) trading volumes amid apparent user uncertainty. According to data from Bitcoin (BTC) statistics website Coin Dance, global Bitcoin trading volumes on LocalBitcoins exchange have touched a seven-year low during the week ending on Feb. 22. BTC trading volumes drop from 13K bitcoins in February 2019 to about 3K in 2020 During the weekly period, LocalBitcoins traded just 3,144 bitcoins, or around $28 million at press time, which is the lowest weekly trading amount since May 2013.…