Day: March 5, 2020

Blockchain Platform Will Keep Trade Finance Smooth Despite Coronavirus

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A blockchain trade finance platform developed by eight major banks, among them HSBC, BNP Paribas, and Citi, is now ready for commercial launch in Singapore in Q2 2020.  Named Contour, the launch follows a successful trial of the platform involving over $30 million in letter-of-credit transactions last year, South China Morning Post reported on March 5. Letter-of-credit transactions are a payment mechanism widely used in international trade, in which a bank provides a seller with an economic guarantee for a buyer’s payment. As the coronavirus continues to shake global markets, a regional executive…

Indian Crypto Exchanges Resume Fiat Services 24 Hours After Supreme Court Ruling

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Major Indian crypto exchanges Unocoin and WazirX have resumed fiat deposits less than a day after the Supreme Court quashed restrictions on banks’ services to crypto firms in the country. Unocoin, which claims to have been the first entrant into the Bitcoin space in India since its founding in 2013, has been described by local analysts as an “icon of the crypto industry.” The exchange went live with rupee (INR) and bank account deposits and withdrawals earlier today, March 5, followed by INR deposits on Binance-owned WazirX. Blockstream CEO Adam Back…

Dow Futures Plunge 500 Points after Scary New Wuhan Report

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Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures fell 500 points overnight. Coronavirus cases spike higher again in Wuhan – the epicenter of the outbreak – dashing some hopes of containment. California declares a state of emergency after reporting first COVID-19 fatality. The Dow Jones soared to its second-largest points gain in history yesterday. But the momentum fizzled out overnight with Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures down 500 points. The drop comes as figures out of Wuhan revealed a surprise spike in new coronavirus cases. It snaps a three-day decline at…

BitGo Launches Its First Institutional Crypto Lending Service

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As the cryptocurrency lending industry continues to grow, another major crypto company is getting into the business. BitGo, a crypto firm that claims to handle over 20% of all Bitcoin (BTC) transactions, is launching an institutional-level crypto lending service on March 5. The debut of BitGo’s lending feature comes after a several-month-long private beta test. A service similar to traditional lending business Nick Carmi, the head of financial services at BitGo, emphasized that the new crypto lending product was developed with the goal of creating a lending business that is…

Coronavirus is Mutating but There’s No Risk of 3rd Deadly Peak – For Now

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A mutation of coronavirus in Brazil was found, and two new strains of COVID-19 were identified by researchers. Virologists say the mutation is minor, and minor mutations can be prevented with a single vaccine. Mutations remain as a minimal threat as of now. New studies published over the past two weeks have suggested that the 2nd peak of coronavirus has come to an end, at least in China. But, the emergence of new coronavirus mutations increases the probability of a third peak. Mutations of coronavirus not of great concern, yet…

Coronavirus is Mutating but There’s No Risk of 3rd Deadly Peak – For Now

boss

A mutation of coronavirus in Brazil was found, and two new strains of COVID-19 were identified by researchers. Virologists say the mutation is minor, and minor mutations can be prevented with a single vaccine. Mutations remain as a minimal threat as of now. New studies published over the past two weeks have suggested that the 2nd peak of coronavirus has come to an end, at least in China. But, the emergence of new coronavirus mutations increases the probability of a third peak. Mutations of coronavirus not of great concern, yet…

The ICO and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner sign Memorandum of Understanding

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James Dipple-Johnstone (Deputy Commissioner) said: “Information rights regulation, in particular data protection regulation, has an increasingly international dimension. Effective protection of the UK public’s personal information becomes increasingly complex and less visible as data flows across borders, so the UK needs a regulator with global reach and influence. As such we continue to build on our relationships with important international stakeholders. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and the ICO both share a common mission to uphold information rights. This MoU sets out the intention of both organisations to…

Co-Founders of Alleged $9 Million Crypto Ponzi Scheme Plead Not Guilty

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Zachary Salter, the co-founder of Zima Digital Assets alongside 28-year-old John Caruso, has pleaded not guilty to charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in his arraignment in Arizona on March 4.  The criminal indictment alleges that the pair ran a purported cryptocurrency investment scheme that was used to defraud their customers of more than $9 million in a classic Ponzi scheme.  Approximately $1.9 million in deposits were cycled back to early investors as supposed investment returns. The purported profits served to validate the scheme, contributing to…

Bitcoin and Ether Market Update: March 5, 2020

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Total crypto market cap added $9.4 billion to its value since Monday morning and now stands at $255.6 billion. Top ten coins showed mixed results for the last 24 hours with Bitcoin SV (BSV) losing 5 percent of its value while Tezos (XTZ) added 9.8 percent. At the time of writing bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $8,950 on the Bitstamp daily chart, while ether (ETH) moved to $229 and Ripple’s XRP climbed up to $0.238.  BTC/USD Bitcoin was 9.4 percent down for the month of February. It closed the trading…

Bitcoin Hash Rate Passes Record 150 Quintillion as Price Reclaims $9K

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Bitcoin (BTC) miners have set a fresh all-time high in terms of computing power they are willing to dedicate to validating transactions. Cryptocurrency market daily overview. Source: Coin360 Pomp: Hash rate shows BTC “doesn’t care about anything” According to data from monitoring resource Coin Dance on March 5, the Bitcoin network hash rate may have passed 150 quintillion hashes per second (h/s) for the first time ever. Coming just days after its previous record, the hash rate has continued to grow. On Thursday, the metric hit 157 quintillion h/s —…