Day: March 6, 2020

Binance CEO Admonishes Justin Sun Over Steem Fiasco: ‘Transparency Works’

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Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao is distancing himself from Tron founder Justin Sun over what has been described by some as a ‘hostile takeover’ of the Steem blockchain. Sun claimed that these reports were “misleading” and that “We wanted to protect the sanctity of private property & the interests of all from malicious hackers.” Allegations that the two founders colluded created a social media frenzy in which both Sun and Zhao were repeatedly accused of putting their own interests ahead of their users’. What happened with Binance, Justin Sun and…

Interlay Receives Web3 Foundation Grant for Bridging Bitcoin to Polkadot

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Interoperability project Interlay has been selected to receive a Web3 Foundation grant to continue its work on Polkadot. The money will be used to develop a parachain on Polkadot that will connect to the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain. According to the March 5 announcement, Interlay is one of the recipients of Web3 Foundation’s fifth wave of grants deliberated in Q1 2020. The Web3 Grants program funds teams and projects working to improve Polkadot in a variety of contexts. Each grant is for a maximum of $100,000 and is tied to the…

Blockchain Adoption Will Improve Industrial Processes

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Corporates that advocate for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) responsibility initiatives should adopt blockchain technology, the CEO of Spanish blockchain software firm Finboot said on March 5th in a blog post. According to Finboot CEO and co-founder Juan Miguel Perez, to communicate the achievements of ESG initiatives, companies must obtain quantitative metrics that verify their progress and authenticate what they say. That is where blockchain technology comes in. But the introduction of traceability in ESG policies, says the Finboot CEO, is not as easy as they appear, as such implementation…

UK Adds Further Regulation to Already-Strict 5AMLD Guidelines

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To combat the alleged risks associated with crypto assets and their networks, Her Majesty’s Treasury, the United Kingdom’s finance and economics department, has added additional measures. The new Money Laundering Regulations, or MLRs position the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) overseer for certain crypto objectives, Director of Retail and Regulatory Investigations, Therese Chambers said in a March 6 speech. These MLRs go “beyond the 5MLD to include a broader set of activities, such as Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), as recommended by FATF last year,” Chamber’s…

Bitcoin is Shaping Up to See Major Losses as Technical Strength Degrades

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The aftermath of Bitcoin’s recent selloff that sent it reeling down to lows of $8,400 hasn’t been as bullish as investors may have hoped for, as the cryptocurrency has found itself caught within multiple bouts of sideways trading while struggling to gain any decisive momentum. As Bitcoin now hovers within the lower-$9,000 region, analysts are noting that it is beginning to show signs of forming a short-term top, suggesting that the cryptocurrency could be bound to see some further near-term losses. As for how low this potentially selloff could lead…

Bitcoin Gold Whale Allegedly Controls Half the BTG Supply

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According to a recent study, bitcoin gold (BTG) market prices are being manipulated by a single whale who holds a significant portion of the bitcoin gold in circulation. The Bitcoin Gold network was recently hit with a 51% attack that caused two blockchain reorganizations. The team of BTG developers introduced a new soft fork concept called a “Cross-Chain Block Notarization Protocol” (CCBN) in order to thwart any 51% attacks going forward. Also read: Bitcoin Gold 51% Attacked – Network Loses $70,000 in Double Spends Bitcoin Gold Developers Propose Notarization Protocol…

French Court Rules Bitcoin is Legal Money

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A French commercial court has acknowledged Bitcoin as a currency, following a legal dispute between a local crypto exchange platform, Paymium, and investment firm, BitSpread. With the court ruling, Bitcoin can now be seen as legal money in France.   Bitcoin’s Legal Status Same as Fiat Currency According to a report by the local news outlet, Les Echos, on Thursday, March 5, 2020, the Commercial Court of Nanterre classified Bitcoin as a “fungible intangible asset” just like fiat currency.  Commenting on the court’s judgment, Hubert de Vauplane a lawyer, said: “The…

How Blockchain Technology and Metadata Shredding Can Usher in a New Era

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It has been nearly seven years since Edward Snowden blew the whistle on highly classified global surveillance programs, inciting a national conversation about privacy in the digital age. One of these revelations was that the NSA had access to the email content of Google users and the ability to map anyone’s cell phone location. It’s now been two years since the Cambridge Analytica scandal came to light, revealing that the company had harvested Facebook user data and used it to manipulate for the United States presidential election. In 2018, Facebook…

ProgPow Is Dead, Long Live ProgPow: Ethereum Developer Call Summary

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The Ethereum (ETH) All Core Devs call to decide on the fate of ProgPow was held on March 6. Despite a tentative decision to reformulate the mining algorithm as “Ethash 2.0,” the call raised more questions than it answered. The call lasted approximately three hours, two of which were entirely dedicated to ProgPow. Several representatives of both the pro and anti-ProgPow sides were invited. Supporters included Kristy Leigh-Minehan, one of ProgPow’s creators, and BitsBeTrippin, the founder of an educational channel on mining. Anti-ProgPow representatives included Gnosis Co-founder Martin Köppelmann and…

Ex-Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang Launches Data Privacy Nonprofit

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Former presidential candidate and known cryptocurrency proponent Andrew Yang has announced a new initiative to protect privacy online. After ending his presidential bid last month, Yang has announced the creation of new nonprofit organization called Humanity Forward. It aims to “rewrite the rules” of economy and society with a focus on data privacy. Announcing the news in a March 5 tweet, Yang outlined that the group is building a human-centered America, calling for donations to support the movement. Despite Yang previously accepting donations within his presidential campaign in cryptocurrencies like…