Day: March 17, 2020

Bitcoin (BTC) Drops Below $5K Despite US Fed Slashing Interest Rates

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The outbreak of the coronavirus has had a significant impact on markets, and cryptocurrencies have not been spared either. Over the weekend, the US Federal Reserve was forced to slash interest rates to almost zero, but that didn’t help Bitcoin (BTC), which dropped below $5,000. Bitcoin (BTC) Drops Below $5,000 The largest crypto by market cap plunged below $5,000 on Tuesday as the European session got underway. After it breached the psychological milestone, it almost came close to dropping past $4,500, having shed 16% in a day. Similarly, other cryptocurrencies…

South Korean Government to Grant $3.2 Million to Blockchain Companies

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Two South Korean ministries have announced their support for the blockchain industry in the country with plans to allocate up to $3.2 million in funding to local startups to encourage the use of such technology. The Ministry of Science and ICT (Information and Communications Technology) and the Ministry of Information and Communication Industry Promotion will launch a pilot program called “Blockchain Technology Validation Support in 2020” to carry out the project, according to a March 16 report. The plan is to select nine projects through free public offerings and grant…

Opera Enables Bitcoin Buying for U.S. Customers via Apple Pay

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Opera browser is now allowing U.S. customers to buy Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) via Apple Pay or debit cards. Opera Browser Debuts Bitcoin Purchase Option According to ChainNews, Opera Browser has debuted Bitcoin and Ether purchase options for its U.S. customers. The move comes following a successful partnership with Wyre — a crypto money transmitter licensed in the country. Details of the new feature show that U.S.-based Opera browser users can now buy BTC and ETH using Apple Pay or debit cards. The latter option is for customers running…

Gitcoin Teams Up With ETCLabs for Crypto Bounty Payments in ETC

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Crypto bounty payment platform Gitcoin announced it has enabled contributor payouts in Ethereum Classic (ETC). In partnership with Ethereum Classic Labs, bounty seekers now have the option to receive pay in ETC for their work on various open-sourced projects, Ethereum Classic Labs said in a March 16 announcement.  The announcement was not clear on whether bounty hunters can receive pay in ETC for all projects going forward, or just as payment for work on the Ethereum Classic ecosystem.  Cointelegraph reached out to Ethereum Classic Labs for clarity and will update…

Billionaire Tim Draper Sees Potential in DeFi and Backs New DAO

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Tim Draper, the billionaire and Bitcoin bull who has backed Tesla, SpaceX and Coinbase, is making moves into decentralized finance. He is now investing in DeFi Money Markets DAO (DMM DAO), according to the DMM Foundation’s official announcement on March 16.  The billionaire is investing in governance tokens Draper Goren Holm Ventures, the leading fintech VC fund focusing on early-stage blockchain startups, has purchased a stake in the form of DMG — the soon-to-be-released governance token that will run the DMM DAO, as stated in the announcement.  According to the…

European Financial Institutions to Launch Blockchain Investment Platform

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Major European financial institutions are jointly launching a blockchain-based platform for the investment fund industry. The system was initially incubated by the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and its affiliate Fundsquare, which, alongside Clearstream, Credit Suisse Asset Management and Natixis Investment Managers, have announced a Series A investment round for “FundsDLT.” FundsDLT for cost reduction According to a March 17 announcement, the FundsDLT platform is based on Ethereum’s (ETH) blockchain and allows asset managers, distributors, asset servicers, and the supply chain to reduce costs. The cost reduction is achieved by removing redundant…

Bitcoin Price Holding Above $5K After Stocks Have Worst Day Since 1987

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On March 16 Bitcoin (BTC) price bounced back above the $5,000 barrier, while equity markets in the United States saw their worst day since 1987. Traditional markets closed 13% lower than the previous day, highlighting the severity of the current crash but for the time being at least Bitcoin is holding up.  Cryptomarket daily performance. Source: Coin360 Bitcoin moving in a narrowing range BTC USDT 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView Bitcoin price is moving inside a narrow range, through which the $5,600-$5,750 range serves as resistance and $4,800-$4,900 is the support.…

Bitcoin Could Hit $20,000 Even as Coronavirus Crushes Global Markets

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Bitcoin believers waited for a global economic crisis for years, hoping it would prompt investors to inject hundreds of billions of dollars into the cryptocurrency’s small, illiquid market. But the narrative failed big time as bitcoin came face to face with a real market-crisis-in-making, led by the Coronavirus pandemic. The bitcoin-to-dollar exchange rate fell by more than 66 percent in just 28 days, hit by a global sell-off that crashed stocks, gold, silver, all in tandem. Professional investors sold part of their portfolios to meet their shareholders’ redemptions. Individuals got…

Engage Further Backs Blockchain Company Fluree in Seed Extension Round of Financing

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Sharing is caring! Fluree, a North Carolina-headquartered data-first technology startup that recently announced a strategic blockchain deployment with the United States Air Force is getting further backing from Engage in a seed extension round of funding with participation from Engage. “Organizations have been striving to secure a data-first approach for nearly a decade, and Fluree finally brings that vision to life,” said Brian Platz, co-CEO and co-founder of Fluree. “As the semantic web continues to dissolve data silos and build a new framework for harnessing the value of information, Fluree…

Mt. Gox CEO Slams Plaintiff for Adjusting Fraud Allegations Mid-Case

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Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox, accuses plaintiff Gregory Greene of altering the factual basis of his claims against Karplese mid-case, according to his March 16 response to Greene’s justification for continuing the case. Gregory Greene, the last remaining plaintiff in what was previously a class action against the Mt. Gox ex-executive, voluntarily dismissed two other claims against Karpeles recently — leaving Greene’s allegations of common law fraud as the sole claim against Karpeles in the case. Former Mt. Gox CEO attacks Greene for changing…