Day: March 23, 2020

Bitcoin Price Turns Bullish as Traders Fight to Flip $6,400 to Support

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Bitcoin (BTC) price perked up today, rallying from $5,688 to a daily high at $6,600. The digital asset defied the worst fears of analysts by holding above the $5,400 support and currently Bitcoin continues to show growing strength in the face of wilting equities markets.  Interestingly, gold and silver prices also rallied 4.42% and 5.94% as the S&P500 and Dow closed the day with moderate losses. This could indicate that market participants who recently exited their stock positions could be looking for shelter and growth in store-of-value assets.  Thus, crypto…

Monex Group Includes Bitcoin in Year-end Shareholder Benefit Package

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Tokyo-based financial services company, Monex Group, recently announced that shareholders in the firm will receive bitcoin as part of the year-end benefit package for 2019.  500 Yen Worth of Bitcoin for Coincheck Users The company made the announcement on Monday, March 23, 2020. According to the Japanese firm, shareholders will receive 500 yen ($4.5) worth of bitcoin as a year-end benefit for the fiscal year 2019. Also, the BTC will be issued to shareholders who hold company shares as of March 31, 2020.  Although it is not the first time Monex…

The Internet Is Space, Bitcoin Is Energy, What Is Matter?

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The most defining element of humanity is our ability to create. When this ability is fully channeled, all of our human experience is expressed as divine works that is greater than ourselves. Examples of this expression can be seen in the works of Beethoven, Picasso and Edgar Allen Poe. What is most unique about this ability is when a collective assembles and channels this ability into something far greater. The seven wonders of the ancient world become the defining paradigm of human beings. In modern times, there have been some…

In COVID-19 Stimulus, US Congress Eyes Digital Dollar to Send Aid to the Unbanked

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Amid contentious debate over the massive stimulus package in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Democrats in the United States House of Representatives look to implement the digital dollar to streamline payments to U.S. citizens outside of the traditional financial system. A digital dollar for direct payments to families  A draft of the legislation circulating as of March 23 proposes the creation of digital wallets for U.S. citizens to be maintained by the Federal Reserve within a section entitled “Direct Stimulus Payments for Families.”  The section envisions $2,000 monthly payments to…

Alongside Market Relief Package, US CFTC Warns of COVID-19-Linked Crypto Scams

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United States derivatives markets regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has joined the list of global authorities warning the public against cryptocurrency scammers trying to capitalize on the widespread coronavirus fears. In a statement issued on March 19, the CFTC highlighted that fraudsters commonly use major news events like the spread of COVID-19 in order to add credibility to their scam schemes or manipulate emotions. CFTC sees increased complaints involving crypto or forex-related scam schemes According to the statement, the agency has received hundreds of fraud complaints involving online…

Celo’s Blockchain Accelerator Invites Devs to Compete for $25K

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Open-source project Celo is calling on blockchain innovators to participate in CeloCamp, an entrepreneurial initiative that seeks to highlight the potential of global financial inclusion, mass adoption of digital money and the acceleration of blockchain startups. With its new phase announced on March 20, the initiative is reportedly backed by more than 80 companies, venture firms, experts and individuals. CeloCamp aims to help decentralized technology entrepreneurs, speeding up their projects and supporting them through funding. The “CeloCamp Blockchain Accelerator” website says that they will distribute $25,000 in contest prizes during…

Over 172 Million Weibo Users’ Personal Data Is For Sale on Dark Web

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Chinese social media giant saw a massive data breach result in data of millions of users available for sale on the dark web.  According to a March 19 report from Chinese blockchain news outlet Jinse, basic account information of 172 million users was available, priced at 0.177 BTC.  The account information for sale included user ID, number of Weibo posts, number of fans and followers, gender and geographical location.  Weibo confirmed the privacy issue yet deleted the post later on According to Jinse, Weibo’s security director Luo Shiyao responded to…

Online Petition Asking for Ross Ulbricht’s Release Gathers 275K Signatures

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A petition calling on the White House to release Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the dark web marketplace Silk Road, has gathered more than 275,000 signatures. FreeRoss.org — an initiative created by a group of Ulbricht’s family, friends and supporters — has said that the momentum continues to grow and that they feel that a solution “could come soon.”  Through an update on the online petitions website released on March 19, FreeRoss.org claimed Ross is “doing fine”. They have also reported that visits were canceled for 30 days, as a…

Using Ransomware, Hackers Steal and Publish Medical Data of Firm Researching Coronavirus

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Black hat hacker group Maze has infected the infrastructure of a firm researching the coronavirus with ransomware, managing to steal and publish sensitive data. The hack of medical information Cybersecurity firm Emsisoft told Cointelegraph on March 23 that Maze group’s hackers compromised United Kingdom medical firm Hammersmith Medicines Research. The published data includes sensitive data on medical test volunteers such as id documents like passports, medical background and details of the tests. Emsisoft threat analyst Brett Callow said: “[The data] is on the clear web where it can be accessed…

Matic Lets Us Scale More than Loom Network: Ethereum-Based VR Platform

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Ethereum-based virtual-reality (VR) platform Somnium Space has moved from scalability solution Loom Network to Matic to enhance scaling. On March 23, Somnium Space said that it hopes the transition will allow it to achieve scalability and provide a superior user experience. The firm explained: “By implementing Matic’s high-performance Plasma-based sidechains, Somnium aims to solve any future issues around scalability and user experience such as high-throughput, fast confirmation times, and negligible transaction fees.” A growing VR economy Somnium Space CEO Artur Sychov explained that the firm believes that Matic will allow…