Month: March 2020

Intermex Is Not Using Ripple for Its Mexican Remittances

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In its March earnings call, U.S.-Latin American remittance provider, Intermex, revealed that it will not be using Ripple (XRP)’s technology in its major markets. Intermex chief executive Robert Lisv explained: “So, you won’t really see us leveraging Ripple in our core markets. I think it will bring us more growth in newer markets in places where we’re exploring going into ancillary products.” Intermex to use Ripple for “ancillary products” in “newer markets” Ripple announced its partnership with Intermex on Feb. 5, with its press release emphasizing that the deal would…

Italian Red Cross Coronavirus Bitcoin Fundraiser Smashes Goal, Issues New Initiative

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The Italian Red Cross is now seeking Bitcoin (BTC) donations to purchase emerging medical equipment after its first-crypto initiative surpassed its goal within three days. On March 12, Italy’s Red Cross launched a BTC fundraising campaign to purchase an advanced medical post for pre-triaging coronavirus cases.  Red Cross crypto fundraiser surpasses target in three days Just three days later, the Red Cross announced that its goal of around $10,710 (€10,000) had been reached and that it had begun purchasing the materials needed to deploy the pre-triage facility. After reaching its…

Zimbabwe U-Turns on Crypto, Looking to Stabilize Local Economy

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The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the country’s central bank, is considering a regulatory sandbox for crypto companies in an apparent change from its previous anti-cryptocurrency stance. The proposed sandbox is reportedly part of a broader agenda by authorities in Zimbabwe to revamp the nation’s financial sector, which has seen massive hyperinflation since 2007. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s government is also partnering with Apollo Fintech to develop a gold-backed cryptocurrency for the country. The collaboration is expected to allow Zimbabweans to have access to the Apollo wallet for digital-currency payments. Despite the government’s…

Ethereum-Based Game to Enhance User Experience with Matic Scaling Solution

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TSB Games, the firm behind VR game The Sandbox, announced a partnership with second-layer scaling solution Matic. According to a March 19 announcement, Matic will allow the decentralized application (DApp) to carry out faster transactions and create a better user experience. The partnership is also meant to better facilitate decentralized transactions on the platform. As part of the partnership, Matic also participated in Sandobox’s second round of the presale of the virtual LAND represented by non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The land staked by Matic will be used to help introduce the…

Citigroup Raises Investment in Ethereum-Based Trade Finance Startup

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U.S.-headquartered bank Citi has upped its investment in the Ethereum-based decentralized trade financing startup Komgo. Kris van Broekhoven, the global head of commodity trade finance at Citigroup, revealed that the bank has “topped up” its equity in Komgo “to allow the company to continue developing,” while speaking with ConsenSys on March 10. Komgo was launched in 2018 in partnership with ConsenSys, and seeks to streamline trade financing in the commodities markets. Komgo’s platform allows equities traders, financial institutions, and trade service providers to communicate across blockchain technology. As “one of…

Bitcoin Above 100 SMA (H4) Could Spark Strong Surge To $7.5K

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Bitcoin is currently correcting higher from the $4,320 support area against the US Dollar. BTC could rally further if the bulls are able to push the price above $6,800 and the 100 SMA (H4). Bitcoin price seems to be facing a strong resistance zone near the $6,800 and $7,000 levels. The 100 simple moving average (4-hours) holds the key for the next move. There is a key bearish trend line forming with resistance near $6,680 on the 4-hours chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken). The pair could…

Passive Income in Crypto Is the New Way to Earn

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First, there were property rents. Then came interests. As modern civilization evolves, people always find new ways to earn money without actually producing, or even doing all that much. This concept is today known as “passive income.” Technological progress also expanded the meaning of passive income. Today, people can claim YouTube advertisement revenues, dropshipping and even creating online courses as their favorite way to earn passive income. Lennix Lai, the director of financial markets at OKEx, believes there is another method to add to this ever-expansive list: crypto staking. He…

Ethereum Bulls Aim Key Bullish Break Above $150 and 100 SMA

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Ethereum started an upside correction above the $130 resistance against the US Dollar, similar to bitcoin. However, ETH price is facing a few key hurdles near $150 and the 100 SMA (H4). ETH price is currently trading nicely above the $120 and $125 support levels against the US Dollar. The price is likely to move higher in the short term towards the $150 resistance. There is a key bullish trend line forming with support near $126 on the 4-hours chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair is likely…

Zcash Reward-Distribution Vote Questioned as Only a Small Sample Took Part

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At the end of January, a poll apparently confirmed community support for a new mining reward-distribution structure for the Zcash (ZEC) network, whereby more will flow into the developer fund. Still, the decision proved to be rather controversial. Electric Coin Company, the firm behind Zcash, announced in a Jan. 2 blog post that a community poll on the Zcash Improvement Proposal 1014 — referred to as ZIP 1014 — showed a consensus for implementing a 20% fee on mining rewards. The results showed that 77 people, or 87.5% of all…

IMF Weighs the Pros and Cons of a Central Bank Digital Currency

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In a recent keynote speech to the London School of Economics, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Deputy Managing Director, Tao Zhang, briefed the positives and negatives of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Zhang pointed toward greater efficiency and lower costs associated with a CBDC. “In some countries, the cost of managing cash can be very high on account of geography, and access to the payments system may not be available to the unbanked, rural, or poorer population,” he said in the Feb. 28 speech, which hit the web on March…