Month: March 2020

Bitcoin Mempool Briefly Drops to Zero on Blockchain.​com

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Major crypto wallet service and blockchain data supplier Blockchain.com has apparently experienced a system glitch, as its Bitcoin (BTC) mempool tracker dropped to zero earlier today. After indicating a significant surge of unconfirmed Bitcoin transactions on March 13, the mempool chart on Blockchain.com saw a steep drop from 32 megabytes (MB) to zero. As of press time, the chart has recovered to around 30 MB. Seven-day chart of Bitcoin mempool size in bytes. Source: Blockchain.com The crash of Bitcoin mempool was apparently a system bug exclusive to Blockchain.com, as other…

OKEx Undergoes Maintenance, Becomes Top BTC Futures Exchange

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OKEx completed a short maintenance yesterday at a time of great volatility in the cryptocurrency market. The exchange also just recently overtook competitor BitMEX and became the top Bitcoin futures trading platform. On Mar. 12, OKEx announced that the platform would be down for system maintenance starting at midnight UTC for about half an hour. Later the same day, the exchange announced that trading activity had resumed. The maintenance took place at a time of great volatility in the cryptocurrency market which was accompanied by unusually high volumes on cryptocurrency…

Ex-Ethereum Dev Afri Schoedon Infected

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The novel coronavirus has started to affect crypto communities, specifically that of Ethereum. After a number of ETH-related events took place in Europe earlier this month, two individuals have announced that they have contracted COVID-19, the illness that is caused by the novel coronavirus that originated in China late last year. Ethereum Community Members Catch Coronavirus According to a tweet from Afri Schoedon, an ex-Ethereum developer and programmer, he has just “tested positive for” COVID-19. While it isn’t clear where exactly he caught the virus, Schoedon explains that “given [his]…

Two Italian High Schools to Issue Digital Diplomas With Blockchain

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Two Italian high schools will begin issuing unchangeable and easily shareable digital diplomas with the Ethereum’s blockchain public technology. The measure, as reported by Cointelegraph Italia on March 12, seeks to make the entire process of issuance and traceability transparent, but above all, to solve a long-standing problem in the country: fake diplomas. The mentioned schools are located in Rome and Crotone. The licei internazionali di Villa Flaminia in Rome will rely on a blockchain-based system developed by the EY company, while the l’Istituto d’Istruzione Superiore “M. Ciliberto – A.…

As Ether Price Drop Pressures DeFi, Developers Remain Confident in its Success

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Thursday’s market meltdown left MakerDAO (MKR) with a $5 million hole that the project is now scrambling to fill. As this is just the latest in a series of hard blows to decentralized finance (DeFi) projects, some are wondering if the ecosystem can defend itself from collapse. Cointelegraph contacted a variety of industry experts and DeFi stakeholders to hear their take on the health of the ecosystem. Millions lost to attacks The Coronavirus-induced price crash was a powerful stress test for the Ethereum (ETH) ecosystem. The network became congested as…

Germany’s Bitcoin Group Welcomes Licensing for Crypto Custodians, Expects Competition From Banks

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Bitcoin Group SE, a prominent member of the European crypto industry, has been preparing to apply for permission to conduct crypto custody activities in its home country, Germany. The providers of such services in the Federal Republic are now recognized as financial institutions. Bitcoin Group, which has been in the business for some time, welcomes the changes that introduced licensing to the sector. Starting from Jan. 1, 2020, banks and other institutions are allowed to store and manage clients’ crypto assets. Also read: Bitcoin Is Financial Instrument, Clarifies Germany, Crypto…

Bitcoin Price Crash Forces Coinbase to Implement Transaction Batching

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Coinbase, a leading United States-based cryptocurrency exchange has announced the introduction of Bitcoin transaction batching for both Coinbase and Coinbase Pro users. This will significantly slash transaction fees for traders, while also improving the scalability of the Bitcoin network, according to a blog post on March 12, 2020. Bitcoin Transaction batching Live on Coinbase  As the bears have once again taken over the markets, putting fear uncertainty and doubt in the hearts of crypto newbies, Coinbase exchange has decided to roll out the much-awaited Bitcoin transaction batching feature.  As stated…

Price Analysis Mar 13: BTC, ETH, XRP, BCH, BSV, LTC, EOS, BNB, XTZ, LEO

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The crypto markets are attempting a relief rally but are struggling to sustain the higher levels. This shows that selling is not over yet. Capitulation occurs when traders are scared. On March 12, most asset classes witnessed a massive selloff with no place to hide. Even gold declined 3.17%, which shows that the traders sold everything in their portfolio. The coronavirus pandemic has created a state of panic because it does not have any treatment and spreads quickly. As a result, large cities and in some cases, the whole country…

Consensus 2020 Crypto Event Goes Virtual Due to Coronavirus

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Consensus, a major global cryptocurrency and blockchain-focused event, is another industry conference that had to change its plans due to intensifying coronavirus fears. In line with the increasing number of industry events being delayed or canceled in response to the coronavirus outbreak, Consensus will not be hosting a conference in New York this year. Consensus 2020 will be hosted in virtual reality at no charge  However, that doesn’t mean that Consensus 2020 will not happen. According to an official March 13 announcement by Coindesk, the industry publication that coordinates the…

Crypto Traders Explain What Caused the Bitcoin Price Plunge to $3,000

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The Bitcoin (BTC) price dropped to $3,600 overnight, marking Bitcoin’s biggest daily drop in the last seven years. Over $1 billion worth of longs was liquidated on March 12, causing one of the most intense long squeezes in the crypto market’s recent history. The main catalyst of the sudden 50% decline in the price of Bitcoin within a span of eight hours was the 9.99% drop of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The United States stock market experienced its worst sell-off since 1987, as panic over the coronavirus pandemic intensified…