May 18, 2020

Bitcoin Block Generation Speed Falls to 2017 Lows

May 18, 2020 boss

There were only 95 blocks generated on the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain on May 18, according to data presented by pseudonymous Bitcoin analyst digitalik.net. “In [the] last 10 years we had only 8 days with less than 100 blocks,” the analyst tweeted, referring mostly to the 2017 Q3 period. In an interview with Cointelegraph, digitalik.net attributed the low block time to the recent Bitcoin halving and the decreased BTC hash rate in particular: “Many miners cannot generate a profit now because their expenses are still the same and income cut in…

China’s Top Digital Bank to Foster DLT Innovation in Singapore’s Universities

May 18, 2020 boss

China’s top digital bank, WeBank, has partnered with OpenNodes, a distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform by Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority. Through the new partnership, WeBank will provide the FISCO BCOS blockchain platform to Singaporean academics to innovate and build on. The initiative seeks to offer the blockchain platform as an “innovation playground“ to Singapore’s student communities to expedite development in the field of DLT. As a requirement of participation in the program, all innovations produced through the FISCO BCOS initiative are made available as open-source. The program hopes to…

BitMEX Accepting Applications for Open-Source Developer Grants

May 18, 2020 boss

Major Bitcoin (BTC) derivatives exchange BitMEX has started accepting grant applications from open source developers. The initiative follows $650,000 in developer grants that the exchange has issued to Bitcoin Core contributor Michael Ford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. BitMEX expands open-source development funding BitMEX’s parent company, HDR Global Trading Limited, has opened its open-source development grants to applications from developers contributing to Bitcoin, Java, NodeJS, and Kubernetes. The application form also indicates that HDR is open to considering supporting open source development not relating to the four stated technologies,…

Data Shows Bitcoin’s Hashrate Is Recovering after Post-Halving Drop

May 18, 2020 boss

After Bitcoin’s hashrate hit a high of 103 exahashes per second on May 11, one day prior to the halving event, the latter saw hash rates fall significantly to just 87 exahashes per second, a level not seen in recent times. But the situation has been improving since, along with a surge in prices. Bitcoin the King of Bounce Backs Predictions for Bitcoin’s post-halving period threw up mixed opinions. Some called for a dip in prices, while some analysts said bitcoin will touch all-time-highs. Nevertheless, all sides seemed to expect…

XRP TipBot Rescued From Dutch Regulations Through Partnership With Uphold

May 18, 2020 boss

XRP TipBot, a service enabling users to transfer XRP to each other via comments on Twitter, Reddit and Discord, has been saved from the threat of extinction at the hands of new regulations in the Netherlands. In a May 14 blog post, developer Wietse Wind explained that the “personal hobby project” had been at risk due to a registration deadline and vastly increased costs in order to conform to recently passed Anti-Money Laundering (AML) legislation. However, the project has been saved, through a last-minute partnership with digital payment platform Uphold.…

First Mover: Bitcoin’s 2020 Rally Sends Message to Capitalists as Despair on Wall Street Grows

May 18, 2020 boss

Bitcoin’s rally last week as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of U.S. stocks floundered served to underscore just how different the conversations are right now in digital asset markets and traditional finance. As high-profile investors including Stanley Druckenmiller and David Tepper were warning of looming bankruptcies, overvalued stocks and the increasingly distant chances of a rapid economic recovery, bitcoiners celebrated the cryptocurrency’s third halving and held spirited discussions on the future of money during a virtual New York Blockchain Week. You’re reading First Mover, CoinDesk’s daily markets newsletter. Assembled by the CoinDesk Markets Team, First Mover starts your day with the…

Bitcoin Battles for $10K as Gold Prints Over 7-Year High

May 18, 2020 boss

Bitcoin’s attempt to scale the psychological resistance of $10,000 looks to have stalled again, even as gold soars to new highs. The top cryptocurrency by market value is currently trading around $9,630 at time of writing, representing an over 145% gain on the low of $3,867 registered March 12, according to CryptoX’s Bitcoin Price Index. However, the cryptocurrency faced rejection near $10,000 early Monday – its third failure to cross info five figures since May 1 – and printed a low of $9,450 during European trading hours. The drop put prices…