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Tuesday January 22 2019, Weekly News Digest

January 22, 2019
23 Min Read
crypto exchange rankings
Source: Cryptocurrency Exchange Ranking

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United States

International

European Union

United Kingdom

Asia

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News Summary

United States

Bitcoin Falls Towards $ 3,550 as Top Cryptos See Moderate to Major Losses (Coin Telegraph), Rated: AAA

Sunday, Jan. 20 — all the top 20 cryptocurrencies are seeing moderate to major losses in the 24 hours to press time. Bitcoin’s (BTC) price is nearing $3,550 again, according to Coin360 data.

At press time, Bitcoin is down over 4 percent on the day, trading at around $3,587. Looking at its weekly chart, the current price is lower than $3,673, the price of Bitcoin on last Sunday.

bitcoin 7 day price chart

Bitcoin Transactional Volume Crossed $ 3 Trillion in 2018 (NewsBTC), Rated: AAA

The transactional volume of Bitcoin, the world’s leading decentralized digital currency, exceeded $3 trillion in 2018, researchers found.

According to Satoshi Capital Research (SCR), the Bitcoin network experienced $2.2 trillion worth of trading volume. At the same time, it recorded $3.2 trillion in Layer One transactional volume, down 8.3% than the amount in 2017. However, the median change in Bitcoin trading volume since 2009 was positive, rising at an average rate of 2.91% every year.

Bitcoin transactional volume
Source: SCR

Don’t Fret! Bitcoin Has Undergone A Decade Of Sustained Growth (NewsBTC), Rated: AAA

In fact, in 2012, Bitcoin’s yearly low was at a mere $4. Now, the same figure is at $3,200 — a jaw-dropping 80,000% gain over the course of seven years.

bitcoin

This Former Bitcoin Price Support Is Now Capping Gains (CoinDesk), Rated: A

Bitcoin’s (BTC) weekly gains were wiped out at the weekend at a key moving average that previously offered support.

The leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization jumped to highs above $6,750 on Saturday, having weakened the immediate bearish case with a repeated defense of the psychological support level of $3,500 last week.

Coinbase Halts Ethereum Classic Trading After 51% Attack (Which Blockchain), Rated: AAA

After Ethereum Classic (ETC) had over 100 blocks reorganized as a result of what is being called a 51% attack, the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange decided to halt the coin’s activity.  It has temporarily suspended all withdrawals, deposits and any other transactions in order to prevent any further damage and to protect its users’ assets.

According to two different block explorers – Blockscout and Bitfly – the digital currency suffered an alleged 51% attack this past Sunday.  Coinbase adds in a blog post that it saw around 88,500 ETC (worth around $460,000 at the time) being double-spent.

Coinbase Buys Tech Startup Blockspring (Cryptovest), Rated: A

US-based cryptocurrency exchange and wallet provider Coinbase has acquired Andreessen Horowitz-backed tech startup Blockspring, the target announced in a blog post last week without disclosing the terms of the deal. According to the statement, the San Francisco-based venture will continue to operate independently with no change to its existing products.

Brian Armstrong’s new business idea: Wi-Fi access point that accepts crypto (Chepicap), Rated: A

Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase gives a new business idea, a Wi-Fi access point that accepts crypto.

The Crypto Bubble: How A Generation Of Investors Got Burned (Seeking Alpha), Rated: AAA

It seemed that I bought at a peak of both media coverage and price, and at one particular moment, my investment was worth less than 20% of what I originally paid for it.

During the rest of 2017, the market continued to explode. People who owned cryptocurrency were extremely optimistic, which was hardly strange since prices regularly rose by more than 10% on a single day. Of course, there were also days when the market dropped with double digits, but market performance was truly exceptional.

Why These Innovators Left Facebook, Google And More For Crypto (Forbes), Rated: AAA

Despite plummeting cryptocurrency prices since November, a number of former Silicon Valley tech employees are leaving roles in companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Airbnb to work in crypto. A recent Glassdoor study found crypto-related job growth to be outpacing crypto prices. I interviewed people in a variety of roles within the crypto space to hear why they made the leap and where they see crypto headed long-term.

Henry Liu, Managing Partner, YGC Capital
Why did you make the leap to crypto? The blockchain industry has reached the critical mass of early adopters. I truly believe that after 2017 there won’t be a world without cryptocurrencies. I’ve missed the booms for dot-com, the mobile adoption, and the sharing economy, but I won’t miss this.

bitcoin
Source: Forbes

Litecoin (LTC) Price Analysis: Sellers In Control Below $ 33 (Ethereum World News), Rated: A

In the last litecoin analysis, we discussed above the next key break in LTC price against the US dollar. The LTC/USD pair failed to gain bullish momentum above the $33.00 resistance, resulting in a bearish zone.

Litecoin
Source: Ethereum World News

Overstock’s tZERO to launch this week (Crypto News Review), Rated: A

After four years of effort, tZERO, a security token trading platform and subsidiary company of online retail giant Overstock is finally going to launch this week.

Speaking to CoinDesk on Friday, CEO Patrick Byrne said that the company is “ready to hit the button and go live today,” but was waiting a few more days to process user signups.

Elixxir Announces Opening of Node Selection Process (PR Newswire), Rated: A

Elixxir, the full-stack blockchain led by the godfather of online anonymity, David Chaum, is initiating BetaNet implementation with the announcement of its BetaNet node selection process. The Elixxir platform leverages fundamental breakthroughs in decentralized technology to enable performance and privacy on a global consumer scale. Proprietary mix network design and multi-computation architecture allow the Elixxir platform to satisfy the four requirements needed for mainstream blockchain adoption: speed, privacy, security, and scalability, all on a single chain.

The 6 steps of the Elixxir node selection process are as follows:

  1. Questionnaire
  2. Application
  3. Initial Screening
  4. Publication of Applications
  5. Initial Selection & Public Review
  6. Final Node Selection

ORACLE, Steemit Already Partnered With Tron (TRX), But No One Is Talking About It (Today’s Gazette), Rated: A

It appears ORACLE, a cooperation offering a comprehensive and fully integrated stack of cloud applications and platform services, has partnered with Tron (TRX) Foundation, but no one seems to be talking about it.

At the just concluded niTROn Summit in San Francisco, Tron Foundation listed ORACLE among its partners. It also listed Aurora, Steemit, Pantera and some other firms as its partners.

New IBM Blockchain Smart Recycling TV Commercial: Plastic Bank for Digital Credits to Clean Planet (Bitcoin Exchange Guide), Rated: A

IBM Blockchain is airing a new Smart Recycling TV commercial to help showcase the Plastic Bank where digital credits can be earned for helping clean up the planet.

The blockchain is coming to Wall Street (Marketplace), Rated: A

ICOs raised about $22 billion, or so we think. It’s hard to know because the practice has been unregulated. Molly Wood talked with Kristen Howell, a partner with the law firm Fox Rothschild who helps companies create ICOs. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.

Securitize To Join IBM’s Blockchain Accelerator To Modernize $ 82T Corporate Debt Market (Forbes), Rated: B

Securitize, a compliance platform and protocol for digitizing securities on the blockchain, has revealed that it’s one of 10 companies to join the IBM Blockchain Accelerator program.

How Blockchain Technology Can Help Recovery Efforts In Natural Disasters (Forbes), Rated: A

The cannabis industry has been riddled with the destruction of grows from California fires over the past few years. Less than a year after a series of wildfires in California which destroyed more than 1.3 million acres, northern California went up in flames again, this time forcing a mass evacuation for residents who watched their homes and lives go up in flames.

Last year, according to Rolling Stone, approximately 30 to 40% of California’s marijuana growers were impacted by the fires, according to the California Growers Association (CGA). Some marijuana cultivators and farmers watched helplessly as their entire marijuana farms were completely destroyed.

According to the California Growers Association, at least 31 marijuana farms were destroyed and many more damaged.

According to a report by the Center for Global Development, it was estimated last year that about 5% of global aid, or $8 billion, is lost to theft and corruption each year. Measured against natural disaster victims, this is extremely troubling.

International

Ethereum And Litecoin Dive As Bitcoin Falls Sharply–Here’s Why (Forbes), Rated: AAA

The bitcoin sell-off is back, hitting all major coins including ethereum, litecoin, Ripple’s XRP, bitcoin cash, and EOS, as $6 billion in value is wiped from the global cryptocurrency market capitalization over the weekend, according to trading data site CoinMarketCap.

Ethereum, which was expected to undergo a hotly-anticipated upgrade last week before it was delayed, dropped by some 6% as investors processed the decision to postpone the so-called hard fork until February 27.

ethereum price
Source: CoinDesk

Ethereum Crash Drives Growth of MakerDAO and DAI (Unhashed), Rated: A

MakerDAO, a crypto collateral platform, has revealedthat its blockchain network and stablecoin have directly benefited from Ethereum’s extended price crash, which has been ongoing for the past several months and shows little sign of letting up.

Binance, BitMex most-secure exchanges; Bithumb, DOBI among least-secure exchanges, finds CER research (AMBCrypto), Rated: AAA

A new research by Cryptocurrency Exchange Ratings [CER] assessed the security of the top-100 exchanges [according to CoinMarketCap] and rated them based on their Cyber Security Score [CSS], an assessment system which grades the cybersecurity parameters of exchanges on a 10-point scale.

According to the research, a total of $1.3 billion was stolen from cryptocurrency exchanges in the year 2018. The data was collated by the CER team based on a comprehensive assessment model for security audits, that consisted of three components:

  1. Server Security
  2. User Security
  3. Ongoing Crowdsource Security Assessment [OCSA]
crypto exchange security
Source: Crypto Exchange Ranks
crypto exchange rankings
Source: Cryptocurrency Exchange Ranking

Binance , OKEx and More to Support the Upcoming BitTorrent (BTT) Airdrop (Ethereum World News), Rated: A

The Tron (TRX) and crypto communities were made aware of the upcoming BitTorrent (BTT) airdrop by the CEO of both projects, Jusin Sun.

A list of exchanges and wallets that have announced their support for the BTT airdrop can be found below.

  1. Binance
  2. OKEx
  3. Huobi and Huobi Wallet
  4. WazirX
  5. Koinex
  6. Coin Tiger
  7. Gate.io
  8. FCOIN
  9. Bibox
  10. KuCoin
  11. Bithumb
  12. Coinex
  13. Bitpie Wallet
  14. Cobo Wallet

Binance and KuCoin Freezing Funds from Cryptopia Hack (Journal Transcript), Rated: A

Cryptopia, a New Zealand altcoin exchange suffered a significant setback. The exchange got hit with a security breach which resulted in enormous losses. The funds are said to be siphoned through various exchanges such as Binance and KuCoin which both exchanges have confirmed freezing.

Why Crypto is En Route to the Longest Bear Market in History (CCN), Rated: A

As Ran Neuner, the host of CNBC’s Crypto Trader said, if the latest bear market lasts for another month, it will surpass the 420-day correction the crypto market experienced from 2014 to 2015.

“If this bear market continues for another month it will be the longest bear market in Crypto history; 2014/15 – 420 days. 2018/19 -390 days,” said Neuner.

This Is What Some Experts Think Is Critical For Blockchain In 2019 (Forbes), Rated: A

Venture capital funding for blockchain startups continues to grow and was around $3.9 billion in the first three quarters of 2018. IBM has invested more than $200 million in a blockchain-powered data-sharing solution for the Internet of Things (IoT), and Google has been workingwith blockchain since 2016 when it offered a trial to developers to test blockchain services in its cloud. The financial industry alone spends around $1.7 billion on blockchain.

In 2018, the European Union (EU) increased blockchain funding from €83 million to €340 million by 2020.

OpenBazaar introduces privacy-focused crypto wallet, social & marketplace, Haven (Chepicap), Rated: A

OpenBazaar launches their all-in-one social network, crypto wallet and peer-to-peer marketplace, Haven that focuses on privacy.

Decentralized crypto peer-to-peer marketplace platform, OB1, the company behind OpenBazaar launches their very own social app, Haven.

Cryptocurrencies Are The New Frontier In Finance States United Nations As They Explore IOTA And Ripple (Smartereum), Rated: A

Following the cryptocurrency winter that cost a lot of individuals and businesses hard earned money last year, the last thing anti-crypto individuals expected to hear was an international or global recognition of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. Well, the fact remains that even if the price of cryptocurrencies have fallen significantly since they reached their all-time-highs, the technology is stronger than ever and still has the potential to change the world as we know it. This is why in the end of year report by the United Nations, it was clearly stated that cryptocurrencies are a new frontier in digital finance.

Hackers Still Favor Cryptojacking Malware Despite Bearish Cryptocurrency Market Conditions (Coin Central), Rated: A

Cryptocurrency mining malware topped the 2018 threat index list. This is according to a report released by Checkpoint. It lists crypto mining malware as the most common and highlights Coinhive as the leading cryptojacking device.

Dragonchain and Hurify Partner to Accelerate IoT and Blockchain Adoption (CMS Critic), Rated: B

Dragonchain Inc. is announcing its partnership with Hurify Digital Markets to revolutionize global, decentralized IoT and blockchain development.

Dragonchain will provide Hurify with the flexibility and security necessary to build and sustain its dynamic global ecosystem. Using Dragonchain Smart Contracts, Hurify can provide a secure, blockchain-enabled global community of IoT developers to connect and collaborate on projects.

Cryptocurrencies Move Lower as OECD Calls for Global ICO Regulation (Investing.com), Rated: B

Investing.com – Cryptocurrencies traded lower on Monday as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) called for global coordination on the regulation of initial coin offerings (ICO).

European Union

Ethereum’s important upgrade postponed to late February (Mashable), Rated: AAA

Ethereum, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrencies and decentralized app platforms, was supposed to get an upgrade called Constantinople on January 16.

Alas, due to a security issue discovered just one day before the scheduled upgrade, Constantinople was delayed, and now we have a new date: February 27.

Binance Expands Into European Market (Cryptocoin), Rated: AAA

One of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance, has expanded into the European markets by launching a new trading platform, called Binance Jersey, designed strictly for fiat-to-crypto trading.

The platform will enable the trading of the euro (EUR) and British pound (GBP) with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) within Europe and the United Kingdom.

Binance Expands Trading Pairs for Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin SV (BSV) (Cryptovest), Rated: A

Binance will expand the markets for Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin SV (BSV) with the newer stablecoins fully backed by fiat while also preserving the BCHABC ticker for now. The pairs include BCHABC/TUSD, BCHABC/PAX, BCHABC/USDC, BCHSV/TUSD, BCHSV/PAX, and BCHSV/USDC.

Swiss ‘Smart Card’ Crypto Wallet Tangem Gets $ 15 Million From Japan’s SBI Group (Coin Telegraph), Rated: A

Switzerland-based Cryptocurrency ‘smart card’ wallet manufacturer Tangem has secured $15 million in funding from Japanese finance giant SBI Group, the company confirmed in a press release Jan. 21.

Swiss Bank Falcon Launches Crypto Wallet With Withdrawals to Fiat (Coin Telegraph), Rated: A

Switzerland-based Falcon Private Bank has introduced support for direct transfers and storage of select cryptocurrencies, according to an official press release published on Jan. 21.

The bank announced that both private and institutional investors can now directly transfer a selection of major cryptocurrencies to and from the institution’s own “segregated Falcon wallets,” as well as convert crypto into fiat money.

The Netherlands give a blow to cryptocurrency market promising ban on anonymous transactions (FXStreet), Rated: A

The Netherlands authorities are actively looking for effective ways to ban anonymous cryptocurrency transactions. Namely, they want to force cryptocurrency exchanges and crypto wallet service providers to obtain licenses.

Spanish Port Authority Joins Blockchain Platform Developed by IBM and Maersk (Coin Telegraph), Rated: B

The Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA) has signed an agreement under which it will collaborate with IBM on its shipping platform Tradelens, Europa News reported on Jan. 21. Tradelens is a digital platform based on blockchaintechnology developed by both IBM and international shipping giant Maersk.

Algeciras is one of the top 10 busiest ports in Europe, hosting over 70 million tons of cargo traffic annually. In 2017, the port had a container throughput of 4.3 million containers.

United Kingdom

Coinbase Hires New Compliance Chief for UK Operations (CoinDesk), Rated: AAA

U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has hired a new U.K. head of compliance with three decades of experience in the industry.

The new hire, Mark Kelly, joins the prominent crypto startup after almost five years as a director at London-based regulatory reporting firm Abide Financial. According to his LinkedIn profile, Kelly joined the exchange this month.

Coinbase UK Legal Counsel Predicts 2019 is a Big Deal for Bitcoin Regulations Worldwide (Coingape), Rated: A

Discussing at the Forbes Interview, Chief Counsel of Coinbase, the leading Bitcoin Exchange and Wallet service, Marcus Hughes said that the regulatory frameworks will shape the future of Bitcoin. Noting Bitcoin regulations across the world, he specifically noticed Europe to see a big move in terms of crypto regulations.

Blockchain.com Seeks Undisclosed Stablecoin Partnership by End of 2019 (Coin Telegraph), Rated: A

Crypto wallet provider Blockchain.com is seeking to partner with an unnamed stablecoin project by the end of 2019, the firm’s CEO Peter Smith revealed in an interview with crypto news agency The Block Jan. 21.

Blockchain.com, which reportedly provides 32 million wallets, with most of them active to date, is allegedly considering listing a stablecoin on its platform.

HSBC Processed $ 250 Billions Using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) (Cryptocoin), Rated: A

According to the Financial Times, HSBC has processed more than 3 million transactions in Forex worth about $250.000.000.000 through the usage of blockchain technology.

Bitcoin [BTC] and other cryptocurrencies fail basic financial tests, says Bank of England official (AMBCrypto), Rated: A

The cryptocurrency market’s volatility and traction have been far-reaching, so much so that even prominent members of established institutions are talking about it. Bitcoin [BTC], the largest cryptocurrency in the world, has captured the attention of several people, including that of Huw van Steenis, the Senior Adviser to Bank of England Governor – Mark Carney.

Australia/New Zealand

Another Crypto Investment Scam Gets Flagged by New Zealand Regulator (Cryptovest), Rated: AAA

New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has added a new cryptocurrency investment project to its warnings list. A company called Alliance Investment Limited operates without the necessary authorization and exhibits characteristics of a fraudulent scheme, the regulator said in a statement on Friday.

Auscoin boss trumpets ‘insane’ weekly turnover (Coin Rivet), Rated: A

Sam Karagiozis, Founder of Bitcoin ATM venture, Auscoin, claims that his company is currently turning over AU$500,000 a week.

Asia

South Korean Exchange Loses $ 5 Million in Accidental Bitcoin Airdrop (CoinDesk), Rated: AAA

South Korean crypto exchange Coinnest is looking to take back cryptocurrencies accidentally sent to clients in an airdrop.

The exchange announced last week that some 6 billion Korean won (around $5.3 million) in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were sent to customers due to a computer error, according to CoinDesk Korea. The exchange was trying to airdrop We Game Tokens (WGT) when the incident occurred.

Why Zilliqa’s (ZIL) mainnet launch is one of the top crypto events of the Q1 2019 (Captain Altcoin), Rated: A

Zilliqa is getting ready for its mainnet launch scheduled for the end of this month. And this could wind up being one of the most important events in the Q1 for the whole crypto industry. Why?

Because of their use case and ostensibly well developed scalability solution that could pave the way for many other projects, most notably Ethereum, in implementing solutions for the pressing issue of blockchains: achieving scalability without sacrificing decentralization.

Digital Garage teams up with Blockstream to develop blockchain financial services in Japan (TechCrunch), Rated: A

Blockstream, a blockchain startup founded by Bitcoin contributors, announced this week that it has launched a joint venture in Japan alongside Digital Garage, an early-stage investor/incubator that’s backed local launches from Twitter, Square and others, and financial services firm Tokyo Tanshi.

Crypto Garage — as the new venture is called — is “is dedicated to building Bitcoin and blockchain solutions for the Japanese institutional market.”

Indonesian Unicorn Go-Jek Acquires Majority Stake in Filipino Crypto Wallet (Bitcoin.com), Rated: A

Indonesian unicorn Go-Jek has announced a partnership between the company’s payments platform, Go-Pay, and Filipino cryptocurrency wallet Coins.ph. Local media has reported that the deal will see Coins.ph continue to run as usual, despite Go-Jek now owning a majority stake in the company.

Thai agency develops blockchain for use in elections (Thai Embassy), Rated: B

With tampering and security issues becoming a more prominent concern in elections across the world, Thailand’s National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), has developed a model for using blockchain technology that could prevent fraud and other interference at the polls, a NECTEC official said last week.

Caribbean

EOS is a haven for decentralized exchanges (Decrypt Media), Rated: AAA

Who actually uses decentralized exchanges to trade these days? The answer is, hardly anyone, according to a new report by TokenInsight, an independent blockchain research company. While decentralized exchanges account for 19 percent of all exchanges operating, says the paper, they make up just 0.8 percent of trades.

Yet, despite the minuscule figures, EOS, and its mainnet that launched last year in complete chaos, has become a hub for a slew of new decentralized exchanges. And that just might nudge those numbers up.

eos decentralized exchanges
Source: TokenInsight

EOS Releases New Version with Enhanced Transaction Speed, Reduced CPU Costs, & Lower Latency (Coingape), Rated: A

EOS is working on improving the performance of its network considerably as it releases a new version that is seeing a 35% increase in transaction speed and enhanced tooling for improving the smart contract development.

MENA

UAE, Saudi Arabia Launch Cryptocurrency Pilot for Cross-Border Payments (CCN), Rated: AAA

UAE and Saudi Arabia — two countries that have the world’s second-largest combined sovereign wealth funds — have launched their pilot cryptocurrency.

According to UAE’s official news agency, Emirates News Agency, the Saudi-Emirati cryptocurrency is one of the seven initiatives that will be implemented in both countries.

Israeli digital wallet co Colu raises $ 7m (Globes), Rated: A

Israeli startup Colu, which operates a digital wallet, raised $7 million from US investor Patrick Byrne, CEO of online retailer overstock.com.

Kuwait Financial House Launched an Instant Cross-border Remittance Service Using Ripple’s Blockchain Technology (Blokt), Rated: A

Kuwait Financial House announced in a tweet last week that the company started operating an instant cross-border remittance service through Ripple’s blockchain.

South Africa

South African Officials Release Consultation Paper Regarding Cryptocurrencies (Blockonomi), Rated: AAA

This week, South African representatives revealed a consultation paper (PDF) regarding cryptocurrency assets. The news was posted via the South African Revenue Service (SARS,) the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC,) the South African Reserve Bank (SARB,) the National Treasury (NT,) and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA,).

Read the full report here.

Latin America

Early Adopters Show the Benefits of Blockchain to Latin America (Smartereum), Rated: AAA

For the wealthy, digital currencies have been used as a safeguard against the rampant inflation. A 1,000% rise in crypto transactions were reported in Venezuela. While a 450% rise was observed in Brazil. As for Argentina, Buenos Aires, the country’s capital has been ranked as one of the top 10 cities with a string Bitcoin (BTC) presence.

However, 70% of Latin America remains either unbanked or underbanked, due to a lack of access to the basic financial services.

Authors:

George Popescu
George Popescu
Allen Taylor
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