Friday, November 30, 2018

MANILA RESIDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO GET ETHER FOR CLEANING BEACHES

MANILA RESIDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO GET ETHER FOR CLEANING BEACHES

The capital of the Philippines, Manila, will launch a decentralized Ethereum app that will reward users for cleaning up the city’s heavily polluted beaches. Initiative has been developed by the blockchain company ConsenSys.

CEO of ConsenSys Joseph Lubin said:

“We will pay Ether to users of our app in Manila in case they spend hours cleaning up some of the most polluted beaches in the world. Startups “Bounties Network” and “ConsenSys Impact” prove the success of a new model in which people can finance important projects without intermediaries”.

Bounties Network is a decentralized application on Ethereum that allows users to assign tasks and pay a reward for them.

The Philippines is well suited to launch a non-profit initiative related to cryptocurrencies. The authorities of the country recognized bitcoin as a legitimate means of payment, and the Central Bank allows transfers in cryptocurrency. The country also has a special economic zone for blockchain companies.

 

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CANADIAN JEWELRY RETAILER BIRKS STARTED ACCEPTING BITCOINS

 

CANADIAN JEWELRY RETAILER BIRKS STARTED ACCEPTING BITCOINS

Jewelry store Birks, one of the largest jewelry and watch manufacturers in Canada, has entered into a partnership agreement with BitPay to accept bitcoins for payment.

Founded in Montreal in 1879, the Birks Group became the first major player among luxury goods manufacturers in Canada to accept cryptocurrencies. According to a press release, the jewelry house will use a payment solution from BitPay in 8 Canadian stores. CEO of Birks Jean-Christophe Bedo said:

“The use of Econometrics is very important for Birks. We are a global brand and believe that BitPay will be useful to our customers.”

Business Manager of BitPay Sonny Singh also noted that the jewelry house has a very large customer base around the world and the introduction of a new payment method will allow the company to meet the needs of international customers, as well as attract new ones, offering an innovative and secure payment solution.

Recall that in April, a major retailer Helzberg joined the IBM TrustChain blockchain Alliance, which will track jewelry from mines to showcases, and last month the Swiss watchmaker presented a limited edition of Big Bang Blockchain watch, created specifically in honor of the 10th anniversary of Bitcoin.

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TRON CREATES A $100 MILLION BLOCKCHAIN FUND FOR THE GAMING INDUSTRY

TRON CREATES A $100 MILLION BLOCKCHAIN FUND FOR THE GAMING INDUSTRY

Decentralized Internet startup TRON announced a plan to launch a blockchain gaming foundation TRON Arcade to provide new opportunities to developers, the company said in a press release on November 29.

According to a press release, $ 100 million will be invested in the TRON Arcade blockchain fund over the next three years. The head of the startup Justin Sun said that the TRON Arcade Fund will “play a key role” in the development and promotion of the startup:

“TRON is committed to solving the existing problems of the gaming industry using open, transparent and immutable blockchain technology. TRON Arcade will play a key role in encouraging developers to join our mission and offer the best gaming experience to users from all over the world”.

Also, Justin Sun once again noted the high speed of transactions in the TRON network, in comparison with the speed in the Ethereum network, continuing his PR campaign, which he began before the announcement, in social networks, attracting developers against the background of falling prices for the main cryptocurrency assets.

The world of computer games and blockchain is really getting closer: in November, the game startup Margarita de Courcelles Blockade Games attracted 833,000 dollars of seed investment to launch the flagship game Neon District, at the beginning of the year, UNICEF launched a new format of charity for gamers called “Game Changers”, and the company behind the popular game CryptoKitties has already attracted 27.85 million dollars.

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Thursday, November 29, 2018

FIRST BLOCKCHAIN-SMARTPHONE “SIRIN LABS” IS RELEASED

FIRST BLOCKCHAIN-SMARTPHONE “SIRIN LABS” IS RELEASED

Today, Swiss electronics manufacturer SIRIN Labs launches its first blockchain smartphone, said the publication of Computerworld on November 28.

SIRIN Labs, a manufacturer of smartphones Solarin worth $ 14,000, is developing an open source model that runs on the blockchain. The company held an ICO in December, collecting $157 million, and this summer announced the upcoming product release in November. The head of SIRIN Labs noted that the new blockchain smartphone is designed to simplify the process of using cryptocurrencies and p2p networks.

Named after bitcoin pioneer Hal Finney, FINNEY’s smartphone will run on Android and the open-source operating system SIRIN OS, specifically designed to support applications such as cryptocurrency cold storage wallets and secure exchange access.

The article also notes that Token Conversion Service (TCS) application will be built into the new smartphone for $1000, in which it will be possible to convert tokens and coins, without the need of external applications.

 

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THE US TREASURY ADDED BITCOIN WALLETS OF IRANIAN HACKERS TO THE SANCTIONS BLACK LIST

THE US TREASURY ADDED BITCOIN WALLETS OF IRANIAN HACKERS TO THE SANCTIONS BLACK LIST

The US Treasury Department officially added bitcoin addresses to its individual sanctions list, for the first time in history.

On Wednesday, the Department of the Treasury’s office of foreign assets control (OFAC) announced that it has added two Iranian residents — Ali Khorashadizadeh and Mohammad Ghorbaniyana — to Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons List (SDN), organizations with whom U.S. citizens are prohibited from doing business. For the first time in history, bitcoin addresses belonging to individuals were included in the list.

The organization has previously stated the possibility of adding cryptocurrency addresses to SDN, since, according to the OFAC, digital assets do not differ from Fiat in the context of conducting prohibited financial activities or sponsoring terrorism. Thus, by adding bitcoin addresses to the list, the organization warns American citizens that they are forbidden to send funds to these cryptocurrency wallets.

In his statement, the Deputy Head of the counterterrorism and financial intelligence Department said that bitcoin wallets came to the attention of the OFAC, as Iranian cybercriminals received digital funds to these addresses.

“We are adding cryptocurrency wallets, which are involved in illegal activities in the digital currency space, to the SDN addresses.”

Recall that, last year the Minister of Finance of the USA Steve Munich said that his agency is conducting several investigations of bitcoins’ illegal use. As Munich assured, investigation should confirm the innocence of digital currencies to the “illegal processes”.

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Wednesday, November 28, 2018

RESEARCH: DAMAGE FROM CYBERCRIME WILL REACH $48 BILLION IN 2023

RESEARCH: DAMAGE FROM CYBERCRIME WILL REACH $48 BILLION IN 2023

According to analysts of Juniper Research, by 2023, the damage from cyber fraud will reach 48 billion dollars, which is twice more than the current indicator of $22 billion, which takes into account losses in e-Commerce, online ticket sales and banking services.

The authors of the study from Juniper Research note that the growth of cybercriminals’ income is ahead of the industry development itself, as they often operate in the new technologies forefront, hiding their activity in the flow of legitimate activities.

According to the study, cybercriminals are primarily focused on new mechanisms for transferring funds, where they use social engineering methods, hacking applications and the spread of viruses to access the victims’ financial assets.

Also, scammers are interested in the personal data of Internet users, as the stolen information allows them to create so-called “synthetic identity”, allowing them to disguise themselves in a series of real and fake data. Recall that according to “Kaspersky Lab” latest research, the average cost of a stolen digital user profile is $1 in the DarkNet.

As an example of competing criminal projects, Juniper Research experts cited the campaigns Magecart and Fin7, in which the spread of viruses is combined with a cross-channel approach to the organization of attacks.

The researchers note that since law enforcement agencies do not have enough resources and competencies to block the activities of scammers, they begin to leave the DarkNet and promote their services directly through social networks and messengers, like Facebook and WhatsApp: the authors of the study managed to find stolen data of 15 000 payment cards on Facebook, in the public domain.

The company said that the scale of the global damage from cybercrime will grow to 2.1 trillion dollars by 2019.

 

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HUOBI ANNOUNCED THE LAUNCH OF A NEW TOKEN CALLED HUSD

HUOBI ANNOUNCED THE LAUNCH OF A NEW TOKEN CALLED HUSD

Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi has launched a new token that supports four stablecoins — Paxos Standard (PAX), True USD (TUSD), USD Coin (USDC) and Gemini Dollars (GUSD).

The functionality of the new Huobi token is quite simple — HUSD holders can instantly get an equal number of cryptocurrencies listed above for them.

 

In the conference of stablecoin in New York, Huobi General Counsel Joshua Goodbody mentioned:

“We believe that the latest developments in stablecoins are positive for the industry, and Huobi has decided to actively support these developments by launching HUSD. It acts as a stable platform. We provide the ability to place any of the four supported coins as a HUSD and get a 1:1 balance that can be stored as well as traded against six pairs on Huobi Global. Users can also withdraw HUSD like any of the four used stablecoins.”

However, contrary to his words and according to the exchange website, HUSD is trading in four pairs — against BTC, ETH, EOS and USDT. It is noteworthy that Tether is the first stable token, which Huobi did not include in support of HUSD, but at the same time put in a trading pair.

Token HUSD is not based on any blockchain network, and is intra-exchange product, therefore it’s impossible to remove.

 

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COINBASE HAS CONFIRMED THE LAUNCH OF OTC PLATFORM FOR INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS

COINBASE HAS CONFIRMED THE LAUNCH OF OTC PLATFORM FOR INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS

The American cryptocurrency company Coinbase confirmed the information appeared earlier in the network that it will open an over-the-counter (OTC) trading platform for institutional clients in response to the latters’ appeals. This was reported by the institutional sales department Director of Coinbase Christine Sandler in a conversation with the portal Cheddar.

According to Sandler, the OTC platform will be an addition to the company’s main exchange, which may seem especially convenient for those who want to enter the world of cryptocurrency trading with its help.

“We thought it would be a great advantage for our customers to be able to exchange and participate in OTC trading. We work only with organizations and plan to expand its offer, including deferred calculations and possibly custodial solution”, – she explained.

Sandler also mentioned other companies that provide similar services, including Circle and Genesis, noting that at the moment there are plenty of opportunities to open such a business, and Coinbase, in this case, only meets its customers’ needs.

In addition, she spoke about the custodial unit of her company, noting that their services are used by persons who are engaged in asset management of third-party investors and help to attract potential partners.

Commenting on the unfavorable situation in the market, Sandler said that their “cryptocurrency-oriented customers” demonstrate resilience and continue to believe in the future of the technology.

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USERS OF BITTORRENT AND µTORRENT WILL NOW BE ABLE TO PAY WITH BITCOINS, BNB AND TRX

USERS OF BITTORRENT AND µTORRENT WILL NOW BE ABLE TO PAY WITH BITCOINS, BNB AND TRX

Users of BitTorrent and µTorrent will be able to pay for premium products of popular torrent clients with suach cryptocurrencies as Bitcoin, Binance Coin (BNB) and TRON (TRX).

The company notes in its blog that support for crypto assets has become possible thanks to the partnership with CoinPayments processing.


“BitTorrent joins the growing list of online companies whose products and services accept TRX for payment,” said CEO of Bittorent and founder of TRON Justin San.

According to him, the BitTorrent user base exceeds 100 million people. The new initiative will increase the demand for the company’s premium products and promote the mass adoption of TRX among online marketplaces.

The pro – version of BitTorrent for Windows costs $19.95. This annual subscription option includes antivirus, file Converter and HD player.

 

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AMERICAN FOREX OPERATOR CLS HAS LAUNCHED BANK PAYMENTS CLSNET BLOCKCHAIN SYSTEM

AMERICAN FOREX OPERATOR CLS HAS LAUNCHED BANK PAYMENTS CLSNET BLOCKCHAIN SYSTEM

American Forex operator CLS today, on November 28, launched a payment mechanism of offsets on the blockchain called CLSNet. According to a press release, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley banks were among the first users of the service developed jointly with IBM.

According to reports, the CLS group settlement system processes an average of about $5 trillion daily. The participants of the system are such corporations as JPMorgan and Citigroup.

The CLS consortium aims to develop open source blockchain technologies to create new channels for foreign exchange. In the past year, along with JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Bank of China, Barclays has also joined to CLS Group blockchain- consortium.

The developed CLSNet system is “the first global corporate market of interbank currency exchange at free prices based on blockchain technology”.

Marie Wieck, CEO of IBM Blockchain, who participated in the development of CLSNet, added:

“Start of CLSNet with the support of the two largest banks in the world demonstrates the current maturity of the blockchain technology and  shows values that it can represent in practice.”

 

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NATIONAL LOTTERIES IN AFRICA WILL BE PLAYED USING THE BLOCKCHAIN

NATIONAL LOTTERIES IN AFRICA WILL BE PLAYED USING THE BLOCKCHAIN

As part of the plan to expand the business, GG WORLD Lottery plans to hold national online lotteries in several countries of the African continent, with the support of local authorities.

The creators of the project note that the use of blockchain technologies will make the processes of national online lottery implementation absolutely transparent. In addition, legal regulated lotteries will allow participants not to worry about the project being fraudulent.

Africa is a region with huge potential for economic growth: despite the global decline in GDP growth, that indicator in Africa will grow by $ 1 trillion over the next 8 years, according to analysts. Moreover, the continent is expected to have the largest labor force on the planet by 2040.

GG world Lottery’s expansion plans are not going to be limited with Africa. The company has already signed 12 non-disclosure agreements with official representatives of other countries, as well as received 17 licenses in 12 jurisdictions to conduct various gaming activities.

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COINBASE CRYPTOCURRENCY WALLET ADDS ETHEREUM CLASSIC SUPPORT

COINBASE CRYPTOCURRENCY WALLET ADDS ETHEREUM CLASSIC SUPPORT

Cryptocurrency wallet of the American exchange Coinbase launches support for Ethereum Classic (ETC), the company said in its own blog on November 27.

In Coinbase crypto-exchange blog, a message appeared that in the coming days, along with the update of Coinbase Wallet, users will be able to exchange Ethereum Classic. For American cryptocurrency exchange wallet holders the shipping address ETC will be identical to ETH.

For the first time, the crypto exchange announced plans to place Ethereum Classic in June, after which the price of the cryptocurrency asset increased sharply. In May, the developers of ETH Classic also reported about the successful update of the network. After listing altcoins in August, ETC was also added to the Coinbase Index Fund.

In October, it became known that the department of the American crypto-exchange, Coinbase Global, received permission to work in New York as a trust company, offering services for custodial storage of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Ripple and Bitcoin Cash.

 

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BLOCKCHAIN PLATFORM FOR TRADELENS SEA PORTS GOT A PARTNER IN HONG KONG

BLOCKCHAIN PLATFORM FOR TRADELENS SEA PORTS GOT A PARTNER IN HONG KONG

The second largest operator of sea terminals in Hong Kong, Modern Terminals Company joined the TradeLens blockchain platform – created to track the supply chains of sea cargo to ports. The project brings together 20 major ports around the world.

Modern Terminals Company joined blockchain platform for tracking marine cargo TradeLens.

TredeLense is a joint venture of the Danish transport conglomerate Maersk and the American IT Corporation IBM. It is a blockchain platform that is designed to include Maritime trading operations.

Today, the platform is used by 20 operators of ports and marine terminals around the world, including the ports of Valencia, Singapore, Halifax, Bilbao, Philadelphia and Patrick Terminals, PortBase and PortConnect.

Before TradeLens’ launching, most of the ports were working mostly with paper documents. This involved container ships, and since the verification of cargo documentation could take considerable time, it also led to delays in the goods delivery.

As stated, the use of TradeLens allows to reduce the shipping time by 40%. The use of a digital registry has allowed all participants in the supply chain to broadcast the status of each container to each other in real time, with activity records being unreachable.

Meanwhile, Modern Terminals was also among the TradeLens participants in order to assess the platform’s ability to provide real-time activity recordings. In addition, each participant can suggest changes in the platform.

 

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Tuesday, November 27, 2018

NASDAQ PLANS TO LAUNCH BITCOIN FUTURES DESPITE THE PRICE COLLAPSE

NASDAQ PLANS TO LAUNCH BITCOIN FUTURES DESPITE THE PRICE COLLAPSE

One of the largest stock exchanges in the world NASDAQ is planning to implement the listing of bitcoin futures, Bloomberg writes. According to the information, the company expects to attract significant interest in its new product, despite the decline in the price of cryptocurrency.

Sources also said that NASDAQ was working to remove doubts of the main the US swap markets regulator – the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The exchange operator, whose plans to launch bitcoin futures became known last year, intends to open its new product for trading in the first quarter of 2019.

In January, Adena Friedman, who currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Nasdaq, said that the company is exploring ways to make its potential product different from the existing futures of competitors. The source said that NASDAQ futures will use as a benchmark spot price from a variety of cryptocurrency exchanges in accordance with the proposal of VanEck Associates Corp.

Last week, it became known that VanEck’s division will use data from three over-the-counter cryptocurrency platforms to launch an index that could be involved in its future bitcoin ETF which is pending approval by the US Securities And Exchange Commission (SEC).

 

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OKEX EXCHANGE ANNOUNCED THE DE-LISTING OF 49 TRADING PAIRS

OKEX EXCHANGE ANNOUNCED THE DE-LISTING OF 49 TRADING PAIRS

Cryptocurrency exchange OKEx this Tuesday reports another large-scale de-listing of trading pairs from its platform due to their “low liquidity and trading volumes”. A total of 49 pairs will be de-listed, the full list of which can be found on the site.

Trading pairs will be deleted on November 31 at 07: 00 GMT. Until that time, users need to cancel active orders in the corresponding trading pairs; otherwise, they will be canceled automatically, and the assets will be credited back to the users’ accounts.

In addition, users holding Vee, LEV, AVT, CBT, WRC, QVT, MTL, DNA, DNT, OAX, 1ST, CAG, UKG, BRD, SAN, ICN, ATL, SUB, REQ, NGC, AMM, LA, DENT, CIT, DAT and MAG tokens on OKEx need to withdraw them to other trading platforms or third-party wallets. Withdrawal of funds in these digital assets will be suspended on December 14 at 07: 00 GMT.

Earlier OKEx stopped trading token Viuly (VIU), due to the fact that his team broke the existing registration procedure after you have updated your smart contract.

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THREE BULGARIANS ARRESTED FOR STEALING CRYPTOCURRENCY

THREE BULGARIANS ARRESTED FOR STEALING CRYPTOCURRENCY

Three Bulgarians were arrested and accused of stealing cryptocurrency worth about $5 million, the Interior Ministry and the prosecutor’s office said on Monday.

Police seized cryptocurrencies worth about $3 million, as well as computers used by the suspects. They also found notebooks with accounts of real and fictional people used in fraud.

The prosecutors stated that the suspects had very good knowledge of the cryptocurrency trade and used innovative methods and specialized theft software.

Thieves and fraudsters remain a major problem for the cryptocurrency industry. Cryptocurrency cybersecurity and intelligence firm CipherTrace estimates that close to $1 billion was stolen in the first nine months of 2018 alone.

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UGANDA PLANS TO REGULATE CRYPTO MARKET DUE TO THE GROWTH OF FINANCIAL PYRAMIDS

UGANDA PLANS TO REGULATE CRYPTO MARKET DUE TO THE GROWTH OF FINANCIAL PYRAMIDS

The government of Uganda plans to introduce cryptocurrency regulation to protect the population from the growing number of cryptocurrency-related financial pyramids, the local news outlet reported.

Uganda Finance Minister, David Bahati said that the government intends to introduce a new bill aimed at regulating the cryptocurrency market, responding to the concerns expressed by members of Parliament about the growth of the financial pyramids numbers:

“In October, the Cabinet approved the bill on the national payment system. We intend to propose it to Parliament next month”.

The representative of Masaka municipality, Mathias Mpuuga, noted that cryptocurrency agencies often “mislead” the people of Uganda, noting that now there is no law that regulates their activities.

Responding to a representative from the city of Masaka, the Minister of Finance recalled that the Central Bank and Parliament had previously warned investors about the risks associated with non-regulated schemes.

The cryptocurrency market is actively developing in Uganda, especially after the largest crypto-exchange Binance opened a branch in the country and began to accept deposits in Ugandan shillings: in the first week after the opening, 40,000 users registered on the exchange.

 

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$5 MILLION LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST BITMAIN IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

$5 MILLION LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST BITMAIN IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

A collective lawsuit of $5 million with charges of cryptocurrency illegal mining at the expense of customers is filed against the mining giant Bitmain, said the California Federal court.

A leading plaintiff living in Los Angeles, Gor Gevorgyan, filed a lawsuit against Bitmain, accusing it of illegal mining at the expense of customers:

“Until the completion of a complex and time-consuming installation procedure, Bitmain’s ASIC devices are pre-configured so that they can use customers’ electricity to mine cryptocurrencies in favor of Bitmain, but not customers.”

Gevorgyan claims that after the acquisition of devices from Bitmain, including the Antminer S9, in January 2018, he spent “significant time” on their configuration, but until that moment, the devices “worked at full capacity” at his expense.

Gevorgyan demands compensation of $5 million on behalf of all miners for “unfair business practices” leading to “obvious losses of own funds”.

At the beginning of the month, it became known that the mining company also filed a lawsuit against an unknown hacker who stole bitcoins owned by the company, clearing the Bitmain account on Binance.

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THE SEC COMMISSIONER HAS CONFIRMED THE INEVITABILITY OF ACCEPTING BITCOIN ETF

THE SEC COMMISSIONER HAS CONFIRMED THE INEVITABILITY OF ACCEPTING BITCOIN ETF

Commissioner of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Hester Peirce confirmed that the adoption of bitcoin ETF is definitely possible.

The most famous supporter of bitcoin Hester Peirce, also known as “crypto mama”, said that the emergence of bitcoin ETF in the near future is inevitable.

Peirce first won the hearts of crypto-enthusiasts in July 2018, after publicly declaring her disagreement with the decision of the Commission to refuse on issuing permission to run bitcoin-ETF that was proposed by billionaires and founders of the Gemini exchange —the Winklevoss brothers.

During the podcast, Peirce again opposed the SEC’s widespread belief that bitcoin is not mature enough, respectable and regulated technology. According to her, the SEC has a specific mandate and authority to create a bitcoin supporting regulatory framework. She believes that the SEC should develop a regulatory framework that allows such innovations to develop rather than limit them.

Peirce also said that the Commission has taken a number of specialist-consultants in the field of cryptocurrency, who insisted the agency to adopt a cautious and moderate approach in relation to exchange-traded bitcoin fund.

Pierce also noted that although all the applications for crypto-ETF registration have been rejected so far, they are still open.

Pierce said that many members of the crypto community were interested in the comments about the time of the final approval of a particular application for bitcoin ETF, but it is almost impossible to give a clear answer to this, since each proposal is evaluated differently due to the presence of each of its distinctive features and drawback. Thus, it is quite difficult to say when a specific bitcoin-ETF launch proposal can be approved by at least three of the five commissioners, because each of them has different points of view as how an exchange-traded investment fund tied to bitcoin should look like.

 

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Monday, November 26, 2018

LEDGER OPENS A NEW OFFICE IN NEW YORK

LEDGER OPENS A NEW OFFICE IN NEW YORK

The company Ledger, which opened prior access to the Vault Ledger in May, appointed former Manager of the ICE Dimitar Skalkotas as the head of a business-department.  President of Ledger, Pascal Gauthier said:

“New York is the center of the financial world, so the opening of Ledger Vault in this region is a logical step”.

Ledger has also partnered with non-cryptocurrency companies, like the ICE exchange, to prepare the basis for growing demand by institutional investors.

Ledger Vault is a form of custodial solution that allows multiple corporate departments, like hedge funds, to access a single wallet for cold storage of cryptocurrency assets. In October, the manufacturer of hardware cryptocurrency wallets – Ledger announced the sale of more than 1,300,000 units of its product. Earlier, the company also announced plans to hold another round of attracting investments, which are interested in such technological giants as Samsung, Google and Siemens.

According to the head of the new department in New York, potential clients already require solutions for assets’ custodial business management:

“Safe storage of large multi-currency funds is a complex challenge that cannot be solved simply by applying measures. Institutions are looking for safer storage options that are compatible with regulatory requirements, but don’t want to sacrifice convenience.”

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WINNERS OF CHAINPOINT 18 INTERNATIONAL FORUM

WINNERS OF CHAINPOINT 18 INTERNATIONAL FORUM

On November 14-15, the ChainPoint 18 international forum was held at the Comitas Museum-Institute.
On the second day 8 Armenian startups representing blockchain have presented their “pitch” to the jury.
The members of the jury were the best specialists of that field:

– Arthur Eolian, Co-founder of Double Sirius Capital private investment fund,
– Tachat Igityan, co-founder of DeStream company,
– Ralph Liu, Founder of MuleChain company,
– Leonid Morozovsky, co-founder of DAS Index Company,
– Hambardzum Kaghketsyan, partner of SmartGateVC,
– Manuk Hergnyan, co-founder and executive director of Granatus Ventures,
– Victor Goncharuk, Executive Director of RACIB company,
– Armen Chakhoyan, head of Fasttoken project.

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As a result, Wirestock and Coinstats Armenian startups were recognized as the winners of the  conference. The winners are going to get support and funding from Fasttoken and Noor, the general partners of the forum.
The main purpose of the presentation was to express the usefulness of the projects and make them more exciting. During the event, members of the jury constructively criticized the projects in a particular sector and expressed quite yet interesting comments.

The main achievement of the forum was that after the event, for some time, the jury, investors and startups were getting acquainted and exchanging with personal data with each other.

 

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BARRY SILBERT TOLD WHAT HE ADDED TO HIS CRYPTO PORTFOLIO

BARRY SILBERT TOLD WHAT HE ADDED TO HIS CRYPTO PORTFOLIO

CEO of Digital Currency Group and early bitcoin investor Barry Silbert did not miss the opportunity to buy several cryptocurrencies in the falling market.

As Silbert wrote on Twitter Sunday night, he has replenished his portfolio with Ethereum Classic (ETC), Zcash (ZEC), Decentraland (MANA) and Horizon (ZEN). He had not mentioned neither the number of purchased coins nor the total amount of investments.

 

ETC, ZEC and ZEN are also part of the investment portfolio of Grayscale Investments, DCG’s investment division, and so their choice is probably not as surprising. This, however, cannot be said about Decentraland (MANA), and the fact that Silbert added this coin to his personal portfolio, deserves some attention.

Ethereum Classic ranks 16th in the CoinMarketCap ranking and is trading around $4.68 on Monday morning. Zcash is on the 18th place and now costs about $ 71.10, Horizon-on the 97th place ($6.60). Decentraland is in 67th place and is trading around $0.054.

Earlier in November, Grayscale Investments reported that in 2018 it attracted a record $330 million in products offered by the company.

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OHIO – THE US SECOND STATE TO ACCEPT BTC FOR TAX PAYMENTS

OHIO – THE US SECOND STATE TO ACCEPT BTC FOR TAX PAYMENTS

According to the latest news, US businesses in Ohio soon will be able to pay their taxes online by using Bitcoin. The promotion will be offered to personal taxpayers at some point in the near future.

State Treasurer Josh Mandel is the pioneer of this idea and starting from upcoming week, the state’s companies and corporations will be able to carry Bitcoin tax payments at OhioCrypto.com. The payments will be treated by US Company BitPay, which makes the BTC conversion to US dollars for the Ohio government.

The state official hopes the initiative is a real chance to involve Ohio in the much anticipated wider adoption of Bitcoin.

Other US states, like Arizona, Georgia and Illinois, have had bills with similar propositions, stalled in the legislative approval process. As an elected official, Mandel was able to push through his plans without approval from the state’s legislature or governor.

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Sunday, November 25, 2018

THE OPPOSITION LEADER IN NIGERIA PROMISES TO DEVELOP A FAIR REGULATION OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES IN CASE OF WINNING THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

THE OPPOSITION LEADER IN NIGERIA PROMISES TO DEVELOP A FAIR REGULATION OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES IN CASE OF WINNING THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

In preparation for the Nigeria President General election, which will be held in February 2019, Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)-the largest opposition party in the country — in his program included the creation of “comprehensive regulation of the blockchain industry and digital currencies.” Atiku Abubakar, who served as Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, is currently working on the modernization of the country’s economy.

The decision to include cryptocurrency regulation in the election campaign was a surprise for the citizens of Nigeria, as the country’s financial regulator, headed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, has consistently conducted a very cautious study of digital currencies for a long time and has maintained a very conservative position in this area.

Nigeria’s financial regulatory environment has traditionally been seen as conservative, with banks having a significant impact on policy processes and decisions. Thus, despite the growing awareness and acceptance of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies among the population as a whole, the authorities repeatedly warned about the high risks of investing in cryptocurrencies.

In January 2018, the head of the Nigeria Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele described investments in the bitcoin “gamble” which should ideally be strictly regulated. Despite the Central Bank’s similar position, Nigeria is the leader in terms of bitcoin trading volume on peer-to-peer platforms among African countries. Last month, the London-based startup Coinfirm launched a blockchain network in Nigeria to counter fraud and began to conduct educational blockchain courses. According to the latest data, Nigerian business also prefers to pay in bitcoin instead of national currency.

 

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UK REGULATORS ARE PREPARING A “COMPREHENSIVE RESPONSE” TO THE ILLEGAL USE OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES IN THE COUNTRY

UK REGULATORS ARE PREPARING A “COMPREHENSIVE RESPONSE” TO THE ILLEGAL USE OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES IN THE COUNTRY

Christopher Woolard, Director General for strategy and competition at the United Kingdom Financial conduct authority (FCA), said the UK regulators plan to prepare a “comprehensive response” to the illegal use of cryptocurrencies in local businesses and among consumers.

Speaking at a conference on cryptocurrency regulation in London, Christopher Woolard said that the regulator plans to take tough measures to break the illegal use of cryptocurrencies in the country.

In response to the sharp increase in the adoption of digital assets in recent years, Woolard said that the FCA seeks to establish direct cooperation with Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) and the Bank of England, to study the impact of cryptocurrencies and distributed ledger technology on consumers, the integrity and stability of the market, as well as to study the risks of increasing the financial crimes number due to the increased cryptocurrencies prevalence.

Woolard said that HMT plans to take action against the use of cryptocurrency in financial illegal activities.

According to him, to combat financial crimes, the Treasury “will give the industry one of the most comprehensive responses to the use of cryptocurrencies in illegal activities.”

Despite the announcement of tougher regulatory measures against the illegal use of cryptocurrencies, Woolard said that he still does not consider cryptocurrencies as a threat to financial stability, but stressed the need to remain vigilant on the part of regulators and financial institutions. The FCA official also expressed hope that the popularity of cryptocurrencies in Britain will keep growing.

In September, the Financial Committee of the UK Parliament published the “final report on crypto assets”, which considered various aspects of the cryptocurrency market and described possible ways to regulate the industry.

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MIKE NOVOGRATZ: IT IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO DEVELOP A CRYPTOCURRENCY BUSINESS IN THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENT

MIKE NOVOGRATZ: IT IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO DEVELOP A CRYPTOCURRENCY BUSINESS IN THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENT

Billionaire and CEO of Galaxy Digital, Mike Novogratz said in an interview to Financial Times that his own cryptocurrency trading bank faced serious difficulties, which are not usually characteristic to the companies in the field of traditional finance. According to Novogratz, the development of cryptocurrency business in the current circumstances is not a good idea.

The Bank received over $302 million investment from the billionaire and currently manages assets of $460 million. Most recently, the company opened a new trading division and intends to improve its position in the market thanks to the listing in Frankfurt.

Nevertheless, in the history of Galaxy Digital there is a reverse side of the coin. After the organization raised another $242 million investment in August 2018 through a listing on the Toronto Stock exchange, the value of its shares fell by 37%. For the first quarter of this year, Galaxy Digital reported losses of $134 million, $85 million of which accounted for unrealized losses on cryptocurrency positions and $13.5 for losses during trading.

The second quarter for the company proved to be less successful and net income of Galaxy Digital was equal to $35 million due to unrealized gains of $44.8 investment in the main areas.

Nevertheless, Mike Novogratz is confident that the industry of cryptocurrencies will survive this turbulent period. In his opinion, next year the price of bitcoin will grow to $20 000 — this will be facilitated by the influx of institutional investors to the market, as indicated by the launch of the Bakkt and Fidelity Digital Asset Services platforms.

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Friday, November 23, 2018

NORWAY WILL STOP PROVIDING ELECTRICITY SUBSIDIES TO MINERS

NORWAY WILL STOP PROVIDING ELECTRICITY SUBSIDIES TO MINERS

The Norwegian authorities have decided to refuse to provide preferential terms of energy supply for mining companies.

At the moment, Norwegian miners pay for electricity at reduced rates, on similar terms, under which all industrial enterprises in the country that consume large amounts of energy are served. Thus, when consuming more than 0.5 MW of electricity, the cost of a kilowatt is only 0.00056 dollars, while the standard tariff for the Norwegian population is $0.19 per kW.

Previously, Norwegian miners paid only 2.8% of the standard tariff rate. However, the government decided to refuse providing benefits to mining data centers. Since 2019, the budget of Norway will cease to subsidize tariffs for this type of business.

The elimination of subsidies was initiated by the tax administration, which is part of the Norway Finance Ministry. The proposal was supported by the majority of the country’s departments, which subsequently made appropriate amendments to the state budget for 2019.

The representative of the mining company ICT Norway Roger Sherva, criticized the decision of the authorities, as, according to him, the issue of cancellation of subsidies was not discussed with the participants of the mining sector. Sherva believes that the termination of benefits can lead to the ruin of the majority of Norwegian mining companies.

Recall that in late summer, the Norwegian authorities closed the mining farm due to the lack of legal permission to conduct activities related to the circulation of digital currencies.

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SAUDI ARABIA WILL RELEASE ITS OWN CRYPTOCURRENCY IN 2019

SAUDI ARABIA WILL RELEASE ITS OWN CRYPTOCURRENCY IN 2019

Saudi Arabia will release its own cryptocurrency for interbank transactions in 2019, together with the United Arab Emirates, said the head of the Department of innovation of the financial regulator of the Kingdom of SAMA, Mohsen al Zahrani.

For the first time about its own cryptocurrency wrote the publication Saudi Press Agency, which explains that the cryptocurrency will be used as a mechanism for the implementation of interbank payments and it will be available only to banks.

Head of the Central Bank of the UAE Mubarak Al Mansouri explained:

“Digital currency will not replace cash, it will become a new payment method for banks, not for individuals”.

Al Mansori also noted that the cryptocurrency is under development: its launch is planned as soon as Saudi Arabia will complete the necessary research, which is likely to be in the middle of 2019.

Recall that in August, a special Committee consisting of various ministries’ representatives and the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia, said that the trading “unauthorized” cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, are illegal in the country.

 

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5 EXPERT INVESTING TIPS FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING

5 EXPERT INVESTING TIPS FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING

If you’re new to investing, you probably have no idea what you’re doing. But don’t blindly buy stocks. Here are 5 expert investing tips to get you started.

Investing can be either the best or the worst financial decision you ever make. For some, it offers significant returns or turns out to offer a nice financial boost to save money for a house or a car. For others, it’s a fast-track to debt.

Whatever outcome you have with investing, though, it won’t be because of shifts in the market or bad advice. Your success in investing depends on you. You’re the one who has to learn the rules, identify your biggest opportunities, and be smart when things get tough.

But, you don’t have to go in blind when dealing with the ups and downs of investing. Here are 5 investing tips to help you figure it all out!

  1. Research Will Always Matter

You’re going to spend more time doing research than anything else when you first get into investing. You need to learn the basics. These include standard investment lingo and what options you have when buying, trading, and selling, and much more.

As time goes on, your research won’t be as in-depth, but it will still be necessary. You need to always weigh the pros and cons of an investment before adding it to your portfolio. More importantly, you can’t act on the results other people have seen or simply trust their advice; you have to follow-up and see where the facts lie beyond their words.

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  1. You Can Start Small

Keep in mind that you don’t need a lot of money to start investing!

Small, simple investments in things like penny stocks and personal finance apps can add up. These give you a handle of how investing works. They help you prepare for bigger investments such as buying high-profile stocks or even investing in a start-up.

  1. Work on Differentiating Your Portfolio

Another smart investment tip to use is the concept of differentiation. You don’t want your portfolio to be built around just one industry or even one kind of investments.

It’s worth having a mix of different kinds of stocks like payment processing stocks and green stocks if all you’re interested in is the stock market. But, don’t forget you can go beyond that and invest in things real estate and new businesses, too.

  1. Don’t Buy What You Don’t Understand

Whatever you end up investing in, don’t put any money down unless you’re sure you understand what you’re getting yourself into.

Always do a second (or third) look-over of the contract and conditions applied to your investment. Make sure you have a deep working knowledge of a stock’s performance or a property’s value or a startup’s business plan before you move forward.

  1. Remember Big Returns Take Time

At the end of the day, the best advice you’ll ever find about investing is this: it’s not a fast-track to getting rich. More so, there’s no guarantee you’ll ever get a big payout.

Investing has too many possibilities and outlying factors to be a sure-fire thing. But, the more knowledge you gain about how it works and what opportunities are available to you, the better your position to earn a big return. Even then, you’ll have to be patient and wait for the returns to add up.

Bitcoin Investing Tips

The investing tips above apply to all kinds of investment markets. However, it’s worth that all forms of investing are unique. Each niche market (i.e. real estate, stocks, startups, etc) has its own rules, trends, and best practices.

As far as bitcoin goes, click here to learn more about how this area of investing works.

 

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Thursday, November 22, 2018

USA TEENAGERS PREFER CRYPTOCURRENCY TO FIAT

USA TEENAGERS PREFER CRYPTOCURRENCY TO FIAT

As a gift for the holidays, teenagers in the US prefer to get cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and V-bucks, in-game currency Fortnite for buying additional game content, rather than gift cards and cash, according to Holiday 2018 consumer behavior study report.

Investment Company Piper Jaffray conducted a study of consumer behavior in the run-up to the holidays, and interviewing teenagers, found that American teenagers prefer cryptocurrency to fiat as a gift.

Cryptocurrency V-bucks sold at about the rate of 1000 V-bucks for $9.99, and Fortnite is one of the most popular games, which in a short time attracted millions of gamers from around the world. The game is so popular that fraudsters spread malware aimed at stealing data about bitcoin wallets, masking them as cheats for the video game Fortnite, said in early October, the cybersecurity company Malwarebytes.

Epic Game Company, the creator of the game, recently raised another $1.25 billion, increasing the company’s capitalization to $15 billion. Also this week, the blockchain game startup Margaret de Courcelles was estimated at $13 million.

At that time, as modern teenagers would like to obtain cryptocurrency as a gift, the Millennials are already investing in crypto currencies. According to Deidre Campbell research, crypto currencies remain the preferred choice for long-term investment among Millennials investors, reported the New York Post, and the Edelman research showed that more than 25% of “wealthy” Millennials have their own cryptocurrency, or use them, and another 31% were “interested in using” cryptocurrency.

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BLOCKCHAIN SYSTEM OF AUTHENTICATION OF DIPLOMAS ATTRACTS 21 MILLION DOLLARS

BLOCKCHAIN SYSTEM OF AUTHENTICATION OF DIPLOMAS ATTRACTS 21 MILLION DOLLARS

The TrustED platform, created to simplify the process of verifying the authenticity of education diplomas, plans to raise $ 21 million during the January ICO.

Academic achievements and diplomas are crucial for personal and career development, but at the moment, to confirm them using an outdated system of data storage and issuance of certificates, when each University separately manages its own database. Employees and companies are forced to apply to third parties, paying for proof of authenticity of the diploma, which can be a significant amount, especially to confirm the diploma of another country.

Founded in 2017, the blockchain startup TrustED aims to digitize academic achievements and completely change the way certificates and diplomas are obtained, stored and verified using blockchain technologies. The startup has already entered into a partnership agreement with BlockGemini in Dubai and with NetObjects in San Francisco, and has opened several offices in the US and Australia.

The founders of the project promise that students will be able to easily share their diplomas, independently identifying those who will have access to their personal data, and employees will be able to quickly and without intermediaries to confirm the authenticity of the documents provided to them.

Since the beginning of the summer, a team of Oxford professors and scientists has been working on the creation of the world’s first blockchain College, having already asked the regulators of the European Union for accreditation for the issuance of diplomas, where the system will also allow to verify the authenticity of diplomas, protecting the work of conscientious students. Also last year, the intention to issue blockchain diplomas was announced by MIT and the Central College of New Mexico. Residents of the Bahamas since August can receive and confirm their diplomas of education with the help of the new blockchain system. In Russia, the system of authentication of diplomas introduced Financial University under the government of the Russian Federation in Moscow.

The use of blockchain in the production and verification of important documents is already found in many areas: in India, the blockchain will store data of birth certificates, Poland began to register on the blockchain data of the credit history of citizens, and in Africa, the blockchain is widely used in the issuance of documents of land ownership.

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LOU KERNER COMPARED BITCOIN TO AMAZON

LOU KERNER COMPARED BITCOIN TO AMAZON

The partner of venture capital firm CryptoOracle Lou Kerner, in the program “Worldwide Exchange” that goes on CNBC, compared the current recession of courses of virtual currencies with the bursting of the dot-com bubble in the early 2000.

According to Kerner, strong cryptocurrencies can be compared to large companies that survived the dot-com bubble – like the e-Commerce giant Amazon:

“If we recall the Internet bubble, which is what a lot of us in crypto look at for direction, the shares of Amazon, undoubtedly one of the greatest companies in the history of mankind, lost 95% of its value in two years.”

Amazon entered the IPO in May 1997, when one of its shares was worth $18. By December 1998, the company’s stock price soared to $300, but in March 2000, it fell to $6. Over time, however, Amazon became one of the largest US companies with a market capitalization of $1 trillion.

According to Kerner, the current volatility is nothing compared to what investors faced in 2013, when the bitcoin market suddenly collapsed by 70%.

“This is the whole point of investing in cryptocurrencies,” said Kerner.

In his opinion, the impact of large technological changes in the short term is overestimated, and in the long term, on the contrary – underestimated.

Kerner also said that bitcoin is “one of the greatest funds of accumulation created in history”, and added that over time, BTC in this respect will bypass even gold.

Earlier, the partner of the venture firm Blockchain Capital Spencer Bogart said that he also believes that the potential of bitcoin is “still huge”, despite the bearish sentiment in the market.

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TELEGRAM OPEN NETWORK (TON) PROJECT IS READY FOR 70%

TELEGRAM OPEN NETWORK (TON) PROJECT IS READY FOR 70%

Pavel Durov’s Telegram Open Network (TON) blockchain project is 70% ready. It became known from the documents published in a network dated 5th of September. They were published by the co-founder of  Button Mike Dudas.

They confirm the previously published information that smart contract engine of TON Virtual Machine (TVM) is “fully implemented and tested.” Its readiness is estimated at 95%.

“It may require minor changes to the TVM mechanism during the software connection process to generate and validate blocks in the TON blockchain,” the document says.

It is also noted that the component for executing transaction requests in the TON network is at the completion stage. At the same time, the software for block validation is only 10% ready.

Recall that in 2018 during two rounds of closed ICO TON Telegram attracted $ 1.7 billion to develop the project.

In September, it was reported that Telegram will begin testing the TON blockchain platform in late autumn.

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COINGECKO RELEASES 2018 Q3 CRYPTOCURRENCY REPORT

COINGECKO RELEASES 2018 Q3 CRYPTOCURRENCY REPORT

Our CoinGecko 2018 Q3 Cryptocurrency Report has just been released! This is the 5th report that we have published since the release of our first report in Q3 2017. We are very grateful that we have the opportunity to share our insights and would love to hear your feedback on our current report.

In this Q3 report, we analysed the performance of the crypto market with insights into crypto exchanges and ICOs. We also partnered with Masternodes.Online and NonFungible.com to prepare special sections looking deeper into the growing masternodes and non-fungible tokens space. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Masternodes.Online and NonFungible.com for the insights that they have provided into these emerging crypto segments.

With the exception of Ethereum, all other top 5 coins made a positive year-on-year return. EOS was a notable standout as it still has a 700% return year-on-year. Ethereum has been on a difficult year with prices falling 22% below what it was one year back. This has been mainly due to the slowdown of the ICO market and also because many ICO teams have been selling their ether to fiat currencies to preserve value.

Q3 saw many exchanges adopting a controversial strategy called “Trans-fee Mining” to boost exchange trading volume. Trans-fee mining is the “mining” or creation of new exchange-based tokens via rebates of the exchange’s transaction fees.

This strategy was first made popular by a newly launched exchange called Fcoin but was soon copied by almost all other exchanges with Chinese links such as CoinbeneBitforexZBOKex and so on. The introduction of trans-fee mining have significantly changed the dominance rank for cryptocurrency exchanges in Q3 as compared to Q2.

Despite bearish sentiments throughout Q3, we are seeing strong growth in exchange trading volumes. Exchanges with trans-fee mining are showing a higher growth rate in trading volume as compared to exchanges without trans-fee mining. However, the strategy of using trans-fee mining is a temporary one as most exchanges struggle to maintain its high trading volume after its initial announcement and excitement amongst traders.

CoinGecko is also seeing many new exchanges being launched and has added a total of 65 new exchanges in Q3 2018. This growth is similar to what we saw in Q2 2018 where we added 63 new exchanges.

ICO Performance

Q3 saw a downward trend of ICOs being launched. In total, there were 388 ICOs being launched in Q3, which is a 36% decline from the 606 ICOs being launched in Q2. Excluding EOS, ICOs have raised in total 55% less in Q3 compared to Q2.

However, unlike last quarter, funding distribution is much more evenly spread out. With the top funded ICO raising a little over $70 million, it is likely that investors are becoming smarter and more savvy in deciding which projects to back.

It is also interesting to note that 81% of this quarter’s ICO funding came from Singapore. 94% of all fundings happened in the top 10 countries. This may be attributed to more stringent regulation imposed by governments across the world.

Global Events

In terms of global events reported on mainstream news outlets, we saw a majority of news updates related to government regulation and mainstream adoption of blockchain technology. There was significantly less chatter around new ICO projects.

Masternodes Special

We are seeing growing interest in the masternodes space with the number of masternodes steadily increasing as investors seek alternative investment in this bearish market.

Our partner, Masternodes.Online shared some insights into this space. Masternodes are full nodes that incentivize node operators with tokens to perform the core consensus functions of running a blockchain. Of the top 10 masternodes by market capitalization, only Bulwark (BWK)Wagerr (WGR) and Alqo (XLQ) managed to turn a positive return in Q3.

Non-Fungible Tokens Special

We also saw increasing interest in Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT). With the introduction of Cryptokitties and the introduction of the ERC-721 standard, NFT have gain significant popularity in 2018 with transaction volume doubled between January and October 2018. We collaborated NonFungible.com to take a deeper look into this space.

Free to Download

Similar to the previous reports, CoinGecko Q3 Report is free for all to download and access. Here is a Slideshare embed of the report. If you want to download the full PDF, do click on this link. Feel free to share and quote our reports in your tweets, articles, and blog posts and we would love to hear your thoughts on it. If you have any comments, do drop us an email at hello@coingecko.com.

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GIGAWATT MINING COMPANY GOES THROUGH BANKRUPTCY

GIGAWATT MINING COMPANY GOES THROUGH BANKRUPTCY

In the United States the company for manufacturing mining equipment GigaWatt initiated the procedure of bankruptcy. The debt of the startup only to the largest creditors is $7 million. In May 2017, the project raised $ 22 million during the ICO, but failed to implement the “road map” within the promised time frame.

The list of creditors includes a utility company (debt of $ 310 thousand) and an electric utility company (debt of almost $ 500 thousand). According to court documents, the assets of GigaWatt are estimated at less than $ 50,000, while the amount of liabilities is $ 10-50 million.

Giga Watt was founded by David Carlson, who planned to create small mining farms with sources of cheap power supply and constant maintenance of equipment. The first farm was to appear in Washington State. For these purposes, in May 2017, the project during the ICO collected cryptocurrencies worth about $22 million.

But in January against the company was filed a class action with charges of selling unregistered securities. The plaintiffs demanded the company to return the investments, as GigaWatt did not meet the terms of the “road map”. In fact the company refused to voluntarily return the invested funds.

In late October, local media reported that the project is on the verge of bankruptcy.

 

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BITPAY INTEGRATES PAX STABLECOIN INTO A CRYPTO PAYMENT PLATFORM

BITPAY INTEGRATES PAX STABLECOIN INTO A CRYPTO PAYMENT PLATFORM

Bitcoin payment platform BitPay will now allow payments using the Paxos Standard token (PAX), which he calls the “fastest growing stablecoin”.

Although BitPay had previously integrated a number of different cryptocurrencies into its platform, such a widespread stablecoin (the first of its kind, supported by the payment platform) has certain advantages, namely regulatory compliance and stable cost. Seeing that each PAX token is $ 1, merchants and customers can feel more comfortable holding a token instead of other cryptocurrencies, which are often subject to volatile price fluctuations.

The release commented little on the future plans of the new BitPay partnership, but the adoption of stablecoin is the logical next step. Stablecoins have recently attracted interest in space, more and more attempts to launch cryptocurrencies, which can successfully support snapping to Fiat.

Combining the most famous cryptocurrency trading platform with a fast-growing and well-regulated stablecoin is a profitable match that would ideally attract more traders and consumers to the platform now that they have a stable cryptocurrency for transactions.

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Wednesday, November 21, 2018

THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO LAUNCHED THE BLOCKCHAIN COURSE WITH THE SUPPORT OF SMBC AND ETHEREUM FOUNDATION

THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO LAUNCHED THE BLOCKCHAIN COURSE WITH THE SUPPORT OF SMBC AND ETHEREUM FOUNDATION

Tokyo University is launching a blockchain course after receiving nearly $ 800,000 from companies including Japanese Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and Ethereum Foundation.

In a press release issued by SMBC on November 20, it is also mentioned that Good Luck 3, JSS, Zipper, Hotto link and Money Forward also invested in the blockchain education at Tokyo University.

As a result, the educational program of the University of Tokyo named ” Blockсhain Innovation Donation Course” will run for three years from this month.

The content of the program is designed specifically for students who want to become blockchain entrepreneurs, and includes theoretical and practical modules on the development of decentralized solutions, social prerequisites for the introduction of new technology and human resource management.

In June Stanford University opened the center for blockchain studies, also with the support of the Ethereum Foundation, and this week Columbia University and IBM announced two programmes-accelerator, designed to help the blockchain startups in scaling.

According to Coinbase research, 42% of the world’s top 50 universities offer at least one blockchain-and cryptocurrency-related educational product.

This semester, New York University (NYU) announced itself to be the first US University ready to offer students cryptocurrency and blockchain education, the University of Malta allocated 300,000 euros for scholarships to students studying blockchain, and the German business school “Frankfurt School of Finance & Management” offers an educational program for obtaining a diploma of blockchain expert.

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TOBACCO SHOPS IN FRANCE WILL START SELLING BITCOINS IN JANUARY

TOBACCO SHOPS IN FRANCE WILL START SELLING BITCOINS IN JANUARY

Association of sellers of tobacco products of France Confédération des buralistes plans to sell bitcoin in the tobacco stores from the 1st of January 2019.

As reported by Europe1, French tobacco shops have the right to sell bitcoins since the beginning of next year, signing an agreement with the Central Bank of France. Later, the journalist Greg Raymond of Capital said that the approval of the Bank of France has not yet been received, which was as well  confirmed by the head of the Association of tobacco sellers.

The head of Confédération des buralistes also explained that the payment terminal Bimedia will appear in tobacco stores. The opportunity to buy bitcoin may soon appear in the network of 3500 stores.

Last week, the Minister of economy and Finance of France Bruno Le Maire said that France is a leading country in the world, in terms of a developed tax scheme for cryptocurrency assets. Also, since the summer, the  French financial markets regulator (AMF) has been developing regulations on ICO regulation.

Recall that since March, you can buy Bitcoin and Ethereum in 1200 tobacco stores in Australia, where sales are implemented with the support of BlueShift.

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REGULATOR OF ITALY SUSPENDS ACTIVITY OF 3 CRYPTOCURRENCY COMPANIES

REGULATOR OF ITALY SUSPENDS ACTIVITY OF 3 CRYPTOCURRENCY COMPANIES

Italian securities market regulator CONSOB issued an order to suspend for 90 days the activities of three cryptocurrency companies: Crypton Ltd, Cryptoforce Ltd and Eagle Bit Trade.

Companies Crypton Ltd, Cryptoforce Ltd and Eagle Bit Trade received from the Italian regulator an order to suspend activities, as the CONSOB saw in their activities a violation of the law. After the expiration of three months, companies may also face a permanent ban on doing business.

Crypton offers investments in the cryptocurrency of the same name on the Cryptonforce.world website, promising Italian investors up to 40% of the monthly profit, the regulator explained. The Website Cryptonforce.world is still available in English, Italian, Turkish, Spanish, Chinese, German and Czech, but the Facebook account has not been updated since the beginning of October.

Also, the requirement of the regulator applies to the Italian company Cryptoforce related to Crypton, as well as to the entrepreneur Alessandro Brizzi.

The American company Bit Trade offered Italian citizens investments with a profit of up to 700% through the website eaglebittradeweb.com which doesn’t work since Wednesday morning, the regulator noted.

Recall that in September, Italy announced plans to join the countries included in the European Blockchain Partnership. Member of the Italian Parliament Mirella Luizzi also noted that the Italian government will soon attract experts in the field of blockchain technologies to develop a national strategy in the sector related to cryptocurrencies.

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HUOBI HAS LAUNCHED A PLATFORM FOR TRADING BITCOIN DERIVATIVES

HUOBI HAS LAUNCHED A PLATFORM FOR TRADING BITCOIN DERIVATIVES

The crypto currency exchange Huobi has opened the platform to trade bitcoin futures. Weekly, two-week and quarterly contracts denominated in US dollars are available for purchase. The cost of one bitcoin derivative on the platform is $100, for other contracts-$10.

The cryptocurrency exchange Huobi has launched the Huobi DM platform for trading derivative financial instruments in beta mode. Now on the site are available for purchase weekly, two-week and quarterly contracts denominated in US dollars.

The cost of one bitcoin derivative on the platform is $100, for other contracts-$10. The platform also offers leverage of 5x, 10x or 20x.

Meanwhile, today a representative of the UK financial regulator announced plans to ban some crypto-derivatives, such as contracts for difference, options, futures and marketable securities.

At the end of October, the world’s leading investment firm Goldman Sachs opened bitcoin derivatives trading.

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BITPAY ANNOUNCED SUPPORT FOR STABLECOIN PAXOS

BITPAY ANNOUNCED SUPPORT FOR STABLECOIN PAXOS

BitPay has started cooperation with CryptoStream Paxos which is developing eponymous stablecoin. This was reported in the startup blog.

In the opinion of the members of the partnership, “stablecoin” PAX will expand opportunities for clients BitPay. The latter will be able to conduct transactions, provided  with “stability and confidence in the US dollar.”

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Previously, merchants could work with Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash cryptocurrencies through BitPay processing. In October, representatives of the service have announced support of USD coin and  Gemini dollar stablecoins.

According to CEO and co-founder Stephen Pair, PAX support will further expand opportunities for low transaction cost settlements.

Vice President of the company Dorothy Chang is sure that the new option will be of interest primarily to traders. However, she has no doubt that this tool will also be of interest to merchants.

Recall, the Paxos standard token was presented in September. According to representatives of the project, the asset has received approval from the authorities of the state of New York, and its turnover is regulated by the financial services Department of New York.

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Tuesday, November 20, 2018

COINMARKETCAP HAS ADDED A COIN BCHSV

COINMARKETCAP HAS ADDED A COIN BCHSV

Operators of analytical portal CoinMarketCap on bitcoin and 2000 different altcoins, announced the addition of BCHSV – coins resulting from a Bitcoin Cash fork.

Recall that Bitcoin Cash itself is a fork of the main bitcoin chain, taking its own path on August 1, 2017.

In the future, the developers of Bitcoin Cash came to the decision to hold regular updates of the network every six months. But, if the first of them was generally smooth, the second has already caused controversy.

As a result, after the hard fork on November 15th, the Bitcoin Cash network was divided into two chains – Bitcoin ABC and Bitcoin SV. The second chain is now added to CoinMarketCap.

At the same time, the CoinMarketCap website has changed the text concerning Bitcoin Cash: it says that the Bitcoin ABC chain now displays what was previously known as BCH and that this was done due to the fact that such a decision was made by most exchanges.

According to new data, Bitcoin Cash SV currently occupies 1727th place, capitalization is not specified, the daily trading volume is specified in the amount of $106 million, and the coin itself is trading around $50.

Bitcoin Cash is still displayed as BCH and is also ranked 4th in capitalization ($4 billion), trading around $232.

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ICE POSTPONED BAKKT LAUNCH TO THE END OF JANUARY 2019

ICE POSTPONED BAKKT LAUNCH TO THE END OF JANUARY 2019

The launch of the platform for trading of digital assets Bakkt, created by the operator of the New York stock exchange (NYSE), was postponed to January 24, 2019.

Intercontinental exchange (ICE), the operator of 23 world’s leading exchanges, including NYSE, for the first time announced the creation of Bakkt in August of this year.

Yesterday, the company published an announcement on the Medium resource, noting that “in light of the growing interest in Bakkt and the need to more thoroughly prepare for the start of bitcoin futures trading”, ICE decided to postpone the official launch of the platform for a month, until January 24, 2019. to “provide an opportunity for all market participants to start making deals on the first day.”

Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler added that the company is working on the launch of a new instrument in close cooperation with the US commodity futures trading commission (CFTC).

She said: “As is often true with product launches, there are new processes, risks and mitigants to test and re-test, and in the case of crypto, a new asset class to which these resources are being applied. So, it makes sense to adjust our timeline as we work with the industry toward launch.”

Earlier, the Intercontinental exchange (ICE), the parent company of New York stock exchange (NYSE), announced the launch date of trading bitcoin futures on the Bakkt platform-December 12, 2018.

It is worth noting that some Wall Street veterans warn that the “institutionalization” of bitcoin within Bakkt involves the introduction of the practice of partial Bank reservation.

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