Nasdaq has unveiled its comprehensive onboarding process for Bitcoin exchanges looking to use its proprietary surveillance tools as part of efforts to combat wash trading and other forms of market manipulation. The stock exchange operator says that it has already on-boarded seven platforms. Rigorous Vetting Needed for Bitcoin Exchanges Nasdaq has a team of 20 people conducting due-diligence checks on Bitcoin exchanges that want to start using the company’s trading surveillance technology, reports Forbes. This team tries to examine if each applicant has the technical capacity to employ the tools as…
Read MoreMonth: January 2019
European and South American Localbitcoins Markets Show Strength
In recent peer-to-peer (P2P) market action, Latin American Localbitcoins trade has continued to show strength after producing record volume last month. In other news, P2P trade between the euro (EUR) and BTC has posted its strongest volume in 10 months. Also Read: Wikipedia Now Accepts Bitcoin Cash Donations via Bitpay European P2P Trade Posts Strongest Activity Since March 2018 EUR/BTC trade on Localbitcoins has recorded its strongest week since posting record trade when measured against fiat currency at the end of March 2018. During the week of Jan. 26, approximately 985…
Read More$1.7B Stolen in 2018 – Cryptocurrency Theft Skyrockets as Prices Dropped
According to the Q4 Cryptocurrency Anti-Money Laundering report by CipherTrace blockchain intelligence agency, criminals stole a massive $1.7 billion of cryptocurrency last year. Despite the savage bear market conditions and freefalling prices, cryptocurrency theft is on the rise. Hackers Take the Lion’s Share Of the total stolen cryptocurrency funds, hackers made away with the lion’s share. Some $950 million was taken from exchanges and wallet providers. The below chart says it all. Despite Bitcoin losing 80 percent in value, there were 3.6x more hacks on exchanges than in 2017. Source:…
Read MoreThe Daily: New Institutional Crypto Wallet, Korean Won Stablecoin
In today’s edition of The Daily, we feature a couple of new offerings in the cryptocurrency market including a wallet made for exchanges and token issuers as well as the latest fiat-backed stablecoin. Additionally covered are an exchange that underwent an auditor’s inspection and a crypto CFDs provider that got FCA authorization. Also Read: Wikipedia Now Accepts Bitcoin Cash Donations via Bitpay Knox Custody for Digital Securities Tokensoft, a U.S.-based digital asset security platform, has announced the beta launch of its new Knox Wallet, a mobile-first, cold storage, self-custody system…
Read MoreVenezuela Finds Out the Hard Way That Only Bitcoin is Unconfiscatable
The ongoing political turmoil in Venezuela continues to intrigue Bitcoin figures, following the Bank of England blocking access to the country’s gold reserves in favor of US-backed interim president Juan Guaidó. Keiser Champions ‘Unconfiscatable’ Bitcoin Venezuela, whose citizens have begun turning to Bitcoin en masse in the face of million-percent inflation, capital, and migration controls, appears to be on the cusp of regime change. Guaidó, who has said he is now the country’s president, has faced multiple challenges to his authority from the established government and international allies such as Russia.…
Read MoreIndian Government Invites Law Firm to Present Suggestions for Cryptocurrency Regulation
The Indian government has invited lawyers from Nishith Desai Associates to present their suggestions for the country’s crypto regulation. This is in response to the firm’s submission of a proposed regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. The suggestions include avoiding prohibition, taking a balanced approach, options for licensing, and self-regulation for the industry. Also read: Indian Supreme Court Moves Crypto Hearing, Community Calls for Positive Regulations Suggestions for Crypto Regulation The Indian government invited lawyers from Nishith Desai Associates to present their suggestions for the country’s crypto regulation early this month. The invitation…
Read MoreGenesis Capital Processed $1.1B of Cryptocurrency Loans in 2018
Cryptocurrency lender Genesis Capital provided $500 million worth of digital asset loans in the fourth quarter of 2018 alone, soaring almost 100 percent from six months earlier, when the company started its lending business. Altogether, loans reached $1.11 billion for the whole of last year. Also read: Iran in Talks With 8 Countries for use of Cryptocurrency in Financial Transactions Crypto Loans Rose Sharply in Q4 Despite Falling BTC Price According to the U.S. company’s Q4 Digital Asset Lending Snapshot published Jan. 30, the loans were issued to corporate borrowers such…
Read MoreCivic CEO: Bitcoin’s Crypto Winter Could Soon Turn ‘Nuclear’
The term “Crypto Winter” has been thrown around a lot lately to describe the more-than-one-year-long bear market in Bitcoin and broader cryptocurrency space. However, Civic’s CEO thinks that the phrase “Nuclear Winter” might soon be more appropriate. ‘Winter has come’ for Bitcoin (BTC) and the broader cryptocurrency market, but any hopes for a bull run in the immediate future might still be ‘A Dream of Spring.’ Bitcoin has fallen hard from highs of approximately $20,000 in December 2017 to lows near $3,000 late last year — and the near-term forecasts…
Read MoreThe Wrapped Bitcoin Project Has Officially Launched on Ethereum
On Jan. 30, a group of cryptocurrency developers and organizations officially launched a project called Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) on the Ethereum network. The ERC20 token is a coin backed by bitcoin core (BTC) reserves and has started trading on several exchange platforms. Also read: A Look at Openbazaar’s Multi-Currency Wallet and Vendor Listings The Introduction of Wrapped Bitcoin Last October, a joint initiative by Bitgo, Kyber Network, and Ren (formerly Republic Protocol), revealed the creation of a new ERC20 token called WBTC. The new tokens are meant to bring more liquidity…
Read MoreDecentralized Exchange Trading Volume Hits All-Time Low
Despite the interest of major cryptocurrency exchanges in pursuing the DEX model, decentralized exchanges have hit an all-time low in terms of USD traded value. Trading Volume at All-Time Low According to a new research by Diar, decentralized exchanges (DEX) have now hit their all-time low in terms of USD traded value. The report outlines that since June 2017 – when DEX started to appear, their total trading volume is $8.9 billion. During the month of January this year, however, decentralized exchanges have seen a combined trading volume of $49 million. To…
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