The perpetrator of the mass killings at New Zealand mosque appears to have funded his life with investments he made in defunct cryptocurrency BitConnect. Tarrant Used BitConnect Funds For ‘Travel’ As various media publications report citing a document which claims to be a manifesto by Brenton Tarrant, cryptocurrency investments allowed him to travel at an unspecified point in the past. [Editor’s note: It should be noted that no official confirmation of the document’s legitimacy has yet surfaced, and its content should be treated with caution. Bitcoinist would like to reiterate…
Read MoreDay: March 15, 2019
Bitcoin Industry Reacts As Mark Karpeles Avoids Jail Over Mt. Gox Debacle
Mark Karpeles, the former head of defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox, will unlikely serve time in jail following a significant acquittal by a Japanese court. Court: Karpeles Did Not Embezzle Bitcoins As multiple sources including Bloomberg reported March 14, Karpeles, who has been under suspicion for embezzling millions of dollars in user funds, is guilty only of record tampering in the eyes of Japanese law. The Frenchman will serve a four-year suspended sentence, with the threat of a two-and-a-half-year jail term should he reoffend within that period. With that, Karpeles…
Read MoreCBOE Stops Offering Bitcoin Futures (And That’s Probably a Good Thing)
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) has announced it will no longer offer any new Bitcoin futures contracts moving forward amid declining volumes. But since the derivatives product was USD settled, many commentators are bullish on the news. No New CBOE Bitcoin Futures Contracts The Chicago Futures Exchanges (CFE) of the The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) has revealed it will no longer offer any new contracts for its cash-sttled XBT Bitcoin futures product moving forward. However, existing contracts will still be available for trading, the latest of which are set…
Read MoreStellar Lumens (XLM) Price Jumps on Coinbase Pro Listing
Stellar Lumens (XLM) price gained around 7 percent after US-based cryptocurrency exchange and wallet provider Coinbase announced support for the top-10 ranked altcoin. XLM Launching on Coinbase Pro In an official announcement, US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced support for Stellar Lumens (XLM) 00 on its advanced cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase Pro. Support for XLM will go in effect immediately and the platform will begin accepting inbound transfers of XLM to Coinbase Pro after March 13th, 2019 for about 12 hours before enabling full trading. Additionally, the support for XLM will…
Read MoreMt Gox CEO Mark Karpeles Found Not Guilty of Embezzlement
Mark Karpeles, CEO of the now-defunct bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, has been sentenced by the Tokyo District Court. The court convicted him of record tampering but found him not guilty of embezzlement. He received a suspended jail sentence of two and a half years. Also read: SEC Chair Explains Key Upgrades Needed for Bitcoin ETF Approval Court Sentences Karpeles The CEO of the now-defunct Mt. Gox exchange, Mark Karpeles, received a suspended jail sentence of two and a half years Friday after the Tokyo District Court found him guilty on…
Read MoreArtificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency: Separating Hype from Reality
Pick an industry – any industry – and you can virtually guarantee that AI will have been hailed as its next big thing. The cryptocurrency sector is no different, with many of 2017’s ICOs shoehorning the concept into their whitepapers somewhere in a bid to appear “cutting edge” and in touch with the zeitgeist. But beyond all the hype, what impact will artificial intelligence have on the crypto industry, and could its rise ultimately render human traders obsolete? Also read: Late Quadrigacx CEO Used Personal Funds to Fulfill Withdrawals The…
Read MorePwc Report Finds STOs ‘Are Not Fundamentally Different From ICOs’
Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC) has published a report in collaboration with Crypto Valley seeking to provide “a strategic perspective” on the initial coin offering (ICO) and security token offering (STO) sectors. The report finds that security tokens “are not fundamentally different from ICOs,” estimating that their combined total raised almost $20 billion during 2018. Also Read: Suite of Crypto Services Including Mining, Trading, Custody to Leverage Nasdaq Framework Combined Sum Generated Through Cryptocurrency Fundraising Nearly Triples Year-Over-Year The report note that more than 1,132 ICOs and STOs successfully took place during…
Read MoreHow to Identify and Mitigate a Bitcoin Dust Attack
Bitcoin transactions are not anonymous but users can still add a layer of privacy by using different addresses and other techniques to confuse blockchain surveillance. However, a de-anonymization method known as a dust attack is on the rise. If the microtransactions that characterize a dust attack go unnoticed, they can potentially be used to identify cryptocurrency users. Also read: The Long Relationship Between In-Game Gold and Bitcoin Continues to Thrive Peppering Crypto Networks With Dust to Deanonymize Users Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin cash (BCH) and bitcoin core (BTC) are not private…
Read MoreBitcoin Trading Plummets in Venezuela Blackout as Government Struggles to Pay Money Printers
Bitcoin use in Venezuela took a hit this week after a persisting electricity blackout appeared to limit the ability of users to transact. Bitcoin Trades Drop 40 Percent That was the conclusion of some cryptocurrency commentators as data showed weekly trade volumes on P2P platform Localbitcoins fell by 40 percent in the week ending March 9. The blackout, which began March 7, has affected 18 out of Venezuela’s 23 states while plunging millions of residents of the capital Caracas into darkness for days on end. As hyperinflation continues to rage,…
Read MoreChinese Government Officials Targeted With Ransomware, North Korea Suspected
A statement issued by the People’s Government of Yiling District, Yichang has revealed that Chinese officials have been the target of a ransomware email attack in recent days. Also Read: Late Quadrigacx CEO Used Personal Funds to Fulfill Withdrawals Chinese Government Officials Face Ransomware Attack A statement issued by a Chinese provincial government website has announced that the National Network and Information Security Information Center has identified overseas hackers targeting the websites of government departments with emails containing ransomware. The ransomware was delivered via an email containing the subject line:…
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