Top Stories This Week
CCN casts doubt on shutdown plans as Google appears to correct visibility
Cryptocurrency news outlet CCN (formerly CryptoCoinsNews) is apparently not going through with its total shutdown, as reported earlier this week. The outlet had previously posted a note that a recent Google Core Update had led to a more than 70% visibility drop on mobile overnight,
leading the organization to decide to shut down rather than downsize.
However, an update this week from CCN Markets Director Jonas
Borchgrevink notes that, for an unexplained reason, the crypto outlet’s
old domain name, CryptoCoinNews, has been showing up with new 2019
articles on Google, leading the team to decide to keep working. Theories
about the visibility drop, which affected other news outlets, have
ranged from it being a block of clickbait titles or a ban on
conservative outlets by an allegedly “liberal” Google.
U.S. residents will lose access to many altcoins on Binance starting in September
United States residents who use major crypto exchange Binance
will lose trading option access for many cryptocurrencies when the
exchange puts into action its updated terms of service this September.
As reported this week, Binance updated its terms of service to include
trading on the platform for U.S. residents, a change that comes shortly
after its announcement of a U.S.-exclusive fiat-to-crypto exchange. According to a table created by CryptoPotato, there are a number of cryptos that will no longer have a trading outlet in the U.S.,
as well as several tokens that will be listed on only one exchange
after Binance closes for U.S. residents. However, veteran
cryptocurrencies — including XRP, DASH, XLM, ETC and ZRX — will still be listed on four or more other U.S. exchanges.
Sale of Telegram’s token “gram” on exchange Liquid is not official: Source
The announcement this week from crypto exchange platform Liquid that it would be offering encrypted messenger Telegram’s
token, gram, in a sale is not officially connected with Telegram,
according to a source close to the messaging app. As Cointelegraph had
reported earlier this week, Liquid had said that it would be the
representative of gram tokens for Gram Asia, which it called the largest
holder of the token in Asia. However, in comments to Cointelegraph, a
source close to Telegram noted that it was the first time that it had
heard of Gram Asia. In separate comments, an investor in Telegram’s token told Cointelegraph that no one has rights to sell the tokens before its official launch. Liquid CEO Mike Kayamori told Cointelegraph
that the public sale is the result of an exclusive agreement between
Liquid and Gram Asia, without the direct involvement of Telegram.
Bitcoin generates more carbon emissions than some countries, study warns
According to a new report published in the journal Joule, the carbon emissions generated by bitcoin (BTC)
are comparable to the whole of Kansas City. According to Christian
Stoll, one of the project’s researchers, the energy consumption used in
mining the largest cryptocurrency is only growing, noting that the computing power needed to solve a BTC puzzle has more than quadrupled since last year.
The study was based on data from IPO filings and IP addresses of some
of the largest mining companies, finding that bitcoin is placed around
Jordan and Sri Lanka — in international terms — due to its annual
emissions of CO2, estimated to be between 22 and 22.9 megatons.
Report: Facebook secures support from dozens of new firms for its crypto project
According to a report from The Block, Facebook
has reportedly secured support from dozens of players in the
cryptocurrency and blockchain sector for its upcoming, secretive digital
currency. The Wall Street Journal had reported earlier this week that
Facebook had allegedly received the backing of $10 million each from firms — including Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Uber — for the project, dubbed “Libra.”
The Block cited further materials, noting that the project’s investors
also include venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square
Ventures, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and nonprofit organizations including Mercy Corps. According to a source speaking to The Block, the company aims to gather 100 members in the governing consortium, with a total planned for $1 billion, including all participants.
Winners and Losers
The
crypto markets have seen a slight uptick at the beginning of the week,
with bitcoin trading at $9,054, ether at $269.54 and XRP at $.41. Total
market cap is at $281 billion.
The top three altcoin gainers of
the week are acre, commerce data connection and renos. The top three
altcoin losers of the week are tronclassic, segwit2x and hypnoxys.
For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.
Most Memorable Quotations
“Some
short term pains may be necessary for long term gains. And we always
work hard to turn every short term pain into a long term gain.”
— CZ, Binance CEO
“If
Google thinks that CCN, all of a sudden — remember, literally overnight
— is bad, then why not give us the chance to understand the why and
give us a way to change before any major update. Instead, we are kicked
in the teeth overnight with zero knowledge of what we have done wrong,
impacting a team of 60+ people.”
— Jonas Borchgrevink, director and founder of CCN Markets and Hawkfish AS
"Millennials
don't carry cash, they date on apps and watch on-demand entertainment.
We have to be there, we have to learn from successful tech companies,
and we have to provide a universal solution that makes it easy for
younger generations to engage with the Church.”
— Rick Santorum, former United States senator
FUD of the Week
Blockchain developer Dispatch Labs suffers losses, despite market recovery
Dispatch Labs, a blockchain
company, is currently incurring large losses, despite extensive
investment and a recovering cryptocurrency market. The blockchain firm
had raised over $13 million in a series of private rounds in 2018, with
investors including China-based capital firm Fenbushi Capital. Dispatch Labs’ total remaining investment has since dropped to around $6.5 million,
with CEO Matt McGraw reporting noting that the company did not have
sufficient over-the-counter availability to liquidate digital currency
that could have staved off the threat driven by the market downturn.
However, McGraw added that the company has enough working capital to
last through the year, taking into consideration the tentative market
recovery.
Trend Micro: Cybercriminals use obfuscation trick to install crypto mining malware
Cybersecurity
firm Trend Micro confirmed this week that attackers have been
exploiting a vulnerability in the Oracle WebLogic server to install
monero (XMR) mining malware. The malware uses certificate files as an obfuscation trick to carry out cryptojacking,
a process wherein malware uses a computer’s operating processing power
to mine for cryptos without the owner’s consent or knowledge. According
to Trend Micro, a security patch for the Oracle WebLogic vulnerability had been released in the national vulnerability database earlier this spring.
The report also includes a recommendation for firms using that server
to update their software to the latest version with the security patch
in order to mitigate the risk of cryptojacking.
Crypto exchange Bittrex to block U.S. users from trading in 32 cryptos
Cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex
said this week that it would block its U.S.-based users from trading in
30 cryptocurrencies. According to the announcement, after June 21,
American traders will be unable to access a list of coins traded on the
exchange, including QTUM and STORJ.
Bittrex noted that U.S. users will receive an email with explanations
behind what they are and are not allowed to do with the aforementioned
assets, included selling them for assets that will stay available to
them, canceling orders and moving them off the exchange. Once the ban
comes into effect, U.S. users will not be able to buy or sell the select coins, and all open orders involving those coins will be cancelled. However, the coins will be transitioned to the Bittrex International platform.
Best Cointelegraph Features
Safe space: A guide to special economic zones for crypto, from China to Switzerland
Cointelegraph
takes a look at the types of special economic zones for
cryptocurrencies around the world: to some Russian spaces, which seemed
to have paused development, to Switzerland’s Crypto Valley, which is not technically a special economic zone, despite its name.
Exclusive: New report reveals details of Telegram’s TON blockchain
Instant messaging service Telegram and its Telegram Open Network (TON) blockchain have been surrounded in relative secrecy since the project raised
$1.7 billion last year. With an exclusive report published on
Cointelegraph about the TON blockchain, this analysis goes through the
newly revealed TON services in more technical detail for our readers.
“CoinLab is a big stopping block”: Mark Karpeles talks Mt. Gox creditor claims and life after trial
Cointelegraph
speaks with Mark Karpeles, former CEO of the now-defunct Mt. Gox, about
what’s going on with the much elongated creditor process as well as
debunking some of the media rumors around his not-new role at Tristan
Technologies.
Daily updates
JUN 09, 2019
Hodler’s Digest, June 3–9: Top Stories, Price Movements, Quotes and FUD of the Week
Hodler’s Digest
Coming every Sunday, the Hodler’s Digest
will help you track every single important news story that happened
this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation
highlights, leading coins, predictions, and much more — a week on
Cointelegraph in one link.
Top Stories This Week
Mt. Gox’s Karpeles: “Press Rumors About My Blockchain Plans Are False”
Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of long-defunct Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox, denied press claims
this week that he is returning to blockchain. Karpeles said that his
activities with Tristan Technologies will not involve the cryptocurrency
sector, as previously reported, and that the firm is not a startup and
not related to blockchain. In comments to Cointelegraph, Karpeles said
that he wasn’t “sure how this got reported wrong” and that his main goal
is to “try to bring back Japan near the top of the IT industry.” A
judge acquitted
Karpeles of embezzlement in March and is currently appealing a lesser
conviction of data manipulation, all in relation to the hack of Mt. Gox.
SEC Sues Kik for Conducting Allegedly Unregistered $100 Million ICO in 2017
Canadian startup Kik has been sued by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
for an unregistered $100 million token offering. According to the SEC’s
complaint, the commission alleged that Kik’s digital token sale was not
compliant with U.S. securities laws, as it had not registered the offering with the proper authorities. The SEC’s complaint comes right after Kik’s recent announcement
that the company is launching a $5 million crypto initiative to fund a
lawsuit against the SEC, with a campaign called DefendCrypto. Steven
Peikin, co-director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, said in a
press release that, by conducting its kin token sale, Kik “deprived
investors of information to which they were legally entitled and
prevented investors from making informed investment decisions.”
Tron’s Justin Sun Wins eBay Charity Auction in $4.57M Bid to Lunch With Warren Buffett
Justin Sun, Tron founder and CEO, has won an eBay charity auction to have lunch with Warren Buffett,
renowned investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. In order to win the
lunch, which Buffett has participated in for 20 years, Sun allegedly bid
a record-breaking $4,567,888. The winner will be able to bring along
seven friends to a New York steakhouse, and all proceeds from the
auction go to San Francisco-based nonprofit Glide Foundation. Sun wrote
in a statement that the bid was a key priority for the Tron and
BitTorrent team. Buffett has long been known for his negative stance on cryptocurrencies, although he has made positive comments in regard to blockchain.
LocalBitcoins Confirms Removal of Local Cash Trades
Global peer-to-peer (p2p) crypto exchange LocalBitcoins officially confirmed this week the removal of trading in local fiat
currencies. The Finland-based exchange had previously removed the cash
trading option on June 1 with no announcement, which caused some outrage
in the crypto community. In an official statement this week, the
exchange noted that its liabilities are determined by the Act on
Detecting and Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, which
requires them to follow certain regulations. The move comes on the
heels of the news
that LocalBitcoins will soon become monitored by the Financial
Supervisory Authority of Finland, as the Finnish government passed new
legislation for crypto assets earlier this year.
Report: Facebook to Announce Cryptocurrency Project This Month
Social media giant Facebook
will reportedly announce its cryptocurrency project this month, and
employees will be allowed to take part of their salary in the coin.
According to unnamed sources, the white paper for the coin will be released
on June 18. As well, Laura McCracken, Facebook’s head of financial
services and payment partnerships for Northern Europe, said in an
interview this week that the stablecoin would not only involve a U.S.
dollar peg. Other media reports this week have noted
that there are now 100 people known to be working on the crypto project
via profiles on professional networking platform LinkedIn.
Winners and Losers
This
week in the markets, bitcoin is below $8,000, trading at around $7,933,
ether is at $245 and XRP at $0.41. Total market cap is about $253
billion.
The top three altcoin gainers of the week are posscoin,
bitcoin 2 and hempcoin. The top three altcoin losers of the week are
bzedge, pandemia and quantis network.
For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.
Most Memorable Quotations
“The unwillingness to allow more competitors to offer geared ETFs seems to be another example of denying or curtailing access to a product that would be useful to some investors.”
Hester Peirce, commissioner at the SEC
“What
a difference it would have made a decade ago if blockchain technology
on a private distributed ledger accessible to regulators had been the
informational foundation of Wall Street’s derivatives exposures.”
J. Christopher Giancarlo, United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman
“I don’t think I’m a Neanderthal, which is what I’ve been called when I’ve said I didn’t want to own bitcoin.”
Stanley Druckenmiller, American billionaire investor
“I
don’t recommend bitcoin in either direction because I don’t really care
for it in terms of an asset, but I do care for it as a signalling
mechanism that I think was a tip-off to this bounce in gold.”
Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at financial planning and wealth advisory firm Bleakley Advisory Group
"My
love for Japan has not changed. Japan used to be engineering superpower
in terms of its PCs but right now, taking the cloud for example, it's
the U.S. that dominates. But I still believe in the potential Japan has
and I would like to develop that.”
Mark Karpeles, former CEO of the now-defunct bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox
“The
lack of financial inclusion is not a ‘bug’ of the traditional financial
system. It's a direct result of the regulatory architecture and the
intermediaries policies.”
Andreas Antonopoulos, well-known bitcoin educator and crypto commentator
"I do not know what bitcoin is.”
Jair Bolsonaro, president of Brazil
FUD of the Week
Report: Polish Exchange Shuts Down and Disappears With Customers Funds
Coinroom, a Polish
cryptocurrency exchange, has reportedly shut down its operations and
disappeared with customer funds. While the total amount lost has not
been disclosed, some users said that they had up to 60,000 zloty (around
$15,790) in their accounts. Before ending its operations, Coinroom
reportedly asked customers in an email to withdraw their money in one
day, while in reality, customers have said that they were unable to get
all of their money in this final withdrawal. A spokesperson for the
district prosecutor's office in Warsaw said that proceedings had been
initiated against Coinroom for unregistered crypto payment services.
New Malware Campaign Spreads Trojans Through Clone Crypto Trading Website
According to Twitter user and malware researcher Fumik0_,
a new website is spreading cryptocurrency malware. The aforementioned
site reportedly imitates the website for Cryptohopper, a site where
users can program tools to perform automatic cryptocurrency trading.
After a user goes on the site, which displays the logo of Cryptohopper
in an attempt to trick the user, it automatically downloads a setup.exe
installer that will infect the computer once it runs. The installer
infects the computer with an information-stealing Trojan, which then
also installs two other Qulab Trojans for mining and clipboard hijacking
deployed once every minute to collect data.
Report: Nearly $10 Million in XRP Stolen in GateHub Hack
Cryptocurrency wallet service GateHub said this week that hackers compromised almost 100 XRP
Ledger wallets, resulting in the loss of around $10 million. In a
statement, GateHub said that it was notified by community members of the
loss of funds, following which it discovered increased application
programming interface (API)
calls coming from a small number of IP addresses. While one of those
who warned GateHub about the breach reported that almost 13,100,000 XRP
($5.37 million) had already been laundered through exchanges and mixer services, GateHub has stated that the investigation is still ongoing.
Best Cointelegraph Features
The Land of the Free: Why Decentralization Matters in the Crypto Republic
After Tezos updated without forking and Iota introduced
an ostensibly centralization-killing element, Cointelegraph examines
the importance of decentralization by some of the large players in the
crypto community.
Satoshi Posers — Why So Many Takers for the Bitcoin Crown?
With
some anonymous Satoshi Nakomoto posers coming out of the woodwork, as
well as one very not-so-anonymous Craig Wright, Cointelegraph looks at
the potential motivations for claiming to be bitcoin’s father.
What Is a Satoshi, the Smallest Unit on the Bitcoin Blockchain?
In
this analysis, Cointelegraph explains what exactly a “satoshi” is, why
this buzzword has become popular recently, and who came up with the term
itself.
Daily updates
JUN 03, 2019
Hodler’s Digest, May 27–June 2: Top Stories, Price Movements, Quotes and FUD of the Week
Hodler’s Digest
Coming
every week, the Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single
important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst)
quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions,
and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link.
Top Stories This Week
Kik Launches $5 Million Crypto Funding Campaign for Lawsuit Against U.S. SEC
Kik, a Canadian tokenized social media startup, has launched a $5 million crypto initiative in order to fund a lawsuit against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Kik CEO Ted Livingstone, also the founder of Kik’s crypto project the Kin Foundation (KIN), announced the formation of the Defend Crypto fund, which plans to legally challenge the SEC to get regulatory clarity surrounding the definition of securities in regard to cryptocurrencies. The fund will use major U.S. crypto exchange and wallet Coinbase’s
custody service. The DefendCrypto campaign comes in the wake of the
SEC’s actions against Kik’s $100 million initial coin offering (ICO) sale held in 2017, after which the regulator said that it had violated securities laws.
Report: Circulation of Facebook’s Crypto Could Face Demographic Challenges
Facebook’s payment-focused cryptocurrency,
reportedly called GlobalCoin, could face demographic challenges,
according to research from crypto analysis firm Diar. According to Diar,
Facebook’s long-rumored native cryptocurrency that will reportedly
launch in 2020, could face the aforementioned challenges due to the
aging demographics of the social media giant’s user base. The older generation that uses Facebook reportedly does not have enough awareness about digital currencies,
and Facebook’s younger user base purportedly is not wealthy enough to
use the rumored coin in a significant way. Diar also noted that Facebook
will need to enter into partnerships with traditional financial
institutions.
Bitcoin Hits All-Time High Versus Argentine Peso Amid Presidential Election Risks
Bitcoin (BTC) has hit an all-time high versus the Argentine peso during the ongoing decline
of the country’s national currency. According to the Financial Times,
bitcoin’s price reached as high as 394,000 pesos ($8,801 at press time)
per coin, which are prices that have not been seen since the crypto
spike in late 2017. Bitcoin’s all-time high in Argentina comes during a
crypto bull market
this year, in conjunction with the ongoing depreciation of the
Argentine peso against the U.S. dollar. In fact, earlier this year,
venture capital billionaire Tim Draper had advised the president of Argentina to legalize bitcoin so that economic situation in the country could improve.
North Korea Launched Cryptocurrency Attacks in Response to Sanctions, Says FBI
According to a senior FBI official, U.S. sanctions incentivized North Korea to launch cyberattacks involving cryptocurrency.
Tonya Ugoretz, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s cyber division,
said at an event this week that the financial strain brought on by
sanctions meant that North Korean state actors had turned to cybercrime
as a way of bringing in money. Cointelegraph has previously reported that Pyongyang is suspected to be behind several major campaigns involving cryptocurrency ransomware
and theft in recent years. Erin Joe, director of the Cyber Threat
Intelligence Integration Center under the U.S. Director of National
Intelligence, said at the same event that there is a “huge effort in the
FBI, and also several other entities across government, looking at ways
to stop malicious activity (surrounding) cryptocurrency.”
Cryptocurrency Broker Client Reportedly Aims to Acquire 25% of All Bitcoin Supply
Forbes
reported this week that digital currency investment firm Dadiani
Syndicate was reportedly approached by a wealthy client to buy as close
to 25% of the bitcoin supply as possible. The firm, a peer-to-peer network where people trade with each other in crypto, made news
last year when it put 49% of Andy Warhol’s 1980 work "14 Small Electric
Chairs" up for sale for bitcoin and other digital currencies. This
week, the firm’s founder said that "one of our clients approached us and
said they were interested in acquiring 25% of all bitcoin currently
available. There are a number of entities who want to dominate the
market." However, Dadiani noted that acquiring a quarter of the current 17.7 million BTC supply would not be possible without significantly affecting the market.
Winners and Losers
The
crypto market is slightly down, with bitcoin at around $8,448, ether at
$262 and XRP at $0.44. Total market capitalization is at about $269
billion.
The top three altcoin gainers of the week are crystal
token, doge token and mindexcoin. The top three altcoin losers of the
week are cyberfm, soundac and agrolot.
For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.
Most Memorable Quotations
“In
the modern world, the real killer app is clearly messaging integrated
with payments with popular applications in the same namespace — like WeChat in China, and what Facebook is turning into. [...] It’s WeChat with blockchain inside.”
David Chaum, E-cash inventor
“You’re
starting to see that these currencies have real use cases around the
world, and it’s making people really excited now because they can see
the light at the end of the tunnel for these use cases.”
Sonny Singh, chief commercial officer of BitPay
“The
amount of cash in circulation is declining in some countries. This
could mean that one day, even if it seems like a distant prospect —
every single person will have to have an account with a private entity
just to make payments. Unfortunately, this may lead to increased levels
of financial exclusion.”
Vitas Vasiliauskas, chairman of the board of the Bank of Lithuania and a member of the Governing Council of the ECB
“We
have to make sure that if we offer a dex that we’re doing it in a way
that is safe and secure and compliant. I think that there’s not a lot of
clarity right now on how that would work. We think this space is
interesting but we’re not actively investing in it right at this
moment.”
Emilie Choi, Coinbase’s chief operating officer
Prediction of the Week
Kenetic Co-Founder: Bitcoin to Trade at $30,000 by Late 2019, Regardless of Bitcoin ETF
Jehan Chu, co-founder of Hong Kong-based blockchain investment firm Kenetic, predicted that bitcoin (BTC) will rally as high as $30,000 by the end of 2019.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg Markets: Asia, Chu said that
bitcoin will continue its bullish direction in line with the rest of the
crypto market in 2019 due to three factors: mass adoption by
institutions like Facebook, JPMorgan, Rakuten and Fidelity, the crypto industry’s ability to become a “better tech story” about the Uber and Lyft IPOs, and the upcoming bitcoin halving.
FUD of the Week
Computer Researcher Finds Wallet Vulnerability That Gave Same Key to Multiple Users
According to an investigation by security research Harry Denley of MyCrypto, online cryptocurrency paper wallet creator WalletGenerator.net previously ran on code that caused private/public key pairs to be issued to multiple users. The bad code was reportedly in effect by August 2018,
and was only patched at the end of May of this year. After researching
the live code for the website on GitHub, Denley concluded that there
were differences between the code, finding that the keys were
deterministically generated on the live version of the website, not
randomly. After being contacted by Denley, WalletGenerator.net
reportedly fixed the determinism problem, even though it purportedly
said after that the allegations could not be verified, and even asked
the correspondent if MyCrypto was a “phishing website.”
President of Germany’s Central Bank Warns of Serious Outcomes of Digital Currencies
Jens Weidmann, the president of Germany’s central bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank (BBk), has warned central banks about the potential risks of introducing digital currencies. Weidmann, who is the BBk president as well as chairman of the board of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), reportedly said that banks adopting digital money could potentially destabilize the financial system during periods of crisis.
In his opinion, easy access to digital currencies could facilitate a
collapse of lenders, and would even “fundamentally change the business
model of banks” in a good economic environment. He also put forward the
idea that easy access to digital money has the potential to lead to
increased volatility.
Researchers Say 50,000 Servers Worldwide Infected With Privacy Coin Cryptojacking Malware
An
analysis by international hacker and cybersecurity expert group
Guardicore Labs has revealed that as many as 50,000 servers worldwide
have allegedly been infected with an advanced cryptojacking
malware. The malware in question mines privacy-focused, open-source
cryptocurrency turtlecoin (TRTL). The campaign was first detected in
April, with Guardicore Labs finding that the malware has infected up to 50,000 Windows MS-SQL and PHPMyAdmin servers over the past four months worldwide.
The expert group states that the malware campaign is not the usual
crypto-miner attack due to its reliance on techniques commonly seen in
advanced persistent threat groups, including fake certificates and
privilege escalation exploits.
Best Cointelegraph Features
Cryptocurrency Mixers and Why Governments May Want to Shut Them Down
After the high-profile shutdown
by Europol of one of the most well-known cryptocurrency mixers,
Cointelegraph looks at the reasons behind the shutdown, as well as
examines the scope and reality of the anonymity behind mixers
themselves.
Iran's Crypto Barometer — Regular Users Feeling the Heat
As Iranian users lost access
to popular online service LocalBitcoins, Cointelegraph dug more into
the relationship that the country has with cryptocurrency, both from a
state and citizen level.
Bitcoin's Overnight Crash Doesn't Stop Experts From Remaining Macro Bullish
As
the top cryptocurrency reached new yearly highs, before briefly
dropping back down, Cointelegraph correspondent Joseph Young analyzes
the market outlook.
Daily updates
MAY 26, 2019
Hodler’s Digest, May 20–26: Top Stories, Price Movements, Quotes and FUD of the Week
Hodler’s Digest
Coming every Sunday, the Hodler’s Digest
will help you track every single important news story that happened
this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation
highlights, leading coins, predictions, and much more — a week on
Cointelegraph in one link.
Top Stories This Week
Copyright Registrations Do Not Recognize Craig Wright as Satoshi Nakamoto
Although self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist, filed United States copyright registrations for the bitcoin white paper and the bitcoin (BTC)
source code, that does not mean that the U.S. Copyright Office
recognized Wright as Nakamoto. A spokesperson for Wright had told the
Financial Times (FT) this week that the office was the first government
agency to recognize Wright as the creator of the leading digital
currency, a claim that has been met with skepticism by the
cryptocurrency community. However, the office told the FT that it does not investigate whether there is a connection between a claimant and a pseudonymous author, and that registering the source code does not protect the intellectual property of bitcoin as an invention.
USD Stablecoins Hit Spot Trading Volume Record Highs, With USDT Still Dominating Market
Cryptocurrency research firm Diar reported this week that the market capitalization for USD stablecoins has hit all-time highs, exceeding $4 billion. The data shows specifically that stablecoins have a market cap of around $4.3 billion,
revealing a surge in USD stablecoin trading volumes in regard to the
USDC’s 130% uptick between April and May, as well as TrustToken's
TrueUSD $3.8 billion in volume in May. Controversial stablecoin tether
still remains in the lead, the report notes, with trading volumes this
year to date exceeding $1.3 trillion — already $200 million higher than
the whole of 2018. However, Diar additionally states in the report that
the overall broad use case of stablecoins has been slow to gain
traction.
Tether Says It Invested Some of Its Reserves Into Bitcoin and Other Assets
Stablecoin issuer Tether said this week in a court filing that it had invested some of its reserves in BTC. According to the documents, an attorney for Tether’s associated firm Bitfinex
stated that Tether had invested “a small amount” of Tether’s reserves
into bitcoin, specifying that “prior to the April 24th order […] Tether
actually did invest in instruments beyond cash and cash equivalents,
including bitcoin,” and adding that Tether made “other investments, including purchasing other assets.” As a response to the admission, the judge in charge of the ongoing investigation into whether Bitfinex secretly used Tether reserves to cover a $850 million loss doubted the logic of investing a stablecoin in a volatile asset like bitcoin.
US SEC Postpones Verdict on VanEck ETF Application, Again
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed its decision again concerning the VanEck bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF)
proposal. The SEC has added a 35-day period for gathering more
information and opinions on the proposal, which was originally filed by CBOE last year. In this week’s SEC filing, the organization listed 14 questions about the proposal for the public
to review and answer, with the idea of using the answers to help them
decide about approval. The questions are related to the ability to
protect investors and public interest from fraud and similar
exploitations. The organization had already delayed its decision on the Securities Act update proposal that would allow bitcoin ETFs to be traded on CBOE.
US Telecoms Giant AT&T Now Accepting Crypto Payments Via BitPay
U.S. telecom and media giant AT&T announced this week that it would accept cryptocurrency for paying phone bills online using crypto payments platform BitPay. BitPay converts crypto into fiat and is currently used by more than 20,000 businesses. AT&T had previously announced at the end of 2018 that it was working on a suite of blockchain solutions compatible with Microsoft Azure and the IBM
Blockchain Platform. This week’s reveal about its crypto acceptance is
reportedly the first time that a U.S.-based business in the wireless
network industry will enable bill payments with BitPay.
Winners and Losers
The
crypto markets are seeing some calm at the end of the week, with
bitcoin trading slightly below $8,000, ether at $250 and XRP at $0.38.
The
top three altcoin gainers of the week are brother, emaratcoin and
compound coin. The top three altcoin losers of the week are bitguild
plat, playcoin [qrc20] and speed mining service.
For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.
Most Memorable Quotations
“To
kind of burst the bubble, it’s not our only database, it’s not our best
database, it’s not currently very fast or very scalable and it’s not
very mature, right?”
- Dale Chrystie, FedEx’s dedicated blockchain strategist
“I
don’t think banks, I don’t think governments will go away. Banks are
applying a very important regulatory framework that I actually think is
important for society. I personally believe that banks will continue to
serve that role, they’re good at it. [...] I think this is a new set of
technologies that they can benefit from to grow their business.”
- Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple CEO
“We
urge lawmakers to recognize the unparalleled economic power that
permissionless innovation has unleashed and to act to let crypto and
blockchain technologies flourish. We know lawmakers want to support
economic growth and want them to seize the opportunity to lead the
charge.”
- Jeremy Allaire, CEO of crypto finance startup Circle
Prediction of the Week
NYMEX Trader: Bitcoin Soon to Move Back to $7,000, Markets to Consolidate
Anthony Grisant, a cryptocurrency
trader at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), said this week that
bitcoin will likely move back to $7,000 and consolidate soon. Speaking
to CNBC, NYMEX’s Grisant said that bitcoin will go back to $7,000 for a short period of time, and that the market will then consolidate:
“I think it consolidate a little bit. [...] I think consolidation for
this market is very healthy.” Grisant also noted that volumes have come
back down over the past few sessions, an indication that buyers are not
returning to the market with the same strength they were a few weeks
prior.
FUD of the Week
Two Miners Purportedly Execute 51% Attack on Bitcoin Cash Blockchain
This week, two miners reportedly executed a 51% attack on the bitcoin cash (BCH) blockchain.
While 51% attacks are normally assumed to be carried out with malicious
intent, this case occurred when two mining pools attempted to prevent
an unidentified party from taking some coins that — due to a code update
— were essentially “up for grabs.” The two miners, with majority
network control — BTC.top and BTC.com — carried out the attack in order to prevent an unknown miner from taking coins that were sent to an “anyone can spend” address following the original hard fork in May 2017. According to statistics on Coin.Dance, BTC.top and BTC.com control 43% of the bitcoin cash mining pool.
UK Watchdog Reports $34 Million Lost in Crypto and Forex Scams Last Year
The United Kingdom’s
financial regulator released a report this week that cryptocurrency
investors in the country have lost more than $34 million due to crypto
and forex scams from 2018 to 2019. The regulator gathered data from the
U.K. national fraud and cybercrime reporting center, Action Fraud,
finding the individual losses due to scams had decreased from $76,000 to
$18,500, while total losses fell by $14 million. However, the report
noted that the number of times scams were reported had overall tripled,
with 81% of the reports related to cryptocurrency scam claims.
The U.K. regulator also noted that scammers tended to use social media
to find potential investors, often using pictures of celebrities with
fake endorsements.
Europol Shuts Down $200 Million Crypto Mixing Service Bestmixer
Cryptocurrency mixing service Bestmixer.io has been shut down this week by Dutch, Luxembourg and Europol
authorities. Cryptocurrency tumblers are tools that allow crypto
transactions of nonprivate coins to become more private by mixing crypto
funds with others in order to obscure the funds’ original source.
Bestmixer.io has had a reported turnover of more than $200 million since its launch in May 2018, and mixed cryptocurrencies including bitcoin (BTC), litecoin (LTC), bitcoin cash (BCH)
and others. The investigation that preempted the shutdown began in June
2018, as the authorities found that a large number of the mixed coins
had been used in money laundering.
Best Cointelegraph Features
SEC Postpones VanEck Bitcoin ETF, Yet Again. Should We Expect an Approval in 2019?
The
U.S. SEC has again delayed a decision on approving or disproving a
blockchain exchange-traded fund. As the delays keep coming, along with
open-ended questions for the public, Cointelegraph takes a look at the
chances for the SEC to ever give an ETF the green light.
Insured Cryptocurrency Custody Services and Their Potential Impact: The Key to Institutional Investment Growth?
As
seemingly a wave of cryptocurrency companies have begun offering crypto
custody services, Cointelegraph examines the importance of the
existence of crypto custody and how it can help foster institutional
adoption.
Confident in the Future: EOS Developers Attempt 10% Buyback Ahead of Major Announcement
Block.one,
the developer behind EOS, revealed this week that they were seeking a
10% buyback of its stock for reportedly the second time. In this
analysis, Cointelegraph details the potential impetus behind the idea,
and what it means for Block.one’s future plans.
