Blockchain & Digital Assets

May 16, 2020 @ 7:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

HDR Global Trading Ltd, the parent company of leading cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, BitMEX, has introduced a developer grant program that will complement its previous efforts and contributions that support software architects working on open-source protocols. HDR Global has previously awarded a “no strings attached” $100,000… Read More

May 16, 2020 @ 5:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

FinCEN Director Kenneth A. Blanco delivered a speech at virtual Consensus this past week addressing several hot topics of the day – including the “Travel Rule”; the FATF requirement that virtual asset service providers (or VASPs – think crypto exchanges) maintain information on purchasers and… Read More

May 16, 2020 @ 4:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital assets derivatives exchange FTX has introduced Bitcoin (BTC) hashrate futures. These financial products are being offered, so that BTC miners can hedge against the leading cryptocurrency’s continuous mining difficulty adjustments. The Bitcoin hashrate is the amount of computing power securing the BTC blockchain network… Read More

May 16, 2020 @ 8:25 am By Omar Faridi  |  

  Open interest on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group) for Bitcoin (BTC) options has surged dramatically during the past few days, following the third Bitcoin halving event, which effectively reduced the cryptocurrency’s supply by 50%. An options contract is an agreement between two consenting… Read More

May 15, 2020 @ 4:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Hedera Hashgraph, a decentralized public network where “anyone can carve out a piece of cyberspace to transact, play, and socialize in a secure, trusted environment,” may offer “Consensus-as-a-Service” for blockchains or distributed ledger technology (DLT) networks. Hedera is a leading provider of enterprise-grade DLT solutions…. Read More

May 15, 2020 @ 2:42 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com announced on Friday its MCO Visa card is now shipping to a total of 31 countries in Europe. The platform claims it is the only crypto card provider offering cards in Asia, the full EU, and the U.S. Crypto.com reported… Read More

May 15, 2020 @ 2:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

  The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has posted a response to a consultation regarding the regulation of derivative contracts on payment tokens (ie digital currencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum used as a method of payment). The original consultation was launched in November 2019… Read More

May 15, 2020 @ 1:39 pm By JD Alois  |  

Visa (NYSE:V) is going deeper into crypto it seems. Yesterday, a patent application by Visa was published on the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USTPO) website for a “digital fiat currency.” Initially filed in November 2019, the document outlines the process Visa envisions to… Read More

May 15, 2020 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week, it was reported that Telegram has decided to abandon its initiative to launch a blockchain platform called TON (Telegram Open Network) and a cryptocurrency named Gram. The decision was the direct result of an ongoing enforcement action launched by the US Securities… Read More

May 15, 2020 @ 9:56 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Ontology (ONT), a “high-performance” public blockchain network that aims to provide a “distributed trust” platform, announced on Friday it has joined forces with German decentralized digital identity specialist Spherity to advance digital identity solutions. The platform reported that the partnership will see the integration of… Read More

May 15, 2020 @ 9:08 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Bitcoin (BTC), the flagship cryptocurrency, may serve as a gateway for investors to consider buying other digital assets or “altcoins” (alternative coins). According to research conducted by San Francisco-based crypto exchange Coinbase, 60% of first-time virtual currency investors purchase Bitcoin at first. However, only 24%… Read More

May 15, 2020 @ 8:33 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Paiblock, a Denmark-based blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) platform, announced on Friday it has extended in-app banking coverage to customer accounts across US banks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Founded in 2011, Paiblock describes itself as a blockchain-based and AI-capable payment and digital lifestyle platform… Read More

May 14, 2020 @ 11:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Reddit, the popular social news aggregation and discussion website, is currently testing two Ethereum-powered tokens for platform users. The blockchain-based tokens may be earned as rewards for posting content to Reddit’s online forums. The two tokens, $BRICKS and $MOONS, will be awarded to user accounts… Read More

May 14, 2020 @ 10:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)-backed dYdX, a non-custodial cryptocurrency exchange, has confirmed the public launch of its Bitcoin (BTC) perpetual contracts market. Perpetual contracts are derivatives that are somewhat like futures contracts, however, they don’t have an expiry or fixed settlement date. Perpetual contracts closely resemble a… Read More

May 14, 2020 @ 10:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockdaemon, a blockchain node provider, has acquired $5.5 million in capital from major investors including Fenbushi Capital, Hashkey, CoinShares, Blockchain.com, Kenetic, and SPiCE VC. Early investors Boldstart, Comcast Ventures, Heavybit, and Lerer Hippeau also made contributions. The New York-headquartered firm says it’s planning to use… Read More

May 14, 2020 @ 7:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Libra Association has added three new members: Temasek, Paradigm, and Slow Ventures. Launched by Facebook, the Libra Association is a Switzerland-based independent entity seeking to launch a blockchain-based payment system. Recently, Libra tweaked its white-paper backing away from its original intent to launch a… Read More

May 14, 2020 @ 11:32 am By JD Alois  |  

France has created a unique regulatory regime for the issuance and trading of digital assets that are utility tokens. Under French law, an initial coin offering (ICO) issuer may apply for a “visa” to offer a utility token. If approved, the issuer may publicly promote… Read More

May 14, 2020 @ 10:50 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Digital asset custody provider BitGo announced on Thursday it has been named as the custodian of India-based crypto exchange, CoinDCX. BitGo reported that as the custodian of CoinDCX, it will provide the secure storage and custodianship of cryptocurrencies held on CoinDCX, fully insured and protected by… Read More

May 14, 2020 @ 9:04 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Cryptocurrency payments processor CoinPayments announced on Wednesday it has appointed Jason Butcher as its new CEO. CoinPayment reported that Butcher has been its Chief Operating Officer since 2017, and previously as an advisor starting in 2015, helped boost CoinPayments’ monthly transactions to more than $100… Read More

May 14, 2020 @ 7:41 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Germany-based neobank Bitwala will allow its 80,000+ customers to buy, hold, and earn interest on Bitcoin through their bank accounts. Bitwala’s new cryptocurrency service is being offered through a partnership with the developers of the Celsius Network, a major digital assets lending platform. DefiPrime data… Read More