o Expedia.com has recently ended its acceptance of Bitcoin as a payment method for hotels and flights. As of now, the company did not explain why it has ended cryptocurrency transactions and the company has apologized for any inconveniences. This lead to reddit users complaining about the company. The users complained that they can’t understand why the company...
o The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) is advocating that domestic regulators should issue licenses for cryptocurrency activities. The CBRC write a paper titled "The Study of Development and Regulations on Distributed Ledger Accounts, Blockchain and Digital Currency". The paper claimed that "Currently, any capital transaction that relates to distributed...
o Coinbase will be adding GBP£ support to provide withdrawals and deposit capabilities or UK users. Before this addition, UK users have had to withdraw euros from Coinbase and use mobile banking solutions such as Revolut. Earlier this year, Coinbase partnered with UK bank, Barclays, which has helped facilitate this transition. Currently, 6% of Bitcoin transactions...
o Japan’s social messaging app LINE plans to launch a cryptocurrency exchange offering trading for up to 30 cryptocurrencies. The exchange is planned to open next month. The company currently has 200mm monthly users and will offer a crypto-to-crypto trading platform. The platform will be excluding Japanese and US investors at inception due to regulatory issues....
o Coinbase CEO has announced that the firm will be launching a charitable fund. The fund is called GiveCrypto and it will aim to raise USD$10mm this year. The fund plans to grow up to USD$1bn within the next two years. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has said that he has been inspired by the Gates Foundation, Ripple, the Pineapple Fund and OMG’s donations. o The AI...
o The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is planning to work with regulators in Abu Dhabi to develop a cross-border financial system that will be built with distributed ledger technology (DLT). The HKMA signed a fintech co-op agreement with the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of the Abu Dhabi Global Market. The chief fintech officer of the HKMA...
o Nobel Laurette Economist, Robert Shiller, had an interview with Bloomberg yesterday and noted that Bitcoin is a social movement and that its popularity is split across different lines. The economist called the Bitcoin phenomenon “generation and geographic”. Shiller discussed how Silicon Valley is more enthusiastic than the East Coast and that impressive...
o The US government is looking to sell 4,000 bitcoins that were seized during a crackdown on dark web marketplaces – currently worth ~USD$24,000. The government seized the bitcoins from Ryan Farace and Robert Swain who allegedly manufactured drugs and distributed them on the dark web. This is not the first time that the US government has confiscated and sold...
o Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Pro will be ending its trading services to Japanese investors starting next month. The suspension will take place July 2nd. Huobi Pro is currently the third largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. The cryptocurrency exchange does not have a license with Japan’s Financial Services Authority (FSA). Web traffic tracking site...
o Data compiled by Investopedia using SEMrush’s platform shows that the following searches related to bitcoin have been the most popular as of late: bitcoin, bitcoin price, bitcoin value, bitcoin to usd, bitcoin mining. The article also posed that bitcoin searches picked up during times of geopolitical tension which may indicate individuals are looking to bitcoin...
o Facebook will be reversing prior actions and unban cryptocurrency advertisements on its platform. The original ban went into place in January. Advertisers will need to submit the type of content they will be displaying in advance. The company said it has been studying the best way to refine its advertisement policy so that the advertisements are safe to display...
o Cordite, an open source community that is building upon the code from the R3 consortium is being unveiled soon. Cordite will allow enterprise blockchains to create different tokens on the same network for different types of assets, similar to what the ERC20 standard did for Ethereum. The difference is Cordite is designed for banking institutions. o The AI...
o A Californian mining company, 3G Venture II has purchased an Intel chipmaking complex for USD$13mm. It is reported that the company is looking to use the facility as a cryptocurrency mining center. The space totals 1.4mm square feet and the owner of 3G Venture II, John Chen believes the facility will be able to provide the necessary conditions for a mining...
o Dutch multinational banking and financial services giant ING, has conducted a survey covering 15,000 individuals over 13 different countries in Europe as well as the US and Australia. Of the European individuals surveyed, it is noted that 35% believe that cryptocurrencies will be the future of online spending. Also, it has been reported that 30% of individuals...
o Robinhood is looking to expand its cryptocurrency services and more effectively compete with cryptocurrency trading platforms, particularly Coinbase. The company rolled out cryptocurrency trading on its platform earlier this year but did not include a wallet storage system. Users have reported that the services are limited. A recent job posting shows that...
The island of Bahamas will be hosting the 2018 Bahamas Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference. Ahead of this conference, the country’s central bank has announced it will pilot a digital currency. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Hon. K. Peter Turnquest announced that he wishes Grand Bahama to become a digital hub. The AI Machine Learning 3-Day...
Ebang Communication, one of the largest bitcoin mining chip makers in China is looking to do an initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Ebang is looking to raise as much as USD$1bn, which would be the largest IPO in cryptocurrency history. Just last month, Ebang’s rival – Canaan Creative submitted an IPO application looking to raise USD$1bn....
Financial firm Ernst and Young has partnered with Microsoft to advance the content rights and royalties’ management process using blockchain technology. The two firms are looking to create a solution where intellectual property will be licensed, and the creators will be paid royalties. The blockchain solution will develop a value chain catering to authors,...