Coinbase Reviewing 19 Crypto Assets for Listing, Including Wrapped Bitcoin and Paxos Gold

Crypto exchange Coinbase said Friday that it is reviewing 19 cryptocurrencies for possible listing.

These new assets are: Ampleforth, Band Protocol, Balancer, Blockstack, Curve, Fetch.ai, Flexacoin, Helium, Hedera Hashgraph, Kava, Melon, Ocean Protocol, Paxos Gold, Reserve Rights, tBTC, The Graph, Theta, Uma, and Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC).

Coinbase said the review process includes “significant technical and compliance review and may be subject to regulatory approval in some jurisdictions.” There’s no guarantee that crypto assets under review will gain automatic listing.

“[Our] goal is to offer support for all assets that meet our technical standards and which comply with applicable laws,” said the U.S. exchange, in a blog post.

“As per our listing process, we will add new assets on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis, subject to applicable review and authorizations. The omission of assets from this publication does not disqualify any such asset from active review and potential listing,” it added.

Coinbase, which boasts over 35 million users worldwide, indicated that it would continue to evaluate more digital assets, and with time it expects to support “at least 90% of the aggregate market cap of all digital assets in circulation.”

In June, the exchange revealed that it was exploring the addition of 18 crypto assets, including Comp, Aave, Aragon, and Bancor.

Assets that eventually get listed on Coinbase have tended to see sharp increases in their prices – as happened with Makerdao’s MKR in May or Compound’s Comp in June – but the relationship, known as the “Coinbase Effect”, isn’t always linear. Comp surged by as much as 300% in the run-up to and after the Coinbase listing.

At the time of writing, most of the assets that Coinbase has announced for review are going up. For example, Melon is up more than 26%, Flexacoin 4.5%, and Reserve rights 2.4%, according to data from markets.Bitcoin.com.

What do you think about new assets getting listed on Coinbase? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Coinbase Reviewing 19 Crypto Assets for Listing, Including Wrapped Bitcoin and Paxos Gold appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Jeffrey Gogo

Read More

Federal Agents Arrest Suspected 17-Year-Old Twitter Hack ‘Mastermind’ in Florida

On Friday a 17-year-old Tampa teenager was arrested in Florida for allegedly being the “mastermind” behind the July 15 Twitter hack that saw a great number of high profile accounts compromised.

The hack also netted roughly $120,000 worth of bitcoins by leading unknowing individuals to doubler scams. The suspect Graham Clark has been charged with over 30 felonies and was taken into custody by the FBI, Secret Service, and Florida law enforcement.

On July 15, there was a massive Twitter hack where a large number of Twitter accounts were breached. The accounts belonging to many well known people included Barack Obama, Apple, Google, Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos. The accounts then tweeted about a bitcoin (BTC) ‘giveaway’ or doubler scam and the hacker raked in $120,000 worth of BTC in one day.

The public also found out that 1,000 individuals had access to an internal tool that gives someone ‘God Mode’ powers. It was also found out that someone on the inside working with Twitter was paid for the access and people had fears about compromised direct messages. The New York Times explained the insider was called “Kirk” and he allegedly sold the internal tool to various hackers who told on him after the incident.

Photo of Graham Clark via WFLA’s Ryan Hughes. In addition to Clark, federal agents also arrested 19-year-old Mason Sheppard from the United Kingdom and 22-year-old Nima Fazeli from Orlando, Florida.

After the arrest, Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren told the local Florida news outlet WFLA that “massive fraud was orchestrated right here in our backyard, and we will not stand for that.” Graham Clark faces charges like fraudulent use of personal information with a multitude of victims, organized fraud charges, a number of counts of fraudulent use of personal information, a great deal of communications fraud charges as well.

“These crimes were perpetrated using the names of famous people and celebrities, but they’re not the primary victims here. This ‘Bit-Con’ was designed to steal money from regular Americans from all over the country, including here in Florida,” Warren stressed to the press.

U.S. law enforcement says that Clark is one of three suspects involved with the Twitter hack but he is allegedly the “mastermind” behind the ordeal. Police have also arrested 19-year-old Mason Sheppard from the United Kingdom and 22-year-old Nima Fazeli from Orlando, Florida.

It is unknown what will happen with the bitcoins acquired from the July 15 Twitter hack, but one report published by Elliptic, said a fraction of the coins were mixed with a bitcoin tumbling wallet.

What do you think about the arrest of the alleged Twitter hack mastermind? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

The post Federal Agents Arrest Suspected 17-Year-Old Twitter Hack ‘Mastermind’ in Florida appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Jamie Redman

Read More

US Regulator Zeroes in on Binance Chain as SEC Awards Monitoring Contract to Ciphertrace

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) intends to award a fixed-price contract on a single source basis to Ciphertrace.

The SEC is awarding the contract to the blockchain monitoring company as it plans focus on BNB coin, as well as other tokens on the Binance’s DEX. The BNB token has multiple forms of utility and powers the Binance Ecosystem as its underlying gas.

The U.S. regulator says it has chosen Ciphertrace because “its products are the only known blockchain forensics and risk intelligence tool that can support the Binance coin (BNB) and all tokens on the Binance network.”

This follows a determination by the contracting officer “that Ciphertrace Inc is the only source that can reasonably meet the SEC’s requirement in accordance with FAR Part 13.106-1(b).”

According to the SEC notice, “the period of performance for the contract is anticipated to be one year with four one year option periods and the total value of the contract shall be below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold.”

The SEC intends to award a contract to Ciphertrace on or before July 31, 2020. The regulator adds, “this notice is not a competitive request for proposals. A competition solicitation will not be issued.”

Still, the U.S. watchdog stresses the “government will give consideration to interested parties that identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement or submit proposals by the response date of the notice.”

Meanwhile, the SEC’s announcement follows an announcement by Ciphertrace last November stating support for Binance Chain.

In a press release, Ciphertrace said at the time this support would enable developers, investors, and regulators to browse the Binance Chain blockchain, identify high-risk addresses and set controls to protect decentralized applications (DApps), exchanges or other cryptocurrency-based applications.

Ciphertrace support was expected to “enable Binance Chain to provide institutional-grade anti-money laundering (AML) controls and transparency.”

At the time of the announcement, Binance said the partnership would encourage greater community involvement, developer participation, and public interest in Binance Chain.

What does the award of this contract mean for Binance? Share your thoughts in the comments section below

The post US Regulator Zeroes in on Binance Chain as SEC Awards Monitoring Contract to Ciphertrace appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Terence Zimwara

Read More

As Gold Touches New Highs Investors Face Storage Issues, Market Dilution, Threat of Seizures

During the last few weeks, gold has skyrocketed in value over the concerns fueled by the faltering global economy. Despite the fact that gold has always been a safe-haven, many investors are looking to bitcoin because they fear central banks will dilute the market or even confiscate the gold.

Prior to Covid-19, central banks purchased massive amounts of gold and alongside this, a number of countries are having serious issues repatriating their gold reserves. This has caused investors worldwide to question gold over crypto assets.

There’s no doubt that gold has been on a tear, but many people have concerns about the precious metal being a solid safe-haven due to a number of factors. In recent years, investors have found cryptocurrencies like bitcoin (BTC) have a number of benefits that gold cannot offer.

At the time of publication, one troy ounce of .999 fine gold is trading for $1,963 and many investors believe the price is headed higher. But some of the biggest issues with gold, in comparison to crypto assets, is the problem with storage.

A few hundred thousand dollars worth of gold held by a single individual isn’t not as easy as say storing $300,000 worth of BTC. An individual has to secure the precious metal by hiding it and leveraging a safe, and oftentimes people with that much gold have a third-party store it for them.

Safes and added custodial security create extra costs to investing in gold and storing the metal with a third party means you have to trust them. The gold custodian could get robbed or a government entity could seize the metal leaving all the investors high and dry.

Moreover, governments have been known to seize peoples gold. One of the most famous instances of this type of event occurred in 1933, when American President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) invoked the Emergency Banking Act. At that time, FDR also issued Executive order 6102 which forbade the hoarding of gold certificates, bullion, and gold coins.

American President Franklin D. Roosevelt signing Executive order 6102.

According to FDR, the move to seize American gold stashes was meant to stimulate economic growth during the Great Depression. On April 5, 1933, FDR signed Executive order 6102, and citizens were mandated to take their bars, coins, and certificates to the Fed. They were paid $20.67 per ounce and after the Emergency Banking Act was lifted, FDR raised the price to $35 per ounce.

Many people wholeheartedly believe that this “could never happen again” but the reason why it did happen was so FDR and the banking cartel could strike 40% off the dollar and bolster the economy. The reason it could happen again is because the USD has been declining in value for years.

On July 30, 2020, the USD’s trade-weighted index dropped to a two-year low against a basket of other fiat currencies. The U.S. government could easily invoke another executive order against gold in order to keep the reserve currency of the world afloat. Furthermore, back in 1933, FDR had government entities conduct a nationwide search for gold coin, bullion, and certificates as part of the government’s “confiscation policy.”

The U.S. dollar dropped to a two-year low on Thursday with values not seen since May 2018.

There are a few high-profile U.S. gold confiscation enforcement that the American press covered at the time. For instance, the federal government seized double eagles worth $12.5 million at the time from an investor who was holding the coins for a Switzerland-based firm.

Another individual was charged when he tried to withdraw 5,000 ounces of gold worth $9.6 million today. Banks holding gold would notify government entities if someone was withdrawing gold and the man with the 5,000 ounces was greeted by federal agents that day. In addition to the U.S., other countries like China and Japan have had cases where gold smuggling is common and governments seize people’s gold.

Gold investors are also scared about the massive amounts of precious metal central banks have held in reserve and many suspect they could dilute the market. There are a number of central banks doing shady things with gold reserves and some of them are not allowing other countries to withdraw.

Many countries have tried to repatriate their gold, but have had significant issues from central banks. Venezuela, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, India, and Bangladesh all have had problems attempting to repatriate their gold. The countries holding these reserves could weaken the value of gold, by simply selling off massive amounts during times of economic distress.

Statistics show that the U.S. is the largest holder of gold reserves and the country is followed by Germany, the International Monetary Fund, Italy, France, Russia, China, Switzerland, Japan, India, the Netherlands, and the European Union.

In April, financial columnist David Fickling said that it was possible central banks could sell these reserves in an emergency. This happened during the 2007-2008 economic crisis as gold was supposed to be a safe haven after the 2007 Bear Stearns emergency bailout, but central banks dumped gold to provide liquidity.

Gold has been a safe haven asset for centuries, but crypto assets are far more portable and they require far less security. A person can easily send a million dollars worth of ethereum (ETH) or bitcoin cash (BCH) to anyone in the world in a matter of no time. Moving a million dollars worth of gold is not as easy. It would be much harder to seize people’s digital currencies as well, as a million dollars can simply be hidden in a twelve-word mnemonic phrase. Just the other day, news.Bitcoin.com’s financial columnist, Jeffrey Gogo, reported on how the gold bull Dennis Gartman is moving out of gold, because the market has become “too crowded.”

An individual can store a million dollars in bitcoin without paying custodial costs and do so in a noncustodial fashion. Even central banks who are attempting to repatriate their gold reserves, would have been in much better shape if they leveraged crypto assets over gold reserves. There is no doubt that gold will continue to be thought of as a safe-haven asset, but there is also no doubt that crypto-assets offer people significant advantages over precious metals like gold.

What do you think about gold’s issues? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

The post As Gold Touches New Highs Investors Face Storage Issues, Market Dilution, Threat of Seizures appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Jamie Redman

Read More

Chinese Police Take Down $6 Billion Plustoken Ponzi, Arrest 109 People

Chinese authorities have reportedly arrested 109 people in connection with the Plustoken Ponzi scheme. Twenty-seven of them are allegedly the scheme’s masterminds and 82 are key members. The Plustoken scammers have swindled funds worth about $5.7 billion from more than 2 million investors.

Plustoken Scammers Arrested

Under the command of China’s Ministry of Public Security, the country’s principal police and security authority, Chinese police have taken down Plustoken, a major multinational pyramid scheme using cryptocurrencies, local news outlet CLS reported on Thursday.

The Plustoken scheme has lured in more than 2 million investors who joined on over 3,000 levels. It has swindled funds worth more than 40 billion yuan (approximately $5.7 billion) from the victims.

The police have arrested all 27 alleged masterminds and 82 key members of the scheme. “The arrest completely destroyed this huge multinational MLM organization network entrenched at home and abroad,” the publication noted.

“Based in China, Plustoken presented itself as a cryptocurrency wallet that would reward users with high rates of return if they purchased the wallet’s associated PLUS cryptocurrency tokens with bitcoin or ethereum,” Chainalysis described. The scammers claimed those returns would be generated by exchange profit, mining income, and referral benefits. In addition, the token would be listed on several exchanges.

In June, six people connected to the scam were arrested. However, “the stolen funds have continued to move through wallets and be cashed out through independent OTC brokers operating mostly on the Huobi platform, showing that one or more of the scammers are still at large,” according to the blockchain analytics firm.

Over time, the Plustoken scammers have moved a large number of cryptocurrencies, including BTC and ETH, prompting concerns that they may cash out enough of their ill-gotten gains to move the market prices of bitcoin and ether. For example, they moved 789,534 ETH in June, 13,000 BTC to bitcoin mixers in March and almost 12,000 BTC in February.

What do you think about the police taking down the Plustoken scam? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Chinese Police Take Down $6 Billion Plustoken Ponzi, Arrest 109 People appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Kevin Helms

Read More

pTokens project launches pNetwork DAO with staking rewards of 42% APR interest

London, Friday 31st July 2020 – The pTokens project has today launched the pNetwork DAO, giving holders of the governance token $PNT the opportunity to help govern and influence the future of the DeFi cross-chain solution. pTokens make every cryptocurrency compatible with every blockchain, such as pBTC, which enables Bitcoin holders to explore Ethereum and EOS DeFi without having to sell or trade their crypto. The community-run pNetwork DAO is the first major step towards decentralising the system.

PNT holders who stake their tokens in the DAO will be able to vote on different proposals regarding the development of the pTokens solution and make key governance decisions as a community. Active voters receive competitive interest rates for their participation, receiving 42% APR interest on their stake during the first year, and 21% APR interest the following year. This reward incentive is designed to give back to the founding community and help the pNetwork grow while in its initial stages. Up to 28,350,000 $PNT tokens are dedicated to this initiative, which are generated through an inflation mechanism.

The PNT governance token is already held by more than 7,500 blockchain addresses, establishing a broad and diverse community of token holders. In June, the main development team proactively reduced their token share by burning over 28 million company-managed tokens. This was to ensure that majority control of the project would be distributed among the wider community upon launch, rather than in the hands of the team.

“A diverse and collaborative user community is an essential component of any decentralized project. The pNetwork DAO is an important way for our project to honour its decentralized commitment, and ensure that the governance of the network as it grows is shaped and influenced directly by its everyday users,” says Bertani.

pTokens recently announced the launch of its new yield farming programme, Steroids. The programme will coincide with the launch of the DAO and run for a period of one month. It enables all PNT token holders to receive rewards by adding liquidity to the Uniswap V2 PNT/USDT liquidity pool. Holders will receive up to 10% monthly interest as a reward. Users can increase their earning potential based on how much, and for how long they supply liquidity for. As Steroids can also function as an app within the pNetwork DAO, this also enables the UniV2 pool tokens to be staked directly within the DAO, combining the Steroids rewards with pNetwork DAO voting rights.

The total supply for $PNT is just below 60 million, with almost 30 million already locked within the pNetwork DAO, reducing the circulating supply by half. This includes the company treasury and team-owned tokens, as well as the reserve dedicated to the Eidoo Card cashback program.

The $PNT community has already staked approximately 5 million tokens through the Eidoo Card program and Eidoo Staking Accounts initiative of December 2019. These hundreds of early supporters will serve as the pNetwork’s inaugural community base, and now have the possibility to gain extra rewards on their initial stake by voting in the DAO.

Learn more about how you can join the pNetwork DAO here.

About pNetwork
As the underlying architecture for pTokens, the interoperability solution for decentralized finance, the pNetwork provides the foundation for a truly decentralized system. Secured by Multi Party Computations and Trusted Computing, anyone is invited to join as a pNetwork validator to help secure and shape the future of pTokens project.The pNetwork DAO is run by a transparent governance process and is open for anyone to join. The main development team behind the pNetwork is Provable Things, founded in 2016 in London. Provable uses cutting-edge decentralized technologies to provide services for modern DApps. The first Provable product to launch has become the longest-running blockchain oracle service industry-wide.

Contact Email Address
hello@p.network

Supporting Link
https://p.network

---

This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.

The post pTokens project launches pNetwork DAO with staking rewards of 42% APR interest appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Nanok Bie

Read More

Indian Government Confirms Crypto Bill Is ‘Awaiting Approval’

The Indian government has confirmed in a Right to Information (RTI) reply that the inter-ministerial committee’s cryptocurrency bill is “awaiting approval of the government.” The bill is currently being examined by various ministries.

Indian Government’s Confirmation

The government of India has been sitting on a cryptocurrency draft bill since it was submitted to the finance ministry early last year. Entitled “Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019,” the document was drafted by an inter-ministerial committee headed by former Finance and Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg.

While no formal announcement regarding the progress of the bill has been made, some media reports suggest that consultation has begun on this bill. To establish the veracity of this news, lawyer Mohammed Danish, co-founder of Crypto Kanoon, filed an RTI application with the Department of Economic Affairs.

In its short reply dated July 13, the Department of economic affairs wrote: “The government has set up inter-ministerial committee (IMC) for examining the issues of cryptocurrencies under the chairmanship of Secretary (EA).” The letter continues:

The report of the IMC on VCs [virtual currencies] has since been submitted by its members, but is awaiting approval of the government. The report and bill now be examined by the government through inter-ministerial consultation by moving a cabinet note in due course.

Danish explained to Coinpedia publication on Wednesday that “The present bill contemplates a blanket ban on everything related to cryptocurrencies.” He added that the IMC proposal “prescribes punishments for every activity from mining, holding, advertising, promoting, buying, selling to providing exchange services … If this bill is converted into law in the present form, then no sector can survive.”

However, he highlighted that the DEA used the word “government” in its RTI reply to refer to the Ministry of Finance, and not “Parliament” or “Cabinet Secretariat.” This “means that this crypto bill does not conform to the satisfaction of the finance ministry,” the Crypto Kanoon co-founder opined.

In addition, he emphasized that it is “unclear and quite pre-mature” to predict what the Ministry of Finance will do, including whether substantial changes will be made to the bill to reject the idea of a complete ban on cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. Nonetheless, “it seems that the Ministry of Finance does not want to proceed with this crypto bill for parliamentary clearance in the present form,” Danish believes, elaborating:

If the govt. decides to pass a law banning crypto, this law can be challenged by crypto business, traders, or enthusiasts based on various rights available to them under the Constitution.

Specifically, Danish pointed out that “They can challenge this law before the supreme court under Article 32 and before high courts under Article 226 of the Constitution.”

Do you think the Indian government will ban crypto? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Indian Government Confirms Crypto Bill Is ‘Awaiting Approval’ appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Kevin Helms

Read More

Bitcoin Trading Is Booming in Uncertain Russia, With 350% Spike in New Users on Paxful

Bitcoin trading is growing in Russia. That’s despite attempts by the government to make it difficult for investors to do so.

For years, Russian lawmakers have blown hot and cold over cryptocurrency regulation, creating an atmosphere that has often left the entire digital asset industry in the country on tenterhooks.

According to Paxful, Russian users joining the peer-to-peer bitcoin (BTC) exchange have increased by 350% over the last 12 months. New registrations have swelled to record highs month-on-month since the new coronavirus outbreak in March.

The exchange said it is now seeing an average monthly trading volume of $4 million in the Eastern European country, compared to other P2P platforms.

For payment, Russians prefer to use gift cards, online wallets, bank transfers, and credit or debit cards, it stated in a statement shared with news.Bitcoin.com. Anton Kozlov, Paxful’s Manager for the Russian market, said:

Crisis aside, Russia has always had a monolithic banking system that is dominated by a few players, and the sentiment we get is that Russians are increasingly looking to find alternative ways to grow their earnings and participate in the financial market. Bitcoin within the P2P context allows them much more freedom to do so – and our data is proving it.

A new law passed on July 22 prohibits the use of bitcoin to pay for goods and services, but grants legal recognition to cryptocurrencies. Such clarity may help drive further growth of the Russian digital asset market.

Russia is reportedly the largest P2P bitcoin trading market in Europe, but a lot of the trading takes place on Localbitcoins, with a volume of about $32 million changing hands this month, according to data from Useful Tulips.

For the same period, the research firm puts Paxful’s BTC trading volume in Russia at just $405,000 – a figure that contradicts the one issued by the exchange itself as cited elsewhere in this report.

Paxful said earlier this July that its bitcoin trading volumes climbed 35% to $1.1 billion during the first six months of 2020 compared to $817 million a year ago.

The growing U.S. exchange revealed that more than $182 million worth of BTC, on average, was traded on the platform every month between January and June this year. Nigeria, U.S., Ghana, India, and Kenya led the growth, with emerging markets rising fastest.

To date, Paxful has accumulated 4.5 million users and reached a total of $4.6 billion trading volume for BTC since it started operations in 2015.

What do you think about Russia’s growing bitcoin trading activity? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Bitcoin Trading Is Booming in Uncertain Russia, With 350% Spike in New Users on Paxful appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Jeffrey Gogo

Read More

Stablecoin Cold Storage Backed by Satoshis – Simba is a New Way of Holding Assets in Switzerland

When it comes to Switzerland, first of all, people have associations with first-class chocolate, delicious cheese, the most precise watches, multi-purpose knives and, of course, a safe place to keep money.

New Way of Holding Assets in Switzerland

Since the dawn of time Switzerland has been a banking paradise attracting more and more people, who want to keep their money in the country. With the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies, Switzerland has decided to enter the list of advanced countries, taking an extremely friendly position regarding digital currencies because of their great potential.

It can be considered the most favourable jurisdiction for blockchain-oriented businesses at the moment. It is all caused by advanced legislation, quite low tax rates, high standard level of privacy and a developed banking industry.

One of the country’s administrative centres in Zug even has its own ‘crypto valley’, named Crypto Valley Association, which task is to create the most modern blockchain-ecosystems. Zug is a home for many companies in the cryptocurrency industry, fintech and blockchain startups, popular organizations including, for example, the Tezos Foundation (ticker XTZ). The headquarters of the world’s second cryptocurrency Ethereum is also located there.

The administrative centre attracts an increasing number of tech startups, making it one of the best locations for doing business with digital currencies. The only disadvantage is a costly and time-consuming creation process of the companies’ legal infrastructure.

Ethereum blockchain is one of the most popular blockchain applications and protocols implemented in Switzerland. Ethereum is a public platform that includes an open source blockchain-based distributed computing ledger and smart contract functionality. The network is implemented as a single decentralized computing machine that works being supplemented simultaneously with the help of millions of devices around the world.

Now Simba.Storage has joined the race to achieve the best quality in doing business in this country.

Industries in Switzerland investing in blockchain.

Switzerland not only supports cryptocurrency organizations providing them with all the necessary comfortable conditions, but also actively invests in new technologies within the country. It is interesting that in Switzerland almost every bank offers to open a cryptocurrency account or link your wallet to your account. In many cantons (‘Swiss states’ similar to those in the USA), BTC, ETH, USDT and other cryptocurrencies are accepted for payment for goods and services, it is even possible to pay phone and Internet bills, taxes and government payments.

The banking sector invests in one of the most important blockchain protocols, the R3 Corda platform, which improves the trade finance process. Swiss banks are very interested in integrating blockchain innovations into their business models, forging partnerships with blockchain development companies and acquiring such companies (including crowdfunding platforms). The majority of banks, including the private ones, have created their own inner innovation departments to follow new technological developments.

For the companies in the FMCG industry, one of the most important projects is the Komgo blockchain. This platform facilitates standby letters of credit and discounting of receivables and KYC (customer identification) procedures.

These are just a few examples of blockchain implementation options in Switzerland. DLT or a distributed ledger technology is also used in real estate, insurance, supply chain management and government agencies dealing with digital signatures in many companies in the country.

How cryptocurrencies are defined and regulated in Switzerland.

Switzerland does not have a large number of special laws applicable to cryptocurrencies, but there is a fairly large number of documents regulating the definition of certain specific digital assets by their ownership (utility, security, payment, stable), in addition, there are two guides on initial coin offering and initial token offering (ICO and ITO), which were issued by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), the main regulatory body that carefully analyses all projects on the market, and for this reason, it takes a long time to get a license. Thus, Simba.Storage is not an exception.

Trading platforms and cryptocurrency exchanges must comply with certain rules and are subject to money laundering laws. Such platforms must necessarily identify a buyer of the tokens, a beneficial owner of the tokens (if different from the buyer) and ensure that the funds, used to purchase the tokens, are not the proceeds of a crime.

Holding assets in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Storing funds in Switzerland has always been associated with reliability, security and anonymity. This fact especially attracted people who had really large funds and did not want to disclose information about it.

It is important to pay attention to the fact, that these are not innovative technologies which guarantee the safety of your funds, but actually how developed and rich the country is in all areas.

The same applies to Liechtenstein, as this microstate borders with Switzerland and the border is almost invisible, which is quite typical for Europe. The national currency of this country is the Swiss Franc.

An unblemished reputation and a high level of anonymity together with a highly developed financial sector provide a similar confidence in money storage in the country as well as in Switzerland.

Companies that are registered in Liechtenstein are able to open accounts not only in local banks, but also in the banks of Switzerland.

This is one of the reason why Simba.Storage places its cold storage in this country.

Let’s consider just a few aspects that significantly influence the choice of where to store money:

• The Swiss have one of the richest privacy cultures in the world and the first bank secrecy law dates back to 1713. The current data protection laws are one of the strictest in the world;
• Switzerland is ranked first position in the world for competitiveness and productivity which are key drivers of economic growth and the quality of life;
• Switzerland has the world’s leading infrastructure in the fields of energy, transport, telecommunications, financial services, education, healthcare, environment, safety and technological innovations;
• Switzerland implements sound economic policies, including a strong currency with by far the highest gold reserves per capita among other countries and the world’s highest GDP per capita. That is why, together with Simba, you will get a Swiss bank in your pocket.

The list goes on, but the above mentioned factors already show that it is not the country, where high-rank officials from law enforcement agencies, interested in your funds, will decide to ‘borrow’ your funds and ‘temporarily isolate you’ from society due to a questionable reason. Besides, when talking about Switzerland and Liechtenstein, naturally there are no thoughts about criminals who can break into a bank wearing masks, or about hackers who can get an access to your digital assets.

Together with the development of modern technologies in these countries, the storage of cryptocurrencies can now also be classified as areas in which they have succeeded and become leaders. Swiss-based digital asset vaults offer the highest degree of protection and guarantee that your funds are safe and secure.

For example, Simba.Storage based in Switzerland and Lichtenstein offer cold storage services to customers storing Bitcoins on hardware wallets that are completely protected from hacking. Modern customer identification technologies (KYC) will allow to restore access to users’ funds remotely, in case they accidentally lose their login information.

Also, all customers of this storage, in exchange for the bitcoins kept for storage, receive SIMBA stablecoins (token of the ERC-20 standard), backed by BTC (1 SIMBA = 1 satoshi). These tokens can be used for everyday payments, and they are an additional safety guarantee of your Bitcoins.

Such an approach to storage can be called a standard and taking it as an example, one can judge by other cryptocurrency storages.

Website – https://simba.storage

Telegram – https://t.me/simbastorage

---

This is a sponsored post. Learn more on how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below.

The post Stablecoin Cold Storage Backed by Satoshis – Simba is a New Way of Holding Assets in Switzerland appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Bitcoin.com PR

Read More

Fidelity Digital Assets Quotes Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto in Latest Investment Thesis

Fidelity Digital Assets (FDA) quotes Satoshi Nakamoto in its latest investment thesis report.

The thesis is part of a series of reports examining the perspectives driving interest and investment in bitcoin.

FDA is affiliated with Fidelity through parent company Fidelity Management & Research (FMR). One of the largest financial services corporations in the world, Fidelity has an estimated $7 trillion worth of assets under management (AUM).

Commenting on its findings, FDA says it has learned that investors view bitcoin as an aspirational store of value while also noting the limited knowledge about the same by stakeholders.

Additionally, FDA observes that the current investor “rationale for establishing exposure now” is premised on a belief that bitcoin “will be a much larger market if it is widely used as a store of value in the future.”

This optimistic investor perception fits well with a famous Satoshi’s quote which FDA includes in this bitcoin investment thesis. Satoshi wrote:

It might make sense just to get some in case it catches on. If enough people think the same way, that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Current investors in bitcoin are hopeful the coin will ultimately attain the objective of becoming a store of value despite present volatility concerns.

As the investment thesis further explains, over time, “volatility should continue to decline relative to current levels as narratives converge.”

Meanwhile, investors interviewed by FDA as part of this thesis believe the next wave of awareness and adoption could be driven by external factors, such as unprecedented levels of intervention by central banks and governments.

Longer-term tailwinds that could fuel adoption include the use of bitcoin to preserve wealth amid “slow and steady” inflation and the “looming generational wealth transfer to millennials, who view bitcoin more favourably than other demographics.”

How significant is the reference to Satoshi by Fidelity Digital Assets? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

The post Fidelity Digital Assets Quotes Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto in Latest Investment Thesis appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Terence Zimwara

Read More

Bitcoin an Option, as Dennis Gartman Says He’s Exiting ‘Crowded’ Gold Market

Gold bull Dennis Gartman is moving out of gold because the market has become “too crowded.”

In an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday, Gartman said he was “social distancing” from the precious metal until such a time when the price falls to around $1,775.

“Too many people all of a sudden are involved in the gold market,” he complained. “There’s only one position everybody has and that’s long…people have to be taken out of that trade.”

Back in April, the popular gold investor told everyone “now is the time to buy gold.” Today, Gartman feels the market is overcrowded.

“I couldn’t get too many people interested in gold…two and three years ago but now it’s on the front pages of every report that you see,” said Gartman, adding, “at this point in gold I’m neutral.”

The price of gold closed at a record high of nearly $1,960 per ounce on July 28, as trading volumes surged. Some traders are reported to be switching their futures contracts for physical gold, potentially risking creating imbalances in the market.

Both gold and bitcoin, two assets considered as safe haven, have risen sharply over the last few days amid increased stimulus spending from governments throughout the world.

Bitcoin, which has been likened to “digital gold”, reached an 11-month high of about $11,400 on Tuesday. The top cryptocurrency might become an attractive option for those investors – like Gartman – looking for alternative safe havens or to diversify risk.

In the interview, Gartman also stated that falling stock market prices – which he feels are already expensive anyway – could trigger the next sell-off in gold.

“For the past several months they’ve been moving in conventional with each other … as gold goes up so have stocks … that consistency between the two shall continue for a lot longer … so if stocks start to tumble you’ll get a correlative sell-off in the gold market,” he said.

What do you think about Dennis Gartman exiting gold? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Bitcoin an Option, as Dennis Gartman Says He’s Exiting ‘Crowded’ Gold Market appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Jeffrey Gogo

Read More

Bitcoin Cash Games Launches $3K Leaderboard Tournament to Celebrate the 3rd BCH Anniversary

To celebrate the third anniversary of Bitcoin Cash, the world-class gaming platform Bitcoin Cash Games is launching a leaderboard tournament worth $3k.

On August 1, the Bitcoin Cash community will be celebrating the network’s third anniversary and the project has come a long way since 2017. Bitcoin cash (BCH) has garnered widespread attention, it’s the fifth-largest market by valuation, and developers have completed a number of beneficial upgrades over the last few years. BCH has solidified itself as the go-to cryptocurrency for a reliable peer-to-peer electronic cash system.

At Bitcoin Cash Games we want to celebrate the third BCH anniversary so our gaming casino is launching a leaderboard with a total of $3,000 for you to win. Anyone can participate in this special promotion by playing any of these exclusive games available on the casino: Exclusive Slots, Keno and Roulette.

Then the top 15 players will get a bonus reward at the end of the Bitcoin Cash Games promotion. The more a player bets, the higher their ranking will be on the leaderboard. Moreover, we launched a social campaign where you can claim a $10 bonus through the casino’s official Twitter.

Bitcoin Cash Games brings yet another opportunity for players to engage in online entertainment and win big jackpots using BCH as its primary currency. Our gaming portal has always hosted a broad array of provably fair gaming for cryptocurrency enthusiasts who like to play for high stakes recreation.

It is an online gaming platform where players can engage in all their favorite casino games without worrying about KYC or upper limits on deposits. Furthermore, BCH withdrawals are always done in a safe and secure digital environment. We think that you will find our platform is the ultimate destination for classic casino gaming — with a BCH twist.

At Bitcoin Cash Games our gaming portal offers free spins, exciting promotions, cashback, and regular bonuses. So what are you waiting for? Check out Bitcoin Cash Games today.

What do you think about Bitcoin Cash Games launching a $3,000 leaderboard tournament to celebrate the third Bitcoin Cash anniversary? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Bitcoin Cash Games Launches $3K Leaderboard Tournament to Celebrate the 3rd BCH Anniversary appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Bitcoin.com

Read More

Stimulus Is Failing: Global Banks to Break Support Levels, US Dollar Plummets to 2-Year Low

Central banks worldwide have injected further stimulus into the economy, as European Union (EU) leaders recently approved a $2.1 trillion budget, the Bank of England boosted stimulus injections in mid-June, and the Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it would keep lending until the end of the year. Meanwhile, bank indexes show that financial institutions based in the UK, Japan, and the EU are about to break support levels that have held up since the mid-eighties.

The global economy looks bleak and the world’s central banks are trying really hard to keep the monetary system from breaking even further. This week, members of the U.S. Federal Reserve met for a two day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting to discuss the U.S. economy. Fed chair Jerome Powell told the press that the “pace of recovery looks like it has slowed”

During the two-day FOMC event, Powell and the committee decided to keep the benchmark lending rate unchanged, at near zero. In addition to this move, the Federal Reserve also said that it plans to continue lending to private financial institutions until the end of the year. The lending was supposed to halt in September, but the committee is keeping the money flowing.

Further, the Federal Reserve doesn’t think that the benchmark lending rate will be changed until the year 2022. “The coronavirus outbreak is causing tremendous human and economic hardship across the United States and around the world,” a statement from the Federal Open Market Committee explained. “Following sharp declines, economic activity and employment have picked up somewhat in recent months but remain well below their levels at the beginning of the year.”

Following the meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, the U.S. Commerce Department published the worst gross domestic product (GDP) report ever. The GDP shrank by 32.9% during the second quarter of 2020 according to the report. The chief economist at IHS Markit, Nariman Behravesh, called the report “horrific” and said: “We’ve never seen anything quite like it.” Analysts believe the decline was largely fueled by a lack of summer consumer spending and economists expect a disastrous economic fallout in the winter.

In addition to the Federal Reserve, central banks worldwide are distributing stimulus injections like water. News.Bitcoin.com recently reported on the $2.1 trillion budget approved by the European Union, and the Bank of England (BoE) added an additional £100 billion ($131.2 billion) in asset purchases on June 18. BoE also revealed that the monetary policy committee plans to boost the central bank’s asset purchase program to £745 billion.

In mid-July, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) decided to keep the country’s benchmark lending rate at -0.1% for Japanese banks that collaborate with the BoJ. Japan’s central bank also plans to keep the monetary policy stimulus going strong and Japanese leaders blame the economic challenges on the novel coronavirus.

Global Macro Investor and Real Vision Group’s Raoul Pal believes that the central bank’s moves worldwide will continue to bolster investments like gold and bitcoin.

UK Bank Index, photo via Real Vision Group’s Raoul Pal.

Pal said on Thursday that the UK and Japanese banks are about to break significant support levels that held for decades.

“Another reminder to not lose sight of the big picture,” Pal tweeted. “UK banks are about to break the only support since the start of the index in 1986. EU banks had a small re-test of the cliff of death and new all-time lows most likely await. Japanese banks are rolling back down and will probably fall to all-time lows (below 1983).” The Global Macro Investor continued by adding:

This is one of the reasons the central banks are rushing to create digital currencies – it gives them the ability to run a banking system without banks, should they need it. U.S. banks don’t look like they are going to avoid a sharp fall in their share process either, but the U.S. banks look in better shape currently than the others.

Statistics show that the U.S. dollar plummeted to a two-year low on Thursday after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released unemployment data. The U.S. saw it’s second-consecutive week of increased unemployment claims and the $600 benefit insurance ends this week for millions of Americans.

The U.S. dollar dropped to lows not seen since 2018 on Thursday according to the currency’s trade-weighted index. The USD index against a basket of fiat dropped from 93.42 to 92.82 on July 30. It is the weakest the American dollar has been since May 2018, and a number of analysts have concerns about the currency’s future. Over the last two days, the Federal Reserve cited difficulties with unemployment levels and the liveliness of the U.S. economic system in general.

On Thursday, it was revealed that the U.S. saw 1.43 million new unemployment claims for the week. Collectively there are more than 54 million Americans that have filed claims, according to seasonally-adjusted data stemming from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“It is definitely a bit more cautious and dovish, and basically tells the market they’re not going to raise interest rates any time soon,” Kathy Lien, managing director at BK Asset Management in New York stressed on Thursday. “In an environment where the market is dumping dollars, it’s another excuse to drive it lower.”

A great number of global investors have said that the central bank’s stimulus and interest rate moves worldwide will continue to cushion precious metals and cryptocurrency markets. Bitcoin (BTC) has been hovering just above the $11k zone, while gold is trading for $1,957 per troy ounce of the fine metal.

Do you think the rounds of fiscal stimulus will bolster bitcoin and precious metal markets? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Stimulus Is Failing: Global Banks to Break Support Levels, US Dollar Plummets to 2-Year Low appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Jamie Redman

Read More

Crypto Exchange Operator Diginex to List on Nasdaq in September

Crypto startup Diginex has launched a cryptocurrency exchange ahead of its Nasdaq listing which has already been approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The new exchange is based in Singapore where Diginex has applied for a license.

Diginex Set to List on Nasdaq

A cryptocurrency exchange operator, Diginex, is set to list on the Nasdaq exchange in September, Diginex CEO Richard Byworth confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday. The listing is expected to be made through a $300 million reverse merger with the acquisition of 8i Enterprises Acquisition Corp., a Nasdaq-listed company. Citing Byworth, the publication conveyed:

The deal has already received SEC approval … the effective listing date should be in mid- to late September.

Diginex said on Thursday that it has launched a cryptocurrency exchange in Singapore where it has applied for a license, even though much of its business is in Hong Kong. The new platform, Equos.io, offers cryptocurrency spot trading and complex derivatives products.

Singapore has recently tightened its oversight of the crypto industry. The country’s new payments rules require cryptocurrency companies to be licensed. Reuters detailed that over 150 cryptocurrency companies that were previously operating in Singapore, including Diginex, have had to apply for licenses by July 28. The strict regulation aims to comply with the standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). This week, Japanese crypto exchange Liquid delisted 29 cryptocurrencies in order to comply with Singapore’s new crypto requirements, as news.Bitcoin.com recently reported.

Hong Kong has an opt-in licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges but does not allow the trading of derivatives products. Its top markets regulator said cryptocurrency futures contracts may be illegal, Byworth explained, adding that “Singapore was a bit more flexible in the way that they were thinking about things.”

What do you think about Diginex’s Nasdaq listing? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Crypto Exchange Operator Diginex to List on Nasdaq in September appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Kevin Helms

Read More