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Showing posts from August 18, 2021

MLB Team Washington Nationals Partners With Terra Blockchain Community, Ballpark Plans to Accept UST

On February 9, the American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C., the Washington Nationals, announced the team has partnered with Terra, the open-source blockchain platform and decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The Washington Nationals detail that the team is a “leading innovator” and is “consistently introducing new technologies to enhance the fan experience.” Washington Nationals Ink Long-Term Deal With Terra Major League Baseball (MLB) team the Washington Nationals has partnered with the blockchain platform and DAO Terra, according to an announcement published by the team on Wednesday. The deal with Terra follows a slew of sports-related deals with crypto firms, but the MLB team will be the first to partner with an open-source blockchain project. In addition to the partnership, the algorithmic stablecoin UST that’s issued on the Terra blockchain will be “accepted as a payment method at Nationals Park as early as next season.” “The Nationals continue t...
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Darknet crypto mixer operator pleads guilty to laundering $300M in BTC

The operator of the darknet-based Bitcoin mixing service Helix has pleaded guilty to laundering more than $300,000 million worth of BTC from 2014 to 2017. Ohio man, Larry Dean Harmon, has pleaded guilty to laundering more than $300 million while operating the Darknet-based Bitcoin mixing service, Helix.  On August 19, The U.S. Department of Justice announced that the 38-year-old pleaded guilty to laundering more than 350,000 Bitcoin through Helix from 2014 through 2017. Bitcoin mixers are used to help people anonymize their Bitcoin. In the past, this has helped people cover their tracks on the Bitcoin ledger, since all transactions are recorded and immutable on the blockchain. As a result, mixers became a favorite for criminals. Harmon admitted in court that he knew that users mixed proceeds that were generated through drug trafficking and other various illegal activities. He also wittingly partnered with darknet markets to provide the money laundering services to their user...
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Draft El Salvador Bitcoin banking regulations released

El Salvador’s Banco Central de Reserva has released two documents detailing how banks should deal with Bitcoin. The central bank of El Salvador, Banco Central de Reserva (BCR), has published draft regulations on how banks should handle Bitcoin. Two documents were released for consultation on Aug. 17 instructing banks and financial institutions how to offer Bitcoin-related services to their customers. The first , titled “Guidelines for the Authorization of Operation of the Digital Wallet Platform for Bitcoin and Dollars” (in Spanish), defines BTC as legal tender according to the recently drafted Bitcoin Law which was passed by El Salvador’s legislature on June 9 and will see the country formally adopt the digital asset on September 7. The second document titled “Technical Standards to Facilitate the Application of the Bitcoin Law” is a longer and more detailed version of the first document. Financial entities must apply to the central bank to offer digital wallets, the guideline...
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Coinbase goes live in Japan in partnership with banking giant MUFG

Coinbase announced its official launch in Japan in partnership with banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group providing a “quick deposit” fiat on-and-off ramp. Coinbase, the top crypto exchange in the U.S. has announced its official launch in Japan in partnership with banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). The firm led by CEO Brian Armstrong announced on Aug. 19 that it will first launch retail trading products including “a suite of five top assets based on trading volume,” with more assets and products to be listed in the coming months. “We also plan to introduce more localized versions of globally popular services such as advanced trading, Coinbase for Institutions, and more in the future,” The partnership with Tokyo-based MUFG will see the bank provide a fast fiat on-and-off ramp for Coinbase customers in Japan called MUFG Quick Deposit. “In line with our global strategy, we will aim to be the easiest to use and most trusted exchange in Japan that’s fully co...
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iBG: The Insured (POSI) DeFi Token Begins Its Highly Anticipated Yield Farming

PRESS RELEASE. Singapore – Following the much-awaited launch of the world’s first and only insured (POSI) DeFi token on PancakeSwap, iBG users can now expect the roll-out of yield farming, which will give every member of the community more opportunities at maintaining liquidity and scaling their wealth. Decentralized Finance (DeFi) has created a surge of opportunities for investors worldwide. As more and more people turn their attention towards digital assets and the FinTech revolution, iBG Finance is making it easier for the common individual to make the most out of this space with its official launch. DeFi platforms today are now using a method called yield farming to enable their community to scale their investment and transfer their wealth from one liquidity pool to another to enjoy the most attractive interest rates that they otherwise would not be able to attain in traditional financial institutions. As the industry continues to disrupt industries across the board and grow a...
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BREAKING: Liquid exchange hacked to the tune of $80 million

Over $80 million worth of digital assets has been removed from Liquid Global exchange. Kucoin has responded by blacklisting the addresses that received stolen funds. Japanese exchange Liquid has been hacked with about $80 million in digital assets moved off the platform. The exchange confirmed the security breach in a tweet that exposed the wallet addresses implicated in the breach. The following assets had been transferred to hacker's following addresses (Further investigation to come): BTC: 1Fx1bhbCwp5LU2gHxfRNiSHi1QSHwZLf7q ETH/EWT: 0x5578840aae68682a9779623fa9e8714802b59946 TRX: TSpcue3bDfZNTP1CutrRrDxRPeEvWhuXbp XRP: rfapBqj7rUkGju7oHTwBwhEyXgwkEM4yby — Liquid Global Official (@Liquid_Global) August 19, 2021 Liquid has not yet confirmed exactly how much has been taken, but based on the related addresses, more than 107 BTC, 9,000,000 TRX, 11,000,000 XRP, and almost $60 million worth of ETH and ERC-20 tokens appear to have been taken by the hackers. There are report...
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62% of Robinhood’s Q2 crypto revenue was from Dogecoin trading

Around 41% of Robinhood’s quarterly revenues were generated by crypto trading. Popular retail trading app, Robinhood, has revealed crypto trading surged in popularity on the platform and now represents 41% of its revenue. According to its second-quarter financial results published Aug. 18, the firm generated $233 million from crypto trading services for the quarter, up from $5 million for the entirety of 2020. More than 60% of funded Robinhood accounts traded digital assets during Q2 2021. With early 2021 witnessing the speculative dog-token trading frenzy , a whopping 62% of Robinhood’s crypto revenue was derived from Dogecoin trades. The earnings report is the first released by Robinhood since it became a public company. Vlad Teev, co-founder and CEO of Robinhood, stated: “We’re encouraged by the number of people who are accessing the financial system for the first time through Robinhood.” Revenue tagged $565 million for the quarter overall, a 131% increase compared to Q2 20...
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Binance Makes Regulatory Compliance Top Priority as the Crypto Exchange Pivots Into Financial Services Company

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has made regulatory compliance its top priority. The exchange is on a hiring spree to “significantly” add to its compliance and legal teams. “We are going through a pivot from a technology innovator into a financial services company, so we need to be fully compliant,” said the CEO of Binance. Binance’s Regulatory Compliance Plans Binance is focusing on regulatory compliance as the exchange pivots from a technology startup into a financial services company, CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) explained in an interview with Bloomberg TV Tuesday. Commenting on crypto regulatory efforts in the U.S., he said: “The U.S. is very mature on the crypto regulation part. They are leading now. They have a cryptocurrency exchange listed on Nasdaq which is very positive.” The executive continued: When the new crypto regulations come in, many of them will be somewhat restrictive. That’s kind of expected. But over time, we do think that regulations will adjust with mar...
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‘Coins’ doco series featuring some of the biggest names in crypto premieres today

The Coins Podcast docuseries will explore the history of money and the impact that crypto and blockchain tech has had on the global financial system. A glossy looking documentary series centered on the history of money and cryptocurrency premiere on August 19th at 7:00 am UTC, and features interviews from a long list of top crypto figures. The 12 episode video series is somewhat confusingly called “Coins Podcast” and the first two episodes  drop on YouTube today. The show is hosted by Patrick Mclain of blockchain accelerator Mousebelt, and narrated by actor Robert Davi, who has played roles in Die Hard, James Bond: License to Kill and Predator 2. The docu-series features interviews with crypto proponents and key figures in the sector such as FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, ShapeShift CEO Erik Vorhees, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, founder/CEO of Global Macro Investor Raoul Pal, and Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky to name a few. The majority of the Coins Podcast was ...
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Ethereum's rise to No.1 crypto 'seems unstoppable' says deVere Group CEO

Nigel Green is uber bullish on ETH stating that its value will exceed Bitcoin’s within five years. The CEO and founder of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organizations, the deVere Group, has stated that Ethereum’s price appreciation should continue to beat Bitcoin’s in 2021. The deVere Group chief executive Nigel Green also believes that Ethereum’s value will exceed that of Bitcoin's within a few short years. “Ethereum is outperforming Bitcoin and it can be expected to continue this trend for the rest of 2021,” he said. Ethereum has gained more than 300% so far this year whereas the world’s most popular digital asset is up 55% by comparison. “In fact, it has outperformed all other benchmark assets in the first half of this year,” added Green according to City AM . The respected analyst attributed two key factors to Ethereum’s stellar performance in 2021. Ethereum has a higher level of real-use potential and is the most in-demand development platform ...
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Coinbase amasses a $4B war chest so it can outlast ‘crypto winter’

Strong revenues over the past two quarters from a large user base helped the exchange amass the funds. Coinbase, the largest American cryptocurrency exchange, has stockpiled a war chest worth about $4 billion in cash in preparation for decreased crypto retail trading volumes and higher operating costs brought on by regulatory hurdles. It reportedly expects to use the cash to cover costs incurred by a variety of factors, including conforming to new regulations handed down by the United States legislature . Coinbase CFO, Alesia Haas, told the Wall Street Journal that no one single danger to the exchange or the industry had compelled the exchange to build its cash reserves, but that it was best to be prepared for the worst while times are good. The company has conducted stress tests to ensure it can meet the costs of compliance, cyber attacks or possible trading declines. “We want to ensure that we maintain those cash reserves so that we can continue to invest and continue to grow ...
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Federal Reserve Bank President: Bitcoin Has No Legit Use Case — Crypto Is 95% Fraud, Hype, Noise, Confusion

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari says crypto is “95% fraud, hype, noise, and confusion.” He added, “I’ve not seen any use case other than funding illicit activities like drugs and prostitution.” Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis’ President Says Crypto Is ‘95% Fraud, Hype, Noise and Confusion’ Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, talked about bitcoin and cryptocurrency Tuesday at the Pacific Northwest Economic Regional Annual Summit in Big Sky, Montana. Responding to a question about cryptocurrency given what Miami is doing with bitcoin and its own recently launched Miami coin, Kashkari said: I was more optimistic about crypto or bitcoin about five or six years ago. So far, what I’ve seen is 99% … Let me be charitable, 95% fraud, hype, noise and confusion. He also does not see any legitimate use case for bitcoin. “I’ve not seen any use case other than funding illicit activities like drugs and prostitution. I have not seen any...
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Second largest US mortgage lender will accept crypto payments this year

Speaking during a conference call about the firm’s Q2 results, United Wholesale Mortgage CEO Mat Ishbia outlined plans to accept crypto payments this year. United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), the second-largest U.S.-based mortgage lender is planning to accept cryptocurrency payments this year starting with Bitcoin (BTC). UWM CEO Mat Ishbia revealed the crypto plans on Monday in a conference call regarding the firms’ Q2 results — with the firm posting a $138.7 million net profit for the quarter. "We’re excited that hopefully (this year) we can actually execute on that before anyone in the country," Ishbia said. “We are evaluating the feasibility and requirements in order to accept cryptocurrency to satisfy mortgage payments.” – @Mishbia15 — United Wholesale Mortgage (@UWMlending) August 16, 2021 Speaking with the Detroit Free Press on Aug. 16, Ishbia said that the move would likely happen later this quarter, or at the start of Q4, adding, “I think we’re starting with Bi...
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Dex Aggregator 1inch to Utilize Ethereum Scaling Solution Optimism

On August 17, the decentralized exchange (dex) aggregator 1inch announced the platform will leverage the Layer 2 solution called optimistic rollups provided by the project Optimism. The collaboration with Optimism aims to “substantially increase transaction speeds and lower gas fees for 1inch users.” 1inch to Use the L2 Solution Optimistic Rollups via Optimism Gateway Ever since the Ethereum network has been dealing with transaction congestion and much higher fees in 2021, innovations revolving around Layer 2 (L2) scaling solutions and sidechains have been pushed to the forefront of conversations. For instance, sidechains like the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and Polygon (formally Matic) have been leveraged to stave off expensive ether gas fees. Other concepts include protocols that are not as battle-tested as the leading sidechains, but show the promise of reducing ether fees and network congestion. One specific concept called “ optimistic rollups ” has been a very popular L2 solutio...
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Putin Orders Russian Government to Prepare to Check Officials With Crypto Assets

President Vladimir Putin has tasked several ministries and the central bank to prepare to verify information provided by government employees about their digital asset holdings. The order comes as part of a new plan to combat corruption which was recently approved by the Russian leader. Authorities to Inspect Crypto Disclosures Filed by Russian Officials as Putin Approves Anti-Corruption Plan Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree approving the country’s National Anti-Corruption Plan 2021-2024. As part of the new strategy, the Russian head of state has instructed the ministries of finance, labor and digital development, along with the central bank, to propose inspections of officials who are obliged to disclose their digital assets and currency. The government departments and the Bank of Russia have until Nov. 15 to submit their proposals, the Russian business news portal RBC reported. The eventual checks must be able to properly establish how accurate and complete ...
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Avalanche Rush to give out more than 180M in DeFi incentives

The multi-stage program will start with $27M tokens allocated for the Aave and Curve protocols, with additional incentives reserved for Avalanche native projects. Smart contract platform Avalanche has announced a $180 million liquidity mining incentive program, named Avalanche Rush. The program aims to encourage more applications and tokens to move to Avalanche’s decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, according to the release. It's set to follow a multi-stage deployment starting with the Aave and Curve protocols, before expanding to other assets in the coming months. For this first stage, Avalanche will allocate up to $20M AVAX tokens for Aave and $7M AVAX tokens for Curve over a 3 month period. At the same time, the Avalanche Foundation will sponsor the launch of Benqi’s DeFi protocol native to the Avalanche network with a $3M allocation starting August 19. News of the Rush program follows the re-release of the Avalanche Bridge — an upgraded version of the project’s previous...
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3 developments signal that Verasity (VRA) price may have bottomed

Attractive staking offers, a patented approach to combating NFT fraud and an active user base all suggest that VRA price has bottomed following its May lows. The marketwide sell-off on May 19 triggered a 55% decline in the price of Bitcoin ( BTC ), and altcoins were  hit even harder , with some tokens seeing declines of up to 90%. One project whose native token price appears to have bottomed out after an 87% decline from its all-time high is Verasity, an e-sports-focused blockchain protocol focused on increasing engagement and advertising revenues for video publishers. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that after declining from a high at $0.0558 on April 17 to a low of $0.0073 on July 20, the price of Verasity's VRA token has rallied 230% to an intraday high at $0.024 on Aug. 17 as its 24-hour trading volume steadily increases.  VRA/USD 1-daychart. Source: TradingView Three reasons the price of VRA may begin to climb higher after its rec...
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Vienna Stock Exchange will list crypto ETPs from ETC Group

According to the ETC Group, the ETPs are “100% physically backed and central counterparty cleared.” London-based financial services firm ETC Group will list its entire portfolio of crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) offering exposure to Bitcoin ( BTC ), Ether ( ETH ) and Litecoin ( LTC ) on Austria’s national stock market. In a Wednesday announcement, the ETC Group said the Wiener Börse, or Vienna Stock Exchange, would be listing three of its crypto exchange-traded products that are “100% physically backed and central counterparty cleared.” These include the firm’s carbon-neutral Bitcoin product, a Litecoin-based product and its Ether ETP. The ETC Group has already made similar listings on stock exchanges in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Zurich and Frankfurt. The ETPs are aimed at allowing investors exposure to crypto with the regulatory protections afforded to traditional stocks. Previously stating that its crypto product was like trading Bitcoin “through an E...
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Derivatives Exchange Bitget Opens Global Ambassador Program to Crypto Lovers

PRESS RELEASE. Top6 Derivatives Exchange Bitget has launched a Global Ambassador Program in its latest announcement. Any crypto enthusiasts , professional traders, crypto community leaders and KOLs can apply to become a Global Ambassador of Bitget. Successful applicants can engage in community development of Bitget and share profits from its growth. What is a Global Ambassador? The past year has witnessed an excellent performance of Bitget in market expansion thanks to its efforts in compliance and localization. To better accommodate the rapid development of global markets and serve local users, the platform launches the Global Ambassador Program to attract more powerful partners to join its community. The opportunity is open to crypto lovers, professional traders, social media community leaders and KOLs across the globe. Global Ambassadors, preferably local people, are expected to create local communities on behalf of the platform and introduce its products and services...
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Founder of the Bitcoin Mixer Helix Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering Charges

Larry Dean Harmon, founder and operator of the bitcoin mixing service Helix has pleaded guilty on Wednesday to money laundering charges. Harmon’s guilty plea follows the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (Fincen) fining Harmon $60 million last year. Helix Operator Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering, Conspiracy Charges According to several reports and a court- issued plea , Ohio resident Larry Harmon (38) pled guilty in a D.C. federal court on Wednesday for money laundering and conspiracy charges. Harmon detailed in court that he plans to cooperate with federal authorities after being accused of operating the bitcoin ( BTC ) mixing service called Helix from 2014 to 2017. U.S. prosecutors said that more than $300 million in bitcoin was transferred into Helix and sent out in an anonymous fashion. However, Charles Flood, the defense attorney for Harmon claims that the operator used a “double-blind system” so he was fully unaware of how much BTC was funneled through ...
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Quant, Arweave and Avalanche soar while Bitcoin searches for support

Bitcoin's price is losing its bullish momentum, but this did little to stop QNT, AR and AVAX from notching double-digit gains today. The cryptocurrency market once again entered a period of uncertainty on Aug. 18 as the price of Bitcoin ( BTC ) struggled to find momentum below $46,000 and large-cap altcoins pulled back slightly. Several projects did manage to buck the trend and post double-digit gains thanks to cross-chain integrations and protocol upgrades that excited their respective communities and provided traders with lower-fee Ethereum network alternatives. Top 7 coins with the highest 24-hour price change. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the biggest gainers over the past 24-hours were Quant (QNT), Arweave (AR) and Avalanche (AVAX). AR continues its hot streak Arweave's AR token has been one of the top-performing coins over the past week, with activity on the decentralized storage network contin...
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Crypto language in the infrastructure bill is a political shell game, says Cointelegraph GC

According to Zachary Kelman, Republicans and moderate Democrats may know the tax reporting requirements for crypto firms are impossible, but want to have a provision to fund some of the projects without raising taxes. Zachary Kelman, the general counsel for Cointelegraph, said that the political fight over the tax implications for crypto in the infrastructure bill is nothing new, as it’s likely about how lawmakers plan to pay for everything. In an interview with Cointelegraph's Jackson DuMont, Kelman claimed that Senators pushing the crypto language in the infrastructure bill — which ultimately passed the House of Representatives after one senator objected to a clarifying amendment — may have been more influenced by political concerns than ones potentially affecting the crypto space. Namely, the general counsel claimed that lawmakers know that crypto firms “can't actually acquiesce” to the proposed tax reporting requirements, but needed the language to essentially win over ...
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These 2 indicators gave traders a buy signal hours before Filecoin and Near rallied

In the crypto market, it’s often the early bird that gets the worm. Here’s how two quant-style indicators flashed a bullish signal for FIL and NEAR. In financial markets, the uneven distribution of information comes hand-in-hand with theuneven distribution of economic power. The cryptocurrency market is no exception and oftentimes those with insider knowledge or access to industry-grade data intelligence tools can put their digital assets to work in ways the everyday retail investor could never do. Still, regular traders can profitably leverage publicly available, market-moving news if they are lucky to get to it before the rest of the pack. Research suggests that certain types of news announcements, such as those related to staking, listings, and partnerships, have the greatest potential to move crypto prices. Last week, when word got out that two blockchain protocols had forged a partnership, the price of both related tokens soared immediately. Was there a way for main street inv...
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