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Showing posts from December 6, 2021

Bancolombia to Offer Crypto Trading in Financial Regulator’s Pilot Program

Bancolombia, Colombia’s largest bank, will be offering cryptocurrency trading to customers in a pilot program within a regulatory framework established by the country’s financial regulator, the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (SFC). Customers of the Colombian bank will be able to trade bitcoin, ether, litecoin, and bitcoin cash. Bancolombia to Offer Cryptocurrency Trading to Customers in Regulatory Sandbox Bancolombia, the largest bank in Colombia by total assets, is set to offer cryptocurrency trading to customers in partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, a New York trust company and custodian regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Cynthia Del Pozo Garcia, the exchange’s principal of strategy & corporate development, announced Monday that starting Dec. 14: Gemini and Bancolombia will launch a partnership to provide an initial cohort of customers of the Colombian bank a seamless on- and off-ramp to trade bitcoin ( BTC ), ether ( ET...

Retail buyers made up more than 80% of NFT transactions in 2021: Chainalysis

Chainalysis has determined that most NFT transactions so far this year were from retail buyers, but the big volumes were driven by collectors and institutions. More than 80% of all nonfungible token (NFT) transactions were worth less than $10,000 in 2021 according to Chainalysis which categorized them as "retail" in recent research. A Dec. 6 report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis titled “ The 2021 NFT Market Explained” detailed NFT transaction trends throughout 2021. Researchers at Chainalysis studied on-chain data between January and October 2021. While retail transactions accounted for more than 80% of all NFT transactions on any given day in 2021, collector-sized transactions rose from 6% in March to 19% by Oct. 31 indicating an increase in larger collectors as the year progressed. Institutional-sized transactions accounted for less than 1% of all transfers but made up 26% of the actual trading volume during the period, it added. A retail-sized transacti...

Gemini partners with Colombia's biggest bank for crypto trading

The partnership will allow Bancolombia customers to trade a number of popular cryptocurrencies including BTC, ETH, and LTC. New York-based crypto exchange Gemini has announced that it will be expanding into Latin America through an upcoming partnership with Colombia’s largest bank, Bancolombia. The partnership will take effect Dec. 14, and will permit customers from Bancolombia to trade 4 crypto assets: Bitcoin ( BTC ), Ether ( ETH ), Litecoin ( LTC ), and Bitcoin Cash ( BCH ). A limited number of users will be able to buy crypto directly from their Bancolombia bank accounts through the Gemini exchange, which will provide crypto-specific infrastructure for exchange and custody of assets. It remains unclear whether the users will be able to withdraw the crypto holdings directly from their accounts. In a Dec. 6 announcement about the partnership, Gemini stated that it “serves as an important step toward the strategic expansion of Gemini’s presence in Latin America.” “We believe th...

GoCrypto Reveals a Protocol That Revolutionizes Digital Payments

PRESS RELEASE. LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA: The GoCrypto project always strives to bring crypto payments into the mainstream. The upgraded solution dubbed GoCrypto 2.0 enables true decentralized payments where the merchant can accept virtually any currency and receive the settlement in its desired crypto currency without virtually any central entity in between. The solution would at its core utilize blockchains that support smart contracts in order to enable automatic processing of the payments and its several steps, such as acceptance of payment, routing and swapping of the funds, fee collection, settlement to a crypto currency address or execution of smart contracts, etc. It will also be possible to connect third party bridges that will enable interaction with blockchains that don’t support smart contracts and possibly even legacy payments such as cards and digital wallets. How it works: Below is the description of the payment flow. The Merchant POS system generates a QR code with inst...

Massive jump in number of Australians who own crypto: Survey

CEO of Independent Reserve Adrian Przelozny told Cointelegraph that he expects the trend to continue as crypto matures and becomes less volatile. The 2021 Independent Reserve’s Cryptocurrency Index (IRCI) survey of more than 2,000 people found that the percentage of Australians surveyed who own or have owned crypto has reached 28.8%, up from 18.4% in 2020. The results suggest that growth in the sector is being driven by the positive experience of those who own crypto, with 89% of those surveyed saying they have made money or broken even, up from 78% in 2020. Independent Reserve CEO Adrian Przelozny told Cointelegraph that these results didn’t come as a surprise to him, due to an environment in which it has become “very difficult to get returns on investments.” He stated that “cryptocurrencies have easily outperformed any other assets over the last 12 months,” before adding: “I think it's quite natural that more and more people get interested in an asset class that's clear...

Sophia AI robot to be tokenized for Metaverse appearance

A collection of 100 “intelligent NFTs” will be auctioned in Binance on Dec. 16 as Sophia takes a trip into the Metaverse. A virtual anime version of Sophia, the world-famous humanoid artificial intelligence (AI) robot, is set to be tokenized and auctioned off as part of an up-and-coming Metaverse project dubbed “Noah’s Ark.” Sophia was developed by Hong Kong-based firm Hansen Robotics in 2016 and is known across the globe for her conversation skills and articulate speaking ability. In her first 5 years, Sophia has addressed the United Nations and obtained Saudi citizenship. Earlier this month, former Hansen Robotics CEO and Sophia co-creator Jeanne Lim launched a virtual anime version of the robot dubbed “Sophia beingAI” at her new company beingAI under a perpetual license and co-branding partnership. According to the Dec. 7 announcement, beingAI has partnered with intelligent nonfungible token (iNFT) production firm Alethea AI to launch 100 iNFTs featuring Sophia beingAI ...

Jack Dorsey's Spiral demos Bitcoin Lightning Development Kit

A puppet of Jack Dorsey has been used to explain the Lightning Network in a new video promoting Spiral’s LDK. The crypto arm of the recently rebranded Square (now Block) has demonstrated its Lightning Development Kit (LDK) as it aims to turbocharge the Bitcoin network. The team from Jack Dorsey’s Spiral published a video on Dec. 7 showcasing the capabilities of Bitcoin Lightning and the Lightning Development Kit (LDK). LDK has been designed to allow developers to seamlessly plug their applications into the network on mobile devices and Point of Sale terminals. LDK supports native APIs using Rust, C, Swift, Java, and Kotlin coding languages. This lets developers customize their wallet app for their users in the language of their choice while also removing the necessity for separate Bitcoin and LN wallets. In the video , Twitter’s former CEO described the LDK as a program that “makes it easy for any developer in the world to build a wallet.” We made a very short docum...

Japan to Propose Restricting Stablecoin Issuers to Banks and Wire Transfer Companies

Japan’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), is reportedly planning to propose legislation to restrict stablecoin issuance to banks and wire transfer companies. Crypto service providers involved in stablecoin transactions, including wallets, will also be brought under the financial regulator’s oversight. Japan to Tighten Stablecoin Regulation Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is planning to tighten the regulation of stablecoins by imposing strict rules on their issuers, Nikkei reported Monday, stating: The Financial Services Agency seeks to propose legislation in 2022 to restrict issuance of stablecoins to banks and wire transfer companies. The FSA will also tighten regulations related to the prevention of money laundering, the publication added, noting that crypto service providers involved in stablecoin transactions, including wallets, will also be brought under the financial regulator’s oversight. In addition, stablecoin issuers will be require...

Australian women owning crypto has doubled in 2021: Survey

The ICRI survey of 2,000 Aussies also found that 56.7% of the women surveyed said that they would enter the crypto market based on advice from family and friends. A new survey shared with Cointelegraph has found that the proportion of Australian women who own crypto assets has doubled in the last year. The 2021 Independent Reserve’s Cryptocurrency Index (IRCI) of 2000 Australians found that the number of women who currently or have previously invested in crypto rose from 10.3% in 2020 to 20% in 2021. The percentage of female Bitcoin owners also rose from 8.3% to 14.8% according to the survey. Independent Reserve is an Australian-based cryptocurrency exchange that was founded in 2013, it has more than 200,000 users. Karen Cohen, Deputy Chair for the Board of Blockchain Australia, said that more women have entered the crypto market this year as the asset class has continued to become a mainstream investment. Speaking to Cointelegraph, she said: “I think that it tells you that inves...

Korean crypto investment firm Hashed reportedly under tax investigation

South Korea’s tax agency is looking into crypto investment firm Hashed according to local media. Crypto investment firm Hashed is currently under investigation by the National Tax Service (NTS) in South Korea according to local media. The 4th Bureau of Investigation from the Seoul Regional Tax Office, which is handling the investigation, is best known for conducting investigations into tax evasion and slush fundraising. A slush fund is a pool of funds raised through undisclosed means and set aside for undisclosed purposes. On Dec. 7, local media reported that the exact nature of the investigation is not clear. An official from the regional tax office told reporters that although they could not confirm the exact nature of the investigation “intense investigations on small businesses without any prior notice are not uncommonly related to slush fundraising or tax evasion on the part of the company’s CEO.” The investigation began early last month and is set to conclude no later than...

Crypto Exchange Binance Is Making ‘Substantial Changes’ to Become ‘Fully Licensed and Fully Compliant’ in UK

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has unveiled its plan to become a “fully licensed and fully compliant” exchange in order to serve users in the U.K. The crypto exchange is reportedly “making a number of very substantial changes” in the way it operates in order to comply with the country’s regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Binance Plans to Launch a Fully Licensed Crypto Exchange in the UK Binance is working to become a fully licensed and fully compliant cryptocurrency exchange in order to launch in the U.K. where it recently ran into trouble with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The exchange’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), said in an interview with The Telegraph that Binance will reapply for a license with the FCA. He believes that his exchange’s relationship with the British regulator has improved. He told the news outlet: We’re fully re-engaged there … We’re making a number of very substantial changes in organizational structures, product offerings, our interna...

Bitcoin.com’s Crypto Casino Conducts Christmas Raffle with Cash Prizes Worth $10,000

Bitcoin.com is set to put players in the mood to celebrate Christmas with one of the biggest giveaways of the year! 💰$10,000 in Cash Prizes Up For Grabs🎁 Christmas festivities start early this year at our very own crypto casino, Bitcoin.com Games , as we’ve launched a brand new raffle that culminates into a draw announced on Christmas day. Lucky players at the end of the draw will take home cash prizes worth $10,000 that are likely to set them up nicely for the year-end celebrations. Anyone can win! That’s the allure that is attracting plenty of players to this one-of-a-kind promotion. Upping the ante of the holiday spirit is the fact that you can play any game available on the casino to claim your tickets to the raffle. Any player can be the happy receiver of the luck of the draw with 10 positions being rewarded at the end of the raffle. Even if you have just 1 ticket, it is possible for you to land the top prize of $3,000 all by yourself simply by having lady luck on your sid...

Bitcoin and altcoins took a hit, but derivatives data reflects a calmer market

BTC and altcoins took a beating over the weekend, but data shows a market with healthier trading conditions, even if prices consolidate for the foreseeable future. Looking at the winners and losers of the past week clearly shows that traders endured some serious heat as the total crypto market capitalization dropped by 12.7% when Bitcoin fell to $41,000. This sharp downside move knocked the figure from $2.37 trillion to $1.92 trillion on Dec. 3 and a total of $2 billion long future contracts were liquidated . Top winners and losers from top 80 coins. Source: Nomics Bitcoin ( BTC ) price retraced 14.6% over the past week, effectively underperforming the broader altcoin market. Part of this unusual movement can be explained by the performance seen in decentralized applications which held up better than most of the market. Data shows Ether ( ETH ) traded down 6.0%, Binance Coin ( BNB ) lost 7.3% and Solana ( SOL ) dropped by 7.8%. This week's top gainers include OKEx’s OKB toke...

Projects are collecting Toys for Tots crypto donations this holiday season

“The cryptocurrency bull market has been good to all of us in this industry and this holiday season is the perfect time to pay it forward,” said Unbanked co-CEO Ian Kane. This holiday season, fintech provider Unbanked will be enabling crypto donations for Toys for Tots, a program run by the United States Marine Corps that collects toys to distribute to disadvantaged children. In a Dec. 2 announcement, Unbanked said it would be allowing users to donate cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin ( BTC ) and Ether ( ETH ) as part of a fundraising effort for Toys for Tots. Until Dec. 20, good Samaritans can send any amount of money towards the program which has given 604 million toys to 272 million children across the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. We are honored to support the incredible work of @ToysForTots_USA this #holidayseason We have set up a #crypto payment profile to enable donations in 28 #cryptocurrencies for this wonderful cause ♥️ Donate here - ...

FMFW․Io Has Listed Crypto Perx (CPRX)

PRESS RELEASE. Crypto Perx will be listed, starting today, November 22nd on FMFW.io cryptocurrency exchange. It is a new utility token (ERC20) based on the Ethereum Blockchain. CRPX was developed by the Crypto Banking Alliance (CBA), also known as Auriga Alliance AG, and the first project having it on board was ABRA Perx by ABRA – a world-class platform for managing cryptocurrency. The CBA will provide 3 billion Crypto Perx coins, and 1 of them will be part of Abra’s new project. From now on, FMFW.io is introducing this digital currency to traders. Promotion and education of the safe and ethical implementation of cryptocurrency technology for the smooth functioning of the decentralized financial system is the primary goal of the Crypto Banking Alliance. Due to the belief that digitized banks are the future, they aim to promote cryptocurrencies and the possibility of security provided by the blockchain system as an essential banking point. FMFW.io Statement “The availability and u...

Japan's financial regulators may propose legislation in 2022 restricting stablecoin issuance

The move comes as the Bank of Japan wants to roll out a digital yen CBDC by the end of next year. According to The Nihon Keizai Shimbun ( Nikkei ), one of the world's largest financial newspapers and the entity behind the Nikkei 225 stock index, Japan's Financial Services Agency, or FSA, will propose legislation next year restricting stablecoin issuance to only bank and wire transfer companies. Theoretically, this would prevent entities such as Tether ( USDT ), which does not operate as a bank and is only regulated in the British Virgin Islands, from conducting business with Japanese customers. However, the new proposed rules would only affect some stablecoin issuers. For example, USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle plans to become a crypto bank chartered in the United States amid a regulatory crackdown. While operating as private companies alone, stablecoin issuers are typically exempt from financial reporting, auditing or regulatory oversight, leading to notable speculative cl...

Virtual Metaverse Plots Outpace Top NFT Collection Sales, Play-to-Earn Tokens Surged in Value This Year

During the last seven days, virtual lands sold in the metaverse have outpaced a great number of non-fungible token (NFT) sales. Moreover, metaverse native crypto tokens like axie infinity, sandbox and decentraland and play-to-earn digital assets in general have jumped significantly in value this year. Metaverse Properties Outpace NFT Collections — Play-to-Earn Tokens Rise Following the meme-crypto hype, the decentralized finance (defi) trend, and the non-fungible token (NFT) craze, the metaverse has become a big deal. Essentially, a metaverse is a different version of the internet that supports virtual environments, items, collectibles, weapons, and sometimes play-to-earn features. Virtual worlds like Second Life, Minecraft, and Roblox can be considered iterations of the metaverse but in recent times, blockchain technology has entered the realm. For instance, out of the $2.3 trillion crypto economy, $25 billion of it belongs to play-to-earn (P2E) digital assets. Axie infinity (AXS)...

Coinbase launches open-source cryptography library Kryptology

The library will aid in building complex cryptographic techniques to match the needs of the bourgeoning DeFi sector. On Monday, Coinbase, the fourth-largest cryptocurrency exchange globally by trading volume, announced the creation of a novel cryptographic library, Kryptology, as a compendium of tools for blockchain developers. These include secure, audited and easy-to-use APIs as well as a repository of common issues and lessons learned throughout the history of crypto. Without cryptography, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin would be digital lines of code that anyone can copy/paste. It would be easily replicable and falsifiable, leading to significant issues such as currency double-spending. Recent advancements include Boneh–Lynn–Shacham, or BLS, signatures, which are used to verify senders' identities and validate transactions while ensuring thei data is safely stored. Another recent adoption is the Shamir Secret Sharing, or SSS, algorithm. SSS divides a secret value among mu...

Price analysis 12/6: BTC, ETH, BNB, SOL, ADA, XRP, DOT, DOGE, LUNA, AVAX

Bitcoin and most major altcoins are attempting a recovery, but they are likely to face strong resistance at higher levels. Bitcoin ( BTC ) is attempting to extend its recovery by rising above the psychological mark at $50,000, but several popular analysts believe that BTC could remain range-bound for a few weeks or even months. On-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant said that Bitcoin “ whales are still depositing BTC to exchanges .” This simply indicates that whales are setting themselves up to react at short notice depending on which path the price elects to take. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 The sharp correction of the past few days has pulled the Crypto Fear and Greed Index to 16, which indicates a sentiment of “extreme fear .” Some believe the current fall looks similar to the March 2020 crash. However, CoinCorner CEO Danny Scott said that Bitcoin’s fall was due to the liquidation of positions by gamblers and not because of sentiment. According to...

Former Facebook engineers at Mysten Labs raise $36M for Web3 infrastructure

“We believe fundamental limitations in existing crypto infrastructure are frustrating broader adoption of web3,” said Mysten’s team, citing the scalability of existing chains as well as the lack of interoperability of many smart contracts. Mysten Labs, the research and development firm founded by former engineers from social media giant Facebook, has announced the completion of a $36 million funding round towards its goal developing a Web 3.0 infrastructure platform. In a Monday announcement on Medium, the team behind Mysten Labs said the firm had raised $36 million in a Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Redpoint, Lightspeed, Coinbase Ventures, Electric Capital, Standard Crypto, NFX, Slow Ventures, Scribble Ventures, Samsung NEXT, and others. According to a CNBC report, CEO Evan Cheng said Mysten would use the funds to build the infrastructure necessary for cryptocurrency- and blockchain-focused firms to deliver technology. “We believe fund...

Craig Wright Cleared of All Charges Except a Conversion Count, Jury Awards $100 Million to W&K Info Defense

The Kleiman v. Wright trial has come to a conclusion and Craig Wright and his defense team has won on all claims except one count of conversion. According to a court reporter, Craig Wright, the man who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, said he was “incredibly relieved.” Craig Wright’s Defense Wins on All Claims Except Conversion — Wright Says ‘I’m Not Going Anywhere, I’m Here for the Long Term’ After the jury was deadlocked in the Kleiman v. Wright case for days last week, the jurors came to a decision on Monday, December 6, 2021. Craig Wright and his defense team from Rivero Mestre LLP have managed to beat all the charges except one count of conversion. We have a verdict. Or a hung jury. We've got something at least. Back in the courtroom, waiting for everyone to get here and figure out what's going on. — Carolina Bolado (@CarolinaBolado) December 6, 2021 The jurors ruled that while Wright was cleared of most charges, he must pay $100 million to W&K Info Defense a...