Austrian Blockchain Center for Multidisciplinary Research Established in Vienna

The COMET Centers, which are coordinated by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), have approved the Austrian Blockchain Center (ABC) in Vienna, according to a Nov. 29 press release. ABC involves 21 scientific institutions, 54 companies, 17 associated participants, and 16 international institutions and companies. According to the release, the research center will be multidisciplinary and focus on Internet of Things (IoT), finance, energy, logistics, and applications in public administration. Alfred Taudes, academic director and coordinator of the center, and head of the Research Institute for Cryptoeconomics at WU Vienna…

German Financial Watchdog Warns Public About Unauthorized Crypto Offering

The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) issued a warning Nov. 29 that a firm called Platin Genesis DCC is not authorized or approved by the proper authorities. In the warning, BaFin states that Platin Genesis was advertising a “Platinum Coin Crypto Fund” on social media, which it claimed was “approved and released by BaFin.” The watchdog clarifies in its statement that this is not true. Per BaFin, the firm does not have permission under section 34 of the German Banking Act to conduct banking activities or offer financial services.…

Bitcoin Price Ends November With Worst Monthly Decline in 7 Years

Bitcoin just ended its worst-performing month in seven years in terms of month-over-month price declines.  The world’s largest cryptocurrency began November at an average price across exchanges of $6,341, but as of 0:00 UTC on December 1 is trading at just $3,964, according to CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index.  As it stands, the near $2,400 drop in bitcoin’s price has created a -37.4 percent monthly performance, which is its worst on record since August 2011, when it fell from roughly $8 to $4.80 to print a -40 percent monthly loss, according to…

Crypto Coverage in Media Peaked Following Market Slump

A recent study by blockchain-oriented research firm Clovr found that cryptocurrency coverage in the mainstream media spikes when the market drops off. The analysis tracked the correlation between coverage on crypto values over the past five years and the sentiments of published materials. Source: Clovr In the course of its research, Clovr surveyed 48 mainstream U.S.-based and international media outlets for pieces covering cryptocurrency from Jan.1, 2013, to July 31, 2018. All articles were analyzed using sentiment analysis tool Valence Aware Dictionary and sEntiment Reasoner (VADER) and the Natural Language…

Oldest Swiss University Awards Honorary Doctorate to Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin

The University of Basel has granted an honorary doctorate to Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin, according to an official statement on the university’s website today, Nov. 30. The Faculty of Business and Economics of Switzerland’s oldest university has awarded Buterin for “outstanding achievements in fields of cryptocurrencies, smart contracts, and the design of institutions,” as the university noted in a recent tweet on the official Twitter account. The honorary doctorate of the faculty of economics is awarded to Vitalik Buterin by dean Prof. Dr. med. Aleksander Berentsen. Source: Universität Basel…

Cyber Security Firm Check Point Research Reports of ‘Evolving’ Monero Cryptojacker

Cyber security firm Check Point Research has found that the KingMiner cryptojacker targeting cryptocurrency Monero (XMR) is “evolving,” according to a company’s blog post published Nov. 30. KingMiner was purportedly firstly detected in mid-June, subsequently evolving in two improved versions. The malware attacks Windows Servers by deploying various evasion methods to skirt its detection. Per Check Point data, several detection engines have registered significantly decreased detection rates, while sensor logs have shown a growing number of KingMiner attacks. The firm has been monitoring KingMiner activity over the past six months…

SEC Charges DJ Khaled and Floyd Mayweather for ICO Promotions

Nobody gets away with fraud in the SEC’s eyes. The latest pair to be hit with SEC charges include pro-boxer Floyd Mayweather and music producer DJ Khaled. SEC Charges Mayweather and Khaled The Securities and Exchange Commission charged the pair with the improper promotion of initial coin offerings or ICOs for cryptocurrencies. Neither party revealed to investors that they were, in fact, paid large sums of money to promote certain ICOs. According to CNBC, a settlement announced Thursday disclosed the charges. According to the settlement, Mayweather never spoke of a $100,000 promotional…

New ASUS Partnership Allows Users to Mine Crypto With Idle GPU Power

Taiwan-based tech giant ASUS has partnered with GPU mining platform Quantumcloud to allow users to mine crypto via their graphic cards, multinational tech media TechRadar reported Thursday, Nov. 30. According to the agreement, ASUS graphic cards owners will be able to mine crypto through Quantumcloud software and withdraw earnings using PayPal or Chinese app WeChat. The new partnership allows gamers to monetize idle GPUs when the units are not occupied by graphic-consuming processes by mining cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC). However, Quatumcloud does not guarantee specific profits or outcomes for…

Bitcoin Price Nearing ‘Capitulation Moment’: IG Market Analyst

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn CCN is expanding. Are you our next full-time journalist from the West Coast USA? Send us your CV and examples here. Bitcoin is not far from a critical loss of investor confidence that will lead to the market hemorrhaging vast amounts of value as nervous investors dump their holdings. This is the opinion of Chris Beauchamp, an analyst at the online trading platform IG. Speaking to the Financial Times, Beauchamp stated that the crypto market leader is heading for a “capitulation moment” when a critical mass of investors…

New Exchange to Offer Customizable Dashboards — Giving Traders the Information They Want

A new exchange says it has the goal of becoming “the most professional, global and secure marketplace for digital assets” — utilizing state-of-the-art technology that it claims can deliver a processing capacity of 1.5 million order matches per second. ProBit says its platform is “fast, robust and reliable” — helping to give its users an upper hand while trading. The company says security is a priority, and this is why it promises to store “95 percent or more of digital assets in a cold wallet” — protecting users against security breaches and…