Month: November 2018

VanEck, SolidX Make Case for Bitcoin ETF at Latest Meeting With US SEC

TradingBTC

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has published a memorandum Nov. 28 of the latest meeting regarding a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded-fund (ETF) proposal. The application was originally brought to the commission by U.S. investment firm VanEck and blockchain software and financial services company SolidX. According to the memorandum, representatives from VanEck and SolidX, as well as from the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) met with members of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, Division of Trading and Markets, Division of Economic and Risk Analysis and Office of General Counsel…

Investors Should Consider Lack of ‘Safeguards’ Before Investing in Crypto

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton reiterated his wary view of the crypto markets during an interview. His discussion with New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin took place at the The Times Center in New York City Nov. 29. Mid-way through the interview, Clayton told Sorkin that the securities regulator had worked hard to educate investors about the risks of participating in an emerging and unpredictable market, one for which regulation is still taking shape. Clayton continued: “We tried to get the word out that although…

Satoshi Nakamoto’s P2P Profile Makes New Post, Befriends User

TradingBTC

An account once associated with Bitcoin (BTC) creator Satoshi Nakamoto on the non-profit global network P2P Foundation posted a one-word status update yesterday, Nov. 29. While the account is tied to Nakamoto’s old email address satoshin@gmx.com — the same address that reportedly uploaded one of the early Bitcoin papers to P2P back in 2009 — the same email was allegedly hacked in November 2014, four years after Nakamoto’s withdrawal from traceable online activity in late 2010. The meaning of yesterday’s update, which reads simply “nour,” in quotation marks, is not…

Is the Coinbase “Pump” Working? Zcash Drops 17% From Daily Peak

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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. On November 30, Zcash (ZEC), a privacy-focused cryptocurrency, was integrated into Coinbase Pro, a U.S.-based regulated digital asset exchange operated by Coinbase. The exchange told investors that throughout the foreseeable future, withdrawals of Zcash shielded transactions, private or anonymous transactions on the Zcash network, will not be supported. Coinbase said: “Initially, we will support deposits from both transparent and shielded addresses, but only support withdrawals to…

The Ripple Drop – Episode 7

Anthony B

Welcome to episode seven of The Ripple Drop, a web video series covering the latest news about the company’s customers, technology, products and culture. In this episode, we’re taking the show out of the building with a visit to OMNI’s headquarters to talk to the company’s Founder and CEO Thomas McLeod. McLeod gives us the rundown on OMNI’s vision and how he and his team have integrated the digital asset XRP onto their platform. Next up, we speak with SVP of Xpring Ethan Beard to learn more about the initiative.…

Crypto Markets See Persistent Red, Bitcoin Briefly Dips Below $4K

TradingBTC

Friday, Nov. 30 — After a short-lived spike earlier this week, the crypto markets are today back in the red, with virtually all of the top 20 cryptocurrencies seeing losses within a 4 and 10 percent range, as data from Coin360 shows. Market visualization by Coin360 Bitcoin (BTC) has had a volatile week, jaggedly trading between its low of around $3,600 (Nov. 25) and high of $4,400 (Nov. 29). As of press time, the top coin is at $4,037, down 6.3 percent on its 24-hour chart, according to CoinMarketCap. Today’s…

High Tech Park Releases ‘Complete Legal Regulations’ for Cryptocurrencies

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Belarus High-Technologies Park (HTP), a national special economic zone contributing to the IT business, has established the rules for the operation of the cryptocurrency market in the country, according to documents published by HTP Nov. 30. The regulatory documents define the requirements for various types of businesses related to cryptocurrencies and Initial Coin Offerings (ICO), as the general rules for industry regulations — Decree No. 8 “On the Development of the Digital Economy” — had already been signed last year. The HTP, commonly known as the Belarusian Silicon Valley, was…

Chinese Mining Giant Bitmain Releases ‘Crypto Index’ Tracking Bitcoin, 16 Altcoin Prices

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Chinese cryptocurrency mining giant Bitmain released several price indices Nov. 30, aiming to track the largest assets for both institutional and retail investors. The Bitmain Crypto Index (BCI) comprises real-time spot price reading which refreshes every second, along with a daily reference price. The spot index covers the 17 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap. In a methodology overview, Bitmain said the product was “developed to provide institutional and retail investors with a transparent, timely, methodology-based, and investable benchmark of the most active cryptocurrencies traded globally,” explaining: “The Index is solely…

American Tech Giant Intel Files New Patent for Energy-Efficient Bitcoin Mining

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U.S. technology giant Intel has filed a new patent for “energy-efficient high-performance Bitcoin mining,” according to a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) filing published Nov. 27. The Intel patent is dedicated to a “hardware accelerator implementing SHA-256 hash using optimized data paths” and aims to reduce energy for Bitcoin (BTC) mining up to 15 percent, according to the publication. The documents states that “clusters of SHA engines may consume a lot of powers (e.g., at a rate of greater than 200 W),” adding: “Embodiments of the present disclosure include…

German Private Equity Fund Targets Bitcoin Mining аs Clients Demand ‘Regulated Product’

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German alternative investment fund manager Xolaris Service KVAG has launched a private equity fund dedicated to Bitcoin mining, the company confirmed in a press release Nov. 29. Xolaris, which has undertaken various expansion measures including the opening of a Hong Kong office in July, says client demand to access the sector continues despite the downturn in Bitcoin (BTC) prices. The fund will feature a minimum investment entry of €250,000 ($285,000), with a planned issue volume of between €30 million and €50 million ($34 million – $57 million). “We’ve constantly received…