Day: December 18, 2018

Irish High Court Ruling ‘Breaks New Legal Ground,’ Reports Local Media

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Ireland’s High Court has ruled that 25,000 euro in cryptocurrency held by a man in prison is considered “the proceeds of a crime,” the Irish Times reported on Tuesday, Dec. 18. The court “broke new legal ground”, the Irish Times states, while considering the case of Neil Mannion — a man reportedly serving a six-and-a-half year prison sentence at Wheatfield Prison in Dublin for drugs offences since 2014. Mannion had reportedly admitted to selling drugs on the darknet, specifically on Silk Road and Agora. He was jailed at the Dublin…

Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Gains Pace Above $100, Could Test $115

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Key Highlights ETH price gained pace and broke the $97 and $99 resistance levels against the US Dollar. There is a connecting bullish trend line formed with support at $97 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair remains in an uptrend and it could continue to move higher towards $108 or $115. Ethereum price extended gains against the US Dollar and bitcoin. ETH/USD is placed nicely above the $97 support for more gains towards $108 or $115. Ethereum Price Analysis Yesterday, we saw a nice…

Purported Bitcoin Millionaire Reportedly Arrested After Making It ‘Rain Cash’

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A supposed Bitcoin (BTC) millionaire has been arrested in Hong Kong after “making it rain cash” on the streets, local English-language news outlet the Shanghaiist reported on Dec. 17. On Sunday, a swathe of 100-Hong Kong dollar bills were thrown off a roof in Sham Shui Po, one of the poorest Hong Kong neighborhoods. Wong Ching-kit, a local cryptocurrency enthusiast, purported Bitcoin millionaire, and entrepreneur who owns the Epoch Cryptocurrency website, is reportedly believed to be responsible for the stunt. In a video posted on Epoch’s Facebook page, he is…

Blythe Masters Steps Down as CEO of Digital Asset

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Blythe Masters, the CEO of Digital Asset, a tech company that builds products on distributed ledger technology (DLT), has stepped down, according to an announcement published Dec. 18. Per the announcement, Masters has requested to leave for personal reasons after three years of serving at the company. Masters will purportedly stay active in Digital Asset’s operations as a board member, strategic advisor, and shareholder. Masters will be replaced by AG Gangadhar, who joined the company’s board of directors last April. Gangadhar has been appointed Board Chairman and will serve as…

Crypto Could Represent New Asset Class in Next Decade, Says BitMEX CEO

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Bitcoin (BTC) has the potential to become a new asset class in the next ten years, CEO of major crypto derivatives platform BitMEX claimed on the podcast Unchained Dec. 16. Arthur Hayes, CEO and co-founder of BitMEX, the largest crypto exchange by reported daily trade volumes, spoke with host Laura Shin and a group of other industry leaders at CME’s Global Financial Leadership Conference last month. When asked if cryptocurrency represents a new asset class, Hayes expressed skepticism, saying crypto “is sort of a blend” but that it is “still…

Galaxy Digital’s Novogratz Does Not Expect Bitcoin Price to Sink Much More

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Mike Novogratz, an ex-Goldman Sachs partner and founder of crypto merchant bank Galaxy Digital, said that he does not expect the Bitcoin (BTC) price to decline much further in an interview published by Bloomberg on Dec. 18. Speaking on Bloomberg Television, Novogratz opined that there will not be much further decline in the Bitcoin price, despite the recent slump in the market. Novogratz projected that the Bitcoin price will stay between $3,000 and $6,000 in the foreseeable future. Novogratz continued, saying that the macro trading environment has become more interesting…

Spanish Renewable Energy Operator to Trace Electricity Generation With Blockchain

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Spanish renewable energy company ACCIONA Energía is going to deploy blockchain to trace electricity generation, according to an announcement published Dec. 17. ACCIONA Energía is an international global renewable energy operator, that reportedly produces emission-free energy for over 6 million homes. The company is recognized as one of the largest renewable energy developers, with more than 9,000 MW owned and installed. ACCIONA started the project after it reached an agreement with FlexiDAO, a Barcelona-based startup that offers software tools to electric power companies for digital energy services. With this move,…

JPMorgan Chase Analysts Say Prolonged Crypto Bear Market Is Scaring Off Institutions

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Analysts from global investment bank JPMorgan Chase believe that the protracted crypto bear market is driving away institutional investors, Bloomberg reports on Tuesday, Dec. 18. Analysts from JPMorgan, along with global market strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, have reportedly stated that involvement of institutional investors in Bitcoin (BTC) “appears to be fading.” In a jointly released research note, analysts have concluded that “key flow metrics have downshifted dramatically,” including a decline in the Bitcoin futures market. The experts reportedly noted the decreasing index of open interest (OI) — the amount of open…

Bitcoin Payment Processor Closes Seed Investment Round Backed by Tim Draper

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Bitcoin (BTC) payment processor OpenNode has completed a seed investment round with investment from American venture capitalist Tim Draper, according to an announcement on Dec. 18. Founded in April 2018, OpenNode is a multi-layered Bitcoin payment processor for merchants developed by a group of Lightning Network designers and Bitcoin developers, that aims to improve and simplify the use of Bitcoin. Per the announcement, OpenNode has raised funds from Draper and early stage venture capital firm Draper Associates. The startup plans to spend the funds on scaling the team and building…