Ethereum Turns Red, Signaling Fresh Decrease Below $125

Ethereum is struggling to stay above the key $125 support area against the US Dollar. A successful close below $125 could spark another bearish wave in the near term. There is a connecting bearish trend line forming with resistance near $130 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). Bitcoin is currently consolidating above the $7,200 support area. Ethereum price is showing a few bearish signs versus the US Dollar and bitcoin. ETH price could decline heavily if there is a break below $125 and $120. Ethereum Price…

Tech Development, Investments and NFT to Drive Crypto Adoption in 2020

As the end of the year draws closer, discussing what the future holds for the crypto industry becomes increasingly relevant. In particular, how global financial and technological trends will affect the adoption of cryptocurrencies in the coming year. Despite the critics, the number of industry experts and crypto enthusiasts who foresee a promising future for cryptocurrencies has been on the rise. Institutional investors are now paying more attention to crypto-related projects and products, and universities have even started to offer courses on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Now, talks of how…

University of California at Santa Barbara Just Finished Its First Accredited Blockchain Course

The University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) has just concluded its first accredited course focused on blockchain and distributed ledger technology. The course, which was taught as a computer science class through the College of Creative Studies, was formed in response to requests from the Blockchain Acceleration Foundation (BAF), a nonprofit organization composed of students, professors, blockchain advocates, and interested individuals who want to facilitate the mass adoption of blockchain technology. Blockchain at UCSB co-founder and Blockchain Acceleration Foundation president Cameron Dennis noted that despite blockchain’s rising popularity on…

Op Ed: Pitching Bitcoin During the Holidays

It’s that time of year again! When you can’t decide whether to get a pumpkin spice or eggnog-flavored latte, and your local mall reeks of cinnamon, pine needles and dirty fiat money. The HODLdays are a time for friends, family and gift-giving, but as good Bitcoiners, we already know that the best gift of all is bitcoin. But how do you convince your friends and family to go down the Bitcoin rabbit — uh, reindeer hole?  The Bitcoin space has matured so much in the last few years, and as…

Insurance Industry Eyes Blockchain as Top Firms Begin Tests

On Dec. 12, the second-largest health insurance company in the United States announced plans to leverage blockchain technology to secure the medical data of all its 40 million members over the next three years. The most unique quality of a blockchain is that once a piece of information is added to the distributed ledger, it cannot be altered. The information stored on a blockchain is absolutely secure and trustworthy in its entirety. In order for a change to be made in one block, changes must be made to all the…

Torus Encourages Users To Test Their Wallet By Sending Ethereum Via Reddit

Just in time for the holidays, private key management firm Torus announced on Reddit today they will send Ethereum (ETH) to any Reddit username or google email account. According to a post on the r/ethereum community reddit thread, a TorusLabs member said: “We hope to be an alternative for Web2.0 mainstream audiences.” Bringing Users onto Decentralized Systems Via Email Torus, which raised $2 million this July in a funding round spearheaded by Multicoin Capital, Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures and other notable firms, aims to create an easier way for bringing users onto…

American Cancer Society Now Accepting Bitcoin Donations Through BitPay

The American Cancer Society (ACS), a non-profit organization committed to funding cancer research, is now accepting bitcoin donations through BitPay. “Cancer affects people from all walks of life, so it’s not surprising that we draw support from a broad cross-section of donors,” ACS exec Brant Woodward told CoinDesk. “Our mission is urgent and in order to accomplish it, we need to engage donors where they are.” Founded in 2011 as a bitcoin payment solution, BitPay says it has handled more than $50 million in donations since 2017 with partners such…

Meltem Demirors on Government Digital Currencies and Why ‘The Halvening’ Gets Weird

One of CoinDesk’s ten most influential people of 2019, Meltem Demirors is a crypto renaissance woman, known best for investing, operating as CSO of CoinShares, and for explaining ‘shitcoins’ to Congress. In this end of year Breakdown, Meltem argues explains why the entrance of governments to the digital asset game is the most significant story of 2019, as well as suggesting that the presence of an entirely new financial infrastructure around bitcoin means the halvening is likely to be unlike what anyone thinks. Disclosure Read More The leader in blockchain…

Paraguay Audits Local Crypto Industry to Prepare for FATF-Style Regulations

Paraguay is preparing to take its nascent cryptocurrency industry mainstream. Last week, the Latin American country’s anti-money-laundering (AML) chief, the Secretary for Preventing Money and Property Laundering (SEPRELAD), announced a nationwide crypto survey. Every one of Paraguay’s virtual asset service providers (VASPs) was directed to open their books to the government for the first time. The self-reported information was due Dec. 20. Impelled by the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) June guidance on VASPs, the mass audit will help Paraguay’s government understand its domestic crypto industry, SEPRELAD officials told CoinDesk. And…

Redditor Creates BTC-Themed Game as Holiday Gift for Crypto Community

A Redditor has introduced a new Bitcoin (BTC) video game as a holiday gift to the crypto community. Shared on Dec. 24 on Reddit, the new “Satoshi vs. the Shills” Bitcoin game is a survival shooter game featuring Bitcoin’s anonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto as the main character. The arcade game is available on the Google Play store for Android. Big Hands, the developer of the game, has not yet specified to Cointelegraph whether its team is planning to roll out the game on iOS or other platforms as of press…