October 17, 2018
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“One of the economists who has heavily influenced the way I think is Hyman Minsky, who always said, “Stability begets instability.” The very idea is that the more stable things appear, the more dangerous the ultimate outcome will be because people start to assume everything will be all right and end up doing stupid things.”
- James Montier
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| COIN | PRICE | 24H |
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| BTC | $6,520.965279 | -1.21% |
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| ETH | $206.587576 | -1.72% |
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| XRP | $0.462297 | +1.76% |
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| BCH | $447.465826 | -2.44% |
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| EOS | $5.37513 | -0.91% |
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*Information as of 10:00 AM EST
Bitfinex Has Relaunched an ‘Improved’ Fiat Deposit Process
Back and better?
On October 5th, crypto exchange Bitfinex announced that it had “processing complications” with fiat deposits and as a result, four days later, Bitfinex temporarily paused the service for customers.
Now, in a blog post released Tuesday, Bitfinex has reopened the fiat deposit service to customers and claims that the new system is “improved and increasingly resilient.”
Bring in the new process
Under the improved fiat deposit process, a customer will first specify the deposit amount by creating a request. Then, after an account review that could take up to 48 hours, the customer will be contacted with “bank details specific to the individual’s transaction.” Finally, the deposit will begin transacting and the funds should be available in 6-10 days.
So what’s different?
It looks like Bitfinex beefed up its security.
One of the most notable differences here is that Bitfinex seems to be protecting its banking situation. By citing that the new system will use a “distributed banking solution”, Bitfinex is claiming that the crypto exchange is tied to multiple banks rather than just one.
Perhaps to shroud Bitfinex’s banking details with more mystery, the new fiat deposit screen has a warning that claims “divulging [bank] information could damage not just yourself and Bitfinex, but the entire digital token ecosystem.”
This new warning most likely resulted after a screenshot of the deposit page circulated earlier this month and speculators claimed Bitfinex was banking with HSBC because the banking details matched.
Coming full circle
The urge to protect Bitfinex’s banking information is most likely stronger than ever after recent rumors accused the crypto exchange of being insolvent.
Add on the situation Tether (USDT) is going through right now and Bitfinex seems to be scrambling to protect the two businesses from unraveling.
In a Digital Era, Smart Contract Developers Can Be Held Accountable
Predictive market problems
On Tuesday, Brian Quintenz, a commissioner at the U.S. Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), spoke to a crowd in Dubai about regulating blockchain and more specifically, smart contracts.
Speaking to the technology’s capability, Quintenz told the crowd that smart contracts are “easily customized and are almost limitless in their applicability.”
Because of this, Quintenz worries that developers will replicate financial instruments, like binary options or other derivative contracts, to bet on the outcome of events that are contrary to public interest, such as war, terrorism, and assassination.
Quintenz went on to explain these types of smart contracts, called predictive markets:
“Essentially, these contracts would allow individuals to bet on the outcome of future events, like sporting events or elections, using digital currency. If your prediction is right, the contract automatically pays you the winnings.”
Old laws apply to new technology
While Quintenz tipped his hat to smart contract capabilities, he also made sure to mention that predictive markets can fall under the CFTC’s jurisdiction.
Thus, in the event a smart contract does violate CFTC regulations, Quintenz believes the developers who wrote the ‘illegal’ smart contract code could potentially be prosecuted and held accountable.
Quintenz concluded that the CFTC is not afraid to step in:
“I would much rather pursue engagement than enforcement – but in the absence of engagement, enforcement is our only option.”
RECOMMENDED 📖
To learn more about the dark side of predictive markets, read CoinIQ's report on Augur assassination bets.
$194 Million Bitcoin Transaction Sent for Only $0.10
Whale on the move
On Tuesday, a Bitcoin transaction sending 29,999 BTC (the equivalent of $194 million) was sent with only a $0.10 fee. This is a remarkable feat for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. A bank would never be able to match a transaction of this nature.
Many people are not aware of the fees required to send this magnitude of money via a bank transfer. To send more than a million dollars through a bank wire it costs more than $10,000.
Crypto's biggest debate
Fees have been a controversial subject in the cryptocurrency space. Transaction fees were the root cause of maybe the biggest fork in crypto history, Bitcoin Cash.
Bitcoin has always been criticized for lack of scalability, ultimately leading to high fees. Even Ethereum has had its bout with high fees for a short while.
Recently, cryptocurrency critic Nouriel Roubini claimed that it costs $63 to buy a $3 Starbucks latte. Oh is he wrong. It makes you wonder if this transaction was sent just to spite his claim.
Unique use case
This event is a great demonstration of one of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies' biggest use cases. Large-scale payments like this usually require institutions to clear the transaction, which takes time and money. With Bitcoin, all of this can happen without a 3rd party and relatively instantly.
Another challenge with traditional payment methods is international payments. Bitcoin knows no borders. It can be as easily sent across the globe as it can locally.
0x Now Available to Retail Investors on Coinbase
Now available to everyone
0x (ZRX) was added to Coinbase's professional trading platform just a week ago and now it is available to everyone. The token is available for trading on coinbase.com, along with the Coinbase iOS and Android applications.
Actually, not quite everyone will have access to 0x. Investors located in New York and the United Kingdom are still not able to trade the token due to regulatory reasons.
Price reaction
Investors drove the price of ZRX up upon news of the addition to Coinbase's retail platform. ZRX reached a daily high of $0.89 on Tuesday. This is a similar price point to where the price was when the announcement was made that the token was available on Coinbase Pro. That announcement brought the price to $0.91.
What is ZRX?
According to its website:
"0x is the critical infrastructure layer in the emerging financial stack built on a foundation of Ethereum token standards. Developers needing exchange functionality for ERC 20 tokens, ERC 721 tokens, or any new asset type can easily integrate the 0x protocol into their application."
But wait, there's more...
- A new study found that distributed ledger technology (DLT) has the potential to support the daily trade volumes of the U.S. equity market.
- The Rwandan government has turned to blockchain to track tantalum, a metal used in consumer electronics and often associated with conflict zones.
- China’s first Bitcoin (BTC) exchange BTCC, formerly known as BTC China, is set to launch trading services in South Korea in November.
Augur (REP)
A prediction market protocol owned and operated by the people that use it.
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