Monday, November 19, 2018

Impossible to Ignore 🔥

November 19, 2018

Crypto is Now 'Impossible to Ignore', Says KPMG

They aren't going away

In a new report focused on cryptocurrencies by KPMG, the professional services company told readers that now, after massive building progress in 2018 from new entrants, crypto assets are "impossible to ignore."

Where are we?

To break it down, the report listed three stages that crypto will go through before it reaches mass adoption:.

Investment/speculation
Institutionalization
Utility

Currently, KPMG believes we are in the investment/speculation stage as many projects have little products to show for despite receiving sizeable funding.

So what's stopping institutionalization?

While institutions are coming into the crypto industry at a higher rate than ever before, there are still significant hurdles that the new asset class must overcome before becoming 'official.'

Specifically, KPMG identified six different hurdles:

Getting along with regulators
Handling hard forks or split cryptocurrencies
Adding know-your-customer (KYC) protection
Offering secure storage solutions
Clarifying accounting and reporting practices
Understanding tax implications

Even though there are businesses and regulators working on each of these issues, it will take a while before we see complete clarity.

Reducing friction

Regardless of the big challenges the industry faces, KPMG believes that in the end, cryptocurrencies have the ability to reduce friction in the financial system - a trait that has been historically important for financial innovation.

To conclude, KPMG told readers to "stay tuned" for crypto's evolution over the next few years.

SCAM

Google Removes Four Malicious Crypto Applications from Play Store

Apps going 'Phishing'

Google has recently removed four applications from its Play Store due to concerns that the applications were acting maliciously towards their users.

The applications were using a technique known as 'phishing'. Using this technique, scammers imitate legitimate cryptocurrency sites or applications, but use the fake site or app to steal users' login information.

The apps that were removed by Google had been available in the Play Store for weeks and had been downloaded hundreds of times, indicating that users were likely attacked.

Cybersecurity researcher to the rescue

A cybersecurity researcher named Lukas Stefanko was the person who exposed these malicious applications and alerted Google. The company acted promptly to remove the applications as soon as Stefanko made them aware. However, Google does struggle to vet all of its applications on its store, so this problem may persist in the future.

Stefanko explains on his blog that these applications are very easy to make and require little coding knowledge. This makes them a popular tool for scammers.

Stefanko goes on to explain on his blog that this problem will only get worse:

"That means that – once Bitcoin price rises and starts to make it into front pages – than [sic] literally anyone can "develop" simple but effective malicious app either to steal credentials or impersonate cryptocurrency wallet."

INSTITUTION

Swiss Stock Exchange Will Be the First to List Cryptocurrency Index Exchange-Traded Product

Welcome crypto to the exchange

Switzerland's primary stock exchange, the SIX Swiss Exchange, has announced plans to list a cryptocurrency index exchange-traded product (ETP) this upcoming week.

The index is set to track five major cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin. The weights of each coin within the index will be relative to their market capitalization. Bitcoin will make up roughly half of the index.

The ETP will adhere to strict guidelines enforced by the country's regulators. Institutions who were unable to invest in cryptocurrencies are now presented with a legally vetted medium to get exposure to crypto.

U.S. next in line?

The whole cryptocurrency ETF situation in the United States has been a rollercoaster over the past months. Investors get overhyped for an ETF approval, while regulators are constantly reviewing and denying applications.

Now the United States will have an actual case study to see how a cryptocurrency exchange-traded product operates. The US can study the Swiss ETP and learn from its mistakes or shortcomings.

EXCHANGE

Binance CEO Teases XRP Base Currency Listing

Taking over ETH

Last week, after Bitcoin broke below the $6,000 level, XRP took Ethereum's (ETH) place as the world's second largest cryptocurrency.

While the two have seesawed back and forth before, XRP has held its lead for a few days now with a current lead of over $3 billion in terms of market capitalization.

Now the cryptocurrency's fanbase, #XRPArmy, is calling for XRP to become a "base currency" on exchanges - meaning it would trade against all assets, not just Bitcoin.

CZ teases

In an attempt to get convinced, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao took to Twitter to ask for opinions on possible XRP listings.

While it's unclear whether or not Binance will follow through on new XRP listings, one thing is certain: #XRPArmy is one of the most outspoken fanbases in the space as the tweet garnered over 3.1k replies in less than two days.

BITS

But wait, there's more...

Bitcoin-based smart contract protocol Rootstock (RSK) is integrating with spin-off project RIF OS to expand its scope of operations.
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has warned users against the perceived risks of trading the new bitcoin cash token, Bitcoin SV (BCH SV).
Traders have reportedly incurred losses after Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange OKEx settled bitcoin cash futures contracts almost without warning ahead of last week's hard fork.

MEME