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CLAIM CORROBORATED: An Indian government-issued death certificate obtained by CoinDesk backs up QuadrigaCX’s account of the passing of CEO Gerald Cotten in early December.
Cotten’s death is at the center of the turmoil surrounding the Canada-based crypto exchange, which went offline last week owing $190 million to its thousands of customers.
Some customers and observers have expressed skepticism about reports of Cotten’s death, given that QuadrigaCX took more than a month to disclose it, that the disclosure followed a long period of fiat and crypto withdrawal delays, and that the company did not provide documentation of his passing.
But the death certificate, issued by the Government of Rajasthan’s Directorate of Economics and Statistics and obtained from a source involved in the events, indicates that Cotten died on Dec. 9 – the same date given in a Dec. 12 statement of death from a Halifax funeral home filed in the Nova Scotia court by his wife, Jennifer Robertson. Full Story
Separately, QuadrigaCX is set to receive the creditor protection it has sought in a Nova Scotia court. A judge is expected to issue a ruling later Tuesday following a hearing that morning.
TORCH PASSING: The bitcoin community is currently conducting an experiment called the “lightning torch” intended to show the value of bitcoin’s lightning network – an up-and-coming technology that allows for fast payments without requiring a third party.
The participants are out to show this facet of the technology in a kind of global relay race using an ever-increasing amount of BTC.
By way of the social media platform Twitter, people pass the “torch payment” from one person to another, adding 10,000 satoshis (worth about $0.34 at press time) to the payment before sending it further along. Imagine a kind of lightning network-style snowball effect and you get the basic gist.
While developers might still call lightning “reckless,” since it’s experimental software and users can lose money if they (or the software) makes a wrong move, so far the experiment seems to be having its intended effect. The “torch” has attracted the participation of 139 people in at least 37 countries, according to the pseudonymous torch ringleader, who goes by the name “Hodlonaut.” Full Story
GUSD CRITIQUES: Two over-the-counter trading desks say their accounts at Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by U.S. investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, were abruptly closed without explanation over attempts to redeem GUSD, the company’s stablecoin first introduced in September.
The claims leveled against Gemini by the OTC desks, relayed under anonymity due to fears of reputational damage, hint at the business practices developing within the stablecoin market itself, now estimated to be worth nearly $3 billion.
In one instance, email correspondence obtained by CoinDesk shows an OTC trader based in Latin America had his account closed after he informed Gemini that he planned to redeem several million dollars of GUSD. (A major cryptocurrency exchange, speaking on condition of anonymity, attested to the desk’s professionalism and reported that it was in good standing.)
Still, Gemini said in a statement to the trader that a review “determined [the] account must be closed” and that it was “not able to elaborate on the specifics for this decision.”
When contacted by CoinDesk, Gemini declined to comment on the incidents.
However, the actions may hint at how measures taken by Gemini to boost GUSD adoption have had unintended impacts in practice. In a bid to capture market share, Gemini issued roughly 1 percent discounts on GUSD in 2018 to OTC desks and market makers, who were then made to agree on restrictions that would bar them from immediately redeeming the assets.
Read reporter Leigh Cuen's full investigative report here.
EAST TO WEST: The Singapore-based exchange conglomerate Huobi Group is prioritizing Wall Street partnerships for the first time this year.
Since it was founded six years ago, Huobi Group has come to dominate several global crypto exchange markets, thanks in part to its popularity among deep-pocketed Chinese traders.
Now the U.S.-based sister exchange HBUS – a separate entity primarily funded by Huobi Global CEO Leon Li – is leveraging its global network for an unprecedented push into North America that's beginning with a partnership with Prime Trust, a Nevada trust company that will provide fiat deposit and withdrawal services for its exchange users.
As part of the effort, Huobi.com will now allow USD-to-crypto trading for bitcoin, ethereum and the dollar-pegged stablecoin tether, with a $100 minimum.
HBUS CEO Frank Fu told CoinDesk this is only the beginning of his firm’s U.S. partnerships, and others are in the works.
“Once we establish partnerships with our institutional clients and put in place the required regulatory and compliance structure, we should be able to offer innovative products and financial services to larger audiences, such as … potential ETFs and derivatives,” he explained. Full Story |
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 Every quarter, CoinDesk Research takes stock of the key data, trends, and events with its State of Blockchains reports. As our research efforts evolve and expand, we hope to provide amplification to a variety of perspectives within the crypto community. We reached out to analysts, builders, and lawyers to understand the industry from their unique vantage point. Check out the full article but here's a sample insight: “Q4 saw a lot of bloodshed across risk assets, with public crypto prices being no exception. We may not be out of the woods yet, but we are starting to see a number of signs a bottom for BTC may be on the horizon (our analysis points to Q1 2019) if historical cycles are any guide. Sentiment has certainly shifted from pure euphoria to skepticism, which is no surprise given how much the market got ahead of itself a year ago. This year will likely mark a turning point where teams building real products with real use cases and consumers will attract both talent and capital, driving great dispersion among returns.” - Kevin Kelly ( @kevin_Kelly_II), Delphi Digital (Co-Founder) We want to hear your perspective too! To add to the conversation, please fill out our survey. We will be releasing the results in the coming weeks. For more research insights, check out the CoinDesk Crypto-Economic Explorer here. |
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| RESTRICTED RANGE: Bitcoin's daily trading range has dropped to levels last seen three months ago in the approach to a sell-off witnessed mid-November. This time, however, the consolidation could end with a bullish move as the cryptocurrency has charted a falling wedge pattern, while the repeated defense of $3,400 is signaling seller exhaustion. Full Story |
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BEST OF THE BEST GRAND PRIX 247: Aston Martin Red Bull has inked a Formula 1 sponsorship deal with the cryptocurrency FuturoCoin, Grand Prix 247 reports. Billed as the first crypto sponsorship of an F1 team, the multi-year arrangement will see FuturoCoin branding appear on the race suits of drivers Pierre Gasly and Max Verstappen, as well as on the motorsports team’s transporters. “In recent years, the rise of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies has been truly remarkable, and we’re delighted to be the first Formula One team to embrace this, through our partnership with FuturoCoin,” said Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Team Principal, Christian Horner. THE REST
CITY AM: Funding of British startups dropped from a record high of £8.6 billion ($11.1 billion) in 2017 to £7 billion ($9 billion) last year, but blockchain firms bucked the trend, writes City A.M., reporting on data from Beauhurst. Overall, seed funding efforts fell by 15 percent, even though equity crowdfunding, hit a record number of deals. Despite the downturn, fintech and blockchain firms saw record numbers of rounds in 2018, with blockchain notably reporting a 75 percent increase over 2017. RTT NEWS: Two men in the U.S. have been indicted over a scheme to steal cryptocurrency using SIM-swapping hacks. A federal grand jury, RTT News reports, has formally charged 21-year-old Ahmad Wagaafe Hared and 23-year-old Matthew Gene Ditman for conspiring to commit "computer fraud and abuse, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, extortion, and aggravated identity theft." By convincing telecoms firms to let them access victims’ phone data via SIM swaps, the pair gained access to email and other accounts of victims, ultimately allowing them to gain access to their cryptocurrency accounts. Hared was arrested in Tucson, while Ditman was arrested in Las Vegas, according to the report, which cites the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California. |
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