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$25 MILLION: BlockFi officially launched an interest-bearing crypto deposit account earlier this month – and the product is fast gaining traction. According to CEO and founder Zac Prince, users have already deposited more than $35 million in cryptocurrency (around 80 percent of it in bitcoin) into their interest-bearing accounts since beta testing began in January. Of that, $25 million was gathered after the March 5 launch. The product entices investors with returns of up to 6.2 percent annually for holding their bitcoin or ether. Full Story
FINANCE FEEDS: Two cryptocurrency benchmark indices from data provider CoinMarketCap will launch today on financial data feeds from Nasdaq Global Index Data Service (GIDS), Bloomberg Terminal, Thomson Reuters Eikon (Refinitiv) and Germany’s Börse Stuttgart, as well as on its own platform. CoinMarketCap said the indices will be the “most comprehensive” crypto data offerings for the markets, covering the top 200 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, one including bitcoin (BTC) and the other without. The data site partnered with Germany-based provider of financial indices Solactive for the effort. Full Story
JUST IN CASE: Casa has rolled out “Faraday bags” for hardware cryptocurrency wallets – protective cases made to block electronic signals often associated with remote wiping or alteration of the data stored on hardware devices. “We wanted something that would protect the device from a wide variety of potential risks, water, dust, etc., and also anything electronic, wireless signal, GPS, bluetooth, any kind of radio signal all the way up to and including any potential EMP [electromagnetic pulse] blasts,” Casa CEO Jeremy Welch told CoinDesk. Full Story
LITE SHOPPING: Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has unveiled a new platform in Australia that allows users to buy bitcoin with cash from high-street stores. Binance Lite Australia, as it’s been dubbed, allows bitcoin purchases through a network of 1,300-plus supported newsagents across the country. While users can only buy the cryptocurrency with Australian dollars right now, the exchange said it plans to support more cryptocurrencies and fiat options in the future. Full Story |
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| BULL TARGET: Bitcoin's stalled recovery rally from the lows near $3,650 could gather pace if resistance at $4,040 is scaled. That would validate a bullish outside reversal candle created in the three days to March 16 and open the doors to recent highs near $4,200. Right now, though, it's proving a tough nut to crack. Full Story |
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BEST OF THE BEST
ZOMBIE MALWARE: A Trojan-style malware variant called Cardinal RAT that was first spotted in 2017 is back from the dead and targeting fintech and cryptocurrency trading software firms in Israel, according to The Next Web. The malware appears to have evolved to have new features that help it “evade detection and hinder analysis,” Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 said in a report. Cardinal RAT uses data hidden in a Bitmap (BMP) image file that looks harmless, but embeds its malicious code when opened in an attempt to steal passwords, usernames and other data.
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EXPANDING LUNIVERSE: Dunamu, the fintech arm of Korean messaging app giant Kakao, has launched a blockchain-as-a-business platform called Luniverse. Korea JoongAng Daily reports that the platform is aimed to help businesses that might struggle to develop blockchain-based services independently. For the offering, Dunamu has partnered with third-party firms to provide blockchain apps and solutions across different areas such as healthcare or gaming.
BLOCKCHAIN TRILLIONS: Organizations today are increasingly faced with challenges over the need to manage data and transactions among numerous untrusted parties. And that presents an opportunity for blockchain, according to a new report from tech giant Cisco. With blockchain’s ability to provide transparency and security, and to remove complexity by doing away with middlemen, the tech is expected to “deliver efficiencies and new business value in excess of $3 trillion by 2030,” the report says. |
WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER  |
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