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STAKING COINBASE: Coinbase Custody, the institutionally-focused wing of the crypto exchange, will offer clients the chance to stake crypto assets, starting with Tezos (XTZ). The company announced Friday that investors can earn up to 6.6 percent interest on their holdings (after Coinbase takes a deduction as its fee) through the exchange’s new service. To protect client assets, Coinbase will hold all tokens in a fully insured cold storage vault, while putting up its own coins to participate in the staking process. Full Story
FIDELITY HIRE: Coinbase head of institutional sales, Christine Sandler, is leaving the exchange for Fidelity Investments, one of the world's largest financial services providers. It is unclear which division within Fidelity Sandler is moving to, but a logical destination would be Fidelity Digital Assets, the recently-launched crypto custody and trading provider first announced last year. According to one source, Sandler is leaving Coinbase due to the exchange's shift in direction from institutions to crypto-native funds. Full Story
PATENT PROSECUTION: nChain, the company founded by self-proclaimed bitcoin creator Craig Wright, has posted a job opening for patent counsel in London to manage the company’s blockchain-related intellectual property. The applicant must be a qualified European Patent Attorney, and if hired, would be responsible for both drafting patent filings and “global prosecution” for the process. The patent counsel would also have a “significant responsibility for creating and exploiting commercially valuable IP assets,” the advertisement states. Full Story
BITMAIN’S CLAIMS: Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu has told an event in China Wu that he believes ASIC miners – powerful processors designed for crunching specific algorithms – are less of a centralizing force in the blockchain space than GPUs. He also said that ethereum’s coming ProgPow upgrade would likely not block ASIC miners for long, as the change is intended to do. He controversially, added: “To me, ProgPow is clearly an effort to achieve centralization, in an attempt to exclude other integrated circuit designers to participate in ethereum mining.” Full Story
GOX APPEAL: Mark Karpeles, former CEO of the collapsed bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, is to appeal his conviction on data manipulation charges earlier this month. The Associated Press reported Friday that Karpeles said he had decided to appeal because the Tokyo District Court did not fully look at the defense arguments. A different report from The Mainichi today also cited anonymous sources as saying that Japanese prosecutors have decided not to appeal the court’s acquittal of Karpeles on charges of embezzlement. The prosecutors had been seeking a 10-year jail term on the charges. Full Story |
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| BRIGHTER PROSPECTS: Bitcoin jumped to a five-week high of $4,100 earlier today, validating the bullish higher low created along the crucial 30-day MA support earlier this week. As a result, the short-term bullish prospects have improved and the February high of $4,190 could be put to test in the next few days. Full Story |
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BEST OF THE BEST
BLOCKCHAIN BILLIONS: Europe has become one of the fastest-growing regions for blockchain spending, according to a new report from IDC. The market intelligence firm said blockchain spending in Europe will pass $800 million in 2019 and could reach $3.6 billion in 2022. Blockchain investment in finance will account for a third of the total spend in 2019, while insurance is expected to rapidly grow up to 2022.
THE REST
APP TAP: Thirteen Japanese banks have invested in financial giant SBI Holding’s blockchain-based payments app, Money Tap – built in conjunction with Ripple. The consumer-focused iOS and Android app is able to make bank-to-bank money transfers near instantly using Ripple’s xCurrent payments product. SBI said Thursday that the investing institutions will cooperate to provide “next generation” financial infrastructure.
LATTE CONSENSUS: India’s Coffee Board has launched a blockchain-based marketplace aimed to allow growers and buyers to transact without the need for middlemen, The Hindu Business Line reports. The marketplace app is currently in a four-to-five-month pilot phase with a limited number of industry participants, but could be extended nationwide if the tech proves a success. “Growers will get the power to decide the price for their coffees,” said Coffee Board Chairman, Srivatsa Krishna. |
WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER  |
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