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TRAVEL RULE: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) unveiled its final interpretative note on cryptocurrencies and virtual asset service providers (VASPs). As expected, the intergovernmental organization is calling on countries to implement the “travel rule,” a banking standard that requires all exchanges, custodial wallets or other providers involved in a transaction to have KYC information for all customer accounts in the transaction. The FATF is also calling on countries to mitigate the use of mixers and tumblers, and says these nations should make sure businesses can freeze crypto wallet or exchange accounts for sanctioned individuals. The FATF is giving countries a year to implement laws taking its recommendation into account, with a review planned for January 2020. Full story
CIRCLE K ROLLOUT: DigitalMint, a Chicago-based over-the-counter cryptocurrency trading platform, has installed bitcoin kiosks at 20 Circle K convenience stores as part of a pilot program across Arizona and Nevada. This represents the largest expansion for the crypto platform since its founding 2014, according to a press release. In five years, the company has established either ATM or in-person teller branches at 250 locations in 25 states. DigitalMint ATMs let consumers buy and trade up to $20,000 bitcoin, ethereum and litecoin per day, with a 12 percent fee on transactions. Full story
LIBRA UNBALANCED? Facebook’s rollout of Libra may be steamrolled in India by existing regulatory constraints, reports the Economic Times. Despite cryptocurrency’s precarious standing within local law, the outlet said “Facebook has not filed any application with RBI (Reserve Bank of India) for its cryptocurrency in India,” according to an anonymous source with direct knowledge of the situation. The social media juggernaut told the Economic Times, “We expect Calibra to work on WhatsApp and be available globally.” India has 400 million WhatsApp users, according to Statista. Full story
HOBBY MINING: Coinmine, a cryptocurrency mining device aimed at the hobbyist market, will now give its users the option to be paid in bitcoin. The device was able to mine monero, zcash, grin and ethereum at launch, a set of cryptocurrencies that had a low enough difficulty threshold to allow for the average miner to see a minimal return. The addition of bitcoin payouts gives miners more incentive to try the $799 ($699 with a special BTC discount) product. The Coinmine box won’t make you a millionaire overnight. The firm sees it as a testbed and experimental tool for those who want to dip a toe into the mining process. Full story
US IPO? Crypto mining giant Bitmain Technologies Ltd. is said to be relaunching its initial public offering (IPO) plans, but this time in the U.S. instead of Hong Kong. According to Bloomberg sources, Bitmain is consulting with advisers over a U.S. public listing, potentially in the second half of 2019. The firm could file documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in July.
Last September, Bitmain filed to IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) hoping to raise up to $1 billion, however the firm let the application lapse in March. Bloomberg said Bitmain may be reducing its previous fundraising target to roughly $300 million–$500 million for the U.S. offering. Full story
‘FRIENDLY FORK’: One community member is about to begin what one might call a “friendly fork” of the ethereum blockchain called “Alternateth.” James Hancock, project team lead at ethereum startup ETHSignals, told CoinDesk that he hopes the network will act as “a sister chain” to ethereum validating ideas and proof-of-concepts before adoption on the main chain. The goal is to initiate the split in two months’ time. “For ethereum to be sound money, it needs to be very conservative in making changes,” said Hancock. “For ethereum to keep pace with competition it needs to keep making changes. These two ideas are in tension as it is difficult to do both well.” Full story |
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$10K IN SIGHT? Bitcoin's break above the widely followed 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement of the bear market low has bolstered the bullish setup for the longer term. As a result, prices look set to rise above $10,000. That said, a temporary pullback cannot be ruled out beforehand, as the short-duration charts are reporting overbought conditions. The outlook would turn bearish only if the price finds acceptance below $7,500. Full story |
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| CALL TO ACTION: Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes is calling on regulators to tamp down on the social media giant's cryptocurrency ambitions, saying that if libra succeeds, it could give companies economic power over smaller nations, the Guardian reports . According to Hughes, "if even modestly successful, Libra would hand over much of the control of monetary policy from central banks to these private companies ...If global regulators don’t act now, it could very soon be too late.” The cryptocurrency is already facing regulator and lawmaker scrutiny, with the G7 forming a task force to examine the libra and the U.S. Senate Banking Committee scheduling a hearing for next month. |
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