FROZEN ASSETS: The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has blacklisted a dozen bitcoin and litecoin addresses belonging to three Chinese nationals, alleging the individuals sold opioids to U.S. residents. OFAC made the designation under the Kingpin Act, meaning U.S. entities and individuals are required to freeze any property or interests in property that belong to the three. Wednesday's action is the second time OFAC has blacklisted crypto addresses, after first listing two Iranian nationals last November. Full story
GREEN LIGHT: Securitize, a provider of technology for issuing blockchain tokens, has registered as a transfer agent with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a move it says will boost adoption. Announced Wednesday, the registration means Securitize can now act as the official keeper of records about changes of ownership in securities. “We can increase the amount of securities issued on the blockchain and give comfort to people that this is a regulated space,” said Carlos Domingo, co-founder and CEO of Securitize. Full story
‘ALMOST FULL’: The increased cost of transacting on the ethereum blockchain is hurting the software’s adoption, says project creator Vitalik Buterin. Speaking with the Toronto Star this week, Butertin suggested projects that are considering whether to build on the technology will likely be put off, as the blockchain is overloaded with transactions, or in his words “almost full.” He said: “There is pressure keeping people from joining, but improvements in scalability can do a lot in improving that.” Full story
WEATHER CALAMITY: A prolonged rainstorm in China’s Sichuan province has caused land- and mudslides, forcing some local hydropower plants and bitcoin miners to halt operations. Wenchuan county appears to have suffered the most, with some mining facilities destroyed and bitcoin mining machines now covered by mud. High levels of water in reservoirs has also forced many local hydropower plants to stop generating electricity, creating a power shortage that may affect mining farms in the short term. Full story
BITCOIN SCRIPTS: Smart contracts could soon get a boost in bitcoin, as prominent programmer Pieter Wuille has unveiled a new coding language designed specifically for their use. Posted to the bitcoin developer mailing list Monday, the Miniscript language aims to make it easier for programmers to write up smart contracts, or conditions for spending bitcoins. Programmers Wuille, Andrew Poelstra and Sanket Sanjalkar have been working on the code for roughly a year. Wuille said he is now posting it to the email list because it’s reached “a stage where I’d like to get it some more attention.” Full story |
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| SUDDEN DROP: Bitcoin has fallen below $10,000 at time of writing and could extend losses to recent lows below $9,500 in the next 24 hours, as signaled by the rising wedge breakdown confirmed earlier today and the bearish daily and intraday chart indicators. A bull revival needs a weekly close above $12,000, but looks a remote possibility right now. Full story |
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