OneCoin site stops operating / SARB plans crypto rules / Zhao: Turkey's fast-growing crypto nation

Inside Bitcoin presented by IBM Watson.

Presented by Subscribe | View in browser Hello everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving holiday and are thoroughly stuffed from all that you've eaten. Here's to a productive week as we count down the days to Christmas! And to kick things off, here is today's Bitcoin newsletter. As always, if there is anything you'd like to see more/less of, reach out to me at Rebecca@inside.com.       Market Watch: Industry prices remain down as we start the working week with most coin prices in the red. Bitcoin: $7,289 (⬇️ 1.41%) // $131.7 billion market cap. Ethereum: $147 (⬇️ 1.96%) // $16 billion market cap. XRP: $0.218 (⬇️ 2.07%) // $9.4 billion market cap. Tether: $0.99 (⬇️ 0.66%) // $4 billion market cap. Top 100 Winner: Energi: $1.57 (⬆️ 14.30%) // $36 million market cap. Top 100 Loser: Silverway: $0.385 (⬇️ 21.18%) // $38 million market cap. Prices are as of 2 p.m. ET.       1. The website for the alleged Ponzi scheme OneCoin has stopped operating. The move comes months after co-founder Konstantin Igantov pled guilty to charges including money laundering and fraud, and faces up to 90 years in prison. Igantov's sister, Ruja Ignatova, who is also known as the CryptoQueen, is currently on the run. OneCoin, which first attracted suspicion back in 2015, has defrauded investors out of $4 billion. More recently, Mark Scott, the lawyer associated with OneCoin, was found guilty of laundering $400 million for the scheme. –BEHIND MLM       2. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) – the country's central bank – is reportedly planning on implementing new rules for cryptocurrency to prevent them from being used to evade currency controls. According to deputy governor Kuben Naidoo, the new rules will go into effect during Q1 2020, putting an end to consultations that started in 2014. The news comes after FirstRand Bank (FNB) discontinued offering banking services to crypto companies last month. A statement from the bank notes that this was due to a lack of "appropriate regulatory frameworks." –BUSINESS REPORT       A MESSAGE FROM IBM WATSON AI & The Future of Work: Virtual Summit, 12/4 at 1:00pm You're cordially invited to join us at the upcoming, AI & The Future of Work Virtual Summit on Wednesday, December 4 at 1:00pm. You'll hear the Executive Director of R&D from The New York Times, IBM Watson clients and executives, as they discuss the role AI is playing in re-envisioning work - from risk and compliance to customer experience to AI workflows. Save your spot today! 3. Binance's CEO Changpeng Zhao has said during a Q&A that Turkey is one of the fastest-growing nations in crypto. Zhao was speaking at a business-to-business (B2B) event in Turkey where he answered questions about the platform's plans for the country. Praising Turkey, the CEO stated that the nation is a "vibrant country" that has shown one of the "strongest demands and fast-growing interest in crypto." He went on to note that Binance wants to invest "heavily" in Turkey and that, over the next three to six months, Binance is planning to add 10 to 20 people to its team members. –COINTELEGRAPH       4. Crypto promoter Virgil Griffith has been arrested for allegedly advising North Korea on how it can use the blockchain and virtual currencies to evade sanctions. The 36-year-old, who lives in Singapore, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport last week; however, the news has only been reported on now. According to the U.S. Justice Department, Griffith was denied permission to travel to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) by the U.S. Department of State. However, it is alleged he attended a Pyongyang-based conference in April to help in the exchange of crypto between the DPRK and South Korea. –FINEWS ASIA       A MESSAGE FROM FASTLY Extend the power of your core cloud to the edge with our API-first platform. Bring your innovative ideas to life, faster. Our edge cloud platform moves data and applications closer to users, at the network edge — so you can deliver fast, secure, and scalable online experiences. Take it for a spin and test up to $50 traffic, free.   5. Crypto exchange Binance has listed four Russian ruble trading pairs, according to an announcement. In a post, the company stated today that it has opened trading for Binance Coin (BNB), Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and XRP. The addition of these trading pairs comes after an October announcement from Binance which introduced the trading of the ruble on the platform. - BINANCE       6. CryptoBridge, a decentralized crypto exchange, has announced that it is closing down. After December 15, all services and servers will be terminated. All users will be able to withdraw funds from the exchange until the last day of its operation. From December 3, all deposits will be closed. According to the company, market conditions, increasing regulation, an inability to fund further development and maintain operations forced it to make its decision. –CRYPTOBRIDGE       7. Peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin marketplace Paxful has set an all-time high in weekly traded volume. According to data from CoinDance, as of today, the platform saw nearly $30 million in P2P Bitcoin trades. Data shows that it has experienced a continued uptrend since its founding in 2015. The platform connects users to buy and sell Bitcoin using gift cards, bank transfers, and other payment options. –COINTELEGRAPH       8. Data suggests that over 11.5 million Bitcoin hasn't moved in more than a year. According to crypto analyst Rhythm Trader, the increase in the number of hodlers is a bullish indicator for Bitcoin, with many drawn to the coin's long-term potential. This is despite the fact that Bitcoin's price has dropped from highs of nearly $14,000 earlier this year to just over $7,000 today. –CRYPTO SLATE       9. Russia's central bank, the Bank of Russia, has said that it would back a potential crypto payments ban. According to the bank, "private cryptocurrencies cannot be equated with fiat money and cannot be legal tender." It went on to note that if a ban on crypto is decided at the legislative level, it would "support this position." –COIN DESK       10. Crypto-inspired artist "BnoiitC" is using the blockchain so that crypto art becomes immutable and impossible to censor. Through the Ethereum-based virtual world known as Cryptovoxels, the artist has recreated French crypto graffiti artist Pascal Boyart's mural, which had $1,000 worth of Bitcoin hidden in it when it was first painted earlier this year. A month later, though, local authorities had censored the painting by covering it with gray paint. –THE NEXT WEB       This newsletter was written and curated by Rebecca Campbell. She has been writing and reporting on various industries for the past 10 years, more specifically tech in the last three. Connect with her on Twitter.         Ad You're invited to the AI & The Future of Work Virtual Summit on 12/4. Save your spot today!

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