Banking on crypto

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August 9, 2019 MINING BID: Blockstream has launched a colocation mining service, in part aimed to counter the increased centralization of the crypto mining industry, and already counts the Fidelity Center for Applied Technology and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman as customers. On Thursday, the bitcoin and blockchain technology firm announced a new mining wing, Blockstream Mining, along with a BetterHash-based mining pool, Blockstream Pool. Led by cryptographer Dr. Adam Back, Blockstream is best known for its bitcoin-sidechain ecosystem, the Liquid Network. Full story HACK DETAILED: Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has described how it was targeted by, and foiled, “a sophisticated, highly targeted, thought out attack” aimed to access its systems and presumably to make off with some of the billions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency it holds. In an Aug. 8 blog post that sets out in technical detail how the plot unfolded and how the exchange countered the attempted theft, Coinbase said the hackers used a combination of means to try and hoodwink staff and access vital systems – methods that included spear phishing, social engineering and browser zero-day exploits. Full story QUONTIC LEAP: A small bank in New York City has started doing business with cryptocurrency firms, joining the very short list of U.S. financial institutions to embrace the sector. Quontic Bank opened a checking account for a bitcoin ATM company a few weeks ago and is in the process of completing a contract to deliver banking services to another crypto startup. The bank wouldn’t name either client. Quontic CEO Steven Schnall wouldn’t say how big he wants Quontic’s crypto business to be, but he claimed the pending contract “could impact millions of Americans.” Full story TOKEN UNLOCKED: Overstock is opening up trading on its security token market, tZERO, to all comers. Retail investors will be able to trade on the platform starting Aug. 12, tZERO CEO Saum Noursalehi told CoinDesk. At that point, the one year lock-up period for tZERO’s 2018 security token offering (STO) will pass. While the platform went live in January, only accredited investors – wealthy individuals and institutions – have been allowed to trade on it until now. tZERO is currently also working to acquire a New York Department of Financial Services virtual currency license, Noursalehi said. Full story ORWELLIAN MOVE? Fifteen nations are planning to set up a system to monitor cryptocurrency transactions alongside the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a Friday report indicates. According to Nikkei Asian Review, the aim is to stem the movement of funds for illicit purposes, such as money laundering and funding of terrorism, by collecting and sharing transaction data, as well as the personal information of cryptocurrency users. FATF would manage the project, which is slated to go live within several years. Full story STALEMATE: Bitcoin's indecisive price action over the last few days, and the resulting "double inside bar" candlestick pattern, have established Wednesday's high of $12,145 as the level to beat for the bulls. A break above that level, if confirmed, would open the doors to a retest of recent highs above $13,000. However, $12,000 has been proving a tough nut to crack for the bulls. Full story INSURANCE COIN? Insurance giant Allianz is developing a blockchain token-based ecosystem to facilitate global insurance payments, according to a piece from Forbes. A spokesperson for the firm told the news source that Allianz is continuing its exploration of blockchain technology “to simplify and accelerate cross-border insurance payments for its corporate customers.” They said the “token-based electronic payment system to allow for frictionless, transparent and instantaneous money transfers" is in the later stages of development. WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER Copyright © 2019 CoinDesk, All rights reserved.  Our mailing address is:  250 Park Avenue South New York, NY, 10003, US  Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

No-deal Brexit and Bitcoin / India to lose $13bn / G7 to tackle crypto money laundering

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Presented by Subscribe | View in browser Market Watch: Bitcoin has dropped slightly from yesterday's $11,800 mark, but it is the only asset within the top five that has recorded positive gains in a 24-hour period. Bitcoin: $11,771 (⬆️ 0.23%) // $210.3 billion market cap. Ethereum: $211 (⬇️ 5.05%) // $22.6 billion market cap. XRP: $0.299 (⬇️ 2.39%) // $12.8 billion market cap. Bitcoin Cash: $316 (⬇️ 4.23%) // $5.6 billion market cap. Top 100 Winner: Wixlar: $0.031 (⬆️ 28.35%) // $50 million market cap. Top 100 Loser: Japan Content Token: $0.203 (⬇️ 10.41%) // $59 million market cap. Prices are as of 11:00 a.m. EDT.       1. A no-deal Brexit in October could see a "massive and unprecedented breakout" of Bitcoin's price. That's according to Nicholas Gregory, CEO of blockchain firm CommerceBlock. He is one expert who believes that geopolitical uncertainty could push the crypto asset's price up. Already the pound has fallen against other major fiat currencies such as the euro and the dollar on a possible no-deal Brexit. Trade tensions between China and the U.S. could also give the Bitcoin rally "real legs," according to crypto bull Mike Novogratz. –THE INDEPENDENT       2. India could lose nearly $13 billion worth of the crypto market if it goes ahead with its proposed ban, according to Sidharth Sogani, the CEO of crypto and blockchain research firm Crebaco Global Inc. Data submitted by Crebaco showed how they arrived at the lost revenue figure. A few of the sectors include whitepapers and business plans, which generate $4.9 billion, whereas $4.5 billion come from miscellaneous jobs such as lawyers, media houses, and event managers, etc., and $1.27 billion is produced from content creators. –AMBCRYPTO       A MESSAGE FROM MAILCHIMP Your marketing's gaining traction! Now what? Give your audience more of what they love. Mailchimp's all-in-one Marketing Platform has the data and real-time stats you need to understand campaign performance, monitor trends, track marketing campaigns over time and understand your customers so you can market smarter.     Learn More 3. Follow Friday: Elizabeth Rossiello Rossiello is founder and CEO of BitPesa, a digital foreign exchange and payment platform that uses blockchain settlement for payments to and from Africa. Created in 2013, and headquartered in Kenya, BitPesa is working at changing how money is sent across Africa, Asia, and Europe by updating archaic systems through the use of digitization. Formally from Queens, New York, Rossiello has lived and worked in Nairobi, Kenya since 2009. She speaks five languages and is considered an expert with Africa's financial services. With just under 10,000 followers on Twitter, Rossiello is someone to consider following within the crypto space. Her tweets often feature conferences that she's attending such as the Milken Institute 2019 Global Conference, which took place in May, or BitPesa's first Future of Finance Executive Forum, which occurred at the beginning of the year. Other tweets focus on the Lightning Trust Chain, the launch of BitPesa in the United Arab Emirates, and how Lightning Labs and BitPesa share the vision of building diverse teams to grow Bitcoin's infrastructure.       4. The group of G7 members are making up a collection of 15 countries that have banded together to create a crypto system designed to tackle money laundering. Other nations include Australia and Singapore. The system, which is designed by inter-governmental body, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), will see the countries collecting and sharing personal data on people who conduct crypto transactions. The aim is to draw up measures by 2020 and have the system up and running a few years later. –NIKKEI ASIA REVIEW       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. Brazilian businessman Eike Batista has, reportedly, been arrested on suspicion of money laundering by trading Bitcoin on behalf of his wife. Batista's wife is currently not being investigated. Notes indicate that the businessman may have used his wife's name and account to conceal the "products or proceeds of crime." –COINTELEGRAPH       6. Billionaire investor Tim Draper has made a slight revision to when Bitcoin will reach $250,000. Previously, he indicated that the crypto asset would hit that figure by 2022. However, during an interview with Yahoo! Finance, the investor said he was "hedging a little." He now thinks it might be Q1 2023. –YAHOO! FINANCE       7. U.S. regulators in Texas have issued a cease and desist order against a Craigslist scam promising 900 percent returns for two-week investments. New York-based Forex and Bitcoin Trader misleadingly advertised that a $2,000 investment in cryptocurrencies, foreign currencies, or commodity-based derivatives would generate $20,000. A notice states that it also falsely told investors that it has an insurance policy and enough capital to back returns. –COIN DESK       8. German-based mechanical and plant engineering firm Dürr has secured a blockchain-based sustainable loan amounting to $840 million. The loan, which runs to 2024, was coordinated by several banks such as BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, and UniCredit. The announcement follows after Dürr issued a $224 million sustainable promissory note two weeks ago. –FINANCE MAGAZINE       9. Etihad Airways is partnering up with blockchain travel platform Winding Tree to distribute products and services without the need for third-party involvement. Winding Tree's system will allow airlines and hotels to publish inventory that is available to customers directly rather than relying on the services of global distribution systems (GDS) such as Amadeus and Sabre to compile the data. –REUTERS       10. Frankfurt-based Commerzbank has become the second-largest German bank to test a blockchain-based payments solution between trucks and charging stations. The machine-to-machine trial was undertaken with a Daimler truck system, which saw Commerzbank issuing euros on the blockchain before providing Daimler with "cash on ledger" to process the payment. –BLOCKONOMI       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. Editor: David Stegon (senior editor at Inside, whose reporting experience includes cryptocurrency and technology).       Ad Drive deeper customer connections with Mailchimp's marketing CRM. Learn more.  Meet Fastly. Built for speed, scale, and security across every device. Try us out free!

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