Suspicions resurrected

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December 13, 2019 DEAD DEBATE?  A law firm representing users of the now-defunct crypto exchange QuadrigaCX wants investigators to exhume and autopsy the body of its former chief executive, Gerald Cotten. Cotten’s death has been under suspicion since it was announced in January, one month after he had died from complications related to Crohn’s disease, which is not generally fatal. Full story   CRYPTO KINGS: Cryptocurrencies have once again outperformed any other major asset classes, rising well above annualized returns of the U.S. equities, commodities and bond markets in 2019. Despite trading significantly down from record highs of late December 2017, large-cap cryptocurrencies remain one of the greatest investment success stories of the last decade. Full story MURKY SALE: Hydra, reportedly the largest darknet marketplace serving Russia and neighboring countries, claims it is seeking to raise $146 million through an ICO. Russian news outlet Forklog warned that the sale could be an exit scam, a common occurrence in darknet markets. Full story OPEN THE COFFERS? The oldest ICOs have treasuries worth more than their market capitalizations. DigixDAO is offering to return some of that surplus, by asking DGD token holders whether it should completely dissolve its treasury or continue making grants to enhance the ecosystem. Full story TOUGH TALK: The New York Attorney General's office has shed light on its ongoing investigation into Bitfinex and Tether. The office criticized Bitfinex for making “deeply perverse” arguments and refusing to produce documents during around the court case. Full story MID-BOUNCE BLOCK: Bitcoin's bounce from two-week lows reached on Thursday hit a wall near $7,250. With fresh bearish signs on three-day chart, the cryptocurrency risks falling back to $7,000 and may suffer deeper losses. A strong bounce could be seen if the immediate resistance at $7,250 is convincingly scaled. DIGIX DISSOLUTION? With bitcoin recovering after four straight days of decline, CoinDesk's Adam B. Levine and Brad Keoun talk about what could be the most illegal ICO ever, DigiXDAO offering to return its equity, and Bitmain’s "Texas hedge" in today's Markets Daily. Listen now 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

Swiss government halts crypto plans / Lisk's Lightcurve lays of 40% / solarisBank to offer crypto custody product

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Presented by Subscribe | View in browser Market Watch: Friday the 13th hasn't done much for the market today with prices remaining relatively unchanged as the working week comes to an end. Bitcoin: $7,249 (⬆️ 0.71%) // $131.2 billion market cap. Ethereum: $144 (⬆️1.16%) // $15.7 billion market cap. XRP: $0.218 (⬇️ 0.97%) // $9.4 billion market cap. Tether: $1.00 (⬇️ 0.40%) // $4.1 billion market cap. Top 100 Winner: Kyber Network: $0.241 (⬆️ 25.23%) // $40 million market cap. Top 100 Loser: MINDOL: $2.57 (⬇️ 13.52%) // $398 million market cap. Prices are as of 12:30 p.m. ET.       1. The Swiss government has put a pause on the idea of issuing a digital franc for the time being. The move comes after The Federal Council, which serves as the head of state and government of Switzerland, says it approved a report investigating the opportunities and risks of issuing a digital franc. However, it concluded that a central bank digital currency (CBDC) couldn't meet the requirements needed for payment efficiency, monetary policy or to bring about a more stable financial system. Instead, the report noted, it would "give rise to new risks, especially with regard to financial stability." –THE FEDERAL COUNCIL       2. Lisk's blockchain development studio Lightcurve laid off 40 percent of its workforce, citing the need to cut project costs. Lightcurve and Lisk co-founder Max Kordek made the announcement earlier this week. Twenty-one of Lightcurve's 53 employees were removed from the unit. Kordek stated that the aim is to make the project "more agile again." The remaining 32 employees –  who are from the research, backend development, and developer relations departments –  will continue to focus on building the project. Without disclosing details, Kordek said that they "are looking forward to the next year." –THE BLOCK       A MESSAGE FROM DIGITAL OCEAN A partner program that wants to reward its partners by bringing powerful cloud to SMBs. Partner with DigitalOcean as a Cloud Reseller or MSP. Managing your customers' infrastructure has never been more simple & affordable. Join today! Sign Up 3. Follow Friday: Susan Poole Poole is the founder of the BlockBridge Advisory, a blockchain startup advisory company, and the Blockchain Training Institute. She was also a former director of development for the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the trade association for blockchain. While there she increased membership, bringing onboard IBM, Microsoft, Symbiont, DTCC, and others. Aside from that, she is an advisor to Mooti, a blockchain identity startup with a self-sovereign digital identity platform. Since entering the crypto space around three years ago, she has become an experienced speaker and moderator in the blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), and cryptocurrency space. Poole also has more than 20 years in leadership roles such as Microsoft, Microsoft International, VMware Asia Pacific, and HP. With a following of over 14,000 on Twitter, Poole often retweets messages and posts such as the Bank of France's crypto plans, when Bitcoin was last explained to someone, and how Bitcoin can make anyone a bank.       4. Berlin-based solarisBank will offer a crypto custody product. The company received a German banking license in 2016 enabling it to deliver banking-as-a-service for nonbanks to provide financial products. In 2020, it will apply for a license to custody crypto; however, it's reported that the custody product is already being tested out. Alexis Hamel, managing director of solaris Digital Assets, said that they believe "all tradable assets will be tokenized in the future." –COIN DESK       5. Crypto platform Binance has announced the launch of its fiat gateway for Latin America. The new platform, called Latamex, will function under the Binance Fiat Gateway. It will permit users in Latin America - initially Argentina and Brazil - to purchase crypto assets with Settle Network, a digital asset liquidation network in the region. Users can buy Bitcoin, Ether, Binance Coin, and Binance's stablecoin Binance USD. According to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, "there is a strong need for cryptocurrencies in Latin America." –COINTELEGRAPH       6. Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), has said in a tweet that the financial institution should "be ahead of the curve" when it comes to stablecoins. She added that there is "clearly demand out there that we have to respond to." In September, Lagarde stated that central banks and financial establishments should be open to innovations such as crypto but that they should also protect customers. –@ECB/TWITTER       7. Bitmain, the biggest crypto mining company, has expanded its distribution into South America. By doing so, it has also teamed up with two crypto mining consulting firms, Fastblock and Bit5ive. According to an announcement from Bitmain, Bit5ive will distribute the Antminers to more than 30 countries in the Caribbean, Central America, and Latin America. Fastblock is to help with its global exposure. –FINANCE MAGNATES       8. Crypto exchange Coinbase is adding support for Orchid (OXT) on its Coinbase Pro platform. An announcement from the company states that it will start accepting OXT deposits on Dec. 13 "for at least 12 hours prior to enabling full trading." It went on to say that once a "sufficient supply" of the tokens was established, trading on OXT/USD will begin in phases. –COINBASE       9. Cobalt producer Glencore has announced that it is joining the Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN) for ethical sourcing and production of minerals. Other members of the consortium include IBM, Ford, Volvo, and RCS Global. The mineral industry has been plagued with ethical issues such as child labor, problems RSPN aims to address.  –LEDGER INSIGHTS       10. Anthem, a health insurance company in the U.S., is planning on using the blockchain to secure the medical data of its 40 million members over the next three years. The company is hoping to use the technology so that it can give patients secure access to their medical data, as well as give them the chance to share the information as they want. –FORBES       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. Edited by Sheena Vasani, staff writer at Inside.com.       Ad Migration support and credits to make moving infrastructure over a breeze!

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