PORN PAYMENTS: The lightning network may become a boon for the adult entertainment industry in 2020, as firms like Iterative Capital and Zap roll out fiat on-ramps for quick online payments. Full story
RANSOM FREEZE: A U.K. court has ordered exchange Bitfinex to freeze bitcoin worth $860,000 after the blockchain sleuthing firm Chainalysis traced the funds to a ransomware payment. Full story
FRAMEWORK PAPERWORK: The Monetary Authority of Singapore is updating its regulatory framework for digital payments. Under an amended law, crypto businesses are required to apply for a license to operate in the jurisdiction. Full story
CHAIN SWITCH: Transfer agent Vertalo wants its customers to issue securities on the Tezos blockchain, after developing the ability to convert ERC-20 tokens to Tezos-formatted smart contracts. Full story
STEPPING BACK: Mining pool Bitcoin.com will not support the controversial bitcoin cash development fund proposal, after an opposing group of miners threatened a hard fork. Full story
DON'T BEAR YOURSELF UP: Bitcoin's upward momentum stalled near $9,200 and the intraday technical charts are flashing signs of a bearish reversal. Any pullbacks may be short-lived, as the longer-term indicators suggest a stronger move toward five figures. Full story
CORONAVIRUS SLUMP: On today's Markets Daily podcast, bitcoin's price rise is put in context of the larger market, as stocks falter on news of the deadly coronavirus. Listen in
