JPMorgan's Quorum and ConsenSys / BitPay's crypto PoS payments / Binance's support for Russian ruble

Inside Bitcoin.

Presented by Subscribe | View in browser Market Watch: Coin prices are up slightly during Tuesday trading. Lesser-known coin KickToken is down by over 19 percent after enjoying a surge in value yesterday that saw its price jump more than 36 percent in 24 hours. Bitcoin: $9,855 (⬆️ 0.36%) // $179.4 billion market cap. Ethereum: $223 (⬆️ 1.72%) // $24.4 billion market cap. XRP: $0.272 (⬆️ 0.02%) // $11.8 billion market cap. Bitcoin Cash: $451 (⬆️ 2.20%) // $8.2 billion market cap. Top 100 Winner: Huobi Pool Token: $0.010 (⬆️ 25.75%) // $50 million market cap.  Top 100 Loser: KickToken: $0.0005 (⬇️ 19.66%) // $431 million market cap. Prices are as of 12:30 p.m. ET.  1. JPMorgan Chase & Co is reportedly considering merging its blockchain unit Quorum with Ethereum-based startup ConsenSys, according to people familiar with the matter. While the financial details have yet to be worked out, it's thought that the merger will officially be announced within the next six months. It's not known if the 25 people who currently work on Quorum will join ConsenSys after the merger. Quorum, which is an internal blockchain that uses the Ethereum network, is used by the bank to run the Interbank Information Network (IIN). This is a payments network that involves more than 300 banks. -REUTERS 2. Blockchain payments company BitPay is to offer crypto payments at merchants' point-of-sale (PoS) terminals. In order to achieve this, BitPay is teaming up with open commerce platform Poynt, which already has a network of 100,000 PoS retainers worldwide. Stephen Pair, CEO and co-founder of BitPay, said that this was "a massive growth opportunity for [the company.]" He added that it was "an important milestone in [their] now nine-year mission to make payments faster, more secure and less expensive for people and businesses." -COIN DESK 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. 3. Fundstrat Global Advisors co-founder Tom Lee has suggested that Bitcoin will reach $40,000 before the Dow gets to 40,000. In an interview with CNBC, Lee said that while the Dow would hit 30,000 points before Bitcoin reaches $30,000, when it comes to 40,000, he was more in favor of Bitcoin, saying: "If I had to say what is first to 40,000, I would…not pick the Dow." The Dow is currently trading at 29,305 while Bitcoin is trading at just under $10,000 following a drop from its five-month high of $10,150 over the weekend. -@POWERLUNCH/CNBC 4. Crypto exchange Binance has added peer-to-peer trading support for the Russian ruble. In a blog announcement from the platform, it notes that users can directly buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether (USDT), and Binance Coin (BNB) for rubles without incurring transaction fees on the latest update of Binance on Android and iOS. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said that "Russia is a vibrant market for blockchain and crypto advancement. We strive to provide our Russian users with easy fiat-to-crypto access." Since the launch of Binance P2P in October 2019, the Russian ruble joins the likes of the Chinese Yuan (CNY) and the Vietnamese Dong (VND). -BINANCE A MESSAGE FROM SALESFORCE Drive Productivity for Enterprise Employees with Salesforce Learn how savvy IT departments can provide better workplace technology as the key to improving employee experience and driving organizationwide growth. Learn More 5. Italy's securities regulator, the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB), has closed six foreign exchange websites and two crypto investing and trading sites, accusing them of providing illegal trading products and services. According to CONSOB, the eight had violated the Mifid2 and the Consolidated Law on Finance (TUF). -FINANCE MAGNATES 6. Crypto exchange Poloniex revoked 12 minutes of trading history yesterday due to a software problem that caused trades to execute "erroneously." In a series of tweets, the platform explained that it wiped trading history from 17:53 UTC to 18:05 UTC after its "automated balance audits caught the error and placed the site into maintenance mode." After identifying the bug, they were able to deploy a fix, Poloniex said. Following the completion of the maintenance, the exchange noted that it had re-enabled withdrawals, and wallets were now fully functional. -@POLOSUPPORT 7. San Francisco-based crypto exchange Coinbase has added support for two more crypto assets to Coinbase.com in the state of New York. These include privacy coin Zcash and the USDC stablecoin. Both of these are also available on Coinbase's iOS and Android apps. The addition of Zcash comes after the platform removed the crypto asset from Coinbase UK last August, with no reason provided to its customers. -COIN DESK 8. Belgium's Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) is calling for the crypto space to be regulated. During a recent Senate hearing, FSMA chair Jean-Paul Servais has called for regulations to lawmakers, urging them to establish a "legal framework" for the buying, selling, and use of digital currencies. -CRYPTO GLOBE 9. A new report has found that North Korea's internet use saw a 300 percent increase over the past three years as it relies on crypto for different activities. Among the main tactics used by the country to generate revenue was the exploitation of crypto and the blockchain. According to the report, North Korea has continued to exploit crypto as a strategic weapon, with the nation's political and military sides reportedly involved in the hacks of South Korean crypto exchanges. -COINTELEGRAPH 10. Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) is reportedly dealing with applications from 40 banks that are hoping to become regulated crypto custodians. Since the beginning of the year, new legislation has allowed banks to extend what they offer beyond traditional securities such as stocks and bonds to include crypto such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP. -HANDELSBLATT 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 Beth Duckett, staff writer at Inside. Ad Empower everyone to build apps fast with low code on the Lightning Platform.

We're Hiring! Learn more. | Sponsorship opportunities Copyright © 2020 Inside.com, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Inside.com 767 Bryant St. #203 San Francisco, CA 94107 Did someone forward this email to you? Head over to inside.com to get your very own free subscription! You received this email because you subscribed to Inside Bitcoin. Click here to unsubscribe from Inside Bitcoin list or manage your subscriptions.