Coinfloor to delist Ethereum / ECB user privacy with a CBDC / Blockchain research in Shanghai

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Presented by Subscribe | View in browser Market Watch: The industry has taken another hit to prices during trading today. Bitcoin has dropped below $7,000 while XRP has fallen by nearly eight percent in a 24 hour period. Bitcoin: $6,916 (⬇️ 2.49%) // $125.2 billion market cap. Ethereum: $132 (⬇️ 6.55%) // $14.4 billion market cap. XRP: $0.197 (⬇️ 7.79%) // $8.5 billion market cap. Tether: $1.01 (⬆️ 0.48%) // $4.1 billion market cap. Top 100 Winner: Waves: $0.866 (⬆️ 21.97%) // $87 million market cap. Top 100 Loser: EDUCare: $0.069 (⬇️ 17.66%) // $69 million market cap. Prices are as of 12:30 p.m. ET.       1. Coinfloor, the U.K.'s longest-running crypto platform, has announced that it's planning to delist Ethereum in January 2020. Beginning January 3, Bitcoin's 11th birthday, Coinfloor will focus solely on Bitcoin instead. The company explains it is delisting Ethereum is because of an unclear future of hard forks and the need for technical support for the coin. The exchange is also going to delist Bitcoin Cash.  –THE BLOCK       2. Two men have pleaded guilty to scamming a 64-year-old lady out of over $158,000 worth of Bitcoin. The brothers, Jagroop Singh Khatkar and Karanjit Singh Khatkhar, admitted to working together to commit wire fraud and money laundering. With a fake Twitter account, the two impersonated Hong Kong-based crypto platform HitBTC and tricked the woman into contacting @HitBTCAssist for support where she shared her account details. They were then able to take control of her account and take 23 Bitcoin from her account before transferring it into one of their accounts on Kraken. Each man potentially faces two years in prison. –THE NEXT WEB       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. The European Central Bank (ECB) has said that it's possible to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC) payment system that protects user privacy. In a report, the European System of Central Banks (ESCBs) established a proof-of-concept (PoC) for anonymity in CBDCs. The ECB found that the PoC revealed it is possible "to build a simplified CBDC payment system that safeguards users' privacy for lower-value transactions." –COINTELEGRAPH       4. The Shanghai government has agreed to open a research institute with blockchain startup Conflux, which will open later in December. Senior Shanghai government officials have agreed to help the startup, which could also see an incubation center launched in June. The move reportedly comes at a time when the city is cracking down on crypto companies. Back in October, the country's president Xi Jinping praised the blockchain, calling for its adoption. However, China's central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) said it would "nip young crypto businesses in the bud." –COIN DESK       5. Cryptocurrency advocate John McAfee has said that he will stop promoting specific coins or projects and will instead focus on his presidential campaign. Asked why, he stated that it is "very time-consuming." He went on to say that he wasn't backing off of crypto entirely, however. –@OFFICIALMCAFEE/TWITTER       6. Two Russian individuals have been charged with allegedly mining crypto illegally on state organization computers. The two are reported to have infected the computers with a program that mines cryptocurrency through a web browser. One of the suspects is alleged to have infected several computers across the region whereas the second focused his attention on mining operations at the water utility JSC Rostovvodokanal. –COINTELEGRAPH       7. The Chinese Weihai Local Financial Supervision and Administration has warned investors they should be more cautious about investing in blockchain innovation, claiming that illegal crypto trading and issuance are at risk. In a statement, the authority said companies claiming to be blockchain startups have launched crypto platforms and raised money through centralized token sales. The announcement comes at a time when China's president, Xi Jinpin, promoted the use and adoption of the blockchain in late October. –COIN DESK       8. A trader by the name of D.I.Y. Investing has said on Twitter that a bull cycle for XRP in 2020 will see its price jump to $28. At the time of publishing, the value of the altcoin is $0.197, according to CoinMarketCap. Adding cyclical time frames for the coin, the trader states that bearish cycles to XRP take two years followed by a one-year bull cycle. –U TODAY       9. Fidelity Digital Assets could support Ethereum in 2020, according to the venture's president Tom Jessop. When asked if it would soon offer custody for the digital currency, Jessop said that it had "done a lot of work on Ethereum." Launched in 2019, Fidelity Digital Assets only offers support for Bitcoin. –THE BLOCK       10. The world's biggest diamond producer, Russia's ALROSA, has launched a blockchain program on WeChat to assist Chinese retailers in tracking diamonds. Developed with technology company Everledger, the software will help to demonstrate "the power of blockchain technology," as it traces the origin of the stones from mine to consumer. –RT       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, Inside staff writer.       Ad Migration support and credits to make moving infrastructure over a breeze!

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LAST CHANCE! Institutional Crypto Webinar: How Fund Managers Earn Interest

December 18th at 12PM EST

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LIVE WEBINAR | WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18TH AT 12:00PM EST How Fund Managers Earn Interest Don't miss tomorrow's free webinar about the increasing number of opportunities fund managers are taking to earn interest on their bitcoin & ether. Join us tomorrow, December 18th, at 12PM EST, to discuss varying ways fund managers are earning on their crypto. Topics include risk, returns and interest rates related to lending, staking and DeFi. Join Galen Moore, CoinDesk's Senior Research Analyst, in a discussion with Jordan Clifford, co-founder and managing director at Scalar Capital and Kyle Samani, Managing partner at Multicoin Capital. LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER Speakers REGISTER FOR FREE 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

Behind the “cannabis crash” — a new conspiracy?

Editor's Note: Whether you own cannabis stocks or not, we encourage you to take a look at this opportunity from Teeka Tiwari. He sits down with one of President Trump's close friends to discuss a recommendation you don't want to miss. Dear Reader, I recently sat down with former NY district attorney and judge, Jeanine Pirro. What we discussed could make you uncomfortable. Perhaps even angry.   But it could also make you more money than you've ever dreamed possible.   Go here to get the full details. Regards,   Teeka Tiwari Chief Investment Strategist, Palm Beach Research Group CoinSnacks | 5500 Military Trail Suite 22-250 | Jupiter, Florida | 33458 Unsubscribe | View in Browser

Token gesture

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December 16, 2019 PETRO ‘BONUS’: Venezuelan public sector workers, retirees and the military personnel will receive a token gesture this Christmas. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced Friday these citizens will be airdropped half a petro token (said to be worth $30) as a holiday bonus this week.  Full story STELLAR SPAMMED: A plague of bot accounts joined Keybase following Stellar's announcement to airdrop 2 billion XLM airdrop on the encryption app, forcing the crypto startup to cut the program short, Max Krohn, CEO of Keybase, said. Despite the bad actors seeking free money, the drive "definitely achieved the goal of getting more numbers onto Keybase and more people onto Stellar," Krohn said. Full story MINER ARREST: Yang Zuoxing, CEO of Shenzhen-based bitcoin miner maker MicroBT, has been arrested for the alleged embezzlement of about $15,000. The arrest, noted by the Shenzhen Nanshan District Prosecutor on Dec. 12, comes amid growing competition between mining giant Bitmain and MicroBT for market dominance. Full story TRADE TRIAL: R3 has closed a trial that saw participation from more than 70 organizations from about 25 countries, making it the largest open finance trial on the Corda platform, according to the firm. Full story NEXT STOPS: Daniel Gorfine, former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chief innovation officer, predicts the decade long crypto-led “cyberspace odyssey” will meet regulatory clarity next year. In an article submitted for CoinDesk’s Year in Review series, the Gattaca Horizons founder takes stock of the biggest trends that will set the crypto agenda in 2020. Full story WEAKER PROSPECTS: Bitcoin defended a psychological support of $7,000 twice in the last 48 hours and may chart a minor bounce to $7,230-$7,300 before a potential sell-off toward recent lows near $6,500. Full story REVIVED DEBATE: On today's Markets Daily, CoinDesk's Adam B. Levine and Brad Keoun talk over an odd story from the weekend - an investigator in Canada has requested to exhume the body Gerald Cotten, the deceased CEO of the defunct Quadriga exchange, following the suspicious circumstances of his death - as well as news from China. Listen here 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