Splinter Crypto Halved

Bitcoin Cash cuts mining rewards and DeFi gets a boost from unlikely channels

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April 8, 2020 By Daniel Kuhn If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive it, sign up here.  TOP SHELF Today, Bitcoin Cash cut mining rewards in half, Tezos is getting a link to Bitcoin's liquidity, and researchers are looking at sewage in the battle against COVID-19.  Halving affects Bitcoin Cash – the blockchain that forked off Bitcoin in 2017 – reduced its block rewards by half, hitting some miner’s gross revenues hard. The mining difficulty and hash rate on Bitcoin Cash – a measure of how much miner power is participating on the network – was already on a downward trend in the run up to the halving, following a drop in the splinter currency’s price.  The Bitcoin Cash event foreshadows the halving scheduled for the Bitcoin network in about 35 days, which is 26 times larger than BCH in terms of market capitalization, as well as Bitcoin SV’s halving expected this Friday. Halvings have been an important variable in cryptocurrency price increases in the past, though developers on these break-off chains expect some miners to defect for more lucrative opportunities. Roger Ver, BCH’s project steward, said it will be a “non-event.” DeFiers TD Ameritrade, Cumberland, CMT Digital, DV Trading and Jump Trading, as well as venture capital firm Volt Capital and the DeFi startup Compound, joined forces in the Chicago DeFi Alliance (CDA). Announced Wednesday, the new group will focus on providing advisory services to select crypto startups working on decentralized finance initiatives.  Tezos is getting a “wrapped” version of bitcoin, bringing BTC’s liquidity and the hopes of a nascent decentralized financial ecosystem to its proof-of-stake blockchain. Bitcoin Association Switzerland, Tezos Foundation and multiple partners will issue the token, called tzBTC. The news comes on the heels of a tBTC “bridge” between Ethereum and Bitcoin announced last week.  Programmable money The Bank of England (BoE) thinks private cryptocurrencies may have a role in the future of money. Although the BoE has already said bitcoin and other similar cryptocurrencies don't meet the necessary criteria to be considered money, CBDC analyst Ben Dyson said, "that doesn't mean that it's impossible for somebody to improve upon that technology and create something that much better fulfills the qualities of money.”  Banking services provider Sila has raised $7.7 million to build out a platform that allows entrepreneurs to easily launch programmable, USD-pegged stablecoins. Exchanges Account holders at the now-defunct Cryptopia exchange are entitled to their balances still held in trust, a judge has ruled. This decision places the interests of exchange users over the 37 creditors and 90 shareholders also vying for their portion of the remaining assets.  Decentralized or non-custodial cryptocurrency exchange Bisq has halted trading due to a “critical security vulnerability.” While users can override the trading lockdown, the exchange “highly discourages” users from doing so. (The Block) Cash deals SoFi will acquire payment processor Galileo in a $1.2 billion deal. (The Block) HDR Global Trading, the operator of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, has granted $400,000 over four years to nonprofit security organization Shadowserver Foundation, to bolster internet security. (The Block) Coronavirus challengers Jack Dorsey will place $1 billion, what he says is roughly 28 percent of his wealth, into a limited liability company he started called Start Small to fight the coronavirus. (TechCrunch) Bay Area researchers are turning to waste water to track COVID-19 outbreaks in cities. (Wired) MARKET INTEL Liquidity Bid-ask spreads on major exchanges widened dramatically in March, following coronavirus-led market turmoil. The bid-ask spread is an indicator of market liquidity, measuring the gap between the highest price a buyer would pay and the lowest price a seller would accept.  Halving hope Halvings are not always bullish, and many experts think Bitcoin Cash has a rough road ahead to retain price and mining capacity. “The conventional crypto wisdom that halvings magically induce a bull run such that the real USD value of miner revenue does not cut in half is naive wishful thinking, encouraging investors to be fooled by correlation/causation,” said Zach Resnick, managing partner at Unbound Capital.  Halving report In May of 2020, bitcoin is expected to undergo its third “halving,” a programmed supply reduction that has in the past coincided with a strong run-up in the bitcoin price. In this paper, we explain what the bitcoin halving is, why it matters and why the market is so focused on this event. THE BREAKDOWN Market rally Epsilon Theory's Ben Hunt and NLW discuss why markets are rallying as we enter what promises to be the deadliest week of the virus in the US yet. The question is: Is the rally in both stocks and crypto premature?  WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER Copyright © 2020 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 here.

Dark web vendors capitalize on COVID-19 / Pomp's view on the $1,200 stimulus check / Buterin points out the worst crypto predictions

Inside Cryptocurrency .

Inside.com Part of   Network April 07, 2020

Market Watch Market prices remain in the green today. Bitcoin is steadily climbing to previous highs as the industry starts to resettle from a volatile March. Could April be the month that sees a turnaround in the market? Bitcoin: $7,319 (⬆️ 2.85%) // $134 billion market cap. Ethereum: $170 (⬆️ 8.59%) // $18.7 billion market cap. XRP: $0.199 (⬆️ 5.48%) // $8.7 billion market cap. Tether: $1.00 (⬇️ 0.07%) // $6.3 billion market cap. Top 100 Winner: CyberVein: $0.033 (⬆️ 39.11%) // $36 million market cap. Top 100 Loser: Swipe: $0.756 (⬇️ 3.93%) // $46 million market cap. Prices are as of 2 p.m. ET.

A study has found that dark web market vendors are capitalizing on COVID-19 to sell face marks for Bitcoin. The study, which was put together by blockchain analytics company Elliptic, stated that vendors are opportunistic and are jumping on any opportunity to sell goods that are difficult to come by elsewhere. In light of the current climate with the coronavirus pandemic, hundreds of listings have appeared on darknet markets for the N95 respirator masks. The study states that "Usually priced at less than $1 each, these masks have been in very short supply and their sale for non-medical use has been restricted." It goes on to point out that several listings for the masks have been priced at $1.75 per mask, which according to Elliptic, is a low mark-up on retail prices. This is compared to the likes of Amazon or eBay, where N95 masks are selling for upwards of $10 each. However, while the masks on the darknet markets are reasonably priced, the study notes that buyers shouldn't rush to purchase them, adding that: "Of course with all darknet market listings posted by pseudonymous vendors, there is a chance that they are fraudulent, and that buyers don’t end up getting what they paid for." Read more: UK Counties Warn of Bitcoin Scams Using Coronavirus as a Hook ELLIPTIC

Anthony Pompliano, co-founder and partner at Morgan Creek Digital, and a Bitcoin bull, has given his view on the $1,200 U.S. stimulus check. Taking to Twitter, Pompliano - who goes by the nickname "Pomp" - said that the check handed out to U.S. residents in response to the coronavirus "won't actually be materially helpful to most people given that the financial crisis will last for months and months." He went on to say that "It is rather a bribe to avoid social unrest. No one is going to save you from this crisis but yourself." One user questioned how they were supposed to save themselves when they have no money and aren't allowed to work. In response, Pomp - who thinks Bitcoin will hit $100,000 by the end of 2021 - said that in 2020 people can make a living with an internet connection. He did concede that while not everyone did, in fact, have internet, "many people who are losing their jobs do." However, another user stated that the $1,200 check isn't going to be enough to stop the pitchforks, and argued that it should have been a $1,200 check each month for the next six to 18 months. See also: Anthony Pompliano: There Is A 5% Chance Of Failure Of The Fiat Experiment @APOMPLIANO/TWITTER

Coursera has seen a 200 percent increase for online Bitcoin courses. The online learning platform noted that there has been an increase over the past four weeks, at a time when people are staying at home due to COVID-19.  UPGRADE TO INSIDE CRYPTO PREMIUM

Vitalik Buterin points out the worst Bitcoin price predictions. Over the years, there have been a number of price predictions from individuals within the crypto space who've been on the bull and bear side of the market. UPGRADE TO INSIDE CRYPTO PREMIUM

Paxful is now letting its users trade Bitcoin for gold. According to Ray Youssef, CEO of the peer-to-peer marketplace, the move comes at the request of its users. In order for this to take place, those involved must first negotiate terms, which will include whether the gold trade will take place in person and where. The one holding the Bitcoin will then send this to a Paxful escrow account. Here it will stay until both parties have confirmed they have sent and received the transfers. It's at this point that Paxful will release the Bitcoin. Speaking about this Youssef said that their users were already doing this on a large scale. He added: "We weren't aware of it because it was difficult to track. We actually had to go in and talk to people." For transfers worth over $50, gold trades are required to submit to Paxful's know-your-customer (KYC) protocols. Despite the lockdown caused by COVID-19, Paxful saw a 27 percent jump in registrations in March. See also: Paxful Survey Suggests Forthcoming Bitcoin Boom in India COINDESK

Crypto miner Bitfarms has cut its staff numbers due to the effects of COVID-19. The publicly-traded company, which is listed on Canada's TSX Venture Exchange, made the announcement yesterday. In a statement, the company said that the move was a "temporary step" in line with government guidance to tackle the spread of the virus. It has also introduced permanent measures to reduce its overhead costs to "maintain long term visibility." John Rim, CFO at Bitfarms, said: "Once fully implemented over the next several weeks, we expect the cost saving measures to reduce our monthly general and administrative expenses by approximately 20 to 25%." Bitfarms said that despite the price of Bitcoin dropping March 12 until its recovery around the $6,000 mark on March 19, it has been able to maintain an average daily hashrate of approximately 630 petahash per second (PH). Since March 19, that figure has increased to 750 PH. See also: Users See ‘Buying Opportunity’ in Coronavirus Market Downturn, Says Crypto.com THE BLOCK

BitMEX operator offers $400,000 grant to Shadowserver Foundation. HDR Global Trading is offering $400,000 to Shadowserver over the next four years UPGRADE TO INSIDE CRYPTO PREMIUM

Nestlé has added its Zoégas coffee brand to the IBM Food Trust blockchain. Nestlé is teaming up with the Rainforest Alliance and IBM Food Trust blockchain to boost traceability of its coffee beans UPGRADE TO INSIDE CRYPTO PREMIUM

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 Beth Duckett is a former news and investigative reporter for The Arizona Republic who has written for USA Today and other publications.

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