Crypto Currency

The use of blockchain technology to improve a variety of offerings has become a reality in the world of sports in 2020. The new decade has kicked off with blockchain technology finally being utilized in real case scenarios in the world of sports. Many blockchain proponents are enthusiastic about the wide variety of potential use cases, but real-life working examples are often hard to come by. The potential of the technology to underpin a variety of systems within the sports sector has long been discussed , but just two months into the new year, there have already been several prominent use cases where blockchain technology is being used to improve offerings to fans. From the football-mad continent of Europe to the world of the NFL and Major League Baseball, blockchain-based applications are being used to improve ticketing, merchandising and interactions between audiences and sports teams and organizations. Tickets to the UEFA EURO on blockchain Every four years, the best internat...

Due to a proposed tax plan and a multimillion-dollar hack, it’s been a rough couple of weeks for BCH. Each crypto token commands a small army of fierce supporters. For many, the sole cryptocurrency that is worthy of such staunch support is Bitcoin ( BTC ). But what truly is Bitcoin, what is its purpose, and how can it be fully optimized? The division among those trying to answer these questions led to the creation of Bitcoin Cash ( BCH ), Bitcoin’s most successful offshoot. While for some, BCH has been the answer to crypto’s woes, but the coin has had some significant issues of its own over the past few months. From a multimillion-dollar hack to a new mining tax, BCH is dividing its community like never before. Bitcoin Cash: Divisive by nature Bitcoin , in its original form, was invented by a mysterious figure known only as Satoshi Nakamoto. Its creation went from an ambitious project whispered about in libertarian and cypherpunk circles to the global financial industry in its own...

Analyst Naeem Aslam and Tokenmetrics CEO Ian Balina battle it out over the impact of coronavirus on crypto, and whether the halving is already priced into the markets. In today’s crypto market discussion, Cointelegraph is joined by crypto analyst Naeem Aslam, and the CEO of Tokenmetrics Ian Balina to discuss the impact of the coronavirus on the cryptocurrency markets.  Will the economic impacts of the coronavirus leave people flocking to cryptocurrencies as a safe haven? Naeem Aslam is skeptical of Bitcoin’s purported ‘safe haven’ status, emphasizing that Bitcoin is a haven from central bank monetary policy, and not infectious diseases: “I think when we talk about Bitcoin as a safe haven asset, we're really talking about in relation to central banks and their monetary policies. Right now, we don't have that fear in the market right now. The fear in the market is about influence of coronavirus [...] when we have something going wrong with the monetary policy, then, yes, ...

Coronavirus keeps marching on the planet, drug dealers lose millions of dollars in BTC, while Tyler Winklevoss experiences his “Bitcoin pizza moment.” Check the bad crypto news of the past week The experts have had a rough few days. Anthony Pompliano, co-founder and partner at Morgan Digital Creek, spoke to CNN about Warren Buffett’s poor view of Bitcoin. The Sage of Omaha had said that he doesn’t own any BTC and sees no value in digital currencies. Pompliano argued that Buffett might be a whiz when it comes to spotting stocks but he’s not so great when it comes to technology.  Someone else who turned out not to be so great at technology is an anonymous Chinese crypto whale who is reported to have lost $30 million worth of BCH and $15 million worth of BTC in a sim swap . We’ve seen those before so keeping that kind of money in such a vulnerable spot… well, that’s about as thoughtless as not seeing any value in digital currencies.   At least that whale can say he was...

After falling $1.4K in a week Bitcoin’s bullish trend appears extinguished but finding support at the 21-WMA could reopen the path to $10.4K. This week the equity markets experienced their worst week in 12 years and as this meltdown took place the crypto market also took a hit.  Bitcoin ( BTC ) and the cryptocurrency market saw a significant selloff this week and this outcome is relatively reasonable given that people sell their assets out of fear of potential economic instability. Other safe-haven assets like gold and silver also saw a massive selloff on Friday.  Are the crypto markets going to find support in the coming weeks, or will we see a continued downtrend in momentum?  Crypto market daily performance. Source: Coin360 Selloff ensues after Bitcoin lost key support at $9,400 The price of Bitcoin found resistance at the $10,400 level, after which a test of the $9,400 support was heavily needed. The $9,400 level was unable to provide sustainable support and a...

US-based exchange Coinbase is being targeted by a new banking Trojan that steals Google 2FA Codes. ThreatFabric, an Amsterdam-based cybersecurity firm specializing in threats to the financial industry, has identified the "Cerberus" Trojan that steals 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) codes generated by the Google Authenticator app for internet banking, email accounts, and cryptocurrency exchanges. US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is one of the crypto platforms listed in Cerberus’ exhaustive list of targets — which also includes major financial institutions around the world and social media apps.  The cybersecurity firm notes that it has not identified any advertisement on the dark beb for Cerberus’ updated features, leading it to believe that the updated version is “still in the test phase but might be released soon.” Cerberus updated during early 2020 ThreatFabric’s report states that the Remote Access Trojan (RAT) “Cerberus,” was first identified during the end ...

Will Malta continue to be a “blockchain island” or has it lost its way to the top of the ledger? Last week, the financial watchdog of Malta came forward with an unexpected statement. Apparently, Binance, a leading cryptocurrency exchange that had been enjoying a close relationship with local authorities, is not authorized “to operate in the crypto currency sphere,” as the regulator’s press release stressed.  While the Malta Financial Services Authority has yet to license any cryptocurrency business — and not just Binance — under the country’s widely marketed cryptocurrency framework, the statement signifies a deterioration in relations between the cryptocurrency sector and Maltese officials, who have claimed to run a “blockchain island.”  While the change of tone could be attributed to the recent resignation of Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and the subsequent arrival of his successor, it seems like the local cryptocurrency industry had started to experience difficu...

Well known activist investor Elliott Management has called for Jack Dorsey to be replaced as CEO of Twitter. Billionaire investor, Paul Singer, is pushing for the removal of Jack Dorsey as CEO of Twitter. According to a CNBC article dated Feb. 28, the Elliott Management founder and activist investor is concerned about Dorsey’s time being split between two $5 billion-plus companies, and his desire to move to Africa. Singer questions Dorsey’s focus The $40.2 billion hedge fund managed by Singer took a major stake in the social media giant recently and has already nominated four replacement directors to Twitter’s board according to reports. Dorsey has previously faced criticism for his role as CEO of two publicly listed companies; Twitter and Square, both of which have market valuations of over $5 billion. Singer is also concerned about Dorsey’s plan to work up to six months a year in Africa. Square and Twitter both pro-Bitcoin Dorsey is a long time supporter of Bitcoin and was in...

New York asset manager Wilshire Phoenix has issued a damning response to the SEC’s rejection of its proposed Bitcoin ETF. Wilshire Phoenix, a New York-based asset management firm, has responded to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejecting its proposed Bitcoin ( BTC ) exchange-traded fund (ETF). The firm states it is “very disappointed” by the SEC’s ruling, emphasizing that it went to great lengths to ensure compliance with the SEC’s expectations: “We made every effort to get the SEC’s attention on this important issue, including undertaking extensive analysis that was made available to the SEC staff, submitting key data, and offering to provide additional information to facilitate the listing of a much needed regulated bitcoin-related ETP in the United States. Unfortunately, the Order shows that all of these efforts did not receive the SEC’s full attention.” SEC ruling maintains threats to US investors Wilshire Phoenix filed its proposed ‘United Stat...

Shortly after commencing mining, the CEO of US-based mining company Layer1 has stated that texas offers bitcoin miners the “cheapest power in the world” at scale. Alex Liegl, CEO of Layer1 Technologies, a US-based Bitcoin ( BTC ) mining company that recently announced its intention to repatriate 30% of Bitcoin’s hash power by 2022, has described Texas as offering miners the “cheapest power in the world, at scale.” Less than two weeks ago, Layer1 commenced mining operations at its facility in western Texas, bringing multiple 2.5-megawatt container rigs online. Texas is the largest producer of wind power in the United States, outproducing the second, third, and fourth-largest producers combined . If Texas were an independent nation, it would be the world’s fifth-largest generator of wind power worldwide. Despite the cheap electricity, many miners have avoided the Lone Star state due to its heat — with temperatures regularly exceeding 90 degrees for half of each year. To combat the ...

An ex-employee of crypto exchange Digitex has leaked KYC documentation for and claims to have data for over 8,000 users. An ex-employee of cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Digitex began leaking stolen Know-Your-Customer (KYC) on Telegram. The stolen data reportedly includes passport and driving license scans and other sensitive documentation pertaining to more than 8,000 Digitex customers.  The Seychelles-based exchange issued Cointelegraph a statement indicating that it is not currently able to comment on the incident and is seeking legal counsel:  “Digitex Futures is aware of a leak of confidential data. We are not able to comment fully on the incident at this time and are currently seeking legal counsel. However, we can confirm that this was not an external hack but an internal security breach orchestrated by an ex-employee with a conflict of interest against the company. We will be releasing more information on the incident as soon as possible.” The extent of the...

The precious metal sees its worst day in seven years as the impact of coronavirus finally catches up with markets. Bitcoin ( BTC ) saw a difficult week as it hit one-month lows, but on gold markets, traders were nursing the biggest daily falls in over seven years. According to data tracking XAU/USD on Feb. 29, Friday saw the precious metal’s worst 24-hour drop since 2013. Gold drops 7% in 5 days after coronavirus sell-off Over the past five days, gold broadly succumbed to the sell-offs affecting traditional markets due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Between Feb. 24 and Feb. 29, XAU/USD lost a total of 7.3% before a slight rebound. The fragile performance puts gold roughly on par with “digital gold,” Bitcoin, the weekly losses for which currently stand at around 9%.  Gold year-to-date chart. Source: TradingView As Cointelegraph reported , after rebounding from 4-week lows of $8,450, the largest cryptocurrency returned to its forecast average price and has since atte...

Bitcoin price has stabilized above the $8.5K support as equities markets continued to implode over investor fears of Coronavirus contagion. Since the start of the week Bitcoin ( BTC ) price has dropped more than $38 billion as traditional markets also fell by more than 10%. As reported throughout mainstream media, this week’s collapse of the largest equities markets is the worst correction since the 2008 meltdown and more than $3.8 trillion in value was erased as daily news of the Coronavirus spreading throughout the world dominated headlines. Investors are now wondering if the rally which propelled Bitcoin price from $6,400 to $10,500 is over and as the end of the month approaches, Bitcoin is on course to record a monthly loss in February for the first time in 6 years.  On Friday Bitcoin price appeared to be on the second day of finding stability in the $8,500 to $8,750 zone, whereas traditional markets continued to fall. The freefall amongst altcoins also appears to have sto...