Tag: Cryptocurrency Exchange

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Binance Launches Binance Jersey In European Expansion

When it comes to cryptocurrency exchanges that have been able to expand despite the bearish markets of 2018, many point to Binance as an example. The exchange, which is the world’s largest by daily volume, is continuing its expansion plans in the Europe launching a “fiat-to-crypto” trading platform entitled “Binance Jersey”.

The platform will not only allow for traders and investors to invest in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) using the euro, but will also allow them to invest using the British pound (GBP). This is interesting timing, considering that many UK politicians are uncertain about “Brexit” and the prime minister, Theresa May, is facing more resistance than ever.

About The Area

For those that are unaware, Jersey is an island in the English channel that is a British self-governing dependency, and is often utilized as an offshore tax haven. It also displayed a remarkable amount of foresight with regards to cryptocurrency markets, as it was the first jurisdiction in the world to greenlight a fully regulated Bitcoin fund five years ago.

It is clear that Binance is viewing the economic controversy around Brexit as an opportunity for more UK citizens to begin adopting and using cryptocurrency instead of the British pound or euro. The CFO (Chief Financial Officer) of Binance, Wei Zhao, also believes in the way that Jersey seems to embrace cryptocurrency, stating: “Jersey is an undisputed pioneer in blockchain development leveraged by this strong framework and talent pool.”

Uncertainty and Context

Zhao was not shy about the fact that there was an opportunity with cryptocurrency, considering that there is so much controversy about fiat currency in the area as of right now. He mentioned “economic opportunities for Europeans as well as freedom from looming Brexit uncertainty where the pound and euro are also in concern.”

Interestingly enough, Binance Jersey will operate independently of its parent company, Binance.com. Binance Jersey is working directly with the government to create jobs for locals, and partnered with its economic development agency back in June 2018.

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Thailand Allows Four Crypto Exchanges To Operate

There is one region of the world that has not been too open to cryptocurrency, and it’s a very important one. Specifically, Asia includes the two most populous countries in the world, China and India, one of which is already considered a superpower, while the other is considered an “emerging superpower”.

However, China has cracked down on cryptocurrency and initial coin offerings (ICOs), while India has not been receptive to the space either. However, it appears that Thailand is taking a different route.

Thailand Greenlights Exchanges

One way of determining whether a country is open to cryptocurrency is to find out about whether there are cryptocurrency exchanges are operating there. For example, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily volume, had to focus outside of China when the country started cracking down on the sector. In fact, many believe that it was this adaptability that led to its immense success.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the country has granted four operating licenses to various cryptocurrency exchanges. These cryptocurrency businesses include Bitcoin Co, Bitkub Online Co Ltd, and Satang Corporation Co Ltd, which were given licenses to operate as cryptocurrency exchanges. Another business, Coins TH Co Ltd – was given a license as a cryptocurrency broker/dealer.

Companies Turned Down

Of course, this does not mean that every company who applied was allowed a license. Two other exchanges by the name of Cash2Coins Ltd and SouthEast Asia Ltd were denied, and their applications were determined to be inadequate.

The Finance Ministry will still allow these two companies to operate until January 14th, giving the company enough time to notify its customers. However, by the 14th, they are expected to terminate all cryptocurrency business. Another exchange by the name of Coin Asset Co is still awaiting approval, but can continue operating.

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Winklevoss Twins Think Bitcoin (BTC) Will Be Bigger Than Gold

There are many who scoffed at the Winklevoss Twins when they decided to take some of the payout from their Facebook lawsuit to purchase Bitcoin (BTC), but they have since become two of the most important figures in the cryptocurrency world. It appears that the decision was a wise one, considering that many believe that they actually became the world’s first Bitcoin billionaires during the cryptocurrency bull run of 2017.

It doesn’t appear as though their enthusiasm has faded, as the two clearly believe in a very bullish future for Bitcoin. During a recent Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit, the two brothers pointed out that they believe the future is still bright.

AMA Details

For those that are unaware, Reddit regularly holds “Ask Me Anything” sessions, where a user is asked questions from participants all around the internet. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss – otherwise known as the Winklevoss Twins – recently participated in an AMA.

The two answered various questions, that mostly revolved around cryptocurrency. One of the reasons that they held the AMA could be the fact that the cryptocurrency exchange that they founded, Gemini, just celebrated its 3-year anniversary.

Bitcoin Bulls

Specifically, the Winklevoss twins believe that the importance and relevance of Bitcoin will only increase with time. Cameron Winklevoss stated: “Bitcoin is certainly the OG crypto! It’s hard to defeat network effects — so in terms of ‘hard money’ (i.e., store of value) Bitcoin is most likely the winner in the long term.”

Tyler WInklevoss took it a step further, comparing it to the fact that gold has a $7 trillion market capitalization. He believes that Bitcoin will eventually surpass gold in this respect. He said: “Our thesis around bitcoin’s upside remains unchanged. We believe bitcoin is better at being gold than gold. If we’re right, then over time the market cap of bitcoin will surpass the ~7trillion dollar market cap of gold.”

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Brazil Cryptocurrency Whales Turning To Physical Vaults/Safes

For those that are cryptocurrency “whales”, meaning investors with a significant amount of cryptocurrency holdings – there is always the question surrounding whether their funds are completely safe or not. When you consider that over $1 billion in cryptocurrency was stolen in 2018 – the concern is understandable.=

Brazilian “whales” are no longer viewing a secure password as enough protection for their digital assets. It appears as though they are now turning to private companies that have actual physical vaults in order to secure their cryptocurrency holdings.

Vault Features

For those wondering about why they might turn to private companies for additional security; it’s important to note that there are some features that are quite technologically advanced. For example, one vault boasts seven armed – and reinforced – steel doors.

While the world might be used to fingerprint scanning, there is another company that is able to take it to a whole new level. For example, another private company offers palm scanners that read millions of individual points on the user’s hand, and also even examines the blood flow through the hand, as well.

Crime Context

For those that are unaware, Brazil has experienced some high-profile cryptocurrency hacks and data breaches last year. The most infamous data breach was that of Atlas Quantum, where the personal information of over thousands of users were revealed thanks to hackers. Regardless of the personal data leak, no funds were compromised.

Of course, it should be noted that in some cases, cryptocurrency whales are targeted in cases that actually use real-life violence rather than cryptocurrency hacking. For example, in one of the more tragic cases of cryptocurrency crime; kidnappers are demanding 5 Bitcoin to return a nine year-old girl in South Africa. The ransom was communicated in an anonymous message through e-mail and it is still unclear what crime syndicate is behind the kidnapping, if any.

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South Africa Taking Steps To Regulate Cryptocurrency

Even though more individuals, organizations, and corporations know about cryptocurrency than ever, the truth is that many countries do not know exactly how to regulate the sector. There are countries that immediately view cryptocurrency as a threat, while there are others that are seeking to quickly ensure that they embrace blockchain and cryptocurrency to boost their local economy.

It appears as though South Africa is finally taking the steps to explore how to regulate cryptocurrency. Specifically, the South African government has established a crypto assets regulatory working group.

Finance Minister Comments

The finance minister of South Africa, Tito Mboweni, stated that the group will be releasing a paper soon. He stated: “It is anticipated that, following broad industry comment and participation, the crypto assets regulatory working group will be ready to release a final research paper on the subject during the course of 2019.”

He also pointed out that the South African Revenue Service will soon be implementing options for cryptocurrency in their tax forms, and coming up with a concrete way for those who trade/invest in cryptocurrency to pay taxes.

Overall Interest

For some context, it should be noted that many South Africans are not only aware of cryptocurrency, but a significant percentage of them view cryptocurrency as a positive way to accrue wealth. In a survey conducted earlier this year, it was revealed that 38% of the respondents “wished they had invested in” cryptocurrency. In addition, a majority of those surveyed – over 70% – stated that “You can make a lot of money with them.”

A new cryptocurrency trading platform by the name of VALR is also planning a launch in South Africa, in partnership with well-known cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex. The platform will apparently utilize machine learning and artificial intelligence to help with identification. Bittrex CEO Bill Shihara said about the partnership: “Our partnership with VALR gives us the opportunity to help drive adoption of this technology in new markets.”

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Binance CEO Named Top Crypto Influencer

There are many in the cryptocurrency community that often criticize year-end lists, but Coindesk recently named the Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao, as the #1 cryptocurrency influencer in the world. While there will always be those who disagree, one could definitely argue that the position is well-deserved.

Zhao is the CEO of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily volume, and he has also aggressively expanded in 2018, a year where many cryptocurrency and blockchain startups were forced to shutter. Coindesk also took the opportunity to sit down with Zhao and discuss the markets and his thoughts in general.

Persistent And Innovative

One of the points that the article makes is that Zhao was not always considered a top cryptocurrency influencer by any means. In fact, he was associated with OkCoin, a China-based cryptocurrency exchange, and actually spent his time afterwards in a kind of exile before founding Binance.

One interesting quote came from Jehan Chu of Kenetic Capital, which actually passed on the massive opportunity to invest in Binance early. She admitted that this was the wrong decision, stating: “What’s worked really well is his ability to adapt to the changing market and come up with the type of innovations that the market didn’t even know that they want it. They were the first to come up with an exchange token. I think that’s what’s most impressive about CZ: his vision to just try different things, iterate and then execute.”

Current Thoughts

Much of the interview was discussing Zhao’s thoughts outside of the cryptocurrency markets. For example, he pointed out that he believed simultaneously that laws were necessary but that he also believed in freedom. For example, he stated: “I do think we need rules for society to function well. But at the same time, I’m also very freedom driven. I believe we can increase the level of freedom.”

Zhao’s appeal is now globally known, and he is amicably referred to by the entire cryptocurrency global community now as “CZ”. Many have stated that his appeal is beyond the traditional financial sector, but also stems to those that are still skeptical about cryptocurrencies in general. He also seems to be full of surprises, even getting a tattoo recently to represent his dedication to Binance.

Ultimately, the interview seemed to hint that “CZ” is just getting started. He says: “I hope someday I can be as influential as Elon Musk.”

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Kraken Tweets At Ripple (XRP) Army Cause Controversy

There are many who have differing opinions about how influential cryptocurrency figures should speak about cryptocurrency projects. The truth is that competition is natural, and while everyone understands that it is many individuals’ job to be a proponent for a certain project, some people feel as though insulting other projects is unnecessary and unethical.

However, just like traditional business – competition is natural. While many are hoping for an overall mass adoption, there is no doubt that there are cryptocurrencies that are competing for the same users and individuals. It appears as though a cryptocurrency exchange has taken the liberty of offering their opinion on a specific project.

Kraken Speaks

Kraken is an established and well-known cryptocurrency exchange. In fact, the exchange regularly has daily volume of over $100 million USD. As of press time, the volume at Kraken over the last 24 hours was over $110 million.

The cryptocurrency exchange has taken to Twitter to address the exact semantics around “Ripple” and “XRP”. Many have questioned the exact tone of the tweet, and wonder whether it was appropriate or simply informativ.

Tweet Details/Context

In the tweet, it appears as though Kraken seeks to clarify things for the “XRP Army”, the active online community that is constantly asking exchanges and other companies to utilize XRP. The exchange pointed out that while Ripple is a payment protocol, it is not the same as XRP, which is the native currency of said protocol.

https://twitter.com/krakenfx/status/1079102466803720194

While some might consider the tweet harmless, it is important to note that there is some history here. Specifically, Jesse Powell, the CEO of Kraken, was once involved with Ripple as a director and board member of Ripple. However, he publicly disagreed with the company, and was sent a cease-and-desist order as a result, in 2014.

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South Korean Court Acquits Bithumb

One of the issues with an emerging technology that has the potential to be disruptive is the fact that often times, the world doesn’t know exactly how to respond. By now, it is clear that blockchain technology and cryptocurrency can be applied to many sectors – but governments and courts are unclear on the exact laws and regulations that should apply.

In a new development, a South Korean court has acquitted the cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb with respect to a court case. The issue revolves around the fact that a client claims that hackers were “allowed” to steal cash and crypto assets from the exchange, and the amount in question is substantial. Specifically, the amount is over $300,000 (the exact amount is 400 million Korean won, which pans out to about $355,000 USD).

About The Case

The user’s name is Anh Park, and the incident occurred over a year ago, when Bitcoin was in the midst of a massive bull run, and many were much more optimistic about the cryptocurrency markets. The exact day of the incident was November 30, 2017.

Park alleges that Bithumb’s security is to blame. Hackers were able to enter Park’s account, and empty it of almost all of the money (save a few cents). It should be noted that one of the main points of the case is the fact that Bithumb’s security was compromised before, because information about over 30,000 users were compromised thanks to hackers gaining access to a Bithumb employee’s records. Since the exchange’s security was already compromised – the argument is that the exchange is at fault. The company has claimed that it has compensated all involved.

Precedents and Obligations

Bithumb’s argument was that it isn’t responsible for compensation, since it technically isn’t a financial firm of any kind. The lawsuit gained attention because many users worldwide want to know whether exchanges are technically obligated to compensate for users during security breaches like this.

It’s clear that the court sided with Bithumb, which sets a dangerous precedent. This might trouble investors and traders who are concerned about their funds getting hacked and having no legal recourse. Of course, time will tell whether this case is influential on a global level with regards to exchanges and financial obligations.

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Coinbase Moves Billions In Crypto

If you are a cryptocurrency enthusiast, or trade/invest in cryptocurrency; there is little doubt that you are aware of Coinbase. The San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange is widely considered one of the most important companies in the sector, and has been valued in the billions, despite the fact that it has been a tough year for cryptocurrency markets in general.

For example, while other cryptocurrency exchanges were struggling, Coinbase was featured in the opening credits for the hit HBO TV show Silicon Valley, which many in the cryptocurrency community took as a sign that more people are aware of the cryptocurrency markets and their potential.

Moving Billions

The exchange’s importance was shown again in a tweet, where the company confirmed the fact that it moved billions in cryptocurrency funds into cold storage. The announcement was made in a tweet. Specifically, Coinbase announced that it had moved “5% of all BTC, 8% of all ETH, and 25% of all LTC in circulation to our next-gen secure cold storage.”

https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1075465004629995521

In the associated Medium post, Coinbase boasted that it could be the “largest crypto migration on record”. The post elaborated that this was not a sudden move, but Coinbase had been preparing for the migration for some time now. Specifically, the post stated that the company “conducted risk assessments, honed monitoring plans and conducted test migrations until we were positive that the live migration would go off without a hitch.”

Cold Storage

Coinbase also seemed to take a bit of a nostalgic look back at memory lane to remember how much its grown, and how much its definition of cold storage had changed. In 2012, Coinbase simply placed keys in a safe deposit box. Obviously, the company has grown immensely since then, and its definition of “cold storage” is radically different.

The company elaborated that these days, the company utilizes Coinbase Custody, a secure foundation with a highly controlled and audited key generation process and continue with a globally distributed key storage and transaction approval system.

It seems like Coinbase went out of its way to explain that moving this amount of cryptocurrency was not something that they took lightly, and even ended the blog post to point out that they were hiring anyone who might be interested in helping keep the exchange as secure as possible.

 

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Binance Labs Launching Blockchain Startups

There is no denying the fact that Binance is one of the most important companies in the cryptocurrency sector. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, considering it is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily volume, and is steadily expanding worldwide, in countries all around the world.

Binance Labs has also apparently been focusing on incubation, as it has officially announced the launch of eight projects that the company has been incubating for months. Specifically, the company has not only provided mentorship for these projects, but resources, as well.

Expansion Plans

Several months ago, Binance announced a joint partnership with the Lichtenstein Cryptoassets Exchange (LXC) in order to launch a fiat-to-crypto exchange. The Prime Minister of Lichtenstein even commented on the venture, stating: “We are confident that Liechtenstein’s existing and future legal framework and practice provide a robust foundation for the Binance LXC and other blockchain companies to provide exceptional services here in Liechtenstein.

That isn’t the only place that Binance is expanding, however. The company recently made headway in Uganda, signing up 40,000 users in its first week, which seemed to confirm the idea that Africa’s demand for cryptocurrency is legitimate. This is significant, considering that many consider Africa’s unbanked population to be a massive opportunity for the fintech sector.

Project Launches

Ella Zhang, the head of Binance Labs, elaborated that Binance was dedicated to building a blockchain ecosystem worldwide. She stated: In the long run, we aim to build up a strong blockchain ecosystem and network of BUIDLers around the world. Our first incubation program in San Francisco was an amazing experience and we are grateful to the mentors, advisers and friends who helped our BUIDLers during the 10 weeks. We are very excited to expand our program next season and meet with blockchain projects across five different continents — scaling quickly, that is Binance speed.

 

The program was selective, with over 500 projects applying. However, only eight startups will launch. They include projects such as SafePal, which markets itself as the “best hardware wallet ever”, and Torus, which aims to help ease the process of logging into decentralized apps.