Turkey: The Country Where Crypto Exchanges Are Beating the Bear Market
Following a drop last week in the Turkish lira to a 6-month low, Turkish exchanges OKEx and BTCTurk have had a sharp increase in onboarding. Head of Operations at OKEx, Andy Cheung has stated that over 30,000 Turkish users have signed up since the expansion of their services on March 26. The Turkish lira has retained its 2018 status as the 5th most popular fiat-to-crypto pair in the world, contributing 6% of crypto-fiat liquidity so far in 2019.NYSE Owner Buys Crypto Custodian in Latest Push to Offer Bitcoin
Owner of the New York Stock Exchange, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has completed the acquisition of Digital Asset Custody Company (DACC) – a crypto custodian service. ICE have arranged for DACC’s crypto subsidiary – Bakkt – to become a registered trust with the state of New York. This provides a clear runway for ICE to offer Bitcoin futures contracts that settles in Bitcoin instead of FIAT.
Samsung Developing Ethereum-Based Blockchain, May Issue Own Token
A source ‘familiar with Samsung’s internal situation’ has reported that Samsung’s blockchain task force is building a blockchain mainnet based on ethereum. While still in the internal experimental stages, the source revealed that, “Currently, we are thinking of private blockchain, though it is not yet confirmed. It could also be public blockchain in the future, but I think it will be hybrid – that is, a combination of public and private blockchains.”
SeedInvest’s Alternative Trading System Wins FINRA Approval
Having been acquired last month by blockchain startup ‘Circle’, SeedInvest – a US investment crowdfunding platform – has been granted approval to operate an Alternative Trading PLatform by FINRA. This approval gives SeedInvest a more secure regulatory grounding and enables the company to expand its range of blockchain-based securities.
BlockFi Is Now Paying Interest on $53 Million of Crypto Deposits
Crypto lending startup, BlockFi, has tipped its total earnings over the $53 million mark, having processed a further $18 million in BTC and ETH deposits over the last month. Having expanded its services in India, BlockFi is now operating on a global scale (aside from territories sanctioned by the US, UK, and EU). BlockFi has also lowered the minimum balance for its users to earn interest on Bitcoin from 1 BTC to 0.5 BTC.
Neo Plans to Launch a New Blockchain for Version 3.0, Token Swap Will Occur
NEO has announced that it will be launching a new blockchain for version 3.0. The new version will provide users with enhanced performance, better network stability, and improved scalability. However, these features are not backward compatible, triggering the need for users to swap their token. The 3.0 blockchain will be launched from a genesis block.
Two Charged With Running ‘Shadow Banking’ Service for Crypto Exchanges
Reginald Fowler of Arizona and Ravid Yosef of Israel have been charged with bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and operating an unlicensed money transmissions business. The pair have allegedly been running a shadow bank, processing hundreds of millions of dollars of transactions for numerous crypto exchanges. With accounts registered under the name of ‘Global Trading Solutions LLC’, the accused have been using a series of bank accounts to move funds to and for the exchanges. Reports tie Global Trading Solutions LLC to Global Trading Solutions AG, the parent company of Crypto Capital. Crypto Capital is currently in business with Bitfinex and Tether, and has previously worked with Kraken, QuadrigaCX, and BTCC among others. Bitfinex and Tether have not been charged at present but appear in court on Friday.
Zerocoin Exploit Found, Zcoin Attacked, Other Privacy Coins at Risk
A vulnerability in the cryptography of Zerocoin protocol has been found, according to the Zcoin team. The flaw makes room for attackers to forge zero-knowledge proofs and make coins from nothing. Any coins that use the protocol, such as Veil, are at risk. Since the Zcoin team are currently not planning to allocate time and money to fix the issue, these coins will remain vulnerable – unless Zerocoin is disabled. |
