Bitcoin

Back in 2019, Bitcoin had been in the middle of a massive rally at the beginning of the year, and it seems that there might a repeat this year. In a new development that should come as a major boost to BTC investors, the cryptocurrency surged past $9,000 a token. It is believed that the

Standard Chartered has invested an undisclosed sum into Contour, a Corda-based blockchain trade platform, to streamline transaction settlement processes. Contour, which rebranded from Voltron last week, recently tapped R3’s Asia chief Carl Wegner as CEO in the run-up to a full commercial launch of its digitized letter-of-credit (LoC) service, which it claims reduced processing time

Ukraine’s financial watchdog intends to track crypto transactions exceeding $1,200, according to the head of the country’s Ministry of Finance, Oksana Makarova. For the first time, Ukrainian anti-money laundering law includes crypto as an asset to be monitored, among others. The threshold for triggering the scrutiny process is 30,000 Urkainian hryvnia (UAH), or $1,200.  “If

The best Sundays are for long reads and deep conversations. Earlier this week, the Let’s Talk Bitcoin! Show gathered to discuss Lightning Network technology and two innovative approaches at the wallet level which simplify the new-user experience at a tangible, but seemingly minimal cost.  Subscribe to the new CoinDesk Podcast Network for fresh, insightful episodes

Max Boonen is the founder and CEO of crypto trading firm B2C2. This post is the third in a series of three that looks at the structure of crypto markets. Opinions expressed within are his own and do not reflect those of CoinDesk. In the two previous articles, I summarized the evolution of speed in

DAVOS, Switzerland – Most Middle Eastern elites at the World Economic Forum are highly skeptical of bitcoin, but there are whispers about its potential for cross-border settlements in the energy sector.  According to Egyptian businessman M. Shafik Gabr, chairman of the ARTOC Group for Investment & Development, some Middle Eastern nations are already exploring the

In addition to our news roundup, for the next few episodes we’ll also be highlighting select interviews from the CoinDesk crew reporting inside the world economic forum in Davos, Switzerland.  Today we’ll hear from former CFTC Chair Christopher Giancarlo on his proposed Digital Dollar push. We’ll end the show by taking a walk with a

Grayscale Investments has committed to financially supporting development of the ethereum classic (ETC) cryptocurrency for another two years. Announced Wednesday, the asset manager will continue to donate one-third of the management fees from its Grayscale Ethereum Classic Trust to the ETC Cooperative each quarter through 2021.  “It is a big vote of confidence which we

Square Crypto, the payment company’s bitcoin-focused wing, is building a “Lightning Development Kit” for wallet and app developers to more easily build on the layer-2 solution. Announced Tuesday, the new kit includes an API, language tools, demo apps and other features to help developers integrate support for Lightning payments into their own wallets. Existing bitcoin

The South Korean government is said to be considering imposing a 20 percent tax on all cryptocurrency transactions. South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported Monday that officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s income tax office had been reviewing a new proposal that could see the country adopt a clearer regime for how it

Credits for LTB#423 This episode of Let’s Talk Bitcoin! is sponsored by Brave.com and eToro.com. Original Photo by Ubaidhulla Adam on Unsplash This episode featured Adam B. Levine, Stephanie Murphy, and Jonathan Mohan Music for today’s episode was provided by Jared Rubens, and general fuzz, with editing by Jonas.  Would you like to Sponsor a future episode of

Plaintiffs in three separate putative class action lawsuits against Bitfinex and Tether have moved to consolidate their cases, according to a Thursday court filing. Court filings by David Leibowitz et al, Eric Young et al, and Bryan Faubus et al, accuse the sister companies of manipulating the crypto markets. Their cases share common threads, filings

This is part of a series of op-eds previewing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. CoinDesk will be on the ground in Davos from Jan. 20–24 chronicling all things crypto at the annual gathering of the world’s economic and political elite. Follow along by subscribing to our pop-up newsletter, CoinDesk Confidential: Davos. Michael J. Casey is the

Rewards received by bitcoin miners form a major chunk of the salaries paid across major proof of work (PoW) blockchains, according to Yassine Elmandjra, a cryptocurrency analyst from ARK Invest. For example, bitcoin miners were paid over $15 million worth of the cryptocurrency as incentive to mine blocks and secure the network on Jan. 9.

Bitcoin (BTC) is the subject of increased buying momentum after coming under pressure early in the year. After plummeting to $6,860, the flagship token has bounced back and is currently staring at a 2-month high of $9,000. The 15%+ rally has come at the back of improvements in fundamentals. Bitcoin Futures Boost BTC According to

A crypto analytics startup will recommend that U.S. Congress call for more stringent anti-money laundering (AML) enforcement around exchanges facilitating the trade of privacy coins during a hearing on how cryptocurrency is being used in human trafficking. At a Wednesday hearing revisiting landmark legislation passed 20 years ago, the House of Representatives’ Tom Lantos Human

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Dixintong Technology Group, whose parent company, D.Phone, is one of the largest smartphone retailers in China, has entered the blockchain space by acquiring a minority stake in a U.S. startup called Monsoon Blockchain. The two companies confirmed to CoinDesk that the purchasing agreement was signed on Jan. 7, but declined to disclose any financial terms

The best Sundays are for long reads and deep conversations. Earlier this week, the Let’s Talk Bitcoin! show enlisted CoinDesk reporter Leigh Cuen and early cypherpunk Zooko Wilcox for a conversation on the history, challenges and long term development path of early, formative technologies. which we often hear modern blockchain movements compared against.  From the

It’s a cliche at this point to compare bitcoin to the “early days of the internet,” since they are both examples of emerging technologies. But does the cliche actually hold true? If we work with a vague definition of the World Wide Web going live in 1991, then within the first decade that ecosystem grew

After years of discussion it looks like on Monday we’ll see our first high profile, professional athlete linked securitized token offering. Markets Daily is back with the story and what it could mean. No time to listen? scroll down for the complete episode transcript… More ways to Listen or Subscribe: This episode featured a sound

If bitcoin is digital cash and ethereum is digital law, Urbit is digital land.  The highly ambitious cloud computing project imagines nothing less than a rewiring of the internet, allowing users, not corporations, to own their online identities and data. While most blockchain projects rely on Amazon Web Services and other behemoths for essential infrastructure,

One of the most remarkable events in the crypto space took place in the first half of 2019 when Bitcoin (BTC) went on a remarkable rally that almost mirrored the rally from 2017. However, the rally soon fizzled out, and it has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for the world’s biggest cryptocurrency by

UDOMLYA, Russia – A state-owned nuclear power plant in Russia may soon fuel a bitcoin mining hub. Late last month, Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation opened a mining farm near the Kalinin nuclear plant in Udomlya, 200 miles northwest of Moscow. The company spent more than $4.8 million building the 30-megawatt facility, according to Sergei

With bitcoin setting a blistering pace for 2020, Markets Daily is back with the news moving markets, plus a look at several stories on the escalating, global interest in blockchain by governments. No time to listen? scroll down for the complete episode transcript… Tune in as CoinDesk podcasts editor Adam B. Levine and senior markets

Bitcoin could be set for a major breakout as escalating tensions between the US and Iran drive investors to safe-haven assets, with cryptocurrency and gold values surging. Tensions in the Middle East reached a critical point on Thursday after US President Donald Trump ordered a drone strike on a vehicle convoy near Baghdad International Airport,

Telegram will not integrate a crypto wallet into its messaging app, at least until it gets the green light from U.S. regulators, the company said Monday on its official website. The announcement comes ahead of Telegram’s CEO deposition in Dubai on Tuesday.  The post, which appears to be the first official notice addressing the TON

This post is part of CoinDesk’s 2019 Year in Review, a collection of 100 op-eds, interviews and takes on the state of blockchain and the world. Richie Hecker is an entrepreneur, and management consultant at Traction & Scale.  2019 was the year of Libra rising – an attempt led by Facebook to create a new

This post is part of CoinDesk’s 2019 Year in Review, a collection of 100 op-eds, interviews and takes on the state of blockchain and the world. Benjamin Noys, a professor at the University of Chichester, in the UK, invented the term “accelerationism” for a philosophy that says technological progress should be greatly sped up. In

Bitcoin is bouncing with geopolitical tensions heating up following U.S. confirmation of a high-profile drone strike in Iraq. Then, we’ll talk “Proof of Keys Day” in the year 2020 and more. Tune in as CoinDesk podcasts editor Adam B. Levine and senior markets reporter Brad Keoun run down recent action, track interesting longer-term trends and