Aggregated Crypto News 4-11-18

Coindesk

Taiwan Steps Closer to Anti-Money Laundering Rules for Bitcoin
The government of Taiwan has moved a step closer to regulating bitcoin under existing anti-money laundering (AML) rules.

Cloud Mining Contracts Are Securities, Says Philippines SEC
The Philippines securities watchdog has warned that it will regulate cryptocurrency cloud mining contracts under existing securities rules.

Trapped Below $7K: Is Bitcoin Prepping for a Big Breakout?
Bitcoin continues to trade sideways in an increasingly tight range, but could be setting up for a major move in either direction.

Bank of England Eyes Private Blockchain Oversight
The Bank of England is examining how to maintain data privacy over a DLT network while still allowing a regulatory window into transactions.

Filecoin Creators Launch $5 Million Crypto Grant Program
Protocol Labs, the company behind Filecoin and other projects, has announced a research grant program worth $5 million initially.

Alibaba’s Taobao Bars Crypto and ICOs in Policy Update
Alibaba’s Taobao e-commerce site has updated its list of prohibited goods and services on the platform, which now includes those related to cryptos.

Bitcoin Dust: How to Tell If You Have It And Why You Should Get Rid of It
It’s time to get rid of your bitcoin “dust,” some developers argue. CoinDesk explains why.

Bank of America: Bitcoin Bubble Is Already Popping
In an analytical note, Bank of America researchers called bitcoin one of the greatest bubbles in history.

Bitfinex Denies Money Laundering Claims After ‘Internal Investigation’
Bitfinex is pushing back against reports that Polish authorities froze $400 million of its funds.

Bear Market ‘Largely Over,’ Crypto Fund Manager Claims
Cryptocurrency fund manager Timothy Enneking believes all factors impacting the market have been priced in, and it should soon rebound.

Ledger Wallet Users Can’t Access Their Bitcoin Cash
Ledger hardware wallet users are still unable to access their bitcoin cash.

UK Cyber Security Division Issues Warning on PC ‘Cryptojacking’
The UK National Cyber Security Centre highlighted the rising number of browser apps which force computers to mine cryptocurrencies in a new report.

Crypto Exchange Bittrex Is Taking New Customers Again
Cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex began accepting new users today after temporarily halting registrations last December.

Europol Nabs 11 in Crypto Drug Money Laundering Case
Europol has shut down an alleged drug trafficking operation that used cryptocurrencies to launder money from Spain to Colombia.

Blockchain Is ‘Going Mainstream’ Says European Commission Official
European Commission vice president Andrus Ansip stressed the need for governments and private firms to invest in blockchain technology.

Indian Government Think Tank Trials Blockchain to Combat Fake Meds
An Indian government think tank is working on a blockchain solution aimed to combat the country’s roaring counterfeit drugs trade.

Below $400: ‘Death Cross’ Hits Ether But Damage May Be Done
Ether will likely shrug off today’s lagging “death cross” indicator and could even rise toward $475.

‘Big Four’ Firm Deloitte Appoints New Head of Blockchain Services
Deloitte has announced Linda Pawczuk as its new blockchain lead, following the departure of Eric Piscini from the role.

Crypto Portfolio Tracker Raises $1.5 Million in Funding
Cryptocurrency investment management startup CoinTracker has raised $1.5 million in seed funding from some heavyweight investors.

Golem Arrives: One of Ethereum’s Most Ambitious Apps Is Finally Live
A long-awaited ICO project for allowing people to get paid for their extra CPU power launched on ethereum’s mainnet today.

 

Cointelegraph

A Vietnamese scam operation allegedly stole $600 mln from 32,000 investors before disappearing March, in what would be largest scam to date affecting cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrency merchant bank Galaxy Digital, founded and run by former Wall Street executive Mike Novogratz, will reportedly be hiringGoldman Sachs executive Richard Kim as its new chief operating officer.

New report finds in 2017, there were 3.5 mln cryptocurrency investors in the Japanese market. The report also says 34 percent of Japanese cryptocurrency investors are in their 30s.

Analyst predicts that the cryptocurrency market will “mature” in 2018, attracting “significant” institutional investment as clearer regulatory oversight kicks in.

Coinbase has hired a new Vice President of Communications, Rachel Horowitz.

 

Cryptoweekly

These are the five new projects produced by Monero’s recent hard fork
Monero’s hard fork late last week has produced five new projects, each of which is continuations of the pre-hard fork Monero blockchain. All four projects are extremely similar but have a few key differences between them. This piece is an excellent deep dive on the differences between each project, and why they matter.

Crypto-economic governance has limits – here’s why that’s important to understand
The field of crypto economics is still new, but its already being heralded by people like Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin as an ideal form of governance. That said, crypto-economic governance does have some limits. It can’t prove that censorship has occurred, and it can’t be used to make subjective judgment calls. This has led some researchers to conclude that a delegated proof of stake system may be ideal for future governance.

$1.6b crypto exchange Coinbase is looking to become a licensed brokerage firm
The crypto exchange is reportedly in talks with the SEC to become a fully licensed brokerage firm, which would allow it to exchange any tokens that are deemed by the SEC to be securities. Coinbase is looking to stay ahead of the numerous crypto regulations that are coming down the pipeline, and becoming a licensed brokerage firm will be a significant step towards legitimacy from a legal standpoint.

Bitcoin Cash-promoting Twitter account was briefly suspended, prompting a debate on free speech
As the clash between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Core continues, the latter’s Twitter handle was recently suspended due to complaints of trolling submitted by Bitcoin supporters. The action has prompted a fresh debate on the limits of free speech, and how a users’ rights to free speech online should be insured in the face of fraudulent claims.

Get familiar with these five keys to crypto evolution
The recent crash in crypto markets was only the latest chapter in the crypto’s evolution, and it’s important to understand the key components for further developing crypto in the future. After the recent decline in the markets, the developer community is now back to working harder than ever on scaling the platform and eliminating choke points where possible.

Here’s how active crypto traders in the US can save big on their taxes this year
The dreaded tax season has arrived in the US, but for crypto investors, there may be an opportunity for crypto investors to actually save money on their taxes this year. By applying for trader tax status, crypto investors can deduct trading business and office expenses, which in some cases can significantly lighten one’s tax burden.

Salesforce is reportedly working on an enterprise-grade blockchain product
In a recent interview, CEO Marc Benioff revealed that the enterprise software giant is working on a blockchain product that will be part of its flagship Salesforce platform. While the specifics of the offering are to be determined, the product will likely feature support for cryptocurrencies and may launch as early as Q3 of this year.      

This sidelined Wall Street legend is making a huge bet on Bitcoin
Former Goldman Sachs and hedge fund investor Michael Novogratz began investing in Bitcoin soon after the project’s inception just after the financial crisis, and his holdings are now worth in the hundreds of millions. Novogratz is now leveraging his crypto wealth for philanthropy and the launch of Galaxy Digital, a merchant bank for cryptocurrencies. 

Is crypto the future of real estate? These property firms seem to think so
Realtors around the world are increasingly looking to cryptocurrencies as a way to securely and anonymously conduct big-ticket real estate transactions everywhere from Bali to Miami. A number of real estate-focused blockchain startups have surfaced in recent months, but many realtors are still waiting for crypto values to stabilize before utilizing crypto to its fullest potential.

 

·  Join the Crypto42 Summit on April 16 in Vienna. Link

·  Block One has signed a $200m JV partnership to accelerate its EOS ecosystem. Link

·  A new $1.6b blockchain investment fund is launching with Chinese government backing. Link

·  Japanese regulators have suspended two crypto exchanges over breaching KYC guidelines. Link

·  Meet DAOstack, the OS for decentralized organizations. Link

·  BitUN is set to launch its blockchain-based private banking service in April. Link

·  Intangible Labs has just raised $125m for its first stablecoin project. Link

·  Here’s a simple breakdown of all the Bitcoin terminology, from Ari Paul of Blocktower Capital. Link

·  Crypto exchange Gemini will be rolling out Bitcoin and Ether block trading. Link

·  A Telegram group listing easy to register airdrops. Link

·  New video from Andreas Antonopoulos: How do mnemonic seeds work? Link

 

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