The Prime Minister of Malta has publicly welcomed the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance as it announces it is relocating to the country.

Maltese PM to BINANCE : `Welcome to MALTA'

In a fresh move confirmed by CEO Zhao Changpeng March 23, Binance will set up an office in the European nation and will close the requisite banking partnerships “soon,” Bloomberg reports.

Binance has continued its astronomical rise which saw it overtake all other global exchanges’ volumes in January.

This week, negotiations between the exchange and Japanese regulators moved the price of Bitcoin after local press sources misinterpreted the “dialog” as a de facto ban.

Discussing the Malta move, however, government leader Joseph Muscat was open about his bullish stance on the company.

“We aim to be the global trailblazers in the regulation of blockchain-based businesses and the jurisdiction of quality and choice for world class fintech companies,” he tweeted.

Zhao replied that he was “honored” to receive the vote of confidence.

Continue reading >> http://bitcoinist.com/binance-malta-prime-minister-welcome/

Yahoo Japan is planning to launch its own cryptocurrency exchange, a report indicates.

According to Nikkei Asian Review, the Japanese internet firm will take a 40 percent stake in BitARG Exchange Tokyo next month, with a plan to build a new exchange using BitARG technology in approximately a year's time.

BitARG is already licensed by Japanese financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), the report says, and is expected to receive further investments from Yahoo Japan early in 2019.

Yahoo Japan will purchase the shares in BitARG through its subsidiary YJFX, a forex transaction platform. The 40 percent stake will cost the firm around 2 billion yen ($19 million), says Nikkei.

After the purchase, a team from YJFX are expected to kick off development of the new exchange, as well as designing systems for corporate governance, customer management and security.

The news comes as the importance of registration with the FSA to conduct exchange operations in Japan is highlighted by issues facing the major Binance exchange.

As reported this morning, the Hong-Kong-based exchange has just received a warning from the financial watchdog over its lack of registration in the country.

Zhao Changpeng, Binance's CEO, has confirmed receipt of the warning letter and said the firm is in dialogue with the agency.

Since the $533 million hack of Japanese exchange Coincheck in January, the FSA has been mandating security overhauls and cracking down on domestic crypto trading platforms that are yet to be registered.

Early this month, the agency issued month-long suspensions for two exchanges in the country.

https://www.coindesk.com/yahoo-japan-launch-cryptocurrency-exchange-2018-says-report/

Two South Korea financial regulators are reportedly launching a probe into domestic banks over their implementation of anti-money laundering procedures for cryptocurrency exchanges.

According to a report from Yonhap, the Financial Intelligence Unit and Financial Services Commission (FSC) will launch the inspection starting next month at banks offering corporate accounts to cryptocurrency exchanges.

The investigation, according to the report, follows a previous mandate from financial watchdogs in South Korea that domestic cryptocurrency exchanges may only resume operation with a real-name verification system integrated with domestic banks.

As reported by CoinDesk, the FSC announced in January that, from the end of the month, banks would no longer be allowed to service virtual accounts for investors at cryptocurrency exchanges, an effort that sought to prevent anonymous cryptocurrency transactions from being used in money-laundering activities.

Based on the new rules, financial institutions in South Korea have rolled out self-implementation of real-name verification with more major exchanges, while reportedly closing doors to smaller firms.

The new probe comes as the South Korea government is widening its efforts to ensure anti-money laundering mandates are well executed across the country's financial system. Previously, a report from the Korea Customs Service indicated that cryptocurrency had allegedly facilitated some of a noted $600 million unregistered capital flow.

https://www.coindesk.com/korean-regulators-to-probe-banks-aml-measures-for-crypto-exchanges/

Подставили конечно разработчики своих друзей из баунти сообщества, ничего не скажешь. Решили от количества проданных токенов баунти подсчитать. А не проданные токены собираются сжечь? Опыт предыдущих кампаний показывают что сжигают довольно редко, и не сразу, может хоть инвесторы на этом настоят, ведь это всем выгодно.

I have tremendous respect for Edward Snowden, who have sacrificed his career for our ability to have freedom and privacy on the net. Of course, his struggle will never be endorsed by numerous and ordinary americans. The vast majority of people prefer to be full-fed, suited and booted, without thinking of information ownership and confidentiality.

UK Exchange to Launch First Physically Delivered Cryptocurrency Futures Contract

Coinfloor, a London-based group of cryptocurrency exchanges for institutional and sophisticated investors and traders, plans to launch a futures exchange for digital assets that will include the first physically delivered bitcoin futures contracts.

The new exchange, CoinfloorEX, will allow miners, hedge funds, traders and sophisticated investors to unlock the financial potential of bitcoin at scale, through specifically designed cryptocurrency contracts and operational controls, supported by institutional grade risk management and governance, Coinifloor announced in a press release.

Protecting The Price

By offering the first physically delivered cryptocurrency futures contracts, CoinfloorEX was designed to protect investors and traders against price slippage on positions at the time of settlement, as well as concerns of market manipulation.

The settlement is based on physical delivery rather than an index price from across other exchanges, providing greater pricing transparency.

Access to Coinfloor’s spot exchange will allow investors to convert bitcoin to fiat currency post-physical delivery, providing opportunities for longer-term currency appreciation or through meeting bitcoin-denominated obligations.

The exchange is secured by 100% multi-signature cold storage, protecting client portfolios from theft, loss or other security issues associated with partially online or online only storage.

Coinfloor also provides monthly solvency audits of bitcoin balances. The first physically delivered contract will be launching in April and will be for the delivery of bitcoin.

“Our mission is to build a bridge between fiat currency and cryptocurrency to drive the stability and sustainability of cryptocurrency,” said Obi Nwosu, CEO of Coinfloor. He said market participants want futures contracts to switch from cash to physical settlement.

Responding To The Market

Liquidity providers want a physically delivered futures contract to be able to hedge their exposures across exchanges, Mark Lamb, Coinfloor co-founder, told Reuters during the Futures Industry Association’s annual conference in Boca Raton, Florida.

A few traditional futures exchanges, such as CME Group Inc. and Cboe Global Markets Inc., offer bitcoin futures that are cash settled, in which the cryptocurrency itself does not change hands.

Large investors and proprietary trading firms have noted that the cash-settled process can be easily manipulated, Lamb said. Ill-intentioned players can set the futures prices in their favor by moving the price of the indexes or auctions on spot exchanges that set the futures prices in, he said.

Coinfloor investors include the closely held Chicago-based proprietary trading firm DRW, which was launched in 2013 and runs the largest U.K.-based cryptocurrency spot exchange in London and another one in Gibraltar.

https://www.ccn.com/coinfloor-to-launch-first-physically-delivered-cryptocurrency-futures-contract/

Just recently news.Bitcoin.com reported on Bitpay launching bitcoin cash (BCH) integration for the firm’s loadable Visa debit cards. Since then the company has implemented BCH invoice support for all of the firm’s vendors, and now bitcoin cash can be spent with thousands of merchants worldwide.

Thousands of Merchants and Nonprofits Now Accept Bitcoin Cash

Merchant adoption has been increasing lately for the BCH ecosystem, but in one day that metric spiked considerably. Bitpay has fully integrated bitcoin cash payments for all of its vendors and merchants that utilize the company’s payment processing services. Since the ‘cryptocurrency fever’ swept the globe in 2017, Bitpay’s merchant list has grown considerably last year. This includes significant merchant growth in the U.S., South America, Asia, and Europe.

Bitcoin cash supporters have been extremely pleased to see some of their favorite merchants accepting BCH as a form of payment and network fees are considerably less. The list of Bitpay vendors who now accept BCH, includes Newegg, Apmex, Vultr, Namecheap, eGifter, Gyft, Zeek, Wefunder, Heifer International, Vodi, JM Bullion, and many more. This also includes a wide variety of nonprofits and charities like Save the Children, the Internet Archive, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Wikipedia.

BIP 70 Wallet Support for Bitcoin Cash and BCH Being Used for South Korean Cross-Border Payments

In addition to the full range of merchants and non-profits now available to the BCH ecosystem. Bitcoin cash payments are also now compatible with the Payment-Protocol (BIP70) used in Bitpay invoices. Further, there are currently more supporting wallets utilizing this feature, and the Electron Cash client was added yesterday. Wallets that are compatible with the BCH Payment-Protocol include BRD Wallet, Bitcoin Core, Edge (formally Airbitz), Electrum, Mycelium, Copay, Bitpay, and the Bitcoin.com Wallet. Bitcoin cash users who have these types of wallets can utilize any Bitpay merchant.

Another announcement from Bitpay that will also please BCH proponents is the company’s recent partnership with the South Korean exchange Bithumb. The two companies are launching a cross-border payment solution which will utilize BTC and BCH to help cheapen the costs of international payments for South Korean businesses. Bitpay executive Sonny Singh says that South Korean companies are sometimes paying or receiving $100,000 – $5 million USD per invoice. “A 1 -2% savings on each invoice can lead to dramatic cost savings,” explains Singh.

Overall the announcement of Bitpay integrating bitcoin cash has pleased BCH proponents quite a bit as the number of merchants added to the ecosystem, and the new South Korean cross-border payment platform will increase BCH usage greatly. In addition to Bitpay, since the San Francisco company Coinbase integrated bitcoin cash support, BCH payments can be used with its new merchant plugin.

https://news.bitcoin.com/bitcoin-cash-ecosystem-sees-a-tidal-wave-of-merchant-acceptance/

Take a look at page 19 in the Whitepaper. They illustrated all expenses: a larger ICO raise would enable EQUI to accelerate growth within the business, build more solid infrastructure, expand team and hire new professionals in the future. Time is important thing on the market, where client can always go to your rival.

The Venezuelan Petro’s alleged astronomical success could be under threat as US President Trump puts plans in process to prohibit American citizens from purchasing the digital currency.

It seems as if President Trump has thrown a cog in the apparent billion-dollar machine that is Venezuela’s Petro. According to Bloomberg, the US president issued a prohibition order on Monday banning the country’s citizens from going anywhere near the South American country’s first state-issued virtual currency.

To reinforce this, Trump has ordered Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to issue any regulations required to enforce this ban.

The Role of the Petro

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro developed the Petro, which can be purchased through US dollars and euros, as a way to combat the country’s hyperinflation, which is expected to reach 13,000% in 2018. It is also being used as a way to circumvent US-imposed financial sanctions.

The latter, issued in August 2017, forbids Venezuela from borrowing any more money from the US, making refinancing its existing mountain of debt just about impossible. Even though the South American country is rich in natural resources, such as the crude oil used to back the Petro, it is poor in nearly everything else, which has resulted in its population suffering drastic food and medical supply shortages. The US imposed these sanctions in response to the deplorable humanitarian conditions in the country.

Continue reading >> http://bitcoinist.com/president-trump-bans-us-citizens-buying-venezuelas-petro/

Nearly 16.3 million Americans, or 8 percent of the country, own some form of cryptocurrency, according to a new survey by Finder.com, which also found slightly more than 5 percent of Americans owned Bitcoin. If accurate, the results mark an increase from a study the Pew Research Center published in December 2016 that revealed roughly half of Americans had heard of Bitcoin but only 1 percent had traded, collected or used it.

Why are People Hesitant To Buy Crypto?

The survey asked the remaining 92 percent of people why they hadn’t purchased cryptocurrency, finding that 40 percent believe “there is no need or they are disinterested” followed by 35 percent saying “it’s too high risk.”

Among the rest of respondents, 27 percent said “it’s too complicated to understand,” 18 percent said “it’s a scam,” 17 percent said “it’s a bubble,” 11 percent said “it’s too difficult to use” and 6 percent said “there are too many fees.”

Men were almost three times as likely to hold cryptocurrency than women, with nearly 12 percent of men reporting owning cryptocurrency compared to only slightly more than 4 percent women.

The survey further broke down respondents among millennials, gen x and baby boomers. Seventeen percent of millennials said they held cryptocurrency, making them the generation most likely to own it. But they were also the most likely to say “it’s too difficult to use” at 15 percent and “too complicated to understand” at 31 percent.

On the other hand, Gen X was the least likely to say cryptocurrency was too hard to use. Only 9 percent said “it’s too difficult to use” and nearly 26 percent saying “it’s too complicated to understand.”

The survey also asked what cryptocurrencies people were investing in. Bitcoin topped the list at 5 percent followed by Ethereum at 2 percent and Bitcoin Cash at 0.90 percent. Among those who had the cryptocurrencies, respondents reported owning an average of $3,453 in Bitcoin, $1,243 in Ethereum and $636 in Bitcoin Cash.

Personal finance website Finder.com commissioned the survey on 2,001 American users of Pureprofile, a website where people voluntarily answer questionnaires for cash and rewards.

It’s worth noting that users of Pureprofile know how to use the web well enough to make money. This can skew the survey’s findings since the respondents don’t necessarily represent less tech-savvy Americans.

Continue reading >> http://bitcoinist.com/16-million-americans-cryptocurrency/

I totally agreed with you, BTC 7200$ price was the last line, dropping below would be unprofitable for the whole newly created blockchain sector. Spring is coming, most of good Alt projects, had already prepared something fresh for their investors. And only this fact will be pushing the price of BTC.

England and Japan governments are quite tolerate for crypto, it can be said with a great deal of confidence Russia will support them. France and Germany, which constitute financial and tax engine of European Union, will be fighting to the last.

Bladetec, a supplier of high-powered IT equipment in the UK, is reportedly planning to build a £10 million ($13.9 million) bitcoin mining farm across three locations in England.

According to major UK daily The Telegraph, Bladetec is looking to raise £10 million from investors to build and operate a 3-500 square foot bitcoin farming facility operating as ‘The Third Bladetec Bitcoin Mining Company Ltd’ (TBBMC). The facility is reportedly being built across three locations in London, Suffolk and Surrey with Bladetec claiming the company is the first bitcoin mine in Europe to be funded by investment in a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulated firm via capital raising partner Envestry.

Details on its website reveal that Bladetec is seeking a minimum investment of £5,000 per investor with shares sold at £1.00/share par value with funds used to purchase mining hardware and pay for electricity, site and admin costs. The company will be 100% shareholder owned, Bladetec added.

The company contends it has secured deals with wind farm for cheaper electricity, which will constitute the majority of the costs. The electricity will be used to power some 1000 ASIC mining rigs, to be purchased by TBBMC, running at 43 terahashes per second, according to information from Envestry.

“The combined processing power of this mine will be on the Peta-hash scale, which will make it a significant global mine,” says a summary of the investor pitch. “Proceeds from the mine will be securely stored in off-line wallets and safety-deposit boxes.”

“We are entirely focused on maximising shareholder returns and so, understanding the relatively volatile nature of Bitcoins, we have allowed for four different growth scenarios with up to 45% capital growth per annum,” explains Declan Kennedy, CFO and one of three admins who will manage TBBMC.

The company intends to exit bitcoin mining within 2-3 years with shareholders’ returns earned from the sale of mined bitcoins and the mining equipment in pound sterling. This is touted as a ‘proven exit strategy’ to be enforced in aa scenario wherein the value of bitcoin hasn’t increased above a forecasted value or if the company doesn’t obtain permission from its investors to continue mining – if the price of bitcoin increases above forecasts.

https://www.ccn.com/uk-it-equipment-maker-plans-britains-biggest-bitcoin-mining-farm/

Thai regulators have reportedly agreed to enact two separate laws on cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings. They will regulate crypto businesses, the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies, as well as their taxation.

Two Laws Being Drafted

The Thai Minister of Finance, Mr. Apisak Tantivorawong, said on Thursday that the government is preparing to announce the regulations for cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs) by the end of this month, Channel 7 news reported.

After the cabinet’s meeting, the country’s deputy prime minister, Mr. Somkid Jatusripitak, explained that two laws are being drafted, according to Thai Rath newspaper.

The first is the Act on Digital Asset Businesses. It requires the registration and know-your-customer (KYC) compliance of cryptocurrency operators including agents, dealers, and brokers, the news outlet detailed. It also imposes penalties and remedies for violations.

The second is the revision of the country’s Revenue Code which concerns taxation related to cryptocurrencies and ICOs, the publication described.

Continue reading >> https://news.bitcoin.com/thailand-pass-two-cryptocurrency-laws/

Who can help me, guys, i want to make quick investigation, what was the real ICO Debitum ETH token price?

Icodrops site has such information related to this: ICO price 1 DEB = 0.26 USD (0.00030 ETH)

But the highest price i found on official debitum site during ICO was: 1 ETH - 6 500 DEB (1/6500 = 0.00015 ETH)

Maybe anyone knows the site or spreadsheet, where one can find real ico data.

Пожалуйста подскажите, какая цена была во время PreICO и ICO на токены Restart Energy. Нахожу только информацию 1 MWAT = 0.1000 USD - цена ICO. По PreICO - 20% бонус. Наверняка на сайте было указано за 1 ефир - столько то тысяч монет. Интересует именно цифры в эфире. Может кто подскажет сайт или таблицу, где ведеться такой учет.

Я был в шоке когда узнал что Centra не заплатила автору темы за перевод. Человек их раскручивал больше всех, и вот так развести на долях. Бессовестные. На счет иска, там вроде техническая неувязка, инвестор обвинил их в том что они продали ему незарегистрированные активы. Скорее всего инвестор психонул, из-за просадок по цене и стал искать причину для подачи в суд. Насчет "сладкой жизни", походу иск полугодичной давности их вообще не волнует, ребята делают деньги.

Bitcoin is invading the college experience in Illinois as students are flocking to courses that focus on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

Most college students tend to focus their enthusiasm and energy on courses devoted to their particular major. Classes that fall outside of that purview are often taken due to being easy, allowing students to keep up their GPA. However, a new field of study is proving extremely popular in Illinois colleges, drawing students from multiple disciplines. Professors are reporting that courses devoted to studying Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, as well as the underlying blockchain technology, are filling up almost as soon as they’re posted.

CRYPTO IN THE CLASSROOM

It appears that the subject of cryptocurrency is getting students motivated to show up for class. Quite a few colleges in the state of Illinois are now offering courses specializing in Bitcoin and blockchain. Professors and students are now aware that having knowledge of cryptocurrency and its underlying blockchain technology is vital for forging a career in finance and business. As such, students majoring in those subjects are interested in crypto classes, but they’re not alone. Students majoring in engineering, computer sciences, and from many other fields of study are signing up too.

Some of the universities now offering cryptocurrency classes include Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Illinois Institute of Technology, DePaul’s Driehaus College of Business, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Some professors have said that interest in such classes is being driven by a younger crowd, eager to dive into this new technology. They note that older faculty and students prefer to focus on traditional financial subjects. Professor Gib Bassett talks of this divide, stating:

"They want to hear about bitcoin. Their parents have told them it’s a tulip bubble. It’s crazy, it’s ridiculous, and their friends who invested three years ago are millionaires. … There’s clearly a generational component to this."

Continue reading >> http://bitcoinist.com/bitcoin-classes-proving-popular-illinois-colleges/

According to Brazilian news outlet Agência Brasil, authorities in Rio de Janeiro recently uncovered a money laundering scheme in which state officials misstate the budget spent on food for state-run prisons. Bitcoin was reportedly used to exchange some of the scheme’s proceeds, which totaled roughly $22.4 million.

After the scheme was discovered, search warrants were issued to 28 different sites, with seven people having been arrested so far. Among those arrested are Rio de Janeiro’s former state secretary of Prison Administration, coronel Cesar Rubens Monteiro, and delegate Marcelo Martins, director of the Department of Specialized Police of the Civil Police.

Luíz Henrique Casemiro, Superintendent of the Internal Revenue Service in Rio, revealed this was the first time cryptocurrencies were used in such an operation. He stated (roughly translated):

      “We drew attention, in the Federal Revenue, regarding this specific operation, because for the first time appear operations involving bitcoin. That’s a novelty, it shows that people are trying to improve in some way, maybe fly below the Central Bank and the IRS’ radar.”

At least one state official claimed the scheme was spearheaded by Sérgio Cabral, a former Rio de Janeiro Governor who was sentenced to 14 years in prison last year over money laundering and corruption charges.

Continue reading >> https://www.ccn.com/brazilian-prison-system-officials-caught-22-4-million-bitcoin-fraud/

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