South Korea’s biggest conglomerate and one of the world’s largest brands, has invested $2.9 million in crypto hardware wallet manufacturer and custodial service provider Ledger in a high-profile deal.

The multi-million dollar investment in Ledger by Samsung comes less than a week after Samsung Ventures led a $4 million round in ZenGo, a startup developing keyless crypto wallets.

The commitment of Samsung in the crypto sector is likely to act as a catalyst that recovers the confidence of investors in the long-term prospect of the market.

See more - https://www.ccn.com/samsung-ploughs-2-9-million-into-crypto-hardware-wallet-giant-ledger

In the absence of dedicated regulation, Ukrainians are expected to pay the regular 19.5% income tax rate on their profits from crypto-related activities like trading and mining, a high-ranking official from the Finance Ministry in Kiev explained. Crypto investors are free to report their digital funds as either property or financial assets.


The question, what do crypto investors owe the state, is a hot topic in many communities around the world. Authorities in most countries rush to tap into their incomes and profits, often before they’ve regulated the space and legalized digital assets, and sometimes even when they refuse or fail to recognize cryptocurrencies in any of their roles. Ukraine is no exception.

However, according to Ukraine’s deputy-finance minister Sergey Verlanov, the issue with cryptocurrencies is clearly exaggerated as far as taxation is concerned. Everything is much simpler than it seems at first glance, he claimed in an interview with Ekonomicheskaya Pravda.

“Two types of operations are possible with cryptocurrency – mining and trading. So, let’s say we bought bitcoin for 1,000 hryvnias; then we were lucky and it went up to 2,000 hryvnias; then we left bitcoin and credited the funds to a bank card. The change is 1,000 hryvnias. We impose income tax on it,” he elaborated, adding: “The rate is 19.5% – whether this is a lot or a little, is a rhetorical question.”

See more - https://news.bitcoin.com/ukrainians-advised-to-pay-19-5-tax-on-crypto-incomes/

The world’s most expensive bitcoin core (BTC) price is in Iran. A combination of high foreign currency demand, economic sanctions and an improved regulatory environment – with some speculation – have sent the price of the leading digital currency skywards. How high can it go?


The price of BTC in Iran rose sharply on Wednesday after the government of President Hassan Rouhani approved plans to mainstream bitcoin mining – and as the local currency nosedived.

BTC hit a world record $24,000 on the Iranian exchange EXIR, eclipsing its previous high of $20,000, as investors piled into the digital currency in search of a safe haven against the falling rial.

EXIR tweeted that “bitcoin bull markets already started in Iran as rial price goes down against USD.” The rial is trading at around 138,000 against the US dollar on the streets of Tehran, according to a Reuters report, about 230 percent above the official rate of around 42,000.

See more - https://news.bitcoin.com/bitcoin-hits-24000-in-iran-after-government-okays-mining/

The head of the Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is targeting draft rules for domestic cryptocurrency exchanges within weeks ahead of finalizing regulations later this year.

Cryptocurrency exchanges in the Philippines could soon operate as regulated trading platforms as authorities proactively seek to both protect investors and enable an inclusive ecosystem for cryptocurrencies to flourish in the country.

In quotes reported by BusinessWorld, SEC commissioner Ephyro Luis B.Amatong  stated:

“We will put out a draft rule for the virtual currency exchanges, hopefully within the first half of September.”

See more - https://www.ccn.com/philippines-prepares-to-regulate-cryptocurrency-exchanges-as-trading-platforms/

По многим проектам прошлой осени уже готовы бета версии платформ, вот только трейдеры не спешать штурмовать новые площадки. Конечно, все можно свернуть на медвежий рынок, вот только одни разработчики быстро разворачивают работающую биржу и без ico, другие собирают массу денег на краудфандинге, год пилят, в итоге этим мало кто пользуется.

A Bitcoin wallet with BTC 111,114, worth around USD 800 million at current exchange rates, had been lying dormant since 2014 but recently became active according to an analysis from a Reddit user. A whole range of theories as to who is behind this wallet is cropping up. Some people think it’s Satoshi, others say it’s a wallet connected to the Silk Road. It’s possible this wallet is connected to Mt Gox or perhaps it’s just an anonymous whale investor.

From this old mega wallet, a total of USD 115 million was sent to crypto exchanges. Clearly, whoever owns this wallet has decided to cash out some of these Bitcoins or might be starting to actively trade. At the time the wallet was created four years ago, the Bitcoins were worth USD 71.5 million.

See more - https://bitcoinnews.com/111000-bitcoin-wallet-becomes-active-after-4-years-of-dormancy/

German capital markets giant Deutsche Börse has created a dedicated ‘DLT, Crypto Assets and New Market Structures’ department for exploring the application of blockchain technology.

Deutsche Börse has been exploring different applications of the blockchain for a while, the firm said in a press release. The German-based exchange had co-operated with international central securities depositories on how to use smart contracts for mobilizing scarce collateral as well as the creation of a functional prototype of a blockchain based settlement of securities with Deutsche Bundesbank.

Jens Hachmeister, Managing Director of the DLT, Crypto Assets and New Market for Deutsche Börse said the exchange has been active with the blockchain in a first phase of “ideation and exploration.”
“We invested in various initiatives to create a sound understanding of the trends, the technology, and its potential within the traditional segments of our value chain,” he added.

See more - https://www.ccn.com/deutsche-borse-launches-dedicated-cryptocurrency-and-blockchain-unit/

Japan’s primary financial regulator has dramatically increased its screening process of applicants registering to open cryptocurrency exchanges, according to a local report.

The Financial Services Agency (FSA), Japan’s financial regulator and watchdog, has “increased the number of questions asked when screening applications to about 400 items”, a four-fold increase from previous norms, the Japan Times reported on Sunday.

Following a revision to the Payment Services Act, Japan legally recognized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin as a legal method of payment in April 2017. Under the legislation, operators of domestic cryptocurrency exchanges are also required to register with the FSA to earn a license from the regulator.

“After the amended Payment Services Act took effect on April 1, 2017, only business operators registered with competent Local Finance Bureau are allowed to operate virtual currency exchange service,” the FSA said in its official guidelines [PDF] last year.

Tightening the Screening Process

Now, the regulator and watchdog has also mandated applicants to submit detailed reports (minutes) of formal board meetings to assess if the company has sufficiently discussed measures to ensure the security of its customers’ assets and its own internal cybersecurity system alongside its financial health.

The FSA will then conduct on-site inspections of these exchange operators to verify the accuracy of those answers submitted in the screening process, the report added.

While the previous 100-point questionnaire predominantly focused on system safety security and the applicant’s financial backing, the agency will now begin looking into records of board meetings as well checking the “composition of an applicant company’s shareholders,” the report added.

Citing sources, the Japan Times also claims that the agency will examine the efficiency of exchanges’ internal systems installed to “check for links to antisocial groups.”

The regulator has narrowed down on the crypto exchange industry following a $530 million cryptocurrency theft from unlicensed Tokyo-based exchange Coincheck in January.

See more - https://www.ccn.com/japan-ramps-up-scrutiny-of-new-cryptocurrency-exchange-applicants/

Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, a Bitcoin permabull known for his optimistic price targets for the dominant cryptocurrency, has said that Bitcoin will likely end the year explosively higher possibly at $20,000.

In an interview with CNBC, Lee stated that over the past year, Bitcoin, which has failed to show a correlation with the broader financial market and traditional assets like gold, has demonstrated a similar mid-term price movement as emerging markets.

Specifically, Lee discussed emerging markets ETFs like iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF, which enables investors to allocate funds into a diverse portfolio of assets and stocks in developing markets and regions.

“Both really essentially peaked early this year, and they both have been in a downward trend. Until emerging markets begin to turn, I think in some ways that correlation is going to hold and tell us that sort of the risk on mentality is those buyers aren’t buying bitcoin,” said Lee.


Lee suggested that the strong performance of assets and ETFs based on emerging markets will likely lead to the increase in the price of Bitcoin, given the correlation between the two dating back to early 2017.

The conflict between the US and Turkey, Iran, China, and other countries could lead to a decline in the value of the US dollar, especially if the Federal Reserve slows its interest rate hike policy, and that could also contribute to an increase in the price of Bitcoin, Lee explained.

He added:

“So why do we think they’re connected? Well, there is two factors. The first is hedge funds — see hedge funds typically rent emerging market stocks. So they do risk-on, risk-off. So when they’re risk-off, Bitcoin also suffers because they are risk off. The second reason has to do with wealth effect. Wealth effect means that if you are living in an emerging market, and you see your stock market fall hugely, that you will have a lot less money to buy Bitcoin.”

Last week, CCN reported that Germany officially proposed the development of a global financial system outside of the control of the US, due to the intensifying conflict between the US and Iran.

Heiko Maas, German foreign minister serving in the fourth cabinet of Angela Merkel since March of this year, said:

“For that reason it’s essential that we strengthen European autonomy by establishing payment channels that are independent of the US, creating a European Monetary Fund and building up an independent Swift system.”

Kim Dotcom, a German-Finnish entrepreneur said that considering the announcement of Germany is the first call for an independent financial system in the European finance sector, if Germany pursues its agenda, the value of the US dollar will likely fall, leading to the rise in the price of Bitcoin.

See more - https://www.ccn.com/tom-lee-bitcoin-to-hit-20k-in-2018-despite-struggle-of-emerging-markets/

На днях GatCoin пометили на основной бирже Kucoin где он торгуется знаком “Special Treatment” , это значит что есть вероятность делистинга его с этой биржи. С самим токеном вроде все впорядке, скорее всего объемы не удовлетворяют саму биржу. Отслеживайте в телеграмм канале если вам интересна эта тема, лично я жду конца 2018 года и выхода приложения.

2018 has witnessed a drop-off in price variations on digital asset exchanges.

That trend is tied to the entrance of large Wall Street firms into the market, which makes it more stable, according to cryptocurrency trading technology firm SFOX.

Many crypto enthusiast long for a day when bitcoin will replace the entire financial system. But in the meantime, Wall Street might actually be helping the digital asset's long term adoption, one firm says.

New data from SFOX, the cryptocurrency trading technology firm, shows that 2018 has witnessed a drop-off in price variations on digital asset exchanges. The firm argues that trend is tied to the entrance of large Wall Street firms into the market, which makes it more stable.

"Before institutional firms were actively trading crypto or heavily involved (before 2018) bitcoin price differences between exchanges varied as high as 4.5%," said Danny Kim, head of growth at SFOX. Now price differences are no more than one tenth of one percent, according to SFOX.

That stability is crucial as if there's less price fluctuation, then more merchants would feel comfortable about accepting bitcoin, which may lead to wider adoption.

A number of large Wall Street firms including Goldman Sachs and ICE, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, made headlines when they announced their intention to enter the market for digital assets. Behind the headlines, large money managers, hedge funds, and endowments have also been entering the market.

See more - https://www.businessinsider.com/wall-street-firms-are-making-bitcoin-more-stable-2018-8

Lloyds of London, the world’s leading insurance market providing specialist insurance services to businesses in over 200 countries and territories, has moved into underwriting crypto with a new account through its business syndication.

UK underwriter Lloyds, which was established in 1765 when button maker John Taylor and iron dealer Samson Lloyd first set up a business together, has added another page to its long history through its connection with South Dakota registered Kingdom Trust, a company which provides customized and innovative digital currency custody solutions for institutional clients.

See more - https://bitcoinnews.com/bitcoin-custodians-with-12-billion-assets-secures-lloyds-insurance/

Taiwanese Congressman Jason Hsu is on a mission to turn the island nation into a hub for blockchain tech and cryptocurrency.

Jason Hsu, the man dubbed the ‘Crypto Congressman’ by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, is on a mission to turn Taiwan into a technological powerhouse, specifically in the fields of virtual currency and blockchain.

Since becoming an official Member of Parliament in 2016, Hsu has worked to foster initiatives concerning autonomous vehicles, cybersecurity, and the digital economy — all in an effort to help close the gap between public policy and technology.

Now, Hsu is laboring to bring crypto and blockchain to the forefront.

Aside from launching a self-regulatory entity to help brainstorm exchange regulations, the so-called Crypto Congressman helped organize a coalition to support the blockchain industry.


Hsu’s work when it comes to cryptocurrency and blockchain has certainly not gone unnoticed.

Hsu gained prominence after penning and announcing the Fintech Innovation Experimentation Act last year. The act would give financial technology start-ups the ability to apply to operate on a three-year trial period.

A final version of the bill that included other legislator’s drafts was passed at the tail end of December. Hsu said the legislation would “usher in a new era for Taiwan’s financial technology.”

In a recent interview, Hsu said his eye is now on drafting guidelines that will help exchanges regulate themselves in Taiwan, focusing on elements like information transparency, credit risk management, and prudent administration.

See more - https://bitcoinist.com/crypto-congressman-trying-to-turn-taiwan-into-a-technological-powerhouse/

Bitcoin’s hash rate has spiked to a record high of 62 Exahash/s as of 26 August 2018, where an Exahash is equivalent to 1,000 Petahash, and a Petahash equals 1,000 Terahash. The previous record high was 54 Exahash/s on 10 August. This continues the long-term trend of Bitcoin’s hash rate exponentially increasing. To put this in perspective, up until the second half of 2013, hash rate was less than 100 Terahash/s.

It may seem somewhat surprising that Bitcoin’s hash rate is hitting record highs even though the price is near a low for 2018. In the middle of August, this was as low as USD 5,800, after hitting USD 20,000 in December 2017. Bitcoin has rallied and is sitting at USD 7,100 as of this writing. Perhaps this price increase, combined with expectations that price will increase even more, has allowed miners to switch on rigs that had become unprofitable. Additionally, with an increasing price, miners have more motivation to purchase and install more rigs.

The spike in hash rate this past week has been rapid, from 45 Exahash/s to 62 Exahash/s. This is perhaps indicative of a mining supersite being switched on. A past article on Bitcoin News discussed how mining supersites were being developed for USD 0.5-1 billion by big mining companies like Bitmain, and these supersites would cause an extreme spike in mining hash rate and difficulty that could make small mining operations unprofitable and obsolete. Indeed, mining difficulty is higher than ever at 6.7 trillion, and next time it updates it should be well above 7 trillion. The era of personal Bitcoin mining could be coming to an end quite soon.

Bitcoin’s mining hash rate is one of the best measures of the network effect, where more hash rate means more investment into Bitcoin’s infrastructure in expectation of future price increases. The spike in hash rate is enough to cause speculation and an increase in Bitcoin’s price, like the market has seen this past week. It’s somewhat of a feedback loop, higher hash rate means a higher network effect, which makes investors buy more Bitcoin, and that leads to more profitable mining conditions and therefore an even higher hash rate.

https://bitcoinnews.com/mining-hash-rate-spikes-to-record-high-62-exahash-s/

Authorities in Hong Kong have taken steps to attract fintech specialists who can support its economic development. The government of the Chinese region has prepared a list of needed professions from several related fields, including distributed ledger technologies and asset management.


As part of new efforts to underpin Hong Kong’s development as a “high value-added and diversified economy,” the government of the special administrative region of China is now moving to facilitate the immigration of “quality people” from around the world. To do that, Hong Kong authorities have drafted a “Talent List” of 11 in-demand professions, a number of which belong to the fintech industry, and intend to publicize it under the banner “Hong Kong. Talent Hub – Unlimited Opportunities.”

In an announcement published on its website, the government notes that the list highlights specific professions needed most for Hong Kong‘s economic development. Beside waste treatment specialists, engineers and naval architects, the city wants to attract foreigners with expertise related to the crypto and blockchain space. According to the notice, Hong Kong is interested in fintech professionals and innovation and technology experts in fields like distributed ledger technologies (DLT), or blockchain, data engineering, including mining and analytics, artificial intelligence and robotics, cyber security.

Authorities are also eager to invite experienced professionals in asset management, including trust fund management, as well as legal experts specializing in resolving international financial and investor-state disputes and lawyers with knowledge in cross-border transactions from investing or host states. Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, Chief Secretary for Administration and Chairman of the Human Resources Planning Commission has been quoted saying:


See more - https://news.bitcoin.com/hong-kong-seeks-fintech-talent-dlt-experts/

As for transactions they are quite fast, during this market conditions one can sand any ETH or token amount just for 2-4 gas. Many people here relied on Ethereum as a mean of crypto hodling, but it was plunged 30% during the month, while bitcoin was volatile enough to earn some profit. Take a look at the all time charts, the second time ETH makes this summer trick.

Atlas, a popular Brazilian cryptocurrency investment platform, has been hacked. Although the company claims users’ funds are safe, the personal information of over 264,000 of its customers has been leaked.

The security breach was first reported by the Investimentos Digitais (Digital Investments) YouTube channel. In total, there are 14,500 records of leaked data that detail users’ balances on the platform, their email addresses, names, and phone numbers. The leaked data shows there are 5,813 BTC (about $39 million) deposited on the platform.

According to Brazilian news outlet Portal do Bitcoin, one of Atlas’ users, with over 2 BTC deposited, confirmed the data is real. Among those whose information got leaked are Rocelo Lopes, the CEO of Stratum coinBR, a crypto services platform. Atlas itself had 792 BTC.

Acknowledging the incident, Atlas issued a statement revealing it’s going to launch an investigation into the incident while working with the proper authorities. It added that although hackers managed to leak user data, no funds were stolen.

The statement reads.

“We would like to point out that this wasn’t a bitcoin theft or a violation of our accounts in the exchanges. However, our customer base was exposed. At the time of the incident, we took immediate steps to protect the database and [the] passwords and private keys are encrypted.”

Atlas further noted the company would be adopting new security measures and wouldn’t send users any email regarding their data in the next few hours, although it was monitoring affected accounts. According to reports, for “security reasons” account withdrawals are currently restricted.

https://www.ccn.com/brazilian-crypto-investment-platform-atlas-hacked-data-of-264000-users-leaks/

The deputy for innovative technologies at the Central Bank of Iran, Nasser Hakimi, has stated that Iran’s financial regulator will be reviewing the country’s blanket cryptocurrency ban. The central bank official also indicated that the country’s regulatory apparatus pertaining to virtual currencies is expected to be finalized by the end of September.


Whilst speaking at a conference on cryptocurrency and distributed ledger technology in Tehran on Sunday, Nasser Hakimi, the Central Bank of Iran’s deputy for innovative technologies, made statements inferred as indicating that the Iranian administration will likely repeal its blanket ban on cryptocurrencies during September.

“The first concerns the prevalent global cryptocurrencies. The High Council of Anti-Money Laundering has imposed a ban in light of concerns over global allegations of money laundering and financing of terrorism. But it seems that after the government’s consideration, this blanket ban will be reviewed,” Mr. Hakimi stated.

The blanket ban, first announced on April 22nd of this year, was ostensibly intended to address concerns pertaining to money laundering and financing of terrorism.


The cryptocurrency ban is expected to be lifted when Iran announces the finalization of its new regulatory apparatus pertaining to cryptocurrencies, which is currently slated to occur by the end of September.

According to Financial Tribune, Iran’s new cryptocurrency policies have been developed under the guidance of President Hassan Rouhani.

See more - https://news.bitcoin.com/iran-expected-lift-cryptocurrency-ban-september/

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reportedly established a new internal unit dedicated to researching and regulating new emerging technologies, specifically cryptocurrency, blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI).

Holding back on a formal announcement, the RBI has discreetly formed a new unit to research and possibly supervise disruptive technologies through draft rules in the future, the Economic Times reported on Monday.

The unit has been operational for a month and already sees an as-of-yet unnamed general manager leading it, according to the report citing two sources aware of developments at the central bank.

One of the sources reported added:

“As a regulator, the RBI also has to explore new emerging areas to check what can be adopted and what cannot. A central bank has to be on top to create regulations. This new unit is on an experimental basis and will evolve as time passes.”

The development comes at a time when the central bank – after years of public caution against trading cryptocurrencies like bitcoin – said it was necessary to regulate the sector during a Supreme Court hearing in July this year.

Earlier in April, the RBI issued a circular to all regulated financial institutions – including banks – to forbid them from transacting or providing services to companies associated with cryptocurrencies. The effect of the mandate has had a crippling effect on domestic cryptocurrency trading and has seen crypto exchanges oppose the banking ban that is now a matter being contested at the Supreme Court.

Senior government officials – not directly associated with the central bank – who are part of a panel discussing regulations for the sector have ruled out a complete ban, insisting that cryptocurrencies are likely to be classified as commodities.

See more - https://www.ccn.com/indias-central-bank-quietly-forms-new-cryptocurrency-blockchain-research-unit/

I`m impressed in new GATCOIN rebranded logo and design. A simple circle with a "G" inside looks smooth, bold and memorable. Gat is a very underestimated token at the moment, so looking forward to Q4 2018, it may disrupt Asian retail market.