BTC-funded Escape, 1,000 Twitter “Gods,” Bitcoin Suisse Gets USD 49m + More News
Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
Legal news
- Ex-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn’s son sent some USD 500,000 in bitcoin (BTC) to an American suspected of helping Ghosn escape, said prosecutors in the United States. The prosecutors alleged that Anthony Ghosn sent BTC 63 (now USD 600,000) to Michael and Peter Taylor, the father-and-son duo who reportedly sneaked Ghosn out of Japan in December last year, reported Newsweek Japan.
Security news
- Two Twitter whistleblowers have reportedly told Reuters that over 1,000 “employees and contractors” were given access to “internal tools that could change user account settings and hand control to others” in the lead up to the platform’s recent hack and subsequent BTC scam posts. The two employees said that access was provided “as of earlier this year.”
Investment news
- Crypto-financial services provider Bitcoin Suisse said it has completed a Series A investment round worth some USD 49m. The company did not reveal much in the way of details about its investors, but claimed that “the financing round included 16.4% of shares of [holding company] BTCS Holding AG, consisting of 6.4% treasury shares and 10% newly issued shares.” The investment has boosted its valuation to over USD 327 million, the company said.
Blockchain news
- Two more Chinese cities have been added to a fast-growing blockchain and fintech central- bank-run sandbox program, reported East Money. The names of the two cities have not been disclosed, but the new additions will bring the total of participating companies up to nine.
- Chinese financial services giant China UnionPay is looking to fill new senior blockchain roles, reported IResearch. The financial firm said it is looking for a “number of” post-doctoral research professionals with knowledge of blockchain and digital currency-related matters.
Regulation news
- The Ukrainian government has unveiled plans to begin monitoring crypto transactions in the country. Per an official announcement from the nation’s Finance Ministry, the government will use blockchain analytics tools from Crystal Blockchain, a research arm of blockchain technology group Bitfury. The ministry said the solution will let it “verify the origin of transactions.”
Crypto adoption news
- Banxa, an Australian fiat on- and off-ramp that works with the likes of Binance and Edge Wallet, said it has entered into a “strategic partnership” with America’s Zero Hash, a company that it said is “providing the regulatory and technology rails for the digital asset ecosystem.” Banxa said that the deal will allow it to offer its gateway solution to North America-based crypto exchanges, wallet providers and “other cryptocurrency businesses.”
- Crypto-friendly bank Avanti Financial aims to open as early as October 2020. According to the press release, the Wyoming Division of Banking in the US accepted the bank’s application on July 15, and accelerated the application process. Avanti also plans to launch a new product, dubbed Avit, aka ‘the stablecoin disruptor.’ It’s a programmable digital asset designed for use by institutional traders and corporate treasurers, which can only be issued by banks and might be treated as a cash equivalent.
Exchanges news
- OKEx has added three more expiration dates to its options trading: daily, two-day, and monthly. This follows previously launched weekly, bi-weekly, quarterly, and bi-quarterly options. Multi-expiry represents a major upgrade to OKEx’s options trading, coming after the launch of ETH and EOS options trading.
- Binance has partnered with CM-Equity AG, a regulated German investment firm providing asset management and brokerage services for crypto assets, with the goal to expand services for German and European customers. Per the announcement, crypto traders and investors in Europe are able to use both Binance and CM-Equity, while additional partnership plans will be announced at a later date.
