UK’s Oldest Exchange to Delist Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash + More News
Crypto Briefs is your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
Listings news
- Coinfloor, Britain’s longest-running crypto exchange, will delist Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash in January 2020, and says it will focus exclusively on Bitcoin. Per media outlet CoinDesk, the exchange’s CEO Obi Nwosu says Coinfloor said that the “unclear future of hard forks and the need for onerous technical support for the second biggest coin by market capitalization” sparked its ETH delisting move. 24h trading volume on Coinfloor stands at more than USD 2 million today, while the ETH/GBP pair is responsible for almost 4% of the volume, according to Coingecko.
Blockchain news
- The board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), a group that regulates global securities and futures markets, has released a discussion paper, and asked for public comment on the use of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) in bond issuances. IOSCO says it wants to hear about the potential benefits and risks of using blockchain technology. It especially wants to hear about possible conflicts of interest cases during debt capital raising, the organization said. IOSCO says that it is possible that the transparency offered by blockchain will incentivize syndicate banks to manage their allocation process in a fair manner.
- EOS VC, the venture capital arm of blockchain software company Block.one announced today that its Grants Program has begun accepting applications. Recipients who qualify will be awarded the equivalent of USD 50,000 each when they pass milestones related to the advancement of the EOSIO ecosystem. Grants will be awarded to active EOSIO community members as well as up-and-coming projects using the protocol, says Block.one.
- The codebase and maintenance of the advanced Ethereum client Parity Ethereum will be transitioned to a DAO ownership and maintainer model, per an official announcement. The goal of the new model is to provide the basis for cross-organization collaboration. Parity wants to ensure the codebase gets the attention it needs, so that it can realize its full potential. It will be rebranded as a new, decentralized project called OpenEthereum.
- Blockchain developers’ organization ETC Labs Core will now be named ETC Core, in an effort to differentiate itself from ETC Labs. ETC Core technology coordinator Stevan Lohja said that the two entities operate in the same Github organization. He also said he was grateful that ETC Labs continued to support his team in their efforts to contribute value to Ethereum Classic and broader EthereumStack communities.
Cryptocurrency exchange news
- CipherTrace Labs says it has discovered that top American retail banks have clients who are using accounts to conduct unregistered cryptocurrency business operations without their knowledge, per an announcement. Bank clients include unregistered cryptocurrency financial service operators, such as crypto exchanges. These clients send and receive funds on bank payment networks, and a typical large bank processes as much as USD 2 billion a year in undetected cryptocurrency-related transfers. The operations pose anti-money laundering compliance challenges.
- Gate.io has reached an average trading volume of over USD 84 million, with 2.75 million users. The exchange has also achieved 18% user growth in 2019, the company said in an announcement shared with Cryptonews.com. Gate.io added that the successful launch of several new features and products in 2019 had prepared the ground for growth. Last spring, a GateChain Token (GT) sale saw orders worth USD 2.99 billion placed in a single week.
- Kyber Network, a liquidity protocol that aggregates on-chain liquidity and enables token exchange in applications, has announced plans for its forthcoming Katalyst upgrade. The upgrade will reportedly result in improvements to liquidity, the KyberDAO and will see a new staking mechanism put in place for KNC (Kyber Network Crystal) token holders. The operators say Katalyst will likely go live in the second quarter of 2020.
Regulations news
- Brazilian financial regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (known locally as the CVM) has ordered two Brazilian companies to cease trading in cryptocurrencies – or pay USD 24,567 per day fines. The CVM has ordered Stratum Blockchain and Coinbr to fall into line or risk running afoul of the law. Per Monitor do Mercado, the CVM says the companies are “not entitled to publicly offer securities.”
- A large number of Russian government agency sites are riddled with cryptojacking software, says a state security expert. Per Interfax, the deputy head of an FSB-run IT agency stated that 12,000 overseas websites, including a number of crypto-related media organizations, have been blocked by Russian agencies this year.
- South Korean government agencies and financial regulators will collaborate on the issuance of decentralized ID (DID) standards ahead of a number of private/public sector DID rollouts next year. Samsung, LG, major banks and telecoms operators are planning to release mobile ID and certification platforms in the coming months. Per Fn News, the Financial Services Comission and the Korea Internet and Securities Agency are ready to smooth the path for DID solutions.
Cryptocurrencies news
- The Venezuelan state says it will give away 0.5 free Petro tokens to all citizens who download the state-run PetroApp. Caracas has also published installation instructions on a state media website for the app, which it hopes will help popularize its “crypto-economics” drive. The Bank of Venezuela is partnering with the government on the project.
