QuadrigaCX Users Want to Dig Former CEO Out, Literally + 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.
Crypto exchanges news
- Lawyers representing users of the now-defunct Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX are asking the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to conduct an exhumation and post-mortem autopsy on the body of Gerald Cotten, former CEO of the exchange. According to the letter by the law firm, Miller Thomson, the exhumation is needed “to confirm both its identity and the cause of death given the questionable circumstances surrounding Mr. Cotten’s death and the significant losses of Affected Users.” “Representative Counsel respectfully requests that this process be completed by Spring of 2020, given decomposition concerns,” they added. (Learn more: The Incredible Case of Quadriga: Fake Accounts and Lost Millions)
- Chainalysis, the blockchain analysis company, completed a global roll-out of its anti-money-laundering compliance solution with Bitfinex exchange, the press release says, in order to detect and prevent money laundering and illicit activity across multiple cryptocurrencies.
- Kraken has opened up a position for “Operations Director, Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution COO.” It seems that they are getting ready to open a limited-purpose bank in Wyoming, U.S., where they’d store customers’ fiat deposits. The person would need to, among other things, define and implement all necessary operational processes to fulfill compliance requirements, build out an operations team, develop systems and operational processes, and integrate it into Kraken’s platforms.
- Coinbase announced that Orchid (OXT) is launching on Coinbase Pro in four stages. Support for OXT will be available in Coinbase’s supported jurisdictions, with the exception of New York State, said the exchange, while additional regions may be added at a later date. This follows a review period, which the exchange spoke of in September.
Security news
- The VeChain Foundation said that its buyback address was compromised at 8:27pm (UTC+8) today. Approximately 1.1 billion VET (USD 6.5 million) tokens in this address were transferred into 0xD802A148f38aBa4759879c33E8d04deb00cFB92b, the hacker’s address, they added. All the addresses associated with the said hacker’s address have been tagged on VeChainStats, the list is automatically updated as soon as the hacker sends any funds from the original hacker’s address.
Adoption news
- Universally accessible central bank digital currency would bring no additional benefits for Switzerland at present, the Federal Council of the country said. Instead, it would give rise to new risks, especially with regard to financial stability, it added.
- Issuer of the popular stablecoin Paxos Standard Token (PAX), Paxos, announced that Nexo, a crypto banking institution, has purchased USD 5 million worth of PAX Gold, thus meeting the public’s need for tokenized gold lending and borrowing services, but also increasing the token’s market capitalization to USD 11 million. Paxos also said that California-based blockchain security company BitGo now provides support for PAXG across its institutional-grade hot and cold wallet solutions.
- British-Swiss commodity trading and mining company Glencore joined the Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN), a colaborative effort between a number of major corporations leveraging the technology to improve supply chain transparency. Glencore said it will use an IBM-developed blockchain solution to track cobalt.
- DigixDAO, a platform created to encourage the growth of projects and ecosystems around the Digix Gold Token (DGX) by leveraging the DGD community, proposed the introduction of a dissolution mechanism to DigixDAO. The proposal titled ‘Project Ragnarok’ follows a recurring comment the platform got over the years – for a mechanism for dissatisfied DGD token holders to make a clean break from DigixDAO. At the start of each DigixDAO Quarter, DGD token holders will be given the option of dissolution through a vote, and depending on the result, DigixDAO will either dissolve at the end of the current quarter or continue for an additional quarter.
- A survey has found that 15% of Spaniards make use of fintech apps, with 85% of that number is doing so to make payments. Per media outlet Byzness, a survey conducted by ASUFIN also found that some 30% of respondents understand the term “fintech.” The survey also found that fintech services and products users are overwhelming aged from 26 to 35, followed by users aged 36 to 45.
- Caracas and Venezuela’s top technology university are set to produce their first batch of “cryptoeconomics” graduates, reports state media. The Caracas-based Uneti university says students in its new crypto-economics and trading course will be presented with their diploma certificates – while the country’s science and IT ministry co-organizes a series of workshops focusing on blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies and the state-issued Petro token.
- South Korea’s Chosun University is set to develop the nation’s first blockchain-powered energy-sharing platform. Media outlet Ilyo Seoul reports that the country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will back and fund the plan, with participation also coming from telecoms giant KT, as well as a number of energy companies, government agencies and at least two other universities. The required technology will be created onsite at the Chosun campus in Gwangju.
Trading news
- Tagomi, a crypto brokerage backed by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, slashed its fees nearly in half, now charging 0.1% or less per trade, at the time when other exchanges raise fees. Forbes reports that the new rates are about 70% lower than what users pay on Coinbase and Gemini if they wanted to buy USD 10,000 worth of Bitcoin (BTC). The article quotes cofounder and president Marc Bhargava saying that they’re “not very interested in the client who wants to buy USD 500 of bitcoin,” but in those who are making transactions between USD 250,000 and USD 2 million.
Investment news
- Germany-based startup Upvest, which helps companies tokenize financial assets on blockchain, has raised EUR 7 million (c. USD 7.8 million) in Series A funding, in which participated Notion Capital, Partech Ventures, Speedinvest and Holtzbrinck Ventures. They said that they plan to use the capital to expand their blockchain API (application programming interface), as well as to build an easy-to-use product that fits the regulatory environment, without sacrificing security or user experience.
Mining news
- Major crypto mining company Bitmain said that it’s strengthening its global reach by choosing two cryptocurrency mining consulting firms, Fastblock and Bit5ive as the company’s official distributors of Bitmain’s Antminers in South America.
- Abkhazia will place a number of restrictions on cryptocurrency mining, after a number of areas reported increasing power-related issues. The autonomous republic of Georgia, recognized as an independent state by Russia, Syria and some other nations, has experienced issues with power supply, with unworkably high loads placed on its networks. Per a government media outlet, Abkhazia’s cabinet has imposed temporary restrictions on electricity supply to parts of the republic. The cabinet will also seek out larger mines and take further regulatory measures.
Regulation news
- Politicians appear to have rejected crypto tax reform proposals put forward by the Japanese Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA), a self-governing body that comprises licensed crypto exchange operators. Per Coin Post, the proposals included allowing traders to defer payment of taxable profits by up to three years, as well as creating a separate cryptocurrency taxation system. However, parliamentarians appear to have ignored these recommendations in their recently issued budget plans for 2020.
