Coin News

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

One of bitcoin’s biggest bulls is calling it: blockchain is a bubble, on par with the dotcom bubble that occurred at the turn of the millennium. Steve Wozniak, who co-founded what is now the world’s largest company, said that he sees parallels between the development of the internet — as well as the hype cycle

The post Bitcoin is ‘Amazing’ but Blockchain Is a ‘Bubble’: Steve Wozniak appeared first on CCN

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is once again seeking comments on potential bitcoin-based exchange traded funds (ETFs). 

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

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Less than six months after it originally said it would ban them, Facebook has reversed its course on cryptocurrency ads. Now the social network says it wants to "refine" the policy. Here's what you need to know.

Here are the current crypto prices:

In the news:

SEE ALSO: Inside a bitcoin billionaire's master plan for his futuristic office and $21 million penthouse : Miniature luxury cars, holographic receptionists, and secret tunnels

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NOW WATCH: Here's why the US Men's team sucks at soccer

Welcome to Crypto Insider, Business Insider's roundup of all the bitcoin and cryptocurrency news you need to know today. Sign up here to get this email delivered direct to your inbox.

Less than six months after it originally said it would ban them, Facebook has reversed its course on cryptocurrency ads. Now the social network says it wants to "refine" the policy. Here's what you need to know.

Here are the current crypto prices:

In the news:

SEE ALSO: Inside a bitcoin billionaire's master plan for his futuristic office and $21 million penthouse : Miniature luxury cars, holographic receptionists, and secret tunnels

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's why the US Men's team sucks at soccer

In what now seems like a point equidistant between today and the Trojan War, James Carville, then a strategist for candidate Bill Clinton, noted that the economy was the seminal issue in the 1992 Presidential Election. Carville created a simple phrase to share with his staffers, ‘it’s the economy, stupid,’ to keep the seminal issue

The post Three Ways Bitcoin Price Could Reach $20,000 by December: ‘It’s the Messaging, Stupid’ appeared first on CCN

Bitcoin's percentage of the crypto market is up – a sign that investors are likely switching their money from alternative cryptocurrencies.

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US-based VC firm Andreessen Horowitz is reportedly “closing in on” $300 million for a blockchain-dedicated fund, called a16z crypto, according to The Wall Street Journal. The fund, which the Journal reports is one of the industry’s largest dedicated specifically to blockchain technology, will be co-led by new hire Katie Haun, who was previously the Justice Department’s first-ever coordinator on digital currency.

Andreessen Horowitz is taking a “long-term and patient” approach to the fund, with plans to hold investments for up to 10 years and invest consistently over time, regardless of market conditions, according to CNBC.

Here’s what the new fund means for crypto companies:

• It’s a huge opportunity for direct funding. Most VC funds face a 20% cap on cryptocurrency investments. But Andreessen Horowitz’s new fund is in a different classification than traditional venture funds, which will allow it to surpass that cap. The firm plans to focus primarily on “early-stage equity” for new blockchain and cryptocurrency firms, and will look to acquire rights to some tokens. At a time when blockchain investment is on the rise, Andreessen Horowitz’s push in the segment could be welcomed and might help contribute to more maturity among these players.
• It could bring regulatory clarity. Regulation around cryptocurrencies and blockchain is still murky, with challenges and questions about how to classify and police this area persisting even as the industry continues to boom. Haun, at the fund’s helm, reportedly wants to help strike the “right balance between innovation and regulation.” Her regulatory experience and relationships as the fund emerges, and as other VCs potentially follow suit, could help shed some light on next steps for regulating the nascent technology.

This could bring more legitimacy to the cryptocurrency space. The fledgling crypto market was thrust into the spotlight with its surge in value last year — but it still faces substantial roadblocks. Price volatility has led to hesitation among both retail and experienced investors, and distaste and reputation-related issues remain — the US House of Representatives passed a bill to study the use of cryptocurrency in sex trafficking or drug trafficking, indicating ongoing concern about its legitimacy. This vote of confidence from a leading VC firm could help resolve some of these issues, ultimately allowing the industry to mature into a more mainstream asset or venture option. 

Of the many technologies reshaping the world economy, distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) are among the most hyped. DLTs are most often associated with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but such coverage sidelines the broader use cases of DLTs, even though they stand to make a far bigger impact on the broader the financial services (FS) industry.

DLT's value lies in its ability to centralize record-keeping, while cutting out the need for authorization by an overseeing party, instead allowing a record to be confirmed by multiple parties with access to the database. This means DLTs have the potential to streamline financial institutions' (FIs) operations, boost data security, improve customer relationships, and drastically cut costs. But many FIs have struggled to implement DLTs and reap the rewards, because of organizational obstacles, but also because of issues rooted in the technology itself. There are a few players working to make the technology more usable for FIs, and progress is now being made.

In a new report, Business Insider Intelligence takes a look at what DLTs are and why they hold so much promise for FS, the sectors in which DLTs are gaining the most traction and why, and the efforts underway to remove the obstacles preventing wider DLT adoption in finance. It also examines the few FIs close to unleashing their DLT projects, and how DLTs might transform the nature of FS if adoption truly takes off. 

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• DLTs are proving attractive to FIs because of their ability to act as a single source of truth, distribute information securely, cut out middlemen, improve transaction times, and cut redundancy and costs.
• DLTs like blockchain and smart contracts stand to save the FS industry up to $50 billion a year through improved operational efficiencies, reduced human error, and better regulatory compliance. 
• The technology is being explored actively across FS, with trade finance, insurance, and capital markets proving especially active. Overall adoption is still low because of organizational and technical hurdles, but these are now being eliminated, promising to boost implementation.
• A few FIs have pulled ahead of the curve and are very close to taking their DLT projects live, if they haven't already. These players can serve as useful case studies for other institutions in getting their DLT solutions live.

In full, the report:

• Looks at what DLTs are, and why the FS industry is working hard to make use of them. 
• Gives an overview of the financial segments which are seeing the most DLT activity, and what they stand to gain.
• Outlines efforts being made to make DLT more approachable and usable for the FS industry.
• Examines use cases in which FIs have managed to take their pilots live, and what they can teach their peers. 

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• Uphold, a crypto and global currency exchange, has looked to acquisition to get the licenses necessary to trade securities in compliance with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC).
• On Wednesday, Uphold announced its plans to acquire JNK Securities Corp., a registered broker-dealer that works with institutional clients. 
• While Uphold doesn't trade stocks, it does sell eight different cryptocurrencies, and industry insiders expect the SEC to regulate some cryptocurrencies as securities in the near future. 
• Coinbase, a competitor of Uphold, announced a similar acquisition on June 6. 

Uphold, a crypto and global currency exchange, just made a major move toward becoming a licensed securities trader.

On Wednesday, Uphold announced its plans to acquire JNK Securities Corp., a registered broker-dealer which has the licenses necessary to trade any cryptocurrencies which may be regulated as securities by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  

"We've been following what the SEC and other regulators have been saying very closely, and we're aware of their view that many tokens may be considered securities," Uphold General Counsel Ben Sherwin told Business Insider. 

"There's some uncertainty, so we're trying to stay at the forefront, and we believe that this is the direction that things are moving," Sherwin said.

Cryptocurrency exchanges in the US have historically gone unlicensed since US regulatory agencies haven't taken an official stance on whether cryptocurrencies are considered securities. 

Earlier this month, the agency indicated that it doesn't see the two most popular coins, bitcoin and ethereum, as under its jurisdiction, though the SEC is expected to formally regulate many of the smaller cryptocurrencies as securities in the near future. 

Uphold, which traded 30 different currencies including eight cryptocurrencies, has also filed applications with Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Once that's approved, Uphold said it will apply for an alternative trading system license (ATS) with the SEC.

Once it has these licenses, Uphold will be able to sell and trade the tokens generated through initial coin offerings (ICOs) with oversight from regulatory bodies. 

Coinbase, a competitor of Uphold, announced a similar acquisition on June 6  — a deal which bought the bitcoin exchange a broker-dealer license, an alternative trading system license (ATS), and a registered investment advisor (RIA) license.

JNK Securities Corp., which does trading and research for institutional clients, will continue to operate its existing businesses. 

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

SEE ALSO: An early Coinbase and Twitter investor just gave Uphold $57.5 million to add Ripple and insure against hacks

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Sneaky ways Costco gets you to buy more

• Uphold, a crypto and global currency exchange, has looked to acquisition to get the licenses necessary to trade securities in compliance with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC).
• On Wednesday, Uphold announced its plans to acquire JNK Securities Corp., a registered broker-dealer that works with institutional clients. 
• While Uphold doesn't trade stocks, it does sell eight different cryptocurrencies, and industry insiders expect the SEC to regulate some cryptocurrencies as securities in the near future. 
• Coinbase, a competitor of Uphold, announced a similar acquisition on June 6. 

Uphold, a crypto and global currency exchange, just made a major move toward becoming a licensed securities trader.

On Wednesday, Uphold announced its plans to acquire JNK Securities Corp., a registered broker-dealer which has the licenses necessary to trade any cryptocurrencies which may be regulated as securities by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  

"We've been following what the SEC and other regulators have been saying very closely, and we're aware of their view that many tokens may be considered securities," Uphold General Counsel Ben Sherwin told Business Insider. 

"There's some uncertainty, so we're trying to stay at the forefront, and we believe that this is the direction that things are moving," Sherwin said.

Cryptocurrency exchanges in the US have historically gone unlicensed since US regulatory agencies haven't taken an official stance on whether cryptocurrencies are considered securities. 

Earlier this month, the agency indicated that it doesn't see the two most popular coins, bitcoin and ethereum, as under its jurisdiction, though the SEC is expected to formally regulate many of the smaller cryptocurrencies as securities in the near future. 

Uphold, which traded 30 different currencies including eight cryptocurrencies, has also filed applications with Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Once that's approved, Uphold said it will apply for an alternative trading system license (ATS) with the SEC.

Once it has these licenses, Uphold will be able to sell and trade the tokens generated through initial coin offerings (ICOs) with oversight from regulatory bodies. 

Coinbase, a competitor of Uphold, announced a similar acquisition on June 6  — a deal which bought the bitcoin exchange a broker-dealer license, an alternative trading system license (ATS), and a registered investment advisor (RIA) license.

JNK Securities Corp., which does trading and research for institutional clients, will continue to operate its existing businesses. 

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

SEE ALSO: An early Coinbase and Twitter investor just gave Uphold $57.5 million to add Ripple and insure against hacks

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Sneaky ways Costco gets you to buy more

Many investors and analysts expected the reversal of cryptocurrency advertisement ban by the $576 billion technology giant Facebook to fuel a short-term corrective rally. However, bitcoin and the rest of the cryptocurrency market struggled to sustain momentum. In the past 24 hours, the crypto market lost over $7 billion amidst a minor correction. On June

The post Bitcoin Price Ducks Below $6,100 as Crypto Market Loses $7 Billion: No Facebook Effect appeared first on CCN

After yesterday's drop, bitcoin could fall below the $6,000 mark, but will likely fare better other cryptocurrencies.

The crackdown of vendors on darkweb marketplaces lets the U.S. government seize 4,000 bitcoins and now it wants to confiscate all of them.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) in conjunction with a host of other government agencies have uncovered vendors of illicit goods on the Darknet to seize weapons and over $20 million in bitcoin from them. The operation which was spearheaded by the Department of Justice had Special Agents of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) pose as money … Continued

The post US Justice Department Seizes $20m+ in Bitcoin in Nationwide Drug Bust appeared first on CCN

Dogecon, a conference about "the social layer of crypto culture", took place last weekend and people on social media have only good things to say.

“Even if one is quite skeptical of whether bitcoin will have a significant role in the economy in the future, I think it is hard to avoid some admiration for its design,” Reserve Bank of Australia official Tony Richards thus addressed bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general in a speech to the Australian Business Economists in

The post Australia Central Bank Admires Bitcoin But Says It Has ‘Flaws’ appeared first on CCN

Despite bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies currently hovering near their lows for the year, interest in the nascent technology is expected to more than double in the future in the United States and Europe. This is according to a study conducted by ING Bank N.V. in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Romania,

The post Cryptocurrency Ownership in Europe and the US Expected to Double: ING Study appeared first on CCN

The ongoing bitcoin price recovery might be short-lived and prices may suffer another retracement, but falling prices will be temporary and bitcoin remains a solid investment in the near-term. This was the investment opinion of Blockchain Capital partner Spencer Bogart, speaking to Melissa Lee on CNBC’s “Fast Money” this week. The venture capitalist, who has

The post Bitcoin Price Hasn’t Found a Bottom [Yet]: Crypto Hedge Fund Manager appeared first on CCN