Coin News

Coinbase continues to grow with their new high-end investment product Coinbase Custody, while Binance had to run a system update following some issues with its Syscoin wallet API.

On the topic of regulation, the EU has put out another report on virtual currencies warning officials not to ignore them but treat them like any other financial instrument; the SEC is reaching out to seek comments on a new ETF; and Ripple finds itself on the wrong end of yet another lawsuit claiming that its XRP token is a security.

Featured stories by Jimmy Aki, Colin Harper and Nick Marinoff

Stay on top of the best stories in the bitcoin, blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Coinbase’s New Custody Service Opens Its Doors

Coinbase launched Coinbase Custody this week, the latest in their suite of products. This new service is catered toward institutional investors and big spenders, offering its clients cryptocurrency cold storage options, “institutional-grade broker-dealer” services and asset coverage.

The services will only be available to American and European institutions, though the company hopes to expand its offering into Asian markets as well.

EU’s Report on Cryptocurrencies: Says Officials “Should Not Ignore” Them

The EU’s Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies released a report entitled “Virtual currencies and central banks monetary policy: challenges ahead.”

In evaluating cryptocurrencies as a novel, potentially disruptive technology, the report ultimately concludes that “[policy] makers and regulators should not ignore VCs, nor should they attempt to ban them … VCs should be treated by regulators as any other financial instrument, proportionally to their market importance, complexity, and associated risks.”

SEC Seeks Comments on Another Bitcoin ETF

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking comments on another bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (ETF). The proposal in question calls for the listing and trading of SolidX bitcoin shares, and stems from the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust, which states it will invest in “bitcoin only.”

The SEC is now asking for comments on the Trust’s newly proposed regulatory changes from “interested persons.” Though several companies have tried to list bitcoin ETFs before, concerns regarding the cryptocurrency’s liquidity and its consistent price swings have led to rising concern amongst SEC representatives, which can make the listing process difficult or long-winded.

Syscoin: Chain “Fully Operational as per Design” After “Irregular” Trade Activity

On July 3, 2018, Binance suspended all trading and withdrawal services due to "irregular" Syscoin (SYS) trades carried out "from a number of API users." The exchange has since resumed all activities. Questions remain, however, as to the root cause of the problem.

While the price of Syscoin had hovered around 0.00004 BTC, an order for 1 SYS in exchange for 96 BTC was placed and completed on Binance. This trade sent the market into overdrive as users assumed that the exchange or the Syscoin protocol had been compromised — though Syscoin insists that the chain was never compromised or hacked.

Another Class Action Filed Against Ripple, Claims XRP Has “Hallmarks of a Security”

Ripple is staring down the barrel of yet another securities lawsuit — its third one this year. The suit’s plaintiff, David Oconer, is demanding that the court classify XRP as a security, while also seeking relief for the “damages, recession” that he incurred from investing in the coin.

The suit argues that Ripple never registered with California’s Commissioner of Corporations for qualification, a mandatory registration for any securities offering in the state. The plaintiff alleges that Ripple’s sale of XRP in a “never-ending initial coin offering” resembles that of an IPO, with the currency itself acting like a dividend for the ROI its promotion promised to investors.

Coinbase continues to grow with their new high-end investment product Coinbase Custody, while Binance had to run a system update following some issues with its Syscoin wallet API.

On the topic of regulation, the EU has put out another report on virtual currencies warning officials not to ignore them but treat them like any other financial instrument; the SEC is reaching out to seek comments on a new ETF; and Ripple finds itself on the wrong end of yet another lawsuit claiming that its XRP token is a security.

Featured stories by Jimmy Aki, Colin Harper and Nick Marinoff

Stay on top of the best stories in the bitcoin, blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Coinbase’s New Custody Service Opens Its Doors

Coinbase launched Coinbase Custody this week, the latest in their suite of products. This new service is catered toward institutional investors and big spenders, offering its clients cryptocurrency cold storage options, “institutional-grade broker-dealer” services and asset coverage.

The services will only be available to American and European institutions, though the company hopes to expand its offering into Asian markets as well.

EU’s Report on Cryptocurrencies: Says Officials “Should Not Ignore” Them

The EU’s Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies released a report entitled “Virtual currencies and central banks monetary policy: challenges ahead.”

In evaluating cryptocurrencies as a novel, potentially disruptive technology, the report ultimately concludes that “[policy] makers and regulators should not ignore VCs, nor should they attempt to ban them … VCs should be treated by regulators as any other financial instrument, proportionally to their market importance, complexity, and associated risks.”

SEC Seeks Comments on Another Bitcoin ETF

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking comments on another bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (ETF). The proposal in question calls for the listing and trading of SolidX bitcoin shares, and stems from the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust, which states it will invest in “bitcoin only.”

The SEC is now asking for comments on the Trust’s newly proposed regulatory changes from “interested persons.” Though several companies have tried to list bitcoin ETFs before, concerns regarding the cryptocurrency’s liquidity and its consistent price swings have led to rising concern amongst SEC representatives, which can make the listing process difficult or long-winded.

Syscoin: Chain “Fully Operational as per Design” After “Irregular” Trade Activity

On July 3, 2018, Binance suspended all trading and withdrawal services due to "irregular" Syscoin (SYS) trades carried out "from a number of API users." The exchange has since resumed all activities. Questions remain, however, as to the root cause of the problem.

While the price of Syscoin had hovered around 0.00004 BTC, an order for 1 SYS in exchange for 96 BTC was placed and completed on Binance. This trade sent the market into overdrive as users assumed that the exchange or the Syscoin protocol had been compromised — though Syscoin insists that the chain was never compromised or hacked.

Another Class Action Filed Against Ripple, Claims XRP Has “Hallmarks of a Security”

Ripple is staring down the barrel of yet another securities lawsuit — its third one this year. The suit’s plaintiff, David Oconer, is demanding that the court classify XRP as a security, while also seeking relief for the “damages, recession” that he incurred from investing in the coin.

The suit argues that Ripple never registered with California’s Commissioner of Corporations for qualification, a mandatory registration for any securities offering in the state. The plaintiff alleges that Ripple’s sale of XRP in a “never-ending initial coin offering” resembles that of an IPO, with the currency itself acting like a dividend for the ROI its promotion promised to investors.

Coinbase continues to grow with their new high-end investment product Coinbase Custody, while Binance had to run a system update following some issues with its Syscoin wallet API.

On the topic of regulation, the EU has put out another report on virtual currencies warning officials not to ignore them but treat them like any other financial instrument; the SEC is reaching out to seek comments on a new ETF; and Ripple finds itself on the wrong end of yet another lawsuit claiming that its XRP token is a security.

Featured stories by Jimmy Aki, Colin Harper and Nick Marinoff

Stay on top of the best stories in the bitcoin, blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Coinbase’s New Custody Service Opens Its Doors

Coinbase launched Coinbase Custody this week, the latest in their suite of products. This new service is catered toward institutional investors and big spenders, offering its clients cryptocurrency cold storage options, “institutional-grade broker-dealer” services and asset coverage.

The services will only be available to American and European institutions, though the company hopes to expand its offering into Asian markets as well.

EU’s Report on Cryptocurrencies: Says Officials “Should Not Ignore” Them

The EU’s Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies released a report entitled “Virtual currencies and central banks monetary policy: challenges ahead.”

In evaluating cryptocurrencies as a novel, potentially disruptive technology, the report ultimately concludes that “[policy] makers and regulators should not ignore VCs, nor should they attempt to ban them … VCs should be treated by regulators as any other financial instrument, proportionally to their market importance, complexity, and associated risks.”

SEC Seeks Comments on Another Bitcoin ETF

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking comments on another bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (ETF). The proposal in question calls for the listing and trading of SolidX bitcoin shares, and stems from the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust, which states it will invest in “bitcoin only.”

The SEC is now asking for comments on the Trust’s newly proposed regulatory changes from “interested persons.” Though several companies have tried to list bitcoin ETFs before, concerns regarding the cryptocurrency’s liquidity and its consistent price swings have led to rising concern amongst SEC representatives, which can make the listing process difficult or long-winded.

Syscoin: Chain “Fully Operational as per Design” After “Irregular” Trade Activity

On July 3, 2018, Binance suspended all trading and withdrawal services due to "irregular" Syscoin (SYS) trades carried out "from a number of API users." The exchange has since resumed all activities. Questions remain, however, as to the root cause of the problem.

While the price of Syscoin had hovered around 0.00004 BTC, an order for 1 SYS in exchange for 96 BTC was placed and completed on Binance. This trade sent the market into overdrive as users assumed that the exchange or the Syscoin protocol had been compromised — though Syscoin insists that the chain was never compromised or hacked.

Another Class Action Filed Against Ripple, Claims XRP Has “Hallmarks of a Security”

Ripple is staring down the barrel of yet another securities lawsuit — its third one this year. The suit’s plaintiff, David Oconer, is demanding that the court classify XRP as a security, while also seeking relief for the “damages, recession” that he incurred from investing in the coin.

The suit argues that Ripple never registered with California’s Commissioner of Corporations for qualification, a mandatory registration for any securities offering in the state. The plaintiff alleges that Ripple’s sale of XRP in a “never-ending initial coin offering” resembles that of an IPO, with the currency itself acting like a dividend for the ROI its promotion promised to investors.

SIX, the firm that operates and owns the Swiss stock exchange, has announced plans to launch a fully regulated digital cryptocurrency exchange.

The firm says it plans to launch "the first market infrastructure in the world” which will “offer a fully integrated end-to-end trading" while providing a safe environment where digital assets can be issued and existing securities and non-bankable assets can be tokenized.

The new crypto exchange will be called SIX Digital Exchange (SDX), and it plans to rollout its services in mid-2019.

SIX Head Securities & Exchanges and Member of the Executive Board Thomas Zeeb, while speaking on the development in an interview, said the new SDX would be all-encompassing.

"The digital exchange will allow clients of SIX to trade, settle and custodize digital assets in the same way they currently do in the traditional world," he said.

Zeeb said the strength of SIX makes the SDX unique, as it will control the entire "value chain from trading through to payments" in Switzerland. The new exchange, which will create an "ecosystem" when it launches, will also help companies raise capital through ICOs.

"We are putting together a team of developers and advisors to help clients in creating ICOs and new products," he added.

SIX CEO Jos Dijsselhof commented on why his company was building an exchange for cryptocurrencies despite the slump in prices. He believes the SIX Digital Exchange will usher in a "new era for capital market infrastructures" and that much of what we're experiencing in the crypto space "is here to stay” and it will “define the future of our industry."

The demand for cryptocurrencies among the world's power brokers seems to be on the rise. Earlier this year, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of NYSE said it was working on an online platform that would allow "large investors to buy and hold Bitcoin." Another institutional player, Nasdaq, expressed optimism about the possibility of trading cryptocurrencies in the future.

The SDX will be regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) and the Swiss National Bank.

HBUS, a virtual currency marketplace and the U.S. strategic partner of Huobi, has begun accepting new registration from U.S. residents, starting today July 6, 2018.

American customers will be able to deposit cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether on its platform. However, users won't be able to trade or make withdrawals until the marketplace goes live on July 10, 2018.

The company, headquartered in San Francisco, aims to promote "an open and competitive market" where traders can choose from a rich pool of "high-quality virtual currencies."

HBUS is the U.S. strategic partner of Huobi, the fourth largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume.

Initially founded in China but currently headquartered in Singapore, Huobi has been making plans to penetrate the American market for a while. The exchange has been expanding aggressively into foreign markets, including the Canadian and Brazilian markets. It also launched a cryptocurrency exchange traded fund last month.

Speaking with Bitcoin Magazine, HBUS CEO Frank Fu stated, "Our strategic partner, Huobi, has grown to be the largest digital asset marketplace globally. As investors’ acceptance of virtual currency and digital assets increases, we have seen incredibly high demand in the U.S."

For foreign platforms, an expansion into the U.S. places stringent requirements for them to comply with strict regulation. HBUS, in a Medium post, had stressed its desire to be transparent and trustworthy to both its clients and regulators. The company says "it plans to lead by example" as it has educated its staff on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing. It has also "required them to pass tests" on the subject matter.

One of the earliest adopters of blockchain technology — the Digital Isle of Man (Digital IOM) — is now an official member of the British Blockchain Association (BBA). The organization serves as a bridge between government regulators and the private sector, and encourages growth, innovation and support in the Isle of Man’s fintech industry.

Digital IOM believes that blockchain technology has the power to revolutionize how the world does business, and it recently granted the first reputable license for a blockchain lottery. The association primarily works through the Isle of Man’s Department for Enterprise to govern both digital media and e-gaming.

Brian Donegan, director for e-business at Digital IOM, explained, “The BBA has been very proactive in providing a platform to support our blockchain based initiatives, which has provided us with added competitiveness in these markets via access to their specialist technical expertise.”

The BBA has attracted several thriving industries over the years, including pharmaceuticals, healthcare, energy and identity management. Donegan says the group’s knowledge and assistance have been profound, and he can’t imagine Digital IOM succeeding without their influence.

“The BBA has offered advice, guidance and has connected us to other like-minded BBA Member businesses and individuals who understand what we’re trying to achieve,” he stated. “The BBA has facilitated and helped us integrate this technology as well as drive awareness of the importance of this ground-breaking technology, for example into the blockchain enabled lottery business.”

As the first official network dedicated to blockchain adoption and promotion in the U.K., the BBA boasts an extensive board of industry leaders, global blockchain experts and academics, working to establish blockchain-based enterprises and education platforms. The organization also works with policy makers and legislators to integrate blockchain technology into government branches.

In addition, it produces the Journal of the British Blockchain Association (JBBA), Europe’s first official news publication dedicated to blockchain trends. The BBA also provides membership to education professionals and students alike, giving them access to newfound blockchain knowledge, research and learning resources.

Dr. Naseem Naqvi, co-founder of the BBA, said, “Over the last four decades the island [Isle of Man] has built a reputation as a ‘top-class’ jurisdiction for offshore banking, investment funds and captive insurance. With its involvement in the crypto industry, including digital currency exchange, and with more and more blockchain initiatives starting up we’ll be able to support Digital IOM to collaborate with U.K. industry, academia and government for an even greater impact.”

The Isle of Man was among the first to establish regulatory guidelines for the crypto industry and began welcoming digital exchanges in 2013. The area also played host to the world’s first regulatory-compliant initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017.

Since its invention, a recurring question for cryptocurrency holders has been how to best secure their digital assets. This question of security carries the greatest weight when one understands the stakes of holding unprotected cryptocurrency — vulnerability to hackers.

Since 2011, software developers have kept this problem at the back of their minds. One such innovator, Peter Kroll, recently joined Rob Mitchell on Episode #56 of The Bitcoin Game to discuss the background of his ventures and the technical details of his most lauded project in cryptocurrency security.

BitAddress and the Paper Wallet

Kroll’s primary contribution to the field of crypto security has been his invention of the first paper wallet, at Bitaddress.org. Having launched the original website anonymously in 2011, he was able to hone a system of security that addresses several of the most prominent flaws of cryptocurrency security.

Kroll’s website solves several core problems in a remarkably elegant way. To begin with, the HTML code for the website itself does not need an internet connection to execute after its page has been loaded. This means someone can perform the entire process of generating a new wallet without being vulnerable to a cyberattack across the internet.

The program then adds a human-component circumvention, asking users to move their computer mice in erratic patterns, to eliminate the problem that coded systems are unable to generate truly random numbers. Using intervals decided by pseudo-random numbers and other factors, the program captures the exact pixel that the mouse cursor was on at any given moment and uses the number of this pixel to generate the hash for a bitcoin wallet.

Kroll explained that this strategy is useful because certain pieces of hardware contain exploitable flaws in their pseudo-random number generators, whereas flawed devices running the BitAddress software create hashes that are not vulnerable in the same way.

For a final piece of security, a wallet is given a QR code that can be printed out onto a piece of paper, thus keeping it offline and insulated from a cyberattack. In doing this, Kroll’s security program manufactures novel wallet addresses that are protected from several of the most common vectors of theft.

The Vision Behind the Technology

]In addition to explaining the technical details of his groundbreaking platform, Kroll also gave context to what inspired him in the cryptocurrency environment. Furthermore, he went on to outline what he believes to be some of the most salient issues surrounding the space today.

Over the course of the interview, Kroll gave a number of personal details about why he ended up working in the cryptocurrency space. He started by recollecting his earliest interactions with the world of technology development.

“When my mom brought home our first computer,” Kroll recalled, “you couldn’t really do much on it. Programming seemed the natural thing to do.”

For a 14-year-old during the dot-com boom, the costs of many specialty pieces of software were completely prohibitive. Learning to program at a young age motivated Kroll to seek opportunities when the value of software would spike next.

His experience building micropayment venues in this era, naturally, attracted him to Bitcoin. It also prepared him to quickly see the inherent flaws in its security. By creating his website so early in the space, Kroll’s platform became a significant influence in the world of cryptocurrency. It also allowed him to iron out all the kinks in the program before vast audiences adopted it.

Toward the end of the interview, Kroll began speaking about some of his future ventures, trying to similarly hammer out all of the potential quandaries in developing a diversified hedge fund for cryptoassets. In this segment, he laid out some of the core philosophical differences that led to the current status of altcoins as well as advice for how to proceed with alternative cryptocurrencies in the future.

For more podcasts and articles on these topics, visit the Let’s Talk Bitcoin Network.

Since its invention, a recurring question for cryptocurrency holders has been how to best secure their digital assets. This question of security carries the greatest weight when one understands the stakes of holding unprotected cryptocurrency — vulnerability to hackers.

Since 2011, software developers have kept this problem at the back of their minds. One such innovator, Peter Kroll, recently joined Rob Mitchell on Episode #56 of The Bitcoin Game to discuss the background of his ventures and the technical details of his most lauded project in cryptocurrency security.

BitAddress and the Paper Wallet

Kroll’s primary contribution to the field of crypto security has been his invention of the first paper wallet, at Bitaddress.org. Having launched the original website anonymously in 2011, he was able to hone a system of security that addresses several of the most prominent flaws of cryptocurrency security.

Kroll’s website solves several core problems in a remarkably elegant way. To begin with, the HTML code for the website itself does not need an internet connection to execute after its page has been loaded. This means someone can perform the entire process of generating a new wallet without being vulnerable to a cyberattack across the internet.

The program then adds a human-component circumvention, asking users to move their computer mice in erratic patterns, to eliminate the problem that coded systems are unable to generate truly random numbers. Using intervals decided by pseudo-random numbers and other factors, the program captures the exact pixel that the mouse cursor was on at any given moment and uses the number of this pixel to generate the hash for a bitcoin wallet.

Kroll explained that this strategy is useful because certain pieces of hardware contain exploitable flaws in their pseudo-random number generators, whereas flawed devices running the BitAddress software create hashes that are not vulnerable in the same way.

For a final piece of security, a wallet is given a QR code that can be printed out onto a piece of paper, thus keeping it offline and insulated from a cyberattack. In doing this, Kroll’s security program manufactures novel wallet addresses that are protected from several of the most common vectors of theft.

The Vision Behind the Technology

]In addition to explaining the technical details of his groundbreaking platform, Kroll also gave context to what inspired him in the cryptocurrency environment. Furthermore, he went on to outline what he believes to be some of the most salient issues surrounding the space today.

Over the course of the interview, Kroll gave a number of personal details about why he ended up working in the cryptocurrency space. He started by recollecting his earliest interactions with the world of technology development.

“When my mom brought home our first computer,” Kroll recalled, “you couldn’t really do much on it. Programming seemed the natural thing to do.”

For a 14-year-old during the dot-com boom, the costs of many specialty pieces of software were completely prohibitive. Learning to program at a young age motivated Kroll to seek opportunities when the value of software would spike next.

His experience building micropayment venues in this era, naturally, attracted him to Bitcoin. It also prepared him to quickly see the inherent flaws in its security. By creating his website so early in the space, Kroll’s platform became a significant influence in the world of cryptocurrency. It also allowed him to iron out all the kinks in the program before vast audiences adopted it.

Toward the end of the interview, Kroll began speaking about some of his future ventures, trying to similarly hammer out all of the potential quandaries in developing a diversified hedge fund for cryptoassets. In this segment, he laid out some of the core philosophical differences that led to the current status of altcoins as well as advice for how to proceed with alternative cryptocurrencies in the future.

For more podcasts and articles on these topics, visit the Let’s Talk Bitcoin Network.