Coin News

Bitcoin took a significant step toward becoming a mainstream financial instrument this week, as two institutional investors completed the first-ever exchange for physical (EFP) transaction involving bitcoin futures. The CME EFP Bitcoin transaction, facilitated by E D & F Man Capital Markets, a registered futures commission merchant, and itBit, an institutional-grade cryptocurrency exchange, saw two

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This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

• GM said on Tuesday it will let certain car owners rent their vehicles out on the Maven network to earn money. 
• The program is still in beta, but is currently available in Chicago, Detroit, and Ann Arbor, Michigan. 
• GM owners and eligible lessees of GMC, Chevrolet, Buick, or Cadillac vehicles that are model year 2015 and newer can participate in the program in the cities mentioned. 

General Motors announced a plan on Tuesday for owners to share their cars and earn money for doing so.

GM said it will use Maven, its smartphone-based car rental service, to let GM owners and eligible lessees of a GMC, Chevrolet, Buick, or Cadillac vehicle that are model year 2015 or newer to earn money by renting their car to members of the Maven network. 

This new peer-to-peer offering service is now available in Chicago, Detroit, and Ann Arbor, Michigan. The plan is for GM and Maven to collect data during this limited release before expanding to other cities in the fall. 

"Your car is one of the most expensive things you own. Sitting idle, it is a wasted asset," said Julia Steyn, vice president, General Motors Urban Mobility and Maven in a published statement. "It’s time to put your car to work. Maven’s peer-to-peer offering is a smart way for owners to offset their vehicle investment."

The Maven technology currently works as an intuitive car-rental service, where members use a smartphone app to rent and unlock vehicles. Under the new policy, these GM "peer cars" will now be added into the pool of available rental vehicles for Maven's more than 150,000 members. GM owners who would like to list their cars for rental can do so through Maven's website. 

"Maven is a platform designed for sharing and we’ve proven demand exists," said Steyn in the same published statement. "In this beta, we are excited to offer GM owners the opportunity to capitalize on this demand and earn income by listing their vehicles."

GM hasn't finalized exactly how much a person will make off renting their car to others, but during beta testing the owner will get to keep the majority of the earnings, a GM spokesperson told Business Insider. 

"Currently, the owner will receive 60 percent of the earnings from each rental. Since this is a beta, we look forward to learning what works best in the service before we bring it scale," the spokesperson said. 

Customers and owners alike will be protected by strict guidelines implemented by GM. All renters will be vetted before entering into the program and all participating vehicles will be insured by GM up to $1,000,000 dollars. 

SEE ALSO: I tried GM's Zipcar competitor that's wildly popular among millennials — here's the verdict

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NOW WATCH: An early investor in Uber, Airbnb, and bitcoin explains why it's actually a good sign that no one is spending their crypto

Mike Arrington, the founder of Arrington XRP Capital, who raised eyebrows in November launching a hedge fund denominated in Ripple, said the hedge fund actually holds more bitcoin than XRP during a CNBC Cryptotrader interview at Korea Blockchain Week. He also predicted bitcoin’s price will reach $25,000 this year. Arrington announced his $100 million hedge fund

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Mike Arrington, the founder of Arrington XRP Capital, who raised eyebrows in November launching a hedge fund denominated in Ripple, said the hedge fund actually holds more bitcoin than XRP during a CNBC Cryptotrader interview at Korea Blockchain Week. He also predicted bitcoin’s price will reach $25,000 this year. Arrington announced his $100 million hedge fund

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• The CEOs of American Airlines and Delta Air Lines "pledged" that the seats on their planes won't get any more cramped than they are now.
• The American CEO Doug Parker and Delta boss Ed Bastian made the promise in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

The seats on American Airlines and Delta Air Lines won't get any smaller than they are now. At least, that's what the CEOs of two of the largest airlines in the world told the Wall Street Journal.

In a recent interview with the publication, American CEO Doug Parker and Delta chief executive Ed Bastian both "pledged" that the new seats on their planes won't be any tighter than they are now. 

United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz declined to take part in the story which featured both CEOs crammed into a middle seat in the economy cabin of a Boeing 777, a workhorse of both airlines' international long-haul fleets. United did not comment on why its chief executive declined the interview.

American's widebody 777 cabins have seat pitch or the amount of room between two row of 31 inches. Although, its new 737MAXs have just 30 inches of pitch. While Delta's revamped Boeing 777 holds steady at 31 inches. Some of Delta's older Airbus A320-family jets also have just 30 inches of pitch, but Bastian admits that's a move the airline would no longer make.  United's 777s also have 31 inches of pitch. 

There is one difference that sets Delta apart from the other two. While American's 777s boast 10-seat per row in a 3-4-3 configuration, Delta offers a roomier nine-seat layout. United operates a mixture of both nine and ten-abreast 777s. In fact, Delta and United are some of the last remaining airlines in the world to a hang nine per-row layout. 

Emirates, the Boeing 777's largest operator, flies with 10 seats per row. 

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 20 best airlines in the world

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Two of Bitcoin Cash’s leading personalities are sparring over a preliminary proposal that would reduce the amount of time between BCH blocks by a factor of 10. Writing on Twitter, Haipo Yang, CEO of mining pool ViaBTC and cryptocurrency exchange CoinEX, said that he believed the Bitcoin Cash block time should be lowered to 1

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• Costa Rica-based company Establishment Labs, the maker of Motiva breast implants, went public last week.
• It was the first IPO for the aesthetics sector in 2018, and the first breast aesthetics public offering in more than three years.
• The company is trying to disrupt an industry dominated by just three players: J&J, Allergan, and Sientra.
• The funding from the initial public offering will help the company advance through FDA clinical trials. 

Breast augmentation surgeries are the most popular plastic surgery procedures in the world, but there has been little innovation in years.

A Costa-Rican company called Establishment Labs hopes to change that by bringing an updated breast implant into the US market.

Founded in 2004 by Juan José Chacón-Quirós, who grew up in a family full of plastic surgeons, the medical technology company went public on the Nasdaq last Thursday.

The funding it receives through the public offering will fund the FDA clinical trial process for its Motiva silicone breast implants. Establishment Labs will finish enrolling for its clinical trials in 2019.

This will be the first IPO for the aesthetics sector in 2018, and the first breast aesthetics public offering in more than three years.

"There has been no innovation in this area in a long time," said Chacón-Quirós in an interview. "I wanted to create a product that will be updated with technology from this century."

The global breast implants market size was valued at $1.2 billion in 2016 and is expected to grow to $2 billion by 2025. Of that market, silicone implants held the largest market share over alternatives like saline implants. Despite saline implants being safer, silicone are the more popular option due to their natural feel. Research into using other materials like soybean oil for implants has been unsuccessful. Chacón-Quirós set out to create Motiva implants to be comfortable and safe for consumers.  

It's on course to disrupt an industry dominated by just three players: Johnson and Johnson, Allergan, and Sientra.

Motiva implants have been available in Latin American and European markets since 2010, and has since expanded to 60 countries. 

"We reimagined breast implants with updated chemistry and mechanical properties," said Chacón-Quirós. A specialized gel used to make the implant allows it to mimic a more natural feel. The implant is nested under the mammary gland in the breast, and therefore doesn't interfere with normal functions like breastfeeding or breast screening. 

In a study published in Aesthetic Surgery Journal in 2017, it was found that compared to traditional silicone implants, Motiva implants had lower rates of complications after three years, suggesting that it is safe and durable. 

Women are becoming more active, said Chacón-Quirós, and Motiva is updating the breast augmentation industry to accommodate this shift. 

The implants sell for a higher price than other options in the market, and is also available to insurers and public health systems. 

Of the 1.8 million cosmetic surgical procedures performed in the US in 2017, there were roughly 300,000 breast augmentation procedures, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. According to the FDA, approximately 5 to 10 million women worldwide have breast implants.

SEE ALSO: Sunscreen doesn't always shield beachgoers from burns — and so these scientists set out to make it work better

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Large-scale hedge fund operators, cryptocurrency traders, experts, and exchange operators have expressed their enthusiasm towards the short-term rally of bitcoin. Experts React On July 24, the price of BTC surpassed a major resistance level at $8,000, reaching $8,300 within a matter of hours. The daily peak of bitcoin was established at $8,363, but the dominant

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Ripple's sales of the XRP cryptocurrency fell 54 percent to $75.53 million in Q2, but the firm gained more customers, its latest report says.

Crypto exchange WEX continues to see prices well out of step with the rest of the market amid the continuation of a near-total freeze on withdrawals.

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Goldman Sachs breaks down the damage a trade war could cause in the stock market and 2 ways investors can protect themselves

So far, trade disputes between the US and China have resulted in only brief episodes of volatility in the stock market.

Some investors aren't even going as far as calling the conflict a full-blown trade war yet. But with neither country showing any signs of backing down, Goldman Sachs' equity strategists have laid out the impact that escalating tensions could have on the market.

The Trump administration has imposed a 25% import tax on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods this year and has also threatened to hit another $400 billion worth of products with tariffs because of China's retaliation. It has also imposed and threatened tariffs on Canada, the European Union, and Mexico in its quest for what the administration considers fairer trade.

There are two ways trade disputes could hurt the earnings of S&P 500 companies, according to David Kostin, Goldman's chief US equity strategist.

Bitcoin king Mike Novogratz leads $52 million investment in crypto-lending startup

Mike Novogratz's merchant bank Galaxy Digital has led a $52.5 million fundraising round for crypto-lending startup BlockFi, the firm announced on Tuesday.

The New York-based firm offers corporate and retail clients loans on their crypto holdings, with a loan book in the millions.

Founded by former Cognical senior vice president Zac Prince, the firm has raised money in two rounds this year. In February, it raised $1.55 million from ConsenSys Ventures, SoFi, and Kenetic Capital, as CoinDesk previously reported.

The most recent round comes as BlockFi eyes expansion in new states and international markets, and the addition of new products. It is also looking to support more cryptocurrencies.

Citi has poached a Chase executive to run its 'Shark Tank'-type program

Citigroup has poached a senior leader from JPMorgan Chase to run an internal start-up incubator within its consumer banking division whose vetting process has been compared to the TV show "Shark Tank."

Alex Sion, formerly the GM of JPMorgan Chase's mobile channel, is joining the bank as head of D10X for Citi's Global Consumer Bank, according to a memo seen by Business Insider.

D10x — which stands for Discover 10 times — is a unit within the bank dedicated to taking start-up ideas from employees and building innovative products and services out of them.

Deutsche Bank is hiring 25% more new analysts this year — and they provide a window into the bank's strategy

Deutsche Bank, which has been battling bad news for months, is now in hiring mode.

The German lender has hired almost 800 new university graduates globally this year, its second highest number ever and 25% more than last year, according to internal figures seen by Business Insider and confirmed by a bank spokesman. The bank held orientation for the class last week.

The hiring comes as Deutsche surprised investors last week with news that it plans to report a higher-than-expected profit for the second quarter under new CEO Christian Sewing. Deutsche has seen key traders leave in the last few months amid plans to cut up to 7,000 jobs at the bank by the end of 2019.

Roughly 27% of Deutsche's incoming class is made up of bankers, compared to 16% of traders, providing a window into how the bank's strategy is developing. Deutsche's revenue from stock and bond trading is down 15% for the second quarter, compared to big gains from US banks.

In markets news

• No investment is safe as market turbulence spikes to the highest since the financial crisis — and Morgan Stanley says there's only one solution

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The cryptocurrency market cap crossed a major milestone on Tuesday, surpassing the $300 billion mark for the first time since mid-June amid growing optimism that the bitcoin price is entering a new bull cycle. Cryptocurrency Market Cap Pierces $300 Billion The last time the overall market traded above $300 billion was June 12, bringing the

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• One Medical is a medical practice that charges a flat fee of $199 a year with the goal of making doctor's visits easier for patients.
• The private company, which got its start in 2007, is now in its second decade and is working on expanding its presence in the US and its work with employers.
• "Where we're going in our next decade is to blow this thing out nationally," CEO Amir Dan Rubin, who joined the company in August 2017, told Business Insider.

In the exploding world of healthcare technology startups — especially those working to improve visits to doctor's offices — few have been around for more than a decade.

Cue One Medical, a company founded in 2007 that charges a flat fee of $199 a year for its services. Members still use their insurance during their visits to One Medical-run clinics, but the fee covers additional services such as mobile communication with One Medical staff members and mobile prescription renewals. Members can also book appointments online, including last-minute visits.

One Medical got its start in 2007 in San Francisco and has since expanded its clinics into nine cities, including three offices in San Diego coming in 2019.

In 2017, One Medical brought on Amir Dan Rubin as CEO. A healthcare veteran, Rubin had previously led Stanford Health Care and was working as the head of UnitedHealth Group's Optum division before joining One Medical. The company's "transformational" model of primary care got him excited.

"This can actually change healthcare at scale," Rubin said.

Now more than 11 years in, the company has big plans for its second decade.

"Where we're going in our next decade is to blow this thing out nationally," Rubin said.

That includes growing in three ways: working with employers, expanding geographically — like moving into San Diego — and working with health systems.

Rubin said the company had been increasing its efforts to sign up employers and grow that business over the past two years. Historically, One Medical marketed directly toward consumers, a lot of which took place via word of mouth. So far, about 1,000 employers have signed on to offer One Medical as a benefit.

Under that system, employers cover One Medical's membership cost and consumers can opt in.

For many Americans, their employers are the ones picking up the tab. More than half of the non-elderly population is covered by an employer-sponsored plan, and almost 80% of large companies are self-insured. As healthcare costs go up, employers are the ones feeling the pressure. And some are starting to get fed up.

"Employers are frustrated with the results they're seeing," Rubin said. "They've been buying all the other stuff, and it hasn't worked."

On the health-systems side, Rubin said One Medical was partnering with health plans and hospitals to offer services that go a bit beyond primary care but can often be done by your primary-care doctor.

For example, One Medical is working with obstetricians to manage some of the healthcare visits associated with pregnancy. Instead of having to go to the ob-gyn office for routine checkups, those visits could happen at a One Medical office that may be closer to get to. Rubin said the company was also working on similar partnerships in sports medicine and therapy.

SEE ALSO: 'Waiting for its Uber moment': America's biggest companies are shaking up the healthcare system

DON'T MISS: Meet the 30 healthcare leaders under 40 who are using technology to shape the future of medicine

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NOW WATCH: An early investor in Uber, Airbnb, and bitcoin explains why it's actually a good sign that no one is spending their crypto

• Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Monday that the company is attempting to eliminate contracts for its customers and simplify the return process.
• "We’re trying to get rid of contracts completely. Should just be 'tap here & you get your car'. Then, if you don’t like it for any reason, just return it like any other product," Musk said on Twitter.
• Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its timeline for eliminating customer contracts.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Monday that the company is attempting to eliminate contracts for its customers and simplify the return process.

Musk was replying to a Twitter user who said his sister-in-law had experienced a delay with the contract for her Model X SUV.

"We’re trying to get rid of contracts completely. Should just be 'tap here & you get your car'. Then, if you don’t like it for any reason, just return it like any other product," Musk said.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its timeline for eliminating customer contracts.

Unlike other auto companies, Tesla does not sell its vehicles through licensed dealerships, choosing instead to sell them through its website and company-owned stores. Avoiding the dealership model gives Tesla more control over the sales process, but the company has run into opposition from state governments, some of which have laws that prohibit automakers from selling vehicles directly to their customers. In some cases, Tesla operates showrooms where customers can see and learn about its vehicles, but cannot place orders.

On Monday, Tesla confirmed that one of its top sales executives, Ganesh Srivats, had resigned. 

"We'd like to thank Ganesh for his hard work and wish him all the best in the future," a Tesla representative said.

Srivats will become the CEO of the online clothing and accessory retailer Moda Operandi on August 1, the company said in a press release.

SEE ALSO: A Tsunami of money could be headed Tesla's way in the next year — and that’s bad news for the bears

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NOW WATCH: An early investor in Uber, Airbnb, and bitcoin explains why it's actually a good sign that no one is spending their crypto

The SEC has delayed a decision on whether to approve five bitcoin-related ETFs, public documents reveal.

The price of bitcoin has surged to $8,200 over the past 12 hours, surpassing $8,300 at its daily peak, bringing the valuation of the crypto market to $300 billion. Bitcoin Cash, ether, Ripple, EOS, and Stellar increased by 2 to 6 percent, while some cryptocurrencies like Zcash recorded an 11 percent increase in value. Tokens

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The price of bitcoin has surged to $8,200 over the past 12 hours, surpassing $8,300 at its daily peak, bringing the valuation of the crypto market to $300 billion. Bitcoin Cash, ether, Ripple, EOS, and Stellar increased by 2 to 6 percent, while some cryptocurrencies like Zcash recorded an 11 percent increase in value. Tokens

The post Bitcoin Price Blitzes to $8,200 but Wider Crypto Markets and Tokens Suffer appeared first on CCN

You can now buy and sell bitcoin for over $8,000 on all exchanges, and even for over $8,150 on some of the most popular ones. $8,000 is an important milestone for bitcoin after some complicated weeks. When you compare the price of bitcoin today with what it used to be back in December of last […]

Honeyminer's downloadable app isn't the most profitable way to mine cryptocurrency, but it may be one of the easiest methods to date.

• The FDA just approved elagolix, a new treatment for women living with endometriosis.
• Endometriosis, a condition that affects millions of women, occurs when tissue from the uterus grows outside of it, leading to cysts, heavy bleeding, and scarring. 
• It's the first new treatment in a pill form for the disorder in more than a decade. 

The FDA just approved a new treatment for endometriosis. 

The drug, elagolix — now marketed as Orilissa — is made by AbbVie in partnership with Neurocrine Biosciences, and it's taken as a daily pill.  
It's the first new treatment for the disorder in a pill form in more than a decade. 

An estimated 4 to 10 million women in the US are living with endometriosis, a condition in which tissue from the uterus grows outside the uterus, leading to cysts, heavy bleeding, and scarring. Worldwide, the Endometriosis Foundation of America estimates that the condition affects 200 million women. The condition has made headlines in recent years as "Girls" creator Lena Dunham has publicly documented her experience living with the condition.

Up until now, endometriosis has been treated through hormone-altering medications including birth control as well as surgery to remove the tissue. 

Endometriosis can be a painful condition, but that pain can often be misconstrued for regular period cramps.

That can mean diagnosing the condition can take about 10 years after symptoms start showing up. In the case of Piraye Beim, 39, she went undiagnosed until she almost gave birth to her second child in an Uber on the way to the hospital because she hadn't realized just how far along into labor she was. To Beim, the pain from labor was the same as her monthly period.

"It was a very emotional realization for me that what I thought was a normal part of being a woman wasn't normal at all," said Beim, who is the CEO of women's health company Celmatix. "Going through that and realizing that transitional labor is what my periods feel like is why I started seeking answers at that point." 

For others, like Kristy Curry, 40, from New York, it took a few visits to the emergency room before she got a diagnosis. She had thought maybe she was just more sensitive to painful cramping.  

"Something bigger seems to be going on," she eventually realized. She's undergone surgery to remove the tissue and uses birth control to mitigate symptoms and follows a vegan diet in the hopes that it could mitigate some of the symptoms.

Michelle Kinney, an executive at a spa management company, didn't realize she had endometriosis until she underwent surgery for what she thought was appendicitis. She's now had surgery three times, but doesn't take medication apart from the occasional pain drugs. Her pain – which she describes as sometimes feeling like little people in side her skating around on razor blades and other times like someone's poured gasoline inside her — often leaves her in a position where she can't get out of bed. 

"There's no getting up," she said. 

The pain can manifest itself differently. For Curry, she describes it as a twisting, stabbing pain. For Michelle Gilmore, a 34-year-old software designer, the pain comes in various forms.

"It's almost like the pain has become an object attached to me," she said. That could mean anything from a slight pulsing sensation in her left ovary, or at its worst like someone's grating her insides. She recently had surgery, and "reluctantly" went on birth control after. 

Treating endometriosis involves changing hormone levels in the body, and events like pregnancy and menopause can bring relief. From a medication perspective, there have been a few ways to mimic that, including using leuprolide, a hormone suppressant that's injected, and contraceptives. But those treatments can come with major side effects, including bone density loss and hot flashes. 

A new wave of treatments

Orilissa, taken as a pill, works by altering hormone levels in women endometriosis to reduce the pain associated with the conditions.

"It's a drug that suppresses estrogen gently," Dr. Sanjay Agarwal, a professor and Director of Fertility Services in the UC San Diego Department of Reproductive Medicine, who was an investigator on the Orilissa trial. "The goal is to reduce the pain of endometriosis without creating excessive problems from low estrogen levels." Those include bone density loss and hot flashes that are side effects of other treatments. 

This is the first time there's been new treatments for endometriosis since the 1990s, Dr. Linda Giudice, a reproductive endocrinologist and professor the University of California-San Francisco told Business Insider. For endometriosis alone, the market is estimated to be as much as $6.8 billion, according to analysts at Jefferies. To put that into perspective, a condition like rheumatoid arthritis, which impacts fewer patients in the US, has a roughly $10 billion market. 

This may be because while endometriosis affects millions of women in the US, many are misdiagnosed for years. And even if doctors believe a woman might have the disorder, diagnosis requires a complicated, full-on surgical procedure.  

Elagolix is the first in a new wave of treatments in development for both endometriosis and uterine fibroids, a separate condition characterized by benign tumors that grow in and around the uterus that can cause heavy bleeding and pain. Kevin Gorman, the CEO of Neurocrine Biosciences told Business Insider that the drug first started clinical trials as far back as 2003. Getting the drug through phase 3 trials alone took up the last seven years. Here are some other drugs in the works to treat uterine fibroids and endometriosis, some of which are looking to compete with Orilissa. 

• Myovant's drug, relugolix, works by suppressing estrogen to low levels, and then reintroducing just enough so that it doesn't lead to bone density loss. The US trials for Relugolix should wrap up in 2019, but a phase 3 trial conducted in Japan found that the drug worked as well as leuprolide, one of the treatments currently available for uterine fibroids.
• AbbVie is also running a trial to see how Orilissa works in treating uterine fibroids. In 2018, two of its phase 3 trials had positive results by reducing heavy menstrual bleeding in 68.5% and 76% of the women on the trial with uterine fibroids, respectively, compared to a 8.7% and 10.1% reductions in the placebo group. 
• Allergan is developing Esmya, a drug that's being investigated for use in uterine fibroids. The drug works by modulating progesterone, a key hormone for women relating to the uterus. Allergan is aiming for a potential approval by August. 
• Bayer's drug, vilaprisan, also works by modulating progesterone levels to treat uterine fibroids and endometriosis. In July 2017, Bayer began a phase 3 trial studying the use of Vilaprisan to treat uterine fibroids. The trial is expected to take three years. 

What's still missing

Ideally, the approval of medications like Orilissa could spark more investment in the space so that the move from injections to pills isn't the last step.

The National Institutes of Health plans to spend about $7 million a year on endometriosis research in 2018, down from the $10 million it spent in 2015 and 2016. Diabetes, in comparison, will get about $1.1 billion in funding in 2018.  Beim, whose company Celmatix makes a genetic test that screens for risk factors associated with female fertility, said she hopes one day we'll start to see more personalized treatments for the condition, the way we do with targeted cancer treatments. 

Giudice, who advises both AbbVie and Myovant, said she'd like to see more improvements in the way endometriosis is diagnosed. Currently, the only way to diagnose the condition is through a surgical procedure. 

"It’s hard to believe," she said. 

Overall, the women Business Insider spoke with emphasized a desire for better education about the condition, both for doctors and for the general public, so that diagnoses aren't so delayed. 

"I just would love for it not to take seven to 10 years to get a diagnosis," Kinney said.

SEE ALSO: 'Nobody's talking about' 2 medical conditions that affect 8 million women in America — but that could be about to change

DON'T MISS: A woman who’s worked in venture capital for 25 years shares her best career advice — and why it was worth being the first and only woman on her team when she started out

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NOW WATCH: An early investor in Uber, Airbnb, and bitcoin explains why it's actually a good sign that no one is spending their crypto

• Mike Novogratz has led a $52.5 million fundraise for crypto-lending startup BlockFi, the company announced Tuesday. 
• The firm will use the funds to expand its lending platform outside the US and to support more digital assets. 
• BlockFi allows crypto investors to borrow against their holdings. 

Mike Novogratz's merchant bank Galaxy Digital has led a $52.5 million fundraising round for crypto-lending startup BlockFi, the firm announced on Tuesday. 

The New York-based firm offers corporate and retail clients loans on their crypto holdings, with a loan book in the millions.

Founded by former Cognical senior vice president Zac Prince, the firm has raised money in two rounds this year. In February, it raised $1.55 million from ConsenSys Ventures, SoFi, and Kenetic Capital, as CoinDesk previously reported.

The most recent round comes as BlockFi eyes expansion in new states and international markets, and the addition of new products. It is also looking to support more cryptocurrencies.

Potential new business opportunities are in fixed-income and debt investments, as well as lines of credit and a credit card, Prince told Business Insider. 

To that end, the firm has brought on former Bank of America managing director Rene van Kesteren, who ran a seven-person equity-structured financing business before joining BlockFi in May. 

Currently, BlockFi allows investors to take out a loan as high as $250,000 using either bitcoin or ethereum as collateral. That lets investors retain ownership of their crypto and not miss out on the next potential price surge, but to also have cash on hand to pay employees or go on a vacation, for instance.

This marks the most recent investment for Novogratz's Galaxy, which has been pouring money into crypto funds at a fast clip. In June, Galaxy invested $35 million into virtual-reality firm High Fidelity, and $15 million in AlphaPoint, a New York firm building out a platform for tokenized assets. 

As Business Insider previously reported, Galaxy, which has businesses in asset-management, trading, and investing, has made a significant number of investments in the market for digital coins which have not yet been disclosed publicly.

People familiar with the firm's operation said the principal-investment team has purchased stakes in high-volume initial coin offering projects and has a significant portfolio of early stage ventures.

As for BlockFi, Novogratz said: "A robust lending market is the keystone for financial systems and BlockFi’s institutional approach and deep lending expertise were key drivers in our decision to partner with them."

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NOW WATCH: An early investor in Uber, Airbnb, and bitcoin explains why it's actually a good sign that no one is spending their crypto

• Citigroup has poached a former JPMorgan Chase exec to run the consumer arm of its internal start-up incubator. 
• Alex Sion, formerly the general manager of JPMorgan Chase's mobile channel, is joining the bank as head of D10X for Citi's Global Consumer Bank, according to a memo seen by Business Insider. 
• D10X – which stands for "Discover 10 times" — lets employees build start-up ideas within the company and its vetting process has been compared to the TV show "Shark Tank."
• Over 300 Citi employees are working on 85 start-up ideas within the program.

Citigroup has poached a senior leader from JPMorgan Chase to run an internal start-up incubator within its consumer banking division whose vetting process has been compared to the TV show "Shark Tank."

Alex Sion, formerly the GM of JPMorgan Chase's mobile channel, is joining the bank as head of D10X for Citi's Global Consumer Bank, according to a memo seen by Business Insider. 

D10x — which stands for Discover 10 times — is a unit within the bank dedicated to taking start-up ideas from employees and building innovative products and services out of them. 

"I am very pleased to announce that Alex Sion will be joining us in September as the GCB Head of D10X.  This is a critical position for us and one which we took time to find someone with innovations/start-up experience as well as a background in consumer financial services. He will help us to build on the momentum you have already generated in Consumer D10X," Vanessa Colella, chief innovation officer and head of Citi Ventures, wrote in the memo.

Colella, who has likened D10X to a venture capital firm, told American Banker that Citi vets start-up ideas for the program with "deal days," which are similar to episodes of the TV show "Shark Tank" in that employees have an opportunity to pitch their concepts to senior management and the most promising ideas move on. 

Citi has over 300 employees working on 85 start-up ideas within the program, though the number of employees who have contributed to or worked within D10x is over 1,500. 

Notable products that have come out of D10X include Citi Connect, a Blockchain platform launched in collaboration with Nasdaq in May of 2017, and Proxymity, a digital proxy voting service for shareholders that launched in November.

Whereas both of those start-up ideas primarily serve Citi's corporate customers within the Institutional Clients Group, Sion will be focused on fostering products for customers of its retail bank — people with bank accounts, credit cards, and investments held at Citi. 

Sion is a fintech start-up founder himself. In 2012, he cofounded Moven, a mobile banking platform that raised $22 million in VC funding and licensed software to TD Bank and Westpac under his leadership before he left to join JPMorgan Chase in 2016. 

At JPMorgan Chase, Sion was responsible for managing a mobile banking product with more than 30 million users. 

This is Sion's second stint at Citi. He worked at the bank from 2006 to 2009, developing an early robo-adviser concept that's now called Citi Personal Wealth Management, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

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• The Turkish lira is down 3.38% at 4.8983 per dollar after Turkey's central bank unexpectedly held its key interest rate at 17.75% on Tuesday.
• Economists were expecting a 100-basis-point hike.
• The decision comes just a month after the reelection of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won reelection.
• Watch the lira trade in real time here.

The Turkish lira tumbled on Tuesday after the country's central bank unexpectedly held its key interest rate. It's currently trading down 3.38% at 4.8983 per dollar, and is threatening its record low of 4.9743.

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 17.75%, shocking economists surveyed by Bloomberg who were anticipating a 100 basis point hike.

"Recently released data indicate a more significant rebalancing trend in the economic activity," the bank's statement said. "External demand maintains its strength, while signs of deceleration in domestic demand become more visible."

Turkey's central bank has been hiking rates sharply in recent months in an effort to stem its sliding currency. In May, it announced an emergency 300-basis-point hike as the lira touched a then record low. Its one-week repo rate was at 8% as recently as April. 

Tuesday's decision comes just one month after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won reelection. He is a self-proclaimed  "enemy" of interest rates, and said in May that if he won reelection he would take more responsibility for Turkey's economy. 

"A no-change or a 'marginal' hike of 25-50bp would be Lira negative, and could prompt front-end rates to price in a higher probability of emergency tightening at some point in the not too distant future," a team of Nomura analysts led by Craig Chan wrote in a recent note to clients.

The Turkish lira has plunged 29.5% this year versus the US dollar. 

SEE ALSO: Bitcoin is back above $8,000 for the first time since May

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: What happens when you hold in your pee for too long

• The Turkish lira is down 3.38% at 4.8983 per dollar after Turkey's central bank unexpectedly held its key interest rate at 17.75% on Tuesday.
• Economists were expecting a 100-basis-point hike.
• The decision comes just a month after the reelection of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won reelection.
• Watch the lira trade in real time here.

The Turkish lira tumbled on Tuesday after the country's central bank unexpectedly held its key interest rate. It's currently trading down 3.38% at 4.8983 per dollar, and is threatening its record low of 4.9743.

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 17.75%, shocking economists surveyed by Bloomberg who were anticipating a 100 basis point hike.

"Recently released data indicate a more significant rebalancing trend in the economic activity," the bank's statement said. "External demand maintains its strength, while signs of deceleration in domestic demand become more visible."

Turkey's central bank has been hiking rates sharply in recent months in an effort to stem its sliding currency. In May, it announced an emergency 300-basis-point hike as the lira touched a then record low. Its one-week repo rate was at 8% as recently as April. 

Tuesday's decision comes just one month after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won reelection. He is a self-proclaimed  "enemy" of interest rates, and said in May that if he won reelection he would take more responsibility for Turkey's economy. 

"A no-change or a 'marginal' hike of 25-50bp would be Lira negative, and could prompt front-end rates to price in a higher probability of emergency tightening at some point in the not too distant future," a team of Nomura analysts led by Craig Chan wrote in a recent note to clients.

The Turkish lira has plunged 29.5% this year versus the US dollar. 

SEE ALSO: Bitcoin is back above $8,000 for the first time since May

Join the conversation about this story »

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Xinjiang Uyghur, an autonomous region in northwest China, has warned local Bitcoin mining enterprises to close their operations before August 30, 2018. Chinese news outlet Jinse published the notice posted by the Xinjiang Economic and Information Commission on July 21. These mining companies will also have to report to the commission. As explained in the notice, one of the

The post Chinese Authorities to Shut Down ‘Illegal’ Bitcoin Mining in Autonomous Region appeared first on CCN

Bitcoin bulls could have a breather after 40 percent month-on-month rally.

Here is what you need to know. 

Chinese policymakers are moving to shore up economic growth. A statement released by China's State Council on Tuesday said policymakers are taking steps to support economic growth, including delivering additional corporate tax cuts and promising to speed up infrastructure spending.

Goldman Sachs breaks down the damage a trade war could cause in the stock market. The firm says a deepening of the trade war would cause a 15% drop in S&P 500 earnings next year, and offered two trades for investors who are worried things will get worse. 

Bitcoin tops $8,000. The cryptocurrency has rallied more than 35% since its June lows, and is back above the $8,000 mark for the first time since May. 

Alphabet tops Wall Street targets. Google's parent company beat on both the top and bottom line and delivered strong growth in the face of the European Union's record-breaking $5 billion fine.

Papa John's creates a poison pill to prevent founder John Schnatter from taking it over. The Papa John's board of directors has adopted a limited-duration stockholder rights plan to prevent the company's founder, John Schnatter, from taking control of the company.

MoviePass shareholders approve 2 measures meant to keep the company from being kicked off its stock exchange. At a special meeting on Monday, shareholders of Helios & Matheson — which owns 92% of MoviePass — approved the possibilities of issuing 4.5 billion new shares or of carrying out a reverse stock split, which can be exercised independently at management's discretion. 

A top Tesla sales exec is out. Ganesh Srivats, a top Tesla sales executive in charge of global growth at the company, has resigned to become CEO of the online retailer Moda Operandi.

Stock markets around the world are higher. China's Shanghai Composite (+1.61%) led the gains in Asia and Germany's DAX (+1.47%) is out front in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open up 0.36% near 2,817.

Earnings reporting heats up. 3M, Harley-Davidson, and Verizon Communications are among the names reporting ahead of the opening bell while AT&T releases its quarterly results after markets close.

US economic keeps coming. FHFA home prices will be released at 9 a.m. ET before Markit US manufacturing and services cross the wires at 9:45 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 1 basis point at 2.95%. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: What happens when you hold in your pee for too long

Here is what you need to know.

Chinese policymakers are moving to shore up economic growth. A statement released by China's State Council on Tuesday said policymakers were taking steps intended to support economic growth, including delivering additional corporate tax cuts and promising to speed up infrastructure spending.

Goldman Sachs breaks down the damage a trade war could cause in the stock market. The firm says a deepening of the trade war would cause a 15% drop in S&P 500 earnings next year, and it offered two trades for investors who are worried things will get worse.

Bitcoin tops $8,000. The cryptocurrency has rallied more than 35% since its June lows and is back above the $8,000 mark for the first time since May.

Alphabet tops Wall Street targets. Google's parent company beat on both the top and bottom lines and delivered strong growth in the face of the European Union's record-breaking $5 billion fine.

Papa John's creates a poison pill to prevent founder John Schnatter from taking it over. The Papa John's board of directors has adopted a limited-duration stockholder rights plan to prevent the company's founder, John Schnatter, from taking control of the company.

MoviePass shareholders approve 2 measures meant to keep the company from being kicked off its stock exchange. At a special meeting on Monday, shareholders of Helios and Matheson — which owns 92% of MoviePass — approved the possibilities of issuing 4.5 billion new shares or of carrying out a reverse stock split, which can be exercised independently at management's discretion.

A top Tesla sales exec is out. Ganesh Srivats, a top Tesla sales executive in charge of global growth at the company, has resigned to become CEO of the online retailer Moda Operandi.

Stock markets around the world are higher. China's Shanghai Composite (+1.61%) led the gains in Asia, and Germany's DAX (+1.47%) is out front in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open up 0.36% near 2,817.

Earnings reporting heats up. 3M, Harley-Davidson, and Verizon Communications are among the names reporting ahead of the opening bell, while AT&T releases its quarterly results after markets close.

US economic data keeps coming. FHFA home prices will be released at 9 a.m. ET before Markit US manufacturing and services cross the wires at 9:45 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 1 basis point at 2.95%.

Join the conversation about this story »

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Bitcoin price is now trading above $8,000, a figure unseen in over 60 days. The price of the world’s first and largest cryptocurrency spiked over $200 in the early trading hours of Tuesday (UTC) to hit a high of $8,043 (Bitfinex), a figure unseen since trading levels on May 22. At press time, bitcoin is … Continued

The post Newsflash: Bitcoin Price Breaks Beyond $8,000 to Hit Two-Month High appeared first on CCN

• Ganesh Srivats, a top Tesla sales executive in charge of global growth at the company, has resigned.
• Srivats arrived at Tesla from the luxury retailer Burberry in 2015 to serve as vice president of North American sales. His role was expanded to cover global markets in February, the same month the electric-car maker lost another top-level executive, Jon McNeil, who was president of sales and service.
• Srivats now leaves Tesla to become CEO of the online retailer Moda Operandi, effective August 1.

Ganesh Srivats, a top sales executive at Tesla, has resigned.

Srivats joined Tesla in 2015 as vice president of North American sales. In February, his role was expanded to cover global markets. The same month, Tesla lost another top executive in Jon McNeil, who served as president of sales and service. Srivats had taken on some of McNeil's responsibilities in addition to his own.

"We’d like to thank Ganesh for his hard work and wish him all the best in the future," a Tesla spokesperson told Business Insider in an email Monday night.

Srivats arrived at Tesla from the luxury retailer Burberry. He now leaves Tesla to become CEO of the online retailer Moda Operandi, effective August 1, according to a company press release.

Tesla's Robin Ren, who had been in charge of the company's operations in China, took over worldwide sales earlier this year.

Srivats' departure comes just days before Tesla announces its second-quarter earnings, and on the same day The Wall Street Journal reported that the company had asked suppliers for refunds to help bolster its bottom line.

SEE ALSO: Tesla reportedly asked suppliers for a refund as it looks to turn a profit

DON'T MISS: A tsunami of money could be headed Tesla's way in the next year — and that’s bad news for the bears

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NOW WATCH: An early investor in Uber, Airbnb, and bitcoin explains why it's actually a good sign that no one is spending their crypto

Bitcoin's price jumped by $200 within two hours on Wednesday and passed $8,000 for the first time in two months, data shows.

The post (+) Is “Crypto” Too Dependent on Bitcoin? appeared first on CCN

These cypherpunk crypto wallet projects want to bring fungibility to bitcoin.

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has successfully prosecuted a bitcoin fraudster in connection with his criminal bitcoin investment program, which he used to extract hundreds of thousands of dollars from his victims. Announcing the successful case in a press release, the CFTC revealed that on July 9, 2018, Dillon Michael Dean of

The post U.S. Judge Slaps Bitcoin Fraudster with $1.9 Million in Penalties appeared first on CCN