Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten has announced a revision to its corporate restructure, setting up a new payments subsidiary that includes its cryptocurrency business, Cointelegraph Japan reported Jan. 21.Rakuten, known informally as ‘Japan’s Amazon,’ originally revealed in August last year it would seek to reorganize its various offshoots in order to improve accountability and decision-making processes....... … Continue reading Japan: E-Commerce Giant Rakuten to Move Crypto Exchange to New Payments Subsidiary
Iceland: Figurehead in Bitcoin Miner Heist Jailed for More Than Four Years
An Icelandic man has received a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence for stealing Bitcoin mining equipment, local English-language news outlet Iceland Monitor reported Jan. 17. Sindri Þór Stefánsson, who in April 2018 boarded a flight to Stockholm from Reykjavik reportedly with a stolen passport, was subsequently arrested in Amsterdam and returned home. Stefánsson claimed he legally fled … Continue reading Iceland: Figurehead in Bitcoin Miner Heist Jailed for More Than Four Years
Nasdaq CEO: Crypto Could Still Become ‘a Global Currency of the Future’
Adena Friedman, president and CEO of Nasdaq Inc., says that cryptocurrency “deserves an opportunity to find a sustainable future in our economy,” in a post on LinkedIn, published Jan. 20. Writing ahead of her appearance at the World Economic Forum at Davos this week — the opening day of which is today, Jan. 22 — … Continue reading Nasdaq CEO: Crypto Could Still Become ‘a Global Currency of the Future’
Spanish Port Authority Joins Blockchain Platform Developed by IBM and Maersk
The Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA) has signed an agreement under which it will collaborate with IBM on its shipping platform Tradelens, Europa News reported on Jan. 21. Tradelens is a digital platform based on blockchain technology developed by both IBM and international shipping giant Maersk. Algeciras is one of the top … Continue reading Spanish Port Authority Joins Blockchain Platform Developed by IBM and Maersk
Major Central Bank Institution BIS: Bitcoin Must Depart From Proof-of-Work
Bitcoin’s (BTC) problems are only solvable by departing from a proof-of-work (PoW) system, according to research published by the Bank for International Settlement (BIS) on Jan. 21. According to the paper, when in the future Bitcoin’s block rewards fall to zero — given that only a limited number of new Bitcoin will ever be created … Continue reading Major Central Bank Institution BIS: Bitcoin Must Depart From Proof-of-Work
Crypto Exchange Cryptopia Hacked, Suspends Trading, Reports ‘Significant Losses’
On Tuesday (January 15th), New Zealand-based cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia announced that on Monday it had "suffered a security breach which resulted in significant losses."Cryptopia is a leading digital asset exchange in New Zealand with over two million users. At press time (10:15 UTC on January 15th), this was the image that greeted visitors to Cryptopia's website: … Continue reading Crypto Exchange Cryptopia Hacked, Suspends Trading, Reports ‘Significant Losses’
Falcon Turns Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, and Litecoin Into ‘Bankable’ Assets
On Monday (January 21st), Falcon, a private Swiss bank that first became involved with cryptocurrencies in July 2017, announced that it was strengthening "its first-mover position in blockchain banking by introducing direct transfers of cryptocurrencies."Falcon Private Bank ("Falcon") is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, and it has branches in Dubai, London, and Luxembourg. On 12 July 2017, it … Continue reading Falcon Turns Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, and Litecoin Into ‘Bankable’ Assets
First Yen-to-Bitcoin Stablecoin Approved for ‘Sandbox’ by Japanese Regulators
A Japanese yen-backed stablecoin has been approved for test usage and licensing by the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA), in Japan’s so-called “sandbox” legal regime. The license will last for one year, and has the stated objectives of: [testing] and [validating] i) the secure transfer of crypto assets on a sidechain network and ii) the … Continue reading First Yen-to-Bitcoin Stablecoin Approved for ‘Sandbox’ by Japanese Regulators
Japan’s SBI Group Invests $15 Million in Crypto Cold Storage Solution Firm, Tangem
SBI Group, a Tokyo-based financial services firm that launched (last year) the first bank-owned digital currency exchange in Japan, has invested $15 million in Tangem, a Switzerland-based developer of “smart physical banknotes” for cryptocurrencies. As explained on Tangem’s official website, the company has designed proprietary slimline hardware wallets for digital assets - which it refers … Continue reading Japan’s SBI Group Invests $15 Million in Crypto Cold Storage Solution Firm, Tangem
At Least 260′ Projects ‘Being Built’ on the EOS Platform, Block.one Claims
Block.one, the Cayman Islands-registered tech firm that raised a record $4 billion through an initial coin offering (ICO) to help fund the development of EOS, a blockchain-based platform for creating decentralized applications (dApps), recently published an update regarding EOS’ adoption rate and network performance.......... Source: CryptoGlobe