News

In a bid to help stop the spread of the  COVID-19 disease, The New York State Department Of Financial Services (NYDFS) has issued a directive requiring crypto firms to submit their COVID- 19 preparedness plans. In a letter written to the firms on Thursday this week, the regulator noted that the disease has adversely affected the economy. As such, firms needed to develop plans to mitigate risks emanating from the pandemic. The Bare Minimum  The letter cataloged the minimum that…

BTC traders on Coinbase will soon enjoy lower transaction fees thanks to the exchange's adoption of Bitcoin Transaction Batching. The firm announced the launch of the feature on  March 12th. In a blog post confirming the same, Coinbase states that the new feature will significantly lower the load on the Bitcoin blockchain. Additionally, it can save the exchange's users more than 50% in network fees. Reduced Network Fees on Coinbase In a departure from the norm, Coinbase will now bundle…

The coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the global economy. Therefore, countries such as China and South Korea have instituted cash quarantines as strategic measures to mitigate its spread. This decision follows the World Health Organization (WHO) revelation that cash is a key medium for the virus'  transfer. Following The Trend Hungary is the most recent country to follow the trend. Local reports indicate that the country's central bank announced that it would be withdrawing billions of banknotes from circulation daily.…

Leading Defi firm MakerDao is reeling from the recent sharp drop in ETH price. Consequently, it will pursue an MKR auction in two days to plug a $4 million debt it has incurred during the crash. MakerDAO Community Vote However, the firm has called for a March 13 community vote before going on with the planned auction. According to the announcement the vote will decide on the necessary modifications occasioned by ETH's spectacular fall out.  The $4 million under-collateralized debts…

BTC miners who are critical to the coin's functioning are starting at massive profit cuts. This is according to a  March 13, 2020, Bloomberg report. According to Chris Bendiksen, head of research at  CoinShares, the almost 40%  decline in Bitcoin’s price this month,  has pushed miners into the red. The miners account for a 3rd of all the network's power. Black Thursday Crypto Twitter has christened March 12 ‘Black Thursday’ on crypto following  Bitcoin's almost 40 percent plunge. As a…

A court in the US has ruled in favour of the SEC in a case it had filed against ICOBox and its founder cum CEO Nikolay Evdokimov. Reports indicate that The District Court of the Central District of California granted the U.S. SEC’s motion for default judgement against the defendants. The case first came before the court in September of last year. In its filing, the SEC accused ICOBox of hosting an unregistered securities sale. Further, it alleged that the…

Bitcoin's continued decline is sending ripples through the crypto market. Yesterday, the coin registered its largest single-day crash in over ten months. The trading frenzy that ensued resulted in the crushing of BitMEX, the most profitable crypto-derivatives exchange.    BTC shed nearly 50% of its value to close at about $3,800, a decline that proved too much for the exchange's handling. Skew markets reports that BitMEX experienced liquidations of up to $863 million. Additionally, the platform saw the liquidation of…

The U.K.’s central bank, the Bank of England (BoE) yesterday officially issued a discussion paper on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). In the 57 page document, the bank outlined a model CBDC. According to the bank, it's CBDC would be an electronic form of central bank currency designed to store value and facilitate transactions between individuals and businesses. New Opportunities in Finance The BoE contends that CBDCs could open several opportunities in finance, including the realisation of a sturdy payments…

Reports emerging from Australia indicate that the Country's tax administrator, The Australian Tax Office (ATO) is preparing to seek out crypto traders concerning their tax obligations.  Tax Claim Goes Back Several Years A media report on Wednesday cites an ATO spokesman confirming that the agency will contact over 35,000 traders regarding their tax compliance spanning a few last years.  The Australian law regards cryptos as property subjecting them to capital gains tax. Thus trades are mandated to report all proceeds…