Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in conjunction with EOSFinex, its decentralized trading platform, have announced that they had successfully completed a “chainswap” to convert $5 million worth of Tether (USDT) stablecoins onto the EOS blockchain protocol. According to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Oct. 5, this way the companies aim to “provide the EOS DApp ecosystem with a stable and liquid store of value to reduce the risks pertaining to digital assets' volatility.” Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino added: “Promising projects aren’t getting the light of day with current congestion and volatility issues on other chains, and that is why there’s …

Fundstrat Global Advisors co-founder Tom Lee believes that Bitcoin does well when the S&P 500 market index moves up. Though Bitcoin might act as a macro hedge against global turmoil in some instances, it has largely performed negatively when the S&P 500 has dropped. It will be interesting to see how Bitcoin moves in the next few weeks. Bakkt’s launch did not generate the interest it was expected to do, which led some to blame it as the reason for the recent drop in Bitcoin. However, institutional traders do not jump in without testing waters. In a press release, Intercontinental …

Apple CEO Tim Cook said that he is not comfortable with private companies creating their own cryptocurrencies. Therefore, he ruled out plans of Apple releasing its own currency token. Though Facebook has announced plans to launch the Libra stablecoin, it is facing a lot of regulatory hurdles. Due to this, a few early backers of the project are reportedly planning to drop out, prominent among them being PayPal. The United States House Financial Services Committee has announced plans to question Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg about Libra and the company’s advertising policies. After this, the committee wants Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg …

Within the past few weeks, EOS blockchain protocol users have been experiencing periodic problems with network access. A recent article written by pseudonymous smart-contract developer and security engineer Dexaran described the apparent root of the problem: an inexpensive technique that allows hackers to “congest” the network — or put it into a low-efficiency mode — with just a few dollar’s worth of EOS. Seemingly, that exploit allowed a hacker to steal more than $110,000 in cryptocurrency from an EOS gambling application, EOSPlay, earlier in September. However, executives of EOS’s parent firm, Block.one, are not fazed, arguing that the network is …

Verisart, a company that certifies art authenticity through blockchain technology, has raised $2.5 million to further expand its commercial art platform. Verify and track provenance of art In an Oct. 3 article by Techcrunch, it was announced that Verisart raised $2.5 million in seed financing led by Galaxy Digital EOS Fund, alongside investment firms Sinai Ventures and Rhodium. The funding will go toward expanding Verisart’s product and engineering team and will make it possible to launch a whole range of services aimed at artists, galleries and collectors. Verisart’s CEO Robert Norton said: “With this new round of funding, we’re able …

Crypto companies often find out the hard way that hackers know their security systems better than they do. As hacks in the crypto world can and often do result in hundreds of millions of dollars worth of tokens being stolen, the fate of a company’s future can often ride on its security measures. In an effort to batten down the hatches, companies offer bug bounties. These bounties are essentially competitions in which hackers are encouraged to try to compromise software. The hackers then submit a vulnerability report to the respective companies so that they are able to patch the bugs …

Manuel Andersch, senior FX analyst at the Bayerische Landesbank has published a report, which suggests that the “forthcoming halving effect has hardly been priced into the current Bitcoin (BTC) price.” Using a stock-to-flow ratio metric, the report projects a target price of $90,000 for Bitcoin in 2020. Though there were great expectations for the launch of Bakkt, it turned out to be a dud. A new report by Binance research suggests that the disappointing trading volume on Bakkt might have triggered the recent fall in Bitcoin. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group has said that they do not have any plans …

Blockchain-based PC games distribution platform Ultra.io has unveiled its first three block producers (BPs): Bitfinex, EOS Rio and EOS New York. All three future network maintainers are EOS BPs, while Bitfinex is also a major and well-known cryptocurrency exchange. Making the gaming industry fairer Per the announcement on Oct. 2, the three entities will help Ultra optimize its blockchain and will enable the company to launch its public testnet, followed by the mainnet. The startup claims that its platform enables a higher degree of fairness in the gaming industry by employing “programmable and instant money, tradability of games and in-game …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reached a settlement with Block.one to pay $24 million in penalties for conducting an unregistered initial coin offering (ICO). On Sept. 30, the SEC announced in a press release that it has settled the charges against the firm behind the EOS network and corresponding token in the form of a civil monetary penalty. Block.one settled the charges without admitting or denying the findings. According to the press release, Block.one’s ICO of 900 million tokens “began shortly before the SEC released the DAO Report of Investigation and continued for nearly a year …

Various cryptocurrency operators have joined hands to launch a rating system that will define how close a digital asset resembles a security. On a scale of one to five, one will be awarded to cryptocurrencies that are least characteristic of a security, whereas five will have the most similarities to a security. This rating system will provide clarity to asset managers who have stayed away due to the uncertain legal status of the cryptocurrencies. When sentiment turns bearish, many negative voices can be heard. Mark Cuban has reiterated his negative stance on Bitcoin (BTC) and has said that he would …

When Bitcoin (BTC) rallies sharply it does not leave a chance to buy. Traders then regret missing the bus. They promise themselves that they will buy on the next dip. However, when the prices correct, fear grips the traders and they again miss pulling the trigger. While there will be many reasons for a fall, unless the basic fundamental reason changes, traders should continue to look for buying opportunities. CEO & chief investment officer of Morgan Creek Capital Management Mark Yusko believes that investors should use the fall in Bitcoin to buy because the fundamentals have been improving over the …

EOS parent company Block.one is opening its fourth global site located in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. Creating 170 jobs over the next three years On Sept. 23, Block.one LLC announced that it is opening new headquarters for its United States operations arm in Arlington, Virginia. The office will purportedly create 170 high-skilled jobs over a period of three years. Block.one CEO Brendan Blumer said: “Its proximity to the nation’s capital positions us close to the policy innovation around digital assets and distributed ledger technology in the U.S. This expansion opens up important new avenues of talent expansions for us …