London Stock Exchange-listed mining firm Argo Blockchain has broken its own records for Bitcoin (BTC) mining, seemingly escaping the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. An operational update published by Argo on April 6, revealed that the firm had mined 333.8 Bitcoin in March, as compared to 337.5 Bitcoin in February. Cumulatively, the amount of Bitcoin mined during the first three months of 2020 amounted to 918 Bitcoin — a record for the firm, and more than double what it had mined during the last three months in 2019. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Argo Blockchain CEO Peter Wall explained that: “Compared …

Bank Account Based Blockchain (BABB) and CryptoAM.io have launched a fundraising initiative on March 31 to help vulnerable and elderly people living in Canary Wharf, Poplar and the Isle of Dogs in London, United Kingdom. According to the announcement, BABB’s native cryptocurrency utility token, BAX, is the parent of the project, where transactions will be made quickly, regardless of whether they are low amounts, in addition to being an expedited and free way for the donor. Many vulnerable people reside in the Isle of Dogs CryptoAM’s Crypto Insider, James Bowater, realized that many older adults are outside the country’s health …

Following a warning from the national watchdog earlier this month, regional authorities across the United Kingdom say Bitcoin scammers are using the coronavirus crisis to hoax citizens. In a series of consumer fraud alerts published throughout March, Manchester city council and the counties of Pembrokeshire and Norfolk echoed the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s caution against “sophisticated” and “opportunistic” cryptocurrency-related schemes operating during the pandemic. Misrepresentations The three regional authorities identify a range of tactics adopted by Bitcoin (BTC) scams to take advantage of the social disorientation and anxiety amid the public health crisis. Manchester city council warns against: “Fraudsters purporting …

As major central bank digital currency (CBDC) projects develop apace, it is becoming clear that not all digital coins will look, or even function the same way. A recent analysis by Chinese financial media group InterChain Pulse reveals that two of the most visible such projects — those of the Bank of England (BoE) and the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) — may be more different than they are alike. InterChain Pulse cited BoE’s discussion paper released earlier this month, where the financial institution seriously weighed the pros and cons of issuing a CBDC denominated in pounds sterling. InterChain compared …

In early March, the Bank of England’s governor-designate, Andrew Bailey, said that Bitcoin has no intrinsic value. He controversially stated that any investor that holds Bitcoin should be prepared to lose all of the money. Bailey said, “If you want to buy it, fine, but understand it has no intrinsic value. It may have extrinsic value, but there is no intrinsic value.” Throughout the past several years, many high-profile investors and government officials such as billionaire Mark Cuban, Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett and United States President Donald Trump have criticized Bitcoin for its lack of real value. Argument for why …

While global stock markets are experiencing extreme turmoil, cryptocurrency projects keep introducing more ways to trade gold-backed assets twenty-four hours a day. PAX Gold (PAXG), a major cryptocurrency pegged to physical gold, has now rolled out for trading against two European fiat currencies — the Swiss franc (CHF) and the British pound (GBP). The new trading pairs became available when Switzerland-based digital asset exchange Smart Valor listed PAXG on its platform on March 19. As announced by Paxos, the New York-based company that launched the gold-backed token in late 2019, PAX Gold can now be traded on Smart Valor against …

United Kingdom police forces have received hundreds of blackmailing complaints since 2018, in which nefarious parties demanded Bitcoin (BTC). By tracking numbers from 2018 and 2019 across thirteen U.K. police teams, think tank Parliament Street found 562 reports of blackmailers demanding Bitcoin, said a March 19 statement provided to Cointelegraph. Some places saw a larger spike than others England’s North Yorkshire Police force saw a massive spike in reported Bitcoin blackmailing cases in 2019. The outfit reported a mere six incidents in 2018, while 2019 yielded 115 accounts, the statement detailed. One report showed ransomware efforts in which a hacker …

The final stage of London Blockchain Week looked as if it would be the latest victim to the coronavirus crisis. Many of the events that had initially been set to take place physically were held online. Others were canceled outright. But the jewel in the crown of blockchain week in London, CryptoCompare’s Digital Asset Summit, went ahead as planned. Rumors swirled that there would be poor attendance and mass dropouts from panelists. Many of the week’s previous events had suffered from coronavirus fears, and venues were often half-empty. The massive Magazine London space, in the shadow of the city’s iconic …

The first round of negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Union to determine their future, post-Brexit relationship took place between March 2 and March 5 in Brussels, Belgium. The outcome of these negotiations will shape the way the two work together following the end of the transition period, currently scheduled to extend through Dec. 31. For the financial technology sector, the discussions surrounding the future U.K.–EU regulatory relationship as it relates to financial services will be particularly important to watch, as the outcome will determine how fintech services are bought and sold between the two. The negotiations also …

Insurance underwriters associated with Lloyd’s of London are now backing a new liability policy designed to protect cryptocurrency stored in online wallets. With a modest minimum of 1,000 British pounds ($1,275) in protected assets and rather flexible terms, the product seems to be geared for retail and corporate investors. But who is behind the novel service, and how will the policy work? Forces behind the innovation Despite the enthusiasm expressed in early media accounts for “insurance giant Lloyd’s backing crypto,” Lloyd’s of London is not an entity to which any centralized agency can be ascribed. Unlike most other major players …

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade recently published its agenda for negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States. Contained within the wide-reaching document, blockchain is identified as one area in which businesses and the country will benefit from an FTA. The document sets out the U.K. government’s position coming into the negotiation of a post-Brexit FTA with the U.S. It lays out the country’s key objectives for such an agreement and ring-fences certain institutions and protections as non-negotiable. These include Britain’s National Health Service and drug prices, consumer and worker rights and protections, and environmental …

The United Kingdom’s central bank has followed the Federal Reserve in suddenly cutting interest rates — by the most since 2009. As various news outlets including the Financial Times reported on March 11, the Bank of England (BoE) said the move was in direct response to economic pressures posed by the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The UK aims to “support confidence” The publication quoted a statement as saying: “The reduction in Bank Rate will help to support business and consumer confidence at a difficult time, to bolster the cash flows of businesses and households, and to reduce the cost, and to …