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Federal court orders alleged hacker to pay for bail with cryptocurrency
Defendants in US federal court cases now have another option for staying out on bail: emptying their virtual wallets. A district court in San Francisco has ordered alleged hacker Martin Marsich to pay the equivalent of $750,000 in cryptocurrency if he wants to live in a halfway house while facing trial. It's not clear if this is the first instance of an American court accepting digital currency for bail (Assistant District Attorney Abraham Simmons expressed doubt about it to the Daily Post). However, it's likely a novelty at the federal level.
The first ‘blockchain baby’ is here
When you read the news that they put a baby on the blockchain, your reaction makes you one of two types of people. Either you think, Mon dieu, is there anything the magical fairy dust known as blockchain can't solve? Or you think: Surely, this is child abuse. For the past few years, techies have frothed and proselytized over the potential salvation of blockchain, the tech behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. So it's hard to even know what babies and blockchain could even have to do with each other. Typically, outside of grifter circles, blockchain is associated with vaporware, shady fraudulent ICOs or solving things that aren't suited at all for blockchain's "distributed ledger" system. Oh, and largely solving things that aren't even problems.
SEC halts sketchy Kodak-branded cryptocurrency mining scheme
One of the more surprising gadgets to appear at CES this year was a Kodak-branded cryptocurrency mining computer, which might have seemed like an easy way to make money if you leased the machine. But economists said the math never added up, and the proposed profits were nigh-on impossible. Spotlite, the company behind the plan, now says it will not move forward with leasing the machines. CEO Halston Mikail told the BBC that the Securities and Exchange Commission had blocked the scheme.
China busts World Cup gambling ring pulling $1.5 billion in crypto bets
Officials in China have busted a World Cup gambling ring that took in over 10 billion yuan (nearly $1.5 billion) in cryptocurrency bets, reports the South China Morning Post. Six individuals allegedly connected to a dark web-based crime syndicate have been arrested and authorities have seized cryptocurrencies found in their possession worth over 10 million yuan. In a statement, police in the Guangdong province said that gambling platform they ran accepted bitcoin, ethereum and litecoin.
Price manipulation caused Bitcoin's huge 2017 surge, researchers say
Bitcoin soared to enormous heights late last year to over $19,000 for a single digital coin. Researchers now say that the digital currency Tether was used to inflate the value of bitcoin late last year. Indeed, a blockchain analysis showed that a tiny number of Tether-backed transactions caused about half of bitcoin's massive surge in value from March 2017 through March 2018.
You can't buy bitcoin with Wells Fargo credit cards anymore
Wells Fargo is pumping the brakes on customers using their credit cards to buy bitcoin -- the bank has banned credit card cryptocurrency purchases. However, this isn't a permanent measure, as Wells Fargo will monitor the crypto market and reassess the issue as needed, Bloomberg reports. Wells Fargo joins Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup, along with some UK banks, in banning credit crypto purchases.
Apple bans cryptocurrency mining from its app stores
Cryptocurrency mining in apps has become such a big deal, Apple updated its app guidelines to make sure that developers don't sneak the function into any apps within the company's ecosystem. The update to the rules apparently occurred last week, possibly in response to popular Mac app Calendar 2 that bundled a Monero miner in with its premium upgrade.
US reportedly launches probe into cryptocurrency price-fixing
It feels like cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are going mainstream. They're becoming more heavily regulated around the world, in diverse places like Japan and New York. Now people are being investigated for price fixing. According to Bloomberg, the US Justice Department has opened a private criminal probe into traders who may be manipulating the price of Bitcoin and other digital currency products.
HTC's 'Exodus' blockchain phone is made for a decentralized future
Just as HTC is gearing up for the launch of its next flagship smartphone come May 23rd, today it made a surprising announcement: it's also making a blockchain phone dubbed "Exodus" on the side. There aren't any specifics about this privacy-focused Android device just yet, but it will feature a universal wallet supporting Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dfinity, Lightning Networks plus other cryptocurrency protocols. The company is aiming to "double and triple the number of nodes of Ethereum and Bitcoin" through its Exodus units, while delivering decentralized applications (DApp) to more consumers.
Mt. Gox chief returns as an exec at a VPN giant
Former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles may still be on trial for embezzlement in Japan, but that isn't stopping him from playing an influential role in the cryptocurrency world. As part of an interview with Fortune, the one-time bitcoin exchange leader has confirmed that he's now the CTO for London Trust Media, a company best known for its popular VPN service Private Internet Access. It's also an investor in cryptocurrency services like BlockExplorer, Purse.io and Zcash, but Karpeles insists he's not involved in that side of the business. London Trust Media co-founder Andrew Lee said he was happy to "give a second chance" to Karpeles in his "critical hour."
New York to investigate cryptocurrency exchanges
As the SEC and other US regulators look for ways to deal with cryptocurrency, New York is taking a step forward. The state's attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, sent letters to 13 virtual currency exchanges on Tuesday that request specific disclosures about how each company manages its business.
A disused coal power station will reopen to solely power crypto
A closed-down coal plant in Australia's Hunter Valley, about a two-hour drive north of Sydney, is reopening in order to provide inexpensive power for Bitcoin miners. A tech company called IOT Group has partnered with the local power company to revive the power plant and set up cryptocurrency mining operations, called a Blockchain Operations Centre, inside it. This would give the group direct access to energy at wholesale prices.
Reddit dumps bitcoin as payment option
Since 2013, you've had the option of paying for Reddit Gold membership with bitcoin in addition to the usual credit card and PayPal choices. However, you now have to do it the old fashioned way: a moderator has confirmed that Reddit has stopped accepting bitcoin. The social site wants to "watch the progression" of Coinbase Commerce (which lets merchants take various cryptocurrencies as payment) and deal with purchasing glitches before deciding whether or not it restores the feature.
A New York town just placed a moratorium on crypto mining
As cryptocurrency becomes a more important force in the world market, more companies are cropping up to mine it. And that, in turn, is becoming a problem for places where these miners are setting up. The town of Plattsburgh, New York, has become the first in the US to place a moratorium on cryptocurrency mining. It's not an outright ban, at least not yet -- it doesn't affect miners currently operating in the city, just new ones looking to set up shop, and it's only in place for 18 months.
Japan's cryptocurrency exchanges plan self-regulating committee
Government-registered cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan are setting up a self-regulation body in the region. The move, Reuters reports, is an effort to legitimize and establish trust in the area following the $530 million Coincheck theft in January. There isn't a name for the body yet and similarly, there's no word for when all the paperwork will be finalized. It follows Japan's national oversight of the sector last year, and South Korea's crypto regulation in late January.
SEC intensifies its cryptocurrency fundraising investigation
In January, the SEC warned that it was "looking closely" at companies that are involved in cryptocurrency (and using associated terms to boost stock). But now, it appears that the regulatory organization is doing more than just keeping an eye on things. According to The Wall Street Journal, the SEC has issued dozens of subpoenas and requests for information about cryptocurrency activities to both tech companies and their advisers.
Woz was scammed out of Bitcoins now worth over $70,000
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has demonstrated the issue of bitcoin fraud by falling victim to an old school internet scam. Speaking at The Economic Times of India's global business summit this week, he said that someone bought seven bitcoins from him using a credit card, but canceled the card after the bitcoin was transferred, so the payment failed to process. And of course the card was stolen, so there was no way to retrieve his lost assets. He bought when the cryptocurrency was priced at $700, but the loss would be worth the equivalent of $71,400 today.
Bitcoin 'creator' slapped with $10 billion lawsuit
Craig Wright, the Australian who has previously claimed to be Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, is the subject of a multi billion dollar lawsuit. Wright is being sued by the estate of David Kleiman, who was thought to have co-created the cryptocurrency with the Australian. Kleiman passed away in 2013, but Kleiman's brother Ira claims that Wright somehow appropriated his former partner's bitcoin hoard.
Airfox's mobile wallet aims to replace banks in emerging countries
Mobile wallet applications aren't anything novel, but most of the existing ones (like Venmo or Square Cash) all have something in common: they require people to have a bank account or a debit/credit card to use them. That's where Airfox differentiates itself. The app is geared toward "unbanked" users in emerging markets who may not have a credit history, due to lack of resources or because they're generally not fans of banks. Part of how Airfox plans to succeed is by adopting services that are already offered in certain countries. Like in Brazil, for example, which is the first place the app's launching. There, users can put money in the app through a "Boleto," a popular paper-based payment method that can be loaded by depositing cash in ATMs.
Robinhood's commission-free cryptocurrency trading is live
The zero-fee stock trading app, Robinhood, announced its plan to enable users to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum last month. Now the company is making good on its promises. Starting today, Robinhood is rolling out access to trade the two cryptocurrencies in California, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana and New Hampshire, with plans to expand to many more states later.
