CryptoCurrency News: Bitcoin Gold Wallet Scam Nets $3 Million in Illicit Earnings

A scammer successfully made more than $3 million after getting the private keys to bitcoin gold users' wallets during the fork's launch period.

via CoinDesk

CryptoCurrency News: Baseball Great Jose Canseco Predicts $10,000 Bitcoin By 2018

Former Major League Baseball star Jose Canseco is apparently a big believer in blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

via CoinDesk

[FOREX NEWS] Dovish Fed minutes send USD/JPY to a two-month low

Dollar/yen is trading at 111.20 after having already fallen to 111.14. These are the lowest levels since September 20th, two months to the date. The recent drops place the pair in the middle of the wider 108.10 to 114.50 range. An attempt to break higher seen in early November sent it to 114.80, but this [...]

The post Dovish Fed minutes send USD/JPY to a two-month low appeared first on Forex Crunch.

via Forex Crunch

Europe's First Bitcoin Mutual Fund Launched

A French asset manager has announced the launch of Europe's first mutual fund centered around bitcoin.

Announced today, Tobam's alternative investment fund perhaps represents the latest bid to attract institutional investors to cryptocurrencies (though, as in the case with similar financial instruments, investors wouldn't be holding bitcoin directly).

According to the Financial Times, the mutual fund's launch follows approval from the Autorité des Marchés Financiers, one of the country's top financial regulators. Per the report, PwC will perform auditing services while Caceis, the asset servicing banking group of France-based Crédit Agricole, will hold custody of the bitcoins tied to the fund.

"This first move in the world of cryptocurrencies showcases our dedication to remaining ahead of the curve and to provide our clients with innovative products in the context of efficient (i.e. unpredictable) markets," Yves Choueifaty, Tobam's president, said in a statement.

Speaking with FT, Choueifaty struck a bullish tone on the fund's prospects, declaring his expectation that it grows to as much as $400 million over the next several years.

"We found some investors to launch the fund and we have had a lot of interest from an intellectual point of view," he told the publication.

That institutional investors want to gain some exposure to cryptocurrency markets is perhaps unsurprising, given recent reports from the traditional hedge fund world. Whether products like Tobam's will further stoke interest remains to be seen.

Source: CoinDesk

CryptoCurrency News: Standard Chartered, Axis Launch Payments Service With Ripple Tech

Standard Chartered and Axis Bank have announced a new cross-border payments platform built on top of technology developed by Ripple.

via CoinDesk

CryptoCurrency News: Bitcoin Is 'Not Actually Legal,' Says Zimbabwe Central Bank Chief

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has cast doubt on the legality of bitcoin in the country.

via CoinDesk

CryptoCurrency News: Central Bank of Malaysia Plans Cryptocurrency Reporting Rules

The governor of Malaysia's central bank has provided more detail on upcoming regulations aimed to counter the illicit uses of cryptocurrencies.

via CoinDesk

CryptoCurrency News: What's Next for Bitcoin Cash? Stopping Users From Losing Funds

Bitcoin cash may be vying for the top spot in bitcoin software, but it's still working to correct fundamental usability problems.

via CoinDesk

[FOREX NEWS] US durable goods orders falls by 1.2% – USD follows

Durable goods orders fell by 1.2%, much worse than +0.3% expected. A small upwards revision worth 0.2% is not enough to compensate. Core orders rose by 0.4%, also below expectations, but the revision here is more significant: 1.1% against 0.7% originally reported. The US dollar ticks down a few pips. Durable goods orders were expected [...]

The post US durable goods orders falls by 1.2% – USD follows appeared first on Forex Crunch.

via Forex Crunch

[FOREX NEWS] Hammond hammers the the pound with lower forecasts

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Phillip Hammond is delivering the budget in the British parliament. He says that the economy is confounding those who talk it down. However, the lower forecasts are sending the pound lower, to 1.3225. GBP/USD was trading around 1.3250 ahead of the speech, entrenched in the recent range: between 1.3220 to [...]

The post Hammond hammers the the pound with lower forecasts appeared first on Forex Crunch.

via Forex Crunch

CryptoCurrency News: Mike Novogratz Doubles Down on $10,000 Bitcoin Prediction

Billionaire Mike Novogratz has restated his belief that bitcoin will end the year at $10,000, while ethereum could hit $500.

via CoinDesk

Monero Runs Two-Week Rally to New Record High

Following a two-month period in the doldrums, the price of the privacy-focused cryptocurrency monero has climbed to a new all-time high of over $155.

Having sat in the $80-$100 range since Sep. 18, monero first significantly broke above the $100 mark on Nov. 8 and has since continued to rally. Finally, at around 11:30 UTC today, monero peaked at a new record high of $156.09 – just topping the previous high of $154.58 set on Aug. 28.

At press time, prices were still climbing. The gains for the eighth largest cryptocurrency by total value mark a 14.59 percent rise over the last 24 hours, and on a weekly basis, monero is up 27.07 percent, as per CoinMarketCap.

As is becoming a common theme in price updates across various cryptocurrencies, South Korean trading seems to be playing a part in the buoyant monero market.

Again going by CoinMarketCap data, Korean exchange Bithumb is responsible for 31.64 percent of the trading volume. However, European exchange BitBTC and U.S.-based Poloniex are posting significant volumes at 15.07 and 14.30 percent, respectively.

Monero's market capitalization is around $2.4 billion at press time.

Source: CoinDesk

CryptoCurrency News: Philippine Regulators Eye New Rules for Bitcoin Exchanges and ICOs

Philippine regulators are eyeing new rules for cryptocurrency exchanges and initial coin offerings (ICOs), according to officials.

via CoinDesk

[FOREX NEWS] WTI Crude Oil settles above resistance – will CAD rise?

The price of oil resumes its uptrend, especially in the West Texas Intermediate measure. WTI reached a new peak of $58, the highest since 2015. On its way the black gold made a move above the resistance level of $57.58 that capped it early in November. The recent rise is attributed to Nebraska’s approval of [...]

The post WTI Crude Oil settles above resistance – will CAD rise? appeared first on Forex Crunch.

via Forex Crunch

CryptoCurrency News: Who Needs a CSD? Nivaura to Issue First Regulated Bond in Ethereum

Blockchain startup Nivaura will today initiate its first bond denominated in ether. And, notably, the issuance will be conducted on a blockchain.

via CoinDesk

[FOREX NEWS] BTC/USD trading in a rational uptrend channel

Bitcoin is quite volatile, to say the least. The price has been surging only to collapse and only to rise again. Yet within this noise, one can find a trend. BTC/USD is making higher highs and higher lows, marking a clear uptrend in the past week. It is looking a bit more rational than the [...]

The post BTC/USD trading in a rational uptrend channel appeared first on Forex Crunch.

via Forex Crunch

CryptoCurrency News: Italian Bank Intesa Sanpaolo Is Exploring Ethereum Derivatives

One of Italy's largest banks is re-imagining what the $1.2 quadrillion derivatives market would look like on a public blockchain.

via CoinDesk

CryptoCurrency News: Survey: CFOs Think Bitcoin Is 'Real' But Are Divided on Price

A group of CFOs polled by CNBC are split on whether bitcoin is a bubble, according to newly published results.

via CoinDesk