Crypto Briefs is your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
Adoption news
- CEO at major crypto company Blockchain.com, Peter Smith, said that the company saw 2.413 million new wallets created in the first quarter of 2020, bringing the total number of wallets to more than 47 million. He added that 13 new people were employed, nearly 70 million pageviews served, and the second airdrop completed with 300,000 users receiving STX. Smith says that this was Blockchain.com’s best quarter yet despite the market volatility.
- YouTube took down all videos posted on the channel owned by prominent crypto analyst Tone Vays. According to him, first one video discussing cryptocurrencies was removed as “harmful and dangerous content,” while soon after Vays reported that the entire channel was down. Following a number of people tagging YouTube in support of Vays, his channel was returned. At the moment of writing, Vays’s channel is up and the video that was first banned is available for viewing.
- China’s Ant Financial – an affiliate of tech giant Alibaba – has launched what it says is a new high-speed, low-cost blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Per Sina, the company says that its new network is capable of processing 1 billion transactions per day, and will allow SME developers to build a large range of blockchain applications at a fraction of current costs.
Exchanges news
- Binance has announced that the community behind Binance Chain released a whitepaper proposing a new blockchain that runs parallel to Binance Chain. According to the press release, the new Binance Smart Chain will support an intuitive version of Smart Contracts functionality, while bringing the interoperability and programmability of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to Binance Chain. The native support of interoperability should enable both chains to allow transfers and other communication, while Binance DEX will remain a liquid exchange venue of assets on both chains.
- Coinbase has created a rewards section in the Coinbase mobile app. Per the announcement, users can invest in USD coin (USDC) and tezos (XTZ) more easily and earn rewards on these cryptoassets, and they can earn referral rewards in bitcoin (BTC).
- Upbit, one of South Korea’s biggest crypto exchanges, has rebranded itself as a “digital asset exchange,” doing away with mention of “cryptocurrencies” and “cryptoassets” on its website and marketing materials. Paxnet reports that Upbit operator Dunamu has explained that it wants to help users avoid confusion caused by the fact that South Koreans generally refer to “virtual currencies” – although many feel that “virtual” in this sense implies that the currencies in question do not actually exist. “Digital,” the company feels, provides more of a tangible and concrete nuance.
- Juventus Fan Token (JUV) trading has started on April 15 on Chiliz.net, an exchange platform for sports and entertainment. Its price will be defined by market demand arising from factors such as fan sentiment, results, tournament victories, and transfer window activity, the announcement says.
Regulation news
- Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group (IFWG), a six-member group of South African financial sector regulators, has recommended that cryptoassets should not be given legal tender status or recognized as electronic money. According to the Reserve Bank’s statement, the group has drafted a policy position paper, which provides a number of recommendations for the development of a regulatory framework for crypto assets, as well as regulation changes to be implemented. IFWG is asking the public to comment on the paper by May 15.
- An Armenian central bank executive has talked up blockchain adoption – but poured scorn on cryptocurrency adoption talk. Per media outlet Armbanks, Martin Galstyan, a member of the central bank’s ruling council and a leading gubernatorial candidate, said that the bank was “ready to introduce blockchain technology into certain areas, such as credit registry operations.” However, he spoke of the “hidden and more obvious risks” of crypto, adding that in many cases it was unclear who or what was operating and issuing popular digital tokens.
Scam news
- “Fake news” about Spanish broadcaster and filmmaker Jordi Évole’s crypto fortunes are continuing to spread online, reports La Sexta. The media outlet states that a number of online scam sites are carrying bogus reports designed to look like bona fide pages from La Vanguardia, one of the nation’s most popular news websites. The pages appear to feature reports about how Évole “earned over USD 10 million from home” by trading in cryptocurrencies using an automated trading platform. La Sexta says that similar crypto scams featuring other top-billing Spanish celebrities such as Fernando Alonso, Pablo Motos and Pedro Almodóvar are also known to be circulating on the web.
