This week, the crypto world operated under circumstances that have recently become normal: continued to cause strife among investors and miners, while the late stages of the U.S. government shutdown delayed ₿itcoin ETFs indefinitely, postponing crypto’s long-awaited foray into traditional finance.
On another note, Ethereum Constantinople, which previously for other reasons, was finally given a new release date. Meanwhile, crypto crime continued to run rampant, with malware taking center stage. This is what happened during the week ending January 27, 2019…
bitcoin News
Developments were primarily regulatory matters. VanEck and CBOE voluntarily withdrew a promising ETF proposal due to the government shutdown. Meanwhile, the Winklevoss twins announced plans for a that will surely gain attention now that government activity has temporarily resumed.
also received some media coverage, although that coverage was largely negative, as low are driving down mining profits. One of Bitmain’s main chip suppliers reported , while JP Morgan suggested elsewhere that mining is not profitable. Meanwhile, a mining service called and an unnamed Chinese have both shut down.
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Altcoin News
has been facing accusations that the true market cap of its XRP token is vastly smaller than suggest, and the controversy has against one critic. In more positive news, Ripple has been adopted by a , and one Ripple representative has announced plans to .
has finally announced a date for its often-delayed Constantinople upgrade, which is now scheduled for February 27th. Meanwhile, Vlad Zamfir is taking steps to accelerate a more distant . In minor news, the Ethereum Foundation seems to be in MakerDAO’s Dai stablecoin.
‘s post-hard fork mania seems to be settling down. ₿itcoin Cash evangelist Roger Ver has expressed toward Dash and , stating that he would not mind if those coins gained worldwide adoption. Meanwhile, ₿itcoin SV, which split from ₿itcoin Cash last November, quietly achieved a milestone.
parent company Block.one recently noted that at least are being built on the blockchain. An EOS sidechain called BOS has also , following in the footsteps of , which went live in December. The Chinese government has also published an updated blockchain that continues to list EOS as the top platform.
has announced some exciting news for holders of its : coinholders will receive the new (BTT) as part of an upcoming airdrop. In unrelated news, TRON CEO Justin Sun has hired a to ensure that TRON is compliant with regulations.
Malware & Cybercrime
This week, two novel types of crypto malware were discovered. The first is a new type of mining malware that has the ability to . The second is a sophisticated strain of ransomware that is games and applications. Both pieces of malware rely on privacy coins, which are popular in cybercrime because they are hard to trace.
Elsewhere in cybercrime, Binance that it experienced a KYC data leak, although a hacker continues to insist that he has obtained that data. Meanwhile, LocalBitcoins by an attack that resulted in the theft of $28,000. In other developments, a suspect in an $11 million theft in Europe.
Conclusion
This was, on the whole, a fairly normal week for crypto. A few stories will probably continue to be relevant throughout the coming weeks. Now that the U.S. government has temporarily reopened, platforms and proposals that are seeking regulatory approval will undoubtedly become an even hotter topic than they were to begin with. And, as Ethereum’s February upgrade date approaches, Constantinople will surely garner more attention as well.
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Published at Tue, 29 Jan 2019 04:03:57 +0000