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January 29 · Issue #160 · View online
Kyle Torpey has been a full-time Bitcoin writer and researcher since early 2014. Currently, he contributes regularly to Forbes and CoinJournal. His work has also appeared in Business Insider, VICE Motherboard, Nasdaq, and many other media outlets. Additionally, Kyle goes over the day's top Bitcoin stories in a daily YouTube show and podcast, which can be found at http://kyletorpey.com.
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Note: This week will be ad-free as I search for new sponsors. Feel free to shoot an email to email@kyletorpey.com if you know anyone interested.
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Hacked Tokyo cryptocurrency exchange to repay owners $425 million | Reuters
Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck Inc said on Sunday it would return about 46.3 billion yen ($425 million) of the virtual money it lost to hackers two days ago in one of the biggest-ever thefts of digital money.
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Japan raps Coincheck, orders broader checks after $530 million cryptocurrency theft | Reuters
Japanese authorities said on Monday they would investigate all cryptocurrency exchanges in the country for security gaps and ordered Coincheck to raise its standards after hackers stole $530 million of digital money from the Tokyo-based exchange.
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As Coincheck Promises Hack Reimbursement, NEM Scrutiny Grows
Japanese exchange Coincheck is now promising to reimburse NEM customers affected in the exchange’s massive January 26th hack, already easily the largest in the cryptoverse’s young history.
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Wow, Robinhood now has more than 1,000,000 sign ups for crypto… : Bitcoin
reddit: the front page of the internet
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Part of Financial Sanctions on N. Korea: US Asks S. Korean Banks to Investigate Cryptocurrency Exchange Transactions | BusinessKorea
The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) asked six South Korean banks and their New York branches to report on the current conditions of digital currency transactions in South Korea and their measures to prevent money laundering. It is very rare for the U.S. to make a request for business in South Korean branches. The U.S. seems to be concerned that virtual currency can be a loophole in financial sanctions on North Korea. Kyle’s note: We knew about the investigations. The new piece of news here is that they came at the direction of the New York State Department of Financial Services.
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Segwit adoption just hit an ATH of 18.3%! : Bitcoin
reddit: the front page of the internet
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Backlog fully cleared for 3sat/byte or higher! : Bitcoin
imagine a queue to a single register at mcdonalds, if only slightly more people keep arriving than they have capacity for then eventually the line would be very very long. But if they just had slightly more capacity then customers then the line would be very short. Just a matter of a few %
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Silicon Valley's Bitcoin Apps are Now About Price Speculation, Not Cheaper Payments
It’s more about cryptoassets than cryptocurrencies these days.
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Bitcoin Exchange BTCC Just Got Acquired - CoinDesk
While details remain scarce on the deal, BTCC said in a press release that the move will help its efforts to expand internationally following its recent closure in mainland China.
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Cheap electricity rates have miners digging for Bitcoin, not dino bones in Drumheller - Calgary - CBC News
For most Canadians, Drumheller conjures up images of dinosaur bones and ancient fossils, but entrepreneur Sean Clark’s expedition in the southern Alberta town is focused on a very current obsession: Bitcoin.
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AntPool is not mining transactions with less than 5 sat/byte fee. : Bitcoin
AntPool has mined several not-full blocks and it looks like they’re not picking up transactions with less than 5 sat/byte fee. [Example…
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BlackRock Says Bitcoin `Not an Investable Asset Class' – Bloomberg
Isabelle Mateos Y Lago, global chief multi-asset strategist at BlackRock Investment Institute, says Bitcoin isn’t investable “at this stage.” She talks with Francine Lacqua on “Bloomberg Surveillance.” (Source: Bloomberg) Kyle’s note: BlackRock is the largest asset manager in the world. Title is a bit negative, but tone of the interview was neutral. Might play this on today’s show.
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Tether Confirms Its Relationship With Auditor Has 'Dissolved' - CoinDesk
Tether, the issuer of the dollar-pegged cryptocurrency USDT, said its relationship with audit firm Friedman LLP has ended. Kyle’s note: This was already pointed out in a previous version of the newsletter, but CoinDesk has now confirmed it.
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Can Bitcoin Be Destroyed? 7 (Unlikely) Paths to Irrelevance - CoinDesk
Sebastien Meunier is a financial services advisor with 15 years of experience in business innovation. He speaks on fintech and is a veteran startup mentor.
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IOTA Cryptocurrency Users Lose $4 Million in Clever Phishing Attack
A clever hacker made off with nearly $4 million worth of IOTA cryptocurrency after patiently setting up an elaborate phishing site for almost half a year.
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3iQ Corp. Announces Global Cryptoasset Fund to Invest in Multiple Cryptoassets
TORONTO, Jan. 26, 2018- 3iQ Corp. Announces Global Cryptoasset Fund to Invest in Multiple Cryptoassets.
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A wildly popular bitcoin stock is popping after a 91-for-1 split, Business Insider - Business Insider Singapore
Business Insider - The stock was previously more than $1,000 per share. Now, it’s less than $20.. Read more at businessinsider.sg
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500 Startups' Cheung Says Bitcoin Is Boring – Bloomberg
Bonnie Cheung, venture partner at 500 Startups, discusses investing in Bitcoin and her outlook for cryptocurrencies. She speaks on “Bloomberg Markets: Asia.” (Source: Bloomberg) Kyle’s note: Bitcoin is working on all three areas she points out via Lightning Network, Drivechains, and Confidential Transactions.
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Bitcoin is 'a dinghy in the open ocean' | Markets Insider
Bitcoin has been plagued by extreme volatility.
European COO of exchange BitFlyer says big moves down to the relative size of bitcoin market compared to o…
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Antoine Le Calvez on Twitter: "Bitcointalk's famous user Loaded moved his 40k BTC stash to a native SegWit address. $1 in fee to move $400M+. https://t.co/aXrbmsLaGL"
You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history.
Learn more
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Crypto Hedge Fund Polychain Says No IPO in the Works - CoinDesk
Cryptocurrency hedge fund Polychain Capital is pushing back against a report that it is seeking to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in an initial public offering (IPO).
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Ripple Vets Raising Money for Crypto Hedge Fund - CoinDesk
Two former employees of distributed ledger startup Ripple are raising money for a cryptocurrency hedge fund, public records show.
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Crypto Korean 🇰🇷한국 on Twitter: "Top 5 social commerce platform in S. Korea https://t.co/3emcTSb4zl is in talks with Bithumb to add 12 cryptocurrencies as payment means. Likely to finalise and commence after confirming govt's stance & regulation on crypto. https://t.co/LOwFP9ki0h"
Interesting indeed. The top two IT giant’s in Korea i.e. Naver (NHN entertainment)‘s Vice-Chairman & Daum Kakao’s Co-CEO went to Bithumb and Upbit as CEOs in Dec 2017 (respectively). IMHO, they were dispatched or at least have thoughts ard linking crypto to Kakaopay & Naverpay.
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Crypto Of Korea on Twitter: "https://t.co/ZvazXGJa83
The first major online Korean shopping mall will now accept 12 kinds of crypto. 위메프 and Bithumb are discussing a system development plan, the partnership has confirmed thus far it will be enabling Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple among others."
To provide support; to offer relevant and crucial updates; to uphold the community of cryptocurrencies for those in South Korea and those abroad.
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Japanese Electronics Retail Giant Launches Bitcoin Payments - CoinDesk
Major Japanese consumer electronics retailer Yamada Denki has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange bitFlyer to add a bitcoin payments service in two of its stores.
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Japanese people love cash so much they don't need a digital currency, BOJ says | The Japan Times
Cash is still king in Japan, and that means the central bank doesn’t see a need to mint a digital currency for now, according to the head of the FinTech Ce
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Elon Musk's Flamethrower Comes with Free Blockchain? : Bitcoin
reddit: the front page of the internet
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Silk Road review at Vaults, London – 'an exhilarating one-man show'
Alex Oates’ exhilarating, enjoyable one-man show about drugs on the dark web, part of Vault Festival
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"BITCOIN ACCEPTED" sign on $3.4 million home in Miami Beach! : Bitcoin
reddit: the front page of the internet
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A Little Lightning Project Has Two Big Implications - CoinDesk
Although it might be too soon to know, it’s a question everyone’s seemingly asking following tests that take the long-anticipated tech closer to launch. The network’s garnered its fair share of excitement over the past few months, so much so that individuals and businesses are looking to take advantage of its cheap, fast payments.
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Numbers or Not, Coincheck Isn't Mt. Gox - CoinDesk
UPDATE (27, January 20:47 UTC): Coincheck has detailed its compensation policy for customers whose XEM was stolen. It will repay them 88.549 Japanese yen (about $0.81 U.S.) per stolen coin, out of its own funds, according to a Google translation of the exchange’s press release. With 523 million XEM taken, according to the latest estimate. that would bring the total company payout to more than $420 million. The timing of the repayment is still “under consideration.”
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Vote and Help Choose Bitcoin.org's New Design
As one of the most-visited websites in the Bitcoin ecosystem, Bitcoin.org helps
millions of people each month, learn more about Bitcoin. One of our goals in
2018 is to modernize the design of the site in an effort to continue to
provide rich content and information to users in an efficient way, as Bitcoin
technology continues to evolve.
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Future Technological Directions in Bitcoin - YouTube
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Announcing Zap Beta Release – Jack Mallers – Medium
Yo! Today I’m super excited to announce the release of the cross-platform Zap Beta. Zap has been open sourced for as long as it has existed, but using Zap and experiencing the Lightning Network have…
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Lightning: Massive decentralization improvement if every node would add just one random channel! : Bitcoin
Would it be possible to use one batched transaction to open multiple channels at once with just one on-chain transaction?
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Cryptocurrency trader 'forced at gunpoint to make bitcoin transfer' | UK news | The Guardian
Police seek witnesses after four armed men break into family home in Moulsford, Oxfordshire
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Cryptocurrency startup Prodeum pulls exit scam, leaves a penis behind
Cryptocurrency startup Prodeum, which sought to innovate the vegetable industry with Ethereum, has pulled an exit scam, leaving only a ‘penis’ behind.
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Monero (XMR) now functional on Dream Market
reddit: the front page of the internet
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Cryptocurrency Markets Are Juicy Targets for Hackers: Timeline - Bloomberg
The $500 million heist of digital tokens from Japanese exchange Coincheck Inc. on Friday is remarkable for its sheer size, but thefts in the lightly regulated world of cryptocurrencies are woefully frequent.
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Hacker Steals Over $150,000 Worth of Ethereum From Experty ICO Participants
A hacker has tricked Experty ICO participants into sending Ethereum funds to the wrong wallet address. He was able to do this by sending emails with a fake pre-ICO sale announcement to Experty users who signed up for notifications.
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Cryptocurrency scams reel in Asia's unseasoned investors- Nikkei Asian Review
TOKYO – The cryptocurrency boom has created fertile ground for hackers and fraudsters in Asia, where market experts warn that financial literacy is n
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Kyle Torpey on Twitter: "Laughable description of #BitcoinCash (#Bcash) from @usnistgov. Gets the ticker wrong (BCC instead of BCH) and says #Bcash is the original chain.… https://t.co/VWWOgrflod"
Full-time #Bitcoin since 2014 | Kyle Torpey’s Daily Bitcoin Recap | Contributor: @Forbes @BitcoinMagazine | Featured: @NASDAQ @businessinsider @motherboard
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Interested Reader on Twitter: "Good job, team! #Bitcoin: 1, #Bcash: 0.
@BashCo_ @brian_trollz… "
You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history.
Learn more
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OMERS expands cryptocurrency presence with $50-million Ethereum public company offering - The Globe and Mail
Newly-formed Ethereum Capital to go public via reverse takeover
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In Their Own Words: Real Companies Talk Ripple XRP Pilots - CoinDesk
Just one – before this month, that’s how many financial firms had publicly expressed interest in using Ripple’s cryptocurrency, XRP.
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MoneyGram CEO Plans Waves with Ripple | PYMNTS.com
As MoneyGram announced a pilot with Ripple and its xRapid platform, CEO Alex Holmes tells Karen Webster where he sees the opportunity with blockchain tech.
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We got a cryptocurrency mystery box so you don’t have to
A cryptocurrency mystery box might sound like a good idea to newbies, but there are less risky ways to get your hands on some digital tokens.
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Can Bitcoin Be Regulated? U.S. Courts Are About to Decide - Bloomberg
The U.S. is trying to regulate cybercurrency offerings. It’s still unclear whether it has the authority to do so. Kyle’s note: The title has bitcoin in it, but it appears to just be about ICOs.
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Before you build your startup on Ethereum, consider the options | VentureBeat
Before you build your blockchain startup atop Ethereum, which is what most people in cryptoworld do, take a step back and survey the field. With a little comparison shopping and a lot of hustle, you can secure a blockbuster deal with one of Ethereum’s rising challengers.
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Latest Zcash Ceremony Used Chernobyl Waste - CoinDesk
Developers working on the privacy-oriented cryptocurrency zcash have employed nuclear waste from Chernobyl in the network’s latest secrecy-assuring ceremony.
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Exclusive: Former Tezos board member says founders have caused a 'catastrophe' | Reuters
The co-founders of a cryptocurrency project called Tezos have caused a “catastrophe” by making unfounded accusations against the president of a Swiss foundation that controls the money raised, a former board member told Reuters.
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Tezos funder pledges to 'step back' once crypto-venture's woes are solved | Reuters
The president of a foundation that controls funding for a cryptocurrency project called Tezos has pledged to “step back” from his role once the project is back on track, after months of dysfunction and public battles with Tezos’ founders.
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India: Investors in a bind as banks pull the plug on bitcoin accounts - Business Line
Some banks are not allowing deposits of money earned from trading on bitcoin exchange platforms
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A Haven for Blockchain: The Case for Wyoming - CoinDesk
Rep. Tyler Lindholm is a rancher in Sundance, Wyoming, and a Republican member of the Wyoming House of Representatives. Caitlin Long, a Wyoming native, is former chairman and president of Symbiont and a former managing director of Morgan Stanley.
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Kansas Latest US State to Warn on Crypto Investment Risk - CoinDesk
The securities commissioner of the U.S. state of Kansas has issued a warning on the risks of cryptocurrency and ICO investments.
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Texas Halts Crypto Banking Operation over Regulatory Violations - CoinDesk
According to a press release issued Jan. 26, the Texas Department of Banking said its cease-and-desist order issued to cryptocurrency banking platform AriseBank has taken effect, barring its services in the state.
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Bitcoin price: Fraudsters using surge in cryptocurrency to trick people into scams, financial regulator warns | The Independent
Bitcoin and other investments are being used to lure people into scams, the UK’s financial watchdog has warned. Fraudsters are contacting people online and through social media to offer them the chance to invest in cryptocurrencies and financial instruments. The solicitations often promise high returns and come alongside pictures of expensive watches and cars in an attempt to entice people to invest.
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Terrorism, Not Taxes, Is the Key Focus on Bitcoin, Canada Says - Bloomberg
Canadians trading bitcoin shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for specific rules on how they’ll be taxed.
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Philippines to develop rules on cryptocurrency trading | Reuters
The Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission said on Monday it is crafting rules to regulate cryptocurrency transactions to protect investors and reduce the risk of fraud.
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Hashrate May Reach 100E By 2018, Bitmain Taking 80% Market Share | NEWS.8BTC.COM
How many miners are actually in operation? A rough estimate by semiconductor professionals claims that around 1.5 million units are currently in operation. The hashrate is expected to reach 100E b…
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ISIS, other jihadists increase Bitcoin use after fall of Caliphate - Middle East - Jerusalem Post
Terrorists involved in attacks across the globe have used Bitcoin to fund their attacks. Kyle’s note: I’d like to see more details, or at least the full report.
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