Major Web Browser Firefox by Mozilla Now Blocks Web-Based Cryptojacking

CRYPTO WORLD
Protections Against Fingerprinting and Cryptocurrency Mining

Major open-source browser Mozilla Firefox has launched new protections against crypto mining malware in its new browser versions, according to a blog post published on April 9. In its latest Firefox Nightly 68 and Beta 67 versions, Mozilla has enabled a new level of protection against crypto mining and fingerprinting hack attacks in a part of the browser’s Content Blocking suite of protections. The new browsing feature has been developed in collaboration with privacy and security software firm Disconnect, and represents a collection of blacklists of malware domains associated with…

Read More

Coinbase Crypto Exchange Debuts Visa Card for UK Customers

CRYPTO WORLD
Coinbase Card

Major American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has launched Coinbase Card, that enables its United Kingdom-based customers to pay in-store and online with cryptocurrency. The development was announced in a blog post published on April 10. The Coinbase Card is a Visa debit card powered by customers’ Coinbase account crypto balances, which allows them to make purchases with digital currencies worldwide. Coinbase instantly converts customers’ cryptocurrency funds into fiat currency in order to complete the purchase. Coinbase also released the Coinbase Card app for iOS and Android, which links customers’ Coinbase accounts…

Read More

New York rejects Bittrex Bitlicense application

CRYPTO WORLD
New York

According to the press, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) decided to reject the BitLicense application from the Bittrex exchange. According to the New York Tax Office’s official report sent to Bittrex CEO Bill Shihare, New York, Bittrex Bitlicense rejects the lack of stock exchange policies and controls against AML, Know Your Customer (KYC), and Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) ). Bittrex ranked 54th in the CoinMarketCap list of digital currency exchanges in terms of adjusted trading volume. The Bittrex case in brief BitLicense is a set…

Read More

EU Launches International Blockchain Association

CRYPTO WORLD
International Blockchain Association

The European Union has officially launched the International Association of Trusted Blockchain Applications (INATBA) — with IBM, Accenture and Deutsche Telekom among the 100-plus members to have signed the association’s charter at a ceremony at the European Commission (EC) in Brussels on April 4. INATBA was legally formed last month as an offshoot of the EU’s European Blockchain Partnership, with the explicit aim of “supporting interoperability, developing specifications, promoting standards and regulatory convergence to support the development and exploitation of innovative blockchain technologies.” Launching ceremony Hosted by European Commissioner Mariya…

Read More

Hong Kong Cryptocurrency Exchange Bitfinex Removes $10k Minimum Equity Requirement

CRYPTO WORLD
Bitfinex exchange trading

Bitfinex, a cryptocurrency exchange based out of Hong Kong, announced that it had removed the minimum equity for its users in a Medium post published on April 9. Per the announcement, the company reconsidered its requirement — which had been set at $10,000 — due to demand from traders. The exchange’s CEO, Jean-Louis van der Velde, is quoted in the post as stating: “We simply could not ignore the increasing level of requests for access to trade on Bitfinex from a wider cohort than our traditional customer base. For the…

Read More

Opera Releases New Browser With Built-In Crypto Wallet and Web 3.0 Explorer

CRYPTO WORLD

Major web browser Opera is releasing a new browser with a built-in cryptocurrency wallet. The development was announced in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on April 9. Opera’s new browser Opera 60 (codenamed Reborn 3) features a native cryptocurrency dubbed Opera Wallet and a Web 3 explorer, which enables users to conduct transactions and interact with the blockchain-based internet, also known as Web 3. The browser also provides a virtual private network (VPN) feature in a bid to enhance users’ privacy and security. The Opera Wallet purportedly synchronizes with…

Read More

Russian Gas Giant Gazprom to Use Blockchain in Gas Supply Agreements

CRYPTO WORLD
Gazprom blockchain

The Russian prime minister has welcomed an initiative to use blockchain in agreements over gas supplies by the country’s state-owned gas giant Gazprom, local finance news outlet Vestifinance reports on April 4. The news agency operates under Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (RTR), a major TV channel. The head of Russia’s state-owned gas giant Gazprom, Alexey Miller, has met with Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev to report on the development of applications powered by distributed ledger technology (DLT). According to Miller, Gazprom has carried out substantive work with Russia’s…

Read More

Verbatim appoints Clive Alberts as President

CRYPTO WORLD
Clive Alberts Verbatim president

Verbatim, the leading data storage company and part of the Mitsubishi Chemical Group, has appointed Clive Alberts as President for its EUMEA operation. The position was previously held by Hidetaka Yabe who returns to Tokyo, Japan to undertake a General Manager’s role within the Corporate Marketing Department at Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. Alberts (45) previously worked for Freecom (2001 – 2010) as Head of Sales and Marketing for the DACH and CEE region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Central and East Europe). Freecom was purchased by Mitsubishi Chemical Media in 2010 and…

Read More

IBM Hints at Stablecoin Cross-Border Payments Solution for Financial Institutions

CRYPTO WORLD
IBM Blockchain World Wire

The head of blockchain solutions for IBM, Jesse Lund, has hinted that bank-targeted stablecoins will be a major forthcoming development for the tech giant’s blockchain-powered cross-border payments solution. Lund made his remarks during an interview on financial news channel Cheddar on March 15. While more details are set to be imminently announced next week, Lund told Cheddar that “market demand” is driving IBM to develop a stablecoin solution for financial institutions. “More than a few banks around the world […] see tremendous business benefit to issue stablecoins in their native…

Read More

Crypto Exchange Bittrex Cancels Its First ‘Initial Exchange Offering’

CRYPTO WORLD
Bittrex crypto exchange

United States crypto exchange Bittrex has cancelled its first token sale, dubbed an Initial Exchange Offering (IEO), which it had been planning to host on its Malta-based counterpart, Bittrex International. The news was announced in an official statement published on March 14. Earlier this week, Bittrex International had announced plans to host the IEO today, March 15, allowing investors to use Bitcoin (BTC) to purchase “XRD” tokens, developed by international gaming data blockchain project, Raid. In yesterday’s announcement, the exchange outlined that it decided to cancel the IEO “as a…

Read More

Google Deletes Crypto Malware Targeting Blockchain.com

CRYPTO WORLD
Crypto Malware

A Google Chrome browser extension tricking users into participating in a fake airdrop from cryptocurrency exchange Huobi claimed over 200 victims, a security researcher reported in a blog post on March 14. The extension for Chrome web browser, with the name NoCoin, gained 230 downloads before Google deleted it, according to Harry Denley, who runs cryptocurrency scam database EtherscamDB. Denley noted that hackers had purposely disguised the malicious extension to look like a tool protecting users from cryptocurrency malware or so-called cryptojacking. “From the start, it looked like it did…

Read More

Businesses Increasingly See Crypto Mining Attacks in Cloud Infrastructures

CRYPTO WORLD
cloud crypto mining

Cryptocurrency mining is reportedly one of the most observed objectives of hackers attacking businesses’ cloud infrastructures, according to a report by AT&T Cybersecurity on March 14. The cybersecurity wing of United States telecoms firm AT&T stated that organizations of all sizes continue to face major crypto mining attacks despite the ongoing bear market. In the new report, AT&T examined the most significant forms of cryptojacking associated with mining attacks on organizations’ cloud infrastructure. AT&T outlined four major cryptojacking tactics used by hackers such as compromising container management platforms, control panel…

Read More

Intercontinental Stock Exchange Seemingly to Expand Cryptocurrency Data Feed

CRYPTO WORLD
stock trading data

Intercontinental Stock Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) hinted it was adding a slew of new coins to its Cryptocurrency Data Feed in a tweet on March 14. Launched in January 2018, the Cryptocurrency Data Feed is a service offering real-time digital currency information, covering prices and order books. The platform was introduced following a partnership between ICE and Bitcoin (BTC) and blockchain technology company Blockstream. Per the recent announcement, ICE is extending the list of supported cryptocurrencies to thousands, also adding hundreds of…

Read More

Insurance Giant AXA XL Launches Security Token and Crowdfunding Insurance Service

CRYPTO WORLD
crypto crowd funding

Insurance giant AXA XL and insurance technology startup Assurely have jointly launched a new insurance product covering equity crowdfunding and Security Token Offerings (STOs). The new product dubbed CrowdProtector is designed for issuers and investors, and purportedly protects new online capital formation strategies like equity crowdfunding and STOs. The product also aims increase trust, confidence and safety to potential investors guaranteeing that the issuer is insured. According to Ty Sagalow, CEO of Assurely, the parties have managed to increase underwriting. The releases states: “CrowdProtector provides Issuers protection against investor complaints…

Read More

Venezuelans Trade $60 Million in BTC in 2019

CRYPTO WORLD
Venezuela

Bitcoin (BTC) trading volumes on LocalBitcoins, a leading peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency exchange, have increased significantly in countries suffering from political and economic uncertainty. Since the beginning of this year (January 1st, 2019), 160 billion bolivars (appr. $63 million) worth of bitcoins have been traded on LocalBitcoins by Venezuela’s citizens. In the past week, a record 25.16 billion bolivars in BTC were transacted via LocalBitcoins by Venezuelan residents. In the past year, bitcoin trading volume in Venezuela through LocalBitcoins has been increasing steadily and has now reached an average of 2,000…

Read More