Bitcoin fell more than 11 percent after South Korea said today it would ban anonymous trading of virtual currencies and crack down on money laundering activities using them. The announcement came as the hyper-wired South emerged as a hotbed for cryptocurrency trading, accounting for some 20 percent of global bitcoin transactions — about 10 times the country’s share of the world economy. The new rules announced by Seoul include a ban on opening anonymous cryptocurrency accounts and new legislation to allow regulators to close virtual currency exchanges if necessary. “Officials…

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The Ethereum Enterprise Alliance (EEA) has launched three working groups in digital identity, energy and multiplatform interoperability to create and deliver specific advancements in those fields using Ethereum technology. With over 300 members since its launch in February 2017, the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance is now the world’s largest blockchain consortium. The working group, whose members include the likes of Intel, Microsoft and Mastercard, is a collective of companies and Ethereum development startups – even governments – uniting to leverage open-source Ethereum technology for enterprise blockchain solutions. In an announcement recently,…

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Japan’s largest financial group, MUFG, is preparing a service that will secure bitcoin adopters’ holdings against any failure or losses suffered by the cryptocurrency exchanges they use. In what could be the first trust service of its kind anywhere in the world, the Mitsubishi UFJ Trust is preparing to offer bitcoin holders a service wherein their bitcoins are placed in a trust, separate from their cryptocurrency exchange’s assets. Japan has emerged among the world’s largest bitcoin trading markets despite the seismic collapse of Mt Gox in 2014, once the world’s…

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On various online bitcoin communities, forums, and social media platforms, clients of major US-based bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex have expressed their concerns over long-lasting withdrawal issues. Bittrex Verification Issues, Resolution Several users disclosed that withdrawal of funds on the Bittrex cryptocurrency trading platform have been delayed for many weeks, up to a month, for reasons made unclear to users. According to a Bittrex customer, the withdrawal issues and delays on the Bittrex trading platform have emerged due to the platform’s verification issues. As with every other regulated cryptocurrency exchange,…

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A high ranking European Union official has dismissed suggestions of the EU looking at regulating bitcoin markets and exchanges. In an interview with Bloomberg, Pierre Moscovici – European Union Commissioner for economic, financial affairs, taxation and customs, played down talk of supposed EU-wide bitcoin regulations while revealing the EU’s view of the cryptocurrency. “At this stage, we do not consider bitcoin as an alternative currency,” Moscovici said, comparing the world’s first decentralized cryptocurrency to EU’s fiat currency, the Euro. “We see that there is quite a lot of speculation about…

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Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, better known as the Winklevoss twins, still believe bitcoin will remain as the best investment over the next few decades. $8 Trillion Market Cap In 2012, when Facebook went public, the Winklevoss twins received $45 million from the settlement of Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. In spite of their lawyers’ recommendation to take a cash deal of $45 million, the Winklevoss twins received the settlement in Facebook shares. By 2013, the Winklevoss twins amassed a fortune of $300 million, as the shares of Facebook skyrocketed.…

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There is a financial revolution on the way. A revolution born out of the need for greater accountability and transparency in the financial industry. A revolution born on the disintermediation and decentralization of banking services and underpinned by technological tour de force, Bitcoin. Bitcoin has grown in leaps and bounds over the past few years, from a proof-of-work concept to the foundation of a market that scaled above the $300 billion mark. With the currency gaining widespread adoption by both financial establishments and governments, and analysts billing it the futures…

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Following in the footsteps of Russia and Dubai, Israel is considering offering a national cryptocurrency – a digital shekel – which would correspond in value to physical shekels. According to the sources close to the Finance Ministry, Israel’s black market is approximately 22 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. A digital currency, registered with the government of Israel, would make black market transactions less possible. Additionally, per the news source, the government is considering legislation that would substantially reduce the amount of physical cash in the economy. For example,…

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