Key Facts of the Day 17.05.2018

China Ranks Ethereum Far Above Bitcoin

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology research unit (CCID) has released its cryptocurrency grades placing Ethereum at the top of the list, with Bitcoin listed in the 13th slot according to the localmedia outlet CENA which revealed this chart today.

Bitfinex to Disclose Clients Information

The world’s third biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Bitfinex, sent their users a letter requesting their tax information to submit to British Virgin Islands inline with it’s laws. Later Bitfinex underlined that emails were not sent to all users of the crypto exchange. Those users who received the letter must provide the information in a week. Bitfinex Letter already caused a wave of disappointment on social media.

Genesis Gets BitLicense in NY

New York State Department of Financial Services approved Genesis to operate under it’s BitLicense program, which will allow the company to trade Bitcoin, Ether, Ethereum Classic, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple, Litecoin and Zcash. BitLicense was introduced in 2015 to regulate trade operations of virtual currencies. Requirements of the license are often called as onerous and intrusive, which even demands the physical addresses and ID’s of their customers.

Yakuza Launders Money via Cryptocurrencies

Criminal organizations in Japan use cryptocurrencies to launder money without being detected. Since 2016, more than 30 billion yen (approximately $271 million) was converted to different three cryptocurrencies and laundered to overseas exchanges. Money gathered from illegal activities or drug trafficking is cut in smaller portions and converted to infamous “three anonymous siblings” namely to Zcash, DASH and Monero. These three cryptocurrencies allow complete anonymity for their owners since trading logs are not public.

Bitcoin Mining To Consume 0.5% of Global Electricity by the End of the Year

Financial economist Alex de Vries, hypothesizes that Bitcoin mining will require more electricity. According to his calculations,by the end of 2018 Bitcoin network will use about 0.5% of the world's electric power, about as much as Austria - the average European country.

Individual Currency Investors Exempt From 7% Tax In Thailand

Thailand put in a new law to control and regulate cryptocurrency transactions and ICOs. Authorities imposed two kinds of taxes on operations with cryptocurrencies: a value-added tax (VAT) of 7% and a capital gains tax of 15%. Following criticism, Thailand’s Revenue Department announced that it will waive the VAT on individual cryptocurrency owners.

JPMorgan Chase Open to Exploring Cryptocurrencies

Despite the bank’s skepticism on digital currencies, it remains interested in blockchain technology, as it can potentially improve the financial system, said co-president of JPMorgan Daniel Pinto.

Total cryptocurrency market capitalization stands at $375 441 901 969

Bitcoin (TIKER: BTC.EXANTE) is down 0,96 % tо $8 234

Ethereum (TIKER:ETH/USD.BITFINEX) is down 1,28% to $689

Ripple (TIKER: XRP.EXANTE) is down 2,11% tо $0,678127

Bitcoin Cash (TIKER: BCH.EXANTE) is down 3,13% to $1 233

EOS (EXANTE: EOS.EXANTE) is up 4,17% tо $12,93

Reddit of the Day

One of the most discussed topics of the day on Reddit was the statement of Jack Dorcey CEO Twitter and Square. Jack Dorsey said "the Internet deserves its own crypto currency." According to Dorsey, he hopes that it will be bitcoin.

Expected ICOs:

Click here for the full list of ongoing ICOs.

By Nadya Astam