Industry Experts Suspect Google’s Bitcoin Ban Is Unethical
Google’s ban of advertisements related to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which the company announced earlier in March, came into effect three days ago. However, experts believe that the ban is not only related to protecting users from fraud, The Independent reports. “I suspect the ban has been implemented to fit in with potential plans to introduce their own cryptocurrency to the market in the near future and therefore removing other crypto adverts allows them to do it on their own terms,” said Philip Nunn, CEO of Manchester-based investment firm Blackmore Group. Earlier, the corporation disclosed plans to create its own blockchain-based token, and even offered a job to Vitalik Buterin, founder of ethereum, in May.
Chinese Internet Giant Baidu Reveals “Super Chain” Protocol
Xiao Wei, chief blockchain researcher at Chinese internet giant Baidu, revealed X-Chain, a protocol aimed at reducing mining energy consumption, at a local conference over the weekend, cnLedger reported yesterday. X-Chain’s throughput is 100 thousand transactions per second (TPS). Dubbed “Super Chain”, it can “insert and remove consensus mechanisms to solve the current energy consumption problem,” Wei explained, and is also “compatible with the development system of Bitcoin and Ethereum.”
Huobi Jointly Launches $93 Million Blockchain Fund
Huobi, the world’s third largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volumes, announced the launch of a 100 billion won ($93 million) investment fund, which will be used to support blockchain startups from China and South Korea. Huobi, together with Chinese investment firm NewMargin Capital and South Korean online broker Kiwoom Securities, will use the raised capital to invest in blockchain startups and foster cooperation between the two countries. Korea Development Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea are also set to take part in the fund as limited partners.
Japan’s First Bank-Backed Crypto Exchange Is Now Live
SBI Virtual Currencies, a subsidiary of SBI Holdings Inc., a major Japanese financial services group, has announced that VCTRADE, its in-house cryptocurrency exchange, is now live after several months of delays. The company registered the exchange last September, and has been preparing to launch the business “for some time”.. The delay in the launch follows the efforts of Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) to increase oversight of domestic cryptocurrencies amid the Coincheck hack. VCTRADE will currently be limited to the 20 thousand users that pre-registered with the platform in October 2017 - access to the general public will become available in July 2018.
Bittrex Launches USD Trading
Bittrex, a Seattle-based cryptocurrency exchange, has launched support for fiat currency. A deal with New York’s Signature Bank will allow approved corporate clients to buy virtual tokens using USD. The exchange, which currently trades around 200 cryptocurrencies, will initially offer USD pairs with bitcoin (Bitcoin: BITCOIN), Tether and TrueUSD. The innovation will first extend to corporate clients from four states (Washington, California, New York and Montana), followed by all remaining customers as the company rolls out additional phases.
At 12.00 (GMT+1) total cryptocurrency market capitalization stands at $344,05 billion
Bitcoin (TICKER: BTC.EXANTE) $7 618,07 (-1,38%)
Ethereum (TICKER: ETH/USD.BITFINEX) $605,78 -2,11%)
Ripple (TICKER: XRP.EXANTE) $0,6758 (+0,94%)
Bitcoin Cash (TICKER: BCH.EXANTE) $1141,83 (+1,10%)
EOS (EXANTE: EOS.EXANTE) $13,93 (-5,28%)
DigixDAO (+16,51%) showed the best growth in the top-100
Market Dynamics
The trading volume of cryptocurrencies for 24 hours reached to $ 16,7 billion (+1 billion per day)
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By Nadya Astam