Carl Icahn Proclaims Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies “Ridiculous” (Cryptovest.com)
US investor Carl Icahn told CNBC that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were “ridiculous” and he would never get involved but did acknowledge he had no understanding of how this market works. “Maybe I’m too old for them, but I wouldn’t touch that stuff,” the billionaire said for CNBC program Fast Money Halftime Report. “I don’t like the cryptocurrencies only because, maybe I don’t understand them. But, you know when you talk about the Blockchain, we need to talk about regulation again. How do you regulate them?”
Litecoin Is Now a Surprise Favorite of Criminals Tired of Bitcoin (Fortune.com)
Bitcoin, which has for years been the currency of choice on the so-called dark web, is falling out of favor among criminals. This is not surprising given bitcoin’s sluggish processing times, and law enforcement’s growing ability to track its transactions. More surprising is what these criminals are turning to instead. Rather than using one of the newer digital currencies with extra privacy features, such as ZCash or Monero, the most popular alternative is the bitcoin clone, Litecoin. Those are among the findings laid out in a new report by Recorded Future, a threat intelligence company that monitors criminal forums on the dark web where many illegal transactions are arranged.
Sergey Tarasov/Shutterstock.com
Easy Markets Enables Crypto CFDs for Ethereum and Ripple (FinanceMagnates.com)
Easy Markets has announced the addition of Ethereum and Ripple CFDs into its asset lists. The new additions are now available for trading across its trading platform. In the midst of a cryptocurrency frenzy that has seen many of the world’s leading FX and CFD providers incorporate cryptocurrencies into their asset offerings, Easy Markets is pushing to meet client demands as well.
Bitcoin Cash Outpaces Crypto Consolidation with 20% Spike (CoinDesk)
The top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization look to be consolidating today, generally trading flat to positive below yesterdays highs. The notable exception is bitcoin cash, which at time of writing had spiked more than 23 percent in 24 hours. At press time, that figure had dropped a little to 19 percent. Currently, the total market capitalization of all currencies is $380 billion – down just 5 percent from the high of $401.87 billion seen yesterday. The total value is also up 40 percent from the low of $276 billion seen on Feb. 6, according to CoinMarketCap data.
What Is DENT Cryptocurrency? (TheMerkle.com)
We have seen dozens of new projects in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency over the years. Surprisingly, very few aim to combine blockchain and digital assets with mobile data. DENT proves to be rather different in this regard, as it aims to create an open marketplace to sell and buy mobile data. As such, the DENT cryptocurrency is of great interest to people all over the world.
Porn Sites Are Doing the Most Cryptocurrency Mining (Motherboard.Vice.com)
Recent tumult in cryptocurrency markets hasn’t stopped unscrupulous websites from hijacking unsuspecting visitors’ computers to mine digital coins. According to new insights published on Wednesday by Chinese security firm 360 Netlab, which used a tool called DNSMon to track the relationships between domain names on the internet, 241 of the top 100,000 websites by traffic according to Alexa contain code that uses site visitors’ computer hardware to perform calculations that generate cryptocurrency through a process called mining. Of these sites, 49 percent were porn.
Here’s Why Ethereum (ETH) Isn’t Like Any Other Cryptocurrency (Globalcoinreport.com)
Ethereum (ETH) is one of the top two cryptocurrencies on the market right now but, just as with bitcoin, it’s position at the top of the pile has far from insulated from the wider market’s decline seen over the last eight weeks or so. With regards to ETH specifically, the token currently trades for a little over $810 apiece, down from the $1389 reached on January 15, 2018. That’s a 41% decrease from highs and it gives Ethereum a market cap right now of just shy of $79 billion. Take a look at the mainstream news coverage of the cryptocurrency space right now and you will see the general treatment of Ethereum and its token ETH mimics that of many of the other coins in the space.
Binance, One of the World’s Largest Crypto Exchanges, has Suspended Trading — but Says it wasn’t Hacked (UK.BusinessInsider.com)
Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has suspended all trading after system maintenance took longer than expected. The upgrades began around 7 p.m. ET Wednesday, when the Hong Kong-based exchange said users “may experience a decrease in exchange performance.” However, Binance announced Thursday morning that maintenance was taking longer than expected due to “a significant increase in users and trading activity.”
Litecoin Releases New Core Version, Fights for Wider Adoption (Cryptovest.com)
The Litecoin project has updated its core version, and is preparing for release following a community revision of the code. Litecoin is also struggling to recover its previously high prices, as it still hovers below $150. In the past weeks, the Litecoin and Charlie Lee has held investors up with promises of news coming soon. However, the expectation did not bar Litecoin from dropping sharply, along with the rest of the market.
Will Ethereum Security Tokens Address KYC Trading Security Needs? (BTCManager.com)
In a bid to address the most persistent issues of cryptocurrency on the blockchain, Polymath is seeking to tweak the standard market shareholder structure to make trading watertight. The Polymath Network Telegram on January 13, 2018, surpassed even the Ripple Telegram channel after hitting a maximum cap of 50,000 subscribers. The company has simple yet bold plans to answer the need to “know your customer” (KYC) in cryptocurrency trading. A New Structure that is Secure from the Start: The Polymath platform generates an interface between securities and the blockchain. Global concerns over money laundering and other fraudulent activities within the cryptocurrency world persist. Being able to replace “shareholders” with “token holders” is something Polymath is touting as it looks to a new era of STOs (Security Token Offerings).
