We Tested the New TREZOR Cryptocurrency Wallet: This Is What We Found (BitcoinMagazine.com)
The new TREZOR model T, a hardware cryptocurrency wallet developed by SatoshiLabs, is the second generation of SatoshiLabs’ popular TREZOR hardware wallet family. The Model T was announced in November 2017, on the ninth anniversary of Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin white paper and made available for pre-order. All pre-order devices were sold out, and regular sales are expected to start soon. Bitcoin Magazine has tested a TREZOR Model T. The matchbox-sized device comes in a sleek package with a USB-C cable for connecting to a computer or phone; stickers and other accessories; and a minimalist Post-it-sized “Getting Started” guide. An online guide titled “Getting started with TREZOR Model T” provides more detailed instructions with pictures.
Wirex to Launch Cryptocurrency Debit Cards in Asia During Q2 2018 (News.Bitcoin.com)
London-headquartered bitcoin wallet and card company, Wirex has revealed it will launch contactless debit cards for spending money that has been loaded from cryptocurrencies and its first ever multi-currency accounts for speedy exchange between bitcoin and fiat (SGD, GBP, EUR, USD) in Asia during the second quarter of 2018. Wirex Cards in Asia are said to offer 3D Secure support for safe online payments as well as physical and instantly available virtual debit cards.
Pixabay/Public Domain
Cryptocurrency Release Dentacoin Now Accepted In New Practices (PaymentWeek.com)
One of the odd new trends in cryptocurrency is the creation of a coin geared toward a particular industry; TravelCoin, for example, focuses its efforts on the travel industry, while ArtByte backs up the independent artist. Dentacoin is one such coin as well, geared as you might well have guessed to the dental practitioner. It’s even picked up a couple new practices recently in the Netherlands, as it announced in a release sent our way.
Seattle Cryptocurrency Startup Raises Over $1.6 Million in Seed Funding (BitsOnline.com)
First arriving on the scene in 2016, Strix Leviathan is looking to introduce a new cryptocurrency trading platform designed strictly for management institutions and similar enterprises. The company is led by Jesse Proudman, a former Blue Box and IBM executive who claims that cryptocurrency exchanges are still “very immature.” The entrepreneur said that approximately $15-20 billion in cryptocurrency moves through global exchanges each day, but their limited infrastructures can often place barriers on the kinds of coins users can trade.
The Town of Plattsburgh Bans Cryptocurrency Mining (Mashable.com)
Anyone who thought about starting a cryptocurrency mining operation in the city with the cheapest electricity in the U.S. is out of luck, at least for the next year and a half. The city council of Plattsburgh, New York unanimously voted in favor of a 18-month moratorium on crypto-mining Thursday, Motherboard reported. The new law, originally proposed on March 2, affects only new, commercial mining operations; current companies that are mining in Plattsburgh will be allowed to continue to do so. Plattsburgh – a small city with a population of under 20,000 as of the 2010 census – has very cheap electricity due to its involvement in building the power-generating dams on the St. Lawrence river back in the 1950s. And for a cryptocurrency mining operation – an energy-intensive process used to create new crypto-coins and power large cryptocurrency networks – cheap electricity is a huge draw.
Security Settles on Ethereum in First-of-a-Kind Blockchain Transaction (CoinDesk.com)
In a first-of-a-kind transaction happening Friday, all it takes to switch from the old world of centralized clearing houses to the frontier of decentralized blockchains was to press a button. A company called Marex is issuing two separate structured notes. Both notes were created using ResonanceX, an investing platform built by Guillaume Chatain, a former managing director at JPMorgan Chase. The first note will be settled the old-fashioned way, on Clearstream, the European clearing house. But the second, otherwise identical note will be registered, cleared and settled on the public ethereum blockchain. All the issuer has to do to change this parameter is select a different option from the drop-down menu on ResonanceX’s dashboard.
Next Following Days To Be Crucial For Ripple (EthereumWorldNews.com)
Ripple has been steadily falling throughout March, although the mid term descending channel was formed well before, in early January 2018, the Chief Analyst at RoboForex Dmitriy Gurkovskiy says. Ripple is trading at $0.6893 on Friday Mar 16. Technically, if the bulls fail to maintain current levels, the next downward target will be at $0.5620 or $0.5630. Previously, an important support at $0.6950 was broken, and this left no hope for the price to come back at $0.8600. In case the price manages to stay at $0.6860 or $0.6885 during the next two days, Ripple may get a chance for some growth.
Bitcoin is Falling Out of Favor with One Key Constituency-Criminals, Says Report (MarketWatch.com)
The price of the No. 1 digital currency, bitcoin, has been on a punishing tailspin of late, falling 40% in 2018 and more than 70% since its peak in December of 2017. And perhaps adding insult to cyber injury, the popular virtual currency finds itself out of favor with another group of users. According to a recent report, illicit activity that is typically associated with bitcoin is on the decline, with the cybercrime industry and money launderers moving away from bitcoin BTCUSD, +2.40% to so-called privacy coins, like Monero-coveted by the underworld for the anonymity of transactions-luring away those who once turned to bitcoin for such features.
Swissquote Expands Cryptocurrency Offering with SIX Multi-Crypto Active Index (FinanceMagnates.com)
Swissquote Group, Switzerland’s leading provider of online trading services, has expanded its crypto offering with an actively managed multi-cryptocurrency Certificate, powered by its machine learning algorithm. The exchange-traded product is listed on Switzerland’s largest stock exchange, the Six Swiss Exchange. Swissquote’s offering removes one of the barriers to the introduction of a Cryptocurrency ETP to institutional investors as the new investment vehicle allows them to buy into the market without directly investing in the virtual asset class, which regulations prohibit them from doing.
US Trade Regulator Shuts Down Crypto Investment Scheme Promoters (CoinDesk.com)
A U.S. district court in Florida has issued a temporary restraining order against four individuals accused of operating a string of cryptocurrency investment schemes following a request from the Federal Trade Commission. The agency announced Friday that three of the four defendants – Thomas Dluca, Louis Gatto, and Eric Pinkston – were involved in two referral schemes, Bitcoin Funding Team and My7Network. A complaint dated February 20 and unsealed today alleged that they promised would-be investors major returns if they made initial payments in cryptocurrency, mentioning bitcoin and litecoin specifically.
