Upbit Exchange to Launch Korea’s First Cryptocurrency Index (Bitcoinist.com)
Upbit, South Korea’s second largest crypto exchange, is planning to launch a new cryptocurrency index called UBCI (Upbit Crypto Index). The concept is to provide a standard index which can measure market conditions by suggesting and creating a coin quote standard. In a report by Business Korea this morning, it was noted that the company operating Upbit, Dunamu, aims to provide this index in order to make it easier for investors to understand overall market trends and the bigger picture.
TMX Unveils Cryptocurrency Brokerage (FinExtra.com)
Canadian exchange operator TMX Group is setting up a subsidiary that will run a cryptocurrency brokerage service focused on Bitcoin and Ether. Shorcan Digital Currency Network (Shorcan DCN) is set to launch in the second quarter, tapping into the brokerage expertise of Shorcan Brokers, which TMX acquired in 2006. The new unit will work with Toronto-based Paycase, a specialist in decentralised financial services that will provide its cryptocurrency data aggregation platform.
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AirAsia to Fly Higher with Own Cryptocurrency, ICO (CryptoVest.com)
Tony Fernandes, head of budget carrier AirAsia, is confident his company can take on a new challenge by becoming the first airline in the world to launch its own digital currency and an initial coin offering (ICO). Despite the murky rules in the digital currency space, AirAsia plans to take this step and use its cryptocurrency to reward frequent flyers, Fernandes told TechCrunch in an interview on the sidelines of the Singapore-hosted Money20/20 conference.
Physical Bitcoin Debit Cards Are Coming Back to Europe (CoinIdol.com)
Since VISA’s decision to suspend all Bitcoin prepaid debit and virtual cards issued by Wave Crest Holding in the EU, citizens of Europe and many other countries have had no option to use cryptocurrency cards for withdrawals and POS payments. However, two cryptocurrency-related companies are preparing to bring their new physical and virtual cards to the market. The decision to block all Bitcoin VISA cards was taken back on January 5, 2018, when VISA announced it was closing all of its Visa prepaid cards due to a change in operating permissions. As a result, most of the cards were immediately blocked in the EU and providers of cryptocurrency debit cards services in Europe, like BitPay, Cryptopay.me, Coinsbank, TenX, Wirex, AdvCash and others, could no longer offer their customers cryptocurrency withdrawals or POS payments using debit cards.
New BitMEX Report Shows SegWit as More Widely Adopted than Bitcoin Cash (FinanceMagnates.com)
A new report from BitMEX comparing the transaction volumes of Bitcoin Cash and SegWit since their respective implementations shows that SegWit may be winning the adoption race. While the rates of adoption for both coins have been “reasonably similar,” SegWit appears to have remained ahead of Bitcoin Cash for the past several months. Data collected by BitMEX shows that there was a sharp spike in Bitcoin Cash’s transaction volume shortly after its launch, while adoption of SegWit increased more gradually. “This is likely to be related to the investment flows and excitement of the new Bitcoin Cash coin, which may have driven short term adoption,” the report says.
Twitter CEO Wrong on Bitcoin, Ethereum to Rule Cryptoverse, deVere Boss Contends (CryptoVest.com)
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is wrong to have such a bullish outlook on Bitcoin for Ethereum will rise to become the dominant cryptocurrency in the next decade, according to Nigel Green, founder and CEO of financial services group deVere. In an interview with The Times, Green dismissed Dorsey’s prediction that “the world ultimately will have a single currency” and that “will be Bitcoin.” “Unlike Jack Dorsey, I do not believe that Bitcoin will become the world’s sole currency in 10 years. The original cryptocurrency is likely to remain the most dominant one in the market for some time, especially with its scalability issues being tackled,” Green said.
This Gambling Platform Forked its own Blockchain to Beat the Competition (TheNextWeb.com)
For the dozens of new blockchain gambling operators, differentiation increasingly comes down to technology. Game innovation, speed, and fairness are important advantages. However, according to decentralized gambling exchange LetBet, all three of these features are limitations of the Ethereum blockchain. To solve this problem, LetBet has developed its own blockchain: “Libertas Chain.” It is a clever fork of the Ethereum blockchain that does away with the limitations and creates a platform that can be used not only for gambling but many other activities as well.
Ripple’s (XRP) xRapid To Gain More Ground As Western Union Partners GraceKennedy On Online Remittance (TheIndependentRepublic.com)
Financial giants Western Union and GraceKennedy Money Services (GKMS) are partnering to launch an innovative online remittance platform WU.com. The platform is scheduled to be lunched at the end of April this year. The development is coming after Western Union (WU) confirmed it is testing Ripple’s (XRP) Blockchain-based settlement system, Xrapid and XRP. The Ripple-Western Union Collaboration, is once in a lifetime partnership that Ripple and WU wont forget.
Here’s Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple Are Falling Today (The Motley Fool)
After a stratospheric rise in late 2017, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have hit a bumpy road so far in 2018. And many of the big downward swings can be attributed to regulatory uncertainty, both in the U.S. and around the world. Thursday’s move is no exception. All but one of the 10 largest cryptocurrencies are in the red today, as two unsettling regulatory developments are weighing on the market. In a nutshell, unconfirmed reports indicate that Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is planning to warn Binance (which is based in Hong Kong) about operating without registration in the country. Japan’s FSA did indeed make cryptocurrency exchange registration mandatory last year, but Binance denies any knowledge of the supposed warning. In fact, CEO Changpeng Zhao tweeted that the company has been in “constructive dialogs” with the FSA, and has received no such warning.
Study: 70% of Crypto Exchanges Allow Weak Passwords (News.Bitcoin.com)
Over 70 percent of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges allow users to create accounts with weak passwords, a new study reveals. This leaves them exposed to financial theft due to unsafe password practices, the authors say. Less than half of the surveyed trading platforms provide password strength assessment tools.
