Crypto News of the Day (28.1.) | Bitcoin again at $ 9,000 • Ledger warns of new phishing attacks • and other news
5 min readTable of Contents
Here you can find an overview of the most important crypto events in the last 24 hours.
Markets
Bitcoin again reached the $ 9,000 mark this morning, but it is not yet clear whether it will be maintained. Altcoins are also growing, and markets are slowly starting to shift from a neutral mood to a shopping mood (Greed). People also invest more in gold and other commodities.
You can monitor the current cryptocurrency prices – here.
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Cryptocurrencies
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Blockchain / Technology
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Crypto exchanges /Banks
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Regulations
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Mati Greenspan: the rising cost of BTC is not associated with coronavirus
Bitcoin today suddenly rose again above $ 9,000. The increase coincides with the spread of coronavirus, which has become a serious health problem in China and is spreading worldwide. As a result, some cryptocommunity members are examining whether this is just a coincidence or whether there is a real link between the two scenarios. Mati Greenspan, a former senior analyst at eToro, says the increase may not have anything to do with the virus. In a Twitter post, the analyst said today that a better explanation for the increase would be the US dollar’s continuous printing of the dollar and increasing liquidity in the capital markets.
Is $BTC rising because of #coronavirus?
— Mati Greenspan [tweets are not trading advice] (@MatiGreenspan) January 27, 2020
Perhaps a few are buying on this narrative but what seems more likely to me is that upward pressure is a result of Fed printing & additional liquidity in capital markets.
In this case, it's acting more like a risk asset than a safe haven.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies shelter Lebanese from a failing economy
In November last year, Lebanon cut ATM withdrawals to $ 1,000 per week. Now the limit is only 300 USD. As a result, citizens have become restless and violent. Cryptocurrency is definitely for some people in Lebanon, a way to move capital out of the country. However, the use of digital assets is not the ultimate investment in this case. Instead, it’s more of a way to move money across borders.
16) Some people convert acquired cash to BTC/USDT in order to move capital overseas – many of them using the crypto to buy property in the UAE.
— Andrew Kang (@Rewkang) January 26, 2020
There are increasingly more WhatsApp groups dedicated to this OTC activity
Ledger warns of new phishing attacks
Ledger, the company behind popular hardware wallets like Nano S and Nano X, has revealed that users are facing phishing attacks that come from hacked YouTube accounts. The company urges users not to share their 24-word passwords with anyone. Several videos have been published under the names of “Ledger” and “Ledger Nano” and encourage users to sign up for a compromised web wallet that promises free bonuses.
We're facing phishing attacks using hacked YouTube accounts.
— Ledger (@Ledger) January 27, 2020
Ledger isn't affiliated to this and we reported these accounts @YouTube.
We encourage impacted users to report those and contact local police if needed.
Remember: Never share your 24-words. https://t.co/2h2sgFAeNr pic.twitter.com/vCZ92sROdH
The wallet hardware manufacturer offers a $ 250,000 reward for breaking
GK8 hardware wallet manufacturer offers a reward for breaking this wallet or detecting an error of up to $ 250,000 to the first person to do it. GK8, which presents its solution as a “digital hacker safe” that requires no direct or indirect Internet connection, puts 14 bitcoins (BTC) in its wallet (over $ 125,000 at the time of writing). Anyone who succeeds in breaking into a wallet will have this earnings plus an additional $ 125,000.
Deutsche Bank now claims that cryptocurrencies will be in the mainstream within two years
The Deutsche Bank report, published on Monday, says that digital currencies, although only ten years old, already have “the potential to radically change payments, banking, central banking and the balance of economic power”. “We believe that the new digital currency could become mainstream in the next two years,” according to the report, China’s digital currency and the Libra Facebook project are expected to launch. The report states that these two projects could make digital currencies available to more than 1.5 billion Chinese citizens and 2.5 billion Facebook users – together it is more than half of the world’s population. According to the current rate of adoption of cryptocurrencies, the adoption of this technology is running in parallel with the adoption of the Internet in the first years. If it continued at the same rate, there could be more than 200 million wallets by 2030, out of 50 million in 2020.
LocalBitcoins closes accounts in problematic countries
Forbes reported on Saturday that LocalBitcoins users in at least three regions, including Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, had noted that their accounts were “disabled”. LocalBitcoins users in countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, and Nigeria have received messages from service providers about account suspension, and some users have reported that they do not have access to their funds.
The law on mandatory registration of cryptocompanies has entered into force in Singapore
Singapore’s new law came into force today and requires that all cryptocompanies operating in the country be registered and licensed. The Payment Services Act was first passed in January 2019 and has now come into force. It provides the regulatory authority with formal supervision of payment companies, including cryptocurrency. The law applies to “digital payment token services” – in fact, all the cryptophyses and exchanges in the country. This means that they will have to comply with the AML and the Terrorist Financing (CFT) requirements.
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