Crypto News of the Day (30.3.) | Binance delists leveraged tokens • Microsoft has filed a patent for cryptomining using human movement • and other news
5 min readTable of Contents
Here you can find an overview of the most important events that took place during the last day in the cryptoworld.
Markets
Bitcoin again experienced several moments of volatility over the weekend. Over the last 24 hours, Bitcoin has fallen for a short time from $ 6,200 to $ 5,900. However, the virtual currency has already recovered its previous price and is currently trading above $ 6,200. Crypto market is now growing slightly, and so far the expectation of a further downturn has not been met, but this may change quickly in the evening, with new news from the world regarding the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus.
You can monitor the current cryptocurrency prices – here.
Cryptocurrency exchanges, Banks
The Malta Financial Services Authority, or MFSA, has issued an alert on March 25 about two crypto exchanges that do not have licenses to operate, nor are they regulated in the country. COINMALEX and Crypto Foxtrades are the exchanges that the country’s financial watchdog alluded to in the statement, as both companies claimed on their websites that they had the necessary regulations and licenses to operate.
Crypto Foxtrades claimed that they had the “Category 3 Investment Services” provider from the Maltese authorities to operate. As for COINMALEX, the financial watchdog adds that the information they have about this crypto exchange suggests that it is a scheme of “dubious nature” and that it could carry a high risk of losing money.
Binance says it’s delisting leveraged assets tied to Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, EOS and Binance Coin on March 31st. In a statement, the crypto exchange says users can still deposit and withdraw their leveraged tokens two hours before it ceases support for leveraged FTX tokens and their trading pairs.
“We will credit your Binance account with the equivalent value held in each leveraged token at the time of delisting in BUSD and within 14 days.”
Binance says it’s taking action because users are simply too confused about how leveraged tokens work. Binance says it is delisting all trading pairs tied to the leveraged assets BULL, BEAR, ETHBULL, ETHBEAR, EOSBULL, EOSBEAR, BNBBULL, BNBBEAR, XRPBULL and XRPBEAR.
Mining
In a patent application filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Thursday, the American computer giant said sensors could detect activity associated with specific tasks – such as time spent viewing ads – and convert it into computer-readable data to solve computational problems, in much the same way as a conventional proof-of-work system.
“Instead of massive computation work required by some conventional cryptocurrency systems, data generated based on the body activity of the user can be a proof-of-work, and therefore, a user can solve the computationally difficult problem unconsciously,”
Microsoft says the system could be used to incentivize users to perform certain tasks. Scanners can detect activity from certain kinds of tasks, such as mental concentration when reading an advert, that can verify blocks and reward the user with cryptocurrencies.
Blockchain, Technology
Banking giant HSBC is replacing paper records with a blockchain-based platform to track $10 billion in private investments. Bank clients can use the platform, dubbed the “Digital Vault”, to access digitized records of securities that were purchased on private markets. The platform reduces the time it takes for clients to check, search or verify transactions in real time, instead of needing to contact the bank for access to information on their holdings.
The upgrade from paper records to the Digital Vault comes as HSBC expects the value of the private placement market to soar to $7.7 trillion in two years, representing a 60% surge since 2017. Ciaran Roddy, head of custody innovation at HSBC’s securities services arm, says that interest in private placements from sovereign funds across the world is on the up and up.
“With some of the yields that are on offer, we are definitely seeing an increase in demand.”
A consortium of Dutch companies has launched the “Tech against Corona” initiative. Participating firms will freely provide the Dutch government with access to innovative technologies that can be used in the fight against COVID-19. Netherlands-based distributed ledger technology (DLT) firm, Tymlez, is one of more than 10 companies who are freely providing their services and technologies to the government.
Tymlez has offered its blockchain platform as the underlying technology to “model the medical goods ecosystem through a platform that matches supply and demand.” The firm’s blockchain will be used to ensure transparency across the supply chain — preventing predatory value extraction, such as price gouging, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Students enrolled in the University of Malta’s Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies masters program have built a decentralized application (Dapp) that has been used for voting in upcoming student representative elections, per a March 28 press release. The Dapp is built on top of a decentralized digital identity platform that was provided to the students by Vodafone. The election was the first live project to be executed using Vodafone’s digital identity platform.
Joshua Ellul, the director of the University of Malta’s Centre for Distributed Ledger Technologies said:
“We are pleased to have been the first use-case for the Vodafone [digital identity] platform, and as far as we can tell a world first to hold a student election on a blockchain, “
Swiss luxury watchmaker Breitling announced the release of a limited edition chronograph certified using the Arianee protocol. Each individual Top Time watch will be given a unique digital identity using distributed ledger technology. The passport contains data pertaining to that individual watch, including its serial number and a timestamp indicating the date from which the warranty is activated.
If an owner is to sell their Top Time watch, only the transfer of the digital passport is needed to authenticate the new ownership of the timepiece. Emmanuelle Collet, Arianne’s co-founder and CMO, stated:
“We are proud to be able to offer an augmented ownership experience to Breitling’s Top Time clients through an enhanced warranty program.”
