$BTC daily

2023-02-18 18:14:38 ​​Line shuts down crypto exchange to focus on blockchain and LN token.

The Japanese messaging giant will still continue to support its Line blockchain ecosystem and the Link token despite the ongoing industry challenges.

The Japanese messaging giant Line has decided to shut down its cryptocurrency exchange business amid the ongoing crypto winter.

Line-owned crypto exchange Bitfront officially announced on Nov. 27 a plan to completely close down the platform by March 2023.

According to the statement, the closure was driven by the continued cryptocurrency bear market and other issues in the crypto industry.

Despite the exchange’s closure, Line will still continue to run its other blockchain ventures, including the Line blockchain ecosystem and Link (LN) token, the announcement notes, stating:

“Despite our efforts to overcome the challenges in this rapidly-evolving industry, we have regretfully determined that we need to shut down Bitfront in order to continue growing the Line blockchain ecosystem and Link token economy.”

Bitfront also emphasized that the decision to close the exchange was made for the “best interest” of the Line ecosystem and is unrelated to the ongoing industry scandal involving the FTX exchange.

According to the announcement, Bitfront will take a gradual approach to suspend its services, stopping signups and credit card payments on Nov. 28. The platform then plans to suspend additional deposits and interest payments of LN interest products and proceed with the related LN withdrawals by mid-December.

By the end of December, Bitfront aims to stop all cryptocurrency and fiat deposits alongside trading suspension and cancellation of open orders. Total suspension of withdrawals is scheduled for March 31, 2023, while customers would still be able to claim their assets in different jurisdictions of the United States.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Line launched its proprietary crypto exchange in 2018 as a Singapore-based business. Originally known as BitBox, the company was rebranded to Bitfront and moved to the United States in February 2020. The exchange has been downscaling some of its operations in recent years, suspending services in South Korea in August 2021. Open / Comment

2023-02-18 16:05:08 ​Crypto Experts are Stocking Up on This New Altcoin With Less Than 24 Hours Before Its Presale Ends – Here’s Why.

With only hours remaining in the presale, the sustainable cryptocurrency IMPT has raised over $18.6 million, with $1 million per day coming in in the final days as crypto experts and influencers spread the project's virtues online.

IMPT io will connect shoppers globally with environmental projects supported by numerous retail brands. Each time a user makes a purchase through IMPT, money is donated towards climate change solutions and shoppers gain rewards.

Crypto Experts Weigh in on Top Sustainable Crypto Presale
'CryptoHeroesLIVE', one of Germany's top crypto analysts, reviewed IMPT as a high-potential project yesterday when the presale had brought in $17.1 million. Then India's top cryptocurrency influencer 'Wise Advice' posted a video later in the day when the presale had raised $17.3 million.

Then, CryptoNews analyst Jacob Bury posted an IMPT update today when IMPT was close to raising $18 million dollars.

"I'm very, very bullish on everything in the ecosystem," Bury said in the video update. "Tokenomically it's amazing, the white paper looks great, the VCM (voluntary carbon market) is expected to grow massively by 2030, and of course, investing in the IMPT token means you're really aligning your investment decision with your moral framework. It's really good to know you're participating in something that is helping save the planet."

On Friday, the IMPT team delivered a keynote speech at the World Blockchain Summit in Thailand. That presentation may have caught the attention of crypto whales as new token presales that feature a fully doxxed and professional team often perform well not only during an IEO but also in the long term.

On Saturday night, as news of IMPT continued to spread internationally, investors poured an additional million dollars into the presale.

IMPT will list on exchanges at $0.0253 USD, 10% higher than the final presale price. IMPT token holders will be able to trade their tokens on LBank and Changelly soon after the end of the presale, with more listings currently being finalized. Open / Comment

2023-02-18 00:35:18 Moody's Says Forex Shortages May Force Nigerian Central Bank to Delay Repaying Local Banks

The persistent scarcity of foreign exchange may force the Nigerian central bank to delay repaying the $10.4 billion owed to local banks, analysts at Moody’s Investors Service have concluded. The central bank’s failure to pay its debts on time will likely force the affected financial institutions to similarly delay paying back their own forex-denominated debts.

Source

https://t.me/bitcoin_day Open / Comment

2023-02-17 20:16:46 Next UK financial regulator calls for tougher crypto rules: FT

Ashley Alder, the UK’s next Financial Conduct Authority chair, had harsh words for crypto platforms as he addressed members of parliament, the Financial Times first reported. at scale, according to the newspaper.

The criticism from Alder comes as anti-money laundering tests held by the FCA ruled out 85% of firms that applied, according to FCA chief executive Nikhil Rath, who spoke earlier this year at a banking summit. Expected UK Treasury regulations are set to introduce consumer protections, impose limitations on foreign sellers, restrict product advertising and offer provisions when companies fail.


https://t.me/bitcoin_day Open / Comment

2023-02-17 14:44:55 ​FTX Bankruptcy Judge Denies US Trustee’s Request for Independent Examiner

The judge presiding over the FTX bankruptcy case has denied the U.S. Trustee’s request to appoint an independent examiner for the ongoing proceedings. The decision comes after judge John Dorsey postponed the ruling last week, citing concerns that the examiner could cost creditors tens of millions of dollars.

In the latest filing in the FTX bankruptcy case docket, judge John Dorsey has denied the appointment of an independent examiner. Dorsey stated that the current team, led by FTX CEO John J. Ray III, is “highly qualified” to handle the bankruptcy proceedings independently. The decision overrides the U.S. Trustee’s request to hire an independent examiner, which was said to be mandated by Congress.

The judge presiding over the FTX bankruptcy case stressed, however, that he had “no doubt that appointing an examiner would not be in the best interest of the creditors.” According to estimates, current management claimed that expenses for an independent examiner could reach between $90 million and $100 million. “Every dollar spent on administrative expenses in these cases is $1 less for the creditors,” Dorsey stated during the hearing, agreeing that an examiner could be very costly.

Since Dec. 1, 2022, an attorney for the U.S. Trustee, an arm of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), has been attempting to appoint an examiner to the FTX case in the Delaware bankruptcy court. During the case, a representative for the Trustee argued that the appointment of an independent examiner was mandated by Congress and no longer within Dorsey’s authority.

The Trustee’s argument was supported by a letter from four bipartisan U.S. senators insisting that an independent examiner be appointed. However, the decision by the Delaware bankruptcy judge emphasizes that his court’s authority has overruled the government’s request. Open / Comment

2023-02-17 01:32:26 Uzbekistan Allows Foreign Firms to Deposit Funds From Crypto Trading, Restricts Other Operations


The Central Bank of Uzbekistan has permitted foreign-based businesses to open domestic bank accounts and deposit funds received from cryptocurrency trading. These companies will also be able to transfer the money abroad, but operations in the country will be restricted.

Source

https://t.me/bitcoin_day Open / Comment

2023-02-16 19:05:41 ​​Bitcoin’s Difficulty Slides 7.32%, Reduction Marks the Largest Drop in 2022

On Dec. 5, 2022, at block height 766,080, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty adjustment dropped 7.32% lower, making it the largest difficulty reduction in 2022. The current difficulty is approximately 34.24 trillion and it will remain at this point for the next two weeks or 2,016 blocks.

Bitcoin’s difficulty retarget has dropped, which makes it a bit easier for bitcoin miners to find a block than it was during the two weeks prior. The difficulty change occurred around 8:50:29 p.m. (ET), at block height 766,080 and it was the largest reduction this year. The difficulty reduction was larger than the prior record that was recorded at block height 745,920. At that time on July 21, 2022, the network’s difficulty dropped by 5.01% and the difficulty was around 27.69 trillion.

Prior to the 7.32% reduction down to 34.24 trillion, the network’s difficulty rating was at a lifetime high of 36.95 trillion. Satoshi created the difficulty retarget to change periodically or every 2,016 blocks so the average time to mine a block remains constant at around 10 minutes. Statistics show prior to block height 766,080, the average block time was around 10:48 minutes, which meant a notable difficulty reduction was predicted to happen prior to the change.

At the time of writing, at 9:00 p.m. (ET), the total hashrate associated with the Bitcoin network is around 271.33 exahash per second (EH/s). Foundry USA is the top bitcoin mining pool at the time of writing with 25.48% of the network or 64.47 EH/s. Foundry discovered 107 blocks out of 420 discovered in the last three days. Foundry is followed by the mining pools Antpool, F2pool, Binance Pool, and Viabtc respectively. Open / Comment

2023-02-16 14:36:54 ​​South Korea to examine crypto staking services following the Kraken case.

No details on the timeline and methods of the examination were provided, but reportedly it would be conducted moderately as no wrongdoings have been registered in the country.

As reported by a local publication on Feb. 15, Korean financial authorities are looking into the staking services market. However, as the unnamed official specified to the journalists:

The fears of the crypto community about the possible repercussions of the recent court deal between the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Kraken are starting to materialize. Following their American counterparts, South Korean regulators intend to examine the crypto-staking operators in the country.

“The position is that there is nothing to be a problem because nothing has been done.”

No details on the timeline and methods of the examination were provided, but it could affect some legislative decisions. In contrast to more common operations with digital assets, crypto staking isn’t defined by Korean regulation at the moment.

The global discussion on crypto staking kicked off with a Feb. 9 settlement between the SEC and Kraken crypto exchange. Kraken agreed to pay a $30 million fine and halt its staking program. The move was widely criticized by the American crypto community and even the SEC’s acting commissioner.

In his analysis for Cointelegraph, J.W. Verret, an associate professor at the George Mason Law School, warned about the SEC’s intention to use its Kraken playbook against staking protocols in general:

“It’s becoming clear from a pattern across financial regulators and the White House that the subtext in the administration’s policy toward crypto is that it should be choked off.”

In February, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission established guidance that specifies which types of digital assets will be considered and regulated as securities in the country. The law considers securities as financial investments where investors are not required to make additional payments after their original investment. Open / Comment

2023-02-16 00:56:25 Bitcoin Ordinal Inscriptions Surge Past 100,000 Mark, Spurring Development of Supporting Infrastructure

According to the latest statistics, more than 100,000 ordinal inscriptions have been added to the Bitcoin blockchain since the start of the trend. Amid the growing popularity, people have launched supporting marketplaces and tools that allow individuals to inscribe without a full node. Additionally, a decentralized Ordinal exchange is reportedly in the works.

Source

https://t.me/bitcoin_day Open / Comment

2023-02-15 18:54:14 Vitalik Buterin Advises Focusing on The Tech to Avoid Crypto Weariness

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has spoken out about the state of the crypto industry and how to avoid growing tired of it. On Dec. 4, Vitalik Buterin responded to a question from a popular community member who said they had grown tired of the scammers and fraudsters in crypto after nine years.

Crypto is used primarily as a vehicle for speculation at the moment, and that is where fraudsters thrive. The FTX meltdown was caused by a bank run catalyzed by major overleveraging and lending.Zk-SNARK is an acronym that stands for “Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge.” It is a cryptographic proof that allows one party to prove it possesses certain information without revealing what the information is.


https://t.me/bitcoin_day Open / Comment