Russia’s Ministry of Finance Legalizes Cryptocurrency Trading, Central Bank Disagrees (CoinTelegraph)
The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation (Minfin) has presented the Digital Assets Regulation Bill which defines and establishes a regulatory system for cryptocurrencies, ICOs, mining and trading, local media outlet TASS news agency reported today Jan. 25. Notably, the central bank of Russia disagrees with Ministry of Finance that cryptocurrency exchange should be legally accepted. According to the central bank, the digital currency trading rules should be only applied to tokens that would attract financial investments.
Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple are Crashing This Morning (Inverse.com)
Friday is not shaping up to be a great day for cryptocurrency, with 88 of the 100 largest tokens reporting losses in the early hours of the day. Top coins Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple all suffered losses after a Tokyo-based exchange unexpectedly halted withdrawals. Coincheck, an exchange founded in 2012, halted all fiat currency and cryptocurrency withdrawals, stating that it was preparing a statement in due course. Hiroyuki Komiya, Chief Executive Officer of Tokyo-based Blockchain Technology Consulting, told Bloomberg that Coincheck is a “very well-known exchange” in the country and people are “very eagerly awaiting to hear more detail.”
Pixabay/Public Domain
NEO (NEO) Is Knocking On The Door of Ethereum (ETH) (Stocksgazette.com)
The word is out there that NEO (NEO) is the Ethereum (ETH) of China. It has the seal of approval from a country with a population of over 1.4 Billion according to a 2017 census estimate. This is approximately 25% of the world’s population. This means that if the founders of NEO cryptocurrency really wanted to make things interesting, they’d market NEO to the 1.4 Billion Chinese with a 33% population being between the ages of 15 and 35. This means a possible market share of 462 Million young Chinese willing to own and transact with NEO.
Millions of PCs Targeted by Cryptocurrency-Mining Malware (Fox News)
Malware is increasingly developing an appetite for cryptocurrency mining. One newly discovered strain has tried to infect millions of Windows machines, all in an effort to siphon their computing power and possibly sell it for mining purposes. The operation has been going on for over four months, and may have targeted around 15 million machines or more, security firm Palo Alto Networks said Wednesday. To spread the malware, the hackers have been disguising the code as EXE files made to look like file-sharing downloads with names such as “File4org,” “RapidFiles” and “Dropmefiles.”
Kodak, The Blockchain and Cryptocurrency: How Kodak Is Tapping Into Technology (Nasdaq.com)
Kodak (KODK), one of the oldest names in the imaging business, is leveraging the blockchain technology to fix problems that have been plaguing the photography industry. Kodak and WENN Digital joined hands to launch a blockchain-powered image rights management platform, dubbed as KODAKOne along with a photo-centric cryptocurrency, known as KODAKCoin. The heart of Kodak’s platform is the distributed ledger technology and the ‘token economy’ which are being used to ensure that individual photographers and agencies are able to protect ownership rights and authorization of their work while generating a new revenue stream.
More Hedge Funds Are Hating Cryptocurrency (Money.usnews.com)
It has been a tough year for some of the largest hedge funds in the country, and big-name fund managers are taking out their frustrations on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. This week, Baupost Group’s Seth Klarman and JANA Partners’ Barry Rosenstein became the latest investing gurus to question meteoric cryptocurrency price gains in their year-end letters to investors. According to the JANA letter, the cryptocurrency market is the most obviously overpriced financial market today.
Katy Perry Joins Cryptocurrency Celebs Club (NewsBTC)
Crypto mania has taken the world by storm this year. It is the hot topic from Davos to Da Club with billionaires and rappers getting on board the block train. Celebrities want to be seen to be hip with the latest in tech and gossip. Making the right moves this week was singer Katy Perry who flaunted what could be a new fad in crypto fashion.
Hackers Hit Over 15 Million Users with New XMRig Monero Cryptocurrency Mining Campaign (IBTimes.co.uk)
A new cryptocurrency mining campaign has infected over 15 million users across the globe. The new campaign, which involves hackers leveraging the XMRig Monero miner, has hit South America, Southeast Asia and northern Africa the hardest. According to security researchers at Palo Alto Networks, who discovered the attack, the new Monero mining campaign has been active for around four months. The hackers behind the campaign have already made several updates to the cryptocurrency mining malware, changing their tactics every month or so.
US Official Urges Cryptocurrency Regulation (TheStandard.com.hk)
A senior U.S. Treasury official touring Asia has urged banks and financial regulators in the region and elsewhere to do more to tighten oversight of booming trading in bitcoin and other crypto currencies. Sigal Mandelker, the Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said Friday that more needs to be done to prevent money laundering and other criminal activities using such transactions. Speaking to reporters in Tokyo after visiting China, Hong Kong and South Korea, she lauded recent moves to keep closer tabs on such dealings.
Texas Security Regulators Target Another Cryptocurrency Operator (Chron.com)
Texas security regulators are warning consumers about the perils of investing in a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency pitched to Texans as a “golden nest egg” that will never fall in value. The Texas State Securities Board issued an emergency cease and desist order this week against R2B Coin, the third time in recent weeks the board has warned investors about buying the popular, but unregulated and unregistered virtual investments. Williams Corp. Ltd. is the distributor of r2b coin and advertises that it is a “licensed global firm and “licensed securities dealer” based in Hong Kong and Dubai, according to the securities board. However the board said that Williams Corp. has never been registered to sell securities in Texas.
