Bitlish, LitePay, Twitter, Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, Litecoin, and More from Cryptocurrencies Today

Crypto Exchange Bitlish Adds Support for Ripple (XRP) and NEM (XEM) (CryptoNinjas.net)
UK cryptocurrency exchange Bitlish has announced today the company has added support for Ripple (XRP) and NEM (NEM). Users can now accept transfers in XRP to their Bitlish account and make transfers from there, as well as trade it for BTC and EUR. Ripple is also fully supported in the company’s multi-cryptocurrency enabled mobile wallet. NEM, has been in the news due to the recent major $534 million theft from Japan exchange Coincheck. Still, NEM (XEM) is one of a top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation with a user friendly blockchain.

LitePay CEO Ceases All Operations, Prepares to Sell Company (Discover.Coinsquare.io)
Today, an announcement from the Litecoin Foundation stated that LitePay CEO Kenneth Asara ceased all operations and intends to sell the company. Now, investors are left wondering what this means for the future of Litecoin, and how the market will react to this announcement. Ceo Exit Marks the End of the Litepay Saga: With the announcement, the Litecoin Foundation said that it recently found out from LitePay’s CEO that he ceased operations, effectively marking the end of the LitePay saga. “We are greatly disheartened that this saga has ended in this way and we apologize for not doing enough due diligence that could have uncovered some of these issues earlier,” the foundation said in the announcement. “We are currently working hard to tighten our due diligence practices and ensure that this does not happen again.”

Pixabay/Public Domain

Pixabay/Public Domain

Twitter will Start Banning Cryptocurrency Ads Tommorrow (TheVerge)
Twitter will begin blocking cryptocurrency-related ads tomorrow, the company confirmed in a statement to The Verge. The move follows other social media platforms like Reddit back in 2016, and more recently, Facebook and Google, which have already banned cryptocurrency ads. “We are committed to ensuring the safety of the Twitter community. As such, we have added a new policy for Twitter Ads relating to cryptocurrency,” the company says. “Under this new policy, the advertisement of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and token sales will be prohibited globally.” Rumors initially circulated a week ago that Twitter would ban such ads. Earlier this month, the company began removing accounts that intentionally solicit cryptocurrency exchanges, impersonating famous figures like Elon Musk, John McAfee, and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

Bitcoin Price Falls On Reports Of Twitter Banning Cryptocurrency Ads (Investopedia.com)
The price of a single bitcoin fell Monday morning after reports circulated that social media platform Twitter Inc. (TWTR) will ban cryptocurrency ads. At 10:32 UTC this morning, bitcoin’s price was $8,316.45. By 12:12 UTC, it had crashed to $8,049.63. Cryptocurrency markets reacted similarly to the news, shedding almost $10 billion of their value during the same time period. At 16:51 UTC, bitcoin’s price was $8,075.07, down 4.44% from its price 24 hours ago. Cryptocurrency markets were valued at $309.6 billion, down approximately 6% from their overall market cap 24 hours ago.

On Track Innovations Completes New Cryptocurrency Payment Solution for Automated Machines and Micropayment Market (PRNewswire.com)
ROSH PINNA, Israel, March 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTI) (NASDAQ:OTIV), a global provider of near field communication (NFC) and cashless payment solutions, has launched its cryptocurrency (CC) payment solution for the micropayment market and automated machines. To OTI’s knowledge, this is the first and only CC payment solution on the market today for automated machines and the micropayment market. The innovative OTI system, which was developed following extensive research into the market, allows the use of (CC) standard mobile wallets. The company’s solution is simple, easy to use, fully secure method for micropayments, and tackles the significant challenges of CC in automated machines and micro-payments. This ground-breaking payment solution provides high-speed, low-fee transactions, while also solving global currency exchange issues that may arise from using CC as a form of payment.

Ripple [XRP] Might Support Text Messages Soon – Deposits, Withdrawals, and Transfers with One Simple Text (AMBCrypto.com)
Ripple has been working relentlessly day and night from the past few weeks to bring together the best of services to the crypto world. They have also released a web series to provide insights and connect with the users even more closely explaining every possible detail about Ripple right from its origin to the future plans and foresight. According to the latest news from Reddit, XRP deposits, withdrawals, and transfers can be done using just simple text messages. The development is in final stages and is almost ready to be tested, tweeted Wietse Wind, CEO of iPublications and Founder of Nodum app who has been working on this development.

Digital Currency is Taxable, IRS Reminds Taxpayers (CoinGeek.com)
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has warned taxpayers about incurring penalties should they fail to report their cryptocurrency-related incomes. According to the tax agency, digital currencies are treated as property, which means they are taxable. In its recent release, the IRS said payments made with cryptocurrency are subject to taxes, which will be levied on profits and losses made from trading in cryptocurrency, and will be known as capital gains tax. Taxpayers have until April 27 to file and pay their dues to the taxman.

Waiting Game? Why Coinbase Won’t Add New Cryptos Anytime Soon (CoinDesk.com)
Supporting new crypto assets may be a “top priority” for Coinbase, but any such additions to its order books might not be close on the horizon. According to Coinbase general manager Dan Romero, the San Francisco-based exchange wants to add several new cryptocurrencies in line with customer feedback, but it’s treading cautiously as U.S. regulators deliberate on how they might treat certain uses of the technology. “The reality of the regulatory situation keeps us from going and doing that right away,” he said. Specifically, Romero mentioned the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is rumored to have dozens of investigations ongoing concerning initial coin offerings (ICOs) – fundraising efforts that involve the creation of custom cryptocurrencies. While speculation is ongoing about the nature of the investigations, the regulator seems to be gathering information in an effort to make a ruling on when a crypto token is a security.

Bitcoin Private Foundation Announces Research Grants for Cybersecurity and Cryptography Projects (TheMerkle.com)
In a recent announcement, the Bitcoin Private (BTCP) Foundation stated that it would award a series of $150,000 grants to research projects that cover a number of topics, including cybersecurity and cryptography. It is looking to sponsor projects that last anywhere from three months to a year, with the grants being distributed on a rolling basis. It is not, however, the first cryptocurrency foundation to offer such grants. The creator of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, announced in January that the Ethereum Foundation would subsidize research looking into increasing the scalability of Ethereum’s blockchain. In his statement, Buterin stated that the scalability of the network was “perhaps the single most important key technical challenge that needs to be solved in order for blockchain applications to reach mass adoption.” The Ethereum Foundation will offer subsidies of between $50,000 and $1 million.

Ethereum Classic Price Plummeting in Spite of Grayscale Announcing to Publicly-Quote It on OTC (FXStreet.com)
Ethereum price is down 10% on Monday and is testing the immediate support level at $16.00. There is a selling rally that is forming; however, it is not easy to point out the reason for the fall in price. On the other hand, the price seems to be reacting negatively to the latest communication from Ethereum Classic (ETC). Grayscale is working on listing ETC trust on Publicly-Quoted Over-the-Counter market. The listing will give the investors a chance to purchase ETC trust from the public platform. The tweet by Ethereum Classic on Monday morning read: “Grayscale Files to list Ethereum Classic Trust on Publicly-Quoted OTC Market.”