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South African National Blockchain Alliance Holds Online Launch

The South African National Blockchain Alliance carried out an online livestream launch while the country is in the midst of a 21-day lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The organization was due to be launched at the beginning of April in Johannesburg but had to be taken online as South Africa and the world tackles a global health crisis.The launch happened during a livestream on YouTube on April 3, which included a panel of speakers elaborating on how SANBA will help nurture blockchain-focused startups and companies that

As Malta Delays Regulatory Clarity, Fewer Firms Remain on ‘Blockchain Island’

It seems that Malta is becoming both less popular among and less populated with crypto firms. The European Union country attracted dozens of industry players in 2018 on the back of the “blockchain island” agenda championed by the local government, but the relevant framework has not yet proven to be effective. Meanwhile, the official rhetoric apparently started to shift away from the blockchain sector, as the government now aims to consolidate it with “other niche sectors.”Meanwhile, the Malta Financial Services Authority, continues to pluck out non-registered crypto agents — be

Binance Set To Launch Bitcoin Options Amid Many Other Developments

There are a few certainties when it comes to reporting within the crypto industry. Binance extending its offerings is one such thing, even amid a global pandemic. It doesn’t happen every day, it might not also occur every week, but Binance will always expand, it seems. The company has established itself as a heavyweight in the industry and doesn’t seem to be keen on letting that title go.Incorporating Options To Its ArsenalAs a testament to this, Binance has announced yet another new development to its service offering, adding Options trading

Is Decentralized ASIC Production Possible?

The news about ASICs for Nervos CKB came out recently, as the time of writing, there are four ASICs announced, the Toddminer C1, Toddminer C1 Pro, Bitmain K5 and PA miner — the first batch of C1 was delivered on March 9, K5 and PA Miner are expected to be delivered in April and C1 Pro in May.Since mainnet launch, the total hashrate on CKB mainnet has been around 200TH/S on average, it is now gradually picking up (at the time of writing at ~500TH/S) with ASICs. Toddminer says C1+C1

Confirmed! Brandon Chez Steps Down as Binance Completes Acquisition of CoinMarketCap

It all started out as a rumor and many thought it was just another April Fool’s prank, but it is now official. Binance has acquired the largest cryptocurrency data tracking site, CoinMarketCap (CMC), the exchange announced today. The coming together of the largest crypto companies is considered an industry milestone, as it could eventually result in significant opportunities, especially in the area of cryptocurrency data tracking, which will contribute to the growth of the industry. While commenting on the development, the CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), said that the

Insight on Liquidity from DeFi Protocols

Over the last year and a half, decentralized finance has had an explosion of activity. Lending and borrowing decentralized applications, margin trading, liquidity protocols, stablecoins, insurance and derivatives have all grown in user numbers, in on-chain activity and in product maturity. As DeFi has grown, the need to exchange value from one form to another has grown with it, and multiple liquidity providers have stepped up to service this growing need for liquidity. This is the natural evolution of any system, introducing expanding functionality and connectivity and as it grows. Based

New Report links Satoshi Nakamoto with the Monero Whitepaper

The identity of Bitcoin creator (or creators) Satoshi Nakamoto is still one of the most highly debated questions in the crypto space today. However, a new research report is suggesting that the creator also developed another prominent digital asset. According to new research by Monero Outreach, the privacy-focused digital asset may also be the creator of Bitcoin. Using Monero to “Fix” BitcoinMonero was developed in 2014 as a means of addressing some of the privacy issues that Bitcoin had at the time. Up till today, the asset remains one of the most private digital

The Sandbox Sells 3400 Ether Worth of Virtual Land in Five Hours

The Sandbox (TSB), a mobile creation game on Ethereum, announced on April 1 that its third presale of virtual land had generated 3,400 Ether ($450,000) in sales.The March 31 presale sold 12,384 pieces of LAND — virtual spaces in the game — in just five hours. That equates to approximately 10% of the total 166,464 pieces in the game, with most of it snapped up in the first thirty minutes. TSB has quickly become one of the most coveted blockchain games on the market, with more than 40 million downloads. The

CMT Digital Head Says BTC Trading Still Strong Despite Global Conditions

Amid global coronavirus fears and plunging mainstream markets, Bitcoin (BTC) trading has remained largely unchanged, according to CMT Digital head of trading and business development, Brad Koeppen.“Bitcoin trading has not been that different,” Koeppen told Cointelegraph in a March 31 email. “Volatility and volumes saw an uptick as BTC sold off with the traditional markets but high volatility is nothing new in Bitcoin.”Koeppen also referenced the problems seen on exchanges around the time of Bitcoin’s massive drop between March 11 and 13, noting that this is “nothing new” in the

Fed’s Quantitative Easing Strategy Holds Long-Term Benefits for Crypto

These are perilous times, and it hasn’t escaped anyone’s notice that the United States Federal Reserve is doing its part to alleviate the suffering — which began with the coronavirus pandemic and has spread to the global economy. It’s printing more money. “There is an infinite amount of cash at the Federal Reserve,” Neel Kashkari, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, told Scott Pelley of CBS on March 22, adding: “We will do whatever we need to do to make sure there is enough cash in the financial

Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator Director on What DLT Startups Need to Succeed

The Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator — an incubator for early stage distributed ledger technology startups at the University of California, Berkeley — recently launched its spring cohort, which includes startups seeking to fight COVID-19, launch a cannabis-themed massively multiplayer online game and create a reverse auction platform for loans.Cointelegraph spoke to Jocelyn Weber, the director of the Xcelerator, to find out more about the resources the program offers to startups, success stories from previous cohorts and advice for startups looking to launch in the crypto space.Cointelegraph: Could you give an overview