Bitcoin tumbles below $8,000 barrier as sell-off continues November 21, 2019 Bitcoin plummeted below $8,000 this morning after hovering just above the barrier for almost a week. The cryptocurrency crashed through the barrier mid-morning UK time, marking its lowest price since late October. Read more: Emerging markets need more say on digital currencies like Libra, says Chinese official Bitcoin continued to fall, according to Coindesk data, [...]
Zamna raises $5m as it secures deal with IAG for airport security tech October 28, 2019 UK startup Zamna, which develops software to automate airport security checks, has bagged $5m (£3.9m) in funding and confirmed International Airlines Group (IAG) as its first client. The seed funding round was led by venture capital firms Localglobe and Oxford Capital, alongside Seedcamp, the London Co-Investment Fund and O2 parent company Telefonica. Read more: Tory [...]
DEBATE: Is the G7 warning the end for Facebook’s libra? October 16, 2019 Now that the G7 has issued a warning against the cryptocurrency, is this it for Facebook’s libra? YES, says Ana Bencic, president of Nexthash. Facebook’s libra is the most high-profile example of a centralised cryptocurrency and is a living example of how it will be perhaps the last one to exist. The G7’s warning to [...]
Blockchain startup Everledger raises $20m in funding round led by Tencent September 24, 2019 UK-based blockchain startup firm Everledger has raised $20m (£16m) in a series A funding round led by Chinese investment firm Tencent. Everledger also received backing from startup funder Graphene Ventures and Fidelity Investments. Read more: Santander issues first end-to-end $20m blockchain bond Founded in 2015 by Australian business woman Leanne Kemp, Everledger uses blockchain technology [...]
Santander issues first end-to-end $20m blockchain bond September 12, 2019 Santander said today it has become the first financial institution to digitise the process of issuing bonds on a public blockchain. The Spanish banking giant used the public ethereum blockchain to tokenise the bond securely and register it on the blockchain – a sort of digital public ledger that can record transactions in close to [...]
Barclays stops banking cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase August 14, 2019 Barclays is no longer providing banking services for cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, according to reports by Reuters. The bank had been providing services to Coinbase since the exchange’s European expansion in March last year, making it easier for its users to purchase cryptocurrencies with sterling and withdraw funds. Coinbase, which is based in San Francisco, brokers [...]
Facebook’s libra cryptocurrency ‘poses global currency threat’ August 2, 2019 Facebook’s new cryptocurrency libra poses a threat to global financial policy, according to former Bank of Japan executive Hiromi Yamaoka. Worldwide, Facebook has over 2.4bn active monthly users and, should a significant proportion of these start using Facebook’s new currency, Yamaoka warned that this could significantly devalue trade and monetary policies globally. Read more: MP’s [...]
Cryptocurrencies have ‘no intrinsic value’, warns FCA July 31, 2019 Investors should be cautious over cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin as they have “no intrinsic value”, the City regulator has warned. In a statement released today, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said consumers must ensure they understand and can bear the risks of volatile digital currencies. Read more: US senators grill top exec over Facebook’s Libra [...]
US senators grill top exec over Facebook libra cryptocurrency July 16, 2019 Facebook libra, the social network’s brand new cryptocurrency, should be regulated as if it is a security, the US House of Representatives heard today. US lawmakers were due to grill Facebook executives over its libra coin today as both Democrats and Republicans prepared to scrutinise chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s latest project. Read more: Bitocin tumbles [...]
Hackers steal $32m from Tokyo cryptocurrency exchange July 12, 2019 Services have been suspended at a Tokyo cryptocurrency exchange after a further hack on virtual currency caused the loss of ¥3.5bn (£26m). Read more: Trump reveals why he is ‘not a fan’ of bitcoin Tokyo-based Remixpoint, which runs the Bipoint Japan exchange, issued an apology today saying it had confirmed the losses last night, after [...]