Finally, there is hope for Bitcoin investors after BTC price broke the $9,500 resistance level on June 23. The founder of Standpoint Research, Ronnie Moss, stated on Twitter that he sees a chance for BTC price to hit higher marks in the market. However, some may still be skeptical about bitcoin holding over the $9,500 resistance line.
Other significant altcoins are also steady on the market, including ETH, Bitcoin S.V., and XRP. USDT has taken third place displacing XRP and hitting a $10 billion mark. Litecoin has also seen an ascent hitting over $41.00, also breaking the resistance. Overall, this week has seen a bullish trend amongst several coins, which might be promising to the crypto global market growth.
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Telecom Argentina S.A. Facing a Ransomware Attack
According to a twitter user, Telecom S.A. was hit by a ransomware attack with the hacker demanding $7.5 million in Monero. The attack, which employees previously assumed as an I.T. issue, cost the company its I.T. systems. The hackers threatened further attacks if the company would not act on their demands by June 21. The order was unusual considering low liquidity rates of Monero taking note that most ransomware attacks depend on Bitcoin. This hit comes a week after the Twitter hack raising questions on the safety implications over 2019 and 2020.
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The U.K. Makes a Move to Restrict Crypto Promotions
According to a report published by the City Minister for U.K. Financial Services Sector, John Glen, on July 20, companies will require regulations to air crypto-based promotions in the region. The move comes after a report by the Cryptoassets Taskforce from 2018, suggesting that current rules in place were not efficient in protecting investors. The main issue focused on was misguided information spread through illegitimate promotions. The government, in turn, lodged consultations on the way forward. Implementations are on hold, as discussions will go on until October this year.
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Wirex Receives Mastercard’s Principal Membership
Wirex was happy to announce a partnership with Mastercard receiving a principal membership. Wirex is the first crypto-based company to get these honors facilitating the issuance of payment cards to customers. The collaboration targets bringing more manageable payment for goods and services to all Wirex users globally. Furthermore, customers get a chance to earn more through the Wirex Cryptoback program. In the end, Wirex aims to widen the scope of cryptocurrency use while forming a basis for equality between cryptos and fiat currencies.
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China Tests out Equity Trading Blockchain Systems
China is focusing on incorporating blockchain technology into equity trading. Recently, several regions were allowed to trade equity via Blockchain technology by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Among the regions allowed were Jiangsu, Shenzhen, Beijing, Shangai, and Zhejiang. China has embraced and grown the blockchain network for a while now, making them experiment more on its use, including equity trading. Beijing Local Financial Supervision and Administration says CRSC’s next step will be pilot testing with Beijing Equity Trading Center.
Find more on China blockchain news here.
German Bank Association Bankenverband Partners with Bitbond
Bitbond announced membership on the German Bank Association, Bankenverband, on July 21. Bitbond is a tokenization service provider aiming to input its knowledge into digitizing the Euro. It will also involve advising appropriately on tokenization and digital asset holding and security. Bitbond is not the only company, which joined Bankenverband recently as Hawk AI earned its membership, bringing anti-money laundering detection and investigation to the platform.
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YouTube Sued by Apple’s Co-Founder
Steve Wozniak moved to report YouTube for using his image to dupe people. Despite the numerous efforts urging YouTube to take down the scam videos, Cybercriminals still used his name to advertise Bitcoin giveaways to YouTube users. The swindle also incorporated prominent tech icons, including Elon Musk and Bill Gates. Wozniak reported this asking the court to compel YouTube to delete the videos and avoid impersonation.
Find out why YouTube has been against crypto here.
Opera Extends In-built Wallet Services into the U.K.
Opera Software AS is working to extend its web wallet services to users in the U.K. Before this; the company had spread through Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Australia, Denmark, the U.S, and Mexico. Opera aims to ensure the reliability of the wallets in all the countries hence collaborating with Ramp and Wyre, a payment company. The wallet endows users with options to send money from wallet to wallet, make online payments where accepted and interact with dApps. So far, Opera has 170,000 monthly users, and the wallet supports BTC, ETH, and TRX.
Find more info on online wallets here.
Binance Cooperation with CM-Equity
Binance, a leading trading and exchange platform, announced on July 24, its joint efforts with CM-Equity, a German investment company. According to Changpeng Zhao, the collaboration looks to expand its services globally. Their focus now is in Germany and Europe as a whole working under local regulations. Binance hopes to filter in the European market before launching their debit cards later this year. CM-Equity’s CEO Michael Kott expressed that Binance will offer their upcoming platform with “liquidity and frictionless services.” CM-Equity launched in 2020, providing a secure platform for digital assets trade and falls under the BaFin regulations.
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The Beginning of ETH 2.0
Ethereum plans to introduce its latest project chain, Medala, to crypto users on August 4. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin mentioned in a tweet that technical experts are working on how ETH 1.0 and ETH 2.0 chains will synchronize. However, it needs approximately 16,384 validators for it to launch and work effectively. Ethereum has to attain these numbers by August 2; they will postpone the testnet launch otherwise. Four clients will run fully at genesis, including lighthouse, nimbus, teku, and prysm. The news led to a rise in Ethereum prices yesterday from $244 to $275.
Find more news on Ethereum here.