Malta, a country with fewer than 500,000 people, relishes its unofficial title as ‘Blockchain Island.’

But the Mediterranean island is not quite the paradise it aspires to be, and many projects are still struggling to set up shop. Despite government attempts to create the first DLT-friendly jurisdiction, securing a full banking partner is proving to be difficult.

An investigation by the Times of Malta found that many crypto businesses are being turned away by banks, who feel the industry is outside of their “risk appetite.” Although some banks are prepared to do business with blockchain projects, many banks worry about working with crypto companies and exchanges due to a perceived “AML overhead.”

Dominic Melo is the chief product officer at iSignthis, an Australian fintech company, which periodically releases reports on the regulatory landscape. Melo says that banks in Malta and elsewhere are concerned about how to ensure that clients’ funds meet regulatory standards.

The main concern, Melo explained, is that the high cost of KYC/AML compliance makes partnerships with crypto businesses prohibitively expensive. “It’s not typically profitable for [Maltese] banks to house client funds for other licensed entities,” he wrote to Crypto Briefing.

The regulatory environment
Malta’s government has made it a priority to provide a regulatory framework for crypto businesses, and the national parliament passed three DLT bills last September.

The new laws were designed to make the country one of the most desirable jurisdictions for blockchain companies.  The government was seeking to provide  “legal certainty”  to the new industry, according to Silvio Schembri, Malta’s Junior Minister for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation.

But there are concerns on how effective such regulation actually is. In January, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that holes in Malta’s legal framework and an overstretched regulator could endanger its AML controls.

“The increasing number of financial entities under supervision, the rapid development of new products, the evolving regulatory environment and the tightening of the labour market have put the Malta Financial Services Authority under considerable strain,” the IMF told The Times of Malta.

Melo believes there’s more to the story. Financial institutions may be reluctant to engage with the new DLT sector, he says, because they are worried it may jeopardize relationships with correspondent banks (CBRs).

CBRs allow banks to accept deposits abroad as well as facilitate international transactions. They also allow banks to offer services in other jurisdictions. Without ready access to the worldwide network, many banks would not be able to operate.

This would drive up the costs of financial services, making them inaccessible for a large number of people.

According to Melo, CBRs with U.S. banks form the lifeblood of the banking industry, including banks situated in Malta. They provide instant leverage for deposits as well as access to U.S. treasuries, which are among the most high-yielding government securities available.

“One way commercial banks make money is by buying U.S. Treasuries, to lose your USD correspondent effectively cuts off a bank from the Global Financial System and one of its most profitable sources of income from parked client funds,” he said.

A blip?
For the time being, business in Malta is booming. The country welcomed Binance’s exchange and charity arms last year, and there is already a burgeoning secondary market. When Crypto Briefing visited for the Malta Blockchain Summit (MBS), lawyers and accountants specializing in crypto-related law occupied most of the conference hall stands.

Deborah Vella, the senior manager at E&S Group, a legal advisory firm for cryptocurrency and blockchain businesses in Malta, admitted that banks have “numerous concerns” about taking on crypto projects as clients.

But in the long term, Vella didn’t think these concerns would prove to be much of an obstacle. Companies continue to enhance their business development in Malta, she says, and E&S has helped more than 80 projects to establish themselves on the island. The problems that crypto faces on ‘blockchain island’ are found all over the world.

“Setting up crypto and blockchain related companies in Malta we do not foresee it as being problematic,” Vella said in an email to Crypto Briefing. “We believe the banking solution is a concern to all those who are opening businesses not only in Malta but all around Europe.”

Source: https://cryptobriefing.com/crypto-business-blockchain-island/

Bitwise Asset Management, a San Francisco crypto investment firm, has applied to the SEC for a Bitcoin ETF. In preparation for their application, they conducted a study of 80 exchanges, mostly unregulated. Their findings are worse than most: they found that almost 95% of all unregulated exchanges report fake volume. As such, their ETF will be based only on the 5% that is legitimate.

Bitwise’s findings are worse than most reports to date. Earlier this week, we reported on findings by the TIE, which found that around 75% of all trading was fraudulent.

Prospects for an ETF seem bleak, with more and more unregulated exchanges coming online, competing for a market much smaller than widely believed. Multiple studies have concluded that most exchanges report fake volume. When they don’t overtly report fake trading, many exchanges engage in internal trading, occasionally boosting the price of assets that otherwise wouldn’t see any demand. The most notable case of this, of course, is Bithumb, who despite reporting high volumes recently announced serious layoffs.

MORE CRYPTOS = HIGHER VOLUME
There is a case to be made that unregulated exchanges will have higher volume because their listings are wider. The more markets you have, the more volume will you do. Coinbase has far fewer listings than most altcoin exchanges, which could explain why, although it is one of the most recognizable brands in crypto exchanges, it has a lower reported volume than many exchanges. But some sites which receive very little traffic report astronomically high volume.

According to Bitwise, the actual trading patterns make no sense. Consistent amounts of trading will happen throughout the 24 hour period, and trades will be placed that neutralize each other. Human traders are far less predictable than this, and even using bots, some variation is expected based on the inputs. However, trading at places like Coinbase will be consistent with human work hours and round figure trades are common.

With all this fake volume flying around, the actual value of cryptocurrencies as a whole risks being called into question. Can we truly claim there is $100 billion in demand, if the majority of all reported trading never actually happens?

The inconvenient truth is that the crypto market might not be ready for an exchange traded fund, as bad as some folks want it to be so. Unlike regular securities, global regulation of cryptocurrencies is all over the place, with some jurisdictions having full out bans in place and others having advanced frameworks.

We can’t blame Bitwise and others for trying. Whoever does successfully convince the SEC to allow a Bitcoin ETF will
be rewarded handsomely. But the most likely outcome of the application is a slow response followed by a reluctant but hard “no.”

Source: https://www.ccn.com/bitcoin-etf-application-based-on-5-of-reported-trading

Chicago-based cryptocurrency exchange Seed CX, which Bain Capital backed last year, is expanding to Asia.

The institution-focused exchange announced Thursday that it has teamed up with Singapore-based trading infrastructure technology provider Hydra X for the effort. The partnership will allow Seed CX to integrate its platform with Hydra X’s trading platform Sigma, which is currently in beta.

Once the integration is complete, Seed CX users will be able to view prices, trade and monitor their portfolios on the Sigma platform, as well as have access to a fiat-cryptocurrency gateway, according to Seed CX.

“This partnership will also be useful in expanding our user base to include institutional traders seeking regulated and secure access to the world of digital assets,” said Hydra X CEO Daryl Low.

Seed CX also said that it plans to offer a market for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-regulated crypto derivatives through its subsidiary Seed SEF.

Last September, Seed CX raised $15 million in a Series B funding round led by Bain Capital Ventures. The investment brought the company’s total funding to date to $25 million at the time.

The firm launched a regulated bitcoin spot trading market in January, saying it offered “a deep book of liquidity.” “We’re offering truly institutional level support,” Seed CX co-founder and CEO Edward Woodford said at the time.

Another subsidiary of the exchange, Zero Hash, a FinCEN-regulated entity in the U.S., launched a wallet solution for institutions last January, aimed at adding security and transparency for its customers.

Seed CX notably has a policy in place that bars employees from trading in cryptocurrency to avoid conflict of interest.

Source: https://www.coindesk.com/bain-backed-crypto-exchange-seed-cx-is-expanding-to-asia

Major cryptocurrency exchange, OKEx has announced the launch of its own blockchain and first Decentralized exchange. Accordingly, its own blockchain will be called as OKExChain and DEX as OKDEx.

Being as the third largest trading platform, OKEx held an average market cap of $811,634,920 which is up with almost 27 percent during the last 24 hours. The exchange keeps appearing on bulletins since past few months such as the listing of new tokens, derivative market, launching of IEO (OKJumpstart) and so on.


Source: Coinmarketcap.com

OKEx Launching OKChain and OKDEx
However, with increasing interest towards OKEx’s trading platform, the platform broke out a few big updates on its medium blog. Accordingly, the exchange took to Twitter and excites users with the announcement stating;

Per the blog, the exchange has released the following updates;

• Launching of its own Blockchain – OKChain
• Launching of its first Decentralized exchange – OKDEx
• OKB token will be put into ERC-20 blockchain and then migrated to OKChain mainnet (when OKChain becomes completely ready)
• The release of 700 million OKB tokens will be delayed from 2020 – 2022
• Happy Friday distribution rule of OKB token will be optimized from March 22, 2019
• OKB token will be the sole crypto token used in OK Jumpstart, a Token generation platform launched by OKEx exchange

Much Similar To Binance Exchange
So, it looks like OKEx exchange is following quite similar steps that Binance exchange has implemented so far. Subsequently, OKEX’s OKB token, OKChain, OKDEx and OKJumpstart looks more like Binance’s BNB token, Binance chain, Binance DEX, and Binance launchpad. The announcement reads that

Our Operations Team was secretly developing a blockchain of our own — the OKChain, the blog noted. Currently, the OKChain is at the final development stage and we expect to launch it on a testnet in June 2019.

In an announcement, OKEx reveals that the native blockchain, OKChain is still in development phase and once the blockchain becomes ready, its native OKB token will be migrated to OKChain mainnet from ERC 20 blockchain. As such, OKB token will be further used in its upcoming DEX exchange to settle the transactions.

We will launch OKEx’s first decentralized exchange (DEX) on OKChain and open the supernodes election for the blockchain. With OKB, one can vote for his favorite super node candidate and settle transaction fees on OKDEx. OKB will also be used for token pre-sales, and project teams will need to pay super nodes OKB as service fee in the future.

Furthermore, OKJumstrart (Platform’s initial exchange offering (IEO) for blockchain projects) will be continued with OKB as a native token. For those who don’t know, OKJumpstart is an initiative by OKEx exchange (recently launched) to help crypto startup launched their project and raise money with the help of OKEx supported system. To note, the initiative is just like Binance’s launchpad. Concerning OKB token on OKJumpstart, announcement adds that;

OKJumpstart is dedicated to helping potential startups. We value quality over quantity. We are already engaged in conversations with project teams around the world. Soon, we will announce the very first jumpstart project and open sale to OKEx users who meet our KYC requirements and hold OKB.

Source: https://coingape.com/okex-exchange-launch-own-blockchain-dex/

Regardless of how one wants to look at things, it has become apparent Tor plays a growing role of importance in the cryptocurrency world. A lot of privacy-oriented projects tend to rely on Tor in terms of maintaining privacy and anonymity. In a somewhat surprising turn of events, the Tor project now accepts various cryptocurrencies for donations. This is a pretty intriguing development, although it remains to be seen if it will yield any major donations.

Cryptocurrency Donations for the Tor Project
Over the past few years, numerous companies have begun introducing cryptocurrency donation support. While this is a good way to bring Bitcoin and select altcoins into the mainstream, it also appears most of these efforts are rather short-lived in terms of gaining attention. With the current bear market still in effect, a lot of crypto holders are less eager to spend their holdings as well. How that will affect the Tor Project’s recent decision, remains to be determined.

To be more specific, the Tor Project has officially begun accepting a handful of cryptocurrencies for donations. That list includes Bitcoin, Litecoin, Stellar Lumens, Dash, Ethereum, Augur, Bitcoin Cash, Monero, and ZCash. What makes that list so particularly interesting is how it lists numerous non-privacy-oriented cryptocurrencies. The use for Augur is also a bit unusual, as it is a token on the Ethereum blockchain. With hundreds of tokens on that network, choosing this one over the rest will undoubtedly raise a lot of questions.

Additionally, it would appear the donation form for the various cryptocurrencies give users an option to include their personal information. Although anonymous donations are possible as well, one has to wonder why anyone would effectively share their name and address in the first place. Tor doesn’t have a terrible reputation by any means, but cryptocurrency users have never been keen on sharing their personal information in any way, shape, or form.

On social media, there is also some initial backlash to this recent decision. While some users offer helpful comments in terms of making this donation process a bit more automated, there are also a lot of people who see this as a “half-assed” attempt at trying to get on the crypto hype bandwagon. With only an option to manually copy donation addresses, sending transactions from a mobile device is pretty much impossible. Additionally, it is not the most secure method of dealing with crypto payments in general.

As one would come to expect, there are also a lot of people who don’t necessarily agree with this list of supported currencies. Since so many coins sue Tor for any concept or another, it is only normal those currencies want to gain “support” through this donation page as well. Discussions like those can be quite interesting to keep an eye on in the future, although it is logical to assume a lot of these smaller projects will be overlooked for the foreseeable future.

There are also a handful of people who simply oppose this idea altogether. Since Tor is a project which has some ties to the US government, the recent net neutrality discussions have made it fall out of a favor a bit. Moreover, there are some users who prefer donating to open source contribution, rather than this particular project. It is evident this crypto donation-related decision has already sparked a few interesting discussions which are all worth keeping an eye on.

Source: https://nulltx.com/the-tor-project-enables-cryptocurrency-donation-support/

Tron Foundation’s relentless push for mass adoption received a major boost recently when Justin Sun, the Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer, announced their partnership with Tether [USDT] to create new stablecoin. The partnership would essentially bring USDT on the Tron blockchain, making transactions faster and free-of-cost, while also improving the use-cases of the stablecoin.

Three major exchanges have now announced support for the Tron-based version of Tether, further bolstering its position in the market. Singapore-based exchange Huobi Global, Malta-based exchange OKEx, and Gate.io, a blockchain assets exchange platform, announced in separate press releases that they will be supporting the new version of Tether.


Source: Twitter

The TRX-USDT partnership was announced in early March in an effort to bring in a TRC-20-based USDT into the crypto-market. The ‘improved’ coin would stick to the technical token standards maintained by the Tron blockchain and would be interoperable with all Tron-based DApps and protocols.

In their respective press releases, Huobi Global and OKEx stated that the decision was fueled by strong user demand for inclusion of a full-spectrum of stablecoin trading. The exchanges also made it clear that there would now be three different protocol versions of USDT on their platforms: the Bitcoin network-based USDT-Omni, Ethereum-powered USDT-ERC-20, and the new USDT-Tron.

Though the exchanges are some of the world’s largest in terms of trading volume, Tron Foundation had earlier said that the TRX-USDT version was made primarily for Tron-powered Decentralized Exchanges [DEX].

Recently, Tron Foundation also announced an incentive scheme exclusively for TRX-USDT holders. The $20-million incentive plan included the addition of a 20% initial Annual Percentage Rate [APR] for holding the cryptocurrency, which was significantly higher than its prime competition, the USDT-Omni. The plan also announced a scheme spanning over 100 days where USDT-TRX holders would be rewarded more USDT-TRX.

Tron’s DApp program and BitTorrent Token [BTT] launch also saw huge success this year, leading to a temporary surge in the token’s price before a bearish market ensued. On March 17, TRX registered a transaction volume that was five times more than the cumulative transaction volume of its closest competitors ETH and EOS. The transaction volume during this move was recorded to be over $100 million.

Source: https://ambcrypto.com/tron-based-usdt-huobi-global-okex-and-gate-io-announce-support-for-new-trc-20-based-tether/

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin admitted that Ethereum is losing its lead in the cryptocurrency market.

Speaking on the Unchained podcast, Buterin said that losing a chunk of market share was “inevitable and unavoidable” for both the crypto projects. The 25-year old developer referred to new blockchain projects that were taking different approaches to reach the same goal as that of Ethereum, thereby taking away some part of its community. He told host Laura Shin that:

“It [Ethereum] has lost some of its lead to some extent. It’s kind of inevitable and unavoidable. Ethereum really was the first general purpose smart contract thing. Bitcoin was, for example, the first cryptocurrency and originally, it had 100 percent of the market share. Then, it went to 90 and now it’s at 55.”

How is Crypto Market Share Calculated?
Market share refers to the percentage of one asset’s market capitalization against the total valuation of the asset’s industry. The first cryptocurrency bitcoin gained a natural lead over other crypto projects. It continues to hold the first rank of biggest cryptocurrency by market cap. Nevertheless, the rise of competing projects, starting with Litecoin, Dash, and followed by Dogecoin, XRP, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, amongst many others kept sneaking away little portions off bitcoin’s once-100% market share.

Christine Kim
@christine_dkim
 · 14h
Replying to @christine_dkim
.@VitalikButerin : I definitely really want and wish and hope that the ethereum community can find a way to interact with other crypto projects that are emerging that are not ethereum maximalist in general including all the horrible ways and connotations that words has.

Christine Kim
@christine_dkim
.@laurashin asks @VitalikButerin, "Would you be upset if another blockchain took the lead [ahead of ethereum]?" Buterin jokingly responded, "It depends which blockchain ... If #TRON takes over ethereum, I'll have lost a certain amount of hope for humanity, not nearly all."

17
7:19 AM - Mar 21, 2019
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However, losing market share does not mean that bitcoin is shrinking. The cryptocurrency market capitalization, on a whole, was just $1.59 billion on April 23, 2013. And now, its valuation is well above $141 billion. Similarly, Bitcoin’s market capitalization on April 28, 2013, was $1.50 billion.

And now, it has surged to $71.95 billion. Of course, bitcoin’s market share is now 48-percent less than what it used to be in 2013. But it does not mean its individual valuation has gone down. As a standalone project, bitcoin is ballooning as it was all those years.

Is Bitcoin Losing Market Lead?
From an investor’s point of view, the market now has more crypto projects than ever. Traders have more options to spread their portfolio and distribute their risks across multiple crypto-assets. It might have to do with an asset’s long-term potential, but it can also be about hedging near-term – to make profits from intraday price volatility.

But the crypto market is not just a few traders anymore. According to a study published by the University of Cambridge last December, the number of cryptocurrency users almost doubled in the first three fiscal quarters of 2018. Excerpts from the report:

“Combining public data and survey findings, we estimate that the total number of user accounts at service providers amounts to at least 139 million in late 2018. Using a combination of verified user data and the average share of ID-verified accounts described above, we also estimate there are currently at least 35 million ID-verified users globally.”



An increase in user-base means that more fiat assets flew into the crypto market, benefitting bitcoin as well as rest of the cryptocurrency market. The only difference remained that investors now had more assets to invest other than bitcoin, which is why the leading crypto asset lost some part of its market share. Again, it doesn’t mean that it lost the lead.



Buterin rightly said that it was a win-win situation for everybody and no one blockchain plan was competing with the other.

“I want to see an environment where different approaches to things can thrive and prosper. Ethereum can win and other projects that do interesting things can win too.”

Source: https://www.newsbtc.com/2019/03/21/vitalik-buterin-inevitable-that-ethereum-loses-some-of-its-lead-in-crypto/