Facebook has been in the news quite often over the past few years — and usually for all the wrong reasons. The social media giant has been lambasted over its privacy practices, its seemingly anti-consumer stance and even an apparent investor revolt in which shareholders voted (albeit symbolically) to remove Mark Zuckerberg from the board of directors. However, the company’s most recent announcement that it is launching a digital currency appears to be finally turning the tide for Facebook. The new coin, dubbed Libra, is a stablecoin of sorts, though it functions much differently than currencies like tether. Additionally, Facebook …

A Nasdaq-listed company says it is creating a blockchain-enabled platform designed to decentralize data and empower consumers — all while giving brands an alternative to Facebook and Google in the quest to reach the public. Phunware says it is leveraging 10 years of mobile technology experience to enable brands to deliver relevant content to a highly targeted audience, increasing engagement and resulting in a more memorable experience. Customers who share their data with a brand or build loyalty by engaging in profitable behavior, receive incentives, the team adds. Businesses can also begin to benefit from the technology by “supercharging” their …

Facebook has released its much anticipated white paper for the cryptocurrency Libra. The initial reviews of the highly secretive mega-project are mixed, to say the least. Before taking a look at responses across the cryptosphere, let’s have a quick recap of the Facebook proposal. The Libra coin proposal Libra is designed to be a global currency that aims to simplify cross-border micropayments and remittances enabled by its own blockchain, the Libra Blockchain. As excerpt from the white paper reads: “Just as people can use their phones to message friends anywhere in the world today, with Libra, the same can be …

Facebook’s newly announced cryptocurrency, libra, may not be available in India due to the current ban of blockchain-based currency transactions, as stated in a report by local publication The Economic Times on June 20. Citing people familiar with the matter, the report says that the social media giant has not applied for approval with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate its digital currency in the country. As Cointelegraph reported yesterday, a Facebook spokesperson has underlined that Facebook’s digital wallet, Calibra, “won’t be available in U.S.-sanctioned countries or countries that ban cryptocurrencies,” potentially preventing its use in some of …

Amazon would only consider discussing the creation of its own cryptocurrency like Facebook’s Libra in several years’ time, a senior executive said at a conference on June 10. Speaking at Fortune’s Brainstorm Finance 2019 event, Patrick Gaulthier, vice president of Amazon Pay, said the kind of value transfer system Facebook unveiled this week was a step too far in the current climate. “It’s fresh, it’s speculative; at Amazon, we don’t really deal with the speculative, in the now,” he said. Facebook continues to cause a stir in cryptocurrency, financial and government circles in the wake of the first publicity material …

Jerome Powell, the head of the United States Federal Reserve, has said that he recognizes both potential benefits and risks to Facebook’s recently-unveiled Libra cryptocurrency project . Powell made his remarks during a press conference broadcast on PBS news hour on June 19. During the conference, the Fed chair was asked whether he was concerned as to whether Facebook’s libra cryptocurrency could undermine the Fed and erode its power to influence the economy. In response, Powell said he believed that society remains a long way from digital currencies replacing central bank currencies, and that the central bank was not too …

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group has released data showing that open interest in Bitcoin futures is rising, as per an official Twitter post on June 18. Interest in BTC futures over time: https://twitter.com/CMEGroup/status/1141015074062110721 According to CME, bitcoin (BTC) open interest spiked on June 17 with an all-time high of 5,311 contracts totalling 26,555 BTC, or approximately $246 million at press time. Futures are standardized contracts that bind a party to buying or selling some asset at a predetermined date. Notably, the CME group also remarked in the Twitter post that BTC futures appears to be gaining popularity with institutional …

The Banking Committee of the United States Senate will hear testimony on Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project on July 16, economic news site MarketWatch reports on June 19. The social media giant released the white paper for its Libra token yesterday. The stablecoin, will operate on a native eponymous blockchain, and will be backed by a basket of reserve assets “designed to give it intrinsic value” and mitigate volatility fluctuations. Following the release of the project, U.S. regulators expressed their concern about the project’s possible effects on financial stability. Rep. Maxine Waters, chairwoman of the United States House of Representatives’ Financial …

Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin has announced that it is now listing the cryptocurrency Binance Coin (BNB) issued by the exchange Binance, according to a press release on June 19. KuCoin will reportedly offer BNB trading pairs with Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT). The announcement also notes that KuCoin will support projects based on Binance’s native blockchain, Binance Chain, in addition to its native coin BNB. The recent development shows that major trading institutions are putting trust in Binance’s token-vetting process on its initial exchange offering platform. At press time, KuCoin is the 46th largest cryptocurrency exchange on CoinMarketCap, with an …

Facebook’s Calibra digital wallet will not be available in some of the social network’s largest markets, including India, according to a TechCrunch report on June 19. A spokesperson told the website: “The libra blockchain will be global, but it will be up to custodial wallet providers to determine where they will and will not operate. Calibra won’t be available in U.S.-sanctioned countries or countries that ban cryptocurrencies.” Estimates by Statista suggest there were 260 million Facebook users in India as of April this year — far ahead of the tech giant’s second-largest market, the United States. Earlier this month, Indian …

Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Financial Market Anatoly Aksakov has said that Facebook’s forthcoming cryptocurrency Libra will not be legalized in Russia, local news outlet TASS reported on June 18. Aksakov stated that Russia will not legalize the use of Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency which the company intends to roll out in 2020, because it may pose a threat to the financial system of the country. Aksakov also stressed that Russia has no plans to adopt legislation “which provides space for the active use of crypto tools created in the framework of open platforms, blockchains.” Aksakov’s statements would …

Fundstrat Global Advisors co-founder Tom Lee said that bitcoin (BTC) could easily reach new highs during an interview with CNBC published on June 18. In his comments, Lee said that bitcoin is becoming the reserve currency of the cryptocurrency space, and noted that it has been worth over the $9,000 price level in only 4% of its history. Then, he declared: “I think bitcoin is easily going to take out its all-time highs.” Before making those price predictions, Lee also noted that Facebook’s Libra project is a validation of mainstream interest in cryptocurrencies. He also stated that he thinks this …