A senior executive at cryptocurrency payments processor BitPay told Bloomberg on May 29 that bitcoin (BTC) will only expand higher from its current price. Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg TV, the company’s chief commercial officer, Sonny Singh, said it was business interest and endorsement of cryptocurrency that was fuelling the current market-wide bull run. “You’re starting to see that these currencies have real use cases around the world, and it’s making people really excited now because they can see the light at the end of the tunnel for these use cases,” he told the network. Singh was referring to …

Facebook’s payment-focused cryptocurrency Globalcoin will face demographic challenges, according to recent research by cryptocurrency analysis firm Diar published on May 28. Facebook’s native cryptocurrency — which will purportedly seek to disrupt or bypass banking networks in order to remove financial barriers and lessen consumer costs — will reportedly launch in 2020. In its recent report, Diar suggests that the coin will face demographic challenges as the social media giant’s user base is aging. There is purportedly not enough awareness about digital currencies among the aging user base, while the small user base of young people, who are well-informed about the …

The co-founder at Hong Kong-based blockchain investment firm Kenetic has predicted that bitcoin (BTC) will rally as high as $30,000 by the end of 2019. Kenetic Capital’s Jehan Chu provided his stance on major issues around bitcoin in an interview with “Bloomberg Markets: Asia” published on May 28. According to Chu, bitcoin will continue its bullish direction along with the rest of crypto market in 2019 due to three main factors, including the drive of mass adoption by global giants such as Facebook, JPMorgan, Rakuten and Fidelity, who have recently turned their interest towards crypto. Chu added that his bullish …

E-cash inventor David Chaum says he believes the real killer app for blockchain and cryptocurrencies will be privacy-oriented messaging systems integrated with payments. Chaum made his remarks in an interview on the Bloomberg Odd Lots podcast on May 27. Chaum — a trailblazing American cryptographer who invented a secure, privacy-preserving digital currency back in 1982 — told Bloomberg that he believes that increased awareness around privacy and digital sovereignty in the contemporary era has paved the way for blockchain and cryptocurrencies to make a breakthrough as a mass society and consumer application. He stated that: “In the modern world, the …

Social media giant Facebook has reportedly held talks with major United States-based crypto exchanges about the issuance of its own crypto, the Financial Times (FT) reports on May 24. Citing two people familiar with Facebook’s “Globalcoin” project, the FT wrote that Facebook has discussed the initiative with major crypto exchange and wallet Coinbase. The article also notes that Facebook reportedly spoke with the Gemini exchange, which was founded by the Winklevoss twins, the well-known rivals of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. According to the anonymous sources, Facebook has been conducting negotiations with major crypto-related firms in order to ensure that its …

Michael Novogratz, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency merchant bank Galaxy Digital, has suggested that one of the crypto assets created by social media giants will succeed. Novogratz made his remarks during an interview with CNBC published on May 24. At the end of the interview, Novogratz noted: “I think Facebook’s payment currency, I think Telegram’s gonna have one...You’re gonna see one of those payment coins work, and I think that has the chance to be a real currency.” Earlier in the interview, Novogratz reiterated his stance that bitcoin (BTC) is a store of value, again comparing the coin to gold …

Social media giant Facebook plans to launch its own payments-focused cryptocurrency “Globalcoin” in 2020, according to a BBC news report published on May 24. The BBC reports that tests for the forthcoming digital currency are planned to take place by the end of 2019. While Globalcoin is ostensibly the coin’s current name within the company, it has not been confirmed that it will retain the same name once development of the project is completed. According to the BBC, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg met Bank of England governor Mark Carney last month to discuss the prospects and risks involved in its …

Social media giant Facebook has apparently formed a new financial tech firm, Libra Networks LLC, according to a filing on the Geneva Commercial Register. Libra Networks was registered in Geneva on May 2 by Facebook Global Holdings II LLC. Per the official filing the firm provides: “...services in the fields of finance and technology, as well as the development and production of software and related infrastructure, in particular in connection with investment activities, the operation of payments, financing, identity management, data analysis, big data, blockchain and other technologies.” Facebook registered the trademark “Libra” with the United States Patent and Trademark …

Blockchain startups RepuX and JoyToken have reportedly pulled a joint initial coin offering (ICO) exit scam, according to an exposé by Hard Fork of The Next Web (TNW) on May 16. RepuX and JoyToken reportedly ran their ICO promotions during March and April of 2018, and are now walking away with $4.7 million and $3.3 million, respectively. As far as the startups’ stated plans were concerned, Hard Fork reports: “RepuX claimed that it was trying to build what it called a ‘blockchain-powered data marketplace,’ while JoyToken was trying to create a decentralized gambling platform, powered by its own JOY token.” …

Polychain Capital CEO Olaf Carlson-Wee thinks Facebook would be smart to build its stablecoin on a public, open blockchain infrastructure. Carlson-Wee delivered his remarks at the Consensus 2019 panel “To the Moon and Back” on May 15. Carlson-Wee explained that the blockchain platform he is referring to is one like bitcoin’s, in which the creator relinquishes control over the platform they built. He argues that such an arrangement would be beneficial to the social media giant, saying: “I think given all the problems that Facebook has had with policing their platform and things like that, I think that the strategic …

Social networking giant Facebook has on-boarded two new compliance experts, who previously worked at United States major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. Mikheil Moucharrafie joined Facebook as compliance officer after almost four years of working at Coinbase. At the exchange, Moucharrafie held positions such as support analyst and quality assurance tester, anti-money laundering (AML)/bank secrecy investigator, compliance manager, and risk manager. Jeff Cartwright spent nearly five years at Coinbase as a compliance manager, head of internal audit, and director of regulatory risk and exams. Prior to joining Coinbase, Cartwright was involved in AML consultancy at Big Four firm KPMG and AML compliance …

Top Stories This Week Hackers Withdraw 7,000 Bitcoins in Binance Crypto Exchange Security Breach Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges by daily trade volume, experienced a security breach this week, losing a little over 7,000 bitcoins (BTC). CEO Changpeng Zhao stated at the time that the bitcoins were withdrawn from its hot wallets, which contain only 2% of the exchange’s total bitcoin holdings. In the interim, proceeds from the hack have been moved to seven addresses. CZ devoted a live AMA on Twitter to address community concerns in the wake of the hack, also discussing the idea of a …