Argentina’s central bank had formally banned consumers from purchasing Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrency using credit cards on Nov. 1. What followed was the very opposite of what the Argentine government had anticipated — over the past two weeks, the country has traded the highest amount of Bitcoins on the peer-to-peer platform LocalBitcoins, according to data by CoinDance. Argentina’s fragile economy One of the biggest factors in the high adoption of crypto in the country is the high volatility of the Argentine peso. In just the past five years, the value of the peso against the United States dollar has …

One of the main competitors of P2P Bitcoin (BTC) exchange LocalBitcoins has taken even more of its market share as the Finnish company seeks regulatory compliance. In a blog post on Nov. 19, LocalCryptos, formerly LocalEthereum, said it had completed the pivotal step of adding support for Bitcoin as well as Ether (ETH). LocalEthereum becomes LocalCryptos “The platform is a one-stop shop for fiat-to-crypto ramps worldwide, beginning with BTC and ETH,” the blog post reads, describing the move as a “large milestone.” In the future, more cryptocurrencies will join its offering: “LocalCryptos will list some of the most popular Ethereum-based …

Earlier this week, a story published by Chinese state-run media outlet Xinhua featured some pro-Bitcoin comments that referred to the flagship digital currency as being the world’s “first successful application of blockchain technology.” This latest endorsement comes against the backdrop of China’s stringent anti-crypto stance, wherein the country’s lawmakers implemented a blanket ban on its local cryptocurrency exchanges as well as initial coin offerings back in 2017. The aforementioned Xinhua article takes a balanced approach toward crypto tech, outlining the history of Bitcoin’s development and its overall evolution. It starts off by asking readers the question “Does BTC present the …

Australian blockchain energy firm Power Ledger and Indian electricity distribution company BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) have completed a peer-to-peer (P2P) solar power trading trial in the country. Power Ledger announced the news in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Nov. 14, detailing that it carried out a large-scale P2P energy trading trial in the Dwarka region, South West Delhi, which initially comprised 5-6 megawatts (MW) of already existing solar infrastructure serving an array of gated communities. Monetization of solar energy assets investments The project enabled residents with rooftop solar infrastructure to sell excess solar energy to neighboring households. …

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) cryptocurrency trading platform Paxful has seen 2,800% more trades in South Africa this month compared to October 2018. Demand for crypto sharply increases in S.A. Paxful announced the growth of its South African user base in a blog post published on Oct. 28. In the post, the company also notes that Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town are the three cities that see the highest numbers of users. Paxful adds that the overall number of trades in the African continent also increased by 64% when comparing the current month with October last year. Furthermore, the platform reportedly now counts …

Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance has launched peer-to-peer trading for Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Tether (USDT) against the Chinese yuan (CNY). In an announcement published on Oct. 9, the exchange revealed that the service will be initially available to Android users who have had Binance accounts registered for at least 30 days. The exchange states that users should update their Binance Android app to the latest version in order to gain access to the new service and that it will slowly roll out support for iOS and web interfaces in future. P2P functionality to expand Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has …

Australian tech firm Power Ledger will run another blockchain-enabled energy trading trial in Japan’s Kanto region by December 2019. In order to launch its second trial in the country, Power Ledger has teamed up with Japanese solar provider Sharing Energy and electricity retailer eRex, the company said in a news release shared with Cointelegraph on Oct. 3. Main region of Japan’s economy The new Power Ledger’s trial will track surplus solar energy levels and electricity trading, integrating blockchain-enabled P2P platform with household smart meter systems in the Kanto region. With Tokyo located in Kanto, the region is considered to be …

Australian blockchain energy startup Power Ledger has launched its first trial of peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading technology in rural areas. Energy monetization for outlying settlements According to a blog post on Sept. 9, Power Ledger has launched pilots outside of a metropolitan area in Western Australia, intending to help outlying commercial settlements and farms improve the efficiency of their power grid and reduce associated costs. Specifically, Power Ledger’s blockchain P2P platform aims to allow those sites to monetize their surplus solar energy, while existing tariffs provide no financial compensation to those who feed unused solar power back into the energy …

The Capital Market, Insurance and Saving Authority, a division of Israel’s Ministry of Finance (MoF), is looking to accelerate the process of procuring licenses for blockchain and fintech companies in the country. Israeli business news outlet Calcalist reported the development on Aug. 19. According to the report, the authority has launched dedicated industry teams, some of which specialize in blockchain companies. According to the report, the authority is hoping to foster local competition by licensing more fintech companies. Moshe Barkat, who was appointed as the supervisor for the department back in 2018, remarked: "Business and technological innovation and the relationship …

United States-based investment banking company Bank of America (BofA) has filed a patent for a digital currency wallet with multiple layers of asset access. The proposed wallet would accept different passwords for different amounts of funds requested. The United States Patent and Trademark Office published BofA’s application on Aug. 15. Per the filing, this technology would comprise a computing platform with a digital wallet interface. The platform would be configured to operate within a peer-to-peer network for blockchain management — which could potentially be public or private. The application points to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) as examples of digital …

Dash has released Dash Core v0.14.0.3, a new version of the wallet and P2P client for its cryptocurrency DASH in light of recent transaction spikes on its mainnet. Security upgrade Dash Core announced the news in an official blog post on Aug. 15. According to the announcement, Dash was hit with either an external stress test or attack on Wednesday and Thursday this week. The post said that “the upgrade is strongly recommended for all Masternodes and is also recommended for all users, exchanges, partners and full node operators.” The developer subsequently discovered issues including mempools not being emptied, a …

Bitcoin.com has appointed Stefan Rust as the company’s new chief executive officer as Roger Ver leaves the post, according to an announcement published on Aug. 2. Rust will continue working on the development of the company’s new products and services that promote peer-to-peer electronic cash. Commenting on the appointment, Rust said: “I’m hugely excited to take on the role of CEO working alongside Roger. Together we can now turbocharge the awesome team and great brand that is Bitcoin.com. [...] We will play an integral part in making money work for everybody as society undergoes such an enormous and pivotal change. …