Friday, March 29

Tag: bitcoin futures

North Korean Hackers Behind Attacks On Cryptocurrency Exchanges, South Korean Newspaper Reports
News

North Korean Hackers Behind Attacks On Cryptocurrency Exchanges, South Korean Newspaper Reports

South Korea’s spy agency said North Korean hackers were behind attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges this year in which some 7.6 billion won ($6.99 million) worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen, a newspaper reported on Saturday. The cyber attacks attributed to North Korean hackers also included the leaking of personal information from 36,000 accounts from the world’s busiest cryptocurrency exchange Bitthumb in June, South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo reported, citing the country’s National Intelligence Service (NIS). Attacks also included the theft of cryptocurrencies from accounts at exchanges Yapizon, now called Youbit, and Coinis in April and September, it said.  The 7.6 billion won of stolen cryptocurrencies are now worth about 90 billion won ($82.7 million), Chosun Ilbo reported. It al...
Bitcoin Fever Exposes Crypto-Market Frailties
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Bitcoin Fever Exposes Crypto-Market Frailties

As bitcoin raced to another record high on Tuesday, one of the biggest providers of digital currency wallets, Coinbase, went down under the weight of traffic, leaving many of its more than 10 million customers unable to access their funds. At the same time, Bitfinex, the world’s biggest bitcoin exchange by trading volume, said it was under a heavy denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, meaning its servers had been intentionally flooded with junk online requests, taking down its website and crippling its services. The latest outages show how the market infrastructure for an immature and volatile instrument that millions of investors have piled into may be ill-equipped to cope with sudden shifts in demand, which is worrying some investors. During a particularly volatile period of trading ...
‘More To Come’ After Bitcoin Futures Launch: Cboe CEO
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‘More To Come’ After Bitcoin Futures Launch: Cboe CEO

The generally smooth launch of bitcoin futures on Cboe Global Markets could pave the way for other cryptocurrency-related products like options and ETFs, the head of the exchange operator said in an interview on Monday. It may take U.S. regulators a bit longer to warm to the idea of a proliferation of products and securities related to digital currencies, but Cboe Chief Executive Ed Tilly said this weekend’s debut should support progress toward that. “We will be building confidence in the coming months, and stay tuned, there are more to come,” he said. Chicago-based Cboe operates markets in options, futures, equities and currencies. The most-active contract exhibited the volatility that has become bitcoin’s hallmark, surging 20 percent at one point to trigger a five-minute trading halt. “...
Bitcoin Futures Make Firm Debut, Dollar Holds Gains Ahead Of Fed
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Bitcoin Futures Make Firm Debut, Dollar Holds Gains Ahead Of Fed

Futures in bitcoin, which has taken global financial markets by storm, swung above their launch price, while the dollar kept gains in Monday’s Asian session on expectations the Federal Reserve will stick to its tightening path. The most-traded contract on the Chicago-based CBOE Global Markets exchange opened at $15,460 in New York on Sunday evening, before leaping to a high of $16,660. They were last quoted at $16,420, a near $1,300 premium to the price on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp. The cryptocurrency has skyrocketed to a record high this year, making a gravity-defying 15-fold gain since the start of the year and attracting institutional interest. The surge has also led to fears of a bubble. “Bitcoin’s price surge continues to look like another speculative mania,” said Shane O...
Bitcoin Blows Past $16,000, Alarm Bells Ring Louder
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Bitcoin Blows Past $16,000, Alarm Bells Ring Louder

Bitcoin rocketed to a lifetime high well above $16,000 on Thursday after climbing some 67 percent over one week, intensifying the debate about whether the cryptocurrency is in a bubble about to burst. The largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange struggled to keep up with record traffic as the price surged, with an upcoming launch of the first bitcoin futures contract further fuelling investor interest. Proponents say bitcoin is a good medium of exchange and a way to store value, much like a precious metal. Those that buy bitcoin also argue it is preferable to traditional currencies because it is not subject to central bank manipulation. The supply of bitcoin will eventually be capped at 21 million, and some 16.7 million have already been released. But critics say that the price run-up is a b...
Bitcoin Surges Above $12,000 To Record High On Relentless Demand
BUSINESS

Bitcoin Surges Above $12,000 To Record High On Relentless Demand

Bitcoin extended its eye-popping rally on Wednesday, breaking above $12,000 to a record high despite questions about the cryptocurrency’s real value and worries about a dangerous bubble. Bitcoin received a boost after Friday’s announcement by the main U.S. derivatives regulator that it would allow CME Group Inc and CBOE Global Markets to list bitcoin futures contracts. The move opens the door to added regulation but also more mainstream adoption, as bitcoin futures and other derivatives would make it easier to trade the new asset class. Bitcoin’s meteoric ascent of over 10-fold from below $1,000 at the start of the year has drawn regulatory scrutiny around the world. Some high profile individuals such as Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz have said the cryptocurrency sho...
Bubble Trouble? Bitcoin Tops $11,000, But Fades After Sharp Rally
BUSINESS

Bubble Trouble? Bitcoin Tops $11,000, But Fades After Sharp Rally

Bitcoin zoomed past $11,000 to hit a record high for the sixth day in a row on Wednesday after gaining more than $1,000 in just 12 hours, stoking concerns that a rapidly swelling bubble could be set to burst in spectacular fashion. After soaring more than 1,000 percent since the start of the year, bitcoin rose as much as 15 percent on Wednesday, but by mid-afternoon in New York, the virtual currency was trading at $9,500, down 3.7 percent on the day on Luxembourg-based Bitstamp BTC=BTSP, one of the largest and most liquid cryptocurrency exchanges.  “As many seasoned traders know all too well, anything that rockets higher, tends to fall down faster when the time comes, and the time will come,” James Hughes, chief market analyst at FX broker AxiTrader, said. Bitcoin topped $10,000...
Bitcoin Going Legit! CME to Launch Bitcoin Futures
BUSINESS

Bitcoin Going Legit! CME to Launch Bitcoin Futures

CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, announced on Tuesday that it intends to launch bitcoin futures in the fourth quarter of 2017, pending all relevant regulatory review periods. The new contract will be cash-settled, based on the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate (BRR) which serves as a once-a-day reference rate of the U.S. dollar price of bitcoin. Bitcoin futures will be listed on and subject to the rules of CME. After this, more people will be able to start trading bitcoin and you can read this article to find out how you can do it yourself. "Given increasing client interest in the evolving cryptocurrency markets, we have decided to introduce a bitcoin futures contract," said Terry Duffy, CME Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "As the world...