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16Dec By reutersNo Comments

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...

These 5 Cryptocurrencies Other Than Bitcoin Are Attracting Investors

15Dec By RishabhNo Comments

ANALYSIS

These 5 Cryptocurrencies Other Than Bitcoin Are Attracting Investors

Starting from $1000 this year, Bitcoin has ramped up to around $20,000. With the launch of Bitcoin futures this week by Chicago-based derivatives exchange Cboe Global Markets, the prices are still expected to shoot up. The Bitcoin "bubble" has ignited a series of discussions on the Wall Street, questioning whether the Bitcoin is the new way of doing business. Many financial markets are now treating Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as legitimate financial assets. While on the other hand, firms like JP Morgan call it a "fraud" and claim that those who traded in digital currency are just being "stupid". The debate can go long whether to or not to invest in cyptocurrencies. Nonetheless, the boom in Bitcoin value has also helped its rivals surge. In some parts of the world, people are e...

Bitcoin Fever Exposes Crypto-Market Frailties

14Dec By reutersNo Comments

News

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 ...

I-T Department Conducts Surveys At Bitcoin Exchanges Country-Wide

13Dec By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

INDIA, News

I-T Department Conducts Surveys At Bitcoin Exchanges Country-Wide

The Income Tax Department today conducted survey operations at major Bitcoin exchanges across the country on suspicion of alleged tax evasion, official sources said. They said various teams of the sleuths of the department, under the command of the Bengaluru investigation wing, today visited the premises of nine such exchanges in the country including in Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi and Gurugram, since early morning. The survey, under section 133A of the Income Tax Act, is being conducted for "gathering evidence for establishing the identity of investors and traders, transaction undertaken by them, identity of counterparties, related bank accounts used, among others," they said. The survey teams, sources said, are armed with various financial data and inputs about the workin...

Hackers Steal $79 Million In Bitcoin From Crypto Marketplace NiceHash

12Dec By RishabhNo Comments

News

Hackers Steal $79 Million In Bitcoin From Crypto Marketplace NiceHash

Another Bitcoin security breach costed $79 million to a cryptocurrency exchange site NiceHash. NiceHash posted the theft on Facebook: In the breach, $79 million worth of bitcoin was stolen by hackers from NiceHash's servers, in a scenario where Bitcoin reaches to almost $16,800. "In addition to undertaking our own investigation, the incident has been reported to the relevant authorities and law enforcement and we are co-operating with them as a matter of urgency," NiceHash said in the post. Andrej Škraba, marketing head of NiceHash told WSJ that 4,700 bitcoins were stolen from the company's Bitcoin wallet. The hackers hacked the account in a single swipe and the worth of loot will keep increasing as the price of Bitcoin climbs up. The volatile behaviour of Bitcoins is ce...

‘More To Come’ After Bitcoin Futures Launch: Cboe CEO

12Dec By reutersNo Comments

News

‘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

11Dec By reutersNo Comments

News

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

8Dec By reutersNo Comments

News

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

6Dec By RishabhNo Comments

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

30Nov By reutersNo Comments

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 Takes A Dent After $31M Theft Of Cryptocurrency Peer Tether

21Nov By RishabhNo Comments

BUSINESS

Bitcoin Takes A Dent After $31M Theft Of Cryptocurrency Peer Tether

Bitcoin just passed the $8000 for the first time this week, but it didn't land quite well for Tether, a platform that helps in exchanging flat currency to tokens, reported a theft by hacker on Tuesday. It said in a statement that “through malicious action” attacker snatched tokens from the Tether Treasury wallet on 11/19 and sent them to an unauthorized bitcoin address. The company said it is working to prevent its entry back in the ecosystem. The company for now has flagged the token and is trying to track it. The latest hack has fueled the concern on Wall Street about whether these "coins" are secure enough to enter the mainstream market. Tether, with a market capitalization of around $670 million, is the world’s nineteenth most-valued virtual currency, according to data on Coinmar...

Bitcoin Shoots off the Roof, Hits All Time High

1Nov By RishabhNo Comments

News

Bitcoin Shoots off the Roof, Hits All Time High

Bitcoin climbed to a new all-time high of $6,450 on Wednesday, boosted by bets the cryptocurrency could enter the financial mainstream after the world’s largest derivatives exchange operator said on Tuesday it would 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. Related Read Bitcoin Going Legit! CME to Launch Bitcoin Futures Bitcoin has had a bumper year with a more than sixfold increase in price, and has more than doubled in price since mid-September alone. It was up 0.3 percent on Wednesday on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange. ...