Among the 100 most important cryptocurrencies, the best of the day are DGB $0.006373 (+24.80%), CHZ 0.007697 (+18.35%) KMD $0.605231 (+15.15%) The day's losers are ABBC $0.111587 (-5.92%), MKR $295.64 (-3.55%), PAX $1734.63 (-1.20%).

Chart of the day: BTC/USD daily chart

Market

XRP now accepted at the world’s first licensed Bitcoin-led casino operator, Bitcasino, now accepts XRP. The Director of Bitasino, Tauri Tiitsaar said: “It makes us very proud to say that we now have the three most used cryptocurrencies integrated with Bitcasino. XRP ranks third on the list of top virtual currencies by market cap just behind Bitcoin and Ethereum, and it’s something our players have asked for quite some time now.”

Researchers from the Norwegian University and the University of Luxembourg have published a research paper detailing an attack that can deanonymize transactions broadcast across Bitcoin’s Lightning Network. The Lightning Network emerged as a controversial compromise from the Bitcoin (BTC) block limit and scalability debate. It’s a second layer solution that facilitates near-instant, low-cost Bitcoin transactions. Proponents claim it offers privacy by implementing segregated witness (SegWit). Four researchers from universities in Norway and Luxembourg including Bitcoin, along with Lightning community developer Ren Pickhardt, contributed to the research. The academics claim to have used transfer routing to ‘probe’ Lightning channels and discover the sum of Bitcoin held in balances. The paper describes th

Regulation

South Africa has revealed its stance on the crypto industry, seeking strict crypto regulations.

In a policy paper published this week, the Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group (IFWG) recommended cryptocurrencies to “remain without legal tender status.” The policy paper stated: “Crypto assets and the various activities associated with this innovation can no longer remain outside of the regulatory perimeter.”

Industry

A Spanish research team of more than 100 people is developing an app that uses AI and blockchain to predict the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic and to help manage lockdown measures. The app, which has the support of the Institute of Biomedical Research of Salamanca and the Artificial Intelligent Research Institute, is currently at proof-of-concept phase. It uses blockchain to store and verify digital identities and licenses for individuals to perform certain tasks, such as returning to work or going to the supermarket during the lockdown period. Each identity is in the form of a certificate recorded on the blockchain, and each person will hold the respective private key to their own identity.

Network technology company Jinwowo and the China Mobile Blockchain Association Committee held a “cloud signing” ceremony on April 13 to partner on the development of the first “blockchain and e-commerce ecology” laboratory in Chongqing China, according to a Yuzhong news report. Jinwowo will develop a blockchain called ‘gold chain’ to help e-commerce enterprises solve trust issues and supplier responsibilities Issues. The aim is to make the e-commerce industry more trustworthy.

The United States Commodity Futures Trade Commission (CFTC) has filed a complaint against Florida resident Alan Friedland for fraudulently raising $1.6 million through a cryptocurrency tied to a forex trading scheme. The April 16 filing accuses Friedland and his companies Fintech Investment Group, Inc and Compcoin LLC of illegally soliciting investments and publishing “untrue and materially misleading” press materials for its digital asset Compcoin from 2016 until 2018. The defendant claimed that Compcoin would allow customers to access Fintech’s proprietary trading algorithm ART and would deliver high returns on investment. Friedland falsely claimed that ART’s profit potential had been based on eight years of testing. However, Compcoin investors were never given access to ART and were left holding a worthless cryptocurrency.

The Libra Association’s plan to issue digital versions of existing currencies has failed to appease at least one U.S. lawmaker. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said Thursday that the consortium’s revised roadmap “does not address the concerns I raised” in the past. “There are simply too many questions left unanswered regarding why Facebook is even developing a cryptocurrency and how it will affect the global economy and consumers,” the Texas Democrat said in a statement.

Quote of the day

My bank account was frozen today because I've been buying #bitcoin all week.

So I had to call my bank and wait on hold for 30 minutes to talk to someone to unfreeze it.

Which was a good reminder of why I was buying Bitcoin in the first place.

@HealThyself15

Author

Ken Chigbo

Independent Analyst

Ken has over 8 years exposure to the financial markets. He started his career as an analyst, covering a variety of asset classes; forex, fixed income, commodities and equities.

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