Neil Dennis

News Reporter

Neil is a veteran financial journalist, but a relative newcomer to the land of cryptocurrencies and blockchain and brings a critical, yet fascinated, eye to the digital asset market.

Articles by Author

Stablecoins May Hinder Anti-Money Laundering Efforts, Financial Watchdog Says

The proliferation of stablecoins – such as Facebook’s Libra, underpinned by physical assets – may undermine efforts to stamp out money laundering and the financing of terrorism, according to a global financial watchdog.

Bitcoin ‘Greatest Gift’ to Mankind, Says Former Google Africa CEO

Stafford Masie, general manager of WeWork South Africa and former chief of Google Africa, believes bitcoin, more than any other technology, has the ability to permanently change the world for the good.

Cryptocurrencies Like Bitcoin Are Too Volatile to Store Value, G7 Says

The Group of Seven (G7) nations said on Friday that cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin were unsuitable for global payments systems but stablecoins, while not yet certain to be stable, may be better suited.

U.S. Senator Backs Libra Association Member Despite Departures From Project

Amid the chorus of US government representatives condemning Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project there has emerged from South Dakota a Senator actively backing digital currencies, warning the US risks falling behind in innovative ideas by stifling Libra and other crypto projects.

European Airport Found to Be Riddled With Crypto Mining Malware

Cyber Security firm Cyberbit revealed in a blog post that its software uncovered a large cryptocurrency mining infection in a European international airport.

US Fed Looking Into Issuing a Digital Dollar, Top Official Says

The US central bank is considering the issuance of a digital currency, according to one of its top officials, as concerns grow over the potential impact of rival national cryptocurrencies or corporate alternatives such as Facebook’s Libra.

Facebook’s Libra Is ‘Absolutely Not’ in Jeopardy for Losing Members, Says David Marcus

Facebook’s head of the Libra Project said that while development of the cryptocurrency venture would get tougher, it was “absolutely not” in jeopardy despite the departures of several key backers.

Nexo Founder Says He Would Onboard Libra for Loans and Payments

Antoni Trenchev, co-founder of NexoBank, said he still believed in the “value proposition” of the Libra project and that his company would integrate it into its loans and payments processes.

EY Launches Blockchain-Powered Public Finance Management Tool

EY, the business services firm formerly known as Ernst & Young, has launched a blockchain-based application to help global governments improve their management of public funds.

Former CFTC Chief Says U.S. Should Create an Independent Digital Dollar

A former head of one the top US market regulatory bodies believes the government must create a digital dollar to help spread monetary risk away from central banks.

Record Inflows for Grayscale Cryptoasset Funds During Third Quarter

In Q3 2019, digital asset manager Grayscale Investments saw the strongest demand for its products in the third quarter since the firm’s inception.

Ether Locked Into DeFi Hits a Record of 3 Million ETH

The total value of ether locked into decentralized finance (DeFi) dApps has passed 3 million ETH ($552 million) for the first time, according to data on DeFi Pulse.

Libra Has Been a Catalyst for Central Bank Reform, Says Swedish Central Bank Governor

The governor of Sweden’s central bank said on Tuesday that the emergence of the Facebook-led corporate cryptocurrency project Libra has been a wake-up call for global monetary authorities.

Grayscale Receives FINRA Approval for Digital Large Cap Fund Listing

Grayscale investments has been given the go-ahead from the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to launch an exchange-listed security backed by a basket of digital assets.

Bitcoin Still the Currency of the Dark Web Despite Shift Towards Privacy Coins

Bitcoin remains the currency of the dark web, according to the latest report on cybercrime by European law enforcement agency Europol, although a “pronounced” shift towards more privacy-related cryptocurrencies has been detected.

Treasury Secreatary: Libra Association Weakens Due to Failure to Meet Regulations

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday that the Libra Association was crumbling because it is failing to meet regulatory standards, and played down the role of recent warnings from members of Congress.

Ripple Leads Investment in Mexico’s Bitso Exchange to Develop LatAm Markets

Mexico-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitso has raised capital from a number of major investors including Ripple, Coinbase, and Jump Capital to help it expand into Latin America.

Singaporean Man Charged for Mining Cryptocurrency Using Stolen Cloud Computing Power

A Singaporean man faces a 34-year jail sentence after being charged for running a cryptocurrency mining operation using stolen identity data to gain access to cloud computing services.

OpenLibra ‘Members’ Deny Involvement in Project After Devcon Announcement

OpenLibra – the permissionless fork of Facebook’s Libra stablecoin project, unveiled at Devcon on Wednesday – has misrepresented the organizations involved, according to a report from Coindesk.

Unstoppable Launches .Crypto Domains to Promote Use of Digital Assets

Unstoppable Domains, the blockchain domains maker backed by venture capital group Draper Associates, has launched a domain registry aimed to promote the use of cryptocurrency.

Cash-Poor Litecoin Foundation Counting on the Upcoming Summit for Additional Funds

Litecoin Foundation, the not-for-profit organisation with the aim of promoting litecoin and blockchain technology, is running out of money and will be looking to boost its sales of merchandise at its upcoming summit this month.

Wallet Provider BRD Announces Strategic Partnership With Ripple

BRD, the provider of cryptocurrency mobile wallet services, announced on Friday it has entered a strategic partnership with Ripple’s developer incubator Xpring.

Sweden’s Enforcement Agency to Auction 4.59 Bitcoin

Kronofodgen, Sweden’s Enforcement Agency is to sell 4.59 bitcoin – worth about $38,234 on Friday afternoon – in an online auction that begins on Friday, according to Swedish news website thelocal.com.

BitGo to Provide Custodial Services to Europe’s Largest Crypto Exchange

BitGo, the California-based digital wallet company, is to expand its relationship with Bitstamp by providing custodial services to Bitstamp, Europe’s oldest and largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volumes.

Aphelion Announces it is Shutting Down its Non-Custodial Exchange

Aphelion, the Neo blockchain-powered peer-to-peer trading platform, announced it was closing its non-custodial exchange, saying that market forces had taken too heavy a toll.

Vodafone Reiterates Support for Libra but Calls for Independent CEO

As commercial support for the Libra cryptocurrency project appears to be wavering, British mobile telecoms group Vodafone has reiterated its support, but with caveats.

Senators Advise Payments Companies to Reconsider Libra Membership

US lawmakers are piling the pressure on Libra Association members to think again about their affiliation with Facebook in its project to launch a corporate cryptocurrency next year.

Ledger Wallet to Incorporate Atomic Swaps Using SWFT Protocol

Ledger, the hardware cryptoasset wallet producer, is to integrate cryptocurrency atomic swaps to its platform utilizing the SWFT cross-blockchain transfer protocol.

Class Action Filed Against Nano Over Fraudulent Misrepresentation

Law firms Silver Miller and Levi Korsinsky have filed a class action lawsuit with the district court of Northern California against the promoters of the Nano cryptocurrency, alleging fraud and misrepresentation.

Bitwise Head of Research Optimistic That SEC Will Approve Bitcoin ETF

Investors will know on Monday, October 14 whether the US markets regulator will grant approval for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), and the chief executive of Bitwise Investments is confident his company’s product will get the go-ahead.

Algo Capital CTO Resigns Following $1-2 million Hot Wallet Breach

Following the theft of somewhere between $1-2 million in Tether and Algo tokens from the hot wallet of venture capital firm Algo Capital, the chief technology officer (CTO) who administered the wallet has fallen on his sword.

Bitfinex and Tether Face Class Action Filed by Lawyers Who Sued Craig Wright

Lawyers who successfully sued Craig Wright for billions of dollars in bitcoin are going after crypto exchange Bitfinex and its affiliated dollar-backed stablecoin Tether – both already facing existing legal claims.

UK’s Financial Regulator Widens Scrutiny of Crypto Industry

Britain’s financial watchdog has significantly widened its scrutiny of the cryptocurrency industry this year, as the number of companies being investigated has risen by 74%.

John McAfee Launches Decentralized Distributed Crypto Exchange

John McAfee, the US security software entrepreneur and cryptocurrency enthusiast, announced he had launched a decentralized crypto exchange on the Ethereum blockchain.

IKEA Accepts Supply Chain Transaction via the Ethereum Blockchain

Nordic retailer IKEA has accecpted payment in digital currency using the Ethereum blockchain to settle a transaction with Nordic Store, a local retailer, at its Reykjavik, Iceland branch.

Malware Costing Just $160 Attempts Crypto Theft from 72,000 Devices

Researchers believe a malware botnet that costs just $160 has interacted with potentially 2,000 machines per week in attempts at stealing crypto wallets and personal information.

$1.2 Million Seized From Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme Remain Stuck in Frozen Indian Bank Account

Cryptocurrency worth $1.2 million that was seized from a ponzi scheme by Indian police can’t be accessed and returned to bewildered investors because Indian banking laws prohibit the handling of virtual currencies.

Apple’s Tim Cook Says ‘No’ to Libra-Style Corporate Currency

Apple, it appears, will not be going down the Facebook route and launching its own cryptocurrency – at least while Tim Cook remains at the helm of the iPhone manufacturer.

Security Flaw Discovered That Could’ve Wiped Out $7 Million in Dai Collateral

A security flaw discovered in the upcoming Multi-Collateral Dai system being developed by stablecoin organization MakerDAO could have resulted in the loss of assets that back the digital token.

Venezuelan Petro Supported by Credit Card and Point-of-Sale System

Venezuela has developed further backing for its national cryptocurrency by releasing a debit card and point-of-sale system that will accept the petro in card transactions.

Parity Announces App Update That Turns Old Cellphones into Crypto Wallets

Parity Technologies, the open-source blockchain infrastructure company, has released a new version of its Parity Signer software that enables users to turn their old mobile phones into offline crypto wallets.

Fed Requested by Congress to Consider Developing a Digital Dollar

US Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell has been asked by two Congressmen to consider developing a national digital currency.

Innosilicon Denies Reports of $10 Million Fire Damage at Mining Farm

Reports that a video and photographs showing a large cryptocurrency mining farm burning down was a facility owned by Innosilicon has been denied by the China-based company.

Marcus Soothes Nerves After Reports of Partners’ Cold Feet Over Libra

David Marcus, the Facebook executive heading the Libra cryptocurrency project, has taken to Twitter to ease tensions after reports some key members of the Association backing the project are getting cold feet.

TRON CEO Justin Sun to Endorse Basketball Star’s Sneakers

Tech entrepreneur Justin Sun will be sponsoring the shoes of Basketball star Spencer Dinwiddie this season, according to a recent Twitter post by the Brooklyn Nets guard.

Fusion Says $6.4 Million Token Theft Likely an Inside Job

Investigators probing Saturday’s theft of cryptocurrency worth around $6.4 million from the Fusion wallet believe the crime may have been an inside job, according to a company blog.

John McAfee and Peter Brandt Predict Bitcoin Rally to $50,000 Despite Recent Losses

IT security software provider and outspoken bitcoin enthusiast John McAfee said on Monday he still believed in a strong, medium-term rally for the top cryptoasset, despite some severe recent losses.

Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban Says He Would Rather Have Bananas Than Bitcoin

Mark Cuban, US billionaire investor and television personality, said he would rather have bananas than bitcoin, but that he could “make a great argument for blockchain”.

Trading Bitcoin Right Now Is ‘Treacherous’ Says Fundstrat’s Tom Lee

Tom Lee, the co-founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors, said on Thursday that the crypto market was too “treacherous” at the moment for anyone to be actively trading bitcoin.

NEO Becomes a Member of Microsoft’s .NET Foundation

Neo, the decentralized open-source blockchain platform, announced it had become the first blockchain focused member of Microsoft’s .NET Foundation.

ABN AMRO in Money Laundering Probe Just Months After Calling Bitcoin ‘Too Risky’

Dutch bank ABN AMRO disclosed it had become embroiled in a money laundering scandal just four months after abandoning plans to launch a bitcoin wallet because of the regulatory risks.

Number of Bitcoin Lightning Network Nodes Hits Record 10,000

Nodes on the Bitcoin Lightning Network have rised above 10,000 for the first time according to data site 1ml.com.

Libra is a ‘Wake-Up Call’ for Policy Makers,ECB Board Member Says

Facebook’s Libra is a “wake-up call” for policy makers and will require significant work before approval can be granted, according to a top European central banker.

Concern for Bitcoin on ‘Fear & Greed Index’ May Point to Buy Signal

As bitcoin and other cryptocurrency prices fell on Thursday investors were asking themselves: first, why the market had tumbled so sharply and, second, do such hefty falls justify renewed buying?

Heavy Losses in Crypto Market Lift Tether to No.4 by Market Cap

Heavy losses on cryptocurrency exchanges on Wednesday helped stablecoin tether to jump ahead of bitcoin cash to claim fourth position in the crypto rankings by market capitalisation.

UK Police to Auction Seized Bitcoin Worth More Than $600,000

Cryptocurrencies worth more than £500,000 ($600,000) that were seized in UK police operation are to be auctioned on Wednesday, according to an announcement by Ireland-based Wilsons Auctions.

‘Bitcoin Profit’ Scam Uses Fake Celebrity Endorsements to Promise 4,000% ROI

Scammers are using fake news, fabricated celebrity endorsements and the lure of “easy” profit from bitcoin investment to defraud Australian citizens.

China’s Central Bank Denies November Launch for Digital Currency

China’s central bank has denied claims that it will launch its own cryptocurrency in November according to an official statement seen by local news provider Global Times.

IBM Open to Partner With Facebook on Blockchain and Digital Projects

IBM has revealed it is prepared to work with Facebook on blockchain and tokenization projects but didn’t explicitly suggest it would join the consortium of companies known as the Libra Association.

Facebook Announces the Currencies Included in the Libra Basket

Facebook has revealed the breakdown of global currencies that will back the Libra cryptocurrency and China’s yuan will not be among them.

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