The top daily news from the cryptocurrency and blockchain space:
- Bitcoin one of many blockchain networks to hit all-time high hashrate.
- European Central Bank executive says development of Facebook’s Libra “is out of the question.”
- ‘Tangle in Taipei’ amps up as Nouriel Roubini legally threatens ‘coward’ Arthur Hayes.
At the time of writing, bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) are trading at $11,424.5 (+2.4%) and $304.9 (+5.9%), respectively. As for the MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 10 Index, it is currently tracking at 4,583.3 (-0.9%).
Bitcoin One of Many Blockchain Networks at All-Time High Hashrate
The hashrate of Bitcoin has once more hit a new all-time high, rising to 74.5 million tera hashes per second (TH/s) in recent days. It was only two weeks ago when the Bitcoin network’s hashrate – which represents the number of calculations a given network can perform every second – reached a then-record high 68.6 million TH/s.
Rising concurrently with Bitcoin’s hashrate – which has more than doubled in the past twelve months – has been network usage, which recently came close to clocking fresh all-time highs.
Certainly, it is not just the hashrate of Bitcoin that is tracking at record highs. Indicative of a rising interest in cryptocurrency mining overall, BitInfoCharts shows that a number of other blockchain networks – such as Litecoin (LTC), Dash (DASH), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Zcash (ZEC) – have recently seen hashrate hit all-time highs.
Facebook’s Libra ‘Out of the Question’ Says European Central Bank Executive
European Central Bank executive board member Benoit Coeure is the latest to call upon regulators to “move more quickly,” so as to keep up with innovation occurring in the nascent ecosystem comprising cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
According to a Bloomberg report from the weekend, Coeure acknowledged that Facebook’s recent announcement of the Libra cryptocurrency and Calibra digital wallet served as “a rather useful wake-up call for regulators and public authorities, as they encourage us to raise a number of questions and might make us improve the way we do things.”
“It’s out of the question to allow [Facebook and the other multinationals comprising the Libra Association] to develop in a regulatory void for their financial service activities, because it’s just too dangerous,” the European Central Bank executive board member went on to emphasize.
‘Tangle in Taipei’ Continues as Roubini Threatens BitMEX Lawsuit
Renowned Bitcoin critic Nouriel Roubini has threatened to sue BitMEX and its chief executive, Arthur Hayes, over what he calls unfair treatment in the aftermath of their ‘Tangle in Taipei’ debate from last week.
On the weekend, Roubini took to Twitter to make known what he feels “is sick criminal behaviour” from Hayes; referencing allegations of his that the BitMEX chief executive “is sending to select media a doctored edited highlights video of the debate to make [him] look bad.”
Indeed, public demand for a recording of the so-called ‘Tangle in Taipei’ has been strong because, according to Roubini, Hayes prohibited Asia Blockchain Summit organizers from live-streaming the debate as well as audience members from recording.
