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CoinnewsNew activation proposal on Taproot is being voted on; the proposal is an upgrade to the protocol that should improve Bitcoin's privacy and flexibility.
Investments news
- US-based NYDIG, a Stone Ridge-run subsidiary firm that provides crypto services to institutional investors, said it raised USD 200m in a growth capital round led by Stone Ridge, Morgan Stanley, New York Life, MassMutual, Soros Fund Management, and FS Investments, among others. NYDIG claims that insurers now own, in aggregate, more than USD 1bn of direct and indirect bitcoin (BTC) exposure facilitated by NYDIG, and held on this platform.
- CI Global Asset Management announced that Canadian securities regulators have issued a receipt for the final prospectus of the CI Galaxy Bitcoin ETF, which is expected to trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange starting tomorrow, March 9.
- Crypto lending platform Celsius Network (CEL) has an implied valued of USD 3.13bn, approximately three times greater than its current market capitalization of USD 1.1bn, according to research from Alpha Sigma Capital. A crypto startup has opened its rewards-themed app Eco to the public after an alpha with millions of dollars deposited has been completed.
- Crypto startup Eco opened its rewards-focused Eco App to the public, following an alpha test with millions of dollars deposited, the team behind it said. Furthermore, according to the announcement, they have raised more than USD 35m, including over USD 26m in a recent round led by a16z Crypto, with participation from Founders Fund, Activant Capital, Slow Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Tribe Capital, Valor Capital Group, and more than a hundred other funds and angels.
All commenters support the Speedy Trial (ST) proposal, which gives the Taproot activation attempt a better chance of succeeding or failing.
- A new activation proposal is being voted on regarding Taproot, a proposed protocol upgrade that should improve Bitcoin's privacy and flexibility. A three-month lock-in threshold must be met before activation can be carried out. If not, there is no mandatory activation, and everybody tries again using new parameters. Per the document detailing the proposal, shortly after the release of software containing this proposed activation logic, nodes would begin counting blocks towards the 90% threshold required to lock in Taproot. "We expect this to happen around April 14, 2021, though the exact date may be determined by block time variance." Five Ethereum Improvement Proposals are included in this upgrade, including a gas cost-efficiency update and an addition to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
Ethereum news
- Berlin, an Ethereum (ETH) upgrade, is scheduled to go live on the Ethereum mainnet at block 12 244 000, the Ethereum Foundation said. The comments followed a successful legal fight against the investment and asset manager Tetragon Financial in the United Kingdom. This upgrade encompasses five Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIP), including updates to gas cost efficiencies and the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
An unresolved SEC case against Ripple given Tetragon's arguments – as analyzed by a Delaware judge - meant that Tetragon's claims are not applicable.
- Ripple has reiterated its claim that the American regulatory Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) is “dead wrong” in its claims that the XRP token is an unregistered security. The comments came after it scored a legal victory against the British investment and asset manager Tetragon Financial. No one could have foreseen the collapse of the cryptocurrency market. I was paid with the same coins that crashed." Ripple said, per Bloomberg, “The SEC still has to try to prove their case in court, which we do not believe they will be able to do.”
The imprisoned software tycoon John McAfee claimed on Twitter that the SEC's "allegations are overblown," adding: "My team evaluated every promotion based on management, business plans and potential. During one week in 2017, I chose coins I believed held value. A notable one was Doge, which has since been championed years later by Elon Musk. McAfee further argued that his dogecoin (DOGE) and other coins' promotion were not pump and dumps.
Much of the new allegations from the Feds are about my "coin of the day". For a few days in 2017 I chose coins I believed had value.
One of them was Doge - now being touted years later by Elon Musk. The coin has increased well over 1000% since I chose it.
Not a pump and dump.
— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) March 7, 2021
Tax news
- The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), America’s top tax body, said it has launched a project named Operation Hidden Treasure, which will involve training its agents to hunt for individuals who fail to report their crypto income. Per and article on forbes.com, the IRS’ Director of the Office of Fraud Enforcement, Damon Rowe, told a meeting of the Federal Bar Association that its agents will learn how to examine blockchain networks to identify potential instances of tax evasion, and will work with Europe’s Europol in its endeavors.
The companies expect bets of USD 150 million in 2021 and USD 400 million over two years.
- The investment banking giant JPMorgan is set to step up its crypto game with a series of new hires – intended in part to bolster the workings of its JPM coin token, which it launched in autumn last year. Per its website, the company now has 56 open blockchain-related jobs, mostly based in the USA, India, Singapore, and the UK. According to the press release, Argo Blockchain acquired DPN LLC, and by extension the Texas land, for an initial price of USD 5m, satisfied by issuing approximately 3.5 million new shares of Argo to investors in DPN.
There will also be a further payment of shares worth up to $12.5 million if certain contractual milestones are achieved.
- Hamburg-headquartered private bank Donner & Reuschel is set to offer cryptocurrency buying and custody to its clients. They will launch this offering "as soon as possible," reported local media, adding that this is a result of high market demand for digital asset custody.
- Entertainment software company Atari SA plans to start an online casino next month, said Bloomberg. NYDIG claims that insurers now hold an aggregate of more than USD 1bn in direct and indirect bitcoin exposure facilitated on the NYDIG Platform. According to the announcement, the casino is developed in partnership with Decentral Games (which is backed by Digital Currency Group, whose main subsidiary is Grayscale Investments) on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain, and it will include Atari-themed games and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which can be leveraged to earn digital currency.
Mining news
- Publicly-listed mining company Argo Blockchain has finalized its acquisition of a new, 320-acre land plot in West Texas, United States, which it plans to use for the construction of a new 200MW cryptocurrency mining facility in the next 12 months. Per the press release, Argo Blockchain acquired DPN LLC, and by extension the Texas acreage, for an initial price of USD 5m satisfied by the issue of around 3.5m new shares in Argo to DPN shareholders. "A further payment of shares worth up to USD 12.5m will also occur if certain contractual milestones are fulfilled," it said.
