Alyse Killeen: “Bitcoin Is Getting Much More Common”

Leonardo Perez
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Alyse Killeen: “Bitcoin Is Getting Much More Common”

Is Bitcoin, the world’s number one digital currency by market capitalization, finally gaining traction and widespread attention? According to two cryptanalysts (Alex Mann of Time Chain and Alyse Killeen of Stillmark), the answer is a resounding “yes.”

In a recent interview, Alex Mann. Time Chain partner and analyst, said he believes Bitcoin is no different from any other product or service, and that it is only a matter of time before the world realizes this. He stated the following:

“Basically, the only thing Bitcoin companies do is provide goods and services to customers that their customers [need] pay for as they would with any other supplier. Bitcoin is a technological layer, just like Internet, and Bitcoin companies use Bitcoin the same way Amazon uses Internet.”

BTC Is Becoming Better Known

Stillmark founding partner and analyst Alyse Killeen also weighed in, saying:

“Bitcoin has been adopted in both developed and emerging economies, but with different drivers and ‘killer apps. In developed markets, many use Bitcoin as an investment… In emerging markets, and for families divided between developed and emerging markets, remittances are the killer app.”

However, Killeen went on to say that one of the biggest problems is that the technology behind Bitcoin and the Lightning Network is not always understood by the public or even the people trying to develop and/or implement it. She further stated the following:

“Developing applications or business models that incorporate Lightning Network previously required a broad set of technical skills, and only recently have the infrastructure, development tools and user services been available for anyone to take advantage of the Lightning Network inside their app or business model.”

According to Killeen, this has been one of the main challenges, and a common problem with any new infrastructure technology, from the cloud to cybersecurity. However, she was quick to say that the talent needed for crypto companies is finally paying off. She stated that:

“Next, we have talent in the field who understand how to translate technology into use cases for their user base. When you see that type of business activity develop and flourish, what tends to be an adoption of the technology itself is because these founders can make it valuable and tangible.”

Some Issues Pending Resolution

Still, Mann believes there are several problems with the Lightning Network and that many changes are required for Lightning to handle excessive Bitcoin transactions. He said the following:

“If the use case is payments, are there still bottlenecks at scale? Yes, and especially for retail payments. the need is more obvious in emerging markets where there is no payments infrastructure, such as South Africa’s municipalities, but even here, there are still challenges to doing it profitably. With that in mind, the ecosystem is developing layers in addition to Lightning like Fedi… for b2b payments, Lightning appears to be highly desirable as it allows real-time settlement. companies like Synota or Vida that apply Lightning payments to the energy and telecom sector could change the rules of the game.”

The other great challenge is to win the hearts and minds of consumers and companies. For many, Bitcoin remains strongly associated with cryptocurrencies and tokens, which have now been widely discredited as little more than gambling. Crypto was also hurt by the FTX crash last year, and unfortunately, this mud has rubbed off on Bitcoin.

By Leonardo Pérez

HTX Cryptocurrency Exchange Suffered $8 Million Ethereum Hack

Audy Castañeda
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HTX Cryptocurrency Exchange Suffered $8 Million Ethereum Hack

An $8 million Ethereum hack hit recent renowned cryptocurrency exchange HTX, formerly known as Huobi.

Justin Sun, founder of the HTX cryptocurrency exchange, reported that the platform, formerly known as Huobi, was the victim of a cyberattack on Sunday. As a result, a total of 5,000 Ethers, valued at approximately $8 million, were lost.

According to Sun, the fact was detected immediately and HTX has fully reimbursed the losses, ensuring that the funds are safe. This was announced by Sun on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on September 25.

The compromised wallet appears to have been one of the most used on HTX, having received around $500 million in deposits from Binance since its creation in March. This was detailed in the Arkham data.

Those Responsible for the Hong Kong JPEX Cryptocurrency Exchange Scandal Continue to Evade Authorities

Although 11 people have already been questioned in connection with the case, those responsible behind the alleged scandal at the Hong Kong JPEX cryptocurrency exchange. Some describe this event as the biggest financial scam that has ever affected the city, they continue to evade the authorities.

According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the police have received more than 2,265 complaints from victims of the exchange, with a total estimated value of around USD 178 million (1.4 billion Hong Kong dollars).

The complaints appear to be related to difficulties withdrawing cryptocurrencies from the platform. On September 15, the JPEX exchange increased its withdrawal fees to 999 USDT.

So far, the list of people who have reportedly been detained for questioning includes cryptocurrency influencer Joseph Lam Chok, who has made numerous attempts to publicly distance himself from the exchange.

Police have also arrested three employees of JPEX’s tech support company, along with two YouTubers, Chan Wing-yee and Chu Ka-fai, who have a combined total of more than 200,000 followers, in connection with the scandal.

CoinShares Report Reveals Divergence in Cryptocurrency Investments Between Americans and Europeans

A recent CoinShares report sheds light on a marked “divergence in sentiment from a regional perspective” when it comes to cryptocurrency investments.

This discrepancy is especially noticeable when comparing investors based in Europe with their counterparts in the United States. Which is probably due to the notable regulatory differences between both regions, as explained in the report.

While Europe has seen a weekly investment of around $16 million into various crypto products, the United States has withdrawn approximately $14 million from the cryptocurrency market.

Blockchain Experts Detected Ether Transactions for More Than USD 3.9 Million

Blockchain tracking profiles shared details of a transaction involving 400 ETH, valued at $632,000. This, from Vitalik’s wallet to Coinbase on September 25. According to Spot On Chain, this latest transaction from Buterin is part of a series of ETH deposits on centralized exchanges over the last 10 days.

“@VitalikButerin deposited 400 $ETH to #Coinbase at $1,579 ($632K) 2hrs ago. Notably, Ethereum’s co-founder has deposited a total of 2,421 $ETH to multiple CEXs at 1,628 on average ($3.94M) via two addresses over the past 10 days. 👉 More details: https://platform.spotonchain.ai/signal-details.”

“Notably, Ethereum’s co-founder has deposited a total of 2,421 $ETH to multiple CEXs at 1,628 on average ($3.94M) via two addresses over the past 10 days,” Spot On Chain added.

The blockchain analysis platform estimates that from September 15 onwards, Buterin has deposited approximately 2,421 ETH, equivalent to USD 3.94 million.

By Audy Castaneda

Crypto Investor Barclays Announces Closing of UK Accounts for British Expats

Leonardo Perez
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Crypto Investor Barclays Announces Closing of UK Accounts for British Expats

The decision comes as a result of a thorough assessment of the bank’s international banking services.

Leading UK bank Barclays has implemented a substantial measure that could result in certain expatriate customers finding it difficult to access their savings and pensions.

On Friday, the bank made an announcement stating that any British national residing outside the UK will no longer have the option of holding a current or savings account with Barclays UK.

Many foreigners who rely on these accounts for their financial transactions may be affected by this decision.

Account Cancellation Coming Soon

Barclays is currently issuing notices to its customers, informing them of the imminent cancellation of their accounts. This decision comes as a result of a comprehensive evaluation of the bank’s international banking services, a process that was launched in 2021.

As part of this assessment, the bank has taken steps to notify its customers of upcoming changes, and they will be given sufficient time to adapt to these changes through a six-month notice period.

For people who have adopted an expatriate lifestyle and belong to the wealthy customer segment, Barclays presents an attractive solution: the opportunity to open a global account, which offers several attractive features, including the convenience of online banking and the flexibility to handle multiple currencies.

However, to avoid incurring a monthly fee of £40, account holders must maintain a minimum balance of £100,000. This move by Barclays reflects the financial institution’s commitment to optimizing its international banking offerings to better serve its diverse customer base.

By providing this notice period, the bank ensures that its valued customers have sufficient time to consider their options and make any necessary adjustments to their financial arrangements.

Barclays has stated that its UK products are primarily intended for UK resident customers. The Financial Conduct Authority has responded, acknowledging that this is a commercial decision within the bank’s prerogative, as banks have the autonomy to set their own criteria for customers.

Barclays Bank’s Customers Object

Some clients, such as professor David Barker, 89, who moved from London to Australia in 1988, have expressed strong disapproval of this decision. The April letter from Barclays that Professor Barker and his wife received left them both stunned. The official informed him that his family could re-register at his daughter’s home in the United Kingdom. He said the following:

“We are concerned about the way Barclays is handling this. “I could not believe we were getting a cold call telling us they were leaving us without banking services.”

An FCA representative said that lenders have the prerogative to set their own criteria regarding the domicile of account holders, while still complying with relevant national legislation and regulations when providing services to consumers residing outside the UK.

“Whether banks decide or not to extend their services to customers outside the UK is a commercial decision for them, but we expect them to treat their customers fairly, comply with equality legislation and properly notify the customer if they decide close your business account”, the representative said.

Barclays Backs Cryptocurrencies

Despite the continuing series of bankruptcies in the cryptocurrency market, Barclays invested in Copper, one of the most recognized companies in the sector, in July last year.

Barclays expresses a favorable outlook regarding the long-term sustainability of bitcoin (BTC). That same year, the British lender expressed its perspective on Core Scientific, a bitcoin miner, considering it a “top option” to take advantage of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

By Leonardo Pérez

Weekly Roundup: Bitcoin Mining Ready to Expand Its Potential

Audy Castañeda
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Weekly Roundup: Bitcoin Mining Ready to Expand Its Potential

This week, the Bitcoin mining industry showed important advances that project it towards a future of constant growth.

Despite this being a difficult year for the Bitcoin mining industry, it is ready to continue growing. Although it is one of the most stigmatized businesses in the world, it continues to expand and advance its ESG characteristics.

Below, the three top news of the week in the digital mining world are analyzed.

Allied Market Research: Mining Market Will Reach $5 Billion by 2032

Bitcoin mining is poised for significant growth, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.4% from 2023 to 2032. The latter is stated by analysts at Allied Market Research in a recent report.

Although the market has faced challenges in the past, such as the FTX crash of 2022, better times are ahead. These would come hand in hand with factors such as the growing adoption of digital currencies and the use of digital transformation technology. However, the high cost of crypto mining hardware remains a challenge for the industry, and difficulties and rising hash rates have affected miners’ profitability.

The digital mining market is currently valued at $1.8 billion and is expected to reach $5 billion by 2032, according to the aforementioned firm. Several key factors are identified that will drive this growth, such as the aforementioned increasing adoption of cryptocurrencies and digital transformation technology.

Peak Mining Agrees to Multi-Million Dollar Hardware Purchase with MicroBT

Bitcoin mining firm Peak Mining (a subsidiary of Northern Data Group) signed a contract stating that it is ready to close a $150 million deal with ASIC manufacturer MicroBT. This agreement will provide Peak Mining with a total of 7 EH/s of the latest next-generation BTC mining devices.

Consequently, the purchase includes models such as the Whatsminer M53S+ and M53S++. Additionally, Peak Mining plans to introduce large-scale liquid cooling technology with these miners. The contract with MicroBT will allow Peak Mining to significantly increase its mining capacity and prepare for future developments in that industry.

The first shipment of these liquid-cooled miners is scheduled for October 2023, with installation plans in North Dakota. Furthermore, this announcement comes shortly after MicroBT revealed its new M60 series miner. The latter has an efficiency index of 1X J/T, and will be launched in October.

Venezuelan Prison Mined Bitcoin While Licensed Companies Have Been Shut Down for Half a Year

More than half a year has passed since Venezuelan authorities announced the closure of all legally registered Bitcoin mining companies. After the corruption scandal in Sunacrip and other organizations, (billions stolen) mining companies were forced to close. Since then, many of the firms have gone bankrupt, others have left, and some remain under losses pending reopening.

However, while all those legal businesses were closed, criminals in a prison were operating a mining farm. That criminals have this type of facilities in a prison cannot happen without the State and the government finding out quickly. Despite this, the months passed and the date of the start of mining operations in the prison is unknown.

Bitcoin mining machines have a high level of power consumption. Added to this is that the trade in this equipment, new or second-hand, is controlled by the government or those close to it. In any case, all of this happened with the full knowledge of the authorities who now proceeded to dismantle the facilities.

By Audy Castaneda

Crypto Exchange Upbit Explains Why Aptos (APT) Withdrawals Stopped

Leonardo Perez
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Crypto Exchange Upbit Explains Why Aptos (APT) Withdrawals Stopped

Upbit suspended withdrawal and deposit services for Aptos (APT) due to abnormal deposit attempts. The exchange warns of possible rapid price fluctuations during the resumption of Aptos deposits and withdrawals. Deposit return processes for cryptocurrencies have been temporarily stopped and will now be processed sequentially.

Cryptocurrency exchange Upbit has explained why it temporarily stopped withdrawals on the platform. It assured users that it has conducted a thorough review and is ready to resume its services.

“Steps have been taken to address abnormal deposit attempts and there are no issues with your Aptos transactions,” the statement notes.

The issue appears to have arisen from a new fake APT token called “ClaimAPTGift.com,” which reached 400,000 Aptos wallets after its creation on September 21.

The fake token was most likely part of a typical token distribution scam, in which users receive tokens containing links that take unsuspecting users to phishing websites.

However, Upbit’s lack of proper verification of the source code of the scam tokens reportedly led to the exchange recognizing the fake tokens as real Aptos tokens. Several Korean users reported that they had received APT without sending themselves any tokens, according to a post on X by user Definalist, dated September 24:

“How did such a huge and foolish incident occur?

– It seems that during the process of reflecting $APT coin deposits, there was a failure to check the type arguments, and all same functions transfers were recognized as the same APT native token.”

Cryptocurrency Exchange Stopped Withdrawals Due to Suspicious Transactions

Upbit recently announced that it has temporarily stopped deposit and withdrawal services to conduct an investigation into suspicious Aptos (APT) transactions within the platform:

“During the process of monitoring Aptos deposits and withdrawals (APT), abnormal deposit attempts were detected. As a result, we suspended deposits and withdrawals and performed a verification of the Aptos Wallet (APT) system.”

However, it quickly restarted services after warning users to remain vigilant. The statement emphasized that the resumption of services could cause significant price swings.

Upbit stated that users may also experience delays in deposit processing when the network restarts due to factors such as network congestion. However, it highlights the possibility of variations in the timing of transaction confirmations on the blockchain network and the timing of deposit reflection.

The problem has since been fixed. Starting September 24 at 11:00 p.m. m. local time, Upbit confirmed that it has resumed deposits and withdrawals after completing the wallet inspection.

“The action against the abnormal deposit attempt has been completed and there is no problem with your Aptos transaction,” Upbit says in a statement.

Aptos Grabs Recent Headlines

Aptos recently experienced a substantial price change following its partnership with Microsoft. The company announced on August 9 that it is partnering with Microsoft to help bring Web3 to the mainstream.

Shortly after the announcement, the APT price rebounded by 15%. However, it was unable to maintain its momentum and fell below its breakout level.

Meanwhile, FTX court filings suggested APT could face further liquidations. On September 11, reports indicated that the bankrupt exchange is expected to sell approximately $100 million in digital assets each week.

Shortly before this incident, news emerged about the hack of Aptos Labs’ official X (formerly Twitter) account.

On July 7, a tweet issued by a hacker invited Aptos followers to join an airdrop, assuring them that they could acquire APT tokens for free on the APT network.

By Leonardo Pérez

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Cryptocurrency Exchange Coinbase, Against AI Regulation, and Other Crypto News

Audy Castañeda
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Brian Armstrong, CEO of Cryptocurrency Exchange Coinbase, Against AI Regulation, and Other Crypto News

The CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase expressed his stance against banning AI as it could stifle innovation.

Through a publication on his X account, Brian Armstrong, CEO of the Coinbase exchange, expressed his firm opposition to the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI), in which he argued that this measure could stifle innovation. His perspective is based on the historical success of the software and Internet industries, which largely flourished in the absence of strict regulations.

Armstrong also underscores the urgency of advancing the field of AI, citing national security concerns as a key factor justifying his position. At its core, he believes that government oversight often leads to unintended consequences and can hinder competition and innovation, even when there are good intentions:

“We need to make progress on it as fast as possible for many reasons (including national security). And the track record on regulation is that it has unintended consequences and kills competition/innovation, despite best intentions.

We’ve enjoyed a golden age of innovation on software and the internet largely due to it not being regulated. AI should do the same. The best protection is to decentralize it and open source it to let the cat out of the bag.”

The executive’s comments reflect his previous views on the cryptocurrency industry, which he has warned for years will be driven overseas if too many laws are imposed. This is especially true in the space of decentralized finance (DeFi), which Coinbase argued last year should not receive the same regulatory attention as centralized companies.

“Experience shows that regulation has unintended consequences and kills competition and innovation, despite the best intentions,” he argued.

Bybit Cryptocurrency Exchange Suspended Services in the UK Over FCA Regulations

In other crypto news, Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit announced the suspension of its services in the United Kingdom. This, in response to pending regulations from the country’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

On September 22, Bybit reported that as of October 1 it would stop offering its services to residents in the United Kingdom, including a ban on opening new accounts. Later, on October 8, they will suspend the ability to make new deposits, the creation of new contracts and position changes for existing users.

Huobi Celebrates its 10th Anniversary and is Now Renamed HTX

In an industry where a decade is a milestone of great importance, cryptocurrency exchange Huobi, now rebranded as HTX, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. This event marks the successful end of a journey filled with notable ups, downs and challenges.

The change of name to HTX, under the new ownership of Justin Sun, the controversial founder of TRON, marks the beginning of a new chapter globally. From another point of view, ‘HT’ also represents the native token of the platform on the exchange (HTX Token), so the name ‘HTX’ can be understood as the exchange dedicated to the commercialization of HT.

Drug Trafficking Gang in Chile Operated a Bitcoin Mining Network

The Investigative Police (PDI) of Chile found a drug trafficking gang that was involved in Bitcoin mining activities. This was discovered during an operation that took place this September in La Cisterna, Santiago de Chile. There, authorities seized 19 Bitcoin mining equipment, as well as various prohibited substances and weapons.

The PDI shared this information through the local media El Mostrador, where it was specified that, of the 19 Bitcoin mining equipment seized, only 10 were in operation.

By Audy Castaneda

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