COVID-19

Darknet Market to Permanently Ban Vendors Preying on COVID-19 Fears

Dark web marketplace, Monopoly Market, has taken a stand against scammers claiming to sell cures and treatments for COVID-19 on its platform.On other darknet platforms, listings are rife with coronavirus keywords — with vendors selling everything from narcotic cocktails marketed as ‘coronavirus vaccines,’ to coronavirus-infected blood and saliva.Monopoly Market to ban vendors using coronavirus as ‘marketing tool’On April 2, dark web journalist, Eileen Ormsby, tweeted a screenshot posted by Monopoly Market’s operator that threatened permanent bans against vendors “caught flogging goods as a ‘cure’ to Coronavirus.”“We have class here,” the

Bitcoin’s Correlations With Global Financial Assets Soar Amid Coronavirus Crisis

Many investors hold Bitcoin (BTC) as a hedge against the global financial system. However, as the numbers show, Bitcoin has not been spared from the recent COVID-19 financial crisis.This article will analyze the movement of global financial markets and its correlation with Bitcoin during the COVID-19 crisis. We’ll consider the following sources as price measures for the following.The recent crash has really challenged Bitcoin’s claim as “digital gold” and puts its assertion as a financial “safe haven” to the test.Related: Is Bitcoin a Store of Value? Experts on BTC as

7 Crypto Firms Targeted by 11 Lawsuits in New York

Seven crypto companies have been targeted by 11 lawsuits that were filed in a New York federal court on April 3.The suits were filed by Roche Freedman — the same law firm representing the estate of the late Dave Kleiman in the ongoing dispute with self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto, Craig Wright.Eleven lawsuits target seven crypto companiesThe eleven putative class action suits name dozens of parties including cryptocurrency exchanges Binance, KuCoin, BiBox, and BitMEX and parent company HDR Global Trading Limited, and alleged crypto issuers Block.one, Quantstamp, KayDex, Civic, BProtocol, Status, and the

BIS Calls for Central Bank Digital Currencies Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has issued a report arguing in favor of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and digital payments amid the COVID-19 pandemic.The bulletin published by the BIS, a 600-member international financial institution representing the central banks of 60 countries, urges central banks to consider developing CBDCs in light of concerns regarding the spread of coronavirus through existing payment methods.BIS warns of COVID-19 transmission via credit card terminalsThe report notes a significant negative change in consumer attitudes regarding the use of cash in response to the World Health

Retail Bought $3.7K Bitcoin Price Dip on Record $76B Volume: Report

Although the Coronavirus pandemic has led many brick and mortar industries to close operations, cryptocurrency exchanges seem to have had their best month in a long time. According to an exchange report released by CryptoCompare, Bitcoin (BTC) trading volume saw record-breaking numbers throughout the month.Cryptocurrency market daily view. Source: Coin360The March 13 market crash that brought the Bitcoin price from $8,000 to a low of $3,800 in 24 hours registered the biggest day for crypto in terms of trading volumes registered at Bitcoin spot markets. On March 13 alone, total daily volumes

Bitcoin’s Hedging Performance in the Wake of the Coronavirus Outbreak

The recent coronavirus outbreak has far-reaching consequences beyond the spread of the disease and efforts to quarantine it. Recently, we’ve experienced one of the most severe stock market crashes in modern times: On March 9, 2020, the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded a drop of -7.8%, which happened to be its worst single-day loss ever. However, on Thursday, March 12, 2020, the Dow then recorded the fifth-largest drop in modern history based on percentage points by a staggering amount of almost 10%. Unfortunately, the losses did not stop there. Four

April Fools, Celebrity Scams, & Manipulated Markets: Bad Crypto News of the Week

Bitcoin seems to be settling happily above $6,000 and is currently just north of $6,500 again. Let’s hope we’ve seen the last of those $5,000 movements and we’re ready for a steady climb back to double figures before the halving in mid-May. It’s getting closer.In the meantime, the Federal Reserve now appears to have merged into the federal government. An opinion piece in Bloomberg has described how an alphabet soup of financial programs intended to help the economy through the current crisis is allowing the government to buy up securities

Blockchain Experts Weigh in on Russia’s Controversial Coronavirus Tracking App

Experts suggest that blockchain technology could have been a better solution for handling coronavirus-related data in Russia.Moscow’s COVID-19 App is pulled from Google PlayOn March 25, an app called “Social monitoring” appeared in Google Play store. According to the app’s description, it was designed for social monitoring as well as for providing access to emergency services.Users soon noticed that the app required many sensitive permissions, including geolocation, bluetooth pairing, biometric data, and calls. Notably, the data was also being openly transmitted without encryption. The backlash against the app led to

Blockchain Provides Trusted Data to Counter Spread of Coronavirus

With each passing day, new data regarding the coronavirus pandemic is being brought to the public’s attention. From the number of cases in various regions to ever-changing safety procedures like wearing masks in public, COVID-19 data is clearly present, yet remains inconsistent.While a lack of accurate information may be frustrating on a personal level, ever-changing data is taking a toll on the health officials and researchers working effortlessly to help subdue the coronavirus crisis. To combat the issue, the San Francisco-based blockchain security company Hacera launched a data analytics platform

Coronavirus & Bitcoin Price: Is China Losing Its BTC Mining Monopoly?

This week the price of Bitcoin (BTC) surged more than 15%, reaching a high at $7,200 before pulling back into the $6,800 range. Despite the recovery, Bitcoin still has a way to go in order to reach the $8,000 level seen before the coronavirus-triggered selloff on March 12.Cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360The drop had several consequences on the Bitcoin network. Having reached the $3,800 price range, the accentuated drop forced some Bitcoin miners to throw in the towel and shut down their operations due to mining becoming unprofitable.As miners have

Market Volatility Continues Amid COVID19 Uncertainty

In times of deep crisis such as this it’s important to stay true to who we are and that seems to get more and more difficult the deeper we get. Last night, I engaged in an interesting discussion on social media when Bruce Fenton posed the question “Are mandated lockdowns right or wrong?” This is something that another bitcoin though leader, Jimmy Song, is on record as being staunchly against and the libertarian in me tends to agree. Jimmy’s point here is simply that a pattern has arisen throughout history