– US Federal Reserve welcomes anonymous cryptocurrencies
– Goldman Sachs hires a crypto trader
– China gives way to Singapore and Hong-Kong as leaders in ICO
– MyEtherWallet is under hacker attack
– Every fifth financial company to launch crypto trading
US Federal Reserve welcomes anonymous cryptocurrencies
The agency has drawn unexpected results from its research, stating that anonymous cryptocurrencies can be a useful financial instrument that shields citizens from “bad governments”. In situations when governments oppress their people anonymous transactions can provide support for freedom of speech and fundamental rights. Nevertheless, the Fed does not recommend facilitating anonymous transactions, as they’re often used in tax evasion and money laundering. The bank also believes cryptocurrency is a viable alternative to cash and will outperform cash when issues like scalability and and high fees are solved.
Goldman Sachs hires a crypto trader
The trader’s main duty will be optimising existing bank services to satisfy needs of clients trading crypto-assets. The move is likely to help the firm to strengthen its position as a reliable cypto-trading intermediary.
China gives way to Singapore and Hong-Kong as leaders in ICO
After introducing the ICO ban, China’s numerous startups had to search for a safe harbour for their projects. Many companies found such refuge in nearby Hong-Kong and Singapore, the cities that have turned into real crypto capitals. In 2017 Hong-Kong was 3rd in attracting ICO capital, falling behind the US and Switzerland. Singapore authorities have set up a comfortable environment for Initial Coin Offerings (ICO). The startups there can rely on genuine assistance rather than harsh regulation.
MyEtherWallet is under hacker attack
Popular web-wallet MyEtherWallet reported about a hacker attack on its DNS servers. The intruders tried to redirect users accessing their accounts to phishing sites. The losses account for $152,000 in ETH
Every fifth financial company to launch crypto trading
According to Thomson Reuters’ survey, every fifth finance firm plans to launch crypto-trading in the year ahead, whereas 70% intend to do that within 3-6 months, and 22% – between six months to a year.
