POINTLESS PURCHASES? Bitcoin’s crash last week cast a shadow over mining firms that have spent over half a billion dollars overhauling equipment in preparation for the network’s next halving. If bitcoin’s price does not bounce back after the event, which will essentially reduce mining revenue by half, mining farms would have to bear a longer payback period for their investment. Full story
COSTLY DEMANDS: Ransomware demanding bitcoin to release people’s personal information has become more sophisticated and greedy. If use of the malicious malware continues to grow, it may prove a fertile breeding ground for political and regulatory pushback, and harm bitcoin's ecosystem, writes CoinDesk columnist J.P. Koning. Full story
BAKKT BACKED: Crypto derivatives provider Bakkt has closed a $300 million Series B round with Microsoft's M12, Pantera Capital, Bakkt parent firm ICE and others participating. The firm also said the recent acquisition of loyalty services provider Bridge2 will help it to “unlock nearly $1 trillion of digital assets when the Bakkt app launches this summer.” Full story
COINBASE EXIT: Brian Brooks, Coinbase's chief legal officer, is leaving the cryptocurrency exchange to become second-in-command at the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a banking regulator. Brooks has served as chief legal officer at Coinbase since September 2018. Full story |
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