This week brought several significant developments in the cryptocurrency space, from institutional custody solutions to national regulatory frameworks and exchange expansion. Here’s a recap of the top stories.
Coinbase Custody Opens for Business
On Tuesday, Coinbase officially launched Coinbase Custody, its new institutional offering. The service will onboard crypto hedge funds, exchanges, and ICO projects over the coming weeks, providing secure storage in the US and Europe, with plans to expand to Asia by year-end. It currently supports BTC, ETH, LTC, and BCH, and is expected to unlock significant institutional capital. Meanwhile, Hitbtc responded to John McAfee's accusations, BTCC launched its new platform, and Huobi postponed Hadax voting.
Malta Enacts Cryptocurrency Law
On Thursday, Malta's parliament gave final approval to three bills: the Digital Innovation Authority Act, the Innovative Technological Arrangement and Services Act, and the Virtual Financial Asset Act. The laws prohibit insider trading, market manipulation, and misleading ads or ICO whitepapers, creating a comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto ventures. Malta has positioned itself as a blockchain island with one of the first national crypto regulations.
Bittrex Invades Europe
On Friday, Bittrex announced a joint venture with Invest.com to launch a digital asset trading platform for EU traders, initially featuring over 200 tokens. The platform leverages Invest.com's expertise in derivatives, equity trading, and portfolio management. Additionally, the six-letter domain Crypto.com was sold for millions of dollars.
Other Notable Stories
Fake Trezor Wallet Website: Trezor warned users of a phishing attack where a fake wallet.trezor.io site was served via DNS poisoning or BGP hijacking. The host took it down, but users should remain vigilant.
Buying Crypto is Too Hard: A survey of 1,000 US residents found that the complex purchase process is the biggest barrier for new investors. Another study reported that ICOs raised $11.8 billion through May 2018 despite regulatory and fraud issues.
Bitcoin Enters Indian Politics: The Indian National Congress accused the ruling BJP of involvement in a 'bitcoin scam', demanding a judicial probe. Other stories included BCH projects and blockchain innovations.
Paul Krugman Trolls XRP: Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman tweeted, “If a digital currency isn’t actually used for any transactions, is it, you know, actually a currency?” The comment sparked the most discussion this week.
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