Day: December 1, 2017

It has been a while since we last heard anything regarding the ongoing Coinbase-IRS case. With a federal court having to determine whether or not this exchange needed to hand over customer information, an interesting precedent was set. It seems the exchange will have to hand over the information after all. This pertains to users who transacted over US$20,000 between 2013 and 2015. A total of 14,355 users will be affected by the decision.

Coinbase Information Will Change Hands

It is not entirely surprising to see Coinbase being forced to hand over customer information. The legal battle between the exchange and the IRS has been going on for quite some time now. A John Doe summons was issued against the exchange last year for information over a specific period. Initially, the exchange successfully fought back, but it seems most of its efforts were in vain. With 14,355 platform users having their information turned over to the government agency, it will be interesting to see if anything comes to light.

Almost a year after the initial John Doe summons, a verdict has been delivered in the IRS’s favor. It remains to be seen if the overall Bitcoin community will be pleased with this development. Unfortunately, there is nothing they can do about this decision, even if they wanted to. The information from 2013 to 2015 regarding transactions totaling over US$20,000 is of keen interest to the IRS. It is thought that someone used the exchange to either launder money or evade taxes, though nothing has been proven at this stage.

Although Coinbase is not at fault for being forced to hand over the information, there will be some backlash against the platform. Speculation is running wild on social media regarding investors potentially pulling out of the company, although that is nothing but rumor right now. Coinbase itself has nothing to worry about if it adhered to all guidelines and rules, after all. The bigger question is whether or not the company did exactly that, or if something nefarious is going on that we don’t know about.

Bitcoin users will not be too happy about their information being shared with the US government, though. As a result, we may see more and more people flock to more privacy-centric cryptocurrencies, such as Monero. Bitcoin is, by default, too transparent to conduct illegal activity with. Not every Coinbase user utilizes Bitcoin for illicit activity, but some people assumed it would serve to keep their financial wealth hidden from the IRS. That is not the case whatsoever, and it once again shows why privacy should matter in the cryptocurrency world.

According to Coinbase, this verdict will affect a total of 8.9 million transactions. That is pretty significant, as it only pertains to users transferring US$20,000 or more. While everyone knows this platform is very popular, few people expected such high rollers to be the norm on Coinbase. It isn’t entirely surprising to see the IRS show a keen interest in this company when it knows large amounts of money are changing hands on a regular basis.

In the end, this is an interesting development for many different reasons. The information to be handed over is only a fraction of what the IRS initially requested. Keeping that in mind, this verdict is almost a victory for the Bitcoin community. It will be quite interesting to see what comes to light thanks to the information handed over. For now, this news has had very little effect on the Bitcoin price, as it already saw a massive correction on Wednesday.

December 1st, 2017 (TORONTO) – PIVX (Private Instant Verified Transaction), has rolled out its highly anticipated new core wallet v3.0.0 that includes support for a next generation proof of stake privacy solution utilizing Zerocoin protocol (zPIV). PIVX has made history by being the first POS (proof of stake) digital currency to implement a fully private and anonymous transaction protocol.

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article

Most cryptocurrencies in the market today utilize a public ledger system, called the blockchain, which makes all transactions visible and traceable. This leaves users vulnerable as anyone has the ability to see all associated transactions and balances, which includes their associated addresses. If an account can be linked to a person’s identity, then all of the transactions on that account can also be linked to that person.

To help solve this problem, PIVX has implemented a highly-vetted protocol called Zerocoin which enables each transaction to be private by unlinking transactions with the use of its new second tier coin called zPIV. This revolutionary protocol makes PIVX one of the most up to date and technically advanced cryptocurrency on the market.

PIVX’s aim is to have the best technology built into a coin that maintains the ideals that Bitcoin founder, Satoshi, originally had in mind. Simply put, the goal is to put the people in power of their money so they can manage and possess their own funds.

PIVX has become a strong contender in the cryptocurrency ecosystem maintaining a spot in the top 30 of the list of cryptocurrencies based on market capitalization. The first privacy-based proof of stake currency is used in over 174 countries, with approximately 9000 members in it’s community communication portal, and a website translated into over 20 languages currently.

ABOUT PIVX: PIVX is a community-centric cryptocurrency with a focus on decentralization, privacy, and real-world use. It utilizes an energy efficient Proof of Stake protocol and a second-tier Masternode network for inclusive community-based governance along with a blockchain based self-funding treasury system ensuring its sustainability. PIVX is continuously striving to achieve a better governance system, instantaneous private transactions, and fungibility in order to remain next generation cryptocurrency.

This is a sponsored press release and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views held by any employees of The Merkle. This is not investment, trading, or gambling advice. Always conduct your own independent research.

New price overview is served.

Futures contracts have always been quite appealing to speculators and market makers. This is especially true in the world of Bitcoin, as many people would like to be exposed to the price without needing to buy BTC itself, which is still pretty cumbersome for most people. Nasdaq is getting in on the Bitcoin futures action, as its new contracts will launch in 2018.

Nasdaq is pro-Bitcoin

No one is really surprised to see Nasdaq going all-in on Bitcoin trading these days. The company has been open-minded when it comes to cryptocurrencies for several years now. Moreover, it has some of the more traditional investment vehicles linked to Bitcoin on its Nordic exchange as well. Adding Bitcoin futures contracts to the main exchange platform makes a lot of sense, especially given the current interest in the world’s leading cryptocurrency.

According to Reuters, Nasdaq will offer its Bitcoin futures contracts at some point in 2018. This news comes at an interesting time for Bitcoin, as the currency recently surpassed the US$10,000 mark for the first time in its history. A lot of price volatility ensued shortly afterward, but that is exactly what investors want to get exposed to. Betting on the price of Bitcoin is still a gamble, but it is a more approachable proposition than buying Bitcoin directly.

Moreover, Nasdaq is joining a growing list of “financial bastions” finally getting with the Bitcoin program. CBOE Holdings and CME Group have also announced their Bitcoin futures products, which are all set to launch in the next few weeks. This industry will see a lot of competing providers in short order, which can only be considered a good thing. At the same time, this may result in even more Bitcoin price volatility, although it remains to be seen how that will play out exactly.

This service was made possible in part by Nasdaq’s partnership with VanEck. This New York-based money manager will help develop the Bitcoin futures contracts, which in turn will be cleared by the Options Clearing Corporation. This is the same company handling all of Nasdaq’s futures contracts, mind you, and it is good to see them getting on board with Bitcoin. For now, it is unclear when this new product will come to market exactly.

The name VanEck was mentioned in relation to Bitcoin earlier this year. After filing for a Bitcoin ETF with the SEC, the company was forced to withdraw its application. It is evident the SEC has no intention of approving such a Bitcoin ETF anytime soon unless something changes in the regulatory department. However, once the Bitcoin futures contracts become available, things may change in this regard.

One thing that will set Nasdaq’s product apart from the competition is that it will use a lot more Bitcoin price sources. More specifically, these contracts will take the average price based on 50 different exchanges all over the world. How this will work out compared to the products from CME and CBOE Holdings remains to be determined. It is important to give investors the correct information associated with this trading vehicle.

The wait is over for regulated bitcoin futures contracts in the U.S., and prices are rising strongly on the news.

The largest options exchange worldwide, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group (CME), has announced its official Bitcoin futures contracts will launch on Monday, December 18, 2017.

Also read: Nasdaq to Debut Bitcoin Futures by Mid 2018

CME Group Is Pleased to Bring Bitcoin Futures to the Market on December 18

On November 20 the firm CME Group published an error on the company’s bitcoin futures web page stating that its new bitcoin derivatives products would launch on December 10. Later that day, the company announced it was a mistake, and that the date was incorrect. Now on December 1, the exchange has announced its bitcoin-based self-certified initial listings will be available on December 18. Terry Duffy, CME Group’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer explains;   

We are pleased to bring Bitcoin futures to the market after working closely with the CFTC and market participants to design a regulated offering that will provide investors with transparency, price discovery, and risk transfer capabilities.

A Continued Collaboration With U.S. Regulators and  Reputable Cryptocurrency Trading Platforms

CME Group’s bitcoin futures products will be available for trade on the CME Globex electronic trading platform. Alongside this, the futures have been submitted for the CME Clearport on Sunday, December 17 and trading will begin the following day. The bitcoin futures provided by CME will be cash-settled by referencing the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate (BRR). The rate is based on a daily rate utilizing the USD price of bitcoin across multiple spot exchanges.     

“Though we have worked through a lengthy, comprehensive process with the CFTC to get to this point, we recognize bitcoin is a new, uncharted market that will continue to evolve, requiring continued collaboration with the Commission and our clients going forward,” CME’s CEO details.

At launch, our new Bitcoin futures contract will be subject to a variety of risk management tools, including an initial margin of 35 percent, position and intraday price limits, and a number of other risk and credit controls that CME Group offers on all of its products.

The options exchange has been calculating and publishing the BRR with the help of Crypto Facilities Ltd. The calculation window for the aggregated trade flow ends at 4:00 pm London time. Further, CME details the BRR utilizes the “IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks,” alongside leveraging well-known cryptocurrency exchange spot prices from Kraken, Itbit, GDAX, and Bitstamp. The news also follows JP Morgan and Nasdaq revealing they plan to offer bitcoin futures contracts as well. 

What do you think about CME Group launching it’s bitcoin futures on December 18? Let us know in the comments below.

Images via Shutterstock, Pixabay, and CME Group. 

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The post It’s Official – CME Group to Launch Bitcoin Futures December 18 appeared first on Bitcoin News.

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U.S. derivatives giant CME Group will launch bitcoin derivatives trading on December 18 following approval from regulators.

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