1. Tech Giant, Samsung has Quietly been making Moves in the Crypto Space
Samsung has quietly been pushing the adoption of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Technology to people’s doorstep. All these have been happening while crypto investors and traders have been focusing on trading volumes, the crackdown on Bitcoin by Trump administration, Bitcoin halving and other events in the crypto space.
Samsung, which sold about 300 million smartphones in 2019, recently launched its new galaxy smartphones - the Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra. These new series improve on the Galaxy S10 built-in crypto wallet.
The S20 series features a secured processor that protects users Passwords, Blockchain Private Key, Pattern and PIN. In addition to the Knox platform, every part of the phone both software and hardware is secure. This ensures that private data remains private.
Evaluation: Good
Source: Coindesk
2. Coinbase Joins Visa to Extend Coinbase Cards to More Countries
Coinbase has become the first crypto platform to become a Visa Principal affiliate. As a result, Coinbase can now provide its Coinbase cards to users not only in the UK but also in Europe and several other countries.
In April 2019, Coinbase issued its first crypto cards to the residents of the UK. These cards powered by Visa can be used on any platform, ATM or POS that accepts Visa cards. Users don’t need to manually withdraw funds.
These Coinbase cards now include BAT and XRP. Several other crypto companies have since joined the bandwagon. Spend, BitPay, 2gether, Crypto.com also provide Visa-powered cards to their customers. Some other companies like Nexo and Bitwala have however decided to go with Visa’s major rival, Mastercard.
Evaluation: Good
Source: Cryptobriefing
3. Binance Stops all Trading Activities due to Unexpected Technical Problem
Binance, one of the major crypto exchanges in the world has experienced an unexpected technical problem in its infrastructure. Due to this, it has stopped all trading and other activities on its platform as of the 19th of February.
However, this Technical issue doesn’t affect its partner exchanges like the binance.us. CEO of Binance, ChangPeng Zhao popularly known as CZ in a tweet reassured users that there was no loss of data or funds and that trading will continue very soon. He also vowed to waive margin interest for today, 20th of February in a bid to compensate users.
Evaluation: Bad
Source: Cointelegraph
4. Israel’s Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit says Banks Should not Deny Crypto Companies of Financial Services
The attorney general of Israel spoke in Tel Aviv District Court about banks not providing their services to crypto companies. Instead of doing that, they should diligently monitor every case to check for money laundering and other illegal financial activities.
Mandelblit taking this stance was as a result of freezing of customers’ accounts by several Israeli banks because these customers dealt in cryptocurrency. The crypto investors could not pay their taxes since their payments were not accepted by these banks.
Despite this action taken by the Banks in Israel, the Israeli government has been planning on taking steps towards the adoption of Blockchain Technology in the country. Just recently, an appeal was issued by the Securities Authorities of Israel to find out which regulations preventing the development of Blockchain ventures in Israel.
Evaluation: Good
Source: Cointelegraph
5. The Central Bank of Russia Labels Cryptocurrency Transactions as ‘Suspicious Activity’ But Still Proposes a New Framework for Tokenization
The central bank of Russia has created a platform to enable users to tokenize assets such as equities. These assets can then be issued to investors. The CBR plans to use this framework in the upcoming crypto law to serve as a guide for legit businesses planning to tokenize assets.
At the same time, for the first time in 8 years, the CBR plans on modifying bank regulations on what can be classified as criminal actions. According to the Russia Broadcasting Corporation, the new regulation might consider the buying and selling of crypto as suspicious actions. If this happens, banks would be given the authority to block crypto transactions and close accounts of crypto traders.
Evaluation: Bad
Source: Coindesk
