Poker Sites Purchasing High BTC

Poker Site Buys $100 Million of Bitcoin Every Month to Pay Players in BTC

A major online poker website has been buying millions of dollars of bitcoin every day to meet demand from players wanting to cash out in bitcoin. This amounts to $100 million in bitcoin a month as about 95% of players now demand payouts in the cryptocurrency.

Poker Site Buys $100 Million of Bitcoin

Demand for bitcoin payouts has been rising, particularly after the recent price rally. One of the largest online poker websites, Winning Poker Network (WPN), has been buying millions of dollars worth of bitcoin in recent weeks from OTC desks to meet players’ cashout demand, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing WPN CEO Phil Nagy.

Nagy explained that bitcoin is in so much demand that brokers are charging up to a 1.5% premium. He clarified that Winning Poker Network (WPN) does not hold onto bitcoin, adding that the cryptocurrency is converted into fiat currency as soon as possible.

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/poker-site-buys-100-million-bitcoin-pay-btc/#:~:text=A%20major%20online%20poker%20website,demand%20payouts%20in%20the%20cryptocurrency.

* This article was originally published here

Limited Edition Watch Launch - Free the Money, Free the World by Franck Muller and Bitcoin

Bitcoin.com Announces Partnership With Luxury Watchmaker Franck Muller

Bitcoin, announced the launch of a new Franck Muller luxury watch called “Free the Money, Free the World.”

The watch is the first ever Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Franck Muller “Encrypto” brand timepiece. The new watch is a limited edition BCH wristwatch that will sell for 9,900 EUR per timepiece and only 500 pieces will be made available.

The “Free the Money, Free the World” Franck Muller luxury watch was designed by Tyler Gallagher of Regal Assets and the cofounder of Bitcoin.com Mate Tokay. During the launch event, Gallagher said that he was thrilled to collaborate with the Bitcoin.com team.

“This has been an exciting project and it is beyond an honor to work with Bitcoin.com, Mate Tokay, and Roger Ver on this. Let’s free the world together,” Gallagher said.

Franck Muller watches are extremely popular and well-known celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Swae Lee, Kanye West, and David Beckham have been seen wearing the fine timepieces.

The Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Franck Muller luxury watch comes with a two-piece “Deep Cold Storage” set that allows the owner to store bitcoins within the public address etched on the dial. The 41mm black and green wristwatch is characterized by timeless arrangements and uniquely complicated watch machinery.

During the limited edition watch release announcement, Mate Tokay said he was excited to see the response toward this clever and gorgeous design.

“It has been an amazing experience to work with the Franck Muller team to design the world’s first Bitcoin Cash watch,” Mate Tokay said. “As a watch enthusiast, this challenge meant a lot to me. I truly believe that we have created a one of a kind watch, and I am flattered to say that the feedback has been great so far.”

Since the limited edition launch, celebrities such as rapper Young Thug, Youtube star and gamer Faze Banks, American singer-songwriter Kaash Paige, rapper and songwriter Cardi B, American singer and rapper Swae Lee, American model and social media star Jordyn Woods, and the hip-hop star Gunna have been seen wearing the watch.

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/bitcoin-com-announces-partnership-with-luxury-watchmaker-franck-muller/

* This article was originally published here

Asset Manager Vaneck Launches physically-backed Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Note

On November 25, the asset manager Vaneck announced the launch of an exchange-traded product (ETP) called the “Vaneck Vector Bitcoin ETN.” The exchange-traded note is physically-backed by bitcoin and listed on the trading exchange Deutsche Böerse Xetra. The newly listed Vaneck bitcoin ETN provides investors with the opportunity to buy and sell the ETN, and participate directly in the performance of bitcoin without actually purchasing the crypto asset.

There’s a new bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded note available on the exchange Deutsche Böerse Xetra, a marketplace for the trading of shares and other securities. The novel ETN is issued by the asset manager Vaneck, an investment management firm with an estimated U.S. $49 billion assets under management (AUM). On Twitter, the digital asset strategist and director at Vaneck/MVIS, Gabor Gurbacs announced the new bitcoin ETN on Wednesday.

“Today Vaneck launched a bitcoin ETN,” Gurbacs tweeted. “The ETN is physically-backed by bitcoin and listed on Deutsche Böerse Xetra. Launching a bitcoin ETP was a top priority for Vaneck. We succeeded. Vaneck hopes to serve many in Europe and Asia,” the strategist added.

According to the announcement, the performance of the Vaneck physically-backed bitcoin ETN will be recorded by leveraging the MVIS Cryptocompare Bitcoin VWAP Close Index.

“Our bitcoin ETN is fully collateralized. This means that the money invested in the ETN is actually used to buy bitcoin,” Dominik Poiger, Product Manager at Vaneck explained during the launch announcement. “In this way, each ETN represents a certain amount of bitcoin,” Poiger added. Vaneck has also disclosed that the asset manager has partnered with Bank Frick, a crypto custodian regulated in Liechtenstein.

All of the bitcoin held custodially for the Vaneck Vector Bitcoin ETN will be held in cold storage the company notes. Bank Frick has dedicated time to the integration of cryptocurrencies into the regulated banking environment, the firm’s executive Raphael Haldner detailed.

“Thanks to our early market entry, we can demonstrate established and secure processes and extensive expertise,” the Head of Fund and Capital Markets at Bank Frick, Haldner said. “All participants can – at all times – verify the existence of the collateral,” Vaneck Vector Bitcoin ETN web portal also discloses.

Vaneck’s announcement explains that it is easy to purchase and store the new bitcoin ETN and its “uncomplicated as trading in shares or ETFs.” This is in contrast to creating a wallet and learning the step-by-step process of how to securely store digital assets in a noncustodial fashion.

“With our Vaneck Vectors Bitcoin ETN, we offer a product that allows investors to benefit from the performance of bitcoin,” Martijn Rozemuller, Head of Europe at Vaneck stressed. “Bitcoin’s low correlation to other asset classes makes it an excellent way to contribute to the diversification of a portfolio.”

source: https://news.bitcoin.com/asset-manager-vaneck-launches-physically-backed-bitcoin-exchange-traded-note/

* This article was originally published here

SEC Chairman Jay Clayton Explains US Crypto Regulation, Calls Bitcoin a Store of Value

SEC Chairman Jay Clayton Explains US Crypto Regulation, Calls Bitcoin a Store of Value

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) has explained how the U.S. government is regulating cryptocurrency. He calls bitcoin a store of value, noting that its rise is driven by the inefficiencies of the current payment system.

How Bitcoin Is Regulated in the US

SEC Chairman Jay Clayton explained how the U.S. government is regulating bitcoin during an interview with CNBC Squawk Box on Thursday.

He began by responding to a comment made by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon regarding bitcoin regulation. Dimon said that he was not a supporter of bitcoin because in his experience, the government “can regulate whatever they want when they feel like it.” Given the current bitcoin market capitalization of about $340 billion, Dimon asserted that “If it gets bigger and bigger and bigger, it will be regulated.”

Clayton described that at the SEC:

We determined that bitcoin was not a security, it was much more a payment mechanism and store of value. “We did not regulate bitcoin as a security,” the SEC chairman affirmed. He added that during the initial coin offering (ICO) craze, “people were using ICOs and essentially making public offerings of securities without registering them with the SEC,” reiterating that “When people use crypto assets as securities to raise capital for a venture, the SEC regulates that.”

Regarding bitcoin as a payment mechanism, the chairman emphasized:

The government does regulate payments and what we are seeing is that our current payment mechanisms, domestically and internationally, have inefficiencies, those inefficiencies are the things that are driving the rise of bitcoin.

“We are going to see more of that … we are going to see this mature and we are going to see more regulation around the payment space,” the SEC chairman noted

Clayton confirmed on Nov. 16 his plans to conclude his tenure at the end of the year after serving for more than three and a half years at the SEC. “Chairman Clayton was sworn in on May 4, 2017, and will leave the SEC as one of its longest-serving chairs,” the SEC wrote.

* This article was originally published here

XRP Price Climbed 123% in 30 Days, Spark Token Airdrop Pushes Value Higher

At the time of publication, XRP is currently swapping for $0.677 per coin as it gained more than 25% during the early morning (ET) trading sessions on Tuesday. The coin holds the third-largest market valuation today with a current liquid market cap at around $22.55 billion.

The market cap gives the XRP token a 4.02% dominance index rating out of the value from all the crypto assets in existence today ($563.91B). The XRP token price has more than quadrupled during the course of the year.

There is currently a supply of 45,348,221,180 XRP in circulation today and there’s been around $11 billion in reported XRP trade volume during the last 24 hours.

XRP Price Climbed 123% in 30 Days, Spark Token Airdrop Pushes Value Higher

XRP/USD prices recorded for this article were logged on November 24, 2020.

One of the primary reasons for XRP’s current spike stems from the project the Flare Network, which plans to airdrop tokens to XRP owners. This means more than 45 billion “spark” tokens will be given to XRP holders who are holding anytime before December 12, 2020.

XRP is seeing a majority of trades on Finance, Upbit, Huobi Global, and Coinbase Pro. XRP still has a ways to go to catch up to the digital asset’s all-time high recorded on January 3, 2018, at $3.30 per XRP. Many bitcoin and cryptocurrency advocates dislike XRP and consider the project a very centralized operation no different than traditional databases.

Despite this criticism, XRP fans think the token will continue to rise because the project is bank-friendly and claims to be working with over 350 financial institutions. Unlike bitcoin (BTC), the distributed ledger’s consensus is managed by XRP’s independent servers.

On November 23, XRP settled over 981,000 transactions in 24 hours which is well above (180% larger) BTC’s 350,000 average transactions per day. While confirmation times for BTC can be over 10 minutes or hours depending on the mempool backlog, XRP transactions settle in five seconds.

Even though a few of these benefits are appealing to some users, bitcoiners detest XRP for creating 100 billion tokens at launch. Lots of crypto advocates think XRP goes against the very nature of decentralized cryptocurrencies and many users won’t go near the token.

Meanwhile, the fork of XRP, stellar XLM has also seen massive gains this week as well climbing 54% in value during the last 24 hours. XLM which was created by one of XRP’s co-founders Jed McCaleb has spiked over 93% this week, and 103% during the last 30 days.

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/xrp-price-climbed-123-in-30-days-spark-airdrop-pushes-value-higher/

* This article was originally published here

PayPal Restricts the account showcasing frequent transactions of Cryptocurrency

A PayPal user reports their account has been restricted after they traded crypto too frequently using the platform.

According to U.S.-based Reddit user TheCoolDoc, PayPal sent them a message stating that it had permanently limited their account “due to potential risk.” The user said they had made at least 10 crypto transactions within a week, purchasing during dips and selling when the price was high, and PayPal had asked for an explanation for each transaction.

“The system flagged my account thinking I was selling items worth $10,000 in one week when I hadn't done so in the last 6 years I've held a PayPal account,” the user said. “I submitted the stuff for review with my photo ID and wrote ‘PayPal Crypto’ for each crypto transaction because what else could I say?”

In a matter of hours, PayPal reportedly sent a message stating that the user would “not be able to conduct any further business” using the platform. The user stated that the remaining funds in the account — $462 — were placed on a 180-day hold, but they have since used other means to withdraw them.

The platform imposed a $10,000 limit — recently changed to $20,000 — for crypto purchases made within a week for U.S. customers, a limit the Reddit user denies exceeding.

“I genuinely 100% know I did nothing wrong and it’s a misunderstanding because they think I made 50+ buy/sell transactions in a span of 1 week of items when it’s just crypto,” said TheCoolDoc.

PayPal announced on Nov. 12 that it would begin allowing eligible users in the United States to use cryptocurrencies for trading and payments. Reddit user Cryptix001 also reported problems with the platform handling crypto transactions:

The platform’s policy states that it charges no transaction fees for users buying or selling crypto until 2021, and there are no fees for holding crypto. Reddit user bittabet suggested a partial explanation for PayPal’s actions could be that it loses money with users conducting high-volume trades.

“PayPal isn’t a crypto exchange, their service is meant for people to hold Bitcoin with and then spend it at their merchants when they turn on that ability,” the Reddit user stated. “If you go and trade constantly they lose a ton of money covering those fees since they’re not charging any fees right now. Their service is supposed to be more like a Bitcoin bank account, not a trading account.”

Even if the platform removed the restrictions from their account, TheCoolDoc said they would “never buy a Satoshi of crypto” from PayPal again.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/paypal-suspends-user-for-crypto-trading-using-paypal-s-own-service

 

* This article was originally published here

Decresed price of Bitcoin

Despite Bitcoin’s surge to re-test its 2017 highs, a combination of low on-chain transactions and diminished retail speculation has seen transaction fees remain low.

 

The current fees of around $3.50 per transaction starkly contrast with three years ago, when the fees incurred to send any amount of BTC briefly spiked above $50. But average transaction values are currently approaching $200,000 suggesting the current rally has not been accompanied by the same retail trading frenzy that drove prices toward $20,000 in 2017.

 

Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin doesn’t believe Bitcoin’s current low fees will last. In a Twitter thread the Ethereum co-founder suggested that an inevitable increase in transaction fees will push out the majority of users:

Why do Bitcoin's unique features matter given that any wide adoption scenario will lead to base chain fees pricing out most of those users and it's proving hard to extend those features to the L2s intended to circumvent those limitations?

However, the data does not suggest high fees are likely in the current environment. To understand what is happening in the background, it is important to look at the number of transactions being processed, the value of these transactions, and how much BTC is being held long term.

Bitcoin’s memory pool, similar to a waiting room for transactions, shows the current number of daily unconfirmed transactions at 38,900 — only around 20% of the 2017 figures.

It is worth noting that not only are the number of transactions significantly less than during the previous bull market but this time around, there has been no increase in response to the price surge. In fact, the seven-day moving average shows an overall decline since the start of 2019.

In October the average Bitcoin transaction surpassed the 2017 high of $150,000. Ten days ago the average was above $190,000, suggesting that although the number of transactions has decreased, those that are still transacting are wealthier individuals or organizations. 

Bitcoin users are also holding their coins rather than transacting with them this time around. The number of Bitcoin held on exchanges has been dropping fast. Data from analytics platform Glassnode Studio shows the year-to-date change is down 18% as of Nov. 21.

Chainalysis suggested that the number of Bitcoin available for buyers could be as little as 3.4 million with the rest of the supply being held by long-term investors.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-fees-remain-low-despite-price-surge-but-vitalik-says-they-could-soar

* This article was originally published here

Cryptowisser has announced new Comparision Tool.

crypto service comparison site, Cryptowisser has now released its revolutionary Comparision tool which helps you compare cryptocurrency exchanges against each other in an instant. Comparing cryptocurrency exchanges has – up until now – been very difficult to do.

To use the VS comparison tool, you simply input the exchanges you want to compare, and you are then presented with a comparison table, showing the following features of each exchange you want to compare:

• User scores
• Trading fees
• Withdrawal fees
• Deposit methods
• Number of supported cryptos,
• Whether US-investors are allowed
• Whether the exchange offers derivatives trading
• Years of operation

All of the information is updated on a monthly basis.

For example, if you would compare the contracts trading platforms PrimeXBT and Bexplus, you would see that it is showing that they are quite similar to each other in terms of deposit methods and offers, but that PrimeXBT has lower trading fees and a higher user score on Cryptowisser.

There is no similar tool on the market today, and the release of this tool is another step taken by cryptowisser.com in its ambition to make the crypto space easier to access and navigate.

The market of cryptocurrency exchanges is becoming more transparent with each passing day. Historically, however, it has been very difficult to understand the offering, fee levels, and customer satisfaction scores of each different crypto exchange, but that information is now becoming more easily available. Something which Cryptowisser decided to build on and incorporate in the above mentioned VS-tool, to facilitate even more for all interested crypto investors.

Cryptowisser already operates the world’s largest list of Cryptocurrency exchange. Their focus is on providing up to date and accurate information as well as educational content for crypto users to make purchasing decisions and service choices. In line with that ambition, they have written 1,000+ reviews of the various exchanges, debit cards, wallets, and merchants that they feature on their site (more than any other site in the world).

Source:https://news.bitcoin.com/cryptowisser-announces-most-comprehensive-exchange-comparison-tool-on-the-market/

* This article was originally published here

Strong winds Indianapolis took away the houses

 Very strong winds have developed in between a departing low-pressure system and high-pressure building west of central Indianapolis. Many locations have reported 40-50 mph wind gusts already today with the highest so far in Muncie (Ball State campus) at 64 mph and Fortville at 56 mph.

Impact of Wind Outrage

The Wind Advisory remains in effect for all of Indiana through 7 p.m. for the 40-50 mph gusts. 

The primary threats will be power outages, as we've had thousands of customers reported this morning, as well as downed trees, limbs, utility lines, and very difficult travel, especially on north/south-oriented roads since the wind is coming from the west.

More than 12,200 Duke Energy and IPL customers were still without power Sunday morning after Saturday storms that hit much of the state.

IPL was reporting 3,484 outages, mostly near downtown and on the north side. Duke was reporting 8,804 customers without power statewide, including 481 in Hamilton County.

Updates of Wind Advisory

Sunday's forecast calls for a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms in Indianapolis, mainly after 1 p.m. Expect partly sunny skies with a high near 84 degrees.

The chance of raindrops to 10% Sunday night. They should be mostly clear skies with a low around 64 degrees.

About 18,000 customers remain without power as Duke and IPL work to restore outages following a stormy afternoon and evening across Central Indiana.

There is a 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms overnight with a quarter to half-inch of rain possible.

A storm coming from the northwest may hit Indianapolis after midnight, National Weather Service meteorologist Tara Dudzik said.

Dudzik said the storm may be similar to what came through earlier Saturday, with winds up to about 60 mph and possibly more hail.

“The hail threat isn’t as high, but you can’t completely rule it out either," Dudzik said.

Warnings expire

All severe storm warnings expired for Marion and surrounding counties as of 6 p.m.

The storm that swept through Indianapolis around 5 p.m. brought hail and high winds that downed trees.

About 26,000 customers are experiencing power outages.

Source: https://www.wthr.com/article/weather/weather-blog/live-doppler-13-weather-blog-damaging-wind-threat-sunday/531-8c5ddb4a-da51-4588-bcb7-8e91e70de361

https://www.indystar.com/story/weather/indianapolis/2020/07/11/indianapolis-weather-storms-heavy-rainfall-possible-weekend/5419748002/

Limiting purchase on paper towels, toilet paper to prevent hoarding

 

Anti hoarding Policies 

Toilet paper was one of the most hoarded items at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a third wave of coronavirus hits, some grocery chains have begun to bring anti-hoarding policies similar to those in place over the spring. 

As a third wave of coronavirus hits, some grocery chains have begun to bring anti-hoarding policies similar to those in place over the spring.

Kroger confirmed to the outlet that it had temporarily set a two-per-customer limit on "certain products, including bath tissue, paper towels, disinfecting wipes, and hand soap." 

Similarly, H-E-B has limited toilet paper and paper towel purchases in certain locations, as well as brisket, disinfecting wipes and sprays, hydrogen peroxide, and rubbing alcohol at all stores.

Kroger said it is limiting the amount of toilet paper and paper towels people can buy in its stores.

People will be allowed a maximum purchase of toilet paper is 2 packets and paper towels.

A spokesperson said the company noticed some people were hoarding the paper products and it wants to make sure everyone has a chance to buy them.

There is no word on how long the limit will stay in effect.

The company said there is no shortage of any product.

Costco and Walmart still haven't announced new limitation policies, but the big box retailers could make similar moves if the third wave proves to be disruptive. 

Source: https://www.eatthis.com/grocery-chains-limit-toilet-paper-purchases/