Bitcoin Wallet news-Page 8
Ledger data leak: A ‘simple mistake’ exposed 270K crypto wallet buyers
The hacker likely responsible for Ledger’s security breach in July recently dumped a large amount of data exposing the personal information of over 270,000 customers, including phone numbers and physical addresses. The leak also included 1 million emails of Ledger wallet owners and customers that were signed up to the company’s newsletter service. Amid the furor caused by the incident, Ledger says its focus is on improving its security infrastructure rather than reimbursing users for any losses that may occur. Meanwhile, some affected customers are reportedly considering taking legal action against the company in the form of a class-action lawsuit. …
Bitcoin / Dec. 24, 2020
It's here: Treasury proposes rule to monitor crypto going to self-hosted wallets
The Treasury has released its long-awaited proposal to restrict money services businesses, including U.S.-registered crypto exchanges, from dealing with self-hosted wallets. In a Friday evening announcement, the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, announced proposed rules requiring registered crypto exchanges to verify the "identity of their customers, if a counterparty uses an unhosted or otherwise covered wallet and the transaction is greater than $3,000." The rule is currently just a proposal. The Treasury has given stakeholders 15 days to respond with comments. Rumors of the proposed rules have been circulating for the past month. With Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin …
Regulation / Dec. 18, 2020
US Senator-elect rails against potential crypto wallet ruling
As per recent rumors, United States Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, could drop a stringent piece of crypto-related legislation before his expected exit at 2020’s end. The ruling could potentially severely limit or ban self-custodied digital asset wallets — a key component of the entire industry. Cynthia Lummis, a U.S. Senator-elect hailing from the crypto-friendly state of Wyoming, finds the ruling harmful. “I spoke with Secretary Mnuchin last week and strongly pressed him for a better path forward,” Lummis said as part of a tweet thread on Friday, adding: “Congress is best placed to weigh the competing policy issues …
Regulation / Dec. 18, 2020
Millionaire Bitcoin addresses go parabolic as BTC price crosses $20K
Bitcoin’s (BTC) parabolic run has turned early miners into millionaires at a pace rarely seen before. Data from Glassnode shows that the number of Bitcoin addresses holding at least $1 million has skyrocketed to 66,540 this week — an increase of 150%. The rise of millionaire wallets is attributable to early miners retaining their Bitcoin over the years, culminating with the asset's latest surge above $20,000. As Glassnode tweeted on Thursday: “$BTC crossing $20k has turned all early miner addresses (50 BTC block rewards, unspent or lost) into millionaire addresses.” The tweet was accompanied by a chart showing the number …
Bitcoin / Dec. 17, 2020
Bitcoin smashes historical high above $20K — Here's why it's different from 2017
The Bitcoin (BTC) price surged to all-time highs on Wednesday, zipping past $20,000 in a show of bullish momentum for the flagship cryptocurrency. Although it’s easy to draw parallels between this year’s bull market and the speculative frenzy that drove the 2017 rally, the foundations underpinning Bitcoin are much stronger today than they were just a few years ago. Bitcoin-as-a-hedge While there are many metrics that could explain Bitcoin’s resurgence this year, it’s important to start from the very top. Unlike in 2017, investors today are accumulating Bitcoin with a clear purpose. The digital currency’s effectiveness as a hedge against …
Adoption / Dec. 16, 2020
Wallets with less than 1 BTC account for just 5% of Bitcoin’s market cap
New data suggests that “wholecoiners” — Bitcoin wallets holding 1 BTC or more — now account for 95% of the cryptocurrency’s entire capitalization. That leaves just 5% of the market cap divided among tens of millions of users with a balance below 1BTC. The total number of wholecoiner addresses has steadily increased year-over-year since 2009, despite BTC's astronomic price rallies. On Nov. 27, Glassnode CTO Rafael Shultze-Kraft tweeted a chart revealing that more than 800,000 addresses currently hold at least 1 BTC. The number of #Bitcoin "wholecoiner" addresses (holding ≥ 1 BTC) on this day every year Data: https://t.co/VJm4nRFKp8 pic.twitter.com/6VJff2vB3r …
Adoption / Nov. 27, 2020
Dutch Bitcoin firm reluctantly tightens rules at central bank’s behest
Bitconic, a Netherlands-based Bitcoin (BTC) exchange, has informed its users that they now need to comply with a new verification measure in order to continue to use its services. The change comes following new requirements from the Dutch central bank, published in November 2019, which stipulate: “Crypto service providers must check whether their clients and any ultimate beneficiary owners (UBOs) are on a Dutch or European sanctions list and report any hits to DNB. Risk-based checks are not permitted [...] compliance also entails that institutions must check incoming and outgoing payment transfers.” Bitonic has informed customers that they must now, …
Bitcoin / Nov. 18, 2020
Simple steps to keep your crypto safe
As the cryptocurrency market is in the midst of a major bull run with Bitcoin (BTC) approaching its all-time highs, the security concerns of cryptocurrency self-storage are becoming more relevant than ever. On Nov. 12, Bitcoin — the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap — surpassed a $16,000 threshold for the first time since the 2017 rally landing BTC price at an ATH of $20,000. After hitting $16,300, Bitcoin has only ever been above this price for 12 days in its entire history. As Bitcoin is now sitting at its highest historical levels and the crypto community is anticipating more …
Technology / Nov. 15, 2020
Number of Bitcoin wallets holding over 100 BTC tests 6-month high
According to analytics data provider Glassnode, 16,159 Bitcoin wallets now hold 100+ BTC. A report Monday from the company stated that this figure tests the previous six-month high of 16,158, last seen on June 8. Glassnode additionally shared that the number of non-zero Bitcoin addresses reached an all-time high of 31,913,3555 on Monday; approximately 5,000 of these were recorded within the past 24 hours. On Oct. 5, Cointelegraph reported that analyst and market cyclist Cole Garner had highlighted a two-year record increase in new BTC addresses within the first week of October. Using data from Glassnode, Garner determined that around …
Bitcoin / Oct. 19, 2020
Trezor claims new “phishing proof” desktop wallet
Crypto wallet provider Trezor has launched a new desktop app called Trezor Suite for its hardware wallet. According to an Oct. 14 blog post, Trezor's parent company Satoshi Labs claimed its desktop app provides “more robust protection” than its browser-based wallet, and said they have eliminated the risk of phishing attacks that often target crypto users. “People have the right to privacy and security online but few know how to achieve it,” stated the Trezor blog. “Using Trezor Suite should help everyone take full advantage of Bitcoin more easily and open the door to a more privacy-aware, crypto-competent, and self-sovereign …
Business / Oct. 14, 2020
New Bitcoin addresses hit two-year high after China advertises crypto
China may be behind a large spike in new Bitcoin (BTC) addresses as authorities launch a “targeted marketing campaign” — in favor of crypto. In a series of tweets on Oct. 5, analyst and market cyclist Cole Garner highlighted a two-year record increase in new BTC addresses last week. Using data from on-chain monitoring resource Glassnode, Garner noted that around 22,000 new Bitcoin “entities” appeared on one day alone. The normal level is between 5,000 and 10,000 per day. “New #bitcoin addresses were absolutely off the charts last week,” he summarized in comments. Garner was building on other recent insights …
Bitcoin / Oct. 6, 2020
No, a quantum computer won't instantly reward you with 69,000 Bitcoins ... yet
A Bitcoin wallet with nearly $700 million is up for grabs — but anyone intending to be a “crypto thief” and nab it will have to crack the password first. Crypto Twitter user Alon Gal has put out a call to his 29,900 followers for solutions on how to gain access to 69370.22 Bitcoin (BTC), worth roughly $695.4 million as of this writing. According to the Sept. 8 post from Gal, the wallet has been passed between hackers for the past two years without success at determining the password. Blockchain records show transactions associated with the wallet address began in …
Technology / Sept. 8, 2020