Here’s what happened this week in Bitcoin in 99 seconds.
Major US exchange, Kraken, reported that it’s raised $100 million in investment from its own “whale” clients. The exchange also disclosed the acquisition of Crypto Facilities, a UK firm focused on derivatives. This news suggests that crypto futures will be coming to Kraken.
Blockstream revealed their new Proof of Reserves tool. The tool provides a safe and standardized way for crypto exchanges and services to prove the existence of their Bitcoin reserves.
An Iranian company, with backing from four banks, has released a crypto, known as PayMon, which is backed by gold. The over-the-counter exchange in Iran is also set to join in hosting the new currency.
Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, tweeted regarding his receipt of the so-called Lightning Torch. The Torch is a series of Bitcoin Lightning Network payments of increasing value between named individuals. Dorsey passed the torch to Lightning Labs CEO, Elizabeth Stark.
Argentinians can now fund their public transport cards by using Bitcoin. This service is available at 37 locations across the country. Prior to the addition of bitcoin payments, the service only accepted PayPal.
And finally, LocalBitcoins stated that it will comply with the upcoming EU’s AML and KYC regulations. Stricter user verification procedures are expected to be announced in March.
That’s what happened this week in Bitcoin. See you next week.