Bitcoin reacted to the US airstrike in Iran by rising dramatically. Gold, the traditional safe-haven asset, also rose similarly over the same period as the threat of war loomed, raising the interesting prospect of whether Bitcoin is acting as a hedge against geopolitical risk.
Two major Japanese corporations, GMO and SBI are to establish a huge mining facility in Texas. 300 megawatts capacity is planned, rising to 1 gigawatt by year-end, which is three times bigger than Bitmain’s facility in the same state. Both GMO and SBI are involved in other major crypto ventures.
Dutch crypto derivatives exchange, Deribit, is changing ownership, moving from a Dutch company to a wholly-owned Panamanian subsidiary. The move comes in response to new EU AML regulations, which the Netherlands has adopted in stringent form.
The Cobinhood exchange is shutting down for an audit. The exchange, which also runs the COB exchange token, claims that it will reopen on the 10th of February. Users are warned against depositing any coins in the meantime. Some in the community are concerned by the news, suggesting that the exchange might be pulling an exit scam.
Major French video game company, Ubisoft intends to incubate blockchain-based game startups. Between May and November of this year, the company will be focusing its Entrepeneur’s Lab on blockchain-based and social gaming. Developers from all over the world may apply to the program.
Before we conclude, this week’s “Bitcoin quick question” is why does my Bitcoin address keep changing in my wallet? Well, since all Bitcoin transactions are easily visible on the blockchain, it’s considered best practice to use a different address each time you receive Bitcoins. While it’s possible to use the same address each time you receive funds, doing so makes it easy for anyone to track your entire payment history by analyzing that one address. Today many wallets will automatically present you with a new address when you’re expecting payment. This way your coins are spread around multiple, seemingly unrelated addresses, making it much harder to track your financial activity.
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That’s what’s happened this week in Bitcoin. See you next week.