Here’s what happened this week in Bitcoin in 99 seconds.
LocalBitcoins users, be aware of a recent phishing attack. Users of the LocalBitcoins forum were redirected to a phishing site, which harvested their login details to steal deposits. The forum is currently disabled, as were withdrawals. LocalBitcoins users are urged to check out the service’s sub-Reddit for further information.
Executives of South Korea’s Komid exchange were jailed for faking trading volume. Dishonest exchanges fake volume to mislead users regarding the popularity of their exchange and coins, which is a longstanding problem in crypto trading.
The proposed Bitcoin ETF was withdrawn from the SEC’s consideration by the exchange behind it. The reason for the withdrawal is unclear, although some suggest that the recent US government shutdown would have resulted in an automatic denial. The failure of the ETF proposal is unfortunate, as a survey of American investors discovered that 58% would prefer to invest in Bitcoin via an ETF.
Details emerged of a new partnership between Bitcoin exchange, BitStamp, and Dukascopy, a large online Swiss bank. The banks clients will be able to send and store BTC via the bank, as well as convert their coins to fiat Dollars. Another Swiss bank, Falcon, also revealed that it will provide transfer and storage wallets for four major cryptos.
Finally, Switzerland’s “Crypto Valley” in Zug is currently home to over 750 blockchain companies. This represents a 20% increase since the 3rd quarter of 2018.
That’s what happened this week in Bitcoin. See you next week.