In today’s edition of Bitcoin in Brief we cover a new mobile app from Poloniex, the addition of USD fiat at Cobinhood exchange and the expansion plans of Bitmain in Israel. We also report about a triad boss who claims to have raised $750 million in a recent ICO.
Also Read: This Week in Bitcoin: New Exchanges, Bancor Breach, Binance CEO vs Vitalik
Poloniex Goes Mobile
Circle Internet Financial Ltd., the Goldman Sachs-backed Boston-headquartered company that acquired Poloniex earlier this year, has announced the launch of an official app for the exchange. The team behind the venue wrote on their blog: “In our effort to deliver the best possible experience across all platforms, we’ve acquired the best-in-class Poloniex app for iOS and Android! This app will now be the only officially supported Poloniex app in the App Store and Play Store.” They added that : “We have big plans for this app – next up is better mobile verification!”
Cobinhood Adds USD Fiat
Taiwan-based cryptocurrency service platform Cobinhood has announced the launch of fiat trading. This means that fiat can be converted through the exchange into cryptocurrencies, and vice versa. U.S. dollar deposits will be accepted from July 20th. The company needed to comply with KYC Level 3 in order to operate in a stringent regulatory environment and partnered with Epay for a solution.
“In several instances, the market is not reflecting tremendous progress being made at cryptocurrencies worldwide,” states Popo Chen, founder of Cobinhood. “Traders know there are opportunities abound for value, so it’s a very synergistic time to debut fiat trading on the Cobinhood platform. There’s no doubt in my mind that many value investors were waiting on the sidelines until prices rationalized, and so the near term promises to be an exciting time for exchanges that can offer the liquidity fiat options provide.”
Bitmain Expands R&D in Israel
Bitmain Technologies Ltd., the Beijing-headquartered bitcoin mining machines (ASIC chips) producer recently valued at $12 billion, plans to seriously expand its research and development center in Israel soon. The company told local newspaper Globes that in the near future it is expected to triple its workforce in the country. Bitmain explained that it would recruit more than 40 researchers, programmers, engineers and marketing personnel to its development center in Ra’anana, which is managed by VP Gadi Glikberg, to be added to the 15 employees there today.
Glikberg commented: “Bitmain had huge momentum in the past year as a result of the ever growing adoption of blockchain technology in general and digital coins in particular. The world is indeed in a relative calm from the great hype of December 2017, but for the big companies in the field it is a golden opportunity to design, build and grow, and Bitmain recognizes the potential of the Israeli knowledge and abilities to contribute to the company’s global efforts.” The roles that the company seeks to fill in Israel include, among others, blockchain researchers, senior security and software engineers, marketing people, Python and Javascript programmers and QA software testers.
$750 Million Triad Linked ICO?
According to reports from China, the famous Macau triad boss “Broken Tooth” Wan Kuok-koi has partnered with a Beijing company, which might be backed by the government, to promote chess and poker tournaments in the country. And the company, World Hung Mun Investment, claims that it raised $750 million in less than five minutes in an initial coin offering for its HB token. Wan launched the ICO at an event in Cambodia said to be attended by high-ranking government and military officials, businessmen and Chinese celebrities. The triad boss was previously linked by the New York Times to Dragon Coin, the casino gamblers’ ICO token, and claimed to open a blockchain powered Chinese culture center in Cambodia.
What do you think about today’s news tidbits? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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