Decentralized Crypto Exchange AirSwap Launches OTC Market to ‘Unlock New World of Liquidity’

Decentralized exchange AirSwap is launching the framework for over-the-counter (OTC) trading product for mainnet rollout. In an update posted on its website, AirSwap said the new product would be available “exclusively to a private beta group.”

Founded in 2017, AirSwap became known for offering frictionless peer-to-peer trades for ERC20 tokens to a group of primarily retail investors. The new OTC block trading product will allow high net worth investors to trade any quantity of digital assets on the exchange.

Co-founder Don Mosites, while commenting on the development, said the new OTC tools would make trades more open and direct.

“It essentially allows your more flexibility on price and the ability to know your counterparty, assess with whom you’d like to do business more directly,” he said. “With the OTC tools, this unlocks a totally new world of liquidity. This is going to enable trades of any size to happen with the AirSwap network.”

Dan Mosites | Source: AirSwap | Photography by Lucas Hoeffel

For investors that currently use AirSwap, the new update is a step in the right direction. The AirSwap platform has always made it easy for users to purchase and sell off tokens but the addition of a chat feature in the new rollout will connect traders with buyers in a private conversation where they can have this type of interaction without broadcasting the terms of negotiation that could affect the market.

“We saw that around 40 percent of crypto volume worldwide was being traded OTC,” Mosites remarked, while explaining why the conversational trading was a priority for the company. AirSwap believes an opportunity exists in improving efficiency and the overall trading experience to make trades happen faster. The company plans to circumvent all the friction that goes into negotiating OTC trades with conversational trading built on Ethereum.

Due to the increase of institutional solutions to crypto investors, accredited investors and investment firms are more inclined to join the industry to grow their business.

The upgraded platform will also feature an identification system, to be managed by Wyre — a regulated money service business — which allows dealers and other institutional investors have access to regulations that secure their trading activities.

In addition to the OTC trading platform, AirSwap also launched requests for quotes (RFQs) for takers to reach an entire network of makers who have opted to receive RFQs for those assets.

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Bitcoin Cash Futures, Venture Funds, and Lawsuits: This Week in Crypto

Make sure you check out our previous edition here, now let’s go over what happened in crypto this week. Also, make sure you subscribe for this weeks edition of The CCN Podcast on iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Spotify, Soundcloud, Youtube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Price Watch:

• Bitcoin is up 0.82% to about $6,300 following a fall of 12% last week and 15% the week before that following a multi-week price drop. Analysts have cited the strong US Dollar as a reason for the recent drops. One thing more striking about bitcoin’s recent price movement is that the downward movements have been much less dramatic than the rest of the market. This could be, as Tom Lee would say, because “bitcoin is the best house in a tough neighborhood.” Others have continued to blame the SEC’s rejection of the Winklevoss’ second ETF. In any case, so far it’s clear that bitcoin has historically performed best in bear markets, surpassing gold in settlement volume despite its 70% price drop.
• Ethereum is down 11% to $287 following a fall of 24% last week and 14% the week before. Aside from arguments that explain the whole market’s downturn (e.g. strong US Dollar, ETF rejection, etc.), analysts believe ethereum, in particular, is falling because ICOs are selling off ether. As Cinnober analyst Eric Wall said on his Twitter, “The problem when you give millions of ETH to ETH competitors is that they can unload the ETH on the spot market and short ETH on the futures market before that, so they’re not only securing the funding but also manipulating the underlying spot market in favor of their shorts”. The analyses follow news that BitMEX shorts of ETHUSD are at an all-time high. As far as movements this week, ether has been all over the place, dropping as low as $249 before rising almost 17% to the crucial $300 level. The rally correlated with the issuance of $120 million worth of Tether tokens, indicating the price increases could be due to new capital entering the market.
• The entire cryptocurrency market cap is flat this week despite intermittent price drops by both ripple (XRP) and ethereum. The market briefly fell below $200 billion this week before returning to the $208 billion mark. Some altcoins have been doing well, like VeChain, which had its price spike nearly 50% overnight. Other coins such as Ontology and PundiX recorded similar gains.

Exchanges:

• U.K. Exchange Launches Bitcoin Cash Futures– U.K.-based Crypto Facilities launched a product that allows investors to bet on the future price movements of bitcoin cash, as well as hedge risk in their overall cryptocurrency portfolios. The launch marks the appearance of the first regulated, USD-denominated bitcoin cash futures.
• Binance + LCX Launch Fiat-to-Crypto Exchange in Liechtenstein – Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange by volume, has partnered with Liechtenstein Cryptoassets Exchange (LCX) to create and launch a cryptocurrency trading platform that allows users to trade directly against fiat currencies such as the euro. The Malta-based company announced Binance LCX would be at the forefront of their trading operations in the Central European economy.
• Coinbase Files Patent for Direct Bitcoin Payments System – Crypto exchange Coinbase recently filed for a patent detailing a new system to enable online users to make bitcoin payments more securely. The patent, published on August 14, will allow users to make payments directly from their bitcoin wallet. Coinbase’s patents have drawn criticism in the past from those who say they are “seeking to create a monopoly on Bitcoin services,” an accusation CEO Brian Armstrong strongly denied in a blog post on Medium. These accusations are resurfacing after a recent report from Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. stated that if traditional firms did not act soon, they risked Coinbase gaining an ‘unassailable’ position.
• Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Note Now Available in U.S. Brokerage Accounts – Bloomberg reports that Bitcoin Tracker One, an exchange-traded note (ETN) that has been listed on Nasdaq Stockholm since 2015, can now be traded in U.S. brokerage accounts under ticker symbol CXBTF. Technically, Bitcoin Tracker One will be publicly-quoted as a foreign debt instrument on a U.S.-based over-the-counter (OTC) market, the same type of platform that lists Grayscale Investments’ popular Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTC: GBTC). This product does offer an advantage, in that it’s not likely to have a premium like the Bitcoin Investment Trust does.
• Crypto Wallet Browser Toshi Rebrands to ‘Coinbase Wallet’ – Toshi, the open source DApp browser and wallet designed by Coinbase will now be known as Coinbase Wallet. In a Medium postpublished on Wednesday, the company says the name change is beyond branding, and more of a “larger effort to invest in products” that will shape the future of the decentralized web.
• Ethereum Classic Price Surges Ahead of Coinbase Listing – Ethereum Classic was at a two-month high of $18.50 earlier this month, the same level it had reached on July 7 when the Coinbase announcement made further rounds. The listing on Robinhood also had an effect in boosting ETC’s price.

Startups:

• Pantera Capital Seeks $175 Million For Third Venture Fund – Pantera Capital, which has pioneered investments in cryptocurrency assets, has set its goal for its third venture fund at $175 million, surpassing the $25 million raised for its second fund and the $13 million from its first one, according to TechCrunch. A new filing for a Pantera venture fund offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission notes the company has already raised $71.4 million in commitments from 90 investors.
• Genesis Mining Offers Customers a Discount to Offset Falling Bitcoin Rewards – Genesis Mining, responding to falling bitcoin mining rewards for its customers, is offering a discount to help customers withstand the current downturn, the company announced in a blog. The company’s Radiant bitcoin mining upgrade price per 1 TH/s has been lowered from $285 to $180. Operating time has been changed from open-ended to five years, incurring no termination. In addition, the daily maintenance fee has been cut to $0.14.

Enterprise:

• Capital One Files Blockchain Authentication Patent – Capital One has applied for a patent entitled “Blockchain Systems and Methods for User Authentication.” The patent was filed in Virginia, USA, with Johnathan Weimer and Ryan Fox listed as the inventors of the authentication system. The move comes as the latest blockchain use in the banking industry, with Chinese banks already implementing blockchain systems. Barclays, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan have also filed blockchain patents.
• Demand Film Launches Cryptocurrency – Australian-based Demand Film has released a new virtual currency to reward users who promote and watch movie trailers. Demand Film is officially releasing the cryptocurrency, known as ‘Screencreds,’ before the company launches in Germany next Tuesday.
• 39% of Enterprises Believe Blockchain is ‘Overhyped’ – According to the Deloitte 2018 global blockchain survey, almost 39% of the respondents were of the view that blockchain technology was ‘overhyped.’ The study polled over 1,000 blockchain-savvy executives at firms boasting annual revenues of $0.5 billion or more in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, and China. Nonetheless, respondents did see benefits, with 84% of those polled saying blockchain was more secure.
• UPS Files Blockchain Routing Patent – According to documents published by the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) on Thursday, the Georgia-based UPS has applied for a patent that utilizes blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) to route packages throughout an international supply chain that may include multiple carriers. Once a package has been scanned into a packaging facility, the system will automatically select a route based on the service offerings of network-connected shipping providers. As the package travels to its destination, information about the shipment will be recorded in the blockchain ledger, allowing the system to rate whether service providers are meeting the obligations of their respective service offerings.
• Bitcoin Investor Sues AT&T for $224 Million after Mobile-Linked Theft – According to CNBC, California resident Michael Terpin has filed a 69-page complaint against AT&T in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, in which he alleges that he lost $24 million worth of cryptocurrency after the cellular service provider negligently allowed a hacker to obtain unauthorized access to his cell phone account. In addition to the $24 million he lost in the two thefts, Terpin is seeking $200 million in punitive damages from AT&T, which is the world’s largest telecommunications provider and the second-largest mobile services provider.

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Ethereum Most Popular Crypto Among Phishers who made $2.3 Million in Q2 2018

Cybercriminals have raked in a total $2.3 million by exploiting ICOs via phishing in the second quarter of 2018, a Kaspersky study revealed.

The multinational cybersecurity company in its new Spam and Phishing in Q2 2018 report found that online malefactors target crypto investors with fake ICO websites. Most of these sites belong to Ethereum-powered startups that raise money for the development of their platforms.

In addition to injecting a phony crowdfunding link into their outbound emails, cybercriminals try every last trick to influence a victim to send them crypto-funds to their Ethereum wallets willingly. The victims, believing they are investing in a good ICO round, ends up throwing their Ether funds to unlawful benefactors.

“Cybercriminals continue using the names of new ICO projects to collect money from potential investors that are trying to gain early access to new tokens,” Kaspersky disclosed. “Sometimes phishing sites pop up before official project sites.”

For example, the situation around the very fresh phishing attack on Experty can be mentioned for further elaboration. The ICO participants of this ‘Skype-like voice and video call application’ had lost $150,000 worth of Ethereum to a fraudulent pre-ICO scheme impersonating Experty. To participate in the ICO, investors had to go through a regular registration procedure on Experty’s website. Scammers managed to steal the information of potential investors from the company. They later persuaded these investors to send them Ether funds via a fake invitation link. As a result, investors lost a hefty sum.

A tremendously popular ICO announced by Telegram had also invoked hackers to employ various unlawful strategies, resulting in a dozen fake sites. By the time Telegram presale concluded, its impersonations had already raked in money that was reportedly comparable to the original presale round.

So far, Kaspersky has managed to monitor phishing attempts that are considered traditional by their approach. The antivirus company claims that they have “prevented 58,000 user attempts to connect to phishing websites masquerading as popular cryptocurrency wallets and markets” with their antiphishing system. In 2017, the number of recorded phishing attacks were two thousand, as confirmed by Alexander Gostev, Kaspersky’s chief antivirus expert

In the same year, ICO market had lost over $300 million to cybercriminals, including hackers and phishers.

HTTPS Certification is Not Reliable

Even the most informed investors consider websites with HTTPS certification genuine. The Kaspersky report, however, finds that malicious pages can now be found on secure pages, blaming it on the ease of access of these certificates. The study added that popular browsers like Google are beginning to change their approach towards certifying non-encrypted websites. It read:

“Starting in September 2018, the browser (Chrome 69) will stop marking HTTPS sites as “Secure” in the URL bar. Instead, starting in October 2018, Chrome will start displaying the “Not secure” label when users enter data on unencrypted sites.”

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