This Week in Cryptocurrency: May 10th, 2019

Bitcoin continued its growth despite a week of generally negative news for the crypto space, adding another 8.71% growth this week to its 10.35% growth of last week. Other winners on the week include Ethereum (up 2%), Chainlink (39%), ABBC Coin (46.75%), and Arcblock (116%).

However, this week’s markets were not all clear skies of green. The majority of coins in the top 100 were down around 8% to 15%. Binance Coin is down 17.61% in lieu of the ~7000 BTC hack on the exchange this week, and Cosmos down 24.88%.

Binance Hacked for $40M, but User Fund are SAFU: On Tuesday, hackers jacked over 7,000 bitcoin (about $40M) from Binance, using a variety of attack strategies to conduct a large scale security breach. Binance released a statement that it will cover the $40M loss using corporate funds in its Secure Asset Fund For Users (SAFU), an internal insurance fund the firm made in 2018. Oh, and Justin Sun “offered” to personally cover the loss if CZ approves.

To support @binance , I will personally deposit 7000 BTC worth USDT (40 million USDT) into @binance to buy $BNB, $BTC , $TRX & $BTT if @cz_binance agrees. No need to #FUD! Funds are #SAFU!

— Justin Sun (@justinsuntron) May 8, 2019

Facebook Rolls Back Crypto Ad Ban: This week, Facebook announced it will be lifting its restrictions on ads relating to blockchain technology, industry news, education, or events related to crypto targeting a June 5th update. Facebook’s January 2018 ban on ads promoting almost anything to do with cryptocurrency or blockchain has been a thorn in the side for many crypto companies in the past year. Some are also speculating that Facebook’s reason for lifting the ad ban is more strategic and has to do with the company building a stable coin to be used for WhatsApp and Facebook. ICO ads will still be banned.

What’s New at CoinCentral? 

Amazon Go Stores Are Ripe for Bitcoin Adoption: Amazon should be one of the biggest proponents of bitcoin adoption. Bitcoin enables Amazon Go stores to provide goods to people who don’t have debit or credit cards without having to waste money on store employees who currently need to handle the cash transactions. With the number of stores potentially reaching 3,000 by 2021, Amazon should want to cut costs wherever possible.

Facebook Loosens Ban on Crypto Advertisers, Including Itself: The updated policy “no longer require[s] pre-approval for ads related to blockchain technology, industry news, education or events related to cryptocurrency.” If you’re looking to advertise your hot, new crypto, though, you’re out of luck. The ‘book still requires an application and approval process for advertisers promoting cryptocurrency. And it continues to place a full ban on initial coin offerings (ICOs).

Dark Web Enterprise Similar to Silk Road Shut down by FBI, Europol: Authorities in Germany have arrested the principal operators of one of the largest dark web marketplaces in the world dubbed the Wall Street Market.

Why Chinese Miners are in a Frenzy over Used Bitcoin Mining Rigs: The prices of used mining rigs have more than doubled since April. Bidding wars over the equipment are largely to blame for the trend. AntMiner S9 units, for example, retailed at $140 before the crypto market uptick but now cost upwards of $250. Some buyers are currently making $320 orders and this is pushing up benchmark prices.

Congressman Calls for Crypto Ban: On Thursday, Congressman Bradley Sherman called for the banning of cryptocurrency purchases by Americans, claiming cryptocurrencies will reduce the power of the U.S. dollar and undermine America’s sanctions over other countries, citing Iran as an example. It’s worth noting that the logic for this ban isn’t rooted in anonymity or corruption, but rather international policy. Bradley Sherman is a Democrat representing California’s 30th congressional district within the San Fernando Valley. Sherman said:

Today in Congress Rep. Sherman called for a bill to ban all cryptocurrencies.

This is why Coin Center is needed in DC now more than ever. pic.twitter.com/jgikm7z8bI

— Coin Center (@coincenter) May 9, 2019

“I look for colleagues to join with me in introducing a bill to outlaw cryptocurrency purchases by Americans, so that we nip this in the bud, in part because an awful lot of our international power comes from the fact that the dollar is the standard unit of international finance and transactions.

“It is the announced purpose of the supporters of cryptocurrency to take that power away from us, to put us in a position where the most significant sanctions we have on Iran, for example, would become irrelevant.

“Whether it is to dis-empower our foreign policy, our tax collection enforcement, or our traditional law enforcement, the purposes of cryptocurrency – the advantage it has over sovereign currency – is solely to aid in the dis-empowerment of the United States and of the rule of law.”

Indian Crypto Exchange Coinome Might Shut Down: On May 9th, the popular Indian cryptocurrency exchange Coinome tweeted that it will be suspending all crypto trading on the platform on May 15th, 2019, and urged its customers to withdraw their assets as soon as possible. Cryptocurrency businesses have been in the crosshairs of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which executed a ban on cryptocurrency related businesses in 2018.