On July 22, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an interpretive letter confirming that national banks and savings associations may provide cryptocurrency custody and related services. National banks have long provided safekeeping and custody services for a wide variety of customer assets, including both physical objects and electronic assets, and the extension of these services to cryptocurrency is a modern form of these traditional activities.

In the letter, the OCC acknowledged that the provision of custody services could involve a range of services, from safekeeping to non-fiduciary and fiduciary custody. Depending on the type of custody service, banks will be able to provide a range of ancillary services, including facilitating cryptocurrency and fiat currency exchange transactions, transaction settlement, trade execution, record keeping, valuation, tax services, reporting and other appropriate services.

The OCC stresses that banks will need to apply effective risk management practices, as required under law, to any potential cryptocurrency custody services, and have adequate systems in place to identify, measure, monitor, and control the risks of its custody services. In particular, the OCC states that banks should include the following systems:

The OCC suggests that banks should also consider special controls for settlement of transactions, physical access controls, and security servicing. These controls would need to be tailored in the context of digital custody.

Finally, the OCC states the banks will need to address the risks associated with an individual account prior to acceptance through a sound know-your-customer and due diligence process. In summary, the OCCs letter is an overdue measure and tacitly recognizes that cryptocurrency is not an irregular and unusual asset. This development effectively expands the number of types of entities that provide cryptocurrency custody, allowing national banks to compete with state-chartered entities.

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Federally Chartered Banks Approved to Provide Custody of Cryptocurrency - Lexology

The government is planning to bring in a law to ban trade in cryptocurrency, sources have told Moneycontrol, a move that will come as a huge blow to an industry that has been booming during the lockdown.

The Supreme Court had in March 2020 set aside a Reserve Bank of Indias circular that prohibited banks and financial institutions from providing services related to cryptocurrencies. Indian and overseas cryptocurrency majors have been waiting for clarity from the government or the RBI on digital tenders following the order.

"There was a view in the government that banning it through a law would be more binding. It will clearly define the illegality of the trade. We have forwarded a note to related ministries for inter-ministerial discussions," a government official told Moneycontrol on condition of anonymity.

ALSO READ: Crypto business takes off but industry still waiting for regulations

The government has been holding consultations with law ministry, ministry of information and technology and the RBI for a framework of a law that will formally end trading in cryptocurrency in India, the official said.

"We are working on it. After inter-ministerial consultations, it (the note) would be presented to the cabinet for approval. Once Parliament resumes for the session, we are hoping to get it ratified," the official said.

In 2018, the RBI prohibited regulated entities from providing services to any individual or business dealing in digital currencies like bitcoin.

Junking the RBI circular, the Supreme Court had said citizens had the right to create a new industry of cryptocurrencies and exchanges along with the fundamental right to trade.

The government had in 2017 set up a panel led by then finance secretary Subhash Garg to study the ecosystem of cryptocurrencies.

In its report, the panel proposed a ban on all forms of private virtual currencies. However, it also asked the RBI and the government to look at the possibility of official virtual currency.

It suggested a fine of up to Rs 25 crore and imprisonment of up to 10 years for anyone dealing in them.

The income tax department issued notices to 500,000 investors, bringing the platforms, which are private, trading in virtual currencies under the scanner.

The notices asked whether taxes had been paid on the rise in valuations after a surge in prices.

The indirect tax department, too, issued notices to the exchanges and sought explanations on whether they were treating cryptocurrencies as the supply of goods or services and if they were paying Goods and Services Tax.

As reported by Moneycontrol, millions of dollars worth of business in cryptocurrency is being done every week, with the lockdown pushing up the volumes. The government, industry insiders said, was losing out on precious revenue by not coming up with a regulatory mechanism.

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India to ban trade in cryptocurrency, government working on a law - Moneycontrol.com

With a rise in the tendency to make a quick buck, Cryptocurrency Exchanges have emerged in different parts of the globe courtesy friendly regulations and crashes in financial markets. As the number of users and volume of trades reaches new heights, it is important to take precautionary measures from scams. Scams rob not only funds but also the reputation of cryptocurrencies.

Investors can avoid the above scams and stay safe by installing top-notch security features in their respective accounts. Taking steps such as two-factor authentication, reserving funds in cold wallets, double-checking cryptocurrency addresses before finalizing deals, and keeping their private keys safely with themselves will go a long way in preventing the occurrence of such dangerous scams.

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How to unearth the different scams in Cryptocurrency Exchanges? - YourStory

People in India are five times more likely to suffer a cryptocurrency mining hack because of poor consumer awareness, according to a new security report by Microsoft.

In its findings published July 29, Microsoft notes that although the number of similar attacks declined by 35% in 2019 from a year earlier, Indians, together with Sri Lankans, remained at greater risk compared to other nationalities within the Asia Pacific region and elsewhere in the world.

During such attacks, victims computers are infected with cryptocurrency mining malware, allowing criminals to leverage the computing power of their machines without the owners knowledge.

While recent fluctuations in cryptocurrency value and the increased time required to generate cryptocurrency have resulted in attackers refocusing their efforts, they continue to exploit markets with low cyber awareness, said Keshav Dhakad, who heads the legal unit at Microsoft India.

Microsoft blamed free content streaming websites, unlicensed or pirated and free software, and a general lack of consumer education as key factors for the decline in cyber-security in India, the worlds second most populous country, with 1.35 billion people.

The report also found that India recorded the third highest ransomware attacks throughout the region, which was two times higher than the regional average.

While overall cyber hygiene in India has improved, we believe there is more to be done, Dhakad observed. Consumer education is important users should regularly patch and update programs and devices and be able to identify unsafe websites and illegitimate software, he added.

Cyber criminals have also weaponized the Covid-19 pandemic, adapting and upgrading attack methods, to steal from unsuspecting victims.

Since the outbreak, data has shown that every country in the world has seen at least one coronavirus-themed attack, and the volume of successful attacks in outbreak-hit countries is increasing, as fear and the desire for information grows, said Microsoft.

The reports findings are derived from an analysis of diverse Microsoft data sources, including eight trillion threat signals received between January to December last year.

Ransomware attacks are reportedly costing businesses billions of dollars each year, in blackmail payments. On July 28, CWT, one of the biggest travel companies in the U.S., paid 414 bitcoin or $4.5 million in bitcoin to hackers who hijacked the firms computer system, stealing sensitive corporate data.

What do you think about the hacking threat in India? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

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Indians Five Times More Likely to Suffer Crypto-Related Hacks: Report | News - Bitcoin News

First, a review of last weeks events:

EUR/USD. The U.S. economy is not just in recession. Its flying down at a breakneck speed. The decline in US GDP in the second quarter was the largest ever recorded minus 32.9%. The reasons for this fall are well known these are quarantine measures caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The authorities hope they can stop the spread of COVID-19 without turning the economy to zero. Some states have managed to tighten quarantines without restricting economic activity and to achieve a smoothing of the incidence curve.

However, there are hopes and there is a reality the same minus 32.9%, which plunged investors into a real shock, causing a simultaneous fall in both the US dollar and stock indices. While these two indicators were going in antiphase in spring the USD index (DXY) grew, when the Nasdaq and the S&P500 fell, and vice versa, now they all fell.

In contrast to the United States, things in Europe turned out to be not so bad, as evidenced by the macroeconomic indicators published last week. Germanys GDP fell by only 10.1% in absolute terms, and in the Eurozone by 12.1%, the data on GDP and consumer spending of France, as well as retail sales in Germany look rather optimistic, which contributes to the strengthening of the European currency.

The EUR/USD pair is growing for the third month in a row, the strongest strengthening since 1998 and the sharpest upward jump in 10 years. In July alone, the euro strengthened against the dollar by 725 points (5.6%), which has not been observed since September 2010. As a result, the pair reached a local high of 1.1908 on Friday 31 July, followed by a pullback on the wave of the monthly profit fixing, and it ended the session at 1.1775;

GBP/USD. Following the EUR/USD, the pair continues to strive up. Over the past week, the pound has slipped the dollar by 380 points, and has almost reached 1.3200, stopping at 1.3170. Then, just like in the case of the euro, the July profit was fixed, and the finish was at 1.3085;

USD/JPY. The Japanese currency has been strengthening its positions for almost the entire week. A particularly noticeable move occurred on Thursday, July 30, following the release of dismal US GDP data. At this point, the pair almost came close to the 104 yen to the dollar mark. However, there was a sharp reversal of the trend on Friday, and it returned almost where it started the five-day period. The final chord was played at 105.90. And thus, the change in the quote for the week was only about 20 points;

cryptocurrencies. What everyone has been waiting for since mid-May, when bitcoin was halved, finally happened. Bitcoin broke through the level of $10,000 in a powerful snatch and stopped, only reaching the height of $11,365, then moved into a sideways trend with gradually fading fluctuations, choosing as Pivot Point the horizon $11,000.

Experts cite the continuing fall of the dollar and the beginning of the fall in stock markets as the reason for the growth of the main cryptocurrency. The dollar has ceased to play the role of a defensive asset, which it was this spring, in the midst of the panic caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and investors again turned to such traditional instruments as precious metals, and at the same time to the digital gold bitcoin.

The BTC/USD pair ceased to correlate with stock indices and returned to the correlation with XAU/USD. This has once again shown that big institutional investors see BTC only as a supplement to core financial assets. It is difficult to argue with that, because even the total capitalization of the crypto market, which has reached $330 billion, is a drop in the ocean compared to traditional markets.

So, over the past week, the capitalization on the high-rise has grown by $44 billion, or about 15%. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has jumped to 75 (53 a week ago), matching the coin being heavily overbought and pointing to a possible correction.

In its quest to upward, the main cryptocurrency has pulled the top altcoins, which show even greater growth than the mother asset: bitcoin (BTC/USD) 17%, ripple (XRP/USD) 19%, ethereum (ETH/USD) 21%, litecoin (LTC/USD) 30%. In the long term, experts assess Ethereums chances above all else. With a 75% probability, this coin could rise in price to $400 by the end of the year.

The growth of the crypto market has certainly become the main news of the week, but there are other that may play a significant role in the future. So, a Federal Court in the United States has finally recognized bitcoin as money. This was stated by Chief Justice of the District Court of the District of Columbia Beryl Howell, considering the case of Coin Ninja CEO Larry Dean Harmon, accused of laundering $ 311 million. She noted that the concept of money usually means a means of circulation, a method of payment or a means of saving. And bitcoin is those things. Recall that the US has precedent law, and such a judges decision can have far-reaching consequences.

As for the forecast for the coming week, summarizing the views of a number of experts, as well as forecasts made on the basis of a variety of methods of technical and graphical analysis, we can say the following:

EUR/USD. Fed officials acknowledged last week that the pace of recovery in the U.S. economy is directly dependent on the epidemiological situation. Naturally, the same goes for Europe. However, despite the fact that in order to make any decisions, European politicians each time need to reach a consensus, it is difficult, but they manage to do it. Quarantine measures taken by the leaders of individual EU countries, in total, turned out to be much more coordinated and effective than in the United States, which has a direct impact on the economic situation. It is evident that America feels noticeably worse than Europe, which is reflected in the EUR/USD pair rate.

75% of trend indicators on H4 and 100% on D1 are painted green, as well as 85% of oscillators on both timeframes. Also, 45% of experts are expecting the continuation of the euro growth, supported by graphical analysis on D1. The target is an important psychological level 1.2000, after breaking which in the medium term the road to 1.2500 will open.

Although, referring to September 2017, we see that after reaching the level of 1.2000, a deep two-month correction to 1.1550 followed, and only after its completion the pair reached the height of 1.2500.

Of course, there was no coronavirus pandemic three years ago and things may now go according to a different scenario. However, according to 55% of analysts, the dollar should not be written off. And as far as the immediate outlook is concerned, they believe the pair could drop to the 1.1650-1.1700 zone, which is confirmed by graphical analysis on H4 and 15% of oscillators that signal it is overbought.

As for the coming week, we should pay attention to the indicators of the ISM Business Activity Index in the US manufacturing and services sector (to be published on August 03 and 04, respectively), as well as to the labour market data (NFP), traditionally published on the first Friday of the month.

It should be noted that in the medium term, the overwhelming majority (80%) of experts expect the US to improve and the dollar to return to 1.1000-1.1300;

GBP/USD. Unlike EUR/USD, the pair being overbought signals here are given by significantly more oscillators: 15% on H4 and 35% on D1. Graphical analysis on H4 looks south as well. But the trend indicators 90% on H4 and 100% on D1 are still pointing north.

Among experts, the majority of votes are given to bears 60% on W1 and 80% on MN indicating markets are uncertain about the strength of the British currency. Indeed, despite some lull, the problems associated with Brexit have not gone away.

Some clarity regarding the state and prospects of the UK economy can be given on Thursday, August 06, when the Bank of England will meet, its monetary policy report will be published and the decision on the interest rate will become known. Also, of interest to traders and investors is the subsequent speech of the head of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey.

In the meantime, the following levels can be marked for the GBP/USD pair: support -1.3000, 1.2900, 1.2770 and 1.2670, resistance 1.3200 and the December 2019 high, 1.3515;

USD/JPY. 60% of experts supported by graphical analysis on H4 believe that the pair will try to test the 104.00 level once again in the next few days. And it will not succeed and will return first to the area of 106.00 within a month, and then rise even higher to the zone 106.60-108.00. According to the remaining 40% of analysts, there will be no attempt to re-break south, and the pair will immediately strive to the height of 108.00.

After the forward and reverse movement of the pair last week, there is complete confusion among the indicators on H4. But the D1 is still dominated by red, 80% of oscillators and the same number of trend indicators are painted in it;

cryptocurrencies. According to Glassnode specialists, after the price overcame the psychological barrier of $10,000, miners began to hold on to most of the bitcoins they mined. This can create a certain deficit in the market and contribute to the growth of quotations.

According to billionaire Max Kaiser, founder of Heisenberg Capital, the main cryptocurrency should break the previous record of $20,000 and rise in price to $28,000. True, there are also those who disagree with this forecast. Bitcoin is attractive for investment. Nevertheless, an update of highs in the region of $28,000, which Kaiser designated, is unlikely, retorted the billionaire of the Data Center Six-Nines Sergey Troshin. As usual, the first hype is the most powerful, the other hypes are already lower. Perhaps when bitcoin reaches the $17,000-$18,000 mark, many will start fixing profits, waiting for a correction,

An even more modest forecast was given by analysts at Bloomberg. They believe that if the number of active user addresses does not change, the bitcoins target will be the 2019 high, $12,734.

As for the average forecast of analysts, 60% of them expect a correction in the near future and a decline of the pair to the resistance of $10,000. The remaining 40% agree with the Bloomberg forecast. At the same time, the most cautious experts do not tire of reminding about the volatility of crypto trends. Thus, the launch of futures in December 2017. became the starting point of crypto winter, and after impressive growth in the first month and a half of 2020 bitcoin collapsed to $3,830, jeopardizing the existence of all of the digital currency market.

But there is also good news for those who fear a similar apocalypse. One of the veterans of the bitcoin industry, the Abra platform has added the feature to earn on deposits in cryptocurrency and stablecoins. According to the companys website, TrueUSD (TUSD), Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) are the most profitable 9% per annum. The annual return of deposits in bitcoin and ethereum is 4.1% and 4.0% respectively. The rates offered by Abra are indeed higher than bank interest on deposits in dollars or euros, which is good news. But the question arises about the reliability of these deposits in a conversation with The Block, Abra representatives said that rates will be revised weekly. And it will be very sad if they go down to zero or go into the negative zone altogether.

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Forex and Cryptocurrency Forecast for August - Action Forex

Hello everyone! All of you are well aware of the term cryptocurrencies, which are the most common and useful terms nowadays. It is an essential and well-known term which are needed to be understood. Cryptocurrency meaning goes to the assets. It is a term related to the asset and where you can exchange your currency at the digital market place. It is instrumental nowadays in the era of technology and artificial intelligence. Here you can learn about the data controller to transfer your currency and to exchange your money.

The primary purpose is to describe the facts for cryptocurrency and the regulation of cryptocurrency like bitcoin in Europe, which is such the most prominent place to live. Europe is making a lot of progress in every walk of life, and the same is the case with cryptocurrencies. It is trying for more useful ways to regulate the cryptocurrency. In the next section, you will learn about the regulation of the cryptocurrency in Europe using the efficient and the tops ideas. You need to read the full article to know more.

Lets discuss the top and essential regulators of the cryptocurrencies in Europe. All of these are the best and efficient ways that are mentioned by the Financial Stability Board of Europe. These are the following:

European Commission is the first and the most important regulator of the cryptocurrency in Europe. The primary function of the European Commission is to plan, prepare, design, and propose the legislations involving in the cryptocurrency. The commission not only gives you the essential guidelines and the information, but the primary purpose is to stabilize the risks as well.

European Banking Authority also called as EBA is another well important and versatile regulator for the cryptocurrency. The EBAs primary functions include regulating the horizon-scan for innovative products and services in all over Europe. It monitors the aspects of the financial system and how these systems are stable by the countrys laws and regulations.

The main functions of the European Insurance and Occupational Pension Authority are to regulate and develop the methods for the coins currencies to control. It produces all of the important and the needed currencies in the country, including the bitcoin and many others.

European Securities and Markets Authority is another essential and efficient regulators which are called as ESMA. The main functions are to provide all of the necessary and fundamental rules for the cryptocurrency regulation. Not only has this, but it also provided the financial improvements providing the cryptocurrencies ideas.

Europe is making a ton of progress in these fields and is making the advancements, but it is still doing the best to improve the cryptocurrency so that you can learn more about bitcoin trader. It has made a lot of improvements and is looking for more. In recent days in 2020, it has made the new policies and new rules for the regulation of the cryptocurrency. The people working for the cryptocurrency are those who are making a lot of struggle for the improvements and all experts. The trends and the new advancements are given in the next sections.

Fifth-Anti Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) is the agency that works with legislations and make advancements. It brings the rules for the cryptocurrency exchange according to the new and upcoming ideas. Recently it has made the exchange rules in January 2020 and is getting a lot of achievements according to the planning. It has made several procedures as well for the regulation of the cryptocurrency.

5AMLD is just a nutshell in Europe that is making several advancements. The primary purpose is to look for how much the regulations are accepted and applied by all countries. The rules must be followed by the customers and the newcomers in the cryptocurrency states. It has created a phrase which to Know Your Customers called the KYC.

KYC is doing a lot of efficiency in this field, and the main of these is to look that how many people are doing the best in the cryptocurrency regulation just like bitcoin and how many people have been identified for this job. Million of the people are doing the succession by making the regulations in cryptocurrency and doing the best job in this field.

Several personalities are doing a great job and creating the new advancements because they are a member of the 5AMLD. The EU is making more progress day by day and is getting success in the regulation of the cryptocurrency. The exciting aspect is the KYC strategy, which is working at the tops level in the EU.

There is no doubt that Europe is making a lot of progress and success in cryptocurrency regulation like bitcoin. It is still keen and curious for the future advancements and is more furious for the next prospective. A lot of strategies are working, and a lot of plans are upcoming on the way.

The article is about the cryptocurrency regulation in Europe, as the bitcoin currencies. All of the critical regulators and the relevant agencies which are serving the entire EU are mentioned above. You are advised to follow the above regulators in the EU if you are living in Europe, and you can even use these all using your online sources. No matter where you are. Europe has made a lot of progress in this field but is looking for more advancement. The main reasons for the success in the cryptocurrency regulation include the 5AMLD and KYC. KYC is the basic need to be successful, according to the European people. These are all about the essential aspects, and the EU is still making new ideas. If you have more questions regarding the cryptocurrency regulation in Europe, you are welcome and feel free to ask any time you want.

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Regulation of Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in Europe - Euro Weekly News

The overall performance of the nascent cryptocurrency market during Q2 2020 was not as good as it was when compared to the previous quarter.

According to Token Insight, the main reason for the relatively poor performance this past quarter may be attributed to very little fluctuation in the price of Bitcoin (BTC) and other major digital assets.

The Token Insight team pointed out in its report that the BTC and larger crypto market trading during the month of June 2020 remained sideways.

The report states that the positive market sentiment due to the Bitcoin (BTC) halving in May 2020 has now been exhausted. The report also mentions that when the money-making effect is low, the entire market is relatively quiet.

According to research conducted by Token Insight, industry participants believed that the cryptocurrency derivatives market, particularly the competition in contract-based transactions, will become more intensified in the near future.

The researchers claim that this will be due to incomplete product forms of different cryptocurrency exchanges at this particular stage. They argue that if and when similar products (for example, forward perpetual, reverse perpetual, delivery, and options) are complete, the competitive landscape will change or be broken again.

The research teams findings indicate that Tether (USDT) contracts will continue to occupy the mainstream crypto market. Because of this, crypto exchanges with leading positions in forward contracts should have more of an advantage, the researchers claim.

They noted:

The reverse contract market will continue to exist. At this stage, large positions still account for a relatively high proportion of reverse contracts, especially at the BitMEX exchange.

The transaction volume of deliverable contracts in the cryptocurrency market rose quickly during Q1 2020, the report confirmed. Huobi appears to have offered the most attractive options in this particular market segment, the Token Insight team claims.

The report also pointed out that Binance recently introduced deliverable contracts.

The report predicted:

We [believe] that more exchanges will also launch deliverable contracts in the near future. [However,] the market share of Huobi and OKExs deliverable contracts is likely to fall; Binances deliverable contracts will also occupy part of the market, while Bybit will also gain a certain market share if it launches deliverable contracts.

They added:

The leverage ratio of the overall contract market should be between 20-50 times. The use of high leverage ratio will shorten the life cycle of ordinary users. At this stage, the life cycle of contract users is about two months.

The report revealed that many crypto trading platforms have adopted a customer loss model.

It also mentioned:

After users lose money in the industry, the funds earned by exchanges, and a large part of it is actually transferred out of the industry. Therefore, high-risk, high-leverage and other irregular behaviors in the derivatives field are actually consuming the vitality of the industry and users. Exchanges have to face the problems of high customer acquisition costs and high retention costs.

The report notes that specialization is most likely the future of cryptocurrency-based derivatives trading. It claims that contract fund transactions will account for more trading volume; but at this stage, the imperfect cryptocurrency custody infrastructure will limit the development of GP and LP; and the Counterparty Risk that LPs face is also an important factor.

Crypto exchanges will be competing with each other, more than ever, when it comes to offering the best or most affordable prices, the report states.

According to TokenInsight, transaction fees remain relatively high when compared to traditional market rates. Theres a significant gap among different digital currency exchanges in API, document specification and quality, and the poor infrastructure is also a reason why many professional investors have not yet entered the crypto market, the report revealed.

During Q2 2020, TokenInsight determined that the crypto derivatives market was valued at $2.159 trillion. The estimate is reportedly based on the activity of 42 digital asset exchanges. There was a modest increase of 2.57% in the size of the emerging derivatives market during Q2 2020 when compared to the previous quarter. There was a more impressive year-on-year growth of 165.56%.

Other key findings from the report regarding the digital asset derivatives market are as follows:

(Note: The full report may be accessed here.)

As covered recently, crypto markets are plagued with manipulation, endless wash trading, but industry executives are confident about H2 2020, according to a new report.

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Compliant Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchanges Accounted for Only 1% of the Trading Volume of the Sector During Q2 2020 with $21.62 Billion in...

Agoda, an online travel platform part of Booking Holdings (Nasdaq: BKNG) and Travala.com, a cryptocurrency-friendly accommodation booking platform, have announced a new strategic partnership.trava

Following this partnership, more than 600,000 Agoda hotels worldwide are now available via Travala.com, bringing the total number of properties available on the blockchain-based travel booking platform to over 2,200,000 covering 90,124 destinations in 230 countries and territories. Backed by Binance, Travala,com lets travelers book trips using more than 30 different forms of cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB) and AVA, Travala.coms native cryptocurrency.

Damien Pfirsch, Vice-President of Strategic Partnerships at Agoda, said: Agoda is pleased to add Travala.com to its list of partnerships, helping it enhance its accommodation offering, and providing its customers with an improved travel experience, no matter where their next destination is. Agodas technological expertise and private cloud ensure that partners enjoy best-in-class uptime connection to our supply for a smoother customer booking journey, while our strong and extensive relationships with B2B suppliers and accommodation providers worldwide means that partners like Travala.coms customers can easily access Agodas competitive rates and variety of inventory.

Juan Otero, CEO at Travala.com, said: This strategic partnership with Agoda puts Travala.com in a league of its own. We can safely say we are the worlds largest blockchain-based online travel agency by number of accommodation options available with over 2,200,000 options to book covering 90,124 destinations.

Since its inception in 2017, Travala.com has managed to secure several partnerships with travel giants such as Agoda to offer a one-stop-shop solution for its users while also facilitating more ways for consumers to book travel with cryptocurrencies.

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Travala and Agoda join forces to boost travel using cryptocurrency - CryptoNinjas

2gether has revealed a cyberattack in which roughly 1.2 million in cryptocurrency has been stolen from cryptocurrency investment accounts.

Founded in 2017, 2gether offers a cryptocurrency trading platform within the Eurozone for buying and selling without additional fees. The organization's native coin is the 2GT token, which is -- or, at least, was -- due to be issued during 2020 following a pre-sale in Spain.

However, on July 31 at 6.00 pm CEST, the trading platform suffered a cyberattack on its servers.

The unknown threat actors reportedly behind the attack made off with 1.183 million in cryptocurrency in investment accounts, which equates to 26.79% of overall funds.

See also:Cybersecurity 101: Protect your privacy from hackers, spies, and the government

In a stream of Twitter updates posted by 2together CEO Ramn Ferraz Estrada, the executive was keen to emphasize that general wallets and Euro accounts were not impacted, nor were the financial details of payment cards used to deposit funds.

However, user passwords were also compromised in the security breach, and it is recommended that users change them.

2together has not revealed how the security incident took place. An investigation is underway to find out how the cyberattackers managed to obtain access to the company's servers, as well as the full extent of the damage caused.

The cryptocurrency platform added that information is being "gathered" to give to local authorities.

In an update posted August 1, Ferraz, Chairman Salvador Casquero, and Director Luis Estrada said the "extremely difficult situation has brought us all a lot of uncertainty," branding the hackers responsible as "soulless individuals."

The executives said that following the theft, the platform does not have enough funds to cover all of its bases and so an emergency discussion took place with an unnamed "investment firm" to try and secure a cash injection.

However, an agreement was not reached -- and so the only alternative is to offer users the equivalent of their stolen cryptocurrency in the native 2GT token.

CNET:The best home security camera of 2020

"We want to compensate the amount of stolen cryptocurrency (26.79% of your position before the attack) with a volume in 2GT equivalent to the issuance price of 5 cents," the team said. "On top of that, we commit to keep looking, at top capacity and as soon as possible, for additional funds to make up for every single one of your cryptocurrencies."

The executives said that if it was possible to use other funds, they would, but in the meantime, the technical team is working on reestablishing the trading app to reopen access "as soon as possible and with all the security measures available."

A Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) will take place in the next few days to answer investor questions, according to 2gether.

TechRepublic:Security analysts: Industry has not solved the talent gap or provided clear career paths

"We hope you can see these hard times and adverse events compensated soon, whether you decide to give us the vote of confidence we're asking you for or not," the team added.

In other cryptocurrency news, last week, China arrested 109 individuals in a massive sting connected to the PlusToken Ponzi scheme.

The South Korean exchange was touted as a high-yield investment for those with little experience in cryptocurrency, while also offering a commission for members who sign up new traders. When the team performed what is thought to be an exit scam, an estimated $3 - $6 billion in deposits was taken, and many of the PlusToken management team fled abroad.

Have a tip? Get in touch securely via WhatsApp | Signal at +447713 025 499, or over at Keybase: charlie0

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2gether hacked: 1.2m in cryptocurrency stolen, native tokens offered in exchange - ZDNet

Ethereum (ETH), the worlds second most valuable cryptocurrency, has more than tripled in value over the last four months. This indicates that Investors are increasingly raising their stakes in the fast-growing crypto-asset.

As at 5.00 am GMT, Ethereum was trading around $405, a 361.6% gain since March 12th, 2020, when it traded at $112. Its market capitalization presently stands at $45.3 billion.

Ethereum is the second most valuable cryptocurrency, as it now has a market capitalization of $43.23 billion.

What could be the reason for Ethereums rise?

Kelvin Koh, the co-founder of a venture capital Spartan Black, gave an insight on what could be responsible for such surge in the ETH market. He said:

The strong move in Ethereum has to do with the upcoming ETH 2.0 launch which is a major catalyst. Every phase of ETH 2.0 over the next 2-3 years brings ETH closer to its final state and will be catalysts for Ethereum.

What you should know about Ethereum: ETH is a cryptocurrency designed for decentralized applications and deployment of smart contracts, which are created and operated without any fraud, interruption, control, or interference from a third party.

Ethereum is a decentralized system, fully independent, and is not under anybodys authority. It has no pivotal point, and its platform is connected to thousands of its users through their computing system around the world, which means its almost impossible for ETH to go offline.

Meanwhile, ETH miners are having a field day, recording the highest revenue levels (in USD) since Q3 2018. The % of the revenue that currently comes from fees is in a league of its own. The average is between April 2018 to April 2019 and was 3%.

In July, 22.2% of Ethereum miner revenue came from transaction fees. This is the highest monthly value in ETH history and is a continuation of the sharp upwards trend in the past three months.

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Tether whales move over 300000000 USDT in a single day - Nairametrics