Today in Crypto: July 2, 2018 – Bitcoin Rises $800 Over Past Weekend
We start off with the markets going back up after a week of lows. Yesterday, Bitcoin was at an all time 2018 low at $5,800. Bitcoin jumped $800 from Friday night to today. Bitcoin is currently at $6,600. Ethereum is at $475 and Litecoin is at $84.
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$5.2 Million in Bitcoin, IOTA, & Lumens Seized in EU LSD Raid
European law enforcement agencies dismantled a Darknet drug trafficking network, seizing almost 800,000 doses of LSD and over $5 million in Bitcoin, IOTA, and Lumens. Eight individuals were arrested on accusations of arranging a criminal organization for drug trafficking and money laundering. The organized crime group was shipping drugs out of Spain to at least 100 countries since 2012, disguising the drugs as legal products such as cement additives.
The raw materials for the psychoactive substances were imported from Asian countries to a laboratory in Amsterdam, Netherlands, which acted as the primary production facility for the crime group. They then shipped the products to the laboratories in Spain, where they were packaged and distributed to consumers across the globe.
Russia’s biggest payments system QIWI to launch crypto-investment Bank
QBT, a daughter company of Russia’s largest electronic payments system Qiwi, announced it will launch the country’s first ever cryptocurrency investment bank. The new company — which will operate under the brand-name HASH — will be registered in Russia. QBT will help companies raise capital through the increasingly popular Initial Coin Offering (ICO) model similar to established services like ICO Box and Draglet. Qiwi is a global electronic payments company founded in Moscow and headquartered in Cyprus. As of 2017, it had a net revenue of $229 million USD and 20.1 million active accounts.
Allianz Chief Economic Advisor Says Bitcoin Is A Buy Below $5000
Allianz’s chief economic advisor, Mohamed El-Erian, has called bitcoin a buying opportunity — if the market leader falls below $5,000. Not everyone agrees, however, and the non-believers have come out in force. Bitcoin was trading at roughly $5,870 when El-Erian told CNBC‘s “Squawk Box” that any price below $5,000 is a major buying opportunity. Allianz SE is a European financial services company headquartered in Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management.
1,000 Crypto Projects Are Dead
TechCrunch reports that over 1,000 crypto projects are already dead, referencing data from Coinopsy and DeadCoins. DeadCoins is a website that lists over 830 crypto projects that are abandoned, scammed, have a dead website, have no nodes, have wallet issues, have no social updates, have low volume or developers have walked away from the project, including the notorious case of Bitconnect.
Coinbase Custody Is Now Officially Live
Over the coming weeks, Coinbase will continue on-boarding a set of clients that includes leading crypto hedge funds, exchanges and ICO teams. Coinbase Custody’s mission is to make digital currency investment accessible to every eligible financial institution and hedge fund in the world. Coinbase Custody is a new storage service for institutional investors to store millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies, including cold storage of clients digital assets. Coinbase has pioneered digital storage for the last 6 years and has a track record of being in custody of up to $20 Billion in crypto asset. Coinbase has also announced their intention to add Ethereum Classic to the exchange.
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Original Post: https://thisweekincrypto.co/07-02-2018-bitcoin-rises-800-over-past-weekend/
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