The last week of September has been exciting for the cryptocurrency markets. Perhaps the biggest news is that on Friday the Wall Street Journal published an article alleging that $90 million worth of cryptocurrency has been laundered through 46 exchanges. They claim that North Korean hackers, credit card thieves, and the mastermind of a Ponzi scheme all used the private ShapeShift service to launder Bitcoin (BTC) into Monero (XMR) in an obscured way. The investigative journalism will likely spark renewed discussion of cryptocurrency's role in money laundering and other crimes, as well as what steps governments might take to stem illegal activity.
Here is the rest of the week in review:
On Tuesday, the Austrian government reported that it will use the Ethereum (ETH) ecosystem to auction government bonds worth $1.3 billion on the blockchain. Austria's finance agency authorized the bank OeKB to execute the auction on October 2. The head of the finance agency stated that it believes blockchain adds security and confidence to the process of bond issuance. Austria's move is slated to be the largest bond issuance on blockchain yet.
Computer manufacturer Dell announced on Wednesday that its subsidiary Dell EMC will invest in blockchain technology. Dell wants to help its position in the server market by using new tools, including blockchain, artificial intelligence, and data analytics. The firm stated that some of its top clients requested for Dell to adopt blockchain. Especially in the growing India market, Dell has recognized that it needs to move toward digitization and investment in exciting new technologies.
Blockchain security provider BitGo plans to secure its wallets that hold $1 trillion worth of cryptocurrency. Such a move will be highly complex. It will involve changes to custodianship, audits and regulatory compliance, hardware and software, signature access, and insurance. BitGo claims that numerous hedge funds and big institutions are interested in using its new qualified custodian service. BitGo's plan to create a secure vault will help crypto whales find greater peace of mind.
Crypto prices remained relatively stable this week at around the $225 billion level. In the top 100, the biggest losers are Emercoin (EMC), down 27 percent, Navcoin (NAV), down 23 percent, and PRIZM (PXM), down 20 percent. The biggest winners are Electroneum (ETN), up 72 percent, ReddCoin (RDD), up 30 percent, and Bitcoin Gold (BTG), up 17 percent. Decreased volatility could mean that a big breakout is due soon.
The author owns a small amount of BTC.