TL;DR: Welcome to In Case You Missed It (ICYMI), a daily crypto news update. Kraken acquires Circle Trade OTC desk. Fidelity Digital expands its crypto business to Europe. Poloniex offers 60+% APY on USDC lending. Bank of America ranks Bitcoin as the investment of the decade. 5AMLD directive to take effect next year, and Bitcoin Cash now accepted by Nexo to issue loans.



Kraken Acquires Circle Trade OTC Desk

San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced the acquisition of Circle Trade, one of the most popular OTC exchanges in the industry. With this acquisition, Kraken seeks to expand its reach into other markets, mostly Asian ones, where there are more trading opportunities and more liquidity. Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, explained this will let the company focus more on stablecoin services. “Focusing effectively on stablecoin platforms means we must reduce complexity, tighten our product portfolio, and organize our teams to execute with greater agility,” Allaire noted.

Fidelity Digital to Storm European Markets, Opening an Office in UK

Fidelity Digital Assets, the custody and trading desk, is expanding to Europe by opening a new entity in Europe. Fidelity UK, incorporated recently, will be hunting to get a piece of the institutional market in the country. With the lead of Chris Tyrer, a Barclays former banker who has always been interested in crypto, the company will focus on offering custody services and OTC trading for institutions and high-level traders. Fidelity will be headquartered in London, and it will look to further expand to Asia next year.

Poloniex Exchange Offering 60%+ on USDC Lending

EU customers: Got $USDC or $USDT? Get interest 💰 Starting now, USDC & USDT lending is open for EU customers pic.twitter.com/JAMdL4xV1I — Poloniex Exchange (@Poloniex) December 17, 2019

Poloniex, the cryptocurrency exchange recently separated from Circle, is offering astounding percentages in its new lending products for European Union users. The announcement posted on Twitter advertises a 8.5% APR for lending tether, and an amazing 65.46% APR for lending USDC. Comparable lending products offer up to 10% interest yearly, so this offer seems too good to be true to some. The announcement states that “lending in Poloniex is inherently risky and may not be suitable for all users.”

Bitcoin is the Best Investment of the Decade According to Bank of America

According to a report from Bank of America, Bitcoin has been declared the best investment of the decade. While the cryptocurrency recently closed with prices under $7K, in reality, it is still very valuable compared with the cents a Bitcoin was valued when it was first launched. If you had invested 1 dollar in Bitcoin at the start of the decade, you would have $90K today. In contrast, the worst investment of the decade was the Greek stock market, with every dollar invested turning into 7 cents in only 10 years.

5AMLD Will Take Effect in Two Weeks

EU's Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) is set to take effect in two weeks. Exchanges will have to register and let authorities obtain KYC of users. This means that even Binance and OKEx, both based in Malta, will be required to follow these rules or leave the EU — Larry Cermak (@lawmaster) December 17, 2019

5AMLD, the EU Anti Money Laundering directive, is set to take effect next year, with great implications for the cryptocurrency exchange world. According to the directive, every exchange out there serving in the EU will have to take KYC data from every user. Binance, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges by volume, is located in Malta and will have to comply with these rules as well as other exchanges. This follows a directive from the Financial Action Task Force earlier this year, recommending actions to avoid the misuse of digital assets.

Nexo Starts Offering Bitcoin Cash Backed Crypto Lines

Nexo is thrilled to announce that following our new partnership with @BitcoinCash, #BCH is now available as a collateral for our Instant Crypto Credit Lines™, thus expanding the benefits of using the Nexo Wallet & enriching BCH’s adoption & utilization.https://t.co/waK9n6qTu2 — Nexo (@NexoFinance) December 16, 2019

Nexo, a cryptocurrency lending startup, is now taking Bitcoin Cash as collateral for approving loans. Nexo lets users get liquidity while preserving their crypto assets. These loans have an interest rate of 5.9% APY and will let users get their money in several fiat currencies (more than 40) all across the world. This is one step more for Bitcoin Cash to bank the unbanked and integrate more people toward useful financial instruments. All products are insured up to $100 million from Lloyd’s of London.

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DYOR: CoinSpice is your home for just spicy crypto things. We’re not affiliated with any cryptocurrency project or token. Each published piece is intended for information purposes only, not investment advice and not in the hope of impacting speculative markets. There are plenty of trading sites and coin-specific advocacy journals out there, we’re neither. CoinSpice strives for rigorous accuracy in our reporting. Information presented here is contingent usually on a host of factors, and the ecosystem moves fast — prices change, projects change, and at warp speed. Do your own research.