1. CoinMarketCap Crypto Indices Launch on Nasdaq, Bloomberg, Reuters

Two cryptocurrency benchmark indices from data provider CoinMarketCap will launch today on financial data feeds from Nasdaq Global Index Data Service (GIDS), Bloomberg Terminal, Thomson Reuters Eikon (Refinitiv) and Germany’s Börse Stuttgart, as well as on its own platform.

CoinMarketCap announced the news Wednesday, saying that the benchmark indices will be the “most comprehensive” crypto data offerings for the markets, covering the top 200 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, one including bitcoin (BTC) and the other without.

[Source: Coindesk] ✩✩✩✩✩

2. Swiss Federal Assembly Approves Instructions on Cryptocurrency Regulation

The legislative body of the Swiss government, the Federal Assembly, has approved a motion to instruct the Federal Council to adapt existing legislation for cryptocurrency regulation. The motion introduced by Liberal assemblyman Giovanni Merlini intends to instruct the Federal Council to adapt existing provisions on procedural instruments of judicial and administrative authorities, so that they can also be applied to cryptocurrencies.

[Source: Cointelegraph] ✩✩✩✩

3. Cardano approaches major upgrade Shelley with version 1.5

The cryptocurrency Cardano, which is the 11th largest with a market cap of nearly $1.4 billion, released version 1.5 today which is an important step toward its highly anticipated Shelley release, getting it closer to ditching cryptocurrency miners and running as a proof-of-stake blockchain.

The latest version introduces a number of changes aimed at smoothing over the transition from Byron — its current state — toward Shelley, which fans have been anxiously awaiting. Among other things, the Shelley upgrade will implement a new consensus protocol, “Ouroboros BFT,” which helps the cryptocurrency guard against 51 percent attacks.

[Source: Decryptmedia] ✩✩✩✩

4. Payment Service Square is Hiring Crypto Engineers, Offers Salaries in Bitcoin

United States-based payment platform Square is hiring cryptocurrency engineers and is offering to pay them in digital currency, according to a tweet published by Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey on March 20.

In the tweet, Dorsey announces that “Square is hiring 3–4 crypto engineers and one designer to work full-time on open source contributions to the Bitcoin/crypto ecosystem. Work from anywhere, report directly to me, and we can even pay you in Bitcoin!”

[Source: Cointelegraph] ✩✩✩

5. Bitcoin Hash Rate Hits 4-Month High, Sparks Optimism

Bitcoin’s hash rate has reached the highest levels seen since November 2018. The increase in mining power suggests profits available at the current spot price as well as potentially expectations for a future price increase.

Surpassing 52 quintillion hashes per second Tuesday 19 March, mining difficulty has changed little for the last month or so, meaning new miners have had an easier time bringing their rigs online.

[Source: Bitcoinnews] ✩✩✩

6. North Korean Revolutionaries Turn to Crypto to Oust Kim Jong-un

An organized dissident revolutionary group calling itself Cheollima Civil Defense is actively working to overthrow Kim Jong-un and the government of North Korea. The group has announced that they will be selling visas to the new country beginning Sunday, and supporters can pay with the Ethereum cryptocurrency.

The price is one ether for the first 1,000 visas, which will be issued via the blockchain. Two hundred thousand passes will be granted using the blockchain. The official site doesn’t say what the per-visa cost will be once 1,000 have been issued.

[Source: CCN] ✩✩✩✩

7. Facebook Seeks Counsel to Forge Blockchain Partnerships for New Products

Facebook’s blockchain recruitment drive continues, as the social network looks to hire a lead commercial counsel for its initiatives with the technology.

A new job posting at the company’s career page says the position will be responsible for “drafting and negotiating a wide variety of contracts related our blockchain initiatives, including partnerships needed to launch new products and expand such products internationally.”

[Source: Coindesk] ✩✩✩

8. Vitalik Buterin Says ethereum Must Reach 100,000 Transactions Per Second, Bitcoin May Remain Solely a Store of Value

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin says the platform needs to be capable of processing at least 100,000 transactions per second to remain viable in the long run. In a new interview with Abra CEO Bill Barhydt, Buterin says he’s now mainly focused on three overarching issues: privacy, useability and useability of security. As for Bitcoin, Buterin says core developers will have to boost transactions per second at the base layer, or they’ll risk losing adoption for day-to-day transactions, in which case BTC would remain a store of value.

[Source: DailyHodl] ✩✩✩

9. Crypto Exchange Aggregator Caspian to Offer Crypto Options and Futures Trading

Institutional crypto trading, portfolio and risk management platform Caspian announced that it has integrated its platform with cryptocurrency futures and options trading exchange Deribit. The news was revealed in a press release from Caspian published on March 20.

Per the announcement, Deribit has been added to Caspian’s ecosystem of over 30 cryptocurrency exchanges and liquidity providers. The company also claims that the move renders it the first institutional platform to offer both options and futures trading in the crypto asset class.

[Source: Cointelegraph] ✩✩✩

10. Binance Supports First Live Property Auction Using BTC and BNB

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is partnering with real estate auctioneer James Pratt Auctions (JPA) to launch a live property auction using bitcoin and Binance Coin (BNB). On April 8, buyers can bid on — and buy — a futuristic-looking, luxury, beach-front mansion nicknamed ‘The Jetsons” in Casuarina, New South Wales, using BTC or BNB.

[Source: CCN] ✩✩✩

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