Today in the headlines, Bakkt raised over $182 million, online shopping giant DMM closed mining operations, and bitcoin confirmed one of its worst monthly losing streaks. HitBTC also froze customer withdrawals, and Fortnite added Monero as a payment option.

Catch up on the details!

Bakkt Secures $182.5 Million In First Capital Raise

Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) much-anticipated Bakkt crypto exchange has already secured more than $182 million in funds for the project.

“Despite depressed bitcoin prices, the project has attracted significant attention from major investors, including Microsoft’s venture capital arm, M12, Pantera Capital, and more,” Crypto Insider reported today.

The Bakkt platform will host cryptocurrency futures trading backed by real crypto assets. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) already host cash-settled bitcoin futures. These futures, however, do not directly interact with the crypto assets themselves.

Read on Crypto Insider

E-Commerce Giant DMM Quits Cryptocurrency Mining Business

According to a CoinDesk report on news from Nikkei, DMM.com, a sizeable Japanese online shopping site, is reportedly closing (withdrawing) its mining operations in Japan, which began early last year.

DMM decided to shut down said mining last September, feeling the effects of a drawn-out bear market on mining profits.

“The report added the withdrawal process, including the sale of its mining machines, could continue until the first half of 2019,” CoinDesk noted.

Read on CoinDesk

Bitcoin Price Suffers Worst Monthly Losing Streak In 7 Years

December’s close finalized bitcoin’s “longest monthly losing streak in seven years,” CoinDesk reported today.

December started the month off at $4,241. By the end of December, bitcoin had fallen 13%, down to $3,689. December capped off the fifth month in a row that bitcoin had closed monthly prices lower than their opening prices.

CoinDesk reported this as the worst monthly losing streak since late 2011.

Read on CoinDesk

HitBTC Account Freezes In Spotlight As Trace Mayer, John McAfee Claim Foul Play

The HitBTC crypto exchange allegedly closed customer withdrawals yesterday. This account freeze suspiciously came just two days before Trace Mayer’s Proof of Keys celebration on January 3.

The Proof of Keys event urges cryptocurrency holders to withdraw all their funds from third parties (exchanges and the like) into private storage to prove third-party solvency.

“On both Twitter and Reddit, users acknowledged that the practice of freezing accounts had occurred often in the past, and that the timing two days before Proof of Keys was not necessarily deliberate,” CoinTelegraph reported today.

Although, at the time of CoinTelegraph’s report, HitBTC had not responded to a tweet of concern Mayer sent out regarding the situation.

Read on CoinTelegraph

Fortnite Merchandise Store Starts ‘Exclusively’ Accepting Monero As Payment Method

According to CoinTelegraph’s report on a recent Monero announcement tweet, popular video game and ecosystem Fortnite now “exclusively” allows Monero (XMR) as a payment choice.

Fortnite boasts over 125 million users, with developer Epic Games worth more than $15 billion.

Readers will remember last October, which saw scammers use malware to target bitcoin holding Fortnite players.

Read on CoinTelegraph