The Daily: Coinbase Custody Opens, Hitbtc Hits Back at McAfee, BTCC Relaunches

Recent updates about the operations of cryptocurrency exchanges is the main focus in today’s edition of Bitcoin in Brief. Stories include the official opening of Coinbase Custody, a spat between Hitbtc and John McAfee, the relaunch of the BTCC exchange and Huobi’s postponement of Hadax voting.

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Coinbase Custody Opens

Coinbase has announced that its new institutional offering Coinbase Custody, that last week accepted its first deposit, is now officially open for business. The service will be onboarding crypto hedge funds, exchanges and ICO projects over the coming weeks. It is a combination of cold storage, an institutional-grade broker-dealer and reporting services, and a client coverage program.

Coinbase Custody leverages the expertise and systems of Electronic Transaction Clearing (ETC), a SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA member. It provides secure storage for institutions in both the US and Europe, and the company hopes to bring this offering to Asia as well before the end of the year. The service currently supports BTC, ETH, LTC and BCH. And as we previously reported, it is expected to open the floodgates for big institutional money looking for cryptocurrency exposure.

“As crypto continues its maturation as an asset class and more institutions enter the space, Coinbase is committed to delivering products and services that are tailored to their unique needs. Coinbase Custody delivers the trusted storage service that our clients need to fully immerse themselves in the potential that crypto assets provide. We look forward to delivering more offerings over the coming months,” the company stated.

Hitbtc Hits Back at McAfee

Hitbtc, the Hong Kong-based exchange, has responded to John McAfee’s accusations on Twitter that the venue is “killing poor people”. The provocateur and former ICO shiller supreme started the fight last Thursday when he wrote that “The crypto exchanges have become the thing that we have originally fought against. Their power is immense. Hitbtc, for example, has increased suffering for millions of poor people who cannot afford the minimum buy-in since it is greater than their monthly income. Boycott them.”

The exchange mockingly thanked him for raising the problem and being the voice of the community. To which McAfee responded: “Your algorithm killed an unknown number of people. You tell me what algorithm recompenses these deaths.”

Thank you very much @officialmcafee for being the voice of the crypto community and raising this important problem. pic.twitter.com/IgyeZShF2S — HitBTC (@hitbtc) July 1, 2018

BTCC Relaunches Exchange

BTCC, once one of the biggest bitcoin exchange in China, has officially launched its new platform on Monday, as we reported back in May. The new exchange supports trading BCH, BTC, ETH, LTC, and USD, and offers zero trading fees for the first three months of operation. Interestingly, the platform also features a rewards point system, reminiscent of the much maligned Trans-Fee mining business model that recently propelled new exchanges to the top of the volume charts.

Huobi Backtracks on New Hadax Rules?

On Friday, Huobi declared it will be implementing several Hadax voting changes meant to combat bribery for token listings. However, now the exchange has announced the postponement of the opening of voting which was originally planned for Monday. The main change was dividing its Super Nodes into two categories and dropping all projects not supported by the new higher tier group. The team notified users that “Due to the participation of new nodes, the HADAX operating team is still working hard to provide better autonomy plan for the community, and the rules are still being discussed intensively, taking into account the forward compatibility issue. Therefore, HADAX will delay the opening of the 1st round of the 4th phase of voting.”

What do you think about today’s news tidbits? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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