Daily Crypto News Digest - Feb 21st 2018

Market

• Markets dipped slightly today with bitcoin unable to cross the $12,000 USD threshold. Bitcoin currently rests at around ~11,200
• Kimchi premium is also on the rise. From about 8% yesterday on bitcoin to 11% now.
• Ethereum to bitcoin prices have reached a 45 day low, dropping below 0.08 today. Trend looks to be continuing to head down.

Daily News

• Bitcoin's transaction fee nightmare is over (for now). Down from a high of $34 - to $0.78 cents today!
  http://www.globalcryptopress.com/2018/02/bitcoins-transaction-fee-nightmare-is.html

Less transactions overall from peak values, but still, with segwit and advances in lightning network future spikes in transactions should be handled better

• Hackers upping their game. Use Tesla’s cloud environment to mine cryptocurrencies.
  https://www.coindesk.com/tesla-public-cloud-was-briefly-hijacked-by-crypto-miners/
  https://cointelegraph.com/news/tesla-cryptojacked-hackers-use-passwordless-system-to-mine-crypto

Hackers getting smarter and leaving less trails to follow. “Unlike previous crypto mining attacks, the hackers that targeted Tesla did not utilize a public mining pool. Instead, they installed mining pool software and obscured it behind CloudFlare, which allowed them to hide the IP address of their mining pool server, making detection of the mining more difficult. To further hide their actions, the hackers ensured that CPU usage remained low during the hack.”

• Venezuela’s “Petro” cryptocurrency - scam or saviour?
  https://www.coindesk.com/petro-debut-learned-venezuelas-cryptocurrency-today/
  https://cointelegraph.com/news/petro-ignited-venezuela-launches-pre-sale-of-oil-backed-national-cryptocurrency
  https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/7z2mg3/details_of_the_shitshow_launch_that_is_the_petro/

Because of hyperinflation, the government was looking for ways to save the economy. Enter cryptocurrency and the oil-backed Petro.
“...the controversial token, as mentioned previously, has attracted its share of opponents, including members of the opposition-controlled Congress in Venezuela. In past comments to the media, one lawmaker called it "illegal" and accused it of serving as a vehicle for corruption.”

Other News
Bitcoin Continues to Outperform Tokens and Cryptocurrencies Amid Recovery
https://www.ccn.com/bitcoin-continues-to-outperform-tokens-and-cryptocurrencies-amid-recovery/

Coinbase And Bitfinex Integrate Bitcoin Scaling Upgrade SegWit
https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-and-bitfinex-integrate-bitcoin-scaling-upgrade-segwit

Customer Tries to Withdraw $20 Trillion in Crypto Exchange Glitch
https://www.coindesk.com/customer-tries-to-withdraw-20-trillion-in-crypto-exchange-glitch/

South Korea Regulator Seeks Cryptocurrency ‘Normalization’ in Dramatic U-Turn
https://www.ccn.com/south-korea-regulator-seeks-cryptocurrency-normalization-dramatic-u-turn/

Gibraltar Will Take Market-Driven Approach to ICO Rules
https://www.coindesk.com/venezuela-claims-735-million-raised-first-cryptocurrency-sale/

Finland: Authorities Unsure How To Store 2,000 Seized Bitcoins After Treasury Guidelines
https://cointelegraph.com/news/finland-authorities-unsure-how-to-store-2000-seized-bitcoins-after-treasury-guidelines

PayPal Exec Says ‘Very High Likelihood’ Bitcoin Will Become Popular Payment Method
https://cointelegraph.com/news/paypal-exec-says-very-high-likelihood-bitcoin-will-become-popular-payment-method

UK, US Agencies Join Forces To Study And Regulate Cryptocurrencies
https://www.ethnews.com/uk-us-agencies-join-forces-to-study-and-regulate-cryptocurrencies