Bitcoin Daily: Darknet Bitcoin Spending Slides During COVID-19 Pandemic; Telegram Prohibited From Issuing Tokens To Foreign Investors

Spending at darknet markets declined during the past two months even with a drop in the price of the digital currency, per Chainalysis data, as the coronavirus pandemic has impacted every part of the global economy, CoinDesk reported. Darknets are websites that facilitate the sale of products such as counterfeit currencies. In the middle of February, bitcoin reached $10,500 and dropped to as low as $3,867 in mid-March. The value of bitcoins delivered to darknet markets declined to $3.2 million from $4.1 million as prices dropped. The price of bitcoin was $6,538.14 at 7 p.m. on Wednesday (April 1), according to CoinDesk.

In other news, a Southern District of New York judge rejected the request of Telegram to provide investors outside of the country with Gram tokens, CoinDesk reported. Telegram hinted that it “will implement safeguards to protect against non-U.S. Private Placement purchasers reselling Grams to U.S. purchasers in the future,” per the report. The claim, however, did not move the judge. The court battle between Telegram and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly been ongoing for half a year.

On another note, a bitcoin automated teller machine (ATM) has come to Nigeria, and it’s said to be the first one in the country, BlockNewsAfrica reported. Bitcoin ATM company Blockstale brought the machine to Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city. Blockstale CEO Daniel Adekunle said, per the outlet, “Blockstale BTM was developed specially to facilitate adoption, transparency and security in Nigeria.” Bitcoin ATMs have become more popular throughout the globe because of the need for more choices when it comes to purchasing and selling bitcoin. Fourteen bitcoin ATMs were in seven different nations prior to the bitcoin ATM in Lagos.

And, digital currency exchange BuyUcoin has received a trade and wallet license in Estonia, according to an announcement. The company said it “plans to offer its platform into countries with legal framework and regulation for cryptocurrencies.” In addition, the company noted it teamed with Mobikwik — a move that provides users with the ease of transactions based on smartphones to purchase or sell digital assets. BuyUCoin, which was started in 2016, is one of India’s oldest digital currency exchanges, per the announcement.