Bitcoin Daily: Dormant Bitcoin Wallets Reach 15.8M; Bank Of America Awarded Crypto Key Patent

BitInfoCharts data has found that almost one in 10 bitcoin wallets have sat dormant for a year, MarketWatch reported. As of August, the number of dormant wallets reached 15.8 million. At the same time, the site found 9.4 percent of bitcoins were held by the 100 biggest dormant wallets. Furthermore, just under 350,000 bitcoins were in the five largest dormant wallets, and the biggest dormant wallet contained almost 80,000 coins of the digital currency.

At the same time, Diar has found that the volume of major cryptocurrencies trading has plummeted since the beginning of this year, The Next Web found. Trading volume for bitcoin, in particular, has dropped by 79 percent since January. At the same time, major digital currencies are seeing decreased volatility. While bitcoin’s 30-day volatility was 9 percent in January, it is now below 1.5 percent. However, the report noted that the digital currency markets tend to slow in October.

In other news, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded Bank of America a patent for a “hardened storage device” that could store cryptographic keys, and has potential digital currency applications, CoinDesk reported. Computers that hold keys often have a public network or internet connection storing them locally, which causes them to be “continuously susceptible to being misappropriated.” The company’s device, though, could “reduce the risk” when it comes to theft of the private keys belonging to a user.

IBM, along with Smart Dubai, is rolling out a government-endorsed blockchain system called the Dubai Blockchain Platform, according to a press release. IBM’s mainframe technology that can process more than 6.2 billion web transactions, dubbed LinuxONE, will be behind the platform. Among the first projects to migrate onto the platform will be the Dubai Pay Blockchain Settlement and Reconciliation System, which launched on Sept. 23. With that system, a process that lasted for roughly 45 days now happens in real time.