Bitfinex announced a reward for anyone who can put the cryptocurrency exchange in touch with the hackers who made a transfer of nearly 120,000 bitcoins in 2016, according to a statement.
The company also announced a reward for the hackers for the stolen coins, and it noted that the cryptocurrency that was taken less recoveries last year is currently valued at $1.344 billion. Those who connect it with the hacker will get 5 percent of the overall property reclaimed “or equivalent funds or assets at current market values,” while the hackers will get 25 percent of the overall reclaimed property “or equivalent funds or assets at current market values.”
“The aggregate rewards available under this program could be worth up to approximately $400 million,” according to the statement.
In other news, the Federal Reserve’s relaxation of monetary policy could bolster the price of bitcoin, with analysts seeing bitcoin potentially reaching a value of $50,000, CoinDesk reported.
Messari, a digital currency research company, wrote in a note that “we know that it won’t take much of an institutional allocation until $50,000 bitcoin is back on the table” with additional investors eyeing “‘digital gold’ as an inflation hedge.”
Bitcoin prices have rocketed by nearly 60 percent in 2020. The price of bitcoin was $11,204.20 as of 7:48 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday (Aug. 4), according to CoinDesk.
Meanwhile, a former banker in China is calling for cryptocurrency to take the place of as much currency as feasible to bolster monetary reforms, the Global Times reported.
Wang Yongli, who previously served as the Bank of China’s vice president, said in a social media post per the outlet that the case for cryptocurrency could begin with setting it up to take the place of money in circulation but it should not be limited to that exchange.
The news comes as the central bank of China has started the experimental phase of the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP), according to the report. A number of economies have been looking into the formation of fiat cryptocurrencies.
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