Bitcoin Daily: Bitcoin Loses $18M, Microsoft Uses Blockchain To Give Consumers More Control Over Personal Data

Bitcoin was hit with an $18 billion market loss in just three days.

CNBC reported that the digital currency stock price fell below $6,200 for the first time in a month, ending the week about 5 percent lower. Other cryptocurrencies had an even worse week: Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, dropped 12 percent, while the third largest, XRP, is down 18 percent in seven days.

One analyst said that the sell-off is the result of rumors that crypto trading exchange Bitfinex would end all deposits from fiat currencies.

“That spooked investors a little bit — it was a main cause of the downdraft, but we’re seeing prices mostly back to normal,” said Brian Kelly, founder and CEO of BKCM. The exchange posted a response to the reports and reassured investors that “Bitfinex is not insolvent, and a constant stream of Medium articles claiming otherwise is not going to change this.”

In other news, Microsoft revealed that it will utilize blockchain to develop two products to give consumers more control over their personal data.

According to a company white paper, the first product is an encrypted personal data store comprised of user’s personal devices and cloud storage that Microsoft would offer through Azure. The second offering is a “wallet-like app” that people can use to manage their data, including the ability to take back permissions if needed.

Both products would be created with the foundation of decentralized identifiers (DIDs). “DIDs are user-generated, self-owned, globally unique identifiers rooted in decentralized systems. They possess unique characteristics, like greater assurance of immutability, censorship resistance, and tamper evasiveness. These are critical attributes for any ID system that is intended to provide self-ownership and user control,” according to the paper.

And the North Dakota Securities Department announced that it has issued cease and desist orders against three companies for offering “unregistered and potentially fraudulent securities in the form of ICOs.”

The companies subjected to the orders are Crystal Token, Advertiza Holdings, and Life Cross Coin (AKA LifecrosscoinGmbH).

A press release explained that the move came after investigations carried out by the Department’s ICO Task Force, as well as Operation Cryptosweep, a multi-jurisdiction investigation and enforcement effort involving over 40 U.S. and Canadian securities regulators.