1.Blockpass and BCA Announce Alliance and Collaboration

      2.Zebpay Continues European Expansion, Launches EU-Wide Trading Tournament

      3.Bitcoin ATM Operator Cottonwood Receives NY BitLicense

      4.Binance adds credit card payments for crypto

1.Blockpass and BCA Announce Alliance and Collaboration

Maltese-based Blockchain Advisory (BCA) has announced a strategic alliance and collaboration with Blockpass IDN. The collaboration will focus on the creation of a reg-tech focussed compliant ecosystem within blockchain, and bring together two established businesses already at the forefront of legal compliance.

BCA is a fast growing team of regulatory and technology specialists that introduced blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies to Malta back in 2013, and are assisting numerous blockchain-based and cryptocurrency-related projects such as token generation events, crypto funds, and cryptocurrency exchanges in becoming leaders of the upcoming shift in global technology,

Blockpass is digital identity application and service that brings control back to the user. Blockpass provides a streamlined and cost-effective user onboarding process for regulated industries and any kind of online service.

CEO of BCA, Jonathan Galea: “Customer due diligence procedures and general AML processes have become more important than ever in the novel industry of blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies. The strategic partnership with Blockpass gives our clients access to and the cutting-edge technology provided by Blockpass coupled with peace of mind regarding security and compliance with the latest regulatory requirements.”

2.Zebpay Continues European Expansion, Launches EU-Wide Trading Tournament

Cryptocurrency exchange Zebpay is opening new offices in five European countries, increasing its presence on the continent to 43 countries.

The exchange is also running a European trading competition which will debut today, February 1, 2019. The tournament will be used by the crypto platform to identify and reward expert traders in Europe. In part, the competition is a cheers to Zebpay’s expansion, but the self-proclaimed “new member of the European crypto community” said it’s also in a bid “to build a relationship with the crypto trading community and show why over 3 million consumers worldwide trust and enjoy using Zebpay.”

Ajeet Khurana, CEO of Zebpay, told about the expansion. He said, “As we continue to expand into new territories, we want to build strong relationships with crypto communities, enthusiasts and traders in existing ecosystems. Our platform is battle tested with millions of users (many of whom are new to the space) with incident free handling of billions worth of assets. We can’t wait to see how the new countries that we’ve expanded to interact with our platform.”

The trading competition will be open to all European countries where Zebpay’s services are available, including the five countries that are now available today.

“The goal of this competition is to encourage healthy competition amongst traders and for new traders to get a taste of the Zebpay platform,” Khurana told .

The exchange will select 50 participants randomly to compete in a trading challenge. Each participant will get €1,000 to trade with on the platform for 30 days. There will be a public leaderboard, where traders can monitor their progress on the platform and a 24/7 support team will be available to help participants every step of the way.

At the end of the competition, the top 10 traders will keep the balance in their account. Those who don’t make the cut will get a reward of €100 for participating in the tournament.

3.Bitcoin ATM Operator Cottonwood Receives NY BitLicense

Cottonwood Vending LLC, a US-based operator of Bitcoin ATMs, was awarded a coveted license to deal in cryptocurrencies in New York.Cottonwood was granted a so-called BitLicense by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), becoming the second in its field to receive the highly-sought-after approval.

Earlier in November, Coinsource, the world’s largest Bitcoin ATM operator, became the first Bitcoin ATM operator to receive the Virtual Currency License.

To maintain a BitLicense license, a provider must fulfill various reporting requirements and comply with standards on anti-money laundering, cybersecurity, and consumer protection. And for an ATM operator, it should assure regulators that the company’s systems in place ensure its machines aren’t being used for criminal purposes, including having a repository of transaction records.

Cottonwood provides the largest bitcoin ATM network in New York, now operating nearly 100 machines, which allow the city residents to buy and sell the cryptocurrency for cash. Its recent regulatory filings show it has generated $35 million in revenues last year.

4.Binance adds credit card payments for crypto

Binance, one of the world’s top cryptocurrency exchanges, has just announced a credit card feature. Customers will be able to buy crypto assets with credit cards on the exchange.

According to information from a press release given to CoinTelegraph today, Binance has partnered with a payment company called Simplex. The partnership means customers will have the ability to buy crypto assets on the exchange using their Mastercard and Visa cards.The new feature will enable customers to buy bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), litecoin (LTC) and ripple (XRP) on Binance using fiat money.

The move to add credit card payment options is part of the exchange’s desire “to provide Binance traders with fast and easy access to crypto, in the most secure way possible”, according to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ).

Simplex CEO and co-founder Nimrod Lehavi included his sentiment that convenient credit card use in the crypto space will help further crypto adoption