The Ethereum Classic (ETC) blockchain successfully completed its Agartha hard fork, bringing it closer to the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain thanks to the implementations of several improvement proposals.

COBINHOOD, a cryptocurrency exchange launched after a $10 million ICO endorsed by actor Jamie Foxx, has announced it’s shutting down for an audit. Whether it’ll reopen for trading or only for user withdrawals is currently unclear.

China continued working on its own digital currency, and now claims to have almost completed its “processes of top-level design, setting industry standards, developing potential functions and integration testing.”

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Ethereum Classic Successfully Completed Its ‘Agartha’ Hard Fork
• Embattled Crypto Exchange COBINHOOD Announces Shutdown for Audit
• Development of China’s Digital Currency Has Taken a Leap Forward, Central Bank Says

At the time of writing, bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $8,121.30 (-0.12%) with a daily Top Tier volume of $1.32 billion. As for ether (ETH), it is trading at $143.46 (-0.61%) with a daily Top Tier volume of $304.99 mn. The MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 10 Index is currently tracking at 2,41.98 (-0.76%).

Ethereum Classic Successfully Completed Its ‘Agartha’ Hard Fork

Ethereum Classic (ETC) has successfully completed its ‘Agartha’ hard fork upgrade, which just like other recent upgrades the cryptocurrency has seen, helps make it more interoperable with the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. The hard fork was completed at block number 9,573,000.

As part of the hard fork, via the Ethereum Classic Improvement Proposal (ECIP) 1056, Ethereum’s Constantinople and St. Petersburg updates are also going to be enabled on the Ethereum Classic chain.

Ethereum Classic is still one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Ethereum’s original blockchain was split into two back in 2016, after a hacker managed to breach the Decentralized Autonomous Organization’s security and steal a large amount of ETH. ETC supporters, at the time, chose not to roll back the blockchain to partially reclaim hacked funds.

Embattled Crypto Exchange COBINHOOD Announces Shutdown for an Audit

COBINHOOD, a cryptocurrency exchange launched in 2017 after raising nearly $10 million through an initial coin offering, has announced it’s shutting down to audit users’ funds, according to an announcement on its website. It reads:

“COBINHOOD Exchange is shutting down and auditing all accounts' balances from Jan 10 to Feb 9 in 2020. It will be re-opened on Feb 10, 2020. All COBINHOOD users can then retrieve their funds accordingly. Please DO NOT make any deposits; it may result in permanent loss.”

It’s unclear whether the trading platform is going to reopen in February to let users withdraw their funds, or to keep letting users trade crypto. The exchange’s ICO raised about $10 million thanks to an endorsement from actor Jamie Foxx.

Fee-free trading platform Robinhood has sent COBINHOOD a cease and desist letter back in 2017 over its similar brand name and color scheme, as it could potentially confuse users. COBINHOOD has also been accused of trying to pull an “exit scam” on its users, and of filing for bankruptcy.

Development of China’s Digital Currency Has Taken a Leap Forward, Central Bank Says

The People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank, has issued a statement claiming the “processes of top-level design, setting industry standards, developing potential functions and integration testing” were “almost complete.”

According to the statement, the Chinese government has been working on developing China’s two-tiered system that’s set to offer the digital currency’s users “controlled anonymity.” The head of the digital currency research institute at the People’s Bank of China, Mu Changchun, the next steps are going to be focusing on the principles of stability, security and control.

The statement details China’s latest developments on its own digital currency. Its launch date is still unknown, although the central bank recently stated it will “continue to steadily advance the development of legal digital currencies” this year.

China has been working on its own digital currency since 2014, but accelerated its development last year after Facebook announced it was launching its own cryptocurrency, the Libra. China is set to pilot its cryptocurrency in the cities of Shenzhen and Suzhou.

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