The looming threat of an all-out war between the United States and Iran has seen investors flock to safe-haven assets like gold, oil, and apparently bitcoin as the largest cryptocurrency jumped 5.5% after headlines revealed that Iran had attacked two U.S. military bases in Iraq.

Calibra, Facebook’s cryptocurrency subsidiary, is looking to hire two marketing managers to help the Libra stablecoin reach “billions of people.” The task will likely be aided by Facebook’s user base of over 2 billion across its social apps.

One of the two cryptocurrency exchanges being operated by Japanese messaging giant LINE, BitBox, is dropping XRP from its platform. The reason behind the move is unclear, although the exchange has said that it drops cryptoassets if they don't meet certain standards that range from liquidity and reliability to regulatory compliance.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Bitcoin Reaches $8,400 After Iran Attacks U.S. Bases in Iraq
• Calibra Looking to Hire Marketing Veterans to Help Libra Stablecoin Reach ‘Billions of People’
• Japanese Messaging Giant LINE’s Crypto Exchange to Drop XRP Trading Pairs

At the time of writing, bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $8,316.59 (5.52%) with a daily Top Tier volume of $3.92 billion. As for ether (ETH), it is trading at $143.96 (0.59%) with a daily Top Tier volume of $526.06 mn. The MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 10 Index is currently tracking at 2,574.78 (2.82%).

Bitcoin Reaches $8,400 After Iran Attacks U.S. Bases in Iraq

The price of Bitcoin hit a new high for this year above the $8,400 mark shortly after Iranian missiles struck U.S. and coalition bases in Iraq, causing investors to reallocate their capital into safe-haven assets like gold and oil.

According to CoinDesk Joshua Green, head of trading at cryptocurrency trading firm Digital Asset Capital Management, said the BTC rally was a response to the events unfolding in Iraq. He was quoted as saying:

• “You are also seeing oil and gold up strongly.”

Markets have reacted to Iran’s strike with gold hitting $1,588 an ounce after moving up 0.9% in the last 24-hour period. Oil prices jumped nearly 4% right after Iran’s retaliation strike, but started moving back down after it became clear the U.S. wasn’t, at least immediately, responding with another hit. At press time oil is up 0.6%.

Similarly, Bitcoin surged to over $8,400 after the attack, but as it became clear an all-out war wasn’t breaking out its price has since moved to $8,300. It’s up 5.5% in the last 24 hours. The Dow Jones dropped 0.42%, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.28%.

Calibra Looking to Hire Marketing Veterans to Help Libra Stablecoin Reach ‘Billions of People’

Calibra, Facebook’s blockchain subsidiary, is hiring a head of brand, and a head of media, digital marketing, and community to help the soon-to-be-launched Libra cryptocurrency reach “billions of people.”

The job ads show the ideal candidates will have at least 15 years of marketing experience, and at least 10 years of leadership experience. The job postings read:

“Our ultimate goal is to help billions of people with access to things they don't have now - that could be things like equitable financial services, it could be new ways to save, it could be new ways to share information.”

Overall, Calibra has 26 open positions on Facebook, including for product managers and engineers. The Libra cryptocurrency is set to be launched later this year, even though some regulators have shown they disapprove of the cryptocurrency.

Japanese Messaging Giant LINE’s Crypto Exchange to Drop XRP Trading Pairs

BitBox, one of the cryptocurrency exchanges operated by Japanese messaging giant LINE, is delisting the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, XRP. The motive for the move is unclear, although BitBox noted in its announcement that it delists cryptoassets when they don’t meet certain standards.

The cryptocurrency exchange’s announcement reads:

“If a coin does not meet our standards based on its performance, reliability, liquidity, or law and regulatory requirements, it will be delisted from our exchange. To protect your assets and interests, we provide sufficient notice before delisting.”

XRP trading pairs and deposits are set to be dropped on January 16, but users will have until February 16 to withdraw their XRP holdings.

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