Bitcoin transactions linked to illicit activities are reportedly below 1% of the total transacted across the cryptocurrency’s network over the last few years. The figure is down from 35% in 2012.

The Libra Association has added three new members, including a government-owned investment vehicle. The other two members are cryptocurrency investment firms.

Cryptocurrency investors have been found to move toward altcoins during bull market cycles, and retrace back to BTC during bear market cycles. The data comes from top crypto exchange Coinbase.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Bitcoin Transactions Linked to Illicit Activities Are Below 1% of Total, Elliptic Reveals
• Libra Association Adds Three New Members
• Crypto Investors Bet on Altcoins During Bull Runs, Coinbase Reveals

At the time of writing, bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $9,684.42 (0.69%) with a daily Top Tier volume of $7.63 bn. As for ether (ETH), it is trading at $201.05 (-0.45%) with a daily Top Tier volume of $1.34 bn. The MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 10 Index is currently tracking at 3,024.37 (2.63%).

Bitcoin Transactions Linked to Illicit Activities Are Below 1% of Total, Elliptic Reveals

Bitcoin blockchain surveillance and forensic compliance firm Elliptic has revealed that BTC transactions linked to illicit activities, such as buying goods on darknet marketplaces, receiving funds from ransomware, or from frauds, have remained below 1% of the total for the last few years.

According to the firm, the percentage of illicit bitcoin transactions has dropped from about 35% in 2012 to less than 1% today. To get to its figures the firm calculated the USD value of BTC transactions linked to illicit entities in its database from 2012 onward, applying the exchange rate at the time of each transaction for conversions.

Speaking to The Block Tom Robinson, co-founder and chief scientist of Elliptic, said:

"There is a clear downward trend. I think this is due to the introduction of anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, the work of law enforcement, and the AML efforts of crypto exchanges and other businesses - as well as speculation emerging as the dominant use of crypto."

Elliptic did not share the total USD value of illicit bitcoin transactions, arguing there is “too much focus” on the absolute figures.

Libra Association Adds Three New Members

The Facebook-backed Libra Association has added three new organizations to its ranks. These include cryptocurrency industry investment firms Paradigm and Slow Ventures, as well as Temasek, one of Singapore’s two government-owned investment vehicles.

Temasek has a portfolio valued at more than $300 billion, and it’s expected to play a unique role in the Libra Association. Through a spokesperson Chia Song Hwee, deputy CEO of Temasek, said:

"Our participation in the Libra Association as a member will allow us to contribute towards a regulated global network for cost-effective retail payments. Many developments in the space excite us – we look forward to further exploring the potential of the technology.”

Temasek has in the past shown interest in blockchain-related ventures, teaming up with JP Morgan and the Monetary Authority of Singapore in November for a blockchain-based payments platform. The additions increase the influence of financiers in the Association, making them the largest croup by industry. They now wield nearly 30% of members’ control over the project.

Crypto Investors Bet on Altcoins Duing Bull Runs, Coinbase Reveals

San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has released research showing that the flagship cryptocurrency bitcoin acts as a gateway for investors to get into other cryptocurrencies.

Coinbase’s research found that while 60% of users buy bitcoin as their first step in the cryptocurrency space, only 24% stick to it. Specifically, investors appear to be more willing to risk their funds on altcoins during bull runs. In 2017, when Bitcoin’s dominance in the crypto space dropped, Ethereum became the dominant asset o the platform with around 50% of the total trading volume.

Justin Mart, an executive at Coinbase, noted:

“This could be for a variety of reasons, but one is largely psychological. As people feel good about their initial crypto investments (into Bitcoin), they branch out to find other possible categorical winners (as evident in the 2017 bull run).”

During bear markets, however, investors turn to Bitcoin again as the “blue-chip” cryptocurrency. The report suggests BTC could be moving towards becoming digital gold.

Flipside Friday

The Flipside Crypto Disparity Ratio is a tool helping you find out which cryptoassets are under and overvalued. The crypto disparity ratio scores cryptoassets based on market capitalization and FCAS ratings, with a score over 1 showing it’s undervalued, and under 1 showing it’s overvalued.

POA Network (POA), a public sidechain based on the Ethereum protocol that will use Proof-of-Authority and allow organizations to build their own networks in their own validators and allow developers to deploy decentralized applications, tops the undervalued list with a score of 1.64.

XYO, an ERC-20 token used for a decentralized network of devices that anonymously collects geospatial data, comes next with a score of 1.53. It’s followed by the Raiden Network (RDN), an off-chain scaling payment solution to perform ERC20 compliant token transactions, at 1.40.

Next comes SingularityNET (AGI), a protocol for coordinating, discovering, and transacting AI algorithms at scale.

On the overvalued side we have Digitex Futures (DGTX), the token used on the commission-free cryptocurrency futures trading platform Digitex Futures. It’s an ERC-20 token that’s now at 0.32. It’s followed by DxChain Token (DX), the world’s first decentralized big data and machine learning network powered by a computing-centric blockchain.

Next comes Monacoin, the once-popular cat meme cryptocurrency which has even been used to buy land in 2014, at 0.37. Then there’s the Huobi Token (HT) at the bottom of the list, an ERC-20 token that allows users to receive a discount on fees on the Huobi exchange, among other benefits.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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