Markets Outlook

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Today on Markets Daily we're taking a break from our quick-hit news roundup format for a brief discussion on US politics in the age of bitcoin with CoinDesk features editor Ben Schiller and privacy-beat reporter Benjamin Powers.Yesterday CoinDesk launched its Post Trust Election series, looking at how politics and the U.S. presidential campaigns are coming to grapple with issues of cryptocurrency, data security, privacy, disinformation, online voting, and other areas. We spoke with Ben about why we're launching this series and what it means. Benjamin was on the ground in South Carolina in the days leading up to that primary, saw all the major candidates speak, and spoke with voters, so we wanted to see whether cryptocurrencies and blockchain were factoring into people's thought process around the primaries and election. The candidates are largely silent on the issue of cryptocurrencies, outside of the Yang campaign before it folded. But with trust in traditional institutions waning, the rise of a digital national currency in China, and whispers of the same in the US, the world of cryptocurrency is seemingly on a collision course with politics. In the same way things like election interference, disinformation, and the impact of tech platforms rose to national prominence in the years following 2016, we think stablecoins, decentralization, and privacy, will have a similar impact on the national discourse leading up to, and in the wake of, 2020. You can find all our election coverage at coindesk.com/posttrustelection.

Bitcoin back up and CoinDesk does politics. Its Markets Daily from CoinDesk.

Today's news:Chinese Crypto and Blockchain Firms Grapple With Coronavirus OutbreakBitcoin Rallies After Biggest Weekly Drop Since NovemberWest Virginia Ditches Blockchain Voting App Provider VoatzNew Twitter Investor May Remove Bitcoin Advocate Jack Dorsey as CEORevealed: fake 'traders' allegedly prey on victims in global investment scam

Today's news:Bitcoin Closes on First February Price Loss Since 2014World's Top Crypto Miners Race to Roll Out Top-of-Line Machines Ahead of Bitcoin HalvingMajor Crypto Exchanges Bitfinex and OKEx Hit by Service Denial AttacksCoinbase Is Testing Clearview's Controversial Facial Recognition TechnologyMicrosoft Updates Edge Browser to Protect Against Illicit Crypto Miners

Today's news:Bitcoin Sees Corrective Price Bounce After Hitting One-Month LowsIranian General Advocates Crypto Use for Skirting Sanctions: ReportSEC Rejects Latest Bitcoin ETF BidUkraine Justice System Employee Caught Mining Crypto at WorkFirst Amendment doesn’t apply on YouTube; judges reject PragerU lawsuit

In the pantheon of crypto hacks, “SIM jacking” is one of the worst. The hack, which is less a hack and more social engineering, is basically a form of identity theft, with the attacker swapping a victim's sim card remotely, usually with the help of your cell phone carrier, and then breaking into their email, crypto, bank accounts, basically all the stuff you definitely don’t want someone to break into. It's audacious but it’s also preventable with a little awareness.  And the consequences can be dire, it’s also netted attackers tens of millions in loot over the past few years.In this episode of CoinDesk Explains (from the Markets Daily team), Adam B. Levine and John Biggs explain the attack, what it could mean for you, how it works, and what you can do to prevent it in a way that even your grandpa could understand.

Today's News:$10K Proving a Tough Nut to Crack for Bitcoin's BullsCentral Bankers From Canada, Netherlands, Ukraine Call Blockchain Unnecessary for Digital FiatAlleged Crypto Capital Operator Faces New Wire Fraud ChargeNew 'Simpsons' Episode Features Jim Parsons Giving a Crypto Explainer for the Masses

Today's news:Bitcoin Chart Indicator Flips Bearish as Price Sees Weak Bounce From $9.4KInsolvent Exchange FCoin Had Bitcoin Outflow Problems Just Two Months After Launch: ReportRiot Blockchain Plans Sale of Crypto Exchange as It Invests More Millions in Bitcoin MiningMorgan Stanley Buys E*Trade in $13B DealFidelity International Invests $14M in Hong Kong Crypto Exchange Operator