The focus on Bitcoin has affected many other areas of cryptocurrency positively - but also negatively. Among the latter is the field of blockchain, which has been a booming one and a hot topic in our latest cryptocurrency news. However, a new report suggests that blockchain investments could drop by as much as 60% this year alone as the attention continues to focus on Bitcoin (BTC). The new data has been carried out by one fintech research bureau, CB Insights, and was featured on Bloomberg on July 18. As it mentioned, companies in the blockchain space are drawing in a lot less support this year. The report shows that blockchain investments and deals have netted the space $784 million in funding so far. If that momentum continues, by December the figure will be $1.6 billion in total. By contrast, in 2018, companies received $4.1 billion which means that this year's number may represent a 61% reduction. The CEO of CB Insights was featured in the altcoin news for stating that "“It took a little bit for the enthusiasm to wear off,” pointing out to the hype around Bitcoin and how it affected the blockchain investments market. The data also showed that for the five years to July this year, 40% of the blockchain investments focused on the United States, whereas China was the second biggest single country with 15% of the total. Another aspect, which was highlighted by many best cryptocurrency news sites and Reuters, showed that even projects which had gained funding, had less than optimal success rates. As it showed, out of 33 projects, only 12 had made significant progress. Overall, these are "bad signs for the blockchain but not the Bitcoin crowd" according to the NY Times reporter named Nathaniel Popper who wrote the piece. As per the report featured on Bloomberg, the number of blockchain investments is declining but the largest cryptocurrency has done all but regained its losses from the 2018 bear market, while the analysts remain split about its next move. Since it reached a high of $13,800 last month, the BTC/USD pair then fell to almost $9,000 and is currently recovering to challenge $10,000 at press time. The market is stable but lost a lot over the past couple of weeks.

Economist Nouriel Roubini wrote an article where he criticized crypto but also Haye’s business scheme accusing the exchange of money laundering. In the altcoin news below, we take a look at what he exactly stated. After the debate during the Asia Blockchain Summit, Roubini addressed Arthur Hayes, the CEO of the BitMEX exchange saying that his exchange is involved in terrorist funding and money laundering. He wrote in the article about his major pessimism towards cryptocurrencies and other subjectivities but mainly his accusations quickly escalated:

 “BitMEX insiders revealed to me that this exchange is also used daily for money laundering on a massive scale by terrorists and other criminals from Russia, Iran, and elsewhere; the exchange does nothing to stop this, as it profits from these transactions.”

Roubini noted that ‘’crypto land has become an unregulated casino where the unchecked criminals run riots.’’ However, a paper published by the economist and professor Edgar L Feige says that the majority of the crime is financed by cash-not cryptocurrencies. The Europol and the United States Senate also prove him wrong. His attack on Bitmex was based on the fact that the exchanges are unregulated businesses. For this reason, he noted:

 “Hayes has denied this, but because BitMEX is totally unregulated, there are no independent audits of its accounts, and thus no way of knowing what happens behind the scenes.”

The Economist Nouriel Roubini believes that BitMEX only operates in the United States but in reality, it turns out that the exchange is not ‘’totally unregulated.’’ Every business decides to open where the laws are most convenient. This means that the exchange is not illegal and this has always been the case. There are also many companies and corporations around the world who pour money into Swiss accounts for example where there are low taxes. Roubini kept on saying that BitMEX supports up to 1:100 leverage and that these operations can be very harmful. In many cases, the clients of the exchange could end up in transactions without being aware of the risks:

 “Arthur Hayes, boasted openly that the BitMEX business model involves peddling to “degenerate gamblers” (meaning clueless retail investors) crypto derivatives with 100-to-one leverage…It is little wonder that, according to one independent researcher’s estimates, liquidations at times account for up to half of BitMEX’s revenue.”

As reported previously in the latest cryptocurrency news, Arthur Hayes has still not responded to these accusations.

The global volume of blockchain has been a hot topic on many best cryptocurrency news sites, especially when it comes to new forecasts. A new report shows that the volume of blockchain in healthcare markets worldwide is forecast to exceed the $1.7 billion mark by 2026. The press release comes from a consulting services to information technologies firm named Acumen Research and Consulting (ARC). As they predicted in the published release, global blockchain in healthcare market will reach over $1.7 billion by 2026 with a compound annual growth rate of 48.1% Based on geography, the leading country with this blockchain initiative will be America, dominating with the largest share in the global blockchain in healthcare market. The United States is known as one of the most mature markets for the technology especially in industries such as manufacturing and healthcare. Europe will follow, as the report shared in the altcoin news shows. As second, Europe will also benefit from the growth of blockchain in healthcare markets. ARC points out that there are likely going to be increasing expenditures on technology and the presence of multinational companies. “However, lack of security is the major factor restraining the growth of the blockchain in healthcare market in Europe,” the press release further notes. ARC has also named Asia Pacific as the region with the fastest growth rate in terms of blockchain deployment in healthcare, mostly because of the fastest growing economy and associated opportunities. In the region, Japan is also seen as a country with a mature market, large population and highly skilled labor - all of which are efficient for implementing blockchain in healthcare.

"The Asia Pacific is expressing the fastest growth for the blockchain in healthcare market due to the presence of huge opportunities and the presence of fastest growing economy. Japan is an important blockchain in healthcare market, with a mature market, large population, completed infrastructural facilities and high-leveled skilled labor. During last few decades, Japan has emerged as a country for the origin of new and advanced technology. The Japanese government has supported a number of companies to introduce the new technology. Japan accounts for roughly 40% of the global market for sensors, which is a central component of IoT technology," the report notes.

The latest cryptocurrency news show that the rate at which blockchain is adopted is more than just impressive.

Tor Internet Privacy project launched a bitcoin donation in a bid to fight against web censorship and surveillance and managed to raise about 65% of its goal in only one day. In altcoin news below we find out more. Tor aims to raise more than $10,000 in the next few days which in order to fight against internet censorship. The Tor internet privacy project enables users to access the internet privately and with a high degree of anonymity while bypassing the government censors and firewalls. This is managed through the Tor browser which is a modified version of Firefox that can avoid ISP filters and access an unfettered internet. The twitter user Hodlonaut tweeted:

‘’I will always remember how @BtcpayServer facilitated the #weareallhodlonaut fundraiser. Now they are powering a super important fundraiser for @torproject If you value privacy and online freedom, please consider donating!’’

The official website noted that the funds which will be gathered from the campaign will go directly to the Ledger Nano S Wallet address of the project with no fees or intermediaries. There is also a video on the website which explains how Tor works and why people should use it in order to be safe on the internet. The advantage of donating in BTC is that there are no rounded up figures that you must donate so everyone can donate what they can afford. There are no banks or PayPal like intermediaries as well. The team is on their way to reach the $7,000 goal after more than 200 contributors donated to the project. Two of the contributors even donated more than a thousand dollars in bitcoin. The awareness through media exposure will also help the campaign since the compassion or this project is really high. In only one day, 65% of the target was already gathered. BitPay also tweeted a couple of hours later that a third of the donations arrived with the help of the Lightning Network:

‘’36% of donation amount via lightning network. Quake sounds played in the crowdfunding is making 10 donations of 5 USD via lightning way more satisfying than making 1 donation of 50 USD. Only possible via lightning!’’

As noted in the best cryptocurrency news sites, the company is a non-profit one and relies only on donations.