Current Bitcoin Price: $4041 (as of 8:00 AM PST)

The waters of the cryptocurrency market are quiet today. Of course, there are some ripples, but the market as a whole is moving in no definite direction. Bitcoin and XRP are down about one to one and a half percent together, while Ethereum is up just under three percent.

The big movers today are TRON (up 20%), Cardano (up 12%), and DASH (up 12%). On the other end of the spectrum, WAVES is the only top-20 coin that’s down a similar amount — in this case 12%

Top Bitcoin & Crypto News Stories for 21st December 2018

US looks to exclude crypto from security laws

Thus far, a good many cryptocurrencies have automatically been designated securities, which means they’re subject to the tough and costly securities laws that the United States’ Securities and Exchange Commission has set forth.

However, two US lawmakers have looked to have cryptocurrencies excluded from traditional securities definitions, so that they could be subject to their own set of laws.

Coinbase moves $5 billion for token expansion

There have been rumors of Coinbase, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, expanding its repertoire of digital assets. For a change, these rumors are totally true!

In preparation for their new tokens, Coinbase has had to reevaluate their cryptocurrency storage model. To this end, they’ve moved more than $5 billion of tokens, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.

New IOTA hash function offers 200,000 EUR bounty

IOTA is a lightweight, feeless cryptocurrency with the goal of facilitating microtransactions on the Internet of Things (IoT). To this end, they’re interested in making the network as fast and effective as possible without sacrificing security.

A new IOTA hash function, created in collaboration with CyberCrypt, has been released. As a testament to its security, developers have assigned a 200,000 EUR bounty to anyone who can find an exploit.