roadrunner

Following bitcoin’s sharp pullback on November 26, renowned trader Peter Brandt says BTC is likely to see a further correction, although he thinks prices have not topped. The comments follow the massive sell-off of cryptos that resulted in traded volumes of $8.5 billion being recorded across exchanges in just 24 hours. According to Messari, this is the second-highest traded volumes figure ever recorded. Prior to the bears taking over, BTC had gone on an extended bull run and during the run up, many analysts predicted the digital asset would at least breach the $20,000 mark. However, at the time of writing, BTC appears to have stabilized after bottoming out at $16,218. Some Analysts Still Bullish In keeping with the practice of issuing bullish statements when BTC is on a bull run, some analysts insisted that BTC would end the year above $20,000. Still, even after the latest crash, some remain adamant that the $19,500 resistance level will be breached and they back their predictions with data. For instance, the findings from a study carried out by a Swiss financial institution, SEBA says that current “wallet holdings suggest large holders are unperturbed by the sell-off.” Also agreeing with the SEBA findings is Mati Greenspan, the founder of Quantum Economics who tweets that the “17% pullback is rather tame at this stage of the cycle.” When one Twitter user asks if a further drop is expected, Greenspan responds “my guess is we’ve already seen the worst of it.” Alternative Views on the Latest Bitcoin Pullback However, not everyone agrees with the assessment that the large drop is actually a long-overdue correction. Instead, some bitcoiners on Twitter say rumors that the U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is planning to change rules governing the use of noncustodial wallets might have triggered the large drop on November 26. Without giving away much, Ryan Selkis the founder at Messari tweeted “I survived the Mnuchin crash of 2020.” However, Kyle Samani, the managing partner at Multicoin thinks the Mnuchin rumors have no effect on the current BTC bull run. He argues: (The) next wave of buyers macro buyers want regulation For them, 21M cap is a feature, and censorship resistance is (kind of) a bug They don’t want self custody. Just inflation hedge. Still, others believe the resumption of withdrawals on the Asia crypto exchange Okex might have caused the drop. Okex froze withdrawals after one of the exchange’s private key holder was reportedly taken in custody. While there is no consensus on what caused the drop, many bitcoiners appear to agree that BTC might not be returning to $10,000. For instance, the SEBA findings say $16,200 is the new support price for BTC while the resistance is $19,500. Prior to the Thursday drop, Mike Novogratz of Galaxy Digital opined that BTC prices are not going to fall below $12,000 in the current cycle. Do you think BTC will go past $20,000 this year? Share your views in the comments section below. The post Veteran Analyst Says BTC Might See Further Correction but ‘Prices Have Not Topped’ appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Over the years, we have been introduced to a digital transformation, which has created and shaped communities around the world. Digital technologies have introduced newly evolved ways of how the world interacts, operates, and most of all, conducts exchanges. In the current economic hardship and the Covid-19 global pandemic, the European Union has had to face many operational and structural facts, one of them being the strength of the fiat currency; the Euro. The European Economy Operates via a Flawed System Since the introduction of the Euro, the currency has been in a consistent debate, regarding its strength and endurance within the global exchange. This specific criticism is defined by a strategic error, showcasing a dominant flaw; specifically, the Euro not having a strong asset-backed united economy. The fault has been well argued for the fact that the creation of the Euro intended to mimic the firm stance and ability of the US dollar, yet the European Union is still divided via an economic standpoint between members. Although opinions may vary, one cannot argue the strength of the organizational base of the US economy and consistency of the USD currency portraying a ‘robust’ stance even with the turmoil of changes the year 2020 has presented. ‘This is why the US economy was more prepared for the Covid-19 pandemic. The European economy operates via a different…maybe, one could say, a flawed economic system, and therefore it becomes more vulnerable to change of regulations and stabilize operations during such times’ – Simone Mazzuca Simone Mazzuca With that in mind, the economic hardship for individuals and businesses within the EU could be reduced by the creating regulations which embrace current and future digital technological possibilities. ‘The basis of Europe has a strategic position through the exchange and global power, however, in its current stance with addition to BREXIT, Europe finds itself in an even more vulnerable position’ – Simone Mazzuca Henceforth, the development of stablecoins comes at the right time, especially when international financial policies seem to be polarized by different financial variables and the inflationary nature of the Fiat. This is why Mr Mazzuca created EURST, a USD asset-backed and live audited stablecoin. The newly developed digital currency from Wallex Trust represents 1€ worth of USD, secured by the accounts of the federal reserve and Wallex Trust itself. EURST Presents Opportunities for a Better Economy Issued as a token on the Ethereum network according to the well-established ERC20 standards, the advanced capabilities of blockchain technology enables users to conduct faster and more secure transactions. This is enabled through the use of smart contracts, which digitize deposited funds that are held in a segregated account by the issuer. Thus, empowering users to transact their money without the high costs and lengthy delays of the current financial system. ‘EURST can be used as a logistical background for the representation of the Euro’ – Simone Mazzuca Even more, blockchain technology enables EURST to be fully transparent and live audited as transactions are recorded on the digital ledger, in addition to having regular third-party audits. This presents the ability not solely to bring transparency and security, but also allows users to store their funds within a trusted Custodian, Wallex Custody. Through the use of opening an account within Wallex Custody, users can benefit from additional security and privacy while maintaining fluidity in the deposit, transfer or withdrawal of personal funds convertible to any currency of choice within a quick and borderless matter. In conclusion, EURST presents itself with opportunities and possibilities for a better economy, and, we highlight some dominant features: 1. The protection of wealth from losing value in relation to the Euro may use the stablecoin to save money without opening a bank account in Europe 2. Users wanting to deposit funds to cryptocurrency exchanges for trading may use EURST instead of Fiat. 3. Oversees workers may use EURST to bypass the expensive transfer fees charger when making fiat remittances to their family back home. Following the above-mentioned advantages, EURST does indeed portray the possibility and opportunity to bring a sort of ‘chameleon’ option for operations with the Euro currency. The transparency and security of the stablecoin, EURST, is that it brings and gives support to individuals and businesses to operate successfully and this, within an economy that is yet to provide us all with reassurance. Link to EURST: https://eurst.io/ Link to Wallex Trust: https://wallextrust.com/ Link to Wallex Custody: https://www.wallexcustody.com/ This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. The post EURST Stablecoin – Reinvention of the European Economy appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The price of bitcoin and a great number of digital assets plunged in value during the early morning trading sessions on November 26, 2020. Bitcoin’s price dropped from a high of $19,319 on Wednesday evening only to lose over $2,000 during the course of the morning hours (EST) on Thursday morning. Cryptocurrency markets have shed enormous value on Thursday, November 26, 2020. The entire market cap of all 7,700+ digital assets has lost over 5% in value and rests just below the $500 billion mark. ($498B) BTC prices touched a high on Wednesday evening at $19,319 per unit and slid to a $16,870 low during the early morning trading sessions on Thursday. The price has increased since the bottom on Thursday and so far, BTC has shed 10.9% in USD value. The price of BTC is currently swapping for $17,277 per unit. Out of precisely 7,784 cryptocurrencies worldwide across 33,471 markets, there’s roughly $291 billion in global trade volume. Out of the entire crypto-economy, the Bitcoin Dominance Index is hovering around 62% on Thursday dropping 2.5% since the recent price high. Prices from this screenshot were recorded at approximately 9:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on November 26, 2020. The second-largest crypto-asset ethereum (ETH) has lost over 12% so far and each ether is swapping for $522 per coin. Ethereum has a market cap of around $59 billion at the time of publication. Significant drops in cryptocurrency values across a myriad of markets are not unusual on November 26, as the occurrence has taken place every year for the last three years in a row. The cryptocurrency XRP shed over 21.18% so far, and the asset is currently swapping for $0.53 per XRP. Still, during the last seven days, XRP prices skyrocketed and are still up 78% over the last week. The fifth-largest market cryptocurrency valuation is held by bitcoin cash (BCH) markets as each BCH is swapping for $278 a coin. Bitcoin cash has shed considerable value losing 18.5% during the last 24 hours. At the time of publication, bitcoin cash (BCH) has an overall market cap of $5.18 billion on Thursday. The cofounder of Definer, the defi network for digital loans, savings and payments, Chyna Qu explained this week that crypto use cases continue to grow stronger. “The true price indicator is the technology behind Bitcoin, and use cases are constantly growing. We predict that bitcoin will peak at the end of this year at around $40,000.” While most people have been upset about the recent crypto-economy dump a number of people said the correction was due many days ago. “This pullback is healthy,” Heidi Chakos (@blockchainchick) tweeted on Thursday. At approximately 10:00 a.m. (EST) on Thursday morning, bitcoin (BTC) prices shuddered once again to $16,318. One hour later, at approximately 10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, bitcoin (BTC) dropped below the $17k range to $16,318. BTC has lost another 2.2% since this market update was published at 9 a.m. in the morning on Thursday. Check out all the crypto price action today in real-time by leveraging markets.Bitcoin.com for the latest values on your favorite digital assets. What do you think about the recent crypto-economy correction? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. The post Market Update: Crypto Prices Drop Fast, Bitcoin Loses $2K, Correction Considered Healthy appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A former Microsoft software engineer and co-founder of Buycoins Africa Tomiwa Lasebikan says some Nigerians expatriates are now using bitcoin to circumvent the country’s overvalued exchange rate when sending remittances. According to Lasebikan, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s fixed exchange rate of $1:380 is robbing recipients 20-30% of their remittance value each time they retrieve funds. At the time of writing, the parallel exchange rate of one dollar to the Naira is 1:480, according to Abokifx. Similarly, importers that are hamstrung by the country’s rigid foreign exchange regulations, are now resorting to bitcoin when making payments online or across borders. Speaking in an interview, Lasebikan says bitcoin has also given Nigerian residents an opportunity to pay for services or utilities that the CBN usually deems unnecessary. He says: Another thing would be for people who want to have access to resources outside the country…You want to pay for Nexflix, Apple Music. All of the things the government is aggressively clamping down on. The software engineer explains that Nigerian authorities had, prior to this year’s events like Endsars protests, “been oblivious to the immense potential of bitcoin.” During the lockdown period, cryptocurrency usage in Nigeria grew and the country is now ranked as one of the top cryptocurrency markets. It is events in the crypto world in the past twelve months that may have helped change the Nigerian government’s perception of cryptocurrencies. Consequently, as Lasebikan acknowledges, officials might now want to take action to slow down the adoption of digital currencies by Nigerians. According to Lasebikan, one simple way authorities can achieve this is by clamping down on centralized crypto exchanges, enforcing more rigorous KYCs or driving crypto companies out of the traditional banking infrastructure. Still, as Lasebikan explains, this “will not kill bitcoin or the value of bitcoin” because the “majority of crypto activities happen in informal channels.” He says any clampdown will not result in the dropping of peer to peer trading which is initiated via Whatsapp or Telegram social media chat groups. Bitcoin trading is censorship-resistant and there is no way for Nigerian authorities to stop or reverse transactions. Awareness of this and other attributes about bitcoin means the CBN and others will not succeed in any effort to control the digital currency. For crypto users, knowing of this is reassuring and it helps to maintain or accelerate the adoption momentum. Do you agree with Lasebikan about the immense power of bitcoin in Nigeria? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. The post Former Microsoft Engineer Says Nigerian Expatriates Are Using Bitcoin to Circumvent Country’s Overvalued Exchange Rate appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. xSigma Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of ZK International Group (NASDAQ:ZKIN), was launched in 2018 as a blockchain research and development lab to solve real-world infrastructure challenges. After two years of intensive research into smart contracts and other blockchain-based solutions, xSigma shifted its focus to decentralized finance, or defi, in an effort to bring unfettered open-source finance to individuals and businesses worldwide. XSigma’s foray decentralized finance has come at an opportune time in the market’s evolution. Although defi burst onto the scene in 2020, it quickly became the fastest-growing segment of the blockchain industry. Despite this tremendous growth, defi isn’t without issues. Users of these protocols have complained about a faulty user experience, impermanent loss, pricing error and smart contract vulnerability. These myriad issues have cast defi in a negative light among mainstream institutional investors. The xSigma defi protocol has been designed to solve the countless issues plaguing the market today. As the first defi project to be backed by a publicly-listed company, xSigma has been built to capture the true value of decentralized finance. XSigma’s first order of business will be to launch a decentralized stablecoin exchange that offers fair farming terms for liquidity providers and an intuitive user experience for traders. Stablecoins have emerged as one of the largest markets in the cryptocurrency industry, providing investors with immediate liquidity, price stability and redeemability. By November 2020, the combined market capitalization of all stablecoins was over $24 billion. Hundreds of millions worth of stablecoins are exchanged each day–a figure that is expected to rise steadily as we enter the next phase of global adoption. Despite the inherent benefits offered by stablecoins, the exchange market is dominated by a few big players. Curve’s dominant position has allowed it to get away with offering a poor user experience, opaque token distribution and complex governance and farming systems. xSigma is building a stablecoin exchange from the user side, not the developer side. Through its proven technologies, the xSigma platform prioritizes user experience by offering a simplified interface that appeals to both crypto veterans and new traders. XSigma’s team is implementing new innovations in the stablecoin exchange market, including a revamped reward structure. The platform will burn SIG tokens with exchange fees, effectively pushing up demand for the governance token while also capping supply in the same manner as Bitcoin’s 21 million-unit hard cap. XSigma will accomplish these goals through the dedication of its award-winning and highly reputable team. The team has been assembled to not only deliver a state-of-the-art project, but to bring a new level of legitimacy and transparency to the defi ecosystem. The xSigma team is led by Alex Lebed, a software engineer formerly of Facebook, Amazon and 1Inch. Alex is also the founder of Stableunit.org and the prizewinner of ethNY (awards from Binance labs, Wyre, Matic), ethBoston and ethDenver hackathons. He is aided by Kamal Obbad, a Harvard graduate and former Google engineer who was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 in healthcare. Daniel Garay is an xSigma project manager who used to work at Ripple and Google. The soon-to-be-launched xSigma stablecoin exchange will bring a new level of transparency, accountability and user experience to the defi industry. The project’s dedicated team of engineers, software developers and project managers are committed to delivering the project over the next three years. In the meantime, continue to expect major updates on the evolution of xSigma DeFi. About ZK International Group Co., Ltd. ZK International Group Co., Ltd. is a China-based designer, engineer, manufacturer, and supplier of patented high-performance stainless steel and carbon steel pipe products that require sophisticated water or gas pipeline systems. The Company owns 33 patents, 21 trademarks, 2 Technical Achievement Awards, and 10 National and Industry Standard Awards. ZK International is Quality Management System Certified (ISO9001), Environmental Management System Certified (ISO1401), and a National Industrial Stainless Steel Production Licensee that is focused on supplying steel piping for the multi-billion dollar industries of Gas and Water sectors. ZK has supplied stainless steel pipelines for over 2,000 projects, including the Beijing National Airport, the “Water Cube”, and “Bird’s Nest”, which were venues for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Emphasizing superior properties and durability of its steel piping, ZK International is providing a solution for the delivery of high quality, highly sustainable, environmentally sound drinkable water not only to the China market but also to international markets such as Europe, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. For more information please visit www.ZKInternationalGroup.com. Additionally, please follow the Company on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Weibo. For further information on the Company’s SEC filings please visit www.sec.gov. About xSigma Corporation XSigma Corporation, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ZK International Group Co., Ltd. Together with ZK International, has launched xSigma as a research and development lab back in 2018 to solve real-world infrastructure challenges. Its mandate was to explore new opportunities in smart contracts, supply chain management and other blockchain-based solutions. Join the community on Telegram at: @xsigma_global This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post ZK International Subsidiary xSigma Introduces New Defi Project appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On November 25, the asset manager Vaneck announced the launch of an exchange-traded product (ETP) called the “Vaneck Vector Bitcoin ETN.” The exchange-traded note is physically-backed by bitcoin and listed on the trading exchange Deutsche Böerse Xetra. The newly listed Vaneck bitcoin ETN provides investors with the opportunity to buy and sell the ETN, and participate directly in the performance of bitcoin without actually purchasing the crypto asset. There’s a new bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded note available on the exchange Deutsche Böerse Xetra, a marketplace for the trading of shares and other securities. The novel ETN is issued by the asset manager Vaneck, an investment management firm with an estimated U.S. $49 billion assets under management (AUM). On Twitter, the digital asset strategist and director at Vaneck/MVIS, Gabor Gurbacs announced the new bitcoin ETN on Wednesday. “Today Vaneck launched a bitcoin ETN,” Gurbacs tweeted. “The ETN is physically-backed by bitcoin and listed on Deutsche Böerse Xetra. Launching a bitcoin ETP was a top priority for Vaneck. We succeeded. Vaneck hopes to serve many in Europe and Asia,” the strategist added. According to the announcement, the performance of the Vaneck physically-backed bitcoin ETN will be recorded by leveraging the MVIS Cryptocompare Bitcoin VWAP Close Index. “Our bitcoin ETN is fully collateralised. This means that the money invested in the ETN is actually used to buy bitcoin,” Dominik Poiger, Product Manager at Vaneck explained during the launch announcement. “In this way, each ETN represents a certain amount of bitcoin,” Poiger added. Vaneck has also disclosed that the asset manager has partnered with Bank Frick, a crypto custodian regulated in Liechtenstein. All of the bitcoin held custodially for the Vaneck Vector Bitcoin ETN will be held in cold storage the company notes. Bank Frick has dedicated time to the integration of cryptocurrencies into the regulated banking environment, the firm’s executive Raphael Haldner detailed. “Thanks to our early market entry, we can demonstrate established and secure processes and extensive expertise,” the Head of Fund and Capital Markets at Bank Frick, Haldner said. “All participants can – at all times – verify the existence of the collateral,” Vaneck Vector Bitcoin ETN web portal also discloses. Vaneck’s announcement explains that it is easy to purchase and store the new bitcoin ETN and its “uncomplicated as trading in shares or ETFs.” This is in contrast to creating a wallet and learning the step-by-step process of how to securely store digital assets in a noncustodial fashion. “With our Vaneck Vectors Bitcoin ETN, we offer a product that allows investors to benefit from the performance of bitcoin,” Martijn Rozemuller, Head of Europe at Vaneck stressed. “Bitcoin’s low correlation to other asset classes makes it an excellent way to contribute to the diversification of a portfolio.” What do you think about the asset manager Vaneck launching a physically-backed ETN on the exchange Deutsche Böerse Xetra? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. The post Asset Manager Vaneck Launches Physically-Backed Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Note appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The hunt for the mysterious Bitcoin inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto continues to this day, as new data-driven research has been recently deployed in order to figure out the creator’s location while he/she or they worked on the network. The researchers analyzed Satoshi’s 539 Bitcointalk posts, 34 emails, 169 code commits, metadata from all the versions of bitcoin he worked on, the genesis block data, and archived data from the Wayback Machine. Report Suggests Satoshi Nakamoto Lived in London While Creating Bitcoin To this very day, the world is still clueless about the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of the first cryptocurrency network Bitcoin. Just recently, research stemming from The Chain Bulletin published an editorial that attempts to hone in on Satoshi Nakamoto’s location during the creation of the world’s first blockchain. On November 23, 2020, the author Doncho Karaivanov explains researchers combed through “Satoshi’s Bitcointalk posts, Sourceforge commits, and emails, along with other available data.” According to the research, the data points to “the most likely place the anonymous inventor of Bitcoin called home – London.” Karaivanov says the research is data-driven and relies on timestamps that cover approximately “742 activity instances from 206 days (not consecutive).” The timestamped documentation started on Halloween on October 31, 2008, and statistics end on December 13, 2010, which was the last time the community heard from Satoshi. The researchers compiled scatter charts based on suspected time zones in order to see when Bitcoin’s mysterious inventor was awake and active. “Common suspect locations are the UK (GMT), US Eastern (EST), US Pacific (PST), Japan (JST), and Australia (AEST),” Karaivanov’s study details. “The last two were easy to debunk, but the first three prospects needed further examination.” “Scatter chart of Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcointalk activity, from his first post on November 22, 2009, to his last one on December 12, 2010, based on [the] day of the week and time of day in the Europe/London time zone,” Karaivanov states.During the course of Satoshi’s online activity, the researchers also note that Nakamoto posted a total of 539 times on the website forum bitcointalk.org. “Looking at this data alone, we cannot determine, beyond a reasonable doubt, which time zone Satoshi lived in,” Karaivanov’s report stresses. On Sourceforge, a code repository web portal where the Bitcoin code was once stored, Satoshi deployed 169 commits during that period of time. Again the researchers used scatter charts based on specific time zones to analyze Satoshi’s commit activity, which has proof timestamps in UTC. Similarly, the commit charts just like the Bitcointalk post charts, are consistent and Karaivanov notes that they don’t leave a smoking gun in any of the plausible regions. Then the researchers charted Satoshi’s bulk of email activity which alone did not leave any hard evidence. However, by merging all the data from the Bitcointalk posts, commits, and emails the data starts to deduce that Satoshi’s home location wasn’t in Japan or Australia. Bitcoin’s Genesis Block: ‘Chancellor on Brink of Second Bailout for Banks’ The biggest clue that points to Satoshi stemming from London resided in the genesis block’s initial message taken from The Times (Times of London) newspaper issue on January 3, 2009. The Chain Bulletin’s contributor Doncho Karaivanov’s biggest clue stems from the message Satoshi Nakamoto left in the genesis block created on January 3, 2009. The message originated from this Times of London headline which did not appear anywhere else except in the UK. According to the researchers they deduct that Nakamoto could not have seen the Times of London headline, if the inventor was located in the United States. “This exact issue of The Times did not circulate in the United States,” Karaivanov wrote. Karaivanov says that it would be “extremely unlikely” that the front page of the U.S. edition was formatted in the same way, as it would be entirely different than the Times of London headline in the UK. Moreover, the newspaper did have an online version of the story, but the headline was written in a completely different way. That specific online article said: “Chancellor Alistair Darling on brink of second bailout for banks.” An image of the genesis block message which says: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on Brink of Second Bailout for Banks.” The genesis block data tips the scales “heavily in favor of the GMT time zone,” the author insists. “This is without mentioning all the clues that point to Satoshi being British, like his spelling of endings with -ise instead of -ize and -our instead of -or, e.g., analyse, organise, neighbour, colour, etc,” Karaivanov’s study concludes. “Then there’s his use of the word bloody. More specifically, we not only think he is British, but that he also lived in London while working on Bitcoin.” Karaivanov also concedes by saying that it is impossible to say with “absolute certainty” that London was the precise location. “However, we can say, with reasonable confidence, that he was located in London,” the researcher added. Satoshi Time Zone Studies from 2011 and 2018 Karaivanov’s research is not the first time Satoshi clues have been uncovered by researching specific time zones in comparison with Nakamoto’s known online activity. In February 2018, another data-driven research study called “The Time Zones of Satoshi Nakamoto,” also attempted to uncover Nakamoto’s location during the creation of Bitcoin as well. For instance, the report highlights an early draft of the Bitcoin paper and the paper’s online metadata. Alongside this, they looked at the metadata tied to the bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf Nakamoto also created. Combining the two timestamp values, indicates the computer Satoshi used to do these things online was set to ‘Mountain Time Zone’ in the United States. The February 2018 study called “The Time Zones of Satoshi Nakamoto.” But the 2018 paper about Satoshi’s time zones is a bit more inconclusive, as there are multiple timestamps that show Satoshi could’ve been located in a myriad of regions. For example, the 2018 study also says that Satoshi’s commits indicate his computer leveraged “British Summer Time” timestamps. “The Time Zones of Satoshi Nakamoto” review also highlights an analysis of Nakamoto’s hourly activity that was published in 2011. That specific research from 2011 concludes that Satoshi must have lived in an EST time zone in the U.S. The 2018 investigation alludes to circumstantial evidence that Satoshi was a “night owl” and regularly pulled all-nighters online. Most of Nakamoto’s all-nighter periods took place in the “summer of 2010 and the month of February.” The armchair sleuth, ‘In Search Of Satoshi’ noted that Satoshi Nakamoto had a spurt of all-nighters and crammed to get bitcoin complete like a student rushing to study for a final exam. Satoshi’s All Nighters and Cramming to Get Bitcoin Complete One of the most compelling findings in the 2018 research suggests that Satoshi rushed toward the end of his task, after taking a brief period of time off from the Bitcoin project. The findings show that Nakamoto put little to no activity into anything Bitcoin-related during the 2010 months of March, April, and May. Then, all of a sudden, in the summer of 2010, there was a huge burst of online activity from Bitcoin’s creator. “This is the behaviour of someone who at the end of February found himself with an all-consuming task to complete by the end of May and then had practically unlimited free time, including the latitude to work into the small hours of the night, until the following October,” the armchair detective dubbed ‘In Search Of Satoshi’ concluded on February 13, 2018. The latest 2020 research suggesting that Satoshi lived in London and the 2018 research does show evidence that weighs heavier toward a UK-based home location. In the opinion of Karaivanov and his team’s research, London definitely holds the highest probability. “Put together, his writing style, his activity pattern, and the Genesis block message, blatantly points to the capital of England as the most likely candidate,” Karaivanov’s findings deduce. Meanwhile, a number of cryptocurrency advocates discussed Karaivanov’s time zone study and questioned the reliability of his findings. For example, Jorge Stolfi, a professor of computer science commented on the theory after the study was published on the Reddit forum r/btc. Stolfi said the “’London’ hypothesis implies that he worked on bitcoin straight from 17:00 to 03:00 without dinner. The ‘US/Eastern’ hypothesis would imply that he started working on it at noon and had dinner after about 22:00. The “US/Western” hypothesis would imply that he worked all day from 08:00 to about 20:00 and practically did not work after dinner.” Stolfi added: While all these are possible, if anything this data would confirm that he was in the US, probably in the Western part during that time — agreeing with the PDF metadata. What do you think about the study that assumes Satoshi lived in London while creating Bitcoin? Let us know what you think about this enigmatic subject in the comments section below. The post New Research Suggests Satoshi Nakamoto Lived in London Creating Bitcoin appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Lithuania’s tax authority has sold the cryptocurrencies it previously seized for 6.4 million euros (approximately $7.6 million). The three cryptocurrencies confiscated were bitcoin, ether, and monero. This was the first time the tax authority sold seized cryptocurrencies. Lithuania Sold Seized Cryptocurrencies The State Tax Inspectorate (STI) under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania announced Tuesday that it has sold the cryptocurrencies it confiscated in February and transferred 6.4 million euros to the state budget. The tax authority explained that this is the first time it has sold seized cryptocurrencies. Irina Gavrilova, Director of the STI Non-Payment Administration Department, commented: The whole process was new for the tax administrator, from the takeover of the confiscated cryptocurrencies to their sale. She added that in the future, it will be much easier and faster to sell seized cryptocurrencies. “The smooth conversion of cryptocurrencies into euros took almost a day,” the announcement described. The STI explained that the three cryptocurrencies seized were bitcoin, monero, and ethereum. However, it did not provide further information on the seizure or how they were sold. “In preparation for the conversion of virtual currencies into euros, it was necessary to create a virtual currency wallet — cryptocurrencies received from law enforcement agencies were transferred to it, and the conditions for the sale of the virtual currencies were prepared,” the announcement details. What do you think about Lithuania selling seized cryptocurrencies? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Lithuania Rakes in 6.4 Million Euros From Selling Seized Cryptocurrencies appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A billion-dollar Australian investment management firm has gotten into bitcoin, citing that the cryptocurrency is superior to gold. Many of the firm’s clients have been asking about investing in bitcoin. “We have been positioning in gold for our clients for many many years now. Now we’re doing it with bitcoin,” said an executive of the firm. Bitcoin ‘Entering the Realm of the Mainstream’ Australian investment management company Pendal Group has started investing in bitcoin through futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, AFR publication reported Monday. Pendal is a global investment management company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) under the symbol PDL. Its market capitalization is currently $1.6 billion. “We have so many clients asking us about bitcoin and what to do and how to get access,” said Pendal Group’s head of bond, income, and defensive strategies, Vimal Gor. “Large institutions have stayed away so far, but high-net-worth clients and wholesale investors are leading the charge.” He elaborated: All the big hitters in the hedge fund world are coming out to endorse bitcoin now; it is entering the realm of the mainstream. Among famed billionaire investors who have endorsed bitcoin one way or another are Paul Tudor Jones, Bill Miller, and Stan Druckenmiller. Jones recently said he sees massive upside to bitcoin, comparing the cryptocurrency to investing in early tech stocks, such as Apple. Miller believes that eventually all major banks, investment banks, and high net worth firms will have exposure to bitcoin, while Druckenmiller said the cryptocurrency could beat gold. Bitcoin Superior to Gold Gor believes that “bitcoin is superior to gold,” AFR conveyed and quoted him as saying: We have been positioning in gold for our clients for many many years now. Now we’re doing it with bitcoin. His sentiment echoes what he told online business channel Ausbiz in August when he explained the reasons he invested in gold for his clients. “Gold is a negative-yielding asset,” but since “virtually every asset in the world is a negative-yielding asset,” gold looks better than these assets on a relative basis, he detailed. However, when compared to bitcoin, he said the cryptocurrency “has an advantage over gold.” Gor opined: “If Bitcoin is considered a store of value and a store value is purely a social construct. Then it is better than gold as it’s transferable as you don’t need to go and physically pick up a big heavy bar and just give it to someone else.” In addition, he described bitcoin as “a call option on the digitalization of the world, which is very clear where we’re going with all the central banks in the world, looking at their own coins.” Government Bonds Will Be a Dead Asset Class Gor also shared that his fundamental analysis of bitcoin takes into account central banks’ trillion-dollar quantitative easing (QE) programs, and government bonds becoming less relevant. “Covid just accelerated the large structural trends that were already in place,” Gor remarked. “The first and main one was falling official interest rates and bond yields. With large scale central bank QE programs in place, bond yields are going to stay low for a very long time.” He continued: We think ultimately that government bonds will turn into a dead asset class, so we now have to imagine what it will be like for other assets classes when bonds are no longer relevant to hold in a portfolio. What do you think about all the big money moving into bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Major Australian Investment Firm Moves From Gold to Bitcoin appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is disabling its margin trading product in order to comply with the new rules set by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). CFTC’s Rules Affecting Margin Trading Offerings Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, explained in a blog post on Tuesday: In response to new guidance from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, we are disabling our margin trading product. Starting on Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 2 p.m. PT, customers currently using Coinbase’s margin trading will not be able to place new margin trades and all open limit orders will be canceled, Grewal detailed. “The product will be taken offline in December once all existing margin positions have expired.” The chief legal officer further explained that Coinbase believes “clear, common sense regulations for margin lending products are needed to protect” U.S customers, adding that the company “look forward to working closely with regulators to achieve this goal.” Coinbase began offering margin trading to customers several years ago but discontinued the service after it was investigated by the CFTC following an ethereum flash crash. However, the company rolled out margin trading on Coinbase Pro this year for customers residing in 23 U.S. states, its website details. While Coinbase did not specify which specific CFTC rules it is trying to comply with, the derivatives regulator published the “Final Interpretive Guidance on Actual Delivery for Digital Assets” in March. Similar rules were used in the CFTC’s enforcement action against Bitfinex back in 2016. On social media, crypto users are concerned that other exchanges could follow Coinbase and disable their margin trading products. Investor Adam Cochran commented: “Huge blow to US crypto and likely to drive price impact as it will take a lot of money off the table. Wonder how long before other US exchanges are forced to comply.” Do you think other exchanges will stop offering margin trading to U.S. users too? Let us know in the comments section below. The post CFTC’s New Rules Cause Coinbase to Stop Offering Crypto Margin Trading appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On November 19, Hive.one, a project that maps the community clusters of Bitcoin and Ethereum social status using mathematics, announced the launch of a new algorithm version. Since the last time Hive.one published a list, social influencer scores and ranks changed and the creators believe the new scores “better reflect reality.” Just recently Hive.one announced the launch of the project’s new algorithm (v 2.0) and said it was the “biggest change to the algorithm yet.” Hive.one characterizes itself as a platform that describes groups of people mathematically and the web portal showcases two lists of Bitcoin and Ethereum influencers. The lists are generated algorithmically using data from Twitter and it updates every 24 hours. Hive.one even created a Covid-19 list based on epidemiology-related Twitter influencers to help fight coronavirus misinformation. The list of influencers represented on the bitcoin (BTC) side includes a great number of individuals. The top five social influencers include people like Adam Back, Pieter Wuille, Pierre Rochard, Elizabeth Stark, and Jameson Lopp. Following the top five today, influencers like Stephan Livera, Matt Odell, Matt Corallo, Olaoluwa Osuntokun, and Turr Demeester trail behind the top five respectively. The list also gives a score, the number of people the influencer follows, how many individuals follow the luminary, and a seven-day percentage. The BTC list has 1,158 Twitter accounts recorded and there’s a document of the list as well. Influencers stemming from the ethereum (ETH) list include Vitalik Buterin, Evan Van Ness, Hudson Jameson, Peter Szilagyi, and Hayden Adams for the top five. The latter end of the top ten list includes Nick Johnson, Austin Griffith, Joseph Lubin, and Georgios. Hive.one says it only aggregates data from Twitter sources and the developers call the algorithm “Peoplerank.” “It works similar to the original Pagerank,” Hive.one’s algorithm page states. “Instead of ranking websites— it ranks identities. Instead of tracking links— it tracks attention. It’s also a second-order metric. This means that it matters not only who pays attention to you, but also who pays attention to the people who pay attention to you. And so on.” Additionally, the CIO from Arcane Assets, Eric Wall, discussed Hive.one’s recently updated algorithmic list on Twitter. “I did a little bit of analysis on the [Hive.one] data to compare Layer 0 decentralization between BTC ETH,” Wall tweeted. “I figured the Gini coefficients of the influencer scores (top 50) would reveal the differences in influencer equality (which I bet has an impact on protocol consensus).” Wall further added: This little test indicates that ETH has a slightly higher degree of Layer 0 (social layer) inequality. This could possibly be a result of [Vitalik Buterin] having a much stronger standing in ETH vs what [Adam Back] has in BTC, as the influencer scoring shows (but I’m not certain). This isn’t a complete picture of course— it’s more of an idea for a methodology I’d like to propose. Generally, I think Layer 0 centralization is one of [the] most important aspects of centralization, yet we rarely try to measure it. Following Wall’s tweet, Hive.one responded to the analysis and said that there is “a lot more that can be done with our data and we encourage creating your own analysis.” Hive.one says that the new algorithm is also “much faster when it comes to identifying changes in the cluster.” “The algorithm now has self-correcting mechanisms,” Hive.one explained in a tweet. “It can identify changes in the underlying structure of the cluster as they happen and adjust accordingly. This means that the scores should maintain a stable level of accuracy over time. The algorithm can now scale ‘up and down.’ We can map sub-clusters within each cluster as well as the super-cluster it belongs to. This means that given enough data and [computation] we could index the whole Twitter with its millions of clusters,” the Hive.one Twitter account added. What do you think about Hive.one’s social ranking list from Twitter for Ethereum and Bitcoin influencers? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. The post Algorithmic Bitcoin and Ethereum Social Attention List Ranks Influencers With Math appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Sean Ono Lennon, the son of the Beatles’ John Lennon, says bitcoin gives him optimism amid the “ocean of destruction” this year. He believes that the cryptocurrency empowers individuals the way they have never been empowered before. Bitcoin Gives Sean Lennon Optimism Sean Ono Lennon is the son of the Beatles’ lead vocalist, John Lennon, and Japanese singer Yoko Ono. Sean talked about bitcoin with Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert on the Orange Pill podcast published Sunday. After discussing several aspects of bitcoin and many events that happened this year, Lennon opined, “it’s such an interesting time and so many things have been flipped upside down.” The British-American musician and songwriter said: “honestly talking to you guys about bitcoin is one of the only things this year that has given me more optimism and happiness about my faith in the near future and just humanity in general.” Lennon continued: I do feel like ultimately bitcoin is something that empowers individuals. It empowers people in a way they’ve never been empowered before. Lennon proceeded to compare bitcoin to gold, presenting several reasons that the cryptocurrency is better than gold. Recently, many other investors have come to the same conclusion, including famed hedge fund managers Paul Tudor Jones, Bill Miller, and Stan Druckenmiller. “Even if they have gold, they would have to carry that in a sack and someone could just steal it from them. But something that transcends the physical world it means that you have total agency you have total self-sovereignty and … as long as you can remember your key phrase then you are good to go,” Lennon described to Keiser and Herbert. He concluded: In an ocean of destruction that was this year, I find bitcoin to give me a kind of optimism. Do you agree with Sean Lennon about bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below. The post John Lennon’s Son Says Bitcoin Empowers People, Gives Him Optimism in Ocean of Destruction appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

If history serves us well, 2020 is likely a precursor to a long and dreadful economic depression throughout a myriad of countries worldwide. During the last year, economists and analysts have been discussing how specifically the United States economy and the U.S. dollar are losing global dominance quite rapidly. While a few analysts believe the old adage “it could never happen here,” many economists expect the increase of rent controls and hyperinflation to ravage the U.S. and many other powerful countries. Countries That Allow Massive Stimulus Injections Will Face Serious Economic Implications The coronavirus outbreak was a great excuse for the world’s banking cartel to mint more promissory notes than any other time in history. In the U.S., Americans have seen $9 trillion in stimulus injections, but the Federal Reserve’s 2020 pump has barely stirred the masses. Estimates say, in 2020 alone, the U.S. has created 22% of all the USD issued since the birth of the nation. Moreover, the U.S. is not the only country seeing massive amounts of Covid-19-related stimulus packages, as countries like Japan, China, and the European Union have injected trillions into the hands of the private sector as well. This massive amount of money creation has led economists to believe that a combined effort of rent controls and unruly hyperinflation will cause countries like the U.S. significant stress, as well as possibly fueling a fiat collapse. Recently an analyst from seekingalpha.com said he wholeheartedly believes the U.S. is heading toward hyperinflation. “Deficit to outlay ratio tops 60%, above the hyperinflationary threshold of 40%,” the analyst wrote three weeks ago. “Q2 2020 GDP shrank 31.7%, but will improve in Q3 2020. Delinquencies are on the rise on record-high corporate debt. [And] the U.S. dollar will lose value due to ultra-low interest rates and QE,” he added. The author also deems the precious metal gold as “the only safe haven.” The Balance contributor, Kimberly Amadeo, has published an editorial about a possible dollar collapse and “what to do if that did occur.” Amadeo insists that if the dollar plummeted significantly in value, “anyone who holds dollar-denominated assets will sell them at any cost.” “That includes foreign governments that own U.S. Treasuries. It also affects foreign exchange futures traders. Last but not least, it will hit individual investors,” Amadeo further stressed. The Balance writer continued: Two conditions must be in place before the dollar could collapse. There must be an underlying weakness in the value of the U.S. dollar, and there must be a viable alternative. In other words, there must be a reason people are fleeing the dollar and there must be somewhere for them to go. Otherwise, the dollar will remain the world’s global currency. The majority of international contracts demand a dollar payment, so that also adds to its stability. History Repeats for Those Who Don’t Learn from Mistakes A number of people believe the U.S. specifically is following a similar path as the Roman Empire did centuries ago. During the third century BC, well into Imperial times, Roman officials figured out how to decrease the purity of coinage minted. By making coins worth far less in value, the Roman government was allowed to spend more. Modern central banks and the U.S. Federal Reserve has created a process that makes the devaluation of purity less obvious to the common citizen. However, many other countries during the course of history show the scheme will not last forever and eventually, the fiat shell game will end badly. There are already many modern examples of inflation crushing a country’s legal tender to the point of being nearly worthless. Steve Hanke, professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University noted that the definition of hyperinflation is essentially an inflation rate of above 50% for a period of a month-long or more. Additionally, thanks to the Covid-19 outbreak, politicians in various countries have issued rent and eviction controls. This means if you live in a region with rent controls, landlords cannot raise the rent on tenants, and in some cases this year, governments like the U.S. have enforced rental eviction bans. Early examples in history show that a combination of rent controls and hyperinflation has been disastrous to many economies worldwide. For instance back in the early twenties in Weimar Germany, rent controls and hyperinflation wreaked havoc on the German papiermark, the currency of the Weimar Republic. The crisis in Weimar caused significant civil and political instability in the country. From August 1945 to July 1946, Hungary suffered from hyperinflation as well, as the pengő inflation rate jumped to 207%. During the month of August 1946, Hungary’s new currency, the forint kept the monetary infrastructure stable. During 1992 and all the way until 1994, Yugoslavia saw inflation levels ramp up and destroy purchasing power. The country saw the highest inflation rate ever, as it climbed to 313,000,000% during a 30 day period. Fast forward to the spring months of 2007 in Zimbabwe all the way until November 2008, as the Zimbabwean dollar experienced hyperinflation. The country hasn’t been the same since, as the Zimbabwean dollar was abandoned in April 2009 and demonetized in 2015. Presently, hyperinflation is also wreaking havoc in Venezuela, as the monetary devaluation to the sovereign bolivar has ruined the currency. The stack on the left represents 14 million bolivars for a single chicken, and the stack on the right represents 2.6 million bolivars for one roll of toilet paper in Venezuela. Hyperinflation started in Venezuela back in 2016 and exceeded to jump over 1,000,000% by 2018. The very next year, the bolivar was being weighed on scales rather than counted and inflation reached 10 million percent. Data from the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) notes that between 2016 and 2019, the bolivars inflation rate was a whopping 53,798,500%. Of course, a number of other South American countries are also feeling the pain from a 2020 economic downturn. Alongside Venezuela, countries like Brazil, Nicaragua, Peru, Argentina, and Bolivia face horrible economic consequences this year as well. In addition to gold, many people think that digital currencies like bitcoin (BTC) will prosper during the possible economic fallout. This week, the crypto asset’s market valuation surpassed the market capitalization of the world’s biggest banking giants. Worldwide, bitcoin’s (BTC) market capitalization jumped over the $350 billion range making it larger than banks like JPMorgan Chase USA, ICBC China, BAC USA, and CCB China. Hyperbitcoinization While the Balance author Kimberly Amadeo said there must be a viable alternative, cryptocurrency advocates think the alternative might be bitcoin. In fact, while dominant currencies like the USD and others suffer from rampant inflation, crypto proponents believe the world may experience hyperbitcoinization. “Hyperbitcoinization is a voluntary transition from an inferior currency to a superior one, and its adoption is a series of individual acts of entrepreneurship rather than a single monopolist that games the system,” explained the creator of the ‘hyperbitcoinization’ term Daniel Krawisz in March 2014. BTC/USD chart on November 23, 2020. No one can be certain an event like hyperbitcoinization will happen, but bitcoin (BTC) has been the best performing asset in the last decade outpacing every stock, equity, and commodity under the sun. Even in 2020, while the global economy has shuddered, BTC and numerous alternative crypto assets have again performed better than anything the world has to offer in terms of investment performance. BTC has gained 154% against the USD during the last 12 months and ethereum (ETH) has gained 356% in that time period. During the last 30 days alone, BTC jumped over 40% while ETH is up 44%. With well over 7,000 crypto-assets in existence and a value of over $536 billion today it’s quite noticeable that in comparison to fiat currencies, cryptocurrencies have been a viable alternative. Despite these facts, editors at the Balance and Kimberly Amadeo warn that it is “unlikely bitcoin could replace the dollar as the new world currency.” Amadeo’s editorial discusses notions like investing in foreign mutual stocks and bonds, having liquid assets on hand, and buying gold and precious metals if the U.S. dollar was showing signs of collapse. What do you think about the possibility of countries like the U.S. suffering from hyperinflation in the future? Do you think cryptocurrencies are superior in a world of collapsing fiat currencies? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. The post Hyperinflation and Rent Controls – 2020’s Telltale Signs of Economic Distress Haunts Many Nations appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. To simplify banking and meet its users’ Remittance needs across the globe, Remitano, a global escrow-marketplace, has just launched a smart, free, and safe approach for cross-border money transfers. This system will allow users to send and receive money from other countries without incurring the high fees charged by most traditional banks. Remitano exchange now doubles as both a speed bank and a digital store to mitigate against losses from inflation. Free Remittance and Cheaper Average Costs for Global Money Transfers As a result of the launch of Remitano’s international cash-out features, users can now transfer money to their families and friends across different countries multiple times faster than traditional banks and other payment platforms. Remitano fees are minimal and always transparent, unlike some other Remittance providers with additional charges upon usage. Remitano is a peer-to-peer crypto exchange that continuously seeks to use blockchain technology to improve international money transfers therefore creating seamless fiat transfers across borders. How to use the “Cash-out Internationally” feature This newly launched feature simply helps you convert from one currency to another, and then send the money to your friends and family in another country without going to the bank. Remitano exchange provides a secure and fast means to set up and make payments in local currencies. The equivalent amount is sent securely from your fiat wallet to the recipient’s wallet. Find out how to transfer money from one country to another fast with low fees. Why Choose Remitano Exchange over Other Remittance platforms? Besides the growing inflation on currencies around the globe, the lack of proper banking access and remittance platforms in some third-world countries seem to be one reason why citizens of these countries are turning to cryptocurrency. The absence of proper banking facilities makes it harder for citizens to open bank accounts and make swift international payments. By proactively implementing this payment feature on Remitano, we are able to provide users with these benefits – Lower Transactions Fees and Reduced Time Remitano newly launched “cash-out Internationally” feature helps to overcome the disadvantages of traditional international money transfers, such as expensive transaction fees, complicated transfer procedures, and long transaction time. Instant Deposits and Withdrawals Deposit or withdraw funds with ease, and take advantage of instant internal transactions across all cryptocurrencies using instant trading tools. This feature is particularly relevant right now, given that uneven income earners in some parts of the world are having a hard time getting paid via their bank accounts and meeting their remittance needs. Unlike other platforms, a deposit or withdrawal reversal on Remitano happens only when a scheduled bank transfer is canceled for insufficient funds or various other reasons. Extremely User-friendly Interface Experience an easy-to-use website and app interface that provides a quality experience. From fiat wallets to deposit and withdrawal tools, you can find what you need within the blink of an eye. About Remitano Remitano is a product of Babylons Solutions Limited based in Seychelles. Remitano’s purpose is to offer a robust, quality trading experience to all users as a fast-moving marketplace. With necessary safety standards in place, buyers and sellers can come together, store, trade, and withdraw assets, thus avoiding issues common to other crypto exchanges. Launched in 2014, Remitano is a global cryptocurrency exchange serving international markets, such as Malaysia, China, Nigeria, Vietnam, Australia, Cambodia, and Indonesia. Got Questions? Reach out to Remitano via: Electronic mail: team@remitano.com, marketing@remitano.com Socials: Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and LinkedIn. This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post Remitano Makes Cross-Border Money Transfer Much Easier With New “Cash-Out” Feature appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Cryptocurrency intelligence firm Ciphertrace has filed two patent applications for tools and systems to trace monero transactions. The company aims to enable the detection of criminal uses of privacy coins like monero. Monero Tracing Patents Blockchain analytics and cryptocurrency intelligence firm Ciphertrace announced Friday that it has filed two monero tracing patents. One patent is called “Techniques and Probabilistic Methods for Tracing Monero” and the other is “Systems and Methods for Investigating Monero.” They two patents cover a number of areas, including “Forensic tools to explore monero transaction flows to assist in financial investigations,” “Transaction visualization tools and ways to track stolen monero currencies or illicit monero,” and “Methodologies for gaining intelligence about transactions that rely on third-party nodes.” The crypto intelligence firm described: Ciphertrace’s goal is to enable the detection of criminal users, therefore increasing the safety and sustainability of privacy coins like monero in the future. Founded in 2015, the company has about 150 customers who are banks, crypto service providers, government agencies, and regulators. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), its website details. Ciphertrace began developing these tools “within the scope of a Department of Homeland Security project” in early 2019, the firm clarified. “This project has laid the groundwork for future implementation of entity transaction clustering, wallet identification, exchange attribution, and other functionality that will provide law enforcement with even more tools for investigating monero transactions and addresses related to criminal activity.” The company announced at the end of August that it had developed tools for the DHS “to track transactions of notoriously difficult-to-trace privacy coin monero (XMR).” However, XMR proponents disagreed. Ciphertrace noted in Friday’s announcement that some Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) find it difficult to take on the risk derived from monero’s privacy capabilities, opting to delist privacy coins than take on the extra compliance risks. Some cryptocurrency exchange platforms have delisted some privacy coins like monero in order to comply with the guidance issued by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Among them are Okex, Upbit, and Shapeshift. The blockchain analytics firm elaborated: Ciphertrace’s monero tracing capabilities will allow VASPs to identify when inbound XMR may have criminal origins, allowing them to adequately risk rate customer transactions per any required regulations. What do you think about Ciphertrace filing monero tracing patents? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Ciphertrace Files 2 Patents for Systems to Identify Criminal Monero Transactions appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

While digital currency markets have increased significantly in value a number of crypto asset proponents are wondering how far the next bull run will take them. For instance, the last three bitcoin bull runs saw different price spikes and significant drops below 80% as well. If the next bitcoin bull run follows a similar pattern, it’s quite possible the crypto-asset could reach $160k per unit. At the time of publication, the cryptocurrency economy is well above a half of a trillion dollars and is hovering at $538 billion today. The great 2020 crypto price boom has a number of crypto proponents wholeheartedly believing the bitcoin bull run is now in session. At a price height of around $18,977 per coin, bitcoin (BTC) has come awfully close to reaching the 2017 all-time high. A myriad of individuals think that bitcoin could quite easily reach six digits in value crossing over the $100k zone in the future. For instance, in a recent interview, Bloomberg Intelligence’s senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone discussed bitcoin sustaining current levels. During the report, McGlone said within the next 1-2 years there’s a possibility BTC could add another zero to the tail end of the price tag. A great number of bitcoiners also believe BTC could reach $100k or more and discussions about this price range are commonplace on Twitter and Reddit forums. For example, the Youtuber Colin Talks Crypto tweeted about the patterns of bitcoin bull runs on Sunday. The chart Colin shared on Sunday when he tweeted about the possibilities of BTC reaching $160k if the price 8x from the previous ATH. The chart Colin shared shows that BTC had three prior bullish price periods in 2011, 2013, and of course 2017. In 2011, bitcoin (BTC) skyrocketed for the first time ever to $31 per coin but subsequently dropped 94% in value. Then during the economic fiasco in Cyprus and the heyday of the exchange Mt Gox, BTC spiked 37x to $1,153 per coin according to Colin’s chart. The following bear market dive saw an 85% loss over the following two years in 2014 and 2015. In 2017, BTC saw the largest bull run price yet, touching $20,078 per coin on a few global exchanges on December 17. After the bitcoin bull run of 2017, Colin’s chart shows BTC took an 84% dive to a low of $3,191 per unit. The rest of his chart shows a bunch of question marks because the future outcome has yet to come to fruition. “This chart shows historically that peak to peak bitcoin has been 37x [and] 17x,” Colin said in his tweet. “Even if we assume the pattern continues & a decrease in multiplier occurs, it’s fair to expect an 8x increase from previous ATH. $20,000 x 8 = $160,000 per BTC,” the Youtuber added. Colin further added that he thinks “$160k per bitcoin is a very conservative estimate.” “Likewise, I consider it a ridiculous estimate to assume BTC would only go to $50k, for example. $50k would only be a 2.5x from The previous ATH. BTC bull runs have never even been close to that small before,” he pointed out. Now if BTC touched a top at $160 by jumping 8x the previous all-time high, the possibility of a huge dump pattern could also follow. If one was to assume a conservative drop in value at around 84% after topping at $160k, BTC’s price would end up bottoming out at around $25,600 per coin. Of course, we have no idea if BTC will follow a similar path or an assumed pattern and BTC’s price could very well follow an opposite trajectory. Moreover, BTC haters like Peter Schiff think that eventually, bitcoin will be worthless. “The idea that bitcoin’s value comes from the past work required to validate the information encoded on the [blockchain] is nonsense. If I work hard to dig a hole and then fill it back up with dirt, what value does my labor create? Effort that produces no value is worthless,” Schiff tweeted on Friday. What do you think about the possibility of bitcoin reaching $160k in the future? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. The post Previous Bitcoin Bull Run Patterns Suggest Current Run Could See a $160K Top, Possible $25K Bottom appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Singapore, November 23, 2020 — MCS (MyCoinStory), a fast-growing cryptocurrency derivatives exchange headquartered in Singapore, announced on November 23 that it has officially launched a market maker program. As a latecomer to the industry, MCS claimed that it has prepared unprecedented benefits, in comparison with other exchanges, for its market maker program. As an exchange that uses #Be_a_Trader as its slogan, MCS provides a higher API limits and trading fee advantages above the industry average based on the trading volume so that market makers participating in the program can trade in a more favorable environment than other exchanges. In addition, it has been announced that a dedicated manager is assigned to support various situations that may occur during trading 24/7. According to an official from the MCS, he said “MCS, which is known for its aggressive listing of “hot” cryptocurrencies in the market that brings in a lot of traders, and for having the second-most Bitcoin-settled products after BitMEX, the industry’s number one, is looking for market maker partners.” He also added that “MCS welcomes competent companies and individuals who can actively provide greater liquidity to the platform for traders.” MCS (MyCoinStory) is a rapidly growing exchange with a daily trading volume of $100 million according to CoinGecko. On November 18, MCS launched the first Bitcoin Cash ABC futures contract, and its recently announced industry’s lowest maintenance margin rate of 0.35% is allowing traders using the exchange to trade in a more favorable environment. One can apply for the MCS Market Making (MM) program via partner@mycoinstory.com. About MCS (MyCoinStory) MCS (mycoinstory.com) is the next-generation cryptocurrency perpetual contract trading platform created by experts from the financial and blockchain industries. Together with a team of experts, MCS is walking side by side with traders’ to access financial freedom in the best way possible by creating a reliable trading environment for traders which includes enterprise-level IT systems, multilingual online customer support, and a partnership with the industry-leading digital asset custodial company, ‘BitGo’. MCS is constantly improving its trading platform for traders so that traders can dream of a better future. As the slogan #Be_a_Trader shows, MCS is focused on giving every trader in the platform the authentic ‘trading’ experience through various features and training materials. This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post MCS Introduces a Market Maker Program With the Best Benefits in the Industry appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has explained how the U.S. government is regulating cryptocurrency. He calls bitcoin a store of value, noting that its rise is driven by the inefficiencies of the current payment system. How Bitcoin Is Regulated in the US SEC Chairman Jay Clayton explained how the U.S. government is regulating bitcoin during an interview with CNBC Squawk Box on Thursday. He began by responding to a comment made by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon regarding bitcoin regulation. Dimon said that he was not a supporter of bitcoin because in his experience, the government “can regulate whatever they want when they feel like it.” Given the current bitcoin market capitalization of about $340 billion, Dimon asserted that “If it gets bigger and bigger and bigger, it will be regulated.” Clayton described that at the SEC: We determined that bitcoin was not a security, it was much more payment mechanism and store of value. “We did not regulate bitcoin as a security,” the SEC chairman affirmed. He added that during the initial coin offering (ICO) craze, “people were using ICOs and essentially making public offerings of securities without registering them with the SEC,” reiterating that “When people use crypto assets as securities to raise capital for a venture, the SEC regulates that.” Regarding bitcoin as a payment mechanism, the chairman emphasized: The government does regulate payments and what we are seeing is that our current payment mechanisms, domestically and internationally, have inefficiencies, those inefficiencies are the things that are driving the rise of bitcoin. “We are going to see more of that … we are going to see this mature and we are going to see more regulation around the payment space,” the SEC chairman noted. Clayton confirmed on Nov. 16 his plans to conclude his tenure at the end of the year after serving for more than three and a half years at the SEC. “Chairman Clayton was sworn in on May 4, 2017, and will leave the SEC as one of its longest-serving chairs,” the SEC wrote. What do you think about the US crypto regulation and Clayton’s view? Let us know in the comments section below. The post SEC Chairman Jay Clayton Explains US Crypto Regulation, Calls Bitcoin a Store of Value appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

As new U.S. government measures that impose restrictions on remittances to Cuba becomes effective after November 22, Western Union, which has been operating in the island nation since 1999, will close shop. The new rule, which was published on October 27, gave Western Union 30 days to implement new restrictions. The new rule is likely to increase the appeal of crypto assets as Cubans are now expected to find a suitable alternative in a very short space of time. Targeted Sanctions At the time of the initial U.S. government announcement, the global remittances giant had promised to find a solution for its Cuban customers. However, in a later update on November 13, Western Union said it was unable to “find a solution in this limited timeframe.” For its part, the U.S. government says remittances to Cuba can still flow, but “not through the hands of the Cuban military, which uses those funds to oppress the Cuban people and to fund Cuba’s interference in Venezuela.” According to U.S. officials, Western Union’s partner in Cuba, Fincimex is controlled by the Cuban military hence the new measures. In the meantime, the end of the formal remittances service to Cuba by Western Union is likely to rattle the communist country’s financial position. Cuba counts remittances as one of its top sources of foreign currency and some estimates placed total remittances in 2017 at $3.5 billion. For Cuban families that rely on remittances sent from the United States for survival, the end of Western Union’s remittance service presents a new challenge. Either the senders will resort to using the sometimes unsafe informal channels or they will simply switch to digital alternatives like bitcoin. The Growing Use of Cryptocurrency Remittances Already, reports suggest a growing use of cryptocurrencies by some Cuban residents. Cryptocurrencies are being used to pay for utilities and for cross border payments. Furthermore, the restrictions on human movement imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19, appear to have sparked an increase in usage of cryptocurrencies by Cuban expatriates when sending money. For instance, peer to peer platform, Bitremesas which enables the sending of remittances via bitcoin, reported increasing business during the lockdown period. According to one report, recipients that use Bitremesas will have their local bank card credited with the Cuban Convertible pesos (CUC) or Cuban Pesos (CUP) upon the transfer of funds from abroad using bitcoin. This system is independent of banks and since it uses decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, neither the US government nor authorities in Cuba can censor transactions. Another organization, Cubacripto uses an almost similar process where a “trusted” third party receives the bitcoins. In return, the trusted party will credit the named beneficiary’s bank account with the local currency equivalent. In Cubacripto’s case, all trades are initiated via social media channels like Telegram and Whatsapp. Peer to Peer Transactions to Grow As a result of the rule changes by the US government, many Cubans will find it logical making the switch to cryptocurrencies. Sadly, however, due to the overarching effect of the US government’s restrictive measures, regulated peer-to-peer exchange platforms will refrain entering the Cuban to fill the void left behind by Western Union. Already, exchange platforms like Paxful and Localbitcoins have-just like Western Union-been forced to abandon the Cuban market. Cuban residents can access local.bitcoin.com, the noncustodial and peer-to-peer marketplace that allows users to trade BCH with cash and 30+ payment methods. Consequently, both Cubans abroad and the homebound recipients of remittances will likely be compelled to create crypto wallets. The crypto wallet will not only enable them to receive funds directly from the senders but it will help recipients to bypass certain Cuban government scheme that forces families to buy expensive state-produced goods. Furthermore, cryptocurrencies will not only help with the safe transfer of funds to the beneficiaries but will also enable recipients to shield these funds from inflation, currency depreciation, and even expropriation. Do you agree that the new restrictions will spur on the use of cryptocurrencies when sending remittances to Cuba? Share your views in the comments section below. The post End of Western Union Remittance Service to Cuba a Boon for Crypto appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A major online poker website has been buying millions of dollars of bitcoin every day to meet demand from players wanting to cash out in bitcoin. This amounts to $100 million in bitcoin a month as about 95% of players now demand payouts in the cryptocurrency. Poker Site Buys $100 Million of Bitcoin Demand for bitcoin payouts has been rising, particularly after the recent price rally. One of the largest online poker websites, Winning Poker Network (WPN), has been buying millions of dollars worth of bitcoin in recent weeks from OTC desks to meet players’ cashout demand, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing WPN CEO Phil Nagy. Nagy explained that bitcoin is in so much demand that brokers are charging up to a 1.5% premium. He clarified that WPN does not hold onto bitcoin, adding that the cryptocurrency is converted into fiat currency as soon as possible. He revealed that his platform does more than 60% of its transaction volume in bitcoin, totaling about $100 million a month. Noting that about 60% of customers cashed out in bitcoin before the recent price rally, he said: Right now 90-95% of our payouts are people asking for bitcoin because it’s going up. We are constantly having to go out and buy bitcoin — lots. Lots. More than we’ve even had to before. WPN, which began accepting bitcoin in 2014, supports several popular poker rooms, including Americascardroom.eu, Yapoker.com, Blackchippoker.eu, Truepoker.eu and Pokerking.com. Customers can deposit dollars and make withdrawals in bitcoin. Nagy revealed that about 60% of the platform’s customers are from the U.S. even though online poker is illegal in most states. According to a study by The Business Research Co., the poker industry grew 43% since April. Online gambling has become more popular since the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, particularly after the shutdowns prevented many people from visiting real casinos. Bitcoin.com offers a variety of provably fair games, including blackjack, slots, roulette, and video poker exclusively using either bitcoin or bitcoin cash. Games are provably fair and payouts are instant. What do you think about poker sites buying millions of dollars of bitcoin daily? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Poker Site Buys $100 Million of Bitcoin Every Month to Pay Players in BTC appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The U.S.-based company Digital Asset Investment Management (Daim) has announced the launch of a company-sponsored 401(k) retirement plan that allocates up to 10% in bitcoin. The plan is an ERISA compliant employer-sponsored 401(k) and assets are held in institutional-grade cold storage by leveraging the custodian Gemini Trust. During the last few years, investors have been able to leverage a digital currency retirement plan in the form of an IRA. For instance, the company Bitcoinira helps people invest in cryptocurrencies like BTC, BCH, ETH, and LTC with the firm’s cryptocurrency-focused retirement funds. On Thursday, November 19, 2020, the Newport Beach California-based company Digital Asset Investment Management (Daim) revealed an ERISA compliant employer-sponsored bitcoin 401(k) plan that involves an allocation of BTC. “From the moment we were approved by the State of California in June 2018, we’ve seen incredible inbound demand from individuals eager to invest bitcoin in 401(k)s,” Adam Pokornicky, COO of Daim said during the launch. “Conventional 401(k) plans are restrictive and often lack investment options, causing participants to not only be frustrated but have poor risk-adjusted returns that barely keep up with the rate of inflation.” “This is a bad deal for savers given the current environment. We believe bitcoin has demonstrated it has a place in the modern portfolio and individuals should have an opportunity to “Get Off Zero” and invest directly through their retirement account,” the Daim executive added. According to Daim, the firm will be the 3(38) advisor and fiduciary and it will assist companies who want to offer the 401(k). The plans have traditional assets alongside up to a 10% allocation in bitcoin (BTC). “Bitcoin will be held securely in institutional cold storage custody with Gemini Trust, our partner for our primary investment advisory services. The California firm also explains what happens when an employee leaves a company offering the bitcoin 401(k) plan. Daim states: Should the employee leave their company their Bitcoin will be able to transfer with them. And should an individual want to allocate more to Bitcoin, they can schedule an investment consultation with Daim. Pokornicky also notes that Daim executed an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan back in October 2019 and has been testing for 12 months. Daim is now allowed to launch “scalable 401(k) plans that provide recordkeeping and administrative services.” “[Daim is] excited to lend our fiduciary capacity to enable access to Bitcoin in 401(k) plans in this way,” Pokornicky shared. Other companies that offer bitcoin-related retirement services besides Daim and Bitcoinira include Bitira, Coinira, and Regal Assets. While the digital asset ecosystem continues to grow concepts like retirement services have tapped into the swelling crypto economy. 401(k) plans give employees tax advantages and the U.S. Internal Revenue Code allows 401(k) or IRAs. With digital currency prices posting massive gains in recent days, a bitcoin-based 401(k) may prove to have a much larger retirement yield. What do you think about Daim launching an ERISA compliant employer-sponsored 401(k) with a 10% bitcoin allocation? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. The post Crypto Retirement: US Investment Firm Launches Employer-Sponsored Bitcoin 401(k) Plan appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Leading crypto service comparison site, Cryptowisser has now released its revolutionary VS comparison tool, which helps you compare cryptocurrency exchanges against each other in an instant. Comparing cryptocurrency exchanges has – up until now – been very difficult to do. To use the VS comparison tool, you simply input the exchanges you want to compare, and you are then presented with a comparison table, showing the following features of each exchange you want to compare: User scores Trading fees Withdrawal fees Deposit methods Number of supported cryptos, Whether US-investors are allowed Whether the exchange offers derivatives trading Years of operation All of the information is updated on a monthly basis. For example, if you would compare the contracts trading platforms PrimeXBT and Bexplus, you would see that it is showing that they are quite similar to each other in terms of deposit methods and offering, but that PrimeXBT has lower trading fees and a higher user score on cryptowisser.com. There is no similar tool on the market today, and the release of this tool is another step taken by cryptowisser.com in its ambition to make the crypto space easier to access and navigate. The market of cryptocurrency exchanges is becoming more transparent with each passing day. Historically, however, it has been very difficult to understand the offering, fee levels and customer satisfaction scores of each different crypto exchanges, but that information is now becoming more easily available. Something which Cryptowisser.com decided to build on and incorporate in the above mentioned VS-tool, to facilitate even more for all interested crypto investors. Cryptowisser already operates the world’s largest list of cryptocurrency exchanges and list of cryptocurrency debit cards. Their focus is on providing up to date and accurate information as well as educational content for crypto users to make purchasing decisions and service choices on. In line with that ambition, they have written 1,000+ reviews of the various exchanges, debit cards, wallets and merchants that they feature on their site (more than any other site in the world). This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post Cryptowisser Announces Most Comprehensive Exchange Comparison Tool on the Market appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Texas State Securities Board (TSSB) has announced a series of enforcement actions against 15 online investment entities that illegally market cryptocurrency, binary options, and forex investments in Texas. Fake Social Media Accounts The regulator alleges that operators of the companies are using their social media skills as well as the internet to mask the fraudulent nature of their operations. The emergency enforcement order, therefore, stops the flagged companies from continuing to operate from the state of Texas until they get a license from the regulator. Meanwhile, in his comments that accompany the cease and desist orders, TSSB Commissioner Travis J. Iles highlights key observations made by his organization when dealing with online trading investment companies. He says: This series of actions clearly demonstrate the risk of dealing with trendy online investment platforms. Investors can’t afford to take everything at face value when transacting over the internet. They need to thoroughly investigate before they invest – because, on the internet, anyone can fake a trading license, publish phoney testimonials or falsely claim to be regulated by an offshore agency. According to the statement released by Iles, the first 10 entities that were hit with a cease and desist order were all linked to James Blundell, an unregistered binary trader. Blundell is accused of using fake social media accounts, forging documents, and making fraudulent claims to entice his victims. Unregistered Investment Platforms The TSSB discovered that Blundell, who purports to be a resident of Texas, has “at least three Instagram accounts, seven Facebook websites and one Linkedin profile (that he uses) to recruit victims.” In the cease and desist order, Blundell is accused of using his “broad social media presence to tout his expertise in the cryptocurrency markets, as well as his dealings in binary options and forex trading.” Furthermore, the order accuses Blundell of “bolstering his expertise by publishing an image of a trading certificate that purports to be a binary options trading license issued by Texas City, Texas.” According to the TSSB order, “the license is actually a forgery.” Fake Testimonials Meanwhile, the second cease and desist order accuses three organizations of “falsely purporting to operate from Valentine, Texas.” The order further alleges that the companies “are fraudulently claiming these investments are guaranteed and using fake testimonials add credibility to their schemes.” Still, the order observed an attempt by the three to avoid regulation after claiming that they fall under the jurisdiction of an overseas regulator. The order says: According to the second-order, they are also taking it a step further, falsely claiming they are regulated as e-gaming in the British Isles by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Company. However, the TSSB statement asserts that the three companies are “actually regulated by the Securities Board when dealing in securities in or from Texas.” The regulator reveals that the platforms “are not licensed to sell securities in Texas, and they have not been registered in any capacity with the agency.” Meanwhile, in concluding, TSSB Commissioner Iles urges residents contemplating to invest to “start their due diligence process by contacting the regulator.” Can the order issued by the TSSB stop internet fraudsters? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. The post Texas State Securities Board Flags 15 Investment Entities Including One Unregistered Crypto Trader appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In recent months, a new DeFi upstart has been making a name for itself in the cryptocurrency arena. It’s called TrustSwap, and it’s purpose-built to fill a void in the crypto industry that’s integral to the continued mission of bridging the gap between crypto and mainstream finance. TrustSwap accomplishes this by providing a service platform that can handle a variety of useful crypto transaction types in a low-cost, user-friendly way. TrustSwap Escrow and Time-lock Services The platform is the brainchild of its CEO Jeff Kirdeikis, a crypto veteran that has run headlong into the issues that crypto-startups often face. The idea came when Kirdeikis, then working with another crypto startup, went looking for a way to facilitate a $50,000 investment by a venture capital firm into the startup project. The firm wished to structure the investment as a discounted purchase of the project’s tokens, but that came with a major risk. If the investor gained control of such a large number of tokens at once, it would give them effective veto power over the project’s direction. In other words, they would have the ability to dump their tokens on the open market all at once, causing a crash that would scuttle the project. The only answer was to structure the purchase as a series of smaller, timed token buys. But to Kirdeikis’s surprise, the only way to do that was to pay a lawyer to administer the transactions, in exchange for a hefty 5%-10% fee. That’s when the idea for TrustSwap was born. It’s a platform that uses smart contracts as a replacement for the expensive and cumbersome middleman-dependent transactions that startups and other businesses need to perform regularly. Its primary service is called TS SmartSwap™, which is an escrow system created to handle high-volume OTC asset transfers between two or more parties. It’s exactly the solution Kirdeikis was looking for to facilitate the earlier VC transaction. TS SmartSwaps make it possible for crypto ventures to transact with investors on a schedule of their choosing, with no costly middleman. As long as everyone involved in a transaction agrees to the same terms, the platform does the rest for a minimal fee. But that isn’t the only kind of transaction that TrustSwap can handle. It also offers some additional services that are both useful and groundbreaking in the industry. One of those services, called TS SmartLock™, is a one-to-one or one-to-many time-based repeating payment system. It can be used to facilitate performance-based payments, or even allow businesses to offer cryptocurrency options in their payroll workflows. And there’s also TS SmartSubscription™, which is an API-driven bolt-on website solution to allow businesses to accept repeating subscription fees in compatible cryptocurrencies. In short, it’s a crypto payment-as-a-service offering that might finally help more digital creators and service providers – from Netflix to Spotify and beyond – embrace cryptocurrencies once and for all. That’s a multibillion-dollar market that cryptocurrencies have yet to penetrate in any meaningful way. TrustSwap aims to become the go-to crypto subscription service provider. The Most Useful Launchpad Services for Crypto-Startups Even with a smart contract arsenal so diverse, TrustSwap isn’t resting on its laurels. It’s also evolving into one of the most useful launchpad services for crypto-startups available today. To that end, TrustSwap offers a variety of services meant to make common startup tasks easier. Contained under its TS SmartLaunch™ umbrella, TrustSwap offers startups a best-in-class automated token pre-sales management system, as well as tools to thwart token price manipulation. Together they help crypto-startups to launch without worrying about the destabilizing forces that tend to consume founders’ attention, leaving them to do what they do best – innovate. Already, three notable crypto startups – Chaingames, MobiePay, and AuBit – have used TrustSwap as a launchpad to early success, and they’re about to be joined by another industry standout. In recent weeks, fintech startup Coin announced that they too would soon use TrustSwap’s services to aid in their launch. It’s a new DeFi service that’s backed by an all-star team of Microsoft alumni, which aims to build a P2P decentralized coin exchange that uses AI to give crypto-holders a new and simpler option to manage their assets. Coin turned to TrustSwap to aid in the execution of their upcoming liquidity token sale. Specifically, TrustSwap will handle three major parts of the sale. It’s going to manage the team’s token vesting needs, the vesting of individual token holders, and the liquidity locks that underpin the market for the new COIN token. The trust that Coin’s team of industry veterans has placed in TrustSwap is a very visible sign of how far the platform has come in such a short time. TrustSwap isn’t planning to stop innovating anytime soon. In the very near future, they also aim to debut a new token wrapping service called TS SmartWrap™ which will allow users of the TrustSwap ecosystem to incorporate non-Ethereum assets into Ethereum-based DeFi applications. This will help open the door for a burst of innovation that will bring the crypto space ever closer to delivering on its vast promise. The upcoming developments make it clear that TrustSwap’s on track to overdeliver on its ambitions far faster than even its founder expected. From its beginnings in June of 2020, TrustSwap has emerged as a force in the DeFi space that’s rapidly gaining traction and making believers out of industry heavyweights in short order. With such a stellar early track record, there’s no doubt that TrustSwap is poised to go on to do even more great things, serving the crypto masses and making it possible for investors and end-users alike to join the revolution that’s now over a decade in the making. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. The post TrustSwap Leverages its Escrow and Time-lock Services to Build a Startup Launchpad appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Nvidia released its earnings for the third fiscal quarter of 2021 this week, showing better-than-expected results, driven by sales of its graphics processing unit (GPU) chips. The firm reported graphics segment revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, beating analyst estimates of $2.1 billion. Within the graphics segment also falls the gaming division. Nvidia said that its new line of graphics cards based on a new technology called Ampere drew strong interest from computer and videogame console developers. For example, one of the new models, the Geforce RTX 3080, went on sale in September and sold out immediately. Nvidia said gaming revenue climbed 37% year-on-year to $2.27 billion, a record for the company. The graphics processing units produced by Nvidia are mainly used in video game consoles and graphics cards but they have also become popular with cryptocurrency miners, particularly those extracting coins like ethereum (ETH), monero (XMR), and zcash (ZEC). For the quarter in review, Nvidia sold at least $175 million worth of new generation GPUs to ethereum miners, helping the outperformance, according to a note from RBC Capital Markets analyst Mitch Steves. The analyst had guided sales to miners to come in at $150 million for the quarter. Steves noted that the upcoming network upgrade of the Ethereum blockchain, also known as Ethereum 2.0, which is scheduled to take place sometime in December, demands that miners switch over to more efficient mining hardware. Nvidia’s new Ampere GPU chips are thought to meet that need. However, GPUs are no longer effective for mining bitcoin (BTC), which has moved on to more efficient application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) miners. Overall, Nvidia reported revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, up 57% from a year earlier. Analysts expected revenues of $4.41 billion. The company revealed that it continues to face supply bottlenecks for its chips and cards in the fiscal fourth quarter, which ends in January. It also said its acquisition of British chip designer ARM from Japanese conglomerate Softbank is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2022. Shares of Nvidia fell 0.92% to $532.65 in Nasdaq stock market trading on Friday. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has reached a high of $589.07 and a low of $180.68. What do you think about Nvidia’s rising sales of graphics processing units to crypto miners? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Nvidia Posts Record Q3 Earnings, Sales of GPUs to Crypto Miners Reach $175 Million appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article