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Digital currency proponents have been discussing the 2020 monsoon season in East Asia and how there’s a possibility it could wreak havoc on large bitcoin mining operations located in China. Recent estimates note that China has 50% of the world’s bitcoin mining capacity but if mining facilities are taken out by heavy rainfall and flooding, Bitcoin’s hashrate could plummet fast. During the first week of July, the Bitcoin (BTC) network hashrate touched 125 exahash per second (EH/s). Alongside this, the price of the crypto asset has been meandering in the $9k region for a while now. Since July 7, BTC’s hashrate has dropped from 125 EH/s to roughly 110 EH/s on July 21, losing 12% of hashpower. Other SHA256 assets like bitcoinsv (BSV) and bitcoin cash (BCH) also have a decent portion of hashrate stemming from China. Bitcoin (BTC) hashrate was 110 EH/s on July 21, 2020. Right now China and many countries in East Asia are suffering from a really bad monsoon season. A number of bitcoiners have been talking about the devastating effects of the monsoon season, heavy rainfall, and flooding on Chinese mining operations. For instance, Daniel Frumkin tweeted about the subject on July 21, after retweeting a statement written by Nic Carter. Coin Metrics founder Nic Carter and the founder of Adamant Capital, Tuur Demeester were discussing “the (potential) situation with the Three Gorges Dam” on Twitter. Remarking on the subject Frumkin tweeted: Another example of the separation between mining and the rest of the Bitcoin industry. With ~50% of BTC’s hashrate located in Sichuan, the implications of serious flooding and dam failures are potentially huge. It’s been a major topic in the mining bubble for weeks. Scientists have traced the powerful weather to a “warming hot spot in the Indian Ocean” and China has seen “historic flooding.” One of the biggest concerns for China is the straining of the Three Gorges Dam, as the structure has taken a beating this monsoon season. Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydroelectric dam in existence. Sichuan is also home to the largest concentration of bitcoin mining operations worldwide. Sichuan is located upstream of the Three Gorges Dam and there are many other smaller rivers and tributaries that can flood in the region as well. Experts believe that the high-pressure hotspot in the Pacific Ocean is creating massive quantities of condensation which is leading to heavy rainfall. Traditionally the wet season in Sichuan is good for bitcoin miners as the running water helps power hydroelectric resources. Too much water and flooding can be devastating to bitcoin mining operations and a number of wet seasons have damaged Chinese mining operations in the past. During the first week of July 2018, news.Bitcoin.com reported on heavy rainfall in China allegedly damaging thousands of ASIC mining rigs. That week a 30% drop in the global hashrate was attributed to those floods. What do you think about the possibility of flooding in China affecting bitcoin miners? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. The post 2020 Monsoon Season and Dam Stress Threatens Chinese Bitcoin Miners appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The largest digital asset by market capitalization, bitcoin has lost a significant share of market dominance during the last few weeks. Bitcoin’s dominance ratio dropped to 61.5% on Thursday, after hovering around 66% for months on end. The last time the crypto asset’s dominance level was around the 61% range was over 12 months ago on June 30, 2019. Bitcoin has the largest market valuation out of all the digital assets in existence. BTC’s market cap today is around $175 billion out of the grand total of $284 billion that represents the overall worth of all 5,700+ crypto assets. Bitcoin’s (BTC) dominance ratio has slid to 61.5% on July 23, 2020, the lowest dominance ratio in over a year. When people refer to the “Bitcoin Dominance Index” (BDI), they are referring to BTC’s market cap compared to the aggregate market cap of all the other coins. Interestingly, BTC’s dominance level stayed consistently above the 77% ratio from 2009 up until March 2017. Most of the time during those six years, BTC’s dominance ratio was between 80-90% on average. Things certainly changed in 2017, and even though BTC touched an all-time high of $19,600 per coin, dominance continued to drop like a rock. In June 2017, BTC’s market dominance was only 37%, but it regained some of the uptrend capitalization throughout the latter half of 2017 and into 2018. Bitcoin’s dominance index fell to an all-time low of 32% on January 14, 2018. However, BTC has been able to once again regain some of the capitalization losses, in comparison to the rest of the crypto economy. During the last year, BTC has steadily kept the BDI above the 65% range, but on February 23, 2020, it dropped to 62% for a very short period of time. Bitcoin’s (BTC) dominance level slid to 61.5% on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Now BTC is below that range again and cryptocurrency proponents are discussing the subject with great fervor. One Redditor from r/cryptocurrency commented on a forum post about the situation and said “Altseason imminent.” The term ‘altseason’ or ‘altcoin season’ is a period of time when alternative digital assets besides bitcoin (BTC), see their market caps increase significantly by undermining BTC’s overall BDI metric. Of course, altcoin season happened in the summer of 2017 when BTC’s dominance index crashed down to the 37% zone. Just as many speculators assume that BTC prices will grow bullish once again, many also expect an altcoin season to precede the ostensible pending bull run. Today on July 23, 2020, BTC’s dominance index level at 61.5% indicates that a few high profile digital coins have been gathering bigger gains. The biggest crypto asset market valuation that’s chomping away at BTC’s dominance is Ethereum, as it captures close to 10% of the overall $285 billion crypto coin market cap. Bitcoin (BTC) vs. Ethereum (ETH) market metrics. In the past, XRP was a strong contender against BTC’s market dominance, but this isn’t the case so much anymore. XRP does have a touch over 3% of the entire crypto-coin valuation, but tether (USDT) is larger today. The stablecoin tether has managed to become the third-largest market valuation and its ecosystem has been nipping at bitcoin’s heels as of late. Of course, BTC maximalists have not appreciated the fact that Ethereum’s defi boom is bringing fierce competition to the first cryptocurrency’s dominance levels. Blockstream representative Grubles (@notgrubles) criticized the Ethereum project after ETH saw significant gains on Wednesday. “So the Ethereum people simultaneously marketed Ethereum as the world computer /and/ knew it wouldn’t scale while they marketed it as such. Am I taking crazy pills or is that just straight-up fraud?” Grubles tweeted. In response, the popular Twitter account @degenspartan responded to Gruble’s take on Ethereum. “We need higher ETH/BTC ratio for more takes like this,” Degen Spartan said poking fun at Gruble’s tweet. Blockchair founder Nikita Zhavoronkov also rubbed it in on July 23 and tweeted: Sorry Bitcoin maxis, but the flippening is in full force now. Meanwhile, as BTC is up 1.6% today, ETH has spiked over 8% during the last 24-hours. BTC is up a touch over 4% during the last week, while ETH has gained 13% in seven days. 90-day stats show that ETH is wiping the floor with bitcoin’s (BTC) three-month gains, as ETH is up over 41% compared to BTC’s 26% (90-day). Against the U.S. dollar, BTC is still down 2% for the last 12 months of trading prices, but ETH has gained 22% in the last year. Moreover, there’s a number of other altcoins nipping away at BTC’s dominance levels as well, as coins like ADA, LINK, and CRO have seen significant gains between 119-238% during the last 12 months. What do you think about Bitcoin’s dominance level dropping to 61.5% on Thursday? Let us know what you think in the comments below. The post Crypto Race Heats Up: Bitcoin’s Dominance Ratio Drops to Lowest Level in 12 Months appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The U.S. government has taken down a $25 million bitcoin ATM operation and seized 17 machines along with some cryptocurrencies. The Department of Justice says the man behind this unlicensed bitcoin ATM operation has agreed to plead guilty and is facing up to 30 years in prison. US Dismantles Bitcoin ATM Operation The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday that a California man, Kais Mohammad, has admitted to operating an unlicensed bitcoin ATM network that “laundered millions of dollars of bitcoin and cash for criminals’ benefit.” The 39-year-old owned and operated an unlicensed bitcoin money service business called Herocoin where he offered to exchange bitcoin for cash, charging commissions of up to 25%, the DOJ detailed. He advertised his exchange business online using the moniker “Superman29,” but served clients throughout Southern California. Typically, he met clients at a public location and exchanged bitcoin for them of up to $25,000 without inquiring about the source of their funds. Mohammad later purchased and advertised a network of two-way Bitcoin ATM kiosks located in malls, gas stations, and convenience stores in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The DOJ described: “Mohammad processed cryptocurrency deposited into the machines, supplied the machines with cash that customers would withdraw, and maintained the server software that operated the machines.” According to the DOJ, Mohammad knew that Herocoin needed to register with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), but he chose to neither register nor comply with anti-money laundering rules. He eventually did register after FinCEN contacted him “but he continued to fail to comply fully with federal law concerning money laundering, conducting due diligence and reporting suspicious customers,” the Justice Department noted. During the course of its investigation, law enforcement conducted multiple bitcoin exchange transactions with Mohammad. He also conducted multiple in-person bitcoin to cash transactions with undercover agents who said their proceeds were from illegal activity. The DOJ said Mohammad never filed a currency transaction report or suspicious activity report for these transactions. The department added that in the coming weeks, he is expected to plead guilty to “federal criminal charges that he operated an illegal virtual-currency money services business that exchanged up to $25 million – including on behalf of criminals – through in-person transactions and a network of Bitcoin ATM-type kiosks.” The Justice Department elaborated: Upon pleading guilty, Mohammad will face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison. As part of the plea agreement, Mohammad has agreed to forfeit cash, cryptocurrency, and 17 bitcoin ATMs that he operated as part of his business. What do you think about the U.S. taking down this bitcoin ATM operation? Let us know in the comments section below. The post US Takes Down $25 Million Bitcoin ATM Operation, Seizes 17 Machines appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and 17 other victims have sued Youtube and Google for allowing, promoting, and profiting from bitcoin giveaway scams. However, Youtube insists that it is not at fault for scammers using its video-sharing platform for cryptocurrency giveaway scams and other fraudulent schemes. Steve Wozniak and 17 Victims Take Youtube and Google to Court Over Bitcoin Giveaway Scam Steve Wozniak and 17 other fraud victims have sued Youtube and its parent company, Google, over a bitcoin giveaway scam that has persisted on the popular video-sharing platform for many months. According to Tuesday’s filing with the Superior Court of the State of California in San Mateo County, the plaintiffs have demanded a jury trial. Wozniak says Youtube and Google have allowed scammers to use his name and likeness to promote a fraudulent bitcoin giveaway for months, adding that the two companies have repeatedly ignored his requests to remove the scam videos. Twitter, on the other hand, took down similar bitcoin giveaway tweets the same day they were posted during the great hack that saw many high-profile accounts asking people to send them bitcoin, promising to double any amount sent. According to the court filing: Defendants [Youtube and Google] significantly harmed Wozniak and Youtube users by knowingly allowing the bitcoin giveaway scam to thrive, promoting the scam, profiting from the scam, and failing to warn users. Some of the bitcoin giveaway scam videos on Youtube claiming that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is giving away 5000 BTC and will double your bitcoin sent to him. Source: court document The plaintiffs say that Google and Youtube “knew about the bitcoin giveaway scam because Wozniak, countless other scam victims, Youtube users, and media articles” informed them about “every aspect of the scam.” While the two companies have the means to stop the scam videos on Youtube and warn users about them, the court document states that they “have not done so; instead defendants materially contribute to the scam by failing to timely respond, promoting the scam, and selling targeted ads for the scam.” As a result, the plaintiffs have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bitcoin giveaway scam, the court document notes. The plaintiffs are asking the court to order Youtube and Google to immediately remove the fraudulent videos and warn users about the bitcoin giveaway scam. They are also seeking compensatory and punitive damages. Youtube Insists It’s Not at Fault Wozniak and the 17 victims are not the only people who sued Youtube recently over crypto giveaway scams. Ripple Labs Inc. sued the company in April for failing to stop scammers from posting about fraudulent cryptocurrency giveaways that asked viewers to send XRP to a scam address. In addition to swindling hundreds of thousands of dollars from victims, Ripple alleges the scam harmed its brand and the image of its CEO, Bradley Garlinghouse. However, Youtube has argued that it is not at fault and not liable for scammers using its platform. The company filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Tuesday to dismiss Ripple’s lawsuit. Youtube cited Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act which “bars claims lodged against website operators for their editorial functions, such as the posting of comments concerning third-party posts, so long as those comments are not themselves actionable.” The company insists that according to this law, computer services should not be treated as the publisher or speaker of other providers’ content. Ripple also alleges: Youtube granted a verification badge to one of the hacked channels and also profited from the scams by ‘knowingly selling’ paid ads on behalf of the fraudsters. In its motion, Youtube argued that those badges did not change the third-party content into material it created or developed, therefore its “unwitting verification” of the scam account was not itself unlawful. Meanwhile, a Youtube spokesperson maintains: “We take abuse of our platform seriously and take action quickly when we detect violations.” Many scam videos and ads are regularly found on Youtube. News.Bitcoin.com recently reported on a number of bitcoin giveaway scams, such as those claiming that Spacex and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and others are giving away bitcoin. The Elon Musk bitcoin giveaway scam has been particularly successful, having raked in millions of dollars already. Do you think Youtube is at fault? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Steve Wozniak Sues Youtube, Google for Promoting Bitcoin Giveaway Scam — Youtube Denies Fault appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has clarified that national banks and federal savings associations can provide cryptocurrency custody services for customers. The OCC sees banks providing crypto custody services as “a modern form of traditional bank activities related to custody services.” Banks Authorized to Offer Crypto Custody Services The OCC announced Wednesday that it has published “a letter clarifying national banks’ and federal savings associations’ authority to provide cryptocurrency custody services for customers.” An independent bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the OCC charters, regulates and supervises all national banks and federal savings associations as well as federal branches and agencies of foreign banks — altogether there are currently 1,175 entities. The announcement details: “National and state banks and thrifts have long provided safekeeping and custody services, including both physical objects and electronic assets. The OCC has specifically recognized the importance of digital assets and the authority for banks to provide safekeeping for such assets since 1998.” The letter reads: The OCC concludes that providing cryptocurrency custody services, including holding unique cryptographic keys associated with cryptocurrency, is a modern form of traditional bank activities related to custody services. Crypto custody services may extend beyond passively holding ‘keys.’ Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian P. Brooks emphasized: “This opinion clarifies that banks can continue satisfying their customers’ needs for safeguarding their most valuable assets, which today for tens of millions of Americans includes cryptocurrency.” Brooks took office in June. Prior to joining the OCC, he served as the chief legal officer for crypto exchange Coinbase. Believing that “There is huge and great promise in blockchain and crypto,” Brooks aims to solve banks’ problems with decentralization, as news.Bitcoin.com previously reported. The letter explains that this clarification “also reaffirms the OCC’s position that national banks may provide permissible banking services to any lawful business they choose, including cryptocurrency businesses, so long as they effectively manage the risks and comply with applicable law.” The crypto community welcomes the OCC’s decision, viewing it as a highly bullish move. “The OCC letter is a positive development for the entire crypto industry,” Nathan McCauley, CEO of crypto custodian service provider Anchorage, was quoted by Forbes as saying. “A lack of regulatory clarity has been a big roadblock to more institutional activity in crypto, and major pronouncements like this help move the needle.” Nonetheless, he added that “Digital asset custody presents more than regulatory challenges.” Gabor Gurbacs, director of Digital Assets Strategy at Vaneck and MVIS, commented on Twitter: That’s a great step forward toward better institutional support for bitcoin. What do you think about the OCC green-lighting banks for crypto custody services? Let us know in the comments section below. The post US Regulator Green-Lights Banks for Cryptocurrency Custody Services appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The number of regulated cryptocurrency exchanges in the Philippines has grown to 16, according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the country’s central bank. One of the regulated exchanges has been helping the government and Unionbank to launch an app for bond purchases. 16 Registered Crypto Exchanges in the Philippines The central bank of the Philippines, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), has so far approved 16 cryptocurrency exchange service providers in total. The latest list of “Remittance and transfer companies (RTC) with virtual currency (VC) exchange services” shows four recently-approved cryptocurrency exchanges. They are Finchain Technology Inc., Iremit Inc., Moneybees Forex Corp., and Wibs PHP Inc. The four join 12 existing crypto exchanges previously approved by the BSP: Aba Global Philippines (Coexstar), Atomtrans Tech, Betur (dba Coins.ph), Bexpress, Bloomsolutions (Bloomx), Coinville Phils, Etranss Remittance International, Fyntegrate (dba Philippine Digital Asset Exchange or PDAX), Rebittance (Rebit, Buybitcoin.ph), Telcoin, VHCEX, and Zybi Tech (dba Juancash). News.Bitcoin.com previously reported that there were 13 approved crypto exchanges in the Philippines. However, Bitan Moneytech has been delisted as of June 30 and is no longer on the above BSP-approved list. The BSP established a formal regulatory framework for crypto exchanges in its Circular No. 944 dated Feb. 6, 2017. Crypto exchanges are required to register with the BSP as remittance and transfer companies. Government, Unionbank and PDAX Launch a Bond App The Philippines continues to innovate in the area of crypto assets and blockchain technology. Last week, the country’s Bureau of the Treasury, the Union Bank of the Philippines (Unionbank), and crypto exchange PDAX launched a blockchain app called Bonds.ph for the distribution of government bonds. National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon explained that the new mobile app will allow Filipinos, particularly the unbanked, to invest in the government’s new retail treasury bond and help the country raise funds to help with economic recovery and strengthen the covid-19 response. Unionbank, one of the largest banks in the country, installed a bitcoin ATM early last year. Its subsidiary UBX has invested in the PDAX exchange. “This is the first retail treasury bond issuance to leverage on blockchain technology – in Asia, and likely the world,” said Unionbank President and CEO Edwin R. Bautista. “The Philippines is ready to lead the way into the future and tech up the nation with innovative, inclusive opportunities, powered by emerging technologies, for the benefit of all Filipinos.” What do you think about the Philippines’ approach to crypto? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Philippines Now Has 16 Cryptocurrency Exchanges Approved by Central Bank appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The most dominant stablecoin in the cryptocurrency ecosystem has seen some competition during the last few years, but the token tether has remained king in the face of rivalry. Just recently, a “Q2’20 review” published by the digital currency data and analytics firm Messari shows that tether’s daily transaction value is set to eclipse bitcoin’s daily transaction value in the near future. Ever since the first tokens were issued back in October 2014, the tether (USDT) stablecoin economy has been an enigma, to say the least. Moreover, since 2017 the market capitalization of tether has grown exceptionally large capturing roughly $10 billion in value as of July 22, 2020. The tether economy has grown massively despite the competition over the last few years, as tokens like pax standard (PAX), trueusd (TUSD), dai (DAI), and usd coin (USDC) nip at the stablecoin’s heels. Now a recently published “Q2’20 review” concerning the stablecoin economy written by Ryan Watkins notes that tether’s daily transaction value may soon supersede bitcoin’s daily transaction value. At the time of publication only $100 million remains in between both crypto asset’s daily transaction value. Data from Coin Metric’s charts also indicate that most of the value stems from USDT tokens created on the Ethereum blockchain. Stablecoins transactions have seen over a half of a trillion U.S. dollars settled during the first half of 2020. The report written by Watkins highlights that stablecoins offer “24/7 uptime and relatively quick settlement” and they have seen “increased usage in defi” sector. “While inter-exchange settlement remains the most dominant use case for stablecoins by far, more generally, stablecoins are simply a better means of storing and moving dollars around the world,” the researcher details. Statistics also show that tether (USDT) has more trade volume than bitcoin (BTC) and this trend is a usual occurrence. Comparatively, data from into the intotheblock.com shows USDT whale concentration is 12.03%, while bitcoin’s whale concentration is only 1.39%. Data from Cryptocompare shows that USDT captures 64.02% of BTC’s trading share. This is also the case for various digital assets as the largest market pair typically is tether. Stats from exchanges that swap BTC worldwide indicate that tether is traded more often than fiat currencies. Fiat currencies like the USD (11.20%), JPY (9.30%), EUR (4.46%), and KRW (3.79%) are BTC’s top fiat pairs on July 22. Those fiat assets do not stack up to USDT with their forces combined. What do you think about tether surpassing bitcoin’s daily transaction value in the near future? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Stablecoin Tether Set to Eclipse Bitcoin’s Daily Transaction Value appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

South Korea will now tax profits made from buying and selling of cryptocurrency at 20% after the government agreed to the decision on Wednesday. The decision was reached after months of debate. According to a taxation policy amendment notice released July 22, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said income from digital assets below 2.5 million won per year (around $2,000) will not be taxed. Annual earnings above this threshold will be taxed at 20%, it said. This puts crypto tax at the same level as other taxable income in the Asian country, even though it is not necessarily viewed as capital gains. In Korea, profits from the sale of bitcoin (BTC) and other virtual assets are considered as ‘other income’, just as in Japan. Under the new rules, investors residing outside of South Korea as well as foreign companies trading on local exchanges will be subject to the tax. Exchange operators are expected to deduct the tax from gains made from trading on behalf of the Korean tax agency. The revised tax code now awaits parliamentary approval. Once approved, the tax will come into effect from October 1, 2021. Officials said in May that the changes to the tax law have been prompted by the idea of applying “tax where income is located”. The Korean government has attempted to tax bitcoin and other cryptos in the past, most recently in January, but failed to enforce the regulations, reportedly because different government ministries could not agree whether bitcoin was an asset or not. What do you think about cryptocurrency taxation in South Korea? Let us know in the comments section below. The post South Korea to Charge 20% Tax on Bitcoin Profits Under New Law appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The world’s bureaucrats have been on a money creation spree and on July 21, the European Union approved an unprecedented $2.1 trillion coronavirus relief budget. Additionally, American leaders are in the midst of approving a new stimulus relief act amid July’s unemployment extension benefits expiring. Reports say that the estimated $3 trillion HEROES Act will pay American taxpayers another payout round similar to the last cash injection, but it adds additional money for individuals who meet certain criteria. Global politicians and central bank leaders believe that creating money out of thin air will save the economy from pending doom. No one knows how much money is needed to fix the economic problems and mend the financial troubles, but Bloomberg contributor Christopher Condon believes it will take another trillion to help fix the United States. However, other analysts and economists disagree and in Condon’s report, he notes that the former chief White House economist under President Barack Obama, Jason Furman, thinks it will take $2 trillion to mend the U.S. economy. American analysts and economists are certain stimulus is coming to the U.S. for American citizens again. However, not everyone agrees on how much money is needed. Jason Furman economist for the Obama administration believes $2 trillion is needed. The European Union is also having issues with the economy, as a number of financial experts have warned during the last few months that the EU would be in danger of financial calamity. Associated Press columnists Samuel Petrequin and Raf Casert explained on Tuesday that the EU finally approved a stimulus relief bill created to help struggling EU member nations. European Union leaders approved a 1.82 trillion euro ($2.1 trillion) budget on Tuesday. Economists have predicted an extreme financial depression in the region, so European Union leaders authorized a 1.82 trillion euro ($2.1 trillion) budget on July 21. It is one of the largest stimulus bills the EU has ever passed, as loans and grants will be distributed to the “[EU] countries hit hardest by the virus.” The U.S., however, is lagging on creating a second stimulus recovery act for Americans, but the House of Representatives passed the HEROES Act in May. The HEROES Act started as a 3 trillion dollar plan, but top congressional Republicans and the Trump administration may whittle that number down to $1 trillion. The financial publication Forbes even offers a HEROES Act payout calculator, so American taxpayers can visualize how much money they might receive. A number of American pundits, analysts, and economists think the stimulus bill will be approved by the end of July, in order to combat the $600 extended unemployment benefits that expire for Americans this month. At the very least, a cash injection for American citizens is expected by August according to a number of reports. Despite the Democrats shooting for $3 trillion, Republican’s including Mitch McConnell and members of the Trump administration may whittle the money down to $1 trillion. Even though a hard figure is still undecided, McConnell did tell the press that he thinks the American economy needs another round of stimulus. Mitch McConnell Jr. (R-Ky), the longest-serving leader of U.S. Senate and Senate Majority Leader, told the media he expects a stimulus bill to be approved soon. McConnell insisted that he will endorse “another round of direct payments.” The American press claims the main reason behind the stimulus move is mainly due to the unemployment insurance expiry. “The economy needs another shot of adrenaline,” McConnell stressed Tuesday. “If we lose control of the virus…everything else will be window dressing.” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin thinks $1 trillion or more is needed so Americans can “focus on kids and jobs.” While discussing the situation with President Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin seems to think the magic number is $1 trillion. Mnuchin’s statements noted that the money is needed so American’s can “focus on kids and jobs.” “We’re focused on starting with another trillion dollars, we think that will make a big impact,” Mnuchin told the press on July 20. Of course, many gold bugs and cryptocurrency proponents see the next rounds of stimulus bolstering the counter-economy. The EU stimulus approval seemingly strengthened the precious metals silver and gold on Tuesday and Wednesday, but digital currencies like bitcoin (BTC) also saw a decent price lift both days. Crypto proponents on Twitter have said, “the coronavirus stimulus packages around the world are good for bitcoin.” On July 6, 2020, the Open Economy Initiative published a video that showed researchers taking to the streets in Denver asking Americans their opinions about bitcoin and the U.S. government’s recent money printing spree. Most of the participants the Open Economy Initiative (OEI) interviewed believed that money printing was necessary and a few discussed bitcoin. One person said the “coolest thing” he spent his stimulus check on was “cryptocurrency.” “It actually went up, and it’s still going up,” one person told the interviewer from OEI. “I’m trying to be wise with [the stimulus money] if ya know what I’m saying,” he added. The OEI website says the organization “envisions a future where cryptocurrency transactions are the standard, transfer fees are minimal, and money is uncensorable.” This month members of the Open Economy Initiative (OEI) interviewed a number of Americans in regard to their opinions concerning the stimulus and the subject of bitcoin. This man invested his stimulus check into the crypto economy and he believes that concepts like digital currencies will help build a better future. On Twitter, a number of individuals also viewed the EU stimulus approval as being positive for investments like precious metals and bitcoin, and they expect the pending American stimulus injections to bolster the counter-economies further. “Expect the market to further rally over the next few weeks as the next round of fiscal stimulus is announced,” explains David C., a keen observer of trends. This time we should see a broad-based market rally in all sectors. S&P500 should break ATH very soon. Bitcoin, gold and silver will continue its ascend as USD continues to weaken.” Do you think the next round of fiscal stimulus will bolster bitcoin and precious metal markets? Let us know in the comments section below. The post EU Leaders Approve $2.1 Trillion Budget, US Lawmakers Expect Another Round of Covid-19 Relief Money appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The supreme court of China has recommended increasing the legal protection of property rights, including digital currency ownership rights. The recommendations also focus on solving issues such as “the use of public power to infringe private property rights, illegal seizures, and freezing of private enterprise property.” China’s supreme court and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) published Wednesday a document detailing their opinions in several areas, including “Strengthening the judicial protection of property rights.” China’s top economic planner, the NDRC is an agency under the State Council, which has broad administrative and planning control over the country’s economy. Regarding cryptocurrency, the supreme court and the commission have recommended: Strengthening the protection of new rights and interests such as digital currency, network virtual property, and data. The property rights protection system should be improved “based on the principle of fairness and justice,” the document elaborates. While the document does not specifically mention cryptocurrency, a search for the term “digital currency” on Chinese courts’ websites returns results about cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, particularly bitcoin and tether. There are 31 recommendations altogether, including clarifying standards, delimiting the scope of responsible properties, and solving current problems in property rights protection. The latter covers “the use of public power to infringe private property rights, illegal seizures, and freezing of private enterprise property.” The opinions also call for the punishment of all types of property rights infringements in accordance with the law. The full document and recommendations can be found here. China has been increasing its legal protection of crypto ownership rights. In May, the third session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislature, voted on and passed the “Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China,” which protects crypto inheritance. It states that the property rights of individuals, including online virtual assets, “are equally safeguarded to those of the State and collective.” In the same month, China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), was reportedly drafting laws for the circulation of its national digital currency. Several Chinese courts have also ruled that bitcoin and ethereum are assets that should be protected by law. What do you think about the Chinese supreme court’s recommendations? Let us know in the comments section below. The post China’s Supreme Court Recommends Increasing Crypto Property Rights Protection appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The number of active Ethereum addresses has grown aggressively in 2020 because of the decentralized finance (defi) boom. Active Ethereum addresses doubled in size leaving networks like Tron, Cardano, and EOS in the dust. There’s a lot happening in the world of decentralized finance (defi) with things like synthetic bitcoin (WBTC), stablecoins, yield farming, decentralized exchange (dex) platforms, and more crafted on the Ethereum network. Since the end of 2019, data from Coin Metrics and Messari.io indicates that Ethereum addresses doubled in size throughout the year. Active ETH addresses have superseded BTC active addresses by a long shot and this has been sparked by 2020’s defi bonanza. Additionally, decentralized exchange (dex) trade volumes have touched $1.6 billion this month and there were $160 million in dex swaps during the last 24 hours. The top three platforms today as far as the most exchange volume today include Curve, Balancer, and Dydx according to Dune Analytics. Data also shows the number of ETH-based smart contract platform active addresses has outpaced other Ethereum competitors. Coins like TRX, EOS, ADA, and XTZ have been eclipsed. However, Messari researcher Wilson Withiam tweeted about the defi situation and Ethereum’s smart contract war competitors. “In the last year, thirteen Ethereum competitors have raked in over $300 million combined,” Withiam said. “Almost all were valued well north of $100 million.” Ethereum is also seeing a significant amount of stablecoin use between all the ERC20-based stablecoins buzzing around the network. One of the biggest ETH-based smart contracts is the most popular stablecoin in the world, tether (USDT). According to Etherscan stats, there’s a whopping 6,037,847,550 USDTs in circulation using the ERC20 standard. Moreover, the great number of other stablecoin projects in existence like Dai (DAI), Usd coin (USDC), Trueusd (TUSD), and Pax standard (PAX) are all ERC20 tokens. Ethereum is also doing some heavy lifting for the BTC chain and acting as a fluid sidechain. There is $114 million total-value-locked (TVL) in the ERC20 token called WBTC that is backed 1:1 by bitcoin (BTC). Other chains like renBTC and sBTC are moving synthetic BTC on the Ethereum chain as well. All of this action taking place in the Ethereum ecosystem has developed a large number of active Ethereum addresses but there have been a number of issues. The fees needed to interact with an ERC20 smart contract has been high and cryptocurrency proponents have been complaining about the issue regularly. For instance, it cost over $4 and 100 MANA to register a name (interact with a smart contract using Metamask) on Decentraland on July 21, 2020. Fees have been a significant nuisance to Ethereum users yield farming and interacting with defi as some gas fees have reached 100 gwei. Ethereum’s cofounder Vitalik Buterin said on Tuesday that the transaction fee revenue could possibly undermine the chain’s security. “Transaction fee revenue is now nearing half as high as block reward revenue,” Buterin tweeted. “This actually risks making ethereum *less* secure because of fee market reform (ie. EIP 1559) fixes this; another reason why that EIP is important.” Additionally, the management team behind Maker and the Compound project community have been at odds lately as gainful DAI yield on Compound has created stability issues for the stablecoin DAI. The discussion has been very topical for individuals like Cyrus Younessi, the Head of Risk at the Maker project. Another controversial discussion in regard to stablecoin use on the Ethereum chain is the fact that a number of stablecoin addresses from USDT and USDC have been frozen. A number of skeptics believe that the ability to blacklist a token via an Ethereum smart contract threatens defi and puts the term “decentralized finance” into question. What do you think about Ethereum’s active addresses doubling in 2020? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. The post Ethereum’s 2020 Defi Boom Doubles Active Ether Addresses, But Fees Skyrocket appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Dr. Seuss’ characters will be crypto collectibles due to a partnership between Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Dapper Labs, the company behind Cryptokitties and the upcoming NBA Top Shot. Some of the characters that will be available include The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, Horton, The Grinch, and Thing One and Thing Two. Dr. Seuss Going Crypto Dapper Labs announced Tuesday that it has partnered with Dr. Seuss Enterprises “to create all new digital collectibles to the Flow blockchain,” featuring “some of Dr. Seuss’ most iconic and popular characters,” including Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, The Grinch, Horton and Thing One and Thing Two. Fans of Dr. Seuss’ work can then purchase and “collect digital packs of their favorite characters and wholly own them on blockchain forever,” the announcement details. Dapper Labs founder and CEO Roham Gharegozlou commented: As the world moves increasingly online, so has consumers’ desire for discovering and collecting digital memorabilia that brings them one step closer to their favorite athletes, musicians and iconic characters. Gharegozlou told Fortune that families will be able to store these Dr. Seuss characters in an online sticker book and sell or trade them. Licensed “digital packs of stickers featuring characters from The Cat in the Hat, The Grinch, and other famous works by Seuss” will be available starting next year, the publication added and quoted the CEO as saying, “This will change how people think and interact with digital culture.” Examples of Dr. Seuss crypto collectibles. Source: Dapper Labs Dapper Labs is the company behind Cryptokitties, the Flow blockchain, and upcoming titles such as NBA Top Shot. According to the company, its partners include the NBA and NBPA, Warner Music Group, Ubisoft, and the UFC. Among its investors are Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, Venrock, Google Ventures, Samsung, and the founders of Dreamworks, Reddit, Coinbase, Zynga, and Angellist. Dr. Seuss, whose real name is Theodor Seuss Geisel, or Ted as his friends and family called him, was a famous American children’s author. He was best known for his writing and illustration in more than 60 books, some of which are the most popular children’s books of all time, selling over 650 million copies in more than 95 countries. The company Dr. Seuss Enterprises was established in 1993 with a focus on preserving and enhancing the quality of Dr. Seuss’ work has been expanding its licensing portfolio. Last week, it expanded in Europe, with deals in Germany, Slovakia, and Albania. This expansion followed a recent one in Australia. What do you think about Dr. Seuss’ crypto collectibles? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Dr Seuss Crypto Collectibles to Feature Cat in the Hat, Lorax, Horton, the Grinch appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Weiss’ significant technology and entertainment industry experience includes his current role as General Partner and Chairman of Global Blockchain Ventures and as former President, Worldwide Operations, Disney Parks and Resorts. Dubai, UAE, July 22, 2020, PlayFuel, the company bringing the power of blockchain technology to the gaming world today announced that Al Weiss was appointed Chairman (non-executive) of PlayFuel (PLF)-PFL International FZ-LLC (PlayFuel). PlayFuel has created a platform that allows developers to earn revenue by integrating blockchain technology into their games. A key part of its platform is its successfully introduced PLF utility-token based on the ERC-20 standard. Players of PlayFuel enhanced games mine PLF-crypto tokens just by playing. Tokenized blockchain gaming will allow players to trade their tokens in various digital asset exchanges, while building confidence in exchanging authentic in-game items, as blockchain will remove fake and repetitive ones. For game developers, it provides a means of fairly and reliably monetizing their creations. PlayFuel believes that blockchain gaming will transform today’s gaming industry into a better, more scalable, and more profitable one. “Al Weiss helped introduce 1.3 billion Chinese to the modern leisure industry and entertainment experience by opening Disney Parks in Hong Kong and Shanghai,” said Mr. Geun-Woo Lee, owner and CSO, PFL International FZ-LLC. “His outstanding leadership as Disney‘s President of worldwide operations for resorts and theme parks, combined with unrivalled expertise in crypto business will surely give a powerful impetus to PlayFuel.” Al Weiss is the General Partner and Chairman of Global Blockchain Ventures, a blockchain-focused venture capital fund focused on investing in disruptive, decentralized, and synergistic technology fields to drive real world adoption for economic growth and positive social impact. Prior to that he held multiple positions at the Walt Disney Company, culminating as President of Worldwide Operations for Disney’s $10 Billion+/95,000 employee Walt Disney Parks and Resorts business. He serves on multiple boards and has been a crucial part of many mergers and acquisitions across industries. “Blockchain technology has the potential to transform virtually any industry, and entertainment is among those with the greatest potential, said Al Weiss, Chairman (non-executive) of PlayFuel. “I look forward to supporting the PlayFuel team in reaching their ambitious goals of transforming the gaming industry for players, developers, and society as a whole.” About PlayFuel PlayFuel is bringing the power of blockchain technology to the gaming world to transform it into a better, more scalable, and more profitable one. Its platform allows developers to earn revenue by integrating blockchain technology into their games. Players of PlayFuel enhanced games mine PLF-crypto tokens just by playing. A key part of its platform is its PLF utility-token which has been successfully listed on twelve top exchanges: BW, Coinbene, STEX, Crex24, Hotbit, DigiFinex, Bilaxy, BigOne, Coinsuper, Exmarkets, Lbank, and Mercatox. Contact Email Address omer@blockly.io Supporting Link https://playfuel.io/ 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 Al Weiss Appointed Chairman (Non-Executive) of Playfuel appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

With the rapid rise in the number of bitcoin scams, there are easy ways to check if a bitcoin address has been reported as being used by scammers, such as in fake bitcoin giveaways. You can also easily report any bitcoin address associated with a scam. Check the ‘Bitcoin Abuse’ Database The number of bitcoin scams has been rapidly rising. Many of them ask people to send bitcoin to the addresses they provide, such as bitcoin giveaway scams that promise to double the amount of bitcoin you send. The great Twitter hack last week, for example, had many high-profile accounts tweet about fake bitcoin giveaways. Before sending your bitcoin to an address, you can check to see if that address has been reported as one being used in a scam. Bitcoin Abuse is a popular website with a public database of bitcoin addresses used by hackers and criminals. You can look up a bitcoin address, report a scam address, and monitor addresses reported by others. If the bitcoin address you are searching on the site has been reported by others, the site will display information, such as the number of times the address has been reported, the last report date and time, the total amount of bitcoin it has received, and the number of transactions. There will also be a link to Blockchain.info for you to track the transactions for the address. The site will also display all the reports filed on the address. Bitcoin Abuse’s entry for bc1qxy2kgdygjrsqtzq2n0yrf2493p83kkfjhx0wlh, a BTC address used in the great Twitter hack’s bitcoin giveaway scam. The Bitcoin Abuse website also provides some statistics on the number of bitcoin scams reported. At press time, there have been 156 reports in the last day, 989 in the last week, and 4,112 in the last month. Bitcoin Abuse’s chart of how many reports it received in the past 30 days. Check With ‘Scam Alert’ Another website where you can easily look up a bitcoin address is Scam Alert, a recently-launched platform created by blockchain tracking and analytics provider Whale Alert. The site explains that its “mission is to make blockchain safer to use for everyone by exposing scammers and other criminals who abuse it.” Users are encouraged to “Report scams, thefts and fraudulent websites involving any blockchain or cryptocurrency.” When inputting an address that has been reported as one used by scammers, the site will immediately pop up a message that reads: “Confirmed scam … This address has been confirmed by Scam Alert as a scam. Do not send any payments to this address.” You can also view the scam report on the address that shows information such as a description of the scam, any associated websites, the number of times it has been reported, and the lifetime earnings of the address in U.S. dollars. Scam Alert’s entry for bc1qxy2kgdygjrsqtzq2n0yrf2493p83kkfjhx0wlh. The Scam Alert website also provides some useful information about different types of crypto scams, such as sextortion, ransomware, Ponzi schemes, giveaways, dark web, and theft. It offers some basic scam prevention advice, such as “don’t trust anyone” and “verify.” The site’s list of the top 10 scam addresses shows that the most successful scams based on funds received are Ponzi schemes, fake exchanges, and fake bitcoin giveaways. Youtube also has plenty of bitcoin scams, particularly fake giveaways, both in videos and ads. Scammers would claim that famous people are giving away bitcoin, such as Spacex and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Virgin Galactic chairman Chamath Palihapitiya, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. The fake Elon Musk BTC giveaway is one of the most successful bitcoin scams, having raked in millions of dollars. Before last week’s Twitter hack, Whale Alert reported on July 10 that is had “been able to confirm 38 million US dollar in bitcoin alone stolen by scammers over the past 4 years (excluding Ponzi schemes, which are a billion-dollar industry on their own), 24 million of which during the first 6 months of 2020.” There are many other schemes aimed at tricking you to send them your bitcoin. As news.Bitcoin.com previously reported, they include Bitcoin Trader, Bitcoin Revolution, Bitcoin Evolution, Moon Bitcoin Live, Bitcoin Loophole, Bitcoin Superstar, and Bitcoin Era. There are also plenty of bitcoin email scams. Many of them may even look legit, well-ranked by Google, with paid reviews on legitimate websites, such as the Associated Press. However, you are not likely to see any bitcoin returned if you send them your coins. One scam even leaked personal data of 250,00 people from 20 countries. Take caution and do your research before sending bitcoin to anyone. What do you think about all these scams? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Here’s How to Check If a Bitcoin Address Is a Scam appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In twelve days the Bitcoin Cash community will celebrate the third anniversary of the 2017 fork that happened on August 1. Since then, a number of changes have happened during the last three years and the following editorial will discuss the significant differences between both chains. The Bitcoin Cash (BCH) fork took place almost three years ago in 2017 and the official anniversary is twelve days away. A lot has happened since then and in 2018, the Bitcoinsv (BSV) community forked away from the BCH chain. Currently, BTC, BCH, and BSV are the largest and most popular Bitcoin branches by onchain use, adoption, and overall market valuations. The Bitcoin Cash fork stemmed from the multi-year scaling debate over the 1MB block size limit, and the BTC chain still maintains that consensus limit. In 2017, the BCH block size was increased and ever since then, it’s been raised to 32MB. Besides having a much larger block size, the BCH chain has seen a myriad of improvements during the last three years. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) developers have increased to the block size to 32MB, re-enabled old Satoshi opcodes, added version bits voting, and increased the default datacarriersize to 220 bytes. Completed BCH improvements according to the data site Coin Dance. BCH engineers also implemented a Segwit recovery exception, enabled Schnorr signatures, created Cash Accounts, enabled Schnorr signatures on OP_Checkmultisig, support for OP_Reversebytes was added, and increased chained tx limit from 25 to 50. Completed BCH improvements according to the data site Coin Dance. With other improvements and tools like Cashfusion and the Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP), there’s a total of 30 completed Bitcoin Cash improvements since August 1, 2017. During the last few months since May 11, 2020, it has been 1-5% more profitable to mine on the BTC chain in contrast to mining BCH. Although, statistics show on Coin Dance that it is 2,054.93x more expensive to transact on the BTC chain instead of leveraging BCH. At press time it is $0.003 per BCH transaction or a third of a U.S. penny. Data from Billfodl shows that the next block fee for BTC or the fee to have your transaction mined in the next block (10 minutes), is $0.92 per transaction. Even though BCH has a much larger block size, the BTC chain is also 140GB larger than the BCH chain. A community-created info-graphic about Bitcoin Cash (BCH). BTC’s codebase is polished regularly and there’s a lot of different small things that have been changed since August 1, 2017. However, the BTC network still maintains consensus for a 1MB block size, and this is improved slightly with Segwit and transaction batching. There’s a lot more offchain development happening between projects like the Lightning Network and sidechains created by teams like RSK, and Blockstream. BTC does hold 95% of the SHA256 hashrate and the average BTC block reward today is around $57,400, while BCH sees $1,400 per block. The Bitcoin Cash network processed 137 blocks in the last 24 hours, while BTC miners processed 129 blocks. BTC is seeing an average of 326,293 transactions today, while the BCH 24-hour transaction metric on July 21 is just under 20,000. Into the Block stats for Bitcoin Cash (BCH). BTC has seen an all-time high of 439,000 transactions confirmed in a 24-hour period. However, due to the 32MB BCH block size, the Bitcoin Cash chain has processed upwards of 2.4 million in one 24-hour period back in 2018. Two projects that are considered very important to the BCH ecosystem have seen a lot of development during the last year. Specifically, Cashfusion and the Simple Ledger Protocol has galvanized the BCH chain in a few different ways. Cashfusion has been recognized for providing a higher level of anonymity than traditional Coinjoin practices, as the outputs are not uniform. On January 29, data analyst James Waugh wrote that Cashfusion was far more practical than other Coinjoin protocols. Waugh explained he sifted through “thousands” of transaction inputs and outputs and realized that it’s “not possible to establish a concrete link” between them. With the Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP), the BCH community has seen tokenization on the chain grow robust. Thousands of unique tokens have been created and just recently the most popular stablecoin tether (USDT) was issued onchain using the SLP infrastructure. Whether BCH supporters hate tether or not, the 6 million USDT issued on Bitcoin Cash is meaningful because BCH offers permissionless stablecoins. BCH-based USDT cannot be frozen like the smart contracts implemented in a number of ERC20-based stablecoins. Additionally, the fees on the Ethereum chain have been astronomical lately, and many BCH supporters see a great number of token projects migrating for lower transaction fees. Even though fees at $0.003 per BCH transaction are incredibly inexpensive, the Postage Protocol invoked by Cointext founder, Vin Armani, could make fees disappear in certain instances. Overall a lot has changed in the world of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and a great number of supporters will be celebrating next week. What do you think about the last three years of BCH improvements compared to BTC’s changes? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Third Anniversary of Bitcoin Cash Highlights a Myriad of Network Improvements appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A South Africa based cryptocurrency exchange, Valr has just raised $3.4 million in a Series A funding round led by 100x Group, the parent company to Bitmex. The funding round, in which 4Di Capital also participated, however, does not change Valr’s controlling shareholder structure. In a podcast with SA Crypto, Valr CEO, Farzam Ehsani explains the significance of getting the funding at a time when investor mood has been dampened by the effects of the global pandemic, Covid-19. A statement by Ehsani is touting the addition of 100X Group, the recently rebranded parent organisation of Bitmex, to Valr’s distinguished shareholder profile: “I am very grateful that despite the challenging global COVID-19 pandemic that has adversely affected many businesses around the world, Valr has been able to grow at a phenomenal pace and we’ve been able to raise funds and partner with a set of world-class investors, adding to our already distinguished group of shareholders.” Ehsani also confirms that Bittrex, one of Valr’s seed investors, will remain a shareholder in Valr after turning down offers to buy it out. Investors are seemingly happy with the trading volumes that show “a remarkable growth” for an exchange that launched in 2019. Already, Valr’s data shows “they have achieved a trading volume of 12,720 bitcoin this month.” This volume places Valr “ahead of Luno—another South African cryptocurrency exchange— whose data shows a monthly trading volume to date of 10,970 bitcoin.” Meanwhile, the SA Crypto report quotes Justin Stanford Co-Founding General Partner at 4Di Capital saying his company had been eyeing out the crypto sector for some years now. “We’re delighted to be backing such a high-quality business and management team. Valr has shown great integrity and leadership coupled with impressive growth, and delivers a mature, institutional-grade offering to the local market.” Valr says it plans on using the raised capital to build new products and services, expand into new territories. It also wants to continue building its team of professionals – particularly in the technology, regulatory and compliance, and client service domains. What do you think about this fundraising success by Valr? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below. The post South African Exchange Valr Raises $3.4 Million in a Series A Funding Round appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On Monday, the blockchain trackers and researchers from Whale Alert published a new research report about the infamous fortune allegedly owned by Satoshi Nakamoto. Researchers estimate that Bitcoin’s creator possibly mined coins up to block 54,316, capturing 1,125,150 BTC or $10.5 billion using today’s exchange rates. For years now armchair sleuths and researchers have tried to estimate how many bitcoins Nakamoto owns and many people leveraged mining patterns. One of the most popular theories about Satoshi Nakamoto’s bitcoin (BTC) stash stems from RSK Labs chief scientist Sergio Demián Lerner. The RSK Labs engineer is famous for his Patoshi pattern study and he also maintains a website called Satoshi Blocks. In his study, Lerner produced data sets from his blockchain analysis that tracked the extranonce fields within the coinbase field stemming from the coinbase transactions themselves. From Lerner’s old research and the Patoshi pattern study published on April 16, 2019 people estimate that Bitcoin’s creator had close to a million BTC. However, in 2018 the researchers from Bitmex Research conducted an in-depth study about Satoshi’s alleged bitcoin stash as well and estimates were much lower. Bitmex concluded that Bitcoin’s creator may have only mined 600,000 to 700,000 BTC or $6.5 billion worth of coins. Now, the blockchain tracking firm Whale Alert has published a study with a new estimate and the researchers claim it is quite “accurate.” “We were able to make the most accurate estimate of the number of blocks mined and bitcoins owned by Satoshi: 1,125,150 bitcoin mined up to block 54,316 with an estimated total value of the unspent bitcoin of at least $10.9 billion USD in today’s market,” Whale Alert wrote on July 20, 2020. “In addition to the size of his fortune, we were also able to deduce the purpose of the Patoshi miner: to defend the young network from attacks.” Whale Alert also discussed how Sergio Demián Lerner produced data sets from his blockchain analysis that tracked the extranonce fields, but they say they uncovered “some interesting new details.” “Between blocks 21,467 and 25,777 the range [0–9] was only used at the start of each Patoshi chain (each chain being a single run of the miner, and thus a single line in the above graph) and the number 39 was only used sporadically. Between blocks 25,811 and 54,316 the number 29 is missing entirely from some chains,” the report notes. The researchers from Whale Alert continued by adding: These anomalies could indicate that certain computers or cores were defective or turned off during these periods. These findings allowed us to exclude even more blocks that were not mined by Satoshi and provided us with a clearer image (see figure above) which was especially valuable at higher block heights where the mining activity on the network increased drastically. The study also highlights that the research was meant to ask “why Satoshi was mining in this particular manner.” Whale Alert analysts did notice some higher blocks that had some anomalies but they think it is safe to say the Patoshi miner was turned off in May 2010. This led Whale Alert to the conclusion that Satoshi only mined the bitcoins in order to protect the network and the earned coins were “a mere byproduct of these efforts.” Additionally, Whale Alert researchers assume it is “unlikely that the remainder will ever be spent.” “Although the question remains why Satoshi didn’t simply burn them in this case,” Whale Alert’s study concedes, questioning a bias. “Our findings do not exclude the possibility that Satoshi was also running a miner using the publicly released software, if only for testing purposes, and we believe it is likely that at least one of the non-Patoshi patterns belongs to Satoshi as well.” What do you think about the latest estimate in regard to Satoshi Nakamoto’s stash of bitcoins? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. The post New Satoshi Stash Estimate Claims Creator Mined $10.5B Worth of Bitcoin appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Public Blockchain Platform ‘BOSAGORA’ has received ‘the UN Solidarity Awards’ last 16th. The UN received stories of various actors contributing to individual/society to overcome COVID 19 last May. Among thousands of entries were gathered from all around the world and the UN hand selected the 50 most touching and effective entries that aimed to overcome COVID 19 together. 26 experts from global institutes/organizations participated as evaluators including vice president of European Union’s diplomacy and security committee, Director of UN development organization and Vice President of UN Foundation. The practice BOSAGORA carried out to contribute to society was ‘Project Care’ in which many BOSAGORA community members participated last May. BOSAGORA and community members were revealed to the fact that medical staffs fighting in the front line of COVID 19 crisis were suffering from extreme stress and skin damage due to long time wearing of protective gears, and delivered 100 sets of ‘Care Package’ to designated major hospital to treat COVID 19(Gacheon University Gil Hospital). These ‘Care Packages’ consisted of protective products for skin, beauty facial mask, lotion and various snacks through which medical staffs can be refreshed. In each package, there was cheering message written by BOSAGORA community member which led to happy reactions from those who received it. BOSAGORA takes the slogan ‘Make a Better World’ as vision of the project. It plans to utilize blockchain technology and its own coin ecosystem in realizing SDG(Sustainable Development Goals) by UN. As part of the move, it gave presentation about ‘digital democracy’ with KoSAC, close business partner, upon invitation from municipal government of Geneva, Switzerland last November. Also, it solidified its standing as blockchain for social good by holding meetup with ‘Blockchain and Commons’ as a theme upon request from visiting squad consisting of policy officials and professors from Barcelona, Spain and Montreal, Canada. Meanwhile, it is participating in movement to develop sound blockchain technology contributing to society by becoming the first signatory of ‘Blockchain Bill of Rights’ by World Economy Forum last May. President Inhwan Kim of BOSAGORA stated he was delighted to create an example of blockchain contributing to society just along with IBM Blockchain. He said technology should benefit human and further resolved that he would make technology of BOSAGORA to be used for society. Meanwhile, BOSAGORA is the Korea’s first ICO project of which currency BOA coin is listed in Bittrex Global, Bithumb, Bithumb Global, Coinbene, GDAC, ecxx. https://www.bosagora.io/?lang=en https://medium.com/bosagora https://www.facebook.com/BOSAGORA/ https://twitter.com/BOSAGORA1 https://www.linkedin.com/company/bpf-korea/ Contact Email Address jiyoung.kim@bpfkorea.org Supporting Link https://www.bosagora.io/?lang=en 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 BOSAGORA(BOA) Won UN Solidarity Awards appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Mastercard said Monday it had granted Wirex principal membership status, becoming the “first” native cryptocurrency outfit to do so. The membership allows Wirex, a London-based digital payments firm, to issue payment cards directly to consumers, making it easier for people to buy, hold and exchange crypto into fiat money. Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard’s executive vice president on digital assets and blockchain, said the deal was part of an expansion of the company’s digital assets program, which has now been relaxed to enable other emerging crypto firms to become principal members. “The cryptocurrency market continues to mature … our work with Wirex and the wider crypto ecosystem is accelerating innovation and empowering consumers with more choice in the way they pay,” Dhamodharan said in a statement. Until now, Wirex’s crypto debit card had been with Visa, a competitor of Mastercard’s. The card was issued by German fintech group Wirecard, under license from Visa. However, the recent demise of Wirecard following a $2.1 billion missing cash scandal badly affected the card services of entities like Wirex, forcing them to seek alternatives. Pavel Matveev, chief executive officer and co-founder of Wirex, said the Mastercard principal membership “represents a growing interest and recognition in the acceptance of cryptocurrency by leading bodies and regulators…” Wirex is regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and owns a license to issue cards in Europe. What do you think about the Wirex-Mastercard partnership? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Wirex Approved to Issue Mastercard-Backed Bitcoin Debit Cards appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

One crypto sportsbook is using the English Premier League’s return to demonstrate how blockchain technology helps it to offer customers fairer prices to maximise their winnings. Cloudbet, the pioneering bitcoin operator, recently announced that for each remaining game in the EPL season, it would charge no commission on pre-match bets for 1000 players, allowing them to access the best odds — and therefore the highest returns — on the market. The “zero-margin” campaign grabbed the attention of some seasoned industry observers, who questioned the sustainability of essentially giving up pre-match profit for the 92 remaining games in the season. It also draws attention to how Cloudbet leveraged its crypto background to offer players the fairest prices on the street, contrasting against a backdrop of improbable odds and gimmicks used by some operators that have dented the industry’s credibility. The answer for Cloudbet lies in the blockchain technology that underpins its operations, and has helped it generate substantial savings from avoiding costs faced by fiat operators. Cloudbet passes on these savings to players by extending generous bonuses or, in the EPL case, removing the margin it charges on sports events. Leading up to the Arsenal-Manchester City clash on June 17, Cloudbet had odds of 8.77 for a Gunners victory and 1.39 for a City win, compared to the average of 8.36 and 1.36, respectively, of five sportsbooks compiled by Bitedge.com. Cloudbet priced a draw at 5.88, compared with the book average of 5.74. The EPL campaign is an extension of the operator’s long-standing “best odds” campaigns that feature margins as low as 2% on sports including soccer, basketball, American football and mixed martial arts. “Ultimately, we’re aiming to make sports more engaging for our players and what better way to supercharge the experience than by offering the best prices that are mathematically possible,” a Cloudbet spokesman said. “The primary reason that we can do that is because of blockchain.” The capacity to provide fairer pricing is yet another expression of the empowering and democratising characteristics of blockchain for the gaming industry. It’s another clear benefit the technology offers players, on top of the more widely touted faster transaction times, secure fund storage and privacy protection. Founded in 2013, Cloudbet has been making waves since relaunching itself in late April. While it has built a legacy as a trusted bitcoin operator, the firm has taken a bold step toward making the new Cloudbet.com more accessible to mainstream players with the addition of USDT betting, along with easy credit-card coin purchases. Cloudbet also accepts ethereum and bitcoin cash. Besides soccer, the new Cloudbet.com offers odds on a multitude of sports and esports markets, while the Cloudbet casino has hundreds of slots and a live-dealer experience with all classic table games. The Cloudbet Story Cloudbet are proud pioneers of crypto betting. Born in 2013 with a trailblazing spirit, Cloudbet embraced blockchain technology to give players privacy and financial freedom like never before. Since then, we have taken over 10 million bets, earning a reputation as the most trusted and secure name in the crypto-gaming space. We wrote our own rules and audaciously created an industry we are highly respected in. But that’s just the beginning. As always, it’s what comes next that really excites us. We keep innovating, delivering world firsts time and time again. Opportunities are boundless, and with the same passion and ambition that has taken us to the top, Cloudbet will keep enhancing the entertainment experience for players around the world. We’re here to raise the game. Contact Email Address media@cloudbet.com Supporting Link Cloudbet.com 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 How Bitcoin Allows Cloudbet to Offer the Fairest Odds in Soccer appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Last year the giant resort firm MGM Grand was hacked and the cybercriminals ostensibly obtained a massive dump of names, addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth. Now according to vendors on the deep web, hackers have been trying to sell the data dump for monero or bitcoin. The hackers claim the dump has over 142 million MGM Grand guests’ information. A recent report details that hackers have been trying to unload a large data dump with information on an alleged 142 million MGM Grand hotel guests. The hackers have been attempting to sell the data on darknet markets for roughly $2,939 worth of bitcoin (BTC) or monero (XMR). The report initially stemmed from Zdnet and it was assumed last year that the hackers only obtained information concerning 10 million guests in 2019. The sellers now claim there is data for approximately 142,479,937 MGM Grand hotel guests. However, the security group who monitored MGM Grand’s data say the hackers may be lying about how much information they actually stole. Night Lion Security founder, Vinny Troia, told the columnist Catalin Cimpanu via email correspondence that the company did not own or manage MGM’s full database. A spokesperson from MGM Grand responded to an email from Cimpanu as well and stated: MGM Resorts was aware of the scope of this previously reported incident from last summer and has already addressed the situation. The vast majority of data consisted of contact information like names, postal addresses, and email addresses. The Empire Market advertisement for the MGM Grand data dump. When the data leak was revealed to the public, it was also discovered that the list of guests included a number of high-profile people and celebrities like the pop singer Justin Bieber and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. The hackers did publish a free sample, so the public could see that the attacker’s claims were seemingly legitimate. MGM Grand maintains that hotel stay details, Social Security numbers, and other types of financial data were not taken. This isn’t the first time the MGM Grand data has made waves on the web. Zdnet discussed the situation with the Head of Research at the intel firm KELA, Irina Nesterovsky, about the subject when the media discovered the leak in February 2019. Nesterovsky claimed at the time that the data dump was previously sold to “private hacking circles since at least July 2019.” Moreover, the posts that surfaced in Russia allegedly assert there was data on over 200 million MGM Guests. Nesterovsky’s claims suggest that the data dump might be being separated into parts and then sold for cryptocurrency. What do you think about the MGM Grand data being sold on the deep web for monero and bitcoin? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. The post 142 Million Guests: Hackers Attempt to Sell MGM Grand Data Dump for Cryptocurrency appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Ever since the coronavirus outbreak swept the globe, darknet markets (DNM) have grown exponentially and the lockdowns worldwide are prompting first-time DNM buyers. Currently, the largest DNM on the invisible web is the marketplace Empire, and the only thing impeding the rush of DNM sales these days are the general worries over the postal and mail delivery services shutting down. The response to Covid-19 has caused an interesting predicament for the masses worldwide, as business shutdowns and government-enforced lockdowns have disrupted the global economy. One economic sector, however, is thriving during the financial downturn, as swathes of people are visiting darknet markets (DNMs) in order to obtain contraband amid the hard times. It’s a well known fact that during any economic crisis and long-standing unemployment there is always a massive increase in global substance use. Empire Market is the king of darknet markets today and every once in awhile the marketplace has an outage. Empire supports bitcoin (BTC), litecoin (LTC) and monero (XMR). At the time of writing, the largest DNM is the marketplace Empire Market and throughout forums and social media Empire is the go-to destination for everyone’s DNM wares these days. Other popular DNMs include the Majestic Garden, Kilos, Monopoly Market, White House Market, Dark Market, Cannahome, Cannazon Market, Hydra, UAS Service RDP, Wannabuy RDP, and Global Dreams. Data stemming from dark.fail shows which DNMs are “online,” markets that are “offline,” and of course DNMs that are “maybe” online. Empire, the darknet's largest market, has been offline for over 12 hours. Their DDoS filter is online but the site itself is down. They posted an update on Dread: "We are aware […] Empire is not going anywhere." — dark.fail (@DarkDotFail) July 11, 2020 The researcher behind the dark.fail web portal also has a Twitter account that gives updates about the status of certain DNMs. On July 11, 2020, the dark.fail Twitter account wrote about Empire Market coming back online after a long outage. “Empire Market is back online after ~18 hours of downtime. Their DDoS filter remained online throughout,” the Twitter account explained that day. Last month, the researcher behind the dark.fail discussed the prominence of DNMs with the Vice columnist Mike Power. “Darknet drug markets are in a golden age,” the dark.fail analyst said. “People worldwide have been stuck at home exploring Tor [an internet browser used to access markets privately] and buying drugs. In January, the markets were hard to access, as they were under permanent attack from hackers. Now, they are operating quicker than ever before.” Additionally, Mike Power’s investigation notes that the lockdowns are prompting first-time DNM buyers. Moreover, a recent Naval Criminal Investigative Service or NCIS report has found U.S. Navy officers have been using DNMs a lot more these days while traveling abroad. The press release published by the NCIS stresses that Navy officers should not purchase LSD from DNMs. “NCIS, in conjunction with law enforcement partners, continues to use investigative tools—including source networks and tipsters—to identify and prosecute DON personnel attempting to buy LSD or other illicit substances on the dark web,” the U.S. Naval service said. The last few weeks of DNM data also show that bitcoin (BTC), monero (XMR), and litecoin (LTC) are the top coins used on DNMs. The four-week time span measured on 1000x Group’s dashboard shows the aggregate DNM vendors’ coin acceptance rate measured in percentages. At the time of publication, analytics from 1000x Group’s tracker notes there are 11 DNMs that accept BTC only. Three DNMs accept BTC and a mix of altcoins like LTC, and XMR. There are two DNMs that strictly support monero (XMR) acceptance, which includes the Monopoly Market and White House Market. 1000x Group’s statistics indicate that on July 14, 2020, litecoin (LTC) vendor acceptance was around 28%, while bitcoin (BTC) is accepted by the majority of DNM vendors. XMR is supported by 67.4% of vendor acceptance on July 14 as well. Monero has been very prominent on DNMs, as the privacy-centric coin has seen increasing demand on DNMs month after month since the Covid-19 outbreak started. Further, a report from Bitfury’s subsidiary Crystal Blockchain shows that bitcoin (BTC) mixing services on the deep web has risen by 2,100%. The Reddit forum r/darknet has seen massive growth with 120,000 subscribers. A common discussion or complaint during the last few months has been directed at global postal services like the United States Postal Service (USPS) which has been threatened by Covid-19’s economy. Also despite the U.S. developing a cryptocurrency intelligence program that targets darknet forums, the subreddit r/darknet has grown to a whopping 120,000 subscribers. There’s a lot of discussion happening on r/darknet if you bypass the trolling and DNM users have various concerns these days. A number of DNM users have been talking about the recent “Blue Leaks” data dump that revealed a few documents that talked about cryptocurrencies and DNM usage. Out of all the documents that stemmed from more than 200 state and federal law enforcement agencies, one document described how the FBI was having a hard time with XMR tracing. Another leaked document detailed the role cryptocurrencies play in bioweapons sold on DNMs. However, the biggest concern for DNM users today is the postal and shipping services breaking down. The subreddit forum r/darknet is littered with dozens of posts concerning how the global economy shutdown is affecting drug shipments and how it could get a lot worse in the future. One individual described how even when the pandemic started getting worse, his DNM deliveries always “came on time,” but now he’s been waiting 52 days. One particular thread called “Trump Is Destroying the USPS” was quickly locked down by r/darknet moderators after getting a number of upvotes. The fact of the matter is DNM usage has grown tremendously during the last few months since Covid-19 started, and the only thing that’s really worrying DNM patrons is a massive mail disruption. What do you think about the growth of DNMs and the worry over postal and shipping service concerns? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. The post The Covid-19 Crisis Fueled Darknet Markets – A Patron’s Biggest Concern Is Mail Disruption appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The German constitutional court has ruled that the police and intelligence officials have too much access to people’s personal mobile phone and internet data. A win for privacy activists, the court has directed the government to amend applicable laws to better protect the privacy of German citizens. Current Data Access Laws Unconstitutional The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe ruled Friday that police and intelligence officials have excessive access to people’s personal phone and internet data. The court judged that the current laws which govern the manual procedure for obtaining information on subscriber data are unconstitutional and the privacy of German citizens should be better protected. Reuters described: The court ruling is a victory for privacy activists who had said there were not sufficient limits on when and why federal police or domestic intelligence can access the names and addresses or even e-mail passwords and mobile phone PINs of users. One of the lawsuits which the ruling is based on was filed in 2013 by Katharina Nocun and Patrick Breyer of the Pirate Party with around 6,000 joint plaintiffs. The court ruled that the authorities had been allowed to access data for causes that did not meet the threshold of legal interest and current laws violated the right of citizens to phone and internet privacy. According to the court, “Neither the existing laws regulating under which circumstances telecoms companies such as Deutsche Telekom can hand over the data, nor the ones determining why investigators can request such data, are in line with Germany’s Constitution,” the publication conveyed. This ruling means that Germany’s Telecommunications Act and several other laws will need to be revised. The court has ordered legislators to amend the laws by Dec. 31, 2021. Friday’s decision followed another by the constitutional court that Germany’s Constitution protects the privacy of internet users living outside the country. The court ruled in May that the Federal Intelligence Service is bound by the Constitution when surveilling foreigners’ telecommunications. Noting that their current process of collecting and analyzing such data is unconstitutional, the court ordered that the unconstitutional parts of the law be rewritten by the end of 2021. What do you think about the German constitutional court’s ruling? Let us know in the comments section below. The post German Court Rules to Limit Authorities’ Access to People’s Data appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Crypto social media platform Minds has been garnering users who are concerned about their privacy, according to the company’s CEO. The open-source platform, seen as an alternative to Facebook or Twitter, awards users with cryptocurrency for engagement. Crypto Social Network Minds Gaining Popularity Privacy-oriented social media platform “Minds,” often touted as an antithesis to Facebook and Twitter, has been seeing considerable growth in the number of users, according to its founder and CEO, Bill Ottman. The American entrepreneur told IANS publication that his platform “has already attracted people all over the world who are concerned about privacy practices on social networks.” Users were already migrating from mainstream platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, due to privacy concerns even before the great Twitter hack that saw high-profile accounts tweet about bitcoin giveaways. Among compromised accounts were those of U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden, former U.S. President Barack Obama, Google, Apple, Warren Buffett, and many well-known people in the crypto space. Self-described as a free “crypto social network” that upholds internet freedom, Minds now has over 2.5 million registered users in 240 countries, with around 300,000 monthly active users and approximately 2 million active visitors, Ottman told IANS, adding that last month: Over 250,000 new users joined the platform from Thailand due to privacy policy concerns on Twitter. In addition, more than 150,000 Vietnamese users joined the platform last year over privacy concerns on Twitter and Facebook, the news outlet continued, noting that “The growth is typically a direct result of scandals with mainstream media platforms.” A screenshot of the Minds platform. Minimizing Privacy Concerns Emphasizing that Minds’ core proposition is privacy, Ottman says he aims to provide a “spying free” alternative to mainstream social media platforms, like Facebook or Twitter, Gadgets360, an NDTV venture, quoted him as saying on Thursday. Ottman pointed out that mainstream social media apps opt users into surveillance by default with little transparency into how their data can be used and sold. “Facebook and the others are closed platforms that are extracting value from the users,” he asserted, elaborating: Everyday there’s a new scandal. People are looking for alternatives and want to diversify … The trend is towards open source. We’ve seen this happen in other areas already. We believe like Linux, Wikipedia, Bitcoin, this is going to happen in social media as well. Minds faced its own controversies in 2018 when many hate groups began using the platform to spread their messages. The company subsequently took steps to remove the content; it is still working out the line between free speech and hate speech. Getting Paid for User Engagement While the platform has plans to add several new features this year, Ottman said that many users are simply attracted to getting paid for using the platform. “Especially now, with covid-19, people are really looking for independent revenue streams, and combining social media and monetisation will be something that all social networks focus on more,” the CEO opined. Users are rewarded for their engagement in the platform’s native ERC20 token. “You can earn tokens for your contributions to the Minds network. The more interactions on your content, the greater your share of the daily token reward pool to your Offchain address,” according to Minds’ FAQs. Users can also receive direct payments in the Minds token and ether from other users. With bank deposits, BTC, and ETH as cash out options, Ottman emphasized: You can earn dollars (or your rupees or whatever) or ethereum or bitcoin. However, with a monetary incentive for high engagement, users may post more controversial subjects or use clickbait content. Ottman admitted that this is a problem, pointing to how Twitter “fact-checked” President Donald Trump’s tweets, which he called a “short-sighted” move by Twitter. To alleviate this problem, “We have started a program to create webs of trust through decentralised identity, based on users and content,” Ottman described, reiterating that his company “is researching the possibility of a decentralised reputation system.” Minds is currently trying to attract users in India where the government has banned 59 Chinese apps at the end of June, including the popular video-sharing platform Tiktok. What do you think about Minds? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Crypto Social Network ‘Minds’ Sees Users Flock From Twitter and Facebook Over Privacy Concerns appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

During the first week of July, crypto supporters noticed that Tether issued 1,010 stablecoins via the Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) framework on Bitcoin Cash. Now there’s a much larger amount of SLP-based tethers in circulation as the company has minted a total of 6 million on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. Digital currency enthusiasts have been watching the Tether project grow for years now and to-date the firm has $9.8 billion in total liabilities according to the company’s transparency page. The USDT stablecoin is spread across various blockchains including Ethereum, Tron, Algorand, and EOS. Just recently, USDT was migrated onto the Bitcoin Cash blockchain by leveraging the Simple Ledger Protocol. Bitcoin Cash supporters are now aware that there are over 6 million SLP-based USDT in circulation today. Data stemming from simpleledger.info and a BCH blockchain explorer shows that SLP-based tethers are circulating quite frequently. A number of BCH supporters have been discussing the benefits of SLP-based stablecoins and the Cointext CTO, Vin Armani, discussed the subject on July 11. Armani tweeted a link from news.Bitcoin.com, which reported on millions of dollars worth of USDT stablecoins frozen in 40 addresses. “You can’t stop me from using a Bitcoin address for which I have the key(s). There’s no ‘freeze address’ function on Bitcoin, as has been added to these Ethereum stablecoin contracts,” Armani said. The Cointext founder further stated: USDT is now available as *uncensorable* SLP tokens on BCH. In addition to the permissionless benefits the Bitcoin Cash chain offers, the network fees needed to interact with SLP-based USDT on the BCH chain is quite minimal. A typical fee on the BCH network is only $0.003 per transaction or a third of a U.S. penny. Just recently, members of the Reddit forum r/cryptocurrency discussed how interacting with ERC20s on the Ethereum chain was quite costly. The author of the original post shared a gas fee which was $16 and said “and you guys were complaining about high BTC fees… WTF!?” One commenter responding to the post wrote: Sending transactions on ETH is still cheap. Interacting with smart contracts is another story… Another concept that stems from the mind of Vin Armani could essentially do away with the already inexpensive gas fees needed to push SLP-based transactions. For instance, the crypto community could leverage the ‘Simple Ledger Postage Protocol’ Armani invoked in November 2019. The Postage Protocol allows SLP-based tokens to be sent without using fees (generally known as ‘gas’) to complete transactions. “In essence, the Postage Protocol allows users to pay for their miner fees using the SLP token itself,” Armani explained last year. “This is accomplished through the use of an intermediary server called a ‘post office.’ The user sends the post office the requisite value of the needed BCH as an additional output in a transaction. Upon receiving and validating the otherwise invalid transaction, the post office attaches additional input containing native BCH (‘stamps’) and then broadcasts the ‘postage paid’ (valid) transaction to the network.” The fact of the matter is, stablecoins and any type of tokens, like non-fungible assets are much cheaper to send via the Bitcoin Cash chain. Many BCH supporters believe that in time, the market will realize this fact and migrate and build token infrastructure using the Simple Ledger Protocol. Besides being cheaper, SLP-based tokens are also permissionless and anyone from anywhere around the world can have full control over their tokens if they possess the private key(s). What do you think about the $6 million worth of tether on the Bitcoin Cash chain? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. The post $6M Worth of Tether on the Bitcoin Cash Chain Highlights the Benefits of SLP Tokens appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article