roadrunner

Bitcoin Trader has been heavily promoting itself as the best and safest automated cryptocurrency trading app that can help people earn $1,300 a day. Numerous fake reviews and scam checks on Bitcoin Trader are highly ranked by Google, making this scam appear legitimate. News.Bitcoin.com investigates this investment scam. Bitcoin Trader Scam Many bitcoin scams have emerged as unemployment rises worldwide during the economic crisis and coronavirus pandemic. One investment scheme that has recently gained more attention due to its aggressive marketing tactics is called Bitcoin Trader. It claims to be “an automated trading software” that can “trade cryptocurrencies and forex in both automated and manual mode.” However, there are many red flags about this platform. The Bitcoin Trader website resembles numerous other investment schemes that news.Bitcoin.com has already uncovered as scams, such as Bitcoin Superstar, Bitcoin Era, Bitcoin Revolution, Bitcoin Evolution, and Bitcoin Loophole. Besides a cookie-cutter website, these scams have the same setup. Bitcoin Trader’s website displays a video on its landing page featuring famous billionaires discussing their investment views that appear to favor bitcoin, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Bitcoin Trader’s official website has changed its URL several times but its logo remains unchanged. Its content has also slightly changed a few times since the beginning of the year when news.Bitcoin.com began tracking the scheme. Initially, Bitcoin Trader advertised that only bitcoin could be traded using its tools but later claimed that users can also trade in other cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin cash, ethereum, monero, litecoin, XRP, and dash. The front page of the Bitcoin Trader website has an urgent message in red at the top of the page that reads: “Warning: Due to extremely high media demand, we will close registration as of [today’s date] – Hurry.” Over the five-month period which news.Bitcoin.com followed this scheme, registration never closed but the warning message continues to appear with today’s date instead. The website also displays a video about bitcoin, featuring several famous people commending the cryptocurrency such as Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic chairman Chamath Palihapitiya, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Others that have been used to promote Bitcoin Trader include Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and the Winklevoss twins. $1,300 Per Day and Other Promises That Are Too Good to Be True Bitcoin Trader lures investors desperate to make money fast in this time of economic crisis with promises that are too good to be true. Its website displays messages like “you can usually expect to earn at least $1,300 per day,” “some users reportedly earning their first $1 million in a couple of months,” and “you will only need to work for about 20 minutes every day.” A few testimonials are also featured on the Bitcoin Trader website of supposed members who have made money using the platform. However, these reviews are fake and images used are stock photos. Fake testimonials on the Bitcoin Trader website. Similar testimonials are found on other bitcoin scam platforms reviewed by news.Bitcoin.com, such as Bitcoin Superstar, Bitcoin Era, and Bitcoin Revolution. The Bitcoin Trader platform also falsely claims to be the best, the most legit, and the safest bitcoin trading app. Its website states that the software has “a world-leading accuracy rate of 99.4%,” is the “safest investing app in the industry,” is “100% genuine,” and “we have testimonials from many of our members which praise our app’s ability to generate them huge profits over a short period of time.” The site further notes that the Bitcoin Trader app “has a success rate of 99.4%, which makes it the highest-rated in the market. Because of that, it is considered the most dependable, as well as being award-winning and very well credited.” Google Helping, Aggressive Marketing Tactics, Fake Reviews Bitcoin Trader employs aggressive marketing tactics to draw unsuspecting investors. The people behind the scheme themselves or their affiliates have published press releases about the scheme and peppered the internet with fake reviews, news, and scam checks in an effort to convince investors that Bitcoin Trader is a legitimate platform and not a scam. For example, a press release was published on the popular AP News website in May entitled “Bitcoin Trader review 2020 – Is it really a scam?” It details how to sign up with Bitcoin Trader and tries to convince its readers that Bitcoin Trader is a legit trading app. A Bitcoin Trader press release on the AP News website, entitled “Bitcoin Trader Review 2020 – Is it really a scam?” This paid content was published on May 20 and ranked very well by Google. The Bitcoin Trader website itself even has a section to say that it is not a scam. “First things first, Bitcoin Trader is not a scam,” the Bitcoin Trader website states. Many fake reviews are found online and quite a number of them are well-ranked by Google. The American technology and search engine giant, which owns the popular video-sharing website Youtube, has been known to rank scam websites better than legitimate ones, making scam reviews look legit. Google and Youtube earn ad revenues from listing these scam websites and reviews. Youtube is also currently generating a great deal of ad revenue from listing and recommending videos promoting a 5,000 BTC giveaway scam to its users. This reoccurring scam features Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk and Virgin Galactic chairman Chamath Palihapitiya giving away bitcoin. What Happens When Signing Up With Bitcoin Trader News.Bitcoin.com signed up for an account with Bitcoin Trader to see how it really works. After providing a name, an email address, and a phone number, we were logged in without being asked to confirm our email address. The back end of Bitcoin Trader looks almost identical to other scams we have reviewed, such as Bitcoin Loophole. A notice soon popped up in the middle of our screen, asking us to deposit funds, which must be done via credit cards: Discover, Mastercard, Visa, Maestro, or American Express. “Click the ‘Deposit’ button below and you will be transferred to the broker’s secure payments page in order to deposit funds into your trading account and to start reaping the full benefits of our software. Note that you will be required to complete an account verification process and to verify your identity,” the notice reads. The minimum deposit is $250 and “The deposited amount can take up to 72 hours to reflect in your account,” the website adds. A section of the Bitcoin Trader dashboard lists the “current brokers.” In our case, a company called Marketfornow was listed. Clicking “deposit” or any other links to “get started” transferred us to Marketfornow’s website, which has five account levels ranging from $250 to $50,000. You cannot proceed unless you deposit at least $250. At this point, you will be dealing directly with this “broker,” which claims to be a Seychelles company focusing on forex and contract-for-difference (CFD) trading. Every link on Bitcoin Trader redirects to a page on the broker’s website. After signing up with Bitcoin Trader, you will be prompted to deposit funds with the broker Bitcoin Trader recommends, which in this case is called “Market For Now.” Alleged broker affiliated with Bitcoin Trader, “Market For Now,” will ask you to deposit at least $250 to begin trading. To find out which other companies are associated with Bitcoin Trader, news.Bitcoin.com signed up with the scheme a second time. The listed “current broker” this time was called “Interactivetrade,” whose website states that it is owned and operated by Dristor Solutions Ltd., a company supposedly located in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Several reviews online also warn that this offshore broker is a scam. A review website, Thatsucks.com, was redirected to a different broker when reviewer Martin Kay signed up with Bitcoin Trader. He got sent directly to the cashier page on Optionstars where he was prompted to make a deposit. After navigating the Optionstars website and seeing no evidence of a robot or autotrader, he concluded: “Is the Bitcoin Trader a scam? Yes. It is.” He also concluded that Optionstars, a supposed broker headquartered in Samoa, is also a scam. These so-called brokers claim to specialize in CFD trading, which carries very high risk. A large number of scams have been known to target CFD trading specifically and many authorities have advised how to recognize them. The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) warns: “If you are solicited by a company that claims to trade in CFDs and asks you to invest funds, you should be very careful … Get rich schemes, including those involving CFDs, tend to be scams.” Anyone looking for investment opportunities involving cryptocurrencies needs to take extreme caution as many online scams may appear legitimate. They may even have fake licensing information as well as a fake address but any funds sent to them are not likely to be seen again. What do you think about Bitcoin Trader? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Bitcoin Trader: Google Helps Scam Crypto Trading App Look Legit in Reviews appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

“What is tragic about political government?” you might ask. Let us return to that question once we have examined the nature of political government and the State. In order to distinguish between government and other institutions in society we must look at the ways human behavior can be organized and human needs and desires satisfied. **The following essay was written by Carl Watner and published in 1996. “The Tragedy of Political Government” was originally published on various websites; including voluntaryist.net and is reprinted here on Bitcoin.com for historical preservation. Carl Watner approves of the reprinting of his articles under public commons. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any opinions, content, accuracy or quality within the historical editorial.** There are only two ways: peacefully or coercively. There are no other alternatives. If people rely on peaceful cooperation, they must necessarily offer products or services for which other people are willing to trade. If people use coercion or fraud, we call it obtaining goods or services under false pretenses, robbery, or larceny. However we label it, the basic contrast remains the same: one relies on voluntaryism or one relies on force. A stranger knocks at your door and, upon opening it, he requests money He represents the March of Dimes, and is asking for donations to support its activities. Unless you feel generous, you dismiss him. You have no particular obligation to support his cause, and the fact is you have already contributed to other charities, such as the United Way. Unless the stranger is a blatant thief, he leaves. He doesn’t deal with you by using force, or its threat, to collect the money he is soliciting. Compare this to what happens every April 15th in the United States. Granted, most “good citizens” send in their tax payments to the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS does not need to send out a representative to collect the tax; and if there is any need to do so, he generally needn’t carry a gun or make any direct display of force. Why don’t people dismiss the IRS in the same manner as they would the solicitor who is collecting for a private cause? Many would, except they know that there is a big difference between the March of Dimes and the IRS. The March of Dimes organization is a group of private individuals assembled together for the common purpose of overcoming polio, muscular dystrophy, and birth defects. They do not use force, or the threat of force, to accomplish their goals. Should they, we would have no hesitation in calling the March of Dimes, and its solicitation agents, criminal. The IRS, on the other hand, represents the government, which – when all else fails – uses force to accomplish its goals. If you do not voluntarily pay your taxes, your property is confiscated, or you are jailed. The amazing thing about our government in the United States is that it rarely has to resort to force. There are tax resisters, but they form a small percentage of the population. Except for these few people, no one calls IRS agents criminals even when they brandish guns, confiscate property, or put people in jail. Despite the fact that they engage in the same type of behavior as the private thief or kidnapper, it’s seldom that their behavior is called criminal. Why is this so? Government is the only institution in our civilized society that is able to cover its coercion (and its use of threats) in a shroud of mystique and legitimacy There are other individuals and groups in society that use force: individual criminals (the lone burglar, rapist, etc.), and groups of criminals (the Mafia or gangs of thieves, etc.). But none of these claim their activities are proper and useful. Government is the only one of these coercive groups that claims its use of force is legitimate and necessary to everybody’s wellbeing. Government is the institutionalization of conquest over the people and property in a certain territory The stated purpose of government is protection. In reality it is exploitation: to extract resources which otherwise would not be voluntarily handed over to the governors. Governments excel in the use of force and threat – the political means of survival – by combining military conquest and ideology. Though throughout history, governments have been of many different types, their reason for being and modus operandi have never changed. Governing requires that those who govern authorize or commit criminal acts, – actions which, if used by any but the agents of the government, would be deemed criminal. Governments seek the voluntary obedience of their populace. The continual use of physical force is not only expensive, but often of uncertain results. If the governors can get the governed to accept their conquest as being consistent with widely accepted norms and standards, there is little need to use raw force to continually compel submission. The primary tools which governments use to establish their legitimacy are: the use of nationalism and patriotism to inculcate the belief that the entire nation is a single community with a manifest destiny; the use of mass public “education” to socialize the younger generation and instill “acceptable” values in them; the use of psychological warfare to “brainwash” the populace into supporting the government at all costs. The truth of the matter is that governments use every means at their command to insure their control over society. Other methods include support of special interest groups with legislation and subsidies, celebration of national holidays, frequent elections, use of the secret ballot, sustaining foreign enemies to help maintain internal control, and the full panoply of patriotism. The main tragedy of political government is that few people realize it is an immoral and impractical institution. Nor do they realize “that the power of any government is dependent on the cooperation of the people it governs, and that government power varies inversely with the noncooperation of the people.” They have been conditioned to accept government as a natural part of their environment. After being raised in a culture in which “politics” is the norm, and after attending years of public school and being taught that political government is a necessary component of society, most people place government in the same category as the weather – something they complain about, but can’t change. As people accept the structural trap called politics, they fail to realize that their actions support and undergird the State. Their demand for government services – from Social Security benefits to police protection – is what fuels the State. Most people are capable of high values and responsible behavior, but once they enter the seductive garden of politics, they no longer notice that its wonders cannot be reconciled with individual responsibility and their own personal moral values of honesty and hard work. It is not usually apparent that what they are doing or supporting is vicious and would not pass the test of ordinary decency. So long as the criminality is veiled by the political process, most people accept it because they do not see that it conflicts with their basic values. The main tragedy of political government is not only that the voters are the ones pointing the gun, but, most importantly, that the indecency of this act is concealed from them by the political process. It is the concealment that is the tragedy. The concealment is not the result of some conspiracy by some distant elite: it is inherent in the political process. Perhaps the tragedy can be made more plain. Look at the daily news. At least half of every day’s news consists of accounts of one pressure group or another noisily appealing to the government for greater support of its special agenda. The tragedy is that the people making the demands do not perceive that it’s their own neighbors from whom they are stealing and sacrificing in order to support their special programs. If you are interested in learning more about Voluntaryism and the writings of Carl Watner, Murray Rothbard, Wendy McElroy, and many others check out Voluntaryist.com, Mises.org, Fee.org, and AEIR.org. The political process -purposefully- is an impersonal one. The secret ballot and the use of majority vote obscure the fact that it is the struggling family next door or the bachelor down the street who are being threatened at gunpoint if they do not fill the government’s coffers or follow its mandates. The resources for every government program come from hundreds of millions of people across the United States – most of them personally unknown to those who campaign for these programs. Few people would directly confront their neighbors with such demands (“Your money or your life!”), but the structure of politics permits this to be done anonymously, and allows the supporters and perpetrators to conceal – even from themselves – the evil nature of what they are doing. Such is the tragedy of political government. What do you think about Carl Watner’s essay? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments below. The post Carl Watner: The Tragedy of Political Government appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

For twelve days straight, American citizens and a number of countries around the world have been protesting the oligarchs and police brutality. The restlessness from the uprising has slowed down some, but continues in various cities across the nation. On June 3, 2020, a reporter from Los Angeles talked to a man about the protests and he said the powers that be are not listening to people, and the best form of protest is to purchase bitcoin. Henry David Thoreau: ‘That Government Is Best Which Governs Least’ The United States is suffering and what it’s like in 2020, is a far cry from the country’s initial days in 1776. In 2020, the American people have been smashed down and kicked so much, the revolution that took place a few hundred years ago seems to be a lost cause. Americans have lost their will to resist the government’s fraud and manipulation, instead of listening to the great writings of people like Henry David Thoreau. The well known liberty advocate wrote in 1849 that the “government is best which governs least,” and he added, “I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically.” Instead, hundreds of years later the massive government and overbearing politicians have become a systemic infection on the American populace. Barack Obama’s America. Unfortunately, people think that if they vote and remove Donald Trump from office, things can heal again. However, nearly every President in my lifetime, for the past 40 years, has been an aggressive war tyrant and they created militant police forces to quell uprisings. Between Bush Sr. and the Clinton era presidencies – 576,000 innocent children died. During the George W. Bush presidency, he orchestrated some of the worst wars in the Middle East and desecrated thousands of civilians. Following Bush, the American populace thought “change” was coming, but instead of bringing peace Barack Obama ordered “double-tap” drone strikes. These strikes destroyed first responders in various countries and the warfare was in express violation of the Geneva Convention. Barack Obama never repealed the Patriot Act, even though he promised he would before he was elected. Also, a 16-year old child from Yemen lost his life because of Obama’s playtime with drones. Donald Trump’s administration followed suit by killing the Yemen boy’s eight-year-old sister. Smashing Down Occupy and Dismantling the Bonus Army Just the other day, people complained that Trump allowed soldiers and police to squash the protests in D.C., but Obama also did the same. For instance, on June 4, 2020, protesters took over the Brooklyn Bridge and police did nothing. But on October 1, 2011, protesters took over the Brooklyn Bridge and police arrested 700 out of the 1,500 demonstrators. Americans who do their research understand that Obama helped militarize the police. Joe Biden, the Democrat who wants to be the next President, also helped too with the penning of the controversial “Tough on Crime Act.” Obama also signed the NDAA on Xmas Eve 2013. The NDAA law allows the federal government to imprison and assassinate any American citizen without trial and without charges. In fact, Barack Obama didn’t even mention the Occupiers once during press briefings and made a brief comment about the 98%, while American police tear-gassed, shot rubber bullets, and pepper-sprayed thousands of protesters. In October 2011, 700 protesters out of 1,500 were arrested. During the Occupy Wall Street protests, Barack Obama did not address the American people about the situation and allowed police brutality throughout all the demonstrations across the nation. But this is not the first time Americans were treated so unfairly with extreme force and violence. Not too many people know, but after World War 1, around 17,000 veterans who served went to Washington D.C. and started a movement called Shanty Town, sometimes called “Hooverville.” The soldiers wanted their money for all the time they spent in Europe, but instead, they were offered credit. When this happened to the former troops grew extremely upset, and the American Legion got them to move on Washington D.C. For a while, the vets were ok with the credit system the government came up with, but after the crash of 1929 many vets were unemployed. They wanted their money as soon as possible. So a large group formed called the “Bonus Army” and out of 17,000 soldiers owed money, family members, and friends also joined them to protest Washington D.C. for not paying them for time served in Europe. 17,000 quickly became 43,000 people in a matter of days. The protesters then formed Shanty Town. The White House at first, offered Shanty Town leaders roughly $10,000 to leave the White House lawn and Anacostia Flats. Reports also note that some soldiers took the money and left, while the majority stayed to protest. The Bonus Army also took to the streets and headed to the White House for protest. Unfortunately, former President Herbert Hoover used police and military force to remove them. DC Police and Infantrymen Injured 1,000 WWI Veterans By July, the encampment was running out of food and was in turmoil. Because of the rotten $10k deal, Attorney General William Mitchell ordered D.C. police to disrupt the protesters. At the time, Waters felt he had been “double-crossed” by the men who took some of the money. So after the police arrived, the veterans fought back and the D.C. police fired rounds into the crowd. Two WW1 veterans were slain that day. Eric Carlson and William Hushka were shot dead because of Washington D.C. police. At this time, President Herbert Hoover was not pleased with the outcome and he ordered the military to remove the protesters. The battle was now between the current military versus World War 1 veterans. Ugly, atrocious men that the country still worships today, Major George Patton and General Douglas MacArthur moved in on the protesters with tanks and hundreds of army members. Many of Patton’s and MacArthur’s men had bayonets attached to their rifles when they moved in on the crowd. The newspapers at the time recounted the entire Bonus Army experience. “Cavalrymen and infantrymen jerked gas masks out of their haversacks,” the Baltimore Evening Sun reported at the time. “The spectators, blinded and choking with the unexpected gas attack, broke and fled. Movie photographers who had parked their sound trucks so as to catch a panorama of the skirmish ground away doggedly, tears streaming down their faces,” the paper read. By the end, Patton’s and MacArthur’s troops destroyed Shanty Town. Following the Shanty Town members fleeing the scene, Patton’s tanks crushed Shanty Town and most of the protesting vets had fled via paths near the Anacostia River. At that time, President Hoover told MacArthur’s and Patton’s troops to stop. However, MacArthur didn’t like the President’s order and 1,000 men suffered injury from MacArthur’s military onslaught and another veteran died. By 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) through Executive Order stole people’s gold and initiated the banking holiday. At the time the President basically gave JP Morgan and his gang keys to the castle. That same year, the Bonus Party formed again, trying desperately to get their money. Roosevelt wasn’t keen on paying them, but he did allow them to set up camp. People still love FDR to this day, but by 1936 when Congress passed a bill that would finally settle up with the vets, the so-called ‘hero’ FDR vetoed it. Congress finally overrode the Presidential decision and the Fed’s finally shelled out $2 billion in World War 1 payments, while the country was about to enter WW2. LA Protester: My Natural Solution for the Problem Is for Everyone to Opt-Out and Exit the Economy American citizens have been tread on enough and 2020 is no different. Over the decades, various movements have been destroyed and dismantled by U.S. politicians and police force. On June 3, 2020, a man was being interviewed by a reporter and he told the journalist that the only way to move forward is to opt-out. “Unfortunately we live in a system that doesn’t allow us to thrive or strive and has continually been literally on our necks,” the man said. “My natural solution for this problem is for everyone to opt-out and exit the economy and the way to do that is by buying bitcoin.” #Bitcoin message on the streets of Los Angeles. #OptOut pic.twitter.com/fffJNmEuIb — Jamie Redman (@jamieCrypto) June 3, 2020 The person who was interviewed in L.A. understands that the only way the populace can win is by not playing the game. Bitcoin is a peaceful protest, and we’ve known for decades on end the political class has not changed and will not change. You see instead of a few weeks, months, or a couple of years of demonstrations in front of statehouses and the white house, cryptocurrencies allow you to protest peacefully all the way until the goal is complete. Government power can end as fast as the populace wants it to, by simply removing its control over our monetary system. Counterfeit $trillion the state doesn’t bat an eye.⁰⁰ Counterfeit $20 ⁰the state loses its mind. — Bitcoin (@Bitcoin) May 29, 2020 Right now the monetary system doesn’t work for everyone and it only benefits the sociopaths in government and the world’s 1%. Again the best way to protest the fraudulent and manipulated money system is to join the crypto economy. Systemic oppression stems from the nation state’s money system and it continues to bolster wealth inequality. All the money that goes into the crypto economy is essentially taking away power from all the nation-states and the fiat currencies they issue. Participating in leveraging bitcoin and the counter economy is nonviolent and you won’t get hurt or arrested by joining. You don’t have to be afraid of the mob, gunfire, rubber bullets, tear gas, or looting. What’s worse for protesters on the streets today, is the fact that the police are so militant thanks to Obama and the NDAA he signed years ago. Making matters even worse than that, is that the New York Supreme court ruled that protesters can be detained indefinitely. Civil rights activists are calling it a “suspension of habeas corpus” and it is not a good sign for American demonstrators. Stop Using the Government’s Money and Practice Civil Disobedience The protests are showing the American people are angry, but they are really not accomplishing much of anything by marching and demonstrations. Many observers think that the protesters are just making it worse and there are better ways to avoid the system. What could politicians really do if millions decided not to pay taxes? What could they do if the majority decided to opt-out of elections and voting, decided to stop using U.S. dollars, and once and for all choose to stop listening to the bureaucracy? They could not do anything because politicians would be powerless. This is exactly why bitcoin and the crypto economy is just one way, citizens from all around the world can escape the injustices of totalitarian governments. Using bitcoin and a variety of other digital currencies allows people to opt-out of a corrupt and fraudulent monetary system. “The authority of government, even such as I am willing to submit to — for I will cheerfully obey those who know and can do better than I, and in many things even those who neither know nor can do so well — is still an impure one: to be strictly just, it must have the sanction and consent of the governed,” Thoreau concluded in his essay “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience.” Americans and the rest of the citizens residing in many countries on earth have a duty to keep civil disobedience thriving, and bitcoin is an excellent way to make sure that goal is bolstered. What do you think about bitcoin as a form of peaceful protest? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Bonus Army, Occupiers, 2020 Uprising: Bitcoin’s Peaceful Protest Is Pure Civil Disobedience appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

So, what is cryptocurrency? It’s an internet medium to exchange funds between individuals or corporations to conduct financial transactions. An individual becomes a bank and has control over his own money. Post-COVID will be the beginning of an online transaction era, without the need to go to a bank or touching cash (I owe you) paper money. As cryptocurrency is not “I owe you” it is “I own it”. Why is cryptocurrency better than owning any other assets? Can you take your stocks to another individual and buy groceries or dine in or book tickets and do online shopping? Can you take 13 or 157 or 443 or whatever of number of grams, you break a brick of 1kg of gold and do the above trade… first, the buyer will take it to test and scratch gold to test the purity to justify whether it’s 12ct or 14ct or 18ct or 22ct or 24ct! Let alone the time it took to just find one who first hammers the perfect gold out of the brick. And the same goes for cash! Rs.2000 or Rs.500 or try stacking Rs.100 notes in your pocket to buy months groceries. Imagine that! Also, various forms of digital payments are available in India. Many advertisements these days are advising the public to use digital forms of payments, they have a lot of common with the nature of cryptocurrencies but, the fees they charge, freedom of withdrawal, and stability are not intriguing. There are over 5000 cryptocurrencies globally but Armoney recommends only the following to be bought, traded, exchanged or HODLed in India: Bitcoin (BTC) = Undeniably the best-known Cryptocurrency that has made many millionaires, very volatile and speculative in nature, due to being the first cryptocurrency it’s traded the most globally hence keeping the network secure. Processing time = 10 to 60 minutes Bitcoin Cash (BCH) = Very much advanced than its parent Bitcoin, BCH has faster processing than Bitcoin and cheaper transaction fees, Processing time = 10 to 60 minutes. Ethereum (ETH) = This is a very interesting cryptocurrency due to being an open-source its used for the development of various applications and broadly for trading & speculative purposes. Processing time = 6 minutes USDC (USD coin) = It’s backed by real USD from the largest crypto exchange in the world Coinbase. Processing time = 6 minutes Litecoin (LTC) = Another cryptocurrency that’s basically was made as a competitor to Bitcoin for peer to peer transfer. Its transaction speed is faster than Bitcoin. Processing time = 30 minutes Ripple (XRP) = An institutionalized cryptocurrency used by institutions for cross border payments within minutes. The most advanced blockchain technology that has now been adopted by many banks, corporations, and institutions. Processing time = 1 to 5 minutes If you’re looking to buy, sell or trade any of the above crypto assets, make sure you choose Armoney.com the most secure reliable exchange in India. Armoney also includes the following features that we think you’ll like: Cheapest trading fees and No fees on deposits & withdrawals Proprietary liquidity, KYC, AML, and Bank account verification systems Support desktop, mobile, and desktop trading Focuses on premium design and ease of use Supports INR paired crypto assets Has 24/7, fast human support if you ever need help! Contact Email Address manu@armoney.in Supporting Link https://armoney.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 Armoney Recommends Only the Following Cryptocurrencies in India appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto will never spend his “1.1 million bitcoins” because he is altruistic, Patoshi Pattern researcher Sergio Demian Lerner has said. The Patoshi Pattern exploits privacy flaws of an early protocol, v.01, to identify blocks possibly minded by Satoshi Nakamoto. Lerner said the Bitcoin creator is unlikely to use his coins, which have not moved since 2009, as a fair basis for the inception of the cryptocurrency. During a recent Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) session on Reddit, Lerner tied his assumption to the fact that the 1.1 million BTC attributed to Satoshi has not moved in over a decade. Lerner said: Assuming Satoshi is Patoshi, I believe, based on the past history of Satoshi coins, that Satoshi won’t use his coins ever. Therefore, I think that there couldn’t be a fairer and a more altruistic way for Bitcoin to be born. Screenshot of the Patoshi blocks as documented by RSK chief scientist Sergio Demian Lerner. The Bitcoin community invoked the Patoshi Pattern research in May, to attribute 50 BTC mined during the early days of Bitcoin but suddenly moved last month to the anonymous founder of the cryptocurrency. Lerner played down the speculation, arguing that the block responsible for the 50 BTC fell outside blocks mined using the Patoshi Pattern. In the AMA session, Lerner claimed to have more leads in the Patoshi Pattern, but said will not pursue the research further. “I don’t want to dig any more into that matter and I feel I contributed enough to the transparency of Bitcoin. Digging more may be entering Satoshi’s privacy area,” he said. Lerner also addressed how he designed the second layer Bitcoin protocol, RSK, during the session. He revealed that it took several years to uncover nuances that form the basis of his pattern. The Patoshi Pattern relies on the assumption that Nakamoto mined in the early days of Bitcoin to validate his concepts, and that he mined using v.01 of the Bitcoin Code. Ninety-nine of the blocks tentatively attributed to Satoshi are unspent, setting them apart from blocks mined by the same pattern during the same period. Lerner further argues that the pattern for blocks that fall within the Patoshi Pattern often ended suddenly and resumed at the point of interruption. The unlikelihood of coordinated interruption ties the blocks to one miner, and the non-movement of the coins can be attributed to Satoshi’s founder altruism. The researcher, however, remains conservative with respect to the identity of the miner, despite advancing a strong case for Satoshi. He maintains that his research only arrives at a “Patoshi,” who may or may not be Satoshi. What do you think about Lerner’s assertions? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Patoshi Researcher Says “Altruistic” Satoshi Will Never Spend His 1.1M Bitcoin appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Federal Reserve’s Chair, Jerome Powell has hinted at using an Ethereum-based interest reference rate in a transition from the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor). Powell also detailed in a letter to Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), that the Ethereum version of Libor, a software called “Ameribor” may not be for everyone. The United States Federal Reserve has expanded a great deal since the start of the coronavirus outbreak and a few months prior as well. This week a letter to Senator Tom Cotton from Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicates the Fed is contemplating using Ethereum for interest reference rates. For instance, the Fed and many other international central banks leverage Libor, a benchmark interest rate where a great number of global financial incumbents use to lend funds to each other and clients. However, the public is well aware of the “Libor scandal,” a theory that claims that banks and Libor were manipulating rates in order to fleece the populace. Banks are supposed to submit realistic interest rates to Libor, but the organization and member institutions are accused of manipulating the benchmark rates since 1991. “The way the inter-bank, or Libor, interest rate is set is no longer fit for purpose,” explained a written review by the Financial Services Authority. The megabank Barclays was one of the big name banks accused of messing with the Libor rates. Powell suggested Ameribor which is a similar tool designed by the American Financial Exchange (AFX) and the system leverages Ethereum to make sure the rates are reliable. Essentially there is the use of nonfungible ERC721 tokens that represent payments services and settlement. A flowchart showing how the Ethereum-based Ameribor works. In the letter to Senator Tom Cotton, Powell explains a few of the benefits tied to using AFX’s Ameribor system for the benchmark rates. Although, Powell said that he doesn’t think Ameribor would be a “natural fit” for everyone in the market. “While it is a fully appropriate rate for the banks that fund themselves through the American Financial Exchange or for other similar institutions for whom Ameribor may reflect their cost of funding, it may not be a natural fit for many market participants,” Powell wrote. The Fed Chair did note that “Ameribor is a reference rate created by the American Financial Exchange based on a cohesive and well-defined market that meets the International Organization of Securities Commission’s (IOSCO) principles for financial benchmarks.” The letter doesn’t say whether or not the Fed will officially leverage Ameribor over Libor. However, the crypto community seems to enjoy the idea that the Fed is contemplating using the Ethereum-based product. The AFX-blockchain product has been operating since it was first announced on November 22, 2019. “American Financial Exchange (AFX), an electronic exchange for direct lending and borrowing for American banks and financial institutions, the official Ameribor announcement detailed at the time. “AFX now mints two ERC721 non-fungible tokens for each Ameribor transaction on the AFX platform (for each counterparty to the transaction),” AFX added. What do you think about the Fed contemplating using Ethereum-based Ameribor? Let us know in the comments below. The post Fed Chair Jerome Powell Discusses Leveraging an Ethereum-Based Libor Replacement appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Cryptocurrency derivatives trading volumes climbed 32% in May to a new record high of $602 billion, according to data analytics company Cryptocompare. Total spot volumes grew at a slower pace, rising 5% to $1.27 trillion in May, the London-based firm said in a new report published June 4, 2020. The figures show increasing investor interest in trading derivatives – contracts signed by at least two people to buy or sell a digital asset at an agreed price in the future. For the review month, derivatives market share rose to 32% compared to 27% in April. May’s all-time-high represents a slight increase over the previous record of $600 billion in March. Cryptocompare notes that bitcoin (BTC) derivatives saw large increases in trading volume last month, with institutional player Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) rising fastest at 59% to $7.2 billion. However, Huobi accounted for the largest trade volume of $176 billion, up 29% month-on-month followed by Okex and Binance with $152 billion and $139 billion trades’ worth, respectively. Hong Kong-based Bitmex traded $94.8 billion, up 37% since April while trades at Deribit soared 22% to $13.4 billion. Institutional options volumes on CME reached a monthly record of 5,996 contracts, up sixteen-fold from April. The regulated exchange also broke a new daily record on May 28, with trades of 1,418 Bitcoin options contracts. Derebit’s options volume spiked 109% in May to $3.06 billion. CME’s futures contracts also gained by 36% in May, to volumes of 166,000. Per the report, spot trading volumes surged sharply a day before the third halving, reaching $64.7 billion on May 10. But this fares lowly compared to the volume spikes of $66.2 billion on April 30, and that of $75.9 billion on March 13, a day after the Black Thursday BTC crash. Cryptocompare said the bulk of spot trading happened on exchanges it considers low-tier and unregulated, accounting for $49.88 billion of the volume while top-tier exchanges traded $14.86 billion. What do you think about the growing derivatives trading volume? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Report Shows Crypto Derivatives Volumes Soared 32% to a Record $602 Billion in May appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

4,171 days ago in 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto invoked the Bitcoin network after sharing the white paper with people since Halloween 2008. Just recently, it has been discovered that Nakamoto leveraged a Russian proxy to obfuscate his whereabouts and the inventor used the proxy back in January 2009. For quite some time now, armchair sleuths have been finding interesting clues within Bitcoin’s earliest codebases. Satoshi Nakamoto and Ties to a Russian Proxy The Satoshi Nakamoto mystery is like a holy grail of sorts, for a large number of cryptocurrency advocates. People have tried to hunt him down for well over 11 years now, and to this day no one knows his true identity. Just recently online detectives have discovered in the first version of Bitcoin (v0.1.0), Satoshi Nakamoto allegedly used a Russian proxy to hide his location and identity. The clues can be found in the file “irc.cpp” and line 212 is leveraged in a way where the proxy is hidden by a cipher. After the discovery, people have been discussing a variety of theories as to why Satoshi may have used a Russian proxy. A proxy server is a tool that can be utilized to access web pages and networks without giving certain communications to the server. A proxy can also be leveraged to create a false IP address location. For instance, a person from China might leverage a EU-based proxy, in order to bypass the Great Firewall in the country. It is quite possible that Satoshi used the Russian proxy because he was located inside Russia’s borders. But it is more likely he was outside of Russia’s borders and he used the proxy to hide from Western intelligence services or the Five Eyes (FVEY). Satoshi’s Alleged West Coast IP Address A number of findings have been discovered as far as Satoshi’s original code is concerned. There is one theory that indicates Bitcoin’s inventor may have been in California. One clue we have is how back in January and February 2009, Hal Finney and Satoshi communicated together while working on the Bitcoin alpha codebase using an IRC. At the time, Hal discovered an error in the code and he posted the vulnerability in the mailing list with a debug log. In the earliest versions of Bitcoin, the software included IP addresses within the debug log. The log on January 10, 2009, shows that there are three IP addresses available and one stemmed from Hal Finney. Finney’s IP shows that his location was in California where he resided for years, while Satoshi’s IP and the unknown IP address indicates that the inventor’s location at the time was possibly Van Nuys, California. What is interesting is that the discovery from Van Nuys was not a Tor exit node, and it indicates that Satoshi was likely in Van Nuys on the 10th of January 2009. Even though Satoshi Nakamoto wrote his words with double spaces and wrote like he was from the UK, for the first few months during Bitcoin’s launch many people have assumed he was on the West Coast in the United States. Unfortunately for Hal Finney and his family, as well as Dorian Nakamoto and his family, the California clues have made it so their private lives have been invaded on various occasions. The virtual poker game inclusion. Timechain, Virtual Poker, Coin, and Sergey’s Hotel Reviews Bitcoin v0.1.0 and the earliest versions of Satoshi’s codebase, also has a number of other interesting factoids. Many people have discussed the fact that Satoshi had given copies of the original codebase to others, prior to the January 2009 launch. On November 17, 2008, Satoshi’s writings indicated that he had given the software to a pseudonym named “James A. Donald.” The source code was also reportedly distributed to Bitcointalk.org member “Cryddit” Early codebase – Bitcoin (v0.1.0). Early versions of Bitcoin show that Satoshi used the words “coin,” “cent,” “timechain,” and “miners.” Satoshi named Bitcoin’s smaller units a “coin” (1,000,000) and “cent” (10,000) rather than “satoshis,” the term most people use today. Early code also shows Satoshi wanted bitcoin to have a virtual poker game and marketplace built within the codebase. The Russian proxy evidence indicates that the user may have been named “Sergey,” and the individual also used the Russian proxy for hotel surveys. Despite the recent discovery, not everyone believes Satoshi used a Russian proxy and the theories that suggest he did. Just like a great number of the Satoshi Nakamoto theories, the Russian proxy story was quickly dismissed by well known individuals within the cryptocurrency ecosystem. What do you think about reports that are saying Satoshi Nakamoto leveraged a Russian proxy? Let us know what you think in the comments below. The post The Mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto Allegedly Leveraged a Russian Proxy for Communications appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Despite the economic crisis, cryptocurrency trading platforms in India are reporting record-breaking volumes and new users. “People in India are betting big on bitcoin,” Paxful’s CEO said. “The Indian market holds great potential and importance for the future of the crypto-economy.” Record-Breaking Growth Across the Indian Crypto Industry Cryptocurrency trading volume has been growing by leaps and bounds across many exchanges in India despite the coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis. Peer-to-peer (P2P) bitcoin marketplace Paxful announced Thursday its record-breaking performance in India. From January to May, Paxful reported an increase of 883% in bitcoin’s trading volume over the same period last year, from approximately $2.2 million to $22.1 million. In May, the bitcoin trading volume on the platform was $6.2 million, a 41% increase, and new user signups increased by 12% for the month. On a monthly average, new user signups increased by 28%. P2P marketplace Paxful reported a significant increase in bitcoin trading volume on its marketplace in India. Global and local cryptocurrency exchanges are seeing a similar trend. Recently, global cryptocurrency exchange Okex also revealed in a report that its “visits from India saw the highest increase, reaching 545.56%. According to Okex, newly registered users from India rose 4,100% during the same period,” the report states. “After the policy was loosened, the increase in trading volume was not only reflected in local exchanges, but also the major global exchanges.” Several local crypto exchanges in India have independently told news.Bitcoin.com that they have been seeing huge growth in trading volumes and new users on their platforms, especially during the nationwide lockdown. The growth was fueled by the country’s supreme court quashing the banking ban by the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in March. Wazirx and Unocoin recently said their trading volumes increased 10-fold. Zebpay also saw substantial growth in trading volume and new users during the lockdown. Meanwhile, new crypto exchanges are launching in India, while global exchanges are expanding in the country and venture capitalists are investing more in Indian crypto startups. Great Potential for the Indian Crypto Industry Paxful detailed that it “sees India as a center for innovation and is excited to see the growth and contribution Indians will bring to the industry.” The platform, which recently expanded operations in India, aims to use cryptocurrencies to “expand the financial inclusion and fiscal independence of a new generation of Indians.” Paxful CEO and co-founder Ray Youssef commented: The Indian market holds great potential and importance for the future of the crypto-economy. People in India are betting big on bitcoin presenting an opportunity for greater financial returns. “We are actively focussing our efforts on bringing cryptocurrency to the masses across the nation to aid in the eradication of poverty, boost economies, and create jobs, especially in the post-covid-19 economy,” he continued. The Indian crypto sector is flourishing despite the covid-19 crisis and severe economic conditions throughout the country. Former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg recently said that he expects the Indian economy to contract by 10% this fiscal year. Global rating and research agency CRISIL said last week that India’s worst recession is here, concurring with Goldman Sachs’ prediction that the current recession is the country’s worst. What do you think about the growth of India’s crypto sector? Let us know in the comments section below. The post India’s Crypto Trading Volume Soars Amid Economic Crisis appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bloomberg has forecast bitcoin to reach its record high of $20,000, and possibly $28,000, this year. According to the company’s June Crypto Outlook report, “something has to really go wrong for bitcoin not to appreciate in value.” Bloomberg points to quantitative easing and the coronavirus pandemic as the fuel behind bitcoin’s maturity, particularly when benchmarked against the falling stock market and crude oil. Both factors will cause the price of bitcoin (BTC) to rise. “Covid-19 is hastening the shift away from paper money and stimulating plenty of quantitative easing, which is helping independent stores-of- value such as gold and bitcoin,” the report notes. “Last year, the high was about $14,000, which would translate into almost double in 2020 if rotating within the recent band, and mean little in the big picture,” it added. Bitcoin twice breached $10,000 since its supply cut event three weeks ago, but has struggled to stay above the key level, as investors quickly dumped the asset. It’s latest action involved a flash rally to $10,400 on June 1, followed by a 17% crash barely a day later. The BTC price, up about 33% since the beginning of the year, is trading at $9,549 at Press time, down 0.5% over the last 24 hours. Describing bitcoin as a “resting bull”, Bloomberg highlighted that increased institutional interest, the rising number of active BTC addresses, futures markets as well as mass adoption will lead the pioneering digital asset higher. The report specifically mentions Grayscale Investment’s aggressive crypto acquisitions. Consuming 25% of all newly minted BTC in 2020, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Fund is by far the largest crypto-asset exchange-traded instrument, helping institutional adoption, it said. The Fund manages over 340,000 BTC, or $3.25 billion, on behalf of investors. Active bitcoin addresses, which reached a two-year high of 891,000 this year, represent increasing adoption and that will help BTC stay above $10,000, Bloomberg opined. “Unless advancing addresses abruptly reverse, history indicates bitcoin has a propensity to appreciate,” it said. The report notes that while futures open interest isn’t a large portion of total bitcoin supply, accounting for 50,000 BTC, “futures are significant as a primary gateway for the benchmark crypto to become a mainstream asset class.” “Maturation, greater depth, and plenty more exposure via futures should continue to suppress the first-born crypto’s volatility, clearly keeping it tilted toward price appreciation,” Bloomberg observed. What do you think about Bloomberg’s price prediction? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Bitcoin to Rise to $20K This Year Spurred by Government Money Printing and Covid-19: Bloomberg appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bitcoin’s trading volume has experienced exponential growth which could reach levels similar to major asset classes, according to a new report by Coin Metrics. The cryptocurrency’s daily volume could exceed that of all U.S. equities in less than four years and all U.S. bonds in less than five years, the analysis shows. Bitcoin’s Volume Growth Could Match Stocks and Bonds Cryptocurrency data provider Coin Metrics published its new State of the Network report (Issue 53) Tuesday that focuses on analyzing bitcoin’s trading volume. Coin Metrics estimates bitcoin’s free-float market capitalization to be $136 billion — a size similar to the largest publicly traded companies in the U.S. However, the report notes that while it is easy to estimate bitcoin’s market capitalization, a volume assessment is “more complicated and different calculation methodologies can yield significantly different results.” The report proceeds to suggest that any institutional investors wanting to enter the crypto space need to make some decisions that “can have a material impact on [the] evaluation of [bitcoin’s] trading volume and liquidity.” They include deciding which exchanges, markets, and cryptocurrencies they feel comfortable investing in, as well as whether to invest in stablecoins, such as tether (USDT), or crypto derivatives. Nonetheless, Coin Metrics concluded that regardless of these decisions: All facets of bitcoin’s trading volume have experienced exponential growth and, if sustained, will grow to levels similar to major asset classes. Coin Metrics’ latest State of the Network report shows that bitcoin’s spot volume could rival major asset classes if the current growth trend continues. The Coin Metrics analysis compares bitcoin’s spot trading volume to that of other asset classes. Since its daily trading volume is only about $4.1 billion currently, the report asserts that bitcoin is “most comparable in size to a large capitalization stock rather than a distinct asset class.” Emphasizing growing volume, the report claims: If historical growth rates can be maintained, however, bitcoin’s current daily volume from spot markets of $4.3 billion would need fewer than 4 years of growth to exceed daily volume of all U.S. equities. Fewer than 5 years of growth are needed to exceed daily volume of all U.S. bonds. Ways to Determine Bitcoin’s Trading Volume There are several ways to determine bitcoin’s daily trading volume, depending on what is included; each way yields a different volume number. An easy way is the $0.5 billion per day trading volume of bitcoin spot markets quoted in U.S. dollars from major exchanges, the report details, adding that most BTC trading occurs on a handful of centralized exchanges. For this State of the Network report, the volume figures came from Binance, Binance US, Bitfinex, Bitflyer, Bithumb, Bitmex, Bitstamp, Bittrex, Bybit, Cex.io, Coinbase, Ftx, Gate.io, Gemini, Huobi, Itbit, Kraken, Liquid, Okex, Poloniex, and Upbit. About 90% of the volume of U.S. dollar quoted spot market volume is concentrated in four exchanges: Coinbase, Bitstamp, Bitfinex, and Kraken. Bitcoin’s trading volume compared to other asset classes such as U.S. Equity, U.S. Bond, and Global FX spot markets. Bitcoin’s daily trading volume is much higher when including fiat markets, stablecoins, and derivatives. The volume jumped to $1.2 billion when including fiat markets, with the U.S. dollar representing about half of the total. The other major fiat quote currencies are the Japanese yen, the euro, the Korean won, and the British pound. When including stablecoins, which have increasingly gained trading volume and market share, the analysis finds: Including markets quoted in stablecoins significantly increases the daily trading volume to $3.5 billion, primarily due to tether. Meanwhile, “The largest increase is observed when derivatives markets are added to the mix,” the report continues, noting that like other asset classes, “derivatives markets in bitcoin are several times larger compared to spot markets.” What do you think of bitcoin’s trading volume growth? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Exponential Growth: Bitcoin’s Trading Volume Could Rival Major Asset Classes appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bitcoin automated teller machines (BATMs) will become the next target for regulators, as world governments tighten screws on money laundering. According to Ciphertrace CTO John Jeffries, crypto-cash machines will attract “greater…regulatory focus” in a bid to rein-in alleged cross-border illicit financial transfers. Jeffries urged “the need for more uniform regulatory enforcement and compliance” as governments start to crack down on crypto-infused automated teller machines. This comes as Ciphertrace released a report showing that cross-border transactions accounted for 74% of bitcoin moved between exchanges in 2019. Of this, 88% of funds leaving the United States through bitcoin ATMs were sent to cryptocurrency exchanges abroad – mostly to “high-risk” platforms. The amount of money wired to overseas exchanges at high-risk has grown rapidly, doubling every year since 2017, said the crypto intelligence firm, in the report published on June 2, 2020. The report did not provide specific figures on the extent of capital leaving via BATMs. High-risk exchanges are “nefarious exchanges known for facilitating criminal activities and money laundering,” according to Ciphertrace. These types of exchanges may not be inherently criminal, but illicit transfers through the platforms are cause for concern, it said. Until now, bitcoin-facilitating machines – which total about 8,000 worldwide – have appeared to operate outside national anti-money laundering (AML) laws, attracting users keen on privacy – the wrong crowd, in government’s eyes. In Canada, regulators have become stricter on bitcoin ATM transactions, recently passing a law that compels operators to report all deals above 10,000 Canadian dollars (about $7,400), as part of measures to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing. Germany, Spain and the United States are all cracking down on bitcoin ATMs, both for tax and AML purposes. The crypto teller machines allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrency. They can also work in remittances, allowing transactions between two fiat currencies, underpinned by bitcoin. What do you think about regulators going after Bitcoin ATMs? Let us know in the comments section below. The post US Regulators Target Bitcoin ATMs: 88% of the Funds Exit the Country via Machines appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Just recently Bitcoin.com’s Roger Ver donated $10,000 worth of bitcoin cash to the charitable organization Casa de Amparo, a 501(c)(3) charity that helps children escape child abuse and neglect. Since 1978, Casa de Amparo has offered a myriad of programs that help those affected by and at risk of child abuse in San Diego County. Casa de Amparo: A Major Force in the Field of Child Abuse Prevention In the 2019 28th edition of the Child Maltreatment Report, it notes that there are millions of U.S. children who are subject to various forms of neglect, physical abuse, verbal abuse, and sexual abuse. Children have little choices and it is very hard for them to escape violence and abuse without help from an adult. Since 1978, the nonprofit Casa de Amparo has been helping children who are currently affected by child abuse or are at risk of maltreatment. Casa de Amparo has expanded a great deal since it was initiated, and the organization offers “six programs serving all of San Diego County, with locations in Oceanside and San Marcos.” “Casa de Amparo was founded by a small group of local women concerned about domestic violence and the welfare of children,” explains the charity’s mission statement. “Led by the Women’s Resource Center and supported by local police, this team pushed for a safe home for children (then known as The Crisis Center and now called Residential Services) for those affected by or at risk of child abuse. It was at this point that Casa de Amparo opened its doors.” Casa de Amparo message adds: Our vision is that Casa de Amparo is recognized as a major force in the field of child abuse prevention. Partnering with the greater San Diego community, we ensure that children and their families receive unique and innovative services for healing, for stopping child mistreatment of any kind, and for ending generational cycles of abuse. The result is a community where child abuse and neglect are not tolerated, and where child abuse awareness and prevention are priorities. Ver Donates $10K to Casa de Amparo – And Peter McCormack’s Maximalism On June 1, 2020, Bitcoin.com’s Roger Ver donated $10,000 in bitcoin cash to Casa de Amparo. Ver had donated to the children’s shelter where Bitcoin.com’s new podcast host, Dustin Plantholt, lived as a young child. Plantholt is also currently a Board Member of Casa de Amparo. Ver donated the money to help the Casa de Amparo children’s shelter because it was one of the hardest-hit programs, after the coronavirus lockdowns and industry shutdowns hurt the local economy. “Roger graciously made the donation, upon hearing of the financial impact to the home, that was caused due to the Covid 19 impact,” Plantholt told news.Bitcoin.com. Plantholt also detailed that news.Bitcoin.com readers can also donate via Casa de Amparo’s donation portal the nonprofit uses for cryptocurrency donations. Readers can also give to Casa de Amparo via credit card donation as well. Readers can donate bitcoin cash (BCH) via Casa de Amparo’s donation portal. Moreover, Ver had also challenged the host of the podcast “What Bitcoin Did,” Peter McCormack, to write a blog post documenting how Ver has allegedly lied to the crypto community. McCormack on many occasions publicly accused Roger Ver of telling lies to the Bitcoin community, but fails to give any real evidence or prove it. The podcast host always resorts to logical fallacies, ad hominem attacks, and many crypto users also believe McCormack doesn’t even understand the technology he talks about. Despite all the accusations, Ver had offered McCormack to simply “document in a blog post” all the lies he thinks Ver is telling or has told. Just for writing a blog post, Ver offered McCormack another $10,000 to Casa de Amparo, if he simply wrote the blog post. However, McCormack has refused the offer, even when Ver offered to donate $10K in the name of the charity of his choice. Unfortunately, McCormack wouldn’t take Ver up on the offer no matter the cause. After the offer, McCormack also claimed to be creating a historical documentary that will likely be filled with maximalist revisionism, ad hominem attacks, straw men, and a poor understanding of Satoshi’s gift. Donations Help Provide a Capable Staff That Can Support the Youth During the Post-Covid-19 Economy When Bitcoin.com’s Roger Ver or any associate from our web portal donates funds, we leverage the software from Cashfusion.org to send the bitcoin cash in an anonymous fashion. That way no one can track the origin of the funds, making BCH the easiest to use, most widely accepted private cryptocurrency. Bitcoin Cash transactions are always lightning fast, and have super cheap transaction fees, and donations like these wouldn’t even be possible using Lightning Network. Bitcoin cash can be used to save 20% on Amazon purchases using Purse.io, so if Casa de Amparo uses the BCH on Purse they could actually get $12K worth of goods with Ver’s donation. Ver’s gift of $10K worth of bitcoin cash to Casa de Amparo will go to children in need and kids who deserve shelter. Casa Family member and Executive Director Tamara Fleck-Myers recently explained that the charity is facing challenging times with the Covid-19 pandemic. Donations and community support give Fleck-Myers, Plantholt, and other Casa Family members hope that they can stay “prepared and have an amazing family of staff capable of supporting each other and our youth during these times.” What do you think about Casa de Amparo and the recent bitcoin cash donation? Let us know in the comments below. The post Roger Ver Donates $10K in Bitcoin Cash to Casa de Amparo Children’s Shelter appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading data shows digital assets like bitcoin are growing extremely popular in Russia, despite the State Duma’s opinions and regulations aimed at crypto assets. On Monday, the Russian government published a draft version of litigation mandates called “On Digital Financial Assets,” and lawmakers are looking for public opinion. Despite the strict proposal drafted by the Russian bureaucracy, trade volumes on certain exchanges have seen significant demand from the country’s citizens. Russia’s Cryptocurrency Laws Remain in the Gray Zone Just recently Russia’s State Duma released a draft of proposed litigation toward cryptocurrencies and companies that deal with the technology. The draft called “On Digital Financial Assets,” is an updated version on how lawmakers might regulate the crypto industry in the near future. The documents do not delve much into personal holdings, trading, and cross-border remittances, unless it is applied to startups and veteran companies that leverage cryptocurrencies. People can own bitcoin or other digital assets, but the new proposal does prohibit the widespread circulation and even evangelism when it comes to digital currencies versus the Russian ruble. “Сryptocurrencies go completely into the gray zone in Russia,” explains Waves Enterprise representative Artem Kalikhov. “People who own one or two bitcoins are not at risk. But all cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets hosted on Russian sites with a .ru at the end are now at risk.” Russia’s State Duma recently published this draft called “On Digital Financial Assets.” Demand for Cryptos Like Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash Has Been Thriving in Russia Despite the newly updated proposal, Russian trade volume for bitcoin (BTC) on the peer-to-peer trading platform Localbitcoins (LBC) has been surging. For two months straight Russia has outpaced a number of other countries who have also been seeing significant trade volumes stem from the Russian people. Coin Dance statistics indicate that Russia has accounted for 20% of May’s LBC trade volume. Even though regulatory clarity has kept Russians in the dark, LBC’s data shows that citizens from the region are demanding more bitcoin than they have in years. Data from Bitcoin.com’s local bitcoin cash (BCH) marketplace, Local.Bitcoin.com, indicates that Russians are trading a lot of BCH as well. In popular regions like Venezuela and Colombia, there are people who have traded 50 to over 100 times using Local.Bitcoin.com. In Russia, however, traders have settled over a thousand buys and sells in the local region. People accept credit cards, Advcash, Qiwi, and bank transfers. One trader from Russia shows that he/she has settled over 15,000 trades in the country purchasing bitcoin cash. Local.Bitcoin.com’s BCH marketplace is seeing a lot of action in Russia. Russia was recently featured in an Onfo research report, which had shown the country saw a faster network effect than the likes of the U.S. and Germany. The trend of adoption continues despite Russian lawmakers proposing a law that will allegedly criminalize buying bitcoin with cash. News.Bitcoin.com’s Jeff Gogo reported on how offenders from Russia could face seven years in jail if the law is enacted. While the Russian government seems like it will crack down on bitcoin, there have been rumors of the country banning digital assets for over seven years now. Even though, Russian residents are still in the “gray zone,” like Artem Kalikhov stressed, the demand for cryptocurrencies continues to thrive. What do you think about the peer-to-peer exchange volumes stemming from Russia? Let us know in the comments below. The post Despite Russia’s Confusing Crypto Laws, P2P Bitcoin Trade Volumes Soar appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The U.S. Congressional Budget Office has projected that the coronavirus crisis will cost the U.S. economy about $8 trillion. Many factors play a part in shrinking the economy, such as business closures, social distancing measures, consumer spending, a drop in energy prices, and recent legislation. Decade-Long Recovery Costing $8 Trillion The U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a federal agency that provides budget and economic information to Congress, has estimated the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the U.S. economy. CBO Director Phillip L. Swagel explained on Monday in a letter to Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer: CBO projects that over the 11-year horizon, cumulative real output (in 2019 dollars) will be $7.9 trillion, or 3.0 percent of cumulative real GDP, less than what the agency projected in January. Schumer had asked the CBO to compare its “May 2020 interim projections of gross domestic product and its January 2020 baseline projections,” the letter details. The agency projected in May that the level of nominal GDP in Q2 2020 would be lower than its January forecast. “The two largest differences between the two forecasts result from the economic effects of the covid-19 pandemic in reducing output and the legislation enacted between January and early May in response, which partly offsets that reduction,” Swagel described. The U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has projected that it will take more than a decade for the U.S. economy to recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which will cost the country about $8 trillion. Furthermore, the director wrote that the “revised forecast for nominal GDP reflects a significant markdown in CBO’s projection of real (inflation-adjusted) production in the United States as a result of the pandemic.” He added: “Business closures and social distancing measures are expected to curtail consumer spending, while the recent drop in energy prices is projected to severely reduce U.S. investment in the energy sector. Recent legislation will, in CBO’s assessment, partially mitigate the deterioration in economic conditions.” Swagel elaborated: CBO projects that over the 2020–2030 period, cumulative nominal output will be $15.7 trillion less than what the agency projected in January. The director noted, however, that “An unusually high degree of uncertainty surrounds these economic projections” due to the coronavirus pandemic, adding that the office will continue to evaluate the impact of the pandemic which could be affected by future federal policies. The U.S. Congress has passed the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief & Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27. Several other bills have been proposed, including Nancy Pelosi’s $3 trillion Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act which proposes a second round of stimulus checks for Americans. “The second quarter is still likely to see the biggest GDP drop in U.S. history while the unemployment rate for May is expected to be near 20%, the highest since the Great Depression,” CNBC reported Monday. The publication quoted Senator Schumer as saying, “In order to avoid the risk of another Great Depression, the Senate must act with a fierce sense of urgency to make sure that everyone in America has the income they need to feed their families and put a roof over their heads.” What do you think about the CBO’s predictions? Let us know in the comments section below. The post US Government Prediction: Economy Faces 10-Year Recovery, $8 Trillion Loss From Coronavirus appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Long time trader John Bollinger has warned that bitcoin’s flash rally to over $10,400 on Monday was fake, adding that losses might be on the way. “This is a Head Fake at the upper Bollinger Band for $btcusd,” tweeted Bollinger, inventor of the Bollinger Bands indicator. A ‘head-fake’ trade happens when an asset price makes a move in one direction, but then reverses course and moves in the opposite direction, according to the know-it-all online dictionary Investopedia. Bollinger Bands define high and low on a relative basis. By definition prices are high at the upper band and low at the lower band. John Bollinger urged investors to trade with caution or to sell bitcoin (BTC) altogether. He sated: “time to be cautious or short.” Bitcoin rallied past $10,400 on June 1 in a brief breakout, possibly spurred by runaway coronavirus spending by governments throughout the world. The dramatic swing may have reflected renewed investor optimism towards a bull run in the wake of Bitcoin’s recent third halving, but faded just as quickly as it started. Some 24 hours later, the price of BTC plunged 17% in a matter of minutes to as low as $8,600 on Bitmex – a flash crash some observers attribute to manipulation by the so-called whales. Bollinger’s analysis adds to a chorus of voices that have called out BTC’s impromptu rally as a false signal – at least in the short-term. Bitmex co-founder and chief executive officer Arthur Hayes suggests that this week’s breakout was a bull trap and that bitcoin will have to rise by nearly 60% from its current price of about $9,400 before reclaiming the bulls. “The basis is starting to get juicy. It sure beats earning 0% at the bank… But this rally ain’t real until we take out $15k,” Hayes said in a tweet. Bitcoin has twice tried to breach $10,000 in the past two weeks, succeeding twice, but both the breakouts never lasted, as strong resistance set-in. Traders consider $10,000 a key level for a bullish upswing. What do you think about John Bollinger’s prediction? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Bitcoin’s Flash Rally to $10,400 was “Fake”, Short the Cryptocurrency, Warns Renowned Trader Bollinger appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Crypto-friendly travel booking platform Travala has reported booking growth as demand for travel returns despite continued coronavirus crisis and extended lockdowns in many places. Its booking revenue in May soared 205% and 60% of all bookings were paid with cryptocurrencies. Travel Demand Returning Despite Covid-19 Travala.com, a website where travelers can book flights from over 600 airlines and over 2 million hotels and accommodations worldwide, published on Monday its monthly performance report for May. The global travel industry has been severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic, economic crisis, and extended lockdowns. “We have endured a turbulent few months, due to travel restrictions and border closures resulting in cancellations and reduced bookings,” Travala admitted. However, the company added: Confidence and a desire to travel are returning with a significant increase in demand … Overall [our] booking revenue for the month of May was $68,162 which is an increase of 205% compared to April. Traffic to Travala.com grew substantially during the month, the company detailed. Direct traffic to the site from the U.S. grew the most at 541%, followed by Vietnam (118%), the U.K. (80%), the Netherlands (56%), and Germany (54%). Moreover, “the total number of room nights booked [in May] was 541, which is an increase of 45.8% compared to April.” The top countries booked were the U.S., Thailand, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Poland, and Vietnam. More Than 60% of All Bookings Were Paid With Cryptocurrencies Travala has listed many business partners across several categories as well as numerous payment methods on its website. Its travel partners include Booking.com, Priceline, and Travelbybit. Its blockchain partners include Binance, Litecoin Foundation, Digibyte, Tron, Huobi, Bitcoin.com, Gemini, Komodo, Waves, Coingate, Gocoin, Kucoin, Crypto.com, and Changelly. List of Travala’s partners showing many crypto companies and cryptocurrencies accepted on the Travala.com website. The crypto-friendly travel booking website accepts a wide range of cryptocurrencies, such as BTC, BCH, BNB, AVA, USDT, ETH, LTC, XRP, TRX, EOS, ADA, WAVES, XEM, DAI, QTUM, DASH, XMR, XLM, NANO, NEO, and GUSD. Overall, the company detailed: Over 60% of the total bookings in May paid with cryptocurrencies. Moreover, Travala provided details of popular payment methods used on its website. About 21% of all bookings were paid in bitcoin (BTC), followed by its native token AVA (16%), Crypto.com Pay (14%), BNB (2%), and other cryptocurrencies (7%). Meanwhile, credit card and Paypal accounted for 40%. What do you think about Travala’s growth? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Travala Sees 205% Jump in Booking Revenue as Travel Demand Returns — 60% Paid With Cryptocurrencies appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), has put out a bounty for $5 million for the arrest and conviction of Venezuela’s superintendent of cryptocurrency. Joselit de la Trinidad Ramirez Camacho is now added to America’s Most Wanted List, as he is accused of transgressing against U.S. sanctions and working with drug cartels. Reportedly, the Venezuelan Petro crypto asset is all part of Nicolas Maduro’s and Camacho’s scheme to avoid economic sanctions imposed by the American government. ICE and Homeland Security Put Up a Bounty for $5 Million for the Capture of Ramirez Camacho, the Venezuelan Superintendent of Cryptocurrencies On June 1, 2020, ICE and HSI published a press release concerning the Venezuelan government official Ramirez Camacho. The two government entities based out of New York are offering $5 million for the arrest and capture of Camacho or information leading to his whereabouts. The Venezuelan government official Ramirez Camacho is now on America’s Most Wanted List. The investigation is being conducted by HSI New York’s El Dorado Financial Crimes Task Force and Camacho is accused of “deep political, social and economic ties to multiple alleged narcotics kingpins, including Tareck EI Aissami.” Camacho was indicted for violations of sanctions imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the charges were imposed by New York’s Southern District court (NYSD). “Through the rewards program, up to $5 million is being offered for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Joselit de la Trinidad Ramirez Camacho, a Venezuelan government official,” explains the ICE and HSI press release. “Ramirez Camacho currently serves as Venezuela’s superintendent of cryptocurrency and has been indicted in the Southern District of New York for violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Kingpin Act, and other sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC).” Ramirez Camacho (right) speaking with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (left). Petro Acceptance Is Now Mandated at All Gas Stations in Venezuela Being the Venezuelan superintendent of cryptocurrency, Camacho is behind the petro crypto created by the nation-state and President Nicolas Maduro. Allegedly, U.S. law enforcement says that Camacho made plans with an American and opened a shell company based in Turkey. Ramirez Camacho is responsible for Petro adoption and getting Venezuelan businesses to accept the crypto asset. Allegedly, Camacho has close ties with a drug cartel run by Tareck EI Aissami and he is accused of evading U.S. sanctions and setting up a shell company in Turkey with an American national. Camacho and the American used a bank in Turkey and also leveraged the shell firm to evade U.S. sanctions. Furthermore, Camacho and the crypto entity from Venezuela published a blog post that explains to Venezuelans residents that petro acceptance is now mandated at petrol (gas) stations. In addition to the oil-backed cryptocurrency support, petrol stations will be charging $0.02 per liter. The price is a massive spike in comparison to pre-Covid-19 petrol prices. Furthermore, in addition to mandating petro acceptance, there have been a lot of gas shortages for average citizens. Following the mandate, Venezuelan car owners are only allowed to get 120 liters per month and motorcycle owners can only use 60 liters per month going forward. What do you think about the US bounty for the Venezuelan crypto superintendent? Let us know in the comments below. The post US Law Enforcement Promises $5M for the Capture of Venezuela’s Superintendent of Cryptocurrencies appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Another $800,000 worth of bitcoin from the Bitfinex hack of four years ago has been moved to an unknown wallet. Whale Alert reports that hackers transferred 77.64 bitcoin (BTC) on Tuesday, which amounts to $797,000 at the time the alert was issued. The thieves last moved about $255,000 or 28.4 BTC on May 22, in deals that appear timed to coincide with every spike in the price of bitcoin. BTC scaled past $10,000 on Tuesday, rising above the psychological point for the first time since the scheduled supply cut on May 11. According to data from markets.bitcoin.com, the top cryptocurrency climbed nearly 6% in the last 24 hours amid record coronavirus spending by world governments. Investors consider bitcoin a hedge against inflation in these uncertain times. Hackers have chipped away at their multi-million-dollar stash since making off with 120,000 BTC from Hong Kong-based crypto exchange Bitfinex in 2016. Valued at $72 million at the time, the bitcoin is now worth over $1.2 billion at current prices. Meanwhile, Ciphertrace said on June 2 that losses from cryptocurrency thefts, hacks, and fraud surged to nearly $1.4 billion during the first five months of this year. In a new report, the crypto intelligence firm says it has also started to notice coronavirus-related crime that needed some form of payment using virtual currency, but similar fraud remained minimal. Covid-19 fraud generally involved criminals luring their victims into social media groups where payment in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies was requested, notes Ciphertrace. What do you think about the moving stolen Bitfinex funds? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Hackers Move Another $800K in BTC Stolen From the 2016 Bitfinex Breach appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Switzerland’s financial regulator, FINMA, has approved two Zurich-based banks to offer a range of cryptocurrency services, including trading and custody. Maerki Baumann Bank subsequently announced the launch of its trading platform for major cryptocurrencies while Incore Bank is offering a range of crypto services. Maerki Baumann Launches Cryptocurrency Trading Desk and Custody Service The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) recently approved two banks — Maerki Baumann and Incore Bank — to offer a number of cryptocurrency services, the two financial institutions independently announced Friday. Maerki Baumann, a Zurich-based private bank with a dedicated crypto desk, stated Friday that it has obtained a license from FINMA “to offer the trading and custody of cryptocurrencies as well as other digital assets (tokens).” With this new license, the bank will offer its clients the trading and custody of cryptocurrencies starting this month. Noting that its trading platform will also support ERC20 tokens, the bank explained: Maerki Baumann will initially offer trading in the principal cryptocurrencies, namely bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), ethereum (ETH), litecoin (LTC) and ripple (XRP). Zurich-based private bank Maerki Baumann has been opening business accounts for crypto companies since April 2019 and is now expanding its crypto services to include trading and custody. Besides providing business bank accounts for crypto and blockchain companies, the bank has also been supervising initial coin offerings (ICOs) and security token offerings (STOs) for its clients. As of Dec. 31, 2019, the bank had approximately 8.5 billion Swiss francs ($8.84 billion) in assets under management, 80% of which originated in Switzerland and 10% in Germany. Its Friday announcement outlines the bank’s near-term plans to further expand its universe of tradable cryptocurrencies and crypto investment services in the second half of the year. The bank detailed: Maerki Baumann is in no doubt that digital assets will be a fixed element of a professional investment advisory and asset management service in the future. Incore Bank Launches Several Crypto Services The second bank recently authorized by FINMA to offer crypto services is Zurich-headquartered Incore Bank, a transaction bank that provides outsourcing services for financial institutions, such as settlement, custody, payments, accounting, compliance, and tax support. Its clients include Maerki Baumann. Incore announced Friday that the Swiss financial regulator has approved it to “trade, hold, transfer and generate (tokenize) digital assets,” elaborating: This makes Incore Bank the first Swiss business-to-business bank to offer financial service providers and institutions worldwide easy and secure access to a new and forward-looking asset class. Incore Bank recently created a Digital Services division to offer a “full range of services from issuance, distribution, brokerage and storage,” its announcement details. “We guarantee a full segregation of crypto client assets on individual wallets, whereby no additional capital requirement of the client bank is required,” said Daniel Blatter, Incore’s Head of Digital Services. Swiss financial regulator, FINMA, has recently approved two Zurich-based banks to offer cryptocurrency services. Maerki Baumann is launching a trading platform supporting major cryptocurrencies while Incore Bank is launching a range of crypto services. The bank has also partnered with several companies in the crypto sector, such as the Swiss company Crypto Finance AG. Jan Brzezek, the CEO of Crypto Finance, commented: We are convinced it is only a matter of time before bitcoin is part of a bank’s standard product portfolio. Incore Bank took an early and consistent approach to this topic, and we were immediately able to implement our brokerage and custody infrastructure. The bank additionally revealed that it also plans to “expand the brokerage, custody and transfer services to security tokens,” noting that it has partnered with Inacta AG, an independent Swiss IT crypto consulting firm, to develop additional services in the area of the tokenization of assets. Maerki Baumann is Incore’s first client for crypto services, having been a long-standing client of Incore and its parent company holds a stake in the transaction bank. “The trading orders placed with Maerki Baumann will be transferred via established partner companies, most notably the transaction bank Incore Bank AG, to professional crypto brokers and to the world’s leading and most liquid crypto exchanges,” the private bank clarified. “This will ensure that transactions can be rapidly executed and with a narrow trading spread.” What do you think about Swiss banks offering cryptocurrency services? Let us know in the comments section below. The post 2 Swiss Banks Launch Cryptocurrency Trading and Custody After Gaining Regulatory Approval appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The price of bitcoin and a number of cryptocurrencies have been sliding downward in value during the last 72 hours, after bitcoin touched a high of $9,700 on May 30, 2020. On Monday, June 1, the price is up 0.06% and trading for $9,578 per coin during the morning trading sessions. The market capitalization of the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem is around $270 billion while 24-hour trade volume for all 5,000+ coins is $22 billion. Crypto Value’s Slide After Briefly Touching Heavy Resistance Cryptocurrency prices were rather bullish on Saturday evening as BTC and a number of other coins like ETH, BCH, XRP, and LTC were up in value. Bitcoin (BTC) touched a high of over $9,700 on Saturday evening and the price got pushed back at that point. The following Monday, BTC is swapping for $9,578 per coin and the crypto has around $5.9 billion in global trades. ETH is trading for $239 per coin and is up 0.58% at press time. The third-largest market cap held by XRP is seeing around $475 million in trades and is priced at $0.20 per XRP. The stablecoin tether (USDT) still commands the fourth largest market valuation and more than 60% of the global crypto economy is paired with USDT. Bitcoin Cash (BCH/USD) Market Action While BTC and other coins have been consolidating, bitcoin cash (BCH) has been rising in value. A single BCH is worth $243.91 per unit and there’s around $621 million in global trades. The top trading pair with BCH today is USDT and tether represents 73% of all bitcoin cash trades. Other pairs include BTC (15.49%), KRW (3.13%), USD (2.33%), ETH (2.16%), GBP (1.08%), USDC (0.70%), and PAX (0.56%). The overall market valuation of BCH is around $4.49 billion on Monday, June 1, 2020. BCH touched a high of $252 per unit on May 30 and the cryptocurrency is down 1.9% in the last 24 hours. Stock-to-Flow Hopium Expects $100k Bitcoin Despite all the criticisms toward stock-to-flow (S2F) theories, the popular bitcoin pundit, Plan B, shared an S2F chart that shows some bullish trajectory. “Bitcoin S2F chart update… Red dot released,” Plan B tweeted. Chart by Plan B via Twitter. The chart’s trajectory shows that BTC could touch an all-time high (ATH) of $50,000 to $100,000 in the near future. BTC has already touched an ATH of $19,600 per coin on December 17, 2017. Even though S2F charts are extremely bullish and Plan B’s chart shows extreme gains, lots of people dismiss these predictions and claim they are no different than the reading of tarot cards. Some Believe Bitcoin Will be Smacked Down Again at $10k One trader has noticed that the current upward trajectory is very similar to past movements, and BTC may be in a bull trap. “So far, the current BTC approach to $10k has shared elements of the prior two,” the Twitter account ’Hsaka’ tweeted. “Spot books heavily skewered to the sell side, lack of bid side backfilling, [and] no substantial derivatives interest (to cause a short squeeze). The only marked difference is ETH strength.” The Twitter account ‘Calmly Full-Time Trader’ said: Deleted the last tweet because I’m not yet convinced. Just going to stay short until we make another high. Then if we start getting hourly closes above that high, I’ll flip long. Right now, still looking bearish.” Ever since the ‘Black Thursday’ bitcoin price bottom, bitcoin has coasted along rising toward heavier resistance levels at $10k and $11k. Many people believe that if BTC can push past this zone then it will give a more prominent bullish signal. Market Analyst Says Short Liquidations Pushed the Market Price of Bitcoin Higher A recent report written by the financial columnist Daniel Cawry details that short-seller liquidations may have been the catalyst to push BTC above $9,500. “Bitcoin broke through $9,500 Thursday and those short-sellers betting on lower prices got liquidated by some crypto derivatives exchanges,” Cawry wrote. “That also helped push the world’s oldest cryptocurrency higher.” Fairfield Strategies analyst Katie Stockton who says a push above $10k per unit would bolster bullish sentiment. “A breakout above $10,055 would be a catalyst for significant upside in our work, and support is now defined by the 200-day moving average, which is now at $8,377,” Stockton told Cawry. “We think intermediate-term trend-following indicators are pointing higher,” Stockton added. Vishal Shah, founder of the startup Alpha5 believes short liquidations and derivatives markets have been priming crypto markets. “There are definitely topside liquidations on Bitmex, and more than on average,” Shah said. “I do think Bitmex is turning more into a fractal of the market than the anchor. Open interest is definitely in osmosis,” Shah added. What do you think about the crypto market action lately? Let us know in the comments below. The post Market Update: Bullish Bitcoin S2F Chart, 6-Digit Prices, Liquidations Prime Crypto Values appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

India’s cryptocurrency market is set to gain significant market share this year, according to an industry report. The regulatory environment, the instability of the rupee, and remittances are key drivers that will send the Indian crypto industry soaring. Indian Crypto Sector Flourishing The Indian cryptocurrency market is poised to gain considerable global market share starting this year, according to a report published last week by Coinpaprika and Okex. The former is a cryptocurrency research platform while the latter a global crypto exchange. They analyzed the Indian crypto sector, major players, the challenges they face, and the rapid development of the country’s crypto ecosystem. “India is one of the fastest-growing crypto markets, gradually catching up on cryptocurrency development,” the two companies wrote, elaborating: We attribute the driving force of the Indian cryptocurrency market development to three significant factors, namely immigrants, finance, and government policies … It is expected that the global market share of crypto transactions in the Indian market will increase significantly in 2020-2022. A report by Coinpaprika and Okex states that the global market share of crypto transactions in the Indian market will likely increase significantly in 2020-2022. Key Factors Behind Rapid Growth of Indian Crypto Sector The report attributes the rapid growth of the Indian crypto industry to three key factors. The first is cross-border remittances. “The amount of remittances by Indian immigrants has been the highest in the world over the years,” the report details, citing that the country had more than 17 million immigrants in 2019. Since cross-border transactions traditionally carry high fees, Coinpaprika and Okex believe that “Using bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as a cross-border payment medium, Indians can save a large number of remittance fees,” adding: Cryptocurrency as a cross-border payment medium will make a big difference in the Indian market. Due to great remittance demand, it will drive the prosperity of digital currency growth in India for a long time. Trading volumes on peer-to-peer crypto platforms Localbitcoins and Paxful have been growing steadily in India. Many Indians convert their INR to bitcoin and then to U.S. dollars using these two platforms. The next factor concerns the instability of the Indian rupee and Indians’ strong demand for U.S. dollars, the report outlines. “The value of Indian rupee is not stable, especially during the covid-19 epidemic … The exchange rate between rupee and USD continued to rise, causing the former to enter constant depreciation … with the constant depreciation of the rupee, the Indians have a strong need to convert their rupee into a more stable fiat currency,” the report describes, noting: However, due to strict foreign exchange regulations, it is complicated to convert rupee directly to US dollars. Therefore, most Indians will choose to convert rupee to bitcoin and then to US dollars through C2C trading platforms such as Localbitcoins and Paxful. “Many rupees are exchanged to bitcoin through chat groups, such as Whatsapp, Telegram, and Facebook, which then converted into US dollars,” research by Coinpaprika and Okex shows. “To maintain their asset’s value, cryptocurrency is being used as a vehicle to convert rupee into more stable fiat currency in India.” The third factor is the regulatory environment for cryptocurrency in India. In March, the country’s supreme court quashed the banking restriction imposed by the central bank which has had profound effects on the local crypto industry. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently confirmed in a reply to a Right to Information (RTI) request that there is no longer any banking ban on crypto exchanges, companies, or traders. “After the policy was loosened, the increase in trading volume was not only reflected in local exchanges, but also the major global exchanges,” the report continues. According to Similarweb, a website analytics data provider, traffic on major crypto exchanges from India increased many-fold in Q1 2020. The report further highlights: Okex’s visits from India saw the highest increase, reaching 545.56%. According to Okex, newly registered users from India rose 4100% during the same period. Besides Okex, several other crypto exchanges have reported huge growth in trading volumes and new users. For example, two prominent local exchanges, Wazirx and Unocoin, independently told news.Bitcoin.com that they experienced 10X volume growth as Indians explored crypto trading during the extended nationwide lockdown. Moreover, new crypto exchanges are launching in India, global exchanges are expanding in the country, and more venture capitalists are investing in Indian crypto startups. Okex is preparing to launch a P2P trading platform in India where a number of cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin (BTC) and tether (USDT), can be traded against the Indian rupee via several payment channels. Kraken also said that it plans to expand into India this year. “The competition between local and global major crypto exchanges in the Indian market will become increasingly fierce,” the report concludes. “Exchanges are expected to steer their focus on enhancing the stability of their derivatives products and offering more diverse depositing channels for users.” As for the entire Indian economy, Goldman Sachs’ strategists have predicted that the country’s recession will be its worst ever. Do you think India will lead the crypto revolution? Let us know in the comments section below. The post India to Significantly Increase Crypto Market Share This Year: Report appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The UK government is seizing funds in dormant bank accounts worth approximately $185 million to fund its coronavirus relief efforts. So far, 30 banks have been voluntarily transferring money from dormant accounts to the government, including HSBC, Barclays, Clydesdale, Credit Agricole, Danske, Santander, Lloyds, and Bank of Scotland. The government has also proposed adding other types of assets that can be seized, such as insurance policies and share proceeds. Government Unlocks Funds From Dormant Accounts The U.K. government announced last week that “£150 million [$185.74 million] from dormant bank and building society accounts is to be unlocked to help charities, social enterprises and vulnerable individuals during the coronavirus outbreak.” Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden detailed that “This includes accelerating the release of £71 million of new funds from dormant accounts alongside £79 million already unlocked that will be repurposed to help charities’ coronavirus response and recovery.” According to “The Dormant Assets Scheme: A Blueprint For Expansion” report, published by the British government in April last year: UK banks and building society accounts collectively hold over £1.3tn of customers’ money in savings or current accounts that would be eligible under the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act 2008. 30 Banks Voluntarily Transfer Dormant Funds to Government The U.K. government’s asset seizure program under the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act 2008 began in 2011. Currently, 30 companies, including all major high street banks, are participating in the program. They include Allied Irish Bank UK, ANZ (London branch), Bank Leumi UK, Barclays Bank, Clydesdale Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (London branch), Co-operative Bank, Credit Agricole, Danske Bank, HSBC Bank, Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland, Nationwide Building Society, Riyad Bank, Santander UK, and TSB Bank. These banks “have voluntarily transferred funds from accounts that have been inactive for 15 years into the scheme and so far over £600 million has been distributed to good causes,” Dowden said, elaborating: The government is currently consulting on expanding the dormant assets scheme to include a range of financial assets from the insurance and pensions, investment and wealth management, and securities sectors. According to the government, consumers can still reclaim the amount owed to them even if their funds have been transferred to the scheme. Reclaim Fund Ltd., an entity regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), is supposed to hold enough money to cover any claims. Other types of assets that the British government has proposed adding to the program follow different rules of when they can be seized. If approved, insurance policies and pensions could be seized after seven years, cash assets after six years, and non-cash assets, shares and dividends of public companies could be seized after 12 years. The UK government expects that “The expansion has the potential to bring billions more pounds into the scheme.” What do you think about the UK government seizing dormant accounts for crisis relief? Let us know in the comments section below. The post UK Government Seizes $185 Million From Dormant Bank Accounts for Crisis Relief appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

During the last six days, America has been feeling the wrath of a myriad of protests and riots in nearly every major city across the nation. The U.S. is experiencing an uprising like never before, but some of the protests and demonstrations could be more peaceful. Acts like not voting for the political class, and using alternative monies like bitcoin can go a long way when it comes to civil protest. America Is on Fire, Governors Invoke Curfews, National Guard Deploys, and Martial Law Starts Trending on Twitter The protests have become unruly and that is because law enforcement has attacked crowds of innocent peaceful protesters, there are hired groups of inciters there to start violence, state provocateurs have been caught on camera inciting violence, and people are fed up with the decades of police brutality. However, there are other ways people can protest the nation-state’s wrongdoings and immorality, by simply not participating in the corrupt system. By leveraging bitcoin and other means of counter-economics, by not voting for masters, and avoiding the status quo at all costs can be far more peaceful than any street demonstration. Just recently a man named George Floyd was killed when an officer kneeled on his neck for close to ten minutes. There is video footage of the incident and three other officers watched their coworker cause harm to the unarmed man. Floyd is not the only individual that American police have killed and most of the time, U.S. officers never get in trouble for police brutality or killing an innocent. Floyd’s death was followed by six days of demonstrations, protests, and riots. Cities like Boston, LA, Oakland, Eugene, Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago, Denver, San Jose, Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami, Lincoln, Des Moines, Austin, Louisville, Dallas, Atlanta, Richmond, Cincinnati, Detroit, Milwaukee, Indianapolis and many more saw major protests with tens of thousands of people. What Pushed People Over the Edge? We have to understand that people were locked down and told to stay-at-home for three straight months. They are forced into lines, plexiglass windows in their faces, and fined for not wearing masks. Three months later the data is very concrete— And Covid19 wasn’t as scary as everyone thought. The very “best estimate” was 0.4% by the CDC and a lot of people know it’s lower than that with antibody tests and the fudged death counts. People lost their jobs and they can’t eat. Some people live in the projects and inner cities with barely anything to their name. Paycheck to paycheck they live. More than 1/3 of the American nation is unemployed. Many are hungry. Can’t pay the rent. Suicide and depression are rising super fast. Mortgages are not being paid. Rent can’t be paid. People are still being harassed for social distancing, masks, and the lines and circles painted on the ground. The media hyped them up. The government and ‘expert’ doctors lied and over-projected by 1000X or more. They scared people and caused trauma to their children and took them all out of school. Then some officer kills a man for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill, after the Federal Reserve has been serving counterfeit money for decades. Police have done this so many times before. A man’s neck was kneeled on for close to ten minutes straight. It took the police days to put this officer in cuffs. The three other officers have not been cuffed. Crimes like this have been committed so many times before, and officers are hardly ever held accountable. In addition to the police brutality that is never really addressed, the U.S. government has been manipulating the populace and stealing from the people for years on end with austerity measures and heavy taxation on income and property. They inflate the dollar and never have jailed a banker – except Bernie Madoff, because he stole from them. Wall Street, the banking cartel and Federal Reserve have destroyed the nation’s money system. The elite in America and many other nation-states, has pushed and pulled people using division by leveraging democrat and republican parties, divided us by race, gender, and made us hate our brothers and sisters, family members. US healthcare sucks, the American education system is horrible, the monopoly of US law enforcement is more about revenue than protecting and serving. There have been endless wars initiated by U.S. forces for 20 years straight. Multiple countries. Drones and bombs. Kids are taught violence on TV and they are taught to respect the militant officers. Salute them. Death by war is memorialized by the celebration of war. Kids from inner cities and kids who don’t know what to do with their lives are recruited into this madness. Children are taught violence is good and to solve things with force. A new President Will Not Fix a Dysfunctional America, But Opting Out and Counter-Economics Will The hierarchies and the system in America is wrong and immoral. And people should continue to peacefully assemble and protest if they want to because it is most definitely warranted. But they should refrain from violence, looting, and burning. That’s not the way to solve the issues at hand. “We the people” are made up of individuals and we need to evolve. Evolution, not Revolution. If we violently overthrow the system, then a violent regime will simply take over again. The madness and insanity will never end, unless we remove the political class nonviolently. There are ways we can peacefully protest without madness. We can use the counter-economy and things like bitcoin to opt-out. We can walk away from the hierarchical systems of manipulation. Stop participating in the system. Don’t vote. A new President will not fix a dysfunctional America. Avoid the political class at all costs. Remove yourself from the division. Libertarians have been saying things like this for years. The system of law is unjust and the monetary system is fraudulent. They use censorship-resistant money in order to avoid the corrupt system and the more people that follow, the more power “we the people” have. Think about it, instead of taking a chance of getting arrested and hurt in a violent mob, you can use your money to circumvent the elite instead. Without the power of money, the immoral state is useless. They could not fund endless wars and create machines of destruction. If the people remove themselves from the fraudulent economy by leveraging barter and trade, hedging with precious metals, and leveraging digital assets, then there’s a great chance of removing the state’s monetary power. If we stop voting and ignore the left and right parties, we can opt-out of the political system and move forward. If we continue to participate in the corrupt system, then people will never learn and fraud will continue with no end in sight. Bitcoin is peaceful protest. Not voting is a peaceful protest. These two acts alone, can help the country a great deal than any mass protest will ever do in a lifetime. What do you think about peaceful acts of protest like leveraging bitcoin and the counter-economy? Let us know in the comments below. The post With Riots Erupting in US Cities, Using Tools of Peaceful Protest Can be More Meaningful appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In mid-May, news.Bitcoin.com reported on one of our mining pool videos being censored and banned from the video-sharing platform Youtube. The report had shown how Youtube has been censoring videos for a long time now, and the CEO specifically told the public certain coronavirus films would be removed. Youtube’s censorship has caused a number of individuals to search for decentralized video sharing platforms, and one particular project called Lbry.tv has been gathering a lot of traction. Censored Youtubers Are Migrating to Lbry.tv Censorship is abundant these days, as many of the massive social media platforms and video sharing sites are censored and policed on a regular basis. Just recently, Bitcoin.com’s official Youtube account was warned for sharing a video about bitcoin mining and people witnessed mass censorship on Youtube caused by the coronavirus. Months before Covid-19, many crypto-focused Youtube channels were also banned and removed from the platform. The iron curtain tethered to Youtube has invoked a number of crypto advocates to leave and join a more decentralized concept called Lbry. Lbry is a sharing platform that uses blockchain technology to enable users to publish material and get paid for doing so. People using Lbry’s service can monetize their published material with its built-in payment system. The creators of the Lbry project state: Lbry is a new protocol that allows anyone to build apps that interact with digital content on the Lbry network. Apps built using the protocol allow creators to upload their work to the Lbry network of hosts (like Bittorrent), to set a price per stream or download (like iTunes) or give it away for free (like Youtube without ads). The work you publish could be videos, audio files, documents, or any other type of file. Lbry.tv. In addition to the main Lbry blockchain, the project has also introduced Lbry.tv, a similar platform to the likes of Youtube but without censorship and centralization. The creators of Lbry call the platform Lbry.tv, “a nearly feature-complete web version of Lbry desktop, a browser for the Lbry network.” Because of the censorship and centralized video sharing platforms manipulating video shares and adding horrible advertisements, many people have migrated to the Lbry platform for quite some time now. The developers behind the project note that the video sharing portal has: Hundreds of huge YouTubers, like Veritasium, minutephysics, John Stossel, and 3Blue1Brown. Tens of thousands of popular YouTubers co-publish or publish unique content to LBRY. Hollywood films, including the catalog from Oscilloscope Studios, which includes award-winning films starring actors like James Franco, Julia Stiles, David Cross and more. Creators who stand up for free speech and free expression like Jordan Peterson, Benjamin Boyce, Justin Murphy, and more. 20,000 top college lectures that almost disappeared forever due to the threat of censorship. All kinds of weird and original gems. Decentralized and Censorship-Resistant Social Media and Video Sharing Platforms Will Someday be the Norm It will take some time, but censorship-resistant and decentralized platforms will someday be the new norm. The masses are slowly beginning to see the problem and there are tools out there that can decentralize social media and video sharing techniques across the web. Platforms that pay content producers and artists directly, instead of large fractions of profits going to middlemen like Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Youtube. There are projects like Twetch decentralizing Twitter and concepts like Memo.cash removing third parties from social media forums. Lbry.tv is an alternative to Youtube, Amazon, and other hosting sites. It may be nascent project and may not even be the end solution, but its a start in the right direction. What do you think about Lbry and Lbry.tv? Let us know in the comments below. The post Amid Youtube Censorship, Individuals Flock to Decentralized Video Sharing Apps Like Lbry.tv appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article