roadrunner

After the supreme court verdict striking down the RBI ban, more people in India are interested in cryptocurrencies. News.Bitcoin.com interviewed Arjun Vijay, COO of crypto exchange Giottus, about the basics of cryptocurrencies in Tamil, focusing on the largest cryptocurrency — bitcoin. We discussed what bitcoin is, how it works, how to purchase bitcoin in India, the recent supreme court verdict, and whether cryptocurrencies are legal in India. Vijay has provided all the answers to the cryptocurrency questions in Tamil as well as English. Also read: Bitcoin Legal in India – Exchanges Resume INR Banking Service After Supreme Court Verdict Allows Cryptocurrency What Is Bitcoin? Bitcoin.com: Can you explain what Bitcoin is and how it works? பிட்காயின் என்றால் என்ன, அது எவ்வாறு இயங்குகிறது என்பதை விளக்க முடியுமா? Giottus: It is very difficult to limit Bitcoin to a one-line definition. It cannot be compared to any single object/concept that we already know. Imagine someone has to explain the internet now. The formal definition would be “a global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities, consisting of interconnected networks using standardized communication protocols.” From the perspective of a general crowd, this definition would not serve any purpose for explaining the concept of the internet. But having said, when inquired everyone might have their explanation about the internet mostly based on the use cases of the internet. For someone, it might be a way to send emails or to bank with a mobile phone and for a few others, it might be a requirement for chatting on Whatsapp or watching movies on an OTT platform. So, though people may not have the actual knowhow of how the technology called internet works, many have developed an understanding from the use cases it serves. டாலர், ரூபா ய் போன்று வாங்கும், விற்கும், சேமிக்கும் செயல்களை, பிட்காயினை வைத்துச் செய்ய இயலும். இதற்கு என்று ஒரு மைய அதிகாரம் இல்லை. நம் அன்றாட வாழ்க்கையில் பயன்படுத்தும் பணம் போல உருவம் கிடையாது. அதற்கு மாறாக கணினி இணையத்தில் இயங்கும் ஒருவகை மென் பொருளாக உள்ளது. ஆனால் பிட்காயினை இந்த குறுகிய வரையறைக்குள் மட்டும் மட்டுப்படுத்துவது மிகவும் தவறான செயலாகும். நாம் ஏற்கனவே அறிந்த எந்த ஒரு பொருள் / கருத்தோடும் ஒப்பிட முடியாத தனித்துவமிக்க கோட்பாடு பிட்காயின். இப்போது யாராவது இணையத்தை விளக்க வேண்டும் என்றால் கற்பனை செய்து பாருங்கள். முறையான வரையறை “தரப்படுத்தப்பட்ட தகவல் தொடர்பு நெறிமுறைகளைப் பயன்படுத்தி ஒன்றோடொன்று இணைக்கப்பட்ட நெட்வொர்க்குகளைக் கொண்ட பல்வேறு வகையான தகவல் மற்றும் தகவல் தொடர்பு வசதிகளை வழங்கும் உலகளாவிய கணினி வலையமைப்பு” என்பது ஆகும். ஆனால் இந்த வரையறை பொதுமக்களுக்கு புரிவதில்லை. இணையத்தின் கருத்தை விளக்குவதற்கான எந்த நோக்கத்திற்கும் இந்த விளக்கம் பயன்படாது. ஆனால் பொதுமக்கள் ஒவ்வொருவருகம் இணையத்பற்றி சொந்த வரையறை உள்ளது. அது பெரும்பாலும் இணையத்தின் பயன்பாட்டு நிகழ்வுகளின் அடிப்படையில் இருக்கிறது. சிலருக்கு, இது மின்னஞ்சல்களை அனுப்புவதற்கான ஒரு வழியாகவும், வேறுசிலருக்கு செல்லிடப்பேசியில் வங்கி கணக்கை பயன்படுத்தவும் மற்றும் இன்னும் சிலருக்கு, இது வாட்ஸ்அப்பில் அரட்டையடிக்க அல்லது செயலியில் திரைப்படங்களைப் பார்ப்பதற்கான தளமாகவும் உள்ளது. எனவே, இணையம் எனப்படும் தொழில்நுட்பம் எவ்வாறு இயங்குகிறது என்பதற்கான உண்மையான அறிவை மக்கள் கொண்டிருக்கவில்லை என்றாலும், அதன் பயன்பாட்டினை வைத்து பலர் புரிந்துணர்வை உருவாக்கியுள்ளனர். Bitcoin “cannot be compared to any single object/concept that we already know. Imagine someone has to explain the internet now.” Giottus (continued): So rather than dwelling too much on the technicalities, here is a list of features and a few key use cases of Bitcoin adoption. Bitcoin is like the dollar because it is a unit of currency and unit of account. Example: Bitcoin is an accepted form of payment in multiple online platforms like Wikipedia, Expedia, Microsoft. Bitcoin is a protocol like HTTP / TCP and rules of the protocol are well defined. Bitcoin is a store of value like gold, whose supply is limited. There can be a total of 21,000,000 bitcoins only. Bitcoin is a payment network like a Visa/Mastercard powering transactions between two entities. Bitcoin is analogous to email. Bitcoin enables peer to peer transfer of monetary value without intermediaries like how email enables direct communication. Bitcoin is programmable money as you can use programming scripts to define and how the Bitcoins will be spent based on some conditions. எனவே தொழில்நுட்பங்களில் அதிகம் மூழ்காமல், பிட்காயினின் அம்சங்களையும் அதன் சில முக்கிய பயன்களை பட்டியலிடுவதன் மூலமாகவும் பிட்காயினை பற்றி நாம் அறிந்துகொள்வோம். பிட்காயின் டாலர் போன்றது. எடுத்துக்காட்டு: விக்கிபீடியா, எக்ஸ்பீடியா, மைக்ரோசாப்ட் போன்ற பல இணையதளங்களில் டாலருக்கு நிகராக பிட்காயின் ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளப் படுகிறது. பிட்காயின் என்பது எச்.டி.டி.பி / டி.சி.பி போன்ற ஒரு நெறிமுறை. எச்.டி.டி.பி / டி.சி.பி நெறிமுறை எவ்வாறு இணையத்தின் செயல்பாட்டினை வரைமுறை படுத்தி பயன்பாட்டிற்கு உகந்ததாக அளிக்கின்றதோ அது போன்றே பிட்காயின் பண பரிவர்த்தனை சுற்றியுள்ள அனைத்து செயல்முறைகளையும் நிர்வகிக்கும் ஒரு வகையான நெறிமுறை ஆகும். பிட்காயின் என்பது தங்கம் போன்ற மதிப்புமிக்க ஒரு பொருள் ஆகும். அதன் சுழற்சி குறைவாக இருப்பதால், அதிக தேவை அதிகரிக்க அதன் மதிப்பும் அதிகரிக்கிறது.மொத்தம் 21,000,000 பிட்காயின்கள் மட்டுமே பயன்பாட்டில் இருக்க முடியும். பிட்காயின் என்பது விசா / மாஸ்டர்கார்டு போன்று இரு நபர்களின் இடையே இரண்டு பரிவர்த்தனைகளை இயக்குவதற்கான கட்டண அமைப்பாகும். பிட்காயின் மின்னஞ்சலுக்கு ஒப்பானது. மின்னஞ்சல் எவ்வாறு நேரடி தகவல்தொடர்புக்கு உதவுகின்றதோ , அது போன்றே இடைத்தரகர்கள் இல்லாமல் பணத்தை அனுப்புவத்திற்கும் பெறுவதற்கும் பிட்காயின் உதவுகிறது. பிட்காயின் என்பது நிரல்படுத்தக்கூடிய பணமாகும், ஏனெனில் நீங்கள் வரையறுக்க நிரலாக்க ஸ்கிரிப்ட்களைப் பயன்படுத்தி சில நிபந்தனைகளின் அடிப்படையில் பிட்காயின்கள் எவ்வாறு செலவிடபட வேண்டும் என்பதை தானாக முடிவெடுக்கும் வகையில் வடிவமைக்கலாம். Bitcoin has many features and key use cases. How Bitcoin Works Bitcoin.com: How does Bitcoin work? பிட்காயின் எவ்வாறு இயங்குகிறது? Giottus: When Alice needs to transfer bitcoin to another person say, Bob, she puts the amount, a receiver address (Bob’s public address) and attests her signature. She also adds a small transaction fee which she herself can decide based on the priority of the transaction. All such transactions are verified if they follow the protocol rules, if the sender (Alice) has sufficient balance etc., and verified unconfirmed transactions are placed in mempool. Another entity called a miner takes a batch of transactions from the mempool, tries to solve a mathematical problem to create a valid block. He attaches the block he created to the existing chain. For solving the mathematical problem, the miner gets paid a reward (currently 12.5 bitcoins) and all the transaction fee for all the transactions in the batch. Because this reward is roughly worth 90 lakhs, miners across the world compete against each other by using hardware specifically designed to solve the mathematical problem first. The Bitcoin code is designed in such a way that, no matter how many miners are involved, no matter how much computing power is deployed, on average, the problem will take 10 minutes to get solved. The difficulty of the mathematical problem is designed accordingly. So new blocks are produced every 10 minutes on average with the confirmed transactions. If Alice’s transaction was included in the blockchain, Bob’s account is credited with the bitcoins. Currently, one centralised central party, acting as a trusted third party, verifies all the transactions in the [legacy] payment network. In Bitcoin, the trusted third party is replaced by distributed entities called nodes and miners. The best part is that Bitcoin is an open network. Anyone who wants to become part of the network can do so by providing computing resources to power the network. Every time they successfully find a block they get paid for their efforts. கார்த்திக் மற்றொரு நபருக்கு(முருகன்) பிட்காயினை அனுப்ப வேண்டி இருப்பதாக வைத்துக்கொள்வோம். அதற்கு அவர் அனுப்ப வேண்டிய தொகை, பெரும் நபரின் கணக்கு முகவரி (முருகனின் பொது முகவரி) மற்றும் தனது கையொப்பத்தை இட்டு, அந்த பரிவர்த்தனையை மற்றவர்களுக்கு ஒளிபரப்புகிறார். பரிவர்த்தனையின் முன்னுரிமையின் அடிப்படையில் அவரே தீர்மானிக்கக்கூடிய ஒரு சிறிய பரிவர்த்தனைக் கட்டணத்தையும் அவர் சேர்த்து அனுப்புகிறார். அத்தகைய பரிவர்த்தனைகள் அனைத்தும் நெறிமுறை விதிகளைப் பின்பற்றுகிறதா என்று சரிபார்க்கப்படுகின்றன. அதாவது, அனுப்புநருக்கு (கார்த்திக்) போதுமான இருப்பு இருக்கிறதா, பெறுநரின் முகவரி சரியான வடிவில் உள்ளதா என்பது சோதனை செய்யப்பட்டு, எல்லாம் சரியாக இருந்தால், அது மெம்பூலிருக்கு அனுப்பப்படுகிறது. சரியான ஆனால் உறுதிப்படுத்தப்படாத பரிவர்த்தனைகள் அனைத்தும் மெம்பூலில் வைக்கப்படுகின்றன. தங்கம் எவ்வாறு சுரங்க தொழிலாளிகளால்(மைனர்கள்) வெட்டி எடுக்க படுகிறதோ அது போன்றே பிட்காயின் அமைப்பிற்கும் மைனர்கள் தேவைப்படுகிறார்கள். மைனர்கள் தங்களது கணினியின் செயலாக்க சக்தியை கொண்டு, மெம்பூலில் இருந்து உறுதிப்படுத்தப்படாத பரிவர்த்தனைகளின் தொகுப்பை எடுத்து, சரியான தொகுதியை(Block) உருவாக்க கணித சிக்கலை தீர்க்க முயற்சிக்கின்றனர். முதலில் சிக்கலை தீர்க்கக்கூடிய சுரங்கத் தொழிலாளர், அவர் உருவாக்கிய தொகுதியை தற்போதுள்ள பிட்காயின் பிளாக்செயினுடன் இணைக்கிறார். இந்த தொகுதிகள் சங்கிலி போல ஒன்றன்பின் ஒன்றாக கோர்த்து காணப்படுவதால் இதனை தொகுதிச்சங்கிலி(Blockchain) என்று அழைக்கிறோம். கணித சிக்கலைத் தீர்ப்பதற்கு, சுரங்கத் தொழிலாளிக்கு வெகுமதியும் (தற்போது 12.5 பிட்காயின்கள்) தொகுதியில் உள்ள அனைத்து பரிவர்த்தனைகளுக்கான பரிவர்த்தனைக் கட்டணமும் பரிசாக வழங்கப்படுகிறது. இந்த வெகுமதி தோராயமாக 90 லட்சம் மதிப்புள்ளதால், கணித சிக்கலை தீர்க்க குறிப்பாக வடிவமைக்கப்பட்ட வன்பொருளைப் பயன்படுத்தி உலகெங்கிலும் உள்ள சுரங்கத் தொழிலாளர்கள் ஒருவருக்கொருவர் போட்டியிடுகிறார்கள். பிட்காயின் குறியீடு எவ்வாறு வடிவமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது என்றால், எத்தனை சுரங்கத் தொழிலாளர்கள் ஈடுபட்டிருந்தாலும், எவ்வளவு கணினி சக்தி பயன்படுத்தப்பட்டாலும், சராசரியாக, பிரச்சினை தீர்க்க 10 நிமிடங்கள் ஆகுமாறு வடிவமைக்க பட்டுள்ளது. கணித சிக்கலின் சிரமம் பிணையத்திற்குக்(network) கிடைக்கும் கணினி சக்தியின் அடிப்படையில் வடிவமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. எனவே உறுதிப்படுத்தப்பட்ட பரிவர்த்தனைகளை உறுதிப்படுத்த சராசரியாக ஒவ்வொரு 10 நிமிடங்களுக்கும் புதிய தொகுதிகள் தயாரிக்கப்படுகின்றன. கார்த்திக்கின் பரிவர்த்தனை பிளாக்செயினில் சேர்க்கப்பட்டிருந்தால், முருகனின் கணக்கிற்கு பிட்காயின்கள வரவு வைக்கப்படும். தனக்கு வந்து சேர்ந்துள்ள பிட்காயினை தனக்கு தேவையானவாறு அவரால் உபயோகபடுத்தி கொள்ளமுடிகிறது. தற்போது ரூபா ய் மற்றும் டாலர்களின் பரிவர்த்தனைகளை, சில வங்கிகளிலும், விசா/மஸ்டெர்க்கார்ட் போன்ற பன்னாட்டு நிறுவனங்கள் நிர்வகிக்கின்றன. இந்நிறுவனங்கள் மனது வைத்தால்தான் உங்களது பரிவர்த்தனை உறுதியாகும். பிட்காயினில் இந்த பிரச்சனை இல்லை. இதற்க்கு எந்த முதலியோ கட்டுப்படுத்தும் மைய அதிகாரமோ இல்லை. பிட்காயின் ஒரு திறந்த பிணையமாகும். யார் வேண்டுமானாலும் இதில் பங்குபெறலாம். கணினி சக்தி உள்ள எவரும் ஒரு மைனர் ஆகலாம். ஒவ்வொரு முறையும் அவர்கள் வெற்றிகரமாக ஒரு தொகுதியைக் கண்டறிந்தால், அவர்கள் தங்கள் முயற்சிகளுக்கு பரிசு பெறுகிறார்கள். Benefits of Bitcoin Bitcoin.com: What are the benefits of Bitcoin? பிட்காயினின் நன்மைகள் என்ன? Giottus: Bitcoin was meant to eliminate the excessive reliance on financial institutions to facilitate monetary exchange. Bitcoin puts the user in control and allows secure immutable transactions through the use of blockchains. Bitcoin decentralises the financial system, currently controlled by large monopolies. The transaction fees are decided by the user and the system is safe from inflationary characteristics of fiat currencies by having a maximum cap for the supply. It has been the best performing asset of the decade. As a reserve currency, bitcoin can be neutral and fair to all participating countries, unlike the dollar which favours the U.S. It makes currency smart by allowing scripts. Payments can be made automatically on meeting certain conditions. It is trustless and hence you don’t need a trusted third party. This means there is no single point of failure. Pre-planned inflation rates guarantee stability unlike fiat currencies whose supply is dependent on central bank’s monetary policy. பிட்காயின் என்பது நாணய பரிமாற்றத்தை எளிதாக்குவதற்காகவும் நிதி நிறுவனங்களின் அதிகப்படியான நம்பகத்தன்மையை அகற்றுவதற்காகவும் உருவாக்கப்பட்டது. பிட்காயின் பணவீக்கத்தை கட்டுக்குள் வைத்திருக்கிறது மற்றும் பிளாக்செயின்களைப் பயன்படுத்துவதன் மூலம் பாதுகாப்பான, ஏமாற்ற முடியாத பரிவர்த்தனைகளை அனுமதிக்கிறது. பிட்காயின் நிதி அமைப்பை பரவலாக்குகிறது, தற்போது பெரிய ஏகபோக உரிமைகொண்ட நிறுவங்களால் கட்டுப்படுத்தப்படுகிறது. பரிவர்த்தனைக் கட்டணங்கள் பயனரால் தீர்மானிக்கப்படுகின்றன மற்றும் ஃபியட் நாணயங்களின் பணவீக்க குணாதிசயங்களிலிருந்து பயனரை பாதுகாக்கின்றத. இது கடந்த 10 வருடங்களில், அதிகமா லாபம் ஈட்டி கொடுத்த முதலீடாக இருந்துள்ளது. இருப்பு நாணயமாக, டாலரைப் போலல்லாமல், பங்கேற்கும் அனைத்து நாடுகளுக்கும் பிட்காயின் நடுநிலை மற்றும் நியாயமானதாக இருக்கும். டாலர் அமெரிக்காவிற்கு மட்டும் அதிக உரிமை அளிக்கிறது. இது ஸ்கிரிப்ட்களை அனுமதிப்பதன் மூலம் நாணயத்தை நிபந்தனைகள் பூர்த்தி ஆவத்திற்கேற்ப தன்னிச்சையாக செயல் பட வைக்க முடிகிறது. இது நம்பகமானது, எனவே உங்களுக்கு நம்பகமான இடைத்தரகர் தேவையில்லை. முன்கூட்டியே திட்டமிடப்பட்ட பணவீக்க விகிதங்கள், கணிதத்தால் நிர்வகிக்கப்படுகின்றன, இது ஃபியட் நாணயங்களைப் போலல்லாமல் ஸ்திரத்தன்மைக்கு உத்தரவாதம் அளிக்கிறது. Price of Bitcoin in INR Bitcoin.com: What’s the smallest unit of bitcoin and how much is it worth in INR? பிட்காயின் மிகச்சிறிய அலகு எது, அதன் விலை ரூபாயில் எவ்வளவு? Giottus: The smallest unit of bitcoin is a satoshi, similar to a paisa for INR. 100,000,000 satoshis make one bitcoin (just like 100 paisa make 1Rs). At the time of writing this article, the value of one satoshi was Rs.0.006898 and the value of 1 BTC was Rs.6,89,800. பிட்காயினின் மிகச்சிறிய அலகு சடோஷி ஆகும். 10,00,00,000 சடோஷிகள் ஒரு பிட்காயின் தயாரிக்கிறார்கள் (100 பைசா 1 ரூபாயை உருவாக்குவது போல). இந்த கட்டுரையை எழுதும் போது, ​​ஒரு சடோஷியின் மதிப்பு ரூபாய் 0.00679 ( 0.679 பைசா) ஆகவும், 1 பிட்காயினின் மதிப்பு ரூ6,79,000(ஆறு லட்சத்தி எழுவத்தி ஒன்பதாயிரம்) ஆகவும் இருந்தது. நீங்கள் முழு பிட்காயினை வாங்க வேண்டியது இல்லை. உங்கள் தேவைக்கேற்ப 1 ரூபாய்க்கு கூட வாங்கி வைத்து கொள்ளலாம். Bitcoin in INR chart on Giottus exchange. Bitcoin Chart in INR Bitcoin.com: Where can people find the price of bitcoin in INR, and where can they find a bitcoin to INR chart? ரூபாயில் பிட்காயினின் விலையை எங்கே கண்டுபிடிப்பது, ரூபாய்க்கு பிட்காயின் எங்கே கிடைக்கும்? Giottus: You can find the price of Bitcoin in INR by going to the following link: https://www.giottus.com/tradeview You can find INR prices of bitcoin and other coins like ethereum, ripple, USDT and many more coins listed in Giottus. பின்வரும் இணைப்புக்குச் செல்வதன் மூலம் பிட்காயினின் விலையை ரூபாயில்காணலாம்: https://www.giottus.com/tradeview பிட்காயின் மற்றும் எத்தேரியம், ரிப்பில், யு.எஸ்.டி.டி போன்ற ஜியோட்டஸில் பட்டியலிடப்பட்டுள்ள பல நாணயங்களின் சந்தை விலையை நீங்கள் காணலாம். How to Purchase Bitcoin in India? Bitcoin.com: On your exchange, can you explain how to buy BTC with INR? உங்கள் பரிமாற்றத்தில், ரூபாயை கொண்டு பிட்காயினை எவ்வாறு வாங்குவது என்பதை விளக்க முடியுமா? Giottus: In Giottus you can buy bitcoin in a simple 3 step process. In many cases the whole process is: Step 1: Register and complete KYC in Giottus. Step 2: Deposit INR. Step 3: Buy bitcoin. Step 1: Register and complete KYC in Giottus It is a simple registration process where you will be verifying your email address and phone number. For KYC verification, you will have to submit a scanned copy of your PAN card and Aadhar Card. These documents will be verified by our team usually within 15 minutes of submitting. You can start depositing and trading in Giottus post this verification. Step 2: Deposit INR You will have to deposit INR into your Giottus account if you wish to buy bitcoin. This is a fairly simple process and, in many cases, is processed within 10 minutes of transferring and submitting your deposit request. Step 3: Buy bitcoin. Customers can use the amount in their INR balance now to purchase bitcoin from the spot exchange. Buying is an instant process. You can purchase your bitcoin within seconds of placing your order. ஜியோட்டஸில் நீங்கள் ஒரு எளிய 3 படி செயல்பாட்டில் பிட்காயின் வாங்கலாம். 1: ஜியோட்டஸில் பதிவு செய்து முடிக்க வேண்டும். 2: ரூபாயை நாங்கள் giottus இணையதளத்தில் காண்பிக்கும் கணக்கில் டெபாசிட் செய்ய வேண்டும். 3: பிட்காயின் வாங்கவும். படி 1: Giottus.com’இல் பதிவு(KYC) செய்து முடிப்பது மிகவும் எளிதானது. முதலில் நீங்கள் உங்கள் மின்னஞ்சல் முகவரி மற்றும் தொலைபேசி எண்ணை பூர்த்தி செய்ய வேண்டும். பிறகு உங்கள் பான் அட்டை மற்றும் ஆதார் அட்டையின் ஸ்கேன் செய்யப்பட்ட நகலை நீங்கள் சமர்ப்பிக்க வேண்டும். சமர்ப்பித்த 15 நிமிடங்களுக்குள் இந்த ஆவணங்கள் எங்கள் குழுவால் சரிபார்க்கப்படும். இந்த சரிபார்ப்பு முடிந்ததும் ஜியோட்டஸில் டெபாசிட் மற்றும் வர்த்தகத்தைத் தொடங்கலாம். படி 2: ரூபாய் வைப்புச் செய்யவும் (டெபாசிட்) நீங்கள் பிட்காயின் வாங்க விரும்பினால் உங்கள் ஜியோட்டஸ் கணக்கில் ரூபாயை வைப்பு(டெபாசிட்) செய்ய வேண்டும். நாங்கள் காண்பிக்கும் கணக்கில் பணத்தை அனுப்பி அதற்கான ஆதாரத்தை பதிவேற்றம் செய்யவேண்டும். இது மிகவும் எளிமையான செயல்முறையாகும். மேலும் பல சந்தர்ப்பங்களில் உங்கள் வைப்பு கோரிக்கையை சமர்ப்பித்த 10 நிமிடங்களுக்குள் உங்களது கண்ணகில் இந்த பணத்தை பார்க்கலாம். படி 3: பிட்காயின் வாங்கவும். ஸ்பாட் எக்ஸ்சேஞ்சிலிருந்து பிட்காயின் வாங்க வாடிக்கையாளர்கள் தாங்கள் வைப்புச்செய்த ரூபாயை பயன்படுத்தலாம். உங்கள் ஆர்டரை பதிவு செய்த அடுத்த சில நொடிகளில் உங்களது கணக்கில் பிட்காயினை நீங்கள் பார்க்கலாம். இந்த பிட்காயினை நீங்கள் விருப்பம் போல எப்பொழுது வேண்டுமானாலும் வெளியே எடுத்து செல்லவோ, விற்கவோ முடியும். மேலும் விவரங்களுக்கு 7358770499 என்ற எண்ணில் வாட்ஸாப் மூலமாகவும், info@giottus.com என்ற முகவரிக்கு மின்னஞ்சல் மூலமாகவும் நீங்கள் எங்களை தொடர்பு கொள்ளலாம். Bitcoin.com: Also, how to sell BTC and get INR into an Indian bank account? மேலும், பிட்காயினை விற்று இந்திய வங்கிக் கணக்கில் ரூபாயை பெறுவது எப்படி? Giottus: A customer deposits his bitcoin, then sells the bitcoin in Spot Exchange and converts his bitcoin to INR. The customer initiates the withdrawal by entering the amount. The withdrawn amount is processed in under 15 minutes and reflects in the customer bank account. வாடிக்கையாளர் தனது பிட்காயினை முதலில் தனது ஜியோட்டஸ் கணக்கில் டெபாசிட் செய்ய வேண்டும். பின்னர் பிட்காயினை நேரடி சந்தையில் (Spot Exchange) விற்று தனது பிட்காயினை ரூபாயாக மாற்றி கொள்ள வேண்டும். பிறகு வாடிக்கையாளர் தொகையை தனது வங்கிகணக்கில் செலுத்துமாறு கோரிக்கை வைக்கவேண்டும். இந்த தொகையை அடுத்த 15 நிமிடங்களுக்குள் வாடிக்கையாளரின் வங்கி கணக்கில் ஜியோட்டஸ் செலுத்துகிறது. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are legal in India. Both the Indian government and the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), have confirmed that they are not illegal. Are Cryptocurrencies Legal in India? Bitcoin.com: Is bitcoin legal in India? இந்தியாவில் பிட்காயின் சட்டபூர்வமானதா? Giottus: Yes. Bitcoin is legal in India. The Minister of State for Finance has stated on record in the upper house of the parliament that no ban exists on Bitcoin and that Bitcoin is legal. RBI has reiterated the same in the supreme court recently. And the Supreme court on 4th of March, 2020, quashed the earlier RBI circular that had put restrictions on the crypto-entities availing banking services. As of now, there are no restrictions whatsoever for buying/selling or holding Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. ஆம். இந்தியாவில் பிட்காயின் சட்டபூர்வமானது. பிட்காயினுக்கு எந்த தடையும் இல்லை என்றும், பிட்காயின் சட்டபூர்வமானது என்றும் மத்திய அமைச்சர் நாடாளுமன்றத்தின் மேலவையில் பதிவு செய்துள்ளார். அண்மையில் ரிசர்வ் வங்கியும் சமீபத்தில் உச்ச நீதிமன்றத்தில் இதே கருத்தை மீண்டும் வலியுறுத்தியது. மேலும் 2020 மார்ச் 4ஆம் தேதி உச்சநீதிமன்றம் முந்தைய ரிசர்வ் வங்கியின் சுற்றறிக்கையை ரத்து செய்தது, இந்த சுற்றறிக்கையானது வங்கி சேவைகளைப் பெறும் கிரிப்டோ நிறுவனங்களுக்கு கட்டுப்பாடுகளை விதித்திருந்தது. தற்போதைய நிலவரப்படி, பிட்காயின்கள் மற்றும் பிற கிரிப்டோகரன்ஸிகளை வாங்க / விற்க அல்லது வைத்திருப்பதற்கு எந்தவிதமான கட்டுப்பாடுகளும் இல்லை. Number of Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin.com: How many cryptocurrencies are there? எத்தனை கிரிப்டோகரன்சிகள் உள்ளன? Giottus: Since anyone can create a cryptocurrency, the total number of cryptocurrencies is ever increasing. We cannot put an exact number to count all the cryptocurrencies in existence. Bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, ripple, bitcoin cash, USDT are some of the most famous cryptocurrencies. யார் வேண்டுமானாலும் ஒரு புது கிரிப்டோகரன்சியினை உருவாக்கமுடியும். அதனால் எண்ணி அடங்கா கிரிப்டோகரன்சிகள் உள்ளன. இவற்றுள் மிகவும் பிரபலமான கிரிப்டோகரன்சிகள் பிட்காயின், எத்தேரியம், ரிப்பில், யு.எஸ்.டி.டி, லைட்காயின், பிட்காயின் கேஷ் ஆகும். About Giottus A cryptocurrency exchange located in Tamil Nadu, India, Giottus was founded by Vijay and CEO Vikram Subburaj. Both are IIM Calcutta alumni. Subburaj is a former category manager at Amazon and Vijay is a former sales manager at Vodafone. The platform offers a spot exchange and a peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange, with 0% INR deposits and withdrawals. The company says that INR withdrawals are processed in 10 minutes, or else the user gets 10 free XRP, adding that KYC is processed within 5 minutes. Regarding the supreme court verdict quashing the RBI circular which bans banks from providing services to crypto businesses, Subburaj commented: Big win for the crypto community in India. Landmark judgement for the crypto-enthusiasts. This will bring back lot of enthusiasm among customers and help India become a forerunner in cryptocurrency space. Did you also know there is a newer version of Bitcoin called Bitcoin Cash (BCH)? Stay tuned to read an in-depth history explanation on how Bitcoin Cash came about coming soon to this screen. How do you think the future of these new cryptocurrencies will unfold? Let us know in the comment section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Giottus. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post Tamil Guide: Cryptocurrency Meaning and How to Buy Bitcoin in India — Interview With Giottus appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

If there’s a place where cryptocurrencies draw significantly more attention than anywhere else right now, it has to be Nigeria. Africa’s largest economy is driven by its oil exports, expanding manufacturing, financial services, communications and information technology sectors, but also by a tech-savvy generation that asks Google about Bitcoin more than its peers in other countries. Despite the progress, however, cash remains the only option for many Nigerians to buy cryptocurrency. New services are aiming to satisfy that demand. Also read: Wifi Sharing Platform Wicrypt Gets Government Grant in Nigeria Half of Nigeria’s Population Remains Financially Excluded Nigeria accounts for close to a quarter of all internet users in Africa. Over 123 million Nigerians have access to the web according to Internet World Stats latest data, and one would think that using an online platform to acquire cryptocurrencies isn’t an issue for them. Indeed, opportunities to buy bitcoin on the internet have been increasing, and so have the people that take advantage of them. The Nigeria Bitcoin Community portal lists a number of broker and trading platforms available in the country such as Quidax, Luno, Blockvila, Alphabits, and peer-to-peer exchanges like Remitano, Localbitcoins, Paxful, Coindirect, Buy Coins, and Coincola. Bitcoin.com Local is also available to Nigerians. Other options include Cryset, Redimit, Instantgold. Purchasing cryptocurrency online, however, often requires the buyer to pay electronically, using “traditional” methods such as a bank transfer or credit card and not all P2P platforms allow in-person cash trades. And here is the real issue — having access to the internet doesn’t mean you get to have a bank account too. Around half of Nigeria’s 200 million citizens remain unbanked, and together with the category of the underbanked they form a majority of almost two thirds. According to data released by the World Bank, only around 40% of Nigerian adults have an account with some financial institution or a mobile money provider. Around 100 million Nigerians do not have access to a bank account or financial services. At the same time, the 2018 Global Findex report showed that nearly one in 10 unbanked Nigerians get their wages in cash, including four million who have a mobile phone. Add to that 15 million unbanked Nigerian farmers that sell agricultural goods for cash, some 10 million of whom are mobile phone users, too. That’s a tremendous growth opportunity for cryptocurrencies that need a simple phone to “work,” and not even internet is absolutely necessary thanks to SMS wallets like Cointext, for example. Millions of financially excluded Nigerians would potentially benefit from the financial freedom that comes with decentralized digital money, if they could only get crypto. Cash is ubiquitous in this part of the world and it is the universal payment method the poor and the underprivileged have access to. New opportunities to buy bitcoin with paper money have been emerging in Nigeria in response to interest and demand. Buying Bitcoin With Vouchers Paid With Cash Yellow Card is a platform that has the tech and internet savvy Nigerians covered, offering them purchase of cryptocurrencies online using a bank transfer or ATM card to load their accounts with naira and then pay for the digital coins they want. It currently supports bitcoin core and dash and will be adding bitcoin cash (BCH) and tether (USDT) in the near future, a company representative confirmed. However, people that have only cash in their pockets are also welcome to acquire crypto from a Yellow Card shop or any of the platform’s agents. To do that, they need to buy a Yellow Card voucher from a merchant which comes with a 16-digit code and redeem it in the mobile app. Yellow Card allows Nigerians to purchase cryptocurrency with vouchers they can buy with cash in stores. Munachi Ogueke, CBO at Yellow Card Financial, told news.Bitcoin.com that although the major demand still comes from traders with bank accounts who generally move bigger volumes, the cash option is doing well too. Yellow Card is currently working with agents in and around Lagos, the country’s commercial and financial hub, and the federal capital Abuja, but it has some serious plans for expansion in the rest of the country aiming to add thousands of brick and mortar stores to its network. There are many different reasons for the increased demand for crypto in Nigeria, Ogueke commented, pointing to the country’s young population and high interest in technology among other factors. Noting that cryptocurrencies are also gradually becoming a popular remittance tool for Nigerians that live and work abroad, he stated: We are seeing explosive growth. Nigeria Gets a Bitcoin ATM and It Won’t Be the Last Other cash for crypto options are gaining ground too. Nigeria now has at least one operational Bitcoin ATM. For various reasons, including security concerns, there’s only a couple of dozen teller devices supporting cryptocurrencies in the whole of Africa, the Coinatmradar map shows. According to local media reports, Nigeria got its first BATM only this year. The device was deployed in Dazey Lounge & Bar in Lagos in early January by a local company called Blockstale. The ATM has been manufactured in China but has an “Africa-focused design,” which takes into account the safety problem in the country, featuring an alarm system, a remote tracker and bio scanners to make it theft and vandal-proof, as the Weetracker news outlet reported. Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos now has a Bitcoin ATM. More devices have been imported by Blockstale CEO Daniel Adekunle and will be deployed soon. Speaking to news.Bitcoin.com, Chief Executive Daniel Adekunle revealed that Blockstale is gearing up to install more cryptocurrency ATMs across Nigeria and in neighboring countries. The company has already delivered five more machines that will be deployed in Lagos by the end of the month and will then move on to Abuja towards the next quarter. These are two-way devices supporting both purchases and sales of BTC for the moment, but more currencies will be added later. Blockstale is also considering the introduction of a mobile top-up feature allowing users to reload their prepaid mobile phones using crypto. “Nigerians have trust issues, meaning we prefer to have direct interactions because we believe that this is safe, secure and best practice to avoid loss of funds,” Adekunle commented, adding: We operate in a cash-based economy even though our banks want us to go cashless. These BATMs serve as an on-ramp for users looking into cashing out their digital assets or having quick access to purchase digital assets with cash securely. Being able to buy cryptocurrency with cash directly is undoubtedly a convenience for many Nigerians. But as the option is not widely available yet, there is another interesting alternative to vouchers and teller machines — gift cards. Hong Kong-based digital asset trading platform Coincola offers an OTC marketplace for major cryptocurrencies including BTC and BCH. In 2019, the exchange launched an active campaign to enter the Nigerian market and has been accepted very well, according to Nigeria Bitcoin Community. Besides facilitating peer-to-peer crypto purchases and sales with the national fiat currency, the naira, the exchange maintains a gift card trade section where Nigerians can buy bitcoin with just about any gift card you can imagine. Do you think these new cash-based services will bring more Nigerians into Bitcoin? Share your expectations in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Yellow Card, Blockstale. You can now purchase bitcoin without visiting a cryptocurrency exchange. Buy BTC and BCH directly from our trusted seller and, if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store it, you can download one from us here. The post Nigerians Can Now Buy Bitcoin With Cash From Stores and ATMs That Take Naira appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The world has been focused on the coronavirus outbreak that’s claimed 105,612 cases and 3,562 deaths to date. The pandemic has caused government leaders to react and central banks are breaking out tools from their arsenal of monetary easing schemes. The world’s central banks say the public health emergency and international concern over the global economy gives them reason to issue helicopter money, print fresh stimulus and cut interest rates significantly. Also read: 13 Crypto Debit Cards You Can Use Right Now Coronavirus Crisis Pushes Monetary Easing to New Heights The coronavirus pandemic has overshadowed everything. People also don’t realize that the global economy was already facing a recession prior to the outbreak. During the latter half of 2019, news.Bitcoin.com reported on the situation as 37 central banks participated in stimulus and easing practices. Major financial institutions like the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank (ECB), the Bank of Japan (BoJ), and People’s Bank of China (PBoC) started using their tools well before the outbreak. In Q4 2019, the Fed not only slashed rates three times, but pumped the balance sheet up significantly while giving private institutions billions via overnight repos. The 16th Chair of the Fed, Jerome Powell, told the press that the central bank’s current easing practices were not at all like the quantitative easing (QE) that took place after the 2008 economic crisis. “In no sense is this QE. This is nothing like it,” Powell stressed on October 8, 2019. Founder and CEO of Compound Capital Advisors, Charlie Bilello, tweeted about the irony of Powell’s statements on Thursday. “Fed balance sheet moves up to $4.24 trillion, highest level in 18 months, up $482 billion over the last 6 months,” Bilello said, sharing a chart depicting the Fed’s balance sheet. On March 4, news.Bitcoin.com reported on the Fed slashing the interest rate by 50 bps on Tuesday. Powell and the Federal Reserve’s board cited concerns about the coronavirus outbreak. The Fed hadn’t slashed rates by using an “emergency rate shift” since the 2008 Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and before that the 9/11 bombings prompted the Fed to cut rates. The day after the Fed slashed rates on March 3, 2020, the central bank also reduced capital rules requirement for large financial institutions. The Fed’s move made it so privileged banks can lower the number of reserves they keep on hand. Moreover, some Fed members want to remove the threshold entirely, so banks would not be required to keep a certain amount of assets held in reserve. The coronavirus has also spurred the Fed to start storing recirculated dollars repatriated from Asia in a separate location. Interestingly, the Wall Street Journal reports that the central bank “has no plans to set aside notes from areas [in the] U.S. affected by [the] virus.” Central Banks Pledge to Take ‘Targeted Action’ Toward the Coronavirus Outbreak On March 1, both the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) told the public the banks have pledged to “take targeted action” towards helping the global economy while it deals with the pandemic. The ECB and BoJ also cited concerns tied to dealing with the coronavirus outbreak and BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the banks would help “stabilize” the economy. Bloomberg reported that China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), has designated billions of funds to lend in order to combat the coronavirus’s effect on the mainland economy. BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has pledged to take action with other central banks like the European Central Bank and help bolster the economy during the coronavirus pandemic. The PBoC also said that it would offer these lending programs on a weekly basis if needed. On February 27, the government of Hong Kong revealed it would be airdropping around $9 billion worth of stimulus to the country’s 7 million residents. When the funds were officially approved, Paul Chan Mo-po, Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary, announced: I have decided to disburse HK $10,000 to Hong Kong permanent residents aged 18 or above, with a view to encouraging and boosting local consumption on the one hand, and relieving people’s financial burden on the other. “The ECB is closely monitoring [the coronavirus pandemic] developments and their implications for the economy, medium-term inflation and the transmission of our monetary policy. We stand ready to take appropriate and targeted measures, as necessary and commensurate with the underlying risks,” Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, said on March 2, 2020.Despite the efforts to relieve the economy, global stocks have shuddered and investors are not finding solace in the stimulus and rate cuts. Economists have serious doubts about the central bank’s recent attention toward addressing the virus. Northman Trader author Sven Henrich criticized the central banks’ recent easing practices as he believes the institutions are “the primary driver of wealth inequality.” After the world’s central banks pulled out more tools from their monetary policy belt, Henrich tweeted: “A world without central banks in control is a scary world indeed. People actually have to actively think about their investments.” Immediately after the Fed’s surprise interest rate cut on March 3, gold prices spiked to a high of $1,638 an ounce. The irony of the precious metals spike is that lots of gold hoarding derives from the central banks themselves and at the end of 2019, central bank gold hoarding touched a 50-year high. Unfortunately, there are no residents from Hong Kong or any other nation who have been offered any helicopter money in the form of hard assets like gold. Meanwhile, similarly to gold, cryptocurrency markets have fared much better than traditional stocks, but not nearly as well as the rise gold saw last week. What do you think about the tools central banks are busting out to combat the coronavirus outbreak and recession fears? Do you think the helicopter money, rate cuts, and stimulus is enough or do you think these monetary easing practices will make matters worse? Do you think digital currencies and crypto solutions can help people weather the storm? Let us know what you think about this topic in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Neither the company nor the author is 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 ideas, software, websites, concepts, content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Image credits: Shutterstock, Fair Use, Wiki Commons, Haruhiko Kuroda, Christine Lagarde, Twitter, Sven Henrich, Reuters, Google News, Charlie Bilello, and Pixabay. Are you looking for a secure way to buy Bitcoin online? Start by downloading your free Bitcoin wallet from us and then head over to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can easily buy BTC and BCH. The post Stimulus, QE, Rate Cuts: Coronavirus Fuels Central Banks’ Monetary Easing Policy appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

According to a recent study, bitcoin gold (BTG) market prices are being manipulated by a single whale who holds a significant portion of the bitcoin gold in circulation. The Bitcoin Gold network was recently hit with a 51% attack that caused two blockchain reorganizations. The team of BTG developers introduced a new soft fork concept called a “Cross-Chain Block Notarization Protocol” (CCBN) in order to thwart any 51% attacks going forward. Also read: Bitcoin Gold 51% Attacked – Network Loses $70,000 in Double Spends Bitcoin Gold Developers Propose Notarization Protocol to Stop Future 51% Attacks The forked cryptocurrency known as bitcoin gold (BTG) has been capturing the attention of the crypto community lately for a number of reasons. During the last week of January, the Bitcoin Gold blockchain was 51% attacked and malicious miners were able to double spend around $72,000 worth of BTG at the time. Just like the last time BTG was attacked and lost $18 million worth of BTG, many speculators blamed the hashrate rental service Nicehash for the problems. After the January 51% attack against BTG, software developer James Lovejoy noted that the miners who flipped the hashrate probably spent roughly $1,200 to rent hash from Nicehash and perform the attack. The second large assault on the Bitcoin Gold network has called into question the relevance of blockchains that are prone to 51% attacks. However, the BTG development team has an idea to help stop malicious miners from overtaking the network and it requires a second blockchain. After the January 2020 attack, BTG devs published a whitepaper called “CCBN: Cross-Chain Block Notarization Protocol.” CCBN is essentially a backup consensus method that leverages a ‘Notarychain.’ What this means is that CCBN makes it so BTG blocks are notarized to another public blockchain, making the blocks trivial to reverse. “Notarizations contain complete BTG block headers with the solution hashes (so they cannot be faked),” the website bitcoingold.org explains. BTG developers say that if a secret miner notarizes blocks, they become public and if the mining entity does not notarize, they will publish their “secret chain.” “Nodes [will] refuse it because of low weight, preventing the attack,” the programmers highlight. “Either the first spend is refused by [an] exchange, or the second spend is refused by the chain,” BTG devs stress. “Either way, a double-spend fails.” The website bitcoingold.org explains the concept of the CCBN and how it’s applied to the Bitcoin Gold network. Bitcoin Gold has been attacked twice during the last two years and the first 51% caused exchanges like Bittrex to delist BTG. Research Claims Bitcoin Gold Price Manipulated by a Single Whale Bitcoin gold prices and market activity have also been a trending conversation in crypto circles lately. BTG has been quite volatile and has seen a number of pump and dumps over the last six months. Just recently a blockchain analysis study shows that the price of BTG might be manipulated by a single whale or a few whales controlling a significant portion of the bitcoin gold in circulation. The author of the study noted that he’s been watching BTG since mid-August 2018 and he noticed that roughly “5,000 to 10,000 BTGs were being taken off the market, daily.” “From August 16, 2018, to July 22, 2019, an accumulation period of 11 months, someone – or multiple entities – entered a massive margin long for bitcoin gold,” the author wrote. There is 17,513,924 BTG in circulation at the time of publication, but the research underscores that it can be assumed that roughly 11 million BTG are either inactive or lost forever. This is due to the reflection of the number of BTC that hasn’t moved (10.7M+) in over a year but also certain individuals will refuse to claim a forked coin and those BTG will never see the light of day. 1. “The accumulation started around August 16th, 2018, and went until July 22nd, 2019; a total of 340 days.” 2. BTG/USD margin longs chart. 3. “In early January 2020, BTG/USD saw an increase of at least 150% from a $5 bottom to roughly $15 top (which didn’t last very long),” explains the researcher’s post. Figures and charts created by onlyforesight.com. Because of these statistics, the researcher estimates there’s probably 7 million BTG on the market although the true number could be much lower (4-5 million). “With the prior figure, one entity owns a minimum of 38% and a maximum of 48% of the supply, on one exchange,” the author detailed. “Assuming he is the only one in on this accumulation, that’s half the supply belonging to one entity. It is not possible to extrapolate much information just from public longs data. This is where we must use the best feature of blockchain: public on-chain information.” The analyst also mentioned that just before BTG was falling below the $5 per coin region in January 2020, the price saw an extremely quick pump “that didn’t last long,” gathering 150% to $15. “Since the ‘whale’ largely controls where the price goes due to owning such a big piece of the supply, the coin can be wash traded up to any price he wants to exit at,” the study suggested. The top five bitcoin gold addresses according to the BTG rich list recorded by bitinfocharts.com. The BTG rich list shows that five addresses control 16.8% of the 17.5 million bitcoin gold circulating supply. The researcher’s study estimates the real amount of BTG in circulation is actually only around 4-7 million. The researcher concluded by disclosing the target price the BTG whale wants to obtain which is about $22.86 per coin. The study assumes the price of BTG will “multiply in value from the current value of ~$12 (as of this post)” and attempt to reach the projected $22 price. “What happens after the publishing of this article will be a good example of how big market participants are able to single-handedly move markets and smaller traders are able to follow using publicly available data,” the author conceded. “This is analogous to a school of small fish following the whale to avoid getting eaten by the shark — Be the small fish.” Bitcoin Gold’s Network Halving Approaches At the time of publication, BTG is swapping for $11.62 per coin and markets are down 2.7% during the last 24 hours. Over the last 90 days, BTG is up over 93% but during the course of the last 12 months, BTG has lost 6.5%. Today the Bitcoin Gold network hashrate is 3MH/s and nearly 42% of that hash stems from the Nicehash service. The hourly cost to attack BTG is only $897 and a whole day attack would cost $21,524. Just like BTC, BCH, and BSV, the BTG network will see a halving and block rewards will be cut for BTG miners. Similarly to BCH and BSV, the Bitcoin Gold network’s halving is a few weeks ahead of the BTC halving but will be after BCH and BSV’s block subsidy cut. Additionally, the BTG rich list shows that five addresses control 16.8% of the 17.5 million circulating supply. As the aforementioned study notes, those five addresses hold a whole lot more percentage-wise considering lost coins, stolen coins, and unredeemed BTG. The Bitcoin Gold network halves every 210,000 blocks just like BTC and the BTG halving is estimated to take place on or around Saturday, April 18, 2020, at block height 630,000. Just like BTC, BCH, and BSV, the Bitcoin Gold network will see block rewards cut from 12.5 to 6.25 coins after the halving. What do you think about the Bitcoin Gold network’s CCBN or “Notarychain” concept to thwart 51% attacks? What do you think about the theory of a few whales controlling most of the bitcoin gold supply? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article. Price reports and market updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered as trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Cryptocurrency prices for bitcoin gold (BTG) referenced in this article were recorded on Friday, March 6, 2020, at 12:30 p.m. ET. Image credits: Shutterstock, Jamie Redman, Fair Use, bitcoingold.org, CCBN white paper, bitinfocharts.com, onlyforesight.com, Wiki Commons, and Pixabay. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. You can also enjoy the easiest way to buy Bitcoin online with us. Download your free Bitcoin wallet and head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can buy BCH and BTC securely. The post Bitcoin Gold Whale Allegedly Controls Half the BTG Supply appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Bitcoin Cash community is showing its support for greater privacy by putting its money where its mouth is and donating to Cashfusion. The recently launched fundraiser has already raised more than 100 BCH and achieved over 70% of its goal. Once the total hits $50,000, Bitcoin.com will double it to $100,000. Also Read: Raising $100K for Cashfusion’s Security Audit, Bitcoin.com Matches Donations to Improve BCH Privacy Over 100 BCH in Donations to Help Cashfusion Bring Greater Privacy to Users Cashfusion is an extension of the Cashshuffle coin mixing protocol for bitcoin cash and improves upon it by allowing people to fuse coins without requiring equal payment amounts. The privacy-enhancing technology is almost set to launch, but before that it will need to undergo an intensive security audit to ensure it is ready. This complicated procedure will cost $50,000 and the bitcoin cash community has stepped up to help finance it. Users have already made more than 350 donations to the Cashfusion Security Audit Fund, raising over 100 BCH. At current prices this brings the total to more than 70% of the needed capital and the fundraiser is well on its way to reach its goal soon. Moreover, Bitcoin.com has announced that it will match the $50,000 in donations to help the team behind Cashfusion with ongoing development. Cashfusion fundraiser wallet address on Bitcoin.com block explorer “Cashshuffle is a powerful tool for obfuscating the origin of a coin. However, after shuffling a wallet, a user will inevitably wish to consolidate several coins, and for this another tool is needed,” explained developers Jonald Fyookball and Mark B. Lundeberg. “Cashfusion provides high levels of privacy via a flexible scheme that allows an arbitrary number of inputs and outputs of non-standard amounts. It provides anonymous, trustless coordination with usually zero-knowledge of linkages revealed to other players or the server.” This is your chance to take a stand and show that privacy matters. Donate here. Why Privacy Matters The right to privacy is widely recognized by many different legal traditions and schools of thought all around the world. The ability to keep your personal business to yourself is also crucial for the functioning of a free society and an open economy. Unfortunately, today this basic human concept and value is under attack like it has never been before. New technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence allow corporations and governments to track us in various ways and erode our privacy. Our thoughts, our desires, our friendships, our communications, our physical locations and everything else that tech companies can get their hands on are being sold to unknown parties without our informed consent. In the cryptosphere this is done by blockchain analysis companies that seek to link every wallet to the person behind it. This is usually performed in the name of security, under the guise of AML/KYC, but it can greatly hurt the whole digital asset ecosystem by turning off many people concerned about their privacy. Even if you have never done anything out of the ordinary, would you want to use a system that tracks all your transactions and keeps a log forever visible to governments and corporations? This is a real risk in an ever-changing world. Additionally, money needs to be fungible for people to use it. The same is true for crypto. What do you think about the bitcoin cash community donating to the Cashfusion fundraiser? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH and other coins, on our market charts at Bitcoin.com Markets, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post Bitcoin Cash Community Supports Greater Privacy by Donating Over 100 BCH to Cashfusion Fundraiser appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Product announcements in the mobile and internet communications sector have indicated that cryptocurrency-related features are going to become more common. A 5G router with a Bitcoin node that provides secure connectivity, a new blockchain phone you can customize, and a flagship’s hardware wallet from a smartphone giant now available in more markets are the latest steps in that direction. Also read: HTC Adds Native Bitcoin Cash Support to Its Flagship Smartphone HTC Announces ‘World’s Most Private’ Router HTC, the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer that’s fighting for its place in а space dominated by big tech companies such as Samsung and Apple, has placed its bet on integrating alternative technologies in its devices. After much anticipation and delays, it started shipping its blockchain smartphone last January, loaded with features targeting cryptocurrency enthusiasts around the world. HTC Exodus 1 and later the more affordable Exodus 1s devices have a built-in hardware wallet that stores major coins and tokens. HTC is now expanding the Exodus lineup with a new product designed with the needs of the crypto community in mind. This week, the company unveiled its Exodus 5G Hub as “the world’s most private router.” According to the announcement, the router will provide users with ultra-secure 5G connectivity for any of their internet-enabled devices. Besides, the Exodus 5G offers “a complete power shift from the status quo” in a key way. HTC promises to protect smartphone owners from the collection of personal data through smart devices like Amazon Alexa, Google Nest, Facebook Portal, and others, stating: You are now verifying the cloud servers, rather than them verifying you. Like the Exodus smartphones, the new router has the Zion privacy suit integrated. It lets you run a full Bitcoin node and allows you to store and send BTC, ETH, BNB, LTC, XLM, ERC20 tokens including BAT, and ERC721 collectibles with the Zion Vault. HTC introduced support for BCH by preinstalling the Bitcoin.com wallet on its phones. Other privacy-oriented apps that will be added to all Exodus devices include Proton Mail, a secure email service developed by CERN and MIT scientists, the Brave browser which allows publishers to earn fair revenues with privacy-respecting ads, and Incognito, a decentralized VPN and ad blocker that protects you even from your internet service provider. HTC’s Decentralized Chief Officer Phil Chen commented: Exodus is the shield against the onslaught of big tech and its assault on the privacy of your home. By using the Exodus 5G Hub, you have more control and ownership of your data than ever before. HTC’s new router is equipped with a 5-inch display and 7,660 mAh battery. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 octa-core processor, with Snapdragon X50 5G modem. It has 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage which can be extended up to 512GB with a micro SD card. The operating system is Android 9.0 with HTC Sense. Another Blockchain Phone Coming Out From Pundi X Concerns about privacy have motivated Pundi X, a startup working to enable cryptocurrency payments across South East Asia where it runs a network of POS terminals, to come up with its own offering in the growing niche of blockchain-based smartphones. Pointing to data scandals with tech companies, its team highlights the need of solutions that work without a centralized service provider, “so that only you as the user have the access and permission to your data.” Blok on Blok (BOB) is Pundi X’s prototype of a blockchain phone designed to give control over how your data is used and even how your handset looks. The device is powered by the proprietary Function X (FX) blockchain protocol that should allow you to call, text and browse without a provider that can spy on your communications, and keep your data encrypted and secured. Each BOB functions like a node, the creators explain. The FX OS lets you switch between blockchain and traditional Android mode by swiping the home screen. BOB will be shipped as an assembly kit providing buyers with an opportunity to customize the look and feel of their smartphone. Owners are even encouraged to download the design rendering files, modify them to their taste and 3D-print parts for their BOBs, which originally come with retro-futuristic looks inspired by the sci-fi films and comics of the 80s and 90s. Pundi X plans to deliver the first devices to backers of the project on the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform by early Q2, 2020, although the company admits that the coronavirus epidemic may delay production in China. The future of any blockchain phone project will be determined by the product’s perceived utility and ultimately by the market. It may not be that obvious but major manufacturers are taking note and beginning to address demand from privacy-conscious users including the crypto community. Samsung, for example, which introduced a hardware wallet with its previous generation of flagship phones to a limited number of markets, the U.S. and a few others, decided to keep the feature in its latest Galaxy S20 series and offer it in seven more countries: Austria, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Norway, and Finland. Samsung Blockchain Keystore currently supports a few cryptocurrencies like bitcoin core, ethereum, klaytn, tron, and stellar, and the app’s Galaxy Store page promises that more coins will be added in the future. Would you use any of the products mentioned in the article? Do you agree that crypto and blockchain technologies can be utilized to significantly improve data security and privacy in communications? Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, HTC, Pundi X. Do you need a reliable bitcoin mobile wallet to send, receive, and store your coins? Download one for free from us and then head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can quickly buy bitcoin with a credit card. The post HTC Unveils Privacy Protecting 5G Router, Pundi X Finalizes Blockchain Phone Prototype appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is reportedly seeking to file a review petition challenging the supreme court verdict which lifted its banking ban on the crypto industry. The RBI is worried that the court’s decision “could pave the way for trading in virtual currencies and put the banking system at risk.” Also read: Indian Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Cryptocurrency — RBI Ban Lifted Unhappy With Supreme Court Verdict, RBI to File Review Petition India’s central bank is planning to file a review petition with the Supreme Court of India against the quashing of its circular aimed at curbing cryptocurrencies, the Economic Times reported Friday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The news outlet detailed: The central bank is concerned that the apex court’s decision on Wednesday could pave the way for trading in virtual currencies and put the banking system at risk. The RBI issued a circular in April 2018 banning banks from providing services to crypto businesses, including exchanges. The ban went into effect in July that year and banks proceeded to close the accounts of crypto exchanges. The ban was imposed after the RBI issued several warnings regarding the trading of cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, but crypto trading remained unaffected. The banking ban forced some crypto exchanges out of business, such as Zebpay, Coindelta, and Koinex. Zebpay recently relaunched in India. The RBI ban on cryptocurrencies was lifted by the Supreme Court of India on Wednesday. However, the central bank is still concerned about cryptocurrencies and is seeking a review of the court decision. Supreme Court Verdict Upholds Legality of Cryptocurrencies The Indian supreme court said that the right to create something that does not violate any existing rule is an unsaid fundamental law, the news outlet conveyed. “Hence, citizens have the right to create a new industry of cryptocurrencies and exchanges along with the fundamental right to trade … the central bank hadn’t demonstrated that trading in such currencies was damaging to the entities it regulated.” In its March 4 order which allowed a plea challenging the RBI’s 2018 circular, the supreme court reportedly noted: Trading in cryptocurrencies now will be allowed. Immediately after the supreme court verdict, crypto enthusiasts worldwide went wild on social media with victorious comments, and several crypto exchanges rushed to resume offering INR deposits and withdrawals through bank accounts. The Supreme Court of India quashes the RBI circular on Wednesday. “Trading in cryptocurrencies now will be allowed,” the court noted. Cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, have never been illegal in India, both the government and the central bank previously confirmed. “We welcome the supreme court’s decision to lift RBI’s ban on trading in cryptocurrency,” tweeted the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), a major trade association of Indian information technology and business process outsourcing industry. “We believe that banning tech is not the solution, a risk-based framework must be developed to regulate and monitor cryptocurrencies and tokens.” Both the RBI and the Indian government have previously confirmed that cryptocurrencies themselves are not banned in India. The RBI restriction only applies to regulated financial institutions. Sidharth Sogani, CEO of crypto research firm Crebaco Global Inc., was quoted as saying: In a way, the verdict upholds the legality of cryptocurrencies and decriminalises the investors who have already invested in various crypto assets like bitcoin, ether, and various others. Meanwhile, the Indian government still has not decided about the country’s crypto policy. The “Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2019” was submitted to the finance ministry in February last year. It was drafted by an interministerial committee (IMC), headed by former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg. The committee was tasked with studying all aspects of cryptocurrency and providing recommendations for the country’s crypto policy. The bill was supposed to be introduced in parliament in the winter session last year but it was not. Do you think the RBI will try to impose a new banking ban on the crypto industry? Let us know in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post RBI to Challenge Supreme Court Verdict on Cryptocurrency appeared first on Bitcoin News. 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There are a number of ways people can obtain cryptocurrencies and one of them is through airdrops, a type of distribution where creators send free coins to numerous crypto wallet addresses in order to drive adoption. Airdrops have been leveraged for years and token distributors believe that it’s a great way to disburse coins fairly and to raise awareness. New airdrops are announced nearly every month that allow people to obtain free digital tokens. Also read: $65M Investment Fuels Natural Gas Provider’s ‘Behind-the-Meter’ Bitcoin Mining Operation The Crypto Airdrop Defined In the world of cryptocurrency, “airdrop” defines a type of crypto distribution where free coins are sent to multiple digital wallets. Sometimes people have to engage in community building efforts like retweeting a project or completing a survey in order to gain the tokens. The idea is to distribute airdropped assets so people become aware of the tokens as they are dispersed far and wide. Some airdrops that have been released over the years have gone from zero to gathering real-world value when measured in other digital currencies like BTC, BCH, or ETH. Airdrops have been around for over six years and some coin creators have utilized the scheme to create ‘fair distribution.’ Other crypto spectators believe that airdrops are a good marketing ploy and a great way to leverage existing network effects. The First Airdrop and Leveraging Established Networks One of the oldest and most popular airdrops in history was auroracoin (AUR) which was meant to be a cryptocurrency designated for Iceland’s citizens. The term “airdrop” started floating around the crypto scene when the creators of auroracoin announced the issuance period that started March 25, 2014. Icelandic residents with a permanent resident ID could register on the website to receive 31.8 AUR which at the time was worth $385. Today each AUR is only worth $0.07 per coin and that initial airdrop dubbed the “cryptocurrency for Iceland” would only be worth $2.17. Auroracoin (AUR) is considered the first airdrop when it was launched in 2014. That year $385 worth of AUR was dispersed to registered Icelandic residents. Today the original airdrop amount would only be worth $2 and some change. After AUR, many other famous airdrops followed the distribution scheme, giving away cryptos for free. Furthermore, projects that launched and established themselves years prior have airdropped coins as well. Decred airdropped 258,000 DCR in 2016 and in 2017 Stellar (XLM) gave away 19% of their total token supply to people who owned BTC. A number of airdrop projects use the concept of attempting to leverage an existing and established network effect of users from other blockchains. Stellar (XLM) airdrop. Stellar has given away XLM (lumens) on a couple of occasions and people can still access the Stellar airdrop today. Creating Your Own Airdrop More recently, initial coin offering (ICO) projects and token application creators have leveraged airdrops in order to establish themselves within the cryptoconomy. Airdrops have been fueled by established projects with token standards operating on networks like Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash. Since the inception of the Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) token standard, airdrops have become part of the BCH community. Now people can randomly airdrop SLP tokens to numerous public BCH addresses any time they want. The SLP Dividend Calculator created by Bitcoin.com can serve as a platform to distribute airdropped SLP tokens to any valid token ID. Give it a try today and see how easy it is to airdrop Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) tokens to anyone in a permissionless fashion. For instance, individuals and organizations can leverage Bitcoin.com’s SLP Dividend Calculator to airdrop SLP tokens to a valid token ID. In order to use the platform, simply visit the tool’s webpage and enter the token ID of the SLP coin you wish to airdrop. After that, you will need to enter the receiver’s SLP token ID, the total number of SLP tokens to airdrop (dividend payment), and then build the transaction. After the transaction is built, a QR-based payment invoice will be made available to complete the airdrop. Searching for Airdrops If you are not into making your own tokens and distributing an airdrop yourself, you can always search the net for any upcoming airdrops. For example, the website airdrops.io is an online resource that discloses which airdrops are coming out next. The site shows the hottest airdrops, latest airdrops, exclusive airdrops, Telegram channels with airdrops, Twitter airdrops, and basically every coin giveaway under the sun. “Airdrops.io verifies and aggregates airdrops and bounties daily to bring you the most recent and profitable earning opportunities. Choose an airdrop and follow the instructions provided to claim free crypto tokens,” the website notes. A few airdrops advertised on the website include coin giveaways from Bitcoin Rhodium, Pointpay, Simbcoin, Escher, Daps, and Binance Jex. For each airdrop, the website explains the giveaway details and how to get involved. There’s a bunch of other airdrop-guide and review websites as well like airdropter.com, coinairdrops.com, and airdropalert.com. The Taxman Is Aware of Airdropped Tokens Usually, there are two ways airdrops are distributed by their creators, which is selecting recipients at random or letting people know on social media, forums, and websites like airdrops.io. In the crypto world, some users could care less about airdrops and think they are garbage with negligible value. However, other crypto enthusiasts comb the internet daily in search of these free coin giveaways with hopes of catching some free money. It is worth noting, though, that government tax agencies have taken notice of airdropped coins and you could get taxed for receiving them. Entities like the IRS have issued guidance in regard to airdropped cryptocurrencies. The U.S. tax agency’s airdrop guidance, however, is confusing and organizations including lawmakers want better clarification. As long as cryptocurrency exists, airdrops will likely continue and distributors will take advantage of the crypto community’s powerful network effects. What do you think about airdrops and the numerous amounts of cryptocurrency giveaways in the cryptoconomy? Do you search for airdrops or do you think they are a waste of time? Let us know what you think about this topic in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. None of the aforementioned airdrops or airdrop recommendation/review sites are endorsed by our website. The data is strictly for informational purposes and research, as all readers should use due diligence with any crypto project within this ecosystem. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article. Image credits: Shutterstock, airdropter.com, coinairdrops.com, airdropalert.com, airdrops.io, auroracoin (AUR), Blockchain.com, Stellar (XLM), Fair Use, Wiki Commons, and Pixabay. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post Cryptocurrency Airdrops and Giveaways: What They Are and What’s Next appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On Thursday, a natural gas-based power plant in Dresden, New York, Greenidge Generation LLC, revealed the energy provider has the capacity to mine around $50,000 worth of bitcoins (5.5 BTC) every day. The 65,000 square-foot natural gas utility plant was upgraded when the firm installed 7,000 bitcoin miners that leverage some of the cheapest natural gas prices in the U.S. Moreover, Greenidge hopes to increase the capacity from its current 14MW to 106MW in the future. Also read: Bitcoin Mining Helps Oil Companies Reduce Carbon Footprint Mining Crypto With Natural Gas: A New York-Based Energy Provider Pioneers a New Business Model A natural gas provider located in New York’s Finger Lakes region is leveraging its native energy source to mine bitcoins. Greenidge Generation has developed a “behind-the-meter cryptocurrency mining operation” which makes the operation ideal for mining digital currencies. The full-time Greenidge team standing in front of one of the turbines that generate electricity from steam. The 65,000 square-foot facility currently houses 7,000 bitcoin miners which capture around 14MW of power. The plant has room to increase the capacity to over 106MW and Greenidge says they are open to international investors for either hosting or equity partnerships. An exterior view of the four 40-feet containers at the Greenidge Generation power plant. There are seven mining containers with servers. This includes two Bitmain Antbox containers, four 40-ft. containers, and one 20-ft. container. In addition to the current capacity, Greenidge utilized industry partners and workers from surrounding New York counties in order to complete the mining operation in “less than four months.” The power plant is also partnered with Atlas Holdings, a private equity operation that is overseeing the power plant’s mining process. Atlas’s partnership with Greenidge represents a $65 million investment into the facility and it wasn’t just the installation of 7,000 machines; funds were spent on the power plant’s conversion costs and infrastructure changes as well. When the plant was a coal mine, Atlas used considerable efforts to convert the site into a natural gas and biomass facility and now the operation solely uses natural gas. A view from the top of one of the large cubes in operation at the Greenidge power plant in New York. The Finger Lakes region power plant changed from coal to natural gas in 2017 and Greenidge’s operations became an environmentally-sound energy source. Because of the transformation, the company is approved by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Greenidge was then able to produce cleaner energy while offering the community job opportunities as well. By Leveraging Crypto Mining, the Greenidge Bitcoin Mine Is a ‘One of a Kind’ Project Greenidge operators also understand that the Bitcoin network operates 24/7 with no downtime and the company is used to such commitments. “As power plant operators with a unique commitment to environmental stewardship, running assets reliably 24/7, 365 days per year is in our DNA,” Dale Irwin, CEO of Greenidge, explained during the announcement. “We are up and running successfully and bringing that very same discipline and commitment to our mining operations.” Irwin added: By partnering with cryptocurrency experts, we’ve created a truly ‘one of a kind’ project and we’re excited to continue to grow. An aerial view of three large cubes filled with bitcoin mining rigs. Irwin further said that the firm also looks forward to providing new jobs and generating tax revenue for local schools and government services in the area. The project itself is a testament to Greenidge and Atlas Holdings showing a firm “commitment to New York State and Yates County.” Kevin Zhang, director of Blockchain Strategies at Greenidge Generation, looks forward to seeing the behind-the-meter crypto operation trend continue. “A power plant generating electricity behind-the-meter to energize its very own mining operation allows investors to tap the profitability of not only cryptocurrency markets but also energy markets,” Zhang remarked. “What’s equally impressive has been the forethought, diligence, and collaboration towards developing an institutional-grade business that is regulatory-compliant and competitive for many years to come,” Zhang added. A side view of one of the largest cubes at the facility. The electricity Greenidge produces generates roughly 5.5 BTC per day or $50,000 at today’s exchange rates. Natural Gas and Bitcoin Mining – A Gold Rush in the Making During the last two years, natural gas, associated gas, and flare gas schemes have been hailed as a solution to better refine bitcoin mining and energy solutions in general. In July 2019, news.Bitcoin.com’s Lubomir Tassev reported on how bitcoin mining can help energy producers reduce their carbon footprint. There are a few businesses betting that gas schemes and excess natural gas will help fuel the digital currency revolution. A Canadian firm called Upstream Data is leveraging vented gas for crypto mining operations. Crusoe Energy Systems is developing its own gas flare technology scheme that mines cryptocurrency as well. EZ Blockchain developed a mobile flare mitigation system that can mine digital currencies but also be deployed anywhere. “Running assets reliably 24/7, 365 days per year is in our DNA,” Dale Irwin, CEO of Greenidge explained. Greenidge Generation’s behind-the-meter cryptocurrency mining operation will likely spur other natural gas firms to start mining. Businesses that have excess energy or the square footage to host a mine might see the extra opportunity and the profits accrued by other power plants that are already leveraging this idea. Natural gas firms can sometimes sell excess energy to other types of consumers, but at times they are forced to flare or vent it into the atmosphere if they produce too much. Power plants that deal with natural gas will quickly realize that they can use the excess energy produced on-site to mine bitcoins for profit instead. What do you think about Greenidge Generation’s behind-the-meter cryptocurrency mining operation? What do you think about natural gas providers mining cryptos or leveraging flare or vented gas to mine bitcoin instead of releasing it into the atmosphere? Let us know what you think about this topic in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article. Images credits: Greenidge Generation power plant. Did you know you can earn BTC and BCH through Bitcoin Mining? If you already own hardware, connect it to our powerful Bitcoin mining pool. If not, you can easily get started through one of our flexible Bitcoin cloud mining contracts. The post $65M Investment Fuels Natural Gas Provider’s ‘Behind-the-Meter’ Bitcoin Mining Operation appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Algorithms are at the heart of 21st century life, invisibly controlling many of the systems we use and take for granted on a daily basis. Pervasive algorithms determine the entertainment we consume (Netflix, Spotify), the information we read (Google), and the chatter we hear (Facebook, Twitter). It’s no different in crypto, where complex and ever-evolving algorithms silently govern core processes. Also read: How to Mix Your Bitcoins Using Coinjoin for Greater Privacy Algorithmically Controlled Coins Algorithmic stablecoin projects have come to the fore in recent years, although fiat-backed stablecoins such as Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), and True USD (TUSD) capture most of the volume. While the concept of dollar-pegged stablecoins is easy to grasp, algorithmic stablecoins are a little more complex. Essentially, they are cryptocurrencies which attain price stability by algorithmically expanding the coin’s circulating supply to reflect market behavior. Take Timvi (TMV), for example, an ERC20 token whose algorithm and collateralized algo-stablecoin targets a $1 price to mitigate volatility and breed investor confidence. The security token relies on ETH deposits by participants in the ecosystem, and proprietary financial instruments such as Tbox (an analogue of an interest-free collateral loan), Tbond and Leverage let users earn interest during both bull and bear markets. Timvi’s algorithm “is designed so that the creation of a new Tbox (a blockchain-based account which converts ETH to TMV) does not cause a decrease of the global collateral below the target value.” What if ETH’s price drops and impacts the collateral in Tbox, you might wonder. In this circumstance, the Tbox owner must recapitalize by depositing ETH or TMV. If they fail to do so, the Tbox is deemed toxic and other users can step in and do the honors, recapitalizing while earning an ETH commission of 1-6% of the pledged amount. Reserve is another much-hyped algorithmic stablecoin, backed by high-profile investors such as Coinbase, Peter Thiel and DCG. Messari dubbed Reserve one of their “top projects to watch in 2020.” Like Timvi, the stablecoin system employs algorithms to manipulate supply and maintain its price ($1), striking a neat balance between stability, decentralization and profitability. Reserve is staffed by a team of 20 including Google and OpenAI veterans, and is advised by Patomak Global Advisors, led by former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins. Algorithms can also be seen at work regulating ecosystems such as Makerdao, to control its dai issuance and collateralization, and to adjust the supply of Saga’s SGA token. Algorithmic Trading Strategies In the old days, traders congregated on the floor of exchanges, barking into phone receivers and making elaborate hand signals. With the advent of electronic markets, however, trades could be executed with algorithms rather than humans, taking much emotion and impulse out of the equation. Such algorithms enabled traders to trigger trades at the optimal price, accounting for factors such as trade size, time of day and market status. High-frequency trading (HFT) is as popular a strategy in the cryptosphere as it is on the stock market. A subset of algorithmic trading, this high-speed process sees traders utilize algorithmic programs to exploit modest price discrepancies in the markets. Oftentimes, HFT firms will go so far as to situate their trading servers in close proximity to exchanges’ matching engines to win an edge in speed and make off with handsome profits on arbitrage. This can even be facilitated by the exchange in question, at no extra charge; last year, Singapore platform Huobi began offering this arrangement – known as colocation – to high-frequency traders, who could expect to make trades 70 to 100 times faster than other users. Gemini and Erisx also offer colocation, hoping it will mean traders choose to do business with them rather than competitors. Of course, algorithmic trading encompasses a vast range of strategies – from time-weighted average price (TWAP), wherein crypto traders seek to buy or sell a fixed amount of an asset gradually over a period of time, to iceberg, where they buy/sell large orders of an asset without revealing the order’s true size to the rest of the market. It is difficult to imagine a modern financial market operating without algorithms. Transaction-Tracking Algorithms Crypto forensics firms such as Chainalysis utilize proprietary algorithms to monitor and flag suspicious or fraudulent transactions on exchanges, as well as to identify certain individuals operating in the cryptosphere on behalf of hawkish lawmakers and legislators. One software, Chainalysis KYT (Know Your Transaction), tracks transactions made on exchanges using digital assets such as bitcoin, litecoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash, and TUSD. Firms like Chainalysis are increasingly being tapped up to help crypto platforms achieve regulatory compliance, particularly pertaining to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) processes. They are also employed by government agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and Europol, all of whom are desperate to de-anonymize crypto users – often with little justification. It’s little wonder pro-privacy advocates are concerned about the long-term effects of such incursions. By all accounts Chainalysis’s algorithms are incredibly effective, which is why you might want to think about using a coin-mixing service to preserve your privacy. Privacy-Enhancing Algorithms Fittingly, privacy advocates are hitting back with algorithms of their own; Samourai is developing a tool called Solomon, a smart UTXO selection algorithm that takes the past history of UTXOs as well as user initiated tags into account when composing transactions. It will automatically choose the best UTXOs to combine for optimizing each transaction. As privacy proponent and bitcoiner Lauren MT explains: Solomon is based on the observation that the cat and mouse game between bitcoin wallets and chain analysis tools is highly asymmetric. CA tools have an almost perfect memory (the blockchain) while wallets are mostly amnesic when it comes to coin selection … the first goal of Solomon is to give a “memory” to the UTXOs controlled by the wallet. To the developers, this memory provides a more formal tool for reasoning about the benefits/limitations of a specific coin selection algorithm. To the users, it provides useful feedback about the wallet (for manual coin selection, etc) and for the wallet itself, it provides information that can be used by the coin selection algorithm. The future is algorithmically controlled. What other algorithms control key parts of the cryptosphere? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Did you know you can verify any unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with our Bitcoin Block Explorer tool? Simply complete a Bitcoin address search to view it on the blockchain. Plus, visit our Bitcoin Charts to see what’s happening in the industry. The post The Algorithms That Control the Cryptocurrency Market appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Indian cryptocurrency exchanges are bringing back banking support after the Supreme Court of India struck down the banking ban on the crypto industry. News.Bitcoin.com talked to several crypto exchange executives to find out the effects of the supreme court ruling and what their exchanges plan to offer users now that the banking ban has been removed. Also read: Indian Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Cryptocurrency — RBI Ban Lifted Supreme Court Verdict on Cryptocurrency After almost two years, the Indian crypto community finally won the battle against the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and crypto enthusiasts are celebrating worldwide. The Supreme Court of India passed judgment on Wednesday striking down the central bank’s April 2018 circular which bans regulated financial institutions from providing services to crypto businesses. The court held that the RBI circular is unconstitutional, as news.Bitcoin.com reported. Following the judgment, the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), a major trade association of Indian Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing industry, tweeted: We welcome the supreme court’s decision to lift RBI’s ban on trading in cryptocurrency. We believe that banning tech is not the solution, a risk-based framework must be developed to regulate and monitor cryptocurrencies and tokens. The Indian supreme court has ruled that the RBI circular which bans banks from providing services to crypto businesses is unconstitutional. The RBI banking ban on the crypto industry has now been lifted. Indian Parliament Member Dr. Subramanian Swamy has been keeping up with the crypto vs. RBI case. Referring to the supreme court (SC) verdict on cryptocurrency, he tweeted on March 4: “SC allows cryptocurrency trading, cancels RBI’s 2018 circular.” Responding to a question of whether cryptocurrency could lead to “any black money or corruption where babus and netas start using crypto instead of currency notes,” he wrote: If it is unstoppable then develop software to regulate it. Blanket ban is useless. Dr. Swamy said in December that “Cryptocurrency is inevitable.” The lawmaker chaired a conference at the UN India’s headquarters the same month which discussed issues surrounding cryptocurrency in the country. Both the government and the RBI have confirmed that cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, are legal in India. Parliament Member Dr. Subramanian Swamy said “Cryptocurrency is inevitable.” He believes that a blanket ban on cryptocurrency is useless. Crypto Exchange CEOs Share Their Thoughts After the news of the supreme court lifting the RBI ban broke, social media was flooded with victorious comments. Nischal Shetty, CEO of local crypto exchange Wazirx who has been spearheading the “#Indiawantscrypto” social medial campaign, views the ruling as a great victory. “#Indiawantscrypto is a success after 489 days. Overall a great sentiment for crypto globally and for Indian crypto ecosystem,” he told news.Bitcoin.com, elaborating: Today’s a historic day for the entire Indian crypto ecosystem. This positive judgement will open doors to massive crypto adoption in India. It proves that we can now innovate, and the entire country can participate in the blockchain revolution. He added: “With over 1 billion population, the Indian market is a sleeping giant. I’m confident that this judgment will have positive impact on the global crypto ecosystem. This will lead to more startups in crypto in India. Hundreds of startups will be created. VC investment will activate in the sector. More jobs.” Kunal Barchha cofounded crypto exchange Coinrecoil, the first company to challenge the RBI ban in court. However, they withdrew their writ petition in August last year due to financial burden. He told news.Bitcoin.com on Wednesday: “We do plan to launch the exchange but the legal battle has put us in stress — financially. We had a couple of investors before two years that backed off after the circular. We are aggressively getting in touch with them and new investors for fundraising.” Sathvik Vishwanath, CEO of crypto exchange Unocoin, said to news.Bitcoin.com: The 22 month long wait to get what the crypto industry was already eligible for is now over. This marks an important milestone both in India and globally and helps in bringing positive perspective towards the crypto trading activity which became unclear during the wait. Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Indian crypto exchange Giottus, shared with news.Bitcoin.com: Big win for the crypto community in India. Landmark judgment for the crypto-enthusiasts. This will bring back lot of enthusiasm among customers and help India become a forerunner in cryptocurrency space. Gaurav Dahake, CEO of crypto exchange Bitbns, commented: “We are quite excited about the ban lift, which is a much-awaited relief for us and the entire crypto community. It’s such a morale boost and will definitely help us bring back the high-volume traders who were concerned about the tips involved in our P2P transaction system, and have been unable to transact small amounts. We are happy that they finally have a resolution.” INR Banking Returns to Crypto Exchanges in India Following the supreme court order, cryptocurrency exchanges in India rushed to re-integrate banking solutions and bring back INR support through bank accounts. Unocoin’s Vishwanath said “We would spring back to business,” adding that his exchange launched a lending platform on Wednesday. Unocoin announced that INR deposits and withdrawals would resume at 11:30 a.m. (Indian Standard Time) on Thursday. Wazirx’s Shetty confirmed: “we’re working on the banking integration and plan to get it out soon. Indians will be able to directly deposit and withdraw INR into their Wazirx wallet very soon.” As for his popular peer-to-peer (P2P) platform, he noted, “We’ll continue P2P and gauge the interest of the users.” Wazirx then announced Thursday that INR deposits are now live on its exchange. Giottus’ Subburaj clarified: “We have already rolled out our solution for processing INR deposit and withdrawals instantly for customers. We are also in talks with array of banks to ensure back up and ease of transferring INR for customers. Proper regulations from the government of India should be coming soon.” For three days starting March 4, Giottus is offering 0% INR deposit and withdraw fees and 0% trading fees. The exchange claims to process INR withdrawals within 10 mins or the user gets 10 free XRP. “Big win for the crypto community, let us celebrate now,” the exchange declared. Meanwhile, U.K.-based banking platform Cashaa has been providing INR services to Indian users since October last year. The platform started offering fee-free deposits and withdrawals in the beginning of March. “In India, huge damage was done due to a lack of crypto awareness and RBI decision which is now reversed by the Supreme Court of India,” CEO Kumar Gaurav described. “But banking crypto companies will also bring similar risks which banks in other developed countries such as Japan, Europe and the USA are facing. Cashaa’s goal was always to create a hassle-free banking experience for the crypto community.” Do you think crypto will take off in India now that the supreme court has lifted the RBI ban? Let us know in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post Bitcoin Legal in India: Exchanges Resume INR Banking Service After Supreme Court Verdict Allows Cryptocurrency appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Darknet markets (DNMs) supply all manner of goods, some legal, others less so, but all purchasable with cryptocurrency and delivered to your door. Indeed, many people’s first exposure to bitcoin is when they have the need to purchase something off the darknet. For shopping of last resort, you need money of last resort – bitcoin, or possibly monero. Here’s how to safely make your first darknet purchase. Also read: Darknet Markets Flourish as White House and Empire Toast Milestone Achievements A Step-by-Step Guide to Buying on the Darknet This guide is intended for complete beginners. Whether you’re a student seeking study-enhancing nootropics, or a septuagenarian with limited internet skills but a need for pain relief, this article is for you. In this example, we’re going to run through the steps for purchasing CBD oil off the darknet, but the same procedure can be used to acquire any one of the several thousand items listed on popular DNMs. CBD oil is a popular pain relief remedy that can alleviate a range of afflictions. Although derived from the marijuana plant, CBD is not psychoactive and does not contain THC. Despite being legal in most countries, CBD oil can be hard to obtain in certain regions. The darknet can take care of this (and much more) by discretely delivering the legal compound to your door with no questions asked. If this is your first time making a darknet purchase, be aware that there are a lot of steps to follow. However, each of these is simple to grasp, and detailed instructions are provided throughout this guide. Once you are accustomed to using darknet markets, repeat purchases can be made in under two minutes, making the retail experience almost as seamless as Amazon. The difference is, on the darknet you get to keep your privacy while purchasing items that Amazon can’t supply. Step 1: Buying Bitcoin You need cryptocurrency to order goods on the darknet. Bitcoin (BTC) is the most widely used cryptocurrency, both on the darknet and elsewhere, but certain DNMs favor monero (XMR) instead. Monero is essentially a more private version of bitcoin that makes it harder for anyone to connect XMR transactions with your real world identity. If you’re only making a small and innocuous purchase, such as CBD oil, no one is likely to be interested in establishing your identity anyway. For the purposes of establishing the difference between the two cryptocurrencies, all you need to know is this: Bitcoin (BTC): More widely accepted, easier to buy. Monero (XMR): More private, can be easily swapped for bitcoin. Thus, regardless of which of the pair you intend to use, you should start by buying bitcoin. A quick and relatively private way of doing so is to use a peer-to-peer market such as Localcryptos.com. This enables you to buy bitcoin from private individuals, who will accept payment into their bank account, as well as alternative methods such as Paypal, Alipay, and Moneygram. A full explanation of how to make a bitcoin purchase on Localcryptos follows below. If you can’t access Localcryptos, or would like alternative options for privately buying bitcoin, see “How to Anonymously Buy Bitcoin Online and in Person.” Note that some of the platforms recommended in the article are for more experienced users, and may be confusing at first. If you’re a beginner, and would prefer an easier way to buy bitcoin, you could install the Bitcoin.com Wallet, available for Android or iOS. Follow the setup instructions, including making a copy of the 12-word wallet recovery phrase that’s shown on-screen. Click the green ‘Buy’ button in the top right of the screen, select ‘BTC Bitcoin Core’ and then the amount in fiat currency you wish to buy (e.g. $50). You will then be prompted to enter your email address, followed by the four-digit verification code you’re emailed, followed by your personal details such as address and credit card number. Once the purchase has been made, the BTC will show up in your Bitcoin.com Wallet. Purchasing bitcoin in this manner is less private than using a P2P exchange such as Localcryptos. However, neither the payment processor nor the developers of Bitcoin.com Wallet will have any knowledge of what you do with the BTC once you send it to a darknet market. In other words, purchasing bitcoin via a service that requires you to complete know your customer (KYC) identification does not preclude you from spending those coins on the darknet or elsewhere. Buying Bitcoin With Localcryptos If you already own bitcoin, or have obtained some using one of the methods described above, you can skip this section. Otherwise, here’s how to purchase your first BTC on Localcryptos.com. Localcryptos.com Click the ‘Log in’ button in the top right of the Localcryptos homepage, then scroll down and click ‘Don’t have an account? Let’s create one.’ Create an account with a username, password, and email and complete the captcha. Tick the box to confirm that you don’t reside in Australia and agree to the terms of service. From the dropdown menus at the top of the page, select ‘Buy,’ ‘Bitcoin-BTC’ and your desired payment method e.g. ‘Bank transfer.’ The list will populate to show sellers who meet your criteria. To the right of each listing, you will see the minimum and maximum amount each seller is willing to trade e.g. ‘$50 to $100.’ Below each seller’s name, you can see the number of trades they have completed. More trades corresponds with a higher reputation. Select a seller willing to sell an amount of BTC that corresponds with the $ value you require. Each bitcoin is divisible into 100,000,000 units, so you can purchase a fraction of a bitcoin that correlates with the precise value of your $ purchase. Click the ‘Buy BTC’ button to the right of the seller you wish to trade with. On the next screen, enter the amount you wish to buy in fiat currency (e.g. USD or GBP) into the first field, then below ‘Send a message’ enter your greeting and push the button marked ‘Open trade.’ You will see the words ‘Waiting for the seller’ and a yellow padlock icon while the seller places the BTC you’re about to buy into escrow. This is a special type of bitcoin wallet that prevents either party from accessing the funds while the transaction is taking place. After opening a trade on Localcryptos.com to buy bitcoin, wait for the seller to put the BTC into escrow before transferring the money. The seller will respond with their payment details, such as a bank account number and sort code. Send the funds to the seller’s account and then click the button that says ‘Mark as paid.’ When you see this message, your Localcryptos wallet should be loaded with BTC. The seller will check their account and, when they see the funds, release the bitcoin that’s locked in the escrow wallet. Click ‘Wallet’ at the top of the page and you’ll see the BTC in your Localcryptos wallet. Click on the wallet and you’ll be taken to a transaction page where you can send your BTC to a different wallet – in this case one pertaining to the darknet market where you will be shopping. Step 2: Accessing the Darknet Darknet sites have a domain that ends in ‘.onion’ and are not accessible using a regular web browser. To access the darknet, you have two options: Download the Tor browser. Download Brave browser and then click the hamburger icon in the top right and select ‘New Private window with Tor’ from the dropdown menu. With the Tor browser launched or a Tor private window opened in Brave, you’re now connected to the darknet and ready to browse. Step 3: Picking Your Darknet Market Just like ecommerce stores on the regular web, DNMs come and go and rise in fall in popularity. At the time of writing, Empire is the most popular darknet market, but is frequently offline for periods of time, making it hard to access. White House Market is another popular market, but requires you to use monero instead of bitcoin, and is thus not suitable for beginners. If you’re feeling confident, though, and would like to give White House a try, you can swap bitcoin for monero using a service like Flyp.me; enter the amount of BTC you wish to swap into the left tab, select ‘XMR’ for the right tab, enter a monero wallet address and you’ll be guided through the rest of the process. To find out which darknet markets are currently popular, and the .onion URL required to visit each one, see Darknetlive.com or dark.fail. Dark.fail lists numerous darknet sites, including forums; scroll down the page until you see the names of darknet markets and look for the green light beside the URL to denote that it’s currently online. Paste the URL of the darknet market into your Tor browser bar and hit enter. Some DNMs will load quickly, while others will load slowly or not at all. If the site hasn’t loaded after 30 seconds, refresh it or try an alternative site. When the darknet market loads, you’re usually greeted by a captcha of some kind to complete, and then prompted to sign in or create an account. As a first-time visitor, you’ll want to create an account, selecting a unique username and password that have no connection to your real world identity. Step 4: Funding Your Darknet Account Once you’ve created your account and logged in, look for a ‘Wallet’ or ‘Account’ button, usually situated in the top right menu. Then look for a button marked something like ‘Deposit BTC’ or ‘Generate bitcoin address.’ You’ll be presented with an address comprising a string of numbers and letters that looks something like this: 1BvBMSEYstWetqTFn5Au4m4GFg7xJaNVN2 Copy this text in its entirety and paste it into the ‘Send BTC to address’ tab in Localcryptos (or into your personal bitcoin wallet if that’s what you’re using) and select the amount of bitcoin you wish to send. Click ‘Max’ if you want to send the entire balance. If you’re using Localcryptos, press the yellow button marked ‘Transfer’ and then sit back and wait. Within 30-40 minutes, your coins will show up in the BTC wallet for your darknet account. The deposit page on Empire Market. Step 5: Browsing Your Darknet Market Most DNMs feature a search bar at the top of the main page where you can filter the product listings. This is White House Market’s for instance: You may wish to filter results to only show items dispatched from your own country, since these will arrive quickest and are less likely to be intercepted. Browse the search results, clicking on each listing to view the product in more detail. Pay attention to the price, the item description (including weight or quantity) and the vendor’s feedback rating. A sample listing on White House Market. After finding an item that meets your criteria and budget, click the button marked ‘Buy’ or similar. On the order page, you’ll be prompted to enter the delivery address and select postage type. It’s up to you whether you wish to use your own name or an alternate name if the package is being delivered to your home address. Darknet markets encourage buyers to encrypt their order information using PGP. Doing so scrambles the message, using a code that only the vendor can decipher. If you’d like to use PGP for added security, you can find a guide here. Failing that, some darknet markets have a button you can check to auto-encrypt the order using the vendor’s PGP key. This is better than sending a message in plaintext, so use this option if it is available. The order page on White House Market. Hit ‘Submit’ or similar button and your order will be sent to the vendor and the cost of the purchase deducted from your DNM bitcoin wallet. And that’s it: you’ve successfully made your first darknet order. When the item arrives in a few days, log back into your DNM account and mark the order as ‘Finalized’ or ‘Received.’ This will release the funds, which have been locked in escrow up until this point. You can also leave feedback for the vendor if you desire. Using bitcoin and accessing the darknet for the first time can be bewildering. With a little practice, though, it soon feels second nature and you’ll become comfortable at placing orders with relative ease. From there, it will be a rapid progression to discovering the many other things you can do with cryptocurrency. Do you think darknet markets are becoming easier to access? Let us know in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Did you know you can verify any unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with our Bitcoin Block Explorer tool? Simply complete a Bitcoin address search to view it on the blockchain. Plus, visit our Bitcoin Charts to see what’s happening in the industry. The post The Beginner’s Guide to Buying Goods on the Darknet appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

According to a report written by Coin Metrics analyst Jacob Franek, as of March 1, 2020, roughly 42% of all BTC has not moved onchain in more than two years. The metric is the largest number since June 2017 and the study notes that “HODL waves” have grown larger. Also Read: Get Ready for the Bitcoin Halving – Here Are 9 Countdown Clocks You Can Monitor 42% of All the Bitcoin in Existence Has Not Moved in Two Years On March 3, Coin Metrics published its “State of the Network” update which covers the BTC network by leveraging various perspectives and data sets. Within the report written by Jacob Franek, the researcher discusses unspent transaction output (UTXO) age analysis and HODL waves. News.Bitcoin.com first reported on the subject of HODL waves in April 2018, after Dhruv Bansal, the cofounder of Unchained Capital, published an in-depth report on the subject. Essentially, Bansal and his team described how they analyzed the BTC network’s UTXOs over the course of a few years and figured out how to measure distinct holding periods. A bitcoin UTXO represents the unspent funds stemming from bitcoin transactions and this data is recorded on the blockchain. When Coin Metrics analyst Franek discussed the subject in the latest update, he noted the earliest contribution to this field was when the term “Bitcoin days destroyed” was first defined. “In our opinion, this area of the literature remains one of the promising areas in which more foundational discoveries can be found,” Coin Metrics analyst Jacob Franek writes in the latest “State of the Network” update. “The unifying theory behind this approach to valuing cryptoassets is that different cohorts of holders may have differing motivations, risk tolerances, informational advantages, and sentiment depending on their holding time preferences.” Franek noted other contributions to the study of HODL waves in 2014 and the writer mentioned Bansal’s 2018 research as well. Unchained Capital’s post on the subject was “instrumental in introducing active supply to a broader audience,” Franek wrote. Two more studies were mentioned (Blummer 2018 and Hauge 2019) in Coin Metrics’ report, both of which research the behavior of bitcoin holders from different angles. When mentioning Franek’s study, fellow Coin Metrics researcher Nate Maddrey explained that 42% of all BTC hasn’t moved in two years. “As of March 1st, about 42% of all BTC has not been moved on-chain (i.e. transacted) for at least two years,” Maddrey tweeted. The analyst added: The amount of BTC untouched in more than two years has not eclipsed 42% since July, 2017. The HODL waves chart shows 42% of BTC has been left unspent for two years. “The greens and blues represent Bitcoin that hasn’t transacted in a long time,” explains the HODL Wave chart website. “Bitcoin’s money supply grew from 50 BTC to ~17M BTC over this time period, so the chart has been normalized by the BTC in existence at each date (left y-axis).” Unchained Capital has a live chart that shows all the bitcoins in existence and waves are defined by Bitcoin Age Days (BADs). Essentially, the colored coded chart calculates waves of age distribution within BTC’s identified UTXOs and their age distribution set back to the genesis block in 2009. “The colored bands show the relative fraction of Bitcoin in existence that was last transacted within the time window indicated in the legend,” the Unchained Capital HODL waves chart notes. “The bottom, warmer colors (reds, oranges) represent Bitcoin transacting very recently while the top, cooler colors (greens, blues) represent Bitcoin that hasn’t transacted in a long time.” A recent Reddit post from the subreddit r/btc, called “Iron Hands,” showing holders composition by time held indicates BCH is around 92%. The data stems from Coinmarketcap.com’s new chain analysis feature. The website shows the live numbers for BTC, ETH, and BCH. The ‘Iron Hands’ of Bitcoin Cash Holders and the Upcoming Reward Halvings BTC holders are not the only crypto proponents storing their coins for long periods of time. A recent post on the Reddit forum r/btc called “Iron Hands” compares three different cryptocurrencies (BTC, ETH, and BCH) using Coinmarketcap.com’s new chain analysis feature. According to the screenshot and Coinmarketcap.com statistics, the holders’ composition by time held shows that BCH is around 92%, while BTC is 63% and ETH is 54%. BTC halving clock countdown as of March 4, 2020, at 2 p.m. ET. “Interesting that a higher percentage of BCH users are using [bitcoin cash] as a store of value than BTC users,” Bitcoin.com’s executive chairman Roger Ver wrote in response to the thread. “BCH isn’t just a store of value, it’s a great medium of exchange. And like any currency, financially responsible folks will spend some and save some,” explained another BCH proponent on Reddit. Data from charts.Bitcoin.com shows the UTXO Set Size for the BCH network is 68 million, while statistics from the BTC network’s UTXO Set Size are around the same. BCH halving clock countdown as of March 4, 2020, at 2 p.m. ET. The great hodling of BTC and BCH has been taking place just before both networks experience the block subsidy halvings. The BTC chain has 9,819 blocks left to go (at the time of writing) and 68 days left until the halving on or around May 11, 2020. The BCH chain has 5,001 blocks left to go and 34 days left until the halving on or around April 8, 2020. What do you think about the recent study by Coin Metrics analyst Jacob Franek and the HODL waves research? What do you think about bitcoin cash holders composition by time held showing that BCH is being held for longer periods? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article. Price articles, halving updates and market reports are intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered as trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Image credits: Shutterstock, Unchained Capital, Coin Metrics, Reddit user u/TravisWash, bitcoincashblockhalf.com, bitcoinblockhalf.com, Fair Use, Coinmarketcap.com, Wiki Commons, and Pixabay. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. You can also enjoy the easiest way to buy Bitcoin online with us. Download your free Bitcoin wallet and head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can buy BCH and BTC securely. The post HODL Waves Chart Reveals Bitcoin Holders’ Firm Grip – 42% Hasn’t Moved in 2 Years appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Tips.Bitcoin.com allows users of crypto to tip BCH to friends and family via email address, arguably cutting out some of the inconvenience associated with standard bitcoin address formats. Unlike Coinbase Wallet’s new username option, which achieves similar ease for transactions, sending keys via email does not require a centralized database of usernames connected to crypto wallets. The tips method is a means for using bitcoin in this fashion, and there are hints the process will become even more streamlined in the future, enabling customizable QR code payments to be sent directly to email addresses. Also read: Cryptocurrency Payment Gateway Gocrypto Onboards 1,000 Locations Worldwide Human Readable Bitcoin Addresses On February 26 Coinbase Wallet announced that “Starting today, Coinbase Wallet users can send crypto using short human-friendly usernames instead of traditional long addresses.” The benefit to users being they can send crypto to other wallets without having to deal with clunky and awkward-to-read strings of numbers and characters. “Every Coinbase Wallet user has a username (like @walletfan). You can now easily send to other Wallet users with just their username instead of their full-length crypto address,” the announcement reads. While this method sounds very convenient, some issues are raised for those who value privacy. Standard crypto addresses can be difficult to read, and make users want to double and triple check to make sure they are correct before sending, which can be inconvenient and time-consuming. The group that says “We value your privacy” is nonetheless subject to powerful financial and regulatory groups, such as the United States IRS, and has turned over private customer information in the past. As such, crypto enthusiasts wishing to send peer-to-peer cash in a more direct fashion, while maintaining the convenience of human readability, could leverage email and a wallet that does not connect individuals to wallets. As lawyer and crypto business expert Daniel Kelman stated of the Bitcoin.com Wallet in a recent Youtube video: Even if the IRS sent a letter demanding that we send over who owns what wallet, we couldn’t tell them, ’cause we don’t know. Of course, an email provider may spy on or compromise user security as well, but the risk of an identifiable username associated with a proven data sharer like Coinbase could be mitigated. Especially if messages are encrypted. Like usernames, email addresses are easy to read, and making mistakes is much harder to do when sending to a friend’s email, instead of a scramble of characters. Sending Bitcoin Cash via Email With Tips.Bitcoin.com Printable bitcoin cash tips ready to be claimed. Recipients simply follow the link written on the card, enter their address, and push “send.” Alternatively, a link can be sent via email. There are hints a directly scannable QR code send system may be made available in the future. The recently rebranded tips.Bitcoin.com is one way to send crypto via paper tickets or emailed links, with some interesting special features. Senders follow the simple prompts on the page, entering their own BCH refund address and designating an expiration time after which the tip will expire. Once the tip or tips (multiple tips can be created at once) are paid for, links appear which can be copied, pasted, and sent to recipients via email. Once clicked, the links allow recipients to enter their own BCH address and receive the funds. If left unclaimed, rewards return non-custodially and automatically to the sender’s wallet after the designated cutoff time. tips.Bitcoin.com Some may wonder how this is preferable to other methods, as refund addresses and receiver addresses still need to be entered. That may seem like a lot of steps compared to username systems for sending crypto like that of Coinbase Wallet, but aside from the privacy benefits, there is talk of more streamlined versions coming down the pike. Bitcoin.com Executive Chairman Roger Ver also hinted at a new iteration of this idea in the aforementioned Youtube video, saying “Here’s what we’re building.” He then referenced the existing tips tool and taking it further: “It’s literally a private key, with money at that address, and if they don’t claim it, the money can bounce back to you after 30 days. Totally non-custodially as well. So we can do the exact same thing, but with an email.” You just send an email of the private key to the person you want to send money to. They can scan it right from their email [via QR code] and claim the money, and if they don’t, after however many days you decide in the beginning, the money bounces back to your wallet. Peer-to-Peer, Right Now Of course, nothing is stopping anyone from generating their own private keys right now and using them to send crypto via email, but for the average user, tools like the Bitcoin Cash Tips generator can come in handy, especially with the customization and refund options. There’s no set date for the hinted-at QR code tool’s release, but in the meantime there are at least ways to send crypto without relying on copy/pasting a recipient’s bitcoin address. And perhaps most importantly, there are ways to send crypto that don’t require unnecessary risk and loss of privacy. What do you think is the best way to implement user-friendly addresses for bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, fair use. Did you know you can verify any unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with our Bitcoin Block Explorer tool? Simply complete a Bitcoin address search to view it on the blockchain. Plus, visit our Bitcoin Charts to see what’s happening in the industry. The post Human Readability and Privacy: BCH Can Be Sent by Email With Tips Tool, No Usernames Required appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The U.S. government has charged two Chinese nationals involved in laundering stolen cryptocurrency worth $100 million from an exchange allegedly for the benefit of North Korea. They are linked to the U.S.-designated North Korean state-sponsored Lazarus Group. A total of 113 cryptocurrency accounts and addresses used to launder funds have been identified. Also read: SEC Karate-Chops Steven Seagal Over Promoting Cryptocurrency Touted as the Next Gen Bitcoin US Sanctions Two Chinese Nationals The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced Monday that it has sanctioned two Chinese nationals involved in laundering stolen cryptocurrency from an exchange. Tian Yinyin (田寅寅) and Li Jiadong (李家东) “materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, a malicious cyber-enabled activity” and the Lazarus Group, the OFAC alleged. The Lazarus Group is a U.S.-designated North Korean state-sponsored cyber group. The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has sanctioned two Chinese nationals involved in laundering stolen cryptocurrency. “North Korea continues to attack the growing worldwide ecosystem of virtual currency as a means to bypass the sanctions imposed on it by the United States and the United Nations Security Council,” Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Chief Don Fort claims. Crypto Exchange Hack The Treasury explained that the Lazarus Group leveraged malware code from the now-defunct cryptocurrency application Celas Trade Pro, creating illegitimate websites and malicious software to conduct phishing attacks against the cryptocurrency sector. In April 2018, an employee of an unnamed exchange downloaded the malware through an email, giving the hackers remote access to the exchange and unauthorized access to customers’ personal information, including private keys used to access crypto wallets stored on the exchange’s servers. The hackers used the private keys to steal cryptocurrencies worth $250 million at the time, the department added, noting: DPRK malicious cyber proceeds are often transferred to cryptocurrency exchanges and peer-to-peer marketplaces with negligible customer screening compliance programs, or individual peer-to-peer or over-the-counter traders operating on exchanges that do not screen their customers. The U.S. government explained that North Korea continues to attack the cryptocurrency sector as a means to bypass the sanctions imposed on it by the U.S. and the U.N. Security Council. Tian and Li Charged for Laundering Over $100 Million In a separate announcement on Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) declared that the two Chinese nationals have been charged with laundering over $100 million worth of cryptocurrency from the cryptocurrency exchange hack. Tian and Li allegedly received approximately $91 million stolen in an April 2018 hack of a cryptocurrency exchange and an additional $9.5 million from a hack of another exchange from accounts controlled by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). According to the DOJ, between December 2017 and April 2019: The funds were then laundered through hundreds of automated cryptocurrency transactions aimed at preventing law enforcement from tracing the funds. The North Korean co-conspirators circumvented multiple virtual currency exchanges’ know-your-customer controls by submitting doctored photographs and falsified identification documentation. The cryptocurrency exchange hack’s flow of funds showing $250 million worth of cryptocurrency stolen, sent to four exchanges. Source: U.S. Treasury The Treasury continued to explain that Tian moved the equivalent of more than $34 million of stolen funds in Chinese yuan through a bank account linked to his exchange account and transferred nearly $1.4 million dollars’ worth of bitcoin into prepaid Apple iTunes gift cards. The defendants conducted business in the U.S. but at no time registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the DOJ noted, adding that “the pleadings further allege that the North Korean co-conspirators are tied to the theft of approximately $48.5 million worth of virtual currency from a South Korea-based virtual currency exchange in November 2019.” The department added: The civil forfeiture complaint specifically names 113 virtual currency accounts and addresses that were used by the defendants and unnamed co-conspirators to launder funds. The forfeiture complaint seeks to recover the funds, a portion of which has already been seized. A U.N. report estimates that North Korea had attempted to steal as much as $2 billion, $571 million of which is in cryptocurrency. North Korea’s Hacking History A U.N. Security Council report released in August 2019 estimates that North Korea had attempted to steal as much as $2 billion, of which $571 million is attributed to cryptocurrency theft. Noting that the $250 million was “nearly half of the DPRK’s estimated virtual currency heists that year,” the Treasury asserted that “This revenue allows the North Korean regime to continue to invest in its illicit ballistic missile and nuclear programs,” elaborating: North Korea’s malicious cyber activity is a key revenue generator for the regime, from the theft of fiat currency at conventional financial institutions to cyber intrusions targeting cryptocurrency exchanges. To combat these risks, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) amended its standards in June last year to require all member countries to regulate and supervise cryptocurrency service providers, including exchanges. Recently, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) revealed a cryptocurrency intelligence program targeting peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms, forums, and darknet markets. The U.S. Department of Justice has separately charged two Chinese nationals with laundering over $100 million in cryptocurrency. Overall, more than $250 million was allegedly stolen by North Korean hackers. Cryptocurrency service providers and traditional financial institutions should remain vigilant and alert to substantial changes in customers’ activities, as their business may be used to facilitate the transfer of stolen funds, the Treasury warns. “The United States is particularly concerned about platforms that provide anonymous payment and storage functionality without transaction monitoring, suspicious activity reporting, or customer due diligence, among other obligations.” The department noted: DPRK cyber actors actively target the cryptocurrency community and are known to employ a variety of fake cryptocurrency trading programs that contain malware. What do you think of the U.S. taking action against two Chinese nationals for allegedly laundering millions of dollars worth of stolen cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and the U.S. government. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post US Charges North Korea-Linked Chinese Nationals for Laundering Over $100 Million in Stolen Cryptocurrency appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority of Germany, Bafin, has issued guidance to clarify the status of cryptocurrencies and the regulations that apply to related business activities. The recommendations are based on the country’s current legislation, taking into account the latest changes. Also read: Turkey to Inspect Cryptocurrency Exchanges as Part of Government Offensive Against Online Gambling The Keepers of Your Crypto Are Financial Institutions in Germany The guidance document concentrates on the requirements for the providers of crypto custody services operating in the Federal Republic. Starting from 2020, German banks and other regulated financial institutions are allowed to manage cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin on behalf of their clients, after Berlin adopted amendments transposing Europe’s anti-money laundering rules into national law. German fintechs also rushed to offer similar services. Regulators begin with defining what a crypto custody business is – the safekeeping and managing of crypto assets ​​or private cryptographic keys that serve to hold and store crypto assets that can be transferred to others, which is a financial service. The definition stems from the German Banking Act, while providing this type of service was made possible by the law implementing EU’s Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive. The changes came into force on Dec. 12, 2019. Germany now considers service providers who offer the exchange of virtual currencies for legal tender and vice versa, or for other digital assets, to be financial service institutions. Cryptocurrencies, depending on their design, are generally regarded as financial instruments. The exchange of cryptos falls into the category of regulated banking and other financial services transactions. The broad definition has been given in order to account for all crypto assets relevant to the financial market, including digital coins that are not considered units of account. Coins and Tokens Are Digital Representations of Value The guidance further describes cryptocurrencies as a digital representation of value that has not been issued or guaranteed by a central bank or public body and does not have the legal status of a currency or money. At the same time, a crypto can represent an agreement for, or an actual exercise of, a payment or investment. It can be accepted as a medium of exchange by natural or legal persons and be transmitted, stored and traded electronically. Coins and tokens can also bear rights similar to those of traditional securities. German regulators have made it clear that any organization which wants to conduct banking business in the country or provide financial services commercially needs permission from Bafin. This applies to domestically operated companies, or in other words entities that are based in the Bundesrepublik even if they serve non-residents only, and companies that have established a local office from which they maintain their business activities. Firms operating in the crypto sector must apply for a Bafin license by the end of November, 2020. So far, over 40 financial institutions have declared intent to offer services related to cryptocurrencies under the country’s updated legislation, as news.Bitcoin.com reported in February. Entities that already work with crypto assets have until March 31 to at least express intent to apply for a license. This is not part of the actual application procedure, but an important step towards acquiring the necessary license. Do you think Germany’s efforts to regulate the crypto space will create favorable conditions for the development of the industry? Share your opinions on the subject in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Do you want to dig deeper into Bitcoin? Explore past and present cryptocurrency prices through our Bitcoin Markets tool and head to our Blockchain Explorer to view specific transactions, addresses, and blocks. The post Bitcoin Is Financial Instrument, Clarifies Germany, Crypto Custodians Qualify as Financial Institutions appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On March 1, the Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) developers’ Twitter account revealed a new hardware wallet card for SLP tokens created by the Belgium-based company Satoshichip. The newly designed product is the first SLP token hardware wallet on the market and it works natively with the Electron Cash SLP wallet. Also read: 13 Crypto Debit Cards You Can Use Right Now A Bitcoin Cash Hardware Wallet With a Secure Chip and Low Form Factor The Bitcoin Cash (BCH) community was pleased to hear about a new Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) hardware wallet manufactured by satochip.io. The products developed by Satochip are hardware wallets that hold various cryptos like BTC, LTC, and BCH and they are shaped and sized like a traditional credit card. Since launching, the company has published auditable and open source code and the card’s app offers 2-factor authentication. In December 2019, a few BCH proponents wrote about the company’s Bitcoin Cash Hardware Wallet on Twitter and Reddit forums. “Works smoothly with Electron Cash,” Corentin Mercier tweeted two months ago. BCH-based Satochip wallets can also be purchased at the Bitcoin.com Store. The first edition Bitcoin Cash hardware wallet designed by Satochip is a limited series edition which contains three different designs. Moreover, the Satochip team explained that the BCH hardware wallet card is an “achievement of a year of hard work” for the developers. The startup’s name ‘Satochip’ stands for Secure Anonymous Trustless and Open Chip. And just like your traditional bank card or credit card, the Satoship BCH card uses a javacard applet. By leveraging a smart chip, the developers claim that it “encrypts information to increase data security when making transactions and storing keys.” The cards are weather-resistant and have a low form factor which the Satochip developers describe as: Open and scalable standards that’s easy to customize, carry, load and share with crypto-friends. Satochip Unveils the First SLP Token Hardware Wallet After releasing the BCH-based card, on March 1, 2020, the Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) development team revealed an SLP-based Satochip card. “Thanks to Satochip for creating the new hardware wallet design for the SLP community,” the developers tweeted. “We can’t wait to receive our first order.” The company’s web shop dedicated to the new SLP hardware wallet explains that the wallet is the “very first Bitcoin Cash SLP token hardware wallet.” Thanks to @SatochipWallet for creating the new hardware wallet design for the SLP community! We can't wait to receive our first order.https://t.co/pC21LkLtNk pic.twitter.com/0Qf9DzbTdH — Simple Ledger Protocol (@SimpleLedger) March 1, 2020 This particular version works with the Electron Cash (EC) wallet as well but utilizes the SLP version of EC. “The design was made by the SLP community. You can now safely store your Spice, Honk, Sour and preferred SLP tokens in a safe place,” explains the Satoship website. Just like Satoship’s other card products, the SLP hardware wallet card is €25 per unit. The SLP card also includes a secure chip contact but users need to obtain the chip card reader in order to use the chip. The Satochip SLP token edition. The hardware wallet works with the Electron Cash SLP version and the wallet can store any SLP tokens. The BCH community on Twitter and Reddit discussed the new card and one user asked if the firm could release a demo of the card in action. Satochip does have a video on Youtube which has an explainer but the video is not quite a demonstration of the card. A number of Bitcoin Cash-based SLP tokens have gathered real-world value and a hardware wallet for SLP tokens would probably come in handy to a few SLP whales. The Satochip SLP hardware wallet is designed to house SLP tokens like GOC, ACD, BRST, SAI, SPICE, USDH and FLEX. Did you know you can also trade, purchase, and sell a number of popular SLP tokens on exchange.Bitcoin.com? Check out our fast and secure trading platform today if you want to trade some of the hottest SLP tokens on the market. For instance, according to Markets.Bitcoin.com’s token section, configured to show SLP tokens only, seven different SLP tokens have exchange value. The Coinflex token FLEX has a $27 million market valuation and the market cap for Gocrypto’s GOC token is $10.6 million today. The community-based SPICE has a $604,000 market cap and many other SLP tokens like HONK, ACD, SAI, and USDH can be traded on a number of exchanges. Satochip’s new SLP hardware wallet aims to keep these tokens safe up until the moment someone wants to sell their SLP stash on an exchange. What do you think about the SLP hardware wallet created by the startup Satochip? Let us know what you think about this product in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article. Images credits: Shutterstock, Satochip, Simple Ledger Protocol, Bitcoin.com, Fair Use, Wiki Commons, Markets.Bitcoin.com token section, and Pixabay. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post Belgium Startup Launches Smart Chip Hardware Wallet for SLP-Based Tokens appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On Monday, March 2, miners processing blocks on the BTC network surpassed the network’s all-time high as the overall hashrate touched 136 exahash (EH/s). The record-breaking achievement happened despite the price of BTC dropping below the $9K region throughout the course of the last week. In four years’ time, BTC’s hashrate has risen over 13,500% and it doesn’t look like slowing up anytime soon. Also read: 13 Crypto Debit Cards You Can Use Right Now BTC’s Hashrate Between 136-145EH/s on Monday Since the innovative payment network Bitcoin was invented, the hashrate has always been an indicator of security and the network’s overall wellbeing. Essentially, a hash is the output of a hash function applied to the Bitcoin software. When bitcoin miners are searching for blocks they leverage their processing power (hashrate) in order to increase their chances of acquiring freshly minted coins. The overall hashrate combined, meaning all the processing power between all the participating miners on the Bitcoin network, is basically the estimated measurement of how many hash functions are used in order to find a block. At the end of January 2016, the BTC network touched one exahash per second (EH/s). Since then, the hashrate has increased exponentially capturing 136EH/s on March 2, 2020. Blockchain.com and Fork.lol charts show BTC’s hashrate averages to be between 136 to 145EH/s. BTC hashrate according to Blockchain.com charts on March 2, 2020. In the last few years, Bitcoin mining investments have been strong and there’s been a number of new mining data centers added worldwide. For instance, the Peter Thiel-backed mining operation Layer1 recently started mining in West Texas. The company raised more than $50 million from investors like Peter Thiel, Digital Currency Group, and Shasta Ventures. Layer1 aims to scale operations to 200MW this year and there are many others in Texas mining as well. Last year, Bitmain revealed it would build a 300MW facility in Rockdale, Texas and started operations with 25MW. During the second week of February 2020, Riot Blockchain revealed it had purchased 1,000+ Bitmain miners for its data center in Oklahoma. Riot Blockchain’s mine aims to capture 300MW of hashpower as well and the firm said the new batch of miners would be turned on immediately. Even smaller operations are investing in the industry, as this February Xtra Bitcoin announced the creation of a 2.5 MW facility with plans to increase to 10MW. Digihost claims to have a 70,000 square foot operation in Buffalo, New York with 12,895 bitcoin mining rigs (17.5 MW of computing power). New mining operations are popping up in Central Asia, the U.S., Canada, and many other nation-states which are fueling the rising hashrate. Additionally, other SHA256 networks have seen an increase in hashrate, as Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has jumped from 1EH/s to 3.5-5EH/s, gathering a 400% increase since December 2018. Bitcoin SV (BSV) had around 1.3EH/s in December 2018 and that has expanded 130% to roughly 2.5-3EH/s in 2020. All three of these networks make up the overall SHA256 hashrate, which is one of the largest computational networks ever created. Satoshi Nakamoto launching the BTC network in 2009 has led to the significant advancement in Exascale computing. But people often wonder what an exahash is and all the other funny terms bitcoiners use like kilohash, megahash, gigahash, terahash, and petahash. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) hashrate according to Coin.dance on March 2, 2020. The Exahash Era Continues A kilohash (1 kH/s) is 1,000 hashes per second, one megahash (MH/s) is approximately one million hashes per second, a gigahash (GH/s) is one billion hashes per second, a single terahash (TH/s) equals one trillion hashes per second, and one petahash (PH/s) is a quadrillion hashes per second. When we start measuring the hashrate in exahashes per second (EH/s), it is approximately one quintillion hashes per second. Right now, BTC’s network hashrate is roughly less than a quarter of the way toward reaching the zetahash (ZH/s) era, which is a whopping one sextillion hashes per second or 500 exahash. At 140EH/s, every second of the day the BTC network hashes 20x the number of grains of sand on earth, which is roughly estimated at 7.5 quintillion grains. “The Earth has roughly 7.5 x 1018 grains of sand, or seven quintillion, five hundred quadrillion grains” of sand according to NPR’s Robert Krulwich. The 136-145EH/s record is quite a milestone and every time the network’s hashrate grows larger it makes it much harder to cheat the system. For instance a few minutes ago the mining operation Poolin found block 619845 and if a malicious miner wanted to alter block 619800, the miner would have to work on altering 45 blocks of extremely expensive computing (Proof-of-Work) with a one-hour attack cost of $775,936 at the time of writing. The malicious miner would need to expend around $18,622,461 during the course of a 24-hour period and meanwhile competing against all the honest miners processing the next blocks. Every time an honest miner finds another block it puts the attacker behind significantly, making it very expensive for miners to deviate from the rules. The chart on the left stems from Fork.lol’s data which shows the hashrate climbed to 145 exahash per second (EH/s) on March 2, 2020. The top right chart is from Bitinfocharts.com and the bottom right chart is BTC’s hashrate mean according to Coin Metrics. Many speculators believe that the increased hashrate means that miners wholeheartedly believe in the future of SHA256 networks like BTC. Miners dedicate significant amounts of money to validate transactions in order to acquire 12.5 bitcoins and all the fees tied to the block’s transactions. In two months, all three SHA256 networks will see the network’s block subsidy chopped in half and miners dedicating hash toward BTC, BCH and BSV will only get 6.25 coins plus the fees. Do you want to maximize your Bitcoin Mining potential? Plug your own hardware into the world’s most profitable Bitcoin mining pool or get started without having to own hardware through one of our competitive Bitcoin cloud mining contracts. The increase in combined computing power shows these entities have a lot of skin in the game, especially when estimates say BTC miners will need prices to be over $12,000 per BTC after the halving. So far, the BTC network has seen a natural progression of miners increasing the hashrate and there hasn’t been a major miner capitulation in over a decade. After the BTC halving occurs, all eyes will be watching the hashrate going forward as the metric has always been a solid indicator of the network’s overall security and growth. What do you think about BTC’s hashrate touching between 136-145EH/s on March 2? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Bitcoin.com, Fork.lol, Fair Use, Bitmain Miners, Coin Metrics, Bitinfocharts.com, Coin.dance, Pixabay, and Blockchain.com charts. Did you know you can earn BTC and BCH through Bitcoin Mining? If you already own hardware, connect it to our powerful Bitcoin mining pool. If not, you can easily get started through one of our flexible Bitcoin cloud mining contracts. The post Bitcoin Mining Investment Strong – BTC Hashrate Surpasses All-Time High appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The competition for the Turkish cryptocurrency market appears to be heating up as Binance is the latest platform to launch a banking integration for the Lira (TRY). The global digital asset exchange is now open to direct transactions of local fiat from Akbank, one of the largest banks in Turkey. Also Read: Blockchain.com Launches Full Turkish Lira Banking Integration as a Native Payment Gateway for Turkey Binance Global Integrates Akbank Binance, the popular international cryptocurrency exchange with users from over 180 countries and regions, has announced the first bank channel integration at Binance Global with one of the largest banks in Turkey, Akbank. Binance users are now able to instantly deposit and withdraw Turkish Lira on the trading platform via desktop and the iOS App, with the company promising “the most competitive fees in Turkey.” Founded in 1948, Akbank has an extensive domestic distribution network of 770 branches across Turkey with more than 14,000 employees. In addition to providing services at branch locations, Akbank serves close to 18 million customers via 5,000 ATMs, more than 600,000 point of sale terminals, online, mobile and other direct channels. The bank operates from its headquarters in Istanbul and its shares are listed on Borsa Istanbul. Esenboğa International Airport in Ankara, Turkey “As part of our mission to continue working on increasing the freedom of money worldwide and notably in a country that is fast-adopting digital assets, we are expanding the available options to lower the barrier to entry,” commented Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. “As the industry scales with our products and services that grow in tandem, the availability and process of investing, exchanging and trading crypto will become more and more seamless.” Why Crypto Matters to Turkey With millions of refugees from the war in Syria on the other side of the border, economic concerns regarding the stability of the local fiat has pushed cryptocurrency adoption in Turkey to grow faster than in most markets. The country of over 82 million people has an estimated 1 million active investors, according to local reports. And a fifth of Turkish respondents in last year’s Global Consumer Survey by Statista said they used or owned crypto, as news.Bitcoin.com reported in June 2019. This large market has attracted the attention of the digital asset trading industry recently. In January 2020, for example, Blockchain.com launched a full banking integration for TRY on its trading platform. Branch of Akbank in Istanbul, Turkey Unfortunately, all this activity has also caught the attention of the Turkish authorities. Alarmed by the rapid spread of crypto trading in the country, government agencies are ramping up efforts to introduce greater oversight into the sector. It was earlier reported that Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board will conduct checks on crypto exchanges as part of its offensive against what regulators regard as illegal online betting and gambling. What do you think about Binance integrating with Turkey’s Akbank to allow Turkish users to deposit and withdraw lira? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH and other coins, on our market charts at Bitcoin.com Markets, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post Binance Users in Turkey Can Now Deposit and Withdraw TRY via Akbank Integration appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Turkish authorities will soon be going after crypto exchanges operating in the country, local media reported. Although the trading platforms are not the prime target of a new push to increase budget receipts, they will be placed under close examination. The news comes as a military escalation with Syria and the coronavirus outbreak in the region increase demand for alternatives to the national fiat currency. Also read: Australian Court Accepts Cryptocurrency Exchange Account as Security for Legal Costs Draft Legislation Criminalizes Non-State Betting and Gambling Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (Masak) will conduct the checks as part of its offensive against what Turkish regulators regard as illegal betting and gambling in the virtual space. Online gaming, unless organized by the government, has been prohibited for over a decade, but many Turks continue to play on the internet. In an interview with the state-run Anadolu Agency, Masak Chairman Hayrettin Kurt revealed that illegal bets and games of chance will be treated as crimes under a draft legislation that has been filed in the Turkish parliament. The Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK) will block local and foreign websites that facilitate them. The head of the board added that most of these platforms are based abroad and Turkish regulators are working in cooperation with international counterparts on the issue. Masak has so far established that the annual revenue from Turkey of these gambling platforms amounts to 350 – 400 million Turkish lira (up to $64 million). Following the measures undertaken by the board in 2018, the state revenues from the sector increased by around 10 billion liras in 2019, or approximately $1.6 billion. Hayrettin Kurt emphasized that the Financial Crimes Investigation Board will continue its efforts to prevent the tax losses. Working closely with other administrations, Masak has registered an increase in the proceeds from fines it’s imposing for online betting and gambling. They currently range between 10,000 and 43,000 liras (almost $7,000) per violation. Crypto Exchanges in the Crosshairs Discussing further how online gaming works, the Masak official pointed out that various alternative payment tools are often employed, including cryptocurrencies. That’s why the board intends to check digital asset trading platforms, which will be closely examined in the near future as part of the efforts to suppress what Turkey views as illegal business. Quoted by the crypto news outlet Muhabbit, Hayrettin Kurt stated: We have recently prepared a very serious action plan. We will conduct a serious investigation on the accounts that use cryptocurrency exchanges which act as intermediaries. The Masak chairman also made it clear that the Turkish state has already obtained the means to track gamblers and online gaming platforms, even on the deep web, and warned that offenders will not escape government penalties. The investigative body has discussed the attractiveness of cryptocurrencies for participants in the black economy and explored the experience of other nations in the sector. Hayrettin Kurt remarked that while some governments prohibit their use in payments or are developing their own digital currencies, others have adopted regulations for crypto assets and exchanges. Cryptocurrencies in Turkey, with its inflation-stricken economy and political instability in the past few years, have become an attractive investment for ordinary citizens. According to media reports, the demand for cryptos and foreign fiat currencies is now rising in the country, this time on the backdrop of a recent military clash with Syrian forces and tensions with Russia, as well as the spread of the coronavirus epidemic in the region. Almost 320 BTC have changed hands only on the BTCTurk exchange in the past 24 hours, with the price per coin reaching a high of close to 55,000 liras ($8,800). The importance of the Turkish crypto market has been highlighted by global leaders in the space establishing presence there. Among them are crypto exchange Binance, which introduced support for the lira through a partnership with a local payment processor, and the major crypto exchange in Eastern Europe, Exmo, which registered a Turkish subsidiary last year. In early January, news came out that Turkish authorities are stepping up efforts to increase oversight in the crypto space. Online betting and gambling has seen significant growth with the development of internet and mobile technologies, and not only in Turkey. Cryptocurrencies have contributed to the trend as well with the utility they bring to electronic payments and their privacy-oriented features. Online gaming platforms, like Bitcoin.com’s Cash Games for example, accept cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin cash (BCH). Besides, not all countries facing socio-economic challenges have a negative stance on this type of gambling. Venezuela, for example, recently authorized the opening of a crypto casino in the landmark Humboldt Hotel in Caracas. What’s your opinion about the measures Turkey plans to take against online gambling and cryptocurrency exchanges? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Did you know you could win big with bitcoin gambling? Choose from a range of BCH games including BCH poker, BCH slots, and many more. All games are provably fair—good luck! The post Turkey to Inspect Cryptocurrency Exchanges as Part of Government Offensive Against Online Gambling appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Business is booming on the darknet. Despite ongoing DDoS attacks, Empire Market has now passed 1 million users and two years’ trading. White House Market is also going strong, boasting almost 100% uptime in its first six months and over 60,00 users. In related news, the darknet has gained a new search engine that features vendors and listings from DNMs extending all the way back to Silk Road. Also read: White House Market Wants to Become the Darknet’s Toughest DNM White House Market Celebrates 6 Months of Uptime When news.Bitcoin.com reviewed White House Market (WHM) in January, the site had 6,000 listings. That number has now swelled to 14,000, and there are also 60,000 users of the monero-based darknet market. Notably, the number of WHM listings is now roughly equivalent to Empire. In a signed PGP message celebrating six months of business with nearly 100% uptime, WHM’s admin thanked the community for their business and support. In a thread on the market’s Dread board, users praised its good customer support. “WHM has been my go to market the past month or two. I urge everybody to switch over and learn to pay with XMR,” urged one. “Best market since Dream,” added another. The admin of fellow monero market Monopoly chipped in “Congrats brother, it doesn’t matter how much you try we will always be 1 month older than you.” All though still tiny, Monopoly has also been growing steadily, with the number of listings tripling to almost 500 in just over a month. The site’s accountless design is intended to provide better security for vendors and customers while preventing exit scams, since funds aren’t custodied. Empire Market Surges Past 1 Million Users Empire has endured a torrid time over the last few months, with the site frequently inaccessible due to DDoS attacks. It is partially due to Empire’s disrupted service that other DNMs including WHM have prospered. However, Empire remains the largest market by some distance, having surpassed 1 million users in January. Last week, Empire’s admin posted on Dread to mark two years in business and promised: “We now have a new team of dedicated market moderators, most disputes have been caught up with and dispute times drastically improving. Support for vendors has also massively improved, all new tickets from vendors are being answered within 24 hours.” The Empire admin also addressed the attacks the site has endured, writing: The combined DDoS attacks we receive are the strongest DDoS attacks in darknet history. Regardless of this we are always adapting, we are always putting in a lot of work to stay online and our uptime is improving. There are various reasons why DDoSers target us, one of those reasons is to attempt to extort us, another reason is that when we are stable it’s harder for other markets to exit scam effectively. Since day 1 there has been a lot of FUD directed at us, but regardless … we plan to stay online for many many years to come. Darknet Gets a Powerful New Search Engine There was further good news for darknet users today with the release of Recon (reconponydonugup.onion/), a new search engine developed by Dread operator and notorious darknet personality Hugbunter. Designed as a dedicated search engine for DNMs, Recon enables users to search by market or vendor. The tool is useful for customers seeking out a favorite vendor who’s migrated markets, but may also prove useful to law enforcement and darknet historians trying to connect the dots. Recon markets that are searchable. In typical darknet fashion, the site was inaccessible at press time, but screenshots provided by Darknet Live, which described the tool as “next level,” show what visitors can expect. Currently in public beta, Recon has been described by its creator as “the largest darknet market vendor archive service and multi marketplace search engine, providing up to date content from the majority of established markets all in one place. We strive to serve a fast and easy to use platform allowing you to cross reference vendor details, listings, statistics and marketplace addresses.” Hugbunter explained: This is all accomplished through years of data archiving from past marketplaces and the integrating of an API system for active markets to easily share their public vendor and listing data to us on a regular basis. Vendors can provide updates to their followers on Recon after claiming their profile and submitting a post. These posts are combined into a newsfeed where users can keep up to date with their favorite vendors. A sample vendor page from Recon. Hugbunter is clearly proud of Recon, which was 18 months in development, and Dread users were impressed on first inspection. “This is some of the best news I’ve heard since silkroad and BMR days,” wrote one. “Absolutely fantastic, I’d give you a hug if I could.” Darknet users maintain a healthy level of paranoia, and there will be concern about the unhealthy amount of power that one man – Hugbunter – wields over the DNM economy, recalling the fate of other darknet leaders like Dread Pirate Roberts. For now, though, the darknet community seems happy to toast the success of its leading marketplaces and the release of a dedicated search engine with the potential to build trust and minimize harm. What do you think about the darknet getting a new search engine in Recon? Do you think darknet markets are becoming stronger and more secure? Let us know in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Did you know you can verify any unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with our Bitcoin Block Explorer tool? Simply complete a Bitcoin address search to view it on the blockchain. Plus, visit our Bitcoin Charts to see what’s happening in the industry. The post Darknet Markets Flourish as White House and Empire Toast Milestone Achievements appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) as a crypto investment method may not be the most thrilling way to speculate on the bitcoin price, but it is one of the most level-headed, according to proponents. Using a simple online DCA calculator, one can choose a plan for buying small amounts of bitcoin at regular intervals. While the technique may result in missing out on some true bottoms, it also avoids compulsive FOMO buying during peaks, and rests on the age-old adage that “slow and steady wins the race.” Also read: Market Update: Coronavirus Fears, Stock Market Crash, and Bitcoin Price Predictions How DCA Works “Dollar cost averaging, not the most sexy thing … but it could be the most powerful thing you read IF you apply it,” states user ManLikeAJ in his recent read.cash post on the topic, entitled: Dollar Cost Averaging – The Most Underrated Approach to Investing. The basic idea of DCA is to rein in the biologically hardwired desire to get rich right away, and take a more measured approach. There’s no shortage of folks in the space who have seen markets spike, bought in compulsively, and then had to turn around and sell most of their crypto savings soon after, when things corrected. Instead, investing small, doable amounts over the long term tends to smooth out the bumps. And in many cases, it puts the “tortoise investors” far ahead of their more sporadic counterparts. dcabtc.com Dcabtc.com provides a nice little resource for calculating (according to historic price data) how much one could have gained if leveraging DCA in BTC investment. For example, the image above shows that someone who started investing $10 a week three years ago, and continued to do this every week for those three years, would have more than doubled their investment by the end, with a 119.49% gain. This means that in 2.5 years someone could have seen $1,500 turn into $3,000, based on the market prices from this interval. Granted this might not be as thrilling as the mad BTC gains made from cocaine-fueled credit card purchases in 2017, but the investor probably won’t need to sell their last sats to pay the light bill when harder times come, either. Slow and Steady vs. Random Guessing Games As ManLikeAJ says: “I overextended myself before, lost my job and then had to sell my BCH to survive. I do not want to EVER experience that again and so I am trying to remain disciplined with a small amount that I know I won’t miss and will remove price swing emotions from.” Dcabtc.com lays out a scenario where two characters, John and Alice, decide to invest using non-DCA and DCA methods, respectively. John buys up $5,000 of BTC on Jan. 1, 2018, all in one go. The price at the time for one coin was $13,800, so he ends up owning 0.362 BTC. Alice, “instead of investing the entire amount today, she decides to purchase $500 every month, for 10 months. 10 months later, Alice owns 0.61 BTC. That’s almost twice as much as John, even though both invested the same amount.” There are pros and cons to DCA, but the main factor stressed by advocates is that no matter how smart someone is, there’s ultimately no way to predictably and consistently time the markets, which are subject to all kinds of variables. Though some nice bottoms might be missed, so will some instances of buying in too high and taking a loss. When BTC is examined from a sufficient distance, the average trend is very positive, which regular, measured investment can take advantage of. DCA doesn’t rule out leveraging technical analysis, either, as dcabtc.com points out: “If you have some experience trading, you’ll quickly realize that you can improve the performance of your dollar cost averaging strategy by making use of some simple tools. When going this route, you would purchase Bitcoin whenever a set of simple technical analysis tools give you a signal, instead of a fixed time interval.” ROIs of three different assets compared across a three-year interval leveraging DCA. Source: dcabtc.com DCA for Other Coins and Assets Dcabtc.com presents a nice option of comparing DCA gains in bitcoin to other assets from a selected time frame and investment strategy. The image above shows that in the interval selected BTC was the best performing investment, with a roughly 119% ROI. Gold yielded about a 25% gain, and USD about 18%. Even for cryptos that don’t yet have the historical ROI of bitcoin core, DCA can work to an investor’s advantage. For example, many see value in the Bitcoin Cash network due to the low fees, active development and strong community which aims to stick to the original bitcoin ethos of economic freedom for the individual. Should the BCH haters be right, and see the whole thing tank to zero someday, dollar cost averaging would nonetheless stand to mitigate high buys along the way for BCH proponents. Conversely, should the “just hodl don’t spend” narrative of core maximalists not end up creating a dependable store of value, DCA combined with shrewd withdrawals could put a pillow in front of the brick wall. Because investing always involves risk (government fiat money included), it’s not that DCA is a magic bullet, but a generally level-headed approach to a risk an investor has already deemed worthwhile and decided to take. So for the gamblers out there, fear not — you still could lose or gain it all, just a bit more slowly. What do you think of the DCA method for investing in bitcoin? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. Disclaimer: Price articles and market updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered as trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the “money.” Images via Shutterstock, fair use. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. You can also enjoy the easiest way to buy Bitcoin online with us. Download your free Bitcoin wallet and head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can buy BCH and BTC securely. The post Dollar Cost Averaging – The ‘Boring’, Sensible Bitcoin Investment That Could Double Your Money in 2.5 Years appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On February 28, Gocrypto CEO Dejan Roljic revealed the payment gateway has officially onboarded 1,000 merchant locations during a recent company update that expanded upon the firm’s growth. Roljic also explained Gocrypto now has several locations in five countries and the company recently started expanding into South America in November 2019. The Latin American expansion means Gocrypto will be open in 13 new markets and the team hopes to onboard as many stores in the region as possible. Also read: MTV Airs Only the Negative Parts of Crypto Youtuber ‘Ya Girl’ Rachel Siegel’s Bitcoin Analysis 1,000 Locations and International Expansion The payment gateway Gocrypto has been making strides toward cryptocurrency adoption and this week the firm’s CEO Dejan Roljic announced the team has onboarded 1,000 locations worldwide. News.Bitcoin.com first reported on Gocrypto in June 2018, when the business helped create a “genuine Bitcoin City” within the confines of Slovenia’s largest shopping center. Slovenia is Gocrypto’s home base and after the launch of Bitcoin City, the company continued to make headway onboarding merchants throughout the country. Last year, news.Bitcoin.com explained that Slovenia has the most BCH-accepting physical locations worldwide and this was fueled by Gocrypto’s efforts. Roljic’s CEO update on Friday not only announced that Gocrypto has captured 1,000 locations worldwide, but the firm has been expanding internationally. “We entered Croatia in May 2019 and continued our expansion to Switzerland, Hungary and Bulgaria,” Roljic wrote. “Gocrypto is also available for customers in the United Kingdom, Czechia, Slovakia, Romania, and Portugal.” Gocrypto is responsible for a massive amount of physical merchants in Slovenia and Croatia. The map here stems from Bitcoin.com’s Bitcoin Cash Map (Map.Bitcoin.com) which shows all the bitcoin cash-accepting merchants worldwide. Gocrypto’s payment gateway accepts a few cryptocurrencies (BCH, BTC, ETH) and the company’s GoC token as a payment option. Roljic further highlighted that Gocrypto is now present in South America and the company recently partnered with Xpay.cash. “[The startup Xpay] is a partner provider of easy crypto payments [and is] successfully growing its presence in Columbia and Venezuela,” Roljic’s update explained. “150 locations strong, they are also planning on expanding to other South American countries.” The Gocrypto CEO said that now that the firm has legal approval in the region, the company plans to “boost these markets with a systematic approach.” Roljic stated: Our SWAT mobile sales teams will open up to 13 new markets; in each, the goal is to onboard 20–50 stores to start accepting Gocrypto payments, launch the ambassador program and acquire as many PSPs as possible. Gocrypto Plans to Upgrade the Merchant Dashboard and Offer New Point-of-Sale Terminals Additionally, Roljic revealed that a new merchant dashboard is being constructed and soon merchants can become a crypto exchange by leveraging the firm’s hardware point-of-sale (PoS) terminals. A preview of the new Gocrypto merchant dashboard. “We are in the final stage of testing our own physical PoS terminals that will enable merchants to buy and sell selected cryptocurrencies as well as to accept crypto payments,” Roljic stressed. Lastly, the firm is also in the midst of attempting to obtain a license for financial services from the central bank. Roljic conceded that the project is “demanding” but will represent “a big step forward in the crypto industry.” Gocrypto has plans to launch a physical hardware PoS terminal. At present, Gocrypto is finalizing the product and the company hopes to see every merchant become their own crypto exchange. Roljic added that Gocrypto wants to conquer the world, and in the future they can envision every merchant having the ability to become their own exchange by being able to sell digital currencies at the counter. The Slovenia-based firm is also currently talking with companies worldwide that manage “millions of physical merchants” and the firm aims to integrate Gocrypto into their point-of-sale (PoS) or cashier systems. What do you think about Gocrypto’s expansion and the 1,000 locations the company has onboarded to-date? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Map.Bitcoin.com, Fair Use, and Gocrypto. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. You can also enjoy the easiest way to buy Bitcoin online with us. Download your free Bitcoin wallet and head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can buy BCH and BTC securely. The post Cryptocurrency Payment Gateway Gocrypto Onboards 1,000 Locations Worldwide appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In the cryptocurrency economy, the supply of credit through the banking system could disappear, warned Bank of England Deputy Governor Sir Jon Cunliffe. That would be a change with “profound economic consequences,” he added, emphasizing the risks from Facebook’s Libra project and global stablecoins. Also read: SEC Karate-Chops Steven Seagal Over Promoting Cryptocurrency Touted as the Next Gen Bitcoin ‘Profound Economic Consequences’ Bank of England Deputy Governor Sir Jon Cunliffe warned on Friday that bank lending could dry up in the cryptocurrency economy. In a speech given at the London School of Economics, he explained that there is “a new wave of technological development that enables the transactional use, not of central or commercial bank money, but rather a new form of asset, so-called ‘crypto-assets.'” Bank of England Deputy Governor Sir Jon Cunliffe believes that the cryptocurrency economy could dry up bank lending. Cunliffe, who was previously a British envoy to the European Union, proceeded to talk about stablecoins. “There is certainly the possibility with stablecoins linked to large technology and social media platforms that it could become mainstream for people to move from holding all or much of the money now in ‘current accounts’ at banks to holding it in ‘stablecoin’ in virtual ‘wallets’ provided by non-banks,” the Bank of England’s deputy governor for financial stability described, adding: In such a world, and depending how and whether stablecoins were backed with other financial assets, the supply of credit to the real economy through the banking system could become weaker or indeed disappear. That would be a change with profound economic consequences. Risks From Facebook’s Libra and Stablecoins The Bank of England has previously warned about Libra and other new forms of payment which they say must be considered carefully before they are allowed to launch. According to Cunliffe, “Authorities needed to ensure that any stablecoins used as money meet the standards applied to commercial bank money and passed other tests in areas such as competition, data protection and anti-money laundering,” Reuters conveyed. Many governments have been on alert regarding Libra. Last week, the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors issued a statement after their first meeting this year addressing stablecoins. “We reiterate our statement in October 2019 regarding the so-called ‘global stablecoins’ and other similar arrangements that such risks need to be evaluated and appropriately addressed before they commence operation, and support the FSB’s [Financial Stability Board] efforts to develop regulatory recommendations with respect to these arrangements,” the statement reads. Global stablecoins are stablecoins that have the potential to achieve scale from launch. The Bank of England and several other central banks have repeatedly warned about the risks that Facebook’s Libra project could pose. The Bank of International Settlement (BIS) released a G7 Working Group research paper in October last year entitled “Investigating the impact of global stablecoins.” It highlights how these coins could “increase vulnerabilities in the broader financial system” through various channels. Firstly, the paper suggests that retail deposits at banks may decline if users hold global stablecoins permanently in deposit-like accounts, resulting in banks increasing their dependence on more costly and volatile sources of funding. Secondly, the “easy availability of global stablecoins may exacerbate bank runs in times when confidence in one or more banks erodes,” the report details. “Third, if new financial intermediaries in the global stablecoin ecosystem captured a significant fraction of financial intermediation activity, this could further reduce bank profitability, potentially leading banks to take on more risks or to contract lending to the real economy.” Do you think cryptocurrency will kill bank lending? Let us know in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and the Bank of England. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post Cryptocurrency Could Kill Bank Lending, Warns Bank of England Deputy Governor appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Digital currency markets have been consolidating since the initial price drop on February 26 that saw $25 billion shaved off the entire cryptocurrency market. At the time of publication, the cryptoconomy is hovering just above the $245 billion zone and a few coins today are making slight gains. Also read: MTV Airs Only the Negative Parts of Crypto Youtuber ‘Ya Girl’ Rachel Siegel’s Bitcoin Analysis As Crypto Markets Consolidate, Traders Await the Next Move On Sunday, March 1, 2020, most digital currencies have been consolidating into a triangular pattern and a slew of assets have been forming firmer support zones. During the course of the last five weekdays, global stocks have crashed significantly. The crash has been widely blamed on the coronavirus (COVID-19) and stocks haven’t been routed this hard since 1987. Every market including safe-haven assets like precious metals and uncorrelated assets like cryptocurrencies has felt the wrath. Currently, the entire market cap of all 5,000+ coins is around $245 billion and there is $130 billion in reported crypto trade volume on Sunday. BTC has been hovering between $8,575 to $9,650 during the last 24 hours and the currency is down 12.7% for the week. Still, over the last 90 days, BTC is up 18% and over the course of the last 12 months, BTC is up 123%. The second-largest crypto by market cap is ETH which is trading for $223 per coin. The top 10 cryptocurrency market valuations on March 1, 2020. Bitcoin SV (BSV) is the forerunner on Sunday, capturing 5.7% in gains. ETH is down 17.8% for the week but still up 34% during the last 30 days. So far, ETH has gained 50% during the last three months and over 67% for the past 12 months. Behind ETH, XRP is trading for $0.23 per token and has lost 17.2% in the last seven days. XRP has seen little increases in value as it’s only up 5.4% during the last 30 days and 6.5% for the last 90. However, during the last 12 months, XRP is down 26% against the U.S. dollar. BTC’s market share compared to the rest of the cryptoconomy is over 63% today. BTC is down 0.17% today and over 12% for the week. However, during the last 90 days, BTC is up 18% and during the course of the last 12 months, BTC is up 123%. Bitcoin Cash (BCH/USD) Market Action Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is coasting along at $314 per coin and is up 1.36% this Sunday. During the last 30 days, BCH has lost a touch over 9% but the asset is still up 47.6% for the last 90 days. During the last 12 months against the U.S. dollar, BCH has gained more than 136% in value. BCH is up 1.36% today and but down over 20% for the week. However, during the last 90 days, BCH is up 47% and during the course of the last 12 months, BTC is up 136% in value against the U.S. dollar. Reported BCH trade volume on March 1 is $4 billion, but Messari’s “real volume” index shows $18 million in BCH trades today. The top currency pair traded with BCH today is tether (USDT) which is capturing 66.5% of all BCH trades. This is followed by BTC (17%), USD (11.5%), KRW (1.68%) and ETH (1.86%). On February 28, Fxstreet analyst Ken Chigbo detailed that BCH/USD prices have slid downwards consecutively for three weeks. Chigbo notes that if the psychological $300 mark is breached, BCH/USD could see “a strong wave of downside.” “The price is running towards its third consecutive week in the red,” the analyst wrote on Friday. “It has very much been the case since the evening star formation in the week of 14 February, a strong signal provided for a reversal.” Coronavirus Fears Strike Crypto Markets Last week saw global stock markets plummet as coronavirus fears gripped capital markets. Even safe-haven assets like gold tumbled during the course of the week and on February 28, Market Watch reported that gold saw its biggest daily slide in nearly seven years. “Investors rush to sell gold and generate cash to cover stock market losses,” explained Market Watch reporters Myra Saefong and Mark DeCambre. The coronavirus crypto market sell-off has been similar and people speculate that the scare could make matters worse for assets like BTC. On February 24, chief investment officer for Arca Funds, Jeff Dorman, told the columnist Bradley Keoun during a phone interview that cryptos like bitcoin are “largely disconnected from Wall Street.” “It’s irresponsible for anyone to say that bitcoin is truly a safe haven,” Dorman remarked. “Look at how gold and Treasuries and equities react instantaneously to global fears. Bitcoin and digital assets live outside that workflow.” Three days later, Dave Waslen, CEO of Hedgetrade, noted: “During the first weeks of the Coronavirus, bitcoin acted as the uncorrelated asset that it has often been during economic and political upheaval, showing strong growth.” But this week was a different story as Waslen further stated: The last two days took their toll on crypto’s most important digital asset. Bitcoin price fell 6% since Monday morning. Still, bitcoin’s value isn’t derived from the same indicators as fiat, such as interest rates and GDP. Instead, bitcoin is purely driven by demand, which is why it often remains steady when other markets are teetering. Bitcoin All-Time High Predictions Still in Full Force Despite the downturn in crypto markets, many speculators think BTC will touch all-time highs (ATH) again in the near future. It’s been over two years since BTC’s ATH at $19,600 and the currency is still 57.28% down from that ATH. During an interview with Kitco News on February 25, co-host of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” Robert Herjavec, explained that he believes BTC prices will “quantuple [quadruple i.e. 4x].” “I think the price of Bitcoin, on a long-term basis, will quantuple, if that’s a word,” Herjavec said. “Consumers, over the long run, always go to convenience, and bitcoin is just convenience.” The co-host of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” Robert Herjavec, believes in the long term viability of BTC’s price and expects it to jump 4 times from its current value. ‘Everyone Should Have 1% of Their Assets in Bitcoin’ Says Virgin Galactic Chairman The current chairman of Virgin Galactic told CNBC’s Squawk Box that he thinks everyone should hold a small fraction of BTC. “Everybody should probably have 1% of their assets in Bitcoin,” Virgin Galactic’s Chamath Palihapitiya said on February 26. Palihapitiya strongly believes that BTC is a “fantastic hedge” and continued to elaborate on the benefits of this “uncorrelated asset.” Virgin Galactic’s Chamath Palihapitiya believes everyone should have at least 1% of their assets in bitcoin. “It’s the single best hedge against the traditional financial infrastructure,” Palihapitiya said in another interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box in July 2019. “Whether you support the fiscal and monetary policy or not, it doesn’t matter. This is the schmuck insurance you have under your mattress.” “When you see the amount of leverage the financial industry is running, and you think about all these dislocations and all these exogenous things that are happening that you can’t predict,” Palihapitiya insisted. “There’s a lot of risk to the downside, and it will be great that an average individual citizen, of any country in the world, has an uncorrelated hedge.” Where do you see the cryptocurrency markets heading from here? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Disclaimer: Price articles and market updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered as trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the “money.” Cryptocurrency prices referenced in this article were recorded on Sunday, March 1, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. ET. Images via Shutterstock, Trading View, Bitcoin.com Markets, Twitter, Shark Tank, Fair Use, Pixabay, and Wiki Commons. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. You can also enjoy the easiest way to buy Bitcoin online with us. Download your free Bitcoin wallet and head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can buy BCH and BTC securely. The post Market Update: Coronavirus Fears, Stock Market Crash, and Bitcoin Price Predictions appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article