roadrunner

Digital currency markets are in the green again today after seeing some moderate losses the day prior. The leading cryptocurrency in the top 10 is the fourth-largest blockchain by market cap, bitcoin cash, which is up 14% today. A variety of other digital asset markets are doing well as the overall market valuation of all the coins in existence has gained $20 billion in the last day. Also Read: Craig Wright’s ‘Bonded Courier’ Allegedly an Attorney Who Can’t Communicate Crypto Prices See a Sharp Rise Cryptocurrency proponents are pleased to see that prices are doing better than they were 24 hours ago. At press time, the entire cryptoconomy is worth around $266 billion and there’s billions worth of digital assets being swapped today. BTC is currently trading for $9,439 per coin and the market is up 3.4% on Wednesday. The currency has around $1.8 billion in global trade volume and the price is still 52% down from it’s all-time high (ATH) in December 2017. Top 10 largest blockchains by market cap on Feb. 5, 2020, at 10 am ET. The second-largest blockchain by market cap is ethereum (ETH) which is up 6% today and 11% for the week. Each ETH is swapping for $197 per coin and the asset is still down 86% from its ATH. Ethereum markets have around $962 million in reported trade volume during the last 24 hours. Ripple (XRP) still commands the third-largest market valuation and XRP is up 7% today at $0.27 per coin. The last seven days have seen XRP jump by 16% and the digital currency has around $1.3 billion in trade volume worldwide. Bitcoin Cash Up 153% Since Jan. 1, 2019 Bitcoin cash (BCH) markets are up 14% over the last day and 11% for the last seven days. Each BCH is trading for $429 per coin and the currency’s global trade volume this Wednesday is around $1.1 billion. BCH is up 264% over the last 12 months and 153% since Jan. 1, 2019 when prices were at $168 per coin. At the time of publication, the BCH market cap is hovering around $7.85 billion. Cryptocurrency and Fxstreet analyst Ken Chigbo’s latest analysis says that “BCH/USD has an opportunity to shoot higher.” Chigbo notes that BCH/USD price action has continued to move “within a potential bullish pennant.” “The daily price action has been tight for going on seven sessions now, as the price consolidates,” the analyst remarked. “A range block formation is observed via the 60-minute chart view, awaiting the next committed move potentially from the bulls.” Out of the top 10 leading cryptos today, bitcoin cash (BCH) leads the pack by 14%. Perma Bull Tom Lee Predicts BTC Market Prices Could Tap New Highs Fundstrat Global Advisors cofounder Tom Lee is well known for his price predictions and many people consider his opinions to be extremely bullish. On Feb. 4, Lee told the press that he is “really optimistic” about BTC prices in the short term and has made another prediction. “January is usually a week month, it was a great month for bitcoin, [which is] up 26% — but also recovered its 200-day moving average,” Lee told Yahoo Finance. “That’s a big deal as you know, as anyone [who follows trends] knows when you’re back above your 200-day, you’re back in a bull market. Whenever bitcoin breaks back into its 200-day, its average six-month gain is 197%,” the Fundstrat executive said. Fundstrat’s Tom Lee. Wealth Manager Expects BTC Prices to Jump to $400k by 2030 On a Citizen Bitcoin podcast hosted by Brady Swenson, a California-based investment advisor from the firm Wescap said that he believes hyperbitcoinization will happen. “I think the total valuation on 10 years that I use is about $8 trillion and that comes from various buckets,” said Andy Edstrom. “Whether it’s taking share from gold, or taking share from fiat, or taking share from offshore assets, or slightly demonetizing other stores of value like real estate or new uses that we haven’t thought of, or are still under construction, such as micropayments,” explained Wescap’s Edstrom. The wealth manager noted that severe geopolitical tensions and the mass printing of fiat reserves could push more people toward BTC. Edstrom has written a book called “Why Buy Bitcoin,” and the investment advisor discusses the examination with Swenson throughout the podcast episode. Andy Edstrom is “bullish” about BTC’s long term outlook. ‘BTC Prices Could Dump Hard,’ Says Popular Crypto Trader The popular crypto trader on Twitter @MacnBTC, who has over 28,000 followers, warned on Feb. 2, 2020 that “BTC is gonna dump hard this week and over $100M in longs will get wiped.” The trader pinned the tweet to his profile and said “don’t say I didn’t warn you” as well. $BTC is gonna dump hard this week and over $100M in longs will get wiped. Don't say I didn't warn you — Mac ❄️🐺 (@MacnBTC) February 2, 2020 Despite all the people telling Mac that the price won’t dump, he continues to tweet that it’s still happening. “I hope it will happen,” the Twitter account Gemhunter replied. “Made great profits, after passing 9.6k I’m tethering and making some serious sat game,” he added. Another person disagreed with Mac’s tweet on Wednesday and said: “Dream on — No pullbacks in a bull market.” The biggest losers and gainers during the last 24 hours on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020. In addition to the top 10 currencies seeing some price action on Wednesday, a slew of lesser-known coins has seen some considerable gains and losses. Cryptaur is up 467% today, fusion gained 396%, lisk jumped 72%, and mossland gained around 28% in the last 24 hours. As far as 24 hour losses are concerned, loom network coins are down 34%, karatgold coin has lost 24%, gifto is down 14%, and the icon project has seen a loss of 6% during the last day. 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 at 10:20 am on February 5, 2020. Images via Shutterstock, Trading View, Bitcoin.com Markets, Twitter, 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: Bitcoin Cash Up 153% Since Jan. 1, Perma Bull Tom Lee Predicts New BTC Highs appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Young and small cryptocurrency businesses will pay lower registration fees than big companies, the United Kingdom’s financial watchdog has decided after consultations with members of the industry. The revised fee scheme takes into account the firms’ income to determine the amount they’ll be charged to cover supervision costs. Also read: Singapore Introduces Licensing for Crypto Platforms, New Payment Services Act Now in Force Two-Tier Fee Scheme Replaces Proposed £5,000 Flat Charge According to recently announced amendments to the registration regime, small crypto companies will pay £2,000 (around $2,600) for their applications while those with turnover from crypto-related activity exceeding £250,000 ($325,000) will face a higher fee of £10,000 ($13,000). The new two-tier system replaces the flat-rate charge of £5,000 that was proposed last year. In October, the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a consultation paper with its proposals for recovering the oversight costs from the crypto sector under the country’s updated regulations transposing EU’s AMLD5. Since Jan. 10, the agency has been the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing supervisor of businesses operating with digital assets. The changes were made by the FCA Board on the same date and came in force on Jan. 13. The handbook notice was published on Jan. 31. The FCA, which is funded by the fees and levies from the firms it regulates, had estimated it would need to collect a total of £400,000 ($520,000) from 80 potential applicants for the costs of the regulatory gateway. The revision of the application fees comes after the authority received 29 consultation responses and held a meeting with crypto businesses. The authority details: A strong message from a roundtable meeting with cryptoasset businesses on 18 October 2019, backed up by many of the written consultation responses, was that our proposed registration charge of £5,000 would be too high for small firms and startups. The Financial Conduct Authority provides some examples from the feedback it received which influenced its decision. The chief executive of one of the companies shared that a registration fee of £5,000 would’ve been almost as much as his entity spent during the first two years of its launch. Representatives of another company noted that the initially proposed application charge equals the six-month profit from one bitcoin ATM. Compliance Expenses Can Reach 20% of Revenues The FCA acknowledges that some of these small businesses face losses in their early years and that a higher registration fee might push them to either cease operations or relocate to more favorable jurisdictions. The administration notes, however, that according to an earlier review conducted in 2014, direct regulatory fees represented around 3% to 4% of firms’ revenue. At the same time, indirect compliance costs were at 16% for applicants with revenue up to £250,000. Some of the companies that provided feedback also noted that the fee proposed by the FCA was higher than a similar charge applied by the HM Revenue & Customs, Britain’s tax service, for anti-money laundering supervision. Others have expressed doubts regarding the cost of the regulatory gateway, noting that it’s unclear how the FCA came to the £400,000 figure. Respondents also asserted that the FCA had underestimated the size of the sector that might have much more than 80 entities, given that even already registered financial services companies will be required to apply and pay the new fee if they want to conduct cryptoasset activities. To these concerns, the regulator replies with a promise to “keep these charges under review and may consult on amending them once we have greater experience of the industry and are registering new businesses only.” The financial authority insists that late registrants won’t enjoy any advantages. “All cryptoasset businesses trading on 10 January 2020 are subject to 5MLD and are required to be registered with the FCA by 10 January 2021. We have warned that we cannot guarantee to give a decision by then if businesses apply after 30 June 2020,” Handbook Notice 73 reads. In other words, if a business files its application too late, there’s a risk that it might not be registered by Jan. 10 and would have to cease operations until its status is determined. What’s your opinion about the U.K.’s registration process for crypto companies and the applicable fees? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. 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 UK Crypto Startups to Pay Discounted £2,000 Fee for Registration, FCA Revises Application Charges appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Xx network is designed to allow people to communicate and exchange value without revealing any information to intrusive government agencies or companies that collect and sell personal data. It was created by Dr. David Chaum, a world-renowned cryptographer and privacy advocate. The public sale of the Xx coin that powers the network is now live. Also Read: David Chaum’s Elixxir Invites Smartphone Users to Test Private Messaging Xx Public Sale Is Now Live The initial Xx coin public sale started on 23 January, and will close when the target cap of $15 million is reached or on 19 February, 2020. This digital token is designed to support and incentivize the Xx network, the privacy-protecting blockchain led by Dr. David Chaum, founder of the Elixxir and Praxxis projects which underpin the decentralized ecosystem. The platform will support decentralized messaging, payments, and apps, and was designed in response to growing public concern for user privacy and online security. The full details of the Xx network public sale can be found through the xx-coin.io website. Americans please take note that due to regulatory concerns U.S. persons are excluded from this initial public sale. The team and company (xx network SEZC) are based and headquartered in Grand Cayman. The Xx network integrates technology from two projects and teams: Elixxir and Praxxis, both led by Dr. Chaum. Elixxir technology protects privacy by combining end-to-end encryption with a metadata shredding mix network which obscures metadata for messaging and payments. With Elixxir, both messages and payments are mixed together, shredding all metadata and preventing third parties from seeing that a message or payment was ever sent. Praxxis has developed what is a next-generation, quantum secure blockchain which uses a unique consensus mechanism. After transactions are mixed through Elixxir, payments are passed to the independently owned nodes running the Xx consensus protocol to be confirmed and added to the blockchain. Explaining the difference from other privacy focused solutions, the Xx developers note that while many of today’s communications platforms are encrypted, they don’t protect metadata. Metadata is data about data, such as who sent a message, who received it, where it was sent from, and what time it was sent. “Email, social media, and mobile applications have transformed the way we communicate and exchange value,” the team stated. “However, mainstream technology companies have proven unwilling or unable to protect user privacy, opting for profits based on advertising instead. Even with encrypted messaging applications, metadata is collected to track consumer behavior including the sender, recipient, and time stamp. Governments and organizations can use this data to manipulate users and ultimately threaten our freedom.” When metadata is collected and analyzed, it can reveal a lot about an individual. The Xx network is meant to change this by offering secure, encrypted communications and payments that fully obscure metadata and allowing you to transact without the fear of being spied on. Former National Security Agency (NSA) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director, Michael Hayden, famously said in 2014 that “We kill people based on metadata.” He explained that “metadata alone can provide an extremely detailed picture of a person’s most intimate associations and interests, and it’s actually much easier as a technological matter to search huge amounts of metadata than to listen to millions of phone calls.” Developed by Cypherpunk Pioneer David Chaum Dr. David Lee Chaum is a pioneer in cryptography and privacy-preserving technologies, and widely recognized as the inventor of digital cash. Known as “The Godfather of Privacy,” Dr. Chaum first proposed a solution for protecting metadata with mix-cascade networks in 1979. In 1982, his dissertation at the University of California, Berkeley became the first known proposal of a blockchain protocol. In 1995 Chaum’s company Digicash, an electronic money corporation, created the first digital currency with ecash. The renowned cypherpunk once lamented that internet technologies would create a dossier society where government would catalog information on each individual and track every person and keep tabs on their comings and goings. Today, Dr. Chaum is the founder of Elixxir, Praxxis, and the Xx network. Chris Larsen, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of the Ripple Network, commented about the Xx early private sale, “David Chaum has been a defender of privacy in the digital world for almost forty years. I am proud to be an early backer and look forward to seeing this consumer-facing blockchain open the door to secure use by millions of individuals in their daily lives.” The Xx coin is used to incentivize governance that enforces transparent operation of the network and empowers users to participate in the ecosystem. The Xx coin is also used to pay for high volume messaging, effect payments and in decentralized apps. In September 2019 Elixxir announced the launch of the Xx network public alpha and invited smartphone users to test the network’s private messaging capabilities. Maintained by a team of nodes run by independent operators, the Xx network alpha represents the first public demonstration of Cmix, the transaction network that shreds metadata and provides unprecedented consumer privacy and security. The Xx messenger ensures users’ messages are not only end-to-end encrypted but also are stripped of all metadata, protecting all private user information. What do you think about the Xx coin public sale? 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 Public Sale Is Live for Coin Powering Cypherpunk Pioneer David Chaum’s Privacy Focused Xx Network appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In December news.Bitcoin.com reported on the Croatian Post’s launch of their own crypto exchange service. After a pilot run in the tourist friendly city of Zadar, the program was expanded to 55 post office branches nationwide starting December 11. Now almost two months in, Croatian Post has provided an update to news.Bitcoin.com on the progress of the exchange. Local users of the service have increased since the pilot, and the most popular cryptos traded are BTC, ETH, and XRP. Also Read: Croatian Post Launches Crypto Exchange Service at 55 Branches Locals and Tourists Alike Now Using Exchange Service The Croatian Post crypto exchange service allows users to exchange crypto for Croatian kuna at 55 post office branches across the country. Supported cryptocurrencies are bitcoin core, ether, XRP, stellar, and EOS. According to the corporation, which is the largest postal provider in the Republic of Croatia, “During the pilot that was done in a tourist centre Zadar [the service] was mostly used by foreigners, but since the state-wide launch in December it became more and more popular with locals.” Croatian postage stamp. The initial announcement in December pointed to the convenience for tourists, who want to easily convert their crypto to local currencies while traveling, stating: “In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of cryptocurrency users, who very often plan to travel to those places where they can convert their digital money to the national currency.” Now that the program is becoming more popular with local users and not just tourists, the Croatian Post notes that “We are very satisfied with the volumes of the service. Of course, we are expecting much higher volumes of cryptocurrency exchange when the tourist season starts.” A buy option is also planned to be introduced soon, providing a crypto on-ramp for users. The most commonly exchanged currencies thus far are BTC, ETH, and XRP. The crypto calculator tool on the website announces that a buy option is coming soon. Most Popular Cryptos Exchanged for Croatian Kuna Regarding the most popular cryptos, Croatian Post told news.Bitcoin.com: Most popular crypto exchanged is, as expected, Bitcoin, followed by Ether. Ripple is also quite popular. EOS and Stellar Lumens are also accepted, but not as commonly recognised and used. The group further elaborated, “The service is quite new, only launched in December state-wide, so we don’t have many recurring customers and we don’t see any rules in the way people use this service. Depending on the time of the year and also on part of the country however we see a difference in resident and non-resident customers.” As news.Bitcoin.com’s Kevin Helms recently reported, in addition to Croatian Post, similar services are also being offered by post offices in Liechtenstein and Austria. Should residents and tourists in Croatia wish to purchase or sell bitcoin cash (BCH), they can do so via a variety of payment methods on the private peer-to-peer trading platform local.Bitcoin.com. What do you think about the progress of Croatian Post’s new service? 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, Valentin Ivantsov, Croatian Post, fair use. 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 Croatian Post’s Crypto Exchange 2 Months in: More Local Users, BTC, ETH, and XRP Favored by Customers appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

“The central banks of Britain, Japan, the euro zone, Sweden and Switzerland have grouped up to assess potential use cases for digital currencies. Talk of such currencies gained momentum after Facebook announced plans last year to introduce a cryptocurrency called libra,” – CNBC. In the light of such developments, it is evident that those who view crypto as an engine of freedom are losing control of the narrative. Also read: Why User Experience Is Crypto’s True ‘Killer App’ The Narrative That Powers Peer-to-Peer Digital Currency “The narrative” is an important concept because those who command the narrative are most likely to determine the outcome. Once closely associated with political correctness, the term has gone mainstream in recent years. The narrative is the story of something—an issue, an idea—but it is more than merely relating the facts of a matter. In postmodern philosophy, from which political correctness draws heavily, the narrative creates reality; it creates the facts. The dominant story becomes the culture and the truth of a society. In other words, the narrative defines reality, not vice versa. This is one reason why the left is so preoccupied with the control of words and ideas; words and ideas control reality itself. Most people use “the narrative” in a more casual way to mean a story that takes a specific approach or tone. Left-wing and right-wing narratives war with each other on issues, for example. Nevertheless, the term retains some of its original meaning. Giving context and interpretation to an issue does define what people view as true about it. In turn, the general public’s perception does influence the events or facts that follow, especially in the absence of a competing narrative. This is why states censor: they want to eliminate competing “truths.” This process applies to crypto, including the blockchain. The narrative of freedom can define the outcome. When it becomes effective at doing so, censorship is likely; at the moment, there is no need. Again, those to whom crypto is an engine of freedom are losing control of the narrative. Few things are as important to the future of crypto than to reclaim Bitcoin’s original vision of financial freedom from what is becoming the dominant context and interpretation: statism. Freedom Through Decentralization Happily, freedom enjoys a distinct advantage. The mechanics of crypto favor it strongly. Crypto’s decentralization gives economic power to the average person who transfers wealth around the globe at will, requiring only the protection of solid encryption. And, yet, the state could win; some believe it already has. Crypto needs a powerful competing narrative of freedom. It needs to remember its roots. Much more than financial freedom is at stake: every other freedom rests upon the ability of people to control their own wealth. Every time some aspect of free-market crypto is explored, such a narrative expands and users move closer to independence. Establishing the Narrative The first step in establishing a narrative of freedom is to reject the claim that crypto is simply another investment or money-making tool. Certainly, this is one function of crypto. And for some people, it may be the only function. But this is a comment upon their psychology or motives, not upon the inherent nature of crypto which exists as a thing apart. The claim is also dangerous; it opens the door to state control because the vast majority of financial institutions are now under its authority in one form or another and using them tends to legitimize their existence. This is a story that needs to change. By far, the best freedom narrative for crypto is the truth because it withstands scrutiny and has the practical advantage of being backed by reality. The best approach to this narrative is to state the basics of crypto, simply and clearly. And then aggressively build upon them. Crypto is usually discussed in economic, political, or technical terms. But Aristotle claimed that “all things are philosophical.” That is, the foundation of everything, including technology, is philosophical because philosophy asks the most fundamental questions about a thing. Aristotle The Philosophy of Crypto Philosophy is not arcane or elite. Classical Greek philosophy used to serve the same function that psychology does today; it taught the principles of how to live a better life. Philosophy can be broken into three broad categories: metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Metaphysics deals with the first principles or nature of reality and the relationship between what exists, including abstractions. Epistemology is the theory of human knowledge, especially its acquisition, validation, and scope. Ethics is the branch of knowledge that addresses the moral principles governing behavior. Three questions capture the relationship between these categories. What exists? How do I know it? So what? The “Philosophy of Crypto” is a book-length project but a brief glimpse of it can be garnered by loosely applying the three categories of philosophy to crypto. Metaphysics. Metaphysics arises every time someone accuses crypto of not being real because it is based on “nothing.” This is a metaphysical attack as much as an economic or political one. These days, the accusation is not generally hurled at the blockchain which has been widely adopted by businesses and states. The blockchain’s elegant efficiency means that it will continue to spread into every corner of life. And useful things automatically acquire the status of real. The second half of crypto—the coins—is a different matter. Crypto without physical backing, such as gold or a basket of fiat currencies, is often called “unreal.” Clearly, this claim is untrue. At its root, crypto is an algorithm—a string of computer commands that produce a result. In this case, the result is a coin that is accepted as a medium of exchange. Whether or not people credit it as valid money, crypto is definitely real. As with fiat, its value is based upon people’s acceptance of it. Unlike fiat, the acceptance does not have to be coerced. Freedom From Mainstream Finance In his essay “Bitcoin Equals Freedom,” Ross Ulbricht pointed to another value upon which the “something” of crypto is based—freedom from financial authorities, especially from central banks. It is like magic that Bitcoin could somehow come from nothing, and without prior value or authoritative decree, become money. But Bitcoin did not appear in a vacuum. It was a solution to a problem cryptographers had been struggling with for many years: How to create digital money with no central authority that couldn’t be forged and could be trusted. Epistemology. What does truth mean in crypto, and how do human beings know it? The truth of crypto and the blockchain is that they work. The better they function, the truer they become. Human beings know when crypto and the blockchain are true because they work. Every time the blockchain delivers and preserves information, it is akin to a proof of principle. Ethics. The “so what?” of crypto is contained within its structure. Which is to say, the ethics of crypto is an extension of its reality (metaphysics) and how its truth works (epistemology). Crypto is inherently decentralized and entirely voluntary. More than this, the blockchain cannot be centralized and controlled by a single hand or authority, and no one can be forced to use it. Free-market crypto is controlled by individual users who agree to exchange and co-operate to mutual advantage. It is a pure expression of non-violence. This is its ethical basis. The only way to introduce violence is through crime, such as hacking a wallet. Overwhelmingly, the crime introduced is state control; even then, however, the state cannot impose its will on the blockchain, only on the people who use it. These people need to understand the narrative of freedom. Ulbricht’s article concludes, “The promise of freedom and the allure of destiny energized the early community. Bitcoin was consciously, yet spontaneously taken up as money while no one was watching, and our world will never be the same.” Bitcoin was created to fulfill a promise of freedom and the allure of destiny. It was forged by cryptographers who did not know it would become a popular currency and investment. Its worth as money should never be denigrated, but those who view crypto only as money are missing the point. The narrative of freedom must do a better job of explaining. Op-ed disclaimer: This is an Op-ed article. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the Op-ed article. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the content. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any information in this Op-ed 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 Wendy McElroy: The Narrative and Philosophy of Cryptocurrency appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A software developer recently launched a new Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) tipping bot for Telegram chats that allows anyone to tip any SLP token using the application. The developer and Reddit user ‘Maxwell10206’ revealed the platform on Monday and people can join the Mint SLP Telegram chat group to learn more about the bot’s functionality. Also read: Crypto Employment Abounds With More Than 8,000 Jobs in 2020 SLP tokens are quite popular these days and the protocol’s infrastructure and third-party support have grown robust over the last 12 months. Just recently, Bitcoin.com launched the latest version of the Bitcoin.com Wallet and it offers full support for SLP tokens. Additionally, a developer and Reddit user called u/Maxwell10206 recently revealed a new Telegram tipping bot that allows users to send any type of SLP token to people in chat rooms. News.Bitcoin.com chatted with the developer who calls himself Max and he told us his team was inspired to “make it easier for users to have their own SLP tipping bot without having to write a single line of code.” “We want to get feedback from the community to continue improving the bot’s user experience and adding features,” Max told news.Bitcoin.com on Tuesday. “We are also thinking of adding the bot to different messaging platforms such as Discord.” Mint Bot and the Mint SLP official chat room. Since the announcement, the Mint SLP Telegram group has gathered roughly 60 members and a number of people are testing the bot’s tipping features. The bot is called Mint Bot and the developers created an SLP token called Mint which can be used with the bot. In the chat room, users are being tipped with the Mint token and Max has been tipping newcomers with the coin as well. Our newsdesk decided to give the Mint Bot a test to see the bot’s functionality and the list of commands. In order to interact with the bot you simply have a private or direct message with Mint Bot and it greets you by saying: “Hello, I am Mint Bot — I am an SLP token tipping bot — Here is a list of my commands.” The bot’s commands are similar to other Telegram tipping bots and the Twitter tipping bot Tippr. Commands include “default” which lists the Mint token’s ID and “deposit,” which gives you an SLP address in order to load tokens. The command “whitelist” with a token name or token ID typed as well will invite Mint Bot to your Telegram group and add any SLP token for users to tip with. Simply typing and entering “whitelist” by itself will show a list of whitelisted tokens. Mint Bot’s commands. If you want to tip a user with an SLP token after you have deposited tokens into the bot’s address, simply reply to another user’s message and type “tip” with the token’s name and the amount you wish to give. Additionally, if you message the bot directly and type “balance,” the bot will list your balance and show all the tokens you own. Typing “withdraw” will allow you to send tokens to another SLP address but you are required to add the token ID, amount, and forwarding SLP address with the command. The SLP bot Max created is fairly simple to use if you have leveraged a tipping bot in the past. If not, you will need to read the list of commands and test them out with the bot in a direct message conversation. When news.Bitcoin.com talked with Max he explained that the platform uses bitcoin cash to pay the network fee when someone makes an SLP token withdrawal. “No BCH is required for the user to withdraw,” Max said. “We pay the costs, but the bot does accept donations to help pay for those costs as well as server costs to host the bot.” Max explained that his brother was instrumental in helping build the new Mint Bot and a lot of credit goes to him as well. He also noted that right now, the bot is closed source and they will take open source into consideration in the future. “The bot is custodial — We are confident in its security, but just as someone would use Coinbase or another custodial service they should only store the amount they want to use,” Max stressed. The developer added: The bot can be easily added to any Telegram group chat and start tipping any SLP tokens to your liking. Direct message the bot for help with this, use the whitelist commands it tells you about to set the bot up in your own Telegram group chat. The Telegram SLP tipping bot Max and his brother created was well received on the Reddit forum r/btc the day he announced the launch. One user commented that the developers should implement the bot with the Matrix/Riot messenger service and said the Telegram-like application is “picking momentum quickly and it has an API for bots.” The Mint Bot follows the SLP tipping bot that tips spice tokens (SPICE) and is used in various Telegram chat rooms. Additionally, there’s the Button Wallet bot news.Bitcoin.com tested last May that leverages bitcoin cash (BCH), but doesn’t support SLP tokens. With the ability to use any SLP token, Max and his brother’s new Mint Bot is one of a kind. What do you think about the new SLP token tipping bot? 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, tip bots, software, 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. Image credits: Shutterstock, Fair use, Pixabay, Simpleledger.cash, the SLP Mint Telegram chat room (names obscured), Mint Bot, Jamie Redman, and the Reddit Forum r/btc. 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 Mint Bot Allows Telegram Users to Tip People in Chat Rooms With Any SLP Token appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

During the first week of February, the Kleiman v. Wright lawsuit continues with more tales about the alleged bonded courier. In mid-January, Craig Wright revealed a third party provided him with the necessary information to unlock an encrypted file he could not access previously. Now Wright is claiming attorney-client privilege over 11,000 documents and he also claims the bonded courier is a lawyer who cannot share any information with the court. Also Read: A List of Self-Proclaimed Bitcoin Inventors and Satoshi Clues Debunked in 2019 Defunct Businesses and Privilege Assertions New court filings from the Kleiman v. Wright lawsuit in Florida have been published and as usual, there’s a slew of new information that thickens the plot. The infamous Craig Wright, who has relentlessly asserted he is Satoshi Nakamoto, is being sued by the family of his former business partner Dave Kleiman. The security expert Kleiman is now deceased, but his brother Ira believes Wright defrauded Dave of billions of dollars worth of bitcoin assets and intellectual property. The Kleiman family thinks Wright tampered and manipulated Dave’s inheritance after his death and the court case has been ongoing since February 2018. The reason the Kleimans may think that Wright and Dave had a partnership together that acquired 1.1 million BTC is due to articles published on December 9, 2015 by Gizmodo and Wired. Moreover, Wright has been telling the public he invented Bitcoin for well over four years. David Kleiman (left) and Craig Wright. Additionally, the Wired and Gizmodo articles, as well as documents filed in the Kleiman v. Wright lawsuit, shows the ostensible existence of a trust that holds the 1.1 million BTC. Wright has discussed the trust on various occasions in court and said that he was waiting on a bonded courier to unlock an encrypted file he could not access previously. This file allegedly holds all the BTC addresses Wright has owned and because the file was locked he could not share the addresses with the Florida court. The trust known as the “Tulip Trust” expired in January 2020 and the Judge gave Wright until the first week of February to await the “mysterious” bonded courier. Following the order from the Judge, a document filed on January 14 explained that Wright had met with a “third party.” Wright’s legal team stated: “A third party has provided the necessary information and key slice to unlock the encrypted file, and Dr. Wright has produced a list of his bitcoin holdings, as ordered by the Magistrate Judge, to the plaintiffs today.” The latest filing submitted to the court on February 2, 2020. Another document filed on Sunday shows that Wright has asserted privilege over 11,000 documents. “That number continues to grow, with 2,100 documents added just last week,” Kleiman’s legal council detailed. The number of privilege assertions stems from over a dozen firms Wright was formerly involved with or created. Kleiman’s attorney noted that the asserted privilege is not the only thing stopping them from analyzing the documents properly. “The vague descriptions of what is being withheld makes any meaningful analysis on a document by document basis impossible,” the latest court document’s notes assert. “But most troubling is the web of companies defendant has used to shield what will likely end up being tens of thousands of documents.” The Kleiman’s legal team Roche, Cyrulnik & Freedman LLP decided to make a list of all the companies Wright has used for privilege assertions. The lawyers write: Based on that investigation, plaintiffs [has] determined that all but two companies and Nchain have already ceased to exist; and those two are in the process of being liquidated by an external administrator in Australia. The #1 symbol cites “the companies identified as ‘liquidated’ and that were all put into ‘external administration’ in which a court-appointed liquidator was tasked with winding up their affairs.” Mysterious Bonded Courier Is Allegedly a Lawyer Who Cannot Communicate Due to Attorney-Client Privilege Further, the plaintiffs’ memorandum discloses that Wright claims the “bonded courier is an attorney and his communications are privileged.” Wright’s legal team submitted this information on January 28, 2020, and Kleiman’s legal team said they will challenge this new assertion shortly. In the last court filings, when the third party allegedly appeared in January, the plaintiffs said they deserve answers about the courier and cited that Wright had previously “forged documents, submitted false declarations and perjured himself in open court.” Ira Kleiman’s legal team Roche, Cyrulnik & Freedman LLP are requesting relief from the Judge due to Wright’s latest protests in court. Wright has filed protective privilege assertions over thousands of documents because of formerly associated companies. He also claims the bonded courier is an attorney who is not privy to communicate about the matter. Roche, Cyrulnik & Freedman had already requested “seven interrogatories about the courier.” The lawyers noted at the time that they want pertinent information in regards to “the bonded courier and his company.” Because of Wright’s recent privilege assertions with numerous companies and the fact that he insists the bonded courier is an attorney who cannot communicate, the plaintiffs’ legal team now “seeks relief.” What do you think about Kleiman and Wright’s latest court filings? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Bitcoin.com, Twitter, Pacer, Court Listener, Wiki Commons, Fair Use, and Pixabay. 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 Craig Wright’s ‘Bonded Courier’ Allegedly an Attorney Who Can’t Communicate appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The clash of two emotions, fear and greed, is said to determine investors’ sentiment. This ratio draws a historical picture of the market and it’s also an indicator of its future state. As an established trend, traditional investments such as stocks and digital assets like cryptocurrencies often move in opposite directions. The beginning of 2020 has provided another example of that. Also read: China Stocks Plummet Despite 1.2 Trillion Yuan Injection to Mitigate Effects of Epidemic S&P 500 Fear and Greed Index Slides Into Fear Territory Economic crises and financial meltdowns, geopolitical tensions, trade wars, and epidemics, such as the coronavirus outbreak in Asia, affect traditional investments and cryptos, often in different ways. Stocks, for example, tend to fall when investors see risks for the traditional economic and financial systems, while decentralized digital currencies usually gain value in this type of situation. The CNN Fear and Greed Index, which gauges emotions of stock investors, looks at seven indicators such as stock price momentum, or the S&P 500 Index versus its 125-day moving average. The observed diversion from the average of each indicator is compared to their normal diversion and the combined result for all indicators provides the final index reading, from 0 to 100. The higher it is, the greedier investors are at a certain moment in time. In early January, the index was in “Extreme Greed” territory with readings over 90 in the first days of 2020, up from around 60 points a year ago. Since then, responding to dipping stock prices due to the expanding coronavirus outbreak in China, it moved away from the high levels, dropping to below 70 around two weeks ago. Investors remained relatively bullish but changes in some of the index’s components indicated their fears were growing. The latest update puts the index in the range between “Neutral” and “Fear.” It’s at 46 at the time of writing, with the previous close at 44. Its current rating reflects the S&P 500 slide from the end of January which came after a new case of the deadly infection was confirmed in the United States. Chinese stocks also plummeted on market reopen this past Monday, Feb. 3, after the Lunar New Year holidays. The majority of almost 4,000 shares dropped by the daily limit very quickly. The coronavirus death toll in the country has already exceeded 360, with 17,000 confirmed cases so far. Crypto Fear and Greed Index Scores Monthly High Monday’s massive sell-off of Chinese shares provoked а reaction from crypto markets too. The prices of major cryptocurrencies such as BTC and BCH briefly jumped right after stock trading resumed in the People’s Republic, following the extended break that lasted more than a week. The sudden spike confirmed a frequently observed phenomenon: traditional stocks and digital asset markets are often negatively correlated. A Crypto Fear and Greed Index developed by Alternative.me, a platform that tracks multiple indicators in the crypto space, helps to better understand the mood of cryptocurrency investors and compare their behavior with that of traditional investors. Alternative.me analyzes emotions and sentiments from different sources on a daily basis and compiles the data to produce its index which is valid for BTC and other large cryptocurrencies, the website details. It tracks volatility (25%), market momentum and volume (25%), social media (15%), surveys (15%), BTC dominance (10%), and Google Trends data (10%). The index’s creators note: The crypto market behavior is very emotional. People tend to get greedy when the market is rising which results in FOMO. Also, people often sell their coins in irrational reaction of seeing red numbers. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index uses the same 0 – 100 scale, where zero means “Extreme Fear” while readings closer to the hundred mark indicate “Extreme Greed.” In the past couple of days, the index has been between 56 and 59, which is in “Greed” territory. A similar reading was registered last week, 57. About a month ago, the index was “Neutral” at 51 points. It has been rising from a recent low of 15 on Dec. 18, 2019 to a monthly high of 59 on Feb. 3, when China’s stock market opened with sliding indicators. Do you consider fear and greed indices a reliable source of information about stock and crypto markets? 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, CNN, Alternative.me. Do you want to keep an eye on moving cryptocurrency prices? Visit our Bitcoin Markets tool to get real-time price updates, and head over to our Blockchain Explorer tool to view all previous BCH and BTC transactions. The post Fear Grips Stock Market Traders While Cryptocurrency Investors Become Greedy appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

It can be very hard to keep track of all the latest software upgrades in the crypto ecosystem, which is a crucial thing to do for developers of multi-coin projects such as wallets and exchanges. For this purpose, Blockchair​ has created a free ​release monitor​ that helps you follow upcoming hard forks and core client updates for a dozen different crypto networks. Also Read: Blockchair Feed Reveals Messages Encoded in the BCH, BTC and ETH Blockchains Blockchair Launches Free Release Monitor Blockchair is a search and analytics engine for different crypto networks that offers developer tools such as APIs, direct SQL-access, Data Dumps and PDF-receipts. On Monday the Blockchair team launched a free release monitor that allows developers to find all upcoming hard forks and core client updates for a dozen crypto networks in one place. This new feature is especially designed to be useful for developers of multi-currency blockchain software such as wallets and exchanges. With this tool, they will never miss a hard fork or core client update anymore. As soon as there is a new release of blockchain reference node software, users of the monitor will be among the first to know about it. The release monitor is available on the website, and also via an API and a dedicated Telegram channel. “The idea is that there are lots of blockchains with constant updates, forks, etc, explained Nikita Zhavoronkov, Lead Developer at Blockchair. “The thing is that once there are more than 2 or 3 blockchains you support, it becomes a mess to get to know about the latest updates. There are some tools that allow you to track multiple Git Hub repositories at once, but this still requires some setup. We had all the updates on our internal kanban board, so we decided to make a small, but extremely useful, tool for this.” Blockchair has been described as an engine of blockchain explorers on steroids. It covers the crypto networks of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Cardano, Bitcoin SV, Stellar, Monero, Dash, Dogecoin, Groestlcoin, and Telegram Open Network. Users can get information about a crypto’s price, network difficulty, and transactions per second while also being able to look at networks simultaneously for comparisons. For instance, you can compare the difficulty of one blockchain in contrast to the BCH network difficulty. What do you think about this new tool from Blockchair? 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 Blockchair Launches Release Monitor so You Will Never Miss Another Hard Fork or Core Client Update appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Trading in any market can be a difficult thing, especially if you lack technical knowledge. Luckily, there are services like managed investment accounts, where a professional does all the work for you. A managed investment account (or portfolio) can be defined as a set of assets that are given to a certain financial company, a broker or financial advisor, who are tasked with making all the investment decisions about the portfolio for you, and with the ultimate purpose of obtaining the best possible results. Managed trading accounts are a smart way of making your money work for you and to protect your investment by placing it in the hands of professionals with years of experience and the necessary tools to minimize the risk. Why Choose A Managed Trading Account? When it comes to investing, being knowledgeable in the market is the most important thing. Successful investors understand market trends, study the market, its movement, story, related news and any other piece of information that could move the scale one way or the other. Additionally, traders need technical knowledge to analyze charts and understand their movements to maximize profits. Given the difficulty and the knowledge it takes to enter this market, many financial and brokerage firms offer investment products that do the heavy lifting for their clients. Offering all sorts of managed accounts with low, medium and high risks, this type of portfolio is accessible and affordable for all participants in the market. One of the most innovative factors in managed accounts is the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in trading bots. Through a combination of efficient programming, trading bots are built with AI to offer real-time trading that imitates the thinking of a financial analyst who collects and processes data. In this process, the bot learns about the market and all its history, related news, social media, exchange indicators and more. This information helps bots understand the global market trends and adjust buy/sell orders following optimized and updated data. Additionally, AI cannot experience human emotions such as fear or greed or excitement, improving the overall result of trading. A company leading the way in this specific type of service is Worlds Market, an award-winning firm that offers global investment opportunities. Founded in 2003 as a precious metal dealer, this company has gained a reputation as a leader in the Bullion (Gold/Silver) investment industry and has since expanded its services to provide digital trading services from digital Gold, STOs and now to AI Managed Trading Accounts. With World Markets, both institutional investors such as private banks, funds, and HNW investors; and retail investors, can take advantage of all the services they provide. This regulated company has clients in over 40 countries and has been awarded multiple times, including the best forex trading platform and best AI company. Their AI bot is powered by Microsoft AI and fully verified by companies like BarclayHedge. How Can You Open An Account With World Markets? All you have to do is open a Trading Account, digitally sign the trading agreement, deposit funds to your account and start trading. To learn more about World Markets and their innovative AI Managed Accounts, please visit their website. Supporting Link https://worldmarkets.com/AI-PAMM/accounts/registration This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post World Markets – Managed Trading Accounts appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The U.S. government has opened registration for the bidding of over 4,040 bitcoins, currently worth more than $37 million, which will be auctioned off on Feb. 18. The winning bidder will be notified on the same day. These bitcoins were forfeited in various federal criminal, civil and administrative cases, the U.S. Marshals Service explained. Also read: Regulatory Roundup — New US Crypto Tax Bill, Central Banks Join Forces on Digital Currencies US Government’s BTC Auction The U.S. government is auctioning off some bitcoins this month. According to the announcement by the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) which is holding the auction, approximately 4,040.54069820 bitcoins will be for sale. The USMS is a federal law enforcement agency within the Department of Justice (DOJ). The agency explained that interested parties are invited to submit a bid for purchase, adding: This sealed bid auction is for 4,040.54069820 bitcoin … The required deposit to participate in this auction is $200,000.00 USD. BTC auction notice on the U.S. Marshals Service website. The auction is divided into four series. Series A consists of five blocks of 500 BTC per block, Series B has 10 blocks of 100 BTC each, Series C has 10 blocks of 50 BTC each, and Series D has one block of 40.54069820 BTC. Bidders cannot view other bids and cannot change their bids once submitted. At the current rate, the BTC up for auction is worth more than $37,436,660. How to Participate in the US Government’s Auction To be eligible to bid in the auction, interested bidders must register with the USMS and submit all required documents with deposits. Registration opened on Feb. 3 and will close on Feb. 12. The winning bidder’s deposit will be retained by the USMS and credited towards the purchase price. The deposits of other bidders will be returned to the original accounts from which they were received. The online auction will take place on Feb. 18 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST. Bids must be an all-cash offer in U.S. dollars. The announcement details: The USMS will endeavor to notify the winning bidder(s) by 5:00 PM EST on Tuesday, February 18, 2020. However, the government agency warned that “the number of bids received and the complexity of the review process may require additional review time.” The winning bidder must wire purchase funds to the agency by 2:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Feb. 19. Failing to do so will disqualify the bidder and another winning bidder will be selected. Four series of BTC to be auctioned off by the USMS. Seized BTC From Various Cases The USMS also explained on its website where these digital assets came from, stating: These bitcoins were forfeited in various federal criminal, civil and administrative cases. These cases involved the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Customs and Border Protection (USCBP). Some of them were named, such as the U.S. v. Tyler Lee Ward (Case No. 18-cr-438), U.S. v. Ryan Farace (Case No. 18-cr-00018), U.S. v. Matthew Lee Yensan (Case No. 17-cr-00303), U.S. v. Alexandre Cazes (Case No. 17-cv-00967), and U.S. v. Ronald L. Wheeler, III (Case No. 17-cr-377). The USMS is recognized as the U.S. government’s leader in the sale of cryptocurrency. It has conducted a number of digital asset auctions over the years, including one that disposed of the 144,000 bitcoins seized from the Silk Road darknet marketplace. The first online government auction of seized bitcoins was held in 2014; the USMS sold 130,000 bitcoins valued at approximately $50 million at the time of the sales. In 2015, the agency conducted multiple online bitcoin auctions, selling nearly 174,000 BTC valued at approximately $67 million at the time. The agency established a memorandum of understanding in 2016 with the Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture for it to handle the disposition of forfeited bitcoins emanating from the Treasury Forfeiture Fund. In its annual report for the financial year 2018, the agency declared that it sold a total of 5,883 bitcoins in two auctions for a total of $55.8 million, adding that it continued to be the lead custodian for the 22 different types of cryptocurrencies seized by the DOJ and the Department of Treasury. What do you think of the U.S. government auctioning off bitcoins? Would you want to bid for some? 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 USMS. 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 Government Auctioning off Bitcoins Worth $37 Million in 2 Weeks appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bitcoin.com has developed its fastest ever wallet app with an improved design and a new focus on user experience. The Bitcoin.com Wallet also now offers full support for SLP tokens, opening a whole new universe of digital assets for millions of users around the globe. Also Read: Bitcoin.com Wallet App Marks Over Five Million Wallets Created New Lightning-Fast Crypto Wallet App A new Bitcoin.com Wallet app has begun rolling out to iOS and Android mobile users, bringing millions of people the fastest client ever. Among the new updates included in the mobile app focused on speed is Instant Pay, a feature which completes bitcoin cash payments in less than a second, making it faster than traditional payment methods and other existing wallets. It delivers a seamless payment experience through the app, allowing users to complete transactions instantly at online and physical retailers that accept bitcoin cash. To use this new feature, you simply need to set up a spending threshold in the app before performing a transaction and then the BCH payment can be completed instantly once the recipient’s QR code has been scanned. The increased speed should result in more customers choosing BCH as their preferred choice of payment. “Censorship-resistant peer-to-peer cash is now lightning fast through our wallet app. Instant Pay, an all-new wallet feature which is exclusive to Bitcoin Cash, lets you make payments in a split second,” stated Stefan Rust, CEO of Bitcoin.com. “These payments outpace Visa and Mastercard, making our wallet app faster than any other.” In addition to speed, the new wallet app feature other new and improved functions including letting users manage BCH and BTC in one secure integrated platform, as well as allowing them to purchase BCH and BTC using a credit card. The app also focuses on personal customization, letting users tweak their accounts to their liking with new options. The developers have even introduced a personal notes mechanism, which allows users to append data to individual transactions. On the privacy and security side, fingerprint identification and facial recognition are also now available to ensure that only the owner can access the account. And customizable transaction speed settings have been introduced, which can be used to delay payment confirmation. The app also features a Discover section – a new maps interface that allows users to locate nearby merchants that accept bitcoin cash for payments, ensuring you can always find a place to spend BCH and encouraging more businesses to adopt the cryptocurrency. “The new design of the Bitcoin.com Wallet makes the entire experience easier for new users,” commented Corbin Fraser, the Head of Product at Bitcoin.com. “Our design team spent a lot of time considering how to create the most beautiful Bitcoin wallet available on the market today.” Your Key to the SLP Token Ecosystem Our development team has also been working around the clock to bring a completely re-imagined app experience that includes SLP tokens, so that the Bitcoin Cash powered tokens are now available in every wallet. With built-in token management support, users can send, receive, and store a variety of tokens that represent anything from dollar-pegged stablecoins to virtual gaming assets and company loyalty points, with the private keys held only by the user. “With the addition of SLP token support, the Bitcoin.com Wallet app has become more than a place to store bitcoin,” added Fraser. “You can now manage thousands of diverse digital assets on the app alongside your cryptocurrency. Stay tuned for more game-changing features which are coming soon, too.” Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) is an easy to use, robust and extensible token management system that allows anyone to create tokens on the Bitcoin Cash network in a permissionless way. It has helped the development of an ecosystem for BCH that replicates the variety of ERC20 tokens on the ETH network. SLP tokens can easily be created, traded, and managed on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain within seconds, while costing users only fractions of a penny for each transaction. All transactions are recorded onchain, and custom token behavior can be defined using a bitcoin Script developing language. SLP token adoption has grown rapidly since being introduced in August 2018. This is in part thanks to Bitcoin.com Exchange which has started listing SLP tokens for trading on its platform. These include assets such as Gocrypto’s GOC, a token that enables merchants to accept crypto payments and receive settlement in their local fiat currency, as well as ACD, a token issued by the Tokyo-based ANA Holdings subsidiary Alliance Cargo Direct. Another recently released SLP token is Lead, an exclusive reward token you can earn by growing the Bitcoin Cash ecosystem. SLP support has also been added by Cybavo, a cybersecurity firm providing private key management services to some of the biggest exchanges in the world. In total more than 6,000 tokens have been created using the SLP framework so far. Last month, Bitcoin.com released the open source SLP Indexer Server for validating tokens and to make SLP transactions perform as fast as BCH, empowering developers to create even greater projects on the Bitcoin Cash network. The Bitcoin.com Wallet app is free to download now for Android and iOS. What do you think about the lightning fast new Bitcoin.com Wallet? 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.Com Releases Fastest Ever Wallet App, With Built-In Support for Bitcoin Cash-Powered Tokens appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

China’s stock market plunged Monday under selling pressure accumulated during a prolonged holiday. Investors have been worried by the coronavirus outbreak that’s already taken the lives of more than 360 people. Beijing authorities have responded by pumping well over a trillion yuan into the country’s economy and financial system. Also read: China’s Inflation Hits a Record 4.5% as Beijing Prepares to Test Digital Yuan Chinese Stock Market Opens With Sell-Off Reacting to economic complications stemming from the growing coronavirus outbreak, investors marked the opening of the Chinese stock market with an intensive selling. On Monday, the first day of trading after an extended Lunar New Year break, the majority of shares dropped by the daily limit. The CSI 300 Index fell over 9% during the day before closing at 7.9%, the biggest loss since 2015, Bloomberg reported. Ending the year down 2.8% on Jan. 23, the Shanghai Composite Index has now sank 7.7%. Crypto markets reacted to the losses with a temporary spike. The price of bitcoin core (BTC) briefly exceeded $9,600, its highest level since October 2019, before losing some of those gains shortly after. Bitcoin cash (BCH) jumped to over $393 following the opening of the Asian markets on Monday morning. At the time of writing, BTC is trading in the $9,200-$9,400 range and the price of BCH hovers around the $380 mark. The stock market slump came after media reports this weekend revealed that Chinese regulators are taking steps to limit short-selling. According to sources quoted by Reuters, China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued a verbal directive to that effect, instructing brokerages to prevent clients from selling borrowed stocks when markets reopen on Feb. 3. The CSRC reportedly suspended securities lending. The turmoil affected China’s national currency as well and the yuan opened at its weakest level since the beginning of the year, losing more than 1% to around 7 per U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, Beijing accused the United States of instigating fear over the coronavirus outbreak. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying stated that with evacuations and travel restrictions, Washington “has unceasingly manufactured and spread panic,” contrary to recommendations of the World Health Organization. Countries should make reasonable, calm and science-based judgements, the diplomat added. People’s Bank of China Pumps 1.2 Trillion Yuan Other senior Chinese officials have made similar statements regarding market participants urging investors to be rational and objective when evaluating the consequences of the spreading virus. However, the death toll from the epidemic has reached 361. And the number of fatalities is higher than during the 2003 SARS outbreak. Over 17,000 cases have been registered so far and infections have been confirmed in two dozen other territories, with the first death outside China reported by the Philippines this past Sunday. As part of efforts to shore up the slowing economy and aid financial markets, Chinese authorities took a number of steps including an interest rate cut for companies based in Hubei province, the epicenter of the epidemic. On Sunday, the People’s Bank of China announced it’s going to spend 1.2 trillion yuan, over $170 billion, to support economic growth which is taking a hit from the deadly virus. The funds were dedicated to a reverse repurchase operation launched to ensure “reasonable and abundant liquidity” and maintain stability in the currency market, France Presse reported. According to the PBOC, overall liquidity in the banking system should reach 900 billion yuan (approx. $129 billion), which is more than during the same period last year. In 2019, the Chinese economy grew by a record low of 6.1%. What do you think about the latest developments in China and the government’s anti-crisis measures? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Do you want to keep an eye on moving cryptocurrency prices? Visit our Bitcoin Markets tool to get real-time price updates, and head over to our Blockchain Explorer tool to view all previous BCH and BTC transactions. The post China Stocks Plummet Despite 1.2 Trillion Yuan Injection to Mitigate Effects of Epidemic appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bitcoin mining rig deliveries from China are delayed due to the coronavirus according to a few Chinese manufacturers. Microbt and Ebang sent notices to customers via the firm’s Wechat channels. Sources say Bitmain and Innosilicon are delaying mining device shipments as well. Also read: How to Obscure Bitcoin Cash Transaction Data by Leveraging Cashfusion Microbt and a Few Chinese ASIC Manufacturers Delay Mining Rig Shipments Because of the Coronavirus Outbreak During the last few weeks, the whole world has been watching the 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak (nCoV) that started in Wuhan China. The coronavirus is commonly found in a few animals like certain birds, but when the virus affects humans it can cause severe respiratory infections and flu-like symptoms. On January 29, the Chinese mining rig manufacturer Microbt, the creators of the Whatsminer series, announced they are delaying shipments internationally because of the virus. The company cited guidelines issued by the Guangdong provincial government and stated that the delay will last until February 9. A rough translation of Microbt’s notice states: “The production, delivery, after-sales service, and the sending and receiving of documents and other arrangements will be delayed as a result.” Microbt, the creators of the mining rig series called Whatminer, has delayed shipments until February 9, 2020. Ebang Delays Mining Rig Shipments In addition to Microbt’s coronavirus delay notice, the 3Logic executive Artem Eremin disclosed that Innosilicon and Bitmain would be delaying mining rig shipments as well. Following Microbt’s announcement, Ebang issued a delay notice as well using the company’s Wechat channel. Ebang’s shipment delays won’t be lifted until February 9-10 according to the translated announcement. Ebang’s notice has a few pictures of doctors, needles, and medical symbols as well. The Chinese mining manufacturer Ebang’s notice. At the moment, there are no antiviral drugs or vaccines that can combat the coronavirus. Additionally, the entire Chinese city of Wuhan (population 11 million) has been quarantined and there are other smaller regions in China that are quarantined as well. A number of crypto market observers believe that cryptocurrencies and safe-haven assets like gold will benefit from the coronavirus scare. Gold has spiked considerably since the outbreak in Wuhan and the cryptocurrency market valuation is up more than 30% year-to-date. However, mining rig shipment delays could affect the overall SHA256 hashrate (BTC, BCH, BSV) and possibly delay it from rising further over the next month. Some speculators believe the delays may affect the overall SHA256 hashrate. At the time of publication, as far as hashrate is concerned BTC has 112 exahash per second (EH/s), BCH has roughly 4 EH/s, and BSV has about 3 EH/s. Microbt, Bitmain, Ebang, and Innosilicon have all announced next-generation miners but most of the deliveries were already scheduled for mid-February. The current delay may not affect the market negatively if this is the case, but it’s quite possible the Guangdong provincial committee and other Chinese government entities will decide to extend the delay if the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread. What do you think about mining rig manufacturers delaying shipments because of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan China? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Fair Use, Wiki Commons, Twitter, and Pixabay. 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 post Coronavirus Outbreak Forces Chinese Crypto ASIC Manufacturers to Delay Orders appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Zengo is a non-custodial mobile wallet that dispenses with private keys in favor of threshold signatures to create two ‘mathematical secret shares’ – one stored on your mobile device, the other on their servers. In other words, there’s no single point of failure and no risk of irretrievably losing your coins in the event of hacking or wallet loss. It’s a novel means of dispensing with seed phrases, but there are some trade-offs to consider. Also read: Bitcoin Verde’s New Project Aims to Promote Bitcoin Cash Node Diversity ‘Safer Than a Seed Phrase’ That’s the elevator pitch of Zengo, who want users to quit entrusting exchanges with their funds and favor a safer option than custodial wallets. They’ve got a point, and judging by the $4 million in seed funding they received last year, others think so too. Incidentally, the mobile wallet is headed up by former Techcrunch editor Ouriel Ohayon. I decided to check Zengo out for myself – the app is free from the App Store and Google Play, although the company plans to introduce a small monthly subscription fee further down the road. Zengo allows you to store bitcoin core (BTC), ethereum (ETH), Binance coin (BNB), dai (DAI), maker (MKR), USD coin (USDC), tether (USDT), and paxos standard (PAX), with the promise of more coins to come. After downloading the app and creating an account, I was prompted to back up my wallet to the cloud using face ID. A few seconds later I was cheerily advised that if the app were to get deleted or I switched devices, all that would be required to gain access is my email, iCloud, and face. “Welcome to keyless :).” Zengo isn’t storing these authentication details, incidentally – Apple and Google are, just as they have been all along. They have no access to the funds stored on your Zengo wallet, however. Nevertheless, it’s evident that Zengo isn’t as private as using a fully noncustodial wallet, which requires the support of no third party – merely the ability to store your seed phrase offline. Biometrics and Buying Bitcoin Can face biometrics really be trusted for securing a bitcoin wallet? Wouldn’t it be possible for someone to use a photograph of your face – or even a sophisticated 3D mask – to break into your account? According to Zengo, the answer is no. To prove it, there’s a Test My Face Map feature in the app, with users encouraged to replicate their real face map. Zengo, who rely on face scanning tech from Zoom, insist that only your real phiz will fit. No need to create a seed phrase for account restoration here – just smile and you’re in. There’s no money in developing crypto wallets, which is why they’re either run by ideologically motivated volunteers or there are revenue-generating services inserted – like the ability to buy cryptocurrency. With the Zengo app, you can purchase BTC, ETH and USDC with credit card. For purchases less than €150 per month you won’t be asked to provide identification or documentation – at least if you’re outside the U.S. For €150 up to €10,000, and for all U.S. transactions, you’ll have to complete verification. Do You Trust the Cloud? Regarding the ‘mathematical secret shares’ that replace a seed phrase with Zengo, one resides on your smartphone, an encrypted copy sits on the Zengo servers, and the decryption code is separately stored in your iCloud or Google Drive account. That last part could be a bone of contention for some users. While Zengo undoubtedly provides a slick, user-friendly onboarding experience, particularly for newbies, not everyone will feel comfortable uploading their mathematical shares to the cloud, even though they’re encrypted, in the face of law enforcement dipping into iCloud accounts whenever they get the urge. Last year, Zengo challenged hackers to break into a Zengo wallet and claim 1 BTC. At the time, bitcoin had just broken $11,000 so it was a fair old bounty. Anyway, the booty went unclaimed and the reputation of the wallet’s open-sourced security model (and that of third-party auditors Kudelski and Appsec) was reinforced. As well as promising “unbreakable security,” Zengo states that users can retrieve their funds even if the company shuts down, thanks to an escrow mechanism. Zengo Works Like Any Other Wallet BTC and ETH appear as default options in the main dashboard during initial setup, while other supported cryptos are accessible from the Asset Manager in the top left-hand corner. In the opposite corner, you can click a smiley icon to initiate a conversation with the support team if you come unstuck. The Zengo app is incredibly easy to navigate and the UX every bit as smooth as advertised. In testing, I sent some BTC to Zengo and saw the transaction appear as pending in the app, with all the requisite details summarized. In the main bitcoin window, there’s also a nice at-a-glance view of the price change over the last hour, day and week. All told, Zengo is a solid non-custodial wallet for those who don’t want the faff of private keys. It occupies a sort of halfway house between custodial and noncustodial, providing greater protection than leaving your coins on an exchange, but with less privacy than using a noncustodial wallet in which keys are generated and stored client-side. Zengo won’t be for everyone, but it might be for grandma – and mom and dad and uncle too. What are your thoughts on wallets like Zengo that dispense with the need to store a seed phrase? 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 Zengo Is a Keyless Yet Noncustodial Bitcoin Wallet appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Launched in October 2018, Asian messaging giant Line’s Bitbox crypto exchange has made its link (LN) digital asset available to users worldwide, with the exception of notable locations like Japan and the U.S. Last Thursday the group announced it was preparing to launch the coin in the Japanese market, compliant with the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA). Though full details are not yet disclosed, a press release from Line details that the digital currency could be available to traders in Japan as soon as April 2020. Also Read: Popular Smartphone Apps Are Adding Crypto Capabilities Link to Arrive in Japanese Market Though the Line messaging app and payment service are popular in Japan, the Line corporation’s digital currency link (LN) has not yet been made available to the domestic market due to regulatory issues. In a press release posted Thursday Line announced: Since launching on the BITBOX cryptocurrency exchange on October 16, 2018, LINK has been available to users worldwide except in Japan and the United States. Concurrently, LVC [Line subsidiary] has been preparing to roll out the coins in the Japanese market in accordance with the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association’s (JVCEA) official process to handle new digital currency. The exact date of launch is not known but the release details, “The coin’s official release date (currently scheduled to be in as early as April 2020) will be announced separately once it is determined.” Line’s Bitbox exchange is at present unavailable to residents of Japan, but the press release notes that “LVC is currently developing a system in preparation for LINK’s debut in Japan.” It is unclear whether the Bitbox exchange itself will be regulated and made available to the Japanese market. However, Line’s in-app exchange service Bitmax, launched in September last year, is available in the country, and a separate announcement will be made when link is available on that platform, according to the release. Regulatory Hurdles for Multiple Social Apps Like link, other projects such as Telegram’s gram and Facebook’s libra currencies are no stranger to legal barriers. As electronic money and crypto redefine what currency is and innovate its potential use cases, regulators worldwide appear to be struggling to deal with the rapid progress. In October, Telegram chose to delay launch of its TON (Telegram Open Network) blockchain in light of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing suit against the group, claiming the gram token is a security. The company had also refused to disclose financial information to the regulator, however this demand for disclosure was reportedly rejected by the New York Southern District Court in early January. Facebook’s libra sees its latest struggles in big time players exiting the Libra Association, some of whom are likely influenced by the project’s ongoing regulatory entanglements. Finally, popular Canadian messaging app Kik announced its own woes in September last year, pointing to an imminent shutdown in light of channeling resources to an SEC court battle for the sake of its own crypto known as “kin.” It’s in this broad milieu of turbulent relationships between new crypto projects and regulators that link will roll out in Japan. With the approval of the JVCEA, however, things can likely be expected to go more smoothly for Line’s digital asset. Whether the token will eventually arrive in the U.S. thanks to the development remains to be seen. What are your thoughts on link’s launch in Japan? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Mongta Studio, fair use. 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 Line’s Digital Currency Link to Be Available in Japan as Early as April 2020 appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Software developer Joshua Green announced Friday via the read.cash blog that the Bitcoin Verde team is launching a project to increase mining diversity. Green believes all the Bitcoin Cash implementations should “strive to be viable mining alternatives” and he’s encouraging full node developers to focus on this goal. Additionally, the engineer disclosed Bitcoin Verde will be constructing a block template validation system that removes the risk associated with miners running different implementations. Also read: How to Obscure Bitcoin Cash Transaction Data by Leveraging Cashfusion Bitcoin Verde Announces the Construction of an Open Source Block Template Validation Service Bitcoin Verde’s Joshua Green has revealed the implementation’s developers will be creating a new project to invoke mining diversity among nodes. Essentially, Green thinks the implementation used by a majority of miners is “exceptionally heavy” and he’d like to see more “network diversity.” Green stressed that Bitcoin ABC’s codebase is stable and the developers have a “fantastic” reputation. “[Bitcoin ABC] is also innovating new features and providing a path for other implementations to follow — This is not an easy task, and they’ve been doing a great job,” Green emphasized. Bitcoin-Verde is a ground-up implementation of the Bitcoin (Cash) (BCH) protocol. The project is an indexing full node, blockchain explorer, and library. Despite these great qualities, Green would still like to see other node clients used by miners in order to promote a more decentralized system. “Bitcoin Verde will be taking a heavy focus on becoming a viable mining node alternative,” Green recently announced. The software developer explained that he would like to see all the major nodes strive to become mining implementations as well. “All five+ implementations should strive to be viable mining alternatives,” Green wrote on Friday. “Being viable means producing quality work; it also means reasonably obliging miners and taking their requests and concerns seriously. I encourage the minor implementations to start focusing more on this.” “We believe this service will become standard practice across all majority mining organizations, and strongly encourage recommendations from miners and the community for how to improve this idea,” Bitcoin Verde’s Joshua Green said on Friday. The developer revealed that the node developers from “BCHD, Bitcoin Unlimited, Bitcoin Verde, and Flowee the Hub have been collaborating in the Bitcoin Verde Telegram about a minority node testnet for mining.” Green also noted that a single implementation is less risky and his team wants to reduce risks for BCH miners. In order to combat the counter-incentive to node diversity, Green and Bitcoin Verde will be creating an open-source block template validation service. Bitcoin Verde is also raising funds for the initiative. “This open-source service will alert miners when the template they are attempting to mine is incompatible with other implementations, and can be ran themselves or by a 3rd party,” Green insisted. The Bitcoin Verde developer added: The block template validation system removes the risk associated with miners running different implementations. Furthermore, with this alert system, miners will be able to prune the transactions that create network incompatibilities or choose to completely switch to a different template. This service doesn’t just benefit minority implementations, it also benefits miners, developers, and the live network as a whole. Bitcoin Verde Receives 3% of Block Template Validation Service Funding, BCH Supporter Donates 15 BCH to Bitcoin Verde, Electron Cash, and Pokkst Green received a lot of feedback from BCH proponents in the comments section of his post and most of the commentary was quite positive. “You cover everything that needs to be covered and do it well — Very clear. Great problem statement, solution break-down, roadmap, and budget,” an individual commented on Green’s read.cash post. Following Green’s proposal, BCH supporter @georg_engelmann donated 15 BCH to help Bitcoin Verde, Electron Cash, and Pokkst’s development. Already $1000 donated to improve #BitcoinCash miner diversity. Awesome! Thank you!https://t.co/J5u22vcHZ7 — Joshua Green (@joshmgreen) February 2, 2020 In a recent Reddit post, the Bitcoin Verde account wrote: “In a single day, 3% of our funding goal has been reached for a block template validation service.” Replying to the post, Engelmann decided to send funds to Verde and other Bitcoin Cash projects. “3×3 for Verde, 3 for Electron Cash and 3 for Pokkst,” Engelmann said. What do you think about Green’s read.cash post and Bitcoin Verde building an open-source block template validation service? Let us know what you think about this topic in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Fair Use, Bitcoin Verde logo, 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 Verde’s New Project Aims to Promote Bitcoin Cash Node Diversity appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

With China still in the lead, other countries are advancing their projects to develop payment systems around central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Cambodia, for example, has recently revealed it will mint its own coin within months. The news comes as more details about the digital Chinese yuan indicate its main purpose will be to substitute cash in a system that provides “controlled anonymity.” Also read: China Issues Digital Currency Guide for Party Cadres Cambodia Becomes the Next State With Own Coin in the Works Cambodia will issue the government-backed crypto to fuel what has been presented as “a blockchain-based, peer-to-peer payment and money transfer platform.” Named ‘Project Bakong,’ the system is supposed to go live in the next few months, Phnom Penh Post reported, as it already has the support of 11 banks and more are expected to join in the near future. National Bank of Cambodia Chea Serey, director-general of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), told the daily that the Bakong commenced in July, 2019. She insisted that the scheme will be operational within the current fiscal quarter. While the newspaper describes it as “a quasi-form of a central bank digital currency,” the central bank official stated that it will be the “national payment gateway for Cambodia.” Serey elaborated: Bakong will play a central role in bringing all players in the payment space in Cambodia under the same platform, making it easy for end-users to pay each other regardless of the institutions they bank with. Eventually, we hope to allow cross border payment through the Bakong system too. One of the private banks helping the project, Phnom Penh Commercial Bank (PPCB), has been working to deploy the new system at all of its branches. In comparison with traditional payment and money transfer options such as credit cards and mobile platforms, Bakong is cheaper and more convenient, PPCB President Shin Chang Moo noted. The banker also commented on concerns that financial institutions like his might lose market share to Bakong. He believes that in the long run the project will facilitate the establishment of more inclusive financial ecosystems that will be beneficial for all stakeholders in the industry. Cambodia’s financial sector is still relatively immature in terms of number of service providers and users, he remarked. Chang Moo made a clear distinction between Bakong and permissionless decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin – the Cambodian digital currency project is a closed system backed by the country’s banks and financial authorities, which leaves no room for speculation. He also revealed that the Bakong wallets will be linked to bank accounts allowing users to exchange their digital coins for the nation’s fiat currency. “All the transactions will be done on a real-time basis with the records stored safely at NBC,” the banker said, adding that other central banks are likely to develop similar systems. Japan Must Be Ready to Issue CBDC, BOJ Deputy Governor Says Other governments and regulators have been paying attention to the accelerating developments in the field of CBDCs. These include much more developed economies and financial systems such as Japan. Although Tokyo has no immediate plans to issue a digital currency, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya recently stated that the institution must nevertheless be ready to do so. Amamiya was quoted by Reuters saying: The speed of technical innovation is very fast. Depending on how things unfold in the world of settlement systems, public demand for CBDCs could soar in Japan. But if Japan is still on the sidelines and Cambodia has only recently entered the digital currency race, China has been Asia’s leader in terms of progress towards actually issuing a CBDC. It started working on one about five years ago and stepped up its efforts after the announcement of private projects such as Facebook’s Libra. Although no timeframe has been announced for the anticipated launch, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is preparing to begin trials of the digital yuan with the participation of four state-owned commercial banks and three telecom operators. The goals of those behind such projects may be quite different. In countries where governments have continued to suppress interest rates as an anti-crisis measure, digital currencies can make it easier for central banks to introduce and maintain negative deposit rates. Limiting cash in circulation may be another prime objective as authorities are targeting tax evasion, money laundering and other illicit activities while limiting financial privacy. Chinese Digital Yuan to Provide ‘Controlled Anonymity’ An analysis published by the Chinese company Huatai Securities reveals more details about the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) system which China is now finalizing. It’s become obvious that unlike decentralized cryptocurrencies, DCEP will operate in a centralized environment managed by the PBOC. Its “legally encrypted” currency will be a digital form of the renminbi (RMB). Unlike electronic payments based on platforms such as Alipay, which digitize money in the existing commercial bank account system, M1 and M2 money supply, the digital yuan aims to replace banknotes and coins, or the narrowest money supply type, M0. To achieve that, DCEP will also support offline transactions. People’s Bank of China The digital yuan will be distributed through a two-tier system. The central bank will issue the currency to commercial banks against their reserves and then provide it to the public. Compared to the traditional fiat system, DCEP will offer the Beijing government and the Chinese central bank greater controls over all transactions, which is impossible with paper cash. As a substitute for cash, the CBDC will share characteristics with both paper currency and digital fiat currency. For example, the digital yuan is supposed to ensure what the report describes as “controlled anonymity of transactions.” The current electronic payment methods such as bank cards and third-party payment platforms are tightly linked to real-name bank accounts, the authors explain. The DCEP system will transfer value without going through bank accounts. The central bank will have access to transaction data and can trace the digital currency sources using big data analysis, but commercial banks and merchants won’t be able to obtain that information. Individuals and businesses will open digital wallets through commercial banks and deposits and withdrawals will require a corresponding bank account. Similar to paper money, however, transfers between users won’t involve a link between their bank accounts and the network. Digital yuan transactions will be processed through a centralized ledger. The DCEP consists of a central bank digital currency system which issues the coin and registers ownership, commercial bank digital currency systems performing banking functions, and a system providing authentication for the interaction between the central bank, commercial banks, and payment terminals. What is your opinion about the race between governments to issue sovereign digital currencies? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. You can now easily buy bitcoin with a credit card. Visit our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can buy BCH and BTC securely, and keep your coins secure by storing them in our free bitcoin mobile wallet. The post Cambodia Announces State Cryptocurrency as More Details Surface About China’s Digital Yuan appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On January 30, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) revealed that Roger Clark, the alleged senior advisor to the Silk Road marketplace, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute massive quantities of narcotics. Clark, otherwise known as ‘Variety Jones,’ was a unique character within the Silk Road saga who claimed a rogue member of the FBI was on the run extorting him and other darknet market admins and vendors. Also read: The Darknet Just Had One of Its Wildest Months Yet Former Silk Road Admin Roger Clark aka ‘Variety Jones’ Pleads Guilty to Narcotics Distribution SDNY has announced that Roger Clark, who was also known as “Plural of Mongoose” or “Variety Jones,” pled guilty on Thursday for conspiring to distribute illicit narcotics in mass quantities. The law enforcement press release notes that Clark was the senior advisor to the owner and operator of the Silk Road marketplace. According to court filings, Clark also used the online nicknames “Captain Sergeant,” “Plural of Mongoose,” “VJ,” and “Cimon” during his tenure with the darknet market (DNM). Clark is described as the “real mentor” who advised the Silk Road leader, Dread Pirate Roberts (DPR) about “security vulnerabilities in the Silk Road site, technical infrastructure, [and] the rules that governed Silk Road users and vendors. SDNY disclosed that they believe Clark also assisted with hiring programmers in order to improve the overall infrastructure of the DNM. Additionally, the agency detailed that Clark gathered intelligence on law enforcement’s efforts to investigate Silk Road. Roger Clark, otherwise known as Variety Jones, pled guilty for conspiring to distribute illicit narcotics in mass quantities using the original Silk Road marketplace. Before Clark pled guilty and was arrested and even before he was extradited to the United States from Thailand, Variety Jones and his other aliases were well known pseudonyms online. When Clark played the role of Variety Jones he allegedly found significant security vulnerabilities with the Silk Road’s (SR) platform and told DPR about the issues. According to law enforcement, Clark was an SR admin between 2011 through 2013. Allegedly, Clark also rewrote the SR website and changed the look of the marketplace entirely. Reports say that there are more than “1,400 pages” of chat logs between DPR and Variety Jones which is 4x the number of chats DPR had with other senior SR admins. Just before the SR was seized by law enforcement, Variety Jones changed his online pseudonym to Cimon. The 56-year old Clark faces 20 years in prison for his charges and he is scheduled to be sentenced by an SDNY Judge on May 29, 2020. A Rogue Federal Agent and the Darknet’s Pirate Treasure Prior to Clark’s arrest, in September 2015, the alleged SR senior advisor wrote the public from Thailand using the monicker “Plural of Mongoose.” The post was found in a DNM forum called Ganja forums and Clark explained he was on the run from global law enforcement. After the SR site was seized, Clark found himself on a “nice secluded beach area in Thailand” and wound up “drinking heavily and living within the solitude of the beach” confines. In April, roughly around the Thai New Year, Clark got a message from an FBI agent who called himself ‘Chrysippus’ or ‘Diamond.’ Clark said that Diamond knew that he was on the run and the agent had a swathe of information in regard to the current status of a few specific DNMs. The former SR senior advisor stressed that Diamond told him about the fall of Atlantis prior to the website’s demise. In 2015, Clark explained that a federal agent dubbed “Diamond” didn’t get caught like Carl Mark Force and Shaun Bridges did and Diamond was allegedly extorting Clark and other DNM admins. According to Clark, the FBI agent was also well connected with the two rogue agents Carl Mark Force and Shaun Bridges. Diamond called the agents out for how “stupid they were to do anything but hold onto their ill-gotten gains,” Clark’s Ganja forums post explained. Diamond believed that DPR had a bitcoin wallet that held 300,000 BTC and he thought Clark could extract information on how to obtain the wallet. He promised Clark he would keep him safe and free from authorities if he helped and he told Clark eventually he planned to retire as a federal officer in a “tax-friendly jurisdiction.” Federal agents Carl Mark Force and Shaun Bridges were caught red-handed stealing BTC from the SR investigation and sentenced to prison for less than 10 years. Silk Road Investigation Shows Prominent Double Agent Manipulation and Poor Ethics by Law Enforcement Diamond also informed Clark that he was extorting existing DNM admins and vendors and he acquired $4 million dollars from his “extra-curricular activities.” After these chats, Clark noticed the fall of the DNM Evolution and he found out law enforcement officials were searching Thailand for his whereabouts. Clark believed Diamond set him up and Thai police had told him he had a bounty on his head for 20,000 Thai bahts. Over a bottle of Sangsom, he left the police with 50,000 bahts and informed Diamond that his trap had failed. Clark’s story in 2015 reminds the public that the SR investigation was riddled with double agents and bad ethics by law enforcement officials. During an interview last year, Kathryn Haun, a former prosecutor for the Attorney General’s office, explained how the double agents Force and Bridges were caught. After the post was published in 2015, Clark wasn’t heard from again for quite some time and he was eventually arrested in Thailand. Police filings state that Clark was an SR admin between January 2011 through October 2013 and he fled just before SR was seized. U.S. officials thanked the Royal Thai Police for their support and assistance with apprehending Clark. If the story Clark told in 2015 holds weight, then it’s possible other rogue law enforcement officials besides Force and Bridges are still at liberty. During an interview with CNBC, Kathryn Haun, a former prosecutor for the Attorney General’s office, explained how the SR investigation was riddled with patterns of bad behavior and double agents. The interview highlights how the majority of the SR investigation evidence was based on the shameful ethics of rogue law enforcement officials. Circumstantial evidence shows Clark’s tale of a perfidious agent extorting darknet markets is likely true. According to Clark’s story, Diamond was planning to extort Agora admins too, but the marketplace owners caught on and silently shut the market down. Over the last year and a half, DNM markets and associated forums like Dread have been attacked regularly by distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Throughout 2019-2020, there have been at least three major DNM exit scams since the start of the heavy DDoS assaults against these markets. Moreover, since 2017, three of the largest DNMs created after SR — Alphabay, Hansa, and Dream market – are gone now as well. What do you think about Roger Clark pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute massive quantities of narcotics? What do you think about Clark’s tale he told in 2015 about the rogue federal agents dubbed Diamond? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Fair Use, Pixabay, Justice.gov, and Wiki Commons. 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 Silk Road Mentor’s Arrest Rekindles Tales of Rogue Agents and Pirate’s Treasure appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Police forces in Belgium, France and Israel have reportedly put a stop to an international scam promising high returns of up to 35% on crypto investments. A big French private company and a French local authority are said to be among the 85 victims of this network. In total, 10 suspects related to the case have been arrested. Also Read: Alleged Las Vegas Scammer Charged for $11 Million Crypto Binary Options Ponzi €6 Million International Investments Scam A collaboration of the French Gendarmerie Nationale, the Belgian Police Judiciaire Fédérale and the Israel Police has brought down a large network allegedly involved in money laundering and binary investment fraud, Europol announced. An unnamed person who has already been convinced of carbon tax fraud is suspected to be the mastermind of the scam. The investigation into this network started in 2018, Europol revealed. In the beginning of 2019, four suspects were arrested in France. And at the end of 2019, five other suspects were arrested in Israel with the support of an international task force set up by the European agency. The group allegedly established online platforms promising high returns on investments in cryptocurrencies as well as gold and diamonds. The victims were promised between 5 and 35% return on investment, and the group members pretended to successfully manage their accounts for them in the beginning and then encouraged them to invest more money. A big French private company and a French local authority are said to be among the 85 victims of the network. The scam is believed by an investigator to be responsible for defrauding an amount of at least €6 million. The investigators have also discovered invoices for a few million euros, which the group members had not yet gotten their hands on. More than €1 million have already been seized by authorities from the network’s accounts. “The criminal group approached victims by phone, offering them huge profits on investments in bitcoins of up to 35 percent,” explained the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, Eurojust. “To gain their trust, victims initially made small gains on these investments, thereby encouraging them to further invest. Victims were then defrauded on subsequent payments. These were transferred to fake companies, which had been set up for this purpose by the OCG [Organised Criminal Group]. The profits were then quickly transferred via bank accounts in other EU Member States to bank accounts in various Asian countries and Turkey.” What do you think about police forces in Belgium, France and Israel stopping a scam that promised up to 35% returns on crypto investments? 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 Police Forces in Belgium, France and Israel Stop Scam Promising 35% Returns on Crypto Investments appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Under the guise of fighting against online child pornography, American politicians are trying to effectively ban end-to-end encryption on all communication technology platforms for everyone. Newly proposed legislation could force companies like Apple, Google and Facebook to create back doors on their services to make sure law enforcement can easily monitor everything they want or potentially face prosecution for negligently enabling child abuse. Also Read: Court Orders Telegram to Hand Russia Its Encryption Keys The Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act A planned bipartisan measure in the U.S. Senate could stop all messaging services, such as the crypto community’s favorite Telegram and Facebook controlled Whatsapp, from offering end-to-end encryption for users. Under this plan, companies could be forced to engineer back doors into their networks, for government agencies to be able to peer into private communications. Besides the obvious privacy concerns, such back doors could eventually fall into the wrong hands and be exploited by hackers to steal sensitive information, as other back doors have in the past. The Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies (EARN IT) Act is presented as a tool to stop the spread of child sex abuse material (CSAM). Currently, internet companies simply have a degree of protection against lawsuits in the case that some of their users transmitted online child pornography. However, the EARN IT Act will force platforms to earn it. And the way to earn this protection is by complying with requirements set by the government, which will include banning end-to-end encryption. This plan will curb the power of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, a piece of U.S. legislation which provides immunity from liability for providers of an “interactive computer service” who publish information provided by users. Without this legal shield, companies can face immense challenges to operate as they could be dragged to court for the actions of their users. It is considered to be a critical part of making the U.S. a receptive home for the tech industry to grow as rapidly as it did since it was enacted. Even before knowledge about the EARN IT Act leaked out to the public, there was already evidence that U.S.-based tech companies feel pressured by the government to hurt their users’ privacy. About two weeks ago it was widely reported that Apple has abandoned plans for end-to-end encryption of their devices’ cloud backups after the FBI complained that the move would hamper its investigations. “The absolute worst-case scenario could easily become reality: DOJ could effectively ban end-to-end encryption,” explained Berin Szoka, president of the libertarian think tank Tech Freedom. “Signal, Telegram and Whatsapp all could no longer exist in their current form. All would be required to build in backdoors for law enforcement because all could be accused of ‘recklessly’ designing their products to make it impossible for the operators or law enforcement to stop CSAM sharing. The same could happen for age verification mechanisms. It’s the worst kind of indirect regulation. And because of the crazy way it’s done, it could be hard to challenge in court.” Big Brother Is Exploiting Backlash Against Big Tech to Spy on Everyone Once considered to be champions of innovation and even freedom, the big tech monopolies have come under a lot of criticism in recent years over various aspects of their operations around the world. In the U.S. this can been seen to draw the attention of politicians from both the Left and the Right, with Republican President Donald Trump accusing big tech of collusion with his rivals at the Democratic party and Democrat presidential contender Elizabeth Warren calling to break up America’s biggest tech companies. The main issue that most gains public attention these days is collecting and selling users’ personal data. Other controversial topics include stifling competition, addicting users to notifications, enabling election “hacking” or manipulation with fake news and of course employing unwarranted censorship. Instead of trying to remain unbiased platforms used by everyone, regardless of usage as long as its legal, some big tech companies are actively censoring what users can say. Google, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and others have all banned accounts of individuals or media companies for somehow violating their terms of service while not actually breaking the law. While the companies probably hoped this will lower the attacks on them, it mostly had the opposite effect with those pushing for more censorship increasing their demands and some of those objecting to it taking a less libertarian approach to what these supposedly private companies can do with their platforms. The cryptocurrency ecosystem has been a repeated victim of censoring by big tech monopolies too, with the latest example coming in the form of the Youtube ‘Christmas Purge‘ of 2019. Many channels that discussed crypto matters were kicked off the Google-owned video platform without warning, before some were eventually reinstated. This also led video creators and crypto influencers to try and migrate to more decentralized and censorship-resistant platforms. Now the politicians are trying to exploit the anger all these controversial policies created against big tech to crack down on their users’ privacy. “Years of imbibing a concentrated font of human venality every time we open our phones, coupled with the metastatic growth of surveillance capitalism, have birthed the current, bipartisan ‘techlash.’ The techlash is taking several forms, among them the growing zeal for amending or outright repealing Section 230,” explained Riana Pfefferkorn, the Associate Director of Surveillance and Cybersecurity at Stanford University’s Center for Internet and Society. “The idea is that Section 230 is no longer needed; it’s served its original purpose, if anything it was too successful, and now U.S. tech companies have outgrown it — and grown too big for their britches, period.” What do you think about American politicians trying to ban end-to-end encryption? 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 US Politicians Want to Ban End-to-End Encryption on Messaging Services like Telegram and Whatsapp appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The number of German banks charging negative interest rates has been rising rapidly. At least 41 banks now charge negative interest rates on deposits. According to reports, seven of them are imposing negative interest rates even for small deposit amounts. Also read: Survey: 58% of German Banks Charge Negative Interest Rates 41 Banks Charging Negative Interest Rates A growing number of banks in Germany are passing on the burden of negative interest rates to their customers as the European Central Bank (ECB) insists on keeping its negative rate policy intact. German consumer product comparison portal Verivox has examined the policies of over 800 local banks and found that 41 of them have posted negative interest rate policies on their websites. The number of banks charging negative interest rates now almost doubles the number in November last year, when news.Bitcoin.com reported that 21 banks fell into this category. Verivox Managing Director Oliver Maier commented: The impact of the wave of negative interest rates has increased significantly again this year. 41 German banks charging negative interest rates as of the end of January. Source: Verivox Besides the above banks, the comparison portal also found several other banks that are charging interest rates on money market accounts which are usually free, resulting in de facto negative yields for consumers. Furthermore, the media has reported that 21 other banks are charging negative interest rates but the information is not posted on their websites. 7 Banks Charge for Custody of Small Deposits While most of the banks above charge negative interest rates on high balances, seven on the list are charging them on deposits below 100,000 euros ($110,942), according to Verivox. They charge negative interest rates under varying conditions which are specified in the account terms and conditions. For example, Heidenheimer Volksbank does not apply the negative rate to savings accounts, according to its price sheet. The ECB recently decided to keep its negative interest rate on hold at -0.5%. The policy was first introduced in 2014 for 19 countries that use the euro. It has dragged on longer than initially expected and banks have complained about the damage negative interest rates have done to their earnings. ECB chief Christine Lagarde, however, defended the bank’s monetary policy, claiming that it has created millions of jobs throughout the euro area. Nonetheless, the ECB is launching a review of the effectiveness of its policy. Lagarde explained that the key interest rate will only be raised once eurozone inflation “robustly” meets the central bank’s target of just below 2%. According to the ECB’s own economic forecasts, this is unlikely to happen for several years. Negative Rates Apply to New Customers Maier explained that the negative interest rates currently only apply to new customers because if a bank wants to charge existing customers a penalty interest, it must have the consent of the individuals concerned. This is due to a judgment by a regional court in the city of Tübingen. In June 2018, the court ruled in a case against Volksbank Reutlingen, a bank in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg. The bank sought to impose a -0.5% interest on existing checking and many savings accounts exceeding €10,000, in addition to its normal fees. The case was brought to court by a consumer watchdog in Saxony. According to the ruling, since the bank did not provide any further service in exchange for the penalty rate, the double pricing of an identical service unreasonably disadvantages the customer and is therefore inadmissible. The judgment applies to existing accounts, so banks can still impose negative interest rates on new accounts. What do you think of the rising number of German banks charging negative interest rates? 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 Verivox. 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 41 German Banks Now Charge Negative Interest Rates appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On January 30, the software developer Pokkst published a blog post sharing his experience of how he’s been maintaining the Java BCH library bitcoincashj for the last 10 months. At one time Pokkst used to develop BTC applications, but then switched to working with BCH in March 2019. The programmer explained how he put a lot of work into the bitcoincashj library after forking it from Mike Hearn’s original bitcoinj implementation. Also read: Cashfusion Far More Practical Than Other Coinjoin Protocols, Says Data Analyst Software Developer Pokkst Adds a Number of Improvements to the Bitcoincashj Java Library This week BCH supporters read a blog post from the developer Pokkst who explained he’s been working on the Java implementation for the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) protocol (bitcoincashj) over the last 10 months. Pokkst is a programmer who used to write applications for BTC but in March 2019 he switched to developing BCH applications. At the time, in a blog post called “Why I’m moving to BCH,” Pokkst said that he liked innovation and had “high hopes” for the Lightning Network. “Unfortunately, the Lightning Network is an over-engineered mess,” Pokkst stressed. “Trying to walk someone through depositing Bitcoin to a wallet, opening a channel and routing the payment through the network, then explaining why larger payments do not route well will kill adoption of the Lightning Network.” Since then, Pokkst has been very active within the BCH community and he has developed a number of applications. During the last week of March 2019, news.Bitcoin.com reported on Pokkst’s photo gallery application that makes a BCH wallet look like a smartphone photo folder. The developer also released the Crescent Cash (CC) wallet which became the third BCH light client to adopt the Cash Accounts protocol. In April 2019, CC added Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) token support. The following month, Pokkst implemented a new feature to CC that allows people to send bitcoin cash through a text message. Pokkst is also known for his work on the platform Tipbitcoin.cash, a tool that gives anyone the ability to tip their favorite streamer on Twitch using bitcoin cash. In addition to all the applications and wallets, the developer also worked on bitcoincashj, a Java implementation for Bitcoin Cash. “I like Java for programming — For me, it’s easy to develop quick prototypes for. It’s also the language used for Android apps,” Pokkst wrote on the read.cash platform on Thursday. “Because of this, I liked using bitcoinj when developing BTC applications back in the day.” The software developer added: Since I wanted to port my existing apps over to Bitcoin Cash, I needed an active bitcoinj library for Bitcoin Cash. I looked at bitcoinj.cash but by the time I moved to Bitcoin Cash, the maintainer for this fork moved to BSV. Feel free to read. https://t.co/jLAZrE8F9q — pokkst (@pokkst) January 30, 2020 BitcoincashJ Sees 7 Completed Improvements Over the Last 10 Months Pokkst added that the fork had what he needed but he had to polish a few issues with the codebase. He explained that it had outdated DNS seed issues and problems with Canonical Transaction Ordering (CTOR). So the developer worked with another programmer who helped make the bitcoincashj library compatible with CTOR. However, the other developer introduced other problems to the codebase so Pokkst “tweaked his algorithm a bit and implemented it into more places within the bitcoincashj system. Now it’s working flawlessly as far as I know.” The developer said he also updated other portions of the bitcoincashj library like adding the standard BCH derivation path, Cash Account sending support in SendRequest.java, native Cash Account registration, and UTXO management in SendRequest. The engineer said he’s also been working on the fun part, by implementing the Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) framework into the bitcoincashj library. With all the changes Pokkst has done over the last 10 months the programmer has added: CTOR support 32MB block support Native Cash Account integration (trustless registration and sending) SLP tokens Standard BIP44 derivation (m/44’/145’/0′ for BCH, m/44’/245’/0′ for SLP) UTXO management when sending coins using SendRequest.utxos Up-to-date hardfork checkpoints During the last two years, BCH has seen a number of implementations and clients that leverage different programming languages. Pokkst said that he plans to continue maintaining the bitcoincashj implementation going forward. “I do not intend to stop maintaining this fork, but it is very tiring work to make sure it stays up-to-date,” the developer concluded. Following the statement, the software developer remarked that he added an address to the README.md so BCH supporters can donate to help keep his project going. What do you think about all the improvements Pokkst has done to the Java implementation of the Bitcoin Cash? Do you think a variety of different BCH libraries and implementations are important to the Bitcoin Cash ecosystem? 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, software 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. Image credits: Shutterstock, Twitter, bitcoincashj, 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 Developer Adds Improvements to the Bitcoin Cash Java Library appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A year of reorganization has left its mark on Germany’s leading financial institution. Deutsche Bank revealed this week it suffered significant losses in the last quarter and all of 2019. The banking giant claims that the damage is “entirely driven by transformation-related effects” such as compensation for sacked employees and devalued assets. Also read: US Bank Silvergate Sees Growth in Crypto Clients, Despite Decreasing Deposits From the Sector New Strategy is Gaining Traction, CEO Says In a report published Thursday, Deutsche Bank announced a pre-tax loss of €2.6 billion (over $2.85 billion) and explained it had to absorb transformation charges of €1.1 billion, goodwill impairments of €1 billion as well as restructuring and severance expenses of €805 million. The bank’s net loss for 2019 amounts to the staggering €5.3 billion (almost $5.85 billion). The figure includes transformation-related deferred tax asset valuation adjustments of €2.8 billion. In Q4, Deutsche Bank had a pre-tax loss of €1.3 billion, including transformation charges of €608 million and another €473 million in restructuring expenses. The net loss of €1.5 billion incorporates deferred tax asset valuation adjustments of approximately €400 million. According to the report, the transformation-related effects were largely in line with the expectations. Last year, the bank incurred 70% of the total costs to achieve the goals of the reorganization program which was launched in July and will continue through 2022. Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing stated: Our new strategy is gaining traction. Stabilizing revenues in the second half of 2019 and our consistent cost discipline both contributed to better operating performance than in 2018. Our client business is developing well, right across the bank. The chief executive insisted the bank has a strong capital position and expressed confidence that it is capable of financing its transformation with own resources and eventually returning to growth. The report details, however, that Deutsche Bank’s revenues are down 2%, with pre-tax profit at €543 million. But if specific revenue items and transformation charges are taken out of the equation, the bank claims an adjusted pre-tax profit of €2.8 billion, or up 7% from the 2018 figure. Deutsche Bank Slashed Over 4,000 Jobs in 2019 The Frankfurt-based financial institution is explaining the losses with the need to deal with the serious problems accumulated through the years. The measures introduced in 2019 included writing down the value of some assets and cutting 4,100 jobs. Last summer, Deutsche Bank announced it’s going to lay off at least 18,000 people by 2022, a fifth of its global workforce that should be reduced to 74,000 as it scales down investment banking and equities sales and trading operations. The bank’s management was also considering to cut up to 20% of its bonus pool and suspend the 2019 and 2020 dividend in order to reduce costs further. In 2018, €1.9 billion were paid in bonuses, despite a 14% cut. The German lender has been dogged by many problems that have left observers concerned about its prospects. Being one of the world’s largest financial institutions, its current state inevitably contributes to the risks for Germany’s economy and the global financial system. Deutsche Bank is not an isolated case in Europe, where many other banks have been struggling to overcome the consequences of the 2008 meltdown. This week, the European Central Bank published the results of its 2019 Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process. The ECB uses a scoring system to assess financial institutions, taking into account the viability and sustainability of business models, the adequacy of internal governance and risk management, the risks to capital, and the risks to liquidity and funding. With 1 being the best and 4 the worst score, the share of banks receiving an overall score of 3 increased to 43% in 2019 from 38% last year, only 18% achieved a score of 2, and no significant bank scored 1. The review also indicated that the earnings of Europe’s most important banks are below their cost of capital. Business model risk remains a key area of concern due to low profitability, the ECB remarked in a press release while also emphasizing that internal governance continues to deteriorate. “Findings show that in a significant number of instances management bodies are not effective and internal controls are weak,” ECB concluded in the report. Do you expect Deutsche Bank to achieve its restructuring goals? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. You can now easily buy bitcoin with a credit card. Visit our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can buy BCH and BTC securely, and keep your coins secure by storing them in our free bitcoin mobile wallet. The post Deutsche Bank Reports €5.3 Billion in Net Loss for 2019 as It Counts the Cost of Restructuring appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The decentralized exchange landscape is evolving fast, with new liquidity aggregators and relays enhancing usability while reducing slippage. Trade volumes are also strong across the leading ERC20 DEXs and Binance DEX. The bulk of this volume is captured by a small proportion of tokens, however, whose demand augurs well for the projects and the DEXs they dominate. Also read: Ethereum’s Value Transfer Is Now Dominated by Stablecoins Verasity Is Binance’s King of the DEXs On Binance DEX, the decentralized exchange that operates on the eponymous Binance Chain, verasity (VRA) is out in front, with 19% of all trades. Verasity is an attention-based video and gaming platform that enables content creators to earn tokenized rewards. Rather than trying to create a crypto-friendly Youtube, a la Dlive, Verasity is designed to integrate into existing platforms such as Twitch, Youtube, and Vimeo. Behind the scenes, Verasity has been busy, gaining an entry into Asia’s lucrative streaming market through a partnership with Jun Capital, while a token burn has seen 17% of VRA’s supply removed from circulation. In Q4 2019, the project reported a 20x increase in videos viewed and a 10x increase in wallet registrations. VRA is currently listed on six exchanges, with the volume on Binance DEX exceeded only by that on Hitbtc. Stablecoins Dominate Kyber Network In keeping with Ethereum’s evolution into a stablecoin network, the most traded coins on Kyber’s DEX are all dollar-pegged assets. The most popular of these is multi-collateral dai ($890K 24-hour volume), USDT ($384K), and USDC ($282K). This is followed by wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) and wrapped eth (WETH), with link the leading altcoin on Kyber, with $147K in trades. Kyber Swap – the token swapping platform created by Kyber Network – has processed over $500M of trades since launching, and in December added support for Ethereum Name Service (ENS) token transfers. Maker and Augur Are Uniswap Favorites On Ethereum token exchange protocol Uniswap, dai is the most traded currency ($420K), followed by Maker’s MKR governance token ($204K), Augur’s REP ($183K), and synthetix (SNX, $165K). Fifth and sixth spot are taken by stablecoins – SAI and USDC – before HEX makes an appearance at seventh with $115K in volume. Unibright Tops the IDEX Charts IDEX, the leading decentralized exchange for years, lost ground when it introduced KYC. The exchange nevertheless maintains a lead over its Ethereum counterparts, recording 24-hour volume of $738K. The leading token by far is unibright (UBT) with $264K. The token is up 55% in 24 hours, which accounts for its high trading volume, which has surpassed $1 million across all exchanges. Unibright is an enterprise-oriented blockchain project that’s focused on helping businesses integrate tokenization and distributed ledger technology. It’s unclear why the UBT token has spiked in value, though speculative trading is the likeliest cause. Uniswap and Token Aggregators Make Gains Crypto Differ has published data showing that Uniswap was the biggest winner in December, increasing its volume by 33% and its traffic by 29%, while other Ethereum DEXs, save for IDEX, lost market share. Conventional Ethereum DEXs are also losing ground to token aggregators, which achieve the best rate for buyers by splitting orders across multiple DEXs in a single transaction. 1inch exchange is the leader here, seeing its volume increase 50% to $15M this month. It’s followed by DX.ag and Totle, the trio handling $1.7M in weekly volume. DEX aggregator @1inchExchange volume is looking more and more like a 🏒 https://t.co/qmduAPB4AM pic.twitter.com/s5yZyDwvat — Dune Analytics (@DuneAnalytics) January 27, 2020 Decentralized exchanges still account for only a fraction of crypto trading, but the rate of innovation and ecosystem growth augur well. On Jan. 28, 0x launched its own liquidity aggregator, combining the order books of Kyber Network, Uniswap, and Oasis. As user experience and liquidity improve, and the defi movement gathers pace, DEXs can expect to break new records this year, even if they won’t be challenging CEXs anytime soon. Do you trade on DEXs? If so, which platforms do you recommend? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Crypto Differ. 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 These Are the Most Traded Tokens on Decentralized Exchanges Right Now appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article