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Ifinex Inc, parent firm of Bitfinex, finds its ongoing legal troubles further complicated as a November lawsuit has been withdrawn by the plaintiff and refiled in a new district. The company, whose close affiliations with both the Bitfinex crypto exchange and stablecoin Tether have continually raised suspicion, now faces at least three ongoing legal battles. In December, an updated New York Attorney General’s filing was made, October’s class action suit is ongoing, and the now refiled ‘copycat’ lawsuit, originally filed in November, has been added to the list. Also Read: Tron-Based Tether Has Ballooned to Over 900 Million Tokens, Almost 22% of Total Supply Ifinex’s Legal Entanglements The class action ‘copycat’ lawsuit from November was withdrawn last week from the Western District of Washington, and subsequently refiled in the Southern District of New York on Jan. 8, with the addition of one David Crystal to the list of plaintiffs. According to a lawyer involved in the case, “Plaintiffs refiled the case to efficiently vindicate the rights of Bitcoin traders and Bitcoin futures traders,” reports maintain. Tether and Bitfinex have previously asserted the suit was simply an attempt to use “Bitfinex and Tether to obtain a payday,” and have pointed out the similarity of the filing to a similar class action which emerged in October. Both lawsuits are directed at Ifinex, the parent firm of Bitfinex and Tether. A Dec. 4 New York Attorney General (NYAG) filing adds to the group’s troubles, and is an extension of ongoing issues with the NYAG which emerged in April last year. The newly refiled class action complaint could be an attempt to move the action to a district with greater support for legal scrutiny of the controversial crypto groups. Accusations of Fraud and Market Manipulation The revised complaint states that “During the Class Period, Defendants, through their unique control and access to printing USDT, manipulated prices of Bitcoin by issuing USDT unbacked by a 1:1 U.S. dollar reserve and using the newly created USDT to purchase Bitcoin through U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchanges Bittrex and Poloniex. Defendants’ unbacked printing of USDT artificially inflated the price of Bitcoin, which enabled Defendants to extract supra-competitive profits from Bitcoin traders.” As news.Bitcoin.com reported previously, Tether altered its policy regarding the backing of its stablecoins in early 2019, changing the wording from an implied 100%, redeemable fiat reserve to “Every tether is always 100% backed by our reserves, which include traditional currency and cash equivalents and, from time to time, may include other assets and receivables from loans made by Tether to third parties, which may include affiliated entities.” Bitfinex and Tether’s problems largely stem from suspicions regarding shared company management and interests, as well as affiliations with companies such as payment processor Crypto Capital, whose principal Oz Yosef has been indicted by a U.S. Grand Jury on shadow banking charges. The indictment followed a seizure of Crypto Capital funds, $880 million of which was found to belong to Bitfinex. The group released a statement in October claiming they had been a victim of fraud. What are your thoughts on the updated class action filing against Ifinex? Let us know in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock. 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 Bitfinex ‘Copycat’ Lawsuit Withdrawn and Then Refiled in New District appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

During the first month of the new year, the research firm Tokeninsight published its “Mining Industry Annual Research Report,” which covers the competitive bitcoin mining sector. Tokeninsight’s study highlights the fact that BTC’s hashrate increased by 80% in 2019, even though BTC’s year-over-year average price dipped by 1.9%. Tokeninsight’s report also notes that more than 73% of the market share of ASIC mining hardware stems from China. Also Read: Mining Report Shows 65% of Bitcoin’s Hashpower Stems From China SHA-256 Hashrate Grows 80%, ASIC Hardware Improves, and 70% of the Mining Industry Leverages Renewable Energy Tokeninsight is an independent organization “dedicated toward providing accurate data, ratings, and analytics” when it comes to the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The researchers have recently published the company’s annual mining industry report that discloses a range of figures from 2019. It also details the firm’s predictive outlooks for certain aspects of the mining ecosystem in 2020. The report is based on public sources and data as well as information from industry heavyweights like Antpool, Viabtc, and Poolin. The study shows how BTC’s hashrate surpassed 100 exahash last year and continues to climb. “[BTC’s] network hashrate increased significantly, yearly average up 79.3% from 2018,” says Tokeninsight’s 25-page mining report.Tokeninsight’s report indicates that the BTC’s yearly average hashrate spiked by more than 80% in 2019. Transaction fees on the BTC network were lower and during the course of 2019, miners only accrued $160 million in fees as opposed to 2018’s $280 million. Tokeninsight emphasizes the fact that single unit mining rigs produced by the world’s top ASIC manufacturers became far more efficient last year. “The performance improvement of the mining hardware is part of the reasons, and the profitability of the Bitcoin mining segment is another contributing factor,” Tokeninsight’s report notes. “The average ROI of the mining industry is about 1 year, and the profitability is incomparable with the traditional industry.” Tokeninsight’s global bitcoin network hashrate distribution map. Similar to the last Coinshares H2 mining report, the Tokeninsight mining study highlights that China is the most dominant region of bitcoin miners. “Geographically, the Bitcoin network hashrate is mainly distributed in the following regions: China, the United States, Canada, Northern Europe, Russia, and Georgia,” the report highlights. Additionally, most of the electrical consumption used for mining is renewable energy sources, as 70% of the mining industry levies renewables Tokeninsight notes. Another discussion brought up in the mining study is the future of BTC’s third halving. “After the 3rd halving, the Bitcoin inflation rate will decrease to ~ 1.7%, which is much lower than 4.8% – 6.2% (Gold) and 5% (M1) issue rate,” the researchers stress. China Dominates the ASIC Manufacturing Game, Competing for Next-Gen Chips, and the Growth of Cloud Mining and Comprehensive Service Providers Other insights from the report show that China accounts for 73% of ASIC manufacturing worldwide, and alongside this, the future of the cloud mining market “is outside of China.” By conducting several interviews and market surveys, the firm believes that it’s able to predict the market share of the top five ASIC manufacturers. Tokeninsight thinks Bitmain will capture 63% of 2020’s market share followed by Microbt (10%), Canaan (18%), Ebang (7%), and others (2%). “The distribution of SHA-256 ASIC mining hardware manufacturers is concentrated, and the top four manufacturers in 2019 accounted for more than 95% of the total market,” the report asserts. “The distribution of SHA-256 ASIC mining hardware manufacturers is concentrated, and the top 4 manufacturers in 2019 are accounted for more than 95% of the total market,” Tokeninsight’s report notes. (#4 is spelled incorrectly and should be ‘Ebang’ and the company Microbt is the manufacturer of the Whatsminer series brand.) Similar to news.Bitcoin.com’s recent reports on next-generation semiconductors, Tokeninsight says that “the support of chip makers will largely determine the success or failure of mining hardware manufacturers.” The study notes that Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) are the main suppliers of these chips. And because firms like Apple and Samsung need the best chips for new smartphones, there’s a shortage when it comes to next-generation chips. “At present, 5nm chips are already in the tape-out stage, and 5nm mining hardware may be released early next year,” the study explains. Tokeninsight’s report adds: Whether it is TSMC’s 5nm, 7nm chips or Samsung’s 8nm chips, the chip supply is relatively in shortage, and at the same time, mining hardware manufacturers also have to compete with mobile phones for chips supply. 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 remainder of the report explains how mining pools are not “well structured,” and in the future they will likely partner with independent third-party agencies Tokeninsight predicts. Right now, altcoins that don’t leverage the SHA-256 algorithm are still dominated by GPU and CPU miners mainly from Europe and the U.S. The study’s 2020 outlook predicts that in the future, mining pools will start integrating more types of altcoin mining and GPU/CPU to FPGA “could be occupied by ASIC mining in the long run.” Tokeninsight expects cloud mining products will grow and reach a “broader market,” while 2020 will possibly see “mining farms located outside of China” growing at a faster pace. More than 70% of the mining industry leverages renewable energy. The biggest takeaway from Tokeninsight’s 2020 annual mining report shows the firm believes comprehensive service providers dedicated to the mining industry will grow exponentially. “Problems in the cryptocurrency mining industry have spawned a series of comprehensive mining service providers and they are trying to provide one-stop solutions for the industry,” Tokeninsight’s research notes. Tokeninsight’s study shows that mainstream assistance may bolster this trend with benefits like the Nasdaq-listed Canaan Creative stock. Overall, the 25-page report shows that the cryptocurrency mining industry looks unlikely to slow any time soon. What do you think about Tokeninsight’s annual mining report? How do you envision the mining ecosystem growing in 2020? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any ideas, software, mining rigs, mining rig manufacturers, websites, concepts, content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Fair Use, Tokeninsight’s mining report. Did you know you can earn BTC and BCH through Bitcoin Mining? If you already own hardware, connect it to our powerful Bitcoin mining pool. If not, you can easily get started through one of our flexible Bitcoin cloud mining contracts. The post Mining Report Highlights China’s ASIC Manufacturing Improvements and Dominance appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A new research report from BTC Peers has ranked 145 crypto news websites for quality. It analyzes scores of benchmarks including average visit duration, bounce rate, and number of backlinks. The report features the usual suspects in its top 10, including Coindesk at number three and Cointelegraph at two. Top of the list, however, is news.Bitcoin.com. Also read: Court Gives Craig Wright More Time to Await the Mysterious Bonded Courier The Best 145 Crypto News Websites of 2019 The cryptosphere is filled with news sites that cover multiple cryptocurrencies, ecosystems, and angles. From the unquestioningly fawning to the unrelentingly skeptical, there’s a crypto news outlet to suit all dispositions. ‘Best’ is a highly subjective term, therefore, whose declaration largely depends on the needs of the reader. Nevertheless, when BTC Peers published its methodical analysis of the top 145 crypto sites and placed news.Bitcoin.com top, our publication was duty bound to report on the matter. “News.bitcoin.com won first place with 978 points,” notes the report, adding: “It was interesting to compare it with Cointelegraph. On the one hand, CT has a higher Alexa Rank, with more than twice the audience and more backlinks. But news.Bitcoin.com has less of a bounce rate and a twice higher avg. visit duration, which suggests that although they have a smaller audience, their readers interact with the content better and longer.” In other words, news.Bitcoin.com may not attract the highest readership, but the increased time readers spend on the site is indicative of quality long form content. Other sites may be good for grazing, but for deep analysis, news.Bitcoin.com has got it locked down. That’s the long and short of the BTC Peers report. Naturally there are a few caveats to consider. ‘Quality, In-Depth Reporting’ The thorough analysis of 145 crypto news sites was commissioned with a particular audience in mind. Specifically, it was published for the benefit of “Marketers and PR managers, in order to assess the quality of resources to get better results,” as well as “Journalists, editors, and owners of content platforms looking for quality news, and to evaluate competitors and investors and traders, to assess the quality of information sources to make better decisions.” Of these groups, marketers in particular are seeking reliable data with which to plan media campaigns. The ability to compare key metrics, such as bounce rate and Alexa ranking, across all leading crypto publications, is extremely valuable. This data enables advertisers to optimize their campaigns and to submit press releases to sites that can deliver a return on investment. Low bounce rate – i.e. the amount of time a reader will spend on a page before clicking the back button – is one of the leading determinants of quality. Top 10 crypto news sites according to BTC Peers Commenting on the report, news.Bitcoin.com Editor-in-Chief Nanok Bie said: ”I’m grateful for this recognition, particularly the fact that BTC Peers looked closely at metrics like bounce rate and time on page, to find which site readers engage with the most. The high numbers awarded to news.Bitcoin.com are due to our consistent high quality, relevant and in-depth reporting.” He added: “If you’re only going to read one news source to keep up with crypto, it should be news.Bitcoin.com, as we deliver balanced, well-researched and neutral news that covers everything bitcoiners need to know about the industry.” The BTC Peers report is sure to spark debate about how media quality is measured and which benchmarks matter the most. At news.Bitcoin.com, we’re grateful to all our readers for their time spent reading and passionate debates in the comments section, which have helped make this site what it is – namely, the best crypto news website of 2019. What are your thoughts on the findings of the BTC Peers report? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Dapp Review. 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 Independent Report Declares News.Bitcoin.com the Top Crypto News Site appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

10 days after the Tulip Trust expired, new court filings have appeared in the billion-dollar Kleiman v. Wright lawsuit. One document describes the professed existence of a Tulip Trust III, which was shown to the plaintiffs on January 6, 2020. Another filing shows that Judge Beth Bloom has affirmed part of the sanctions against Craig Wright and dropped other sanctions if the bonded courier arrives by February 3, 2020. Also read: Scottish Novelist Andrew O’Hagan Asked to Testify in Kleiman v. Wright Lawsuit The Tulip Trust III The Kleiman v. Wright lawsuit continues this week with some interesting developments and the alleged existence of a third Tulip Trust. The self-proclaimed inventor of the Bitcoin protocol, Craig Wright, is being sued by the family of Dave Kleiman for allegedly manipulating his BTC assets and intellectual property after his death. More recently, the alleged Tulip Trust I, which ostensibly holds 1.1 million BTC, has expired. Wright is waiting on a bonded courier to deliver the final key to a set of eight needed to unlock the trust. On January 10, 2020, Judge Beth Bloom decided to give Craig Wright more time in hopes the bonded courier will arrive. Wright has until February 3, 2020, to tell the court whether or not the mysterious character arrived. On January 9, court filings indicate that the Kleiman estate was shown documents three days prior that describe a document called the “Tulip Trust III.” The motion notes that Wright has marked the Tulip Trust III as “confidential,” which is pursuant to the court’s confidentiality order. The Kleiman estate’s legal counsel has said that the plaintiffs don’t believe the third trust should be sealed entirely. However, the plaintiffs do think Wright should propose his redactions to the court, Kleiman’s attorney Velvel (Devin) Freedman stressed. Wright Has Until February 3 to Wait for the Arrival of the Mysterious Bonded Courier Following the discovery of a third trust document, the depositions of Craig Wright, Ramona Watts, and Andrew O’Hagan were postponed by Judge Bloom. The Judge also decided to sustain in part and overrule in part some of the sanctions levied against Wright. Bloom noted that Wright argues that he was sanctioned before he “should have been afforded the opportunity to wait until [the date the bonded courier is set to come] to see if he receives the key slices to generate the list of his bitcoin holdings, which he could then provide to plaintiffs.” Despite the fact that the court questions the plausibility of Wright’s tale, Bloom will give him more time to provide evidence on his behalf. Bloom stated: The court questions whether it is remotely plausible that the mysterious “bonded courier” is going to arrive, let alone that he will arrive in January 2020 as the defendant now contends. However, given that the Defendant maintains that he should at least be afforded this opportunity, the court will indulge him this much. Wright contends that the bonded courier is due to arrive at some point in January 2020, the filing underlines. Judge Bloom will permit Wright “through and including February 3, 2020” to let the court know if the courier arrived. “To file a notice with the court indicating whether or not this mysterious figure has appeared from the shadows and whether the defendant now has access to the last key slice needed to unlock the encrypted file,” Bloom’s order highlights. “In the event this occurs, and further if the Defendant produces his list of Bitcoin Holdings as ordered by the Magistrate Judge, then this court will not impose any additional sanctions other than the ones discussed above.” After the public saw the court filings, the discussion was trending on Twitter and social media forums. Bitcoin SV prices spiked more than 40% on Friday and the coin is up 52% over the last seven days. After the public heard the news about the latest court filings, discussions about the case started to trend on Twitter. Bitcoin SV (BSV) jumped more than 40% on Friday afternoon and BSV supporters seem to believe the tides are turning in Wright’s favor. “More to this story tomorrow,” tweeted billionaire gambling tycoon Calvin Ayre on Friday. 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, 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 Court Gives Craig Wright More Time to Await the Mysterious Bonded Courier appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The European Union’s 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive mandates that member states start regulating crypto assets by Jan. 10. Crypto exchanges and custodial wallet providers are now covered by the same regulatory requirements as banks and other financial institutions. Also read: Regs Roundup: SEC Actions, Crypto Tax-Free in Korea, New Chinese Laws EU’s Regulatory Deadline: Jan. 10 The 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5), which amends the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, extends the EU’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financial rules to virtual currencies. The amendment was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on June 19, 2018, and mandates member states to transpose this directive by Jan. 10, 2020. The EU currently has 28 member countries. The European Commission explained that “In the EU, credit institutions and other financial institutions are subject to obligations to apply CDD [customer due diligence] measures in accordance with Directive (EU) 2015/849 (AMLD4),” elaborating: Directive (EU) 2018/843 (AMLD5), once transposed into member state legislation, will extend the list of obliged entities to virtual currency exchanges and custodian wallet providers. As “obliged entities,” crypto service providers are now covered by the same regulatory requirements as banks and other financial institutions, including registering with financial authorities. “The rules will now apply to entities which provide services that are in charge of holding, storing and transferring virtual currencies,” the European Commission clarified. “These new actors will have to identify their customers and report any suspicious activity to the Financial Intelligence Units.” The amendment also proposes that member states create central databases comprised of crypto users’ identities and wallet addresses and authorize national FIUs to access the information stored in them. “To combat the risks related to the anonymity, national Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) should be able to obtain information allowing them to associate virtual currency addresses to the identity of the owner of virtual currency,” the directive states. EU Member States Complying A number of EU member states have been preparing for this deadline for some time, transposing the AMLD5 into national laws. Some countries wait until the last minute to make announcements. As Brexit talks continue, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced Friday that it has become the AML and CFT supervisor of the country’s crypto-asset activities, stating: From 10 January 2020, we are the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) supervisor of UK cryptoasset businesses. The FCA detailed that crypto exchanges, ATMs, peer-to-peer platforms, custodian wallet providers and token issuers, including initial coin offerings (ICOs) and initial exchange offerings (IEOs), must comply with its rules starting from Jan. 10. The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) announced Thursday that it is now the regulator of virtual currencies in Austria. Effective Jan. 10, companies that issue, sell, transfer, trade, and exchange cryptocurrencies must register with the FMA. They include in-kind crypto service and custodian wallet providers. Registrants will comply with the due diligence and reporting obligations for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. Noting that it began accepting registration applications from Oct. 1, 2019, the regulator elaborated: Unregistered providers may no longer offer their service in Austria from this date onwards … A fine of up to €200,000 is prescribed in the event that a provider fails to make the registration. France is ahead of many other countries, as it adopted a regulatory framework for crypto assets in April last year. The French financial markets regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), published its new rules for digital asset service providers on Dec. 20. The AMF also recently approved the country’s first initial coin offering. Finland started regulating the country’s crypto industry in May, and the Financial Supervisory Authority (Fin-FSA) approved the country’s first five crypto service providers, including Localbitcoins, in November. In the Netherlands, the Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank, has been preparing to regulate crypto businesses, requesting their information in September last year. “Firms offering services for the exchange between cryptos and regular money, and crypto wallet providers must register with De Nederlandsche Bank,” the bank noted. However, the regulator said on Jan. 10 that the legislation has not entered into force. Germany is another country that has been active in transposing the AMLD5 into its laws, which allow financial institutions to sell and store cryptocurrencies for customers alongside traditional investments such as stocks and bonds. Authorization from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) is required. Strict Regulations Crowding Out Crypto Companies As EU member states start transposing the new EU directive into their national laws, a number of crypto service providers have been feeling the effect of increased oversight. Some have chosen to relocate their businesses. Some EU member countries are adopting even tougher crypto rules than the new AML directive requires, such as Lithuania. Crypto derivatives trading platform Deribit, for example, announced on Thursday that from Feb. 10 its platform will no longer be operated by Dutch company Deribit B.V. due to increased oversight. Instead, it will be operated by DRB Panama Inc., a 100% subsidiary of the Dutch entity. The company explained that complying with the new regulations would be costly and it will also have to “demand an extensive amount of information from our current and future customers.” Noting that “crypto markets should be freely available to most,” the company concluded: The implementation of these changes would greatly affect the exchange and its customers. Therefore, we have decided to operate the platform from Panama. Several other crypto service providers have already shut down in anticipation of the AMLD5 implementation in their countries. U.K.-based custodial bitcoin wallet provider Bottle Pay shut down on Dec. 31. The company explained that it would have to comply with the AMLD5 to remain in operation, emphasizing that “The amount and type of extra personal information we would be required to collect from our users would alter the current user experience so radically, and so negatively, that we are not willing to force this onto our community.” Crypto mining pool Simplecoin and bitcoin gaming platform Chopcoin also shut down ahead of the AMLD5 coming into effect. What do you think of the EU directive requiring all member states to regulate crypto assets? 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, the FCA, and the AMF. 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 EU Countries Commence Crypto Regulations as Mandated by New Directive appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A new report shows that North Korea-linked Lazarus Group has adapted and evolved new techniques since initial attacks, and are using phony trading platforms linking to Telegram channels which distribute malware, as well as making their malware more stealthy by “adding an authentication mechanism in the macOS,” amongst other tactics. Since the group’s infamous previous campaign, ‘Operation Applejeus,’ victims have continued to lose bitcoin to the scams, and the report helps identify ways users can avoid falling prey to the traps. Also Read: Problems Escalate in Venezuela as Millions Rush to Spend Petros Operation Applejeus, the Sequel A new report from cybersecurity group Kaspersky reveals that infamous hacker group Lazarus, said to be linked to the Pyongyang region of North Korea and purportedly responsible for over $570 million in exchange hacks over recent years, has evolved its methods. Using phony exchange sites, Telegram groups, “homemade macOS malware” and “a multi-stage infection procedure,” the group ropes in unsuspecting victims, takes control as in the first Applejeus, but now relieves them of their bitcoins in more complex fashion. The report details: “While tracking this campaign, we identified more heavily deformed macOS malware. At the time, the attacker called their fake website and application JMTTrading. Other researchers and security vendors found it too, and published IoCs with abundant technical details.” Example of a phony website front featured in the report. Methodology and How to Stay Safe While many of the detected scam sites and Telegram groups appear to now be inactive, Kaspersky notes: “We were able to identify several victims in this Operation AppleJeus sequel. Victims were recorded in the UK, Poland, Russia and China. Moreover, we were able to confirm that several of the victims are linked to cryptocurrency business entities. We speculate that the actor used free web templates like this to build their fake websites. Moreover, there is a Telegram address(@cyptian) on the Cyptian website. As we mentioned previously, the actor delivered a manipulated application via Telegram messenger. In some instances Kaspersky suspects that malware was delivered via a Telegram group connected to a fake website. In others, links on fake sites are thought to be the avenue by which the now adapted and more complex Mac and Windows bugs enter a system. The updated means of attack appears to utilize multiple payloads in highly customized protocols designed carefully to evade detection. Another phony trading site. “To attack macOS users, the Lazarus group has developed homemade macOS malware, and added an authentication mechanism to deliver the next stage payload very carefully, as well as loading the next-stage payload without touching the disk,” the report details. “In addition, to attack Windows users, they have elaborated a multi-stage infection procedure, and significantly changed the final payload. We assess that the Lazarus group has been more careful in its attacks following the release of Operation AppleJeus and they have employed a number of methods to avoid being detected.” Though these scam sites have been discovered, many more undoubtedly exist and users would do well to take precaution whenever dealing with a new group. As always in the crypto space: don’t trust, verify. If a website or Telegram group seems suspicious and has a strange url, a number of non-functional links, spelling errors, etc, it’s best not to trust it and of course never to download anything before doing further research. What are your thoughts on Lazarus and the connected scams? Let us know in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, fair use. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. You can also enjoy the easiest way to buy Bitcoin online with us. Download your free Bitcoin wallet and head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can buy BCH and BTC securely. The post Hacker Group Lazarus Uses Fake Exchanges, Telegram Groups in Latest Malware Attacks appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has pledged to invest roughly $8 million into the Busan blockchain zone. The region was recently declared “regulation-free” by the national government and modeled after the Switzerland town of Zug. Bithumb’s subsidiary GCX Alliance will discuss the preliminary plans with the Financial Services Commission (FSC) this month. Also read: Mining Giant Canaan Faces Stiff Competition After IPO Shares Slump Bithumb Joins South Korea’s Blockchain Coalition in the ‘Regulatory-Free’ Zone in Busan On December 30, 2019, news.Bitcoin.com reported on the South Korean exchange Bithumb when the National Tax Service of South Korea (NTS) withheld more than 80 billion won ($69 million) from the company’s international clients. Bithumb is one of South Korea’s most profitable exchanges and the Korean won is often a top five trading pair with the most popular digital currencies. The recent tax levy was considered South Korea’s first attempt to have the NTS enforce tax commitments tied to cryptocurrencies. Following the NTS crackdown, Bithumb has reportedly partnered with the nation’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The high volume South Korean exchange plans to inject $8 million into South Korea’s “regulation-free” zone for blockchain development in Busan. Bithumb is one of South Korea’s (SK) top digital currency exchanges among other competing SK-based trading platforms like Upbit, and Korbit. Bithumb’s exchange hacks in 2018 forced the company to work with KISA (Korean Internet & Security Agency) to help recover their losses. Busan is allegedly one of seven regions that the Korean government has chosen to pilot distributed ledger tech and crypto solutions. Bithumb is also no stranger to Busan, as the exchange operates a walk-in customer service center in the zone, alongside its other branches in Busan Daejeon, Gangnam, and Gwanghwumun. Local reports highlight the Busan investment plan will be hashed out with the FSC during the latter half of January 2020 and purportedly Bithumb’s GCX Alliance will carry out the objectives. “Bithumb and the Financial Services Commission will discuss the investment in Busan blockchain special zone at the end of January,” a senior official from the Ministry SMEs and Startups detailed. A Bithumb customer service center. Bithumb already has a branch located in the blockchain zone of Busan. Busan’s So-Called ‘Regulation-Free Zone’ Isn’t Exactly a Place Where You Can Develop Any Kind of Cryptocurrency Project Busan isn’t exactly an area where blockchain developers and companies can create whatever they want. Initial coin offerings (ICO) are not acceptable within the Busan special region. The area in Busan is meant to be similar to Zug’s famous crypto hub in Switzerland, but there are still restrictions. The public caught wind of the special blockchain zone when the Ministry of SMEs and Startups revealed the idea in July. One of the biggest reasons for leveraging Busan is because it’s the second most populated city with lots of tourism. Reports say that Hyundai Pay and BNK Financial Group’s stablecoin has currently set up shop in Busan’s blockchain zone. The government entity wants blockchain and crypto projects to focus on the public sector with ideas that bolster tourism, consumerism, and public safety. In order to call Busan a “regulation-free zone,” South Korean officials lifted 11 regulations for businesses and startups leveraging blockchain. Bithumb’s GCX Alliance contribution will add to the expected 29.9 billion won ($25 million) by the year’s end. South Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups hopes to see the Busan blockchain zone get roughly $25 million in funding by the year’s end. Bithumb’s $8 million dollar contribution will help toward the 2021 goal. The push to galvanize Busan was started by South Korean President Moon Jae-In, who recently told the press adapting to blockchain technology was “a matter of survival.” Researchers from Amcgroup have highlighted the fact that only the local BNK Financial Group’s stablecoin is being used within Busan’s borders. No other cryptocurrencies are being worked on at the moment, the report discloses. Further, Amcgroup stressed that “lack of exceptions for cryptocurrencies has limited the appeal to blockchain startups.” Bithumb donating funds to Busan may be good for the region, but if blockchain startups won’t want to work there because public cryptos are restricted, the so-called “regulation-free blockchain zone” might be a worthless attempt. What do you think about Bithumb planning to donate $8 million to the Busan blockchain zone? Do you think the “regulation-free” zone is truly regulation-free or do you think the government conceived concept is hogwash? 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 third party 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. Image credits: Shutterstock, Busan, Bithumb customer service centers and logos, Cruisemapper, Wiki Commons, Fair Use, and Pixabay. You can now purchase bitcoin without visiting a cryptocurrency exchange. Buy BTC and BCH directly from our trusted seller and, if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store it, you can download one from us here. The post Bithumb Pledges $8M to South Korea’s ‘Regulation-Free’ Blockchain Zone appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On November 21, the Chinese mining rig manufacturer Canaan Inc. launched its initial public offering (IPO) sale of $90 million worth of U.S. shares. Canaan shares initially sold for $8.99, but plummeted over 48% on December 16 to $4.65 per share. Since then, Canaan has launched a series of five new mining rig batches that process between 48 terahash per second (TH/s) to 68TH/s for January and February delivery periods. Canaan stock sold on the Nasdaq Global Market has also managed to jump back 39% since the significant plunge in mid-December. Also Read: 2019’s Bitcoin Miners Are 5x Faster Than Predecessors Canaan’s IPO Shares Lost 48% But Have Regained Much of the Losses in 2020 Months ago, three giant mining rig firms from China, Bitmain, Canaan, and Ebang, failed to IPO on the primary stock exchange in Hong Kong. Then Canaan surprised everyone when the mining rig manufacturer filed for its initial public stock offering in October with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Following the IPO filing by Canaan, rumors have been circulating that both Ebang and Bitmain are filing for IPO status in the U.S. as well. Canaan’s stock is called CAN (NASDAQ: CAN) and the shares were added to Nasdaq on November 21 with a standard opening ceremony. During the first day of trading, CAN lost a few pennies per share, but then dropped 7.68% on November 23rd’s trading sessions. By mid-December Canaan’s public shares were down 48% before regaining some ground. Canaan’s shares jumped from an all-time low of $4.65 on December 16 to rise 11% the very next day. However, after another day of trading on Nasdaq, CAN dropped even lower to $4.63 a share. Canaan’s stock has been seemingly following BTC’s market footsteps and the stock value started to rise alongside BTC’s gradual climb. On January 9, CAN was trading for $6.49 per share and the stock is up 6% today. Market observers can’t pinpoint exactly why Canaan’s stock slumped during its first month out of the gate but it’s not uncommon for nascent shares to slide. However, speculators think that the CAN stock will follow alongside BTC’s price movements and have noted that Canaan has stiff competition. Following the IPO, Canaan has released a total of five high-powered bitcoin miners with 48-68TH/s. Chinese mining rig competitors like Bitmain and Innosilicon have also released a number of miners in the wake of Canaan’s initial IPO upset. Canaan Creative’s February mining rig batch. Canaan Reveals January and February Mining Rig Batches Aiming to Compete With Other Market Leaders Canaan’s store is now selling February batches of the new Avalonminer 1166 series (68TH/s) at $1,978 per unit. The next generation Avalonminer is roughly the same price as Innosilicon’s Terminator 3+ Pro 67TH/s machine at $1,999 per unit. Canaan also has a lower model machine, the Avalonminer 1146 ($1,204 per unit with 56TH/s), as both the 1166 and 1146 are scheduled for February delivery. Now Canaan patrons can purchase miners that will deliver in January as the company is selling three versions of the Avalonminer 1066 series. These three miners process between 48-50TH/s and sell for $1,032 to $1,075 per unit. However, Bitmain shoppers can get January shipping for mining rigs that produce between 40-64TH/s and prices are a couple hundred less. Canaan’s competitor Bitmain is selling a 70TH/s machine with a February shipping date. If a customer wanted to wait the same timeframe for the Avalonminer 1166 series (68TH/s) but purchase Bitmain’s Antminer S17+ (70TH/s) they would save $323 per unit. Miners should also keep in mind that the Avalonminer 1166 takes around 3196W off the wall, while the Antminer S17+ takes 2800W. That’s a reference power efficiency difference of 40 joules per terahash (J/TH) for the Antminer S17+ to the 47J/TH for Canaan 68TH/s model. Innosilicon has 67TH/s machines for sale right now ($1,999) on a first paid, first serve basis. The price is $21 more than Canaan’s Avalonminer 1166 series ($1,978 per unit with 68TH/s). The Avalonminer 1166 power consumption is similar to Innosilicon’s Terminator 3+ Pro 67TH/s device which uses 3300W. Another competitor Canaan has to deal with is the Chinese firm Microbt which is selling the Whatsminer M21S ($1,299 per unit with 56TH/s). Microbt recently slashed the M21S price after initially charging $1,749 per mining rig and the company claims items ship 1-2 business days after the payment is settled. Microbt’s best model right now claims 56TH/s and is $1,299 per unit. Whatsminers leverage Samsung’s 8nm semiconductors. The rising BTC prices might help Canaan’s shares sell better, but as far as manufacturing sales, the company has stiff competition. All of the Chinese mining rig manufacturers seem to be well-stocked with devices and are betting on investors ‘arming their farms’ with high-powered miners. Canaan’s public shares, however, could help the company a touch longer if the bull run doesn’t happen right away. Right now as far as 50TH/s to 70TH/s next-generation miners are concerned, there’s a high supply thanks to Canaan, Bitmain, Innosilicon, and Microbt. Out of all the competitors, Bitmain and Canaan have more choices as far as the mining rigs available for people looking for hashrates between 40-70TH/s. What do you think about Canaan’s public stock performance over the last month? What do you think about Canaan’s new mining rigs and the stiff competition the company faces? 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, mining rigs, services, mining rig manufacturers 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 ideas, software, mining rigs, mining rig manufacturers, websites, concepts, content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Image credits: Shutterstock, Canaan, Bitmain, Microbt, Innosilicon, Wiki Commons, Fair Use, and Pixabay. Did you know you can earn BTC and BCH through Bitcoin Mining? If you already own hardware, connect it to our powerful Bitcoin mining pool. If not, you can easily get started through one of our flexible Bitcoin cloud mining contracts. The post Mining Giant Canaan Faces Stiff Competition After IPO Shares Slump appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Are you developing a blockchain game that could be the next Cryptokitties or even take blockchain games mainstream, if only you had some help from a major company in the field? You’re in luck, because French video games giant Ubisoft is now looking for new blockchain startups it can support. Also Read: Honk Launches Token Sale to Fund SLP-Powered Sports Betting Site Ubisoft Entrepreneurs Lab to Focus on Blockchain Video gaming giant Ubisoft has announced that its Entrepreneurs Lab is now recruiting new startups for its fifth season of the incubator program. Starting in May 2020, the next season of the Ubisoft Entrepreneurs Lab will last until November 2020 and will focus on two main fields: Blockchain and Social Entertainment. This program is free for the selected ventures, and it will be held both in Paris and Singapore, but startups from anywhere in the world can apply. The selected teams will benefit from a tailor-made mentorship program adapted to their specific needs, and conducted with the experts from Ubisoft on various skills such as tech, UX, art and design, production, marketing, and legal. “Blockchain technology is entering every single industry, including the Entertainment industry,” explained the Ubisoft Entrepreneurs Lab. “We can see a nascent ecosystem flourishing in many different directions exploring new possibilities to envision the relationships with the gamers, and between them, virtual assets ownership and exchanges, transaction security, and all what a crypto currency can allow. We have already worked with Blockchain startups now for more than 3 seasons and we want to keep on progressing on that mysterious but promising topic.” Ubisoft’s Rayman Headquartered near Paris with several additional studios around the world, Ubisoft is one of the largest publicly traded game companies in the world in terms of both revenue and market capitalization. It employs about 16,000 people globally and publishes many popular video game franchises including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Prince of Persia, Watch Dogs and Rayman. Part of the Strategic Innovation Lab, the Ubisoft Entrepreneurs Lab’s stated mission is to team up with innovative startups to explore technologies or trends that might become critical for the company in the future. The lab works with each startup batch for a six-month season, aiming to create valuable collaborations between each startup and the Ubisoft group as a whole. Examples of Utilizing Crypto in Gaming The use of blockchain technology and crypto assets in video games has begun to mature recently with games that finally look like they’re actually fun, and not just ugly tech demos. For example, in October news.Bitcoin.com reported about a new sandbox game called Realmx that leverages the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) blockchain in order to enhance the gameplay experience. You don’t need the cryptocurrency to play the game but BCH can improve player abilities by offering in-game assets and extensible crafted items. All of the crafted items are stored on the BCH chain. Games.Bitcoin.Com Of course the very first use case of crypto in gaming ever was simply people using bitcoin as a secure and private funding method for online betting. Today this usage is still going strong on sites like Bitcoin.com’s very own online gaming platform. The site allows users to enjoy the games anonymously while also offering two-factor authentication, password-protected accounts, and a dedicated customer support team to ensure a smooth gaming experience. The platform has recently been releasing a whole range of new games from leading companies in the industry. What do you think about Ubisoft looking for blockchain video game startups to support? 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 Video Games Giant Ubisoft Is Looking for Blockchain Startups to Support appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

As anyone who has ever sought to lend crypto will attest, significant variance exists in the APR offered to lenders. Indeed, the spectrum can swing from 1% to 8% – even when it’s the same asset being loaned across platforms such as Coinbase, Poloniex, Compound and Dharma. As a consequence, would-be lenders seeking passive income must shop around for the best offer. Here are six high-interest options for lenders. Also read: Low Interest Rates Provide Precarious Protection Against Crisis, World Bank Warns It Pays to Shop Around There’s a lot of options to factor in with crypto lending over and above the quoted APR. You can choose between custodial and noncustodial, monthly, quarterly, and annual interest, and various cryptos from BTC to stablecoins. Platforms such as Loan Scan mercifully make the task easier by enabling a side-by-side comparison of the best options for lenders. There’s also information for borrowers seeking the most attractive terms. Below are some of the best high-yield options presently available to lenders. Interest options for lenders, as quoted by Loan Scan. Nexo While the majority of lenders offer varying rates depending on the currency, Nexo is different – its 8% guarantee holds true across fiat currencies like USD, EUR and GBP as well as popular stablecoins such as USDC, USDT, SAI, TUSD, and PAX. The platform has just added EOS to the list of available collateral for its Instant Crypto Credit Lines, enabling holders to spend the dollar value of their EOS without selling it. With Nexo, you can withdraw your funds whenever you want without penalty, just like a regular bank account. Given that 8% is the highest rate quoted by Loan Scan, Nexo’s custodial lending platform is worth your attention. All the more so if you own Terra: thanks to last year’s partnership between the two companies, Terra is offering to augment Nexo’s 8% interest rate with additional returns funded by its seigniorage model, enabling Terra holders to enjoy double-digit yearly returns on Nexo. Celsius Celsius almost manages to emulate Nexo by offering a fixed rate across most stablecoins: 7% for TUSD, GUSD, PAX, and USDC. The rate is well below that for SAI though, standing at 3.1%. Of course, you can collateralize non-stablecoins too, with Celsius offering 2.8% interest for ETH, 3.05% for BTC, 2.9% for XRP, and 3.15% for ZRX. A custodial system, Celsius recently hit the headlines by confirming it had handed out more than $4.25B in crypto loans last year, including over $2B in the course of 90 days. It also paid out over $5M in interest income. Crypto.com Acquired by Monaco in 2018, Crypto.com offers an impressive interest rate of 6% on three stablecoins (USDC, TUSD and PAX) and three of the most popular digital currencies (ETH, BTC and XRP), making it an appealing option for a broad spectrum of investors and hodlers. You can avail yourself of even better rates when you stake MCO tokens. Blockfi Blockfi specializes in providing clients with access to high-interest crypto accounts and low-cost credit products. Until recently, Blockfi only supported two currencies, namely ETH, for which the rate is 4.1% for deposits below 1,000 ETH (and 0.5% for everything above), and BTC, which stands at 6.2% for holdings less than 10 BTC, with everything above that earning 2.2%. However, in 2020 the company aims to add five to ten new assets including USDC (8.6%) and litecoin (3.78%). Be advised, Blockfi has had to cut rates more than once due to depositor demand outstripping borrower supply. Coinlist Founded in San Francisco in 2017, originally as a capital-raising platform, Coinlist is now all over the stablecoin market, offering the same rate of 5.84% interest on USDC, SAI, TUSD, GUSD, and PAX. It also furnishes users with 2.92% on ETH and BTC, 5.11% on ZRX, XRP and REP, and 3.65% on Brave’s BAT. It’s worth having a look at their website too, as they seem to be adding tokens all the time. DAI Savings Rate now 6% That’s the highest it’s ever been That means you can lock up your DAI in a savings contract & earn 6% per year with no additional risk Maybe better yet… Wrap it in cDAI & earn the 6% without locking it up. cDAI can be transferred & spent!#bankless — Ryan Sean Adams – rsa.eth (@RyanSAdams) January 8, 2020 It’s little wonder crypto owners are seeking to generate a passive income by putting their crypto to work via high-interest paying loans. Of course, that isn’t the only thing driving the crypto lending market: traders are also borrowing crypto to overcome capital inefficiencies. The crypto space currently offers significantly higher interest rates than the fiat world, with platforms like Cred allowing people to earn up to 10% on their BTC and BCH holdings. Aspiring lenders seeking to profitably deploy their crypto holdings should keep an eye on interest rates, which are subject to change, and be sure to read the small print. Have you tried crypto lending or borrowing? If so, what platforms do you recommend? Let us know in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Did you know you can 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 6 High Interest-Paying Options for Crypto Lenders appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The latest global debt wave is the largest in the past five decades, the World Bank has acknowledged in a new report. The international institution notes that previous waves of broad-based debt accumulation lead to widespread financial crises. Historically low interest rates this time might not be sufficient to avoid the next meltdown. Also read: Another Bank Run Highlights China’s Brewing Financial Crisis Largest, Fastest, Broadest Debt Wave The risk of a new global financial crisis is one of the focal points in the January edition of the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report. There have been four waves of debt accumulation in the last 50 years, the institution remarks, but the one that started in 2010 represents the largest, fastest, and most broad-based increase in debt so far. The bank warns that while current interest rate levels, which have reached historic lows in many countries around the world, are mitigating some of the risks associated with high debt, previous waves of debt accumulation have ended with widespread financial crises. Undoubtedly a warning for governments and central banks that other anti-crisis measures are needed. While the crypto space maintains significantly higher interest rates than the fiat world, and platforms like Cred allow individuals to earn up to 10% on BTC and BCH holdings, many developed nations have continued to lower their benchmark rates. More than 20 European countries now have 0% interest rates and a few, such as Denmark and Switzerland, have been in negative territory for around five years. “Policy options to reduce the likelihood of crises and lessen their impact should they materialize include building resilient monetary and fiscal frameworks, instituting robust supervisory and regulatory regimes, and following transparent debt management practices,” the authors of the report insist. World Bank Prospects Group Director Ayhan Kose elaborated: Low global interest rates provide only a precarious protection against financial crises. The history of past waves of debt accumulation shows that these waves tend to have unhappy endings. In a fragile global environment, policy improvements are critical to minimize the risks associated with the current debt wave. History Shows Mounting Debt Leads to Crises Another report published by the World Bank this past December, titled “Global Waves of Debt: Causes and Consequences,” indicated that debt in emerging and developing economies has climbed to a record $55 trillion in 2018. The document contained a study of the four major debt accumulation periods since 1970 and concluded that the debt-to-GDP ratio of developing nations has climbed 54 percentage points since the start of the latest debt buildup a decade ago. Around half of the national episodes of rapid debt growth in developing countries, which have totaled over 500 since 1970, were accompanied by financial crises that significantly weakened per-capita income and investment, the World Bank noted. “History shows that large debt surges often coincide with financial crises in developing countries, at great cost to the population. Policymakers should act promptly to enhance debt sustainability and reduce exposure to economic shocks,” commented Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, the World Bank Group’s Vice President for Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions. The latest debt wave differs from the previous three, however, in several aspects. The World Bank points out that it involves a simultaneous accumulation in both public and private debt and it’s not limited to one or two regions. Debt is quite high in developing countries; it is twice the nominal level reached in 2007, the institution emphasizes. A considerable portion of the debt increase has been driven by China. The debt-to-GDP ratio of the People’s Republic has risen 72 points to 255% since 2010. In the past months and years, a liquidity crisis has been brewing as well. The government in Beijing had to bail out several banks due to a credit crunch in the interbank lending market while also trying hard to stimulate lending for its slowing economy and ensure liquidity in its troubled banking sector. Despite persisting downward risks, the global economy is expected to grow up to 2.5% in 2020. But according to the World Bank, this is likely to happen only if global investment and trade gradually recover from the weak levels observed in 2019. Although growth in emerging and developing economies is projected to reach 4.1% this year, growth among advanced economies is probably going to slow down to 1.4%. What are your forecasts for the global economic and financial system in 2020? Share your expectations 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 Low Interest Rates Provide Precarious Protection Against Crisis, World Bank Warns appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Philippines has a “Crypto Valley of Asia,” an initiative of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority, the government agency responsible for managing the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport. An airport is now being planned for inside this economic zone to address the needs of its investors and crypto service providers. Many cryptocurrency exchanges have been licensed to operate within the zone. Also read: Regs Roundup: SEC Actions, Crypto Tax-Free in Korea, New Chinese Laws Airport Planned for Crypto Valley of Asia The Philippines’ Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) has confirmed its plans to build an airport inside its “Crypto Valley of Asia.” According to Administrator and CEO Raul Lambino, the airport will cost between $60 million and $80 million. He was quoted by the Manila Times on Thursday as saying: The construction of a new airport is an important facility in the establishment and realization of the so-called Crypto Valley of Asia concept that we have embarked. The CEO explained that CEZA is now in talks with the country’s Department of Transportation and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines which are responsible for licensing new airports. “We hope we will be able to realize this in the next three years,” he remarked. The Crypto Valley of Asia is a joint initiative by CEZA and private developer Northern Star Gaming and Resorts Inc. to provide a stable and safe region for blockchain developers and crypto exchange operators. The initiative is part of the government’s bid to foster a fintech ecosystem to attract international crypto and blockchain companies to set up shop in the country. Lambino believes that it will help the Philippines “become one of the major offshoring destinations for fintech and blockchain-related work.” Meeting Investors’ Demand According to Lambino, investors and companies operating within the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport have expressed concern over the lack of airport facilities since they need to get to the crypto valley as quickly as possible. However, the nearest airport to the economic zone, the Cagayan North International Airport, is 80 kilometers away. The CEO noted that a master plan and a feasibility study are currently being undertaken by an American company in collaboration with some of their local partners, the publication conveyed. “Unless we construct an expressway, we would not be able to address the concern of investors who would want to come to the ecozone as quick as possible,” Lambino told the news outlet. He elaborated that it would cost at least P10 to P12 billion to build an expressway, concluding that building a new airport is more practical and faster to implement than constructing an expressway. “Right of way acquisition will take more than five years and thus it is more practical and more doable to construct a new airport with less cost and less time than to construct a new expressway that will connect Lal-lo to the ecozone,” he detailed. CEZA offers two types of “Offshore Virtual Currency Exchange” licenses: the principal license and the regular license. The former allows licensees to conduct offshore fintech and crypto exchange activities, while the latter restricts them to only crypto exchange activities. Earlier this month, the authority confirmed that there are 25 financial technology principal licensees from Asia and Europe. As of September 2019, 40 companies have reportedly been licensed by CEZA overall. Meanwhile, the Philippines’ central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), has licensed 13 crypto exchanges to operate in the country, according to the central bank’s latest list. Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been providing technical assistance to the BSP including on crypto assets. The IMF sees the Philippines as a potentially important market for crypto assets. What do you think of the Philippines’ Crypto Valley of Asia getting its own airport? Let us know in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post Philippine ‘Crypto Valley of Asia’ to Get Own Airport appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Since the creation of the Silk Road, authorities have waged a war against the online drug trade with a wave of surveillance and enforcement. However, crypto-anarchists are developing new ways to evade the state’s tentacles as the next technological phase started to emerge in late 2017. On Monday, the Cypherpunk Bitstream podcast discussed the evolution of darknet markets as new ideas like dropgangs and dead drops proliferate into the next decade. Also read: Why the Counter Economy Is Necessary to Bitcoin’s Survival as a Disruptive Currency The Importance of Evolving Darknet Practices At the end of 2019, the publication Vice highlighted the fact that since 2014 the number of users buying illicit narcotics on darknet markets (DNM) has doubled. Vice columnist David Hillier’s report underlines the fact that DNMs have increased since the Silk Road, but the growth of ‘Snapchat dealers’ and other instant messenger service drug operations has multiplied. For instance, Hillier cites a report called “DM For Details” which explains that in 2019, 24% of young people said “they see illicit drugs advertised for sale on social media.” 56% of the drugs being sold are on Snapchat, 55% of ads are seen on Instagram, and 47% leverage Facebook Messenger. The report detailed that cannabis is the most popular drug advertised 63% of the time, while cocaine was the second most popular drug. Instant messenger services are now facilitating a new wave of online dealers. Vendors use these applications and utilize dead drop locations rather than using a DNM and the postal service. Meanwhile, the podcast “Cypherpunk Bitstream” hosts Jonathan ‘Smuggler’ Logan and ‘Frank Braun’ published an episode which discussed the advancement of the online drug trade and Smuggler’s nine-page article “Dropgangs, or the Future of Darknet Markets.” Smuggler’s research studied how DNMs have evolved since they were first advertised on the clearnet and migrated to the deep web via the Silk Road (SR). When SR was seized by global law enforcement, dozens of new DNMs popped out of the woodwork with mega-markets like Dream and Alphabay. D E F I A N C E Unschoolers defy the ED. Biohackers defy the FDA. Gun printers defy the ATF. Drone pilots defy the FAA. Carnivores defy the USDA. Cypherpunks defy the NSA. Token issuers defy the SEC. Darknet markets defy the DEA. Bitcoiners defy the Federal Reserve. — Jameson Lopp (@lopp) January 9, 2020 However, in 2017, police forces shut down Alphabay and operated Hansa undercover for more than 30 days before closing it. Smuggler’s editorial notes that the “loss of darknet markets led to severe disruption of client-merchant relationships.” “Identities and reputation being lost, previous marketing efforts being negated – often leading to temporary or even permanent collapse of merchant business,” he added. Despite the cat-and-mouse game of surveillance and evasion, Smuggler’s research notes: The problems of darknet markets have triggered an evolution in online black markets. Cypherpunk Bitstream Episode 0x04 Talks About Dropgangs, Dead Drops, Drone Mix networks, and Sneakernet On January 6, 2020, Smuggler conversed about the topic of dropgangs on episode 0x04 of the podcast Cypherpunk Bitstream. Smuggler talked about the premise of his article with Frank Braun and defined what a dropgang is for listeners. “Dropgangs are organizations that distribute contraband by using mostly messenger services, often cryptocurrencies, and dead drops.” Dropgangs solve the last mile problem of the drug trade. — Frank Braun (@thefrankbraun) January 8, 2020 Smuggler also gives an example of a dropgang that leverages messenger services like Telegram. Basically you text on Telegram, agree on a price, and the dealer sends coordinates to a secret location where you can pick up the goods. “[Darknet markets are] not the end of development when it comes to the distribution of contraband,” Smuggler emphasized on the podcast. “One of the tendencies of [DNMs] is that they appear, they’re used and then they go away. And in between, you have a lot of people that are arrested.” Cypherpunk Bitstream episode 0x04 discusses the use of Sneakernets (or trainnets – pigeonets) as well. Smuggler notes that in Eastern Europe and throughout the Balkan States, there’s another end of the spectrum of the online drug trade where DNMs have evolved. In a lot of Eastern European countries, the dominant model is different to a centralized DNM website that simply sells product. This is because vendors from these regions started using dead drops early, Smuggler told Braun during the podcast. Braun agreed and said that this was because the postal system in that area of the world was never really trustworthy. The dead drop method allows the vendor to drop the product at a secret and random geographical location that only the two parties are aware of. This idea skips the global mail systems and customers can remain anonymous and don’t have to reveal an address. Postal Service Vulnerabilities During the mid-section of the episode, Smuggler and Braun go into great detail on how the postal service flags and tracks suspected contraband dealers. Smuggler highlights the global mail systems’ flagging infrastructure and sorting equipment is digitally augmented. Some things are augmented so far that the letters get a tracing code printed on it and people don’t notice it, Smuggler says. If a package or letter is found suspicious, the hidden tracing code is added which flags all letters posted in the same container and allows investigators to track origins and create heat map-like data points. Smuggler insists that over time, the heat map tracking system is perfected and “you get a map with a statistical overlay.” The podcast host says this kind of mail inspection gives investigators a really good indication about where the sender is from and the frequency of mail the vendor ships. Smuggler and Frank Braun discuss the intricacies tied to the postal services’ tracking systems. Dropgangs avoid the post altogether by leveraging dead drops. The issues tethered to centralized DNMs and the postal service mail inspection process make Braun and Smuggler stress the importance of evolving black market practices. In addition to the discussion about dropgangs, dead drops, existing DNMs, and the postal service, the two hosts talk about the idea of drone mix networks that could leverage drones and hard-to-trace communication mixes. Cypherpunk Bitstream’s episode 0x04 also touches upon concepts like sneakernet. Rather than transmitting information via connected computer networks, individuals leveraging the transfer of data via physical devices can greatly improve privacy. For instance, a person could create a BCH bearer bond instrument by using an optical disc, USB flash drive or external hard drive loaded with BCH and pass it along a network of individuals without the transactions ever being seen on a public block explorer. Sneakernet crypto trading might be essential after the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) and the updated FATF “Travel Rule” take effect this year. Four years ago, before bitcoiners became infatuated with institutional interest, a few decentralized marketplace ideas emerged. First Ever Decentralized Market Transaction Just Happened in Drop Zone: https://t.co/18A086u3Mj #bitcoin #btc — Bitcoin España (@Bitcoin_Spain) December 21, 2015 On August 30, 2015, Reddit user miracle-max_ described a decentralized marketplace layer written on top of the BTC chain called the Drop Zone Protocol. The system was originally tested on BTC’s testnet and the author of the concept released a paper on the cryptography mailing list. The paper called “Drop Zone: An Anonymous Peer-To-Peer Local Contraband Marketplace” describes the system’s properties. It featured concepts like anonymous and encrypted communications with built-in reputation controls. Additionally, “contraband markets can be open and anonymous,” Miracle Max wrote at the time. A photo that was taken on November 8, 2017, after Openbazaar integrated Tor and DNM vendors leveraged VPNs as well. Another concept similar to Max’s Drop Zone is Voluntary Labs project Bitmarkets, an idea that leveraged Bitmessage for listings and buyer/seller communications and runs on Tor by default. Both Bitmarkets and Drop Zone never really materialized and people remained mostly dependent on centralized DNMs up until 2017. Since the fall of the major DNMs in 2017, the peer-to-peer application Openbazaar has been used lightly to facilitate contraband deals, mainly with narcotics like cannabis. Centralized DNMs have been a mess over the last two years and several of the most popular marketplaces went under in 2019. Years ago, concepts like Bitmarkets and Drop Zone were all the rage with bitcoiners. The recently published Cypherpunk Bitstream podcast is over three hours long, but gives a comprehensive overlook of where things are headed within the modernized online drug trade. Law enforcement seems to be leading the cat-and-mouse game but the podcast shows that evasion schemes are growing stronger in certain regions. Readers who are interested in this subject can read Smuggler’s article published last year, and listen to Smuggler’s podcast in its entirety via the link below. What do you think about the evolution of DNMs and ideas like dropgangs and dead drops? Let us know what you think about these topics in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the subject matter written above. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any ideas, software, concepts, content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Image credits: Shutterstock, Bitmarkets, Openbazaar, Twitter, Wiki Commons, Fair Use, 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 How Dropgangs and Dead Drops Are Transforming Darknet Practices appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

2019 was a good year for dapps and a particularly good one for Tron and Ethereum. That’s the upshot of Dapp Review’s new report into crypto-powered decentralized applications. The sprawling research document inspects the major dapp networks in forensic detail and provides key takeaways. The headline-grabber is the revelation that Tron, EOS, and Ethereum accrued $23 billion in dapp volume last year, with Tron leapfrogging EOS along the way to establish itself as the de facto dapp network for recreational use. Also read: Researcher’s Scathing Lightning Network Analysis Finds Flaws Three Chains Control the Dapp Economy As the cryptoconomy has evolved, so has the role played by the leading smart contract networks. Ethereum has pivoted from ICOs to defi, Tron has become the preeminent dapp chain for gambling applications, and EOS has found itself positioned somewhere between the two, not quite decentralized enough for defi and onchain resource costs too unpredictable for high volume dapps. As a result, it will likely be Tron founder Justin Sun who can take the most heart from Dapp Review’s 2019 report. It found that close to 2,000 dapps were launched last year, with 80% of those issued on the Tron network pertaining to gambling. Dapp Review’s description of Tron as “Las Vegas on the blockchain” is an apposite one. Tron-based exchange and gaming dapps also had a good year though. Tron racked up a total of $4.4 billion in transaction volume in 2019, across more than 420 million transactions. Ethereum, meanwhile, averaged 40-60K defi users per month last year, and total transaction volume of $12.8 billion, with more than 90% of this attributed to decentralized finance (defi), including exchanges. In crypto, as in so many other spheres, a handful of big players control the industry: Ethereum, Tron, and EOS account for 98% of all dapp transaction volume, leaving the long tail of smaller smart contract chains to fight for the crumbs. Tron Pips EOS to the Post One of the most successful Tron dapps of 2019 was Wink, aided by a midsummer IEO on Binance. Dapp Review’s report highlights the daily dollar volume of the leading Tron casino dapps, with Wink way out in front. The authors of the report, observing Tron’s acquisitions and integrations over the past 12 months, conclude “There is no doubt that these capital operations have shown Justin’s ambition and execution ability.” This includes Justin Sun integrating video streaming platform Dlive into the Bittorrent ecosystem, and pledging fealty to Dlive for all future broadcasts of his own. With the Line blockchain that powers Dlive’s token economy set to be switched out for Tron, the latter’s onchain transactions look set to swell further this year. Given the number of metrics that can be used to record dapp usage, crowning the dominant smart contract network depends on which benchmark you go for. Dapp Review, for its part, has positioned the winners as Ethereum, Tron, and then EOS, in that order, with Tron pipping EOS to second spot by dint of having more active users. Ethereum is out in front on this metric, with 1.82 million active users, followed by Tron with 989K and then EOS with 729K. Tron also outpaced EOS in terms of number of active dapps, by 637 to 633. With EOS aiming to regain the momentum it had upon launch, Tron uniting ecosystems through M&As, and Ethereum placing all its hopes in defi, the next 12 months look set to break new records for dapp usage. What are your thoughts on Dapp Review’s 2019 dapp report? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Dapp Review. 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 Ethereum, Tron and EOS Control 98% of All Dapp Volume appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Hotmine, a company based in Ukraine which engineers home appliances for crypto enthusiasts, is not new to mining equipment development. But sometimes it takes the right time and the right technology to be able to create and offer solutions that consumers would be willing to buy and use. Thanks to tech progress and proper market conditions, cryptocurrency mining at your home is once again becoming an option to support your budget with some satoshis or save on utility bills. Also read: Bitcoin Emits Less Carbon Than Previously Claimed, New Study Finds Mining 3.0 Era Comes With New Home Appliances That Mint Digital Coins Cryptocurrency mining has passed through different stages since the invention of Bitcoin and Oles Slobodenyuk, the owner of Hotmine, was willing to explain why he thinks that after a period of industrialization, the minting of digital coins can once again return to living rooms and garages. And it can not only bring households some additional crypto income but also heat air and water without affecting the noise comfort of a home. Hotmine produced its first hashboards using 55nm chips and developed a system to utilize the thermal energy emitted by the hardware in September 2013. In October the same year, 10 hashboards with 12 chips each were capable of mining three bitcoins a day. A complete module had 80 hashboards and a total of 960 chips. This equipment was exploited for a few years until it was eventually replaced with a more productive hardware. Hotmine can change the hashboards, which act as the heating elements in its systems, with new ones based on 16nm, 10nm, and 7nm chips. In the early days of Bitcoin, a period Hotmine CEO describes as Mining 1.0, a miner was a full-fledged cell of the crypto community, he pointed out. Later, when the first video cards, ASICs, and mining pools appeared, having an account on a pool was enough and the mined bitcoins were often immediately withdrawn to an exchange. Eventually, hardware manufacturers started mining themselves. Creating 20-40-100 MW datacenters became much more profitable than working on small-scale solutions, Slobodenyuk noted referring to that industrial era as Mining 2.0, when the minting of coins became noisier. Speaking to news.Bitcoin.com, the entrepreneur further elaborated: Plugging your equipment as soon as possible became a priority. It all turned into an arms race. No one was thinking about complex infrastructure projects with beneficial use of the generated heat. Advancements in technology are now making it possible for crypto mining to decentralize and return to private homes. The Mining 3.0 period will see mining equipment being used in home applications again, like powering water boilers and heating radiators. Hotmine’s new product, the Prometheus smart heater, mines cryptocurrency to allow users to save up to $0.064 per kWh of spent electricity, the company claims. So if you pay 12 cents per kWh, for example, Prometheus can help you save approximately 50% on your electricity bill, Slobodenyuk insisted. According to its website, Hotmine has already produced its first batch of 60 heating convectors in late 2019. The Ukrainian company decided to construct a silent miner-heater in August 2018 using 57 J/Th, 16nm Bitfury Clarke chips. The power consumption of their device is between 550 and 900 Watts per hour with a productivity of 8 – 11 Th/s. The convector is linked to the internet via wifi. The first prototypes appeared in April 2019, with a regular configuration (0.5-0.7 kW) mining at up to 11 Th/s and a mini version (0.1 kW) at 1.5 Th/s. Both modules rely on fanless cooling which allows them to utilize the excess heat without producing noise, making them suitable for home application. A Market Opens Up for Heat Utilizing Mining Solutions Oles Slobodenyuk believes there is a place for his convectors in every home. In order to bring down the manufacturing costs to around $450 – $550 per module, however, he has estimated that Hotmine has to assemble and sell 100,000 smart mining units or more. The company has a road map to achieve that and hopes to manufacture 1,000 smart convectors and 2,000 smart water boilers in 2020, gradually increasing the numbers in the next few years until it reaches its goal. At the same time, Hotmine also hopes to expand its community of users and supporters which can improve sales and ensure funding. “We can quickly develop new equipment, R&D is our strong side, but we are yet to learn how to better advertise and promote our products. Our initial strategy was to look for clients and investors on the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform but we also realized that success comes with creating a community,” said Slobodenyuk. His team is currently working to increase the number of Hotmine’s followers on social media and takes every opportunity to present its products at conferences and other events in the crypto space. Volunteers are currently testing some of the Prometheus smart heaters, the company founder revealed. Slobodenyuk believes Hotmine has two options for its future development. One is to organize mass production of mining modules in China and arrange distribution around the world. The other is to find partners in export markets and start assembling the mining rigs in each country. In any case, building a successful business with crypto mining home appliances will not be an easy task, not least because of increasing competition from other contenders in the niche like Qarnot or Comino, as Hotmine’s management acknowledges. Nevertheless, the continuing crypto market recovery that made mining profitable again certainly opens new possibilities before all these companies. Do you think crypto mining can be successfully integrated in home heating systems? Share your opinion 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 third party 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, Hotmine. Did you know you can earn BTC and BCH through Bitcoin Mining? If you already own hardware, connect it to our powerful Bitcoin mining pool. If not, you can easily get started through one of our flexible Bitcoin cloud mining contracts. The post This Company Sets Out to Prove Crypto Mining Has a Place in Your Home appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On January 7, digital preservation researcher David Rosenthal published an overview of BTC’s Lightning Network (LN) which claims LN infrastructure isn’t decentralized and privacy-preservation is a myth. Rosenthal’s analysis found significant flaws with the LN fee system and the editorial insists “in order for Lightning Network to provide privacy, it must be massively over-capitalized.” Also read: Here’s What Happens When You Use Lightning Network for the First Time Digital Preservation Researcher David Rosenthal Investigates Lightning Network The controversial scaling solution called the Lightning Network has a bunch of fans and a slew of detractors as well. A number of people think that a second layer is required to scale BTC to the masses, while other individuals wholeheartedly believe layer one (onchain transactions) should be sufficient. Since 2015, the scaling debate over this subject has continued relentlessly and despite a variety of reports disclosing LN vulnerabilities, BTC supporters remain confident the solution will succeed. On Tuesday, digital preservation analyst David Rosenthal published his thoughts on the LN scaling solution. Rosenthal’s “DSHR’s Blog” has been publishing reports on technology and digital preservation since 2007. Rosenthal notes in his recent piece that crypto and blockchain discussions often involve theories that are hoped to be realized in practice. LN advocates claim that the system will enhance decentralization and anonymity. Rosenthal asserts that the LN system doesn’t work and that it’s not really decentralized. Moreover, the researcher highlights that “transaction fees [are] woefully inadequate to cover the costs of running a node.” Rosenthal cites a paper written by a Hungarian team of researchers called “A Cryptoeconomic Traffic Analysis of Bitcoin’s Lightning Network.” Source: “A Cryptoeconomic Traffic Analysis of Bitcoin’s Lightning Network.” “As usual, Bitcoin enthusiasts are taken in by the hype,” Rosenthal writes. “[The Hungarian researchers] built a simulation and calibrated it against the public information they could find about the Lightning Network. Experiments they ran using their simulation led them to conclude that the “negligible fees” are massively subsidized by the large Lightning nodes.” Rosenthal adds that most transactions pay roughly 10% of the cost of their routing, which could potentially work in a different context. The researcher adds: This greater than Uber level of subsidy could make business sense only in the context of investing in a future monopoly capable of massively raising prices. But prices are capped by transaction fees on the Bitcoin blockchain, making it impossible. The Elephant in the Room: Routing Issues Rosenthal’s post also highlights the Hungarian researchers’ simulation, which shows out of 7,000 transactions per day, one third fail. “This is not a practical payment system,” the author emphasized. The paper also mentions the often cited routing problem and in Rosenthal’s opinion, LN’s dynamic routing is an “exceptionally difficult computational problem.” Additionally, the post details that the Cryptoeconomic Traffic Analysis paper draws attention to LN’s routing issues. “Even in theory, the combination of source and onion routing provides a fairly weak version of privacy,” Rosenthal remarked. Source: Mathematical Proof That the Lightning Network Cannot Be a Decentralized Bitcoin Scaling Solution by Jonald Fyookball. “In other words, in order for Lightning Network to provide privacy, it must be massively over-capitalized,” Rosenthal’s post concludes. “If fees are high enough that running a router node is economically rational, privacy cannot be provided because the additional hops needed would both be too expensive and would increase the already high probability of transaction failure.” What do you think about David Rosenthal’s analysis of the Lightning Network? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Research paper 1, Research paper 2, and Fair Use. Did you know you can verify any unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with our Bitcoin Block Explorer tool? Simply complete a Bitcoin address search to view it on the blockchain. Plus, visit our Bitcoin Charts to see what’s happening in the industry. The post Researcher’s Scathing Lightning Network Analysis Finds Flaws appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The European Central Bank (ECB) wants to play an active role in the field of digital currency, said President Christine Lagarde. As the bank works on its own digital currency and an instant payment system, Lagarde emphasizes that “central bank initiatives should neither discourage nor crowd out private market-led solutions for fast and efficient retail payments in the euro area.” Also read: Regs Roundup: SEC Actions, Crypto Tax-Free in Korea, New Chinese Laws ECB Wants Active Role The president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, outlined in an interview with “Challenges” magazine the bank’s progress in the area of digital currency, the ECB announced on Jan. 8. Responding to a question of whether “creating a cryptocurrency [is] a legitimate task for the ECB,” Lagarde noted that “Innovation in the area of payments is racing ahead in response to the urgent demand for quicker and cheaper payments, especially cross-border ones,” adding: The Eurosystem in general and the ECB, in particular, want to play an active role in this field, rather than just acting as observers of a changing world. She proceeded to talk about TIPS (TARGET Instant Payment System), a market infrastructure service to provide pan-European instant payments with direct settlement in central bank money. Launched by the Eurosystem in November 2018, this system “enables banks to process payments between themselves in a matter of seconds, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, all over Europe,” she claims. While TIPS currently only settles payment transfers in euros, other currencies could be supported if there is demand, the ECB website details. EBC’s Work on Central Bank Digital Currency Lagarde also told Challenges magazine about the ECB’s work on central bank digital currencies. “In terms of the road ahead, the ECB will continue to assess the costs and benefits of issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) that would ensure that the general public remains able to use central bank money even if the use of physical cash eventually declines,” she said, emphasizing: The prospect of central bank initiatives should neither discourage nor crowd out private market-led solutions for fast and efficient retail payments in the euro area. “We are looking closely into the feasibility and merits of a CBDC, also because it could have major implications for the financial sector and for the transmission of monetary policy,” the ECB president opined. She further noted that the central bank created “an expert task force” at the end of 2019 to work closely with national central banks “to study the feasibility of a euro area CBDC in various forms, covering all the practical aspects, including how to minimise possible unintended side-effects.” At her first press conference as head of the ECB in December, Lagarde outlined her plans to lead the ECB ahead of the curve in the field of digital currency, expecting progress by mid-2020. She said at the time that “There is clearly a demand out there that we have to respond to,” referring to stablecoins. The ECB then published a report showcasing its blockchain technology proof of concept, which features a digital chain with the ability to issue “anonymity vouchers.” What do you think of the ECB wanting to take an active role in the crypto space? Let us know in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post ECB Wants Active Role in Crypto, Will Not Deter Private Solutions appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Indian state of Kerala is actively exploring using blockchain technology to improve a wide range of existing systems, including financial. Thousands of people are already being trained in the state to become blockchain experts, some of whom have already graduated, according to the state’s electronics and information technology secretary. He recently revealed the state’s plan to train 20,000 blockchain professionals. Also read: Regs Roundup: SEC Actions, Crypto Tax-Free in Korea, New Chinese Laws Kerala’s 5-Year Blockchain Plans The state of Kerala is positioning itself to become the blockchain hub of India, with plans to use the technology in a number of areas. Shri. M. Sivasankar, the state’s electronics and information technology secretary, told the Economic Times on Tuesday: We are looking for intelligent use of blockchain in specific domains in the next five years so that its applications can be sustained. Companies that produce solutions based on the technology can sell it as products or services. Kerala’s Electronics and IT Secretary M. Sivasankar. The state plans to use the technology to boost the efficiency of its existing financial system and to create a talent pool of blockchain professionals. According to the news outlet, the government of Kerala is also trying to implement blockchain technology in several pilot programs, such as for land records, workforce management, organic food traceability, and immunization. Sivasankar emphasized that the technology can benefit the state’s financial sector, which comprises several banks that are headquartered in the state, chit fund companies, microfinance lenders, remittance service providers, and other organizations. He elaborated: Since there is a huge financial market, we can provide the blockchain provider access to the market so that they can develop new concepts and models … The state’s strength in blockchain will be an incentive to attract the right companies that will trigger the ecosystem. The Blockchain Academy Kerala has a blockchain institute called Kerala Blockchain Academy (KBA), an initiative of the state government under the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management. Established in 2017, Kerala Blockchain Academy offers certification programs, R&D activities, and consultancy. It is a member and official training partner of Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger Project and a general partner of the R3 Consortium. Four initiatives are listed on the academy’s website. Powerhouse offers different blockchain certification programs as well as workshops, seminars, and corporate training on different blockchain technologies. Blockchain Research Group focuses on R&D activities and knowledge creation. One of the classes offered by Kerala Academy. The third initiative is Blockchain Garage, which focuses primarily on industry and government collaborations to develop solutions using blockchain technology, such as Ethereum, Hyperledger, Sawtooth, EOS, and Corda. The last is the KBA Innovation Club which aims to help students from academic institutions from all over the country deeply explore the potential of the technology. The academy’s website also has a nationwide job listings page. Through the academy, Sivasankar foresees Kerala becoming a talent hub for blockchain experts. The secretary recently said that the state plans to train 20,000 people in blockchain development over the next two years. He additionally revealed: Around 2,000 of them have gone for the next level in the blockchain developer programme and 800 have graduated. Several Indian ministries and local authorities have independently explored the use of blockchain technology. In November 2019, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Shri Sanjay Dhotre detailed the steps the government had taken to promote blockchain technology to Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament. He said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had identified blockchain technology as an important research area with application potential in various domains such as governance, banking and finance, and cybersecurity. Recently, India’s National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) announced its permissioned blockchain-based platform called Vajra, aimed at making payments fast and secure. What do you think of Kerala’s plan to become the blockchain hub of India? 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, Twitter, and Kerala Blockchain Academy. 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 Kerala Outlines Plans to Become India’s Blockchain Hub appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

As Bitcoin is adopted by more and more traditional financial institutions, and becomes regulated by governments worldwide, the question of its survival as a truly disruptive alternative to legacy financial systems is raised. After all, if governments like Qatar’s can ban it, and international banking laws like AMLD5 can push bitcoin-friendly companies out of business, how is Satoshi’s revolutionary P2P cash to survive without a counter economy of willing users who transact freely and autonomously? Also Read: Regs Roundup: SEC Actions, Crypto Tax-Free in Korea, New Chinese Laws Counter-Economics and SEK III Short for “counter-establishment economics,” counter-economics is any and all non-violent economic activity which takes place outside the purview of, or simply disregarding, the state. The concept was popularized in libertarian circles largely by agorist Samuel Edward Konkin III, or “SEK III,” and comprises any non-violent act of the free market which runs counter to statist laws and norms. For example, something as small as selling odds and ends at a flea market is counter-economics. Not reporting income to a war-fueling and privacy-invasive tax agency, or running a dark web marketplace like the Silk Road. Painting a fence for a neighbor and being paid under the table. Setting up a roadside fruits stand or carpooling service without a license. These are all examples of counter-economic activity. Samuel Edward Konkin III Konkin himself defined counter-economics as follows: “The Counter-Economy is the sum of all non-aggressive Human Action which is forbidden by the State. Counter-economics is the study of the Counter-Economy and its practices. The Counter-Economy includes the free market, the Black Market, the ‘underground economy,’ all acts of civil and social disobedience, all acts of forbidden association (sexual, racial, cross-religious), and anything else the State, at any place or time, chooses to prohibit, control, regulate, tax, or tariff. The Counter-Economy excludes all State-approved action (the ‘White Market’) and the Red Market (violence and theft not approved by the State).” Qatar Bans Bitcoin, Who’s Next? As news.Bitcoin.com has recently reported, Qatar Financial Center (QFC) Regulatory Authority has placed a blanket ban on QFC businesses transacting in cryptocurrencies. The EU’s AMLD5 regulations are similarly forcing crypto companies out of business. Top crypto exchanges are giving up sensitive user info to tax agencies like the IRS, and nations worldwide are in development of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to potentially replace paper and coin fiat money. In this context, it’s important to ask what sets bitcoin apart. After all, in one sense, it’s just another electronic currency on a blockchain, surveillance-ready more so than even paper cash, and highly traceable. Should bitcoin be used solely in accordance with this or that state mandate or law, it stands to ask why everyone shouldn’t simply switch to state or corporate-backed digital assets. Proponents of bitcoin will likely respond “Bitcoin is decentralized and the state ultimately cannot control it. Corporations and governments are centralized.” The follow up to this remark should be to affirm whether or not the person thinks the ability of bitcoin to render laws irrelevant is a strength. If it’s not perceived as such, and counter-economics is to be avoided, it’s hard to see the currency’s unique value proposition. All that needs to happen is for a state to “ban” bitcoin, and effect the removal of viable channels for exchange, and these individuals who strictly abide by established laws will be left with nothing but a now neutered, and practically centralized asset. The Roots of Bitcoin Whether or not one views Satoshi as a kind of cypherpunk himself, the fact that the roots of bitcoin come largely from cypherpunk and anarchist/libertarian circles is undeniable. A quick perusal of early discussions regarding electronic financial transactions without third parties on the cypherpunk mailing list bears this out. As do examinations of concepts for digital currencies which were direct forerunners to bitcoin, and which were even referenced by Nakamoto himself in the whitepaper. What drove bitcoin to the success and valuation it experiences today has everything to do with the capabilities it provided for permissionless transaction, and very little — if anything — to do with mimicking existing systems of currency. As with most cool concepts, one person thinks of something interesting and a few people get into it at first, only for the movement to grow and eventually become inundated with posers wishing only to reap easy social (and in this case financial) benefits of adoption, without supporting what actually gave the concept value in the first place. This sets any movement up for an impending implosion. No Free Trade, No Meaning Suffice it to say that without its number one utility exercised, bitcoin is little more than a shell of its former perception. On the other hand, should individuals continue using bitcoin as they please, insofar as they please, with or without permission (risks understood and carefully considered), there’s a good chance very real disruption for the benefit of human economic freedom can be had. In fact, it’s already happening. Privacy enhancing protocols such as Cashshuffle and the upcoming Cash Fusion, plus non-KYC, P2P trading platforms like local.Bitcoin.com are making the pursuit of economic freedom via crypto more viable than ever. Privacy coins such as monero — though often delisted by large, centralized exchanges — are also a part of this fight. The main element, however, is the individual. The individual who trades freely in non-violence is the key actor; without this individual, Bitcoin is largely meaningless. What are your thoughts on counter-economics? Let us know in the comments section below. 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, fair use. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. You can also enjoy the easiest way to buy Bitcoin online with us. Download your free Bitcoin wallet and head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can buy BCH and BTC securely. The post Why the Counter Economy Is Necessary to Bitcoin’s Survival as a Disruptive Currency appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Before the emergence of crypto exchanges and trustless multi-sig, early bitcoiners saw the need for an escrow service – a mediator to act as a go-between for strangers transacting online. Given the panoply of options now available, it is strange to think that escrow was once provided by a few early supporters, who put their reputation on the line to give buyer and seller the protection they desired. So, how did the first bitcoin escrow service come about? Also read: Bitcoin History Part 22: The New Wealthy Elite “Bitcoin Escrow?” 2010 was a watershed year for Bitcoin. Back then, when it was still possible to mine the currency on a humble home computer, we witnessed the first block size debate; bitcoin acquired its famous logo; Laszlo Hanyecz purchased a couple of pizzas with the currency; the first mining pool, Slush, was announced; and Satoshi observed that Wikileaks had “kicked the hornet’s nest” by seeking to raise funds in the nascent crypto. The enigmatic Nakamoto’s final message on the bitcointalk.org forum came a day later, on December 12. The introduction of a makeshift bitcoin escrow service is arguably just as notable an event as any of the aforementioned milestones. As was invariably the case in those days, the topic was raised on a bitcointalk forum thread, with an anonymous poster asking “Does anyone currently offer this service? I am looking to offer this amongst the payment methods for bitcoin.” It didn’t take long for other forum members to wade in and assume the role of neutral middleman – in return for a 50 BTC fee. “There’s probably some market in it, who knows?!” said Xunie. If only he realized just how big a market that would turn out to be. Current forum operator Theymos, who had been bequeathed moderator duties by Satoshi himself, had a different proposition, saying he would personally act as an arbitrator for “1% of the bitcoins to be transferred.” Theymos elaborated on his offer: “In case there’s a dispute I can’t solve, I’ll favor whichever party can provide me with the most detailed personal information that I can verify is actually correct (a certificate signed by a trusted CA would be ideal). Then I’ll give that info to the losing party so that they can attempt to find the other person and use the legal system.” The Importance of Escrow in the Pre-Exchange Era Back in the pre-exchange era, escrow was a sorely absent element from day-to-day crypto transactions. Trading bitcoin for something else was not altogether uncommon, but to do so over the web, with someone you didn’t know in real life, required complete trust. This was in the days before 2-of-3 wallets, where users could have a third party own partial keys to a wallet – as is now commonly used on sites like Localbitcoins and local.Bitcoin.com. The fact that a bitcointalk OG like Theymos responded so enthusiastically to the idea attests to the acknowledgement that escrow was the next step in Bitcoin’s evolution. While there are a great many things that differentiate Bitcoin (and crypto, generally) from the traditional financial system, a trustworthy escrow service was clearly needed. Without it, parties would never gain confidence in the security of any trade. After all, bitcoin transactions are irreversible. Although many members of the forum pitched in and offered to act as an escrow, the original problem – namely that two parties were entrusting a stranger to facilitate their transaction – remained. However, it was a more innocent age and the sense of community was palpable on the famous forum. Besides, with no reputable bitcoin escrow service available in 2010, using a third party with whom you might be familiar was seen by many as the next best thing. Bitcoin might be trustless, but in its early days, mutual trust was integral to its growth. Bitcoin History is a multipart series from news.Bitcoin.com charting pivotal moments in the evolution of the world’s first cryptocurrency. Read part 22 here. 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 Bitcoin History Part 23: The First BTC Escrow appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

While American President Donald Trump wages war with Iran, the U.S. Federal Reserve has continued to inject fresh capital into the hands of private banks by giving them $100 billion in overnight and 14-day repos on Tuesday. The same day, Rabobank strategist Philip Marey predicted the central bank will reduce interest rates to zero in 2020. Additionally, former Fed researchers believe the central bank needs to create a “standing repo facility” so private financial institutions can convert securities into fresh fiat reserves whenever they please. Also Read: Money and Democracy: Why You Never Get to Vote on the Most Important Part of Society Federal Reserve Injects Another $100 Billion Into the Hands of Commercial Banks, While Analyst Believe Interest Rates Will Be Slashed to Zero At the moment, most of the world is focused on the escalated tensions between America and Iran. Since the Iranian leader Qassem Soleimani was droned by American forces, safe-haven assets – precious metals like gold, oil, and cryptocurrencies have jumped in value significantly. Following Soleimani’s funeral, Iran launched a few missiles which further escalated tensions between the two countries. Meanwhile, as people pay attention to war games, the U.S. Federal Reserve has been stimulating a wide variety of private banks’ liquidity like there’s no tomorrow. Every time emergency repo operations take place, the New York Fed cites a significant demand for liquidity and a lack of cash reserves. Private banks and bond dealers have continued to pledge their treasuries as collateral for cash nearly every few days for the last four months. The Fed’s overnight repos increased dramatically in mid-September 2019 and the cash injections have continued into 2020. On January 7, the Fed pumped close to $100 billion into the hands of smaller financial institutions by leveraging $63.9 billion in overnight repos and $35 billion for 14-day repos. So far, since September 2019, the Fed has managed to stimulate private banks with trillions by using repo processes and slashing interest rates with a number of monetary easing practices. The Fed is not the only central bank playing the fiat roulette game, as a majority of global central planners are following the Fed’s patterns. Since the first week of November 2019, more than 37 central banks worldwide participated in stimulus and easing schemes. The Fed has cut interest rates a few times since September, but now the entity acts as if it’s reluctant to cut rates again. However, Rabobank executive Philip Marey believes the Fed will drop the interest rate hammer to zero by the year’s end. Moreover, members of the Fed believe the monthly schedule of repos is not enough to appease the faltering U.S. economy. Creating a Standing Repo Facility So Banks Can Convert Securities for Cash Any Time They Want While other central banks discuss controversial easing topics like ‘helicopter money,’ former members of the Fed have different ideas. During the last quarter of 2019, it was quite noticeable that the Fed increased monetary interventions a great deal. During a meeting held on December 10 and 11, Fed officials discussed the implementation of a standing repo facility. The facility would be another arm of the U.S. monetary system by allowing banks and bond dealers to swap securities for cash whenever they are in need. “Among the topics mentioned was the potential role of a standing repo facility in an ample-reserves regime, the setting of administered rates, and the composition of the Federal Reserve’s holdings of Treasury securities over the longer run,” explains the Federal Open Market Committee’s transcript. Because a standing repo facility is non-existent, the Fed announces repo offerings every month so dealers can get advance notice. Following the Fed discussion about a standing repo facility, former New York Fed chair William Dudley also wrote about the subject in an opinion column. Dudley’s editorial basically says the Fed needs to galvanize a monetary easing scheme in the form of a standing repo. The essay noted that the autumn rate spike “reflects the difficulty in forecasting the demand for reserves given the changes.” Dudley stressed: [The Fed] should create a standing repo facility that is open to a broad set of counterparties confined to Treasury and agency mortgage-backed securities collateral. Such a facility would effectively cap repo rates. It would also address the potential problem of the Fed providing liquidity to primary dealers but primary dealers not lending the funds to other market participants that might need short-term repo financing. The Everlasting Conundrum: Who Owns the Fed? The standing repo facility would let borrowers convert securities quickly and whenever they want. Markets Insider columnist Ben Winck notes that JP Morgan analysts would love to see this type of facility implemented. For decades now, the Federal Reserve board members have always claimed that the Fed system is “not ‘owned’ by anyone.” However, the reason JP Morgan analysts like the Fed’s monetary easing policy is because they control the Fed to a degree. Stockholders have controlled the consortium of modern central banking since its inception during the 17th century. Despite what the NY Fed writes, the entity is owned and controlled by the 12 Federal Reserve Banks that serve specific regions within the country. The 12 banks based in San Francisco, Kansas City, Missouri, Richmond, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Dallas sell shares to thrifts and commercial banks residing in the district. The same financial families involved with the ‘money trust’ (House of Morgan) still control today’s most powerful commercial banks. The same banking families leverage a portion of command of each Fed branch as well. For instance, in 1983 the NY Fed’s top stockholders included Citibank, Chase Manhattan, Morgan Guaranty Trust, and Bankers Trust Company. As of November 2019, the largest shareowners (same families) of the NY Fed include JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of New York Mellon. Throughout other regions of the country, commercial banks control other Fed branches like Bank of America is a giant stockholder in Richmond, State Street has mega shares in Boston, and Wells Fargo runs the biggest game with the Fed in San Francisco. It’s almost as if the 12 branches of the Fed are already acting as separate standing repo facilities and the Fed wants to divert attention elsewhere. What are your thoughts in regards to the $100 billion injected into the hands of thrifts and commercial banks yesterday while Donald Trump wages war with Iran? What do you think about Rabobank Philip Marey’s prediction about interest rates being cut to zero? What do you think about the concept of a standing repo facility so banks can convert securities into cash whenever they please? Let us know what you think about the central bank’s monetary schemes in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Fair Use, and Twitter. 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 Federal Reserve Considers Creating a Separate Entity for Cash Injections appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The city of Rockdale, Texas is attracting attention again, similar to the interest the region saw back in the fifties when the Alcoa aluminum smelting facility set up shop. These days, Rockdale’s change is due to the influx of bitcoin miners coming to town from all around the world. A Frankfurt-based operation called Whinstone Inc., recently revealed plans to build a 100-acre mining facility in Rockdale, and so far the plant has attracted clients like SBI Holdings and GMO Internet. Also read: Problems Escalate in Venezuela as Millions Rush to Spend Petros SBI and GMO Join Northern Bitcoin AG’s Texas Bitcoin Mining Operation On Tuesday, reports detailed that two of Japan’s major financial firms have opted to join the Northern Bitcoin AG subsidiary Whinstone Inc., mining bitcoin in the small city of Rockdale, Texas. Financial columnists Eyk Henning and Vanessa Dezem disclosed that “people familiar with the matter” explained that Whinstone’s operation has attracted SBI Holdings and GMO Internet. Whinstone announced on November 1 that the firm acquired a 100-acre site that will be used to power 300 Megawatts (MW) of mining rigs. Northern Bitcoin AG subsidiary Whinstone Inc. Moreover, Whinstone is confident its power will be at full capacity by Q4 2020 with a whopping 1 Gigawatt (GW) of processing power. The mine has the potential to be the world’s largest bitcoin data facility and Whinstone is renting out capacity to interested clients. After the SBI and GMO news broke, senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone claimed the public will see more institutional investors join the mining race. “Bitcoin is attracting more institutional investors and with the notion of limited supply and mass adoption,” McGlone stressed. Dezem and Henning’s source highlighted that the Whinstone operation wants to have the facility fully operated by significant investors. The news from SBI and GMO follows the recent cryptocurrency market spikes that started a few days after the new year. Both SBI and GMO have been involved with the crypto industry for quite some time. For instance, on December 20, SBI partnered with Germany’s second-largest stock exchange Boerse Stuttgart Group in order to grow crypto services in Europe and Asia. SBI also has a slew of other crypto-related subsidiaries like its own digital asset exchange. Did you know you can earn BTC and BCH through Bitcoin Mining? If you already own hardware, connect it to our powerful Bitcoin mining pool. If not, you can easily get started through one of our flexible Bitcoin cloud mining contracts. In 2018, the Japanese internet giant GMO was known for developing and manufacturing bitcoin mining rigs. However, the company ran into some issues with profits, and in November 2018 GMO postponed the shipment of two types of GMO 7nm equipped bitcoin mining rigs and issued refunds as well. The following month, GMO announced it would stop developing and manufacturing mining rigs, but would still mine bitcoin in-house. Since then, GMO Internet has been out of the limelight as far as the crypto industry is concerned up until the recent partnership with Whinstone’s mine in Texas. Bitmain and Other Bitcoin Mining Facilities Hope to Make It Rain Again in the Small City of Rockdale Whinstone and its corporate partners will be joining the Chinese mining giant Bitmain which has also set up shop in Rockdale, Texas. The firm started looking into the Rockdale site back in 2018 and the crypto winter set operations back. However, in mid-October Bitmain and DMG Blockchain Solutions revealed the launch of the 25MW facility at the old aluminum smelting facility’s industrial park. Bitmain hopes to max out capacity at the Texas mining facility by accumulating 300MW of processing power. Internationally based bitcoin miners are flocking to Rockdale, Texas. But this is not the first time the small city has been hit with an influx of industrial entrepreneurs. The city of Rockdale with a population of 5,851 people has dealt with an influx of industrial entrepreneurs for decades as the region was once known as the “town where it rains money.” Before the internationally-based bitcoin miners came, in 1952 the Saturday Evening Post featured the city of Rockdale when the Alcoa aluminum smelting factory came to town. Since the article was published, Rockdale quickly changed from being an agriculturally predominant region to a very industrialized city. At the time, Rockdale doubled in population, but in 2008 smelting operations were stopped at the Alcoa plant and the city’s economy dropped significantly. This was until the bitcoin miners showed up in early 2018 and showed interest in mining crypto in the city. Now Rockdale and the acres of land and warehouses left empty by Alcoa have become a hotspot for making it rain digital money. “200 new jobs, in addition to an estimated 51 spin-off jobs, are significant for the District,” said Dr. John Weed III, president of the Rockdale MDD during the Whinstone bitcoin mine opening ceremony. What do you think about SBI Holdings and GMO Internet joining Whinstone’s bitcoin mining operation in Rockdale, Texas? What do you think about the influx of miners flocking to the small city of Rockdale? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the subject matter written above. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any ideas, software, concepts, content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Image credits: Shutterstock, Paul Flahive / Texas Public Radio, SBI Holdings, GMO Internet Group, Wiki Commons, Fair Use, 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 Japanese Firms SBI and GMO Join the Digital Gold Rush in Texas appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The cryptocurrency community is again showing its commitment to support charitable goals around the world. Binance, the most active international digital asset exchange, has donated $1 million to help with Australian fire relief efforts and invites the community to join the initiative. The recent bushfire season is considered to be the worst in living memory, causing billions in damages. Also Read: Save the Children Now Accepts Bitcoin Cash Donations Binance Supports Australian Bushfire Relief The philanthropic arm of cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced the kick off of a charity project aiming to help with Australia bushfire relief efforts. The company committed to donating $1 million in its own BNB token to the Australia Bushfire Donations project as an initial boost. All funds raised will be used to help alleviate the impact of this disaster and facilitate the restoration afterwards. “It is painful to see the bushfires burning across Australia as well as the devastating effects on the ecology and local community. We want to help this urgent crisis,” said Changpeng Zhao, Binance CEO. “Donating for Australia Bushfires charity program is the most direct and effective approach to make an impact, and we are also calling for the whole crypto community to join us in supporting Australia.” Bushfire in Australia The 2019-2020 bushfire season is considered to be the worst in living memory, causing tens of billions in damages and killing 28 people as of Jan. 8. According to the most recent media reports from Australia, the recent fires have burnt over 100,000 square kilometers of land, destroying thousands of homes and causing an imaginable loss of about half a billion animals. On Jan. 5, the Australian prime minister announced the establishment of the National Bushfire Recovery Agency, funded initially with 2 billion Australian dollars. Crypto Adoption for Charity The Binance Charity Foundation was launched by the company’s CEO Changpeng Zhao in October 2018. The blockchain-based platform ensures all donations and allocations for each project are recorded and open to the public. The charity reports it has already helped over 100,000 people in its past projects, with efforts such as providing lunch meals to over 5,000 students in 11 schools, stationery supplies and solar panels to 51 schools as well as sanitary pads to over 10,000 young girls at 55 schools. “We feel for the people who have suffered losses in this natural disaster and we strongly want to do our part to help. It is also the original intention we had when we created this platform which is to use technology to empower people and to help those who need it the most,” said Helen Hai, Head of Binance Charity Foundation. “We will reach out to as many local organizations and communities as possible to pass on the donations we receive in crypto to the hands of each beneficiary. Please recommend to bcf@binance.com if you know any who accepts crypto, or would like to. We appreciate your support in all forms.” Binance is considered to be the leading global cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, with users from over 180 countries and regions. In October 2019, the company added bitcoin cash to Binance DEX, its decentralized exchange, and in December the company launched bitcoin cash (BCH/USDT) futures contracts with up to 75x leverage on its Binance Futures trading platform, providing BCH users with additional options to utilize the popular asset and drive peer to peer electronic cash adoption across the world. What do you think about Binance donating $1 million to Australian bushfire relief? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH and other coins, on our market charts at Bitcoin.com Markets, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post Binance Donates $1 Million in Crypto for Australian Bushfire Relief appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A South Korean committee directly under the president has recommended several measures to the government that will make cryptocurrency mainstream. Emphasizing that “it is no longer possible to stop crypto asset trade,” the committee recommends integrating crypto into the country’s financial system, allowing financial institutions to directly offer a range of crypto products, including derivatives, listing bitcoin on the country’s stock exchange, and more. Also read: Regs Roundup: SEC Actions, Crypto Tax-Free in Korea, New Chinese Laws Presidential Committee Pushes for Pro-Crypto Measures The South Korean Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, directly under the president, has proposed a number of pro-crypto measures to the government. The committee urges the government to integrate cryptocurrency into the country’s financial system, thus allowing financial institutions to directly handle and offer a wide range of crypto-focused products. The proposals are outlined in a document the committee recently published. Among the recommendations are allowing financial institutions to offer their own crypto-related products, such as bitcoin derivatives, “as a medium- and long-term strategy for the institutionalization of cryptocurrencies,” Business Korea reported on Jan. 6, elaborating: The commission advised the Korean government to allow financial companies to release futures products based on bitcoin prices, as the U.S. financial authorities did. Besides launching bitcoin derivatives in South Korea, the presidential committee suggested listing bitcoin directly on Korea Exchange (KRX), the sole securities exchange operator in the country. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved several crypto derivatives products. The CME Group has been offering BTC futures and is scheduled to offer options on BTC futures on Jan. 13. Bakkt, a digital asset platform powered by Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), began offering physically-settled bitcoin futures in September 2019. In December, the platform launched an option on bitcoin futures. In the same month, another regulated platform, Erisx, launched its physically-settled bitcoin futures. Ledgerx is another regulated platform that has been offering bitcoin options trading. Other Recommendations The presidential committee further advised the government to introduce business licenses or guidelines for crypto exchanges, citing initiatives by the financial authorities in the U.S. and Switzerland. To avoid relying on foreign custodians in the process of handling crypto assets, the committee was quoted as saying: Participants in the traditional capital market such as securities firms and banks should develop and introduce domestic custody solutions to handle crypto assets so that the Korean crypto-asset custody market will not depend on foreign countries. One of the meetings of the South Korean Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution. “The Korean government has to gradually allow institutional investors to deal in crypto assets and promote over the counter (OTC) desks dedicated to institutional investors’ trade,” the committee continued. In addition, the committee proposes unifying different crypto-related terms such as cryptocurrencies and virtual currencies into crypto assets. Business Korea conveyed: As of May 2019, daily crypto-asset trade hit more than 80 trillion won (about US$69 billion) in the world, so it is no longer possible to stop crypto asset trade. Prior to releasing the aforementioned document, the committee had urged the government to quickly establish the legal status of cryptocurrency in order to proceed with tax and accounting measures. In October 2019, the committee said that the government’s current policy of focusing on curbing crypto speculation has reduced the country’s global competitiveness in the blockchain and crypto areas. The legal status of cryptocurrency is needed to amend the country’s tax law, the Ministry of Economy and Finance clarified last week. Until the tax law is amended, crypto profits are not taxable in South Korea, the ministry confirmed. What do you think of the South Korean presidential committee’s recommendations? Should the government implement these measures? 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 South Korean Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution. 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 Korean Presidential Committee Pushes to Make Cryptocurrency Mainstream appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In this roundup, we cover several crypto-related actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the New York regulator’s crypto job posting. We also cover new Chinese laws, South Korea’s tax clarification, India’s blockchain education, the IMF working with the Philippines’ central bank, as well as crypto regulatory developments in Turkey and Qatar. Also read: Regulatory Roundup – China Blockchain ETF, New French Crypto Rules, Tokens Money in Russia SEC’s 3 Cases, NY Regulator Hiring The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been active this past week. On Jan. 3, the SEC announced that it had settled fraud action with Longfin CEO Venkata S. Meenavalli, who agreed to pay $400,000. Longfin and Meenavalli allegedly misrepresented the company in public filings to qualify for a Regulation A+ offering. They also misrepresented the offering to Nasdaq to meet its listing requirements. The Commission says more than 90% of Longfin’s reported revenue for 2017 was fictitiously derived from sham commodities transactions. On Jan. 2, the SEC sent a letter to the Eastern District Court of New York regarding its plan to distribute $1.4 million collected from the fraudulent Plexcoin ICO to its investors. “The SEC anticipates that upon completion of the distribution plan approval process in Canada … the SEC will file a motion with this court recommending a course of action with respect to the U.S. assets,” the Commission wrote. On the same day, the SEC filed a court order seeking financial documents from Telegram which it hopes will reveal how much the company spent from the funds collected in two token sales in early 2018. The agency needs this information before next week’s testimony of three Telegram employees, including CEO Pavel Durov. However, Telegram is unwilling to disclose the information. Meanwhile, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS), the Bitlicense regulator, has a crypto job vacancy. The regulator is seeking candidates for the position of Virtual Currency Supervision Analyst for its Research and Innovation Division to analyze financial data and reconcile capital calculations submitted by virtual currency licensees. However, the application deadline was Jan. 6. South Korea Not Taxing Crypto Profits In South Korea, the government has clarified that crypto profits are not taxable under the existing tax law. Taxes cannot be imposed on income from activities that are not explicitly defined under the tax law, including crypto trading. However, the Korean Ministry of Economy and Finance, which oversees the country’s economic policy, has confirmed that it is reviewing how other countries tax crypto transactions in order to amend the tax law. The Korean National Tax Service, however, has imposed 80.3 billion won ($69.5 million) in withholding tax on trades conducted by foreign customers of Bithumb Korea, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the country. IMF Providing Philippines With Crypto Advice In the Philippines, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been providing the country’s central bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), with technical assistance including on crypto assets. The IMF sees the potential in the Philippines to become an important market for crypto assets and has provided some recommendations to the BSP regarding crypto regulation. The IMF has encouraged the BSP to consider collecting data from the country’s approved crypto exchanges for macroeconomic analysis, in particular, international financial flows using crypto assets. The IMF suggested that the BSP request “aggregated data, on a quarterly basis, on gross transactions, indicating the country of origin and destination of the funds transacted.” Furthermore, “it would be useful to breakdown the parties involved in the transactions between individuals, financial corporations, and nonfinancial corporations,” the IMF advised. India’s Blockchain Education, Garg’s Crypto View The Indian government has been heavily into blockchain technology. The Doha Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) held a certificate course on Blockchain Technology from Dec. 19 to 23. The National Power Training Institute (NPTI), under India’s Ministry of Power, is hosting a one-day national blockchain seminar on Feb. 28 at the NPTI Badarpur in New Delhi. This seminar is separate from the five-day blockchain program sponsored by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Training and Learning (ATAL) Academy, which the institute is organizing. The target audience for this event includes IT professionals, banking and stock market professionals, power sector professionals, faculty members, and research scholars. Meanwhile, a well-known figure in the Indian crypto community, former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, has written a blog post stating that crypto will not survive. He headed the interministerial committee that drafted the bill to ban cryptocurrencies. “I am convinced that private crypto-currencies would have a very short future,” he wrote. New Chinese Laws Several crypto-related regulatory developments happened in China this past week. Firstly, China implemented a Password Law on Jan. 1. The law, passed in October 2019, categorizes passwords into core, common, and commercial passwords. “The aim is to foster the core technology of the digital era — blockchain technology and to provide a legal basis for the issue of digital RMB based on blockchain technology,” China Money Network explained. “The Chinese government will strictly regulate core passwords and plain passwords, and is committed to nurturing industry in the area of commercial passwords.” Secondly, the Guangdong government has launched a blockchain-based financing platform and issued its first online unsecured loan. The platform incorporates 213 types of government data from 26 government agencies. It is the first blockchain-based platform to evaluate the credit of small and medium-sized businesses by aggregating the information of more than 11 million enterprises in the province to create credit ratings. The platform aims to help small companies in the region receive loans faster than from commercial banks. Moreover, the Qingdao government hosted a major blockchain conference at the end of December. During the conference, the Center for Information and Industry Development (CCID), under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, released a report on the state of the country’s blockchain industry. According to the report, the number of registered companies claiming to use blockchain technology in their businesses climbed past 33,000 in December. Among them, 57% are blockchain-centric startups, 23% are internet companies with blockchain projects, and 12% are financial institutions with blockchain business. Moreover, 28% are publicly traded companies. Turkey Ramps Up Regulatory Efforts Turkey has ramped up efforts to regulate the crypto industry following reports that the share of crypto owners in Turkey is among the highest in the world. The country currently has no specific crypto regulations. However, public authorities have reportedly asked the Capital Markets Board of Turkey (CMB), the supervisory agency responsible for the securities market, to prepare the necessary supervisory measures. Qatar’s Crypto Announcement The Qatar Financial Center (QFC) Regulatory Authority tweeted on Dec. 26 that “In accordance with QFC Law No. 7 of 2005 and the Financial Services Regulations (FSR), all authorized firms … are not currently permitted to provide and/or facilitate the provision of virtual asset services or otherwise exchange, trade or deal in virtual assets, until further notice.” Penalties will be imposed for violations. What do you think of the regulatory developments covered in this roundup? Let us know in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post Regs Roundup: SEC Actions, Crypto Tax-Free in Korea, India’s National Blockchain Seminar appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article