roadrunner

Team Just, the brain trust behind viral hit Fomo3D, are back with an eagerly anticipated new dapp, this time on Tron. Just.game has been dubbed “a showcase of how blockchain technology can be used to create an autonomous company that constantly generates revenue and distributes it to anyone crazy enough to play with it.” In other words, it’s Fomo3D on steroids. Also read: Judge Rules Snowden Must Give Book Proceeds to US Government Fomo3D Is Reborn With Added AI and Bigger Buzzwords Accompanied by a 59-page whitepaper explaining its game theory, it’s safe to say Just.game isn’t just another blockchain game. Like previous releases by the meme lords at Team Just, Just.game promises to combine highly addictive rewards mechanisms with just enough randomicity to keep players returning regularly for their dopamine fix. Loot boxes, crowd psychology, and puzzling paradoxes are all thrown into the mix with Just.game, which launches on December 22. Although Ethereum’s dapp ecosystem rose 118% this year, with daily value surging 166%, Team Just have opted to build Just.game on Tron due to its better scalability and higher throughput. This is not another greed-is-good lottery game, though: Just.game uses what its creators call “autodecentric technology” and aligns economic incentives, crowd power, and lateral thinking. Game-Changing Gambling Dapps In essence, Just.game provides financial incentives for users who help its AI, known as CURVY, accomplish “her” goals. These incentives can include bonuses distributed to the last 100 participants before the game’s timer reaches zero, and opportunities for investment in speculative assets that can only rise in value. Players who are unable to cash out at the top should at least learn a thing or two about autodecentric (aka self-decentralizing) infrastructure, AI and gamified economics. Although runaway successes such as Fomo3D and Exitscam.me make interesting case studies for anthropologists – and have more than a few things to teach about human avarice – there’s no denying the clever mechanisms built in which have broader applications for tokenized systems. Leaving the philosophical insights to the academics, here’s a retrospective of two dapps that had the crypto world salivating. Vulcat, the one millionth kitty created Crypto Dapps That Became Cause Célèbres It’s been a couple of years since Cryptokitties launched on Ethereum, but it’s fair to say the effects of its success still resonate. After all, this was when the cryptosphere learned that a dapp’s popularity could threaten to actually bring down a blockchain. Cryptokitties was everywhere in December 2017, a disarmingly simple yet addictive game wherein users bred, collected and traded quirky digital kittens – some commanding six-figure price tags. At one stage, the dapp’s popularity was such that it accounted for almost 11% of all traffic on the Ethereum network, leading many to speculate that the blockchain could grind to a halt. Thankfully, a crack team of developers from projects such as Metamask and Grid+ were dispatched to ease the burden on the network, introducing measures such as a transactional queue, indicators and a button that would let users resubmit their transaction with higher gas prices. The crypto world breathed a collective sigh – then returned to breeding cute kitties. Fomo3D Gambling dapp Fomo3D was another crazily addictive entry to the space, one whose appeal also succeeding in slowing the Ethereum network to a crawl. The goal of the game was to purchase the last key before the timer reached zero, whereupon you could win a veritable treasure chest of ether. A heady blend of game theory, mathematics and psychology compelled endless gamers to rek themselves chasing its bounty, with 150,000 Ethereum transactions recorded a day at the title’s peak. Last August a lucky punter hit pay dirt, scooping 10,469 ETH – just shy of $3 million at the time. Shameless Ponzis that preyed upon the greed of users? You be the judge. Whatever the case, these dapps got gamers’ all fired up, prompting them to frantically empty their wallets like there was no tomorrow. Just.game looks set to continue that tradition. In the words of its creators, “Just.game should be treated with the same caution as you would an emotionally manipulative human partner. The A.I accomplishes many of its goals by creating emotions for you, it’ll show you love and adoration, then scare you into action, and eventually might even break your heart.” What are your thoughts on Just.game? 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 as a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Images credits: Shutterstock, Fomo3D, and Tron. 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 Fomo3D Team Launch New Dapp That’s ‘Not Just a Game’ appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A U.S. district judge has ruled that former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden must turn over the proceeds of his new book to the U.S. government. According to the ruling, Snowden failed to obtain clearance for the materials and information used in his book. The same judge previously ruled against Kim Dotcom and Megaupload. Also read: Regulatory Roundup: Crypto ‘Inevitable’ in India, China Rankings, NY Streamlines Policy Judge Rules US Government Entitled to Snowden’s Book Proceeds A judge in the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has ruled that the U.S. government is entitled to the proceeds Edward Snowden receives from his book because he failed to get approval to publish its contents as required by his employment contracts. In his ruling, District Judge Liam O’Grady explained that Snowden signed agreements with the U.S. government requiring him to protect information and material of which he had knowledge from unauthorized disclosure. He is also required to submit for review any writings or other presentations he prepared related to intelligence data or protected information. Edward Snowden Snowden tweeted on Thursday in response to the ruling: The government may steal a dollar, but it cannot erase the idea that earned it. I wrote this book, Permanent Record, for you, and I hope the government’s ruthless desperation to prevent its publication only inspires you read it — and then gift it to another. The former U.S. intelligence contractor is now living in Russia to avoid arrest by U.S. authorities. He remains a fugitive from prosecution on federal criminal charges for alleged violations of the Espionage Act relating to his 2013 exposure of the NSA’s massive collection of phone and internet data. While the Justice Department is seeking to recover all proceeds Snowden has earned, CNBC reported on Thursday that the actual amount owed is likely to be decided later by Judge O’Grady. Judge Says Snowden Needed Permission From NSA and CIA Snowden’s book called “Permanent Record” was published in the U.S. in September by Macmillan Publishing Group. Snowden, however, did not get clearance from any government agencies prior to the publication which is allegedly in violation of the agreements he signed with both the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). His book details the intelligence-gathering activities of the two agencies, including classified programs. It also describes how Snowden viewed himself as a whistleblower by revealing details about the government’s mass collection of emails, phone calls and internet activity in the name of national security. In his ruling, Judge O’Grady affirmed that under the agreements, Snowden was required to allow the government to review anything he planned to publish containing any information or material known to be classified. He elaborated: The terms of the CIA secrecy agreements further provide that Snowden forfeits any proceeds from disclosures that breach the agreements. These terms continue to apply to Snowden. Snowden’s Defense and Kim Dotcom’s Response The lawyers representing Snowden argued that the government had already broken the secrecy agreements by indicating that it would not give his book a fair prepublication review. They additionally claim that the book contains no material that had not previously been made public. However, Judge O’Grady ruled that the secrecy agreements “are unambiguous and clear,” with “no genuine dispute” that Snowden breached the agreements. The judge also noted Snowden’s argument that the suit “is based on animus toward his viewpoint,” with the government selectively enforcing secrecy agreements. Lastly, Snowden maintained that the agreements did not support the U.S. government’s claim against him. Kim Dotcom O’Grady is also the judge in the extradition proceeding against Kim Dotcom relating to his now-defunct file storage service, Megaupload. Commenting on the ruling against Snowden, Dotcom tweeted: Corrupt U.S. Judge Liam O’Grady, the former Disney lawyer who destroyed Megaupload without due process and declared me a fugitive and forfeited all my assets to the U.S. govt without trial, has just ruled that Snowden’s book proceeds belong to the U.S. govt. What do you think of the ruling that the U.S. government is entitled to proceeds from Snowden’s book? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Hollywood Reporter, and the New York Times. 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 Judge Rules Snowden Must Give Book Proceeds to US Government appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Regulatory pressures as well as the development of third-party, intermediary and custodial services in the crypto space have been limiting the share of peer-to-peer trading. A new contender is now challenging established P2P exchanges by offering users a mobile service that allows them to determine the level of privacy they want to maintain, and use multiple payment methods including cash. Also read: Skrill Now Lets You Swap BTC for BCH Peer-to-Peer Exchange on the Go Tandem is a crypto startup recognizing that the long-term success of cryptocurrencies depends on mass adoption. And while bitcoin awareness has been increasing since 2009, the company’s team remarks in a blog post on Medium, “it is still only known, trusted, and accessible to less than 1% of the global population.” The platform hopes to support the adoption of decentralized money by combining the best principles of the crypto space and traditional finance. It has recently launched an application that allows users to buy and sell coins on a peer-to-peer basis and on the go. Noting that Tandem’s goal is to encourage adoption across diverse geographies, the company’s founder Prashanth Swaminathan stated that widespread adoption is part of his company’s long-term vision. The focus has been placed on providing traders in over 50 countries at launch — and more than 100 nations and regions in mind for the future — with a mobile product when the leading platforms in the niche, such as Localbitcoins, Paxful, and Hodlhodl are desktop-based. The app, which is already available in beta on the Apple App Store and Google Play, offers an accessible and feature-rich interface. The Tandem P2P application enables traders to exchange traditional currency to and from cryptocurrency. They can publish ads where they offer to buy or sell crypto. The “no advertising fee” policy maintained by the platform allows you to create multiple orders. Trades are conducted directly between the users of the service while Tandem acts only as an escrow provider, not a custodian. Tandem Supports In-Person Cash Trades When two sides agree on a trade, they can either complete it entirely online or meet to exchange the digital coins for paper cash, something that has become harder to do via established P2P platforms. The Helsinki-based Localbitcoins, for example, removed in-person cash trades this summer. Since June, when the option was dropped, those who prefer this type of deal have been opting for alternatives such as local.Bitcoin.com, which offers people around the world the opportunity to trade bitcoin cash (BCH) locally using cash or a wide variety of online payment methods. Tandem now puts forward a mobile alternative to the incumbents. A survey conducted by the startup showed that at least 60% of the polled P2P traders wanted to switch to a mobile application, with almost 70% of the respondents stating they were trading digital assets on a daily basis. The Tandem app starts with providing 28 fiat options to buy and sell bitcoin core (BTC) but it plans to soon expand the list of supported cryptocurrencies. As CEO Prashanth Swaminathan remarked: Cryptocurrency is primarily known today as an investment vehicle for the rich. Over the course of time, we at Tandem would like to change this narrative to benefit other sections of the society within multiple nations. Another feature that distinguishes the new P2P platform is that it allows you to set the level of privacy you want to have. Its KYC Level 1 requires only an email verification but it comes with a 1 BTC daily transaction limit, 0.3% maker fee and 0.6% taker fee, while those who prefer to have unlimited access and lower fees can switch to Level 2 after passing photo ID verification. These traders will also enjoy lower maker (0%) and taker (0.2%) fees. The mobile P2P exchange allows trades for as little as $10. Do you think there is a market for mobile peer-to-peer crypto exchange apps? Tell us 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, Tandem. 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 P2P Crypto Trading App Allows You to Protect Your Privacy appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

At a summit attended by leaders of Muslim countries, including Malaysia, Turkey, Iran, Qatar, and Indonesia, the Iranian president proposed creating a Muslim cryptocurrency to cut reliance on the U.S. dollar. The Malaysian prime minister supports the idea of a unified cryptocurrency for Muslim countries. Also read: Regulatory Roundup: Crypto ‘Inevitable’ in India, China Rankings, NY Streamlines Policy Unified Muslim Cryptocurrency Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the prospect of creating a unified cryptocurrency for Muslim countries on Thursday. The discussion took place at the “Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019,” a four-day event which started on Wednesday. Leaders from countries such as Malaysia, Turkey, Iran, Qatar, and Indonesia attended the summit. They aim to “discuss and find new solutions to problems facing the Muslim world as well as to improve the wellbeing of Muslims and Muslim countries in general,” the official website of the Prime Minister’s Office of Malaysia describes. Group photo of leaders at the Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019. The leaders of Malaysia, Turkey, and Iran spoke at a roundtable session on Thursday where the subject of cryptocurrency was discussed, the Associated Press reported, adding: Rouhani proposed an Islamic financial payment with Muslim countries trading in local currencies and the creation of a Muslim cryptocurrency to cut reliance on the U.S. dollar and weather the effects of market fluctuation. He also urged Muslim nations “to deepen financial and trade cooperation to fight what he described as U.S. economic hegemony,” the news outlet conveyed. “The Muslim world should be designing measures to save themselves from the domination of the United States dollar and the American financial regime,” he was quoted as saying. The U.S. currently has sanctions against Iran. In addition, a Senate committee approved a bill last week to impose sanctions on Turkey. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Rouhani also talked about how rising extremism, coupled with other challenges such as weak governance, poverty, and corruption, are endangering sovereignty and paving the way for Western interference in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, and other Muslim nations. Malaysian Prime Minister’s Response to Muslim Crypto Proposal After the roundtable session, the Malaysian prime minister was asked by the media about his response to Rouhani’s suggestion of a unified Muslim cryptocurrency. According to Bernama, the Malaysian government’s news agency: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir said he is open to the idea of a unified cryptocurrency for Muslim countries. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad “It is the first time we hear Iran and also Turkey are of the opinion that if we do not have American dollars, we can use our own currency or one common currency that we (Muslim nations) can create if we agree,” the prime minister was quoted as saying. “Malaysia had mooted the idea of a common currency for Islamic nations a long time ago, but the big powers had then stood in the way of that proposal … This is because when their currencies are used by others, it gave them added strength,” he elaborated. The prime minister further said that Malaysia is willing to work with Iran and Turkey in technological fields as it is much more advanced in these areas than other Muslim countries. Do you think there should be a unified cryptocurrency for Muslim countries? 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 Islam Times, and TIME USA. 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 Iran, Turkey, Malaysia Discuss Creating Unified Muslim Cryptocurrency appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

During the last two weeks as cryptocurrency prices slid below long term foundational support, speculators assumed Plustoken scammers may be behind the dump. Blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis published a report which claimed Plustoken coin sales might be dragging BTC prices down. Moreover, on December 19, Plustoken scammers moved 789,525 ETH ($101 million) from one address to another. Also read: Plustoken Cash-Outs Could Be Behind BTC Price Drop, Says Report $101 Million of Ethereum Moves On December 16, the blockchain surveillance firm Chainalysis published an excerpt from its January 2020 report indicating the Plustoken Ponzi scheme might be behind the declining crypto prices this year. The Plustoken project was a wallet created by a group of South Korean nationals who told people the wallet would reward users with 6-18% in monthly profits. By the time the scam ended with arrests, close to $3 billion dollars in a variety of digital assets had been defrauded from Plustoken users. Chainalysis called the Plustoken scam one of the largest crypto-based Ponzis ever created. Following the report, BTC dropped below the $7k zone and Kim Grauer, senior economist at Chainalysis, said that Plustoken scammers dumping is “certainly something to consider” when thinking about where the short term price is going. Since then, BTC’s fiat value jumped back above the $7k region and other digital assets followed suit, regaining losses. However, crypto enthusiasts and traders are aware that the Plustoken scammers still have 20,000 more BTC to unload and 789,000 ETH as well. Then on December 19, armchair sleuths noticed that the 789,525 ETH ($101.2 million at press time) had moved from one address to another. The cofounder of Three Arrows Capital, Su Zhu, spotted the 789k ETH movement and said: “Imagine if they throw this into ETH2 Phase0 staking — Perpetual endowment yield.” The ETH has since been resting in the wallet and has not moved since Thursday. The funds are flagged by ETH block explorers like Etherscan and in red the transaction notes the ETH stems from the “Plustoken Scam.” Dear #Plustoken Please NUKE #Ethereum $ETH to $78 and then to $53 pic.twitter.com/Zg9xUeedXf — ๑ PANDA ๑ (@PandaofBinance) December 19, 2019 Someone Claims to Be the Plustoken Scammers and Government Conspiracy After the 789,000 ETH moved, an account tied to the social media site Bishijie.com explained in a video recorded in Mandarin that they were associated with the Plustoken transactions. The CEO of Sino Global Capital, Matthew Graham, shared the video on Twitter and said: “Plustoken scammers trying to explain away their token transactions, the brazenness is really incredible.” “Note: it’s important to understand that we don’t have full visibility on what’s going on here,” Graham stressed, alluding that the person could be lying. “This may be people affiliated, but not really part of the original team, it’s hard to say exactly,” he added. According to another person, the Mandarin speaker’s words loosely translated indicates that “the speaker just describes the transfers (e.g. xxx ETH was transferred from address A to address B) and frames it as ‘good news’ and ‘moving house’ but doesn’t really give a particular reason.” The large sum of ETH has the cryptocurrency community on edge and lots of people are discussing it on Twitter. “There is now $100M worth of stolen ETH from Plustoken Ponzi sitting in one ETH wallet,” The Block analyst Larry Cermak tweeted. “[The] majority of stolen BTC has already been laundered by using various mixing techniques and through Huobi — Can anything be done if the scammers start swapping ETH on Uniswap?” Cermak asked. BTC proponent Alistair Milne had a different theory about the Plustoken scammers and said: “Plustoken holdings are being liquidated by the authorities.” Milne hypothesized that private keys were probably surrendered upon arrests and “coins are mixed to try to obfuscate in order to not be interpreted as a government ‘endorsement’ of Huobi.” “They will sell more carefully now people are aware,” Milne added. Despite the blockchain analysis reports from multiple intelligence teams and the variety of Plustoken-based coin movements over the last few weeks, the public are left still guessing. What do you think about the 789,000 ETH moved on Thursday? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Twitter, Whale Alert, 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 $100M of Ethereum Tied to Plustoken Scam Sparks Wild Theories appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

According to reports, the New York-based private equity firm Fortress is offering Mt Gox creditor claims at $778 per coin. The offer is 13.5% lower than what Fortress offered in July and Mt Gox claimants have until December 31 to accept the offer. Also read: Reports Criticize Bitcoin SV Miners and the Chain’s Upcoming Fork Fortress Investments Lowers Mt Gox Offer by 13% Since 2014, Mt Gox creditors have been trying to get their funds back after 200,000 BTC was found after the exchange filed for bankruptcy. The funds are now held by a Tokyo court-appointed trustee and over the last few years, lawsuits have delayed the trustee’s distribution. Last April, news.Bitcoin.com reported on a disclosure written by Andy Pag, the founder of Mt Gox Legal, when he left his position and planned to sell his claim. Pag explained that he made his decision because of the ongoing legal battle with Coinlab and other detractors. The Mt Gox Legal coordinator said he thinks the Mt Gox settlement process could take years to finalize the case. At the time, Pag detailed that he planned to sell his claim at $600 per BTC and told the public that the buyer would purchase from other claimants as well. Pag also mentioned that BE Capital was offering to purchase claims at $400 per BTC too and he called it the next best offer. Following Pag’s resignation, the price of BTC has increased and the digital asset had a notable bull run during the summer months of 2019. In July, the private equity firm Fortress Investments LLC offered Mt Gox creditors $900 per BTC and the firm is now presenting a new offer for unsold Mt Gox claims. Fortress is a private equity business from New York and the firm started a BTC hedge fund in 2014. Fortress explained in a private letter that Mt Gox litigation may “threaten to delay and dilute distributions of your claim.” A number of skeptics believe that Mt Gox settlements will take years, even after close to six years have already passed. According to the letter, Fortress made a few calculations to come up with the $778 per BTC price. Mt Gox Claims Delayed by Problematic Lawsuits The price per BTC is $100 lower than what Fortress was offering back on July 8, 2019, at $900 per coin. On that date, BTC was trading for $11,466 per coin and touched a $12,345 high that day. On Friday December 18, BTC is swapping for $7,163. The one-page offer from Fortress is around 70% of the current value of each Mt Gox creditor’s account. However, the Fortress proposal for $778 per BTC will only last until December 31. The Tokyo court trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi extended the Mt Gox claim process until March 31, 2020 The offer from Fortress also follows the recent update from the Tokyo court trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi, which said that he had to delay the claim refunds again. According to Kobayashi, “a large amount of rehabilitation claims that the Rehabilitation Trustee fully or partially disapproved remains undetermined.” 24,000 creditors have filed Mt Gox claims and the new claims deadline has been extended until March 31, 2020. What do you think about the proposal to buy Mt Gox claims at $800 per BTC? Do you think the offer from Fortress is fair? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Mt Gox Logo, 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 Fortress Renews Offer to Buy Mt Gox Claims for $778 per Coin appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Authorities in Shenzhen have started pressuring crypto businesses operating in China’s tech capital. Eight companies, two suspected operators of trading platforms, and six entities allegedly associated with coin offerings, have been placed under inquiry, Chinese media revealed, with authorities reportedly questioning their representatives at a meeting hosted by Shenzhen Financial Regulatory Bureau. Also read: Crypto Employees in China Work From Home to Avoid Government Pressure Exchanges and ICOs Under Inquiry Shortly after embracing blockchain, the Chinese government moved to demonstrate it hasn’t changed its negative stance on cryptocurrencies, trading venues and initial coin offerings (ICOs). For example, the Shanghai branch of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) announced last month the strengthening of “supervision and control to crack down on virtual currency transactions.” A study led by the central bank concluded that only 4,000 out of 28,000 blockchain firms are actually working with blockchain technology. The “Bluebook on Blockchain” report claims that as many as 25,000 entities have attempted to issue tokens. After investigations into the local cryptocurrency market were initially conducted in the financial hub Shanghai and the capital Beijing, China’s most innovative and tech-oriented city also issued a warning against crypto business in its area. Soon after that, the Shenzhen Financial Regulatory Bureau revealed that law enforcement had identified 39 enterprises suspected of illegal activities related to cryptocurrencies. The local financial regulator announced that a cleanup in the sector was about to start in the near future. Eight of these companies were recently placed under inquiry, the 8BTC crypto outlet reported, during a “rectification meeting” held by the bureau this past Wednesday, Dec. 18, with the participation of 10 other regulatory bodies. According to the publication, two of the entities are believed to be involved in providing crypto trading services, while the other six are said to be linked to the ICOs of a number of tokens such as KAN, VSC, HOB, BST, and MCC. The regulators said they have conducted both online and offline investigations. Commenting on the case, a representative of the bureau stated: That doesn’t mean that the companies that have not been inquired have no problem, and that those that have been questioned today at the meeting have troubles. Crackdown on Crypto Escalates A source at one of the investigated enterprises shared that regulators wanted to learn details about the company’s current situation and the scope of its business operations. They also reiterated that Chinese companies should not be engaged in token sales and other crypto-related financing. The news about the Shenzhen crackdown coincided with a new offensive by the state-run CCTV against crypto trading and scams under the banner of blockchain. A report emphasized that the government push to suppress such activities has intensified, adding to the fear in the industry which has already led to crypto employees working from home rather than their offices. Shenzhen The Beijing Business Daily provided further insights into the Shenzhen case, quoting various sources including some from the interviewed companies. The Chinese outlet lists their names along with the allegations but a member of the local crypto community contacted by news.Bitcoin.com expressed doubts about the full accuracy of some of the media reports. One of the mentioned names, for example, is actually an old name of а well-known crypto platform formerly based in Shenzhen which has been deregistered since 2017. The company currently operates from Japan and Singapore, where it’s not only registered but also maintains its physical offices. A source with knowledge of the regulatory efforts told the Beijing Business Daily, however, that regardless of whether a company is headquartered abroad or in China, if it provides crypto trading channels to domestic customers, Chinese authorities will be going after it. The thrust to sever such links to overseas crypto platforms is led by the People’s Bank of China on national level, with local cleanups carried out by regional financial bureaus with public security services and tax administrations playing supportive roles. The overall principle of this approach, as the economic daily notes, is that no virtual currency transaction is allowed. Do you expect China’s crackdown on crypto companies to intensify further? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. 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 Chinese Regulators Question 8 Crypto Companies in Shenzhen appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Financial cryptographer. Cypherpunk. Inventor of Ricardian contracts and early utilizer of triple-entry accounting systems, which would later be exemplified in Bitcoin. Ian Grigg may have claimed that Satoshi was a team effort and is now dead, only living on in bitcoiners everywhere, but some seem to think it’s him. In this installment of “the many facts,” we’ll direct our attention to Grigg’s background, achievements, associations and direct claims to see which evidence possibly points to him as being Satoshi Nakamoto. Also Read: The Many Facts Pointing to Shinichi Being Satoshi Satoshi: A Cypherpunk Story Nearly every popular Satoshi candidate has a background or at least association with the cypherpunk movement of the 1980s and 90s. This is for good reason. Hashed into Bitcoin’s genesis block is a message about bank bailouts. Cypherpunks are generally libertarian and anarchist-leaning individuals, set on unshackling the financial system and returning economic power to the everyday individual via crypto technology. Grigg, in a very real sense, is no exception. A pioneer of triple-entry accounting systems as also conceptualized by lesser known accounting wizard Yuji Ijiri, Grigg invented what are known as Ricardian contracts and sought means by which to leverage cryptography in data verification and security for legal contracts — forerunning and related concepts to smart contracts and cryptocurrency. Grigg was an early cypherpunk, has an educational background in computer science and business, and is associated with personas like Craig Wright and ostensibly connected parties like Dave Kleiman. Grigg writes in his paper on Ricardian contracts: Our innovation is to express an issued instrument as a contract, and to link that contract into every aspect of the payment system. Griggian Grist for the Narrative Triple-Entry Accounting Looking back to the cypherpunk mailing list of the late 80s and 90s is always a good start, but there’s a concept that was being developed prior to and largely separate from cypherpunk exchanges about cryptocurrencies, and which is much more elemental. That of triple-entry accounting. Throughout the history of money, keeping accurate records has been paramount and evolutionary. From the first systems of single-entry bookkeeping where recorded amounts of assets or goods held were single data points, to the later, double-entry system where the reason for a new amount must also be entered, increasingly accurate and trustworthy ledgers have been developed. Before any code can even be written, the concept has to exist. Grigg wrote in his 2005 paper “Triple-Entry Accounting“: The digitally signed receipt, an innovation from financial cryptography, presents a challenge to classical double entry bookkeeping. Rather than compete, the two melded together form a stronger system. Expanding the usage of accounting into the wider domain of digital cash gives 3 local entries for each of 3 roles, the result of which I call triple entry accounting. Prior to Grigg’s publication, way back in the 1980s, Japanese accounting researcher Yuji Ijiri had already come up with the idea and published a monograph on it, entitled “Momentum accounting and triple-entry bookkeeping,” but hadn’t found a way to apply it. Just over three years after Grigg published his paper on the topic, Bitcoin was born. The Wright Associations and ‘Team Satoshi’ “Satoshi Nakamoto is dead, long live Satoshi,” Grigg writes on May 2, 2016 in a post to his Financial Cryptography website. Asserting that “Craig Wright has just outed himself as the leader of the Satoshi Nakamoto team. I confirm that this is true, both from direct knowledge and a base of evidence,” Ian Grigg set the crypto space on fire with equal parts excited speculation and derisive skepticism. Claiming that the suspicious death of supposed Satoshi team member David Kleiman “played merry hell on the lives of those left in the team,” Grigg then goes on — as he previously had on Twitter — to detail how extortionists and hackers had targeted Wright, ostensibly leading to his move to reveal himself as Satoshi. While some may understandably view an association with the infamous CSW as very strong evidence that Grigg is definitely not Nakamoto — or even part of the “team” — it’s his strange words on Wright that give pause: Yet, a warning to all. Satoshi was a vision … Which is why the team aspect is so important to understand … As you come to know Craig you will discover he is no legend, no God, no saviour. He’s just a guy, a prickly one at that, he’s a lot like those very difficult geek/nerd/blatherers that turn minor IT support into a social drama … Satoshi Nakamoto has died, yet long may Satoshi live. Now we really are Satoshi, now you all are. There is no longer any excuse, we each in every way are responsible for taking the vision forward. Why would someone like Grigg feel the need to make such a clarification? One Redditor remarked on the topic: “Yes Grigg’s ‘testimony’ sort of remains a mystery without which the entire thing would be much easier to dismiss. Why does he, a true veteran of the scene, put his weight on behalf of Craig Wright and risk his reputation?” Some view Grigg’s actions as something only a truly concerned party would do. Stylometry Stylometry is a field of linguistics dealing with expressive style, and usually applied to writing. Many Satoshi candidates have been the stylometric focus of sleuthing aimed at uncovering Nakamoto’s real identity. Grigg has notably been pointed to by data scientist Michael Chon as the closest match when it comes to email correspondence. Chon has previously noted that “Timothy C. May has the highest similarity score to the Bitcoin paper and Ian Grigg has the highest similarity score to Satoshi’s email exchanges. An unusual result is that Ian Grigg has a similarity score of .99996 to Satoshi’s email exchanges.” Theories on Blockchain Governance In an April 10, 2018 speech at the Internet of Agreements conference in London, Grigg detailed how compliance costs related to KYC and AML are driving traditional banking systems into the ground. The financial cryptographer with connections to Block.one and EOS stated: “I’ve got bad news: if you do the compounding, in seven years you won’t have a bank account, because all the banks will be out of money. If you compound 30% forward by 20%, in seven years all of the money is consumed on compliance.” Grigg goes on: Does anybody know when compliance started? 1985 was the first time I ever heard about it. It couldn’t have started a year earlier, 1984. It literally started the year after 1984, and it’s been rolling ever since, and the problem is it hasn’t got a particularly good record. It’s been rolling forward, and the solution to failure has always been to double down. Grigg points out the futility of the FATF and others “discovering that there are problems, running into banks, fining the hell out of them and doubling down on compliance, but what they’re not actually succeeding in doing is changing the problem.” His solution? Community creation governed by blockchain transparency and “skin in the game.” In this presentation a voice is heard which is very focused on current, unsustainable banking practices (as Nakamoto was back in 2009), and calling for blockchain-based solutions to these same dilemmas, which would theoretically be available to anyone. Also noteworthy is that Grigg’s seminal contribution to fintech, Ricardian contracts, has no patent and is not subject to intellectual property restrictions. An available financial tool for anyone to use, like Bitcoin. Counterpoint and Summary It’s hard to tell whether a look at Ian Grigg makes the Satoshi mystery any less murky, or simply befuddles the understanding further. Here we have a cryptographer, deeply interested in broken banks and implementation of solutions therefore, who was an OG cypherpunk developing applications in triple-entry accounting. He even more notably claims to have inside info about the team of people who were collectively “Satoshi.” Some big counter arguments exist. Biggest of all, perhaps, is that Grigg claimed his supposed assertion that he was a Satoshi team member was just poor wording. “Nope — I am not a member of the team,” he tweeted. He also seems to be very excited about the European Central Bank’s recent progress in developing a centralized, digital cash. Hardly something the creator of peer-to-peer, permissionless cash with potential to topple banks would likely be pumped about. Still, if Satoshi really were a team effort, it might make sense that a fragmentation has happened, with individual members and their individual personalities splintering off in starkly different directions. After all, can anyone say with a straight face that any solo Beatle’s career was as good as the band itself? It’s also hard to imagine that the whole Financial Cryptography piece on his direct knowledge of the team, and implied involvement — including the since-edited statement “I confirm as member” — was merely the result of something being “badly written.” However one slices it, the world may never know, and the mystery marches on. Who do you think is Satoshi? One person? Many? Let us know in the comments section below. Images 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 The Many Facts Pointing to Ian Grigg Being Satoshi appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Crypto research group Coin Metrics recently released issue 30 of its “State of the Network” series, which ranks crypto assets by auditability. Taking into account node operation, synchronization, normal operation, code audit and extraction of ledger data, the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap were ranked. These were also ranked on ease of ledger reconstruction, and in both categories bitcoin cash emerged as a top-ranked, grade A crypto. Also Read: Crypto Experts Give Their Top Predictions for 2020 Methodology Released on Tuesday, the Coin Metrics report goes into great detail describing the methodology for its rankings. “As well as running nodes for most major crypto assets, we also extract raw blockchain data from them to rebuild the asset’s ledger independently. This allows us to compute many of our metrics (for example, realized capitalization) but also to more deeply analyze each asset,” the post details. Rating node operation, synchronization, normal operation, auditability of code, and extractability of ledger data, Coin Metrics ranks the top ten market cap cryptos on their overall soundness and transparency. For example, citing the Binance chain’s code the report reads: “In that dimension, of the more than 35 unique nodes that Coin Metrics manages, one is unique: Binance Chain. It’s the only one whose source code is not available: only signed binaries are provided to would-be node maintainers.” Regarding difficulty of synchronization and EOS, it is noted that “synchronizing a full archive EOS node took more than one month and required a machine with terabytes of NVMe SSDs, some of the fastest storage available.” Auditability rankings. Source: https://coinmetrics.substack.com/p/coin-metrics-state-of-the-network-37f Bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin and bitcoin SV all received an A rating with the aforementioned auditability dimensions considered. Ethereum got a B “Since historical ledger auditing for ethereum requires a node with tracing and they take a long time to synchronize.” As for tether, the Omni Layer it utilizes was found by Coin Metrics to have “many different ways to credit and debit native units, each accessible through its own API endpoint,” resulting in complications. “Despite having a very clean accounting model for an asset of its complexity, EOS gets an F due to the complexity of extracting all the necessary data to run a complete audit,” the report reads. When it came to Binance, they struck out on two counts: a “complex fee schedule for its DEX” and closed source code for the same which “makes reverse engineering this schedule very hard.” Ledger Reconstruction Rankings The second major evaluation of the Coin Metrics report focuses on ledger reconstruction. With the nodes synchronized, auditors can then rebuild the various ledgers. “The way this is accomplished depends on the asset’s accounting model: UTXO-based (like Bitcoin and its derivatives) or account-based (Ethereum and many others),” the report notes. Some idiosyncrasies and important notes are made regarding how supply is determined. Where bitcoin is concerned, OP_Return outputs and the genesis block’s output are not counted. Regarding Ethereum, the report clarifies that “Account-based transactions, especially smart contract invocations, only describe the intent of the user, not its effects on the ledger. To be able to recover their impact on the ledger, nodes often need to be run with what is often called ‘tracing’.” Also noted by the report are the difficulties arising with implicit block rewards and implicit ledger edits which are not an issue for most UTXO cryptos — as the reward amount is clearly seen in each block — but can present problems for account-based assets like ethereum. Ledger reconstruction rankings. Source: https://coinmetrics.substack.com/p/coin-metrics-state-of-the-network-37f “Ripple and Stellar are not graded as we do not reconstruct their ledger completely independently as we rely on APIs provided by third parties,” Coin Metrics notes. Their report continues: Bitcoin and its derivatives (Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, BSV) receive an A as tracking their UTXO set is a simple task. Omni gets a B this time due to multiple “ways to move native units which makes it harder to track.” EOS gets a B due to its large scale, which makes auditing difficult. “For Ethereum, the current state of the tools we use don’t allow a full reconstruction of the ledger only using the data exposed by tracing, the changes made in the DAO hard fork have to be manually implemented. It therefore receives a C,” Coin Metrics details. Binance chain once again got an F thanks to a lack of source code and its highly complex DEX. Keep it Simple The Coin Metrics report concludes with a statement on validating supply, and notes: “This category doesn’t have a ranking as it’s binary: either we can validate the supply or we can’t due to being unable to reconstruct its ledger. There’s been no case of an asset for which we couldn’t determine what the expected supply should be. A few assets’ nodes let users query what the actual supply is (most notably Bitcoin and its derivatives) which makes this task easy.” Coin Metrics further clarifies that their rankings are not necessarily reflections on the various protocols themselves, but are also affected by the “nodes and tooling available to users.” In any case, networks like Bitcoin Cash which are easily auditable, straightforward and simple to interact with foster market confidence, and make keeping things decentralized and secure by running one’s own node a readily available option. 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. What do you think about Coin Metrics’ crypto rankings? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, fair use. 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 BCH Is An A-Class Crypto for Auditability appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Becoming a cryptocurrency community leader is a good way to bring about the future you want to see in the world by taking real action today. Now you can also be directly rewarded for your work with the Bitcoin Cash community’s new SLP token, Lead (Leaders of Education, Adoption and Development). Also Read: How to Find a Bitcoin Cash Meetup Near You Meet The BCH Community’s New Lead Token Lead is an exclusive reward token available to those who grow and support the Bitcoin Cash ecosystem. It is minted on the BCH blockchain using the Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) and is designed to become a pivotal part of the growing world of SLP tokens. To encourage the spread of the token, Bitcoin.com and many other SLP ecosystem companies are currently looking at how they can incorporate Lead into their products and services to reward its holders with various benefits. You can earn the Lead token in a number of ways such as helping new users learn about Bitcoin cash by hosting your own BCH meetups, creating or sharing content that shows how electronic peer-to-peer cash can benefit the world, introducing BCH to businesses that will adopt it for payments, and more. To learn how to get started with Lead by working with Bitcoin.com on affiliate programs, platform integration, and other methods see the Lead Token homepage here. You can also install a Telegram Lead bot to tip people with the token over the secure messaging platform. “Working together with the community we want to reward those participants driving adoption and increasing awareness for bitcoin cash and its features, as well as encouraging entrepreneurs to build on bitcoin cash,” commented Bitcoin.com CEO Stefan Rust. “With meetups now in over 30 countries around the world and across six continents the bitcoin cash community grows even stronger, and the lead token using the Bitcoin.com Mint service is another steppingstone in commercializing contributions in developing the community.” Create Your Own Bitcoin Cash Meetup Bitcoin cash meetups are a great way to meet fellow BCH supporters or just learn more about the cryptocurrency. The events are spreading globally, everywhere from London to Tokyo, Toronto and Saigon. One was even recently held for the first time in the city of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. To see how much fun they can be check out this video of the Bitcoin.com team at a bitcoin cash meetup in London sampling some of the BCH-fueled nightlife the British capital has to offer. You can find many local bitcoin cash meetups available all over the world at Bitcoin.com’s Events page. Just use the map tool to zoom in on your area and see what meetups are available nearby, or search the directory listing them by continent, country, city and so on. Just hosted an amazing #BitcoinCash meetup at the https://t.co/Xn05FxEmvj exchange offices in #Saigon. Everyone received a free SLP token #Airdrop via https://t.co/fWXrGCfkpI pic.twitter.com/FEFFzMuBSP — Roger Ver (@rogerkver) December 17, 2019 You can also create a new bitcoin cash meetup yourself. If you need help with this, on the same page you have the option to contact the Bitcoin.com team for support in setting up your new group and getting more people to join meetings based on their experience. There are also dedicated communication channels open for discussion with the community on both Telegram and Discord. An additional way to find bitcoin cash meetups or to see how successful ones are organized is to follow @BCHMeetups on Twitter. This profile routinely publishes posts on BCH gatherings happening in many different countries, information on where people can find meetups in their area, as well as pictures and stories from events that have already taken place. What do you think about community leaders earning the new Lead token? 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 You Can Earn Lead Tokens by Becoming a Crypto Community Champion appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

This is a paid press release, which contains forward looking statements, and should be treated as advertising or promotional material. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the press release. There are not many contests in the cryptocurrency sector on such a scale! CoinCasso worldwide exchange platform is organizing an international competition, lasting until the end of the year. In the prize pool there are the newest mobile devices, including iPhone 11, Apple Watch, iPhone 8 and the main prize – MacBook Air notebook! There are 3 trading pairs and 3 chances to win one of the 5 prizes in each of the 3 trading pairs: BTC-PLN, BTC-EUR, BTC-USDT (meaning: 15 prizes in total). What is more – the best trader in all 3 pairs will get the brand new MacBook air notebook! To win it all, you need to have the highest rank in all 3 pairs / the lowest sum of your ranking places (e.g. Person 1: 1st place BTC-PLN + 2nd BTC-EUR + 3rd place BTC-USDT = 6, Person 2: 1st + 4th + 2nd = 7, the Person 1 wins; if the same score, total trades number decides). 16 main prizes are waiting for the best traders! The contest lasts from December 16th until December 30th. CoinCasso global exchange platform CoinCasso is a fully licensed global exchange platform, headquartered in Estonia, offering exchange and blockchain technologies services. Besides the cryptocurrency stock market, the products of CoinCasso are: worldwide ATM network machines, mobile CCWallet app and many more. You can make yourself a Christmas present! Take part in the Trading #CryptoChristmasChallenge and win with CoinCasso! Contact Email Address marketing@coincasso.com Supporting Link https://coincassogroup.com/christmas-trading-challenge-take-part-and-win-the-newest-devices/ This is a paid press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post CoinCasso Launches Worldwide Crypto Christmas Challenge appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In the last two days there have been two critical posts published against the Bitcoin Satoshi’s Vision network (BSV). On December 17, Binance Research published an allocation mining report that analyzed the mining activities of BTC, BCH, and BSV and the research detailed that BSV miners are mining irrationally to protect their investment. The following day, the firm Bitgo published a report that disclosed it will be depreciating BSV because of the upcoming hard fork that aims to remove Pay-to-Script-Hash (P2SH) outputs. Also read: Plustoken Cash-Outs Could Be Behind BTC Price Drop, Says Report Bitcoin SV Mining Criticized by Binance Research The Bitcoin Satoshi’s Vision network (BSV) is being criticized for a couple of reasons this week and the topics are trending within the cryptosphere’s chatter. For instance, on Tuesday the research team for the crypto exchange Binance published a report that disclosed the mining activities of BTC, BCH, and BSV in 2019. The report highlighted that cryptocurrency mining has become far more competitive and revealed that BSV miners are mining at an opportunity cost. Usually, an opportunity cost means that a cost is incurred for irrational reasons, rather than enjoying the profits associated with the best alternative choice. When comparing the BTC, BCH, and BSV networks, Binance researchers underlined that “cryptocurrency mining for BCH was often more economically rational.” However, when it comes to BSV mining in 2019 it “involved a significant opportunity cost for most of 2019, which is estimated at more than 15% of its total mining revenue for its entire history, since the November 2018’s fork.” The cumulative estimated cost of opportunity to mine BSV (instead of BTC) in USD according to Binance Research. All three blockchains use the same hashing function and throughout the year, BSV miners suffered the worst according to the Binance report. “In less than a year, an estimated $12-13 million could have potentially been collected by Bitcoin SV miners, if they were acting rationally in their mining resource allocation,” the study notes. “In comparison, BSV total mining rewards (assuming miners selling BSV coins at the end of each business day) were around $75 million over the same period. As a result, this potential opportunity cost represents around 16-17% of the total BSV mining revenue over the period.” Difference (%) between BSV and BTC reward-to-difficulty ratios (November 15th, 2018 – December 15th, 2019) according to Binance Research. Bitgo Plans to Depreciate BSV Support Following the report from Binance Research, another post was published the next day by the Bitgo developer known as Murch in regard to the upcoming BSV chain fork. According to the post, Bitgo is urging BSV users to withdraw BSV from the company’s platform because Pay-to-Script-Hash (P2SH) outputs will soon be invalidated. This is because, on February 4, 2020, BSV is planning to upgrade with the “Genesis Hard Fork,” which plans to remove P2SH. “Since Bitgo’s BSV wallets use P2SH-based multi-signature addresses, the protocol change will render Bitgo BSV wallets unable to receive funds,” Bitgo’s notice detailed. Murch writes that starting February 4, 2020: Funds already held in P2SH unspent will remain spendable; you will be able to continue to send funds out of your wallet You will NOT be able to receive funds for your Bitgo BSV wallet. Transactions attempting to send funds to Bitgo wallets will be invalid, including transactions from a Bitgo wallet attempting to return change back to the same wallet After the Bitgo post, the Bitcoin Association’s Jimmy Nguyen said: “Going forward, P2SH is no longer necessary in BSV.” The Bitgo developer insisted that clients holding BSV with the company’s wallet need to either “convert BSV holdings to [BTC]” or “move BSV funds to an external wallet.” “If you continue holding BSV in your Bitgo wallet after February 4th, you will only be able to sweep the wallet and most functionality will be disabled,” the Bitgo representative concluded. After the Bitgo post published many people discussed the subject on social media and a few BSV supporters criticized Bitgo’s actions. Other members of the crypto community disagreed with BSV proponents who complained about the de-listing and believed that Bitgo made a logical decision. BSV supporters criticized Bitgo’s decision to depreciate BSV support. “BSV cultists act like it’s totally out of the blue that them sunsetting P2SH was a bad idea,” said Cointext CTO Vin Armani on Twitter. “Like somehow Bitgo is at fault.” Despite the widespread P2SH support, The Bitcoin Association, an organization that promotes BSV, published a blog post that said the entity was “disappointed that Bitgo will discontinue their support of Bitcoin SV.” The company added: It is unfortunate that the various Bitcoin ecosystems have grown accustomed to using the obscure P2SH method of doing multi-sig transactions. What do you think about Binance Research explaining that BSV miners mine at a loss? What do you think about Bitgo depreciating BSV support after February 4, 2020? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Twitter, and Binance Research. 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 Reports Criticize Bitcoin SV Miners and the Chain’s Upcoming Fork appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The SLP token ecosystem continues to grow rapidly as more companies adopt the token protocol. The latest to join this trend is Cybavo, a cybersecurity firm providing enterprise-level secure private key management for blockchain applications to some of the biggest exchanges in the world. Also Read: SLP Token Market Cap Surpasses $50 Million Cybavo Adds SLP Token Support Cybersecurity firm Cybavo has recently announced the integration of SLP token support on its enterprise wallet management platforms Cybavo Vault and Cybavo Wallet SDK. The company explained that it has worked closely with Bitcoin.com to bring support for SLP tokens to its enterprise wallet system and the mobile wallet development kit. SLP tokens are already available on both platforms. This means that Cybavo Vault Enterprise Wallet users can now create secure wallets for different SLP tokens. Users can associate these wallets with their BCH wallets, and they can define fully customizable policies for their SLP Wallets including transaction limits, address whitelist and multi-level approval chain. And of course they can use the wallets to send and receive SLP tokens. The company’s cryptocurrency custody platform is being used by more than 20 companies, including the top two cryptocurrency exchanges in Taiwan. Paul Fan, CEO at Cybavo, stated that “One of the main points that is stopping broad adoption of cryptocurrency today is the complexity barrier and the lack of user-friendly solutions. SLP tokens allow companies and users to easily issue tokens on their own terms. Including SLP support into Cybavo products is a natural step in our mission to offer secure and user-friendly enterprise cryptocurrency wallets.” Cybavo provides secure private key storage and management enterprise solutions for blockchain, including usable cryptocurrency custody platform and services for enterprise and financial institutions, such as cryptocurrency exchanges, digital asset managers or custodians. The company was founded in 2018 by a team of experts from cybersecurity, blockchain and digital currency industries. It also has developers and researchers with solid experience in the security and cryptocurrency fields. The Growing SLP Ecosystem Simple Ledger Protocol (or SLP) is an easy to use, robust and extensible token management system that allows anyone to create tokens on the Bitcoin Cash network in a permissionless way. It has helped the development of an ecosystem for BCH that replicates the variety of ERC20 tokens on the ETH network. SLP tokens can easily be created, traded, and managed on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain within seconds, while costing users only fractions of a penny for each transaction. All transactions are recorded on chain, and custom token behavior can be defined using a bitcoin Script developing language. SLP token adoption has grown rapidly during 2019. This is in part thanks to Bitcoin.com Exchange which has started listing SLP tokens for trading on its platform. These include assets such as Gocrypto’s GOC, a token that enables online or physical merchants to accept crypto payments and receive settlement in their local fiat currency. Other examples of SLP-based token adoption are the launch of an SLP token called ACD issued by the Tokyo-based ANA Holdings subsidiary Alliance Cargo Direct, and local tokens built for the cities of Dublin and Ohio. More than 6,200 tokens have been created using the SLP framework so far. What do you think about Cybavo adding SLP support to its wallet management platforms? 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 Cybersecurity Firm Cybavo Adds SLP Token Support to Its Wallet Management Platforms appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On December 17, the European Central Bank (ECB) published a report that showcased its blockchain technology proof-of-concept. One particular feature the central bank digital chain holds is the ability to issue “anonymity vouchers.” Also read: Lagarde Sees Demand for Stablecoins, Plans to Put ECB ‘Ahead of the Curve’ ECB Report Explores Anonymity in Central Bank Digital Currencies These days, central banks have dedicated research and development teams focused on building distributed ledger technology (DLT). Many central banks like the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), the U.S. Federal Reserve, and the European Central Bank (ECB) have shown strong interest in blockchain. On Tuesday, the ECB published a new report called “Exploring anonymity in central bank digital currencies” that explains how a “central bank digital currency” (CBDC) could work. The CBDC research is part of a proof-of-concept that aims to contribute to the broader discussion of central bank chains. The concept deploys several features that were created by R3 and Accenture and the ECB calls the network “Eurochain.” The Eurochain report highlights the benefits of the hypothetical network and discusses how anonymity can fit into the logistics. The European Central Bank’s CBDC units are based on Corda (R3’s blockchain model). Eurochain Borrows Bitcoin’s UTXO Design and Users Must Deal With Intermediaries One interesting point within the 10-page report describes how the ECB plans to enforce AML/CTF limits on the amount that a CBDC user can spend without the AML authority’s involvement. The ECB’s “CBDC has cash-like features” and details that “a novel new concept – ‘anonymity vouchers’ – has been devised.” “The ongoing digitalisation of the economy represents a major challenge for the payments ecosystem, requiring that a balance be struck between allowing a certain degree of privacy in electronic payments and ensuring compliance with regulations aimed at tackling money laundering and the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT regulations),” the report highlights. The ECB says the bank has devised anonymity vouchers. After the ECB’s research published, cryptocurrency community members discussed the subject on forums and social media. One critic tweeted that the ECB’s Eurochain CBDC borrows from Bitcoin’s UTXO model. John-Paul further said: “Already it is apparent the chain cannot have ‘anonymity’ as they call it, at best it can only match Bitcoin’s pseudo-anonymity — They even admit this — No surprises here.” John-Paul added: Users cannot generate their own wallets. They have to apply to ‘intermediaries’ (think retail banks) to gain a new account — Eurochain has the ability to control wallet access and CBDC volume. Peer-to-Peer, Censorship-Resistant Money Trumps Any Hypothetical CBDC Since 2015 and the blockchain hype that followed, bitcoiners have taken issue with bank chains. Still, to this day, central banks have been discussing, releasing papers, and even creating CBDCs. In fact, the petro (PTR) is the first CBDC created by the president of Venezuela, but there are plenty of rumors of more CBDCs on the way. However, not every nation state’s central bank is down with the CBDC trend, as a few countries have warned against them. In February, South Korea’s central bank explained that a nation state that adopts a CBDC could suffer from liquidity shortages and cause interest rates to rise. The Bank of Korea’s (BoK) report followed another study that disclosed roughly 70% of the world’s central banks are researching CBDCs. The ECB’s CBDC model v. Bitcoin Cash. Even though the paper talks about leveraging privacy-enhancing techniques, most crypto enthusiasts scoffed at the ECB’s paper. BCH supporter @Btcfork created a graphic that shows a visual representation of the ECB’s proof-of-concept CBDC versus Bitcoin Cash. “Not being forced to use intermediaries in Bitcoin Cash means that no one party can block (censor) your transactions,” Btcfork’s read.cash blog post said. “It would take collusion of majority of miners on the network to block them – that is highly unlikely since Bitcoin Cash is a global, open peer to peer network.” What do you think about the European Central Bank CBDC proof-of-concept Eurochain? What do you think of a CBDC compared to a decentralized public blockchain network like Bitcoin Cash? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, ECB, Wiki Commons, Fair Use, ECB December CBDC Report, Pixabay, and @Btcfork. 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 European Central Bank’s CBDC Borrows Bitcoin’s Pseudo-Anonymity appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Alexei Navalny, Russia’s leading critic of the current Kremlin administration, has attracted a serious amount of cryptocurrency in the form of anonymous donations for his corruption-combatting NGO. The digital coins collected since the beginning of this year have amounted to well over $700,000 at current prices. Also read: Russian Tax Authority Registers Crypto as Part of a Company’s Capital Anti-Corruption Foundation Collects 110 BTC in 2019 Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (abbr. FBK in Russian), which investigates alleged cases of high-profile corruption in Russia, has received 109.6 BTC between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1, 2019, the Russian edition of RT reported this week. At the time of writing, that’s close to 49 million rubles or around $780,000. The bulk of the donations have been made between April and September, during the run-up to the Moscow city council election. The TV channel tracks all transactions to the wallet used by FBK since 2017. The BTC address 3QzYvaRFY6bakFBW4YBRrzmwzTnfZcaA6E, which belongs to Navalny’s campaign manager Leonid Volkov, was initially published on the “Navalny 20!8” website after his bid for last year’s presidential election was announced in 2016. It was meant to be used until the candidate’s team registered an official fundraising account but supporters have continued to send crypto funds to this day. A quick check using the Bitcoin.com block explorer shows that over 638 BTC (approximately $4.5 million today) has been deposited so far and that most of the money has been withdrawn already. The current balance stands at around 0.05 BTC after a total of 2,770 transactions. According to RT, 262.4 BTC were sent to the wallet in 2017 and another 242.2 BTC were deposited during the following year. March, April, June, and September have been the months with the most transactions this year. In April 2019, when the campaign for the Moscow election started, the wallet received 31.7 BTC which is more than the funds raised during each of the previous months. 12.6 BTC were transferred to the same address in September with most of the money, 10.45 BTC, sent in a single transaction days after the vote for the city’s parliament. The amount was transferred from the 3DdBZ734DjaqBf29PvjxWv9mvU6VaQEs8H address which, according to the publication, is FBK’s biggest crypto sponsor, with 12 donations worth over 25.6 BTC in April alone. FBK Registered as a ‘Foreign Agent’ Transactions to and from the FBK cryptocurrency wallet have decreased significantly since the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case against people involved in the Anti-Corruption Foundation in early August. Only 1.47 ВТС were deposited by the end of that month. Donations dropped to a total of 0.54 BTC in October before bouncing back to 4.81 BTC in November. The probe was launched into an alleged “legalizing” of illicit funds by Navalny’s NGO during opposition protests in Moscow this past summer. Russian investigators suspect members of the foundation and individuals associated with its activities of laundering 1 billion rubles (over $15 million) over the course of the past three years. During the antigovernment demonstrations, the organizers of which are close to Navalny, the opposition leader himself was serving a 30-day prison term for inciting what authorities consider to be illegal protests against the banning of certain opposition candidates from running in the Russian capital’s elections. Hundreds of participants in the “unsanctioned” gatherings and walks through the city center were detained. Then, in October, the Russian Justice Ministry added FBK to a list of “foreign agents.” According to the ministry, Navalny’s foundation meets the criteria of that definition while the organization maintains it’s not receiving any funding from abroad. More than 70 entities have so far been listed as foreign agents since the adoption of a special law governing their activities in 2012. According to the legislation, a foreign agent can be either a private individual or an organization that’s involved in Russian politics but receives funds from foreign entities. Those that have been labeled as such by the Russian state are required to submit regular financial declarations, report their activities and are subject to annual audits. Accounting for income or donations received in cryptocurrency is difficult in Russia where digital coins don’t have a legal status yet. A package of laws and amendments was introduced in the State Duma last year but the final adoption of the main bill, the law “On digital financial assets,” has been postponed multiple times due to various reasons including disagreements between the Central Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Finance over the status of decentralized cryptocurrencies. What’s your opinion about political figures and parties using crypto wallets to receive campaign donations? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Do you need to track down a Bitcoin transaction? With our Bitcoin Explorer tool, you can search by transaction ID, address, or block hash to find specific details, and for a look at the broader crypto space explore our Bitcoin Charts tool. The post Russian Opposition Leader Navalny Raises $700,000 in Crypto Donations appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

This is a paid press release, which contains forward looking statements, and should be treated as advertising or promotional material. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the press release. 19th December 2019 – DAOBet (ex DAO.Casino) is a blockchain for the iGaming 3.0 industry, with the mainnet launched by validators on November 27th, 2019. The mainnet was launched by 21 leading block producers with eight more validators on standby. The development will further realise the full scope of DAOGroup’s decentralized iGaming products. DAOBet Mainnet: Launched by Validators Built by DAOBet and launched by validators, optimizing the EOS blockchain codebase, the DAOBet mainnet is set to bring about revolutionary changes to the gaming industry. It showcases an optimized blockchain with fast finality and the capacity to process 3,000 transactions per second. The mainnet features advanced governance with 1-second finality and top-rated provably fair random number generation algorithm (Signidice PRNG verification) – certified by GLI. The design of the DAOBet mainnet will enable game developers to utilise the flexible and robust creation opportunities and environments provided by the blockchain. In view of the mainnet launch, DAOGroup previously announced the preparatory phase for the migration of its native utility token BET from the Ethereum blockchain to the mainnet, which will further maximize the token’s utility within its native environment. A token swap process through DAOWallet was initiated for holders of the BET token, which has now concluded due to the launch of the mainnet. The BET Token The native token BET will provide utility for the DAOGroup ecosystem. To obtain BET tokens, users can head over to the simple-to-use DAOWallet and directly transact from inside the wallet in just a few steps. Alternatively, users can buy BET tokens from the HitBTC cryptocurrency exchange. The BET token will also allow its validators to stake on the DAOBet blockchain and be rewarded for doing so. DAOGroup: Uniting the Masses DAOGroup unites the following projects, bringing cutting-edge decentralized protocol solutions based on the DAOBet native blockchain, that has been developed since 2016 and was recently launched by validators. The DAOGroup ecosystem consists of DAOPlatform, DAOWallet, and DAOGames. Each of them is catered to carrying out specific tasks, broken down below: DAOPlatform – A blockchain-based turnkey solution for a crypto casino that uses smart contracts for all financial transactions, providing transparency and safety for players, developers, operators and validators. DAOPlatform ensures that neither operator, player nor affiliate has an unreasonable advantage over the other. DAOWallet – A safe and secure crypto wallet that helps to manage assets and provides the possibility for players to authorize on DAOPlatform, play games and receive real-time payouts. DAOWallet is the key to the DAOGroup ecosystem and acts as a payment gateway for game developers, operators, validators and affiliates. DAOGames – A B2B online casino games service reaching the opportunity to complete blockchain iGaming infrastructure introducing a wide online games portfolio with the help of existing popular gambling content providers. This is a full-scale game publisher provided by industry professionals in evaluation, marketing, product development, and localization. Thanks to high throughput, fast finality, and sponsorship transactions, DAOBet blockchain provides for applications like DAOPlatform, DAOWallet, and DAOGames the user experience level required for the iGaming industry. Visit the DAOGroup official website for further information: https://dao.group Partnership Contact Details Contact Name: Aleksandra Fetisova Contact Email: af@dao.group Media Contact Details Contact Name: Anna Sheglova Contact Email: shega@dao.group Learn more about DAOBet: https://daobet.org DAOBet on Twitter: https://twitter.com/daobet_org DAOBet on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/DAOBet.org DAOBet on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/DAOBet DAOBet on Github – https://github.com/DaoCasino/DAObet Chat with the DAOBet team on Telegram – https://t.me/daobet DAOGroup is the source of this content. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. Cryptocurrencies and tokens are extremely volatile. There is no guarantee of a stable value, or any value at all. This is a paid press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post DAOBet iGaming Solution Mainnet is Now Live appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed amending the definition of “accredited investor” — a move that will increase access to regulated cryptocurrency investments. A number of them are currently only available to accredited investors. Among other changes, a person can qualify based on professional knowledge, experience, or certifications. Also read: Lagarde Sees Demand for Stablecoins, Plans to Put ECB ‘Ahead of the Curve’ Modernizing SEC’s Approach The SEC announced on Wednesday that it has proposed “to update accredited investor definition to increase access to investments,” which would result in more people being able to participate in SEC-regulated private capital markets. “The proposal seeks to update and improve the definition to more effectively identify institutional and individual investors that have the knowledge and expertise to participate in our private capital markets,” the Commission’s announcement reads. Chairman Jay Clayton elaborated: The current test for individual accredited investor status takes a binary approach to who does and does not qualify based only a person’s income or net worth … Modernization of this approach is long overdue. SEC Chairman Jay Clayton The proposal also amends the definition of “qualified institutional buyer” in Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933. Certain limited liability companies and rural business investment companies (RBICs) will be added to the types of entities that are eligible for the qualified institutional buyer status. There will also be a “catch-all” category aimed at institutional accredited investors. New Categories to Be Added “The proposal would add additional means for individuals to qualify to participate in our private capital markets based on established, clear measures of financial sophistication,” Clayton continued. “I also am pleased that the proposal specifically recognizes that certain organizations, such as tribal governments, should not be restricted from participating in our private capital markets.” The SEC added: The proposed amendments to the accredited investor definition would add new categories of natural persons based on professional knowledge, experience, or certifications. According to the proposal, natural persons may “qualify as accredited investors based on certain professional certifications and designations, such as a Series 7, 65 or 82 license, or other credentials issued by an accredited educational institution.” For private fund investments, there would be “a new category based on the person’s status as a ‘knowledgeable employee’ of the fund.” Other proposed additions include those concerning limited liability companies, registered investment advisers, rural business investment companies, family offices, and spousal equivalent. The SEC is accepting public comments on the proposal for 60 days. More Eligible Investors for Crypto Investments While the SEC has not approved any bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a number of crypto investments are available to accredited investors. According to the SEC’s current definition, an accredited investor includes: Anyone who earned income that exceeded $200,000 (or $300,000 together with a spouse) in each of the prior two years, and reasonably expects the same for the current year, or has a net worth over $1 million, either alone or together with a spouse (excluding the value of the person’s primary residence). Among crypto investments available only to accredited investors are those offered by Bitwise Asset Management. “Investors must be accredited and U.S.-based,” the company’s website notes. Bitwise had a proposed rule change filed with the SEC for a bitcoin ETF called Bitwise Bitcoin ETF but it was rejected in October. However, that decision is currently under review. Another company with crypto investment products for accredited investors is Grayscale Investments. Its website explains that products offered are private investment vehicles that are not registered with the SEC or any other regulatory agencies, adding that their offerings are “made only to certain qualified investors who are ‘accredited investors’ as defined under Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933.” What do you think of the SEC amending the definition of “accredited investor”? 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 SEC to Boost Access to Crypto Investments With Proposed New Accredited Investor Definition appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The French financial markets regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), has made its first initial coin offering (ICO) approval. While token sales remain legal as a fundraising option in France, only those that have been approved by the AMF may be marketed directly to the public. Also read: France Adopts New Crypto Regulation France’s First Approved ICO The AMF announced on Wednesday that it has approved the first public initial coin offering in the country. French Law No. 2019-486 of 22 May 2019, also referred to as the Action Plan for Business Growth and Transformation (Pacte) law, has introduced a specific regime for crypto assets and ICOs in France. Adopted on April 11, the law gives issuers the option to obtain approval for their token sales from the AMF. The issuer whose ICO has been approved is a company called French-ICO. According to its website, the token’s public offering is scheduled to begin on March 1 and end on June 1. The regulator detailed: The AMF approval will be valid until the end of the subscription period scheduled for June 1, 2020. The AMF emphasized that it issues approval to ICOs, not their issuers. “The information document approved by the AMF concerns only one ICO over a period that may not exceed six months and is valid only for the period of the offering described in the information document,” the French financial regulator clarified. On its website, the AMF displays a whitelist of ICOs that have been approved and a blacklist of those that publish inaccurate or misleading information or have their approval withdrawn. ICO Regulation in France The new regime introduced by the Pacte law “is intended to promote the development of ICOs,” the AMF detailed, adding that it only applies to the issue of utility tokens and does not apply to Security Token Offerings (STOs). An issuer wanting to carry out an ICO may apply for approval from the AMF and meet a number of criteria. Firstly, it must be incorporated as a legal entity established or registered in France. Secondly, its whitepaper must be drawn up in accordance with Article 712-2 of the AMF General Regulation and with AMF Instruction DOC-2019-06. A procedure to monitor and safeguard the funds raised by the ICO must be implemented and a system to ensure compliance with its anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism obligations must be put in place. The AMF emphasized: Although this approval is optional and ICOs without AMF approval will therefore continue to be legal, only those public offerings that have received the AMF approval may be marketed directly to the public in France. Anne Maréchal, AMF Director of Legal Affairs, believes that “The optional approval is a good compromise for attracting serious ICO projects and innovation in France while ensuring investor protection,” the regulator quoted her as saying. What do you think of France’s optional ICO approval system? 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 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 France Approves First ICO appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A new study of 140,000 crypto addresses finds that few accounts are needed to form majority ownership of many coins. More than half of all LTC is held in just 189 non-exchange addresses, and on average, the top 100 ERC20 tokens are majority-owned by just 34 addresses. Almost 1 in 4 tokens had a majority owned by the project founder. In contrast, you need over 1,100 of the top addresses to control the majority of bitcoin cash. Also Read: AI Research Reveals Crypto Leaders Are Angry and Depressed Whales Still Dominate Much of Crypto Clovr, a research-focused cryptocurrency company, has analyzed the wealth distribution among 140,000 non-exchange addresses from four major cryptocurrencies and the 100 most valuable Ethereum tokens. The researchers found that surprisingly few accounts are needed to form majority ownership of many coins and that some currencies have more unequal distribution of wealth now than they did in 2018. Some of the richest addresses are owned by exchanges, which hold the wealth of many people. To find a close approximation of individual whales, the study removed all addresses known or predicted to be owned by an exchange. The researchers identified addresses that belonged to 41 exchanges using wallet nicknames associated with each address and predicted which anonymous addresses were owned by exchanges by cross-referencing address names across currencies. The study investigated the wealth distribution of four major cryptocurrencies – bitcoin, ether, bitcoin cash, and litecoin – and found that last had the most centralized wealth. Just 189 addresses are needed to own a majority of all LTC. The 10 richest litecoin accounts owned a tenth of all LTC wealth. Litecoin may have the most unequal distribution of wealth out of the four major currencies analyzed, but ether has seen its wealth inequality rise significantly since 2018. This is based on the Gini index, a classic measure of wealth distribution in economics, which was used to measure the spread of wealth across each currency’s 10,000 richest addresses. The data shows that ether’s wealth inequality rose by 13% from 2018 to 2019. BTC had the lowest wealth inequality of the four major cryptocurrencies, with BCH the next after it. “The fact that a few whales hold as much wealth as many small fry is true of all financial realms. It’s a hot topic among cryptocurrency enthusiasts because the lower liquidity and higher volatility in cryptomarkets mean whales can make bigger waves,” the researchers explained. “Concentrated ownership of wealth creates serious points of failure in a system designed to be robust through decentralization. This is perhaps most true for centralized exchanges, the singular custodians of many people’s wealth. Such failure can and does happen. The bigger the whale, the bigger the target – hackers and scammers hunt with big harpoons.” Big Fish in Small Ponds ERC20 tokens, those using the Ethereum platform, generally exhibit a lot of inequality. The researchers found that among the 100 Ethereum tokens with the highest market caps, the average number of addresses holding a majority was just 34. But the size of the majority group varied widely from token to token. Twenty-four of the 100 largest tokens were majority-owned by one address, almost always the token founder’s. This inequality is often due to the way the availability of tokens is controlled by the founder, but having such centralized wealth brings its own risks. The initial coin offerings (ICOs) used to fund some tokens were identified as pump and dump scams, enticing investments that boosted the token’s value, only for the founder to cash out on the large number of tokens they withheld. However, according to the study, the distribution of wealth in a token or coin may mean different things depending on how the currency originated. Huobi’s tokens had the highest wealth inequality of all ERC20 tokens, according to the analysis, but Huobi token was not funded via an initial coin offering and, therefore, possibly didn’t expose investors to the same level of risk. To help understand which tokens are most likely to have very unequal distributions of wealth — a sign that a market could potentially be easily dominated by few individuals or manipulated by its founder — the researchers related the “top-heaviness” of tokens’ wealth distribution to the tokens’ market capitalization. A top-heavy wealth distribution would be one where large amounts of wealth were held by a small number of addresses – defined here by the log ratio of the mean address wealth to the median address wealth. The higher a token’s market cap was the more likely the distribution of wealth was evenly spread compared to other tokens. In other words, the tokens that showed the greatest concentration of wealth in the fewest addresses were all tokens that have relatively small market capitalization – $100 million or less, in fact. “These smaller token projects are lucrative investments for some because the returns can be monumental, but potential rewards reflect the risk,” the researchers warned. “Investors should do their research and consider many factors before buying any cryptocurrency. Just make sure one of the things you consider is how big the whales are in your sea – either you can swim in the current, or you’ll be swept along in their wake.” What do you think about a small number of whales controlling so much of the crypto assets ecosystem? 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 Whales Control Most of Litecoin, Many Ethereum Tokens appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

China’s Hengfeng Bank is set to get a $14.2 billion bailout from both Chinese government and foreign investors. An emergency decree has been approved to bail out southern Italy’s biggest lender, Banca Popular di Bari. Germany continues to struggle with bailout pains, as regional bank Nordlb finds itself now depending on another capital injection. None of this to mention the U.S. Federal Reserve’s ongoing money creation via repo markets, with the people ultimately footing the bill. In this trajectory, many are also speculating about the role crypto and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) might play in 2020 and beyond as another global recession hangs on the horizon. Also Read: Lagarde Sees Demand for Stablecoins, Plans to Put ECB ‘Ahead of the Curve’ Bailouts From China to the EU Ever since the infamous bailouts of the last great recession kicked off in 2008 and saw lending giants like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan receive billions in government assistance — with official estimates and media reports putting the total cost of all programs involved into the trillions — the new “cultural norm” of frequent bailouts has taken root in the minds of the masses. Because of this, news of even more capital injections and rampant rescue missions for inept financial actors may not seem shocking. However, in the context of an ever-growing global trend to slash interest rates into negative territory, pump newly printed money and subsidies into already steroid-sick economies, and potentially leverage CBDCs to mitigate the problems this might create for the state, things deserve a second look. In a very literal sense, the last recession and relief efforts never ended, and things could be heating up for a “round 2” where crypto takes on an even more critically meaningful utility. China China’s struggle with bank bailouts and bank runs over recent months continues as embezzlement-scandal-marred Hengfeng Bank is now on track to receive 100 billion yuan (~$14.2 billion) in assistance, according to a report by Caixin. The bank, founded in 2003 and with 334 branches across China, will issue 100 billion shares in a private placement to national and provincial government organizations, as well as Singapore’s United Overseas Bank and “other investors,” details the report. The news places Hengfeng Bank as the third commercial bank since May to receive state assistance. Italy Southern Italy’s biggest lender, Banca Popular di Bari, will be receiving from 1 – 1.5 billion euros (~$1.1 – $1.6 billion) after an emergency decree to assist the bank was approved on Sunday by the Italian council of ministers. Banca del Mezzogiorno-Mediocredito Centrale (MCC), a state bank, will receive a capital injection of 900 million euros and work with interbank funds and other investors to restructure the failing lender. Banca Popular di Bari is currently placed under special administration by the country’s central bank and blames its troubles on non-performing loans. Another Italian bank, Banca Carige Spa, was placed under European Central bank administration in January. Germany State-owned German lender Nordlb, which received a $4 billion bailout back in January, has been green-lighted by the EU for another capital injection this month. The 2.8 billion-euro (~$3.1 billion) injection was approved by the European Commission after it judged that the bank’s restructuring program is not in conflict with EU rules. Private groups had initially bid to help the bank at the time of the first bailout, but this plan was rejected in favor of public assistance. Bad shipping loans were cited as the main issue eroding the institution’s funding. U.S. Arguably the biggest harbinger of another looming recession is the United States Federal Reserve’s massive re-insinuation of itself into the country’s overnight markets. Though they’re painstakingly careful not to call this year’s repo injections quantitative easing, it’s clear that the program — continuing into 2020 and which has already seen the creation of $3 trillion — is attempting to avoid the inevitable. Such direct actions have not been taken by the Fed since the last recession. The bleak reality is that the economy appears to be stagnating and failing for everyone save those creating policy. Plans to pump an additional $400 billion have been announced which will continue into 2020. CBDCs and Crypto Into 2020 With all the bailouts, underperforming and toxic loans, fresh money printing, and adventures into the land of near-zero or negative interest rates, some speculate the global economy has reached another point of no return, or a Great Recession, round two. How this might be dealt with is anybody’s guess. With at least 23 countries working on their own central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), there’s talk of states using the new digital paradigm as a flexible escape from the concrete economic realities more closely tied to the legacy monetary system. For example, if negative rate policies are evaded by people refusing to store money in banks — instead choosing to use cash — a CBDC could have its own nominal rate centrally adjusted leaving the consumer no choice. As Euronews puts it: In the era of negative interest rates, CBDCs are also seen as offering a tool to control over how businesses and people use money. CBDCs, the argument goes, could be used to charge households and businesses to hold cash, forcing them to spend and invest and stimulating growth. In essence, CBDCs could theoretically be used as a kind of “post-scarcity” money, where holders are increasingly taken care of by the government and supposedly don’t need to worry about independent savings or wealth management as much as previously. The traditional zero-bound and liquidity traps of logical economics go out the window. For advocates of permissionless, decentralized peer-to-peer money, however, this speculative forecast sounds perfectly abysmal, as true economic inclusion and sovereignty presents a level playing field of opportunity, and not just a glorified economic surveillance state. For this crowd, as existing systems continue to stagnate and fail, sound cryptocurrencies which are limited in supply and largely resistant to censorship could gain great utility and value in coming years. Especially in view of the ineptitude and corruption of the crowd advocating centralized control of money via infinite debt creation. What are your thoughts on crypto and the global bailouts situation? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, fair use. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post Bailouts From Asia to the EU Signal Recession and Potential Crypto Opportunity appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

“I am pretty confident we are the new wealthy elite, gentlemen, even with a sum as small as 10 bitcoins … The world just isn’t going to be the same and we have been blessed as the pioneers.” When these remarks were made in June of 2011, they seemed hopeful to the point of delirium. Commencing a thread on the Bitcointalk forum, the declaration triggered a wide-ranging discussion about Bitcoin’s potential in the years to come, with the thread eventually topping out at 232 pages. Opinion was divided, but looking back, that anonymous poster’s prediction was prescient. Also read: Bitcoin History Part 21: Miners Pour One out for Satoshi Blessed as Pioneers When the original poster wrote “The world just isn’t going to be the same,” he wasn’t talking about politics, war or ever more powerful AI systems: he was forecasting a time when cryptocurrency powers the global economy, with bitcoin’s price steadily rising in line with demand. In an attempt to inspire some smug bonhomie about this notion, the poster proclaimed “We have been blessed as the pioneers” before asking what the others were going to do with their “Bitcoin wealth once your coins hit upwards of $10,000 a pop.” As we know, that prediction was accurate: bitcoin hit its all-time high of $20k on December 18, 2017, just six-and-a-half years after the post, at which time a single BTC cost a mere $22.59. That figure might seem insignificant now, but context is required: bitcoin failed to exceed a dollar the year before (2010), its highest price being just $0.39. Bitcoin’s rise above $20 was aided by a Gawker story published on June 1, which cited the crypto’s popularity on Silk Road. Perhaps it was this rapid growth that convinced our would-be clairvoyant that the era of a “new wealthy elite” was on the horizon. As is often the case with old Bitcointalk threads, reading the posts can be an amusing and instructive exercise. “To think that not so long ago I was paid 50 BTC for two hours of work,” mused one poster, JamezQ. Another, billyjoeallen, pledged his commitment to the cause, sounding for all the world like a broken hero on a last chance power drive: “I don’t care about the busts. I’m riding this pig wherever it takes me. If it tanks, I’ll have a helluva story to tell. I’m sick of half measures. I’m swinging for the fences and if I strike out, so be it. I won’t be some mediocre drone living a life of quiet desperation. I believe in bitcoin and I’m going for broke, knowing the risks.” Of course, there were a few people predicting crazy bitcoin growth in those heady days. One of them was self-professed philosopher and investor Trace Mayer, who had been recommending his followers buy bitcoin since it was $0.25. Mayer’s giddy predictions were just too much for some people to stomach, motivating an outraged riposte from one triggered Reddit user. Another vocal proselytizer was Bruce Wagner, host of The Bitcoin Show, who told wired.com, “I knew bitcoin wasn’t a stock and wouldn’t go up and down. This was something that was going to go up, up, up.” Moonshining and Bitcoin Millionaires The bitcoin phenomenon had gone overground in 2011: in August, the first Bitcoin World Conference and Expo got underway in east Midtown, and The New Yorker sought to scrutinize the landscape with a satirical eye, publishing a piece that fall called The Crypto-Currency. It concludes with an amusing story about an eager bitcoin miner named Kevin Groce, who referred to mining as “the new moonshining” and liked to walk around in a t-shirt emblazoned with the words Bitcoin Millionaire. Presumably at the time, readers were compelled to chuckle at the dreamer with a wanderlust glint in his eye. But Groce’s conviction, like the clairvoyant on Bitcointalk, was unshakeable: “My fiancée keeps saying she’d rather I was just a regular old millionaire. But maybe I will be someday, if these rigs keep working for me.” Bitcoin was the best investment of the decade. While all the haters and detractors kept making noise, Bitcoin kept doing exactly what it was designed to do. Onwards!https://t.co/25g1h91u8W — Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) December 17, 2019 Looking to the Future Outlandish predictions of wealth for bitcoin holders would become the norm in the years that followed that historic Bitcointalk post. At the time of writing, John McAfee reckons bitcoin will hit $2 million per coin by the end of 2020, an increase on his $1 million prediction in 2017. Bayern LB, one of the top German banks, is a little less audacious, predicting that bitcoin will reach $90,000 come May. Whatever the case, the idea of a “new wealthy elite” is no longer a pipe dream for those with the perspicacity to have gotten in on the investment of the decade. Bitcoin History is a multipart series from news.Bitcoin.com charting pivotal moments in the evolution of the world’s first cryptocurrency. Read part 21 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 22: The New Wealthy Elite appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

With stricter new regulations on the horizon for the crypto space around the world, Australians have found that it’s actually their traditional financial institutions that have been breaching well-established anti-money laundering rules and other industry standards this year. Westpac, one of the country’s largest banks, is now under investigation for millions of purported violations of the nation’s AML regulations. Also read: European Banks Struggle With Low Interest Rates and Strict Regulations Westpac Investigated by Australian Regulators The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), which is the main banking regulator in the country, formally launched its probe on Tuesday. The APRA investigation commences a month after the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac) filed a lawsuit against Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac). The anti-money laundering and terrorism financing watchdog accused the bank of breaking the country’s AML laws over 23 million times. APRA highlighted its intensions to focus on the conduct that led to the matters alleged by Austrac. The investigation has to establish whether Westpac, its directors and senior management staff violated Australia’s Banking Act and the Banking Executive Accountability Regime, contravening the prudential standards maintained by the regulator. The agency will also examine the “bank’s actions to rectify and remediate the issues after they were identified.” The published press release emphasizes: Given the magnitude and nature of the issues alleged by Austrac, APRA is aiming to ensure that fundamental deficiencies in Westpac’s risk management framework are identified and addressed and that Westpac and those responsible are held accountable as appropriate. Besides the extensive review of Westpac’s risk management practices, APRA will also “impose an immediate increase in Westpac’s capital requirements of $500 million.” The measure will raise the total capital the bank is required to hold in order to cover its heightened operational risk profile to $1 billion AUD (almost $685 million). “While Westpac is financially sound, there are potentially substantial gaps in risk governance that need to be closed,” commented APRA Deputy Chair John Lonsdale, who also noted the seriousness of the allegations that “question the prudential standing of Australia’s second largest bank.” Australian Banks Struggle With a String of Scandals During its investigation, Austrac discovered deficiencies in Westpac’s supervision of services offered through correspondents and other oversight failures that led to systemic non-compliance and violation of Australia’s AML/CTF Act of 2006. The bank has reportedly accepted most of the claims made by the watchdog in what has become Australia’s biggest scandal of this nature. Some of the 23 million AML violations allegedly facilitated child exploitation, the Sydney Morning Herald noted in an article. For comparison, less than 60,000 breaches were previously found at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the country’s largest lender. Cryptocurrencies have enjoyed a growing popularity in Australia over the past few years, with bitcoin cash (BCH) accounting for a large portion of crypto spending. Aiming to increase oversight in the sector, last year Austrac introduced new stringent regulations that require digital asset exchanges to register with the watchdog, identify and verify their users, maintain records, and comply with government AML/CFT reporting obligations. Platforms that fail to do so face financial penalties and criminal charges. However, this year the country’s traditional financial institutions were actually implicated in numerous regulatory violations, which led to a string of scandals the banking sector is still struggling to overcome. An inquiry initiated by the Australian government earlier this year found multiple other examples of misconduct in the industry including fees charged to the accounts of deceased persons, as news.Bitcoin.com reported in February. According to a summary of the issues published this week by Reuters, Westpac, CBA and the other two leading banks, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) and National Australia Bank (NAB), have had to allocate $8 billion AUD, approximately $5.4 billion, to refund customers for overcharged fees, miss-sold products, and non-compliant financial advice. On top of that, CBA’s management agreed to compensate over 40,000 current and former employees with $25 million AUD after it came out that they were underpaid. What do you think of the scandals in the Australian banking industry? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Do you need to track down a Bitcoin transaction? With our Bitcoin Explorer tool, you can search by transaction ID, address, or block hash to find specific details, and for a look at the broader crypto space explore our Bitcoin Charts tool. The post Australia Probes Big Four Bank Accused of 23 Million Money Laundering Breaches appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On December 18, the web portal Bitcoinbch.com published an informal notice explaining that merchants accepting BTC should switch to BCH because of “dangerous flaws” found in the BTC software. The problem is tied to slow confirmation times tethered to a BTC-based protocol called Replace-by-Fee (RBF), which gives individuals the opportunity to double spend on merchants. Bitcoinbch.com CEO Hayden Otto performed double spends on merchants in Australia to demonstrate how easy it was to execute in the wild. Also read: Plustoken Cash-Outs Could Be Behind BTC Price Drop, Says Report Bitcoinbch.com Urges Merchants to Switch to Bitcoin Cash Because of Serious Flaws Found With Bitcoin Core’s Replace-by-Fee Hayden Otto, Bitcoinbch.com CEO and BCH proponent from North Queensland, Australia published a video demonstration on how easy it is to double spend BTC after purchasing products from merchants. Otto released the video and published a blog post warning retailers about the double spend vulnerability and urged them to switch to the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network as soon as possible. “It’s been obvious for years now that Bitcoin Core (BTC) no longer functions as intended as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system,” Otto’s video detailed. Otto notes that Bitcoin Core developers added a protocol called Replace-by-Fee (RBF), basically allowing people to double spend BTC transactions. The Bitcoinbch.com CEO said that a person can essentially purchase goods and walk away with them and then send the money back to themselves. Bitcoinbch.com CEO Hayden Otto. In the video demo, Otto showed just how easy it is to reliably reverse BTC transactions using unmodified wallets in common use “This is so easy to do, in fact, that the minimum requirement for double spending a merchant [with BTC] is a free app from the App Store,” Otto stressed during the film. “Despite this massive security flaw, there are over 200 businesses across Australia that we know of actively accepting bitcoin core as a payment method.” In order to educate people on how dangerous accepting BTC can be, Otto went to a few Australian BTC-accepting merchants and performed a double spend after purchasing items. Otto also emphasized that after the experiment was over, he returned all the funds to the merchant and he doesn’t condone people’s attempts to double spend BTC. For the test, Otto simply downloaded an Electrum wallet for Android and he set up two wallets in the application. After sending a transaction to the merchant, Otto walked away with drinks. He sent a transaction with the RBF-enabled wallet and then sent another transaction with a wallet with RBF disabled. After purchasing goods from the merchant, Otto walked away with the merchandise and performed a double spend with the other wallet he created. “This means the funds have disappeared from the merchant’s wallet, but you still have the goods and services,” Otto remarked after completing the double spend. After the drinks were given to Otto, he simply used the Electrum wallet for Android to double spend the transaction using RBF. Otto noted during his video that the funds were returned to the merchant after the double spend experiment ended. With Added Mempool Congestion, BTC Transactions Can Be Reversed Days Later After showing how easy it is to do with any mobile phone, Otto then did the experiment in a controlled environment using a desktop computer. He did the exact same steps by using two wallets with one RBF enabled and the other disabled. Otto double spent $10 worth of BTC using the payment processor Travelbybit, which is the same point-of-sale (PoS) system used by the 200 BTC accepting merchants in Australia. The film also shows a BTC double spend done on a desktop computer. Again, Otto successfully double spent $10 using the BTC network and Travelbit’s records marked the invoice as paid. In addition to the easiness, when the BTC network is congested the problem gets even worse. “Standard off-the-shelf wallets can purchase goods and trivially reverse the transaction upon leaving the store,” Bitcoinbch.com’s notice highlights. “Worse, the flaws are sensitive to congestion allowing customers to reliably reverse BTC transactions several hours or even days after purchase in some cases.” The Bitcoin Cash network does not have the Replace-by-Fee (RBF) protocol implemented as it was removed on August 1, 2017. “Merchants should immediately cease accepting Bitcoin and switch to Bitcoin Cash,” advised Otto. “Australian merchants are able to field a payment experience built around Bitcoin Cash that is superior to that of even the best fiat systems because Bitcoin Cash was designed precisely for this role,” he added. If you want to see just how easy it was for Otto to double spend BTC in the wild check out the video in its entirety below. What do you think about the vulnerabilities tied to using the Replace-by-Fee (RBF) protocol baked into Bitcoin Core (BTC)? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Youtube, and Bitcoinbch.com. 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 Video Shows How Easy It Is to Double Spend BTC Using RBF appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Crypto trading platform Erisx has launched a bitcoin futures market regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Its physically settled bitcoin futures contracts trade alongside its spot market which supports four cryptocurrencies. Erisx has obtained a license from the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and is currently approved to operate in 44 states, with a plan to expand to 53 states and U.S. territories. Also read: Regulatory Roundup – Crypto ‘Inevitable’ in India, China Rankings, NY Streamlines Policy Physically Settled, Regulated Bitcoin Futures Erisx announced on Tuesday the launch of its regulated bitcoin futures market. The platform’s physically settled bitcoin futures contracts are offered alongside its spot market for “price transparency and collateral efficiency,” the company detailed. Initially, only monthly and quarterly contracts are offered. Since the contracts are physically settled, “settlement will be made by movement of the digital currency to the buyer of the futures contract and US dollars to the seller of the contract,” Erisx’s website describes. The current requirement to become a member of the platform is a minimum balance of $10,000. Erisx’s current futures product. Prior to Tuesday’s launch, the company ramped up its team and developed technology for its exchange’s matching engine (TME) and clearinghouse’s clearing system (TCS). The company also developed risk-mitigating functionality to enable efficient price discovery such as self-match prevention, price banding, and maximum order sizes. Its futures clearing platform was built from scratch. Currently, Erisx’s spot trading platform supports BTC, BCH, ETH, and LTC, which can be traded against the USD or BTC. CFTC, FinCEN and State Licenses Erisx’s physically settled bitcoin contracts are traded through its Designated Contract Market (DCM) and cleared through its recently launched clearinghouse, Eris Clearing, which is a Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO). Both entities are regulated by the CFTC. The company clarified that these designations give it “the ability to clear and guarantee futures trades, which eliminates counterparty risk for our members.” “It was important for us to complement our futures market with a spot market to provide price transparency and collateral efficiencies,” Erisx continued. “However, we could not operate this cash market without acquiring Money Service Business licenses under the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as well as Money Transmitter Licenses on the state level.” The platform elaborated: To date, we offer spot trading in 44 states with plans to have coverage for 53 states and U.S. territories (sorry Hawaii). Erisx further revealed: Early next year, we will be welcoming our intermediary partners such as futures commission merchants and brokerage houses into our marketplace. Another regulated platform offering physically delivered bitcoin futures contracts is Bakkt, a digital asset platform powered by Intercontinental Exchange Inc., the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. Bakkt began trading its bitcoin futures products in September. Last week, the platform launched bitcoin options in the U.S. and cash-settled bitcoin futures in Asia. What do you think of Erisx launching a regulated bitcoin futures market? 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 Erisx. 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 Erisx Launches Regulated Bitcoin Futures Market appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Digital currency prices plummeted on Tuesday, as cryptocurrency markets lost billions during the morning trading sessions, New York time. BTC dropped well below the $7k range and other digital assets followed BTC’s path with sharp losses. Crypto prices haven’t been this low since May as the market valuation of the entire cryptoconomy is struggling to hold above the $175 billion range. Also read: Mystery Surrounds DDoS Attacks That Have Downed the Darknet Top 20 Crypto Markets Shed Billions Crypto markets are in red on December 18, as the top 20 market caps have lost 4-15% in fiat value. On December 17, bitcoin core (BTC) dropped under the $7k range and is now hovering between the $6,400-6,600 zone. BTC lost 5.7% on Wednesday and the cryptocurrency is down over 10% for the week. Currently, BTC has a market valuation of around $117 billion which represents 67% of the entire cryptoconomy. At 8:55 a.m. EST, BTC defended the long-term $6,400 foundational support and quickly bounced back to the $6,700 range. Top 10 market cap at 8:35 a.m. EST on December 18, 2019. The second-largest market capitalization is held by ethereum (ETH), which is down 10.3% today and over 18% for the last seven days. One ETH is swapping for $118 per coin and the currency has a $12.8 billion market cap. Ripple, otherwise known as XRP, is trading for $0.17 per coin and XRP markets have lost 10% in the last 24 hours. The fourth position is held by the stablecoin tether (USDT) which is a dominant pair throughout the entire ecosystem. Tether represents well over two thirds of Tuesday’s trading pairs and the stablecoin has a whopping $22 billion in trade volume. BTC prices on Wednesday, December 18, 2019. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Market Action Bitcoin cash (BCH) is down 9.9% for the last 24 hours and over 14% for the week. BCH is currently trading for $177 per coin and has an overall market valuation of around $3.2 billion at press time. Today’s top BCH pairs include tether (USDT) with 56% of all trades and BTC with over 20% of BCH trades. This is followed by USD (16.7%), KRW (2.3%), ETH (1.6%), and EUR (0.82%). Out of the 3,000+ cryptocurrencies in existence, BCH captures the seventh-highest trade volume as there’s currently $1.8 billion in global BCH trades. BCH prices on Wednesday, December 18, 2019. Plustoken Scammers Might Be Bringing the Blues Traders and analysts discussed the losses on Tuesday and people brought up the recent Plustoken speculation. On December 16, Chainalysis published a report that said the Plustoken scammers might be suppressing the price of BTC and other cryptocurrencies. “That’s certainly something to consider when you are thinking about where the price is going, at least in the short term,” Kim Grauer, senior economist at Chainalysis told the press. “It could be, according to our research, continued downward pressure.” News.Bitcoin.com reported on the Chainalysis research which disclosed there’s still around 20,000 BTC that could be dumped on the market. Many speculators believe Pluscoin scammers might be behind the low crypto prices over the last three weeks. Despite the Dumps, Morgan Creek Executive Still Envisions $100k BTC Even though markets have been diving, many speculators and investors wholeheartedly believe a bull run is due in the next year or so. Morgan Creek Capital Management executive Mark Yusko believes $100k BTC could be on the cards by 2021. “Between now and 2021, we’re likely to see $100,000 bitcoin,” Yusko explained on December 11. “By 2025, we’re likely to see $250,000 bitcoin, and then some time out, 2030, we could see $400,000 or $500,000 bitcoin as it reaches gold equivalence.” Yusko detailed that he was once a cryptocurrency skeptic but he’s now a strong believer. “It really is about the growth mindset and focusing on the venture capital upside or the asymmetric upside of the asset at this point,” Yusko added. Santa Claus Rally or Bumpy Roads? Over the last few years, BTC has experienced what traders call a ‘Santa Claus Rally.’ However, even though there’s definitely been some consistent price spikes during the months of December, BTC has also been extremely volatile during the holiday season. In 2013, BTC rallied hard on the trading platform Mt. Gox throughout the months of November and December. One of the most volatile months of December was in 2017. At the time, the public witnessed the introduction of BTC-based derivatives products stemming from Cboe and CME. The price of BTC jumped to its all-time high on December 17, 2017, rising extremely close to $20k per coin. However, the last few months of volatility have crushed the hopes of many crypto traders and a few analysts believe a bull run is still a lot further than most think. “There is no question that its series of lower highs/lows over the past six months has not been good,” Equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co, Matt Maley, said in an interview on December 16. Overall, traders don’t know what to expect after crypto prices keep draining. Observers can see that there is a lot of interest in digital currencies coming from institutional entities. News.Bitcoin.com recently reported on Fidelity Investments launching crypto services in Europe because of “significant interest.” On December 3, Bakkt’s open interest touched an all-time high with $6.54 million in open interest and 2,328 ($17.02 million) traded contracts. BTC/USD long positions on Bitfinex on December 18, 2019. Moreover, during our last market update, BTC/USD long positions were skyrocketing with 38,802 longs registered. Long positions have continued to rise on Bitfinex exchange as there are 47,017 registered on December 18. If BTC falls significantly lower than the $6,400 drop on Tuesday then those long traders are sure to get squeezed. Where do you see the cryptocurrency markets heading from here? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Disclaimer: Price articles and market updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered as trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the “money.” Cryptocurrency prices referenced in this article were recorded at 8:55 am EST on December 18, 2019. Images via Shutterstock, Trading View, Bitcoin.com Markets, Twitter, Bloomberg Finance, Coinlib.io, Wiki Commons, and Pixabay. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. You can also enjoy the easiest way to buy Bitcoin online with us. Download your free Bitcoin wallet and head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can buy BCH and BTC securely. The post Market Update: Bears Claw Crypto Prices Below Long-Term Support appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article