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The second quarter of 2019 is coming to an end and for those who invested in cryptocurrencies this year, market prices are a whole lot higher than they were a year prior. Since the significant lows in December 2018, most digital currencies have captured remarkable gains. Also read: Policymakers Meet to Finalize Global Crypto Guidance – A Look at Standards G20 Supports Digital Assets Post 350-550% Gains Throughout 2018, many crypto advocates and traders referred to the year as the ‘crypto winter’ after prices fell from their all-time highs to crucial lows. That entire year showed a bearish decline and there were a ton of bull traps along the way. However, in 2019 the story has changed entirely as a great majority of digital currencies have gained considerable value throughout the last two quarters. Binance coin (BNB) has gained +521% year-to-date. In fact, a bunch of coins, some of which are relatively unknown, have gained between 350-550% during the last six months. Binance coin (BNB) is the top contender this year after it gained 521% throughout Q1 and Q2. This is followed by chainlink (LINK 510%), ravencoin (RVN 379%), Ignis (IGNIS 357%) and litecoin (LTC 345%). However, even with these pronounced gains, litecoin, for example, is still down 64% from its all-time high (ATH). Litecoin (LTC) has gained 345% year-to-date. Bitcoin Cash the Year’s 24th Biggest Gainer Gathers 158% Other notable coins that took the lead this year as far as gains are concerned include holo (HOT), everex (EVX), monacoin (MONA), enjin (ENJ), ripio (RCN), and zcoin (XZC). All of the aforementioned cryptos have gained 169-282% this year alone. The top 10 digital assets by market capitalization have all gained at least 100% or more in the last two quarters. The next contender behind BNB and LTC in the top ten is eos (EOS), which has seen a 164% increase. Bitcoin cash (BCH) has gained 158% year-to-date. This is followed by bitcoin cash (BCH +158%) which is the 24th best gainer this year. Trailing behind BCH is bitcoin core (BTC) which is up 150% year-to-date. The worst two gainers of 2019 in the top 10 market valuation positions are ripple (XRP 21%) and stellar (XLM 9%). Most of these coins besides ripple and stellar have outpaced traditional investments in commodities, stocks, precious metals, and barrels of oil. Bitcoin core (BTC) has gained 150% year-to-date. A Bundle of Coins and the Long Stretch Before Returning Back to All-Time Highs If you invested in a bundle of coins like the Coinbase bundle the exchange offered in September 2018, you would have seen some decent gains too. At the time, the trading platform offered a market-weighted sampling which included BTC, ETH, BCH, LTC, and ETC (+67.81%). BCH and many other coins still have a way to go before reaching the ATHs they posted in December 2017. Bitcoin core (BTC) is still 54% down from the ATH on December 17, 2017 and ripple (XRP) is down 89%. The third largest market valuation held by ethereum (ETH) is still down 81% since the coin’s ATH. This is followed by LTC (-64%), BCH (-81%), EOS (-70%), and XLM (-87%) as BNB and BSV were not around during those ATH prices. 2019’s Worst Crypto Market Performers The worst performers of 2019’s first two quarters include a variety of unknown and well known digital assets. Counterparty (XCP) was the year’s biggest loser so far, down 77%. Counterparty (XCP) has lost 77% year-to-date. Other coins that haven’t done so well in 2019 include dentacoin (DCN -70%), salt (SALT -54%), substratum (SUB -50%), namecoin (NMC -49%), quarkchain (QKC -47%), hxro (HXRO -45%), and factom (FCT -42%). Other coins that lost heavily over the last two quarters consist of assets like waves, bitcoin private, electroneum, stratis, pivx, and spankchain. Dentacoin (DCN) has lost 70% year-to-date. Where Will the Cryptoconomy Go From Here? The first six months of 2019 have been exciting for cryptocurrency enthusiasts as most of the digital economy is starting to really recover from 2018’s market losses. The entire cryptoconomy has a market capitalization of more than a quarter of a trillion dollars to date and there have been $40-100 billion in global trade volume day after day over the last two months. There’s been a lot of speculation as to why there’s new money flowing into this economy and the reasons vary depending on who you ask. Some believe that there’s institutional interest focusing in on cryptocurrencies and others think it may have to do with the faltering economies in numerous countries worldwide. Whatever the case may be, digital asset prices in general have recorded impressive gains this year. What do you think about the gains cryptocurrencies have seen this year? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Disclaimer: All the prices and percentages in this article stem from the opening spot prices on Jan. 1, 2019 to the opening spot prices on June 20, 2019. The ATH prices refer to the all-time highs cryptos saw during the month of December 2017 up until today’s opening spot prices on June 20, 2019. Data was gathered from Markets.Bitcoin.com and Tradingview. Price articles and markets 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.” Image credits: Shutterstock and Markets.Bitcoin.com. Are you feeling lucky? Visit our official Bitcoin casino where you can play BCHslots, BCH poker, and many more BCH games. Every game has a progressive Bitcoin Cash jackpot to be won! The post These Are 2019’s Biggest Cryptocurrency Winners and Losers so Far appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The moment Facebook released the whitepaper for its planned Libra coin, social media was flooded with claims about Zuckerberg’s new drive to take over the cryptocurrency market, with some even calling it a Bitcoin killer. However, looking at the actual details of the plan, it has little to do with cryptocurrency and is in fact more of a threat to government fiat. Also Read: Zuckbucks or Bust: How SEC Rulemaking Hurts Startup Cryptos and Favors Big Tech Libra Wants to Be a New Global Fiat Currency, Not a Cryptocurrency Without getting into deep technical arguments about what is a real blockchain, it is easy to see that Libra will hold little appeal to cryptocurrency purists as it is neither decentralized nor permissionless. This is plainly obvious to the people behind Libra, as the whitepaper’s writers take considerable efforts to try and obscure these two critical issues with the project. In order to claim that its new venture is decentralized, Facebook has surrounded itself with other companies and organizations that will serve as founding members of the association governing Libra and be the network’s first validator nodes when it launches. These will be the players who get to decide how the project is run as well as who can join it later on. Imagine a politician handpicking all the members of some important committee and then saying its decisions will be totally independent. It seems to be stretching credulity. As for being permissionless, Facebook is not even trying to hide that Libra isn’t going to be built this way. Instead, it just pays lip service to the idea and states its aspirations for a “journey toward building a permissionless system.” It only plans to begin this within five years of the public launch of the ecosystem, meaning by 2025, and offers absolutely no hint of a deadline for actually achieving such a transition. Moreover, the whitepaper lists plenty of excuses as to why a permissionless system can’t work properly, giving the impression it is setting the ground for endless delays or outright abandonment of this “journey” at some point after the project is well established. The people that Libra is aimed to appeal to as money are those that don’t have access to mainstream financial services and who may have never heard about such concepts as decentralization or permissionless networks. People like the unbanked in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America who have access to Facebook’s Messenger and Whatsapp on their cheap mobile phones but no reliable and affordable way to store their earnings digitally, send money to family abroad or take out non-predatory loans. These are the adopters envisioned in the whitepaper as well as the environment depicted in the promotional materials for Libra. Of course, there are already many ventures aimed at tapping the potential of the vast unbanked market, as well as reasons for Facebook to branch out into offering financial services. Its operations have become the focus of intense public scrutiny recently with worries over abuses of user privacy, enabling propaganda, limiting free speech and more. If and when major changes to the way Facebook does business are forced on the company, it would be smart to have an additional revenue stream. Zuckerberg must have looked to China and seen how the local social network Wechat leveraged its over one billion users to become an online payments behemoth in the country. If Facebook can do the same in other emerging markets, while capturing part of the profits banks and credit card companies make in developed markets with its monopoly over social networking, the move should make its CEO even more unfathomably powerful. However, Zuckerberg couldn’t just settle at that. Exchanging Sovereignty for Total Surveillance Capabilities Libra isn’t a stablecoin as it isn’t meant to be pegged to a particular fiat currency at a fixed ratio but rather has its own value. It will be managed by a currency board-like body and backed by a reserve basket of bank deposits and short-term government securities. Libra is also different from Wechat Pay, or for that matter Paypal, Visa and Mastercard, as it is not meant to be solely a tool for transferring money but a currency in its own right. Its officially stated aim is to be a new global currency, and one that is more attractive than current government fiat at that. Since time immemorial, minting coins was an exclusive sign of sovereignty. That’s how historians determine exactly when an empire captured a new land or when kingdoms rose and fell as the first thing they would do was create coins with the face of the new ruler on them. While cryptocurrency advocates wish to diffuse this power away from state control, Libra threatens to usurp it for itself. The announcement triggered politicians from across the globe to react angrily to Facebook’s plan. In the U.S., the House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters called for a moratorium on developing Libra until “Congress and regulators have the opportunity to examine these issues and take action,” and the Senate Banking Committee is set to hold a hearing on the subject next month. German MEP Markus Ferber warned that Facebook could become a “shadow bank” and suggested regulators be on high alert. Russian State Duma member Anatoly Aksakov stated that his government doesn’t plan to legalize Libra. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire took the strongest stance on the matter, saying that “It is out of question’’ that Libra will “become a sovereign currency,’’ adding that “It can’t and it must not happen.” India has blocked Facebook’s plans for an internet service that will lock users to its services in the past and the company must know that many governments might take a similar approach to Libra in the future. However, Zuckerberg has also learned how to maneuver in the political playing field, spending millions on lobbying and hiring well connected politicians such as former British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. It has already been revealed that Facebook has been in discussions with some major central bankers and they appear to be broadly supportive of Libra from their statements. Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, sees “potential benefits” to the system and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney thinks Libra can have some uses. If it is allowed to launch as planned and actually succeeds in establishing itself as a global currency, Facebook can also try to lure powerful governments to cooperate with Libra in the long run by offering them something those seeking total power long dreamed of. Such a system will enable total surveillance over the economic activity of the populace. Politicians and central bankers could get the cashless society they routinely say they want, without having the difficulties of developing such a system themselves, freely giving them access to information on all transactions in real-time. What do you think about Facebook and Libra? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. OP-ed disclaimer: This is an Op-ed article. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the Op-ed article. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the content. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any information in this Op-ed article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. 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 Facebook Is a Threat to Governments Not Crypto appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Cryptocurrencies are money and what better way to use them than spending a little on things that bring you satisfaction. You can now upgrade your car’s interior with trim parts you can buy with bitcoin cash. Cockpitdekor is a company that promotes the benefits of paying with crypto and it sells customization kits worldwide. Also read: These Websites Help You Shop With Major Retailers Using Cryptocurrency Cockpitdekor Accepts Bitcoin Payments Ever wanted to add some of those wooden, chrome or carbon touches to your dash? While there are many suppliers of stickers and decals, Cockpitdekor sells them for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin cash (BCH). It has brick and mortar branches in the United Kingdom and Slovakia, but it also ships its products internationally. And in case you’ve ordered the wrong parts, the store accepts returns within 30 days after delivery and 45 days after the purchase date. The company manufactures superior finish and high quality self-adhesive labels, also in plastic, aluminum and stainless steel, which can be used to decorate dashboards, doors, air vents, glove boxes, light switches, steering wheels, gearsticks, and other interior parts of a wide variety of vehicles – from roadsters and SUVs to campers, buses and even helicopters. Trim kits can be made to your specifications. Cockpitdekor supports a number of payment methods including credit cards issued by Visa and Mastercard as well as fiat payments made via popular processors such as Paypal, the France-based Hipay and the Czech payment provider Gopay. At the same time, the platform is a proponent of cryptocurrency payments and it takes bitcoin cash (BCH) and bitcoin core (BTC) through Bitpay. To find more products and services you can purchase with bitcoin cash (BCH), head to Bitcoin.com’s Spend Bitcoin Cash page. You can use it to shop online or to order gift cards for major retailers listed in multiple categories, whose merchandise is now available to BCH holders. Have you ever bought car parts and accessories using cryptocurrencies like bitcoin cash? Tell us in the comments section below. Disclaimer: Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to third party companies or any of their 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 third party content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. 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 Decorate Your Car Dashboard With Trim Kits You Can Buy With BCH appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Cryptocurrency users are often forced to convert their coins to fiat in order to purchase items from leading retailers and ecommerce platforms such as Walmart and Home Depot, Amazon, Aliexpress, and Ebay. The hesitation of these merchants to embrace crypto payments has created a niche that’s being occupied by online businesses that are bridging the gap. They take care of your order, arrange the shipping and are willing to accept your electronic cash. Also read: Latin America and Turkey Have the Most Cryptocurrency Users, Poll Shows Purchase Items From Walmart and Home Depot, Pay With Coins via Alagoria Using cryptocurrencies for online purchases is by design easier and cheaper than traditional payment methods. Wider adoption is needed, however, to take full advantage of the benefits that come with crypto payments. Many well-established retailers are still reluctant to add them to their payment options but that doesn’t mean you can’t shop from their platforms using your digital coins. Last week, news.Bitcoin.com told you about Alagoria, a platform that gives you the opportunity to purchase products sold online by two major U.S. retailers, Walmart and Home Depot. To order an item from them and pay with crypto, you need to find it on their websites and copy the link to its page. When you paste the URL into the search bar on Alegoria.com, it will check the latest price and availability and calculate the sales tax and shipping cost. Then you can add the product to your shopping cart where you’ll see its original price, the estimated sales tax, the shipping charge and the total you have to pay in U.S. dollars. To proceed you need to log in to your account and to create one you must provide a valid email address and a password. At checkout, you can choose to pay with one of four major cryptocurrencies. The platform currently accepts bitcoin cash (BCH), bitcoin core (BTC), litecoin (LTC), and zcash (ZEC). One of the most attractive features of Alagoria is the special guarantee they offer which takes into account the irreversibility of cryptocurrency transactions. All customers shopping with the platform are covered for damages or costs that might occur as a result of their purchases through Alagoria for up to $10,000. They can also return an item during the 30 days of its original delivery date. Items that arrive damaged or incorrect are eligible for 100% free returns while you’ll have to pay for the shipping back to the retailer for those that are returned for other reasons. Buy Products From Amazon and Book Flights on Expedia With Bitcoin Superstore Alagoria currently ships only to customers based in the U.S. Fortunately, there are other alternatives for the global market. Bitcoin Superstore is one of them. Its operator is based in Florida but it delivers to over 50 countries worldwide and accepts about a dozen cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin cash (BCH). You can use the platform to buy from Amazon and many other online retailers. You can also book flights and hotels on Expedia or Priceline and even order grocery deliveries or pickup from Amazon Prime Now and Walmart Grocery Pickup. The best part is that no signup is required and Bitcoin Superstore promises a quick checkout with digital currencies that should take only around three minutes. The website has a feature called Purchase Now which works similarly to Alagoria – you have to submit the URL of a product you are interested in – but the main difference is that you need to manually enter the price, including the shipping cost, and make sure the item is not restricted before placing an order. After you add a product to the shopping cart, Bitcoin Superstore will calculate the applicable sales tax. When you proceed to checkout, you’ll be taken to a page where you are required to provide your name and shipping address, phone number and email address. You’ll also be prompted to choose the cryptocurrency you want to pay with. The platform currently supports BCH, BTC, DASH, DGB, ETH, LTC, TRX, XVG, VIA, ZEC, XMR, XRP, and NANO. The fiat total will be converted to the crypto of your choice. Ordering a pair of men’s shoes from Amazon priced at $107 with shipping to Europe will cost you approximately 0.265 BCH at the time of writing. Bitcoin Superstore doesn’t stop there. The website sells a great variety of gift cards, offered by merchants from various sectors, which you can buy with cryptocurrency. For convenience, they are listed by categories such as Apparel, Automotive, Electronics, Restaurants, Retail, Travel, and TV & Music. The platform can also help you with many suggestions on how to spend your digital coins that are published in a section called Live on Crypto. You’ll find information on how to order from Ebay, Alibaba, and Apple and receive booking support when you want to rent accommodation from Airbnb using crypto. Order Merchandise From Aliexpress, Spend Your Crypto Through Olodolo Olodolo is a website that specializes in delivering products you can purchase with cryptocurrency from Aliexpress. You don’t have to register or create an account to use it. The platform works similarly to Alagoria and Bitcoin Superstore. Simply paste an Aliexpress link or a product ID into its search bar and Olodolo will find the relevant offer. Then you have to select a desired quantity and a country to ship to and you’ll be provided with several shipping methods to choose from. Proceeding to checkout will take to the Coinpayments website, a POS provider that facilitates crypto payments. There you’ll be required to share your shipping information including name, address, email, and phone number. The price of the item and the total with shipping cost and tax are displayed in U.S. dollars. You’ll be able to make the payment in one of three supported cryptocurrencies – bitcoin core, litecoin and ethereum. Choose the coin you are planning to pay with before completing the checkout. And if you prefer ordering from Ebay, an online marketplace called Forra can help you place an order and pay with cryptocurrencies. The Ebay-listed items on its website are priced in U.S. dollars but the platform currently accepts bitcoin cash (BCH), bitcoin core (BTC), ethereum (ETH) and litecoin (LTC). It uses an escrow system and the services of crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Gemini to complete the transactions. It charges a 3% fee on each purchase. Beside the reposted Ebay ads, Forra has a section with its own listings. Other features include the “Cheaper than Amazon” section as well as an option allowing buyers to file a request for a particular item they want to purchase with coins. Forra now offers products from many different sellers in categories such as Computers, Software, Books, Tools, Home Products, Clothing, and Video Games. Its founder Patrick Manfra recently told news.Bitcoin.com they have users not only from the United States but other countries as well. Platforms like the ones mentioned in this article can be very useful for the global crypto community but there are also websites focusing on countries where large portions of the population remain unbanked and many small businesses find traditional banking services too expensive. Depot.co.ke is one such example – it offers a wide range of products on the Kenyan market, from books to computers, and imports items sold on Amazon, Alibaba or Aliexpress. The platform accepts payments in bitcoin cash, the popularity of which is growing in countries like Kenya because of its low cost and fast transactions. For more ideas about various products you can purchase with your bitcoin cash (BCH), check out the Spend Bitcoin Cash page developed by Bitcoin.com. You can use it to shop online or to order gift cards for major retailers and service providers listed in categories such as Electronics, Sports and Outdoors, Home and Garden, and Travel and Lodging. Have you used any of these websites? Do you know other platforms that offer similar services? Tell us in the comments section below. Disclaimer: Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to third party companies or any of their 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 third party content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Do you need a reliable Bitcoin mobile wallet to send, receive, and store your coins? Download one for free from us and then head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can quickly buy Bitcoin with a credit card. The post These Websites Help You Shop With Major Retailers Using Cryptocurrency appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) has released its 2019 report and noted a significant spike in inquiries concerning cryptocurrency related issues last year. The report details a 70% increase in 2018 in regard to consumer queries largely stemming from exchange issues. Moreover, over the last two quarters of 2019, the Japanese yen paired with various cryptocurrencies like BCH and BTC has been climbing steadily, showing the country has a lot of demand for digital assets. Also read: Policymakers Meet to Finalize Global Crypto Guidance – A Look at Standards G20 Supports CAA Report: Crypto-Related Inquiries Spike by 70% in 2018 Over the last few years, Japan has been a hotbed for cryptocurrency innovation. Things really started heating up after Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) officially announced that Bitcoin was recognized as a legal method of payment on April 1, 2017. Since then, there have been lots of crypto-related business developments, regulations formed, and crypto exchanges launched in the Pacific island nation. This week Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) published its 2019 consumer affairs report which touches upon inquiries and complaints surrounding the digital asset industry. The latest CAA report has not yet been fully translated by the agency, but rough translations reveal that in 2018 there were roughly 3,657 cases that were tethered to cryptocurrency exchange complaints. The number represents a 70% increase in contrast to the prior year when there were 2,166 queries and complaints involved with digital currencies. The CAA has seen a consistent increase in queries since 2014. For instance, the number surpassed the previous year by 3.5X and 1.7X more than the year prior. Lots of complaints and queries derived from exchange customers who had issues receiving funds after paying and other complaints described user-side hacks. Other inquiries asked the CAA about digital assets in general and the credibility and reputation of certain exchanges. Despite Increasing Crypto Regulation, Digital Assets Continue to Trend in Japan In addition to this news, a recent study from the Block’s Larry Cermak has shown that behind U.S. exchange visitors, Japan leads with the world’s second highest traffic to worldwide exchanges. According to Cermak’s data, the U.S. accounted for 24.5% of exchange traffic while Japanese visitors made up around 10% of the traffic visiting crypto trading platforms. The trend has continued to rise in Japan despite the regulatory climate changing in the country on a regular basis. Japan recently passed a new cryptocurrency bill which addresses transferring crypto assets, income taxes, and income related transactions using digital currencies. A spokesperson from the FSA described the new bill to news.Bitcoin.com in May. Moreover, on June 28-29, Osaka Japan will be hosting the V20 summit which will see well-known crypto businesses debate the proposed FATF international standards. Despite all the regulation and FATF standards looming, the Japanese yen has increased significantly when it comes to the global money flow into digital assets. In 2017, the yen (JPY) was a top pair with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin core (BTC) throughout the crypto bull run. However, in 2018 the JPY against crypto pairs like BCH and BTC dropped significantly as regulation spiked in the country and Coincheck exchange was hacked. In the first six months of 2019 things have changed drastically and the Japanese yen has gradually muscled its way into the top five currency pairs against BTC and BCH. Today JPY captures 4-5% of the global BTC trade volumes worldwide and 1-1.5% of bitcoin cash global trade volumes. This is a significant amount of volume comparatively seeing how most global crypto trade volumes are dominated by tether (USDT). The 70% increase in crypto-related queries reported by the CAA shows the trend in crypto interest continues to grow in Japan. What do you think about the recent increase in consumer inquiries toward cryptocurrencies and exchanges with Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Coinlib.io, Crypto Compare, and the Consumer Affairs Agency Japan. Are you feeling lucky? Visit our official Bitcoin casino where you can play BCHslots, BCH poker, and many more BCH games. Every game has a progressive Bitcoin Cash jackpot to be won! The post Consumer Affairs Report Shows 70% Spike in Japanese Crypto Inquiries appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

This week on the Humans of Bitcoin podcast host Matt Aaron chatted with Bitmain’s Nishant Sharma who shared his story and discussed the western hemisphere’s false impressions of China and Bitcoin. During the interview, Sharma conversed about his work with Bitmain, one of the largest cryptocurrency companies in the world, and addressed some of the misinterpretations in regard to individuals who call Bitcoin Cash the “Chinese Bitcoin.” Also read: Bitmain Launches Low-Cost Special Edition Antminer S9 The Founding Values of Bitcoin Are Borderless Bitmain’s Nishant Sharma recently joined the Humans of Bitcoin podcast with Matt Aaron and discussed his story working for Bitmain. Bitmain Technologies Ltd is a privately owned company headquartered in Beijing and the largest manufacturer of ASIC chips for bitcoin mining. Sharma was born and raised in India and runs Bitmain’s international PR and community relations strategy. The company was created in 2013 by Micree Zhan and Jihan Wu and Nishant explained during his interview that Wu was the first to translate the Bitcoin whitepaper from English to Mandarin. “[Jihan Wu] took the message of Bitcoin to 1.3 billion people,” Sharma detailed. “The message doesn’t change, the message of Bitcoin might be translated in different languages but everyone sees the founding values of Bitcoin — Its permissionless nature, its trustlessness, uncensorable transactions, and the ability to give everyone in the world the right to transact,” Sharma remarked. “These are the things that attracted Jihan to it as well as anyone else — The language barrier doesn’t change things and it’s exactly why he saw the potential of Bitcoin.” Misconceptions of Bitcoin Cash, China and the Eastern and Western Crypto Ecosystem Further into the discussion, Sharma talked about the differences between Asia and how privacy is viewed in a different fashion in the region in contrast to the U.S. or Europe. “In Asia people could care less about censorship resistance because privacy is something people start caring about when they have all the basic necessities of life. And they have all the avenues to meet their aspirations,” Sharma said, adding: Only then people start caring about privacy. I do think privacy is a basic human right but of course if I was to choose between having food to eat or privacy, of course, I would choose the former. That’s why people in Asia do not care as much about privacy as people in the U.S. do. The two continued by discussing some of the anti-Chinese sentiment that plagues the community at times and Sharma observed that it mainly boils down to the social-political setups between both regions. “Companies in the west because of the social-political nature of the USA and most western economies, they are more outspoken and they communicate more with the audience. But in China, because of the social-political nature of the country, the companies do not act in the same way and the audience often mistakes this as an intentional silence or an intentional effort to be opaque or hide something. Which is not true it is just how things are here.” Moreover, Sharma also reveals how he’s noticed that sometimes people think that Bitcoin Cash is less than Bitcoin in many ways just because it is considered a ‘Chinese version of Bitcoin.’ “I don’t agree with that because it was a hard fork by a collective group of developers from Europe and not from China — And even if you go back long before Bitcoin Cash came into being, the discussion of big blocks started in the U.S. when businesses were suffering because of Bitcoin’s congestion and backlog of transactions.” If you want to hear more of what Bitmain’s Nishant Sharma has to say about the company and how he got into Bitcoin then check out the podcast below. Sharma gives some great insight into the mining giant Bitmain’s operations and how cryptocurrencies are viewed in Asia. What do you think about Bitmain’s Nishant Sharma and this subject? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Bitcoin.com, Humans of Bitcoin, Nishant Sharma, and Bitmain. 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 Bitmain’s Nishant Sharma Talks China and Crypto in the Humans of Bitcoin Podcast 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. Decoin is rejoicing increased numbers of user registrations in recent times and enhanced trading volumes with its exclusive revenue-sharing model and credible trading environment. 19.06.2019: Amid the gory reports of fake trading volumes claimed by crypto exchanges which have made many traders apprehensive of crypto trading, one rising exchange seems to be sailing on a high note of late. Titled “Decoin”, the exchange has reported of experiencing increasing registrations and more trading volume even in the midst of a conflicted and skeptical environment in the current crypto scene. The credit goes to its unique “revenue-sharing model” which has been able to earn the trust of aspiring traders through the establishment of a fair trading scenario. Decoin is the first crypto exchange in the world which has announced to share its revenue with its token (DTEP token) holders. The exchange shares 20% of its revenue with its users. “We are aware of the skeptical attitude towards crypto trading among many crypto traders today given the recent report on fake data on trading volume produced by several exchanges. But our exchange is strategically designed to bypass all such dubious schemes and ensure a safe and fair trading environ for our traders. We follow a revolutionary revenue-sharing approach and this very protocol prevents us from showing any kind of inflated data on trading volume”, stated a leading spokesperson from Decoin. If Decoin produces any sort of inflated data on trading volume, the exchange will simultaneously have to share a spiked amount with its token holders as well. “We are glad that our exclusive approach has been able to assure a reliable trading environ for crypto traders. And the increasing number of registrations we are gaining today duly stand testimony to this very fact. We are also witnessing a higher trading volume and we are grateful to our users for having faith in us.” Decoin also stands among regular centralized crypto exchanges with its decentralized infrastructure. A decentralized environment assures transparency which further eliminates any possibility of producing fake data. Added to establishing a credible trading environment, Decoin is also offering various perks for its token holders which are playing a key role in attracting increasing registrations towards the exchange. Running on PoS (Proof of Stake) blockchain structure, DTEP assures 6.2% annual staking rewards for the users. Besides, DTEP coin holders even enjoy discounted trading fees on the Decoin exchange. For more, please visit https://www.decoin.io. Contact Email Address shay@decoin.io 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 PR: Decoin Exchange Launches Unique Revenue Sharing Protocol appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Do you want to show off your support for cryptocurrency and look good doing it? Peaceful Warrior lets you buy jewelry that will do just that, and you can also pay for all items in the store with bitcoin cash, of course. Also Read: How to Invest in Cryptocurrency Without Worrying About Volatility Crypto Lifestyle Brand Crypto-friendly e-commerce platform Peaceful Warrior was launched in March 2019 with the aim of inspiring people to use digital coins for shopping and in order to “help achieve global adoption of cryptocurrencies, used as a mean of exchange.” It is designed to be a lifestyle brand that shows you are dedicated to promoting freedom. The store features jewelry items such as unique necklaces and bracelets, specialty beauty and care products as well as art celebrating women and crypto. It is integrated with Coinbase Commerce, so you will be able to pay with your bitcoin cash (BCH) and a number of other cryptocurrencies as well as Paypal. Earrings sold on Peaceful Warrior The platform was established by “three passionate women who care about free economy, crypto and living beautiful and balanced lifestyles.” The founders explain they wanted to not only create a place for people to enjoy shopping but also help entrepreneurs interested in accepting cryptocurrency sell their products around the world. If you can’t find exactly what you are looking for on Peaceful Warrior, make sure to check out the Bitcoin.com Store which features, among other things, gift cards for many popular fashion brands. What do you think about shopping on Peaceful Warrior? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Peaceful Warrior. 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 Peaceful Warrior Lets You Buy Jewelry With Bitcoin Cash appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bitcoin.com and Bit Mining are excited to announce a business partnership focusing on BCH and BTC mining. A New Beginning This joint endeavor is between Bitcoin.com, a company dedicated to spreading BCH and BTC adoption, and Bit Mining, a blockchain ecosystem builder with large mining farms spread across the globe. As an official Bitcoin.com partner, Bit Mining will redirect its own hashpower to Bitcoin.com’s mining pool to help spread the adoption of cyptocurrencies. “Mining,” is the task of processing huge amounts of transaction data to update and secure the public ledger, known as the blockchain. The only physical aspect of this process are the mining farms that are equipped with specialized mining hardware. About Bit Mining Co., Ltd Bit Mining Co., Ltd is a subsidiary of Bit Mining Group. It was incorporated to offer rental services for mining rigs in Japan. Japan has many strict legal requirements to incorporate a company, so cross-industry customers can be confident our services meet international standards. Customers who use our services also enjoy excellent tax benefits, this is especially true for middle and small-sized enterprises. About Bitcoin.com Bitcoin.com is the premier source for everything Bitcoin related. Bitcoin.com can help the public buy bitcoin or choose a bitcoin wallet. Visitors can also read the latest news or engage with the community on the Bitcoin Forum. Bitcoin.com also has a mining pool, game portal site, and many other services. Bit Mining Corporate Information Company name: Bit Mining Co.,Ltd Address in Japan: 4-3-1 Shiroyama Trust Tower, Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo Headquarters: No. 1, Floor 3, Building 1, No. 366, Tianfu Boulevard North Section, Tianfu District, Pilot Free Trade Zone China (Sichuan) Japanese representative : General manager: Ryo Nagaoka Business: Bit Mining develops Blockchain related technologies, like mining farms and pool operating systems. They are also involved in mining farm operations, mining machine sales and mining machine management. Official website: http://www.bm.land Contact us: info@bm.land About Bitcoin.com Company name: Saint Bitts LLC Representative: President and CEO Roger Ver Business: Bitcoin.com is supercharged to change the world with Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Our suite of developer tools has been downloaded 36,000+ times from over 100 countries. Our team is the heart and soul of the Bitcoin Cash industry. We’re committed to making BCH available to all people, whatever their age, gender, nationality or financial status. For more information visit: https://www.bitcoin.com/ Official website: https://www.bitcoin.com/ For Inquiries Bit Mining Co., Ltd Person in charge: Business Planning Department – Yusuke Arima Email address: info@bm.land The post PR: Bitcoin.com Announces Mining Partnership With Bit Mining appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

An Indian startup has launched a marketplace for algorithmic trading strategies. Investors can choose a strategy based on factors such as past performance, cryptocurrencies invested, and time frames. The platform also offers a drag-and-drop tool for traders to build their own strategies without writing code. News.Bitcoin.com talked to the company’s CEO to find out more about the platform. Also read: Indian Cryptocurrency Regulation Is Ready, Official Confirms Trading Strategy Marketplace Launch Mudrex, an Indian startup which provides tools and resources for traders to build algorithmic trading strategies without writing code, launched a marketplace for trading strategies Wednesday. The marketplace can be accessed through the Mudrex website as well as on Product Hunt. Noting that “Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile,” CEO Rohit Goyal explained to news.Bitcoin.com that his platform aims “to help people invest in crypto algorithmically and safeguard them from this volatility.” He elaborated: Casual investors can choose from a variety of available strategies based on their past performance. The strategy then automatically buys and sells cryptocurrencies on their behalf. Based in the U.S. and India, the Y Combinator-backed startup with offices in Mountain View and Bangalore launched its main platform on Feb. 1 after being in closed beta from November last year. While the team initially wanted to launch a fiat-to-crypto exchange in India, the CEO said that is no longer the plan. “Instead we are in talks with multiple exchanges for an official partnership to work closely with them,” he shared. Currently, the startup has partnered with two exchanges: Bitmex and Binance. Further, India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), banned financial institutions from providing services to crypto exchanges in its circular issued in April last year. A number of industry participants have filed writ petitions seeking the ban to be lifted. The country’s supreme court is set to hear the case on July 23. The court is also expected to hear about the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency from the government. Building Algorithmic Trading Strategies Mudrex provides a drag-and-drop tool for traders to create and iterate trading strategies which they can test and deploy for themselves. The platform offers over 140 prebuilt indicators and patterns for traders to use with three available markets: two on Binance and one on Bitmex. The Binance BTC markets offer 89 trading pairs while the Binance USDT markets offer 16 trading pairs. The XBT USD perpetual contract on Bitmex is also available. Goyal explained to news.Bitcoin.com: Traders create their trading strategies using an advanced drag-n-drop based UI editor with minimal programming required. They test their strategies on historical data and optimise the strategies accordingly. Mudrex’s visual strategy builder with three key components. “Once the strategies look good they [users] can put them on paper trading to see the live simulation and once satisfied, connect their exchange API keys to start trading with real money,” the CEO detailed, noting that the platform has already facilitated $3 million worth of cryptocurrency trades. Users do not have to subscribe to use any of the platform’s tools, Goyal confirmed. However, he noted that “Starting August there will be a different subscription model including a free tier for traders who want to build strategies to use platform resources.” About the Marketplace Traders with high-performing strategies can submit them to be published in the marketplace and specify a monthly fee for others to use, Goyal described to news.Bitcoin.com. This will allow other traders to “invest in top performing strategies,” he remarked. At launch, there are eight strategies in the marketplace. While any user can submit their trading strategies to be listed in the marketplace, every strategy has to go through a rigorous review process before the listing is approved. Goyal clarified, “The strategies submitted by traders [are] usually approved/rejected within 24 hours of their submission,” elaborating: Once a strategy is approved, it gets listed on the marketplace and anyone else then can test them on historical data to see their past performance. Any users can run backtests on any strategies listed in the marketplace and choose the best performing one based on factors such as market conditions, cryptocurrencies invested, and time frames. “We now have 2,500 traders on board and a very highly engaged community of 500 traders to discuss trading ideas and help each other in building better strategies,” the CEO shared with news.Bitcoin.com, noting that “300 traders have been signing up every month so far.” He further revealed that, initially, the majority of his platform’s users were from India but over time more international users have signed up. He added that currently 27% of all users are from the U.S., 22% from India, 18% from Europe, and 10% from New Zealand and Australia. What do you think of Mudrex’s tools and marketplace? Let us know in the comments section below. Disclaimer: Bitcoin.com does not endorse or support claims made by any parties in this article. None of the information in this article is intended as investment advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or as a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Neither Bitcoin.com 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 Mudrex. Are you feeling lucky? Visit our official Bitcoin casino where you can play BCH slots, BCH poker, and many more BCH games. Every game has a progressive Bitcoin Cash jackpot to be won! The post Indian Startup Launches Crypto Trading Strategy Marketplace appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

KYC (Know Your Customer) policies and endless private data collection, coupled with force-backed, violent legislation compromise the utility and ethics of crypto trading. An uncompromising stance on user privacy is critically important to crypto traders and peer-to-peer transaction. It’s not about having nothing to hide, but about sound economics, human dignity, and creating a more peaceful, less violent, world. Also read: Hayden Otto Discusses the Rise of North Queensland’s Bitcoin Cash Movement Making Bathroom Breaks Illegal “If you’ve done nothing wrong, you’ve got nothing to hide!” The oft-repeated trope is familiar to all, but really what lies behind it? It’s clear when I am using the bathroom, alone in my room writing, or just taking a breather to escape the madness of a particularly stressful day, that I have nothing to “hide” as such. I’ve done nothing wrong. And yet, privacy remains paramount to me. Force someone to surrender the precious stuff, and see how long they remain healthy. It won’t be long until they are resisting – breaking down emotionally, physically, and mentally. Privacy is a treasure trove where creation happens. Regeneration. And most importantly, it’s a basic and non-negotiable prerequisite to human dignity, anywhere and everywhere in the world. With the advent of Bitcoin in 2009, new economic applications of privacy were made possible. Fed up with the coercive monetary status quo, Satoshi Nakamoto released a financial protocol enabling free and autonomous trade without a middleman or centralized authority overseeing people’s private business. Over 10 years later, the idea is now being pursued hotly by massive state-approved railroading campaigns. Centralized, pro-government exchanges seem to have missed the memo on sound econ and privacy. They don’t wish to let you trade without knowing nearly every damn thing about you, first. For all its perceived “security,” this approach denies the real utility and value of blockchain technology, and does so in breathtakingly draconian, Keynesian fashion. Money of the Future: Internet 2.0 If you’ll suffer me a bit of personal reflection here. I’ll take you in my time machine to 2016, Tokyo. I was in the Roppongi district, heading to a small bar in the afternoon to make my second ever crypto-to-fiat transaction. I was newly jobless, and had been blogging on a blockchain-based social media site to scrape up some money in the interim. My wife wasn’t sure about all of this “crypto stuff” and was of course distraught about our financial situation. I had used the Bitcoin ATM at this place once before, so I swapped my STEEM for BTC, got on the train, and hit up the interesting little machine again, in the shadowy corner of the bar. I had avoided utilizing large exchanges up to this point for privacy reasons. The transaction was easy. I stuffed the money in an envelope and went home. Wife satisfied. Me, still alive to blog another day while I searched for a new “normie” job as a teacher. Without the ease and simplicity of exchange that day, I would not have been able to support myself and my family during a very difficult time, without jumping through all kinds of privacy-invasive hoops and long, unacceptable delays. A big win for crypto, the free market, and privacy. Whoosh! Fast forward to the present day. Take a walk around any of the major wards in Tokyo, and you’ll no longer find many easy-to-use crypto ATMs. What you will find are giant billboards loudly plastered with greasy celebrities, advertising huge, state-regulated, privacy-compromising exchanges. What you will find is that most of the easy-to-use, privately owned ATMs have been ripped out, shut down, or discontinued. Why? Newly enacted coercive legislation, bureaucratic red tape, and licensing fees in Japan. People like me, who rely on economic autonomy and the utility of crypto to exchange value for value are squeezed into an even tighter corner, it would seem. This trend is not endemic to Japan, either. From people being arrested for trading in Michigan, to localbitcoins.com recently shutting down cash trades, to insane and nearly-impossible-to-follow tax legislation on crypto all over the world, or the outright outlawing of various tokens and trading protocols, the agenda is clear: take the privacy, simplicity, and human dignity out of crypto, and with it, its whole utility and its capability to set people free and create a more private, peaceful world. Free Trade Is a Choice This dystopian world, devoid of digital privacy, may sound dark, but in my view that only makes the light of free trade shine brighter and bigger. The truth is, nothing can take away the utility of crypto. It’s a technology. Not a philosophy, not a “spiritual movement,” and not politics. Algorithms, mathematical formulas, blockchains and hashes don’t care who you are. Whether you’re president or peasant, or anything in between, crypto sees you just as the free market does—a trader wishing to exchange value for value. Nothing more. Nothing less. There is one magnificently critical “catch,” though: nothing can take away the utility of crypto, except the choice to not use it freely. Revolutionary fintech only retains utility for free market transactions (and this should go without saying) should we choose to use it freely. Regardless of risk or perceived lack thereof, the market isn’t going to “free market” for me. The tech isn’t going to trade for me. That’s on me, and that’s a wonderful thing. The Price We Pay for Economic Freedom Of course no one wants to become one of the many non-violent, peaceful traders the state has chosen to make examples of. Ross Ulbricht, Aaron Swartz, or that aforementioned guy in Michigan. We’ve got to be smart and shrewd. Encourage mass adoption and focus on the positive, to the end of these violent systems not becoming the focus, but becoming increasingly irrelevant. Life is inherently risk and opportunity laden. In a sense, these are one and the same. A “safety” which strips humans of their economic privacy and basic dignity is infinitely worse than a dignified, free choice in a perilous, yet opportunity-filled reality. Tank Man Cometh June 4, 2019. A KYC-free, peer-to-peer trading platform emerges, stepping out like a tiny Chinese man in front of a behemoth, rumbling fiat tank. Millions watch in expectant horror. “Who is he?” someone in the crowd implores desperately. The tank directly in front of him tries to go around, almost squashing him. He steps in front again. “What is he doing? Does he have a death wish!?” The fearful, shining eyes of the pulsing throng are engrossed on the scene, as the small businessman adjusts his grip on the bags in his left hand. The lid of the tank pops open. People gasp. A soldier, equal parts bewildered and angry peeks out of the portal and says something to the man. The tiny man begins to climb the hulking steel machine, making his way to the soldier. “They’ll kill him!” “He’s lost his mind!” There’s a blinding silence from the soldier’s searching, scandalized eyes, as the businessman leans in and asks a question. “Excuse me. Where’s the bathroom?” If you’d like to trade more freely, be sure to check out the P2P, non-KYC, private trading opportunities available at Local.Bitcoin.com. This post was written by Graham Smith, an American expat living in Japan, and the founder of Voluntary Japan, an initiative dedicated to spreading the philosophies of unschooling, individual self-ownership, and economic freedom in the land of the rising sun. OP-ed disclaimer: This is an Op-ed article. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the Op-ed article. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the content. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any information in this Op-ed article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Did you know you can verify any unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with our Bitcoin Block Explorer tool? Simply complete a Bitcoin address search to view it on the blockchain. Plus, visit our Bitcoin Charts to see what’s happening in the industry. The post Privacy Is Paramount: How KYC Makes Us All Less Free appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On Monday, June 17, the Chinese mining rig manufacturer Bitmain Technologies announced the launch of a low-cost miner called the Antminer S9 version SE. The new 16 terahash per second (16TH/s) S9 SE is $350 per unit and the launch celebrates the company’s most popular product, the original S9. Also read: Report Insists ‘Bitcoin Was Not Purpose-Built to First Be a Store of Value’ Special Edition S9 With 16 Terahash per Second Bitmain has launched yet another product for solo miners and large operations, but this particular Antminer is a low-cost mining rig. The company announced the latest Antminer S9 Special Edition (SE) on Monday and the first batch went on sale the following day. The new S9 SE specifications detail that the miner processes the SHA-256 algorithm (BTC and BCH) at 16 terahash per second (16TH/s). The miner takes 1280W from the wall which leads to delivering a power efficiency of 80 joules per terahash (J/TH). “The legacy that forever left its mark in the mining industry — Introducing a Special Edition miner, the Antminer S9 SE which continues that very same legacy,” Bitmain announced on Monday. The S9 SE is selling for $350 per mining rig and in order to prevent hoarding the company has limited order to 10 miners per order. The first batch of rigs is expected to ship between July 21-31 on first-paid-first-ship basis. Of course, U.S. residents will have to pay more than the rest of the world because of the current trade war tariffs initiated by Donald Trump. People shipping miners to the U.S. will pay an additional 2.6% tax and an additional 25% import duty tax. The new S9 SE weighs about 4.5kg and when operating the unit puts out around 76 decibels (dB) of sound which is a touch louder than traditional dB outputs. According to the specifications, there are three hash boards with approximately 180 Bitmain-designed chips. However, the S9 SE documentation does not reveal what type of semiconductors are used with the hash boards. Second Market, Old and Low-Hashrate Mining Rigs Bitmain’s latest low-cost miner release follows the slew of next-generation miners the company released over the last few months. This includes the Bitmain Antminer S17 Pro (53TH/s), S17 (56TH/s), T17 (40TH/s), S15 (28TH/s), T15 (23TH/s), and the S11 (20.5TH/s). The latest S9 SE version is more comparable to the Antminer S9 Hydro (18TH/s), but without the water functionality. Bitcoin Core (BTC) hashrate – June 18, 2019. The low-cost S9 SE comes at a time when mining revenues have been so good that older and low-hashrate devices are profiting. For instance, the 2016 S9 version with 11.5 terahash per second is still profiting by at least $0.75 per day at current prices and at $0.13 per kilowatt-hour (KWh). Coinshare’s latest mining report notes that older S9s are still being sold on the secondary market for “700 or 800 yuan” or “as low as $150 USD.” Even the older Antminer S7s could still be profiting as the June 2019 mining report notes: With Bitcoin prices where they are at the time of writing it is assumed some people have turned at least a few of these units [S7s] back on. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) hashrate – June 18, 2019. Moreover, mining has become extremely competitive over the last few months and both BTC and BCH hash rates have been steadily climbing. For example, according to the analytical data from Charts.Bitcoin.com, there’s a total of 56.5 exahash per second (EH/s) with BTC capturing 54 EH/s while BCH has 2.5 EH/s. The Antminer S9 SE release shows Bitmain is taking a stab at trying to capture buyers looking for older or low-cost machines. With BCH above the $400 price zone per coin and BTC beyond the $9K region, any mining rigs processing 11 TH/s or more are profiting with $0.13 per KWh. Of course, many countries such as China ($0.04 to 0.01 per kWh in Sichuan) and Iran ($0.006 per KWh) have far lower electric costs than $0.13 per KWh which would make even lower hashrate producing models profitable. What do you think about the latest S9 SE mining rigs from Bitmain? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Charts.Bitcoin.com, and Bitmain. Supercharge your mining potential! Mine Bitcoin easily on the cloud without having to buy hardware, or plug your own hardware into the world’s highest paying mining pool. The post Bitmain Launches Low-Cost Special Edition Antminer S9 appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Cryptocurrency usage has been expanding globally and a new survey confirms that trend. The poll conducted by Statista shows that the citizens of troubled countries tend to exploit the benefits of decentralized digital money far more readily than the citizens of thriving nations. Also read: VPN Providers Defy Order to Connect to Russia’s Internet Censor Study Determines Global Cryptocurrency Adoption The 2019 edition of the Statista Global Consumer Survey offers a worldwide perspective on consumption and explores how consumers think. It covers dozens of industries and attempts to answer questions like “How many Americans have a video on demand subscription?” and “What is the demographic profile of online food shoppers in the UK?” It polls more than 400,000 consumers in 46 countries. “How common are cryptocurrencies around the world?” is another key question put forward by the authors of the survey. It’s been asked of around 1,000 people in each participating country. The results present the share of respondents who said they used or owned cryptocurrencies. According to a summary of the study published recently by Statista, Latin America is a region where crypto holders and users form large minorities. Five of the top 10 countries in the sample are located south of the U.S. border. All of them scored in the double digits in terms of crypto adoption. In Brazil and Colombia, 18% of the respondents have admitted to owning and using digital assets. They are followed by Argentina with 16% and Chile with 11%. Venezuela is a notable omission in the summary. Uncontrollable hyperinflation has created favorable conditions for wider adoption of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin cash (BCH). There are now over 200 businesses accepting BCH payments in Caracas and other cities in the country, according to the Marco Coino app. It’s likely that many more merchants, such as the mining parts supplier Coincoin, accept BCH and other major digital currencies. Inflation-Hit Turkey Leads the Pack, Spain Scores the Highest in Western Europe Turkey is the pronounced leader among individual countries included in the study. The nation, which sits on the border between two continents, has experienced high inflation in the last couple of years. The depreciation of the national fiat currency, the lira, has resulted in cryptocurrencies steadily gaining popularity. A fifth of the Turkish participants in the Statista poll declared they own crypto. Elsewhere in Europe, Spain, which has been trying to overcome its own long list of economic and financial problems, is the Western nation with the highest number of cryptocurrency users at 11%. However, Eastern European countries and some in Asia have ranked higher than most developed nations. These include the Russian Federation (9%) as well as China and Indonesia (11% each). Among the surveyed First World nations, Denmark has scored 8%, followed by Australia with 7%, the United Kingdom and the U.S. with 6% and 5% respectively, and France and Germany with 4%. Surprisingly, only 3% of the respondents from Japan, which is considered a leader in terms of crypto regulations and adoption, confirmed they have real experience with cryptocurrencies. Do these results surprise you in any way? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. You can now easily buy Bitcoin with a credit card. Visit our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can buy BCH and BTC securely, and keep your coins secure by storing them in our free Bitcoin mobile wallet. The post Latin America and Turkey Have the Most Cryptocurrency Users, Poll Shows 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. This article feature quotes returned direct from inquiry to the company CEO Gordon Gao. WaykiChain(WICC) CEO Gordon Gao’s credentials are substantial and they include (according to his LinkedIn page) having previously worked as a ‘senior business associate’ at Alibaba.com. His portfolio also lists a tenure as ‘lead data scientist’ at Fishbowl Marketing which, on its website, front-lines the fact that it features clients as huge as Coca-Cola and the National Restaurant Association. WaykiChain DApp Funding Program:“A Win-Win-Win Business Model” Gordon announced WaykiChain DApp Funding Program in April. He states that the WaykiChain ecosystem co-building program expects “each role on our public chain to be benefitted” – which is achieved by providing resources for developers, hence users can get a good DApp, which also enriches the public chain ecosystem. The three way win-win situation is like the flywheel: a dynamic linkage mechanism that will eventually lead to our ecosystem prosperity. “WaykiChain DApp Funding Program is a developer-friendly program” Gao continues that the team doesn’t intend developers to provide DApps, however they would like to provide developers with help, including: capital, technology, publicity, operation and other aspects. “It’s all developer-centric.Secondly, what we provide is long-term support and will conduct continuous promotion through media and other large platforms, not only just limited to our community marketing promotion.” Team Expanding Instead of Layoffs WaykiChain pays attention to the talent induction. Beyond the senior and executive leadership staff, Gordon Gao says that WaykiChain is pro-actively expanding its core membership, “Our project’s healthy finances allow us to keep the growth independently. Now we are paying more attention to internal infrastructure and adopting long-term investment strategy. “The project’s technical talents have expanded four to five times since last year, including the talents of application layer and the public chain development.” Also bear in mind that WaykiChain successes come in spite of having formed in 2018, a tumultuous year for blockchain and cryptocurrencies for economic reasons (as reflected in the market): and a time when many other companies in the industry were laying off employees en-masse. However, WaykiChain team constantly expands, with an increase in number from around 60 people in 2018 to around 100 people now. This trend of team expansion is suprising in blockchain industry in the hard time, and Gordon Gao mentioned that he is looking forward tobbuilding a world-class leading public chain with the joint efforts of WaykiChianers. Gordon Gao: “From nothing to something is really something.” “Throughout the violent swings; the peaks and valleys experienced by all throughout the restless 2018. We were extremely dedicated.” “Our vigorous marketing publicity sky-rocketed users + community member numbers to over 300,000, within only a few months.” Surmounting The Challenges Of Tomorrow “There is always a solution.” At present, the market is still skeptical about whether blockchain is profitable. In Gordon Gao’s own words, the WaykiChain business model “lacks experience”, and so the team intends on sticking to its core concept and principles: believing that a fair and transparent business model will always be welcome. “In order to build a tier-one public chain, we recruit excellent technical talents all over around the world, and provide high treatment and welfare for them; Pay attention to talent training, provides them with their own growth space and prospects.” “We are committed to conduct technological breakthroughs and will pursuit this project’s image to the whole world.” “As I might say, there is always a Solution. Difficulties and challenges are nothing to stop us from stepping forward.” On the technical level: whilst WaykiChain claims a complete plan in this regard, it currently faces a barrier in the form of high-demand for talent – which Gao states is difficult in the bear market. Another challenge is international market expansion. “Due to the cultural differences, there are great differences in people’s concerns between domestic market and overseas market. Fortunately, our team has many talents are overseas returnees.This could do some help. “We are constantly attracting overseas talents, teams and seed users to join us; and the greatest two values we seek in this capacity are effort and time. Our team’s exploration of overseas markets and industry knowledge keep progressing.” What Makes WaykiChain Exceptional? –Development Strategy 2019 “Filter the Noise and Stay Ahead of the Pack” WaykiChain meets the criteria of defining factors for public and investor importance laid out in the introduction (such as technical, conceptual, and quantitative standards of excellence). This is why we have decided to feature the project, which arguably saw its formative years in 2018 – when it seemed that the bear market was never going to end. Gordon Gao has keen industry insights. He gives out overall development strategy 2019 and his win-win-win business model. Gordon states that this was “the best time (in our opinion) to ‘polish’ the sword.” by “improving security, stability, efficiency and convenience for our public chain’s bottom layer” whilst “cultivating technology developers, building communities, and building overseas consensus.” According to Gordon, WaykiChain’s development plan for this year can be summarized into focuses on three major parts:  To open up the business model.  Public chain development.  Global consensus building. 1. Business Model Open-up: The business model open-up we expected is to let each role in the ecosystem get the best benefits through the decentralized system. Here, the three main roles I mentioned include users: developers and the public chain. Open source enables developers and users to participate in deployment and provides operators with simpler and easier products. WaykiChain provides a technology platform for any operator to reach users for profit. Users can also choose their own games. When users become active on our public chain, WICC will become increasingly popular. It forms a win-win-win situation. 2. Public chain development Public chain development is a very complex and huge system, it involves many aspects. The most important is the public chain technology construction. Technology construction can also be divided into four aspects: security, stability, efficiency, and usability.  Security: To ensure the technical security of the entire public chain, including security monitoring, such as black swan event warning and processing mechanism, emergency system and continuous repairing of public chain loopholes. The teams are constantly testing the public chain for vulnerabilities every day. In addition, the company hired a professional code auditor to conduct a comprehensive and detailed code audit of WaykiChain. We also released a reward program for security breaches.Once a bug found, we reward the bug-finder. This needs to be done consistently in a long run.  Stability Opening up business model is to let each role on public chain get profit. In addition to constantly optimizing and improving the stability of public chain, we will also set up a 24-hour emergency rescue team later. If there is any problem with the public chain, we will immediately check and repair it to ensure the long and stable operation of the public chain.  Efficiency To enhance the efficiency of public chain mainly refers to the improvement of public chain performance, increase of transaction speed, TPS.  Usability: ‘Usability’ means that developers can easily and quickly access the public chain: it includes development usability and functional usability. ‘Development usability’ refers to the improvement of virtual machines, the improvement of developer tools and documentation, and the easy access of invoking various interfaces. This is why we feature our own stablecoin (WICC) which we expect to be designed at the bottom layer of the public chain. Stablecoin is the shortest path on the real asset chain and also the easiest path to understand. A stablecoin can keep the corresponding value of digital currency stable and are more suitable for circulation in application scenarios. With the support of a stablecoin, we can build a bridge between the physical world and the blockchain world. A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency designed for price stability, such that it can function as medium of exchange and unit of account as an alternative to fiat currencies. It should generally be as effective for making payments as the RMB, but still exhibit the characteristics of WICC; transaction immutability, censorship resistance and decentralization. For the general public, the price fluctuations of cryptocurrencies are actually pretty hard to accept.But stablecoins are easier to circulate in application scenarios and are more easily accepted by the public because of their constant value. That’s why It can also helps us to make it easier for developers to develop DApps on our public chain. Through the above four points, we are committed to helping developers more easily develop their own DApps on our public chain and more easily achieve commercial value. 3. Consensus Building As for consensus building, we will focus on overseas consensus building, the overall digital currency market in China is getting smaller. Now digital currency opportunities are more from overseas. We already have a certain degree of popularity in China, but overseas market is a new world for us. Our overseas market penetration rate is still very small, which means that the overseas input-output ratio will be much higher. The third reason is that at present, the whole digital currency is still affected by the bear market downturn. Domestic users and foreign users hold entirely different ideas towards market float. Overseas users concerns more about the project progress and technological innovation. It’s more consistent with our overall strategy. How to access: Twitter: https://twitter.com/wayki_chain Telegram: https://t.me/wiccofficial Website: https://www.waykichain.com/ Marketing team: marketing@waykichainhk.com BD team: biz@waykichainhk.com CEO Twitter：@GordonGao11 Contact Email Address pr@waykichainhk.com Supporting Link https://www.waykichain.com 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 PR: WaykiChain CEO Gordon Gao Building a Win-Win Public Blockchain appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On Monday, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) supporters learned that the popular website that focuses on U.S. court documents and the litigation system, Courtlistener.com, is accepting BCH for donations. Courtlistener captures hundreds of thousands of visitors every month by making high quality legal data widely available. Also Read: Crypto Cards in Weekly Video Update From Bitcoin.com An Email Can Go a Long Way On June 17, one of the moderators of the Reddit forum r/btc (Beijing Bitcoins) announced that he’d again convinced a very popular website to accept BCH donations. Last March, the avid BCH supporter persuaded the owner of Chess.com to accept the decentralized currency for subscriptions. This time around, he emailed the popular litigation website Courtlistener.com and convinced them to accept bitcoin cash as well. “I’ve been relying on this site a lot recently to follow developments in the Kleiman v. Wright case and I noticed that their donation page already had BTC as an option, so I decided to shoot them an email,” the r/btc moderator stated. “I notice that your donation page already includes the option to donate with Bitcoin (BTC),” the email to Courtlistener read. “Unfortunately, the fees on BTC are very high rendering it not-very-useful for smaller donations.” The email added: Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a forked version of BTC that increased the network capacity and has perpetually minimal fees (average ~$0.001 per transaction compared to $2.70 per transaction on BTC). Note that these fees are not only the cost the donor has to pay to send you money, but the fee that you will need to pay yourselves whenever you need to move the bitcoins. Bitcoin Cash Added to the Courtlistener Donation Page A few days later, Courtlistener wrote back and said: “Hi, thanks for the suggestion. I went ahead and added Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum to our donate page: https://www.courtlistener.com/donate/ We really appreciate your support.” The BCH community was pleased to hear the news of another well known site accepting bitcoin cash. Launched in 2010, Courtlistener is one of the core subdivisions of the Free Law Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit designed to provide free legal materials and research tools. Free Law Project founders Brian Carver (upper left) and Michael Lissner (lower right). The Free Law Project supports academic research and Courtlistener much like Pacer provides court documents and filings in one repository but for free. The site is popular throughout the U.S. and gets about 700,000 to 1 million views per month according to Alexa rankings. The project was founded by Brian Carver and Michael Lissner in order to increase the public’s access to the law. On the r/btc forum post, the Free Law Project responded to all the BCH supporters celebrating the news. “Thanks for reaching out — We really do like hearing from folks and trying to make people happy,” the organization’s Reddit account replied. “We don’t watch cryptocurrency super closely and were just waiting for the ecosystem to get a little more mature before adding something beyond just regular Bitcoin — Seems like Bitcoin Cash is there.” What do you think about Courtlistener.com accepting BCH donations? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Courtlistener, and Pixabay. 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 Free Law Project’s Courtlistener Repository Now Accepts Bitcoin Cash Donations appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Crypto debit cards supporting bitcoin cash expand their international reach and a platform offers shopping at Walmart using BCH. Watch these and other developments discussed in this week’s video update on Bitcoin.com’s Youtube channel, and get a chance to take part in a futuristic promotion. Also Read: What Makes Slovenia a Cryptocurrency Adoption Leader – Bitcoin.com Mini-Documentary Futuristic Promotion in the Weekly Video Update This week’s show features a number of technological and businesses developments that make bitcoin cash payments more accessible around the world. These include Coinbase expanding its Visa debit card service to six new European markets, allowing its users from these countries to spend BCH from their accounts to pay in millions of locations where Visa is accepted, as well as to make fiat cash withdrawals from ATMs. The show also provides an update on Local.Bitcoin.com, the privacy-focused peer to peer global marketplace for trading bitcoin cash (BCH) which was officially launched on June 4. Over 14,000 people have already signed up to the service and created thousands of active orders. Additional topics cover Coinex exchange listing the SLP token honestcoin (USDH), a stablecoin issued on the Bitcoin Cash network backed 1-to-1 for USD, Cointext integration into Electron Cash allowing users to send BCH to any phone with SMS messaging capabilities, and the Alagoria platform which lets you buy items sold by Home Depot and Walmart using BCH and get a 10% discount. The weekly update also features a promo code to the Blockchain Futurist Conference 2019, taking place August 12-14 in Toronto, Canada. Starting this Monday, you can save 50% off the price of tickets when paying with bitcoin cash and using the code shown in the video. Bitcoin.com will take part in this event as a sponsor, with a special video presentation from Roger Ver. Make sure to subscribe to the Bitcoin.com Youtube channel and leave a comment on the latest video. 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 Crypto Cards Expand and a Futuristic Promotion in the Weekly Update From Bitcoin.com appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Russian regulators have once again moved to expand oversight of the online space in an attempt to ensure compliance with various restrictions Moscow is trying to impose. But as in other cases, their efforts have been met with resistance. Over a dozen VPN platforms, popular among crypto enthusiasts and other privacy-conscious users, have refused to join the state-run system for blocking banned websites. Some of them have already announced they are moving abroad. The game of cat and mouse continues, with Roskomnadzor vowing to block nine of the refusers within a month. Also read: Russian Prosecutors Fail to Block Crypto Website VPN Services Move Out of Country In March this year, the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media, Roskomnadzor, demanded from 10 VPN service providers to connect to the Federal State Information System (FSIS). The register keeps information about websites, the access to which has been restricted after they were blacklisted by Russian authorities. Roskomnadzor wants to confirm the VPN services do not allow their subscribers to access these sites. The telecom watchdog sent out notices to Tor Guard, Vypr VPN, Open VPN, Nord VPN, VPN Unlimited, IP Vanish, Hide My Ass!, Hola VPN, Express VPN, and Kaspersky Secure Connection. Seven companies have refused to collaborate, including four that have moved their servers out of the country, and another two have not responded at all. Six more platforms, which have not been notified by the agency, also indicated they won’t connect to the FSIS. So far, only Kaspersky has agreed to cooperate. Roskomnadzor Alexander Zharov, head of Roskomnadzor, stated last week that nine VPN platforms which have not fulfilled the watchdog’s requirements, may be blocked within a month for not complying with the law that prohibits the provision of services facilitating the bypassing of government restrictions. “It seems Roskomnadzor has recently compiled a second list of VPNs and asked them to filter traffic,” Sarkis Darbinyan, lead legal expert at Roskomsvoboda, a Russian NGO fighting internet censorship, told news.Bitcoin.com. Darbinyan also shared that another provider, Avast Secureline VPN, has just announced it’s withdrawing from the country in connection with Roskomnadzor’s actions. The company believes compliance with such requirements would violate its own principles and the right to freedom of the Internet. And because it won’t be in a position to bring any benefit to its Russian users, Avast informed them they will not be able to renew their subscriptions in the future. The Battle for the Runet A database maintained by Roskomsvoboda contains over 173,000 websites, forums, messengers, news outlets and other online platforms that have been banned at some point. The restrictions have been mandated by various state institutions including several government agencies, ministries and the Prosecutor’s Office. Many of them are still offline but some, like the crypto exchange aggregator Bestchange.ru, have been taken out of the blacklist. Another encouraging example comes from the case with the blocking of a VPN service provider called Hidemy.name. The platform was taken offline by a ruling of a regional court in the Russian Mari El Republic in 2017. The owner of the website sought help from Roskomsvoboda and in May of this year, the organization’s legal team managed to successfully challenge the court’s decision. Sarkis Darbinyan noted that Russian judicial authorities did not dig deep enough into how VPN technologies work and the lawyers were able to identify many procedural violations. This led to the cancellation of the original ruling and the unblocking of Hidemy.name by Roskomnadzor. However, “this battle is not over yet, so we will continue to fight for the rights of Russian users to VPNs and to protect companies that provide such secure and safe services,” Darbinyan commented. Hidemy.name According to amendments made to the Federal Law “On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection” in late 2017, VPN providers and anonymizers are expected to register with Roskomnadzor and connect to the FSIS within 30 working days. One of their key obligations is to limit access to internet resources that are banned in the Russian Federation. The same applies to search engines and the Russian internet companies Yandex, Sputnik, Mail.ru, and Rambler have already complied. Earlier this year, Google was sanctioned for failing to meet this requirement. Roskomnadzor now claims the internet giant has already paid the 500,000 ruble (approximately $8,000) fine imposed by a Russian court and is now filtering searches in accordance with the FSIS rules. Roskomnadzor’s Next Move If Russian regulators find that the law has been breached, they may adopt a decision to restrict access to the VPN providers who have violated its provisions. Roskomnadzor is now expected to take measures aimed at blocking the VPN services which have refused to comply with its requirements as well as those that have not replied to its notices. It remains unclear, however, what the watchdog’s next step will be. Various approaches have been employed in the past regarding other non-compliant companies. For example, it took the watchdog almost a year to act against Telegram, the messenger founded by the Russian-born entrepreneur Pavel Durov, which enjoys great popularity in the crypto community. Other messaging platforms such as Blackberry, Imo and Line were banned much faster. “It does not look like Roskomnadzor and Russian ISPs [Internet service providers] are really technically ready to block VPNs. For sure, they can block websites where users can download apps. That’s the easiest thing to do. But they absolutely cannot make Apple and Google remove a mobile app. Of course, the most difficult thing for them would be to actually block an application and break connectivity with the servers of these operators. And they understand it,” said Darbinyan. The activist added that this will become a huge problem for Russian regulators after the epic failure to block Telegram. Government agencies are now trying to improve their blocking capabilities. “The Main Radio Frequency Center, an entity subordinated to Roskomnadzor, requested in March the development of an automated blocking system. It should be available by December 2019. The system will monitor how search engines, VPN services, proxy servers and anonymizers comply with the requirements of Federal Law № 276-ФЗ [the one that affects VPNs]. Maybe after supplying learning DPI [Deep Packet Inspection] tools to all ISPs to recognize VPN traffic by patterns, they will be more effective,” Roskomsvoboda’s representative pointed out. “It looks like it is going to be a long game of cat and mouse,” Sarkis Darbinyan said and elaborated: Let me remind that most of the VPN services that have received notifications from Roskomnadzor already have a fairly rich experience in working in China and bypassing the Great Firewall. So they can easily adapt to work in Russia in these new circumstances. The implementation of advanced technical means to control the Russian online space is part of package of measures introduced with the new “Digital Economy National Program” legislation, also known as the Runet law. It was adopted in April by the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, and according to its sponsors, its goal is to protect the Russian segment of the Internet from external threats turning it into a “sovereign” space. Critics say it will not only limit internet freedom but also affect negatively many businesses that rely on the World Wide Web, including crypto platforms. As news.Bitcoin.com reported, some of the law’s key provisions include the building of a system that will channel Russian internet traffic through government-controlled routing points as well as granting unlimited powers to Roskomnadzor – the agency will be able to cut off non-complying internet providers at will. It’s been estimated that the system will draw more than 30 billion rubles (almost $500 million) from the state budget, an amount that has raised some eyebrows. But, financial costs and security concerns aside, the question many Russians are asking themselves is if the Runet will after all remain ‘Internet’. Are you using a VPN service? What’s your opinion about Moscow’s requirements toward VPN providers? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Express yourself freely at Bitcoin.com’s user forums. We don’t censor on political grounds. Check forum.Bitcoin.com. The post VPN Providers Defy Order to Connect to Russia’s Internet Censor appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Slovenia has a population of just 2 million but contains more retail locations accepting bitcoin cash payments than the entire United States. What makes this small country such a cryptocurrency adoption leader? Watch the following video to find out. Also Read: How to Exchange Your Amazon Gift Cards for Bitcoin Cash Slovenia: The Crypto Country A short new documentary on Bitcoin.com’s Youtube channel highlights the thriving cryptocurrency ecosystem in Slovenia. The video features some of the places where you can pay with bitcoin cash (BCH), different Slovenian startups developing technologies for the market, as well as Roger Ver going shopping to test out the country’s now famous crypto-friendly locales. One of the major factors in making Slovenia an international cryptocurrency adoption hub is its welcoming regulatory attitude. The documentary shows that not only is the possession of digital assets legal in Slovenia, but capital income from trading cryptocurrency is not subject to income tax for individuals. In addition, the country’s political leadership is open and receptive to innovation, as shown in the video by the former Prime Minister Miro Cerar. All this makes the country particularly attractive to entrepreneurs in the growing digital asset industry. Solving the Enigma According to the documentary, the single biggest reason hundreds of Slovenian retail locations have begun accepting cryptocurrency payments is Eligma. This is the startup that developed Elipay, a transaction processing system that enables in-shop mobile purchases with BCH, BTC, ETH and its own ELI token. The prime example of this comes from a giant shopping center called BTC City, in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, where many of the stores now accept cryptocurrency payments through the Elipay system. It shows that there is a growing trend for actual usage in Slovenia, as the number of Elipay wallet users already exceeds 15,000. The video also mentions that the Elipay system now accepts payments from the Bitcoin.com Wallet app, allowing the owners of the more than 4 million user-generated wallets to make in-store purchases in supporting locations. What do you think about Slovenia being such a cryptocurrency adoption leader? 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 What Makes Slovenia a Cryptocurrency Adoption Leader – Bitcoin.com Mini-Documentary appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

It’s in the best interest of businesses to offer their customers a variety of payment options. Cryptocurrencies can undoubtedly bring more buyers and many merchants have introduced support for digital assets. A platform called Rocketr helps merchants accept payments in crypto, including bitcoin cash. Also read: Piixpay Lets You Pay Bills and Invoices With Cryptocurrency Payment Platform Supports Traditional and Crypto Options Rocketr is a payment gateway that allows merchants to integrate a variety of payment methods including traditional options like credit cards and Paypal, but it has also been supportive of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin cash (BCH). Its services are offered for a relatively low fee of 0.5% on all transactions and there are no other hidden charges for setup or maintenance. The Rocketr Payments platform lets you accept all kinds of payments and invoice clients directly from a single dashboard. Its API provides you with the opportunity to customize checkouts and it allows for webhooks and instant payment notification. These features notify your Rocketr application when an order is completed. Companies can also use a product called Storefront which is a complete e-commerce platform. It is designed to satisfy the needs of online businesses specializing in sales and delivery of products and services in the digital space. Many of its integrated features, such as the built-in messaging system and livechat support, are offered free of charge. Rocketr has also developed a POS application that supports multiple cryptocurrencies including BCH. It lets you accept direct payments in several other major digital coins like BTC, ETH and LTC as well as fiat currencies such as USD, EUR and GBP. The software, which is available in Apple’s App Store, comes with many useful features, one of which lets customers add a tip to their bills. If you want to process BCH payments you can also check out the Bitcoin Cash Register app for both iOS and Android devices. The simple Point of Sale software developed by Bitcoin.com allows merchants to accept electronic cash at any retail location. Payments are easy, safe and no account or registration is needed to install and use it. What other applications for direct crypto payments would you recommend? Let us know in the comments section below. Disclaimer: Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to third party companies or any of their 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 third party content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Do you need a reliable Bitcoin mobile wallet to send, receive, and store your coins? Download one for free from us and then head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can quickly buy BCH and BTC with a credit card. The post Accept Direct Crypto Payments Using the Rocketr Gateway appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Following widespread reports of the upcoming Indian cryptocurrency bill, the crypto community has started a petition for the government to quickly implement a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. In addition, a television network operated by the Upper House of the Indian Parliament has aired a program discussing the bill, and three Right to Information requests have been filed seeking answers about the bill. Also read: Indian Cryptocurrency Regulation Is Ready, Official Confirms Petition to Accelerate Crypto Regulation Since details of India’s “Banning of Cryptocurrency & Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2019” have emerged, there have been constant discussions about this bill, what it entails, and whether it is the bill that will be submitted to the finance minister. While two prominent local publications have claimed to possess information about the bill, many unanswered questions remain. In an effort to stop speculation and FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt), Blockchain Lawyer founder Varun Sethi started a petition on Change.org on June 15 to the Department of Economic Affairs and the country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Anyone can sign the petition entitled “Implementing Regulatory Framework for Cryptoassets in India” and possibly help shape the crypto regulation in the country. At press time, 1,437 have signed the petition. “This petition is neither sponsored by any specific blockchain or cryptoasset company / exchange / group in any manner whatsoever nor has any compensation being received from anyone to initiate such petition,” the petition reads: The purpose of this petition is to engage the blockchain community and the government in a more democratic and engaging environment to accelerate the implementation of regulatory framework regarding blockchain and cryptoassets in India and relinquish the ambiguity which has developed around it. “India is home to 2.7 million tech developers which is expected to grow to 5.2 million in [the] next 48 months,” Sethi began. He referenced the banking restriction imposed by the central bank in April last year as well as the Right to Information (RTI) request he filed, which revealed that the RBI did not do any research before implementing the banking ban on crypto businesses. Sethi also outlined other countries’ crypto regulatory efforts such as Japan, Malta, Canada, Estonia, Germany, and Norway, “to better regulate and tap the potential of this technology.” The lawyer proceeded to make some suggestions for India such as officially defining terms like blockchain and crypto assets, providing a regulatory sandbox for new crypto assets to be tested in, registering initial coin offerings, defining KYC/AML guidelines, and updating the Foreign Exchange Management Act and the Income Tax Act to report crypto income. He concluded: The success of the petition shall be when the government issues guidelines for a democratic regulatory framework for blockchain and cryptoassets entities in India, perhaps on the suggestions stated above. India’s cryptocurrency bill was drafted by an interministerial committee headed by Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, former Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs. The committee was tasked with studying all aspects of cryptocurrency and making recommendations for its legal framework. Garg recently said that the report containing the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency was ready to be submitted to the finance minister. Parliament TV Discusses the Ban Proposal As speculation rises about what India’s cryptocurrency bill contains, Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV), a television network channel owned and operated by Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Parliament of India, aired its latest episode of Policy Watch Friday on the government’s decision to propose a ban on cryptocurrency. Policy Watch is a weekly show featuring discussions of national economic policies. Guests on the Friday episode included Mohd. Haleem Khan, a former secretary, Ministry of Finance. In the show, Khan explained to anchor Kriti Mishra: The issuance of currencies is a sovereign act … any currencies issued by anybody else comes to that level of counterfeit currency. Mishra asked Khan about the 10-year jail sentence for “Whoever directly or indirectly mines, generates, holds, sells, deals in, transfers, disposes of or issues cryptocurrency or any combination thereof,” which according to Bloombergquint, “shall be punishable with fine as may be prescribed by the central government in the first schedule or with imprisonment which shall not be less than one year but which may extend up to ten years, or both.” Khan described that there is a provision even today for a 10-year prison sentence for counterfeiting currencies. He further explained that another law that comes into play is the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) before concluding: “I don’t find anything wrong with this approach.” Nischal Shetty, CEO of local crypto exchange Wazirx, commented on the Policy Watch episode: If you hear the anchor, she’s reading out exact word to word from Bloomberg article … So let’s not assume this is confirmation. India’s cryptocurrency bill will first need to be submitted to the finance minister for approval and introduced in Lok Sabha, the Lower House of Parliament. If approved, the bill will move to the Upper House of Parliament. Even if it’s signed into law, anyone can still go to court and challenge the constitutional validity of the law. 3 Confusing RTI Replies At least three recent RTI requests have been filed regarding the bill to ban cryptocurrency: one with the Department of Economic Affairs, one with the central bank, and one with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). The first of the three was filed by the founder of local news outlet Coin Crunch India on April 26, one day after the Economic Times published its article on the bill. “On May 20, 2019, DEA rejected the RTI application citing ‘Section 8(1)(i)’ as the reason for rejection,” the publication shared, adding that “This could mean that DEA simply rejected it because eventually the information has to be made public.” The second RTI, filed by Sethi, reveals some interesting facts such as how the central bank did not have any knowledge of this bill and did not propose a ban on cryptocurrency. “RBI has actually stated that they have not received any communication from any department and they have also not given any communication to any government department pertaining to [the] drafting of this bill and this is very surprising,” Sethi explained. The third RTI was filed by a journalist at Crypto News India. The IRDA’s reply was short and swift; it says no information was available on the matter. With so much speculation and misinformation floating around the cryptosphere, the crypto community is awaiting the government to make an official announcement regarding the bill. Further, the supreme court is expected to address India’s regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and the banking restriction on July 23. What do you think of this petition? Will you sign it? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, RSTV, Change.org, and Varun Sethi. Are you feeling lucky? Visit our official Bitcoin casino where you can play BCH slots, BCH poker, and many more BCH games. Every game has a progressive Bitcoin Cash jackpot to be won! The post Indian Crypto Community Petitions Government for Regulation appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Craig Wright, the notorious Satoshi Nakamoto claimant, must appear in court on Monday or be held in contempt. The Florida court granted a motion to compel on June 14, mandating Wright to provide a list of all the bitcoin addresses he’s owned prior to December 2013. Also Read: The Blind Trust Described in the Kleiman vs. Wright Lawsuit Is a Real Head-Scratcher Craig Wright Must Appear in Florida Court on Monday A Southern District Court of Florida judge has ordered Craig Wright to appear in Florida on Monday, June 17 or be held in contempt of court. Three days ago, news.Bitcoin.com reported on the barrage of developments in the Kleiman vs. Wright lawsuit. Wright had described a very complex method of splitting keys using a form of Shamir’s Secret Sharing (SSS) algorithm into a blind trust. Craig Wright, the man who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, must appear in court on Monday in Florida. The lawsuit started last year in February as the representatives of the now deceased Dave Kleiman believe his inheritance was misappropriated by Wright. Last month Wright was ordered to produce a list of all the bitcoin addresses he owned as of December 2013. However, Wright hasn’t been so forthright with providing these addresses and has explained to the court that methods used in the so-called blind trust make it complicated for him to obtain. “Dr. Wright does not know the public addresses of the bitcoin held by the trusts (i.e., the bitcoin mined by Dr. Wright in 2009 after block 70, through 2010),” Wright’s attorneys detailed last week. Then on June 14, the court handed down a motion to compel, which means the plaintiffs found Wright’s prior discovery responses insufficient. The motion to compel tries to force him to answer by using the court as leverage so he will produce his bitcoin address documentation. Stephen Palley, a lawyer who comments frequently on cryptocurrency cases, explained on Twitter that he believes sanctions are coming if Wright doesn’t comply. “Listen, I have no idea who Satoshi is — I can tell you that the court isn’t buying what this guy is selling though and is creating a strong incentive to settle,” Palley added. Deciding Whether Sanctions Are Warranted The latest motion gives Wright much less wiggle room as far as being non-compliant is concerned. Being held in contempt could be a punishable offense or make matters worse for his defense. Furthermore, Wright has also been ordered for both a show and cause hearing and a second deposition on June 28. The order on the plaintiff’s motion to compel uses some strong arguments against Wright’s recent blind trust description involving complex encryption and the SSS algorithm. For instance, the order opens with an in-depth description of encryption and notes that the technique has been used since the time of Julius Caesar. Moreover, it highlights that Wright swore that the encrypted file that contains the public addresses and private keys to the bitcoin he mined requires a combination of himself and the blind agreement’s trustees in order to open the SSS algorithm. The Kleiman estate wants to compel Wright to comply or they will “seek sanctions for his failure to do so.” The plaintiffs then describe how the SSS algorithm works and how Wright conceded to participate voluntarily in this system, which means he should have some basic understanding of the keys he possesses and the members of the blind trust in order to obtain the funds. The motion to compel order states: [Wright] has not explained why he cannot obtain and has not obtained, the necessary keys from these third parties. At this point, the record before the Court fails to demonstrate that Dr. Wright cannot through reasonable diligence comply with the Court’s March 14th Order. The Court will allow the parties to develop a full evidentiary record before it decides whether sanctions are warranted. Some people believe the Kleiman vs. Wright case will produce answers to whether Wright is who he claims to be. The discussion about Wright’s case has been making the rounds on crypto Twitter and many are curious to see if the case will open up more of this mysterious story. A few digital currency enthusiasts think, however, that Wright’s disciples will believe he is Satoshi no matter how the case turns out. BSV Cult: "If Craig wins the Kleiman case, that proves he is Satoshi!" "If Craig loses the Kleiman case, that proves he is Satoshi!" If Craig settles the Kleiman case, that proves he is Satoshi!" Cult confirmation bias in its fullest form. — Ⓥin Ⓐrmani (@vinarmani) June 14, 2019 Those who don’t trust Wright’s story and think he’s a charlatan are inclined to presume the case may expose him. According to the latest motion to compel, Wright must be physically present in Florida by Monday and explain why he cannot provide a list of addresses. Failure to comply with any of the aforementioned court requests will have consequences either way. What do you think about the recent developments in the Kleiman vs. Wright lawsuit? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Court Listener, Pacer, Twitter, 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 Judge Orders Craig Wright to Physically Appear in Florida Lawsuit appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Digital currency markets have regained some of the losses they endured last week, with the entire cryptoconomy now valued at $275 billion this Saturday. Most cryptocurrencies are up in value between 2-8% today but global trade volumes have tapered off with only $63 billion swapped in the last 24 hours. Also read: Bitcoin.com’s Local Bitcoin Cash Marketplace Is Now Open for Trading Digital Asset Markets See Fresh Gains Cryptocurrency markets have been all over the place lately, giving enthusiasts and traders constant surprises. Most markets have seen decent gains after last week’s slump brought most coins down to foundational support. This Saturday, June 15, bitcoin core (BTC) is trading for $8,791 per coin and has a market valuation of around $156 billion. BTC markets are up today around 4.4% and up over 10% for the last seven days. Top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap on Saturday, June 15, 2019. The second largest market cap belongs to ethereum (ETH) which is priced at $265 per unit. ETH has gained 3.3% this Saturday and roughly 7.6% for the week. Ripple (XRP) is trading for $0.40 per coin and has a market cap of about $17 billion. Lastly, litecoin (LTC) is up 5.2% today and trading for $135 per LTC. Additionally, the market price of LTC has gained 17.4% over the last seven days. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Market Action Bitcoin cash (BCH) is up today around 2.4% and 6.4% for the entire week. One BCH is swapping for an average of $419 at the time of writing and the market capitalization is worth $7.49 billion. The top exchanges today swapping the most BCH include Huobi Korea, Coinbene, P2pb2b, Hitbtc, and Digifinex. The top trading pair with BCH today is tether (USDT), capturing 46.6% of all trades. This is followed by BTC (32.5%), USD (10.2%), KRW (5.1%), and JPY (1.57%). Both the EUR and ETH pairs have increased but the Korean won (KRW) paired against BCH has grown significantly this week. Right now BCH is the sixth most traded coin as far as global volume is concerned. Bitcoin cash has about $1.66 billion in global trade volume in the last 24 hours. BCH on Saturday, June 15, 2019. BCH/USD Technical Indicators Today the 4-hour BCH/USD chart on Kraken indicates that BCH bulls have managed to surpass resistance at the $400 mark. Currently, most oscillators are showing neutral signs at the moment as the Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovers around ~62.42, which is closer to overbought conditions. The two Simple Moving Averages (SMA), both long term (200 SMA) and the short term (100 SMA) trendlines, have crossed paths once again with the 100 SMA above the long term trendline. BCH/USD on Kraken – Saturday, June 15, 2019. This would indicate that the path toward the least resistance, for the moment, is in the bulls’ favor and most moving average indicators show buy signals. The Ichimoku Cloud (9, 26, 52, 26) baseline is currently impartial, while the MACd ~6.65 shows there’s room for more price improvements. Looking at order books shows some strong resistance above the $440 zone and BCH bulls will need to surpass this region. On the backside, order books give a good visualization of some solid foundational support between the $390 price range and the $365 area. 24-hour money flows into crypto – Saturday, June 15, 2019. The Verdict: Newfound Crypto Market Optimism The last 48 hours of increased prices have injected some positivity into the community and many wonder if things will remain bullish. Litecoin has done well over the last few weeks and traders believe the recent push is due to the supply cut taking place in August. Moreover, BCH has seen incredible amounts of development over the last few months and programmers have shown off lots of innovative concepts like Cashshuffle, SLP tokens, and Shnorr signed transactions. The price of bitcoin cash and its incredible gains this year have likely been a reflection of ongoing development improvements. Crypto prices this month, in general, are doing a whole lot better than the market performances back in December 2018. This has given people newfound optimism and a sense of relief after the long crypto winter. Where do you see the price of bitcoin cash and the rest of the crypto markets heading from here? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Disclaimer: Price articles and markets updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not to be considered as trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the “money.” Images via Shutterstock, Trading View, Bitcoin.com Markets, and Coinlib.io. 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 Markets Update: Crypto Prices Surge After Last Week’s Pullback appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

If you need to regularly cover fiat payments but prefer to use your digital assets, a platform like Piixpay can be very helpful. The payment provider allows you to use cryptocurrencies to pay invoices, bills and make other recurring payments to recipients that still accept only traditional money. Also read: Bounty.Cash Pairs Projects With Developers Finding Solutions for BCH Spend Bitcoin Cash, Make Fiat Payments To initiate a new payment with Piixpay you have to provide the beneficiary’s name and Iban number. You are required to enter the exact amount in euros, as the platform processes bank transfers in Europe’s single currency. You also need to add a short description of the transaction and an optional reference number. Then you have to choose the crypto you are going to spend. Piixpay currently supports four major digital coins – bitcoin cash (BCH), bitcoin core (BTC), litecoin (LTC), and dash (DASH) – as well as a stablecoin backed by euros. Est-coins (ESCT) are issued by Piixpay’s operator, Ungaro LLC, and have a redemption value of €1 per coin. Piixpay has another useful feature called Instafill. It lets you link a crypto wallet address to a bank account. Each time coins are sent to that dedicated address, the payment processor will exchange the cryptocurrency and send the fiat to your bank account. You can also check the status of any payment at all times. To use the services of the crypto payment platform you have to create an account. You can sign up with a valid email address or use your Facebook, Google, Linkedin, Windows or Yahoo account. Piixpay is registered and licensed in Estonia but it operates in over 100 countries around the world. There’s a service fee of €1 + 1.75% of the amount for transactions funded with cryptocurrencies. Bank transfers cost €1 for transactions within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and €40 for outside the zone. The smallest amount you can transfer is 1 euro and each transaction is limited to a maximum of €20,000. You can find more information about all applicable fees on Piixpay’s website. Do you know other payment platforms similar to Piixpay? Tell us about them in the comments section below. Disclaimer: Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to third party companies or any of their 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 third party content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Do you need a reliable Bitcoin mobile wallet to send, receive, and store your coins? Download one for free from us and then head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can quickly buy Bitcoin with a credit card. The post Piixpay Lets You Pay Bills and Invoices With Cryptocurrency appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

If you’re planning to visit a darknet market, you’re either keen to window shop or keen to sample the wares. Whatever your reasons for stopping by, that’s your business and no one else’s. Unfortunately, not everyone shares those civilized ideals. To keep those spoilsports at bay, here’s how to browse darknet markets (DNMs) without leaving a trace. Also read: New SLP Token Allows You to Transact in BTC But With BCH Fees Step 1: Don’t Sweat It If your interest in darknet market extends to becoming a vendor, this guide isn’t for you. For one thing, you should already know this stuff, and for another, you should be following more rigorous opsec. If you’re a casual DNM shopper, however, and aren’t ordering your goods by the pound or kilo, don’t sweat it. The powers that be don’t have the time or resources to pester every single DNM customer. Even when entire marketplaces get compromised, exposing the details of thousands of users who were too lazy to encrypt their comms, it’s rare that anything comes of it. If you’re a persistent DNM shopper and the postal service takes note of fragrant packages winging their way to your door, you might receive a ‘love letter’ from the police warning you to cease your activities, or even a knock at the door. Should that occur, don’t be cowed as the feds are unlikely to press charges. Even LE seem to begrudgingly concede that prosecuting victimless misdemeanors is a pointless exercise. Remember, most of this stuff will be made legal within our lifetime. It’s only a crime for a limited time. Step 2: Configure Tor Correctly To access the darknet, you’ll need the Tor web browser. It can be downloaded for desktop or for Android. Alternatively, use the Brave or Dissenter browsers, which give the ability to open a Tor window, directly connecting you to the onion router where the world’s finest darknet markets are awaiting your perusal. The Tor Project website contains guides on protecting your privacy when using the darknet. Tor browser will automatically block plugins such as Flash, Realplayer, and Quicktime, which can be manipulated into revealing your IP address, and comes with pro-privacy plugins HTTPS Everywhere and No Script. When configured correctly, Tor will mask your IP address, but it remains your responsibility not to dox yourself by doing dumb stuff on the darknet. Tor’s an internet relay – not a cloak of anonymity and immunity. Step 3: Double Check Your Onion Domains Given that the average onion domain reads something like “7aj5bhidezdbb4ov” (that’s Empire market at the time of publication), it’s easy for a fat finger or phishing link to send you one character astray to a lookalike site that will keep your crypto and despatch the square root of zero to your door. Due to the takedown of darknet news site Deepdotweb earlier this year, there aren’t many reliable clearnet DNM guides left. Dark.fail has done an admirable job lately, but reliance on a single point of failure is risky. Double check all links with those shared by DNM admins on onion forum Dread. Step 4: Keep It Fresh Cryptocurrency wallet addresses are like nicknames: they don’t cost a penny and you’re free to use as many as you like. As such, there’s no excuse for recycling handles. Use a unique username and password for every DNM you join – that means a nickname you haven’t previously used anywhere else for anything. The annals of darknet criminology are filled with preventable tales of nickname reuse. Just ask Ross “Frosty” Ulbricht. Similarly, when you’re sending funds to or from a DNM, create a new wallet address each time. If your crypto wallet app doesn’t let you create a new address, delete it and install one that does. For more tips on how to stay safe on the darknet, check out this week’s Humans of Bitcoin podcast, around the 15-minute mark, in which I discuss the perils of address and nickname reuse with host Matt Aaron. Step 5: Know Your Vendor When you log in to a darknet market for the first time, you’re greeted by a cornucopia of beguiling wares begging for your bitcoin. It’s like a magical Willie Wonka tuckshop for grownups. Before you start popping pills into your shopping cart, however, take a close look at the vendor you’re buying from. You wouldn’t make a $300 purchase from an Ebay vendor with zero feedback. It’s the same on the darknet. Most vendors are legit, and have no intention of scamming their customers, but don’t trust – verify by checking their feedback. Bear in mind that a vendor with 100 four-star ratings is significantly more trustworthy than a vendor with five stars and three sales. Step 6: Always Encrypt The first time you try to use PGP (also known as GPG), it’ll take you 15 minutes to install and successfully encrypt your first message to your darknet vendor. The second time will take you five minutes, the third time 60 seconds, and the fourth time you’ll be embarrassed at the thought of having ever communicated bareback on the darknet without PGP. News.Bitcoin.com plans to publish a comprehensive guide to PGP in the near future, but till then, your search engine is your friend. Don’t rely on darknet markets to encrypt on your behalf by ticking the request box upon submitting your order. If the site’s servers get infiltrated by law enforcement, your conversations will be exposed. There’s another benefit to being au fait with PGP, incidentally: when a vendor begins selling on a new marketplace, as commonly happens, given the short lifespan of DNMs, sharing their public key shows that they are the same entity, and effectively allows them to import the goodwill they’ve accrued elsewhere. Freedom Thrives on the Darknet Browsing the darknet is one of the most pleasurable things you can do on the web. It’s an internet free of popups, autoplay ads, cookies opt-ins, trigger warnings, snowflakes, thought police and killjoys. It’s everything the clearnet used to be, with the added bonus that you can buy just about anything with cryptocurrencies such as BTC, BCH, LTC, and XMR. You don’t have to nurse a penchant for the sort of goods the darknet is synonymous with to fire up your Tor browser – you simply need to appreciate the sense of freedom that comes from browsing the web unencumbered. Darknet is love. Darknet is life. What’s your favorite darknet market? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, and Pixabay. Disclaimer: Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to third-party companies, darknet markets, or any of their 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 third party content, goods or services mentioned in this article. The post How to Stay Safe When Using Darknet Markets appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

There’s a new Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) based token called BTC2 that’s backed 1:1 with BTC. People can obtain the BTC2 token using cryptocurrency swapping application Sideshift.ai. With BTC2, you can essentially transact with BTC, but utilize the same network fee (less than a penny) as bitcoin cash transactions. Also read: Meet the Developer Who Added Schnorr Signatures to Bcash Introducing BTC2: Where Store of Value meets Medium of Exchange In January, news.Bitcoin.com reported on the launch of Sideshift.ai, an application that allows users to swap cryptocurrencies between chains. Sideshift AI was created by Andreas Brekken, the CEO of review site Shitcoin.com, and the notorious individual who once held $220,000 worth of BTC on the Lightning Network. Since then, Sideshift AI has improved a great deal and features a wide variety of crypto assets to trade. One asset recently introduced is an SLP-based token called BTC2. The BTC2 token (not to be confused with the BTC fork of the same name) is basically an SLP token built on Bitcoin Cash that’s backed 1:1 with BTC. Sideshift AI is the custodian of the collateralized BTC and Brekken told news.Bitcoin.com that Sideshift.ai is to BTC2 what the firm Tether is to USDT. If someone wants to purchase BTC2 they need to use Sideshift AI and exchange their BTC for the token. The price of BTC2, of course, fluctuates with the price of BTC and Sideshift AI will redeem BTC2 for BTC at any time. The new token also has a website called Corecash.org which has a slogan that says “Core Cash: Where Store-of-Value meets Medium-of-Exchange.” Core Cash (BTC2) lets you store and transact BTC on the Bitcoin Cash network, the website explains. This proposition gives BTC2 some value as it provides individuals with the means to transact with BTC for less than a penny per transaction. Sideshift AI Is to BTC2 What Tether Is to USDT Sideshift AI has released a document that describes how BTC2 shares similarities with USDT. The Omni Layer-issued token USDT is an IOU for USD where Tether holds the actual USD in their bank. “Sideshift AI is the custodian of the on-chain BTC and issues the BTC2 token in return,” the documentation notes. Speaking with news.Bitcoin.com, Brekken said he was excited to launch the core cash token. “The overwhelming interest in USDT showed us that users would like to use cryptocurrency without being subject to its volatility,” Brekken remarked. “With BTC2, anyone with a Bitcoin Cash SLP wallet can have the security of the most heavily mined blockchain, Bitcoin (BTC), while still being able to transact cheaply with the low fees of the Bitcoin Cash blockchain.” The Sideshift developer added: While having Sideshift AI as the custodian of one’s BTC adds a counterparty, BTC2 can also open new doors such as earning interest on BTC2. Once Cashshuffle supports SLP tokens, BTC2 holders will be able to store and transact BTC2 with greater privacy than what on-chain BTC offers today. The release of BTC2 follows the first USD stablecoin issued on the BCH chain called honestcoin (USDH). The new USDH coin was listed on the cryptocurrency exchange Coinex and is backed by USD on a 1:1 ratio. With BTC2, users will get the same effect but with bitcoin core in a similar fashion to the ERC20 token called wrapped bitcoin (WBTC). But being an SLP token, users can store BTC2 on SLP compatible wallets like Crescent Cash, Badger Wallet, Ifwallet, and Electron Cash. The BTC2 token can also be viewed on the Simpleledger.info transaction explorer. At the time of publication, there are 100 BTC2 tokens in circulation and Brekken has told us that minting will take place when more liquidity is needed. “Sideshift AI is excited to see Coinex launch its USDH token on Bitcoin Cash and is rushing to list USDH,” Brekken added. What do you think about the BTC2 token built on top of the Bitcoin Cash network using SLP? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Jamie Redman, Twitter, Sideshift AI, Andreas Brekken, and Simpleledger.info. Are you a developer looking to build on Bitcoin Cash? Head over to our Bitcoin Developer page where you can get Bitcoin Cash developer guides and start using the Bitbox, SLP, and Badger Wallet SDKs. The post New SLP Token Allows You to Transact in BTC But With BCH Fees appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article