roadrunner

Cryptocurrency markets have been looking more optimistic but many digital assets are still struggling to surpass upper resistance in order to move forward. On Friday, March 8, trade volumes have increased, showing a quick spurt of renewed energy but market indicators suggest there a few more hurdles ahead. Also read: An In-Depth Look at Ethereum’s Maker and Dai Stablecoin Top Cryptocurrencies Wrestle With Sell Walls Crypto markets are showing some rigor during this morning’s trading sessions, leading up to the weekend, with many short-term outlooks still bullish. Overall trade volume for the crypto economy has increased today, spiking to $31.1 billion at the start of the day. At the time of publication, all 2,000+ digital assets have a market valuation of around $132.7 billion. Bitcoin core (BTC) markets show prices are hovering around $3,928 and a market capitalization of around $69 billion. BTC is up 1.4% for the week and up about 0.39% over the last 24 hours. The second highest market cap still belongs to ethereum (ETH) where each coin is swapping for $137. Top 10 cryptocurrencies on March 8, 2019. Prices are down over the last 24 hours around 0.63% but ETH is up 0.07% over the last seven days. Ripple (XRP) markets are down 1.15% for the day and 2.55% for the week as each XRP is trading for $0.31 per coin. Litecoin (LTC) is still the week’s top contender as markets are still up over 18% for the week and 0.13% today. Each LTC is trading for $56 per coin and the market cap is roughly $3.4 billion, allowing LTC to command the fourth largest market cap. Lastly, eos (EOS) is up about 4.7% over the last seven days but today the currency is down 1%. At the moment, each EOS is trading for $3.76 per coin. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Market Action Bitcoin cash (BCH) prices are hovering around $130 today and buyers are still struggling to break upper resistance above the $145 zone. Currently, BCH markets are down 1.5% over the last 24 hours and 2.2% for the week. BCH commands the sixth largest market cap with an overall valuation of about $2.3 billion this Friday. The top five BCH exchanges today swapping the most volume are Lbank, Bitmart, Binance, Hitbtc, and Upbit. BCH/USD 7-day. March 8, 2019. The trading platform Lbank is capturing the lion’s share of BCH trades with 33% today. ETH is still the dominant BCH pair on March 8 with 36.7% of all trades. This is followed by USDT (31.4%), BTC (24%), KRW (3.21%) and USD (2.98%). Overall, the South Korean won has seen a decent spike in BCH trade volume this week. Bitcoin cash has the eighth highest trade volume today just below neo and above zcash with $298.51 million traded in the last 24 hours. BCH/USD Technical Indicators Looking at the short term four-hour chart on Bitstamp and Kraken shows BCH bulls are trying relentlessly to wrestle past resistance but so far they’ve been unsuccessful. Still, the BCH short-term outlook remains bullish and a few indicators confirm some more attempts from persistent buyers on the way. Currently, the two Simple Moving Averages have a nice wide gap with the 100 SMA well above the long-term 200 SMA trendline. This gives traders a positive outlook as the path toward the least resistance is still the upside. BCH/USD 4-hour. March 8, 2019. However, the four-hour Relative Strength Index (RSI -44.3) is meandering in the middle indicating uncertainty among traders. During the middle of last week, the moving average convergence divergence (MACd) indicated that a reversal was in the cards and the signal still stands. Looking at the order books show deep resistance up until the $145-155 range and from there BCH bulls could do well up until the $175 range before the next pitstop. We can see on the back side that if bears grabbed the reins they will be stopped at the current vantage point up until $110 per coin and will meet bigger buy walls again. BCH/USD 1-day. March 8, 2019. The Verdict: Optimism in the Midst of Negative Outlooks Most traders are optimistic things will head northbound for a short period of time but some believe the market will drop again after reaching a certain point. Perennial perma-bear Dr. Doom (Nouriel Roubini) explained in a recent interview with the CFA Institute that BTC will continue to plunge in value and claimed that crypto supporters are fanatical. “I met some of these individuals, and I must say I’ve never seen in my life people who on one side are so arrogant in their views, who are total zealots and fanatics about this new asset class,” Roubini stated. Despite some of the bullish indicators, market analyst Jani Ziedins told Marketwatch this week that if BTC continues to struggle below the $4K range, the case for a bull run may evaporate. “Bitcoin continues to hover underneath $4k resistance,” Ziedins wrote. “It wasn’t all that long ago we were talking about $9k support, then $8k and $7k. $6k and $5k followed not long after. Now $4k turned from a floor into a ceiling.” Ziedins added: Adoption of cryptocurrency for handling financial transactions is slowing, not accelerating, which puts a devastating dent in the bull case. If BTC turns out to be nothing more than a fad, then the $4k price tag is still incredibly expensive and there is still lots of room to fall. Still, despite a few negative outlooks, cryptocurrency fans continue to believe another bull run is on the horizon. Just recently, Sharepost published a survey which indicated consumers and investors remain bullish on the future of cryptos. Where do you see the price of BCH, BTC, and other coins heading from here? Let us know in the comments 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, Bitstamp, Coinlib.io, and Satoshi Pulse. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post Markets Update: Cryptocurrencies Struggle to Surpass Upper Resistance appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A consortium of blockchain companies including Bittrex International, Brave, Cred, and Bitgo is launching a new stablecoin. Universal Protocol Alliance’s Universal Dollar (UPUSD) is a dollar-pegged token whose holders will earn interest, just like a regular savings account. The consortium has announced ambitious plans to launch UPUSD in Africa and Latin America first, to attract “the next 100 million users into cryptocurrency.” Also read: Turkish Real Estate Agency Sells 9 Houses for BTC Crypto Assets That Pay Interest Are So Hot Right Now Competition for the USD ticker is fierce these days. In addition to TUSD, GUSD, and USDC, the stablecoin economy now has UPUSD. Universal Protocol’s stab at a stablecoin, developed with the backing of Bittrex International, Uphold, Brave, Cred, Blockchain at Berkeley, Bitgo, and Certik, is an ERC20 token that will allow its holders to earn interest for staking. In that respect, there are clear parallels to be made with Blockfi’s crypto interest account, which launched this week promising BTC and ETH holders 6 percent per year. Dan Schatt, president of Cred, told news.Bitcoin.com that UPUSD will pay quarterly interest as high as 10 percent annually. What distinguishes the Universal Dollar from the competition is the target market it’s designed for. Countries crippled by weakened national currency, such as Venezuela and Zimbabwe, will purportedly be among the first beneficiaries of UPUSD. The Universal Dollar stablecoin promises a “competitive annual rate of return” and it is anticipated that uptake will be particularly strong in countries with high inflation or limited access to traditional banking. Dan Schatt explained: Today, Uphold and Cred service hundreds of thousands of users in developing and high-inflation countries. Many Venezuelans use Cred’s service, looking for the same returns and stability as the rest of the world. The difference is they are in a country with a 10 million percent inflation rate. A Passive Income for Token-Holders The UP platform will enable users to lend their USD-pegged assets and earn interest via Uphold’s Cred Earn application. UPUSD will also be rolled out in developed countries, where it will permit users to store their digital assets on a 1:1 basis at FDIC-insured banks. The token will launch on March 8 on Uphold, whose UP platform has been praised by UPUSD backer Brendan Eich, co-founder of Brave, for its “usability and familiarity.” The platform incorporates a number of features designed to enhance its user-friendliness, particularly to non-technical users who may be new to cryptocurrencies. This includes key recovery, using a 2-of-3 private key-sharing system that will enable the wallet owner and one of their approved third parties to restore a lost wallet. Users can also delegate control over their assets to a third party such as a centralized exchange for temporary trading, before taking back custody of the funds and restoring them to their personal wallet. The development of UPUSD is the latest example of crypto assets taking on the form and features of the legacy financial system that they were originally designed to leave behind. What are your thoughts on interest-paying cryptocurrency accounts? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Universal Protocol Alliance Launches Interest-Paying Stablecoin UPUSD appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In Friday’s roundup of news from across the cryptosphere, we look at the rise of U.S. presidential candidate Andrew Yang and his acceptance of cryptocurrency donations. We also detail a new partnership between Kleros and Ethfinex that will see the Ethereum-based exchange utilize crowdsourced jurors to govern token listings. Finally, we round up news from hardware wallet manufacturers Ledger and Trezor. Also read: Former Bitmain Employees May Find Refuge in a Spinoff Startup Called Matrix Andrew Yang Embraces the Crypto Crowd Andrew Yang’s campaign to become U.S. president in 2020 is gaining traction. In recent weeks, the Democratic candidate has garnered attention from mainstream media as well as on internet message boards whose anonymous posters still credit themselves with “memeing” Trump into power. The tech-savvy Yang, who advocates a $1,000 per month universal income, has been talking crypto for years. He first tweeted about Bitcoin in 2013 and then in 2018 began accepting campaign donations in cryptocurrency, which he described as “huge news.” Supporters can pledge up to $2,500 in crypto, with BTC, ETH, and ERC20 tokens all accepted. Last year, Yang also opined that crypto and blockchain technology have “massive potential to create a more transparent society. A smart government would embrace this and work with it. I would do that.” As Yang’s campaign has gained momentum in recent weeks, a number of well-known cryptocurrency supporters have pledged their support for the 44-year-old whose business venture background make him likely to smile kindly upon digital assets should he take office. Andrew Yang Ethfinex to Utilize Kleros’ Token Curated Registry ERC20 token platform Ethfinex has joined forces with blockchain dispute resolution service Kleros to “decentralize” exchange listings. In a blog post on March 7, Kleros explained: “Until now, the Ethfinex listing process consisted of Ethfinex picking the best projects to put forward to a public vote, which was then carried out by users of the Ethfinex exchange.” Under the new system, “the community is now solely responsible for the curation of the tokens put forward to vote” using Kleros’ dispute resolution service, Token listings on major exchanges are sometimes contentious, with allegations of vote-rigging and other underhand tactics by project teams and supporters eager to see their altcoin make the cut. Kleros and Ethfinex are optimistic that the solution they’ve pioneered will be more transparent and community-focused. The announcement finished: “We’re excited to see how this goes and hope this is the first of many exchanges taking the leap into true decentralization of token listings.” Trezor and Ledger Share Major Security Announcements This week, the industry’s two leading hardware wallet (HW) manufacturers have had important updates to share. On March 4, Ledger warned its customers not to use its Monero app with the latest Monero client due to a major security issue that the French firm is investigating. Trezor, meanwhile, has announced firmware updates for its Trezor One and Model T devices. While the vulnerabilities patched by the latest software were serious, Trezor stressed that “there is no evidence that any of these vulnerabilities have ever been exploited outside of the lab to extract any data.” What are your thoughts on the stories in today’s news roundup? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post In the Daily: Pro-Crypto Presidential Candidate, Kleros and Ethfinex Partner, Hardware Wallet Updates appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

According to regional reports, members of Bitmain Technologies and other connected subsidiaries like Copernicus are starting an offshoot company called Matrix. It is not officially known yet just what Matrix will do but some sources allege that the new spinoff will offer cryptocurrency lending services, an over-the-counter (OTC) desk, and custody solutions. Also read: Survey Shows Consumers and Investors Remain Bullish on the Future of Cryptos Former Bitmain Employees and Copernicus Members Possibly Forming a Startup Called Matrix There’s been a lot of changes within the cryptocurrency industry and one of the world’s largest mining manufacturers, Bitmain, has seen its share. Reports have detailed that the falling cryptocurrency economy has caused the company to lay off certain members of the team and close down offices in Israel and Amsterdam. On Jan. 10, news.Bitcoin.com reported on Bitmain’s director of product engineering, Haichao Wang, apparently taking the lead role with the mining corporation in place of Jihan Wu. Now a few different reports from local sources and people familiar with the matter suggest that Wu and a bunch of other Bitmain staffers are forming a new startup called Matrix. Bitmain’s office in Israel was closed earlier this year. Chinese news outlet All Weather Tmt (AWT) details that Matrix may be led by Bitmain’s Ge Yuezhen and former members of Copernicus. The regional publication details that Jihan Wu will be working on the project as well. The Bitmain branch Copernicus was known for creating a Golang-based Bitcoin Cash (BCH) full node implementation with the same name. Last year, miners using the Copernicus software also managed to mine the first BCH block with an alternative full node protocol designed with the Golang programming language. Allegedly Bitmain’s senior investment director Ge Yuezhen will be the new company’s chief executive officer. Lending, OTC, and Custody Services The publication additionally details that there have been internal arguments concerning two technologies Bitmain has been pursuing — artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology. AWT explains that senior Bitmain executives disagree on the future of both technologies and which one will be the best choice for the firm going forward. According to the publication, Jihan Wu is responsible for BCH business, blockchain projects, and the mining pool. Meanwhile, Micree Zhan reportedly oversees the AI chip operations, mining semiconductors, and some mining facilities. Furthermore, news outlets Caijing and South China Morning Post reported that Wu was leaving Bitmain but AWT says that information is false. “Wu’s departure from Bitmain is purely a rumor,” the report emphasized but added that Wu will supervise the Matrix project from the sidelines. Another source explains on March 7 that the new business spinoff will offer over-the-counter cryptocurrency services. Furthermore, journalist Wolfie Zhao revealed that two individuals close to the startup remarked that the Bitmain offshoot will also handle crypto lending and custody services. The report also details that there were “two camps inside Bitmain,” each aligned with different cofounders, further confirming AWT’s report on the disagreements. Bitmain’s artificial intelligence (AI) chipsets called Sophon. Over the last year, there have been lots of stories surrounding Bitmain as it made significant profits in 2017 pulling in an estimated $4 billion in revenue. Then the company filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong. However, 2018 was a severe downward spiral for the entire industry and Bitmain, being one of the most successful cryptocurrency firms the year before, was hit with an onslaught of bad press. The trend of Bitmain-related headlines continued through the BCH blockchain split in November and into the new year. Whether it’s positive or negative news, it could be argued that the Chinese mining giant receives a lot more press than most companies in the industry. The Matrix spinoff news has added one more unconfirmed tale from sources claiming to be close to the action. What do you think about Bitmain possibly creating an offshoot startup called Matrix? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, and Bitmain. Express yourself freely at Bitcoin.com’s user forums. We don’t censor on political grounds. Check forum.Bitcoin.com The post Former Bitmain Employees May Find Refuge in a Spinoff Startup Called Matrix appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On March 5, a new hardware wallet was unveiled by U.S. tech startup Vaulttel that fits inside a mobile phone’s SIM tray. According to the manufacturer, the Intellichip SIM card uses state of the art encryption while also providing biometric authentication. Also read: 4 of Tokyo’s Hottest Nightclubs to Accept Bitcoin Cash The Vaulttel Intellichip SIM Card: A Different Kind of Cryptocurrency Wallet While most hardware wallet manufacturers sell a device that stores and signs cryptocurrency transactions, Vaulttel has released a different kind of wallet. The Vaulttel Intellichip card is a wallet that fits into a SIM card tray and allows users to store and access their private keys. According to the company, the wallet surpasses the competition because it includes biometric authentication, the ability to limit access to wallet to a particular geo fence, and device locks so the user can assign the wallet down to a particular phone. In order to use the application, users are required to utilize a chip and chip dongle. Vaulttel also allows users to back up wallets with additional Intellichip cards. “Vaulttel is the only cryptocurrency storage solution designed for mobile phones,” the company asserted. “Other products available on the market, such as Ledger and Trezor Wallet, utilize an external device with a micro USB connection — They only work on laptops and desktops while our solution was developed to work on mobile phones.” Biometrics, AES512 Encryption and Multi-Actor Authentication Vaulttel is selling the hardware devices for Android and iOS smartphones. Currently, the iOS kit is selling for $131 and the Android package is $98 according to the Vaulttel website. The Miami-based startup explained that the cryptocurrency wallet uses BIP39 seed and BIP44 HD wallet types. Vaulttel claims the Intellichip cards are backed by military-grade encryption AES512 in order to encrypt/decrypt the files stored on the owner’s device. Additionally, without the ability to access a user’s biometric authentication, no one can steal the device and use it maliciously. “More than that, no spy screen recorder or Trojan can record what is happening on your hardware wallet, as it’s not using your laptop or system resources,” the company’s website details. “Vaulttel’s multi-actor authentication security designed for cryptocurrency storage on mobile phones is the first of its kind and that really sets us apart,” remarked Vaulttel’s founder Isaac Daniel during the announcement. Vaulttel secondary connector. Over the last few months, there has been a slew of new hardware wallets unveiling features that older manufacturers have not replicated. For instance, Cool Wallet X is much different to an ordinary hardware wallet because it is bendable and shaped like a credit card. Other alternatives have implemented bluetooth and Near Field Communication (NFC), enabling cryptocurrency users to access their wallet without a USB cable. Vaulttel’s biometric features and the ability to add the SIM card to any mobile device using iOS or Android systems may entice people looking for something different. What do you think about the Vaulttel hardware wallet SIM card? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Bitcoin.com does not endorse this service. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the mentioned companies or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com and the author are 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 this article. Image credits: Vaulttel, Shutterstock, 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 Satoshi’s Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post This New Hardware Wallet Fits Into a Smartphone SIM Tray appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has sent an extremely detailed questionnaire to citizens it believes to be in possession of cryptocurrency. Those suspected of failing to disclose the full extent of their holdings have been asked whether they use a cryptocurrency mixing service, and if so, why. They’ve also been asked to provide the full tracing history of any transactions that have passed through a bitcoin tumbler. Also read: A Forensic Analysis of Blockchain Surveillance Companies CRA Poses Some Very Probing Questions A number of Canadian cryptocurrency holders have reported receiving a detailed questionnaire from the CRA. The request, Forbes reports, is part of a deep audit into the behavior of bitcoin-holders that looks back several years into their transactional history. Tax investigations of cryptocurrency users are becoming commonplace, but the nature of some of the questions posed by the CRA have set alarm bells ringing for Canadian cryptocurrency holders. One set of questions in particular has caused quite a stir. The CRA asks: Do you use any cryptocurrency mixing services and tumblers? If so, which services do you use? Can you please provide us with the tracing history, along with all the cryptocurrency addresses you ‘mixed’? Why do you use these services? While the tax agency’s reasons for quizzing the use of mixing services is obvious, given that they can be used for money laundering and tax evasion, these tools are not illegal and are popular with privacy-conscious bitcoiners. Volunteering the “tracing history” of coins passed through a mixer would defeat the whole point of the exercise, and erode any privacy gains that had temporarily been made. It would also be technically difficult, if not impossible, depending on the cryptocurrency and mixer in question. Earlier this week, news.Bitcoin.com reported on blockchain forensics firm Crystal, owned by Bitfury, which promises to “evaluate and compare the likelihood of blockchain participants’ association with known ‘bad actors’.” One such “bad” service it mentioned in this respect was bitcoin mixers. Enhanced Scrutiny for the ‘Crime’ of Owning Cryptocurrency The journalist who broke the Canadian tax investigation story has shared images of the questionnaire sent to individuals who have been subjected to a CRA audit. Other questions in the audit include whether the individual uses Shapeshift or Changelly, and if so, which crypto addresses they’ve used to exchange assets, and the date when this occurred. Federal agencies such as the CRA are entitled to audit individuals to determine whether they have fully disclosed and paid their tax obligations in full. It follows that crypto assets should be treated no differently to any other form of wealth in this respect. Nevertheless, the depth and breadth of the questions posed to the Canadian citizens targeted is more extensive than anything previously perpetrated by other crypto-savvy agencies such as America’s IRS. In a statement provided to Forbes, the CRA explained that it is “committed to helping taxpayers understand their tax obligations when using digital currencies, and to remind them that using digital currency does not exempt consumers from their tax obligations.” Despite financial crimes involving cryptocurrency having been shown to be proportionally lower than those involving fiat currency, bitcoiners are increasingly singled out for enhanced scrutiny from government agencies. What are your thoughts on the CRA’s audit of cryptocurrency owners? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Kyle Torpey. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Canada Tax Agency Poses Probing Questions to Cryptocurrency Owners 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. These days, the most revolutionary and demanded invention with many ways of application is Blockchain. Many people believe Blockchain is only about cryptocurrencies and the methods we deal with money. But what if we told you it is designed to improve the quality and efficiency of medicine? Large enterprises, growing businesses, and ambitious startups are continually introducing Blockchain solutions into healthcare, making great progress in this industry. The fact is, this technology doesn’t heal patients and isn’t used as a remedy against incurable diseases, but it excellently solves crucial problems found in the modern healthcare system. Through the use of Blockchain with its high level of security, privacy and interoperability of patient data, numerous medical organizations are turning to the patient-oriented model and drastically improving healthcare facilities. We deservedly call it a panacea for the troubles in the world of health. Where and Why the Healthcare System Fails The main principle of the healthcare industry is the provision of high-quality medical services to patients. However, the bureaucracy and federal regulations make health management fairly inefficient and lengthy. There is a big gap between providers of healthcare services and receivers, and every year, this gap becomes more immense due to the constant increase in the number of patients. This tendency leads to obstacles when healthcare providers are unable to store and manage large amounts of medical data, especially taking into account personal health data are scattered over different institutions and departments. As a result, required information is not accessible and available in case of emergency. Another pitfall is outdated medical systems storage of patients’ records. The absence of innovation prevents doctors from making accurate diagnostics and prescribing effective treatments. This situation is exacerbated by software flaws and bad usability: Up to 40% of healthcare service providers’ records contain errors or misleading information. Patients are not the only ones suffering from healthcare defects. A striking fact is, the cost of data breaches for healthcare organizations is estimated at up to $380 per record(https://www-03.ibm.com/security/data-breach/index.html), and this figure continues to increase. The huge amount of financial data crimes and spamming are the result of non-access and lack of control of personal data by patients. Healthcare organizations pay high costs for this. Another widespread crime is drug counterfeiting leading to $200 million of losses. The modern healthcare industry can’t be considered a single, entire and automatically operated ecosystem. It’s sad to acknowledge medical organizations misuse patient data and don’t provide highly effective health services. That’s where advanced and totally secure technology can clean up the mess, and Blockchain is the superman in this story. Blockchain In Simple Words The Blockchain is undoubtedly one of the most ingenious inventions of the last years. This technology logs and keeps information in multiple locations through an encrypted digital ledger, which prevents the leakage of valuable data and cases of hacking. In this way, if a computer is compromised, Blockchain allows you to to prevent loss by controlling access to the digital ledger. The main feature of Blockchain is all information is stored in sequential blocks, and once written, this info can’t be changed or deleted. It can only be complemented by adding new blocks. No one can edit the previous blocks with data. Furthermore, blockchain is a decentralized system; contained data are not managed by one holder and are not stored in a single central place.The blocks go one by one in a secure sequence (chain), which has a link to the previous block and evidence about time of the creation or improvement. These mechanisms make Blockchain the most secure and inventive technological system. The Benefits of Blockchain Technology For Healthcare The Blockchain era in the healthcare sector has already begun. It has enough power to improve patient care quality and maintain the price of medical services at a reasonable rate. Blockchain opportunities for healthcare are abundant, and below, we cover the potential (and real) ways of using this technology both by healthcare providers and patients. Data security and integrity The ongoing amount of medical data increases every day. Information managed by medical organizations includes patient health information (PHI), electronic health records, data collected from monitoring systems and medical insurance. Blockchain allows medical organizations to verify the correctness of data and store it safely. Due to the integrity property, the written information cannot be changed or removed. No other party has access to individual patient data. Health data of the population Population health data refers to the medical information on a particular demographic. To understand the risks of certain diseases, it’s necessary to conduct an investigations where the numbers are usually received in an anonymized form. In many cases, personal health information is isolated and stored on multiple platforms. Due to this, the population health data becomes inaccurate or scattered. Blockchain solves this problem through operability, secure storage, data integrity, and it helps people monetize provided information via tokens. Cryptocurrencies as a payment method In the future, patients can forget about paying with cash or by credit cards since the use of cryptocurrencies as payments is real with Blockchain. This not only simplifies the way of payment, but also increases the security level by eliminating frauds and expelling third parties from transactions. Traceability system for medicines As we mentioned above, healthcare organizations pay high costs for drug counterfeiting. According to a Health Research Funding Organization (HRFO) investigation (https://hackernoon.com/blockchain-in-healthcare-opportunities-challenges-and-applications-d6b286da6e1f), from 10 to 30 percent of drugs in developing countries are fake, causing serious consequences, including hundreds of deaths. The unique features of Blockchain help to ensure information in blocks is true and cannot be changed. The way of tracking drugs becomes easier and more trustworthy. However, the question of the reliability of the pharmaceutical products the companies provide is still open. Patient health information management According to the regulations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, patients’ data should be private. Obviously, patients continue providing their personal information to doctors and pharmacists, but with the Blockchain apps, this process is more secure and convenient. Theoretically, a Blockchain system can create a patient ID. Undoubtedly, all information is safe, and at the same time, in case of emergency, doctors, patients and pharmacists have access to it. What is more, a patient can provide his/her personal information to third parties, keeping it unrevealed by controlling access permissions and duration. Practical Approach To Integrating Blockchain In Healthcare Numerous companies are focused on applying blockchain technology and its powerful features to the healthcare system. One of them is ClinicAll, a blockchain-based project dealing with the digitization of clinics and improvement of people’s access to healthcare services through the introduction of smart software into medical organizations. The security of data and its integrity is one of the main reasons for ClinicAll to use blockchain and improve the way of keeping medical records together avoiding their loss. Blockchain Gives Us Hope These are the main but not all of the revolutionary benefits of using Blockchain in the healthcare industry. This technology is becoming more popular and widespread within different business sectors, and healthcare has just started moving toward blockchain revolution. As the practice shows, its steps are extremely firm and confident, and who knows, maybe Blockchain is our true hope for immortality and unshakable health. In the near future, we’ll also experience all the benefits the ClinicAll project provides to us via the blockchain implementations. Visit https://clinicall.io/ to learn more about the project. Contact Email Address info@clinicall.io Supporting Link https://clinicall.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: ClinicAll Revolutionizes the Healthcare Industry With Blockchain appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In this edition of The Daily we cover an exchange that offers cryptocurrency investors access to tokenized ETFs based on major indices, a response from Chainalysis to the recent outcry against blockchain surveillance services abusing customer data, and a program to support startups by Binance Labs in Argentina. Also Read: Israel Securities Authority Wants a Dedicated Token Exchange DX Exchange Develops Tokenized ETFs DX Exchange, an Estonia-based venue which launched trading on tokenized stocks in January, has broadened the platform’s offering. It now offers trading on tokenized exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including Nasdaq-mirrored QQQ, S&Ps and SPY. These tokenized ETFs are said to be compatible with the latest guidelines put forth by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), and with the MiFID II directive Mifid II (the latest EU financial regulations). They are not based on contracts for difference (CFDs) as offered by many forex brokers. Besides traditional fiat payment options, the regulated exchange accepts deposits in BCH, BTC, ETH, USDT, DASH, LTC, XRP and a few other cryptocurrencies. This opens a new diversification avenue for crypto investors that wish to gain exposure to stocks and indices. The company also believes that because cryptocurrencies are accessible to the unbanked, its tokenized ETF provision can potentially connect millions of people to the global investment markets. Chainalysis Denies Using Traders’ Personal Data Blockchain surveillance company Chainalysis has issued a report on how it collects and uses cryptocurrency transactional data from its clients. The move came after intense public pressure against Coinbase for acquiring Neutrino brought the issue to the community’s attention. Similar to Elliptic, Chainalysis claims not to use personal data obtained from exchanges during their KYC process. The company explains that exchanges that use its service for AML compliance submit only their transaction data, not personally identifiable customer data, in order to automate the process of transaction monitoring. So Chainalysis claims to only know that a particular address belongs to a client at a specific exchange, not who the person is. “In short, Chainalysis provides service-level identification, not individual-level identification,” the report summarizes. “We can’t speak for all other vendors. It’s possible other vendors may ask for more information. But Chainalysis is concerned only with service-level transaction data.” Binance Labs Supporting Startups in Argentina Binance has announced that a program supported by the Argentina’s Ministry of Production and Labor has committed to match an investment of up to $50,000 for each local project that receives funding from the venture arm of the cryptocurrency exchange, Binance Labs, and local startup accelerator Founders Lab. For a four-year term, the government-supported program will match investments from Binance Labs and Founders Labs, in up to 10 Argentinean projects per year. The company explained that the co-investment agreement with the government-supported accelerator program was formed after Binance Labs selected Buenos Aires as the Latin American hub for Season two of the Binance Labs Incubation Program. Through a collaboration with Founders Lab, Binance Labs will host a 10-week incubation program for blockchain startups in Buenos Aires, one of the six cities selected as the program’s regional hubs. Binance Labs invests in early-stage teams through incubation, direct investments and limited partnerships. What do you think about today’s news tidbits? 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 Satoshi’s Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post In the Daily: Tokenized ETFs, Chainalysis, Binance Labs in Argentina appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A new set of reports by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, compiled from over 1.3 million leaked transactions from 238,000 companies, have linked many major banks to a scheme to channel billions of dollars out of Russia. The Troika Laundromat is unique in that “it was created by a prestigious financial institution.” Also read: SEC Chair Explains Key Upgrades Needed for Bitcoin ETF Approval $8.8 Billion Money Laundering Scheme The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a non-profit media organization, published a set of reports this week detailing a complex money laundering scheme “to channel billions of dollars out of Russia” which it and Lithuanian news site 15min.lt uncovered. “The data, which was compiled from multiple sources, represents one of the largest releases of banking information ever, involving some 1.3 million leaked transactions from 238,000 companies,” worth $470 billion, the project website describes. OCCRP Executive Director Paul Radu elaborated: Among the counterparties on these transactions were major Western banks such as Citigroup Inc., Raiffeisen, and Deutsche Bank. The dozens of companies in the system also generated $8.8 billion of internal transactions to obscure the origin of the cash. He noted that Citigroup did not respond to a request for comment, Raiffeisen declined to comment, and Deutsche Bank refused to comment for legal reasons, claiming to have limited access to information on the transactions in question. The Troika Laundromat This money laundering scheme is referred to by the OCCRP as the Troika Laundromat. “The Laundromat wasn’t just a money laundering system. It was also a hidden investment vehicle, a slush fund, a tax evasion scheme, and much more,” Radu wrote. “The Troika Laundromat is unique among the Laundromats that have been uncovered in recent years in that it was created by a prestigious financial institution.” He further explained that this scheme involved Russian private bank Troika Dialog between 2006 and early 2013. The bank was established in the early 1990s and became the country’s largest private investment bank. It was purchased in 2012 by Russia’s largest state-owned lender, Sberbank. A 2006 interview with Troika co-founder Pavel Teplukhin revealed that the bank had a strong relationship with a local Citibank office where up to 20 percent of its new investors came from. This made the New York-based Citibank Troika’s biggest “external agent,” Radu emphasized, adding: Other major international banks, including Credit Suisse and Standard Bank Group, did significant business with Troika as well. Widening Fallout Following the Troika Laundromat reports, “Finland’s Nordea Bank and Germany’s Deutsche Bank have also been drawn into the widening fallout, as OCCRP partners revealed they received 700 million euros [~$791 million] and $889 million respectively in potentially dirty money,” OCCRP reporter Harry Holmes wrote Wednesday. Another OCCRP reporter, Katarina Sabados, reiterated: Among the implicated European banks are Danske Bank, Deutsche Bank, Credit Agricole, Swedbank, Raiffeisen Bank International, and Coöperatieve Rabobank. Meanwhile, prosecutors in the Netherlands said on Wednesday that they are evaluating signs of Dutch involvement, Reuters reported. The news outlet conveyed that “Dutch magazine de Groene Amsterdammer, part of the OCCRP group, alleged that ING, ABN Amro and unlisted Rabobank handled hundreds of millions of euros in improper payments.” What do you think of the Troika Laundromat? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and the OCCRP. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post 1.3 Million Leaked Transactions Link Major Banks to $8.8 Billion Money Laundering Scheme appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Russian cybersecurity expert Eugene Kaspersky has said cryptocurrencies can be a success, but only if governments stop trying to control them or alternatively when all countries unite under a single global government. However, the billionaire does not believe Bitcoin will replace the existing financial system despite the currency’s “great” qualities. Also read: Startup Company Sets Up Bitcoin ATM in Botswana ‘Government of the Earth’ Speaking to the Dubai-based magazine Arabian Business, Kaspersky opined that cryptocurrencies are ahead of their time. “Cryptocurrencies are a great idea, but the world is not ready for them yet,” said Kaspersky, chief executive officer of IT security company Kaspersky Labs. “The world must be united if we want to have encrypted currencies. At the moment, governments will want to control them. I believe that in the future, perhaps in 100 years’ time, all the world’s governments will be one government. States will unite under the [global government] and only then we will have one currency. Some other currencies may be available, but on a global scale the currency will be unified,” he predicted. BTC, the world’s number one cryptocurrency, has lost more than 80 percent of its value since its December 2017 high of almost $20,000, in a downturn that has shaken the cryptocurrency industry to its core. The bear market has carried on into 2019, with bitcoin core swinging between $3,300 and $4,000. However, adoption continues to grow. A number of businesses now accept BTC and other altcoins for payment while institutional investors have started moving into the space – something that’s been described by observers as key to cryptocurrency mainstreaming. ‘Digital Currencies Are Currencies of the Future’ In the Arabian Business interview, Kaspersky said digital currencies will dominate the financial system in future rather than fiat notes and coins. He argued: Today’s digital currencies, such as bitcoin, cannot replace the current financial system, but some of the ideas and techniques on which these currencies are based can be used in the future currency with little modification, leveraging blockchain technology. As a single global currency, bitcoin is viewed as key to ending willful currency manipulation, eliminating excessive transaction fees and improving transparency in global pricing, among other things. Kaspersky Labs is a multinational cybersecurity and antivirus provider headquartered in Moscow, Russia and operated by a holding company in the U.K. It was founded in 1997 by Eugene Kaspersky, Natalya Kaspersky, and Alexey De-Monderik. The company, which reported revenue of $698 million in 2017, develops and sells antivirus software, internet security, password management, endpoint security, and other cybersecurity products and services. What do you think about Kaspersky’s comments? Let us know 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 Kaspersky: Bitcoin Needs Less Government Control and More Collaboration appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Turkish real estate agency Antalya Homes has sold nine properties to date using bitcoin core, mostly to foreign buyers. The houses cost a minimum of €30,000 each (~$33,900) said the agency, which also accepts bitcoin cash, ethereum, stellar, ripple, litecoin and tether. Also read: Nordea Bank Faces Allegations of Laundering Russian Millions ‘Crypto Purchases of Property Are Reliable and Faster’ Antalya Homes chairman Bayram Tekce said cryptocurrency purchases of real estate come with multiple advantages. “Payment with cryptocurrency enables a more reliable and faster transaction performance such as money transfer between bank accounts without any exchange loss,” Tekce was quoted in the online daily Business Standard as saying on Mar. 5. Turkey has continued to see a boom in both cryptocurrency use and in its property sector, driven by strong demand from foreign nationals. In 2018, investors from abroad bought 40,000 properties in Turkey, an increase of more than 80 percent from a year earlier. Foreign buyers target homes in Istanbul, the Antalya region and other coastal and scenic areas. Tekce, whose company started taking cryptocurrencies last year, said Antalya Homes has created a “Pay with Bitcoin” button on its website to assist those who intend to buy property this way. The company chairman did not clarify how payment in BTC was made. “It is very profitable to purchase real estate for those who want to utilize their cryptocurrency investments in the real estate sector,” he said. “By making investments particularly in countries like Turkey, where housing is becoming increasingly valuable, investors can shift their investment to a less risky and safer area, and multiply their savings.” Growing Use Bitcoin’s acceptance as a means of payment has grown steadily over the years. The cryptocurrency is already used in many industries including automotive, travel and informatics and has now penetrated the Turkish real estate sector, even though agents in other countries were already selling property using crypto. In 2017, Southeby’s International Realty sold one of its first single-family homes in Austin, Texas using BTC. The Austin home was sold when Bitcoin prices were $3,429 in September of that year. Canter Companies, a full-service investment firm specializing in real estate and asset management projects, also listed two multi-million dollar homes for sale in BTC in 2017. The homes were collectively valued at around $20 million, while another realtor put up for sale a 27-acre piece of land in Silicon Valley, payable in BTC, ETH or XRP. What do you think about the use of cryptocurrency to purchase property? Let us know 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 Turkish Real Estate Agency Sells 9 Houses for BTC appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Japan is currently the third densest region of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) accepting merchants. In order to keep the adoption ball rolling, this week an avid BCH supporter talked the owners of Tokyo-based luxury lounge Mezzo into accepting BCH at three more popular nightclubs in the Tokyo district. The owners revealed that the Japanese clubs V2, Ele, Villa, and Mezzo’s food and beverage cafe Ruby will be accepting BCH for drinks and services this April. Also read: How to Create Your Own SLP Token Using the Bitcoin Cash Blockchain Bitcoin Cash Joins Tokyo’s Nightlife Thanks to a passionate BCH enthusiast, four of the hottest nightclubs in Tokyo will be accepting bitcoin cash for drinks and amenities. Since Japan legalized cryptocurrency payments in April 2017, the country has become a hotbed for digital currency accepting merchants and businesses setting up exchange operations. Japan is also known for being the third most popular region for BCH-accepting retailers. At the time of writing, there are 57 different merchants in Japan who welcome BCH for payments. Now, one of the organizers of the Tokyo BCH meetup, Akane Yokoo, has gotten the owners of Mezzo to extend their BCH acceptance to four other establishments (three nightclubs and one cafe). Mezzo is a luxury lounge in Tokyo which already accepted BCH for meals, drinks, and services. The luxury lounge Mezzo already accepted BCH and starting this April, the nightclubs Villa Tokyo, V2, Ele, and Mezzo’s Ruby cafe will accept the decentralized cryptocurrency. Yokoo explained that the BCH meetups in Tokyo are sometimes held at the Mezzo luxury lounge in Roppongi and the club is considered one of the hottest bars in Gaien Higashi-Dori. Additionally, the club uses a Bitcoin.com wallet to accept BCH, which means the owners are accepting the cryptocurrency directly, rather than immediately selling it for yen with a payment processor. Yokoo told our newsdesk that the Mezzo owners will now accept BCH at four other establishments they own: V2, Ele, Villa, and Mezzo’s cafe called Ruby. “We are really excited to see some of the biggest clubs in Tokyo accepting bitcoin cash payments,” Yokoo detailed during our discussion. “It would be good for foreign tourists who would like to use bitcoin cash when they come to Tokyo and want to go to nightclubs as well.” BCH Supporters Push Merchant Adoption Relentlessly V2 Tokyo is a well-known nightclub located in the center of Roppongi that sits atop a very large building. According to reviews, the club has “killer views” and hosts some of the most popular DJs in the industry. Ele Tokyo is another connected club which was created to provide the “world’s highest quality entertainment.” The Ele nightclub is considered a “high-class sophisticated” establishment for adults. Last April, Villa Tokyo became the latest addition to Roppongi’s nightlife scene, a block away from the main Gaien Higashi-Dori drag. The club was formerly known as Feria but since the new owners took over, the place has become regarded as an “exciting new option for a night out in Roppongi” according to reviews. Mezzo’s Ruby cafe will also accept BCH for food and drinks, the owners explained to Yokoo. Mezzo’s owners have detailed to Yokoo that the four businesses will begin accepting BCH this April. Yokoo is super pleased to onboard another four establishments, having already convinced numerous Tokyo-based businesses to accept the digital currency. The story follows in the wake of another persistent BCH supporter who convinced the popular website Chess.com to accept bitcoin cash for membership services. BCH proponents are convinced that real world adoption begins by getting lots of merchants onboard with decentralized currencies. So far in regions such as Japan, Slovenia, and North Queensland, the idea seems to be working. What do you think about the three nightclubs owned by Mezzo accepting BCH for drinks and services this April? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: V2 Tokyo, Ele, Villa, and the Mezzo. 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 Satoshi’s Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post 4 of Tokyo’s Hottest Nightclubs to Accept Bitcoin Cash appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Mining operations that process SHA-256 coins like BTC and BCH saw revenues slashed due to the bear market lows at the end of 2018. Revenues continued to fall into the new year, but over the last few weeks, network hashrates have been climbing again. A report published on March 4 details that even though mining profits dropped to a 19-month low in February, gross margins still grew by 39 percent. Also read: An In-Depth Look at Ethereum’s Maker and Dai Stablecoin The Silver Lining Cryptocurrency mining is a competitive industry and miners who process the SHA-256 consensus algorithm (BCH and BTC) have seen some deep losses in recent months. Despite the falling price last August, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin Core (BTC) networks’ combined hashrate surpassed 65 exahash per second (EH/s). On Dec. 2, 2018, BCH and BTC hashrates averaged less than 32 EH/s, losing half of their processing power from their all-time high. Since then, combined hashrate is now averaging roughly 45 EH/s with BCH capturing 1.25 EH/s of the total share. As far as profits are concerned, according to a new report by research publication Diar, miner margins are trending back into growth. Diar’s report details that BTC miner revenues dropped to a 19-month low, losing 10 percent overall this February. The research explains that BTC miners accumulated $295 million in fees alone in December 2017 but they are now gathering $195 million for both rewards and fees. Despite the downturn in BTC prices, gross margins still grew by 39 percent according to Diar research. Diar’s study adds that a slew of smaller operations have been “put out to pasture” and the researchers believe most of the equipment running has been at a loss. However, not all of the news is bad for the mining industry as gross margins increased quite a bit in February. “The increase in competition has also minimized gross margins from 94% at the start of 2018, down to 32% a year later,” Diar’s study details. “The silver lining, perhaps, is that gross margins grew to 39% in February.” Half of the Top BCH Miners Also Mine the BTC Chain Data stemming from Blockchain.com’s BTC hashrate distribution shows 14 decent sized operations processing the chain’s hash and 23 percent is captured by unknown miners. There are 13 pools mining the BCH chain and more than 10 percent of that coverage is also run by unknown mining pools. Bitcoin Core (BTC) hashrate is around 40.45 EH/s on March 6, 2019. At the time of writing, it is 0.7 percent more profitable to mine on the BTC chain and profitability differences between both ledgers have been fairly stable. Today six of the top BCH mining operations are also leading BTC pools as well. The slight spike in spot market price and gross margins has bolstered the distribution of hashrate significantly between both networks. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) hashrate is around 1.4 EH/s on March 6, 2019. Next Generation Miners Could Keep Operations Going The mining analysis by Diar details that now that gross margins have increased, mining operations can spend “capital expenditure on the latest mining equipment in order to stay ahead.” “Bitmain’s latest flagship miner that began shipping at the start of the year, the S15, has already sold out twice-over with the next batch set for shipment in April,” explains the study. “It is likely then that hash power continues to increase in the coming month’s bar a massive price drop — But at current Bitcoin prices, the capital requirements would still be to miners benefit with the S15 averaging 84% more return than its predecessor, the S9.” The five most profitable mining rigs on March 6, 2019. Other sources show that the top five next-generation SHA-256 miners are profiting by at least $0.25 to $1 a day. Mining rigs like the Ebang Ebit E11s, Bitmain’s S15, Innosilicon Terminators, and the Asicminer Nanos are pulling in small daily profits. Miners are hoping prices will increase because they have a lot of skin in the game and the 80-90 percent losses between both of the largest SHA-256 assets in existence has hurt them. While the boatloads of money from fees and the 2017 bull run is a distant memory, 39 percent growth in gross profits is likely to be received as a breath of fresh air. What do you think about miners’ revenue and hashrate showing some growth? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Asicminervalue.com, Diar Research, Blockchain.com, and Coin Dance Cash. 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 Satoshi’s Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post Revenues on the Mend: Bitcoin Miners’ Gross Margins Grew 39% in February appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

An Israel Securities Authority (ISA) committee tasked with examining the regulation of crypto coin offerings has submitted its final recommendations today, March 6. They include the option of creating a dedicated platform for trading digital assets. Also Read: In the Daily: Opera Browser, EY Tax Tool, Elliptic, Cryptopia Exchange Regulating Coin Offerings in Israel The Committee for the Examination and Regulation of the Issuance of Cryptographic Coins was established in August 2017 to consider the applicability of local securities law to initial coin offerings (ICOs). The committee was asked to study and characterize these projects, prepare a comparative review of the law in various countries around the world, and recommend a regulatory policy outline in areas related to the securities law. This was supposed to be done while balancing the encouragement of technological innovation with the obligation to safeguard the interest of the investing public. In March 2018, the committee published an interim report for public comment, and has since held a series of meetings with industry and academic leaders to clarify the issues that arose. The final report noted that since the publication of the interim report, many changes have taken place in the field. The most significant trend in this context is the significant decline of ICOs compared to early 2018. It explained that raising funds in this field in Western markets is currently carried out mainly by sophisticated investors and by issuing crypto assets included in the definition of Security Token Offerings (STOs) in accordance with relevant regulations. Main Recommendations The final report offers a few main recommendations. The first is applying securities law to the issuance of crypto assets, while adapting the suitability of disclosure requirements to the unique characteristics of the activities of these projects. The second recommendation is the use of a regulatory sandbox framework in order for the ISA to acquire experience in the field and to accompany entrepreneurs in this format. The committee recommends examining the possibility of making adjustments to the existing regulations in order to create a more suitable regulatory framework for this trading activity in the form of a dedicated platform for the trading of crypto assets, which it believes will best mitigate the risks involved. The regulation of crowdfunding in Israel is offered as a similar model for the ISA to build on. The committee also recognized the importance of a direct relationship between regulators and industry and has invited projects to contact the ISA, promising to examine their activity in an open manner, in as short a time as possible, and by adopting a flexible interpretation. What do you think about the possibility of creating a regulated token exchange in Israel? 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 Satoshi’s Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post Israel Securities Authority Wants a Dedicated Token Exchange appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

This is a 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. The inaugural ANON Blockchain Summit Austria will be held April 2-3, featuring Microsoft, IBM, Alibaba Cloud and Accenture plus other big names, with the aim of putting Vienna’s vibrant blockchain scene on the map. The event is expected to bring more than 2,000 people together to talk blockchain, cryptocurrency and decentralization, and with 80 national and international speakers, 40 exhibitors and 100 investors it is shaping up to be the country’s premium networking event. The main topics of the event will be government, blockchain for business, healthcare, energy, banking, supply chain and mobility, and alongside Microsoft, IBM and Accenture, there will also be representatives from Hyperledger, Bitfury, Bitmain, Raiffeisen Bank International, Wien Energie and Merck. Sparking adoption and encouraging conversation is the goal of organizer and co-founder Daniel Lenikus, who says he wants the event to bridge the gap between technology and big business and to grow to become Europe’s biggest blockchain event. “We believe in blockchain and are working towards its mass adoption. This event is the first step to achieving that,” he said. “By bringing in billion-dollar businesses for the first Austrian Blockchain Summit we’re signaling our intent and working to put Austria’s blockchain community on the map. “We want to show the potential of blockchain technology and show people what is actually happening besides the hype around cryptocurrencies. The event will showcase real use cases from industry leaders. We want to help people get educated and see the real-world applications of blockchain.” As well as big business, attendees will be joined by blockchain representatives including writer and analyst Joseph Young, and Helen Hai, head of Binance’s Charity Foundation, as well as government regulators and even royalty, with Prince Michael of Liechtenstein signed up to speak. Alongside an impressive list of speakers, the event will feature workshops, dedicated networking areas and space for start-ups and investors to talk business discreetly. Daniel and fellow founders Maximilian Humer and Michael Beches set up ANON after their regular Vienna blockchain meetup, Block and Wine, exploded in popularity. Now, they’re working with the Austrian Blockchain Center (ABC) to organize the event. Alfred Taudes, ABC Director, said: “Austria is one of those countries that is very open to digitization and new technologies … this (event) will bring additional international attention to our country.” “We’re all excited about the space,” Daniel said, “There is so much potential in blockchain and our aim is to become the number one platform in Europe to support partnerships between blockchain and corporate businesses.” The focus of the conference is on promoting the discourse between public and business sectors, science and research, and art and technology, and building bridges between these industry sectors. Start-ups, government agencies and interested investors will also be able to communicate and network. The conference will Austria’s premium event to build long-lasting and beneficial partnerships. The event will run from April 2nd-3rd, and will be held at the Gösserhalle, in central Vienna. ANON Blockchain Summit Austria is supported by the Vienna Government, and has already attracted major sponsors, including Accenture, Wien Energie and Raiffeisen Bank, with Lufthansa Group partnering to provide travel to the event. The team is working hard to bring in more representatives from big businesses. To find out more, for tickets and to get involved visit: www.blockchainsummitaustria.com Editorial contact: Journalists and editors can contact press@blockchainsummitaustria.com for more information. This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post PR: Austrian ANON Blockchain Summit Attracts Billion Dollar Businesses appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Since the latest Electron Cash SLP version release and the newly published Badger Wallet extension, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) supporters have been creating an abundance of tokens. Because the tokens are so simple to develop, BCH enthusiasts have created tokens for fun, giving them names like ‘XRP Cash,’ ‘Doge Cash,’ and even ‘BSV Cash.’ The following step-by-step walkthrough details how to create an SLP-based token on the Bitcoin Cash network and distribute them to friends and family. Also read: An In-Depth Look at Ethereum’s Maker and Dai Stablecoin Creating a Custom Token on the BCH Chain Using the Simple Ledger Protocol Ever since the inception of BCH-based token creation applications, Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) and Wormhole-launched tokens have been a hot topic. Now anyone can create tokens on the BCH network using these protocols, and over the last week, the BCH community has been messing around by creating different kinds of tokens to share for fun. In this guide, we will be discussing how anyone can create a token using the Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP), a project spearheaded by the developer James Cramer with help from programmers like Jonald Fyookball, Calin Culianu, Gabriel Cardona, SpendBCH, and Mark Lundeberg. Creating a token using the SLP version of Electron Cash is very easy and only takes a few pennies’ worth of BCH to get started. Step 1: Download Electron Cash SLP Version 3.4.5 The first thing you need to do to create a token on the BCH chain is download the latest version of Electron Cash that includes SLP integration. The SLP code is open source and individuals who are tech-savvy can review the SLP source code hosted on Github. Electron Cash SLP version 3.4.5 can be found at the official website, for Mac and Windows operating systems. The Electron Cash SLP edition can be found on the official website. After downloading a new application, you can simply create a new wallet or import an existing wallet into Electron Cash SLP version 3.4.5. A small fraction of funds (a nickel’s worth will suffice) is required to create a new SLP token. So if the wallet was created from scratch, you need to send some dust to the wallet first to move onto the next steps. How the Electron Cash SLP version looks. Step 2: Send Funds to the Electron Cash SLP Wallet and Create a Custom Token In our example, we sent $1 worth of BCH to the Electron Cash SLP wallet and waited for the transaction to confirm. After about 10 minutes the transaction was confirmed and we opened the wallet in order to access the token creation settings. The SLP wallet is identical to the original Electron Cash wallet but the logo is green and the wallet’s interface has new ‘Tokens’ and ‘SLP history’ tabs. In the ‘token tab’ section, right click and select ‘Create a new token.’ When the initial BCH is confirmed, head over to the ‘tokens’ tab and right click below where the transaction history is usually displayed. By right clicking in this area, the wallet will give two choices: ‘Add an existing token’ and ‘Create a token.’ Simply press ‘Create a token’ and a second window will pop up that allows you to custom-build your own SLP token on the BCH network. Step 3: Customize the Token Name, Ticker, Quantity, Receiving Address, and Optional Attachments The customizations include token name, token symbol (optional), token quantity, and the receiving address. It also includes the ability to append an optional URL, document hash, and how many decimal places will be included so the token can be divided. Additionally, the creator can customize the quantity created and whether or not the token will have a fixed supply. Customizing the SLP token before broadcasting it to the BCH ledger. Step 4: Preview and Broadcast You can now preview the token or create the token onchain, which will only cost a tiny network fee. After the tokens are created, the Electron Cash wallet will give a transaction ID that can be used on a block explorer to view the genesis creation. From here, you can send the tokens to another SLP compatible wallet like the Badger wallet extension and utilize the coins for whatever you desire. SLP created tokens can only be seen by a compatible wallet and an SLP address format looks like this: simpleledger:xxxxxx followed by an alphanumeric string. SLP tokens need to be sent to SLP addresses or the tokens could get lost in a wallet that doesn’t recognize the tethered data. Users can preview the token data before broadcasting. Bitcoin.com developer and Bitbox creator Gabriel Cardona has published a PR template for individuals and organizations wishing to create tokens. This means token creators can include a token name, symbol/ticker, genesis TXID and asset templates in sizes between 32×32, 64×64, 128×128 and SVG. “We hope this helps with token interoperability between Bitcoin Cash apps,” Cardona tweeted on March 4. The Satoshi Cash Experiment On Feb. 4, I decided to have some fun and create a new token called Satoshi Cash (STC) and distribute the tokens on forums and social media. Satoshi Cash has a fixed supply cap of 10.5 million tokens to represent half the supply of Satoshi’s original design. Due to this digital scarcity, STCs are divisible to nine decimal places. Satoshi Cash is also linked to an online version of the whitepaper hosted on Bitcoin.com. The reason for this is so that when people get some STC sent to them, they may be enticed to read Satoshi’s seminal work for a better understanding of peer-to-peer electronic cash. Moreover, using a special tool, I tethered a hash to the token supply which is tied to the original genesis block hardcoded into the main chain. The STC token as shown on Bitcoin.com’s Block Explorer. The next morning, on the Reddit forum r/btc, I created a thread which detailed that I was giving away STCs to those who provided me with an SLP address. I further added a bonus question for 100,000 STCs and gave it to the first person who answered the question correctly. In just a couple of hours, I managed to give away 550,000 STC out of the total supply of 10.5 million. I plan to continue the experiment until I’ve distributed the majority of STC coins. In our next token experiment, the step-by-step guide will teach people how to create a token using the Wormhole protocol. Giving away 550,000 STC away on r/btc using the Badger wallet. Creating a token on the BCH chain is easy and distributing them to friends and perfect strangers is fun. What’s not easy is adding value to these tokens, but some individuals and businesses could achieve this by allowing them to act as discounts and coupons for services, backing them with some type of commodity or fiat reserve, or creating a security token which could be collateralized as company shares. So far, people have been sharing these tokens just for fun, as I did with the STC experiment, but in the future, the concept may spread into something far more valuable. What do you think about the SLP tokens? Have you tried to make a token using the Bitcoin Cash network? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the mentioned applications and services. Bitcoin.com and the author are 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 this article. Image credits: Shutterstock, Electron Cash, Simple Ledger Protocol, and Pixabay. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post How to Create Your Own SLP Token Using the Bitcoin Cash Blockchain appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In this edition of The Daily we cover a few examples of the evolving institutional crypto investment world. Circle has completed an acquisition of a regulated broker, cryptocurrency prime brokerage Tagomi closed a $12 million funding round, and charting portal Tradingview added a crypto index. Also Read: Tron Partners With Tether to Launch TRC20-Based Stablecoin Circle Closes Acquisition, Seeks $250M Circle, the Goldman Sachs-backed company that acquired Poloniex exchange last year, has announced that following regulatory approval by the American Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), it’s completed the acquisition of U.S. equity crowdfunding platform and registered broker-dealer Seedinvest. This is meant to enable the firm to explore opportunities for the tokenization of traditional forms of financial contracts such as equities and other securities. The companies say that Seedinvest will continue to operate as normal, but with additional support from Circle. Besides this latest acquisition, Circle has made headlines recently for reportedly seeking to raise an extra $250 million in equity and debt. The company has already raised $246 million from investors to date, and only last May completed a $110 million Series E funding round that included investors such as Bitmain Technologies, Blockchain Capital, Pantera, Digital Currency Group and other venture firms. Tagomi Completes $12M Funding Round Electronic digital assets prime brokerage Tagomi has announced a new round of capital investment with participation from Paradigm, a Yale-backed fund, Pantera and others. The latest capital infusion brings the total funding raised by the crypto prime broker to $28 million. Tagomi plans use the money from this financing round to grow operations to support and scale in response to client demand. “We are excited to partner with investors who have experienced first-hand, the frustrations around the lack of infrastructure, and work toward our shared vision of building next generation robust trading technology, so that clients can focus solely on developing their strategies.” said Greg Tusar, joint CEO of Tagomi, and former Global Head of Electronic Trading at Goldman Sachs. The brokerage offers three product lines: a portfolio management interface for longer-term investors, an advanced trading terminal for active traders, and an API for programmatic trading. Its clients include individual investors, family offices, digital asset funds, traditional equity and FX traders and venture capital funds. Tradingview Lists Huobi’s Crypto Index Huobi’s crypto-based index has been added to the financial trading charts and analysis platform Tradingview. HB10 is a weighted fund consisting of the nine biggest cryptocurrencies by trading volume plus Huobi’s native token, which launched last year as an ETF style instrument. In addition to adding the index, all of of Huobi’s crypto trading pairs have been added to the charting portal, and as new coins and pairs are added to the exchange they will also appear on Tradingview. “As a go-to site for high-volume and API traders as well as the retail commodity, forex, and of course crypto trading community around the world, we feel TradingView is a perfect fit for HB10,” said Livio Weng, Huobi Global CEO. “We’re both pleased and honored to have ours be the first crypto fund of its kind listed there.” What do you think about today’s news tidbits? 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 Satoshi’s Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post In the Daily: Circle Acquisition, Tagomi Funding Round, Tradingview Crypto Index appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Coinbase has been trending on crypto Twitter all week, but for all the wrong reasons. The #DeleteCoinbase hashtag has circulated on account of the dubious practices of Neutrino, the blockchain surveillance team it acquired. Now, the California-based exchange has bowed to public pressure and severed ties with key members of the Neutrino team. Also read: Tron Partners With Tether to Launch TRC20-Based Stablecoin Coinbase Bows to Public Pressure Last week, an almighty brouhaha kicked off after it emerged that Coinbase’s latest acquisition, Neutrino, has an extremely shady past. The blockchain surveillance firm’s founders have been pilloried for their previous venture, Hacking Team, which sold software to regimes to spy on dissidents and journalists. On March 5, Coinbase broke its silence and promised to take action over the escalating crisis that has threatened to permanently dent its reputation. In a blog post titled “Living up to our values and the Neutrino acquisition,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong conceded that “we had a gap in our diligence process,” when it came to vetting Neutrino. He added: While we looked hard at the technology and security of the Neutrino product, we did not properly evaluate everything from the perspective of our mission and values as a crypto company. We took some time to dig further into this over the past week, and together with the Neutrino team have come to an agreement: those who previously worked at Hacking Team (despite the fact that they have no current affiliation with Hacking Team), will transition out of Coinbase. Crypto Luminaries Weigh in Over Data-Sharing Furor While Armstrong’s statement has quenched some of the fires that were threatening to engulf Coinbase HQ, one matter his blog post didn’t touch upon was data-sharing concerns pertaining to Neutrino’s predecessor. On that front, Coinbase has achieved a rare feat in uniting voices from across the cryptocurrency spectrum this week. Thought leaders, developers and commenters have universally condemned the San Francisco-headquartered exchange after it emerged that a former partner had shared customer data with third parties. In seeking to justify its acquisition of Neutrino, Coinbase executive Christine Sandler caused further controversy by confessing: “It was important for us to migrate away from our current [compliance] providers. They were selling client data to outside sources and it was compelling for us to get control over that and have proprietary technology that we could leverage to keep the data safe and protect our clients.” This admission sparked debate on crypto Twitter, with Jill Carlson asking Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong for “clarity” over the matter. “I consented to Coinbase collecting my data for KYC/AML purposes,” she wrote. “I did not knowingly consent to Coinbase collecting my data to sell to other parties.” Nick Szabo seemed more resigned to the practice, pointing out that “Once they [Coinbase] have collected the legally required info it’s very useful for them, and extremely easy (indeed hard to avoid) to share it with their contractors, who share it in turn, etc., and it’s soon out of control, regardless of what money changed hands.” KYC and AML Is an Accident Waiting to Happen Until Coinbase expounds on the matter, it is impossible to determine precisely which data was resold by its former partner, and whether it included sensitive customer details. One reason why the story has resonated within the cryptosphere, however, is because it taps into growing resentment and distrust of enforced KYC. Customers are obliged to give up deeply personal information including payslips, bank statements, passport scans and selfies, and then to rely on the service provider not to lose or abuse it. Data from various cryptocurrency exchanges has been known to turn up on the darknet, where it’s been offered to the highest bidder. Meanwhile, Facebook continues digging itself deeper into a data-leaking hole. “The story is not that one particular exchange continues to make deals with folks who are completely antithetical to permissionless value transfer,” tweeted Ciphrex CEO Eric Lombrozo, chiming in on the latest Coinbase revelations, “but that many people consider this to be normal and “just how business is done.”” He continued: We must apply for permission to move our own money (by filling out forms with private, sensitive information). Yet the people to whom we give this information have no qualms about selling our personal information to others without our permission. Meanwhile, Kraken CEO Jess Powell has shared his thoughts on Neutrino, Coinbase’s appointed successors to the unnamed firm that was leaking customer data. His verdict adds weight to the notion that the new bosses of Coinbase’s customer data are no better than the last. I asked our Compliance team what they thought of Neutrino. Fortunately, they'd just completed an evaluation. Neutrino came in last place on product (out of the 5) but was disqualified anyway due to the risks. However, other factors are important in M&A: cost, culture fit. pic.twitter.com/kiYh11GEBc — Jesse Powell (@jespow) March 3, 2019 What are your thoughts on the Coinbase data-sharing debate? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Coinbase Severs Ties With Hacking Team Members While Data-Sharing Backlash Intensifies appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A supreme court advocate has explained the limitations of the Indian government’s power to regulate cryptocurrency, determining that the court should not get involved. Meanwhile, the crypto community awaits the government’s regulatory framework and the supreme court hearing of the petitions against the banking ban by the central bank. Also read: SEC Chair Explains Key Upgrades Needed for Bitcoin ETF Approval Cryptocurrencies Cannot Be Regulated Lawyer Abraham C. Mathews describes himself as “a supreme court advocate and a chartered accountant” who practices “in the supreme court as well as the high court and some of the tribunals in Delhi.” He authored an article published in Money Control on Monday voicing his opinion on cryptocurrencies and the Indian government’s efforts to regulate them. According to him: Cryptocurrencies by their very nature cannot be regulated … The supreme court should resist the urge to get involved. “There is simply no denying the fact that cryptocurrencies have not gained the widespread usage their early proponents predicted, with usage as currency still restricted to a few pockets of enthusiasts,” he wrote. While praising blockchain technology, believing that it “has taken off,” he claims that “the revolution called cryptocurrency has all but failed.” The advocate explained his position by stating that crypto regulation simply cannot be enforced due to the “alarmingly low” probability “of the coins being recovered or the perpetrators being discovered” when an exchange is hacked. He emphasized that “Nothing that the government introduces or requires can change this fact.” He proceeded to talk about how the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) “has so far … barred banks from transacting with entities that deal with cryptocurrencies,” elaborating: This is, unfortunately as far as the central bank can go. You cannot regulate … something that you do not have some semblance of control over. He further asserted: “This is not to say that cryptocurrencies must be declared illegal. It must be treated for what it is: a shiny new toy. Let them play with it. However, giving it statutory or regulatory legitimacy is not just imprudent, it is foolhardy.” Community Wants Positive Regulation Meanwhile, industry participants are calling for positive crypto regulation. A social media campaign initiated by the CEO of crypto exchange Wazirx, Nischal Shetty, has entered its 124th day. “Every day there are 100s of retweets and likes and thousands of views,” he previously told news.Bitcoin.com. In February, a number of Indian policymakers gathered at a blockchain summit. Among topics of discussion was crypto regulation. At the conclusion of the event, participants agreed that “The regulation is planned to be implemented by end of financial tenure,” according to the post-event announcement. A number of proposals for the country’s regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies have been submitted to the government. In January, the Ministry of Finance invited reputed law firm Nishith Desai Associates to present their proposals. Last month, the Indian National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) published a report that calls for crypto regulatory certainty. Last week, the supreme court gave the government four weeks to come up with the crypto regulation. The government told the court at the time that its committee tasked with drafting the regulation is in final stages of deliberations. What do you think of Mathews’ view on crypto and regulation? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Indian Supreme Court Advocate Says Cryptocurrencies Cannot Be Regulated appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A new digital advertising marketplace called Tribeos aims to launch during Q3 of 2019 with ambitious plans to leverage the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) blockchain. This week news.Bitcoin.com spoke with Matt Gallant, chief executive officer of Tribeos, who explained that the platform will provide the BCH chain with a “ton of commerce.” Also read: An In-Depth Look at Ethereum’s Maker and Dai Stablecoin Tribeos Aims to Eliminate Ad Fraud and Provide Radical Transparency of Transaction Data Using Bitcoin Cash Tribeos is a digital advertising provider headquartered in Bermuda that was founded by Matt Gallant in 2017. The project aims to provide a more efficient advertising system that’s competitive with advertising giants like Google Adwords. The company was funded by Bitmain Technologies during the first week of August 2018 when the mining manufacturer made a $3 million seed investment in Tribeos. The team has explained they are big fans of the BCH ecosystem and Tribeos will use BCH as an integral part of its infrastructure. News.Bitcoin.com spoke with Tribeos founder Matt Gallant and the startup’s technical advisor Jonald Fyookball, the founder of the Electron Cash wallet. Tribeos CEO Matt Gallant. Gallant explained that the startup is building an advertising network using blockchain to create the transparency that’s desperately needed. “As it stands platforms like Google Adwords, Facebook or other platforms are all black boxes where nobody knows what’s happening,” Gallant told our newsdesk. “As a result, there’s an obscene amount of fraud within the industry and the numbers range from $19 billion to $100 billion.” Gallant added that Tribeos aims to stop the fraudulent activities tied to the online advertising industry and build a successful advertising network. “So stopping ad fraud is just part of the equation as we also plan to take market share away from the existing monopolies,” Gallant emphasized. The founder of the digital advertising marketplace added: As a side effect Bitcoin Cash will reap the benefits from a ton of commerce. Distributed Ledger Tech, Adshield and Gold Lantern Jonald Fyookball, the founder and lead developer of Electron Cash, joined the conversation and explained he was working with the Tribeos engineering team. Basically, all Tribeos payments are performed onchain between advertisers and publishers, Fyookball explained. “Tribeos will take a fee between 10-12 percent which is really competitive compared to Google Adwords and other providers who take 30-50 percent,” the developer detailed. “It’s going to be completely powered by the Bitcoin Cash chain,” Fyookball said. “We may accept payments in USD or something else but whatever they pay in, Tribeos will still be using BCH behind the scenes — So in certain circumstances, it could be like one of those things where people don’t know BCH is being used.” Gallant remarked that Tribeos is going to work everywhere. Unlike basic attention token (BAT) which works with the Brave browser, Tribeos will be able to work with any browser, mobile, and web platform. On the cybersecurity side, Tribeos has developed a suite of software tools like Adshield, which stops bots from clicking ads in order to drain budgets. “We’re also building something called atomic traceability, which basically reveals right down to the movement of the mouse or the movement of the browser and everything that’s happening so that behavior transparency is provided,” Gallant added. Gold Lantern, another part of the Tribeos software suite, will provide bullet-proof tracking and analytics. Between the combination of those programs and utilizing the BCH protocol’s immutable ledger, the Tribeos software will fundamentally “deliver radical transparency of transaction data that can’t be manipulated.” The founder further stated that he expects the project to launch in Q3 this year and the company is already onboarding advertisers. Tribeos has also launched a Security Token Offering (STO), which was approved by the Bermuda Minister of Finance under new digital asset laws. The startup detailed that the STO will provide an initial public offering (IPO) type of protection within a cryptographic asset. The STO, called “FIRE,” will be based on the Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP), explained Fyookball during the conversation about Tribeos. “We’re pretty excited about that,” Fyookball remarked. Overall, the Tribeos team has high hopes of tackling some of the biggest issues within the online advertising industry. If it catches on, the Bitcoin Cash network could capture a lot of traction on the web. What do you think about the Tribeos platform and how it aims to utilize the BCH chain? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, and Tribeos. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Tribeos Ad Platform Will Bring Commerce to Bitcoin Cash, Claims Founder appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Tether (USDT), the seventh most valuable crypto asset by market cap, has shrugged off attempts by newer stablecoins to usurp it. Now, a new version of tether is coming to the Tron network. Also Read: Gibraltar Exchange to List Bitcoin Cash Fiat Trading Pairs Tether to Trade on Tron Tron is officially partnering with Tether to launch a TRC20-based version of the USDT stablecoin, according to a statement from both ventures. Adding the dollar-pegged coin to its blockchain is meant to elevate Tron’s existing ecosystem of decentralized applications (dapps), improve overall value storage, and increase its decentralized dxchange (DEX) liquidity. It is also said to make the network more accessible to enterprise-level partners and institutional investors. The companies expect to implement USDT on Tron by early Q2 2019. “We are pleased to announce this collaboration with the Tron Foundation. This integration underlines our commitment to furthering innovation within the cryptocurrency space as we continue to anticipate the needs and demands of the digital asset community,” commented Jean-Louis van der Velde, chief executive officer of Tether. Tokens Used for Stablecoins, Games, Torrents TRC‌20 is a technical standard used for smart contracts on the blockchain for implementing tokens with the Tron Virtual Machine (TVM), similar to Ethereum’s ERC‌20. “Our collaboration with Tether to bring a USDT TRC20 token to Tron will bring incredible stability and confidence to users,” said Justin Sun, founder of Tron and CEO of Bittorrent. “As we perform and execute on our vision, they can easily redeem their tokens for US dollars.” In the Daily on Monday we reported that Tron Arcade and Mixmarvel have teamed up to bring the online game Slither.io to the blockchain. Hypersnakes, the blockchain version of the multiplayer worm-like game, allows players to compete and earn TRX without a wallet, making it easier to acquire the cryptocurrency. The Bittorrent token (BTT) is another example of a digital coin based on the Tron protocol. What do you think about Tron partnering with Tether? 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 Satoshi’s Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post Tron Partners With Tether to Launch TRC20-Based Stablecoin appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Members of the cryptocurrency community can now book rooms in over 550,000 properties worldwide by utilizing the accommodation and hotel booking service Travala.com. The company’s crypto payment gateway accepts a myriad of cryptocurrencies so individuals and organizations can travel to 82,000 destinations and pay with their favorite digital asset. Also read: An In-Depth Look at Ethereum’s Maker and Dai Stablecoin Book 550,000 Property Listings With a Myriad of Digital Assets Crypto enthusiasts have been discussing a hotel booking service called Travala.com recently which provides accommodation in a wide variety of countries and cities. Travala accepts 10 different cryptocurrencies including its native token AVA, BCH, ETH, XRP, LTC, TUSD, TRX, NAN, XRB, and BNB. The startup’s native token AVA is a protocol based on the NEO network. At the time of publication, the startup offers bookings to 567,928 properties in 210 countries which add up to roughly 82,311 travel destinations. This includes places like Paris, Rome, Bali, Hanoi, Singapore, Amsterdam, London, Lisbon, New York, Los Angeles, Montreal, and Toronto. Travala launched in July of 2018 with the goal of providing a blockchain-powered travel system. Travala heralds itself as the crypto economy’s equivalent to Expedia because of the abundance of prominent listings the service provides. Unfortunately for crypto enthusiasts, Expedia silently dropped bitcoin core (BTC) payments last year for unknown reasons. This year, Travala started seeing increased traction. For instance, January bookings increased from last December’s numbers by 265 percent. The startup also partnered with a leading travel firm from China, Didi Travel, in order to bolster the firm’s presence in one of the largest countries on earth. The most popular destinations in January included places like the U.S., Italy, Thailand, Spain, Singapore, Sweden, and the Philippines. You can now book 550,000+ hotels worldwide with #BitcoinCash $BCH using the https://t.co/CL8FxAXFXS built in crypto payment gateway. Travel to 82,000+ destinations with your favourite #crypto #BCH #blockchain #travel@Bitcoin @rogerkver @BTCTN @BitcoinCashFans @BitcoinCashA pic.twitter.com/OYQekqC7Zk — Travala.com (@travalacom) February 26, 2019 Travala Hopes to Have 1.5 Million Properties Listed in 2019 On Jan. 31 the company introduced fiat payments to the Travala platform which allows people to pay for bookings with Paypal, and four major credit cards. During the update, the startup said that booking descriptions were improved with a “clear breakdown of room type, meal type, price-per-night, booking price, and the total.” Travala also has a roadmap for 2019 improvements and aims to add things like discounts and loyalty rewards to the system. Additionally, Travala will be adding a referral program, integration with Gimmonix, partner with 15 wholesale suppliers, and hopes to cover 1.5 million properties by the year’s end. Travala will be joining a few other companies that offer hotel bookings, accommodations, and flights as well. Cheapair accepts BCH, LTC, DASH, and BTC for hotels, flights, and car rentals. Bitcoin.travel is a travel agency that accepts BTC and queries a list of flights and hotels through its partners. The New York-based travel agency founded in 2013 provides customers with flight and hotel reservations using BTC as well. Users interested in flights and cruise bookings can utilize Webjet Exclusives and Cryptocribs aims to decentralize Airbnb by allowing booking payments with BCH, ETH, and BTC. Travala wants to be known throughout the cryptocurrency ecosystem as a next-generation travel agency. “A one-stop travel booking platform combining the best of this generation’s online travel agency (OTA) functionality with the incredible benefits of next gen’s decentralized technologies and tokenized incentives,” explains the company’s website. Moreover, Travala claims that the company offers a competitive minimum average of 15% lower than current mainstream OTAs. This is due to the partnership with leading wholesale travel solution partners and a cryptocurrency-based incentivization economy. What do you think about Travala.com’s services? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the mentioned companies, creators, associates, or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com and the author are 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 this article. Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, and Travala.com. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Travala.com’s Cryptocurrency Gateway Provides Travel to 82,000 Destinations appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Finnish public broadcaster YLE will air a damning program on March 4 that reveals Nordea Bank’s alleged involvement in a multi-million-dollar money laundering scheme. The program will show how dirty money, mostly from Russian criminals, passed through Nordea, the biggest lender in the Nordic region. Also read: Startup Company Sets Up Bitcoin ATM in Botswana YLE to Broadcast ‘Big Information Leak’ on Money Laundering Nordic financial authorities indicated in October that they had received documents from Bill Browder’s Hermitage Capital Management alleging Nordea had breached anti-money laundering laws. YLE has now said on its website it will broadcast a program on Monday afternoon revealing how Nordea allegedly became a conduit of hundreds of millions of euros of mostly dirty Russian money. Nordea’s chief executive officer Casper von Koskull will also participate in another YLE program covering money laundering late Monday night. Shares of Nordea tumbled 6.5 percent on the news, as fretful investors sold off their stake in banks thought to be connected to the scandal. According to a Bloomberg report, the bank has said it “is aware of the media story and has been in dialogue” with YLE and the Danish newspaper Berlingske, which also intends to publish the laundering report later on March 4. A spokesperson for Nordea told the agency: We have not yet seen the program or article. Based on what we have been invited to comment on, these are all issues that we have seen and commented on before and are therefore in line with previous statements made on AML issues. Europe’s Biggest Banks Hubs for Illicit Financial Flows The latest report, which comes at a time when Nordea’s Nordic contemporaries such as Swedbank and Danske Bank have both faced allegations relating to a money-laundering scandal in Estonia, adds weight to the theory that banks are at the forefront of fueling illicit financial flows. Although various analysts have blamed cryptocurrencies for driving money-laundering, terrorism and other crimes, due to their semi-anonymous nature, research has shown that most financial institutions in developed countries are – in one way or another – involved in money-laundering. News.Bitcoin.com reported last mont that Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, was fined 3.7 billion euros ($4.2 billion) for money laundering, while Denmark’s largest bank was forced to terminate its operations in Estonia following the unearthing of a $226 billion scandal. In October, anti-money laundering experts Fortytwo Data released a survey which revealed that almost all of Europe’s biggest banks have been sanctioned for money laundering offences over the past decade. The research firm established that at least 18 of the 20 biggest banks in Europe, including five UK institutions, were slapped with various multi-million dollar fines for violations relating to money laundering. All 10 of Europe’s biggest banks, including HSBC, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Société Générale and Santander have fallen foul of anti-money laundering authorities, while recent crises at the likes of ING, Danske Bank and Deutsche Bank “only reinforce this impression, demonstrating how no bank is immune to money laundering sanctions, no matter how large,” said Fortytwo Data. A report in the New York Times recently noted that French banking giant BNP Paribas in 2014 pleaded guilty and paid a $8.9 billion fine for processing billions of dollars’ worth of transactions for companies in countries under United States economic sanctions. Federal prosecutors said BNP Paribas had “banked on never being held to account for its criminal support of countries and entities engaged in acts of terrorism and other atrocities.” Two years earlier, HSBC consented to a deferred prosecution settlement with the U.S. Justice Department and forfeited $1.3 billion for failing to maintain controls that would have prevented drug dealers from laundering hundreds of millions of dollars. Although cryptocurrencies, which can be used as money without the backing of any central bank, have had their share of scandals, the malfeasance they are embroiled in is minuscule compared to traditional banks. What do you think about banks being involved in money laundering? Let us know 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 Nordea Bank Faces Allegations of Laundering Russian Millions appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A Gibraltar insured and regulated digital asset exchange is set to list bitcoin cash (BCH) versus fiat trading pairs. Users of the platform, that also features fiat onboarding capabilities, will soon be able trade the popular cryptocurrency against the U.S. dollar, British pound and the euro. Also Read: Bitcoin Early Adopters Build Seasteading Home off the Coast of Thailand BCH/Fiat Trading Pairs Are Coming to GBX-DAX The Gibraltar Blockchain Exchange (GBX) has announced that starting from March 13, fiat trading pairs with bitcoin cash (BCH) will be available to users of its insured and regulated Digital Asset Exchange (DAX). The new bitcoin cash fiat trading pairs will include BCH/USD, BCH/GBP and BCH/EUR, as well as trading pairs with BTC and ETH. Nick Cowan, CEO of GBX, explained that “mass adoption is something that everyone in the digital asset industry is striving for. Bringing more fiat on, and off, ramps to the digital asset market will help to increase the fluidity and access to the market. With the GBX offering a regulated and insured space, we are creating a better user experience for those that are looking for a trusted environment in which to operate.” Supporting a Growing Local Digital Ecosystem GBX is a subsidiary of the EU-regulated Gibraltar Stock Exchange (GSX) and is regulated as a Distributed Ledger Technology Provider by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC). Its digital asset exchange  is said to be built on institutional-grade best practices and good governance, derived from the experience of its parent company. It follows strict verification requirements, promising to create a professional and secure trading environment. Gibraltar has a growing ecosystem of digital asset ventures as the local government is focused on creating a “supportive environment” for the sector. It was reported earlier this year that several known crypto companies have been granted licenses to operate from the British overseas territory since it adopted business-friendly regulations for the digital asset industry. This is seen as move that can support the local economy with skilled jobs similar to what has occurred in other small European jurisdictions such as Malta and the Isle of Man. What do you think about GBX adding BCH/fiat trading pairs? 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 Satoshi’s Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post Gibraltar Exchange to List Bitcoin Cash Fiat Trading Pairs appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Since tether (USDT) bolstered the idea of a working stablecoin over the last few years, there’s been a variety of different types of stable cryptocurrencies that are usually pegged to the U.S. dollar. However, there’s one particular stablecoin that’s been a hot topic of discussion lately called dai, a coin that’s backed by ethereum locked into a smart contract. Also read: Payglobal Provides Cryptocurrency to Fiat Transfers With Existing Bank Cards Maker and Dai The following is an overview of how dais are created within a network called the Maker DAO and why some cryptocurrency enthusiasts seem to like the concept better than its fiat alternatives. But there’s also a slew of critics who dislike the Maker project for a multitude of reasons that could theoretically hurt a few individuals’ dreams of the perfect stablecoin backed by crypto assets. The Ethereum network has a popular decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) called Maker, which is now well known for creating a cryptocurrency-backed stablecoin called dai. The Single-Collateral Dai (SCD) system, launched in December 2017, allows anyone to leverage their ETH in order to create a stablecoin that keeps price valuation down to around $1 most of the time. Over the last 14 months of operation, the Maker DAO has become the most popular Ethereum-based system in 2019. At the time of publication, there’s more than 1 percent of the entire ETH supply in circulation locked up into the Maker system as there’s 2.1 million ETH used as collateral. The Maker team consists of CEO Rune Christensen, CTO Andy Milenius, President Steven Becker and roughly 18 other leaders. The community is relatively small but has been growing since the project’s inception. Maker and the stablecoin dai community have a blog, a chat forum, and its own subreddit where individuals discuss the nascent ecosystem. At press time, dai is ahead of the stablecoin GUSD with the 55th largest market capitalization of around $89.3 million. There are two fundamental differences between Maker’s dai and other stablecoins like USDC, GUSD, and USDT. For one, dai is not backed by fiat reserves held in a bank like a great majority of its stablecoin peers. The other difference is that fiat systems are collateralized by the company’s word and third-party audits while the transparency of dai can be seen onchain at all times. Basically, dai holds stability because ETH is locked into a contract used in a system called a Collateralized Debt Position (CDP). A user wanting to acquire dai sends the ETH to a CDP and can withdraw dai from there. However, the collateralization ratio uses a method called overcollateralization (OC), which helps lower the system’s exposure to risk and keeps the credit (dai) through Maker’s autonomous feedback mechanisms. OC requires more funds than a typical dollar for dollar trade in order to obtain dai. The ratio of ETH collateral needed in order to acquire dai is fixed at 1.5:1 at all times, but users can purchase dai on the open market too. There is currently 2.1 million ETH locked into Maker contracts that produce dai. Critics of Maker, Overcollateralization, and a Stablecoin Unmediated by the Legal System Maker and dai have become a popular subject among cryptocurrency supporters largely because some people like the concept of a liquid stablecoin for certain use cases as well as the idea dai is backed by crypto. However, there are some critics of the Maker protocol and the dai stablecoin it produces. Some skeptics believe the project could fall victim to the same scenario that happened to the Ethereum network’s first DAO which saw the loss of $50 million in June 2016. At the time, users exploited the DAO’s code enabling them to take one-third of the DAO’s funds to a subsidiary account. Another critique of Maker DAO explains that the OC scheme and paying the contract back with the equivalent amount of dai is well known. However, what the organization hasn’t explained yet “is that you also need to pay a stability fee in MKR,” Bennett Tomlin said last June. “Also [dai] cannot always be collateralized in excess, because if there is a black swan event that destroys the value of ethereum that is no longer true,” Tomlin’s research details. Tomlin’s study called a “Deep Look at Maker DAO and Dai and MKR” adds that the Maker’s creators explain in the white paper that in the event of a “black swan” crash the organization will dilute the “pooled ether.” The author’s post explains, “Why someone would trust this, I do not know — The developers are obviously aware of this risk, but it seems to be ignored.” Tomlin’s report also details that the biggest hurdle for the Maker team is the government-specific entities that regulate the U.S. financial activities. “Better watch out for the SEC, the CFTC, and the rest of the alphabet soup,” Tomlin warned. A Multi-Collateral Dai and Other Chain’s Creating a Stablecoin Despite some concerns, the Maker DAO continues to rake in lots of ethereum in order to create the world’s first working consumer-grade stablecoin based on the collateralized crypto assets. The project’s roadmap calls for a Multi-Collateral Dai system which will at some point be able to collateralize the dai stablecoin with other cryptocurrencies. On Nov. 6, 2018, the development team detailed that the code for Multi-Collateral Dai was published and contracts have been deployed to the system’s testnet. Additionally, there has been talk of other cryptocurrencies following suit with the dai idea. Just recently the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) community discussed the creation of a stablecoin built on the BCH chain. The BCH network has been recently experimenting with token creation but something like dai on BCH would require some different elements. By and large, the Ethereum community seems to appreciate the Maker protocol and dai stablecoin and so far it has brought some more traction toward that ecosystem. What do you think about the Maker protocol and the dai stablecoin? Let us know your thoughts on this subject in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Bitcoin.com does not endorse the Maker DAO or dai stablecoin. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the mentioned companies, creators, associates, or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com and the author are 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 this article. Image credits: Shutterstock, Maker DAO, Dai, Makerscan.io, and Pixabay. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post An In-Depth Look at Ethereum’s Maker and Dai Stablecoin appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article