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Despite the short-lived rally leading up to Christmas, BTC appears poised to post a fifth consecutive red candle on the monthly chart for the second time ever. BCH also looks ready to extend its record bear streak to five months of red, while ETH appears poised to post a monthly gain for the first time in seven months. Also Read: Judge Denies Craig Wright’s Motion to Dismiss Billion-Dollar Bitcoin Lawsuit BTC Likely to Post Fifth Consecutive Red Candle for First Time Since 2011 Should BTC fail to finish 2018 above $4,000 on Bitstamp, the markets will have produced five consecutive red monthly candles for the second time ever. At the current price of roughly $3,850, BTC has shed 50% since trading for approximately $7,725 at the start of August of this year. BTC/USD – Bitstamp – 1M The first time BTC posted five red one-month candles in a row occurred during the fallout from what many describe as bitcoin’s first bubble of 2011, which saw BTC gain nearly 3,000% from roughly $1 in April to over $29 in June. Driven by minuscule liquidity, however, the rally was short-lived, resulting in roughly five months of downward momentum that saw BTC bleed 83% from $16.48 at the start of June to $2.79 at the end of November. Since then, the most heavily sustained bearish price action posted on BTC’s monthly chart took place during the second half of 2014, which saw four consecutive months of red as prices fell 47.5% from $640 at the start of July to $336 at the end of Oct. Following the three months of selling that persisted from March to May of 2015, BTC markets had not posted more than two consecutive red monthly candles leading into the second half of 2018. BTC currently has a capitalization of $67.2 billion and a market dominance of 52.4%. BCH in Midst of Record Selling Streak on Monthly Chart BCH/USD also appears on the cusp of posting five consecutive monthly red candles at the time of writing. The charts show a doji candle with a tight body on near-record volume for Dec., suggesting that the color of this month’s candle could easily change. BCH/USD – Kraken – 1M Regardless of whether the month closes red or green, BCH/USD is currently in the midst of a record run of red candles after posting four consecutive months of bearish action starting in Aug. of this year, beating out the three-month slide that gripped BCH/USD during the first quarter of 2018. Currently trading for approximately $170, BCH has slid 78% against the dollar since starting Aug. at roughly $775. When measuring against BTC, BCH is testing resistance at the 0.78 Fibonacci retracement area from the local top of 0.097 BTC at roughly 0.07 BTC. As of this writing, BCH is the fourth largest crypto market with a market cap of over $2.8 million and a market dominance of 2.2%. XRP Dominance Over ETH Recedes XRP/USD will likely close Dec. green, which would comprise just the third green monthly candle posted by the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. XRP/USD (Calculated by TradingView) – Poloniex – 1M When measuring against BTC, XRP has continued to rally toward resistance at 0.0001 BTC, with current prices hovering at 0.0000980. XRP/BTC- Poloniex – 1M At the time of writing, XRP has a market cap of $15.3 billion and a market dominance of 12.6%. ETH to Post First Green Month Since April After a record seven consecutive monthly red candles, ETH appears ready to post what would be the third green one-month candle for 2018. Since the start of May, ETH has shed approximately 81% of its value against the dollar, sliding from nearly $675 to $130 in roughly 200 days. ETH/USDT- Poloniex – 1M When measuring against BTC, ETH is also poised to break a record spate of selling pressure, following six consecutive red monthly candles. The recent slide beats out the previous ETH/BTC record of five consecutive red monthly candles that sustained from the market’s Aug. 2015 launch until the start of 2016. ETH/BTC- Poloniex – 1M Despite still sitting in third place by capitalization, ETH has reclaimed significant market dominance, currently comprising a $13.7 billion market cap and a dominance of 10.3%. Do you think that the anomalous spate of sell pressure posted across the leading markets is a sign of capitulation? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Tradingview 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.” The post Markets Update: BCH and BTC Set to Post Record 5 Months of Consecutive Red Candles appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Mineable and tradable from anywhere, cryptocurrency is borderless. Its adoption nevertheless hinges in part upon the stance taken by nation states. Politicians have the power to integrate, legitimize and push crypto to the next stage of mainstream adoption. A number of influential politicians around the globe have expressed varying levels of support for digital currencies and blockchain technology. Also Read: The Next Generation of Politicians Will Be Crypto’s Biggest Advocates Cryptocurrencies Are Essentially Borderless Pressure has been building on regulators to increase oversight of cryptocurrencies, whose stateless nature makes them difficult to restrict. There has been an expansion of economic activity on a global scale geared around quantifying and regulating crypto assets. In 2019, politicians and regulators will play a pivotal role in pushing cryptocurrencies into the realm of mainstream finance. Cryptocurrency investing remains a high risk pursuit, but greater regulatory clarity may help to legitimize this nascent asset class, and grant investors greater protection. A number of politicians have been instrumental in bringing bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies into the spotlight, with some openly advocating crypto’s many benefits. Who Are the Politicians Advocating Crypto? The following list of countries, arranged alphabetically, details notable politicians who support the adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Australian politician Nick Dametto, a recently elected MP for Katter’s Australian Party, a right-leaning minority party that seeks to serve Queensland, has openly discussed his bitcoin holdings. Dametto first purchased BTC in October 2017. In recent years, a reform of Australia’s tax regime surrounding cryptocurrency has also helped propel bitcoin toward the mainstream. China has a love-hate relationship with blockchain and cryptocurrency. Most recently, Wang Pengjie, а member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), has been actively pushing for a digital asset management “approval system” and raised the possibility of establishing a crypto asset trading platform at a national level. Dubai ruler Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum is the current executive authority of the government and has launched a blockchain strategy. The prince has been actively pushing Dubai for the highly-sought position to be at the forefront of this technological revolution. Gibraltar’s finance minister Albert Isola has been busy rolling out the red carpet for crypto companies, with the country currently in the final stages of voting on regulations that would allow companies to issue and trade digital tokens. Israel’s Netanyahu Gets It Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, currently a member of the Knesset and the chairman of the Likud party, has spoken positively of cryptocurrencies and has warned that banks will eventually disappear, potentially because of Bitcoin. According to a recent report released by Bezeq, one of the largest telecom companies in Israel, 5 percent of people in the country have invested in or used BTC and other digital coins. In Japan, Takeshi Fujimaki of the country’s Nippon Ishin no Kai political party has proposed a number of changes to the current taxation system for cryptocurrencies. Fujimaki was formerly an adviser to billionaire investor George Soros. Putin: Crypto Goes Beyond National Borders Vladimir Putin Russia’s president Vladimir Putin has mentioned blockchain, intimating that lawmakers stop hindering the development of these technologies. Putin has noted the potential of the cryptoruble, and recently commenting, “If we talk about cryptocurrency – this is something that goes beyond national borders.” South Korea’s minister of science and IT, Yoo Young-min, is a huge blockchain supporter. Young-min has been pushing blockchain integration and to have cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology regarded as separate entities for regulatory purposes. In Sweden, Mathias Sundin became a member of the country’s parliament after funding his election campaign solely in bitcoin. Sundin then made the transition from the political arena to the position of chairman of the board of Swedish crypto exchange BTCX. Following very closely behind Sundin is Switzerland’s lawmaker Cédric Wermuth who is vice president of the Social Democratic Party. He called for a formal government study into the possibility of launching a state cryptocurrency. The government has asked legislators commission a study on the pros and cons of a Swiss “e-franc.” First State-Issued Cryptocurrency Is the Petro In the United Kingdom, member of Parliament from the Conservative party Eddie Hughes says that he is a “crypto enthusiast with amateur knowledge,” and has urged fellow parliamentarians to get a better understanding of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. In the United States, during the 2018 midterm elections a number of crypto-friendly lawmakers have secured governorships. Bitcoin advocate and pro-tech candidate Jared Polis was elected as governor. The tech advocate and gamer earned a fond place in bitcoiners’ hearts in 2014 when he vowed to fight any attempt by the government to restrict the cryptocurrency’s growth. Early BTC adopter Gavin Newsom was also elected governor of California. Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro, while a controversial figure, is also a crypto-friendly politician who is behind the oil-backed Venezuelan coin, the petro. Maduro has been tirelessly promoting the petro ever since his administration announced the creation of what is now considered the first state-issued cryptocurrency. Will we see more politicians endorse cryptocurrencies in 2019? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Influential Politicians Are Advocating Crypto Around the Globe appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Electrum developers have confirmed reports of an attack against the popular cryptocurrency wallet. Also covered in The Daily, Huobi Derivative Market’s daily trading volume has reached $1 billion, and one of the founders of Brazil’s leading crypto exchange Foxbit has died in a car crash. Also read: UFC 232 to Have Official Crypto Partner, 5% of Israelis Use Bitcoin Electrum Developers Scramble to Stop Phishing Attack Users of the Electrum bitcoin wallet have been targeted in a new phishing attack, the project’s developers confirmed on Twitter. The team notes that the wallet’s official website is electrum.org and warns against downloading the software from any other source. The attack, which began about a week ago, has been conducted through malicious servers. When asked to broadcast a transaction through a legitimate Electrum wallet, these servers reply with an error message, directing users to download a fake ‘security update’ from an unauthorized Github repository. At startup, the malicious software asks users for a two-factor authentication code, an unusual request as the 2FA codes are needed only when sending funds. The app then uses the code to transfer the stolen digital cash to addresses controlled by the attacker. Electrum is one of the most popular cryptocurrency wallets with support for major coins such as bitcoin core, bitcoin cash, litecoin, and others. According to a report by Zdnet, the unknown hacker or hackers have so far managed to misappropriate over 200 BTC. Electrum developers released an update, version 3.3.2, after they were notified of the attack. However, they admitted in a blog post that “This is not a true fix, but the more proper fix of using error codes would entail upgrading the whole federated server ecosystem.” Gitub admins have also taken down the attackers’ repository. In January of this year, Electrum issued an emergency patch for another bug. The vulnerability exposed passwords allowing websites hosting the wallets to potentially steal cryptocurrency belonging to their users. Huobi DM’s Daily Trading Volume Surpasses $1 Billion Huobi Derivative Market’s daily volume has exceeded $1 billion within a month after the launch of the trading service, the Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange announced. The threshold was reached on Dec. 25, which was also a strong day for the company’s main trading platform, Huobi Global, with the combined trading volume of both Huboi’s platforms amounting to $2 billion on Christmas day. Huobi Global CEO Livio Weng commented: This just goes to show the market demand for more sophisticated crypto trading tools, particularly those that allow traders to control risks in volatile markets. Huobi DM is a priority for us and we will continue to enhance it over the coming months. The cryptocurrency contract trading feature offered by Huobi Derivative Market allows users to buy or sell bitcoin core (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) at predetermined prices and specified times in the future. That provides traders with a number of options such as arbitrage, speculation, and hedging. Huobi also plans to offer support for more cryptocurrencies, with EOS contracts already scheduled to go live on Friday. Foxbit Co-Founder Gustavo Schiavon Dies in a Car Crash Gustavo Schiavon, one of the founders of the leading Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange Foxbit, has died in a road accident. While driving between Marília and São Paulo, the young entrepreneur reportedly lost control over his car and ran into a cargo truck. Gustavo’s girlfriend, Ariadny Rinolfi, has survived but has been hospitalized in serious condition. Another victim died in the crash that involved a total of two passenger cars and two large trucks. Schiavon established Foxbit in 2014 with three other partners – João Canhada, Marcos Henrique and Felipe Trovão. In the following years, it became Brazil’s largest digital asset trading platform. This past March, the exchange lost to hackers 1 million Brazilian real (approximately $260,000), however, restored customers’ balances with the company’s own reserves. This year Foxbit was also involved in a lawsuit against a commercial bank that closed its account citing concerns over money laundering. Without presenting evidence in court, the bank claimed it had the right to shut down accounts which it determined to be risky, which was later confirmed by Brazil’s judiciary. What are your thoughts on today’s news tidbits? Tell us in the comments section. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Electrum, Foxbit. Make sure you do not miss any important Bitcoin-related news! Follow our news feed any which way you prefer; via Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, RSS or email (scroll down to the bottom of this page to subscribe). We’ve got daily, weekly and quarterly summaries in newsletter form. Bitcoin never sleeps. Neither do we. The post The Daily: Electrum Users Targeted by Hackers, Huobi DM’s Daily Volume Exceeds $1B 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 does not endorse nor support this product/service. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the press release. December 28th, 2018 Bitcoin.com ACD Inc Bitcoin.com CEO Roger Ver has announced a strategic partnership within the cryptocurrency space between his company and the Tokyo-based ACD Inc (funded by ANA Holdings). Based on this alliance, ACD’s token will be launched on the Bitcoin Cash network as a BCH token. As early as spring 2019, ACD will provide consumers with various services on this Bitcoin Cash Platform, including the ability to purchase authentic Japanese goods through their online store. After extensive research and testing, ACD and Bitcoin.com jointly advocate Bitcoin Cash as the cryptocurrency that offers the most benefit to both consumers and businesses across the world due to its cheap, fast, and reliable payments. The partnership will begin with ACD accepting Bitcoin Cash payments from their customers. Many additional use cases will be announced in the coming months, including details for the ACD token that will be based on Bitcoin Cash Platform. Mr. Yasuhiro Sonoda, CEO of ACD said, “After extensive research into different cryptocurrencies on the market, ACD chose to implement Bitcoin Cash as a new payment method. This will benefit our customers by offering fast, cheap and reliable worldwide transactions for both online and offline payments.” Roger Ver, CEO of Bitcoin.com said, “I’m honoured to be a part of this exciting partnership between ACD and Bitcoin Cash! Worldwide money is a natural fit for a worldwide airline.” Bitcoin Cash is a peer to peer electronic cash system that allows anyone to pay from anywhere in the world instantly, basically for free, and with no risk of chargebacks, payment denials or reversals. It is a natural fit for any global business like ACD, and their decision to adopt Bitcoin Cash payments sets them ahead of competitors by providing customers with an innovative new way to pay. Media Inquiries: Mr. Kota Morimoto ACD Inc morimoto@a-cd.co.jp +81-(0)3-5657-1505 Mickey Amami Bitcoin.com mickey@bitcoin.com +81-(0)3-6450-5136 Supporting Link https://www.a-cd.co.jp/corporate_en/ 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: ACD and Bitcoin.com Have Teamed up to Launch Payments With Bitcoin Cash appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On Dec. 27, court documents from the case against the Nchain chief scientist, Craig Wright, explained a large portion of his recent dismissal motions were found “not warranted” and were denied. Wright is being sued for 1.1 million BTC in a legal case in Florida that alleges he manipulated David Kleiman’s family. Also Read: Many Self-Proclaimed Bitcoin Inventors and Satoshi Clues Were Debunked in 2018 The Lawsuit Against Craig Wright for 1.1 Million BTC Moves Forward According to case 18-CV-80176 Kleiman v. Wright filed in South Florida, Craig Wright is accused of allegedly interfering with David Kleiman’s bitcoin assets after he died. Kleiman’s family believes David and Wright played a role in the early days of Bitcoin and possibly created the technology. This assumption was bolstered back when Kleiman, a forensic computer investigator was featured with Wright in tech publications such as Wired and Gizmodo, because they too thought the duo were possible Satoshi suspects. Judge Beth Bloom says Craig Wright still must respond to counts I, II, V-IX in a legal battle seeking 1.1 million BTC. Kleiman died in 2013 with very little money after fighting with MRSA, a bacterium infection that spreads in different parts of the body. His brother Ira Kleiman alleges Wright of plotting to “seize Dave’s bitcoins and his rights to certain intellectual property,” according to the legal documents filed last February. Kleiman’s estate is suing Wright for approximately 1.1 million BTC ($3.9 billion) or the coin’s fair market value and damages associated with IP theft. David Kleiman, computer security expert, an author of multiple books and a noted speaker. Kleiman has been named as one of the members of the Satoshi Nakamoto group theory. Wright Accused of Grifting the Kleiman Family and Transferring David’s Bitcoins to Various International Trusts Nchain’s Craig Wright and his legal representation, Rivero Mestre LLP, attempted to dismiss the case earlier this year. Wright’s motion emphasized that Kleiman’s lawsuit was full of “supposition, speculation, conflicting allegations, hearsay, and innuendo.” The decision published on Dec. 27 explains the Florida district Judge Beth Bloom has granted Wright’s motion to dismiss counts III, and IV. However, Wright must answer to counts I, II, V-IX of the amended complaint and he has until Jan. 10, 2019, to respond. For instance the 40-page court document states: [The] court finds that plaintiffs have sufficiently alleged a claim for conversion — The Amended Complaint alleges that defendant converted at least 300,000 bitcoins upon Dave’s death and transferred them to various international trusts, was an unauthorized act that deprived the plaintiffs of the bitcoins therein — Accordingly, plaintiffs’ claim for conversion (Count I) survives defendant’s motion to dismiss. Allegedly the above photos are fraudulent signatures using David Kleiman’s name to transfer funds to various international trusts. “In reality, this signature appears to be a near identical copy of a computer-generated font called Otto,” the billion-dollar court case states. The Kleiman complaints further allege that Wright took advantage of a family who didn’t know too much about the technology. According to the lawsuit, the Kleiman family was unaware of certain property and IP assets that existed. Allegedly, Wright reached out to Dave’s elderly father 10-months after he passed and said, “he was not seek[ing] anything other than to give [him] information about [his] son, and offering to help the Kleiman family recover what Dave owned.” An email of promises to the Kleiman family allegedly written by Craig Wright according to the plaintiff’s evidence. The Amended Complaint also says that Wright promised shares to David’s family for a company called “Coin-Exch” and detailed the shares were “worth millions.” Wright is also accused of “several fraudulent omissions and misrepresentations” to the Kleiman family and related to the property and assets David may have owned. Judge Bloom explains that the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has not decided on whether or not bitcoins are considered “money.” But Bloom emphasized the court still takes alleged victims and injury that occurs on home soil very seriously. “This controversy concerns a Florida company, regarding Florida assets (bitcoins mined in Florida) and intellectual property developed by a Florida company, where both the injured parties are Florida citizens,” Bloom’s decision states. “Therefore, the Southern District of Florida undeniably has a strong interest in adjudicating a case in which its residents claim that harm was committed against them.” The court documents assert that with counts I, II, V-IX still standing, Wright has not met his “heavy burden” against the opposing Kleiman estate and “dismissal on forum non-conveniens grounds is therefore not warranted.” What do you think about the case against Craig Wright? Let us know what you think about this legal matter concerning 1.1 million BTC in the comments section below. Images via Shutterstock, Pixabay, Google, Wiki, Pacer, and Florida case 18-CV-80176. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Judge Denies Craig Wright’s Motion to Dismiss Billion-Dollar Bitcoin Lawsuit appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In an exclusive interview with news.Bitcoin.com, Japan’s top financial regulator has confirmed the number of companies currently wanting to enter the Japanese cryptocurrency market. Meanwhile, several existing crypto exchanges in the country are undergoing changes. Also read: Indian Supreme Court Moves Crypto Hearing, Community Calls for Positive Regulations Over 190 Companies Want In Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) confirmed to news.Bitcoin.com on Wednesday the number of companies to date that have expressed interest to register as cryptocurrency operators. The FSA said: Including preliminary consultation/inquiries regarding registration, more than 190 operators are expressing their intention of market entry. This number is 30 more companies than the previous count the agency revealed in August. At that time, the FSA said that 160 operators had expressed intention to enter the Japanese cryptocurrency market. While the FSA did not discuss specific applications, some companies have made announcements themselves regarding their plans to start crypto-related businesses. Among them are Line Corp., Yahoo! Japan, Money Forward Inc., Drecom Co. Ltd., Yamane Medical Corp., Adways Inc., Avex Inc., Daiwa Securities Group, Samurai & J Partners, Appbank Inc., I-Freek Mobile Inc., Forside Co. Ltd., and Fasteps Co. Ltd. Japan’s Changing Crypto Landscape There are currently 16 registered crypto exchanges in Japan. Under the revised Payment Services Act, crypto operators must register with the FSA. Japan also has three deemed dealers, which are companies that have been allowed to operate while their applications are being reviewed by the regulator. They are Coincheck, Lastroots, and Everybody’s Bitcoin. In September, regulated crypto exchange Zaif was hacked and was subsequently taken over by another regulated exchange, Fisco Cryptocurrency Exchange Inc. Bittrade was recently acquired by Huobi and is in the process of relaunching as Huobi Japan. Madison Group has announced a plan to acquire a stake in Bitocean, another registered exchange. In addition, Ceres Inc. announced on Thursday a capital tie-up with crypto exchange Xtheta to start a joint service next spring. Among deemed dealers, Coincheck was acquired by Monex Group after it was hacked in January. Everybody’s Bitcoin was acquired by mega e-commerce and internet giant Rakuten Inc. Despite acquisitions, the FSA confirmed to news.Bitcoin.com on Wednesday that Japan still currently has 16 registered crypto exchanges. DMM and GMO DMM.com, the parent company of DMM Bitcoin, a regulated crypto exchange, announced on Tuesday that it will no longer launch its Cointap app. The company began accepting registration for this service in January and initially planned to release the app in the spring. The e-commerce giant emphasized that the group will continue to offer crypto trading services at DMM Bitcoin. GMO Internet, the parent company of crypto exchange GMO Coin, also announced on Tuesday that it will no longer develop, manufacture or sell cryptocurrency mining machines, although it will continue to mine in-house. However, GMO said that this decision will not affect services by GMO Coin or the development of its yen-pegged stablecoin, which was announced in October. What do you think of the number of companies wanting to enter the Japanese crypto market? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, DMM.com, and GMO Internet. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post 190 Companies Seek to Enter Japanese Crypto Market appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bitcoin’s 10th anniversary will fall on Jan. 3. As a decentralized currency that belongs to everyone and no one, there is no official way to commemorate its 10th birthday. From wallet manufacturers to developers, every ecosystem participant will have their own suggestions as to how bitcoiners should mark the historic occasion. Also read: Support Grows for Bitcoin Proof of Keys on Jan. 3 Unofficial Ways to Celebrate Bitcoin’s Unofficial Birthday It’s human nature to see significance in numbers. That’s why the crypto community lost its mind over a block hash containing 18 consecutive zeros earlier this year, and it’s also why there will be great fanfare over Bitcoin’s 10th birthday, despite the fact that numerically speaking, 10 is no more significant than any other integer. It’s fitting that the cryptosphere can’t even agree on the official date of Bitcoin’s birthday, which could fall on Jan. 3, when Satoshi mined the genesis block, or on Oct. 31, when he published his whitepaper. For those who believe it to be the former (or simply want an excuse to celebrate Bitcoin’s birthday twice a year), there’s no shortage of ways to mark Jan. 3. Here’s how various ecosystem participants will be celebrating the event. Merchants and Manufacturers Vendors would predictably like you to celebrate Bitcoin’s 10th by buying memorabilia. We’ve covered much of this stuff already, including an expensive watch, an expensive clock, and a reasonably priced hardware wallet. For those too penurious or too cynical to rinse $4,000 on a Bitcoin timepiece, there are more affordable souvenirs available; a t-shirt or framed print should suffice. Mainstream Media Mainstream media have gotten cryptocurrency wrong for a decade, and they’re not going to break the habit of Bitcoin’s lifetime on its 10th. Expect buttloads of verbose hit pieces masquerading as thought pieces pondering “What has Bitcoin actually achieved?” By the time they finally get it, it’ll be too late. Meanwhile, don’t give the media the rage clicks they crave. If you really want to read about Bitcoin’s decade in review, there’ll be plenty of cryptocurrency publications, news.Bitcoin.com included, on hand to do the honors. Mainstream media: still struggling to understand Bitcoin Bitcoin Users On Jan. 3, a significant number of bitcoin users will be busy withdrawing their cryptocurrency from exchanges and storing it on non-custodial wallets. The move will be initiated as part of Proof of Keys, a scheme designed to return ownership of bitcoin from third parties to individuals, where the digital coins were always meant to reside. Bitcoin Developers Expect to see plenty of geeky tweets from prominent Bitcoin developers on Jan. 3 that draw upon the rich trove of data at their disposal. A handful of devs have been working on the cryptocurrency’s code since the early days, and thus Bitcoin’s 10th will also be an opportunity for self-reflection. There are no longer service medals to be earned for making code commits to Bitcoin Core or Bitcoin Cash — merely the satisfaction that comes from knowing you’ve played a small part in optimizing Satoshi’s creation for the next wave of users. Bitcoin Businesses Exchanges, wallet developers, P2P platforms and other crypto businesses will be celebrating Bitcoin’s 10th in their own way; expect to see discounts, zero-fee trading and other offers to mark the occasion, plus a whole lot of Bitcoin trivia shared on social media. While there’s no obligation to celebrate Bitcoin’s birthday (as a permissionless creation, that’s one of its charms), many of those who’ve come to know and love the cryptocurrency over the last 10 years will take a moment to toast this milestone. Whether that means raising a glass, buying bitcoin, or withdrawing coins to a non-custodial wallet, there are numerous ways to observe Bitcoin’s most symbolically significant birthday yet. The next time an anniversary as widely celebrated arrives will likely fall on Jan. 3, 2059, when Bitcoin turns 50. Here’s to the next 40 years. How will you celebrate Bitcoin’s 10th birthday? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Google Inc. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Here’s How the World Will Commemorate Bitcoin’s 10th Anniversary on Jan. 3 appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Holders of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) at social trading and multi-asset brokerage platform Etoro will now be compensated with a fiat cash amount of BSV corresponding to their pre-fork holdings. The decision comes six weeks after the contentious hard fork took place. Also read: 50% of Chinese Stock Exchange Companies Investigated Fail to Demonstrate Real Applications for Blockchain “The Best Thing to Do” U.S.-based investment platform Etoro announced on Dec. 27 that customers who were holding BCH leading into the hard fork last month will be given a cash amount per BCHSV. The platform said it made the decision to do so, despite being “not obligated to support forks.” Clients of the platform who held long non-leveraged BCH positions on Nov. 15 will receive credit into their accounts. “We are in the process of crediting relevant users’ accounts with the dollar value of BCHSV coins at a price of $92 multiplied by the number of BCH units held at the time of the fork,” Etoro said in an announcement. Mati Greenspan, a senior market analyst at Etoro, told news.Bitcoin.com: “As a custodian holding the coins on behalf of our clients we felt that this was the best thing to do. Ideally we would want to give them the BCHSV itself because it belongs to them. But that would be very difficult to setup as we have not yet been able to add BCHSV to the platform.” He said that Etoro was looking into adding BSV to its platform but added: “We have a lot of evaluation and technical considerations involved in adding a new asset to the platform.” Etoro added that it had so far received an “extremely positive” response from its clients following the announcement. “The decision to send out the compensation was made in retrospect and we thought it would be a nice surprise for the holiday,” added Greenspan. The Victorious Coin The contentious Nov. 15 BCH network hard fork saw the blockchain split into two – BCH ABC and BCHSV. ABC was declared the dominant chain following the hard fork by securing more more proof-of-work than the BCHSV side following the the split. It has since kept the original BCH title on most major exchanges. What do you think about Etoro’s decision to give a cash equivalent of BSV to its clients following the hard fork? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Images via Shutterstock and Etoro. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Etoro Will Give Dollar Equivalent of BSV to Pre-Fork Bitcoin Cash Holders appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Over the course of 2018, failing initial coin offerings that raised billions last year have continued to dominate the news cycle. Despite ethereum losing more than two thirds of its value, ICO projects have been liquidating massive amounts of ETH. ICO treasuries cashed out 433,000 ETH ($52.4M) in December, surpassing every other month this year. Also Read: The 2018 Bitcoin Mining Ecosystem Saw Record Hashrates and New Devices After Ethereum’s Price Dropped 84%, ICO Treasury Withdrawals Increased One of the biggest stories of 2017 was how initial coin offerings (ICOs) raised billions. 2018 was a different story, with the recurrent themes being regulatory action against ICOs and the majority of these projects failing miserably. In February, research by news.Bitcoin.com revealed that over 46 percent of 2017’s ICOs had failed. Seven months, ago ICOs had a failure rate of 92 percent, showing the world that even though a project can raise millions it won’t necessarily go on to be successful. Furthermore, many of the ICOs trying to survive the 2018 bear market have been cashing out large amounts of ETH from their treasuries. Diar Research details that 433,000 ETH was withdrawn from ICO treasuries this month despite the fact that ETH’s value hit record annual lows in December. “Ethereum has dropped 84% in price from the start of the year when ICO treasuries saw massive activity with withdrawals being the highest they ever were this year,” explains the chart created by Diar Research. The researchers also detail that November (290,000 ETH withdrawn) was the second largest withdrawal period this year. Diar states that Tezos withdrew 82,000 ETH and Aragon moved 40,000 into the Ethereum stablecoin dai. The third highest month was in January, which saw a total of 232,000 ETH withdrawn from ICO treasuries. “As a whole, 24 percent from the start of the year has moved from the 100 wallets assessed — But what was worth $3 billion is now only $350 million,” explains Diar. Out of 50 ICOs, Filecoin Cashed out Close to Half of the Month’s Treasury Withdrawals Diar has shared a comprehensive spreadsheet which details 50 of the highest grossing ICOs and how much money they started with in January and how much they withdrew in 2018. Big name projects such as Digixdao, Polkadot, Golem, Tezos, and Filecoin are included in Diar’s informative table alongside treasury account holdings. Statistics show that Filecoin withdrew its entire stash of 216,906 ETH this December, which encompasses about half of the month’s total withdrawn coins. A few other projects also liquidated their entire treasury accounts this year and some projects have very little ETH left. The research also explains that 2018’s average withdrawal rate was only about 2.4 percent, but December exceeded most months with 12 percent. Of course, withdrawing coins doesn’t necessarily mean the project failed, but that the team may have tried to avoid ETH’s volatility by using a stablecoin or converting to fiat. However, if they did convert to a stablecoin or some form of fiat then they would have gotten more bang for their buck if they cashed out earlier. It is strange that many of the projects withdrew the most ETH during November and December when ETH was at its lowest price range of the year. When these projects were faced with a burn rate that outpaced the funds on hand, they may have been left with no other choice. What do you think about ICOs cashing out the most ETH during the months of November and December? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Images via Shutterstock, and Diar Research. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post ICO Treasuries Offloaded the Most ETH in November and December This Year appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

It’s been almost a decade since the inception of Bitcoin, a technology created by the infamous and anonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. Over the years, many people have been hunting for Bitcoin’s inventor and Satoshi sightings have increased a great deal since 2016. During the course of 2018 there were numerous so-called Satoshi sightings and a couple of individuals who claimed to be the mysterious creator himself. Also Read: New Information Heightens Satoshi Nakamoto Mystery Satoshis Everywhere 2018 was a crazy year for cryptocurrency enthusiasts and a prolific one for all the loons who claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto. A bunch of individuals came out of the woodwork this year to tell the world they created Bitcoin, and one of them even published the first chapter of a purported Satoshi Nakamoto autobiography. Then there were a few odd Satoshi-related sightings like the ‘21e8’ bitcoin hash, which actually led people to believe Satoshi was an alien time traveler with the ability to utilize superior quantum computation. Each and every story and self-proclaimed Satoshi failed to sway the crypto community in 2018, but nevertheless, the discussions revolving around Bitcoin’s creator remained as fun as ever. The hunt for Satoshi Nakamoto in 2018 was filled with many debunked self-identifications and so-called sightings. Satoshi’s Tell-All Book This summer, bitcoiners found out that Satoshi Nakamoto was allegedly writing an autobiography. Back in June, Bloomberg columnist Matthew Leising led a few gullible people to believe that Satoshi was possibly writing his memoirs in order to publish a tell-all. A website called Nakamotofamilyfoundation.org, which has since been deleted, was a 21-page PDF of the first chapter. The website’s creators even added a cryptogram puzzle so curious readers could find some more ‘clues’ after solving. “Announcing the first excerpt to a literary work consisting of two parts and the excerpt is provided — I wanted to include it as a brief glimpse of history — Even for those that can’t read the full book, I wanted to make this available to everyone,” explained the Nakamotofamilyfoundation.org website. Matthew Leising’s published ‘Duality’ hit piece on Bloomberg was quickly forgotten and the second excerpt never came to fruition. It only took a few hours for armchair sleuths to debunk the exposé’s 21-page manuscript. The document was also assessed with stylometrics and failed to match up with Satoshi’s previous writings. Naturally, the Satoshi Nakamoto autobiography was forgotten about very quickly, the website was deleted, and the second published excerpt never materialized. Stylometric Research Said Gavin Andresen Was Satoshi Bitcoin developer Gavin Andresen. In another case involving stylometry this year, a study was done by the nonprofit organization Zy Crypto, based in England. Stylometry is a scientific method that studies the linguistic style of typed text and handwriting in order to find similarities in prior writings. According to Zy Crypto’s research, the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto is likely the well-known Bitcoin developer Gavin Andresen. However, after Zy Crypto’s study was published, Andresen spoke out on Twitter and told his followers he had lost a lot of faith in the science of stylometry, stating “My opinion of the accuracy of Stylometry has dropped significantly after reading this.” The Owner of the Bitcoin Cash Trademark Another Satoshi sighting took place in June when it was discovered that a resident from Hawaii had filed trademark requests for the name Bitcoin Cash and was also squatting on numerous BCH and Satoshi-based web domains. Two trademark filings for the phrase ‘Bitcoin Cash’ were registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in 2018 and the owner of the trademarks also claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto. The Bitcoin Cash trademark request was filed by a Hawaiian resident named Ronald Keala Kua Maria. Looking further down the rabbit hole, the website domains and trademarks led to a person named Ronald Keala Kua Maria. According to reports in 2001, Kua Maria was allegedly involved with fraud and grifting accusations. Kua Maria’s website describes why he patented the phrase ‘Bitcoin Cash’ while also detailing that he is the creator of Bitcoin. “I am the real one and only Satoshi Nakamoto — I own all the private keys, blockchains, altcoins and bitcoins under copyright law. In the event of my death, incapacitation, coma, kidnapping, detainment and or incarceration all of my copyrighted works and all related works shall no longer be used by anyone anywhere for any reason at any time subject to change without any notice at any time by Ronald Keala Kua Maria only,” explained the website Satoshinakamoto.ws. A So-Called Block 9 Signature On Nov. 16, cryptocurrency enthusiasts noticed a message that stemmed from the Bitcoin blockchain at height 9. To some people, the message appeared to be a valid signature from Satoshi’s key in block 9, but the story was also quickly debunked. This particular stunt also involved a Satoshi Twitter handle (now deleted) which tried to spread the disinformation that the signature should be taken seriously. This Satoshi Twitter handle started spreading the phony signature message on November 16, 2018. Twitter has since deleted this account. The message tied to block 9 alleged that there are significant problems with the Segregated Witness protocol, but the so-called Satoshi would not reveal the issues until 2019. Then, two well-known blockchain developers Christopher Jeffrey (Purse CTO) and Gregory Maxwell showed the crypto community how the signature was a ridiculous attempt to push an agenda. Maxwell illustrated how easy it was to accomplish this parlor trick and signed a message from the Genesis block. “Are you going to start claiming that I’m the creator of Bitcoin now?” Maxwell asked. Satoshi Supposedly Says One Word on the P2P Foundation Forum Another alleged Satoshi message this year came on Nov. 29 when the Satoshi Nakamoto handle registered to the P2P Foundation forum wrote one word. That day the registered user posted the word “nour” which got the internet’s armchair detectives all riled up. The word has several meanings and could translate to an “affectionate and caring person” or it could mean the Arabic version of the word “نور” which is defined as “light.” Aside from Satoshi’s one-word message, the handle of P2P Foundation Satoshi’s last activity was becoming friends with a mysterious person named Wagner Tamanaha back in 2016. The P2P Foundation forum. Interestingly, Tamanaha responded to Satoshi’s “nour” message on Dec. 1 in Japanese and stated, “Nice to meet you, thank you very much — Thanks for Bitcoin from Brazil.” The message, which was difficult to translate, was also forgotten quickly, with many people believing that some of Satoshi’s login credentials like his GMX email have been compromised. According to Theymos in 2014, the GMX email sent him a message which made him almost certain that the email account was “compromised.” The Time Traveling Alien Theory When the mining pool Btc.top mined block number 528249 on the BTC chain on June 19 with the block hash: 00000000000000000021e800 it drove the internet crazy. The message was first discovered by Mark Wilcox who tweeted the unusual hash to his followers and the message immediately went viral. The original tweet from Mark Wilcox which drove the internet crazy for a few days. There were many significant theories tied to the block hash, one of them being that Satoshi could have been a time-traveling alien with extraordinary quantum computing abilities. Twitter personalities discussed how the hash pattern may be tied to ‘E8’, the Theory of Everything, otherwise known as the Unified Field Theory. After intense discussions concerning the meaning of the hash, one Twitter personality stated: So my mind is melting — Satoshi may be artificial intelligence. And/or time traveling. Maybe quantum computing now exists — Esoteric and metaphysical meaning has found its way to crypto. The ‘21e800’ message in block 528249 was again forgotten as fast as it came, but remains one of the wildest Satoshi theories of all time. A Man Called Scronty Phil Wilson, otherwise known as ‘Scronty.’ Phil Wilson, otherwise known as ‘Scronty,’ claimed to be part of the Satoshi Nakamoto group theory with David Kleiman and Craig Wright. Scronty did a bunch of interviews with news publications this year, including a discussion with news.Bitcoin.com. The huge problem with Scronty’s story is that he has absolutely no evidence that can prove he is legitimately the creator of Bitcoin. But that didn’t stop him from writing his “Bitcoin Origins” story which offers a very long-winded description on how he and two other guys developed the technology. Crypto enthusiasts do not buy Scronty’s story, mostly because he doesn’t have any proof. Martti Malmi, an early developer and one of the older owners of Bitcoin.org, said, it “Never happened. Also: signature or GTFO.” Even during his interview with our publication, Scronty tells us that no one should believe someone is Satoshi without evidence. Scronty emphasized at the time: Without verifiable proof, no-one can claim to be Satoshi. Maybe the Hunt for Satoshi Clouds Logic and Reason? Satoshi sightings and individuals claiming to be Bitcoin’s creator will probably continue in 2019, with the hunt for Nakamoto unlikely to ever end until the inventor is found. The search intrigues a lot of people, and many reporters and amateur investigators have been looking for Satoshi for years. However, the vast majority of the clues, “Easter eggs,” signatures, and individual proclamations have been deemed fraudulent by the cryptocurrency community. Although there are some people who actually believe the odd Satoshi claimant to be legitimate, it’s likely their judgment is clouded by the emotion of wanting to find Satoshi. So far, all of the sightings and self-proclaimed Satoshis have been debunked and have failed to prove anything other than mankind’s proclivity for telling tall tales. What do you think about all the Satoshi sightings and self-proclaimed Bitcoin creators who appeared this year? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Images via Shutterstock, Twitter, Archive, and Pixabay. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Many Self-Proclaimed Bitcoin Inventors and Satoshi Clues Were Debunked in 2018 appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A man with the Surname of Yang has been accused of stealing 100 million Taiwanese dollars (nearly $3.25 million) worth of electricity to mine cryptocurrencies. Yang is suspected of stealing power from 17 different stores in Northern Taiwan to fuel his mining operations. Also Read: The Daily: UFC 232 to Have Official Crypto Partner, 5% of Israelis Use Bitcoin Taiwanese Miner Steals More Than $3 Million Worth of Power According to local reports, a Taiwanese man has been taken into custody for allegedly more than $3 million worth of electric power to mine BTC and ETH. Yang is accused of renting internet cafes or toy stores located on the first floor of a building, before hiring electricians to rewire the power supply to the premises in a way that would prevent the metering of power later diverted to fuel his mining operations. The internet cafes and toy stores would be located on the first floor in order to facilitate Yang establishing a mining rig on the floor above the shop once a new owner had taken over the business. Wang Zhicheng, the deputy head of the fourth brigade of Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau, stated: “The group recruited electricians who managed to break into the sealed meters in order to add in private lines to use electricity for free before that usage reaches the meters.” China Cracks Down on Illegal Mining Operations Yang was reportedly discovered after Taiwan’s state-owned electricity provider, Taiwan Power Company, became aware of a faulty power supply to a doll shop and subsequently launched an investigation. Yang is believed to have operated illegal cryptocurrency mines above 17 stores located in the municipalities of Xinbei, Taoyuan, and Hsinchu. The profits generated from Yang’s illegal mining operations are estimated to have been at least 100 million Taiwanese dollars (roughly $3.25 million). Across the Taiwan Strait, Chinese authorities on the mainland have increasingly taken action against illegal mining operations in recent months. In September, Chinese cryptocurrency miner Xu Xinghua was fined 100,000 Chinese Yuan (roughly $14,500) for stealing electricity from a factory at Kouquan Railway during Nov. 2017 and Dec. 2017 to power 50 cryptocurrency miners that generated approximately 3.2 BTC. In June, police in China’s Hanshan County arrested an individual for allegedly stealing 150,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. The miner told police that he had purchased the mining equipment just two months earlier and that he had failed to turn a profit at the time of the arrest. What is the craziest way to mine cryptocurrency that you have encountered? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock At Bitcoin.com there’s a bunch of free helpful services. For instance, have you seen our Tools page? You can even lookup the exchange rate for a transaction in the past. Or calculate the value of your current holdings. Or create a paper wallet. And much more. The post Taiwanese Police Arrest Miner Accused of Stealing Millions in Power appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Mark Karpeles, the former chief executive officer of the now-defunct Mt. Gox, has reportedly apologized for the losses that led to the demise of the cryptocurrency exchange. However, the embattled Frenchman insisted on his innocence regarding charges of embezzlement in closing arguments during his trial in Tokyo on Dec. 27. Also read: Wine Retailer to Buy Majority Stake in Japanese Bitcoin Exchange for $30M Sorry But I’m Not Guilty, Says Karpeles Mark Karpeles Karpeles is facing charges of transferring $3 million of client funds to his own account for investment in a software development business. According to prosecutors, who are pushing for a 10-year jail term, the ex-CEO falsified Mt. Gox’s trading system to make customer balances appear healthier than they in fact were. Karpeles has throughout the period of his trial consistently denied the charges. He claims that the money, moved in the last four months of 2013, was meant to serve as only a temporary loan. He also argued, earlier in the trial, that the funds in question did not belong to clients but were his collapsed company’s revenue. Appearing in the Tokyo District Court for the closing arguments on Thursday, Karpeles said he was “sorry” for failing to prevent the hack, but insisted on his innocence of the charges he was facing, according to a report by the Japanese broadcaster NHK. Prosecutors aren’t investigating the hack, rather the $3 million alleged embezzlement. The Court is now expected to deliver its ruling, on a case that has run since July 2017, on March 15 next year. Multi-Million Dollar Theft Mt. Gox went from handling 70 percent of global bitcoin trades in 2013 to bankruptcy in 2014 after about $480 million was supposedly lost to hackers, with 200,000 bitcoins recovered two weeks later. The current lawsuit is not investigating the cause of this theft. As the effects of the discrepancy became apparent, the exchange initially delayed withdrawals for up to three months before completely ceasing them altogether, ostensibly over the theft of bitcoins. The company entered bankruptcy proceedings in 2014 but has since undergone civil rehabilitation processes to enable it to pay bitcoin still owed to investors. It has yet to be determined how much users will be repaid, given the numerous fluctuations in bitcoin’s trading price since 2014. In early December, Japanese prosecutors said they will seek a 10-year jail term for Mark Karpeles over the embezzlement charge. Citing a lack of documentary evidence to support the “temporary loan,” prosecutors argued that Karpeles must be slapped with a harsh sentence for betraying the confidence of investors who trusted him with their money. “I never imagined things would end this way and I am forever sorry for everything that’s taken place and all the effect it had on everyone involved,” Karpeles said earlier during the bankruptcy saga. Regardless of how the matter plays out in Japan, Karpeles faces more legal trouble in the U.S. where former Mt. Gox clients filed a lawsuit against him several months ago. Karpeles’ lawyers want the lawsuit dismissed on the basis that a U.S. court has no jurisdiction over the matter. What do you think of the continuing Mt. Gox saga? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Former Mt. Gox CEO Says He Is Sorry But Maintains His Innocence as Trial Closes appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

According to Chinese state media, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges have carried out investigations into 30 percent of companies listed on their exchanges that are performing operations pertaining to distributed ledger technology (DLT). Of the companies investigated, less than half were able to demonstrate applications for blockchain technology. Also Read: Chatter Report: Vitalik Doesn’t Believe in Proof of Work, Chris Pacia Discusses Big Blocks Listed Blockchain Companies Undergo Questioning From Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges The recent speculative frenzy surrounding cryptocurrencies has led to a number of businesses seeking to associate their operations with virtual currencies and DLT. In many cases, the purported foray into blockchain has appeared dubious at best, despite many companies seeing dramatic volatility in the price of their shares, buoyed by news of blockchain adoption. Chinese state-operated media outlet Securities Daily estimates that 80 public companies listed on the exchanges purport to have included DLT in their business model. Of the 80 companies, 56 have seen a rise in price, placing blockchain among the few sectors to be performing well in the two cities. Data produced by Hithink Flush Information Network has indicated that 70 of the 80 blockchain-related stocks have seen price moves meeting the daily limit 10 percent price volatility during 2018, seven of which exceeded the limit more than 10 times this year. More than 50 Percent of Investigated Blockchain Companies Fail to Demonstrate DLT Applications 23 of the 80 DLT companies have been directly investigated by the Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges. Two thirds of the examinations took place during the first quarter of 2018. According to Sina, the exchanges’ investigations predominantly sought to ascertain “the specific model of the blockchain business, including application scenarios and profit models,” and potential “operational risks” that may arise as a consequence of adopting DLT. When asked to demonstrate the results of their blockchain operations, the companies are reported to have most frequently used the words “exploration” and “research,” with 13 of the 23 companies suspected of having sought to associate themselves with blockchain solely to drive speculation while failing to evidence applications for DLT. What is your response to the exchanges’ findings that the majority of companies seeking to ride the blockchain bandwagon have no intention of delivering products and applications built on the technology? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock At Bitcoin.com there’s a bunch of free helpful services. For instance, have you seen our Tools page? You can even lookup the exchange rate for a transaction in the past. Or calculate the value of your current holdings. Or create a paper wallet. And much more. The post 50% of Chinese Stock Exchange Companies Investigated Fail to Demonstrate Real Applications for Blockchain appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In today’s edition of The Daily we feature the latest sports sponsorship by the cryptocurrency community. We also cover stories about new statistics on bitcoin usage in Israel, mining malware growth during 2018, and another bank blockchain patent. Also Read: Investment Robo-Adviser Wealthfront Adds Support for Coinbase UFC 232 to Have Official Cryptocurrency Partner The Litecoin Foundation has announced that it will be the Official Cryptocurrency Partner of UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2, which will take place this Saturday, Dec. 29. The Ultimate Fighting Championship event will feature a rematch between former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and UFC light heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson. The terms of the sponsorship cover the Litecoin logo being displayed on the Octagon’s canvas which the foundation hopes can bring new people to hear about it for the first time. “There are several reasons why we think it makes sense for Litecoin to step into UFC’s world-famous Octagon now,” the group stated. “Over the last 25 years, UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, has evolved from a tiny grassroots movement to a global phenomenon, largely based on the extremely passionate community it has cultivated along the way. We see many parallels to Litecoin in this way as our amazing community has been instrumental in our growth and providing unwavering passion and enthusiasm that continues to propel us forward.” The cryptocurrency community has a strong record of supporting such sports events. Back in May for example, the mixed martial artist (MMA) Mei Yamaguchi was sponsored by Bitcoin.com as she faced the Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee. Dash has also previously provided sponsorship for fighters. 5% of Israelis Report Investing in Bitcoin Bezeq, one of the largest telecom companies in Israel, released its 2018 State of the Internet Report on Wednesday. The report, based on data from Bezeq’s own system as well as a survey of 1,300 people aged 13 and above, revealed several interesting statistics about Israelis’ online habits during the year. The figures show that cryptocurrency adoption still has a long way to go Israel, with only 5 percent of people in the country having invested in or used BTC and digital coins. Moreover, a total of 44 percent of Israelis say they either don’t know what Bitcoin is or just don’t understand the concept. In contrast, 42 percent of people have reported using the direct money transfer apps that the big banks in Israel having been pushing hard over the last year in an attempt to stay relevant in the digital age. Crypto Mining Malware Boomed in 2018 McAfee, the cyber security company formerly led by the notorious crypto influencer of the same name, has released its latest Threat Report, highlighting notable cybercrime trends in Q3 of 2018. The report states that the “Cryptomining Boom Times Continue,” with covertly mining cryptocurrency via malware one of the big stories of 2018. Total instances of coin miner malware have grown more than 4,000 percent in the past year, despite the bear market. The report also shows that malware miners have been installed via exploits in everything for Macs to routers, media players and even very small IoT devices. “Cryptominers will take advantage of any reliable scenario,” the researchers noted. “We would not usually think of using routers or IoT devices such as IP cameras or video recorders as cryptominers because their CPUs are not as powerful as those in desktop and laptop computers. However, due to the lack of proper security controls, cybercriminals can benefit from volume over CPU speed. If they can control thousands of devices that mine for a long time, they can still make money.” Bank of America’s Latest Blockchain Patent Bank of America, who we reported on back in August as having filed a patent regarding the custody of cryptocurrencies, has applied for another blockchain-related patent. Documents from the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office made public on December 25 cover the use of the technology for “banking systems controlled by data bearing records.” The bank writes in the application that, among other things, blockchain technology may be used by automated teller machines to accelerate transaction speeds or facilitate other types of transactions in addition to ATM transactions such as cash withdrawals and deposits or gift registry transactions. Additionally, ATMs may use blockchain technology to track transactions, thereby enabling a larger amount of transaction volume while reducing physical cash transportation needs. 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 The Daily: UFC 232 to Have Official Crypto Partner, 5% of Israelis Use Bitcoin appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In this latest roundup of crypto chatter from social media, Vitalik Buterin sparks debate by declaring that he doesn’t believe in proof of work. Also, developer Rhett Creighton is accused of foul play in the Bitcoin Private pre-mine scandal. Finally, Chris Pacia clarifies his stance on large block limitations. Also read: A Look at Some of 2018’s Most Popular Cryptocurrency Traders Vitalik Doesn’t Believe in Proof of Work Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin turned a lot of heads recently when he tweeted to Bitcoin maximalist Giacomo Zucco that he doesn’t “believe in proof of work.” I don't believe in proof of work! — Vitalik Non-giver of Ether (@VitalikButerin) December 25, 2018 Crypto Twitter erupted with responses. One commentator, Crypto Domains, pointed out the ridiculousness of Vitalik’s comment, comparing it to not believing “in oxygen.” Crypto Domains’ remark resonated widely, not least since Ethereum itself currently runs on a proof of work model. Bitcoin Community Skeptical of Rhett Creighton The Bitcoin Private team recently released an official statement explaining that they had no prior knowledge of the BTCP coins that were covertly created during the fork that birthed the project. Instead, they were mislead by developer airk42, they insist. Airk42 had started out innocently by accepting a bounty the team had placed. He then managed to became a BTCP developer and was promoted to contributor on Github. However, when airk42 merged his own code, he left out one crucial line and a bad actor exploited this bug, creating approximately 2 million additional coins. Many in the cryptocurrency community were suspicious of the BTCP team and their official response. In a recent live stream by bitcoin trader Tone Vays, developer Jimmy Song pointed out that former BTCP developer Rhett Creighton left the project in a rather cryptic manner that foreshadowed the hack. Likewise, Vays expressed skepticism at Creighton’s sincerity and quickly theorized that he may have secretly been airk42. Cryptocurrency trader Nick Core also agreed with Tone, explaining that scammers are prone to “leave projects before they are finished.” Chris Pacia Clarifies Tweet on Blocksize Limitations Bitcoin commentator u/satoshi_vision 1 recently called out Openbazaar developer Chris Pacia on the r/bitcoincashSV subreddit for Pacia’s comments that bitcoin software will start to break down when blocks reach about 22 MB in size. u/satoshi_vision 1 was criticizing Pacia, as Coingeek had mined a 64MB block at block height 557335. We were told by Chris Pacia that 22MB blocks would not work, not we have blocks nearly 3x that size. from bitcoincashSV Pacia was unable to defend himself on the subreddit, as he had been banned from participating on r/bitcoincashSV, despite never having commented on it before. Instead, Pacia took to Twitter to defend himself, explaining that his tweet wasn’t about the ability to mine a single large block. These people know damn well never was I ever talking about the ability to mine a single large block. Any idiot can do that and it doesn't prove anything. That they wet their pants over a single large blocks shows their level of understanding of how Bitcoin works. — Chris Pacia (@ChrisPacia) December 26, 2018 Rather than large single blocks, Pacia was referring to the ability to mine many large blocks in tandem. He then went on to point out that the average blocksize over a one-hour period never went above 7 MB when BSV was mining 32 MB blocks. What do you think of Vitalik’s thoughts on proof of work? Let us know in the comments below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Do you like to research and read about Bitcoin technology? Check out Bitcoin.com’s Wiki page for an in-depth look at Bitcoin’s innovative technology and interesting history. The post Chatter Report: Vitalik Doesn’t Believe in Proof of Work, Chris Pacia Discusses Big Blocks 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 does not endorse nor support this product/service. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the press release. Last Thanksgiving, Bitcoin was in the middle of a bull run that would result in a record high of $19,511 just before Christmas. Now, Bitcoin is worth just $3,752. If you bought Bitcoin and other cryptos when their prices were high, there’s a silver lining around the gray state of crypto markets now: any losses you take this year could place you in a lower tax bracket. What’s more, claiming those losses is easier than you might assume. For the purposes of taxation, the US and most other governments consider cryptocurrencies to be assets. This means that whenever you trade cryptocurrency, the transaction falls into one of two categories: a capital gain or a capital loss. Capital gain: A capital gain occurs when you sell cryptocurrency for more than the amount that you paid to purchase it. Capital loss: If you sell cryptocurrency for less than the amount that you paid for it, this is considered to be a capital loss. You have to sell or buy an asset to trigger a taxable gain or loss. Once you decide to make a move, tax authorities consider the loss to be “realized.” If your loss is great enough, you may be able to use it to enter a lower tax bracket. One of the biggest benefits of claiming a loss is that you can offset income gained from other sources. In the US, the IRS lets you deduct up to $3,000 worth of net capital losses each year from the amount of money you’ve earned at your day job. If the amount you lost was greater than $3,000, you can get another deduction of up to $3,000 when you file your taxes next year. If you currently make just over $50,000 per year at your job, that $3,000 cryptocurrency loss could place you in a lower tax bracket. This could result in thousands of dollars of tax savings. What’s more, if you’ve earned some income through stocks or through the sale of property, there’s no limit to the amount you can deduct from those revenues. If you’re in the $38,701 – $82,500 tax bracket and your crypto capital loss deduction puts you below the $38,700 mark, you’d only have to pay $952.50 plus 12% of any amount over $9,525. But if you made $38,701 or more, you’d have to pay over four times as much in taxes, plus 22% of any amount over $38,700. In other words, if you fail to deduct your crypto losses and you fall into the third bracket as a result, you’d have to pay at least $4,453.50 to the IRS. But if you do file your losses and make it into bracket two, you’d pay just $952.50. Total tax savings: $3,501.50. If you’re married and filing jointly or widowed, moving into a lower tax bracket can result in even more tax savings. If you made $77,402 in 2018, you’d have to pay the IRS $8,907 and change. Dropping down to the $19,051-$77,400 tax bracket by filing a crypto loss would save you $7,002. In addition to cryptocurrency traders, cryptocurrency miners can use deductions to reach lower tax brackets. A notice that the IRS published in March of 2014 provides some relevant details: “…when a taxpayer successfully “mines” virtual currency, the fair market value of the virtual currency as of the date of receipt is includible in gross income.” If the value of the cryptocurrency you mined decreased and you decide to sell it, then that would mean that you have triggered a capital loss. You can report this loss in the same way that you would if you bought and then sold your coins through an exchange. IRS analysts told CNBC that electricity costs and other expenses may be written off as well. Figuring out how much you’ve made or lost can be a headache, particularly if you haven’t been keeping track of your purchases or if you placed a huge amount of trade orders last year. Sorting out how much you lost or earned requires access to historical pricing data. Without that historical data, you won’t be able to determine what the price of your crypto asset was when you bought and sold it. Fortunately, there is software available that can crunch all your crypto tax data for you. With CoinTracking.info, can import your transactions from all your cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges. The interface walks you through how to do the imports. At the end of the import process, you can download IRS form 8949. This is the form you need to submit to report your loss. Other download options include CSV, TaxACT and TurboTax. If you use a crypto tax calculator to do your own taxes, filing your taxes is a straightforward process. All you have to do is take the total from IRS form 8949 and transfer that to IRS form 1040 Schedule D. In fact, most CPAs that work with crypto traders use CoinTracking and other publicly available software to determine what their clients owe. These tools are not difficult to use. Many have free trials, which let you see how they work for yourself before you commit. If you lost money in crypto markets last year, you may be able to offset some– or perhaps even all– of those losses at tax time. Reporting your capital losses might help you move to a lower tax bracket. If your deductions qualify you for a lower bracket, filing them could save you thousands of dollars when you submit your taxes this year. Press Contact Email Address alex@cointracking.info Supporting Link https://cointracking.info 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: Write off Crypto Losses With CoinTracking.info appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been tirelessly promoting the petro, ever since his administration announced the creation of what is now considered the first state-issued cryptocurrency. Although no one is really sure whether the coin actually works, Venezuelans have already seen their salaries denominated in the national crypto and their pensions converted to petro. Imposing the virtual currency on other nations, however, is proving much harder. Also read: Private Blockchains Have Few Applications, Study Finds Russia Not Ready for Petro Bookkeeping Maduro attempted to push the petro during his recent visit to Moscow, offering Russia the opportunity to use the Venezuelan coin in its oil industry finances. Speaking to journalists in the Russian capital, he revealed that Caracas intends to gradually introduce the oil-backed cryptocurrency in its trade relations with international partners and has already prepared a schedule to do so. The head of the Bolivarian Republic, who met high-ranking Russian officials including President Putin, added that his country will start using the petro for all transactions in its oil sector in 2019. The news that the cryptocurrency will be on the agenda of the meetings in Moscow came from the Venezuelan ambassador to Russia, Carlos Rafael Faria Tortosa, who claimed the Russian side has shown great interest in the Venezuelan proposals. Later, Russia’s deputy finance minister Sergey Storchak confirmed the petro has been presented to the Russian officials but said there were no immediate plans to use it in bilateral trade with Venezuela. This is not the first attempt by Caracas to sell the petro to the Russians. In April of this year, officials from both countries discussed the expansion of the economic cooperation between their governments. Following the meetings, the South American country revealed plans to assemble Russian Kamaz trucks and intentions to pay for the auto parts with petro coins. The agreement, however, was not officially confirmed by the representatives of the Russian Federation who visited Caracas. Belarus Prefers Raw Materials Over Crypto More recently, Venezuela offered another of its allies, Belarus, to pay a portion of the $113 million it owes for housing projects realized by the state-owned Belarusian construction company Belzarubezhstroy using the petro. “The financial situation in Venezuela is tense. We are considering alternative options for repaying the existing debt. One of them is to use the petro cryptocurrency,” said the company’s deputy director Alexander Falevich. Despite the outstanding debt, Belzarubezhstroy continues to build apartment blocks in Venezuela, even after the departure of all Russian and Chinese companies from the country, Falevich told Sputnik. He added that the Venezuelan authorities do want to pay the money but the Belarusian law currently does not recognize cryptocurrencies such as the petro as legal tender. That’s why Minsk is trying to convince Caracas to repay the debt with raw materials, which Belarus can then re-export to the global market. Caracas Pitches the Petro to OPEC Members Venezuela also plans to offer its sovereign cryptocurrency as a unit of account in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). International oil trade is dominated by U.S. fiat currency and over the past decades a number of proposals to replace the greenback have been put forward by countries under U.S. sanctions. In a video address, published last month on Twitter by the state-owned energy giant PDVSA, the country’s oil minister Manuel Quevedo said he intends to acquaint OPEC members with the “main oil-backed digital currency.” He also stated: The petro will become the digital currency of the international oil trade. We will present it to OPEC. This will be a move to spread cryptocurrencies internationally. Venezuela wants to start using the petro in its oil exports as soon as the first quarter of next year. Its government has already called on distributers of Venezuelan oil and petroleum products as well as air carriers and sea shipping companies to set up cryptocurrency wallets in order to be able to pay and be paid in petro. The problem is, however, that despite announcing the public sale of the national crypto in October, at this point its buyers can only get “petro certificates,” not the digital coins themselves. That, of course, did not stop President Maduro from promoting the state-issued Venezuelan coin to another international organization, the regional “Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America” (ALBA). “We need to unite for economic liberation and go along the path of joint development,” the socialist leader told his colleagues from nine other member states, while suggesting that ALBA should put the petro in the focus of its monetary policy efforts. What do you think of Venezuela’s attempts to promote its national cryptocurrency, the petro? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Belzarubezhstroy. Express yourself freely at Bitcoin.com’s user forums. We don’t censor on political grounds. Check forum.Bitcoin.com. The post Maduro’s Promotion of the Petro Yet to Yield Results appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

2018 was a crazy year in regard to the price of cryptocurrencies losing more than 80 percent of their values since they touched all-time highs. Interestingly enough, even though the prices of major digital assets plummeted, the hashrate for SHA-256 coins skyrocketed during the months of August through October. Although the hashrate has declined significantly since the price was severely impacted negatively this past November. Also Read: Crypto Bear Market Triggers Rise in M&A Activity A Look at the Hashrates Securing the Most Popular SHA-256 Coins in 2018 Cryptocurrency miners secure blockchain networks for a profit and the cumulative proof-of-work (PoW) hashrate of all the SHA-256 coins has seen milestone after milestone in 2018. The total hashrate of both Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin Core (BTC) networks combined surpassed 65 exahash per second (EH/s) last August. Since then, the combined hashrate of both networks is averaging 42 EH/s during the final week of 2018, as the hashrate tumbled over the course of the last eight weeks. The hashrate is still twice higher than it was last January, even though it had lost around 20-25 EH/s after the high. Bitcoin Core (BTC) network hashrate 2018. According to Coin Dance statistics, it is currently 4.10 percent more profitable to mine on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. Furthermore, Coinwarz data details the BCH chain is the third most profitable PoW chain today. Since the SHA-256 hashrate declined rapidly during the first week of November and the BCH blockchain split occurred on the 15th, the Bitcoin Cash network hashrate has seen much better days. For instance, the cryptocurrency’s hashrate captured an average of 4-5 EH/s for most of 2018. Bitcoin Core (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) hashrates combined, on Dec. 26. However, because of the split and falling BCH prices, the network is only capturing 1.5-1.9 EH/s but has improved considerably since the last big price drop. When the price was under $100 per BCH, the hashrate was only .5-.9 EH/s (or 5,000-9000 petahash per second). The biggest mining pools on the Bitcoin Cash network this month are BTC.top, Viabtc, and BTC.com. The Bitcoin Core network’s largest pools today include BTC.com, Antpool, and Viabtc. The top SHA-256 mining pools of 2018. 2018’s Next Generation ASICs 2018 also saw a lot of buzz surrounding new ASIC miners that utilize next-generation chips like 7 nanometer (nm) and 10nm semiconductors. Even though these machines received a lot of attention because crypto-markets had plummeted, they really haven’t lived up to their hype so far. Even if a machine packs a lot of terrahash per second (TH/s), it still has a hard time profiting this year. There are roughly six SHA-256 ASIC machines at the time of publication that are pulling in a profit by mining either BTC or BCH. The most profitable miner today is the Asicminer 8 Nano Pro, a machine that claims to pack a monstrous 76 TH/s. It is followed by the Ebang Ebit E11+ which makes $3.73 per day at current prices and claims to capture 44 TH/s per machine. Asicminer’s 44 TH/s Nano version is capturing $3.36 per day but the fourth most profitable miner, the Innosilicon T3, isn’t available for purchase yet. Only five of the six most profitable SHA-256 miners can be purchased today and most of these devices process more than 23 TH/s. Also, a big surprise came this week from the manufacturers of the 7nm-powered B2 and B3 miners created by the GMO Group from Japan. According to the company, it won’t be manufacturing these machines going forward and it saw a record loss of $218 million during the last four months. Other mining operations have also recorded deep losses this year, like when Washington-based firm Giga Watt filed for bankruptcy. And local reports stemming from China this past November explained that miners in the region were “selling mining rigs by the Kilo as scrap.” Even With the Ups and Downs — Hashrate Continues to Increase Over Time The bear market of 2018 has definitely taken a toll on miners but even more so during Q4. This month, news.Bitcoin.com explained how Chinese miners have been shorting the spot markets in order to break even on electric costs stemming from unprofitable devices. These rigs are then sold on the secondary market and miners keep repeating the cycle until they can buy new machines when prices get bullish. Although our publication also reported on Matt D’Souza, the co-founder of Blockware Solutions, who explained that even though some operations were going bankrupt, other mining facilities have handled the cryptocurrency recession in a more inventive fashion. Moreover, even though SHA-256 mined coins had their values chopped considerably in 2018 and their hashrate plummeted by 20-25 EH/s, both metrics are still significantly higher than ever before. There will always be highs and lows but an economy with an upward healthy trend over the long run is always a good sign. What do you think about the hashrate climb this year and all the new machines announced? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Disclaimer: Bitcoin.com does not endorse nor support these products or services. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the mentioned company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com and the author 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 this article. This editorial is for informational purposes only. Images via Shutterstock, Ebang, Asicminer, Blockchain.com, Coin Dance Cash, Fork.lol. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post The 2018 Bitcoin Mining Ecosystem Saw Record Hashrates and New Devices appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In an exclusive interview with news.Bitcoin.com, Japan’s top financial regulator revealed its expectations for the self-regulation of cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan. The agency has approved a self-regulatory organization, which it is working closely with to ensure compliance. All 16 regulated crypto exchanges in Japan are members of this self-regulatory organization. Also read: Indian Supreme Court Moves Crypto Hearing, Community Calls for Positive Regulations Working Together Japan’s Financial Services Agency (JFSA), the country’s top financial regulator, has granted the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (Jvcea) self-regulatory organization (SRO) status under the Payment Services Act. The JFSA explained to news.Bitcoin.com that it believes “the SRO can take actions flexibly to keep up with the fast-changing environment surrounding crypto-assets,” adding: We think it necessary [for us] to work with the Jvcea closely so that the association can successfully perform self-regulatory functions through the establishment and application of self-regulatory rules and monitoring of their members. The association is expected to cooperate with the JFSA to instruct and supervise its members to “operate their businesses appropriately.” It is also expected to work with them “to improve the safety of related systems through investigation and research on security” and disseminate “information externally to increase the awareness of exchange users,” the agency described. Furthermore, the association is expected to “set out detailed wallet management processes from the system security point of view and the cross-sectoral rules in areas that are not covered by the laws/regulations, for example, margin trading, for the users’ protection,” Japan’s top financial regulator noted, elaborating: We expect that through self-regulation, clearer and more detailed rules will be provided as to provisions that are not specified under the existing laws/regulations, as well as self-discipline in areas that are not covered by the laws and regulations. Adhering to Self-Regulatory Rules All of Japan’s 16 registered cryptocurrency exchanges are members of the Jvcea. Initially, only registered exchanges could join the association. However, after it was granted SRO status, the association opened up membership to other cryptocurrency operators. According to local media, deemed dealers, which are companies that have been allowed to operate while their applications are being reviewed by the JFSA, can also join the association. The JFSA confirmed to news.Bitcoin.com that “It is not a legal obligation for virtual currency exchange service providers to be a member” of a self-regulatory organization. “However, from the perspective of user protection, the JFSA monitors whether virtual currency exchange service providers conduct their businesses appropriately, taking self-regulatory rules into account.” In other words, crypto exchanges are expected to uphold self-regulatory standards even if they are not members of the Jvcea. The agency further revealed that it “works closely with the association by exchanging views about various issues on a regular basis and sharing information on members, unregistered business providers and user complaints,” emphasizing: In cooperation with the Jvcea, the JFSA has been monitoring virtual currency exchange service providers as to their compliance with self-regulation as well as the laws and regulations. In terms of whether the JFSA will approve another self-regulatory organization, the agency noted that “There is no limit to the number of SROs under the laws/regulations.” The regulator added, “In the event that another SRO submits an application for approval, the JFSA will scrutinize it from the viewpoint of the applicant’s effectiveness in performing self-regulatory functions.” What do you think of Japan’s approach to self-regulation for the crypto industry? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Japan Reveals Expectations for Crypto Industry Self-Regulation appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The committee charged with providing recommendations for the regulatory framework surrounding cryptocurrencies in India is reportedly evaluating the legalization of the asset class under strong regulation. According to a recent report, “There is a general consensus that cryptocurrency cannot be dismissed as completely illegal.” Also read: Report: Indian Government Panel Submits Crypto Recommendations Legalizing With Strong Riders An article published by the New Indian Express on Wednesday claims that the second inter-ministerial committee appointed to discuss the country’s stance on cryptocurrencies is not completely convinced of outlawing the asset class and is looking to legalize it under strong regulation. The committee is headed by the Department of Economic Affairs’ secretary, Subhash Chandra Garg. It consists of officials from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India, and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. An unnamed official was quoted by the publication as saying: We have already had two meetings. There is a general consensus that cryptocurrency cannot be dismissed as completely illegal. It needs to be legalized with strong riders. Deliberations are on. We will have more clarity soon Spirits Are High Despite Uncertainty This news comes almost a year after the country’s finance minister, Arun Jaitley, declared during a speech in February that the Indian government “does not consider cryptocurrencies as legal tender or coin” and vowed that the government would take all the necessary measures to “eliminate the use of these assets in financing illegitimate activities.” Jaitley’s comments echo similar remarks by the RBI. The central bank issued a circular in April, giving all banking institutions under its control a three-month window to close all ties with cryptocurrency companies. The banking ban imposed by the RBI has influenced cryptocurrency trading behaviors in India. Exchange-escrowed peer-to-peer (P2P) trading volumes have reportedly soared in the months following the decision, indicating that the Indian people’s desire to use and hold cryptocurrencies has not been entirely dampened by the ongoing regulatory uncertainty. Although the government of India has yet to announce a formal stance on the matter, the Indian crypto community remains optimistic that the government will end up lifting the ban and will formulate positive regulations in the upcoming months. The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for January 2019. What do you think will be the outcome of these meetings? Will the Indian government embrace cryptocurrencies and lift the ban? Let us know in the comment section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. The Bitcoin universe is vast. So is Bitcoin.com. Check our Wiki, where you can learn everything you were afraid to ask. Or read our news coverage to stay up to date on the latest. Or delve into statistics on our helpful tools page. The post Report: India Evaluating Cryptocurrency Legalization Under Strong Regulation appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Madison Holdings Group Ltd. has agreed to buy 67.2 percent of Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Bitocean for 1.68 billion yen ($15.12 million). Inclusive of fees, the wines and alcoholic beverages company will pay a total $30.12 million. According to local media reports, the deal is to be completed through a subsidiary, Madison Labs. Also read: Cryptocurrency Exchanges Delist Dozens of Struggling Altcoins Acquisition to Diversify Operations and Expand Income Sources Madison is an investment holding company popular for selling top-end French wines. The $546 million-valued company is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange’s Growth Enterprise Market (GEM), a junior segment of the bourse. The company also has interests in corporate finance activities, financial advisory services and asset management. Bitocean is registered as a crypto exchange with Japan’s Financial Services Agency, but has not commenced trading yet. According to papers filed with GEM, sometime this month, Madison is buying the stake from “independent third parties,” in what management said was part of the company’s “diversification strategy.” A report in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) also detailed plans by HDR Cadenza Management – a unit of HDR Global Trading, owners of crypto exchange Bitmex – to acquire a 51 percent stake in Madison Labs for $17.14 million. Both deals have yet to be closed. Raymond Ting Pang-wan, chairman of Madison, stated: Our wine business is stable and profitable, but then it is small. It is hard to make wine trading into a very big business. This is why we have to diversify into financial technology and the cryptocurrency business – to achieve a better return for our shareholders. Virtual currencies and blockchain are getting more popular. Investing in the virtual currency sector will expand our income source. Lured by Japan’s Robust Crypto Regulation Pang-wan told SCMP that his company was not concerned about the current market slump, which has seen the price of bitcoin core (BTC) plummet by more than 80 percent from its December 2017 all-time-high of almost $20,000. “Bitcoin is cheap, which has created a good opportunity for us to enter the market. We are eyeing the long term, so we are not worried about short-term volatility,” he was quoted as saying. He said the decision to enter Japan, which controls about a fifth of the global cryptocurrency trading total, was motivated by the existence of a comprehensive regulatory framework in the Pacific island nation. “We wanted to invest in a platform that was under proper regulation,” said Pang-wan. Japan is building one of the strongest regulatory frameworks for the cryptocurrency industry, ostensibly to prevent cases of theft of investor funds. The $530 million Coincheck hack in January marked a crucial turning point in crypto regulation in the country. Today, Japan has the Virtual Currency Exchange Association, a self-regulatory body, while exchanges applying for a license with the Financial Services Authority have to go through a rigorous verification process. According to the SCMP report, Gary Cheung Wai-kwok, chairman of the Hong Kong Securities Association, said: “This is a small investment for the company (Madison), so it will not take too big a risk. It makes sense for the company to diversify its business to achieve higher income.” What do you think about Madison’s deals with Bitocean and Bitmex? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Wine Retailer to Buy Majority Stake in Japanese Bitcoin Exchange for $30M appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In 2018 there was a rapid decline in initial coin offerings, a slowdown in blockchain business launches, and a bearish crypto market. During this period, companies with good liquidity have been scaling up and strengthening by acquiring startups. Also Read: Global Cryptocurrency M&As Rise M&A Deal Frenzy in 2018 In 2017 the number of cryptocurrency and blockchain companies that launched more than doubled compared to the year prior. The current bear market that has since come to characterize 2018 has proven the ideal time for institutional investors and venture capitalists to make a land grab and acquire innovative startups. There’s been something of a deal frenzy involving cryptocurrency and blockchain-related companies seeing mergers and acquisitions (M&A), which have increased by 200 percent in 2018. M&A is the lifeblood of Wall Street and this activity is expected to continue to accelerate within the cryptosphere as we head into 2019. In an interview with news.Bitcoin.com, Danish Saxo Bank founder Lars Seier Christensen revealed that he is actively searching to acquire crypto businesses, saying: “I am also looking at a couple of serious fund vehicles that do extensive research across the space. Because of course there will be some gold nuggets that have been dragged down unfairly in this bear market as happens in all bear markets.” Lars Seier Christensen According to JMP Securities’ head of blockchain and digital assets investment banking, Satya Bajpai, the industry is witnessing a “land grab” for innovative technology, access to new markets, intellectual property, and talented employees through M&A, reports CNBC. The most recent data from JMP Securities and data from Pitchbook shows 115 deals have already been announced globally this year, with roughly 30 more expected by the end of this year. This compares with just 47 mergers and acquisitions that were completed in all of 2017. Source: JMP Securities Rundown of Key M&A Deals From 2018 There have been a number of key crypto and blockchain acquisitions this year, with one of the most active companies being Coinbase. The California-based exchange has not allowed diminished trade volumes to keep it from actively acquiring startups. Earlier this year, there were also rumors about a potential acquisition of Coinbase by Facebook, though this appears to have been little more than speculation. Coinbase acquired decentralized ERC20 trading platform Paradex. The company also acquired Earn.com for an estimated $100 million, a platform that lets users receive cryptocurrency for answering emails and completing tasks. Another notable acquisition involved Goldman Sachs startup Circle which acquired cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex. Coinsource, a Texas-based cryptocurrency ATM operator, became the first digital asset ATM provider to be granted a Bitlicense in the state of New York. Japanese insurance group Sompo Holdings acquired a 10 percent stake in Bitpesa, a Kenyan digital currency exchange and payments company. Trade.io acquired British brokerage firm Primus Capital Markets for an undisclosed amount to offer BTC-backed Forex trading. Consensys, the software company established by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, acquired struggling space startup Planetary Resources. Japanese mega ecommerce and internet company Rakuten Inc. entered the crypto space by acquiring an existing crypto exchange to fast-track its wat into the Japanese cryptocurrency market. Shapeshift completed the acquisition of Bitfract, a software firm which operates a service that allows users to swap from one cryptocurrency to many in an instant. Ernst & Young, one of the major global accounting firms, acquired technology assets and related patents from Elevated Consciousness. Blockchain research and development firm Nchain announced the acquisition of a majority stake in the Bitcoin Cash-centric startup Handcash. Chinese bitcoin company BTCC was acquired by a Hong Kong-based investment fund. It seems the market downturn that has pervaded through 2018 has been the ideal time for large corporations to snag a good deal and secure a stake in the future of the rapidly developing crypto space. Will M&A activity continue to accelerate as we head into 2019? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Crypto Bear Market Triggers Rise in M&A Activity appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

With the New Year around the corner, startups as well as established players in the cryptocurrency industry have announced plans for new products and services. In The Daily today we cover the upcoming premieres of two Mimblewimble-based coins, the planned launch of a low-fee, crypto-based remittance service in Asia, and the intentions of two leading Chinese crypto companies to focus on core business activities. Also read: BTCP Bug Exploited by ‘Bad Actor’, Binance Lists New Pairs Customizable Privacy Coins Coming Soon Two crypto projects using Mimblewimble, a protocol designed to increase privacy and scalability, have announced the upcoming premieres of their new coins. The Mimblewimble concept was introduced back in 2016 and is now ready to be implemented at the beginning of 2019. Challenges during the development of the two cryptocurrencies have postponed both launches. A startup called Beam is preparing to issue what has been described as the first Mimblewimble-based cryptocurrency on Jan. 3, after earlier reports that it would go live by the end of this month. Beam has been developed as a privacy-oriented crypto, but according to its creators it will be highly customizable, unlike other offerings in that niche. “Lack of transaction confidentiality and poor scalability are some of the major issues that hinder crypto adoption,” Beam’s CEO Alexander Zaidelson told Distributed. The company will offer users the ability to set the privacy level for their transactions so that they can still report them to tax authorities, for example. Another blockchain project based on the Mimblewimble protocol, Grin, was announced even earlier than Beam. However, its coin is now scheduled to launch on Jan. 15, 2019, to become the second Mimblewimble-based cryptocurrency. Remittance Platform to Use Crypto Conversion Atom Solutions, a Japan-based fintech company, is planning to launch its new remittance service on March 1, 2019. The platform uses a crypto wallet system that provides an alternative to traditional channels such as those based on the banking network Swift, which can be quite expensive and in some cases very slow. Initially, the service will be available to users who want to send money between South Korea and the Philippines. However, the Japanese startup plans to expand the coverage to include at least 10 countries by the end of next year. Atom Solutions promises low exchange rates and fees for fiat transfers thanks to using cryptocurrency conversion, but also addresses the issue with volatility that concerns crypto remittances by providing fast exchange through its wallet. The company has developed a system that quickly exchanges the fiat amount a user wants to send into cryptocurrency and then again into local fiat for the receiver. Chinese Crypto Giants Focus on Core Businesses Two leading cryptocurrency companies with Chinese roots have announced plans to optimize their operations and focus on core business activities. The news comes at the end of a bearish year that saw digital asset markets losing billions of dollars in capitalization compared to the all-time highs of late 2017. Bitmain Technology, the world’s leading producer of bitcoin mining equipment, has confirmed recent reports regarding planned job cuts that first spread on Chinese social media. In a statement quoted by the South China Morning Post, the Beijing-based company said it’s undergoing “some adjustment to our staff this year.” Emphasizing that it’s continuing to build a sustainable business, Bitmain denied rumors that it will lay off half of its employees. The company explained: A part of that is having to really focus on things that are core to that mission and not things that are auxiliary. As we move into the new year, we will continue to double down on hiring the best talent from a diverse range of backgrounds. In a similar announcement, the operator of Huobi, currently the third largest crypto exchange by daily trading volume, said it’s working to optimize staffing. The Chinese Huobi Group intends to do so by laying off its “worst-performing employees.” A spokesperson for the company noted however that the Singapore-based exchange is still hiring people for its core businesses and emerging markets. What are your thoughts on today’s news tidbits? Tell us in the comments section. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Beam, Atom Solutions. Make sure you do not miss any important Bitcoin-related news! Follow our news feed any which way you prefer; via Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, RSS or email (scroll down to the bottom of this page to subscribe). We’ve got daily, weekly and quarterly summaries in newsletter form. Bitcoin never sleeps. Neither do we. The post The Daily: Mimblewimble Coins Prepare to Launch, New Remittance Platform Announced appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Kucoin has delisted 10 digital assets, including bitcoin gold and mobius, and Huobi has put 32 trading pairs on notice. Both exchanges cite issues to do with weak liquidity and trading volume as reasons for their action. But the flurry of delistings also point to how the cryptocurrency market downturn has taken a toll on many altcoins. Also read: Bitcoin Equipment Maker Ebang Reapplies for Hong Kong Listing Delisting Result of Low Liquidity Kucoin said it had “disqualified” tokens such as bread, bitclave, wepower and ethlend for failing to meet the Chinese exchange’s listing requirements as set out in its “special treatment rule (ST).” Digital coins at risk of being delisted are placed under the so-called ST for “mandatory review over a specified period of time.” Tokens are indicted particularly for low liquidity or when the project is faced with the risk of bankruptcy or liquidation, security breaches and other issues. “The exchange may delist … the project (if it) fails to meet the basic liquidity requirements by the end of the observation period,” explains Kucoin on its “special treatment rule” page. Any trading or deposits of the 10 delisted cryptocurrencies has now been suspended, even though withdrawals are permitted for a time. Kucoin said the decision had been taken in order “to provide a solid user experience” on the exchange. Kucoin is the world’s 54th largest digital currency platform by daily trade volume, with $20.35 million worth of coins traded in the last 24 hours, according to data from Coinmarketcap. Currently, the exchange offers over 300 token trading pairs. Altcoins on the Brink as Markets Struggle The rout in global cryptocurrency markets this year has left hundreds of altcoins haemorrhaging value against the U.S. dollar and struggling to retain liquidity. Many are down by 90% or more from their all-time high, making the tokens almost worthless in some cases. The latest Kucoin purge comes in the same week as an announcement from Huobi, the world’s fourth largest cryptocurrency exchange, that it is planning to remove about 32 digital assets from its platform. The tokens were cited for low trading volume and have been placed in Huobi’s version of the ST risk category. “In order to promote the healthy development of the blockchain industry and protect the legitimate rights and interests of investors, Huobi regularly carries out comprehensive reviews of the listed tokens in accordance with the Token Administration Regulations of Huobi,” said the exchange. Huobi is to reexamine the affected assets on Dec. 26, and those that fail to meet the listing requirements will effectively be trading under caution, with a real risk of being delisted. Some of the affected tokens include enigma, datum, my token, medishares, wepower, appcoins and bitcapital vendor. Salt, tieron, untrust, quantstamp, medical chain and others are also at risk of being delisted. Do you think more low cap altcoins are in danger of being delisted from major exchanges? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Cryptocurrency Exchanges Delist Dozens of Struggling Altcoins appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Wealthfront, one of the largest independent robo-advisers in the U.S. market, has added support for Coinbase accounts. The Wealthfront team explained that high customer demand was the reason for incorporating the new feature, stating: “We’re especially excited because this has been one of our clients’ most requested features.” Also Read: Bitcoin Private (BTCP) Bug Exploited by ‘Bad Actor’ Wealthfront Adds Coinbase Support Wealthfront Advisers LLC (formerly known as Wealthfront Inc.) is a Redwood City, California-based robo-adviser providing automated, software-based portfolio management services, which was established in 2008. The company has recently announced that its users can now track holdings of cryptocurrency for the first time by connecting their accounts with the Coinbase exchange to the automated investment service. “You have always been able to connect a wide variety of account types and asset classes to our Path advice engine — from bank and brokerage accounts to real estate, mortgages, and student loans. But we know many of you like to dabble in other innovative financial products, like cryptocurrencies. So now, we make it possible for you to add information about your cryptocurrency holdings in your Coinbase account to Wealthfront to get a more holistic view of your financial picture. And even more importantly, we factor that information into your free financial plan,” the Wealthfront team stated. Over $11 Billion in Managed Assets The Wealthfront robo-adviser has over $11 billion in client assets under management, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), making it one of the largest independent robo-advisers in the U.S. market. The company has reportedly raised a total funding of $65.5 million since its creation, from backers such as Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, Index Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Benchmark Capital, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz and Jeff Jordan. On Friday, the SEC announced it had found that Wealthfront made false statements about a tax-loss harvesting strategy it offered to clients, claiming to monitor accounts for transactions that might trigger a wash sale, but failed to do so. It also found that Wealthfront “improperly re-tweeted prohibited client testimonials, paid bloggers for client referrals without the required disclosure and documentation, and failed to maintain a compliance program reasonably designed to prevent violations of the securities laws.” Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, the company agreed to pay a $250,000 penalty. Have you integrated your Coinbase account with Wealthfront? Share your experience 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 Investment Robo-Adviser Wealthfront Adds Support for Coinbase Accounts appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article