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According to global statistics provided by Coinatmradar.com, there are now close to 4,000 cryptocurrency automated teller machines (ATMs). Moreover, there’s been a huge influx of bitcoin cash ATMs over the past year as there are now 1,200 BCH dispensing devices located around the world. Also read: Markets Update: All Eyes on Bitcoin Cash Prices Before the Pending Fork The Rise of Digital Asset ATMs There are various ways people can purchase bitcoin cash and a slew of other cryptocurrencies around the world and one of them is through the use of ATMs. Digital asset dispensing ATMs have been popular since they were first introduced, and over the past two years, their worldwide growth has been exponential. In November, data from Coinatmradar.com shows the metric will likely reach 4,000 ATMs very soon as the current number of ATMs is 3,993 machines worldwide. Additionally, there are 141,000 ATM-like services that sell cryptocurrencies through mobile payment terminals, vouchers, and even traditional bank ATMs. 1,200 machines out of the world’s 4,000 units allow users to purchase and sell the decentralized currency bitcoin cash. Map of bitcoin cash ATMs worldwide. The analytical website also details some interesting data concerning cryptocurrency ATM growth worldwide such as the fact that there are 6.7 crypto ATMs installed a day. This metric is based on the speed of installations over the last seven days and gauged by the calculations of the last two months. Over 71% of the world’s cryptocurrency ATMs reside in North America while the second largest number of machines (23.5%) are located in Europe. This is followed by Asia (2.5%), Oceania (1.3%), South America (0.98%), and Africa (0.20%). The most bitcoin cash ATMs stem from North America, with 993 of them located on the continent. Number of cryptocurrency ATMs installed over time. Recent Study Suggests Cryptocurrency ATM Ecosystem May Grow Over 50% per Year The biggest digital asset ATM manufacturer today is Genesis Coin which captures 32% of the market share of all machines. General Bytes comes in a close second with 29.2% and then Lamassu (10.9%), Bitaccess (5.4%), Coinsource (4.8%), and Covault (2.7%). Out of all the crypto ATMs worldwide, 61.7% of the machines are one-way devices, which means they only sell cryptocurrencies. Only 38.2% of all virtual currency ATMs are two-way machines, meaning that they not only sell cryptocurrencies but also buy them. Cryptocurrency ATMs have spread like wildfire and operators and manufacturers do not appear to be slowing down anytime soon. For instance, Lamassu recently introduced a new line of machines. The company launched the “Sintra” series, which includes four models that support BCH, LTC, DASH, ETH, ZEC, and BTC. Furthermore, on Nov. 2, news.Bitcoin.com reported on Coinsource being the first crypto ATM provider to be awarded the Bitlicense to operate in the state of New York. Lastly, according to a recent study by research firm Marketsandmarkets, crypto ATMs will see a compounded annual growth rate of over 54%. What do you think about the growth of cryptocurrency ATMs worldwide? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. Images via Pixabay, Shutterstock, and Coinatmradar.com Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post Cryptocurrency ATM Growth Spikes Exponentially to 4,000 Machines Worldwide appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

GMO Internet, the Japanese technology and online finance conglomerate, presented its results for the third quarter of fiscal 2018 on Nov. 12. The presentation included new details about the performance of the Tokyo-listed group’s cryptocurrency-related businesses. Also Read: The Daily: US Museum to Accept Bitcoin, Estonia Grants License to B2BX Exchange Record Performance by Quarter The presentation covers the operations of GMO Internet in cryptocurrency mining, exchange and payments. The company reported total quarterly revenue of 2.61 billion yen ($22.93 million) in the third quarter. It noted that the positive results came “just a year since the launch despite the harsh external environment.” On the cryptocurrency exchange side of the operation, profit was up 34.4 percent quarter over quarter, from 0.55 billion yen in the second quarter to 0.74 billion yen in the third. It said it posted an increase in profit despite the fact that revenue from the exchange business alone fell slightly from 1.42 billion yen in the second quarter to 1.36 billion yen in the third. GMO Internet also reported that customer accounts have been growing steadily, reaching 208,000 in the third quarter. However, the trading value has fallen from 220 billion yen to just 89 billion yen ($782.7 million) quarter over quarter. Aiming For 800PH/s Within 2018 On the cryptocurrency mining side of its business, GMO Internet reported it has increased its human resources during the third quarter of the year. And this helped it increase mining revenue slightly to 1.23 billion yen in the third quarter, from 1.17 billion yen in the preceding three-month period. In contrast, the worsening external environment and increased depreciation costs drove profit down quarter over quarter, from a loss of 0.36 billion yen in the second quarter to a loss of 0.64 billion yen in the third. The company reported it reached a bitcoin hashing rate of 674 PH/s during the third quarter, for both BCH and BTC. It said it aims to achieve a total of 800 PH/s within the year. GMO Internet also said that sales of cryptocurrency mining machines have been postponed due to delays in shipments of needed electronic components. In addition, it announced that it is changing the ticker symbol of the yen-pegged stablecoin it launched during the third quarter from GJY to GYEN. What do you think about the latest GMO Internet quarterly report? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and GMO Internet. 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 GMO Internet Reports Cryptocurrency Exchange Profit Rose Over 34% in Q3 2018 appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Bitcoin Cash Association (BCA) and Spendbch.io recently started a bounty to spread bitcoin cash (BCH) merchant acceptance in several Latin American countries. On Nov. 11, the BCA announced that more than 250 new businesses in Venezuela and Colombia are now being on-boarded to accept bitcoin cash. Also read: Qart Wallet Gives Bitcoin Cash QR Codes a Personal Touch Bounty for Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico Just recently, the BCA and Spendbch revealed a bounty program on the Bitcoincashers.org web portal. The Spendbch bounty offers funds to users who spread merchant adoption in Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico, and they can get paid for helping local businesses accept bitcoin cash. The guidelines for earning BCH by spreading merchant adoption are fairly intuitive and do not take much effort. The first step is to introduce a business to bitcoin cash by setting them up with a wallet and teaching them how to use the currency. After a merchant decides to accept BCH, the bounty requires participants to tweet about the business on Twitter. Following that step, the merchant needs to fill out a form detailing information about its business, including its location. Bounty entrants must include valid BCH addresses with the forms, so funds can be sent after merchants are approved. At the moment, the bounty is only available in Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia, but the BCA, which is dedicated to spreading BCH acceptance, plans to eventually roll it out worldwide. Since announcing the bounty and the official rules, the organization has reported that the campaign has been doing extremely well. “More than 250 new businesses in Venezuela and Colombia are in the process of being on-boarded to accept bitcoin cash through the Spendbch Bounty program,” the community-driven BCH nonprofit explained on Twitter. Enthusiasts can participate in the bounty on Bitcoincashers.org to spread BCH adoption. Mobilizing Bitcoin Cash Merchant Acceptance Over the last few months, BCH merchant adoption has grown significantly in Latin America. Businesses accepting bitcoin cash have thus far been most highly concentrated in Columbia and Venezuela, according to the merchant acceptance platform Marco Coino. The creator of Marco Coino, Brendon Duncan, explained to news.Bitcoin.com back in October that a lot of recent growth has been derived from Columbia. The bounty follows the BCA’s recent donation pledge to the charitable operation Eatbch on Oct. 24. The BCA has explained that it will donate $1000 to the Eatbch nonprofit, with the funds to be split between Eatbch South Sudan and Venezuela. The organization believes that donating these funds will help spur merchant adoption in these countries. “This will also have a direct impact on adoption in these areas, especially as the projects develop further relationships with suppliers that accept BCH as payment, and therefore aligns fully with our goal of global adoption,” the BCA stated during the announcement. What do you think about the BCA and Spendbch bounty? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Images via Pixabay, Bitcoincasher.org, BCA, and Shutterstock. At news.Bitcoin.com all comments containing links are automatically held up for moderation in the Disqus system. That means an editor has to take a look at the comment to approve it. This is due to the many, repetitive, spam and scam links people post under our articles. We do not censor any comment content based on politics or personal opinions. So, please be patient. Your comment will be published. The post Bitcoin Cash Association Bounty Spreads Merchant Adoption in Latin America appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In recent exchange news, the chief executive officer of Revolut has expressed doubt regarding the institutional appetite for cryptocurrency exposure, Binance has launched a new research division, and Etoro has begun the gradual rollout of its wallet for Android and iOS users. Also Read: Korea’s Upbit to Launch Crypto Exchanges in Thailand and Indonesia Revolut CEO Skeptical on Institutional Investment Nikolay Storonsky, the chief executive officer of fintech unicorn Revolut, recently expressed skepticism regarding the rhetoric circulating throughout the cryptosphere that suggests institutional investors are eager to gain exposure to bitcoin. “There is no interest from big institutional investors so far,” Storonsky said at the recent Web Summit 2018 in Lisbon. “Unless these big institutional investors and hedge funds move heavily into the crypto world I just don’t think banks will move because they simply try to make money from their clients.” Despite his statements, Storonsky concluded that “fintech will be very big in crypto for the foreseeable future.” He added: “I just don’t think banks will catch up.” Binance Announces Research Division Binance, the leading cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume, has announced the launch of a new in-house analysis division, Binance Research. The company said that the new division will “increase transparency and (the) accuracy of information in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space.” It added that it aims to “shine a spotlight on quality blockchain projects.” As of this writing, Binance Research has published a report providing analysis on Loom Network, as well as another one on Gochain. According to the company’s website, a report looking at Pundi X will also be published “soon.” Etoro Starts Rollout of Android and iOS Wallets Social trading platform Etoro has started launching its cryptocurrency wallet for Android and iOS users. According to a press release, the wallet is being rolled out in different countries in phases in order to “ensure the best customer experience for clients.” The wallet is currently available for download via Google Play and Apple’s App Store. It will only support BCH, ETH, LTC and BTC. Etoro plans to eventually add support for other cryptocurrencies in the future. “The eToro wallet today is just the beginning and we will be adding a whole host of additional functionality which will include supporting additional crypto and fiat tokens, crypto to crypto conversion, the ability to deposit fiat, payment in-store and more,” said Yoni Assia, the chief executive officer of Etoro. Do you think that the hype regarding the institutional appetite for crypto is real? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Wikipedia, Etoro 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 Exchanges Roundup: Revolut CEO Discusses Investment, Etoro Starts Rollout of Wallets 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. Remittancetoken.io is a tokenized money transfer platform with unparalleled speed. The off chain version of Remco token is on a run rate of $20,000,000 by the end of 2018, and the solution is Jurisdiction and Money Transmission Flow Agnostic. Any money transmitter can use it. Initial traffic will come from Remco’s corporate parent VTNGLOBAL and VTN which holds state money transmitter licenses in the USA and central Bank mobile payment operator and IMTO licenses in a country of 180 million Remco solution is cost-effective, faster has the operational benefits of increased transparency, increased record security, and improved accuracy. COO Joel Patenaude said, “We will flip the switch and move existing transaction traffic to RemittanceTokens soon.” Remco added three new advisors to their team a few months ago including: Brent Segal Ph.D. Harvard (200 + patents) Ty McCoy The Assistant Secretary of the Airforce (Retired) Investor Moses Asom, Ph.D. (MBA Wharton, ) (Sold his Sychip company for $140m / several patents) Led by CEO Peter Ojo who made it possible for subscribers to receive Western Union transfers into mobile wallet since 2013 and designed API for fund termination to 22 banks and billions of transactions monthly. Remco ICO main sale begins December 1st You can participate in Remco token sale at: https://www.remittancetoken.io Contact Email Address peter@remittancetoken.io Supporting Link https://www.remittancetoken.io This is a paid press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post PR: Remco Launches Pre-ICO Token Sale – Parent Company Processed $700,000,00 in the Last 24 Months appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In today’s edition of The Daily, we cover several different reports about the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The first was written by a cybersecurity firm that’s trying to identify the safest exchanges through which to trade. The second report offers a detailed breakdown of the market based on a host of different parameters, while another shows that corporations have abused the term “blockchain” so much that it has become poisonous. Also Read: Israeli Central Bank to Hold off on Issuing Digital ‘E-Shekel’ Coin And the Safest Exchange Is… Group-IB, a Moscow-based cybersecurity firm, has developed a ranking system to grade cryptocurrency exchanges by the level of safety they offer clients. This is meant to provide insurers a way to decide what rates to offer clients that wish to insure their holdings on different exchanges. “In the first place, we assess how crypto exchanges deal with crypto and fiat assets: what are the exchanges assets keys’ storage and management procedures,” a Group-IB spokesperson explained to TNW Hard Fork. “In some cases, with founders’ consent, the assessment includes penetration testing using social engineering methods aimed at the network compromise through the most vulnerable link at any organization — humans.” According to the rankings, Okex, Huobi Pro, and Coincheck are among the least safe exchanges. Binance, Bitfinex, Bithumb, Bitmex, Localbitcoins, Myetherwallet and Poloniex rank above those exchanges, but Group-IB views Bittrex and Coinbase Pro as even safer. It ranks Kraken as the safest exchange. The Current Industry Landscape Bitmex Research has presented a report produced by Cryptocompare which offers a very detailed look at the exchange ecosystem. It reveals that Malta has been able to position itself as a global trading hub, as exchanges that are now legally based there produce the highest total daily trade volume, at just under $1.4 billion. The island nation is followed by South Korea, with about $840 million, and Hong Kong at approximately $560 million. In terms of fiat pairs, the U.S. dollar represented 50 percent of BTC trading on average. The greenback was followed by the Japanese yen at 21 percent and the Korean won at 16 percent. The report also shows that centralized exchanges continue to dominate trading. The combined average daily volume on the top five decentralized exchanges stands at just under $2.4 million, which is a mere 0.4 percent of total exchange volume. Another interesting statistic from the report is that 11 percent of the top exchanges have been hacked in the past. And only one-third of the leading exchanges keep a majority of users’ funds in cold storage. Blockchain Winter Is Coming Blockchain hype has been a constant feature of mainstream financial media coverage of the cryptocurrency space for about two years now. Many big companies that have wanted free exposure but lacked any connection to cryptocurrency have simply repackaged old database products as private blockchains. Others have simply claimed to launch pilot programs to put everything from vegetables to shipping containers on blockchains. But now a new report by advisory firm Forrester (Nasdaq: FORR) concludes that “continued hype and unrealistic promises drive risk of a looming Blockchain Winter.” In fact, the research shows that companies are already switching out the term in exchange for “distributed ledger technology.” Now it remains to be seen how long companies will be able to milk “DLT” as a buzzword before moving on to the next one. 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: Security Experts Rank Exchanges by Safety, Malta Dominates Trade Volume appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Texas State Securities Board has issued an emergency cease and desist order to an Australia-based cryptocurrency mining company and its affiliates. According to the order, the company represents that investments in its mining contracts are “guaranteed to 200% profit.” Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Cease and Desist Order The Texas State Securities Board on Tuesday issued an emergency cease and desist order to Sydney-based Aws Mining Pty. Ltd. and nine other respondents affiliated with the company. The entities named are Automated Web Services Mining (Aws Mining), Mycoindeal, Aws Elite, and West Texas Oilfield Cloud Miners Club. Sydney-based Mycoindeal provides wallet services for investments issued by Aws Mining. Aws Elite is a multi-level marketing organization for Aws Mining based in Pennsylvania. West Texas Oilfield Cloud Miners Club, an affiliate of Aws Elite, is a Texas-based sales agent for Aws Mining. The order states: The investments in the cryptocurrency mining program are ‘securities’ … Respondents are engaging in fraud in connection with the offer for sale of securities … [and] are making offers containing statements that are materially misleading or otherwise likely to deceive the public. The board elaborated that respondents are violating the Securities Act since neither they nor their securities are registered with the state’s Securities Commissioner. They are, therefore, ordered to cease and desist from offering for sale any security in Texas until the securities and all parties involved are properly registered or exempt from registration. 200 Percent Return Guaranteed According to the order, Aws Mining’s website claims that the company is mining cryptocurrency through farms located in Guangzhou, China; Ingushetia, Russia; Ciudad del Este, Paraguay; Anhui, China; and Hebei, China. The order describes that the companies and their executives “are issuing investments in cryptocurrency mining referred to as crypto mining power contracts, and they are representing [that] the crypto mining power contracts are ‘guaranteed to 200% profit’ and that each crypto mining power contract ‘is guaranteed to 200% return on purchase price.’” In addition, the companies are using a multi-level marketing network of sales agents to sell these mining contracts and recruit new agents on social media. The board emphasized: They are also telling potential investors the crypto mining power contracts pay a ‘200% passive return on every investment.’ Furthermore, the order noted that “Although potential investors are led to believe they will receive a 200% return on principle invested in crypto mining power contracts,” Aws Mining “is now disclaiming the guarantee of profitability and instead representing that investors assume the risks associated with the investment.” The board subsequently concluded that the companies and individuals named in the order “are engaging in other illegal, fraudulent, deceptive, and/or misleading practices in connection with the offer of crypto mining power contracts to Texas residents.” What do you think of Texas taking action against Aws Mining? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Texas State Securities Board. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Texas Takes Action Against Cryptocurrency Mining Company Promising 200% Profit appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

French lawmakers have adopted an amendment to the 2019 budget bill that will cut capital gains tax on bitcoin sales to 30 percent from 36.2 percent. This will bring cryptocurrency transactions in line with other non-real estate assets, which are taxed at a flat rate of 30 percent. Also Read: Survey: South Africans Turn to Crypto as Hedge Against Volatility of the Rand Amendment Awaits Approval by Parliament The budget amendment was adopted by a finance commission in France’s lower house of parliament, a Reuters report said. But it must first be approved “in the final version of the budget bill by the broader parliament in order to become law.” If approved, the new tax will come into force in January. At one point, cryptocurrency taxes in Europe’s third largest economy reached 45 percent. In April, however, the Council of State said that gains generated from digital assets were to be considered as capital gains of movable property. That meant a significant slash in the tax rate, with the exception of earnings from cryptocurrency mining, which are taxed as non-commercial profits and income resulting from professional activity that is taxed as industrial and commercial profits. Cryptocurrency Haven Under president Emmanuel Macron, France is trying to transform itself into a haven for business, including the business of cryptocurrency. Earlier this year, Macron launched the Action Plan for Business Growth and Transformation (PACTE) which, among other things, aims to make it easy for companies to operate in France, and to lay out legal guidelines for fund raising via token sales. In September, the French parliament passed a law setting out guidelines for initial coin offerings. Announcing the new legislation, finance minister Bruno Le Maire said at the time that the legal framework enables the French financial regulator Authorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) to approve and issue permits to businesses intending to float ICOs in France – but only if “those projects provide specific guarantees for investors.” Issuers will be expected to give full disclosure to the AMF, allowing buyers to make informed decisions about the ICO in question. The French regulator has previously raised concern over the lack of clear regulation on token sales “as an inherent risk factor of ICOs,” heightening the possibility of loss, money laundering and terrorist financing. What do you think of the French government’s approach to cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. The Bitcoin universe is vast. So is Bitcoin.com. Check ourWiki, 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 French Lawmakers to Lower Cryptocurrency Tax by 6 Percent appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The following piece on decentralizing the energy sector was written by Richard Lohwasser, who holds a PhD in energy economics and is the CEO of Lition. He was previously a strategy consultant for McKinsey and director of Vattenfall. Lohwasser was also Managing Director of German Operations at ExtraEnergie. Decentralization. Digital autonomy. Circumventing corporate strangleholds on information. A new, democratized internet. The blockchain revolution has inspired a wave of ideological fervor around technological advancement that is unprecedented in the mild-mannered, minimalist world of the Silicon Valley tech giants. Crypto gurus, emboldened by new-found fortunes, decry centralized data systems, and herald an internet of no gods, no masters. Also read: Markets Update: BCH Rallies, XRP Nears ETH Market Cap The Democratization of an Industry It makes sense. When Facebook is listening to your conversations and tailoring ad content accordingly, and Equifax is losing credit card and social security numbers by the millions, burning the old house to the ground seems like a plausible solution. Blockchain startups left and right have latched onto this ethos of disruption, vowing to fundamentally redefine established industries from the bottom up. The purveying sentiment seems to be “Decentralize everything.” While breaking the grip of old guard institutions is a great rallying cry, there are a few important question to ask before trying to democratize an industry. Asking the Right Questions About Decentralization Why was the industry centralized in the first place? Industries like banking originally centralized to bring stability, security, and ease of use to consumers. While cryptocurrencies offer their own benefits, such as anonymous, worldwide transfers, fluctuating value, hackability, and over-saturation could prove that monetary decentralization isn’t the perfect application for blockchain, especially in regards to widespread adoption. Would decentralization improve the industry? Decentralization is only valuable when there is a network of participants to decentralize to. If there is a single service provider or a passive user base, decentralization can make the system unnecessarily inefficient. Diverse networks with intermediaries that do not add value or security are best suited to decentralization. Do people care enough to participate? The average person doesn’t want to micromanage every aspect of their digital footprint. Decentralization inherently encourages user participation. If users don’t care about interacting, the system must either have some level of automation or might be best left centralized. In the frenzy to decentralize via blockchain, many industries are introducing unnecessary systems than will only complicate service delivery. However, the modern energy market is primed for decentralization. Historically, energy was provided by massive corporations, who were the only ones with the capital to build the infrastructure required to generate power. Dirty coal and natural gas plants were often the only energy available. In this system, decentralization would be unnecessary, if not completely illogical. However, times have changed. A Decentralized Network for A Decentralizing Ecosystem Energy production has diversified. Your neighbors may have installed solar panels on their homes. A local biofuel plant might be opening a few miles down the road. A wind farm may be churning away just off the coast. Energy is getting greener and renewables are the future. Unfortunately, large utility companies, heavily invested in dirty energy, hold monopolies on power systems, which in turn holds the entire energy ecosystem back. Green producers are forced to sell through the utility companies as intermediaries. This barrier between producers and consumers drives up costs and stifles the growth of renewables. Decentralization would allow for energy producers and consumers to circumvent intermediaries to buy and sell directly, mitigating the current problems. Peer to peer trading could increase producers’ profits by 30 percent and save consumers more than 20 percent on their energy bills. In this situation, decentralization is imperative for both the economy and the environment. Higher profits would incentivize producers to participate in a decentralized network, but why would the average consumer care? The answer is twofold. The more agency a consumer has to feel like they are making a difference in the world, the more likely they are to partake in a sustainable behavior, like shoppers consciously purchasing fresh, local, farm-to-table foods in exchange for peace of mind that the produce did not use harmful chemicals and supports local farmers. The same concept is applicable to energy. Directly displaying energy sources allows consumers to decide what option best fits their budget and world view. If actively sourcing green energy entails more involvement than a consumer wants, AI interpreting data sets can handle automated buying strategies, sourcing cheap, renewable energy without user input, helping the planet and their wallet with little to no effort on their part. Power to the People? In the rush to decentralize everything via blockchain, taking a step back to ask why an industry needs to be decentralized is a crucial process that many companies and investors are currently ignoring. Understanding why a network is centralized is paramount in answering the question: Should it be decentralized? The energy sector is one that passes the decentralization test with flying colors. Current centralization is the product of outdated monopolies, holding back the growth of renewables. Directly connecting producers and consumers is the key to fostering the growth of renewables and saving money across the board. User participation is encouraged, but not necessary for the network to thrive, as the producers are the primary active users driving the system. Decentralizing the energy sector is a logical and tangible way to protect the planet and introduce the energy ecosystem of tomorrow. What do you think about decentralizing the energy sector? Will it help break the monopoly some companies hold over the sector? Images courtesy of Shutterstock OP-ed disclaimer: This is an Op-ed article. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. Bitcoin.com does not endorse nor support views, opinions or conclusions drawn in this post. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the Op-ed article. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the content. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any information in this Op-ed article. The post Why the Energy Sector Meets the Conditions for Decentralization appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On Nov. 5, the software developer Brenton Gunning announced to the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) community that he’d developed a BCH library written in the programming language Rust. The new library allows developers the ability to work on BCH applications and platforms written in the Rust coding environment. Also read: Discussions Intensify as BCH Fork Approaches Rust-BCH 0.1.0: A Bitcoin Cash Library Written in the Rust Programming Environment Rust is a popular programming language designed in 2006 by Mozilla employee Graydon Hoare. The Bitcoin Cash community has been introduced to another BCH library written in a different coding language. The systems programming environment Rust is a syntax similar to C++ code and was originally developed by Graydon Hoare. Gunning’s project, called Rust-BCH 0.1.0, is a library that contains protocol messages, address generation, support for mainnet and testnet, transaction signing, script evaluation, wallet key derivation and more. “Today I’m releasing Rust-BCH 0.1.0, a new library to build applications on Bitcoin Cash in Rust,” explains Gunning on the Reddit forum r/btc. “All the existing Rust libraries were lacking for me in one way or another — You can use it to build a wallet, or a node, do chain analysis, and anything really — I use Rust-BCH myself for projects so I’ve also benefited from others’ contributions and this is me giving back.” Brenton Gunning’s Rust-BCH 0.1.0 library on Github. The Variety of Bitcoin Cash Implementations Continues to Grow Gunning believes that Rust is an appreciable programming language that to him is “fast and low-level, but also very safe and predictable.” The developer explained during the announcement that he thinks Rust is a “great fit” for BCH applications and hopes to see more programmers use the coding language. The Rust-BCH Github repository explains that the project has no ties to the Rust-Bitcoin protocol but the library can do everything it can and more. Gunning’s repository also explains that there are other BCH projects like Parity and Bitcrust that use the Rust language and he believes “the two projects could be used together.” In addition to the library, Gunning has published the Rust-BCH documentation with examples. Before Gunning published the Rust-BCH 0.1.0 library, the Bitcoin Cash ecosystem already had the Rust implementations Bitcrust, and Parity’s Bitcoin Cash client. The Bitcoin Cash network has seen a bunch of libraries and full node projects written in multiple languages launched recently. Clients such as Bitcoin ABC, Unlimited, and SV are written in the C programming language Satoshi used when releasing the original client. Then there is the Bcoin client, a full node and library for Bitcoin Cash built with Javascript/NodeJS. Further, news.Bitcoin.com recently reported on the two libraries written in the Golang coding environment and Yenom developers have been working on an iOS compatible Swift implementation of the BCH protocol. Gunning does detail he has shown support to the Bitcoin SV ruleset and included it within his library. However, the developer stated on Reddit that he is prepared to support other outcomes and is willing to “see how the fork goes.” The BCH community on Reddit was pleased to see another BCH implementation and Gunning’s announcement was a popular post on the r/btc subreddit. Gunning concluded during his announcement that he would love to see some feedback and contributions to the Rust-BCH 0.1.0 library. What do you think about the Rust-BCH 0.1.0 library and all the other implementations written in various programming languages? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Images via Shutterstock, Pixabay, and the Rust-BCH 0.1.0 repository. At news.Bitcoin.com all comments containing links are automatically held up for moderation in the Disqus system. That means an editor has to take a look at the comment to approve it. This is due to the many, repetitive, spam and scam links people post under our articles. We do not censor any comment content based on politics or personal opinions. So, please be patient. Your comment will be published. The post Bitcoin Cash Community Introduced to New BCH Library Written in Rust appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A group under the Bank of Israel has published a report on a proposal to issue a national digital currency. The team, which was set up last November, has identified several potential advantages to the technology, but has advised the central bank not to act until other institutions throughout the world have done so first. Also Read: Marshall Islands President Attacked Over National Crypto Plan Pros and Cons of a National Cryptocurrency The 40-page document mainly presents the advantages of issuing an “e-shekel” from the standpoint of the Bank of Israel. The first of these considerations would be to give the public access to the central bank’s liquidity, in the event that the use of physical cash ever declined significantly. Another would be to support the payments system in the country and make it more efficient. Additionally, the team found that “if it bears interest,” the e-shekel could become a monetary tool in the hands of the central bank. The report also suggests that issuing an e-shekel could help combat the “shadow economy,” meaning it would make it harder for people to conduct unreported financial transactions. In contrast, among the limited disadvantages the writers of the report found, is the fear that the public would think that the move was just a “big brother” attempt to maintain constant surveillance on Israeli citizens. Other concerns the team identified are that digital coins wouldn’t be accessible to people who are technologically challenged. They also expressed concern that a possible technical failure of the e-shekel could harm the central bank’s reputation. Waiting for the Big Boys Unlike Israel’s dynamic, fast-moving and tech-focused private sector, the country’s public institutions are extremely conservative and usually reluctant to adopt new technologies. Considering this, it is no real surprise that the Bank of Israel has adopted a wait-and-see approach to digital currency, despite mainly finding advantages to potentially issuing one. “No central bank in an advanced economy has yet issued digital currency for broad use,” the team concluded, while acknowledging that many such institutions around the world have already examined the possibility. This makes it clear that the Israeli central bankers won’t take a step forward until they see another leading institution such as the U.S. Federal Reserve or the European Central Bank do so first. Still, the possibility has not been taken off the table, as the same team will continue to monitor developments in the field, “particularly at other central banks.” And they plan to report their findings on the matter to the Bank of Israel’s management on a semi-annual basis. The group has also recommended discussing the subject with international bodies such as the Bank for International Settlements, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the International Monetary Fund. Can digital coins issued by central banks ever become an alternative to decentralized cryptocurrencies? Share your thoughts in the comments section. 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 Israeli Central Bank to Hold off on Issuing Digital ‘E-Shekel’ Coin appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

As the Bitcoin Cash fork draws near, a lot has been announced over the last few days concerning the consensus changes scheduled for Nov. 15. Earlier this week, the Bitcoin Unlimited (BU) development team released a new client version that includes the ability to configure the Bitcoin SV hard fork ruleset. In addition to the latest BU release, Electron Cash developers have also launched the first splitting tool for the upcoming fork. Also read: A Look at Bitcoin Replay Attacks and Self-Managed UTXO Protection BU Cash Contains Both Bitcoin ABC and SV Rulesets Available for Configuration The Bitcoin Cash community has been discussing the upcoming hard fork a great deal over the past few days. There’s been a whole lot to follow as developers and business executives have been stating their opinions, while BCH infrastructure providers continue to reveal their contingency plans. News.Bitcoin.com previously reported on the BU development team publishing code, which added the Bitcoin ABC ruleset changes for Nov. 15. At the time, BU developers said the SV ruleset would be added at a later date and the BU team hoped miners would vote on changes using the BIP135 bits standard incorporated into the BU client. Now BU has released Bitcoin Cash edition 1.5.0.1, which includes the Bitcoin SV upgrade changes. “[Bitcoin Cash edition 1.5.0.1] will implement a set of consensus changes proposed by an alternative implementation, Bitcoin SV. Such a set of features are disabled by default, the default policy is to activate the set of changes as defined by the Bitcoincash.org specification,” explained the BU development team. Essentially this means miners can configure their clients to ABC or SV nodes and vote on features from the rulesets they prefer. As the BU team further emphasized, “the SV and ABC forks are enabled. You must choose one.” Bitcoin Unlimited nodes have been steadily rising. The Electron Cash Coin Splitter Following the latest BU Cash release, the BCH developers Mark Blundeberg, Mengerian, and Jonald Fyookball published an Electron Cash coin splitting tool in preparation for the possibility of a chain split. The developers have also written a user guide explaining how BCH proponents can safely split their coins if there happens to be a split. “It allows people to give their coins ‘replay protection,’ by making it possible to spend coins using a script which is valid only on a chain following the upgraded Bitcoin Cash ruleset that includes Op_Checkdatasigverify,” the developers detailed. The Electron Cash lead developer Jonald Fyookball goes further by explaining during his wallet upgrade announcement that the tool will allow users to send coins via the SV side of the chain, while providing users and exchanges with the ability to protect themselves from replay attacks. If the chains develop recognizable transaction sets over time, then users can selectively opt to split their coins naturally using the coinbase rewards, or by using the Electron Cash coin splitter. Using DSV as Replay Protection and Receiving Transactions by Hash for All Nodes With Chopsticks Additionally, other wallets and trading platforms are using ABC client script opcode DSV as a means of replay protection. Essentially, wallets and exchanges that use the method Op_Checkdatasigverify or DSV for replay protection explain they are giving users the ability to split coins between two different chains. This method can be used with other opcodes, as well. Coin splitting can be done with the opcodes DSV, CLTV, or even by using one of the new opcodes proposed by the Bitcoin SV client. In essence, proponents of this method have said that if someone sends a transaction to an address that uses the DSV opcode and then sends it back, it will not exist on the theoretical side of the SV chain. Lastly, some users have also opted to use the Chopsticks API, a platform that allows users to retrieve a transaction by hash on all four ABC, SV, BU and Naybc nodes. This means Chopsticks users will have the ability to choose between either chain or use both if the two chains exist simultaneously. Overall, the Bitcoin Cash hard fork has been a very topical discussion over the last few days and will likely continue. In addition to all the fork discussions, BCH markets have spiked over the last seven days, as prices are up 51 percent at the time of writing. What do you think about the possible splitting scenarios and preparations for the BCH fork on Nov. 15? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Images via Shutterstock, Pixabay, Bitcoin Unlimited, Electron Cash, and Chopsticks.cash At news.Bitcoin.com all comments containing links are automatically held up for moderation in the Disqus system. That means an editor has to take a look at the comment to approve it. This is due to the many, repetitive, spam and scam links people post under our articles. We do not censor any comment content based on politics or personal opinions. So, please be patient. Your comment will be published. The post Discussions Intensify as BCH Fork Approaches appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The authorities in the island nation of Mauritius plan to start issuing custodian licenses to companies holding digital assets on behalf of clients. The financial regulator said the existing licensing regime is not suited for that purpose, although licensees under the new rules will have to comply with similar requirements. Also read: Abu Dhabi Exchange to Create Infrastructure for Crypto Assets Applicants Required to Maintain Minimum Capital The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of the Republic of Mauritius has published a draft framework for the “Custodian Services (Digital Asset) License” it intends to issue to companies in the fintech sector. The watchdog is now seeking feedback on its proposal from industry representatives, other stakeholders and members of the public. Interested parties have been invited to send comments and suggestions via email. Discussions and consultations will continue until the end of November. The FSC currently issues two types of licenses for custodians providing traditional financial services that do not reflect the specifics of safekeeping cryptocurrency-based assets. The digital asset license is tailored to account for the differences and ensure compliance with relevant existing regulations and laws. According to the draft, the holders of the “digital” license will be regarded as financial institutions under the Financial Intelligence and Anti-Money Laundering Act, which was adopted in 2002. The companies will be obliged to adhere to other laws and regulations dealing with anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing matters. These include the FSC Code on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, as well as other applicable subordinate statutory instruments. The specific requirements for cryptocurrency businesses include an obligation to “have and maintain a minimum stated unimpaired capital of not less than 500,000 Mauritian rupees,” which equals almost $15,000. Applicants for the license must also set up offices on the island and have permanent representatives on hand to deal with the FSC and maintain the records of the custodian. The companies must be governed by boards of directors composed of three or more members, “at least one of whom shall be resident in Mauritius.” Custodians Obliged to Insure Digital Holdings Under the new license, companies are expected to ensure they are adequately staffed to perform all duties regarding the safekeeping of cryptoassets, transaction management and other relevant operations. Additionally, the providers of custodial services will have to subscribe to insurance protection for the assets that are kept in custody. During the application process they must submit evidence of such arrangements to the FSC. The businesses must have systems in place to ensure compliance with all reporting requirements under Mauritian law as well. According to the glossary of legal terms provided in the document, the definition of “digital assets” includes electronic tokens representing the holder’s access rights to a service or ownership of an asset. They are considered a digital representation of value which can be used as a medium of exchange, unit of account and store of value. The tokens can also represent assets such as debt or equity in the promoter or “provide access to a blockchain-based application, service or product.” Digital assets, however, are not yet accepted as legal tender in the country. What do you think about the new licensing regime for digital asset custodians in Mauritius? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section. 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 Mauritius Regulator to Provide Licenses to Digital Asset Custodians appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Wednesday’s edition of The Daily has a distinctly political tint, coming a day after U.S. voters turned out for the midterm elections. There was plenty to excite supporters on both sides of the divide — the pro and anti-cryptocurrency divide, that is. In addition to talking politics, we take a look at the new Stellar airdrop that’s causing quite a stir. Also read: Car Dealerships and Airport Limos in Japan Begin Accepting Crypto Crowd Power Is the Midterms’ Biggest Winner It was widely predicted that the Democrats would regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the midterm elections, not least on decentralized prediction market Augur. The crowd-powered Ethereum application had close to $1.4 million in ETH staked on the outcome of the event, with 97 percent favoring the Democrats. For anyone interested in seeking crowd wisdom on other political events, Augur is currently calling a 36 percent chance of Donald Trump being re-elected in 2020. Colorado Gains Pro-Bitcoin Governor Jared Polis In addition to voting for the House and the Senate, U.S. citizens in 36 states cast their vote in gubernatorial elections, including Colorado. There, 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. In another boon for bitcoin advocates, Gavin Newsom was elected governor of California yesterday. The 51-year-old Democrat was one of the first politicians to accept campaign donations in BTC back in 2014. Blockchain’s Latest Airdrop Causes a Stir BTC wallet service Blockchain.com is airdropping $125 million of Stellar’s lumens (XLM) to its users. The wallet provider recently launched a service allowing cryptocurrency developers to airdrop tokens to its 30 million users. The “free” crypto comes with a catch, though: Wallet owners will need to undergo KYC to participate. Today @blockchain.info came up with a new idea: go through a KYC process with your wallet account, potentially holding 7 years of Bitcoin transaction history, to get $25 worth of some random penny stock. Please don’t do this. If you want $25-worth of $XLM for some reason, buy it pic.twitter.com/redesYhLMG — Udi Wertheimer [#reckless] (@udiWertheimer) November 6, 2018 While there are clear benefits of distributing tokens to as wide a community as possible, not least to Stellar, the $125 million giveaway will not change the fact that XLM’s ownership is highly concentrated. Excluding the tokens held by the Stellar Development Foundation, the top 100 holders possess almost 95 percent of all XLM. Airdropping 0.47 percent of the total circulating supply of 104 billion will not alter that. “There’s nothing particularly exciting or ‘inclusive’ about a centralized token’s KYC’d airdrop,” tweeted Matt Odell. “Don’t sell your privacy for $25 ‘worth’ of XLM.” To the folks at Stellar that are struggling with the very hard problem of fairly issuing a new currency; I am delighted to inform you that a certain S. Nakamoto solved the problem many years ago with a mechanism called "Proof of Work" — nic carter (@nic__carter) November 6, 2018 Gwyneth Goes Goopy for Bitcoin Celebrity endorsement of cryptocurrency is generally welcomed by the community, but bitcoiners aren’t sure what to make of Gwyneth Paltrow shilling BTC. The fact that her pro-bitcoin article was authored by the CEO of wallet service Abra, which used the opportunity to promote its services, sat uneasily with many, with The Next Web exposing the links between Gwyneth Paltrow and Abra. Great piece with @billbarhydt on @goop today https://t.co/cBoeHJ9ts7 — Gwyneth Paltrow (@GwynethPaltrow) November 5, 2018 Many bitcoiners, however, seemed more offended that their beloved cryptocurrency was being shilled by a site that sells $30 psychic vampire repellent and $55 vaginal steamers. What are your thoughts on today’s news tidbits as featured in The Daily? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post The Daily: Pro-Bitcoin Governor Elected, Augur Predicts the US Midterms 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. For those who exist anywhere near the crypto scene, it’s obvious that if it had fashion trends – this season would be all about stablecoins. With crypto investors choosing in favor of holding their crypto assets more and more, and investing into what seems to be the safest options on the market, we see a consistent growth of capitalization, and a drive for transparency in stablecoins – and this sentiment shows no signs of abating anytime soon. But what is usually the motivation behind converting to stablecoins? Sitting it out “in safety” for the next rally, ready to get back into more highly volatile assets? Well, now there is an option that allows you to put these assets to good use, and if you play your cards right, make an entirely risk-free profit while you are in the waiting game. This Monday, MoneyToken, a crypto-backed lending platform, announced that they are launching an opportunity that is just that – a program allowing clients to become lenders and contribute to the MoneyToken credit fund, earning 8% annually from the amount deposited. The team, lead by former Goldman Sachs employee Alex Rass, completed a $37M cap Token Sale in June; several sources close to the MoneyToken management team are claiming that, allegedly, the Lender membership program is being rushed through to launch, due to the company’s credit fund being wholly taken up with active loans, especially as a result of the runaway success of their 0% loans membership sales and the demand for crypto-backed loans this generated. Putting rumour aside, what is clear is that the MoneyToken lender membership program is providing something truly unique – allowing members the opportunity to put their stablecoins to use just like any traditional currency and collecting interest, pushing crypto another step further in terms of financial convenience. For the most careful and strategic of investors who aren’t looking to engage in a high-risk market with a high share of uncertainty; crypto funds not in possession of low-risk assets; and ICOs that have converted their collected funds to stable coins, MoneyToken acts like a form of treasury; an investment, which is backed twice-over by the collateral, with interest rates sitting at two to four times more than bank deposits in even the most client-oriented establishments and developed countries. All the lender’s funds are backed in a 2:1 ratio, deposited to a separate fund in order to be able to issue loans right away, and ensuring the quickest interest rate return possible. Depending on whether the user holds IMT, the MoneyToken token, they’re looking at anywhere from 6.5% to 8% interest per annum. If you’d like to deposit crypto as a lender, your options currently are Tether (USDT), Circle (USDC), which has MoneyToken listed as one of their partners in the first wave of adoption, and TrueUSD – all the most popular stable coins on the market. Lender Registration is available right now, by filling in the application form on the MoneyToken platform website. If you’re looking to turn your passive stablecoins into an active source of income this might just be the moment. Join the MoneyToken Lender’s program here – https://moneytoken.com/become-a-lender Contact Email Address james.hendersonmt@gmail.com Supporting Link https://moneytoken.com/ This is a paid press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post PR: MoneyToken Allows You to Earn 8% in Interest on Your Stable Coins – Consistently appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A survey by Luno, a London-based cryptocurrency platform, has revealed that a growing number of people in South Africa prefer holding cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and bitcoin cash rather than the local fiat unit, the rand. About 70 percent of South Africans have heard about virtual currencies, and most people have been using them as a hedge against inflation and exchange volatility, the report said. Also Read: Exchanges Roundup: Luno Expects ‘Open’ South African Rules Major Monetary Shift The survey, “Why do people buy cryptocurrencies? A South African perspective,” was conducted by Kantar TNS on behalf of Luno in October. It covered 10 countries, including South Africa, with a sample of around 1,000 people in each country. The report found that 69 percent of South African respondents are familiar with cryptocurrency, while one-third own digital assets and 53 percent are interested in buying them. More than 80 percent of the respondents that own digital coins view them as investments, while 23 percent have used cryptocurrencies for online transactions. Only 12 percent of the respondents said they have used cryptocurrencies for cash transfers to friends and family. The findings follow a tumultuous year for the South African rand, which has fallen by more than 20 percent against the dollar this year. The recent volatility has partly been a response to the appointment of a record four finance ministers over the past two years, as well as news that Africa’s most sophisticated economy has slumped into recession. As a result, a large number of investors have turned to alternative investment options such as bonds and virtual currencies. According to Luno, 40 percent of the survey participants agreed that digital assets are a safe investment option, while 61 percent described them as profitable. Around 74 percent said they would like to pay with cryptocurrencies in online stores and brick-and-mortar shops. Marius Reitz, Luno country manager for South Africa, said the world is currently going through a major shift in the evolution of money: The existing financial system was built for a non-digital age but the world now has access to new technologies like decentralized cryptocurrencies. This is enabling us to reimagine the financial system and to upgrade the world to something better. Gender, Age Divide The survey, which offers insight into the psyche of the cryptocurrency community, revealed that the uptake of virtual currencies has been marginally higher among younger South Africans. But overall, age has not proven to be a significant differentiator. This challenges the common perception of younger consumers being more digitally adept and willing to take on greater financial risk. Results from the survey, which had an even male to female ratio in the sample, revealed that gender is a significant matter. Fewer women own cryptocurrencies or are familiar with them than men. The results are in line with the gender split seen in conventional investing, where the participation of women also tends to be lower than men. A recent study conducted by Nelson Mandela University found that women tend to be less confident about financial and investment matters, according to the report. It is possible that this same trend from conventional investing is exhibiting itself in cryptocurrencies. This means that to increase participation by women in cryptocurrency, it should simply require that women become as familiar with the technology as men. In addition, 48 percent of South Africans said that they are concerned about losing money when using cryptocurrencies, mainly due to phishing scams or transaction errors. Other security concerns revolve around the availability of trusted suppliers of cryptocurrency. Greater stability in the price of cryptocurrencies was only the third-highest factor affecting confidence among South African survey respondents. Emerging Markets The findings of the Luno report also suggest, and possibly confirm, that the cryptocurrency revolution has had a significant impact on emerging markets. Despite considerable price volatility, respondents from South Africa, Indonesia and Malaysia have reported higher levels of familiarity with cryptocurrencies, as well as ownership of them, than individuals in European markets. In Europe, people stated that they do not have enough knowledge or access to information to feel secure about buying or using digital coins. But in South Africa, Indonesia and Malaysia, this hasn’t been a big issue; rather, people said that they are confident about buying cryptocurrencies, as they feel they have access to enough information. What do you think about cryptocurrency adoption in South Africa? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock The Bitcoin universe is vast. So is Bitcoin.com. Check ourWiki, 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 Survey: South Africans Turning to Crypto as Hedge Against Volatility of the Rand appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Malta’s Pilatus Bank has been shut down by the European Central Bank (ECB). Its banking license was revoked after its chairman was charged in the U.S. with money laundering and organizing a scheme to evade U.S. sanctions. The bank had also been accused by a murdered journalist of processing corrupt payments. EU authorities now want new powers to crack down on money laundering. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Pilatus Bank’s License Revoked Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) announced on Monday that the ECB has withdrawn the banking license of Pilatus Bank which has been operating in Malta for four years. The Financial Times elaborated: The move comes several months after U.S. authorities charged the bank’s Iranian-born owner and former chairman Seyed Ali Sadr Hasheminejad with organising a scheme to evade U.S. sanctions against Iran by illegally funnelling more than $115 million from Venezuela to Iranian-controlled companies. “The bank was charged in the United States over money laundering and bank fraud,” Reuters added. Although Seyed Ali Sadr Hasheminejad pleaded not guilty and has been released on bail, MFSA removed him from his roles at the bank and froze the bank’s assets. In June, the regulator recommended revoking the bank’s license but faced numerous legal hurdles. On Monday, MFSA said that “the ECB had acted on its request to close the bank,” the Guardian wrote. Pilatus Bank, which caters to wealthy clients, reported 308 million euros ($351.64 million) of assets in 2016, according to the bank’s annual report. Last year, it opened a branch in London after obtaining a U.K. banking license. The bank “was known to have held accounts for a senior official in the government of the Maltese prime minister, Joseph Muscat, and members of Azerbaijan’s ruling family,” the Financial Times detailed. Murdered Journalist’s Case Daphne Caruana Galizia. Pilatus Bank had also been accused of “processing corrupt payments for senior Azeri and Maltese figures” by Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Reuters described. Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb in Malta a year ago. However, there has been no proven link between her murder and her story about the bank, the publication conveyed. Nonetheless, the event prompted the EU to begin investigating the bank in October last year. “Three men suspected of killing her – brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio and their friend Vince Muscat – were arrested during a police operation in December 2017,” the BBC added. Maltese Authorities Investigated The ECB launched two investigations of how Malta dealt with Pilatus Bank last year, Reuters detailed. The first focused on MFSA but the case was closed in September “in part due to the vagueness of EU regulation,” European Banking Authority Chairman Andrea Enria told EU lawmakers. The second investigation focused on the Maltese Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU), the country’s anti-money laundering agency. Enria emphasized that this investigation has uncovered “serious shortcomings that the body did not remedy,” the publication noted. A senior EU official explained: The European Commission reached preliminary agreement on Monday on new actions against the FIAU over its handling of the Pilatus case, which will force Malta to improve the way its anti-money laundering body operates. Citing that U.S. authorities played a big role in uncovering alleged illicit banking activities in several European cases, the Guardian reported that “EU authorities want new powers to crack down on money laundering after a string of scandals in Estonia, Latvia and Malta.” What do you think of the ECB shutting down Pilatus Bank? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Lovin Malta, FIAU, MFSA, and Pilatus Bank. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post ECB Shuts Down Maltese Bank Over Schemes to Launder Money and Evade US Sanctions appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange has released a paper aimed at creating the infrastructure necessary to accommodate transactions with cryptocurrency-based assets and facilitate the implementation of distributed ledger technologies in the emirate. The platform wants to support financial institutions in their efforts to introduce services related to innovative investment instruments. Also read: Professional Course Prepares Russian Lawyers for the Cryptocurrency Industry ADX Shares Views on Cryptocurrency Regulation The paper, in which the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) sets out its views on a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and digital assets, has been produced in cooperation with the emirate’s Central Securities Depository. The organization has been tasked with examining the phenomenon and participate in the creation of a safe and efficient environment for both the issuers of these assets and potential investors. The document has been prepared under the auspices of the International Securities Service Association. According to a report by WAM, the state-run news agency of the United Arab Emirates, the exchange has been working to identify the “technical and operational criteria required to issue cryptoassets,” as the new asset class is seeing rapid development in the region. ADX also wants to provide a reliable reference for financial institutions trying to manage the transition from traditional assets to cryptocurrency-related instruments. Abu Dhabi to Upgrade Market Infrastructure Commenting on the release, the chief executive of ADX, Rashed Al Blooshi, noted the importance of upgrading Abu Dhabi’s existing financial market infrastructure. He also highlighted the need to incorporate comprehensive standards of governance within traditional systems in order to improve the quality of the infrastructure, prevent market fragmentation and increase investor confidence. “Financial market infrastructure plays a pivotal role in supporting crypto markets, offering investor protection, preventing market fragmentation, as well as making it possible for financial institutions to provide advanced services in the field of cryptoassets,” Al Blooshi pointed out. He added that ADX is embracing innovative technologies and is constantly looking to capitalize on fintech advancements, particularly those regarding cryptoassets. The exchange is trying to optimize the benefits offered to its investors and stakeholders, the executive said. In recent years, the region of the Arab Peninsula has been opening up to cryptocurrencies and related products and technologies. In January, the Abu Dhabi Global Market, an international financial center located in the heart of UAE’s capital, announced the adoption of a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency activities such as those performed by trading and custodial platforms. This past September, the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority approved a plan to adopt regulations for initial coin offerings (ICOs). The watchdog recognizes the issued tokens as securities. The launch of the first cryptocurrency exchange registered in the United Arab Emirates has been announced this week. What do you think of ADX’s regulatory initiative? Share your thoughts on the subject 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 Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange to Create Infrastructure for Cryptocurrency Assets appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A partnership between Al Zarooni Group, Crypto Bulls and Gulf Coin Gold has fostered the launch of the first cryptocurrency exchange registered in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In other news, LXDX has announced that it plans to conduct a $5.7 million fundraising round via a security token offering (STO), and BTCC has announced indefinite cessation of its mining pool. Also Read: Venezuelan Banks Start Using the Petro to Denominate Customer Balances Crypto Bulls Exchange Launches First Registered Cryptocurrency Platform in UAE A partnership between Al Zarooni Group, Crypto Bulls, and Gulf Coin Gold has yielded the launch of the first cryptocurrency exchange to be registered in the United Arab Emirates, Crypto Bulls Exchange. Suhail Al Zarooni, the Chairman of Al Zarooni Foundation described the launch of the exchange as a “milestone for getting global investments opportunity from all over the Globe in UAE.” Shasha Gupta, the chief executive officer and founder of Crypto Bulls Exchange, stated that “Crypto Bulls will be the first exchange providing AED trading pairs and traders would be able to convert their crypto assets into AED.” LXDX Plans $5.7 Million Security Token Offering LXDX, a cryptocurrency exchange co-founded by former Spacex engineer Joshua Greenwald, has announced that it will issue tokenized securities representing ownership in the exchange. The company plans to issue five million tokens priced at 1 EUR each that will collectively represent an ownership share in the platform. The tokens will also entitle holders to 10 percent of the exchange’s quarterly adjusted gross revenue. Will Roman, the chief operating officer and co-founder of LXDX, stated that the STO would be the only token offering that the firm plans to conduct in the “foreseeable future.” Joshua Greenwald, LXDX’s chief executive officer stated his expectation that “The million token future is just around the corner,” adding: “As blockchain technology proliferates, we expect to see increased tokenization of tangible assets like real estate, commodities, and even art.” BTCC to Cease Mining Pool Operations Indefinitely From Nov. 30 BTCC has announced that after more than four years of operating a mining pool, it will shut down all of its mining servers on Nov. 15 and “cease operations indefinitely” from Nov. 30. BTCC requests that miners direct their hashing power elsewhere by Nov. 15 and “bind [their] mining revenue address” before Nov. 20, adding that the pool “will release the profits of all miners in time.” Do you think more companies in the cryptocurrency sector will seek to issue stock via security token offerings? Share your thoughts in the comments 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 Exchanges Roundup: First UAE-Based Exchange, LXDX to Launch Security Token Offering appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A number of cryptocurrency exchanges have reportedly cut ties with Iran after the U.S. imposed tougher economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Sepehr Mohammadi, head of Iran’s Blockchain Community, told local media that Binance and Bittrex are some of the platforms to have unofficially dropped Iran from the list of supported countries to receive services. Also Read: Bitcoin Miners Flock to Paraguay as Country Weighs its Developmental Options Exchanges Impose Restrictions, but Assets Not Blocked On Nov. 5, the U.S. announced severe economic sanctions against Iran that, with the exception of just eight countries, cut the rest of the world off from the country’s oil, shipping and gas market, including its financial system. An earlier round of sanctions in May targeted Iran’s currency, aviation industry and other sectors, as President Donald Trump broke away from his predecessor Barack Obama’s engagement with Tehran. Measures against the financial system are expected to hinder any kind of trade with Iran. Speaking to IBENA, an Iranian news agency affiliated to the country’s central bank, Mohammadi said “some virtual currency exchanges have imposed restrictions on Iranian users, but no assets belonging to Iranians have been blocked.” The measures mean that people in Iran will no longer be able to trade cryptocurrencies across borders, limiting trade to a domestic market where bitcoin is sold at a significant premium relative to the global average price. It was not immediately clear which other exchanges had stopped offering services to Iranians. This will not be the first time that U.S. economic sanctions have struck at the heart of Iran’s cryptocurrency industry. In July, after the first round of sanctions, Mohammadi accused Donald Trump’s administration of stifling growth in Iran’s digital currency sector, claiming that the U.S. government confiscated about $6 million worth of Iranian-owned BTC. He said then: Last year (2017), the remarkable volume of bitcoin which belonged to some Iranians was confiscated due to unspecific reasons by the Federal government of the United States, and the process of confiscation is still continuing. The Iran Blockchain Community chairmain indicated at the time that owners of the confiscated BTC were unable to take legal action against the U.S. inside Iran, as cryptocurrencies were banned in the country. The Central Bank of Iran in April banned Iranian banks from dealing in foreign cryptocurrency citing money laundering and terrorism financing risks, but later rescinded the decision after gauging the full effect of the sanctions. Announcing the sanctions on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned: “It should be noted that if a company evades our sanctions regime and secretly continues sanctionable commerce in the Islamic Republic, the U.S. will levy severe, swift penalties on it, including potential sanctions. I promise you that doing business with Iran in defiance of our sanctions will ultimately be a much more painful business decision than pulling out of Iran entirely.” State-Backed Digital Currency Iran, the world’s third largest oil producer, is hoping to leverage cryptocurrencies to compensate for the expected squeeze in petrodollars arising from the economic sanctions designed to cut oil sales from the country, the economy’s lifeblood. Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali, head of Iran’s Civil Defense Organization, has talked about the “great opportunities” presented by cryptocurrencies, in the latest indication that Tehran is developing a state cryptocurrency. “Cryptocurrencies can help bypass certain sanctions through untraceable banking operations,” Jalali told the state media in October. He also emphasized the need for formation of a national cryptocurrency that can be used whenever necessary. The state-backed virtual currency will be similar to bitcoin in that transactions are carried out on an online ledger called a blockchain, but it will not be possible for people to mine it because the infrastructure will be private. The country has also approved plans for cryptocurrency mining for the national good. What do you think about the effect of U.S. sanctions on the cryptocurrency industry in Iran? Let us know 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 Global Cryptocurrency Exchanges Cut Ties With Iran After New US Sanctions appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Dr. Hilda Cathy Heine, President of the Marshall Islands, is facing a political attack for her support of a planned national cryptocurrency. If the move is successful, it may dissuade other leaders from opening up to the new technology opposed by the IMF. Also Read: Lawyer Invests $300 Million to Build Crypto City in the Nevada Desert No Confidence in SOV On Monday, eight Marshallese senators introduced a motion of no confidence against President Heine for her backing of a national digital coin. The Sovereign (SOV) was announced back in February of this year, promoted by the team behind Israeli remittances startup Neema. The main point emphasized by those against the national currency is that it will hurt the country’s reputation abroad. “I don’t see any indication of us being harmed … this is not an illicit activity. This is not illegal and our laws will not be tarnished,” Heine reportedly answered. The vote on the no confidence motion has been scheduled for Nov. 12, after the opposition and the president present their respective cases on the matter in parliament. International Pressure The claim against the Sovereign used by the Marshallese senators basically just echos the position of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Washington, D.C. headquartered organization issued a stark warning to the country’s government back in September, trying to pressure the Marshall Islands to drop the plan. It claimed that: The potential benefits from [digital currency] revenue gains appear considerably smaller than the potential costs arising from economic, reputational, AML/CFT, and governance risks. In the absence of adequate measures to mitigate them, the authorities should seriously reconsider the issuance of the digital currency as legal tender. Whatever the result of the no confidence vote next week, it can potentially generate waves far from the shores of the Marshall Islands. Other offshore jurisdictions, in regions such as the Caribbean, are known to be in different stages of exploring the technology. If the IMF succeeds in dissuading them from issuing digital assets, the field might be left only to countries already antagonistic to the West such as Iran, Venezuela and Russia. Will this vote prove the IMF can easily bully small nations away from opening up to cryptocurrencies? 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 Marshall Islands President Attacked Over National Cryptocurrency Plan appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A regulated cryptocurrency exchange in Japan has partnered with two companies to enable cryptocurrency payments for their businesses. Hinomaru Limousine has started accepting payments in cryptocurrencies for its airport taxi service while Carchs Holdings allows crypto payments at its used car dealerships. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Airport Car Service by Hinomaru Bitpoint, one of Japan’s 16 regulated crypto exchanges, recently announced two business alliances to increase merchant cryptocurrency adoption in the country. On Tuesday, the exchange revealed a partnership with Tokyo-based Hinomaru Limousine to trial cryptocurrency payments for the company’s airport taxi service between Nov. 6 and Jan. 9. Established in 1981, Hinomaru operates a fleet of 362 limousines and 161 taxis, Bloomberg reported. A source familiar with the matter told the news outlet that if the trial “is successful, it may be expanded to include regular taxi rides.” According to Bitpoint’s announcement, crypto payments are accepted for the service between Tokyo’s 23 wards and the city’s two major airports: Haneda and Narita. The types of vehicles available are “High-grade type (Tesla Model S)” for four passengers and “Minivan type (Toyota Alphard)” for four to six passengers, the exchange described. The fares range from 19,020 yen ($168) to 37,020 yen for Narita and from 8,300 yen to 15,600 yen for Haneda. To pay with cryptocurrency, passengers need to have a Bitpoint account and use the Bitpoint wallet app, for either Android or iOS, on their smartphone. The exchange’s wallet currently supports payments in BTC, BCH, and ETH. Carchs Used Car Dealerships On Nov. 1, Bitpoint announced a business alliance with Carchs Holdings Co. Ltd. to enable cryptocurrency payments at its dealerships. Bitpoint’s chairman (left) and Carchs’ president (right). Map of Carchs’ locations. Established in 1989, Carchs Holdings currently operates 48 dealerships throughout Japan. Eight locations are in the Hokkaido and Tohoku area, 17 in Kanto, 10 in Kansai, 10 in the Hokuriku and Chubu area, and three in the Chugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu region. With the assistance of Bitpoint, two Carchs dealerships started accepting crypto payments on Nov. 1 and will continue to accept them till Jan. 9 next year. The two stores are Carchs Mega Sendai in the Hokkaido/Tohoku area and Carchs Nangang in the Kansai area. The announcement further states that the two companies “plan to develop virtual currency payment at all Carchs stores in the future.” As with Hinomaru Limousine, Carchs customers need to have a Bitpoint account and use the Bitpoint wallet app to pay with cryptocurrency. In December last year, a major Japanese automotive group, Idom Inc., partnered with the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Bitflyer, to enable bitcoin payments at its dealerships across Japan. What do you think of Hinomaru Limousine and Carchs Holdings accepting cryptocurrencies through Bitpoint? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Hinomaru Limousine, Carchs Holdings, and Bitpoint. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Major Car Dealerships and Airport Limos in Japan Begin Accepting Cryptocurrencies appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Mining rig manufacturer Bitmain Technologies has announced the company’s latest Antminers equipped with 7nm semiconductors will go on sale on Nov. 8. According to the China-based organization, Bitmain will release two new models called the Antminer S15 and the T15. Also Read: Bitcoin Cash Fork Watch: BCH Infrastructure Providers Reveal Contingency Plans Bitmain Plans to Sell Its New Antminers This Week Bitmain will soon be selling new Antminers equipped with 7nm semiconductor technology. The company published a statement on Tuesday, detailing that the two latest models, the S15 and the T15, will be available for purchase on Thursday, Nov. 8 at 9 a.m. EDT. News.Bitcoin.com reported on Bitmain’s next-generation ASIC BM1391 Finfet chip during the second week of September when Bitmain CEO Jihan Wu revealed the new technology. The 7nm chip was created by Bitmain and the world’s largest independent semiconductor foundry TSMC. “We are officially announcing the release of our new 7nm miners which possess industry-leading hash rates designed to mine with the SHA256 algorithm,” Bitmain explained on Twitter. Bitmain Claims Chip Energy Efficiency Ratio Will Be as Low as 42 Joules per Terahash Bitmain announced the sale on Twitter and Wechat on Nov. 6, 2018. The company’s website has one preview photo of the machine, which looks far different than the previous Antminer series. At the moment the website overview, pricing, specifications, and photo gallery is unavailable for public viewing. However, the company’s announcement on Wechat explained that the S and T series are SHA256 miners that can mine bitcoin cash (BCH) and bitcoin core (BTC) with the mining capacity as low as 42 joules per terahash. “The next-generation of chip integrates up to 1 billion transistors and is optimized algorithmically — With a unique circuit structure and low power technology, the chip energy efficiency ratio will be as low as 42 J/TH,” the Bitmain announcement explained on Wechat. Of course, the difficulties of both the BTC and BCH chains coupled with the S and T series pricing will determine how profitable the new devices will be mining these cryptocurrencies. Further, Trump’s latest tariffs may affect prices for those who are importing Antminers to the U.S. There’s also a lot of competition that’s been announced over the past few months as a few other manufacturers are planning to launch next-generation machines. For instance, Canaan’s Avalon 911 will be powered by a 7nm semiconductor, and the firm claims it will perform at 18 terahashes per second (TH/s) and have a power consumption of 1440w. What do you think about the new Antminer S and T series equipped with 7nm chips? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Images via Shutterstock, Bitmain, and Pixabay. At news.Bitcoin.com all comments containing links are automatically held up for moderation in the Disqus system. That means an editor has to take a look at the comment to approve it. This is due to the many, repetitive, spam and scam links people post under our articles. We do not censor any comment content based on politics or personal opinions. So, please be patient. Your comment will be published. The post Bitmain’s New 7nm Antminer Goes on Sale on November 8 appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In this edition of Exchanges Roundup, we look at a Luno executive’s belief that the South African government will introduce “open” crypto regulations. We also focus on Bitstamp, which expects a 1250x increase in matching speed after it integrates a customized version of Cinnober’s trading engine software into its platform, as well as the motivation behind a Dutch exchange’s decision to advertise on a bus. Also Read: GMO Internet Sees Huge Leap in BCH Mining for October Consumer Protection In a recent interview, Marius Reitz, Luno’s South Africa country manager, said he expects the South African government to pass “open” regulations on the development of consumer protection protocols. “I think the regulation will be relatively open. I don’t see regulators trying to stifle innovation,” Reitz told Mybroadband. “I think they will focus on the consumer protection side, making it mandatory for exchanges to register as reporting entities.” Bitstamp Expects 1250X Speed Increase Bitstamp has revealed a new partnership with Cinnober, a trading and financial technology provider. The exchange plans to replace its in-house matching engine with a licensed and customized version of Cinnober’s “Tradexpress Trading Engine” software. “While Bitstamp’s matching engine was already very good by crypto standards, this will put us in the same league as traditional exchanges with decades of experience,” stated David Osonjik, the chief technology officer of Bitstamp. Osonjik said that he expects Bitstamp’s order-to-matching speed to increase by a factor of 1250. He added that throughput will likely increase by a factor of 400. Dutch Exchange Turns to Bus-Based Advertising The advertising blockade by leading social media platforms has in some cases driven cryptocurrency companies to seek out increasingly creative means through which to advertise their products and services. In recent months, Dutch exchange Satos has ventured into the realm of offline advertising, choosing to promote its platform on a bus. Stijn Jager, marketing manager at Satos, stated that “the idea of out-of-house marketing first came to us when most advertising platforms turned their back on cryptocurrencies.” He noted that the “extremely targeted” platforms offered by Google and Facebook used to be the company’s primary means of communicating with its target audience. Jager said the significant coverage and hype surrounding cryptocurrency during the 2017 bull run solidified the company’s decision to advertise to a broader audience amid the advertising crackdown. “(When) BTC became the talk at any office, everyone — literally everyone — was our target audience,” he explained. Jager said Satos is “very happy with the reach and attention” that the bus campaign has generated. “Advertising on buses is pretty new. With this campaign, we prioritized impact over gross reach,” he added. “We’d rather reach 20 people who take a picture of the bus and share it with friends, than of reaching 200 people who simply pass by the ad.” Do you think that offline advertising will become commonplace among cryptocurrency companies in the coming years? Share your thoughts in the comments 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 Exchanges Roundup: Luno Expects ‘Open’ South African Rules, Bitstamp Updates Engine appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On Nov. 4, a Norwegian startup announced the launch of a new peer-to-peer marketplace called Bitruption. Similar to Localbitcoins, the Bitruption exchange plans to offer a format under which users around the world will be able to advertise, buy and sell digital currencies for local fiat. Also Read: Bitcoin Ownership: Your Private Keys to Financial Sovereignty Peer-to-Peer Crypto-to-Fiat Exchange to Offer BCH and BTC The Bitruption trading platform is a peer-to-peer exchange that was recently announced by Ole André Knutli, the company’s project manager. According to Knutli, the Oslo-based team soon plans to launch a trading platform that will allow traders to form their own micro-exchanges on a local level, much like Localbitcoins. However, in contrast to Localbitcoins, Bitruption will allow users to trade multiple cryptocurrencies. Initially, the platform will only support bitcoin cash (BCH) and bitcoin core (BTC), alongside bank transfers. “We will build support for more digital currencies and add more payment options, but this is further down the line,” Knutli explained. The company is trying to distinguish itself from traditional exchanges. “Bitruption preserves the freedom and flexibility of a peer-to-peer format. Our goal is to provide people with more choices to trade digital currencies in a safe and user-friendly environment,” the company said on its website. “We will provide the digital infrastructure and let the users establish markets to trade how they see fit.” KYC/AML System Bitruption added that there’s a new money laundering act in Norway that requires them to register with the authorities. The company is currently in the process of registering itself with the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority, as it believes that building long-term trust is a far better approach than allowing fraud on the marketplace. The team will therefore implement a KYC/AML system in order to eliminate illegal activities. Bitruption will initially launch for Norwegian users and then expand internationally after scaling the marketplace. At the moment there are not many exchanges that operate in a peer-to-peer fashion, other than a few like Bitquick, Localbitcoins and Localbitcoincash. Knutli said that it is “vital that we build more bridges” and Bitruption is focused on doing just that. The company will discuss the project at the Cryptofinance conference in Oslo on Nov. 17. It will also speak at the Coingeek conference in London on Nov. 28–30. What do you think about the peer-to-peer trading platform Bitruption? Let us know in the comments section below. Images via Pixabay, and Bitruption. At news.Bitcoin.com all comments containing links are automatically held up for moderation in the Disqus system. That means an editor has to take a look at the comment to approve it. This is due to the many, repetitive, spam and scam links people post under our articles. We do not censor any comment content based on politics or personal opinions. So, please be patient. Your comment will be published. The post Norwegian Startup Bitruption Plans to Launch a Localbitcoins Competitor appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article