roadrunner

In the cryptocurrency markets, BCH appears to be confirming the recent establishment of a double bottom at approximately $422, preceding bitcoin cash’s rally this past week that culminated in breaking resistance at roughly $600 today. XRP has also produced a strong rally in recent days, with ripple currently appearing poised to overtake ethereum as the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Also Read:China Targets ‘Disguised’ ICOs in Crypto Crackdown Update BCH Breaks Resistance at $600 BCH has posted a strong performance this past week, rallying by nearly 50% from a retest of 2018’s low at approximately $410 on Oct. 31st to be currently trading for roughly $615. The rally appears to have produced a double bottom ‘W’ formation on both the USD and BTC charts, with price currently establishing a higher high than that posted on Sep. 27 at the highest price posted since Sep. 5 on the BCH/USD daily. BCH/USD – Bitfinex – 1D When measuring against BTC, BCH is currently trading at the highest price posted since Aug. 9, at roughly 0.0945 BTC after breaking above multi-month resistance at approximately 0.09 BTC. BCH/BTC – Bitfinex – 1D Bitcoin cash is the fourth largest cryptocurrency by capitalization at $10.4 billion. XRP Rivals ETH Market Cap Ripple has rallied to rival ethereum as the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization for the first time since Sep. 21, with XRP briefly ranking above ETH at approximately 9:00 UTC on Nov. 6. As of this writing, ripple is the third largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of over $21.4 billion, trailing slightly behind ethereum’s roughly $22 billion. In the last two days, XRP has posted price gains of roughly 15%, with ripple currently trading for approximately $0.54 and 0.0000831 BTC. In the last four hours, XRP rallied as high as $0.568 and 0.0000875 BTC. XRP/USD – Bitfinex – 1D ETH by contrast has been very stable in recent weeks, trading within an approximately 13% range of around $195-$220 for the past three to four weeks when measuring against the dollar. ETH is trading for $216 as of this writing. ETH/USD – Bitfinex – 1D When measuring against BTC, ETH has traded within a range of less than 3% between roughly 0.03083 BTC and 0.032 since Oct. 12, before rallying by 7.2% on Nov. 4 to test resistance at 0.0336. ETH has since consolidated and is trading for roughly 0.0333 BTC as of this writing. ETH/BTC – Bitfinex – 1D BTC Consolidation Continues BTC has continued to consolidate within an approximate range of between 10% and 12% since early September, following the posting of the lowest monthly volatility for 2018 at the end of October. For four weeks the price has hovered between roughly $6,200 and $6,850 on Bitfinex, and between $6,100 and $6,800 on Bitstamp. BTC currently has a market cap of approximately $111.7 billion, and is trading for $6,485 on Bitfinex and $6,430 on Bitstamp. BTC/USD – Bitfinex – 1D Do you think that Ripple can overtake Ethereum as the second largest crypto market by capitalization for a meaningful length of time? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Tradingview 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 Markets Update: BCH Rallies, XRP Nears ETH Market Cap appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bitfury Group, the San Francisco-based manufacturer of bitcoin mining hardware, announced today that it has closed an $80 million private placement funding round. This may indicate that the company, which was rumored to be working on an initial public offering, has decided to delay taking the IPO route for now. Also Read: Lawyer Invests $300 Million to Build Crypto City in the Nevada Desert ‘Incredible Expansion’ Institutional and corporate investors from Europe, Asia and the U.S. participated in Bitfury’s $80 million private placement, led by Korelya Capital, the European arm of South Korea’s Naver Group. Participants also included Macquarie Capital, Dentsu, Armat Group, Jabre and Lian Group, Argenthal Capital Partners, MACSF, Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital, and itech Capital. Investment bank Bryan, Garnier & Co. advised Bitfury on the process. “2018 has been a year of incredible expansion for Bitfury. This private placement reflects our achievements, and it recognizes our ability to address adjacent market segments in high-performance computing, including in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence,” said Valery Vavilov, CEO and co-founder of Bitfury. “The institutionalization of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, partnered with the opportunity of these emerging technologies, is a natural expansion opportunity that Bitfury will build on  —  in 2019 and beyond.” What About the IPO? It has long been expected that Bitfury would eventually seek an IPO. And only last month it was reported that the company had been in contact with a number of investment banks about the possibility of taking its business public by next year. This was meant to be at an expected valuation of between $3 billion to $5 billion, based on about half a billion dollars in yearly revenues. The move would have made Bitfury the first European company in the space to do so and would have enabled it to raise public funds needed to fend off competition from Asian manufacturers such as Canaan Creative, Ebang Communication and above all Bitmain Technologies. But by deciding to go with a private placement instead, Bitfury might be signalling that it is willing to wait for a better opportunity to go public in a more bullish market down the line. “This private placement will take our corporate governance to the next level, broaden our financial strategic options, and ideally position us for our next phase of growth as the market matures,” said George Kikvadze, executive vice chairman of Bitfury. What can we learn about the direction of the market from this investment? 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 Bitfury Secures $80M in Private Placement appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In this edition of The Daily, we look at the decision to add cryptocurrencies as a topic of discussion at the next World Economic Forum in Davos. We also focus on the latest recommendations on digital assets by Switzerland’s financial regulator, as well as a Venezuelan state’s plans to use the petro in cross-border trade with Brazil. Also read: Crypto Game Developer Raises $15M, Bitcoin Pioneer Faces Lawsuit WEF to Focus on Interaction Between States and the Cryptocurrency Industry Globalization and the interaction between governments and participants in the fourth industrial revolution — including players from the cryptocurrency industry — will be the main theme of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos from Jan. 22 to 25, 2019. The annual meeting in the Swiss mountain resort brings together over 2,000 business and political leaders, economists and journalists to discuss pressing economic issues and “shape global, regional and industry agendas.” The WEF’s president, Børge Brende, announced the theme of the next event while speaking to journalists in Geneva. “For us, as an international organization, it is very important to ensure global cooperation, because what we face today — geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges in a multipolar world, the challenges and the opportunities associated with the fourth industrial revolution — needs more cooperation,” he said, as quoted by Russian news agency RIA Novosti. The participants in the high-level forum will discuss the establishment of a general framework for the interaction between these different parties. Brende made it clear he was referring to cooperation between states and individual players involved in the development of new technologies like those associated with cryptocurrencies and distributed ledgers. The WEF will also focus on topics such as Brexit and the changing economic climate in the EU. FINMA Estimates the Risk of Cryptocurrencies at 8 Times Their Value The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) believes banks should estimate the risks associated with cryptocurrency assets at eight times their market value. That’s according to a confidential letter sent to Expert Suisse, an association representing Swiss trustees and accountants. The correspondence, seen by Swissinfo, gives an idea about FINMA’s current stance on the matter — the regulator considers cryptocurrencies as volatile assets, despite the low levels of volatility seen in recent months. FINMA also wants to limit cryptocurrency trading activities to 4 percent of the total capital of financial institutions and says banks should report when they’ve reached that level. The recommendations mean they will be expected to dedicate considerably more capital to cover potential losses from cryptocurrency investments in comparison to most other assets. The Swiss regulator has not yet adopted an official position on the inclusion of digital assets in the requirements regarding capital and liquidity ratios under Basel III, which is an international set of measures developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in the aftermath of the last major financial crisis. The rules were designed to strengthen the regulation, supervision and risk management of financial institutions. Until the Basel Committee makes its recommendations regarding cryptoassets, FINMA advises players in the financial sector to “assign a flat risk weight of 800 percent to cover market and credit risks.” Venezuelan and Brazilian States to Trade with the Petro Authorities in the Venezuelan state of Bolívar intend to promote the adoption of the national cryptocurrency, the petro, in regional trade with the neighboring Brazilian state of Roraima, Prensa Latina has reported. Justo Noguera, governor of Bolívar, said the digital coin will be used by companies from the state to purchase food, medicine and other goods from businesses based in northern Brazil. The initiative also covers imports of spare parts and supplies for the steel works in Ciudad Guayana. Venezuela officially launched the public sale of its government-controlled cryptocurrency last week. The petro can now be purchased with a number of fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies. Venezuelan banks have also started using the oil-backed coin to denominate customer bank balances, as news.Bitcoin.com reported earlier today. Both El Petro and the redenominated, petro-pegged Bolívar Soberano now serve as units of account in the crisis-hit South American country. Meanwhile, Venezuela’s trading volume on Localbitcoins has reached new record highs. According to Coindance, Venezuelans traded over 1,070 BTC in the week of Nov. 3, 2018. The price of dash, as well as its trade volume, also jumped recently after the launch of Dash Text, a service allowing transfers of the cryptocurrency via SMS. What are your thoughts on today’s news tidbits? Tell us in the comments section. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Make sure you do not miss any important Bitcoin-related news! Follow our news feed any which way you prefer; via Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, RSS or email (scroll down to the bottom of this page to subscribe). We’ve got daily, weekly and quarterly summaries in newsletter form. Bitcoin never sleeps. Neither do we. The post The Daily: Cryptocurrencies on the Davos Agenda, FINMA Issues Rules for Cryptoassets appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Paraguay’s Itaipú Dam, one of the largest hydroelectric facilities in the world, is supporting bitcoin and ethereum mining in a city on the country’s border with Brazil and Argentina. These efforts have already spawned a number of new cryptocurrency businesses, creating multiple millionaires, but an ongoing reassessment of the dam’s developmental potential could spell boom or bye for the miners that have been flocking to the city. Also Read: GMO Internet Sees Huge Leap in BCH Mining For October, Cheap, Clean Power Across Ciudad del Este, cheap and abundant electricity from the Itaipú Dam powers about 20,000 cryptocurrency mining rigs, with fortune-seekers converging on the city from other parts of Paraguay, as well as countries such as Brazil, China, Russia, Canada and the U.S. Development experts, however, think that the authorities should raise electricity prices and use the proceeds to tackle widespread poverty. Itaipu Dam According to a recent Guardian feature, politicians and development experts are considering a number of alternative propositions, including redirecting exported electricity to domestic industries, renegotiating fairer prices with project partner Brazil, and tapping companies from Silicon Valley to manufacture with clean energy in Paraguay. It is expected that the proceeds would be sown back into social investment to address economic inequality and provide social welfare services for a population with skewed access to employment, healthcare, education and transport infrastructure. However, the development narrative does not seem to be mutually exclusive with cryptocurrency mining. Paraguay, which generates more than 103 million megawatt-hours of electricity per year at the Itaipu Dam, can still take advantage of its status as the world’s biggest exporter of electricity and cash in as a go-to destination for BTC and ETH miners. Miners in the country pay between $0.03 and $0.05 per kilowatt-hour, or about one-third below the prices that they pay in Argentina. Mining Mecca Paraguay’s offer of clean and plentiful energy can make it a mecca for digital currency diggers, while securing sustained proceeds for the government, as interest in cryptocurrency only continues to grow. The South American country currently only uses 13 percent of its energy and exports a lot of the surplus to neighboring Brazil. Tech entrepreneur Gregorio Bareiro thinks Paraguay has more to gain by cutting down energy exports to Brazil and keeping more capacity at home to supply to the cryptocurrency-mining industry, according to the report. Bareiro is only one of a few locals that are capitalizing on the mining boom. He started out providing cryptocurrency investors with DIY cooling systems, but now rents out 750 computers to miners. “Paraguay today is the only place where there’s abundant energy. We can become the center of global bitcoin mining,” Bareiro said, suggesting that catering to the mining industry could help the country to clear up its debts within a decade. The best chance we have is not selling our energy to Brazil but investing in cryptocurrency. Ultimately, Bitcoin mining must not be seen as a deviation from Paraguay’s developmental obligations, but as one of the more sustainable options available to meet them. Should Paraguay prioritize cryptocurrency mining over the developmental use of its surplus electricity? Let us know what you think. 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 Bitcoin Miners Flock to Paraguay as Country Weighs Its Social Development Options appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has discussed the regulation of cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs) in a recently published report that highlights its plan to crack down on “airdrops,” while laying the groundwork to potentially issue its own virtual currency. Also Read: Venezuela’s Supreme Court Orders Payment in National Cryptocurrency Report Highlights Plan to Clamp Down on Airdrops In the China Financial Stability Report 2018, the PBOC said that it has noted a growing number of “disguised” ICOs since it first launched a crackdown on them last year. It also argued that airdrops are “disguised” ICOs. “Take airdrops, where tokens are given out for free to participants, rather than raising funds directly in public via ICO, while reserving a portion of the total supply,” the central bank said in the report. “These cryptocurrency startups then try to push tokens’ prices higher in the secondary market in a bid to reap profits.” Stronger Regulatory Measures for Crypto The PBOC said that it plans to ramp up its “high pressure” effort to “clean up” the cryptocurrency markets, highlighting four major policy objectives. Firstly, it will seek to maintain a strong regulatory position, while “severely” cracking down on “emerging violations of laws and regulations.” Secondly, the central bank will also “strengthen domestic regulatory coordination” and arrange joint action with multiple regulatory bodies. Thirdly, the PBOC said it will “implement functional supervision requirements.” And lastly, it will “actively promote international cooperation and regulatory coordination” regarding cryptocurrencies. The report also appears to establish a regulatory basis for the eventual issuance of state-backed cryptocurrencies. “Crypto assets which are not issued by the government do not have legal status equivalent to fiat currencies,” the PBOC said. Increasing Prevalence of Token Sales Official statistics show that 65 ICOs had been completed in China before July 18, 2017, but only five of them were held before the start of that year. The token sales are believed to have attracted participation from approximately 105,000 individuals, generating a total of roughly 2.6 billion yuan ($375.6 million). The total raised is estimated to have accounted for over 20 percent of the global sum that was raised through ICOs during the same period. Do you agree that many airdrops are simply “disguised” ICOs? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock At Bitcoin.com there’s a bunch of free helpful services. For instance, have you seen our Tools page? You can even lookup the exchange rate for a transaction in the past. Or calculate the value of your current holdings. Or create a paper wallet. And much more. The post China Targets ‘Disguised’ ICOs in Crypto Crackdown Update appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Venezuela’s controversial national cryptocurrency, the petro, is slowly permeating the everyday lives of its citizens. The currency, each unit of which is supposedly backed by a barrel of oil, has begun appearing on screens when Venezuelan customers log in to their bank accounts. The move marks the latest attempt by President Nicolás Maduro’s government to force adoption of the petro. Also read: Venezuela’s Supreme Court Orders Payment in National Cryptocurrency One Bank Account, Two Balances In the last few days, a number of Venezuelan residents have reported seeing the petro appear as a unit of account when performing their online banking. Despite customers having expressed no interest in using the cryptocurrency, national banks have begun to introduce it at the government’s behest, in a bid to normalize the petro and ultimately secure adoption. News.Bitcoin.com has received reports of Banesco and Mercantil, two of Venezuela’s largest banks, introducing the measure. This is what customers of Banesco and Mercantil now see upon logging in to their online bank accounts. When customers of these banks now log in, they see their balance denominated in two currencies: the bolivar and the petro. While the latter is supposedly correlated to a barrel of oil, there has been little evidence to demonstrate this, and little public appetite for adopting the cryptocurrency, despite the devaluation of the bolivar. The bolivar fuerte officially replaced the bolivar soberano on Aug. 20 of this year at a rate of 1 fuerto to 100,000 soberano, in a bid to stem the tide of hyperinflation. News.Bitcoin.com’s Venezuelan source has reported that two of the country’s other largest private banks, BBVA Provincial and BFC, have yet to emulate Banesco and Mercantil by denominating balances using the petro. Demand for Bitcoin Remains Strong Concerted efforts by the government to ensure adoption of the petro have included the Supreme Court ordering a compensation payment to be made using the cryptocurrency. Evidence suggests there is little desire among ordinary members of the public, however, to use the petro, which is essentially a clone of dash. Instead, data shows that Venezuelans are turning to decentralized cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin core. Localbitcoins trade volumes for BTC have reached record highs in recent weeks, with over 1,000 BTC a week being traded on the P2P marketplace in October. What are your thoughts on Venezuelan banks introducing the petro? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Coin.dance. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Venezuelan Banks Start Using the Petro to Denominate Customer Balances appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

If you’ve been anywhere near social media in the past fortnight, or even used your favorite messaging app, there’s a good chance you’ve been shilled a referral link to Initiative Q. A mate probably forwarded it to you or tagged you in a post offering an invite to the first five responders. Maybe you FOMO’d in, or maybe you scrawled a one-word response — “Bitconeeeeect!” — and gave it a wide berth. For those who are still on the fence, here’s what you need to know about Initiative Q. Also read: Stop Looking for the Next Bitcoin Scheme or Scam? Billed as “tomorrow’s payment network” and “the payment network of the future,” Initiative Q exists as little more than an idea right now, but a viral idea that has captured the attention of your mom, dad, mailman, partner and pet over the past month. It’s not a cryptocurrency and yet, as the resident bitcoin expert in your social circle, you’ve probably been doorstepped by acquaintances fielding the same question: Is Initiative Q the new Bitcoin? Betteridge’s law of headlines holds that any headline ending in a question mark can be answered in the negative. Therefore, the short version of this article runs as follows: No, Initiative Q is definitely not the next Bitcoin. The slightly longer version goes like this: Any new monetary system that is (a) centralized and (b) acquired with an expectation of profit will be shut down faster than you can say “Liberty Reserve.” Google Trends shows the explosion in interest in Initiative Q Here’s What’s Good… Saar Wilf Before Initiative Q is completely written off, it is worth acknowledging what the project has gotten right: Not only is it a monetary idea that has managed to avoid using the term “blockchain,” but its virality is the envy of marketers the world over. No payment protocol, or however Initiative Q can be described, has come close to matching its runaway success. You might be sick of hearing about it, but the fact that you are sick of hearing about it is testament to the nous of its savvy founder, Saar Wilf. …And Here’s What’s Bad While Bitcoin’s founder operated under a pseudonym, Initiative Q’s is using his real name. Yes, Saar Wilf is a real guy who’s soliciting recruits based on the premise of his currency, Q, being akin to “getting free bitcoin seven years ago.” Sign up today and you’ll be entitled to free Qs that could one day be worth $34,000. If that sounds like an expectation of future profits, you’d be absolutely right. If that sounds like the sort of scheme the SEC could shut down in a heartbeat, you would be equally correct. If you really want to capitalize on the next big thing, there’s this payment system you should check out. It’s called Bitcoin. Initiative Q is polluting my feed. Quick review: – Centralised – Ponzi – Shitcoin The marketing scam is nothing more than the big queue outside an empty club. You can't just make up future value predictions without the business and infrastructure to prove it. pic.twitter.com/mc7AoJ0fZl — Peter McCormack #FreeRoss (@PeterMcCormack) November 5, 2018 Actual message a friend sent just after I’d finished this article. What are your thoughts on Initiative Q? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Is Initiative Q the Next Bitcoin? appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice has ordered a compensation payment of 266 petros, the country’s national cryptocurrency, in a workplace injury case. Meanwhile, the Venezuelan government has launched the petro savings plan, backed by 4 million of the digital currency. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Venezuela’s Supreme Court Recognizes Petro The Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela (TSJ) has ordered moral damage compensation in a workplace injury case to be paid in petros or the equivalent, local media reported on Friday. The TSJ is the country’s highest court of law and the head of the judicial branch. The case involves a Venezuelan citizen, María Elena Matos, who was injured at the National Institute of Agricultural Research (Inia), a unit attached to the country’s Ministry of Agriculture. Noting that she was subsequently verified disabled, Efe publication described, “The justice condemned the Inia to pay the equivalent of 266 petros.” The court clarified: TSJ orders the compensation payment in petros. In August, Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro announced that “Each petro, as the anchor point of the sovereign bolívar, will have a value of 3,600 Bs.s.” According to a popular website that publishes the black market rate for dollars priced in bolivars, Dolartoday, one dollar is worth 236.40 of the new bolivars on Nov. 5. Moreover, the supreme court made a second announcement on Friday, stating that it has “ordered the implementation of the Constituent Decree on Cryptoassets and the Petro Sovereign Cryptocurrency, in order to guarantee an effective judicial protection and protect the value of the amounts that are set as compensation for moral damage.” Petro Savings Plan On Monday, the Venezuelan government launched the petro savings plan. According to the country’s vice president: Venezuelans will be able to acquire petros so that they can save by means of a certificate. Tareck El Aissami, the country’s vice president of the economy, detailed on Friday that “Venezuelans with a national identity card will be able to access the digital portal” where the petro savings options will be available, El Universal reported. “More than 18 million cardholders can access the savings plan with an investment in sovereign bolivars.” Last week, Maduro said he “will make available in this first phase 4 million petros, equivalent to 14,400 million sovereign bolivars and 240 million dollars,” the news outlet elaborated. El Aissami explained: The savings method includes quarterly amortizations and a final payment that can be executed between 90, 180 or up to 270 days. The government’s savings plan website states that “All users can participate in the hours from Monday to Saturday from 6:00 AM to 10:59 PM,” noting that “The minimum purchase fraction is 0.01, which for its first day is equivalent to 38.95 Bs.s.” In addition, there is a 0.1 percent penalty for early redemption. What do you think of the court’s order and the petro savings plan? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and the Venezuelan government. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Venezuela’s Supreme Court Orders Payment in National Cryptocurrency appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

There’s only 10 days left until the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network hard fork scheduled for Nov. 15. At the moment the upgrade has two competing BCH clients with different ruleset changes, so the upcoming fork could cause a chain split. Because of the contention over certain upgrade proposals, a slew of exchanges and wallet providers have revealed their contingency plans for the upcoming consensus change. Also read: Developers Launch BDIP: A Bitcoin Cash Proposal Process for Decentralized Apps Hard Fork Contingency Plans Are Laid Out Bitcoin Cash fans have a lot going on over the next week as the community is expecting a fork on Nov. 15, but this time around the consensus changes are somewhat contentious. At the time of publication, there is a disagreement between the two developing teams Bitcoin ABC and Bitcoin SV, which could lead to a network split. Until recently, Bitasiaex, Coinex, and Ledger Wallet were the major companies to have detailed their plans for the fork, but since then a tidal wave of other businesses have come forward. Binance and Coinbase For instance, on Nov. 2 the trading platforms Coinbase and Binance disclosed how the companies plan to handle the fork situation. Binance announced it plans to “support the upcoming Bitcoin Cash hard fork” in a blog post published that morning. “Binance would like to confirm support for the upcoming Bitcoin Cash hard fork. We will take a snapshot of all Bitcoin Cash balances at UNIX time 1542300000, 2018/11/15 4:40:00 PM (UTC),” the exchange wrote. “Deposits and withdrawals of bitcoin cash will be suspended starting from 2018/11/15 3:00:00 PM (UTC).” Binance continued by stating that it will follow up with a second announcement after the fork. The exchange concluded by stating that Binance users can refer to the 2018 BCH upgrade Github repository published by the Bitcoin ABC team. After the statements from Binance, 12 hours later Coinbase published an announcement concerning the BCH network fork. The San Francisco exchange detailed the service is “prepared to support the published roadmap from Bitcoincash.org,” and also linked to the Github repository page published by the Bitcoin ABC team. Coinbase said in its blog post that approximately one hour before the fork the business will pause BCH transactions. The company explained that customers can be sure their funds will remain safe at Coinbase. “In the unlikely event that multiple viable chains persist after the fork, Coinbase will ensure that customers have access to their funds on each chain,” the organization emphasized. Poloniex and Kucoin On Nov. 5, Poloniex exchangem which is owned by Circle Financial, revealed its plans to support the Nov. 15 BCH fork and pause transactions. According to the trading platform, the exchange will take a snapshot of all BCH balances prior to the fork and stop BCH transactions during the upgrade. “Once the network stabilizes, we will make an announcement and re-enable deposits and withdrawals,” explained Poloniex. The trading platform concluded by stating that users can also refer to the Bitcoin ABC roadmap. The same day, the Kucoin cryptocurrency exchange explained it would be supporting the Bitcoin ABC hard fork roadmap. Before the fork takes place, Kucoin will take a balance snapshot and suspend BCH transactions. “Deposits and withdrawals of BCH will be suspended at 23:00:00 on November 15th, 2018 (UTC+8),” explained the trading platform. Wallet Providers Trezor and Cointext On Twitter, the hardware wallet company Trezor explained to the cryptocurrency community its plan for the upcoming fork. Trezor detailed that its server runs the Bitcoin ABC client and will follow with the development team’s upgrade proposal. “There is no replay protection, so users have to take their own measures to split the coins on other chains that may emerge,” Trezor emphasized. It added, “Electron Cash supports Trezor and supports all chains, so users can select the server supporting the chain they want to use.” Another BCH wallet provider, Cointext, has published contingency plans in regard to the fork on Nov. 15. The wallet provider has said all Cointext BCH access numbers will remain fully available to users and the company will read from the blockchain as it exists on nodes running Bitcoin ABC and Bitcoin Unlimited. “Cointext will broadcast transactions so that those transactions have the highest probability of being accepted by nodes running every ruleset and mined into every blockchain on the network,” the organization detailed. Centbee and Cashpay On Oct. 5, the BCH wallet provider Centbee had outlined its plans for the fork and published a Medium post about the situation on Twitter. “Our users hold their own Private Keys and will not be affected by the November 15 fork,” Centbee explained on the social media outlet. “We support the Bitcoin SV node and the efforts of all those in the Bitcoin Cash community that seek stability,” the team adds. Centbee and Cashpay Solutions have indicated support for the Bitcoin SV node. Additionally, the company Cashpay Solutions has indicated that it also supports the Bitcoin SV node. The company hasn’t made an official announcement, but according to the analytical data website Coin Dance Cashpay Solutions does not support Bitcoin ABC. Lots of Exchanges and Wallet Providers Have Come Forward With More to Come Overall, quite a few exchanges and wallet providers have come forward and there will likely be more statements during the course of next week. In addition to the announcements above, our own Bitcoin.com Wallet, Block Explorer, and other services are currently running “Bitcoin ABC 18.2 with Bitcoin Unlimited 1.5.0.0 as the clients powering our services.” Additionally, another exchange called Bitz revealed on Reddit it would support the November fork, but the platform didn’t detail which implementation they would be running. Lastly, the developer of Yours.org and the Money Button, Ryan X Charles, published a video on what he thinks exchanges and wallets should do to prepare for the fork. Charles explains that he believes infrastructure providers should support both sides if there’s a split. The Money Button creator says he will be looking into this idea in order to implement it into the Money Button wallet. What do you think about the network hard fork approaching and the two disagreeing parties involved? What are your thoughts on the decisions exchanges and wallets have detailed so far? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Images via Shutterstock, and the BCH infrastructure providers mentioned above. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post Bitcoin Cash Fork Watch: BCH Infrastructure Providers Reveal Contingency Plans appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Japanese cryptocurrency mining company GMO Internet Group released its monthly update for October on Nov. 5. The report shows a huge increase in the amount of bitcoin cash extracted – 875 coins, from zero in September. Altogether, the company earned about $3.85 million from mining BTC and BCH during the period under review. Also Read: Pan-African Organisation Launches Framework to Encourage Cryptocurrency Trade New Mining Hardware Drives Output In its monthly update, the Tokyo-based GMO Internet Group said its hashrate has grown since the end of September after establishing more mining facilities while continuing to operate miners from other manufacturers. “We will continue to introduce the mining machine from other manufacturers to the in-house mining. Our plan is to see our hashrate surpass 800 ph/s by the end of December,” it said. GMO Internet has tended to focus on BTC as opposed BCH since it began its mining operations late last year. The $1.7 billion-valued company mined a total 4,070 bitcoin core and 1,323 bitcoin cash during the first 10 months of this year, earning about $33 million in rewards. The latest surge of interest in BCH has been viewed in some quarters as position-taking ahead of the impending Nov. 15 fork. GMO also appears keen on breaking China’s monopoly in the industry, as evidenced by its quest to boost mining capacity. But it’s not been all smooth sailing. The company detailed: Regarding our mining machines, there has been a delay for part of the electronic components due to the tight global supply-demand balance, which led to the postponement of shipment. Competition among miners has increased on account of numerous Chinese companies entering the industry. Miners from the Asian country are now thought to control about two-thirds of the computational power working on the BTC blockchain. GMO Sees Improved Hashrate In terms of mining power, GMO Internet recorded hashrates of 674 petahash per second in October – a 50 percent increase from the previous month. While the company has seen a significant increase in its computing power, its hashrate is still significantly below that employed by major mining pools. At the top of pile at the moment is BTC.com, which handles over 9,000 ph/s. GMO Internet stated that it aims to eventually reach 3,000 ph/s, with a short-term goal of 800 ph/s by December. In October, the Japanese cryptocurrency company indicated that it would launch a stablecoin pegged to the yen in 2019. Masatoshi Kumagaii, founder and president of GMO Internet, said the stablecoin, which will be known as GMO Japanese Yen (GJY), will be issued in Asia. It is expected that the assets backing the stablecoin will be stored in Japan where the tech firm already has banking licenses. Founded in 1991, GMO Internet is involved in internet advertising and media, internet securities and mobile entertainment businesses. The Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed firm also operates GMO Coin, its cryptocurrency mining and exchange unit. What do you think about GMO’s latest mining update? 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 GMO Internet Sees Huge Leap in BCH Mining for October 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. Ethershift.co is an ERC20 crypto currency exchange that provides the near instant conversion of 70+ crypto assets. Ethershift has no accounts and let’s customers trade without collecting any personal information. After launching the exchange in May, the team at Ethershift has been hard at work in preparation for their token sale, which begins November 5th, as well as adding a long list of renowned advisors. The Ethershift token (ESH) is an ERC20 that represents 50% of all fees collected by Ethershift. Each quarter that 50% is airdropped to ESH holders. Ethershift added 5 new advisors to their team this month including: John McAfee – Digital security pioneer who founded the global computer security software McAfee Antivirus. Renowned blockchain advocate and tech advisor. Mate Tokay – Cofounder and COO of the highest visited crypto sites, successful entrepreneur, and blockchain project advisor. Simon Cocking – Senior Editor at Irish Tech News, Editor in Chief at CryptoCoinNews, and #1 rated advisor on ICObench. Daniel Abela – Co-founder of ClearPoll and Clearify blockchain projects, and creator of CryptoRater. Edward Mandel – CEO of BQT, as well as an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist, Blockchain Enthusiast and visionary behind many successful organizations. Ethershifts ICO main sale begins November 5th. You can find out more information on Ethershift and their advisors at: Supporting Link ico.ethershift.co Contact Email Address contact@ethershift.co 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: Ethershift Launches Token Sale with Rockstar Advisors Mate Tokay and John McAfee appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On Oct. 25, an individual posted a live stream on the Twitch Interactive video platform to show the world how Bitcoin Cash (BCH) proponents can instantly feed his chickens online using zero-confirmation transactions. Since the stream kicked off, people have processed over $300 worth of BCH transactions to feed the fowl. Also read: Miners Have Begun Using Asicboost on the Bitcoin Cash Network Feeding Chickens With Bitcoin Cash Spencer Lambert, owner of the BCH-powered chicken feed system. The peer-to-peer cryptocurrency bitcoin cash is being used to feed chickens in an unusual manner. Just recently, BCH enthusiast Spencer Lambert told the public how they can feed his chickens using BCH and watch them get fed in real time on a Twitch live stream channel. To feed Lambert’s chickens, users simply need to send $0.50 worth of BCH to the coop’s address. After the money is sent, a cryptocurrency-powered dispenser flips a switch and pours out mealworms. According to Lambert, the “24/7 stream of our wonderful chicken life” uses the Handcash application coupled with an Iozeta-manufactured, cryptocurrency-enabled touchless candy machine. On the payment side, users simply send $0.50 of BCH with the Handcash.io handle “$CHICKEN” to start the power outlet. The Handcash wallet uses a name system, otherwise known as a “handle,” to make payments easier than using long alphanumeric BCH addresses. The process also utilizes zero-confirmation transactions, so once a transaction is broadcast, the mealworms are almost instantly dispensed. Lambert explained that the payments “take place in a fraction of a second, more or less instant.” He said he put up the money for the operation, adding that “mealworms don’t come cheap.” Lambert has referred to his Twitch channel as a “24/7 stream of our wonderful chicken life.” Iozeta Touchless Dispenser Lambert’s system uses an Iozeta touchless candy machine to dispense the chicken feed. Basically, users pay the QR code and the machine flips a switch to dispense candy, mealworms or anything else that will fit through the chute. The machine accepts bitcoin cash, litecoin, dash, and ravencoin, but Iozeta also manufactures a cryptocurrency power adapter. Paul Lambert, one of Iozeta’s co-founders, has explained how the candy dispenser works on Youtube: Once the Cryptocandy candy dispenser detects a new payment to the cryptocurrency address you specify, it activates the ‘payment received’ light and the motion sensor, allowing for candy to be dispensed. When the customer has received the candy, the motion sensor is again turned off. Memochicken BCH proponents have commended Lambert’s BCH-powered chicken feeding system on social media forums such as Twitter and Reddit. Many well-known cryptocurrency enthusiasts have also tested the system, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. This is pretty great – i just fed some chickens with crypto https://t.co/io9S33WpNo — Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) November 4, 2018 Moreover, Unwriter has created an application called Memochicken, which the prolific BCH developer has described as a “fun but internally highly sophisticated” bitcoin app with a full event-driven architecture. “(Post) a memo with Money Button, and pick up the real-time transaction event through Bitsocket, which then queries the Handcash handle $chicken for the receiving address, which then queries Coinbase price API for the currency exchange rate for $0.50 in BCH, and then finally send the chickens $0.50 in BCH, which triggers the already-so-cool chicken feeding Twitch stream by Spencer Lambert,” Unwriter explained after releasing the Memochicken application. Lambert’s Twitch live stream and poultry feeding system can be seen here. The chicken’s first breakfast feeding begins at 9:20 a.m. EDT every day. What do you think about Lambert’s BCH-powered chicken coop? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Images via Shutterstock, Twitch, Spencer Lambert, Iozeta, and Twitter. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post This Chicken Coop Feeder Is Powered by Bitcoin Cash Payments in Real Time appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In today’s edition of The Daily, we look at a successful funding round for a developer of a popular cryptocurrency-powered game. We also report on a famous early entrepreneur in the Bitcoin space who has been accused of stealing money to buy Maserati cars, big powerboats and luxury real estate. Also Read: Lawyer Invests $300 Million to Build Crypto City in the Nevada Desert Google and Samsung Invest in Crypto Kitties Developer Dapper Labs — the developer behind Crypto Kitties, the game that famously clogged up the Ethereum network — has announced that it has raised $15 million in a financing round led by Venrock. The investment arms of Google and Samsung also participated, bringing the total funds raised by the Canadian company to $27.85 million. Additional investors in the round included Coin Fund, Animoca Brands, June Fund, HOF Capital, GBIC, John Pfeffer, and Matt Bellamy, the lead singer of the rock band Muse. Previous investors in Dapper Labs also participated, including Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, SV Angel, Digital Currency Group, William Mougayar, Hex Capital, and Rising Tide Fund. Dapper Labs will use the funds to expand both locally and globally, and has already revealed plans to establish a U.S. subsidiary. In addition, the investment will help the Vancouver-based company to accelerate the build-out of its technology. “This round of financing was about getting the right partners around the table to bring compelling content to the blockchain — and make sure usability and infrastructure allow for adoption by mainstream consumers,” explained Roham Gharegozlou, CEO of Dapper Labs. Charlie Shrem Accused of Stealing Funds Charlie Shrem, who is known for running the company Bitinstant during the early days of Bitcoin, has only been out of prison for a little over two years, but is already facing new legal issues again. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the founders of the Gemini exchange, have accused Shrem of stealing about 5,000 BTC from them. The crypto-pioneer was hired by the two entrepreneurs in 2012 to acquire a large amount of coins. The twins have also claimed that Shrem used the funds he allegedly stole to go on a recent luxury spending spree, which included purchases of two Maserati cars, two boats, and multiple homes. This was enough for a federal court to order the freezing of Shrem’s accounts on Coinbase and Xapo, which a private investigator hired by the Winklevoss twins linked to the allegedly stolen BTC. “The lawsuit erroneously alleges that about six years ago Charlie essentially misappropriated thousands of Bitcoins,” Shrem’s lawyer Brian Klein told the New York Times. “Nothing could be further from the truth. Charlie plans to vigorously defend himself and quickly clear his name.” Google CEO’s Son Is a Miner Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, revealed at a recent conference that his son has been mining cryptocurrency on the family’s home computer. If this sounds familiar it’s because back in July, Google co-founder Sergey Brin said that he had started mining to improve his son’s knowledge of cryptocurrency. He then got hooked himself. “Last week I was at dinner with my son, and I was talking about something about bitcoin, and my son clarified what I was talking about was Ethereum, which is slightly different. He’s 11 years old. And he told me he’s mining it,” Pichai said, as quoted by Business Insider. “I realized he understood Ethereum better than how paper money works. I had to talk to him about the banking system, the importance of it. It was a good conversation.” 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: Crypto Game Developer Raises $15M, Bitcoin Pioneer Faces Lawsuit 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. The North American Bitcoin Conference returns to Miami for its seventh installment. On the 17th and 18th of January, 2019, the entire Bitcoin and blockchain community will converge in Miami for a historical conference aimed at driving cryptocurrency from niche to mainstream. Now in its seventh year, The North American Bitcoin Conference is the longest running and most attended finance conference for the Bitcoin, blockchain and cryptocurrency industries with over 4500 attendees in 2018. Additionally, a key focus of the 2019 conference will be a dedicated Security Tokens track, unpacking the new and exciting world of securities and blockchain technology. Building on the recent successes of conferences this year in Miami, London, New York and Dubai, The 7th Annual North American Bitcoin Conference, as a part of the World Blockchain Forum, will return to sunny Miami with a lineup of over 60 world-class presenters, including technology veterans, and founders of companies which have collectively raised over $18.1 billion in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Past events have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, Fortune.com, Bloomberg, and other mainstream media outlets. The two-day conference will have new things in store for attendees to bring them added value on top of the already stacked speaker and sponsor lineup. As well as brand new Lightning Networking sessions, creative installments and a second track dedicated to digital security tokens, the event will still maintain the focus on investments, successful past and future ICOs, legal implications and regulations, and how decentralization is disrupting not only the banking industry. The first speakers have been announced and include: David Chaum, Inventor of Digital Cash Dr. Patrick Byrne, Founder of Overstock.com and t0 Halsey Minor, Founder of CNET Veronica McGregor, Head of Legal at Shapeshift.io Matthew Roszak, Co-Founder, Bloq Charlie Shrem, Bitcoin pioneer Maja Vujinoc, CEO at OGroup Craig Sellars, Co-Founder, Tether Jason King, Co-Founder, Academy Bruce Fenton, President of Atlantic Financial Epperly Li, Investment Director at Bitmain Marco Santori, President of Blockchain.com Andrew Filipowski, Chairman at Tally Capital Sang Lee, President & CEO, Darcmatter Alexa Hefti, Blockchain Tax Lead at Deloitte Jeffrey Tucker, Editorial Director at American Institute for Economic Research Keynote’s founder Moe Levin says, “This conference comes at a pivotal time as innovation forces us all to make wise investing decisions. With an influx of new opportunities, and hundreds of new ICOs, Keynote wants to give our attendees the opportunity to meet the people and product they’ll be investing in, discuss white papers, and get a better understanding of the fast-expanding blockchain ecosystem. We’re also excited for our attendees to meet and interact with our sponsors and exhibitors, who are the greatest blockchain companies active at the moment.” Tickets are available now at btcmiami.com/tickets. For Sponsorship and Exhibiting information please email amy@keynote.ae About Keynote Keynote was launched in 2012 by blockchain strategist Moe Levin. Further information and details about Keynote and the event can be found at btcmiami.com For media inquiries, please contact Amandah Hendricks, Keynote’s Chief Communications Officer at amandah@keynote.ae Supporting Link https://btcmiami.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: The North American Bitcoin Conference Set to Heat up Miami appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On Oct. 22, Bitmain released new firmware for the company’s Antminer mining rigs that enables the use of an optimization known as (overt) version-rolling Asicboost. Since then, Bitcoin Cash mining pools have been using the protocol and 63 Asicboost blocks were mined last week on the network. Also read: Developers Launch BDIP: A Bitcoin Cash Proposal Process for Decentralized Apps Six BCH Pools Are Mining Bitcoin Cash With Overt Asicboost Technology The Asicboost optimization has been steadily making its way into the mining industry and now the protocol is being used on the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) chain. So far six mining pools are using the version-rolling Asicboost technology to mine BCH blocks. The operations currently using Asicboost on the BCH chain comprise Antpool, BTC.com, Okminer, Prohashing, Viabtc, and an unknown pool. According to the data website Asicboost.dance, since the Oct. 22 firmware release, both BTC and BCH blocks have seen a significant spike in Asicboost usage. The creator of the data website has built another portal called Cash.asicboost.dance, which measures the metrics of Asicboost used on the BCH network. The use of Asicboost technology on the Bitcoin Cash network covers over 6% of the global hashrate. Asicboost was once controversial because some individuals assumed the technology was being used covertly. Now that mining operations are overtly using the technology, a slew of mining pools have adopted the protocol in order to improve efficiency. This is because Asicboost can speed up the mining process by a factor of approximately 20 percent by reducing the gate count on mining chips. Essentially, the protocol is also applicable to all types of ASIC chips according to the whitepaper written by Dr. Timo Hanke. Initially, the use of Asicboost had occurred solely on the BTC chain and last week there were 111 version-rolled blocked mined on the BTC network. This accounts for 11 percent of the BTC hashrate and 5.87 exahash per sec (EH/s). Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network hashrate (5.1 EH/s) and Bitcoin Core (BTC) network hashrate (41.4 EH/s) on Nov. 4, 2018. Asicboost Accounts for Over 6% of Total Hashrate Bitcoin Cash miners are slowly starting to increase usage of the protocol and last week there were 63 version-rolled Asicboost blocks mined on the BCH chain according to the Cash.asicboost.dance website. This means that on the BCH network mining pools have processed 0.23 EH/s or 6.25 percent of the overall hashrate. The pool processing the largest share of Asicboost blocks on the Bitcoin Cash network is Okminer, a mining operation that currently commands roughly 10.3 percent of the global BCH hashrate. The lead held by Okminer is followed by Bitmain’s Antpool and then the mining operation BTC.com. Due to the increase in BCH values, it is more profitable to mine on the Bitcoin Cash chain this weekend. Overall, the BCH hashrate has increased, but no significant hashrate spikes have been seen since Asicboost started being steadily used on the BCH chain. The hashrate increase is likely correlated with bitcoin cash markets jumping in value, making it more profitable to mine BCH over BTC. On Sunday Nov. 4., it is 4.6 percent more profitable to mine bitcoin cash than bitcoin core. This weekend, as the price of BCH increased, Asicboost came awfully close to touching 7 percent, reaching its all-time high since the mining protocol began being measured on the BCH network. What do you think about Asicboost being used on the Bitcoin Cash network? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Images via Shutterstock, Cash.asicboost.dance, Fork.lol, and Coin Dance Cash. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post Miners Have Begun Using Asicboost on the Bitcoin Cash Network appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Taiwanese government has amended its laws that regulate cryptocurrency transactions. The revisions reportedly give the country’s Financial Supervisory Commission “the authority to crack down on anonymous virtual currency transactions.” Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Amendments Passed The Legislative Yuan, Taiwan’s highest legislative body, on Friday passed some amendments to existing laws aimed at regulating cryptocurrency transactions in the country, Focus Taiwan reported. The publication wrote: The amendments to the Money Laundering Control Act and the Terrorism Financing Prevention Act give Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) the authority to crack down on anonymous virtual currency transactions. In particular, “The FSC can now demand that operators of virtual currency platforms, including bitcoin, implement ‘real-name systems’ that require users to register their real names, according to the new provisions,” the news outlet detailed. Banks can now reject crypto exchanges’ transactions that are anonymous; they also have an obligation to report any suspicious transactions to the FSC, the publication added. According to the amended provisions, non-financial enterprises that violate money laundering rules will be fined more than 50,000 yuan ($7,256) but less than 1 million yuan. In contrast, financial institutions in violation of the rules will be fined more than 500,000 yuan but less than 10 million yuan, Ettoday reported. Taiwan’s Real-Name System Bitoex, a crypto exchange which claims to have 80 percent market share in Taiwan and 300,000 members, told news.Bitcoin.com that the exchange “has implemented the real-name system as of July 2018.” In addition, its international exchange, Bitopro, which launched early this year “also follows the real-name system when it involves fiat money deposits and withdrawals,” a representative of Bitoex elaborated, clarifying: Identities and bank verifications are required before purchasing BTC or other cryptocurrencies with New Taiwanese dollars (NTD). However, the representative noted that “Trading cryptocurrencies could be operated anonymously” if no fiat currency is involved. “For only cryptocurrency transactions such as receiving/transmitting or selling/trading cryptocurrencies, it is not mandatory to submit personal information to the real-name system.” Bitoex offers three account levels. Level C requires only an email and a phone number to open an account. Level B needs an ID card, a passport, or a foreign resident card for verification. Level A requires personal bank account information. The exchange also sells BTC at Family Mart convenience stores. Currently, there are 3,296 locations in Taiwan, according to the chain’s website. The Bitoex representative explained to news.Bitcoin.com that purchasing BTC at convenience stores requires Level B, real-name verification, emphasizing that “it is not exempt from the real-name system.” The exchange noted: The real-name system will be enforced when it comes to fiat money deposits and withdrawals. South Korea is using a similar real-name system implemented in January. However, the country’s financial watchdog does not have the authority to enforce the real-name system on crypto exchanges, therefore adoption has been slow. Furthermore, a Korean district court recently ruled that banks cannot block transactions of crypto exchanges that are not using the real-name system. Taiwan is also drafting regulations for initial coin offerings (ICOs). FSC chairman Wellington Koo recently revealed that the guidelines are expected to be completed by June next year. What do you think of Taiwan implementing the real-name system? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Wikipedia, and Bitoex. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Taiwan Passes Law to Crack Down on Anonymous Cryptocurrency Transactions appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Consumer protection lawyer Jeffrey Berns is the owner and CEO of Blockchains LLC, a company that bought more than 67,000 acres of land in northern Nevada for $170 million earlier this year. On Thursday, he revealed plans to build a crypto city in the desert, claiming to have invested $300 million to make it a reality. Also Read: Bitcoin Trader Faces Five Years in US Jail for Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business Welcome to Sandbox City Berns, who focused primarily on class action suits against big financial services companies during his law career, reportedly made a fortune by investing in Ethereum in 2015. Now he wants to give back to the crypto community and leave his mark on the world by establishing Sandbox City. The sprawling complex is meant to be a model for running a smart city with a decentralized blockchain infrastructure powering all interactions. It will house a high-tech park for ventures combining blockchain technology with artificial intelligence (AI), 3D printing and nanotechnology. The planned city will include residential units for thousands of people to live in, alongside shops for commerce. The area will also host an esports arena and a studio for creating music, movies and games. A Friendly Bank and Nuclear Bunkers Besides giving developers a place to gather, and investors an attractive tax location, Blockchains LLC has a few more offers for the industry. According to the launch event speech by the CEO, he bought two decommissioned military bunkers in different parts of the United States in order to offer secure physical digital asset storage. For storage outside the U.S., the company also acquired a “fortress” under a granite mountain in Switzerland, and one in Sweden. Berns also said he bought a bank that he promises to make the most friendly fiat banking solution for the cryptocurrency ecosystem. He explained that he decided to take this move when his own bank blocked all his cards after he outed himself as a Coinbase customer in order to fight in court against the IRS demand for the exchange to hand over all client data. The company has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nevada’s electricity public utility, NV Energy, agreeing to work together on energy projects powered by blockchain technology. Does cryptocurrency technology development require a dedicated city? 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 Lawyer Invests $300 Million to Build Crypto City in the Nevada Desert appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Over the last few months, the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) developers who created the Yenom wallet have been developing a lot of BCH applications and tools. On Nov. 3, the Yenom developer Shun Usami revealed a new proposition model for decentralized application development proposals called the Bitcoin Dapps Improvement Proposal (BDIP) standard. Also read: New Bitcoin Cash Stress Test Sees 700,000 Transactions in One Day Decentralized Application Proposals for Bitcoin Cash Since the introduction of re-enabled opcodes last May, Bitcoin Cash developers have been steadily working on applications like Memo.cash, Bitdb, and other platforms. Shun Usami from the BCH-centric wallet Yenom, revealed on Saturday a new scheme called the BDIP standard. The process is aimed at decentralized application (dapp) development using the BCH chain. BDIP is short for Bitcoin Dapps Improvement Proposal, and it’s a similar scheme to Ethereum’s EIP model, and Amir Taaki’s original BIP system created in 2011 for the Bitcoin Core (BTC) network. Essentially, the BDIP system is meant for characterizing new dapps built on the BCH network, alongside describing what the applications do and the platform’s associated processes. “The BDIP should provide a concise technical specification of the feature and a rationale for the feature,” the BDIP Github repository explains. “The BDIP author is responsible for building consensus within the community and documenting dissenting opinions.” The BDIP documentation also explains the rationale behind the standard. The developers believe the process is a suitable method to track decentralized applications built on the BCH chain. This way programmers and users can check the status of an implementation and maybe give feedback, check for issues, or see if the dapp software developers are active. The repository continues by stating: For Bitcoin dapp implementers, BDIPs are a convenient way to track the progress of their implementation. Ideally, each implementation maintainer would list the BDIPs that they have implemented. This will give end users a convenient way to know the current status of a given implementation or library. The First BDIP According to the specifications, there are three types of BDIPs which include a standard track, an informational BDIP, and the described processes involved with the BCH application. The BDIP authors explain that a proposal must meet criteria and be fully descriptive of the application’s nominated intentions. The developers recommend BDIP authors “vet their own project” to make sure the proposal is original and has utility. “It helps to make sure the idea is applicable to the entire community and not just the author,” the repository adds. After the BDIP process was announced, the Bitbox creator and BCH developer Gabriel Cardona detailed on Twitter he created the first BDIP called Dapp ID, a “unique identifier for a single dapp protocol with the specification of the dapp.” In addition to the BDIP creation, Yenom developers had recently proposed a new deep link payment protocol, on Oct. 21. The developers also won the first San Francisco BCH Devcon alongside introducing a new Bitcoin Cash Kit (BCK) for BCH developers that contains the first Bitcoin Cash library (lib) for iOS software. What do you think about the BDIP process for Bitcoin Cash applications? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Images via Shutterstock, Github, and Pixabay. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post Developers Launch BDIP: A Bitcoin Cash Proposal Process for Decentralized Apps appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In this edition of The Daily, we cover the launch of an OTC trading desk by P2P exchange Hodl Hodl and news about a Belarusian exchange trading cryptocurrencies out of New York. We also take a look at Decentraland’s new voting platform that allows members of the community to express their opinions on future development of the virtual reality project. Also read: SEC Ramps Up Enforcement, 60% of Smart Contracts Are Dormant P2P Exchange Offers Non-Custodial OTC Trading Peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange Hodl Hodl has launched an over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk in partnership with Tenbagger, a brokerage company licensed in the European Union. The new platform will allow clients to buy and sell large amounts of cryptocurrency with same-day settlement. It will also operate independently from Hodl Hodl’s existing P2P platform that currently supports purchases and sales of BTC and LTC. Latvia-based Hodl Hodl has also developed a non-custodial cryptocurrency escrow service for the new OTC platform to ensure high level of security and transparency. According to an announcement on Medium, the exchange will create a unique multisig escrow account on the bitcoin core blockchain for each trade. Last month, the no-KYC trading platform introduced a new type of multisig escrow account for contracts that requires two out of three keys to make a release. The system provides buyers with more control over the funds locked in escrow – they have one of the keys while the other two belong to the seller and the exchange. Hodl Hodl also recently announced it’s working to offer peer-to-peer bitcoin futures contracts. Belarusians Launch US-Based Cryptocurrency Exchange A new cryptocurrency exchange, founded by Belarusian immigrants, is now offering trading services out of New York. The team behind Crexby insists theirs is the first major Belarusian project in the space since the decree “On the Development of the Digital Economy” signed by President Alexander Lukashenko entered into force on March 28 this year. “Crexby is a revolving door for Belarus to the outside world, and for the global community to Belarus,” they said, noting that in addition to providing exchange services, the platform can also facilitate the implementation of unique projects, from charity fundraising initiatives to attracting large investments to crypto-friendly Belarus. Crexby, whose office is registered at 30 Wall Street in Manhattan, is focused on both crypto-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat trading. It supports 13 cryptocurrencies, including some of the leading coins by market capitalization such as bitcoin core (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and litecoin (LTC) as well as popular altcoins such as monero (XMR). The company claims it stores 90 percent of the digital assets in cold, multi-signature wallets and promises to expand the listings in the future taking into account requests and interest from its customer base. Decentraland’s New Voting Platform Is Now Live Virtual reality project Decentraland has recently launched version 2.0 of its voting platform, Agora, that will allow holders of mana tokens to express their will on important matters. According to an announcement published on Decentraland’s website, the first two public polls on Agora concern key development questions. The community has been asked: “Should we remove the ability to pause mana transactions?,” a question addressing a security feature built into the smart contract for mana that enables all transfers of the token to be halted. Developers say the feature is no longer needed as mana has been in circulation for over a year and they feel confident in removing the pause function. The answer to the second question, “When should the next land auction be held?,” must determine when 9,000 unowned parcels of land will be made available to the community, the two options for holding Decentraland’s second land auction being Q4 of 2018 and Q1 of 2019. So far, the community has voted overwhelmingly, with 95 percent in favor of Q4 of 2018. What are your thoughts on today’s news tidbits? Tell us in the comments section. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Make sure you do not miss any important Bitcoin-related news! Follow our news feed any which way you prefer; via Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, RSS or email (scroll down to the bottom of this page to subscribe). We’ve got daily, weekly and quarterly summaries in newsletter form. Bitcoin never sleeps. Neither do we. The post The Daily: Hodl Hodl Launches OTC Desk, Decentraland Votes on Land Sales appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

One of the main selling points of decentralized exchanges (DEXs) is that tokens can be traded almost instantly. There’s no lengthy sign-up process and no interminable wait for know your customer (KYC) checks to be performed. But then IDEX, the leading Ethereum DEX, announced that it would be emulating centralized exchanges by introducing KYC. Thankfully, there are still plenty of DEXs that don’t follow this model and have no intention of doing so. Also read: Review: A Side-by-Side Comparison of Decentralized Exchanges Ethfinex Trustless Trustless stands primely positioned to fill the void left by IDEX’s departure from the permissionless trading game. The exchange benefits from the liquidity provided by Ethfinex and Bitfinex, facilitating the trading of ERC20 tokens without the need to undergo KYC. News.Bitcoin.com spoke to Ethfinex project lead Will Harborne to determine whether the company’s Trustless DEX may be forced to go down the same route as IDEX and begin verifying traders. “We will do everything within our power not to introduce KYC on Ethfinex Trustless now or ever,” he explained. “I believe Open Access is one of the core innovations of this space, and what makes cryptocurrencies so powerful, and as an exchange is something we have a duty to protect.” He also pointed out that users of decentralized exchanges already undergo a greater degree of scrutiny than their centralized counterparts, pointing out that “using Ethfinex Trustless, it is genuinely impossible to successfully obscure the source of a person’s funds: every transaction is visible and recorded forever on the blockchain. The trail of funds is linked, and unbroken, from the user’s Ethereum address at the time of acquisition of funds, to final disposal.” Openledger DEX Openledger DEX Openledger’s DEX is a little different in that it isn’t Ethereum-based – instead it’s built around Bitshares. This yields a number of benefits, including the ability to trade assets like BTC and EOS, which are paired with the bitshares token, in a decentralized fashion. Like Ethfinex Trustless, Openledger DEX has some way to go before it can reach IDEX’s trading volume, but it’s got a number of attributes in its favor. In addition to boasting a clean and intuitive trading platform, the exchange benefits from a range of stablecoins developed by Openledger that are pegged to various national currencies. The latest of these, bitcny, is pegged to the Chinese Yuan and available on a handful of other DEXs in addition to Openledger DEX. Kyber Network Kyber Network doesn’t look like a conventional DEX because it isn’t, but for the purposes of trading tokens in a decentralized fashion, it performs a similar role. Using an onchain liquidity protocol, Kyber enables the swapping of tokens through connecting an Ethereum interface such as Metamask. There are no order books with Kyber Network: instead you select the asset you’re seeking from a dropdown menu, adjust a slider to set a minimal acceptable conversion rate, and then the order will be fulfilled onchain. Kyber’s volume, at less than $150,000 a day, is around half that of other DEXs featured here, but its implementation is arguably more decentralized and resistant to the sort of pressures that might compel a platform to introduce KYC. Forkdelta Forkdelta, which is reviewed in more detail here, was the dominant Ethereum DEX before IDEX came along. Now that the latter is changing to a full verification model, Forkdelta has an opportunity to claw back some of the market share it’s lost. Its 24-hour trading volume and number of active users, according to Dappradar, suggest that it’s catching up fast. Low liquidity is one of the biggest pitfalls to using a decentralized exchange, and thus Forkdelta, despite its mediocre UX and checkered reputation, has a key advantage over the likes of Kyber Network. Forkdelta With new hybrid and decentralized exchanges under development from the likes of Binance, and interoperability standards improving, it will soon be easier to trade a wide range of digital assets in a trustless setting. It will be a long time, if ever, before DEXs can match the liquidity, choice and user experience of centralized exchanges. So long as the majority of DEXs remain free of KYC, however, they will perform a valuable role within the cryptocurrency ecosystem. What’s your favorite decentralized exchange to trade on? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Ethfinex, Openledger, Kyber Network. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Four IDEX Alternatives That Don’t Require KYC appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The cybercrime unit of the Turkish police has detained 11 people suspected of hacking into emails, user accounts and cryptocurrency wallets. The operation was launched after law enforcement received a number of complaints from victims who lost digital cash. Also read: Church Mining Cryptocurrency to Pay Higher Electricity Rates Hackers Steal $80,000 Worth of Cryptocurrency According to Turkish media, 14 people have informed authorities about their compromised cryptocurrency wallets. The coins have been transferred to other wallets and subsequently sold for fiat. Investigators discovered the hackers had stolen “bitcoins worth 437,000 Turkish lira” (over $80,000), the Daily Sabah reported. The cybercrime combatting division identified some of the suspects by tracking a new phone number they used to register on the trading platforms where they exchanged the cryptocurrency. The thieves moved the money through numerous accounts to cover their tracks, the Hürriyet newspaper detailed. On Oct. 26, agents from the unit detained 11 people at different addresses in Istanbul during joint raids with Polis Özel Harekat, the special operations department of the Turkish police. Currently, 10 of the accused remain in custody. Policemen also seized 18 mobile phones and SIM cards, 22 memory sticks, six laptops, three hard disks, a tablet, two driver’s licenses, and a fake identity card. During the investigation, police officers tracked the suspects who tried to withdraw the fiat money from various banks and ATMs. Their attempts have been recorded by multiple security cameras. Investigators are also looking for more victims of the hackers. In Turbulent Times, Turks Turn to Bitcoin Turkey, a country of around 80 million people and a regional powerhouse, has been through some rough times recently, in both economic and political terms. The country’s fiat currency, the lira, has been hit by hyperinflation and lost ground against the U.S. dollar ­– its value dropped by over 45 percent in the first seven months of this year. These developments convinced many Turks to seek refuge in cryptocurrencies from the lira, but also from the dollar. In August, BTC trading volumes on Turkish exchanges and peer-to-peer platforms like Localbitcoins spiked following rumors that banks in the country may discontinue support for USD accounts and calls from the government to get out of foreign currencies, especially the U.S. dollar. The growing popularity of cryptocurrencies, however, has also given rise to numerous scams. Many Turks invested in Turcoin, the so-called “national alternative digital currency” which was advertised as a “rival to the global virtual currency bitcoin.” This past summer, Turcoin was exposed as a Ponzi scheme after the Istanbul-based company that launched it stopped distributing dividends in June and its founders reportedly fled the country with millions of dollars collected from defrauded investors. Earlier this year, Turkish media reported about a number of fake websites of popular hotels in Bodrum, Antalya and other resorts. Fraudsters blackmailed their owners demanding ransom in cryptocurrency to close down dozens of domains resembling the brand names of the hotels. Do you think the Turkish police will be able to secure a prosecution in the bitcoin theft case? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Make sure you do not miss any important Bitcoin-related news! Follow our news feed any which way you prefer; via Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, RSS or email (scroll down to the bottom of this page to subscribe). We’ve got daily, weekly and quarterly summaries in newsletter form. Bitcoin never sleeps. Neither do we. The post Turkish Police Detain 11 Suspects in Bitcoin Theft Case appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On Nov. 2, the African Digital Asset Framework (ADAF) launched with a mandate to promote cryptocurrency commerce within the continent. Co-founder Felix Macharia said ADAF is an open-source software platform to create cross-border standards for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. It will also complement the African Union’s Single African Digital Market initiative, which leverages technology to stimulate digitized economic integration. Also Read: Brazli’s Tax Authority Goes After Cryptocurrency Profits ‘Digital Assets Know No Borders’ “ADAF was formed by organizations in the digital asset space who looked to harmonize standards and regulation in the space,” Macharia, who heads strategy at the Nairobi-based project, told news.Bitcoin.com. “Digital assets know no borders. If Africa is to benefit from the full potential of distributed ledger technologies and even from agreements around free trade, we must start drafting standards, legislation and regulations that are in line with this new reality,” he added. The framework, which is backed by ambassadors of the African Union, its member states and the African Development Bank (AfDB), marked its inception with a research and development paper on digitally-driven borderless commerce within the African continent and between its diaspora. The paper points to virtual currencies like bitcoin as key to enhancing economic integration within and beyond the continent, while actively developing strong legal and technological standards on the project’s open-source platform. Africa has an economic footprint across the globe through its diaspora, but trade between African countries accounts for only 11 percent of the continent’s collective gross domestic product. Africa’s inchoate intra-continental trade infrastructure is partially responsible for the great conundrum whereby some African countries earn a measly 5 percent royalty for their natural resources, according to pan-Africanist journalist Baffour Ankomah. ADAF to Spur Cross-Border Trade “Digital assets create a secure way for people to trade, peer-to-peer, across borders, enabling people to securely access and transfer items like currency, identities, land titles and votes over the internet,” ADAF said, in a separate online statement. Standards will be tabled, discussed, edited, and implemented on the ADAF platform, with a view to “encouraging digital asset ownership and value exchange in digital economies between Africans and its diaspora.” Felix Macharia Macharia stated that the platform, built around the idea of collective creation, will display technological codes and policy proposals for different commercial sectors, data on sustainable development objectives, and thought leadership from community members. It includes a multi-lingual interface for individuals, civil society, entrepreneurs and policymakers to propose solutions, actions and standards of self-regulation that reflect changes in the cryptocurrency space, as well as offering translation services for such proposals. Diplomatic heavyweights signed to the pan-African initiative include former president of Mauritius Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim; AfDB chief of corporate governance and shareholder relations Adewale Iyanda; and Queen Diambi Kabatusuila Tshiyoyo Muata of DRC’s Kasai Kingdom. There is also a high-profile tech buy-in, with ambassadors such as the AU’s Head of Internet Society and ICT Infrastructure Moctar Yedaly and chair of Kenya Blockchain and AI Taskforce Dr. Bitange Ndemo. ADAF was initially introduced to the global community as an idea on Nelson Mandela international day at the United Nations in July. It is led by its three founding member organizations: Raise, Kotani, and andalba.one, and supported, as a platform, by the ADAF Foundation, which is registered as a trust in Kenya. What do you think about the ADAF initiative? 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 Pan-African Organization Launches Framework to Encourage Cryptocurrency Trade appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Devere Group has announced the launch of a digital asset fund and Binance Uganda claims to have onboarded 40,000 users during its first week of operating. In other news, Grayscale’s quarterly report has estimated that 70 percent of the investments it received during Q3 came from institutions. Also Read: Regulations Roundup: Ebang IPO Challenged by Probe, Plattsburgh Passes Mining Guidelines Devere Launches Digital Asset Hedge Funds UK-based financial consultancy Devere Group recently launched Devere Digital Asset Funds in partnership with Dubai-based Dalma Capital Management Ltd. Nigel Green, the founder and chief executive officer of Devere Group, described cryptocurrencies as “now undeniably” comprising a “part of mainstream finance,” adding that mass adoption is “on the horizon.” Green stated that the Devere fund will invest in a “diversified portfolio of digital assets via algorithmic trading” on cryptocurrency exchange and over-the-counter markets, adding that Devere will seek to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities present across multiple cryptocurrency trading platforms. Zachary Cefaratti, the chief executive officer of Dalma Capital, stated: “Crypto Asset Markets abound with durable inefficiencies – creating opportunities … that we have not seen in conventional markets for decades.” Cefaratti added: “Arbitrage opportunities abound – the prices of the top 25 crypto assets vary across over 400 liquidity venues.” Binance Uganda Claims to Have Signed Up 40,000 Users in First Week Binance has claimed that its Ugandan subsidiary has signed up 40,000 users since launching one week ago, Coindesk reports. Recent estimates suggest that only 26 percent of Ugandan households have access to basic financial services. Wei Zhou, the chief financial officer of Binance, indicated that the company will soon expand into Kenya, Nigeria, or South Africa next, stating: “Uganda is our pivot to reach out to other African markets.” Grayscale Reports 70% of Investments Came From Institutions According to Grayscale Investments’ report for the third quarter of 2018, the company saw a total of $329.5 million invested into its products during the year, 59 percent of which came from “institutional investors.” It is estimated that Grayscale takes in an average of $8.4 million each week, $5.5 million of which is invested into the Bitcoin Investment Trust. The report states that 70 percent of funds invested into the company came from institutional investors, with Grayscale receiving an average of $6.2 million each week during Q3, $4.5 million of which went into the Bitcoin Investment Trust. Grayscale saw a total of $81.1 million invested in its products during Q3. Despite the increased share of institutional investment seen during the third quarter, the report notes that “the dollar-value invested [by institutions] was lower than in the two previous quarters.” Do you think that more mainstream financial institutions will soon launch cryptocurrency funds? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Devere Group. 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: Devere Launches Crypto Fund, Binance Uganda Claims 40,000 Users appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The annual report of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement has detailed the actions taken against initial coin offerings during the preceding financial year. Also, a report published by One Alpha estimates that Israeli ICOs have raised more than $600 million during 2018, and 25 investors have filed a lawsuit accusing rapper T.I. and his business partner for allegedly operating a “pump and dump” through their Flik ICO. Also Read: Brazil’s Tax Authority Goes After Cryptocurrency Profits SEC Details Action Taken Against ICOs During Financial Year The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Enforcement has published its annual report, which includes a summary of the action taking by the regulator against ICOs over the course of the last financial year. The SEC states that “Given the explosion of ICOs over the last year,” it has sought to pursue “cases that deliver broad messages and have market impact beyond their own four corners.” In 2018, the SEC “brought 20 standalone cases, including those cases involving ICOs and digital assets.” The SEC notes that while many of said cases “have involved allegations of fraud,” the Division of Enforcement also has also taken action “to ensure compliance with the registration requirements of the federal securities laws.” In the past year, the SEC has opened “dozens” of investigations involving ICOs and cryptocurrency, many of which are ongoing as of this writing. The report adds that the joint statement published by the SEC Division of Enforcement and the SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations urging caution with regard to the celebrity promotion of ICOs “brought an almost immediate end to such promotions.” Israeli ICOs Raise $600 Million During 2018 A report conducted by cryptocurrency research firm One Alpha has found that cryptocurrency startups based in Israel have generated more than $600 million through ICOs during the first three quarters of 2018. Israeli ICOs also raised $586 million throughout the entirety of 2017 from less than 20 offerings. One Alpha’s research was informed by surveying 140 active companies from Israel’s distributed ledger technology section. The report estimates that said companies have generated a combined $1.3 billion in investments since 2017, of which “More than … 88% of the funds are ICO-related.” The chief executive officer of One Alpha, Yaniv Feldman, highlighted that “Israelis are less than 0.1 percent of [the] global population while making 3 to 5 percent of [the] global ICO fundraising” total. Two Dozen Investors Sue Rapper T.I. Over Flik ICO “Pump and Dump” The Blast and TMZ claim to have accessed documents evidencing that rapper T.I. and his business partner are facing a lawsuit accusing them of operating a pump and dump scheme through their ICO. Reports state that the lawsuit has been launched by 25 individuals who collectively invested more than $1.3 million in exchange for “now worthless securities called Flik Tokens.” The plaintiffs assert that T.I. and Ryan Felton used “social media, celebrity endorsements, and well-known industry experts to create the false impression that Flik Tokens were a valuable liquid investment.” The investors also allege that Felton “created fake online posts on behalf of Mark Cuban in order to manipulate the value of Flik Tokens,” and that the pair fraudulently announced that Kevin Hart was going to become the face of the company. The group accuses T.I. and Felton of then dumping on the markets, and are seeking $5 million in damages for securities fraud. Do you think the peak of celebrity ICO endorsements is behind us? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Wikipedia 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 ICO Roundup: SEC Annual Report, Israeli Offerings Raise $600 Million, Rapper Sued appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The alleged Bitcoin-focused company Blockstream has raised over $100 million publicly, but has yet to be forthright with the Bitcoin community. It’s time for people within the Bitcoin space to start holding them accountable. Blockstream’s dishonesty should have a bright light shined on it so everyone is aware of their manipulation and deceit. Also read: Bitcoin Intentions: Are We Aiming to Replace the Status Quo or Become Them? In late 2014, Blockstream went public with their company after being financed by banking and venture capital firms such as AXA, Khosla Ventures, Horizon Ventures, and others. Within six months, Blockstream said it would be focusing its time not only on sidechains, which it was founded on, but on the Lightning Network too. Since that time, Blockstream hasn’t produced much to advance the Bitcoin ecosystem. However, they have undoubtedly done many things to derail it and cause harm to it. Re-inventing the SWIFT Network Four years after going public, Blockstream finally released its coveted sidechain system to the public. The only problem is the product they released, Liquid, isn’t intended for general use. It is made specifically for private Bitcoin exchanges. The premise of Liquid is to take Bitcoin transactions off-chain and move them to a private sidechain of federated exchanges. As Forbes writer Frances Coppola points out: “It isn’t possible to improve liquidity while maintaining full decentralization and trustlessness. So Blockstream cheerfully compromises both of these prized features. It appoints a small group of trusted institutions to validate transactions and submit them to the main Bitcoin chain.” Aside from the Blockstream Liquid sidechain being intended for a private consortium of businesses, astonishingly, Blockstream CEO Adam Back is openly pushing for individuals to convert their Bitcoin into Bitcoin Liquid (L-BTC). Congratulations Blockstream, you just re-invented SWIFT. Lightning Network It took four years for Blockstream to produce a working product, and the community is still waiting on a working version of Lightning Network (LN). It has been in development since 2015, and looks nowhere close to being completed as-advertised. The protocol is certainly not a decentralized peer-to-peer network that disavows trusted third-parties. In order for the platform to function as advertised, LN developers and Blockstream have to solve the path-routing problem. Until that day comes, LN developers have suggested that users rely on Watchtowers to prevent fraud. Watchtowers are just a fancy way of saying trusted third-parties. Besides the Lightning Network not being trustless, the cost of doing business will make Bitcoin (BTC) only for the elite. Blockstream seems to be working tirelessly to make BTC transaction fees as high as possible. The on and off ramps of Lightning will all require on-chain transactions to the BTC blockchain. What will happen when fees on BTC are so expensive that users begin to realize it’s cheaper and more convenient to stay on the Lightning network? Dishonesty and Manipulation Aside from the technical pitfalls and shadowy underbelly of Blockstream, censorship campaigns and toxicity within the community have already driven people away. But who is driving this unsettling environment? It would be impossible to pinpoint a single actor, but it’s important the community calls out bad behavior. Censorship, of course, has exacerbated the toxic environment over the past three years. It’s been rampant across the bitcoin ecosystem. This has created echo-chambers and fake news, manipulating readers to the point where they are brainwashed into thinking along party lines. The impact of censorship in Bitcoin are very real: “Censorship can really hinder a society if it is bad enough. Because media is such a large part of people’s lives today and it is the source of basically all information, if the information is not being given in full or truthfully then the society is left uneducated […] Censorship is probably the number one way to lower people’s right to freedom of speech.” Dirty Games: Hacking and Vote Manipulation Besides censorship, there have been all kinds of toxic and dirty games being played by Blockstream. Let’s take an instance last year where the community discovered that moderators of the r/Bitcoin subreddit were involved in hacking and vote manipulation. As part of the discovery process and evidence, it was found their former CTO Gregory Maxwell played an intricate role in the event. Not only has Blockstream been playing dirty on social media, but they have been engaging in a kind of social-media infused espionage. Just this past summer, individuals in the community discovered Blockstream is working with former national spies to run counterintelligence on the Bitcoin community. Adam Back, the CEO of Blockstream, admitted he hired a team to promote Blockstream’s propaganda in order to manipulate the dominant narrative. Secret Work and Hidden Agendas Blockstream has also been silently hiring people in the community to work on Blockstream products. Just two months ago it was uncovered that another “independent” BTC developer was really working for Blockstream, unbeknownst to the public. This is not the first time this sort of thing happened. In some cases, the hires have been downright weird and scandalous, which some may consider illegal. It’s obvious now why Blockstream took down their team page nearly a year ago and never put it back up. Allen Piscitello aka AlpacaSW on Medium via the WayBack Machine Today, it was also discovered that another well-known person in the Bitcoin space has been working for Blockstream. Again, the community was completely unaware these individuals were working for Blockstream to further an agenda rather than contribute to bitcoin development. In a public video interview released two days ago with Crypto Insider, Allen Piscitello admitted he has been working for Blockstream for the past year as one of their product managers. Many people won’t even know him. Some old-school Bitcoiners will know him as the infamous user AlpacaSW on Twitter, aka Alphonse Pace, who is responsible for a myriad of social media attacks. He was also one of the most vocal drivers behind the UASF in 2017. UASF: The Fake Grassroots Movement The User Activated Soft Fork (UASF) was promoted in 2017. Here is how it works: instead of miners activating a consensus rule change in Bitcoin, individual participants in the Bitcoin ecosystem could activate a fork by running the software they choose. By coordinating with each other on a specific date (flag day), they could all run the software with the rule changes in place. The theory is that if the UASF is coordinated successfully by the majority of the user network, miners would follow. However, at the end of the day, it would take the miners to cooperate with the UASF for it to be successful. Without miner cooperation, the UASF could cause a chain split. Since there is no proof-of-work with a UASF — as it’s just users and network participants —it would be easy to Sybil attack it. Therefore, it became clear in 2017 that the UASF was just a fake grassroots movement to activate Segwit surreptitiously. And who was the main group behind UASF? It was none other than Blockstream who were championing the soft fork, judging by posts such as UASF is a user-driven protocol development and user-activated soft forks and the intolerant minority. The Truth Will Set You Free One has to wonder, when will the lies and deceit end? My opinion is that it won’t. As a community, everyone needs to continue being diligent, thinking critically and independently. The community should insulate itself from companies that say they have the best interest of Bitcoin in mind, but are only working to further their bottom line and fill the coffers of major investors. 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. 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