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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. No one can defeat me as I am the one in full of oriental power”. – the classic and domineering lines in The Legend of the Swordsman – reappeared in Beijing City – the east of the world. Bin Li, who is known as a godfather of fitness club in China, InterValue, which is a leading block chain technology company with the world’s first practical Blockchain 4.0 project capable of supporting large-scale applications and DHZ, which is a professional and scaled equipment manufacturer, have combined and posted a big good message in the field of global blockchain fitness: BadyOne, the first blockchain fitness ecological network, has been launched in Beijing City, China. Meantime, the first blockchain spinning cycles equipped with BobyOne intelligent chips have also been put into mass production. BodyOne has taken a key cross-century step in the fitness industry. As the first block chain fitness ecological network, BodyOne can realize the resources integration, data integration and data value in the fitness industry by use of block chain technology. Its playing method is initiative in the industry. “Exercising is mining and Token holders can share the profit” is the core for the application of its fitness scenes. Starting from the blockchain spinning cycles equipped with intelligent chips, BodyOne can collect the data via smart contract and data model, convert the calories burned in the users’ workout into Tokens directly, upload the data and realize the transaction value so as to create a valuable delivery and trading system in the intelligent fitness industry. The sun rises from the east. Li Bin – the founder of BodyOne Foundation – has lots of oriental philosophical thoughts and is honored by the industry as “Father of Chinese Commercial Fitness”. Having been engaged in the fitness industry for 20 years, he knows well how lazy a person can be and how difficult it is for a person to combat his human nature. So how can he solve the problem? The answer is block chain. The Token incentive system in the Token economy is a good recipe, for it can use people’s greed to fight against their laziness. The doctrine lies in the daily life of the masses. Li Bin applies the high-end blockchain to the down-to-earth fitness industry. Together with the experts in cryptography and PhD Barton CHAO – a senior technology expert who has developed the blockchina at the front line for 10 years, he makes InterValue – the first practical blockchain project 4.0 who can support large-scale applications – the technical supporter for BodyOne. InterValue is capable of supporting millions of TPS chains and providing a technical guarantee for BodyOne to calculate how many Tokens the users who use BodyOne quite frequently can obtain in real time and how many dividends they can receive. Why BodyOne is so invincible? Because it follows God’s will. As a global-oriented block chain fitness ecological platform, BodyOne advocates sharing and win-win. The ecological network is composed of the users, the fitness equipment manufacturers, the fitness service providers, the fitness instructors and the other participants of the industry. The value of the data generated by the behavior on every node of the ecological network will be connected with each other and awarded additionally through block chain technology. The behaviors in the ecological network can produce Tokens which, as an incentive for the active participation of both the users and the service providers, can stimulate and unite all the parties on the nodes. The platform will distribute 80% of its profit to the users evenly. Moreover, BodyOne also introduces new product designs to realize openness and win-win. The ecological network has online competitive events, in which the users can register for fat burning with Tokens. As a result, the users can have a motivation to punch the clock and establish social contacts in the competitions. In the future, the users can also research and develop the projects by themselves in BodyOne Store, connect the smart devices with a chip and deliver the values. As an open platform, BodyOne has become the Apple Inc. in the fitness industry, for as long as you can meet the requirements in the contract, your projects will be shared online. However, BodyOne is more than Apple Inc., for it distributes most of its profits to the users of the ecological network. Thus, it can make the users establish the ecological network with the company and reach a win-win situation. In order to ensure the quality of the block chain mining hardware equipment, Li Bin has conducted a comprehensive and in-depth cooperation with DHZ – a carrier level enterprise in the domestic fitness equipment manufacturers. Although its supply fell short of demand, DHZ sent a special design, research and development team, assigned special engineers to contact the American designers, the physical fitness expert team, and the BodyOne team, and even specified a special person to arrange the tolerance test of the equipment. The whole team was so excited as all was new. In both of the two Chinafit exhibitions held in Shanghai City, DHZ pushed BodyOne out as a key project. Twenty years ago, Zhou Yueming – the founder of DHZ – entered the fitness industry because Li Bin drove the industry, and this time, he decided to start again. The cooperation of two giants in the fitness industry and one master with 10-year experience in the block chain industry has sent a strong signal to the world from the east. Based on the oriental philosophy, BodyOne has truly achieved co-construction, win-win and sharing. As it follows God’s will, it is invincible. Here comes BodyOne. Here comes the era of block chain fitness. At present, BodyOne has gained millions of cornerstone investment mainly from the senior institutional investors such as Acapital, Achain, Btcdo, Rootscap, Huoxing Caijing, etc. and many angel investors. As a pioneer in the traditional fitness industry, Li Bin is confident. On this occasion, he will invite the partners in the traditional fitness industry, the body builders and the practitioners in the fitness industry to create “a castle in the sky” in the fitness ecological network. He believes that the blockchain fitness will boom very soon and that BodyOne will become a killer application in the fitness industry and energize the whole fitness industry. http://bodyone.io Telegram：https://t.me/bodyoneglobal Facebook：https://www.facebook.com/bodyonechain/ service@bodyone.io Wechat page：bodyonechain QQ：789650864 Supporting Link http://bodyone.io Contact Email Address service@bodyone.io This is a paid press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post PR: BodyOne Blockchain Ecological Network Energizes the Fitness Industry appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), owner of arguably the most important stock exchange in the world, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), is introducing a new company, Bakkt. The idea is to weave bitcoin core (BTC) into 401(k)s, credit cards, and retail. The project is getting a lot of hype due in large measure to two very powerful backers: Microsoft and Starbucks. Is this the mainstreaming ecosystem enthusiasts have been urging? Also read: Bitcoiners Hope to Have a Friend in Top US Regulator Jay Clayton NYSE Wants BTC in 401(k)s, Credit Cards, Retail Stores ICE’s digital assets head, turned CEO of the new project Bakkt, Kelly Loeffler, explained in a company blog, “Formed by Intercontinental Exchange — an operator of global exchanges, clearing houses, data and listings services — Bakkt will work with companies that include BCG, Starbucks, Microsoft and others, to create an open ecosystem that supports growing needs in the ~$270 billion digital asset marketplace.” ICE quietly owns and operates two dozen regulated markets and exchanges, from the United States and Canada to Europe. It also holds clearing houses in the Netherlands, Singapore, greater Europe, the US, and Canada as well. It has revenues well in excess of $5.5 billion. It’s also the parent company for the NYSE, an exchange with great prestige among traditional finance: the NYSE is 226 years old, and is easily the globe’s biggest exchange by market cap, some $21.3 trillion as of last summer. Ms. Loeffler told Fortune how for over a year ICE built Bakkt in secrecy. The company name is a twist on asset backed securities, Bakkt, which by design is to engender trust. And trust is everything in the legacy marketplace, but it has a decidedly different meaning in the cryptocurrency world. Trust on Wall Street usually means regulations, and lots of them. Indeed, by late Fall this year, Bakkt hopes to have a fully federally regulated space for all things BTC. Fortune notes how “ICE aims to transform Bitcoin into a trusted global currency with broad usage.” That’s an interesting admission for enthusiasts wondering what Wall Street is ultimately up to with this enormous announcement and marketing/public relations campaign. Trust in the Bitcoin Core ecosystem is established through mathematics, voluntary adoption, by completely bypassing third party fragility, frictions, and gatekeepers for which legacy finance is famous. Speculation and Coffee “By combining regulated infrastructure with institutional and consumer applications,” Ms. Loeffler continues, “we’ll apply our track record of bringing transparency and trust to previously unregulated markets. In this way, we intend to play a key role in boosting institutional, merchant and consumer participation in digital assets.” Investment, also according to Fortune, includes Boston Consulting Group, Fortress Investment Group, Eagle Seven, and Susquehanna International Group in addition to better known brands Starbucks and Microsoft. No doubt, ICE’s endorsement of BTC lends a great deal of credence for other Wall Street investors to start exploring the cryptosphere. A futures market appears immediately in the works. Ms. Loeffler’s blog post details, “As an initial component of the Bakkt offering, Intercontinental Exchange’s U.S.-based futures exchange and clearing house plan to launch a 1-day physically delivered Bitcoin contract along with physical warehousing in November 2018, subject to CFTC review and approval. These regulated venues will establish new protocols for managing the specific security and settlement requirements of digital currencies. In addition, the clearing house plans to create a separate guarantee fund that will be funded by Bakkt.” Fortune believes the bigger move Bakkt is proposing involves everyday retail ventures. “Using Bitcoin [Core] to streamline and disrupt the world of retail payments,” the magazine stressed, “by moving consumers from swiping credit cards to scanning their [BTC] apps. The market opportunity is gigantic: Consumers worldwide are paying lofty credit card or online-shopping fees on $25 trillion a year in annual purchases.” Both Microsoft customers and Starbucks customers are very familiar with digital, smartphone related transactions. Transitioning over to BTC, with institutional blessing, should be a snap, ICE is assuming. Starbucks’ Vice President of Partnerships and Payments, Maria Smith, was quoted in the press release, noting, “As the flagship retailer, Starbucks will play a pivotal role in developing practical, trusted, and regulated applications for consumers to convert their digital assets into U.S. dollars for use at Starbucks.” That also appears to fly directly in the face of BTC’s ultimate point. To nearly everyone familiar with its power, BTC as a currency is an end in-and-of-itself, it is the value, and was meant to leave fiat — not to be simply a keen transfer mechanism to government paper. Nevertheless, Bakkt’s CEO, Ms. Loeffler, concludes, “We’re excited about the opportunity to help unlock the transformative potential of digital assets across global markets. Bakkt is preparing for launch in upcoming weeks, and we look forward to keeping you updated.” Is bringing Wall Street into crypto a good thing? Let us know in the comments section below. Images via Pixabay, ICE, NYSE. Be sure to check out the podcast, Blockchain 2025; latest episode here. The post NYSE Owner: Bitcoin Should Be in Retirement Funds, Credit Cards, Retail Stores appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

During a recent conference in South Korea, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao responded to questions about the company’s relationship with controversial stablecoin Tether. He acknowledged that “concern is always there,” according to regional reporting. Binance is one of the largest holders of Tether. Also read: Bitcoiners Hope to Have a Friend in Top US Regulator Jay Clayton Binance CEO Voices Concern Over Tether According to Anca Faget of Romania-based Coindoo, the CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, responded to questions about the company’s relationship with controversial stablecoin Tether. One question came from Ran Neu-Ner who asked about the impact a Tether crash would have on Binance. Mr. Zhao Mr. Zhao answered, “We have seen fiat currencies go down in history a lot. Probably more times than they have been in cryptocurrencies. So yes, the concern is always there and that’s also why we’re listing other stable coins as well, so we actively promote other stable coins including True USD and others.” Binance launched in the summer of last year with an initial coin offering that raised around $15 million. It’s a cryptocurrency exchange, catering to a multi-language, international clientele. This year has been a busy one for the exchange. On its way to a very ambitious goal of earning $1 billion this year, Binance invested in a Maltese bank, is attempting to conquer the South Korean market, and recently teamed up with Libra Credit. Tether and Bitfinex Mr. Neu-Her also asked about the connection between Tether and Bitfinex. Many in the ecosystem have long accused both of bitcoin price manipulation, with some actually attributing the entire price run-up of 2017 to Tether’s inflation (another study, however, came to the opposite conclusion). “I haven’t personally seen their bank accounts,” Mr. Zhao assured, “but from a logical point of view they have so many profits from their regular exchange business, they don’t need to do anything crazy about the Tethering. I think the reason they cannot release their bank account details is because if they release whichever bank they’re using, then the bank account gets shut down,” the CEO said at a Korea Blockchain event. Ironically, accusations against Tether have slowed toward the middle of this year. When yet another study suggests a Tether collusion, this time between it and Kraken, the exchange took to its blog and blasted journalists whom it felt understood little how its business works. Last month Tether brought in an establishment figure to head its compliance division, perhaps in an effort to assuage future fears. How important is Tether to the ecosystem? Let us know in the comments section below. Images via Pixabay, Binance, and Tether. Be sure to check out the podcast, Blockchain 2025; latest episode here. The post Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao: With Tether ‘Concern is Always There’ appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The world’s second largest manufacturer of bitcoin miners, Canaan Creative, has unveiled what the company describes as the world’s first bitcoin mining TV set. Also Read: High Times Becomes the First IPO to Accept Cryptocurrencies Canaan Creative to Launch Avalon Mining Television Canaan Creative has announced that it plans to sell a 43” television set that doubles as a bitcoin mining rig – dubbed the “Avalonminer Inside.” Canaan, the world’s second largest manufacturer of mining rigs, stated that its television is equipped with A3210 16nm ASIC chips and is capable of processing at a power of 2.8 terahashes per second. Canaan also states that the Avalon mining TV is powered by artificial intelligence, can calculate the profitability of bitcoin mining in true-time, will include a voice control feature, and features 4K resolution. The television will also facilitate the purchase of entertainment content or physical gifts through Canaan Creative’s platform. Canaan has indicated that it plans to predominantly sell the Avalonminer Inside to businesses intending to distribute the TVs to retail customers. Canaan Expands Product Line Earlier this year, Canaan filed for initial public offering with the Hong Kong stock exchange. According to its filing, the company took in $1.3 billion yuan (approximately $200 million USD) during 2017 – comprising a 27-fold increase in its year-over-year revenue. The company sold almost 300,000 Avalon mining rigs in 2017, reportedly representing 19.5% of the processing power generated by the global mining industry. In its filing, Canaan indicated its desire to expand its product line, stating: “If we cannot maintain the scale and profitability of our single line of system products and, at the same time, offer new products, our ability to continue to grow will suffer.” Beijing-based analyst, Xiao Lei, has largely dismissed the project, describing the mining television as “look[ing] more like hype,” adding “It will be more meaningful if these companies are able to embed the mining function into existing major TV brands.” The company has indicated that it has no plans to develop additional cryptocurrency-centric home appliances. What is your reaction to Canaan’s mining TV? 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 Canaan Creative Announces World’s First Mining TV Set appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A court in Thessaloniki, Greece has accepted an extradition request from Russia for suspected Btc-e operator, Alexander Vinnik. Last month, a French request for Vinnik’s extradition was also accepted by Greece. Also Read: Markets Update: Monster Liquidations and Flash Crash Fear Russian Extradition Request Accepted for Alexander Vinnik Accepted by Greek Court A senior panel of judges has accepted a request from Russia to extradite Alexander Vinnik, a Russian native suspected of operating former leading cryptocurrency exchange Btc-e, where he faces charges of fraud. At a hearing on Monday, Mr. Vinnik denied the allegations of fraudulent activity made by Russian authorities. Alexander Vinnik’s Fate is Uncertain The request has created uncertainty as to Mr. Vinnik’s fate, as just last month a Thessaloniki court ruled to extradite Mr. Vinnik to France, where he is accused of laundering 130 million Euros worth of funds stolen via ransomware that “defraud[ed] over 100 people in six French cities between 2016 and 2018.” Mr. Vinnik challenged the charges, asserting that his actions in question comprised merely “legitimate[ly] […] transferring e-money through a platform.” “I was working this way. My job is to trade with Bitcoin,” Mr. Vinnik said in July. Emphasizing that he had continued to conduct said transactions whilst situated in Greece, Mr. Vinnik added: “Since I have committed all these offenses, why is Greece not persecuting me?” In May, it was reported that Mr. Vinnik had confessed to Russian accusations of money laundering and other crimes. Vinnik’s Lawyer Suspects French Request Will Lead to U.S. Extradition Ilias Spyrliadis, Mr. Vinnik’s lawyer, has argued that the French extradition request would immediately lead to further extradition to the United States, stating “otherwise the U.S. cannot get him, since the extradition process was blocked.” Mr. Vinnik was arrested on July 26th, 2017 by Greek police under the order of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) whilst holidaying with his family in Halkidiki. At the time, the DOJ described Mr. Vinnik as “the owner and operator of multiple Btc-e accounts, including administrator accounts, and also a primary beneficial owner of Btc-e’s managing shell company, Canton Business Corporation.” The DOJ stated that Btc-e comprised “an international money-laundering scheme that, by virtue of its business model, catered to criminals — and to cyber criminals in particular,” adding that “Through Vinnik’s efforts, BTC-e emerged as one of the principal means by which cyber criminals around the world laundered the proceeds of their illicit activity.” What fate do you think awaits Alexander Vinnik? Join the discussion 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 Russian Extradition Request Complicates Fate of Suspected Btc-e Owner appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Japanese crypto exchanges may soon have an official self-regulatory body. The Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association has applied with the country’s financial regulator to become the authority for self-regulation, with the power to enforce rules on its crypto exchange members. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Registering with FSA The Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (Jvcea) announced Friday that it has applied for certification with the country’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA). There are currently 16 government-approved, fully licensed crypto exchanges in Japan; all of them are members of the Jvcea. The association explained that it is seeking to become a “certified fund settlement business association,” which will serve as a self-regulatory body for crypto exchanges. Its primary objectives include providing “guidance and recommendations to members to comply with regulations, laws and self-regulation rules,” the Jvcea’s announcement reads. The association hopes to contribute “to the sound development of the virtual currency exchange industry and the protection of the interests of users.” According to To-o Nippo Press: The Financial Services Agency will carefully examine the affairs of the association and carefully investigate whether proper group management can be expected. It will take 1 to 2 months for the review. The Jvcea was established in response to the hack of Coincheck in January where 58 billion yen (~US$521 million) worth of the cryptocurrency NEM was stolen. It aims to restore public trust in the crypto industry. Japan also has two other crypto associations which predate the Jvcea: the Japan Blockchain Association (Jba) and the Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association (Jcba). Most crypto exchanges in the country are members of one or both of these organizations. Self-Regulatory Rules Submitted The association has reportedly drafted self-regulation that includes a number of restrictions on how crypto exchanges operate. In June, local media reported that privacy coin listings will be restricted and a ban on insider trading will be imposed. Other restrictions include a margin limit of 4 times leverage, trading caps for all customers, and trading restrictions for minors and the elderly. “We also submitted voluntary rules on margin trading and insider trading [to the FSA],” Jiji Press quoted the association: If it [the Jvcea] is approved as a self-regulating organization, it will be possible to enforce disposition and investigation of member exchanges, expulsion of membership…in a mandatory manner. According to the publication, the FSA “plans to entrust the organization with the flexibility to rapidly develop technologies and to combine technological innovation and customer protection.” The association wrote, “We will work closely with registered virtual currency exchange traders and all those who support us while fully working to restore users’ trust in domestic virtual currency handlers and markets.” What do you think of the association’s efforts? Do you think Japan should have a self-regulatory authority? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Japanese Association Seeks Authority to Enforce Self-Regulation on Crypto Exchanges appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Swiss online banking group, Swissquote, has benefited greatly from the addition of cryptocurrency investing to the set of services it offers, reporting a significant increase in its H1 2018 profits. The news comes while Switzerland is debating over how to keep crypto businesses in the country when the majority of Swiss banks refuse to provide services to the growing crypto sector. Also read: Check Which Coins You Can Spend With Debit Cards and Why Upcoming Fuzex Chooses BCH Swissquote Posts Profit of 25.7 Million Francs in H1 2018 While many traditional financial institutions in Switzerland are still shying away from dealing in cryptocurrencies and working with crypto companies, those who have ventured into the space are already harvesting the fruits of their decisions. Swiss online banking firm, Swissquote, has reported soaring profits attributed largely to the offering of investing opportunities related to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, and a steep rise in both the number of customers and the volume of trading. Swissquote Group posted a profit of 25.7 million CHF (~$26.1million USD) from the first half of this year, which represents an increase of 44 percent over the same period of the previous year, the local outlet Finews reported, quoting an announcement released by the company on Tuesday. The profit margin exceeds the predictions of financial experts by about 2.5 million CHF (~$2.52 million). They expected a profit of 23.2 million Swiss francs. At the same time, the number of customer accounts in the commercial sector has increased by 16,278. The same trend is valid for the activity of the clients, too. According to the report, Swissquote clients have made an average of 11.8 transactions in the first half of 2018, compared to only one transaction during the same period of 2017. The cited data shows that client assets have increased by about 20 percent to 25.5 billion CHF (~$25.2 billion) as of mid-2018. Net new money inflows were also up – by 60 percent over the previous year, at 2.4 billion CHF (~$2.42 billion). Swissquote also said it expects both income and profit for the whole year to increase by about 15 percent. The company has benefited from the high demand for crypto products earlier this year which is not expected in H2, despite the recent market gains. Swiss Financial Institutions Slowly Opening Up to Crypto Swissquote has been hailed by many in the crypto industry as the first European online bank to launch and offer bitcoin services to its clients. Last summer, it partnered with Bitstamp to add bitcoin core (BTC) to its online trading platform in pairs against both EUR and USD. In December, Swissquote added bitcoin cash (BCH), ethereum (ETH), litecoin (LTC), and ripple (XRP). Swissquote is not the only financial company from the Alpine nation to take advantage of the great potential for growth in the crypto space. In July, last year, Switzerland-based private bank Falcon announced its decision to offer bitcoin asset management and other crypto-related products to its clients through a partnership with Bitcoin Suisse AG. This past July, Switzerland’s main stock exchange, SIX Swiss Exchange, said it is building a platform for trading, settlement, and custody of digital assets. And in June, one of the country’s oldest legacy banks, Hypothekarbank Lenzburg, announced it is accepting crypto businesses as account holders. Two other banks, Neuchâtel Cantonal Bank and Neue Helvetische Bank, are also working with blockchain and crypto firms. Nevertheless, the number of legacy financial institutions in Switzerland which have so far declared readiness to offer services to the hundreds of startups in the Swiss Crypto Valley remains limited. The restricted access the traditional financial system has been recognized as a major threat for Switzerland’s leadership in the European crypto space where destinations like Malta and Gibraltar are also competing for attention. Zug-based companies are complaining about the inaccessibility of local banking services and many of them have been opening accounts in neighboring Liechtenstein, for example, where banks like Frick and Alpinum are working with Swiss startups. Authorities in Switzerland are now considering ways to grant crypto businesses access to banking services in the country. Do you think more Swiss financial institutions will soon enter the crypto space? Share your expectations in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Now live, Satoshi Pulse. A comprehensive, real-time listing of the cryptocurrency market. View prices, charts, transaction volumes, and more for the top 500 cryptocurrencies trading today. The post Swissquote Reports 44% Increase in Profit After Adding Cryptocurrency Services appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Coming off fresh first quarter losses undeterred, giant cryptocurrency merchant bank, Galaxy Digital, began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange August, 1, 2018. It is one of the earliest banks in the crypto space to achieve such a listing. Many eyes are watching to see what will become of the relationship between legacy financial institutions and digital assets. Also read: Coinbase Flexes Muscle, Creates Political Action Committee Galaxy Digital Trades, a Bitcoin Merchant Bank, Now Trades on TSX Venture Exchange Famed billionaire investor Mike Novogratz explained, “If I knew what I know now, knew the crypto markets were going to swoon as much, and it was going to take so long, I might have stayed private for another year or so and then gone public, but I don’t think it’s a mistake,” Galaxy Digital’s CEO told Bloomberg in Toronto. Crypto markets have been unkind to any investor who might’ve jumped-in during late 2017. His interview otherwise ought to have been triumphant, representing one of the earliest cryptocurrency-oriented merchant banks to be listed formally on a major stock exchange. He was in Toronto for just that purpose: Galaxy Digital is now trading on a world ranked, top ten, board, the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Instead, to a degree, it was bittersweet. The company was smarting off a brutal first quarter earnings call, posting over $130 million in losses. Rather than charging full steem on success, it appeared from a public relations standpoint to be limping as a financial canary in a very dark mineshaft. “There was a surge of companies,” Mr. Novogratz continued, “that listed in Canada and they all traded really poorly. I think the regulators got a little bit more nervous and said, ‘Hey, wait a minute, let’s make sure we know what we’re seeing here.’” Regulators were used to what as known as reverse takeovers to get a listing, a maneuver Galaxy was taking advantage of in order to get a seat, but when cryptocurrency is involved that apparently was enough to warrant extra looks under the hood. Global Ambitions “There’s a layer of due diligence,” TSX’s managing director Brady Fletcher elaborated, “that goes into figuring out and understanding the business itself, which probably takes a little bit longer than entrepreneurs like Mike would like it to, but for us that’s how we maintain market integrity.” TSX, by market cap, is the ninth largest stock exchange in the world. Based in Ontario, Canada, it offers a range of industries, domestic and foreign, but is mostly known for being oil and gas heavy. It also offers traditional securities, exchange traded funds, income trusts, etc. Extra scrutiny effectively tied up Galaxy and its investors, as they could only watch for months, while regulators do what regulators do ahead of a listing, and markets fell. Mr. Novogratz knows from markets as a former hedge fund guy. He also knows crypto, having also famously made hundreds of millions trading ether and bitcoin. That acumen led to becoming a full fledged merchant bank in the space by late last year. Galaxy is full service, trading digital assets, managing funds, giving financial advice, and investing in ecosystem businesses. The CEO assured Bloomberg, “We’re going to be a global company; we want to be globally traded.” He wants listings eventually in Hong Kong, Frankfurt, London as well. For now, the New York company will trade under Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd, ticker GLXY at the TSX Venture Exchange. Is Galaxy’s listing on the TSX good for bitcoin adoption? Let us know in the comments section below. Images via Pixabay. Be sure to check out the podcast, Blockchain 2025; latest episode here. The post Billionaire Backed Bitcoin Bank Galaxy Digital Now Trading on Toronto Stock Exchange 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. It was in the final days of November 2017 when XcelTrip first revealed itself to the world at the Blockchain Expo in Santa Clara. Proving their clear intentions guided by a tunnel vision focus, in less than 9 months since the first teaser, XcelTrip is about to disrupt the online travel industry with a full service hotel booking engine that goes live on August 1, 2018. XcelTrip started on this journey almost 3 years ago with the goal to build a blockchain based Decentralized Travel Ecosystemto connect the vendors in the hospitality sector directly with the consumers. By achieving this goal XcelTrip’s DTE shall make travel more economical for consumers and business more profitable for the vendors. As part of its first phase of development, XcelTrip has created a proprietary inventory system connected with the travel platform that shall be powered by its own ERC-20 utility token called the “XcelToken”. XcelTrip’s CEO Hob Khadka said “Our vision is to empower travelers worldwide with a platform that is both easy to use and rewarding at the same time. At XcelTrip, the users can choose from almost half a million properties globally to book their stays at an attractive price with major crypto currencies such as Bitcoin, Etherum, Ripple and BitcoinCash and of course our own XcelToken. We shall also be accepting payments via other modes such as the usual PayPal and Credit / Debit cards enabling us to reach out to a wider audience around the world.” What excited us, is that this system not just offers great ease of user but also gets rid of unwanted intermediaries who end up adding their own commissions / fees which increases travel costs by almost 15 percent or more with no real valueaddition. Well, if that’s not all, there’s more ! XcelTrip has a unique IMP program (Independent Marketing Program) that allows travelers to list properties which are not available on XcelTrip and with each listing the traveler also gets rewarded. Furthermore, additional incentives for the IMP are embedded in the system where XcelTrip awards a commissions to the IMP for the services they provide to the vendor and travelers. This commission comes out of the net sales value of the vendor listed by the IMP, for their rooms booked on XcelTrip.com For more details visit www.xeltrip.com or download their app on AppStore (iOS) or PlayStore (Andriod) XcelToken launches one of its use cases Xceltrip: XcelToken is full purpose utility token based on the ERC-20 Ethereum Protocol, which was launched on 20th March, 2018. Its purpose is to decentralize the travel ecosystem and create a community where vendor and user can interact and transact in a fairly shared economy and drive incremental business and savings to both. Along with Xceltrip.com, XcelToken has multiple usecases in the works which will be launched in the near future. For more details, visit www.xceltoken.com Email us at: info@xceltrip.com Supporting Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLkQ5_pD3Fs&t=1s 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: XcelTrip Accepts Major Crypto Currencies on Its Revolutionary Online Travel Portal appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In today’s edition of Bitcoin in Brief we cover the stories about how NFL players can start to earn some extra cryptocurrency, McDonald’s latest publicity stunt called Maccoin, former US president Bill Clinton to speak at Swell by Ripple, and Binance’s acquisition of Trust Wallet. Also Read: Security Researchers Attack McAfee-Backed Wallet for “Unhackable” Claims NFL Players to Earn Crypto As we reported earlier this year, the athletes of the American National Football League (NFL) have been educating themselves about bitcoin investments for a while now. And now they have a new way to earn some cryptocurrency on the side. The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) has acquired a minority stake in the Sportscastr, a live-streaming platform. Through this partnership, players will provide live commentary on sports events and earn Fanchain, the native token of the platform. Fans can spend these tokens to unlock premium NFL player content (such as back-stage access), purchase sports tickets or merchandise, and send virtual gifts to NFL players. As part of this agreement, Sportscastr becomes an official licensee of the NFLPA in the categories of mobile apps and web-based platforms. It is the eighth active NFLPA partner secured through the One Team Collective, which is designed to give early stage companies the opportunity to leverage the NFLPA’s exclusive group player rights, in exchange for equity. McDonald’s Unveils Maccoin It seems that ad execs really know how to reach all the kids these days, just launch a coin. At least that is what seems to be their thinking. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Big Mac, McDonald’s has announced the Maccoin, a “limited edition global currency” backed by the Big Mac. If this type of bitcoin-mimicking publicity stunt sounds familiar, you must be thinking about Bacoin, which Oscar Mayer launched just a few months ago as the “first-ever cryptocurrency backed by bacon.” Beginning at lunch time on August 2, customers can receive a Maccoin with the purchase of a Big Mac at 14,000 participating restaurants across the US. Starting on August 3 through 2018, customers can redeem their Maccoin for a free Big Mac at participating McDonald’s restaurants in the US and in more than 50 participating countries. More than 6.2 million Maccoins will be distributed globally in over 50 countries while supplies last. Bill Clinton to Speak at Swell Ripple, which holds a fortune in its own XRP token, knows how to spend its money wisely – celebrity appearances. First it brought the rapper Snoop Dogg to an event and now it signed up Bill Clinton to Swell. The company has announced that the 42nd President of the United States will be the keynote speaker at its 2018 conference in San Francisco. And for extra brownie points, Ripple also announced it partnered with Raising Malawi, the non-profit foundation of the singer Madonna, to raise funds for orphans across the southeast African country. Binance Acquires Trust Wallet The Binance exchange has announced it has completed the acquisition of Trust Wallet in an effort to provide a better service for its users. Trust is an open source mobile wallet app launched in November 2017 that supports over 20,000 different Ethereum-based tokens (ERC20, ERC223 and ERC721). The exchange explained that the acquisition will add an on-chain mobile wallet to its list of services with other future integration possibilities, and that the Trust Wallet team will retain the autonomy to develop the core product. “As a technology driven company, Binance’s acquisition of Trust Wallet shows the importance of secure wallet technology for the future development of cryptocurrency as a whole. As Binance’s first public acquisition, we hope to continue providing our users with improved security, services and support.” 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: NFL Players to Earn Crypto, McDonald’s Unveils Maccoin, Bill Clinton at Swell appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The South Korean government has announced a new set of tax law amendments. Under this proposal, bitcoin exchanges will no longer be eligible for income and corporate tax deductions currently enjoyed by small and medium-sized businesses. The regulators have also been considering imposing capital gains tax on the sale of cryptocurrencies. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Stripping Away Tax Benefits The South Korean government has announced its proposed Revised Tax Law 2018. In the official statement published Monday, the government wrote, “from next year, virtual currency handling businesses will be excluded from the industries eligible for the tax reduction for SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises].” The South Korean government announcing 2018 tax amendments. News1 explained that crypto exchanges “have been considered as venture companies or small and medium-sized businesses for tax purposes until now,” allowing them to benefit from considerable income tax deduction. Citing other favorable tax treatments such as depreciation of assets acquired during the first four years, the publication elaborated: Under the current tax exemption rules, income tax and corporation tax are reduced by 50% to 100% for five years for business startups, SMEs and venture companies. Crypto Exchanges to Pay Higher Taxes According to the news outlet, the government has decided to exclude crypto exchanges from the list of entities eligible for SME tax deduction “because the cryptocurrency trading business lacks the effect of creating added value.” The revised tax law will be submitted to the National Assembly and, if passed, will go into effect next year. Crypto exchanges are currently liable to pay corporation tax of up to 22%, Seoul Finance described, adding that “considering that virtual currency exchanges earned huge amounts of money in the last year and earlier this year, it is estimated that the amount of exemption would be considerably large.” The publication conveyed that under the current setup: Bitsum exchange, which is estimated to have net profit of over 250 billion won [~US$223 million] last year, should pay 54.4 billion won [~$48.6 million] in corporate tax but it is expected to save 27.2 billion won [~$24.3 million] since it receives 50% reduction. However, “taxation on the sale of cryptocurrency was not included in the amendment bill…based on the judgment that more research is needed,” the publication emphasized. “The government has been considering imposing capital gains tax virtual currency trading profits since early this year, but no specific taxation bill has come out.” What do you think of the Korean government proposing to take away tax benefits for crypto exchanges? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and the Korean government. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post South Korea Plans to End Major Tax Benefits for Bitcoin Exchanges appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Recently, we covered some of the most popular debit cards used for crypto payments and we’d like to tell you more about the cryptocurrencies they support. Most of these cards are issued by well-known names in the space, but a new project is now offering you fast and cheap transactions with BCH – a feature that makes the use of crypto cards much more attractive. Also read: Bitcoin (Almost) Everywhere: Bitcoin Debit Cards Worth Checking Out Fuzex Chooses BCH as Base Currency Let’s start with the news in the sector: Fuzex, a global cryptocurrency payment card project, has just announced it’s adding bitcoin cash (BCH) to its card. The decision comes after evaluating the strong features of the BCH network: fast transaction speeds and low fees. Fast, cheap and reliable payments is exactly what makes Bitcoin Cash popular with online merchants and payment processors. The Fuzex team is introducing BCH after signing a partnership agreement with Bitcoin.com. Bitcoin cash (BCH) is replacing bitcoin core (BTC) as the base currency on the Fuzex platform. The company explained: By aiming to boost the applicability of cryptocurrencies in real transactions, BCH was naturally selected to be among the first cryptocurrencies supported on the Fuzex card. The fairly low BCH’s average withdrawal fee, combined with the fact that the cryptocurrency is currently one of the major coins, convinced us to support BCH and to replace BTC with BCH as a default cryptocurrency in the Fuzex card. Fuzex notes that BCH addresses two major issues that can have a negative impact on Fuzex cardholders: high transaction fees and slow transfer times. “Given that, the team has considered that BCH would be a more appropriate default coin for Fuzex card at launch,” the company added. The new card will also support the Fuzex token (FXT) and ethereum (ETH). FXT is the platform’s own token around which the payment ecosystem will be structured. It will offer users a new and convenient payment channel with low fees. It comes with increased daily usage limits and reduced ATM withdrawal fees. The third supported crypto, ethereum (ETH), has been chosen as it is one of the most frequently used cryptocurrencies that also has a lower combined network fee than BTC. Fuzex hopes to add other coins in the future compatible with its platform and philosophy. The Fuzex card, which offers users the opportunity to check their balance in real-time, will be released in the third quarter of this year. The plastic is NFC payments enabled and comes with an EMV chip, barcode display, and a rechargeable battery that lasts up to 30 days on a single charge. It can hold various type of cards – credit, debit, and prepaid – as well as store membership cards with QR code and barcode. The platform offers a Fuzex Wallet that can be installed on a mobile device and used to add and manage payment cards. It comes with some useful security features like 2FA and a tracking function for locating lost or stolen cards. The physical card can be acquired with FXT tokens, already available at Hitbtc, Cobinhood, Coss.io, and livecoin.net. “Fuzex offers a cryptocurrency payment solution that provides a smarter way to pay. Our project aim is to make paying with cryptocurrency easier, faster and more convenient at any retail stores without changing any infrastructures,” Alex David, Overseas Business Development Manager at Fuzex, told news.Bitcoin.com. “With the advanced technology of the Fuzex card, cardholders can check the balance and exchange rate of their cryptocurrencies and select the cryptocurrency to be used for the payment through the e-paper display. Through the Fuzex card, we want to generalize the use of cryptocurrencies by making their use convenient in the real life,” Mr. David emphasized. Wirex Adds XRP, Supports Deposits in 50 Coins A popular choice for bitcoiners in Europe is the payment card offered by Wirex. The company was the first to reintroduce crypto debit cards on the Old Continent after they were suspended by Visa last year. Wirex started shipping its plastic cards to customers in the UK and Europe in May. The plastic cards come with a chip and support bitcoin core (BTC), litecoin (LTC) and instant currency exchange with GBP, USD, and EUR. The virtual Visas offer the opportunity to make deposits in over 50 digital coins through the Wirex wallet. This month, Wirex announced it’s adding support for ripple (XRP). Customers can now buy, sell, exchange and deposit the altcoin using the Wirex wallet. That means they can also spend ripple both in stores and online. The company said it registered over $2 million worth of XRP deposited into the wallet which is connected to its Visa cards in just 12 hours. Wirex has also reported having 1.5 million users and announced a transaction volume of approximately $1.7 billion USD. A nice feature of the Wirex cards is the Cryptoback rewards program. Under its terms, users earn back 0.5% of their transactions in bitcoin (BTC) any time they use the payment card in-store by swipe, chip and pin or tap and go. This crypto cashback is accrued in a separate Wirex wallet within the app and can be instantly redeemed for GBP, EUR or USD. Spend Both BCH and BTC with Bitpay Bitpay is a leading crypto debit card provider across the pond. Currently, it allows users to spend bitcoin cash (BCH) and bitcoin core (BTC). Although issued only to US residents, the Bitpay card is accepted online and by all Visa merchants and Visa compatible ATMs around the world. Bitpay added bitcoin cash (BCH) support to its Checkout point-of-sale (POS) mobile app in April. This allowed retail stores using Bitpay to enable payments from clients to generate BCH payment codes on the spot using a phone or a tablet. Other Popular Alternatives Shift, branded as “The First U.S. Bitcoin Debit Card”, allows users to connect to their Coinbase accounts. Its availability depends on the availability of the services offered by the US-based crypto exchange, which currently includes 32 countries. Shift offers a Visa card which works everywhere Visas are accepted, offline, online, and internationally. It allows for cash withdrawals at ATMs as well. Coinbase currently supports bitcoin core (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), litecoin (LTC), and ethereum (ETH), with plans to introduce support for ethereum classic (ETC). Recently, the trading platform announced it is “exploring the addition of several new assets”: cardano (ADA), basic attention token (BAT), stellar lumens (XLM), zcash (ZEC), and 0x (ZRX). The prepaid Cryptopay card is available for free worldwide delivery and comes in both plastic with chip and pin and virtual variants. The platform accepts bitcoin core (BTC) along with several fiat options – British pounds, US dollars, euros, and offers a BTC wallet. The card should be accepted anywhere major cards are, and it works online, offline and internationally. Revolut offers another option for residents of the European Economic Area and Switzerland. The digital bank works with a number of crypto exchanges and initially offered support for BTC, ETH and LTC through its prepaid debit card. In May, the UK-based company added bitcoin cash (BCH) and ripple (XRP) providing a simple explanation for the decision – their popularity with the Revolut community. Which debit card do you use and what cryptocurrency do you prefer to spend? Tell us in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Fuzex, Wirex, Bitpay, Shift. 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 Check Which Coins You Can Spend With Debit Cards and Why Upcoming Fuzex Chooses BCH appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On Tuesday, July 31 a great majority of cryptocurrency prices dropped in value with many coins losing anywhere between 3-10 percent during the last 24-hours. Currently, with the sudden cryptocurrency market turbulence, bears have taken control of the exhausted bulls. In one intra-day of trading, the entire cryptocurrency market capitalization of all 1,600+ coins ($270Bn USD) has lost roughly $25Bn in value. Also Read: Bitcoin Cash Fans Celebrate Independence Day One Year Later Digital Asset Prices Turn Bearish as the Entire Cryptocurrency Economy Loses $25 Billion USD Bearish sentiment is starting to haunt cryptocurrency markets once again as many digital assets saw prices tumble today. Bitcoin Core (BTC) prices dropped to a low of $7,503 on July 31 as the currency’s trade volume had started to drift a bit lower after the price hovered around $8,125 the day prior. A large portion of other cryptocurrency markets followed suit with BTC as the top ten virtual currencies are seeing losses across the board of course except for tether (USDT). Ethereum (ETH) continues to hold the second highest market valuation with a market capitalization that’s around $42.28Bn. One ETH is being traded for $418 and the market is down 7.6 percent today. ETH markets are followed by ripple (XRP) which is down 2.8 percent over the last 24-hours as one XRP is trading for $0.42 cents. Lastly, the fifth highest market capitalization held by EOS is also down 6.6 percent and the currency is trading at $7.13 per coin. Bitcoin Cash Market Action This Tuesday bitcoin cash (BCH) markets are seeing losses as well as BCH is down 8 percent over the last 24-hours. Bitcoin cash markets are also down 13.2 percent for the last seven days. One BCH is trading for $741, and the decentralized cryptocurrency has a market valuation of around $12.8Bn. The last 24 hours show BCH trade volumes are around $432Mn at the time of publication. The top exchanges swapping the most BCH today include Coinex ($106.53Mn), Huobi Pro ($69.38Mn), Okex ($64.81Mn), Binance ($46.80Mn) and Hitbtc ($34.79Mn). The top currency traded with BCH on July 31 is tether (USDT) with 55.2 percent of swaps. This is followed by BTC (28.5%), USD (7.6%), QC (2.8), ETH (2.4%) and the KRW (1.2%). Bitcoin cash holds the fifth highest volume over the past 24-hours among all 1,600+ other cryptocurrencies. BCH/USD Technical Indicators Looking at the daily and 4-hour charts on Bitfinex and Bitstamp shows bears have grabbed the reins and still have a good portion of control. RSI levels are screaming oversold conditions (33), while the MACd has swooped down to -85. The SMA 100 is far higher now above the longer-term 200 SMA trendline which means BCH bulls may lose a bit more grip over the short term. Many traders can see looking at charts that the price was rolling sideways for close to three days and many were convinced of a bull flag after the inverse head & shoulders. But just before the dip sell orders on popular exchanges worldwide began stacking up. Looking at order books from the current vantage point BCH bulls have some high walls up until $775 but if they can manage to break that resistance we could return to previous levels. On the back side there’s solid support between now and $710 but unfortunately, books are thinner until $650. The Verdict: Flat Volumes and Bearish Sentiment Brings Market Skepticism Overall skeptics and bearish cheerleaders are hoping for some stronger dips and they just may get them. Volumes across the board for many cryptocurrencies has been getting flatter as each day passes. Traders and enthusiasts are now unsure the upcoming ETF decision will pull prices up until then for two reasons: One the Winklevoss Twins fund was denied again, putting a black cloud over positive vibes toward the Cboe ETF, and secondly everyone is unsure exactly when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will make their ultimate decision. This week the current market sentiment, and our price verdict, point to far more skepticism and shade towards bullish prices returning soon. Where do you see the price of BCH and other coins headed from here? Let us know in the comment section below. Disclaimer: Price articles and markets updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not to be considered as trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the “money.” Images via Shutterstock, Trading View, and Satoshi Pulse. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post Markets Update: Cryptocurrency Price Trends Turn from Bullish to Bearish appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

With the vast amounts of money going around, it’s no surprise that the greater Bitcoin ecosystem is rife with scams, hacks and cyber attacks of all kinds. Operating in such an environment, cautious users are always mindful of their security and learn to avoid outrageous claims that are sometimes nothing more than just that. A recently released wallet was said to be “unhackable” by its promoters, including John McAfee, and this has naturally triggered security researchers. Also Read: Football Team in Gibraltar to Pay Its Players in Cryptocurrency “Unhackable” Bifti Wallet When the Bitfi hardware wallet was unveiled in June, its official promotional material called it the “first truly unhackable” wallet, promising “impenetrable security” and an operation “without any risk of loss”. It was also said to offer more security than any other type of storage, including cold storage. Vouching for the device being indeed “unhackable”, which Bitfi acknowledged is an extremely bold claim, was John McAfee. “Of all today’s elaborate and sophisticated methods for making wallets secure and easy to use, surely none is as epic as that of the new Bitfi wallet. Several of my competitors have pioneered innovative methods to protect private keys, but Bitfi pulled out all the stops to ensure that the private key can never be obtained by illicit means. No other hardware wallet has ever been built to this level of sophistication,” McAfee is quoted as saying. This level of sophisticated security was supposedly achieved primarily by utilizing a proprietary open-source algorithm that calculates the private key from a user’s own unique secret phrase. “The private key only exists for a fraction of a second, just long enough to approve the transaction and is never stored anywhere.” And the developers added that: “Unlike other wallets, the Bitfi wallet cannot be tampered with. If it is ever lost, stolen, taken apart and forensically analyzed, the private keys cannot be retrieved, making the wallet safe to purchase from anyone within the network of authorized distribution dealers.” Checking Under the Hood Initial reviews were very unkind to Bitfi, with one security researcher stating: “my conclusion is that their product is most charitably described as a ‘footgun’,” meaning a device designed for shooting yourself in the foot. McAfee, which is known for being a shill in the crypto community but has credibility to lose in the cyber security space as an anti-virus pioneer, shoot back by labeling critics as “haters” and negative reviews as “fake” because they were based on Bitfi documentation rather than examining the actual device. Moreover, he challenged anyone to hack the wallet and receive a $100,000 bounty. Everyone tells me https://t.co/VJ7qrOxQqL is hackable. Then register as a hacker and do it. We send you the device pre-loaded with $50 in BTC. If you get the BTC we send you $100,000. You will eventually give up. When you do we send you the pass phrase to recover your $50. Do it. — John McAfee (@officialmcafee) July 28, 2018 So security researchers have now gotten their hands on the device and are tearing it apart trying to answer the hacking challenge. And they already discovered a few interesting things. According to their collaborative efforts, it seems that the hardware of the wallet is basically that of a Chinese mobile phone (Mediatek MT6580) minus the camera and SIM card. And the firmware includes a Baidu GPS/WIFI tracker, a malware suite (Adups FOTA), and a tracker capable of logging all activity on the device. But it does have this eMMC flash chip on it. pic.twitter.com/tUnCG3xKF6 — Ask Cybergibbons! (@cybergibbons) July 30, 2018 Can any system claim to be truly “Unhackable”? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Bifti. 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 Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post Security Researchers Attack McAfee-Backed Wallet for “Unhackable” Claims appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Blockstream, one of the largest Bitcoin Core funding contributors, has evidently bought a lot of cryptocurrency mining equipment from the Chinese electronics hardware manufacturer Innosilicon. Does this mean that the company is setting up its own mining center? Also Read: Thomson Reuters Eikon to Display Data on 50 Cryptocurrencies From Cryptocompare Blockstream Buys Mining Equipment Publicly available international shipping data (a bill of lading) reveals that a large amount of Innosilicon mining rigs has been imported from China to the US by Blockstream, the Bitcoin Core company focused on developing sidechains. Four containers holding 62 pallets marked as “TI” were sent from Hong Kong and arrived on July 26, 2018 at the port of New York/Newark, New Jersey. “TI” is very likely referring to Terminator by Innosilicon, the ASIC manufacturer’s SHA256 miner whose latest version units are sold for $1118 USD each. And with each pallet possibly holding up to 72 units, this would mean that Blockstream could have bought about 4650 Terminators for a total value of almost $5.2 million. The company has not announced it is opening a new mining center as of yet, but such a large order would definitely suggest that is an imminent possibility. The typical hash rate of a Terminator unit reaches 17.2TH/s, giving such a center almost 80PH/s. Background Information Blockstream was co-founded by Adam Back, Gregory Maxwell, Pieter Wuille and others back in 2014, and is still headed by Adam Back, the CEO. It is now mainly known for developing implementation prototypes for the lightning network. If you are not familiar with the company and want to get more background information about it, David Shares recently published an Op-Ed about why is Blockstream working with former spies. Innosilicon is a design company offering low cost, high-performance, cross-foundry, fully customizable solutions. It produces devices in areas such as tablets, cell phones, TVs, cameras, networking equipment and more. When Halong Mining launched its Dragonmint rigs earlier this year there were speculations that the machines were just rebranded Innosilicon Terminators. Halong Mining is a scam. They sold re-badged Innosilicon BTC miners obtained through dubious means, and sold fake non-existent miners for other algorithms (customers *still* waiting for these to ship). They are huge scammers. — Cøbra (@CobraBitcoin) April 6, 2018 What could Blockstream be doing with this much Innosilicon equipment other than set up its own mining center? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Blockstream, Innosilicon. 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 Blockstream Buys Mining Equipment From Chinese Manufacturer Innosilicon appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Motherboard has reportedly obtained court documents pertaining to the arrest of Joel Ortiz, a 20-year-old from Boston, who is accused of stealing $5 million USD in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Mr. Ortiz and his currently unidentified accomplices stole crypto from roughly 40 victims through a hacking technique known as “SIM jacking.” Also Read: Archaeologists Argue Micronesian Stone Money Comprises Bitcoin Predecessor 20-Year-Old Arrested For Part in Theft of $5 Million in Crypto It has been reported that on the 12th of July, Californian police arrested a college student accused of being part of a group of criminals responsible for the theft of more than $5 million in cryptocurrencies. Mr. Ortiz was reportedly arrested at Los Angeles International Airport whilst on his way to Europe donning a Gucci bag presumed to have been paid for with stolen money. The 20-year-old now faces 28 charges, including 13 counts of hacking, 13 counts of identity theft, and 2 counts of grand theft. Ortiz is currently in jail awaiting his plea hearing on August 9th. His bail was set at $1 million. First Reported Instance of Crypto Stolen Through ‘SIM Jacking’ Motherboard has claimed that the case comprises the first reported instance in which the increasingly prevalent technique of “SIM jacking” has been used to steal virtual currency. According to the publication, “SIM swapping consists of tricking a provider like AT&T or T-Mobile into transferring the target’s phone number to a SIM card controlled by the criminal. Once they get the phone number, fraudsters can leverage it to reset the victims’ passwords and break into their online accounts (cryptocurrency accounts are common targets.) In some cases, this works even if the accounts are protected by two-factor authentication.” Hackers Target Consensus Conference in May Several of Mr. Ortiz and his yet-to-be-identified accomplices’ victims included attendees of the Consensus conference in New York City in May. One conference attendee who wishes to remain anonymous lost more than $1.5 million from one individual – nearly $1 million of which had been raised through initial coin offering. “I looked at my phone and it was dead,” the individual told Motherboard. “We were having a meeting and all of a sudden he says ‘Fuck my phone just stopped working.'” The individual added that his friend later texted him: “My fucking SIM got hacked.” Motherboard reported that “According to court documents, Ortiz took control of the entrepreneur’s cell phone number, reset his Gmail password and then gained access to his cryptocurrency accounts. The entrepreneur ran to the AT&T store to get his number back, but it was too late.” What is your response to the arrest of Joel Ortiz? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock The Bitcoin universe is vast. So is Bitcoin.com. Check our Wiki, where you can learn everything you were afraid to ask. Or read our news coverage to stay up to date on the latest. Or delve into statistics on our helpful tools page. The post Student Faces Charges for Stealing $5 Million in Crypto via “SIM Jacking” appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

About four days ago news.Bitcoin.com reported on a dispute concerning the removal of the owner of Bitcoin.org, an anonymous figure known as ‘Cobra.’ At the time a Github contributor opened an issue on the website’s repository, saying that Cobra had become untrustworthy for showing support towards the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network. Then the CEO of Blockstream and a large swarm of Bitcoin Core supporters insisted the domain should be handed over to someone else. Since then the maintainers of the BTC repository also removed all of the associated links to Bitcoin.org from the Core client’s website. Also Read: A Look at What It Was Like to Operate the Lightning Network’s Largest Node The CEO of Blockstream Thinks Cobra Should Transfer Control to a Trusted Person or Group Many Bitcoin Core (BTC) proponents have been upset at the owner of Bitcoin.org for showing some support towards the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) protocol. Four days ago a Github contributor opened an issue that stated a number of individuals feared Cobra because he started “suddenly propagandizing BCH as ‘The Real Bitcoin.’” The individual further noted that he didn’t feel comfortable that a pseudonymous person has “total control of the Bitcoin.org domain name.” Then in a different chat channel the CEO of Blockstream, Adam Back, asked Cobra to relinquish control over the domain “to a trusted person or group to hold in trust for the public interest.” Back also lambastes Cobra for caring about “Bcash” and at the very least Cobra should call BCH — “Bcash.” Cobra then responds and states “I’m waiting for names Adam.” Back then replies back “Cobra maybe Wladimir? — How about in terms of a name you transferred domain control to Theymos — You obviously know, and trust him quite well for many years from several sites and domains you’ve both maintained.” Cobra didn’t seem to like Back’s commentary, stating: Adam, you should not be the CEO of Blockstream. I think you should transfer control of Blockstream to Warren Togami or something… Adam, this notion of “community property” only exists in your head because you want to influence who owns Bitcoin.org so they submit to your agenda. Blockstream CEO, Adam Back’s interesting conversation with Cobra. Bitcoin.org Links Decoupled from Bitcoincore.org Following the argument between Back and Cobra, this past Sunday a Github commit to the Bitcoin Core website went viral on cryptocurrency forums and social media. The commit called ‘Adjust bitcoincore.org links’ was merged by the most prominent (as far as writing Core code) Bitcoin Core developer, Wladimir van der Laan. Essentially Wladimir removed associated links to Bitcoin.org from the Bitcoincore.org website. Immediately a Github contributor named Daniel Ginovker spoke out against the move to delete the links. “Seriously? You guys are that upset at Cobra for not denouncing Bitcoin Cash?” Ginovker asks the Core developers. Cobra, if you read this, I genuinely am on your side at this point. You’ve done an excellent job with Bitcoin.org, and it is in your domain. Don’t succumb to this Blockstream bullying forcing you to give up your playing cards. However, other Core contributors were pleased with the decision to remove Bitcoin.org associations, and Jonas Schnelli explains the decision had nothing to do with Cobra. “This has nothing to do with Cobra or any other influencer — The reason why we still linked to Bitcoin.org was historical since the domain was once owned by Satoshi,” explains Bitcoin Core developer Jonas Schnelli. “It’s a natural and logical step to decouple the Bitcoin Core project from any centralised organised website — Bitcoin Core is the/a reference implementation of the Bitcoin Protocol and there is no need to link it with any website outside of the projects control.” Cobra: ‘Bitcoin is Much Bigger Than Bitcoin Core’ Following the merge, Cobra writes to his followers on Twitter saying, “Bitcoin is much bigger than Bitcoin Core.” Bitcoin Core (BTC) proponents don’t know what to think of Cobra, and it’s safe to say a great majority of BTC supporters don’t trust him. It’s also clear and evident that the angst towards Cobra is because he’s not towing party lines and because he doesn’t use the phrase ‘Bcash.’ For now, the Github request, the Blockstream CEO, and the slew of Core followers have not phased Cobra, and it doesn’t seem like he will be relinquishing the domain any time soon. What do you think about the controversy towards Cobra and the how Core supporters want him to relinquish the Bitcoin.org domain? What do you think about Core developers removing Bitcoin.org links from the website? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comment section below. Images via Shutterstock, Pixabay, Github, Bitcoin.org, and Reddit. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Bitcoin.org Removed from Bitcoin Core Website appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Philippines government-owned Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (Ceza) is in the process of issuing more crypto licenses. Interest for the license by offshore companies “surpassed all our expectations,” Ceza administrator said. Seventeen firms have already paid in full; 19 more are in the pipeline. Ceza expects to earn about $68 million from crypto licensing. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space 17 Companies Paid in Full Ceza previously announced that it will issue 25 Financial Technology Solutions and Offshore Virtual Currency (Ftsovc) licenses. The permits allow licensees “to establish a financial tech, crypto, and blockchain office” at the zone, Bitpinas news outlet described. According to the Philippines News Agency, Ceza administrator and chief executive officer Raul Lambino revealed last week: 17 fintech and offshore virtual currency firms have already paid in full the application and license fees for the digital coin trading under Ceza … 19 companies are in the pipeline to pay their application and license fees to Ceza. Last week, Ceza awarded a license to Liannet Technology Ltd., a subsidiary of the Apsaras Group. It was the second license Ceza has issued; the first went to Hong Kong company Golden Millennial Quickplay Inc. in June. The Philippines Daily Inquirer cited Lambino, revealing: Other firms that had already paid fees to operate in Ceza were Formosa Financial Holdings, Sino-Phil Economic Zone Agency Development and Management Corp., Asia-Pacific International Ltd., Hong Kong Yuen Shing-Hong Ltd., Tanzer Inc. and Rare Earth. Boosting Revenues with Crypto License Fees Lambino said in a press statement Friday that the income from Ftsovc application and license fees “exceeded 2017 revenue by more than 50 percent,” the news outlet detailed. The interest expressed by offshore companies to operate in Ceza “surpassed all our expectations,” he added, noting that fintech operations are expected to create an initial 20,000 jobs. Ceza “has earned more than P200 million [~$3.7 million] from offshore financial technology firms to raise its total revenues to at least P340 million [~$6.4 million] by the end of the second quarter of the year,” the publication described, elaborating: Ceza expects to earn some PHP3.6 billion (~US$68 million) from the issuance of Ftsovc licenses, on top of the 0.1 percent share for every transaction value of registered digital coin exchanges. Recently, there have also been reports that Ceza is launching its own cryptocurrency. However, Ceza staff told Bitpinas last week that this is not the case. What do you think of all these crypto firms wanting to operate in Ceza? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Ceza. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Interest in Philippines Economic Zone Crypto License Spikes – 17 Firms Paid in Full appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Charlie Lee, the creator of Litecoin (LTC), has been announced as an adviser to the development of HTC’s “Exodus” blockchain phone following Mr. Lee’s recent tweet that stated he had met with the HTC team and that the Exodus phone will natively support LTC. Also Read: Football Team in Gibraltar to Pay Its Players in Cryptocurrency Charlie Lee Announces that HTC’s Blockchain Phone Will Support LTC On the 30th of July, Litecoin’s creator, Charlie Lee, took to Twitter to announce that HTC’s upcoming blockchain phone, Exodus, will feature native support for LTC. First announced in May, HTC claims that the Exodus will be “the world’s first native blockchain phone dedicated to decentralized applications and security.” Mr. Lee posted: “Met the HTC Exodus team last week and was really excited to hear the phone will support LTC and Lightning Network on Litecoin natively! I will be an advisor as I see having a secure crypto phone that makes LN simple is needed for mass adoption.” The official Twitter account of the HTC Exodus confirmed Mr. Lee’s claims, replying to the Tweet with “One small step for @SatoshiLite. One giant leap for blockchain. Team @HTCExodus, @philchen913 @htc are honored to have Charlie Lee to join as our advisor.” HTC Bullish on Blockchain and Crypto Earlier this month, HTC indicated that the Exodus would be made available during Q3 of 2018. Phil Chen, the chief crypto officer at HTC, claimed that the company has already received “tens of thousands” of reservations globally. Mr. Chen also shared his optimism regarding the outlook for the virtual currency and distributed ledger technology industries, stating: “Every 10 years, we see shifts [in technology],” he said. “We think that crypto and blockchain will be the next shift.” “At some point, we’ll do our own utility token,” Mr. Chen added. Distributed Ledger Technology Expected to Reshape Telecommunications Industry At the start of the month, a report published by Research and Markets claimed that distributed ledger technology will add nearly $1 billion to the global telecommunications industry within the next five years. HTC is not the only company preparing to launch a blockchain phone in coming months, with Sirin Labs’ “Finney” expected to arrive in November. The Swiss firm raised $157.8 through an initial coin offering (ICO) – at the time comprising the fourth largest to ever take place. The third largest handset maker in the world, Huawei Technologies, has also expressed interest in entering the blockchain phone industry – with reports from March indicating that the company was in discussions with Sirin regarding the licensing of the company’s SIRIN OS operating system. Do you think that so-called blockchain phones will have a significant impact on the telecommunications industry? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock The Bitcoin universe is vast. So is Bitcoin.com. Check our Wiki, where you can learn everything you were afraid to ask. Or read our news coverage to stay up to date on the latest. Or delve into statistics on our helpful tools page. The post HTC ‘Exodus’ Blockchain Phone To Support LTC, Lee to Advise Project appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In recent news regarding bitcoin exchanges, Dcex has launched a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange that will use XRP as its base currency, ESMA regulated exchange, Blocktrade, has opened for beta testing, and Coinfield has announced a partnership with fee-free trading app Moongo. Also Read:Banks Don’t Really Want to Use ‘Blockchain’ for FX Settlement After All Dcex to Launch P2P Exchange Using XRP as Base Currency Dcex, “a cryptocurrency marketplace for retail and institutional investors” powered by Alphapoint, has announced that registration is open for its digital currency exchange. The P2P marketplace will use XRP as its exclusive base currency, and will allow clients to trade BCH, BTC, LTC, ETH, BTG, ETC, OMG, EOS, DASH, TRX, XMR, VEN, IOTA, ZEC, TUSD, NEO, and ADA. The company states that it chose XRP as its base currency in order to facilitate “very rapid transaction volume” between traders, claiming that its network is “designed to facilitate up to one million transactions per second.” ESMA Regulated Bitcoin Exchange Enters Beta Testing Blocktrade.com, a cryptocurrency exchange claiming to be the first regulated by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), has opened for beta testing. The exchange is currently open for registration and anticipates a full launch in September. Blocktrade will support BCH, BTC, ETH, LTC, and XRP pairings, with Forbes reporting that “Crypto Traded Indices, Security Tokens, and Tokenised Assets will be gradually added later in 2018.” Luka Gubo, the chief executive officer of Blocktrade, has predicted that the company’s regulated status may open the door for further development of permissive legislation governing the cryptocurrency sector, stating: “This is an ideal way for regulators across Europe to recognize cryptocurrencies as a new asset class and put in a regulatory framework.” Coinfield Exchange Announces Partnership with Fee-Free Trading App Moongo Canadian cryptocurrency exchange Coinfield has announced that it will target the global trading market through a partnership with commission-free trading app, Moongo. Moongo allows users to convert cryptocurrencies to EUR or USD, which can then be withdrawn onto the company’s cards. The company’s plan to make their services “available to every country in the world except the US and the nations on the US/UN sanction list.” The app currently supports “Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Dash, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold,” and “Select ERC20 coins & non-ERC20 [tokens].” The chief executive of Coinfield, Babak Bob Ras, stated: “Our vision is to bring the cryptocurrency to people’s lives in the most convenient and simple way, and make it available to well-qualified traders in most countries worldwide.” Do you think the bitcoin markets are in need of more regulated exchanges? Join the discussion in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Wikipedia The Bitcoin universe is vast. So is Bitcoin.com. Check our Wiki, where you can learn everything you were afraid to ask. Or read our news coverage to stay up to date on the latest. Or delve into statistics on our helpful tools page. The post Exchanges Round-Up: Dcex Uses XRP as Base Currency, Blocktrade Enters Beta appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

It’s no secret that public tokensales are on the decline. The trend, which has been accelerating all year, has seen the bulk of the action transition to private and pre-sale rounds, leaving the public to fight over the scraps. To compound the woes of retail investors, gamification has made entry into the most coveted ICOs a lottery in which the odds of admittance are low, and the odds of profiting lower still. Also read: Football Team in Gibraltar to Pay Its Players in Cryptocurrency Welcome to the Great ICO Gamble In the words of Groucho Marx, “I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept people like me as a member”. Generally speaking, if a public tokensale is easy to get into, it isn’t worth getting into. Investing in ICOs has always been a hazardous pursuit, what with the risks of exit scams, unfair discounts to friends and families, phishing websites, gas wars that enable whales to snag the lion’s share of the tokens, and all the other pitfalls that are part and parcel of navigating the crowdsale landscape. Investors have deemed these gambles worth it, however, in the knowledge that if they did their research and picked the right projects, there was a chance their toil would pay off handsomely. Today, however, the odds of success have been slashed dramatically. With public sales for the most popular ICOs now all but extinct, members of the public hoping to make the whitelist don’t just need to look sharp – they also need to think sharp. Quarkchain A number of projects have begun initiating quizzes as part of the registration process. Designed as a means of weeding out the pure speculators, with the hope of attracting “true believers” in the project, quizzes have been used by the likes of Quarkchain. Having attracted over 70,000 whitelist registrations, Quarkchain decided to launch a quiz based around the workings of the project. Entrants who scored more than 60/100 would then entered into a lottery for one of the limited public sale places. ICOs Are Leveling Up Their Gamification Token Foundry, a global platform that allows anyone to buy vetted tokens, with no discounts to early stage investors, also includes a quiz as part of its registration process. And judging by the results posted, successful quiz completion is by no means a formality. In a recent blog post, Token Foundry noted that of the 2,000+ registrants for FOAM, whose tokensale it is hosting, 25% failed the questionnaire. It explained: “So far, 25% of the people who have tried to register for the FOAM sale have provided answers that indicated they either don’t understand what the FOAM token is, or that they don’t intend to use it (i.e. speculators). Those people are now blocked from being able to participate in the FOAM sale.” This week Carry, whose pre-sale was completed in just 98 seconds, also announced a quiz for whitelisted public sale applicants. Priority will be given to “those who empathize with our mission and impact Carry has in the world.” Origo Network has gone one step further, offering a last chance for pre-sale participants willing to upload an Instagram picture or image containing the slogan “Origo is Privacy”. It’s a lot of hoops to jump through just for the privilege of participating in a crowdsale that, statistically speaking, has only a 1 in 5 chance of generating a profit, based on this year’s ICO results. A handful of investors who complete the entrance exam for their preferred tokensale make it through the lottery for whitelist registration and purchase tokens will come up trumps. The remainder will be destined to keep riding the crowdsale carousel, searching in vain for a project that will let them in and allow them the opportunity cash out for a modest profit. Do you think quizzes are an effective means of deterring ICO speculators? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Gaining Admission to ICOs is Literally a Lottery appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In recent mining news, indie Steam game, Abstractism, has been accused of installing malicious software on its users’ devices to mine XMR; the vice president of the Blockchain and Crypto Technology Association of Kazakhstan has advocated that the country’s administration seeks to foster the local mining industry; and the commissioners of the Franklin Public Utility District (PUD) in Washington have stopped accepting applications from miners. Also Read: July 2018 Volume Rankings Report: BTC Extends Dominance Steam Game Accused of Cryptojacking Players Abstractism, an indie game available on Steam that describes itself as a “trivial platformer,” has been accused of surreptitiously installing a Trojan virus disguised as a steam.exe process, alongside malware title “abstractism launcher.” Players of the game have left negative reviews of the game on Steam’s community forum, including screenshots evidencing the installation of the trojan. Investigations made by Youtuber, SidAlpha, have found the viruses to likely be installing cryptocurrency mining software, pointing to a post by the game’s developer, Okalo Union, encouraging users to keep the game running all day. The Youtuber also purports to have found a now-deleted comment posted by the developer that blatantly admits “we currently use Abstractism to mine only Monero coins.” A comment on Steam’s community forum by Okalo Union denies the accusation of cryptojacking, claiming “Abstractism does not mine any of cryptocurrency. Probably, you are playing on high graphics settings, because they take a bit of CPU and GPU power, required for post-processing effects rendering.” Lobbyist Argues Bitcoin Mining Could be “New Oil” for Kazakhstan Leonid Muravyev, the vice president of the Blockchain and Crypto Technology Association of Kazakhstan, has advocated that the country’s lawmakers encourage cryptocurrency mining – describing such as potentially comprising a “new oil” for Kazakhstan. In response to comments made in March by the chairman of Kazakhstan’s central bank, Daniyar Akishev – which asserted that “In Kazakhstan, the National Bank is very conservative about [cryptocurrency]. […] We want to prohibit the purchase and sale of the national currency for cryptocurrency. We want to prohibit the activity of exchanges on this segment and any kinds of mining” – Mr. Muravyev asks, “What is mining? Mining is data processing. Mining is calculation. Which of these does he want to ban?” Mr. Muravyev argues that Kazakhstan is in a unique position to capitalize on the rise of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. According to Eurasianet, “Kazakhstan produces considerably less electricity than it could. Energy Ministry figures indicate that power output is 20 percent below its potential capacity in winter,” with Mr. Muravyev claiming that the country’s spare electricity equates to “around half of the power consumed by all Bitcoin operations worldwide.” Public Utility District of Franklin, Washington Halts Applications From Crypto Miners The PUD of Franklin, Washington has “stopped accepting applications for electricity use for cryptocurrency mining and related blockchain operations,” according to Tri-City Herald. The moratorium, which was approved by the commissioners of the PUD, is intended to allow time for the development of a proposed rate structure for cryptocurrency miners, in addition to facilitating the PUD’s assessment of the effects of the electricity load demanded by cryptocurrency miners on its infrastructure. Do you think that Kazakhstan should embrace bitcoin mining? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock Get our news feed on your site. Check our widget services. The post Mining Round-Up: Steam Game Allegedly Cryptojacks Users, Mining Could be “New Oil” for Kazakhstan appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Smarting from its bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) denial by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Van Eck is pushing back in a formal letter of protest. A public response published on the SEC’s site methodically addresses each concern the regulator used in its rejection: valuation, liquidity, custody, arbitrage, and manipulation. Also read: Ross Ulbricht Murder-for-Hire Indictment to Be Dismissed Bitcoin EFT Rejected Firm Van Eck Protests Publically to SEC In a letter to Dalia Blass, the SEC’s go-to on investment management and someone well familiar with the Bitcoin ETF quest prior to her tenure at the agency, Van Eck, one of the firms impacted by rejection, issued a public protest. It was written just prior to the latest SEC denial of the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust. Van Eck’s detailed response was recently published on the SEC’s website, and it pains in detail over issues often cited by agency leaders such as Ms. Blass, five in particular. “For the reasons stated above,” Van Eck concluded in the 13-page missive complete with graphs and charts, “we believe that our proposed ETF will operate consistent with the rules and requirements of the 1940 Act. Further, by offering investors exposure to bitcoin through a regulated investment product, we believe the proposed ETF will be consistent with the Commission’s mission to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation.” Ms. Blass was appointed by Chair Jay Clayton, himself new to the job earlier that same year (2017), having been tapped by President Trump. Though with the agency during a previous stint, Ms. Blass re-emerged from the private sector. In fact, she was counsel to the Winklevoss’ first failed ETF attempt at the hands of the SEC. Notice of her appointment in December caused at least one media outlet to dub her an “ETF specialist.” She would go on to have quite an impact on the current discussion, especially her Staff Letter: Engaging on Fund Innovation and Cryptocurrency-related Holdings of 18 January 2018, as it is the document Van Eck is addressing. Ms. Dalia Blass Valuation, Liquidity, Custody, Arbitrage, Manipulation Van Eck takes on essentially five main issues in its response to the SEC. Regarding valuation, regulators really fear Bitcoin ETF prices will be screwy if, say, more forks of the digital asset continue. To that end, Van Eck explains, “Some rules that should be employed are using meaningful liquidity and infrastructure tests to assess forks and pricing issues. If prices are just displayed on a website but do not reflect sufficient volume, then those prices can be de-emphasized for valuation purposes. Forks that do not trade with sufficient volume or have adequate infrastructure (wallet or exchange support) can be excluded from indices that are meant to be investable.” Liquidity is yet another worry for the SEC. Here, Van Eck relies on a steady increase in futures markets. The firm details, “We expect that the futures market will grow proportionally to our proposed ETF and that such growth will fuel additional interest by other investors, thereby adding additional liquidity. Additionally, since the launch of the U.S. bitcoin futures contracts, unregistered futures contracts have traded on Bitmex, a non-U.S. exchange, with a consistent volume of greater than $2 billion per day. Moreover, to the extent other futures-based bitcoin ETFs follow our proposed ETF into the market, we anticipate that such other ETFs would have a similar impact on the futures market, thus increasing liquidity in the market and benefiting fellow market participants.” The issue of custody is a serious one both for regulators and institutional investors, and it seems to be already addressed by the current market. Coinbase is just the latest example, and so Van Eck doesn’t really dwell on the issue too much. Arbitrage, however, is a serious concern as well for regulators. Using stoppages in recent contract history, Van Eck notes, “To date, there have been 7% and 13% halts for the CME contracts and 10% halts for the CBOE contracts. Each halt lasted for 2 minutes; markets then re-opened trading in an orderly fashion. During a halt, ETF market makers will continue to have access to underlying real-time futures reference prices as well as prices in the underlying physical markets. These prices are publicly available. Furthermore, because bitcoin trades globally, the closure of a single bitcoin exchange should not affect the arbitrage process, although the market price may be affected for a number of reasons based on the nature of the closure,” the firm readily concedes. For Van Eck, price manipulation is almost nulled by the definition of an ETF. “While one cannot rule out manipulation in the underlying spot market,” they soberly remind regulators, “we believe that, due to the diversified ownership and volume of trading, the market does not have major, structural vulnerabilities. Therefore, the Commission’s increased enforcement and regulatory actions can reduce the number of bad actors in a basically sound market.” As of this writing the SEC has not responded. What are your thoughts on the likelihood of the SEC approving an ETF? Let us know in the comments section below. Images via Pixabay. Be sure to check out the podcast, Blockchain 2025; latest episode here. The post Bitcoin ETF Rejection Sparks Firm’s Public Protest appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Archaeologists are arguing that a pre-modern stone money used by Micronesian islanders resembles a precursor to bitcoin and distributed ledger technology. Also Read: Largest Cannabis Community Market in Israel to Accept Bitcoin Payments Archaeologists Highlight Similarities Between Micronesian Stone Money and Bitcoin Scott Fitzpatrick, an archaeologist at the University of Oregon in Eugene, has argued that a stone form of money used by inhabitants of the Micronesian island of Yap, at least several hundred years ago, comprises a predecessor to bitcoin and blockchain technology. “Stone money transactions on Yap were the precursor to Bitcoin and blockchain technologies,” Mr. Fitzpatrick stated. During April’s annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in Washington, D.C., Mr. Fitzpatrick elaborated on his theory, stating: “Centuries ago in western Micronesia, Yapese islanders began traveling to the Palauan archipelago to carve their famous stone money from limestone, which they then transported back to use in a variety of social transactions. While commonly referred to as ‘money’, these disks were not currency in the strict sense, though their value is not dissimilar to other traditional and modern objects where worth is arbitrary based on both real and perceived attributes (e.g., size, shape, quality, pedigree, or other factors). These characteristics have corollaries in today’s society for material culture and electronic cryptocurrencies that use blockchain technology—essentially, digital ledgers that track financial transactions in real time across a computer network to ensure that they are seamless and incorruptible.” According to Science News, each limestone disk, or “rai,” was “assigned a value based on size, evenness of shape, stone quality and risks taken on the journey. After being inspected and verified by a local chief, rai were displayed at communal spots, such as ritual dancing grounds. Ownership of a disk could be transferred, for instance, as a wedding gift, to secure political allies or in exchange for food from residents of nearby islands after a severe storm. These deals also occurred in front of the whole community. No matter who acquired a rai, it stayed in its original location.” “Traditional Forms of ‘Money’ or Exchange Valuables are the Precursor to Bitcoin” Among the similarities highlighted between rai and bitcoin, is the public storage of rai, the peer-to-peer maintenance of the infrastructure and circulation of rai, the open auditability of rai, the use of rai as a means of exchange, and the fact that rai were produced through a process of mining. Mr. Fitzpatrick concludes that “transactions involving traditional forms of ‘money’ or exchange valuables are the precursor to Bitcoin and other technologies that demand a unified and continuous chain of information to ensure that the value is known and ownership indisputable. This research suggests that Yapese stone money is just one of many cases in the ancient past of humans, through social networks, attempting to create accurate and unbroken lines of communication so that economic relationships can be established, maintained, and rectified.” Kathryn Sampeck, an anthropological archaeologist at Illinois State University in Normal, has also supported the theory that the stone money of Yap resembles a predecessor to bitcoin technology, describing such as “legitimate.” What is your response to Mr. Fitzpatrick’s theory? Join the discussion in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock Want a comprehensive list of the top 500 cryptocurrencies and see their prices and overall market valuation? Check out Satoshi Pulse for all that hot market action! The post Archaeologists Argue Micronesian Stone Money Comprises Bitcoin Predecessor appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Gibraltar just scored a major unexpected goal in the great tournament to be known as the most Bitcoin-friendly jurisdiction in Europe. A local football team made international sports headlines for deciding to pay its players with cryptocurrency. Also Read: Banks Don’t Really Want to Use ‘Blockchain’ for FX Settlement After All Gibraltar United to Pay Its Players in Cryptocurrency Gibraltar United F.C., a team founded in 1943 and currently playing in the Gibraltar Football League’s Premier Division, has decided to introduce cryptocurrency salary payments for its players. The club reportedly secured a sponsorship partnership with the help of the owner, Pablo Dana, an investor in the Quantocoin ICO. Dana told the UK’s Guardian newspaper that all player contracts will include payment agreements in cryptocurrency by next season. The owner explained that a “preoccupation with transparency” prompted the introduction of cryptocurrency to Gibraltar United, predicting that the technology’s open-access nature could curtail the “corruption scandals that have plagued football.” It has also reportedly given his club an easy way to help foreign players who have difficulty setting up bank accounts in the British Overseas Territory. As for the legal environment in Gibraltar, Dana commented that: “It was the first [place that] regulated betting companies 20 years back, when everyone was seeing them as horrible. They put compliance and anti-money laundering regulations and created a platform – they have the intelligence to do the same with cryptocurrencies.” Cryptocurrency involvement in the sports field is nothing new, but it usually focuses on betting, gaming and project promotion deals. And as the newspaper notes, in January the Turkish amateur league club Harunustaspor signed 22-year old Omer Faruk Kiroglu for 2,000 liras worth of BTC and 2,500 liras in fiat cash. Crypto Hub Besides this latest development, Gibraltar has a few other claims to be a cryptocurrency hub. As we reported at the time, regulatory mechanisms tailored to protect customers of cryptocurrency businesses, and its own reputation, went into effect on January 1, 2018. And just a few days ago, the cryptocurrency exchange platform subsidiary of the Gibraltar Stock Exchange officially opened to the public with six cryptocurrencies: BTC, ETH, RKT, LTC, BCH and ETC. Should everyone interested in Bitcoin try to negotiate receiving part of their salary in cryptocurrency? 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 Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post Football Team in Gibraltar to Pay Its Players in Cryptocurrency appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article