roadrunner

During July, the majority of leading cryptocurrency markets have produced stagnant or declining volume month-over-month. BTC, USDT, and DASH were the sole top ten markets able to buck the trend, with BTC’s trade volume notably increasing by 4.6%. Also Read: Mining Round-Up: Sky Mining CEO Flees with $35 Million, Texas Attracts Miners BTC Extends Lead Relative to Other Top Markets As of this writing, more than $131 billion USD worth of trade has reportedly taken place on the BTC markets in the last 30 days. The trading activity has seen BTC extend its lead as the dominant cryptocurrency, with the combined trading volume of the other top ten most traded cryptocurrencies excluding USDT equating to roughly $121 billion. The 30-day trade volume for the BTC markets has increased by 4.6% over June’s $125.5 billion. However, it is significantly lower than the $185 billion in trade recorded during May. July also saw BTC extend its dominance by market capitalization – which grew from approximately 42.75% at the start of the month, to 47.5% as of this writing. USDT Sees Highest Percentage Increase in Monthly Trade Volume for July Of the top traded cryptocurrencies for July, USDT showed the largest percentage increase in trade volume, gaining 11% over June’s $77 billion to post $85.5 worth of trades during the last 30 days. ETH has held its position as the third most traded cryptocurrency token, producing roughly $53 in trade during July – which comprises a nearly one billion drop from June. EOS has maintained its position as the fourth most traded cryptocurrency, however, also suffered the largest percentage drop in 30-day volume. EOS’ trade volume fell from $32 billion, posting a monthly volume of $20.4 billion – a 36% drop in total trading activity. BCH Volume Grows Slightly Bitcoin Cash trade volume increased slightly this month, gaining from $14.7 billion in June to $14.85 billion. BCH has continued to hold as the fifth most traded cryptocurrency markets. Litecoin has held its position as the sixth most traded cryptocurrency for the second consecutive month, after having gained two positions during June. 30-day trade volume for LTC decreased by 7.8%, falling from $9.3 billion in June to $8.57 billion. The seventh most traded cryptocurrency, XRP, also experienced a notable drop in volume – which fell by nearly 17% from $8.3 billion last month to $6.9 bn in the last 30 days. Dash Breaks Into Top Ten Most Traded Cryptocurrencies For the second consecutive month, 30-day volume for Ethereum Classic increased by $100 million month-over-month. ETC is the eighth most traded cryptocurrency with a monthly volume of $6.7 billion. Tron has held onto the position of ninth most traded cryptocurrency after suffering a significant drop in volume between May and June. TRX posted $5.45 billion in trade for July, comprising a 9% drop from last month’s $6 billion. DASH pushed into the top ten most traded cryptocurrencies during July, posting $5 billion in 30-day trade volume. DASH beat out QTUM – which despite gaining over 25% in volume month-over-month, sits at eleventh for July with $4.4 billion in trade volume. 12th to 20th Most Traded Cryptocurrencies Tightly Contested NEO ranked twelfth for July with nearly $3.4 billion in 30-day trade volume. ADA ranked thirteenth with almost $3.1 billion. CKUSD followed closely with $2.9 billion. XLM ranked 15th with 2.3 billion in 30-day trade volume, followed by fellow Coinbase prospect ZEC with 2.15 billion. BTM ranked seventeenth with $2.1 billion, followed by MITH with roughly $2 billion, TRUE with $1.8 billion, and ONT with $1.66 billion. Do you think BTC will continue to extend its dominance in trade volume relative to other cryptocurrencies in coming months? Share your thoughts 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 July 2018 Volume Rankings Report: BTC Extends Dominance appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Thailand’s largest movie theater chain, Major Cineplex, is reportedly integrating crypto payments to allow customers to pay for its services and products with cryptocurrency, including movie tickets and popcorn. Thailand recently began regulating crypto businesses. This week, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission started accepting license applications from crypto operators. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Largest Cinema Chain in Thailand to Accept Crypto The largest operator of movie theaters in Thailand is building a digital payment ecosystem in the country through a partnership with Swiss payment company Rapidzpay, the Nation Multimedia recently reported. Founded in December 1995, Major Cineplex currently lists 143 theaters throughout Thailand on its website, 43 of which are in the greater Bangkok area. The group owns “678 screens, including 7 in Cambodia and 9 in Laos, and plans to expand to 1,000 screens by 2020,” Forbes reported in May last year. Among the group’s properties is Thailand’s largest multiplex, the Paragon Cineplex, with 16 screens, 5,000 seats, and an Imax theater. It is located in one of Bangkok’s most prestigious shopping malls, the Siam Paragon, known for its luxury goods, floors of restaurants, an aquarium, an art gallery, a large bowling alley, a karaoke center, and a concert hall. It was also at the Paragon Cineplex that Major Group and Rapidzpay signed their partnership agreement. Rapidzpay iOS app. Merchants can use Rapidz point-of-sale system to accept cryptocurrencies as well as fiat currencies, the Nation detailed. “Major and Rapidzpay will integrate cryptocurrency payments into established payment gateways to make payment for Major products and services more seamless, secure and efficient.” While Major Group has not announced which cryptocurrencies will be accepted, the coins supported in both the iOS and Android Rapidzpay apps currently include BTC, BCH, and LTC. Chanya Tamrongweenichai, the director of marketing at Major Cineplex Group, was quoted by the Nation saying the group believes “Rapidzpay will expand to our other businesses and lead the change for Thailand’s financial ecosystem to be cashless,” noting: You’ll be able to buy any services and products from us, such as movie tickets, popcorn and other different products with cryptocurrency. Thailand’s Crypto Regulation in Effect Rapee Sucharitakul. Thailand’s cryptocurrency regulation recently went into effect with the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as the primary regulator of crypto businesses. The SEC announced last month that it will allow seven cryptocurrencies to be traded at exchanges in the country: BTC, ETH, BCH, ETC, LTC, XRP, and XLM. The SEC’s Secretary-General, Rapee Sucharitakul, was quoted explaining this week that “the SEC is (now) open for application approval for operating a digital asset business, as the Finance Ministry’s announcement on digital asset licenses has come into force,” the Nation further detailed: Rapidzpay is targeting a million active users in Thailand within its first year by attracting both existing and new crypto-enthusiasts who are looking for a simple and convenient platform to convert between fiat and cryptocurrency. What do you think of Major Group adding crypto payments? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Thai SEC, Rapidzpay, and Major Group. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Largest Movie Theater Chain in Thailand Going Crypto appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In recent mining news, it has been alleged that the CEO of Vietnam-based Sky Mining has fled the country with $35 million USD in investor funds in his possession. Meanwhile, in the US, Tmgcore has acquired a 100-megawatt data center in Dallas, Texas, and local media have reported that Bitmain will open a mining facility in a former aluminium smelter in Rockdale, Texas. Also Read: Market Caps for Privacy-Centric Currencies Have Dropped Significantly Investors Allege CEO of Vietnamese Mining Company Fled to U.S. With $35 Million Investors and board members of Ho Chi Minh City-based Sky Mining have expressed fears that the company’s chief executive officer, Le Minh Tam, has fled the country and run away with approximately $35 million USD in investors funds. According to local media, Mr. Tam has not been contactable since Monday, with the exception of an apology note posted to investors on Wednesday via Facebook. Investors reportedly visited the company’s main office in Phu Nhuan District to discover “the building closed and the company nameplate removed.” Additionally, “all 600 mining machines in the company’s factory in the neighboring Dong Nai Province’s Bien Hoa Town had been taken away by a group of people claiming to be maintenance workers.” Le Minh Hieu, the deputy chairman of the company, is forming a temporary board to “support investors and calculate the remaining asset of the company,” and has accused the CEO of fleeing to the United States. “[The board] has reported this to the police and showed evidence that we are not guilty,” said Mr. Hieu. Bitmain to Open Mining Facility in Former Aluminum Smelter According to local media, Bitmain will be opening a bitcoin mining facility in a former aluminum plant in Rockdale. Jeff Mosier, an energy and environment reporter for Dallas News, states: “The new Bitcoin mining facility is going to be opening at the former Alcoa Aluminum smelter, and that’s next door to the coal plant that just closed. So now that that’s gone, they have a big industrial facility with lots of electricity infrastructure [capable of] Bitcoin mining, which is essentially a huge server farm.” No indication has been made as to when the facility will launch operations, however Dallas News reports that a listing on job site Indeed.com indicates that Bitmain Technologies is seeking to employ a project manager for the Rockdale location. According to the publication, the facility is expected to create “300 to 500 jobs.” Tmgcore Purchases $60 Million Data Center in Dallas Mining company Tmgcore has acquired a “$60 million USD, 150,000-square-foot data center” in Plano, Dallas, according to local media. The facility is reportedly capable of a 100-megawatt power load, with the Tmgcore chief executive officer, JD Enright, stating: “One of the things you need is a lot of power, and there’s not a lot of places with 100 MW lying around.” Mr. Enright claims that the company has “developed a two-phase liquid cooling Immersion technology to dramatically decrease cooling costs by up to 90 percent, allowing us to mine anywhere — even in Plano in the middle of the summer.” Do you think that Texas will continue to see investment from cryptocurrency mining companies? Share your thoughts 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 Mining Round-Up: Sky Mining CEO Flees with $35 Million, Texas Attracts Miners appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Before it was turned into an investment asset, the invention of Bitcoin promised to usher in a world where anyone can pay for anything they like without a need for getting prior approval from the powers that be. The demand for uncensorable transactions still exists, and the latest example of this comes from Israel where the largest cannabis community market has turned to bitcoin payments. Also Read: The Weekly: Muskbots Blocked, US Candidate Accepts Bitcoin, Herd of Institutional Investors Telegrass to Accept Bitcoin Payments Telegrass, an Israeli community-based cannabis marketplace with over 100,000 members, has announced earlier today on social media that it will start charging merchants for some services, offering discounts for bitcoin payments. The community works to promote the legalization of recreational use of cannabis in Israel and offers a platform to connect buyers and sellers via the Telegram network. Merchants can still list their products for free in one city but will have to pay in order to expand their coverage. The new funds raised with bitcoin are meant to help pay the Telegrass staff, which have been working as volunteers so far, and further public legalization efforts. The marketplace has been the target of continued police attention for working to provide anonymity to buyers and greater security for sellers, offering client verification methods that are meant to weed out undercover cops. A Growing Demand Among Investors While the recreational cannabis market in Israel has been going through a slow decriminalization process, the legal cannabis market has been growing fast in recent years. “Canna Tech” startups have sprung up, agricultural companies have established sophisticated farms to supply pharmacies around the world with medical marijuana, and Israeli investors have been clamoring to get in on the action. Stocks related to the field have experienced stellar performance, and analysts often compare them to investing in bitcoin-related ventures as the two hottest trends. We recently reported about Fantasy Network, a company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE: FNTS), that has ended all the plans it previously had to enter the “blockchain” space and turned to the legal cannabis business. Is this development good for the ecosystem? 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 Largest Cannabis Community Market in Israel to Accept Bitcoin Payments appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

During a recent interview with CNBC Crypto Trader’s Ran Neu-Ner, Michael Arrington of Arrington XRP Capital revealed that his fund owns more BTC than XRP, and discussed the company’s decision to denominate in XRP. Also Read: Huobi Informs Users on Decision to Launch P2P Trading in India Arrington XRP Capital’s Exposure to XRP is “3 – 4%” In an interview with CNBC Crypto Trader during their coverage of Korea Blockchain Week, Mr. Arrington discussed some of the cryptocurrencies that his fund is invested in. Despite denominating the fund in XRP, Mr. Arrington indicated that the percentage of the fund currently invested in XRP is “3 – 4 percent,” adding “we hold a few million dollars worth of XRP.” When asked of the company’s ‘cash position’, Mr. Arrington stated: “We hold a lot of [BTC] – we hold more [BTC] than anything else, we hold a lot of Ether, we hold a lot of U.S. dollars, occasionally we hold Tether overnight,” adding “I don’t know which one are the ‘cash positions’ – they’re all either currencies or have different utilities, so I don’t know how to answer that question.” Arrington Discusses Denomination in XRP When asked of the motivations behind launching a fund denominated in XRP, Mr. Arrington stated: “XRP […] is a really, really good way to move money. So we denominate our fund in XRP because it’s a fantastic way to move money cross-border, very quickly, at almost zero cost.” Addressing the stigma associated with Ripple by many in the cryptocurrency community, Mr. Arrington stated: “There is a lot of tribalism in cryptocurrency, and a lot of bitcoin maximalists, etc., and the one thing they all agree on, is they all hate XRP because its centralized, they think its corporate managed, etc.,” adding, “none of that is really true.” Mr. Arrington concluded: “while the other more decentralized cryptocurrencies […] find their way toward becoming more efficient, in the meantime, XRP is fantastic – and so from a hedge fund point of view, it’s great to denominate ourselves in XRP.” Arrington Predicts $25,000 BTC by 2019 Regarding whether denominating the fund in XRP makes the its vulnerable to fluctuations in the price of Ripple’s token, Mr. Arrington stated: “The key thing is the underlying asset, […] only a small percentage of our fund holds XRP, we’re vastly diversified. Those underlying assets, whatever their value is, that’s what really matters at the end of the day.” When asked of his outlook for the bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets, Mr. Arrington stated: “My entire life has been cryptocurrency – we’re all bullish on it,” adding “I’m always an optimist, […] I think that we’re going to hit $25,000 USD this year easy.” Are you surprised that Arrington XRP Capital holds more BTC than XRP? Share your response in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Wikipedia 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 Arrington XRP Capital Owns More BTC Than Ripple appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Cryptocurrency exchange Cryptomkt has partnered with Chilean payment platform Flow to allow customers to pay with three cryptocurrencies at over 5,000 stores. The announcement follows two Chilean courts ruling that banks must reopen the accounts of crypto exchanges they previously closed. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space 5,000+ Stores Accept Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrency exchange Cryptomkt announced this week that over 5,000 stores now accept three cryptocurrencies. Chilean payment platform Flow has integrated the exchange’s payment solution, Cryptocompra, into its system. Customers shopping at merchants using Flow can now choose to pay with cryptocurrencies during the checkout process. Flow claims to currently provide service to over 5,000 stores with over 180,000 monthly transactions and over 20,000 customers. Available now for businesses in Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Europe, Cryptocompra “allows merchants to accept payments in bitcoin, ethereum and stellar cryptocurrencies quickly and easily,” Cryptomkt detailed, emphasizing: Chileans today can access various products and services in more than 5,000 stores affiliated to Flow.cl using bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies through Cryptocompra.com … Client pays in cryptocurrencies, trade receives pesos, reales or euros. On its website, Flow lists a fee of 0.90% for next-business-day payment with cryptocurrencies. By comparison, paying with credit cards using Webpay Plus or Onepay costs 4.99% to receive payment the next business day. “You do not need to have contracts with the means of payment, Flow does it for you,” the company wrote. “Each time someone pays you, we will notify you of the payment made: We will indicate the detail of the payment made and the date on which we will transfer your money.” Battle Between Banks and Crypto Exchanges Crypto exchanges in Chile have been battling with banks over the closure of their bank accounts. In April, Chile’s Court for the Defense of Free Competition (TDLC – Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia) ordered three banks to reopen the accounts of crypto exchanges, including Cryptomkt. In May, Banco Estado complied and reopened the account of the exchange. Earlier this month, the Fourth Chamber of the Court of Appeals of Santiago ruled in favor of cryptocurrency exchange Orionx against Banco Estado for closing its account. What do you think of Flow integrating crypto payment option? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Cryptomkt, and Flow.cl. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Flow and Cryptomkt Enable Crypto Payments at 5000+ Stores appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Binance Labs, the investment wing of the leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has announced that it has invested in Libra Credit – “a decentralized digital asset financial services platform.” The partnership will allow holders of Binance’s native token, Binance Coin (BNB), to use their BNB as collateral for loans in crypto or fiat currency. Also Read: Pantera Capital Reports Lifetime Return of More Than 10,000% BNB Holders Able to Stake Holdings to Borrow Fiat or Crypto Binance Labs the investment arm of Binance, has revealed a partnership with the decentralized global lending network, Libra Credit. Libra Credit is a lending network based on the Ethereum blockchain, with the company planning to launch its platform in the third quarter of 2018, before also launching a mobile phone application in Q4. According to a press release issued by Libra credit, the partnership “aims to address the growing global demand for liquidity of crypto assets based on the Ethereum blockchain.” The partnership will see Libra Credit “lend fiat and crypto denominated assets to users who pledge BNB as collateral.” Ella Zhang, the chief executive officer of Binance Labs, stated: “The Libra Credit founding team has a wealth of experience and resources in financial services and payment solutions. They are committed to mak[ing] long-lasting impacts in the industry.” BNB Rallies 8.5% on News of Libra Partnership News of the partnership between Binance Labs and Libra Credit appear to drive moderate gains in the BNB markets. In the two days following the announcement of the partnership on the 27th of July, BNB gained roughly 8.5% over BTC – rallying from approximately 0.001675 BTC to a high of roughly 0.00182 BTC the following day. When looking at the USDT charts, BNB rallied nearly 11% from roughly 13.3 USDT to a high of 14.75 USDT on the 28th of July. Binance – BNB/BTC – 1D The rally was short-lived, however, with BNB giving back nearly the entirety of the preceding days’ gains on the 29th of July when measuring against BTC. As of this writing, BNB is trading for 0.00168 BTC, after falling roughly 6.5% from the opening price of 0.001787 BTC. When measuring against USDT, BNB appears to be testing support at 13.8 USDT after falling by 6% since the market’s opening price of roughly 14.6 USDT. Binance – BNB/USDT – 1D What is your reaction to the partnership between Binance Labs and Libra Credit? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Medium, Trading View 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 Binance Labs Announces Partnership With Libra Credit appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Over the past few years, a few privacy-centric cryptocurrencies have gained both in popularity and value. Many of these coins like monero, dash, pivx, zcash, and more were at one time top ten digital asset contenders as far as market valuation is concerned. Now even though a few of these specific digital assets have dropped out of the top ten capitalizations, some of them are not too far behind the highest valued coins, but a great majority of them have significantly lower market caps. Also Read: Markets Update: Crypto-Prices See Some Recovery After the Dip It’s been close to a decade since the birth of the original Bitcoin protocol and there have been over 1600 cryptocurrencies with all types of features launched since then. One specific digital asset feature that’s always been popular among cryptocurrency fans is anonymity. Most people know bitcoin transactions are not anonymous unless a mixing application is used, and even that type of tool is not 100 percent as the method obfuscates transactions at best. Because of this issue, a myriad of privacy-centric cryptocurrencies have been introduced over the years and many of them held top ten positions among the most valued digital assets but all of them have been bumped off the list. Quite a few of the most popular privacy-focused coins have lost considerable value since last December and a few of these tokens are also approaching some new changes and protocol upgrades. Where Are They Now? Monero (XMR) Monero (XMR) is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency that claims to offer untraceable payments, unlinkable transactions, blockchain analysis resistance, and adaptive parameters. The cryptocurrency is different than most digital assets because it’s not based on the original Bitcoin protocol and its consensus is based on the Cryptonight protocol. Since Monero was launched in 2014, the currency has done well as far as market value is concerned. For instance, the first week of trading saw XMR prices reach .99 cents to $2 per coin and over the past couple years XMR has gained around 6,900 percent since launch. Monero markets all-time. However, this December monero touched a high of $390 per XMR and so far in 2018, with current spot prices on July 28, the coin has lost -64.10 percent of value. More recently, the XMR community found out that XMR was mineable by ASIC hardware and decided to hard fork the protocol which resulted in four different monero forks. Monero is in the midst of planning to add compatibility with a privacy method called Bulletproofs and the XMR development team has announced the first Bulletproofs audit (by Kudelski Security) was successful. Monero is currently priced at $140 per XMR and the cryptocurrency holds the 12th largest market cap position. Dash (DASH) Another coin that offers privacy sending features and enjoyed a long stay in the top ten is the cryptocurrency dash (formally known as darkcoin). Back in 2014, the cryptocurrency was trading for $1.25 -1.50 per DASH and at today’s current prices the digital asset is up 16,100 percent in value which is a pretty extraordinary feat. Although, people who didn’t get in real early on dash and bought the 2017 high have seen a loss of -83.8 percent during dash’s ATH of $1,500 per coin on December 21. Dash markets all-time. People like dash for a few reasons which include its private send feature which uses the protocol’s masternode program to mix coins and obfuscate transactions. The masternode protocol is a favorite among dash proponents as it allows nodes to earn revenue and it’s also used with the dash governance voting system. Recently, on the dash-focused Three Amigos Podcast, it was revealed that the financial institution Fidelity owns a 15 percent stake in Neptune Dash which is a firm that offers chunks of masternode ownership. People also dislike dash for a few reasons, like how it’s always been haunted by the instamine rumors back when the currency launched. Some people accuse dash of being a planned instamine, but the developers have addressed the topic many times denying the allegations. Many dash supporters believe its features and the community’s marketing have bolstered the coin. Dash is now four spots behind the top ten cryptocurrency capitalizations sitting in the 14th position. Zcash (ZEC) Another privacy-centric coin that has seen a lot of market action since it was launched is zcash (ZEC). In fact, ZEC markets have been pretty wild since it was introduced because if you invested in the currency during the first week of launch you might be seeing a big loss. During the first day of trading ZEC prices were around $2,044 per coin, $574 the next day, then a day later it was $1,624 a ZEC. In a few rare instances, some exchanges hit $12K per ZEC the first day. In order to make transactions private Zcash users send ‘shielded’ transactions which are protected by zero-knowledge cryptography. The zero-knowledge methods the ZEC protocol utilizes are called zk-SNARKs and zcash users can also send open and public transactions as well. However many skeptics believe the minting ceremony process of zero-knowledge proof coins (trusted setup) is not 100 percent foolproof. Zcash markets all-time. The ZEC protocol has some changes taking place on October 28, 2018, as the cryptocurrency will be upgrading to what’s called ‘Sapling.’ According to the developers, the upgrade will add increased efficiency to shielded addresses and transactions. As mentioned above, ZEC markets have fluctuated intensely since it was launched last October, and during the second week of December, it was roughly $500-675 per coin. Today, on July 28, ZEC is worth $220 per ZEC and investors who bought in December 2017 have lost -56 to -67.40 percent. Moreover, if you purchased during the first week you could have lost -89 to -80 percent. PIVX (PIVX) The cryptocurrency PIVX (Private Instant Verified Transaction) is a privacy-centric Proof-of-Stake (PoS) coin that derives its codebase from the bitcoin protocol 0.10 and dash. The PIVX system also uses a masternode mechanism and the developers claim to have recently introduced Zerocoin (zero-knowledge proofs) technology. If an individual bought PIVX during the first week of launch, the person would have gained 230,900 percent. However, if the person purchased PIVX on January 10, 2018, they would have lost -83.38 percent today. PIVX is not very close to the top ten positions at all, as the currency holds the 80th position amongst the top valued coins within the crypto-economy. Furthermore, the PIVX community has a long history of feuding with the dash community which is likely due to the project’s similarities. PIVX markets all-time. A Bunch of Different Cryptocurrencies Aim to Provide Anonymity — But As Far As Market Performance is Concerned, Many of these Coins Have Significantly Lower Valuations Than the Top Ten Cryptos These four coins have all been top contenders within the cryptocurrency space and there are many other cryptocurrencies that have aimed to offer anonymity. Other cryptocurrencies that have done well within trading markets at one time and offer privacy-centric solutions include Zencash, Bitcoin Private, Komodo, Spectrecoin, Bitcoin Dark, Verge, Navcoin, Boolberry, Zcoin, Deeponion, and more. All of the methods these coins use consist of three similar ideas like zero-knowledge proofs, ring signatures, and masternode mixing services. Now, most of these cryptocurrencies have some value but a great majority, minus the few mentioned above, are not very close to the top ten crypto-market valuations. The highest valued privacy coins that are somewhat close to the top ten positions include monero, dash, zcash, and verge. That’s only four digital assets, and the rest anon-coin’s market valuations are below the 40th position and don’t seem to be making it to the top-ten lineup anytime soon. What do you think about privacy coins and how they have performed over the past year? Do you expect any of these cryptocurrencies to make it into the top ten highest valued digital assets? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. Images via Shutterstock, Pixabay, and the various logos for each coin. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Market Caps for Privacy-Centric Currencies Have Dropped Significantly appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Following several announcements of plans for global expansion, this week crypto exchange Huobi has reportedly informed Indian users of its intentions to present them with a P2P platform that allows trading in Indian rupee. The email notice published by local media promises zero transaction fees for exchanging BTC, ETH, and USDT. Also read: 3 Million Brits Invested in Crypto via Exchanges, Few Sought Advice Reports: Huobi to Launch P2P Platform for Indians Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi has announced in an email to Indian users its decision to offer peer-to-peer trading services in their country, local crypto media reported. The notice states that they will be entitled to zero transaction fees for trades in bitcoin core (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and tether (USDT). Users will be able to buy and sell these cryptocurrencies with support for transactions in Indian rupees (INR), according to a copy of the correspondence published by Crypto News, India. The exchange says that “[…] we do think it’s time that we provide a solution of buying/selling digital assets with INR for all Indian users: Huobi OTC – a proprietary peer-to-peer (P2P) platform that allow users and merchants to trade digital assets with your local currencies.” The crypto company also notes that “every registered Indian user of Huobi can log in to https://otc.huobi.com to trade digital assets with INR.” Customers are also advised to transfer to Huobi Global if they want to trade more cryptocurrencies with high liquidity. The announcement was made after Huobi recently sent a questionnaire to its Indian users. In another email, the exchange also invited them to become “Global Merchants”. The message read, “After becoming a global merchant of Huobi OTC, you will be entitled to: post-fiat-to-token advertisements to gain more earnings during “Buy & Sell” processes; enjoy zero transaction fee and obtain 24/7 customer support.” The launch of the Indian P2P platform has yet to be officially announced by Huobi with a release expected on its social media channels. However, the authenticity of the emailed message has been confirmed already by a spokesperson reached by Crypto News: “For OTC supports INR currency. Yes. It’s legit,” the representative is quoted as saying. Peer-To-Peer Trading Expands After Ban, Before Regulation Huobi’s announcement comes in difficult times for the Indian crypto community. In recent months, Indian companies and individuals working with cryptocurrencies had to deal with a bank crackdown that followed a ban imposed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank. The measure came into force on July 5, after the Supreme Court upheld it in a hearing on July 3, when it did not grant a stay before the compliance deadline, and then in another one on the 20th, when it did not overturn the ban. The final hearing on the matter was scheduled for September 11. In April, the RBI ordered regulated financial institutions to quit providing services to entities and citizens dealing in cryptocurrency. The restrictions have since forced Indian crypto exchanges to suspend fiat transactions and offer crypto-to-crypto trading options. Comprehensive regulatory guidelines are expected in September, as news.Bitcoin.com reported earlier this week. A draft has been prepared already and consultations are underway to finalize the framework. Until the important decisions are made this fall, P2P platforms are offering a viable option for Indian traders who want to exchange cryptos with rupees. Cryptocurrency exchanges, Koinex and Wazirx, are already offering peer-to-peer trading services. If Huobi fulfills its promise to Indian users, the launch of its P2P platform will become the latest in a series of moves aimed at expanding its global reach. Huobi’s plans include Europe, Asia, America, and Australia. In June, the Singapore-based exchange confirmed its intentions to open an office in London. In early July, the third largest crypto trading platform launched a platform in Australia with 10 pairs against the AUD. Huobi is also eyeing opportunities in Toronto, San Francisco, and São Paulo. Do you trade cryptocurrencies on P2P exchanges? Share your thoughts on the subject 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 Huobi Informs Users on Decision to Launch P2P Trading in India appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In this week’s daily editions of Bitcoin in Brief, we reported about Twitter blocking ETH scambots mimicking Elon Musk, a US presidential candidate who accepts crypto donations, the expected arrival of a ‘herd of institutional investors’ and much more. The most commented-on article during the week covered the latest development of the ongoing legal battle in the Ross Ulbricht case. Also Read: The Iranian Government Is Preparing to Launch Its Own Cryptocurrency TCAP Explores Market On Monday, we reported on another indication that mega banks are looking to enter the crypto dealing market. TP Icap plc (LSE:TCAP), one of the largest connectors between banks’ traders in the financial, energy and commodities markets, has set up a ‘working group’ to explore how it should approach cryptocurrencies. The crypto working group includes some of TP Icap’s most senior executives. Additional stories included: Hashflare stoping its SHA-256 cloud mining contracts, encrypted email service Tutanota integrating cryptocurrency support and Huobi launching a new service for companies that wish to offer a white label exchange of their own. A ‘Herd of Institutional Investors’ The main story on Tuesday was that Michael Novogratz expects more financial institutions to be coming into the crypto space soon. A “herd of institutional investors” is headed towards cryptocurrencies, the prominent hedge fund manager said in a speech at Blockchain Week Korea. Other headlines included an upcoming crypto-custody service meant to answer increasing demand from high-net-worth and institutional clients in Hong Kong, and a study which reveals that about 30% of Brazilians are interested to invest funds in cryptocurrencies in the near future. Crypto Crime Blotter In Bitcoin in Brief on Wednesday, we covered a number of stories related to crime from around the cryptosphere. These included an exchange operator that plead guilty to securities fraud for trying to hide that hackers stole approximately 6,000 bitcoins from his venue, a scammer that was fined over $1.9 million for bitcoin and binary options fraud, London City police academy adding a cryptocurrency course for teaching cops on anti-money laundering related purposes, and a new type of bitcoin-demanding ransomware attack against porn viewers in Israel. Skrill Launches Crypto Trading On Thursday, we reported that Skrill, the online payments service formerly known as Moneybookers, has enabled its wallet users to instantly buy and sell cryptocurrencies, including BTC, BCH, ETH and LTC, using more than 40 supported fiat options. The new service is available in over 30 countries and the company plans to roll it out to additional markets and extend the service to its mobile app and Paysafe’s Neteller digital wallet in the next few months. In other news: The White Company, a concierge and luxury marketplace, surpassed $100 million in cryptocurrency sales and transactions; Bitmex, an exchange offering cryptocurrency trading with very high leverage, reported more than 1 million BTC traded on the platform in the 24-hours period closing July 24; and AMD suffered a decline in GPU mining related sales in Q2, 2018. Musk Bots Blocked The big news on Friday was that Twitter is now finally automatically locking any unverified account that changes its display name to Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and Spacex. This only came after Musk recently pointed out the impressive skills of the scammers who are designing bots to mimic high profile people like himself and flood the social network with fake ETH giveaways. In other news, an “anonymized” currency that can fluctuate wildly does not deserve to be considered as a medium of exchange, according to Mastercard President and CEO, Ajay Banga, who called cryptocurrency “junk.” US Crypto Candidate On Saturday, we reported that Democrat Andrew Yang’s campaign has begun accepting crypto donation for the 2020 US presidential election. The announcement released by his team to “our crypto donors” reads: “We currently accept Bitcoin and anything on the ERC20 standard.” It also comes with instructions on how to donate cryptocurrency and notes that the maximum for individual donations is set at the fiat equivalent of $2,500. We also reported that Kickico experienced a security breach, with 70,000,000 KICK stolen – equal to $7.7 million. According to an announcement from the company, Kickico restored full control over the its smart contract and will return all stolen Kickcoins to their holders. No Murder-for-Hire Indictment in Silk Road Case The most commented-on article during the week covered the latest development of the ongoing legal battle in the Ross Ulbricht case. The Maryland district US Attorney filed a motion to dismiss a 2013 three-count indictment against the online marketplace Silk Road operator which included murder-for-hire allegations. Join the discussion. This Week in Bitcoin Podcast Catch the rest of this week’s news in the This Week in Bitcoin podcast with host Matt Aaron. What other stories in the Bitcoin world caught your attention this week? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. The post The Weekly: Musk Bots Blocked, US Crypto Candidate, a Herd of Institutional Investors appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A South Korean firm claimed to have found the wreck of a Russian warship sunk in 1905 with $130 billion worth of gold on board. The cruiser and its treasure are linked to a crypto exchange and token which the firm reportedly promised to distribute to anyone signing up with the exchange. As the country’s financial watchdog investigates the company’s claims, the firm has changed its story. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Russian Warship Found with Reports of Gold on Board A Russian warship that sank 113 years ago, the Dmitrii Donskoi, was reportedly found off the coast of a South Korean island last week. A Korean firm, Shinil Group, claims to be the one who found the wreck. Reuters described: Shinil Marine said last week it had discovered the wreck of the Dmitrii Donskoi, a Russian armored cruiser sunk in 1905 after fighting Japanese warships off South Korea’s Ulleung Island, and that a staggering 150 trillion won ($130 billion) of gold was on board. The Dmitrii Donskoi. As soon as the news of the gold coins being found broke, South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) began investigating “whether the company’s claims were part of any share price manipulation or other unlawful trade,” the publication elaborated. In addition, FSS Governor Yoon Suk-heun said that the agency is investigating related “cryptocurrency issues.” However, Shinil Group has now backtracked on its claims. The news outlet reported CEO Choe Yong-seok admitting during a news conference in Seoul on Thursday that the company “has not verified the existence of any gold.” He was quoted saying, “The [unverified] reports said the Donskoi held 200 tonnes of gold but that would only be 10 trillion won [~$9 billion] at current value … We apologize to the public for the irresponsible citation.” Korean Government Investigates Crypto Issues With the group’s original discovery announcement of the Dmitrii Donskoi, local media reported a crypto exchange and token associated with the ship. According to Dtoday, Shinil Group said it will use the gold coins found on board, once salvaged, to back a new cryptocurrency they will launch called Shinil Gold Coin. The exchange’s website contains the name and picture of the Dmitrii Donskoi. Reuters detailed: A website under Shinil Group’s name links the find to a ‘Donskoi International’ cryptocurrency exchange that says it will hand out its virtual currency to anyone who signed up with the exchange. According to the exchange’s roadmap, the coin and its wallet have already been developed. The token is expected to be listed on 10 exchanges, “including Shinil Group’s Donskoi international exchange and domestic/overseas global exchanges from September to October 2018,” its website claims. However, Reuters reported Thursday that “Shinil Marine denied any connection with the cryptocurrency it said was run by a different company with the same name, and said it had changed its name. A phone number on the cryptocurrency exchange’s website led to the company until last week.” What do you think of the discovery of this Russian ship and its link to a crypto exchange? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Dtoday, and Shinil Group. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Russian Shipwreck and ‘Treasure’ Linked to Crypto Exchange appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Securities Commissioner of South Carolina dismissed its previous order of nearly half a year ago against Genesis Mining. It’s rare, and some say this is a first for the state, as the Commissioner hasn’t previously withdrawn such an order. The company plans to resume services in the United States as a result. The case also might mark a turning point in such for firms beginning to fight back against regulators. Also read: Ross Ulbricht Murder-for-Hire Indictment to Be Dismissed South Carolina Securities Regulator Dismisses Previous Cease and Desist Order Against Genesis Mining “We are happy to announce that the South Carolina securities division has dismissed Genesis Mining from its March 9, 2018, cease and desist,” wrote Shah Hafizi, chief compliance officer for Genesis Mining in reference to a cease and desist order being lifted by the state of South Carolina. “One of our company‘s principles is transparency. After all, it is a core value of blockchain technologies. Over the past five months, we’ve worked closely with South Carolina officials to educate them and provide a practitioner’s perspective on mining, blockchain networks and the decentralized nature of the technologies we support.” Actually, two crypto related firms were gifted an order of dismissal this week from the Securities Commissioner of South Carolina. Both Genesis Mining and Ship Chain were issued cease and desist order withdrawal notices. Ship Chain was accused of peddling securities disguised as tokens. Ship Chain pushed back, arguing such was not the case and how they were totally unaware residents of the state could even purchase their token, SHIP. In what appears to be a final decision in the case, Commissioner Meyers wrote the agency “after receiving information regarding matters detailed in the Administrative Order to Cease and Desist issued […] upon due consideration of such information, finds good cause has been shown to vacate the [order],” leaving Ship Chain off the hook. Genesis Mining, on the other hand, was named a respondent in an unrelated case, also thought to be selling unregistered securities but with cloud mining contracts. It too had its order dismissed; however, co-respondent Swiss Gold, thought to be the mining company’s broker at the time, is still under order. Genesis Conciliatory, Vows to Work with Regulators Mr. Hafizi, Genesis COO, “By working together with regulators, we can ensure that investors are protected, and innovation is not stifled. We believe for the industry to reach its true potential, companies and regulators need to collaborate. We strongly encourage blockchain companies, regardless of where they are in the world, to proactively engage with local regulators at all levels.” Registration, when it comes to business activity in any state, is a particularly touchy subject. Combine that fact with relatively exotic industry as cloud mining companies, and jumping to conclusions is an obvious result by regulators. South Carolinians purchased hard drive power over blocks of time. To regulators, this appeared to be a form of investment contract, a security. As a result, the state Commission barred both Genesis and Swiss Gold from doing business in its boundaries. Swiss Gold remains under that restraint as of press time. The Icelandic company, Genesis Mining, has been in the ecosystem for five years, and is one of the biggest cloud mining companies in the space. Can companies recover after being cleared from an indictment? Let us know in the comments section below. Images via Pixabay, State of South Carolina. Be sure to check out the podcast, Blockchain 2025; latest episode here. The post Rare: Bitcoin Mining Company Cleared of Wrongdoing by Regulator appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Japan’s largest crypto exchange, Bitflyer, may freeze accounts caught manipulating prices. Meanwhile, GMO Internet has released quarterly earnings for its crypto exchange subsidiary, currently looking to borrow some BTC from customers. In addition, Coincheck plans to reopen next month after it was hacked earlier this year. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Bitflyer Cracks Down on Market Manipulation Bitflyer, Japan’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, still does not accept new account signups. The exchange made this decision voluntarily after receiving a business improvement order from the country’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA). Bitflyer announced Thursday: In accordance with our Terms of Use, we may freeze accounts observed to have intentionally performed market manipulation or other forms of maliciously setting market prices. We will continue to do our best to build a sound trading environment. The business improvement order Bitflyer received contains 10 “measures to ensure appropriate and reliable business operation,” the FSA detailed. Five other exchanges received an improvement order at the same time. However, unlike Bitflyer’s, theirs contain fewer than ten items and do not include a “drastic review of the management system.” Bitflyer has been delaying deposits and withdrawals as it tries to comply with the FSA’s order. Then, on July 23, the exchange submitted its improvement plan to the agency. GMO Coin Wants to Borrow BTC Now Japanese internet giant GMO Group released its quarterly earnings on Thursday. The company recorded operating income for its crypto business in the second quarter after making a loss in the first due to sharp drops in crypto prices, GMO explained, adding: In the virtual currency business, the number of account openings grew steadily due to aggressive promotion activities … Operating revenue in this segment was 1,612 million yen [~US$14.5 million], operating loss was 258 million yen [~$2.3 million]. Meanwhile, GMO Coin, the crypto exchange unit of GMO Internet, is currently accepting applications from customers wanting to loan the company their BTC. Customers can apply between July 24 and August 6. The minimum GMO will borrow is 10 BTC and the maximum is 200 BTC. The exchange first announced the launch of this program in May. Coincheck to Reopen in August Since its hack in January, Coincheck has suspended new account registrations. Monex Group’s president, Oki Matsumoto, said Friday that he expects to relaunch Coincheck in August, local media reported. The group acquired Coincheck in April after it was hacked in January. According to Monex Group’s financial results from April to June, Coincheck made a pre-tax loss of 259 million yen (~$2.33 million). Matsumoto elaborated: I would like to restart full Coincheck service in August … The management system of Coincheck has greatly improved with the entrance of Monex Group. Meanwhile, Monex is also trying to enter the crypto market through its US subsidiary, Tradestation Group. What do you think of Bitflyer’s crackdown, GMO Coin’s performance and BTC loan program, and Coincheck’s relaunch? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Bitflyer, Coincheck, and GMO Coin. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Bitflyer Cracks Down on Market Manipulation – Coincheck Eyes August Relaunch appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Free Keene Project, a growing community of libertarians and cryptocurrency proponents, has announced the region now has a dentist, Indian restaurant, hair salon, and vape shop that accept cryptocurrencies. Also Read: Markets Update: Crypto-Prices See Some Recovery After the Dip The Free Keene Project Manages to Persuade a Slew of Mom-n-Pop Shops to Accept Cryptocurrencies New Hampshire is widely known as the ‘free state’ for its lack of taxation, and the growing number of libertarians moving there to make the region live up to its motto ‘live free or die.’ Furthermore, areas like Keene are well known for being very cryptocurrency friendly with a multitude of merchants, bitcoin radio ads, and BTMs. More recently the Free Keene Project’s blog revealed the group has been pushing digital asset adoption like crazy, and this week the website announced they have managed to get a slew of mom-n-pop businesses to accept BTC and Dash. “Longtime readers here know that Keene and Portsmouth New Hampshire are two hotspots in the world of cryptocurrency,” explains the Free Keene Project. “Though real-life crypto usage is not all about delicious handmade pizza, BBQ, Indian food, burgers, or alcoholic beverages that you can buy with crypto in downtown Keene, it’s also about products and services.” The Free Keen Project says, “Keene defeats major cities in per-capita businesses accepting crypto.” Vape Shop & Dental Work The libertarian group explains the region’s new vape shop, Lineage Vapors, is accepting BTC and Dash for any of the store’s products. Additionally, the Curry Indian Restaurant which serves Pakistani and Indian cuisine seven-days-a-week will be accepting the two cryptocurrencies as well. The blog post also notes that the digital currencies will also help the Indian restaurant’s owners send remittances to their family members without using a third-party institution. Dr. Drower accepts BTC and Dash for dental services. The free state crew of libertarians further detail that people can use digital currencies for dental services and the resident office of Dr. Drower Dentistry will be accepting cryptocurrency-paying patients. “For digital coin to become useful in everyday life people need to be able to use it as currency, for something besides speculative investing.” Automotive Work, Pizza, and a New Hairstyle The free state continues to help push the ideas of liberty across the land and many of the residents believe cryptocurrencies will be one of the tools that can help circumvent the state. The Free Keene Project also details that many of the businesses work with a Portsmouth-founded merchant point-of-sale crypto processor called Anypay.global. The area also has a bunch of other merchants like Little Zoe’s Pizza that accepts digital assets for pies and people in need of car repair can use cryptos at Wilder Automotive. Additionally, the Free Keene Project says that Main Street’s Moda Suo, a hair salon that accepted BTC in the past using merchant services through Coinbase, is now dropping them and switching to Anypay’s point-of-sale system. Moda Suo’s owner Nicholas Sansone will now accept BTC and Dash payments for services. What do you think about the Free Keene Project getting so many merchants to accept cryptocurrencies? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comment section below. Images via Pixabay, and the Free Keene Project blog. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post Libertarian Hotspot the Free Keene Project Bolsters More Crypto-Adoption appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Cryptocurrency is to money what the internet is to information. It is a powerful and potent technology, with the power to transform the world. It is an evolutionary tool in the sense that it is already propelling humanity forward. Crypto will help human beings abolish banks, governments, and other organizations with single points of failure. Nonetheless, visionaries, entrepreneurs, and iconoclasts cannot let the utility of this tool cause them to let their guard down. They cannot let themselves be swept away in the hype, because cryptocurrencies are not invulnerable. In a way, Bitcoin, the initial cryptocurrency, was damaged in a hacking maneuver against it, demonstrating that these tools are not impervious to attack. Also Read: Poor Communication Undermines the Bitcoin Ecosystem The Infiltration and Subversion of Bitcoin It is true the technology that allows bitcoin to function—the blockchain—is antifragile and resilient, but it still has an Achilles tendon. There is at least one attack vector that can harm bitcoin. Matter of fact, when someone creates an allegedly unassailable technology, it practically invites people to launch attacks against it. However, the weakness attackers exploited was not based in code or mathematics. Instead, the attackers targeted a more vulnerable aspect of the technology: the community. The Bitcoin whitepaper The attackers infiltrated the community and compromised bitcoin to alter the cryptocurrency’s original purpose. They changed bitcoin from a threatening, extremely efficient, peer-to-peer cash system, into a less frightening, slower and more cumbersome cryptocurrency. It is now called “Bitcoin Core” or “Segwit Coin,” rather than Satoshi Nakamoto’s amazing invention, “Bitcoin.” The attack happened almost imperceptibly, somewhat slowly, dragged out over the course of time. The attack was so successful that many people do not feel bitcoin was attacked at all. This is because the psychology of the community has warped in the process. The Scaling Debate It all started with a debate on how to scale bitcoin. A fiery discussion on how to bring bitcoin to the masses erupted between 2014 and 2015. The scaling debate took place primarily on Reddit and bitcointalk.org, because these sites are where the community has regularly convened to discuss matters within the ecosystem. Shortly after the debates started, individuals appeared to rally to the side of the Core development team, as well as the Blockstream company, who promoted the notion that bitcoin cannot scale by increasing the block size. The Core spokespeople said bitcoin can never reach the throughput transaction level that the Visa and Mastercard networks achieve by scaling on-chain. In order for bitcoin to reach this level of growth, second layer solutions would need to be deployed. This would occur by the addition of a protocol referred to as Segwit. It would solve the transaction malleability problem, and allow for the clean addition of second layer protocols, they said. Core supporters vehemently argued against any and all block size increases. They said it is not a solution that allows for exponential growth. It would also cause more mining centralization in bitcoin, leading to the possibility of a 51% attack. For anyone paying attention, these arguments would have sounded odd, because bitcoin was intended to scale on-chain. It is true there was a block size limit of 1MB, but this hard limit was only implemented to prevent network spam. The hard limit was meant to be increased as the network expanded. The fear of centralization is also misguided. Bitcoin can scale on-chain without much centralization, because technology grows at an exponential rate. This is expressed in both Moore’s Law and The Law of Accelerating Returns as demonstrated by Ray Kurzweil. In this sense, technology would keep pace with bitcoin growth to curb the possibility of increasing centralization. Censorship Campaign From the vantage point of an outsider, it would have certainly looked like the Core supporters were winning the debate and gaining more traction. All across popular forums where the bitcoin commentary raged, there seemed to be no defense of on-chain scaling. In fact, the forums would have looked like an echo chamber to most people. However, in reality, Core supporters did not have consensus. There were a lot of people singing the praises of Satoshi by pleading for an on-chain scaling solution. They wanted to expand the blocksize to meet market demand. They were even willing to compromise whereas Core supporters were not. The reason it looked like Core supporters were winning is because they had began censoring posts they disagreed with. As soon as people created a post about on-chain scaling, moderators deleted those posts. They made claims that scaling on-chain wasn’t the goal of bitcoin, and those wanting to scale on-chain were essentially talking about another coin or “fork.” Moderators and Core supporters got it into their head that scaling bitcoin on-chain was somehow antithetical to bitcoin. They used this excuse to delete posts containing arguments for on-chain scaling. The leader behind this agenda was Theymos. He was known for moderating the r/bitcoin subreddit. John Blocke wrote an in-depth article on Medium about Theymos and this censorship campaign. He also cited a ton of evidence, including screenshots. He said: Since the limit was introduced in 2010, there have been countless discussions on the necessity as well as the methods that would be used to increase this limit, and Bitcoin’s transaction processing capabilities with it. Those attempts have repeatedly been blocked by a small group of developers, and in recent years discussion of increasing the limit has been censored from some of Bitcoin’s largest discussion forums, all of which are moderated by the same individual, who posts using the handle Theymos. What is forbidden includes any discussion of code changes that propose increasing the limitation. A Hegemony of Developers and Bitcoin Crash of 2017 It should now be clear how bitcoin was compromised. A group of developers and Segwit devotees gained the trust of the community in order to divert the path of bitcoin. These developers and their followers used censorship to obscure the truth about the scaling debate. During this timeframe, many of the original developers were expunged from the project. This includes Mike Hearn and Gavin Andresen, who Satoshi himself appointed to keep bitcoin on track prior to leaving the project. The insurgent developers did not share Satoshi’s vision. They did not believe that bitcoin could or should scale so that everyone can use it as cash. They believed bitcoin should be a store of value or commodity. They even suggested that high fees and slow confirmation times are a good thing for bitcoin. These developers were either economically ignorant or purposely maneuvering to destroy bitcoin. Their ideas about harming bitcoin came to fruition. During the winter of 2017, bitcoin reached its highest price level, nearing the $20,000 mark. However, during this time bitcoin fees also skyrocketed. They reached an average of $28 dollars per transaction while confirmation times slowed to a snail’s pace. At the beginning of January, the damage was felt across the ecosystem as the price collapsed and the whole cryptocurrency market felt the reverberations. In March, CNBC wrote that bitcoin retraced 70% of its value since the start of the crash. It is true that bitcoin’s price has collapsed as much or more in the past, but this particular collapse has been partly blamed on the “scaling debate” and high fees that plagued bitcoin. Truth and Divisiveness It is not known whether the Core team, including Blockstream, purposely undermined bitcoin. Still, well known people like Jeff Berwick have suggested Blockstream was compromised, because they were bought out by AXA Insurance. Berwick goes on to say the head of AXA is the same person who heads the Bilderberg group. According to Berwick, it appears that central bankers bought out Bitcoin in order to destroy it or hamstring it. In a Dollar Vigilante article Berwick said, “Blockstream is the biggest funder of Bitcoin Core and employs many of the developers. Who owns Blockstream? Well, one of the main shareholders is insurance giant AXA. CEO and Chairman of both the Bilderberg Group and AXA are the same person, Henri de Castries. Yes, essentially, the person most in control of bitcoin development is the Chairman of Bilderberg; the place that I have gone for the last three years to expose from the outside! And, even one time, briefly, from the inside. If the globalists wanted to destroy bitcoin, they would do exactly what they are doing with Blockstream.” Others have stayed more conservative, saying if governments or other entities wanted to harm bitcoin, they would likely do it by causing major divisiveness within the community. They would slowly build a community of distrust, and cause a break in mutual understanding throughout the ecosystem. This would allow for bitcoin to be made vulnerable and thus diverted from its course. Whether it was diverted on purpose or by coincidence is still up for debate. The point is that cryptocurrencies can be harmed if they are not protected and nurtured. If the community lets their guard down for a moment, it’s possible to damage cryptocurrencies either by negligence or infiltration. Being mathematically stable and secure is not enough. The communities behind these protocols need to be strong, united, and open to communication. If not, they will leave glaring weaknesses in the network. They will allow the network to fall victim to nefarious actors. The Salvation of Bitcoin On the bright side, not all is lost. Even though the first iteration of bitcoin was practically co-opted, it was born again in the form of bitcoin cash. The community redeemed itself with upgrading the bitcoin protocol by implementing a hard fork and creating bitcoin cash. Bitcoin cash has kept the promise and vision of Satoshi Nakamoto alive. It leverages on-chain scaling to grow the network and incentivize adoption. At this point, bitcoin cash has instantiated itself as the salvation of bitcoin. It is the true bitcoin that intends on freeing humanity from the clutches of centralized bankers and governments. However, the community must remain vigilant. What happened to Bitcoin Core should be a lesson to all. If a community falls prey to predatory communication tactics and censorship campaigns, they may lose their cryptocurrency to an attack. They should maintain a healthy community and pay attention to the course of the technology. If they lose sight and vision, their dream will turn to ash. It will get steamrolled. It will be forgotten and placed in the dustbin of history. Everyone must always remember technology is not automatically impregnable. It needs a strong foundation of good people. Do you believe Bitcoin was hijacked? Images courtesy of Shutterstock This is an Op-ed blog. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. Bitcoin.com does not endorse nor support views, opinions or conclusions drawn in this post. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the Op-ed blog post. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the content. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any information in this Op-ed article. The post The Story of How Bitcoin Was Compromised appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The specter of the deep web looms large over everything bitcoin does. You won’t hear it mentioned by VCs funding blockchain startups, or by options exchanges applying for bitcoin ETFs, but the darknet is the reason we’re all here. A periodic glance into the latest from the deep web provides an insight into the underbelly where bitcoin first bloomed, and where a significant proportion of cryptocurrency purchases still occur. Also read: Giant Bitcoin Merchant Bank Posts Losses Over $130 Million From Reddit to Dreaddit Ever since Reddit’s r/darkmarkets was shut down, Deepdotweb.com has been the main source of news for purveyors of the darknet. The site has been behaving erratically of late, with European visitors getting an error message when attempting to visit the site. Whether this is the result of a temporary glitch or some sort of GDPR-instigated perma-ban, which has caused other US-based sites to exclude Europeans, is unknown. For all the good work Deepdotweb does in covering darknet activity, it is unhealthy to rely on a single, centralized source of news. All it would take is for authorities to covertly infiltrate the website and they could start controlling the news cycle and funnelling users to honeypot darknet marketplaces. Thankfully, there’s now an alternative source of news pertaining to the deep web’s major marketplaces. Dread, which resides at dreadditevildot.onion, is Reddit’s r/darknetmarkets reborn, and this time accessible only via Tor. As members of the forum would agree, discussing their business over the deep web, where IPs cannot easily be traced, is in the best interests of everyone. Dread features several boards, with d/darknetmarkets its most popular, with over 13,000 subscribers. 75% of Dream Vendors Take Bitcoin Cash Acceptance of bitcoin cash has grown significantly among vendors on Dream, the deep web’s largest and longest-running marketplace. BCH was added around six months ago when BTC fees were high, sparking protest from buyers and sellers who have been priced out of making sub-$100 purchases on the darknet. While BTC fees have since abated, bitcoin cash adoption has continued to rise. Dream Market now records 102,000 listings from vendors who accept BCH, versus 126,000 for BTC. The DDoS attacks that crippled many deep web markets for much of last year have yet to resurface. Dream boasts the second best uptime, at 98.19%, with only Olympus Market, at 99.81%, exceeding it. Worst in the list, as maintained by Deepdotweb, are Rapture with 92.22% and Point with 91.87%. While crypto users squabble, grandstand and shitpost on the clearnet, on the darknet, it’s business as usual, the same as it’s always been since the earliest days of Silk Road: a thriving ecosystem of underground markets where (almost) anything can be bought and sold anonymously. Do you visit the deep web, and if so, which sources do you rely on for information about darknet marketplace? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, and Dread. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Deep Web Roundup: BCH Adoption Increases and Dread Rises appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

According to a new study, about 3 million British investors have put money into crypto through online trading platforms and only 5 percent of them have been advised by professionals. The survey also found that 2.5 million Brits have casually invested in cryptocurrency without fully understanding it. Also read: Crowd Psychology Driving BTC Prices, Finance Experts Say 2.5 Million Holders Do Not Understand Crypto Investment Millions of Britons have so far invested in cryptocurrencies, although very few of them have sought professional advice, despite the fact that many do not quite understand digital asset investment. The findings came out in a report released by the London-based investment house IW Capital and were quoted in the British press. According to the research, almost 3 million people in the UK have invested in cryptocurrency using an “e-trading platform” but only 5 percent have consulted a financial advisor before doing so, the online edition of The Daily Express reported. The authors also found that 2.5 million British residents have casually invested in cryptocurrency without fully understanding the investment. The report further details that a total of 38 percent of those surveyed, a nationally representative sample of 2,007 respondents, admitted they did not understand cryptocurrency and about a third believed it was a bubble set to burst. No data has been provided by the publication about the level of knowledge and awareness among the rest of the polled. Deficit of Crypto Knowledge and Information IW Capital notes that there is a lack of knowledge at the heart of cryptocurrency investment. “The data reveals that, fundamentally, Brits do not have enough information or knowledge on the topic of cryptocurrency. In fact, many have no knowledge about the subject whatsoever,” the researchers wrote. The firm’s Chief Executive Officer, Luke Davis, also commented: It is shocking, but not surprising, to see so much confusion around the topic of cryptocurrency. I do not believe this is a reflection of UK investors’ risk profile, as a positive appetite for alternative finance remains, but to see that investments have been made without proper financial advice and a lack of facts and education is very concerning. It has been reported as well that 7 percent of the participants in the survey believe cryptocurrency is more valuable than traditional stocks and shares investments. At the same time, the study claims only 5 percent of those who have invested in crypto have made any financial gains. The release of the data from the British study coincides with the recent upward trend that has added about 40 percent to the market capitalization of bitcoin (BCT) from this year’s lows of below $6,000 per coin to the current levels above $8,000 USD. Another report published this week suggests that crypto prices are largely driven by a phenomenon known as “crowd psychology”. Do you think the knowledge and awareness of cryptocurrencies will increase with the growing number of investors? Share your thoughts on the subject 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 Report: 3 Million Brits Invested in Crypto via Exchanges, Few Sought Advice appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Major cryptocurrency investment firm, Pantera Capital, has reported a lifetime return of more than 10,000% on its fund. The company has announced the impressive return in celebration of its five-year anniversary. Also Read: Markets Update: Crypto-Prices See Some Recovery After the Dip Pantera Reports Fund has Generated 10,000% Return Over 5 Years It has been reported that Pantera Capital has generated a more than 10,000% lifetime return since launching in 2013. Pantera has invested in a number of leading cryptocurrencies and distributed ledger technology companies, with its portfolio including Bitstamp, Polychain Capital, Korbit, 0x, and Zcash. In an email sent to media, co-chief investment officer and chief executive officer, Dan Morehead, and co-chief investment officer, Joey Krug, have claimed that “the Fund’s lifetime return is 10,136.15% net of fees and expenses.” Pantera Shares Emails From 2013 In the email, the chief investment officers included two additional emails dated from 2013, stating: “We wanted to share the original logic – as it is equally compelling today.” The first email, composed when the price of BTC was just $104 USD, predicts that bitcoin will one day trade for $5,000, arguing that “bitcoin dominates cash, electronic fiat money, gold, bearer bonds, large stone discs, etc. It can do all of the things that each of those can. It’s the first global currency since gold. It’s the first borderless payment system ever.” The second email, composed when BTC was trading for $253, likened investing in bitcoin to purchasing Microsoft shares early into the company’s existence. “In my opinion, it’s like deciding whether to buy Microsoft back in the day at $0.20 a share. It was hard to do when the stock was just at $0.10. In the fullness of time…clearly a great trade. I believe bitcoin right now is just like that. The world’s first global currency since gold and the world’s only borderless payments system (frictionless to boot) at a market cap of $3bn? Now that Silk Road is gone, a new wave of sophisticated investors are entering.” Last month, Pantera announced that “The first Venture Fund III closing will be June 30th.” Mr. Morehead and Mr. Krug indicated that they will be traveling “over the next months to discuss VEnture Fund III and the blockchain disruption.” What is your response to Pantera’s purported 10,000% return on the lifetime of its fund? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Pantera Capital 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 Pantera Capital Reports Lifetime Return of More Than 10,000% appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In a recent interview, Daumantas Dvilinskas, the founder and chief executive officer of Transfergo, a U.K.-based remittance firm that processes 1 million transactions each year on average, discussed the company’s decision to launch a cryptocurrency trading facility. Also Read: Bitcoin Mining News: Brookstone to Build Wind Farm in Morocco, Québec Increases Rates Transfergo Launches Cryptocurrency Trading Facility When asked of the company’s decision to take on the “risk” associated with cryptocurrencies given Transfergo’s “dominant” position within the remittance industry, Mr. Dvilinskas stated:“The reason why we launched crypto today, to the world, is that our clients wanted it.” “Over the last five years we have built a very vibrant customer group of more than 600,000 people who use us for their remittances, to send money to their families back home, Mr. Dvilinskas continued. “When we asked them, ‘hey, would you like to do crypto with us?’ they said ‘yes’, because currently, the market is highly underserved for a transparent, fair, and convenient solution for our current clients.” The Transfergo CEO stated that for now, the company is looking into providing support for Bitcoin Core (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ripple (XRP), and Litecoin (LTC) Cryptocurrencies are “Here to Stay” With regards to Transfergo’s cryptocurrency trading product, Mr. Dvilinskas stated: “The remittance product and the crypto product are separate […] We still have our remittance product, [and] the crypto product is pretty much an ability to buy and sell crypto in a very convenient way. Today, they will not be sending crypto to their friends and families, they will just be buying and selling them for themselves.” Mr. Dvilinskas stated that the majority of the demand for the company to launch cryptocurrency was coming from European countries wishing to send, and emerging markets wishing to receive virtual currencies. When asked of his outlook for virtual currencies, Mr. Dvilinskas stated: “We have a very long-term perspective on crypto, and we have seen crypto go through multiple waves. […] We want to be able to provide our customers with a very easy and consumer-friendly way to get access to [cryptocurrencies]. […] “As a platform [cryptocurrencies] are here to stay.” What is your response to Transfergo’s decision to enter the cryptocurrency industry? Join the discussion in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock, TransferGo 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 Remittance Firm Transfergo Launches Cryptocurrency Trading appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Digital assets, this weekend, have recovered a touch after a temporary price dip that started roughly 48 hours ago but crypto-values have rebounded once again on July 27. This Saturday, all 1600+ digital currencies are seeing slight gains as the entire cryptocurrency market capitalization at the start of the weekend is around $297.9Bn USD, with over $32.2Bn worth of cryptos swapped in the last 24 hours. Also Read: Crowd Psychology Driving BTC Prices, Finance Experts Say Cryptos See Some Slight Recovery This Weekend A great majority of digital assets today are in the green seeing gains between 2-10 percent during the last 24 hours of trading sessions. Prices first took a big drop after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had denied the Winklevoss twins exchange-traded fund (ETF) which may have put a black cloud over the community’s optimism concerning the upcoming Cboe ETF decision. After the ETF was denied, the price of bitcoin core (BTC) dropped from a rough average of $8,200 per BTC to a low of $7,798. However, not too long after that BTC prices jumped back up $400 to the $8,200 zone again. Most of the other digital currencies within the crypto-economy have been correlated with BTC and had followed the rebound back as most are nurturing losses today. Bitcoin Core (BTC) Market Action At the time of publication, the price of bitcoin core (BTC) is averaging around $8140- 8200 per coin. BTC has swapped over $6.2Bn today in global trade volume and the currency’s market valuation is around $140Bn this Saturday. The top BTC exchanges include Bitflyer ($2.02 Bn), Binance ($270.07 Mn), Bitfinex ($229.94 Mn), EXX ($212.66 Mn), and Coinbene ($169.53 Mn). The Japanese yen continues to be the dominant currency pair (49.5%) traded with BTC which is followed by tether (USDT 32.2%), USD (12.5%), EUR (1.64%), and the KRW (1.5%). BTC dominance is the highest it has been in months as the digital asset’s capitalization is 47.3 percent amongst all 1600+ market valuations. On the peer-to-peer platform, Shapeshift this Saturday shows the top swap is ethereum (ETH) for bitcoin core (BTC). BTC/USD Technical Indicators BTC/USD charts today on Coinbase and Bitstamp are showing some consolidated action taking place as bulls seem to be recharging. A few days ago, the BTC/USD charts’ relative strength index (RSI) signaled a bearish divergence which drowned out the bulls with buyers wanting cheaper prices. Today the RSI is lower (52) and BTC bulls could muster up some strength to surpass current resistance levels. The SMA 200 is above the short-term SMA 100 on the 4-hour chart which indicates the path to least resistance is towards the downside. MACd is meandering in the middle (27.89) and shows room for improvement in the next few hours. Order books looking northbound show deep resistance from now up until $8,660 and observations from the Average Directional Index (ADX) shows this move is possible. On the back side, there is plenty of foundational support between $8K through $7,400. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Market Action Bitcoin cash (BCH) is being sold between $780 to 830 per coin this Saturday and the currency’s market valuation is around $14Bn. 24-hour trade volume is a bit lackluster since our last markets update as trades are around $567.3Mn today. The top BCH exchanges swapping the most bitcoin cash today include Coinex ($132.40 Mn), Okex ($59.30 Mn), Binance ($54.47 Mn), Hitbtc ($36.31 Mn), and Huobi Pro ($32.71 M). The top currency pair with BCH is tether (USDT 57.6%) which is followed by BTC (28.2%), USD (5.6%), ETH (2.7%), and KRW (1.14%). Bitcoin cash is the fifth most traded cryptocurrency this Saturday, just below the currency EOS. BCH/USD Technical Indicators BCH/USD charts are somewhat similar to the BTC technical indicators. RSI levels for BCH/USD on Bitstamp and Bitfinex are hovering around the 44.76 area which shows improvements could be made in the short term. MACd is similar to BTC but looks as though its heading southbound at the time of writing. Further, the SMA 200 is also above the SMA 100 trendline which shows downside action is more tempting right now. However, the Average Directional Index (ADX) trend shows that bulls could push forward after chewing through some heavy resistance. Order books looking northbound indicate some pit stops between the current vantage point and then again at $840-870. The Verdict: Market Sentiment is Still Upbeat Overall optimism seems pretty good this weekend as quite a few enthusiasts and traders seem positive the bearish trend is seemingly reversing. Most cryptocurrencies are up between 40-60 percent since the lows that took place on June 24. Some notable market movers this Saturday include XLM, BTC, VEN, BNB, and OX. The verdict today is still positive and a good majority of people believe prices will continue to trend higher but there are definitely a few skeptics who think the bear market may not be over just yet — But overall the verdict is still upbeat. Where do you see the price of BCH, BTC, and other coins headed from here? Let us know in the comments below. Disclaimer: Price articles and markets updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not to be considered as trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the “money.” Images via Shutterstock, Trading View, and Satoshi Pulse. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post Markets Update: Crypto-Prices See Some Recovery After the Dip appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

US presidential candidate, Andrew Yang (D), has announced that his campaign for the 2020 election is now accepting cryptocurrency donations. Also in the Daily, Chinese social network, Tianya, is about to issue a native token, and the KICKICO project has been hacked – resulting in the loss of $7.7 million USD worth of tokens due to a security breach of its smart contract. Also read: Twitter Blocks Bots Mimicking Musk, Coinvault Hackers Sentenced Yang 2020 Campaign Accepts Bitcoin and Any ERC20 US Democrat Andrew Yang’s campaign is now accepting donations in Bitcoin Core (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and other cryptocurrencies for the 2020 US presidential election. Yang announced the news on Twitter calling on his supporters to “build the future together.” HUGE news – my campaign can now accept Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies! https://t.co/GScyqfZXLY Let’s build the future together. @Steven_McKie @JulianSarokin @yidagao @AdamDraper @mashadrokova @albertwenger @novogratz @ericbahn @RamanFrey @richardtitus — Andrew Yang (@AndrewYangVFA) July 24, 2018 The announcement released by his team to “our crypto donors” reads: “We currently accept Bitcoin and anything on the ERC20 standard.” It also comes with instructions on how to donate cryptocurrency and notes that the maximum for individual donations is set at the fiat equivalent of $2,500. Yang believes in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, and has already declared that he sees them as a potential catalyst for socio-political change. He has also previously stated on social media that a “smart government” should embrace cryptocurrency technology: During a Facebook AMA I was asked about crypto and blockchain. I think the technology has massive potential to create a more transparent society. A smart government would embrace this and work with it. I would do that. Chinese Social Network Tianya to Issue Native Token Tianya Club, one of the most popular social networks and online forums in the People’s Republic, has announced it will launch its native Tianya Token (TYT) on August 8. According to a post published on its blog, TYT will be the only means of accounting in its blockchain-based community ecosystem. Tianya.cn is among the most visited websites in China, ranking in the top 20 of the Chinese Internet. The number of tokens that the company is planning to release is limited to 90 billion. The users of the platform will receive TYT awards based on their contribution to the community. The coin will be used as a medium of exchange and a means of payment underpinning various transactions and payments within the community. Tianya also plans to keep 20% of the new tokens for team incentives, ecological development investments, and operation promotion – depending on the needs of the community. The other 80% will be used for community rewards, incentives for users to participate in content creation and community governance, and rewards to original content creators and independent contributors. KICKICO Hacked, Coins Worth $7.7M Stolen KICKICO, an ICO project based on the Ethereum protocol, has admitted experiencing a security breach in which the attackers gained access to the account of the KICK smart contract. The company announced that its team has been notified about the hack by victims who reported that they were not able to find tokens worth $800,000 USD in their wallets. According to an investigation launched probing the hack, the total amount of stolen funds is 70,000,000 KICK – equal to $7.7 million USD at the exchange rate at time of the announcement. KICKICO claims that it has already restored full control over the smart contract and promises to return all stolen Kickcoins to their holders. Providing more details about the attack, the company explains that the hackers gained access to the private key of the owner of the Kickcoin smart contract. They also attempted to hide their activities by employing methods used by the contract in integration with the Bancor network. Earlier this month, the decentralized exchange was also breached, as news.Bitcoin.com reported. What are your thoughts on today’s news tidbits? Tell us in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Make sure you do not miss any important Bitcoin-related news! Follow our news feed any which way you prefer; via Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, RSS or email (scroll down to the bottom of this page to subscribe). We’ve got daily, weekly and quarterly summaries in newsletter form. Bitcoin never sleeps. Neither do we. The post The Daily: US Presidential Candidate Accepts Bitcoin, Kickico Hacked – $7.7M Stolen appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In recent mining news, Brookstone Partners has announced its intention to build a 900-megawatt wind farm in Dakhla, Morocco, Hydro-Québec has been given permission to charge cryptocurrency miners increased rates, and DMG has begun installing its 85-megawatt substation in Canada. Also Read: Crowd Psychology Driving BTC Prices, Finance Experts Say Brookstone Partners Plans 900 MW Wind Farm in Morocco to Power Mining Brookstone Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, has announced plans to construct 900 megawatt (MW) wind farm near Dakhla – a disputed territory presently administered by Morocco. Brookstone founded ‘Soluna’ – the site that will house the proposed wind farm – after acquiring rights to the land from Altus AG. The company hopes to raise $100 million USD via initial coin offering to finance the construction of its first 36 MW worth of turbines. The cost of completing the entire project is estimated to run as high as $3 billion. The managing director of Brookstone, Michael Toporek, stated: “We have exclusive rights to the area for a wind farm, but the issue was there’s no real place to put” the electricity. “These days, what you can do with stranded power is set up a computing center, develop this as an off-grid project,” he added. Brookstone will use the power it generates to power cryptocurrency mining and data centers. Hydro-Québec Granted Permission to Charge Increased Rates to Crypto Miners The fourth largest hydropower producer in the world, Hydro-Québec, has been granted permission to increase the rates charged to cryptocurrency miners by the Régie de l’énergie – the economic regulator of Québec’s energy sector. Hydro-Québec will now be permitted to charge 15 Canadian cents (approximately 11.5 U.S. cents) to cryptocurrency miners – double the rate that is available to Quebec’s residential clients. According to local media, the new rate “would be applied in the event that a promoter connects to Hydro-Québec’s network while a temporary blockade is in effect on the new technology,” with the official decision stating: “The Régie considers that the rates and conditions […] will ensure the security of electricity supply in the particular context of massive, sudden, unexpected and simultaneous demands for the use of blockchain technology, including mining cryptocurrencies.” Agreements made between Hydro-Québec and operational cryptocurrency miners before June 6th will not be subject to the new price. DMG Begins Installing 85-Megawatt Power Substation in Canada Canada-based DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. has announced the commencement of construction of its “85-megawatt transformer and electrical substation.” The power generated by the substation will be used to fuel the company’s “flagship cryptocurrency mining facility.” DMG anticipates that the substation will be “connected to the utility power grid and commissioned for full operation in 2018, at which time, it will have 60 megawatts available for energizing mining rigs.” DMG’s chief operating officer, Sheldon Bennett, stated: “Building and managing a cryptomining operation at an industrial scale requires a world-class supply chain as well as direct access to local government and electricity providers. Our management team at DMG is unique in that we have the experience, the relationships, and the capital backing to do this successfully.” What is your response to Hydro-Québec being granted permission to increase the rates charged to cryptocurrency mining companies? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock, https://twitter.com/dmgblockchain 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 Bitcoin Mining News: Brookstone to Build Wind Farm in Morocco, Québec Increases Rates 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. CoinLoan, an Estonia-based startup, has launched a crypto-to-fiat lending platform where cryptocurrency is used as collateral. From now on, crypto-backed loans are available for users all over the world. On CoinLoan, everyone can become a lender or a borrower, on his or her own terms. The platform’s primary objective is to link counteroffers and ensure the safety of the deal. “A user-centric approach has always been a priority for us. It makes us unique in comparison with other fintech startups popping up these days. At the moment, CoinLoan offers the most flexible conditions in the lending market. The main advantage of the project is that it is based on the P2P economy. It means anyone can lend or borrow controlling the terms individually.” said Alex Faliushin, Founder & CEO at CoinLoan. “For instance, we asked our audience about their demands and saw a request in micro, medium and large loans as well. That’s why on CoinLoan every user can create a loan application according to his/her current needs, whether for a €500 short-term loan or a big deal”, he added. CoinLoan creates a win-win situation for both parties. Crypto collateral protects lender’s fiat funds from the risks of non-repayment. Borrowers get a loan regardless of their credit history and don’t need to choose between holding their crypto and getting access to money. Every user has an opportunity to customize an amount and term of a loan, fiat currency to lend or crypto asset for a collateral, interest rate and loan-to-value ratio. The very first loan agreements have been successfully concluded, as claimed by the company. Licenses, credit history checks or solvency proofs are not required for borrowing or providing a loan. It is enough to register and verify an account for creating a lending or borrowing application. If there is a suitable counteroffer, the applications will be matched and the user will receive fiat money almost instantly. Learn more about CoinLoan: • Follow the link to start lending and borrowing on CoinLoan – https://app.coinloan.io • Join CoinLoan’s Telegram group for updates & discussions – https://t.me/coinloan • Contact us with your questions or feedback via support@coinloan.io Supporting Link https://coinloan.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: Coinloan Opens Platform to Bridge Gap Between Lenders and Borrower appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Galaxy Digital, one of the earliest and largest cryptocurrency merchant banks in the space, founded by billionaire Mike Novogratz, posted first quarter earnings. Published accounts suggest the firm has lost $134 million due to a combination of an extended bear market and the usual course of starting a large company. Many analysts wonder aloud what this means for the fate of institutional investment in crypto. Also read: Ross Ulbricht Murder-for-Hire Indictment to Be Dismissed Crypto Merchant Bank Galaxy Digital Posts Q1 Losses of Over $130 Million “I am very proud of the progress that we have made since the beginning of the year,” Galazy Digital CEO and founder, billionaire Mike Novogratz explained at a first quarter earnings call to investors. “We have assembled a world-class team with deep institutional knowledge and expertise and have also made significant strides in scaling our four core business lines. I have complete confidence in our team’s ability to continue driving growth and believe the Company is strategically positioned to help further institutionalize the digital assets and blockchain technology industry.” Galaxy arrived on the public scene as one of the first crypto merchant banks, boasting of investors such as Mr. Novogratz. From January through March of this year, however, the bank appears to have lost around $134 million. The report is in partial fulfillment of the bank eventually being listed on a Canadian exchange, Toronto TSX Venture Exchange. Analysts are indeed placing blame on the broader crypto markets, which have current prices reflecting over a 60% drop since Galaxy was founded late last year during record all-time highs for the sector. Still Bullish The loss breakdown for Galaxy is believed to be as follows: $103 million lost in crypto trading, $13.5 million in realized loss, and another $85.5 in unrealized losses. The merchant bank also spent nearly $11 million on operating expenses. At press time, no numbers were released for the second quarter, April through June of this year. Unrealized portions of Galaxy’s losses could point to the bank’s longer, more optimistic outlook for decentralized digital assets going forward. Galaxy has continued its aggressive investment strategy, including just this week funding crypto-fiat lending firm Blockfi. Close to a dozen investments totaling $86 million also might be an indication of the merchant bank’s overall optimism. Mr. Novogratz, formerly of Goldman Sachs, and a very successful hedge fund manager, famously poured $300 million of his own money into Galaxy. His plan is to purchase Coin Capital under provisions of a reverse takeover, along with shell company Bradmar Pharmaceuticals, to gain a trading seat on the exchange. Galaxy has yet to publicly comment beyond the earnings report. Do you think large banks like Galaxy losing money will impact crypto markets? Let us know in the comments section below. Images via Pixabay, Galaxy Digital. Be sure to check out the podcast, Blockchain 2025; latest episode here. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post Giant Bitcoin Merchant Bank Posts Losses Over $130 Million appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

South Korea’s top financial regulator has urged lawmakers to pass the country’s first crypto bill quickly, citing the urgent need from rising incidents at crypto exchanges. There are currently several crypto-related laws pending at the National Assembly. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Crypto Law Urgently Needed South Korea’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), has urged lawmakers to “pass the country’s first cryptocurrency bill quickly,” Bloomberg reported this week. According to the agency, “Korea urgently needs crypto laws as thefts rise,” the publication conveyed, adding that “local exchanges are rife with security flaws and money laundering risks.” Hong Seong-ki, head of the FSC virtual currency response team, said in an interview: We’re trying to legislate the most urgent and important things first, aiming for money laundering prevention and investor protection. The bill should be passed as soon as possible. The South Korean government first announced crypto regulation in the second half of last year. In September, initial coin offerings (ICOs) were banned. A crypto task force was established at that time “to improve the transparency of transactions and improve the legal system to protect consumers,” Joongang Daily described. Since then, the FSC and other regulators have announced additional crypto regulatory measures including the real-name system and trading restrictions on minors and foreigners. However, “the problem is that these announcements have shaken the market but do not provide a proper legal framework for investor protection or market development,” the news outlet pointed out. According to the publication, there are currently five crypto-related laws pending at the National Assembly. Inadequate Security Measures Hong was further quoted by Bloomberg claiming: While crypto markets have seen rapid growth, such trading platforms don’t seem to be well-enough prepared in terms of security. In June, two Korean crypto exchanges suffered security breaches. Coinrail was hacked on June 10 with an estimated damage of 45 billion won (~US$40 million). Bithumb, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the country, was hacked on June 20 with an estimated damage of about 19 billion won (~$17 million). Putting FSC in Charge of Crypto Exchanges Following the security breaches at Coinrail and Bithumb, the Korean government immediately launched an investigation into their causes. The FSC subsequently pushed for a bill to require crypto exchanges to report to and be regularly supervised by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which is under its supervision. “This is the first time government agencies have said they will oversee virtual currency exchanges,” Maeil Business wrote. Emphasizing that he personally “wouldn’t recommend putting money in cryptocurrencies,” Hong reiterated: FSC oversight wouldn’t imply an official endorsement of crypto trading. If the bill is passed, the regulator will focus on policing the exchanges rather than promoting their growth. Meanwhile, the commission itself is undergoing a major restructuring. A bureau dedicated to financial innovation including cryptocurrencies will be established for policy initiatives, the FSC recently announced. Do you think South Korea needs to pass a crypto bill urgently? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and the FSC. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post South Korean Regulator Presses Lawmakers to Pass Crypto Bill Urgently appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article