roadrunner

This summer, over 50,000 trades on popular crypto exchange Kraken, concerning the very controversial alternative coin tether (USDT), were analyzed by journalists, an academic, and a former US Federal Reserve regulator. They describe activity monitored as highly unusual in that larger orders of tether failed “to sway prices much.” Red flags were raised due to none of the three analysts having ever “seen a market behave like Kraken.” Is it a case of blatant manipulation or a giant nothing burger? Also read: 27% of England’s Male Millennials Say Bitcoin Better Investment Than Property Tether on Kraken is a Strange Phenomenon Give it a minute, and Tether will be involved in yet another controversy. Intrepid reporters, Matthew Leising, et al., have once again dived deeply into the ongoing USDT mystery. This time, it’s the concept of ‘wash’ trading, where substantial positions basically trade with themselves to pressure an asset’s price. Between May 1st through June 22nd of the present year, 56,000 USDT orders on Kraken were monitored. For researchers, even massive trades seemed to not impact tether’s price. In fact, larger trades were indistinguishable in this regard from smaller. The sum of 13,076.389 USDT was one exact anomaly, repeating often enough for analysts to conclude something like bots were active on the exchange. Tether occupies a curious space in ecosystem imagination. It evolved from Realcoin, and has been around for about four years in its present incarnation. Its governing company or outfit appears to have ties to Switzerland and Hong Kong. Last year, publication of the Paradise Papers assumed USDT was birthed by huge crypto exchange Bitfinex, a charge answered by insisting the market maker and Tether Holdings Limited were separated, independent. In more recent months, USDT has been the subject of attempts to link it to price manipulation, including the notion Bitfinex possibly accounted for half the price runup of late 2017 by trading and inflating tether. Even the US Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is rumored to be investigating both Bitfinex and Tether. The token’s scandalous reputation goes to its heart: each USDT is backed by one United States dollar, or so it is claimed. An audit proved equally controversial, leaving no one satisfied. Nevertheless, it remains consistently in the top 20 most valuable coins by market cap. The Case for Manipulation Bloomberg recently suggested tether trading red flags. Enlisting former Fed regulator Mark Williams and NYU’s Rosa Abrantes-Metz, Mr. Leising and his collaborators examined USDT activity on Kraken, finding “oddly specific order sizes—many going out to five decimal points, with some repeating frequently.” Trading bots, if that is what this is, are rather par for the course these days, and hardly controversial. It’s USDT’s lack of responsiveness that has this group searching for explanation. Bitcoin core (BTC), again assuming tether inflation as the cause, jerks and pulls seemingly according to tether dumps, which most would term “normal.” Tether lingers, unresponsive. The theory goes that with increased demand, an asset’s price should correspondingly increase. One trade, of 75 tether, for example, managed to move the price three naughts and a one after a decimal point, basically nothing. And USDT price should’ve gone up at various other stages, along with pumping the gas with still more tether to bring it to settle. That didn’t happen either. Again, what should be a natural search for equalization through supply is instead, seemingly, being controlled by bots. Some immediately believe this to be textbook manipulation, but more substantive information is needed before making such an accusation. Still, researchers maintain these kinds of irregularities “would be akin to defying gravity.” The manipulation question first came from a renowned poker player, Andrew Rennhack. He scrubbed data from Kraken, and published his musings. He was one of the first to openly suggest something was amiss. Later, researchers noticed those oddly specific numbers, such as the 13,076.389 tether, lead them to “suspect that such numbers could be signals to cheaters’ automated trading programs. One possible explanation: The software would look for orders with a unique size, and trade against that.” Taking both sides of a coin gives off the impression of a kind of momentum, and government regulators have seen fit to make doing so illegal. No evidence that Kraken itself is involved in any manipulation has emerged. Kraken CEO Jesse Powell responded, “Nothing looks out of place to us in our publicly available data feed. We have not verified the legitimacy of the data set [researchers] asked us to review.” Is tether’s price being manipulated? Let us know in the comments. Images via the Pixabay. Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH and other coins, on our market charts at Satoshi Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post Red Flag Waved in Tether’s Relationship with Kraken Exchange appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The banking ban by India’s central bank is set to begin on July 5. One of the largest crypto exchanges in the country, Unocoin, is working on banking alternatives. News.Bitcoin.com spoke with the exchange’s CEO about what to expect when the ban begins, trader sentiment, and possible ways to bypass the ban. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space RBI Ban Impending The crypto banking ban mandated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to take effect on July 5, according to the central bank’s circular issued on April 6. There are five known petitions against the ban that the Supreme Court will hear on July 20, with one exception. The petition by the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) will be heard on July 3. One of India’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Unocoin, is a member of IAMAI, as are some other major crypto exchanges including Zebpay and Coinsecure. Speaking with news.Bitcoin.com on Saturday, Unocoin’s CEO and co-founder, Sathvik Vishwanath, explained that the sentiment among Indian traders “is quite weaker than before.” He elaborated that banks would not support crypto exchanges’ customers “to send and receive INR as it would still violate the RBI policy which not only restricts entities but also individuals.” The CEO added: All customers are expecting the exchanges to figure out the alternatives. Long term investors have not lost hopes…From the effective date [RBI’s ban], the businesses will have tough time till the alternative methods have been figured out. The Bangalore-based crypto exchange, with about 370,000 unique users, recently launched a crypto-to-crypto trading platform called Unodax. Several other crypto exchanges in India have similarly launched all-crypto platforms, including Zebpay and Koinex, with the hopes that investors will continue to trade cryptos even without banking support. However, Vishwanath revealed to news.Bitcoin.com: The alternative revenue paths like crypto-to-crypto exchange do not have any traction in India as of now. Unocoin Working on Banking Alternatives Unocoin announced this week that it is working on banking alternatives for when the RBI ban takes effect. “Due to the RBI’s recent notification on ‘Prohibition on Dealing in Virtual Currencies’,” the exchange warned: Our banking relationships are likely to be disrupted on or before July 5th, 2018. We are in the process of deploying new mechanisms for INR deposits and withdrawals. The exchange also clarified, “This is not a small undertaking and it will take us some time to deploy new solutions.” Customers can still deposit and withdraw INR “through normal banking channels” until further notice. Vishwanath confirmed, “There are some third-party dependencies to be resolved before we can implement these [mechanisms].” One Financial Institution Not Under RBI One financial institution stands out as a possible banking alternative for crypto firms. Gangtok-based State Bank of Sikkim (SBS) is a lender that is not regulated by RBI and therefore is not affected by the ban. In a reply to a right to information application filed by a New Delhi-based lawyer in April, the central bank wrote, “it may be noted that SBS was constituted in terms of the State Bank of Sikkim Proclamation, 1968. SBS is not licensed under Section 22(1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 by Reserve Bank of India. Banking Regulation Act, 1949 is not yet applicable to SBS,” Quartz reported. However, Vishwanath told news.Bitcoin.com: The [SBS] bank has made a strict internal policy that they do not want to support any crypto assets businesses. So for the time being this is out of the question. What do you think will happen when the RBI ban takes effect? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Unocoin. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Major Indian Cryptocurrency Exchange Shares What to Expect When RBI Ban Begins appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The financial authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market has launched a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency activities following the completion of a public consultation. The market’s financial watchdog has also published a guideline explaining how crypto asset activities are now regulated. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Crypto Regulatory Framework Launched Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) announced this week that it has launched a “framework to regulate spot crypto asset activities, including those undertaken by exchanges, custodians and other intermediaries in ADGM.” ADGM is the international financial center in Abu Dhabi which collaborates with global financial centers, institutions, and regulators to “develop and supports member institutions with the regulatory framework, legal jurisdiction and attractive business environment they need for sustainable business growth,” its website describes. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) is the market’s watchdog. ADGM wrote: “The framework is designed to address the full range of risks associated with crypto asset activities, including risks relating to money laundering and financial crime, consumer protection, technology governance, custody and exchange operations.” FSRA Takes the Lead This regulatory framework follows the completion of a public consultation on the introduction of a crypto regulatory framework by the FSRA on May 28. By incorporating public comments, “several refinements have been made to the regulatory framework, with a key change being the implementation of the daily value trading levy imposed on crypto asset exchanges on a sliding scale basis,” ADGM’s announcement details. Richard Teng, the CEO of ADGM’s FSRA, commented: By introducing a comprehensive and best-in-class regulatory framework, the FSRA is taking a leading role in instilling proper governance, oversight and transparency over crypto asset activities, positioning ADGM as a destination of choice for crypto asset players. The FSRA said in February that “virtual currencies, although not legal tender, are gaining interest globally as a medium of exchange for goods and services,” Reuters reported. New Crypto Framework Explained The FSRA has also published a 34-page guide for the regulation of crypto asset activities in ADGM. The document explains the regulatory framework for crypto assets including the requirements for operating a crypto asset business, exchange or custodian. “Applicants that qualify for authorization under the Spot Crypto Asset Framework will be granted an FSP [Financial Services Permission] to carry on the regulated activity of OCAB [Operating a Crypto Asset Business],” the document describes. According to the Spot Crypto Asset Framework: Market intermediaries (e.g. broker dealers, custodians, asset managers) and crypto asset exchanges dealing in or managing crypto assets will need to be licensed / approved by FSRA as OCAB holders. Only activities in accepted crypto assets will be permitted. The document also clarifies that this framework does not apply to initial coin offerings (ICOs). The FSRA has already published a separate guidance for ICOs in October last year. What do you think of Abu Dhabi Global Market’s crypto regulatory framework? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and ADGM. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Abu Dhabi Global Market Launches Regulatory Framework for Crypto Activities appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Travel booking platform Expedia has stopped accepting bitcoin (BTC). A company representative confirmed the policy change, while stating that various payment options are being continuously evaluated without elaborating on the details. Expedia has been supporting bitcoin payments since 2014. Also read: Russian Railways Eyes Crypto for Tickets, Blockchain for Cargo Expedia Confirms Suspension of BTC Payment Option Expedia.com, one of the world’s largest travel sites offering booking services for flights, hotels, and car rentals, is currently not accepting bitcoin (BTC). This week, the news was shared on Reddit by traveling bitcoiners who expressed their disappointment with the absence of the cryptocurrency among the payment options. Bitcoin payments have been available on Expedia for years. Responding to a request for more details from Nathalie Stucky of news.Bitcoin.com, a company representative confirmed the reports via email. Acknowledging the grievances of cryptocurrency users, Christie Hudson, Sr. Communications Manager at Expedia – North America, explained: I can confirm that as of May 10, 2018, Expedia no longer supports Bitcoin as a payment method. Currently, we do not feel that we are able to offer the best experience for those using Bitcoin, but will continue to evaluate various options in order to offer travelers flexible payment solutions. According to the information provided by Reddit user bowiestar, the bitcoin payments have been suspended since June 10. Bowiestar is quoting the travel agency’s customer support service. No official announcement has been published on Expedia’s website, at least not in the Newsroom section. At the same time, the Terms & Conditions page for the bitcoin payment option is still accessible. Attempts to book a flight from the EU return credit card thumbnails beneath the “How would you like to pay?” question at checkout. Buying a Ticket, Booking a Hotel with Bitcoin Expedia started accepting bitcoin exactly four years ago. “Offering travelers another way to book online, customers can now shop from the world-class inventory of a vast array of hotels available on Expedia.com, and for the first time ever beginning today, easily pay for their hotel accommodations using bitcoin,” stated the official announcement published on June 11, 2014. The crypto payment option was offered through a partnership with the US-based crypto exchange and wallet provider Coinbase. In order to complete the booking process, customers were redirected to Coinbase’s website where they were able to see the total at an exchange rate set by the trading platform. Some comments in the forums suggest that Expedia might have stopped the bitcoin payments due to Coinbase’s decision to discontinue custodial services for merchants. There are a number of alternatives that crypto enthusiasts can turn to for their bitcoin-paid travel and accommodation. Cheapair.com has been considering working with Bitpay to process bitcoin payments, as news.Bitcoin.com recently reported. It has been accepting bitcoin since 2013, again previously using Coinbase as a payment processor. The checkout on Cheapair’s website now offers bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), litecoin (LTC), and dash (DASH) as active payment methods. Payments with three of these cryptocurrencies, BCH, LTC and DASH, were introduced in May and are currently processed by Gocoin. “In different ways, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Dash all promise improved transactability than their predecessor, with faster transaction times and/or lower fees,” Cheapair noted in a press release. “Over the last six months, we’ve seen a huge uptick in the number of customers requesting alternative currencies, so we’ve worked hard to integrate the three that were most requested,” said CEO Jeff Klee. Another travel agency that accepts bitcoin for plane and train tickets, cars and hotel rooms, is Destinia. It currently supports both bitcoin core (BTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH) payments. Two more platforms accepting bitcoin for their services are abitsky.com and BTCtrip. Do you think Expedia will reintroduce bitcoin payments in the future? Share your expectations 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 Expedia Drops Bitcoin Payments, Official Confirms appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Over the past few weeks, the cryptocurrency Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has seen a lot of new infrastructure support, applications, and protocol innovation. While everyone has been watching the bearish markets across the digital currency economy, in general, there’s a lot of action happening within the BCH ecosystem that supersedes its current price speculation. Also read: Crypto Business Is Now Legal in Belarus The BCH Train Continues to Truck Along BCH proponents have been able to continue the focus towards spreading adoption and lately there’s been a lot of infrastructure support to back up the passion. At the moment the Bitcoin Cash blockchain is over 7,000 blocks ahead of the Bitcoin Core (BTC) chain operating at 11.5 percent of BTC’s current network difficulty. During the last days of June, it is 9.98X more expensive to transact on the BTC chain than using BCH according to Coin Dance statistics. BTC is the most traded cryptocurrency swapped for BCH while ETH, HT, Waves, and LTC follow behind. Unwriter Unleashes Bitdb: Build Decentralized Apps With a NoSQL database powered by Bitcoin On June 29 the developer Unwriter released the Bitdb.network which is a global database of Bitcoin OP_Returns and anyone can build decentralized apps using the protocol with zero servers and zero infrastructure. The creator of the project hosted an Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) on Friday, and discussed the project in more detail. News.Bitcoin.com also recently featured the developer Unwriter’s three other projects that are powered by the BCH chain. “Because Bitdb is backed by Bitcoin as canonical storage, it comes with all the benefits of Bitcoin’s decentralization. It’s powered by MongoDB as an index, it comes with all the benefits of NoSQL databases, including unlimited insertion of unstructured data, as well as highly flexible and portable query interface.” — Unwriter. “Bitdb is a NoSQL database powered by Bitcoin — It’s an autonomous public MongoDB instance which self-updates by crawling and indexing Bitcoin OP_RETURN transactions, a special type of transaction that can include up to 220 bytes of arbitrary data,” explains the website. “Using this 220 bytes as a database insertion command, we can construct an entire database system from Bitcoin.” Because it’s backed by Bitcoin as canonical storage, it comes with all the benefits of Bitcoin’s decentralization, and because it’s powered by MongoDB as index, it comes with all the benefits of NoSQL databases, including unlimited insertion of unstructured data, as well as highly flexible and portable query interface. “Bitdb takes a different approach. Instead of trying to implement decentralization on top of a legacy database, Bitdb utilizes Bitcoin as the single source of truth. In this approach, the ‘database’ is merely an index built from the canonical Bitcoin blockchain. Because Bitcoin has already solved the decentralized consensus problem through Proof of Work, Bitdb works right out of the box.” — Unwriter. Cointext Raises $600K in Bitcoin Cash In other news, the firm Cointext.io has raised $600,000 in BCH from a seed funding round led by Yeoman’s Capital. Cointext allows users to transact with bitcoin cash with any type of mobile phone using SMS technology (text). David Johnston, Managing Director of Yeoman’s Capital, explained that his firm wants a project that will change the lives billions worldwide. “We have a high bar for projects that we invest in — the technology must have the potential to impact over a billion people,” explains Johnston. Cointext allows any mobile phone to accept bitcoin cash payments. Cointext President and CTO, Vin Armani, details that Yeoman’s team will bring valuable experience to the table. “We are dedicated to making cryptocurrency easy to use for the maximum number of people,” Armani emphasizes. Keys4coins Announces 0-Confirm Transaction Says Its “Faster Than Lightning!” This week Bitcoin Cash fans were also pleased to hear about the game store Keys4coins announcing the acceptance of zero-confirmation transactions. Keys4coins is an online store that sells keys to games and Steam gift cards, and the company does not accept fiat. This means as soon as the network broadcasts the transaction users are allowed to claim their items (game keys and gift card codes) right away rather than waiting for one confirmation. “We are happy to announce Bitcoin Cash 0 confirm payments is now enabled,” explains Keys4coins. That means your transactions will now be faster than lightning — Make your order today and see the wonder of Bitcoin Cash. Experience order completion and delivery within seconds of making payment. Keys4coins products. Further Support and Innovation With Purse.io, and Trustless Bets Overall there’s been a lot more support and infrastructure additions to the Bitcoin Cash ecosystem during the last few weeks. Just yesterday Purse.io officially announced BCH integration, and now users can save 20 percent or more at Amazon using BCH with the Purse system. Trustless betting is coming to the BCH network as the Chainbet developers have built a fully working prototype. Another great achievement this week was when the Electron Cash developer, Jonald Fyookball, revealed a working prototype for — Chainbet — A protocol that brings trustless betting to the BCH network. So far even though crypto-markets have been in a slump you couldn’t tell with all the building and innovation taking place these days. What do you think about all the apps, support, and new innovations coming to the Bitcoin Cash network lately? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comment section below. Images via Shutterstock, Nokia, Cointext, Keys4coins, and Bitdb.network. Bitcoin News is growing fast. To reach our global audience, send us a news tip or submit a press release. Let’s work together to help inform the citizens of Earth (and beyond) about this new, important and amazing information network that is Bitcoin. The post Bitcoin Cash Sees More Infrastructure, Applications, and Protocol Innovation appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Market action during June has seen a significant slump in trade volume, with the majority of the ten most traded cryptocurrencies experiencing a drop in volume of between roughly 17% and 57% when compared with May. Also Read: ICO Round-Up: Social Media Influencers Bypass Ad Ban, Centra Tokens Deemed Securities Month-Over-Month 30-Day Trade Volume Declines Across Crypto Markets BTC has maintained its significant lead as the most traded cryptocurrency, with BTC pairings producing roughly $125.6 billion USD worth of trade over the course of the last 30 days. Compared with May’s 30-day volume of approximately $185 billion, the BTC markets have seen a 32% loss in trade volume. Unlike last month, the combined volume of the second and third most traded cryptocurrencies combined surpassed that of BTC – with Tether and Ethereum producing roughly $130 billion in trade combined. The 30-day volume of USDT has seen among the smallest percentage loss incurred by a top ten cryptocurrency – declining 17.2% from $93 billion last month to $77 billion during June. The monthly trade volume for ETH fell almost 30% from May’s $76.6 to approximately $53.8 billion this month. EOS has held its position as the fourth most traded cryptocurrency during June, however, shed nearly 33% of its trading volume – dropping from $47.5 billion last month to roughly $32 billion during the last 30 days. Volume Rankings Remain Mostly Stable During June The 30-day trade volume for BCH pairings dropped significantly this month, with June’s $14.7 billion in trade comprising a 47.5% drop from May’s $28 billion. Despite the monthly volume for LTC falling by 21% when compared with May, Litecoin has climbed from the 8th most traded cryptocurrency last month, with $11.9 billion in trade, to rank 6th for June with $9.3 billion. XRP has maintained its position as the seventh most traded cryptocurrency this month, producing $8.3 billion in trade during the last 30-days. Compared with May, XRP has lost 39% of its trade volume, which fell from $13.7 billion to $8.3 billion. Ethereum Classic was the only top ten cryptocurrency market by volume to see an increase in trading activity during June. The ETC markets produced $6.6 billion in volume this month – a roughly 1.5% increase over May’s $6.5 billion. Of the ten most traded cryptocurrencies, TRON saw the greatest loss in volume. Trading activity for TRON pairings fell 57% from 6th position with $14 billion last month, to 9th in June with $6 billion. QTUM was the tenth most traded cryptocurrency over the last 30 days with nearly $3.5 billion in trade. Do you think the markets will continue to experience a decline in monthly trade volume? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post Volume Rankings Report for June 2018: Trading Activity Drops Across Crypto Markets appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Satoshi Revolution: A Revolution of Rising Expectations Section 4: State Versus Society Chapter 9, Part 2 Crypto, and the Structure of Class Warfare The wall separating state and society is crumbling. Or, rather, the state is taking a jackhammer to it in an aggressive attempt to control every aspect of productive and cooperative life…The people you deal with on a daily basis are ceasing to be good neighbors, honest merchants, and disinterested strangers. They are becoming state informants who monitor your expression, your money, your behavior and attitude in order to report you to the authorities. They are ceasing to be “society” and becoming instead “the state.” –Murray Rothbard Cryptocurrency has an advantage that almost every other alternative money in the past has lacked. It does not mimic state-issued currency or state-controlled transfer systems, such as banks. Its revolutionary structure and function are as uniquely compatible with society as they are antagonistic to the state. State versus society: Libertarian class analysis is based on the interaction of the two categories, which are in irresolvable conflict with each other. The structure of each class–the arrangement of their parts according to a unifying theme—are also antagonistic. Into this analysis, crypto enters with a framework that rebukes the state and provides society with what it has sadly lacked: a free-market money for the average person. The compatibility of crypto and the free market and crypto is born out by their remarkably similar structures. (“Society” and “the free market are used as synonyms here because, in its broadest definition, the free market” is more than an economic dynamic; for example, there can be a free market of ideas. Broadly defined, the term refers to any free exchange.) The Structure of State, Society, and Crypto “Form follows function” means that the basic shape of a thing is determined by its purpose. For Frank Lloyd Wright, the two were inseparable. “Form follows function-that has been misunderstood,” Wright observed. “Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.” This is true of government or the state; it is also true of society. The function of a state is to regulate society in a manner that maintains its own existence and privileges. The state uses force or the threat of force to impose its policies; behind every law is a gun and its intimidation value. The purpose of the state defines its form; coercive agencies, such as law enforcement and the military, abound. Intrusive practices, such as the widespread collection of personal data, are the norm. In turn, the agencies and practices require intense centralization and bureaucracy. The function of society is as a venue where individuals interact peacefully for mutual benefit, whether that benefit is defined in economic, spiritual, or other terms. Society is voluntary, with legal obligations arising only from contract and consent. Because individuals are diverse and unpredictable, the form of society is fluid, quick to respond, and highly decentralized. The two classes are at war because the state produces no wealth of its own; it takes what is needed from society through taxation in its various manifestations, including inflation. To do so, the state asserts its authority over the peaceful behavior of others, which the others resent. The state does more than loot society, however. It usurps the functions of society—the interactions that should occur on the free market–such as road construction and financial institutions. Over time, segments of society are reshaped to resemble arms of the state. Banks are a prime example. Free-market banks would serve the needs of customers, including privacy. Current banks are information gathering centers for the state, with customer requirements being secondary. In the past, the state’s encroachment upon society enjoyed a huge advantage; the state controls the legal definition of money, its issuance and much of its flow. Society had to accept fiat, to tolerate monetary policies, and to live with banking rules. At least, society had no real choice until the explosion of cryptocurrency. Suddenly, individuals became their own banks, and they made their own exchanges…all without the state. Crypto is the money of society, the money of people. This status is not negated by the fact that some people become ridiculously wealthy through crypto; the free market has always rewarded successful innovators and early adopters. The status is not damaged by crypto experiments that fail; the free market is a brutal laboratory, with many dead ends. Imprudent people, who lose money through foolish acts, discover that the free market is also a corrective mechanism, without compassion. Even fraud does not cast a shadow on crypto as the money of society. Fraud haunts all human activities, especially lucrative ones. And those who appeal to the state for a remedy should remember that the state is institutionalized fraud and theft. Over time, the free market tends toward self-regulation. What can threaten crypto’s role as the money of society? The greatest danger is the drive to change the function and form crypto from being an expression of society into an expression of the state. The drive for so-called “respectability” involves regulation, state-issuance, and other measures that would reduce crypto to another form of fiat, another form of central banking. Crypto and Society Share the Same Basic Form One indication of crypto being the money of society is that the two have the same basic function and form. The function is to empower the individual; form follows. It is no wonder that crypto’s structure parallels that of society itself. The parallels include, A hard structure underlies them both. For crypto, it is the immutable blockchain that is remarkably immune to manipulation or exploitation; for society, it is the inviolable principle of non-aggression. The frameworks do not inhibit diversity. Their security and freedom encourage almost infinite innovations. A major reason: Adopting the underlying structure is not a matter of law but of choice, which is unrestricted thereafter. Third parties are not necessary for many of the transactions. For a complicated exchange, such as one that demands escrow, a third party is useful. Even then, however, the amount of trust required can be limited by strategies like getting in and out quickly. There is no barrier to entry. No state license, no permission, no legal forms. Both crypto and society are decentralized. Among the many advantages of this is that neither has a single point of failure where the entire system is vulnerable to bad actors. The individual is the locus of power. As long as a person retains his or her keys, that person controls their use. The parallel in society is the individual’s right to say “no.” Transactions can be pseudonymous or announced to the world, depending on individual preferences. Crypto purchased with a faux identity, which uses a different wallet for each transaction, can be almost as anonymous as cash. Exchanges are not ideological or political. Crypto and the free market are great levelers of traditional social distinctions, such as the race or religion of a buyer or seller. Crypto and society are both worlds in which wealth is based on merit, including the profits that properly come from taking risks that succeed. By contrast, the structure of the state is antithetical to that of crypto and the free market. It is based on coercion rather than consent; it is centralized rather decentralized; its wealth comes from confiscation rather than merit. Form follows function. Conclusion There is a popular myth about crypto. Namely, that free and state-controlled crypto can co-exist. In theory, it is possible. In practice, it will not happen because state-issued or state-controlled crypto does not merely differ in terms of its origin but also in terms of its form. Crypto cannot serve both state and society; it cannot express both centralized control and decentralized choice. The two may exist in parallel for a time but, inevitably, the state will reach for a monopoly. Crypto is becoming a new frontier in class warfare between the state and society. The state will try to reshape crypto in order to serve its own purposes. Instead of privacy and individual choice, state crypto will involve total disclosure and regulation. Instead of accessibility for all and the absence of trusted third parties, there will be licenses or bank-like exchanges becoming an unavoidable third party. The incredible benefit of crypto to society will be turned upside down, and it will become a benefit to the state. State-issued or controlled crypto will be a bitter mockery of the original vision, but it is coming. And one of the major impacts of the Brave New money will be almost invisible; the basic form of crypto will become the opposite of what it was created to express. This goes with the function of crypto changing. The best hope for free-market crypto is that concepts, such as decentralization, are so deeply embedded into its structure that a state-issue is doomed to fail. As a next resort, of course, the state will regulate what it cannot create. Society’s money will become a bit riskier and more difficult to use. [To be continued next week.] Reprints of this article should credit bitcoin.com and include a link back to the original links to all previous chapters Wendy McElroy has agreed to ”live-publish” her new book The Satoshi Revolution exclusively with Bitcoin.com. Every Saturday you’ll find another installment in a series of posts planned to conclude after about 18 months. Altogether they’ll make up her new book ”The Satoshi Revolution”. Read it here first. The post Wendy McElroy: Crypto and the Structure of Class Warfare appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In Saturday’s Bitcoin in Brief, we cover some of the new expansion plans of leading cryptocurrency trading platforms. Singapore-based Huobi has confirmed its intentions to open an office in London, and US exchange Coinbase is about to do the same in Portland, Oregon. Also, a new crypto vault in Switzerland offers safe storage for cryptocurrencies, while the parliament in Valletta has approved three bills designed to increase the attractiveness of Malta for businesses in the crypto space. Also read: Exchanges Expanding, Brave Adds Tor, Tether “Double Spent” Huobi Confirms Plans for Office in London Crypto exchange Huobi will be opening an office in London as part of its plans for global expansion that include America as well. The Singapore-based trading platform, currently the third largest by trading volume, has confirmed earlier reports in an official statement this week and is obviously moving closer to the City. Operations in the UK will be managed by Lester Li who will take the post of European Exchange Director and Josh Goodbody who will assume responsibilities as Chief Compliance Officer. Despite the generally lukewarm attitude of British financial authorities and regulators towards cryptocurrencies, the industry has been gaining ground on the Albion, with UK trading volume ranking fifth in the world, according to Huobi. In other words, the Kingdom has become the largest crypto market in Europe. Britain has also registered a growing number of successful ICO projects that have raised about $500 million in 2018, as claimed in a recently released report. Coinbase Opens New Office on the West Coast While Huobi is eyeing London, Toronto, San Francisco, and São Paulo, the US-based exchange Coinbase has been planning an expansion on America’s West Coast. The trading platform announced in a post on the company’s blog that it will be setting up an office in Portland, Oregon. Taking advantage of the local “innovative community,” Coinbase plans to offer up to 100 new jobs, supporting Portland’s economy. The vacancies may increase in the future, as the company expands its business activities. The news comes after an earlier announcement about Coinbase’s intentions to conquer foreign markets, too. This month, the exchange shared its decision to apply for a license with Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA). It has been reported that the platform is also set to introduce GBP deposits and withdrawals within the coming weeks, following an agreement to partner with UK’s Barclays bank. In another blog post, the leading US exchange announced that we are waving goodbye to GDAX and saying hello to Coinbase Pro. The exchange explained that Coinbase Pro is a “new interface built on top of the existing GDAX trading engine that has been designed with the needs of the active trader in mind.” After the launch date, Coinbase detailed, any balances and trading history in GDAX wallets will automatically be shown on Coinbase Pro. It also said that accessing GDAX.com after June 29 will result in being redirected to Coinbase Pro. The team encouraged all users to update their bookmarks and try the upgraded trading experience. Keeping Cryptos Safe, in a Safe And if being able to swiftly exchange your cryptocurrencies is a priority in times when markets are dominated by a downward trend, keeping them safe is the number one on the list for those who can afford the long positions. Two Swiss bitcoin entrepreneurs are now trying to attract more hodlers to a secure Alpine bunker, much like the Hong-Kong based Xapo. The Swiss Crypto Vault is a venture set up by Niklas Nikolajsen, a well-known bitcoin speculator, and former UBS Group AG investment banker, Philipp Vonmoos. According to its founders, the project aims to lure ultra-high net worth individuals and institutional investors with its “deep underground storage, state-of-the-art encryption, multi-signing authorization processes and many more security features,” Bloomberg reported. The storage space is available to clients that need to protect their holdings in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, litecoin and ether, as detailed in a statement by Nikolajsen’s cryptocurrency broker, Bitcoin Suisse, which has already transferred the digital currency it controls to the bunker. The company is now working with 10 lenders and 10,000 clients. “Many banks already have important clients where they simply cannot say no when they ask about crypto investments and crypto financial services – that’s when banks get in touch with us,” Niklas Nikolajsen said in an interview in Zug, home of the Swiss Crypto Valley. “It’s not millions anymore we’ve been moving to the bunker – it’s the next level,” he added. Malta Approves Three Crypto Bills Malta, one of the jurisdictions competing with Switzerland for the attention of crypto companies and investors, has recently adopted three cryptocurrency and blockchain oriented draft laws. On Tuesday, the Maltese parliament voted unanimously to approve on second reading the bills designed to turn the island nation into one of the most attractive destinations for businesses in the crypto space. Quoting the government in Valletta, the local press also reported that Stephen McCarthy is to become the first chief executive of the Malta Digital Innovation Authority. According to The Times of Malta, McCarthy has previously worked in accountancy and iGaming before serving as CEO of the Maltese Housing Authority in the past few years. “Malta will be at the forefront in the regulation of this section,” Parliamentary Secretary Silvio Schembri commented. Indeed, recognizing the positive developments in the Mediterranean country, crypto companies like Bitbay and Okex, have already announced their intentions to relocate to the Island. What are your thoughts on today’s Bitcoin in Brief news tidbits? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Bitcoin News is growing fast. To reach our global audience, send us a news tip or submit a press release. Let’s work together to help inform the citizens of Earth (and beyond) about this new, important and amazing information network that is Bitcoin. The post The Daily: Swiss Crypto Vault, Huobi Opens in London, Malta Approves Crypto Bills appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Millennial Living in 2018: Insights for the UK ‘Build-to-Rent’ Sector, a study in conjunction with FTI Consulting, commemorates real estate group Get Living’s 5th anniversary. Focusing on millennials, it found significant portions turning away from traditional stores of value, such as property and home ownership, in favor of crypto assets. Also read: Bitlicense Should be Smashed, Candidate for New York Governor Urges Millennials Turning from Traditional Investments and Toward Crypto “For Millennials the soaring performance of Bitcoin – followed by an almost equally profound correction – holds more intrigue than the prospect of steady growth in house prices,” Get Living concludes. “This translated to 27% of male Millennials polled believing Bitcoin represents a better investment than property.” Is this age group “in the vanguard of the new Sharing Society, where people are less interested in following in the footsteps of their home-owning parents and would rather make a fortune from Bitcoin?” asked build-to-rent advocates Get Living. The group “sought to answer these questions and a host of others about Millennials’ lifestyles in ground-breaking research carried out in cities across the UK in March and April 2018.” That over a quarter of UK males polled, in the 3,065 universe of 21 to 35-year-olds, see crypto as favorable comports nicely with previous studies. In late March of this year, for example, “The Student Loan Report teamed with Pollfish to survey 1,000 current university students with related loan debt, asking one question: Have you ever used student loan money to invest in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin?” these pages explained. The survey “found that 21.2 percent of current college students with student loan debt have used financial aid money to fund a cryptocurrency investment.” That study itself confirmed a late 2017 Harris Poll, finding that 27% of all millennials preferred bitcoin core (BTC) to traditional stock and bonds. “The rollercoaster ride in value for Bitcoin has excited many Millennials, with one in five seeing it as an appealing investment proposition compared with relatively slow-moving property values,” Get Living noted. And whatever the actual macroeconomic truth of the matter, a bare majority still hold to legacy investments such as real estate. As to whether still more males, and of course their female counterparts, will continue to move into crypto (and whether this will be for the long term) is anyone’s guess and well beyond the present study’s scope. Will more millennials move into crypto? Let us know in the comments. Images via the Pixabay. Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH and other coins, on our market charts at Satoshi Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post 27% of England’s Male Millennials Say Bitcoin Better Investment Than Property appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Three stories dominate this week’s initial coin offering (ICO) round up: It appears many ICO projects are reaching out to social media influencers in an effort to thwart advertising bans across leading platforms. A study published by the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) suggested that the country develop a licenced-based regulatory apparatus that permits cryptocurrency activities including ICOs. A U.S. judge has found that CTR, tokens distributed through Centra Tech’s ICO that sought the promotional services of boxer Floyd Mayweather, demonstrate numerous attributes of a security under existing legislation. Also Read: South Korea Thinks Real-Name System is Working – Stepping Up Crypto Monitoring ICOs Turn to Social Media Influencers Amid Advertising Ban A report by the LA Times has looked into the increasing prevalence of ICO promoters employing the services of social media influencers in the midst of the prohibition on cryptocurrency advertisements on a number of leading social platforms. The report cites research conducted by Solume, which found that approximately 18% of cryptocurrency-related posts on Reddit, Twitter, and Bitcointalk.org now typically originate from bounty campaigns set-up by ICO promoters. In January, by contrast, the figure was 6%. “It’s really a very cost-effective mechanism for developing a brand,” stated Saransh Sharma, the president of 4new – who are currently conducting an ICO. “Before you know it, there’s a snowball effect,” he added. Whilst ICO promoters appear to have found a means through which they can advertise on social media platforms despite the ban, some are not convinced that the practice of paying social media influencers to promote ICOs will last for long. Lex Sokolin, the global director of fintech strategy at Autonomous Research, stated: “Once it becomes clear that financial outcomes can be manipulated not just by trading but [also by] creating perceptions through social media, regulators will take a very hard stance.” Chinese Banking Commission Suggests Inclusive ICO Regulations The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) recently made public a working paper titled, “The Study of Development and Regulations on Distributed Ledger Accounts, Blockchain and Digital Currency.” The report argues for the development of an inclusive, license-based regulatory apparatus designed to allow cryptocurrency related activities, including ICOs, to operate legitimately in the country. “Currently, any capital transaction that relates to distributed ledger accounts, blockchain, cryptocurrency and its derivatives, ICOs and exchange operations should all be regarded as financial services. Therefore they must be put under relevant financial regulatory frameworks so that they can operate legally with a license,” the document states. Centra Found to be Distributing Securities In the latest news regarding the Floyd Mayweather-promoted Centra ICO, a Florida district court has found CTR tokens issued through the company’s initial coin offering comprise securities. The court, citing the Howey test, argued that CTR tokens satisfy the criteria for all three prongs of an “investment contract,” rendering such a security. The court found that “Because the success of Centra Tech and the Centra Debit Card, CTR Tokens, and cBay that it purported to develop was entirely dependent on the efforts and actions of the Defendants […] the offering of Centra Tokens was an investment contract under the Securities Act, such that the Defendants sold or offered to sell securities by virtue of the Centra Tech ICO.” The court recommended that “the Defendant’s Renewed Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order, Asset Freeze, Document Preservation Order, and Order to Make Accounting and Other Ancillary Relief […] be granted to the limited extent consented by the Defendants.” Do you think social media influencers will continue to be used as a means to bypass advertising bans? Join the discussion in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Twitter Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post ICO Round-Up: Social Media Influencers Bypass Ad Ban, Centra Tokens Deemed Securities appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Initial Coin Offerings in the first half of 2018 have attracted nearly double the amount of funds raised last year, a new report reveals. Researchers point out, however, that the majority of ICOs have largely failed, with only a third of the projects closed successfully. According to the study, the US remains the major destination for coin offerings while Switzerland has established itself as a European ‘standard bearer’ in regulation. Also read: Why 70% of ICO Tokens Are Not Exchange Listed and Probably Never Will Be $13.7 Billion Raised in Coin Offerings This Year The capital raised through Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) has reached $13.7 billion USD in the first five months of this year, twice the total for the whole of 2017. The data comes from a newly released report authored by the Swiss Crypto Valley Association (CVA) and Strategy&, the consulting division of one of its members, PwC. The study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the global ICO activity and explore key changes in the space since last year. The numbers in the second edition of the quarterly Global ICO Report are in sharp contrast with this year’s bearish trend that has taken over crypto markets. According to Daniel Diemers, Head of Blockchain EMEA at PwC Strategy&, the report “highlights the continued growth and popularity of ICOs globally in 2018, with over 537 ICOs conducted in the first five months of this year, raising a combined total of $13.7 billion USD – more than all ICOs which took place before 2018 combined.” According to data quoted by Reuters, around $7.0 billion have been raised by token sales last year. Daniel Diemers also said: After all the hype of 2017, this year has seen the ICO sector becoming more mature and established, with an improved focus on best business and legal practice, investor relations and fundraising. Hybrid models of combined Venture Capital and ICO financing are increasingly bringing together the best of what both have to offer, so that the soundness of a business is validated while it realizes its market potential by receiving crowd support. However, the paper also notes that the majority of crowdfunding projects have failed to achieve their goals. Only about 30 percent of the 3,470 ICOs announced since 2013, the report details, have closed successfully, while many have been delayed or lost momentum during the token sale process. America a Major ICO Destination, Switzerland a Leader in Regulation According to the research, the US remains a major destination for Initial Coin Offerings. In the first five months of the year, 56 US-registered token sales have raised a total of $1.1 billion USD. The authors believe this is due to the clear and firm regulatory requirements put in place there and the growing number of crowdfunding projects that choose to register with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). They also point to an increase in the number of coin offerings conducted in the United Kingdom as well as the volume of capital raised there. According to the provided statistics, 48 UK-registered ICO projects have attracted more than $500 million in 2018. Another conclusion is that Switzerland has affirmed itself as a leading hub for ICO and blockchain business in Europe and remains attractive to crypto entrepreneurs, while smaller jurisdictions like Liechtenstein, Gibraltar and Malta are following in its footsteps. “Switzerland is the standard bearer in terms of establishing a regulatory environment for the digital economy. The Crypto Valley in Switzerland offers a unique environment that embraces blockchain technologies and the potential of ICOs while always embodying Swiss values, such as privacy protection and confidentiality,” said Oliver Bussmann, President of the Crypto Valley Association. ICO Destinations and Trends The findings confirm some previous observations and detect new trends regarding Initial Coin Offerings. According to an earlier report, covering 370 ICOs, US-based crowdfunding projects have raised $1.03 billion – so no surprise there. The study placed China (including Hong Kong) second with $452 million, followed by Russia with $310 million USD. What’s surprising is the development of the ICO market in the UK, where financial authorities and regulators have generally demonstrated lukewarm attitude towards cryptocurrencies and the crypto space. Switzerland, whose crypto-friendly jurisdiction has attracted a number of crypto and blockchain businesses, is trying hard to catch up with the leading ICO destinations. Representatives of the country’s crypto community have joined a multinational effort to challenge the ban on crypto-related advertisements imposed by the largest IT corporations. The restrictions introduced by companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter, hit hard crowdfunding projects and are likely to be targeted soon in a class action lawsuit. At the same time, the achievements of far less conspicuous European countries have made the headlines of ICO-related articles and publications. Lithuania is a good example – the tiny Baltic state has reportedly attracted around 10 percent of all coin offerings last year. An estimated €500 million has been raised through ICOs and blockchain projects over the last 12 months. Authorities in Vilnius have recently issued comprehensive regulatory guidelines for initial coin offerings. According to a recent report by Politico, the country’s economy is expected to grow by more than 3 percent this year and the digital cash flow is part of the reasons. Do you expect the ICO sector to grow, despite the continuing downward trend on crypto markets? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Bitcoin News is growing fast. To reach our global audience, send us a news tip or submit a press release. Let’s work together to help inform the citizens of Earth (and beyond) about this new, important and amazing information network that is Bitcoin. The post Report: 2018 Token Sales Almost Double Last Year’s Results appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On June 28, 2018, the US Supreme Court revealed it would not re-evaluate Ross Ulbricht’s court case and double life sentence tied to his charges of operating the Silk Road marketplace. Ulbricht’s legal team and family were hoping the recent Carpenter Vs. US Supreme Court case would spur court officials to reconsider the Ulbricht’s conviction. However, Supreme Court officials didn’t see eye to eye with this reasoning and denied Ulbricht’s cert petition. Also read: Troll Slayer: Derek Magill Defends Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash Against Defamation SCOTUS Denies Ross Ulbricht’s Cert Petition Just recently, news.Bitcoin.com reported on the Ross Ulbricht case and the convicted Silk Road operator’s cert petition filed with the Supreme Court this past May. According to Ulbricht’s lawyers, out of 200 cases that day, the court justices denied all of them except for the case Carpenter Vs. the US, and Ross Ulbricht’s petition. Lawyers had thought the implications of the Carpenter case, which applies to warrantless cellphone searches, would help Ross’s appeal. Six days ago, the American public learned that the Supreme Court sided with Carpenter’s arguments and ruled law enforcement cannot access cell phone information without a warrant. Ross Ulbricht before he was arrested. One week later, the Supreme Court came to its decision concerning Ulbricht’s case and decided not to re-evaluate the hearing and sentencing. Of course, the Ulbricht family is not pleased with the decision and in a heartbreaking tweet the organization Freeross.org stated: SCOTUS denied Ross Ulbricht cert petition this morning after holding it pending Carpenter. This is a NO on internet privacy and Ross’s case. Devastating. #freeross. Furthermore, Lyn Ulbricht, the mother of Ross Ulbricht who has been championing for his freedom since the day he was arrested, made this statement: This is devastating news for Ross and our family. Lyn Ulbricht tells the press the family is “devastated” by the decision. The Surveillance State and Illusionary Freedoms To many supporters, the denial was an injustice, especially after the Carpenter Vs. the US ruling. Many people believe, alongside Ulbricht’s family and attorneys, that Ulbricht’s fourth amendment and other amendment rights were taken from him. Moreover, a double life sentence for operating a website is considered extremely harsh as many other criminals have received less severe punishments for more heinous crimes. “It is hard to imagine a better example of the consequences of runaway judicial fact-finding than this case,” explains Ulbricht’s cert petition. Petitioner, a young man with no criminal history, was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for drug crimes that do not ordinarily carry that sentence, based substantially on numerous factual findings made by the sentencing judge by a preponderance of the evidence. Even though activists have lauded the SCOTUS decision towards Carpenter, with Ulbricht’s case there has been an extreme injustice in the eyes of many. It means that there may be laws against law enforcement committing illegal acts like warrantless searches. But unfortunately, when it comes to reality and cases like Ulbricht’s, it further solidifies the feeling that American freedoms are illusionary. What do you think about the Supreme Court denying Ross Ulbricht’s petition after the Carpenter Vs. US decision? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comment section below. Images via Shutterstock, and Pixabay. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Supreme Court Will Not Reconsider Ross Ulbricht’s Life Sentence appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Leading Indian cryptocurrency exchange Zebpay has added new cryptocurrencies to its crypto-to-crypto trading platform. The exchange now supports 19 cryptocurrencies and over 35 trading pairs, as it prepares for the banking ban by the country’s central bank to go into effect next week. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space 19 Cryptocurrencies, 35+ Trading Pairs One of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in India, Zebpay, announced Friday that it has added a number of cryptocurrencies to its crypto-to-crypto trading service. Zebpay claims to have over 3 million users. The exchange launched its crypto-to-crypto trading service in late April with just one trading pair – ETH/BTC. In early May, it added six more markets, trading BTC against BCH, LTC, XRP, EOS, OMG, and TRX. Then on Friday, June 29, Zebpay added 10 new crypto-to-crypto markets: NCASH, REP, BAT, ZRX, ZIL, GNT, VEN, KNC, CMT, and AE. The exchange wrote, “Zebpay announces the launch of 10 new crypto-to-crypto trading pairs. You can now trade 10 new tokens, supported by Zebpay, with BTC,” adding: Now, trade 19 cryptocurrencies and 35+ trading pairs on Zebpay cryptocurrency exchange. Zebpay’s list of supported cryptocurrencies in addition to BTC. Ramping Up Crypto Trading Ahead of RBI Ban India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), issued a circular that mandates all financial institutions under its control to stop servicing companies dealing in cryptocurrencies by July 5. Following the circular, industry participants petitioned the Supreme Court, challenging the RBI ban. The Court originally scheduled the hearing date to July 20, two weeks after the ban is set to take effect, but reportedly decided to move that date to July 3. In the meantime, crypto exchanges in India are actively preparing to lose access to banking services. Zebpay recently informed its customers that fiat deposits and withdrawals are likely to cease following the ban, advising them to make any necessary withdrawals beforehand. Following this announcement, all cryptocurrencies listed on the exchange experienced spikes in their trading volume as sell orders piled up. Zebpay’s BTC/INR trading chart for the period between June 21 and June 29. Zebpay is not the only Indian exchange ramping up crypto-to-crypto trading ahead of RBI’s ban. Unocoin recently launched Unodax, a multi-crypto trading platform, offering the trading of 15 cryptocurrencies. The exchange has also launched an asset allocation tool called Crypto Basket. Another exchange in the country, Koinex, also offers crypto-to-crypto trading. What do you think of Zebpay adding support for 19 cryptocurrencies ahead of the RBI ban? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, RBI, and Zebpay. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Indian Exchange Zebpay Boosts Trading Support for 19 Cryptos Ahead of RBI Ban appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

This week marks another set of patents granted Mastercard, which is part of a many years attempt by the payments behemoth to employ technology underpinning most cryptocurrencies. The latest turn involves anonymous distributed ledger transactions via a third party processor. Also read: Bitlicense Should be Smashed, Candidate for New York Governor Urges Mastercard Granted Still More Crypto Patents In its latest crypto patent filings, Mastercard stresses “a need for a technical solution whereby an entity may participate in a transaction where transaction details may be posted publicly to ensure accountability and trust in the data, while still providing anonymity and inability of others to track individual transactions or volume information by transaction party identifying information of both parties of a transaction to satisfy the confidentiality needs of each entity involved in the transaction.” The more than half-a-century old legacy payments institution based in the United States is a world leader. Tens of thousands of employees. Nearly $13 billion in yearly revenue. It is a staple of Standard & Poor’s component indices. Its principal global business is as an intermediary, trusted third party, between merchant banks, and their derivations, along with credit, prepaid, and debit cards. United States Patent Application 20180181953, granted yesterday after having been filed back in late December of 2016, reads in abstract, “A method for posting of anonymous directed transaction includes: storing a plurality of entity profiles, each including an entity identifier and a secret value; receiving a transaction request from a first entity, the request including transaction data and a specific entity identifier associated with a second entity; identifying a specific entity profile that includes the specific entity identifier; generating a first hash value via application of one or more hashing algorithms to the transaction data; generating a second hash value via application of one of more hashing algorithms to a combination of the first hash value and the secret value included in the identified specific entity profile; and posting the first hash value and second hash value to a publicly accessible data source.” Loosely translated, a public blockchain transaction, as it exists in its popular forms with regard to bitcoin core (BTC), just might be a key in holding back more crypto acceptance on a broader scale. Of its many ironies, BTC’s open ledger provides a wealth of information for both consumers and businesses, and aspects of industrial espionage are sure to follow, something giants like Mastercard are keen to avoid at all cost. Privacy for Mastercard is Different than Privacy in the Crypto World The cryptocurrency world has continued to tackle the issue of private, cash-like transacting since its inception. Alternatives abound among tokens and alternative coins, and their numbers and intensity are growing at record paces. For traditional payments companies, avoiding a public distributed ledger is equally growing in importance. They’ve several masters to please, including lawmakers and regulators who wish to grant such transaction access to police. Eliminating peer-to-peer features is also very important, and so third party processors are vital to the company’s plans. A lucrative side business is to sell such information to other companies hoping to exploit its proprietary data for advertising purposes, for example. Crypto-related patents recently granted to the company include travel and even coupons. They’re yet another ironic turn for a company with well-known hostilities toward the crypto community. What do you think about Mastercard’s patent moves? Let us know in the comments. Images via the Pixabay, Mastercard. Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH and other coins, on our market charts at Satoshi Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post Mastercard Latest Crypto Patent: Anonymous Third Party Transactions appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

This week the well-known Purse.io, a firm that allows people to purchase items on Amazon and save 15 percent or more, has announced that Bitcoin Cash (BCH) support is now live. Furthermore, due to a partnership with the Bitcoin Cash Fund, the company is offering $10 cash back to Purse shoppers who shop and earn before the end of July. Also read: Cryptocurrency Firm Circle Sees Institutional Interest Spike 30% Purse.io Launches Full Bitcoin Cash Support The firm Purse.io has officially announced full BCH integration due to the overwhelming requests from people asking the company to deploy more coin support. Purse says they have completed a major overhaul of the entire Purse experience, including a redesigned wallet that helps reduce fees. “Our community has demanded more cryptocurrency choice and this is our first big step. To celebrate, we’ve partnered with the Bitcoin Cash Fund to rain cash on you all,” explains Jaqi Lenee the company’s product design leader. We’ve built support for Bitcoin Cash [BCH], which is a great option for people who want to save more dough. Transaction fees on this network are currently cheaper and less volatile. Shoppers, simply fill your wallet with Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash and start shopping. Earners, you’ll be able to pick which coin you’d like to earn before accepting an order. Choose wisely. (Or flip a coin?) The Purse and Bitcoin Cash Fund Cashback Promotion The ‘Cashback’ contest will offer $10 cash back for 1,000 shoppers until the end of July and $850 in prizes for top earners, explains Purse. Based on the number of BCH orders accounted for within that time period, there will be a 1st place reward for $500, 2nd place ($250), and 3rd place ($100). Purse details that the Cashback promotion will distribute contest rewards after deliveries are confirmed. Bitcoin Cash fans were excited to see that BCH is now integrated into Purse.io and even posted on some of the purchases they have been making since the launch. One Reddit user writes, “Just made my first purchase. It couldn’t be easier, and I will write a full review when I get my BCH.” What do you think about Purse integrating bitcoin cash into their system? Let us know your thoughts on this subject in the comment section below. Images via Shutterstock and Purse.io Express yourself freely at Bitcoin.com’s user forums. We don’t censor on political grounds. Check forum.Bitcoin.com. The post Bitcoin Cash Support is Now Live on Purse.io 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. Essentia.One – the decentralized interoperability protocol – has announced it’s partnership with the Finland Govt. to develop a second pilot. This time Essentia will focus on building blockchain based solutions in the field of smart logistics. Essentia co-founder Matteo Gianpietro Zago confirmed their move as a progression from their first pilot which began development back in April of this year to tackle unemployment rates and to track production chains. “The success of our first e-government blockchain project with MTK meant we built a level of mutual trust, and as passionate believers in the underlying value in blockchain, we knew that we could adapt the technology to solve many more issues in different governmental departments” Finland has now begun ventures to secure its place as one of the leading logistics hubs in the world. Industry representatives are seeking forward thinking solutions to combat the issues facing the ever-expanding administration and data management in logistics and transportation. Essentia.One has teamed up with the governmental association ‘Traffic Lab’ to ensure information regarding end-to-end deliveries – such as delivery contents and contact information – are securely and safely accessible to authorized stakeholders. “We envision the Essentia protocol completely revolutionizing the methods of data management. The proven power, and benefits of Blockchain technology will give Finland’s international logistics hub that extra competitive edge,” says Matteo speaking from the Amsterdam headquarters. The pilot is set to be presented to Finland’s Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish Transport Safety Agency Trafi, the Finnish Transport Agency, the Finnish customs, the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority and other members of the new Corridor as a Service (CaaS) ecosystem. To stay up to date, you can follow all the progress and developments on Essentia’s Telegram channel. Contact Email Address matteo@essentia.one Supporting Link www.essentia.one 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: Finland Government and Essentia.One Reveal Plans for International Blockchain Logistics Hub appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Cryptocurrency prices have once again dipped some more as most digital assets are seeing 24-hour losses of around 2-10 percent today. Bitcoin Core (BTC) markets have dipped below the $6K region to a low of $5,774 per coin but have since rebounded a hair to $5,907. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) markets dropped to a low of $630 per coin but are now averaging $661 per BCH on June 29, 2018. Also read: Japanese Economist Explains Why Another Bitcoin Price Surge Is Unlikely Cryptocurrency Markets Drop a Hair Lower Digital currency markets are at a turning point today as most cryptocurrencies have lost quite a bit of value erasing nearly all the gains achieved since last October 2017. Since Bitcoin Core’s (BTC) all-time high (ATH) at $19,600, the cryptocurrency has lost 70 percent of its value. The entire cryptocurrency capitalization of all 1600+ coins is $234Bn as it has lost nearly ⅔ of value since December 2017. Today, on June 29, there’s been an 11.7Bn worth of digital currencies traded as trade volumes continue to grow weaker. On the other hand, there’s been a lot of development taking place behind the scenes, and big crypto-focused firms like Coinbase, Blockchain, Circle, and others are now enticing institutional investors from venture capital firms. The 2018 crypto-bear market continues. BTC Market Action BTC market action has been tough on bulls as bears continue to wreak havoc and shorting every chance they can get. However, many short positions on exchanges like Bitfinex are being liquidated and dwindling down as long positions are starting to grow. At press time, BTC has a market capitalization of a little over $100Bn and 24-hour trade volume of around $3.7Bn. The top exchanges today swapping the most BTC include Binance, Bitfinex, Okex, ZB.com, and Bitstamp. The Japanese yen is capturing 59 percent of today’s BTC trade volume which is followed by tether (USDT 17.4%), USD (16.2%), EUR (2.5%), and KRW (1.5%). BTC/USD Technical Indicators Looking at the 4-hour and daily BTC/USD charts on Coinbase and Bitstamp shows bulls are exhausted after pushing back to the $6,200 range and losing it. Just like our last markets update, right now the long-term 200 Simple Moving Average (SMA) is well above the short-term 100 SMA. This indicates the path to least resistance will be towards the downside. MACd levels look as they’ll be heading southbound after seeing a slight lift during the early morning trading sessions. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) oscillator is showing oversold conditions at the moment (32.04) which means we could see a slight increase northbound in the short term. Looking at order books shows that bulls need to get past the $6K region but bigger resistance is above the $6,200-6,400 zone. The walls looking northbound are not that tall and things could change directions in an instant. On the backside, there are mountains of buyers between now and $5,000. BCH Market Action BCH action shows bulls are struggling to hold current market spot prices as well. Today the Bitcoin Cash market capitalization is resting at $11.4Bn with around $390Mn in 24-hour trade volume. BCH is holding the 5th highest trade volume today out of all 1600+ cryptocurrencies in existence. The top exchanges trading the most BCH on the last week of June are Okex, Bitfinex, Huobi, Hitbtc, and EXX. Data collected from Crypto Compare shows BTC commands roughly 40 percent of today’s BCH trades. This is followed by tether (USDT 29%), USD (17%), KRW (6.3%) and JPY (1.8%). The addition of the yen joining the top five is interesting and ETH trades account for 1.59 percent of BCH swaps as well. BCH/USD Technical Indicators Looking at the BCH/USD charts on Bitfinex indicates BCH bulls have their work cut out for them. The 200 SMA is above the short term 100 SMA but the gap is smaller than the 4-hour BTC/USD chart. However, this still indicates that the least resistance is the downside if any uptrends are squashed along the way today. MACd is meandering in the middle as we speak and could head in one of two directions. RSI levels (31.7) are similar to the BTC/USD charts as the oscillator on the BCH/USD 4-hour is also showing oversold conditions. Bulls need to press past $685 to find smoother seas ahead and at the moment that’s still attainable in the short term. Looking at the backside shows bears will see pit stops between the current vantage point and $620 through $590 because of extremely large buy walls. The Top Crypto Markets Today The second largest market cap belonging to Ethereum (ETH) is down 5.3 percent over the last 24-hours. ETH markets are also down 13 percent over the last week with a price average of around $412 per token. Ripple (XRP) markets are down 5.2 percent today and 13 percent over the last seven days as one XRP now trades for $0.43 cents. Lastly EOS still commands the fifth position but EOS markets have dropped 5.5 percent over the last 24-hours. EOS charts show seven-day losses of around 17 percent with one EOS priced at $7.38 per coin. The Verdict: Cryptocurrency Markets Are at the Crossroads Today’s verdict is still filled with uncertainty and skepticism on whether or not we will see a bear market reversal soon. There has been a triple bottom and so far most cryptocurrency prices have remained above these key areas for now. People are still in the midst of coordinating newer positions like a game of musical chairs in search of the next wave up or even down. 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: Cryptocurrency Prices at the Crossroads appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

South Korea’s top financial regulator recently told 23 other countries’ regulators that the kimchi premium has fizzled since the anonymous trading of cryptocurrencies was banned in the country. Now, the government is introducing a new guideline to prevent local crypto exchanges from buying cryptocurrencies at foreign exchanges. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Kimchi Premium Disappearing Kim Yong-beom, the vice chairman of South Korea’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), attended a meeting of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) in Basel, Switzerland, earlier this week. The FSB is an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system. Its members are financial regulators and central bankers from 24 countries as well as the International Monetary Fund, the Bank of International Settlements, the World Bank, the European Central Bank, and the European Commission. According to the FSC’s statement issued this week, Kim told other world regulators that “The so-called kimchi premium stood at 0.6 percent on June 19,” Yonhap described. In comparison, he noted that “On Jan. 7, a speculative rally in bitcoin in South Korea prompted investors to pay premiums of 46.7 percent compared with international prices.” The vice chairman was further quoted by the news outlet: Currently, there are small price gaps in cryptocurrency between local and international markets. At the time of this writing, the price of BTC on Bitfinex is $5,875 while its won price on Bithumb equates to $5,947. Government Believes Real-Name System is Working The South Korean government introduced the real-name system for cryptocurrency accounts at the end of January, effectively “banning the use of anonymous bank accounts in transactions to prevent virtual coins from being used for money laundering and other illegal activities,” the publication described. “The real-name trading system was also part of the government’s latest measures to curb speculative investment into virtual money.” However, since its introduction, the system has often been criticised because only a few banks decided to offer to convert existing “virtual” crypto trading accounts to real-name ones. The conversion rate is low and the banks that do offer this service choose to only provide it to the country’s largest crypto exchanges: Bithumb, Upbit, Coinone, and Korbit. Other exchanges continue to use corporate accounts, which the regulators say are prone to money laundering. Nonetheless, the FSC said: The frenzied buying of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies seen in January this year in South Korea has been fizzling since the government banned anonymous trading of cryptocurrencies. Stepping Up Monitoring At a recent P2P loan review meeting with the Ministry of Justice and the National Police Agency, Kim pointed out that the real-name system “applied only to exchanges that receive virtual accounts at banks,” Hankook Ilbo reported. He added that the majority of crypto exchanges are still using corporate accounts. Then the FSC said Wednesday that “it will step up monitoring of money transfers between local and foreign cryptocurrency exchanges,” the Korea Times reported, adding: The new guideline, which aims to prevent local cryptocurrency exchanges buying virtual coins at foreign exchanges to launder money, will come into force on July 10 for one year. The financial regulator revealed that it plans “to closely keep tabs on bank accounts used by cryptocurrency exchanges for parking their expenses.” What do you think of the Korean government’s strategies? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Yonhap, and the Korean government. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post South Korea Thinks Real-Name System is Working – Stepping Up Crypto Monitoring appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Polish Bitcoin Association has reportedly appealed to Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (OCCP) to protect the country’s cryptocurrency sector from what it perceives as a growing embargo targeting virtual currency businesses on the part of Polish financial institutions. Also Read: The 2018 Crypto-Bear Market Less Severe Than 2014, At Least for Now Polish Bitcoin Association Files Complaint with OCCP Against 15 Banks The Polish Bitcoin Association has accused a number of the country’s banks of seeking to restrict competition through refusing to provide financial services to cryptocurrency companies. The association recently filed a complaint with the OCCP requesting that the regulator launch an investigation into the alleged banking embargo, and impose penalties where appropriate.. The Polish Bitcoin Association’s complaint accuses “15 financial institutions” of refusing to provide bank accounts to 52 entities in the country’s nascent cryptocurrency sector, adding that said banks have also unfairly closed the accounts of a further 25 entities. The complaint describes mBank as having the most “disgraceful” record among Poland’s banks, alleging that the it has “made 9 refusals and closed 3 accounts.” According to a rough translation of the complaint, “the effects of the banks’ actions described clearly aim at removing virtual currency entities from the market, despite the fact that such activities are legal and conducted with dignity. In view of the above, action by the regulators is necessary, and this notice and its requests are fully substantiated.” No Polish Regulations Prohibit Cryptocurrency Trading The Polish Bitcoin Association asserts that the alleged restriction of financial services to cryptocurrency companies has occurred without a legislative mandate, emphasizing that there is no prohibitive regulatory regime concerning the exchange of cryptocurrencies. Earlier this month, the Polish Financial Oversight Commission published a document seeking to clarify the legal status of cryptocurrency in the country, in which the watchdog stated that there are “no regulations prohibiting [the] trading […] of cryptocurrencies. The release also expressed the Polish Financial Oversight Commission’s intention to develop and introduce a regulatory apparatus pertaining to bitcoin and alternative cryptocurrencies during July. Earlier this week, a survey conducted by Ipsos for ING found that Polish citizens are among the most virtual currency-savvy in Europe – with 77% of respondents expressing familiarity with cryptocurrency. The survey found only one European nation to produce a higher percentage of respondents that had heard of cryptocurrency, with 79% of Austrians found the have been familiar with virtual currency. Do you think that Poland will adopt a permissive or prohibitive regulatory apparatus with regards to cryptocurrencies? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post Polish Bitcoin Association Seeks Protection from Alleged Banking Embargo appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

If you thought that only proof of work coins were susceptible to double spending attacks, you haven’t met tether. The world’s ninth largest crypto by market cap and second largest by volume is meant to be a haven in a sea of uncertainty, but even it’s not immune to jiggery-pokery, as we’ll learn in today’s Bitcoin in Brief. Also read: Japanese Economist Explains Why Another Bitcoin Price Surge Is Unlikely How to Have Your Dollar Peg and Spend It If you were told that another cryptocurrency had been double spent, you’d probably guess it was a low hashrate PoW coin, not USDT. By rights, it ought to be impossible to double spend tether, but that’s what happened on June 28 according to one Chinese cybersecurity firm. Someone sent 694 tether to an exchange and was credited for the deposit due to a certain field value pertaining to the transaction being altered. An Omni dev (whose blockchain tether operates on) has since confirmed this did occur, but was the fault of the exchange for poor integration, rather than a flaw in tether itself. Still, the news has prompted at least one exchange, Okex, to issue reassurances that its exchange is safe from this bug. Tether’s most prominent critics have long asserted that the company doesn’t have enough US dollars in the bank to cover the amount of USDT in circulation. If rampant double spending starts to occur, they’ll be right. Big Exchanges Get Bigger The last 72 hours has witnessed a flurry of activity from the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, who have have been expanding aggressively – except for the ones who’ve been retreating. Kucoin has announced it is ceasing its operations in Japan, following other platforms such as Binance out the door. The country’s FSA has been ramping up pressure on non-licensed exchanges to stop trading in Japanese territory, and the pressure has paid off. Rather than ruffle feathers, major exchanges have been beating a dignified retreat. Elsewhere, though, crypto exchanges have been actively expanding, including Uganda of all places, where Binance has just announced the launch of a fiat-crypto platform. It’s offering zero trading fees for the first month and giving away 10,000 BNB tokens to sweeten the deal for new signups. In the UK, meanwhile, Coinbase is apparently set to start introducing GBP deposits and withdrawals within the coming weeks. The exchange recently partnered with the UK’s Barclays bank. Brave Adds Tor Browser Tabs Brave, the web browser with opt-in ads, which recompenses viewers with its native BAT token, is that rare thing: a crypto project that actually has users. 2.8 million of them in fact, which is pretty impressive given the hegemony of Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. On Thursday, the latest version of the Brave browser was updated to include optional Tor private browsing tabs. This makes it possible to enjoy anonymity without the need to launch a standalone Tor browser. Deanonymizing Zcash Transactions While Brave users are gaining a degree of anonymity, a number of zcash users are losing theirs. A new report from Motherboard reveals how individuals who purchased hacking tools from the Shadow Brokers in 2016 could now be identified. Researchers at the University College London have been examining zcash transactions and traced the movement of some of the coins associated with the Shadow Brokers to a crypto exchange. Zcash has previously faced criticism for not enabling anonymous transactions by default, making it theoretically easier to deanonymize those who have enabled private sending. Crypto Exchange Ranks Goes Live Crypto Exchanges Ranks (CER), a new platform that rates exchanges according to their liquidity, security, volume, and other metrics is now live. We reported on the platform a couple of weeks back, when it was in beta. The project was developed by Hacken, who explain the rationale behind it in a blog post to celebrate the launch. Finally, Block.one seems to have acknowledged royally screwing up its launch of EOS. In an effort to redress some of these sins, it’s returning to the drawing board and redrafting its constitution. If only members of the crypto community had tried to warn Block.one that freezing accounts and forcing sovereignty on blockchain users wasn’t the way to go. Oh wait, they did. What are your thoughts on today’s stories in Bitcoin in Brief? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Bitcoin in Brief: Exchanges Expanding, Brave Adds Tor, Tether ”Double Spent” 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. Friday 29th June 2018, Lugano, Switzerland – trade.io’s CEO Jim Preissler today announced during his keynote speech at the trade.io sponsored, Bloomberg event in London, England, that the Exchange, the flagship product of trade.io, will be launched on July 17th, 2018. The announcement comes after months of anticipation across the crypto world where they have eagerly prepared for the launch of trade.io’s live Exchange, and later its Liquidity Pool. For the first month of launch, the company has also announced that they will offer commission-free trading to registrants. Pre-registration to the trade.io exchange is available here: https://exchange.trade.io/ Today marked a truly special occasion as trade.io celebrated the announcement of the launch with not just one, but two milestone events. The first of which was titled “The Future of Cryptocurrencies”; Bloomberg’s first ever cryptocurrency event. The event was broadcast live to Bloomberg Terminals’ many thousands of daily users and also live-streamed on trade.io’s website. The collaboration with trade.io was an attempt to bridge the worlds of traditional finance with blockchain/cryptocurrency by bringing some of the brightest minds and most innovative thinkers together, for a one-of-a-kind event. This event will be livestreamed on https://trade.io/future-of-cryptocurrencies. In conjunction with the Exchange launch date announcement, trade.io also hosted a guerrilla coffee campaign, which took place at one of London’s busiest commuter hotspots and financial centres, Canary Wharf station, whereby more than 350,000 people pass through every day. trade.io believes in constantly exceeding community expectations and today was no exception. Over 13,000 free coffees were served in trade.io branded cups, at the busy London Underground station as well as in 20 independent coffee shops in the City of London. In addition, numerous chocolate coins emulating the company’s cryptocurrency, the Trade Token (TIO), were distributed across various London venues, and both these and the coffee cups offered an opportunity to register in the company’s popular airdrops campaign. The company has also made plans to exhilarate the crowds at Canary Wharf Station today, with a surprise flash mob of dancers dressed as astronauts. This is being live-streamed on the company Facebook page www.facebook.com/trade.io Global press were also present at both of these uplifting events, in order to disseminate footage of interviews and other key events on international television and media channels. trade.io’s CEO Jim Preissler commented on the launch, “We are thrilled to announce the launch of our trade.io Exchange. The community has been eagerly waiting, so it gives me great pleasure to announce that we will finally launch on 17th July. It will be a staggered launch to 1,000 people initially, with future clients to be on-boarded in the days to follow. “Following the BETA version of our Exchange where select members tested the platform, we are confident that we will satisfy the specifications stipulated to us by our community, and look forward to sharing in the successes of our upcoming official Exchange.” The first lucky 1,000 people to experience the trade.io platform, will be contacted via email in the days before the launch. 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: trade.io Announces Official Launch of Its Highly Anticipated, Customizable Crypto Exchange at Simultaneous London Events appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Sacramento Kings are now mining Ethereum, the team announced on Wednesday. They are the first sports team entering the crypto space, and in doing so are introducing crypto to sports fans and offering a local group that supports black communities to buy and sell ether. Also read: Coinbase Founder Launches Cryptocurrency Fueled Charity ‘Givecrypto’ Tech-Savvy MBA Team Enters the Crypto Space The American basketball team the Sacramento Kings reportedly started mining ether three weeks ago using Nvidia mining rigs. The owner of the NBA team, Vivek Ranadive, is also a computer software entrepreneur, and founder of Tibco. The Sacramento Kings have been praised by the magazine Fast Company’s annual ranking of the world’s Most Innovative Companies in Sports. The home of the Sacramento Kings is now a crypto mining facility In 2014, the Kings became the first NBA team to accept bitcoin as payment at its goods store and for season tickets. Vivek Ranadive was quoted saying that the team was a big fan of Ethereum, and wanted to do something to give back to the local community. “It was obvious to us,” he said, “let’s start mining cryptocurrency.” The profit from the mining would go to a local group that supports blacks communities as part of a charity program. Mining Crypto with Solar The Golden 1 Center, an indoor arena, home to the Sacramento Kings, has a solar paneled rooftop that can generate up to 1.2 megawatts. Installing solar power was part of the Sacramento Kings ownership’s goal to have the country’s most technologically advanced entertainment center. The tech-savvy NBA team’s business executives said that the mining project has no direct association with basketball at the moment, but they are confident that when players come to Sacramento they will be aware they can be introduced to new technologies and to tech companies. Earlier this week, GMO Coin, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange company, introduced the world of sports in Japan to crypto by sponsoring a local baseball team, the Chiba Lotte Marines. “I think cryptocurrency will increasingly be more familiar to our fans,” Toshihiro Sorimachi, a spokesman to the Japanese baseball team told news.Bitcoin.com in an interview. “There aren’t any players currently holding cryptocurrencies in the team,” Sorimachi said, “but there are many players here who are interested in the virtual currency technology,” he added. What do you think about sports team getting involved in crypto? Let us know your thoughts on this subject in the comment section below. Images via 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 NBA Team Mines Ethereum appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Yukio Noguchi, a famous economist in Japan and an advisor to Waseda University’s Business and Finance Research Center argues we can’t expect Bitcoin’s prices to rapidly surge again. In his books and in recent articles, Noguchi makes his case eloquently. He wrote a recent article in Diamond Weekly clarifying his position but has been making his case since January of this year and published a book last December. Also read: The Daily: Analysts Predict Bitcoin Will Rebound, Enthusiasm for State Coins Lost “Because It’s Now Possible to Trade on Bitcoin Futures You’ll Never See a Rapid Surge Again” Noguchi points out that the price of BTC is now almost a third of what it was in December of last year. He believes that because it’s now possible to trade on Bitcoin futures people will never see a rapid surge again. On one hand, he says that because the price of bitcoin has gone down, the costs of sending bitcoin are now back to a level that makes it cheaper than doing bank transactions and this is welcome. Bitcoin won’t surge, Japanese economist says He argues that the introduction of the futures market has driven down the price considerably. This year in January he persuasively argued that the cause of Bitcoin price collapse was the start of the selling of bitcoin futures. “Bitcoin prices were a bubble, to begin with, and now we’re seeing a return to normal values. The San Francisco Federal Bank, in a report, also suggested that the introduction of Bitcoin futures trading caused a price drop. Additionally, the market is heading towards a situation in which it will be possible to short-sell bitcoin futures and that will also contribute to keeping the prices down. Noguchi points to a paper published on May 7 by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, “How Futures Trading Changed Bitcoin Prices“, authored by Galina Hale, Arvind Krishnamurthy, Marianna Kudlyak, and Patrick Shultz. Here is the key passage: “From Bitcoin’s inception in 2009 through mid-2017, its price remained under US$4,000. In the second half of 2017, it climbed dramatically to nearly US $20,000, but descended rapidly starting in mid-December. The peak price coincided with the introduction of bitcoin futures trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The rapid run-up and subsequent fall in the price after the introduction of futures does not appear to be a coincidence. Rather, it is consistent with trading behavior that typically accompanies the introduction of futures markets for an asset.” Waseda University, Japan Noguchi insists that actually, the majority of investors are predicting that prices of bitcoin will continue to fall, especially when some are able to make money from short-selling the cryptocurrency. He also feels that allowing cryptocurrency to branch off, it makes people feel like they can get new cryptocurrency for free and that also drives down price. Does he see that as resulting in a decline in the popularity of Bitcoin? Surprisingly, Noguchi believes it’s a good thing. As the price of bitcoin drops, it becomes a more attractive means of sending money. He calculated that at current prices, if you had to use Mitsubishi UFJ Bank to send money, it costs you 432 yen for any amount above 30,000 yen. But with the current value of Bitcoin, it’s cheaper to send via a regular bank transfer than BTC, unless the value of BTC falls to 675,000 yen. When BTC returns to that level, it will finally be trading at what should be a normal value. On December 20th last year, Noguchi’s book, “An Introduction To Bitcoin And Blockchain” was published and received rave reviews. What do you think of Prof. Noguchi’s analysis on Bitcoin surge? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Japanese Economist Explains Why Another Bitcoin Price Surge Is Unlikely appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bitcoin prices back in 2013 touched a high of $1,236 per BTC on December 4, and following that spike the price dropped for more than a year, all the way to $225 per coin on June 1, 2015. Last year in 2017 the price of BTC ran up higher, but this time reached $19,600 per coin, and it has lost considerable value since then. At the moment mainstream media (MSM) is reporting on how people who bought at the height in 2017 have lost quite a bit of their investment, but MSM has failed to report that this year’s dip is less, percentage wise, than the losses in 2013 and the extent of $19K to $6K loss has been far less severe. Also read: Indian Women More Bullish On Crypto than Men, Invest Twice As Much Despite MSM Headlines, Not Many People Purchased Cryptos at the ATH Back in December of 2013, the cryptocurrency community saw its first big bull run as BTC market prices ran up to over $1,200 per coin. That means those who bought at the all-time-high (ATH) realized losses of around 81.7 percent on June 1, 2015, when the price tapped $225 per BTC. The 2013 bull run was much faster than 2017, and the ATH was short lived, as the run-up to $1,200 only took a couple months. One significant difference between 2017 and 2013 was even though BTC climbed to $19,600 on December 16, the cryptocurrency dropped from a 90 percent dominance level to less than 50 percent amongst 1,600+ other digital assets. The 2017 bull run was all year long starting in December when the price of BTC surpassed 2013’s ATH. Additionally, at the same time, BTC dominance dropped from 90 percent in January 2017 to below 38 percent earlier this year. Currently, BTC dominance is around 42 percent but a big difference between 2013 and 2017 is the fact many other cryptocurrencies had their own ATHs. At the moment those who purchased BTC at the ATH are bearing a 69.3 percent loss at the time of publication. People Who Bought BTC After October 15, 2017, Are In the Red Between 1-65% — Purchases Prior to This Date Still See Gains So many ask when was the best time to get in on BTC after markets have suffered through a significant loss. At prices today the best time to get in BTC without suffering any losses was prior to October 15, 2017, and any BTC purchases after this time have seen a percentage of their portfolio lose value. Anyone who purchased BTC after October 21, 2017, is seeing a loss. The price of BTC touched its ATH on December 16, 2017, but that price did not last long. In fact, the price was only above the $19K mark for a mere 2 and a half days. So, in reality, there is only a small number of people who purchased BTC at this height. Six days later the price had dropped to $13,900 per BTC and people bought at this height have lost 56 percent. Then again the price jumped back up to $17,200 per coin and investors who got in here have lost 65 percent. From that height of $19,600, there was a steady decline to around $6,600 on February 5, 2018, but there were a few fakeout spikes after that day. It’s likely that from February 5 up until the current vantage point saw most of the buying action at these prices following the intense dip. People who purchased BTC at this time could have possibly purchased at highs around $11,200 which shows a realized loss of around 46 percent. The Bitcoin Cash ATH on December 20 Lasted Less Than a Day — Most Losses Between December and June 2018 Are Around 36-56% According to Bitstamp on December 20, 2017, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) touched an all-time high of around $4,385 per coin. Now those who purchased at this height (which lasted far less than a day) have lost around 84 percent. The second jump in February 2018 saw BCH prices touch $3K per coin which indicates a loss of 76 percent. On May 5, 2018, BCH prices touched $1,600 per coin and this would be a loss of around 56 percent. The same could be said for most of the cryptocurrencies in the top ten market caps. Moreover, if a Bitcoin Cash supporter decided to trade all of their BTC one week after the blockchain split one week later on August 8 they would have made much better gains today. If for example, the person had 20 BTC they would have been able to acquire roughly 209.31 BCH on August 8, 2017, with prices that day at $3,370 per BTC while BCH was $321. If the person kept the 20 BTC they would have roughly $120,000 at today’s BTC prices, meanwhile, 209.31 BCH would net them $146,517 USD on June 28, 2018. If an investor sold 20 BTC for BCH one week after the split they would be up $26,517 more than if they left it in BTC. So Far the 2018 Bear Run Has Been Less Severe As Far As Losses, But Crypto-Proponents Are Not Certain This is the Bottom Most digital asset proponents are confident prices will regain previous levels and beyond, and surpass the ATHs that took place in December. The problem is enthusiasts don’t know when a trend reversal will take place, and if the current price has dropped to its lowest point. The bear run of 2014 all the way until the summer of 2015 was a very long period of time. Most cryptocurrency supporters are sure the bear market can’t last forever. But they don’t know how long this one will last, and whether or not there will be a shuffle as far as digital asset market capitalizations. So far at least for the price of BTC bears haven’t managed to drag the price lower than $5,700-$5,900 per coin. They have tried to do so three times since the ATH. Currently, BCH prices are holding an average of around $710 and prices have not dipped below the $590 range yet. Because of these factors, some traders speculate this period of time could be the bottom; but because of all the bull traps over the past five months, and the last bear run in 2014, was well over twelve months today’s bearish sentiment may not be over. But so far it seems to be less severe than the bear runs year’s prior. Prices and the math in this article refer to a rough average of the spot price of $6,000 (USD) per BTC and $700 per BCH on June 28, 2018, at 12:00 pm EDT. Prices may have fluctuated since that time. What do you think about the prices today in comparison with the last bull run and bear run throughout 2013-2015? Do you think 2017 will be similar and prices will drop even more or do you think this is the bottom? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. Images via Pixabay, Coinmarketcap.com, Howmuch.com, and Wiki Commons. At Bitcoin.com there’s a bunch of free helpful services. For instance, have you seen our Tools page? You can even lookup the exchange rate for a transaction in the past. Or calculate the value of your current holdings. Or create a paper wallet. And much more. The post The 2018 Crypto-Bear Market Less Severe Than 2014, At Least for Now appeared first on Bitcoin News. 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South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has announced the 11 cryptocurrencies stolen in last week’s theft and the amount of each coin missing. A compensation plan has also been unveiled for the equivalent value of the lost coins in an undetermined cryptocurrency. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Only Half As Much Crypto Missing Bithumb officially announced Thursday the details of the cryptocurrency theft which it reported on June 20. Since then, the exchange has been cooperating with the authorities to investigate the cause of the theft. Initially, the exchange estimated that the “damage caused by the cyber-attack was about 35 billion KWR [~US$31 million],” but that amount was revised to “about 19 billion KRW instead [~$17 million]” after undergoing a “continuous recovery process.” The exchange elaborated: The main reason for the reduction of the damage is due to the ongoing participation, support and cooperation of cryptocurrency exchanges and cryptocurrencies foundations across the world. Also our quick response to the cyber-attack by removing cryptocurrencies from hot wallet to cold wallet effectively contributed to reducing the overall damage. At the time of this writing, Bithumb is South Korea’s largest crypto exchange with a 24-hour trading volume of $136,432,719, followed by the Kakao-backed Upbit with $110,435,824 trading volume in the same time period, according to Coinmarketcap. Which Coins Were Stolen? Bithumb has provided a breakdown of the 11 cryptocurrencies that it claims were stolen. They are BCH, BTC, ELF, ETH, ETHOS, GNT, HSR, KNC, OMG, VEN, and XRP. The largest damage is in BTC, which had about 13.9 billion won (~$12,377,255) stolen. According to Bithumb, the total amount stolen is 18,945,911,857 KRW or $16,892,614. Compensation Plan Bithumb has also revealed its plan to compensate all affected users. Reiterating that it takes full responsibility, the exchange announced that it is organizing “a compensation airdrop event.” Members must apply for compensation from the theft to be eligible for the distribution. For the inconvenience of keeping customers’ coins tied up, the exchange is offering interest between the time of application to the date they are fully compensated. “The annual interest rate of 10% will be prorated over the [compensation] period, hence the longer you hold, the higher compensation becomes,” Bithumb emphasized. “The amount of cryptocurrencies held will be calculated from 8:00 PM ~ 9:00 PM (UTC+9) each day starting from the date of application until the end of the [compensation] period.” However, the eventual selection of which cryptocurrency customers will be reimbursed in has not yet been determined, Bithumb detailed, stating: The equivalent value of cryptocurrencies will be given away in a form of an airdrop (the type of cryptocurrency is not decided yet). Commission Fee-Free Coupons In addition, Bithumb is offering commission fee-free trading coupons for all interested customers for the inconvenience caused to them, starting on June 28. “Commission fee-free coupons will be available for purchase each day (the coupon is zero cost, useable for 1 day and it can be purchased once every day),” Bithumb detailed, adding that once it is purchased, it does not stack and can only be purchased when another coupon expires. What do you think of Bithumb’s theft and plan to compensate customers? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Bithumb. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Bithumb Reveals 11 Cryptocurrencies Lost and Plan to Compensate Customers appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article