roadrunner

The operator of Line, Japan’s most popular chat app with approximately 200 million users worldwide, has confirmed the upcoming launch of its cryptocurrency exchange called Bitbox. The new platform will list more than 30 of the most popular cryptocurrencies, offering “low trading fees”. Supporting 15 languages, the new exchange will launch globally, except for two countries. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Line Corp Launching Crypto Exchange Next Month Line Corp, the operator of Japan’s most popular chat app, announced Thursday at the Line Conference 2018 that “it plans to establish the cryptocurrency exchange Bitbox in July 2018.” According to the company’s official announcement: Bitbox will offer more than 30 highly demanded cryptocurrencies for global users (except in Japan and the United States), with support in 15 languages. Line Corp elaborated that the 15 languages include English, Korean, and Chinese. Furthermore, the company emphasized that the new platform will be a “Cryptocurrency-to-cryptocurrency exchange (no fiat currency trading available).” According to the company, in the first quarter of this year, its chat app had 165 million monthly active users (MAU) across four key countries: Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia. In Japan, there were 75 million users in that time period, which was 2 million more than the previous quarter. While Line has continually gained more users in Japan, it has lost users in the other three markets combined. Nonetheless, its overall DAU (daily active users) to MAU ratio has been steadily growing. About Bitbox The CEO of Line Corp, Idezawa Takeshi, commented that “with Bitbox, Line users will be able to access cryptocurrencies more easily, while also being assured of state-of-art security measures to protect their assets.” Line Corp explained that the cryptocurrencies to be listed on Bitbox “have gone through an extensive screening process.” They were “selected by an internal committee to offer the most reliable and safest trading for users,” the company noted, adding: Bitbox will trade highly demanded coins, including bitcoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash, and litecoin, while offering low trading fees of 0.1%. In January, the company said it had applied for a registration to operate a crypto exchange with the Japanese financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA). Under the revised fund settlement law, all crypto exchanges in Japan must register with the FSA. However, the process was held up after one of the largest crypto exchanges in the country, Coincheck, was hacked which prompted the FSA to tighten its oversight and registration rules. Recently, the agency issued business improvement orders to six fully-licensed crypto exchanges including the country’s largest, Bitflyer. What do you think of Line Corp launching a crypto exchange? Do you think millions of the Line Chat app users will be using it? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Line Corp. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Japan’s Line Launching Exchange With 30+ Cryptocurrencies in All but Two Countries appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Since the infamous Bitlicense was put into effect, the ecosystem has fought for its removal. It turns out to be much harder in practice than in theory to oust a law once it’s put into effect. The good news is groups like Startup Cities are on the case. They’ve snagged a candidate for governor to champion their cause, and they’re even holding a rally in mid July to help galvanize support for putting down a notoriously bad idea. Also read: Troll Slayer: Derek Magill Defends Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash Against Defamation Gubernatorial Candidate Larry Sharpe Will Work to Get the Bitlicense Repealed Three years later, almost to the date, will find New York City once again placed front and center within the cryptocurrency world. At issue is its regional Bitlicense, enacted and formerly attended to by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS). While limited to residents of New York, it’s probably not too wild of a statement to insist New York City is the defacto financial capital of the world. What it does usually means other regional professional finance laws are sure to follow. Candidate Larry Sharpe would be the first pro-crypto Governor. And the law is comprehensive, so vague it appears to cover every aspect of potential crypto movement: transmission, storing, holding, any kind of custodial arrangement, exchanges, etc., you name it, it’s probably governed under the license. That a company or individual would need such permission has created a perhaps unintended consequential truism: at least a dozen bitcoin-related companies have left the state. Who knows how many potential businesses never even began due to this market entry barrier. It has been dubbed the “Great Bitcoin Exodus” by the New York Business Journal. Peter Ryan and his Startup Cities organization have had enough. This July 10, he’s bringing in New York candidate for governor Larry Sharpe for a candid discussion about what can be done, including a complete repeal of the Bitlicense. “I don’t want us to vote bitcoin away,” Mr. Sharpe stressed. “I want us to embrace it.” The July 10th event is to be held at Galvanize, 6:30pm to 9pm, and tickets are $20 (get half off by entering: “crypto”), payable in fiat or bitcoin cash. Ignoring Politics Doesn’t Mean Government Will Ignore You The law is so difficult to navigate potentially, businesses are relying on former regulators such as Benjamin Lawsky to assist in maintaining compliance. Mr. Lawksy, many will remember, was the principal proponent of the license while on the NYSDFS. After its taking effect, Mr. Lawsky suddenly retired from public service, and began lobbying on behalf of companies seeking compliance in conformity with a law he helped bring about. More recently, last year in fact, Mr. Lawsky joined Ripple as a board member. Still, there has been tacit embrace of the regulation, and some businesses, citing clarity and the need to enter a lucrative market such as New York City, have applied. Circle was first, Ripple next, Coinbase shortly after, followed by Bitflyer, Genesis Global Trading, Xapo, and Square Inc., just recently. Startup Cities, the group behind the July 10th gathering, bills itself as “entrepreneurs, economists, and urbanist thinkers [joining] forces to discuss the actions, effects, and impacts of startup methodology for cities.” Startups, and the culture surrounding them, act as a kind of metaphor for decision making: innovative, deliberate. They routinely hold conferences and public discussions, and then “invite our audience to a networking session to chat about entrepreneurship, urbanism, and decentralization. We hope to demystify the concepts of starting new types of societies,” its website claims. “Larry Sharpe is running for governor to change and innovate the state,” Startup Cities explained further, “leveraging his background as a soldier, businessman, and educator. He is one of the most supportive and forward-thinking politicians on the issue of cryptocurrencies.” The group’s mission “is to create a nexus of information and action. That nexus includes research produced by academics, technology envisioned by entrepreneurs, and support funded by both private and public investors.” The event is also sponsored by Urbanist, Bitcoin Center NYC, Crypto NYC, Galvanize, Ollie, Shapeshift, and Bitcoin.com. Would a pro-cryptocurrency politician earn your vote? Let us know in the comments. Images via the Pixabay, Larry Sharpe. 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 Bitlicense Should be Smashed, Candidate for New York Governor Urges appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Just recently, news.Bitcoin.com reported on the trustless betting concept called Chainbet designed by the Electron Cash lead developer Jonald Fyookball. Since then, Chris Pacia performed the first atomic bet on the Bitcoin Cash network and now the project is seeing contributions from other developers as well. Now the programmers have revealed they have developed a working prototype that executes BCH wagers in a decentralized and trustless fashion. Also read: Cryptocurrency Firm Circle Sees Institutional Interest Spike 30% Chainbet Developers Produce a Working Prototype The protocol Chainbet is moving along as the project has moved from Jonald Fyookball’s proof-of-concept into a reality as the developer has revealed a working prototype. In essence, Chainbet allows two parties (Alice & Bob) to bet in a completely trustless manner without the need for third-party arbitration and all of it is recorded on-chain using bitcoin cash. During the first week of June, Fyookball told the Bitcoin Cash community about his new idea while also launching Chainbet’s Github repository that explains the concept in better detail alongside the codebase. Openbazaar developer Chris Pacia took the project a step further performing the first atomic bet on the BCH chain. Following this, Fyookball, Pacia, and James Cramer boosted the project even more by adding the ability to not only perform simple coin flip bets, but also auctions, multiplayer bets, and six-sided dice rolls. Now the project is really moving along, according to Fyookball, as the developers have devised a working prototype and the reference implementation was built with the open source SDK Bitbox. The Chainbet developers have also released a video of the prototype in action which shows a wager taking place between two candidates in a decentralized manner. According to a source familiar with the development team, the protocol could add a lot more on-chain transactions on the BCH chain. “Each bet is around 10 on-chain transactions — Once it goes live it should increase transaction count quite a bit,” our source details. Chainbet Goes Beyond Provably Fair Following the announcement of a working prototype and a video showing the action in process, a Lightning Network supporter claimed on Reddit that there was a “better solution to betting in a provably fair model that scales efficiently working right now” and shared an app called ‘Lightningspin.’ The Electron Cash developer and creator of Chainbet Jonald Fyookball scoffed at the LN supporter’s assumption that the ‘Lightningspin’ app is a ‘better solution.’ Chainbet goes beyond provably fair — It is also trustless. Since the inception of Chainbet, the recently re-enabled OP_Codes, and increased OP_Return data field things like on-chain trustless wagers are becoming a reality. The idea shows that decentralized bets used in various ways on gambling websites like Satoshi Dice, Bitcoin Cash Games, and other BCH casinos could create trustless environment for their visiting players. Essentially, wagers like these could revolutionize the way we gamble online. Check out the prototype video below. What do you think about the Chainbet technology moving forward? Let us know in the comment section below. Images via Shutterstock, Chainbet, and Youtube. 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 Trustless Bitcoin Cash Betting is Coming — Chainbet Reveals Working Prototype appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Despite being a minority among crypto investors, just like anywhere else, women in India actually spend on cryptocurrency twice more than men do. A newly released survey also found that the majority of Indian crypto users live in big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore. The study comes out while Indians expect new regulations within weeks. Also read: Indian Crypto Regulations Ready in July, Official Reveals Men Still a Majority Among Investors, Women Spend More Unsurprisingly, female crypto investors are a firm minority in India, and pretty much anywhere else on the planet. However, what sets Indian women apart from many other, beauty aside, is their willingness to spend more on cryptocurrency than their husbands and boyfriends. According to a survey carried out by crypto exchange Buyucoin, female traders in India spend more than Rs.140,000 on average (>$2,000 USD), whereas men invest half of that, around Rs.70,000, Crypto News reported. The authors of the survey arrived to these numbers after examining trading data for the country’s largest cities, where the majority of cryptocurrency users are concentrated. The research covers over 60,000 participants and has been conducted by Buyucoin between the months of May and June, this year. The trading platform’s chief executive and co-founder, Shivam Thakral, commented: “We wanted to conduct a detailed study to ascertain new policies and strategies that will drive this industry ahead. We acquired some interesting facts such as the service sector is taking exceptional interest in trading of cryptocurrency, and females, in particular, showed great potential in leading this industry forward.” The published data reveals that New Delhi (National Capital Region) is the area with the most active cryptocurrency users, 22.03 percent of the total. The city also has the largest share of female crypto investors – 8.8 percent, while men are 91.2 percent. Mumbai, the financial capital of India, takes the second position with 14.42 percent active users, 93.4 percent of which are male and 6.6 percent are female. Bangalore is in third place with 13.91 percent, men are 93.2 percent and women account for 6.8 percent. They are followed by Hyderabad – 9.6%, Pune – 8.09%, Chennai – 5.94%, and Ahmedabad – 3.81% of active users. Kolkata is at the bottom of the table with only 3.23 percent of all users, 95.8 percent of which are men and 4.2 percent women. The 8 cities covered account for three quarters of all cryptocurrency investments in the report. Another interesting finding is related to the age at which most Indians enter the cryptocurrency world. For male investors that’s 30 years, and for women – around 40. “Usually, woman investors who are buying or trading are over 40 years of age. Typically these are mature investors who are able to put in more money,” Buyucoin CEO, Shivam Thakral, explained for Quartz. “On the other hand, more men start investing at an early age with the average age for this group being 30,” he noted. New Regulations Expected Within Weeks The findings come at a time when the Indian crypto community expects authorities to present a comprehensive regulatory framework for the sector. The head of the government-appointed committee tasked to propose new regulations recently said that these will be ready in the first fortnight of July, as news.Bitcoin.com reported. So far, authorities in Delhi have mostly demonstrated negative attitude towards cryptocurrencies with the finance minister declaring they are not to be regarded as legal tender in the country and the central bank restricting financial institutions from providing services to crypto businesses and users. The ban imposed by the Reserve Bank of India is scheduled to come into force on July 5. A number of local crypto companies have filed petitions against the measure. According to the latest reports, the Supreme Court will hear some of them on July 3, right before the deadline set by the RBI for commercial banks to comply with its directive. Do you think regulating cryptocurrencies will attract more women into the crypto space? Share your expectations in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Now live, Satoshi Pulse. A comprehensive, real-time listing of the cryptocurrency market. View prices, charts, transaction volumes, and more for the top 500 cryptocurrencies trading today. The post Indian Women More Bullish On Crypto than Men, Invest Twice As Much 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. AVINOC: What is AVINOC? The original name is Aviation Network Operation Chain. It is a platform for the global General Aviation (GA) business, using a new concept and innovative Blockchain technology. It aims to bring the power of decentralization and the speed of blockchain systems into the GA, especially into the Business Aviation (BizAv) sector and as a second step consequently into the Airline Business. Hong Kong. To put it simple: AVINOC brings passengers, airlines, air traffic control, and travel agencies together. Which means that classical old-school booking companies like checkfelix.com or expedia.com will in future lose some of much of their business. Blockchain technology allows for direct link between players: AVINOC cuts out the middleman, the intermediary which used to bring passengers and airlines together when it comes to flight bookings. And also other services can be provided: booking can be much easier done for groups in future: you would know better who is travelling where, and can bring friends together on the platform, like circles. Blockchain technology enables that we can get in touch with our airline provider similar to WhatsApp: simple, easy and with much better faster services. About AVINOC AVINOC is a platform for the worldwide coordination of business flight activities within general aviation. By its very nature, it is decentralized and completely transparent while protecting the privacy of both individuals and companies. AVINOC has been designed to achieve optimal resource utilization and reduce costs significantly. Its main goal is to overcome the shortcomings associated with current aviation businesses, such as opaque and complex processes, high costs for intermediaries and brokers as well as delayed flights. Thus AVINOC will also reduce a lot of empty flights! Planes with no passengers on board shall be avoided, air carriers will be filled, more better standby-options will be offered. Which will ensure that flights are more efficiently used making them cheaper to the end customers like tourists or business people. Second interesting aspect is that by reducing empty flights also fuel consumption will substantially be reduced, which is beneficial to the environment and reduces greenhouse gas emission. The days of manual order processing and information retrieval via e-mail, telephone or fax – currently considered to be “best practice” especially in the business aviation industry will come to an end. Going far beyond established technologies, AVINOC will allow for direct bookings and payment in the BizAv on a global scale by constantly making all relevant data available to the user. It’s 2018, but – believe it or not – it may still take more than eight hours of human labor to organize a single business flight. AVINOC will change all that. For the very first-time, bookings of individual flights will be possible instantly and without any third-party involvement. AVINOC will facilitate an optimized crew management, e.g. by paying salaries and fees directly, on time and across borders. It will support the ordering and payment of fuel globally as well as refueling in time to make business trips more economic. Using AVINOC will result in a significant process speed-up and cost reduction to the benefit of the customer and the supplier. What is more, AVINOC will provide the basis for a complete automation of Business Aviation – particularly in view of the future of autonomous flying. Due to the ever-increasing complexity of the coordination process, intermediaries such as brokers and their broker-portals have continually been raising prices at an alarming rate. AVINOC will eliminate all those costs by completely forgoing the intermediaries. It will empower the customer and cut through the complexity. Aviation Disruption AVINOC forms a superset of a Blockchain solution not only for BizAv but for the entire aviation business. Overcoming the highly complex BizAv structure will build a strong foundation for solving similar problems, only of lesser complexity prevalent in the Airline Business. Following the “Facebook Story” by first implementing AVINOC in BizAv, as Facebook did for universities, scheduled Airline and Charter Business will be the next logical step of AVINOC’s worldwide development. Since the 1960’s, the organization of airline air travel has been steered by the same technology, even to this day. This system is generally known as the Global Distribution System (GDS). In this system, transactions are made between airlines and travel agencies that offer air travel to passengers. This market is dominated by three players worldwide. Apart from the GDS and as a more recent development, numerous price comparison and booking portals have emerged over the last two decades, separating airlines from customers and leading to a lack of transparency. Technical innovation is urgently needed to break this artificial overpriced system and to restrengthen the airline market from the inside. AVINOC creates new concepts to manage the General Aviation Business and provides innovative solutions for airline ticketing. Effortless direct booking, time saving and empowerment of the traveler through lower ticket prices, as well as cost reduction for airlines and operators, are the standards that we are setting for the future of the Aviation business. Token Details The strength of AVINOC is based on its generic model and the internal payment system, the first incarnation of which will be an ERC-20 token published on Ethereum. The token is a utilization token and will be traded on exchanges and circulated globally. AVINOC token will be required for writing data into the blockchain and as a means of spam protection and process optimization. It will be used for payments within the system e.g. to pay for tickets, crews, fuel, airport fees, handling, ATC (air traffic control), maintenance and much more. There is a fixed amount of 1 Billion token, 40% of which will be for sale for the general public. The issuing price of each token will be USD $0.05 at the token sale. Visit the website: https://www.avinoc.com/ Connect on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AVINOC_ICO AVINOC is the source of this content. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. This press release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. Supporting Link https://www.avinoc.com/ Media Contact Name: Gernot Winter Contact Email Address ico@avinoc.com This is a paid press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post PR: AVINOC the Blockchain Solution Disrupting the Global Aviation Business appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

It seems that a race to take over US-licensed brokerages has begun among crypto companies. Soon after Coinbase revealed it is buying up a securities firm, Uphold has now followed the move with its own acquisition. JNK Securities’ licenses could possibly open the door for the company to offer trading on ICO tokens deemed securities by US authorities. Also Read: The Daily: Pornhub Adds New Tokens, Fcoin Defends Trans-Fee, Coinbase Goes Pro Uphold to Acquire JNK Securities Uphold has announced it reached an agreement to acquire JNK Securities Corp, a New York Stock Exchange member and an SEC and FINRA regulated broker-dealer founded in 1993. At the same time, the company has filed an application with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for the approval of the change of ownership of JNK and its and business expansion. If its application with the regulators is approved, the extension of the broker-dealer registration will cover Uphold’s securities and security-token business and expand its compliance capabilities, customer base, and service offering. The acquisition will also offer JNK clients access to all of Uphold’s crypto to fiat trading pairs and assets, introducing the platform to a new group of institutional investors. Opening the Door for ICOs Once known as Bit Reserve, Uphold now supports over thirty currencies and commodities, just eight of which are cryptocurrencies. With a securities license this might expand to include many ICO tokens, which some regulators in the US deem to be securities. It mirrors the very recent action by Coinbase which also acquired the broker-dealer Keystone Capital “for its licenses.” Uphold CEO, Adrian Steckel, Stated: “We have kept a close eye on statements from global regulators regarding virtual currencies and tokens and believe that many crypto assets (particularly ICO tokens) may be treated as securities in some cases. Broker-dealer and ATS coverage is key to protecting our customers and to building a preeminent financial services ecosystem. We are proud to be a compliant financial services company, working with regulators to ensure we provide the most trusted and transparent access to digital financial services worldwide. Through our new securities division, we would be able to offer sales and trading of ICO tokens and fractional equities and provide other exchange services, under the oversight of the SEC and FINRA. Additionally, with the acquisition of JNK, we’re enhancing its compliance and regulatory policies and practices.” Are only rich Americans going to have access to invest in ICOs? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH and other coins, on our market charts at Satoshi’s Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post Uphold to Acquire JNK Securities, Opening Door for US-Regulated ICO Trading appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

“When Binance?” is the refrain from impatient bag-holders in ICO Telegram groups. For investors eager to flip their tokens and move onto the next thing, a major exchange listing is the big event, and the sooner the better. But for beleaguered project teams, with a community to manage, workforce to recruit, and decentralized solution to build, an exchange listing is the least of their concerns. It’s also the most expensive. Also read: FBI Currently Investigating 130 Crypto-Related Cases Creating a Token is Easy. Listing it is Hard With the number of global cryptocurrency exchanges now in excess of 250, there ought to be more than enough platforms to support new ICO tokens. But as many of these projects are finding out, obtaining an exchange listing without paying exorbitant fees is almost impossible. ICOs unwilling to stump up risk being left to languish in the shadowlands of low liquidity DEXes. Recent research from ICOrating.com shows the difficulties projects face in getting their token listed on a reputable exchange – and those problems aren’t limited to affording the listing fee. For one thing, the project needs to have completed a successful ICO in the first place. If their tokens failed to sell out, even with the remainder being burned, demand for the token on the secondary markets will be low and exchanges are unlikely to be interested. ICOrating reports that only 22% of ICOs that completed in Q1 of this year were able to have their token listed. This figure is down 10% on the previous quarter, which is attributed to the fact that half of all ICOs in Q1 of this year raised less than $100,000. Listing Fees Vary Greatly Projects that failed to hit their hard cap simply can’t afford an exchange listing, while those that did may still balk at the price. The discrepancy between what exchanges charge is huge, ranging from around $100,000 to $3 million for the largest and most liquid exchanges. (It has been claimed that Binance charges as much as $7 million in some cases.) In fairness to cryptocurrency exchanges, listing a new token isn’t as simple as many traders seem to think. Among the many tasks that must be performed before a token can be listed is the necessary due diligence to ensure the project is not a scam. Should a token later be discovered to be one, it risks affecting the platform’s reputation, as happened when Centra was revealed to be a fraud, prompting Kucoin and Binance to hastily delist it. Due to the time required to perform various security checks and other administrative tasks, it takes an average of 21 days for an ICO’s token to start trading, ICOrating reports. Some exchanges also insist that the token’s smart contract is audited to check for bugs, which is understandable given their prevalence and potential severity. Exchanges Can’t Always Be Relied On Even after securing an exchange listing, it is not always plain sailing for ICOs. There have been instances of exchanges delisting tokens without warning. Regulatory pressure can also take its toll: if there are rumors that a certain token risks being labeled a security, exchanges can get spooked and delist it to be safe. Given the haste with which newly listed tokens can be pumped, dumped, and then left to die a lingering death, with the project still months away from launch, it’s no wonder that some ICOs are hesitant to have their token listed before their beta is ready and there’s genuine demand for their token. For each problem an exchange listing solves, it introduces several more. Be it through choice or necessity, 70% of this year’s ICO tokens have yet to make an exchange. Most of them never will. Do you think ICOs should try to have their token listed as soon as possible, or is it better to wait until the project is ready? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Why 70% of ICO Tokens Are Not Exchange Listed and Probably Never Will Be appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Among the interesting stories featured in today’s edition of Bitcoin in Brief are the new crypto tokens added by Pornhub, Fcoin founder’s defense of the controversial trans-fee mining practice and an update on the upcoming launch of Coinbase Pro. Also Read: Cryptocurrency to Fiat Transactions Remain High in the Philippines Bigwigs Talking Bitcoin vs Blockchain A few well known people who don’t routinely speak about Bitcoin and blockchain technology have recently shared their opinions about the subjects. Jack Ma, the Chinese billionaire behind Alibaba Group, opined that “Blockchain technology could change our world more than people imagine. Bitcoin, however, could be a bubble.” And he added that “traditional financial institutions serve 20 percent of people and make 80 percent of profits. New financial institutions should service 80 percent of people, and make 20 percent of profit.” Steve Wozniak, the Bitcoin-loving co-founder of Apple, has on the other hand said he feels that all the current hype around blockchain technology is just a bubble akin to the Dot Com one. “If you look now you say all that internet stuff happened, we got it, it just took a while,” Wozniak explained. “It doesn’t change in a day, a lot of the blockchain ideas that are really good by coming out early they can burn themselves out by not being prepared to be stable in the long run.” And Professor Robert Shiller, who received the 2013 Nobel prize in economics, thinks that Bitcoin is a generational social movement, that might be in a speculative price bubble but it does not mean it is going away any time soon. He said in an interview that: “The East Coast is less into it than the West Coast. Silicon Valley is really into it. It’s a social movement. It’s an epidemic of enthusiasm. It is a speculative bubble. That doesn’t mean that it will go to zero.” EOS to Get a Makeover? After coming under a lot of criticism lately over centralization, freezing accounts and other issues, EOS might soon get a serious makeover. Daniel Larimer, the creator of EOS, has proposed a major revision to the way its constitution works. He explains that this is because, he just now learned that, “if you give people arbitrary power to resolve arbitrary disputes then everything becomes a dispute and the decisions made are arbitrary. The more power the arbiter has, the more vicious and petty the disputes become and the less predictable the outcome.” Better late than never. Pornhub Adds New Tokens Adult entertainment video portal, Pornhub, has announced it will accept two new cryptocurrencies, Tron and Zen Cash. As you may recall, a couple of months ago Verge has made a big deal about the site accepting its token. There is no explanation on the way Pornhub selected the few tokens it did, but at least in the case of Verge it is reported it just got paid 75 million XVG for doing so. “Here at Pornhub, as one of the most viewed websites in the world with over 90 million daily visitors, it’s important that we continue to expand our crypto payment options to align with our community’s growing payment preferences. Decentralized payment systems have continued to grow in popularity, and cryptocurrency adoption is exploding across a broad economic spectrum. Today, cryptocurrencies are especially viable in the adult entertainment industry because they are privacy-centric and incorporate more anonymity tools than traditional tender,” said Corey Price, VP of Pornhub. Fcoin Founder Defends Trans-Fee Mining In an interview released in China yesterday, Jian Zhang, founder of Fcoin, faced challenging questions regarding his business and controversial business model of “trans-fee mining.” As we previously reported, the practice of rewarding users with exchange issued tokens for generating transactions was called an over-priced backdoor ICO ripe for manipulation by critics including Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. FCoin Founder Jian Zhang Zhang said: “With respect to the accusations of pyramid selling, currency manipulation, and being a stock maker – I won’t be answering these questions directly. You can refer to the notion and history of Bitcoin, and see how many people have been wronged this way. Are there still people who think Bitcoin is pyramid selling? If so, you are not rejecting Fcoin, you are actually denying the economic value of the cryptocurrency in general.” “The accusation of an expensive ICO is the most funny and ridiculous. First of all, Binance grew from an ICO, some people must be out of their mind when criticizing the ICO of others while raising no money by themselves. Second of all, it’s wrong in the first place for some people to calculate our market value using the total amount of Fcoin token yet to be issued by us. Those unissued FT [Fcoin token] cannot be regarded as transaction, nor can they be a part of any distribution of dividend. They actually don’t exist until after issued. Therefore, the miscalculation is just wrong. In no cryptocurrency exchange is market value calculated this way. Lastly, our valuation is actually very low, given our transaction amount, dividend ratio, number of active traders and growth rate.” Coinbase Switches to Pro If you are a GDAX user, this is a kindly reminder that the platform will be switching over to Coinbase Pro tomorrow, Friday June 29, and you will not be able to access the old domain anymore. According to the developers, the redesigned platform is meant to make the trading experience easier and more intuitive, with a simplified deposit and withdrawal processes, improved charts that will allow customers to easily scroll and access historical data and a new consolidated portfolio view called “My Wallets” that lets customers see an overview of their account orders and balances. What do you think about today’s news tidbits? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH and other coins, on our market charts at Satoshi’s Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post The Daily: Pornhub Adds New Tokens, Fcoin Defends Trans-Fee, Coinbase Goes Pro appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In recent mining news, major mining chip manufacturer Ebang Communications has filed for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, a Chinese miner has been arrested for allegedly stealing 150,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity in roughly one month, and a report has provided unique insight into the state of mining in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Also Read: FBI Currently Investigating 130 Crypto-Related Cases Chip Manufacturer Ebang Communications Files for IPO in Hong Kong Major mining chip manufacturer Ebang Communication has become the latest leading firm operating in the bitcoin mining industry to file for an IPO in Hong Kong. The company’s application for IPO is in its draft form, and as such does not state the volume of funds that Ebang seeks to raise, nor does it disclose a valuation for the company. According to financial statements included in the application, Ebang generated approximately $140 million USD in revenue and $60 million in net profit during 2017. The financial statement also estimates that more than 94% of the company’s revenues for 2017 were generated through the sale of bitcoin miners, a significant spike from 31% in 2015 and 42% in 2016. Last month, Reuters reported that Ebang Communications was rumored to be seeking to conduct a $1 billion IPO in Hong Kong. The report stated that earlier this year Ebang “delisted from China’s National Equities Exchange and Quotations […] after announcing in January that it would seek a Hong Kong listing.” Earlier this year, Canaan Creative revealed it would be seeking to conduct a $1 billion IPO in Hong Kong. At the start of June, the chief executive officer of Bitmain, Jihan Wu, indicate that the company is open to conducting an overseas IPO in Hong Kong, or any jurisdiction in which shares would be denominated in U.S. dollars. Chinese Miner Arrested for Allegedly Stealing 150,000 KWH of Electricity More than 200 mining rigs have been confiscated by police in China’s Anhui Province following the arrest of a man accused of stealing 150,000 kWh of electricity in roughly a month. According to state-operating Chinese media outlet, Xinhua News, police found that the electricity meter for the alleged mining operation had been “short-circuited” in an attempt to obfuscate the scale of power being consumed by the hardware. The suspect reportedly told police that he purchased his mining hardware in April, however, discovered that the daily operating costs of his operations exceeded 6,000 yuan (approximately $925 USD). The suspect also claimed that he had not yet generated a profit on the operation at the time of his arrest. “Whatever is not Illegal is Legal” – Mining in the Russian Province of Kaliningrad A recent report published by Financial Times has provided an insight into the present state of mining operations in the Russian province of Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave situated between Lithuania and Poland on the edge of the Baltic Sea. The article states that the author met with Kaliningrad Region Development Corporation (KRDC) – a state-owned institution tasked with attracting and fostering investment into the region. The report reveals that the KRDC had recently shown two datacenters to prospective mining investors, both of which were purchased by the entrepreneurs who invested $50 million USD into the sites. Regarding the legal status of cryptocurrency mining in Kaliningrad, Sergei Evstigneev, the region’s IT and communications minister, stated “Whatever is not illegal is legal. There are no laws regarding cryptocurrency mining because it’s a new kind of business.” Vladimir Zarudny, the KRDC’s director-general, stated “Kaliningrad has become a kind of lab where we can test new initiatives and legislation. We think we could be a liberal Russian territory which is friendly for doing business, and a gateway to Russian markets.” Do you think more mining companies will file for IPOs in Hong Kong? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Ebang.cn Why not keep track of the price with one of Bitcoin.com’s widget services. The post Mining Round-Up: Ebang Files for IPO in HK, Miner Arrested in China 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. Tallinn, Estonia, — On its way to supporting fiat currencies, Cryptagio digital asset exchange is halfway through. The company has recently obtained licences for providing its users with a crypto-fiat exchange as well as wallet services. The first licence (authorization number FVR000169) allows Cryptagio exchanging fiat to crypto and crypto to fiat. The second one (authorization number FRK000141) gives the platform a right to provide a virtual currency wallet (both hot and cold) service for the purpose of keeping, storing and transferring virtual currencies. The licences were issued by the Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which is an independent structural unit of the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board. According to the company’s CEO, it was an essential milestone for them to complete. “Incorporating the support for fiat currencies was a part of our plan from the very beginning. We strive to maintain consistent development and stability of Cryptagio so that our users never have and never want to leave the platform. Therefore, it was of a great importance for us to obtain these licences in order to prove our users we are in the business for good. And after going through a thorough verification process, we have successfully achieved what we needed to take Cryptagio to the next level”, says Sergiy Vasylchuk. About Cryptagio Founded at the end of 2017, Cryptagio trading platform was built in response to the growing demand for an easily accessible, fast and secure way of buying, selling and trading popular cryptocurrencies. Currently, the platform supports eight major digital assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), VeChain (VEN), OmiseGo (OMG), Tether (USDT), Holo (HOT) and 0xBitcoin (0xBTC). Today, the ones who have no crypto in their possession can still trade on Cryptagio due to the platform’s support of USDT. Yet with the crypto-fiat exchange services coming up, it is going to get much easier. The exchange’s trading fees based on the maker-taker model are near-zero and depend on the monthly trading volume. Cryptagio offers several order types, including limit, market, stop, and stop-limit orders. The deposit fees are 0% for all the coins, while withdrawal fees depend on the coins’ mining fee, but the exchange does it best to keep them as low as possible. Cryptagio is all about ease. Available worldwide, the platform offers a simple yet intuitive interface with a wide range of readily acсessible tools and features to make trading actually easy for anyone, regardless of the level of experience, or country of origin. Multi-factor security system, highly efficient 24/7 support infrastructure and lightning fast matching mechanism are among other fundamental features that Cryptagio provides its users with to make trading on their platform indeed safe, quick and painless. The platform is also going to introduce additional useful features, such as mobile app, support of fiat money, FIX API, margin trading, etc. Contact Email Address v.makarov@cryptagio.com Supporting Link https://cryptagio.com/ This is a paid press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post PR: Cryptagio Obtains Licences – Is Half Way to Becoming a Crypto Fiat Exchange appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has reportedly revealed that it is working on 130 cryptocurrency-related investigations, citing an increase in illegal activity facilitated by crypto payments. These cases “encompass crimes such as human trafficking, illicit drug sales, kidnapping and ransomware attacks.” Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space FBI’s 130 Crypto-Related Cases The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reportedly “has 130 cases tied to cryptocurrencies,” according to Supervisory Special Agent Kyle Armstrong. Speaking at the Crypto Evolved conference Wednesday in New York, he was quoted by Bloomberg: The cases ‘threat tagged’ to virtual currencies encompass crimes such as human trafficking, illicit drug sales, kidnapping and ransomware attacks. Armstrong is in charge of the FBI’s virtual currency initiative, which has been around for about three years, the publication noted. While acknowledging that his agency “takes a neutral view on digital tokens, he noted several pros and cons,” the news outlet conveyed and quoted him explaining that the FBI has noticed an increase in illegal activity facilitated by cryptocurrency payments. “There are thousands of cases in the bureau, so it is a small sliver at this point,” he elaborated. Crypto Use on the Dark Web According to Armstrong, “the opioid epidemic” has become a focus of the FBI as the agency sees “a surge in drug abuse,” enabled by the dark web. Moreover, he claimed that the agency has also “seen a significant rise in extortion schemes related to virtual currencies on the southwest border of the U.S.” In its budget request for Fiscal Year 2018, the FBI asked for “80 positions and $21.6 million” to improve its investigative technology to combat cybercrime. The agency cited, “Some of our criminal investigators face the challenge of identifying online pedophiles who hide their crimes and identities behind layers of anonymizing technologies, or drug traffickers who use virtual currencies to obscure their transactions.” On Monday, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill to help prevent the illicit use of cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, dash, zcash, and monero. This bill shortly follows a testimony by a high-ranking official of the U.S. Secret Service before the House of Representatives Financial Services Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance. He asked Congress for help in preventing the illicit use of cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it has seized “nearly 2,000 bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies, with an approximate value of more than $20 million,” in a nationwide undercover operation targeting darknet vendors. What do you think of the FBI tying 130 cases to cryptocurrencies? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post FBI Currently Investigating 130 Crypto-Related Cases appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Facebook’s recent decision to partially lift the ban on crypto ads will not stop a planned legal action against the measure. Crypto associations and businesses from several countries announced earlier this year their intentions to sue internet giants imposing such restrictions. The claimants want to proceed with filing the lawsuit, despite the policy update. Also read: Study Links Social Media Posts to Bitcoin Prices Class Action Against Giants Will Be Filed The class action lawsuit against a number of international IT-corporations will be filed in court, despite the change in the advertising policy of Facebook, confirmed Yuri Pripachkin, president of the Russian Association of Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain (RACIB). His organization, along with counterparts from other countries in Europe and Asia, accuse companies like Facebook and Google of banning the ads of cryptocurrencies and ICOs as part of a cartel agreement. Approached by Russian media, Pripachkin said: We will continue [preparing the lawsuit] since they did not cancel the restriction on ICOs. We’ll press on to the end. We will slightly correct our legal position. On Tuesday, Facebook announced its decision to allow some crypto ads from pre-approved advertisers, as news.Bitcoin.com reported. Product Management Director, Rob Leathern, posted the updates to the company’s “prohibited financial products and services policy”, stating that the changes will come into force on June 26. However, he also noted that Facebook will continue to prevent ads promoting coin offerings. In March, the Eurasian Blockchain Association (EBA), of which RACIB is a cofounder, announced intentions to challenge in court the restrictions imposed by companies like Facebook, Google, and Twitter. The move was initially supported by the other two founding members of EBA, the Korea Venture Business Association (KOVA) and the Chinese Association of Cryptocurrency Investors (LBTC). In April, representatives of crypto communities in Switzerland, Kazakhstan, and Armenia joined the effort. The plan is to file the lawsuit in a U.S. jurisdiction – New York and Wyoming were mentioned. The legal costs are to be covered by voluntary donations. Russians Unhappy with Facebook’s Ban on ICO Ads According to RACIB’s president, the joint efforts of the crypto and blockchain associations from several countries have influenced Facebook’s latest decision. “Our lawyers are preparing the lawsuit, they [Facebook] have recognized this in advance and understood they had a legally incorrect position. So in order to avoid the international trial with RACIB and the Swiss cryptocurrency association, they’ve chosen to back down,” Yuri Pripachkin suggested, quoted by Moscow News Agency. The decision to proceed with filing the lawsuit is not surprising. The lifting of the ban by Facebook does not concern ads of Initial Coin Offerings. RACIB has been actively pushing for the adoption of favorable ICO regulations in Russia. Token sales conducted by Russian projects have raised over $300 million USD last year and the association wants to make sure these companies are not seeking better conditions elsewhere. The most popular social network, Facebook, banned crypto ads in January, followed by the largest global search engine, Google, which introduced restrictions in March. According to Russian media, the biggest search engine in the country, Yandex, has implemented a similar decision, although the company has not officially confirmed that. Microblogging platform Twitter imposed a ban on advertising ICOs at the end of March. It has been reported that Snapchat has also banned advertisements of token sales. Do you think a class action suit against the ban on crypto ads can successfully challenge the restrictions? Tell us in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Make sure you do not miss any important Bitcoin-related news! Follow our news feed any which way you prefer; via Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, RSS or email (scroll down to the bottom of this page to subscribe). We’ve got daily, weekly and quarterly summaries in newsletter form. Bitcoin never sleeps. Neither do we. The post Associations Challenging Crypto Ads Ban to Proceed with Lawsuit appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On June 27 the CEO and co-founder of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, announced the launch of a new cryptocurrency powered charity called Givecrypto.org. Armstrong says he’s always believed in the power of cryptocurrency funded philanthropy and explains the new nonprofit is all about empowering, educating, and elevating global communities. Also read: Cryptocurrency Firm Circle Sees Institutional Interest Spike 30% Givecrypto.org Aims to Empower Those in Need With Cryptocurrencies This Wednesday the CEO of Coinbase Brian Armstrong introduced his new nonprofit called Givecrypto which aims to “distribute cryptocurrency to people living in poverty.” In recent a Medium post, Armstrong explains the funds will derive from cryptocurrency holders and Givecrypto will distribute small payments to people all around the globe. “Initial recipients will be people living in emerging markets, especially those going through financial crisis,” Armstrong details. The goals behind Givecrypto.org are to help people in need by sending money to them directly, advance real-world usage and benefits of cryptocurrency, and provide universal access to an open financial system. Crypto-Luminaries With Deep Pockets Can Donate to Those in Need Rather Than Buy Lambos Givecrypto donors can send funds with the cryptocurrencies such as BTC, BCH, ETH, LTC, XRP, and ZEC. So far the organization has raised a bunch of funds from users donating $1Mn to over $10K USD from blockchain luminaries, firms, and venture capitalists such as Zooko Wilcox, Chris Larsen, Joanne and Fred Wilson, Matthew Roszak, Roger Ver, Fred Ehrsam, Ted Rogers, and Bitmain. The Givecrypto.org website. Armstrong states that people who have invested in cryptocurrencies from the early days have amassed tons of wealth over the years. However, the Coinbase CEO has noticed the image of “bros in Lambos” has misrepresented the crypto-community as a whole. “This doesn’t represent the best of our community. Most people I respect and know in the crypto ecosystem believe we have a responsibility to help this technology reach a much wider audience,” explains the Coinbase founder. It’s still very early days in crypto and yet we’re already seeing philanthropy in cryptocurrency, from Ripple giving away $29 million to public schools to the Pineapple Fund or projects like Eat BCH. Now is the time to make sure we fold philanthropy and giving back into the fabric of this new industry. Armstrong has also detailed that since the initial fund is being raised the nonprofit is looking for an executive director to run the operations. “This role would report to and work directly with me, to help grow Givecrypto.org — I will remain on the board of Givecrypto.org,” Armstrong concludes. What do you think about the new charity Givecrypto? Let us know your thoughts on this subject in the comment section below. Images via Shutterstock, Twitter, and Givecrypto.org. 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 Coinbase Founder Launches Cryptocurrency Fueled Charity ‘Givecrypto’ appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Crypto exchange Huobi notified its Japanese customers via e-mail on Wednesday that it will be closing accounts of users who are residents of Japan. According to Huobi, their decision came up as a result of compliance issues with the Japanese law. Also read: Huobi Creates Its Own Cryptocurrency Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) No Japanese Traders on Huobi Huobi Pro reportedly plans to remove the Japanese page from its website as of July 2, and stop providing trading services to Japanese residents. Although the announcement is not yet visible on the official company homepage, further details are expected to appear in the coming hours, a Telegram administrator for Huobi said. Huobi stops crypto trade for Japanese residents On its disclaimer page, Huobi states that the company deals with electronic assets through the internet and telecommunication network, complying with the laws of each country when conducting business activities. Huobi Global Limited is a company registered and established in the Republic of Seychelles, under its relevant laws. Huobi also notes that it is not registered as a virtual currency exchange business under the “funds settlement law of Japan.” Therefore, it does not conduct any virtual currency exchange business in the country. The company finally points out that it respects the Japanese law and has not solicited any persons who reside in Japan (individuals or corporations). Over the past few months, the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) kept imposing new sanctions on cryptocurrency exchanges, towards which some Japanese traders have expressed their frustration. Nevertheless, they also believe that government rules and crypto regulations will benefit the local crypto industry in the long run. “It’s really problematic that the FSA doesn’t give us the heads-up before announcing business improvement orders for instance that lead to a temporary halt of business [of the company which was issued the business improvement order]. It messes up everything, suddenly,” said Mas Hihara, a Japanese blockchain technologist, ICO adviser and entrepreneur. In China, despite authorities officially banning virtual currencies from trading in renminbi (CNY), it is rumored in the industry that the Chinese government is still showing interest in the virtual currency. According to some reports, there is a chance that Beijing would actually invalidate the ban on virtual currency trading. What do you think of Huobi halting trading services for Japanese residents? Let us know in the comments section below. Images via Shutterstock. Why not keep track of the price with one of Bitcoin.com’s widget services. The post Huobi Exchange Suspends Services for Japanese Residents appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The U.S. House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill to help prevent the illicit use of cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, dash, zcash, and monero. This bill follows a testimony by the Secret Service asking Congress for help stopping these activities. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space H.R. 6069 Bill Passed The U.S. House of Representatives has passed Bill H.R. 6069, known as the “Fight Illicit Networks and Detect Trafficking Act.” The bill was considered by the House on Monday, June 25, and “passed unanimously,” according to California Rep. Juan Vargas, the representative who jointly introduced the bill with Rep. Keith Rothfus, announced. The Republican Policy Committee website describes: H.R. 6069 would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to carry out a study on how virtual currencies and online marketplaces are used to buy, sell, or facilitate the financing of goods or services associated with sex trafficking or drug trafficking. The GAO study would also examine how virtual currencies can be used to detect and deter these illicit activities. After passage of the bill, Rep. Rothfus released a statement saying, “Illicit markets where drug and human trafficking take place are constantly evolving, especially on the dark web…Cryptocurrencies can mask traffickers’ transactions, affording them a level of anonymity when conducting illegal activities.” He added that “This bipartisan legislation will help the government expose new criminal methods to move illicit funds, and provide ways to stop them.” Bill Aimed at Fighting Illicit Use of Crypto While acknowledging that “Virtual currencies, such as bitcoin, dash, zcash, and monero, can be used for legal purchases,” the Committee website noted, “It has also been reported that virtual currencies are being used to run illegal online marketplaces to sell drugs, including the opioid fentanyl, and contributing to the opioid crisis in America.” The Republican Policy Committee further claims, “according to recent reports, transnational criminal organizations are increasingly using virtual currencies for illicit activities, including drug trafficking,” citing the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2017 National Drug Assessment. According to Rep. Vargas: The anonymity behind virtual currencies has made them a preferred payment method to carry out illegal activities…Congress must understand the full extent of how virtual currencies are being used to facilitate drug and sex trafficking and propose legislative solutions to fight these crimes. After the passage of the bill, Vargas commented that “this bill is an important first step in helping Congress understand the full extent of how virtual currencies are being used to facilitate drug and sex trafficking and will help us propose effective legislative solutions to fight these crimes. I hope to see the same level of support for this legislation in the Senate.” U.S. Department of Justice headquarters. Deputy Assistant Director of the U.S. Secret Service’s Office of Investigations, Robert Novy, shared a similar sentiment in his testimony before the House of Representatives Financial Services Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance last week. He called on Congress to “help in preventing cryptocurrencies like monero and zcash, which provide users with enhanced privacy and anonymity features, from being used for illicit purposes,” as news.Bitcoin.com previously reported. On Tuesday, the Department of Justice also announced the arrests of more than 35 people selling illicit goods in a nationwide undercover operation targeting darknet vendors. According to the notice, “Nearly 2,000 bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies, with an approximate value of more than $20 million” were seized. What do you think of the US government’s efforts to crack down on crypto use? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Wikipedia. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post US House Unanimously Passes Bill to Help Fight Illicit Use of Cryptocurrencies appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Filipino central bank has revealed that the trade between fiat and cryptocurrencies on authorized bitcoin exchanges in the Philippines has maintained its high level for the country from the boom time of late 2017 during the first quarter of this year. Also Read: US Authorities Seize Over $20M in Crypto in Massive Darknet Crackdown Cryptocurrency-Fiat Transactions Remain High Transactions involving both fiat and cryptocurrencies remained high during the first three months of 2018 in the Philippines, revealed new figures released by the country’s central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). This happened despite the warnings to the public issued by the central bank about the risks involved with the instruments, which were meant to discourage the acquisition, possession and trading of cryptocurrencies. BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier announced that conversion of cryptocurrencies into the local peso as well as other fiat currencies by monthly average amounted to $24.16 million, while conversion from peso and other fiat currencies to cryptocurrencies reached $36.74 million in the first quarter of the year, as The Philippine Star reported. In the last quarter of 2017, Fonacier said the average monthly transactions involving conversion of cryptocurrencies to peso and other fiat currencies reached $24.79 million, while conversion from peso and other fiat currencies to cryptocurrencies amounted to $38.27 million. A Fertile Ground for Bitcoin Adoption The Philippines has a population of over 100 million people, and it has a couple of factors that make it a fertile ground for bitcoin adoption. Its growing economy is heavily reliant upon remittances from overseas Filipino workers and international tourism is an also important sector of the local industry, both of which stand to greatly benefit from reduced costs on cross-border transfers enabled by cryptocurrency. Moreover, unlike other locations in Asia, the local financial authorities have not banned fiat to cryptocurrency transactions and the BSP even authorized the operation of a few exchange platforms in the country including Rebittance Inc, Betur Inc (Coins.ph), and Bloom Solutions Inc. As we reported last month, Coins.ph reached a whopping five million users in May for its mobile payments app and hot wallet. What can the bitcoin community do to encourage the further development of the market in the Philippines? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH and other coins, on our market charts at Satoshi’s Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post Cryptocurrency to Fiat Transactions Remain High in the Philippines appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

This week the cryptocurrency firm Circle revealed it has seen a significant uptick in institutional interest. According to Circle CEO and co-founder, Jeremy Allaire says even though cryptocurrency markets were down in during the month of May the company saw a 30 percent spike from institutional clients last month. Also read: Meet Three More Applications That Utilize Bitcoin Cash OP_Codes Despite the Sliding Market Prices — Circle Sees a 30% Uptick in Family Offices and Venture Capital Firms Investing in Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrency markets are down over 69 percent since December 16, 2017, and the past few months of 2018 has been awfully bearish. However, during this period of time, lots of companies like Coinbase, Bitgo, Circle, and others have been opening their doors to institutional investors. This week according to Circle’s co-founder Jeremy Allaire the firm had seen a notable increase in from institutional investors. “In May, which was a challenging month, we saw a sharp increase of unique new counter-parties,” explains Allaire during an interview this week. “A lot of folks on the institutional side are on-boarding, and getting their ducks in the row.” Circle states that it handles roughly $2 billion USD worth of trades on its platform every month. Allaire explains that before the flurry of corporate clientele Circle couldn’t facilitate extremely large orders of $100K to $1Mn trades in a high-frequency fashion. However now ‘Circle Trade’ can handle those types of fast swaps, and the company emphasizes that since then interest has stemmed from family offices and venture capital firms. Circle notes this type of clientele added 15 times more transaction volume per day than last year. Allaire details this week the industry is maturing greatly stating: Major institutional investors don’t go through a telephone broker. They go through an electronic interface — We’re maturing this into a more traditional product; it’s much faster and a more flexible way to trade. Circle Details How it Lists New Digital Assets and How the Firm Will Handle Future Forks and Airdrops The news from the Unicorn cryptocurrency firm Circle follows the company’s recent explanation of how the firm chooses digital assets to be listed on its trading platforms. Furthermore, the company has provided a form for cryptocurrency development teams to apply for an asset listing. Circle also takes time to explain how they will handle future blockchain splits, forks, and airdrops that stem from coins they list. “Because these events can be sporadic and dependent on circumstance, we plan to evaluate on a case-by-case basis — We are more likely to support these events if they are planned, documented and communicated well in advance,” Circle details. We’ll communicate our decision as to whether or not to support an event at least 5 days in advance through the Notices section of the exchange homepage and an email to users holding a balance in the asset affected. What do you think about Circle seeing an increase in interest from institutional investors like family offices and venture capital firms? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. Images via Shutterstock, Twitter, Pixabay, Circle, and EJ Insight. Express yourself freely at Bitcoin.com’s user forums. We don’t censor on political grounds. Check forum.Bitcoin.com. The post Cryptocurrency Firm Circle Sees Institutional Interest Spike 30% 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. Ten blockchain colossi in one place Barcelona welcomes quite an unusual blockchain event on October 11th this year. Ambitious Top10 Point of Trust conference revolves around ten companies that have shaped the industry. A panel of eminent speakers will deliver their TED-inspired speeches to an invite-only audience. The stage is for the trusted only Top10 Point of Trust provides an experience of a conceptually different blockchain conference for those tired of ICO pitching, pseudo-experts, aggressive sales and fraud. Only when the best people speak, the situation changes. These representatives, ideologists, seniors of top blockchain endeavors have nothing to sell, rather, they have plenty to share. They will tell stories about their thorny path, their vision, and the problems they had faced and solved before they have succeeded. In a historical money-making place It will all happen in iconic 14th century Casa Llotja de Mar, one of Barcelona’s most emblematic buildings, the former Sea Stock Exchange and the present Chamber of Commerce. It’s the place where traders from all around Spain and foreign countries have met for ages. Now, the event will aim to build trust where trust has always been valued. $700 million worth of value is already in The speakers first disclosed by the organizers are Nimrod May, CMO of Sirin Labs, the company to produce blockchain-based smartphones having raised $158 million; Chakrit Ahmad, CEO of Dragon, a $320 million-gathering venture bringing cryptocurrency to casinos; Digital blockchain-powered bank Bankera, another $150 million attractor, will be represented by its CEO Vytautas Karalevičius; Malcolm CasSelle, President of gaming marketplace WAX; and Antoni Trenchev, Managing Partner of crypto-backed loan provider NEXO, joined the lineup as well. More speakers are to be announced. Hand-selected everything An invite-only event means that there will be no public sale of tickets and no random people. Everyone, however, can already apply for admission to the guest list. Conference sponsors are also said to undergo through a rigorous selection process. Among other essential highlights of the event are intense networking sessions, entertaining activities, a comfortable lounge, a separated media zone, and last but not least, an afterparty by the Mediterranean. Top10 Point of Trust is organized by Byzantium, an immersive blockchain consulting agency. They’re well-known for their unconventional approach. The quite promising format they’re taking this time might shift the entire blockchain event industry. Is this shift going to happen? We’ll look forward to the conference and see. Contact Email Address pr@bzntm.com Supporting Link http://top10.bzntm.com This is a paid press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post PR: Byzantium Launches All Star Blockchain Event – Top 10 Point of Trust appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Hayden Otto has taken his enthusiasm for bitcoin as a form of currency and peer-to-peer electronic cash to new levels. He’s gone from a curious admirer to full on defender, in fact, producing two compelling videos. They’re both slick, a little tongue-in-cheek, and smuggle-in some education and history without hitting viewers over the head. His mission is to make bitcoin great again, and News.Bitcoin.com caught up Mr. Otto for an interview. Also read: Supremes Uphold Cell Privacy, Hope for Ross Ulbricht Hayden Otto Wants to Make Bitcoin Cash Again For at least two videos now, the cryptocurrency world has been entertained and provoked by a previously unknown Aussie, Hayden Otto. In his latest polemic, Mr. Otto narrates how we “live in a fast-paced world where commerce is built on the backbone of reliable tap & go transactions. A superior alternative emerged with the birth of Bitcoin; trustless P2P electronic cash that’s independent of central banks, governments, or any other centralized middle-men.” It’s a smokey, smart visual as Mr. Otto, Bond-like, enters his shiny black Mercedes, complete with a Bitcoin.com logo. Thumping electronic music to Rage Against the Machine’s heated track, “Wake Up” (he used Kanye in an earlier video), A Tale of Two Bitcoins makes for entertaining viewing. It’s something those in the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) community can pass around and feel confident in doing that it will at least get a fair viewing. Mr. Otto’s collaborators have included Sam Fregonese and Jack Hammonds, and they’re paying off in the form of high quality. That high bar allows Mr. Otto to proclaim, “Thankfully due to the open source nature of this project; faithful pioneers were able to fork away from the direction of this hostile takeover, with Bitcoin Cash. A return to Bitcoin’s former glory by reintroducing instant and irreversible transactions, plus onchain scaling – as was the plan all along.” News.Bitcoin.com: What’s your story with regard to crypto? How did you get into it? Hayden Otto: In 2016 I was in my 2nd year of an Information Technology degree and living at an all boys college. There was a drug dealer at this college who I’d heard was sourcing all his products on a Darknet marketplace and paid with Bitcoin. The only time I’d heard about Bitcoin before was when it caught media attention in the 2013 bubble and I was told it was a scam; this intrigued me and I set out to investigate. I bought my first Bitcoin for little over $500 USD on Localbitcoins and transacted it straight to an Electrum wallet. Little did I know that this day would turn out to be a pivotal moment in my life; I went down a rabbit hole of revelations about the financial system I’d been indoctrinated into, tyrannical governments and much more. I realised that Bitcoin had the power to undermine these systems, so I began accumulating more through trading and also promoted it to my friends and family. How did you find BCH? Once the scaling debate came onto my radar and I got up to speed, I was immediately advocating for an increase to the block size. Coming from a tech background, this was a no-brainer to me and I couldn’t understand why Blockstream developers were unwilling to at least try 2mb blocks. I later discovered this was intentionally done to cripple Bitcoin and force users off layer-1 onto Blockstream’s monetised side-chain. It was clear that Bitcoin (BTC) had no future as P2P electronic cash after witnessing Blockstream’s stranglehold resulted in skyrocketing fees, on-chain congestion and loss of Bitcoin’s first mover advantage to alt-coins. Thankfully big-blockers were able to split the chain before Bitcoin was tainted with Segwit, which gave us Bitcoin Cash. Now I’ve stepped up to fight harder than ever before to make people aware that in reality Bitcoin Cash is the Bitcoin described in the whitepaper. To my knowledge, this is the second video you’ve done promoting BCH. Why is it important to you to make promotional videos? Too many people have had the wool pulled over their eyes with Bitcoin. I had a strong desire to set the record straight and fight for what I believe in – P2P electronic cash. Storytelling in this format can be an effective way to convey information to people, since videos are easy to consume and they can be entertaining. Another factor which lead me to do this was the severe lack of any voice for BCH on Youtube, particularly in Australia where I live! The main Youtubers here demonstrate very little technical understanding and go with the flow of the censored sub r/bitcoin, else lose potential followers and face attacks from Bitcoin Core trolls. I, however, welcome such attacks, as their “arguments” are easily refuted or baseless name calling – which proves me right. The first thing that jumps out about them is their production value. Is that something you consciously tried to do? I’d noticed that nobody in the crypto space was making high production quality videos promoting the usage of their cryptocurrency in real life; it’s always some sort of animation with a voice actor narrating. I wanted to be sure that Bitcoin Cash was the first to do this, so decided to mix things up a bit and simultaneously raise the bar in regards to crypto video production. This was something that I felt would make the videos stand out in the cryptocurrency space and particularly to those who we wish to onboard. Do you fund this all yourself? I’ve invested a lot of my own time, effort and resources into the production of the two advertisements I’ve made to date. On the most recent one I did receive some financial assistance from a few BCH shills (you know who you are). This was because the costs were just over $10,000 AUD for things such as camera rental equipment, location costs, the cinematographer and producer. Although the more elaborate video was worth exploring, it’s definitely far more cost effective to shoot something short and simple. What are your future plans with regard to video production and BCH? I will do more 1 minute videos because people have short attention spans, they are cheaper to produce and I can easily make them go viral on Twitter and Instagram. There are a number of BCH explainer videos in the pipeline which you can look forward to release soon. I’ve also been asked to create a promotional video for the BCH stress test, which is taking place on September 1st. If you would like to request something, feel free to DM me on Twitter @CryptoStratz. What do you think about popular conceptions of crypto in the media? Let us know in the comments. Images via the Pixabay, Otto Hayden. 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 Make Bitcoin Great Again: Tale of Two Coins appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

US authorities have revealed that their agents had been operating undercover on the Darknet for the past year. The massive operation uncovered the true identity of over fifty vendors on sites such as Silk Road, Alpha Bay, Hansa, Dream, and more. Over 35 people have already been arrested and goods worth over $23.6 million have been sized. Also Read: If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them – Bitcoin Is Hiring Regulators “One of the Largest Threats to the U.S. Financial Infrastructure” The Darknet crackdown involved multiple law enforcement forces including the DOJ, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Secret Service, the Postal Inspection Service and the DEA. The actual undercover investigation was spearheaded by HSI Special Agents who posed as money launderers on the dark markets, exchanging fiat for cryptocurrency. And the DOJ’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, working with more than forty U.S. Attorney’s Offices, lead to the arrest of over 35 vendors. “The Secret Service is proud to work with our law enforcement partners to help combat one of the largest threats to the U.S. financial infrastructure, money laundering with virtual currency,” said U.S. Secret Service Assistant Director Jenkins. “The Secret Service continues to adapt along with these cyber criminals to maintain our level of success in stopping them.” Over $20M in Crypto Seized Besides the arrests of the vendors, the authorities were able to seize goods worth over $23.6 million in a month with over 100 enforcement actions. These include liquid synthetic opioids, tramadol, fentanyl, Xanax, Oxycodone, MDMA, cocaine, LSD, marijuana, and psychedelic mushrooms. The authorities also sized more than 100 firearms, including handguns, assault rifles, and a grenade launcher; five vehicles; more than $3.6 million in gold bars and fiat; nearly 2,000 bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, with an approximate value of more than $20 million; pill presses, Bitcoin mining devices, computer equipment, and vacuum sealers. “The Darknet is ever-changing and increasingly more intricate, making locating and targeting those selling illicit items on this platform more complicated. But in this case, HSI special agents were able to walk amongst those in the cyber underworld to find those vendors who sell highly addictive drugs for a profit,” said HSI Acting Executive Associate Director Benner. “The veil has been lifted. HSI has infiltrated the Darknet, and together with its law enforcement partners nationwide, it has proven, once again, that every criminal is within arm’s reach of the law.” Will a crackdown on darknet markets have any influence on bitcoin adoption? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH and other coins, on our market charts at Satoshi’s Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post US Authorities Seize Over $20M in Crypto in Massive Darknet Crackdown appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Quite naturally, social media comments exert influence over cryptocurrency prices but according to a new study, the vocal minority of frequent posters do not have the most influential voices. You’ll find the details in today’s edition of Bitcoin in Brief. Also, a new coin will be airdropped to football fans and players at the World Cup and new Bitcoin ATMs have been installed in Russia and Africa. Also read: Bitcoin in Brief Tuesday: New Patents, Research Centers and a $300M Fund Social Media’s Silent Majority Moves Crypto Markets Public sentiment, expressed on social media, has the power to manipulate the value of bitcoin, a new study reveals. The recently published report by the Stevens Institute of Technology explores and verifies the effect of social networks on cryptocurrency prices, detecting a link there. Researchers claim that periods of predominantly positive social media commentary significantly influence crypto markets and are actually pushing bitcoin up or down. However, according to their paper, it’s not the vocal minority, but the silent majority that really moves crypto prices. The scientists came to this conclusion after dividing tweeters and posters in two groups and finding that social media comments from very active users do not change market graphs so much. On the other hand, infrequent posters who comment on the crypto prospects exert much more influence on prices, especially when they are sharing positive opinions. It turns out prices change proportionally to their sentiments. According to Professor Feng Mai, who lead the study: Vocal users of social media may sometimes have a certain agenda, in this case hyping or boosting the price of Bitcoin because they themselves have invested in it. So, if most of the social messages around Bitcoin are generated by people who are biased, the sentiments on social media may not accurately reflect the currency’s actual value. The authors of the study collected and analyzed two years of forum posts published on Bitcointalk. The research also covered more than 3.4 million tweets about bitcoin from a two month period. Using natural-language processing techniques, scientists classified the comments into positive, negative and other sentiment categories. Then they compared the compiled data with bitcoin price graphs. The researchers also made the following observation – the value of bitcoin at a certain moment in time can also influence the sentiment expressed in social media chatter. To better understand and analyze the two-way correlation, the team also took into account the daily movements of stock and volatility indices and gold prices. Football Craze Captivates the Crypto World With the Round of 16 World Cup matches coming, football emotions are infecting the cryptosphere, and some businesses are rushing to ride the wave before it flattens next month. The Moscow-based blockchain startup Waves has created a new token dedicated to soccer fans, Mutcoin. The coins will be distributed to subscribers on the company’s Vkontakte page and Telegram channel. The issuer promises to buy its tokens back through its decentralized cryptocurrency trading platform within 60 days after the Final on July 15, at prices that depend on how high the Russian “Sbornaya” climbs up in the championship ranking. 100,000 Mutcoins will be airdropped – half of the tokens will be allocated to ordinary users and the rest will be given to the players and coaches of the Russian national football team. Bitcoin ATMs Installed in a Bar and a Business District The number of cryptocurrency terminals offering automated teller services has been growing steadily around the world in the past few years. Two new machines have been recently installed in a Russian city and in an African capital. A Bitcoin ATM is now available to the frequenters of a bar in Voronezh, Russia. It’s located on the Friedrich Engels Street, in the very heard of the city. Local crypto outlets reported that the terminal supports both purchases and sales of bitcoin (BTC). The two-way crypto-fiat transactions are an extra that not all devices around the world offer. A teller machine selling bitcoins (BTC) and litecoins (LTC) for cash has been installed in the Westlands area of Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. The BATM, which is pretty close to the central business district, allows users to buy cryptocurrency for as little as $5 and pay for it in US dollars or Kenyan shillings. Luxury Hotel Units Sold for Bitcoin New luxury hotel units at the Al Mahra Resort by Cristal can now be purchased with bitcoin or other cryptocurrency. The complex, located on the Al Marjan Island in the United Arab Emirates, features 548 rooms, suites and villas. Al Mahra Resort is owned by FAM Holding, a business conglomerate with diversified investments across the Arab country. “Some of the biggest names worldwide are warming up to cryptocurrencies. Therefore, it is logical for us to offer people the opportunity to pay in bitcoin or similar currency, rather than just fiat,” said Faisal Ali Mousa Al Naqbi, owner and chairman of the holding. He also noted that cryptocurrency has radically improved the transparency, speed and security of property transactions. What are your thoughts on today’s stories in Bitcoin in Brief? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Make sure you do not miss any important Bitcoin-related news! Follow our news feed any which way you prefer; via Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, RSS or email (scroll down to the bottom of this page to subscribe). We’ve got daily, weekly and quarterly summaries in newsletter form. Bitcoin never sleeps. Neither do we. The post The Daily: Study Links Social Media Posts to Bitcoin Prices, New BATMs Pop Up Around the World appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Facebook is lifting its ban on cryptocurrency ads which went into effect in January. After months of evaluation, the company decided to allow some crypto ads on its platform. Advertisers must submit a request form with details of their businesses and the types of crypto content to be promoted. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Facebook Unbans Crypto Ads Facebook’s Product Management Director, Rob Leathern, posted updates Tuesday to the company’s “prohibited financial products and services policy.” In January, Facebook announced the policy to “prohibit ads that promote financial products and services that are frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices, such as binary options, initial coin offerings, and cryptocurrency,” Leathern explained. “This policy is intentionally broad while we work to better detect deceptive and misleading advertising practices… We will revisit this policy and how we enforce it as our signals improve.” Citing that the company has been studying the best way to refine this policy over the past few months “to allow some ads while also working to ensure that they’re safe,” he elaborated: Starting June 26, we’ll be updating our policy to allow ads that promote cryptocurrency and related content from pre-approved advertisers. But we’ll continue to prohibit ads that promote binary options and initial coin offerings. Which Ads are Allowed? Leathern clarified that there are some restrictions so not all ads will be allowed. “We’ll listen to feedback, look at how well this policy works and continue to study this technology so that, if necessary, we can revise it over time,” he wrote, adding: Advertisers wanting to run ads for cryptocurrency products and services must submit an application to help us assess their eligibility — including any licenses they have obtained, whether they are traded on a public stock exchange, and other relevant public background on their business. Request form provided by Facebook. The application form entitled “Cryptocurrency Products and Services Onboarding Request” consists of six questions. The first question plainly asks “why are you applying?” The applicant can choose between three options or provide their own reason. The first option is “Cryptocurrency products and services.” The second option is “Education on cryptocurrency” and the third option is “Cryptocurrency industry news.” However, the company reiterated, “As a reminder, initial coin offerings (ICOs) are prohibited under our Prohibited Financial Products and Services Policy.” The second question asks whether the applicant has a Facebook Ad Account ID. Those who do not must create an ad account. The third asks about the applicant’s website domain and business details such as any licenses or regulatory certification the business holds, and if the business is a public company listed on a stock exchange. The fourth asks for business information including an address. The fifth question asks for a brief description of products or services or other crypto-related content the site intends to promote while the final step requires the applicant to agree to the “Facebook Cryptocurrency Ads Addendum.” In addition, the form asks the applicant to declare their domain(s) used in the crypto-related promotion: You must verify your domain(s) associated with this application…we reserve the right to deny any application or withdraw eligibility at any time without notice. Eligibility may be subject to such conditions and restrictions as Facebook may decide. What do you think of Facebook allowing approved crypto ads? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Facebook. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Facebook Unbans Cryptocurrency Ads appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

This is a paid press release, which contains forward looking statements, and should be treated as advertising or promotional material. Bitcoin.com does not endorse nor support this product/service. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the press release. It looks like singers and celebrities are getting into the blockchain. It recently came to our attention that Experty.io, a blockchain based platform for experts and influencers, announced that they are bringing international award-winning singer and producer Claydee on board as an official ambassador. Claydee has topped music charts with hits such as “Hey Ma” and “Mamacita Buena” pulling in over 60 million views each. He plans to use the Experty app to connect with his fans, and has deep connections in the entertainment industry. You can check out the video announcement here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbbqoEuXC_U CoinMarketCap: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/experty/#markets email matt@experty.io supporting-link https://experty.io/en 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: International Award Winning Singer Joins Experty.io appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The scrappy citizens of Lagos, Nigeria are traders and can-do survivors almost by nature. Their government, however, has mismanaged the nation’s money to such a degree that it’s prone to wild devaluation swings. And while an argument could be made bitcoin too is volatile, it actually isn’t comparatively. With access to peer-to-peer exchanges such as Localbitcoins, Nigerians are revolutionizing even their traditional outdoor marketplaces, providing a financial oasis in rather dark times. Also read: Supremes Uphold Cell Privacy, Hope for Ross Ulbricht Lagos, Nigeria Finds Bitcoin is a Way to Hedge Against its Naira “I can use Bitcoin for anything now […],” Soji, a Lagos web designer told Jeremy Kirshbaum and Pelumi Oguntemehin. “It means I can invest and also pay anybody currently, except old people, I will send them bitcoin. But some people think it is a scam to deal in Bitcoin and they also fear being hacked, as many people do not know how to protect themselves online.” Bitcoin is a handy way for Soji to gain overseas hosting services from vendors who simply won’t accept his country’s native fiat currency, Naira. Bitcoin gets considerable flack in professional financial circles for its legendary volatility. Wild price swings can for sure occur, and have. However it is no match for Nigeria’s Naira. As Longhash explains, “Silas Okwoche is a self-taught engineer […]. He was the co-founder of a cell phone company called Nerve Mobile, which used Android smart phones from Shenzhen, China. Silas found a Chinese partner via the e-commerce platform Alibaba. Nerve Mobile’s venture was profitable for a time, but ended for a reason that had nothing to do with Silas’s product. The Nigerian Naira fell against the Chinese yuan by over 15%, and the hardware became too expensive. Silas’s story is not exceptional: Nigerian business people struggle with currency volatility every day,” the reporters insist. “The chart shows the levels of volatility of the Naira, Bitcoin, and Ethereum. At many points the Naira is more volatile than either of the two major cryptocurrencies.” Nigeria rests on the African continent at its Western curve, hugging the Gulf of Guinea, a click North of the Equator. It’s bordered by four countries to its immediate East, as a kind of horseshoe with only the South Atlantic opening West. Lagos is the largest city in Nigeria, while also boasting being the highest concentrated city in Africa. It is one of the fastest growing cities in the world, according to many estimates. It routinely ranks as the highest in African GDP, acting as a financial center and bustling port. A rather wonderful examination of Lagos can be found in Robert Neuwirth’s presentation, “The power of the informal economy,” though admittedly a bit dated. Present day sees the broader country as lagging behind even India in extreme poverty, as CNN reports, “Nigeria has overtaken India as the country with the largest number of people living in extreme poverty, with an estimated 87 million Nigerians, or around half of the country’s population, thought to be living on less than $1.90 a day […] In Nigeria, as with other countries on the continent, that figure is projected to rise. ‘By the end of 2018 in Africa as a whole, there will probably be about 3.2 million more people living in extreme poverty than there are today,’” according to researchers. All this, and with being the largest oil producer in Africa. Crypto as an Oasis in Extreme Poverty, Sectarian Violence As of this writing, central Nigeria has descended into sectarian violence. Reports are sketchy, but most outlets reveal scores of people have been killed as ethnic and religious tensions rise. Fifty houses have been destroyed, if local police are to be believed. And these tensions have been brewing at least since 2013 between herdsmen and farmers. Lagos, then, becomes a beacon of hope in a sea of economic and sectarian devastation. The settling of bitcoin in terms of price, the sideways action of recent weeks, has ironically allowed more businesspeople of Lagos to onramp into crypto. It’s also tamped down scams. “Currently, most Ponzi scheme traders are out of the market as they were only there for profit only, now that Bitcoin is stable and the profit margin is small, we will witness a gradual growth and diverse application of blockchain tech solutions,” Toyosi, investor and crypto trader, told Longhash. Jeremy Kirshbaum and Pelumi Oguntemehin note “it is hard for a cryptocurrency to act as both a speculative asset and a currency. Countries like Nigeria that suffer from high volatility or institutional uncertainty actually need Bitcoin to act as a medium of exchange.” Traders such as Toyosi turn to remittance tokens such as Sure Remit, hoping to reduce overall costs. “Sure Remit,” they explain, “uses a cryptographic token as an alternative for sending money home from abroad. When people are using cryptocurrency for normal transactions and the value is more stable, Sure Remit can provide a more useful service.” The key is contending with its fiat currency, Naira. Its flash devaluations add “another layer of uncertainty to businesses that purchase goods or components from abroad. That’s why Nigeria presents the perfect use case for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin,” Longhash stresses. Another tech businessman, Temo, “works on hardware ventures and he buys his components from China. When he does this, the most convenient option is to purchase Bitcoins on Localbitcoins.com or another peer-to-peer marketplace using Naira, and then sell them for Chinese yuan. It is much faster than using normal channels, and costs a fraction of the price. If he uses a normal bank transfer, he will be charged huge fees by both the sending bank in Nigeria and the receiving bank in China. Also, it can take up to a week for the wire transfer to move the money.” Do you think countries like Nigeria will continue to benefit from using cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments. Images via the Pixabay, Longhash. 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 Bitcoin as Lifeline Amid Crushing Devaluation, Extreme Poverty, Sectarian Violence in Nigeria appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Cryptocurrency exchange Belfrics has resumed trading operations in India after halting earlier this year due to banks refusing to provide payments solutions to the exchange. Belfrics has also added four more cryptocurrencies to its platform, with 20 more planned for the next six months. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Belfrics Resumes Trading Operations in India Belfrics, which claims to be “India’s fastest growing cryptocurrency exchange and blockchain development platforms,” announced on Tuesday that it has resumed trading operations in India. The exchange also said that it has added four new coins to its platform: bitcoin cash (BCH), ether (ETH), ripple (XRP), and litecoin (LTC). Prior to the additions, only BTC trading was available. The company further unveiled its plan to launch 20 new cryptocurrencies in the next 6 months. Jabeer KM, the COO of Belfrics Group, commented: India is a key market for us when it comes to crypto trading. With the launch of these new coins we are targeting a base of at least 2,500,000 new traders on our platform by December 2018. In addition, the exchange has also launched “a dedicated app for live order-book trading of various altcoins.” The group’s Chief Innovation Officer, Santhosh Palavesh, explained that “traders can now securely link their assets with our Belfrics wallet…The new app will be available for both Android and iOS users.” Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Belfrics Group operates crypto exchanges in Malaysia, Singapore, Bahrain, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and India. The company has its development center in the Indian city of Bengaluru. Starting this month, traders can also enjoy crypto-to-crypto trading on its platform. Problems with Banks and RBI Ban Belfrics halted its crypto exchange operations in India in early January when the banks stopped providing payments solutions to the company, Inc42 described. Praveenkumar Vijayakumar, Belfrics Group’s founder and CEO, told the news outlet at the time that “Many payment service providers (PSP) [in India] have stopped giving services to [crypto] exchanges.” In April, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a circular banning banks and financial institutions under its control from providing services to crypto companies. “Before taking this decision, industry participants were not consulted, public debates were not initiated and public opinion polls were not undertaken. Even the findings of the committee were not published,” the CEO told Indian news service Ians. Recently, the central bank admitted that it issued the ban without proper research. Regarding RBI’s ban, Jabeer KM elaborated in Tuesday’s announcement: We understand that the RBI has reservations on trading in cryptocurrencies and digital currencies. But we are confident that they will be coming up with their own set of regulations for this industry. From our end, we are making sure that Belfrics Group is ready with multiple options for our Indian customers when crypto trading becomes regularized. Since the RBI’s circular was issued, crypto industry participants have petitioned with the Supreme Court, challenging the ban. The Supreme Court reportedly agreed to hear the cases on July 3, earlier than the original date of July 20. The RBI ban is supposed to take effect on July 5. Meanwhile, the government plans to wrap up cryptocurrency regulations in the middle of next month. What do you think of Belfrics resuming trading operations in India despite problems with banks and impending RBI ban? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Belfrics. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Crypto Exchange Resumes Trading in India Despite Problems with Banks and RBI appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article