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Slovenia’s largest shopping destination is implementing strategies to become a “genuine Bitcoin City.” Coincidentally named BTC City already, the complex stretches 475,000 square meters and is filled with 500 retail stores. It was recently visited by the country’s prime minister who got acquainted with its bitcoin strategy. During his visit, the state secretary bought him a cup of coffee using cryptocurrency. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Prime Minister Visits BTC City Miro Cerar. The Prime Minister of Slovenia, Miro Cerar, recently visited BTC City, a sprawling, 475,000 meter-squared commercial business and shopping complex in the capital city of Ljubljana. Fintech startup Eligma has created a point-of-sale system which is being used in a number of retailers in BTC City, in an effort to convert it into a “Bitcoin City.” Describing the commercial complex as “a business and shopping ecosystem based on the latest technological solutions including blockchain, AI, and cryptocurrencies,” Eligma elaborated: The purpose of his visit was to open the Beyond 4.0 international conference, dedicated to digital society and blockchain, as well as to get acquainted with BTC City’s strategy to become Bitcoin City. During the morning meeting, Cerar received “a cup of ‘crypto coffee’ bought for him by Slovenian State Secretary Tadej Slapnik through the Elipay cryptocurrency transaction system,” the startup described. Slovenian Prime Minister Dr. Miro Cerar using Elipay. Photo credit: Eligma. The first successful use of the Elipay wallet at the city was to pay, using bitcoin, at the complex’s waterpark in April. Eligma added that the app would also be able to use bitcoin cash and Elipay’s own loyalty rewards token in the near future. BTC City to Become a ‘Genuine Bitcoin City’ Founded in 1954 as a warehouse and logistics enterprise, BTC company added many warehouses in the northeast of Ljubljana over time. In 1990, the complex was repurposed as a commercial shopping area and adopted the name BTC City. Ever since it has added large commercial ventures including a hotel, a sports complex, a casino, a multiplex cinema, a water park, and the tallest building in Slovenia, the crystal palace office park. With over 500 retail shops, BTC City’s website describes itself as “famous for being the largest and most popular European business, shopping, recreational/leisure and cultural center” in the country. A panoramic image of BTC City from the north. With the latest initiative is to convert BTC City into “a genuine Bitcoin City,” the company claims that the new entity is: The first of its kind in the world to provide its visitors, consumers and business partners with an ecosystem that will develop and integrate advanced technologies based on state-of-the-art approaches (blockchain, AI, VR [Virtual reality], AR [Augmented reality], ML [Machine Learning] and the world of cryptocurrencies). BTC company believes that “Bitcoin City will create an open society which will enable users to pursue their missions as well as develop their business environments in line with their wishes, needs, and operating policies.” According to the plan posted on BTC City’s website, Eligma’s Elipay is already installed in a number of stores within the city such as Atlantis water park, Al Capone, Babadu, Bijoux modni dodatki, Big Bang, istyle, Vodno mesto San Martino, Sneakers, Minicity, and Kibuba. There are also some one-way cryptocurrency ATMs on the premises, as well as a Blockchain Think Tank and the “biggest crypto mining rig in Slovenia.” BTC company emphasized: The development of BTC City into a Bitcoin City is an important step towards the realisation of BTC’s openness-oriented strategy, providing its customers and business partners with freedom and choice regarding their purchases with new forms of payment. What do you think of BTC City turning into a Bitcoin City? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Total Slovenia News, Wikipedia, Eligma, and BTC company. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post BTC City – Slovenia’s Largest Shopping Center to Become a ‘Genuine Bitcoin City’ appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Hitbtc has suspended its services for Japanese residents to avoid any trouble with the country’s financial regulator since it is not authorized to operate in Japan. Users with Japanese IP addresses will be asked to provide their residency information within the exchange’s know-your-customer (KYC) procedure to prove they are not residents of Japan. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Suspending Services in Japan Hitbtc, the world’s eighth largest crypto exchange according to Coinmarketcap, has announced a service suspension for Japanese residents. On its website, the Hong Kong-based exchange added a new section called Service Restriction to the Legal Information page of its Terms of Service. “You shall not use our services and immediately cease using those if you are a resident or become a resident at any time of the state or region where Hitbtc is not authorized to act,” the exchange wrote, adding: For the avoidance of any doubt and in accordance with the Japan Payment Services Act, Hitbtc has temporarily suspended providing virtual (crypto) currency exchange services to residents of Japan. The exchange elaborated, “In case our technology detects that you use our services from an IP address registered in Japan, or any other services registered in Japan, you would be asked to confirm that you are not a resident of Japan by providing information on your residency within KYC procedure.” The exchange subsequently posted a notice on its website on Sunday confirming the suspension, reiterating that it “will apply only to those living in the country.” Hit Solution Ltd provides access to crypto assets exchange platform under the registered trademark Hitbtc. Since 2013, the platform “has been providing markets for bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, dogecoin, monero, USDT, and more than 300 cryptocurrencies in total,” its website details. The exchange’s 24-hour trading volume at the time of this writing is $281,395,577. Avoiding Trouble with the Regulator The Japanese Payment Services Act that Hitbtc refers to went into effect in April last year, legalizing cryptocurrency as a means of payments. However, it also mandates any crypto exchanges operating in the country to register with the country’s financial authority, the Financial Services Agency (FSA). So far, 16 crypto exchanges have been granted a license to operate and the same number were allowed to operate while their applications are pending. Out of the latter 16, the FSA recently revealed that 8 have indicated that they are withdrawing their applications. The agency has also warned some exchanges that have been operating in Japan without a license. Among them was Binance, the exchange whose 24-hour trading volume often tops the list of the world’s largest. On May 23, the agency sent a letter to Binance and its representative, CEO Changpeng Zhao, warning them about operating in Japan without a license. In April, crypto exchange Kraken announced its withdrawal from the Japanese market, citing high costs to comply with the FSA rules, which became stricter following the hack of Coincheck in January. In Sunday’s announcement, Hitbtc revealed that it has been working with a Japanese law firm with the aim “to get Hitbtc through the local subsidiary setup and licensing procedure to resume its services” for Japanese residents, adding: The company is actively hiring for the local office and exploring M&A opportunities to expedite the launch of the Japanese operations in Q3 2018. What do you think of Hitbtc’s strategy in Japan? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, FSA, and Hitbtc. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Cryptocurrency Exchange Hitbtc Suspends Services in Japan appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The application Keyport is a platform that utilizes the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network’s OP_Codes and allows users to send and accept encrypted messages built on top of the BCH chain and the Toku protocol. The new platform Keyport was created by Atlantislabs and it allows anyone to message each other in an encrypted fashion while communications are saved to the BCH chain in an OP_Return transaction and only the recipient can decrypt the messages. Also Read: Markets Update: Digital Currency Market Bulls Push Back After Decline Keyport: An Encrypted Messaging Application Built On Top of the Bitcoin Cash Blockchain This week bitcoin cash proponents are now able to test a new encrypted messaging application that’s powered by the Toku protocol and the BCH blockchain. The beta platform Keyport is available on the Google Play store and the team also published a video demo to give people a glimpse at how to use the application. News.Bitcoin.com spoke with the co-founder of Atlantislabs, Shravan Shandilya who told us about the new platform. “Keyport is a peer to peer messaging app that is built over the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. Messages are encrypted and embedded in the OP_Return of a transaction — Only the intended recipient can decrypt your chats. For each message, you will need to transfer dust and a small miner fee,” explains Shandilya. As the protocol is built over the decentralized blockchain, third parties cannot intercept or block your chats such as what is being done to messaging apps like Telegram — The protocol can be extended to enable future privacy, by generating one-way ephemeral secrets. The Bitcoin Cash Protocol is Uncensorable and Decentralized, and those are the Necessities for a Private Messaging App Shandilya explains that he founded the Keyport project with his partner Sumanth Neppalli and both of them are huge Bitcoin Cash maximalists who believe that innovation has been stifled by the Bitcoin Scaling debate for so many years. Shandilya says that they had been exploring different ways to increase adoption and initially built a payment gateway that accepted 0-confirmation transactions. “What we observed was that merchants already had payment gateways and we should look at other ways to increase user adoption — Around the same time, we observed that censorship on multiple platforms such as Twitter, Reddit has become rampant. We saw firsthand that when information is controlled as in the case of the bitcoin subreddit, people cannot see the other perspective,” Shandilya tells news.Bitcoin.com. Governments have been successful in banning end to end encryption protocols like Signal — The rise of alternative media suggested that people were trying to get information out but were being censored by social networking sites, payment gateways, media sites etc. We thought that the Bitcoin Cash protocol could solve this problem as it is uncensorable and decentralized and those are the necessities for a private messaging app — We were also inspired by Dr. Wright’s paper on “Secret Value Distribution.” The Keyport development team has a Telegram group so users can give the team feedback and report bugs. The team says they are inviting any developers interested in working on the project and they plan to open source the code and “release for iOS in near future.” “We are working on open sourcing the code for the messaging service and will do so soon — Anyone can build over the protocol to create bots, sticker packs etc., and we believe that messaging over Bitcoin is going to unleash a lot of creative applications,” Keyport emphasized. What do you think about the Keyport application for bitcoin cash? Let us know your thoughts about this project in the comments below. Images via Keyport, and Shutterstock. Did you know Bitcoin.com has an awesome podcast network? Check out the ‘This Week in Bitcoin’ series and ‘Humans of Bitcoin’ by listening to our very own podcast. The post Newly Launched Keyport Platform Enables BCH-Powered Encrypted Messaging appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In recent mining news, Venezuelan authorities are cracking down on mining operations – with one Venezuelan telling reporters that he was forced to leave his home country after becoming the victim of extortion. In other news, a Taiwanese miner was shot by gangsters after failing to deliver on returns on the gang’s investment into his mining operation, and a state-owned wind farm in Estonia has begun mining cryptocurrency. Also Read: This Week in Bitcoin: Digital Money Makes the World Go Round Venezuelan Authorities Raid Mining Operations After Instituting Ban Venezuelan authorities have sought to crack down on cryptocurrency mining, with local media reporting that government has banned the importation of mining hardware into the country. International shipping companies such as DHL, Domesa, and Learexpress have been informed of the prohibition on mining hardware imports. The raids are being carried out just a few months after the Venezuelan government requested that the country’s mining community create a national registry of miners – at the time inciting suspicion among Venezuelan cryptocurrency users. In recent weeks, a Venezuelan man, ‘David’, revealed to media that was forced to flee his home country after becoming the victim of extortion from authorities. David alleges that late last year, Venezuelan police received a tip that he was mining, leading to his office being raided, and his equipment confiscated – with police demanding a ransom in order for his equipment to be returned. Believing that he had now become a target for further extortion, and fearing for the safety of himself and his loved ones, David, and his family chose to flee and cross the border into Colombia. Miner Shot by Gangster Investors After Failing to Deliver Promised Returns In recent weeks, a Taiwanese bitcoin miner was shot by two members of the criminal organization ‘Freshwater Gang’. The victim, Mr. Wu, was shot at seven times by Gao Qitang and Chen Yumin, however, has survived. The Freshwater Gang has invested approximated $50 million TWD (nearly 1.677 million USD into Mr. Wu’s mining operation, and had been expecting quick returns. Mr. Wu was unable to meet the expected initial payment of $10 million TWD (approximately $340,000 USD), citing China’s crackdown on cryptocurrency as the reason. Mr. Wu was shot after an argument with the two men. The shooting took place in the Longhua Hall in Banqiao. Gao Qitang and Chen Yumin surrendered within seven hours of shooting and were taken into custody at the Haishan Police Substation of New Taipei City. Estonian State-Owned Wind Farm Launches Crypto Mine On Friday, a wind farm owned by the Estonian government launched a began mining cryptocurrency. According to local officials, the mine will take advantage of virtually unlimited power available to the windswept Baltic Sea island on which it is situated. The mining hardware, comprising a bank of computers hooked up to the seven turbine, six megawatt wind farm, was set-up by Estonian private limited company Eesti Elekter. Oleg Sonajalg, a board member of Eesti Elekter, stated “It is great that the decentralized money transfer blockchain technology has found its way to our wind farm. Hopefully, it will be a fruitful cooperation.” “The more synergy between future technologies we find, the more able to compete we will be in the future,” Mr. Sonajalg added. Do you think that the situation will continue to worsen for Venezuela’s bitcoin miners? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Mining Round-Up: Venezuelan Authorities Raid Miners, Taiwanese Miner Shot for Debt to Investors appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In Japan, seniors and middle-aged adults are increasingly interested in investing in cryptocurrencies. The Japanese Cryptocurrency Support Center has launched an intensive course for seniors to help them learn and invest in cryptocurrencies. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Intensive Crypto Course for Seniors Japan’s Cryptocurrency Support Center has launched an intensive crypto investment course for middle-aged and elderly adults. This is “Japan’s first virtual currency investment course for seniors,” local media reported last week. The Tokyo-based center “supports dissemination of the correct information and knowledge of virtual currencies” and of “building assets with virtual currency with confidence,” its website describes. The organization says “we have connections with overseas exchanges and currency issuers” and aims to promote “the sound development of the virtual currency industry.” The center describes: In the past, investment of stocks and FX was the mainstream. However, since 2017 virtual currencies became a topic in the news, and seniors who start investing [in] virtual currencies are increasing…we hold virtual currency seminars…and some participants in their 80s have participated. One of the reasons why the elderly are increasingly turning to cryptocurrencies in order to increase their asset holdings is “for the future relief of family and grandchildren to eliminate anxiety about old age,” the center explained. What Seniors Will Learn The course is divided into two parts: “Basic operation and maintenance of virtual currency” and “Investment know-how of virtual currency and measures against taxation.” The former teaches how to open an account at a crypto exchange, how to purchase cryptocurrencies using Japanese yen, and how to store crypto in wallets and cold storage. In addition, students will learn how to send and receive crypto remittances. This part will also touch on security such as two-step authentication and safekeeping and restoration of private keys. “For beginners who do not know how to buy virtual currency, we will instruct [them] carefully from the beginning, including how to use a personal computer,” the center elaborated, emphasizing that: Even if you are inexperienced, even if you are not good at personal computers, you can start investing in virtual currency during the course period! The second part teaches fundamental analysis using Twitter, technical (chart) analysis using Tradingview and Cryptopia. Students will also learn some “promising altcoin watching methods,” how to create diversified investment portfolios, and tax measures or tax saving methods for those with capital gains. What do you think of crypto courses for seniors? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and the Virtual Currency Support Center. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Japanese Crypto Center Launches Investment Course for Seniors appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Agnes Water, a beach town situated five hours north of Brisbane International Airport, has proclaimed itself to be the first “digital currency-friendly” tourist town in Australia. Over 30 businesses now accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment in Agnes Water – despite being home to just over two thousand residents. Also Read: Markets Update: Digital Currency Market Bulls Push Back After Decline Agnes Water Seeks to Leverage Crypto to Boost Tourism The town’s decision to embrace cryptocurrency was reportedly the brainchild of local real estate agent, Gordon Christian. Mr. Christian said that he first became aware of cryptocurrency when a client enquired as to how to process bitcoin payments, however, his interest peaked after discovering that a number of businesses had announced that they would accept cryptocurrency payments at Brisbane Airport. “I thought, ‘This is something worth having a look at’,” Mr. Christian said, “We started from the ground up, shared it with a couple of businesses and they were straight on board […] I guess they were international travelers themselves and had heard of these types of payments. Initially, we had a good 10 businesses that just said, ‘Fine — let’s go for it’.” Support for Crypto Spread Quickly Among Local Businesses As the idea caught on among Agnes Water businesses, Mr. Christian states that the town increasingly wanted to tailor its tourism toward the “digital traveler.” Mr. Christian recounts the number of businesses embracing cryptocurrency quickly growing, stating “So it started out as, ‘Well, how would they get here? Could we provide a shuttle service to bring them from the airport or the railway station?’ Then [we considered], ‘Where would they stay and what are they going to do when they get here?’.” 31 local businesses now accept cryptocurrency payments in Agnes Water, including resorts, backpackers, tour companies, restaurants, the local pub. Japanese Crypto Tourists Expected to Visit Agnes Water This Week Agnes Water’s support for cryptocurrencies has been aided by the services of Travelbybit Australia. Caleb Yeoh, the chief executive of Travelbybit, was approached by Mr. Christian in November after the realtor became aware of the company’s roll-out of its point-of-sale app facilitating cryptocurrency payments at the Brisbane Airport. Mr. Yeoh stated, “If you travel around the world you have to deal with multiple currencies, the exchange rate can be confusing, sometimes you struggle to find ATMs, and sometimes you get swindled by money changers […] Travelling with on global currency like bitcoin […] makes sense.” “The town has made a very strategic move in trying to appeal to a niche market to take perhaps some of those tourists … to come out to their little part of the woods. People who use cryptocurrency … it’s a social movement and they believe in it, and therefore they support places … who take it. So they would come to a place like this just because it takes digital currency.” What do you think of Agnes Water’s decision to target cryptocurrency tourists? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Wikipedia Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Coastal Town Claims to be First “Digital Currency-Friendly” in Australia appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Russian railway company RZD may turn out to be a state-owned giant that does not shy away from technological advances brought about by cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. According to media reports, Russian Railways is planning to implement blockchain applications, smart contracts and ticket sales in crypto. Both company officials and independent experts have spoken about the advantages for logistics and transportation services. Also read: Russian Duma Adopts Three Crypto Bills on First Reading RZD Aims at 5,000 Smart Contracts a Month According to several publications in recent months and this week, the huge state-run enterprise is seriously considering to embrace crypto-related applications such as smart contracts and blockchain technologies, and may even start selling tickets for cryptocurrency. Russian Railways, which is proudly calling itself “The Strongest Link in Eurasia,” is ranking among the top three railway systems in the world. The adoption of these innovations by RZD would be a strong boost for the Russian crypto sector. What stands in the way is the lack of regulations, a situation that is about to change soon. The State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, has supported on first reading three draft laws aimed at legalizing the crypto industry in the country. The bills – “On Digital Financial Assets,” “On Attracting Investments Using Investment Platforms” and “On Digital Rights” – hit the house floor last week and should be adopted by the end of June. “In view of the forthcoming adoption of the drafts, which entail the possibility to exchange digital financial assets with rubles and [foreign] currencies, OAO ‘RZD’ plans to introduce decentralized storage of data based on blockchain technology and implement ‘smart contracts’,” said Pavel Tarentyev, an independent IT expert. Speaking to Fedpress, he explained that this could lead to full automation of RZD’s contractual relations and fulfillment of contract terms using cryptocurrency. Russian Railways intends to issue up to 5,000 smart contracts a month, he added. Introducing Crypto Payments Pavel Tarentyev also said that in the future transactions related to passenger travel can be processed through cryptocurrency, as an alternative to traditional payment methods, like cash and electronic transfers. Crypto payments and the decentralized data storage would provide anonymity to passengers and their travel plans, he noted. RZD also hopes to use blockchain technology to store important information related to cargo transportation and significantly reduce the cost of its logistic services. Earlier statements by company officials indicate these are serious plans. In March, the head of RZD’s IT department, Evgeniy Charkin, said that Russian Railways intends to implement blockchain technology, smart contracts and start using cryptocurrency in its accounting after the relevant legislation is adopted. And, according to Director General Oleg Belozerov, the company is already digitizing many processes. During the Gaidar Forum in January, he expressed hope that the implementation of blockchain technologies would ensure cheaper transportation. Railways Going the Crypto Way RZD is not the only railway company fascinated by the ongoing crypto revolution. The fully state-owned Swiss Federal Railways has been selling cryptocurrency to its passengers for almost two years now. Bitcoin can be bought at any of its 1,000 ticket vending machines. Schweizerische Bundesbahnen is providing the service in partnership with Sweepay, a company based in the canton of Zug, dubbed the crypto valley of Switzerland. SBB offers “simple top-ups at ticket machines using QR codes” for any amount between 50 and 500 CHF, and even informs travelers on its website about locations accepting bitcoin. When the service was launched in 2016, passengers were not able to obtain tickets with cryptocurrency, as news.Bitcoin.com reported. Unfortunately, bitcoin is not among the available payment options yet. However, thanks to platforms like Destinia, train tickets are already sold for crypto around the world, regardless of whether railway companies accept digital coins or not. Destinia currently offers tickets for the railway systems of Spain, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the UK, France, Portugal, Canada, and the US. That includes companies like Renfe and Amtrak. Have you purchased train tickets with cryptocurrency? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, RZD, Destinia. Bitcoin News is growing fast. To reach our global audience, send us a news tip or submit a press release. Let’s work together to help inform the citizens of Earth (and beyond) about this new, important and amazing information network that is Bitcoin. The post Russian Railways Eyes Crypto for Tickets, Blockchain for Cargo 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. Since late 2017, several crypto specialists have been stating that masternode coins “will be huge in the upcoming years”. After only five months into 2018, we can already see they were correct, masternodes are becoming the new mining. Crypto investors are starting to realize that, by investing in masternodes, they are building a portfolio of passive income generating assets. But there is a problem that is holding investors back. Different coins have different technical requirements to run their masternodes and most investors don’t want to learn complicated Linux commands or have time to deal with Ubuntu Server’ security updates. The Masternode Foundation is proud to announce the launch of its own cryptocurrency, MANO, which will be the exclusive currency accepted by all the Masternode Foundation services. – MANO fair launching schedule: – PRE-ANN on Bitcointalk: May 28th. read it here – Website and Light Paper: May 30th. – Github Code reveal: May 31st . – Fair Coin Launch: Monday, June 4th, 2018 at 4pm UTC – MANO Technical Specifications: – Symbol: MANO – Address Prefix: M – Block Reward: 10 MANO – Masternode Collateral: 1000 MANO – Block Reward distribution: 5/5 ( 50% Miner / 50% Masternode ) – PoW Algorithm: Lyra2z – Block time: 120 seconds – Diff Retargeting: DGWv3 – Halving: 12 months – P2P Port: 5982 – RPC Port: 5983 – Max Supply: 12,614,400 MANO – Premine: 3% — About The Masternode Foundation: – MANO Host: An exclusive one-click masternode deployment and hosting platform where any investor will be able to click and launch a full masternode without previous linux command line or even wallet console knowledge. – Automated Shared Masternode Service: Shared Masternode Automated Platform which offers the possibility of joining any coin shared masternodes automatically without waiting or interacting with anyone. – Masternode Rankings: Comprehensive masternode coins listing and comparison platform, featuring “Node Monitor” a masternode monitoring service app with live alerts. – MANO Exchange: A masternode coin exclusive exchange where masternode owners can receive their rewards directly and trade them automatically if they choose to do so. For further information regarding MANO, refer to the contacts listed below: Contact Email Address news@MANOcoin.org Supporting Link https://manocoin.org/ This is a paid press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post PR: The Masternode Foundation Launches MANO, Its Exclusive Cryptocurrency appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Why wait for Wall Street to launch exchange traded funds following the crypto markets? Huobi, the Singapore-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange, has decided to create its own ETF style instrument based on its recently launched index of ten digital assets. Also Read: This Week in Bitcoin: Digital Money Makes the World Go Round Huobi Index Tracker Fund The company says that the Huobi 10 index tracker product, HB10, will allow retail investors to attain exposure to the digital assets market with a relatively small capital outlay while diversifying risks. It is also meant to attract more institutional investors, by reducing the impact of institutional entry and exit on a single coin. Investors may purchase HB10 shares exclusively with UDST, BTC, ETH and Huobi’s own HT. The minimum purchase for each account is 100, or 0.01 BTC, 0.2 ETH, and 50 HT. Huobi only announced launch of the benchmark index less than two weeks ago, explaining at the time it is meant to reflect the market performance of Huobi Pro in terms of USDT. The assets in it are divided into four categories: Coins, Platforms, Applications and Physical Assets tokens, depending on the transaction volume value of the previous quarter. Right now the index’s components include HT at 29.3%, BTC at 23.1%, EOS at 17.3%, ETH at 10.9%, BCH at 5.2%, XRP at 4.1%, IOST at 3.1%, LTC at 3%, ETC at 2.3%, and DASH at 1.5%. $93 Million Crypto VC Fund It was also revealed on Friday that Huobi has joined forces with Chinese VC New Margin Capital and Korean online brokerage Kiwoom Securities to jointly launch a 100 billion won ($93 million) investment fund. It will invest in blockchain startups in both China and Korea, and is meant to help collaborations among the two Asian ecosystems. According to China Money Network, Korean banks including Korea Development Bank and Industrial Bank Of Korea will be investing in the fund as limited partners. And Mirae Asset Financial Group, an independent financial services group headquartered in Seoul, is also joining the fund as an investor. Besides Huobi’s new ETF, enabling people to invest in multiple coins as once has been a focus in the industry recently. Last month, Circle, the Goldman Sachs-backed Boston-headquartered company, announced a new feature called “Buy the Market,” allowing users to buy seven assets in one click, including BTC, BCH, ETH, ETC, LTC, ZEC and XMR. What do you think about this new investment instrument? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Now live, Satoshi Pulse. A comprehensive, real-time listing of the cryptocurrency market. View prices, charts, transaction volumes, and more for the top 500 cryptocurrencies trading today. The post Huobi Creates Its Own Cryptocurrency Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bitcoin tumbling service Bestmixer has added a slew of new features designed to enhance anonymity. A triple-tier service provides varying levels of privacy, all geared around outsmarting the blockchain forensic tools deployed by companies such as Chainalysis. Also read: Bitcoin’s Chance at the $20 Trillion Offshore Tax Haven Market Bestmixer Ups Its Privacy Game Bitcoin tumbler services and blockchain analysis firms have been engaged in a cat and mouse game, with each trying to outwit the other. Blockchain forensics companies have the full weight of law enforcement behind them and the deep pockets of government funding their bitcoin deanonymizing efforts. Tumbler services, in comparison, have little more than some open source code and a desire to reclaim the privacy that’s been gradually eroded from the web over the years, with crypto users among the worst affected. Bestmixer.io launched in March of this year, and has just issued a major update to its privacy features. Users of BTC, BCH, ETH, and LTC can feed their coins through the service, with the ones that emerge on the other side promised to be untainted and unlinkable. Platforms such as Chipmixer offer a similar service, which can be accessed from the clearnet or deep web, providing a means of obfuscating activity on darknet markets and anywhere else where privacy is desired. Beating Chainalysis at Their Own Game In a post on the Bitcointalk forum, the Bestmixer team announced the introduction of a new module containing reserves for mixing, writing: Not so long ago a New York blockchain startup ‘Chainalysis’ announced the launch of a real-time transaction analysis tool. A new tool called ‘Chainalysis KYT’ (Know Your Transaction) allows real-time transaction analysis. In particular, the new functionality allows cryptocurrency companies to find out instantly how reliable their counterparty is, and whether it operates with funds that were previously used in illegal financial transactions. In connection with this news, we decided to divide our reserves into three pools, each of which will fulfill its goals. The Alpha, Beta, and Gamma pools offer different degrees of privacy, with the latter two commanding an increased fee commensurate with the cost of maintaining them. Explaining the importance of privacy for all cryptocurrency users, the Bestmixer team said: “Everyone who has ever participated in a transaction with you has an opportunity to find out the addresses of your wallets, their balances, and can determine the origin of your coins and the destination address. Apart from disclosing the details of your private life, it also makes you an easy target for cybercriminals.” Chainalysis have become unavoidable in the world of cryptocurrency, particularly when it comes to KYC and KYT. Many ideologues regard them as “enemies of bitcoin” due to their efforts to deliver cryptocurrency users into the hands of the state that bitcoin was arguably designed to counter. In addition to being used in criminal investigations, Chainalysis is deployed to detect pooling with ICO private sales, something that most ICOs are publicly against but which is rampant. Services such Bestmixer and Chipmixer play a small but vital role in protecting the privacy of those who cherish it the most. Do you think bitcoin tumblers can be trusted to thwart forensic services like Chainalysis? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, and Chainalysis. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Meet Bestmixer, the Bitcoin Tumbler Trying to Outwit Chainalysis appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Cryptocurrency prices are making some headway today after suffering from a bearish onslaught last week. Since our last markets update the digital asset economy has gained $26 billion over the last five days. The price of bitcoin cash (BCH) touched a high of $1,160 earlier today but now hovers around $1,140 per BCH. Bitcoin core (BTC) values reached $7,790 per BTC but subsequently dropped to an average of $7,713 at 7am EDT. Also Read: Devere Group Adds Bitcoin Cash and EOS to Crypto Exchange App Cryptocurrency Markets See a Short Term Push Upwards The question over the past few months is — How long will the cryptocurrency bear run last? A few weeks ago things were trending upwards showing signs of a reversal after digital assets lost considerable value after touching all-time highs. Today cryptocurrency markets are showing some deep consolidation as traders have been shifting positions in hopes of another bull run this year. However ever since BTC touched a high of $19,600 digital currency bears have been storming the markets and shorting them to profit from the downturn. Bitcoin Cash Market Action On Sunday, June 3, 2018 bitcoin cash markets are commanding an overall valuation of $19.5Bn and the decentralized currency has gained 10 percent over the past 24-hours. Seven day gains for BCH show the digital asset has jumped upwards 13.9 percent in value. BCH purchasing volume has also increased and rests at $753Mn over the past 24-hours. The top five exchanges swapping the most bitcoin cash today include Okex, Huobi, Bitfinex, Lbank, and Binance. One BCH is roughly 0.1465 BTC and bitcoin core is the most traded pair with BCH today. BTC captures 40.8 percent of BCH trades followed by tether (USDT 28.9%), USD (17.7%), KRW (8.9%), and the EUR (1.3%). BCH/USD Technical Indicators Looking at the 4-hour BCH/USD chart on Bitfinex shows bulls are tiring out a touch from this morning’s upward push. Before the spike, the market appeared to form a deep consolidated diagonal formation as Bollinger Bands have been extremely tight. BCH buyers are currently facing resistance and the two Simple Moving Averages (SMA) indicate the path to resistance may be towards the upside. The short-term 100 SMA is above the 200 SMA trendline but not by much. After this morning’s rise, the MACd still shows room for improvement and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) points to (71) overbought conditions. Order books show BCH bulls need to press past $1,185 to find smoother seas while on the backside there are foundations between the current vantage point and $925. Bitcoin Core Market Action Bitcoin Core’s (BTC) upwards action is slowing down right now after touching a high of close to $7,800 earlier this morning. The price of BTC is up 0.88 percent over the last 24 hours and 5.2 percent over the last seven days. Trading volume has increased only a little bit since our last markets update as BTC traders this Sunday are swapping $4.95Bn in trade volume. The top exchanges trading the most of this action are Binance, Okex, Bitfinex, Huobi, and BTCC. The Japanese yen today is the forerunning pair traded with BTC capturing 55 percent of trades. Tether (USDT 18.6%) follows the yen, and then the USD (16.3%), KRW (3.3%), and the RUB (2.3%). The Russian Ruble has sort of silently sneaked into the top five currency pairs position with BTC. Furthermore on the peer-to-peer exchange Shapeshift.io the top trade today is ETH for BTC. BTC/USD Technical Indicators Looking at the same 4-hour timeline for BTC/USD on Coinbase and Bitstamp show bulls are feeling exhausted after that last push. The cryptocurrency is holding just above the $7,700 region and resistance is piling up across exchange order books. The two SMA trendlines for BTC show similar action as the short term 100 SMA is just above the long-term 200 SMA. With this said we may see some more northbound action if bulls can manage to press through current resistance. MACd is meandering downwards indicating bears are attacking and RSI levels are around 56, showing conditions could go either way after the last spike. Order books are not too bad looking at the upside as bulls need to muster up strength to get past $7,900-8,100 in order to approach far safer and less bearish conditions. Looking down we can see that bears will be stopped at $7,200 and there are considerably sized walls through $6,600 as well. The Top Digital Assets Today Cryptocurrency markets in general throughout the top positions are seeing gains today. The second highest market capitalization commanded by ethereum (ETH) has seen a 4.6 percent increase this Sunday. The price of ethereum has gained 7.3 percent this week in total and the price per ETH today is $619. Ripple (XRP) values are up 2.7 percent as one XRP is averaging around $0.66 cents per token. The token EOS which just launched its mainnet is up 5.7 percent this Sunday and 19 percent this week. One EOS is priced at $14.84 per token at the time of publication. The Verdict: Skepticism Remains The upswing has added a touch of positivity throughout the cryptocurrency trading environment as markets managed to hold steady at current levels. But many are still skeptical of the current direction and we are most definitely not outside the bear market just yet. Currently, the verdict is traders are skeptical after losing optimism the past three weeks, but some believe the next step is to move upwards as most markets have triple bottomed this year. Where do you see the price of BCH, BTC, and other coins headed from here? Let us know in the comments below. Disclaimer: Price articles and markets updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not to be considered as trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the “money.” Images via Shutterstock, Trading View, and Satoshi Pulse. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post Markets Update: Digital Currency Market Bulls Push Back After Decline appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

This week we saw that despite most countries being less open to cryptocurrency as Japan, this amazing innovation continues to fascinate the whole world. This was evident in stories from all over the globe that were covered in this week’s daily editions of Bitcoin in Brief. Also Read: Devere Group Adds Bitcoin Cash and EOS to Crypto Exchange App Poloniex Responds to Complaints On Monday we reported that Poloniex, the US-based cryptocurrency trading platform which was taken over by Circle earlier this year, has finally responded to complaints by its clients about frozen accounts. The company tried to reassure clients their funds were safe and that it has taken steps to increase the speed of the identity verification process. Additionally covered was the fact that the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has revealed it is investigating two dozen unauthorized cryptocurrency-related ventures and has also opened seven whistle-blower reports in 2018 alone. McAfee Warns of War on Crypto John McAfee (Photo by Gage Skidmore) The big news on Tuesday was that cybersecurity expert turned pump and dump guru John McAfee has issued another bullish prediction. Bitcoin (BTC) will surpass $15,000 in June, but will dip in July, McAfee predicted. His prediction was in contrast with Russian analysts who expect that value of BTC will continue to drop, even below the psychological $6,000 USD threshold. McAfee also also talked about “the war we are all engaged in”, Claiming that the banks, the government and the US Securities and Exchange Commission have declared war on crypto. He advised crypto enthusiasts to take action – write their congressmen and press banks and credit card companies with demands for crypto transactions. McAfee called on his followers to also write the SEC and ask “to leave us alone, because we are not a security […] we are a currency.” China Fights Impersonators and Fraudsters A couple of stories that show cryptocurrency is still a hot topic in China were our focus on Wednesday. First, Chinese social media has erupted in anger this week after the use of a Mao Zedong impersonator at the Boao Blockchain Forum for Asia in Hainan province. Second, a Chinese procurator’s office has reportedly prosecuted 98 people and recovered 1.7 billion yuan (about $270 million) in an alleged Onecoin pyramid scheme. Additionally covered were high market awareness in Germany, a London mosque that accepts bitcoin donations, a new green mining farm in Canada and an MMA champ’s love for crypto. Asus Creates 20-GPU Mining Motherboard Asus H370 Mining Master On Thursday we reported that Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer Asus has created a new motherboard with support for up to 20 graphics cards, designed specifically for crypto miners. The company explains that: “Mining is a numbers game; it’s only worthwhile if the value of the cryptocurrency you generate exceeds the cost of producing it. Increasing the number of graphics cards per node is a great way to stack the deck in your favor.” We also reported about a Singaporean businessman acquiring a Japanese exchange; some ripple-loving alleged Russian hackers shaking down Canadian banks; and a Colombian soccer star launching his own coin. Expanding Horizons in Uganda, Bahrain and Georgia Countries not often mentioned in the news made headlines on Friday. First, Binance could be opening a new office in Uganda, CEO Changpeng Zhao revealed at The Africa Blockchain Conference. “I was very impressed by the enthusiasm of Africans to introduce cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. It was surprising to see that cryptocurrencies enjoy not only an increased interest from the people, but also the active support of many representatives of African banks and government officials,” CZ stated. Second, Bahrain has recently enjoyed a spike in online trade using cryptocurrency due to an absence of limiting regulations and a shop selling crypto-priced items is set to open soon in Riffa. Lastly, we reported that a luxurious apartment has been put on sale for 25 bitcoins in Georgia. Blockchain on the Agenda in Spain, Slovenia, Estonia and Hungary Governments all across Europe were our focus on Saturday. Lawmakers in Spain have issued a unanimous call for adopting regulations that favor the implementation of crypto and blockchain technologies. The government of Slovenia has adopted an action plan to underpin the implementation of blockchain technology in the country and create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. In Estonia, officials have scaled down plans to issue a national cryptocurrency, which were criticized by both the European Central Bank and local banking authorities. And in Hungary, “The newly established Ministry for Innovation and Technology, along with the enhanced national digital wellbeing strategy, can help local blockchain players embrace innovative solutions and improve their fundraising potential,” said Péter Benedek, the CEO of Blockchain Competence Center (BCC). This Week in Bitcoin Podcast Catch the rest of this week’s news in the This Week in Bitcoin podcast with host Matt Aaron. What other stories in the bitcoin world caught your attention this week? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Do you agree with us that Bitcoin is the best invention since sliced bread? Thought so. That’s why we are building this online universe revolving around anything and everything Bitcoin. We have a store. And a forum. And a casino, a pool and real-time price statistics. The post This Week in Bitcoin: Digital Money Makes the World Go Round appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

An established Japanese corporation has begun offering loans secured by cryptocurrency. The company says this is the first service in Japan where loans in Japanese yen can be obtained with cryptocurrency as collateral. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space New Loan Program Abic Corporation announced Friday the launch of its bitcoin loan service. “From June 1, we offer loans with virtual currency bitcoin (BTC) as collateral,” the company’s announcement reads. Founded in 1973 and headquartered in Tokyo, Abic Corporation offers a broad range of secured loan products including commercial and real estate loans. “In Europe and the United States, services that provide ICOs [Initial Coin Offerings] and loans are increasing, with virtual currency as collateral such as bitcoins,” the company wrote, elaborating: Bitcoin secured loan is a service where [customers] can receive loans using bitcoin as collateral as its name implies, but it is Japan’s first service to receive [crypto-secured] loans in Japanese yen. One major benefit of obtaining this type of loan is that, in Japan, “In the case of individuals, if you sell your own virtual currency, the [capital] gains on that sale will be miscellaneous income and will be subject to progressive taxation,” the company explained. This tax can be as high as 55%. Emphasizing that its crypto secured loans give customers access to funds without having to sell their crypto, the company urges customers to use its crypto secured loans “for a wide range of purposes such as new virtual currency purchases, [and] tax payments.” Recently, news.Bitcoin.com reported on Japan’s National Tax Agency revealing that 331 taxpayers with 100 million yen (~US$914,000) or more in miscellaneous income, excluding pension income, declared cryptocurrencies in the year 2017. Loan Terms The crypto secured loans by Abic Corporation are available for both businesses and individuals. The loan amounts are between 2 million (~US$18,260) and 1 billion yen (~$9.13 million) with annual interest rates ranging from 2.98% to 15.0%. Customers can borrow for a period of between one month and five years. Loans can be repaid in up to 60 installments with no prepayment fee. The delinquency charge is 20% annually. The company detailed: We will keep your [cryptocurrency] deposit and set the pledge…As a general rule, pledges are set in the virtual currency of the collateral, but it is possible to sell as soon as the market price rises. Furthermore, the company assured that while holding bitcoins as collateral, customers will still receive any forked coins that may split off during that time. “Even if you receive loans with bitcoins as collateral, there is no worry that the right in division will be lost,” Abic reiterated. This week, news.Bitcoin.com reported on a group of lawyers preparing a class action lawsuit against crypto exchanges in Japan that do not grant their customers their forked coins. What do you think of crypto-secured loans? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Abic Corporation. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Japanese Corporation Begins Offering Loans Secured by Cryptocurrency appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In polite pockets of society, acceptable and positive crypto talk revolves around its amazing tech and what the future might hold. At least one bitcoiner has tossed aside such niceties, and examined the world’s most popular cryptocurrency as a potential offshore tax avoidance haven. Depending on the study, as much as $20 trillion is hidden away from government tax farmers. However, loopholes are closing as lawmakers discover them, perhaps creating just the use case bitcoin needs to thrive in the near future. Also read: DOJ Crypto Investigation Tanks Prices, Fundstrat Welcomes Adult Supervision Can Bitcoin Get a Slice of the $20 Trillion Tax Avoidance Market? Treasure Islands author Nicholas Shaxson explained what he imagines to be a queer phenomenon. “Governments were short of revenue and seeking new sources; there was huge public anger at bailouts and banking is at the center of the offshore system; and there were rising concerns about inequality when offshore is an inequality machine,” he told The Christian Science Monitor. Not quite a decade ago, the US in particular used terrorism as a pretext to force notorious Swiss bank accounts to release information on tens of thousands of American customers. Soon after, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development urged global standards in this regard. From there, the G20 picked up the cause, and by last year implemented a system of instant accountability between nations and their respective tax authorities. John Christensen of the Tax Justice Network put it succinctly, “‘Bit by bit, international standards are being created. This is all being extended in the direction’ of secretive jurisdictions such as Switzerland. But activists and journalists investigating fraud, kleptocracy, embezzlement and other financial crimes ‘hit a brick wall when we can’t establish the ownership of a company.’” “Bitcoin throws a wrench into the traditional monetary system,” sometime bitcoin maximalist @dantwany posted on Medium recently. His assertion is how “parallels exist between traditional tax havens used by the wealthy and Bitcoin,” in an effort to get a “better idea if it will be seen in the future as more of an alternative to the financial system altogether, or play a part in offshore banking services.” Bitcoin Isn’t Just for the Rich Tax havens are typically thought to be financial playgrounds of the uber rich. @dantwany details how now “Bitcoin may open the playing field for ordinary citizens who normally could not afford this luxury.” Indeed, “the fact that ordinary citizens are not effectively barred from entry into Bitcoin like in offshore banking makes it likely the potential market may be much larger than current estimates,” though he admits there is scant evidence this is actually happening. For his purposes, offshore “tax havens have the following four attributes: 1) No or low effective tax rates. 2) No need to generate substantial economic activity in the location to gain tax benefits. 3) Lack of mandated transparency with regards to customer details and other lenient laws that govern financial dealings. 4) A lack of exchange of information.” He notes how mainstream havens have become, including legacy institutions using oasis/shelter systems. He cites approvingly Jim Omartian in his Panama Papers article, “Do Banks Aid and Abet Asset Concealment,” suggesting for “investors residing in countries with weak property rights, using an offshore entity may prevent government expropriation. Investors buying property or acquiring a firm may want to conceal their identity from the counterpart for an edge in negotiations.” Bitcoin can be sought for a variety of reasons in the above case: secrecy, of course, and lack of confidence in the integrity of domestic banking institutions. And just as the US bullied its way into Swiss financial arrangements, Americans began closing their accounts in a rush, proving capital will go where it’s treated the best. The Panama Papers affair seems to reveal an economic truism, “when one tax evasion method becomes difficult, it is simply supplanted by another alternative. As data collection improves and more leaks like the Panama Papers continue, there will be no alternative but to turn to encryption and decentralized networks like Bitcoin for true privacy,” @dantwany boldly asserted. Crackdowns Might Push More Bitcoin Adoption Through Decentralized Exchanges This year just might see crackdowns push more people toward bitcoin, especially as legal schemes such as the Automatic Exchange of Information take hold. European Union countries in 2018 will exchange customers’ financial information as a matter of course. All over the world, governments are beginning to see what could be around the corner for tax havens. Crypto miners are regularly hectored from Venezuela to Argentina in an effort to slow the phenomenon, to varying degrees of success. Russia is busy passing crypto tracking laws. China famously went after exchanges, only to force trade underground with more peer-to-peer services such as Localbitcoins filling the vacuum. With an eye toward skepticism, @dantwany writes how it does seem “doubtful that Bitcoin can capture all the money currently in tax havens.” However, those who are stuck in countries where private property rights in particular are less than secure, there “is certainly a case where Bitcoin can find a use and it seems likely that it will tap into this market, if it is not already doing so. In the near future, it may become very possible to use Bitcoin on decentralized exchanges to buy a wide variety of tokenized securities and assets. Using this method, the buyer will be in complete control of the assets they are trading in an anonymous manner.” He’s also keen to watch where autocrats go, where they put their ill-gotten gains, suggesting as “public backlash, leaks, and political turmoil increase, it seems very likely that even the autocrats themselves may have to turn to alternatives like Bitcoin to conceal and keep their wealth, at the very least as a hedge. It seems inevitable and a matter of when, not if that a percentage of the wealth held in tax havens begins to flow into Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency economy.” Is crypto the future of tax shelters and havens? Let us know in the comments. Images via the Pixabay, Twitter. Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH and other coins, on our market charts at Satoshi’s Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com The post Bitcoin’s Chance at the $20 Trillion Offshore Tax Haven Market appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Back in April, news.Bitcoin.com reported on a charity called Eat BCH that’s been feeding the hungry in Venezuela with food purchased with bitcoin cash (BCH) donations. Since then the group has also started feeding people in South Sudan where citizens in the East-African region are suffering from economic turmoil and a lack of daily nourishment. With the help of bitcoin cash donations from the community, Eat BCH has truly become a peer-to-peer electronic cash-to-food system that’s starting to spread throughout other regions in the world. Also read: The Bitcoin Cash Chain Has Less Than Two Years Until the Reward Halving The Charity Eat BCH Focuses On Feeding South Sudanese Families with Food Paid for With Bitcoin Cash Donations The Twitter handle and nonprofit organization Eat BCH has been helping individuals and families in Venezuela by providing them with food to eat that’s purchased with the cryptocurrency bitcoin cash. When a person visits the Twitter page they can scroll through hundreds of pictures showing Eat BCH feeding Venezuelans in need. Each picture says @eatBCH with the date the crew visited throughout various locations like a children’s center or a senior citizens home. So far the Eat BCH team has amassed a whopping 16.84 BCH or $18,427 USD at the time of publication and that money goes a long way in Venezuela. Now Eat BCH is helping people in South Sudan, a region located in East-Central Africa that is facing significant economic hardships right now. The people in South Sudan have a lack of necessary supplies like good water, food, and there’s a shortage of money. The region is currently dealing with a civil war and over the past few weeks, mainstream media has been focusing their attention on the “horrific” and “heartbreaking” stories taking place in South Sudan. The crew at Eat BCH has decided to help individuals and families from South Sudan and they have been focusing their efforts on feeding people living in the African territory this week. On the first day on May 31, the Eat BCH team stated it was rainy in Sudan but over 50 people came to eat food that day. “Our first day – and a rainy day – and the line is out the door! Over 50 people came to eat today,” explained the charity. The economic crisis has put pressure on every family in South Sudan so we are finding our way to help where we can. This is how communities come together! As the South Sudanese Pound Faces 11,000% Inflation, the Utility Phase of Bitcoin Cash Emerges The pictures that follow show Eat BCH feeding the Sudanese people for the past three days. Many people are pleased to get a warm meal bringing their own bowls, Eat BCH explained. On June 1 they served ‘Adas’ or spiced lentils and rice. The same day South Sudanese children lined up to share food and were excited to see the how bitcoin cash donations purchased all of the meals. The South Sudanese pound (SSP) suffers from 11,000% inflation Eat BCH emphasized. Moreover, that day the CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, who has written extensively on the subject of cryptocurrency and charitable giving, gave a shout out to the Eat BCH team on Twitter. “In terms of crypto helping people (the utility phase emerging) this is pretty awesome,” Armstrong said on Friday. What do you think about the charity Eat BCH? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comment section below. Images Via @eatBCH_SS 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 BCH Powered Charity ‘Eat BCH’ Starts Feeding People in South Sudan appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In recent days, central banks from the around the world have been actively exploring the prospect of issuing digital currencies. The Bank of England (BOE) has continued to press forward with research into models for central bank-issued currencies, with BOE governor Mark Carney expressing his openness to the idea of issuing a digital currency in future. In other news, a report published by a International Monetary Fund (IMF) official has warned central banks that they must adapt to the innovations brought forward by cryptocurrencies. Lastly, Hong Kong’s acting secretary for financial services and the treasury has indicated that the Monetary Authority “has no plan to issue [central bank-issued digital currency] at this stage but will continue to monitor […] international development.” Also Read: Stripe Founders Discuss Decision to Drop BTC Payment Services IMF Official Authors Report Discussing Central Bank-Issued Digital Currencies An article authored by the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department deputy director, Dong He, has argued that cryptocurrencies may have a negative impact on demand for central bank money in future, and that central banks must be adaptive of the changing financial landscape brought about by cryptographic assets. The article asserts that “Crypto assets may one day reduce demand for central bank money,” adding that central banks should consider implementing measures to “forestall the competitive pressure crypto assets may exert on fiat currencies” and make fiat currencies “more attractive for the digital age.” Mr. He argues that “Central banks must maintain the public’s trust in fiat currencies and stay in the game in a digital, sharing, and decentralized service economy. They can remain relevant by providing more stable units of account than crypto assets and by making central bank money attractive as a medium of exchange in the digital economy.” The article adds that “government authorities should regulate the use of crypto assets to prevent regulatory arbitrage and any unfair competitive advantage crypto assets may derive from lighter regulation. That means rigorously applying measures to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism, strengthening consumer protection, and effectively taxing crypto transactions.” Bank of England’s Research Into Central Bank Cryptocurrencies Progressing Officials from the Bank of England have reportedly made a “material step forward” in their research regarding different models for central-bank issued currencies. Whilst the BOE has sought to assure that it currently holds no plans to develop and issue a digital currency, Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, recently expressed that he is open-minded regarding the prospect of a central bank-issued cryptocurrency whilst speaking in Stockholm. Despite the comments, Mr. Carney stated that any development of a central bank-backed virtual currency would not be occurring in the near future “[T]he future of central banking may involve fewer central bankers,” Mr. Carney said. Hong Kong Monetary Authority Dismisses Issuing Central Bank Crypto Mr. Joseph Chan, the acting secretary for financial services and the treasury, recently dismissed the prospect of issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) whilst asking a question in parliament. Mr. Chan stated that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) “has carried out research on CBDC. At the same time, the HKMA notes that the benefits of CBDC and its efficiency gains will depend on the actual circumstances of a jurisdiction. In the context of Hong Kong, the already efficient payment infrastructure and services make CBDC a less attractive proposition. The HKMA has no plan to issue CBDC at this stage but will continue to monitor the international development.” What is your opinion on central bank-issued cryptocurrencies? Tell us in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Central Bank-Issued Cryptocurrency Round Up: IMF, BoE, Hong Kong appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Despite reports of the Zimbabwe High Court’s reversal of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s (RBZ) recently issued cryptocurrency ban, the country’s leading bitcoin exchange, Golix, is yet to restore trading on its platform. In an email recently sent to customers of the exchange, Golix sought to clarify that it has been granted “an interim relief,” that its accounts have not yet been restored, and that legal proceedings are currently still ongoing. Also Read: The Top Ten Altcoin Markets of 2014 – How Are They Faring Now? Golix Discusses Appealing Zimbabwe’s Cryptocurrency Ban Golix states that on the 11th of May, “the RBZ issue[d] a circular to all the banks instructing them to close all of our bank accounts,” however, a “60-day window” was given to the exchange. On the 15th of May, Golix “issued a statement to [their] customers” informing customers that the company was “aware of the directive” and had “started the process of engaging the RBZ” to discuss and address the central bank’s concerned. In response, the RBZ “issue[d] a second circular that was addressed to Golix where they instructed Golix to cease all operations immediately” on the 17th of May, with Golix adding that all of their bank accounts had been closed by the following day. On the 21st of May, Golix “file[d] an urgent chamber application at the High Court requesting the ban on Golix to be lifted.” Golix Granted “Interim Relief” by High Court The exchange states that on the 24th of May, 2018, “the High Court grant[ed] Golix an interim relief that lifts the ban on cryptocurrencies by the Central Bank.” Despite comprising positive news, the exchange states that “The interim relief does not guarantee that we will get our bank accounts reopened.” Golix emphasized that “the court case is still ongoing,” meaning that the “interim relief is only valid until the outcome of the case is determined in court.” The exchange added that “Because the case is still in court, we cannot comment on questions that are related to the case and this is the response you will get if you contact anyone on the Golix Team to make an inquiry that is related to this case.” “We are working hard to get our bank accounts reopened and we will send another update to let you know how this goes,” the exchange said. Ramifications of Interim Relief for Customers Golix has sought to deter customers from depositing funds with the exchange, stating “Please do not make any deposits into Golix until we have announced that we have resumed trading. If you try to deposit funds to our bank accounts right now, it may take weeks before we are able to recover those funds because, unless we tell the bank in advance, those funds will go straight to a suspense account.” The exchange added: “Although we are working hard to have our bank accounts reopened, we have started a separate conversation with banks to allow us to send customer funds we are holding back to the customers and because the bank would like to limit the activity on the accounts, we cannot be able to process withdrawals as often as we used to […] Because of the logistics involved in processing withdrawals, we encourage every customer to initiate the withdrawal of the funds in their Golix accounts between Monday and Wednesday so that we have all the withdrawals processed on Friday.” Golix also recommended that customers not store their funds on the exchanges, stating “We recommend that you initiate a withdrawal your crypto and/or fiat funds right now until we recommend that we have resumed trading.” Do you think that Golix will be successful in appealing the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s cryptocurrency ban? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Golix Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Zimbabwe Exchange Granted “Interim Relief,” Ban Appeal Still Ongoing appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Bitcoin Cash (BCH) blockchain is now less than two years away from its next block reward halving. Current statistics show the BCH chain will halve its reward from 12.5 BCH to 6.25 BCH on or around April 6, 2020, and with more than 80 percent of BCH now in circulation, when the next halving takes place the decentralized asset will be much harder to obtain. Also read: Adult Film Star Brenna Sparks Discusses Transforming the Sex Industry With Bitcoin Bitcoin Cash Has Less Than Two Years Left Until the 2020 Reward Halving Bitcoin Cash has great worth to a lot of digital asset proponents and the cryptocurrency has gained in value tremendously over the past nine months. One benefit that BCH advocates appreciate is the fact that the currency has digital scarcity. There will never be more than 21 million BCH in existence and right now there is a circulating supply of 17.1 million. More than 80 percent of BCH has been mined into existence since the end of April and the BCH hashrate has been around 3.5 to 4.5 exahash per second. At this speed alone, with just 13 mining pools, the next halving date will be on or around April 6, 2020. After this date, BCH miners will lose half the current block reward (12.5 BCH) and receive 6.25 BCH and fees per block mined. The Bitcoin Cash (BCH) protocol is set to halve its block reward on or around the year 2020 depending on hashrate speed. Many cryptocurrency enthusiasts appreciate the fact that BCH will grow gradually harder to obtain over time due to Satoshi Nakamoto’s built-in supply limit, which introduced a different kind of ‘digital scarcity’ — one that’s backed by the Bitcoin Cash hashrate. This day in age, with computer files like MP3s or JPEGs, we typically think about these digital items differently because they are easily duplicated. The decentralized currency BCH cannot be duplicated so easily, as it’s re-enforced by 3.5 to 4.5 exahash of power validating all the ledger transactions. The system keeps miners sincere because they are economically incentivized to stay honest, unlike traditional systems and public officials trusted today. As time goes by and the mining hashrate continues to increase, the BCH network becomes much more expensive to besiege by making a 51% or double spend attack harder every passing day. No More Quantitative Easing or Bailouts Digital scarcity makes Bitcoin Cash far more valuable than the fiat notes printed by governments and central banks because the code does not allow for mass fiat printing and quantitative easing. The U.S. dollar, for example, has been devalued considerably over time making it lose purchasing power year after year. Extreme USD printing began after the adoption of the Bretton Woods system, throughout the eighties and nineties and then with the bailed-out banks who received billions of printed dollars after the 2008 ‘economic crisis.’ Bitcoin Cash will always be finite and allow users to conserve or spend, because their ownership is defined by a protocol that continues to strengthen its security daily. There is no monetary system out there that allows for true transferable digital value like Satoshi Nakamoto’s clever invention. Satoshi put a cap on the supply for a reason and this can be seen in the genesis block’s famous text. After April 6, 2020, in another four years or less the reward will again halve, and continue to halve until the last coins are found on or around the year 2140. Halvings in the past have shown consistent price rises following these events, which confirms proponents appreciate the genius of Nakamoto’s digital scarcity. Sending people a nice fraction of BCH is cool, but people will also admire how scarce the decentralized asset is unlike the devalued fiat currencies in their wallet. What do you think about the Bitcoin Cash halving that takes place every four years? Let us know your thoughts on the subject of digital scarcity in the comments below. Images via Shutterstock, Fork.lol, and the UK Times 2009. 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 The Bitcoin Cash Chain Has Less Than Two Years Until the Reward Halving 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. Today Ontology, a new high-performance public multi-chain project and a distributed trust collaboration platform, officially announced the Ontology Triones seed node recruitment plan and rules, and opened recruitment for the first cycle of seed nodes. The recruitment begins on June 1st, 2018, and the full list of candidates for the first cycle will be announced on July 16th. Candidates can register through the Ontology official website. In addition to receiving ONG from basic consumption of the entire chain network system (network fees, storage fees, smart contract fees, and fees from other services), to encourage participation in consensus participating nodes will also receive an additional 1% ONG per year from the community incentives allocation. Ontology is committed to building an open-source, open-minded, and collaborative distributed trust ecosystem. This relies on the technology, applications, and governance of the entire Ontology chain network. Ontology will use the Triones Consensus System for the chain network. The system provides distributed, high-performance expansion support with an incentive mechanism to achieve a comprehensive and balanced governance model. The candidates of the Triones consensus node group will include communities, professional organizations, and technology enthusiasts from across the world. They will constitute Ontology ecosystem co-builders, together helping develop Ontology’s trust ecosystem. Ontology has set entry conditions for the Triones seed node recruitment plan. All candidates will be divided into different groups according to georgraphical area and compete through the game mechanism. Ontology Triones seed node enlistment conditions are as follows:  Seed node candidates must have a stake of at least 100,000 ONT.  Seed node candidates must meet the software and hardware network environment requirements.  Seed node candidates must complete the application questionnaire.  Seed node candidates must promise to complete ONT ID trust certification. Jun Li, Founder of Ontology, said “The Triones Consensus System governance takes into account fairness, performance, and distribution. Users of different sizes can participate in the governance model through different forms and methods. The research into public blockchain governance is a continuous and dynamic process, and Ontology sincerely welcomes community feedback and suggestions. We will also continue to summarize experiences from our practice, and work towards optimization of public chain governance and the realization of its values. “ About Ontology Ontology is a new high-performance public multi-chain project and a distributed trust collaboration platform. Ontology provides new high-performance public blockchains that include a series of distributed ledger and smart contract systems. Ontology blockchain framework supports public blockchain systems and is able to customize different public blockchains for different applications. Ontology supports collaboration among chain networks with its various protocol groups. Ontology will constantly provide common modules on the underlying infrastructure for different kinds of distributed scenarios, such as those for the distributed digital identity framework, distributed data exchange protocol, and so on. Based on specific scenario requirements, Ontology will continue to develop new common modules. For more information, please visit: https://ont.io/. – If you would like to join our Co-Builder Plan which supports Ontology ecosystem application incubation and construction, please contact us at: contact@ont.io – Media contact information: Chloe Fu contact@ont.io Supporting Link https://ont.io/ This is a paid press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post PR: Ontology Announces Triones Seed Node Recruitment appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Long before Proof of Stake entered crypto consciousness, people were staking Proof of Work coins. In return for locking up a portion of tokens and running a masternode, you can earn verification rewards. Earning a passive income while helping to secure a network sounds as comfortable as it does noble. The reality, however, is that most masternode coins are a scam. Also read: Crypto Exchange Launches in Gibraltar Loads of Nodes But Little Utility Every trader has a strategy for profiting through good times and lean. Some buy into ICOs and wait for the market to recover; some scalp profits where they can through day trading; and some set up masternodes. Dash is the altcoin credited with starting the craze for masternodes. Back when the coin was trading for under a dollar, the Proof of Work coin introduced a masternode system that called for staking 1,000 Dash. The top 10 masternode coins by market cap. Check how thin the volume is for many of them The scheme proved hugely successful, both as a means of governing the network, and as an earner for individuals running a node, who were being handsomely compensated by the time the crypto market mooned in 2017. At its peak, it would have cost $1.5 million to purchase enough Dash to set up a masternode. The success of the scheme, which made early adopters of Dash’s masternode system very rich, was soon copied by countless other coins. Dash has at least a modicum of real world utility, but most of the copycats that have sprung up since serve no purpose other than to enrich their early adopters and stakers. Masternode Coins Are the New Lending Platforms The crypto winter of 2018 has been especially unkind to masternode coins. Dash has been on a slide since mid December, when it peaked at $1,580 a coin, and sits at $320 today. Lesser known masternode coins have fared even worse. Yearto.Date maintains a list of the best and worst performing masternode coins of 2018, and it isn’t pretty – even the third best performing coin of the year is in the red. Although masternode coins aren’t a scam in the Bitconnect sense, like lending platforms they’re a scheme which looks profitable in a bull market when everything’s pumping, but when the tide turns gets badly found out. Sites like Cryptopia and Trade Satoshi are graveyards where abandoned masternode coins go to die. Masternodes as a Service Setting up a masternode is relatively straightforward – all it takes is a VPS and the ability to change a few lines of Linux code – but for those who lack the knowhow, services such as Digital Price will handle setup and hosting. Even without getting your hands dirty, running a masternode is still a risky business given the potential for your staked coins to shed 90% of their value in a matter of months. The volatility works both ways though, and it’s also possible to reap huge profits from masternode coins that pump, typically because they’re being bought in bulk by other traders also looking to stake coins. This sort of system is unsustainable of course, and when a bunch of node operators all decide to offload their surplus coins, the market crashes. This year’s biggest masternode winners and losers Despite these inherent weaknesses, the concept of masternodes remains a solid one: it’s just that for the system to work, the network must be worth protecting in the first place, and for that to happen the coin needs to be used for something other than staking – like remittance, P2P payments, or ecommerce. As a result, it makes more sense for developers to focus on generating demand for a blockchain first instead of launching masternodes and hoping that the utility follows. Newer projects such as Origin Protocol, Dadi, Essentia, REMME, and Zencash will all be adding masternodes in the future. The difference, with these networks, is that nodes will be a feature rather than the defining characteristic. The next generation of masternode coins might actually be worth something. The current generation are mostly scamcoins. Do you think most masternode coins are a scam, or do they serve a purpose aside from providing a passive income to stakers? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Yearto.Date and Masternodes.online. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Most Masternode Coins Are a Scam appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Satoshi Revolution: A Revolution of Rising Expectations Section 3: Decentralization Chapter 8, Part 4 Crypto and the Impossibility of Knowledge in Planning Bitcoin…is better understood using the conceptual lens of the Catallaxy: participants in Bitcoin spontaneously form a decentralized monetary and financial ecosystem, collectively choosing Bitcoin as a medium of exchange and store of value. Bitcoin is…an irrefutable demonstration of spontaneous order in action. —Francis Pouliot Cryptocurrency is a perfect example of catallaxy and of a remedy for its polar opposite: central planning. The opposites are at war, of course. The concept of “catallaxy” is similar to that of “spontaneous order,” but the latter concept can be broadly applied to most areas of life. Catallaxy applies specifically to how economic order emerges in a system through the uncoordinated and diverse actions of individuals who pursue their own self-interests. The social theorist Friedrich Hayek defined it as “the order brought about by the mutual adjustment of many individual economies in a market”. The obscure term captures a dynamic that is essential to the creation of civilization: cooperation. If human beings are to rise above the level of Robinson Crusoe or savagery, then they must interact to mutual advantage. Historically, the “cooperation” is usually orchestrated by a central authority-a government, a tribal leader, a religion-that negates the voice of the individual. One reason people agree to be silenced is because they worship the authority, which makes them willingly or unthinkingly sabotage their individualism. And yet, human beings are conflicted. Most hope to be the type of person who would stand between a lynch mob and the black man it is hunting. There is a yearning to be heroic and unique, even if it is expressed by standing in a crowd in which everyone yells, “I am unique!” This is not always hypocrisy. It is often a conflicted but honest response to two antagonistic urges: worship of authority; and, the need to feel real as an individual. Recent centuries have given us a new paradigm of how cooperation creates civilization-a paradigm other than control from on high. Civilization rises from the grassroots. It arises through the uncoordinated and voluntary association of individuals and groups. It comes from catallaxy, which is sometimes called “catallactics.” The concept was a long-sought-after intellectual breakthrough that allowed free-market advocates to explain the evolution of society without a central authority. In his masterpiece Human Action, Ludwig von Mises attributed the concept’s origin to the 19th century economist and academic Richard Whately who wrote, “A[dam] Smith, indeed, has designated his work a treatise on the Wealth of Nations; but this supplies a name only for the subject-matter, not for the science itself. The name I should have preferred as the most descriptive, and on the whole least objectionable, is that of catallactics, or the ‘Science of Exchanges’.” Whately sought what Mises called praxeology-the science of human action-but he focused on economics. Digital currencies are the most fascinating example of economic spontaneous order that has occurred in decades. It may not seem to be grassroots economics because it is so technologically sophisticated, but it is as grassroots as it gets. As a practical matter, however, free-market crypto stumbles over an obstacle. Users still buy into the trickle-down version of organization, and they tend to surrender their independence to centralized exchanges that function as central banks. Like banks, the exchanges maintain control of deposits, which is de facto ownership, and they report all transactions to the government. People are free to choose for themselves, of course, but central powers inevitably violate the principle of free choice by banning anything that competes with them for power or money. Thus, the ideological struggle within crypto is between centralization and decentralization. Governments need the first to control the economy; individuals need the second to achieve financial independence. There can be no compromise between the two because they are antithetical. But, as a matter of brute reality, both operate side by side within most societies because they each satisfy a competing urge within many human beings: a desire for authority, and a desire to be free. Authorities benefit tremendously, of course, and their motives are clear. But they could not prevail if a sufficient percentage of the population did not agree enough to go along. Both government and the free market provide conflicting models for social order and civilization. No one championed the free-market dynamic more vigorously than Hayek. He argued persistently against what he called “constructive rationalism”-the belief that social order should be constructed by a central authority. He argued that it should not be but also that it could not be constructed. All that could emerge was government-imposed order, which was the opposite of social order. Hayek’s definition from The Constitution of Liberty: “Order with reference to society thus means essentially that individual action is guided by successful forethought, that people not only make effective use of their knowledge but can also foresee with a high degree of confidence what collaboration they can expect from others.” Hayek’s arguments differ from the usual crypto critique of trusted third parties because he does not dwell on the corruption of the system. He focuses on its disutility. Satoshi Nakamoto’s White Paper also touches on the practical flaws of the central banking system, but Hayek differs from Satoshi as well. Satoshi offers precise critiques of real practices; Hayek offers fundamental critiques of the inherent inability of the system to provide what it claims. Another way to state this: conceivably, the faults addressed by Satoshi could be corrected because they are practices. The faults attacked by Hayek are insurmountable because they form the ideological foundation of central planning. Centralization Versus Decentralization He knew first-hand the consequences of central planning, which he called rational constructivism. Hayek had witnessed the devastation of classical liberalism by two world wars, but especially by World War I, which broke the mold of the free market. Wartime governments clamped centralized control over the private sector to ensure the flow of armaments and other “necessary” goods. Governments inflated their monies to pay for massive military build-ups. And war strangled the flow of free trade that classical liberals considered to be a prerequisite to peace, prosperity, and freedom. In short, Hayek had watched as 20th century statism replaced 19th century classical liberalism. Central planning was the mechanism through which freedom had been destroyed. In response, Hayek developed a sophisticated system of social theory to explain how the institutions of society naturally evolved from the bottom up, which meant they could evolve once more. He maintained that the natural institutions of society were the collective and unintended results of human action. Even complex social phenomena-such as religion, language, or money-were the unintended consequences of individual interactions. For example, no central authority decided to invent human speech, let alone to design a language as specific as English. Acting solely to achieve their own ends, individuals began making sounds to facilitate getting what they wanted from others, whether the goal was economic or more personal. Speech resulted from human action but not from human design, and it naturally evolved into language. The evolution may not have proceeded with scientific efficiency, but it was efficient enough to speed along the development of civilization. The efficiency of government programs suffer by comparison, to say the least. Yet constructivists claimed that an unplanned society is chaos. With sufficient knowledge and a scientific approach, a perfectly efficient society could be engineered. No surpluses, no scarcities, no waste. Stock markets would not crash, and currencies would not fluctuate. Society could be designed so that its members walked in unison toward the same desirable social goals, just as they marched toward victory in war. Hayek bluntly stated that the knowledge constructivists sought is unattainable. It is not possible to plan the dynamics of tomorrow based on yesterday; predictions may be possible but knowledge is not. It is impossible because people and circumstances are erratic. Even a small thing, like the price of bread yesterday, does not give knowledge of the price tomorrow or what a person will be willing to pay. The price of bread might skyrocket due to a shortage, or the person might value the loaf differently. Using yesterday to engineer tomorrow goes against a fundamental tenet of human action: the principle of inevitable change. Human beings are fundamentally different from the physical objects examined by the hard sciences. A scientist can learn everything he needs to know about the behavior of an object, and the information might not change over time. But human beings act on psychological factors and motivations that are hidden, often from themselves. Society does not consist of objects that can be neatly categorized and made to obey the laws of science. Society consists of unpredictable individuals who react to changing circumstances. In Human Action, Mises commented, “Human action originates change. As far as there is human action there is no stability, but ceaseless alteration…The prices of the market are historical facts expressive of a state of affairs that prevailed at a definite instant of the irreversible historical process….In the imaginary-and, of course, unrealizable-state of rigidity and stability there are no changes to be measured. In the actual world of permanent change there are no fixed points…” Conclusion Throughout the work of Hayek and Mises, two closely related concepts emerge again and again: methodological individualism, and spontaneous order. The two concepts are an essential part of the ideological backbone that forms the structure of cryptocurrency. They also explain why the explosion of freedom brought by crypto was so unexpected. It sprang from individuals and from freedom of action. Cryptocurrency resembles the lone-gunman theory. History stumbles along a fairly steady, though not necessarily salutary path. Then a lone gunman jumps out of nowhere and shoots Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, or some other prominent figure. In the case of Franz, the assassination sparked WWI. History changed forever. The centralized financial world was stumbling along a path until crypto jumped out of the bushes and assassinated the banking system. Economic history changed forever, and it cannot be undone. But, to understand the power and potential of crypto, a clear sense of spontaneous order is necessary. The free-market model of freedom and the institutions it requires depend upon it. [To be continued next week.] Reprints of this article should credit bitcoin.com and include a link back to the original links to all previous chapters Wendy McElroy has agreed to ”live-publish” her new book The Satoshi Revolution exclusively with Bitcoin.com. Every Saturday you’ll find another installment in a series of posts planned to conclude after about 18 months. Altogether they’ll make up her new book ”The Satoshi Revolution”. Read it here first. The post Wendy McElroy: Crypto and the Impossibility of Knowledge in Planning appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The South Korean government has clarified its position in response to the recent ruling by the country’s Supreme Court stating that cryptocurrency is an asset with measurable value that can be confiscated. The government says its position should be viewed separately from that of the Supreme Court. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Korean Government’s Response South Korea’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), has responded to the ruling by the country’s Supreme Court recognizing cryptocurrencies including bitcoin as assets, according to local media. The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday, May 30, that cryptocurrencies are assets that can be confiscated as criminal proceeds. The case involves a porn site operator and his 191 BTC. This decision represents the first time the Court has recognized cryptocurrency as property. The head of the FSC’s cryptocurrency countermeasures committee, Hong Sung-ki, was quoted by Aktv clarifying: The judgment of the Supreme Court and the position of government policy should be viewed separately. Not Financial Assets, No Change in Regulations On Thursday, May 31, FSC chairman Choi Jong-gu attended the 6th anniversary Youth Banking Foundation event in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Commenting on the Supreme Court’s judgment, Sporbiz quoted him emphasizing: The Supreme Court recognizing asset value and whether virtual currency is a financial product…is a separate issue. The Minister of Strategy and Finance, Kim Dong-yeon, was quoted by the publication confirming that “Virtual currencies such as bitcoin are not financial assets.” While the FSC was quoted by Zdnet Korea admitting that “It can be said that there is property value,” the Commission insists that as for crypto regulations, “There is no change at all.” Moreover, the financial regulator revealed, “We will closely examine the trends in the discussion of international cryptocurrency regulations such as the G20, and examine the institutionalization in Korea.” The FSC further noted that regarding “illegal acts related to virtual currency transactions such as money laundering,” the government “will respond seriously.” Divided Opinions Commenting on both the Supreme Court’s decision and the FSC’s response, an official of the Korean Blockchain Industry Association was quoted by Fnnews saying that it is a good judgment of the Court to recognize “the economic value of bitcoin,” adding: The government and the National Assembly should pay attention to the ruling of the Supreme Court and plan a policy to incorporate cryptocurrency transactions into the system as soon as possible. The association is currently working with the country’s cryptocurrency exchanges, including Bithumb and Upbit, to enforce self-regulation. Self-assessment is being conducted by the exchanges under the guidance of the association. Do you think the South Korean government should pay more attention to the Supreme Court’s ruling? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Newsis. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Korean Government Clarifies Position After Supreme Court Crypto Ruling appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A new crypto trading platform providing services to institutional investors has made a soft launch in Europe. The Gibraltar Blockchain Exchange (GBX) has introduced 300 retail account holders and a select number of institutional participants to its platform. GBX, a subsidiary of the Gibraltar Stock Exchange (GSX), aims to become one of the first licensed and regulated digital asset exchanges operated by an EU regulated stock exchange. Also read: British Bank Says “No” to Crypto Firms from Gibraltar GBX Offers Exclusive Access to Selected Clients The Gibraltar Blockchain Exchange (GBX), which will serve institutional crypto investors, has recently started operations on a limited scale. 300 retail account holders and a number of preselected institutional participants have been introduced to its platform. The announcement of the soft launch follows the recent addition of another sponsor, Blockchain Worx. The exchange now has 10 sponsor companies in its network. At this early stage, the chosen users will be given full and exclusive access to the trading platform. The clients that have been invited to participate in the launch and start trading will also be asked to provide feedback on their experience. The goal: to better assess their needs in order to develop “the finalized user experience”. “This is a significant step in our journey to becoming a leading digital asset exchange and token sale platform,” said GBX CEO Nick Cowan, quoted by Banking Tech. “The soft launch of the platform will mean that we can continue as effectively as possible toward providing an institutional-grade token sales springboard for utility tokens and top-quality digital asset exchange for the global blockchain and trading communities,” he added. Cowan said that GBX will be working to develop a robust token market and provide top-class service to all interested in trading or being listed on the exchange. He promised that the market on the platform will be fair, transparent, efficient, and safe. The chief executive officer also mentioned the successful launch of the GBX GRID token and spoke about two other token sales using the same platform – those of Strykz and Traceto tokens. Crypto Exchange Owned by a Stock Exchange GBX, which is a subsidiary of the Gibraltar Stock Exchange (GSX), plans to become one of the first licensed and regulated digital asset exchanges operated by an EU regulated stock exchange. This is possible thanks to a decision by the Gibraltar Parliament from December last year. The legislature voted unanimously to pass a bill to amend the Financial Services Act in order to regulate the crypto sector. The mechanism aimed at protecting customers of cryptocurrency businesses in Gibraltar went into effect on January 1 this year. The regulation targeted crypto and blockchain companies by introducing a licensing regime implemented by the Financial Services Commission of the British overseas territory. The providers of distributed ledger technology services are now obliged to adhere to the regulatory requirements of the Financial Services Act. Undoubtedly, local authorities are trying to tap into crypto incomes and profits. Gibraltar, which is known for hosting huge businesses from the financial services sector and the online gaming industry providing a sizable portion of its domestic product, has been making efforts to present itself as an attractive destination for crypto and blockchain companies as well. The territory has also become the first jurisdiction in Europe to regulate Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Do you think Gibraltar can be a global crypto trading hub in the future? Tell us in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Bitcoin News is growing fast. To reach our global audience, send us a news tip or submit a press release. Let’s work together to help inform the citizens of Earth (and beyond) about this new, important and amazing information network that is Bitcoin. The post Crypto Exchange for Institutional Traders Launches in Gibraltar appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

All parties represented in the Spanish Congress have voiced support for a new draft legislation introducing favorable crypto regulations in the country. We’ve covered the details in today’s edition of Bitcoin in Brief. Also, Slovenia adopts a crypto action plan, Estonia drops plans to issue a national cryptocurrency, and Hungary claims it’s ready to join the global blockchain market. Also read: Bitcoin in Brief Friday: Expanding Horizons in a Bearish Month Spanish Parties Call for Favorable Crypto Regulations Lawmakers in Spain, who have earlier this year reviewed proposals to introduce incentives for crypto companies, have now issued a unanimous call for adopting regulations that favor the implementation of crypto and blockchain technologies. These should be introduced to the market “through controlled testing environments.” A draft legislation aimed at achieving the goal, proposed again by the ruling People’s Party, has just won support from all parliamentary groups in the Finance and Public Function Committee of the Spanish Congress. The legislative initiative calls for promoting the advantages of the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, including cost savings through the elimination of intermediaries in payments and transfers and the benefits it offers when it comes to raising capital, especially for startups. Its sponsors urge support for projects to build authorized blockchain technology networks, Europa Press reported. The draft approved by Spain’s leading parties also turns attention to the perils associated with crypto-related operations, calling for “adequate dissemination of information about the risks” assumed by investors, as well as their rights and the guarantees they can rely on. According to Spanish deputies, the approach will help to avoid “economic damages that are impossible to repair”, such as those linked to high-risk financial products. Lawmakers call on the government in Madrid to support the initiative and join the efforts of the National Securities Market Commission and the Bank of Spain in that direction. They also insist on reaching a common position in regards to the use and the regulation of cryptocurrencies on European level and ask the executive branch of power to work with other EU countries and institutions to achieve that. Slovenia Adopts Crypto and Blockchain Action Plan The government in Ljubljana has adopted an action plan to underpin the implementation of blockchain technology in Slovenia and create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. According to the Economy Ministry, the plan entails a series of measures designed to also regulate Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Slovenian authorities hope to establish a safe and stable legal environment to help the creation, growth and development of blockchain technology-based projects and startups. Another goal is to transpose in the national legislation the legal provisions adopted by European and other relevant institutions, STA reported. Local officials believe that the application of blockchain technologies can improve the competitiveness of the Slovenian economy. The government also backed the creation of a European Blockchain Hub as a link between public and private stakeholders in the field, both in Slovenia and within the EU. On Thursday, the Slovenian Ministry of Economy was tasked to get actively involved in the hub. Estonia Backpedals on Plans for National Crypto Estonian officials have scaled down plans to issue a national cryptocurrency, which were criticized some time ago by both the European Central Bank and local banking authorities. According to Siim Sikkut, who is in charge of the country’s IT strategy, Estonia has dropped its intentions to peg the Estcoin to the common European currency and offer it to all citizens. The digital tokens will instead be distributed as an incentive to e-residents of the Baltic country, Sikkut said in an interview, Bloomberg reported. These are foreign nationals who use Estonia’s electronic identification system to remotely sign documents and set up companies. The tech-savvy former Soviet republic was one of the first European nations to come up with plans for a national cryptocurrency. Similar initiatives have been discussed in Sweden, Switzerland, Poland, the UK, and other countries. The idea, however, was not appreciated by the ECB management. In September, the bank’s president, Mario Draghi, criticized the proposal declaring that “No member state can introduce its own currency. The currency of the Eurozone is the euro.” “We agreed in discussions with politicians that Estcoin will proceed as a means for transactions inside the e-resident community. Other options aren’t on the table. We’re not building a new currency,” Siim Sikkut said. This was confirmed by the author of the Estcoin plan, Kaspar Korjus, who also noted that the details are still being analyzed for potential benefits. Estcoin “would definitely not be a national ‘cryptocurrency’,” he emphasized. Estonia’s e-residency program has so far issued ID cards to more than 35,000 foreigners. The majority of the participants are from Finland, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Hungary Prepared to Join the Global Blockchain Market Blockchaineum 2.0, arguably the largest blockchain summit in Central and Eastern Europe, recently gathered major stakeholders in Budapest to discuss blockchain-based solutions and other hot topics related to the implementation of the technology around the world. While many in Europe are just starting to take blockchain seriously, Hungary has been preparing for some time and now claims it’s ready to join the global blockchain market. “Many regulatory rules have been laid down recently on European level, and it is in Hungary’s best interest to make use of them in order to become a regional center. Although, this won’t happen because of regulation, but rather on purely market basis,” said Tamás Czeglédi, quoted by the Budapest Business Journal. He is one of the organizers of the event and is working to put his country on the European blockchain map. Hungarian business wants to jump on the blockchain bandwagon ahead of regional competitors and it has created a Blockchain Competence Center (BCC) earlier this year to prove its intentions. “Whereas the EU had been focusing on regulation until around a year ago, the past few months saw a shift towards a more practical approach,” said Péter Benedek, the CEO of BCC. “The newly established Ministry for Innovation and Technology, along with the enhanced national digital wellbeing strategy, can help local blockchain players embrace innovative solutions and improve their fundraising potential,” he added. What are your thoughts on today’s Bitcoin in Brief topics? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Bitcoin News is growing fast. To reach our global audience, send us a news tip or submit a press release. Let’s work together to help inform the citizens of Earth (and beyond) about this new, important and amazing information network that is Bitcoin. The post Bitcoin in Brief Saturday: Spanish Parties Back Crypto Draft, Slovenia Adopts Crypto Action Plan 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. Zug, Switzerland – Particl, an open-source project building privacy focused decentralized applications, has released the Alpha MVP version of their Particl Marketplace – a disruptive way to buy and sell goods online. Released May 31st, 2018, the marketplace is a new featured application within the project’s flagship application, Particl Desktop. Particl’s decentralized marketplace is private by design and is a highly scalable and secure solution for e-commerce. Built to be a trustless solution – in a sea of online shopping sites with go-between intermediaries and fees – that has privacy at its core instead of as an after thought. The Alpha release of Particl Marketplace is a minimal viable product (MVP) that showcases simple steps for shoppers and vendors to transact in a truly peer-to-peer (P2P) setting without any third-party interaction. Even the Particl escrow solution is only between a buyer and seller, which is controlled by a multi-signature contract instead of a moderator like competing decentralized marketplaces. Future releases of the Particl Marketplace will transition from testnet to mainnet as features such as Governance, more cryptocurrencies, ratings, reviews and Ring Confidential Transactions (RingCT) get designed into the platform. PART, the native privacy coin of Particl, is the only coin built on Bitcoin’s latest codebase (0.16) to use Confidential Transactions to obfuscate transaction amounts. The team’s implementation of RingCT is currently being reviewed thanks to a grant to the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). Ultimately, all transactions running through the Particl privacy platform, including the Particl Marketplace, will leverage RingCT to provide the highest level of privacy to both shoppers and vendors. Also expected in a future Beta release of Particl Marketplace is a Governance system that gives full, decentralized control to the users of the platform. Not yet implemented, this is one of the main differences between Alpha and Beta. While neither the Particl team nor the Particl Foundation currently has any control to remove listings or vendors on the marketplace, the testing environment allows a reboot option if necessary. Once on mainnet, a decentralized, self-governing mechanism will be in place to allow users to report, vote on and kick off any bad actors abusing the Particl Marketplace. About Particl Particl is a decentralized platform with a native suite of tools to enhance and protect your online privacy. Still less than one year old, Particl has added a number of firsts to the protocol’s basecode (Bitcoin 0.16). These include Confidential Transactions, Ring Confidential Transactions and PoS Cold Staking where all coins are safely stored offline while dedicated online staking nodes – which hold no PART – work on their behalf within a multi-signature contract. Particl Marketplace is the project’s MVP and is private by design. Contact Email Address paul@particl.io Supporting Link https://particl.io This is a paid press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post PR: Particl Releases Their Privacy Focused Decentralized Marketplace appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article