roadrunner

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. Manchester, UK – 10th May 2018: Energi Mine, the AI-based energy company, today announced the beta launch of its Energi Token rewards platform. Energi Mine is revolutionising the global energy market through decentralisation and blockchain technology with the ultimate goal of reducing global energy demand and carbon emissions. It is creating a global ecosystem that provides financial incentives for businesses and consumers to save energy with a new rewards system. Energi Mine provides its utility token, EnergiToken (ETK) to consumers in exchange for engaging in energy saving behaviours such as using public transportation, purchasing energy efficient appliances to reducing energy consumption. ETK can then be used though the ETK app for paying energy bills, charging electric cars or even exchanged for fiat currency. As ETK has financial value it creates a ‘profit’ motivation for consumers to conserve energy, resulting in people who are naturally motivated to save energy due to the financial reward. It’s a wholly different and unique approach to the problem of excessive energy consumption. The initial phase one of the ETK rewards app, which remunerates consumers for energy efficient behaviour, will enabled owners of electric vehicles to upload proof of purchase documentation to claim tokens. The phase one EnergiToken app will be released on 10th May in English, with the Korean version following by the end of May. The underlying blockchain technology and use of smart contracts ensures complete transparency and trustworthiness for all Energi Mine users. The company is currently streamlining the technology interface with the help of various partners to make the platform accessible globally in their effort to foster a community that supports small energy producers and companies wishing to decrease their energy costs. Omar Rahim, CEO of Energi Mine said: “In a market flooded with theoretical blockchain projects, Energi Mine is delivering a physical solution to a real-world problem at the heart of the energy sector. Energy companies the world over are broken, locked into a spiral of consumption that seems them sell as much energy as possible for as high a price as possible. To sustain this volume of selling, consumers are driven to use more and pay more. This is terrible for the environment. Instead of changing the system, governments are locked into a similarly futile battle, discouraging waste through taxation and levies. While this approach can successfully dissuade wasteful behaviour to some extent, it does not encourage long-term positive change. This can only be achieved through positive behaviour changes. A carrot rather than a stick.” “Energi Mine will enable individuals to make a positive environmental impact trade through both the ETK rewards programme and blockchain-based P2P energy platform. Through these two key pillars Energi Mine will greatly change consumers’ behaviour patterns around energy consumption for the better, and present a viable alternative to the broken traditional energy market system” Based on the app’s reward mechanism, Energi Mine has begun building partnerships with major corporations and organisations, to help them reduce their energy consumption and financially reward their employees for doing so. One of the current UK partners, the Energy Manager’s Association, works with some of the largest companies and energy consumers in the UK, including Network Rail, who will be involved in the trials of Energi Mine’s Ethereum-based blockchain platform. In addition to the rewards app, Energi Mine enables P2P energy transfers using Energi Tokens as a medium. This process allows Energi Mine users to buy energy from other small scale renewable energy generators (such as solar or wind) or to sell their surplus energy to members of the Energi Mine community. Get involved today, help be a part of the change! For more information about EnergiToken and its energy-saving reward scheme or to become a partner, please visit www.energitoken.com, follow on twitter at @EnergiMine or join the Energi Mine Telegram group Contact Email Address dan@brightbee.co.uk Supporting Link www.energitoken.com This is a paid press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post PR: Energi Mine Launch Phase 1 of EnergiToken Rewards Platform appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s cofounder, is increasingly finding himself target of very public rumors about his role in the project’s supposed love of secrecy. Charges of lacking transparency are equivalent to mortal sins in the cryptocurrency space. Ethereum too is particularly sensitive about accusations along these lines, especially in the ongoing light of a possible US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) crackdown. Mr. Buterin and his supporters are fighting back. Also read: Venezuela’s President Launches Crypto Funded Youth Bank, Encourages Mining Farms Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin Responds to Critics And there it was, as Mr. Buterin, skeletal boy genius behind Ethereum, took to Twitter: “[…] it was organized without my permission or even involvement [….]” The turn of phrase, without my permission, might well haunt him in the days and months to come. It presupposes his benevolence, of course. What was it organized sans Mr. Buterin’s blessing or presense? The “it” was a recent meeting in Toronto, Canada of Ethereum players, promptly blasted by Catallaxy co-founder and Satoshi Portal CEO (Bylls) Francis Pouliot. He described the event as a “Secret meeting of Ethereum management committee,” in a Tweetstorm for the ages, continuing about how “blockchain governance rules were decided by the stakeholders.” The entire Ethereum project of late has come under ecosystem scrutiny due to SEC regulators in the United States set to determine its legal fate. Judged a security, and therefore subject to regulatory jurisdiction as a public company, could conceivably rock much of the crypto world. A healthy majority of initial coin offerings (ICOs) and smart contract platforms are dependent upon ERC20 tokenization. The not even three-year-old tech is many a developer’s choice, allowing for ease of integration and largely trusted. It is unclear, as of this writing, exactly what implications are carried with an unfavorable SEC determination, but most analysts believe it to be negative at least in the short run. Indeed, most ICOs openly forbid US citizens’ participation in anticipation of odious regulations and subpoenas. Ethereum as an Insane, Plutocratic Government “This is insane,” Mr. Pouliot insisted. “They are establishing a plutocratic government. This has provably failed with Bitcoin (UASF/NO2X). Does anybody even care?” The evidence marshalled for the slam came from a lone news source, which described the event in worrying terms, according to Mr. Pouliot’s reading. And it does appear discussions about decentralization, mining, scarcity, and the infamous cases of frozen funds were had in Toronto. However, the cryptosphere seemed unconvinced about a cabal, and took Mr. Pouliot to task. Principal Lane Rettig argued “The event was not secret, in fact we livestreamed a lot of it. We also did a public AMA. There is no ‘Ethereum management committee’ and no rules were made. Please get your facts right. Your message is intellectually dishonest.” Mr. Pouliot shot back paraphrasing attributed to Mr. Rettig, and the thread continued along those lines. Vitalik Buterin was eventually compelled to address the issue as it gained traction among the other rumors and news surrounding Ethereum. “I was not at this meeting,” Mr. Buterin tweeted in response, “it was organized without my permission or even involvement, and I honestly don’t really know much about what happened there.” In what might be considered a classic Twitter tangent, Mr. Buterin was sucked, then again, into another side argument about privacy coins and the phenomenon of maximalism. Asked his opinion of Monero, he insisted, “If I was doing anything seriously privacy-demanding I’d probably go for Zcash first.” This brought further rebuke from privacy coin guru Rhett Creighton, himself the subject of much derision lately, who snarkily wrote in response, “Says the paid Zcash advisor,” landing him in a strange bedfellows situation with polemicist Whale Panda. News of potential regulation and very public Twitter flames might have also contributed to an immediate dip of roughly a 5% in the price of ether, but it seems to have recovered at time of publication. Is this much ado about nothing, or is Ethereum in real trouble? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Ethereum Founder Responds to Charges of “Insane”, “Plutocratic” Governance appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Japanese exchange Bitflyer is on a hiring spree, trying to tap talent from Wall Street. The company says coders can make $100,000, and plenty of employees earn $200,000. Besides already operating in three regions, the exchange is expanding into additional countries and adding more services. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Number One Goal Japan’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, Bitflyer, is on a hiring spree. The company is eyeing traders and bankers from Wall Street, including from its CEO’s former employer, Goldman Sachs, according to Bloomberg. With over 2 million users on its platform, the number of Bitflyer employees “has doubled to more than 150 people in the past six months and is on pace to top 300 before year-end,” the news outlet detailed. “At Bitflyer, we are actively recruiting talent in many occupations,” the company tweeted this week. CEO Yuzo Kano said in an interview: My target is to be number one in the world…To get there, I need to grow headcount. And those with the best skills come from global banks. Bitflyer is among the 16 crypto exchanges that have been approved by the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA). Last month, the exchange strengthened its user verification process after reports of a discussion with the regulator. Finding Talent and Expansion Plans Yuzo Kano. Kano believes that Bitflyer’s ideal finance recruits are either experienced bankers in their 40s tired of corporate bureaucracy or younger associates in their 20s. The CEO explained that former traders and bankers are ideal for crypto firms because they understand how to operate in regulated markets, the publication noted, adding that coders “with a high school — or even middle school — education if they’ve got a track record of success at hackathons or coding tournaments” can make $100,000 at the exchange. According to Kano, “there are plenty of people at Bitflyer who earn more than $200,000 a year” and all full-time employees receive stock options which can be cashed out at any time. Razin Ashraf, head of Tokyo-based recruiting firm Divine Solutions Japan, was quoted describing: Crypto companies need finance guys to fill roles across the board: business development, sales, account management, operations, and compliance just to name a few. Bitflyer currently operates in Japan, the US, and Europe. The company plans to expand into “Africa, South America, Australia and other parts of Asia,” the news outlet conveyed, adding that the exchange is also “expanding beyond crypto trading to businesses that include digital payments and a brokerage-advisory service for investors and startups interested in initial coin offerings.” Without giving a timeframe, Kano confirmed that Bitflyer is also planning an initial public offering (IPO). What do you think of Bitflyer’s expansion plans? Do you think they will succeed in becoming the number one exchange? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Ascii, and Bitflyer. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Bitflyer on Hiring Spree – Discusses Multiple Expansion Plans appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

People have been hiding messages in the bitcoin blockchain ever since the genesis block was mined. While most aren’t as famous as Satoshi’s Times headline of January 3 2009, each one will live for as long as bitcoin does, testaments to mankind’s obsession with steganography, spam, and unorthodox marriage proposals. Also read: No, There Isn’t Child Porn on the Bitcoin Blockchain The Bitcoin Blockchain Is Riddled with Messages There are six ways to encode messages in the bitcoin blockchain, using such fields as the coinbase parameter and OP_RETURN. Over the years, every single one of these has been used to encode cryptic messages, some frivolous, some practical, and some extremely dubious. For example, bitcoin miners have used this ability to signal support for protocol changes such as the acceptance of Segwit. The message that started it all You don’t have to be running a bitcoin miner to encode your own messages in the blockchain for all eternity – or for as long as humanity exists, for even if bitcoin were to inconceivably die, copies of the blockchain would remain. With over 100,000 backups distributed around the world, someone’s bound to retain a copy. There are detailed guides to encoding your own messages in the blockchain. Alternatively, for those who don’t relish setting up a Bitcoin Core client, Eternity Wall does all the hard work to deliver “messages lasting forever”. It promises “Even if this site goes down or disappears, your message is guaranteed to persist [in the bitcoin blockchain] for generations to come.” Memorable Messages Buried in the Blockchain As Nic Carter recently pointed out, there are at least six marriage proposals embedded in the bitcoin blockchain. In keeping with tradition, all appear to have been posted by men. Whether their significant others ever saw the messages while idly parsing hexed blockchain data is unknown. These inscriptions – plus many more – can be found simply by typing the desired keyword or phrase into Blockchair’s blockchain explorer. Predictably, adding profanities to the blockchain has proven more popular than marriage proposals. The N-word has appeared over 60 times to date, most of which surface in the bitcoin cash blockchain for some reason. The F-word appears over 1,000 times, around the same number of times as “Satoshi”. By default, messages that are encoded in the blockchain don’t stand out – the human eye isn’t programmed to decode hexadecimal – but a number of tools and projects have been developed to unshroud the mysteries that lie within the bitcoin ledger. Messages from the Mines A Florida design agency has created an interactive art installation for decoding blockchain messages and bringing them to life. Messages from the Mines reveals the “cryptic poems, ASCII art, signatures, eulogies and more” that form “a creative misuse of the Bitcoin transaction protocol, a form of digital graffiti…cultural artifacts forever embedded in one of the most contemporary digital technologies.” Ascii art revealed by Messages from the Mines Real world graffiti fades through time or is pressure washed into oblivion by killjoy municipal departments. But on the blockchain, every inscription, no matter how profound, political, or crude, remains forever, free from censorship, just as bitcoin was made to be. Have you ever encoded a message in the bitcoin blockchain? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Blockchair, and Messages from the Mines. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post A Brief History of Hidden Messages in the Bitcoin Blockchain appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Chairman of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine has indicated the regulator favors a decision to recognize cryptocurrencies as financial instruments. Timur Khromayev thinks it’s time to take the matter to the country’s Financial Stability Council. The point of no return has been passed, he says. Also read: Ukraine to Legalize Crypto Mining as Economic Activity Beyond the Point of No Return Ukraine’s securities regulator is expected to raise the question about the status of cryptocurrencies during the next meeting of the Financial Stability Council in Kiev. The chairman of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine, Timur Khromayev, thinks that they should be recognized as financial instruments. A decision to do that would effectively legalize digital coins in the country, although not in all of their possible functions. “I think it is very timely to consider the recognizing of some crypto units as financial instruments during the upcoming meeting of the Financial Stability Council,” Khromayev wrote on his Facebook page. He also insisted that the body should lay out approaches to regulating crypto-related activities and initiate corresponding legislative procedures. Timur Khromayev noted the active development of the crypto industry in Ukraine, which, in his words, has already established certain standards and rules for conducting business. He also stressed: The point of no return is already in the past. The crypto industry is becoming an integral part of economic and financial relations. Therefore, Khromayev thinks, some adaptation and legal recognition by financial regulators is necessary in order to solve the existing issues. The chairman of the NSSMC proposes to consider crypto assets and operations within the framework of the existing regulations, “based on principle and substance, not form.” He also called for formulating new rules in response to the dynamic development of the industry. Khromayev thinks that the international community is far from adopting common standards. That’s why he believes that regulations will be determined by national legislations. No Real Progress towards Regulation Yet Three pieces of legislation have been introduced in Ukraine’s parliament since last October – the draft law “On the Circulation of Cryptocurrency in Ukraine”, the bill “On Stimulating the Market of Cryptocurrencies and Their Derivatives”, and a supplementary draft amending the Ukrainian tax code to regulate taxation of crypto incomes and profits and introduce some exemptions. No real progress towards adopting the long-awaited legislation has been reported so far. In November 2017, the NSSMC said that the use of the term “cryptocurrency” in the new legislation was “unjustified”. According to the regulator, digital coins are the result of financial engendering and are not currencies. “Therefore, it is more expedient to use the term ‘crypto unit’,” the Commission said. At the time, NSSMC proposed to legally define digital currencies as either financial instruments, investments assets, or goods. Its representatives noted that under the current Ukrainian legislation, cryptocurrencies could not be accepted as electronic money, foreign currencies, securities, or money surrogates. In March this year, the executive branch of power in Kiev took steps to legalize crypto mining as an economic activity. Ukraine’s Minister of Economy ordered several ministries, agencies, and the National Bank to prepare the necessary documents to include mining in the state register of economic activities. Do you think the recognizing of cryptocurrencies as financial instruments could be the first step towards full legalization? Tell us in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Yarcube, Wikipedia. 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 Ukraine’s Securities Commission Chief Seeks Legalization of Cryptocurrencies as Financial Instruments appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Just recently the Bitcoin Gold (BTG) developers announced the project’s consensus algorithm Equihash was “threatened” in a blog post called “A Response to the ASIC Threat.” In the post, the BTG project’s team members explain that they might change the cryptocurrency’s current Equihash algorithm due to the recent launch of the Antminer Z9 mining rig. The firm Bitmain Technologies has once again produced a device that breaks the mold of digital currency networks that claim to be ‘ASIC resistant.’ Also read: Researchers Find Bitcoin Network 3X More ‘Evil’ Than the Public Internet The Bitcoin Gold Project Aimed to be a ‘Better Bitcoin’ by Trying to Remain ‘ASIC Resistant,’ but the Idea Failed Miserably With the Launch of the Z9 Mini Last year a project called Bitcoin Gold (BTG) forked the Bitcoin Core (BTC) protocol in hopes of creating a more fair and decentralized mining environment that would remain ‘ASIC resistant.’ The BTG project basically cloned the BTC codebase (Segwit included), and changed the consensus algorithm from SHA-256 to the Equihash algorithm, a popular mechanism used by the digital asset zcash and others. This week the Bitcoin Gold development team wrote a blog post that detailed a new Equihash mining rig that’s been released to the public “threatens” their dream of a “one CPU one vote” network. The mining rig manufacturer Bitmain has caused a stir throughout multiple cryptocurrency communities, by launching various miners this year that process algorithms most thought were ‘ASIC resistant.’ The latest Antminer Z9 mini was announced on May 3 and costs $1,999 USD per unit and the machine processes an Equihash hashrate of about 10k Sol/s ± 5%. “We are pleased to announce the Antminer Z9 mini, an ASIC miner to mine Equihash-based cryptocurrencies — To prevent hoarding and to let more individuals worldwide get one, we’ve set a limit of one miner per user,” explains Bitmain the day they launched the Z9 mini. The Antminer Z9 mini mines the Equihash algorithm and has caused trouble for the Bitcoin Gold (BTG) team. After Feeling ‘Threatened’ by the Z9 the BTG Development Team Plans to Modify or Change the Current BTG Equihash Algorithm The announcement has shaken development teams who believed their blockchain consensus models would be free from these high-efficiency semiconductors. But now that Bitmain has released the Equihash mining Antminer Z9, the BTG project may attempt to modify or change its consensus algorithm. “This week, we learned that the dominant specialty crypto mining hardware maker (Bitmain) has released an “ASIC” miner for Equihash, which means it would be able to mine BTG if we were to allow that to happen,” explains the BTG organization. The Bitcoin Gold dev team is now working to fix this. We’ve been planning to do this for some time – either by modifying how the Equihash algorithm is implemented, or by changing to an entirely different algorithm. Perhaps we’ll do each, over time. Due to the launch of the Antminer Z9 mini the BTG team plans to change or modify its consensus algorithm. Is ‘ASIC Resistance’ a Pipe Dream? Bitcoin Gold isn’t the only project that attempted to create an ‘ASIC resistant’ cryptocurrency that failed to meet that goal. The Litecoin (LTC) network utilizes a different hashing algorithm called scrypt, and when the project first launched everyone thought it would never see ASIC miners processing the LTC’s blocks. However, the once claimed ‘ASIC resistant’ Litecoin scrypt algorithm turned out to be minable by application-specific semiconductors and at the time when this was discovered in 2013 it was quite controversial. Last month Bitmain released its Antminer E3 that processes the Ethhash (an ethereum, ETH) hashing algorithm. The launch of this device sparked a discussion between Ethereum users who wanted to become ASIC resistant quickly. One Ethereum proponent writes “a regularly scheduled PoW change, like Monero” is needed. The Monero (XMR) development team ran into the same situation as a Bitmain produced mining rig was launched before the E3, that mined cryptocurrencies that utilized the cryptonight algorithm. As far as different types of Proof-of-Work algorithms there hasn’t really been a cryptocurrency yet that has maintained full ASIC resistance. Most people believe the goal to produce an ASIC resistant PoW is a mythical pipe dream as there are warehouses full of ASIC machines that mine these digital currencies that once claimed to be immune from ASICs. What do you think about the goal to create an ASIC resistant PoW cryptocurrency? Is this goal attainable without going full PoS? Let us know what you think about this project in the comments below. Images via Pixabay, Shutterstock, Bitcoin Gold blog, and Bitmain Technologies. Have you seen our new cryptocurrency market caps page Satoshi Pulse? It shows live updated price feeds and market caps for the top 500 coins and there’s no need to refresh for prices. Check out Satoshi Pulse today! The post Cryptocurrency Projects Aiming to be ‘ASIC Resistant’ Have Little Success appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Cryptocurrency prices have dropped significantly over the past 72 hours after reaching new highs on May 5. When Bitcoin Core (BTC) prices touched a high of $9,940 USD this past Saturday buyers met resistance and the price tumbled to a low of $8,975. BTC prices today are hovering along between $9,100 and $9,400. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) market values touched a high of $1,829 on May 5, but have subsequently dropped to an average of $1,625 during today’s trading sessions. Overall most cryptocurrency markets are seeing some gains today after suffering from three days of losses. Also read: Court Orders Chilean Banks to Re-Open Crypto Exchange Accounts Bitcoin Cash Markets See 4% Gains Today Cryptocurrencies have lost value over the past 72 hours but are starting to rebound at the time of publication. Currently out of the 1,595 different digital assets, the entire cryptocurrency market cap is around $437Bn today with $22Bn in 24-hour trade volumes. Bitcoin Cash markets today are up over 4 percent and have seen 14.3 percent worth of gains over the past seven days. BCH trade volume during the May 9 trading sessions is around $1.2Bn over the past 24 hours. The top five exchanges swapping the most BCH today are Okex, Upbit, Bithumb, Bitfinex, and Huobi. In terms of price compared to Bitcoin Core values, BCH is worth Ƀ0.1770 at the time of writing and has been slowly approaching the Ƀ0.2 region. BTC captures 35 percent of today’s BCH trades and this is followed by tether (USDT 22.8%), KRW (20%), the USD (17%) and the euro (1.3%). Bitcoin Cash (BCH) May 9, 2018. Technical Indicators Looking at charts shows BCH bulls are trying hard to push past resistance at the moment. The 4-hour chart reveals the two SMA trendlines still have a decent gap between the 100 SMA and the 200 SMA. The short-term 100 SMA is well above the 200 SMA indicating the path to resistance should be on the upside. MACd is dipping southbound at the moment while the Relative Strength Index oscillator is holding around 55 indicating some consolidation forming. Bitfinex BCH/USD markets on May 9, 2018. Bollinger Bands are extremely tight during the day’s trading sessions as a breakout could be imminent. Looking at order books shows that bulls have some thick resistance ahead up until $1,700, and then another large mountain of sell orders between $1,750-1,850. If things turn for the worse then foundations can be found on the backside between now and $1,550. A break below $1,550 will lead to another solid pitstop around $1,460. At the moment it doesn’t look like bears will take the reins anytime soon. The Top Cryptocurrencies Today Overall cryptocurrency markets are doing pretty well today. Looking at the number one market valuation shows Bitcoin Core (BTC) markets are up 1.4 percent and 1.99 percent over the course of the last week. Currently, one BTC is trading for $9,343 and has a 24-hour trade volume of about $7.2Bn. Ethereum (ETH) is the second largest market cap and its currency is averaging around $754 per ETH. Ripple (XRP) is down today around 0.53 percent and 5.2 percent over the past seven days. One XRP is trading at $0.80 cents per coin. Lastly, the number five position below BCH is the digital asset EOS which is down 1.9 percent today and is priced at $17.91 per token. Cryptocurrency market caps via Satoshi Pulse on May 9, 2018. The Verdict: Market Sentiment Remains Optimistic Over the past week, most cryptocurrencies have seen some negative decline but a lot of traders are positive this month will be a turning point. Data from the past three years just before the Consensus conference and this year’s charts make Tom Lee think that BTC will rally by 70% next week. Nearly every year for the past four years just before the Consensus conference in New York BTC prices and other cryptocurrency values have rallied significantly. Fundstrat advisor Tom Lee thinks the same thing may happen during the event in mid-May stating that BTC and other digital assets could rally more than 70 percent soon. Even after three days worth of dips, market sentiment is still optimistic. Where do you see the price of BCH and other cryptocurrencies headed from here? Let us know in the comments below. Disclaimer: Price articles and markets updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not to be considered as trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the “money.” Images via Shutterstock, Trading View, and Satoshi Pulse. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post Markets Update: Cryptocurrency Prices See Relief After Three Day Losses appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Several films featuring Bitcoin are coming out before the summer. The main character in “Superfly”, a remake of the 1972 crime drama “Super Fly”, is now “swapping cash for crypto.” Director X’s debut movie is scheduled for release on July 15. And in Russia, two college students are chasing a hard disk storing a fortune in Bitcoin, after they sold the wrong PC to a pawn shop. The film should be ready by the end of May. Also read: Cryptocurrency Gets Its Own Comedy In “Bitcoin” – the Movie Superfly – Swapping Cash for Crypto, Redefining the Hustle Have you heard of the “Exploitation” genre, exploitation film or fiction? It was created by authors tempted to, well, exploit themes that some might consider taboo. Others won’t, but in any case, exploitation works are often pushing against the limits of “the appropriate” in their respective times. Sex, drugs, and violence are all part of the “exploitation” intended to attract attention. It’s basically the pulp fiction of the second half of the 20th century. Blaxploitation is a subgenre, which for the first time placed African-American characters and communities in the spotlight. The 1972 crime drama “Super Fly” is a good example which has been recently remade. The 2018 version exploits the usual taboos, but also a modern hot topic – digital cash and crime. “Superfly” is the debut movie of Director X, or Julien Christian Lutz, best known for the music videos he made for Drake, Jay-Z, and Rihanna. Sony Pictures just released a full-length trailer of his remake of the Blaxploitation classic. The action now takes place not in Harlem, but in Atlanta. Actor Trevor Jackson plays the main character, a drug dealer who wants to quit the dirty business. In the meantime, the 21st century Youngblood Priest would rather be paid with… cryptocurrency. “I swapped cash for crypto, and redefined the hustle,” he says. We’ll see how successful “Superfly” will be in exploiting crypto, when the movie hits theaters mid-July. Chasing 6,000 Bitcoins on a PC Sold to a Pawn Shop While some heroes are making money, others are losing it. A movie whose storyline revolves around a bitcoin-related plot, is being shot in Russia. Two young guys from the city of Kazan are chasing a crypto fortune. While trying to trace and retrieve a hard disk with the keys to 6,000 bitcoins, the main characters – college students Igor and Artur – find themselves in a series of comic adventures but also life-threatening situations. The boys may have lost the crypto cash forever, when they made the fateful mistake to sell the wrong PC to a pawn shop. 6,000 in Bitcoin is about $55 million in dollars and a staggering 3.5 billion in rubles. With big money comes big trouble and there is always someone willing to stand between you and that kind of money. The film should be ready by the end of May. By the way, a movie theater in the Russian city of Yaroslavl is now accepting cryptocurrency. The “Neft” cinema club currently sells tickets for Bitcoin, Bitcoin Gold and Zclassic. “Bring your crypto wallets,” its founders tell their guests thanks to a partnership with the local Blockchain Institute. They had to solve a small problem in order to take advantage of the digital payments – cryptocurrencies are not yet legal in Russia. The project has been officially announced as a marketing campaign tailored to attract crypto-savvy viewers. Tickets are free for those who want to “experiment” with digital transactions. Unable to defeat even “Telegram”, the state will eventually legalize cryptocurrencies, the organizers say. It’s Funny When They Feature Bitcoin A couple of comedies are also featuring Bitcoin. In an episode of HBO’s series Silicon Valley, one of the characters reveals to his colleagues that he mines the cryptocurrency. Gilfoyle, the systems architect of the Pied Piper startup, has created a price alert that blasts out the death metal song “You Suffer” by Napalm Death whenever the price of Bitcoin rises above or drops below a certain value, so that he can remotely toggle his rig at home to mine only when it’s efficient. Hilarious! Bitcoin can be very volatile, as Gilfoyle says. A comedy titled “Bitcoin” tells the story of a suburban father who, after losing his job, sets off with his deadbeat brother to convert an anonymous bitcoin account into the hard cash he needs to support his family. The two brothers from Arizona get their hands on a Bitcoin wallet worth $20 million and try to sell the crypto on the black market. “Bitcoin” is the debut feature of filmmaker Christian Cashmir. It’s produced by Lauren Cribb and starring TV comedian Theo Von. The shooting was expected to start by the end of April, in New Mexico. According to IMDb, the comedy is still in pre-production. Do you think movies featuring bitcoin popularize cryptocurrencies? Tell us in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Yarcube, Wikipedia. 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 New Movies Featuring Bitcoin Hitting Theaters Soon appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A crypto Youtuber is launching his own television series that is fully paid for by bitcoin. They will air on CBS, the CW, and Roku. The first 13 episodes will air on CBS in selected areas, featuring topics such as crypto security, exchange trading, initial coin offerings, crypto crashes, mining, and the future of cryptocurrency. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Crypto Crow Show Jason Appleton. Youtuber and investor Jason Appleton announced on Monday that he is launching a bitcoin-funded television series “on CBS, the CW and Roku to over 47 million homes.” CBS, a flagship property of CBS Corporation, is one of the three major traditional commercial broadcast television networks in the US, alongside ABC and NBC. The CW is operated by the CW Network, a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network (UPN), and Warner Bros. Roku provides streaming content to set-top devices and apps. According to the announcement: This will be the first time a cryptocurrency Youtuber has launched their own television series fully paid for by bitcoin. All promotional sponsors, features and the like are paid by bitcoin. Appleton is known on Youtube as Crypto Crow. At the time of this writing, he has 73,005 followers on Youtube. He began publishing videos on the site in November last year. While emphasizing that he is not a licensed financial advisor, his videos include Initial Coin Offering (ICO) reviews and investment tips. 13 Episodes on CBS Appleton has signed an agreement with CBS Television Networks “to air 13 episodes of the Crypto Crow Show in select markets as a test market in hopes of spreading nationally.” The first season is scheduled to begin in the week of June 25 on the CBS New York WLNY network, serving approximately 7.3 million homes, the announcement details, adding: Each episode will feature educational information focused on helping newcomers to the crypto space such as researching, investing and how to stay secure in their efforts while featuring ICO and cryptocurrency companies and how they affect the industry. The 13 episodes planned are on topics such as what are cryptocurrencies, crypto security, exchange trading, ICOs, bot trading for profits, swing trading, crypto cycles and crashes, crypto mining vs investing, crypto predictions and the future of cryptocurrency. Crypto Shows Gaining Popularity The number of television shows featuring cryptocurrencies is growing. Last month, news.Bitcoin.com reported on the cable network Cheddar launching a 30-minute show about cryptocurrencies called Crypto Craze. In February, Krypton Capital announced the launch of Crypto TV which focuses on breaking crypto news, panel discussions and live interviews. Eight pilot episodes of this show are being produced. Regular TV shows have also featured cryptocurrencies in selected episodes. Award-winning CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, for example, aired an episode in November called “The Bitcoin Entanglement.” USA Network’s Mr. Robot has also made many references to bitcoin. This week, HBO’s Silicon Valley featured an ICO while Showtime’s Billions featured a Ledger Nano S hardware wallet. What do you think of this crypto TV series? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, CBS, Ledger, Twitter, and Jason Appleton. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Crypto Youtuber Launching Bitcoin Funded TV Series on CBS appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Humans of Bitcoin (HOB) is off to a rousing start in its second season on the Bitcoin.com Podcast Network, diving deeply into Bitcoin pioneers over two installments. The current episode features crypto evangelist Jeffrey Tucker, Editorial Director at the American Institute for Economic Research, in a fast-moving interview exploring his intellectual development and discovery of bitcoin. Friday, May 11th, HOB will release a fascinating and compelling discussion with these pages’ CEO, Roger Ver, revealing a personal side to the man few have heard. Tying them both together, interestingly enough, is Shapeshift’s founder Erik Voorhees. Also read: Venezuela’s President Launches Crypto Funded Youth Bank, Encourages Mining Farms Revealing, Deeply Personal Interview with Roger Ver Released This Friday, May 11th Arguably the definitive history of bitcoin’s early years is documented in Brian Patrick Eha’s, How Money Got Free: Bitcoin and the Fight for the Future of Finance (Oneworld). Its detailed and cinematic style make for great reading, but more than that it informs: principals such as Roger Ver and Erik Voorhees get their due, warts and all. So it’s fitting Humans of Bitcoin podcast, a non-technical dive into the real life world of crypto, host Matt Aaron would choose Mr. Eha’s document to guide his interview of Bitcoin.com CEO, Roger Ver (set for airing Friday, May 11th). Mr. Ver (rhymes with ‘beer’) has been interviewed a zillion times, from pasty dudes’ lowly Youtube channels to giant, worldwide media conglomerates. There seems to be nothing more to learn about Mr. Ver, aside from maybe his investment advice; but that can be found, too, elsewhere. Indeed, Mr. Aaron is also an employee of Mr. Ver’s, so that makes it doubly hard in terms of entertainment: how to craft a listenable show without coming across as a sycophant or toadie. On this score, Mr. Aaron is wildly successful. He asks questions listeners might have been intensely curious about, but never had the chance. Imagine asking a boss about their prison experience, and why Mr. Ver was known to advise “Never enter prison on a Friday.” The answers are both hilarious and harrowing. Mr. Aaron then brings in Erik Voorhees of Shapeshift fame, asking about his and Mr. Ver’s complicated and at times heroic history. The episode really gets moving as the two weave headlong into the assorted controversies Mr. Ver presently finds himself embroiled: being personally hacked and then having his person and family threatened, bitcoin core’s deviation, whether noobs are really confused about what Bitcoin.com is, how many coins has he lost through hacks over the years, why he continues in crypto even though he’s financially well off, and even his famous bets. Ultimately he compares his life to a science fiction novel, and this excites Mr. Ver to no end. There’s so much more to the episode, and it premieres this Friday, May 11th, here. Jeffrey Tucker’s $27,000 Bowtie While waiting for the Roger Ver episode, readers are encouraged to click the HOB current offering with Jeffrey Tucker. He too is well known within the ecosystem, and gives of his time generously to all manner of interview formats. Like Mr. Ver he is an easy guest to promote, along with being someone who can draw out answers in an interesting way. The problem, again, is how to make the interview enjoyable for listeners both new to and familiar with Mr. Tucker. Mr. Aaron shines here, again. The hook he uses is how badly bitcoin back in the day needed an economist to endorse the project. It had code slingers and tech geeks. Mr. Tucker gives an air of respectability to crypto, and that starts with his dress, his iconic style, right down to his bowtie. Careful not to turn the discussion into a fashion segment, Mr. Aaron gets the scoop on how Mr. Tucker came about his formal dress, and it makes for pretty cool listening. From there, the two discuss Mr. Tucker’s varied and terribly compelling career prior to being known for bitcoin and crypto evangelism. His enthusiasm for sound money goes as far back as the early 1980s, and lands Mr. Tucker as a research assistant for then-congressman Ron Paul (who would later run for US president twice). The conversation returns to crypto and bitcoin with a recounting of just how Mr. Tucker was given his first coins. Back in 2013, Erik Voorhees and cohorts cornered him, demanding he listen to their bitcoin pitch. They set him up with a wallet, and asked he sell them something in return for the decentralized currency. Mr. Tucker offered his famous bowtie, which he pegged at roughly $45. Mr. Vorhees then zapped him 3 bitcoin, and Mr. Tucker describes his own acceptance of the transaction as something of a revelation. It was instant. No third party. No onboarding. No minder. Mr. Tucker believed he had been given a vision of the future. Oh, and that 3 bitcoin for one bowtie? That’s now a $27,000 tie at current prices. Just stop whatever you’re doing and click the episode for goodness sake. Who is your favorite bitcoin/crypto pioneer? 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 New HOB Podcast: Ver’s Sci-Fi Novel Life, Voorhees Buys Tucker’s Tie for $72k 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. SPINDLE, which instantaneously became the largest ICO in Japan , will launch its first crowdsale. The crowdsale will be held globally for one week only (except for residents in Japan / USA / China). In this Crowdsale, only ETH and BCH will be accepted from strategic implications. SPINDLE is a project to connect general users and crypto hedge funds with fairness and transparency by applying Blockchain technology. SPINDLE is now developing an advanced platform, ZETA. ZETA-1, which will be released at Stage 1, is a monitoring & reporting service platform that builds on Blockchain technology currently under development by BLACK STAR&CO., Inc. ZETA-1 offers freemium services to cryptocurrency exchanges, crypto hedge funds, and cryptocurrency investors. For details, please refer to the video The SPINDLE team is composed of seasoned experts in the financial industry including professionals on Blockchain technology and marketing. GACKT, the famous artist and entrepreneur in Asia, is also our member to support our marketing activities, so I am getting aware of one out of many ICOs. Crowdsale will be held from 9th May / 00: 00 (GMT) to 15th May / 00: 00 (GMT). The fixed rate of 0.00033 ETH is applied to all the transactions, and up to 30% of bonus will be provided for early applications. You are kindly requested to read the WP 2.0 and learn about SPINDLE. If you have any queries, we are making active exchange in the Telegram community, so please visit there and ask questions if any. Also, we kindly invite you to visit our SPINDLE crowdsale Website and create an account as soon as possible. Application will be closed on 15th May / 00: 00 (GMT). SPINDLE Information Website: https://spindle.zone White Paper: https://spindle.zone/spindlewp_2.0_en.pdf SPINDLE Telegram: https://t.me/spindlezone Crowdsale Information Website for Token Sales: https://ico.spindle.zone Payment accepted: Bitcoin Cash / Ethereum Starting of CrowdSale before listing (GMT): 9th May / 00:00 Ending of Crowd Sale before listing (GMT): 15th May / 00:00 Token Sales support on Telegram chat: https://t.me/spindlezone ( https://t.me/spindlezonechannel ) Token Sales support by E-mail: support@spindle.zone Unqualified users: ・People who live in Japan / USA / China ・People who don’t have the mentioned eligibility of investment Lockup period for SPD Tokens which are sold in Crowdsale: 60 days Schedule for granting tokens: Within 30 days after completion of Crowdsale Amount of Crowdsale before listing 1,200,000,000 SPD Token sales price (1 SPD price) and Bonus Rate: All 0.00033 ETH (9May–15May, 2018) | Bonus: 9th 30% Bonus | 10th 25% Bonus | 11th 20% Bonus | 12th 15% Bonus | 13th 10% Bonus | 14th 5% Bonus | 15th No Bonus | Crowdsale after listing: To be announced | (Moving Strike Discount Lock-up Model) SPINDLE Information Website: https://spindle.zone White Paper: https://spindle.zone/spindlewp_2.0_en.pdf SPINDLE Telegram: https://t.me/spindlezone Contact Email Address media@spindle.zone Supporting Link https://ico.spindle.zone 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: SPINDLE to Launch Crowdsale – One Week Only (Until May 15) appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A U.S. state has issued emergency cease and desist orders to two companies and related persons purportedly engaged in cryptocurrency investment schemes. The first company posted videos of three mining farms composed of online stock images, according to the order. Both companies made numerous materially misleading claims and violated U.S. securities laws. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Bitcoin Trading & Cloud Mining Limited Texas State Securities Board. The Texas State Securities Board has issued “an emergency cease and desist order” to London-based Bitcoin Trading & Cloud Mining Limited, also known as Btcrush. Also included in the order are the company’s sole director and shareholder Jaylon Cross, founder and CEO Bruce Rodgerson, Chief Marketing Officer Robin Lozinski, and sales agent Thomas A. Johnson. Btcrush is self-described on its website as “a cloud-based cryptocurrency mining company that mines bitcoin and altcoins and profits from selling altcoins for bitcoins.” The company promises an investment return of 4.1% daily interest regardless of the profitability of its mining operations, adding that its main principle is a “100% satisfaction guarantee for [its] customers.” The company claims: A principal investment of $10,000.00 for a term of 365 days returns approximately $17.08 per hour, $410.00 per day and $149,650.00 per year. In addition, the company has been recruiting investors as sales agents, promising them a commission of 15% of the principal deposited by the new investors that they recruit. Bogus Mining Farm Videos According to the order, Btcrush had posted videos of its three mining farms on its website. The first mining farm the company claims to operate is the Maverik Farm, which it describes as the “most powerful farm” located “in the mountains.” The second is the Hephaestus Farm, which Btcrush claims to be the “most reliable and secretive farm located in a bunker of the Second World War times.” The third is the Rebelpower Farm, located “at the former power station.” However, the Securities Commissioner wrote: Although the Btcrush website represents these videos depict the Maverik Farm, the Hephaestus Farm and the Rebelpower Farm, they do not actually depict mining farms operated by respondent Btcrush. Instead, respondent Btcrush created these videos by manipulating stock footage available for sale on the internet. Forex EA & Bitcoin Investment LLC The second company to receive an emergency cease and desist order from the Texas State Securities Board on Tuesday is the New York-based Forex EA & Bitcoin Investment LLC, also known as My Forex EA. Also included in the order are James Butcher and Richard Dunn who market the company’s Forex and Bitcoin trading program targeting Texas residents, the Securities Commissioner detailed. They advertise: An investment of $500.00 in the Forex and Bitcoin trading program will return $5,000.00 in twenty-one calendar days…[and] an investment of $1,000.00 in the Forex and Bitcoin trading program will return $10,000.00 in twenty-one calendar days. Similarly, an investment of $20,000 will yield $20,000 and $5,000 will yield 50,000 in the same time period, the order describes. They also claim that the investments involve “no risk” and their returns “are 100% assured and that there is no possible way investors can lose money.” Violating Securities Laws The Texas State Securities Board’s order explains that the investments both companies offer are securities and their sales are in violation of the Securities Act since neither the companies nor their agents have been registered with the state’s Securities Commissioner. Btcrush also asks investors to agree to a “private transaction rule” of the US Securities Act of 1933 and related acts when signing up. “This statement is materially misleading,” the order shows, adding that the public will likely be deceived into thinking that the company is offering regulated securities in the state. Furthermore, Btcrush asks investors to agree at signup that they “are investing at their own risk” and that the company “reserves the right to amend…. fixed interest rates… without agreement with investors.” The order says that these statements are also materially misleading given the advertised guarantee of 4.1% return regardless of the company’s profitability. In both cases, the Securities Commissioner concluded that: Respondents [both companies] are engaging in fraud in connection with the offer for sale of securities…[and] are making offers containing statements that are meterially misleading or otherwise likely to deceive the public. What do you think of Texas issuing cease and desist orders to these two investment schemes? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and the State of Texas. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post US State Issues Emergency Cease and Desist Orders to Two Crypto Investment Firms appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Just recently a research group called Rapid7 published a report that reveals over a year’s worth of research regarding malicious activity tethered to Bitcoin Core (BTC) full nodes. By utilizing data collected from a network called ‘Project Heisenberg,’ and its internet scanner ‘Project Sonar,’ alongside intelligence from Bitnodes, the team had found quite a lot of exploits being shared between full blockchain nodes. Also read: The Hitchhikers Guide To The Invisible Internet Study Finds Bad Actors Throughout Bitcoin Network’s Public Nodes Bitcoin full node operators connect usually connect by default to a TCP service on port 8,333, but there are also over 600 alternative ports available. Rapid7’s recent research used data from the team’s Project Sonar which revealed the top three countries with the most port 8,333 nodes stem from the U.S., China, and Germany. The researchers began the blockchain surveillance back in August of 2017 and found more than 11,000 nodes per day. Moreover, the researchers collected data from more than 144,000 unique full nodes during the course of the study. In addition to the Project Sonar intelligence over 900 nodes connected to Rapid7’s honeypot technology Project Heisenberg that revealed interesting and some malicious activities like the distribution of MS17-010 a critical Microsoft operating system vulnerability. “Investigations into these interactions showed familiar patterns. Port scans and active reconnaissance with tools like Nmap were rampant, as was repeated attempted exploitation of MS17-010, largely from China,” explains Jon Hart a Rapid7 researcher. 17 hosts, mostly from the China IPv4 space, were actively slinging exploits for MS17-010. The Bitcoin Network Three Times More Evil Than the Public Internet As mentioned above most of the shady activities derived from confirmed malicious nodes with the most amount of connections the U.S. (178), China (154), and Germany (132). While the researchers note that not all of the findings found in full nodes can be deemed harmful the group observed the nodes used “curious scanning and probing behavior in the Bitcoin peer-to-peer network.” The report concludes that the absolute number of bad actors found within the cryptocurrency’s network is fairly low on ‘bad days’ these nodes can account for up to 2 percent of the BTC network. Now the researchers say that the data collected may be considered low but compared to the “background noise” of malicious activity found on the entire IPv4 internet the figure is pretty alarming. “Therefore, on a typical day, the Bitcoin network is approximately three times more ‘evil’ than the rest of the internet. On particularly active days, we see ten times as many malicious nodes in the Bitcoin network as we see on the regular internet, by volume,” explains the Rapid7 report. If you are actively participating as a bitcoin miner, one takeaway is to recognize that there are a small number of participants in the bitcoin network actively taking hostile action against otherwise innocent nodes on the public internet. What do you think about the research that states the BTC network of nodes is three times more “evil” than the entire IPv4 internet? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments below. Images via Shutterstock, Bitnodes, and Rapid7’s research report. At news.Bitcoin.com all comments containing links are automatically held up for moderation in the Disqus system. That means an editor has to take a look at the comment to approve it. This is due to the many, repetitive, spam and scam links people post under our articles. We do not censor any comment content based on politics or personal opinions. So, please be patient. Your comment will be published. The post Researchers Find Bitcoin Network 3X More ‘Evil’ Than the Public Internet appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Today’s edition of Bitcoin in Brief showcases the continued rapid pace at which the cryptocurrency revolution is disrupting all segments of the business world, from the adult entertainment industry, to stock exchanges and even social networks. Also Read: Details Emerge on Foxconn-Manufactured Ultra-Secure Crypto Phone Stripper Promotes Bitcoin for the Adult Industry Brenna Sparks, the exotic dancer last featured in the news about a Las Vegas club where strippers accept bitcoin payments via QR tattoos, has published a blog post in an adult entertainment industry portal explaining the advantages of cryptocurrency to her colleagues. While she notes it can help with privacy, fixing piracy and other issues, the main advantage is helping people in the business avoid paying almost 50% to middlemen. Sparks writes: “Every time you perform or make content and distribute it, you’re losing up to half of your earnings to who-knows-what on fees alone…Nothing is more discouraging than to watch yourself give up nearly half of your earnings ‘just because’…Although greed does play a role, what plays an even bigger role is discrimination. The reason this issue exists is because common payment processors like Paypal, Google, Stripe, etc. will not allow you to perform a transaction related to any adult work, and Banks like BofA or Chase will close your account if they suspect you do adult work…Cryptocurrency offers a simple solution – ultra-low fees, no discrimination, and instant transactions anywhere in the world. No bank, company, or government can tell you what you can or cannot use your money on or where you can use it, and no more ultimatums that studios and performers have grown accustomed to.” Facebook Explores Blockchain Facebook has formed a new team of top executives to explore the uses for blockchain potentially available for the company to improve its business. This according to multiple sources familiar with the matter cited by Silicon Valley media recode. The team is headed by David Marcus, the former head of Facebook Messenger until this move. The company did not provide any details about the applications they will be working on, however, Marcus is former president of Paypal and currently seats on the board of Coinbase, so speculating about cryptocurrency-enabled payments via messaging is not totally out of the question. Kin Forks Stellar While Facebook is just exploring, other social app developers are already implementing. The Kin Ecosystem Foundation, the governance body for Kin which will be integrated into Kik as the primary transaction currency, has announced that it will build its own blockchain based on Stellar. This while continuing to use ethereum for security and liquidity to token holders. “Most crypto projects to date have been technology-driven first and product-driven second. Kin has always been the opposite,” said Ted Livingston, Founder and CEO of Kin and Kik. “After working heads down alongside the best minds in the industry we came to the conclusion that a hybrid solution of Ethereum and our own fork of Stellar would benefit the Kin Ecosystem, both short and long-term. Our goal is for Kin to be the most used cryptocurrency in the world, and this will help get us there sooner.” Kik Messenger has over 300 million registered users, and is mostly popular with teenagers. It is known for features preserving users’ anonymity, such as allowing registration without a telephone number. Kin was meant to be an ERC20 token but the developers were frustrated with Ethereum’s performance and ditched the plan. Its ICO last year raised nearly $100 million from more than 10,000 investors from 117 countries. ICE to Launch Bitcoin Platform? Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE), the parent company of 23 regulated marketplaces including the New York Stock Exchange, has reportedly been working on an online trading platform that would allow big investors to buy and hodl bitcoin. This according to The New York Times, citing emails and documents viewed by the newspaper and four people briefed on the effort who asked to remain anonymous because the plans were still confidential. Details of the platform that Intercontinental Exchange is working on have not been finalized and the project could still not come to fruition, however, this news serves as another signal for Wall Street’s strong desire to tap into the bitcoin market. Sex Scandal Brings Down NY AG Speaking about New York, the state’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has resigned just hours after the news about a violent sex scandal broke. As you may recall, Coinbase recently applauded the investigation into the operations of bitcoin exchanges launched by the NY AG in sharp contrast to the rebuke by Kraken CEO which took a brave stand against the American regulatory overreach. The New Yorker magazine reported that four women complained about non-consensual physical violence by the AG. “In the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “I have not assaulted anyone. I have never engaged in non-consensual sex, which is a line I would not cross.” CZ Defends ICOs ICOs have gotten such a bad reputation recently that many projects today do their best to call their token crowdfunding by any other name. But now Changpeng Zhao , the  Binance CEO, has come to the defense of initial coin offerings. The main argument by CZ is that ICOs enable many more projects to get funded than by traditional VC means, thus accelerating the pace of innovation. They also allow entrepreneurs to create solutions instead of wasting time on trying to raise funding in the old ways, and smaller investors can get in on the action that is normally reserved for accredited investors only. Regarding the issue of fraud, CZ writes: “Scams exist everywhere, in every industry. I still receive phone calls and SMS telling me I won a grand prize, but I need to make a bank transfer to someone first. Does that mean we should stop using phones, SMS, and banks? The same law enforcement dealing with scams in traditional industries still applies in new industries. We don’t need to re-invent the wheel here.” And as for failures, he adds: “Most ICOs are new startup projects, and have a high rate of failure, just like in traditional startups. This is nothing new. Most ICO investors already know this.” What do you think about today’s news tidbits? 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 Bitcoin in Brief Wednesday: Stripper Explains Bitcoin to Adult Industry, Facebook Explores Blockchain appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The U.S. Federal Reserve system has been very interested in bitcoin lately and has released a bunch of reports from Federal Reserve leaders and researchers from different offices. This past Monday, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and a professor from Stanford University published a paper that concludes that bitcoin-based futures markets affected the cryptocurrency’s price patterns since Cboe and CME launched the products. Also read: How to Shuffle Your BCH Coins Like a Boss Study Concludes That BTC Futures Markets May Have Helped Push the Cryptocurrency’s Price Down Have you ever wondered why BTC markets dipped in value over the past four months of 2018? Well, researchers from Stanford University and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco believe bitcoin future markets played a role in BTC’s market behavior. The study was published under the central bank’s economic research reports website and written by Galina Hale, Arvind Krishnamurthy, Marianna Kudlyak, and Patrick Shultz. The Fed researchers say that the bitcoin derivatives markets introduced this past December suggests a correlation with the decline in the cryptocurrency’s value just like many other markets affected by futures products in the past. The paper states that throughout BTC’s inception the value of the coin remained under $4,000 but climbed “dramatically to nearly $20,000, but descended rapidly starting in mid-December,” explains the Fed’s economic study. The researchers go on to state: The peak price coincided with the introduction of bitcoin futures trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The rapid run-up and subsequent fall in the price after the introduction of futures does not appear to be a coincidence. Rather, it is consistent with trading behavior that typically accompanies the introduction of futures markets for an asset. The researchers’ comparison of three largest bitcoin price declines in 2017. Source: Bloomberg, central bank report authors’ calculations. Short-Selling Pressure from Pessimists Leads to a Sharp Decline in Value The price decline following the issuance of bitcoin futures on the CME is “clearly larger” than in the previous two reversals says the report. “Additionally, the two earlier decreases in prices returned to pre-crash levels in about a month — As of late April, the bitcoin price had not returned to its pre-futures peak,” explains the San Francisco Federal Reserve report. The paper emphasizes why this was the case by saying: We suggest that the rapid rise of the price of bitcoin and its decline following the issuance of futures on the CME is consistent with pricing dynamics — Once derivatives markets become sufficiently deep, short-selling pressure from pessimists leads to a sharp decline in value. The researchers also note that they understand there are other fundamental factors tethered to the overall value of the cryptocurrency and “transactional benefits” will likely quantify the currency’s long-term price. “As speculative dynamics disappear from the bitcoin market, the transactional benefits are likely to be the factor that will drive valuation,” the paper concludes. What do you think about the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s study about bitcoin futures markets affecting the price of BTC? Let us know in the comments below. Images via Pixabay, and the San Francisco Federal Reserve. At news.Bitcoin.com all comments containing links are automatically held up for moderation in the Disqus system. That means an editor has to take a look at the comment to approve it. This is due to the many, repetitive, spam and scam links people post under our articles. We do not censor any comment content based on politics or personal opinions. So, please be patient. Your comment will be published. The post San Francisco Fed Says BTC-based Future Markets Played a Role in Price appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

As the world’s largest exchange, Binance commands huge amounts of power. It can charge whatever it likes for a listing in the knowledge that altcoin projects will still cough up in return for the liquidity and legitimacy that a Binance listing brings. With great power comes great responsibility however, and some of the exchange’s new additions have a chequered past. Also read: How to Shuffle Your BCH Coins Like a Boss Binance Swallows Up Bytecoin As one of the oldest and least fashionable cryptocurrencies on the market, bytecoin was an unexpected addition to Binance. The exchange is more accustomed to listing the latest “must-have” tokens such as Wanchain, but appears willing to add any coin if the price is right. The addition of bytecoin (BCN), as well as other recent listings, has had some traders scratching their heads. BCN is a controversial coin due to an allegedly huge pre-mine when it launched in 2014. It then effectively disappeared off the radar before resurfacing last year. Until its appearance on Binance on May 8, bytecoin was only available on the unfashionable Stocks.Exchange, Hitbtc, and Poloniex. As much as 82% of the coin’s supply is believed to be in the hands of one entity, or a handful of entities at best, and it is also alleged to be susceptible to an infinite inflation bug that allows coins to be created out of thin air. This latter flaw may have now been fixed, but tellingly Onchainfx still lists BCN as a scamcoin alongside the likes of Bitconnect. Binance, Bytecoin, and the Big Pump Regardless of bytecoin’s murky past, its present is just as dubious. Every coin that is listed on Binance can expect an instant pump, but BCN’s was significantly higher than usual – and its fall equally spectacular. The coin rose by 270% in three hours before plummeting, leaving its daily gains at “just” 71%. Coin comparison site Coincodex called foul play as massive price discrepancies for BCN appeared between Binance and Poloniex. In a blog post, Coincodex wrote: Who in the world was buying BCN at a price which was 10 times higher than elsewhere? Perhaps there were some unwitting traders who didn’t want to miss out on a token that was going vertical and bought before checking prices on other exchanges, but it seems very unlikely that BCN trading activity on Binance today was entirely organic. Shortly after being listed on Binance, the bytecoin network stopped confirming transactions, prompting Poloniex to halt BCN withdrawals. According to Bytecoin, this was due to the network experiencing “unusually high load”, likely a consequence of BCN holders rushing to transfer their coins to Binance to catch the pump. Binance later issued its own update, advising users to “Please be cautious of high price volatility and trade with caution.” It is Binance’s prerogative to list whatever coins it likes, and it is not responsible for the prices that traders choose to pump coins to. Given the murky nature of bytecoin’s past, however, coupled with concerns over who owns the bulk of the circulating supply, it is hard to see how the community benefits from BCN being added to Binance. For so long as the exchange dominates the market, altcoins will clamor to be listed and traders will compete to catch the pump, regardless of the coin’s fundamentals. Do you think bytecoin is a scamcoin, or is it a legitimate cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, and Twitter. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Binance’s Coin Listing Policy Raises Questions 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. A Singapore-based VC fund specializing in groundbreaking tech projects has become an investor in Ubank’s blockchain ecosystem for selling and buying real goods with cryptocurrency Ubank, the leading mobile payments app in the Eastern Europe, announced that it has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from the Singapore-based VC fund Amereus Group for the further development of its peer-to-peer blockchain platform Ubcoin Market that would allow its users to acquire cryptocurrency in exchange for real goods and its promotion in the booming Asian market. Amereus Group is an investment fund supporting innovative tech-enabled businesses in fintech, blockchain, IoT, e-commerce, cloud services, biomedicine, mobile Internet, EdTech, VR, and AR. The fund’s portfolio includes biotech companies Cleabridge Health and Liquidia, a crowdinvesting platform Capbridge, an online aggregator of logistic carriers for international cargo Deliver, and other projects. “We are excited to announce our decision to support the development of Ubcoin Market and its expansion into the Asian market. Ubcoin Market will become an integral part of Ubank, an app that has been successfully operating in the Eastern Europe for more than 5 years now and that is pre-installed on all Fly and Samsung smartphones, which is particularly impressive considering that only 9% of all ICO projects have a working business and/or product prior to the start of their crowdfunding campaign,“ comments Rim Hosup, Director at Amereus Group. “Apart from that, Ubank has ensured that their blockchain product meets all KYC and AML requirements and has conducted due diligence and all the other procedures proving the stability, transparency, and legality of the company and its structure. It is another very important point that sets Ubcoin Market apart from the majority of ICO projects and that has naturally influenced our decision”. Ubcoin Market utilizes blockchain technologies to create an easy-to-use tool that would solve problems of people wishing to enter the world of crypto investments in a hassle-free manner as well as of experienced blockchain market participants in need of a convenient method of spending their crypto wealth. The project is planning to start its expansion into the Asian market during the 2nd and 3d quarters of 2019. Ubcoin Market is going to conduct a detailed preparatory research of separate national markets in order to adjust their product development strategy for local cultures, and Ubcoin Market’s partnership with the Singapore-based Amereus Group will be highly valuable in that respect. “Asia is the most promising market for the development of our business — we believe that it is in these countries that our product will be most popular. That’s why we are thrilled to become partners with the investment fund Amereus Group that is willing to provide a financial support as well as a deep insight into different national markets of the continent,” says Felix Khachatryan, CEO and one of the co-founders of Ubank and Ubcoin Market. Amereus Group is the third major investment fund that has supported Ubank: in 2013, Ubank received an $8 million investment from Runa Capital and, in April 2018, an undisclosed amount of funding from Inventure Partners. Ubcoin Market is open to collaboration with other investment funds and pools focused on the ICO market and encourages them to contact the project now, at the stage of its token sale, when the project’s partners are guaranteed especially favourable terms. About Ubcoin Market Ubcoin Market is a blockchain project developing a smart ecosystem for easily investing and exiting cryptocurrency by buying and selling goods and services. Ubcoin Market was founded by the same team that founded Ubank, the leading mobile payments app in Eastern Europe that, as of today, has 2.5 million active users , more than 16 million downloads around the world, and has been pre-installed by Samsung and Fly. To learn more about the vision and the structure of the project visit its website and read is whitepaper. Contact Email Address elena@lavender-pr.com Supporting Link https://ubcoin.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: Ubcoin Market Receives Investment from Singapore-Based Amereus Group for the Expansion into the Asian Market appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Indian police have raided a cryptocurrency mining operation whose establishment was funded by a nearly $15 million USD ponzi scheme. Police seized hundreds of mining cards. Also Read: Another Indian Company Challenges Ban on Crypto Banking Ponzi-Financed Ethereum Mine Raided in India Delhi Police’s Cyber Cell has conducted a raid on a cryptocurrency mining operation held in a 4,000 square foot complex in Dehradun. The raid occurred shortly after the April 25th arrest of the owners of the mine, Kamal Singh, and Vijay Kumar, who are accused of amassing Rs 100 crore (almost $14.9 million USD) through an illegal ponzi scheme promoted via bits2btc.com. Local reports have claimed that police found “over 100” Ethereum mining rigs comprised of “high-powered computer processors, 500 graphics cards, and servers.” The mine’s owners reportedly “told curious neighbors that [the mine] was a computer processor unit with servers of a big company.” Profits Used to Diversify Cryptocurrency Activities Through the interrogation of Mr. Singh and Mr. Kumar, police have determined that the Ethereum mining operation had been funded by the bits2btc ponzi scheme. The accused had elsewhere expanded their fraudulent operations, launching two cryptocurrencies, HBX and Mcap, in addition to another ponzi scheme – gainbitcoin.com. The accused had rented the property on which the mine was hosted since September 2017. Eight employees were hired to maintain the mining hardware. Police estimate that the cryptocurrency generated Rs 70 lakh (almost $105,000 USD) after three months of operating. Third Co-Founder Still at Large Local officers have been deployed to also arrest S.S. Alagh, the third co-founder of bits2btc.com. Arresting officers Jagdish and Yadav have stated that a rift was identified between Mr. Kumar and Mr. Singh, and Mr. Alagh which had escalated to the point where Mr. Kumar lodged a police complaint alleging kidnapping on the part of Mr. Alagh and his associates. “Kumar had lodged a complaint with the local police alleging that Alagh and his associates had kidnapped him,” an officer said, adding that the complaint had ultimately assisted authorities in making the arrests. A local employee of the mine has also been taken into custody. Police are currently investigating whether more cryptocurrency mining operations were established by the group. Do you think that we are likely to see more cryptocurrency-related investigations in India? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Indian Ponzi Scheme-Funded Cryptocurrency Mine Raided by Police appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bitcoin paranoids rejoice. The technical details have emerged about Sirin Finney, an ultra secure mobile device promising to keep your cryptocurrency transactions private. The phone will feature an embedded cold storage wallet, and will be built by the same company that builds the iPhone. Also Read: Elon Musk Takes on Bitcoin-Bashing Warren Buffett Secure Element Sirin Labs has released the specifications for its “ultra-secure” cold storage crypto wallet-phone that is expected to hit markets later this year. The company, which raised $157.8 million in an initial coin offering (ICO) last year, was promoted by soccer superstar Leo Messi. Foxconn International Holding (FIH) will manufacture the Finny devices in its facilities, leading the original design and manufacturing of the phone, while Sirin will lead the development of the cold storage wallet hardware and the specialized operating system. The platform will be based on Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 with 128GB storage memory, 6GB RAM and Android 8.1. It will feature a 12MPx main camera and 8MPx selfie camera and an “ultra-secure” fingerprint sensor. The embedded cold storage wallet, which is said to support major cryptocurrencies and tokens, will be based on a tamper-resistant secure hardware element. The developers explained to news.bitcoin.com this means that “the wallet is completely disconnected from the phone in terms of net, electricity and everything. The moment you’d want to make a transaction, the wallet ‘heats up’ with just enough electricity needed for a transaction and then ‘cools’ back down. The whole secure element is completely separated from the main chipset.” State of the Art Foxconn (TWSE: 2317) is the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer and the largest private sector employer in China. It is most widely known in the West for producing Apple’s iPhone and iPad but it manufactures many more devices including Amazon’s Kindle, Nintendo’s 3DS and Wii U, Sony’s PlayStation 4, and Microsoft’s Xbox One, to name a few. Zvika Landau, Co-CEO of Sirin Labs, commented: “Our team has been working vigorously to make sure that the first blockchain smartphone is cutting edge in all technical aspects. Our collaboration with FIH ensures that we will be offering state-of-the-art design with device architecture that will enable true security and user-friendly blockchain experience.” Back in March of this year, the Chinese smartphone maker Huawei was rumored to be in serious talks with Sirin Labs about the device. And according to the company, preorders for the phone are already more than 25,000. Would you want a crypto phone manufactured by Foxconn? 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 Details Emerge on Foxconn-Manufactured Ultra-Secure Crypto Phone appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The chairman of the economic committee of Iran’s parliament has revealed that Iranians have sent more than $2.5 billion out of the country to purchase cryptocurrencies with. His statement follows the country’s central bank banning local banks from dealing with digital currencies including bitcoin. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space $2.5 Billion Capital Flight Mohammad Reza Pourebrahimi, the Chairman of the Economic Commission of the Parliament of Iran, was quoted saying last week by Ibena.ir news agency: Based on the existing data, few people in Iran are cryptocurrency users and more than 2.5 billion dollars has been sent out of the country for buying digital currencies. Central Bank of Iran building. He previously told Isna newspaper that Iranians had transferred $30 billion out of the country over the few months ending March. “Iranians do not have access to the international banking system and the transfers can only occur through unconventional ways, such as exchange dealers or international travelers,” Radiofarda explained. The chairman’s statement came on the heels of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) banning banks and financial institutions from dealing with cryptocurrencies, citing money laundering and terrorism financing risks. Iran’s National Cryptocurrency Iran’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Minister, Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi, recently confirmed that an experimental local cryptocurrency has been developed and a test model was ready. However, in an interview with Ibena.ir last week, Pourebrahimi said that “No virtual national currency has been designed in the country at the present [time].” Nonetheless, he explained that Iran’s national crypto can “facilitate economic deals and circumvent sanctions,” the news outlet conveyed. Citing that “the future of the world economy will be done on digital currencies,” the chairman was quoted asserting that the national cryptocurrency “can pave the path for multilateral currency swap agreements between Iran and countries which are enthusiastic to have economic cooperation with Iran but they couldn’t have it so far owing to the sanctions.” He also elaborated: The structure of the cryptocurrency should be suitable for economic activity and be acceptable at the international level simultaneously. Pourebrahimi believes one of the benefits of cryptocurrencies “is [the] absence of [the] American regulator,” which he admitted can circumvent sanctions. His statement echoes Azari-Jahromi’s statement made last week that “All cryptocurrencies have the ability to circumvent sanctions because they are not under the supervision of the US financial regulator.” Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has withdrawn the US from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal by restoring sanctions on Iranian oil exports. What do you think of Iranians spending $2.5 billion to buy crypto abroad? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Azernews. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post $2.5 Billion Sent Out of Iran to Purchase Cryptocurrencies appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Israeli banking system keeps mounting challenges for bitcoin users, be they exchanges, miners or just traders, and keeps getting slapped for it by the courts. The latest example comes from Tel Aviv where a bank tried to deny incoming transfers from an exchange. Also Read: Israeli Bitcoin Mining Company Sues Bank for Closing Its Account Bank Uses AML as Excuse to Block Bitcoin Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI), Israel’s largest bank, has been forced by the Tel Aviv District Court to accept a transfer of funds resulting from the sale of bitcoin. A client of the bank was denied an incoming transfer of $195,000 from a European bitcoin trading venue into his joint account. Hapoalim claimed that there was a reasonable basis for concern that the sale of bitcoin was linked to money laundering and financing of terror, this despite the existence of documents indicating the exact source of the funds used for the purchase in this case and enabling ability to track the money from beginning to end. In addition, the transaction was duly reported by the client to the Israel Tax Authority. None of this was sufficient to convince the bank, which insisted on its refusal, and even informed the client that it intended to return the funds within a week. This Sunday the two sides faced each other in court and the bank folded. In a hearing before judge Limor Bibi regarding a request for temporary injunction, it became clear that there is no real suspicion of violations of AML laws or of taxation offenses, and the bank was forced to agree that the funds would be deposited in the client’s account immediately. For his part, the trader agreed to sign an IRS W8 form proclaiming he has no linkage to the US. This indicates, that like in previous cases, the Israeli bank’s real concern is an eventual crackdown by American regulators. Interestingly the court also rejected the bank’s request for a gag order regarding the case. Extreme Escalation Doron, Tikotzky, Kantor, Gutman & Amit Gross, the law firm which represented the plaintiffs, commented: “Recently, we have witnessed an extreme escalation in the banks’ fight against Bitcoin and the other virtual currencies. In what appears to be a planned policy of targeted assassination, the banks are preventing their customers from returning foreign money originating in virtual currencies to their Israeli accounts, even though the clients wish to declare the movement of the funds and pay their taxes according to the law.” “This is an important precedent that obliges the banking system as a whole to reconsider its policy regarding funds originating in virtual currency transactions, while conducting a real and relevant examination of each ad hoc transaction, rather than automatically denying each transaction without examining it on its merits,” they added about the outcome of the case. Should the regulators act against banks who refuse to serve bitcoin businesses? 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 Tel Aviv Court Forces Bank to Accept Funds From Sale of Bitcoin appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On Tuesday, May 8, the Bitcoin Cash Fund and the Yeewallet team announced a partnership that aims to further spread bitcoin cash (BCH) adoption. The organizations’ plan to bolster BCH adoption by airdropping 20 BCH to Yeewallet users who meet the airdrop requirements. Also read: Bitcoin in Brief Tuesday: Bank Wires, Tickets, and Diplomas on Blockchain Tech The Bitcoin Cash Fund and Yeecall Partner to Further Spread BCH Adoption This week, the Bitcoin Cash Fund (BCF) and the creators of the Yee application have announced a strategic agreement that aims to spread bitcoin cash adoption to the millions of Yeewallet users. The firm’s Yeewallet is a recently launched multi-cryptocurrency wallet that also features internet voice calls using the popular Yeecall platform. BCF is a nonprofit organization that’s been committed to spreading bitcoin cash adoption worldwide, and the group believes Yee’s 33 million users getting some BCH will help promote the cryptocurrency’s use. Yee has also just added BCH support for the Yeewallet interface, with the firm explaining that this week’s airdrop will help the bitcoin cash network effect spread. “Yee believes that the support of BCH on Yeewallet will not only enrich the Yeecall’s application scenario and satisfy our Yeecall users’ needs, but also extend the BCH’s influence and promote the development of BCH community,” explains the Yee company. The Yeewallet is a multi-cryptocurrency wallet that was launched on the first week of April. It is also integrated with the popular Yeecall app – that has 33 million users. Breaking Down the Barrier to Entry With 33 Million Users The Bitcoin Cash Fund. In order to participate in Yee’s bitcoin cash airdrop, users need to meet specific requirements by the specific snapshot date (5/9/18 23:59:59 GMT+8) which is: Yeewallet users must hold at least 10,000 tokens of the company’s native coin called YEE, and those who meet the requirements will share 20 BCH. The Bitcoin Cash Fund board member Paul Wasensteiner tells news.Bitcoin.com that “the BCH airdrop will be divided proportionally based on the quantity of YEE they have in their wallet, with a minimum of 10,000 YEE as a requirement.” News.Bitcoin.com also chatted with Paul Wasensteiner about the latest BCF initiative with Yee – who told us he believes that the airdrop is a great opportunity to spread bitcoin cash far and wide. “Bitcoin Cash technology needs to be ingrained into almost everything we use to communicate — The internet allowed almost any person in the world to communicate with anyone else, and Bitcoin Cash will do the same for money. By integrating a Bitcoin Cash wallet into a popular messaging app like Yeecall, and even providing some free BCH so people can see how easy it is to use, the barrier to entry for these users has been completed removed,” BCF’s Wasensteiner explains. 33 million people will now have access to complete financial freedom. Using Bitcoin Cash should be as easy as sending a tweet, and we feel this partnership is a huge step in making this a reality, and brings us closer to our goal of reaching one billion users within five years. Making Bitcoin Cash Accessible and Easy to Use for Every Single Person Worldwide Wasensteiner tells news.Bitcoin.com that full instructions on how to participate in the BCF and Yee airdrop can be found here, and Yee users can also join the official group in Yeecall. Wasensteiner also emphasized that initiatives like these that utilize bitcoin cash will help promote the goal of financial freedom to every single person worldwide. “Bitcoin Cash is going to open up the global economy and bring financial freedom to every single person on the planet, but before we can achieve that we need to make it as accessible and as easy to use as possible,” Wasensteiner concludes. What do you think about the BCF initiative with Yee? Do you think initiatives like this are good for spreading adoption? Let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments below. Images via Shutterstock, the Bitcoin Cash Fund, Yeewallet, and Pixabay. The Bitcoin universe is vast. So is Bitcoin.com. Check our Wiki, where you can learn everything you were afraid to ask. Or read our news coverage to stay up to date on the latest. Or delve into statistics on our helpful tools page. The post Bitcoin Cash Fund and Yeewallet Plan to Airdrop 20 BCH 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. Rumor confirmed Leaks have appeared all over the web for the past month or so, but it’s official now. ASKfm announced its blockchain-based upgrade ASKfm 2.0 claiming to monetize knowledge in all of its forms. No wonder such a move form a major player couldn’t fly under the radar. One giant leap ASKfm is currently the largest Q&A social network worldwide, hosting 600 million questions monthly. The coming ASKfm 2.0 aims to transform the platform from the knowledge exchange of today into a knowledge economy. The company states that blockchain technology can effectively reshape access to knowledge and its evaluation. They tokenize interactions within the social media, rewarding people whose answers are well-received and demanded. This way, they claim, expertise gains intrinsic value and serves as a centerpiece for the new economy. The way to sustainability We reached out to Maxym Tsaryk, CEO at ASKfm. The company has been framing a blockchain solution for quite some time now, and they’re finally presenting it. Max says: “We are settling our high-loaded blockchain Q&A platform — that’s why we are introducing a new cryptocurrency token not on a whim but out of conceptual necessity, as without it, the product wouldn’t be able to exist. Blockchain opens a path to democratic environments, to self-regulating economic models governed by market laws and mechanisms. We do not see the future for ASKfm, technologies and social networks without blockchain.” Open for participation 215 million of existing ASKfm users will have the option to switch to ASKfm 2.0, register a wallet, and receive tokens for that. The community, as usual, will also be able to take part in ASKfm’s upcoming ICO event during the year. In total, the social media plans to sell $100,000,000 worth of tokens. According to the company, its private sale is already ongoing with minimum amounts starting from a million dollars. The dates and terms of the crowdsale are yet to be determined. The broader public can currently only apply for the whitelist. For that, ASKfm launched a dedicated website. To read more about ASKfm 2.0 and request participation, please visit askfm.io Contact Email Address pr@ask.fm Supporting Link askfm.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: ASKfm to Tokenize Social Interactions. 215 Million Users Involved appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

There are a bunch of unique bitcoin cash wallets these days and even more interesting clients on the horizon. However, there is one particular bitcoin cash (BCH) wallet called Electron Cash that’s been around since the inception of BCH offering a secure platform and now the ability to shuffle BCH with the Cashshuffle plugin. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space The BCH-Centric Electron Cash Wallet Today we’re going to discuss how to install the Electron Cash wallet, a light client that provides users the ability to control their own private keys. The platform provides users with a secure SPV wallet that doesn’t need to download the entire BCH chain. The Electron Cash client is a fork of the Electrum wallet software and was developed by a programmer that uses the pseudonym ‘Jonald Fyookball.’ The latest release of Electron Cash is the 3.2 version which can be found at electroncash.org website alongside the source code which is also located on Github. In order to install Electron Cash, you need to choose which operating system works best out of four choices — Windows, Linux, Mac OS, and Android. Creating a Standard Wallet With Electron Cash After downloading the desired client for your operating system, open the application when the download finishes. Some machines will require an administrator password to open the Electron Cash client. When the program begins the user is then asked whether or not they want to tether to a manually configured server or auto-connect to the client’s servers. Choosing the auto-connect is the easiest route, and then Electron Cash asks you to name your wallet or you can leave it named as “default wallet.” After downloading the Electron Cash client, you are asked to either configure your own server or auto connect to the list of servers, and name the BCH wallet. The next step shows one of the Electron Cash features other BCH wallets don’t provide — The ability to create a multi-signature wallet. This means more than one individual can share a wallet, and the Electron Cash program will not sign a transaction unless the other person authorizes the transaction. Essentially, the multi-signature technology allows Electron Cash to send and receive encrypted transmissions of partially signed transactions. For a full explanation on how Electron Cash multi-signature wallets work, and how to create one, can be found here. From here Electron Cash allows you to create a standard wallet, multi-signature wallet, or import an existing wallet. At this stage, you can also import an existing address or private keys but for this walkthrough, we chose to create a ‘standard wallet.’ Following choosing the ‘standard wallet’ option the program will ask the user if they want to create a new seed and encrypt the wallet with a password. Encrypting the wallet with a password is optional, but a less secure option if it is not used. If you choose a good password, make sure you write it down as it is required to access the funds held on an Electron Cash wallet. If an encrypted password is not chosen you can leave the field blank and users can encrypt the wallet at any time after creation. Always write your seed down on something physical that can be hidden like a piece of paper. Never take a screenshot or picture of your seed. After choosing to create a new seed the Electron Cash wallet gives a twelve-word phrase as a backup. The program will show you the seed and its best to write down the twelve words on a piece of paper that’s ultimately kept hidden and safe from prying eyes. After being shown the seed phrase Electron Cash will ask the user to verify the twelve words by typing each one in the next field. After completing this task the wallet is ready for receiving, sending, signing digital signatures, and more. A view of the Electron Cash wallet 3.2 version standard wallet. The Cashshuffle Plugin Now for those who are touch more tech savvy they can download the Cashshuffle plugin that works for Windows and Linux. The Cashshuffle plugin allows users to mix their coins by utilizing a Coinjoin method so the origins of where the BCH derived from is obfuscated. Essentially you need to edit a few lines of code within the Readme file to add the Cashshuffle feature into your Electron Cash directory. After the editing of the code is complete the shuffling feature will be available within the wallet interface. The Cashshuffle plugin for the Electron Cash wallet can only be installed on Windows, and Linux versions. In order to make a shuffle, you need an address with at least 0.01 to 0.1 BCH held in the UTXO’s in your wallet and then choose a server from the list. After choosing a server and selecting a change address and shuffle output address you can then enable the shuffling process. When five participants are on the same server, the mixing process will start and if things go wrong you will see an error in the dialogue window. Moreover, you can also configure the servers list and add your own server to the index. An in-depth walkthrough about the necessary code changes needed to install the Cashshuffle plugin alongside the plugin’s source code, and the plugin itself can be found here. In order to make a shuffle, you need an address with at least 0.01 to 0.1 BCH held in the UTXO’s in your wallet and then choose a server from the list. iOS and Feature Phone Client Coming Soon The Electron Cash wallet is a simple to use and secure light client for multiple operating systems and offers a few features other wallets don’t provide. According to the Github repository, Jonald Fyookball is the Electron Cash lead developer, but 205 contributors have helped this project according to the repo. As mentioned above, the wallet is available for most operating systems, but unfortunately, there is no client software built for iOS devices. However, the development team recently announced that Coingeek will be funding the Electron Cash project and more features were recently added to the software roadmap. Electron Cash developers are planning to launch an iOS version and a feature phone (Nokia) version of the wallet as well. What do you think about the Electron Cash wallet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Disclaimer: Walkthrough editorials are intended for informational purposes only. There are multiple security risks and methods that are ultimately made by the decisions of the user. There are various steps mentioned in reviews and guides and some of them are optional. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses, mistakes, skipped steps or security measures not taken, as the ultimate decision-making process to do any of these things is solely the reader’s responsibility. For good measure always cross-reference guides with other walkthroughs found online. Images via Pixabay, Github, the Electron Cash Wallet, and the Coinshuffle Plugin. At news.Bitcoin.com all comments containing links are automatically held up for moderation in the Disqus system. That means an editor has to take a look at the comment to approve it. This is due to the many, repetitive, spam and scam links people post under our articles. We do not censor any comment content based on politics or personal opinions. So, please be patient. Your comment will be published. The post How to Shuffle Your BCH Coins Like a Boss appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The prospect of transferring an entire national payment system to blockchain technology deserves attention and we are covering the story in today’s Bitcoin in Brief. Reports that Russia may transform its version of SWIFT as early as next year coincided with the news that the US banking giant JP Morgan has applied for a blockchain patent for inter-bank payments. Projects to secure documents, diplomas, and even tickets using blockchain technologies are also part of Tuesday’s round-up. Also read: Bitcoin in Brief Monday: Elon Musk Takes on Bitcoin-Bashing Warren Buffett Russian Version of SWIFT to Be Transferred to Blockchain in 2019 Russia may put its money transferring system on a blockchain as early as next year, according to local media reports. Authorities in Moscow are planning to convert the Financial Communications Transfer System (SPFS), Russia’s equivalent to SWIFT, to a blockchain system, sources close to the Russian central bank told Izvestia. SPFS was developed as a backup alternative following discussions in the West on proposals to withdraw SWIFT from Russia as part of the sanctions imposed after the annexation on Crimea. The system was implemented in 2014, when Centrobank also developed its own version of bank cards called Mir. At the time, several Russian banks were denied services by US-based Visa and Mastercard. Mir cards were first issued in 2015. Last year their number reached 19 million. Almost 600 banks currently use the Russian national payments system, which now covers countries in the European Economic Area (EEA). Its transaction costs are lower than those of SWIFT, which makes it attractive to foreign financial services providers. The move of SPFS to blockchain technology would be a major development in both the banking sector and the blockchain industry. American Giant Eyes Blockchain for Inter-Bank Transfers As it turns out, blockchain tech is attractive not only to sanctioned Russian banks. American investment banking giant JP Morgan Chase has applied for a patent to facilitate inter-bank payments using the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. The application was submitted in October last year but the news surfaced last week. The patent is essentially a variation on blockchain technology, as news.Bitcoin.com reported. It outlines a system that would use distributed ledger technology to keep track of payments between financial institutions. Motivating its application, the New York-based financial company points out that the number of messages between banks and clearing houses involved in cross-border bank wires often results in delays and restricted availability of funds. According to JP Morgan, the blockchain would eliminate high costs and provide a system for accurate transaction logging. It would also allow them to process payments in real time and audit the transfers in a verifiable way. The patent application comes as a surprise, given that JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon has a record of downplaying the importance of crypto technologies, calling bitcoin a “fraud” and vowing to fire anyone from his team if they traded bitcoin. Startup Recording Diplomas on Blockchain Raises $3 million Learning Machine Technologies, a software company working with governments, businesses, and educational systems to develop official blockchain records, has raised $3 million dollars. The seed round was led by PTB Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in the emerging digital identity ecosystem, and included strategic investments from Omidyar Network and Learn Capital. Learning Machine’s software facilitates the issuing of blockchain-based credentials called “Blockcerts”. The concept has been developed in partnership with the Media Lab of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. According to the partners, the Blockcerts standard can be used to record digital diplomas on blockchain. Blockcerts can be issued to any public or private blockchain, including those of bitcoin and ethereum, and do not require proprietary software to view or verify. The Blockcerts standard is open source and allows for full security audits. It is a community extension hosted by international technical standards organization IMS Global. “Learning Machine counts governments, multinational corporations and leading educational institutions as customers of its enterprise issuing system,” said CEO Chris Jagers, quoted by PRnewswire. In his words, the platform makes issuing Blockcerts seamless for institutions and provides them “a bird’s-eye view of their credentialing operation”. The software also helps policymaking, workforce development and alumni relations with detailed analytics. Blockchain Certificate to Replace Five Documents in “Digital Kazakhstan” At least five documents issued by authorities in Kazakhstan are to be replaced with blockchain-based certificates. A newly developed application called Azamat is capable of issuing electronic versions of driver’s licenses, vehicle registrations and inspection certificates, insurance policies, and proof of identity documents. Azamat also allows access to the recorded information through a QR scan. The project is part of the state-sponsored efforts to digitize many services offered by government institutions and also the economy of the Central Asian country. The “Digital Kazakhstan” program was announced by Astana towards the end of last year. Authorities are preparing amendments to the current legislation that would allow the “complete replacement of paper documents” with digital copies. Adele Tickets on the Blockchain? The secondary market for tickets in Great Britain costs billions of dollars each year. A last-minute decision to attend an Adele concert could mean spending up to $12,000 on the black market, according to The Guardian. Aventus is a company that hopes to solve the problem with the illegal resales using blockchain technologies. Its platform will be tested with the sale of 10,000 tickets for a variety of events in Europe and the US. Aventus has teamed up with another blockchain platform, Blocside, to try its concept during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia this summer. It also hopes to offer its services to Premier League football clubs in the United Kingdom. Its team claims that the blockchain technology ensures the data on the tickets remains unaltered and protected from forgery. Ticket fraud is a profitable illicit business in the UK, with an annual turnover estimated at $1.3 billion. Do you think the implementation of distributed ledger technologies and the use of the blockchains of leading cryptocurrencies in other sectors will increase? Tell is 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 Tuesday: Bank Wires, Tickets, and Diplomas on Blockchain Tech appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article