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The state of Colorado is considering giving political candidates the ability to raise funds using cryptocurrencies. This week the Secretary of State, Wayne Williams, presented the proposed guidelines and officials are looking for commentary from Colorado residents. Also read: “Stablecoin” Trueusd Pumps After Binance Listing Colorado Secretary of State May Allow Politicians to Accept Cryptocurrencies for Campaigns Colorado is a state that is well known for testing new laws and guidelines like allowing recreational cannabis throughout the state. This week politicians from the Rocky Mountain state are considering allowing political candidates to accept bitcoin and other forms of digital assets. Secretary of State Wayne Williams proposed the new rules in a draft submitted on May 16, 2018. The proposal states: A committee may accept contributions in cryptocurrency, up to the acceptable limit for a cash or coin contribution. The amount of the contribution is the value of the cryptocurrency at the time of the contribution. The committee must report any gain or loss after the contribution as other income or receipts. Crypto-Campaign Acceptance: An Accounting Nightmare In an interview with the Denver Post Suzanne Staiert, Colorado’s deputy secretary of state explains the proposal going through is likely to happen. “The FEC is doing it now,” Staiert details. “So we are just going along for the ride.” However, the FEC advisory’s guidelines are making the accounting process more difficult explains the deputy. The FEC advisory laid out how the organization thinks committees should deal with the accounting aspects of accepting cryptocurrencies. “It’s going to be an accounting problem, potentially, for campaigns who want to use it,” Staiert further noted. Back in 2014, U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, from Boulder Colorado accepted $2,000 worth of BTC for his campaign. Polis thinks politicians who hold cryptocurrencies should also declare their holdings. U.S. Politicians Have Already Accepted Cryptocurrencies in the Past for Campaigns A Colorado state official already has accepted donations in Bitcoin Core (BTC) back in 2014 as U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder accepted $2,000 worth of BTC that year. Other bureaucrats have accepted BTC in the past for political campaigns as well such as Rand Paul and Gary Johnson. Further, news.Bitcoin.com recently reported on the largest BTC donation given to a candidate so far this past December. The Republican U.S. Senate candidate Austin Peterson accepted roughly 0.284 BTC which at the time was worth over $4,500 USD. The Colorado Secretary of State is asking state residents to comment on this issue before officials come to a decision on the matter. What do you think about the state of Colorado allowing politicians to accept cryptocurrencies for political campaigns? Let us know your thoughts on this subject in the comments below. Images via Shutterstock, Pixabay, and Wiki Commons. Now live, Satoshi Pulse. A comprehensive, real-time listing of the cryptocurrency market. View prices, charts, transaction volumes, and more for the top 500 cryptocurrencies trading today. The post Colorado Proposal Aims to Allow Cryptocurrency Donations for Campaigns appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On May 18, 2018, the One Championship fighter, female mixed martial artist (MMA) Mei Yamaguchi sponsored by Bitcoin.com, faced the Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee in a re-match bout called ‘Unstoppable Dreams.’ Also read: US State Issues Emergency Cease and Desist Orders to Two Crypto Investment Firms Japanese MMA Veteran Mei Yamaguchi Enters the Ring Sporting Bitcoin.com Gear This Friday the Bitcoin.com sponsored Japanese veteran MMA fighter Mei Yamaguchi to meet her adversary Angela Lee again, in the the mixed martial artist female championship bout of the year at the One Championship Arena in Singapore. Mei Yamaguchi Before the fight began the champion fighter came out sporting a Bitcoin.com t-shirt that says ‘Bitcoin Cash’ and a ‘BCH PLS’ hat as the crowd went wild over Yamaguchi’s entrance. Yamaguchi’s cold stare had shown the crowd the MMA veteran was very serious about this re-match with Lee. As 138 countries watched during the first four rounds of the bout, it seemed Lee dominated Yamaguchi. A ton of punches and takedowns took place during the fight as each round timed out for the two Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts. Mei Yamaguchi Put Up an Excellent Fight but in the End, Angela Lee Takes the Win The Bitcoin.com sponsored Yamaguchi threw some incredible punches at Lee but her adversary managed to come back. During the fifth and final round Yamaguchi came out swinging hard with many double leg takedowns, submissions, and threw lots of strikes from the bottom. After the fifth round of the Unstoppable Dreams bout the judges came to the decision that the Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee had won the fight. Lee then thanked her team for their support but also stated that Yamaguchi put up a tough fight as the Japanese veteran is very experienced. At Bitcoin.com we’re proud of Mei Yamaguchi’s efforts during the One Championship in Singapore, and we think she put up one hell of a fight. Did you watch the Unstoppable Dreams One Championship fight? Let us know what you think of this subject in the comments below. Images via Pixabay, One, and Youtube Now live, Satoshi Pulse. A comprehensive, real-time listing of the cryptocurrency market. View prices, charts, transaction volumes, and more for the top 500 cryptocurrencies trading today. The post MMA Fighter Mei Yamaguchi Comes Out Swinging for Bitcoin.com appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc, one of the top five banks in the world, announced its intention of testing a proprietary cryptocurrency by 2019. The idea is to roll out its coin initially to a relative handful of customers, hoping they’ll participate in finding inevitable bugs as they make typical retail purchases. For Japan, it’s yet another indication the country’s business culture is betting on a crypto future. Also read: Alec Baldwin’s Lambo Movie Backed by Crypto Tech Japan Banking Behemoth to Test Proprietary Coin Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG; 株式会社三菱UFJフィナンシャル・グループ), after a few years of plotting (since 2015), appears ready to roll out its own crypto token, MUFG Coin by 2019. In doing so, it would become the first major bank on the planet to issue a variation on cryptocurrency. The plan involves testing MUFG Coin in 2019 with 100,000 users, hoping they will shop the token through retail outlets, everything from clothing to food. In early 2016, Asahi Shimbun, Japanese daily, broke the story of how MUFG bundled a trial-trial with an iteration then of MUFG Coin and a smartphone app. “MUFG coin takes advantage of the new technology that is on a network of multiple smaller computers,” a company report at the time revealed. “It is possible to cheaply build a tamper-resistant transaction record of the ledger, otherwise referred to as the ‘blockchain.’” MUFG Coin’s users in 2019 would indeed have to download an app, converting fiat deposits. The token is supposedly designed for parity with Japanese yen. When the project was hatched three years ago, one rationale was to bring down transactional frictions with regard to remittances and transfers, using a variation on peer-to-peer platforms to lower costs. Japan’s largest bank’s crypto appetite was probably wet by participation years ago in private consortium, R3. Dozens of international banks collaborated at the time to study crypto-related solutions. Indeed, close to a dozen of those banks tested distributed ledger tech using Ethereum by way of Azure. That four continent experiment proved to bankers such as Mitsubishi crypto tech was for real. Better than Bitcoin? Fall of last year, MUFG president Nobuyuki Hirano insisted the bank was trying to “overcome issues of virtual currencies and create a highly useful currency.” The quote revealed two things: an acknowledgment the bank was monitoring cryptos, and how ubiquitous currencies such as bitcoin core (BTC) were becoming in Japan, which ruled BTC legal tender. MUFG president Nobuyuki Hirano Various reports also claim MUFG is trying to get cooperation from other banks in its digital endeavor. If such is to come about, MUFG Coin will have to compete with J-Coin, a Mizuho bank crypto shooting for roll out during the upcoming Tokyo Olympic games (2020). And while not a bank, Yahoo! Japan has entered the space as well, and e-commerce group DMM (close to 30 million users) has already launched a cryptocurrency exchange. Mitsubishi United Financial of Japan Group (MUFG) boasts $2.5 trillion in assets. It also ranks second in the world as a holding company, and is the largest financial group in Japan. For its part, regulators such as its Financial Services Agency (FSA) initiated a half dozen mandates aimed at squashing sketchier alternative coins while protecting the existing market. Did you think big banks issuing their own coins is good for the ecosystem? Share your experiences in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock, MFUG. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section The post Japan Banking Giant Mitsubishi Goes Crypto With Own Coin appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On May 18, 2018, the blockchain firm Coingeek hosted its inaugural Coingeek Conference held this year in Hong Kong. The event was filled with movers and shakers from the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) ecosystem, alongside hundreds of BCH supporters looking to change the way the world’s money works. Also Read: 5 Years Ago You Should Have Bought Bitcoin, Not Altcoins Coingeek Conference 2018: Spreading the Word of Bitcoin Cash Adoption in Hong Kong Coingeek wrapped up its Bitcoin Cash-focused conference that aimed at spreading the message of the many benefits BCH has to offer. The event was held in Hong Kong, at the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel, and had a wide variety of industry innovators from company’s like Purse.io, Bitmain, Yours, Centbee, Handcash, Nchain, Lokad, Bitcoin.com, and more. Moreover, attendees listened to keynote presentations from Ryan X Charles, Jihan Wu, Dr. Craig Wright, Roger Ver, Joannes Vermorel, Vin Armani, Steven Bower, and Jimmy Nguyen among many special guests. Lorien Gamaroff CEO of Centbee discusses better wallets and payment solutions. What consumers and merchants need for a Bitcoin Cash world. Bitcoin Cash Powering Online Commerce The event kicked off with Nchain’s Jimmy Nguyen who discussed the latest Nchain BCH-focused endeavor called ‘Bcommerce.’ Nguyen’s talk called ‘A Bcomm World: How Bitcoin Cash will Power the future of ‘Bcommerce,’ got the crowd fired up over how BCH proponents plan to spread mass adoption. The concept of Bcommerce aims to provide a global payment system on-chain, with low commission fees, and fast transactions. Nguyen details how the firm is researching and developing on-chain techniques for Bitcoin Cash, security improvements, better user interfaces and APIs, and most of all merchant adoption. Compared to Swift — It is Wonderful to Use Cryptocurrencies as a Payment Method After Nguyen’s speech on Bcommerce, the Coingeek crowd was greeted by the CEO of Bitmain Technologies Jihan Wu. Mr. Wu’s presentation called “The Future of Crypto Economy and Bitcoin Cash,” described how proponents can further bolster BCH adoption. Mr. Wu also discussed the subject of initial coin offerings (ICOs) likely in part because BCH may have the ability to produce colored coins soon. Mr. Wu detailed to the attendees that ICO’s have become a “buzzword” and some for the wrong reasons. Bitmain Technologies CEO Jihan Wu talks about the future of the crypto economy and Bitcoin Cash. Furthermore, Mr. Wu said many ICOs are misleading and the cryptocurrency industry should “work closely with regulators instead of working closely with lawyers.” Moreover, Mr. Wu joined a panel with Bitcoin.com’s Roger Ver, and Nchain’s Dr. Craig Wright and explained how a giant tech company like Bitmain found significant flaws with the Swift banking system. As far as customers using digital assets for payments Mr. Wu thinks it is great and far more efficient than Swift. “It is very wonderful to use cryptocurrencies as a payment method — Basically our customers go to the banks and say they want to wire $1 million dollars to Bitmain and they can say no — You need to give them a reason, you need to give them a contract, and this and that,” explains Mr. Wu. But with Bitcoin Cash you can wire the money as you wish as long as you control the private key — And the money arrives instantly and we can ship out the next day. Bitcoin ABC’s Amaury Sechet: Working to Increase Scaling Further Following the discussion with Mr. Wu, the Coingeek crowd was greeted by the Lead developer of Bitcoin ABC, Amaury Sechet, who detailed his technical vision for a global payment system. Sechet explains how Bitcoin Cash is continuing towards the original roadmap that Satoshi Nakamoto laid out in his original white paper. Bitcoin ABC’s lead developer, Amaury Sechet discusses continued BCH scaling. The developer continues by explaining how BCH can already handle Paypal scale volumes, and for cheap network fees. After the BCH developers completed a successful upgrade just a few days prior, Sechet reveals to the Coingeek audience that they are “working to increase scaling further.” Bitcoin Cash follows the roadmap laid out in the original whitepaper. Purse is Launching a New Bitcoin Cash Implementation Called ‘Bcash’ Attendees at the inaugural Coingeek conference also heard from Nchain’s Dr. Craig Wright who talked about new ways to sell and trade goods with BCH in a presentation titled ‘Bitcoin’s Atomic Age.’ Participants heard from Centbee’s CEO Lorien Gamaroff and the exciting BCH wallet they are working on. Joannes Vermorel the founder of Lokad told the crowd about how proponents can overcome eCommerce hurdles with Bitcoin Cash. Purse.io announces native BCH support. Additionally, Coingeek attendees heard a panel on BCH use cases from industry leaders such as Alex Gut of Handcash, Vin Armani of Cointext, Angela Holowaychuk of Ncrypt, and Steven Bower from Purse.io. Purse.io also announced a new BCH implementation called ‘bcash.’ Bower told the crowd about a new Bitcoin Cash client that will be released shortly called ‘Bcash’ that’s similar to implementations like the ABC, BU, or XT clients. Alongside this, the crowd was pleased to hear Purse.io is using BCH for native support. Overall the spirit was high in Hong Kong at the 2018 Coingeek event, and everyone who attended was quite optimistic after the successful fork a few days ago. Did you attend the Coingeek Conference 2018? Let us know your thoughts on this event in the comments below. Images via Bitcoin.com, Mike Malley, Marcel Chuo, and the associated logos and companies pictured. Now live, Satoshi Pulse. A comprehensive, real-time listing of the cryptocurrency market. View prices, charts, transaction volumes, and more for the top 500 cryptocurrencies trading today. The post Coingeek Conference 2018: Bitcoin Cash Innovation Shines in Hong Kong appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On Wednesday Trueusd, a stablecoin designed to be pegged to the US dollar, experienced a sudden bump in price after Binance announced support. The news caused Trueusd (TUSD) to rise by an unprecedented 40% before eventually subsiding. Trust Token, the coin’s developers, have now explained to news.Bitcoin.com how this sequence of events came to be. Also read: “Stablecoin” Trueusd Pumps After Binance Listing Trueusd and the Moon Mission That Wasn’t Meant to Be As reported on Thursday, TUSD pumped to $1.39 off the back of news that Binance would be listing the supposed stablecoin. Binance has since postponed its listing of the token, pushing the event back by a few days “to prepare for sufficient liquidity”. Trust Token, for its part, has responded to the incident in a blogpost, writing: TrueUSD saw a large, sudden increase in demand after Binance first announced that they are listing TUSD. We believe that bots (and some misinformed traders) purchased TrueUSD as soon as the announcement was made. The post continues: “Generally, our policy is that “redeemability leads to stability.” The value of a TrueUSD token is that it can be redeemed for one US dollar. There will only be as many tokens in circulation as there are dollars in the escrow account to collateralize the tokens. In the long run, this feature precedes price stability, since the price will return to $1.00 (as it did today) as long as the token continues to be redeemable.” Trust Is Earned As a piece of parting advice, Trust Token advises traders not to pay any more than $1.05 per token, otherwise “you may lose money.” Trust Token’s co-founder and CTO Rafael Cosman spoke to news.Bitcoin.com to clarify some of the issues raised in the blog post, and pointed out that when TUSD was listed on Bittrex in March, traders were issued with the same advice – not to pay more than $1.05 per token. Assuaging concerns that TUSD could dip discernibly below $1, Rafael Cosman said: Price stability is maintained by market-making incentives. Today, market-makers buy TrueUSD for $1.00 directly from the bank, anticipating that if the price hits even $1.01 they can arbitrage some profit. The opportunity for redemption incentivizes market-makers to keep at $1.00 and not below: if the price was to dip to $0.99, then market-makers could buy it and redeem it for $1.00. Market-makers would quickly scoop in and buy all the “sell” orders for below $1.00 until none were left and the price returned to $1.00. Bot or Not? Following up on claims that bots were to blame for TUSD’s sudden price spike this week, Rafael Cosman added: “It’s fairly common knowledge in the crypto industry that there are bots that “listen” for announcements of coins listing on exchanges and buy any coin as soon as it is listed on a new exchange. This is usually profitable, since more buyers for a token can mean a higher price. However, in the case of Trueusd, any person who knows that the token is redeemable for $1.00 knows they will lose money if they buy it for more, and so market-makers holding Trueusd happily sold it to bots for above $1.00 until there was no more demand.” Stablecoins are still highly experimental at this stage, and while some “stable bears” believe perfect dollar parity will never be reached, others are confident that anomalies such as that which befell TUSD will be ironed out in time. As Trust Token acknowledged, even “the most stable of stablecoins will occasionally experience variance.” Do you think occasional volatility is inevitable with stablecoins? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Trust Token Blames Bots for Volatility of Trueusd Stablecoin 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. Encryption is one of the most important methods for providing data security. Encryption is widely used on the internet to protect user information being sent between a browser and a server, including passwords, payment information and other personal information that should be considered private. However, with recent developments in quantum computers, more powerful and capable than “traditional computers”, the “traditional” data security comes to a threat. Are we prepared for post-quantum era cyber security? IDM service provides today a complete post-quantum protection for tomorrow. With new SIZE algorithm IDM team has developed a security solution to tackle the quantum computer supremacy. Quantum computer development Quantum computing takes advantage of a strange ability of subatomic particles to exist in more than one state at any time. In common digital computing, a bit is a single piece of information that can exist in two states – 1 or 0. Quantum computing uses quantum bits, or ‘qubits’ instead. These are quantum systems with two states. This difference allows a future quantum computer to solve some difficult mathematical problems easier, faster and with less energy. Quantum computers operating on completely different principles to classic computers can solve particular mathematical problems, like finding very large prime numbers. This problem is classically very difficult to solve. In fact, it is so difficult that it forms the basis of RSA encryption, probably the most popular method of encryption used today. Since prime numbers are so important in cryptography, it is likely that quantum computers would be able to crack practically any of the existing data security systems. To estimate the scope of a potential security problem we have to answer few questions: What kind of attacks can quantum computer perform? What are the most vulnerable scenarios? How far away is the quantum computing? How can we prepare for the future? Today Google, IBM, Honeywell, Microsoft, Rigetti and some other companies and laboratories are developing a quantum computer. Currently, with the number of qubits less than 100, a quantum computer is far from being practically viable. However, continuous research and development are bringing fast the day when a quantum computer could surpass the abilities of conventional computers. In anticipation to this day IDM has developed a solution for protection of data security from quantum supremacy. This solution is very different from commonly employed encryption methods. Quantum threat to encryption Quantum computer is a threat to data security. There are some particular scenarios, use cases, algorithms necessary to consider when referring to the quantum supremacy. Hash algorithms Cryptographic hash algorithms are the basis of blockchain technology. It is the hash function that protects any blockchain record from being modified. In addition, the proof-of-work system uses a hash to control the difficulty level of mining process. There are many other use cases of these algorithms, which are very popular in any industry: it is a part of the digital signatures and helps to store password securely. A hash function maps input data of arbitrary size to a fix size (a hash) and is designed to be a one-way, that is, a function which infeasible to invert. Any change in input data leads to a different hash. The hash function is irreversible: it is impossible to retrieve input data from output hash string. Is it possible to mine all Bitcoins at once with quantum computer? Alex Beath, a Toronto-based physicist, formulated a popular idea: the first quantum computer will mine all of the remaining Bitcoins instantly. There are different opinions in the scientific and crypto community, which are based on theoretical research and practice. Briefly, to make quantum computer be practically useful for Bitcoin mining, we need thousands of qubits. It will eventually happen in 10-20 years from now when 99% or more bitcoins will be in circulation. Are my passwords safe? When we read news about brute force attack on passwords, such as attack on WordPress in 2017, we worry about our password strength. How is it being done? It is not possible simply to continue retyping passwords directly into a user interface of a site or service: the protection such as captcha prevents such attack. Most modern services store passwords as hashes. Attackers somehow obtain user database with these password hashes and match these hashes with dictionaries of common password hashes. The brute-force searching with a quantum computer will probably be much faster. IDM allows to store complicated, very long passwords and all your sensitive data in a quantum resistant manner. Symmetric Encryption Symmetric algorithms apply the same key for encryption and decryption. We use such algorithms as AES for storage and transition of sensitive data, including access to banking accounts. Probably, a quantum computer will be able to break easily the popular 128-bit AES algorithm by the Grover algorithm in several years. To prevent losses, information security community already discusses AES-256 as a medium-term protection against the quantum attack. Increasing the algorithm complexity with a key length is just a temporary measure. The ultimate solution offered by IDM allows to protect data completely and on a permanent basis. Asymmetric Encryption Public or asymmetric encryption, including RSA and elliptic curve techniques, is very popular on the Internet and in cryptocurrency word. Cryptocurrency transaction uses a signature and a public key to verify that it was the owner of the private key that signed it. It is an example of public algorithm usage. Other examples include access to websites, messaging, sending e-mails. Because asymmetric encryption uses two connected keys – private and public – it is more vulnerable than symmetric. Dr. Michele Mosca, deputy director of the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, estimates the chance that some fundamental public key crypto will be broken by quantum computing by the year 2026 as one in seven, and a one-in-two chance of the same by 2031. MIT is constantly exploring this too. In 1994, Peter Shor, a math professor at MIT, invented an algorithm able to crack asymmetric encryption by the quantum computer. In 2015, MIT demonstrated practical ability to break RSA by the quantum computer. The threat to public encryption is tangible and cannot be eliminated by a simple key length extension. Information security specialists are discussing different types of algorithms, such as lattice-based cryptography and error-correcting codes. IDM is based on the SIZE technology utilizing new type of error-correction codes. The out of the box solution The purpose of the data encryption is to transform information in order to prevent unauthorized access to it. IDM guarantees a prevention from unauthorized access by applying the SIZE algorithm. The SIZE algorithm relates to a class of correction codes that correct errors, producing multi-level file transformation, same way as encryption algorithms do. And just like encryption algorithms, our code makes unauthorized access to the data impossible. For data protection, the SIZE algorithm applies well-known digital electronics operations. However, these operations have never been applied to special algorithms with a special sequence of mathematical operations and have never been used to protect information. The algorithm is used to transform any digital content into a new form — a set of digital packages. Each of these individual packages has no functional value and may not contain a single bit of the original information. To restore the original information, it is necessary to reassemble the original file from a set of packages in a specific way, performing a series of mathematical operations. There is an infinite number of ways to transform data, the algorithm specifies only the general direction of the process. The data transformation is user specific, so no-one else can access this data, except for the user. To summarize, the SIZE technology guarantees privacy and security for a data storage and transmission. The algorithm characteristics fully meet requirements for the post-quantum protection system. In addition to ultimate protection, IDM’s technology provides the highest level of data recovery and has minimum requirements for computing resources. We provide an excellent opportunity for everyone to share the success of the company. On May 28th we start a crowdfunding campaign on our site. Join us to be a part of the secure future! Supporting Link https://www.myidm.io/ Contact Email Address info@myidm.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: Myidm Launches Post Quantum Computer Security appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Five writ petitions have now been filed against the order by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) banning banks from providing services to entities dealing with cryptocurrencies. The country’s Supreme Court has set a date to hear all petitions but has barred all other courts from accepting any new ones. Also read: US State Issues Emergency Cease and Desist Orders to Two Crypto Investment Firms Latest Writ Petition Against RBI Order Five petitions have been filed with Indian courts against RBI’s order banning financial institutions under its control from dealing with cryptocurrencies and servicing entities that deal with them including crypto exchanges. RBI has set “a three-month deadline or by July 5 for financial institutions to comply with its notice, putting the cryptocurrency businesses in India in a disarray,” the Economic Times elaborated. The latest writ petition was filed by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), a non-profit industry body representing the interests of online and mobile value-added services industry. It was filed on Tuesday according to IAMAI president, Subho Ray, and the Supreme Court website, Inc42 reported. Crypto exchanges that are part of the association include Unocoin, Zebpay, and Coinsecure. They were originally part of another industry body called the Digital and Blockchain Foundation of India which merged with IAMAI, the publication detailed. Four Other Writ Petitions The fourth writ petition was “filed by a group of 11 different representatives from various crypto-related businesses,” the Economic Times conveyed on Monday. One of the petitioners told the news outlet: Banking is an essential service. How can one deny access to an essential service when I am not doing anything illegal? You have not declared VCs (virtual currencies) illegal in the country. Three more writ petitions were previously filed. One was by Kali Digital Eco-systems and another by Flinstone Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which conducts business under the trade name Money Trade Coin (MTC). Moreover, a joint writ petition was filed by four cryptocurrency exchanges in the Supreme Court against the RBI circular on May 8. According to lawyer Mohammed Danish, the four exchanges are Coindelta Exchange run by Bitfair Technologies, Koinex Exchange run by Discidium Internet Labs, Throughbit Exchange run by Throughbit technologies, and Coindcx run by Neblio Technologies. Supreme Court Taking Charge Following the petition by IAMAI, the Supreme Court on Thursday reportedly refused to stay RBI’s order. “However, it allowed cryptocurrency exchanges, their shareholders, traders and other individuals to present their cases within two weeks to the RBI, which will look into the issue in accordance with the law,” the Financial Express explained. All petitions relating to RBI’s crypto directive will be heard by the Supreme Court; the hearing is set for July 20. Pending petitions have been transferred to the Supreme Court from two high courts – two in Delhi High Court and one in Calcutta High Court. Furthermore, high courts have been ordered not to entertain any more petitions regarding RBI’s crypto order, Business Standard described, adding: No court shall accept petitions on the subject of cryptocurrency. Do you think the Supreme Court will reverse RBI’s order? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Indian Express, and RBI. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Five Petitions Pile Up Against India’s Crypto Crackdown – High Courts Ordered to Ignore appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

With the bear trend of early 2018 having witnessed losses not seen in the cryptocurrency markets since 2014, it can be easy to lose track of the meteoric gains produced by the leading virtual currency markets over the span of just a few years. When comparing current prices to those listed on Coinmarketcap’s historic snapshot from the 17th of May, 2015 – the peak of bitcoin’s previous winter – one can see that bitcoin has produced price gains of over 3,000%, whilst the value of the then-top four altcoins have increased by between 9,000% and roughly 13,000%. Also Read: 5 Years Ago You Should Have Bought Bitcoin, Not Altcoins BTC Up 3,300% in Three Years When comparing the current price of BTC market action from three years ago, the price of a single bitcoin has inflated by approximately 3,303% – rising from about $237 USD to approximately $8,000 today. On the 17th of May, 2015, BTC had a total market capitalization of $3,354,597,555 – a figure that is dwarfed by the bitcoin market’s valuation of roughly $137.3 billion. Value of Top Four Altcoin Markets Increased by Approximately 10,000% Since 2015 Whilst the gains produce by BTC since 2015 have been stunning, the price of bitcoin had then produced a dramatic long-term capitulation after having skyrocketed in late 2013 during what arguably comprised the first BTC bull rally to generate widespread mainstream coverage of cryptocurrencies. During the 2013 bull rally, the altcoin ecosystem entirely consisted of micro-cap projects just beginning to emerge from the petri dishes of their infancy – meaning that the alternative cryptocurrency markets were primed to explode alongside bitcoin during the recent multi-year bull trend. The second largest cryptocurrency market by capitalization in May 2015, XRP, then had a total market capitalization of just $208.5 million, with price action sitting at approximately $0.006534. In three years, the price of Ripple has realized gains of approximately 10,105% with XRP currently trading for $0.6667, and Ripple comprising the fourth largest market by capitalization, with over $26.1 billion. LTC, the then-third largest cryptocurrency market (approximately $57.7 million), has produced price gains of roughly 9,000% since May 2015, with a single litecoin trading for approximately $1.45 nearly three years ago, and $132 today. LTC currently comprises the sixth largest cryptocurrency market, with a total capitalization of almost $7.5 billion. Dash and Stellar Produce Price Gains of Approximately 12,000% in Three Years On the 17th of May 2015, Dash was the fourth largest cryptocurrency by capitalization ($16 million), with Dash trading for just $3 each. In the three years since, the value of Dash has inflated by approximately 12,670%, with Dash currently trading for $380. Dash is now the twelfth largest market by capitalization, which is currently estimated to be over $3 billion. Stellar, the then-fifth largest cryptocurrency market with approximately $12.5 million, now comprises the eighth largest crypto with a total capitalization of $5.8 billion. The price of Stellar has increased by approximately 11,860%, gaining from $0.002609 to $0.312048 today. Did you invest in cryptocurrencies in 2015? What markets did you win, lose, and and miss out on? Share your experiences in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Coinmarketcap Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Top Altcoin Markets of 2015 Gain 10,000% in 3 Years appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Mathematics questions pertaining to bitcoin have been included in recent high school matriculation examinations in the Netherlands. Approximately 200,000 Dutch students are estimated to have taken the OVW exam, a mandatory test for students seeking tertiary education in the Netherlands, which included five bitcoin-themed questions. Also Read: Cryptocurrencies to be Called “Digital Money” in Russia, Tokens – “Digital Rights” Dutch High School Examinations Feature Bitcoin-Themed Maths Questions According to a rough translation of the examination paper circulating on Reddit, students were given the following question introduction: “Bitcoin is a digital currency that only exists online. It has existed since January 1st, 2009, and can be used as payment method in webstores and for other online services. Bitcoin is not, like standard money, made by a central bank. Instead, all bitcoin that exist are created by having computers participate in solving specific mathematical problems. This works as follows: everyone can run special software on his or her computer that participates in solving such a mathematical problem. The owner of the computer that solves the problem receives 25 (newly created) bitcoin as a reward. Because it was the case that in 2014 such a problem is solved every 10 minutes, 25 new bitcoins were created every 10 minutes. On January 1st, there were (approximately) 12.2 million bitcoin.” Following from the preceding introduction, students were asked to solve five different mathematical problems. The questions asked that students “calculate in what year the amount of bitcoin exceeded 18 million,” “calculate from which year on the reward will be less than one bitcoin,” “determine the maximal amount of bitcoin that can be in circulation,” in addition to posing addition problems based on the formula used to employed to solve the aforementioned questions. Netherlands Warming to Cryptocurrency The test has been offered to students following increasing recognition of cryptocurrency on the part of Holland’s institutions. During March, the Court of Amsterdam determined that bitcoin possesses “properties of wealth” whilst adjudicating a civil rights case between an individual seeking repayment from an unfulfilled contract pertaining to bitcoin mining. The court concluded that “bitcoin represents a value and is transferable” and “thus shows characteristics of a property right. A claim for payment in Bitcoin is, therefore, to be regarded as a claim that qualifies for verification.” Earlier this month, the ambassador of the Dutch Blockchain Coalition, Rob van Gijzel, presented a national blockchain research agenda, which had been commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. The ministry had created a designated committee, TopTeam ICT, tasked with analyzing the potential legal, economic, and ethical implications of distributed ledger technology in the Netherlands. Do you think that more schools across the world will seek to integrate themes pertinent to bitcoin into examinations as cryptocurrency adoption grows? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Dutch High School Exam Features Bitcoin-Themed Questions appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Today’s Bitcoin in Brief features several examples of harnessing crypto and blockchain technologies to improve quality of life around the world. The United Nations is involved in a crypto-funded project to power Moldova’s Technical University with solar energy. Initiatives in Malta and India will employ blockchain technologies to create more reliable public transportation and land registry systems. Also read: Bitcoin in Brief Thursday: OECD Explores Cryptocurrencies, Central Asian Powerhouse Calls for UN Crypto Rules UN Launches Crypto-Funded Solar Power Project in Moldova The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is launching this year a crypto-funded initiative to power a university in Moldova with solar energy. The project, to be realized in partnership with the South African solar power marketplace Sun Exchange, will allow people to buy solar cells and then lease them to the Technical University in Chisinau, which is one of the largest in the country. According to a VOA report, the purchases will be made using Solarcoin, a crypto launched by the blockchain startup Electricchain. The idea is to find new sources of finance “to help buildings go green overnight, in this case with rooftop solar panels,” said Dumitru Vasilescu, program manager with UNDP in Moldova. “One of the biggest obstacles to countries investing in renewable energy is the lack of financing, as you often have to wait 10 to 15 years before you get a return on your investment,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Vasilescu added that the university will get a full 1 megawatt of energy installed in the summer as a result of the crowdfunding effort. The owners of the solar cells will in turn receive Solarcoins, as soon as the university produces energy, and will be able to earn about 4% interest on their investments. According to the UNDP representative, there is more than 10,000 square meters of unused rooftop space on public buildings in the country, which could potentially be covered with solar panels. Moldova, one of Europe’s poorest countries, is heavily dependent on energy imports, mainly from the Russian Federation. Cryptocurrencies have been gaining popularity in the former Soviet republic which is economically and politically on a crossroad between East and West. The local crypto community has recently opened the country’s first cryptocurrency exchange and presented a new digital token, both developed locally. Malta Uses Blockchain for Better Public Transportation Authorities in Malta, a country maintaining a crypto-friendly regulatory environment, are working on a project to use blockchain to improve the public transportation services. Maltese Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Ian Borg, has announced a partnership with Omnitude, a multi-enterprise blockchain platform. According to a press release, the deal is part of the nation’s blockchain strategy that will see the technology implemented to develop a transport and logistics platform using Omnitude’s blockchain middleware technology. On the first stage, the government will work with the company to introduce overall improvements in transport reliability. Omnitude is a tech partner of Formula 1 team Williams Martini Racing and is working to assess the benefits that blockchain can bring to advanced engineering. Their project is said to be the first example of using blockchain in F1. “We believe in Omnitude’s blockchain technology and its broad use-cases for the government […] It will improve the quality of life and enhance access to information for Maltese citizens. Blockchain technology is a key part of our overall technology strategy that will transform different sectors,” Ian Borg said. Earlier this year, Malta became one of the first countries in the world to approve a national strategy on blockchain technology. Land Registry in India Made Reliable with Blockchain The potential of the technology underpinning the majority of cryptocurrencies is not left unnoticed in other parts of the world. In India, blockchain will be used to trace transactions in property sales almost in real time. A newly announced project aims to build a land registry using blockchain technology for the Indian city of Panchkula, according to a blog post on the website of the London School of Economics. The people behind the initiative – Alexandru Oprunenco, innovation advisor for the UNDP in Asia, and Chami Akmeemana, CEO of the Blockchain Learning Group – say their small venture is actually a “big deal” that represents a “meaningful and commercially viable solution” for the region. They point out that in many cities across the developing world land registry systems suffer from inefficiency and corruption. People selling a piece of land are often unsure if they legally own it, even if they have a legitimate sale deed. Potential buyers, on the other hand, are also not sure if the seller owns the plot. “With blockchain we have a chance to fix many of these problems. The solution we are building incorporates many key benefits of the technology, such as an immutable history of transactions, so that no one doubts the authenticity of the records or be able to forge them,” Oprunenco and Akmeemana explain. Their project is using the Ethereum blockchain. The Central Bank of Libya Says Bitcoin Is Illegal Obviously failing to recognize the potential of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and the underlying blockchain technologies, the central bank of Libya has declared “virtual currency” illegal in the country. Those who use it cannot be protected by Libyan law, the financial institution said, quoted by The Libya Observer. On Tuesday, the CBL warned all Libyan citizens and businesses of the “security perils” of cryptocurrency, saying that it could be used in crimes, financing terrorism and money laundering – arguments often heard from financial regulators and central banks around the world. According to the notice, any use of virtual currency requires prior permission from the central bank in Tripoli. What are your thoughts on today’s topics in Bitcoin in Brief? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Bitcoin News is growing fast. To reach our global audience, send us a news tip or submit a press release. Let’s work together to help inform the citizens of Earth (and beyond) about this new, important and amazing information network that is Bitcoin. The post Bitcoin in Brief Friday: UN Backs Crypto-Solar Project in Moldova, Malta Uses Blockchain in Public Transportation 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. With a new focus on security tokens and financial regulation, Keynote delivers their seventh World Blockchain Forum, the first ever in New York. Final ticket release begins 29th May. Having produced two of 2018’s biggest bitcoin and blockchain events in Miami and Dubai, Keynote is honored to bring the World Blockchain Forum to the Big Apple as they host the first [WBF: Security Tokens & ICOs] on 12th and 13th June. Held at Manhattan’s Metropolitan West, the intimate two day event includes a change in format with ‘ICO Pitch Panels’, where ICO projects will use a panel discussion platform to showcase their product moderated by blockchain visionary Moe Levin. Attendees will experience a comprehensive introduction from high profile industry experts including Vanessa Grellet, Bruce Fenton and Salil Donde, knowledgeable in not only blockchain and financial regulation but the complexities of Wall Street, offering invaluable insight into the future of security tokens. Announcing lead partnerships with Victory Square Technologies and Polymath, this WBF speaker line up is set to deliver a groundbreaking agenda rounded off by Victory Square Director Peter Smyrniotis awarding the top 3 ICO/STO panelists with $100,000 shared investment. In addition, WBF Dubai Environmental Sponsor Climate Futures, will return for WBF New York, after having retired over $14,000 in 1PLANET tokens to balance the carbon footprint of over 600 international flights to Dubai. In a saturated environment of corporate blockchain events en masse, WBF maintains its 7-year long ambition to connect individuals and develop international relationships, giving sponsors a personal and rewarding experience long term. Projects wanting to exhibit alongside WBF regulars bitcoin.com and Academy School of Blockchain are advised to move quickly to secure limited last space in the vibrant Exhibiting & Networking Hall. For final sponsorship and exhibiting availability please contact Tom Lunn at [tom@keynote.ae] WBF New York speakers include: Alex Mashinsky – Founder & CEO, Celsius Bruce Fenton – Founder & CEO, Chainstone Labs Salil Donde – CEO, AlphaPoint Nick Spanos – Co-founder, Zap.org Trevor Koverko – CEO, Polymath Vanessa Grellet – Executive Director, ConsenSys Halsey Minor – Founder, CNET Oliver Gale – Executive Director, Bitt Dawn Newton – COO, Netki Veronica McGregor – Partner, Goodwin Paul Puey – CEO, Edge Jason King – Co-founder, Academy Gabriel Abed – Chairman, Bitt Steve Dakh – Ethereum, Aeternity, Kryptokit “Though bitcoin and blockchain technology is rapidly becoming more understood, security tokens remain a black-box to most people. Which is strange, because as far as I can tell, the only real way to unlock the next trillion dollars of value in the ecosystem is by digitizing the traditional financial world through security tokens.” said Moe Levin, Founder and CEO of Keynote. “Showcasing the best and brightest in the industry has been the aim of Keynote since 2012, and we’re excited to be bringing the 7th edition of the World Blockchain Forum to New York City.” For a full list of speakers visit: newyork.keynote.ae/speakers/ Last tickets can be purchased at: newyork.keynote.ae/tickets/ About Keynote Keynote was launched in 2012 by blockchain strategist Moe Levin. Further information and details about Keynote and their events can be found at keynote.ae For media inquiries, please contact Amandah Hendricks at amandah@keynote.ae Supporting Link https://goo.gl/NNQVs5 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: World Blockchain Forum – New York’s Better Blockchain Conference appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Reuters reported Switzerland is formally considering the possibility of a state-backed cryptocurrency. Its government has asked legislators commission a study on the pros and cons of a Swiss “e-franc.” Also read: Alec Baldwin’s Lambo Movie Backed by Crypto Tech Switzerland Considers State Backed E-Franc Switzerland’s Federal Council explained why it was asking for a formal study of state backed cryptocurrency. “The Federal Council is aware of the major challenges, both legal and monetary, which would be accompanied by the use of an e-franc. It asks that the proposal be adopted to examine the risks and opportunities of an e-franc and to clarify the legal, economic and financial aspects of the e-franc.” Andréa Maechler That appears to be quite a turnaround for the Swiss. As little as just over a month ago, its central bank was making statements about crypto’s inherent instability. “Digital central bank money for the general public is not necessary to ensure an efficient system for cashless retail payments. It would deliver scarcely any advantages, but would give rise to incalculable risks with regard to financial stability,” warned Andréa Maechler of the country’s national bank. Nevertheless, the next step in the process involves parliament’s lower house. It will ultimately decide whether the request moves forward. Most countries considering the idea openly have sought state backed crypto as a means to run afoul of economic sanctions or as a way to deaden domestic enthusiasm for a currency beyond government control. Sanctions are not an issue for Switzerland, and the government has been rather open to the crypto revolution, comparatively. Not the First, Not the Last Venezuela is the most recent and notorious example of state backed crypto, and the only country to have implemented the idea. It launched the petro as a clear poke at US policy made against its present administration. The Maduro government used an ERC-20 token platform to launch the state backed crypto, which Mr. Maduro insists will be ultimately backed by barrels of oil. In addition, the government has announced special initiatives and incentives to encourage Venezuelans to adopt its usage. In the tightly controlled media of the country, figures and facts on the ground are hard to substantiate in terms of petro’s success. For its part, the Trump administration was unnerved enough to issue an Executive Order formally forbidding US citizens from holding the petro. Cédric Wermuth Regionally closer, Sweden has taken similar steps to that of Switzerland. Riksbank seems to be in an overt process of encouraging a completely cashless society, and Swedes appear eager to follow. A natural evolution of that idea, and to keep its citizens under the careful eye of government minders, a state backed crypto might just be the answer. Again, a Swiss crypto is by no means a foregone conclusion. Though influential politicians like Cédric Wermuth, Social Democratic Party vice president, have encouraged the study, the idea faces legislative obstacles. As Reuters notes, “In Switzerland, if the proposal is approved, a study will be produced by the Swiss finance ministry. No timing has been given on when it would be published should the go-ahead be given.” What do you think about state backed cryptocurrencies? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments below. Images via Shutterstock. Want to see all those Memo posts and OP_Codes in the BCH Chain? Check out Bitcoin.com’s Block Explorer today! The post Switzerland Formally Considers State Backed Cryptocurrency appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The project that’s building a network for decentralized applications layer for the internet, Blockstack, has announced the launch of a new universal Dapp (decentralized application) store called App.co. The aggregated list of roughly 138 ecosystem-wide applications that offer utility by harnessing the benefits of decentralized technologies like blockchain, cryptocurrencies, IPFS, Zeronet, and more. Also read: EU Adopts Rules to Reduce Anonymity for Crypto Users App.co: An Aggregated List of Decentralized Applications One thing is for sure the internet is heading more and more towards a decentralized path every day. The team over at Blockstack project aims to make this technological trend and advancement flourish with their own systems and collaborating with other Dapps. This week Blockstack released its Dapp store called App.co which features a bunch of platforms tethered to the decentralized ecosystem. “Whether you are downloading Metamask to use an Ethereum dapp, or logging in with a Blockstack ID and granting a dapp access to your encrypted data storage hub, inherent to all these dapps is the true ownership of your data,” explains Blockstack. Dapps link developers and users directly, without middlemen hosting software or managing user data — We believe it is critical to drive everyday users to dapps that are ready for widespread adoption — That’s why we’re announcing the first ecosystem-wide, universal Dapp store. Currently, Blockstack’s List Has 138 Dapps The Blockstack Dapp store shows a wide variety of applications that do things like decentralized instant messaging, social media, developer tools, games, marketplaces, exchanges, and more. Dapps included in the store are Kyber, Yours, Ethlend, Cryptokitties, Peepeth, Stealthy, Steemit, Openbazaar and many more platforms. There are 138 Dapps on the store at the time of publication and creators can submit their platforms for review to get on the webpage. Decentralized networks used by some of the applications include Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Steem, Inter-Planetary File System (IPFS), Matrix, Bittorent, and others. Additionally, in the future, Blockstack hopes the App.co Dapp store will be as decentralized as the apps it hosts. The New York-based company states: Blockstack Public Benefit Corporation is curating and maintaining this Dapp store initially, but eventually we plan to include user ratings to rank dapps across the ecosystem — We want to democratize dapp development, and reward developers for great user experiences. “Decentralized apps represent the many doors people can walk through to enter the decentralized Internet. Each user may be enticed by different doors, depending on what they’re interested in or what they need fulfilled,” explain the Blockstack founders Muneeb Ali and Ryan Shea. What do you think about the Blockstack Dapp store? Let us know what you think about the store in the comments below. Images via Shutterstock, Blockstack, and App.co. Now live, Satoshi Pulse. A comprehensive, real-time listing of the cryptocurrency market. View prices, charts, transaction volumes, and more for the top 500 cryptocurrencies trading today. The post Blockstack Launches Decentralized Applications Store appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The South Korean government reportedly plans to soften its crypto regulations in line with the policies set by the G20 nations in an effort to create “unified regulations.” The Korean regulators have also agreed to apply the standards set by the Financial Action Task Force to its crypto policies. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space G20’s Unified Crypto Regulations South Korea is reportedly planning to follow the policies set by the G-20 nations and soften its crypto regulations, the Korea Times reported. The G20 is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors. Its members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and the European Union. The top financial policymakers of these countries have agreed to acknowledge and regulate cryptocurrencies as financial assets, the news outlet noted, elaborating: Financial policymakers of G-20 nations have set a July deadline for the first step toward ‘unified regulations’ of cryptocurrencies. One reason for the move by the G-20 is that they see cryptocurrencies as ‘too small to jeopardize’ financial markets. The combined market value of cryptocurrencies is less than 1 percent of the global GDP. Financial Action Task Force Standards While the G-20 classifies cryptocurrencies as financial assets, the Korean government has earlier classified them as non-financial products due to their speculative nature. Acknowledging the differences, the country’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) was quoted expressing: It’s almost certain that cryptocurrencies will be classified as assets and the main issue will be centered on how to regulate them properly under the unified frame that will be agreed upon between G-20 nations. Given the current stance, this isn’t good, but we will step up efforts to improve things. South Korea has also agreed to apply to cryptocurrencies the standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body formed to fight money laundering and terrorism financing, the publication conveyed. Softening Crypto Policies Recently, the new FSS chief indicated that he will ease the country’s cryptocurrency regulations. Governor Yoon Suk-heun said there are many positive aspects of cryptocurrencies, promising to release updates on this issue in the near future. Meanwhile, the country’s National Tax Agency has been collaborating with the finance ministry to collect tax data in order to establish crypto tax policies. While cryptocurrency transactions are currently tax-free in Korea, crypto operators are required to pay income taxes, the news outlet detailed. Despite the new FSS chief suggesting an easing of crypto regulations, his department has launched an investigation into crypto exchanges, in collaboration with other related authorities. In March, the prosecution arrested four employees of crypto exchanges including the CEO of Coinnest. Last week, they started investigating the country’s largest crypto exchange, Upbit. This week, three people were arrested from HTS Coin exchange for alleged fraud and embezzlement charges. Do you think South Korea will soon ease crypto policies? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and the South Korean government. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post South Korea to Follow G20 Unified Cryptocurrency Regulations appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Cryptocurrencies can now be traded on the peer-to-peer online marketplace Openbazaar in addition to physical goods, digital goods, and services. Initially, 44 cryptocurrencies are supported but the development team plans to add more over time. There is no fee for trading cryptocurrencies and no need to register with any service. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Crypto Trading on Openbazaar Peer-to-peer e-commerce platform Openbazaar’s development team, OB1, announced this week that fully decentralized, fee-free cryptocurrency trading is now available on the platform with the release of Openbazaar version 2.20. The platform previously had three types of listings: physical goods, digital goods, and services. “We’re now adding a fourth: cryptocurrency,” the team emphasized, elaborating about the new software version: The biggest new feature is the ability to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. Vendors are now able to use a special new listing type to sell cryptocurrencies on Openbazaar. They can choose from 44 different cryptocurrencies right now and more will be added over time. The main benefits of using Openbazaar to trade crypto, as detailed in the announcement, is that there are “no fees, no need to register with any service, and no threat of an exchange getting hacked,” so users “aren’t forced to reveal any identifying information.” “We’ve released this new feature with the goal of listening to the community about how they believe cryptocurrency trading on Openbazaar can be improved. We plan to rapidly iterate as we receive feedback from users,” the OB1 team conveyed. They also shared that since the launch of the crypto trading option, “we’ve seen users on the Openbazaar network from more than 60 different countries.” Not an Exchange, No Order Book However, the platform is “completely peer-to-peer” so “this is not an exchange,” Openbazaar developers admitted, adding that “the new feature only allows people to trade cryptocurrencies directly with each other at market prices.” It does not “include an order book with the ability to choose a target price for buying or selling,” the OB1 team clarified. Currently, the platform uses 3 different cryptocurrency payment types: Direct, Offline, and Moderated. “If a buyer trusts a seller they can just send their coins directly to them in a direct payment,” the developers described. For sellers who are offline at the time of payment, the Offline option allows them to claim their coins when they return. The Moderated option can be used when buyers do not know or trust the vendors. For crypto trading, the team reiterated: “Payment must be settled in whichever coin they [vendors] have chosen for their Openbazaar store, either bitcoin, bitcoin cash, or zcash.” What do you think of Openbazaar’s crypto trading option? Will you trade cryptocurrencies on Openbazaar? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Openbazaar. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Openbazaar Enables Decentralized Peer-To-Peer Trading of 44 Cryptocurrencies appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has shed some light on the progress authorities are making towards adopting the long-awaited crypto regulations. Legislators will replace common words like “cryptocurrencies” and “tokens” with legal terms such as “digital money” and “digital rights”, he revealed. Two draft laws have been filed in the Duma. One of the bills is scheduled for first reading next week. Also read: EU Adopts Rules to Reduce Anonymity for Crypto Users Replacing “Slang” with “Strict Legal Concepts” The work on the Russian crypto regulations has been going on for some time, with unresolved questions and disagreements between institutions postponing their adoption. Two pieces of legislation have been filed in the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament – a bill defining crypto activities like initial coin offerings and mining, and a draft law amending the Russian civil code to regulate crypto transactions. According to Parlamentskaya Gazeta, the law legalizing token sales has been approved by the Financial Market Committee and will hit the House floor on May 22. Words like “cryptocurrency” and its derivatives have gained popularity beyond crypto communities, yet authorities around the world tend to avoid them. Russian officials are no exception. According to comments made by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the new Russian legislation on “digital financial assets” will not use the colloquial terms either, RIA Novosti and RBC reported. In a speech during the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum he said: We need to consolidate the basic provisions and translate them into the language of the law. Therefore, instead of common slang expressions such as “cryptocurrencies” and “tokens”, lawmakers are developing the more strict legal concepts of “digital money” and “digital rights.” Regulating Everything Is Counterproductive Medvedev emphasized that the ruble is and will remain in the future “the only legal means of payment” in Russia but admitted that “deals in the digital environment are a reality we can no longer ignore.” He added that the new regulations would help to ensure judicial protection against abuse, prevent the transfer of assets into an uncontrolled digital environment, and develop a basis for taxation. The head of the Russian government noted, however, that attempts to regulate everything are not effective in the digital world and authorities need а flexible legal regulation in this sector that does not hamper its development. “Prohibitions in the digital environment do not work because one can immediately find ways to circumvent them,” Dmitry Medvedev explained, quoted by ITAR-TASS. “It is quite difficult to enforce a ban,” he noted. “Attempts to regulate everything in the digital world be absolutely counterproductive and unrealistic. It is changing very quickly and we need to have flexible legislation that sets some basic terms without interfering with the development of the digital space. Finding this balance is probably the most difficult task,” the Russian Prime Minister admitted. Regulator Wants to Identify Users of Crypto ATMs While the fine tuning of the upcoming legislation continues in the Duma, other institutions are trying to push forward their own ideas for the new regulatory framework. Russia’s federal financial regulator, Rosfinmonitoring, has recently insisted on introducing mandatory identification for persons using the services of crypto exchange bureaus and Bitcoin ATMs. According to the Deputy-Director of the agency, Vladimir Glotov, the identity verification procedure for buyers and sellers of cryptocurrency should copy the identification process for traders of foreign currency. “This is, in fact, our job – we must see the person, look at his transactions and try to understand if they are related to money laundering or tourism financing,” Glotov said. The deputy head of Rosfinmonitoring added that in the case of cryptocurrencies, the vigilance of the regulatory bodies is especially important as digital coins provide anonymity. “That’s why we are very cautiously and we take part in all discussions,” Glotov told Prime. The official said he was also positive towards another initiative to expand the scope of the regulations. The Russian Association of Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain (RACIB) has recently proposed the creation of a special register of crypto investors and the assignment of Taxpayer Identification Numbers to all cryptocurrency traders in the country. Why do you think officials prefer to use different terms when referring to cryptocurrencies? Tell us 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 Cryptocurrencies to be Called “Digital Money” in Russia, Tokens – “Digital Rights” appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On May 17 the Digital Currency Group initiative and Over-the-Counter (OTC) cryptocurrency service, Genesis Global Trading, announced that Genesis was recently granted the New York state Bitlicense. The company that provides OTC solutions to institutional buyers can now operate freely in New York — A territory that many call, ‘the financial capital of the world,’ as Genesis aims to provide significant BTC, BCH, ETC, LTC, ZEC, XRP, and ETH liquidity in the state. Also Read: Bitcoin Cash Upgrade Milestone Complete: 32MB and New Features DCG Backed Genesis Global Trading Granted New York State Bitlicense Genesis Global Trading has announced the firm has been granted the Bitlicense, and the company will be allowed to operate in New York with other approved businesses such as Coinbase, Circle, and Itbit. The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) approved the company and provided Genesis with the Bitlicense — which will allow the firm to trade the various digital assets it holds with institutional investors. Before the company was granted the Bitlicense the firm operated under the DFS “safe harbor” provision. Genesis was launched in 2013 and is backed by the venture capital organization the Digital Currency Group (DCG), a firm founded by Barry Silbert. The company is a regulated cryptocurrency OTC dealer that “provides access to institutional investors and high net worth individuals looking to buy or sell large sums of digital currencies.” Genesis has offered deep pools of liquidity, 24-7 trading, and same-day settlement since the company’s inception. “We are very pleased that DFS has approved the Genesis Global Trading BitLicense application,” said Michael Moro, CEO, Genesis Global Trading. Although we have operated under a safe harbor provision in recent years, today’s decision is an important step forward and reaffirms the robust compliance measures we have enacted as an established trading partner. Barry Silbert Hopes More Cryptocurrency Businesses Are Approved in NY Barry Silbert. To use the Genesis platform, traders have a $75,000 USD minimum deposit, and all users are subject to AML and KYC regulatory guidelines. In addition to being an approved brokerage service that can sell Bitcoin Core (BTC), the DFS has also approved to procure Zcash (ZEC), Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ripple (XRP), and Litecoin (LTC). Genesis also states the firm is also registered with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and Finra as well. The Digital Currency Group’s founder Barry Silbert was excited for Genesis commenting on the subject over Twitter. “Congrats to the team at Genesis Trading on being granted a Bitlicense, joining Coinbase Circle, Ripple, Bitflyer USA, and Itbit,” Silbert states. Hoping to see the NYDFS ramp up their licensing pace so that NY does not continue to fall behind. What do you think about Genesis Global Trading receiving the Bitlicense? Let us know your thoughts on this subject in the comments below. Images via Shutterstock, Twitter, and Genesis Global. Want to see all those Memo posts and OP_Codes in the BCH Chain? Check out Bitcoin.com’s Block Explorer today! The post Cryptocurrency Brokerage Service Genesis Global Granted Bitlicense appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On May 17 the Akari Global Foundation, an organization that aims to promote the increased adoption of Bitcoin Cash (BCH), launched a payment platform for BCH acceptance called Akari-Pay Advanced. The launch of Akari-Pay reveals a one-file BCH payment/donate page that doesn’t require any coding knowledge to utilize the platform. Also read: Federal Reserve Pres: People Want Dollar, Not Volatile Crypto Akari Global Foundation Launches Akari-Pay, a One-File Bitcoin Cash Payment/Donate Page There have been lots of developments happening throughout the BCH community over the past 48 hours since the last upgrade. Now the Akari Global Foundation is helping push BCH adoption to the masses with its new BCH-based payment gateway. Akari says its mission is to help reduce the world’s economic oppression and increase freedom by leveraging the Bitcoin Cash network. Akari believes BCH offers many benefits most other cryptocurrencies cannot such as micropayments, low network fees, immutability, near instant settlement, and no chargebacks. The latest payment platform called Akari-Pay makes it easy for anyone to accept BCH payments or donations with a simple platform that doesn’t require a bunch of technical knowledge. “‘Akari-Pay Advanced’ for Bitcoin Cash, an extension of akaripay, has now been released,” explains the Akari Global Foundation. Raise funds for any project or goal using Bitcoin Cash — Simply self-host your donation page on your website — Easily link to it anywhere, use our included ‘donate buttons,’ if you wish. The Open Source Akari-Pay Is Free and Allows Customizable Themes In order to utilize the open source Akari-Pay protocol, users simply follow the instructions via the organization’s Github repository. Akari-Pay allows individuals and businesses to title and run a self-hosted BCH-centric funding page. Users can also specify a short description of why someone would donate or use the hosted BCH payment button. Additionally, Akari-Pay allows the user to set a goal that includes a graph, live updated donation count, and other features. Moreover, individuals and businesses using Akari-Pay can match the branding theme of their organization or nonprofit with customizable themes by simply editing certain text files. The Akari Global development team has released the platform as completely free software and the code is open for review. In addition to the latest Akari-Pay version, the team has released a demonstration video on how to use the donation bar, set goals, update totals, and customize a color scheme. Furthermore, Akari has set up a dev-chat channel in order to help people set up self-hosted BCH donation pages. The Bitcoin Cash community across social media and forums seems pleased with Akari’s latest launch that allows anyone with a website to add a donation/payment page for free that utilizes the BCH network’s peer-to-peer electronic cash system. The BCH payment button works for mobile phones, laptops, and desktops by simply uploading an HTML file to the desired server. Akari also provides its own HTML files and templates for users to create a payment gateway quickly if they don’t want to customize their payment page. What do you think about the Akari-Pay Advanced payment gateway? Let us know in the comments below. Images via Shutterstock, the Akari Global Foundation, and Akari-Pay. Want to see all those Memo posts, Blockpress posts, and OP_Codes in the BCH Chain? Check out Bitcoin.com’s Block Explorer today! The post Meet Akari-Pay: The BCH-Powered Website Payment Platform appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

This year it appears crypto is ready for its close up. Hollywood has come knocking in significant ways. Alec Baldwin (The Boss Baby, SNL, Mission Impossible), Antonio Banderas (Shrek, Zorro, Spy Kids), and Oscar-winning filmmaker Bobby Moresco (Crash, Million Dollar Baby) are presently filming Lamborghini. It’s a biographical movie about Ferruccio Lamborghini, namesake behind the ecosystem’s favorite icon for crypto wealth. Fittingly, it’s also co-produced by Tatatu, a social entertainment company run on blockchain tech. Also read: Ver’s Sci-Fi Novel Life, Voorhees Buys Tucker’s Tie for $27k Alec Baldwin’s New Lambo Movie Is Fittingly Crypto Backed Hollywood heavy producer Andrea Iervolino explained, “Social networks and entertainment platforms are making huge profits by gathering data from their users and selling it to other corporations without rewarding their users. There is a need for a platform that provides higher levels of transparency to their users, brands, and rights holders about the revenues generated and monetization of users. Audiences need free, legal and quality content with a simple user experience.” Antonio Banderas Mr. Iervolino, a dashing 30 year-old Italian, was speaking of his latest venture, Tatatu, a social media company which he implies will run on a variation on the technology currently causing fainting spells in the corporate world, blockchain. Though these pages have given voice to severe skepticism about distributed ledgers’ real-world use cases, Tatatu claims it can use an immutable ledger to record transactions in an open setting, which could allow for fairer remuneration for content providers. They insist this will mitigate against piracy, a lingering concern for mainstream media. Ferruccio Lamborghini The nascent project has landed a co-producer credit, however, backing the major motion picture tentatively titled Lamborghini. Antonio Banderas stars as Ferruccio Lamborghini, while co-star Alec Baldwin plays antagonist and professional rival Ezno Ferrari. It was written by Oscar-winner Bobby Moresco, and is currently being filmed as of this writing. It will tell the story of Mr. Lamborghini from World War II through his creation of what the crypto community widely considers the ultimate sign of success, the vaunted Lambo. Should it eventually come to market, it will be the first major release to have a direct connection to crypto tech. Beyond Bitcoin Slate Entertainment Group (SEG) purchased the forthcoming (Spring 2019) documentary Beyond Bitcoin (Fulwell 73). SEG plans to run the doc on Binge, its blockchain-based, video on demand platform. Leo Pearlman of Fulwell 73 explains, “As a company, we are always looking for new and innovative distribution platforms, new ways to reach and engage with our audience and for the ideal partners for our content. Binge is the perfect fit for our film and is the natural place for viewers to find and engage with this content. The excitement for us as content creators is that they offer unprecedented transparency, cutting-edge analytics, and guaranteed payment terms, all of which empower producers like ourselves and offer a very different distribution option than those currently on the market.” Bitcoin.com CEO Roger Ver in Beyond Bitcoin Jake Witzenfeld directs, and the doc’s focus is on three principals: Bitcoin.com CEO Roger Ver, blockchainer Perianne Boring, and investor Ryan Radloff. For a calendar year, viewers follow the three as they attempt to foment financial revolution: scaling debate wars, ICOs, regulation, and whether blockchain or bitcoin is the real innovation. “We are thrilled to have Beyond Bitcoin on the Binge platform,” Michael Moyal of SEG detailed. “The film provides an objective look at the potential for blockchain to disrupt numerous industries including entertainment. We at SEG share the filmmakers’ conviction that blockchain technology will help to facilitate our goal of adding fairness and accountability to the production and distribution of documentaries, feature films and series.” Is blockchain technology the future of movie-making? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Images via Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Alec Baldwin’s Lambo Movie Backed by Crypto Tech appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Canaan Creative Co. Ltd, the Chinese company behind the Avalon lineup of hardware equipment which produces ASIC mining chips and rigs, has officially submitted a listing application to Asia’s third-largest equities market – the Hong Kong stock exchange. Also Read: HTC to Launch Its Own Cryptocurrency-Focused Smartphone, Exodus $1 Billion IPO Canaan posted a preliminary prospectus on Tuesday revealing it brought in a revenue of 1.3 billion yuan in 2017 and that its net income jumped over 600% to 361 million yuan. Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank AG, Credit Suisse Group AG and CMB International Capital Ltd. are named as joint sponsors of the proposed offering in the preliminary prospectus. The filing did not specify the amount Canaan will try to raise in the public offering but it is widely expected to be around $1 billion. The Chinese ASIC cryptocurrency hardware market grew to 7.3 billion yuan in 2017 from just 50 million yuan in 2013, Canaan revealed in the filing, and consultant Frost & Sullivan extrapolates, that it will reach 28.6 billion yuan by 2020. The exact target date for the stock listing Canaan has in mind was not made public, and might change along with other details as the matter is evolving, but a person with knowledge of the situation told Bloomberg the company aims to start trading as soon as July 2018, just about two months from now. Canaan to HK The Hong Kong market wasn’t the company’s only possible avenue for listing. Last year Canaan was known to be looking to list on China’s National Equities Exchange and Quotations, an over-the-counter market, and earlier this year it was reportedly examining its options for a US-based IPO. The company didn’t explain why it eventually picked Hong Kong but it is safe to assume that the less hostile regulatory approach on the island, compared to both mainland China and the US, played a part in the decision. Back in April, we reported that the company employs around 200 people in Beijing and Hangzhou, mostly in R&D, and is looking to hire more. Canaan might use its chip development know-how and capabilities to create an unexpected new lineup of products. These can include home appliances such as television sets that mine cryptocurrencies “while you sleep.” Other developments include chips to power artificial intelligence (AI) applications and of course new hardware for mining additional cryptocurrencies. Should all stock investors add an ASIC producer to their portfolio to get exposure to the bitcoin market? 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 Mining Manufacturer Canaan Files for Hong Kong Stock Exchange IPO appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bitfinex, an exchange famed for its opaque banking arrangements, has begun ordering its users to submit their tax details. The platform, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands, a known tax haven, will retain this information and may share it with tax authorities in their customers’ jurisdiction. The news has caused quite a stir. Also read: Thailand Waives 7% VAT for Individual Cryptocurrency Investors Bitfinex Wants Your Tax Details In an email issued to a portion of its users, Bitfinex has outlined a new KYC policy. Not content with knowing the identity and location of its customers, it now wants their tax details. It has been stated that this is to accord with local laws in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) where the exchange is registered. The platform’s tax data gathering won’t stop there however: it notes that the BVI government “may then exchange that information with the tax authorities of the customer’s country of residence”. Up until a few months ago, Bitfinex didn’t even enforce basic KYC for its users. It’s now gone from being one of the laxest major exchanges to one of the most regimented, with a tax sharing policy that surpasses anything enacted by the likes of Coinbase or Bittrex. After Bitfinex’ new policy was called out on Twitter, the exchange clarified its position, explaining: “We have not sent this message to all users. We have deliberately targeted users that we believe have an obligation to self-disclose. If a user has _not_ received a message from us, she need _not_ self-certify anything to us at this time.” There appears to be an inference, however, that all users will eventually be obliged to comply. Bitfinex Users Plan a Boycott Predictably, a number of Bitfinex customers have stated their desire to boycott the platform and take their trading elsewhere. Due to increased regulation, coupled with the transparency that is inherent to blockchain technology, cryptocurrency users are already among the most heavily scrutinized investors in the world. Many feel that Bitfinex’ latest policy, regardless of its legal basis, is a step too far. Coming from an exchange synonymous with operating out of tax havens and failing to fully audit its Tether stablecoin, the irony of Bitfinex now wanting to audit its customers is not lost. If you’re a Bitfinex user, will you continue trading on the exchange in light of this news? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Bitfinex Starts Sharing Customer Tax Data with Authorities appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In today’s edition of Bitcoin in Brief we’re focusing on developments in the realm of international politics and economics regarding cryptocurrencies. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development is looking into the possible uses of digital coins and the associated technologies. Kazakhstan is calling for the adoption of common crypto rules by the United Nations, while Iran and Russia are thinking about using cryptocurrency in bilateral trade. Also read: Bitcoin in Brief Wednesday: Coinbase Goes After Big Money as Nomura Creates Komainu OECD Explores Cryptos and ICOs The Committee on Digital Economy at the Organization of Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) has started exploring blockchain-based cryptocurrencies and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). The international body also wants to help governments of member-states develop and implement legislation aimed at protecting consumer rights in electronic trade. According to Elina Sidorenko, head of Russia’s interdepartmental group working to assess risks and opportunities associated with cryptocurrencies, the OECD will be used as a platform to discuss matters related to cryptos and token sales. These discussions will be held in the context of ensuring the safety of consumers of financial services, she said in a post on her Telegram channel. The OECD and the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) recognize the role of cryptocurrency as a means of payment and accumulation, Sidorenko emphasized. Both organizations also view ICOs as a good mechanism to attract funding, she added. “I hope that the generally positive rhetoric on cryptocurrencies in the OECD will not change,” the Russian official said, promising to keep her followers informed on further developments. Astana Calls for UN Crypto Rules Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev thinks that the time has come to adopt common, international rules on cryptocurrencies with the help of the United Nations. “Most countries are actively exploring the possibility to adapt their regulations to the current configuration of the financial system. At the same time, the disconnected actions of different states will lead to inefficiency. It is necessary to develop general rules,” he insisted, quoted by Zakon.kz. During the Astana Economic Forum, Nazarbayev noted that Kazakhstan’s own project to issue an assets-backed cryptocurrency called G-Global has won institutional support from international organizations. The initiative “has been mentioned on multiple occasions during the G20 summit. Last week the Council of Foreign Ministers at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which includes more than 50 nations, adopted a resolution to support it,” the president revealed. Kazakhstani officials have previously said that G-Global will be designed as a crypto “backed by assets, not just trust.” These assets have not been specified so far but the Central Asian country is rich in natural resources. Kazakhstan is the leading economy in the region, generating 60% of its GDP, primarily through the oil and natural gas industry. Recent reports that Kazakhstan’s central bank is preparing legislation to ban the sale and purchase of cryptocurrencies, as well as crypto mining, have been dismissed by representatives of the local crypto community. According to Leonid Muravjov, VP at the Blockchain and Crypto Technology Association of Kazakhstan, the government is actually spending huge amounts of money to digitize the economy, which is currently heavily reliant on the export of mineral resources. Kazakhstan and Belarus to Cooperate on Blockchain Astana and Minsk intend to strengthen their ties in the field of blockchain implementation. Kazakhstan and Belarus have signed a memorandum of cooperation that will allow experts from the two former Soviet republics to exchange experience and improve their competitiveness on the world stage through wider adoption of new technologies. Both countries are members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). “The bottom line is that this (blockchain) is a multinational technology, and the development of some real solutions, both at state level and in the private sector, does not make sense in the context of a single state. The memorandum aims to develop the most optimal solutions through exchange of experience and personnel, and to share already working solutions based on blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies,” said Stanislav Baskov, Director of the Belarussian Distributed Ledger Technologies Association. According to a press release by Astana Hub, Kazakhstan’s IT Park, the agreement was signed during the international expo TIBO – 2018 in Belarus. It would allow Kazakhstan to take advantage of the Belarusian experience in blockchain and cryptocurrency integration. Recently, Minsk legalized crypto-related activities for entities registered with its Hi-Tech Park with a presidential decree that came into force on March 28. Iran and Russia to Create Crypto Alternative to SWIFT Recognizing the opportunity to minimize dependence on the US dollar, Iranian authorities have turned their attention to cryptocurrencies. Iran’s central bank has commenced work on proposals to use cryptocurrency in international trade, as requested by the parliamentary Committee on Economic Affairs, Interfax reported. “Cryptocurrencies offer a good opportunity to circumvent the use of the dollar, and also replace the SWIFT system,” said Mohamad Reza Purebrahimi, who heads the commission. Teheran has established cooperation with Russia on the matter following a meeting with the chairman of the Economic Policy Committee of the upper house of Russia’s parliament, Dmitriy Mezentsev. Purebrahimi said that the two countries may be the first to use cryptocurrency in bilateral trade transactions. “Against the backdrop of US pressure, the expansion of settlements in national currencies, as well as the possible use of payment systems like [the Russian] Mir and the Iranian Shetab is promising,” Mezentsev commented. According to official sources quoted in Moscow, Russia may put its version of SWIFT, the SPFS, on blockchain as early as next year. What are your thoughts on the highlights in today’s Bitcoin in Brief? Tell us in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Bitcoin News is growing fast. To reach our global audience, send us a news tip or submit a press release. Let’s work together to help inform the citizens of Earth (and beyond) about this new, important and amazing information network that is Bitcoin. The post Bitcoin in Brief Thursday: OECD Explores Cryptocurrencies, Central Asian Powerhouse Calls for UN Crypto Rules appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

It’s been well over a day since the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network upgraded its protocol, and the consensus rules now come with a 32MB block size. Although the block size increase is quite a feat, BCH developers have also expanded the network’s default data-carrier-size to 220 Bytes and re-enabled some old Satoshi OP_Codes that were previously removed from earlier codebases. Now over the past 24-hours, lots of people have been playing around with the new BCH features. Also Read: Bitcoin Cash Upgrade Milestone Complete: 32MB and New Features Experimenting With the New Bitcoin Cash OP_Codes Lots of BCH community members have been discussing the new OP_Code features and the additional space added to the network’s default data-carrier-size. The first signs of people messing around with the new features came from the Memo and Blockpress developers as both platform’s increased posting character limit from 79 to 217. Both Memo and Blockpress (featured above) now have 217 characters. This means users of both social media applications can now post more content and everything is saved on-chain. Then shortly after the fork, another OP_Code feature was shown to the community by Openbazaar developer Chris Pacia. The First Tree Signature on the Bitcoin Cash Blockchain Pacia built the first tree signature on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain by utilizing the OP_CAT functionality — which creates a more efficient multi-signature combination. The Openbazaar programmer explains for addresses with a large number of keys, a tree signature can use less data. “For addresses with a large number of keys a tree signature can use less data. And unlike normal OP_CHECKMULTISIG, it doesn’t require you to expose the keys that were not used in the signing,” Pacia explains to the BCH community on May 15. Moreover, Pacia shows his demonstration via a block explorer URL which indicates it was a 1 of 8 multi-sig tree signature. Chris Pacia’s multi-sig tree. Many individuals were very impressed with the new multi-sig operation that shows innovation in multi-signature technology, and one that could add more BCH privacy in the future. Pacia details his example is a subset of MAST — which stands for ‘Merkelized Abstract Syntax Trees.’ MAST could improve BCH privacy because certain multi-sig scripts could be kept hidden. “This is like a subset of MAST,” Pacia explains. MAST is more general but can’t be done with the current opcodes as far as I know — If we had OP_EVAL then we could I think. An OP_Code Puzzle With a Message in the Script After the tree signature our Chief Technology Officer, Emil Oldenburg, also experimented with the Satoshi OP_Codes and created a ‘transaction puzzle.’ When the puzzle is solved it contains a secret message within the hashed script. “I made a fun little transaction puzzle with one of the new OP_Codes,” Oldenburg explains. The puzzle is solved with the string “BCH is the best Bitcoin”. The script is <String1> <String2> OP_XOR OP_HASH256 <hash1> OP_EQUAL. It’s solved by finding the secret String1 that when XORed with String2, after hashing should be equal to hash1. Etching the Bible’s 23,000 Verses Into the Bitcoin Cash Blockchain Lastly, another anonymous user is pushing the ‘arbitrary data spam debate’ to the ultimate level. The Twitter handle UK Cryptocurrency showed the cryptocurrency community that a BCH address is currently writing the first testament of the King James Bible to the Bitcoin Cash blockchain at 1sat/Byte. Looking at the Bitcoin Cash transaction ID its Memo states: 1 In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. Transactions following this continue to be written in the BCH chain with each verse that’s found in the King James Bible. This address is etching the entire Bible into the blockchain. UK Cryptocurrency estimates that the entire Bible may cost around $100 USD (0.08 BCH) and add around 8MB to the BCH chain. Of course, many Bitcoin Cash fans were excited to see the many OP_Code developments unfold so fast and expect more innovative ideas will sprout down the line. What do you think about all the OP_Code experimentation over the past day? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments below. Images via Shutterstock, Reddit, the Bitcoin.com Block Explorer, and Blockpress. Want to see all those Memo posts and OP_Codes in the BCH Chain? Check out Bitcoin.com’s Block Explorer today! The post Bitcoin Cash Community Sees OP_Code Innovation After Upgrade appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In an effort to get ahead of the next round of scams, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) created and published its own version of an initial coin offering (ICO) scam website. It’s a rather innovative way at approaching investor education in the brave new world of cryptocurrency. Also read: Federal Reserve Pres: People Want Dollar, Not Volatile Crypto SEC Posts ICO Scam Site “Combining the two most growth-oriented segments of the digital economy,” the mock SEC website reads, “blockchain technology and travel, Howeycoin is the newest and only coin offering that captures the magic of coin trading profits AND the excitement and guaranteed returns of the travel industry. Howeycoins will partner with all segments of the travel industry (air, hotel, car rental, and luxury segments), earning coins you can trade for profit instead of points.” It really is a novel idea. SEC Chairman Jay Clayton explained, “The rapid growth of the ‘ICO’ market, and its widespread promotion as a new investment opportunity, has provided fertile ground for bad actors to take advantage of our Main Street investors. We embrace new technologies, but we also want investors to see what fraud looks like, so we built this educational site with many of the classic warning signs of fraud. Distributed ledger technology can add efficiency to the capital raising process, but promoters and issuers need to make sure they follow the securities laws. I encourage investors to do their diligence and ask questions.” And it is also more than ironic how “on it” the SEC has been when it comes to crypto and all things ICO. Enforcement subpoenas are flying all around the United States in search of the next conviction. Ironic, because, of course, so little, comparatively, has been done similarly with regard to mainstream financial scams: The Great Recession is probably a perfect example. Crypto, while often ‘poo-poo’d’ as largely irrelevant and no threat, does appear to occupy more and more time and space in SEC moves. Nevertheless, SEC Chief Counsel, Owen Donley, detailed how fraudsters “can quickly build an attractive website and load it up with convoluted jargon to lure investors into a phony deal. But fraudulent sites also often have red flags that can be dead giveaways if you know what to look for.” The webpage www.howeycoins.com is an in-house SEC project they were able to construct in relatively little time. Howey is derived from the landmark 1946 U.S. Supreme Court decision, SEC v. W.J. Howey Co. Its decision guides the definition the regulator uses to this day in determining what constitutes a security: “a person invests his money in a common enterprise and is led to expect profits solely from the efforts of the promoter or a third party.” Pretty Much Spot On Some of the better lines are eerily spot on. “We anticipate OVER 1% daily returns, with DOUBLE 2% returns on Tier 1 investors in pre-ICO stage secured purchases,” Howeycoin promises. “The average registered coin return over a two month period in 2017 was an amazing 72%. Based on market conditions, including record-setting prospects in both the digital asset and travel industries, we expect to surpass that BEFORE the Tier 2 offering closes. HODL! We also forecast a minimum growth rate of between 7% to 15% annualized, making Howeycoins attractive for long-term investment. In addition, Howeycoins can serve as a GUARANTEED hedge against inflation and market loss.” Clicking on the live links brings surfers to a reveal landing page: “If You Responded To An Investment Offer Like This, You Could Have Been Scammed – Howeycoins Are Completely Fake!” the banner blares. “Fortunately, frauds like these often have a number of ‘red flags’ that can help you tell if the so-called ‘investment opportunity’ is really a scam. Our bogus site is a mash-up of a number of different things we’ve seen – any particular fraud may be harder to spot than the red flags here. Here are some of the signs of fraud that are on the Howeycoins site – we hope reviewing these may help you recognize a real fraud in the future!” In the interest of clarity and fairness, seeing as how the legacy financial world has been around decades and decades longer than crypto and ICOs, it’d be wonderful for the SEC to use some this new found creativity to mock their own: investment bank come-ons, bail out scams, etc. We won’t be holding our breath. Do you think this tactic will be effective? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Images via Shutterstock, SEC. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post US Government Launches Scam Crypto Site appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Thailand’s Revenue Department has announced that it will waive the 7% value-added tax for individual cryptocurrency investors. The country began regulating digital currencies and initial coin offerings on Monday, putting the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in charge of the regulations. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space VAT Exemption The decree to provide the legal framework for cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs) in Thailand went into effect on Monday. Cryptocurrency transactions are currently subject to income tax for both private companies and individual investors, Nation Multimedia explained. Saroch Thongpracum, Director of Legal Affairs of the country’s Revenue Department, announced at a press conference on Tuesday: The Revenue Department will waive value-added tax for people trading in cryptocurrencies on exchange markets approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, Mr. Saroch emphasized, “Individuals will still have to pay a 15 percent capital gains tax, also known as a withholding tax, on income earned in a transaction.” The VAT waiver for individual cryptocurrency traders aims to “reduce their tax burden,” the publication noted, adding that the Revenue Department “would issue a regulation waiving the 7 percent VAT for individual investors.” Furthermore, the news outlet detailed, “Under the new law, private companies launching ICOs have to pay corporate income tax on the funds they raise from the exercise.” Full Regulations Expected Next Month According to the decree, the Thai SEC will be the primary regulator of digital assets. Three groups of crypto operators will be regulated: brokers, dealers, and ICO portals. They must obtain licenses from the Finance Minister, according to the department’s spokesperson. The SEC chief says that the Commission expects to issue regulations on cryptocurrencies and ICOs by the end of June after holding a public hearing. “The public hearing will take 2-3 weeks because investments in digital tokens are complicated and carry high risks,” the Bangkok Post reported SEC secretary-general Rapee Sucharitakul conveying. During this time, ICOs are banned in the country. The news outlet then quoted Mr. Rapee elaborating: The new regulation aims to provide protection for general investors since only investors who have knowledge of ICO issuance or digital-asset transactions should be allowed to engaging in this kind of trading. Meanwhile, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) announced that it will wait for the SEC to release more details of the regulations before it will take any action, Assistant Bank of Thailand governor Chantavarn Sucharitakul told the publication. The central bank has previously requested financial institutions in the country to refrain from dealing with cryptocurrency transactions. What do you think of Thailand waiving 7% VAT for individual crypto investors? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Thai SEC. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Thailand Waives 7% VAT for Individual Cryptocurrency Investors appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article