roadrunner

Social trading platform Etoro is expanding into the US. Pre-registration has already begun. Initially, 10 cryptocurrencies will be offered, but the company plans to add more throughout the year. The company’s crypto business has boomed in recent years, with 70% of its users reportedly trading cryptocurrencies. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Etoro Launching in the US Social investment platform Etoro has announced that it is expanding into the US market. CEO Yoni Assia unveiled the company’s plans at the Consensus conference on Tuesday. According to the announcement: The launch will initially enable U.S.-based users to invest in 10 cryptocurrencies, with more to be added throughout 2018. Users will have access to a community feed and tools, letting them engage in conversations about cryptocurrencies and follow the investment strategies of other U.S. users. Launched in 2007, Etoro is regulated in Europe by Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission and in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority. The company says it has more than 10 million registered users across 140 countries in Europe, Asia, and Australia, with an accumulated capital funding of more than $162 million. Currently, its website shows 247,387,974 open trades on the platform. Assia commented, “Etoro will continue to focus on simplicity and user-friendliness so that more diverse groups will feel welcomed into the global crypto community.” Pre-Registration Begins for US Users The company explained that US users can join the waiting list for the platform starting on May 15. “Users will be able to experience the interface and perform mock cryptocurrency investments via a virtual portfolio,” its announcement details, adding: The 10 cryptocurrencies that will be initially available are: bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, XRP, dash, bitcoin cash, stellar, ethereum classic, NEO, and EOS. Etoro intends to integrate several more cryptocurrencies throughout 2018. “The platform will offer U.S. investors three ways to access the crypto markets,” Etoro described. The first way is “by manually investing in a coin.” The second is “by automatically copying the trades of other traders on the platform to benefit from their knowledge and investment expertise.” The third is “by investing in a Crypto Copyfund which provides a diversified portfolio of major crypto assets.” A Copyfund is Etoro’s investment product aimed at helping investors minimize long-term risk, its website states. “Once you invest in a Copyfund, your capital is professionally managed by Etoro’s investment committee. Each Copyfund’s performance is analysed in depth and rebalanced automatically to maximise its gain potential.” Etoro’s Booming Crypto Business In January last year, the platform added cryptocurrencies. According to Fortune, “In recent years, the company’s crypto business has boomed with 70% of its users trading digital currency.” Yoni Assia. In an interview with the news outlet, Assia predicted that Etoro’s “unusual social media features would help it gain a foothold” in the US. “Those features let users create a public profile of their investments, which in turn allows others on Etoro to track and copy their trading decisions.” Commenting on the crackdown by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) targeting tokens that resemble securities, Assia told the publication that he is confident “the digital assets Etoro plans to list are currencies not securities.” He expects Etoro will list as many as 15 tokens by the end of the year, the news outlet conveyed, adding that the company also “plans to open a global wallet and exchange service later this year that is aimed at institutional traders.” Currently, the aforementioned ten cryptocurrencies are already being offered on the platform for non-US users. What do you think of Etoro launching in the US? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Medium, and Etoro. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Investment Platform Etoro Launches in the US with 10 Cryptocurrencies appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On May 15, 2018, the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network upgraded the chain’s base block size from 8MB to 32MB. The software advancement makes blocks big enough to process lots of transactions over time — which gives developers plenty of breathing room to adjust the size if it starts getting closer to its limit. Unfortunately, many misdirected individuals assume the BCH chain will start processing 32MB blocks right away, which could lead to a blockchain chain that’s much larger in gigabyte size and takes longer to download. However, this is not the case right now at all, because BCH miners process blocks that are often still under 1MB, as the 32MB code is only set to ensure the network is capable in the future. Also Read: Bitcoin Cash Upgrade Milestone Complete: 32MB and New Features The Successful 32MB Block Size Increase Paves a Path for Mass Adoption After the Bitcoin Cash network upgraded yesterday and even before the fork, a few misguided individuals asked why there was a need to raise the block size fourfold when 8MB blocks were not filling just yet. The reason developers raised the limit to 32MB is likely because the software is perfectly capable of handling such a task in the future. Right now block size limits are set by the miner, and developers are there to help set the capacity so blocks cannot get full in the immediate future, and fees will remain low for quite some time. Unfortunately for the Bitcoin Core (BTC) network, Core developers let the block size fill beyond capacity, and fees became unreliable during the last quarter of 2017. The 32MB BCH block size adjustment ensures this will not happen to the BCH network down the road, even when transaction usage becomes as extreme as 2017’s last quarter. The Bitcoin Cash (BCH) community and developers are not afraid of forks and protocol upgrades. The May 15th upgrade is the second successful hard fork on the BCH network. Looking at BCH blocks on Coin Dance — a website which records BCH chain data currently shows that mining limits are being set by the mining pool. Over the past nine months, there have been a few 2,4, and 8MB blocks processed, but typically blocks have been a megabyte or less. So in essence, once miners decide its necessary to increase the block sizes they process, they will do so based on transactions and adoption increasing over time. In fact, current data also shows the Bitcoin Core (BTC) chain is still 34.4GB larger than the Bitcoin Cash chain. After the block size increase miners are not processing 32MB blocks, the upgrade was meant to ensure they can handle that capacity in the future. Transaction Data Shows Daily BCH Transactions Has Increased by 186% in Nine Months At the moment Bitcoin Cash transactions per day are less than BTC as there are roughly 20-25,000 daily BCH transactions. But there’s also been a misdirected notion that the BCH chain isn’t getting much use, but this is simply untrue as data shows over the past nine months that BCH daily transaction percentage rates have increased. The decentralized currency BCH has seen a steady incline (186%) of use since the August 1 fork and the expansion of BCH transactions are now only 5-10,000 transactions less per day than the Litecoin (LTC) network — a cryptocurrency that has been around for 7 years. This is due in part to many Bitcoin Cash-based on-chain platforms like the tipping bot Tippr, the social media apps Memo and Blockpress, and other applications that help increase BCH usage. In just nine months Bitcoin Cash has more than doubled its transaction count, and the BCH daily transaction rate is just below LTC’s daily transactions per day. 32X the Capacity is Merely Preparation for the Future of Bitcoin Cash Adoption Essentially the bottom line is the software is now capable of processing 32MB blocks as it was previously capable of 8MB blocks. So far BCH miners had proven the capability of mining much larger blocks than 1MB multiple times, clearing thousands of transactions from the mempool. After the successful fork on May 15, some BCH supporters are already asking developers to remove the block size limit entirely. The hilarious TX Highway has updated to 32 lanes. Moreover, we know from testing that the Bitcoin software is capable of processing gigabyte blocks, and research studies further suggest the network could handle terabyte blocks as well. Unlike other digital asset developers, BCH programmers have set the bar high for capacity based on the known advancements in scaling a cryptocurrency network. Instead of saying “we don’t need to scale now,” the 32MB increase establishes a base block size that can efficiently handle 32X more transactions than the BTC network’s highest daily transaction rate recorded this past December. What do you think about the 32MB block size upgrade? Do you think that the developers should remove the capacity limit entirely? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Images via Pixabay, TX Highway, Bitinfocharts.com, and Coin Dance. 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 32MB Blocks Means Bitcoin Cash is Prepared for Mass Adoption appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

It’s customary for cryptocurrencies to pump after securing a Binance listing. Every week a handful of tokens enjoy the “Binance bounce”, gaining as much as 50% in a matter of hours. Trueusd (TUSD) was meant to be different though. It’s a stablecoin whose job is to stay as close to the US dollar as possible. And yet, when Binance announced that it was adding TUSD, the unthinkable happened. Also read: Circle Raises $110Mn With Plans to Launch USD-Backed Coin How Trueusd Became a False Stablecoin Stablecoins are a burgeoning industry, with scores of projects seeking to create tether alternatives that provide stability, each pegged against the US dollar. Circle has just announced plans to launch its own stablecoin, and news.Bitcoin.com recently profiled several other new contenders, including Trueusd, which was described as: A collateralized stablecoin backed by USD held in escrow accounts. It’s basically a more transparent tether and is available on Upbit and Bittrex – where it’s even tradable against tether. On May 16, Binance became the latest and largest exchange to announce its intention to list TUSD. Up until this date, the coin had performed as expected, with scarcely a wobble from its dollar peg. But then Binance released its news and TUSD went on a run to rival even the pumpiest of altcoins. At 3:36am ET, Trueusd was trading at $0.997. In the space of 22 minutes, it jumped to $1.18 and by 5am was at $1.39, a 39% rise for a coin whose defining characteristic is that isn’t meant to rise. Stability? What Stability? In a short blog post, Binance declared that it would “open trading for TUSD/BNB, TUSD/BTC and TUSD/ETH trading pairs at 2018/05/18 04:00 AM (UTC). Users can now start depositing TUSD in preparation for trading.” It added: “Note: TUSD is a stablecoin. The value is designed to be 1 TUSD = 1 USD.” That design clearly doesn’t account for the power of a Binance listing. This is despite Trust Token, the team behind TUSD, claiming “Our open source smart contracts ensure a 1:1 parity between TrueUSD and USD in the accounts.” Ironically, in pumping by 39%, TUSD may have just proven its unsuitability as a stablecoin, and strengthened the case for tether. Tether may be opaque, but at least it works, staying resolutely close to its dollar peg at all times. Trueusd seems to have spiked due to traders FOMO-ing into the coin. It is unclear whether all of these buyers were aware that they were purchasing a supposed stablecoin. The price will settle down eventually, and return to its designated price. Traders may be left wondering, however, whether a stablecoin that can appreciate by almost 40% might also be capable of diminishing in value. Do you trust Trueusd to hold its value in future? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Saroshi Pulse. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post “Stablecoin” Trueusd Pumps After Binance Listing appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

With HTC entering the race, a second cryptocurrency supporting smartphone created by a major electronics manufacturer is now on its way to the market. Could this be the start of a trend by all device makers to embed features such as hardware wallets into phones to help increase sales among more tech savvy consumers? Also Read: Samourai Wallet Creates App for Transactions Over Mesh Networks Exodus From Fiat to Crypto Taiwanese consumer electronics manufacturer High Tech Computer Corporation or HTC (TWSE: 2498), will release its own cryptocurrency-focused smartphone. The company has announced it is developing a “blockchain-powered” device that will be based on Google’s Android operating system which will be named Exodus. The phone is expected to contain a universal wallet and a “built-in secure hardware enclave” supporting cryptocurrencies and dapps (decentralized applications). HTC reportedly also wants to create its own network with each phone serving as a node to facilitate trading within it. Finally, the company is examining the possibility of selling the device for cryptocurrency as well. “Through Exodus, we are excited to be supporting underlying protocols such as Bitcoin, Lightning Networks, Ethereum, Dfinity, and more,” Phil Chen who is responsible for the development told Thenextweb. “We would like to support the entire blockchain ecosystem, and in the next few months we’ll be announcing many more exciting partnerships together.” Cryptocurrency Support as Killer App If you follow the electronics market carefully, you must know that HTC has not been doing so well in recent years despite creating some great devices. In that context it is possible to imagine that the company is betting on a cryptophone to give it a more edgy brand to attract privacy-minded young people and the more tech savvy crowd. However, other companies have explored the field before HTC and it is thus possible that many more will soon feature built-in cryptocurrency support in their devices. Earlier this month we reported on the technical details that have emerged about Sirin Finney, an ultra secure mobile device promising to keep your cryptocurrency transactions private. The phone will feature an embedded cold storage wallet, and will be built by the same company that builds the iPhone, Foxconn. And back in March of this year, the Chinese smartphone maker Huawei was rumored to be in serious talks with Sirin Labs about the device too. How long until all new phones will support crypto as default? 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 HTC to Launch Its Own Cryptocurrency-Focused Smartphone, Exodus appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Melissa Alsoszatai-Petheo, of Microsoft’s Bing search engine, announced its advertising arm is banning all cryptocurrency advertisements. This follows market leaders such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter either severely restricting crypto ads or banning them altogether. Also read: Ethereum Futures in US One Step Closer as CME Deal is Struck Microsoft’s Bing Search Engine Bans Crypto Ads Advertiser Policy Manager, Melissa Alsoszatai-Petheo, posted an update to Microsoft’s Bing search engine ad policy. Bing Ads to Disallow Cryptocurrency Advertising is the title of the company’s rather obvious move. “We are always evaluating our policies to ensure a safe and engaging experience for our Bing users and the digital advertising ecosystem,” Ms. Alsoszatai-Petheo began. “Because cryptocurrency and related products are not regulated, we have found them to present a possible elevated risk to our users with the potential for bad actors to participate in predatory behaviors, or otherwise scam consumers.” Bing has consistently ranked a very distant second behind the Google juggernaut, which gobbles up better than 60% of search traffic on the internet. Google at the beginning of 2018 announced a far more specific series of cryptocurrency related prohibitions, down to defining contract for difference (CFDs) products. It wasn’t too much later when Facebook followed, as we reported at the end of January, with “a new ruling issued on January 30, ‘ads must not promote financial products and services that are frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices, such as binary options, initial coin offerings, or cryptocurrency.’” Twitter too, a mere two months later, presented its new advertising policy, severely restricting initial coin offering (ICOs) and token sales. Protection is the Pretext “To help protect our users from this risk,” the notice from Bing continued, “we have made the decision to disallow advertising for cryptocurrency, cryptocurrency related products, and un-regulated binary options. Bing Ads will implement this change to our financial product and services policy globally in June, with enforcement rolling out in late June to early July.” Other than seeking a press cycle of promotion, it does appear “scams” were a bit of a problem during 2017, according to Bing’s annual report. “Tech scams are widely used by bad actors and we rejected 25 million ads in this category in 2017,” they insisted. And under the banner of misleading ads, Bing noted how last “year, we took down 30 million such ads, 20,000 such websites and 43,500 bad actors.” Do you think crypto ad bans will have a negative impact? 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 World’s Second Largest Search Engine Bans Crypto Ads appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Cryptocurrency markets are losing some gains today, as most digital assets are down between 3-15 percent during this morning’s trading sessions on May 16, 2018. The overall cryptocurrency market cap has shaved a few billion in losses since our last markets update, leading to the valuation of all 1,600 cryptocurrencies hovering around $374Bn today. During the last 24-hours Bitcoin Cash (BCH) value has dropped 10.4 percent and prices are around $1,258 per BCH. Bitcoin Core (BTC) prices have also dipped, but by only 5.6 percent with one BTC priced at $8,234 at the time of publication. Also read: Circle Raises $110Mn With Plans to Launch USD-Backed Coin BCH Markets Down 20% This Week At least three-quarters of the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem has lost value today as many coins are seeing losses this Wednesday. Total 24-hour trade volume for today’s trading session is around $22.6B worth of exchanges. Bitcoin Cash markets have lost a bit of value since yesterday as the network experienced an upgrade which increased its block size to 32MB. BCH trade volume is thinner than the week prior as only $1Bn has been traded during the last day. The top five exchanges swapping the most BCH during today’s trading sessions are Okex, Bitfinex, Huobi, Upbit, and Hitbtc. Both the South Korean won and tether (USDT) BCH trading pairs have seen exponential volumes but BTC still dominates pairs by 34 percent. The BCH/BTC pair is followed by tether (USDT 25.4%), USD (22%), KRW (14%), and the EUR (1.4%). BCH/USD market action on May 16, 2018, according to Satoshi Pulse. BCH/USD Technical Indicators Looking at the four-hour BCH/USD chart on Bitfinex the price is seeing some deep triangular consolidation at the moment. The MACd is on the rise after the initial dip took place and show more improvement could be in the cards. RSI levels show the oscillator is around 38 right now, showing oversold conditions seem imminent. Looking at the two Simple Moving Averages indicates the path to resistance to the upside still looks obtainable as the short term 100 SMA rides above the longer term 200 SMA trend line. Looking at order books on the upside, BCH bulls need to muster up the strength to break past $1,330-1,355 in order to make headway northbound. On the flipside, if the dips continue there are some solid foundations between the current vantage point and $1,210. Bitfinex — BCH/USD May 16, 2018, at 10 am EDT. A Brief Glimpse at Overall Cryptocurrency Market Action The entire cryptocurrency ecosystem is seeing pretty decent losses today even though there’s been loads of good news coming from the industry this week. The number one cryptocurrency market cap held by Bitcoin Core (BTC) is wavering just below the $8,400 region with $7Bn in trade volume over the past 24-hours. Ethereum (ETH) markets has seen some dippage as well, as prices have lost 4 percent today. One ETH is hovering just above $700 USD at the time of publication. Ripple (XRP) markets are seeing heavier losses around 6.3 percent as one XRP is $0.69 cents today. Lastly, the fifth highest capitalization has been a contested position for a while now as many coins have been filling this area over the past year. EOS has held the number five spot for a few weeks now but its markets are down 11.7 percent today as one EOS is averaging $12 per coin. The top ten cryptocurrencies today according to Satoshi Pulse. The Verdict: Mid-May Market Action is Lackluster but Positivity Remains So far, the mid-May bull run lots of enthusiasts were hoping for has been nothing but a fizzle this week. Many believed cryptocurrencies would begin to see larger gains after the Consensus conference in New York started but that forecast never came to fruition, at least not yet. The only coins that are doing well today are a few miscellaneous tokens and stablecoins like tether (USD, and TrueUSD showing traders are likely using these ‘stable’ currencies as shelter from the current storm). Optimism and positivity among traders on social media and trader groups on Telegram still seems bright, even though markets have shaved some decent gains over the past 72-hours. Where do you see the price of BCH and other cryptocurrencies headed from here? Let us know in the comments below. Disclaimer: Price articles and markets updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not to be considered as trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the “money.” Images via Shutterstock, Trading View, and Satoshi Pulse. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post Markets Update: Mid-May Price Dips Plague Cryptocurrency Markets appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

St. Louis Federal Reserve President, James Bullard, was recently interviewed at this year’s Consensus conference in New York City. That a top US economic policy maker was in attendance is victory enough; however, he was asked his opinions on cryptocurrency going forward by CNBC Global Markets Reporter Seema Mody. He explained he found the phenomenon “interesting,” and how more cryptos being issued all time necessitates keeping an “eye” on them. Mr. Bullard also compared the use case for cryptocurrencies with that of the dollar, and whether the former posed a threat to the latter. Also read: Bitpay Enables Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin Core (BTC) for Tax Payments Federal Reserve President Attends Crypto Conference Federal Reserve President, James Bullard, gave a presentation at this year’s giant Consensus conference in New York City. Reread that sentence. A sitting Fed policy maker thought it important enough to attend a crypto soiree. That’s news enough. But more importantly, President Bullard gave a presentation on the government’s current thinking about cryptocurrency. In his talk, he acknowledged crypto is facilitating trade that might otherwise not occur. He couldn’t help himself by mentioning illegal activity (and we all know fiat currencies are never used in illegal activity), but he did describe decentralized money’s lean toward frictionless transactions (especially with regard to costs/fees) as being an advancement. Mr. Bullard and Ms. Mody The Fed policy maker reserved the bulk of his comments, both in the presentation and during a post-game interview with CNBC, to talk about the problems in crypto as he sees them. One issue is simply the number of currencies being offered. The 12th St. Louis Fed President feels this over complicates matters, especially with regard to exchange rates and volatility. Asked if cryptocurrencies pose a threat to the dollar, Mr. Bullard, 56, answered he didn’t think so. Global Markets Reporter Seema Mody, who is covering Consensus for CNBC this year, quickly followed up with a “but it could be?” The Fed President was noncommittal, choosing instead to shrug and give the pat answer about no one really knowing what the future holds. He emphasized how since its creation the US dollar has vanquished nearly all currency competition due to its being backed by the world’s strongest economy. It’s abundantly clear, Mr. Bullard suggested, people want the dollar and not crypto … at least at the moment. Fed Coin on the Horizon? Ms. Mody pressed Mr. Bullard about his presence at the conference, asking if this was a hint of things to come with regard to a future coin birthed by the Fed, a Fed Coin? Interestingly he didn’t dismiss the idea outwardly, and instead said they’d for sure look at the possibility, as the Fed does with many different types of financial innovations. He also assured there wasn’t any plan being hatched at the moment, no imminent Fed Coin coming. Mr. Bullard also wondered aloud what the gains would be by creating such a coin. He smiled subtly, assuring he’s keeping an “open mind.” His comments seem to be less strident than statements issued by the St. Louis Fed on the very subject not even one month ago. “The St. Louis Federal Reserve has published an essay critically evaluating the notion of cryptocurrencies that are issued by central banks,” we detailed. “The article is highly dismissive in presenting what it describes as ‘the non-case for central bank cryptocurrencies,’ concluding that ‘a central bank will not issue cryptocurrencies in the sense of a truly decentralized and permissionless asset that allows users to remain anonymous.’” A rather curious fact about the St. Louis Fed, one of twelve jurisdictions in the Federal Reserve system (the 8th district serves Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas), is how it has recently become very chatty about crypto. As these pages reported back at the beginning of this year, “Aleksander Berentsen and Fabian Schär of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis have recently published an article that emphasizes many of the benefits of cryptocurrencies. The article states that ‘cryptoassets are well suited to become an important asset class,’ in addition to offering praise regarding a number of the major applications associated with cryptocurrencies.” Do you think a Fed president attending a crypto conference is meaningful? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Images via Shutterstock, Pixabay, Twitter. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Federal Reserve Pres: People Want Dollar, Not Volatile Crypto appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The rush of big money into the cryptocurrency market is continuing at full pace and reshaping the global investment landscape. Two recent examples are Coinbase’s new institutional focus and Nomura’s new venture. These stories, and much more, are in today’s edition of Bitcoin in Brief. Also Read: NY Regulator Approves Bitcoin Cash, Zcash and Litecoin Trading Coinbase Goes After Big Money Coinbase, the San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange recently valued at $8 billion, has announced a new suite of services meant to attract more big money players such as the many new crypto hedge funds that pop up all the time. It will launch a cryptocurrency custodian in partnership with an SEC-regulated broker-dealer to a group of initial clients that include 1confirmation, Autonomous Partners, Boost VC, Meta Stable, Multicoin Capital, Polychain Capital, Scalar Capital and Walden Bridge Capital. New offerings also include Coinbase Prime, a suite of tools specifically designed for institutions, and an institutional coverage group headquartered in New York City to provide a higher level of service to these type of clients. “There is clear demand from institutional clients and financial services professionals for more specific solutions with regard to cryptocurrencies that address their sophisticated needs,” said Adam White, Vice President and General Manager of Coinbase Institutional. The company will also be opening a new engineering office in Chicago to continue developing Coinbase Markets, which provides a centralized pool of liquidity for all its products. Over the course of the year it is promised to introduce new features like low latency performance, on-premise data-center co-location services, institutional connectivity and access, and settlement and clearing services. “As a global leader in financial technology, Chicago welcomes innovative companies investing in our city and creating jobs for Chicago residents,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “There is no better city than Chicago for companies that want to put down roots and grow their businesses.” Komainu to Protect Mutual Funds Komainu is a new venture established to help overcome barriers for institutional investment in crypto-assets with a custody solution and offering new services, standards and best practices. Its founders include Tokyo-headquartered global investment bank Nomura (NYSE: NMR), hardware wallet developer Ledger, and Global Advisors, parent company of Coinshares. Jez Mohideen, Global Chief Digital Officer at Nomura, said: “Global investment managers have long been held back from full participation in digital asset markets, limited by operational and regulatory risk. Our new partnership will set the required standards that will bring peace of mind to digital asset investors, and provide tools and products to enable better integration with more traditional investment vehicles such as mutual funds.” Jean-Marie Mognetti, Co-Principal of Global Advisors, added: “After 6 years of research, and collaboration with our administration partner and its regulator, we now have demonstrable progress. This partnership is a progressive stepping stone towards the creation of the necessary prerequisites for further growth within the digital asset ecosystem. This will open new and exciting opportunities to global participants and contribute to move digital asset closer to mainstream offerings.” Ledgerx Savings Accounts Ledgerx, the CFTC-regulated cryptocurrency management platform, has launched a new savings account-like product. Ledger Savings uses an underlying call overwrite strategy but offers a simple interface so that users won’t need to know anything about investing in derivatives. It targets a 16% per annum yield with a potential 2x exit at maturity in the event BTC doubles from current spot prices. For launch, the savings product will be offered for 3 month, 6 month, and 12 month maturities, at varied rates. After selecting the product for the desired maturity, the USD amount is available immediately to withdraw but the associated BTC is locked for the duration of the savings product. Rat Poison Squared Fashion If there is one thing that’s true for the cryptoverse, is that it is full of fast moving entrepreneurs. Warren Buffett only bashed bitcoin as “rat poison squared” less than two weeks ago, and someone has already found a way to make money from the now infamous glib. Ecoinmerce, a tokenized e-commerce marketplace, has announced the Rat Poison Squared clothing line, to include t-shirts, hats, coffee mugs, and keyrings. “We don’t know exactly what ‘rat poison squared’ is supposed to mean,” said Ecoinmerce COO Rex Chen. “What we do know is that Bitcoin created a very productive ecosystem and spawned the entire cryptocurrency revolution, which is driving innovation in nearly every industry. This clothing line is intended to give Bitcoin and cryptocurrency enthusiasts pride in their defiance of the status quo and their belief in a better future.” Telegram’s Gram Lawsuit With a seemingly endless torrent of new ICO tokens flooding the market, short and pithy names for these crypto-assets are running out fast. This can lead to people registering coin names just to try and flip them for profit later and to companies to wage battles over who gets to control a certain ticker, as happens with website domain names. The latest example for this is Telegram, which is now reportedly suing a Florida-based venture over the rights to ‘gram’. Did Jennifer Aniston Convinced You to Invest in Crypto? The Texas Securities Commissioner has issued an Emergency Cease and Desist Order on May 15 to stop Wind Wide Coin Inc., from fraudulently offering investments in a cryptocurrency trading program. The order alleges that Wind Wide Coin and three sales agents in Houston are offering for sale investments in a cryptocurrency trading program that uses an “automatic trading bot.” The company is promising investors the combination of “no risk” and extraordinarily high returns. The purchase of 0.1 of BTC, for example, will yield 1 BTC 24 hours later, a one-day return of 900%. Further according to the order, Wind Wide Coin is also misleading potential investors by claiming it is a “licensed company” and “legally registered.” And to lure gullible suckers the company’s website has featured endorsements from supposed past investors. To weed out anyone with some common sense, the website used images of celebrities like Jennifer Anniston – which it mistakenly identified as “Kate Jennifer,” an investor. Similarly, a photo of Prince Charles was identified as “Mark Robert,” an investor who provided a testimonial. The same testimonial was then attributed verbatim to a “Johnson Smith,” supposedly another UK investor. What do you think about today’s news updates? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Ecoinmerce. Do you agree with us that Bitcoin is the best invention since sliced bread? Thought so. That’s why we are building this online universe revolving around anything and everything Bitcoin. We have a store. And a forum. And a casino, a pool and real-time price statistics. The post Bitcoin in Brief Wednesday: Coinbase Goes After Big Money as Nomura Creates Komainu appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

This is a paid press release, which contains forward looking statements, and should be treated as advertising or promotional material. Bitcoin.com does not endorse nor support this product/service. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the press release. Essentia, the decentralized protocol framework, has just announced details of its public token sale following the completion of their successful pre-sale. Essentia has implemented KYC/AML verification ahead of the public sale so participants wishing to contribute to the token generation event must follow the verification procedure Essentia has outlined in detail in its project blog. During the process of verification, interested parties will have the opportunity to experience the Essentia framework in action by creating their own dashboard through a series of quick steps. Here, documents can be uploaded in a secure environment and applicants can specify such details as the ETH wallet they wish to contribute from. Anyone wishing to contribute more than 10 ETH will be required to submit additional details, and to verify that they are not the US or Chinese resident. Having completed verification for the Essentia public sale, applicants may return to their dashboard at any time to check on the status of their application. Due to high demand, Essentia cannot guarantee that successful applicants will be able to receive the full allocation of tokens they have requested. Essentia co-founder Matteo Giancarlo Zago has stated: “The public sale marks the beginning of the next exciting phase for Essentia. Our community has been incredibly patient over the last few months, while the team has worked away behind the scenes to finalize everything in readiness for this moment. We look forward to welcoming applicants to our public sale, and to have them accompany us on the our journey building the infrastructure of the next web.” Having recently signed an agreement with the Finnish government to develop a blockchain solution for the MTK ministry, one of Essentia’s first tasks following the public sale will be to recommence development on this initiative. In addition, the team will ramp up work on its enterprise solutions and fine-tuning the Essentia protocol, which they expect to grow into a thriving ecosystem of integrated dApps and other third party services. Essentia successfully hit the hard cap during their pre-sale at the beginning of May, raising over $20m by reaching the maximum allocation of ESS tokens. As a consequence, no more pre-sale applications can be accepted. The Essentia public sale will mark the final stage of the process, which aims to give the Essentia community a chance to get involved, with 595 million ESS tokens allocated for the general sale to be distributed to all participants. To be a part of their growing community join their Telegram channel https://t.me/essentia_one/. Contact Email Address matteo@essentia.one Supporting Link www.essentia.one This is a paid press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post PR: Essentia Opens KYC Verification Ahead of Public Sale appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The cryptocurrency based firm Circle announced it has raised $110Mn USD in a Series E fundraising round led by the Chinese firm Bitmain Technologies. Circle now joins Coinbase as one of the most well-funded cryptocurrency companies in the U.S., and the Boston-based firm has announced plans to issue a dollar-backed cryptocurrency called USD-C. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Circle Raises $110Mn — Plans to Launch Stablecoin Circle has big plans ahead for its latest mobile project called ‘Centre’ while also revealing its plans to create a stable coin much like the currency Tether (USDT). Furthermore, the firm has raised $110Mn in a Series E funding round that included investors such as Bitmain Technologies, Blockchain Capital, Pantera, Digital Currency Group and other venture firms. In addition to the injection of capital, Circle says it is planning to launch a new cryptocurrency that is backed by the price and reserves of USD. The company’s new token will be called ‘USD-C’ and based off of the Ethereum network. According to the Circle, the firm’s subsidiary ‘Centre’ project will manage the USD-C protocol. Circle feels a cryptocurrency that is tied to a fiat currency can add more value to the blockchain ecosystem. “It is difficult to use something like bitcoin if the volatility is so high,” Circle’s founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire explains. “Something like this makes it more possible.” A Partnership With Bitmain Circle also detailed that Bitmain will also be helping with the Centre project and the USD-C launch. “Bitmain will help Centre introduce multiple fiat stablecoins in a variety of geo-currency zones,” the company explains. Moreover, the company takes a jab at other ‘stablecoins’ utilized in the markets right now that lack transparency as the firm states: Existing fiat-backed approaches have lacked financial and operational transparency, have operated in unregulated jurisdictions with unknown banking and audit partners, and have been built as closed-loop ecosystems and closed proprietary technologies. Circle says despite celebrating their fifth anniversary this fall they feel like they are just getting started. In addition to Centre and the new USD-C token that will launch this summer, Circle says it also has plans for Circle Invest, Circle Trade, Circle Pay, and the newly acquired Poloniex exchange. “We see the future of the global economy as open, shared, inclusive, distributed, and powerful — not only for a few chosen gatekeepers, but for all who will connect,” Circle adds. What do you think about Circle raising $110Mn in a funding round led by Bitmain? What do you think about this new USD-C idea they have? Let us know your thoughts on this subject in the comments below. Images via Shutterstock, Bitmain, and Circle. 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 Circle Raises $110Mn With Plans to Launch USD-Backed Coin appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Japanese internet giant GMO has updated its plans to manufacture and sell its 7nm bitcoin mining chips as well as for its own mining operations. Interested customers will soon be able to reserve some of these chips. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space GMO Readies 7nm Mining Chips Japanese conglomerate GMO Internet Group published its first quarter results for the fiscal year 2018 last week. During the earnings results presentation, the company outlined its plans for the sale of its long-awaited 7nm bitcoin mining chips. GMO is building two versions of the chip, dubbed V1 and V2. The former is the initial prototype of the 7nm mining chip. The latter is for mass production of the 7nm mining chips, which the company plans to use in-house for its own mining operations, sell to the public, and use in cloud mining. V2 is now being designed and will enter the mass production phase in the fourth quarter of this year. Sale of 7nm Chips Starting Soon In its presentation, GMO has revised its mining business plans from the fourth quarter of last year. The company now indicates that its mining operations are initially “based on store-bought mining computers,” and in roughly June the “7nm (V1) operation” will commence and in approximately October the “7nm (V2) operation” will be underway. As for the sale of its 7nm bitcoin mining chips, the company spokesperson told news.Bitcoin.com: We can disclose that accepting reservation will start from Q2 onwards and launch will be Q4 onwards only at this moment. The actual sale dates are not specified. Furthermore, the company says its cloud mining operation will be launched in June. GMO’s Mining Business The mining business was launched on December 20 through GMO’s European legal entity. It comprises three areas: “[1] In-house mining; [2] Develop, manufacture, and sell mining machines; [and 3] Cloud mining.” GMO says “Hash rate is increasing as planned. Amount of mined bitcoin is increasing as expected.” The company added that it has “new businesses at multiple locations in 2 countries,” noting that its hashrate in April was 241 PH/s but is confident that it will reach the target hashrate of 3,000 PH/s by the year’s end. In addition to its mining business, GMO also operates a crypto exchange called GMO Coin and plans to launch a crypto payment service. The company aims “to become No. 1 in the field of cryptocurrency.” Do you want to buy GMO’s 7nm chips? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and GMO Internet. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Japan’s GMO Gets Ready to Start Selling 7nm Bitcoin Mining Chips appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Since the South Korean prosecution started investigating Upbit, the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, more events have unfolded. While local media still discuss allegations and raise questions about Upbit’s business practice, some people believe that Upbit is already in the clear. The investigation continues. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space The Allegations Local media reported on Friday that South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, is under investigation for alleged fraud. More information has surfaced since, casting doubt on whether the allegations can be considered fraud. No charges have been filed against Upbit at the time of this writing. However, the prosecutors have confiscated the exchange’s computers and records as part of the investigation. On Monday, News1 Korea described: Prosecutors searched Upbit for fraud charges triggered by coinless transactions, suspicion of insider trading during the listing process, and allegations of money laundering and leakage of money through US trading sites. Liquidity Issue The first allegation, the most heavily scrutinized, concerns the liquidity of some of the coins listed on Upbit. The exchange currently lists 137 cryptocurrencies but not all of them have wallets. South Korean prosecutors are accusing the exchange of “book-trading” where Upbit facilitates the trading of cryptocurrencies without actually having the coins in its possession. Joongang Ilbo elaborated: Of the more than 130 cryptocurrencies currently traded on Upbit, about 40 do not support e-wallets. News1 also pointed out that there is a viewpoint among investigators that if users request a transfer or withdrawal of their coins all at once, then Upbit will not be able to return their money immediately, which would render the original transactions fraudulent. However, some argue that “most domestic trading sites are adopting this method” except those that handle a small number of cryptocurrencies such as Bithumb, the news outlet conveyed, adding that if this method is found to be an “apparent fraud…[then] the industry will not be much affected.” Upbit Calls It a Misunderstanding Upbit says that this investigation is “something that comes from misunderstanding,” Joongang Ilbo reported. The exchange has repeatedly dismissed the above accusation, emphasizing that it will secure the needed cryptocurrencies as soon as it has brokered a transaction for the coins without a wallet, the news outlet detailed. In addition, Upbit insists that it has “never bought or sold cryptocurrencies that it did not own since it opened last October.” Furthermore, given Upbit’s exclusive partnership with the US exchange Bitrex, crypto experts believe that “the lack of understanding of the Upbit trading system that links the system with the overseas exchange has led to the suspicion of book trading,” the publication emphasized, adding: Cryptocurrency traded in KRW is directly managed by Upbit, and when customers buy other virtual currencies…transactions are made through Bittrex under the responsibility of Upbit. A representative of another crypto exchange explained that except for the won market, Upbit transactions are made through Bittrex. “It is a legitimate book deal, and the prosecutors seem to have misunderstood why they are selling cryptocurrencies that they do not have.” Previous Internal Audit Another factor at play is an article published by Money Today on Tuesday, referencing an internal audit which reportedly happened earlier this year. The news outlet quoted Lee Seok-woo, president of Dunamu Inc. which operates Upbit, saying that “In early March, when Upbit was suspected of only [conducting] book transactions without [holding the] coins…I have been notified that the amount of coins [in the books] is 100% identical to the number of coins” in the wallets. Referencing the above article, Twitter user Crypto of Korea wrote, “Upbit claimed that they had the internal account audit…The audit shows that 100% of the coins are real, the ledgers all synced to their own wallets.” Some people subsequently took Upbit’s claim as the exchange being clear of wrong-doing in this current investigation, while others remain more objective. Twitter user Nash wrote, “Not concluded yet. It’s just “Upbit’s claim.” Meanwhile, Korean media still raise questions about Upbit’s operations and seek more answers at the time of this writing. Insider Trading and Money Laundering Concerns The prosecutors are also reportedly looking into allegations of insider trading and money laundering surrounding Upbit, News1 Korea wrote, noting that “some investors have raised strong suspicion that there is insider trading” at the exchange. “It is suspected that a person who receives information from an Upbit employee about an upcoming listing [on Upbit] would have bought the cryptocurrency from [an] overseas trading site and sold on Upbit.” Furthermore, the investigators alleged that “illegal business funds are more easily transferred from the domestic [exchange] to the US due to the linkage with Bittrex,” the publication described. As for any fraud charges, a lawyer was quoted by the news outlet commenting: It is difficult to judge it as a fraud because there is no victim. If the capital market law applies to the transaction site [Upbit], it is a criminal offense. The lack of a clear baseline law is a bigger problem. Joongang Ilbo further asserted that according to the position of the country’s financial regulators, “cryptocurrency is not subject to the Capital Market Law because it is not a monetary product.” In the unlikely event that the prosecutors can apply the Capital Market Law to this case, commissions through book transactions would be considered criminal proceeds, the news outlet explained. Do you think Upbit has done anything wrong? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Twitter, and Upbit. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Investigation of South Korea’s Largest Crypto Exchange Upbit Continues appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A directive affecting the crypto sector in Europe has been adopted by the EU Council. The document updates the anti-money laundering legislation of the European Union to address, among other issues, “the risks linked to virtual currencies.” The new rules aim to reduce anonymity for both users and transactions with requirements for know-your-customer procedures that crypto platforms will have to implement. Meanwhile, a high-ranking ECB official has called for segregating the crypto business from traditional finances. Also read: Europe Introduces Customer Verification on Cryptocurrency Exchanges Authorities to Monitor the Use of Cryptocurrencies “Strengthening EU rules to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing” has been declared as the main purpose for the changes adopted as part of an “action plan” launched after the terrorist attacks in Europe in 2016. The new directive sets out to “close down criminal finance without hindering the normal functioning of the payment systems,” according to the Council’s press service. The amendments to EU Directive 2015/849 of the European Parliament and the Council of May 20, 2015, were adopted at a meeting of the General Affairs Council on Monday, without discussion. The move follows an agreement with the European Parliament form December 2017. In April this year, MEPs voted to support the deal to “bring cryptocurrencies under closer regulation.” The main changes involve addressing the “risks linked to virtual currencies” by taking steps to reduce anonymity for both crypto traders and crypto-related transactions. According to the texts, providers of exchange services between virtual and fiat currencies, as well as custodian wallet providers, will be obliged to identify suspicious activities. The directive states that authorities should be able to monitor the use of cryptocurrencies through these platforms, and the national financial intelligence units should have access to information allowing them to associate crypto addresses with the identities of their owners. The authors acknowledge that the measures in the document do not entirely address the issue of anonymity. These measures should be detailed by member-states which will have 18 months to transpose the provisions of the directive into their national regulatory frameworks. Once that happens, crypto exchanges across the Union will be obliged to comply with stricter anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) guidelines, including by introducing full customer verification on their platforms. Some companies have already taken steps in that direction. Localbitcoins, the popular Helsinki-based peer-to-peer exchange, has recently updated its Terms of Service. It admitted that the changes had been introduced mainly due to EU regulations. They highlight identification requirements and warn users that in some situations, such as trading over certain volume limits, or in cases of account hacking/recovery and fraud investigations, they will be required to submit identification documents. The new terms will be enforced as early as this month. Virtual Currencies Defined The EU Council states that “virtual currencies should not to be confused with electronic money.” Its directive points out that although cryptos can be used as a means of payment, they could also serve other purposes and find broader applications such as means of exchange, investment, and store-of-value. A definition of “virtual currencies” has been provided, in which they have been referred to as “digital representation of value that is not issued or guaranteed by a central bank or a public authority.” The directive also notes that cryptocurrencies are not attached to a legally established currency and do not have the legal status of fiat money, but are accepted by natural or legal persons as a means of exchange. Cryptocurrencies can be transferred, stored and traded electronically, the text reads. The European institution has identified custodian wallet providers as “entities safeguarding private cryptographic keys on behalf of their customers in order to hold, store and transfer virtual currencies.” According to the legal document, national authorities should ensure that they, along with the providers of crypto exchange services, are registered or licensed. The directive also introduces changes regarding anonymous prepaid bank cards to “deny terrorists this means of financing.” The threshold for mandatory identification of their holders has been lowered to EUR 150. Identity verification will also be required in cases of remote payment transactions exceeding EUR 50. ECB Official Wants to “Ring-Fence” Crypto Business While Brussels is moving to strengthen rules governing crypto transactions, Frankfurt is suggesting that the entire crypto business should be segregated from traditional finances. According to a report by Reuters, a high-ranking representative of the European Central Bank has stated that banks should separate any activities related to virtual currencies (VCs) from their other operations and even back them with capital to reduce the risk. The official also called for regulating issuers of cryptos and tokens, exchanges, and any bank or clearing house dealing in them. “Due to the high volatility of virtual currencies, it might seem appropriate to require any VC trading to be backed by adequate levels of capital and segregated from other trading and investment activities,” Yves Mersch, member of the ECB board, said at a conference in Turkey this Monday. He added that the crypto market was too small to endanger financial stability but cautioned this could change. Mersch emphasized that “There’s a need to examine whether any VC activity carried out by financial market infrastructures should have to be ring-fenced.” What do you think about the new rules that will soon govern crypto interactions in the EU? 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 EU Adopts Rules to Reduce Anonymity for Crypto Users appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A US federal court has indicted three founders of a company purported to offer cryptocurrency-related financial products and have raised $25 million in an initial coin offering. In addition to claiming to have licenses in 38 states, the company also claimed partnerships with Bancorp, Visa, and Mastercard to issue its own cards. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Three Founders Indicted The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Monday that the founders of a cryptocurrency-related company have been indicted in the Manhattan federal court. Florida residents Sohrab Sharma, 27, Raymond Trapani, 27, and Robert Farkas, 31, are co-founders of a startup called Centra Tech. The company purported to offer cryptocurrency-related financial products including the Centra Card, a debit card which supposedly “allowed users to spend various types of cryptocurrency to make purchases at any establishment that accepts Visa or Mastercard payment cards,” the DOJ described. The three were arrested last month. The US Attorney’s Office of Southern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized 91,000 ether which was “raised from victims as part of the charged scheme” in an initial coin offering (ICO). The attorney for the United States, Robert Khuzami, explained: As alleged, the defendants conspired to capitalize on investor interest in the burgeoning cryptocurrency market. They allegedly made false claims about their product and about relationships they had with credible financial institutions, even creating a fictitious Centra Tech CEO. Whether traditional or cutting-edge, investment vehicles can’t legally be peddled with falsehoods and lies. ICO Worth $60+ Million The three began “soliciting investors to purchase unregistered securities, in the form of digital tokens issued by Centra Tech” through an ICO in approximately July. In oral and written materials, they falsely represented that Centra Tech had an experienced executive team and “had formed partnerships with Bancorp, Visa, and Mastercard to issue Centra Cards licensed by Visa or Mastercard.” They also represented that the company “had money transmitter and other licenses in 38 states, among other claims,” the DOJ revealed, adding: Based in part on these claims, victims provided millions of dollars’ worth of digital funds in investments for the purchase of Centra Tech tokens. “In or about October 2017, at the end of Centra Tech’s ICO, those digital funds raised from victims were worth more than $25 million” – the amount which has now appreciated to more than $60 million. False Statements The Department of Justice found that statements made by the three to secure these investments “were false,” emphasizing that the three “were well aware of the falsity of such claims.” For example, “the purported CEO ‘Michael Edwards’ and another supposed member of Centra Tech’s executive team are fictitious people who were fabricated to dupe investors.” The DOJ then described the scheme used to fabricate the CEO and another executive: Sharma text-messaged Trapani on or about July 29, 2017, that they ‘Need to find someone who looks like Michael’…Similarly, Sharma later wrote during that same exchange: ‘Gonna kill both CEO and her [another executive],’ ‘Gonna say they were married and got into an accident.’ Furthermore, the company’s claimed partnerships and licenses were non-existent, the DOJ revealed, citing text messages between Trapani and Sharma discussing “Centra Tech’s lack of actual partnerships with banks or credit card companies.” Another text message from Sharma to Trapani and Farkas says, “Gotta apply for all licenses,” “Should I even say this.” Four-Count Indictment According to the Justice Department’s announcement: All three of them are charged in a four-count Indictment. One count is “conspiracy to commit securities fraud, which carries a maximum potential sentence of five years in prison.” The other three carry “a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison.” They are securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud. Additionally, each charge also carries potential financial penalties. “The maximum potential prison sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge,” the DOJ wrote. Moreover, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has separately filed civil charges against the trio. What do you think of the DOJ indicting the three Centra Tech’s founders? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Twitter, and the DOJ. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post US Court Indicts Founders of Crypto Company for Fraudulent Scheme appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

This week news.Bitcoin.com spoke with the team behind a new trading platform called Dex.top — a decentralized exchange built using a smart contract. According to the Dex.top developers the exchange has no access to a user’s private key and assets are never held on the Dex. This means, much like the cryptocurrency wallets out there that allow individuals full control over their private keys, Dex does the same as it acts a non-custodial trading platform. Also Read: Steve Eisman of ‘The Big Short’ Fame: What Value Does Cryptocurrency Actually Add? A New Bitmain-Incubated Cryptocurrency Exchange Dex.top Utilizes a Smart Contract to Facilitate Decentralized Trades The Switzerland-based exchange, Dex.top, is an open source decentralized trading platform incubated by the well-known blockchain firm Bitmain Technologies. Unlike traditional cryptocurrency exchanges, Dex.top is built from a smart contract that is compatible with both the Ethereum and RSK networks. The organization claims that all assets are kept within a smart contract and are never held by the exchange. Dex.top says that users maintain full control over their assets and transactions are always signed by the users themselves. “Technically users do not need to trust Dex.top, as Dex.top neither has a user’s asset nor does it have the authority to transfer the user’s asset. Lastly, our platform utilizes Raft’s algorithm to ensure our system’s security and usability,” explains the Dex development team. It initially creates ROC (Replayed-On-Chain) trading mechanism, which supports off-chain and on-chain of two ledgers that secure assets and instant trading. Dex.top and Metamask The exchange explains that as it builds on the ERC-20 framework, in the future developers hope to add other public blockchains into the mix such as RSK, BCH, and EOS. This week news.Bitcoin.com was granted access to look at the exchange via the trading platform’s trial period. Dex.top representative, Yixuan Lin, tells us the trading platform’s public launch will begin around the end of May. While giving the platform a tour we noticed that users utilize Metamask as their wallet which gives the exchange fluid transfers with ETH or ERC-20 tokens. Users simply tether their Dex account to the Metamask wallet and when you sign to deposit or withdraw tokens users confirm via the Metamask UI. The Dex team in the future it will also be collaborating with other wallets like Imtoken, Bitcome, and the hardware wallet Ledger. At the moment due to the pre-trial period, the Dex.top platform has very little volume and users at the moment. The Dex.top user interface. The Dex.top Team Plans to Integrate an ERC-721 Marketplace and Collaborate with Other Decentralized Platforms Additionally, the Dex.top team says it hopes it can also work with other prominent decentralized exchange platforms like Kyber, IDEX, and DDEX. Alongside this, the project will also be implementing ERC-721 protocol compatibility and a marketplace for these types of tokens. Yixuan Lin explains to news.Bitcoin.com that the Dex.top team members are based in Switzerland, the United States, Singapore, and Hong Kong and all of them are huge fans of decentralized concepts. For now, users can register on the platform and check it out, while the Dex.top team emphasizes that they look forward to greeting the cryptocurrency community at the end of this month with its new exchange. What do you think about the Dex.top platform and concept? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Images via Shutterstock, Pixabay, and Dex.top Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Smart Contract-Based Decentralized Exchange Dex.top Launches This Month appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The bullish market performance experienced across the cryptocurrency markets last month also manifested significant gains for many cryptocurrency hedge funds, with multiple cryptocurrency hedge fund indexes estimating a more than 45% increase in the value of leading funds. Also Read: 5 Years Ago You Should Have Bought Bitcoin, Not Altcoins Cryptocurrency Recovery Rally Drives Impressive Performance Among Crypto Funds With most cryptocurrencies producing significant gains during April, cryptocurrency hedge funds also generated bullish performance last month. The Eurekahedge Crypto-Currency Hedge Fund Index estimates the gains made by crypto funds to have been 45.43% during April. According to Eurekahedge’s historical data, April 2018 was the sixth strongest performing month ever for virtual currency funds, and the fourth highest performing month of the last four years. The preceding months to outperform April were December 2017 (+79.51%), August 2017 (+58.42%), May 2017 (81.09%), November 2013 (+405.30%), and October 2013 (+47.64)%. Despite April’s impressive performance, Eurekahedge estimates 2018’s year to date (YTD) performance to be -21.87% so far. Eurekahedge states that its data for April 2018 is “Based on 71.43% of funds which have reported April 2018 returns as at 15 May 2018.“ Indexes Estimate Crypto Funds to Have Gained by Over 45% Last Month Market analysis firm, Hedge Fund Research Inc. (HFR), estimates crypto funds to have produced gains of 47.1% during April – as per the company’s HFR Blockchain Index. “HFRI estimates that April’s performance has reduc[ed] the YTD decline to -19.3 percent.” Whilst HFRI’s reporting indicates that hedge funds offering exposure to a wide array of industries also produced gains last month, snapping a two-month downtrend experienced across numerous fund indices, the percentage gains posted for April by the HFR Blockchain Index far exceed those witnessed by other HFR fund indexes. Finance Veterans Migrate to Crypto Hedge Funds As some of the lines between the virtual currency and the mainstream financial markets increasingly blur, cryptocurrency hedge funds appear to be attracting numerous Wall Street veterans – with recent reports revealing that Blocktower Capital has hired a number of former Goldman Sachs employees in recent months. Blocktower Capital, which was co-founded by Matthew Goetz, a former Goldman Sachs vice president, and Ari Paul, formerly of Susquehanna, has recently hired Steve Lee – a former portfolio manager at Goldman. Lee’s hiring comes shortly after the company also welcomed former Godman vice presidents Elizabeth Ralston in February, and Michael Bucella in January. Earlier today, Adam White, the vice president and general manager of Coinbase, indicated that the exchange is also shifting its focusing heavier on targeting institutional investors during an interview with CNBC. Mr. White said, “We think this can unlock $10 billion of institutional investor money sitting on the sideline. We’re seeing a rapid increase in attention awareness and adoption in the cryptocurrency market,” adding that Coinbase is “absolutely here to serve institutions.” Do you think that 2018 will produce YTD losses or gains for cryptocurrency hedge funds? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Cryptocurrency Hedge Funds Rebound By Over 45% in April appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In the last 24 hours, $7 billion worth of bitcoin (BTC) was traded globally. That’s according to data provided by Coinmarketcap, the industry’s go-to aggregator of cryptocurrency data. Not everyone agrees with that figure however. “Honest Coinmarketcap” is a new project that aims to set the record straight and do away with inflated trade volumes. Also read: Study Finds $3B Worth of Faked Cryptocurrency Volumes and Wash Trades “Honest CMC” Alleges Massive Fake Volume Allegations of wash trading and fake volume have dogged the cryptocurrency markets for years. If true, this behavior is not the fault of Coinmarketcap (CMC). But it is the duty of sites such as CMC to report data accurately, for their own reputation and for the sake of everyone in the cryptocurrency space. Due to the way it pulls its data from exchanges, exacerbated by the way these platforms record trading activity, Coinmarketcap has come in for criticism. In an attempt to obtain a true picture of global cryptocurrency volume, Andrew Rennhack has created an alternative to CMC that he’s dubbed “Honest Coinmarketcap”. The project is rudimentary, and does not account for the many variables that can affect a coin’s trading volume. If its data is to be believed, however, cryptocurrency trading volumes have been massively overstated. Trading Volumes Could Be Overstated by 80% or More Clicking on the second tab in the Honest Coinmarketcap spreadsheet compares the listed and true volume for popular cryptocurrencies traded against various fiat currencies. It reports BTC and ETH’s volume as being 80% fake, with XRP and BCH faring slightly better at 43% and 70% respectively. Most other coins in the top 20 by market cap have fake volume of between 40% and 90%. Although the data produced by Honest CMC should not be taken as gospel, its findings do tally with a previous report that claimed trading volume on some exchanges to be exaggerated by as much as 95%. Given Coinmarketcap’s dominance – the site now ranks among the world’s top 400 websites – it will continue to serve as the industry benchmark for trading data. Unless CMC changes the way it captures its raw data, trade volumes will remain unadjusted, no matter how inaccurate they may be. Do you think trading volume is overstated and if so do you think it’s the obligation of Coinmarketcap to record this? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post “Honest Coinmarketcap” Claims to Provide Accurate Cryptocurrency Data appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Ever worried about how will you be able to transact if your ISP (internet service provider) will try to prevent you from sending a transaction or will just not be able to due to a disaster bringing down the needed infrastructure? Setting up mesh networks, which can self-organize without a centralized control hub, is one much talked about possible solution. Also Read: NY Regulator Approves Bitcoin Cash, Zcash and Litecoin Trading Bitcoin Mesh Network The developers of the privacy-centric wallet, Samourai, have teamed up with Gotenna, a Brooklyn-based startup that designs technologies for off-grid and decentralized communications. Together the two teams have created a solution for making transactions over mesh networks. The Txtenna app is meant to enable a more resilient, censorship-resistant and decentralized network for when the internet is inaccessible. A transaction using the app will begin with the user creating a standard offline transaction and signing it using the Samourai Wallet. The wallet then passes the transaction to Txtenna which broadcasts it to nearby mesh nodes via a Gotenna mesh device. Similar devices in the area relay the transaction until an internet connected node receives it and forwards it to the network. Its developers say that the Gotenna mesh is a simple, affordable, secure, and resilient solution, but you will obviously need to have access to one of their physical devices beforehand for this to work. Off the Grid “Currently the bitcoin peer-to-peer network relies heavily on ISPs for internet connectivity. A few large corporations run these services, many of which are regional or national monopolies. These companies have a track record of putting commercial interests above net neutrality, as they did in 2007/2008 for example, when Comcast secretly throttled Bittorrent traffic. These systems are centralized, making them fragile during natural and man-made disasters,” explained Richard Myers a decentralized applications engineer at Gotenna. Mesh networking isn’t the only option the Samourai team is working on to make sure users can transact when the internet is down. Back in January they have revealed a new proprietary app called Pony Direct, a transaction payment method (or to act as a relay) to send bitcoin via short message service (SMS) texts. What other applications do you see for this technology? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, gotenna. 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 Samourai Wallet Creates App for Transactions Over Mesh Networks appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Bitcoin Cash network has officially upgraded the blockchain protocol at approximately 1:54 EDT by extending the current block size fourfold from 8MB to 32MB. The consensus change is one of the largest block size increases in blockchain history, and the upgrade also adds the great knowledge of understanding Satoshi’s OP_Codes – which could add the ability to code colored coins and binary contracts. Also Read: Steve Eisman of ‘The Big Short’ Fame: What Value Does Cryptocurrency Actually Add? The Bitcoin Cash Network Has Successfully Upgraded its Block Size to 32MB The wait is over as the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network has upgraded its base block size from 8MB to 32MB. The implementation of the new consensus rules went into effect at block height 530356, and so far the transition has been smooth as the community awaits the next concession of blocks. Miners and other full BCH nodes had already upgraded their clients to the latest Bitcoin ABC 0.17.1 and other supported implementations like Bitcoin Unlimited, and XT over the past few week as the community prepared for the change. Among some minor updates, three notable changes have been enforced throughout the network which includes a 32MB block size, an increased default data-carrier-size to 220 bytes, and re-enabling previously disabled Satoshi OP_Codes. The Bitcoin Cash block size is increasing from 8MB to 32MB. The increase should allow for massive amounts of transaction throughput for years to come. The first and biggest change to the Bitcoin Cash consensus rules is obviously the fourfold block size increase. Raising the block size to 32MB will allow vast amounts of transactions to pass through the network with consistent inexpensive transaction fees. Right now the amount of BCH transactions per day has been steadily increasing, and because the base block size has increased by four times its original size, blocks will not fill up for a very long time. The capability of this mechanism has been proven multiple times as there have been many BCH blocks between 2-8MB processed over the course of the past nine months. For instance, just sixteen days after the fork on August 1 the mining pool Viabtc processed an 8MB BCH block which cleared over 37,000 transactions in one fell swoop. Upgrading the Default Data-Carrier-Size to 220 Bytes Another notable Bitcoin Cash network change is the blockchain’s default data-carrier-size being raised from 80-bytes to 220-bytes. This enables a robust OP_Return feature which is a relatively inexpensive way to embed data into the BCH chain. Essentially the OP_Return is a script code that is used to mark transactions as invalid but many cryptocurrency enthusiasts believe the OP_Return feature is meant to record a rich set of data and not just financial transactions. However, back in 2014, BTC developers believed “storing arbitrary data in the blockchain is a bad idea” and recommended users store “non-currency data elsewhere.” OP_Return has been in the Bitcoin codebase since it was launched, and in February 2014 the 80-byte OP_Return was reduced to 40-bytes, but it was later increased merged back to 80 bytes in 2015. Basically, the developers at the time considered this type of blockchain usage as spam and would end up bloating the network. Photo source: Massimo Bartoletti and Livio Pompianu’s An Analysis of Bitcoin OP_Return Metadata However, even as developers warned that the use of OP_Return was a ‘bad idea,’ individuals and organizations continued to use it to embed arbitrary data. Two organizations, specifically Omni layer, and Counterparty, showed that using OP_Return for arbitrary data could be innovative towards building meta-protocols over a secure blockchain — although when blocks are full and the network is congested these types of layer systems find the blockchain’s network fees unsustainable. The BCH chain upgrading to 32MB and increasing the default data-carrier-size to 220 bytes will allow all kinds of innovations, like added creativity in applications such as Memo, Counterparty Cash, Blockpress, and many other platforms. This Upgrade Will Help the Cryptocurrency Community Learn to Understand the Original Satoshi OP_Codes Programming languages like Bitcoin’s Script and Forth are considered the ‘hackers programming languages.’ Last but not least is the re-enabling of disabled Satoshi OP_Codes — which are essentially codes that perform specific operations using an internal stack language called Script. Many people consider Script to be extremely similar to the programming language Forth — another stack-based language and software environment. In the original Satoshi Nakamoto Bitcoin client, the creator added OP_Codes to the software which can perform operations like simple math and string handling processes. Most of the original OP_Codes were disabled in earlier clients and many people believe this language could bring new functionalities to the Bitcoin Cash network. The OP_Codes implemented on the BCH network will improve our understanding of these codes Satoshi originally added. If all goes well with gaining knowledge from these codes then developers can enhance binary operations and contracts using the OP_Datasigverify code, and possibly OP_Group in the future. Further BCH proponents believe all of the OP_Codes will bring forth many innovative features such as multi-signature operations, colored coins or representative tokens, smart contract compilers, and 0-confirmation sending techniques. A list of OP_Codes Satoshi Nakamoto created long ago. Each has its own operation or function. Not the Last Upgrade Today’s upgrade is the first step towards many of these innovations and visions BCH proponents have been talking about for months. And there’s a bunch of other developments being discussed, such as double spend notifications — which notify nodes when a double spend takes place and a new Proof-of-Work (PoW) target called Bobtail. Additionally, programmers are looking into the Graphene protocol and other concepts that could add a rich feature set to the BCH chain. Today’s 32MB upgrade was a successful fork for the BCH community, and very likely there will be many more other upgrades in the future. What do you think about the Bitcoin Cash upgrade? Let us know your thoughts on this subject in the comments below. Images via Shutterstock, Pixabay, Stack Exchange, and Massimo Bartoletti and Livio Pompianu’s analysis of OP_Codes. 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 Cash Upgrade Milestone Complete: 32MB and New Features 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. On a par with Bitcoin, new currencies are entering the crypto world. Recently multifunctional gaming platform Game Stars have closed a pre-sale stage with complete sold-out of GST tokens and over 51 ETH and 57 BTC raised. The platform and the token caused a lot of buzz in the blockchain market. Moreover, gaming world show great interest for the project – cyber athletes are willing to join the platform. The 1st round of the Token Sale started on May 10th, 2018 and will last until May 27th, 2018. Only 300 million tokens will be allocated for the sale. Token-sale participants have an opportunity to get 30% bonus. After the end of the Token Sale, GST tokens will be available on several exchanges. Game Stars has already established partnership with YoBit exchange and received prior consent from WEX that is among TOP-30 exchanges on CoinMarketCap. Game Stars Token are already in demand and to show a significant increase in value due to 3 reasons: The token is a fuel of the platform that solves existing eSport problems and will be in demand of the market participants. GST emission is limited and there won’t be enough tokens for everyone willing to buy them As soon as the project reaches Hard Cap point the shortage of tokens can be caused by only 50.000 basic or 14.285 profi-users signing up for the platform. The last point is quite crucial. As soon as the Token sale is over, unsold token will be immediately burned. Tokens that get into the platform will be frozen for 2 years. Later token holders will be able to sell GST on exchanges. As users need to have GST tokens in order to use Game Stars platform solutions, the demand for the token will grow, so will its value. Game Stars will provide following benefits for eSports market participants: Players Cyber athletes raise funding for their professional development by participating in various tournaments or selling personal tokens that are issued with a smart contract through Cyberathlete Initial Coin Offering (CICO) procedure. Sponsors and advertisers Sponsors can support the most promising cyber sportsmen and get profit from their income. Advertising companies select a team, a player or an event that fits the best for promoting their brand or product. Team managers Managers will be able to develop team members, look for new ones or raise fundings for participating in tournaments. Moreover, each platform user can benefit from owning Game Stars Token and its increase in value. GST can become a trump-card of your cryptocurrency portfolio. Participate in Game Stars Token Sale on the official website! Contact Email Address zlajamalpa@gmail.com Supporting Link https://gamestars.io/?utm_source=bitcoincom&utm_medium=pressrelease&utm_campaign=game_stars_first_stage_tred&utm_term=3 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: Gaming Platform Game Stars Launches Token Sale. Hurry up and Get 30% Bonus appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Chinese mining behemoth Bitmain has strongly refuted allegations that it pressurized an ASIC manufacturer into shutting out a foreign competitor. In a widely shared blog post, Siacoin’s lead developer David Vorick lifted the lid on the cutthroat ASIC mining business. In a response, Bitmain praised Vorick’s input to the industry – but took exception to one particular section of his writeup. Also read: Siacoin Developer: ASICS Are “Money Printing Machines” for Manufacturers Bitmain Breaks Its Silence Bitmain is a company of few words, preferring to let its ruthlessly efficient ASIC miners do the talking. It was stirred into breaking its silence, however, after an explosive blog post by David Vorick was published three days ago. The lengthy article contained a number of revelations and allegations about the cryptocurrency mining business, and Bitmain’s role in particular. As we reported: “Siacoin’s lead developer repeats claims he has heard that “Bitmain plays dirty”. Vorick was allegedly told that Bitmain would use its power to stop other ASIC companies from manufacturing in China. Despite going to great pains to conceal Obelisk’s involvement in such a deal, the Chinese manufacturer backed out suddenly in a move that reportedly cost Obelisk $2 million. There is no proof that the manufacturer was leaned on by Bitmain, but David Vorick leaves no doubt as to where his suspicions lie.” Not content to take this accusation lying down, Bitmain has hit back, retorting: “Considering the truly vast number and diversity of suppliers in China, it’s difficult to consider that Bitmain could possibly exert such powerful control over a competitor’s supply chain to the degree the article suggests.” Interestingly, Bitmain doesn’t outright deny the allegation, focusing instead on the fact that “six percent of [Vorick’s] total article” is taken up with exploring these supposed dirty tricks. A Few Words From One of the Industry’s Most Furtive Organizations The new Obelisk ASIC miner David Vorick’s blog post was a 5,300-word tour de force. Bitmain’s riposte, in comparison, runs to just 380 words, which provide just enough space in which to refute allegations of “dirty tricks” and the notion that “Bitmain floods the market with its mining rigs”. It’s curious that the mining company should choose to address this latter point, because nowhere in Vorick’s article does he accuse the company of flooding the market with rigs per se. He does though accuse the company of various other underhand tactics, such as mining with its own units and then shipping them once they’re no longer profitable, but Bitmain makes no mention of this. As David Vorick acknowledged in his blog, it is extremely difficult to prove his audacious claims. If a large ASIC manufacturer was to conspire with a domestic supplier to thwart a rival, there would be no paper trail to go on. As a result, readers can only speculate as to who they believe is telling the truth: Siacoin and Obelisk developer David Vorick or Bitmain. Do you believe Bitmain? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Bitmain Hits Back at “Dirty Tricks” Accusations appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Thomson Reuters is launching a cryptocurrency real-time rates data feed. The new service is expected to provide “reliable, real-time information” for six digital coins across major crypto exchanges. The stated goal is to encourage efficiency and transparency for cryptocurrency investors within the global market place. Also read: Thomson Reuters and Marketpsych Launch Bitcoin Sentiment Index Six Cryptocurrencies Will Be Tracked The new Cryptocurrency Real Time Rates are already accessible through a customized API interface on Thomson Reuters Eikon platform. The application is providing trading data from various crypto exchanges including Bitflyer and Bitpoint. More trading platforms will be added in the future, according to a Reuters report. The announcement comes after a recent Thomson Reuters survey found that cryptocurrency trading by financial firms is likely increase this year. About 20% of 400 finance companies participating in the study are considering entering trading crypto assets within 12 months. That means that one in every five of the undisclosed businesses plans to establish direct contact with cryptocurrencies in 2018. Pricing data for the real-time rates will cover six cryptocurrencies, not mentioned in the report. The launch of the service could be interpreted as an indication that Reuters is considering embracing the digital asset class on ‎its own trading platforms. In December, the mass media and information giant added bitcoin cash (BCH) to Eikon. BCH became only the third cryptocurrency to list on the platform after bitcoin core (BTC) and ethereum. ‎ The latest release comes after an announcement from CME Group which is launching a daily price benchmark for ‎Ethereum, as reported by Financial Magnets. The service will be provided in partnership with the cryptocurrency trading platform Crypto Facilities.‎ Earlier this year, Thomson Reuters Corp. announced the launch of a new version of the Marketpsych Indices sentiment data feed, which includes analysis of bitcoin market sentiment. The service is provided in cooperation with Marketpsych Data LLC, as news.Bitcoin.com reported in March. 400 news and social media sites, including many specific to cryptocurrencies, have been added to the feed. Each one of them is scanned and scored in real time to ascertain market-moving sentiments and themes. Immense Growth Highlights Strong Momentum According to Michael Go, head of FX Market Development for Asia Pacific at Thomson Reuters, the immense growth in the cryptocurrency market in the last decade highlights the strong momentum around the new technology and the tradable asset class. “Thomson Reuters Cryptocurrency Real Time Rates enhances our rate offering and helps create a transparent and efficient global marketplace, vital to the future stability of cryptocurrency trading to support the investor,” he commented. “As the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Bitflyer has made efforts to facilitate the development of cryptocurrency markets,” said Yuzo Kano, CEO and co-founder of the trading platform. He noted that Bitflyer is the first company to obtain license to trade cryptocurrencies in Japan, the US and Europe. “We are delighted to be able to provide valuable data to customers worldwide through Thomson Reuters,” Kano added. President and representative director of Bitpoint, Genki Oda, also expressed satisfaction with the partnership on the real-time rates. “We are pleased to cooperate with Thomson Reuters in the further enhancement of its services and hope that our data will become a benchmark for the cryptocurrency industry as a global cryptocurrency trading exchange,” Oda said. Do you think the introduction of services like the real-time crypto rates helps the adoption of cryptocurrencies? Share your opinions 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 Thomson Reuters Launches Real Time Rates for Six Cryptocurrencies appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The slow but steady growth in the limited trading options available to American investors on regulated exchanges is the main focus of today’s edition of Bitcoin in Brief. Additionally covered are a surprise resignation, another ransomware attack, and much more. Also Read: Steve Eisman of ‘The Big Short’ Fame: What Value Does Cryptocurrency Actually Add? NYDFS Approves Expanded Crypto Portfolio New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo has announced on Monday that Gemini Trust Company LLC has been authorized to offer the custody services and trading of Zcash, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash on its exchange based in NYC. She said: “This action continues New York’s longstanding commitment to innovation and leadership in the global marketplace. With smart and thorough regulatory oversight, the development and long-term growth of the industry will remain thriving.” The addition of Zcash especially seems to have taken the market by surprise, leading to its price jumping over 40% in the last twenty-four hours. Back in March, the founders of the trading venue revealed that adding new cryptocurrency options are high on the company’s agenda this year, with BCH and LTC at the top of the list. Tyler Winklevoss, CEO of Gemini, commented on Monday: “We are proud to be the first licensed exchange in the world to offer Zcash trading and custody services and look forward to providing customers with a safe, secure, and regulated place to buy, sell, and store Zcash, an incredible new form of digital cash.” Surprise CEO Resignation Chris Lee, Chief Executive Officer at Chinese-run cryptocurrency exchange Okex, has reportedly left his position with the Hong Kong based company. Lee cited personal reasons for his departure, seeking to “start a new life,” the exchange stated on Monday. According to his spokeswoman, Lee added it had been the “greatest pleasure and an honor” to work at Okex and that he will return to the blockchain community after a short break to spend time with his family. The surprising move raised some speculations online as for the reasons. $1 Million Bitcoin Heist Foiled According to media reports from the state of Georgia, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office found that five young men had conspired to break into a local home and steal nearly $1 million in bitcoin. Their robbery investigation has reportedly been ongoing since January, following a drug bust. The five young men, Justin Ellison, Trivette Adams, Matthew Schwartz, Jacob South, and Michael McDermont, have been charged with residential strong arm robbery and are being held in a detention center without bond. Australian Sexual Health Provider Held for Ransom Family Planning New South Wales, one of Australia’s largest reproductive and sexual health service providers, has sent out an email to its clients on Monday notifying them that it reported a cyber attack on its website to Australian Federal Police. “I want to stress to people that this has absolutely nothing to do with, and has no impact on our clinical medical records, they’ve always been secure,” the organization’s chief executive Ann Brassil said at a press conference on Monday. “There’s no evidence that this cyberattack was on Family Planning NSW itself;…and it appears it was an attack for ransom, so it was financial. The ransom said we are shutting down your website and you pay us $15,000 in Bitcoin for us to release the website, and it had a clock ticking down.” Polish Propaganda Polish financial authorities have again been found to spend taxpayers’ money on a smear campaign on social media against investing in cryptocurrencies. Poland’s Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) has issued a new tender order to plan and conduct a campaign aimed at “building awareness” among the public for the risks associated with investing in cryptocurrencies, pyramid schemes and forex activities unsupervised by the KNF. Earlier this year it was reveled that the Central Bank of Poland and KNF had paid over 90,000 PLN (złoty) to, among others, a Polish Youtube content network which represents many popular young local content creators to produce anti-crypto videos. What do you think about today’s news updates? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Do you agree with us that Bitcoin is the best invention since sliced bread? Thought so. That’s why we are building this online universe revolving around anything and everything Bitcoin. We have a store. And a forum. And a casino, a pool and real-time price statistics. The post Bitcoin in Brief Tuesday: NY Regulator Approves Bitcoin Cash, Zcash and Litecoin Trading appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Popular crypto payment processor, Bitpay, announced formal agreement with Florida’s Seminole County Tax Collector, Joel M. Greenberg. Bitcoin core (BTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH) can now both be used for tax payments, beginning this summer. County residents can pay in crypto for driver licenses, ID cards, and even property taxes. Also read: Coinbase Remains the Most Successful and Important Company in the Crypto Industry Bitpay Allows Enthusiasts in Seminole County, Florida to Pay Taxes in Crypto File under: bitter sweet. Joel M. Greenberg, Seminole County Tax Collector, explained, “We live in a world where technology has made access to services on demand, with same-day delivery and the expectation of highly efficient customer service and we should expect the same from our government. The aim of my tenure in office is to make our customer experience faster, smarter, and more efficient, and to bring government services from the 18th century into the 21st century and one way is the addition of cryptocurrency to our payment options.” Mr. Greenberg Cryptocurrency isn’t necessarily moral nor immoral. It is an amoral technology, a tool. It can be used for terrorism, vacation getaways, housing, and, now, taxes. As governments are wont, they’re usually immune from innovation. But when it comes to revenue collection they’re surprisingly spry, alert, on it. Paying taxes by credit or debit has been a thing for a while, but always involved processors taking a heavy cut. The advent of crypto and the Bitpay Visa does away with a great many previous frictions, making the expropriation experience win-win: enthusiasts don’t have to do yet another conversion, and governments save in fees. Holding Noses, Simplified Head of Compliance at Bitpay, Jeremie Beaudry, detailed, “Bitpay was started because we recognized the potential for blockchain to revolutionize the financial industry, making payments faster, more secure, and less expensive on a global scale. With the Seminole County Tax Collector’s office, we have engaged our first government agency to accept bitcoin and bitcoin cash by making it easy and seamless for them.” And though the broader crypto community has its issues with funding governments, making paying them shouldn’t be any more cumbersome than need be. Bitpay and Seminole County teamed to allow bitcoin cash and bitcoin core for pretty much everything: car tags and titles, licenses, even property tax. The county tax collector gets their money settled by the following business day, paid directly to the account in fiat. The local government is spared notorious price volatility and the usual risk associated with crypto. As Bitpay’s press release insists, through a “push transaction, the user sends the exact amount of bitcoin or bitcoin cash needed to pay the bill. This eliminates traditional credit card fraud and identity theft risks associated with credit cards.” The company’s fees are also better than merely competitive, as 1% per approval is way below market rate. And for those wishing to pay their taxes, the processor can be accessed through traditional computers or smartphones. Is the ability to pay taxes with crypto a good way to increase overall adoption? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments below. Images via Shutterstock, Pixabay, Bitpay. 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 Bitpay Enables Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin Core (BTC) for Tax Payments appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Arrest warrants have reportedly been issued to three employees of a small South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, including its representative director. The three are “suspected [of] fraud and embezzlement,” according to local media. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Arrest Warrants for Crypto Exchange’s Employees On Monday, local media reported that arrest warrants have been issued to employees of a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange. “Three of the company’s executives, who operate virtual currency trading site HTS Coin, were arrested for [suspicion of] fraud and embezzlement,” Money Today wrote. The Financial Investigation Division 2 of the South Korean Prosecutor’s Office “demanded a warrant for three employees, including…[the] CEO of HTS Coin,” Token Post detailed, adding that the other two employees are a program developer and a system operations manager. The news outlet elaborated: According to the prosecution, Shin [the representative director] and his employees are suspected of taking money out of their accounts by transferring customer funds from a bank account to another account. The publication explained that the three are also suspected of “deceiving investors, [by] pretending to” have cryptocurrencies “on the computer side without having real cryptocurrencies.” “The prosecution believes that they have falsified” records and “used the money in the customer’s account as a personal account of the exchange,” Joongang added. Responding to media reports, the exchange posted a notice Monday on its website maintaining that “All services except Korean won deposits, such as Korean won withdrawals, coin deposits, and coin withdrawals, are operating normally,” clarifying: HTS Coin is currently under investigation by the prosecution and we are working diligently…Unlike external concerns, we still have 100% of your deposits and coins. We keep customer deposits and coins that can be withdrawn promptly even if all customers request a withdrawal at the same time. On-Going Investigations According to Asiae, an “interrogation of the suspects before the arrest was held in the southern part of Seoul on the morning of the same day,” adding that in March the “prosecutors searched three virtual currency exchanges including Coinnest, and it was reported that HTS Coin was included in the seizure investigation at that time.” Joongang confirmed this report, stating that “prosecutors searched three virtual currency exchanges including HTS Coin, Coinnest, and Komid last March.” The news outlet further conveyed that “the prosecution has been investigating the illegal acts of virtual currency trading sites” in collaboration with the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) under the supervision of the Financial Services Commission (FSC). In March, “the investigation resulted in the arrest of four executives including CEO Kim Ik-hwan [of] Coinnest…Kim was handed over to trial last month.” Last week the prosecution also started investigating South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit as the regulators announced the widening probe of crypto exchanges. Money Today emphasized, “however, in the case of Upbit, there is no suspicion of embezzlement unlike Coinnest and HTS.” What do you think of the Korean prosecutors going after HTS Coin’s employees? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Coinnest. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Arrest Warrants Issued to Employees of South Korean Crypto Exchange appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article