roadrunner

Typically when people think of bitcoin mining operations they look to countries like Iceland and mainland China. However, most people do not know that the small country of Georgia, a region of Eurasia, is ranked the second most profitable area in the world for cryptocurrency mining just below China. Also read: Russian Regulators Draft Law to Restrict Crypto Mining, Payments, and Token Sales Cryptocurrency Miners Are Flocking to the Small Country of Georgia The country of Georgia is well-known for its wine, but these days the region has also become known for its blossoming cryptocurrency mining hub where entrepreneurs are looking to profit. Georgia is a democratic nation-state located between the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Over the past few years, bitcoin and cryptocurrency miners have been flocking to the Georgian region due to the country’s lack of regulations and inexpensive hydropower. According to a recent NPR report, the U.S. based firm Bitfury once accounted for most of the Georgian mining facilities, but there are many other smaller operations as well. The company’s Georgian mining facilities existed outside of the Tbilisi region but, according to reports, the company’s main data site was recently sold. The country of Georgia once known for its wine country is now becoming a bitcoin mining country. Many home miners have been setting up shop in Georgia as well, like Bezhani Buzhaidze, a Telavi resident who subsidizes his income by mining bitcoin and zcash. Buzhaidze explains in his recent interview that last year he was raking in roughly $800 USD every thirty days mining zcash, and the electricity costs were only $80 per month. Buzhaidze explains that four of his friends are also participating in the Georgian mining industry. Moreover, cryptocurrencies have also brought Georgians the dream of the technology one day unleashing free markets worldwide without crony capitalism. “We won’t need banks anymore,” Buzhaidze details. “It will be good for society.” According to reports, the country of Georgia is second to China as far as mining profitability is concerned. Georgian Bureaucrats and Bitcoin Mining Even though regulations are lighter than other countries, the Georgian central bank has issued statements to potential retail investors that cryptocurrencies may be “risky investments.” However, there are a lot of Georgians who want the digital currency industry to thrive in the country, and recently a political party has been mining cryptocurrencies to fund its campaigns. However, Bitfury’s annual electricity estimates state that the firm utilized 28 million kilowatt-hours of power every thirty days in Georgia which has made some political leaders uneasy. Some oppositional bureaucrats also allege that the former Prime Minister of Georgia, Bidzina Ivanishvili, is secretly partnered with the Bitfury operations. Public records show a fund tied to one of Ivanishvili’s investment arms allowed Bitfury to borrow funds, but according to Bitfury’s attorney the loan was paid in full, and he explains that “no financial ties remain.” Still local news publications like Georgia Today detail that Bitfury’s George Kikvadze is an active member of Ivanishvili’s investment vehicle. Since then the company has sold its main data facility in Georgia but still runs smaller mining operations in the country and rents the land where the data centers reside. Blockchain data reveals this week Bitfury captures 1.8 percent of the BTC global hashrate. Utilizing Georgia’s energy sector can be very lucrative as prices per wattage in the region can be roughly 4 – 6 U.S. cents/kWh according to Galt & Taggart research. There are 22 hydro plants under construction in Georgia and 72 established hydro plants in the country. Cryptocurrency miners worldwide now see the country as a profitable region to set up shop as Georgia is steadily becoming a digital currency mining epicenter. What do you think about the country of Georgia becoming a prosperous region for bitcoin mining second to China? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments below. Images via Pixabay, Geoatlas, Bitfury, and Wiki Commons. Have you tried our new Bitcoin (BCH) Block Explorer yet? Check it out today! The post Georgia Has Become Eurasia’s Cryptocurrency Mining Epicenter appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Ethereum’s smart contract bugs just keep on coming. Exchanges including Okex, Poloniex, Coinone, and Hitbtc today suspended deposits of ERC20 tokens following the discovery of a batch overflow bug written into the smart contracts governing numerous coins. The news comes in the same week that the ethereum community voted against restoring the lost ether that was locked up in the Parity smart contract bug last year. Also read: Report Claims 34,000 Ethereum Smart Contracts Are Vulnerable to Bugs Ethereum Tokens Battle a Nasty Bug Creating an ethereum token that is free from exploitable bugs is a lot harder than it sounds. Earlier this year researchers claimed to have found 34,000 ethereum smart contracts that are vulnerable to bugs and a blog post authored this week has zeroed in on one in particular: a batch overflow bug that affects ERC20 smart contracts. Its discovery is serious enough to have prompted Okex to announce the suspension of ERC20 token deposits, writing: We are suspending the deposits of all ERC-20 tokens due to the discovery of a new smart contract bug – “Batchoverflow”. By exploiting the bug, attackers can generate an extremely large amount of tokens, and deposit them into a normal address. This makes many of the ERC-20 tokens vulnerable to price manipulations of the attackers. Okex added: “To protect public interest, we have decided to suspend the deposits of all ERC-20 tokens until the bug is fixed. Also, we have contacted the affected token teams to conduct investigation and take necessary measures to prevent the attack.” Numerous other exchanges have followed suit. The SMT smart contract shows clear signs of exploitation Squishing Bugs Is a Never-Ending Battle The possibility of attackers being able to steal, freeze, or duplicate ERC20 tokens is a nightmare scenario for any projects building on the ethereum protocol, as well as for existing tokens, whose teams will now be closely scrutinizing their code for vulnerabilities. One of the tokens affected is Smartmesh (SMT), an ERC20 that is tradeable on Huobi, Gate.io, Hitbtc, and Okex. Its smart contract currently shows signs of blatant exploitation, with a token balance and token value that run to over 30 figures. Hundreds of billions of SMT have been transferred from the Smartmesh smart contract in the past 24 hours. The batch overflow blog post published on April 22 also identifies the Beautychain (BEC) token as having fallen prey to the same exploit. Its author writes: “We further run our system to scan and analyze other contracts. Our results show that more than a dozen of ERC20 contracts are also vulnerable to batchoverflow. To demonstrate, we have successfully transacted with one vulnerable contract (that is not tradable in any exchange) as our proof-of-concept exploit.” While the ERC20 tokens that have been affected by this exploit appear to comprise lesser known coins, the risk the bug presents is not limited to these projects alone. If attackers can create tokens out of thin air, they can then trade these on exchanges for ethereum or bitcoin, which has the potential to affect the price of these assets and to affect confidence in the ethereum ecosystem in particular. With the war for next generation blockchains heating up as competitors such as EOS prepare to launch, smart contract bugs are a burden that ethereum could do without. Do you think ERC20 bugs can be eradicated altogether, or is there likely to be more vulnerabilities still undiscovered? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, and Coinmarketcap. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Exchanges Suspend ERC20 Token Deposits After Discovery of Smart Contract Bug appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Private security firms in Moscow are offering a new service – protection for people buying and selling cryptocurrency for cash. The companies have also expressed readiness to help investigate crypto-related crimes. Police are still reluctant to work on such cases, as cryptocurrencies are not yet regulated in Russia. Also read: Chinese Merchants in Moscow Convert Most of Their Cash to Crypto Bitcoin Worth Millions Snatched By Crypto Crooks Several security companies in the Russian capital are now offering protection services to people trading cryptocurrencies offline. Deals often take place right on the street and involve crypto transactions through mobile or hard wallets and cash transfers. Virtual and fiat funds are often lost by a crypto user falling victim to modern day criminals. A growing number of cases of cryptocurrency-related fraud and theft have been reported by Russian media in the past few months. While police are still reluctant to work on these cases, as cryptocurrencies are not yet regulated in Russia, their colleagues from the private sector have expressed readiness to help with the investigations. Recently, police in Moscow arrested members of an organized criminal group from Dagestan, who have carried out attacks on crypto investors, the online outlet Life reported. In December, an attack on a 20-year-old student owning cryptocurrency worth millions of rubles became a media sensation. The young man was kidnaped at a subway station. Threatening him with a knife, the attackers took him to his home where they asked for 100 million rubles ($1.6 million) in cryptocurrency. Several days ago, another Moscovite was robbed of 10 million rubles worth of bitcoin ($160,000). In broad daylight he tried to seal a deal with a “buyer” who took his hard wallet and sped off without paying any cash for the cryptos. A week before that, a resident of Nizhny Novgorod lost 800,000 rubles in cryptocurrency ($13,000) under pretty much the same circumstances. Not long ago, a senior citizen in Volgograd was also robbed by crypto crooks. The criminal statistics in Russia are full of similar cases. Most of these crimes have been committed during crypto-fiat exchange deals on the street. Many Russians are tempted by these direct sales because online trading platforms take hefty commissions. Usually they involve cash payments and crypto transfers. Rates Starting at Just $15 per Hour The increasing number of thefts and frauds related to offline crypto deals has created a need for a new type of security escort service. Several companies in Moscow are already offering it to crypto buyers and sellers. Rates start at just 1,000 rubles per hour, about $15 USD, but prices go up if the client wants to rent a company car or hire more guards. Russian law imposes restrictions on personal guard services, and the firms prefer to sign contracts for property protection. A suitcase with cash and a hard wallet with cryptocurrency fall within this category. “The cost of our services depends on the amount of the transaction – we are charging a percentage. We also offer services abroad, as cryptocurrency is an international phenomenon,” said Natalia Kurovskaya, owner of one of the Moscow-based security firms. Kurovskaya added that her company also works with crypto investors who have been robbed or defrauded by criminals. In her words, government law enforcement agencies don’t know how to investigate such crimes, as there is no legislation regulating the crypto sector yet. In February, the founder of the Prizma coin was kidnapped in Moscow. His attackers took 300 bitcoins from him, along with $20,000, a notebook, and three mobile phones. Russian police, however, did not include the cryptos in the list of the stolen items. Do you think private companies can do a better job investigating crypto-related crimes than police? Tell us in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post Security Firms Offer Protection for Crypto Traders in Moscow appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Sequoia Capital, a venture capital firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California is suing the Chinese founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao (better known as CZ). The American VC fund reportedly accuses CZ of allegedly negotiating with another firm while he signed an exclusivity agreement with Sequoia. Also Read: Bitcoin in Brief Wednesday: Crypto Leakers, Hackers and Rappers Fast Moving Target According to Hong Kong court filings from March 26 and April 24, CZ and Sequoia started talking about terms for a possible investment by the fund in Binance in August 2017. And that the investment would have bought Sequoia almost an 11% stake in the exchange at a valuation of a mere $80 million. Unsurprisingly, as the prices of bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies continued to rally, the deal seemed unattractive to CZ and the talks collapsed by the middle of December 2017. In fact, by the start of 2018 Binance claimed to be the largest cryptocurrency trading venue in the world with over 2.9 million users joining the platform since its launch in July of 2017. Based on that incredible growth the exchange was more fairly valued in the hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars. And by December 14, CZ’s people informed Sequoia that Binance’s existing shareholders considered their proposal to undervalue the exchange, as Bloomberg reports. Talking With IDG Capital on the Side? It looks like Sequoia suspects that CZ didn’t reject their offer just because of the soaring valuation mismatch but because he received a competing better proposal. He was allegedly approached by IDG Capital offering two rounds of funding, valuing Binance at $400 million and $1 billion. This was at a time when Sequoia had an exclusivity agreement with CZ. Now the exchange founder and the VC fund are reportedly planning to settle this case in arbitration. IDG responded to the news by saying that it did not invest in Binance and denied any relationship with the exchange. The Hong Kong based exchange has a global offering and supports multiple languages including English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, French and German. Last month Prime Minister Joseph Muscat warmly welcomed the Binance cryptocurrency platform to Malta, the “blockchain island”. Does this lawsuit sounds like it has any merit? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Make sure you do not miss any important Bitcoin-related news! Follow our news feed any which way you prefer; via Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, RSS or email (scroll down to the bottom of this page to subscribe). We’ve got daily, weekly and quarterly summaries in newsletter form. Bitcoin never sleeps. Neither do we. The post Binance Exchange Founder Sued by VC Fund Sequoia Capital appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

ICOs seeking to crowdfund their big idea have a quandary: should they register their token as a security, complete with the expense, delays, and paperwork this entails, or should they brand it a utility and hope the SEC doesn’t come after them? Last year, virtually everything was labeled a utility and SEC-compliant crowdsales were almost unheard of. But in 2018, launching a utility token in the U.S. is fraught with risks and uncertainty. To tap into the lucrative U.S. market, the regulatory route is now the only viable path to follow. Also read: Vinny Lingham Interview: Scaling, Securities and Bitcoin Extremism Ignorance of Securities Law Is No Excuse When token sales emerged, they were seen by advocates as a great source of capital that circumvented existing restrictions on fundraising. As it turns out, ICOs can be a great means of raising money, but they are not a new fundraising vehicle that is exempt from the law. For the first half of 2017, ICOs such as Tezos merrily raised funds from U.S. investors under the assumption that their crowdsale was above board because it involved a utility token rather than a security. But as subsequent lawsuits have shown, just because something’s branded as a utility doesn’t make it one. By late last year, the number of ICOs willing to accept U.S. investors had dwindled to a trickle and projects were tripping over themselves to preface every mention of their token with the words “UTILITY” for the avoidance of doubt. Others have published their responses to the Howey Test as further evidence that their token could not possibly be a security. Well-meaning as these attempts may be, they do not change the fact that most ICO tokens almost certainly constitute a security, a view espoused by SEC chairman Jay Clayton. Litigation Lawyers Have Their Say At Start Engine’s ICO 2.0 Summit in Santa Monica on April 20, one of the most interesting panel discussions was loaded with litigators. “ICO Litigation and Enforcement Update” included Nick Morgan, a partner at Paul Hastings, Dan Moylan, a litigator at Venable, and Perrie Weiner from DLA Piper, all of whom are familiar with the inner workings of the SEC and securities law. Nick Morgan Nick Morgan was senior trial counsel in the SEC’s enforcement division, making him well aware of the reluctance of the SEC to say “Yes”. “In 2017 we saw a lot of ‘No’,” he observed during the panel discussion. “The question is ‘Can I offer my token for sale without registering it or being exempt?’ The SEC in 2017 and 2018 has repeatedly said ‘No’…What we’re waiting for and hopeful to see…is a ‘Yes’ from the SEC.” He later added: “The first place we may get a ‘Yes’ will be from a judge,” and explained how “institutionally [the SEC] are reluctant to do so, because once they say ‘Yes’, everyone goes through that channel…but we may see a judge, in a case that’s being litigated, who says ‘This is not a security’”. Fellow panelist and litigator Dan Moylan noted: “When you look at the various regulatory agencies’ statements and actions in 2017 and so far in 2018, frankly in many ways they’re predictable…they told you what they were gonna do. They made it very clear, whether it’s the SEC or the CFTC or any number of other alphabet agencies.” Darren Marble, CEO of Crowdfundx, who was also in attendance at the summit, and a participant in a later panel discussion, told news.Bitcoin.com: Regulations are designed to protect investors. At the end of the day, investors have to win for blockchain businesses and cryptocurrencies to continue to thrive. With the recent spate of scams, fraud, and theft associated with ICOs, STOs [security token offerings] are a welcome, much needed alternative. While disclosure will never root out every scam deal, it will certainly reduce the number of bad actors and draw higher caliber issuers into the market. Anything You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You One of the take home messages from the Start Engine summit was that prior to embarking on a token sale and going public with their intent, entrepreneurs should talk to a lawyer. Any initial outlay this incurs is nothing compared to the sort of legal expenses that could be encountered further down the line should things go south and litigators come calling. Dan Moylan “Where do people get in trouble?” asked Dan Moylan. “What’s quoted in the complaint the SEC files or a plaintiff files? You see public statements. So…think long and hard and be very deliberate about the public statements you make. You know public companies, for example, pore over their public statements and SEC filings and investor calls…because they know that after the fact some plaintiff’s lawyer or a regulator…with the full benefit of 20/20 hindsight is gonna see if something might not be true or might be misleading.” He encouraged anyone considering launching an ICO to be “very thoughtful” about its structure and about “what you say in connection with it”. In one of the lawsuits filed against Tezos, for example the complaint highlights a Reddit AMA that Kathleen Breitman performed in which she referred to herself as a “one-woman band”, a seemingly innocuous statement, which which was later taken to suggest the extent to which she was responsible for what happened with Tezos. Dan Moylan observed: “The SEC made a show of going after the bad actors to shock the industry, to make it clear this is not an avenue that won’t be regulated in cases of fraud.” But as Perrie Weiner of DLA Piper noted, just because regulators are watching the space closely shouldn’t be cause for fear. He explained that the SEC don’t want to shut down the entire industry, but simply want “to ferret out the bad apples from the good”. Darren Marble Crowdfundx’s Darren Marble concluded: “The good news is that US-based blockchain companies have several available options for running a compliant security token offering (STO). Reg D is fast, easy, and efficient, has no cap on the raise, and allows verified accredited investors to invest. Reg A+ allows anyone over 18 globally to invest, has a $50 million cap on the raise, requires audited financials and filing a Form 1-A with the SEC.” In the security tokens era, ICOs pleading ignorance have no place to hide. Following the regulatory route may seem arduous, but it’s the only course of action that will allow U.S.-based startups to sleep easy. Given the large sums at stake, the costs of compliance are a drop in the bucket in comparison. Thanks to the added confidence such regulatory approval will give to investors, ICOs may conclude that it’s money well spent. Do you think full SEC compliance is the only way to safely launch a token sale in the U.S.? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Start Engine. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post In the Securities Era, ICOs Pleading Ignorance Have No Place to Hide appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The following opinion piece was written by Jonald Fyookball. The bitcoin cash (BCH) community understands key principles: Bitcoin should be a peer to peer Electronic Cash system; most users can use SPV wallets instead of running their own node; “second layer” scaling solutions are often unnecessary and problematic. While important, and it places the BCH ahead of others, education isn’t only about the scaling debate. It’s important to understand all aspects of Bitcoin. Also read: Telegram Urges Paper Airplane Protest, Pussy Riot Activist Arrested Bitcoin Cash Knowledge is Power If I were to ask a question: “Why did Bitcoin (BTC) fail its mission to become Peer to Peer Electronic Cash?” — you would likely hear many answers. Some would say “censorship”. Others would point to “centralization of protocol development” or “apathetic, complacent miners”… or even “Nakamoto Consensus doesn’t work”. Those answers may be correct to a certain degree. I’ll address each of them throughout this series, but there’s an overarching principle that connects all of these. And that principle is this: Not enough people in the Bitcoin community actually understood how Bitcoin is supposed to work. I say that humbly — it’s not that I’m so smart that I can explain how it’s all supposed to work, but here’s the point: Bitcoin is like a school of fish. We all have to be swimming together. Maybe not in perfect unison, but at least in the same direction. Isn’t it amazing how a school of fish can move together with coordinated body positions and synchronized movements? Scientists do not fully understand it, but it’s believed to be rooted in genetics. So how can we, the BCH community, be like the school of fish, and move together toward our destination without getting chewed apart by predators? Ultimately it boils down to this: Knowledge is power. The most important tool for liberty has always been a well informed populace. Another word that means the same thing, is: Education. A Deeper Problem than the Blocksize Debate Many in the BCH community understand key principles… like how Bitcoin should be a peer to peer Electronic Cash system. Or that most users can use SPV wallets instead of running their own node. Or that “second layer” scaling solutions are often unnecessary and problematic. Those things are very important. By understanding those (and other) fundamental principles, the BCH community is already well ahead of other communities, and that understanding goes a long way toward the goal of all swimming in the same direction. But education shouldn’t stop with knowledge of the scaling debate. We should understand all aspects of Bitcoin. Technical, economic, social… everything. The more we know, the better prepared we’ll be against whatever form a future spectre takes to try to destroy Bitcoin. As individuals, we should first take the responsibility to educate ourselves, and then educate others. And, perhaps education about the importance of education is the widest-scope principle we can formulate. It’s a meme-worthy idea. In Part 2, we’ll take a closer look at consensus, decision making, and the social aspect of Bitcoin. Written by Jonald Fyookball Jonald Fyookball (pseudonym) is a cryptocurrency enthusiast, best known as the project leader of the Electron Cash wallet, and for a series of hard hitting articles on the Bitcoin scaling debate. Jonald is a computer scientist, businessman, investor, libertarian, and Bitcoin advocate. What are your thoughts on educating the BCH community? 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. This is an Op-ed article. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. Bitcoin.com does not endorse nor support views, opinions or conclusions drawn in this post. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the Op-ed article. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the content. 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 information in this Op-ed article. The post How Bitcoin Cash Can Avoid the Same Mistakes as Bitcoin Core, Part 1 appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

According to the infamous licensed brothel in Nevada, the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, a sex worker named Lana West was paid for her intimate favors with a few thousand dollars in bitcoin. Since then the Bunny Ranch has announced accepting the digital currency for sexual services. Also read: Five Reasons Why Bitcoin Cash is About to Win Big The Cathouse Goes Bitcoin Lately a few escort business and sex workers have been revealing that they accept cryptocurrencies for sexual services. Now the well-known Bunny Ranch, a legal bordello owned by Dennis Hof is accepting bitcoin. The brothel’s location is in the state of Nevada, which allows legal prostitution as long as it is outside the jurisdiction of Las Vegas. The Bunny Ranch is a pretty popular destination on the outskirts of Carson City, and Dennis Hof and the brothel girls have been filmed on multiple occasions for the HBO documentary ‘Cathouse.’ Sex worker Lana West, who is a Bunny Ranch employee, exchanged an “intimate girlfriend experience” during the first week of April. According to West, clients can pay for services with a credit card but the brothel will show up on statements. That week a client asked West if she would accept bitcoin for payment. “A wonderful and rather tech-savvy client came in offering to purchase my services with Bitcoin,” West details in an interview. “Dennis approved it, and we executed a transfer from the customer’s bitcoin wallet to my own.” It was a mid-four-figure payment for an intimate girlfriend experience with me that lasted just over an hour — My client walked out with a smile on his face — but little did he know we actually made history together. Dennis Hof and the Bunny Ranch Cathouse girls. Cryptocurrency Revolutionising Adult Companionship Services The Bunny Ranch in Nevada is not the only sex service to accept cryptocurrencies. Bubble Escorts has recently announced accepting bitcoin for a “dream escort.” The company’s website proudly displays a BTC logo and the business provides an address during the booking process. “We have taken this decision upon our desire to move with the times as we have always been dedicated to revolutionising the way people book London escorts,” explains Bubble Escorts. “Cryptocurrency is growing in popularity and we are delighted to be the first London escorts provider to have listened to the demand.” We believe that accepting bitcoin payments is a new feature which will allow our clients to pay for our adult companionship services in the most discreet and safe way possible. The trend of sex workers accepting digital currencies for intimate services has increased over the past year. The Reddit forum /r/sexworkers discusses the subject and one individual states, “accepting bitcoin best thing ever decided.” Moreover, both female and male cryptocurrency accepting escorts can be found on the web portal Adultwork. For a while, the very popular website Backpage.com had a lot of advertisements for individuals offering escort services for bitcoin but the site has been shut down recently by the U.S. government. What do you think about the Moonlite Bunny Ranch accepting bitcoin for intimate services? Let us know what you think about this trend in the comments below. Images via Pixabay, Jim Wilson/The New York Times 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 The Notorious Bunny Ranch Brothel Now Accepts Bitcoin appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A South Korean cryptocurrency exchange said it suffered an internal system error which affected withdrawals. The exchange claimed that users were able to withdraw five times the number of coins they requested. It is asking for the coins back, and will seek civil liabilities and damages from users who do not voluntarily return the coins. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Internal System Error New South Korean exchange Cashierest reportedly caused a controversy on Friday when it claimed to have an internal system error which affected withdrawals, according to local media. The exchange, which was launched in March, said that the error allowed users to withdraw more than five times the coins requested. Meanwhile, some users are claiming that they could not withdraw any coins at all during that time. Money Today reported: The amount of money that has been withdrawn [from Cashierest] is more than the amount that was intended to be sent to another virtual currency trading site. Currently, the trading site is asking investors to return the misdirected virtual currency. Please Return the Free Coins The Korean crypto community is saying that users were able to withdraw up to five times the amounts requested from Cashierest, the news outlet conveyed, adding: An investor said that he moved cryptocurrency totalling 12 million won [~US$11,086] to Upbit, but the amount of 60 million won [~$55,400] was deposited. The Kakao-backed crypto exchange “Upbit detected the error through the transaction confirmation system and took measures to stop the withdrawal,” Newsis wrote. Sedaily elaborated that at 12:41 PM on Friday, Upbit “temporarily suspended [withdrawals] for some accounts where an overdelivery was detected from a presumed exchange.” According to Newsis, Cashierest began halting withdrawals at 1:30 PM on Friday. The exchange then claimed that everything was back to normal with deposit and withdrawal services resumed at 4:39 PM. Choi Jong-ku, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), talking about the real-name system. In South Korea, most crypto exchanges currently do not support withdrawals in Korean won. This is due to banks only issuing virtual accounts and providing services to the country’s largest crypto exchanges after the government implemented the real-name system at the end of January. Upbit is one of the four that allow users to withdraw Korean won; others are Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit. Users of other exchanges often transfer their coins to one of the four exchanges in order to sell them and withdraw Korean won. Cashierest subsequently put a notice up on its website regarding this error, as conveyed by Money Today: If you do not return it [coins obtained by error] within 24 hours, we will seek civil liabilities, and we will claim damages for the interest as long as it is delayed. Other Withdrawal Problems Notice on Cashierest’s website. Meanwhile, some Cashierest users claimed that they were not able to withdraw their coins during the commotion, according to Biz Hankook publication. One user said that “the withdrawal request was completed and then arbitrarily canceled, and the coins were returned to the virtual wallet [at Cashierest].” Another user told the news outlet that the “Txid (transaction number) has been granted after requesting the withdrawal of the cryptocurrency, but it cannot be found” on the site confirming crypto transactions. A third user described, “I withdrew the cryptocurrency, but only the transfer completed message was found, and the transaction was not made, and the coins that requested the withdrawal [of] came [back] into the Cashierest wallet again.” No Virtual Account, No Self-Regulation According to the publication, an official of the exchange pointed out “that Cashierest is operating without a virtual account.” He believes “that this problem occurs because an exchange staff confirms whether the currency and the payment are matched,” adding that this can lead to “a huge mistake.” “We have confirmed that it is not an external hack, but it is still necessary to check whether there is any problem with the internal system,” the official of the exchange was quoted, adding that: The damage amount was estimated to be around 1 billion won [~$924,000]…We are reviewing civil lawsuits and damages for members who do not intentionally return [the coins]. According to Yonhap, the exchange did not join the Korean Blockchain Association to declare self-regulation, which 23 other crypto exchanges in the country have. What do you think of this “system error”? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Cashierest, and Korea Herald. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post System Error at Korean Crypto Exchange Gave Users Free Coins appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On April 25 digital assets are seeing volatile price declines today across cryptocurrency markets worldwide. Over the past 24-hours, the entire cryptocurrency market capitalization has lost more than $30Bn since our last markets update. Bitcoin Core (BTC) market prices are averaging $8,920 right now after tumbling to the $8,700 territories earlier today. Bitcoin (BCH) market values have also dropped from their $1,550 high and currently hover around the $1,270 zone. Also read: ‘Coindaddy’ Another Crypto-Rapper Rhymes About Bitcoin Life Bears Claw BTC Prices Below the $9K Zone Bears have managed to claw digital asset markets as many are nurturing fresh losses today. BTC/USD prices are seeing a 24-hour decline of around 4.19 percent as prices have dipped below the $9K zone. Trade volume for BTC markets is still very steady and there’s a lot of action taking place with $11.9Bn traded over the past 24-hours. The top five exchanges swapping the most BTC include Binance, Bitfinex, Okex, Huobi, and Bitflyer. Meanwhile, the Japanese yen captures 49 percent of today’s BTC trades. This is followed by the USD (26%), tether (USDT, 14%), the euro (4%), and the South Korean won (3.3%). The euro has jumped above the won’s metrics as the currency takes the fifth global position today. BTC/USD Technical Indicators Charts show that BTC bulls hit some severe resistance after briefly touching $9,755 during yesterday’s trading sessions. Although there’s been a dip in the two Simple Moving Averages (SMA) on the 4-hour show, the 100 SMA is still above the longer-term 200 SMA. This indicates the downturn may be short-lived and the path to resistance will be headed towards the upside. MACd is dipping southbound while the Relative Strength (RSI) Levels have followed suit showing oversold conditions. Order books on the BTC/USD side indicate bulls need to break resistance again above the $9,200 region to get some better stride. There will also be another pitstop around the $9,700 range again, if they can make it that far. On the back side, there are strong buy walls between the current vantage point and $8,200. BTC/USD prices hover around $8,920. Bitcoin Cash Markets Daily Gains Drop 13% But Still Gained 49% Over the Past Week The bear market action has also affected BCH markets over the past 24 hours, as well. At the moment, BCH markets are down today 13.6 percent but are still up 49 percent over the past seven days. Bitcoin cash volume is still pretty good with close to $2Bn in daily trade volumes. The top five exchanges trading the most bitcoin cash today include Okex, Bitfinex, Huobi, Upbit, and GDAX. The top currency swapped with BCH today is BTC by 33.1 percent. This is followed by the USD (30%), tether (USDT, 20%), the South Korean won (10.5%), and the euro (2%). Ethereum pairs with BCH account for 1.2 percent of today’s trading action. BCH/USD Technical Indicators BCH/USD charts show that bitcoin cash bulls also hit hard resistance but hours before BTC did. Both BCH and BTC markets have been showing some uncorrelated activities between both markets. Still, just like BTC charts, the 4-hour BCH/USD SMAs have a nice gap between the 100 and 200 SMA trendlines. This indicates the path to resistance should also continue towards the upside, unless BCH bulls get too exhausted. MACd and RSI levels are also heading southbound showing market look oversold and will likely see some improvements. Order books show BCH bulls have some tough resistance to get past the $1,300 region all the way to the $1,375 territory. On the backside, if bears manage to keep relentlessly clawing back, the price foundations between $1,250 and $1,150 are solid. BCH/USD prices hover around $1,270. The Verdict: Optimism Still Remains The bear market could very well be a ‘bear trap’ where investors are lured into selling at lower prices because they panic. Most traders across social forums on Telegram and Reddit are optimistic about the past two weeks of bullish upswings. So far, sentiment remains positive even during the past 24-hour downturn. Some coins are still up, well over 40-50 percent, looking at the past thirty days, and the quick dip was to be expected. Where do you see the price of BCH, BTC, and other digital assets 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 Coinmarketcap. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post Markets Update: Bears Return to Crypto Markets for Some Action 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. Aramco Ltd. is a private company based out of the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. Aramco Coin has created the ARM token in order to allow people to invest in a cryptocurrency that has some intrinsic value and also to allow people to easily trade on the live price of Brent crude oil. Aramcocoin.io is a digitized interest in equivalent reserve barrels of crude oil and is free from the external risk of governmental intervention affecting the valuation of fiat currencies or the extreme volatility faced by digital currencies due to rapidly changing supply and demand dynamics. Aramcocoin.io offers all of the advantages historically associated with blockchain enabled digital currencies while providing a fully verifiable and audited asset reserve to ensure its value, stability and security as a leading medium of exchange. Aramco Coin originated from the idea of having a strong currency that has a backing on raw materials. The coin allows companies and individuals to make use of the transparent exchange of digital currency with essential value that arises from oil. Every Aramco coin stands for the worth of a single barrel of crude oil. It will be supported by a stern interest in a bundle of oil assets like Oil Future and Physical Oil plus every interest in all properties used for producing oil. The total value got after adding all interests represents the approximate value of every Aramco coins that are in circulation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-aZwcB7Fek ARM as an Investment : One of the key features of using ARM as an investment is the fact that each token is backed by a real barrel of oil. This, as is with other commodity backed cryptocurrencies, means that there is always a base minimum value to the digital asset. An ARM token can never be worth less than the value of the barrel of oil that it represents. According to Aramco Coin, this makes the coin a less volatile investment than free-floating digital currencies and, therefore, a more secure asset. Along with the proposed security of the investment, owning and holding ARM tokens has residual benefits. Aramco is guaranteeing that the price of ARM will increase by at least $0.01 USD every single day for life. That kind of return isn’t life changing money, but it is, at the very least, financial movement in the right direction. Trading with ARM : While holding ARM tokens as an investment is certainly one of the encouraged uses of the Aramco Coin offering, Aramco Coin seems to be more heavily invested in the idea that people will be using the coin to trade on the price of oil. In fact, we have developed a slick online trading platform that will allow ARM owners to trade against the live price of Brent crude on the London Stock Exchange. Traders will pay fees just as all traders do in all markets, but Aramco is putting incentives in place to ease the burden of speculators. These incentives are offered on a sliding scale and allow investors to receive between a 50% and a 90% discount on their fees. Aramco (ARM) Initial Coin Offering Details : The Initial Coin Offering (ICO) for the ARM digital coin will begin with 3 stages 1)Pre-sale on April 24th, 2018. The pre-sale will run until May 8th, 2018. The incentive for investors during this time is a 15% bonus on all purchases. 2)Stage-1 sale on May 9th 2018. The Stage-1 sale will run until May 23th 2018. The incentive for investors during this time is a 10% bonus on all purchases. 3)Stage-2 sale on May 24th 2018. The Stage-2 sale will run until June 7th 2018. The incentive for investors during this time is a 5% bonus on all purchases. As ARM is an Ethereum based digital currency, it can be purchased using ETH , BTC and subsequently traded on the Aramco digital trading platform. If you would like to get a complete picture of the ARM token and the plans that Aramco has made for the digital trading platform, you can read the ARM white paper or onepager at our website : https://aramcocoin.io Contact Email Address support@aramcocoin.io Supporting Link https://www.aramcocoin.io/en This is a paid press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post PR: Aramcocoin Launches Crypto Commodity Coin appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The bitcoin exchange industry is widely considered to be in a process of transition, with big players stepping in and acquisitions leading to greater consolidation. As such it is not surprising to hear that Bitstamp is on the shelf, although a rumored buyer now denies it. Also Read: Bitcoin in Brief Wednesday: Crypto Leakers, Hackers and Rappers Nexon Korea Denial Lee Jung-hun, the CEO of Nexon Korea, has denied reports that the company is engaged in negotiations to acquire the cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday at the company’s headquarters in Pangyo, South Korea he reportedly said: “Nexon Korea does not have anything to do with a Bitstamp acquisition.” The CEO added that: “We do not have any plans to link cryptocurrencies with our game business.” Nexon is an online gaming giant established in Seoul back in 1994, which moved its headquarters to Japan in 2005 and went public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2011 (TYO: 3659), and now employs close to 6000 people. Its parent company, NXC Corp., has acquired a controlling stake in one of Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Korbit, back in September 2017. Considering this, it is technically possible that NXT is in talks to buy a part of Bitstamp too, and that Nexon Korea is just not involved, but the CEO gave no indication that that is the case. Bitstamp Acquisition Rumors Founded in 2011 as a European-focused bitcoin exchange, Bitstamp is considered to be the longest surviving cryptocurrency exchange to date. The rumors about its acquisition by Nexon Korea appear to have started with a report by Business Insider that Bitstamp is up for sale and that the South Korean gaming company is in pole position to acquire it. The price according to the report is said to be about $350 million, citing two people familiar with the deal. If Bitstamp will indeed by acquired by a Korean group that will not be very surprising. The cryptocurrency exchange business has seen a lot of rapid changes recently, especially in the Far East where established internet conglomerates see an urgent need to enter the space before they miss the boat as regulators are stepping in and making it harder on smaller companies to get licensed. Most recently Coincheck exchange has decided to sell the company to one of the largest online securities trading companies in the Japan, Monex. Do you believe the CEO of Nexon Korea that nothing is going on with Bitstamp? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Make sure you do not miss any important Bitcoin-related news! Follow our news feed any which way you prefer; via Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, RSS or email (scroll down to the bottom of this page to subscribe). We’ve got daily, weekly and quarterly summaries in newsletter form. Bitcoin never sleeps. Neither do we. The post $350 Million Bitstamp Acquisition Negotiations Denied by Nexon CEO appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In what is being referred to as a “groundbreaking lawsuit”, United Kingdom financial guru Martin Lewis is taking aim at Facebook’s lack of vigilance with regard to fake accounts. Mr. Lewis claims his likeness and reputation were used in multiple fraudulent instances, peddling mostly investment advice for assets such as bitcoin. Also read: James Bond-Like Villain in $2 Million Bitcoin Heist Caught in Amsterdam Facebook to Be Sued for Defamatory Bitcoin Ads “I will issue High Court proceedings against Facebook,” the popular UK financial advisor posted in lieu of his regular column, “to try and stop all the disgusting repeated fake adverts from scammers it refuses to stop publishing with my picture, name and reputation.” Mr. Lewis is proprietor of a consumer finance site and host of Independent Television’s (ITV) The Martin Lewis Money Show. “Within the last year,” a press release reads, Facebook “has published over 50 fake Martin Lewis adverts, which are regularly seen, likely by millions of people, in the UK. These adverts are often for scams. Many have big pictures of Martin and his name, alongside a raft of false promises or endorsements – some then link on to fake articles which continue the theme.” Facebook fraudulent ad Increasingly, Facebook has come under fire for its privacy policies, including having to defend itself in front of the United States Senate and House of Representatives. The social network seems to understand there is a problem with crypto-related ads, taking action earlier this year, insisting “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.” Evidently their latest moves have yet to produce results. As a result, Mr. Lewis will “issue High Court proceedings for a campaigning defamation lawsuit against Facebook and will be seeking exemplary damages. This is not being done for personal gain – he pledges any and all money paid out to him will be donated to anti-scam charities.” Enough is Enough The offending fake ad content revolves around get-rich-quick schemes. “‘Bitcoin code’ or ‘Cloud Trader,’” the release details, “are fronts for binary trading firms based outside the EU. Binary trading is a financially dangerous, near-certain money-loser, which the regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) strongly warns against.” “Enough is enough,” Mr. Lewis said. “I’ve been fighting for over a year to stop Facebook letting scammers use my name and face to rip off vulnerable people – yet it continues. I feel sick each time I hear of another victim being conned because of trust they wrongly thought they were placing in me. One lady had over £100,000 taken from her.” Another Facebook fraudulent ad He claims not to do advertisements, and has informed Facebook of that fact. “Any ad with my picture or name in is without my permission. I’ve asked it not to publish them, or at least to check their legitimacy with me before publishing. This shouldn’t be difficult – after all, it’s a leader in face and text recognition. Yet it simply continues to repeatedly publish these adverts and then relies on me to report them, once the damage has been done.” The attorney leading the charge urged, “Facebook is not above the law – it cannot hide outside the UK and think that it is untouchable. Exemplary damages are being sought. This means we will ask the court to ensure they are substantial enough that Facebook can’t simply see paying out damages as just the ‘cost of business’ and carry on regardless. It needs to be shown that the price of causing misery is very high.” Do you think more lawsuits like this are coming for Facebook? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, and Facebook. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Facebook to Be Sued for Defamation Related to Scammy Bitcoin Ads appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A leading cryptocurrency exchange in India, Zebpay, has introduced crypto-to-crypto trading on its platform. The launch closely follows the Reserve Bank of India banning banks from servicing crypto exchanges. Meanwhile, Zebpay celebrated its 3 millionth app download. Also read: Russian Regulators Draft Law to Restrict Crypto Mining, Payments, and Token Sales Crypto-to-Crypto Trading Indian cryptocurrency exchange Zebpay has launched its first crypto-to-crypto trading pair. Established in 2015 and headquartered in Mumbai, Zebpay claims to be India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. In March, the company said that its app had more than three million downloads, “making it the most downloaded cryptocurrency app on both iOS and Android in India.” Citing that its “engineers have been working round-the-clock to launch crypto-to-crypto trading,” the exchange detailed this week: Zebpay is excited to announce the launch of crypto-to-crypto trading. Now, you can easily exchange one cryptocurrency for another…The first pair we’re introducing is ETH/BTC. More crypto pairs coming soon. The “crypto-to-crypto trading feature will be available in the new app update: Android version 2.0.14 and iOS version 2.0.24,” the exchange clarified, adding that the fees for all crypto-to-crypto transactions will be charged in bitcoin. Furthermore, Zebpay tweeted last week that “Initially, this feature will be available to a limited set of users.” Indian Crypto Ecosystem Zebpay’s crypto-to-crypto trading launch follows the announcement by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which bans banks and financial institutions under its control from providing services to cryptocurrency exchanges. “We remain committed to keeping customer funds and assets secure, and are exploring various options,” Zebpay responded to RBI’s announcement. “However, a sudden disruption in banking services could affect our ability to service deposits and withdrawals, until banking services are restored. Please keep this risk factor in mind while making your investment decisions.” The crypto community has been growing in India. According to Zebpay, while it is estimated that 10 million Indians are investing in financial markets, 5 million Indians are said to be trading cryptocurrencies. “This translates to a market penetration of 60% for Zebpay with its 3 million downloads,” the company emphasized. CTO Mahin Gupta commented: Looking at the Indian milieu, people have started looking at cryptocurrencies not only as an investment option but as a technology that is about to change the future of money. Last month, the company teamed up with one of India’s largest tax filing platforms to help taxpayers with crypto-related taxes. What do you think of Zebpay launching crypto-to-crypto trading? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Business Standard, and Zebpay. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Indian Exchange Zebpay Launches Crypto-to-Crypto Trading appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The majority of South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges are implementing new self-regulatory rules and performing self-inspection. The industry group in charge of leading the efforts has clarified the differences between the new and old self-regulatory rules for its 23 exchange members. Also read: Russian Regulators Draft Law to Restrict Crypto Mining, Payments, and Token Sales Promoting Safe Crypto Trading Jeon Ha-jin’s interview. The Korean Blockchain Association, known for its efforts to spearhead self-regulation among the country’s cryptocurrency exchanges, has unveiled and clarified its self-regulatory rules. In an interview with Asia Economic TV on Tuesday, Jeon Ha-jin, chairman of the association’s self-regulatory committee, explained how the group and its exchange members are in the process of implementing self-regulation, adding that in the future: The role and responsibility of the blockchain association will be significant until a safe and sound cryptocurrency trading culture is formed. Jeon Ha-jin explaining about self-regulation. The rules were unveiled at a press conference last week by the association and 14 of its exchange members in an effort to “boost transparency of deals and head off money laundering, insider trading and other illegal deals,” the Korea Times reported. Specifically, the rules suggest that crypto exchanges “(1) manage clients’ digital coins and their own separately (2) cope with abnormal transactions quickly (3) list new crypto with enhanced client protection system (4) hold a minimum equity of 2 billion won [~US$1.85 million] and (5) publish regular audit and finance reports,” the news outlet conveyed, adding: The association will inspect the system of the 14 exchanges and nine newcomers to see if their systems meet the rules. But the inspection could have a limited impact because the rules are not legally binding. Inspections will start on May 1 and the association will look into the exchanges’ systems “to check if there are loopholes that could be used for insider trading, price rigging and money laundering,” the publication detailed. “Members are supposed to submit self-inspection reports to the association by May 8.” New vs Old Rules Clarified Jeon explained on a show hosted by the same TV station the differences between the new and old self-regulatory rules introduced by the association. He believes that “the government is now totally neglecting” small and medium-sized exchanges with the enforcement of the real-name system. Since it was implemented, banks have been reluctant to provide virtual account services to small and medium-sized exchanges, opting to only work with the country’s largest such as Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit. Describing the association’s approach to self-regulation, Jeon said “First, we examined the differences [of the new rules] from the existing self-regulation.” He then clarified: In the new self-regulation, the content of strengthening the transparency and security of cryptocurrency exchanges has been added. In order to prevent money laundering by the users of the exchanges, we have added a procedure to verify identity. Furthermore, he emphasized, “From next year, we will be able to trade [with] only one account per person. It [is] also planned to preserve transparency by keeping transaction records for five years.” Lawyer Jong Jae-jung said on the same TV show: Considering the size of the cryptocurrency market, it is necessary to impose a null and void liability in the event of damages caused by hacking or the like. It is desirable to impose an insurance policy on capital adequacy through appropriate capital requirements. What do you think of the new self-regulatory rules for South Korean crypto exchanges? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Asia Economic TV. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post New Self-Regulatory Rules for Crypto Exchanges in South Korea Clarified appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Today’s collection of Bitcoin in Brief stories from across the cryptosphere showcases how bitcoin is an unstoppable force. Even if one centralized avenue can be pressured by some governments, others will soon pop up to replace it in the decentralized global ecosystem. Also Read: 20% of Financial Institutions Examining Starting Cryptocurrency Trading Soon Wikileaks vs Coinbase A couple of days after Wikileaks called for a global blockade of Coinbase because the cryptocurrency exchange and payment processor blocked its official swag shop without notice or explanation, the organization has switched to a competing solution. Wikileaks announced that the shop has moved to using Canada’s Coinpayments and that its publishing arm has expanded its own bitcoin and privacy system. The organization then called out its former service provider again, explaining that: “Coinbase has become an unreliable and even dangerous service, subject to arbitrary, non-transparent actions as it merged with the US banking sector and started to provide information on its customers to the US government. It has become everything that Bitcoin was designed to stop.” Tellingly, while the US-based Coinbase remained silent on the matter, its competitor Kraken commented and explained the problem with relying on centralized services. The company tweeted: “Thank you all for suggesting Kraken as an alternative for @wikileaks, however, Kraken is also a centralized choke point. Those who require uncensored financial autonomy should control their own private keys and rely only on the blockchain for processing.” Ripple Seeking Street Cred If you’ve always considered Ripple to be a boring banking technology corporation riding the coattails of the cryptocurrency revolution, think again because they just got Snoop Dogg to perform at an upcoming event. The 46-year-old rapper, who has been a part of mainstream culture for a couple of decades now, will join a “VIP gathering” in New York next month. While Ripple will limit admission to only those on their invite list and tickets can’t even be purchased, they will offer ten members of the community a chance to enter by wining a trivia and a “Make the Meme” contests. The latter is not an original meme making competition but rather one in which the company will share two images and ask people to add captions for them. Hackers Shake Down Governments for Bitcoin Whether ransomware hackers are getting more brazen or just shooting aimlessly in every direction to see what they can hit, they are becoming a nuisance to more government bodies around the world. The latest example comes from the Ukraine where the energy ministry’s website has been blocked with a ransom request for just 0.1 bitcoin. Ukrainian cyber-police spokeswoman Yulia Kvitko reassured the public that: “This case is not large-scale. If necessary, we are ready to react and help. Our specialists are working right now. We do not know how long it will take to resolve the issue.” While paying off a modest 0.1 bitcoin ransom should not be too difficult for Ukraine, governments aren’t exactly known for efficiency. It was recently revealed in the US that Atlanta’s city government spent about $2.7 million to recover from a ransom demand of just $50k. In fact, city officials paid that sum for communications crisis management alone. Atlanta .gov ransomware attack costs pic.twitter.com/xgQEpbeZPZ — Ryan Naraine (@ryanaraine) April 23, 2018 New Crypto VC Fund Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm that previously invested in Coinbase, Earn.com and Cryptokitties, is apparently looking to spin-off a separate crypto-focused fund. While the company hasn’t announce anything publicly yet, it has published wanted ads for a “Finance and Operations Manager, Crypto Assets” and a “Legal Counsel, Crypto Assets” detailing it is planning “a separately managed fund focusing on crypto assets,” spotted by Recode. Majority Votes Against Restoring Parity’s Lost Ethers All the votes are in and the motion to restore Parity’s lost ethers has failed. 55% voted against implementing EIP 999 which was meant to patch the contract which was accidentally self-destructed costing users more than half a million ether, worth over $230 million at the time. Now it only remains to be seen if everyone will respect this decision and move on or if another ethereum fork is inevitable. San Marino Wants Part of Blockchain Action The tiny nation of San Marino joins other small locations in the European periphery, like Malta and Switzerland’s Zug, which see themselves potentially benefiting from the recent hype around blockchain. “We are the world’s oldest Republic and we are proud to begin a transformation lead by technology. We believe this partnership will have an significant impact on the economy, growing the innovation sector which is at the core of our development strategy” explained Andrea Zafferani, Secretary of State for Economic Development. “The Republic will also acquire a state of art set of regulations to become a world-leading blockchain hub.” “San Marino is ideally placed to become an innovator with this type of technology,” added Sergio Mottola, Executive Chairman of San Marino Innovation. “We are not interested in short term or opportunistic policies to take advantage of the speculation surrounding today’s cryptocurrency world. Rather, we are intrigued by the revolution implicit in the underlying technology: the “blockchain”, which we expect to bring an impact on the global economy greater than what the Internet has”. What other developments in the cryptoshpere caught your attention today? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Make sure you do not miss any important Bitcoin-related news! Follow our news feed any which way you prefer; via Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, RSS or email (scroll down to the bottom of this page to subscribe). We’ve got daily, weekly and quarterly summaries in newsletter form. Bitcoin never sleeps. Neither do we. The post Bitcoin in Brief Wednesday: Crypto Leakers, Hackers and Rappers 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. Utrum, a decentralized community platform with reputation-based quality reviews of crypto projects and assets, has announced its public token crowd sale to launch May 10, 2018. Utrum will offer OOT, a Privacy Coin and the utility token of the Utrum ecosystem. The crowd sale is the second ever dICO (decentralized Initial Coin Offering) and is being launched on the Komodo Platform (KMD). Komodo is the world leader in Atomic Swap technology and this technology will be utilized in the Utrum dICO App, allowing participants to invest in the ICO in a unique “wallet-to-wallet” transaction, receiving OOT immediately in exchange for their investment with no third-party intermediary. A grassroots project, Utrum was born out of a Komodo Slack conversation between a few cryptocurrency investors. Founder and Project Lead for Utrum, Sridhar Panasa, had observed the multitude of scams, misinformation, and chaos plaguing the crypto-investment community at large. Having previously run a Threat Intelligence company, Sridhar has a habit of looking at new technologies from a strong security perspective. “I saw members running around from telegram groups to facebook groups trying to get info about investments…” said Sridhar Panasa, Utrum’s Founder and Project Lead. “There was no clear authority or means by which to sort through the noise. One day I got this idea. How can we stop scams from happening and identify the quality information about cryptos? I brought the idea up to Komodo’s lead developer JL777 and he created a slack channel for us in Komodo’s slack. There I began discussing with Chris (Chris Maarseveen) and Gürkan (Gürkan Aygörmez), and the three of us have been working on the project ever since.” Cryptocurrency is one of the highest risk markets in which to invest…and arguably the most accessible to anyone. With the increasing difficulty for investors to adequately distinguish between the good and the bad in crypto investing, many well-meaning investors have lost everything in their attempts at supporting the growth of this technology. Utrum believes that by developing an Artificial Intelligence backed, a community-driven platform which rewards users for their help in reviewing, rating, analyzing and predicting crypto projects, assets, and teams, these problems can be solved. Through the use of blockchain, Utrum is creating an ecosystem of supportive and educational guidance for investors of all caliber, as well as a marketplace for projects and providers to showcase to a targeted investment-rich community. Utrum will also implement community-voted moderators whose job it is to help regulate and manage the ecosystem according to community governance. The platform utilizes a new token, called OOT, which is used for various utilities and transactions within the community and marketplace, and which will be available on cryptocurrency exchanges in the future. Users who write reviews, perform analysis, and participate in rating crypto-projects or assets, are rewarded OOT based on their activity and reputation within the community. Utrum has a diverse and growing team of individuals passionate about creating a safer and more rewarding platform, helping users become smarter crypto investors, helping good projects gain visibility and helping the larger crypto-community. The team brings over 30 years combined experience in business development, technology, security, and community management. This new crypto startup is poised and passionate about developing a powerful community platform for crypto projects, developers, analysts, newbies, and investors to gain access to quality information and reviews. If you’d like to learn more about Utrum, visit their website to read more and join the conversation. Token Sale starts on 10 May with 30% Bonus https://utrum.io/tokensale Utrum – Your Crypto Playbook Intro Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5K0J7JIJbw Advisors James Lee, AKA “JL777”, is the Lead Developer of Komodo Platform, a leader in Privacy, Decentralization, and Development with a market cap of over $500 Million. He is a strong advocate of privacy and liberty in its true essence. He is the pioneer of decentralized ICOs (dICO) which he developed to curb “whale manipulation” within crowd sales. His brainchild is BarterDEX, a fully functional decentralized exchange, powered by atomic swaps and electrum servers. He also developed the Komodo privacy coin using zk-snarks and Jumblr for anonymity, and innovated dPOW (delayed Proof of Work) which gives Bitcoin security to Komodo and its asset chains. Investors SuperNet is one of the largest Crypto Investment Funds with a portfolio worth 10,000 BTC recently purchased 1% of OOT (Utrum Token) total supply in a private sale. Contact Email Address press@utrum.io Supporting Link https://utrum.io This is a paid press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post PR: Utrum to Launch Innovative Blockchain Platform Solving Trust Problems for Crypto Investors appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Chief Scientist of Quebec, Rémi Quirion, has published a document rejecting the popular “myth” that illicit transactions are among those for which bitcoin is principally used. Quebec’s Chief Scientist is closely associated with the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) – a publicly funded institution dedicated to “providing support for the production and dissemination of knowledge.” Also Read: 20% of Financial Institutions Examining Starting Cryptocurrency Trading Soon Quebec’s Chief Scientist Dismisses Claims That Bitcoin is Commonly Used for Illicit Purposes Rémi Quirion, Chief Scientist of Québec Mr. Quirion asserts that “Bitcoin is often blamed as a good tool for crime or money laundering,” adding that “Even Christine Lagarde, president of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently called for more regulation of cryptocurrencies to counter illegal activities.” Whilst the Chief Scientist acknowledges that bitcoin can be used as a means to achieve greater anonymity whilst conducting transfers, Mr. Quirion states that “the facts do not support the theory” that criminal use of bitcoin is widespread. “Pseudonymity” Deters Criminals From Widespread Adoption Quebec’s Chief Scientist argues that bitcoin offers it’s users “pseudonymity,” rather than total anonymity, which detracts from its potential illicit utility. According to a rough translation, Mr. Quirion quotes cryptocurrency analyst, associate researcher at the Montreal Economic Institute, Jonathan Hamel – who has argued that the public nature of bitcoin’s blockchain detracts from its anonymity. “Every transaction is transparent and public. They are indeed recorded in a kind of ledger whose copies are distributed among thousands of computers.” Cryptocurrency analyst, Erwan Joncheres, is also quoted in the document as arguing that “The anonymity of bitcoin is a myth.” Mr. Joncheres has argued that bitcoin is “no more transparent [than] money, because you have to go through a platform where you have to give personal information,” adding that at a bare minimum, information pertaining to “the address of the transmitter and that of the receiver” is recorded by a third party that facilitates the transaction. Illegal Transactions Comprise Less Than 1% of Bitcoin Circulations The document points to research conducted by the “Center for Sanctions and Illicit Finance of the Defense of Democracies Foundation” that, after analyzing bitcoin transactions executed between 2013 and 2016, found that only 0.61% of trading transactions in the period were deemed to be associated with illegal activities. The Chief Scientist also points to center’s findings that illegitimate transactions within the bitcoin economy are extremely centralized, further undermining the suggestion that illicit activities pervade the bitcoin economy. Said research indicated that less than 10% of anonymous free markets were responsible for 95% of illicit transactions involving bitcoin between 2013 and 2016. As such, Mr. Quirion argues that “The claims of recent years that some of the bitcoins would be used to circumvent money-laundering rules must, therefore, be questioned.” Money Laundering in Crypto “Anecdotal,” Says Researcher Mr. Quirion similarly rejects associations between tax evasion and bitcoin, quoting Canada Revenue Agency Communications Officer, Karl Lavoie, as stating “It’s just like money and you have to declare what you’re doing with it.” Mr. Jonchères has also dismissed assertions that bitcoin and money laundering go hand-in-hand, stating “I think that tax evasion and money laundering are anecdotal on cryptocurrency networks. Since bitcoin is transparent, it will be very easy to identify all the people trading on an online exchange or portfolio platform.” The document concludes that “bitcoin is not above the law, nor is it a magnet for illicit transactions: it forms only a tiny part of the criminal money circulating around the planet” due to it being “less attractive for anyone who wants to make transactions without leaving a trace […] Ultimately, the user must also take responsibility, […] In case of loss or theft, there is no 1-800 number to recover its bitcoins,” Mr. Quirion stated. Do you agree that mainstream claims that cryptocurrency and criminality go hand-in-hand are unevidenced? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock, www.scientifique-en-chef.gouv.qc.ca Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post Quebec Chief Scientist Rejects “Myth” of Widespread Illicit Bitcoin Use appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Authorities in the state of Wisconsin have discussed the adoption of guidelines regarding cryptocurrency contributions to political campaigns, as requested by the Libertarian Party. Other states, like California, have urged politicians not to accept bitcoin donations. Kansas is the only state prohibiting such contributions. The Federal Election Commission allows crypto donations to campaigns for federal office. Also read: Majority of US States Have Taken a Stance on Bitcoin and Blockchain Libertarians: The Question Is Not “Whether” but “How” The Wisconsin Ethics Commission held on Tuesday a public hearing on a request from the state’s Libertarian Party regarding the adoption of guidelines for crypto contributions to political campaigns. The party’s chairman, Phil Anderson, wants to know how such donations would be counted toward the limits set by the state in dollars. “Digital currencies, such as bitcoin, litecoin and ethereum, are more and more widely accepted as currency and as stores of value,” the libertarian said, quoted by the La Crosse Tribune. “The Chicago Board Options Exchange offers a futures market for bitcoin. Corporations and governments are weighing in on not ‘whether’ to address cryptocurrencies, but ‘how’,” Anderson wrote in the request. David Buerger, staff counsel for the commission, admitted he is not yet aware of any instances in Wisconsin in which cryptocurrency contributions to state campaigns were given or accepted. Libertarians are among the stronger supporters of bitcoin. The idea of a decentralized cryptocurrency, not controlled by a central authority or bank, is in line with their political views and opposition to government control over the national currency. During Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners suggested that if digital currencies were counted as a monetary contribution, crypto donations would be subject to the $100 limit applicable to cash contributions. Larger donations must be made by a credit card or a bank check. Only One State Prohibits Crypto Donations The question of cryptocurrency contributions to political campaigns is one of many crypto-related issues that have been addressed differently in each state. For example, California has issued a warning against such donations. The Fair Political Practices Commission in the Golden State urged campaigns not to accept digital coins because their transactions are considered “virtually impossible to trace”. Last year Kansas became the first state to ban bitcoin contributions. According to its ethics commission, cryptocurrency is “too secretive”. Most US states have adopted some crypto regulations according to a recently published report by the Brookings Institution. The attitude towards cryptocurrencies, however, varies significantly between different jurisdictions. On national level, crypto contributions to campaigns for federal office were approved by the Federal Election Commission. In 2014 FEC said they should be treated as “in-kind donations” and “noncash items”. Politicians Taking Bitcoin The popularity of bitcoin among American politicians seems unaffected by recent market volatility. A growing number of political candidates are accepting cryptocurrencies to fund their campaigns. Republican Andrew Hemingway, the youngest gubernatorial candidate in New Hampshire, was the first to do so in 2014, as reported by CNBC. Hemingway, also a tech entrepreneur, said he decided to accept crypto contributions after many of his supports asked if they could donate bitcoin. Austin Petersen, Republican candidate from Missouri, received 24 bitcoin contributions while running for Senate. He is also the beneficiary of the largest crypto donation worth $4,500. Democrat Patrick Nelson, running for Congress from New York, is accepting cryptocurrency contributions through the payments provider Bitpay. “We’re a 21st century campaign and as such we embrace new technologies like bitcoin,” he tweeted. Democratic candidate for Congress Brian Forde of California and Republican Kelli Ward running for the Senate from Arizona are also taking bitcoin donations. The first candidate for the White House to do the same was Kentucky Senator Rand Paul who ran for the Republican nomination at the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Paul has in the past stated that the US government should adopt a “hands off” approach to controlling money. His campaign accepted bitcoin donations worth up to $100. That’s the maximum amount for individual contributions in cryptocurrency, as set by the Federal Election Commission. What do you think about bitcoin contributions to political campaigns? Share your views in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Make sure you do not miss any important Bitcoin-related news! Follow our news feed any which way you prefer; via Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, RSS or email (scroll down to the bottom of this page to subscribe). We’ve got daily, weekly and quarterly summaries in newsletter form. Bitcoin never sleeps. Neither do we. The post Wisconsin Mulls Guidelines for Campaign Contributions in Bitcoin appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that Centra Tech Inc. co-founder, Raymond Trapani, has been charged with fraud charges resulting from the SEC’s investigations into Centra’s controversial $32 million USD initial coin offering (ICO). Mr. Trapani is the third and final Centra co-founder to be charged for having a role in the ICO. Also Read:16 Regulated Crypto Exchanges Unveil Plans to Restore Public Trust in Japan “Mastermind” Centra Co-Founder Charged for Involvement With “Fraudulent” ICO Raymond Trapani, a co-founder of Centra Tech Inc., has been charged by the SEC for his involvement in “a fraudulent scheme related to Centra’s 2017 ICO.” Last year, Centra made headlines after enlisting celebrity endorsements from Floyd Mayweather and DJ Khaled. The other two co-founders of the company, Sohrab “Sam” Sharma and Robert Farkas, were charged by authorities earlier this month for their involvement in the distribution of “CTR Tokens” to investors. An amended version of the SEC’s complaint claims that Trapani was the “mastermind of Centra’s fraudulent ICO,” with an SEC press release alleging that “Centra [was] marketed with claims about nonexistent business relationships with major credit card companies, fictional executive bios, and misrepresentations about the viability of the company’s core financial services products.” The SEC also accuses Mr. Trapani and Mr. Sharma of “manipulat[ing] trading in the CTR Tokens to generate interest in the company and prop up the price of the tokens.” SEC Charges Trapani Charged for Violating Securities Laws The amended complaint charges Trapani with violating the anti-fraud and registration provisions of U.S. federal securities laws, with the SEC seeking “permanent injunctions, the return of allegedly ill-gotten gains plus interest and penalties, as well as bars against Trapani prohibiting him from serving as a public company officer or director and from participating in any offering of digital or other securities.” Robert Cohen, the Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Cyber Unit, stated “We allege that the Centra co-founders went to great lengths to create the false impression that they had developed a viable, cutting-edge technology,” adding that “Investors should exercise caution about investments in digital assets, especially when they are marketed with claims that seem too good to be true.” In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has also sought criminal charges against Trapani. Text Messages Evidence Fraudulent Intent The SEC has indicated that text messages shared between Centra’s co-founders nakedly evidenced the fraudulent intent of the defendants. The SEC has made public a text correspondence sent to Mr. Farkas and Mr. Trapani from Mr Sharma in response to a cease-and-desist letter from a bank demanding that Centra remove all references to the institution in their marketing materials, in which Mr. Sharma told his colleagues “[w]e gotta get that s[***] removed everywhere and blame freelancers lol.” According to the SEC, Mr. Trapani also requested that Mr. Sharma “cook [him] up” a fraudulent document whilst the company was seeking to get CTR tokens listed on exchanges under misleading pretexts. Mr. Sharma replied to the request with “Don’t text me that s[***] lol. Delete.” Do you think that the actions of projects like Centra indicates that the ICO sector is in need of regulation to protect investors, or should the onus be placed on the consumer to identify trustworthy companies and protect themselves? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Centra.tech Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post SEC Charges Third Centra Co-Founder With Fraud appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

This week the firm Blossom Finance announced the open enrollment for an Islamic microfinance fund that will accept multiple cryptocurrencies such as BCH, ETH, and BTC. Investors will focus on socially responsible opportunities, and receive profit sharing from Blossom’s network of microfinance partners in the province of Central Java, Indonesia through a partnership with the PBMT Ventura. Also read: Five Reasons Why Bitcoin Cash is About to Win Big Cryptocurrencies, Microfinance, and Central Java News.Bitcoin.com recently spoke with Matthew Martin, the CEO of Blossom Finance about the launch of Blossom’s new cryptocurrency infused microfinance fund. Blossom enables international investors a commercial return on microfinance institutions that are aimed at reducing poverty. The company partners with ‘BMT’ (Baital Mal wat Tamwil) model institutions that focus on solving social issues and creating self-sustaining businesses. Now Blossom is partnered with PBMT Ventura, an Indonesian Islamic microfinance firm, and plans to publicly launch a cryptocurrency microfinance fund. Blossom CEO Matthew Martin and Managing Director of PBMT Ventura Jamil Abbas pose with members of BMT Al Huda’s management and staff after a meeting in Wonosobo, Central Java, Indonesia. The funds raised will be utilized to bolster micro-businesses and traditional market sellers to meet the increased demand during the upcoming Ramadan holiday, Blossom details. In order to participate, investors will have the option to invest with Bitcoin Core (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Ethereum (ETH) via Blossom’s US Delaware based fund; the fund will also accept USD investments. “We’ve spent the last few years developing a network and making key partnerships in Indonesia. Our partnership with PBMT — which is a fully licensed venture capital company in Indonesia — allows us to help some of the best microfinance institutions in the world,” Martin explains to news.Bitcoin.com. We’re truly inspired by the work these teams are doing in Central Java, and we’re thrilled to open up the fund to public investment. The BMT Tamzis team poses in their “batik” uniforms after a meeting with Blossom Finance in Wonosobo, Central Java, Indonesia. Gradually Putting the Loan Sharks Out of Business Blossom’s fund will focus exclusively on microfinance solutions that adhere to the BMT model. BMT branches offer commercial financing, community-based savings, and encourage the growth of local businesses. Financial products BMTs provide traditionally serve the ‘under-banked’ citizens and businesses that fall below conventional bank thresholds, Blossom details. “We’re huge proponents of the BMT model in Indonesia. When you go around with one of these BMT agents into the community, and you see the relationship between the agent and the cooperative members, you begin to understand that this model is something special – it’s a totally different model of banking unlike anything in the conventional banking realm” said Martin. “The loan sharks hate this model because it’s gradually putting them out of business.” A traditional morning market seller and BMT member in Sukorejo, Indonesia. Blossom’s fund invests in many market sellers like this via the BMT network, which provides financial services to Indonesia’s working class. Blossom’s Recent Islamic Finance Bitcoin Research Paper Bolsters the Microfinance Fund That Aims to Help Traditional Market Sellers The news follows Blossom’s in-depth research analysis that shows bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies meet the Islamic definition of money under Shariah rules and that it’s permissible for Muslims to use. Because of this, the firm’s fund will be a first of its kind that enables BTC, BCH, and ETH acceptance for those who adhere to the Islamic finance doctrines. “What we do is truly global by nature, so naturally it makes sense to leverage the world’s first truly global currencies,” Martin emphasizes to news.Bitcoin.com. “We use bitcoin and ethereum to transfer money globally more cheaply and quickly than the banks can do it — And we get much more competitive exchange rates this way.” Investing in Blossom’s microfinance fund helps traditional market sellers to earn an honest living by supplying food and necessities for daily life — Muslims should focus on productive, real-world economic activity – not merely playing with exchange rates and fluctuation. What do you think about Blossom’s Islamic microfinance solution that accepts bitcoin and ethereum? Let us know in the comments below. Images via Matthew Martin, and Blossom. 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 Cryptocurrency Infused Islamic Microfinance Fund Launches in Central Java appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Amsterdam police have announced the re-arrest of Sindri Thor Stefansson. He was initially arrested days ago in Iceland in connection with a bitcoin hardware mining caper that included 600 computers worth $2 million. In a James Bond-like villain move, after his first capture he managed to escape, reportedly hitching a ride on a plane carrying Iceland’s prime minister. Also read: Bitcoin in Brief Thursday: ICO Scares Investors with Ghost Prank Bond-Like Bitcoin Villain Re-Arrested Mr. Stefansson, after have absconded, wrote to a popular online site to plead his case. “I simply refuse to be in prison of my own free will,” he explained to Frettabladid, “especially when the police threaten to arrest me without explanation. I’m not trying to say that it was the right decision to leave, I really regret it…I didn’t expect an international arrest warrant to be issued against me, as I was legally free to leave, and believed it was out of the question that I would be labelled a fugitive. I would never have done this if I didn’t believe I was a free man.” Sindri Thor Stefansson shown on CCTV while at large It’s something straight out of a movie. Media outlets are claiming Sindri Thor Stefansson to be a “mastermind”. He, at the very least, was implicated recently in a major crime for the country of Iceland: $2 million in computer mining hardware is missing, believed to be part of an elaborate theft conspiracy, involving a gang of 11 others including Mr. Stefansson’s wife. Mr. Stefansson escaped what local press refers to as “low-security” confinement after first being arrested. He was held in Sogn, an open prison 59 miles from the country’s international airport (95 km). It’s so loose it doesn’t have a fence, and detainees can even surf the net. Thought He Could Avoid Capture Indefinitely The mastermind slipped out through a window. He somehow later made it to the airport, procuring a flight boarding pass under an assumed name (though he paid with his own debit card), and managed to put himself on a flight to Sweden carrying Iceland’s prime minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir. He wasn’t discovered missing by guards until well after the plane was airbound. An international warrant was soon issued for Mr. Stefansson. Downtown Amsterdam The Big Bitcoin Heist, as it has been tagged on the frozen island, involved bitcoin mining rigs grabbed in conjunction with four data center break-ins. Iceland has become a magnet for crypto miners due to relatively cheap electricity and its cold climes, helping the notoriously overheated instruments cool as they mine. Mr. Stefansson’s unorthodox public letter while on the run insisted he could remain elusive to authorities for “as long as I like”. Dutch police disagreed, arresting him downtown without incident and are presently arranging for his extradition back to Iceland. Do you think bitcoin mining rigs present a lucrative target to thieves? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Dutch police. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post James Bond-Like Villain in $2 Million Bitcoin Heist Caught in Amsterdam appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Angellist, a popular website that allows startups to raise money from angel investors, has revealed data about new crypto job listings on its platform. The company details the hiring needs of companies in the crypto space and what jobs are in demand. Also read: Russian Regulators Draft Law to Restrict Crypto Mining, Payments, and Token Sales Crypto Job Listings Doubled Angellist revealed its new crypto job listing statistics last week. Citing that even though the price of bitcoin has dropped 60% since December of last year, the company wrote: In the last 3 months, the number of new crypto job listings has doubled. Angellist is a U.S. website created in 2010 for startups, angel investors, and job-seekers looking to work at startups. In July 2013, the company partnered with Crunchbase, an online tech company database owned by Techcrunch. Since 2015, the site has allowed startups to raise money from angel investors. What’s Behind Crypto Hiring Boom Angellist explained the driving forces behind the crypto job boom. Firstly, “the price run-up of bitcoin and ethereum in 2017 is attracting more people into the space for the first time, and the level of interest from the investor community is also at a record high.” The second factor is the ICO boom. Successes of startups in raising millions have attracted others to raise money in the same way. “For example, the team behind Filecoin recently broke the record for the largest ICO in history, raising $257M to build a decentralized file storage system,” Angellist elaborated, noting: The large sums of money going into the cryptocurrency space, from ICOs, to VC financings, and the price appreciation of bitcoin and ethereum, has led to a hiring boom at cryptocurrency startups. The company emphasized, “as cryptocurrency companies are growing, raising larger amounts of money at higher valuations, so are their hiring needs for finding top talent,” adding that over $3 billion was raised using token sales in March alone. In Demand Jobs Not only “experienced engineers who’ve worked on cryptocurrency projects are in high demand, but so are talented engineers with an interest in blockchain technologies,” the company detailed, noting: There are also open positions needing to be filled in marketing, business development, operations, customer support, and other job functions that don’t require a technical background. Similar to any other high-growth startups, cryptocurrency companies need to hire at job functions across the entire organization, and fast. What do you think of the rapid rise in the number of job listings in the crypto space? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Angellist. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post Angellist: Number of New Crypto Job Listings Doubled in the Last Three Months appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The cryptocurrency trading market is about to receive an influx of more big banks, hedge funds and other financial institutions within the next few months to a year. A new survey shows that while most are keeping quiet in public about their crypto plans, many are preparing to enter the field. Also Read: Barclays Testing the Waters for a Cryptocurrency Trading Desk Big Players Prepare to Charge Toronto-headquartered multinational information firm Thomson Reuters Corporation (NYSE: TRI), published a survey on Tuesday revealing that 20% of financial institutions are studying the possibility of entering the cryptocurrency trading space within the next 12 months period. Furthermore, 70% of those considering starting trading cryptocurrencies are planning to do so in the next three to six months, according to the survey. The company says that the survey covered more than 400 of its clients across Thomson Reuters platforms including large asset managers, hedge funds and trading desks at the biggest banks. Over 300,000 financial professionals working in asset management, hedge funds and other institutions get access to cryptocurrency data (including price quotes for BTC, BCH and ETH) via the Thomson Reuters Eikon platform. “Historically, the banking sector has been notoriously dismissive of the crypto movement. Cryptocurrency has variously been called a bubble, an asset for criminals, and worthless. But today’s survey demonstrates that while financial institutions are saying one thing, they’re doing quite another,” commented Kevin Murcko, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Coinmetro. “We’re witnessing a gradual institutionalization of the market, and this is sure to drive mainstream adoption. The move to accommodate digital currencies is also a symbolic one; it’s a sign of growing maturity in the market, and represents just how far cryptocurrency has come since its days of relative obscurity,” he added. Goldman Setting the Stage The most talked about major bank as widely considered to be in the process of entering the field is Goldman Sachs, although its CEO has denied in the past the rumors they are setting up a bitcoin trading desk. On Monday it was revealed that the company has recently hired Justin Schmidt, a former quantitative trader, to be the first head of digital asset markets in the company’s securities division. “In response to client interest in various digital products, we are exploring how best to serve them in the space,” Goldman Sachs spokeswoman Tiffany Galvin-Cohen confirmed in a statement. “At this point, we have not reached a conclusion on the scope of our digital asset offering,” she added. The bank should be more than aware of the huge demand hedge funds and other big investors have for cryptocurrency trading services. Circle, which is backed by Goldman Sachs, has recently doubled minimum ticket size on OTC bitcoin trades to $500,000 with an average of $1 million. And Chief executive Jeremy Allaire has told Business Insider that some transactions are now larger than $100 million and “That watermark will continue to rise.” Do you think it’s inevitable that all major banks will enter the bitcoin trading ecosystem? 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 20% of Financial Institutions Examining Starting Cryptocurrency Trading Soon 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. Token Pre-Sale has begun from Wednesday, April 18th and will be ending on April 30th, 2018. In the first round of presale, the price will be $1.5/XOXO. The company has sold more than 40% token in 24 hours of pre-sale. Later, coming up with the main sale at May 5th which will last till May 31st, 2018. While the price of xoxo token will be $2/XOXO during main sale. The main concept behind the launch of the XOXO token is to achieve the goal of expansion which has been seen by the experts of bitxoxo for taking the cryptocurrency to the next level of success. Bitxoxo Achievements: Bitxoxo has achieved in offering the best services and new products to its users. They are the first bitcoin exchange to launch Pre-Paid Gift cards and Referral system for customers. The exchange running for almost 2 years is active on both the mobile app (Android & iOS) and web portal, while they recently launched an ICO Launchpad for the ICO company to list their token. So, after a successful journey of 2 years as an exchange, it won’t be wrong in saying that the upcoming project of Bitxoxo is already a successful project. Bitxoxo Future Plans with XOXO token: Bitxoxo expands and offer new services of BCH (Bitcoin Cash) to all cryptocurrency investors and enthusiasts. The funds generated by the ICO, will be used for the future expansion of ongoing project and introduce new services and product development. The very First PoS App for Bitcoin Cash Bitxoxo International Debit Card for our users. Bitxoxo, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. The exchange was founded in 2016 and running successfully in India, recently launched its Initial Coin Offering XOXO token. Bitcoin Cash marketplace with top 15 cryptocurrencies and more in order book model. Bitcoin Cash e-University Certification Program to spread the awareness of the blockchain technology and cryptocurrency to the mass and help people to become certified professionals etc. Bitxoxo Incubator to provide all the necessary needs like funds and advisory for the new blockchain startups. The expansion of Bitxoxo cryptocurrency exchange worldwide starting from Australia, Singapore and UAE etc. Bitxoxo takes this opportunity to welcome the Founder and COO of Bitcoin.com onto our advisory panel. Roger Ver, CEO of Bitcoin.com Founder of Bitcoin.com, popular as ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ Roger Ver is an early adopter and investors in Bitcoin. Ver is a motivation to numerous cryptocurrency enthusiasts, he makes people believe the value of crypto and blockchain to the world. He is an angel investor for many popular cryptocurrency and blockchain technology startups such as The Blockchain foundation, Blockchain.info, Ripple, Kraken, Bitpay etc. Mate Tokay, COO of Bitcoin.com Mate Tokay has been involved in the cryptocurrency business as a miner since 2013; he co-founded Bitcoinist.net a cryptocurrency news magazine and he is now the Chief Operation Officer at Bitcoin.com. Mate is a premier source for everything related to Bitcoin. He focuses on a larger vision and communicating that vision to others while staying on top of the major trends in the industry. Bitxoxo is heartily grateful for other experts of crypto to join our advisory board. Stephen Drew Stephen Drew possesses 20 years of experience in investment banking, fintech & real estates. He worked on Wall Street for 10+ years in trading and investment banking and 3 years in trading and investment in cryptocurrencies. Drew is an active partner of $100 million Crypto Hedge Fund based in NYC and the Caymans, Stephen always engaged in monetizing day to day operation of the fund from analyzing investments to speaking with high net worth individuals and family offices. Sydney Ifergan Sydney holds a degree in computer science and has 20+ years commercial experience. He has spent the last 10 years working in the online marketing arena and was the CMO for a large brokerage. In recent years, he has been consulting with various brokerages globally on their online marketing and the utilization of technology to improve their results. Robby Schwertner Robby Schwertner is an expert and part of many crypto and blockchain projects. He is a public motivator and speaker focusing on the expansion and progress of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology by addressing events and conferences on a global level. Boris Otonicar Boris Otonicar has a Masters degree in economics and psychology from the University of Zurich. He has a certificate as a Blockchain Specialist BVS. He consults companies in Blockchain issues and does ICO advising for different projects like Coinlancer, Districts, Coinloan etc. He is a top 20 at ICO Bench. To learn more about the Bitxoxo ICO visit their official website at https://bitxoxo.exchange/ You can join the XOXO token Telegram discussion and announcement: https://t.me/bitxoxo & https://t.me/bitxoxonews Contact Email : press@bitxoxo.exchange Supporting Link https://www.bitxoxo.com https://www.bitxoxo.exchange Contact Email Address media@bitxoxo.exchange 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: Bitxoxo Exchange Has Launched Its Own ICO Token appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Cryptocurrencies are breaking new price levels this week as markets are seeing gains across the board during the last two weeks of April. Yesterday’s trading sessions saw bitcoin cash touch a high of $1,560 per BCH as the currency has been on a relentless run over the past week. BCH prices are hovering around $1,477 at press time. Bitcoin core (BTC) prices touched a high of $9,410 but prices have dipped to the $9,340 range since reaching that vantage point. Overall there are quite a few digital assets seeing more significant gains than BTC as the spring trading season starts to melt the ‘crypto winter’ blues that recently plagued the community. Also read: ‘Coindaddy’ Another Crypto-Rapper Rhymes About Bitcoin Life The Cryptocurrency Price Reversal Rampage Digital currencies are seeing significant price reversals just before the month of May approaches. Out of all the 1,590 listed cryptocurrencies on Coinmarketcap, the cumulation of these assets have accumulated a market valuation of $422Bn USD. Bitcoin Core (BTC) markets have gained 14.4 percent over the last seven days but many other cryptocurrencies have seen much larger gains. In the top ten positions, some notable increases include EOS, as its markets spiked 53 percent over the past week, while IOTA jumped 31.9 percent. But Bitcoin (BCH) markets were the clear winner over the past seven days as BCH weekly prices have increased by 88.3 percent today. Bitcoin Cash Markets Climb Over 88% Over the Last Seven Days Bitcoin cash market volume has quadrupled over the last three weeks as the currency now commands close to $2Bn in 24-hour trade volume. This has propelled BCH into the fourth position in overall trade volume compared to all 1,590 other digital assets. The top five exchanges swapping the most BCH today include Okex, Bitfinex, Upbit, Huobi, and Binance. Fiat volume for bitcoin cash trades continues to rise over the last 48-hours as BTC pairs only account for 35.8 percent of today’s BCH trades. This is followed by the U.S. dollar (27%), tether (USDT 19%), the Korean won (11.3%), and the euro (2.6%). Ethereum pairs represent 1.4 percent of today’s bitcoin cash trades as well. The top ten cryptocurrency positions on April 24, 2018. BCH/USD Technical Indicators Looking at weekly, daily and the 4-hour charts show BCH bulls have been relentlessly charging without much exhaustion. At the time of writing bitcoin cash values are close to more powerful resistance levels in the $1,500 territories. Both the daily and 4-hour Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator overbought conditions. MACd shows it may be heading southbound in the short term as well. BCH prices are hovering around $1,477 at press time on the exchange Bitstamp. 4-24-18. The two Simple Moving Averages (SMA) both short-term 100 SMA and the long-term 200 SMA have recently crossed paths. The 100 SMA is now above the 200 trend line indicating the path to resistance is on the upside. Order books show some stiff resistance for bulls between the price point now all the way up until the $1,600 region and a little more upwards past $1,700. On the backside some solid foundations have formed between the price level now and $1,400 but after that books begin to look quite thin. Bitfinex 4-hour BCH/USD with MACd & RSI indicators. The Top Cryptocurrency Market Performances Cryptocurrencies, in general, have done well over the last two weeks and the current momentum continues. BTC markets have seen a daily volume increase of $8.8Bn and a $157Bn market capitalization. However many other digital currencies have seen much bigger gains and BTC dominance is down to the 37 percent threshold today. Ethereum (ETH) markets are doing considerably well this week and are up 35 percent over the last seven days. One ETH is averaging around $695 per coin during the April 24 trading sessions. The third largest cryptocurrency valuation held by ripple (XRP) has seen seven-day gains around 37 percent. The market value of XRP today is $0.91 cents and markets command a $1.2Bn 24-hour trade volume. The cryptocurrency EOS has taken over the fifth top market capitalization as its markets have increased significantly this week. One EOS is hovering around $13.42 per token today with a $1.9Bn daily trade volume. The Verdict: Crypto-Optimism is in the Air Overall cryptocurrency market participants are extremely pleased with the past week’s runups in value. However, some traders are still skeptical that we are out of the bear market range as there have been a lot of false positive rallies over the last four months. So far the verdict is many traders and digital asset enthusiasts are confident 2018 will be just as spectacular as last year. Where do you see the price of BCH and other digital assets 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, Bitstamp, Trading View, and Coinmarketcap. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. The post Markets Update: Cryptocurrencies Bring Bullish Gains This Spring appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article