Bitcoin Magazine

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:05 am March 11, 2018
Today, Overstocks Medici Ventures doubled down on its investment in the realm of digital currency for central banks. The additional $3 million dollar investment in Caribbean blockchain-based digital payment provider Bitt.com signals a reaffirmation of Overstock and Medicis belief in the ability of digital currencies to become the de facto means of payment transactions.Medici Ventures originally invested $4 million in the Barbados-based fintech company in 2016. At the time of the initial inves

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:05 am March 11, 2018
In its most sweeping crackdown yet, a Japanese regulator has penalized seven cryptocurrency exchanges, requiring two to halt operations for one month. Japans Financial Services Agency FSA announced today, March 8, 2018, that it came down on the exchanges due to their failure to provide proper internal-control systems. All of the exchanges were ordered to step up efforts to improve security and prevent money laundering.Business suspension orders were issued for FSHO and Bit Station, effective

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:05 am March 11, 2018
One of the biggest Russian IT holdings, Mail.Ru Group, is allowing advertisers and the owners of advertising sites to pay and be paid with cryptocurrencies on the advertisement platform myTarget. Mail.Ru Group is the worldwide technology company which unites three big social networks Vkontakte, Odnoklassniki and My World ICQ messenger mobile ads service Youla popular online games Warface, Allods Online, Armored Warfare and Skyforge food delivery platform Delivery Club and ridesharing service

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:05 am March 11, 2018
One of the most promising concepts of second-generation blockchains is that of dApps or decentralised applications. These are apps built on top of a blockchain. To date, few have made the headlines with the exception, perhaps, of CryptoKitties, but there is a an increasingly large amount being pushed to the Ethereum mainnet, and even more in the works State of the Dapps lists a range of projects in various stages of development.MetaMask will let users interact with these dApps using only the

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:05 am March 11, 2018
Combining the benefits of a utility-based cryptocurrency and a company that exhibits the characteristics of a power law network creates the perfect opportunity for a globally adopted cryptocurrency the Amazon Token.Amazons Full-Circle EconomyIn this hypothetical futuristic scenario, Amazon extends on the suite of products and services it provides customers in 2018 including online shopping, physical grocery, web services, artificial intelligence, internet of things, video and music streaming

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:05 am March 11, 2018
While Japan has been cracking down more on cryptocurrency exchanges recently, we see the state of Wyoming opening things up to make the state more attractive to the technology. At the same time, the SEC defined ICOs as money transmitters and crypto exchanges as money exchange businesses. It is rapidly becoming easier to run afoul of these quickly changing clarifications and find yourself in hot water.On the lighter side, words such as cryptocurrency, blockchain and ICO are joining Bitcoin in

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:10 pm March 8, 2018
This is the first in a series of weekly news highlights about blockchain technology and cryptocurrency in Russia. Last weeks headlines included an endorsement of blockchain technology from President Putin, tax exemptions for cryptocurrencies and a legal decision that prevented the seizure of cryptocurrency assets in a bankruptcy case.Putin Endorses Technological Development in RussiaDuring his conversation with Herman Gref, the head of Russias largest bank, Sberbank, Russian President Vladimi

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:10 pm March 8, 2018
Just as a countrys borders drawn on a globe arent often exact, neither are the lines drawn on individual properties around much of the world. De Soto Inc., a socially-conscious joint venture between Overstock.com subsidiary Medici Ventures, Overstock founder Patrick Byrne and world-renowned Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto, has plans to solve the problems of property titles with a developed global property registry system utilizing decentralized blockchain technology.The vision of de Soto

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:10 pm March 8, 2018
In a landmark development for blockchain advancement, Wyomings state legislature has cleared what is known as House Bill 70 HB 70, which exempts various types of crypto assets from securities laws. The bill was originally passed by Wyomings House of Representatives last month on February 20. It is now headed to Governor Matt Mead for signature. According to public records, it passed by a vote of 273, with no senators abstaining. This final vote, which was expected to occur last week, was held

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:10 pm March 8, 2018
Anyone needing an established definition for cryptocurrency, blockchain or ICO now has a trusted resource the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. On March 5, 2018, Merriam-Webster announced the addition of 850 new words, phrases and new meanings for existing words to merriam-webster.com and to the Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary print edition.n Oh hey. Cool news. We added 850 new words to the dictionary! https//t.co/eyYWKHKzk7&mdash Merriam-Webster MerriamWebster March 5, 2018nnnnnnnnnn

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:10 pm March 8, 2018
Slush Pool, Bitcoins first and oldest mining pool, announced support for AsicBoost today, March 6, 2018. Slush Pool users that have the technology embedded in the application-specific integrated circuit ASIC chips in their mining hardware can connect to the pool to mine more efficiently and, thus, more profitably.The protocol extension we propose and already implemented allows miners to use overt AsicBoost over stratum protocol, which was not yet possible, Slush Pool CTO Pavel Moravec told Bi

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:10 pm March 8, 2018
Halong Mining announced today, March 7, 2018, that it is embedding AsicBoost in its DragonMint mining hardware. Halong Mining is able to do so because it joined the Blockchain Defensive Patent License BDPL, giving them access to the patent-pending technology, which utilizes a trick called version rolling. With AsicBoost, the DragonMint machines should be up to 20 percent more energy efficient than they would otherwise be.We have produced and will continue to produce a significant amount of ve

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:10 pm March 8, 2018
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission SEC has been proclaiming for a while that initial coin offerings ICOs are securities. Now, in the latest regulatory backlash against ICOs, the federal bureau charged with enforcing the nation's laws against money laundering has decided that, effectively, anyone who sells tokens is an unregistered money transfer business. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network FinCEN made public a letter on March 6, 2018, that Drew Maloney, FinCEN's assistant

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:10 pm March 8, 2018
TrustToken has launched trading for TrueUSD, the first independently verified asset-backed stablecoin on the market that fixes its value to the U.S. Dollar. TrueUSD TUSD is live on the cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex.TrustToken is proud to launch TrueUSD so that traders can easily and quickly trade into a stablecoin that is 100 percent USD collateralized and independently verified by third-party accountants, said Danny An, co-founder and CEO of TrustToken. The market has demonstrated that the

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:10 pm March 8, 2018
Identity verification is paramount to global freedom and citizen access to public services. We see many examples of this today in terms of how barriers to documentation adversely impact issues like democratic voting processes, especially among homeless communities and refugee settlements.Todays developments in blockchain technology are now enabling solutions to these and many other verification issues. The use of distributed technology shows promise as a more robust, cost-effective mechanism

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:10 pm March 8, 2018
Private companies, as well as national and local governments, have all caught media attention for announcing some kind of investigation or at least interest in the blockchain. Of course, one of the most notorious examples of this was Long Island Iced Tea Corporations pivot to Long Island Blockchain Corporation.On February 28, 2018, the Kenyan government announced it will appoint a task force to explore the use of distributed ledger technology and artificial intelligence over the course of a t

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:20 am February 27, 2018
Modern energy services are vital to human well-being and to a countrys economic development, yet according to the International Energy Agency IEA, globally 1.2 billion people lack access to electricity. Its thought that around 95 percent of these people are in either sub-Saharan Africa or developing Asia, with 80 percent in rural areas.Ethereum-based platform ImpactPPA is attempting to turn on the lights using the power of the blockchain.Selected as one of the top three most promising ICOs at

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:20 am February 27, 2018
Nokia is launching a set of services, based on Internet of Things IoT, data analytics, and blockchain technologies, for economically and environmentally sustainable smart cities.In the emerging IoT, billions of connected devices and sensors will generate vast amounts of data. Smart cities will need to retrieve, process, interpret and act upon real-time environmental data in a timely manner to ensure they remain sustainable environments for their citizens. To enable efficient IoT ecosystems fo

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:20 am February 27, 2018
After seeing a rally to the $11,000s, bitcoin has managed to pull back to the $9,000 range and has left many bullish investors confused. The initial bullish rally seemed promising as it broke the macro, descending channel that governed much of the market over the last two monthsFigure 1 BTC-USD, 6-Hour Candles, Descending ChannelThe breakout of the descending channel red dotted channel gave hope to many bullish investors as it seemingly signaled the end of the downtrend and perhaps the beginn

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:20 am February 27, 2018
After changing its name to Riot Blockchain in October to include the word blockchain, the public company watched its stock skyrocket from $8 a share to more than $38 during a cryptocurrency rally at the beginning of the year.The first significant problem was the company did not have any real focus on blockchain technology. Before October, Riot was known as Bioptix, a maker of diagnostic machinery for the biotech industry. The company also changed its ticker symbol to RIOT from BIOP.Another pr

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:20 am February 27, 2018
In the past week, news from Venezuela was at the forefront, where crypto mining is way up due to cheap electricity. But their stab at launching their own crypto, the Petro, is not looking like a great plan so far.Good news in regulation, however, is coming from the state of Wyoming as the House unanimously passed two pro-blockchain bills, with five more in the pipe.On the technological front, researches think they have solved a big part of the sidechain puzzle and have published a detailed pa

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:20 am February 27, 2018
Today marks the official release of Bitcoin Core 0.16.0, the 16th generation of Bitcoins original software client launched by Satoshi Nakamoto a little over nine years ago. Overseen by Bitcoin Core lead maintainer Wladimir van der Laan, this latest major release was developed by some 100 contributors over a span of five months.As is usual for new releases, Bitcoin Core 0.16.0 includes performance improvements, bug fixes and other optimizations. This release in particular includes several adde

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:20 am February 27, 2018
Chinese e-commerce company JD.com, a member of the Fortune Global 500 headquartered in Beijing, is launching AI Catapult Accelerator AICA, an accelerator program designed to unlock the transformative potential of startups demonstrating cutting-edge talent in the blockchain space.JD.com is one of the two largest business-to-consumer B2C online retailers in China by transaction volume and revenue, and a major competitor to Alibaba-run Tmall. As of September 2017, JD.coms platform, often referre

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:20 am February 27, 2018
Following remarks made by Valdis Dombrovskis, vice president of the European Commission EC, after a roundtable on cryptocurrencies, it appears that the European Union EU is prepared to take steps toward regulating cryptocurrencies.While acknowledging that European nations should embrace blockchain technology in order to remain competitive in financial markets, Dombrovskis also cautioned that they should be taking steps to protect their citizens from hazards in the cryptocurrency space.Based o

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:20 am February 27, 2018
Circle, a mobile payment app company backed by Goldman Sachs, has announced it is buying U.S.-regulated cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex Inc. a move that will transform Boston-based Circle into one of the biggest players in the industry.According to Fortune Magazine, Circle paid $400 million for the exchange, which handles a trading volume of around $1.5 million per day. Up till now, Circle had three main products Circle Pay, a mobile app that allows users to hold, send, and receive traditio

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:20 am February 27, 2018
Ethereum has just announced its Ethereum Community Fund ECF grant program, an initiative launched by a collection of major players in the Ethereum world that is designed to accelerate the development of blockchain infrastructure apps and services. The stated aim of the ECF is to bring about an environment where teams and ideas can thrive, grow, and collaborate to become essential and functioning pieces of the broader Ethereum ecosystem.All of this raises the question of what exactly we mean w

Via BitcoinMagazine – 9:10 pm February 12, 2018
Blockchain technology can revolutionize the way in which businesses provide services to both consumers and to other organizations. From building digital trust over a completely transparent ledger, to allowing participants to quickly interact via a peer-to-peer network, blockchain technology is proving to be a solution that will drive the next phase of digital transformation. This in mind, enterprises and companies are spending more money than ever before on blockchain solutions.According to I

Via BitcoinMagazine – 9:10 pm February 12, 2018
Ask most, and youll hear the opinion that Asia is a minefield when it comes to cryptocurrency. The mere mention of regulatory action on the already-volatile markets sends the price of bitcoin and consequently altcoins into a nosedive. One need only look at the recent South Korean dilemma or Chinas ongoing aversion to cryptocurrency to confirm this. Clearly, the continents role in this emerging digital realm should not be underestimated.The attempts by certain governments to ban the exchange o

Via BitcoinMagazine – 9:10 pm February 12, 2018
If you are one of the 81 million people who use WordPress to publish content, youll soon be able to automatically timestamp your works within the WordPress content management system using the new Po.et plugin.February 8, 2018 marked the launch of Frost, an open API and set of developer tools from Po.et that will enable content publishers and developers to more easily register their creative works on the blockchain. The new API will enable integrations and decentralized applications, including

Via BitcoinMagazine – 9:10 pm February 12, 2018
Japan's largest Bitcoin and blockchain company, bitFlyer, has now received an official license to operate in the state of Illinois.After receiving a BitLicense to operate as a virtual currency exchange in New York in November 2017, the Tokyo-based company has now received approval to operate in 44 states and territories. On January 22, 2018, bitFlyer announced its expansion into Europe, after being granted a Payment Institution PI license to operate in the European Union. This announceme

Via BitcoinMagazine – 9:10 pm February 12, 2018
On February 4, 2018, at 1010 p.m. China Standard Time, Financialnews, a rather small news agency under the administration of Chinas central bank, the Peoples Bank of China PBOC, released an article that explicitly stated that China will continue to watch virtual currency and activities related to it closely, and will take actions including shutting down commercial presences and exchanges within Chinas territory to uphold Chinas financial stability.This is the first time that China has sent a

Via BitcoinMagazine – 9:10 pm February 12, 2018
Over the last couple weeks, bitcoin has seen a dramatic drop in price dropping from $20,000 to $6,000. Shortly after bottoming at $6,000, hopeful investors jumped at the chance to catch a discounted coin. Is this rise sustainable and does it mark the end of the drastic correctionLets take a look at the macro trendFigure 1 BTC-USD, 1-Day Candles, Macro TrendOne of the most concerning things regarding the health of this trend is the breakdown of both the parabolic and linear trends. Both trends

Via BitcoinMagazine – 9:10 pm February 12, 2018
Regulators in Hong Kong have issued a strict warning to exchanges doing business with Chinese customers about trading tokens deemed as securities.In an announcement today, Hong Kongs Securities and Futures Commission SFC said it has sent letters to seven Hong Kong exchanges and firms attempting to fundraise through initial coin offerings ICOs, warning them about the legalities of selling digital tokens with the characteristics of securities. Most of those receiving the letter confirmed compli

Via BitcoinMagazine – 9:10 pm February 12, 2018
Are miners the nodes on a blockchain that process transactions partners in a company And, if they are deemed partners, and a cryptocurrency project collapses leaving coin holders holding the bag, what legal construct is in place to protect miners from lawsuits One Vermont lawyer sees a nightmare unfolding.Stepping back a few steps, last month, several news sites ran stories about proposed legislation S.269 in Vermont put forth by Senator Alison Clarkson on January 3, 2018. Most focused on t

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:25 am February 8, 2018
Today, February 6, 2018, the prospects for coherent U.S. regulation on cryptocurrencies became a little more clear, as were the impasses that were frustrating progress on the issue. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs the Committee heard joint testimony from the heads of both the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission CFTC. While both the SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo provided written tes

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:25 am February 8, 2018
The Twitter account of Bitfinexed, the pseudonymous online critic of the worlds largest Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange, was suspended today. The blogger says his tweets were being reported and his account was being spammed with hundreds of thousands of fake followers, and he thinks Bitfinex is behind it. Bitfinex nor its public relations firm, 5W, immediately responded to a request for comment. An unregulated exchange, Bitfinex handles around $2 billion in bitcoin and cryptocurrency trad

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:25 am February 8, 2018
Concerns are growing as to whether tether USDT, the stable token pegged to the dollar, is backed by actual U.S. dollars. And recent scrutiny by U.S. regulators is doing nothing to allay those fears. As of this writing, the number of USDT in circulation is 2.2 billion. That means Tether should have a matching number of dollars in one or several bank accounts. But, so far, no external audit has been conducted to show the money actually exists. Tether is owned and operated by the same individual

Via BitcoinMagazine – 1:10 am February 7, 2018
Former President of Mexico Vicente Fox was part of a panel discussion at the Blockchain Economic Forum in Singapore on February 5, 2018, and had a number of insights on blockchain technology generally and how Mexico might make use of it to help curtail corruption and rein in the drug trade.While President Fox openly admitted that he doesnt understand blockchain technology that well at this point learning more about it was a big reason he went to the conference, he does see the incredible pote

Via BitcoinMagazine – 1:10 am February 7, 2018
The written testimony from Jay Clayton, chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission SEC, was released on February 5, 2018. It comes ahead of the chairmans oral testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on February 6, 2018, on the matter of Virtual Currencies The Oversight Role of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Usually the written testimony closely mirrors the language we

Via BitcoinMagazine – 1:10 am February 7, 2018
Over the last week, bitcoin has seen an aggressive markdown from the $12,000s to the $6,000s a 50 move in 7 days. Right now, a battle between the bulls and the bears is under way as the market is trying to decide if todays rally is a temporary bottom or a decisive end to the aggressive bitcoin bear marketFigure 1 BTC-USD, 1-Day Candles, Macro TrendTo date, the market has broken number lines of support including the daily 200 EMA. The daily 200 EMA has been a strong support for the last few y

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:50 pm February 3, 2018
Toronto City Council voted today to invite the public to make deputations to the City Executive on March 19, 2018, about why and how blockchain technology and new cryptocurrencies can be integrated into the way the city does business.The motion was introduced by Councillor Norm Kelly, who believes that Toronto is already well on the way to being an international innovation hub, and that the use of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies could fast-forward this process.In an interview with

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:50 pm February 3, 2018
Most of the attention, flurry and investment around blockchain technology is in the West, where people are investing in cryptocurrencies and focused on a slew of novel applications, like using a blockchain to track vegetables from the field to store shelves. But the greatest impact of blockchain technology will be in developing countries, such as Zimbabwe and Venezuela. At least, that is the view of David Crosbie, a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania. He thinks blockchain technology w

Via BitcoinMagazine – 2:50 pm February 3, 2018
The National Institute of Standards and Technology NIST has issued a report titled Blockchain Technology Overview. The report, intended to provide a high-level technical overview, discusses the application of blockchain technology to electronic currency in depth, and also discusses its broader applications.We want to help people understand how blockchains work so that they can appropriately and usefully apply them to technology problems, said NIST computer scientist Dylan Yaga, who is one of

Via BitcoinMagazine – 1:25 am February 2, 2018
Squares Cash App has been updated to allow for purchasing of up to $10,000 worth of bitcoin a week.Since making the announcement, Square has seen itsstock hasclimb nearly 3 percent.Cash App is a peer-to-peer payment system from Square that allows people to pay each other directly and quickly. This new update has been in trial mode for select users over several months and is now available to the public. Users will have access to bitcoin trading directly in the app with no additional fees being

Via BitcoinMagazine – 1:25 am February 2, 2018
This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

Via BitcoinMagazine – 1:25 am February 2, 2018
The European Commision EC has launched the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum BOF to consolidate and grow blockchain initiatives within the European Union EU.With the support of the European Parliament, the BOF is a pilot project proposed by Member of the European Parliament Jakob von Weizscker, who is responsible for the recent report on virtual currencies. The project is intended to support the Commissions work on financial technology. This new initiative will highlight key developments of

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:40 pm January 31, 2018
In a statement from the Securities Exchange Commission SEC, an emergency relief action was filed to shut down AriseBank, which it described as an outright scam.In a growing list of enforcement actions by the SEC, the complaint against AriseBank stated that the Dallas-based company had used deceptive tactics to raise what they claim was $600 million of its $1 billion goal in just two months. Co-founders Jared Rice Sr. and Stanley Ford are being charged with alleged fraud and issuing unregister

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:40 pm January 31, 2018
The relatively high transaction fees on the Bitcoin network were a major topic of conversation last year, but these fees have been plummeting so far in 2018. According to data from CoinMetrics, bitcoin miners are now collecting less than a third of the value they were collecting in fees at one point in December 2017.So whats causing this decline in the costs of on-chain transactions Is it as simple as declining demand leading to a lower price Are there other factors at play Lets take a closer

Via BitcoinMagazine – 1:10 am January 31, 2018
Following one of the largest hacks in the history of cryptocurrency, Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck has announced that it will comply with an order from Japans Financial Services Agency to improve its business operations.On Friday, January 26, 2018, Coincheck was hacked, resulting in the loss over over $530 million USD worth of NEM XEM tokens. A full transcript of the announcement from Coincheck executives can be found here. The core of the problem was that Coincheck was keeping t

Via BitcoinMagazine – 1:10 am January 31, 2018
BTCC is exiting the Chinese market to focus on making digital currencies accessible to everyone globally. This acquisition by a Hong Kongbased blockchain investment fund is a milestone for BTCC and will allow BTCC to focus on global digital currency adoption.BTCC, located in China and founded in 2011, was the worlds oldest bitcoin exchange until it closed in September 2017 under pressure from the Chinese government. It changed business focus to its international pool, wallet and exchange mark

Via BitcoinMagazine – 1:10 am January 31, 2018
The World Economic Forum WEF has long been a lightning rod of global discussion on economic, social and political trends. This years gathering in Davos, Switzerland, was no exception.Blockchain technology emerged center stage last week as a key discussion theme, receiving praise from attendees for its cutting-edge potential. Bitcoin and the future of cryptocurrencies, too, were highly discussed topics at the forum, not just casually but also in an official session and a few panel discussions.

Via BitcoinMagazine – 1:10 am January 31, 2018
Looking back at bitcoins parabolic curve, we can see notable lines of support and resistance throughout its market cycle. Two highly reliable sources of support and resistance are the set of 50/200 EMAs and the Fibonacci Retracement set from the beginning of the bull market to the top of our current all-time highFigure 1 BTC-USD, 1-Day Candles, Macro TrendOver the last couple days, bitcoin has attempted to break the overhead resistance surrounding the 38 retracement values and the 50 EMA on t

Via BitcoinMagazine – 1:10 am January 31, 2018
At the end of 2017, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko signed aDigital Economy Development Ordinance, aimed at developing the countrys IT sector and attracting blockchain technology companies, capital and talent from all over the world.Belarus becomes the first state in the world which opens up broad opportunities for the use of the blockchain technology, said Lukashenko. We have all opportunities to become a regional center of competence in this field.According to the Belarus News Agency

Via BitcoinMagazine – 1:10 am January 31, 2018
Hyperledger is a collaborative cross-industry effort to advance blockchain technology that is hosted by The Linux Foundation. Today, January 30, 2018, sees the release of Sawtooth 1.0, the second active Hyperledger project to reach 1.0, following Hyperledger Fabric 1.0 in July 2017.Sawtooth is a modular platform for building, deploying and running distributed ledgers using a new consensus algorithm, Proof of Elapsed Time PoET, which targets large distributed validator populations with minimal

Via BitcoinMagazine – 4:05 am January 27, 2018
Hydro-Quebc HQ is a public utility that manages the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in Quebec, Canada, but it finds itself in a position of generating more power than its customers need.In an article from Le Journal de Qubec, ric Martel, president and CEO of HQ, relates how HQ is facing a death spiral for electricity consumption. Power consumption by customers in the province has been stagnating since 2007, as customers are adding more and more solar panels. At the sa

Via BitcoinMagazine – 1:55 am January 26, 2018
Lower highs and lower lows have been the story of bitcoin for the last few weeks market behavior that has left even the most bullish investors scratching their heads. Since bitcoins dramatic rise to $20,000, there has been a series of harsh drops temporarily stifled by feeble rallies. At the time of this article, BTC-USD has managed to break through three major levels of support of both the upper and lower parabolic trends, and a long-term linear trendFigure 1 BTC-USD, 1-Day Candles, Macro V

Via BitcoinMagazine – 1:55 am January 26, 2018
In the current cryptocurrency hysteria, everyone is a level 70 blockchain wizard launching a new hedge fund.Weiss Ratings released their cryptocurrency ratings yesterday. In response, they received a lot of criticism on social media. And rightly so.Ill get to the specific issues with the Weiss Cryptocurrency Ratings, but first I need to point out that the low quality of these ratings is merely an illustration of the current hysteria around cryptoassets more generally.Weiss Ratings has a long

Via BitcoinMagazine – 1:55 am January 26, 2018
The UCL Centre for Blockchain Technologies at University College London UCL CBT is launching a new pilot project for blockchain-based verification of academic credentials. MSc Financial Risk Management graduates are now able to display a verified qualification on their CV through a QR codebased on the Bitcoin blockchain, which instantly provides tamper-proof, verifiable information.The pilot will show that blockchain technology can be used outside of the financial sector, said Professor Tomas

Via BitcoinMagazine – 1:55 am January 26, 2018
The cryptocurrency marketplace in India is facing a siege from multiple parts of the government as several incidents amount to a buildup of the Narendra Modiled governments actions on regulating cryptocurrencies. If the reports out of India are true, the IMFs fastest growing country among emerging economies may have to meet its 7.4 percent GDP growth target in 2018 without the boost that the digital currency industry has provided in the past.The Prequel PM Modi Demonetized Rs 500 and Rs 1000

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:55 am January 24, 2018
Opendime is a tiny USB flash drive that can be loaded with bitcoin by the first user and given to another user, who is, in turn, able to pass it along to a third user and so forth.The private key attached to each Opendime is generated by the device at the time of setup by the user It is not known by anyone, not even by the first owner or by the Opendime company itself. Opendimes can be passed along multiple times to other users and verified. An Opendime stick can only be redeemed by the last

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:55 am January 24, 2018
Security is one of the hottest topics in todays ever-evolving digital world. A steady flow of debate continues to take place at tech forums worldwide on topics like encryption, passwords, two-factor authentication, hardware wallets and the like.As cryptocurrencies and the tools being used to manage them take shape, questions loom about the most efficacious ways to protect both user assets and privacy. One individual who is at the epicenter of this active space is Paul Puey. He is co-founder a

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:55 am January 24, 2018
Six Korean banks will begin allowing the simultaneous opening of accounts, deposits and withdrawals, as well as transfers of funds between these accounts and exchanges, beginning on January 30, 2018, but with some new restrictions.South Koreas government continues its efforts to rein in the trading of virtual currencies such as ether and bitcoin with a new announcement from South Koreas Financial Services Commission. Investors will now be required to convert their virtual bank accounts to rea

Via BitcoinMagazine – 7:10 am January 23, 2018
Like many other mainstream economists, Paul Krugman has long-shown a complete disdain for Bitcoin. In late 2013, he went as far as to write a piece titled Bitcoin Is Evil for his column in The New York Times.Moral objections to bitcoin are one thing, but Krugman also does not see much utility in the cryptoasset at all. While he has been able to express his hatred for Bitcoin quite clearly, his technical criticisms of bitcoin as a new type of asset and store of value leave something to be desi

Via BitcoinMagazine – 7:10 am January 23, 2018
In anewly published paper on the use of bitcoin for illegal activity, researchers from the University of Sydney, the University of Technology Sydney and the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga indicate that a quarter of all bitcoin users are associated with illegal activity.The use of bitcoin for illicit purposes has long been the most controversial aspect of the cryptoasset, although it has taken a back seat to speculation around the bitcoin price over the past few years.In addition to est

Via BitcoinMagazine – 7:00 am January 20, 2018
By Shawn GordonWhat is RippleTechnically speaking, is Ripple a cryptocurrency in the mold of Bitcoin The short answer is probably no, but that doesnt stop it from often being lumped into that same category.What is RippleOriginally released in 2012 as a subsequent iteration of Ripplepay, Ripple is a real-time gross settlement system RTGS, currency exchange and remittance network. Using a common ledger that is managed by a network of independently validating servers that constantly compare tran

Via BitcoinMagazine – 7:00 am January 20, 2018
Increasing interest in cryptocurrencies has led to an influx of new investors. Unlike traditional markets, there are few tools that can help people make informed decisions, a situation that has already begun to claim victims in a particularly volatile environment.In separate announcements, Weiss Ratings and Intercontinental Exchange NYSE ICE have announced the introduction of new financial tools to help investors navigate the cryptocurrency market and make smarter investments.Weiss Ratings, a

Via BitcoinMagazine – 7:00 am January 20, 2018
Shortly after a sharp drop from the mid $14,000 to the lower $9,000s, bitcoin saw a strong bounce to the upper $11,000s. At the time of this article, bitcoin appears to be consolidating and is ready to make its next moveFigure 1 BTC-USD, 1 Day Candles, Macro ViewIn the previous BTC market analysis, we discussed the distribution trading range the market fell out of as it reached for lower support boundaries. Ultimately, it found support on the macro 50 retracement values near $10,000. Once it

Via BitcoinMagazine – 4:40 pm January 19, 2018
Owning cryptocurrency comes with its own set of challenges. One of the biggest of those challenges is managing the private keys that enable you to spend funds. Lose your private keys, and your money is gone.In a business environment, a common way to manage funds owned by multiple people is via whats called a multisignature multisig address, a type of smart contract requiring two or more parties to sign off on a transaction to move the funds. This can be problematic, however. Lets say you have

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:12 pm January 18, 2018
A recent study PDF from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Center on Sanctions and Illicit Finance and blockchain analytics company Elliptic explored the bitcoin laundering ecosystem. In the study, Elliptics forensic analysis of the Bitcoin blockchain and other publicly available data were used to track the flows of illicit funds from 2013 to 2016.This study aimed to identify where individuals turn in order to cash out or transmit bitcoins BTC acquired from illicit entities and to disc

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:12 pm January 18, 2018
Following the release of the first Bitcoin Lightning Network white paper, published in February 2015, developers have been working on Lightning Network implementations to enhance the throughput and usability of the Bitcoin network. For an overview, see this three-part series on Understanding the Lightning Network.In December 2017, lightning developers ACINQ, Blockstream and Lightning Labs, announced the 1.0 release of the Lightning protocol and the worlds first Lightning test payments on the

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:12 pm January 18, 2018
San Franciscobased startup Origin is creating a set of protocols that allow developers and businesses to build decentralized marketplaces on the blockchain, with a focus on the sharing economy.The Origin Protocol is a set of open-source blockchain protocols for buyers and sellers of services like car-sharing or home-sharing to transact on a decentralized, open web platform.The protocols applications will store transactional data such as pricing and availability directly on the blockchain.Leve

Via BitcoinMagazine – 12:55 am January 18, 2018
Qtum is on the move with the announcement of a partnership with Baofeng to begin running 50,000 full Qtum nodes and an upcoming x86 VM to support multiple languages for smart contracts.Qtum is a hybrid of Bitcoin and Ethereum that is based on proof-of-stake consensus instead of proof of work, and is compatible with existing Ethereum contracts as well as Bitcoin gateways. Supporting the Ethereum Virtual Machine EVM wasnt enough for Qtum co-founder Jordan Earls, who has been working on an x86 V

Via BitcoinMagazine – 12:55 am January 18, 2018
The cryptocurrency sky fell yesterday as 49 of the top 50 coins by Market Cap were down with only Tether USDT posting a gain. In fact, only two coins, KuCoin Shares and VeChain, showed losses less than 10 percent and only 12 of the top 50 have lost less than 20 percent of their value. The effects of the market-wide shock are clear, but explanations vary based on where you get your news. In an effort to make sense of the situation, here are the stories and rationales explaining the systemic dr

Via BitcoinMagazine – 12:55 am January 18, 2018
Brian Behlendorf is confident that 2018 will be a peak year, not only for Hyperledger the international consortium of companies and organizations developing open source, permissioned blockchain technology but also for blockchain technology in general as businesses and governments recognize the potential power of distributed ledgers and smart contracts.2018 will be the year that Hyperledger and blockchain come into their own. Projects demonstrating real world solutions, like Change Healthcar

Via BitcoinMagazine – 12:55 am January 18, 2018
Halong Mining and MyRig are working together to bring the new DragonMint miner from Halong to market.First announced in November 2017, the new Halong Mining DragonMint 16T miner is the result of 12 months of R&ampD and a $30 million investment in development. It has a hashrate of 16th/s with a power consumption of 14401480 watts optimized for 240v operation. The DM8575 ASIC runs at 85 GH per chip with a power efficiency of 0.075 J/GH. No special modifications are needed in a data center t

Via BitcoinMagazine – 1:55 am January 17, 2018
Over the last couple months, weve been tracking a potential Distribution Trading Range at the top of bitcoins market cycle. Today, we have received higher confidence that bitcoin may have topped out. At around 300 p.m. EST, bitcoin broke through the bottom of the trading range and is now seeing aggressive selling as long positions begin to close and short positions begin to open. Today marks the first day of lower lows since bitcoin topped out around $20,000Figure 1 BTC-USD, 4-Hour Candles, D

Via BitcoinMagazine – 4:40 am January 16, 2018
On January 13, an unknown hackers hijacked the DNS server for BlackWallet.co, a web-based wallet for the Stellar Lumens cryptocurrency, and redirected it to their own server.Security researcher Kevin Beaumont, who analyzed the code, said, The DNS hijack of Blackwallet injected code, if you had over 20 Lumens it pushes them to a different wallet. It is estimated that nearly 700,000 Lumens XLM were stolen, with a current value of over $400,000. Warnings and alerts not to log into the BlackWalle

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:25 pm January 15, 2018
In a paper written in the fall of 2017 and published on the Social Science Research Network SSRN on Friday, January 12, 2018, Credit Suisses Dietmar Peetz and Gregory Mall argue that the boom in the initial coin offering ICO market is the clearest indicator of a bubble in bitcoin.Zurich-based Credit Suisse is one of the 40 largest banks in the world with more than $800 billion in total assets, according to Standard &amp Poor.According to Peetz and Mall, bitcoin should not be seen as a cur

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:25 pm January 15, 2018
In a recent article on the basics of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies PDF, Aleksander Berentsen and Fabian Schr of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis cover the usefulness of bitcoin and other alternative cryptoassets.Throughout the article, Berentsen and Schr make the case that cryptoassets are well suited to become a new, important asset class. The duo goes as far to say that bitcoin is, in some ways, more robust than many fiat currencies.Cryptocurrencies Are a Welcome Addition to the C

Via BitcoinMagazine – 5:50 pm January 15, 2018
Voatz, a startup based in Boston, MA, promises to dispel some of the biggest challenges associated with voting access, security, transparency and efficiency. The company plans to achieve this goal by combining internet-based voting with blockchain technology.What is VoatzVoatz enables voters to make their voices heard conveniently by allowing mobile voting via any smartphone or tablet connected to the internet. The platform integrates blockchain technology and cutting-edge security to maintai

Via BitcoinMagazine – 5:50 pm January 15, 2018
The Institutes has announced a new blockchain framework called RiskBlock to provide more streamlined and secure proof of insurance. Nationwide Insurance is the first company to begin rolling out product on the platform.RiskBlock is the first blockchain framework delivered from the newly formed RiskBlock Alliance and the first of its kind that is designed specifically for the risk management and insurance industry. The Institutes RiskBlock Alliance is an industry-led, insurance-focused consort

Via BitcoinMagazine – 11:40 pm January 10, 2018
In a story that is getting all too familiar recently, the Securities Exchange Commission SEC halted trading on yet another blockchain-related company stock, UBI Blockchain. The SEC explainedThe Commission temporarily suspended trading in the securities of UBIA because of i questions regarding the accuracy of assertions, since at least September 2017, by UBIA in filings with the Commission regarding the companys business operations and ii concerns about recent, unusual and unexplained market a

Via BitcoinMagazine – 11:40 pm January 10, 2018
In December 2017, an interesting rumor surfaced According to sources familiar with the matter, the messaging app Telegram, very popular among crypto-enthusiasts for its strong encryption and privacy features, would launch its own blockchain platform and cryptocurrency.On January 8, 2018, TechCrunch reported that several unnamed sources had confirmed the news and quoted a secret Telegram white paper. According to TechCrunch, the potential for a cryptocurrency inside a widely adopted messaging

Via BitcoinMagazine – 11:40 pm January 10, 2018
The bitcoin market has been getting chopped to pieces for weeks as the market has faked up, faked down, consolidated and routinely stopped out traders. Last week, we discussed a potential large move due to a consolidated symmetrical triangle. However, the breakout failed to garner any momentum and ultimately flopped as the move upward quickly died down and ultimately reversed.At the time of this article, however, the market is poised in a precarious situation as it tiptoes around historic sup

Via BitcoinMagazine – 9:50 pm January 9, 2018
In a story that is getting all too familiar recently, the Securities Exchange Commission SEC halted trading on yet another cryptocurrency, UBI Blockchain. The SEC explainedThe Commission temporarily suspended trading in the securities of UBIA because of i questions regarding the accuracy of assertions, since at least September 2017, by UBIA in filings with the Commission regarding the companys business operations and ii concerns about recent, unusual and unexplained market activity in the com

Via BitcoinMagazine – 9:50 pm January 9, 2018
CryptoKitties, the most popular game ever released on the Ethereum blockchain to date, became an instant success in December of 2018. About 180,000 people have already signed up for CryptoKitties since the cute creatures were introduced to the world just a few months ago. Over $20 million in ether has already been spent, and at least 10 kitties have sold for more than $100,000.Yet while the impressive numbers behind this crypto-phenomenon clearly demonstrate its success, most people remain un

Via BitcoinMagazine – 9:50 pm January 9, 2018
Kodak, the iconic photography company first established in in the 1880s, has joined the blockchain and ICO age. Today, January 9, 2018, it announced a new blockchain-based platform with WENN Digital to empower and protect image makers, photographers and artists.The new platform, known as KodakOne, will enable users to register their work and license it with the platform. The image rights management platform will utilize the new KODAKCoin cryptocurrency to provide photographers with a new reve

Via BitcoinMagazine – 7:55 am January 9, 2018
Starting on Monday, January 8, 2018, at 800 a.m. GMT, the ADA token from Cardano began to be listed on the futures exchange at BitMEX.This makes BitMEX the fifth exchange to list the ADA token since Bittrex did so in October 2017, followed by Upbit, Binance and Coinnest. Cardano, a project of IOHK, was designed by leading experts in academics and cryptography over the last couple years and draws from various features of existing cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ripple and Ethereum, but uses

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:35 pm January 8, 2018
Five weeks ago, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission CFTC announced three exchanges had self-certified Bitcoin derivatives products. Following the subsequent backlash from the Futures Industry Association FIA, the CFTC has announced two public committee meetings to review the self-certification process, procedures and operational controls for listing and trading digital currency futures. The news comes on the heels of SEC and NASAA independent statements which discussed the concerns

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:10 am January 6, 2018
2017 has seen its spate of both good and bad stories for all sides of the cryptocurrency space. Whether you believe in dutch tulips or you worship at the altar of Satoshi Nakamoto, there were reaffirming and disheartening stories for evcxzxeryone. Below are five of the stories that darkened an otherwise positive year for the industry.nn n n Segwit2x vs. No2xn Bitcoin supporters and detractors alike acknowledged that scalability was an issue in the cryptocurrency. It triggered stak

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:10 am January 6, 2018
In a report published on January 3, 2018, Royal Bank of Canada RBC Capital Markets analyst Mitch Steves confidently stated that the cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology applications market could increase thirteenfold in 15 years, reaching $10 trillion.Steves report, titled Crypto Currency &amp Blockchain Technology A Decentralized FutureA Potential Multi-Trillion Dollar Opportunity, has been sent to RBCs clients. A short summary has been shared on Twitter. In a video published by CN

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:10 am January 6, 2018
Yesterday, January 4, 2018, the three prominent figures of the U.S. Securities and Exchance Commission SECendorsed the concerns raised in the North American Securities Administrators Association NASAAs cautionary directive on cryptocurrencies, ICOs, and other Cryptocurrency-Related Investment Products. Jay Clayton, the Chair of the SEC Michael Piwowar, the former acting Chair of the SEC and Kara Stein, a prominent figure in the SEC and an author of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, joined NASAA, the a

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:10 am January 6, 2018
On December 14, 2017, BitPay announced a first step toward enforcing the payment protocol All orders of the BitPay Card will require payments from Payment Protocol-compatible wallets, such as BitPays own wallet and a few others. This announcement came after an initial notice in November 2017, when BitPay first announced that BitPay invoices would soon require payments from wallets compatible with the Bitcoin Payment Protocol.BitPays move has since been met with resistance by some wallet devel

Via BitcoinMagazine – 10:40 pm January 4, 2018
Over the last month, bitcoin has seen large swings in price as the bulls scramble to call the bottom and the bears scramble to call the top of the market. The market saw a 50 retracement a few weeks ago, leading the bullish investors to buy the dip only to see it quickly top out and retrace again. Volatility is no stranger to bitcoin and the swings have been violentFigure 1 BTC-USD, 2-Hour Candles, Macro Trading RangeZooming out, we can see the market has been bound within a trading range. Co

Via BitcoinMagazine – 10:20 pm January 2, 2018
Greek graduates may soon be able to prove their qualifications by way of a blockchain.GRNET, the national research and education network of Greece, is working on a pilot project with blockchain research and development company IOHK to verify student diplomas on Cardano, a blockchain that launched in September.The project is notable because it is the first official use case of Cardano, a proof-of-stake-based cryptocurrency and soon-to-be smart contract platform currently under development by I

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:40 pm January 2, 2018
Interest in cryptocurrencies is at a fever pitch with untold numbers of token projects taking place every month. Initial coin offerings ICOs have yielded north of $1 billion in 2017, making this, clearly, the year of token launches.In Q3 alone, ICOs captured more than $1.3 billion for related ventures. This is estimated to be five times more than all of the venture capital funding raised in the blockchain industry.Amid this sea of activity, the average investor is left to stumble around aimle

Via BitcoinMagazine – 8:40 pm January 2, 2018
The post Keep an Eye Out for These Bitcoin Tech Trends in 2018 appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Via BitcoinMagazine – 5:30 pm January 1, 2018
Blockchain developer Chain is releasing an open-source compiler and development environment for writing Bitcoin smart contracts using Ivy, a smart contract language developed in-house.Chain is best known for the open-source Chain protocol and Chain Core, an enterprise blockchain infrastructure that facilitates financial transactions on scalable, private blockchain networks. An open-source developer edition of Chain Core is available to developers, with a testnet operated by Chain. Ivy was dev

Via BitcoinMagazine – 5:30 pm January 1, 2018
When the history of Bitcoin and blockchains is written, 2017 will be the year tagged as the turning point when Bitcoin and red hot blockchain technology went mainstream. The steadily rising bitcoin price and market cap is a key, though not the only, indicator that a tipping point has been reached.Despite turmoil like ICOs being banned in China and South Korea, cryptocurrencies in general coming under scrutiny in other countries, and internal divisions and infighting in the Bitcoin community,

Via BitcoinMagazine – 1:20 am December 30, 2017
Space company Vector and blockchain developer Nexus announced a partnership to host Nexuss decentralized cryptocurrency on a satellite orbiting the Earth, using Vectors GalacticSky platform.According to the developers, Nexus technology offers improvements over existing blockchain systems like Bitcoin and Ethereum. For example, Nexus features SHA-3 cryptography with 571-bit keys, which is believed to offer quantum security against future attacks based on next-generation quantum computers. Nexu