McAfee: I Know Who Built BTC

Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonym given to the person who allegedly designed bitcoin and wrote its whitepaper back in 2008. The currency came about during the time of the Great Recession and was designed to alleviate some of the heavy economic strife the world was seeing at the time. Bitcoin would potentially put financial power back in the hands of the people and relieve them of their reliance on banks and third-party financial institutions.

McAfee has never been one to shy away from the media with controversial reports. The man is now living in Cuba where he’s looking to avoid U.S. tax authorities. McAfee has not paid income tax, for example, in several years, believing that its collection is an illegal practice the country has long gotten away with simply because people have proven too complacent. In addition, he has stated that he would run for U.S. president while living abroad.

Now, he says he’s about 99 percent sure he knows the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto. While he’s not giving details, he’s confident Satoshi is more than one person. In an interview, he states:

It was a team of 11 people over a period of five years that came up, eventually, with [bitcoin]. How they decided who would write the paper, I don’t know. But anybody who wants to know who it is – I mean, you know who the options are. You’ve got Craig Wright possibly. I’m not going to name everyone else. Otherwise, you’ll figure out who it is, but somebody wrote the whitepaper.

McAfee pointed to various language points in the paper that suggest Craig Wright or someone like him may have been involved in the creation of BTC. He says that the paper uses British English over American English, and consistently used “two spaces after a period.”

Too Many Similarities

He explains:

The format of the document was identical to documents that [Satoshi Nakamoto] had published professionally. If you buy a two hundred-dollar authorship program, and you take the whitepaper and you run it through, and you take any one of the papers that he’s published – all of these people wrote papers by the way – only one comes out with 99 percent probability that it’s him.

McAfee claims that he’s spoken with one of the men behind the creation of bitcoin on the telephone. He was originally going to dispel who the person’s identity was, though he says this figure convinced him that he should remain quiet. Naturally, McAfee should expect some flack from bitcoin fans, some who will likely claim he has no idea who the person is, and that he’s simply trying to gain publicity for himself.

The post John McAfee: I Know Who Satoshi Nakamoto Is appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

Strix’s new trading platform uses advanced algorithmic trading strategies

Minimizing human judgment in crypto investing is the basis of Strix Leviathan’s business model—the company’s fund is almost completely run by advanced quantitative trading algorithms.

After spending more than two years building an enterprise-grade portfolio management system that is tailored for digital assets, Strix Leviathan launched its proprietary trading platform Octopus.

According to the company’s announcement, the trading platform will have Strix’s distinct technical advantage, applying quantitative trading strategies to cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency indexes.

Trading data will be pulled from the various leading exchanges and brokers on the market by Strix’s proprietary Data Ingestion Engine. Artificial intelligence and machine learning will then be applied to those data sets to create trading strategies. These strategies, Strix said, are all optimized to volatile market conditions that exist in digital asset markets.

Managing risk with a robust backtesting engine

The Octopus trading platform will have several key features, the most notable being a Portfolio Manager. The tool will use real-time risk management statistics provided by Strix’s software platform to assess the health and performance of the investment fund.

Real-time trading data is gathered from eight different exchanges, allowing Octopus to generate synthetic spot pricing. According to the company, this gives its trading team visibility into real-time market conditions, enabling them to instantaneously execute block OTC trades.

“The same platform used to execute and operate the production portfolio is used to backtest strategies as part of the strategy development process.”

Traders can track execution details and performance down to individual orders across each asset in real-time.

The post Strix Leviathan launches proprietary trading platform Octopus appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Having a strong password to your personal data such as bank information, company logins, and other sensitive data is very important. Because of this, the average business user has 191 passwords, but 81% of confirmed data breaches stemmed from reused, weak, or stolen passwords. But looking back on from where we have come from the first password and the first password theft to today can give us a heads-up on what may be coming.

The first password was created in 1960 with MIT’s Compatible Time-Sharing System, or CTSS, used separate consoles to access a shared mainframe – each user had their own files and their own personal point of entry, so a password was necessary. Authentication questions are much stronger than passwords, but passwords require much less memory to store – a compromise that early computers needed to take. Only 2 years after the creation of the computer password, the first password theft happened in 1962. Alan Scheer, a PhD. candidate, was given only 4 hours per week on the CTSS and the simulations he needed to run would take much longer to run than the amount of time he was allotted. By printing the system’s entire password file, he was able to log in another user. As the years went on, computer passwords became more and more complex. Robert Morris, in 1974, created UNIX Hashing – one-way encryption that translated passwords into numbers, didn’t store the actual passwords on the device, and is still used today in mac-OS and the PlayStation 4. In 1979, Robert Morris and Ken Thompson coined the term ‘salt’, referring to adding random characters in a stored password, making large scale leaks or cracking multiple passwords harder, but still doesn’t stop a password from being guessed.

See more about the history and future of passwords here:

The post The History and Future of Passwords appeared first on The Merkle News.

The Halving Will Take BTC to New Levels

Three years ago, bitcoin was on a rally unlike anything traders had ever seen. Each month brought on new gains of hundreds to thousands of dollars, and by the end of the year, the currency was trading for close to $20,000 per unit. Sadly, the asset would later spend the following year undergoing serious crashes and falling to the mid-$3,000 range, thereby losing approximately 70 percent of its overall value.

In the end, the 2017 rally is considered something of a fluke that’s never quite been witnessed again in the crypto space, but now traders and analysts alike believe the asset will reach the $20,000 level again by the time the halving is complete. They believe that after May 12, big numbers are going to show their faces.

Ada Vettese – a U.K.-based market analyst for crypto exchange e-Toro – explained in an interview:

The bitcoin network has seen its hash rate, which measures the computational power within the network, rocket back near to all-time highs… The hash rate measures how much computer processing power is being put to work at any one time by the whole of the bitcoin network, and it always rises and falls in reaction to miners’ contributions to the network. With the halving event just days away, the network has seen the hash rate climb just below the levels seen in February. The jump comes as bitcoin and other crypto assets continue to see prices climb higher. Both bitcoin and Ethereum have rocketed in recent weeks, and bitcoin is this morning back above the $9,000 mark, while Ethereum is at $205.

This will be bitcoin’s third major halving since it first emerged in 2008. The rewards that miners are set to receive for extracting new bitcoin blocks will be reduced to 6.25 from 12.5. They’ll be cut in half, hence the word “halving.”

George McDonaugh – co-founder of blockchain and crypto investment firm KR1 – explains:

Narratives in the world of blockchain act like the force in ‘Star Wars.’ They mysteriously move and shape the market. You couldn’t be blamed for getting a little excited about what’s to come.

Some Big Price Additions

Antoni Trenchev – co-founder of crypto lending firm Nexo – stated in an interview:

Critics can disparage bitcoin as much as they like, but it’s by far the best performing asset of the past decade. We’re bullish about its future.

He later predicted that the currency could potentially reach $50,000 by the time 2020 is over. To do that, however, bitcoin would need to add approximately $41,000 to its price in about seven months.

The post Analysts Ring in with Crazy Halving Predictions appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

Yet, this may be the start of an even greater rally with a top on-chain analytics firm affirming that per their data, BTC is just transitioning to a “bullish” market regime, exiting the bear market it was embroiled in prior to the recent gains.

Bitcoin’s bullish market regime

With there being no cash flow statements and balance sheets to scrutinize to value Bitcoin, analysts have turned to the next best thing: on-chain data.

Due to the fact that blockchains are public, their data can be crawled by analysts to determine the health of a network, the composition of users, among many other things.

Glassnode, a leading firm in this field, has long leveraged this feature of blockchains. And just recently, it decided to fit that data into a market valuation model dubbed “Glassnode On-Chain BTC Index,” or GNI.

The GNI is derived from a number of indicators such as network growth, Bitcoin transactions, and investor sentiment in an aim to “yield insights” into “where Bitcoin may evolve.” This, in turn, can give the company expectations as to how the cryptocurrency market will develop:

“Historically strong on-chain fundamentals coincide with good Bitcoin performance and vice-versa,” the firm wrote in the report, referencing their backtest of the accuracy of the GNI.

The data company found that by charting Bitcoin’s GNI and quarterly returns (in percent), you can determine which way BTC is trending on a macro scale. Glassnode wrote that as of May 3, BTC “has been moving strongly towards the bullish quadrant,” suggesting a bull market is imminent.

This is surely the case. Per previous reports from CryptoSlate, Bitcoin’s hash rate recently hit a new all-time high, reaching a level nearly 1,000 percent higher than that seen during the $20,000 highs in 2017.

Technicals share a similarly bullish picture

The technicals also suggest that Bitcoin is entering into a bullish phase.

I recently compiled the chart below, which shows BTC’s price action over the past three and a half years along. The red vertical lines mark every time the one-week Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) crossed into green territory, suggesting a bullish trend.

The MACD, as Investopedia describes, is an indicator revealing “changes in the strength, direction, momentum, and duration of a trend.”

What’s pertinent is that just last week, the indicator crossed bullish for Bitcoin, suggesting the start of a bull trend.

Case in point: in 2017, the indicator flipped green at $2,000 to mark the start of a 1,000 percent rally to $20,000. At the start of 2019, Bitcoin rallied 300 percent when the indicator trended green in January. And just earlier this year, it trended green prior to BTC rallying from the $8,000s to $10,500.

Adding to this confluence, we reported that Bitcoin’s latest rally allowed the cryptocurrency to capture the bottom of its logarithmic growth curve. This curve is important as BTC has traded within or very close to its vicinity for over eight years; for instance, both 2017’s bull market top and 2018’s bear market bottom were marked by the curve.

Bitcoin retaking the curve would suggest it is ready to see continued growth.

The post Bitcoin’s on-chain metrics suggest a “bullish” market regime may be imminent appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Amun Has Released an Interesting Token Product

The token is based on an exchange-traded product (ETP) that was released by Amun back in January. In an announcement, the company explains:

Typically, these purchases are short-term in nature, usually on a daily basis, as the holder aims to move in quickly to leverage a near-term decline in bitcoin to make a positive return.

While the token clearly has an interesting path, it’s unclear how many customers can truly earn money with the token during the time of writing given that bitcoin has just cleared the $9,000 mark again in just a couple of weeks. As of this morning, bitcoin is trading for about $9,100, meaning it’s added roughly $300 to its price over the past 24 hours. Granted the currency continues this present trend, Amun clients don’t stand to earn anything over the coming weeks.

Still, CEO of Amun Hany Rashwan explained in an interview that customers are always looking for ways to cut back on their losses, and with the volatility of bitcoin at an all-time high following the coronavirus pandemic, he believes this new token has a solid future in the crypto industry and could do customers a lot of good. He states:

Demand for these leverage and inverse tokens is tremendous. The users want the ability to buy these kinds of products in an easier and safer way.

Rashwan says that the token is available to both institutional and retail traders, meaning you don’t necessarily have to be a professional trader to take advantage. In addition, the coin is being released just a few days before the halving is set to take place.

Rashwan says that while many analysts are currently bullish about the upcoming event, he says there’s always a chance things could go wrong, and he thinks the new token is a good way of giving people the confidence they need to leverage any potential bitcoin losses this month.

The token was designed by a group called 21Shares. It presently lists nearly a dozen ETPs on various European stock exchanges.

Keeping Things Easy

Rashwan claims BTC is one of the simplest assets out there, which explains why so many people want to invest in it. He comments:

I’m financially quite literate and it’s not always clear what I’m buying with these products. If you are buying the actual figures, then you must handle your own margin and the collateral and worry about liquidations. It’s a whole slew of things if all you want to do is just bet on the price going up or the price is going down.

The post Amun Releases New Token Designed to Alleviate BTC Losses appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

Cryptocurrency halving is a pretty straight-forward process, which is done in order to protect the longevity and the value of the asset. The reason why Bitcoin halving is necessary is because it restricts the units earned when a block is mined. In the case of the 2020 halving, miners will see their BTC reward drop 50%. So, instead of earning 12.5 units, they will now earn 6.25. Although this feels discouraging, it is absolutely necessary and it is something that is expected to help Bitcoin become more valuable. The third halving is just one of the many that will follow in the years to come. This process is going to be taking place until the asset reaches its maximum supply of 21 million and it will be in cycles of 4 years, just like the Olympic Games. With the current calculations, it seems like Bitcoin has another 80 years of halving ahead of it.

An example of how the halving can help Bitcoin become more valuable is the performance of the asset during April 2020. Leaving the collective economic panic aside, Bitcoin was traded heavily and it increased in value. For the lucky ones who bought Bitcoin in the beginning of March, the period before the halving took place was a time to simply enjoy playing blackjack switch at www.mansioncasino.com/uk. In less than two months, the asset doubled in value and now, everyone is waiting to see how the halving will affect the performance of Bitcoin. Most investors, regardless of experience, level of influence or level of trading knowledge believe that the halving can only mean good news for Bitcoin.

Many successful investors are expecting Bitcoin’s value to increase more than it has even increased before. For example, Michael Novogratz is confident that Bitcoin is going to outperform every other asset in the months to come. Some like Tim Draper, are more optimistic, expecting Bitcoin to reach record highs in the next couple of years. Although some of the scenarios lack realism, the nature of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, in general, allow for over-optimistic expectations. Could somebody in 2009 expect that a digital asset not regulated by any authority, would end up being worth as much as a car only a decade later?

All optimism aside, it does not hurt to be careful when investing in cryptocurrencies. These assets have gone a long way and they have proven to be as valuable as many real economy assets. However, crypto economy is still a work in progress and this comes with both expected as well as unexpected risks. A negative development during this period could turn a cryptocurrency from heavily traded to absolutely lethargic. Both the new as well as the experienced traders will need to put in hours of research before investing in any of the available cryptocurrencies out there.

The post Bitcoin Halving – Predictions and Realistic Expectations appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

The break above this level has led investors to become increasingly bullish as it grows ever more likely that BTC is about to start forming another leg up.

It is important to note that there are two major levels that the crypto is approaching that could provide it with some serious resistance, however.

Bitcoin fast approaching multi-year trendline as strength mounts

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading up just under 5 percent at its current price of $9,300, marking a notable upswing from daily lows of $8,700 that were set during its bout of consolidation seen yesterday.

Today’s movement past the heavy resistance that Bitcoin previously faced at $9,200 marks a bullish resolution to the nearly week-long bout of rangebound trading that the benchmark cryptocurrency was previously caught within.

In order for this momentum to extend in the days and weeks ahead, it is imperative that buyers flip this previous resistance into strong support.

One factor that could provide Bitcoin with some major near-term volatility is how it responds to a long-established descending trendline that it has been stuck beneath since June of last year.

A popular crypto trader on Twitter who goes by the moniker “Pentoshi” spoke about the importance of this trendline in a recent tweet, explaining that a break above it could send BTC up towards $10,500.

“BTC just tested the downtrend line dating back to June of last year. The 2019 highs. Break it and I think we see 10.2-10.5k, reject and I believe we see 8.4k.”

If there is an upside break of this level and BTC rallies past $10,000, this will mark a full erasure of the losses that came about as a result of the crypto’s downturn seen from late-February to mid-March.

Analysis of BTC wallets suggests heavy resistance sits between $9,500 and $9,700

Data regarding the profitability of Bitcoin wallets at different price levels suggests that BTC may face some unforeseen resistance in the region between $9,500 and $9,700.

Blockchain analytics platform IntoTheBlock spoke about this resistance while referencing their In/Out of the Money Around Price (IOMAP) indicator, saying:

“Bitcoin is back at $9,200 again and using our (IOMAP) indicator, we see that the largest level of resistance is between $9,500 and $9,700, where 515 thousand addresses are holding 452.73 thousand Bitcoins.”

It is possible that a confirmed break above the year-long trendline that BTC is currently testing will be enough to help the cryptocurrency surmount the potential resistance within this price region.

The post Analysis of Bitcoin addresses shows that BTC is about to tap a massive resistance region appeared first on CryptoSlate.

India has proven to be a rather complex country when it comes to cryptocurrencies. Overall trading volume across exchanges is surging during the coronavirus, potentially hinting at things yet to come.

Similar to other countries, India is under some form of lockdown due to the coronavirus.

Crypto Demand Picks up in India

As such, it drives people to alternative investment options to make some money now or in the near future.

Demand for exposure to Bitcoin and other crypto assets has risen significantly.

So much even that most Indian trading platforms indicate a 1,000% increase in volume.

Now is a good time to learn more about cryptocurrencies and their underpinning technology.

All of this momentum comes as a rather big surprise.

More specifically, India’s government has always taken a harsh stance toward Bitcoin and other crypto assets. 

While some progress was made earlier in 2020, it didn’t create a sudden interest in these assets either.

Now that the coronavirus crisis is still in full effect, things are slowly changing, or so it seems.

It is equally possible that the trading volume is rising due to the Bitcoin reward halving.

That event will take place in a few days from today.

Only time will tell what the real catalyst for this renewed interest is.

Image(s): Shutterstock.com

The post India Shows a Renewed Appetite for Trading Crypto Assets appeared first on The Merkle News.

After reeling from all-time highs of just under $5.00 to lows of $1.50, LINK has since been able to post a “V-shaped recovery” that has led it back into the upper-$3.00 region.

It now appears that the crypto could be on the cusp of starting its next parabolic journey to fresh all-time highs, as one analyst is noting that its position within a long-established growth curve seems to point towards it seeing major near-term upside.

This also comes as Chainlink’s volatility begins diving, a sign that it could be coiling up for a big movement.

Chainlink sees diving volatility levels as sideways trading persists

At the time of writing, Chainlink is trading down nominally at its current price of $3.68.

This is around the price point at which it has been trading at throughout the past several days, as its buyers and sellers have reached an impasse as it oscillates within a relatively wide trading range in the upper-$3.00 region.

One byproduct of this range-bound trading has been diving volatility levels.

As indicated by data from the blockchain analytics platform IntoTheBlock, the cryptocurrency’s volatility levels have been cratering after setting a 2020 peak on April 9th.

This decline in volatility came about in the midst of the cryptocurrency’s price recovery from its March lows, and declines of this magnitude are historically short-lived.

If this trend continues to replicate itself in the future, then Chainlink could be on the cusp of making a major movement in the days and weeks ahead.

LINK’s growth curve points to an imminent parabolic movement

As for whether or not this movement will favor buyers or sellers, the cryptocurrency’s multi-year growth curve seems to suggest that it will help push Chainlink to fresh all-time highs.

One popular cryptocurrency analyst named Cole Garner mused this possibility in a recently offered chart, showing that LINK’s price trends have been strictly governed by parabolic cycles taking place above a large growth curve.

If this pattern replicates itself in the weeks ahead, Chainlink could soon rally by 90 percent up to fresh highs of roughly 0.00073 BTC before seeing another retrace that allows it to set a higher-low.

The post Chainlink may be on the cusp of a big movement as volatility levels plummet appeared first on CryptoSlate.

3,500 locations and counting

The $10 million fundraise was led by Pantera Capital, which put in $5.5 million. Other investors included Blockchain.com, Nima Capital, Coinstar, and Hard+Yaka. Coinme’s ambitious future plans include expanding in worldwide markets with its cash-to-crypto product, having proved its business as a successful model in the U.S.

Proceeds of the ongoing Series A will be spent mainly to focussing on neighboring markets in Latin America and developing Coinme’s native mobile application.

Coinme has been in operation since 2014 and is one of the oldest crypto exchange providers. The firm operates its API on over 3,500 cash-to-crypto machines and kiosks, and offers a wallet application for users to manage large-cap digital assets.

The firm has developed a unique API and proprietary digital wallet that can be fixed to any existing ATM, kiosk, PoS device, or merchant. The approach saves investment on larger machines and helps in the quick expansion of its product.

In partnership with American firm Coinstar, Coinme has over 425 locations in Los Angeles, 330 near San Francisco, 200 in Chicago, and 141 in its Seattle home base. The firm boasts operations even in some small towns, such as two locations each in Casper, Wyoming, and Abilene, Texas.

Neil Bergquist, the CEO of Coinme, notes Coinstar’s kiosks are located inside the premises of essential businesses such as major grocery stores and pharmacies, which makes them “fully accessible to our customers.“

He added cryptocurrency transaction volumes have grown by 40 percent since the Dow Jones Industrial Average peaked in late February, indicating people are “interested in owning a deflationary currency now more than ever.”

In an interview with Jonathan G. Blanco on the TF Podcast, Bergquist remarked on having Pantera Capital as an investor:

“They’re very founder friendly. They get the vision. You don’t need to convince them of really anything blockchain or crypto related. They get it.. If your story, vision, and traction most importantly is compelling, they’ll be there, they’ll support you. “

Pantera’s crypto push

Joey Krug of Pantera joins Coinme’s board of directors as part of the investment. Krug sits on the boards of several cryptocurrency companies, mainly those focussing on adoption, exchange, and attracting retail users.

Dan Morehead, CEO of Pantera, spoke of the investment:

“We believe cash onramps and offramps will contribute significantly to the adoption of cryptocurrencies, especially as it relates to cash-based remittances.”

Pantera has led several investment rounds in the cryptocurrency space, including high profiles ones such as Bakkt and XRP. The firm manages over $700 million dollars in various investments, mainly focusing on tokens, exchanges, and products related to crypto-assets.

The post Bitcoin ATM operator Coinme raises $10 million Series A, led by Pantera Capital appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Due to the launch of the “Topaz” testnet for Ethereum software, which has seen success thus far with strong adoption and use by the ETH enthusiast community, it has become a high possibility to some that the blockchain upgrade will roll out within the coming months.

This is mostly speculation: exact dates for the upgrade have been hard to come by. But Ethereum Foundation co-founder Vitalik Buterin indicated in February that developers will spend the “next few months” refining the upgrade for a launch sometime this year. Similarly, researcher Justin Drake once proposed a July launch, which would line up with Buterin’s vague idea for a timeline.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/research-ethereum-20-will-be-extremely-complicated-making-delays-likelyhttps://www.altcoinss.com/research-ethereum-20-will-be-extremely-complicated-making-delays-likelyinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, one of the leading blockchain events hosted by CoinsBank has decided to postpone the CoinsGang Weekend 2020. The organizers’ main concern is to guarantee the health of everyone involved and ensure a high level of attendance from stakeholders around the world.

A financial institution, as well as a secure online platform for buying, selling, transferring and storing cryptocurrencies successfully launched in 2014. Previously, blockchain solutions provider CoinsBank organized the series of the signature global events – Blockchain Cruises for building valuable connections with industry professionals from around the world. After creating a solid community that essentially was named as CoinsGang the creators have decided to gather its members with partners and newcomers into a special group of crypto people in the finest tradition of networking with the best audience and A-list speakers in the Turkish Riviera – Belek, Antalya. The new format is called CoinsGang Weekend and it was recently scheduled for 25 to 28 September at the same venue.

Top experts from around the world will share not only the information on the latest trends in the crypto world, but also will collect the opinions from various fields of expertise in order to conduct intermediate results of the first half of the year, and as a result, to stabilize the world economic situation. This year the focus of the GoinsGang weekend will be shifted to topics that interest everyone. The organizers believe – as every crisis passes, strong entrepreneurs will start to rebuild society in a better way.

“We are thrilled to announce our new hub CoinsGang,” – says Vitaliy Andrusevich, CoinsBank co-founder and CEO, – “We’ve decided to transform our traditional events – cruises on the biggest vessels into new events on the ground. Now is the right time to think outside the ‘crisis’ box and find business opportunities. That’s why we gather officials, top payment, FinTech experts and traders for four days in Antalya this Indian summer. They are going to share their unique insights and industry research of using blockchain and cryptocurrency in the financial crisis. How an organization can perform under stress and on the defense can give the board a new perspective on wider cultural challenges, opportunities to change, and prime areas for gaining competitive advantage and becoming more resilient. Strategies, decisions, and directions in the post-crisis recovery phase are now on the table for discussion. We believe in the power of the community and we’re going to be more flexible this year – following the latest news our early birds may change their tickets anytime if there will be any unexpected circumstances. We stay optimistic and hope that global quarantine is going to be ended soon and we’ll have a brilliant opportunity to celebrate this occasion together – we truly believe in the power of meaningful connections”.

For more information about the CoinsGang, visit: www.coinsgang.com

The decision to postpone the conference has been taken to minimize costs and risks for all involved, in the wake of the decision by the World Health Organization to declare COVID-19 a global pandemic. The organizers of CoinsGang Weekend asks the community to follow the latest updates on the official website of the event and stay positive. The refund policies permit participants the flexibility on their ticket purchases.

About the CoinsGang:

Organized annually since 2016, the CoinsBank has achieved 7 unique events Blockchain Cruises from the Caribbean to Asia and Europe and were held on one of the largest vessels of the world – Oasis of the Seas.

Brand new event CoinsGang provides an opportunity to venture funds and investors, crypto exchange representatives, journalists and influencers, industry entrepreneurs, large enterprises and banks, civil society representatives, national authorities and industry professionals to network and foster meaningful partnerships outside of the typical conference setting.

Turkey is the host for 2020. The CoinsGang hub lasts four days and will attract 8,000-10,000 attendees from 80+ countries.

Earlier, well-accepted leading media, such as BBC, Reuters, Forbes, Bloomberg, Mashable, Dailymail, Cointelegraph, FinYear showed interest in the CoinsBank events.

A-list speakers of past events include computer scientist John McAfee, Venture Capitalist Brock Pierce, ex Wall Street trader Tone Vays, Gordon Einstein, Jimmy Song, and others.

&

The post CoinsBank Brand New Global Event “CoinsGang Weekend” Postponed to 25-28 September Due to COVID-19 appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/coinsbank-brand-new-global-event-coinsgang-weekend-postponed-to-25-28-september-due-to-covid-19https://www.altcoinss.com/coinsbank-brand-new-global-event-coinsgang-weekend-postponed-to-25-28-september-due-to-covid-19info@altcoinss.com(Raaner)1xBit offers fun and a prize pool of 1500 mBTC every month with the “Freebooter Treasure” tournament!

The first anonymous cryptocurrency casino and sportsbook, 1xBit, is preparing to launch a new tournament called Freebooter Treasure, which is bound to thrill all its gamblers. The event is a bit more unusual, as it comes in the form of a quiz comprising of exciting adventures, fireguns and gold, with tasks being assigned every day.

The tournament has easy rules that can be followed by anyone. All you have to do is gather as many points as you can to get a maximum score so that you can receive a prize. You collect points by completing the daily task. One day equals one task, but even if you miss one day, you will still be able to take part in the game.

How to participate in the tournament?

1. First, create or sign in to your 1xBit account.
2. Click anywhere on the playing area to start the game. Explore the map and complete as many suggested daily tasks as you can to collect points (even if you miss one day, you will still be in the game).
3. Gather as many points as you can to be among the top 15 players.

As you gain more points by completing challenges each day, you will be able to work your way from Novice Sailor to the highest rank of Master Captain. Get the points, and you can receive 500 mBTC and freespins into your treasure chest!

Follow the leaderboard to track the progress of your competitors to pick up your game and surpass them. Keep in mind that fortune favors the bold!

If this tournament has piqued your interest, then hop aboard 1xBit’s ship to not miss the opportunity to win great prizes. 1xBit is a crypto casino where you can find a myriad of other games, including 5000 slots, 100 dealers, live casino tables, a variety of bets and sports, as well as many other enticing promotions.

&

What’s more, 1xBit offers one of the most substantial welcome bonuses in the casino industry, as new users that sign up receive a bonus of 7 BTC.

Find out more about 1xBit and follow its latest activity on social media at:

YouTube
Twitter
Instagram
Telegram

The post Win BTC Prizes in the New Monthly Tournament “Freebooter Treasure” at 1xBit appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/win-btc-prizes-in-the-new-monthly-tournament-freebooter-treasure-at-1xbithttps://www.altcoinss.com/win-btc-prizes-in-the-new-monthly-tournament-freebooter-treasure-at-1xbitinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have experienced a massive surge over the past 10 days. After trading in the $7,000s for weeks on end, BTC finally saw a breakout to $9,500 just last week, since settling into a consolidation pattern a few percentage points shy of the high.

Some have been skeptical about if the positive trends exhibited in this rally will hold.

Yet one prominent trader says that the simple fact Bitcoin has recently strongly outpaced altcoins gives credence to the recent leg up.

Bitcoin outperforms altcoins in the recent surge

As CryptoSlate detailed extensively, cryptocurrencies like Tezos, Chainlink, and Cardano were all seeing strong gains against Bitcoin due to an influx of positive developments regarding their network fundamentals.

It was a trend that caused Bitcoin dominance — the percentage of the aggregate value of all cryptocurrencies that consists of BTC — to fall from 66 percent at the start of April to 63.4 percent just weeks later. It may be only a 2.6 percent move, but considering this is a market worth hundreds of billions.

This trend changed last week, however, when Bitcoin surged 20 percent within 48 hours.

As analyst “Light” pointed out, during BTC’s rally to and past the key $9,000 resistance level, there was a “marked decoupling between Bitcoin and altcoins in the last week as we move into the halving.”

This was accentuated in the chart below, which shows that BTC (highlighted in BTC) easily outperformed large-cap altcoins since the end of April. This bifurcation has caused BTC dominance to snap back to 66 percent.

Seeing a marked decoupling between Bitcoin and alts in the last week as we move into the halving.

Bitcoin's relative outperformance as fiat pours into it and participants cycle out of alts and into BTC marks this latest leg up as more credible. pic.twitter.com/VaY9MVU9rc

— light (@LightCrypto) May 4, 2020

This is good for crypto’s trajectory

Light believes that BItcoin’s relative performance is a clear sign that this market has seen an influx of fiat buying activity, resulting in “market participants cycling out of alts and into BTC.”

This is important as the analyst concluded by writing that the influx of fiat-to-BItcoin purchases makes the ongoing move that much “more credible.”

Indeed, as this outlet reported previously, last week’s surge past $9,000 resulted in BitMEX’s open interest metric falling to new all-time lows of 50,000 BTC. Prior to March’s crash to $3,700, BitMEX’s open interest was closer to 100,000 BTC, according to Skew.com.

This metric reaching an all-time low is significant because it suggests that the speculative contracts, the futures, “no longer dominate the price of Bitcoin,” Bitazu Capital partner Mohit Sorout explained to me in a recent interview.

Instead, it was spot/fiat markets that were “leading this uptrend.”

Sustainable rallies are built on consumers and institutions buying ‘physical’ Bitcoin, not participating in longing futures contracts. The leverage that comes alongside derivatives always has to unwind eventually while holders of BTC never need to sell, especially if they are already profitable in their investment.

The post Bitcoin’s boom against altcoins proves the rally to $9,000 is legitimate appeared first on CryptoSlate.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/bitcoins-boom-against-altcoins-proves-the-rally-to-9000-is-legitimatehttps://www.altcoinss.com/bitcoins-boom-against-altcoins-proves-the-rally-to-9000-is-legitimateinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)On May 6, a case of foreign-related bitcoin property damage compensation was publicly adjudicated in Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court, in which the court determined bitcoin as legal virtual property. All bitcoin obtained through illegal means in the case should be returned or discounted for compensation.

The court thinks bitcoin is featured with value, scarcity, and controllability, owning the characteristics of right object and the commodity attribute as virtual property. It is reported that 18.88 bitcoins are involved in the case, according to the report of People’s Court Daily.

Case review

The accused (Malaysian nationality) went to the residence of the victim (American nationality) and forcing them to transfer 18.88 bitcoin to the account designated by the accused.

The court ruled that the accused returned 18.88 bitcoin and to the victim. If they won’t, bitcoin would be compensated at the price of 42206.75 Chinese yuan according to the closing price of bitcoin on that day published by CoinMarketCap.com on June 12, 2018.

Early in 2018, the Hangzhou Internet court held that bitcoin has a “commodity attribute” and can be purchased as a commodity recipient in accordance with the law. In 2019, the court further held that bitcoin belongs to the virtual property and should be protected by law.

The court also reiterated the national policy: up to now, it is strictly prohibited for any platform or institution to engage in the business for fiat money – cryptocurrency, or to buy or sell token or cryptocurrency as a central counterparty, or to provide services such as pricing and information intermediary. That is to say, in principle, the value conversion between bitcoin and RMB is not supported by the authority.

The core meaning behind the prohibition of ICO fund-raising in China is that China has always denied the currency attribute of bitcoin, which means Bitcoin can’t be circulated in the market as money, that is to say, it can’t be used as money to purchase goods, and it can’t be exchanged with RMB according to law. The legal digital currency can only be DC / EP issued by the central bank in the future.

In a word, the legal holding of bitcoin has never been prohibited in China, and bitcoins commodity property and corresponding property rights and interests have been affirmed. The reason why the official nearly mention it is protecting the public from the high investment risks.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/chinese-court-bitcoin-is-ruled-as-a-legal-property-but-not-a-currencyhttps://www.altcoinss.com/chinese-court-bitcoin-is-ruled-as-a-legal-property-but-not-a-currencyinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)

EOS price started a major downside correction from the $3.121 high against the US Dollar.

The price traded below the $3.000 and $2.800 support levels.

There was a break below a major bullish trend line with support near $2.850 on the 4-hours chart of the EOS/USD pair (data feed from Coinbase).

The pair is currently holding a crucial support at $2.600, which holds the key in the near term.

EOS price is consolidating above a few important supports against the US Dollar, while bitcoin is rising. The price must stay above the $2.600 support level to start a decent rally above $2.850.

EOS Price Analysis

This past month, EOS price rallied above the $2.850 and $3.000 resistance levels against the US Dollar. The price traded as high as $3.121 before it started a substantial downside correction in the past few days.

There was a break below the $3.000 support zone. The price traded below the $2.850 support level and the 55 simple moving average (4-hours). Moreover, there was a break below a major bullish trend line with support near $2.850 on the 4-hours chart of the EOS/USD pair.

The pair traded below the 50% Fib retracement level of the main upward move from the $2.439 low to $3.121 high. Finally, there was a spike below the $2.750 level, but the price found a strong support near the $2.600 zone.

It seems like the previous breakout zone at $2.600 is acting as a strong support. The 76.4% Fib retracement level of the main upward move from the $2.439 low to $3.121 high is also providing support.

The price is currently correcting higher and trading above $2.700. On the upside, there is a major resistance forming near the $2.850 level and the 55 simple moving average (4-hours).

There is also a connecting bearish trend line with resistance near $2.850 on the same chart. Therefore, the price must climb above the $2.850 resistance to start a fresh rally in the near term. Conversely, it could fail to break the $2.850 resistance and continue lower.

EOS Price

Looking at the chart, EOS price is clearly trading above a major support area at $2.600. Having said that, the bulls need to gain strength above $2.850 to start a fresh rally. If not, the price might decline towards 2.350.

Technical indicators

4-hours MACD – The MACD for EOS/USD is losing momentum in the bearish zone.

4-hours RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI is now recovering towards the $45-50 zone.

Major Support Levels – $2.600 and $2.350.

Major Resistance Levels – $2.850 and $3.000.

The post EOS Price Analysis: Can $2.60 Produce A Fresh Rally? appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/eos-price-analysis-can-260-produce-a-fresh-rallyhttps://www.altcoinss.com/eos-price-analysis-can-260-produce-a-fresh-rallyinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)China’s dominance of the Bitcoin mining space isn’t new but a Cambridge University research has come up with an interactive map that visualises the approximate geographic distribution of global Bitcoin hashrate according to mining distribution.

Put together by Apolline Blandin, Anton Dek and Claire Yue Wu, the Bitcoin Mining Map which used merely 37% of the world’s total hashrate to complete its findings, provides the average hashrate (total number of hashes produced by miners) share by country on a monthly basis starting from September 2019 as well as another which focuses on China’s hashrate distribution by province.

It is to give a clearer picture of the distribution based on underlying data provided by BTC.com, Poolin and ViaBTC mining pools for the study. Blandin notes that they hope to partner more pools in the future to improve the accuracy and reliability of the mining map in subsequent editions.

1/ My colleagues @dektox, @ClaireYueWu1 and I are delighted to announce the launch of an interactive map visualising the approx. geo distribution of Bitcoin hashrate from 09/19 to 04/20, at the country and provincial level (China only).

— Apolline Blandin (@ApollineBlandin) May 6, 2020

The map uses geo-location data (i.e. IP addresses) of hashers connecting to the three pools – they collectively represent approximately 37% of Bitcoin total hashrate over the examined period – to calculate the average monthly hashrate breakdown by country to support in visuals the view that China dominates with about 65% share (or two-third). The U.S. and Russia are the closest at 7.24% and 6.90% respectively.

The visual map comes as a part of the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index which provides a real-time estimate of the total electricity load and consumption of the Bitcoin network. Its model is based on a bottom-up approach initially developed by Marc Bevand in 2017 that takes different types of available mining hardware as the starting point.

Based on a best-guess estimate, they put Bitcoin’s total electricity consumption at 20 863 TWh i.e.
Bitcoin accounts for 0.41 % of global electricity consumption. The attempt to provide an educated guess that more accurately quantifies Bitcoin’s real electricity usage brought about the assumption that all miners use an equally-weighted basket of hardware types that are profitable in electricity terms. They note:

“The assumption that all profitable machines are equally distributed among miners may seem very unrealistic at first: many hardware types have not been produced and sold in equal quantities, some equipment may not have been available to everyone at the same time, and other machines may already have been fully retired despite becoming profitable again for a short period of time. However, when comparing our best-guess estimate to a simulation that uses hardware weighting based on Stoll et al.’s (2019) market share calculations, the resulting electricity consumption values do not differ substantially. This suggests that using the current assumption of equally-weighted profitable equipment is acceptable until further research and analysis on better weighting approaches becomes available.”

The hashrate level has been topical as the quadrennial block reward halving is days away (May 12 or thereabout) even as countries like Ukraine consider using excess electricity for cryptocurrency mining as a way to transfer a ‘liability’ into an ‘asset’. Data from analytics firm Glassnode shows that the one-day average mining hashrate of the Bitcoin blockchain reached 139 exahashes per second (EH/s) to beat previous all-time highs.

Whereas, despite surges in price and mining power, Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr suggests total node count fell below 47,000 on Monday May 4 to a level not seen since 2017 thus indicating that fewer people are participating in validating new transactions and storing copies of the network’s shared transaction history.

#Bitcoin hash rate hit a new all-time high. pic.twitter.com/XtPbZRU8wp

— glassnode (@glassnode) May 3, 2020

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/interactive-map-visualizes-global-bitcoin-hashrate-geo-distributionhttps://www.altcoinss.com/interactive-map-visualizes-global-bitcoin-hashrate-geo-distributioninfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)

Litecoin price started a downside correction from the $50.00 resistance against the US Dollar.

LTC price declined below the $48.00 support and it is currently consolidating near $45.00.

There was a break below a major bullish trend line with support near $46.40 on the 4-hours chart of the LTC/USD pair (data feed from Coinbase).

The pair could spike towards the $4.50 support area before it might start a fresh increase.

Litecoin price is slowly moving lower towards key supports against the US Dollar and bitcoin. LTC price must stay above the $43.50 support to start a fresh upward move.

Litecoin Price Analysis

Earlier this week, there were mostly range moves Ethereum, ripple, and litecoin against the US Dollar, while bitcoin climbed a few points higher. Earlier, LTC price topped near the $50.99 level and started a fresh decline.

There was a break below the $48.00 and $47.50 support levels. The price even broke the $47.00 support zone and settled below the 55 simple moving average (4-hours).

During the decline, there was a break below a major bullish trend line with support near $46.40 on the 4-hours chart of the LTC/USD pair. The pair spiked below the 50% Fib retracement level of the main upward move from the $39.58 low to $50.99 high.

On the downside, there is a crucial support forming near the $44.00 and $43.50 levels. The 61.8% Fib retracement level of the main upward move from the $39.58 low to $50.99 high is also near the $43.94 level.

At the moment, the price is rising, but the broken trend line at $46.50 is acting as a resistance. Therefore, there are chances of a downside spike towards the $44.00 and $43.50 support levels.

If the bulls defend the $43.50 support zone, the price is likely to start a fresh increase. On the upside, litecoin is facing hurdles near the $47.00 level and the 55 simple moving average (4-hours).

A successful close above the 55 simple moving average (4-hours) is needed for a strong increase above $48.00. In the mentioned case, there are chances of a push towards the $52.00 and $55.00 levels in the near term.

Litecoin Price

Looking at the chart, litecoin price is clearly approaching a few important support near $44.00 and $43.50. As long as there is no close below $43.50, the price is likely to rise above the $48.00 and $50.00 levels.

Technical indicators

4 hours MACD – The MACD for LTC/USD is slowly losing momentum in the bearish zone.

4 hours RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for LTC/USD is now correcting high towards the 45-50 zone.

Key Support Levels – $44.00 and $43.50.

Key Resistance Levels – $48.00 and $50.00.

The post Litecoin (LTC) Price Analysis: Downside Thrust Before Fresh Increase? appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/litecoin-ltc-price-analysis-downside-thrust-before-fresh-increasehttps://www.altcoinss.com/litecoin-ltc-price-analysis-downside-thrust-before-fresh-increaseinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)Australian beef is world-renowned in culinary circles as high-quality, sought-after meat. But as exports are threatened with health risks and pandemic concerns, one firm thinks pivoting to blockchain technology is the answer.

This week, a successful export trial further cemented the potential of distributed ledger technology as an industry changer.

Australian beef gets the blockchain treatment

In the small Australian town of Riverdale, a local company Aglive is working with the government and positioning blockchain technology to ensure the longevity of a major industry and creation of a traceability-focussed application.

The firm’s “Austracker” product was jointly developed with Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) and utilizes blockchain and IoT to track “paddock-to-plate” beef exports. Aglive claims to be the world’s first firm to use a public blockchain for the global beef market.

For the trial, Aglive tracked beef from a rural farm on land transport to Brisbane, Australia, followed by shipping and final delivery in Shanghai, China. The product was tagged and updated on each checkpoint, with relevant data available to each stakeholder throughout all stages.

Farmweekly Australia quoted Aglive director Paul Ryan:

“We are now living in a world where food fraud and related health risks are becoming a growing problem (…), so we must work together to restore consumer trust.”

Restoring trust in global markets

A local farmer stated the country’s agriculture sector suffers decreased trust after January’s devastative bushfires and the subsequent pandemic. But supply chain efforts running on blockchain technology — such as Aglive — help confirm a product’s authenticity and provide “reassurance” to consumers.

Logistics firm DB Schenker provided supply chain support for the trial. CEO Craig Dawson believes the success marks an important juncture for Australia’s beef industry, adding the project signals transparency, efficiency, and profitability in the future.

Aglive’s next step is bringing similar solutions to beef markets in Brazil, Canada, Uruguay, and the European Union.

The use of blockchain technology was touted by many in 2017 as a solution for all problems. While the multi-year bear market and the death of thousands of ICOs proved otherwise, the ongoing pandemic serves as a perfect litmus test for widespread blockchain use.

Traceability, currently for disease carriers,  is becoming a huge feature of 2020. In such scenarios, blockchain’s capabilities can perhaps be highlighted by major players and even thrive.

Australia has been welcoming to the use of blockchain and cryptocurrency in their existing system. CryptoSlate previously reported on the country’s extensive test and trials utilizing the protocols in trade finance, public auctions, and tokenized real estate shares among other projects.

The post In a post-COVID world, Australia turns to blockchain for protecting $7 billion beef export industry appeared first on CryptoSlate.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/in-a-post-covid-world-australia-turns-to-blockchain-for-protecting-7-billion-beef-export-industryhttps://www.altcoinss.com/in-a-post-covid-world-australia-turns-to-blockchain-for-protecting-7-billion-beef-export-industryinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)Bitcoin storage and infrastructure firm Blockstream has made a significant upgrade to its ambitious satellite-centric Bitcoin node project, as per an official post earlier this week.

Streaming Bitcoin from space

Termed Blockstream Satellite 2.0, the upgrade now allows users to download a full node — right from Bitcoin’s genesis block — without the use of an internet connection. Other features include a “standards-based” transmission protocol, increased bandwidth, and added data coverage.

The project was first launched in August 2017, broadcasting real-time block information from six geostationary satellites in space. Over two-thirds of the global population could access the Bitcoin network at the time, with the latest update promising more coverage in the Asia-Pacific region and covering almost the entire planet.

Users can further expect additional reliability at the “edges” of coverage zones and less interference from weather patterns, according to Blockstream’s blog.

Compared to the previous version, two unique “forward error correction” and a Bitcoin “lossless transaction compression scheme” additions help reduce the volume of transmitted data by an estimated 50 percent.

The update shifts to a DVB-S2 protocol, used by broadcasters and streaming services worldwide for faster data transfers and high-definition output. Previously, Blockstream’s product worked on a custom-built protocol and required internet connection for initial sync.

The official blog states 2.0 brings about significantly increased data transfers:

“Using the combination of more bandwidth, better spectral efficiency, [and] improved FEC coding efficiency (…), Blockstream Satellite 2.0 has over 25x the data rate compared to 1.0.”

Here’s how to do it

Users can position their existing antennae to connect with the satellite network as listed here. However, for the less technically savvy,  Blockstream is launching proprietary products for easy installations and even multiple device support. The latter hardware is optimized to receive DVB-S2 data, making it arguably faster and more reliable than a homebuilt solution.

Two versions are available on Blockstream for pre-order. A $299 “basic” kit comes with a consumer-grade satellite receiver compatible with Linux-based devices. The $799 “pro” kit features dual satellite functionality, rack mount, and “multicasting” to additional devices. A $60 “flat-panel” antenna is required for the installation of both devices, incase buyers do not already own one.

Based in Canada, Blockstream has heavily invested in Bitcoin storage tools and infrastructure support tools. The firm was majorly involved in developing Bitcoin’s Lighting Network and is known for launching the Liquid Network protocol.

Meanwhile, Samson Mow, the chief strategy officer of Blockstream and a self-styled Bitcoin maximalist, took a dig on Ethereum via Twitter:

It takes less time to sync a new #Bitcoin full node over #BlockstreamSatellite than it does to sync a new Etherium full node over broadband. ]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/blockstreams-satellite-just-made-downloading-bitcoin-without-the-internet-easier-and-25x-fasterhttps://www.altcoinss.com/blockstreams-satellite-just-made-downloading-bitcoin-without-the-internet-easier-and-25x-fasterinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)

In the cryptocurrency world, several exchanges have lost money for a wide variety of reasons. Upbit lost 342,000 Ether in 2019, yet it seems some of the funds may be cashed out fairly soon.

It is not uncommon for crypto exchanges to be hacked or drained.

Upbit Funds Moves to Binance

Although one would expect things to be different after 10 years, that is far from the case.

Upbit lost a lot of funds in November of 2019.

When everything was said and done, the losses totaled up to nearly $49million.

Most of the funds have been tracked and should not be cashed out as exchanges will automatically refuse to do so.

That doesn’t mean that the hackers are giving up on their efforts.

Some of the funds have moved from the “hack” wallet to the Binance exchange.

Two different transactions were sent in quick succession.

At the time of writing, the wallet associated with the Upbit hack still holds over 5,900 ETH.

That also means that nearly 335,000 ETH has been moved to different wallets and exchanges since November of 2019.

What will happen to these latest transactions, remains to be seen.

If funds are successfully laundered through Binance in one way or another, there will be severe repercussions, to say the least. 

Image(s): Shutterstock.com

The post Part of the Funds Stolen Through the Upbit Hack has Moved to Binance appeared first on The Merkle News.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/part-of-the-funds-stolen-through-the-upbit-hack-has-moved-to-binancehttps://www.altcoinss.com/part-of-the-funds-stolen-through-the-upbit-hack-has-moved-to-binanceinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)Ripple is facing a heavy bout of trouble. The company has had another lawsuit filed against it by a company that virtually no one in the cryptocurrency community has heard of.

Ripple Is Facing More Legal Trouble

The crypto firm is currently facing another class-action lawsuit from the likes of Bitcoin Manipulation Abatement LLC. The case was filed on May 1 in a U.S. federal district court against both Ripple and its CEO Brad Garlinghouse. Documents pertaining to the case alleged that Garlinghouse and his team raised billions of dollars in funds through an initial coin offering (ICO) that was never properly registered with the appropriate governing body. The company thus alleges fraud in that Ripple was not entirely honest or forthcoming with investing parties.

Court documents officially state:

In order to drive demand for and thereby increase profits from the sale of XRP, defendants have made a litany of false and misleading statements regarding XRP in violation of California’s securities laws, and false advertising and unfair competition laws. Defendants have since earned massive profits by selling off XRP to the public, in numerous offerings, having sold $1.1 billion in XRP to retail customers in exchange for legal tender cryptocurrencies.

Ripple is ultimately swelling with lawsuits at the time of writing, some of which are against it, and some of which stem from it. Another class-action suit pending against Ripple comes from several early investors, who claim that the company defrauded them and provided them with false information. The company, the suit says, failed to register XRP as a security, and now many initial investors are demanding their money back.

The documents of that case ultimately describe Ripple as an “ongoing token sale.”

However, Ripple is also involved in a third lawsuit. This one was filed by the company against popular video-streaming platform YouTube, which it alleges has failed repeatedly to take down or remove any fraudulent accounts that seek to profit through Ripple. Many of these accounts put out fake giveaways, which claim that all customers willing to send in their crypto will likely receive huge returns. Many people have lost money by listening to these scams, while those involved in the fraud have made off with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Make Things Right!

The lawsuit also alleges that YouTube, itself, has garnered heavy monetary gains from these scams. It has also failed to perform the necessary background checks on fraudulent channels.

Bitcoin Manipulation Abatement – which filed the latest lawsuit against Ripple – is also involved in a second suit against derivatives exchange FTX. The company states that FTX is responsible for manipulating bitcoin’s price and negatively influencing Binance, arguably the largest and most popular cryptocurrency exchange in the world in terms of daily trading volume. The suit is for $150 million.

The post Second Class-Action Suit Is Filed Against Ripple appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/second-class-action-suit-is-filed-against-ripplehttps://www.altcoinss.com/second-class-action-suit-is-filed-against-rippleinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)

Life gets easier when we accomplish our goals – but maintaining the driving force necessary to do so can be extremely difficult. Procrastination is extraordinarily common with 88% of workers spending at least an hour every day simply procrastinating on a task. We procrastinate because it can initially lower stress levels and give us more time to do the things that we want to do, but in the long run, those who procrastinate are more likely to feel more stressed, attain a lower quality of work, and are more likely to fall ill. Starting a new task that you have never done before can be daunting, but the longer it takes to actually start, the harder it will be to start. Problems can feel harder than they actually are – staying proactive and catching up on minor setbacks are necessary steps in making sure minor setbacks don’t become major problems. Realizing current goals can help create an easy path to future goals. Living in the present and focusing on what is right ahead can be more important than looking down the road.

Being able to bounce back after a setback is very important. A few simple steps can help put you on the path to coming back to 100%. Taking control of the situation by recognizing what went wrong and learning how to avoid causing the same problem again is an important step along the way to recovery from a setback. Use the setback as a lesson and use it as motivation to do better – if harnessed correctly, a positive and encouraging force can be made from stress. Picking something to get better at, a little bit every day, can help you accomplish greater goals.

Learn more about how to keep momentum going here:

The post How to Keep Your Momentum Going appeared first on The Merkle News.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/how-to-keep-your-momentum-goinghttps://www.altcoinss.com/how-to-keep-your-momentum-goinginfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)Sun Kissed Industries, Inc.’s Numuni Inc. subsidiary says that it sees bitcoin mining as a key source of revenue for its digital media platform.

Numuni Is Getting Into Mining At an Odd Time

The company works to ensure digital content creators garner funds for their work. The company recently put out a statement suggesting that it may get into bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining in the coming weeks, though it’s probably not thinking everything through.

For one thing, miners are about to lose a lot of revenue in the next seven days. While there are still digital rewards to be had, they will not compare to where they’ve been in the past several weeks, months or even years. Bitcoin is undergoing its third official halving on May 12 – about a week from now – and thus, bitcoin mining rewards will fall from about 12.5 to roughly 6.25 BTC for every new bitcoin block extraction to occur.

This creates a serious conundrum in that the company is looking to get into bitcoin and crypto mining right when things are about to take a serious slide. While the halving is slated to push bitcoin’s price to unprecedented levels and keep hodlers and enthusiasts happy, the situation is quite different for miners, who are going to be paid a lot less for every new block that gets mined. This raises the question, “Is Numuni right to think that now is the time to get involved in digital mining?”

Robert Reynolds – CEO of Numuni – explained in a statement on social media:

Our platform, unlike others that you may be familiar with (Seti@home, Folding@home, etc.) is designed from the ground up with near limited adaptability. Feedback from our over 6,000 beta installs has allowed the rapid shift from phase one to phase two. The team here at Numuni is excited to switch gears from strict R&D to a production environment generating revenues internally via mining and externally via computational resource contracts.

The good news is that Numuni seems to have its fingers in multiple pots. Thus, if mining doesn’t work out, the platform could always turn to gaming to substantiate its income. The company offers to reduce and/or eliminate ads for gamers while also increasing revenue for publishers. This eliminates annoying advertisements that disrupt gaming experiences while still ensuring producers garner the funds they’re entitled to.

We Are Ahead of the Game

In addition, the gaming market provides the company with additional computational power that it can then sell to third parties for a serious profit. Carl Grant – CEO of Sun Kissed Industries Inc. – says:

As discussed by Robert Reynolds, the Numuni platform brings massive computational power within easy reach for many institutions, companies and individuals. This puts Sun Kissed and Numuni at the forefront of the next wave in the computer science field.

The post Numuni Inc. Announces Plans to Enter Bitcoin Mining appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/numuni-inc-announces-plans-to-enter-bitcoin-mininghttps://www.altcoinss.com/numuni-inc-announces-plans-to-enter-bitcoin-mininginfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)Bitcoin’s seeing increased retail interest ahead of its upcoming halving event on May 12, if Google’s search trends are considered.

Developing countries leading search

Unique hits for Bitcoin halving are surging, reaching a historically unseen level. The protocol is scheduled for a reduction in block rewards to miners after May 12, cutting incentives down to 6.5 BTC per block instead of the current 12.5 BTC.

Search interest started trending in early-January but seems to have exponentially grown after “Black Thursday” in mid-March, a now-historic event that saw Bitcoin plunge by 45 percent over two trading sessions.

Trends from last month indicate European countries like Latvia, Belarus, and Switzerland account for the greatest interest in Bitcoin halving compared globally. But in May, the term springs also up Nigeria and Venezuela amongst other countries most searching for halving information.

Major economies like the U.S., U.K., India, and South Korea do not feature in the Trends data, despite otherwise having a robust and bustling cryptocurrency ecosystem in terms of workers and entrepreneurs.

As shown below and when grouped by “worldwide,” the “search” sentiment has now peaked at the highest possible “100” points, meaning maximum interest from retail users globally. As per Google, trends are calculated by compiling total searchers in a particular region compared to the relative popularity of the particular search term.

Rising retail interest

The searches bear an uncanny resemblance to Bitcoin’s price charts, indicating retail and algorithmic traders are looking at Google trend data as a predictive “indicator” for prices.

However, it’s difficult to fully attribute increasing prices to just Google trends. Retail searchers may simply be searching for information on the widely-publicized halving, while traders capitalize on the increased sentiment and a potential sell-off post halving.

Interestingly, search queries for “buy Bitcoin” and “buy crypto” are only slightly over average, although they are steadily rising at the time of writing.  The African economies of Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon lead in this regard:

Such data indicates retail buying pressure may only be slowing rising, disproportionate to those searching generally for halving information. Digital asset exchanges echo the sentiment. As CryptoSlate reported last month, bourses like Huobi and OKEx claimed a rise in unique exchange wallets holding between 0.1 – 1 BTC, likely held by individual retail investors.

On-chain metrics by Glassnode further prove the aforementioned:

In 2016, on-chain metrics displayed a similar trajectory. Users with wallets holding similar Bitcoin amounts drove up sharply before halving. However, despite the similarities, it’s important to note that Bitcoin wallets are not unique to users. One person may hold several wallets, meaning millions of wallet does not necessarily equal millions of users.

The post Search data shows “Bitcoin Halving” hits are now 4 times higher than 2016 levels appeared first on CryptoSlate.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/search-data-shows-bitcoin-halving-hits-are-now-4-times-higher-than-2016-levelshttps://www.altcoinss.com/search-data-shows-bitcoin-halving-hits-are-now-4-times-higher-than-2016-levelsinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)Cascadia Blockchain Group Corp. in Vancouver has announced that it has developed a new payment system that would allow for crypto to fiat transactions.

Cascadia Empowers Crypto to Fiat Payments

The entire payment platform would be powered through debit cards, which would contain the fiat currency that has come from the digital coins in question. Once digital coins are transformed into fiat, they are stored on cards that the customers keep in their wallets. They can then be used for purchasing goods and services anywhere debit cards are accepted.

Di Deng – president and CEO of Cascadia – explained in a statement:

It is important that we have a more diversified business model in addition to our cryptocurrency exchange, Eurasia Blockchain eXchange (EBX), which is currently under Astana Financial Services Authority’s FinTech regulatory sandbox regime. This new mechanism will allow Cascadia to offer a low-cost method to convert cryptocurrencies to fiat money, and once completed, it provides immediate income and cash flow to the company through transaction fees. We look forward to updating shareholders on this development further in the coming future.

More and more companies appear to be looking for ways to convert digital currency to fiat. Recently, popular cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase in San Francisco announced it would pair up with Visa, an international credit card payment company, to develop new digital currency credit and debit cards. Coinbase customers could load their digital currency onto the cards and use them at retailers everywhere that accepted Visa.

The virtual money on the cards would be transferred to fiat currency whenever a purchase was made, allowing users to spend their money just like they would standard cash. While most retailers are not going to accept bitcoin or other virtual coins for products or items, the process works to bring digital currency more mainstream by allowing those looking to spend their crypto like fiat through an indirect way of converting their money and completing transactions accordingly.

The system ultimately works to satisfy both parties: the consumer, who believes they’re engaging in digital transactions, and the retailer, who gets the money it’s looking for. These are small, yet significant steps in getting cryptocurrency closer towards legitimate territory.

Establishing Legitimacy

With Cascadia, the transaction involves blockchain technology, which is often considered far more secure than other systems in that it eliminates middlemen. This time around, the transaction occurs directly between the consumer and the retailer, thereby preventing any prying eyes from entering the fray and seeing information they should otherwise not be privy to. The customer’s data remains secure as the transaction is completed.

Cascadia is currently in its early fintech stages. The company was recently listed on the Canadian Security Exchange (CK.CN), suggesting it’s gotten a little further than other blockchain startups in recent days.

The post Cascadia Paves the Way for Crypto to Fiat Payments appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/cascadia-paves-the-way-for-crypto-to-fiat-paymentshttps://www.altcoinss.com/cascadia-paves-the-way-for-crypto-to-fiat-paymentsinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)Cross-border payments network Ripple (XRP) announced that it has become part of the ISO 20022 Standards Body, becoming its first member focused on distributed ledger technology (DLT). The new payment messaging standard is set to replace SWIFT MT messages as the standard format for cross-border and high-value payments.

Ripple becomes the first blockchain company to join new global payments standard

Ripple has been making huge strides in conquering the cross-border payments industry in the past couple of years. The latest step the company has made in becoming a staple payment provider has been joining the ISO 20022 Standards Body.

In the official announcement, the company said that it has become the first member of the ISO 20022 Standards Body focused on distributed ledger technology (DLT). Ripple said that joining the standards body will enable the company to achieve the next step in global interoperability and meet the evolving needs of its customers.

The ISO 20022 membership will allow customers to utilize RippleNet to access a network of global financial institutions, connect to one standardized API for all counterparty connections, and simplify implementation and reduce operational overhead.

Over 300 financial institutions currently rely on Ripple’s global payments network, including MUFG, SCB, and Santander.

Transforming the payments industry with ISO 20022

The migration to ISO 20022, the new payment messaging standard, is set to have a profound effect on payments. According to Global Banking and Finance, the migration to the new standard will require significant efforts both from banks and their clients as it is set to replace SWIFT MT messages as the standard messaging format for the transfer of cross-border and high-value payments.

Nobuo Ando, the representative director at SBI Remit, one of Ripple’s biggest customers, said that the company’s duty was to search for technological solutions to deliver remittance services to their customers.

“With the steady rise of remittance flows, we see Ripple helping us open up new revenue potential and a better overall experience for our customers,” he said in Ripple’s announcement.

The post XRP creator Ripple is the first blockchain company to be a part of the ISO 20022 standards body appeared first on CryptoSlate.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/xrp-creator-ripple-is-the-first-blockchain-company-to-be-a-part-of-the-iso-20022-standards-bodyhttps://www.altcoinss.com/xrp-creator-ripple-is-the-first-blockchain-company-to-be-a-part-of-the-iso-20022-standards-bodyinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)Cross-border payments network Ripple (XRP) announced that it has become part of the ISO 20022 Standards Body, becoming its first member focused on distributed ledger technology (DLT). The new payment messaging standard is set to replace SWIFT MT messages as the standard format for cross-border and high-value payments.

Ripple becomes the first blockchain company to join new global payments standard

Ripple has been making huge strides in conquering the cross-border payments industry in the past couple of years. The latest step the company has made in becoming a staple payment provider has been joining the ISO 20022 Standards Body.

In the official announcement, the company said that it has become the first member of the ISO 20022 Standards Body focused on distributed ledger technology (DLT). Ripple said that joining the standards body will enable the company to achieve the next step in global interoperability and meet the evolving needs of its customers.

The ISO 20022 membership will allow customers to utilize RippleNet to access a network of global financial institutions, connect to one standardized API for all counterparty connections, and simplify implementation and reduce operational overhead.

Over 300 financial institutions currently rely on Ripple’s global payments network, including MUFG, SCB, and Santander.

Transforming the payments industry with ISO 20022

The migration to ISO 20022, the new payment messaging standard, is set to have a profound effect on payments. According to Global Banking and Finance, the migration to the new standard will require significant efforts both from banks and their clients as it is set to replace SWIFT MT messages as the standard messaging format for the transfer of cross-border and high-value payments.

Nobuo Ando, the representative director at SBI Remit, one of Ripple’s biggest customers, said that the company’s duty was to search for technological solutions to deliver remittance services to their customers. He said in Ripple’s announcement:

“With the steady rise of remittance flows, we see Ripple helping us open up new revenue potential and a better overall experience for our customers.”

Updated at 10:10 AM PST — Title was updated to reflect that Ripple is not the creator of XRP.

The post Ripple is the first blockchain company to be a part of the ISO 20022 standards body appeared first on CryptoSlate.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/ripple-is-the-first-blockchain-company-to-be-a-part-of-the-iso-20022-standards-bodyhttps://www.altcoinss.com/ripple-is-the-first-blockchain-company-to-be-a-part-of-the-iso-20022-standards-bodyinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)The immense volatility seen by Bitcoin and the aggregated crypto market throughout 2020 has led to a major shift in dynamics seen amongst market participants, with many retail investors fleeing exchanges as they lose trust in centralized entities and begin adopting a long-term “hodl” strategy.

This has coincided with a major decline in legitimate trading volume on crypto exchanges throughout April.

Historical precedent suggests that this could be a warning sign for investors, however, as exchange volume declines have previously given significant insight into future price trends.

Crypto investors flee exchanges as trust in centralized entities degrades

Data from research and analytics platform Glassnode elucidates that crypto outflows from exchanges have been reaching unprecedented levels, with the balance of BTC on these platforms now hitting fresh six-month lows.

This overwhelming decline suggests that traders are moving their Bitcoin to cold storage wallets – a sign that they are not planning to actively sell this crypto anytime soon.

Besides this being the potential result of investors taking a long-term approach to the market, it also may be the result of degrading trust in centralized entities.

As CryptoSlate reported last week, popular crypto platform BitMEX has been losing considerable market share in the time following the mid-March meltdown that sent Bitcoin to lows of $3,800.

Many analysts have since pinned the cause of this sharp plunge on a cascade of liquidations seen on BitMEX, with news surrounding this leading investors to grow wary of relying too heavily on centralized platforms.

As a result, Bitcoin’s open interest on margin platforms has since dived towards all-time lows, signaling that active traders have also moved to the sidelines.

This volume trend seen on exchanges hints that a downtrend could be looming

Crypto exchanges have also seen a notable decline in legitimate trading volume throughout the last month, leading one researcher to conclude that this could be a grim sign for the entire market.

Larry Cermak spoke about this trend in a recent tweet, explaining that trading volume on top platforms declined nearly 30 percent between March and April.

“Legitimate volume on cryptocurrency exchanges has seen a steep decline in April, which has historically never been a good sign. Down 28.4% vs. March.”

Although trading volume is still up from where it was in January, sharp declines over a one-month period have historically marked the start of shifts in the market’s mid-term trend.

The post This crypto exchange volume trend could be a major warning sign to investors appeared first on CryptoSlate.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/this-crypto-exchange-volume-trend-could-be-a-major-warning-sign-to-investorshttps://www.altcoinss.com/this-crypto-exchange-volume-trend-could-be-a-major-warning-sign-to-investorsinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)

Ripple has always been a company that attracts a lot of attention in the cryptocurrency world. Unfortunately, that also means that the company has to deal with lawsuits every now and then.

Speaking of lawsuits, a new one has been filed by Bitcoin Manipulation Abatement LLC. 

Another Ripple Lawsuit Pops up

According to that group, Ripple and CEO Brad Garlinghouse have violated security laws while marketing XRP.

The lawsuit is filed in a US federal district court.

It claims how investors were misled and lied to as XRP was sold as an unregistered security. 

Interestingly enough, this is not the first time that someone claims Ripple’s native asset violated security laws.

Nearly all previous lawsuits have either been thrown out or withdrawn, for the time being.

Bitcoin Manipulation Abatement LLC also filed a lawsuit against crypto derivatives trading platform FTX in November 2019.

As many people had expected, this lawsuit was withdrawn a month later, for obvious reasons.

It is not unlikely to assume that this Ripple lawsuit will face a similar fate over the coming weeks.

For the foreseeable future, this company will remain under  a lot of scrutiny.

Many people simply dislike the company and its asset.

Proving anyone violated securities laws is a different matter altogether.

Image(s): Shutterstock.com

The post Ripple Faces Another Lawsuit Over its XRP Asset appeared first on The Merkle News.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/ripple-faces-another-lawsuit-over-its-xrp-assethttps://www.altcoinss.com/ripple-faces-another-lawsuit-over-its-xrp-assetinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)Ten years have passed since the birth of cryptocurrencies and since the publication of the Bitcoin White Paper, blockchain technology has not stopped evolving.  At the same time, the way of working to obtain better productivity has also undergone a drastic evolution.  Things have changed a lot since the days that anyone could generate returns from their desktop computer.  The appearance of big competition on a global level, driven by the advances in technology, has meant that only the biggest players in the system have found investing in blockchain to be attractive and profitable.  For this reason, today we present to you:  Kuailian’s Ecosystem.

Discovering Kuailian

Kuailian is a company that benefits from a complete ecosystem of services to access the world of cryptocurrencies.  We also have at our disposal the tools based around blockchain technologies, which are accessible to all and where no great knowledge of the systems or heavy investment in technology is needed.

 

Kuailian’s Main Characteristics

It would be very difficult to define Kuailian with one main characteristic, given that we have at our fingertips a complete ecosystem, with each section being as equally as important or even better than the previous.  However, we can say that our main differentiating attribute is our commitment to be honest and transparent, all thanks to and made possible by blockchain tools and technology.

All of the activity carried out on Kuailian can be viewed in real time.  You can audit your own accounts, decide when you want to schedule a transaction (remember that the blockchain registers are public) and we can assure you that your cryptocurrencies are working and generating results.

If required, you can consult the legal registrar in Estonia; all the information is available on Kuailians website and social networks.

Kuailian Smart Pool and Proof of Stake Technology

Not all consensus mechanisms to verify transactions are like Bitcoin (Proof of Work).  Huge operating costs and powerful equipment is needed to work with them and these soon become outdated.  There are other cryptocurrencies which need to have a predetermined amount of the coin in question to be able to carry out transactions.  For this reason, it makes a lot of sense to build up our cryptocurrencies by using a company like Kuailian, which works with this technology, is known in the market and is able to carry out these transactions (on which great returns can be achieved).

But the advancement in technology never stops (and neither does Kuailian’s).  The most powerful and modern networks use consensus mechanisms.  If you have Heard of Kuailian, you Will already know that one of our main products is Master Nodes.  To summarise, this product is able to carry out high performance transactions and in Kuailian, supports a range of consensus mechanisms like the following: PROOF OF STAKE, DELEGATED PROOF OF STAKE, THRESHOLDED PROOF OF STAKE, MASTERNODES,  PROFIT SHARE, PROOF OF AGREEMENT, PROOF OF HISTORY, PROOF OF AUTHORITY, TENDERMIT, HIGHWAY, BYZANTINE FAULT TOLERANCE (BFT), NON-BFT, MULTI-BFT, SHARE PRACTICAL BFT, ASYNCHRONOUS BFT – FUTURE CASPER Y  OUROBOROS.

It is here that Kuailian maximises their capacity, by making it available to ordinary people that wouldn’t otherwise be able to access it, due to the volume of cryptocurrencies that would be needed and the knowledge required to work with them.  Therefore, Kuailian uses a long-term stake strategy of 1000 days and will also be adding Simple Way Staking (Stake/Unstake), to the services they offer.

Kuailian and its automated systems

Kuailian has made it possible for everyone to participate in Master Nodes.  So that access to these is not limited to the few, we have pooled them together and then divided them.  Furthermore, it is possible to automatically receive some of the rewards generated in Smart Pool.

Following is a description of the easy process of signing up to Kuailian

1.       Create a Kuailian account
2.       Complete the KYC (given that we are a company which is registered legally within the European Union) and pay the inscription charge (50.95 dollars, paid in Ether).
3.       Purchase as many Kuais that you want, priced at 100 dollars each (paid en Ether).  A Kuai is not a token nor a cryptocurrency.  It is the measurement unit that can be used for staking a license in the software for 1000 days.  The more licenses you buy, the better the returns.
4.   Indicate the Ethereum purse where you want us to deposit your profits daily.

The way the Kuais are organised is very interesting. One one hand, it is accessible to everyone due to the low cost and on the other hand, it allows the users contributions to be sent to Smart Pool, our own system which has been developed in Kuailian to automatically administrate all of the cryptocurrencies that have been contributed by the users, that have been created in Master Nodes.  Twinned with the fact that each week, new Master Nodes are opened up for new licences to be acquired (by new users or existing users).

The contributions made by the users are administered by a system of Machine Learning, that carries out a Deep analysis in the cryptocurrency market, and based on the results, sets up the most profitable and liquid Master Nodes.  In other words, your rewards can be exchanged for Bitcoin or can be transferred to Ether.  The system operates around these so as to maximise the global efficiency of the ecosystem.

Finally, we would like to highlight the fact that the benefits generated by our contribution to the system are shared out on a daily basis.  This is a great advantage of Kuailian, as we are normally used to using big interfaces that demand a minimum amount to be able to make a withdrawal and can take a number of days or weeks to process the payments, or that we rely upon authorisation to have our money made available!!  Kuailian’s, in its bid to be transparent, offers its users a system, which is programmed by their technical team, a Smart Dispersion Contract , developed around the blockchain of Ethereum, which shares out the profits on a daily basis between the users, without any errors or deception (in fact, this contract can be viewed in any Ethereum blockchain explorer).

Extra:  Kuailian Bank, Smart Pool and all the other services offered by the company, have an individual affiliation programme, through which each user will generate profits when their referral signs up to become a Kualian user.

 

Kuailian Bank and its next innovations

Kuailian is very clear that the future is with blockchain, and they dedicate their complete ecosystem to it.  They have closed many different deals to be able to offer financial services.  These days, “FIAT” coins can be deposited and exchanged for cryptocurrencies. In the near future, a wallet and a debit card will be added along with dataphones and other financial services that will allow an expansion in the services offered. 

Smart Pool Will also expand and develop new options, for example, High Frequency Trading (HFT) and an arbitration system; all of this through the artificial intelligence system that carries out the administration of the ecosystem.

A constantly expanding ecosystem

But Kuailian isn’t just a finance ecosystem.  Without a doubt, like blockchain technology, it goes beyond that.  The main objective of Kuailian is to access the resources based on blockchain technology that already exist on the market; to make them more efficient, more transparent and to give our users an experience they’ve never had before.  Very soon Kuailian Travel Ecosystem will be added, the first service that will be outside of the ‘financial’ sector of the company and that will open the gate to the arrival of new market resources that will turn the company into a reference point in the world of blockchain.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a company that will bring nearer your entrance into the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies and more accessible, Kuailian is your best ally.

Official Links

•         Web: https://kuailiandp.com/
•         Instagram Official: https://www.instagram.com/kuailiandpofficial/

·  Formal member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance: https://entethalliance.org/members/#k

The post KUALILIAN BRINGS BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY WITHIN EVERYONE’S REACH appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/kualilian-brings-blockchain-technology-within-everyones-reachhttps://www.altcoinss.com/kualilian-brings-blockchain-technology-within-everyones-reachinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)The highly anticipated launch of Ethereum 2.0 may be coming sooner than previously expected, as one platform is noting that it could come about as early as July of this year.

This transition will help Ethereum move to a Proof-of-Stake model that allows entities with over 32 ETH to become network validators in exchange for staking rewards, thus making it easy and lucrative for individuals to help validate transactions.

One analyst is noting that this event may be preceded by a notable upswing in Ethereum’s price, and that its July launch could provide investors with a “sell the news” opportunity.

Anticipated launch of Ethereum 2.0 coming as early as July, claims BitMEX

The transition to Ethereum 2.0 is intended to happen over an extended period of time, with the initial launch being just the first step in a multi-year transition from ETH 1.0.

This was originally slated to begin in January of this year, but technical hurdles have led to delays that have pushed its launch back to what now appears to be July of this year.

Popular crypto trading platform BitMEX spoke about this in a recent tweet, saying:

“Ethereum 2.0 is set to launch as early as July 2020, assuming no further delays. Given the decision to scale via sharding, we believe there is little choice other than to attempt this incredibly complex multi-year transition to a new network.”

In a blog post, the trading platform further went on to add that the launch may not be as important as it seems to be.

They explain that initially, Ethereum 2.0 will essentially be a test net for the PoS consensus system that is a main feature of the new network.

“The launch may not be as important of an event as it sounds. Initially, Ethereum 2.0 will mostly operate as a test network for the new proof of stake consensus system.”

BitMEX also notes that increasing the blockchain’s scalability appears to be the main motivation driving this transition.

Could this provide an ideal “short the news” opportunity?

Investors excited about the new PoS consensus model and heightened scalability stemming from the Ethereum 2.0 launch may help push the crypto higher in the near-term.

This upwards momentum, however, may offer traders an ideal “short the news” opportunity – a possibility mused by popular pseudonymous trader, Bitcoin Jack:

“If we get the rally on Ethereum I am expecting, then July seems like the perfect sell the news moment with the ETH 2.0 launch. Aligns with multiple analysis angles that expect June/July to be leading in to a market wide retrace.”

The post Here’s why Ethereum 2.0’s July launch may be a “sell the news” opportunity appeared first on CryptoSlate.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/heres-why-ethereum-20s-july-launch-may-be-a-sell-the-news-opportunityhttps://www.altcoinss.com/heres-why-ethereum-20s-july-launch-may-be-a-sell-the-news-opportunityinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)With six days left until the Bitcoin halving, the event has become one of the most talked-about topics in the crypto industry. Experts have been racing to weigh in on the effects the halving will have on the market, with many arguing over whether or not the halving has already been “priced in.”

The total supply of Bitcoin is capped at 21 million coins, which means that once the final coin is mined no new Bitcoins will enter its supply. Each new Bitcoin is created by mining, a process in which powerful hardware competes to solve complex math problems. Once a block is created, the miner that created it receives a certain amount of Bitcoin as a reward. 

When Bitcoin was created, the block reward was initially set to 50 BTC per block, meaning that each miner that discovers a valid block would earn 50 BTC. While this reward system was revolutionary, the 10-minute block time would mean that the entire supply would be mined in less than 8 years.

To solve this problem, the Bitcoin network contains a rather interesting piece of code that decreases the block rewards given to miners over time. That way, the nodes supporting the networks would be incentivized to continue mining and secure the network. 

Instead of instituting a complex mechanism, the creator of Bitcoin equipped it with a single line of code that instructed the network to halve the rewards going to miners every 210,000 blocks:

Consensus.nSubsidyHalvingInterval = 210,000
nHeight = current block height ( Will be 630,000 at the time of halving)
COIN = 100,000,000 ( Number of Satoshis in 1 Bitcoin)
nSubsidy = The subsidy for mining 1 block

 

The function we see in the code above is called “GetBlockSubsidy.” The purpose of the function is to calculate the subsidy, or reward, for mining 1 block of bitcoin. The variable “halvings” calculates the number of halving events by dividing the current block height by a constant value of 210,000 (which is stored on the constant Consensus.nSubsidyHalvingInterval).

Simply put, Bitcoin mining rewards are set to adjust every 210,000 blocks or every four years. On the day of halving, the variable “nHeight,” which represents the current block height, will be greater than 6,30,000. Therefore, the value of the halvings will be 3 (6,30,000/2,10,000). Since it’s set to integer type of value, which has no support for decimals, the halvings value will remain 3 until 8,40,000 blocks are mined.

The number of the halving will be then checked to determine if it is greater than 64, as Bitcoin is programmed to undergo a maximum of 64 halvings. Since next week’s halving will be its third one, the code will be able to proceed.

In line 1245, we see the original subsidy that is calculated for mining a block. The unit of “nSubsidy” is COIN, which is a constant representing 100,000,000 units—equivalent to the number of satoshis in a single bitcoin. 

After line 1245 executes the value of “nSubsidy” is 50 Bitcoins. Then, a right shift operator used ‘>>’  in line 1247 divides the number by 2. When the right shift operator (>>) is accompanied by a number N on its right side, it divides the original number by 2^N. 

In this case, the value N is equal to the number of halvings—3. The nSubsidy will then be divided by (2^3) 8. Hence nSubsidy will equal to 50/8 = 6.25 Bitcoins.

The Bitcoin code shows that the original block mining reward was set at 50 BTC. Anyone that managed to find a valid block from 2009 to 2012 would have received 50 BTC as a reward. Once the first halving occured in 2012, the subsidy for miners was cut in half—between 2012 and 2016, miners that found a valid Bitcoin block received 25 BTC as a reward. 

The second halving, which occurred in 2016, slashed the 25 BTC reward in half, with miners receiving 12.5 BTC for each block mined until now. Next week’s event is set to reduce that amount even further—starting from next week, miners will receive 6.25 BTC per block until 2024. 

Many expect that the sudden decrease in Bitcoin production will push its price upwards, as the previous two halvings both marked the beginning of a bull rush. The halving makes it more costly to mine Bitcoin which results in a slower increase in the supply of Bitcoin. This has historically increased the demand for Bitcoin, resulting in massive bull rallies following the halvings. 

Graph showing the halvings impact on Bitcoin’s price.  (Source: Medium)

While the data shows Bitcoin had been appreciating in the weeks preceding the halving, the biggest impact on its price happened about a year after the halving. With six more days to go, we are yet to see whether the anticipation of a block reward reduction will push Bitcoin over the $9,000 mark or whether we’ll have to wait until 2021 before we see a significant rally. 

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/deep-dive-the-c-code-that-will-halve-bitcoin-block-rewardshttps://www.altcoinss.com/deep-dive-the-c-code-that-will-halve-bitcoin-block-rewardsinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)The cryptocurrency sphere this past week has seen big momentums with bitcoin price rose to take $9,000 again. The Chinese crypto space is also moving forward with positive developments: a city in “bitcoin mining capital” Sichuan encourages crypto mining operations to help consume excessive hydropower in the upcoming rainy season; Bitmain claims profits despite the coronavirus pandemic and dismal reports; former Bank of China president talks about digital yuan.

Chinese officials support renewable energy-powered crypto mining

Chinese officials from the Ya’an city of Sichuan has issued a guideline encouraging crypto mining operations to help consume the excessive hydroelectric energy during the flood season. It is the first time a local government openly support crypto mining since 2018.

Prior to it, the country mainly held strict regulations towards cryptocurrency and mining industry.

In September 2017, China has shut down online bitcoin trading platforms within its territory.

In January 2018, the central government requests local governments to guide enterprises to exit the crypto mining business and to report regularly on the progress of their work.

The country kept up the pressure on the mining industry with a 2019 draft listing crypto mining as an industry to be eliminated, but it was deleted from the later released official version in November.

China, as a major player in the cryptocurrency mining industry, seems to be turning neutral in the attitude towards the industry. And local governments, especially those in southwestern China, are supporting crypto mining, either explicitly or implicitly, because of poverty and energy surplus in these areas.

Bitmain earned over $300 million in revenue this year

Chinese cryptocurrency hardware manufacturer Bitmain, with a reported over $300 million in revenue in the first four months of 2020, seems to be bouncing back despite the coronavirus outbreak and recent rumors about in-house problems.

Further, the company is said to reward its employees with individual bonuses of up to 70,000 yuan (roughly $10,000) on the Labor Day. In January this year, the company has just conducted massive staff layoffs.

In face of the COVID-19 outbreak, other bitcoin mining equipment makers like Canaan and Ebang have lowered their expectations in 2020, the remarkable performance of Bitmain comes as a surprise given that the company is considered one of the biggest victims of the crypto winter.

Apart from the above mentioned job cuts after cofounder Jihan Wu regained control of the company, Bitmain has lost a noticeable market share to its latest challenger MicroBT in 2019. Other recent dismal news about the company includes reports suggesting that its Antminer S17/T17 machines have a high failure rate, and legal lawsuits between the two confounders.

Former Bank of China president talks about digital yuan

China’s digital yuan, currently in the test phase, has been generating excitement among Chinese internet users. Searches of the digital yuan and cryptocurrencies in social networks have soared in these days.

Li Lihui, the former president of Bank of China, thus gave a livestreaming talk on May 5, saying that digital currency will play a core role in the future global digital economy competition.

Unlike WeChat Pay and Alipay, Li explained that the digital yuan is designed to be independent of any network or third-party bank. However, for the digital yuan to replace cash or other current payment solutions, four key conditions needed to be met:

“Whether the digital Yuan can become the dominant form of currency and mainstream payment means, depends on whether it has greater efficiency, lower transaction costs, enough economic scale with commercial value, and people’ acceptance.”

When asked about investments in bitcoin-like cryptocurrencies, Li holds a negative attitude saying that it is quite speculative and investors should be cautious.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/china-crypto-roundup-april-27-may-5-local-government-supports-bitcoin-mining-bitmain-recovershttps://www.altcoinss.com/china-crypto-roundup-april-27-may-5-local-government-supports-bitcoin-mining-bitmain-recoversinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)Bitcoin was born to disrupt the global financial system at its core. With the idea of a decentralized, borderless, censorship-resistant, and peer-to-peer version of cash, the flagship cryptocurrency is taking power from governments around the world and giving it to the people. Long gone are the days when trust needs to be deposited on third parties for any given transaction.

These fundamentals have paved the way for Bitcoin’s success over the years leading to the formation of a new industry. Many projects have been brought to life empowered by the use of blockchain technology.

One of them is Ethereum, which targeted the way agreements are made between parties. With its smart contracts protocol, Ether digitally facilitates and verifies the enforcement of agreements.

A significant number of brilliant minds around the world have opted to use blockchain technology to make their innovative ideas come true. But, others have relied on the novelty of the industry to commit fraud.

BitConnect, for instance, was able to capture the attention of unaware investors under the disguise of a decentralized and autonomous way to earn cryptocurrencies. The company promised high returns on investments through its lending program. However, the firm was forced to shut down in early 2018 following warnings from Texas and North Carolina regulators, which led to the collapse of BCC.

Even though there are still many obscure projects within the cryptocurrency industry, on-chain data can help determine their legitimacy.

On-chain metrics to the rescue

Santiment, a behavior analytics platform, affirmed that it is easy to investigate potential exit scams throughout the crypto sphere by diving into the fundamentals. A look at the network activity and development growth can provide an idea of what is happening behind closed doors.

The on-chain insights provider said:

“To accurately look into a project’s health as a true contender [you must] ensure that [it] is showing steadily stable (or preferably increasing) levels of daily active addresses, Twitter growth, development activity rates, amount of top holder funds off exchanges, and trading volume. If all are moving upward, it is a great sign you are in an asset with some serious staying power.”

A glimpse at Chainlink, which is a startup that is trying to close the gap between smart contracts and real-world applications, shows that all the aforementioned on-chain metrics are trending up. This can be considered as a clear sign of its stability and legitimacy.

BitCoin One (BTCONE), on the other hand, does not show the same levels of strength. This altcoin has very sporadic daily active addresses, the amount of top holder funds off exchanges has remained flat over the past six months, and on-chain volume has been on a steady decline.

While this data does not necessarily condemn it a scam, it certainly sets off the alerts.

As the cryptocurrency industry continues to mature, more transparency will be brought to investors through the use of distributed ledger technology. Now, it is in the hands of crypto enthusiasts to do their due diligence in a market that lacks regulatory oversight.

The post These on-chain fundamentals will prevent you from investing in a scam token appeared first on CryptoSlate.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/these-on-chain-fundamentals-will-prevent-you-from-investing-in-a-scam-tokenhttps://www.altcoinss.com/these-on-chain-fundamentals-will-prevent-you-from-investing-in-a-scam-tokeninfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)On May 5, Li Lihui, former president of the Bank of China and the head of the blockchain research group of China Internet & Finance Association, gave a live program entitled “Digital Currency: Possible Reconstruction of the Global Monetary System” on People’s Daily Online.

Li Lihui first classified digital currency as legal digital currency, cryptocurrency, and digital currency of trusted institutions. He detailed the history and current situation of these three types of digital currency, among which the evaluation of cryptocurrency is impressive.

“Influenced by the economic factors, cryptocurrency will survive and keep growing, very few will be popularized, while most of them can only fade away. In the future, if the underlying technology innovation of the blockchain on which the cryptocurrency depends can break through the bottleneck of large-scale application as well as the operation mechanism update can refrain from the problem of value stability, it is possible for cryptocurrency to enter the popular trading and payment scenarios.”

Li believes that if we view the essence of money as “a contract about exchange right”, we should emphasize the economic support and financial attribute of exchange right.

“Coin or token not only becomes value mark and payment tool in the crypto community, but also can be traded with fiat money to form transaction price, which also has the attribute of financial tool. Therefore, it may be more appropriate to define coin or token as “cryptocurrency”. At the same time, it should be clear that cryptocurrency is different from legal digital currency and trustable institution digital currency if it does not have qualified to issue subject, physical asset support, and sufficient credit endorsement.”

In the past two years, the price of the cryptocurrency has undergone ups and downs. Very few are allowed to become securities, most are suspected of illegal fund-raising. He said that he didn’t agree with the investment in some cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, because it’s too risky, more like a speculative tool without prospect, according to 8btc’s previous report.

Li also shared some ideas about China’s CBDC DCEP

Q 1: Will China’s DCEP is pegged to gold?

“Li: It won’t. The legal digital currency of our country is actually our traditional currency, that is, the digitization of RMB, which is the digital form of currency, and it is not directly being pegged to gold.”

Q 2: Can we buy bitcoin?

“Li: I would like to remind you cautiously that the risk of speculation in bitcoin is greater. You must be very cautious when entering the crypto market.”

Q 3: Can the DCEP be used for international transactions?

“Li Lihui: Cross border, point-to-point, end-to-end, large-scale transactions, which is the ability of digital currency. Of course, the central bank has not made specific arrangements for whether China’s DCEP can be used for international and cross-border transactions.”

Q 4: Will the securities be tokenized in the future?

“Li: The future securities may be digital assets. In the future digital assets market, there will be some securities and other financial tools that adopt the digital way, so we should further study the construction and development of the digital market.”

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/former-boc-president-digital-currency-will-no-doubt-maintain-its-dominance-in-future-digital-economic-competitionhttps://www.altcoinss.com/former-boc-president-digital-currency-will-no-doubt-maintain-its-dominance-in-future-digital-economic-competitioninfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)

ADA price is trading nicely in a bullish zone above the $0.0450 pivot level against the US Dollar.

It is now approaching a major resistance zone near the $0.0495 and $0.0500 levels.

There is a major contracting triangle forming with resistance near $0.0495 on the 4-hours chart (data feed via Kraken).

The price could either rally above the $0.0500 resistance or correct towards the $0.0400 support.

Cardano price is currently consolidating below key resistances against the US Dollar, similar to bitcoin. ADA price must climb the $0.0500 resistance level to continue higher in the near term.

Cardano Price Analysis

After a strong rally, cardano price even extended its rise above the $0.0500 resistance zone against the US Dollar. However, the ADA/USD pair failed to continue above the $0.0540 and $0.0550 resistance levels.

As a result, there was a downside correction below the $0.0520 and $0.0500 levels. The price even traded below $0.0480 and the 55 simple moving average (4-hours), but it found a strong support near the $0.0460 level.

A low is formed near the $0.0460 level and the price is back above the 55 simple moving average (4-hours). It is trading above the 50% Fibonacci retracement level of the downward move from the $0.0518 high to $0.0460 low.

On the upside, the price is now approaching a major resistance zone near the $0.0495 and $0.0500 levels. Moreover, there is a major contracting triangle forming with resistance near $0.0495 on the 4-hours chart.

The 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level of the downward move from the $0.0518 high to $0.0460 low is also near $0.0495. If cardano price breaks the triangle resistance, it could continue to rise above the $0.0500 level.

The next key resistance is near the $0.0520 level, above which the price is likely to accelerate higher towards the $0.0550 level in the coming sessions. Any further gains could lead the price towards the $0.0580 and $0.0600 levels.

Conversely, the price might break the triangle support at $0.0475 and revisit the $0.0460 support. The next major support is near $0.0435, below which the bears are likely to aim a test of the $0.0400 support.

Cardano Price

The chart indicates that ADA price is trading in a positive zone above the $0.0475 and $0.0460 levels. Having said that, the price must climb above the $0.0500 resistance to continue higher.

Technical Indicators

4 hours MACD – The MACD for ADA/USD is currently struggling to gain momentum in the bullish zone.

4 hours RSI – The RSI for ADA/USD is just below the 50 level.

Key Support Levels – $0.0475 and $0.0460.

Key Resistance Levels – $0.0500 and $0.0520.

The post Cardano (ADA) Price Analysis: Bulls Eyeing Upside Break Above $0.05 appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/cardano-ada-price-analysis-bulls-eyeing-upside-break-above-005https://www.altcoinss.com/cardano-ada-price-analysis-bulls-eyeing-upside-break-above-005info@altcoinss.com(Raaner)Charles Sturt University is investigating reports of plagiarism in Craig Wright’s doctoral thesis, a spokesperson for the university said on Twitter. The investigation came as a result of intense community pressure after a report found that, aside from his LLM thesis, Wright’s doctoral thesis was ripe with plagiarism.

New report finds Wright’s PhD dissertation is also plagiarized

Recently, a report found that Craig Wright, the chief scientist at nChain and self-proclaimed creator of Bitcoin, might have plagiarized his doctoral thesis.

The deep dive into his PhD dissertation came a month after the same researcher, the pseudonymous Painted Frog, discovered Wright’s 2008 Masters of Laws dissertation has been heavily plagiarized.

Wright’s doctoral thesis, titled “The Quantification of Information Systems Risk: A Look at Quantitative Responses to Information Security Issues,” was awarded to him in 2017 at Australia’s Charles Sturt University.

“Wright plagiarized huge swaths of content and reworded it to avoid automated detection tools. In most cases, he simply substituted synonyms every few words,” the researcher found, adding that deliberate plagiarism was present in at least 30 pages of the thesis, including the entire Chapter 6.

Charles Sturt University will be investigating Wright’s thesis

As was the case last month, the report quickly began making rounds on social media, causing a stir in the crypto community. Many have called on Charles Sturt University to investigate all reports of plagiarism in Wright’s thesis, considering the fact that it is one of the most dire academic offenses.

According to the pseudonymous researcher behind the report, Professor Tanveer Zia, the associate head at the School of Computing and Mathematics at Charles Sturt University, told him in an email that Wright’s case will be investigated.

As many members of the crypto community began to look for organizations above the University where complaints could be made, an official statement was made on Twitter. The official Twitter account of Charles Sturt University responded to a thread, saying they were aware of the allegations and are investigating them. However, they noted that no further public comments will be made, as the University respected their students’ right to privacy.

Hi everyone. We are aware of the allegations and are investigating them. We won't be commenting further publicly. We respect every student's right to privacy.

— Charles Sturt University (@CharlesSturtUni) May 6, 2020

The eyes of the crypto industry now all seem pointed at Wright, with many waiting to see what the next response from the University will be. At press time, neither Wright nor his company, nChain, have issued a statement.

The post Craig Wright’s university investigating reports of plagiarism in his PhD dissertation appeared first on CryptoSlate.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/craig-wrights-university-investigating-reports-of-plagiarism-in-his-phd-dissertationhttps://www.altcoinss.com/craig-wrights-university-investigating-reports-of-plagiarism-in-his-phd-dissertationinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)

Bitcoin price is currently consolidating gains above the $8,520 pivot level against the US Dollar.

It is currently facing a major resistance near the $9,100 and $9,200 levels.

There is a major contracting triangle forming with resistance near $9,110 on the 4-hours chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Coinbase).

The pair could start a strong rally if there is a clear break above $9,100 and $9,200.

Bitcoin price is showing bullish signs above $8,800 and $8,520 against the US Dollar. BTC is likely to accelerate higher once it clears the $9,200 resistance.

Bitcoin Price Analysis

After a strong rally, bitcoin price started a downside correction from the $9,400 swing high against the US Dollar. BTC corrected lower below $9,200 and $9,000, but it remained stable in a positive zone.

The price remained well bid above the $8,400 support and the 55 simple moving average (4-hours). The last swing low was formed near $8,548 and the price is currently consolidating gains above the $8,520 pivot level.

The recent swing high was at $9,128 and the price is currently trading just above $9,000. An initial support is near the $8,840 level. It is close to the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent move from the $8,548 swing low to $9,128 high.

Moreover, there is a major contracting triangle forming with resistance near $9,110 on the 4-hours chart of the BTC/USD pair. If the pair breaks the triangle resistance, it could attempt an upside break above the $9,200 resistance zone.

If the bulls succeed in clearing the $9,200 resistance, it could continue to rise above the $9,400 and $9,500 resistance levels. The next major hurdle above the $9,500 level is at $9,880 and $10,000.

Conversely, the first major support on the downside is near the $8,680 level. It coincides with the 76.4% Fib retracement level of the recent move from the $8,548 swing low to $9,128 high.

If there is a downside break below the triangle support, there is a risk of a bearish break below the $8,500 and $8,400 support levels in the near term.

Bitcoin Price

Looking at the chart, bitcoin price is clearly trading in a bullish zone above the $8,680 and $8,500 levels. As long as there is no close below $8,500, the price is likely to rise further above the $9,200 level.

Technical indicators

4 hours MACD – The MACD is now gaining pace in the bullish zone.

4 hours RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI is currently well above the 50 level.

Key Support Levels – $8,680 and $9,200.

Key Resistance Levels – $9,100, $9,200 and $9,500.

The post Bitcoin Price Analysis: BTC Primed To Rally Past $9,200 appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/bitcoin-price-analysis-btc-primed-to-rally-past-9200https://www.altcoinss.com/bitcoin-price-analysis-btc-primed-to-rally-past-9200info@altcoinss.com(Raaner)NEAR Protocol, which touts itself as an Ethereum 2.0 competitor, has raised over $21 million from Andressen Horrowitz (a16z), just days after the latter announced a $515 million fund for expanding its cryptocurrency investments division.

A16z moves fast in the blockchain space

As per an official announcement on May 4, NEAR Protocol closed the $21 million via a token and equity sale led by a16z, a crypto venture fund. Last week, the fund stated its new $515 million reserves were dedicated to investing in “high-performance blockchain” and distributed protocol building platforms.

Past investors Pantera Capital, Electric Capital, Blockchange, and a few newcomer funds also participated in the funding round.

The project confirmed the launch of its mainnet and stated developers can now develop blockchain-based applications, along with expecting the release of native tokens for microtransactions and transfers at a later date.

NEAR emphasizes its developer-friendly interface, touting easier-to-run directories and project building capabilities than present options. Illia Polosukhin, the CEO, confirmed the project’s genesis block was activated in late-April 2020, adding:

“Developers can actually deploy production apps while the network gets more decentralized and is ultimately handed off completely to the community over the next several months.”

Ethereum, Bitcoin, and a lack of progress

The potential rise of Open Web — a term used for the “economy” of decentralized applications and stateless microtransactions — and the lack of apt developer tools to facilitate the same is giving rise to firms like NEAR.

Ethereum, the world’s second-largest public blockchain by market cap, is used by institutions globally but suffers from a lack of scaling and network congestion during peak periods.

While millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours have been put into developing open-source platforms, the overall progress is slow, faces delays, suffers a lack of coordination, and even spurs riffs amongst key developers.

Both Bitcoin and Ethereum are affected by the lack of oversight and singular leadership, which is a key USP of decentralized networks but also proving to be a hindrance.

But Ethereum’s developers are closing in. The long-awaited shift to “Senerity” sees the protocol move towards a Proof-of-Stake consensus design while introducing sharding to eliminate past issues.

Last week, as CryptoSlate reported, Ethereum successfully launched an important interoperability testnet pertaining to the 2.0 version, which was termed “successful” by developers and has reported no issues since.

NEAR’s framework has been two years in the making and claims to be more scalable than Ethereum. The former even operates its protocol on a similar design as Ethereum — using “sharding” to ensure faster confirmation times and quick transactions.

While NEAR’s announcement uses the same buzzwords as every crypto company that positions itself as an alternative to Ethereum does, it remains to be seen if developers move to newer public blockchains ahead of the latter.

The post Ethereum 2.0 competitor raises $21 million from a top-tier crypto venture capitalist appeared first on CryptoSlate.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/ethereum-20-competitor-raises-21-million-from-a-top-tier-crypto-venture-capitalisthttps://www.altcoinss.com/ethereum-20-competitor-raises-21-million-from-a-top-tier-crypto-venture-capitalistinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)

Iran may prove to become a very interesting region for all cryptocurrency activities. The government has begun issuing licenses to crypto mining firms, and the overall interest in this business model is picking up.

The licensing model in Iran is worthwhile to keep an eye on.

Crypto Mining is Booming in Iran

Every cryptocurrency mining firm in the country must obtain an official license.

The process for doing so is not complicated, nor overly expensive.

Once a license has been obtained, these companies can begin – or continue – to mine Bitcoin at their own license.

Since determining that Bitcoin mining is an industrial activity in July 2019, things have evolved in an interesting direction.

To this date, over 1,000 crypto mining licenses have been granted.

A remarkable figure, given how one would expect most miners to avoid a licensing process altogether.

Despite this growth, there is still reason for hesitation.

If the mining operations put too much strain on the Iranian power grid, the situation can head in a completely different direction very quickly

While mining is booming in Iran, it remains unclear as to how Bitcoin and altcoins are being used.

Some officials still see merit in this form of money to evade sanctions and trading embargoes altogether. 

Image(s): Shutterstock.com

The post Iran has Over 1,000 Licensed Crypto Mining Operations appeared first on The Merkle News.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/iran-has-over-1000-licensed-crypto-mining-operationshttps://www.altcoinss.com/iran-has-over-1000-licensed-crypto-mining-operationsinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)Unlike traditional assets, where each transaction is not recorded in a central database shared with the world, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies are almost entirely transparent. One may not know who made a certain transaction or who owns an address, yet firms and individuals can all gain access to the metadata of every transaction that transpires on these networks.

It is a nearly inescapable fact that many have used to their advantage, analyzing the data to get an edge over their fellow investors and users.

Adam Cochran, a marketer-turned-angel/venture investor in the cryptocurrency space and an adjunct professor at Conestoga College, confirmed the importance of on-chain data on Apr. 28, when he released an over 100-part Twitter thread of remarks on the behaviors of Ethereum’s top 10,000 holders (by holding size).

His conclusion, “all things point up for ETH.”

Ethereum’s whales are flashing a swath of bullish signs

In his analysis of Ethereum’s biggest “whales,” Cochran made 31 key findings. Save for some, practically all of them can be interpreted as bullish for the cryptocurrency. Some of the key findings are as follows:

• Whales are accumulating ETH: “Existing whales have increased their position by more than 4 percent in the past six months,” he wrote, which reportedly amounts to $550 million worth of ETH purchased. This sum is important because this rivals “the roughly $600 million in new capital influx Bitcoin was estimated to see last year.”
• Some of the world’s biggest institutions, Microsoft included, are stacking the crypto: In a similar vein, Cochran found that “wallets associated with major players such as JPMorgan Chase, Reddit, IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, and Walmart” are accumulating the cryptocurrency. CryptoSlate’s report on this facet of Cochran’s analysis is linked.
• Ethereum sell walls are being “chewed up”: The analyst observed that in the “past 6 months, exchange deposits grew ~5x from 11,000 a day to >55,000 a day.” This is normally indicative of a bear market, yet prices have actually increased, suggesting mass accumulation of ETH during this time.
• Miners are hoarding coins: As Ethereum 2.0 is nearing, miners have begun to hoard their coins, accumulating $230 million worth of the cryptocurrency in the past six months. Cochran remarked that this is a sign that miners are bullish on the future of the asset, especially in regards to staking.
• ETH is being used as money: 16.2 million ETH coins are in “active” circulation, meaning that in the last 90 days they have passed through a payment processor, payment gateway, or smart contract. This indicates, Cochran wrote, that the cryptocurrency is being “HEAVILY used as money and as gas.”
• Ethereum ICO participants are dedicated: of the ICO participants in the top 10,000, “97.4 percent of them still hold more than 75 percent of their initial ETH purchased.” Founders of the cryptocurrency, including Vitalik Buterin, have been holding many of their coins as well.

Reiterating the meaning of the findings for holders of the top altcoin, this is the conclusion the investor and marketer came to: “all things point up for ETH.”

This is Cochran’s third extensive analysis of the Ethereum ecosystem in the past two weeks.

Previously, he suggested that the upgrade to staking through ETH 2.0 could be one of society’s biggest economic shifts ever, and opined in another thread that the DAI stablecoin by MakerDAO could be the biggest existential threat to decentralized finance. CryptoSlate’s pieces on this research are linked.

Now add bullish fundamentals to the mix

To add to these bullish on-chain trends, Ethereum recently got a big fundamental boost with the news that Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) — a VC firm known for its early investments in Twitter, Slack, and Instagram — just finished fundraising for “Crypto Fund II.”

This is a new $515 million fund that will be investing in the following five categories in crypto and blockchain:

• Next Generation Payments
• Modern Store of Value
• Decentralized finance
• New Ways for Creators to Monetize
• Web 3.0

Andrew Kang, a venture investor himself, argued that Ethereum is likely going to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the new fund. The investor interpreted a16z’s assertion that it will be investing heavily in “next-generation payment” projects as a sign that they will be “investing in ETH, the stablecoin settlement layer.”

This assertion is likely correct: a16z’s Crypto Fund I made a swath of investments into the Ethereum ecosystem, investing dozens of millions in stablecoin projects, MKR, Synthetix Network Token, and DeFi protocols like Compound and dYdX.

Also bullish, Ethereum 2.0 has moved one step closer with blockchain developer Terrence Tsao recently noting that the “Topaz” testnet for 2.0 software recently hit a milestone of 100,000 “slots.”

This confirms that the spec the testnet is running is operational and without glaring bugs this far, indicating the upgrade is on track to arrive by the summer, as Ethereum 2.0 researcher Justin Drake has suggested.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/crypto-whales-are-showing-theres-a-perfect-storm-brewing-for-ethereumhttps://www.altcoinss.com/crypto-whales-are-showing-theres-a-perfect-storm-brewing-for-ethereuminfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)With only about 20 percent of its users utilizing its BAT rewards program, the team behind the privacy-centric Brave web browser is set on getting the word about cryptocurrencies to more of its users. In an interview with Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao, Brave’s CEO Brendan Eich said that growing and improving the browser’s rewards program as well as Brave’s tracking protection will eventually attract more users to BAT and other cryptocurrencies.

Brave turning the online advertising model on its head

Very few companies have managed to achieve growth as consistent as Brave has. The privacy-protecting browser has seen almost every one of its metrics go up in the past year, entering the month of May with 13.8 million users.

In an interview with Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, one of Brave’s founders discussed the browser’s value proposition, its plans for the future, and the overall outlook on the crypto industry.

Brendan Eich, the creator of JavaScript and one of the creators of Mozilla Firefox, said that Brave was created as a response to the increased lack of privacy online. Eich told Zhao that by creating JavaScript, one of the most popular programming languages in the world, he essentially created a “monster” that’s used for online tracking and in some cases even malware.

And while Brave does combat these issues, it’s much more than a privacy-preserving tool—Eich said that it was created to turn the current online advertising model “on its head.”

And it’s off to a great start—Brave’s Reward program currently has over 630,000 registered publishers and enables users to earn its native cryptocurrency, the Basic Attention Token (BAT) while viewing ads without being tracked.

Zhao said that Brave’s 13.8 million users represent the most active user base in the crypto market, highlighting the potential of such a service.

Still, a long way to go before crypto becomes Brave’s core

However, despite its potential, Brave’s cryptocurrency features are currently being under-utilized. Eich said that Brave has seen only around 1.7 million active wallets in the past 30 days, which is just over 12 percent of its total number of users.

This comes down to the fact that Brave doesn’t force its users to participate in the Brave Rewards program, Eich explained. What the company wants to do instead is have customers organically adopt the feature by making it faster, safer, and more convenient to use.

The only active effort the company makes to attract new users is through its affiliate program, where creators from platforms such as YouTube, Twitch, etc. are incentivized to bring their viewers over to Brave. This, Eich said, is good both for the creators and the company, as creators get paid around $7 for referring new users.

Those same users can then benefit from Brave’s tracking protection, rewards program, and various other features.

Zhao’s interview with Eich came as a celebration of the launch of one of such features—the Binance widget. The widget is the first exchange-browser integration of its kind, allowing users to trade and manage cryptocurrencies without leaving the browser. Eich said that OAuth API was protecting the connection to Binance, and the native code it was built upon makes sure that nothing in the new tab page, where the widget is located, can attack the widget.

Zhao said that having a widget within the browser actually makes it safer to use Binance, as it prevents phishing attacks that have now become common in the industry.

We are yet to see how much the widget will actually get utilized. As the mobile version of the widget won’t be released until later this year, Brave will focus on improving the desktop version and making it easier to use. Zhao said that Binance will participate in the effort and try to add support for other cryptocurrencies.

Now counting over 120 employees, Brave has set a rapid pace for development this year with a 3-week release cadence for Chromium updates and a slew of new features to be released throughout the year.

The post JavaScript creator admits he created a monster, he plans to fix it using Brave (BAT) appeared first on CryptoSlate.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/javascript-creator-admits-he-created-a-monster-he-plans-to-fix-it-using-brave-bathttps://www.altcoinss.com/javascript-creator-admits-he-created-a-monster-he-plans-to-fix-it-using-brave-batinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)Binance – the world’s largest and most popular cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume – has issued a new report praising Libra.

Libra Gets Touted by a Major Exchange

The exchange refers to Libra as a “gamechanger” in the payments industry and believes that it could potentially bring financial services to people who would otherwise always be cut out by banks and traditional finance institutions. The report explains:

It is important to note that there are very few payment systems, and most of them are operated by a central bank and of only regional scope. Libra could thus do for payment systems what SpaceX did to the space industry… shake the foundations of a well-established sector with high entry barriers. The mere advantage of issuing widely available programmable money would already initiate manifold efficiency gains.

The comparison of the project to SpaceX is designed to give readers insight as to what the payment company has been struggling with. SpaceX, when first introduced, also had several obstacles to endure and move past before it became the highly reputable company that most technical analysts see it as today.

Libra, according to Binance, is currently experiencing a similar introduction to the world of finance. Many people see it in a negative light or don’t believe it’s capable of revolutionizing the payment ecosystem. However, the crypto exchange is confident the project will soon be established as one of the largest and most influential payment tools in the world.

An anonymous Binance Research representative commented:

If Libra were to launch, it would be Transferwise on steroids that caters to a large retail and business audience and could thus start a new wave of innovation and fundamentally change the current payments landscape.

Libra has proven to be one of the most controversial projects to emerge from the cryptocurrency space. First introduced in June of last year, many people scoffed at the idea of sharing their financial information with Facebook, the company responsible for bringing Libra to fruition. At that time, the company was just getting over its marred reputation brought on by its ties to Cambridge Analytica.

Not Everyone’s a Believer

As a result, many congressional lawmakers battered Libra with questions and concerns regarding how executives planned to protect people’s privacy and how they sought to prevent financial crimes like money laundering. Given how unstable and unclear the regulatory environment has been, several partners or members of the Libra Association – such as PayPal – have called it quits and moved onto other things.

Libra has even been forced to downgrade its goals and ideals as of late. Originally, Libra was to be one currency unit supported by a package of fiat and stable currencies. However, the coronavirus has caused executives to put Libra in perspective and bring several currencies into the fray that otherwise wouldn’t have been part of the project.

The post Binance Praises Libra, Says It Will Revolutionize Payments appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/binance-praises-libra-says-it-will-revolutionize-paymentshttps://www.altcoinss.com/binance-praises-libra-says-it-will-revolutionize-paymentsinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)

The crypto sphere has been buzzing over the past few days owing to the Bitcoin halving event, but that does not mean that other cryptocurrencies have not been making waves as well. Chainlink (LINK) and Tezos (XTZ) may be two of the smaller cryptocurrencies when it comes to market cap, but both have made noticeable gains in recent days.

Key Details

The two projects entered into a partnership recently, and since then, the cryptocurrency tokens have been in lockstep. Both cryptocurrencies seemed to be in the dumps not long ago, but both LINK and XTZ have ...

Read The Full Article On CryptoCurrencyNews.com

Get latest cryptocurrency news on bitcoin, ethereum, initial coin offerings, ICOs, ethereum and all other cryptocurrencies. Learn How to trade on cryptocurrency exchanges.

All content provided by Crypto Currency News is subject to our Terms Of Use and Disclaimer.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/tezos-chainlink-jump-after-a-key-partnership-newshttps://www.altcoinss.com/tezos-chainlink-jump-after-a-key-partnership-newsinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)The Libra Association has garnered a new addition to its family in the form of Checkout.com.

Libra Is Growing Again

The company announced last Tuesday that it would step aboard the Libra Association and serve as a governing member. In the future, Checkout.com will serve as one of the Libra leaders and help the organization assert governing regulations for how the currency can be used and what it can be used on.

In a statement, the company announced:

The Libra project holds the promise of increasing financial inclusion for billions of unbanked people.

Since first emerging in January of last year, the Libra project has claimed that its big goal has been to bring people together under the banner of a single cryptocurrency which could be used through Facebook and help people in developing nations and abroad gain access to services and goods through cryptocurrency.

The coin has been something of a controversial figure for the past year considering Facebook – a company long enveloped in scandal – first brought it to the public’s attention. It’s probably safe to say that the social media giant’s reputation has never quite been the same following the Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2018. The company was caught selling private user data to third parties for advertising purposes, and people have never really trusted it since.

That’s why when Libra came about, the idea of sharing one’s financial information with a company like Facebook has struck many people as odd, disturbing, and downright scary. While Libra has worked hard to put some of those fears to rest, many regulators still have concerns regarding how the coin platform is looking to protect people and keep them safe from money laundering, financial fraud and other potential threats.

Some of these hardcore regulatory tactics have gotten in the way of Libra moving forward. Both Mark Zuckerberg and David Marcus – the man in charge of Facebook’s blockchain department – have been required to give testimony before Senate committees, while several founding members of the Libra Association – including PayPal – have left their positions with the project, claiming regulation is too up in the air for the time being.

Can the Project Recover?

In addition, Libra has recently had to scale back on many of its plans given the coronavirus pandemic that has taken control of the globe’s financial infrastructure. Initially, Libra was designed to be a single coin backed by a package of stable currencies, including USD, the yen, and the euro.

However, now that people need quick and easy access to finance like never before, Libra has announced that it will not be a single coin but an entire basket of standard fiat and stable currencies that people can use to gain access to the items and products they need for everyday survival.

The post Libra Association Gets New Member in Checkout.com appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/libra-association-gets-new-member-in-checkoutcomhttps://www.altcoinss.com/libra-association-gets-new-member-in-checkoutcominfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) – a well-known venture capital firm – has announced it will be creating a second fund devoted entirely to digital currencies.

a16z Creates Fund Number Two

The company says it’s looking to center its focus on new use cases for digital assets including decentralized finance, payment systems and content monetization. The firm first gave rise to a cryptocurrency fund back in June of 2018. Approximately $300 million was invested in it. This second fund will be worth more than $500 million.

General partners Chris Dixon and Katie Haun said that they see blockchain as a solid alternative to systems like PayPal, as it doesn’t require banks or middlemen to be involved in the transactions. Blockchain is a tool that gives the power to all those taking part in the transaction and moving the money in question.

In addition, the firm explained in a statement that bitcoin could potentially serve as a strong alternative to gold and that it could potentially garner “safe haven” status in the coming future. Lastly, bitcoin and crypto account for much stronger means of rewarding content creators.

Dixon and Haun explain:

Rather than engaging audiences through centralized gatekeepers that charge high rents and create self-serving rules, creators can use token models that bypass gatekeepers and give their fans a direct stake in their success… Blockchains enable the creation of decentralized networks that make strong commitments – baked into the architecture of the network itself – as to how control and money will be distributed among network participants. ‘Don’t be evil’ is replaced by ‘can’t be evil.’

The staking process that both figures refer to is an interesting one in that it allows users to gain interest on their crypto holdings by joining them together with the crypto holdings of others. As part of a large pool, these stashes grow larger and that interest money can potentially be used to reward digital content creators that develop work users enjoy.

Bringing Things Closer to the Front

a16z says the process works best by keeping all transactions within a decentralized forum. People pay content creators directly. In addition, it keeps more controlled networks – like Facebook and Twitter – out of the fray. Platforms like Twitter have been known to censor or eliminate posts that they either don’t agree with or feel go against the norms they’ve created. One recent complaint has to do with Twitter shadow banning posts or accounts relating to crypto.

a16z has a long history of appreciating and investing in crypto. The company was one of the first to ever invest in Coinbase – a popular cryptocurrency exchange stationed in San Francisco – back in the year 2013. In addition, many institutional trading platforms – such as Fidelity Investments – are working to give their clients more access to crypto and digital currencies, suggesting bitcoin is becoming more mainstream.

The post a16z Is Bringing a Whole New Crypto Fund to the Fray appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/a16z-is-bringing-a-whole-new-crypto-fund-to-the-frayhttps://www.altcoinss.com/a16z-is-bringing-a-whole-new-crypto-fund-to-the-frayinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)While many Bitcoin investors want the value of the U.S. dollar (USD) to crash more than anything in the world, right now, this is not the case. In fact, analysts say that the safe-haven dollar is poised to strengthen as the ongoing recession continues to ravage global markets.

On its own, this may seem bearish for Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies, and gold. But according to top macro analysts, a rapidly-increasing USD price could present one of BTC’s biggest opportunities yet.

The U.S. dollar is strengthening, and that’s not a good thing

In March, the U.S. Dollar Currency Index (DXY) rapidly spiked as high as 103, more than 45 percent higher than the Great Recession of 2008 lows of 70. It was a move caused by a rapid increase in demand for dollars spurred by the macroeconomic situation.

The demand crunch for dollars got to a point where the Federal Reserve had to launch special facilities for foreign central banks to increase market liquidity in a bid to avoid a melt-up in the value of USD.

A good portion of March’s DXY rally has retraced because the financial markets have started to return to some form of normalcy, but analysts currently expect the dollar to continue to gain strength against the euro, yen, yuan, and other fiat currencies.

Raoul Pal — a former Goldman Sachs executive and hedge fund manager — remarked in an extensive Twitter thread that USD’s relative value against other currencies is poised to explode upward:

“We are in a viscous doom loop where slowing growth causes the dollar to rise, which causes slower growth, which causes the dollar to rise, as all borrowers play musical chairs to get access to the dollar to service debts.”

There’s also the “Dollar Milkshake” theory by Brent Johnson, CEO of Santiago Capital, which suggests that a combination of “higher relative interest rates, the deepest capital markets, tax policy, regulatory policy, America’s payment system, and the US military” stacks the deck in favor of dramatic growth in the dollar.

But what comes after that? What comes after the dollar, as Pal puts it, becomes a “wrecking ball”?

That’s where Bitcoin comes in

It’s a common sentiment that a strong U.S. dollar hurts alternative investments like gold and Bitcoin, but according to Preston Pysh, a prominent financial analyst and podcaster, this trend could send the cryptocurrency flying.

In a world where there is a rapidly-increasing USD, there are only a few broad scenarios that can play out, yet each one could end up benefiting Bitcoin in their own way.

• Inflating out of the crisis: The most obvious solution to this crisis is for the governments and central banks to print their way out of a dollar crisis. This would mean that the U.S. Federal Reserve would likely need to do everything in its power to debase the dollar through monetary policy levers, whether that’s through quantitative easing or negative interest rates. Bitcoin obviously stands to benefit from such a trend as it is probably scarce.
• Accepting deflation: One such way this crisis can be ‘solved’ is by the U.S. accepting a rising dollar. While unlikely as this would likely cause many corporations, individuals, and governments to go bankrupt, Bitcoin could benefit as society is fundamentally disrupted as institutions collapse due to deflation.
• A new system: According to Pysh, there’s a good chance that due to a booming dollar, the world will begin to transition naturally towards a new monetary standard. He proposed that the standard that has the highest probability of succeeding is Bitcoin, “simply because it’s the option none of the governments want, but it’s also the solution they can’t easily stop, and it also poses a huge benefit for the first countries that would adopt it.”

With this dynamic in mind, Pysh asserted that Bitcoin is one of the only assets he wants to invest in at the moment, shunning bonds and “most stocks,” before adding that commodities are likely to be extremely volatile as the world grapples with the potential for deflation and for high inflation — or even a mix of both.

Where could BItcoin’s price reach in the wake of this dollar crisis?

While Pysh doesn’t have an exact prediction, meaning a specific date and specific price, he expects the ongoing macro turmoil and the halving to push Bitcoin above six digits.

The analyst said in a recent podcast interview with Nathan Latka:

“Do I think that it’s just going to up to $100k and stop? Hell no. It’s going to go straight through that number. It’s probably going to go to $200,000 to $300,000.”

The “$200,000 to $300,000” range Pysh defined lines up with the $288,000 for 2020-2024 price range that was defined by quantitative analyst PlanB in his latest stock to flow analysis.

Raoul Pal, who also believes that the dollar is going to outperform as aforementioned, has been even more optimistic.

As reported by CryptoSlate previously, the macro researcher and investor wrote that he sees a scenario in which Bitcoin hits a market capitalization of $10 trillion, which corresponds with $500,000 per coin, in the next five years.

Pal thinks there is a risk “of the failure of our very system of money” or at least a collapse of the “current financial architecture” in the wake of this crisis, or even during it as described above.

The post Analyst: U.S. dollar may soon “break,” giving Bitcoin potential to pass $100,000 appeared first on CryptoSlate.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/analyst-us-dollar-may-soon-break-giving-bitcoin-potential-to-pass-100000https://www.altcoinss.com/analyst-us-dollar-may-soon-break-giving-bitcoin-potential-to-pass-100000info@altcoinss.com(Raaner)

Even in 2020, there are several banks around the world that will prevent customers from buying or selling cryptocurrencies. One way to circumvent those issues is by utilizing crypto debit cards, even though they rely on the banking system as well.

Banks have always had a love-hate relationship with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Banks Still Fear Cryptocurrencies

Some of these institutions will actively prevent any interaction between their service and the crypto space.

This can lead to not being able to buy or sell cryptocurrencies.

Circumventing that problem can be challenging in many different ways.

One logical option is to change banks, although that might not necessarily help alleviate these matters.

It is very likely that one’s new bank maintains a similar policy, although they won’t openly advertise something like that.

Another option to explore is the use of crypto debit cards.

Several providers have made a name for themselves in this particular niche market.

That being said, a crypto debit card is still linked to a bank account somewhere.

If that bank were to get in trouble for some reason, it will still backfire on the user.

For the time being, the uneasy situation between banks and the crypto industry will not improve, by the look of things.

Image(s): Shutterstock.com

The post Even in 2020, Banks Will Still Prevent Access to Cryptocurrencies appeared first on The Merkle News.

]]>https://www.altcoinss.com/even-in-2020-banks-will-still-prevent-access-to-cryptocurrencieshttps://www.altcoinss.com/even-in-2020-banks-will-still-prevent-access-to-cryptocurrenciesinfo@altcoinss.com(Raaner)