After a lot of back-and-forth communication, PayPal decided to give Seafile an ultimatum. If the company did not comply with their rules within a handful of business days, they would no longer be able to accept PayPal payments. As Seafile had no intention to comply with these ludicrous demands, the PayPal option was removed from their website.

http://themerkle.com/file-sharing-company-seafile-drops-paypal-in-favor-of-bitcoin/

The majority of use cases will focus on enterprise blockchain solutions, as well as improving cyber security. Cognitive computing technologies are also being considered, although no specific details were mentioned. Moreover, the IBM Center for blockchain Innovation welcomes SMEs to build new markets and create new opportunities.

http://fintechist.com/ibm-targets-singapore-new-blockchain-effort/

For the time being, this payment channel technology allows for unidirectional payment channels. Counterparty and Storj users can stream SJCX payments – or other assets – to other users.The Counterparty team has laid out a plan to enable bidirectional micropayments for its assets quite some time ago, and this new payment technology will help them achieve that goal. What is even more exciting is how these payments are not subject to the 10-minute block time on the Bitcoin network, despite all transactions being settled on the Bitcoin blockchain.

http://www.livebitcoinnews.com/counterparty-and-storj-unveil-payment-channel-technology/

Noise explains how the vulnerability can be exploited. CGMiner accepts incoming TCP connections through an RPC interface. Every Antminer runs the OpenWRT OS, which includes CGMiner for all of the mining procedures. On top of all this is an OpenWRT LuCi web interface, collecting statistics from the RPC interface without requiring a username or password.

http://themerkle.com/queenant-exploit-lets-hackers-change-the-antminer-bitcoin-payout-address/

Whenever Dotcom sends out a tweet related to Bitcoin, the community perks up in excitement almost immediately. His latest message references to some hybrid solution of Megaupload and Bitcoin, without going into further details. Will we witness a file hosting solution that accepts Bitcoin? Or will it pay users in Bitcoin for every time their file is downloaded?

http://themerkle.com/kim-dotcom-hints-at-bitcoin-service-to-launch-in-2017/

It is interesting to note Laurent Louis mentioned on Facebook how the FSMA had “allegedly found nothing wrong with the OneCoin program.” He also mentioned how the MLM program “does not pose any problems, and is either illegal or a fraud.” Quite the misleading statements to say the last, and it triggered a prompt response from Belgian authorities.

http://www.livebitcoinnews.com/belgian-authorities-warn-the-public-about-onecoin/

As one would come to expect, the vast majority of startups is located throughout the United States. That is not entirely surprising, considering how the region is pumping a lot of money into Bitcoin as well. To put this into perspective, most of the Ethereum-based startups are located in Europe, with a strong focus on the UK and Germany.

http://themerkle.com/the-blockchain-startup-ecosystem-continues-to-expand-globally/

Various Bitcoin industry experts were confident there would be no short-term changes coming to the Bitcoin price. For the Bitcoin startups who received [part of] funding in Bitcoin, this somewhat stable price point is positive news as well. Although some people may be disappointed, there were no major price swings; those may still occur in the future.

http://fintechist.com/successful-bitcoin-halving-minimal-impact-network/

Most people are well aware how this notorious dark net marketplace operated. Buyers and sellers could sell anything they wanted through the Tor-protected platform, and Bitcoin was the main currency used throughout the years. By offering an escrow service, the operators of Silk Road could earn a bit of money on the side, and pay their staffers, including Peter Phillip Nash.

http://www.livebitcoinnews.com/former-silk-road-moderator-leaves-prison-after-18-month-sentence/

Five more blockchain startups to take a look at, starting with Zeptagram. This Swedish startup wants to make it easier for composers, holders of intellectual music, and publishers to create value. Zeptagram is a trading platform, and can best be described as a blockchain-based stock exchange for music intellectual properties.


http://themerkle.com/the-eight-blockchain-startups-at-nexus-squared-demo-day-part-ii/

A total of eight different blockchain and Bitcoin startups presented their case during this event. This is quite a high number, and it is positive to see such a vast interest by entrepreneurs all over the world. Interestingly enough, all of these eight startups are located in Europe.

http://themerkle.com/the-eight-blockchain-startups-at-nexus-squared-demo-day-part-i/

Albeit the 24-hour volume hovers around the 1 million BTC market, the daily volume per day is on the decline in China. Everything was fine on July 7th, with nearly 1.5m Bitcoins being traded. However, that number was almost cut in half the day after, as ‘only” 856,702 BTC changed hands that day.

http://themerkle.com/china-trades-fewer-bitcoins-as-halving-comes-closer/

Whenever a significant milestone in the history of Bitcoin is reached, comments from industry experts are more than welcome. With the help of Wachsman PR, we at The Merkle managed to get our hands on some interesting opinions by prominent people in the Bitcoin space. Although the opinions are somewhat divided, the consensus seems to be there will be no short-term effects.

http://themerkle.com/industry-ceos-discuss-the-bitcoin-halving-effect/

Punto Pago kiosks in Colombia are the new place to buy Bitcoin over-the-counter. These kiosks are equipped with automated machines which include a Bitcoin buying option.  Similar to how most Bitcoin ATM’s work, customers can pay with Colombian Pesos. They will also require an email address for verification.

http://themerkle.com/coinapult-brings-bitcoin-purchase-option-to-colombian-punto-pago-kiosks/

It is clear one of the only courses of action for the Japanese government is purchasing foreign currency en masse. Bitcoin may present the solution they are looking for, as it can soak up a lot of money that needs to be spent. Moreover, Japan is warming up to the concept of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency as of late, which could spell a BTC price increase in the coming months.

http://www.livebitcoinnews.com/the-need-to-suppress-yen-value-may-lead-to-bitcoin-boost/

For several days now, the Surbitcoin platform has had trouble with Banesco, its banking partner. Users were experiencing difficulties with both depositing and withdrawing funds, albeit nothing malicious was going on. A lot of people started to get antsy and decided to sell their Bitcoin holdings at rock bottom prices to make sure their funds were safe.

http://themerkle.com/surbitcoin-confirms-all-user-funds-are-safe-despite-banesco-issues/

When an independent Bitcoin wallet service partners with an exchange platform, interesting things are bound to happen. A first feature is already available as of today. Airbitz users in South Africa can buy Bitcoin directly from the wallet, as they are redirected to iceCUBED-X. Quite an interesting feature that a lot of people will appreciate.

http://fintechist.com/bitcoin-wallet-provider-airbitz-partners-icecubed-x-exchange/

Interestingly enough, Cryptobit is not making its victims pay in Bitcoin either. The ransom note does not make a mention of how users should pay, nor is it known how much the ransom amount is. Different variants of the ransomware have been identified as well, and roughly eight different versions were discovered so far.

http://themerkle.com/the-new-ransomware-on-the-block-is-called-cryptobit/

Solutions such as OpenBazaar will stand or fall based on how accessible the user interface is. The first iteration of this project was a bit rough around the edges, and OpenBazaar 2.0 will get a major design overhaul. Making the process to buy and sell goods on the platform a lot simpler will help the project gain even more traction over time.

http://themerkle.com/openbazaar-2-0-offers-significant-improvements/

The No Man’s Sky team decided to take things one step further and accept Bitcoin payments directly. Albeit this is only possible for the PC version right now – it will be a Steam game, after all – it is quite interesting to see the developers openly advertise the Bitcoin option. When looking at the payment page, hit the “More’ button next to the payment options, and Bitcoin will appear.

http://themerkle.com/no-mans-sky-website-accepts-bitcoin-payments-for-pre-orders/