Legendary venture capitalist Fred Wilson has issued an open response to Warren Buffet’s recent claim that bitcoin is equivalent to “rat poison squared” is fundamentally flawed. The American investing tycoon, Wilson said, has not done his research.

Why Bitcoin Has Value

Speaking at the Consensus 2018 conference in New York City, Wilson said that the true value of the bitcoin ecosystem would accrue to the protocol itself and not the businesses that build on top if it. He stated that Buffett hasn’t “taken the time to really understand what’s going on here” before saying that his firm, Union Square Ventures, is making highly speculative bets but that it would “all work out”.

Wilson, whose funds hold investments in web 2.0 businesses like Twitter, Tumblr, and Kickstarter, did caution that some of the current valuations of existing tokens are inflated. He went on to say that they will not represent a good deal even years from now.

Wilson went on to say that he thought governments would attempt to control cryptocurrency and would enjoy some success, but said that they wouldn’t be able to undo the work that has already been done, likening it to trying to “put the genie back in the bottle”.

Fred Wilson’s Open Letter to Warren Buffett

Wilson was responding to billionaire Buffett’s recent comments, made during the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting at the beginning of the month, when he described bitcoin as being “rat poison squared” and said that bitcoin “is creating nothing”.

His comments drew a lot of criticism, not only from blockchain entrepreneurs but from respected businessmen and venture capitalists like Wilson himself. However, those opinions are shared, at least to some extent, by the likes of Bill Gates and most major banks.

Following the meeting, Wilson posted an open letter on his AVC blog, and he repeated his comments when speaking during the annual Consensus conference this week. He stated that Buffett dislikes bitcoin because of the lack of cash flow for the underlying networks. He hinted that Buffett’s investment style is that of investing in businesses, and because bitcoin is decentralized there is no underlying business in which Buffett can invest. That, Wilson posits, is why Buffett has been put off by the idea.

Wilson did temper his comments with some words of caution, saying that he expected governments to have some success in rationalizing and, ultimately, regulating the industry but said that the ICO market is half-way to a new capital market.

https://www.ccn.com/why-warren-buffett-is-wrong-on-bitcoin-according-to-legendary-vc-fred-wilson/

The South Korean government reportedly plans to soften its crypto regulations in line with the policies set by the G20 nations in an effort to create “unified regulations.” The Korean regulators have also agreed to apply the standards set by the Financial Action Task Force to its crypto policies.

G20’s Unified Crypto Regulations

South Korea is reportedly planning to follow the policies set by the G-20 nations and soften its crypto regulations, the Korea Times reported.

The G20 is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors. Its members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and the European Union.

The top financial policymakers of these countries have agreed to acknowledge and regulate cryptocurrencies as financial assets, the news outlet noted, elaborating:

Financial Action Task Force Standards

While the G-20 classifies cryptocurrencies as financial assets, the Korean government has earlier classified them as non-financial products due to their speculative nature. Acknowledging the differences, the country’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) was quoted expressing:


South Korea has also agreed to apply to cryptocurrencies the standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body formed to fight money laundering and terrorism financing, the publication conveyed.

Softening Crypto Policies

Recently, the new FSS chief indicated that he will ease the country’s cryptocurrency regulations. Governor Yoon Suk-heun said there are many positive aspects of cryptocurrencies, promising to release updates on this issue in the near future.

Meanwhile, the country’s National Tax Agency has been collaborating with the finance ministry to collect tax data in order to establish crypto tax policies. While cryptocurrency transactions are currently tax-free in Korea, crypto operators are required to pay income taxes, the news outlet detailed.

Despite the new FSS chief suggesting an easing of crypto regulations, his department has launched an investigation into crypto exchanges, in collaboration with other related authorities. In March, the prosecution arrested four employees of crypto exchanges including the CEO of Coinnest. Last week, they started investigating the country’s largest crypto exchange, Upbit. This week, three people were arrested from HTS Coin exchange for alleged fraud and embezzlement charges.

https://news.bitcoin.com/south-korea-g20s-unified-cryptocurrency-regulations/

Independent voting results are very different from official info, provided by Savedroid. Personally, I would like to wait a little bit, till they conclude the agreement with big exchange. But if the community decided to sell SVD as soon as possible, their voices should be heard.

Результаты голосования сообщества SVD по выходу на биржи:

76% #1 пункт – Подождать TOP5 обменник

24%  #2 пункт – Выпусть SVD на любом обменнике как можно скорее.

Вроде хороший результат.

Однако неофициальное голосование показывает полностью противоположный результат, неужели имела место подтасовка.

https://www.poll-maker.com/poll1957824x0Ce94B11-53 - Ссылку на неофициальное голосование предоставил пользователь в англоязычной теме.

Bitcoin will rally this year and reach its previous highs, CoinShares Chairman Danny Masters predicted.

But here's what needs to happen first: Better structures and a life cycle post initial coin offerings (ICOs) — the fundraising process that helps launch new cryptocurrencies.

"We need to see this [cryptocurrency] structure continue to build," Master said on "Fast Money" Wednesday. "We need to see the custody solutions come and be provided. We need indices and we need performance measures where we can actually start to understand what we're talking about and measure our performance."

"We need to do more mature work around the ICOs, so that post ICO we have a token life cycle," he continued. "And just give investors more clarity, better expectations, more transparency."

Bitcoin was priced around $8,300 Wednesday evening, 5:30 p.m. ET. While the coin has recovered from lows earlier this year — briefly dropping below $6,000 in February — bitcoin is still far away from its mid-December peak around $19,500.

CoinShares, an investment firm specializing in cryptocurrency, launched the world's first publicly traded bitcoin and ethereum fund.

Investors were optimistic that Blockchain Week New York and Monday's Consensus event would help boost the large-cap coin. But bitcoin has under-performed, down 5 percent since Monday.

Masters pointed out that three years ago, the market and number of people interested in cryptocurrencies was very small. This week, however, more than 8,000 people showed up for Blockchain Week New York.

In fact, he said, bitcoin's life cycle "is still very early."

"In derivatives, indices, pricing models and so on that go on around [building a financial system.] We're nowhere near that part yet," Masters said.

"We're not even at the part yet where I'd say institutional investors even started in commodities. Because these things — indexation, custody and so on — aren't there to bring in those bigger people just yet."

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/16/bitcoin-prices-will-surge-again-this-year-coinshares-chairman.html

Именно так и сказал их директор Salvatore Palella, что он сам будет выкупать дамповые токены с удовольствием.

Следующий обменник будет объявлен в течении 15 Мая.

Вчера Salvatore написал в твиттере:

"Когда Bittrex, Binance, Moon, Lambo? Рим не строился за один день, если вы ищете 36x в день, езжайте в Вегас и поставьте все на дабл-зеро."

Mark.Space продолжает свое мировое турне, представляя новые наработки и будущие идеи. Одна из миссий компании, познакомить студентов с AR, VR, и Blockchain технологиями. Вот почему 29 Апреля , сооснователь MARK.SPACE Denis Polulyakhov был в Кембридже, Массачусетс чтобы говорить на блокчейн и крипто саммите при Гарвардском университете.

https://medium.com/@markspace/mark-space-unchained-special-report-from-harvard-university-66f7326eb526

South Africa has the most sophisticated economy and financial sector on the continent, and its citizens are increasingly warming up to the idea of investing and trading in cryptocurrencies — despite regulatory concerns over such decentralised digital financial assets across the world.

The MyBroadband 2018 Cryptocurrency Survey — completed in April — shows that more South Africans who have never previously held cryptocurrencies are planning to invest in cryptocurrencies either by purchasing them directly or by gaining exposure to the industry through investments in related enterprises such as cryptocurrency mining.

“Of the survey respondents who do not own or who have never owned cryptocurrency, almost 50% said they plan to invest in an aspect of cryptocurrency or crypto mining in 2018,” reported the MyBroadband tech news and research site on Friday.

Several other tech savvy South Africans who responded to the survey said they were still planning to buy tokens despite never having been invested in the area.

Global prices for bitcoin and etherium skyrocketed in 2017 before bottoming out early 2018 while prices have been volatile in the past few weeks. Prices of cryptocurrencies are susceptible to developments and regulatory issues around the digital assets across the world.

About 25% of respondents to the MyBroadband survey they “will invest in cryptocurrency” while around “15% will invest in cryptocurrency and crypto mining.” A further 7% said they would invest in crypto mining

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyer  says the recent decision taken by the South African Revenue Authority (SARS) to tax cryptocurrencies was “anticipated” owing to the “growing popularity of cryptocurrencies in South Africa and following the absence of legislation relating to the taxation and regulation” of virtual currencies.

Reports say cryptocurrency trading is on the surge in South Africa, with some restaurants and businesses already accepting virtual currencies for payments. Other African countries such as Zimbabwe have shied away from acknowledging trade in bitcoin despite virtual currencies increasingly helping plug liquidity and foreign currency shortages for international transactions.

https://www.ccn.com/47-of-south-africans-plan-to-invest-in-cryptocurrencies/

Steve Chiavarone, a portfolio manager at Federated Investors, a US-based investment firm that oversees $364 billion in customer assets, stated that blockchain technology will drive the fourth industrial revolution, echoing the stance of many large-scale investors and politicians, including Seoul mayor Park Won-soon.

“When you think about it from an enterprise perspective, it has the ability to replace reconciliation, which is expensive and requires back office, time, and paperwork, with more instantaneous verification. What that means is, companies can have more efficient supply chains. They can cut their back and middle office costs and that will allow businesses to flow more efficiently and will allow cost to be cut and that savings to be passed along. We think blockchain will one of five key technologies along with automation, robotics, AI, and the Internet of Things,” said Chiavarone in an interview with CNBC.

Big Banks are in Crypto

Major banks such as JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America cooperate with large-scale conglomerates and enterprises to provide banking services, loans, and business solutions. Other than that, enterprises also work with third party service providers and spend millions of dollars on a quarterly basis for audits, reconciliation, and manual labor costs to sustain their supply chains and minor operations.

Chiavarone stated that many major banks have started to invest heavily in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector to facilitate the growing demand from banks for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Initially, bitcoin was the only way to access blockchain technology. Recently, Chiavarone stated that banks have started to explore a wide range of blockchain networks and technologies.

“A lot of investors went into bitcoin first because it was the first way to access blockchain. Big banks are investing in this heavily. Bank of America boasted at Davos that they’re investing the most,” he added.

Blockchain startups like Bluzelle have already built trusted blockchain networks for large-scale conglomerates such as HSBC, KPMG, Microsoft, and MUFG, which have also continued to leverage blockchain networks like Ethereum and Ripple through several blockchain consortia.

Chiavarone emphasized that if blockchain startups and networks can succeed in replacing back offices, extensive labor, and eliminate costs involved in running supply chains, blockchain technology could lead the next industrial revolution.

“Any company that runs supply chains can benefit from blockchain technology and it is some of the tech names that underlie that kind of technology. Whether it be Nvidia or Intel, or any kind of company that’s around processing power that enables blockchain verification or the beneficiaries of it [are good investments],” said Chiavarone, noting that merely investing in companies that may benefit from blockchain technology is a smart investment strategy.

Cryptocurrency Startups

Some of the world’s largest investment firms like Federated Investors are exploring the stocks of conglomerates like Intel and Nvidia that could merely benefit from blockchain technology. The sole beneficiaries of the growth of the blockchain sector including cryptocurrency businesses, blockchain startups, and blockchain networks will likely experience an exponential increase in value, as banks like Bank of America continue to drive investments into the space.

https://www.ccn.com/big-banks-are-investing-heavily-in-blockchain-and-crypto-364-billion-investment-firm/

Helbiz будет выступать спонсором Cryptohou.se (Май 13-17) во время New York Blockchain недели. На сайте видно что выступили "серебряными" спонсорами.

Weiss Ratings Calls Out Warrent Buffett, says Crypto Have 3 levels Significant Value

Martin Weiss, the founder of Weiss Ratings and the newly-launched Weiss Cryptocurrency Ratings, took the time to dispute Warren Buffett’s unnecessarily negative remarks regarding Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies at Saturday’s Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting.

THREE LEVELS OF SIGNIFICANT VALUE

In response to Buffett’s statements that Bitcoin is probably “rat poison squared” and creates nothing of value, Weiss noted that “many well-respected investment and financial experts seem to underestimate the tremendous benefits cryptocurrencies can provide in terms of speed, security, and decentralization.”

In a recent press release, Weiss explained that cryptocurrencies note only do provide something of value, but actually can have significant value on three levels:

1. Intrinsic value: With many of the advanced cryptocurrencies, investors and users effectively gain a share of a major Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform, with great computing power around the world.

2. Exchange value: This is already a proven quantity and is bound to grow as cryptocurrencies are more widely used in an expanding range of transactions — both in exchange for traditional currency and for goods or services.

3. Monetary system: Select cryptocurrencies could become the basis for a new digital monetary system with the potential to be more stable and less subject to manipulation by governments.

Though not everyone agrees with Weiss’ ratings, the company is well-known for its objective analysis on 55,000 institutions and a wide variety of cryptocurrencies — which is certainly more objective than Buffett’s harsh bearishness.

Thus far, Weiss has had a fairly strong track record when it comes to analyzing cryptocurrencies.

The company is notably bullish on Cardano (ADA), NEO (NEO), and EOS (EOS) — all of which have performed exceptionally well over the past few weeks. Stated the company earlier this month:


At the same time, Weiss recommended avoiding ZClassic (ZCL), Bitcoin Private (BTCP), Bitcoin Prime, and any other Bitcoin fork — including the intellectually dishonest Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

What do you think of Weiss’ response to Warren Buffett? Do you agree with the companies cryptocurrency ratings?

http://bitcoinist.com/weiss-ratings-calls-warren-buffett-says-cryptocurrencies-3-levels-significant-value/

Сегодня опять заработала биржа IDEX. Сразу началась бойкая торговля HBZ/ETH и цену временно подняли до 0.00009. Интересно чем закончиться этот торговый день перед релизом обменника из топ 5.

Спасибо, я например не знал что у них есть група ВК. Однако я рассчитывал что SkinCoin нацелен на западный рынок, если их маркетинговая политика и клиентская база не расширяется на фейсбук, инстаграм, и западные социальные сети, откуда взятся пампу и росту базы. Група в телеграме вообще пустая, одна новость с прошлого года(.

https://t.me/skincoin

Helbiz will release big news the 10th of May at 6pm EDT TIME.

Helbiz опубликует большие новости 10 Мая в 18.00 по EDT – Eastern Daylight Time. Возможно что следующая биржа будет KuKoin или Hitbtc.

Это плюс 7 часов по Киеву и Москве. Получается в 01:00 час ночи.

Bitcoin is relatively cheap ahead of a major cryptocurrency conference in New York next week, setting the stage for a rally, according to researchers led by Tom Lee of Fundstrat Global Advisors.

“We expect the Consensus rally to be even larger than past years,” the head of research said in a note to clients, referring to the Manhattan conference gathering for its fourth year. The event may draw more than 7,000 people, a surge from roughly 2,750 a year ago, Lee said. Last time, when new attendance doubled, Bitcoin rose 69 percent during the conference and 138 percent in the two months afterward, he said.

Bitcoin slipped 3.4 percent since 5 p.m. Friday to $9,350 at 6:10 p.m. in New York, according to a composite of prices compiled by Bloomberg. It’s now 52 percent below the high of $19,511 reached on Dec. 18.

As a caveat, Lee said talk of regulations for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies could damp enthusiasm -- a scenario he views as unlikely. “Bottom line: We expect BTC and cryptocurrencies to behave similarly to prior years and rally during Consensus,” he wrote.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-07/bitcoin-to-rally-on-consensus-conference-fundstrat-analyst-says

We can ask our questions about bounty and exchange listing today. This project is slowing down, a lot of talks and promises from developers, and nothing valuable have not been done yet. They should work harder, because competitors aren`t sleeping.

The Dubai police have arrested a 10-man gang that stole AED7 million (about $1.9 million USD) from a prospective bitcoin buyer. The arrest comes less than 48 hours after the police received a report of the robbery incident. Police authorities say recently integrated artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the police force helped with the timely arrest of the gang.

HOW THE ALLEGED BITCOIN ROBBERY OCCURRED

According to the details released by the police, the gang lured two brothers looking to buy bitcoin. The 10-man gang was led by a GCC national and other members are of Asian origins. The two brothers had apparently been trying to find bitcoin sellers when they came across the gang.

The alleged thieves convinced the brothers that they had bitcoin to sell and set up a meeting. In the interim, the gang reportedly tricked a shop owner into obtaining his shop on the pretext of inspecting it in lieu of purchase. As it turns out, the shop owner was looking to sell the shop.

Having obtained the shop for the evening, the gang laid an ambush for the brothers. Some members of the gang were in the shop while the others stood sentry outside. As soon as the brothers entered the shop, they were waylaid by the gang members.

According to Lt. Colonel Al Joker, the director of the Dubai Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the gang was armed with guns and sharp objects. They managed to subdue the brothers and steal the money before subsequently fleeing the scene. The robbery occurred in the Al Muraqabbat area on April 25.

A WORD OF CAUTION FOR PROSPECTIVE BITCOIN BUYERS

Commenting on the swift arrest of the gang, Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Merri, the Commander-In-Chief of Dubai Police, praised the efforts of his men. He also commended the fact that they were able to track down the criminals despite the lack of physical evidence at the crime scene. The police chief also reserved praise for the Analysis Center and its use of AI in tracking down the gang.

Major General Abdullah also sounded a note of warning to prospective bitcoin buyers. He urged them to patronize official channels when buying cryptocurrency to avoid falling prey to robbers. The money has since been returned to the brothers.

Cryptocurrency related theft isn’t only limited to the cyberspace. Being valuable assets, people have been targeted by robbers on account of their crypto holdings. In February 2018, news broke out of a robbery that resulted in the theft of 18 bitcoins in Taiwan.

http://bitcoinist.com/dubai-police-arrest-gang-bitcoin-robbery/

The government of Venezuela has taken action against two cryptocurrency exchange operators in the country. Both of them allow customers to convert between a number of cryptocurrencies and bolivars and send remittances abroad.

Operation Paper Hands

The Venezuelan government’s “Operation Paper Hands” began a new phase this week “with the dismantling of 3 illegal remittance houses: Intercash, Rapidcambio, and Airtm,” according to the country’s Prosecutor General, Tarek William Saab. He described:


The operation “seeks to take action against individuals and companies that have incurred misappropriation, [and] dissemination of false information about the exchange rate,” he explained, adding that “1,382 bank accounts have been frozen in which a sum exceeding 711,967 million bolivars [~US$10.6 million] has been blocked.” Furthermore, he indicated that he has also requested the blockade of 247 bank accounts, 40 new arrest warrants, and 104 raids, according to a notice by the country’s Public Ministry.

Out of the three aforementioned exchanges, the latter two engage in exchanging between cryptocurrencies and bolivars. Airtm supports the conversion of zcash, bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ether, ripple, litecoin, monero, dogecoin, and tether. Rapidcambio allowed customers to exchange and send remittances using bitcoin, ether, bitcoin cash, dash, litecoin, and ripple.

Charges Against the Exchanges

Saab noted that these exchanges operate through websites registered abroad as well as Twitter accounts and other social networks, adding that they use international parent bank accounts in the U.S., Chile, Ecuador, and Panama. The crackdown, therefore, only affects their operations in Venezuela.

He elaborated, “In those accounts, they received deposits in cash or transfers, and then converted at a high and unreal exchange rate,” adding that “I have spoken with the President of the Republic to create new detention centers for these criminals.”

Efecto Cocuyo then quoted the Prosecutor General exclaiming:


Rapidcambio Shut Down

At the time of this writing, one of the exchanges above has already closed down. Rapidcambio posted a notice on its website stating that it has “always demonstrated its responsibility, honesty, seriousness and a true commitment to providing a service to all Venezuelans who are abroad.”

In addition, the company emphasized, “our company has never set or intended to fix market prices, our exchange rates have always been given by the law of supply and demand, as a free market without any imposition.”

Nonetheless, Rapidcambio concluded:


https://news.bitcoin.com/venezuela-shuts-down-cryptocurrency-exchanges/

In the last interview David Siegel revealed that they build 2 versions of their wallet: for corporation and personal usage.

First fully regulated wallet is designed for equity tokens and securities holding.

The second one is for ordinary client purposes and exchange operations.

Thus they are working in few directions, which makes company more flexible and sustained comparing with competitive products.

В последнем интервью David Siegel рассказал что они разрабатывают 2 кошелька, один из них будет полностью соответствовать новому американскому законодательству, предназначен для акционерных и токенов долевого владения, equity and security tokens.

Второй кошелек будет предназначен для чисто пользовательского обслуживания, содержать внутреннюю биржу обмена. Резиденты США будут временно исключены из функций обмена, до конца формирования четкой политики от SEC.

Таким образом они развиваются в 2 направлениях, что делает компанию более гибкой и устойчивой по сравнению с конкурентными кошельками.