Several online gambling news websites have recently reported that two payment processors, Skrill and Neteller, will block prepaid MasterCards in more than 100 countries on November 25, a move that could drive gamblers in the affected countries to use bitcoin. Skrill and Neteller, owned by PaySafe Group, sent emails to customers saying they will only service prepaid MasterCards in SEPA countries.

Players Advised Via Email

Pokernews.com published a copy of the email sent to Skrill customers, which stated that it will no longer offer Skrill prepaid MasterCards in the recipient’s country. “You will not be able to use your card but your Skrill account remains fully functional and your balance is unaffected,” the email stated. “You can withdraw funds from your Skrill account to your bank account or send money to any other Skrill user or online business accepting Skrill.”

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/online-gambling-payment-processors-block-prepaid-mastercards-in-over-100-countries-an-entree-for-bitcoin/

Crypto-currency Bitcoin has recently surged 3% to test best levels in multiple years against the US dollar but will this BTC rally be sustained?
The popularity of the Bitcoin is on the rise as demonstrated by the opening of the 10 millionth digital wallet, by the London-based bitcoin wallet provider Blockchain.
The company is the biggest digital wallet provider with more than 50% market share.
Blockchain’s cofounder and CEO Peter Smith believes that November is going to be a big month for the company on the back of a Donald Trump win.
"Hitting this milestone at this particular moment isn't a coincidence. In the wake of the Brexit vote, the US Presidential election and a weakening Yuan, we have seen unprecedented levels of activity and transaction on our platform, which further suggests that people are embracing the need for a more globally accessible currency system, and one that does not exclude over one-third of the world's population, Smith said in an emailed statement, as quoted by Business Insider.

http://www.exchangerates.org.uk/news/16872/bitcoin-price-forecast-10-million-digital-wallets-open-blockchain.html

Whether it is the election of Donald J Trump as the U.S. President or the Demonetization woes that are affecting India, the fastest growing economy in the world, no fiat currency is immune from geopolitical risk.
Uncertainty about the road ahead leads to fluctuations and volatility. When fiat currencies come under pressure, it is only natural for people to look for alternatives. Gold has been one traditional hedge, but with the emergence of cryptocurrencies, people have more than just one or two options.
Today they can look to a myriad of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum and not only hold them as a bet against fiat currencies but also transact in them and be free from government run money.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-trumps-trump-modi-brexit-and-bolivar-offering-investors-refuge

Zimbabwe is a country that has gone through several financial crises already. Every time such an event takes place, there is someone to solve the problem. The last person to do so is Tendai Biti, who now has a radical plan to save the country’s economy. Rather than introducing new denominated bills, he feels Bitcoin may hold the answer to every problem. A rather unconventional turn of events, but an intriguing thought process nonetheless.
Solving the economic crisis in Zimbabwe will not be an easy task by any means. The country is running out of cash, due to a shortage of US Dollars. Banks deal with long queues of people looking to withdraw funds. Most of these people are unsuccessful in their efforts, only making problems worse than before.
Enterprises in the country find it difficult to import stock, further collapsing the economy. Property renters can barely pay their landlords, which will eventually lead to people losing their housing. Moreover, the government can’t even process salaries on time right now, and it will only get worse from here on out.

http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/11/24/tendai-biti-zimbabwe-adopt-bitcoin-national-currency/

KeepKey, the security-focused Bitcoin hardware wallet, has implemented an integration with Ethereum due to “soaring community demand” and “countless user requests”. The second most valuable cryptocurrency will go live on KeepKey from Friday morning. allowing for users to manage multiple Ethereum accounts and addresses.
CEO of KeepKey Darin Stanchfield said: “Of all the assets we get asked to support on KeepKey, Ethereum is by far the most requested. It’s a massive project with a huge following and we are thrilled to release our public beta on Friday. The KeepKey and KeepKey Chrome Extension will be the first hardware wallet and application that supports Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum in one single user interface.”
Stanchfield added: “With the rise of cryptocurrency came the rise of the hacker and the digital thief. Ethereum users face the same security hurdles Bitcoin users face: it is very difficult to secure private keys and the stakes are often high. Using KeepKey makes Ethereum security simple: you can feel safe transacting without worrying if your computer you’re using has been compromised.”

http://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/bitcoin-hardware-wallet-keepkey-adds-ethereum-support/

Japanese Bitcoin exchanges and their customers will soon be insured for the first time thanks to a product launched by Tokyo-based insurance firm Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance.
As reported by the regional publication Nikkei, coverage will be offered against damages and losses borne out of breaches or hacks, ranging from 10 million yen to 1 billion yen (between $88,000 and $8.8 million approximately). Notably, coverage also includes losses incurred due to internal company mishaps and employee improprieties, a clause which BitPay is certain to favor following a theft of 5,000 bitcoins in 2015 due to a phishing attack. The bitcoin payments company is wrangling with its insurer which has refused to cover losses of just under 1 million, as a result of the theft.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoin-exchanges-can-now-get-insured-japan/

Of the over $1 billion venture capitalists have invested in blockchain businesses, that funding has focused primarily on bitcoin, since for years that seemed like the only option. But with the arrival of Ethereum and a surge of alternate coins and tokens such as Zcash into the market, the landscape is looking very different from what those investors signed up for.
Significant investment in bitcoin startups began in 2013, the year the value of the currency crossed the $1,000 mark before suddenly plummeting. With some wariness, investors returned and put $299 million into bitcoin companies in 2014 and $474 million in 2015.
Mostly, venture funding in this period went toward bitcoin wallet and exchange startups in geographically diverse areas. These companies focused on creating on-ramps and off-ramps for using the currency in jurisdictions where such trades are legally compliant, integrating with banking systems in those locations for more efficient payment pipes.

https://futurism.com/what-venture-capitalists-got-wrong-about-bitcoin/

I met the CEO of reddit, Yishan Wong, at a restaurant in San Francisco in the summer of 2014. Yishan shared with me his vision of reddit as internetland, like a nation state with no physical borders. The only thing missing from internetland was money, so the users could pay each other for their work. Cryptocurrency seemed like the right tool for this, because it was native to the internet, just like reddit itself. I joined reddit as the world’s first cryptocurrency engineer to help Yishan implement his vision.
Unfortunately, Yishan resigned shortly after I joined. Without his support, I was unable to continue the project at reddit. But I couldn’t let go of the idea.
In the summer of 2015, amidst turmoil in the reddit community, I wrote an article called “Fix reddit with bitcoin” that struck a nerve. A lot of people liked the idea of an internet community with a real economy. Not just reddit users, but people from all social media communities and traditional media found the idea compelling. This needed to exist.

http://bravenewcoin.com/news/yours-raises-funds-for-bitcoin-based-reddit-alternative/

Bitcoin prices can vary significantly from country to country. Specific regions are subject to paying premium prices, with China being a great example. But Nigeria is warming up to Bitcoin as well, sending prices soaring to unseen levels. Just yesterday, the price per BTC touched US$1,251.18 across Nigerian Bitcoin exchanges. Considering how the average global price was US$725 at that time, such a  large cap is rather unusual.
Bitx is one of Nigeria’s most prominent Bitcoin exchanges to date. The platform attracts traders, consumers, and investors from all over the country. Interestingly enough, Bitx cannot provide ample liquidity to accommodate large trades right now. Due to this low liquidity, the price per individual BTC spiked to over US$1,250 yesterday.

http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/11/22/bitcoin-price-surpasses-us1250-nigeria-amid-surging-naira-value/

A Congressional committee has called on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to focus on digital currency regulation as President Barack Obama’s term in office winds to a close.
The Agriculture Committee of the US House of Representatives sent a letter to CFTC chair Timothy Massad in the wake of the election of Republican Donald Trump, who defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in the presidential vote earlier this month. The committee's letter expressed concern about so-called midnight rulemaking, or a situation in which an outgoing administration uses its remaining time in office to put new regulations in place.
Committee chair Mike Conaway, a Republican from Texas, called on the CFTC to avoid pursuing “controversial regulations” in the final months of Obama’s term. Instead, the agency should focus on its role as a market watchdog and pursue other kinds of “day-to-day work” including enforcement actions, Conaway wrote.

http://www.coindesk.com/congress-cftc-bitcoin-rules/

Is it fair to say that Amazon and bitcoin have had a rocky relationship?
While major selling-havens like Overstock.com have been quick to embrace the digital currency’s stamina, the same cannot be said about Amazon. Bitcoin payments have never been advocated or accepted through the online mega-platform, but it looks as though things are changing.
Amazon has begun accepting bitcoins “indirectly.” No, customers cannot actually use bitcoin to pay for goods and services yet, but transferring bitcoin to USD is certainly accepted. Amazon Direct now allows consumers to transfer any dollar amount from their bitcoin wallets with iPayYou to Amazon.
This is likely to stir a commotion. With the holiday season coming up, Amazon will soon see its numbers rising, and with events like Bitcoin Black Friday just around the corner, the savings could be endless, so it’s a fine time for the fuse to take place.

http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/11/22/37173/

Bitcoin, the virtual currency used by savvy techies and online black market traders, has faded from the public eye in recent months. But investor and cryptocurrency expert Adam Draper says bitcoin still has the potential to play a major role in the financial market - once society figures out exactly what to use it for.
Draper, son of high-profile venture capitalist Tim Draper, founded Boost VC in 2012 to fund startups working with bitcoin and the blockchain - the data structure that generates the digital coins. While it's unlikely most people will be buying Starbucks with bitcoin in the near future, Draper said, the technology could revolutionize everything from banking to stock transactions to the art industry.
Where else will bitcoin take off? Mars. When humans colonize the Red Planet, they won't be using cash, he said.
"Almost all of the smartest people I've ever met in finance are working to make the blockchain or digital currency happen," Draper said. "Huge institutions, insurance companies, banks - everyone is trying to figure out what to do with it."

http://phys.org/news/2016-11-bitcoin-young-venture-capitalist.html#jCp

allet service Blockchain has registered its 10 millionth bitcoin wallet.

Data shows that, as of today, 10,053,518 wallets have been created by users of the service. That’s 7m more than Blockchain reported in February of last year, a significant jump in the roughly 20 months since that time. The service reported just under 9.4m wallets late last month.
Announcing the 10 millionth wallet on its blog, Blockchain cited factors such as the US presidential election, the devaluation of the Chinese yuan and the vote by the UK to leave the European Union as key drivers of interest in bitcoin.
The company said of the milestone:

“While there’s still a lot to do, we can’t help but pause this week to give thanks for the millions of users who are helping us build an open, fair and accessible financial future. We are excited and honored to be on this path with you all.”

http://www.coindesk.com/blockchain-10-millionth-bitcoin-wallet/

We didn’t have time to go out everyday to a real casino, place a bet and spend the afternoon; the world has become a very busy place to live at and we must keep up, however, thanks to the internet being productive is not exclusive from being entertained and now we can bet online without having to leave our home or office.
We come up with solutions to our problems everyday, from the minute we wake up till the minute we go to bed, the internet is a great solution to many problems, online gambling was a solution to the lack of time and, since globalization is undeniable, everything we do at some point or another affects others and the economy is one of the greatest proofs of how interconnected everything and everyone is.

http://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2016/11/21/the-relation-between-bitcoin-and-other-cryptocurrencies-with-online-casinos/

Adam Draper, founder and managing director of virtual reality and Blockchain-focused venture capital firm, Boost VC, recently stated in an interview that he believes Bitcoin and the Blockchain technology will operate as backend technologies behind reserve currencies like the U.S. dollar.
Over the past two years, an increasing number of banks and financial institutions have allocated significant amount of capital and resources into the development and research of the Blockchain technology and Bitcoin. A study released by prominent analyst firm Greenwich Associates, notes that $1 bln is spent annually on the development of Blockchain.
In spite of the hype around Bitcoin and Blockchain’s rapidly increasing user base, market cap and demand, Draper believes that Bitcoin and its underlying technology will merely operate as a backend to reserve currencies, as it fails to replace the U.S. dollar as the global currency.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/adam-draper-bitcoin-blockchain-will-not-replace-cash-will-serve-as-backend-for-dollar

Quantum computers, for all of their press, will not be used in everyday applications such as running word processors or playing games. Rather,
they will help with large data processing tasks and problem solving. However, while most individuals on this planet only have positive intentions for such inventions, there are others who have malicious intentions.
Quantum computers have an incredible ability to perform multiple calculations simultaneously, unlike conventional computers. For example, modern computers could never brute force hack a 256-bit key by going through every combination whereas a quantum computer could achieve this with ease.
To put the speed difference into perspective, Google's D-Wave 2X quantum computer can solve algorithms 100,000,000 faster than modern computing devices. This means that brute force attacks on security protocols will suddenly become viable which will cause serious issues with global finance, computing, and information as a whole. So it comes as no surprise that Bitcoin is at serious risk from quantum computers becoming commonplace.

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/will-quantum-computers-be-the-end-of-bitcoin/

With tax season just a few months away, which means the season for creative forms of tax evasion is soon to begin.
Sadly, for those with dreams of using bitcoin to cheat the tax man next year, there is some bad news. The Internal Revenue Service is actively on the lookout for  bitcoin-based for tax evasion.
According to documents filed last week, the tax agency is fiercely going after both tax evaders big and small – who are using bitcoin based transactions in an attempt to hide funds from the internal revenue service, by simple not reporting them.  The tax agency sent a broad request on Thursday to Coinbase, the largest Bitcoin exchange in the United States, asking for the records of all customers who bought virtual currency from the company from 2013 to 2015.
That request came in the form of a “John Doe summons,” – and indicated that the IRS had already discovered 3 cases of bitcoin based tax evasion, 2 of which came care of Coinbase customers.

http://www.pymnts.com/news/bitcoin-tracker/2016/irs-targeting-bitcoin-using-tax-evaders/

Ever since ViaBTC announced their cloud mining plans, the Bitcoin community has been on high alert. Albeit there is nothing wrong with what the pool offers, people have been carefully monitoring their wallet addresses. One particular transfer stands out, as 210 BTC was deposited into the wallet. A major client for their cloud mining business or self-funding to spike the numbers?
It is not uncommon for Bitcoin companies to deal with large deposits. Even cloud mining companies sometimes attract huge clients who spend a lot of money on a service. A 210 Bitcoin transaction, worth roughly US$154,000, was sent to ViaBTC’s cloud mining payment address. This took a lot of people by surprise, as it is unclear who is making such a large investment.

http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/11/21/viabtc-receives-210-bitcoin-deposit-cloud-mining-address/

The Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan, Hiroshi Nakaso, has revealed that there is no plan to issue digital currencies as a substitute for banknotes at the present time. Still, the official added the bank would “make utmost efforts” to understand and research blockchain technology, an innovation “born” with bitcoin in 2008, as stated by Nakaso.
The Deputy Governor was speaking [PDF] at the University of Tokyo – Bank of Japan Joint Conference in Tokyo late last week. He opined that blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) presents significant potential to affect “money” and “ledgers”, the basic pillars for financial activities.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bank-japan-dep-governor-talks-bitcoin-fintech-mt-gox-blockchain/

As India recovers from the announcement of the banning of two of its biggest banknotes, a new mining pool, GBMiners, is attempting to fill a gap in the country with the adoption of bitcoin.
With over 250 million people unbanked in India and as the world’s largest inward remittance market, which received just under $70 billion in 2013, India represents a prime location for bitcoin adoption. As bitcoin has grown in popularity throughout the years, the Indian market has gladly jumped on board with the likes of Indian bitcoin exchanges Zebpay and Unocoin, illustrating that bitcoin’s growth in India is set to continue rising.
And yet, despite the arrival of bitcoin in the Indian market, GBMiners believes more can be done to achieve greater things for the country and those who are underserved.
CCN caught up with GBMiners co-founder Nikunj Jain and co-founder and investor Amit Bhardwaj to find out how GBMiners started and what they are hoping to achieve.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/gbminers-fills-gap-bitcoin-adoption-india/