In the world of Bitcoin and digital currency, there are various vanity address generation services available. However, there is always a trust issue, as trusting a third party with generating a Bitcoin address and the private key is not as secure as people would like it to be. Bitcoin.com recently sat down with the Vante.me team to discuss their platform, and how they ensure the user is in full control of their funds.

https://news.bitcoin.com/btc-vanity-address-vante-interview/

Ransomware is a severe threat to our society, and something has to be done about this situation. There is also a  psychological effect to such an attack, and Graham feels “it is only a matter of time until somebody gets physically hurt.” It is evident the Senator wants to put an end to this threat but putting it on the same level as terrorism might be a bridge too far.

https://news.bitcoin.com/senator-graham-ransomware-act-terrorism/

While Silk Road 3.0 is mostly used for selling illegal goods and services – including drugs – the platform operators strongly encourage harm reduction and responsible use of mind altering substances. This may seem rather strange to some people as they would stand to gain less from running the marketplace. Then again, we reported on how the owners are focusing more on their users’ privacy and security than making money for the time being.

http://bitcoinist.net/silk-road-3-0-announces-bitcoin-charity-drive/

Cash is a way out of bank dominance, assuming one empties their entire bank account in one go. Not only will this be a risky business, but it is also doubtful any bank will pay out the remaining balance in cash in one go. Carrying around a lot of cash is a risk factor, and there is no convenient solution to storing cash either.

http://themerkle.com/kenyas-daily-nation-article-sees-bitcoin-as-a-cash-replacement/

This is a significant update for Android Wear, which may also have ramifications for Bitcoin enthusiasts. One could wear a smartwatch and have Bitcoin information at their disposal at all time, regardless of having a smartphone on them. That alone makes this technology a lot more user-friendly than it has ever been before.

http://bitcoinist.net/android-wear-2-0-conveniently-puts-bitcoin-information-on-a-wrist/

As part of this English exam, students get a selection of English-written texts they need to study. One of these stories talks about Bitcoin, titled ‘Currency Without Borders”, which can be found on page 14 of this document. The text itself is an article published in Scientific American in 2011 and talks about how Bitcoin works and why it is so important to take note of this concept.

http://bitcoinist.net/vwo-students-read-bitcoin-article-for-english-exam/

By using these 15 Nuclear control panels, the malware-as-a-service providers infected nearly two million devices last month. Although the success rate was only 9.95%, that still leaves over 184,000 machines infected with malware. This number does not come as a complete surprise either, as exploit kits facilitate the execution of ransomware and banking Trojans remotely.

http://bitcoinist.net/malware-as-a-service-is-a-cheap-way-to-spread-bitcoin-ransomware/

Whether or not Bitszer will be a game changer, remains to be seen. It is up to individual game developers to integrate this system, from which they will make 50% of the revenue generated. However, given the niche appeal Bitcoin has right now, the question becomes whether or not there is a big enough market for such an initiative right now.

http://themerkle.com/bitszer-is-a-bitcoin-auction-house-platform-for-in-game-items/

This is another example of why using Bitcoin for illegal online activity is not a smart decision. Albeit no transaction took place in this Mitt Romney story, Bitcoin is far from anonymous. All transactions are recorded in real–time on the blockchain and anyone in the world can see the origin and destination of all bitcoins in circulation.

https://news.bitcoin.com/mitt-romney-hacker-prison-bitcoin/

While not everyone may want to check their Bitcoin wallet balance on an Apple Watch, it is always good to have the option available whenever it is needed. Developers have to start thinking well beyond the borders of phones and tablets, as wearables have become a lot more popular in recent times.

http://themerkle.com/breadwallet-update-includes-apple-watch-support/

Among the types of data that needs to be protected in a more secure manner are medical records, property records, and even security camera footage. Ensuring the evidence is tamper-proof is of great importance in all of these industries, and the blockchain lends itself perfectly for that type of purpose.


http://themerkle.com/data-protection-firm-acronis-invests-in-blockchain-technology/

It will be interesting to see how long this solution will work, as it is doubtful the CryptXXX developers will give up the fight so easily. Bitcoin ransomware distribution has proven to be a very lucrative business model. Computer user all over the world need to be vigilant at all times and ensure their antivirus definitions and operating system are always up-to-date.

http://bitcoinist.net/kaspersky-labs-outsmarts-cryptxxx-bitcoin-ransomware-developers-again/

In the past, various banks have blocked outgoing transactions from users looking to purchase Bitcoin. As annoying as that situation was, the fact that banks now block incoming fiat currency transfers is very concerning. Deutsche Bank is one of the largest banks in the world, which makes it difficult for consumers to find a new bank not dealing with them or Commerzbank at some stage.

http://themerkle.com/deutsche-bank-and-commerzbank-block-bitstamp-withdrawals/

The US government strongly feels this man — a Philadelphia police sergeant — should be left in jail until he complies. But enforcing such a sentence could prove to be rather problematic. While some people may feel this would be a violation of the Fifth Amendment right, authorities claim otherwise, as they see this as a “foregone conclusion” there is child pornography on the hard drives. Moreover, they argue their case by saying the suspect only needs to unlock the drivers and not reveal the passcodes.

https://news.bitcoin.com/refusing-decrypt-hard-drives-jail/

To put this token into perspective, every Bitcoin donation worth US$1 will reward the contributor with 50 HOPECOINS. While these new tokens have no intrinsic value as of yet, they can be exchanged for goods and services in the future. BitHope Foundation hopes other projects will utilise the Counterparty platform in the future, and offer their goods and services in exchange for these tokens.

http://bitcoinist.net/bithope-foundation-partners-with-counterparty-for-hopecoin-token/

Albeit there are several exchanges which process card payments for Bitcoin, CEX.io mentioned how they have seen a significant interest in this payment option compared to more traditional offerings. Additionally, the company recently launched a payment card withdrawal option, which will lead to further expansion of their customer base, sitting at over 600,000 registered users at the time of writing.

http://themerkle.com/cex-io-surpasses-us40m-in-payment-card-deposits/

As if the LegacyNest business model is not technical enough in its own right, tech-savvy people may want to consider using smart contracts to write and execute their will and asset distribution in the future. While this solution is even cheaper than LegacyNest, it also requires a bit of coding knowledge to get things up and running

https://news.bitcoin.com/legacynest-make-will-smart-contracts/

What makes Onename so appealing to consumers and enterprises is how it provides an accessible gateway to register and manage identity accounts on a blockchain. However, this market is seeing an influx of new players, including some of Blockstacks’s offerings, such as the command line interface.

http://bitcoinist.net/onename-parent-company-is-now-known-as-blockstack-labs/

These concerns about security and privacy have not gone by unnoticed, and the report calls for better online security, as well as improved cryptographic standards to encrypt information. However, the US government and law enforcement agencies want to weaken encryption on consumer devices, making it doubtful they will agree to improve these standards anytime soon. In fact, 29% of households expressed their concerns about government data collection.

https://news.bitcoin.com/avoid-online-shopping-cybercrime/

As part of the HaoBTC trading system design, it is impossible to have two orders with the same timestamp. If traders would put in orders at the same time, the first one will always be labelled as the maker, whereas the other will be the taker. In return, this gives traders an extra incentive to place orders faster, which will bring liquidity to HaoBTC.


http://themerkle.com/haobtc-exchange-introduces-new-maker-taker-fee-structure/