Bitcoin’s network energy consumption has become somewhat of a hot topic as the cryptocurrency grows in popularity. A clean energy researcher, however, says that naysayers are missing critical factors when making their claims.

HAVING THE WRONG CONVERSATION

According to Katrina Kelly-Pitou, the popular debate on whether or not Bitcoin’s network electricity consumption is causing serious damage to our climate is not headed in the right direction. Kelly-Pitou is a clean energy technology researcher at the University of Pittsburg,

Citing recent studies, which suggest Bitcoin dramatically increases the consumption of electricity on a global scale, Kelly-Pitou claims that experts are failing to understand some of the basics behind renewable energy systems:


While she doesn’t neglect the substantial amount of electricity used for Bitcoin mining, she also notes that banking alone consumes “an estimated 100 terawatts.”

This is a little bit more than three times the energy Bitcoin mining consumes. She also makes an interesting claim, assuming 100x increase in Bitcoin’s current market size. Kelly-Pitou notes:


Read more: https://bitcoinist.com/banks-consume-energy-bitcoin/

Stockholm IT Ventures AB (SITV), a Swedish technology company specialized in cryptocurrency production, announced that its subsidiary, Blocktrade Technology Ltd. (BTT), has signed a software license agreement with Valens Bank, an offshore private bank based in Germany that eases deposit of cryptocurrencies such as BTC, BCH, ETH, or LTC. The agreement reportedly stipulates that Valens bank will be using the BTT Crypto Trading Toolbox exclusively for Crypto Fund Trading.

SITV to Expand Digital Financial Services

It is reportedly the second time that Valens Bank, which provides banking services and multi-currency current and share dealing accounts, pre-paid credit cards, stock broking facilities, cryptocurrency wallet and other financial services worldwide, has made an agreement with Stockholm IT Ventures for the purpose of expanding SITV into digital financial services.

“It’s an exciting time to partner with Stockholm IT Ventures and Blocktrade Technology‘s innovative approach to the crypto space,” Torben Pedersen, the Director of Valens Bank said in a press release statement. “We are confident that this software will offer great value to clients and give pro-traders the market edge all are looking for. We have made a thorough due diligence of the BTT software in live trading situations and are amazed by its performance,” he was quoted saying.

Read more: https://news.bitcoin.com/swedish-tech-company-partners-with-german-bank-for-crypto-fund-trading/

Последние тех. новости: на днях техническая команда успешно запустила модуль, который позволяет размещать трехмерные объекты с собственной физикой и анимацией. Это уже 46 версия модуля, и теперь раработчики работают над универсальным конвертером моделей из Unity в собственный формат. Паралельно идет работа над новым интерфейсом для Unitex, дизайн уже готов и будет скоро обновлен. Ведется децентрализация всех сторон проекта, поетапный отчет скоро будет готов.

I hope we have passed the accumulation zone and found a bottom at ~ 0.000002 BTC. Current all times Debitum chart demonstrates small but stable gains, especially in ETH equivalent. Community, investors or maybe funds are not willing to tied DEB to ETH price anymore, their goal is to hold and increase project USD capitalization.

The biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. just set up its core principles for its institutional financial products.

Three months after Coinbase introduced its suite of institutional products in May, the startup has unveiled a series of "fundamental beliefs" about how the company will operate and develop its institutional investor-focused business lines.

According to an August 20 blog post written by Adam White, Coinbase's vice president and general manager, the leading cryptocurrency exchange has set up five core principles.

These include the operation of "fair and orderly" markets, enforcing transparent market rules, offering "fair access to all market participants," disclosing listing practices and market rules publicly, and safeguarding clients "with institutional-grade infrastructure and processes."

Read more: https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-charts-course-for-institutional-crypto-products/

Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple along with Steve Jobs, recently announced his participation in a crypto startup. During the interview, Mr. Wozniak (Woz) also spoke about cryptocurrencies and why he is excited about their prospects for the future.

Apple’s Wozniak is Very Excited About Cryptocurrencies and their Future

“I like to keep up with things,” Steve Wozniak, 68, famed computer engineer and co-founder of Apple explained at the Chainxchange blockchain convention recently in an interview. “Bitcoin caught my attention. It had so many unusual aspects for any technology I had ever heard of. Nobody is really known to be the creator. It doesn’t have any centralized [component]. It’s based on mathematics. There’s a certain number of Bitcoin that can ever exist.”

Woz is best known in computer history lore as the right hand man to business visionary Steve Jobs. The two founded Apple, presently the most valuable company in human history, in 1976. Mr. Jobs handled the entrepreneurial aspects such as financing, Woz was the brains, building personal computing revelations, ushering in an industry that literally changed everything.  

“Mathematics to me is like nature,” Woz continued in his admiration for Bitcoin. “It’s much better than human beings… I trust those things of nature more than what man makes up. Man makes up currencies, controls them, issues new US dollars every year; Bitcoin was immune to that.”

Read more: https://news.bitcoin.com/apple-co-founder-crypto-world-like-the-internet-when-it-was-brand-new/

History often has a way of repeating itself.

The current price pattern in the bitcoin market is eerily similar to the one observed in the run-up to a major rally that occurred on April 12.

To start with, bitcoin charted a long-tailed candle on Aug. 14, similar to the one seen on Apr. 1, signaling the sell-off from the July 24 high of $8,507 has likely run its course.

Further, the leading cryptocurrency has spent the last seven days trading in a sideways manner around $6,400. Back in April, the cryptocurrency traded around $6,800 in the first 11 days before rising sharply above $8,000 on April 12.

More importantly, during the bitcoin price consolidation of early April, the BTC/USD shorts on Bitfinex jumped more than 44 percent to print a record high of 40,719 and fell sharply on April 12, meaning the big spike in BTC was likely fueled by the unwinding of short positions.

Interestingly, the short positions on Bitfinex currently stand at $38,640 – the highest level April 12 – and are just short of the record high of 40,719, as seen in the chart below.

Read more: https://www.coindesk.com/rally-ahead-bitcoin-is-repeating-price-action-seen-in-april/

African countries want to regulate cryptocurrency, but hardly any one wants to take the lead in responding to the meteoric rise of this technology and asset class.

That’s according to a new report from the Togo-based Ecobank, the leading independent regional banking group that serves nearly 40 countries in West and Central Africa.

The report, which examined the regulatory response to cryptocurrencies in the 39 sub-Saharan countries, found that regulators in most jurisdictions are taking a “wait-and-see” approach, hoping that they can learn from the mistakes of their neighbors before they take action themselves.

“African countries appear to be looking to their neighbours to regulate and innovate first, and learn from their mistakes, rather than being the first mover,” the bank said. “African governments worry that if its citizens become overexposed to cryptocurrency investments, the repercussions of a future crash could be felt in the broader economy, hence their scepticism of licensing their use.”

Of the 39 regulatory regimes surveyed, more than half — 21 countries — had yet to make a public stance on cryptocurrency.

Read more: https://www.ccn.com/african-regulators-taking-wait-and-see-approach-on-cryptocurrency-ecobank-report/

SME really needs quick access for credit and loans, and on my opinion Debitum is on of the few recent projects with a potential of quick recovery after the end of bearish market сycle. The whole team are from the EU, the main currency on platform will be Eur. These people are concerned about their reputation, thus we can expect fulfillment of obligations under whitepaper.

Что касается последнего апдейта то там говориться о таких вещах:

Добавлена новая функциональность, которая позволяет инвестировать средства инвесторов в несколько активов сразу.

Активы разделены на категории.
Чтобы помочь инвесторам принять решение, можно будет увидеть соотношение раска/награды для определенного актива. Будет показана и примерная ежегодная процентная ставка.

Пополнение в команде разработки.
Три новых сотрудника: Artur, Irina - фронтенд разработчики, Laima - 10 лет опыта, новый администратор.

Сотрудничество Debitum и Stellar.org
Развивается сотрудничество со Stellar.org, их система будет использована для международных денежных переводов, улучшения взаимодействия международных инвесторов с нашей экосистемой. Это позволит обменивать USD, GDP на EUR. Евро будет базовой фиатной валютой на платформе Debitum.

Pantera Capital CEO Dan Morehead claimed that crypto markets are reflecting some overreaction from investors recently, in comments to CNBC August 8.

Speaking in an interview on CNBC's “Fast Money,” Morehead suggested that investors have exaggerated the importance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recent delay on their decision regarding a Bitcoin (BTC) Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF).

As per Morehead, crypto investors should instead focus on more bullish events in the market, such as the announcement of upcoming cryptocurrency project Bakkt by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). The ICE, which operates 23 large global exchanges including New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), is set to launch a global ecosystem for digital assets alongside Microsoft and Starbucks.

Morehead stressed that Bakkt is “huge news,” arguing that the upcoming project will have a “very profound impact over the next five or 10 years for the markets.”

Read more: https://cointelegraph.com/news/pantera-capital-ceo-investors-overreacting-to-etf-delay-should-focus-on-bullish-news

A draft law prepared by deputies and representatives of the industry aims to introduce light taxation of crypto incomes in Ukraine. Businesses and individuals will be required to pay 5% on their profits from trading and mining cryptocurrencies when exchanged to fiat. Add to that the mandatory ‘military charge’ of 1.5% all Ukrainians owe the state since the start of the conflict in the East.

Ukrainians to Pay 5% Tax and 1.5% Military Charge on Crypto Profits

Despite their increasing popularity, cryptocurrencies are not yet legalized and regulated in Ukraine. The country’s growing crypto sector is expecting authorities to do that as soon as possible but officials in Kiev have been slow to grasp the phenomenon and figure out what to do with it. Three bills are stuck in the Rada since last October and a fourth one is expected to be filed this September.

Now when Ukraine is getting closer to adopting regulations after the approval of a regulatory concept last month, a new draft law addresses the aspects of taxation. A group of deputies led by Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Mushak and two dozen representatives of the crypto business are working on the bill which proposes а temporary tax regime in the sector. The authors want it to be enforced in 2019 and remain in place until 2025.

Read more: https://news.bitcoin.com/new-bill-proposes-5-tax-on-crypto-incomes-in-ukraine/

Цена сейчас вроде в несколько раз ниже ico и особенно упала за последнюю неделю, но это общее положение всего рынка альткоинов. А по поводу сайта можете сами написать в телеграмм), они только рады будут активности в соц. сетях и конструктивным замечаниям.

Рекомендую посмотреть этот ролик с главой 3D департамента MarkSpace.

https://youtu.be/oYgfBNWRHpg

The South African tax agency has put forward a draft to tax income derived from cryptocurrency.

The South Africa Revenue Service (SARS) has put forward a suggestion to tax  income generated from cryptocurrency trading and operations, TechWeez reported on Wednesday.

The report said the proposal was first introduced in April when SARS announced its plans to tax digital currencies.

SARS said in a statement then:


According to TechWeez, SARS submitted draft rules on how tax authorities should look at cryptocurrencies in the country. It added that the proposal was met positively by the South African cryptocurrency community because it signals government support for the space.

Read more: https://cryptovest.com/news/south-africa-proposes-draft-for-cryptocurrency-tax/

The Philippines government is building Crypto Valley of Asia, a cryptocurrency and fintech hub similar to the one in the canton of Zug, Switzerland. The estate will be built at the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport in partnership with private property developer Northern Star Gaming & Resorts Inc. The zone is already set to accommodate 25 crypto firms that will operate within the area.

Building Crypto Valley of Asia

The Philippines government-owned Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) has partnered with Northern Star Gaming & Resorts Inc. to develop a crypto and fintech hub called Crypto Valley of Asia (CVA).

This is “part of the government’s bid to foster a fintech ecosystem [to] attract international blockchain companies to set up shop in the country,” e27 reported Monday.

The publication elaborated:


Read more: https://news.bitcoin.com/philippines-crypto-valley-asia/

We have a lot of promising and exciting news from HelBiz this Monday. Team want to expand their business on Asian market, engaged in discussions with local car sharing operators and manufacturers, but  the most thrilling event is the meeting with Alibaba this week.

On my opinion 5000 HBZ is too much for only registering car on platform, this amount is roughly equal to 0.5 ETH in ICO price. But better this marketing effort than nothing.

Helbiz-Обновление Понедельник:

Пока платформа готовится к релизу, члены управляющей команды путешествуют по азии в рамках запланированного двухнедельного тура. За первую неделю успели пообщаться с производителями оборудования, операторами, регуляторами и институционными инвесторами в Гонг Конге и Шанхае.

Ведутся переговоры с двумя прокатными транспортными компаниями в Азии об установке оборудования на машины.

На этой неделе HelBiz поедет в Ханчжоу, Китай, на встречу с представителями Alibaba.

Каждый, кто зарегистрирует свой автомобиль на HelBiz платформе получит 5000 HBZ. Airdrop закончится, когда наберут 15 000 авто.

Last week Nic Carter, the partner at Castle Island Ventures and co-founder of Coinmetrics.io, published an interesting study that looks at the ever-changing narratives tied to Bitcoin technology. Carter and his fellow researcher Hasufly scraped up a lot of data stemming from Bitcointalk.org posts over the years that highlight some of the community-derived visions of what Bitcoin should be and how these visions have changed over time.

The Ever-Changing Bitcoin Narratives

If you’ve been into cryptocurrencies for a long time you might have noticed the community narratives and visions for Bitcoin have changed over the years. For instance, back in the early days, Bitcoin technology was supposed to eradicate the current banking cartels and remove money from the state’s power as well. At least that’s what the early bitcoiners and cypherpunks said at the time. However, Bitcoin narratives have evolved and lots of Bitcoin proponents now want the central bank’s acceptance and think governments regulating the use of cryptocurrencies will make them a ‘legitimate’ form of tender. Moreover, some people believe Bitcoin should be a store of value much like gold, while others believe Bitcoin was meant to be a fast and cheap peer-to-peer cash system.

After researching this topic, Nic Carter published a well-documented study of the ever-changing narratives stemming from individuals and groups who like to tether their own visions to the Bitcoin protocol. Carter and his partner Hasufly used data derived from conversations taking place on the forum Bitcointalk.org over the last decade.

“Perhaps the most enduring source of conflict within the Bitcoin community derives from incompatible visions of what Bitcoin is and should become,” explains Carter’s study.


Read more:

https://news.bitcoin.com/study-provides-an-interesting-look-at-changing-bitcoin-narratives/

https://medium.com/@nic__carter/visions-of-bitcoin-4b7b7cbcd24c

Despite the positive news seen in the crypto space recently with ICE, the owner of the world’s largest stock exchange, setting up a new bitcoin market, the rumors that bitcoin ETFs are on the way (but maybe not in 2018), and the classification of bitcoin as a commodity by the SEC, the price of bitcoin and altcoins has been steadily dropping in the current downward trend, with bitcoin sliding back below the $7,000 mark once again.

CCN reported yesterday that despite a $5 billion rebound in the crypto market, low trading volume made it more likely that another decline in value was incoming, stating:

“However, in the past several hours, the price of bitcoin and ether have started to drop once again, testing $7,100 and $410. If the volume fails to recover in the next 12 hours, bitcoin and ether will likely breach the $7,000 and $400 levels in a similar way as they did on August 5.”

This has now come to pass, with BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes stating that BTC may need to test $5,000 before a bottom can be established.

However, Tom Lee of Fundstrat believes he has the answer to what seems to be a failing market, and points to one positive that he feels will save cryptocurrency: bitcoin dominance.

Read more: https://www.ccn.com/bitcoin-the-best-house-in-a-bad-neighborhood-wall-street-strategist/

An association of sixteen licensed domestic cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan have formally applied for certification from the country’s financial regulator to form a self-regulatory body.

The Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA), a body comprised of all 16 licensed cryptocurrency exchanges, is looking to become a “certified fund settlement business association” after a formal application submitted with the Financial Services Agency (FSA), Japan’s primary financial regulator.

The working group is also looking toward working with authorities to create guidelines and legislation to ultimately allow the domestic cryptocurrency exchange sector regulate itself, the Asia Times reported.

According to the report, the FSA certification process will go through a rigorous two-month review wherein the authority will “carefully examine the affairs of the Association and investigate whether proper group management can be expected.”

Read more: https://www.ccn.com/japans-licensed-crypto-exchanges-formally-apply-for-self-regulatory-body/