Cryptocurrencies may not be only for traders and speculators after all. A recent wave of artists has started embracing digital currencies like Bitcoin.

CRYPTOCURRENCIES – NOT JUST FOR TRADERS ANYMORE

Every day we see new projects coming out that plan to utilize cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology for a specific industry. Most of these projects that use blockchain technology focus on trading, investing, and finance related platforms and services. But a tiny minority of the cryptocurrency market is aiming to offer unique services for artists like designers and musicians.

Many artists currently feel that they are being exploited by third-parties and middleman by selling their work on their platforms. A British startup called Maecenas is aiming to create an online gallery, where artists can upload their work and users will be able to purchase it through auctions with cryptocurrencies. The whole process will be backed by the blockchain technology in order to ensure full transparency across the platform. It’s worth noting that the young startup has recently managed to raise over $15 million through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO), and is planning to release its platform in  2018. But painters aren’t the only artists that are benefiting from the blockchain technology, musicians are also getting interested.

THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND BITCOIN

A couple of weeks ago news emerged that the famous Icelandic singer Bjork would start accepting Bitcoin for its new album called Utopia. According to the report, the decision to accept cryptocurrencies was made after many fans of Bjork requested it. Slovenian DJ Gramatik is also a musician that started experimenting with cryptocurrencies. According to a report in Billboard, the DJ started his own cryptocurrency called GRMTK and allowed his fans to buy his music with it. The main reasons behind this were the high transactions costs that other services have. Through a decentralized cryptocurrency users can directly buy the music from Gramatik, without having to pay high fees and royalties.

Gramatik further stated:

GRMTK isn’t just a cryptocurrency, it’s much more than that. Now, my audience can share in my inspiration and success by also owning the rights and royalties of my music, and anything I create and distribute on my upcoming channel. If you hold 100 GRMTK tokens, then you own 100 tokens worth of the rights and royalties of the music and projects I create.
Experts believe that in the near future, we might see even more and more artists and other famous people that will start selling their work through digital cryptocurrencies.

http://bitcoinist.com/artists-entering-world-cryptocurrencies/

Holders of cryptocurrency in Indonesia are being warned to sell of their digital assets as Bank Indonesia is set to ban Bitcoin on behalf of the government sometime in 2018.

While everyday individuals are embracing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, a number of national governments are not. Those who trade in digital currency in Indonesia are being warned to sell off what they have due to the fact that the government, acting through Bank Indonesia (BI), is set to ban all forms of cryptocurrency in the upcoming year.

THE WILD BITCOIN RIDE COMING TO AN END IN INDONESIA

A new set of regulations for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is scheduled to be released on Monday, December 4th. This bit of news was announced by Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo, and this Bitcoin ban is being done to protect the rupiah as the country’s legal tender. Bank Indonesia also maintains that Bitcoin is often used for illegal activities.

This ban extends to both individuals and groups, such as banks and businesses. Agus Martowardojo says:


BITCOIN POPULAR IN INDONESIA

This move by the government, through the auspices of Bank Indonesia, means people have to scramble to unload their digital currency, which will be no small feat. Bitcoin is actually pretty popular in the country, as 2015 saw an estimated $30,000 to $50,000 USD in Bitcoin transactions taking place every day.

This move definitely impacts the average person in Indonesia as almost two-thirds of the population do not have a bank account, and only about a fifth of the country’s poorest people have access to banking capital. In essence, the government of Indonesia is forcing people to become more actively involved in the country’s banking system by limiting their options.

The cryptocurrency regulations being drafted will also apply to financial technology. Agus Martowardojo of Bank Indonesia states:


It seems that the die is cast for a Bitcoin ban in Indonesia. One wonders what impact this move by the largest economy in Southeast Asia will have on the price of Bitcoin.

http://bitcoinist.com/people-warned-sell-bitcoin-face-looming-ban-indonesia/

Bitcoin is now the sixth most circulated currency in the world, behind five super powers, and outranking the Pound, the Ruble, and the Won, according to the Bank for International Settlements. The figure is based on a value of Bitcoin at $10,765 each, meaning that the total value of all Bitcoins in circulation is $180 bln.

While the number is substantial, should Bitcoin rise to $15,000, it will overtake the next highest circulating currency, the Rupee. The other four currencies outranking Bitcoin are the Yen, Yuan, Euro, and Dollar, all of which have dramatically greater levels of currency in circulation (the Dollar, for example, stands at $1.4 tln).

Not to be outdone

Other cryptocurrencies are also following suit, with Ethereum ranked at #17, and Bitcoin Cash at #20. Ripple falls just outside the top 20. However, both BCH and XRP are still above both the Krona and Rand for total circulation.

These numbers are, of course, somewhat skewed, because the value of notes in circulation is not reflective of the total value of a currency. Nevertheless, the numbers reveal the substantial power of Bitcoin in terms of currency interactions.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-is-6th-largest-currency-in-the-world-by-circulation

A number of Bitcoin holders are expressing their displeasure over the green light received by Wall Street to enter the Bitcoin market. Their concern is that allowing banks entry into the Bitcoin market is an indirect way of introducing corruption into the system, which they feel could lead to price manipulation in the long run.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday made public that it was going to grant permission to CME Group and CBOE Global Markets to list bitcoin futures. This development would make CBOE and CME the first traditional exchanges in the U.S. to offer trading in financial products related to Bitcoin.

DAMN THE MAN – KEEP BITCOIN FREE

According to American Banker, some supporters of the digital currency are of the opinion that this initiative could mark the end of Bitcoin’s freedom and decentralization. They are already spilling their bile over this perceived attempt by the authorities to offer Bitcoin on the altar of slavery. They feel that it is an attempt by the banks to usurp control of the digital-asset market.

Read more: http://bitcoinist.com/bitcoin-enthusiasts-express-concern-banks-close-bitcoin/

Indeed Shift looks like a sleeping Giant. A lot of work had been done by the team during last months. It is now trading on Livecoin.net, which can  positively reflects on  price and volume. November's Newsletter contains a lot of improvements and finished milestones, i`m looking forward to Testnet launch in December, maybe it`s time to buy few coins, while they are still cheap.

Может будет рост до 1000$ как наванговал Майк Новогратц, а может упадет до 300$ постепенно, такой вариант вполне возможен, хоть и маловероятен. Сейчас смотрю в сторону Ethereum Classic, говорят по нему ожидается ограничение эмиссии в Декабре, и новая волна роста. Бутерин конечно молодец и умница, но тот же OmiseGo под его патронатом, завис как вкопаный уже несколько месяцев без движения.


Это уже фантастика какая-то, тогда было слишком мало конкурентов, папа-биток один сейчас, а сынков много, все эти Dash, Zcash..

So, what do you think guys about Ethereum Classic, will it be a better investment decision, comparing to ETH, for the short term (1-3 months)?
Mike Novograntz predicted ETH will rise to 1000$ by the end of the year, it is the only factor which makes me believe in ETH after 4 months of stagnation.

John Bogle has already made his assets many years ago, as his words showed, he is not a gambler in spirit. I was taught to respect elder people. How can someone blame such old man, who elevated himself to the top, with his own brainpower. Such smart and old man can never say to his partners: take my money and yours, let`s invest them into a highly volatile asset`s. This business is just not for them, it`s for middle class investors, who can accept risk of losses and great gains.

One of the main features of Islam religion is a large number of different movements inside it. Iran`s and Arab Emirates government welcomes bitcoin and blockchain techology, maybe they have political harmony with their local islamic  religious leaders. Actually, it is very strange to hear that particularly turkish muslims goes against bitcoin, i thought it is quite secular country.

I suppose all these articles about the growing cyber-thieves threat are worth to be read. This hacking and protecting process will be continuous and ongoing, like shall and armor competition. Windows user of course more are more vulnerable than Linux ones, but with the right attitude bitcoiner can reduce risk significantly: windows firewall enabled (block in-out traffic in untrustable apps), minimum number of extension in browser (especially not signed ones), bookmarked links, etc.

I`m really very impressed with the new tokenoid.io site developed by zonto team. As a person who is familiar with new direction and areas in web design i can give 5 stars for your work. ICO`s icons are large, with a short summary, which is great. But what factors were being used for calculating rating in your system? How often this information updates?

Congratulations with successful ICO. I expected eSports will rise only softcup, all this time there was information on your site about 5mln rised during presale. I had checked counter it almost every day. And now i see the project has all the necessary budget - 25,285,648.01 €. Is it real information, you are fully funded now, or it is some bug on your site?

November has been a busy week for famed stock picker Ronnie Moas who, on Nov. 4, predicted that by the beginning of 2018 Bitcoin would hit $11,000. That was recently blown out the water, but before the target was hit, he adjusted to $14,000.

Now, Bitcoin is on its way to smashing that new target causing Moas to readjust for the third time in a month as the digital currency revels in a new era of adoption and acceptance.

Moas looks at Bitcoin as a whole, incorporating all the chain splits in his split-adjusted price is and considering the price of the forked Bitcoin chains alongside the original was $12,740 when Moas made his new prediction, $14,000 looked undervalued again.

$20,000 is a month away

Moas now puts the line in the sand at $20,000 for the split-adjusted price when the new year hits. Looking at how things have gone so far for Moas, a month is a long time, and perhaps $20,000 will be broken before that time.

Many pickers, investors and money movers have thrown their hats into the ring trying to hit the sweet spot of this volatile asset when it comes to prediction.

Tom Lee, rather conservatively, set a Bitcoin growth of 40 percent to happen by the middle of 2018. His prediction put him at $11,500. That prediction was made a week ago, and in that time Bitcoin topped at around $11,300.

Max Keiser has a much more bullish view, but over a longer time frame as the host of Russia Today’s Keiser Report believes that $100,000 Bitcoin is an eventuality.

Why split-adjusted?

Moas, as one of the most well-regarded stock pickers, is clearly in the Bitcoin game for its investment potential rather than the technology side which has seen different factions at war with each other. Some people are vehemently Bitcoin Cash supporters, and others true fans of the original chain.

Moas, however, with his investor’s hat on, sees that by buying Bitcoin he not only received free Bitcoin Cash, but also free Bitcoin Gold, and thus counts them together in his portfolio, urging others to d the same as a diversification strategy.

Bitcoin Diamond and the real gold

“I am raising my 2018 fork- and split-adjusted price target on Bitcoin from $14,000 to $20,000,” Moas explained. “The current price is $10,720 and the split-adjusted price is now $12,740 when factoring in Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold and Bitcoin Diamond.”

Bitcoin Diamond is another fork of the Bitcoin chain that went largely unnoticed. Its aim is to switch from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake after mining is completed - after just 10,000 blocks.

“Bitcoin is now up split-adjusted by 394 percent since my July 3 recommendation,” Moas went on. “There is no way to justify Gold $7 tln at 40X Bitcoin ($180 bln). An argument can be made that Bitcoin will be equal to Gold within 10-15 years. I do not know how much Gold there is in the ground … I do not know how much Bitcoin there is.”

https://cointelegraph.com/news/ronnie-moas-raises-bitcoin-target-again-20000-by-start-of-2018

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), one of the world’s largest accounting firms, has accepted its first ever bitcoin payment for its advisory services.

An ever-growing embrace of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology among its clients has seen PwC accept bitcoin as a payment in Hong Kong. According to a Wall Street Journal report, PwC in Hong Kong revealed it is working with a number of startups involved in bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency industry, prompting the firm to accept the world’s most widely-known cryptocurrency. Notably, PwC also confirmed its advent into advising clients about crypto funds and investments, cryptocurrency exchanges and initial coin offerings –  a radical new form of fundraising powered by cryptocurrencies.

“This decision helps illustrate how we are embracing new technology and incorporating innovative business models across our full range of services,” said PwC Asia-Pacific chairman Raymund Chao.

Notably, the PwC official added:


PwC is the second ‘big four’ accounting firm to accept bitcoin as payments for its services. Ernst & Young (EY) in Switzerland became the first firm of its kind to accept bitcoin for both auditing and advisory services since the turn of 2017. EY also installed a Bitcoin ATM among its offices late last year, providing its employees with a digital bitcoin wallet within its in-house EY wallet app. Accepting bitcoin, EY said in late 2016, was essential for EY’s strategy of “digitizing itself”.

Institutional adoption of bitcoin as a currency is slowly catching on, not quite as quickly as financial institutions’ embrace of the cryptocurrency as a financial instrument.

In a fortnight, CME Group – the world’s largest exchange owner – will launch its bitcoin futures contracts product, signaling a growing trend within Wall Street that is now warming to bitcoin. As reported yesterday, New York-based Nasdaq – the world’s second-largest stock exchange after the NYSE – is also planning to launch its bitcoin futures product in the first half of 2018.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/big-4-accounting-giant-pwc-accepts-first-bitcoin-payment/

Bitcoin rallied as much as 20 percent from its Wednesday low, easing concern that an abrupt selloff in the cryptocurrency might spiral into something deeper.

The digital currency climbed as high as $10,787.99 in Asian trading hours Thursday, after touching a nadir of $9,009.15, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg. The 21 percent slump on Wednesday, triggered in part by intermittent outages at cryptocurrency exchanges, came just hours after bitcoin had soared to a record.



Price swings in the world’s most popular digital currency are increasing as an 11-fold gain this year captivates everyone from mom-and-pop investors to high-frequency traders and Wall Street banks. While the frenzy has prompted bubble warnings from observers including Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, interest among traders shows few signs of abating.

Coinbase, one of the largest bitcoin exchanges, tweeted on Wednesday that traffic on its platform reached an all-time high, even as some users reported service interruptions and delays.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-30/bitcoin-recovers-from-sudden-selloff-as-large-swings-persist

Following in CME Group’s footsteps, NASDAQ announces plans to launch Bitcoin futures in the first half of 2018.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Nasdaq Inc. is planning to launch Bitcoin futures as soon the first half of 2018. Nasdaq’s Bitcoin contracts will launch on Nasdaq Futures (NFX), a marketplace launched in 2015 that is most famous for energy trading. This latest news comes in the wake of the CME Group, the world’s largest online trading platform, announcing that they will launch Bitcoin futures this December. Traditional financial institutions have so far been reluctant to support Bitcoin, but the digital currency’s increasing price and popularity would appear to have finally given them no other choice – either take a slice of the Bitcoin business or lose it.

Investor interest in Bitcoin has spread like wildfire, with those totally unfamiliar with markets beginning to show an interest in investing and investment purely due to  Bitcoin’s nascent rise. With the price of Bitcoin superseding $11,000, possibly born from speculation of wider financial market acceptance, it would seem initial investor trust has been rewarded many times over.

Read more: http://bitcoinist.com/nasdaq-to-launch-bitcoin-futures-in-2018/

Bitcoin cash developers have made "tentative" plans to increase the cryptocurrency's block size again next year.

At least, that's according to a new, rough 6–12-month roadmap released yesterday by the bitcoin offshoot's main developer team, Bitcoin ABC. The roadmap notably includes two hard forks – an upgrading method that requires everyone running the software to upgrade – scheduled for May and November of 2018.

Bitcoin cash is a cryptocurrency that emerged earlier this summer out of bitcoin's block size debate.

Effectively blocked by those in the developer community who were reluctant to move too quickly towards a block size increase (arguing it could harm bitcoin's security), a number of bigger block advocates went their own way and created their own cryptocurrency. Most significantly, bitcoin cash boasts a block size parameter limit eight times larger than that of bitcoin.

Bitcoin cash development didn't stop at this initial split, however. Its developers have announced other plans to improve the cryptocurrency, which are added to by the new roadmap.

The announcement goes on to explain:

"We want to make it more reliable, more scalable, with low fees and ready for rapid growth. It should 'just work', without complications or hassles. It should be ready for global adoption by mainstream users, and provide a solid foundation that businesses can rely on."

Bitcoin cash supporters believe increasing the block size is key to accomplishing this, since fees will theoretically rise less quickly as the block size increases.

Later on in the roadmap, the Bitcoin ABC developers lay out other possible features, such as reviving older rules that had been deactivated in the code.

The roadmap is subject to change as the community chimes in, however. Bitcoin ABC is only one of several bitcoin cash software implementations that need to agree and move forward with the change. (Although at least one other implementation, nChain, has given the proposal its blessing.)

The group doesn't plan to release a formal announcement until February 2018.

https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-cash-plans-increase-block-size/

It’s hardly surprising that criminals are looking to get in on the cryptocurrency action as Bitcoin price surged past the $10,000 mark late on Monday.

Cybercriminals, hackers, Internet pirates, call them what you want, are scouring the Internet in search of easy targets as the world wakes-up to the success of Bitcoin and its altcoin successors.

According to American SANS Technology Institute’s online forum, a cybersecurity expert’s software has identified bots trying to piggyback off various information systems to find unsecured cryptocurrency wallets around the world.

Didier Stevens says hackers are using software that scans computers for files containing wallet information - which allows cybercriminals to access and steal funds in online wallets.

“I've seen a couple of such requests a couple of years ago, but it's the first time I see that many. The first time I observed this was late 2013, in the middle of the first big BTC (Bitcoin) price rally.”


While hackers are scouring the Internet for Bitcoin wallet archives, Stevens also pointed out that Ethereum wallet clients were also being targeted, according to RT.

Hackers are trying to access local Ethereum JSON-RPC interfaces, which should only be accessible by an individual system. Bypassing authentication of wallets, hackers can control an Ethereum client and effectively steal funds.

Individuals that have synchronized the Ethereum Blockchain on their system are at risk if their JSON-RPC interface allows incoming requests.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/hackers-want-in-on-bitcoin-action-expert

The South Korean Financial Services Commission is finalizing its proposals to regulate cryptocurrency exchanges. This follows an earlier “Bitcoin Regulation Act” submitted by lawmaker Park Yong-jin. Meanwhile, the prime minister is very concerned about the growth and risks of cryptocurrencies including bitcoin and has called for immediate action.

Requirements for Crypto Exchanges

The South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) is finalizing proposed regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges. According to The Hankyoreh daily newspaper on Tuesday, the proposed regulations “would treat the operation of cryptocurrency exchanges (such as Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit) as unauthorized fundraising.”

Currently, cryptocurrency exchanges fall under the Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce Transactions. That means “they can be operated as an e-commerce website by anyone who registers as an online vendor,” the news outlet detailed. “While the FSC regards cryptocurrencies not as a financial instrument but as unauthorized fundraising, it recognizes that they are already being traded around the world,” the publication noted, adding that the Commission plans to allow the exchanges to operate under certain terms. An FSC official detailed:


In August, Democratic Party lawmaker Park Yong-jin submitted a proposed revision to the Electronic Financial Transactions Act. He proposed that anyone entering into a digital currency business, including operating a cryptocurrency exchange, must obtain a permit from the FSC, the publication detailed.

Read more: https://news.bitcoin.com/south-korea-legislation-cryptocurrency-exchanges/

The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation is warning its citizens about the dangers of cryptocurrency trading, which is highly ironic as Nigeria is synonymous worldwide with scamming others.

The internet is often a seething mass of flame wars, memes, and scams, but there is one criminal activity that is known throughout the world – the Nigerian scam, also known as the 419 scam due to the Nigerian Criminal Code’s section that pertains to fraud. Many online users have gotten one of the infamous emails that detail that some person is in line to receive millions of dollars, but they are unable to access it without the help of the email recipient. For handing over all pertinent banking and identifying data, the recipient will get a share of the newly-acquired funds. Needless to say, the end result is that of the email recipient getting their own bank account cleaned out. Now in a major twist of irony, the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation is warning Nigerian citizens of the dangers of cryptocurrency trading.

Read more: http://bitcoinist.com/sweet-irony-nigeria-warns-citizens-cryptocurrency-trading/