Try to finish college first and then follow your bitcoin dream.
The bitcoin is not going anywhere, it is here to stay.
Finish your college, have your qualification.
Then make a choice for your life.

I always prefer Binance because it has a huge trading volume compared to KuCoin. Though, KuCoin is also a great exchange, it has a nice looking user interface but their trading volume is kind of low compared Binance. I see the KuCoin is following the footsteps of Binance, I wish them all the best in the world.

We all know the recent bitcoin hard forks helped boost the price to another level. If we can take the last year 2017 as a case study, we can see the bitcoin price skyrocketed from September to December when there was a lot of bitcoin hard forks. Basically, the previous bitcoin hard forks attracted the mind of many investors to bitcoin which helped boost bitcoin price to around $20,000 in last December. I think the bitcoin really need a new hard fork to boost the price so that the HOLDers can smile again because they are no longer smiling anymore - LOL. Share with us what you think on this matter. thanks

Pundi X PSX & Trade Token TIO are both looking great. They both have huge potential based on the momentum around them. 

I love going to Ibiza, it has all the beautiful ladies in the world.

Bitcoin Briefly Drops to $9,000: Factors Behind the Decline




On March 8, the price of bitcoin dropped to $9,000, after reaching $11,000 merely 48 hours ago. Analysts have attributed three major factors to the decline in the price of bitcoin: Mt. Gox sell off, SEC announcement, penalization of Japanese exchanges.


Mt. Gox Trustee Sell-Off

According to the official document released by the Mt. Gox trustee, a total of $404 million worth of bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash have been sold over the past few months, at a price determined by the trustee, which is significantly lower than the current market value of bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.

“As a result of the consultation with the court, I considered it necessary and reasonable to sell a certain amount of BTC and BCC at this point and secure a certain amount of money for distribution resources, and thus, I sold the amount of BTC and BCC above. I made efforts to sell BTC and BCC at as high a price as possible in light of the market price of BTC and BCC at the timing of sale. I plan to consult with the court and determine further sale of BTC and BCC,” the document read.

In the next few months, the trustee intends to liquidate the remaining assets, which are 166,344.35827254 bitcoins, worth around $1.7 billion based on the current value of bitcoin.

It is likely that the planned sell-off of over a billion dollars worth of bitcoin has caused a domino effect on many cryptocurrency exchanges, leading to the decline in the value of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a consequence.


SEC’s Announcement

This week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that cryptocurrency exchanges that have listed initial coin offerings (ICOs) or tokens on their platforms are required to register with the agency in order to continue providing support for ERC20 tokens.

As CCN reported, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated that the market overreacted to the announcement of the SEC, given that cryptocurrency exchanges have simple options to comply with the SEC: de-list ICO tokens or register with the agency.

Garlinghouse added that there exists no uncertainty regarding the announcement of the SEC, as he noted:

In context of yesterday’s SEC statement(s), I hear some in crypto talk about the current ‘regulatory uncertainty.’ What’s uncertain? SEC’s statements have been consistent and clear. ‘Regulatory uncertainty” is just a euphemism for ‘we wish we could ignore SEC regulations.’”

Andreas Antonopoulos, a well-respected cryptocurrency and security expert, emphasized that the SEC and other federal agencies tightening regulations for ICOs was expected. Antonopoulos explained:

“The recent SEC & FinCEN statements are not unexpected. I have been warning people about the potential risks (technical, financial, and legal) of engaging with ICOs for years.”


Japan’s Cryptocurrency Exchange Penalization

As Tokyo-based technology reporter Yuji Nakamura reported, the Japanese government recently penalized four cryptocurrency exchanges and revoked the licenses of two trading platforms for poor security and failing to meet Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) policies.





Given that Japan still remains as the largest bitcoin exchange market with over 51 percent of the market share, analysts stated that the crackdown on small exchanges have had an impact on the global cryptocurrency market.


Source: https://www.ccn.com/bitcoin-briefly-drops-9000-factors-behind-decline/

Bitcoin Drops to $8,300 as Mt. Gox Trustee Sell Off Continues, Market Drops




Yesterday, on March 9, CCN reported that the sell off of hundreds of millions of dollars, and the plan of the trustee to dump the remaining $1.7 billion worth of bitcoin into the market have caused the price of bitcoin to drop substantially in a short period of time.


Bitcoin Drops

Since March 7, within a 48-hour span, the price of bitcoin decreased from $10,600 to $8,300, recording a staggering $2,300 drop in value. The entire market followed bitcoin’s price trend, as the three largest cryptocurrencies behind bitcoin in Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Ripple all declined by 11 percent, by the same exact margin as bitcoin.

Analysts like WhalePanda have attributed to the recent fall to the massive sell off of bitcoin by the Mt. Gox trustee, and the controversial decision of the trustee to sell 40,000 bitcoin on a cryptocurrency exchange, rather than over-the-counter (OTC) platforms.

    “MtGox was terrible and the incompetent way they are handling is terrible, saying that Bitcoin has been crashing since all-time high because of it is just silly. It’s only’ 40,000 BTC. It is about the same as claiming that Tether caused the run to $20k. People love their narratives though,” said WhalePanda.

However, the sale of 40,000 bitcoin is not the end of the Mt. Gox trustee’s sell off of bitcoin. According to the official document released by the Mt. Gox trustee, more than $1.7 billion worth of bitcoin is expected to be sold in the next few months.

The official document of the Mt. Gox trustee referring to Bitcoin Cash as BCC read:

“As a result of the consultation with the court, I considered it necessary and reasonable to sell a certain amount of BTC and BCC at this point and secure a certain amount of money for distribution resources, and thus, I sold the amount of BTC and BCC above. I made efforts to sell BTC and BCC at as high a price as possible in light of the market price of BTC and BCC at the timing of sale. I plan to consult with the court and determine further sale of BTC and BCC.”


$1.7 Billion

If the Mt. Gox trustee continues to dump large amounts of bitcoin on cryptocurrency exchanges rather than in the OTC market wherein big buyers can trade with each other, the price of bitcoin will continue to be affected by the sale.

Ethereum co-founder and Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson stated that bitcoin may have been overvalued at $19,000 if a short-term sell-off by a single entity could lead the price of the cryptocurrency to fall by a margin like this, emphasizing the liquidity problem in the cryptocurrency market.

“Was bitcoin really worth $20,000 a coin if an event like this has such a profound impact on the market? We need an index of how much the market can afford to liquidate without crashing for each cryptocurrency; call it the ΔL metric,” said Hoskinson.

It remains unclear whether the Mt. Gox trustee will dump over a billion dollars worth of bitcoin on exchanges as planned, or move to OTC market to prevent market manipulation.


Source: https://www.ccn.com/bitcoin-drops-8300-mt-gox-trustee-sell-off-continues-market-drops/

US Regulators Working Together to Combat Crypto Fraud, Says CFTC’s Giancarlo




US regulators have begun to coordinate with their overseas counterparts to combat cryptocurrency fraud, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo said Wednesday.

Giancarlo revealed this international effort during a U.S. House of Representatives committee hearing on the CFTC’s budget for fiscal year 2019, adding that officials in the Treasury Department and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) were also involved in the collaboration.

    “The CFTC has been in close communication with the SEC with respect to policy and jurisdictional considerations, and in connection with our recent enforcement cases,” he testified, according to a transcript of his statement, which was published online by Mondo Visione. “We have also been working with the U.S. Treasury and the FSOC. In addition, we have been in communication with our foreign counterparts through bilateral discussions and the International Organization of Securities Commissions.”

Notably, Forbes said that Giancarlo was forced to defend his agency’s decision to devote resources to regulating Bitcoin derivatives and combatting cryptocurrency-related fraud after Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) chastised him for using his “limited budget” on an asset class in which only five percent of Americans are invested (a figure that originated in a recent survey).

As CCN reported, the CFTC has ramped up its investigations into cryptocurrency-related fraud and market manipulation in recent months as part of its renewed emphasis on its “back-to-basics” approach to market oversight.

According to a Wall Street Journal report published at the end of February, the CFTC has filed 11 manipulated-related cases during the current fiscal year, which is just one case shy of its annual record. The agency’s fiscal year does not end until September, making it likely the CFTC will shatter this record, in no small part because of an increase in cryptocurrency-linked fraud.

In January, the CFTC filed fraud suits against three cryptocurrency investment schemes, including one — Cabbage Tech — that allegedly swindled at least $1.1 million worth of BTC from more than 600 investors.

The agency also recently issued an investor warning on cryptocurrency pump-and-dump schemes, advertising that whistleblowers could be eligible for monetary rewards.


Source: https://www.ccn.com/us-regulators-working-together-combat-crypto-fraud-says-cftcs-giancarlo/

Japan’s Financial Regulator Cracks Whip at 7 Cryptocurrency Exchanges




Japanese authorities have penalized seven domestic cryptocurrency exchanges following inspections, including a month-long suspension for two exchanges.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA), the country’s financial regulator and watchdog, has narrowed down on cryptocurrency exchange operators using lax cybersecurity practices and inadequate money laundering measures. Two exchanges, FSHO and Bit Station, are hit the hardest with month-long business suspension orders effective today.

Over the course of its inspections, the FSA discovered that a BitStation senior staff member had ‘diverted’ customers’ bitcoins for personal use, the Nikkei reports. There were repeated cases of high-value cryptocurrency trades with no judgment made about the need for notification of a suspicious transaction,” the FSA said of Yokohama-based FSHO.

Five other exchanges – Tech Bureau, GMO Coin, Bicrements, Mr. Exchange and Coincheck, the Tokyo-based exchange that lost $530 million in stolen NEM this year – have all been hit with business improvement orders by the FSA. All seven exchanges have been scrutinized for lacking proper internal control systems and underwhelming security measures. Two of the seven exchanges, Tech Bureau and GMO Coin, are notably registered with the FSA and are licensed to operate an exchange in Japan.

Following an onsite inspection of internet conglomerate GMO’s cryptocurrency exchange the regulator accused the operator of failing to investigate a number of system faults and subsequent measures to prevent them from occurring again.

The FSA began inspecting exchanges soon after the Coincheck hack in late January and the regulator determined that the exchange lacked measures to combat money laundering, demanding that the Tokyo-based operator ensure a reliable and secure business operation that safeguards consumer assets. Acknowledging its second such notice today, Coincheck said it will comply with a mandate to submit its improvement plan by March 22.

After completing its first round of inspections, the FSA reportedly fears a repeat of a Coincheck-style hack after discovering a multitude of concerns in customer protection and anti-money-laundering measures. While initially focusing on oversight into transactions and systems management, the FSA is now forcing exchanges to address a broader range of issues including corporate governance and management structure.


Source: https://www.ccn.com/japans-financial-regulator-cracks-whip-7-cryptocurrency-exchanges/

Bitcoin Dips Below $9,500 Briefly, Market Recovers as Binance Hack Refuted




Today, on March 8, the price of bitcoin has dropped below $9,500 briefly, triggered by Binance hack rumors, the Japanese government’s issuance of penalty on local exchanges, and the sell-off of a massive amount of bitcoin by the Mt. Gox trustee.


Binance Hack Rumors Refuted

From over $10,600, the price of bitcoin dropped by more than $1,100 within a span of several hours, reaching $9,400. However, almost immediately after the development team of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, refuted hack rumors and Changpeng Zhao, the CEO at Binance, released a statement regarding the situation, the market recovered.

Within 10 hours, the price of bitcoin declined from $10,600 to $9,400, and rebounded back to $10,000. The entire cryptocurrency market was extremely volatile during this period, as most major cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Ripple followed the price movement of bitcoin.





In an official statement, the Binance team stated that hackers obtained the account information of users on the Binance platform through phishing attacks throughout February. Then, with the accumulated accounts, the hackers used a false API key to execute trades on behalf of users, triggering one cryptocurrency pair to spike in volume.

    “Yesterday, within the aforementioned 2 minute period, the hackers used the API keys, placed a large number of market buys on the VIA/BTC market, pushing the price high, while 31 pre-deposited accounts were there selling VIA at the top. This was an attempt to move the BTC from the phished accounts to the 31 accounts. Withdrawal requests were then attempted from these accounts immediately afterwards,” wrote the Binance team.

Binance has since reversed all trades, and no losses were recorded. Strangely, only the hackers that attempted to take advantage of Binance users had their funds lost, as Changpeng Zhao noted.


Japanese Exchanges

Several analysts have attributed the recent minor correction of the cryptocurrency market to the penalization of Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges for having poor security measures and breaching Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) policies.

Tokyo-based technology reporter Yuji Nakamura revealed that two small-scale cryptocurrency exchanges have been shut down (FSHO and BitStation), four major trading platforms in GMO, Zaif, Bicrements, and Mr. Exchange were penalized, and two licenses were taken away.

Last month, the South Korean government imposed a penalty on cryptocurrency exchanges with poor security measures, as a part of a larger initiative to allow the cryptocurrency market to evolve and grow within a robust ecosystem, protecting investors.

But, the community has had an outsized reaction towards the crackdown on small cryptocurrency exchanges by the Japanese government.

After the CoinCheck $530 million security breach, the Japanese government received many complaints from investors, despite the fact that CoinCheck has decided to refund all users who have lost their funds during the hacking attack.

The recent brief correction was caused by a combination of four factors: Japan’s crackdown on small exchanges, Binance hack rumors, SEC’s announcement to exchanges, and major cryptocurrencies failing to meet key resistance levels.


Source: https://www.ccn.com/bitcoin-dips-below-9500-briefly-market-recovers-as-binance-hack-refuted/

Binance CEO: All Irregular Trades Reversed, Hackers Lost Coins




Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has claimed all fraudulent trades that occurred on Wednesday have been reversed.

Suspicions were high earlier this week regarding strange occurrences on the Binance exchange. Multiple users took to Reddit to express concern at highly unusual unauthorized trades happening on their accounts. Clarification has come today with an official release from the exchange and tweets from the company’s CEO.

On March 7th between 14:58 and 14:59 “abnormal trading activity” was detected on one of the Hugely popular Binance exchange’s marketplaces. The automatic risk management system was triggered, and all withdrawals were immediately halted.

The activity was discovered to have been an attempted hack. The attackers had managed to phish multiple Binance account details using a similar URL. Waiting for the right moment, the hackers commanded the hacked accounts to buy ViaCoin at extremely high prices, skyrocketing the price by some several hundred percent. Immediately after the trades had been completed, the hackers tried to withdraw the large pool of Bitcoin they had gathered but were unable to due to the fast-acting alarm system.

Chanpeng Zhou, CEO of the platform, took to Twitter to demonstrate the phishing URL from a users history:

"A user’s history. Can you see the two dots under the domain name? Phishing website that redirects to the real website after login. Additionally, after you log in once, it doesn't let you access the phishing site again - will auto-redirect you to Binance (even after logging out)"

 - @cz_binance | https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/971483376753393664


All irregular trades were reversed, meaning that no users of the platform lost any form of funds. What’s evening more interesting however is that the failed attempt actually caused the hackers to lose funds. The attempt to maximize profits by forcing the phished accounts to buy ViaCoin from the attackers at hugely marked up prices backfired, as Binance was able to confiscate the hackers supply of the altcoin. According to Zhao, the confiscated funds will be donated to Binance Charity.

"Binance has reversed all irregular trades. All deposit, trading and withdrawal are resumed. will write a more detailed account of what happened shortly. Interestingly, the hackers lost coins during this attempt. We will donate this to Binance Charity."

 - @cz_binance | https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/971520303812698112

While the exchange is running normally today, traders have been warned to improve their security to avoid phishing attempts. This can be achieved by bookmarking the official Binance URL and never clicking a link to the trading platform. The official statement from the company reminds readers that “protecting our traders is and has always been our highest priority”, and the fast-acting alarm system did just that.

Whilst Binance managed to prevent the loss of its user’s funds, other platforms haven’t been so lucky. Earlier this year CoinCheck lost $530m of traders cryptocurrency, and the BitGrail exchange lost $170m of Nano. Using centralized exchanges can be highly risky, and this week’s events come as a reminder to be extra vigilant and maximize online security.


Source: https://www.ccn.com/binance-reverses-hacker-trades/

Circle’s Coinbase-Like Cryptocurrency Investing App Enters Closed Beta



Fintech startup Circle’s Coinbase-like cryptocurrency investing app “Circle Invest” has entered a closed beta.

It’s not clear exactly when the Circle Invest beta opened, but users began reporting that they had received invitations on March 6. I received my invitation the next day, at which time Google Play indicated that roughly 100 users had downloaded the Android version of the app.

Circle Invest provides retail investors with access to Circle Trade, the company’s institutional trading desk. The platform does not charge commission, instead skimming its revenue from the spread between the buy and sell price, which Circle says will average one percent depending on market conditions.

The app has a simple interface that features overall portfolio tracking as well as modules for each individual cryptocurrency.



Source: Circle Invest

At present, the app supports Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Ethereum Classic (ETC). Notably absent is Ripple’s XRP token, which is featured in images advertising Circle Invest but is not currently available in the app’s beta version.

Circle advertises that users will have instant access to their funds (up to $10,000 per week), and they can invest with as little as $1. However, users who abuse the system by making purchases with insufficient funds in their linked bank accounts will lose the ability to make instant buys.

Users are unable to make cryptocurrency deposits during this phase of the beta, but the company says deposits will be added in the future. The app is also currently only available to US customers, though several states are excluded due to their money transmitter regulations.

Unfortunately, I was unable to test the app’s core functionality, as a bug caused the app to crash when I attempted to register an account. This may be because my mobile device is several generations old, but in any case, I expect it to be addressed in a later update.

Circle has not yet revealed a specific target date for the app’s production release, but it has said in the past it expects Circle Invest to go live in 2018. When it does, it will join a growing list of competitors to Coinbase, the dominant force in the US cryptocurrency brokerage market.

As CCN reported, fintech darlings Square and Robinhood have recently begun adding support for cryptocurrency trading. Square Cash’s US customers can buy and sell Bitcoin through its mobile app, while Robinhood has rolled out Bitcoin and Ethereum trading to users in five states.

However, of the three, Circle Invest is the app which most closely mirrors Coinbase eponymous brokerage app, and — owing to its former life as a Bitcoin exchange,  its profitable trading desk, and its recent acquisition of cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex — it is also the firm with the deepest roots in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.


Source: https://www.ccn.com/circles-coinbase-like-cryptocurrency-investing-app-enters-closed-beta/

Umm... Women problem, you should sell at least 25% of your crypto savings and give her the money that way you can have a peace of mind. The problem with women when it comes to money they lose their mind, and if you don't provide a quick solution by giving her some you're going to be in serious trouble. I believe by now, you've learned a very good lesson; which never shows all your investments to a woman because the majority of them only know how to spend not to invest for long-term.

Nigeria's Central Bank Again Warns on Crypto Investments




The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reiterated its warning against cryptocurrency investments.

In a press release issued Wednesday, the CBN warned residents and financial institutions that cryptocurrency investments are unprotected, and investors face risks such as exchange bankruptcy and market volatility.

The release states that dealers in cryptocurrency, such as NairaEx, a Nigeria-based bitcoin trading platform, are "not licensed or regulated by the CBN."

The commentary follows previous messages sent to Nigerian financial institutions in early 2017, in which the CBN advised domestic banks to distance themselves from cryptocurrencies, warning "not to use, hold or transact in any way with the technology."

Despite that, the remarks come at a time when Nigeria has seen growing interest in cryptocurrency investments. According to data from Coindance, weekly trading volume on Localbitcoins in Nigeria surged 500 percent in 2017.

As previously reported by CoinDesk, Nigeria was among the top countries using the "bitcoin" search term, according to Google Trends in 2017, alongside South Africa, Slovenia, Netherlands and Austria.

However, according to a report by Quartz Africa, partially accounting for Nigeria's internet search levels - in addition to controls placed on the country's capital outflow - is a bitcoin-related Ponzi scheme that reportedly resulted in 2 million residents losing a combined $50 million in early 2017.


Source: https://www.coindesk.com/nigerias-central-bank-again-warns-on-crypto-investments/

Goldman Sachs Keeps Criticizing Bitcoin, But There Are Certain Ties




Going back as far as 2014, when interest in Bitcoin was a mere drop of what it is today, Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs were already scoffing at the digital currency and the interest it was developing.

Goldman has been slowly coming around though, for one of the Wall Street powerhouses, with their CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, happy to talk and mull the potential of Bitcoin and Blockchain. However, the bank has not yet delivered directly into Bitcoin. But,  the latest move by mobile payment app Circle to acquire a rather large crypto trading exchange, Poloniex, could see Goldman getting more involved because of their $50 mln investment in the Circle.


Circle’s game plan

Mobile trading apps entering the waters of cryptocurrency is nothing new. The latest example is RobinHood, which has made the headlines recently with its decision to support crypto trading, but with zero-fees.

Circle announced in the past few days that it had acquired Poloniex, in what it called an extension of “its commitment to a new vision for global finance.” The goal for Circle with this acquisition, according to their announcement, is to create “an open global token marketplace.” This will be done through one of the three branches that makes up Circle, called Circle Invest, with its tag line being “crypto without the cryptic.”

On Poloniex’s side, the company which has been fraught with customer support and scaling issues welcomed the partnership. They announced:

   “To bringing Circle's experience to increase the scalability and reliability of our platform and operations. User experience is paramount. If we aspire to build a token marketplace that will change the fundamentals of global value exchange, we cannot settle for anything less than excellence in our product.”

Clearly, it’s positive for both platforms when the traditional mobile payment app heads into cryptocurrency and aids with its mainstream development. And on the other hand, this is a positive move for the cryptomarket as it allows easier access to those who have not ventured in already. However, the underlying benefactor of all this could well be a Wall Street Bank, so often touted as the enemy of the decentralized finance system that is steadily becoming a force to be reckoned with.
Ties to Goldman Sachs

Through Goldman’s history with Bitcoin, the bank has gone from denouncing it to proclaiming it cannot be ignored, to mulling its potential over, to investing in Blockchain, and finally being rumored to be opening their own trading desk. The trading desk rumors were refuted by Goldman Sachs as they look to be stopping just short of getting their hands dirty with cryptocurrencies directly.  

Goldman Sachs has been building their relationship with Circle since 2013 when Michele Burns, a board member at Goldman Sachs joined the board at Jeremy Allaire’s startup, Circle. From there, Goldman showed its appreciation of the global vision that Circle was proclaiming and put its money where its mouth is by investing $50 mln into the Boston-based company in May 2015.

Managing Director Tom Jessop, who heads the firm’s Principal Strategic Investments Group to focus on strategic investments within the financial technology industry, said back then:

    “We think that Circle’s product vision and exceptional management team present a compelling opportunity in the digital payments space.”

This seems to be a move by the Wall Street Bank to get its fingers in the crypto pie without getting delving fully into the crypto trading business. It has a large investment in a company which has acquired a cryptocurrency exchange. Regulators have reacted well to this acquisition with a leaked document showing that the SEC is happy to ease off on some of its charges against Poloniex.


Full: https://cointelegraph.com/news/goldman-sachs-keeps-criticizing-bitcoin-but-there-are-certain-ties

Bitcoin ‘Bubble Is Necessary’ To Test Endurance, Says Hedge Fund Founder Bill Miller




Bill Miller, multi-millionaire investor and founder of hedge fund Miller Value Partners, shared his positive view on the cryptocurrency market sell-off and talked about why it should not scare investors in a FOXBusiness exclusive interview Feb. 28.

Calling himself a Bitcoin “observer”, rather than a Bitcoin “believer” or “evangelist”, in the interview Miller compared Bitcoin with other major inventions throughout history, stating:

    “What I observed with bitcoin is that it’s following a very time-honored path of disruptive innovation going all the way back to the printing press, railroad, electricity, radio in the 1920s, biotech, the internet.”

While many on Wall Street are worried that cryptocurrencies are a bubble worse than the Nasdaq in 2000, and some even forecast Bitcoin dropping to as low as $1,000 this year, Miller says that the market actually needs this “bubble” to find out whether the idea of this new technology can be adopted.

“Bubbles are necessary to bring capital into the market to see if these innovations are actually going to stand,” the famous investor argued, citing the idea of ‘Diffusion Of Innovations’ by Everett M. Rogers.

In December 2017, the same month Bitcoin prices soared to a record high of $20,000 per coin, Miller said that almost 50 percent of the money from his hedge fund was invested in Bitcoin. In July, 2017, Miller shared in an interview that he has been holding a modest one percent of his own assets in Bitcoin since 2014.

Others on Wall Street don’t share Miller’s optimistic view towards cryptocurrencies. In Jan. 2018, banking giant Merrill Lynch banned its financial advisors from buying cryptocurrency-related investments for clients, citing concerns “pertaining to suitability and eligibility standards of this product”.


Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-bubble-is-necessary-to-test-endurance-says-hedge-fund-founder-bill-miller

CBOE Completes Upgrade, Other Crypto Futures Coming?




When the Commodity Futures and Trading Commission announced that two major exchanges could begin to offer bitcoin futures to investors, people in the crypto community heralded it as a triumphant day.

This decision was announced on December 1, 2017, and the price of Bitcoin rose 13% on this news. It was seen as a significant move into more mainstream finance for cryptocurrencies. For the first time, they were being acknowledged in a significant way by a leading government agency.

Both CBOE Global Markets Inc and CME Group were given the go-ahead to start offering these futures, which allow institutional investors to get involved with bitcoin in a much easier and more significant manner.

While the performance of these futures to date has been mixed due to volatile bitcoin prices since the turn of the year, it now appears that other cryptocurrencies will soon have their own futures contracts available for trade.


The Rumors

CBOE Global Markets Inc made a statement on Tuesday informing the public that they have completed a technology upgrade for their futures exchange over this past weekend.

On January 17 the company’s President Chris Concannon admitted that it is a sensible idea to eventually have derivatives for a variety of digital currencies, but his company’s exchange would not be in a position to launch these futures until their system’s software had been updated. Now that this has been completed, there is nothing standing in their way of a variety of instruments on the entire spectrum of cryptocurrencies.


First Cryptocurrencies in Line?

While Concannon did not go into detail about what cryptocurrencies CBOE would be focusing on initially, there has been a lot of speculation doing the rounds in the crypto community.

Bitcoin currently sits at the top of the crypto mountain with $178 billion worth being in circulation. There are an additional four digital currencies that exceed a market cap of $10 billion and they are Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin.

It would make sense that one or more of these higher market cap tokens would be high on the list of priorities for a derivate launch by CBOE.


The Upgrades

There was significant work done on the CBOE Futures Exchange, including a latency reduction exceeding 80%. Transaction speed is extremely important for traders as a delay of even a couple seconds can have dramatic effects on the outcome of a trade.

They have also made improvements to the order-by-order data feed, bandwidth thresholds, self-trade prevention, risk controls and complex spread order handling.

People are wondering if CBOE’s competitor with bitcoin futures, CME Group will be following their lead and looking to launch futures for other cryptocurrencies. The CME Group seems to be taking a more cautious approach to expansion and will most likely watch to see what happens with CBOE’s new offerings to see how they perform before making a firm decision.


Source: https://www.ccn.com/cboe-completes-upgrade-other-crypto-futures-coming/

Why Bill Gates’ Remarks on Bitcoin ‘Deaths’ are Flawed at Every Level




This week, billionaire investor and Microsoft founder Bill Gates had controversial remarks on cryptocurrencies, claiming that bitcoin has caused deaths in a direct way.

Gates said:

    “The main feature of crypto currencies is their anonymity. I don’t think this is a good thing. The Governments ability to find money laundering and tax evasion and terrorist funding is a good thing. Right now crypto currencies are used for buying fentanyl and other drugs so it is a rare technology that has caused deaths in a fairly direct way. I think the speculative wave around ICOs and crypto currencies is super risky for those who go long.”

False argument 1: Anonymity is the main feature of cryptocurrencies

Anonymity is definitely not the main feature of cryptocurrencies and for the past 9 years, bitcoin has been criticized for its poor privacy. Bitcoin is transparent, and its transactions are accessible on the blockchain network through blockchain explorers. In fact, many companies like Bitfury work with the government to untangle bitcoin transactions.

The existence of strict Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) systems on all major cryptocurrency exchanges also make it nearly impossible for hackers or criminals to steal funds in cryptocurrencies and cash them out to fiat money without triggering AML systems.

As MIT’s Mike Orcutt wrote in a piece entitled “Criminals Thought Bitcoin Was the Perfect Hiding Place, but They Thought Wrong,” and as blockchain data analysis company Chainalysis co-founder Jonathan Levin emphasized, many cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and Ethereum are not anonymous, and transparent by nature.


False argument 2: Drug purchases with bitcoin caused deaths

Criminals utilize all types of technologies to carry out criminal activities. Namely, cars, airplanes, fiat money, and even the Windows software. One can claim that Microsoft is responsible for bitcoin purchases and drug purchases with bitcoin given that the majority of bitcoin purchases are made on desktop, using the Microsoft Windows software.

More importantly, despite the growth of the dark web, the vast majority of drug purchases are made in fiat money like the US dollar. Research done by CNN in 2009 demonstrated that 90 percent of the US dollar had traces of cocaine. The US dollar or any other form of fiat money is popular amongst drug traffickers and distributors because fiat money is the true form of anonymous money, as cash cannot be traced.

CCN reported that the US dollar is so overwhelmingly used in cocaine trade that physical traces of actual cocaine powder can be found on 90 percent of banknotes. “When the machine gets contaminated, it transfers the cocaine to the other banknotes. These bills have fewer remnants of cocaine. Some of the dollars in his experiment had .006 micrograms, which is several thousands of times smaller than a single grain of sand,” Yuegang Zuo, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth said.


False argument 3: It is a Good Thing That Governments Find Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Money Laundering

Oleg Andreev, product architect at blockchain company Chain, stated that this argument is false because it requires the people to trust in the government to do the right, moral, and ethical thing with tax money, which isn’t always the case.

It is not possible for the people, with absolute certainty, trust the government to not commit money laundering and money laundering when well-regulated banks are busted on a regular basis for carrying out massive money laundering schemes.

“Wrong. The governments’ ability to do things rests on large-scale extortion. Governments themselves run giant money scams, extract nominal fees from banks that launder money, fund terrorists around the world and finance unimaginable range of guns and other sadistic devices such as prisons, public schools and DMVs,” wrote Andreev.


Source: https://www.ccn.com/bill-gates-remarks-bitcoin-deaths-flawed-every-level/

$776 Million: Cryptocurrency Miners Bought 3 Million GPUs in 2017, Research Reveals




As covered by CCN, last year’s cryptocurrency mining ‘boom’ has led to a shortage in the GPU market. So much so that reports suggest using GPUs to mine cryptocurrencies is stopping us from finding aliens, as these are also used in observatories. New data shows crypto miners actually bought 3 million GPUs last year, worth roughly $776 million.

This, according to a new report published by Jon Peddie Research (JPR) that found AMD is emerging as the primary cryptocurrency ‘mining rush’ benefactor over Nvidia. The numbers have a major impact on the market as a whole and have even incurred the wrath of gamers, while chip manufacturers have seen the value of their shares soar

Dr. Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Research, stated:

   “Gaming has been and will continue to be the primary driver for GPU sales, augmented by the demand from cryptocurrency miners. We expect demand to slacken from the miners as margins drop in response increasingly utilities costs and supply and demand forces that drive up AIB prices.”

AMD’s market share reportedly increased by around 8.1 percent, while Nvidia’s share went down by 6 percent. Last year, notably, the GPU market as a whole dipped 4.8 percent. The preference for AMD over Nvidia could be justified by the lower price tag in its GPUs. Nvidia’s CEO has recently stated cryptocurrencies aren’t going away, and the company has prioritized gamers over cryptocurrency miners amid the graphics card shortage.

Nvidia’s move, however, isn’t believed to have been what drove AMD’s sales up, but rather the potential ROI (return on investment) cryptocurrency miners could obtain by buying cheaper graphics cards from AMD.

Last year, both companies entertained the idea of creating cheaper cryptocurrency mining GPUs, although the gaming market is still their primary concern. JTR’s analysis notes that cryptocurrency miners can be, for now, an attractive audience for chip manufacturers, which means prices aren’t likely going down anytime soon.

As a solution, Dr. Peddie suggests gamers use their GPUs to mine cryptocurrencies when they aren’t using them for gaming. This, he suggests, will help them pay premiums and help them avoid getting priced out of the GPU market.


Source: https://www.ccn.com/776-million-cryptocurrency-miners-bought-3-million-gpus-2017-research-says/

Don’t Tell Jamie! JPMorgan Admits Cryptocurrencies Could Disrupt Banks




JP Morgan Chase, the largest bank in the US, has formally acknowledged that cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology could disrupt banks.
JPMorgan Admits Cryptocurrencies Could Disrupt Banks

The firm made this admission in its annual report, which was dated Feb. 27 and filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Deep in the 301-page document, JPMorgan — which manages $2.53 trillion in assets according to recent estimates — listed cryptocurrencies and peer-to-peer technology as potential disruptors to financial institutions and payment processors.

    “Furthermore, both financial institutions and their non-banking competitors face the risk that payment processing and other services could be disrupted by technologies, such as cryptocurrencies, that require no intermediation,” the bank wrote in the filing. “New technologies have required and could require JPMorgan Chase to spend more to modify or adapt its products to attract and retain clients and customers or to match products and services offered by its competitors, including technology companies.”

Notably, the report was signed by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, a noted Bitcoin skeptic who has repeatedly lambasted the flagship cryptocurrency as a “fraud” and once threatened to fire any employees caught trading cryptoassets, although he recently walked back some of these comments.


Banks Sweat as Crypto Interest Booms

JPMorgan is at least the third major financial institution to cite cryptocurrencies as a business risk in its annual report for 2017.

Last week, Bank of America — the second-largest US bank — admitted that cryptocurrencies and other blockchain-based financial services present a threat to its business model, adding that it fears it anti-money laundering systems will need a facelift to account for cryptocurrency-related transactions.

Both JPMorgan and Bank of America noted that increasing adoption of cryptocurrencies could force them to make significant expenditures to ensure their products and services remain competitive.

Goldman Sachs — whose $917 billion in assets rank fifth among US institutions — also listed cryptocurrency as a business risk. The report said that Goldman’s concerns were primarily related the firm’s investment in startups that operate in the nascent cryptoasset space, such as Circle, which owns one of the most profitable cryptocurrency trading desks and recently acquired cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex. If flaws are exposed in the underlying technology, those firms could suffer losses, reducing the value of Goldman’s ownership stakes.


Source: https://www.ccn.com/dont-tell-jamie-jpmorgan-admits-cryptocurrencies-disrupt-banks/