We also took a closer look at RouterHosting, a company that accepts Bitcoin payments since 2013.

http://themerkle.com/bitcoin-vps-service-review-routerhosting/

RouterHosting a company every Bitcoin user looking for a VPS service should look into. The company offers competitive pricing and a wide variety of server options.


Let us know about your experiences with this company, and don't forget to leave a review on the site as well!

What is rather interesting are the investors themselves. Digital Currency Group is no surprise to anyone, nor is Boost VC. At the same time, several Indian investors, such as Mumbai Angles and ah! Ventures took part in this fund raising round. This seems to indicate Indian enterprises are slowly warming up to Bitcoin for its innovative purposes.

http://themerkle.com/unocoin-raises-us1-5m-to-boost-bitcoin-penetration-in-india/

It is evident for everyone to see OneCoin is not legitimate. The company even claims to double users’ holdings on October 1st, which should make them twice as rich all of a sudden. Unless you are a central bank – which OneCoin is not – creating money out of thin air at 100% inflation is impossible.

http://themerkle.com/the-end-is-near-for-onecoin-as-london-police-launches-investigation/

The biggest question mark is the amount of money BitDay promises to its investors. Even the smallest investment package claims to offer a whopping 11% daily return, for the lifetime of the account. That would put investors in profit after just ten days, which is impossible. Keeping in mind how this plan supports deposits of up to 300 Bitcoin, they would have to return 33 Bitcoin per day for large investors. Very unlikely, if not an outright scam.

http://themerkle.com/bitcoin-scam-site-warning-bitday/

The ultimate objective of the FirstBlood platform is to let eSports players win rewards for being successful in their games. To do so, an on-platform token, called 1SF, has been created. This token can also be used to host tournaments and vote as a jury member. A total of 79,103,203.391 tokens were created when the crowdsale took place earlier today.

http://themerkle.com/ethereum-based-esports-platform-firstblood-raises-us5-5m-in-mere-minutes/

Despite the growing hashrate and mining difficulty, Bitcoin network blocks are still being generated within the same time window as before. The average block time is 9.7 minutes, with six blocks being found in the past 58.2 minutes – as of one hour ago. Looking over the year 2016 so far, the Bitcoin mining hashrate has more than doubled between December 31, 2015, and September 25, 2016.

http://themerkle.com/bitcoin-mining-difficulty-reaches-all-time-high-hashrate-more-than-doubled-since-end-of-2015/

At the same time, services like BitMixer are not unique in what they can offer. It is -with some technical expertise – more than feasible for Bitcoin users to conduct their own mixing services. In doing so, they can determine whether they want to prioritize speed over transaction fees or vice versa. Using a third-party is convenient, but they may not always offer what one is looking for.

http://themerkle.com/bitmixer-user-angry-over-low-transaction-fee-causing-hours-of-delays/

This particular malware distributes itself through malicious websites, which – when visited – downloads several different malware kits onto the host computer. All of these files are either infected directly or contain a payload designed to deliver HDDCryptor. It is also worth noting the payload uses multiple open source tools, including DiskCryptor and Network Password Recovery.

http://themerkle.com/hddcryptor-ransomware-demands-one-bitcoin-to-restore-the-master-boot-record/

Cryptocurrency enthusiasts will have noticed how the top twenty blockchain assets have seen a significant increase in trading volumes. However, the number of secure solutions for asset holders is relatively limited, unless they only hold Bitcoin. For most enthusiasts, that is not the case, though, which makes hardware wallet support all the more important.

http://themerkle.com/keepkey-is-the-worlds-first-hardware-cryptocurrency-wallet-to-integrate-shapeshift-io/

The attention economy is a topic that is often kicked around, yet few people seem to grasp its repercussions. In the end, it comes down to reward users for creating curating content they like. Right now, platforms such as Facebook and Twitter continue to grow thanks to the creations of others. Those content creators are not rewarded by the social networks, which makes Synereo all the more different.

http://fintechist.com/blockchain-based-social-network-synereo-announces-september-launch/

Seeing SurBTC expand to Colombia is both a surprise and a logical decision at the same time. While there are other ways to buy cryptocurrency in Colombia, an exchange platform may instil more trust. At the same time, the country is unsure as to how they will label Bitcoin, and whether or not there is a need for taxation.

http://fintechist.com/chilean-bitcoin-exchange-surbtc-expands-colombia/

That being said, the first “official” partner using the Airbitz Plugin API is Bitrefill. This mobile top-up service has been offering its services in exchange for Bitcoin for quite some time now. Keeping in mind how this service is available in over 140 countries, the functionality will become available to all Airbitz users shortly.

http://themerkle.com/airbitz-introduces-api-to-integrate-bitcoin-into-every-app/

To put this into perspective, bitFlyer revealed close to US$4.25bn in Bitcoin was traded between January and June. All in all, the trading volume is up by as much as 5,000% compared to 2015. It is also important to keep in mind bitFlyer handles nearly 40% of all Bitcoin volume in Japan.

http://fintechist.com/bitflyer-experiences-surge-bitcoin-trading-volume/

This whole ordeal poses an interesting question that will affect the future of Bitcoin as an ecosystem. Exchanges such as Bitfinex should not be allowed to get away with these shenanigans, as they are in violation of the law not just once, but twice. Unfortunately, the “legal option: will not yield much better results, and take far too long before the process is completed.

http://themerkle.com/one-disgruntled-investor-can-bring-bitfinex-down-for-good/

Even though it has been a few weeks since Andrew’s passing, the Bitcoin Center NYC team has decided to hold a funeral mass at the Greek Orthodox St. Ignatius Loyola Church later today. Anyone who is interested in attending the event can do so, although RSVPing through the Meetup page may not be a bad idea.

http://themerkle.com/bitcoin-center-nyc-cto-andrew-martin-passes-away-at-age-21/

Other surprises include how Kraken is not represented among the top 10 popular Bitcoin exchange platforms. To be more precise, Kraken is found in the “others” category, but they are not one of the top places people go to. This is rather strange, considering their process to buy or sell cryptocurrency is rather frictionless. Do not be mistaken in thinking Kraken has no business, though, as they see plenty of volumes every day.

http://fintechist.com/bitfinex-remains-popular-bitcoin-exchange-despite-adversity/

What we can tell is how all of the user funds seems tp be accounted for, and withdrawals will be enabled shortly. Deposits will be resumed as well once the platform relaunches, albeit no dedicated time frame was mentioned to the public. Since there were no prior issues affecting the MeXBT platform, this news is rather shocking, to say the least.

http://themerkle.com/mexicos-third-largest-bitcoin-exchange-goes-dark/

The Bitfinex cold storage for Bitcoin is being drained once again. Not due to another hacking attempt, though, but rather because users are withdrawing their balances in full. So far, nearly 70,000 Bitcoin has been withdrawn from the wallets. Keeping in mind how the company held approximately 124,000 Bitcoin after the hack, it appears as if people are turning their back on the exchange.

http://fintechist.com/bitfinex-users-cashing-bitcoin-balances/

This news will cause some significant changes for Pantera Capital moving forward. Waterhouse was one of their more “public” representatives, who regularly spoke at conferences. Furthermore, he was also one of the first members of the company at the end of 2013. It is evident his departure will leave a void that will be difficult to fill.

http://fintechist.com/steven-waterhouse-leaves-bitcoin-vc-firm-pantera-capital/

It is important to keep in mind these recommendations are not legally binding in their current form. There is no plan to change regulation or taxation of cryptocurrency either, but it is a possibility being considered. For the time being, using Bitcoin can be done without worrying about tax, albeit doing so may be at one’s own risk.

http://themerkle.com/authorities-hint-at-potential-bitcoin-taxation-in-russia/