Bitcoin Alternative ZCash Offers Anonymity And Law Enforcement Surveillance Protection

 Even though Wilcox claims his startup is not aimed at making illegal activities easier for criminals, he is quick to note how his company will not be liable for ZCash applications in a criminal environment.

Bitcoin has often been touted as an untraceable and anonymous digital currency, even though it is neither at its core. Strangely enough, mainstream media has forgotten all about the headlines they wrote until a few weeks ago, as an untraceable Bitcoin alternative has launched. ZCash looks to bring anonymity to the digital currency ecosystem, making it perfect for those who wish to use it on underground online marketplaces.

http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/01/21/bitcoin-alternative-zcash-offers-anonymity-law-enforcement-surveillance-protection/

Bank consortium R3CEV successfully tests Bitcoin tech in traditional bank transactions

R3CEV, a startup dedicated to bringing blockchain technology to traditional finance, yesterday ran a successful test of transactions between 11 of the world’s largest financial institutions. This represents a big step forward in bringing blockchain, the foundation for Bitcoin, to traditional banking.

The test, which connected the banks on a private ‘distributed ledger’ using Microsoft’s cloud-based Azure service, allowed participants to execute sample financial transactions instantly, globally, and without a centralized third-party clearing house.

https://thestack.com/cloud/2016/01/21/bank-consortium-r3cev-successfully-tests-bitcoin-tech-in-traditional-bank-transactions/

Bitcoin Price Up; More Gains Today?

 After yesterday's bullish action, can the bitcoin price gain further strength today or are we set for a short to medium term correction? Here's our take.
Yesterday was a big day in the bitcoin space. In the wake of Hearn’s damning essay at the end of last week, the bitcoin price staged one of its sharpest declines of the year, and bottomed out around $350 flat – a level not seen since the beginning of December last year. A couple of days of consolidation, during which the bitcoin price traded essentially flat between a very tight range, brought us to yesterday afternoon. Across this period our analyses compared this range bound action to the coiling we often see in more traditional financial asset markets – a coiling that generally precedes a sharp breakout in one direction or the other. Why? Because the bulls and bears are at loggerheads for so long that it builds up a residual pressure, and when the range breaks, this pressure (be it buy or sell) forces volatility. More often than not these breaks require a fundamental catalyst – one impactful enough to shift sentiment to favor one direction or the other.

http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/01/21/bitcoin-price-up-more-gains-today/

The North American Bitcoin Conference warmed in Miami


The North American Bitcoin Conference, TNABC, opened Wednesday with an energetic group of Bitcoin supporters who view the cryptocurrency as the next exciting chapter in Financial Technology.

The conference holds two days of presentations and discussions from the brightest minds in FinTech delivering the technologies which will define innovative payment and transfer systems around the globe.

The annual meeting event began with attention to blockchain, the public ledger for all Bitcoin transactions ever executed. Wayne Vaughn, CEO of Tierion, titled his presentation: “Recording Data on the Blockchain.” Tierion provides cloud-based blockchain storage of data collection and connection to their web, mobile and business apps for its clients.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/north-american-bitcoin-conference-warmed-miami/

R3 CEV Takes on Bitcoin with Launch of Private Distributed Ledger Pilot

R3 CEV is a New York-based financial innovation firm that Mike Hearn joined as the chief platform officer after his announcement that Bitcoin was a “failed experiment.” R3 focuses on distributed ledger technology and has partnered with 42 banks around the world, such as Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Toronto Dominion, over the past year to create a blockchain consortium of financial institutions.

R3 CEV believes in the value of a private “permissioned” blockchain, rather than a public “permissionless” blockchain. The entire world has access to a permissionless ledger, and it requires a digital asset, such as bitcoin, to operate as a financial incentive to encourage people and businesses to contribute their computing power to secure the network. This also deters fraud as the network grows larger. Only a select group of trusted parties is required to maintain a permissioned blockchain.

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/r-cev-takes-on-bitcoin-with-launch-of-private-distributed-ledger-pilot-1453321957

Bitcoin is not dying


Between last Thursday and Saturday, Bitcoin lost over 13% of its value to settle at below $365 for the first time since early December last year. That’s a long fall from the net gain of 35% last year that made it the “best performing currency of 2015.”

This is despite the fact that global stock, derivatives, and financial markets were all at that same time moving in the negative due to the effects of the Chinese economic downturn, a situation that would normally have sent the price of Bitcoin on an upward trajectory.

What sent the currency into a dive was the news last week that Mike Hearn, one of the core developers of the software that runs the system, had decided to quit. And not only that, he had issued a scathing attack on the cryptocurrency in the process.

That the British computer programmer, who worked for Google before joining Bitcoin, was getting frustrated over the back and forth arguing within the Bitcoin community on the best way to scale the Bitcoin system, could not be further from news.

http://venturebeat.com/2016/01/20/bitcoin-is-not-dying/

Dutch cops arrest 10 over bitcoin money laundering scheme

Dutch authorities have arrested 10 men accused of using bitcoin to launder up to EUR20 million made from selling drugs online.

The arrests were made following raids on 15 addresses throughout the country which saw bank accounts, bitcoin accounts, cash, luxury cars and chemicals used for making ecstasy seized.

http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=28360

Coinbase adds Bitcoin Price Alerts to mobile apps


Bitcoin exchange expert Coinbase is known for regularly bolstering the capabilities of its Bitcoin Wallet mobile applications. Following the recent addition of Bitcoin price charts, new languages and consolidated account balances, the company has made the next step towards improving users’ experience.

The latest update to the mobile applications for both iOS and Android devices adds Bitcoin Price Alerts. These function as push notifications. The point is to help traders buy and sell bitcoin globally easier at the right time on mobile.

https://leaprate.com/2016/01/coinbase-adds-bitcoin-price-alerts-to-mobile-apps/

Bitcoins Aren’t Dead – They’re Actually Growing Faster Than We Can Handle


There’s tension in the bitcoin community – it’s never been this bad. There’s drama. Good developers like Mike Hearn are leaving the community, although his writing the cryptocurrency off was not the best thing to do. But let’s discuss why this is happening at all.

So, all the actors involved in the current crisis want bitcoins to succeed. More importantly, they want it to scale – they want the cryptocurrency’s capabilities to increase. When bitcoin was launched in 2008, scale wasn’t on anyone’s mind because it was a fascinating new experiment and everyone knew there’d be a lot of kinks to iron out. When Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of the experiment, wrote the code that’d implement bitcoins, he imposed an arbitrary cap of 1 MB on a block. A block is the nuclear unit of the blockchain that determines how much computing capacity is available to verify transactions. And the block size stayed that way because the people participating in the experiment didn’t expect it to become a problem. Plus, you could do a lot with 1 MB.

http://thewire.in/2016/01/21/bitcoins-arent-dead-theyre-actually-growing-faster-than-we-can-handle-19727/

The UK's Chief Scientific Adviser and Scientist Recommends Bitcoin's Blockchain


In a new major report submitted by the Chief Scientific Adviser of the UK today, the government’s Chief Scientist Sir Mark Walport explained the innovation has the potential to help governance to politicians and leaders of authority.

The report, titled ‘Distributed Ledger Technology: Beyond Block chain’ sees Sir Mark Walport explain how distributed ledger technology or the blockchain can help governments collect taxes, issue passports, deliver benefits and “ensure the integrity of government records and services.

https://youtu.be/4sm5LNqL5j0

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/uk-chief-scientist-bitcoin-blockchain/

Bitcoin exchange Kraken buys Coinsetter, Cavirtex


Jan 19 Global bitcoin exchange Kraken said on Tuesday it is acquiring digital currency exchanges Coinsetter and Cavirtex, strengthening its expansion in North America.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

San Francisco-based Kraken, the world's largest bitcoin exchange as measured in euro volume and liquidity, will fully absorb the Coinsetter and Cavirtex brands, it said in a statement.

New York-based Coinsetter was founded in 2012 and targeted institutional clients. In April last year, it acquired Cavirtex, Canada's first bitcoin exchange.

"Coinsetter has a lot of synergies with us and it's pretty clean," Kraken Chief Executive Officer Jesse Powell said in an interview with Reuters.

"There's a lot of companies that you can do a deal with. But Coinsetter has certainly a cautious approach to the United States and it doesn't have contingent liabilities hanging around its head and that's pretty appealing to us."

Client accounts of both Coinsetter and Cavirtex will be automatically transferred to Kraken's platform on Jan. 26, the company statement said.

For strategic reasons, including a cautious approach to compliance, Kraken had previously focused on developing market share outside the United States, especially Europe. Kraken's average bitcoin/euro trading volume is 5,000 to 7,000 bitcoins per day.

Its bitcoin/dollar volume, however, is only one-tenth of its European turnover, Powell said, and with the acquisition, Kraken hopes to double that.

Powell said Kraken is taking two of Coinsetter's employees, while the latter's chief executive officer and founder, Jaron Lukasiewicz, will stay temporarily as an adviser before moving to other projects.

"I've always thought that there are just too many businesses for the current price of bitcoin," Powell said. "There are just too many exchanges out there. If we put our businesses together, we may have a better shot."

Bitcoin on Tuesday last traded at $385, down 0.1 percent.

http://www.reuters.com/article/coinsetter-ma-kraken-idINL2N15310R

that is why death penalty is necessary to punish such criminals

A 13-month-old girl was sexually assaulted by her father shortly before her sudden death in December 2012, a judge has ruled.


http://news.sky.com/story/1625559/toddler-abused-by-dad-before-sudden-death

Cryptocurrency consolidation: Canadian bitcoin exchange bought out by Kraken


TORONTO - A Canadian bitcoin exchange will be acquired by a San Francisco-based exchange, a move that signals consolidation may be afoot in the so-called cryptocurrency world.

Bitcoin exchanges are described as the on-ramps and off-ramps of the bitcoin world, allowing users to trade their cash for the digital currency, or vice versa.

Cavirtex, a Canadian exchange, was originally launched in 2011. In April 2015 it was acquired by Coinsetter, a New York-based exchange that targets Wall Street traders.

Following the deal, both exchanges continued to operate as separate entities.

Kraken, a global bitcoin exchange headquartered in San Francisco, says it will acquire both Cavirtex and Coinsetter for an undisclosed amount, and will consolidate the two exchanges under its own brand. Client accounts will be transferred to the new platform on Jan. 26.

Bitcoin is a virtual currency that is not controlled by an authority such as a central bank, and is exchanged through peer-to-peer computer networks.

Kyle Kemper, senior vice-president of global business development at Coinsetter, says the deal will provide Canadians using the Cavirtex exchange with more liquidity and the ability to swap their bitcoins for a broader array of foreign currencies.

"Before with Cavirtex you were only able to trade the Bitcoin-Canadian dollar pair," says Kemper.

"Now Canadians will also be able to trade Bitcoin-U.S. dollar, Bitcoin-euro, Bitcoin-Great British pound, Bitcoin-Japanese yen."

Kemper says the dramatic spike in the value of bitcoin in 2013 — which skyrocketed to more than US$1,000 before subsequently falling lower — caused a slew of new exchanges to open up shop.

Now the exchanges are beginning to consolidate, a sign that Kemper says indicates the cryptocurrency industry is starting to mature.

"The industry is definitely maturing," said Kemper. "The central banks are talking about it. The regular banks are talking about. The technology behind it is getting all sorts of play."

The deal will also see Kraken launch an advertising campaign for Bitcoin in Toronto, encouraging Canadians to purchase the cryptocurrency.

"We've been servicing the bitcoin community, but now it's about reaching out to the larger community as well," said Kemper.

 http://www.vancouversun.com/business/cryptocurrency+consolidation+canadian+bitcoin+exchange+bought/11661708/story.html

the best way to earn bitcoin is to offer your sevices and get paid with bitcoin.
if you can design graphic or videos or you can do some programming stuff, you can get good revenue through them.
and if you do not have these skills, then invest some time learning any skill better than wasting your time in faucets

Bitcoin Company Guarantees Financial Transactions, Effectively Enabling Instant Transfers

If Bitcoin is to become more widely used, it will need to offer financial services that are not currently available today — either by traditional financial players or startups.

One reason that many believe the technology behind Bitcoin — often called blockchain technology — to be superior to the traditional banking system is the speed of transactions. While a typical bank transfer might take three days, moving money from one person to another only takes, on average, 10 minutes using Bitcoin.

Even then, the recipient cannot be completely certain the spender will not send those Bitcoin elsewhere for another hour, if not more.

However, today, Bitcoin security company BitGo announces a feature called BitGo Instant which allows for — you guessed it — instantaneous Bitcoin transactions that are immediately guaranteed at certain merchants.

“Time is money,” said Ben Davenport, BitGo’s cofounder and chief technology officer. “People want to move money quickly, especially when you have volatility and people want to move money to the exchange that has the best price.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2016/01/19/bitcoin-company-guarantees-financial-transactions-effectively-enabling-instant-transfers/#2715e4857a0b52bec8f32533

BitGo Launches 'Instant' Bitcoin Transaction Tool

Bitcoin security firm BitGo has launched a new service that aims to allow clients to accept bitcoin transactions prior to their official confirmation on the blockchain.

Called BitGo Instant, the offering aims to allow users to accept transactions more quickly, while guarding against the possibility that funds could be 'double spent' or otherwise altered before they settle against the bitcoin ledger.

At launch, BitGo said major exchanges including Bitstamp, Bitfinex and Kraken had already signed on as users of the service. Other notable partners include altcoin trading service ShapeShift and the e-commerce app Fold.

http://www.coindesk.com/bitgo-instant-bitcoin-transaction-tool/

R.I.P. Bitcoin. It’s time to move on.

Not long ago, venture capitalists were talking about how Bitcoin was going to transform the global currency system and render governments powerless to police monetary transactions.  Now the cryptocurrency is fighting for survival.  The reality came to light on January 14, when its influential developer, Mike Hearn, declared Bitcoin a failure and disclosed that he had sold all of his Bitcoins.  The price of Bitcoin fell 10% in a single day on the news, a sad result for those who are losing money on it.

Bitcoin did have great potential, but it is damaged beyond repair.  A replacement is badly needed.

Most currency and transaction systems today are opaque, inefficient, and expensive.  Take the North American Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ, as an example.  It is amongst the most technologically advanced in the world.  Yet if I buy or sell a share of Facebook on the NASDAQ, I have to wait several days for the trade to finalize and clear.  This is unacceptable; it should take milliseconds.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2016/01/19/r-i-p-bitcoin-its-time-to-move-on/

yeah E-coin was giving visa at first  but recently they started giving mastercard only.
I think there is no difference between both of them except when one wants to verify PayPal

Quoted and verified

http://coinig.com/?adr=1sambazjH4zgySS7LxMLjVzPAqWtnSF2j&msg=I%27am+Sambalado+from+bitcointalk.+Today+is+January+19%2C+2016%2C+11%3A34%3A15+AM&sig=HCwI%2FbjZ0bOcxHYFjuHr8pWVMRG61Tqcob7Pm29OEtCCdNmbdDgS9qjMIRGvLdiYsFJ5z%2Bq1MWMMi6YvcpbleqE%3D

Bitcoin Platform First Global Credit Adds Shares Traded on London Stock Exchange



Bitcoin margin trading platform First Global Credit has announced that is expanding its range of available equities by including shares that are traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The trading platform, which reportedly entertains circa $2 million worth of stock trades every month, is among the first and the foremost companies to have used Bitcoin as a collateral margin to trade traditional equities. It means that traders do not have to lose access to their Bitcoin holdings; instead, they can use these holdings as margins to secure position in stocks and ETFs.

http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/01/18/28892/