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The probability of the original Bitcoin blockchain or legacy chain becoming the minority chain after the November SegWit2x hard fork is slim, but Xapo has received criticism from experts in the cryptocurrency sector over its intention to list the original Bitcoin blockchain as “BC1” if the SegWit2x chain turns out to be the majority chain.

Bitcoin Investor Describes SegWit2x Support as “Commercial Suicide”

Earlier this week, prominent BItcoin investor and Atlanta Digital Currency Fund partner Alistair Milne explained in an analytical blog post that expressing public support for SegWit2x from Bitcoin and cryptocurrency startups will be an act similar to committing “commercial suicide.” Milne wrote:

“Businesses will not commit commercial suicide. The largest Bitcoin companies are already showing they will support both tokens in the interim and therefore allow the market to decide the victor. A new token cannot practically be called Bitcoin / BTC as that name is already taken and it would invite chaos.”

As Cryptocoinsnews previously reported, Bitfinex and Coinbase, two of the largest Bitcoin wallet and exchanges in the global market, have revealed their intentions to integrate support for SegWi2x, but allow the market and users to decide which chain becomes the majority chain. The Bitfinex development team went as far to explain that the original Bitcoin blockchain or legacy chain will be listed as “BTC” and “Bitcoin” even if SegWit2x gains more hashrate.

Xapo Criticized by Some of the Most Influential and Highly Regarded Experts

On October 9, Xapo, a popular Bitcoin wallet platform and Bitcoin Visa debit card service provider, was heavily criticized by some of the most influential and highly regarded experts, developers, and investors in the cryptocurrency space for its plan to list the original Bitcoin blockchain as “BC1” if SegWit2x emerges as the majority chain.

The Xapo team stated:

“Xapo’s policy in regards to forks is that, when there is a fork, we always follow the chain with the most accumulated difficulty and we make the minority chain available to our customers for them to sell or withdraw from Xapo. We are going to call the chain with the most accumulated difficulty Bitcoin or BTC . If the minority chain is the one with 1MB blocks we are going to call it BC1 and if the minority chain is the one with 2MB blocks we are going to call it BC2.”

Almost immediately after the release of Xapo’s statement, Monero creator and lead developer Riccardo Spagni, better known as “FluffyPony,” released a sarcastic statement, noting that he would create a new startup called Xapo if he gathers sufficient support and force the existing company Xapo to rebrand to XP1.

South Korea’s 500 Billion USD Consumer Market

Known as the most wired country on earth, South Korea is no stranger to using mobile devices as a way of life. The Group of 20 (G-20) nation’s tip-of-the-tongue heavyweights include Samsung, LG Electronics.

It also has the highest smartphone usage in the world.

With its focus on international trade, domestic payment systems ironically lagged.South Korean Payment App Toss to Add Bitcoin Transactions “Before Toss, users required five passwords and around 37 clicks to transfer $10,” founder Lee Seung-gun told TechCrunch.

Toss is a mobile application (app) created by Mr. Lee’s company, Viva Republica. Demand for a simplified payment system was so strong, the company has received multiple rounds of venture capital, including from Paypal (which has its own such app, Venmo).

Mr. Lee continued, “With Toss users need just 1 password and three steps to transfer up to [$430].”

Catching the Cryptocurrency Bug

Making money transfers a snap means avoiding cumbersome certification numbers, bank account information, which Toss accomplishes. It also boasts foreigners being able to use the app.

This is a nice summary of bitcoin‘s advantages.

South Koreans have embraced cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, especially in light of China’s announced crackdown, though its own government has banned Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Well-known, better established currencies such as bitcoin have benefitted from the three-pronged desires of South Koreans to absorb Chinese markets, conform to its country’s own laws, and find suitable digital payment systems.

The New York Times reports how recently “the heaviest [South Korean] trading has been in […] Bitcoin Cash, which can handle more transactions.” Cryptocurrencies are so popular, local exchanges “Bithumb and Coinone, have set up storefronts in Seoul that people can visit to buy and sell in person.”

South Korea's Appetite for Speculation Gets Reintroduced to Bitcoin as a Currency with Toss
South Korean subway.
Mr. Lee, who also heads the Korea Fintech Association, said his countrymen were pushed into the bitcoin space initially due to trading hurdles in traditional exchanges where “investing into derivatives like put options now requires hefty individual investor certification including 30 hours of training and 50 hours of simulated transactions, a turn-off for traders,” according to Forbes.

Koreans “looked into other assets with high volatility and Bitcoin was the perfect one,” he said. “So high-risk traders put their money into the Korean Bitcoin market and it went up like crazy. Once people saw that, they just poured their money in.”

As perhaps an antidote to speculative-centric, short term thinking about bitcoin, Toss has reintroduced it as a transferable currency on its system.

“From the beginning to the end,” Mr. Lee answered in an interview, “it’s all about making a difference in society, and ushering in social improvement. That’s the most and only important thing to me, and that’s why I spend so much time for this company. Because I want it to work, and I want it to contribute to our lives.”

What do you think? Can apps like Toss ease users into seeing the value of bitcoin as a currency and not just a momentary speculation? Tell us in the comments below!

Images courtesy of: 1Zoom.Me, Toss, Kore Asian Media.

Joseph Young on 11/10/2017
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After demonstrating a rapid surge in value in the past three days, the Bitcoin price has recorded a slight correction, decreasing from over $4,900 to $4,780.



Despite the correction, since October 8, within a span of three days, the Bitcoin price has increased from $4,450 to $4,780, sustaining strong upward momentum as a result of growing confidence from investors and traders over Bitcoin’s short and mid-term growth.

Possible Factors For Correction

The Bitcoin price has surged drastically over the past three days, from $4,450 to $4,980, recording a $530 increase. Normally, when the price of Bitcoin increases by over 10 percent, it tends to correct its short-term surge, providing a more stable platform to build momentum and achieve new highs.

In the upcoming days, the Bitcoin price will likely recover from its recent correction to above the $5,000 mark due to the upcoming SegWit2x hard fork in November.

Earlier this week, Bitcoin analyst and investor Tuur Demeester emphasized the decline in support of SegWit2x as a driving factor for the short-term price trend of Bitcoin. He noted that if more users, investors, the market, and businesses oppose the SegWit2x hard fork in November and the likelihood of the original Bitcoin blockchain remaining as the majority chain increases, the price of Bitcoin would likely surge in the short-term.

But, the rise in demand for Bitcoin can also be attributed to the hard fork execution of SegWit2x in November because in order for investors to obtain SegWit2x coins, which leading Bitcoin wallets and exchanges including Coinbase and Bitfinex will list as B2X, investors need to own Bitcoin prior to the SegWit2x fork.

While the replay protection implemented by the SegWit2x has been highly controversial–Jameson Lopp, the lead engineer for BitGo, went as far to describe it as a type of attack on Bitcoin–SegWit2x has implemented opt-in replay protection that would allow Bitcoin investors to be credited with SegWit2x coins or B2X tokens subsequent to the fork.

As Bitcoin developer and Paxos principal architect Jimmy Song explained:

“Segwit2x developers feel that they are going to be the majority chain after the hard fork. As such, they want all current wallets that exist in the Bitcoin ecosystem to be compatible with 2x and not require upgrades. That is, wallets and services won’t need to upgrade their software with opt-in replay protection. Their view is that strong replay protection would then cause a bigger split in the ecosystem than needs to be.”

In the short-term, the SegWit2x hard fork in November is beneficial for the price trend of Bitcoin because investors that either oppose or support the hard fork will still opt to purchase more Bitcoin for different reasons; investors that are confident the original Bitcoin blockchain would remain as the majority chain would invest in Bitcoin to hold the digital currency as it increases in value, while investors that are confident SegWit2x would evolve into a majority chain would also invest in Bitcoin to gain immediate access to SegWit2x coins after the fork.

Additionally, if the US, Japanese, and South Korean Bitcoin markets continue to demonstrate increase in demand for Bitcoin, and if the Russian government moves to licensing Bitcoin exchanges and regulating cryptocurrency trading activities as Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted this week, the price of Bitcoin could increase in the short-term.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

The government of Abu Dhabi, through its markets regulator, has released guidelines on virtual currencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs).

The government of Abu Dhabi has published [PDF] guidelines to bring clarity to its regulatory approach to ICOs and virtual currencies for ICO organizers and digital currency adopters. After deliberation, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA)– Abu Dhabi’s financial markets regulator – has decided that a “one size fits all” approach to virtual tokens, be it ICO tokens or digital currencies or any other implementation of blockchain solutions powered by crypto tokens, is “inappropriate.”

ICOs – Only Regulated if Seen as Securities

“The ICO market is incredibly diverse in terms of quality, there are some ICOs which constitute high risk,” said Christopher Kiew-Smith, head of fintech strategy at the FSRA. “The disclosures are not there, there are no financial statements, those are extremely high risk for those seeking returns.

Under the new guidelines, companies wishing to organize an ICO are now mandated to approach the FSRA where the authority will determine if the token offering is to be regulated as a security. If the FSRA determines the token falls outside the definition of a security, the token offering will remain unregulated.

The FSRA underlined ICOs as “a novel and potentially more cost-effective way of raising funds for companies and projects.” Altogether a decidedly contrasting approach to the likes of China and South Korea who imposed blanket bans on ICOs.

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FSRA chief executive director Richard Teng stated:

ICOs have transformed the capital formation landscape and global regulatory frameworks are evolving to adapt to such innovation. Participants exploring the issuance of ICOs that offer real value to the market and wish to operate within our regulatory framework are encouraged to engage us early to gain insights into the applicable regulatory regime.
Cryptocurrencies = Commodities

The FSRA, which also serves as Abu Dhabi’s financial watchdog, has determined that virtual currencies aren’t legal tender with characteristics more common with physical commodities like precious metals and fuels, due to their inherent value.

The FSRA explained:

Therefore from a regulatory perspective, virtual currencies are treated as commodities, which are not Specified Investments as defined under the FSMR. This means that a “mining” or spot transaction in virtual currencies will not constitute a Regulated Activity in itself.
Nonetheless, any regulated firms enabling or using virtual currencies for financial services will have to adhere to existing anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws.

Bitcoin Could Still be Regulated, in the Future

The Abu Dhabi regulator has not ruled out the possibility of bringing cryptocurrencies like bitcoin under its regulatory purview. Pointing to a recent FinTech pact with its regulatory counterpart in Japan, FSRA capital markets director Wai Lum Qwok revealed that the watchdog is in discussions with Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) about its regulation of bitcoin. Japan recognized bitcoin as a legal method of payment in April this year. More recently, the authority issued 11 licenses for bitcoin exchanges to operate in the country.

In notable quotes, FSRA’s capital markets director Wai Lum Qwok stated:

For us, we do see a lot of challenges in regulating something which was designed not to be regulated. We recently established a fintech reach with the Japanese FSA, and through such cooperation we hope to see how they regulate these and if there are risks they see…We are open to carving virtual currencies into the regulated space.
Featured image from Shutterstock.

Bitcoin endured a flash crash early Tuesday morning. In just a few minutes, bitcoin plummeted $600. However, it quickly regained its footing. The crash resembles the Ethereum flash crash that occurred back in June.

According to a CNBC article, bitcoin hit a high of $4,867 early on Monday. Then it dropped to nearly $4,200 instantaneously. The article said, “The digital currency had hit a high of $4,867 early on Monday, according to industry website CoinDesk, its highest since September 2. But the same index showed that it dropped by over $600 to a low of $4,200 at roughly 9:00 a.m. London time.”

Shortly after the collapse, the price recovered immediately.

Price Index and Discrepancies

The strange thing about the crash is that it was not reflected on every exchange. It was like a ghost crash. The Coindesk price index — which includes Bitstamp, Coinbase, itBit, and OKCoin — documented the crash. However, there were discrepancies. Other price indexes do not show the crash.

The CNBC article mentioned Brave New Coin’s bitcoin liquid index did not register any crash. The individual indexes that Coindesk is made up of also did not show that an instantaneous crash occurred.



The CoinDesk bitcoin price index is made up of the average price from four exchanges: Bitstamp, Coinbase, itBit, and OKCoin. Other indexes like Brave New Coin’s bitcoin liquid index showed no flash crash. Nor did CryptoCompare.com.

Bitcoin Endures Instantaneous Flash Crash on Major Price Index
Coindesk Price Index showing flash crash bitcoin price drop

Alleged Cause of the Crash

It is not clear why all of these indexes did not register the flash crash. There does not seem to be an issue with the Coindesk price index, but that is not confirmed at the time of writing.

Bitcoin Endures Instantaneous Flash Crash on Major Price Index

Per various sources, the crash may have been the result of Russia mentioning they may ban or block websites that trade in Bitcoin. The deputy governor of Russia’s central bank, Sergei Shvetsov, criticized digital currencies around the time of the crash.

He said, “The mysterious price movements followed the Russian Central Bank’s decision to block access to websites of exchanges that offer cryptocurrencies. The bank’s first deputy governor, Sergei Shvetsov, called digital currencies “dubious” at a conference in Moscow.”

Past Ethereum Flash Crash

Regardless what caused the crash, it resembles a similar crash that happenedBitcoin Endures Instantaneous Flash Crash on Major Price Index on Ethereum exchanges. Back in June, ethereum crashed from $317.81 to 10 cents. It quickly recovered just like the bitcoin crash. The crash was noted to have occurred on Coinbase, and margin trading may have been implicated as the cause. The crash is currently under investigation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

No bitcoin exchange is currently under investigation as a result of the most recent flash crash.

What do you think about this flash crash? Did it actually happen? Was it a glitch? Did the Russians cause it?  Share your thoughts in the comments section below!


Images courtesy of Shutterstock

Another international brokerage firm just entered into the bitcoin ecosystem. Roboforex out of Cyprus added bitcoin CFD trading on their platform. This means clients will have indirect exposure to bitcoin, and speculate on the shorts and gains of bitcoin. The firm has also added ethereum to their available trading pairs. The company decided to add the cryptocurrencies as a result of client and market interest.


RoboForex Launches CFD Trading for Bitcoin

The firm will have btc/usd and eth/usd trading pairs. The pairs are available right now. The company press release also stated the partners in the company will get some of their commission in CFD cryptocurrency orders. Clients and partners can find the trading pairs on MT4 and MT5 terminals with Roboforex.

Growth of Bitcoin has Invigorated Investors and Traders

Like most other brokerage firms recent foray into the cryptocurrency ecosystem, bitcoin’s price has triggered a gold rush of investor curiosity. However, most of them do not have direct knowledge of bitcoin, and many prefer to trade via CFDs. The fact that bitcoin has nearly tripled in price over the last 8 months has further piqued investor interest. This interest is what led the director of Roboforex to enable bitcoin and ethereum trading. Kiryl Kirychenka, Product Manager at Roboforex, elaborated:



We’ve decided to enable cryptocurrencies for CFDs trading in the first place because of the keen interest of traders from all over the world to these assets. From now on, our clients will be able to derive profit from the fast growing cryptocurrency market without having to buy them. Roboforex offers one of the most favorable trading conditions for transactions involving digital currencies for both traders and investors. In the nearest future, we’re planning to continue developing in this direction and fundamentally improve our offers by adding new instruments and making trading conditions better

Mass Crypto Trading in the Marketplace

RoboForex Launches CFD Trading for Bitcoin

The Roboforex press release mentioned the spectacular daily turnover of bitcoin transactions has been a major reason for the surge of brokerage interest in crypto. The daily bitcoin to USD turnover or exchange volume is currently worth about 3 billion USD. This is likely why regulated firms like ETX Capital out of London also recently ventured into the space.

A mix of growing investor enthusiasm for cryptocurrency, mainstream adoption, and the vast amount of capital flowing in the space has generated a lot of excitement and hype. This means there is likely to be a continual influx of new firms embracing bitcoin as the currency sees more mainstream adoption, albeit through indirect exposure trading.

What do you think of CFDs in the growing bitcoin ecosystem? Let us know in the comments section below.


Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Roboforex

Cambodia, Land of Currency Fervor

Quietly, Cambodia has racked up solid economic gains now spanning more than a decade. Inflation is down. Major global economic metrics point to it lifting all boats, including its very poor.

At least part of its growth has come due to allowing foreign investment, which include repopulating rice from the Philippines to a domestic culture familiar with wide varieties of tourists.

With investment and tourism comes currencies, and with them the need for exchange and pricing structures.

This summer, political sentiment began to change toward foreign money such as the United States Dollar (USD). Wildy popular, it is the premier fiat currency used by the country’s private sector to pay wages and generally do business.

Cambodia's First Bitcoin Point-of-Sale System Debuts Amid Currency Debate

Nevertheless, because currencies are linked to governments they can be used as calls to national fervor and pride, and even animosity.

The Khmer riel, trading at about 4300 to 1 dollar, is that for some. A few politicians are urging what’s commonly referred to as “de-dollarization,” relying less on USD and more on riel.

The research arm of The Economist magazine noted “Cambodia currently has 95 percent of its deposits in foreign currency,” according to The Cambodian Daily online.

Southeast Asia analyst, Miguel Chanco, insisted, “The use of dollars in Cambodia is still far too widespread for [de-dollarization] to be achieved.”

Primed for Bitcoin

Such hardened and passionate debates are lessened by bitcoin, if not eliminated altogether. And the country’s ease with multiple currencies make it an ideal experiment for cryptocurrencies.

Though the country has made economic strides, a great many of its people remain unbanked. Bitcoin could address that issue too.

“The main goal for me is to put bitcoin on the map in Cambodia and increase its adoption in the country,” CEO Steve Miller of Cryptoasia told Thailand’s portal, The Nation.


All the merchant has to do is enter the dollar amount that’s owed and the gateway generates it into bitcoins with a unique payment address.

In a company online newsletter, it announced how bitcoin “continues to be adopted by merchants in Phnom Penh.” Bars, lodging are new places bitcoiners in the area can spend. It also points to a then-upcoming conference on financial technology, where bitcoin will be featured, and points to meet-ups for locals to become better acquainted with the cryptocurrency.

An ambitious first is Cryptoasia’s PoS payment gateway. “We install a widget on a merchant’s website that generates bitcoin addresses,” Mr. Miller explained. “All the merchant has to do is enter the dollar amount that’s owed and the gateway generates it into bitcoins with a unique payment address. It’s useful for online businesses and can also be used as point-of-sale platform if you have a smartphone or a tablet.”

Plans are also in the works for a bitcoin exchange later this year.

What do you think? Are currency wars a good opening for bitcoin? Tell us in the comments below.


Images courtesy of: freshwallpapers, Visit Angkor .

The firm will have btc/usd and eth/usd trading pairs. The pairs are available right now. The company press release also stated the partners in the company will get some of their commission in CFD cryptocurrency orders. Clients and partners can find the trading pairs on MT4 and MT5 terminals with Roboforex.

Growth of Bitcoin has Invigorated Investors and Traders

Like most other brokerage firms recent foray into the cryptocurrency ecosystem, bitcoin’s price has triggered a gold rush of investor curiosity. However, most of them do not have direct knowledge of bitcoin, and many prefer to trade via CFDs. The fact that bitcoin has nearly tripled in price over the last 8 months has further piqued investor interest. This interest is what led the director of Roboforex to enable bitcoin and ethereum trading. Kiryl Kirychenka, Product Manager at Roboforex, elaborated:



We’ve decided to enable cryptocurrencies for CFDs trading in the first place because of the keen interest of traders from all over the world to these assets. From now on, our clients will be able to derive profit from the fast growing cryptocurrency market without having to buy them. Roboforex offers one of the most favorable trading conditions for transactions involving digital currencies for both traders and investors. In the nearest future, we’re planning to continue developing in this direction and fundamentally improve our offers by adding new instruments and making trading conditions better

Mass Crypto Trading in the Marketplace

RoboForex Launches CFD Trading for Bitcoin

The Roboforex press release mentioned the spectacular daily turnover of bitcoin transactions has been a major reason for the surge of brokerage interest in crypto. The daily bitcoin to USD turnover or exchange volume is currently worth about 3 billion USD. This is likely why regulated firms like ETX Capital out of London also recently ventured into the space.

A mix of growing investor enthusiasm for cryptocurrency, mainstream adoption, and the vast amount of capital flowing in the space has generated a lot of excitement and hype. This means there is likely to be a continual influx of new firms embracing bitcoin as the currency sees more mainstream adoption, albeit through indirect exposure trading.

What do you think of CFDs in the growing bitcoin ecosystem? Let us know in the comments section below.


Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Roboforex

Registering Miners & Licensing ExchangesBTC

Russia's Finance Ministry Proposes Registering Cryptocurrency Miners and Licensing Exchanges
Yana Pureskina, Director of the Financial Policy Department.

At the first meeting of the expert council on financial technologies in the State Duma on Monday, the Russian Ministry of Finance presented its recommendations on the regulation of cryptocurrencies. “The Ministry of Finance proposes to register those who extract cryptocurrencies – the miners,” Tass reported, adding that “the office also proposes to license sites where digital currency is exchanged for traditional cash or non-cash money.”

Speaking on behalf of the finance ministry, Yana Pureskina, the ministry’s Director of the Financial Policy Department, was quoted saying:



In order to counter money laundering and terrorist financing, it is important to establish the duty of registering digital currency issuers, the so-called miners, and to license exchange sites to control the exchange of digital currency for fiat, traditional cash or non-cash money.

She further emphasized that the ministry “considers it expedient to start limiting the number of persons who have the right to issue cryptocurrency, legal entities, and individual entrepreneurs,” Tass detailed. This is in order to “protect the rights of market participants,” the director explained.

Proposals for Mining and Exchanging Cryptocurrencies

Russia's Finance Ministry Proposes Registering Cryptocurrency Miners and Licensing ExchangesAt the same meeting on Monday, Martin Shakkum, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Industry Construction and High Technologies, said that “it is necessary to legalize” mining activities because currently “those who deal with them do not pay taxes,” RBC reported.

In addition, he proposed that to only allow banks and financial institutions to exchange cryptocurrencies for rubles and other fiat money. According to him, “these measures will make the turnover of the cryptocurrencies transparent and will enable [the government] to identify their owners,” the publication wrote, and quoted him saying:



I would not like to go the way of introducing a tax on the exchange of cryptocurrencies. But the right to exchange should be provided to those who are under the supervision of Rosfinmonitoring, that is, banks and payment systems.

He noted that cryptocurrency exchanges and initial coin offerings (ICOs) should both be included in the legislation.

Cryptocurrencies and their Derivatives

Russia's Finance Ministry Proposes Registering Cryptocurrency Miners and Licensing Exchanges
Sergey Shvetsov, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia.

At the Russian Derivatives Market forum on Tuesday, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia, Sergey Shvetsov, said “Russia’s Central Bank welcomes imposing any restrictions on operations of external websites that offer cryptocurrency sales,” according to Tass.

“We consider all cryptocurrency derivatives to be a negative development on the Russian market and do not consider it possible to support it,” he added. This followed the central bank’s efforts to stop one of the country’s major clearinghouses from facilitating the clearing and settlement of cryptocurrency derivatives.

As for cryptocurrencies themselves, the finance ministry’s position is “consistent with the opinion of the Bank of Russia,” the publication detailed. The head of Russia’s central bank, Elvira Nabiullina, has repeatedly said that the bank does not support the legalization of cryptocurrencies as a legitimate means of payment. At the Monday meeting, Pureskina concurred, stating that “regarding the use of cryptocurrency as a payment medium, we are rather reserved – rather, on the prohibition position.”

What do you think of the proposals by these Russian regulators? Let us know in the comments section below.


Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Yana Pureskina, and Sergey Shvetsov.

This week two more bitcoin-based businesses announced their company’s stance towards the upcoming 2MB hard fork this November. The fork will be implemented by the Segwit2x (BTC1) working group roughly around Saturday, November 18, 2017. The two firms Xapo and Surbtc explained to their customers how they would handle the consensus change that’s just a few weeks away.

Also read: Porn Star Tempts Russian Prime Minister to Legalize Cryptocurrencies in a Video Message

Xapo Will Follow the Chain With the Most Accumulated Difficulty

Two More Bitcoin Startups Reveal Hard Fork Contingency PlansBitcoiners have been waiting for the official announcements from companies who signed this summer’s New York Agreement (NYA) to increase the block size, because Core developers want nothing to do with the change. Last week the companies, Coinbase and Bitfinex gave details on how they would handle the fork. Now two more bitcoin-centric startups, Xapo and Surbtc have come forward to disclose what their plans for the fork are.

The bitcoin financial services provider Xapo on October 9 told their customers how they would handle the fork. Xapo explains that when miners process block number 494784 a block between 1-2MB will be generated. The company wants its customers to know that just like when the bitcoin cash fork took place; Xapo users don’t have to do anything. As far as the startup’s policy with forks and defining the ‘real bitcoin’ it will let the hashrate decide.

“Xapo’s policy in regards to forks is that, when there is a fork, we always follow the chain with the most accumulated difficulty and we make the minority chain available to our customers for them to sell or withdraw from Xapo,” explains the company’s most recent statement.



We are going to call the chain with the most accumulated difficulty Bitcoin or BTC. If the minority chain is the one with 1MB blocks we are going to call it BC1 and if the minority chain is the one with 2MB blocks we are going to call it BC2.

Of course, the statements made by Xapo became a controversial subject because of how they will choose to name the ‘real bitcoin.’ The startup also adds that as soon as the minority chain is deemed safe, they will make it available for withdrawal. “If you want to trust Xapo with the security of your bitcoins and access your minority chain coins there is no action needed on your part,” the startup concludes.

Latin American Exchange Surbtc Will List Both Assets as BTC and B2X if the Fork is Contentious

Two More Bitcoin Startups Reveal Hard Fork Contingency Plans The Chilean Bitcoin trading platform, Surbtc, on October 10 announced its stance towards the Segwit2x hard fork. Like Xapo, the exchange Surbtc is also an NYA signer, and explains they are pleased with this summers Segwit activation and would love to see “a small increment (2mb) in the size of a block.” However, the company believes wholeheartedly in the expertise of the bitcoin Core software developers.

“Even though we would be happy to have moderately larger blocks to accommodate growing demand, we feel that Bitcoin needs (at least a majority) of bitcoin’s core developers’ support in order to do this responsibly,” explains the Surbtc executive Agustin Feuerhake. “We haven’t seen this support, and we don’t like what we currently see on the BTC1 code repository in terms of technical considerations and open source collaboration.”



All things said, if a contentious hard fork does happen, Surbtc could eventually list both assets but will allow for sure its users to at least be to withdraw both. Due to practical reasons, we will continue to list BTC, and we will incorporate B2X (or the names that catch on among the industry) later.

So far there have only been a few bitcoin-based companies that have come forward with their plans. However, this time around startups are starting to announce these plans a bit earlier than last time, as they gained some experience since the previous fork on August 1. News.bitcoin.com will be sure to keep our readers informed every step of the way before, during, and after the upcoming November hard fork.

What do you think about Xapo’s and Surbtc’s statements about the Segwit2x fork? Let us know in the comments below.


Images via Shutterstock, Xapo, and Surbtc.

cortesy bitcoi.com

Following is a table of current fully or partially ERC20-compliant tokens, along with the TokenTrader/TokenSeller compatibility and the number of decimal places.

Token   Address   TokenTrader or
TokenSeller   Decimals   Notes
1ST ‐ First Blood   0xaf30d2a7...   TokenTrader   18   
AMIS ‐ AMIS   0x949bed88...   TokenTrader   9   
ARC ‐ Arcade City   0xac709fcb...   TokenTrader   18   Convert to SWM - Swarm City
BARF - BARF   0xcaffa1d6...   TokenTrader   18   (discontinued - sell your tokens back to the contract)
BERP - BokkyPooBah´s Ether Refundable Prize   0xed7da010...   TokenTrader   18   Incentivising The DAO Refunds
DAO ‐ The DAO   0xbb9bc244...   TokenTrader   16   Discontinued due to the hack on June 17 2016. Investors are being refunded
DGD ‐ Digix DAO   0xe0b7927c...   TokenTrader   9   
DGDb ‐ Digix DAO Badge   0x54bda709...   TokenTrader   0   
DICE ‐ Etheroll   0x2e071d29...   TokenTrader   16   DICE tokens cannot be transferred currently. Check the periods at 0x2e071d29...
EDG ‐ Edgeless   0x08711d3b...   TokenTrader   0   Cannot be transferred before 16:00 Mar 21 2017 UTC
EMV ‐ Ethereum Movie Venture   0xB802b24E...   TokenTrader   2   
ETB ‐ Ethbits   0xc2921ea1...   TokenTrader   0   Note that transfers are not working yet
GNO ‐ Gnosis Token   0x6810e776...   TokenTrader   18   Note that transfers are not working yet
GNT ‐ Golem Network Token   0xa7447644...   TokenSeller   18   ERC20 Partial
GNTW ‐ Wrapped Golem Network Token   0x936f78b9...   TokenTrader   18   Use to wrap GNT
GUP ‐ Matchpool Guppy   0xf7b09829...   TokenTrader   3   GUP tokens cannot be transferred until 2017-04-30T13:00:00+00:00 UTC
HKG ‐ Hacker Gold   0x14f37b57...   TokenTrader   3   This is the new version WITHOUT the significant bug
HMQ ‐ Humaniq   0xcbcc0f03...   TokenTrader   8   
ICN ‐ Iconomi   0x888666ca...   TokenTrader   18   
INC - Incent   0x3ff8c78e...   TokenTrader   8   Note that this is a dual Waves/Ethereum token
LOVE - I Love You   0x2129687a...   TokenTrader   1   
LUN - Lunyr Token   0xfa05a73f...   TokenTrader   18   
MKR ‐ Maker DAO   0xc66ea802...   TokenTrader   18   
MLN ‐ Melon Token   0xbeb9ef51...   TokenTrader   18   MLN tokens cannot be transferred before Mar 15 2017 @ 11:00am (UTC)
PLU ‐ Pluton   0xd8912c10...   TokenTrader   18   
RBX ‐ Ripto Bux   0x74aca0f1...   TokenTrader   8   Note that this is a dual Waves/Ethereum token
REP ‐ Augur   0x48c80f1f...   TokenTrader   18   
RLC ‐ iEx.ec Network Token   0x607f4c5b...   TokenTrader   9   
SNGLS ‐ SingularDTV   0xaec2e87e...   TokenTrader   0   
SWT ‐ Swarm City   0xb9e7f856...   TokenTrader   18   Convert from ARC - Arcade City tokens
TAAS ‐ Token-as-a-Service   0xe7775a6e...   TokenTrader   6   
TIME ‐ Chronobank   0x6531f133...   TokenTrader   8   
TKN ‐ TokenCard   0xaaaf91d9...   TokenTrader   8   
TRST ‐ WeTrust   0xcb94be6f...   TokenTrader   6   
UNI ‐ Unicorn 🦄   0x89205a3a...   TokenTrader   0   
VSL - vSlice   0x5c543e7a...   TokenTrader   18   
WAV - Waves Token   0xe57a4117...   TokenTrader   8   Note that this is a dual Waves/Ethereum token
WBC - Waves Bitcoin Token   0x6f4024e5...   TokenTrader   8   Note that this is a dual Waves/Ethereum token
WCT - Waves Community Token   0x9453be6f...   TokenTrader   2   Note that this is a dual Waves/Ethereum token
WINGS - WINGS   0x667088b2...   TokenTrader   18   
XAUR - Xaurum   0x4df812f6...   TokenTrader   8   
What Is Required For A Token To Be ERC20-Compliant?

For a token to be ERC20-compliant, the following functions will need to be implemented in the token contract.

// https://github.com/ethereum/EIPs/issues/20
contract ERC20 {
    function totalSupply() constant returns (uint totalSupply);
    function balanceOf(address _owner) constant returns (uint balance);
    function transfer(address _to, uint _value) returns (bool success);
    function transferFrom(address _from, address _to, uint _value) returns (bool success);
    function approve(address _spender, uint _value) returns (bool success);
    function allowance(address _owner, address _spender) constant returns (uint remaining);
    event Transfer(address indexed _from, address indexed _to, uint _value);
    event Approval(address indexed _owner, address indexed _spender, uint _value);
}

ERC20 Functions Required For The TokenTrader Smart Contract

The balanceOf(...), transfer(...) and transferFrom(...) functions are used in the TokenTrader smart contract. Additionally, before selling tokens to a TokenTrader smart contract, the user has to call approve(...) to approve the transfer of tokens from the user's wallet address to the smart contract address.


ERC20 Functions Required For The TokenSeller Smart Contract

The balanceOf(...) and transfer(...) functions are used in the TokenSeller smart contract.

Currently, only the GNT - Golem Network Token does not implement the transferFrom(...) and approve(...) function and therefore can only be used with the TokenSeller smart contract.

Please drop your ideas thank you

Have joined

Is it possible to mine the ERC20 on browser

Am interested

In short, the ERC-20 defines a common list of rules for all Ethereum tokens to follow, meaning that this particular token empowers developers of all types to accurately predict how new tokens will function within the larger Ethereum system. The impact that ERC-20 therefore has on developers is massive, as projects do not need to be redone each time a new token is released. Rather, they are designed to be compatible with new tokens, provided those tokens adhere to the rules. Developers of new tokens have by-and-large observed the ERC-20 rules, meaning that most of the tokens released through Ethereum initial coin offerings are ERC-20 compliant.
Please get some through airdrop

Nice airdrop, I hope we all get to the top

Nice one I have joined