As a casual Bitcoin user, if you have ever hired an external developer or perhaps used TeamViewer as a drop-in solution to gain remote access to your home or work computer, then those connection points are now likely compromised.

Reports of a service outage came midnight on June 2 through Twitter, where TeamViewer mentioned that they were experiencing a Denial of Service Attack to their DNS servers.

More troublesome is the reaction of from TeamViewer, who has since blamed “weak user credentials” as the culprit for the string of unauthorized logins. According to a source who goes by the name of /u/Macdonjo on Reddit, the company is attempting to silence articles and publications through threats:

    “We were basically forced to change what the article said, based on what TeamViewer wanted us to say about them.”

http://bitcoinist.net/teamviewer-breach-bitcoin-risk/

It was after Arthur Hayes got laid off from Citigroup Inc. in 2013 that he stumbled across one of the simplest ways to make money he’d ever seen. He was living in Hong Kong and saw the price of bitcoin across the China border was much higher. He hopped on a bus, opened a China account and started buying low in one market and selling high in the other. “It was too easy,” he says.

The price discrepancy eventually disappeared, but it gave him an idea: He could make more money if he gave others the means to take advantage of similar trading opportunities between countries. So in early 2014, he started the Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange with two friends. The mission is to create an institution like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange that will let people use the cryptocurrency to bet on securities not easily accessible in their home markets, especially China.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-29/ex-citi-trader-starts-bitcoin-exchange-to-entice-china-investors

As the Bitcoin price continues to rise, traders across the world have started trading bitcoin with renewed interest. It seems like many traders are trading other crypto asset holdings for bitcoin. Ethereum, which has been in the good graces of crypto-traders so far is bearing the burnt at this time. With more people trading in their ether holds for bitcoin, the number of takers for ether has significantly reduced at the moment. This has led to a drop in the value of ether.

http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/05/29/bitcoin-price-rockets-past-500-ethereum-slump-imminent/

Between May 9 to May 12, crypto-currency trading platform, Gatecoin, suffered what the company confirmed was a breach by external parties. The company brought in Tehtri Security to conduct a forensic investigation to determine how the breach occurred and the extent of losses.

In a blogpost the company confirmed that the breach may have occurred between the evenings of May 9 and May 12, 2016, which Gatecoin attributed to a service disruption caused by a server reboot in the evening of May 9. The company detected suspicious transactions in the evening of May 13 and suspended all services to prevent further unauthorized access to the ETH (ethereum) and BTC (bitcoin) hot wallets.

http://www.enterpriseinnovation.net/article/hot-wallet-breach-hk-bitcoin-exchange-lessons-learned-1195404574

The 100 SMA is above the 200 SMA, confirming that the path of least resistance is to the upside and that further gains are in the cards. The gap between the moving averages is narrowing, though, keeping the possibility of a downward crossover on the table.

Stochastic is on the move up so bitcoin price could follow suit. RSI is also heading north, which means that buyers are in control of price action. Profit-taking could be seen once these oscillators indicate overbought conditions and start turning lower.

In that case, a pullback to the broken triangle resistance around $460-470 could take place. A larger correction could draw support from the moving averages, which typically hold as dynamic inflection points.

http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/05/27/bitcoin-price-technical-analysis-05272016-huge-upside-breakout/

Technology otherwise known as Fintech is the mixture of financial services and innovative technologies designed to be more efficient. Legacy institutions and startups across the globe are using software to disintermediate traditional financial systems. These services and concepts provide customers with a frictionless environment to their everyday monetary and asset management. New innovations such as Bitcoin and its underlying blockchain technology have been a big part of this evolution in finance. Technologies that don’t need human interaction any more such as robo advisors who can now provide wealth management based on algorithm managed portfolios. These protocols and concepts will pave the way to a progressive future.  Consulting firm A.T. Kearney believes robo advisory will rise in popularity in the near future as the company told CNN Money:

    “Robo-advisory services will become mainstream over the next three to five years,”


http://www.livebitcoinnews.com/q1-2016-blockchains-robo-advisors-and-fintech-raise-4-9-billion/

Santander is letting staff use the tech behind bitcoin to send money to each other

Santander has launched a new app that lets people transfer money internationally using blockchain technology, the cutting-edge database protocol that underpins bitcoin.

The main benefits of the new tech are speed and accuracy.

The new app, which for the moment is being trialled with staff, will let people transfer between £10 and £10,000.

The efficiency of the new technology means transfers will show up within 24 hours, compared to the current wait times that can vary from one day to three days.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/santander-develops-blockchain-international-payment-app-with-ripple-2016-5?IR=T

The European Parliament has voted in a non-binding resolution today which approved a proposal for a taskforce looking into virtual currencies like bitcoin and blockchain technology.

A proposal from late February, which sought to form a bitcoin- and blockchain-centric taskforce overseen by the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, was approved by the European Parliament in a majority vote today.

The call for a task force is to study the technology to understand the risks and opportunities of virtual currencies (VC) and distributed ledger, or blockchain technology (DLT).

The vote to establish a task force comes soon after the final report put forth by the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON), earlier this month. In it, the ECON recommends that the EU Commission consider revising EU payment laws, on the basis of its assessment of virtual currencies and blockchain technology.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoin-due-to-get-a-watchdog-via-the-european-union/

Japan has passed a law regulating virtual currency, after the country found itself at the epicentre of a multi-million dollar embezzlement scandal following the spectacular collapse of the Tokyo-based MtGox Bitcoin exchange.
Once one of the largest, most established exchanges for the cryptocurrency, MtGox collapsed in 2014 after a suspected theft worth nearly half a billion dollars, which hammered the digital currency's reputation.
Japanese lawmakers passed a bill late Wednesday stipulating that all "virtual currency" exchanges must be regulated by the country's Financial Services Agency.


http://www.globalpost.com/article/6772026/2016/05/26/japan-regulates-virtual-currency-after-bitcoin-scandal

Blockchain is increasingly popular in the financial industry, with banks all over the globe expected to make huge investments in the technology before the end of the decade.

Big names in the finance world are certainly starting to take notice, on both the regulatory and corporate side: Nasdaq representatives touted blockchain's transparency benefits when it started using the technology to trade shares in 2015, and earlier this year SEC Chair Mary Jo White said the agency is "actively exploring" blockchain compliance regulations to protect investors.

Digital commerce experts are not surprised that regulators are targeting blockchain, but wonder if lawmakers are ignoring the technology's security benefits.


http://searchcompliance.techtarget.com/feature/Blockchain-compliance-raises-questions-of-regulatory-scope-intent

Some say the sky’s the limit. According to Gil Luria, a Webbush Securities analyst who covers the Bitcoin investment vehicle GBTC:

    “There’s always a lot of factors in the price of Bitcoin, but all those things being equal, [the halving] should help the price go up, if for no other reason than of the rule of economics… It’s a function of the intersection of supply and demand, and the halving literally means there will be less [new] supply every day.”

Bitcoin moonIn other words, this could be just the thing bitcoin needs to stay on top for good. After all, a scarce item is likely to hold more value than one that is plentiful or common.

But others aren’t entirely convinced. In fact, one of the big problems expected from the halving is the fact that miners will possibly have to deal with potential drops in profitability.


http://bitcoinist.net/bitcoin-rises-july-halving/

Spanish authorities reported Wednesday that they had arrested 30 people on grounds of money laundering and illegally distributing pay TV content by investing in bitcoin “mining” facilities to process transactions in the form of virtual money.

In a statement released by the Spanish police, the arrests took place across Spain, which include the cities of Barcelona, Madrid, Cordoba, and Valencia.

The crackdown resulted in the seizure of 6 bitcoin “mining” centers fraudently using large amounts of electricity to keep their computer networks running, and 31,325 euros or $34,905, worth of digital currency.

Specialist Crime Unit Chief Commissioner Hector Moreno, said that the cryptocurrency was converted to euros and used to buy luxury cars, motorcycles, a small plane, banking products and real estate.


http://www.fxpips.com/bitcoin-shopping-30-arrested-money-launderers-bought-plane-bikes-real-estate/

Bitcoin investment service provider Bit Hash Limited reaps maximum gain from bitcoin investments by legally and securely offering various schemes to the potential investors using Bitcoins.

The company brings most reliable solutions for investors who are interested in real online investments with the addition of bitcoin. The main motive of Bit Hash is to bring the most reliable and secured framework for those investors who would like to explore the potential lying with Bitcoin investments so that their resources go at a speed.

http://www.econotimes.com/Bit-Hash-Limited-offers-legal-bitcoin-schemes-to-investors-213420

Kanishka Sukumar, a consultant who works in midtown Manhattan, says his parents often stash money in gold for safekeeping. But the 24-year-old thinks there is a better place for his savings.

"In times of financial turmoil, I would prefer to see a portfolio full of bitcoin,” said Mr. Sukumar, who holds about one-third of his wealth in the digital currency.

Bitcoin is gaining traction with modern-day gold bugs who question the stability of paper currencies or worry about protecting their savings during the next financial crisis.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/bitcoin-catches-on-with-gold-bugs-1463959897

Bitcoin price has declined to long-term support and looks set to continue lower toward the 1-day 200MA near $413 (Bitstamp). Traders should retain funds allocation near 30:70 BTC vs fiat. Bitcoin price is declining just as the US dollar is surging higher. Once a convincing set of buy signals show in the 1-hour and 4-hour charts, we will turn our focus back toward the upside and $470.

The article about price and fundamentals, promised yesterday, has been drafted and will be published over the weekend.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoin-price-holds-long-term-support/

[Payments Giant Qiwi is Building a Blockchain Replacement for its Core Database]

Payments Giant Qiwi is Building a Blockchain Replacement for its Core Database
Russian payments firm Qiwi is currently designing its own proprietary blockchain in an effort to replace its central payments processing database.

Called the "Qiwi blockchain system", the company’s development effort focuses on how its core database of customer transactions could be reimagined to reduce costs.

Qiwi is one of the largest payment service providers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region, with more than 16.1 million digital wallet users and 62 million transacting customers per month.

http://www.coindesk.com/qiwi-replace-payments-processor-blockchain/

For years, ExeBTC has been a leader in the finance world, building a reputation as a knowledgeable and reliable alternative for those looking for risk management and advisory services. However, the quickly-growing company is currently expanding its services to a new online web platform, ExeBTC.com, which will bring their wide range of services to a global client base, and serve as the premier site for Bitcoin investment.

A range of investment packages provides clients of all types access to impressive rates of return, ranging from 125% to 220% in between one to three months. While the higher rates demand a larger initial investment, new market players can get in on the ground floor for as little as .2 BTC (about $90).


http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/2946907

Crix.io, a new cryptocurrency exchange focusing on bitcoin futures trading, is opening up its private beta launch to the public.

Set up by Latvian bitcoin enthusiasts, the Crix’ trading platform has been tested by private entrants since February. A planned three-month exclusive launch window is now closing to open access to anyone who wishes to use the system.

Users can join the beta test at Crix.io. Beta testers will need to create a Crix.io wallet, and be provided with 100 fake bitcoins to test the system.

http://allcoinsnews.com/2016/05/20/new-bitcoin-futures-exchange-crix-io-opens-beta-testing-phase/

Yesterday at Google’s I/O developers conference, CEO Sundar Pichai briefly spoke about a custom-built chip that helps give Google its edge in machine learning and artificial intelligence. The chip, dubbed a TPU or Tensor Processing Unit (in keeping with Google's A.I. platform TensorFlow), is specifically wrought for running Google’s decision-making algorithms. Most companies like Facebook and Microsoft use GPUs for their machine learning and artificial intelligence.
But Pichai’s speech and the accompanying blog post only reveal a few details about TPUs. About the only useful thing we know about the chip is that it’s an ASIC, or application-specific integrated circuit. ASIC chips aren’t bought off the shelves, but designed specifically to do one task very well without using a lot of power. They’re used in applications that never change, like the controlling how a phone battery charges.
http://www.popsci.com/how-googles-new-chips-take-page-from-bitcoin-miners

Ever since BitQuick was breached and shut down the service, there has been a lingering doubt whether or not they would ever make a return to the world of Bitcoin. Things were looking rather bleak, and rumours were circulating regarding the potential sale of BitQuick as well.

However, the platform has been made accessible once again, and a countdown clock indicates the company will resume its business on May 31, 2016. The same two people are running the platform by the look of things, and it remains unclear whether or not new owners are involved.


http://themerkle.com/bitquick-set-to-return-on-may-31-2016/