[Just recently the notorious libertarian and Austrian economist, Ron Paul, released a paper that discusses the world’s issues with central economic planning. In the report, Paul goes into vast detail on how precious metals and cryptocurrencies can co-exist in order to prevent current market monopolies from “rigging the economy.”]

Just recently the notorious libertarian and Austrian economist, Ron Paul, released a paper that discusses the world’s issues with central economic planning. In the report, Paul goes into vast detail on how precious metals and cryptocurrencies can co-exist in order to prevent current market monopolies from “rigging the economy.”

Ron Paul is a very popular libertarian that ran for the U.S. presidency a few times, but he has always proposed some contrarian opinions unlike any other politician today. For instance, Paul constantly tells the American public that they should “end the Federal Reserve,” or at the very least audit the private bank and find out how it has been operating over the years. Furthermore, Paul fundamentally believes our money should revert back to the ‘Gold Standard,’ and feels it is “a fallacy to believe the U.S. has a free market economy.” Paul’s unique libertarian teachings have inspired a great number of people to embrace free-market economics and question the current way governments operate.

Read More About Ron's Cryptocurrency Views Here >>>. https://news.bitcoin.com/cryptocurrencies-and-precious-metals-can-co-exist-explains-ron-paul/

[This week in Southern California a Los Angeles woman who called herself the ‘Bitcoin Maven’ will be sentenced this Monday after pleading guilty for illegal money transmission. According to law enforcement, the woman made close to $300,000 USD annually by selling BTC on the peer-to-peer exchange Localbitcoins.]

This week in Southern California a Los Angeles woman who called herself the ‘Bitcoin Maven’ will be sentenced this Monday after pleading guilty for illegal money transmission. According to law enforcement, the woman made close to $300,000 USD annually by selling BTC on the peer-to-peer exchange Localbitcoins.

U.S. law enforcement has arrested and convicted another Localbitcoins seller who reportedly made $300K per year selling digital assets. The 50-year-old Theresa Tetley used the alias ‘Bitcoin Maven’ and sold bitcoins without registering with the financial authorities. Prosecutors say Tetley’s operations were “fueled a black-market financial system in the Central District of California that purposely and deliberately existed outside of the regulated bank industry.”

Read More Here >>>  https://news.bitcoin.com/another-us-bitcoin-trader-faces-prison-for-illegal-money-transmission/

[This week we spoke with the adult film star Brenna Sparks about how she’s been relentlessly promoting cryptocurrencies to her co-workers and peers throughout the sex industry.]

This week we spoke with the adult film star Brenna Sparks about how she’s been relentlessly promoting cryptocurrencies to her co-workers and peers throughout the sex industry.

Sparks is a big believer in Bitcoin technology and thinks that someday in the future it will revolutionize the entire adult industry. Furthermore, Sparks is planning to film a few tutorials on how to use cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but with a catch — Brenna plans on filming the educational videos naked. We decided to chat with Brenna about cryptocurrencies so our readers can get an in-depth view of how digital currencies like Bitcoin could transform the sex industry from someone who has a close perspective on how these business models operate.

Read More Here >>> https://news.bitcoin.com/a-discussion-with-adult-film-star-brenna-sparks-transforming-the-sex-industry-with-bitcoin/

[Multiple reports and public filings have shown a UK-based firm called ‘A.B.C. IPHoldings South West’ has successfully acquired a trademark for the name ‘Bitcoin’. According to a merchant on Etsy, IP-Holdings sent a cease and desist order because they were selling Bitcoin-themed t-shirts.]

Multiple reports and public filings have shown a UK-based firm called ‘A.B.C. IPHoldings South West’ has successfully acquired a trademark for the name ‘Bitcoin’. According to a merchant on Etsy, IP-Holdings sent a cease and desist order because they were selling Bitcoin-themed t-shirts.

This week cryptocurrency enthusiasts found out the name ‘Bitcoin’ had been trademarked using the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) in the UK on December 22, 2017. The news came as a shock to one merchant who was selling t-shirts on Etsy with the Bitcoin name and was told to stop his operations or be held liable in a court of law. The letter states:

It has come to our client’s attention that you are offering for sale a variety of clothing bearing the Bitcoin trademark on Etsy.co.uk. [Our Client] has not authorised your use of the Bitcoin trademark on and in relation to clothing. Such use, therefore, amounts to trademark infringement pursuant to s10(1) of the Trade Marks Act 1994.

Read More Here >>>   https://news.bitcoin.com/a-london-based-company-successfully-trademarks-the-name-bitcoin/

[Read More Here >>>]

This weekend the leading cryptocurrency security platform, Bitgo, announced the launch of custodial storage solutions for institutional investors. The new custodial program aims to offer a multi-level suite for digital asset security in partnership with the firm Kingdom Trust.

The Palo Alto-based firm Bitgo is now offering institutional investors custodial services due to a partnership with Kingdom Trust. The news follows the recent announcements from the Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs launching a cryptocurrency product, and companies like Coinbase offering services to institutional clientele. The latest institutional grade suite offered by Bitgo and Kingdom Trust provides custody services like treasury controls, advanced security solutions, and 24-7 monitoring.

Multi-level services for the new custodial products include self-managed custody, institutional custody with multi-sig wallet, and the Bitgo offline vault. The vault stores keys offline and when tethered to a multi-signature wallet it can be programmed to require co-signers.       

“Secure your digital assets in an offline multi-signature vault in minutes — An offline vault generates and stores private wallet keys on a clean air-gapped computer,” Bitgo’s offline storage white paper explains.

Read More Here >>> https://news.bitcoin.com/bitgo-launches-institutional-grade-custodial-services-suite/

[Researchers Find Bitcoin Network 3X More ‘Evil’ Than the Public Internet]

Researchers Find Bitcoin Network 3X More ‘Evil’ Than the Public Internet

Just recently a research group called Rapid7 published a report that reveals over a year’s worth of research regarding malicious activity tethered to Bitcoin Core (BTC) full nodes. By utilizing data collected from a network called ‘Project Heisenberg,’ and its internet scanner ‘Project Sonar,’ alongside intelligence from Bitnodes, the team had found quite a lot of exploits being shared between full blockchain nodes.

Bitcoin full node operators connect usually connect by default to a TCP service on port 8,333, but there are also over 600 alternative ports available. Rapid7’s recent research used data from the team’s Project Sonar which revealed the top three countries with the most port 8,333 nodes stem from the U.S., China, and Germany. The researchers began the blockchain surveillance back in August of 2017 and found more than 11,000 nodes per day. Moreover, the researchers collected data from more than 144,000 unique full nodes during the course of the study.

Read More Here >>>    https://news.bitcoin.com/researchers-find-bitcoin-network-3x-more-evil-than-the-public-internet/

[A new startup called Revealer is on a mission to create sound backup solutions for cryptocurrency mnemonic phrases and seeds. Just recently the company launched its first product dubbed ‘Revealer Zero’ – a small card system that visually encrypts and decrypts digital currency seed phrases or any alpha-numerical secret.]

A new startup called Revealer is on a mission to create sound backup solutions for cryptocurrency mnemonic phrases and seeds. Just recently the company launched its first product dubbed ‘Revealer Zero’ – a small card system that visually encrypts and decrypts digital currency seed phrases or any alpha-numerical secret.

Revealer Zero is a new product created by Tiago Romagnani Silveira that allows users to print and store cryptocurrency backups in a visually encrypted manner. The secret can be decrypted optically “without a computer or any special knowledge,” explains the company. Basically, each Revealer has a unique code with 128 bits of entropy encoded in hex format, while the last three digits represent a checksum. Entropy is the ‘randomness’ found in a computer’s operating system which is utilized in many types of computational cryptography like creating public and private key pairs.   

“The version number indicates the dimension of the revealer, the 128 bits of entropy are used as random seed to generate the noise that is encoded on the card — The checksum offers some protection against a typing mistake,” explains the company’s website.

Read More Here >>>>>  https://news.bitcoin.com/revealer-card-visually-encrypts-cryptocurrency-seed-phrase/

[It’s coming close to a decade since the creation of the bitcoin network and the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The protocol has produced a great deal of users, infrastructure, businesses and influential parties like developers and miners. Since the beginning of bitcoin’s mining history, individuals mined lots of coins with central processing units (aka home computers). Later, characters like Artforz started the graphics processing unit (GPU) arms race, a moment in history that eventually led to a world of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining which changed the game significantly.]

It’s coming close to a decade since the creation of the bitcoin network and the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The protocol has produced a great deal of users, infrastructure, businesses and influential parties like developers and miners. Since the beginning of bitcoin’s mining history, individuals mined lots of coins with central processing units (aka home computers). Later, characters like Artforz started the graphics processing unit (GPU) arms race, a moment in history that eventually led to a world of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining which changed the game significantly.

The cryptocurrency ecosystem is made up of a diverse group of people, but some specific ‘pools of individuals’ offer a great resource by securing the crypto economy for an incentive. Love them or hate them, bitcoin miners have been processing our blocks for years, the very blocks that hold the millions of transactions broadcast throughout the network. Even though miners have been simply following the protocol as it was written, these individuals have always been deemed ‘tendentious’ by certain groups and social figures within the cryptocurrency industry. Mining pools have suddenly become ‘evil groups’ who are allegedly planning malicious attacks on the network.

Read More Here >>>>   https://news.bitcoin.com/our-love-and-hate-relationship-with-bitcoin-miners/

[The price of bitcoin and a slew of other cryptocurrencies have started to see some slight recovery on Tuesday, April 3rd’s morning (EDT) trading sessions. The entire economy of over 1,500 different cryptocurrencies has increased in value surpassing a $278 billion market capitalization with 5-20 percent gains.]

The price of bitcoin and a slew of other cryptocurrencies have started to see some slight recovery on Tuesday, April 3rd’s morning (EDT) trading sessions. The entire economy of over 1,500 different cryptocurrencies has increased in value surpassing a $278 billion market capitalization with 5-20 percent gains.

Over the last few days, cryptocurrency markets have been nurturing losses as digital asset values slid significantly. Currently, the entire crypto-economy is trading $13.1Bn USD in 24-hour volume, and most coins saw some gains over the past day. Right now daily statistics for BTC/USD markets are up 5.5 percent and BTC prices are hovering just below the $7,400 region. BTC trade volume is still flat as traders are swapping roughly $5.1Bn in trades over the past 24-hours. The top five exchanges facilitating these trades include Bitfinex, Okex, Binance, Huobi, and Upbit. These trading platforms are exchanging over $150Mn or more in global trade volume over the last day.

Read More Here >>>   https://news.bitcoin.com/markets-update-cryptocurrency-prices-see-some-slight-recovery/

[Cryptocurrency prices have dropped considerably over the past 48 hours since our last markets update. Currently, the entire digital asset ecosystem has lost more than $32 billion since that time, and BTC/USD values have once again dipped under the $8K range.]

Cryptocurrency prices have dropped considerably over the past 48 hours since our last markets update. Currently, the entire digital asset ecosystem has lost more than $32 billion since that time, and BTC/USD values have once again dipped under the $8K range.

Traders are seeing quite a bit of bearish sentiment within cryptocurrency markets as more than 60 percent of the top digital assets are seeing losses. BTC/USD markets are hovering just above the $7,800 region after losing momentum just above the $8K zone during today’s early morning trading sessions. BTC global trade volume is only a few million lower than our last analysis, as the past 24-hours has seen about $5.2Bn in trades. The top five exchanges worldwide trading the most BTC today include Bitfinex, Okex, Binance, Bitflyer, and Huobi. The Japanese yen is once again dominating the fiat pack traded with BTC as the yen has commanded over 54 percent of global trade volume. The rest of the currencies traded behind the yen include the USD (22%), tether (13.9%), the euro (3.5%) and the Korean won (2.9%). There’s around $14.4Bn worth of global trade volume among all 1,500+ cryptocurrencies during the past 24-hour trading sessions.

Read More Here >>>>   https://news.bitcoin.com/markets-update-cryptocurrency-prices-begin-to-sink-once-again/

[On March 24, the mining operation Slush Pool announced it had mined a block using the controversial ASIC Boost protocol and did so using a Halong Miner. The news follows the pool revealing it was compatible with ASIC Boost which sparked up a heated debate just recently.]

On March 24, the mining operation Slush Pool announced it had mined a block using the controversial ASIC Boost protocol and did so using a Halong Miner. The news follows the pool revealing it was compatible with ASIC Boost which sparked up a heated debate just recently.

According to a recent announcement over Twitter from the mining operation Slush Pool they have mined a block using ASIC Boost technology. Further, the pool had stated they mined block 514882 using Halong Mining equipment. Halong Mining is also a contentious subject as a lot of skeptics believe the mining company and its devices are fabricated. However, Slush Pool says they got about “16 TH/s” of hashrate using the equipment created by the tendentious company.   

“Our block 514882 is the first-ever block mined using the active version-rolling aka overt ASIC Boost,” explains Slush Pool.

Read More >>>   https://news.bitcoin.com/slush-pool-mines-the-first-asic-boost-block-sparking-more-debate/

[On the first day of the three-day event Satoshi’s Vision Conference in Tokyo the creator of a project called Safewords presented a new solution to safeguard cryptocurrency ”passwords”. Smartwords is a 2-out-of-3 distributed backup kit for your mnemonic seed words.]

On the first day of the three-day event Satoshi’s Vision Conference in Tokyo the creator of a project called Safewords presented a new solution to safeguard cryptocurrency ”passwords”. Smartwords is a 2-out-of-3 distributed backup kit for your mnemonic seed words.

This week the founder and CEO of the company Coin Storage Guru, Brenden Lee introduced his new project Safewords. The product is a 2-out-of-3 distributed backup kit for private keys. Lots of cryptocurrency holders have written down 12-24 words for their mnemonic seed on a piece of paper, and then they usually hide the material out of view. Lee has designed a simplified system that enables a way they can safely distribute the mnemonic phrase between two other trusted individuals or two vaults. The system works with any cryptocurrency that uses a 12-24 word backup.

Read More Here >>>>   https://news.bitcoin.com/meet-smartwords-the-2-3-distributed-backup-for-cryptocurrency-keys/

[Since the beginning of the new year, the past three months has seen most cryptocurrencies lose over 60 percent of their values. Bearish markets have started to spark 2014 memories when BTC/USD markets and many altcoins suffered from a year-long downturn. Surely there have been few similarities to the current 2018 bear run and the one that took place four years ago. However there are some deep ecosystem contrasts within the crypto-space that leads one to believe this bearish sentiment won’t last as long — 2018 is not even comparable to the time BTC was called the “worst currency of the year.”]

Since the beginning of the new year, the past three months has seen most cryptocurrencies lose over 60 percent of their values. Bearish markets have started to spark 2014 memories when BTC/USD markets and many altcoins suffered from a year-long downturn. Surely there have been few similarities to the current 2018 bear run and the one that took place four years ago. However there are some deep ecosystem contrasts within the crypto-space that leads one to believe this bearish sentiment won’t last as long — 2018 is not even comparable to the time BTC was called the “worst currency of the year.”

The Stark Difference Between 2014 and Now

The Current Crypto-Bear Run Will be Nothing Like 2014 If you trade or hold cryptocurrencies you’ve probably heard many speculators say that we are experiencing a crypto-depression that will likely resemble the infamous 2014 bear run. In January of 2014, the price of BTC dropped from $864 per coin to roughly $200 over the course of the year. Mainstream media deemed the cryptocurrency the “worst currency of the year” as its performance was extremely lackluster against nation-state issued currencies. Things started looking better during the beginning of 2015 after BTC became unprofitable to mine in certain regions. Even though BTC prices lost 60 percent of their value that year things were a whole lot different. For instance, the spike that led to the 2014 bear run just before Mt Gox went under was a much quicker and short-lived bull run.

Read More Here >>>   https://news.bitcoin.com/the-current-crypto-bear-run-will-be-nothing-like-2014/

[Just recently the audience intelligence company, Pulsar, published a report examining the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies. Rather than measure interest using prices, trade volume, and market capitalization the comprehensive study analyzed data using over 5 million mentions across social media September 14, 2017 – January 8, 2018.]

Just recently the audience intelligence company, Pulsar, published a report examining the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies. Rather than measure interest using prices, trade volume, and market capitalization the comprehensive study analyzed data using over 5 million mentions across social media September 14, 2017 – January 8, 2018.

In order to study cryptocurrency adoption, the analytical intelligence firm Pulsar has researched the subject in a different way by utilizing mentions across social media platforms. In addition to the data provided by Pulsar researchers also used other sources such as Audiense, and Google search data. The report is based on 5 million U.S. English-language cryptocurrency mentions throughout a variety of platforms. One particularly interesting finding, revealed by ‘over-indexing,’ shows that quite a bit of cryptocurrency conversations are stemming from coastal regions like New York and Washington, DC.

Read More Here >>>   https://news.bitcoin.com/data-company-tracks-crypto-adoption-using-social-media/

[The luxury Italian sports car, Lamborghini, otherwise referred to as the “Lambo” has become a ‘holy grail’ for some cryptocurrency enthusiasts. As ridiculous as $200K+ automobile may sound to some individuals after bitcoin’s rise in 2017 that dream is now attainable for a lot of early adopters.]

The luxury Italian sports car, Lamborghini, otherwise referred to as the “Lambo” has become a ‘holy grail’ for some cryptocurrency enthusiasts. As ridiculous as $200K+ automobile may sound to some individuals after bitcoin’s rise in 2017 that dream is now attainable for a lot of early adopters.

A Lamborghini is an Italian automobile that can cost anywhere between $200,000 to $2,200,000 depending on the model. Over the past few months when many cryptocurrency enthusiasts were celebrating bitcoin’s meteoric rise, the topic of “Lambos” had become a hot conversation. Across social media forums and trading chat rooms many individuals often ask “when Lambo?” referring to the time when crypto-hodlers can all be able to purchase the luxury vehicle. At The North American Bitcoin Conference in Miami, there were quite a few Lambos on site for everyone to drool over. Some even speculate that the rise of digital currencies had inadvertently pushed Audi/VW (the parent company of Lamborghini) public shares because of the crypto-madness last year.

Read More Here >>> https://news.bitcoin.com/besides-the-meme-jokes-crypto-enthusiasts-are-actually-buying-lamborghinis/

[According to reports on Tuesday, a large quantity of U.S. media outlets were sent an email from an individual claiming to be a representative of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). The message contained a phony invitation to a press conference between the media, the PBOC, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and said it would “crack down” on all aspects of bitcoin services between mainland China and Hong Kong.]

According to reports on Tuesday, a large quantity of U.S. media outlets were sent an email from an individual claiming to be a representative of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). The message contained a phony invitation to a press conference between the media, the PBOC, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and said it would “crack down” on all aspects of bitcoin services between mainland China and Hong Kong.

Interestingly enough there were only a few U.S. media outlets and blog sites that reported on this email. The cryptocurrency focused blogs Coin Idol and Coin Speaker, plus a few random people on Twitter, disclosed the ‘breaking news’ to the public. Then, the following day on February 7 the regional news publication the South China Morning Post (SCMP) revealed the email sent to the press was “bogus.” SCMP reports that the Hefei branch official’s email was compromised and he had no idea these emails were being sent to news publications and journalists.

Read more about this story here >>> https://news.bitcoin.com/phony-pboc-email-sent-to-u-s-media-aimed-to-manipulate-btc-price/

[This week one of Europe’s largest power companies, Enel, has announced the firm has absolutely “no interest whatsoever in selling power” to cryptocurrency miners.]

This week one of Europe’s largest power companies, Enel, has announced the firm has absolutely “no interest whatsoever in selling power” to cryptocurrency miners.

The Italian multinational renewable-energy corporation located in Rome, Enel, made a statement on Thursday that explains it will not sell power to data centers who plan to mine cryptocurrencies. According to the financial publication Bloomberg the company was allegedly discussing a deal with a Switzerland-based cryptocurrency business called Envion AG. The news outlet stated that “according to people with direct knowledge of the matter” Enel was evaluating the market to sell power to bitcoin and other digital asset miners. Further, a company executive also commented on the mining evaluation story.

read more >>>  https://news.bitcoin.com/large-european-power-company-will-not-sell-electricity-to-crypto-miners/

[The state of Hawaii is planning to regulate the use of bitcoin and digital currencies that would require licensure to transmit cryptocurrency-based funds. Two bills introduced by a group of partisan Hawaiian lawmakers are focused on digital currencies as a monetary instrument under the state’s Money Transmitters Act.]

The state of Hawaii is planning to regulate the use of bitcoin and digital currencies that would require licensure to transmit cryptocurrency-based funds. Two bills introduced by a group of partisan Hawaiian lawmakers are focused on digital currencies as a monetary instrument under the state’s Money Transmitters Act.

Last week Hawaiian bureaucrats reviewed a proposed bill, HI SB3082, that aims to tether regulatory policies to digital currency transmitters. The proposed law adds new definitions like “virtual currency exchanges, transfers, and storage.” The bill will apply to anyone credited with virtual currencies, moving them, relinquishing control, and any use tied to a medium of exchange if passed. The laws will recognize bitcoin as a “permissible investment and statutory trust.” Although, if the statutes does pass, anyone who plans to transmit bitcoin and other forms of digital assets must apply for licensure.

Read More Here >>>   https://news.bitcoin.com/hawaiis-new-money-transmitters-act-will-require-virtual-currency-licenses/

[A year ago today China’s central banks temporarily scared the cryptocurrency community when they stopped bitcoin exchanges from operating. Since then the top mainland-based digital asset exchanges moved abroad to more friendlier regions, but Chinese citizens are still acquiring bitcoin whether the People’s Bank of China likes it or not.]

A year ago today China’s central banks temporarily scared the cryptocurrency community when they stopped bitcoin exchanges from operating. Since then the top mainland-based digital asset exchanges moved abroad to more friendlier regions, but Chinese citizens are still acquiring bitcoin whether the People’s Bank of China likes it or not.

Last year the People’s Bank of China stopped domestic cryptocurrency exchanges from dealing with trades tied to the country’s legal tender, the renminbi. Following the month of uncertainty, Chinese traders took to the streets and acquired bitcoin through over-the-counter OTC dealers. The first week of February shows a small jump in volume according to Localbitcoins statistics but the following week trade volume quadrupled. Following this spike, week after week all year long China has seen consistent Localbitcoins trade volumes and all-time highs. Additionally, many of the mainland exchanges moved to areas like Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea offering OTC services.

read more here>>>   https://news.bitcoin.com/chinese-investors-continue-to-obtain-bitcoin-using-thriving-otc-platforms/

[There’s been a lot of discussion and controversy surrounding Tether (USDT) a digital asset that claims to be backed by the U.S. dollar. Now according to reports, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has subpoenaed the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex and the company Tether for unknown reasons.]

There’s been a lot of discussion and controversy surrounding Tether (USDT) a digital asset that claims to be backed by the U.S. dollar. Now according to reports, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has subpoenaed the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex and the company Tether for unknown reasons.

A lot of skeptics believe that the digital currency Tether USDT is not backed by the U.S. dollar and may have pumped the entire cryptocurrency economy during 2017’s phenomenal year. Just recently news.Bitcoin.com reported on Tether severing ties with its auditor, so cryptocurrency enthusiasts are still left in the dark regarding USDT’s so-called backing. Tether has still not proven that it holds $2.3 billion USD in reserves. Now according to the financial publication Bloomberg the CFTC had sent subpoenas to both Tether and Bitfinex on December 6, “a person familiar with the matter” explains.

Read More Here >>>   https://news.bitcoin.com/u-s-regulators-send-tether-and-bitfinex-subpoenas/