https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2018/02/23/what-will-it-take-for-bitcoin-to-replace-the-dollar-in-everyday-transactions/#6423871163dbOf all the problems that keep Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from replacing the dollar in everyday transactions, one stands out: volatility—value fluctuation in relation to the dollar.
That’s according to a recent survey conducted by Survata, an independent research firm in San Francisco, which found that 60.3% of cryptocurrency holders see cryptocurrency volatility as the most important barrier of using cryptocurrencies in everyday transactions.
Survata interviewed 402 online respondents between January 18, 2018 and January 23, 2018. Respondents were reached across the Survata publisher network, where they took a survey to unlock premium content, like articles and ebooks. Respondents received no cash compensation for their participation.
402 respondents is a tiny sample, and therefore the survey findings should be interpreted with extreme caution.
Still, the survey results aren’t surprising to Craig Cole, CEO and Founder of CryptoMaps. “Whenever you transfer bitcoin using blockchain, it can take hours. Because of the high volatility of the currency, the value can change dramatically during that time. So for many virtual currency owners, they see this and think it doesn't make sense to use bitcoin to purchase anything.”
What could change the situation? Two things. One is speeding up the time it takes to execute cryptocurrency transactions, something cryptocurrency exchanges are working on. “The focus has been on changing this issue,” says Cole. “Projects such as OmiseGO, DASH, Stellar, BitcoinCash and Litecoin have radically improved transaction speeds. This has eliminated some of the angst that Bitcoin has given business owners and consumers. With new point of sale platforms emerging daily like CoinBase Commerce, cryptocurrency will be a viable payment option for businesses for the sustainable future.”
Then there’s Wall Street, which has come up with financial products that allow market participants to hedge their positions against volatility in one of the major cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin. Merchants, for instance, concerned about Bitcoin volatility, can purchase Bitcoin futures, as discussed in a previous piece here. It's interesting that the belief (based on experience in 2017) that it takes hours for bitcoin to confirm is now received wisdom and gets endlessly repeated, despite the mempool clearing.
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http://metro.co.uk/2018/02/23/can-now-buy-house-britain-using-cryptocurrency-bitcoin-7336728/You can now use Bitcoin to purchase a home in the UK after one of Northern Ireland’s largest housebuilders said it will now accept cryptocurrency.
Ballyclare-based Hagan Homes is believed to be the first firm of its kind in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland to take the step.
Managing director Jamesy Hagan said: ‘Bitcoin is an innovative new payment method and essentially a new kind of money. It is very similar to a cash transaction.
‘There has been a significant growth in the use of Bitcoin worldwide and our acceptance of this new channel reflects our willingness to respond to the market.’
Hagan Homes recorded a turnover of more than £18 million in 2016/17 and marked its second biggest year of home completions since it was established almost 30 years ago.
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Here's an interesting article on how the US govt seizes the assets of criminals: http://fortune.com/2018/02/21/government-forfeiture-bitcoin-auction/Enterprising agents figured out ways to snag suspects’ currency when it wasn’t protected. To get Ulbricht’s Bitcoin, they snatched his open, unlocked laptop from under his nose while arresting him in a San Francisco library. (As for Cazes, he was logged in to an AlphaBay administrator’s account when agents rammed a car through the gate of his Thailand estate.) By the time they busted the Dread Pirate, the marshals had got up to speed: They controlled at least two digital wallets of their own, to hold the Silk Road currency and receive Bitcoins seized by other agencies. “This was cutting-edge stuff,” says Sharon Cohen Levin, a longtime chief of the asset-forfeiture unit in the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, and now a partner at WilmerHale. “We’d never done something like this.” |
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-22/bitcoin-faces-new-obstacle-as-france-clamps-down-on-derivativesFrance’s top markets regulator is getting tough on cryptocurrency trading.
The Autorite des Marches Financiers said on Thursday that online trading platforms for cryptocurrency derivatives fall under the European Union’s MiFID II regulations and face tough new reporting and business conduct standards. The platforms should also be barred from advertising the products electronically, a common practice in the industry.
The Paris-based AMF said the “recent cryptocurrency boom” spurred online trading platforms to offer binary options, contracts for difference and other derivatives tied to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. That spurred the regulator to analyze the products, which have been offered by firms including Plus500 Ltd. and IG Group Holdings Plc.
The two derivatives brokers touted cryptocurrencies products in earnings reports this quarter. Kelsey Traynor, a representative for Plus500, said all of the firm’s CFDs, including those on cryptocurrencies, are compliant with the framework set out by the AMF. Representatives of IG Group didn’t respond immediately to requests for comment. I think this applies only to derivatives of bitcoin, which is fair enough.
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/02/13/bitcoin-exchanges-form-first-uk-trade-body-regulators-circle/Seven of the largest crypto companies are forming a UK cryptocurrency trade body, bringing in the first self-regulation for the wild west sector worth £290 billion.
CryptoUK, whose members include the popular Coinbase exchange and trading platforms eToro and CryptoCompare, said it had produced the first code of conduct for the industry to abide by.
The companies said they hoped the regulations would form the first part of broader UK rules around volatile cryptocurrency trading.
CryptoUK chair Iqbal Gandham said there was a risk of "rogue operators", but the new body had been established "to promote best practice and to work with government and regulators".
The group, which is self-regulating, is also seeking buy-in from the government and official regulators such as the Financial Conduct Authority. The Treasury is currently working on amendments to international money laundering rules to include Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies with an update expected in the coming months.
The group said the new body did not include Initial Coin Offerings, or ICOs, which see investors buying digital tokens in startups, often with no guarantees for their investment.
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Berkshire Hathaway is Warren Buffet's company... https://squawker.org/technology/bitcoinbuffett/A “noxious poison,” that’s how the Vice-Chairman of Warren Buffett’s investment firm Berkshire Hathaway recently chose to describe Bitcoin and its related technologies. Seemingly not one to mince words, the number two at the world’s third-largest public company also called the general interest in Cryptocurrencies “totally asinine.” These strong declarations following only a month behind his famous boss’s own statement that Bitcoin “definitely will come to a bad ending.”
Given all this hate towards Cryptocurrencies coming from Berkshire Hathaway, one would reasonably assume the company wanted nothing to do with the technology. That is why it’s strange to consider that one of the largest of Berkshire’s many wholly owned subsidiary companies, BNSF Railway, has just become the first major railroad to join the Blockchain In Transport Alliance.
The alliance has a stated goal of helping member companies apply digital-ledger based technologies to improve efficiency and reduce costs in the freight and logistics space. The groups own information guide states that, “Members of BiTA understand that Blockchain isn’t just an industry disruptor, it’s technology that will revolutionize the way people do business.” The group has also stated its firm belief that “10% of the global GPD will be stored on Blockchain by 2025.” Strange for a company whose owners have called the technology “disgusting”, to join up with a group so obviously for it. |
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https://coindoo.com/california-blockchain-signatures-smart-contracts-may-become-legally/A California lawmaker wants to make the blockchain signatures and smart contracts legal. The Assembly member Ian Calderon has proposed last week the Assembly Bill 2658, which refers to the possibility of including the electronic records on a blockchain technology.
He stated that “A record that is secured through blockchain technology is an electronic record”. However, the existing regulation related to the digital records states that “a record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form and that a contract may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because an electronic record was used in its formation”.
According to the Assembly Bill 2658, Ian Calderon states about the licenses that “The department may suspend a licensee from providing records by electronic transmission if there is a pattern or practices that demonstrate the licensee has failed to comply with the requirements of this section. A licensee may appeal the suspension and resume its electronic transmission of records upon communication from the department that the changes the licensee made to its process or system to comply with the requirements of this section are satisfactory.”
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https://www.coindesk.com/israel-confirms-will-tax-bitcoin-property/Israel's government confirmed Monday that it would treat bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a kind of property for tax purposes.
The notice confirms past indications that the Tax Authority will regard cryptocurrencies as "a property, not a currency", making it therefore taxable as such. The Authority's position was first detailed in a draft circular issued in January of this year.
The circular explains that profits from cryptocurrencies will be subject to capital gains tax at rates between twenty percent and twenty-five percent, while individuals mining or trading cryptocurrencies in connection with businesses must pay a seventeen percent value-added tax (VAT) in addition to capital gains tax.
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http://uk.ign.com/articles/2018/02/18/steam-puzzle-game-offering-1-bitcoin-to-the-first-person-who-can-beat-itA puzzle game coming out soon on Steam promises to offer a single Bitcoin to the first person who can beat it.
The developers of Montecrypto: The Bitcoin Enigma, Gem Rose Accent, will launch the $2 USD game on Steam on February 20. Players must traverse a maze in first-person and solve 24 different puzzles. The first player to finish all of the puzzles will receive one Bitcoin, which is currently worth a little over $9,800 USD.
You can work with others to solve these puzzles, leave hints and clues behind for other players, or lead them down dead ends if you so choose. Motherboard reports the developers of the game want to remain anonymous until a winner is crowned.
"We are trying to keep our identities secret for now," Gem Rose Accent said in a press release. "But we can say we are a group of game developers and that we had a crazy idea for a game." February 20th is tomorrow...
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-19/more-than-1200-people-complain-to-accc-about-bitcoin-scams/9462240New figures show more than 1,200 Australians complained to the national consumer watchdog about cryptocurrency scams last year.
[We] obtained the latest figures from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission's (ACCC) Scamwatch, showing it received 1,289 complaints related to Bitcoin in 2017, with reported losses totalling $1,218,206.
The corporate regulator, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), has issued a warning to would-be investors.
"These are quite speculative products and they can be quite high-risk," ASIC commissioner John Price told [us].
"It's been quite well documented that some of these products are scams, so please don't invest unless you're prepared to lose some or all of your money."
Unregulated exchanges are also a problem. Australia's population is only 24 million, and likely no more than a few hundred thousand are into bitcoin, so these are quite a lot of complaints.
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See the following story from Australia: https://www.cnet.com/news/bitcoin-boost-australia-cryptocurrency-competition-boost/Australian juice company Boost is giving away four bitcoins -- one a week, for four weeks -- to those who buy some juice and enter a code in the Boost app. In the past, these marketing camapigns would feature a holiday they were giving away if your bought the product and entered the codes. Now it's bitcoin. |
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https://www.trustnodes.com/2018/02/17/polands-central-bank-secretly-paid-youtubers-slander-cryptosA Polish Youtuber, with around one million subscribers, was paid circa $30,000 by the Central Bank of Poland, in collaboration with the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, to portray cryptocurrencies in a negative light without disclosing the payment in the video.
Marcin Dubiel, whose video “I lost all my money” has half a million views, portrays cryptocurrencies as a way to get rich quick, to only find out he had no money to pay for a date at a restaurant and was generally left penniless due to cryptocurrency investments.
The video’s description contains the hashtag #uważajnakryptowaluty, a website by Poland’s Central Bank and FCA which portrays digital currencies as risky, having no guarantee, and not classified as electronic money.
The Central Bank of Poland has admitted that “it carried out a campaign on the issue of virtual currencies in social media,” without providing any further comment on the matter.
Nor do they explain why their paid advertising was undisclosed in the video by Marcin Dubiel, who is just one among others who received such payments, including Planeta Faktów, a Youtube channel with 1.5 million subscribers.
Poland’s lack of access, in general, to English language information might make them especially susceptible to such propaganda Lots of these former communist states are paranoid about maintaining control. Luckily the west is still open to new ideas.
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An artist called Ludo, who does graffiti art has done an artwork in Paris:  More in the following link: http://thisisludo.com/category/news/I wonder if all the Occupy protestors and anarchists will now get into Bitcoin and cryptocurrency... |
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http://tabbforum.com/news/number-of-crypto-hedge-funds-soars-amid-bitcoin-volatilityLONDON (Reuters) - Hedge funds focused on trading cryptocurrencies have struggled to eke out returns this year amid a sharp sell-off in the highly volatile market, in spite of a flood of new funds setting up to deploy investor cash.
The number of crypto hedge funds more than doubled in the four months to Feb. 15, data from fintech research house Autonomous NEXT showed on Thursday.
The research firm recorded a record high of 226 global hedge funds with such a strategy, up from 110 global hedge funds as of Oct. 18. That itself was up from 55 funds at Aug. 29 and just 37 at the start of 2017. I think this is the reason bitcoin rose from $1000 in Jan 2017 to about $10,000 now. It's down to this wall of hedge fund money.
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Here is their advisory doc: http://www.cftc.gov/idc/groups/public/@customerprotection/documents/file/customeradvisory_pumpdump0218.pdfThe U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is advising customers to avoid
pump-and-dump schemes that can occur in thinly traded or new “alternative” virtual currencies and digital coins or tokens. Customers should notpurchase virtual currencies, digital coins, or tokens based on social media tips or sudden price spikes. Thoroughly research virtual currencies, digital coins, tokens, and the companies or entities behind them in order to separate hype from facts.
Blow the whistle on pump-and-dump schemers. Virtual currency and digital token pump-and-dump schemes continue because they are mostly anonymous.If you have original information that leads to a successful enforcement action that leads to monetary sanctions of $1 million or more, you could be eligible for a monetary award of between 10 percent and 30 percent. For more information, or to submit a tip, visit the CFTC’s whistleblower.gov website BTW the cftc is headed by Giancarlo - the man who gave positive testimony to the US senate. His recommendation was that the govt come down hard on scams but otherwise allow crypto to flourish. |
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https://www.marketwatch.com/story/anonymous-trader-buys-400-million-of-bitcoin-2018-02-16Go big or go home. That’s the motto of one mysterious investor who put his chips on the table, buying close to $400 million of the No.1 digital currency, bitcoin.
The purchase comes as cryptocurrencies are making a comeback after a dreadful start to 2018.
“Not sure who that big buyer was but many have bought this dip and have added since the rebound and additional regulatory clarity in the U.S. and Asia,” Alex Sunnarborg, Founding Partner of Tetras Capital said.
The unknown trader with the bitcoin address 3Cbq7aT1tY8kMxWLbitaG7yT6bPbKChq64 purchased the coins between Feb. 9 and Feb. 12, taking his bitcoin balance from 55,000 coins to more than 96,000. It's probably a hedge fund that has invested a small portion of their funds and doesn't understand that you shouldn't keep it all in one address because the blockchain is public and everyone can see what you've done.
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https://monetse.com/bitcoinist/visa-owns-up-to-erroneous-error-says-coinbase-isn-t-to-blame-for-draining-accountsAfter duplicating charges and draining users’ accounts, Visa has accepted responsibility for the gross error — after initially claiming Coinbase was to blame.
Over the past week, Coinbase users have been experiencing a rather unpleasant situation.
Numerous users reported erroneous duplicate charges on their credit and debit cards, effectively draining users’ bank accounts and leaving many individuals in potentially dangerous situations.
After initially confirming the reports, Coinbase passed the blame for the situation on to Visa, stating the “erroneous credit and debit charges are the result of Visa reversing and recharging transactions. This was not done by Coinbase.” Many individuals, however, were not convinced.
A spokesperson for Visa initially told the Financial Times that Coinbase was actually at fault, stating that the financial institution “has not made any systems changes that would result in the duplicate transactions cardholders are reporting […] we are also not aware of any other merchants who are experiencing this issue” — seemingly passing the blame back to Coinbase.
Yesterday, however, Visa surprisingly accepted responsibility for the erroneous mistake. In a joint statement from Visa and Worldpay published on Coinbase’s official blog, the companies explain:
Over the last two days, some customers who used a credit or debit card at Coinbase may have seen duplicate transactions posted to their cardholder accounts. This issue was not caused by Coinbase. Worldpay and Coinbase have been working with Visa and Visa issuing banks to ensure that the duplicate transactions have been reversed and appropriate credits have been posted to cardholder accounts. Poor old Coinbase - they continually get bashed for stuff that isn't their fault.
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http://fortune.com/2018/02/14/bitcoin-cryptocurrency-blockchain-wallet-hack/For years, hackers have robbed Bitcoin investors, emptying their cryptocurrency wallets without fear of being caught thanks to the relative anonymity of the blockchain. Now, Cisco (csco, +5.04%) has exposed the thieves behind a string of particularly flagrant attacks.
A Ukrainian hacker group dubbed Coinhoarder has stolen more than $50 million in cryptocurrency from users of Blockchain.info, one of the most popular providers of digital currency wallets, according to a report published Wednesday by Cisco’s Talos cybersecurity team.
The report explains how thieves preyed upon their victims using a “very simple” yet treacherous technique: Buying Google ads on popular search keywords related to cryptocurrency “to poison user search results” and snatch the contents of crypto wallets. This meant people Googling terms like “blockchain” or “bitcoin wallet,” saw links to malicious websites masquerading as legitimate domains for Blockchain.info wallets.
For example, the poison ads included “spoofed” links with small types like “blokchien.info/wallet” and “block-clain.info,” which sent visitors to a landing page that mirrored actual websites of the company Blockchain, which runs both the domains Blockchain.info and blockchain.com. (The legitimate sites appeared lower in results than the “poisoned” links, according to Cisco’s report.)
Fooled into believing they had come to the right place, victims then entered private information that allowed the hackers to gain access to their actual wallets and take their digital money. “The attackers needed only to continue purchasing Google AdWords to ensure a steady stream of victims,” the Talos team led by Jeremiah O’Connor and Dave Maynor said in their report.
Blockchain, for its part, is working with Google “on a daily basis” to take down phishing ads, and secured the removal of almost 10,000 such malicious websites last year, along with another 3,000 it flagged in January alone, according to Blockchain CEO and co-founder Peter Smith. The solution to this is not using Google to navigate. If you already have an account at blockchain.info or an exchange, BOOKMARK the url and go straight to that instead of googling the exchange name.
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currencies-fcc/u-s-probe-finds-bitcoin-mining-operation-interfered-with-broadband-network-idUSKCN1FZ321WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Communications Commission said on Thursday an investigation had found that a Brooklyn bitcoin mining operation interfered with T-Mobile US Inc’s (TMUS.O) broadband network.
The company had complained about interference to its 700 MHz LTE network in Brooklyn from radio emissions it said were coming from a Brooklyn residence mining for the cryptocurrency - verifying bitcoin transactions.
The FCC said its investigation determined the user was “generating spurious emissions on frequencies assigned to T-Mobile’s broadband network and causing harmful interference.”
The agency’s enforcement bureau said in a letter dated Thursday that continued use of an operation known as “Antminer s5 Bitcoin Miner” would constitute a violation of federal law and could result in fines, criminal prosecution or seizure of the equipment. This is really bad for mining operations in the United States.
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https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/15/the-cheapest-and-most-expensive-countries-to-mine-bitcoin.htmlBitcoin mining is costing South Koreans a lot of money.
Mining just one bitcoin in one of the world's biggest digital currency markets costs $26,170, according to data released by lighting and furniture firm Elite Fixtures.
The Elite Fixtures data also showed that Venezuela is the cheapest country in which to mine bitcoin. It costs $531 to mine the world's best known virtual currency there. Some Venezuelans have turned to bitcoin mining for survival in the economically struggling South American country.
The Elite Fixtures study analyzed electricity prices from 115 different countries, using data provided by governments, utility firms and the International Energy Agency. It worked out the price of power consumption based on averages from three popular cryptocurrency mining rigs.
 
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