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While Bitcoin is not the sleek and sexy plaything of the rich and famous, it certainly is no longer only a tool for the tech-savvy computer whizzes. The mainstream appeal of Bitcoin has seen it spread across different demographics, from retired grandmothers to some of the world’s biggest rappers.
Celebrities have been used to market certain ICOs, as well as be the face of a host of different coins, but many celebrities have chosen to invest their immense wealth into digital currencies.
The Top 10
In true Hollywood-style, we go through 10 of the more surprising celebrities Bitcoiners.
1. Ashton Kutcher
Perhaps this comedy star and well-known ‘That 70s show’ actor is not too surprising as with Kutcher maturing in Hollywood, he has also become quite business savvy. The actor has appeared on Shark Tank a few times. He is the co-founder of BitPay investor A-Grade Investments. Moreover, he is a poster-boy for breaking with convention and the decentralized approach to life.... https://cointelegraph.com/news/10-surprising-celeb-bitcoiners |
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One of the biggest mysteries in the technology world is the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the computer programmer who invented the digital currency bitcoin.
That's because the name—Satoshi Nakamoto—is a pseudonym. It could represent a man, a woman, or even a group of people.
And, since the cryptocurrency was created in 2008, no one has been able to figure out who Nakamoto really is.
But beyond solving a longstanding mystery, experts agree that uncovering Nakamoto's identity could have an immense impact on bitcoin's economics and internal politics. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/27/bitcoins-origin-story-remains-shrouded-in-mystery-heres-why-it-matters.html |
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Further rumors are surfacing that Amazon will announce a Bitcoin-related innovation Thursday, as a German newspaper fuels speculation.
In an article Tuesday, Die Welt reported that fintech sources in Silicon Valley were echoing previous hints from investor James Altucher that the global giant could soon integrate Bitcoin as a payment option.
Altucher made the comments in a report last month, citing Thursday’s conference call as a D-Day moment for Amazon and Bitcoin.
Ahead of the call, which anyone can listen to, momentum that the rumors actually hold substance are mounting.
“Even if the Oct. 26 date is not set in stone, Bitcoin introduction should probably be expected soon,” Die Welt writes. https://cointelegraph.com/news/more-rumors-amazon-could-accept-bitcoin-as-all-eyes-on-conference-call |
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Jeff Garzik, one of a handful of key developers who helped build the underlying software for bitcoin that is known as blockchain, has seen its shortcomings firsthand. So he decided to create a better digital currency.
He’s calling it Metronome and says it will be the first that can jump between different blockchains. For example, coins that are used for applications on the Ethereum blockchain will be able to move to Ethereum Classic before jumping onto Qtum or Rootstock, which connects with the bitcoin blockchain, said Garzik.
The mobility means that if one blockchain dies out as the result of infighting among developers or slackened use, metronome owners can move their holdings elsewhere. That should help the coins retain value, and ensure their longevity, Garzik, co-founder of startup Bloq that created metronome, said in a phone interview.
That’s a concern for many digital currencies. Infighting among developers and various supporters, and the slow pace of enhancements on the bitcoin blockchain have helped to limit use. Both bitcoin and its main rival, ethereum, have split into several versions. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-24/bitcoin-pioneer-says-new-coin-to-work-on-multiple-blockchains |
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Barely a day goes by without a fresh announcement about how banks are seeking to use blockchain technology to transform sizeable chunks of their business.
Combining shared databases and cryptography, blockchain technology allows multiple parties to have simultaneous access to a constantly updated digital ledger that cannot be altered.
The technology, which underpins cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, was initially treated with scepticism by banks. However, this has changed dramatically. Blockchain is the hottest buzzword in the sector, even if the recent flurry of cryptocurrency fundraisings via "initial coin offerings" is attracting intense regulatory scrutiny.
Blockchain firms raised more than $240m of venture capital money in the first six months of 2017, much of it from banks, including $107m raised by R3, the New York firm owned by 40 of the world's biggest lenders. That follows an almost doubling of venture capital investment in blockchain firms last year to $367m, according to KPMG's Pulse of Fintech Q2 report.
Many of the new ventures by banks involve them setting up a consortium of like-minded companies or carrying out a "proof of concept" to test the potential of the new technology. In almost all cases there is little to show in terms of commercial significance.
So which the areas of banking stand a serious chance of being transformed by blockchain? The Financial Times has spoken to almost a dozen bankers, consultants and analysts to come up with five areas of the industry most likely to see an effect.
https://www.ft.com/content/615b3bd8-97a9-11e7-a652-cde3f882dd7b |
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The price of bitcoin has hit a new all-time high, crossing the $6,000 line for the first time.
Markets climbed as high as $6,003.81, according to CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index (BPI). This figure surpasses the previous all-time high set on October 13, when the price rose to $5,856.10.
BPI data shows that the price climbed more than $200 in the past hour, with markets showing an average price of $5,697 prior to the ramp. At press time, the price of bitcoin is trading at around $5,968.
Figures from CoinMarketCap.com show that some exchanges are currently reporting a price above $6,000, including Bitfinex and Bithumb, the world's two largest exchanges by volume.
Today's move pushes the network's collective market capitalization closer to the $100 billion line. At press time, according to the BPI, bitcoin's market cap is roughly $99.5 billion. https://www.coindesk.com/quiet-surge-bitcoin-price-sets-new-high-just-6000/ |
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Worldcore is an EU-regulated payment institution, founded in 2014 by EUPSProvider. This company is licensed by the National Bank of Czech Republic. Founder and chief executive of Worldcore, Alexey Nasonov is included in The 2016 New Europe list, the third annual list of central and eastern Europe’s brightest and best people.
Pre-sale for accredited investors had begun 5 days before the official Initial Coin Offering (ICO) and Worldcore offered 10% bonuses to this early birds. According to the company’s press release, the project has already raised over $5 million through its pre-sale, requiring a minimum of 165 ETH/11 BTC to participate. It seems that Worldcore can easily reach maximum cap of $100m as the ICO progresses. https://www.coinspeaker.com/2017/10/19/payment-institution-worldcore-launches-ico-aiming-raise-100m/ |
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Etheruem's blockchain may now be in the process of upgrading to new software – but that doesn't mean notable developers aren't reflecting on the process that was.
For example, while the update appears to have been successful, at least one provider of ethereum software notably struggled with preparations for the rollout. As reported by CoinDesk, UK-based Parity Technologies, used by nearly 25 percent of the network, was beset with bugs through the weekend, a development that spurred speculation about last-minute delays.
But while that specter has been avoided, Parity founder and CTO Gavin Wood is now speaking out on the issues, citing the upgrade process as one that is rife with "lessons to be learnt" for the community of developers working on the second-largest blockchain by total value. More on Wood's views on the ETH folk here: https://www.coindesk.com/ethereums-gavin-wood-calling-conservative-hard-forks/ |
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A bitcoin investor and podcast host has predicted that the price of bitcoin will increase to over $27,000 in four months time.
Trace Mayer, who proclaims to be an entrepreneur, investor, journalist, monetary scientist and ardent defender on his website, took to social media to make his prediction. According to him, by February 2018, bitcoin’s value will be worth $27,395. For more see https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/investor-predicts-bitcoin-price-to-hit-27k-in-four-months/ |
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While many digital currencies focus on more arcane areas such as smart contracts, tokenization, or the like, the digital currency Dash has always focused on payments. The name Dash is itself a portmanteau of the words “digital cash.” Founded by Evan Duffield in 2014, Dash aims to promote faster transactions with its InstantSend technology. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, that can take an hour or more to fully confirm, Dash’s InstantSend transactions are fully confirmed and irreversible in just four seconds.To read more: https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-dash-can-now-be-spent-at-40-million-stores-worldwide-thanks-to-wirex-debit-card
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Billionaire Michael Novogratz predicted that Bitcoin’s price is likely to be over $10,000 in six to 10 months. Trace Mayer predicts Bitcoin price will reach $27,395 in February of 2018. Vladimir Putin stated: “It is important not to create unnecessary barriers [on cryptocurrencies]”.
Bitcoin.org released an announcement stating storing any BTC on services such as Coinbase, Bitpay and Xapo is strongly not recommended during the hard fork in November. Podcast: https://dailycrypto.io/2017/10/11/10-11-2017-bitcoin-will-reach-10k-in-6-months-michael-novogratz/ |
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Wall Street may not be crazy about bitcoin, but it is intrigued by its use of blockchain technology.
Today, private equity transactions that use leveraged buyouts financed with debt can take 20 to 30 days to close and settle, said James Disney, Credit Suisse's global head of software investment banking. With blockchain technology, he said, that could take only a matter of minutes.
"If you add up all of our volume over the quarter, that's hundreds of billions of dollars we're able to free up and take out of the system to use for other purposes," he told CNBC's "Fast Money" on Tuesday. https://www.c[Suspicious link removed]m/2017/10/10/the-sky-is-the-limit-for-blockchain-technology-in-banking-credit-suisse-banker.html |
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Over the last week, the BTC-USD market has seen some major price swings. At one point, the price nearly reached $4500 only to see it pull back down to the low $4100s. And now, within two days, the price has topped back out in the low $4400s. There has been some major chop and seemingly erratic dumps and price hikes, but overall there seems to be a common upward trend within the macro market movements:
Since the bottom of the bear run last month, bitcoin has seen several rallies that have continued along a generally positive trend. The figure above shows a trend of higher highs, higher lows and an upper/lower boundary that is converging. This type of price activity is called a rising wedge.
Coupled with this price growth is a trend of decreasing volume throughout the length of the wedge. A rising wedge is generally a bearish trend that shows weakening bullish pressure as each subsequent rally becomes smaller and smaller. As the price corrects, there are rallies that bring the price to new highs, but ultimately rally on smaller and smaller volume. https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/bitcoin-price-analysis-there-may-still-be-some-life-these-exhausted-bulls/ |
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For most individuals, investing in foreign property seems out of reach. The barriers, however, have far less to do with one’s income and more to do with issues around information, namely quality and verifiability. It is not just the cost of property but also the expense in hiring local advisers that makes foreign real estate a rich man’s game.
Blockchain technology has the potential to significantly lower these barriers, making property investment a viable option for a larger swathe of the population. In short, distributed ledgers can provide greater transparency into the availability, detail and oversight of properties in more inaccessible areas.
Tokenization makes real estate investments more liquid and divisible among a greater number of people — an attribute that greatly reduces transaction costs and increases economies of scale. https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/op-ed-roadmap-how-blockchain-can-open-foreign-property-investment/ |
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"Goldman’s effort involves both its currency-trading division and the bank’s strategic investment group, the people said. That suggests the firm believes bitcoin’s future is more as a payment method rather than a store of value, like gold," the [Suspicious link removed]j.com/articles/goldman-sachs-explores-a-new-world-trading-bitcoin-1506959128]Wall Street Journal[/url] reported. For the full story see https://www.coindesk.com/report-goldman-sachs-considering-bitcoin-services-clients/ |
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The global blockchain benchmarking study, a joint project by EY, the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance and Visa, is the first of its kind. It presents a comprehensive view of how the financial services industry, as well as the public and private sectors in general, are currently using DLT, how they envision using it in the future, and the challenges to mainstream adoption. For more information, plus a link to the download: https://fsinsights.ey.com/big-issues/Digital-and-connectivity/Global-blockchain-benchmarking-study-2017 |
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