[What is Proof-of-Authority (POA)?]

What is Proof-of-Authority (POA)?

Nowadays the most popular consensus model for digital transactions is Proof-of-Stake (POS).
But there is another one based on POS called Proof-of-Authority (POS).
Here an interesting article that describes POA benefits and differences from other consensus models.

Read more here:
https://medium.com/@Elysian_Ely/what-is-proof-of-authority-6c8a08397311

[Ethereum (ETH) Gas Prices Return to Normal, After Suspected Intentional Network Overload]

Ethereum (ETH) Gas Prices Return to Normal, After Suspected Intentional Network Overload

The Ethereum (ETH) network faced heavy congestion over the weekend, leading some to suspect a concerted effort at launching spam transactions. Over the weekend, gas prices reached above 200 GWei for higher speeds

Read more at: https://cryptovest.com/news/ethereum-eth-gas-prices-return-to-normal-after-suspected-intentional-network-overload/

From my experience last week ETH network was horribly overloaded, transactions with 41 GWEI took really long to proceed and some of them were simply dropped.

Stunning research about ICO market comes from Cointelegraph:

A recent study prepared by ICO advisory firm Statis Group revealed that more than 80 percent of initial coin offerings (ICOs) conducted in 2017 were identified as scams. The study took into consideration the lifecycle of ICOs run in 2017, from the initial proposal of a sale availability to the most mature phase of trading on a crypto exchange.

Read more at: https://cointelegraph.com/news/new-study-says-80-percent-of-icos-conducted-in-2017-were-scams

So what about year 2018, will it bring us more of scam ICOs or less?

[What Are Cryptocurrency Forks? What Kinds of Them Exist and Why Do We Need Them?]

Want to share cool article about What Are Cryptocurrency Forks? What Kinds of Them Exist and Why Do We Need Them?

Article Contents:

1) What are cryptocurrency forks?
2) What types of forks exist?
3) Advantages and disadvantages of forks
4) Calendar of forks for 2018
5) Conclusion

Read more: https://thecoinshark.net/what-are-cryptocurrency-forks-what-kinds-of-them-exist-and-why-do-we-need-them/

[TRX Migration]

Referring to the official announcement: https://tron.network/trx?lng=en

TRX Migration

Token migration from ERC20 TRX to Mainnet TRX will occur between June 21st – June 25th (GMT+8).

If your TRX is held on an exchange, no action is required. If your TRX is held in a wallet, you must deposit your TRX to an exchange before June 24, 2018 to avoid any losses.

From June 21st– 25th, TRX withdrawals on exchanges will be suspended. On June 25th, both TRX deposits and withdraws on exchanges will be suspended. Deposits and withdraws will resume on June 26th. During this period, TRX trading will not be affected.

If your TRX is held in a wallet and you were not aware of the migration notice, or saw the migration notice after June 25th, please visit our permanent token-exchange counter to exchange your tokens for Mainnet TRX.

For exchanges from ERC20 token to mainnet TRX and TRX offering, please refer to relevant files
Contact: trx@tron.network

Exchanges Supporting TRX Migration

[Tenth Largest Crypto TRON to Leave Ethereum, Launches Beta Version of Own Blockchain]

Tenth Largest Crypto TRON to Leave Ethereum, Launches Beta Version of Own Blockchain

TRON (TRX) launched a beta version of its independent public blockchain at 12 am UTC, today May 31.
Tron is currently the tenth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

The move to Tron’s MainNet – also dubbed Odyssey 2.0 – is part of a transition away from the Ethereum blockchain.
The full launch of the network’s Genesis block is set to take place on June 25, styled ‘Independence Day’ by the TRON foundation.

Token ‘migration’ will take place between June 21 and June 24, during which investors will be able to exchange their ERC-20 standard tokens on crypto exchanges for an equivalent number of TRX on the new blockchain.

How this will affect prices of TRON, ETH and Odyssey as well?

[Survey: Three out of Ten Germans Are Considering Crypto Investing]

Survey: Three out of Ten Germans Are Considering Crypto Investing

Twenty nine percent of Germans are interested in cryptocurrencies as a form of investment, Cointelegraph auf Deutsch reported Tuesday, May 29. German bank Postbank came to this conclusion after a survey of 3,100 Germans, which was conducted from the end of February to the end of March 2018.

When asked about why are they interested in crypto, 60 percent of women and 51 percent of men cited "independence from established financial systems" as an important factor. The possibility of high returns, on the other hand, especially attracts men: 56 percent against 36 percent of women. For every third potential cryptocurrency investor, anonymity is also important.

In terms of age, cryptocurrencies are particularly popular among 18-34 year olds. In this age group almost every second - 46 percent - are interested in crypto investing. Six percent of Germans between the ages of 18 and 34 have already invested, with another 14 percent planning to do so over the next twelve months.

Dr. Thomas Mangel, Head of Postbank's Digital Department, has said in a press release that the sharp price declines in recent months had apparently not impacted the popularity of cryptocurrencies. He believes that the reason for this is a lack of knowledge about opportunities and risks of cryptocurrencies as an investment. Dr. Thomas Mangel warns:

    "Despite all the fascination, young investors should not lose sight of offers from the established banking system. Anyone who already makes an investment in securities as an investment should certainly not invest in cryptocurrencies because of the high risks involved. Because this type of investment is highly speculative."

Many bankers have repeatedly warned against price fluctuations in recent months. For example, ECB Board Member Yves Mersch sees digital currencies as a threat to financial stability and calls for strict banking supervision. Also the wealth management head of the Deutsche Bank Markus Mueller criticized the high volatility of cryptocurrencies.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/survey-three-out-of-ten-germans-are-considering-crypto-investing

According to Cointelegraph Altcoin Verge Hacked For Second Time In Two Months, Around $1.4 Mln Stolen.

Verge tweeted that their mining pools were under a DDOS attack on May 21, noting that they were working to resolve it:
"it appears some mining pools are under ddos attack, and we are experiencing a delay in our blocks, we are working to resolve this."

[Bank Of America Seeks Patent On Blockchain-Based Data Storage System]

Bank Of America Seeks Patent On Blockchain-Based Data Storage System

On April 12, the US Patent and Trademark Office published Bank of America’s application for a patent on a Blockchain-based storage system with automated data authentication.

In the document, which was originally filed in October 2016, the author describes a Blockchain-based system for authenticating data and providing secured access of said data to service providers. The patent addresses the problem of data transferring and tracking, which it says can be resolved by means of cryptographic keys in a private Blockchain:

   “Embodiments of the invention utilize a private Blockchain to store various types of records to be conveyed to the service providers. In this way, the individual or entity may securely store on the Blockchain all records relevant to service providers, then provide the service providers with secured access to said records such that the providers may access only the specific records for which they are authorized, e.g. a healthcare provider may access only the healthcare records on the Blockchain.”

Further in the application, the author outlines disadvantages of traditional electronic methods of records sharing and keeping, such as e-mail attachments or uploading files to providers’ servers through providers’ websites, claiming they are sensitive to tampering as “they lack a built-in mechanism for authenticating records.”

A Blockchain-based system, according to the document, would build an efficient, secure and reliable way to store records and only provide access to authorized parties.

Earlier this month, the Bank of England in partnership with Blockchain startup Chain [urlhttps://cointelegraph.com/news/bank-of-england-explores-centralized-dlt-system-open-to-regulatory-oversight]released a Proof-of-Concept paper[/url], which investigates how to configure a distributed ledger system to maintain privacy between participants, share data across the network, and enable a regulatory body to control transactions.

In March, Malaysia’s central bank hinted at plans to integrate Blockchain technology into its banking sector, announcing that nine national banks had partnered to build a trade finance Blockchain project.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/bank-of-america-seeks-patent-on-blockchain-based-data-storage-system

Ripple is involved in merging banks and other companies in the sphere of payment services.
BankDhofar is going to be the next one, specializing in financial investments, it is currently the only bank in the Middle East region that joined Bankchain, which includes more than 27 banks.
BankDhofa Will Become a Part of the Ripple Network

Sounds like another big XRP partner.

Fresh update about Ethereum Network from Vitalik Buterin:
"The scaling of the Ethereum network is almost complete, says the creator of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin.
Ethereum will interact with each other. This method of shading mostly implies the separation of Ethereum into parallel networks in order to increase the efficiency of the blockchain, which will help reduce the load on the network. Ultimately, it will be possible to reduce the cost and increase the speed of the products of transactions."

Vitalik Buterin Will Soon Distribute the Ethereum Network

San Francisco-based crypto hedge fund Pantera Capital Management said that “highly likely” Bitcoin will hit new highs and exceed $20,000 within a year.
Prominent Crypto Hedge Fund Says Worst Is Over for Bitcoin

Good news came  from Europe today:

The countries, including the U.K., France, Germany, Norway, Spain and the Netherlands, signed a declaration on Tuesday establishing the new group, dubbed the European Blockchain Partnership, according to a release from the European Commission, which led the effort.

22 European Nations Form New Blockchain Partnership