A new type of Bitcoin ransomware is making the rounds, albeit this version is doing something different entirely. Or to be more precise, Petya Bitcoin ransomware will block access to the entire hard drive, rather than target specific files or directories. This type of malware seems to be mainly infecting computers in the Benelux, although other parts of the world are not safe from harm either.

http://themerkle.com/petya-bitcoin-ransomware-targets-enterprises/

Since the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) launched its new means of regulating companies operating in the cryptocurrency industry, BitLicense, eight months ago in June 2015, the regulatory process has only approved one application.

Launched to foster acceptance by administrative bodies

When it was announced that the NYDFS was launching its BitLicense programme in New York, the news was met with positive remarks by leading industry professionals. Many take the view that regulation, although it may limit the cryptocurrency industry temporarily, is in reality hugely beneficial as it means there is growing acceptance by administrative bodies, and therefore hopefully, the general public will feel more comfortable using the new technology.


http://cointelegraph.com/news/eight-months-since-bitlicenses-inception-only-one-license-has-been-granted

The state-owned public television network of Venezuela has launched an anti-Bitcoin campaign. In a recent article published on their website, ‘Corporación Venezolana de Televisión’ claims that the bitcoin is “the ideal currency of ‘the dark side of the internet’, a kind of tax haven for drug dealers, rapists or any criminal”.

‘Corporación Venezolana de Televisión’ is the Spanish for Venezuelan Television Corporation. It is based in Caracas, Venezuela.

‘Tool to evade taxes, launder money and damage the economy’

In a translation of the article from Spanish to English, provided by Reddit user, /u/Avatar-X, the article opens with the very bold statement:

Is it a coincidence that the criminal groups and terrorists of the world are the main activists and defenders of BitcoinCT r:  8?

http://cointelegraph.com/news/venezuelan-government-launches-anti-bitcoin-campaign

Want to pay for your morning coffee with Bitcoin but don’t want to carry a Bitcoin debit card?
Soon you will be able to with Canadian startup Shake Labs, Inc. releasing an alpha test of its new Near Field Communication (NFC) payment solution that allows users to pay for everyday items using Bitcoin and their mobile phones.
The service itself creates a virtual credit card to make the payment at any point of sale (POS) terminal that supports NFC payments over the Visa network, and there are no fees when the transaction takes place; the service does have fees however with a 1 percent Bitcoin to fiat currency exchange fee which is shared before loading any money on the card and a 3 percent fee when a card is used to make a purchase in a foreign currency.
The cards have a limit of $2,500 in transactions a day, or $10,000 when the user sends documentation to Shake confirming their identities, and the cards can be topped up twice, or five times a day respectively.


http://siliconangle.com/blog/2016/03/25/new-bitcoin-nfc-mobile-payments-provider-shake-launches-alpha-test/

Hollywood sets trends. What the stars wear, people generally begin wearing, perceiving it to be hip. It could be that a great many more people will be entering into the Bitcoin space, supposing their subconscious picked up on a little image in the background of a few scenes.

Can you see it? There in the upper left-hand corner. A Bitcoin sticker! It’s in Wade Wilson’s (who turns into Deadpool) best friend’s bar. It turns out the main character’s bar accepts Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency has steadily made its way into popular culture. Starting in 2013, press attention caused the price of Bitcoin to steadily rise, further begetting the attention of financial players and others. Over the years, few feature films have included Bitcoin in the script, but that appears to be picking up steam in the previous couple years as more than one feature film has included Bitcoin in some shape or form.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoin-makes-brief-appearance-deadpool/

The creators of Hardware Wallet, KeepKey have announced that the wallet will now retail for $99, down from its previous price of USD $239.00. This is aimed towards achieving greater accessibility to digital currency users worldwide.

“Our core values for KeepKey are not only exceptional design and ease of use”, explained Darin Stanchfield, the Founder of Keepkey, “but also a product that is widely attainable. We are now producing KeepKey at scale in very large batches, letting us make it more accessible with a lower price.”

"The only complaint we have ever received about KeepKey was it’s price,” said Stanchfield.

http://cointelegraph.com/news/hardware-wallet-keepkey-slashes-price-by-60

Having fallen out of favor in the circles of highly influential blockchain technology players, Bitcoin likely won’t see its widespread commercial adoption beyond the retail and speculation level. This is a long-term view, and not to minimize the usefulness and impact of what Bitcoin is and has inspired. But, as players like R3 CEV, IBM, Intel, Microsoft and a slew of other companies experiment with blockchain technologies, it’s clear to see that they’re looking to serve their clients, who perceive no uses for Bitcoin itself in their industry.

Mike Hearn, a Bitcoin developer privy to what’s taking place in the new commanding heights of the blockchain experience, predicted Bitcoin’s eventual downfall. Is his speculation coming true?

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/entering-post-bitcoin-digital-economy/

Two analysts at the New York Federal Reserve Bank today published the results of analysis on how friction between bitcoin transactions could lead to price differences.

If true, their conclusion that fees charged by exchanges discourage arbitrage could help explain why many still don’t view bitcoin as a safe or stable store of value.

"There are significant frictions when bitcoins trade in exchange markets, resulting in meaningful and persistent price differences across bitcoin exchanges," wrote Asani Sarkar, assistant vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, adding:

http://www.coindesk.com/new-york-fed-bitcoin-market-discrepancies/

An emerging technology called blockchain has the potential to transform the way we do business, and it's being rapidly developed at a time when Australia is in a very good position to take advantage, writes Jim Chalmers.

The Prime Minister has, for all intents and purposes, pulled the trigger for this year's federal election. But while those of us in the political world prepare to contest a federal election, our Olympians and Paralympians are preparing for Rio.

The medals they will bring home will be treasured rewards for many years of sweat and success. It's because these medals matter that their provenance does too.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-25/chalmers-the-'blockchain'-revolution/7276508

Dragon’s Tale is one of those addicting games that you just don’t forget. Its ingenious originality has made the game quite popular among the role play game and casino gaming lovers. Today, it is already considered the most popular Casino Role Play game in the Bitcoin Industry.


http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/03/24/dragons-tale-mining-bitcoin/

OKCoin, one of the leading bitcoin exchanges, has released OCO (One Cancels Other) orders for its exchange, which will allow traders to have a more dynamic way to express a trading view.

Investopedia explains that OCO is a pair of orders that specify that if one order is executed, then the other order is automatically canceled. It combines a stop order with a limit order on an automated trading platform. When either the stop or limit level is reached and the order executed, the other order will be automatically canceled.

OCO orders help traders to capture upside, protect profits, and limit losses. OKCoin explains:

Profit trigger: The price at which the profit order is put in play
Profit order: The price of the profit limit order
Stop trigger: The price at which the stop order is put in play
Stop order: The price of the stop limit order


http://www.econotimes.com/Bitcoin-Exchange-OKCoin-Adds-OCO-Orders-To-Its-Exchange-184243

US, March 24, 2016 at 00:02 GMT
The company behind the platform codenamed Rootstock (RSK) has successfully completed its initial seed funding round.

BUENOS AIRES - March 21, 2016. RSK Labs has announced that in a round led by Bitmain Technology, the world’s largest bitcoin hardware mining producer, Coinsilium, a leading blockchain investment firm based in London and Digital Currency Group, the prolific investor from New York, RSK Labs raised $1 million to further develop the first smart contracts platform secured by Bitcoin and fully compatible with Ethereum. This successful round allows RSK Labs to expand its current presence in Latin America to Asia, Europe and US, while securing the funding needed to ensure the complete execution of its roadmap.

http://www.coindesk.com/press-releases/rsk-labs-raises-1-million-to-bring-smart-contracts-to-the-bitcoin-blockchain/

Bitcoin 3.0 Tech BitShares Surges as OpenLedger Launches World's First Decentralized Conglomerate Reports CCEDK

Based on BitShares Bitcoin 3.0 technology, OpenLedger is pleased to announce the world's first Decentralized Conglomerate: a platform which allows organizations to invest in each other and share profits in a fully decentralized manner. Most recently launched BTSR and OBITS tokens are defining their place as emerging ecosystems on the OpenLedger platform

http://www.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/2016/03/23/NY48170

Entering 2016, provenance – or the ability to ensure ownership and chain of custody – was named as a potential breakout use case for blockchain technology, and while this prediction has yet to come to pass, new startups are entering the market.

The latest to emerge on the scene is Chronicled, which has raised $3.4m to explore whether blockchain tech can be a value-add for the purchasers of collectible sneakers.

As described by The New York Times, the scene is one where "mostly male, mostly teenage" buyers quickly amass thousand-dollar collections. According to informal estimates, the secondary market for collectible shoes is valued at $1.2bn in the US alone.

But Chronicled is banking on the fact that this state of affairs will provide the best luxury goods market for its blockchain applications. Competitors have so far chosen to apply similar concepts in digital media and precious stones.

http://www.coindesk.com/chronicled-sneakers-blockchain-big-market/

Binary options trading platform eXbino is pleased to announce several new developments aimed improving the trading experience for its users. The company is working on integrating SpotOption software into its platform. Exbino would also like to announce its new eXbino Follow feature, which enables social trading. The company has also completed Cubits integration, and now offers long-term BTC and USD options for bitcoin trading.

http://bitcoinist.net/exbino-rolls-out-new-features-to-improve-trading-experience/

Bitcoin casino FortuneJack has officially launched its “new and improved” Bitcoin Casino affiliate program. This program offers casino affiliates several options for promotions, and the “highest in the industry commissions.

http://bitcoinist.net/fortunejack-lucrative-affiliate-program/

Bitcoin is not the Terminator but it might as well be if we look at the overwhelmingly large number of obituaries this cryptocurrency has attracted. Although Mike Hearn, a prominent bitcoin developer, recently claimed that this digital currency is a failed experiment , it continues to resurrect after every punch.
After Mike Hearn publicly stated that bitcoin is a failed experiment many early adopters rushed to create obituaries for this cryptocurrency —all 99 eulogies can be found on a website called Bitcoin Obituaries. In short, the aim of this website is to list all the articles that have announced (in different words) the death of this digital currency. Mike Hearn’s Medium article occupies the 89th position, which means that bitcoin has died at least ten more times since mid-January.

https://jaxenter.com/bitcoin-flipping-bitcoin-died-99-times-keeps-coming-back-125022.html

Typical indicator behavior as per yesterday?s analysis: the price wave approached its top with MACD (top) touching its upper Bollinger Band and the stochastics (second from top) grouped at their upper maximum. Today?s bounce from the 20MA saw the momentum indicators diverge across the board ? indicating trend exhaustion. Note how RSI (just above price) had diverged (magenta annotation) from the nominal new price high and forced price back below the green 20MA, thereby, breaking the ascending wave?s short tenure.

Let?s remain patient here. The wave up lacks participation, it is overbought and the momentum indicators show the strain with which advance had reached for the 4hr 200MA near $419 (Bitfinex).

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoin-price-turn-around-420/

FXpips.com – IF there’s one thing that should easily get the attention of people nowadays, it’s the promise of a big cash return for a small amount of investment.
We’ve heard it all before, but despite the warning signs all strewn up on the wall, many still fall prey to sweet-talking opportunists who would do anything just to rip people off.

For instance, a couple in Taiwan decided there was lots of money to be made on the Internet and launched a bogus investment drive that had more than a thousand unsuspecting investors shell out cash in hopes of getting more in return.

The trick worked by marketing a high-yield investment promotion (HYIP) via messaging application LINE that promised a 250-percent return of investment (ROI) within 30 days which, in layman’s term, is simply a Ponzi scheme in disguise.

The result proved effective and enabled the couple to stash away a considerable amount of money. One of the victims who go by the name Vivan, said she lost 16 bitcoins, or almost $7,000. She said if the investment had gone as planned, she would have received an ROI of almost $10,000.

http://www.fxpips.com/bitcoin-scam-taiwanese-couple-wanted-in-nt50-million-bitcoin-investment-fraud/

To many people in the Bitcoin community, altcoins are considered nothing more than scams. Part of the reason is that altcoin developers and promoters are often found telling people to purchase an altcoin for their own financial benefit; however, this is not the case for Monero developer Riccardo Spagni .

Spagni holds a relatively pragmatic view on altcoins. The Monero developer has told individuals with limited funds to not buy the altcoin. In fact, he has stated , "The most likely scenario is that Monero fails entirely."

To many, Spagni's unique take on the altcoin market, especially as a developer in the space, is quite refreshing. In a recent interview with Bitcoin Magazine , Spagni expanded on his views related to Monero and altcoins in general.



Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/are-any-altcoins-currenty-useful-no-says-monero-developer-riccardo-spagni-cm596862#ixzz43k6V4LyJ