Latest posts of: Terraformer

A slight beam of good news shines over the bleeding cryptocurrency market as Arizona State University Professor Dragan Boscovic discusses the future of Bitcoin from a trading standpoint. The scholar seems to think that Bitcoin is regarded by investors as a ‘valued investment opportunity’.

Dragan Boscovic is a computer science research professor at Arizona State University (ASU) and also a director of the Blockchain Research Lab – a project that aims to further the development blockchain-based technology’s applications. In a recent interview with ASU Now, Boscovic offers his insight on Bitcoin’s past, present, and future as an investment asset.

BITCOIN GOES TO WALL STREET

In December 2017, with the eyes of the financial world firmly fixed on Bitcoin, two major futures exchanges – CBOE and CME Group – began offering bitcoin futures. It was an exciting time for the cryptocurrency. The launch of futures trading marked a turning point in Wall Street’s sentiment toward the crypto industry, allowing for a gradual, but nonetheless definitive, entry into mainstream adoption.

The excitement continued into the new year as the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which also owns the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), announced that it was developing a cryptocurrency data feed. The service, which gives financial firms access to “streaming real-time, end of day and historical data for the most actively traded digital currencies,” was rolled out in March. In addition, the NYSE is developing its own online trading platform.

According to Boscovic, cryptocurrencies, while still relatively new, have already been around for nearly a decade – well within the normal time frame for a new technology to gain traction. The professor also notes that “the industry now sees an opportunity to offer a new asset for trade, broadening choices for investors.”

Continue reading >> http://bitcoinist.com/bitcoin-valued-investment-opportunity-arizona-state-university-professor-says/

The leader of Ireland, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, took to the stage at MoneyConf in Dublin this morning to announce that the government is gearing up to make Ireland’s capital the technological capital of Europe.

“I think there’s no better place to discuss issues like cybersecurity, blockchain, cryptocurrencies, AI, regulation, and future fintech than here in Ireland, he said, adding:

“Ireland is in some ways emblematic of the revolutionary changes that have taken place in the world of finance and technology. From being an inward-looking, insular place at the edge of Europe, Ireland is an increasingly multicultural, globalized a melting pot of nationalities which is proud to engage with the world.”

Ireland is indeed a booming tech hub with many major fintech and banking institutes housing operational or research and development in Ireland, including Stripe, Mastercard, JPMorgan, Bank of China, and many others.

The Taoiseach announced that the government would be opening 26 new embassies and consulates around the world to increase Ireland’s global footprint, including in Tokyo and Frankfurt.

He further announced that the budget to the IDA, Ireland’s state-run Industrial Development Authority, will be increased over the coming years in an effort to support technology innovation and attract software engineers among other professionals.

On Monday, the IDA announced the launch of Blockchain Ireland, a blockchain research and development initiative aimed at achieving breakthrough innovation in the blockchain space and attracting multinational foreign investment.

Ireland provides access to an EU market of 500 million people and a workforce of 250 million people, and Taoiseach Varadkar stated that this combined with Ireland’s pursuit of innovation are the factors in Ireland becoming a fintech hub.

“We’re now seeing the results of our work developing fintech and blockchain ecosystems here”.

He went on to state that breakthroughs are emerging in the field of blockchain and fintech in Ireland all the time, and that Ireland would continue to cater to fintech companies, not allowing any other country to “eat our lunch.” To continue making Ireland an attractive place for fintech corporations and blockchain R&D, Varadkar unveiled a census of the fintech sector and announced that the Irish Central Bank would launch an innovation hub and an industry engagement program.

“This will ensure that we keep pace with the evolving fintech and regulatory landscape,” he said.

This news shortly follows the announcement that the Irish government is providing $885,000 of funding to be made available for Irish start-ups conducting blockchain and deep tech research.

Source >> https://www.ccn.com/irish-leader-talks-blockchain-making-dublin-the-european-tech-capital/

Over the past six months, cryptocurrencies have been steadily entering the mainstream world more and more by being featured on billboards, newspapers, radio broadcasts and television shows. Now, this July residents from the New England region will be able to hear a weekly radio broadcast called Cryptomania which aims to educate the masses about the benefits of cryptocurrencies and broadcasts every Saturday on Boston’s FM radio signal 104.9.

New England Blockchain Group Launches Cryptomania Radio Broadcast on Boston’s FM 104.9

Residents from Boston, New Hampshire, and the North Shore will soon be able to tune in to an FM radio broadcast every Saturday that will feature discussions about bitcoin and cryptocurrency solutions. Listeners can set their dials to the FM radio signal 104.9 this July as the Massachusetts-headquartered organization New England Blockchain LLC (NEB) will launch its first show “Cryptomania – Bitcoin & Beyond.”

The show was created by the NEB founder Dana McIntyre who will also host the show with his sidekick Jameson Rust. The two say that the broadcast will feature a “simple and humorist explanation of Bitcoin and Blockchain technology.” The show aims to educate the public and show them how cryptocurrencies operate and detail how easy it is for anyone to purchase a small fraction of bitcoin.

“Hosting the first weekly FM radio show on Cryptos in America is a real honor for us and highlights our commitment to bring relevant, cutting-edge content to our listening audience and the mainstream public,” McIntyre stated this week.

Continue reading >> https://news.bitcoin.com/a-new-cryptocurrency-radio-broadcast-launches-on-bostons-fm-104-9/

Following reports of six publicly listed companies launching their own cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan, three other firms listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange have announced plans to enter the space with various crypto offerings.

Publicly traded companies in Japan are increasingly seeking to enter the crypto space to offer various crypto-related services. News.Bitcoin.com recently reported that six public companies are planning to launch their own cryptocurrency exchanges including Money Forward, which operates one of Japan’s most popular personal finance apps. An additional three companies have also announced their plans to enter the space with different product offerings.

Samurai & J Partners

Samurai & J Partners (TYO:4764), established in 1996, offers investment banking, fintech, and IT services. In its core business, the firm “invests in listed companies using the method called PIPE (private investment in public equity) investment,” its website describes.

A subsidiary of the company operates a crowdfunding platform that “connects individuals wanting to manage assets and companies that need money.” The platform, called Samurai, already lists a crypto-related fund called the Virtual Currency Mining Fund. On its website, the company also indicates a new service for token offerings.

Furthermore, the firm recently announced its plans to enter into a “money lending business for virtual currency holders.”

Continue reading >> https://news.bitcoin.com/japanese-public-companies-entering-crypto-space/

The Express reported that figures from Chainalysis, a well-known cryptocurrency analysis firm, show that over one-third of all Bitcoin is in only 1,600 wallets.

1,600 Wallets Hold Over 1/3 of All Bitcoin

This issue has been no secret in the cryptocurrency community, with small investors in the space continually dubbing these wallets as ‘whales.’ The aforementioned 1,600 wallets all have more than 1,000 Bitcoin each, with 100 of these wallets containing over 10,000 Bitcoin, reports the Express.

At current market prices, 10,000 Bitcoins clocks in at a staggering $75 million U.S., which is by no means a figure to scoff at.

Chainalysis chief economist Phillip Gladwell specifically stated:

“This concentration of wealth means that bitcoin is at risk of volatility as the moves of a small number of people will have a large price effect.”

This has become a valid worry, with the trustee of the Mt.Gox exchange dumping thousands of Bitcoin on public exchanges, further fueling Bitcoin’s short-term bearish trend.

Despite these fears, further analysis has shown that some of these ‘whales’ have not moved their Bitcoin in years, leading some to believe that a few of these wallets are owned by particularly unlucky individuals who have lost access to these Bitcoin. Others also suspect that Satoshi suffered the same fate, with his, her, or their wallets collectively holding over one million of potentially lost Bitcoin.

In addition, according to an analysis done by the Chainalysis, the amount of Bitcoin held by long-term holders has been decreasing, relative to the amount of Bitcoin held by short-term holders. This means that there has been a shift in power dynamic, with the market movement power of short-term speculators growing.

Despite some the presence of a belief that this is a promising sign, there is worry that short-term speculators are only here to play with the price of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Is Not the Only Blockchain Experiencing This Problem

Skeptics of the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies have begun to criticize a variety of different projects for having a similar condition, with top wallets holding large majorities of cryptocurrency wealth.

According to an analysis done by Reddit users, the top 10 EOS wallets hold almost half of all EOS coins, 496,735,539 to be more specific.

However, it is important to note that some of these addresses are most likely exchanges, reducing the risk of a centralization issue. However, further analysis found that the top 75 EOS holders own at least $10 million worth of EOS coins, clocking in at 646,595, with a low-chance that these are all exchanges.

This has become the topic of controversy with many in the cryptocurrency community, with some critics stating that Block.one’s attempts to mitigate this form of centralization were not effective. It is still unclear how far this issue extends in the case of EOS, but we will soon see with yesterday’s opening of the mainnet.

Popular altcoin, Litecoin, has also had problems with this issue, with the top 400 wallets containing just over 50% of all coins in circulation.

However, many analysts believe that when adoption in this industry grows, that all cryptocurrencies will begin to spread thin across an ever-growing number of wallets. But until that happens, many will still worry about these so-called ‘whales’ manipulating the market, dragging prices to where these whales want them to be.

Source >> https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/06/10/study-shows-that-1-3-of-all-bitcoin-owned-by-1600-wallets/

Central banks aren't ready – at least in the short-term – to handle the implications of launching wholly digital currencies, the deputy governor of the Bank of Italy said Thursday.

Fabio Panetta delivered the keynote address for the SUERF and BAFFI CAREFIN Centre Conference held at Bocconi University. In his remarks, he became the latest to discuss the possibility for central banks to issue currencies digitally, including those that incorporate elements of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin or some of the concepts that underpin blockchain.

At the same time, Panetta began his keynote by distancing the conversation from cryptocurrencies.

He was quoted as saying (according to a transcript of his remarks published by the Bank of International Settlements):

"In fact - just like banknotes - a [central bank digital currency (CBDC)] would be a liability of the central bank and would be backed by its assets. It would be supported by the credibility of the central bank and ultimately, by the rule of law. Crypto-assets, on the other hand, are a liability belonging to nobody: there is no asset that backs them up and no clear governance structure that can guarantee trust… the value of a CBDC would not suffer from the excessive volatility that affects crypto-assets."

Of course, by this logic, CBDCs would continue to suffer from the same volatility created by the potential for government intervention on monetary policy, a concern that has been previously linked as a cause for individuals seeking out crypto-assets like bitcoin.

Knowns and unknowns

Panetta did point out other advantages of CBDCs, though.

For example, he highlighted the lower costs of managing digital currency as opposed to a physically distributed currency.

"Since it would be completely dematerialized, a CBDC would have very few or no storage costs and would be a convenient way for households and firms to keep liquid wealth. Mattresses could be freed from their role of vaults!"

Moreover, CBDCs would be an asset "free of credit and liquidity risk."

Such effects in his view would not "necessarily be disruptive for banks." However, a number of other key issues surrounding digital currencies very well might.

For example, Panetta asked whether digital currencies should be traceable or "designed to guarantee, to the extent possible, anonymity." On this, he raised ethical concern for a future where banks are able to trace all consumer transactions and make decisions on an individual's creditworthiness based on such information.

"If central banks decided to make an asset – the CBDC – free of credit and liquidity risk, possibly remunerated, and available to anybody at no cost, their role in the economy would fundamentally change… Are central banks ready to play this new role and to deal with the attendant complexities? In the short term my answer is no."

In the long term, the answer is unclear but Panetta affirmed the benefits of research to uncover the answer are certain and, "here to stay, independently of whether one day we will live in a world with digital cash."

Source >> https://www.coindesk.com/bank-italy-official-central-banks-not-ready-issue-digital-currencies/

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand has unveiled the details of the country’s regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings, including licensing requirements, fees, and a list of seven approved cryptocurrencies.

Approved Cryptocurrencies

The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Friday the details of the country’s cryptocurrency and initial coin offering (ICO) regulations. The measures were approved at the regulator’s June 7 meeting and are expected to go into effect later on this month, according to local media. “The proposed approach has been through public hearings in several channels,” MGR Online wrote.

This announcement follows the decree which went into effect on May 14, putting the Thai SEC in charge of crypto regulations. It also follows the country’s crypto taxation announcement.

According to SEC deputy secretary-general Tipsuda Thavaramara, the Commission’s regulatory scope includes ICOs, crypto exchanges, brokerage firms, dealers and other parties permitted by the Finance Ministry, the Bangkok Post reported, adding that initially:

"The SEC will allow seven cryptocurrencies, used for initial coin offerings (ICOs), to be traded as trading pairs. They are bitcoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash, ethereum classic, litecoin, ripple, and stellar."

“Some of the main criteria used by the SEC to assess cryptocurrency trading pairs,” the news outlet detailed, are the “consensus credibility and cryptocurrency liquidity.” Thai Rath publication added that these seven cryptocurrencies are approved because they do not promote privacy.

Continue reading >> https://news.bitcoin.com/thailand-crypto-regulations-legalizing-cryptocurrencies/

Three Luxury Apartments Sold for 420 BTC in the Coastal Region of Montenegro

This week three luxury apartments located in Budva, Montenegro sold for 420 BTC (3.2Mn USD) according to Notary Office and the firm Astra Montenegro Investment Association (AMIA). Furthermore, the AMIA has been successfully promoting the use of digital currencies in Budva and has convinced the neighboring Dukley hotel, Beach Lounge, and Marina to accept BTC.

Montenegro Real Estate, and Three Establishments Welcome Cryptocurrency Acceptance

Three apartments have sold in the region of Budva, Montenegro, a country located in Southeastern Europe. The luxury apartments were located near the coastal area on the Adriatic Sea and the region is well known for its tourism. According to AMIA executive Nila Emilfarba and the Notary Office, the living quarters were sold for approximately 420 BTC. The Dukley Gardens sale is also just part of Budva favoring digital currencies.

Emilfarba says the sale was the biggest so far for the country and the firm has been persuading merchants in Budva to accept digital currencies. In addition to being able to purchase real estate, Emilfarba and AMIA have also convinced the Beach Lounge restaurant, Dukley hotel, and the Dukley Marina to accept BTC as well.

“Our company, unlike many who have doubt in cryptocurrency, is the first in the region that started selling real estate for the cryptocurrencies,” explains the AMIA.

“We acquired brand new clientele — In the world, and especially in Europe, there is only a limited number of real estate that can be bought with BTC.”

Continue reading >> https://news.bitcoin.com/three-luxury-apartments-sold-for-420-btc-in-the-coastal-region-of-montenegro/

United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) commissioner, Rostin Behnam recently gave a speech in which he predicted that “virtual currencies […] will become part of the economic practices of any country.” The CFTC commissioner predicted that cryptocurrencies will have a transformative effect in providing financial services to unbanked populations, and undermine corruption through increasing financial transparency.

“Cryptocurrencies Will Proliferate to Every Economy and Every Part of the Planet” – CFTC Commissioner, Rostin Behnam

Whilst speaking at the recent BFI Summit at the United Nations Plaza in New York, CFTC Commissioner, Rostin Behnam, expressed his belief that virtual currencies will be integrated into the economic practices of all nations.

Mr. Behnam stated that “virtual currencies may – will – become part of the economic practices of any country, anywhere. Let me repeat that: these currencies are not going away and they will proliferate to every economy and every part of the planet. Some places, small economies, may become dependent on virtual assets for survival. And, these currencies will be outside traditional monetary intermediaries, like government, banks, investors, ministries, or international organizations.”

Continue reading >> https://news.bitcoin.com/virtual-currencies-become-part-economics-practices-nations-cftc-commissione/

“Bitcoineta”, a cryptocurrency awareness program conceived by non-profit organizations, Bitcoin Argentina, and Bitcoin Americana has commenced. The campaign will comprise a minivan boldly donning the bitcoin logo embarking on a road trip across Argentina and Latin America with the goal of spreading knowledge and fostering bitcoin adoption.

Latin American NGOs Team Up to Launch Bitcoin Awareness Campaign

Non-government organizations Bitcoin Argentina and Bitcoin Americana have begun ‘Bitcoineta‘ – a minivan tour across Argentina designed to bolster bitcoin awareness and adoption.

The tour will see the van visit numerous Argentine villages and small cities, with the tour seeking to emphasize the use-cases for bitcoin at a grassroots level. After traveling across Argentina, Bitcoineta then hopes to embark on an awareness campaign across Latin America.

The project seeks to target disparate social demographics that can benefit from greater cryptocurrency adoption. Gabriel Kurman, one of the founders of the Bitcoineta project, stated, “It’s a dream to bring bitcoin and blockchain technology to Latin America to those people who do not have access to knowledge. The [goal] of Bitcoineta is to reach every small town and city in Argentina, and then the rest of America, teaching people how they can benefit from this technology.”

The two organizations purchased the minivan together, and equipped the vehicle with necessary amenities, and installed a projector that will be used to screen educational films.

Sowing the Seeds of Bitcoin Adoption

The Bitcoineta van began its journey on June 1st. The first destination for the campaign is Chascomús, a small city located 123 kilometers (approximately 76.4 miles) south of Argentina’s capital of Buenos Aires. After Chascomús, Bitcoineta is then scheduled to visit Las Toninas, Tandil, Necochea, Tres Arrollos, Villa Ventana, Bahía Blanca, Pergamino, Junín, Chacabuco and Chivilcoy in Buenos Aires, and various destinations in the provinces of La Pampa, Santa Fe, and Córdoba.

Julian Drangosch, a university professor from the National Technological University of Argentina, offered praise to the Bitcoineta project, stating, “The first times you hear about these technologies, it is difficult to understand all the implications that you have today and in the future, and to start sowing this blockchain seed in the different communities will allow us to collect the fruits in a few years.”

https://news.bitcoin.com/latin-american-ngos-embark-upon-tour-promote-bitcoin-argentina/

Finance industry executives have argued that Google’s decision to ban cryptocurrency advertising is not only ill-conceived, but unethical. In Facebook and Twitter have enacted similar bans. The ban covers cryptocurrencies, ICOs, crypto exchanges, crypto wallets and crypto trading advice.

Philip Nunn, CEO of Blackmore Group, a Manchester-based investment firm, said that because Google and Facebook both indicated an interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, the ban is not based on concerns about criminality.

In remarks reported by the Independent, he stated:

“I understand that Facebook and Google are under a lot of pressure to regulate what their users are reading, but they are still advertising gambling websites and other unethical practices”

Motives Suspected

Nunn said he suspected that Google and Facebook are motivated by plans to introduce their own cryptocurrencies. A Google spokesperson told Business Insider in March it was exploring the technology. The spokesperson said at the time it was too soon to discuss any plans.

Facebook indicated interest in blockchain technology in May when it announced its largest management changes ever. Former Facebook Messenger chief David Marcus said he would head an exploration of blockchain and will reporter to Mike Schroepfer, Facebook’s CEO.

Facebook’s Ban Failed

Marketers were able to circumvent Facebook’s attempts to block cryptocurrency related advertising in January. Words such as “cryptocurrency” were abbreviated as “”c-currency” and the “o” in bitcoin was replaced with a zero.

Scammers are using Google and Facebook to promote unsavory exchanges and cryptocurrencies. As many as 80% of ICOs have been found to be fraudulent.

Banning cryptocurrency advertising is seen as a good thing since the growth of such advertising undermines its perception, but the ban is an unfair targeting of the industry according to digital banking startup Revolut’s head of mobile Ed Cooper.

He added:

“Unfortunately, the fact that this ban is a blanket ban will mean that legitimate cryptocurrency businesses which provide valuable services to users will be unfairly caught in the crossfire.”

Cooper said a more targeted effort would be better since it would be fair and it would be excessive to ban all adds for things like anti-virus software, charities or job postings which are also used by scammers to target people.

Gareth Malna, a fintech attorney at Burges Salmon, a U.K. law firm said the Google ban is inconsistent with its very purpose as a search engine. He said Google’s action seems like protecting the consumer, but it is overstepping its role as an information gatekeeper.

Source >> https://www.ccn.com/finance-industry-slams-googles-crypto-ban-as-unethical-and-unfair/

A lawyer specialising in cryptocurrency hedge funds has said that some universities have been making small investments into digital assets. John Lore claims that crypto hedge funds are proving an attractive opportunity for academic institutions on the east coast of America.

Universities Are Some of the First Institutions Investing in Crypto Hedge Funds

For now, cryptocurrency investment seems to represent too much of a risk for most institutions. There’s still scant regulation over the industry and the lack of proven success of many of the existing funds in the space also puts them off. However, a lawyer at the Capital Fund Law Group, a New York-based law firm, claims that some universities are now starting to take up small positions.

John Lore spoke to Business Insider about the interest he’d noticed amongst certain academic institutions.

“I can’t say the names of [the academic institutions] because that’s attorney-client but we have people mostly on the East Coast that have begun doing investments in this space on a fairly modest basis.”

The Capital Fund Law Group are emerging as specialists for the cryptocurrency investment space. They’ve already advised around 30 digital currency hedge funds. The firm has helped potential providers navigate the space that still suffers from a lack of regulation. Lore commented that most of the investment that he’d seen in crypto hedge funds was coming from ‘high net worth individuals and, on a very limited basis, family offices.’

This corroborates the research conducted by the deVere Group recently. The global independent financial consultancy group surveyed their high net worth clients last month. They found that a massive 35% of them had already, or planned to invest in cryptocurrencies by the end of the year.

Lore went on to state that these individuals were still only prepared to risk a tiny fraction of their net worth on cryptocurrency hedge funds:

“Yes there are investors but at this point, investors are putting in very small percentages of their net worth as we would expect and as I believe is appropriate.”

He highlighted that the trend amongst the universities he’d worked with was something of an exception:

“We see academia as a tie between these somewhat young and enthusiastic fund managers and capital raising.”

It’s not just the investment side of cryptocurrency that interests universities, however. Here at NewsBTC, we’ve reported on several different higher educational institutions offering their own courses on the technology that underpins Bitcoin and other digital assets – the blockchain.

In addition, the Ripple Foundation have just donated $50 million to universities. This will help them further develop their own blockchain development courses. The University Blockchain Research Initiative will initially benefit 17 prestigious schools around the globe.

Source >> https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/06/05/us-universities-are-investing-in-cryptocurrency-hedge-funds/

Tuesday, May 29: crypto markets are steadily rebounding with all top ten coins listed on Coinmarketcap in the green.

After hitting monthly lows yesterday, Bitcoin (BTC) is slightly up 3.94 percent over the past 24 hours, trading at $7,513 at press time.

Ethereum (ETH) has seen a more significant growth of almost 9 percent over a 24 hours period, trading at $571. Still, the major altcoin saw a major decline over the course of the past week, down 12 percent.

Total market cap has gained more than $14 bln over 24 hours, amounts to $330 bln at press time.

The biggest winners among top ten coins are Cardano (ADA) and IOTA (MIOTA) that have have gained 15-16 percent over the past 24 hours. ADA and MIOTA are trading at $0.20 and $1.62 at press time, respectively.

EOS is up 1.9 percent over 24 hours, trading at $12.37. Earlier today, Cointelegraph reported that leading Chinese cyber security company, Qihoo 360, detected a number of vulnerabilities on the EOS blockchain network to remote attacks on EOS nodes. The launch of the EOS mainnet, which was originally set for June 2, has reportedly been postponed until the vulnerability is fixed.

Last week, blockchain venture capitalist Spencer Bogart predicted that Bitcoin will be trading “at least” above $10,000 by the end of 2018. Bogart said he would sell altcoins like Cardano, TRON, IOTA, and NEO, because he thinks they are “over-promising and under-delivering.”

Source >> https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-markets-make-slight-rebound-after-bitcoin-touched-monthly-lows

Bitcoin's lightning network may be just starting to send transactions over the blockchain, but already its developers are looking to rearchitect the technology.

That's because, while touted as a way to significantly boost bitcoin's capacity, the network itself does require users to store a significant amount of data, which makes it difficult to download and run. As such, several lightning developers – Lightning Labs co-founder 'Laolu' Osuntokun and Blockstream's Christian Decker and Rusty Russell – have published a new proposal which imagines an alternative, "simplified" way of making off-chain transactions called eltoo.

But the new proposal isn't only about condensing the amount of data users need to store, it's also about keeping users' cryptocurrency safe.

For instance, all this data poses another problem in that if users accidentally broadcast older data, they might lose money. As such, this data has been coined "toxic information."

Eltoo, on the other hand, only stores the most recent off-chain transaction data, solving the well-known "information asymmetry" problem – that is if something happens to the device you're running your lightning app on - say your smartphone - you might lose access to the whole history of data.

"With eltoo, we reduce the risk of funds being swept away. We remove this toxic information," said Decker, who noted that the proposal's name is a joke of sorts – the phonetic spelling of "L2," which stands for layer-two, what many people call technology like lightning that pushes transactions off-chain.

And this is something Decker is very interested in since he's experienced the problem personally.

"This actually happened to me," he said, adding:

"I had an old lightning node on my laptop. I restored it. I didn't know I didn't have the newest state. The guy closed the connection because they knew it was an old state! Because he could steal it. Which he did, by the way."

Continue reading >> https://www.coindesk.com/new-twist-lightning-tech-coming-soon-bitcoin/

The South African Police said today it has launched an investigation into an alleged fraud that has claimed more than one billion Rand ($80 million) in bitcoin from 30,000 investors.

Funds manager of BTC Global, Steven Twain, disappeared on February 18 leaving admin staff and clients at a loss for funds.

Ponzi Scheme Head Vanishes

A statement on the BTC Global website said:

“The admin team cannot locate him. If anyone has ANY information on how we can get in contact with him please get in touch and let us know. Until Steven Twain resurfaces or is found there is nothing the admin team can do.”

The statement included a request for threats towards the leaders and admins to stop, suggesting legal proceedings as an alternative. It said that all of the admin staff had funded him independently and that they were missing a week’s worth of pay. It does also acknowledge that the staff had only two ways of contacting him.

In an email statement, the police said:

“Members of the public are believed to have been targeted as part of the scam and encouraged by BTC Global agents to invest with promises of 2 percent interest per day, 14 percent per week and ultimately 50 percent per month.”

A ponzi, or pyramid, scheme is a business model that requires a constantly expanding supply of new members. They are illegal in many countries because while they can result in big profits for the founding members, the high numbers of new members lose out when the scheme collapses.

Continue reading >> https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/05/25/south-african-police-investigate-80-million-bitcoin-ponzi-scheme/

The Harare High Court has lifted a ban by the central bank which barred all banks and financial institutions from offering services to cryptocurrency exchanges.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) failed to appear for court proceedings in a case in which Zimbabwe crypto exchange, Golix is seeking reversal of the central bank’s directive that it stop virtual currency trading in the country.

Golix had applied to the High Court seeking that it reverse the ban instituted by the central bank this month. The RBZ had also banned banks from processing transactions involving crypto-currency trades.

“The ban was lifted,” Nhlalwenhle Ngwenya, communications manager at Golix told CCN on Thursday afternoon.

He said a statement would follow. However, it has emerged that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe officials, including the governor, John Mangudya, did not turn up for court proceedings. This prompted the High Court in Harare to issue a default ruling that essentially lifted the Zimbabwean central bank’s ban.

“We are hoping that we can immediately go back to doing business and processing the order book,” said an official.

Golix had stopped the order book on Thursday as it sought to deal with the disruption to its operations after the central bank ban, the exchange said in a notice to members Thursday morning.

A Relief to Crypto Traders

The news brought relief to bitcoin and other crypto traders and investors in Zimbabwe who were now unable to trade on an exchange platform. Golix runs an online crypto exchange platform as a well as a bitcoin ATM in central Harare.

“Where is the party,” proclaimed one trader on Telegram as news of the lifting of the ban spread. “RBZ ban on cryptos lifted by the High Court. Administrative justice is alive and well in this jurisdiction. Section 68 of the Constitution is our best friend,” tweeted lawyer, Fadzai Mahere.

In its application against the central bank’s move, Golix said “the ban in effect outlaws and classifies as illegal Applicant’s operations”.

“The Respondents are in fact purporting to classify the trade in cryptocurrency as illegal,” it added.

Respondents were cited as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and central bank governor, John Mangudya.

Golix further argues in its court application that the decision taken by the central bank to ban it from cryptocurrency trading in the country amounts to “lawmaking, a function that belongs to the legislature” and not the central bank.

After banning banks from processing cryptocurrency transactions in the country, the central bank of Zimbabwe subsequently wrote to Golix last week, ordering it to shut down its operations.

“All cryptocurrency exchange houses operating in the country, including Bitfinance (Private) Limited (also known as Golix), are required to cease all virtual currency exchange operations,” wrote Norman Mataruke, the central bank’s registrar of banking in a letter to Golix dated May 15.

Mataruke also directed that cryptocurrency exchange platforms in Zimbabwe were “required to take all the necessary steps to close the cryptocurrency accounts or ‘wallets’ of your customers and to make good any funds currently held on behalf of customers” trading and investing virtual currencies.

Source >> https://www.ccn.com/breaking-zimbabwe-court-lifts-central-banks-banking-ban-on-bitcoin-exchanges/

Billionaire investor and former hedge fund manager Mike Novogratz said that he is optimistic that the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) recently-launched probe into allegations of bitcoin price manipulation will contribute to the long-term health of the cryptocurrency market.

Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, Novogratz — the founder of $250 million cryptocurrency merchant bank Galaxy Digital — said that this increased oversight will help weed out bad actors from the nascent ecosystem.

“Weeding out the bad actors is a good thing, not a bad thing for the health of the market,” Novogratz said. “Plenty of exchanges have these inflated volume numbers to create some sense of excitement around coins.”

As CCN reported, the DOJ is scrutinizing whether cryptocurrency traders and other market actors have engaged in illegal activities to manipulate the bitcoin price, as well as the value of other prominent cryptocurrencies.

Novogratz’s optimistic comments on the probe are not unique among Wall Street’s cryptocurrency bulls.

Cameron Winklevoss, who co-founded cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, told the publication that the company welcomes “any inquiry that serves to foster rules-based marketplaces and deter bad actors.” Gemini, incidentally, recently struck a deal with Nasdaq to use the stock exchange operator’s surveillance technology to flag unusual trading patterns in real time.

Similarly, Tom Lee — founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors — said that the investigation was “really welcome news” because it will bring “adult supervision” to the cryptocurrency markets. Fundstrat has predicted that the bitcoin price will reach $25,000 before the end of the year, an outlook it has not wavered from despite the recent downturn.

The bitcoin price traded sideways in the 24 hours before this article was written, despite significant intraday volatility that caused the flagship cryptocurrency to plunge from $7,738 to $7,331 in a span of just four hours. Bitcoin has since stabilized at a present value of $7,554 on Bitfinex.

https://www.ccn.com/dojs-bitcoin-price-manipulation-probe-a-good-thing-mike-novogratz/

Japanese IT giant GMO Internet is set to roll out the world's first bitcoin mining device based on 7nm chips within the year.

According to an announcement on Wednesday, the firm said it is launching the new B2 miner on June 6 with mass production to follow and shipment starting by the end of October.

The launch comes following a months-long testing period since the firm initially revealed it was researching and developing the new ASIC processor in September 2017. While the device should provide high-levels of hashing power with lower electricity demands, the firm said it will provide details of the B2's price and performance at the June launch.

According to the announcement, in addition to selling the B2 to other miners, GMO also plans to utilize the new product at its existing mining facilities.

As previously reported by CoinDesk, the publicly listed Japanese firm made a notable leap into bitcoin mining business last year with a $90-million budget to back explorations in the space, including chip making and its own mining farms.

GMO's mining facilities have been up running since the end of 2017 and, as per a report released earlier this month, the firm has already mined 906 bitcoin and 537 bitcoin cash as of last month.

While the cost of production remains unknown, the total value of those mining rewards amounts to nearly $8 million based on the latest CoinDesk prices.

Meanwhile, GMO isn't the only one major tech firm planning to carve out a slice of the bitcoin mining industry by introducing more advanced mining chips. Notably, Samsung is also starting a "risk production" of 7nm chips in 2018, according to a report by CoinDesk in February.

In addition, GMO announced in October of last year that it would sell its bitcoin mining equipment in 2018 via an initial coin offering. A representative told CoinDesk today that the firm is still considering the idea, but could not disclose more information due to the early stage of the plan.

https://www.coindesk.com/tech-giant-gmo-to-roll-out-worlds-first-7nm-bitcoin-miner/

The cybercrime division of the State Attorney’s office of Hebron, Israel indicted local resident Hilmi Git on Monday for allegedly using over 800 Israeli credit cards to carry out 20,000 fraudulent transactions and laundering the money using bitcoin.

The indictment, filed in the Tel Aviv district courts, alleges that the transactions they claim Git made amount to over $280,000 and that he laundered over $8 million over the course of ten years. The $8 million dollars was stored in the form of bitcoin, and the state seized at least 1,071 BTC — funds that will be confiscated pending conviction.

Git’s alleged operation spanned 10 years and many different forums and websites which the State Prosecutor claims he set up to launder money, facilitate credit card fraud through a wide network of criminals, instruct others how to remotely access computers to rob funds, and defraud unwitting visitors to his sites.

Through one scam he apparently pretended to sell cheap mobile phones but would block users from the website after receiving payment and cut off contact with them. He would then take over the user’s profile and post messages in their name seeming to confirm receipt of their goods, luring in more victims.

Even more serious was the credit card fraud operation through which Git allegedly offered free and premium memberships to clients buying access to credit cards from Git to commit fraud. The report also claims that he published guides on his site instructing users on how to hack and rob people online as well as offering tools enabling them to do so. Local media outlet Calcalist reports that Git’s indictment contained a quote from him saying:

“We are thieves. Anywhere we can take money, we’ll take it, whether it’s from Israel, the US, or even the moon.”

The state will file to continue holding Git in custody to prevent him from regaining control of his online crime empire, stating that internet access will “enable him to continue carrying out the criminal enterprise he established over the past decade,” saying Git will “not hesitate to commit fraudulent offenses against innocent victims.”

The wallet seizure marks the first time in Israeli history that bitcoin funds have been seized by police, and upon conviction a legal precedent may be set for the state confiscation of cryptocurrency assets.

Other countries have already handled illicit bitcoins in the same way, with the US government seizing 512 BTC and 512 BCH in January from a drug dealer on the dark web and auctioning off the currency and other assets. A similar incident took place in Finland in February where 2000 bitcoins were seized from an alleged drug dealer.

Source >> https://www.ccn.com/1000-bitcoins-seized-in-landmark-israeli-money-laundering-case/

The top US markets regulator has issued new guidance to exchanges and other trading platforms that are interested in listing bitcoin futures and other cryptocurrency derivatives products.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released this new guidance on Monday, providing exchanges with a set of best practices to follow as they develop and launch these nascent cryptocurrency derivatives products.

Specifically, the CFTC advised trading venues that they must have the ability to monitor the integrity of the underlying spot markets that supply their pricing data, coordinate closely with CFTC staff, solicit comments from industry participants prior to launch, and engage in large trader reporting.

“The CFTC staff is committed to providing regulatory clarity as much as possible,” said Amir Zaidi, the director of the commission’s division of market oversight. “As the virtual currency market continues to evolve, CFTC staff will seek to provide additional guidance to help market participants keep pace with innovation while complying with CFTC regulations.”

“CFTC staff is providing this information, in part, to aid market participants in their efforts to design risk management programs that address the new risks imposed by virtual currency products,” added Brian Bussey, the director of the commission’s division of clearing and risk. “In addition, the guidance is designed to help ensure that market participants follow appropriate governance processes with respect to the launch of these products.”

The new guidance appears to be a response to industry criticism that the CFTC had failed to sufficiently scrutinize the first bitcoin futures products prior to their launch in December. To date, those markets have behaved in an orderly fashion, but critics fear that this could change as volume increases and exchanges launch products for smaller cryptocurrencies such as ether (ETH), and ripple (XRP).

As CCN reported, CME — the largest US exchange that offers bitcoin futures trading — recently partnered with several cryptocurrency exchanges to create a benchmark price for ether, leading to speculation that the platform will soon become the first US venue to offer an ethereum futures product.

Source >> https://www.ccn.com/cftc-issues-new-guidance-on-cryptocurrency-derivatives/