An interesting article on ArsTechnica today: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/04/new-hacks-siphon-private-cryptocurrency-keys-from-airgapped-wallets/

Seems the "hackers" have found a number of methods for exfiltrating information from air-gapped machines... I especially like the usage of GPIO pins on a RaspberryPi to generate radio waves!

The recommendation for protecting from these attacks? Essentially it involves putting your cold storage device in a faraday cage!

NOTE: before you get tooooo paranoid, these attacks all require that the cold storage device is compromised.

Today, Ledger have announced that they're releasing native desktop and mobile apps! 

Today, we are excited to announce the upcoming availability of our new generation Ledger Wallet application, built natively for desktop and mobile, gathering all cryptocurrencies in a single, unified place. This app will be available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS and won’t require Google Chrome or Chromium anymore.

You’ll find the full list of features of this first release below

• Native desktop application (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• Multi currencies (23 cryptos including Bitcoin, Altcoins, Ethereum, Ripple…)
• Multi devices (Ledger Nano S, Ledger Blue)
• Read only consultation of accounts without device (protected by optional password)
• Dashboard view of all assets
• Counter values: choice of currency & exchanges
• Send, receive, account balances & history
• Confirmation before sending funds
• On device verification of the receive address
• Faster account synchronisation engine

Full announcement here: https://www.ledger.fr/2018/02/23/announcing-new-ledger-wallet-desktop-mobile-applications/

Can't believe that this has not been highlighted much yet... the upcoming features look great... my personal fav?

* Watching-only wallets and hardware wallets can be encrypted.

Although, I have to say that I'm fairly interested in the new (optional) fee estimation scheme based on mempool values. 

Definitely looking forward to the v3.1 release!

First up... the setup:

OS: Windows 10 Pro x64 (with latest patches, FCU etc)
Armory 0.96.4 RC3 (aka 0.96.3.992)
Bitcoin Core 0.15.1

ArmoryDB commandline:

Code:

ArmoryDB.exe --satoshi-datadir=E:\Bitcoin --cookie

bitcoind commandline:

Code:

bitcoind.exe -datadir=E:\Bitcoin

bitcoin.conf (in E:\Bitcoin) is:

Code:

walletrbf=1
dbcache=750
server=1

So, given the above does anyone have any idea why the Bitcoin Core GUI = Node Offline... whereas bitcoind.exe = Node Online ??!?

I've tried running Bitcoin Core GUI... and then running ArmoryDB from the commandline and it seems that ArmoryDB is "dying" silently after it attempts to enable zero-conf tracking:

Code:

-INFO  - 21:09:40.000: (..\main.cpp:32) Running on 4 threads
-INFO  - 21:09:40.000: (..\main.cpp:33) Ram usage level: 50
-INFO  - 21:09:40.000: (..\BlockUtils.cpp:915) blkfile dir: E:\Bitcoin/blocks
-INFO  - 21:09:40.000: (..\BlockUtils.cpp:916) lmdb dir: C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming/Armory/databases
-INFO  - 21:09:40.000: (..\lmdb_wrapper.cpp:388) Opening databases...
-INFO  - 21:09:40.047: (e:\users\goat\code\armory6\cppforswig\BDM_Server.h:263) Listening on port 56896
-INFO  - 21:09:40.047: (..\nodeRPC.cpp:57) RPC connection established
-INFO  - 21:09:40.047: (..\BlockDataManagerConfig.cpp:895) waiting on node sync: 0.999999%
-INFO  - 21:09:40.047: (..\nodeRPC.cpp:425) Node is ready
-INFO  - 21:09:40.047: (..\BlockUtils.cpp:1108) Executing: doInitialSyncOnLoad
-INFO  - 21:10:01.609: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:199) Reading headers from db
-INFO  - 21:10:03.766: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:238) Found 504986 headers in db
-INFO  - 21:10:06.000: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:64) Rewinding 100 blocks
-INFO  - 21:10:06.000: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:71) updating HEADERS db
-INFO  - 21:10:06.094: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:493) Found next block after skipping 1089130bytes
-INFO  - 21:10:07.781: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:281) parsed block file #1144
-INFO  - 21:10:07.156: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:281) parsed block file #1145
-INFO  - 21:10:07.156: (..\Blockchain.cpp:248) Organizing chain
-INFO  - 21:10:07.203: (..\Blockchain.cpp:370) Organized chain in 0s
-INFO  - 21:10:07.203: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:76) updated HEADERS db in 1s
-INFO  - 21:10:07.219: (..\lmdb_wrapper.cpp:388) Opening databases...
-INFO  - 21:10:07.234: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:1231) verifying txfilters integrity
-INFO  - 21:10:07.469: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:1314) done checking txfilters
-INFO  - 21:10:07.516: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:134) scanning new blocks from #504944 to #504946
-INFO  - 21:10:07.547: (..\BlockchainScanner.cpp:852) scanned from block #504944 to #504946
-INFO  - 21:10:07.625: (..\lmdb_wrapper.cpp:388) Opening databases...
-INFO  - 21:10:07.641: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:186) scanned new blocks in 0s
-INFO  - 21:10:07.641: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:190) init db in 27s
-INFO  - 21:10:07.656: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1891) Enabling zero-conf tracking

Debug output just stops at this point (left it for over 30 minutes and several new blocks)


The SAME setup, but running bitcoind instead of the GUI... and then, again, running ArmoryDB from the commandline yields:

Code:

-INFO  - 21:20:55.000: (..\main.cpp:32) Running on 4 threads
-INFO  - 21:20:55.000: (..\main.cpp:33) Ram usage level: 50
-INFO  - 21:20:55.000: (..\BlockUtils.cpp:915) blkfile dir: E:\Bitcoin/blocks
-INFO  - 21:20:55.000: (..\BlockUtils.cpp:916) lmdb dir: C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming/Armory/databases
-INFO  - 21:20:55.000: (..\lmdb_wrapper.cpp:388) Opening databases...
-INFO  - 21:20:55.032: (e:\users\goat\code\armory6\cppforswig\BDM_Server.h:263) Listening on port 59100
-INFO  - 21:20:55.391: (..\nodeRPC.cpp:57) RPC connection established
-INFO  - 21:21:04.422: (..\BlockDataManagerConfig.cpp:895) waiting on node sync: 0.999996%
-INFO  - 21:21:04.422: (..\BitcoinP2P.cpp:947) Connected to Bitcoin node
-INFO  - 21:21:04.422: (..\nodeRPC.cpp:425) Node is ready
-INFO  - 21:21:04.422: (..\BlockUtils.cpp:1108) Executing: doInitialSyncOnLoad
-INFO  - 21:21:04.469: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:199) Reading headers from db
-INFO  - 21:21:07.750: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:238) Found 504989 headers in db
-INFO  - 21:21:09.172: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:64) Rewinding 100 blocks
-INFO  - 21:21:09.172: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:71) updating HEADERS db
-INFO  - 21:21:09.172: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:493) Found next block after skipping 1029916bytes
-INFO  - 21:21:09.500: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:281) parsed block file #1144
-INFO  - 21:21:10.829: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:281) parsed block file #1145
-INFO  - 21:21:10.829: (..\Blockchain.cpp:248) Organizing chain
-INFO  - 21:21:10.860: (..\Blockchain.cpp:370) Organized chain in 0s
-INFO  - 21:21:10.860: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:76) updated HEADERS db in 0s
-INFO  - 21:21:10.875: (..\lmdb_wrapper.cpp:388) Opening databases...
-INFO  - 21:21:10.891: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:1231) verifying txfilters integrity
-INFO  - 21:21:10.141: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:1314) done checking txfilters
-INFO  - 21:21:10.188: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:134) scanning new blocks from #504947 to #504948
-INFO  - 21:21:10.219: (..\BlockchainScanner.cpp:852) scanned from block #504947 to #504948
-INFO  - 21:21:10.297: (..\lmdb_wrapper.cpp:388) Opening databases...
-INFO  - 21:21:10.329: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:186) scanned new blocks in 0s
-INFO  - 21:21:10.329: (..\DatabaseBuilder.cpp:190) init db in 5s
-INFO  - 21:21:10.329: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1891) Enabling zero-conf tracking
-WARN  - 21:22:18.610: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 5 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:22:18.610: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 10 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:22:18.610: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 15 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:22:18.610: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 20 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:22:18.610: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 25 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:22:18.610: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 30 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:25:41.547: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 35 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:25:41.547: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 40 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:25:46.094: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 45 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:25:46.094: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 50 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:26:14.750: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 55 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:26:14.750: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 60 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:26:14.750: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 65 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:26:15.250: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 70 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:26:15.250: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 75 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:26:15.250: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 80 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:34:48.454: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 85 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:34:48.454: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 90 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:34:48.454: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 95 zc parser threads
-WARN  - 21:34:48.454: (..\BDM_supportClasses.cpp:1944) running 100 zc parser threads
-ERROR - 21:43:26.907: (..\BitcoinP2P.cpp:1037) caught StopBlockingLoop in processDataStackThread
-INFO  - 21:43:26.907: (..\BitcoinP2P.cpp:969) Disconnected from Bitcoin node
-INFO  - 21:43:36.985: (..\BitcoinP2P.cpp:947) Connected to Bitcoin node
-INFO  - 22:01:44.719: (..\BlockchainScanner.cpp:852) scanned from block #504949 to #504952
-INFO  - 22:19:02.047: (..\BDM_Server.cpp:1121) registered bdv: 54538a2d22a57f102c2b
-INFO  - 22:21:45.735: (..\BlockchainScanner.cpp:857) scanned block #504953
-INFO  - 22:22:19.735: (..\BlockchainScanner.cpp:857) scanned block #504954
-ERROR - 22:24:25.000: (..\BitcoinP2P.cpp:1037) caught StopBlockingLoop in processDataStackThread
-INFO  - 22:24:25.000: (..\BitcoinP2P.cpp:969) Disconnected from Bitcoin node
-INFO  - 22:24:32.282: (..\BitcoinP2P.cpp:947) Connected to Bitcoin node

Anyone have any ideas for anything I can try so I can get this working with the GUI... or maybe try and figure out why GUI doesn't work but bitcoind does so maybe the devs can fix it?

[btcgpu reposity]

So, it looks like the new round of "fork coin claiming" scams is starting...

jimmy.song (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1364180) and his merry band of "newbie" alt-shills:
cryptolover1994 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1380917)
Hennesy81 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1380925)
TurboCrypt (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1380940)
btc.john (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1380949)

are pushing this obvious scam "bcdwallet" (http://www.bcdwallet.org)... they've even created a fake twitter (https://twitter.com/BITC0INDIAM0ND) to attempt to look legit...

The site even claims to be opensource with no actual link to the source code and actually references "btcgpu" repo... which was for BTG

"You can download the entire code in my btcgpu reposity"

For reference, the REAL twitter is (https://twitter.com/BitcoinDiamond_) as linked from the REAL homepage of BitcoinDiamond (http://btcd.io/)

Proof: http://archive.is/hC5Q0


Just a reminder to all... BTCD is currently vapourware... There is no network, no code, no mining, no wallets... it effectively doesn't exists, you can't claim anything.

[NEVER PUT YOUR SEED INTO A WEBSITE!NEVER PUT YOUR PRIVATE KEYS INTO A WEBSITE!]

Just a headsup...

There is a SCAM BTG Webwallet being promoted on BitcoinTalk: www.[SCAM]bcdwallet[SCAM].org - URL has been broken on purpose to protect the newbies.


This scam is an obvious clone of the infamous "mybtgwallet" scam... asking you to put in your seed to claim BTCD. So, please remember the following:

NEVER PUT YOUR SEED INTO A WEBSITE!
NEVER PUT YOUR PRIVATE KEYS INTO A WEBSITE!


At the current moment in time... there IS NO Bitcoin Diamond network, no mining, no wallets... NOTHING... you cannot claim Bitcoin Diamond...

[Windows]

Sunday, November 26, 2017, 01:00, UTC
Please be aware that for approximately 36 hours, a link on our Download page and the file downloads on our Github release page have been serving a suspicious file of unknown origin.

Seems someone put a "suspicious" file on their download servers/github... Anyone who downloaded the BitcoinGold Windows client in the last 2 days should take immediate action as suggested by the devs... remove the file and treat your computer as possibly compromised.

Read the post full here: https://bitcoingold.org/critical-warning-nov-26/


EDIT: They've since expanded the warning period to 4.5 days... instead of the original 1.5 days!

NOTE: We have expanded the recall window for the Windows Wallet installer. Carefully note the expanded times/dates indicated below. The files currently available on Github through our web site are correct; always check the SHA-256 checksum against your downloaded files.
....
Anyone who downloaded the Windows Wallet file between November 21, 2017, 09:39 UTC, and November 25, 2017, 22:30 UTC, should not use the file in any way.

Just a heads up...

Ledger are running a 21% discount promotion for Black Friday on the Ledger Nano S:

Celebrating Bitcoin Black Friday with 21% OFF all Nano S orders. Immediate shipping from Europe, USA and Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, over at Trezor... they're have a 3for2 deal... Pay for 2 Trezors... get a third for free!:

TREZOR 3for2 (3 pcs)
€178
€267
Black Friday Special Deal: 3 for 2!

And Digital Bitbox has a 20% off sale:

Black Friday to Cyber Monday
DIGITAL BITBOX
€54
ON SALE! €43

And finally, KeepKey seem to be running a $10 off "sale"... Not sure if it is Black Friday related tho...
https://keepkey.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/keepkey-the-simple-bitcoin-hardware-wallet


If you've been considering buying a Hardware Wallet... this could be the weekend to do it!

[Software versions]

I have seen quite a few users in recent times, having issues getting Armory+Core+Win10 all playing nicely... I too had a few issues getting it all going ("Connected but not receiving new blocks until restart", "Purple Connected, but warning about RPC not working", etc etc)...

However, I finally seemed to have found a combination that is working (touch wood), so I thought I'd share my setup in the hope that it might help someone else get it all working.

Software versions
I have Windows 10 Pro... Armory 0.96.3 (previously 0.96.2) and Bitcoin Core v0.15.0.1 (previously v0.14.2).


Bitcoin Core
- Bitcoin Core is installed to default location of C:\Program Files\Bitcoin
- I have my Bitcoin block data stored in a "custom" location of E:\Bitcoin

I have the following entries in E:\Bitcoin\bitcoin.conf

Code:

walletrbf=1
addnode=127.0.0.1
server=1

Fairly sure that only "addnode" and "server" are important for getting Armory working

Note: Today (after seeing the Armory 0.96.3 release) I decided to upgrade to Bitcoin Core v0.15.0.1... I'm happy to report that it has not affected my setup at all, everything is still running well There is a bit of a wait for the UTXO database upgrade, but other than that... v0.15.0.1 seems to be fine.



Armory
- Armory is installed to default location of C:\Program Files (x86)\Armory

I have set Armory settings as follows:




Initially, I started Bitcoin Core GUI up and let it fully sync to the current block height, so that it wouldn't be attempting to sync too many blocks while Armory was doing it's initial setup/scanning... then I shut down the Bitcoin Core GUI, waited until the little warning box disappeared... and then started up Armory. It successfully kicked off the "bitcoind" process in the background (visible in armorylog.txt)... and started building the databases etc (visible in dblog.txt)... admittedly, this took a while but eventually it go there.

Now, I can start Armory and it will launch bitcoind in the background, sync up and away it goes... New blocks are detected and scanned.

Notes:
- I initially get the "disconnected from Node" Windows notification when Armory starts and is "Initializing Bitcoin Engine", and "Preparing Databases" etc but after a few sections, i get the "Blockchain Loading is complete" notification... I see "Connected (xxxxxxx Blocks)" in green and when a new block is mined, Armory is updating correctly.

- One of the big issues I seemed to have was having Bitcoin Core GUI open and trying to use Armory at the same time. The Bitcoin Core GUI seems to interfere with Armory's ability to connect with bitcoind... I highly recommend not having Armory and the Bitcoin Core GUI open at the same time.

- I didn't make any changes to Windows settings for this to work... it was basically, the "addnode" and "server" entry in bitcoin.conf and letting Armory run bitcoind that seemed to make it work for me


Anyway, hopefully this helps others having issues with Armory+Core+Win10

[EDIT:]

EDIT: User has messaged me saying that they have removed all links, claiming they "didn't know".

I'm still a little bit suspicious due to the timing of the posts being so close to the creation of the fake GitHubs... And also the hiding of the fake link behind the official link using URL tags in one post...

Will set my trust to Neutral


What happened:
The user mayback1980 has been spamming all the threads in the Electrum subforum claiming that the official ElectronCash github (https://github.com/fyookball/electrum) is fake... and claiming that some random github repo (https://github[dot]com/electroncash/windows-linux) is the only trusted source. The repo they are spamming was only created on 12 August!

In addition, the latest commit to this repo effectively breaks the entire codebase by changing all the '.' characters to ','

The binaries are most likely backdoored or malware designed to steal seeds/keys and/or coins off users attempting to get their BCH coins.


Scammers Profile Link: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=559474

Reference Link:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2059213.msg20844002#msg20844002
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2062016.msg20844024#msg20844024 - EDIT: Post Removed
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2077793.msg20844060#msg20844060 - EDIT: Post Removed
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2082563.msg20844106#msg20844106 - EDIT: Post Removed
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2085691.msg20844229#msg20844229 - EDIT: Post Modified

Here you can see a quote of scammers original message that was trying to hide the scam link BEHIND the url for the official ElectronCash client.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2085139.msg20839738#msg20839738


Amount Scammed: Unknown
Additional Notes:
Link to fake repo: https://github.com/electroncash/windows-linux <-- NOTE: THIS IS FAKE - BEWARE!
Original fake repo: https://github.com/electrumcash/windows-linux <-- NOTE: THIS IS FAKE - BEWARE!

So, I swept through the top five or six pages here... and didn't see anything related to this... I stumbled across this announcement on BTC.TOP (yay for Google Translate)... The original text is here: http://www.btc.top/resolution.php

I see they mention July 31st... is this an attempt to cut BIP148 off at the pass? All aboard the Segwit2x Train?? What's going on?

China 's counter - dollar roundtable forum on the decision to implement the special currency New York consensus expansion program resolution

In order to effectively solve the problem of Bitcoin network congestion, we will accelerate the development of Bitcoin expansion and promote the sustained, healthy and stable development of Bitcoin. With the support of various mines, exchanges, miners and miners, The meeting of the participants in the June 15, 2021 held a special currency agreement to upgrade the meeting, the meeting we unanimously decided to fully support the promotion of Bitcoin New York consensus expansion program, and reached the following resolution:

1, we support the New York Consensus SegWit2x program;
2, we will next Monday (June 19) began to vote to support SegWit2x program. In order to avoid using the bit4 vote to influence the official voting results, we will write the "NYA" tag in coinbase and vote on the New York Consortium SegWit2x program.
3, we will start the New York Consensus SegWit2x program btc1 (https://github.com/ Btc1) software test and join testnet5, and after the release of the official version as soon as possible after the release;
4, we eager to activate the July 31 before the New York consensus SegWit2x program.
Participants are as follows:

1,1hash.com
2, Hu Lan (currency net mineral pool)
3, Jiang Thatcher (BTC.TOP, LTC.TOP)
4, Li Ang (Canoepool.com)
5, Pei was (easy to dig)
6, Liu Aihua (see currency )
7, Mao Bank (F2pool pond)
8, PZ (China Bitcoin roundtable Forum convener)
9, Wang Ruixi (BATPOOL.com)
10, Wu Gang (letter of mine currency pool)
11, Wu Ji Han (bits mainland)
12, Xu Zijing (Kosovo Capital Australia Collinstar)
13, Yang Haipo (ViaBTC.com)
14, Zhao Qianjie (Bit Coin China National Pool)
15, Zhu Jiawei (fire coins)
  June 15, 2017

Ok, so I tried to be nice and bought my missus a USD$50 Hot Topic eGift Card so she could buy herself some cool Wonder Woman Themed stuff that they don't sell here... Unfortunately, I didn't realise that Hot Topic won't ship here, even tried a US-Based package forwarding service and Hot Topic just cancelled the order saying the shipping address was invalid

I have setup the item for sale over at Selly: https://selly.gg/p/bb15e71a

Card is worth USD$50.00... hoping to get $45.00 worth of BTC for it so I can just go buy her an Amazon Gift Card like I should have done in the first place

Gift Card Code gets automatically sent to your email by Selly after 1 confirmation

If you have any questions... just ask or PM.


NOTE: I can only recommend that US-Based folks buy this... as I can't guarantee Hot Topic will ship to your location if you aren't in the US!

All his posts had seemed to disappear after I reported this back in April... but now they're visible again... after his neg trust got removed??:

user profile: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=988154

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1879375.msg18677070#msg18677070
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1879001.msg18674122#msg18674122
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1879001.msg18674122#msg18674122

https://who.is/whois/starcasinobitcoin.com

email contact is dhlbusiness@outlook.com

Site is a blatant ripoff of another casino site... with some slightly altered graphics (mostly screencaps) and broken links...

[EDIT:]

EDIT: as noted below... dinuu420 deleted all their messages


Possibly as a result of being tagged NegTrust by Lauda

Thread locked.


User: dinuu420
Profile: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1007856

Registered Today... has 7 posts so far... all 7 are just spamming links to this obvious scam.

Claims the website is able to accelerator bitcoin transactions for a fee...

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1743011.msg19129702#msg19129702
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1811932.msg19129998#msg19129998
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1811932.msg19134914#msg19134914
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1907275.msg19135161#msg19135161
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1924640.msg19135246#msg19135246
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1924640.msg19139518#msg19139518
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1924640.msg19139852#msg19139852

Was originally $5 (via coingate payment processor, now $1 after i called them out)... ripped off ViaBTC TX Accelerator (direct copy/paste which has since been edited since I called them out)...

ViaBTC FAQ:


Original bitcoinaccelerator.info FAQ (before edit, while trying to charge $5):


Claims "independent miner":

i don't think they are scam. i again confirmed 3 tx with this website free of cost..as they started this service free of cost.. i think he is a independent miner.  https://www.scamaccelerator.info

Ok, after a little investigation because of the "crazy fees" post... I discovered that the Credit Card purchase in-app option that links to the Simplex service is a MASSIVE rip off.

Currently (1000 hrs UTC 2017-02-17), this service is charging USD$1200 for 1 BTC. The going rate is around USD$1050 for 1 BTC. That is a markup of around 15%!!?!

The poor guy in the crazy fees thread paid $50 and got $36 worth of bitcoins... which is a 30% difference! (And is currently what $50 will get you)

I'm not sure if the ludicrous "fees" are being charged by Simplex for use of the service, or if they are set by Mycelium or what... but come on guys, surely you need to make sure that the services you are offering are actually a worthwhile for your users! 

Are there any plans to update the Electrum Android App?

I don't mean to sound overly critical, but it is pretty bad I had read such good things about Electrum, as it seems a lot of people really like the desktop client. I'm fairly "mobile" so would prefer a mobile wallet for my Android device, so I thought I'd jump into Electrum using the Android app... that was a fairly bad idea. The app takes forever to do anything when you open it for the first time. There are graphical glitches when you start scrolling some of the menus. The onscreen keyboard for doing the seed and pin stuff is just terrible. Despite PIN being on, it never seems to ask for one unless I want to change the PIN. I can close the app, remove it from memory etc but when I open it again, I get the Electrum splash screen and then straight into my wallet... no PIN required!!?! 

I assume that a lot of these issues are because the android app appears to be a "port" of the desktop version... and not a custom written Android app... is that correct?

So, being relatively new to Bitcoin and crypto-currency in general, I have been looking around at all these "altcoins" that have sprung up following the relative success of Bitcoin... I assume because the value went from mere cents to ~US$650 per Bitcoin, so those who missed the Bitcoin boat are trying to launch new currencies to emulate that success and make $$$ 

My questions relate to the possible fragmentation of the crypto-currency segment with all of these altcoins popping up and what this may mean for crypto-currency in general.

For starters, it seems like there is a new "ICO" popping up every other week, each new altcoin possibly fragmenting the market that little bit more. Do we really need more than one crypto-currency? What are the advantages of "altcoins"?  Do they offer any real benefits above Bitcoin? If so, what are they? Because I don't see the point, other than to create an artificial trading market?? 

Well, can't say I am surprised. 

The website is down, and already this facebook groups has popped up "Coince Victims"

Hopefully some of my warnings on the threads here helped prevent at least one person from investing in this very obvious scam. As a community, we need to stamp out this ponzi scam business by not investing in these schemes. The only way they will stop, is if it is no longer profitable. So, please don't give them your money!

I have a query about Xapo that I am hoping someone here can help with, because the "Support Centre" on Xapo is truly dreadful and doesn't offer any real information.

I have a Xapo wallet, that is getting "direct payments" from a couple of faucets that I have been messing about with to dip my toes in the bitcoin waters and get a feel for how everything works. I've also received a couple of payments from faucetbox.com.

The 2 types of payments show up differently in Xapo. One saying it is an external transaction, wihtout any sort of transaction ID, but I can find them in the blockchain by searching on my wallet address. The other transactions, the direct payments, just seem to magically appear out of thin air.

So how does the blockchain know that I "own" these bitcoins? There doesn't seem to be any record of these payments on the blockchain... are they imaginary? Are they backed by Xapo and when I go to spend/send these coins out it will all magically work?

Hi,

I am relatively new to the Bitcoin world (have been dipping my toes in the water for a week or so) and have a couple of things I'd like to get clarified, as I'd like to get a bit more "serious" about Bitcoin going forward.

Firstly, as I understand it, an 'online' wallet is essentially software (either desktop or web) that stores all the information about my bitcoins, whereas an offline wallet would be like a paper one, with all the info printed onto paper and stored (hopefully) somewhere secure. Is that correct?

Secondly, a 'desktop' wallet is software like bitcoin core that I run on my own hardware... and I have full control (and responsibility for maintaining security)... whereas a web wallet, I'm essentially letting someone else hold onto my coins, as they theoretically have access to my private keys etc?

In the case of web wallets... are any of them trustworthy?? Like Xapo looks nice and convenient and all, but there doesn't seem to be a way to control your keys... Blockchain.info seems to offer you all that information, but then, that means they still have access to my keys right??

Thanks in advance for your help/suggestions/information...