I just checked Bitfinex and its currently trading above $5000 now (currently $5100). Hope this is sustainable though. Expect a lot of press release later above this new milestone that has been reach. 

[China's ICO Ban: A Full Translation of Regulator Remarks]

China's ICO Ban: A Full Translation of Regulator Remarks


Recently, a number of token fundraising activities in the country, including initial coin offerings, have emerged for the purposes of financing and speculation. Such [sales] are considered illegal and disruptive to economic and financial stability.

In order to be compliant with the messages conveyed during the National Financial Work Conference, to protect the legal rights of investors and to prevent financial risks, we have the following announcement.

The statement is based on the law of the People's Republic of China, as well as the laws of the People's Bank of China, commercial banking and securities law, cybersecurity and telecommunications law, and financing and financial activities law.

1. An accurate acknowledgement of the nature of ICOs

"Token fundraising" refers to a process where fundraisers distribute digital tokens to investors who make financial contributions in the form of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether.

By nature, it is an unauthorized and illegal public financing activity, which involves financial crimes such as the illegal distribution of financial tokens, the illegal issuance of securities and illegal fundraising, financial fraud and pyramid scheme.

Relevant authorities will closely monitor the latest market status and collaborate with the justice department and local governments.

Altogether, they will strictly enforce the current legal framework to solve the market chaos. Any criminal suspicion will be handed over to the justice department.

The tokens or "cryptocurrencies" that are distributed during the token fundraising are not issued by the monetary authority, which has no legal property as fiat currency does and cannot circulate in the monetary market.

Any organization or individual is prohibited from starting illegal token fundraising activity

Starting from the date of this announcement, all kinds of fundraising activities through token issuance should stop immediately.

Organizations and individuals who have completed token fundraising previously shall make arrangements such as refunding crypto assets to investors to protect investor rights, and to deal with the risks properly.

Relevant law enforcements will investigate and severely punish those who refuse to halt fundraising activities through token issuance and those whose completed token fundraising activates are found to have violated the law or regulation.

Reinforce the supervision on platforms that provide exchange services for tokens issued during the fund raising

Starting from the date of this announcement, any so-called token exchange platform shall not:

Be involved in offering exchange services between fiat currency and tokens
Buy or sell tokens for cryptocurrencies, or act as a central party facilitating the trading of tokens for cryptocurrencies
Provide price bidding or middleman service for the exchange of tokens for cryptocurrency.
For any token exchange platform that violates the law or regulation, financial authorities will request:

The telecommunication department to shut down its website and mobile application.
The Cyberspace Administration of China to delist its mobile application from app stores.
The State Administration for Industry and Commerce to discard its business license.
No financial institutions or non-banking payment institutions shall operate businesses that deal with token fundraising

All financial institutions and non-banking payment institutions shall not directly or indirectly provide account opening, registration, trading, clearing and settlement services for token fundraising activities; shall not underwrite any insurance policy that relates to tokens and cryptocurrency, or include any token and cryptocurrency under the insurance policy coverage.

Should any financial institution and non-banking payment institution be found in violation of the law or regulation, they should be reported to relevant authorities immediately. The public should be highly vigilant about potential risks that come with token fundraising and trading.

Token fund raising and trading pose multiple risks, including fraudulent assets, business operational failure, and speculation, etc. Investors are responsible for taking such risks themselves and thus are advised to remain cautious on suspicious projects.

For any illegal financing activity that operates under the name of "coin," the public should become better at spotting scams and always stay vigilant against risks, and should report to the authority any lead of law and regulation violation.

Industry Organizations Should be Self-disciplined.

Different financial industry organizations should study the regulation well and have member companies to voluntarily fight against any illegal financial activity that relates to token and cryptocurrency fund raising; should stay away from this market chaos; should improve the education for investors; and jointly maintain the financial stability.

https://www.coindesk.com/chinas-ico-ban-a-full-translation-of-regulator-remarks/

[As Crypto Market Sheds Billions, One Analyst Sees Buying Opportunity]

As Crypto Market Sheds Billions, One Analyst Sees Buying Opportunity

The total value of all cryptocurrencies has dropped 11 percent since Saturday, declining from a high of nearly $180 billion to under $160 billion today.

But that might not be cause for alarm, according to one bullish analyst.

In fact, Ronnie Moas, the founder of Standpoint Research (known for his prediction that the cryptocurrency asset class will one day be valued in the trillions), contends that the price break is rather the work of larger traders who want to build up even bigger positions in cryptocurrency.

"When people panic and start selling, they are going to come in quietly and start buying again. So it's buying 50,000 then dumping 20,000, for example," he said, adding:

"They are trying to shake people out of the trade – so that they can get their hands on more bitcoin at lower prices."

Such statements echo commentary from yesterday, in which market analysts, most of whom are long-term bullish on the technology's prospects, put forth the claim the current market conditions might fit the definition of a "bear trap" meant to open up buying opportunities.

Even if that's not the case, Moas said it's important to remember that just six weeks ago bitcoin was trading at $1,800 – and it's at $4,400 now, meaning the price has risen over 140 percent in the last month and a half.

"It's a healthy correction. You need to keep this 11% correction in perspective," he said.

https://www.coindesk.com/crypto-market-sheds-billions-one-analyst-sees-buying-opportunity/

[Bitcoin Price Comes Close to $4,700 As Latest Jump Takes Altcoins Higher]

Bitcoin Price Comes Close to $4,700 As Latest Jump Takes Altcoins Higher

Bitcoin has hit yet another all-time high as virtually all the top 50 cryptocurrency markets rally.

Data from Coinmarketcap and Bitcointicker shows Thursday post Bitcoin highs of $4,687 on Bitstamp, beating the previous record of $4,576 Aug. 29.

The latest move upwards resulted in a consolidated effort from the biggest altcoins tracked by Coinmarketcap, with 95 percent of the top 50 posting overall gains in the 24 hours to press time.

Bitcoin is continuing to gain as commentators increasingly put faith in a test of the highly significant $5,000 barrier in the short term.

Various figures have been extremely bullish on Bitcoin reaching $5,000 sooner rather than later, ignoring criticism that the virtual currency remains in a bubble and will ultimately correct downwards in a manner similar to previous price spikes.

Commenting on the current price action, Civic CEO Vinny Lingham suggested the mid-$4,000s was a “nice consolidation,” but for a crucial upwards of downwards move, some external influence was needed.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-comes-close-to-4700-as-latest-jump-takes-altcoins-higher

[Hard Forks Galore: Bitcoin Cash Debates Ambitious Tech Roadmap]

Hard Forks Galore: Bitcoin Cash Debates Ambitious Tech Roadmap


Bitcoin cash's developer team is shedding new light on how it might manage the world's third most valuable cryptocurrency network.

Details, not only about its development roadmap, but also the ideas of its development team, have so far been sparse since the new blockchain forked off bitcoin on August 1. Yet given the sudden, controversial manner in which it was created, it might come as no surprise that bitcoin cash's developer team isn't taking a more conservative approach.

In an email addressing other bitcoin cash developers over the weekend, Amaury Sechet, lead developer of the main bitcoin cash client, Bitcoin ABC, argued that the network should pursue an aggressive means of increasing its transaction capacity.

Sechet wrote:

"If we want to scale big, we'll have to do a [hard fork] from time to time."



This could be a questionable plan, however, since critics contend that developers shouldn't have the power to enforce hard fork changes not everyone in the ecosystem will agree with. Further, since such changes could lead to splits into competing assets, it's widely believed developers should deploy changes in a way that prioritizes keeping the network together.

Supporters, though, argue that hard forks offer a way to make more types of software upgrades, and give users more choice over technical decisions.

https://www.coindesk.com/hard-forks-galore-bitcoin-cash-debates-ambitious-tech-roadmap/

[The Bitcoin Price Just Set a New All-Time High Above $4,700]

The Bitcoin Price Just Set a New All-Time High Above $4,700

The price of bitcoin is now trading at its highest level ever.

At press time, the average price of bitcoin across global exchanges was $4,703.21, a figure that was up roughly 4% from a previous high of $4,522.13 set on August 18.

The move comes as bitcoin prices edged up over the day's session, beginning an upward ascent around 12:20 UTC. Since that time, the price of bitcoin is up more than $100, rising from $4,342 at the time.

Overall, the price of bitcoin is up from a daily low of $4,400. On the year, bitcoin is now up 350% from roughly $1,000 on January 1.

Elsewhere, the price of ether, ethereum's blockchain token, was nearing all-time highs, reaching its highest total observed since mid-June.

https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-price-just-set-new-time-high/

[Bitcoin Exchange BTC-e Promises 'Daily' Updates During Relaunch Attempt]

Bitcoin Exchange BTC-e Promises 'Daily' Updates During Relaunch Attempt


Bitcoin exchange BTC-e is planning to release more updates about its recovery efforts weeks after a stunning crackdown by US authorities.

As previously reported by CoinDesk, BTC-e was the target of a law enforcement operation in late July, during which one of its alleged operators was arrested in Greece. US authorities later seized BTC-e's Web domain and unsealed a 21-count indictment, accusing Russian national Alexander Vinnik and BTC-e of facilitating the laundering of billions of dollars via bitcoin, along with a $110 million fine.

Yet days after the arrest, a forum account long associated with BTC-e posted a pledge to relaunch the exchange, promising to return funds to those who were held accounts at the time of the shutdown. BTC-e has since announced it plans to issue a debt token as part of that repayment effort.

Now, according to new update posted on Bitcoin Talk, BTC-e is in the process of "transferring digital resources to an investment company" that will support the planned exchange relaunch.

In a translated statement, BTC-e reiterated its promise that users "will be able to withdraw 55% of the funds" when the exchange is brought online. BTC-e indicated that it would move to publish more frequent updates after August 31, with the next update expected on August 30.

The account also answered a number of queries, perhaps most notably to one about the legal effort launched by US prosecutors.

"At the moment, we have not received official documents from the United States. All that is at the moment is an order," it stated.

https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-exchange-btc-e-promises-daily-updates-relaunch-attempt/

[Ethereum Notches Two-Month High as Bitcoin Offspring Triggers Volatility]

Ethereum Notches Two-Month High as Bitcoin Offspring Triggers Volatility

Digital currency Ethereum climbed to a two-month high on Monday, taking some of the heat off Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, which have slumped since the weekend.

Ethereum Forges Higher Path

Concerns over Bitcoin created a favourable tailwind for Ethereum (ETH/USD), which is the world’s No. 2 digital currency by total assets. Ether’s price topped $340.00 on Monday and later settled at $323.54. That was the highest since June 20.

At its peak, ether was up 10% on the day and 70% for the month of August.

The ETH/USD was last down 2.2% at $315.02, according to Bitfinex. Prices are due for a brisk recovery, based on the daily momentum indicators.

Fractured Bitcoin Community

Bitcoin and its offshoot, Bitcoin Cash, retreated on Monday following a volatile weekend. The BTC/USD slumped at the start of the week and was down more than 3% on Tuesday, with prices falling below $3,900.00. Just last week, Bitcoin was trading at new records near $4,500.00.

Bitcoin Cash, which emerged after the Aug. 1 hard fork, climbed to new records on Saturday, but has been in free-fall ever since. The BTH was down another 20% on Tuesday to $594.49, according to CoinMarketCap. Its total market value has dropped by several billion over the past two days.

Analysts say that a “fractured” Bitcoin community has made Ethereum a more attractive bet this week. The ether token has shown remarkable poise over the past seven days, despite trading well shy of a new record.

Other drivers behind Ethereum’s advance are steady demand from South Korean investors and growing confidence in a smooth upgrade for the the ETH network. The upgrade, which has been dubbed “Metropolis,” is expected in the next several weeks. Its key benefits include tighter transaction privacy and greater efficiency.

Ethereum Prices Unaffected by ICO Heist

Fin-tech developer Enigma was on the receiving end of a cyber-heist on Monday after hackers took over the company’s website, mailing list and instant messaging platforms. The hack occurred three weeks before Enigma’s planned Initial Coin Offering (ICO) for September 11.

In addition to defacing the company’s website, the hackers pushed a special “pre-sale” ahead of the ICO. While many users realized it was a scam, 1,492 ether tokens – valued at $495,000 – were directed into the hackers’ cryptocurrency wallet by unsuspecting backers.

The irony in all this is that Engima is a cryptography company that prides itself on top-notch security protocols. The company issued a statement that its servers had not been compromised.

https://hacked.com/ethereum-notches-two-month-high-as-bitcoin-offspring-triggers-volatility/

[Authorities Charge Californians in Connection with Dark Web Drug Ring]

Authorities Charge Californians in Connection with Dark Web Drug Ring

Federal prosecutors said multiple people in California managed a sprawling dark web drug ring. Allegedly, they were making millions of dollars via the operation, which they were managing from a gated community in Altadena. They mainly transacted in bitcoin and maintained a large network in the United States.

According to the Los Angeles Times, an Eastern District of California indictment charged two people with conspiracy to possess and distribute a controlled substance and conspiracy to launder money.The police also charged at least 4 others with intent to deliver and distribute at least one of the substances.

Drug Businesses on the Dark Web

According to investigators, the group was operating on the Silk Road dark website under the business name “Purefiremeds.” However, after the subsequent shutdown of the Silk Road and arrest of its founder, Ross Ulbricht, the company switched over to AlphaBay. The business promptly rebooted on the Alphabay dark market as Humboldt Farms. The group ran the business from August 2013 to May 2017; and just last month, Alphabay was shuttered by police.

Per various sources, the group dealt in a smorgasbord of pills and powders. When the group operated Purefiremeds, they sold cannabis, cocaine, oxycodone, MDMA, LSD, Xanax, Ketamine, hydrocodone, and psilocybin. Court documents further stated when the group changed its name to Humboldtfarms, they managed a massive cannabis grow network. A Fresnobee article detailed that the group filled 78,000 orders of marijuana on the Alphabay dark website.

https://news.bitcoin.com/authorities-charge-californians-in-connection-with-dark-web-drug-dealing/

[Bitcoin Prices Retreat Toward $4,100 While Bitcoin Cash Soars]

Bitcoin Prices Retreat Toward $4,100 While Bitcoin Cash Soars

Following a week of thrilling price gains and two all-times highs – $4,483 on August 15, and $4,520 on August 17 – bitcoin prices have now slumped back toward $4,000.

Opening the session at $4,159, price across global exchanges peaked early at $4,406 and have since steadily dropped and at press time had recovered sightly to $4,112. The low for the session was $4,040, according to CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index.

Bitcoin's market capitalization now stands at over $67 billion, down from $73 billion two days ago, according to data from CoinMarketCap

While the price news isn't positive for holders of bitcoin, bitcoin cash – the new cryptocurrency created via a fork of the bitcoin blockchain on August 1 – has seen prices rocket to a new record high of $756 soon before press time.

Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin, is currently trading sideways with prices currently around $293.

Looking more widely, the combined market cap of all cryptocurrencies has dropped to $141 billion from its all-time high of $144.7 billion on August 17.

https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-prices-retreat-toward-4100-while-bitcoin-cash-soars/

[Bitcoin Exchange Changelly CEO: In Touch with European Cybercrime Center]

Bitcoin Exchange Changelly CEO: In Touch with European Cybercrime Center

WannaCry ransom funds were moved from Bitcoin to Monero, and now the exchanges involved are assisting police to find the perpetrators.

Earlier today, Cointelegraph reported on how ShapeShift was working with law enforcement after funds sent to WannaCry hackers during the attack in May suddenly moved through the service this week.

A diagram of the movements of the coins created by BlockSeer showed that Changelly was also involved in moving the funds.

Criminals sent over five BTC in multiple transactions via the instant service that doesn’t require revealing identities.

Now, Changelly is assisting Europol in tracing those behind the transactions, hoping it will lead to a better understanding of the parties at the center of the attack.

Cointelegraph spoke to Changelly CEO Konstant Gladych about the process and what it means for instant exchange services.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-exchange-changelly-ceo-in-touch-with-european-cybercrime-center

[If True Value of Cryptocurrency Is Freedom, Why Do We Need to Regulate It?]

If True Value of Cryptocurrency Is Freedom, Why Do We Need to Regulate It?

Like many technological advantages before it, cryptocurrencies represent massive strides forward in social, economical and technological advances for all of us.

To be clear, this reflection shouldn't be taken from a technical stand point, the technical debate around cryptocurrencies is long and in depth and best reserved for another time. This review should be undertaken at a much more top level.

Something fundamentally mind blowing

Better explained sticking with the aircraft analogy, most of us don't know (or care) how the jet propulsion engine works, but we still happily drink a Gin and Tonic at 40,000 feet while heading off to our next vacation.

The same is true of the cryptocurrency. In the future, and indeed today, many individuals will use these technological advances with little to no understanding of the technology behind it. Of course, those of us who follow technology closely will know this ignorance doesn't come from not caring how it works, its the opposite, its putting total faith in the system working, and working well.

Let's put it this way, much like the combustion engine or the turbo prop doesn't show us what the car or aircraft truly represents, much of the technology behind the cryptocurrency doesn't show us its true value. Freedom. Freedom to trade across borders with anyone for anything. Now Stop. Think about this for a moment. For the first time in the history of mankind since the “Gold Coin,” the same currency can be used in Moscow to pay for flowers that can be used in Johannesburg to buy a new TV (although, yes, gold coins were not used to buy TV's).

Further to that, the concept that my money is worth as much in Downtown London as it is in Uptown Singapore is fundamentally mind blowing. A future in which you are as rich in Dublin as you are in Mumbai is an exciting one that can only help to unify and grow both commerce and the world closer together.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/if-true-value-of-cryptocurrency-is-freedom-why-do-we-need-to-regulate-it

[FBI Has Gained Control Of Our Wallets: Bitcoin Exchange BTC-e]

FBI Has Gained Control Of Our Wallets: Bitcoin Exchange BTC-e

Troubled cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e has said its downtime was due to “FBI agents entering its data center.”

In a post in Russian on BitcoinTalk Monday, BTC-e, which has been down for almost a week, said it had struggled for six days to get answers from its hosting provider.

The post also stated that Alexander Vinnik, the Russian citizen arrested in Greece last week on money laundering charges, had “never been in charge of” the service.

“Future updates will include information about what options we have for restoring the service and how to regain control of our reserves,” it continued, adding the FBI had gained control of domains where its wallets are located July 25.

“If we cannot restart our service by the end of August, we’ll begin returning funds from Sep. 1.”

https://cointelegraph.com/news/fbi-has-gained-control-of-our-wallets-bitcoin-exchange-btc-e

[The Central Bank of Papua New Guinea has launched a program to investigate the possibility of implementing Blockchain technology in the region to tackle some of the country’s financial inclusion issues.]

The Central Bank of Papua New Guinea has launched a program to investigate the possibility of implementing Blockchain technology in the region to tackle some of the country’s financial inclusion issues.

Today, most of the population of Papua New Guinea (PNG) do not use banks. Only 15% of Papua New Guineans have a bank account, thereby limiting economic opportunities for people.

According to the  announcement, the Bank signed an MOU with Abt Associates, a global leader in research, evaluation, and program implementation, supported by the Australian government to launch a program through the Abt Australia-led PNG Governance Facility project.

Dr. Jane Thomason, CEO of Abt Australia, stated:

“Imagine a world where the poor can have an identity which enables access to services and financial inclusion through the use of blockchain technology. It holds tremendous possibilities to transform the way we address issues of poverty and health.”

Investigating Blockchain advantages

The Australian Government has already invested $200,000 AUD in helping the Bank of Papua New Guinea investigate the possibility of using Blockchain technology in local finance and economic systems and to increase the rate of financial inclusion.

The CEO of the Australian Digital Currency & Commerce Association, Nicholas Giurietto, believes that Blockchain technology can help to make financial services more accessible to the local population. He commented to Coinidol.com:

PNG is a developing country with many people outside the major towns living a traditional, rural lifestyle. This means that lack of access to the formal banking and credit system is a major issue. The use of blockchain technology to support financial inclusion is a well understood use case. Hopefully, this initial study will lead to a full program.”

https://coinidol.com/blockchain-in-papua-new-guinea/

[Fear Not The Fork But The Fear Itself: Bitcoin Wisdom]

Fear Not The Fork But The Fear Itself: Bitcoin Wisdom

There is no denying that the initial fear of the Aug. 1 fork, which was quelled with BIP 91, and the Bitcoin Cash potential fork are playing havoc with Bitcoin price. However, the bark could well be worse than the bite when it comes to currency forks, if history is anything to go on.

A cryptocurrency fork sounds like something new, and something that can only affect digital currencies because of a technical ‘fork’ of the Blockchain. But this is not entirely true, currency forks have been seen since the 1960s, and they have been seen on currencies as big as the US dollar.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/fear-not-the-fork-but-the-fear-itself-bitcoin-wisdom

[On July 22, 2017, at approximately 04:46:31 UTC at block height 477120 — BIP91 was activated on the Bitcoin network. As of this point, if the Segwit2x plan is successful, blocks that don’t signal Segregated Witness (BIP141) will be rejected.]

On July 22, 2017, at approximately 04:46:31 UTC at block height 477120 — BIP91 was activated on the Bitcoin network. As of this point, if the Segwit2x plan is successful, blocks that don’t signal Segregated Witness (BIP141) will be rejected.

Segwit2x Progresses Forward

BIP91 has activated on the Bitcoin network after it was enforced by a collaborative effort of mining pools. Over the course of the past 24-hours, nearly every block on the network has been signaling for the protocol change. The threshold for Segwit activation is 80 percent of the network, and 88.2 percent has shown signaling support in the last 24 hours.

Mining pools showing BIP91/Segwit activation include:

BW Pool
Antpool
F2pool
Viabtc
Bixen
Canoe
Bitcoin.com
BTC.com
Telco214
BTCC
GBminers
Slush
BTC.top
Bitclub
Bitfury

https://news.bitcoin.com/bip91-activates-while-fork-still-looms-in-the-backdrop/

Guys, I'm just wondering why they choose to activate UASF on Aug 1? Are there specific reasons for choosing this date or BIP148 is time based?

Please discuss.

[Crypto Market Crosses $80 Billion As Ether, Bitcoin Prices Gain]

Crypto Market Crosses $80 Billion As Ether, Bitcoin Prices Gain

The cryptocurrency market continued to rebound on Tuesday, crossing the $80 billion-mark after a weekend that saw steep declines across the asset class.

Overall, the market reached a high of $84.9 billion today, up nearly 40% from a low of $61 billion this weekend.

At press time, all of the top 30 cryptocurrencies had posted 24-hour gains, according to data provider Coinmarketcap.

http://www.coindesk.com/crypto-market-crosses-80-billion-ether-bitcoin-prices-gain/

[Kazakhstan Seeks to Become Regional Hub for Cryptocurrency Industry]

Kazakhstan Seeks to Become Regional Hub for Cryptocurrency Industry


The Kazakhstan government has announced its intentions to make the country host to “the most favourable business climate” for cryptocurrency and fintech companies. The announcement comes from Kazakhstan’s Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), which plans to operate in collaboration between Deloitte, Waves, Kesarev Consulting, and Ukrainian law firm Justcutum in order to develop a “highly progressive regulatory framework” for blockchain and cryptocurrency companies.

https://news.bitcoin.com/kazakhstan-seeks-to-become-regional-hub-for-cryptocurrency-industry/

[From the founder of Huiyin Blockchain Venture comes the latest innovation in the cryptocurrency ecosystem - Exchange Union Coin [XUC] - a cross-exchange trading token to improve functionality, efficiency and standards of customer service for the digital currency community. XUC bridges digital currency exchanges around the world to realize investors’ cross-exchange trading, cross-exchange clearing, deposit and withdrawal among different digital currencies and assets.]

From the founder of Huiyin Blockchain Venture comes the latest innovation in the cryptocurrency ecosystem - Exchange Union Coin [XUC] - a cross-exchange trading token to improve functionality, efficiency and standards of customer service for the digital currency community. XUC bridges digital currency exchanges around the world to realize investors’ cross-exchange trading, cross-exchange clearing, deposit and withdrawal among different digital currencies and assets.

https://coinidol.com/exchange-union-coin-to-bridge-digital-currency-exchanges-for-enhanced-trading/