[https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-brief-history-of-bubbles]

Digital currencies have experienced incredible price growth since the beginning of 2017, leading many to wonder if their market value is exceeding their intrinsic value.

When this happens, speculators drive the price of an asset to lofty and unsustainable heights, creating a financial bubble.

These bubbles inevitably pop, bringing potential ruin to those who bought near the top.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-brief-history-of-bubbles

[Buckle up]

Japan’s Bitcoin Exchanges Getting Ready To Secure Smooth Operations After August 1

Shortly after recognizing Bitcoin and digital currencies, Japan continues to take thorough steps to create an attractive environment for digital currency trading and use in daily purchases.

In the latest forward looking preparations - Japanese exchanges lineup to secure smooth operation irrelevant of Aug. 1 events.

Buckle up

Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 148 is set to be signaled by miners in August with hopes that SegWit2x gets locked in.

This means that transactions will become both quicker and cheaper. However, not everyone agrees and it is uncertain if this will be successful. A scenario of Bitcoin forking, or breaking into two separate chains is possible if no enough parties agree to signal for BIP148.

The Aug. 1 events have been unsettling the market as July continues to be the choppiest month traders have faced this year. There is no doubt that a possible fork of the peg and major cryptocurrency is no easy feat and disruption can occur, irrelevant of the outcome.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/japans-bitcoin-exchanges-getting-ready-to-secure-smooth-operations-after-august-1

[Fine Art Gallery in London’s Mayfair Now Accepts Bitcoin And Other Cryptocurrencies]

Fine Art Gallery in London’s Mayfair Now Accepts Bitcoin And Other Cryptocurrencies

As a sign of the rising popularity of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the UK-based Dadiani Fine Art Gallery has begun accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and other cryptos as entrance payment.

The art gallery owner Eleesa Dadiani said, “We are combining old world business ethics and practice with the new world of technology the current system is becoming stale and needs to be disrupted.”

She adds:

"Cryptocurrencies will provide a bridge from the elitist, centralist fine art market to a decentralized open source world where many more will be able to become a part of this exhilarating market.”

https://cointelegraph.com/news/fine-art-gallery-in-londons-mayfair-now-accepts-bitcoin-and-other-cryptocurrencies

[Mining Pool BTC.com Finds Accidental 80 BTC Fee – Offers a Refund]

Mining Pool BTC.com Finds Accidental 80 BTC Fee – Offers a Refund

On July 7th the mining pool BTC.com mined a block that contained a transaction with an 80 BTC fee attached. BTC.com believes the fee was an accident as the transaction fee should have been around 2 BTC and the pool is looking to give the sender a refund.

BTC.Com Finds an 80 BTC Fee and Offers to Pay the User Back

The China-based mining pool BTC.com was surprised to find a transaction in a block they mined tethered to an 80 BTC fee ($200,000 USD). The accidental fee is a large one, but this type of incident has happened many times over the years. The mining pool says they are not interested in keeping the money and would like to pay the user back if they can verify it was their transaction.

https://news.bitcoin.com/mining-pool-btc-com-80-btc-fee-refund/

[Rollout of 260,000+ Bitcoin-Accepting Stores in Japan Begins]

Rollout of 260,000+ Bitcoin-Accepting Stores in Japan Begins


Three months after Recruit Lifestyle partnered with Japanese bitcoin exchange Coincheck to enable over 260,000 retail stores to accept bitcoin, the company has finally announced on Monday that its point-of-sale app is now bitcoin-ready. Immediately, a chain of 334 eyeglasses stores using the app announced that it will accept the cryptocurrency starting July 10.

Air Regi Starts Handling Bitcoin Payments

Bitcoin.com reported in April about Recruit Lifestyle Co., Ltd. partnering with Japanese bitcoin exchange Coincheck for its point-of-sale (POS) app called “Mobile Payment for Air Regi” to accept bitcoin payments.

On Monday, almost three months later, Recruit Lifestyle finally announced that the Air Regi app now offers a bitcoin payment option starting on July 3. The announcement came two days after the law that removes the 8% consumption tax on bitcoin went into effect in Japan.

https://news.bitcoin.com/rollout-of-260000-bitcoin-accepting-stores-in-japan-begins/

[Australia's top securities regulator believes central bank-issued cryptocurrencies could one day throttle illicit bitcoin use, and that initial coin offerings (ICOs) will remain largely outside the scope of global regulators.]

ASIC on Blockchain: Australia's Securities Watchdog Unlikely to Regulate ICOs

Australia's top securities regulator believes central bank-issued cryptocurrencies could one day throttle illicit bitcoin use, and that initial coin offerings (ICOs) will remain largely outside the scope of global regulators.

In interview with CoinDesk, Greg Medcraft, chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), spoke openly about the state of blockchain technology and its impact on international regulators. Perhaps most notable are Medcraft's comments on the idea that centrally-issued cryptocurrencies present an attractive way to thwart illicit cryptocurrency use, a comment that came in response to questions about the rise of ransomware attacks leveraging the technology.

"Depending on the type of centrally-issued digital currency, the ability to deal with the black economy and money laundering, etc, is dramatic," he told CoinDesk.

http://www.coindesk.com/asic-on-blockchain-australias-securities-watchdog-unlikely-to-regulate-icos/

[After weeks of torrid growth, it seems ether's much-hyped 'Flippening' may be on the verge of falling short.]

'Flippening' Flop? As Ethereum's Price Pulls Back, Market Remains Bullish

After weeks of torrid growth, it seems ether's much-hyped 'Flippening' may be on the verge of falling short.

Just weeks ago, the cryptocurrency that powers the ethereum blockchain looked poised to become the world's largest by market capitalization, making ethereum the most valuable public blockchain. But as the calendar turns to July, that trend appears to be becoming less of a certainty.

After peaking at nearly $415 in mid-June, ether's price declined to roughly $300 yesterday, an approximately 27% drop from its all-time high. Further, with this decline, ethereum's market cap fell to less than 70% of bitcoin's, down from more than 82% mid-month.

http://www.coindesk.com/flippening-flop-ethereums-price-pulls-back-market-remains-bullish/

Blockchain Indy Production Start Up The 21 Million Project Hints at Production Roadmap


The 21Million Project offers a sneak preview of the planned Production Roadmap with Casting in the UK, Europe and Russia expected to start as early as July. The start-up’s investors – ETH enthusiasts and fans of Action Drama TV, are already helping to pave the way for this high octane show about the Bitcoin Revolution, which is being made using a new, consensus-based model that bypasses the greedy, wasteful and inefficient Hollywood system.

https://coinidol.com/the-21-million-hints-at-production-roadmap/

[An eight-bedroom luxury home in Canada has been listed for sale on the Beijing Craigslist website with an asking price of 1,075 bitcoins.]

Canadian Luxury Home Listed for Sale on Beijing Craigslist for 1,075 Bitcoins

An eight-bedroom luxury home in Canada has been listed for sale on the Beijing Craigslist website with an asking price of 1,075 bitcoins.

With an Asking Price of Nearly $3 Million USD and Such a Narrow Marketing Strategy, the Listing Immediately Aroused Curiosity

Approximately one month ago an ad for a luxury Canadian home was listed on the Beijing Craigslist website. The up-market home features eight bedrooms, six bathrooms, and is located right by the Westwood Plateau Golf and Country Club in Coquitlam. The listing features an asking price of 1,075 bitcoins – approximately $2.9 million USD


https://news.bitcoin.com/canadian-luxury-home-listed-for-sale-on-beijing-craigslist-for-1075-bitcoins/

Buddhist Monks Said to Be Targeted by Bitcoin Pyramid Scheme

A bitcoin-focused pyramid scheme may have targeted Buddhist meditation practitioners in Thailand, according to a local news outlet.

In a report from English-language media source The Nation, members of a Buddhist temple in the town of Uttaradit were said to have been approached with offers to invest in bitcoin. The temple-goers were allegedly promised handsome profits if they invested "at least 38,000 baht" (an amount worth roughly $1,100 at press time), including a doubling of that return if they attracted other investors.

http://www.coindesk.com/buddhist-monks-said-targeted-bitcoin-pyramid-scheme/

Too Easy? Critics Take Aim at Ethereum Token Standard Amid ICO Boom

It's hard not to be taken aback by the amount of money consumers have been throwing at initial coin offerings (ICOs) lately.

The new fundraising model allows developers to sell digital 'tokens' to raise money for decentralized projects. Two recent events highlight why there may be cause for concern.

Earlier this month, web browser startup Brave made $35m in seconds selling its basic attention token (BAT). And, soon after, a relative unknown called Bancor pulled in $150m in hours – the largest ICO in history – despite claims about possibly sketchy code underlying the project.

Like the majority of recent ICOs, these projects were built on the ethereum blockchain. And what they have in common is ERC-20 – a standard that allows wallets, exchanges and other smart contracts to interface with a variety of tokens in a common way.

Yet, while standards exist for good reason, when combined with a lack of regulation in the space, some believe ERC-20 may be making it too easy for unscrupulous projects to get into the game.

http://www.coindesk.com/too-easy-critics-take-aim-at-ethereum-token-standard-amid-ico-boom/

FINRA To Host Blockchain Event in New York Next Month

FINRA, the self-regulatory organization for US brokers, is to host a blockchain event in New York next month.

Dubbed the Blockchain Symposium, the event will be held at the Park Central Hotel on 13th July, the organization announced this week. The lineup includes representatives from regulatory agencies including the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

FINRA's event announcement came in tandem with the launch of its new Innovation Outreach Initiative, which, according to a statement, will function as a kind of communication hub for members who are dealing with new financial technologies, including blockchain. According to its website, more than 600,000 brokers in the US are part of FINRA.

Specific elements of the effort include the creation of a Fintech Industry Committee, as well as the kick-off of regional roundtables for FINRA members to collaboratively discuss technological shifts.

"The Innovation Outreach Initiative will enable us to better track fintech developments across the rapidly changing industry environment in order to support innovation in the industry while maintaining investor protection and market integrity," Robert Cook, FINRA's president and CEO, said in a statement.

FINRA has previously highlighted how its mandate – and the rules by which its members adhere – could face change in the near future. Back in January, FINRA said in a report that many of its rules, as well as those advanced by regulators such as the SEC, "are potentially implicated by various DLT applications".

http://www.coindesk.com/finra-host-blockchain-event-new-york-next-month/

Altcoin intel bot CryptoPing ICO now live – CryptoNinjas

CryptoPing, a new service launching an assistant bot that can hint at market situation changes and good times to buy a certain altcoin has launched an ICO, ending at the end of June. The service already has over 1,000 investors and more than 169BTC raised.Bot’s market watching and analysis algorithms are already tested and

Pertaining to the service, users will easily be able to sign up and activate the bot and start to get signals in the form of messages from exchanges right away. Being an experienced or new trader, no user gets any advantage over other bot users, because all users receive all signals at the time.

It’s up to traders to weigh the market in signals’ context and make all trading decisions by themselves. Bot signals are simple yet have just right amount of information.. Users receive signal messages that include coin ticker, link to an exchange that produced the signal, trading volume difference for the last hour, change to the coin rate to BTC, the number of signals on the coin for the last 7 days, coin market capitalisation value in USD. All further analysis has to be performed by traders and the result will depend on their experience, interests, and goals.

Additionally, CryptoPing informed in their roadmap they are building a platform for social trading, that will be useful to both new and experienced traders. Pro traders will be able to publish their trading results by signals daily, and new traders will be able to follow pros and copy their trades for a small subscription fee.

The ICO started on May 25, 2017 00:00 UTC and will go until June 25, 2017 00:00 UTC. Or when 1,000 BTC is invested.

https://www.cryptoninjas.net/2017/06/05/altcoin-intel-bot-cryptoping-ico-now-live/