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When you think about projects being undertaken in the cryptocurrency world, there are a few that are as strange as BitDegree. This is one of those projects that have a considerably solid platform. The same cannot be said about the performance of its tokens. In fact, the BitDegree platform is showing quite little use for its tokens. Since its Initial Coin Offering, the platform has shown a lot of promise. The thing is that the token itself has been severely disappointing for the investors. From when it started off, it has lost over 98 percent of its value. That’s how bad things are. Considering the horrendous performance of the token, developers of the project decided to shake things up. The BitDegree platform has finally begun accepting fiat currency. The creators felt that the token-only aspect of the project was too detrimental for the project. Having fiat payments would save the project and it has, to a certain degree. It is still trying to integrate the BDG token into the product somehow. The BitDegree project has made a lot of special efforts to encourage the use of its native tokens for the courses that they offer. The first look at the BitDegree makes it look like a platform pretty much like Udemy and other such websites which offer self-learning courses. The difference is that the platform has made significantly more efforts to promote the use of BDG tokens for purchase its courses. After the change, the prices are now appearing in their US Dollar value. There is an argument being made. If a token is used within a specific ecosystem, it can have value in and of itself. When you look at the BDG token for the BitDegree platform, there is an ecosystem with course material, teachers and students involved. It is just that the community of cryptocurrency users has generally shown skepticism towards this token. This was not something that BitDegree could have anticipated (much like most things in the cryptocurrency world). The team behind BitDegree has been trying to entice users to make purchases using the native cryptocurrency token. They have offered discounts of up to 20 percent for every course which is bought using the BDG tokens. It seems like a good enough move to encourage more use of the BDG token, right? Wrong. The biggest issue with the BDG token is the process of acquiring it. It is too much of a hassle. Not going through the hassle is worth the extra 20 percent people have to pay when they use fiat currency on the platform. The people who bought the tokens during the ICO have mostly sold their tokens. With a cryptocurrency token which has seen so much depreciation, not a lot of purchases have been made to consider the token viable. That and the fact that there are only a few cryptocurrency exchanges offering the digital asset trading on their platform makes things worse. The cryptocurrency community does not feel very good about the BDG token considering all these things. It can only have some worth if more cryptocurrency exchanges start to list it in their portfolio. There are other projects geared towards education that have managed to create good revenue through releasing tokens. ACAD is the Academy Token which has its own token. It will be used to spend on the courses within its ecosystem. Until and unless there is a proper user base of dedicated people, the aspect of cryptocurrency being used to make payments won’t take off. The development team is still in the works. They are trying to make it possible to get the BDG tokens in an easier manner. They want to convert the payments being made on the platform into BitDegree’s native tokens. The platform itself is successful and they might just be able to make the token perform better at some point. It remains to be seen. We provide the latest and most interesting news concerning everything Blockchain. Keep updated with our daily Podcast, Alexa Briefings of the days events, Crypto project ama´s, technical analysis and much much more. Subscribe to our newsletter and receive regular updates in the blockchain world. URL: https://blockverge.com/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/blockverge/id1412402400RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Blockverge |
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In the world of blockchain technology, decentralized apps are one highly promising prospect. They have the potential to completely oust third-party operating platforms that work on a centralized concept. There has been one consistent problem when it comes to blockchain technology-based platforms. User identity management is a crucial aspect for decentralized apps. As things work right now, third parties have to be entrusted to manage user identity. That is the problem that ECR725 identity will resolve. Fabian Vogelsteller came up with the ECR725 identity standard. He is the creator of the ECR20 token which sees comprehensive use in the blockchain landscape. The ECR725 identity standard was created last year, on the 2nd of October. Since then, it has seen adoption by numerous blockchain based projects. They have incorporated the ECR725 in a bid to decentralize the identity standards in the peer-to-peer marketplaces. Identity Problem Can Be Solved By ECR725 One of the most major projects to incorporate the ECR725 is Origin Protocol. They’ve highlighted the advantages of using a blockchain based identity standard. It offers a lot of benefits for trustworthiness and user reputation management in peer-to-peer marketplaces. A decentralized app, which functions like Airbnb, would need tenants to identify themselves. They don’t want to risk damage to their property nor do they want to be victims of fraud. The current situation in the blockchain world sees decentralized apps relying on Oracle platforms or trusted third parties. Something like ChainLink links to third parties to make this possible. Vogelsteller has stressed a lot on the need to have a standardized identity management system in the new landscape. Right now, everybody will collect information about you separately so that they know who you are. Once there’s a standard set, there will no longer be a need to store personal information. The current way of going about it is inefficient. It results in over collection of information. Until a better system comes into place, that is how it will be. The ECR725 is slated to be that better system. How the ECR725 Works Origin Protocol is in the works to implement the ECR725 identity standard. The integration of it could mean that users looking to verify their identity will issue a new identity contract, which will have a valid claim. The issuer will then give the user a unique cryptographic signature. This will prove that the user indeed controls a specific email, address, phone number or even biometric data. This will be added to the identity contract. For instance, if a person is using something like Airbnb in the blockchain world, the user will try to rent a property using a listing contract. This listing contract will be able to verify that it’s valid on the contract, which was issued by the decentralized application. This would in turn mean that the transaction can take place. Decentralized Identity & It’s Future The ECR725 identity standard has the potential to make an ecosystem that can allow contracts to accept claims using any blockchain platform. It will facilitate the interoperable and distributed identity for any project across the blockchain network. If something like this is employed by the US Postal Service, it could be revolutionary. The USPS could verify the user address automatically even before there’s any interaction with the user. Of course, it goes without saying that the ECR725 is a new prospect. As promising as it is, it is still in its most early stages. It will take time to develop it and integrate it properly with projects like the Origin Protocol. There is huge potential in the ECR725 and with countries like Thailand already exploring blockchain technology based identity management, we’re very likely to see a future for decentralized identity. We provide the latest and most interesting news concerning everything Blockchain. Keep updated with our daily Podcast, Alexa Briefings of the days events, Crypto project ama´s, technical analysis and much much more. Subscribe to our newsletter and receive regular updates in the blockchain world. URL: https://blockverge.com/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/blockverge/id1412402400RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Blockverge |
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There is an increasing number of firms at Wall Street that are changing their minds about the nascent digital economic system. The sentimentality towards opportunities in the cryptocurrency world seems to be changing. The CEO of Goldman Sachs shared his opinion on the world of cryptocurrencies. In an interview with the Economic Club of New York recently, Lloyd Blankfein talked about his take on the emerging economy. It’s Possibly the Next Evolution for Money Blankfein showed up at the Economic Club of New York to present his opinion and answer questions related to cryptocurrencies. He was asked about the potentiality of the new economy and its potential to possibly replace fiat currencies. The CEO of Goldman Sachs kept an open mind when he was answering these questions. He said that there is potential for cryptocurrencies to replace fiat currencies in the future. That is what fiat currencies did with the currencies backed by valuable commodities. He views the emergence of cryptocurrencies as the next step in the evolution of money. For instance, consider gold. You use that as money, and you know people only accept hard currency as monetary payment. You start to make gold coins. The value of the gold coin would be 5 bucks if it has gold worth 5 bucks. Then comes a point where you are given a piece of paper. The parchment promises to hold the same value as the 5-buck gold. You can always hand in the paper and get $5 worth of gold when you redeem it. Later on there comes a point where you are given a paper which says that it is worth $5 in gold, but you can never redeem it for that quantity of gold. Eventually things come to a point where you are given a piece of paper. They say that it is worth $5, but they won’t redeem it. They even say that they don’t even have the $5 even if you wanted to redeem it. By talking about all of this, Lloyd Blankfein was talking about how money has morphed from something entirely different to what it is right now. The representation of value is a far cry from what it initially was. The advent of cryptocurrencies is pretty much the same. There is a continuing morphing of the representation of value. Fiat currencies have value because the government and financial institutions say they do. It is not too farfetched to want a currency that has value based on consensus. Blankfein went on to say that he himself doesn’t own any Bitcoin. Despite that, he feels that denying the possibility of the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies would be too arrogant. Possible Crypto Expansion by Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs is considering expanding into the cryptocurrency world. They have recently made an announcement that they might offer custodian services for cryptocurrency funds. If this move indeed does fall through, it will place the financial giant at a unique position. Goldman Sachs will become the first significant investment bank that will provide a backing for cryptocurrency funds. With a name like Goldman Sachs making such a move, other institutional investors might possibly flock into this industry as well. Initially, Goldman Sachs announced its plans for Bitcoin futures trading desks to match the client demands. A month later, they revealed plans to extend beyond it. Goldman Sachs is looking to expand itself into this completely new asset class. This will mean that an increasing number of Wall Street firms will also have a positive outlook towards the world of cryptocurrencies. We provide the latest and most interesting news concerning everything Blockchain. Keep updated with our daily Podcast, Alexa Briefings of the days events, Crypto project ama´s, technical analysis and much much more. Subscribe to our newsletter and receive regular updates in the blockchain world. URL: https://blockverge.com/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/blockverge/id1412402400RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Blockverge |
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In a report, the European Union Blockchain Observatory and Forum has made a warning about the GDPR law. The General Data Protection Regulation law came into effect just a couple of months ago and it can cause major problems for the development of blockchain technology. The EU based blockchain body has stated that there is certain haziness in legal matters. The GDPR law and blockchain technology cannot exactly see eye to eye. The aim of the General Data Protection Regulation is to protect the data rights for individuals. It is also aiming to make free movement of personal data possible within the single market. According to the blockchain body, as long as the legality between the GDPR law and blockchain technology will remain unclear, there will be problems. The people looking to innovate blockchain technology-based platforms, in and around Europe, will face a lot of uncertainty. The challenges that will come along because of this will be massive. It can become a significant roadblock for the further innovation in the blockchain landscape. Because of this, all the work done by Europe in this field can be stopped. Data Protection Rights for Individuals You see, there is one particular point emerging from the General Data Protection Regulation. It will empower individuals to have more control over their individual data. They will be able to amend their data so that it retains a certain sense of accuracy. There are even cases where the GDPR allows them to get the data deleted when they don’t need it anymore. This all sounds very good in terms of individual data protection rights. The problem is that blockchains are immutable databases. Once a record is added, it cannot be changed, modified or deleted. Only more data can be added to it. When it comes to the GDPR, protection of individual data rights is based on the concept of a central authority. This central body will be held accountable for the protection of the data if things go sideways. When it comes to blockchain, matters are different. They are open and permissionless. All the information on the blockchain is processed by every node on the network. There has never been the concept of a central node or controller. The network works together in a democratic manner to process and verify all the records being added to the immutable database. This is yet another point where the General Data Protection Regulation comes into conflict with blockchain technology. There is another stipulation. The GDPR can apparently be transferred to third parties outside of the EU based on a condition’s fulfillment. It will only happen if the data is held in a jurisdiction, which offers data protection laws of a similar level as theirs. Blockchain technology does not function that way at all. There is absolutely no way of regulating where the data will end up. The full nodes across the network exist everywhere in the world. Each of them have a full copy of the database because it’s replicated throughout the network all at once. There is no way to stop this as it’s a purely decentralized digital ledger. Selective Use VS. Full Replication of Data Set Another source of conflict is that GDPR was announced even before blockchain technology became popular. It makes sense. The General Data Protection Regulation was penned down before blockchain technology became commonplace. There was the assumption that a database is nothing more than a place where data is collected, stored, and processed. When you look at the situation in an optimistic light, you have to remember the fact that blockchain is still in its infancy right now. There is always the chance that it can be developed to ensure the implementation of the GDPR fully. It remains to be seen how things play out between the disruptive technology and the data protection law. We provide the latest and most interesting news concerning everything Blockchain. Keep updated with our daily Podcast, Alexa Briefings of the days events, Crypto project ama´s, technical analysis and much much more. Subscribe to our newsletter and receive regular updates in the blockchain world. URL: https://blockverge.com/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/blockverge/id1412402400RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Blockverge |
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Traders in China, Russia and the United States are among the most common victims of cyber criminals. The cryptocurrency exchanges in these countries are increasingly becoming targeted by hackers. There are studies which indicate that services provided by hackers are much higher than what is on offer. It’s a similar situation for cryptographers. China’s authorities have decided to hire the services of a cryptography specialist. It will use the expert’s services for one of its censorship agencies. This need arises from the actions of Chinese citizens, who are already using blockchain transactions to go around the censorship. Cyber security experts in Russia have found that from 2016 to 2017, the amount of data being compromised has increased. The people associated with cryptocurrency exchanges are seeing more and more of their data being compromised. The statistics are roughly showing 5 times the amount from previous years. It has only gotten worse, with the numbers in the beginning of 2018 showing a 700 percent increase. It is believed that most of these security breaches are the result of client carelessness. Demand for Hackers Increasing The demand for hackers that can provide ethical services is significantly more than the supply. Positive Technologies is a company which has gauged this niche market. They’ve conducted analyses of websites offering these specialized services. The amount of orders for malicious programs given to hackers is thrice the amount actually being produced. There are over 10,000 ads, either offering or seeking these specialized services that have been published on several websites on the darknet. Among the demands being made, about a third of the requests have been for hacking e-mail accounts. Less than a tenth of the requests are for hacking social media accounts. Of all the requests made, a third of them have been responded to by hackers. Last year saw the cryptocurrency market surge spectacularly. This was the time which saw development of malware, which mined cryptocurrencies in secrecy. 20 percent of all the malicious software being created by hackers belongs to that domain. Ransomware attacks have been just over a tenth of the total number of cyber attacks. Most of the cyber attacks have been through crypto jacking, the term given to secretly mining cryptocurrencies. Censorship Agency in China Hires Cryptographer The global demand for hackers has increased significantly over the past few years. China on the other hand, is looking for the services of cryptographers. They want to hire a specialist in cryptography to improve their censorship agency. Specifically, it was the Chinese Public Broadcasting Research Institute that published this job opening. It works under the State Administration of Radio and Television. The agency has said that the cryptographer should be adept in blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. Blockchain Being Used to Circumvent Censorship There hasn’t been a lot said about blockchain-related responsibilities for the potential hiring at the agency. The use of blockchain technology to go around censorship and the posting of the job around the same time cannot be a coincidence. According to news reports, Chinese citizens have been using the Ethereum network to share information about a vaccine. The vaccine being distributed by Changchun Changsheng Biotech Company does not meet the state standards. Chinese internet users have been posting more and more information about the vaccine online. These reports are being deleted from the internet by Chinese authorities but awareness has been created. More and more people are finding out about the vaccine. A number of Chinese citizens have started to use Ethereum’s public blockchain to share and protect the information. From the looks of it, the hiring of the cryptographer might be used to target said information. The government is incapable of doing it right now and they want to remedy that situation. We provide the latest and most interesting news concerning everything Blockchain. Keep updated with our daily Podcast, Alexa Briefings of the days events, Crypto project ama´s, technical analysis and much much more. Subscribe to our newsletter and receive regular updates in the blockchain world. URL: https://blockverge.com/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/blockverge/id1412402400RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Blockverge |
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A leak in financial data has provided some startling revelations about the cryptocurrency mining giant Bitmain. According to the data, Bitmain’s profits within just the first quarter of 2018 have gone above and beyond a billion dollars. The data has also given some hints about the details of the upcoming IPO for Bitmain. The data was apparently obtained through an e-mail delivered to Fortune Term Sheet, a media outlet. Apparently, a source that is very close to the company Bitmain sent them this e-mail. This e-mail revealed the mind-boggling billion dollar profit in just the Q1 for the Beijing-based company. Initial Public Offering by Bitmain The data obtained by Term Sheet has not yet been published but allegedly, it reveals data about Bitmain being in a fundraising round. According to them, the Beijing-based outfit is trying to get a $400 million worth round from June of 2018. This is apparently going to help them out with an initial public offering (IPO) set to launch later in the year. The regional news source in China called Toutiao had reported some concrete evidence of the second funding round. This report came to light on the 16th of July in 2018. This increased speculations within the larger cryptocurrency community about a potential Bitmain IPO. Jihan Wu talked about the possibility of a Bitmain IPO back in June when he was talking to Fortune. Jihan Wu is one of the co-founders of Bitmain Technologies Ltd. He said that the cryptocurrency mining platform is open to possibilities of a listing. It could be in Hong Kong or even in an overseas market. In that case, it would want to be listed in a market which has US dollar denominated shares. These shares have to provide early investors like IDG Capital and Sequoia Capital an exit opportunity. He went on further to say that the main challenge for the company is to advance the technology further than what’s already been reached. The Beijing-based company is trying its best to stay ahead of the competition and maintain market advantage. The Data obtained by Term Sheet supposedly also reveals another funding initiative for Bitmain. Apparently, it will see the company be valued at roughly $14 billion US Dollars. This means that the earnings are going to increase eleven-fold. With the success of a funding round, the cryptocurrency mining company will be able to see an increase of 16 percent in its value in comparison to a recent valuation putting it at $12 billion US Dollars. Hashing Monopoly by Bitmain Causing Crypto Community to Worry Bitmain is an example of a highly-successful cryptocurrency-based venture. That being said, not everybody in the cryptocurrency community is excited to see this rise in mining operations. The co-founder of Ethereum, the famed Vitalik Buterin, has recently taken a few quips at the cryptocurrency mining giant. He has also made note of the fact that the company, along with similar ones in the landscape, have control over more than half of Bitcoin’s hashing power. With the company seeing such immense profits, it seems unlikely that they will let go of such a primary revenue generation source. The company has increased employment in Israel three-fold and even acquired 20,000 square feet in San Jose. Hashing Power Surges Forward With the impending Initial Public Offering and the fast expansion, there is also a massive surge in hashing power for Bitcoin. The data from [Suspicious link removed] has shown that there was a massive surge, causing a rise from 36 million TH/s to 50 million TH/s on the 28th of June within the span of a single day. This has sent Bitcoin’s hashrates skyrocketing to record highs. High hashrates are considered an indicator of what could possibly be a bull run for the cryptocurrency landscape. This sends more and more miners dedicating their hardware so that they can contribute to what they predict will be a mining venture full of profit. Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Google+ We provide the latest and most interesting news concerning everything Blockchain. Keep updated with our daily Podcast, Alexa Briefings of the days events, Crypto project ama´s, technical analysis and much much more. Subscribe to our newsletter and receive regular updates in the blockchain world. URL: https://blockverge.com/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/blockverge/id1412402400RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Blockverge |
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There has been yet another major move made by Australia in the world of blockchain. Queensland is the third most densely populated state and the second largest state in size on the continent/country. The state government of Queensland is looking forward to give a grant to a crypto based startup company that focuses on tourism. The officials from the state government believe that this move will massively help boost tourism in Queensland. The announcement was made on Wednesday by the state government of Queensland on their official website. The announcement revealed that a grant of AUD$8.3 million will be given to 70 different companies in Queensland. The funds will be given to these companies so that they can make blockchain based innovations for the state. The announcement particularly highlighted the startup business Travelbybit, which is in Queensland. That will be, for all intents and purposes, the headliner for this major move. It has been dubbed as the startup company that will attract more and more tourists to Central Queensland. People will be able to use cryptocurriences to make online sales of travel experiences. Tourism is The Most Important Industry This move by the government of Queensland is only logical. The country of Australia is planning to establish a technologically advanced government by 2025. Making major moves like this allows Queensland to align their goals with the country’s goal of moving forward. Tourism is one of the most important industries of Queensland. TravelbyBit has come up with a very good way to make it easier for tourists to pay for their purchases. The number of businesses accepting payments through the services of this startup is increasing. TravelbyBit is essentially a point-of-sale cryptocurrency payments application. More than three dozen local businesses, resorts, restaurants, and tour operators are using this in the Agnes Water area. This town is also being dubbed as the first digital currency town of Australia. The very welcome sign for the town has labels of different cryptocurrencies like NEM, Litecoin, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum on it. As of now, TravelbyBit is focusing on specific cities to introduce the system that it has. They’re making use of cryptocurrencies to make it easier for people coming into cities like Bundaberg to book their holidays. The government of Queensland is investing in the company to make it bigger. They want it to grow larger in scale and create more jobs in Queensland. It has that much potential. The government of Queensland is going to give a grant of AUD$100,000 to this startup, which will allow the company to revamp. There will be an expansion to add more merchants to the list of over 150 already registered merchants across the country. The startup is not just stopping there. It has been enabling several retailers at the airport in Brisbane. They are now accepting cryptocurrency payments from travelers arriving or departing from the terminals now. Brisbane airport is the third largest in the country. It is also one of the busiest. The CEO of TravelbyBit has even announced plans to add Binance Coin. This will increase the number of cryptocurrencies being accepted by the PoS platform. The CEO, Caleb Yeoh, has stated that the funds being given to the crypto startup will be used for the purpose of development. They will grow their team further and start to accept more cryptocurrencies in the future. The startup has big plans and all of these align with Australia’s move for a blockchain based future. The state government’s announcement is a result of major blockchain movements made by the Australian government. We provide the latest and most interesting news concerning everything Blockchain. Keep updated with our daily Podcast, Alexa Briefings of the days events, Crypto project ama´s, technical analysis and much much more. Subscribe to our newsletter and receive regular updates in the blockchain world. URL: https://blockverge.com/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/blockverge/id1412402400RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Blockverge |
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In a report, the European Union Blockchain Observatory and Forum has made a warning about the GDPR law. The General Data Protection Regulation law came into effect just a couple of months ago and it can cause major problems for the development of blockchain technology. The EU based blockchain body has stated that there is certain haziness in legal matters. The GDPR law and blockchain technology cannot exactly see eye to eye. The aim of the General Data Protection Regulation is to protect the data rights for individuals. It is also aiming to make free movement of personal data possible within the single market. According to the blockchain body, as long as the legality between the GDPR law and blockchain technology will remain unclear, there will be problems. The people looking to innovate blockchain technology-based platforms, in and around Europe, will face a lot of uncertainty. The challenges that will come along because of this will be massive. It can become a significant roadblock for the further innovation in the blockchain landscape. Because of this, all the work done by Europe in this field can be stopped. Data Protection Rights for Individuals You see, there is one particular point emerging from the General Data Protection Regulation. It will empower individuals to have more control over their individual data. They will be able to amend their data so that it retains a certain sense of accuracy. There are even cases where the GDPR allows them to get the data deleted when they don’t need it anymore. This all sounds very good in terms of individual data protection rights. The problem is that blockchains are immutable databases. Once a record is added, it cannot be changed, modified or deleted. Only more data can be added to it. When it comes to the GDPR, protection of individual data rights is based on the concept of a central authority. This central body will be held accountable for the protection of the data if things go sideways. When it comes to blockchain, matters are different. They are open and permissionless. All the information on the blockchain is processed by every node on the network. There has never been the concept of a central node or controller. The network works together in a democratic manner to process and verify all the records being added to the immutable database. This is yet another point where the General Data Protection Regulation comes into conflict with blockchain technology. There is another stipulation. The GDPR can apparently be transferred to third parties outside of the EU based on a condition’s fulfillment. It will only happen if the data is held in a jurisdiction, which offers data protection laws of a similar level as theirs. Blockchain technology does not function that way at all. There is absolutely no way of regulating where the data will end up. The full nodes across the network exist everywhere in the world. Each of them have a full copy of the database because it’s replicated throughout the network all at once. There is no way to stop this as it’s a purely decentralized digital ledger. Selective Use VS. Full Replication of Data Set Another source of conflict is that GDPR was announced even before blockchain technology became popular. It makes sense. The General Data Protection Regulation was penned down before blockchain technology became commonplace. There was the assumption that a database is nothing more than a place where data is collected, stored, and processed. When you look at the situation in an optimistic light, you have to remember the fact that blockchain is still in its infancy right now. There is always the chance that it can be developed to ensure the implementation of the GDPR fully. It remains to be seen how things play out between the disruptive technology and the data protection law. Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Google+ We provide the latest and most interesting news concerning everything Blockchain. Keep updated with our daily Podcast, Alexa Briefings of the days events, Crypto project ama´s, technical analysis and much much more. Subscribe to our newsletter and receive regular updates in the blockchain world. URL: https://blockverge.com/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/blockverge/id1412402400RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Blockverge |
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META TAGS SUGGESTIONS Title Akropolis Analysis Description The home page for Mahoning County Bail Bonds Primary Keyword Blockchain technology, cryptocurrency Sec. Keywords Blockchain platform, pension scheme, URL /akropolis Akropolis Analysis Amid the myriad of new ICO projects, it is always refreshing to see a new fintech company that comes up with fresh ideas and tries to solve complex financial problems. Akropolis looks like one such company that aims to solve the pension deficit problem with the help of blockchain technology. The company is building a blockchain platform, which aims to improve transparency and efficiency in an industry that has not been doing too well. The Pension Ponzi Scheme Most economic and financial experts agree that we are headed towards trouble. Much of Western Europe and the U.S. have an aging population with birth rates at an all time low. The number of people who make contributions to social security and pension programs has been going down. Meanwhile the number of pensioners that draw money out of the pool has been growing bigger and bigger thanks to longer life spans. Even now the effects of this change are felt with rising medical care costs and reducing old-age benefits. Analysts believe that it is one of the biggest bubbles that we will see burst in our lifetimes. Governments and central treasury banks cannot keep raising debt ceiling to provide medicaid and medicare to people forever. Young adults who are contributing to these programs will realize that they won’t get anything out in the future and they will stop making payments. That is when the house of cards will come down in a crash. Tokenizing Pension through Blockchain Rather than addressing the structural flaws in the current pension system, many governments have kept their eyes closed. This has opened the doors for private sector to come forward and offer a better solution. Akropolis entered the field in late 2017 and already shows promising signs of delivering good results. The company published its whitepaper in 2017 and claims to have signed mutual partnership contracts with a number of stakeholders in the industry. They are currently working on their platform which is scheduled to be launched in the last quarter of 2018. The beta testing has already been concluded which was launched for angel investors that signed up with the company. The management and development team behind the company looks impressive with some big names in the cryptocurrency world involved in this project. Anastasia Andrianova is at the helm and she has previous worked with Blockchain Ecosystem Network and also advised Dr. Gavin Woods Web3 foundation which built the Ethereum and Ripple platforms. The development team is led by Kate Kurbanova with support from Peter Robertson from Vanguard UK and Adrian Manning, a director at Sigma Prime. The advisors working with the company have a proven record in ICO launch and crypto trading. Akropolis Technical Analysis If we look at some of the token sale milestones achieved so far, the project appears to be well on its way to making an impact. There are no direct competitors offering similar features as Akropolis. The token supply is set at 900,000,000 with hard cap at $25 million. 40% of the token will be sold to public with 30% being offered to developers and support team. A further 20% will be kept in reserve for future partnerships. 50% of the proceeds are expected to be spent on talent acquisition and project development. The rest will be utilized to run operations, legal acquisitions and marketing. The Akropolis ecosystem will have four types of users. The developers and operators who will help create the platform and keep it operational. The individual users who will buy and use the pension products. Institutional users who will provide capital to gain access to various services and informations. Fund managers and advisors who will create new products, smart contracts and provide expert services in exchange for fees. The coin will function with a dual token system in the Akropolis platform. The company intends to allow external users to facilitate trade in AKT (Akropolis External Token) with the system. Internal users will be able to use AIT (Akropolis Internal Token) which will represent a stable coin and bookkeeping tool that will track and record the capital flow internally within the system. Overall, we believe the economic model is sound and the unique approach of the platform will allow it to make a space in the crypto markets. How the platform develops and improves in the future will decide where it goes from here. We provide the latest and most interesting news concerning everything Blockchain. Keep updated with our daily Podcast, Alexa Briefings of the days events, Crypto project ama´s, technical analysis and much much more. Subscribe to our newsletter and receive regular updates in the blockchain world. URL: https://blockverge.com/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/blockverge/id1412402400RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Blockverge |
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Valve Corporation, the company behind the gaming platform Steam, has sprung into action. It has removed the game called Abstractism from the platform in response to wrongful exploitative actions of the game’s developers involving cryptojacking. The issue came to light when quite a few customer complaints started to roll in about the game. Besides this, there were also issues with the game’s performance metrics which led to the increasing suspicion of crypto jacking. The game was being marketed as a simple platformer. It would allow the player to take control of a few pixels, which would have to be carried across to the end of the level. In this case, the player would be controlling a simple square situated in a black-and-white landscape. The player’s only task is to make the pixel hop from one wall to the other. This basic objective makes the game sounds like a simple enough game that is entertaining at the same time. The game was also priced economically, considering the prices of other games on the Steam platform. The retail price of the game was a meager $0.99. There was even a special promotion held which reduce the price by 51 percent. All this transpired until August when the game saw itself being pulled from the platform altogether. The developers, Okalu Union were the brains behind the game. They published the game in partnership with dead.team. Even though there was a ban on not only the game but also the publishers of the game, there are still apps made by Okalu Union on Google’s Play Store. This has left people wondering whether they have some sort of cryptocurrency mining software hidden within the Okalu Union apps listed on the store. To make matters a bit shadier, the developers seem to lack any concrete online presence. There is no sign that a website for Okalu Union exists. This makes things a little unclear about their legitimacy. The other publisher which also faces a ban, dead.team, does have a website. It is just that their website does not exactly qualify for online presence. It is obvious that they abandoned the website soon after creating it. They did not put in any real effort to update the contents. The official page for dead.team only has a couple of entries in total. One was made on the 26th of May this year and the first one was made back in November 2017. The game is so simple that it will barely need any calculable amount of GPU and CPU processing power. The game even asks the players to keep it on as long as possible for them. When you look at the nature of the game, the request doesn’t make any sense. Fake Copies of Rare Items The initial suspicion about the game was noticed by players when it was using too much GPU and CPU processing power. This didn’t make much sense considering the simplistic nature of the game. This turned out to be one of the red flags, which gamers are now aware of and actively lookout for. However, Abstractism did not stop at that. As if hijacking the computing power of users to mine Monero tokens wasn’t bad enough, the game developers went even further. It makes sense if one thinks about it. The greedy only get greedier. Their greedy scheme involved selling game items which were similar to the rare items found in other games. Gamers on Steam are extremely passionate about such items. Some vulnerable gamers started playing into their hands and the publishers found an additional revenue generation source. Several players bought these items thinking they could be used in other games. It turned out that they’re useless in other games. They weren’t even useful in Abstractism itself. Steam has noticed an increase in such fake games which are cheaply priced. Besides Abstractism, it has been working on removing these games and has removed over 200 games in July alone. We provide the latest and most interesting news concerning everything Blockchain. Keep updated with our daily Podcast, Alexa Briefings of the days events, Crypto project ama´s, technical analysis and much much more. Subscribe to our newsletter and receive regular updates in the blockchain world. URL: https://blockverge.com/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/blockverge/id1412402400RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Blockverge |
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A leak in financial data has provided some startling revelations about the cryptocurrency mining giant Bitmain. According to the data, Bitmain’s profits within just the first quarter of 2018 have gone above and beyond a billion dollars. The data has also given some hints about the details of the upcoming IPO for Bitmain. The data was apparently obtained through an e-mail delivered to Fortune Term Sheet, a media outlet. Apparently, a source that is very close to the company Bitmain sent them this e-mail. This e-mail revealed the mind-boggling billion dollar profit in just the Q1 for the Beijing-based company. Initial Public Offering by Bitmain The data obtained by Term Sheet has not yet been published but allegedly, it reveals data about Bitmain being in a fundraising round. According to them, the Beijing-based outfit is trying to get a $400 million worth round from June of 2018. This is apparently going to help them out with an initial public offering (IPO) set to launch later in the year. The regional news source in China called Toutiao had reported some concrete evidence of the second funding round. This report came to light on the 16th of July in 2018. This increased speculations within the larger cryptocurrency community about a potential Bitmain IPO. Jihan Wu talked about the possibility of a Bitmain IPO back in June when he was talking to Fortune. Jihan Wu is one of the co-founders of Bitmain Technologies Ltd. He said that the cryptocurrency mining platform is open to possibilities of a listing. It could be in Hong Kong or even in an overseas market. In that case, it would want to be listed in a market which has US dollar denominated shares. These shares have to provide early investors like IDG Capital and Sequoia Capital an exit opportunity. He went on further to say that the main challenge for the company is to advance the technology further than what’s already been reached. The Beijing-based company is trying its best to stay ahead of the competition and maintain market advantage. The Data obtained by Term Sheet supposedly also reveals another funding initiative for Bitmain. Apparently, it will see the company be valued at roughly $14 billion US Dollars. This means that the earnings are going to increase eleven-fold. With the success of a funding round, the cryptocurrency mining company will be able to see an increase of 16 percent in its value in comparison to a recent valuation putting it at $12 billion US Dollars. Hashing Monopoly by Bitmain Causing Crypto Community to Worry Bitmain is an example of a highly-successful cryptocurrency-based venture. That being said, not everybody in the cryptocurrency community is excited to see this rise in mining operations. The co-founder of Ethereum, the famed Vitalik Buterin, has recently taken a few quips at the cryptocurrency mining giant. He has also made note of the fact that the company, along with similar ones in the landscape, have control over more than half of Bitcoin’s hashing power. With the company seeing such immense profits, it seems unlikely that they will let go of such a primary revenue generation source. The company has increased employment in Israel three-fold and even acquired 20,000 square feet in San Jose. Hashing Power Surges Forward With the impending Initial Public Offering and the fast expansion, there is also a massive surge in hashing power for Bitcoin. The data from [Suspicious link removed] has shown that there was a massive surge, causing a rise from 36 million TH/s to 50 million TH/s on the 28th of June within the span of a single day. This has sent Bitcoin’s hashrates skyrocketing to record highs. High hashrates are considered an indicator of what could possibly be a bull run for the cryptocurrency landscape. This sends more and more miners dedicating their hardware so that they can contribute to what they predict will be a mining venture full of profit. We provide the latest and most interesting news concerning everything Blockchain. Keep updated with our daily Podcast, Alexa Briefings of the days events, Crypto project ama´s, technical analysis and much much more. Subscribe to our newsletter and receive regular updates in the blockchain world. URL: https://blockverge.com/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/blockverge/id1412402400RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Blockverge |
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Blockchain technology-based platforms and distributed networks present many innovative mechanisms that are both new and important. They have the potential to revolutionize the way all industries function. We’re seeing many applications of blockchain technology across different industries as we speak. The problem is that these platforms function within their respective walled gardens. The aspect of interoperability and platforms communicating with one another is the next logical step, which needs to be taken. That is the only way blockchain will see mass adoption throughout the world. This is where Block Collider enters the scene. It’s a decentralized platform which operates across multiple chains. It is taking a new approach to the interoperability of blockchain networks by creating a bridge. It only makes sense that the bridging mechanism will be facilitated by its own blockchain. It will link together other blockchain-based systems to create a wholesome decentralized mechanism. This new prospect offers several advantages, which makes this approach a novel one. What is Block Collider? The premise for creating Block Collider is to create a true and decentralized landscape for the interaction of different blockchains. It will allow their interaction without the problem of security, stability or scalability in real-time. This is a model which will eliminate all the central points of failures we see in the landscape right now. Validators or oracles will be no longer needed. Block Collider’s philosophical and conceptual approach makes it stand out. The underlying blockchain technology cements its credibility to actually achieve the purpose. For a better understanding of their concept, the white paper talks about the Unix design philosophy. The whole philosophy basically talks about different programs performing particular functions well. The model then connects different modules and allows seamless cooperation between them. The most defining feature of the Internet is the fact that it allows people all over the world to connect with each other. People are able to share and exchange information without a problem. When it comes to the cryptocurrency world, the need for a model which provides a solution that is true to the spirit of the Internet cannot be stressed enough. Block Collider basically works by capturing the immediate state of the bridged chains onto its own. Every block on the native chain will be the leading block of the bridged chain. This allows Block Collider to unify different chains. It can reference any of the valid blocks recently verified on the bridged chain. This makes Block Collider the fastest member on the whole chain. Every time a new block is mined on the bridged chain, it also gets added to the Collider blocks. The Collider platform is then able to perform multi-chain and inter-block trading. For instance, take the example of Bitcoin. Collider users can conduct transactions with Bitcoin between the Bitcoin blockchain times. It does so by setting up its transactions on blockchains faster than Bitcoins like the Ethereum blockchain. The result is that a Bitcoin can get exchanged between corresponding parties in the same time it takes a transaction to happen on the Ethereum network. It has come down from being a 10-minute long process to around 30 seconds which is just a fraction of the original time. This is just one of the things that Block Collider can accomplish on the network and between any bridged chains on the network. The Massive Potential There is a lot of potential on this new platform. Block Collider doesn’t market their platform, even though their ICO project was a huge success. Nonetheless, they are making headways into creating a whole new platform for interconnectivity and interoperability. Security, scalability and stability are all major concerns in the cryptoverse. A platform of the likes of Block Collider can possibly provide the multi-chain solution which is direly needed in the industry. Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Google+ We provide the latest and most interesting news concerning everything Blockchain. Keep updated with our daily Podcast, Alexa Briefings of the days events, Crypto project ama´s, technical analysis and much much more. Subscribe to our newsletter and receive regular updates in the blockchain world. URL: https://blockverge.com/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/blockverge/id1412402400RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Blockverge |
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The CEO of Sky Mining, a company based in Vietnam has disappeared. Citing medical issues, the CEO of the Vietnam-based mining platform has left the country with more than $35 million from investor and company funds. He has made the claim that medical reasons require him to leave the country for a little while. The company based in Ho Chi Minh reported the disappearance of their CEO on the 29th of July. Le Minh Tam had been out of contact with everybody from the company during the days leading up to his disappearance. He is being alleged of secretly running away with $35 million. This is also the total amount of money which Sky Mining Company had and this includes its investor funds. Mining Operation in Thin Air As more light gets shed on the matter, it was revealed that Tam had it planned for a while. This can be surmised from the fact that the entire main office of Sky Mining in Ho Chi Minh in the Phu Nhuan district had been cleared out on Le Minh Tam’s orders. With Tam’s disappearance, the investors of the company went looking for answers. What they found was that the office was completely closed and the company’s branding on the office was removed. More than 600 mining computers which the company had owned were found in a nearby district. Apparently, maintenance workers had come and removed all of them as well. The Deputy Chairman of Sky Mining formulated a temporary board so that the company could help investors regain the lost amount in funding. Le Minh Hieu is under the suspicion that Le Minh Tam has fled to the United States according to statements made in an interview. The matter has been reported and the police have been involved. The Deputy Chairman Minh Hieu says that the rest of the company is a victim as well in the whole matter. The Sky Mining Platform claims to be one of the largest if not the largest cryptocurrency mining operations in the country. The company offers mining services whose monthly pricing range from $100 to $5000, based on their investor’s interests. The company had previously made promises to their investors about massive returns for their money. Depending on their investments, they were promised up to three times of their original investment into the Sky Mining platform. To make good on their promises, the company purchased over seven thousand cryptocurrency mining rigs. The sudden disappearance of the CEO along with all their money has understandably made everyone angry. Now, the Deputy Chairman Le Minh Hieu and the board members of the company are left facing the brunt of it. Le Minh Tam’s Mystery Illness The CEO of Sky Mining has apparently published a notice on the investor Facebook group for Sky Mining. In this notice, he claims that the volatile nature of the market and drop in mining rig value has resulted in a huge loss. The profitability of the company isn’t what it was before and the company will reimburse all its investors. He also added that he needs to stay out of the public eye because his life is under threat. This was on the 25th of July. After that, he published another update – a video of the Sky Mining CEO saying that he had to leave the country due to medical reasons. He is currently going through emergency treatment for his health and will return to the country after a week. This was on the 29th of July through Telegram. Probably Not Happening Despite Tam’s claims, it seems unlikely that the company will ever restart its operations. Considering the history of cryptocurrency scams coming out of Ho Chi Minh-based companies, the company’s re-emergence isn’t happening. Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Google+ We provide the latest and most interesting news concerning everything Blockchain. Keep updated with our daily Podcast, Alexa Briefings of the days events, Crypto project ama´s, technical analysis and much much more. Subscribe to our newsletter and receive regular updates in the blockchain world. URL: https://blockverge.com/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/blockverge/id1412402400RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Blockverge |
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META TAGS SUGGESTIONS Title Akropolis Analysis Description The home page for Mahoning County Bail Bonds Primary Keyword Blockchain technology, cryptocurrency Sec. Keywords Blockchain platform, pension scheme, URL /akropolis Akropolis Analysis Amid the myriad of new ICO projects, it is always refreshing to see a new fintech company that comes up with fresh ideas and tries to solve complex financial problems. Akropolis looks like one such company that aims to solve the pension deficit problem with the help of blockchain technology. The company is building a blockchain platform, which aims to improve transparency and efficiency in an industry that has not been doing too well. The Pension Ponzi Scheme Most economic and financial experts agree that we are headed towards trouble. Much of Western Europe and the U.S. have an aging population with birth rates at an all time low. The number of people who make contributions to social security and pension programs has been going down. Meanwhile the number of pensioners that draw money out of the pool has been growing bigger and bigger thanks to longer life spans. Even now the effects of this change are felt with rising medical care costs and reducing old-age benefits. Analysts believe that it is one of the biggest bubbles that we will see burst in our lifetimes. Governments and central treasury banks cannot keep raising debt ceiling to provide medicaid and medicare to people forever. Young adults who are contributing to these programs will realize that they won’t get anything out in the future and they will stop making payments. That is when the house of cards will come down in a crash. Tokenizing Pension through Blockchain Rather than addressing the structural flaws in the current pension system, many governments have kept their eyes closed. This has opened the doors for private sector to come forward and offer a better solution. Akropolis entered the field in late 2017 and already shows promising signs of delivering good results. The company published its whitepaper in 2017 and claims to have signed mutual partnership contracts with a number of stakeholders in the industry. They are currently working on their platform which is scheduled to be launched in the last quarter of 2018. The beta testing has already been concluded which was launched for angel investors that signed up with the company. The management and development team behind the company looks impressive with some big names in the cryptocurrency world involved in this project. Anastasia Andrianova is at the helm and she has previous worked with Blockchain Ecosystem Network and also advised Dr. Gavin Woods Web3 foundation which built the Ethereum and Ripple platforms. The development team is led by Kate Kurbanova with support from Peter Robertson from Vanguard UK and Adrian Manning, a director at Sigma Prime. The advisors working with the company have a proven record in ICO launch and crypto trading. Akropolis Technical Analysis If we look at some of the token sale milestones achieved so far, the project appears to be well on its way to making an impact. There are no direct competitors offering similar features as Akropolis. The token supply is set at 900,000,000 with hard cap at $25 million. 40% of the token will be sold to public with 30% being offered to developers and support team. A further 20% will be kept in reserve for future partnerships. 50% of the proceeds are expected to be spent on talent acquisition and project development. The rest will be utilized to run operations, legal acquisitions and marketing. The Akropolis ecosystem will have four types of users. The developers and operators who will help create the platform and keep it operational. The individual users who will buy and use the pension products. Institutional users who will provide capital to gain access to various services and informations. Fund managers and advisors who will create new products, smart contracts and provide expert services in exchange for fees. The coin will function with a dual token system in the Akropolis platform. The company intends to allow external users to facilitate trade in AKT (Akropolis External Token) with the system. Internal users will be able to use AIT (Akropolis Internal Token) which will represent a stable coin and bookkeeping tool that will track and record the capital flow internally within the system. Overall, we believe the economic model is sound and the unique approach of the platform will allow it to make a space in the crypto markets. How the platform develops and improves in the future will decide where it goes from here. We provide the latest and most interesting news concerning everything Blockchain. Keep updated with our daily Podcast, Alexa Briefings of the days events, Crypto project ama´s, technical analysis and much much more. Subscribe to our newsletter and receive regular updates in the blockchain world. URL: https://blockverge.com/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/blockverge/id1412402400RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Blockverge |
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