This article has been written by Jason Bloomberg and published on https://dailyiconews.com, I just copy and paste it.

Thank heavens for crypto, or we wouldn’t have two of the greatest cybersecurity scourges of the 21st century: ransomware and cryptojacking.

Ransomware was the cybercriminal’s darling in 2017, followed shortly by illicit cryptomining aka cryptojacking in 2018. Now that crypto prices are in the toilet (relatively speaking), it seems that cybercrooks may be shifting back to ransomware as their crypto-crime of choice.

However, don’t count cryptojacking out yet. Just this week, news of hackers using stolen NSA malware to drop numerous variants of Monero cryptominers on unsuspecting, unpatched Windows machines hit the wire.

You may have missed that news, but what about this one? How about hackers using botnet malware to compromise Docker containers in order to mount DDoS attacks and implant malicious cryptojacking code?

But wait, there’s more! A new threat named BlackSquid that leverages multiple known vulnerabilities to – you guessed it – drop Monero cryptominers onto unsuspecting systems. Sure, there are other things the cybercriminals behind BlackSquid could do with their malware, but given how perfect Monero is for such malfeasance, why bother?

Remember boys and girls, if you’re conducting any kind of crypto transaction, then you are putting money in the pockets of all miners, including the criminals. How do you sleep at night?

Jason Bloomberg neither owns, nor plans to own, any cryptocurrency or other cryptotoken, either long or short.

This article has been written by Jason Bloomberg and published on https://dailyiconews.com, I just copy and paste it.


On June 3rd, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) dropped from $8,451 to $7,886 in ninety minutes, a drop of 7%. Thanks to the intrepid Redditor u/makoveli, we know precisely why this drop took place.

As it turns out, a single individual (or perhaps a consortium trading as a unit) was responsible. This ‘whale’ moved 25,000 BTC to Coinbase. About a half hour later, they moved 14,000 of those Bitcoins to another wallet, followed forty minutes later by another transfer of 11,000 BTC from Coinbase to yet another wallet.

Then a mere fifteen minutes after that, our friendly whale moved ten million Tether (USDT) from one wallet to another.

As u/makoveli concludes, “someone dumped 25k BTC for $215M and bought it back shortly after for $200M. In doing so, they pocketed $15M and walked away with the same amount of BTC as they started with.”

Yes, this whale had $215,000,000 worth of Bitcoin to play with – and play with it they did, to the tune of $15,000,000 in profit. Not bad for 90 minutes of work.

Could anybody have moved the value of Bitcoin this way? Certainly – all you would need is 25,000 Bitcoins or so, and the will to make a huge score at the expense of all the hodler chumps out there.

And if anybody still wonders what the real purpose of Tether and other stablecoins like it is? Price manipulation like this example and many others, of course, benefitting a small handful of whales at the expense of a large number of crypto hodlers – aka marks.

Jason Bloomberg neither owns, nor plans to own, any cryptocurrency or other crypto token, either long or short.

This article has been written by Jason Bloomberg and published on https://dailyiconews.com, I just copy and paste it.

Earlier this month (May 2019), two mining groups joined together and mounted a successful 51% attack on the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) crypto.

Perhaps you heard about this news, or perhaps you didn’t (I found out about it via this Cointelegraph article).

The reason for the crypto community’s underwhelming response might be that the motivations of the 51% attackers were ostensibly magnanimous, as they apparently hoped to prevent an unidentified, presumably malicious third party from taking a bunch of ‘up for grabs’ coins that resulted from an oddly errant code upgrade.

Or perhaps this event didn’t have the explosive fallout across the crypto community one would expect due to the fact that understanding what really happened involves a lot of obscure technical jargon (which I’ll spare you. You’re welcome.)

The conclusions, however, are unmistakable. Proof-of-work consensus mechanisms are supposed to be resistant to 51% attacks because there are so many miners.

But this attack only required two miners. And if two miners can essentially rewrite the rules of crypto, that means they – and just about anyone else – can steal or double spend as much as they like.

And this problem doesn’t only afflict Bitcoin Cash. It affects Bitcoin as well.

As one astute developer concluded (see this Twitter thread): “Bitcoin value depends upon security. If it’s not secure, it has no value.”

That’s right. Bitcoin has no value. Sell while you can, and count yourself lucky if you get anything at all for your trouble.

None of the companies mentioned in this article are Intellyx customers. Jason Bloomberg neither owns, nor plans to own, any cryptocurrency or other crypto tokens, either long or short.

This article has been written by Jason Bloomberg and published on https://dailyiconews.com, I just copy and paste it.

Let’s play a game. Here’s how it works.

I’m running the game in a room full of hundreds or even thousands of people, all of whom are looking to play in order to go home with a big wad of cash.

I’m giving one person at a time a poker chip, as quickly as I can.

I’ll offer the first person to hand me their poker chip in return an amount in dollars equal to all the poker chips in the room. But once I do, the game is over, and everybody else goes home empty-handed.

Now, let’s say you’re in this lucky audience. What’s your best strategy for going home with a lot of dough?

Turn in your chip too early and you win the game, but you go home with a pittance. Wait too long, however, and someone else will cash in instead of you.

The answer: do your best to convince everybody else to hold onto their poker chips, in hopes of going home a big winner. Then take a careful read of the crowd, and when there’s a mad rush to turn in chips, make sure you’re first in line.

Just so with crypto (although admittedly, the poker chip game is a bit simplified). But just as with the game, your best strategy is to convince everyone else to hold onto their crypto, because that’s the only way crypto will ever grow in value.

In other words, convince everyone else to be a hodler, since hodlers are chumps. Just make sure you’re first in line when the bubble pops – and good luck with that.

Jason Bloomberg neither owns, nor plans to own, any cryptocurrency or other cryptotoken, either long or short.

Yes. You can check the following links to know about the latest updates regarding cryptocurrency.
https://dailyiconews.com/category/crypto-skepticism-of-the-week/

This article has been written by Jason Bloomberg and published on https://dailyiconews.com, I just copy and paste it.

What is cryptocurrency really good for? Let’s ask the North Koreans.

Raising funds from criminal activities and evading sanctions are two of North Korea’s most significant uses of crypto, according to the recently published report Closing the Crypto Gap: Guidance for Countering North Korean Cryptocurrency Activity in Southeast Asia from the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI), a non-profit British think tank.

According to this report, “pressure from international sanctions has led North Korea to pursue complex evasion techniques, which increasingly rely on sophisticated cybercrime operations.”


In fact, the North Koreans were behind the recent highly publicized WannaCry ransomware attack – an attack that explicitly seeks to extort crypto. WannaCry “caused widespread disruption and signalled North Korea’s desire and ability to sponsor cryptocurrency-enabled cybercrime,” according to the RUSI report.

North Korea’s crypto-based cybercrime doesn’t stop with WannaCry. “Recently, North Korea has expanded its cybercrime tactics to include exploitation of the global cryptocurrency infrastructure, which sits outside the more established banking sector,” the report continues.

One approach: targeting crypto exchanges. “North Korea has been linked to six successful exchange hacks that occurred between April 2017 and June 2018,” RUSI says.

Another approach: cryptojacking, or illicit cryptomining, where North Korean hackers infiltrate target networks and install cryptomining malware.

Cryptojacking, however, isn’t the only mining the North Koreans are up to. “North Korea’s established mining operations could offer an advantage over cybercrime insofar as mining newly minted cryptocurrencies with no indication that they have been tainted or associated with criminal activity attracts less attention,” the report continues.

Because every miner processes every crypto transaction, you can rest assured the North Koreans are processing your transactions. Is that OK with you?

The RUSI report concludes on a sober note. “North Korea’s cryptocurrency activity is increasing in value and complexity and is likely to persist as part of its technology-enabled fundraising and sanctions evasion activity,” the report says. “The potential for North Korea to engage in large-scale sanctions circumvention by accessing prohibited goods and services directly with cryptocurrencies is a risk that could grow in significance.”

The question every crypto trader must ask: are you complicit?

None of the companies mentioned in this article are Intellyx customers. Jason Bloomberg neither owns, nor plans to own, any cryptocurrency or other cryptotoken, either long or short.

This is a new section from https://dailyiconews.com named the Crypto Skepticism of the week, written by Jason Bloomberg. I copy and paste.

As the crypto world tries to go legit, various exchanges and other feeders from the bottom to the top of the crypto food chain are implementing Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) technologies.

If you think of yourself as a criminal, then you probably realize the glory days of crypto may be past. But what if you don’t? Will you run afoul of KYC or AML?

First of all, it’s unlikely anybody cares about small transactions. After all, you can bring up to $10,000 in cash or cash equivalents across international borders or deposit such amounts into bank accounts, no questions asked (I’m referring to US regulations here, but many other countries have similar laws).

But if you’re Scarface or Walter White and have millions in cash to deposit, no on-the-level bank in the world will take your dough. And if you think selling off your stake via hundreds of small transactions is the answer? Sorry, that’s illegal as well (in the US, anyway), even though people advise just such an approach.

Such is the problem holders (or hodlers) of large amounts of crypto are facing. Whether you earned your stash via an ICO or via early bets on crypto or any other means, you now have beaucoup bucks tied up in Bitcoin or your crypto of choice.

The only way to sell off your stash is via illegal means – in other words, by becoming a money launderer yourself.

Good luck even opening a bank account, let alone converting your crypto to fiat. You’ll need to prove how you got those coins, who you got them from, and how they got them, ad infinitum.

Only said crypto is pseudonymous – or if you hold Monero, perhaps truly anonymous. Passing KYC and AML checks is now virtually impossible. In the words of President Trump, you’re f*cked.

What’s the value of a stash of hundreds or thousands of Bitcoins if you can never convert them to fiat? Bupkis, that’s what.

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Article copied and pasted from https://dailyiconews.com/2019/02/19/will-coinbase-partner-google-in-the-future/

Coinbase has been in the crypto business almost from the start. The firm has made a name for itself in the crypto arena providing a safe and regulated space for facilitation of crypto storage and transfers. Coinbase has had quite a share of flaws but this has happened to almost everyone in the upper crypto food chain.

Its services though have not downgraded. On the contrary, they are often second to none. Its exchange platform for example, recently upgraded and is now able to list quite a huge number of altcoins.

But that wasn’t the case before. Up to 2018, Coinbase was limited to only listing major cryptos like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum Classic and Litecoin. Their own framework provided for that they would only list cryptos that met certain criteria. And this sidelined their expansion and accommodation of other altcoins.

The Need To Expand
As the industry grew, the benefits of expansion overwhelmed the firm and the team saw a dire need for expansion. But for this to happen, there was a need for a thorough review of existing policies to accommodate the expansion.

Coinbase credits its success to an innovation-focused team that has played a huge part in its continuing success. Combine that with an easy to use interface and you have yourself the perfect product driving forward the adoption of cryptocurrency.

The Next Step
It has been speculated that Coinbase is looking forward to partner with a giant company like Google to attract mainstream audiences. Experts have predicted that a partnership like this would boost Coinbase’ trust and legitimacy. It would also market Coinbase as a safe and secure site.

Such a partnership would benefit Coinbase more than it does for Google. Therefore, it would be hard seeing its actualization, unless Coinbase offers Google a really good reason for the partnership. But then again, everyone has a price.

But these are just speculations. There are no signs whatsoever of an impending Coinbase partnership with any major tech firm. But then again, Coinbase’ integration of services that giant companies like Apple and Google provide does raise some eyebrows.

Private Keys Storage
The recent issue with private keys has generated some mixed reactions among experts and crypto enthusiasts in the industry. Coinbase announced that users can now back up their private keys on iCloud and Google Drive. The idea received mixed reactions with some users remaining skeptical and others embracing its encryption feature.

You see, private keys are very complex passcodes and it’s hard to remember, generally speaking. So, the idea of backing up the keys on services like Google Drive is exciting. Users must, however, apply security features like the 2-factor authentication secure passwords. In addition, regular online safety precautions are also highly recommended.

Coinbase has provided the justification of private key loss as the reason for the new venture into Coinbase Drive and Apple iCloud. And that’s a good reason, but some crypto enthusiasts will hear none of it.

Taylor Monahan, CEO MyCrypto says that regardless of encryption strength, it’s the weak links like weak passwords that compromise account security. Monahan condemns Coinbase of encouraging a behavior of generating weak passwords. The desire to provide better services shouldn’t jeopardize crypto asset security.

I copy and paste from http://dailyiconews.com

The Cold TRON And Ethereum War
The ultimate objective of TRON is becoming the largest and most preferred cryptocurrency world over. But before reaching the peak, TRON will need to surpass Ethereum in all aspects. And there is no secret formula to this, the TRON network will need to be broader, faster and better than its arch nemesis.

Although the two network’s founders may not be on each other’s throats their rivalry is open. Ethereum’s creator Vitalik Butelin is evidently worried about the progress TRON has made since announcing the purchase of BitTorrent in 2018. Since the deal, TRON has been generating incredible growth statistics and attracting mainstream attention.

TRON is fast becoming a favourable alternative to Ethereum and it’s just a matter of time before the tables turn. But Ethereum still has more cards to play.

Expectations Into 2019
The TRON vs Ethereum match build-up has been on for quite some time and 2019 is the year the two finally enter the boxing ring. Ethereum may have the upper hand but this match won’t end up in one round knockout. TRON, the underdog will definitely give Ethereum a run for its money. The two crypto coins have already begun the year with a shared main objective of outperforming each other.


In all honesty, TRON will need to give it’s everything in order to surpass Ethereum. By everything, we mean pull strings and attract a buying surge, big enough to surpass Ethereum by market cap. However, there are signs that TRON is creeping closer to Ethereum.
The Publicity Card
The growing popularity of TRON is its number one weapon against Ethereum. TRON will keep on publicizing each milestone it surpasses for it to garner more attention and drive upwards its projects and popularity.

On the other hand, Ethereum has more cards to play in order to prevent the takeover. While TRON has been using publicity to its advantage, Ethereum has been quiet all along. The network is yet to reveal any cards up its sleeve at this stage. The network is sure garnering up energy and is waiting for the right moment to strike.

Good publicity does drive traffic and token price. While Ethereum is rather quiet and TRON’s constant reporting on movements and news gives it an edge over and closer to Ethereum. If Ethereum would apply the same approach, it would create lots of attention, probably more than what TRON is garnering at the moment. All Ethereum needs is a little transparency on the movements and its users will definitely respond.

The Development Card
Development is another card that will come into play. The TRON network is constant on the dapp space, allowing the development of decentralized apps to boost the value of the network. Meanwhile, Ethereum is slow on this area and is withholding its capacity of developing its network. There is so much more that Ethereum can achieve if it could pick up the pace inspired by TRON.

In a nutshell, TRON is showing boldness in the crypto space and its efforts are not going futile. On the other hand, Ethereum needs to get out of its comfort zone and pick up TRON’s pace. It should be exciting to watch.

I see discussion here, mostly and most interesting about the topic of the article

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is charging John McAfee with felony charges. However, he is on the run and it is not yet clear how the case will unfold in the coming days, weeks, or months.

He is running for the US Presidency in 2020 and it is not yet clear what implications the charges may have on his campaigns. He is an avid supporter of Cryptocurrencies and the significance of his advocacy is that he has a high social standing in the tech circles as the founder of one of the world’s leading Anti-Virus and Internet Security, McAfee.

The Announcement Was Made Last Year

Although the 73-year-old tech enthusiast announced that he would be on the precedential ballot for 2020 in June last year but remained silent for much of the time, he recently announced in a tweet that “exile” won’t stand between him and his campaign. This shows the world that himself and his supporters are more energized than ever and will be hitting the campaign trail with confidence.

He will be running on the Libertarian ticket and is already drawing a lot of attention as some people are wondering whether he is for real or not. However, given the recent history where President Donald Trump was dismissed as a joker with zero chances of winning against Hillary Clinton, many people would find themselves taking him seriously learning from the precedence of the big election night surprise from Trump.

His Campaigns Will Be Tactful

In a Twitter video, John McAfee revealed to concerned fans and non-supporters about his campaign tact. He is planning to have his support team create thousands of masks of his face to wear and represent him in his exile. The team will be split into “road warriors” who would visit public spaces to drum up support on his behalf and another group that will be attending conferences and lectures to argue and present his policies. This would, in turn, prevent the IRS team from catching him in campaign gatherings. From the video, John promises his fans of more plans to come in the future.

Although it is difficult to ignore the drama that would unfold between John McAfee and his supporters on one hand and the IRS team on the other, one can only wait and see how the events would unfold.

Interestingly, the campaign is already receiving a lot of attention because of the peculiar strategies. However, it is hard to predict the impact on the ballot at this stage.

Formidable Opponents

The campaign would, however, be an uphill task for McAfee given the growing popularity of President Donald Trump’s policies and a majority populace support for the Democratic party. Other candida such as Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and others have come out and announced their candidature while many more are predicted to join the race.

Impact Of John McAfee Candidature On Cryptocurrency Markets

Even though no one knows for sure whether John McAfee would win or lose, he could use the campaign platform to drum up support for Cryptocurrencies to a larger audience. For instance, he predicted that BTC would surge to $500,000 by 2020, many Americans would, most likely, come across this forecast.

Meanwhile, if he becomes the 46th US President, Cryptocurrencies may become a de facto tender in the US.

#Cryptocurrencies #IRA #JohnMcAfee #NEWS #Presidency

http://dailyiconews.com/2019/01/24/john-mcafee-a-cryptocurrency-enthusiast-to-run-for-us-presidency-despite-ira-chase/

If this is something you're interested in, I suggest you to read this: http://dailyiconews.com/2019/01/03/philippine-sec-postpones-ico-regulation-issuance/

Cheers

One of the most established Indonesian ride sharing platform, Go-Jek, has announced a business partnership with Coins.ph. Coins.ph is one of Filipino’s local payments and crypto wallet platform. This comes after an unsuccessful effort by Go-Jek to gain an entry to the Philippine’s mainstream market at the beginning of the month. At the moment, the Filipino company is in the process of creating beta access to users in the Coins Pro’s waiting list as well as its in-development crypto exchange.

Go-Jek Acquires Coins.ph.
Barely two weeks after the reports that an application by Go-Jek was rejected went round, the company finally made a new announcement. On Friday, 18th January 2018, the company stated that it was acquiring Coins.ph, a Filipino-based crypto wallet as well as payments services app. On this newly acquired application, users will be able to use Ethereum, Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Cash to carry out different online transactions. Some of these operations include the payment of bills. Following this move, Go-Jek has begun to spread its beta access to Coins Pro, its in-development crypto exchange.

Go-Jek In The Financial Technology Market
As one of the most established FinTech companies, Go-Jek has made a great investment in this whole market. So far, it has been able to acquire a number of the stakes in the business of Coins.ph. Based on the official information, the company spent a whopping $72 million in the transaction with Coin.ph. since the time it came to the market for the first time in 2011, the company has attracted the attention of more than five million Indonesia residents.

Currently, it is processing more than six million operations in a period of 30 days. on the other hand, was launched in the year 2014, and has also faired quite well in the market. For the period it has been in the market, it has managed to get the attention of a number of investors who have put in a total of $10 million in the company. This has been done through two main ventures as well as two Series A funding rounds.


Filipinos Don’t Have Good Access To Basic Financial Services
Both the Go-Jek and Coins.ph. have their eyes set on one main thing; the great Filipino market. In this market, 77% of the adult part of the citizens do not have access to basic financial services. This is because this number do not even own bank accounts. Whereas there is a small number of the citizens who can access the financial services, close to 70% of the citizens in this country own mobile handsets.

The use of the mobile phones is demographics confluence and the market analysis have their own observations. They strongly believe that the use of the smartphones makes the country’s market ready for a nationwide crypto adoption. According to the current CEO and the founder of Coins.ph., Rose Hose, their team has managed to come up with a scalable service giving the Filipinos opportunity to enjoy financial access.

http://dailyiconews.com/2019/01/21/indonesias-unicorn-finally-acquires-philippines-bitcoin-wallet/