They have enough time to focus on the development, but if they just stealing money from their marketing supporters, what makes you believe the platform will be released at all. It`s obvious Glitzkoin have no human decency, and you defend their unacceptable behavior.

I did not remember any fight when spreadsheet was open, almost all participants were satisfied with the stakes, because everything is transparent.

Imagine situation when you bought some coins on ico and they just forget to transfer them to you. The same situation with bounty pool, this is predifined amount, and should be transfered to participants/supporters.

Glitzkoin project need some attention from administrators. Bounty pool for only signature campaign was  145k USD, but participants got only 1-10% of their reward. And now the team stated in telegram that distribution is finished sucessfully! It is a robbery, someone is responsible for this.

Please update stakes for week_2 signature bounty campaign.

Earlier this week, two local bodies representing the local financial technology (fintech) industry have revealed that Singaporean banks have denied banking services to bitcoin and blockchain startups.

Singapore’s Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Industry Association, or Access, submitted a formal complaint to the Singaporean government, requesting officials to step in and create a fair and transparent environment for fintech companies.

“From our analysis, it appears to be common among leading FinTech hubs. If this is the case, we would urge Singapore to take a leadership role and demonstrate how to come to an effective resolution among all parties,” said Access Chairman Anson Zeall.

According to Zeall, 10 companies have already filed complaints to Access alone, and more companies likely filed additional complaints to other fintech bodies and organizations.


In 2015, leading banks and financial institutions in Australia were investigated by the government for the unfair rejection of services toward bitcoin and [Suspicious link removed]panies. At the time, the Australian Digital Currency Commerce Association Chairman Ron Tucker said in an interview:

“To the best of our knowledge all, or nearly all digital currency businesses have received letters from their bank, or in many cases banks, advising of the closure of their accounts. This includes at least 17, with 13 of these closed permanently. Whilst we’re unable to comment on the banks’ motivations (that is for them to explain) however, the consequences of these moves are becoming more clear.”

Unable to receive any banking services from local financial institutions, the majority of bitcoin and blockcahin startups left the Australian fintech sector in late 2015. Consequently, the Australian blockchain industry, which demonstrated positive indicators of growth, lagged behind China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

“The Australian Bitcoin industry, as part of a larger revolution in financial technology, has seen its growth severely curtailed by this unexplained wave of debanking,” added Tucker.

Earlier this year, at the Blockchain NZ conference held in Auckland, New Zealand, bitcoin and security expert Andreas Antonopoulos spoke out against the government’s failure to provide a fair and competitive industry for fintech startups. He emphasized that the government can either do nothing and isolate itself from fintech development, or take an appropriate approach in regulating the market.

“Governments can choose to either do nothing – which is okay; make things worse for cryptocurrency trading – like what Australia did by imposing sales taxes on all cryptocurrency transactions; or they can make things easier for companies by reining in the banks and encouraging companies by creating a level playing field,” said Antonopoulos.


The Australian government’s failure to provide a fair ecosystem to fintech startups and bitcoin companies led to a shortage of innovative and young startups in its finance industry. As an attempt to recover its bitcoin, blockchain, and fintech industries, the Australian government eliminated double taxation on bitcoin and vowed to provide a better environment for fintech startups in the upcoming years.

While the efforts of the Australian government could restore its fintech market to an extent, it is still struggling to rebound as most of the startups and entrepreneurs have left the space. If the Singaporean government chooses not to interfere and leave its fintech startups without necessary infrastructure and banking services, startups and entrepreneurs in the region will simply move over to countries such as South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong, that have efficient and practical regulatory frameworks.

Already, Singaporean bitcoin exchange CoinHako announced that it will no longer be able to process deposits and withdrawals for its traders due to the closure of its bank accounts operated by DBS. CoinHako co-founder co-founder Yusho Liu wrote:

“The closure of our bank account might be due to matters pertaining to [anti-money laundering rules and know-your-customer requirements.] [That’s] why we go the extra mile to meet compliance standards set by [the MAS.] Even though we don’t fit anywhere in the current regulatory framework, CoinHako is fully committed to working towards a common consensus with the banks to allow for a more conducive environment going forward.”

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/singaporean-banks-abruptly-terminate-accounts-of-bitcoin-exchanges/

The Swiss municipality of Chiasso has announced that it will accept tax payments in bitcoin from January 2018 onwards. The announcement signifies a further gathering of momentum for Switzerland’s bid to become a global leader in the bitcoin and cryptocurrency industries, with Chiasso seeking to rival Zug’s Crypto Valley as a major global hub for bitcoin adoption and innovation.

Chiasso Citizens Will Be Able Use Bitcoin to Pay Taxes in Quantities of up to 250 Swiss Francs Starting January 2018

Chiasso, Switzerland is seeking to establish itself as a global hub for bitcoin adoption, announcing that citizens can now pay their taxes using bitcoin. The announcement further solidifies Switzerland as a world leader in bitcoin adoption, with Chiasso moving to compete with Zug as the dominant Swiss center for cryptocurrency innovation. Chiasso will begin accepting bitcoin as a form of taxation payment beginning in January 2018, with the city planning to trial the method by initially restricting payments to values up to 250 Swiss francs (CHF). Zug currently accepts taxation payments in bitcoin of up to 200 CHF, and since July has received more than 40 payments in bitcoin.

Chiasso officials are hoping that the expanding cryptocurrency industry can replace lost tax revenues from the diminishing local banking sector. Chiasso mayor, Bruno Arrigoni, has stated that “Chiasso is recognized internationally as an epicenter of a growing technological and economic growth for both the canton and in Switzerland”. Local officials have sought to brand the municipality as “CryptoPolis” in a bid to attract cryptocurrency start-ups.

Source Link
https://news.bitcoin.com/chiasso-switzerland-to-allow-citizens-to-pay-taxes-in-bitcoin/

Over the past few weeks, the size of the Bitcoin mempool, the holding area for unconfirmed transactions waiting to be picked up by miners, significantly decreased by around 90 percent.

As a result, Bitcoin fees significantly declined and the recommended Bitcoin transaction fee calculated by Bitcoin fee estimators integrated into widely utilized wallet platforms such as Blockchain substantially dropped. Now, fees below $1 have become sufficient to obtain first confirmation within 10 minutes.

In fact, Blockchain’s newly deployed Bitcoin fee estimator, which has received praise from the community for utilizing a satoshis per byte basis to establish recommended fees for users more accurately, has been recommending a $0.19 fee for regular transactions with an estimated confirmation time of one hour.

On June 29, Bitcoin pioneer and cryptocurrency wallet platform operator Jaxx COO Charlie Shrem revealed that a personal $2,000 Bitcoin transaction was confirmed within the first six minutes with a $0.25 fee.


Why did fees become cheaper?

In late May, the size of the Bitcoin mempool reached an all-time high at around 120 GB. The large pool of unconfirmed transactions within the network led to the congestion of the entire Bitcoin Blockchain and the delay of transactions that had attached appropriate and proportional fees.

For over a month from May 1 to June 15, the Bitcoin mempool remained unreasonably large as the mempool failed to clear transactions during the weekend. Previously, the Bitcoin mempool had always cleared the majority of its unconfirmed transactions during the weekend when substantially fewer transactions were being settled on the Bitcoin Blockchain.

However, the failure to clear transactions during relatively inactive periods led the Bitcoin mempool to expand and store even more transactions.

Abruptly, the size of the mempool decreased within a matter of weeks and within 21 days starting early June, the size of the mempool declined from 120 GB to 20 GB.

On May 12, Cointelegraph reported that the activation of a viable scaling solution is urgently needed due to the abnormally large size of the Bitcoin mempool.

Several analysts including Bitcoin researcher Ben Verret suggested that the sudden decline in the size of the Bitcoin mempool is a direct result of the termination of network spam and that because the activation of segregated witness (SegWit) is getting closer, spam transactions have stopped targeting the Bitcoin Blockchain.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-transaction-fees-significantly-decrease-charlie-shrem-pays-025-fee

There is an air of uncertainty among Bitcoiners of what would become of their fate in the near future.

With the community approaching a significant decision date on the issue of scaling, the outcome of the consensus is looking more like an open secret as SegWit2x and SegWit Support has officially surpassed Emergent Consensus.


Bitcoin is still likely to split

However, the impact of the anticipated events of August 1, 2017, extends beyond just the expected improved efficiency of transactions within the Bitcoin network.

With significant opposition still in existence, a possible breakup is expected. This leaves room for a lot of uncertainty, leading to widespread speculation and predictions on what will become of Bitcoin and the crypto ecosystem in general.

Michael Vogel, CEO of Netcoins, affirms that SegWit2x and SegWit Support has officially surpassed Emergent Consensus, he identifies this development as a significant milestone.


It is important to have a backup plan

Vogel notes that August 1 will be the next important milestone, explaining that until SegWit is activated on the network, that's when Bitcoin users will have a first-hand opportunity to experience a scaling solution in action.

Vogel says:

    “If SegWit activation alleviates the network issues we've seen in recent months, then the outcome will be an overwhelmingly positive one. However, in terms of protecting wealth, in Bitcoin (and any cryptocurrency) we're still in relatively early days, so it's important to have backup plans. Nonetheless, I continue to be bullish on Bitcoin and a strong believer in its core value proposition as a currency and store of wealth.”


Better to keep Bitcoins offline

Aleksandar Matanovic of EC District expresses his weariness of the drama surrounding Bitcoin scaling.

    “I’m a bit tired of all the drama around scaling. Once this scaling is done, one way or the other, we will soon need another scaling.”

Matanovic notes that the reaction of Bitcoin users to scaling would depend on personal motives and their reasons for participating.

According to Matanovic, investors are probably worried about the fork, while speculators, on the other hand, must be excited about it because if there is one thing which is certain for the next couple of months, it is the volatility.

Hence, Matanovic suggests that the best approach in the midst of such chaos is to “keep calm, keep bitcoins offline and not selling any of them.”

https://cointelegraph.com/news/what-to-do-with-bitcoin-ahead-of-segwit-activation

The controversial scaling proposal, SegWit2x, is progressing with their plans, following their timeline. Jeff Garzik, Bloq co-founder and SegWit2x lead developer, said in an email that the new code is set to release on June 30, 2017.

Developers first introduced the SegWit2x in 2015, which has been one of the most controversial scaling proposals. Many Bitcoin network's enterprises and miners commended the proposal, seeing it as a pragmatic solution to the network's issues in transaction capacity. Of course, there are still those who derided it as a deal that misunderstands the nature of the cryptocurrency development and its intended design.

Despite some opposition, the Bitcoin scaling proposal emerged as unique, bringing together some of the largest contingent companies and mining pools supporting it.
Expectations on the new version

After two weeks of Alpha release testing, Garzik has confirmed the release of SegWit2x new code. This new version is expected to address issues and comments on the previous one and to mark a new phase for the said proposal.

Given that the proposal is supported by a large number of miners, the code could quickly acquire the necessary backing from the network to activate the upgrade.

Later on, if the project furthers as planned, the Bitcoin's long-awaited scaling optimization availability before August is possible. For now, this improvement or change in the network remains a matter of controversy and critique as enterprises and Bitcoin miners wait for it.
Alpha testing

The developers are not generous to the public when it comes to updating them about the testing process. According to some people who are involved in the project, they spent two weeks for testing, using a new testnet ("testnet5") and a faucet that spits out fake coins to test the system.

Meanwhile, SegWit2x GitHub site showed that the developers are indeed testing the code. Purse CTO Christopher Jeffrey even identified and fixed bugs during the alpha testing change while others shared inputs and ideas.

Large companies currently supporting SegWit2 include Abra, Bitfury, Blockchain, BTCC, OpenBazaar, Purse and Xapo have been publicly supporting the development and testing. However, it is still unknown to the public who's working on what.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/former-barclays-ceo-warns-banks-of-kodak-moment-pushes-to-embrace-fintech

Former CEO of Barclay’s, Antony Jenkins, has warned the banking community of a coming ‘Kodak moment’ for banks and financial institutions unless they embrace the coming fintech technology revolution.

Speaking of the revolution in fintech that has precipitated the massive growth of cryptocurrencies, Jenkins said, "Now we will see the possibility not necessarily the probability of what we call a 'Kodak moment,' where increasingly banks become irrelevant to their customers.”

Jenkins went on to address the widespread growth of cryptocurrencies and the rise of artificial intelligence are just the beginning of the change in the way banking is handled worldwide.

While some might say, Jenkins, is biased as the founder of fintech company 10X Banking, the rapid proliferation of banking solutions using Blockchain technology seem to indicate that he is providing useful guidance for the industry.

With growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies in Germany, Kazakstan, as well as in Asian countries like Vietnam, the banking industry will be forced to keep pace with the fintech world.

Jenkins concluded:

    "This is just in the footprints of what's going to happen here. As these technologies season and develop, we can imagine total transformation of the banking system, using Blockchain for example, in a world where banks don't really exist anymore."

https://cointelegraph.com/news/former-barclays-ceo-warns-banks-of-kodak-moment-pushes-to-embrace-fintech

According to security firm Kaspersky Labs, there is little hope for victims to retrieve access to their files after the recent so-called Petya cyberattack.

On Tuesday, it was reported that the NotPetya ransomware had started in the Ukraine and was spreading worldwide affecting thousands of computers in the U.K., the U.S., Russia, Spain and France, to name a few.

With 2,000 organizations around the world believed to be affected, according to Kaspersky, victims were ordered to pay a ransom demand of $300 worth of bitcoin. It was only through paying the ransom that victims were informed they would receive a decryption key to unlock their files.

That, however, is not the case.

Shortly after the announcement of the cyberattack, German firm Posteo, the operator behind the email address that the criminals were using to manage ransom demands, blocked access to it. This meant that the hackers couldn’t see who had emailed them and victims couldn’t send emails to wowsmith123456@posteo.net to confirm payment and receive the decryption key.

At the time, the company statement said:

    "We do not tolerate any misuse of our platform."

Following the cyberattack, reports were coming in that this latest ransomware wasn’t bringing in as much money as previously thought. At the time of press, the NotPetya ransomware had only received $10,100 to this address, 1Mz7153HMuxXTuR2R1t78mGSdzaAtNbBWX, since Tuesday.

Unlike the 2014 CryptoWall cyberattack, which raked in $325 million, it’s hardly big bucks.

A lack of funds to the address is likely down to the fact that security firms have stated that even if they pay the $300 to the criminals they are unlikely to get their files back. However, while victims can still pay the demand to the bitcoin address, it’s impossible for the attackers to make good on their promise and provide a decryption key.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/victims-unlikely-to-receive-notpetya-decryption-key-to-get-their-files-back/

Bitcoin Core developer Luke Dashjr claims the goal of SegWit2x, a move to provide a minimal patch to resolve the conflict over activating SegWit and increase the block size to allow faster transactions on the bitcoin blockchain, is to stall SegWit.

Writing in Medium, Dashjr says SegWit2x’s beta can be broken into five categories. He begins with branding, the simplest part. Bitcoin Core 0.14.1 has become btc1 Core 1.14.3. The most interesting observation here is that it is based on the old 0.14.1 instead of the 0.14.2 that fixed a number of bugs, such as miniupnpc vulnerability.

Dashjr also does not understand the reason for testnet5, a new testnet. If one wanted to test a bitcoin change, they would do so as a change to testnet instead of making a new one. He does not see why a new testnet was developed.

Some policy changes take effect immediately upon switching to btc1, even ahead of activating a hard or soft fork. Transactions can now use up to 32k sigops instead of the 16k Core limit.
New Size and Sigop Limits

Miners and miner pools linked to a btc1 code claiming to support SegWit will be advised the size limit is 8 MB and the sigop limit 160k. This last part is most likely a bug since it should wait for the hard fork to activate. In practice, this does not make a difference because the block template provided will not overflow the limit. Dashjr is not aware of any miner who will add transactions reaching that limit.

Btc1 has the well-known BIP91 that limits the SegWit activation to 80% for a few days on bit 4. This is primarily the same as BIP148, although it gives miners with a 20% hashrate, such as Bitmain, a veto.
What The Hard Fork Brings

Then comes the actual hard fork. It does not really use bit 4, but it activates 12,960 blocks, 90 days, following SegWit’s activation, no matter how it activates. So even if Bitmain blocks SegWit2x, the btc1 nodes will still hard fork 90 days after SegWit is activated by BIP148. A hard fork will not occur if SegWit does not activate, but BIP148 is going to occur, so it will activate.

The hard fork itself includes an 8 MB maximum block size limit, with the code obfuscated to look like a 2 MB block, a 160k maximum block sigop limit (made to look like 20k), and an 8 M maximum block weight limit (compared to a typical 4 MB block size). As for the sighash scaling, a new 1 MB limit gets imposed on each transaction’s non-witness data.

The first block under the hard fork rules calls for more than 1 MB of non-witness data. Dashjr believes this could have been better accomplished using the hard fork bit to prevent reorgs from also affecting “SPV” light clients.

4 to 8 MB block sizes, according to Dashjr, do not make sense. Even 1 MB blocks have proven dangerous to bitcoin. He does not envision consenting to the hard fork under any circumstances, other than with a soft fork to keep the size reasonable. But even then, he would not support the proposal. If there is going to be a hard fork, some useful changes should be made, such as native merge mining, something Satoshi suggested as the first hard fork years ago. Or fixing some outstanding bugs like the time warp vulnerability.

Also read: Chinese bitcoin roundtable forum affirms support for SegWit2x
SegWit2x Hard Fork Will  Fail

Dashjr notes he is not the only one raising these issues, and he asserts that SegWit2x’s hard fork will fail.

SegWit2x’s real purpose, according to Dashjr, is to stall SegWit. He sees it as a distraction form the upcoming BIP148 soft fork that has already deployed irreversibly to the network. In promoting BIP91 and SegWi2x to be a BIP148 alternative, miners are really making another power grab to reclaim their veto, something that only exists as a way for Bitmain to block the whole initiative at the last minute.

If not enough of the economy upgrades to BIP148 by August, Bitmain gains the chance to execute a chain split attack and trick outdated nodes to follow their invalid chain, becoming financially dependent on it prior to grasping the attack’s occurrence.

The only answer is to create awareness of BIP148 and assure as much of the economy as possible has upgraded prior to August, Dashjr claims. This is true whether or not one supports SegWit’s hard fork. Even those opposed to SegWit should make everyone upgrade to BIP148, which does not prohibit SegWit2x or require anyone, including miners, to support SegWit.

BIP148 only requires miners can no longer stop others from adopting SegWit. With sufficient support, miners cannot execute a chain split against old nodes without paying a financial loss. There are no risks to running BIP148 if SegWit2x participants are honest, according to Dashjr. If they are not honest, BIP148 is needed to keep one’s node secure.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoin-core-developer-claims-segwit2x-will-fail-claims-its-goal-is-to-stall-segwit/

It feels like the Bitcoin scaling debate has been around almost as long as Bitcoin itself. How Bitcoin scalability is best achieved, how we catapult this exciting forerunner of the digital currency scene into the global mainstream, remains at the very heart of the blockchain future. But, while the growth in popularity of Bitcoin, and blockchain technology as a whole, has been nothing short of explosive, the accompanying scaling row has become painstakingly slow and turgid by comparison. So much so, in fact, it could now be seriously affecting Bitcoin’s development, threatening its status as ‘Crypto King’, and giving other currencies and technologies the opportunity to accelerate their expansion ahead of it.

To briefly recap, the Bitcoin scaling solution has two broad churches. Some want to increase the block size to speed up transactions and relieve congestion in the system, while others, who fear an increase may deter new users and impact long-term wide appeal, favour a technical upgrade called SegWit (Segregated Witness) which would allow people to create a web of payment channels to service all users on the network.

We are approaching a key milestone in this protracted journey. On August 1st, a limited activation of a SegWit soft fork is in the offing. How the community reacts to this over the coming weeks will be important to the future direction – or directions – of travel for Bitcoin. But even so, this is merely a stepping stone. The road to a resolution could still be long and winding from then on.

Meanwhile, we are seeing consistent huge spikes in the value of Ether. At the time of writing, Ether is up 5000% in price since the start of the year. It has increased 320% over the past month alone, with Bitcoin up ‘just’ 60% in the same period. According to website Happening.watch, Ethereum trading volumes have actually started to surpass those of Bitcoin recently. The momentum is undoubtedly with Ethereum. The two of them remain the leading lights of the cryptocurrency landscape but others are emerging on an almost daily basis, and growing at an increasingly rapid rate.

The global trading platform eToro has a Cryptocurrency CopyFund, which currently contains Bitcoin and Ethereum, with asset allocation determined by market cap. You can trade CFDs on the CopyFund – effectively as it were a portfolio of the two crypto assets. But traders on the platform want a lot more. Belief has shifted. Crypto traders no longer see this as a two-horse race. The eventual ‘winners’ in the sector may be waiting in the wings. Traders want to diversify. So eToro are accelerating plans to introduce other digital currencies to the platform and to the CopyFund, with the likes of Litecoin, Dash and Ripple potentially next in line.

Bitcoin hasn’t lost its crypto crown yet, and may never be dethroned of course, but the odds are shortening. And the irony is, for such a fast-growth innovative technology, in the grand scheme of things, it just might not be fast enough.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/scaling-debate-hurting-bitcoin/

Over the past year, the use of cryptocurrencies in Thailand has been growing significantly as there have been many reports of citizens catching the “bitcoin bug.”

Thailand’s Queen Sirikit Convention Center Fills With Cryptocurrency Mining Enthusiasts

On June 22 a large group of people gathered at a computer expo in Thailand to purchase computer components to mine cryptocurrencies. According to reports, there is a nationwide shortage of graphics processing units (GPU:s) due to Thailand residents mining digital assets like Ethereum and Zcash to trade for BTC. Veerachai Morprapaipan, the store owner who helped organize the expo at the Queen Sirikit Convention Center said there were so many people he lost track of how many customers attended.

One customer, Niratcha Sukyu states “I’m buying as many pieces as I can get my hands on.” The GPU vendor from Thailand details that many altcoins have increased in value and local miners are trading them for bitcoin. Veerachai’s booth ‘TH Miner’ got a lot of attention as the company sells complete GPU mining packages and other components. According to Veerachai one of his machines sold for 109,000 baht that day.

https://news.bitcoin.com/mining-merchants-traders-thailand-bitcoin-fever/

A big British bank is considering bringing Bitcoin 'into play.' Barclays CEO Ashok Vaswani has spoken to regulators about engaging with the cryptocurrency, although he did not elaborate on what that would involve.  Newslook

Average investors are often accused of buying high and selling low.

And that may very well be the case for investors who are jumping on the bitcoin bandwagon. Bitcoin, a digital currency, has doubled and then some since the start of 2017 (it’s risen from $1,016.30 on Jan. 2 to $2,469.38 as of June 16) and many investors are taking note that a $1,000 investment in bitcoin in 2010 would now be worth $35 million.

To be sure, many experts, including Goldman Sachs, are turning bearish on the digital currency at its current price. But that hasn’t stopped investors from asking the question: What about the long-term? Should I invest in bitcoin in my accounts earmarked for retirement, which could be decades away and then last for decades?

Does it fit in your portfolio?

In the main, as with any investment, experts say investors should evaluate the pros and cons. What’s more, investors should take the very same approach to investing in bitcoin as they would any other investment: Evaluate whether it meets the criteria established in your investment policy statement, which outlines your time horizon, risk tolerance and investment objective.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/retirement/2017/06/28/powell-buying-bitcoin-fund-retirement-make-sure-fits-plans/409146001/

In April, CCN reported that Russia could recognize and regulate bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in 2018, according to the words of Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev who spoke about the subject. At the time, this market a U-turn from the official who had in the past proposed to imprison bitcoiners in the country.

Only a few days later, Bank of Russia’s Fintech chief Maxim Grigoriev squashed such expectations, stating that the status of cryptocurrencies in Russia was still under discussion at the time, and that speculating results was premature.

On June 1, CCN reported that the head of the Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, stated that bitcoin would not be considered a currency in the country and that it would be regulated as a ‘digital asset’. At the time, she stated the bank didn’t see huge benefits in introducing cryptocurrencies into the Russian economy, but instead saw doubts and “risks” associated with digital currencies.

Now, according to RT, formerly known as Russia Today, State Duma – the lower house of the Russian legislature – committee member Vadim Dngin says a parliamentary hearing on the legalization of cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin, may soon start in the country. He added that bitcoin will “most likely become accepted throughout the world”.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/109564-2/

Colombia’s top financial regulator published a circular about digital currency last week, naming bitcoin several times. Citing its potential risks, the authority clarified its stance on the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin in Colombia

The Colombian government and central bank have made statements in the past about bitcoin, but no laws have been passed and a clear definition has yet to emerge of how the law treats bitcoin in the country.

While Colombian banks have been restricted from handling it, the number of bitcoin users in the country has been growing substantially. At Localbitcoins, the weekly volume for Colombian pesos surpassed 2 billion, worth roughly $663,000 USD, for the first time at the end of May.

Head of the Financial Superintendency of Colombia, Jorge Castaño Gutiérrez, published a circular last week, clarifying the regulator’s stance on the digital currency.

Not Currency

Referencing past circulars, Gutiérrez reiterated that no digital currency has been recognized as currency by the legislator or the monetary authority. Citing Article 6 of Law 31 of 1992, he said Colombia’s only monetary unit and unit of account is the peso issued by Banco de la Republica.

https://news.bitcoin.com/colombia-stance-bitcoin/

On June 27, a major correction in the cryptocurrency market occurred, bringing the market cap of the cryptocurrency market below the $100 bln region.

All top 30 cryptocurrencies fell significantly in value, recording nearly 20 to 30 percent decline in market cap. Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrencies, also recorded substantial decline in value.

Bitcoin’s drop in value

As demonstrated by previous cryptocurrency market corrections, the decline in Bitcoin price has always led to the correction of the entire market.

Thus, when Bitcoin price fell from around $2,700 to $2,370, the cryptocurrency market underwent a major correction, with Ethereum falling from around $30 bln to $22 bln in market cap.

When evaluating the short-term fall of Bitcoin price, it is important to consider the analysis of two financial and security experts, Max Keiser and Andreas Antonopoulos.

On June 15, after a minor correction, in response to the inquiries of investors and traders regarding the fall of cryptocurrencies in value, Antonopoulos wrote:

    “Some of you are wondering "why are cryptos crashing like crazy?" Yet you didn't ask "why are cryptos climbing like crazy?" That's why.”

The value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are solely based on the demand of the market. Hence, like any other market, the value of cryptocurrencies alter based on the rise and decline of demand from the market. Therefore, if investors can’t justify the increase in the value of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, it is likely that a market correction is imminent.



New peaks after corrections

Max Keiser, an American broadcaster and the host of RT’s Keiser Report, previously emphasized that Bitcoin has always had recovered beyond the previous peak in all of its previous market corrections. For instance, when Bitcoin price fell from $2,400 to $1,900 earlier this month, Bitcoin price hit new all-time high at $3,000.

For this reason, on June 20, Max Keiser noted that a new Bitcoin price all-time high of $5,000 is in sight. Especially since scaling issues will be addressed shortly and Bitcoin Core’s Segregated Witness (SegWit) can be activated without the execution of a hard fork that could lead to a  split chain.

“New all-time high for Bitcoin in sight. Regulators will be twiddling their thumbs at $5,000, $10,000, and beyond. Welcome to NCO (New Crypto Order),” said Keiser.
Demand rising

There is an increase in demand for Bitcoin rapidly across the world, and an increasing number of governments and countries are starting to recognize, acknowledge and adopt Bitcoin as a digital currency.  Most recently, Poland’s largest food delivery platform Pyszne that supports more than 5000 restaurants started accepting Bitcoin despite its rising fees.

Demand for Ethereum, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum Classic and other cryptocurrencies is rising at a rapid rate. Short-term market corrections are important to evaluate, but investors should not consider corrections as factors for long-term growth.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-massacre-why-ethereum-bitcoin-top-30-currencies-declined-in-value

Russian Burger King restaurants are due to start accepting Bitcoin as a payment method this summer, reports state on Wednesday.

According to local news resources, a Moscow branch of the burger chain has started piloting Bitcoin payments, with officials now confirming a nationwide rollout.

Uznay Vse states the unnamed branch accepted a Bitcoin transaction on Tuesday this week, which represents “the first official reports of Bitcoin payments for goods and services in Russia.”

Burger King has also begun the hunt for an IT professional able to implement the relevant software.

“Several programs need to be written which will allow restaurant tills to speak to the Android and iOS apps and allow customers to pay with cryptocurrency,” Uznay Vse continues.

Russia is becoming an increasingly pro-crypto environment this year, with Finance Ministry deputy Alexey Moiseev saying this week that such currencies may be legally traded on exchanges if subject to “appropriate regulations.”

https://cointelegraph.com/news/burger-king-to-accept-bitcoin-in-russia-this-summer

Sapphire Technology Announce Production of Graphics Cards Designed Solely for Cryptocurrency Mining

Computer hardware company, Sapphire Technology, have announced that they will be releasing a line of headless graphics cards marketed towards cryptocurrency miners, as opposed to their traditional gamer customer-base.

Sapphire Technology Is Hoping to Capitalize on the Recent Global Surge in Demand for GPUs

Sapphire Technology has become the first company to produce a line of graphics cards that are purpose-built for cryptocurrency mining. Sapphire is a Hong Kong-based technology company that was founded in 2001. The company produces GPUs for a range of applications, and are advertised as being based on AMD’s graphics processing units. Sapphire Technology also claims to have been the first company to release a video card with a clock speed of 1000 MHz.

Sapphire Technology is hoping to capitalize on the recent global surge in demand for GPUs, becoming the first major graphics processor manufacturer to directly market to cryptocurrency miners. The graphics cards do not feature display ports, meaning that the GPUs are not able to be used for any purpose other than cryptocurrency mining. Although producing purpose-built graphics processing units for cryptocurrency mining allow Sapphire Technology to reduce the price of manufacturing GPUs, such renders miners unable to resell their graphics cards to the second-hand gaming market when upgrading their hardware in the future. Sapphire Technology will be releasing 5 different graphics processing units, two of which integrate Samsung-branded memory chips. Sapphire’s purpose-built GPUs are currently only available for pre-order.

https://news.bitcoin.com/sapphire-technology-announce-production-of-graphics-cards-designed-solely-for-cryptocurrency-mining/

A recent survey conducted by HSBC polling 13 developed nations indicates that the majority of citizens still have not heard of blockchain technology, with only 41% of respondents indicating familiarity with the technology underpinning bitcoin.

HSBC’s Report Adds to a Growing List of Surveys That Indicate Bitcoin and Blockchain Technology Is Still in Its Early Years of Development

A recent survey conducted by HSBC showed that 59% of consumers had not heard of blockchain technology. Of the 41% of respondents who were familiar with the technology underpinning bitcoin, 80% stated that they did not understand how blockchain technology operates.

The survey polled 2,000 HSBC customers from the United Kingdom, in addition to 1,000 participants from Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the United States respectively.

HSBC’s report adds to a growing list of surveys that indicate bitcoin and blockchain technology is still in its early years of development, with early-majority adoption still yet to be seen.

A survey conducted by Cambridge University this year determined the current number of unique active users of cryptocurrency wallets is estimated to be between 2.9 and 5.8 million. Despite representing just 0.04 – 0.05% of the global population, this data indicates that the bitcoin userbase has at least doubled in just two years. With such a tiny percentage of citizens actively engaged in the bitcoin community, 40% of citizens being aware of blockchain technology evidences the enormous growth potential of cryptocurrency.

https://news.bitcoin.com/hsbc-survey-suggests-bitcoin-still-has-enormous-growth-potential/