January 10, 2018
During the first week of the new year, many cryptocurrency enthusiasts have been talking about the Lightning Network (LN). So far the protocol has surpassed 610 nodes and 1882 channels while many bitcoiners, businesses, and developers have tried the technology on both testnet and mainnet. This week the virtual private network (VPN) service Torguard initiated mainnet LN payments and claim transfers have close to zero fee settlements. Also read: New Monero Mining Malware Sends Proceeds to Kim Il Sung University, North Korea Taking Lightning Transactions Further By Playing With Real Bitcoin The Lightning Network (LN) node count has surpassed 610 nodes this week, and most of the action is taking place on Bitcoin’s testnet. However, news.Bitcoin.com recently reported on the company Bitrefill completing the first “real” LN payment on Bitcoin’s mainnet. Programmer Alex Bosworth paid his phone bill with no […]
January 10, 2018
Following the issuance of its bitcoin bond, Japanese investment research group Fisco Corporation is now launching a cryptocurrency fund. The company is also planning to offer derivative products as well as several other crypto-related services. Also read: South Korea Urges 23 Countries, EU, and IMF to Collaborate on Curbing Crypto Trading Fisco Launching Crypto Fund Tokyo-based investment research group Fisco Corporation has announced the launch of a cryptocurrency fund. “It is being described as the first fund of its kind in Japan,” according to Nikkei. The fund will invest more than 300 million yen (~USD$2.67 million) in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as early as this month, the publication described. In addition, it will seek to profit from price differentials among domestic and foreign cryptocurrency exchanges. The news outlet added: Fisco will invest its own money and raise capital from two other […]
January 10, 2018
J-Pop group, Virtual Currency Girls, to sing the virtues of cryptos. #HYPE
January 10, 2018
The other day we reported on the tech giant Microsoft removing the “redeem bitcoin” option from its payments page. One of our reporters spoke with a Microsoft agent who detailed that bitcoin was no longer supported. Later in the evening on January 9, two news outlets detailed they had chatted with a Microsoft spokeswoman who said, “We’ve restored bitcoin as a payment option in our store after working with our provider.” Also read: Miami Bitcoin Conference Stops Accepting Bitcoin Due to Fees and Congestion Microsoft Temporarily Halts Bitcoin Payment Services The question on every bitcoin proponent’s mind — Does Microsoft still accept bitcoin for Windows services and Xbox accounts? Yesterday, news.Bitcoin.com’s Avi Mizrahi reached out to a Microsoft associate who revealed that the company had removed the “redeem bitcoin” link on December 26, 2017. From that point forward users did not see […]
January 10, 2018
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission seeks joint effort with regulators in China and Japan to prevent money laundering and other criminal activities related to cryptocurrency.
January 10, 2018
Existing cryptocurrencies and digital assets need to keep upgrading their core software at all times. In the case of Ripple and XRP, a new Rippled client has been released. Version 0.81.0 introduces some big changes to improve overall scalability as well as a new recommended validator configuration. Users are advised to upgrade to this new version as soon as possible. All of this shows there’s room for further improvements as far as Ripple is concerned. Big Changes in the new Version of Rippled Although software updates don’t get highlighted often, it’s always worth paying attention to what is going on with Ripple. This ecosystem has received a lot of interest in recent months, and its developers have been working hard to move things along. The new version of Rippled contains some big changes which will help take this project to a whole new level […]
January 10, 2018
All-in-one blockchain solution and crypto token ARK is now the latest currency to be registered on digital currency exchange OKEx. Widely seen as the benchmark for the online Bitcoin futures industry, OKEx has served millions of clients from over 100 countries worldwide, with more than half originating from China. The robust platform has carved out a respectable name for itself in the industry and represents a strong partner for ARK’s potential on the open market. Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article France-based ARK harbours ambitions of creating a user-centric platform with mass consumer adoption in mind. This “all-in-one” blockchain solution hopes to introduce an ecosystem of linked blockchains and a virtual spider web of endless use cases that will make ARK extremely flexible, adaptable and scalable for users, developers and start ups with innovative blockchain tech. How the ARK Project […]
January 10, 2018
Country ICOs – will we finally see it in 2018? A new trend of Country-as-a-Service is coming. #EXPERT BLOG
January 10, 2018
It doesn’t happen all that often that exchange-traded cryptocurrencies turn into public stocks all of a sudden. In fact, this may have never happened before in the nine-year history of cryptocurrencies. Blocksafe is setting a very interesting precedent in this regard; that much is evident. The company is being removed from Bittrex because its shares will start trading on Nasdaq very soon. It’s a rather interesting development which few people had ever expected to see. A Solid Change for Blocksafe and TRIG For those unfamiliar with the Blocksafe project, allow us to briefly recap what this company does. Its bread and butter is the creation of a so-called global defense network utilizing blockchain technology. It will power the future of innovation in the world of enhanced defense technology. More specifically, Blocksafe claims to be the world’s first decentralized blockchain network for sensor-based systems. It’s quite the ambition to […]
January 10, 2018
Discover 20 reading experiences that won’t leave you half-hearted. For crypto gurus, fintech fans and for all enthusiasts about the innovations. #NEW YEAR SPECIAL
January 10, 2018
Next week the popular cryptocurrency event, The North American Bitcoin Conference (TNABC) will be hosted in downtown Miami at the James L Knight Center, January 18-19. However, bitcoin proponents got some unfortunate news this week as the event organizers have announced they have stopped accepting bitcoin payments for conference tickets due to network fees and congestion. Also read: South Korea Urges 23 Countries, EU, and IMF to Collaborate on Curbing Crypto Trading TNABC Closes Ticket Payments Using Bitcoin Bitcoin settlement times, and the fee market associated with transactions, have become a hot topic these days as on-chain fees have risen to $30-60 per transaction. These issues have made it extremely difficult for businesses to operate, and many merchants have stopped accepting bitcoin for services and goods altogether. Just recently the tech giant Microsoft announced temporarily removing the “redeem bitcoin” button […]
January 10, 2018
Warren Buffet thinks Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will definitely come to a bad end, but admits his ignorance on the topic. #NEWS
January 10, 2018
We are witnessing a healthy growth of decentralized blockchain-based lotteries and other fair games being launched, particularly on the Ethereum blockchain. The main idea is the same and that is to make lotteries popular, make its code open-source and render the whole system transparent along with respectable odds to win. The lottery industry is worth billions of dollars with popular names like Lotto in UK, Powerball in USA, etc keep coming to our minds but there are persistent problems with these lotteries as everything is kept under the wraps and unjust taxes have to be paid on every lottery win. Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article The business is also very consolidated and old brands are systematically helped by governments both at the state and the federal level. So, unadulterated lotteries in the conventional model are extremely rare. Naturally blockchain […]
January 10, 2018
Over the past few years, we have seen multiple cryptocurrencies which were only meant to work within a specific area. Auroracoin is by far the most notorious example, and it ultimately failed to gain any real traction. NewYorkCoin, also known as NYCoin, is the latest attempt to achieve a similar goal. However, this project raises a lot of red flags, and the team’s intentions may be far less honorable than one would assume at first. People always have to be wary when it comes to projects like these, for obvious reasons. NewYorkCoin Seems Rather Shady Enthusiasts who have kept an eye on the developments in New York will know this state isn’t too welcoming when it comes to cryptocurrencies. More specifically, New York state is one of the more regulatory-hostile places in the US when it comes to Bitcoin and similar currencies. Ever since BitLicense […]
January 10, 2018
Venezuela’s Petro cryptocurrency is a “fraud” and “tailor-made for corruption,” its parliament has said. #NEWS
January 10, 2018
The idea of a decentralized music platform is certainly not a new one. It was all the rage once the capabilities of blockchain were fully realized by developers and the public itself. As the blockchain-based music industry expanded, the debate started on how to develop a perfect music sharing platform that will incentivize other people for maintenance of distributed servers and invest in the development in the first phase. Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article There were some who favored a true blockchain-based solution. For example, every node gives a part of its storage to the network as part of the deal and thus they all benefit from it. It is good in theory, but not in practicality for just a music-based blockchain. So Voise, a blockchain-based music platform decided to deploy a system of masternodes on the Ethereum blockchain […]
January 10, 2018
Billionaire investor Michael Novogratz pulled back from bitcoin toward the end of last year, citing market volatility, and ultimately scrapped his much-anticipated crypto hedge fund as a result. He’s since returned with a market-defining announcement of plans to open a full service crypto merchant bank, which some are describing as the ecosystem’s Goldman Sachs, and he’s betting his entire $400 million worth of crypto assets on the ambitious project. Also read: Bitcoin’s Amazing 9th Birthday! Michael Novogratz is All-In The new year kicked off with a bang in only its second full week, as Canada-based Bradmer Pharmaceuticals revealed an ambitious partnership with famed investor Michael Novogratz to create what amounts to a crypto merchant bank, Galaxy Digital Holding. Embargoed against US newswires, the cumbersomely announced title, Galaxy Digital, First Coin and Bradmer Pharmaceuticals Announce Business Combination and Establishment of Blockchain, […]
January 10, 2018
Blockchain-based lottery platform Kibo has made a number of recent announcements regarding their platform and the current fund distribution plan. #SPONSORED
January 10, 2018
Bitcoin could well surpass $20,000 in 2018, according to Wall Street strategist Tom Lee. #NEWS
January 10, 2018
The modern economy is moving away from manual labour and effort-intensive jobs, and has been doing so for some time. There is actually a website that tells anyone how much likely he is to lose his job in the next five years or so to automation! Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article Retailers, cashiers, drivers, and other easily automated jobs are going to be lost in the coming years and it will be a challenge for the economy to be able to sustain this many number of mid-career workers and the influxes into other careers. It won’t be like the first industrial revolution in which out-of-work people were simply shifted to new factories where they could do the same manual labor. This time, it will be far more difficult as manufacturing is slowing down and also being automated. So, people […]
January 10, 2018
Parallels between cryptocurrency adoption now and internet adoption in the nineties are becoming more apparent every day. Even companies with storied pasts and friction-filled relationships with the digital age are beginning to look into how cryptocurrencies can benefit them. The most recent example of this involves Kodak and its ICO. That’s right, the photography company founded in 1888 is going to hold an ICO. Say “I want to adopt cryptocurrencies into my business model!” *SNAP* While that’s a bit of a mouthful, the sentiment is the same – it leaves smiles on many faces, particularly those of Kodak shareholders. Upon the announcement, the price per share skyrocketed to crypto-esque levels. It was an enormous 44% move for the under-10 dollar stock. This is part of an overall trend we are seeing in today’s markets. We just cannot get enough of all things […]
January 10, 2018
On Tuesday, the company announced KODAKOne, a blockchain-based platform that aims to assist photographers with the registration and licensing of their work, along with a token offering. Some are questioning the strategy.
January 10, 2018
In the world of technology and security, there is plenty of room for improvements and upgrades. Especially when it comes to wireless internet connectivity, the number of problems to be solved is quite significant. The new WPA3 standard may finally help to shake things up a bit. The Wi-Fi Alliance is quite confident this new standard will replace WPA2 very quickly and improve all wireless internet security. A Brief Introduction to WPA3 Over the past few years, multiple Wi-Fi standards have come and gone. Every new iteration provided more security without sacrificing convenience or user-friendliness. In fact, most people don’t even remember when WPA32 was first introduced, as it has become such a common standard these days. Moreover, most devices which connect to the internet wirelessly are more than capable of supporting the WPA2 standard without any issues. When the new WPA3 standard […]
January 10, 2018
The @Bitcoin Twitter account is a prime piece of crypto real estate. With 667,000 followers, it is more popular than any other cryptocurrency account on Twitter by a considerable margin. When @Bitcoin tweets, its message is carried far and wide. But lately, the operator of the account has begun tweeting a preponderance of stories about bitcoin cash, some of which originated on news.Bitcoin.com. This move has led to accusations from high profile bitcoiners that the @Bitcoin domain is now under the control of Bitcoin.com. Also read: New Monero Mining Malware Sends Proceeds to Kim Il Sung University, North Korea The Enigma Behind the @Bitcoin Name The @Bitcoin Twitter account was registered on 17 August 2011 and has gone on to send over 19,000 tweets. In recent years, the account’s operator seems to have had more pressing real-world matters to attend; throughout […]
January 10, 2018
Decentralized video sharing platform, Viuly, has marked off yet another achievement by recording the highest transaction volume on Ethereum blockchain. Viuly’s VIU token is now ranked the number 1 most transacted token on Ethereum network. Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article The adoption of the VIU token is taking the crypto community by surprise. According to the latest report by Ethplorer, VIU now ranks it number 1 of the top 50 tokens by transaction count on the Ethereum blockchain — a pleasant surprise for development team. This development follows its widely successful airdrop campaign of 458 million VIU tokens freely distributed to about 900,000 unique Ethereum users, resulting in the creation of almost a million potential new users on Viuly’s video sharing platform. Anyone who had some ETH in their ERC20 compatible Ethereum wallets on November 5th when the snapshot […]
January 10, 2018
Investors in Thailand can now trade bitcoin futures listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board Options Exchange. The country’s financial authorities say that these instruments should be offered in Thailand and one company is already offering them to their customers. Also read: South Korea Urges 23 Countries, EU, and IMF to Collaborate on Curbing Crypto Trading Bitcoin Futures Trading Available Now Phillip Securities Thailand Ltd. announced on Monday the launch of its bitcoin futures trading services for investors wanting to invest in bitcoin futures listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), local publications reported. Apisak Vongvanij, head of global markets at Phillip Securities Thailand, explained that customers “must apply for the company’s global derivatives service,” the Bangkok Post detailed. This service, launched 6 years ago, allows them to trade futures on […]
January 10, 2018
A security firm has found evidence that North Korea may be using mining software to obtain Monero and transfer it to a Pyongyang university. Running a regime while sidestepping pesky sanctions is an expensive endeavor and one that North Korea seems to have plenty of experience in. However, according to a California-based cybersecurity firm, cryptocurrency could be a cost-effective solution. Sneaky Monero Mining ABC News recently reported that the firm, AlienVault, discovered a crypto mining software application, which appeared to be created last month, being unknowingly installed on victims’ computers. The mined crypto in question, Monero, was then transferred to Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang. However, to play devil’s advocate, this university also has international students and lecturers, and not just those from North Korea. Cryptocurrency may be getting quietly channeled to North Korea university: Report #Monero https://t.co/PnEj44jRsg pic.twitter.com/xR6xAsK5QV — […]
January 10, 2018
For three weeks Overstock mixed up Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash payments via their Coinbase integration, accidentally opening up the potential for customers to profit, independent researcher reports. #BRIEF
January 10, 2018
The good old saying “when it rains, it pours” is certainly applicable to cryptocurrencies. Every time Bitcoin sheds value, the rest of the market will turn into a sea of red numbers. Even without Bitcoin’s shenanigans, the TRON price has no momentum going up to $0.25 right now. In fact, it keeps dropping even further as more time progresses. The latest TRON price decline comes in the form of another 22.67% setback over the past 24 hours. What is the Deal With the TRON Price? That is the question a lot of people are asking themselves right now. More specifically, there has been zero positive momentum all week long, and it seems things could only get worse as more time progresses. Thanks to another 22.067% dip over the past 24 hours, it is evident all of the good momentum pushing […]
January 10, 2018
Allowing its students to pay for their education, a South African business school believes it is making itself more accessible to the next generation of learners and Bitcoiners. #ADOPTION
January 10, 2018
China’s Bitcoin miners are doing just fine, and could withstand both regulatory constraints and a massive Bitcoin price correction due to cheap energy costs. #MINING
January 10, 2018
Crypto market down, top 10 coins up to 17% losses this morning. #NEWS
January 10, 2018
Up to 870% returns in average within 3-4 months – that is how the five largest ICO ended the year of 2017.
January 10, 2018
It is safe to say the cryptocurrency ecosystem is anything but stable right now. With Bitcoin still struggling for momentum, altcoins will struggle quite a bit as well. The one thing that sheds an interesting light on this entire debacle is Ethereum. More specifically, the Ethereum price keeps moving up every single day. Moreover, Ethereum now has over half the market cap of Bitcoin, which is a rather impressive feat. Ethereum Price Rises yet Again Very few people had expected to see Ethereum come close to Bitcoin in market cap. Although similar discussions first became apparent about a year ago, the situation has changed quite a bit ever since. In fact, it seemed as if the so-called “flippening” would never materialize after all. Especially with Bitcoin’s market cap growing to over $200bn and Ethereum remaining below $100bn. Things always have […]
January 10, 2018
Blockchain technology isn’t just used to power cryptocurrencies, it is applicable to a wide variety of functions. #FINTECH
January 10, 2018
The Venezuelan parliament has declared the oil-backed cryptocurrency created by President Nicolas Maduro illegal and in violation of the country’s Constitution. Maduro’s decree to create the national cryptocurrency, the petro, has been declared null and void. Also read: South Korea Urges 23 Countries, EU, and IMF to Collaborate on Curbing Crypto Trading Venezuelan Parliament Declared Petro Illegal The National Assembly of Venezuela on Tuesday declared the country’s upcoming oil-backed cryptocurrency, the petro, illegal. Venezuelan parliamentarians unanimously voted “absolute nullity on the issuance of the petro cryptocurrency,” El Universal reported and quoted Deputy Carlos Valero announcing: This Assembly tells the world that the cryptocurrency the government wants to issue is illegal, and this parliament will come out in front to prevent public opinion [from] falling into that trap. Deputy Williams Dávila added that the parliamentarians denounced the petro, asserting that the […]
January 10, 2018
Kodak, a legacy photography company synonymous with the last century, is to launch its own cryptocurrency, Kodakcoin. Not content with holding an ICO, the company has also decided to get into cryptocurrency mining in what’s been interpreted as a desperate bid to stay relevant. The news, unveiled at CES 2018 on Wednesday, goes down as one of the strangest stories yet in a month that’s been filled with crypto oddities. Also read: JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon Regrets his ”Bitcoin is a Fraud” Statement Kodak Enjoys Its Kodak Moment In a week in which an altcoin for the dental industry neared a $2 billion market cap and messaging app Telegram unveiled a 132-page white paper, the notion of Kodak launching its own ICO doesn’t seem that outlandish. Reinventing itself as a cryptocurrency mining firm into the bargain though is a curveball that […]
January 10, 2018
Microsoft Corporation has removed the ‘Bitcoin’ payment option from its active payment instruments, despite earlier support from Bill Gates. #NEWS
