Online Cash Bitcoin Could Challenge Governments, Banks

guest · Feb 28, 2019

Get ready for a Facebook-sponsored cryptocurrency
New York Times: Facebook is building a new cryptocurrency for WhatsApp payments
February 28, 2019
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/02/get-ready-for-a-facebook-sponsored-cryptocurrency/

Facebook is preparing to launch a cryptocurrency, the The New York Times reports. The new cryptocurrency would be integrated with Facebook's WhatsApp messaging platform, allowing ordinary WhatsApp users to send electronic cash to friends and family across international borders. The Times says it talked to five anonymous sources who have been briefed on the project.

The Times notes that Facebook is just one of several messaging companies that are working on cryptocurrencies. Two privacy-focused messaging apps—Telegram and Signal—are each working on cryptocurrencies of their own, too.

There's no Bitcoin company with the capacity to reverse fraudulent transactions, restore lost coins, or shut down fraudulent service providers.
Presumably, Facebook will attempt to address some of these shortcomings by integrating secure payment software into WhatsApp, by supporting the value of its cryptocurrency with Facebook's own financial resources, and by policing the WhatsApp payment ecosystem for fraudulent activities.
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guest · Mar 1, 2019

mood said: ↑

Get ready for a Facebook-sponsored cryptocurrency
New York Times: Facebook is building a new cryptocurrency for WhatsApp payments
February 28, 2019
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/02/get-ready-for-a-facebook-sponsored-cryptocurrency/
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Facebook's Cryptocoin: A Disguised PayPal on a Blockchain?
Critics Question Whether Move Is Just 'Marketing Fluff'
March 1, 2019
https://www.inforisktoday.com/facebooks-cryptocoin-disguised-paypal-on-blockchain-a-12060

Facebook is edging closer to launching its own cryptocurrency, with a rollout expected this year, The New York Times reports. But some critics say the project seems more like a trendy and unnecessary redressing of a PayPal-like system on a blockchain.
PayPal on Blockchain?
Facebook's plan could possibly eliminate some of the problems. The Times reports Facebook's currency would be a "stable" coin, pegged to several currencies. Volatility would be nixed by backing the coin with real money.

Tying a payment channel to WhatsApp and calling it a blockchain system "is just marketing fluff," he says. "It's going to be really a centralized database they control, so what they are really doing is building a private-label PayPal."
It's also unclear what would be the advantages of a blockchain-based system over other electronic money transfer systems.
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guest · Mar 2, 2019

Flashy Hong Kong Crypto Millionaire Arrested For Mining Scheme
March 1, 2019
https://ethereumworldnews.com/flashy-hong-kong-crypto-millionaire-arrested-mining-scheme/

Wong Ching-kit has been a mythical figure in the Asian crypto community for a while now. Some see the Hong Kong native as a successful, smart entrepreneur that is at the ripe age of 25.

According to a scathing report from the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Wong was arrested on Thursday for his affiliation with a cryptocurrency mining company, which purportedly played investors by selling faulty machines to the unknowing public.

Per claims from victims, Wong enticed them to invest in highly profitable machines that mined Filecoin, a project that ICOed but has yet to launch. As Filecoin, one of the most popular token sales in crypto’s history, is evidently not even live for the public yet, it became clear that Wong’s product was likely a scam.
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guest · Mar 2, 2019

Report: QuadrigaCX Wallets Have Been Empty, Unused Since April
March 2, 2019
https://cointelegraph.com/news/report-quadrigacx-wallets-have-been-empty-unused-since-april

Big Four audit firm Ernst & Young (EY) released its “Third Report of the Monitor” in the creditor protection proceedings of Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX on March 1.

Within the report, the audit firm has identified six separate crypto wallets that were used primarily to store Bitcoin (BTC), the cryptocurrency most used on the platform. Apart from one inadvertent transaction of Bitcoin amounting to nearly $500,000, there have been no deposits in the wallets since April 2018. Furthermore the report states:

“To date, the Applicants have been unable to identify a reason why Quadriga may have stopped using the Identified Bitcoin Cold Wallets for deposits in April 2018, however, the Monitor and Management will continue to review the Quadriga database to obtain further information.”
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ronjor · Mar 2, 2019

What's the Value of a Facebook Cryptocoin?

Gregory Barber 03.02.19
On Thursday, The New York Times reported new details about Facebook’s efforts to produce its own digital coin. Facebook’s first foray into blockchain will reportedly take the form of a so-called “stablecoin,” where the value of its digital currency is backed by the physical kind—in this case, a basket of global currencies. The idea is to tamp down the rampant speculation and tumult that have plagued other cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, making the coin easier to someday use to buy your gas and meals (or, who knows, your neighbor’s cat tower on Facebook Marketplace).
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guest · Mar 2, 2019

mood said: ↑

Security Alert: Crypto Wallet Coinomi Reportedly Sending Seed Phrases to Google
February 27, 2019
https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/...ds-users-seed-phrases-to-third-party-servers/
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Crypto Wallet Coinomi Clarifies Vulnerability Claims, Responds to Controversy
March 2, 2019
https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/...vulnerability-claims-responds-to-controversy/

[...] according to Coinomi the wallet couldn’t have been hacked over the vulnerability [...]
The crypto wallet provider further released the full dialogue it had with Maawali before the incident became public. In it, we can see the Twitter user asked the firm for a refund on the stolen funds, asking it to be considered a “bug bounty reward.”

If it didn’t, Maawali noted he would have no choice but to report the incident on social media.
After seeing another request for his “funds back 65k-70k or 17 BTC in value,”Coinomi took to Twitter to declare it doesn’t “negotiate with blackmailers.”

As for Coinomi, some users have noted its approach to the situation wasn’t the best one, and claimed the firm wasn’t able to properly handle the situation. While in some statements Coinomi claimed a firm it works with concluded the funds didn’t appear to have been hacked, in other statements it points out Maawali’s computer could’ve been compromised before he entered his seed phrase.
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guest · Mar 3, 2019

Why Crypto Companies Still Can’t Open Checking Accounts
March 3, 2019
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...n-t-open-checking-accounts?srnd=technology-vp

The gatekeepers of mainstream commerce are keeping their doors shut to cryptocurrency companies.

While top-tier banks are getting more crypto-curious—JPMorgan rolled out a prototype digital coin last month—most see the growing number of companies in the industry as they have since day one: ticking regulatory time bombs.
“No bank is willing to help them out,” said Robby Houben, a lawyer and professor at the University of Antwerp who co-authored a paper for the European Parliament on financial crime involving cryptocurrencies.

Though legitimate uses have mushroomed in recent years, it’s simpler for banks to maintain a blanket prohibition, said Jerry Brito, executive director of crypto advocacy group Coin Center in Washington.
“The standard answer of `just go to your local Chase branch’ doesn’t work in crypto,’’ said Sam Bankman-Fried, chief executive officer of Alameda Research, a digital-assets trading firm in Berkeley, California
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ronjor · Mar 3, 2019

Texas first state to fine, order full reimbursement of investments by cryptocurrency firm

Erin Douglas Feb. 22, 2019
It was the first enforcement action taken by a state against a cryptocurrency firm that resulted in both a fine and a full refund offer for investors.
Utah firms NUI Social LLC, Mintage Mining LLC and other related companies, that are controlled by Darren Olayan, a self-described "entrepreneur, visionary and motivational speaker," settled a complaint by the state alleging that the companies illegally sold unregistered investments and misled Texas investors.
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guest · Mar 3, 2019

CoinBase Executive: We Have Neutrino Because Providers Were Selling Client Data
March 3, 2019
https://ethereumworldnews.com/coinb...o-because-providers-were-selling-client-data/

Which site you visit, what you purchase and which currencies you use is private data. They are unprocessed raw data that should not be shared with anyone and meant to be just that, private
Current CoinBase Providers Selling Client Data
But, it is emerging that CoinBase, the US Exchange that is one of the few exchanges to wade off hacks, acquired Neutrino–a Blockchain intelligence company, because providers were selling customer information to third parties. [...] the executive gave reasons saying:

“It was important for us to migrate away from our current providers. They were selling client data to outside sources and it was compelling for us to get control over that and have proprietary technology that we could leverage to keep the data safe and protect our clients.”
Exchange Under Fire
Even though Neutrino expertise could come in handy when there is need of taming scams and related illegalities, it is increasingly becoming clear that CoinBase transactions will always be under a magnifying glass.
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ronjor · Mar 4, 2019

Cryptocurrency exchange WEX/BTC-e tied to Bitcoin ransomware hackers, report

Story by David Canellis
PwC says SamSam ransomers were funnelling dirty Bitcoin to WEX
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guest · Mar 4, 2019

The Fourth Largest Private Employer in the US Says No to Visa, May Accept Bitcoin
March 4, 2019
https://ethereumworldnews.com/the-f...in-the-us-says-no-to-visa-may-accept-bitcoin/

It is official, Kroger, the $22.35B, the US largest supermarket chain by revenue complete with 3,028 locations effectively becoming the fourth largest private employer is officially tired of Visa credit cards. Like most centralized payment facilitators, Visa is quickly turning out to be fast—high throughput but expensive.

For this reason, the Chief Financial Officer at the profitable supermarket chain, Mike Schlotman said they will no longer accept Visa Credit cards at any of their Smith’s Food & Drug Stores beginning April 4. Food &Drug Stores has 20,000 employees spread across seven US states operating in 134 branches
Crypto like Bitcoin is Cheap and Superior
As a new innovation, blockchain and cryptocurrencies including middle men, a role played by centralized fund transfer agents like Visa.
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ronjor · Mar 4, 2019

Living up to our values and the Neutrino acquisition

Brian Armstrong Mar 4 2019
However, we had a gap in our diligence process. While we looked hard at the technology and security of the Neutrino product, we did not properly evaluate everything from the perspective of our mission and values as a crypto company. We took some time to dig further into this over the past week, and together with the Neutrino team have come to an agreement: those who previously worked at Hacking Team (despite the fact that they have no current affiliation with Hacking Team), will transition out of Coinbase. This was not an easy decision, but their prior work does present a conflict with our mission. We are thankful to the Neutrino team for engaging with us on this outcome.
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ronjor · Mar 5, 2019

Mystery as Quadriga crypto-cash goes missing

BBC 05 Mar 2019
In a report on its discovery, E&Y investigators said they did not know what had happened to the bitcoins they expected to find in storage.
A reward of $100,000 has been offered by one former QuadrigaCX customer for information about where the exchange's cash has gone.
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guest · Mar 5, 2019

Hacked Crypto Startup Cryptopia To Open Its Doors Again, First Through “Read Only” Site
March 5, 2019
https://ethereumworldnews.com/hacked-crypto-startup-cryptopia-open-doors-read-only-site/

Cryptopia To Launch “Read Only” Site
The day has finally arrived. At long, long last, Cryptopia, an altcoin-centric exchange has revealed that it will be reopening its doors.
The New Zealand-headquartered exchange, hacked approximately six weeks ago for reported millions in an array of crypto assets, took to Twitter to give information on this subject matter just recently.

Cryptopia intends this version of its site to allow users to reset passwords and their two-factor authentication credentials/details. Interestingly, the company didn’t divulge when it would totally reopen its services, but it did note that 24% of all wallets under its custody have been transitioned to new secure servers.
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guest · Mar 6, 2019

Leading real estate agency in Turkey now accepting crypto
March 6, 2019
https://coingeek.com/leading-real-estate-agency-in-turkey-now-accepting-crypto/

Turkey has quickly risen as a popular target for the cryptocurrency industry. Fueled by growing inflation, Turkey’s residents have been seeking alternatives to fiat and this has led to greater adoption of crypto assets and a number of industry companies descending on the country.

The company’s chairman, Bayram Tekce, said that the company began accepting crypto payments because they are more secure and don’t incur deductions that are associated with the country’s volatile currency exchange rates.
He adds, “Payment with cryptocurrency enables a more reliable and faster transaction performance such as money transfer between bank accounts without any exchange loss.”
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ronjor · Mar 6, 2019

Israel regulators support ‘heavily regulated’ cryptocurrency trading platform

Story by Matthew Beedham 06 Mar 2019
An Israeli financial market regulator has given its recommendation for the creation of a heavily regulated cryptocurrency issuance platform, Reuters reports.
According to the report, such a platform should allow companies to “raise money by issuing digital tokens to investors.”
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ronjor · Mar 7, 2019

UK watchdog warns against 'get rich quick' cryptoasset purchases

Huw Jones March 7, 2019
LONDON (Reuters) - Consumers think they can “get rich quick” by putting cash into unregulated cryptoassets like Bitcoin and Ether they may not fully understand, Britain’s markets watchdog said on Thursday.
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guest · Mar 7, 2019

Economic Historian Niall Ferguson: Crypto ‘Won't Turn Out to Be a Complete Delusion'
March 7, 2019
https://cointelegraph.com/news/econ...rypto-wont-turn-out-to-be-a-complete-delusion

The historian — who authored a book on the history of currencies, “The Ascent of Money” — made his remarks at a private event during the Australian Financial Review (AFR) Business Summit earlier this week, the AFR reported on March 6.

"I was very wrong. Wrong to think there was no […] use for a form of currency based on blockchain technology," Ferguson is reported to have said. Notably, as of last month, he sits on the advisory board of algorithmic (non-fiat-pegged) stablecoin issuer Ampleforth.
Conceding that his knowledge of the history of financial innovation and fiat currencies had predisposed him against the idea initially, he pointed to Bitcoin’s recent price moves as an indication of its longevity and resilience.
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guest · Mar 7, 2019

Cryptography experts are already laughing at 'Facebook Coin'
March 6, 2019
https://mashable.com/article/cryptocurrency-experts-mock-facebook-coin/

Facebook's rumored cryptocurrency project hasn't even launched, and yet it's already a punchline for the tens of thousands of security professionals, cryptographers, and researchers gathered at the annual RSA conference.

Speaking of the problems inherent in putting even great research ideas into practice, panelist and cryptography expert Paul Kocher (known for, among other things, co-discovering Spectre) told attendees that the blockchain only makes things trickier.

"[The] idea of combining Bitcoin’s theft mitigation and Facebook’s privacy seems particularly toxic for users."
"When you add the froth of blockchain into there, these just sort of things that seem crazy just keep amplifying," he explained.

While emphasizing that he hasn't seen the specifics of any Facebook plan, Kocher was still able to highlight some obvious red flags.
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ronjor · Mar 8, 2019

U.S. calls 'OneCoin' huge pyramid scheme, charges leaders

Jonathan Stempel March 8, 2019
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. authorities on Friday announced criminal charges against the alleged leaders of an multibillion-dollar pyramid scheme involving the sale of a fraudulent cryptocurrency, OneCoin.
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guest · Mar 8, 2019

Unexpected Bitcoin Whale: North Korea May Own Millions In Crypto
March 9, 2019
https://ethereumworldnews.com/bitcoin-whale-north-korea-own-millions-crypto/

In a recent U.N. Security Council meeting, a panel of industry experts claimed that North Korea could have upwards of $670 million worth of currencies that isn’t the nation owns.

According to the Nikkei Asian Review, which broke this news, the Security Council’s North Korean sanctions team were informed that digital assets “provide the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea with more ways to evade sanctions, given that they are harder to trace,” and are relatively easy to launder across borders and through individuals deemed suspicious.
North Korean Hackers Implicated In Crypto Hacks
The Review’s report comes after a number of cybersecurity experts implicated North Korean groups of participating or even leading exchange hacks or crypto scams, corroborating the U.N. report
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guest · Mar 9, 2019

Bitcoin [BTC]: Major privacy complication still evident in 54% of transactions, finds research
March 9, 2019
https://ambcrypto.com/bitcoin-btc-m...evident-in-54-of-transactions-finds-research/

Since the introduction of Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, there has been an overall improvement in Bitcoin’s privacy. However, a major Bitcoin privacy flaw is still evident in about 54% of the crypto transactions. The issue traces back to the re-usage of addresses.

Since December 2017, Bitcoin addresses have been reused a lot more. In March 2019, the percentage recorded was exactly 53.57% of the total addresses that have been previously used.
According to longhash.com, it is considered immoral to reuse Bitcoin addresses because it weakens privacy for not only the entity that reuses the address, but also the next user on the blockchain, as they all interact through the same address.
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guest · Mar 9, 2019

Cryptocurrency entrepreneur pleads guilty in 'Bitcointopia' fraud
March 8, 2019
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-cryptocurrency-guilty-plea-20190308-story.html

A bitcoin entrepreneur who pitched an elaborate vision for a cryptocurrency Utopia in the Nevada high desert pleaded guilty to wire fraud in San Diego federal court this week, admitting he sold land he never owned to investors.

Morgan Rockcoons also pleaded guilty on Thursday to conducting an unlicensed money transmitter business, a charge that stems from a bitcoin-for-cash sale with an undercover U.S. Homeland Security Investigations agent.
It was an attractive idea for many bitcoin enthusiasts, and at least 10 investors bought land from him, according to his plea agreement.
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guest · Mar 10, 2019

Brazil: Court Orders Bank to Return Over $330,000 to Cryptocurrency Exchange
March 9, 2019
https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/...eturn-over-330000-to-cryptocurrency-exchange/

A court in Brazil’s state of São Paulo has recently ordered Banco Santander to return over $335,000 to a local cryptocurrency exchange, after it froze its account claiming its activities were incompatible with the bank’s policies.

The court ruled in favor of Mercado Bitcoin.
The court noted that a lack of regulations doesn’t mean cryptocurrency exchanges’ activities are illegal. It noted, however, crypto exchanges aren’t currently able to properly monitor their platforms to ensure their users don’t break the law.
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guest · Mar 11, 2019

Texas: Proposed Bill Requires Identification of Buyers Paying in Digital Currencies
March 11, 2019
https://cointelegraph.com/news/texa...cation-of-buyers-paying-in-digital-currencies

A bill requiring users to identify themselves while using digital currencies has been filed on March 8, according to the official Texas legislature portal.

Per the proposed bill, before accepting a payment in digital currency, a person must verify the identity of the person sending the payment unless a VIDC is used. Moreover, the proposed regulation also specifies:

“This state may not use a digital currency that is not a verified identity digital currency.”
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