Online Cash Bitcoin Could Challenge Governments, Banks

DesuMaiden · Aug 28, 2018

I don't use Bitcoin because I don't trust it for a number of reasons. First of all, it really isn't as private as some people claim it is. It is definitely traceable and isn't really anonymous. Secondly, Bitcoin is vulnerable to many, many scams, and you can easily lose a lot of money (virtual money) via Bitcoins. That can be because of the constant fluctuations in the value of Bitcoin. And it could also be due to the fact that Bitcoin is like the stock market...a scam used by a few, rich and powerful people to bamboozle the average poor/middle class person into believing the latter can strike it rich from buying and trading stocks. A lot of people think Bitcoins is a great financial investment, and a great way to make a lot of money if you invest in it carefully. But Bitcoins is just another scam used to dupe people who are desperate and struggling financially.

For the above reasons, that is why I stay far, far away from Bitcoins, and I only use PayPal to secure and protect myself from fraud and philishing while making financial transactions online. PayPal and other secure (well at least relatively secure) means of securing financial transactions online, and not something as volatile and prone to scams as Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies.

Minimalist · Aug 29, 2018

Deutsche Börse buys stake in HQLAx to pursue blockchain-based securities lending

Deutsche Börse has acquired a minority stake in HQLAx, the liquidity and collateral management outfit with which it is building a blockchain-based front-to-back operating model for securities lending.
The "single-digit euro million" investment is likely to be followed up by another before the end of the year, says the German exchange operator, which will also take two HQLAx board seats.

The deal comes five months after the two firms revealed that they are working together to use the R3 Corda blockchain platform to tackle the fragmentation of the securities lending market.
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https://www.finextra.com/newsarticl...blockchain-based-securities-lending/wholesale

Minimalist · Aug 29, 2018

‘Operation Cryptosweep’ Results in 200 Crypto-Related Investigations

The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) announced today, August 28, that its ongoing initiative “Operation Cryptosweep” has resulted in over 200 investigations of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and crypto-related investment products.
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/operation-cryptosweep-results-in-200-crypto-related-investigations

DesuMaiden · Aug 30, 2018

Minimalist said: ↑

‘Operation Cryptosweep’ Results in 200 Crypto-Related Investigations

https://cointelegraph.com/news/operation-cryptosweep-results-in-200-crypto-related-investigations
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Like I always suspected...nothing is truly safe from the ever-watchful eyes of three-letter government agencies. And for reasons I mentioned in my previous post in this thread, I would never trust , let alone use, crypto urgencies like Bitcoins.

guest · Aug 31, 2018

mood said: ↑

John McAfee’s ‘unhackable’ cryptocurrency wallet has been hacked (again)
August 13, 2018
https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2018/08/13/bitfi-cryptocurrency-wallet-bounty/
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And again:
Bitfi Wallet Is Vulnerable, No Bounty, No "Unhackable"
August 30, 2018
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/bitfi-wallet-is-vulnerable-no-bounty-no-unhackable/

Still, Bitfi stuck to its story and refused to accept reality, even when it was awarded a Pwnie (a Razzie of the infosec community) for mis-handling a security vulnerability "most spectacularly". The final nail in the coffin of the "unhackable" claim is a new attack security researchers demonstrated today on an unmodified Bitfi cryptocurrency hardware wallet.

In a video released on Twitter, Saleem Rashid, the 15-year old using Bitfi to play DOOM, shows how readily the unhackable wallet gives up the user-generated phrase and its "salt" value - the two elements required to generate the private key that protects the money.

The bounty offer is now withdrawn, as is the "unhackable" branding of the Bitfi wallet. The company plans on launching a conventional bounty program using the Hacker One platform.
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guest · Aug 31, 2018

Japanese messaging app operator Line to launch cryptocurrency
August 31, 2018
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...r-line-to-launch-cryptocurrency-idUSKCN1LG0PW

Japan’s Line Corp said on Friday it will launch a cryptocurrency in September, as the company tries to build up a wide range of businesses using its popular messaging app as a platform.

The company said the digital coin “LINK” will be given as rewards to users of its services and could be traded with other cryptocurrencies at its crypto exchange, BITBOX. The coin is not available for users in Japan and the United States for regulatory reasons, it said.

Line said LINK digital coins would be used as payments or rewards within its blockchain-based app services.
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guest · Sep 1, 2018

Blockchain: The end of banking as we know it?
A look at how the technology-enabled mechanism of trust could impact all sorts of financial transactions
August 31, 2018
https://www.zdnet.com/article/will-blockchain-end-banking-as-we-know-it/

While it's too early to say if blockchain will revolutionize the banking industry, it most certainly is having an impact.
For many, though, blockchain efforts are on hold. The banking industry is heavily regulated, Singh noted, and as a result banks are playing a waiting game for regulations to emerge before they make a big move.

For mainstream adoption in the industry and for blockchain to be a scalable solution for banks, it "has to be built with a critical mass of ecosystem players," said Kapil Bansal, a managing director with Deloitte Consulting's banking and capital markets sector.
A REPLACEMENT FOR BANKS?
Although the impact of blockchain on banking could potentially be significant, experts don't expect it to replace traditional banking for transactions such as lending anytime soon -- if ever.

"The regulation on blockchain technology, particularly in financial services, need to emerge before we see large-scale adoption by banks," Singh said.
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Minimalist · Sep 2, 2018

Hyperbitcoinization: How Currency Crises Are Driving Nations to Crypto

Venezuela, Turkey, Iran and Zimbabwe: these countries are all facing ongoing economic crises. They’re suffering from high levels of inflation, and as a result the people living within them are increasingly turning to crypto as a store of value and a means of exchange. Their recent troubles have heightened the distant possibility that, at some point in the future, hyperbitcoiniztion will take place, with Bitcoin (or some other coin) replacing the bolívar, the lira, the rial and other struggling national currencies, and perhaps even becoming the world's dominant form of money, as predicted by the likes of Steve Wozniak and Jack Dorsey.
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/hyperbitcoinization-how-currency-crises-are-driving-nations-to-crypto

guest · Sep 2, 2018

Bitcoin vs. Altcoins: Which Is the Most Usable for Merchants?
September 01, 2018
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-vs-altcoins-which-is-the-most-usable-for-merchants

Volatile or not, there's growing public demand for retailers and businesses to accept payment in cryptocurrency. According to a survey published in June by the United Kingdom-based crypto-exchange CreditCoin, 75 percent of American consumers want the option to use cryptocurrencies to pay for items they purchase in stores. Sadly, the proportion of stores providing this option doesn’t seem to have reached three-quarters yet.
Bitcoin: Popularity and (relatively) stable value
One of the simplest and most important requirements that has to be met by a cryptocurrency before any business begins accepting it is that it be held by a large number of people.
Decentralization and choice
And there are other platforms that make accepting multiple cryptocurrencies possible, including BitPay and CoinGate. CoinGate, for example, is a Lithuania-based platform that enables businesses to accept payments in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash and over 50 other altcoins.
[...] As such platforms expand and proliferate, there will obviously be less need for merchants to choose between the usability of competing cryptocurrencies.
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longshots · Sep 2, 2018

DesuMaiden said: ↑

I don't use Bitcoin because I don't trust it
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+1
Whether it's TLA's or wallets, security is a problem.
Also, how do users of Bitcoin cope with the fluctuations. If you're a regular user then in the past 2 years you've seen Bitcoin fluctuate from [US]$600 to $16,000+ to $6,000+ now [approx]. So, if you bought a **** 2 years ago then you're sweet. But what if you need Bitcoin in December, 2017 when it was $17,000? If you have any of that left then you must be crying tears of blood.

guest · Sep 2, 2018

Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies Are Useless, The Economist Says
September 02, 2018
https://news.slashdot.org/story/18/...yptocurrencies-are-useless-the-economist-says

With few uses to anchor their value, and little in the way of regulation, cryptocurrencies have instead become a focus for speculation, The Economist magazine said this week. From the story, which may be paywalled:

[...] Economists define a currency as something that can be at once a medium of exchange, a store of value and a unit of account. Lack of adoption and loads of volatility mean that cryptocurrencies satisfy none of those criteria. [...] But as things stand there is little reason to think that cryptocurrencies will remain more than an overcomplicated, untrustworthy casino.

Can blockchains -- the underlying technology that powers cryptocurrencies -- do better? [...]
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guest · Sep 3, 2018

mood said: ↑

Every cryptocurrency’s nightmare scenario is happening to Bitcoin Gold
May 24, 2018
https://qz.com/1287701/bitcoin-golds-51-attack-is-every-cryptocurrencys-nightmare-scenario/
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Major cryptocurrency exchange delists Bitcoin Gold following $18M hack
Bittrex demanded Bitcoin Gold pay $265K or face removal
September 3, 2018
https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2018/09/03/bittrex-delists-bitcoin-gold/

The threat of attack is very real for upstart cryptocurrency projects.
The reason for the removal is that the currency has suffered a series of debilitating heists that netted thieves over $20 million in stolen funds.

[...] more than 388,000 BTG (approx. $18 million at the time) was stolen directly from Bittrex. Hackers were able to use “double-spending,” a method of repeatedly tricking an exchange into transferring more coins than it should.

It is uncertain just how much was taken from Bittrex, but Bitcoin Gold maintains that compensation of over 12,000 BTG ($265,000) was requested.

It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that by September 14, Bitcoin Gold will be completely removed from Bittrex.
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guest · Sep 4, 2018

No one is using or selling Venezuela’s alleged oil-backed cryptocurrency
September 4, 2018
https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/4/1...-oil-backed-cryptocurrency-used-buy-sell-scam

Venezuela’s oil-backed cryptocurrency is hardly used, and the government has made no move to tap into its oil reserves as promised, a report from Reuters found last week.

The petro can’t be found on any major bitcoin exchange, including Coinbase or Bitfinex, and it isn’t accepted by retailers. Reuters found few buyers through online forums. Transactions of petro are kept anonymous, but their frequency and volume look low when matched up with the government’s claims.

One of the main concerns was whether oil reserves were really backing up petro, as claimed by the Venezuelan government, and how that would work logistically.
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guest · Sep 4, 2018

Belgium adds 28 new scam sites to its cryptocurrency blacklist
People still falling foul of the fake cryptomonnaies sites
September 4, 2018
https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2018/09/04/belgium-cryptocurrency-blacklist/

The FSMA has strengthened its warning with an updated list of “cryptomonnaies” (Belgium’s surprizingly mellifluous word for cryptocurrencies) trading sites, which has grown to include over 70 known scams, with 28 being added in the latest update.

Even though the FSMA has issued numerous warnings, and has been updating its list of known scammers since the end of February this year, complaints continue to roll in.

Despite efforts to warn the public, or shut down fake websites, maybe we have to face our new reality that cryptocurrency scams will always be part of its existence. For now, our best strategy is to remain vigilant, and always pay close attention to where you are sending your money.
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guest · Sep 5, 2018

Cryptocurrency exchange Changelly admits it can steal users’ Monero (if it wanted to)
Privacy coin fans are being profiled for suspicious activity
September 4, 2018
https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2018/09/04/monero-profiled-suspicious-exchange/

Government regulators haven’t made things easy for anonymous cryptocurrency projects. Monero fans are complaining about being profiled by cryptocurrency exchanges, after Changelly was found to wield the ability to effectively “steal” cryptocurrency from customers.

One user has taken to Reddit to vent their frustrations. After attempting to exchange some cryptocurrency for Monero via Changelly, they were automatically classified as high risk. The funds were immediately quarantined until the account has been cleared of anything untoward.

“[…] Monero is the crypto that hides a sender and recipient thus making transactions untraceable. This [is] a reason why big amounts of other currency got to be checked [sic] before [it’s] converted to XMR.” [...]
When a customer refuses to provide the required data, we cannot simply return coins as we wouldn’t like to operate and transfer coins that might be potentially stolen or raised by fraud.”
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ronjor · Sep 5, 2018

Minimalist said: ↑

Goldman Sachs Exploring Crypto Derivatives, Says COO

https://cointelegraph.com/news/goldman-sachs-exploring-crypto-derivatives-says-coo
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Goldman drops bitcoin trading plans for now: Business Insider

September 5, 2018
(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) is ditching plans to open a desk for trading cryptocurrencies in the foreseeable future as the regulatory framework for crypto remains unclear, Business Insider reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
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ronjor · Sep 6, 2018

Goldman Sachs CFO says bank is working on bitcoin derivative for clients

Kate Rooney @Kr00ney
Goldman Sachs Chief Financial Officer Martin Chavez called a report that the bank was ditching plans to launch a cryptocurrency trading desk "fake news."
Chavez says the bank is working on a bitcoin derivative known as a "non-deliverable forward," because of demand from clients.
He looked to knock down the report about the banking dialing back plans, but also make clear that there's never been a timeline for this effort.
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guest · Sep 7, 2018

Survey: Half of American Millennials Interested in Using Crypto
September 7, 2018
https://cointelegraph.com/news/survey-half-of-american-millennials-interested-in-using-crypto

A recent survey by research service YouGov Omnibus shows that half of American millennials are interested in using cryptocurrency.

The survey, which collected answers from 1202 respondents from August 29-30, assesses the interest of respondents in using crypto in everyday life

According to the poll, 79 percent of Americans know of at least one cryptocurrency, where Bitcoin(BTC) appeared to be the most well-known. The leading crypto is familiar to 71 percent of respondents. BTC is followed by the leading altcoin Ethereum (ETH), with 13 percent of participants saying they have heard of it.

Of all the participants in the survey, 34 percent do not think that crypto will become widely accepted, while millennials demonstrated the most positive approach to cryptocurrencies, with 44 percent of them predicting wider adoption.
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guest · Sep 9, 2018

Baseball Stadium Tries Handing Out Crypto Tokens
September 7, 2018
https://dodgers.mlblogs.com/dodgers-to-hold-first-ever-digital-bobblehead-night-sept-21-45f63b240ee8

Fans will have the opportunity to download a Clayton Kershaw, Justin Turner or Kenley Jansen Crypto token. The promotion is the first of its kind in Major League Baseball, and believed to be the first Crypto giveaway in sports.

[...] the first 40,000 ticketed fans in attendance will receive a card with a unique code and directions to a website where a digital bobblehead can be unlocked and added to their Ethereum wallet.

“We’re excited for our first-ever Crypto giveaway, and to explore an entirely new marketplace with our fanbase,” said Lon Rosen, Dodger Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.
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guest · Sep 10, 2018

Monero Wallet Provider Releases Web-Based Wallet for Tor Browser
September 10, 2018
https://cointelegraph.com/news/monero-wallet-provider-releases-web-based-wallet-for-tor-browser

XMRWallet.com, an open-source, client-side Monero wallet provider, has released a new web-based wallet for the Tor web browser, the company announced in a Reddit post on Aug. 28. The post notes that there had been a high demand for such a wallet from XMR users. Now they can send and receive the private and untraceable cryptocurrency through what claims to be the first Monero web wallet for the distributed and anonymous Tor network.

Within the Tor network, Monero (XMR) is the cryptocurrency of choice among many users. For the advocates of a truly decentralized future and financial anonymity, the pairing has proven to be extremely favorable among the community.

The address for this wallet is xmrwalletdatuxds.onion.
According to the Monero GitHub, Monero wasn’t made to integrate with Tor and, therefore, several steps should be taken to use XMR over the network.
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guest · Sep 10, 2018

Cryptocurrency traders in China find ways to get around state regulators despite tighter scrutiny
September 8, 2018
https://www.scmp.com/business/compa...tiny-crypto-trading-frenzy-proving-hard-douse

Industry observers are certain that Chinese investors will always find ways to circumvent increasingly tightening controls over cryptocurrency trading by mainland authorities, making it practically impossible to ever impose a complete shutdown on trading.

But industry players said technically, as long as a trading platform’s servers remain outside China, and transactions are conducted peer-to-peer and remain decentralised, it would be a huge challenge for the regulators to completely block access.

There are no current or even foreseeable restrictions on using VPNs in China, providing a potential loophole for traders to access exchange platforms, the source said.

According to the Shanghai Securities Times report, regulators are working with third-party payment operators to stop processing transactions suspected to be associated with cryptocurrencies.
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ronjor · Sep 10, 2018

New York regulator approves Winklevoss, Paxos dollar-linked tokens

Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss September 10, 201
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York state on Monday approved Gemini Trust Company’s and Paxos Trust Company’s dollar-linked digital currencies, the first stablecoins to get the nod from the region’s regulator.
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DesuMaiden · Sep 10, 2018

Here's a plot-twist for you guys: the government is secretly managing and controlling all of the cryptocurrencies, and they are just giving you the illusion that it is "safe" and "anonymous" to use cryptocurrencies. Hell no, am I going to fall for the cryptocurrency fad. Cryptocurrencies are really sketchy and not safe at all. Not worth my time and money investing in a scam such as them.

guest · Sep 12, 2018

Cool Island Bullied by IMF to Abandon Digital Currency
September 11, 2018
https://gizmodo.com/cool-island-bullied-by-imf-to-abandon-digital-currency-1828978413

In what could be seen as wise financial counseling or a threat, the International Monetary Fund is urging the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) to abandon its plan to launch a cryprocurrency as legal tender.

In February, legislators passed a measure to create a second legal tender that would be a cryptocurrency known as “Sovereign” or “SOV.” [...] Finance Magnates

CoinDesk was first to notice the powerful organization’s recommendations. Though the IMF can’t technically tell the Marshall Islands not to go forward with its crypto-dreams, its analysis should be taken quite seriously.
The organization is highly influential in the global economy and its leaders aren’t really fans of cryptocurrencies.

It’s unclear how the RMI will respond to the report, but unfortunately true sovereignty in this world is complicated.
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Minimalist · Sep 13, 2018

Mexican State Bank Announces Stricter Rules for Crypto Exchanges

All crypto exchanges and banks providing crypto services in Mexico will now be obliged to receive a permit from the Bank of Mexico (Banxico), according to a September 10 circular published in the official daily of the Mexican government, the Diario Oficial de la Federacion.
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/mexican-state-bank-announces-stricter-rules-for-crypto-exchanges

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