Online Cash Bitcoin Could Challenge Governments, Banks

ronjor · Dec 11, 2018

Cryptoassets should be 'outlawed': Allianz GI CEO

Reporting by Marc Jones; editing by Huw Jones December 11, 2018
LONDON (Reuters) - The head of one of Europe’s largest asset managers called for global regulators to ban cryptoassets on Tuesday, scorning them for wiping out people’s savings.
Click to expand...

guest · Dec 11, 2018

Blockchain-Friendly UK Lawmaker Calls for Crypto Tax Payments
December 11, 2018
https://www.coindesk.com/blockchain-friendly-uk-lawmaker-calls-for-crypto-tax-payments

Eddie Hughes, a member of the U.K. parliament, has proposed allowing taxes and more to be paid with cryptocurrencies.
According to a report from the Daily Express newspaper on Monday, Hughes wants people to have the option to pay council tax to local authorities, as well as household bills to utility firms, with bitcoin or crypto alternatives.

The MP added that he would like to see a local authority setting up a scheme to enable crypto payments. “We need to be seen as a progressive country,” he said.
Click to expand...

guest · Dec 12, 2018

China: Shenzhen Special Economic Zone to Use Blockchain for Electronic Tax Invoices
December 12, 2018
https://cointelegraph.com/news/chin...to-use-blockchain-for-electronic-tax-invoices

Shenzhen, a major city in the Guangdong Province and the first economic special zone in China, will use blockchain technology for electronic tax invoices. This development was reported by the China Economic Net, а domestic news website focusing on economics, on Dec. 12.

The Shenzhen Municipal Taxation Bureau and Chinese tech giant Tencent have “successfully connected the blockchain invoice system with the WeChat payment platform.” The article reports that WeChat, the 1 billion user social media platform operated by Tencent, has opened its payment platform for the blockchain invoice function.

The article highlights that WeChat payment blockchain invoices are the first stop for the blockchain electronic invoice implemented within the mobile payment platform, adding:

“The application of the blockchain electronic invoice to the WeChat payment platform is a substantial exploration made by the Shenzhen Tax Department based on the actual needs of the taxpayers to further optimize the business environment.”
Click to expand...

guest · Dec 12, 2018

Forbes Analyst Expects Bitcoin (BTC) At $2,500, Awaits (Another) Awful Crash
December 12, 2018
https://ethereumworldnews.com/forbes-analyst-expects-bitcoin-2500-awful-crash/

Clem Chambers, a markets analyst publishing to Forbes, recently released an article to the outlet’s contributor network, explaining why Bitcoin (BTC) could head lower in due time.

The reporter, who hasn’t been afraid to comment on crypto historically, explained that market collapses happen in “stages,” as seen by BTC’s drawdown in 2018, which saw the asset fall to key levels at ~$10,000, $6,200, and, most recently, $3,500 for weeks at a time.

Although Chambers, the aforementioned Forbes contributor, painted a dismal picture for Bitcoin’s short-term, the reporter, like his industry pundit peers, made it clear that the next “plunge” would likely put BTC at its bonafide bottom.
Click to expand...

ronjor · Dec 12, 2018

Former AriseBank Execs Settle Charges in SEC ICO Fraud Lawsuit

Nikhilesh De Dec 12, 2018
Former AriseBank CEO Jared Rice Sr. and former COO Stanley Ford will pay a combined $2.7 million in disgorgement and penalties, as well as $187,767 each in penalties. While neither admitted or denied the charges, both have also agreed to lifetime bans from serving as officers or directors of public companies and from participating in digital securities offerings.
Click to expand...

guest · Dec 12, 2018

Razer wants to use your spare GPU power for blockchain mining
Trading processing power for Razer-branded virtual currency
December 12, 2018
https://www.techspot.com/news/77836-razer-wants-use-spare-gpu-power-blockchain-mining.html

Through the looking glass: GPU-based crypto mining has fallen out of favor in 2018 but apparently, Razer didn't get the memo. The gaming accessory maker is hoping to utilize your spare GPU cycles in exchange for some of its virtual currency which can be used to buy Razer gear. Is it worth the wear and tear on your hardware and the cost of electricity? Probably not.

Razer on Wednesday announced a rebranding of its virtual currency and rewards platform, the return of its Paid to Play program and the launch of a new mining app.

Moving forward, Razer zGold and Razer zSilver virtual currencies will be known simply as Razer Gold and Razer Silver. The virtual currencies launched in early 2017 as a way for gamers to pay for virtual goods and earn rewards, respectively.
Last but certainly not least, Razer has partnered with GammaNow to introduce Razer SoftMiner, an app that uses your graphics card’s spare processing power to solve “blockchain puzzles” in the background in exchange for Razer Silver.
Click to expand...

guest · Dec 13, 2018

Feds like cryptocurrencies and blockchain tech and so should antitrust agencies
December 13, 2018
https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/12/f...kchain-tech-and-so-should-antitrust-agencies/

While statements and position papers from most central banks were generally skeptical of cryptocurrencies, the times may be changing.

Even with the precipitous decline in value of Bitcoin, Ethereum and other currencies, the Federal Reserve author emphasized the new competitive offering these currencies created exactly because of the way they function, and accordingly, why they are here to stay.

And antitrust authorities should welcome cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies for the same reason.
Fact: crypto-currencies are good for (legitimate) privacy protection [...]
Click to expand...

ronjor · Dec 13, 2018

Stablecoin project Basis is shutting down and returning nearly all capital raised to investors

by Frank Chaparro 13 Dec 2018
The firm, which raised $133 million in funding, ran into regulatory headwinds as it attempted to get its algorithmic stablecoin off the ground, said multiple people with direct knowledge of the situation. As a result, Basis is shutting down operations and returning the majority of capital raised to investors. Backers include Bain Capital Ventures, GV, Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Ventures and a number of other firms.
Click to expand...

hawki · Dec 13, 2018

hawki said: ↑

"Bitcoin Miner Consolidation Increases Risk of More Crypto Mayhem

While that’s good for big miners, the consolidation increases risks for investors and others vested in the network’s success. With fewer companies controlling the mining, there’s a higher chance that several could band together to execute a so-called 51-percent attack, according to Ryan Selkis, co-founder of crypto researcher Messari. In such a maneuver, controlling miners can reverse transactions and stop new ones from confirming -- potentially making off with billions in other people’s money...."

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...lidation-increases-risk-of-more-crypto-mayhem
Click to expand...

"What Is The 51% Attack And Why It’s A Dangerous Threat For Cryptocurrencies?..."

https://cryptopotato.com/area-51-wh...-its-a-dangerous-threat-for-cryptocurrencies/

guest · Dec 14, 2018

mood said: ↑

Razer wants to use your spare GPU power for blockchain mining
Trading processing power for Razer-branded virtual currency
December 12, 2018
https://www.techspot.com/news/77836-razer-wants-use-spare-gpu-power-blockchain-mining.html
Click to expand...

Razer faces backlash after asking gamers to mine cryptocurrency for rewards
December 13, 2018
https://www.zdnet.com/article/razer...ng-gamers-to-mine-cryptocurrency-for-rewards/

Razer says that a user could earn up to 500 Razer Silver, on average, every 24 hours.
A $5 Razer gift card equates to 1500 Razor Silver in the company store. This means that each Razor Silver is worth roughly $0.003.
If Razor is to be believed, this would take three days of a GPU going full pelt to earn -- without taking into account the electricity cost to do so.

[...] a Razer DeathAdder Essential mouse costs 51,000; Razer Kraken Pro V2 headphones cost 112,000, and the Razer Huntsman Elite keyboard costs 280,000 credits.
So, some items appear to be impossible to earn; the user must cover the additional electricity their PCs use for mining

"Blockchain technology has many good and legit use cases -- it can promote accountability and transparency," one user said. "Yet, you picked one of the scammiest and shadiest way to implement it."
Click to expand...

guest · Dec 14, 2018

Report: CEO of Largest Romanian Crypto Exchange Arrested on US Warrant
December 14, 2018
https://cointelegraph.com/news/report-ceo-of-largest-romanian-crypto-exchange-arrested-on-us-warrant

The CEO of Romania's largest crypto exchange Coinflux was reportedly arrested on a warrant from the United States for fraud, organized crime, and money laundering, local news outlet Mediafax reported Dec. 13. Coinflux has subsequently stopped all digital currency exchanges.

Founded in 2015 in the Romanian city of Cluj, Coinflux is an online digital currency trading platform, with reportedly more than 200 million euro worth of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Ripple (XRP) in transactions.
Click to expand...

Hadron · Dec 14, 2018

I guess it's the same with all investments. Some come with high risks, some with lower risks.
Generally speaking, the higher the risk, the higher the potential returns. It's all about risk.

I made some good money out of cryptocurrency, and sold a lot of it off earlier this year. I still have a bit in different currencies.
It's has been mostly diving in the latter part of this year. Picking the bottom, or there about, is the trick with all investments when purchasing, but my crystal ball is broken.

PS: Litecoin appears to be on the rise.

guest · Dec 16, 2018

Teen Bitcoin Millionaire: “Bitcoin is Pretty Much Dead”
December 14, 2018
https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/12/14/teen-bitcoin-millionaire-bitcoin-dead/

One of the youngest cryptocurrency success stories has a rather bleak outlook for the leading digital asset, Bitcoin. Erik Finman became a millionaire in his teens by investing money that his grandmother had gifted him, starting as early as 2011.
Despite being the cause of his success, Finman is now of the opinion that Bitcoin is in trouble:

“Bitcoin is dead, it’s too fragmented, there’s tons of infighting I just don’t think it will last… It may have a bull market or two left in it, but long-term, its dead.”
Perhaps Finman simply has not been paying the space quite as much attention as he once did since his portfolio exploded into seven figures. Perfectly understandable given his age but it still seems odd that he thinks he has any authority on the matter given how detached his statements are from reality.

Other projects that Finman believes have a better chance of survival are Ethereum and Zcash. Meanwhile, he states that Litecoin is certainly all but toast
Click to expand...

guest · Dec 18, 2018

mood said: ↑

Belgium warns citizens against these 99 cryptocurrency scam sites
October 26, 2018
https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2018/10/26/belgium-99-cryptocurrency-scams/
Click to expand...

Belgian cryptocurrency scam blacklist swells to 113 dodgy domains
December 18, 2018
https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2018/12/18/cryptocurrency-belgian-blacklist/

The Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) has identified a fresh batch of cryptocurrency scams. It has added a swathe of new sites to its blockchain blacklist, expanding it to 113 dodgy domains.

In a special warning to local investors, FSMA declared it prudent for Belgians to keep a serving of moules-frites between themselves and the businesses behind the following 14 websites: [...]
The most up-to-date list can be found here. Even if you aren’t located in Belgium, it’s probably best to check it out, you know, just in case.
Click to expand...

guest · Dec 19, 2018

Coinbase lets you convert one cryptocurrency into another
December 18, 2018
https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/18/coinbase-lets-you-convert-one-cryptocurrency-into-another/

It’s hard to believe that you still had to convert your BTC into USD in order to buy ETH on Coinbase. The company is finally adding direct cryptocurrency-to-cryptocurrency conversions.

Let’s look at the fees more closely. If you live in Europe or the U.S., every time you buy or sell cryptocurrencies using USD or EUR, you pay at least 1.49 percent in fees on top of the spread (the difference between the highest selling price and the lowest purchasing price). Fees are even higher if you’re using a credit or debit card.

Without even mentioning other exchanges, Coinbase Pro users have been able to trade between multiple cryptocurrencies for a long time. But Coinbase is still the entry gate for many new cryptocurrency users.
Click to expand...

guest · Dec 20, 2018

Bitcoin's terrible 2018 doesn't bode well for the future of crypto
December 20, 2018
https://www.engadget.com/2018/12/20/cryptocurrency-year-in-review-loser/

This year was one big cryptocurrency crash that left a trail of blood across the industry. Bitcoin, the pioneer, saw its value drop from $19,352 on December 17th, 2017, to just $3,360 on December 12th, 2018.

As all the major cryptocurrencies saw their values collapse, several crypto-focused startups were forced to close.
And with values (and potential returns) diminishing, few investors were willing to hand over more cash to keep them afloat.

Technology is a slave to what's fashionable, and cryptocurrencies may have burned up all the things that made them exciting.
Click to expand...

ronjor · Dec 21, 2018

Coinbase CEO becomes first crypto billionaire to join Buffett, Gates in pledge to donate bulk of fortune

Kate Rooney 21 Dec 2018
Brian Armstrong on Thursday officially signed the Giving Pledge, started by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates in 2010. Signatories are either billionaires, or would-be billionaires if it weren’t for their generosity, who pledged to give away the bulk of their net worth to philanthropic causes.
Click to expand...

guest · Dec 21, 2018

Facebook Is Developing a Cryptocurrency for WhatsApp Transfers, Sources Say
December 21, 2018
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-to-develop-stablecoin-for-whatsapp-transfers

The company is developing a stablecoin -- a type of digital currency pegged to the U.S. dollar -- to minimize volatility, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal plans. Facebook is far from releasing the coin, because it’s still working on the strategy [...]

"Like many other companies, Facebook is exploring ways to leverage the power of blockchain technology," a company spokesman said in a statement. "This new small team is exploring many different applications. We don’t have anything further to share."
Click to expand...

ronjor · Dec 24, 2018

Wall Street Quietly Shelves Its Bitcoin Dreams

By Alastair Marsh December 22, 2018
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and many more built it. But they didn’t come.
Click to expand...

guest · Dec 26, 2018

Japanese Giant Mizuho Financial Group to Introduce Digital Currency for Cashless Payments
December 26, 2018
https://cointelegraph.com/news/japa...roduce-digital-currency-for-cashless-payments

Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group plans to introduce a digital currency to be used for remittances and payments in March, English-language Asian media Nikkei reports Dec. 26.

According to the article, the fees that the retail shops will be required to pay for accepting the currency will be significantly lower than the fees charged for credit card usage. The transfer of funds back and forth between the digital wallet and the bank account will reportedly be free, as will be sending funds to other users.

The currency will reportedly be managed by a dedicated smartphone app, and the payments will be made using QR codes. The token will be a stablecoin fixed at a price of 1 yen per unit, Nikkei writes.
Click to expand...

ronjor · Dec 27, 2018

Remember Bitcoin? Some Investors Might Want to Forget

By Nellie Bowles Dec. 27, 2018
PALO ALTO, Calif. — Last year around this time, a toy called a cryptokitty sold for $170,000. A real estate agent remade himself as CoinDaddy, producing cryptocurrency-themed music videos. The man behind a company called Ripple became for a moment richer than Mark Zuckerberg. Kids barely out of high school were buying Lamborghinis because of a crypto meme. Experts went on CNBC to say Bitcoin was going to reach $100,000 per coin.
Click to expand...

guest · Dec 27, 2018

Users report losing Bitcoin in clever hack of Electrum wallets
Hacker has stolen over $750,000 worth of Bitcoin over the past seven days
December 27, 2018
https://www.zdnet.com/article/users-report-losing-bitcoin-in-clever-hack-of-electrum-wallets/

A hacker (or hacker group) has made over 200 Bitcoin (circa $750,000 at today's exchange) using a clever attack on the infrastructure of the Electrum Bitcoin wallet.
The attack resulted in legitimate Electrum wallet apps showing a message on users' computers, urging them to download a malicious wallet update from an unauthorized GitHub repository.

Initial attacks were more effective and seemed to have tricked more users because than latter attacks. This is because the Electrum wallet rendered these server messages as rich-formatted texts, making the popups look more authentic and providing a ready and clickable link to users.

"We did not publicly disclose this [attack] until now, as around the time of the 3.3.2 release, the attacker stopped," said SomberNight, a developer part of the Electrum wallet team. "However they now started the attack again."
Click to expand...

guest · Dec 28, 2018

Payoneer CEO Calls Single Currency Bitcoin (BTC) Unrealistic
December 28, 2018
https://ethereumworldnews.com/bitcoin-btc-payoneer-cryptocurrency-2018/

Speaking in an interview with CNBC published on Dec. 28, Scott Galit, CEO of New York-based payment processing firm Payoneer, made the claim that a single global non-fiat currency like Bitcoin was unrealistic.

Galit admits that the idea of a non-fiat, digital currency is appealing to large swaths of the internet as a way to get past the hurdle of international transaction barriers, but finds the application unrealistic,

“Despite the interests of lots of people out there in the Internet world who love the idea of frictionless commerce and frictionless money and avoiding fiat currencies, I don’t see it”
In particular, Galit cites the unlikelihood of the U.S. government accepting BTC for taxes on account of the extreme price volatility of cryptocurrency.

Galit also calls upon the responsibility of the Federal Reserve to maintain control over the nation’s fiat, a source of leverage that would become worthless in the event of BTC becoming a dominant currency
Click to expand...

guest · Dec 30, 2018

Research: Using HEVC to hide bitcoin transaction information
December 30, 2018
https://www.deepdotweb.com/2018/12/30/research-using-hevc-to-hide-bitcoin-transaction-information/

The public ledger that records all data of transactions is publically available to everyone, so an adversary can obtain all transaction data, undermining the privacy of users. Via bitcoin transaction analysis, an attacker can retrieve all transactions associated with any address and can also obtain the relationships between different addresses.

To protect the privacy of bitcoin users, several privacy protection approaches have been proposed. The main concept is to conceal some of the information broadcast to the public ledger without undermining the normal operations of the Bitcoin network, and to render data analysis more difficult to perform successfully.

A recently published research study proposed the use of HEVC video to conceal transaction information in order to boost the security and privacy of bitcoin transactions.
Click to expand...

Minimalist · Dec 30, 2018

Will Facebook’s stablecoin project help crypto or hurt it?

Both Facebook and cryptocurrencies have had a bad year. Could they do better, together, in 2019? Facebook apparently thinks so.

The company discreetly formed an internal unit early this year dedicated to exploring blockchain technology — led by David Marcus, former president of well-trusted PayPal. Then this month we learned the company is aiming to build a stablecoin, a cryptocurrency tethered to the U.S. dollar, in order to let WhatsApp users easily send money globally. Enthusiasts believe this combination of Whatsapp and stablecoin could be the breakthrough the crypto industry needs to go mainstream. But it seems equally likely, given Facebook’s sordid 2018, that the social network could do more damage to the crypto space.
Click to expand...

https://venturebeat.com/2018/12/30/will-facebooks-stablecoin-project-help-crypto-or-hurt-it/

Log in or Sign up

Online Cash Bitcoin Could Challenge Governments, Banks

ronjor Global Moderator

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

ronjor Global Moderator

guest Guest

guest Guest

ronjor Global Moderator

hawki Registered Member

guest Guest

guest Guest

Hadron Registered Member

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

ronjor Global Moderator

guest Guest

ronjor Global Moderator

guest Guest

ronjor Global Moderator

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

Minimalist Registered Member

Log in or Sign up

Online Cash Bitcoin Could Challenge Governments, Banks

ronjor Global Moderator

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

ronjor Global Moderator

guest Guest

guest Guest

ronjor Global Moderator

hawki Registered Member

guest Guest

guest Guest

Hadron Registered Member

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

ronjor Global Moderator

guest Guest

ronjor Global Moderator

guest Guest

ronjor Global Moderator

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

Minimalist Registered Member

Useful Searches