Day: July 8, 2017

There is a new development in the ongoing NotPetya story. This cyber weapon has caused massive damage to computers, leaving victims unable to recover their files. Someone seized control of the team’s Bitcoin wallet and moved $10, 000 worth of funds to a new address. There is also a new group on the scene who claims they can decrypt all encrypted files.

NotPetya Story Turns Into Telenovela

The NotPetya story is a captivating digital drama. The cyber weapon successfully encrypted computer files on hundreds of computers. Many victims paid the malware developers in Bitcoin to decrypt their files. NotPetya’s original objective may not have been making money. Regardless, that money is on the move now. Someone transferred the funds to a new Bitcoin address.

Over $10,000 worth of Bitcoin was moved from the initial Bitcoin wallet to a new address a few nights ago. This was surprising since the NotPetya team had not shown any signs of life ever since their attack. It is unclear who is responsible for moving the money to this new wallet, or why.

The person responsible for moving the funds made two small payments to Deeppaste and Pastebin. Both of these platforms are often used by hackers to make announcements, which is exactly what the NotPetya team has done. In the message, one user is asking for a 100 Bitcoin payment -worth over $250, 000 at the time of writing – and he or she will give the master decryption key for NotPetya in return.

There are no payment instructions to complete this 100 Bitcoin payment whatsoever. Without an address to send money to, it is doubtful they will get the payment. However, there is a link to a chat room on the darknet where users can find out more information. It is unclear who would pay this 100 Bitcoin payment as it is a steep price to pay for a master decryption key.

This may not be a legitimate offer. Trusting strangers on the internet is difficult enough. Putting your trust in a stranger who is also a criminal operating on the darknet is another story. It will be interesting to see how this story develops further. It is highly likely someone is trying to earn 100 Bitcoin with false promises.

It is interesting to see a potential solution pop up for NotPetya victims. While the legitimacy of this offer will always be in question, it goes to show there may be a potential solution in the future. Victims of this cyber weapon are not pleased with the lack of solutions at their disposal. NotPetya is a very different breed of malicious software.

Marc Kenigsberg, CEO of Jamworx thinks the recent Bitcoin price dip is a minor retreat from the highs of 2017.

CyberCar, the Colorado-based IoT firm, is putting their knowledge of Blockchain technology to work in helping monitor the medical marijuana industry.

Bitcoin adoption is increasing lately. According to some unconfirmed sources, Coinbase has seen a huge growth in customers throughout June of 2017. The company allegedly added one million users to its already substantial customer base.  Unfortunately, the company has not officially confirmed these numbers, making it hard to gauge the current pace of Bitcoin adoption and use.

Bitcoin Adoption is Growing Every Single Month

Regardless of whether or not the Coinbase user growth rumors are correct, it is hard to deny global Bitcoin adoption is on the rise. More consumers and retailers are dealing with Bitcoin transactions than ever before. Wider adoption only means positive things for Bitcoin’s future. This momentum is not surprising considering Bitcoin price increase over the last few months.

#Bitcoin adoption exploding?

– In June, @coinbase added 1 million new users
– supports 46,000 Bitcoin merchants and 10,000 developer apps. pic.twitter.com/ZBb0qVVJes

— Alex Deluce (@AlexDeluce) July 5, 2017

It will be interesting to see how exchanges will handle this growing amount of users. As we have seen from most platforms so far, an influx of new customers usually causes issues. Poloniex, Kraken, COinbase, and GDAX have all suffered from brief outages these past few months, significantly hurting overall cryptocurrency trading on their platforms. It also appears there have been some DDoS attacks against these platforms during the same period of time.

If Coinbase were to see another million new users on their platform, their service may deteriorate further. Outages are never a positive thing for any exchange, and a million more users will likely bring more problems. All of these users will need to undergo a verification process, which means part of the customer support department will need to work double time to accommodate these requests.

According to the platform’s statistics,  Coinbase currently serves 8.4 million users. That is only a fraction of the world’s population, but a large portion of cryptocurrency users. They are now active in 32 countries, a number which will hopefully increase throughout this year and the next few. Plus, their $20bn in trading volume is spectacular. The company has been around for several years now, which puts these numbers in perspective.

Right now, Coinbase only supports Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum. All three currencies are doing extremely well, with the exception of Ethereum. Ethereum is trending more negatively than positively lately, but in the world of cryptocurrency things could change over the course of a few days, if not hours.

Things are looking quite good for Bitcoin and other currencies right now. With the total market cap hovering around $100bn, significant progress has been made in the first half of 2017. Now will be the time to prove whether or not this momentum can be sustained. Coinbase and all of the other exchanges will play an integral role in that process. We can only hope their servers can handle the influx of new users to the cryptocurrency community.

A recent report indicates that Blockchain technology could provide the needed boost to improve the UK justice system.

Former software engineer travels around the world on Bitcoin Profits, Predicts $150,000 Price Point.

To survive in the bitcoin ecosystem—with fluctuating price points and constant bickering in various forums—some people may need a kind person to lend them an ear. They may need reassurance or moral support, and that is exactly why Breadwallet CMO Aaron Lasher launched the Bitcoin Therapy Hotline. 

Also read: Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Cryptocurrency Exchange Kraken

His post on Breadwallet’s blog read, “Recently, the bitcoin community has seen a lot of infighting surrounding competing ideologies and plans for governance, which can leave even the most casual of bitcoiners frustrated, confused, or in a crisis of identity.” Lasher continued, “In an attempt to offer some clarity and support to the bitcoin community as a whole, today we are launching the Bitcoin Therapy Hotline (BTH).”

Is this Some kind of Joke? Details of the Hotline

On knee jerk reaction, some people would think this therapy hotline was some kind of practical joke. Bitcoin.com reached out to Lasher to investigate if it was a joke or a sincere attempt at helping people. Lasher said,

Is it 100% serious? No. Is it 100% a joke? No. It’s a real line and I’ll talk to anybody who wants to get something off their chest about the bitcoin world.

Lasher said he started the hotline for a specific reason. He said, “I’ve always mused over how people are more civil in persona than on the internet, and saw this as an opportunity to expose myself in a small way, make myself available for worthwhile discussions. The hotline is also free for anyone to call and Breadwallet does not have expectations of compensation for services rendered.

Limitations of the Bitcoin Therapy Hotline; The Number to Seek Help

Even though Lasher mentioned he will discuss anything with anyone regarding bitcoin woes, his blog did offer some guidelines and limitations. The blog entry said it is not a customer support hotline, nor are anyone who answers licensed therapists. There is also a chance discussions may be limited to 10 minutes due to high demand for the service.

However, as it stands, the line is open and available to bitcoiners…and when someone calls, they will likely be greeted with a friendly, “Bitcoin Therapy Hotline, how can I help”!

The number to the hotline is posted on their blog. It is: +1-305-791-4911

Do you have any reason to call the Bitcoin Therapy Hotline? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Images via Shutterstock, bitcoin.com, and breadwallet.com

Express yourself freely at Bitcoin.com’s user forums. We don’t censor on political grounds. Check forum.Bitcoin.com.

The post Breadwallet Boots Up The Bitcoin Therapy Hotline appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Now that EOS’ ICO is behind us, let’s take a look at the technology powering this project. The developers are putting a strong focus on asynchronous smart contracts (ASCs). This is similar to Ethereum, but it appears EOS will be far more efficient. How does it all work? What benefits does it provide?

Asynchronous Smart Contracts Explained

Whenever someone talks about smart contracts, Ethereum is inevitably brought up. Ethereum is immensely popular because of their implementation of smart contracts. However EOS is approaching this differently with asynchronous smart contracts (ASCs). ASCs are something else entirely. Blockchain technology relies on sequential transaction processing, which causes delays and can render the technology inefficient.

The throughput of a blockchain using sequential processing of transactions is limited to the computational capacity of a single CPU core. Using CPUs with more powerful cores can address some concerns, but it is not a long-term solution. Instead, we need to pursue concepts which allow for horizontal scaling, rather than vertical scaling. This is much easier said than done, but ASCs present an interesting opportunity to achieve it.

The EOS project aims enable a blockchain to process millions of transactions per second. This is an ambitious goal, and its feasibility has yet to be demonstrated. Most of the details regarding ASCs are shrouded in mystery, which makes it difficult to assess its viability. Not sharing the details with the public is a strange decision, and somewhat frustrating to those of us who want to understand ASCs better. However, this project seems to be in good hands. Dan Larimer is its CTO, who also helped develop Steemit and BitShares.

The goal of ASCs is to cut transactions into bite-sized pieces. In theory, this will allow the underlying blockchain to process a high amount of transactions at the same time, while still being able to serve other network commands. For example, the technology allows for transaction processing and Dapp execution at the same time without creating a “queue” on the blockchain. All of this remains theoretical since there are no real-world demonstrations of ASC handling these different commands concurrently.

That being said, the developers conducted a test with an empty contact a few weeks ago. They concluded it is possible to achieve a throughput of around 1,000 transactions per second. This is still not good enough. However, it is a big step forward compared to other blockchain solutions, with the exception of NEM and Mijin. Later improvements to the code achieved a total of 50,000 sequential transactions per second.  

The major advantages of asynchronous smart contracts are an increased transaction throughput, the potential to eliminate network fees, and providing a viable scaling solution. Considering how this platform is merely conceptual at this point, it is unclear how much of an impact ASCs will make. Only time will tell if this technology can succeed, but it is definitely something to look forward to.

We live in an era where major technological breakthroughs occur on an almost daily basis. Sometimes these can be a little unsettling. In Japan, it is now possible to get married to a virtual reality bride. We are not talking about marrying another human in a VR setting, but actually marrying a virtual reality avatar. We explore this strange phenomena in this article.

Marrying a VR Avatar is now Possible

Contrary to what some people might think when reading the article introduction, this new trend is not something nerds are doing in their parents’ basement. Instead, grooms attend an actual wedding ceremony while wearing a VR headset. Tying the knot with a VR bride sounds incredibly strange, but it looks even more unusual. See the gif below to get an idea of what a typical VR ceremony looks like.

These types of ceremonies are not illegal in Japan. It is possible to partake in a VR marriage in Tokyo without too many issues. The groom in the image below married his VR girlfriend, despite the fact she does not exist in the real world.

Wedding vows are exchanged and the couple has their official first kiss. The latter part is tricky to perform. How do you kiss something virtual? The groom kisses a puppet to seal the deal, which raises even more questions about the ceremony. Then again, it is something originating from Japan. Strange types of marriage are a lot more common there than elsewhere in the world.

This new concept is a direct result of the Niitsuma Lovely x Cation anime video game. The objective of this game is for players to develop and foster relationships with virtual girlfriends. It is doubtful these VR marriages will cause any real harm. It is unclear if this ceremony makes the “agreement” legally binding. No rings are exchanged nor are any papers signed by either party. Lack of paperwork suggests that this is more ceremonial than legal. 

We will likely see more of these VR weddings on a global scale in the future. Many societies expect adults to get married. This social pressure might push some people toward marrying a VR avatar. This might be the first sign of how virtual reality will affect social behavior negatively.

Japan is a country where some very strange trends emerge. Marrying a virtual reality avatar is odd to most people in the Western world, but apparently it is not all that uncommon in Japan. Few people in Japan will be bothered these VR marriages. Cultural differences are what makes our world so interesting, this is just one example of that.

Dubai stated that it wants 25% of its police force to be robots by 2030. It is one step closer to its goal. Dubai is introducing a tiny autonomous patrol car to scan people while on its route. They claim it will identify criminals and “undesirables.” The Dubai police force plans to have an operational fleet by the end of the year.

Dubai’s autonomous patrol cars

The region’s completely autonomous patrol cars -dubbed O-R3- are, according to the Telegraph, about waist height, come with 360-degree surveillance technology, and can be programmed to patrol specific areas. These cars use bio-metric scanners to look for and identify criminals and “undesirables.”

Authorities believe the very presence of these cars will be sufficient crime deterrents. In case of a chase, these cars are equipped with a mini drone that can pursue suspects in areas the cars cannot access themselves. These drones are linked to the Dubai Police’s command room, so humans can assist and oversee.

The O-R3 is built and manufactured by Singapore-based company OTSAW Digital. The company says that Dubai is the first city in the world to use the autonomous patrol car. They also add that the O-R3 is not meant to replace human officers, but rather to act as support in lower priority tasks.

The patrol cars are equipped with a laser scanner, a thermal camera, GPS and lidar, and HD cameras. They have facial and license plate recognition capabilities which are fully automated. They are even capable of charging themselves. But at any time, humans can override these cars’ systems and take control if necessary.

At first, the O-R3 will be deployed in tourist areas. Dubai police chief Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri said:

“We seek to augment operations with the help of technology such as robots. Essentially, we aim for streets to be safe and peaceful even without heavy police patrol.”

Dubai’s recent investments

Back in February, Dubai announced it will have flying taxi passenger drones operating above the city. In June, the city announced it had a robotic cop join its police force, which can be used to transmit live images, report crimes, inquire about tickets, and identify wanted suspects. It also speaks six languages and is able to read facial expressions.

Back in 2013, Dubai added high-performance cars to its police fleet, with Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and a McLaren. The city also purchased water jetpacks for its firefighters.

Dubai’s large investments in new technology and high-end cars are concentrated in its tourist hub, which attracts an impressive 15 million visitors yearly. These investments help bring in even more tourists, as seeing an Aston Martin with police markings on the streets is novel and interesting.

With momentum building for the project on the heels of their recent announcement of an ICO, OneName Global, Inc., a company registered in the US state of Delaware is causing buzz among both cryptocurrency fans as well as avid social media users eager to secure monetization of their content. With a fully functioning platform already accepting users, onG is unique in a season crowded with promising ICO’s.

The Product

The user experience revolves around a dashboard which allows you to connect to the API of your other social media accounts. In the beta release onG allows connection to Facebook, G+ and LinkedIn. Users can originate content on onG and automatically post to other social media accounts with onG acting as the control center using powerful account management tools that are seen elsewhere as premium services.

These free tools include features like analytics and calculators that estimate money being generated by the user’s posts. This income being generated is automatically integrated into a “bank” which is saved in the native token, onG Coin. One of the early primary goals is to have the token tradeable on popular exchanges so that the user can freely exchange the native currency for Bitcoin and even fiat.

Pre ICO Valuation

Many companies in the blockchain/cryptocurrency space choose to incorporate in more regulation friendly jurisdictions. By choosing the state of Delaware to incorporate, OneName Global is exposing itself to the full regulatory scope of the United States. The challenges of that are obvious, but one of the benefits is that the company has taken the steps to get their corporate entity valued and even before the official launch that figure is $25 million USD. Most ICO’s consist of buying a token in exchange for the hope that the developers make good on the ideas presented in a white paper. onG has a working platform and assets at ICO.

IBM Incubation

It’s clear that years of work went into creating this platform. IBM has been incubating this project since 2014 and it shows. This type of development takes external monetary support. The usual path for development in the crypto space consists of developers creating a website and white paper and taking the idea to an ICO with the hope of getting funding so that the project can begin. In this case, IBM assumed the early risk which has resulted in a very advanced product coming to market.

Dual Blockchain

Being so early in the maturation of the ICO space early adopters have witnessed the impact of the mania that can surround a hot launch. Recently early adopters of the Bancor project severely impacted the Ethereum blockchain to the point where prominent exchanges like Poloniex completely disabled withdrawal of Ethereum. onG addresses this by being only the second ICO to utilize two block chains, Ethereum and Waves. Utilizing two block chains builds in redundancy and stability during heavy network loads. onG has built the onG Coin to ERC20 standards which allows them to tinker with the network algorithm that distributes the token while not compromising the actual security of the platform.

Initial Coin Offering

The ICO for onG’s cryptocurrency (onG Coin) is slated to be launched on July 17, 2017, where 25% of the total cryptocurrencies will be released, with the remaining 75% released systematically as rewards on the onG.social network over the next twenty years.

Headwinds

As with any attempt to break into social media, it’s important to recognize the challenges that this new company faces. It is extremely difficult to build community, just ask Google. Even with their huge war chest for development, Google+ never really hit home and languishes as a second-tier platform. Users are very hesitant to change and learning a new interface for social media is a heavy lift. onG is betting that people can be incentivized by actual money to try something new. They have enlisted MMA legend Kenny “KenFlo” Florian in their marketing efforts and have brought in YouTube heavyweight Alexander Laserev aka Sasha Daygame to manage the community. Both very influential with the male crowd. It remains to be seen if this project can attract female users, who are critical to the success of any social media platform.

If onG is going to compete in the top tier of social media they will have to address this sooner rather later.

The Central Bank of Russia has been asked to follow Japan’s example on legalizing bitcoin by a prominent Russian politician.

Also read: Russia’s Central Bank Drafting Proposal to Classify Bitcoins as Digital Goods

Russian Central Bank Learns About the Japanese Model

Boris Titov is a Russian politician and the Presidential Commissioner for Entrepreneurs’ Rights. In a letter to the head of the Russian Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina, he proposed that the bank follows the Japanese model in regulating digital currencies like bitcoin and ether, reported the Russian business daily Vedomosti on Friday.

Titov pointed out that Japan has recognized digital currency as a means of payment, not as money. He then outlined three outcomes of the Japanese regulations applicable to Russia.

Firstly, cryptocurrency exchanges are now regulated in Japan. They are required to register with the government as well as implement strict anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) measures. For example, they must regularly monitor and report any suspicious activities to the authorities, Titov explained.

Secondly, he noted that the regulations are imposed on the management of assets, and the exchanges are subject to regular audit by the financial authorities. This is to protect cryptocurrency-using customers. “Japan has also introduced procedures for dealing with claims,” he added.

Thirdly, he conveyed that Japan has removed VAT on purchases and sales of digital currency but not VAT on purchases. However, he noted that the Japanese National Tax Agency has not yet clarified how to deal with income tax or corporate tax levied on digital currency transactions.

Russia Undecided on How to Treat Cryptocurrency

Currently, the Russian Ministry of Finance and the central bank are discussing whether digital currency should be regulated. The Finance Ministry has promised to submit proposals to the government in the “near future,” Vedomosti reiterated.

Deputy of the Russian Central Bank Olga Skorobogatova has proposed for cryptocurrencies to be considered digital goods for the purpose of monitoring and reporting taxes.

Meanwhile, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev said in early June that cryptocurrency regulation will be similar to the regulation of derivatives.

His idea was echoed by Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets Anatoly Aksakov, who stated that cryptocurrency should be considered a financial instrument on par with securities and derivatives. “These transactions are not subject to VAT, so should not be taxed,” the newspaper quoted Aksakov saying. He then suggested that cryptocurrency should be treated similarly.

While Russia has not decided how to treat cryptocurrency, Aksakov said that discussions are underway on the terminology and definition of cryptocurrency.

Responding to Titov’s proposal, Nikolai Legkodimov, a KPMG partner is “confident that Russia will be able to successfully adapt the Japanese model,” Vedomosti wrote. He then noted that light regulation may be attractive for the industry.

Do you think the Russian government will decide to follow Japan’s lead? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Wikipedia, Russian Central Bank, Russian Ministry of Finance

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