Day: September 11, 2017

Cryptocurrency enthusiasts worldwide thoroughly enjoy the OpenBazaar protocol. Being able to buy or sell anything with Bitcoin through a peer-to-peer marketplace protocol serves a great need in the Bitcoin ecosystem. A new beta client for OpenBazaar 2.0 has been released and is nothing to sneeze at. It boasts some major changes that will improve the original concept and add new functionalities that were requested by users. Below are some of the most important changes in OpenBazaar 2.0.

3. Offline Stores and Orders

One of the downsides of OpenBazaar is how users have to be online at all times in order for their store to be visible on the network. Although it is rather easy to run OpenBazaar on a VPS or cheap computer, the 2.0 version beta includes offline store support. All information about one’s store will now be distributed on the network. Even with the application turned off, customers can still check out the goods and services offered for sale. This is a much-needed feature.

The same concept also applies to checking one’s open orders. Customers can now place orders for items or services offered for sale through a store even when the vendor is offline. If a vendor fails to respond within the allotted time frame, the money will be swept back to the buyer without any problems. This is another great feature which a lot of OpenBazaar vendors and customers will thoroughly enjoy. Offline functionality for an online marketplace simply makes sense for all parties involved.

2. Third-party Search

Finding something specific on OpenBazaar can be rather tricky as well. The early version of this protocol had no direct search feature built in. We have seen various third-party services pop up over the past few months, all of which scour OpenBazaar listings for items and services people may be interested in at some point in the future. This functionality is now officially supported within the OpenBazaar framework.

Users can use multiple third-party OpenBazaar search engines to find what they are looking for. Those users who prefer additional privacy or anonymity can use some of these engines over the Tor network, as Tor integration is part of OpenBazaar 2.0 as well. Users can run their own OpenBazaar nodes exclusively on Tor or in dual-slack mode. That is another very welcome addition to this decentralized marketplace protocol.  

1. Bitcoin SegWit Support

Perhaps the biggest change of all is how OpenBazaar 2.0 will handle payments. Bitcoin will continue to be the only payment method for now. However, altcoin support is on the team’s to-do list as well, though no specifics have been revealed at this point. It only makes sense to integrate additional currencies as this protocol matures. After all, cryptocurrency has become so much more than just Bitcoin these past few years.

However, this update introduces a big change in the way Bitcoin payments are handled. OpenBazaar 2.0 supports Bitcoin transactions over the SegWit protocol. Moreover, this will be the default payment method for all transactions taking place through the beta client and the final version of OpenBazaar 2.0. It is good to see the team openly supporting SegWit, as we direly need more SW-capable transactions on the Bitcoin network. So far, those transactions have been somewhat difficult to come by. With this new OpenBazaar update, that situation may come to change sooner rather than later.

Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard – which sets the rules for token issuances – has been finalized after being introduced in 2015.

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Advancements in transportation technology have often dramatically redefined modern life. They change how people and goods move, meaning they have direct economic implications as well. Walking and running gave way to carts, horses, and boats, which gave way to trains and automobiles, and now we use planes for international travel and logistics. Looking to the future, the next iteration may come in the form of something called Hyperloop.

Hyperloop is the Vactrain of the Future

The project is essentially a tube line which has been made into a vacuum with a moving carriage in which people or goods can sit. The carriage (or pod) will sit on air bearings and be moved along by induction motors and air compressors. This concept takes much of its inspiration from Robert Goddard’s vactrain. SpaceX and Tesla have teamed up to release an open source design of what they hope the Hyperloop will look like, and the resemblance to the vactrain is readily apparent.

By evacuating a tube of virtually all its air, it drastically reduces air drag of objects moving within it. In theory, if the tube were completely evacuated, then there would be no air resistance. This means three things, and all are huge for transportation. The first is that its potential speed pales many other forms of transportation today. It will have a top speed of 760 mph. No car, truck, or train can even come close to that speed. Obviously planes do, but even a Boeing 747 only flies at an average of 614 mph.

The second implication is that getting up to those speeds will take a fraction of the energy that other forms of transportation do to achieve much lower speeds. The third also has to do with energy consumption. Maintaining those speeds will be significantly cheaper than other modes of shipping and travel. All of this means that the price will be lower as well. Less fuel consumed and faster travel times usually spell savings for consumers.

When Can We Expect It?

Elon Musk publicly mentioned this first in 2012, so it has been around for a little bit. Even though it is not entirely new, there are some new developments worth mentioning. Since the project is open source, many companies have taken the product designs and worked with them on their own. Musk encourages this, in fact, to help stimulate innovation.

The China Aerospace Science and Industrial Corporation is trying to smash the predictions that Musk and his teams have put out by claiming that its design of a vactrain would be able to reach speeds of 2,300 mph. CASIC aims to make travel and shipping supersonic again, after the sad exit of the Concord from the scene.

India has also thrown its hat in the ring by announcing the country will seek to connect two cities with a hyperloop vactrain system. It may start building the system within the next year or two as well. Far from being some far off sci-fi dream, this may very well soon be our new reality.

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BTC-e figure Alexander Vinnik has hit back at US plans to prosecute him, offering help to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

So that’s another day of trading finished out of Europe and it’s time to take a look at how things played out in the bitcoin price and how we can use today’s action to put together a strategy for this evening. We’re not going to waste any time this evening as things are moving pretty … Continue reading Bitcoin Price Watch; Poised For Breakout

The post Bitcoin Price Watch; Poised For Breakout appeared first on NEWSBTC.

Embattled cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e has launched a new portal for sending in support tickets.

China’s recent suspension of cryptocurrency ICO activity has created quite a few issues for some exchanges. Under the new guidelines, various ICO projects will need to refund customers living in China. This also means that exchanges listing ICO tokens will have their work cut out for them in the coming weeks. Binance, one of Asia’s rising stars in the cryptocurrency exchange industry, is set to introduce some big changes in the near future. Banning all Chinese IP addresses from trading on the exchange is a very interesting decision.

Binance Makes Some Tough Calls

Keeping business alive is the number one priority for Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges right now. This is especially true for any platform that may be on the radar of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) in connection with the recent ban on cryptocurrency ICO activity and trading. As we mentioned earlier, it was rumored Binance was one of the 60 platforms being investigated. Whether or not there were any repercussions for this exchange remains to be seen, although the company’s upcoming changes certainly indicate as much.

In a recent Zendesk update, Binance announced some big changes. First of all, several ICO tokens will no longer be traded on the platform moving forward. None of these tokens ring a bell for most people, but they have been removed at the request of the PBoC. It is good to see the company comply with these requests in such a swift manner. No one wants to invoke the wrath of Chinese government officials during these turbulent times.

For the time being, Binance users will still be able to withdraw existing coin balances. Anyone who holds HCC, LLTC, ELC, BTN, or YOYO can get their tokens out in the coming weeks. All the aforementioned ICOs still must announce their plans to refund Chinese investors. It will be interesting to see how that works out exactly. With this new “rule” regarding refunds in place, the future of ICOs in China looks pretty bleak for the time being. Proper regulation is currently being drafted, though.

Moreover, Binance made a major system upgrade a few days ago. Although some outages were caused due to maintenance, the system has been going strong ever since the maintenance was completed. It is unclear if any changes were made to Know Your Customer and anti-money laundering procedures, but that does not appear likely at this stage. After all, the exchange has no compliance issues as far as we know. The scheduled downtime was also a way to disable trading of the aforementioned ICO tokens and introduce another major change.

Perhaps the biggest shock of all is how Binance no longer allows Chinese customers to trade on the exchange. In fact, all IP addresses originating from China are now banned from participating in any major exchange activity. Chinese users can still access the user center and make withdrawals, but deposits and trades are no longer possible. This is quite an interesting decision for a company registered in Hong Kong, although the company does not expect things to change all that much.

Binance mentions that 82.5% of the exchange’s customer base is located abroad. This shows that Chinese users are a minority on this exchange. Barring them from participating in any exchange activity will hopefully allow the company to evade further scrutiny by the PBoC. There are also plans to list additional “Western coins” in the coming weeks and months. A total of five coins will be determined through a vote and added shortly.

Within a period of three days, bitcoin experienced two minor corrections, pulling back the upward momentum and strong rally it had maintained for a few weeks. Last week, the Chinese central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), temporarily suspended all initial coin offerings (ICOs) and officially declared ICO as an illegal fundraising method. The … Continue reading Bitcoin Price Struggles to Recover Past $4,300 as Chinese Exchange Ban Talk Continues

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The post Giga Watt’s Role In Crypto Mining appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

We are used to a Point of sale (POS) Network that is dominated by big networks such as MasterCard, Visa and Paypal. Every year these networks process transactions that are worth trillions of dollars. Now a project by the name of Camelgram wants to launch an  innovative blockchain POS network and a device that will simplify and streamline payment with digital assets among other features. They are launching an initial coin offering (ICO) beginning September 7, 2017 and it will give them the push that is required to get a foothold in the POS segment.

Early Investors get more tokens in Camelgram’s Crowdsale

Camelgram, whose crowdsale will continue for a period of two months (last date is November 6, 2017), will launch a new token called POS. They have plans to launch anywhere between 5 million to 40 million POS tokens. Any investor can buy these tokens but there is a max cap of 1,000 ETH. This limit on purchase of the tokens has been put in so that investors with lesser means also get a fair chance to buy.

During the crowdsale, 50 percent of the tokens would be put on sale. They have kept a reserve of 20 percent for the team and 10 percent for distribution costs. A further provision has been made for emergencies and rainy days, which get a reserve of 20 percent.

Investors, who come in early into the crowdsale will stand to benefit as bonuses have been announced for them.

Distribution of funds

After the crowdsale has been concluded, Camelgram will distribute the funds for various purposes. This will enable them to shift from a proof of concept stage to one geared towards manufacturing and infrastructure roll out. Manufacturing and production will receive a lion’s share of 30 percent from Camelgram as it is a high priority and high expense area for them. Keyhires will also be taken on board using the proceeds of the ICO. In order to better understand the use of funding, please refer to the whitepaper released by them.

Crowdsale an opportunity for investors?

Camelgram is giving investors the chance to seize upon the opportunities present in the crypto-currency field. They are attempting to resolve the problems present in the “last mile”. A successful implementation of the Camelgram solution will make businesses be able to accept multiple digital assets seamlessly as well as receive common currencies. The best feature of the product is that it eliminates credit risk as settlements are made instantaneously. Businesses do not have to wait for cycles of settlement to get access to funds thus freeing them from paucity of cash.  Explaining their vision, a Camelgram spokesperson tells us, “Investment Great, Peter Lynch, identified mature market meeting disruptive technological breakthroughs as presenting the most exciting opportunity. Market demand exists and customers understand the value brought by new solutions. Distribution and marketing infrastructure are readily available.” They added, “Such is the case for Camelgram blockchain POS network. The new breakthrough serves  receptive customers with faster, cheaper solution and drastically improve business with much better cash flow profile.”

Camelgram has developed a feature rich platform

Camelgram is in the process of launching a platform that is feature rich and combines the possibilities of blockchain with the simplicity of plug and play POS devices. The aim of Camelgram has been to remove complexities and difficulties of the blockchain to lay persons. Features such as “On Chain Delivery” tracking and Post-Sales services would be offered by them. Smart contracts make it possible to offer post-sales services, which are crucial for businesses. However, when it comes to interaction between customers and businesses not much is expected to change. A Camelgram spokesperson reveals, “There will be little change in relationships because we aim for transparent transition. Also we aim for big ticket, mid frequency travel industry first as reversal of cash flow profile impact their business most significantly.”

Built for the future but ready for now

Camelgram is operating in a field that is filled with big players but their innovative approach is what will carry them through. Solving the last mile digital asset problem is a key solution that has the potential to disrupt the industry. Explaining their vision of the future, Camelgram say, “The initial pushback might come from additional counter space and incremental cost, however we can overcome by showing new POS device addresses new customer segments previously unreachable. Existing POS equipment makers may try to imitate but our device + software + service infrastructure should provide superior moat.” With key markets pushing for digital economy like the one in India, the possibilities for POS services will rise. The demand of network and devices in segments such as healthcare, retail and other businesses is set to keep stable or rise in the future and Camelgram is ready.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored article

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