Day: September 16, 2017

Julian Assange says all freedom-loving people should support Bitcoin as an answer to government oppression.

Nodes are essential parts of the Ethereum ecosystem, so it is important that as many people as possible run these nodes. They provide quicker transactions, validate blocks, and improve the overall health of the ecosystem. However, running nodes is not always feasible due to computational and data limitations. A service called QuikNode has recognized this and aims to empower users in setting up their own Ethereum nodes.

The Benefits of Running an Ethereum Node Through QuikNode

There are a few reasons to run an Ethereum node with QuikNode. As its name suggests, setting up the node is incredibly quick and it boasts a 10 minute turnaround to get it up and running. Running a node with QuikNode also allows users to transact with a private Ethereum node. This means that their transactions will go through quicker. This is particularly advantageous for individuals looking to jump into an ICO without having to queue in public nodes. Finally, running nodes benefits the ecosystem as a whole.

QuikNode Adds Tutorials

To help people get acquainted with and set up nodes even quicker, QuikNode recently added tutorial articles for its users. Let’s take a look at those here.

QuikNode with MetaMask

Many users want to connect their nodes to MetaMask. The first step in doing so is getting QuikNode. Users are directed to click the three horizontal bars on the MetaMask extension, which has the user copy and paste a URL as the new RPC URL. Pressing enter saves the change. The “current network” changes to the QuikNode URL, and it will say “private network” at the top. Users then go about their usual business, only now with their own private Ethereum node. This could be particularly advantageous for ICO investors, since a private node plus custom gwei could help secure their place in a crowdsale.

QuikNode with MyEtherWallet

One of the most popular Ethereum wallet solutions is MyEtherWallet. Naturally, QuikNode wanted to support it. For users, the beginning steps are fairly similar to MetaMask’s. They are instructed to access the MyEtherWallet instructions found at the bottom of their QuikNode user interface. They are then told to go to MyEtherWallet then click the “Node Switcher” icon on the top right of the page. MEW users will be familiar with this functionality since it allows them to select nodes and chains. By clicking “Add Custom Node,” users can name and enter the URL and port for their QuikNode. Users should opt in for basic access authentication and then enter the email and password they provided when creating their MEW accounts. Saving the changes will connect MEW to the new custom node.

Buying a QuikNode

Considering that it’s the first step to set up QuikNode with MetaMask and MEW, the team wanted to provide a quick tutorial on how to buy a QuikNode as well. The first step is visiting its site (www.quiknode.io) and clicking “Get Started.” The user then enters an email and password, and selects the location of his or her node. Alternative chains may be set up as well. Users then send payment to the provided address to fund the use of their node. After the payment is confirmed, the user is directed to his or her unique UI. This means that the node is up and running, ready to be used.

This is a sponsored post and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of any The Merkle employees. This is not investment or trading advice; always conduct your own independent research.

China’s crackdown on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency-related businesses will drive growth to Hong Kong.

The German government takes cyber surveillance a lot more serious than other European countries. They even opened a new cyber surveillance agency earlier this week. The offices are based in Munich and the agency will focus on cyber crime and digital espionage. As is to be expected, this also means increased snooping on telecommunication, data encryption, and mass collecting even more data than before.

The ZITiS Cyber Surveillance Agency Should be Criticized

Not too long ago, we mentioned how German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere was conducting a new facial recognition technology trial. That initiative was met with a lot of public outcry as the used technology seemingly collected more information than originally acknowledged. This same Minister has now opened the new ZITiS cyber surveillance agency in Munich last Thursday. ZITiS specializes in fighting cyber crime and digital espionage by spying on mass telecommunication, among other tools.

While the German government wants to bring cyber crime to an end, this new agency may be a step too far. The mass data collection efforts by ZITiS will raise a lot of questions from privacy advocates. For the time being, there is no official assessment or evaluation of this project and how it would snoop on consumer data. That is not a good way to kick things off, especially not in this day and age of mass surveillance.

ZITiS is not a cheap operation. With a price tag of over $12 million, the agency will have a lot to prove in its first year. It will create 120 new jobs, although the goal is to increase the workforce to around 400 by 2022. This centralized location will also serve as a technological resource for Germany’s other security agencies. Furthermore, all intelligence agencies will now come under the authority of the Interior Minister. Whether or not that is a smart decision, remains to be seen.

One particular point of focus by ZITiS is rather vague. The cyber surveillance agency will focus on digital forensics related to information gathered from the Internet. It is certainly possible blockchain analysis will play a big role in this regard. After all, many government officials associate Bitcoin and altcoins with criminal activity over the internet. Given the blatant lack of “official rules” to adhere to by ZITiS operatives, it is unclear how far they can go in their research, though.

Local Pirate Party member Frank Herrmann states:

“The main task of ZITiS is to break into networks and to break encryptions — those are things that you can only do by exploiting security gaps. This agency’s task is not to close these gaps, but to use them. But computer technology will only become safer if you close these gaps — it’s actually quite sick. ZITiS should be shut down before it’s opened.”

ZITiS is an independent security agency. This does mean it is not bound by German laws or jurisdiction in any capacity. They are given carte blanche to do whatever it takes. A very dangerous precedent, as this unlimited freedom can easily be abused as well. On the other hand, Thomas de Maiziere states how these new forms of crime require a set of new rules or lack thereof. An interesting comment, although one that will not be supported by the general public.

The news industry has come a long way. One of the first known media outlets was ancient Rome’s renowned Forum which hosted a special table giving citizens insights into the latest Senate decrees and news from around the nation.

More recently, news outlets have gradually become parts of enormous media corporations. Even with the advent of the Internet, the situation did not experience any dramatic changes. The most renowned and popular newspapers like The New York Times are still controlled by big companies.

The situation is even worse in countries where freedom of speech enjoys less protections than here in the United States. In those nations, the media is directly or indirectly controlled by the national government. State controlled media’s main purpose is to exercise a propagandist agenda, not to tell people what has actually happened.

However, even in those countries where free speech is relatively strong, the reality of the post-truth era casts doubt on the integrity of news from centralized outlets.

The Blockchain can Uphold Free Speech

The strong centralization we see in the journalism world today has created a large demand for truly independent news organizations. This kind of news platform could provide insight into literally any topic or point of view, thereby freeing readers from any agenda that an editorial board or a newspaper owner could have.

With the advent of blockchain technology, this degree of decentralization has finally become feasible. Automating an editorial board with blockchain technology would produce a product that could actually prevent censorship and hidden agendas.

There have been some attempts to utilize blockchain technology in the media industry. Some have focused on social media – think Steemit and Akasha – or content distribution, like DECENT. However, none have actually tried to build a blockchain-powered news platform until now.

The Advent of a Decentralized Media Outlet

Snip is a project that builds a decentralized news platform. It has also set a goal of creating an entity that is completely independent from any outside player, and completely controlled by the community.

At Snip, everyone is entitled to write news articles. These are preferably short and tell a story on any topic, from sports to politics to culture. Users are incentivized to keep their texts brief and use references to prove that their stories are not made up.

Most importantly, it is the community that decides whether a given story – also known as a snip – is actually worthy. They vote using an in-platform currency, SnipCoin, thus rewarding writers and promoting good stories.

Readers can tailor their newsfeeds to include news by certain authors or on certain topics, thereby ensuring they stay up to date on their interests. The platform also offers a premium experience, where all stories are written by professional journalists.

As blockchain technology and community consensus replace the old-fashioned centralized entities inherent in traditional media, an entire platform can host literally any point of view. This protects freedom of speech above all else.

Conclusion

In ancient Rome, news was handled by the citizens of Rome. Even though there were tables at the Forum, people were free to discuss events and spread the word, creating a vast diversity of opinions and impressions. When the industry became centralized, the focus shifted to consuming whatever a corporation or a government deemed appropriate, or what sold more papers.

Decentralized solutions can bring news back to where it belongs. When the community creates and reads news, it becomes virtually impossible to push a single agenda. Most importantly, it lays a foundation for what media will look like in the decentralized society of tomorrow.

This is a sponsored post and does not necessarily reflect the views of any The Merkle employees.

With the help of Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Apple, the W3C is deploying a browser API that could extend cryptocurrency’s payments potential.

The Securities and Exchange Commission in Thailand SEC shows that it is willing to support ICOs

Some big changes are afoot in the domain registrar industry. With registrars being able to shut sites down due to piracy concerns, some people have been looking for ways to prevent this from happening. Njalla is a new service launched by the founder of the Pirate Bay. The service accepts many different types of cryptocurrency payments in return for providing site owners with full anonymity.

Njalla is an Intriguing Project

One thing most people do not like about registering domain names is how it can expose their personal information. Even with WhoisGuard active, users must still provide their identities to the registrar. While people who run perfectly legitimate websites have nothing to worry about in this regard, other people may not be too keen on this aspect of the process. Coming up with a fully anonymous domain registration service is not an easy feat, though.

Pirate Bay founder Peter Sunde introduced such a service in April of this year. Although this news went by largely unnoticed, Njalla can be a great service for specific people. Site owners will enjoy full anonymity when reigstering a domain name. This should shield them from scrutiny by governments and even law enforcement. The service brings much-needed competition to the domain registrar privacy industry. Some companies already provide such services, but there is always room for new players.

Njalla is not just a service for people who have illegal activities in mind for their domain, however. The privacy aspect of this service is excellent news for anyone in the world looking to set up a website of any kind. While most people have no problem sharing their personal information with a registrar, it also opens the door for future harassment and whatnot. That is not something anyone should look forward to.

Njalla allows users to protect their identities from prying eyes. Domain names are kept fully private, even though clients do not buy the domain names themselves. Instead, the company does it on their behalf. Consider it an extra layer of identity protection if you will, even though it also requires a lot more trust. That trust may not be given easily, but Sunde acknowledges his service is not for everybody until it has built up a more solid reputation.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Njalla is how it accepts a wide range of payment methods. PayPal is one option, which was to be expected. A lot of users will prefer to stick to traditional payment solutions even when those payment systems fully expose their identities and financial details. It is the other payment methods which piqued our attention. Njalla accepts four different types of cryptocurrency with varying levels of privacy and anonymity under the hood.

Among these payment options are Bitcoin, Litecoin, Monero, and Dash. As the recent BlockSci paper shows, tracing transactions through Bitcoin, Litecoin, and even Dash is certainly possible with a bit of effort. Monero is the only solution not susceptible to thorough blockchain analysis right now, although that situation may change in the future. It is good to see cryptocurrency payment support from newer services such as Njalla. This goes to show Bitcoin and altcoins will not go away anytime soon, regardless of what some media outlets may want to make you believe.

US Sen Warren proposes bill to help protect consumers post-Equifax, but Blockchain technology would have worked before.

The Indian central bank establishes a task force that will assess the possible legal tender status to Bitcoin and other virtual currencies.

How restrictive regulations in China affect Ethereum Killers

Chase Bank buys Bitcoin, even as CEO calls it a ‘fraud’.

With most of the turmoil affecting Chinese exchanges behind us, the time has come to look forward again. One of the altcoins a lot of people are keeping a close eye on is NEO. Given its recent all-time high, followed by an extreme correction, it is interesting to see what this coin will do. Right now, the NEO price is hovering around $19.75, even though it hit $23 a few hours ago.

NEO Price Rebounds But Remains Volatile

For anyone who has NEO as part of their cryptocurrency portfolio, the past two and a half weeks have been rather eventful. Unfortunately, most of these price swings haven’t worked in favor of the holders, as NEO has seen so many “flipping” opportunities it is almost impossible to keep track of them all. Even today, the NEO price went from $14.3 to nearly $23 and is now heading downward again. It is one of the more volatile markets, even though the fluctuating Bitcoin price isn’t helping matters much either.

Despite this rollercoaster pattern, the NEO price is still up by 38.4% compared to 24 hours ago. That in itself is a pretty solid achievement, even though this market will remain subject to a lot of speculation and daytrading for some time to come. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing per se, as it shows there is still a lot of demand for NEO right now. Even though the currency will not be actively traded in China anymore, the “Ethereum of China’s is still a viable project in its own way.

Unfortunately, the NEO price will remain volatile for some time to come. With just $66.15m in 24-hour volume, this market is a playground for whales and manipulators right now. Most of the currency’s trading volume originated from China, but that pipeline is drying up pretty quickly as we speak. That doesn’t mean Chinese users won’t find other ways to obtain NEO, but for now, it is not their go-to market whatsoever.

In fact, Binance is the only Asian exchange making any sort of impact on NEO right now. That isn’t entirely surprising, as Binance isn’t based in China and faces some different regulatory requirements regarding cryptocurrency ICOs right now. However, they are still on the PBOC’s “watch list’, so to speak. It will be interesting to see how this situation unfolds over the next few weeks and how it affects the NEO price moving forward.

With Bittrex dominating the NEO trading volume, it is evident the currency will have to try and make an impact over there. That is much easier said than done, even though NEO can be traded against Bitcoin, USDT, and Ethereum. Bitfinex, who recently enabled NEO trading, struggle to provide much liquidity to this market. That situation may eventually change, though, but for now, things aren’t working out as planned by any stretch of the imagination.

All of this goes to show the volatility across cryptocurrency markets is everything but gone. Weekends are notorious for their volatile trading behavior and it looks as if this weekend will be no different whatsoever. The NEO price is trying to regain some momentum, but with this glaring lack of trading volume, it will be very difficult to maintain any positive or negative trend. Only time will tell how things will play out for this intriguing altcoin.