Day: October 14, 2017

No one can deny the latest batch of cryptocurrency-related regulations has caused some interesting shifts in the world of cryptocurrency. Some things have certainly improved in this regard, as the majority of trading volume has finally moved away from China. In fact, one could argue we have seen a better Bitcoin ecosystem created because of these regulations.

Regulation Isn’t Always Negative

While a lot of cryptocurrency users aren’t big fans of regulation, the repercussions aren’t always as negative as people would assume them to be. Most forms of regulation are designed to hinder the growth of Bitcoin; that much is fairly obvious. Particularly in countries such as Russia, China, and even the United States, things have evolved in a rather awkward direction as of late. That doesn’t necessarily mean nothing good comes from these developments, though.

Perhaps the biggest example of something positive resulting from regulatory measures is China no longer being the Bitcoin trading powerhouse. Although the country is still home to most mining operations, its exchanges are no longer much of a factor. Granted, they halted all CNY trading a while ago, although that appears to have been a temporary measure first and foremost. There is no official indication as to when those services will be resumed, though.

According to a recent Bloomberg article, things are definitely shifting in different directions due to these new forms of regulation. With the Bitcoin price mounting, we have seen some pretty interesting changes introduced. In particular, the Bitcoin trading volume has shifted from the Chinese yuan to the Japanese yen and Korean won. We have seen this trend emerge over the past few weeks, and things have not changed in any significant way ever since.

The US dollar is also trying to mount a bit of a comeback in this regard, even though it will always be a tertiary market at best. For some unknown reason, none of the USD trading pairs come even close to yen or won trading right now. It will be hard to overcome these hurdles right now, given the size of the gap. Then again, the situation continues to evolve virtually every single day, and a lot of changes are still on the horizon, by the looks of things.

The same applies to Ethereum, mind you, as its trading volume mainly comes from the same markets right now. Additionally, the BTC/ETH markets are seemingly shrinking a bit as well, although that is mainly due to the ongoing bullish Bitcoin price run. This doesn’t mean we won’t see more BTC/ETH volume in the near future, though, but for now, Bitcoin is clearly dominating all trading portfolios. That is only normal, as it is the world’s largest cryptocurrency.

Although all of these changes are a direct result of regulatory decisions, most people will not see things that way. The Japanese market is pretty important to all cryptocurrencies right now, thanks to its positive regulatory stance. South Korea is still trying to figure out how it wants to handle things in this regard, but the general attitude appears to be relatively positive for the time being. Things can still change in the very near future, though, as nothing has been set in stone just yet.

Blockchain technology assets being embraced by the State Bank of Mauritius as a way to collateralize loans.

Wish Finance has announced the launch of its blockchain-based lending platform for small and medium businesses. Wish Finance innovated a new technology for risk scoring and seamless repayments, based on real transactional data and connection to the POS infrastructure. At first ,the company will be providing loans for companies in Singapore and Hong Kong. Wish Finance will conduct a token sale from October 2nd to October 25th to raise funding for scaling up their new platform.

Eugene Green, CEO and Founder of Wish Finance, commented:

“Small businesses play a significant role in the modern economy, as they hire more people, pay more taxes, strengthen their local communities and eventually propel the growth of the economy. However, SMEs consistently report access to capital being one of the most important factors in being successful, as getting unsecured business loans still remains a large issue for them. In fact, SMEs are the most underbanked business category worldwide and Asia Pacific is the region with the least banked SMEs in most of the countries.”

Wish Finance is offering merchant cash advances and business loans with fair interest rates based on the company’s real cash flow, not assets. It has direct access to POS terminals infrastructure to see real time financial transactions, which it combines with the local market data for scoring. Wish issues a loan in 24 hours, and then deducts a few percents of the merchant customer’s’ payments to automatically repay the loan. In this way, repayments are made seamless and effortless for SMEs. Each loan is insured from customer’s bankruptcy.

To provide greater security and transparency, Wish Finance combined P2P lending and connection to the POS with the blockchain. It will store the entire portfolio and its performance in the blockchain, cleared from any personal borrowers data. This policy will help the borrowers, funds, current and potential investors in many ways, improving predictability and accountability of their investments, and providing an opportunity for the permanent audit of the company’s portfolio.

During private beta-testing, Wish Finance conducted lending for a group of 1000 small companies. 112 loans were accommodated all of them were paid back with 0% default rate (from $2,000 amount of loan – $15,000).

Wish Finance is planning to conduct an ICO starting from October 2nd-25th, 2017 and issue WISH tokens. WISH tokens executed by Ethereum could be at any time converted to equity of Wish Finance company registered in Singapore. Converted tokens intuitively will have its share of company profits as dividends.

Eugene Green said:

“We’ve conducted a very thorough and broad research of South-East Asia for the launch. We’ve also invested our own money to establish the company and its core technology, and successfully issued our pilot loans and got them repaid. We’re ready for the ICO and we will use those funds to scale up. We’re also negotiating partnerships with insurers and acquirers in different countries of Asia Pacific and Europe to expand into new markets.”

This is a sponsored press release and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views held by any employees of The Merkle. This is not investment, trading, or gambling advice. Always conduct your own independent research.

A lot of traditional business models have been disrupted as of late. Cash money is slowly being replaced by payment cards, mobile payments, and cryptocurrency. Booking a hotel? Services like Airbnb make it easy. CryptoCribs is a platform combining the concept of Airbnb with cryptocurrency. Although the site may not look as professional as the real deal, the potential is certainly visible to everyone.

CryptoCribs is a Unique Platform

Spending cryptocurrency is slowly becoming a lot easier, even though there is still plenty of work to be done in this regard. Especially when it comes to allowing people to spend cryptocurrency on goods and services they need on a regular basis, there is plenty of room for improvement. CryptoCribs shows how some of the more innovative concepts can easily come together in a platform that offers the best of both worlds.

More specifically, this platform combines elements of Airbnb with the use of multiple cryptocurrencies. Right now, CryptoCribs supports both Bitcoin and Ether payments, although Monero may be added in the next few weeks as well. The latter point has not been officially confirmed, mind you, but the developer of this platform is actively considering it. CryptoCribs is a great outlet for all of the aforementioned cryptocurrencies; that much is certain.

As is always the case with new platforms, users need to be cautious first and foremost. This is not a professional team on the same level as Airbnb, mind you. It seems to be a one-man project right now, although things will continue to evolve as the platform grows more popular and the service is used more often. The potential for growth is certainly there for CryptoCribs, although most people will look at it as a niche market first and foremost.

As the name of the platform somewhat suggests, CryptoCribs is all about finding places to stay in different countries and spending cryptocurrency in order to do so. The platform offers a few different locations right now, and there is a review system in place as well. It has all the traits of an Airbnb for cryptocurrency, albeit on a much smaller scale for the time being. According to the site, this platform was mainly designed to enable peer-to-peer travel, which is an interesting concept.

Moreover, anyone in the world can become a host on CryptoCribs, which is a nice touch. The specific requirements remain hidden behind the signup process, but it will be similar to other platforms focusing on rental services. It is good to see this platform embrace cryptocurrencies, as it makes the spending of Bitcoin and Ethereum a lot more convenient for different purposes. Being able to spend such currencies on travel destinations that aren’t hotels is pretty interesting.

In the long run, the future looks rather bright for CryptoCribs. If the site gets a more professional design and some more hosts, there is no reason to think things will not take off. Though there is still a fair amount of work to be done before this platform will even be remotely appealing to mainstream users, the foundation has been laid for sure. It’s an interesting site to keep an eye on, as we need more initiatives like this one to make cryptocurrency succeed.

Here is why you should consider investing in crypto assets if you haven’t started already.

The international project Boosteroid starts ICO on October 23 and intends to squeeze giants of computing power rental market such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft.

Today the prices of cloud computing services offered by market leaders — Amazon, Microsoft, Google — are very high, so this service is still the privilege of the “elite”. This is what spurred experts to create Boosteroid.

«Computing power rental price is a problem for many users, — explains Boosteroid founder Ivan Shvaichenko, — We decided to remove this obstacle».

There will be three stages of Boosteroid ICO.

«We decided to divide ICO in three parts because there is no need in receiving the total amount of investments at once.

We will use the funds raised after the first ICO stage to setup electricity connection, getting the premises prepared to the setup and launch of computing powers, purchase of the first facilities and further software development to provide convenient access to computing resources.

Funds raised after the second ICO stage will be used to buy and set up the equipment to start our computing facilities.

Funds raised after the third stage will be used to further expand computing power of our project.  BTR token will be available at the main cryptocurrency exchanges after the second ICO stage», – noted Boosteroid founder.

The first ICO stage begins at 9:00 (CET) on October 23 and ends at 21:00 (CET) on November 6, 2017. ICO can be completed ahead of schedule if the necessary amount of investments is attracted. The starting price of 1 BTR token is $0.48, the final price is $0.58. Investors will be able to exchange cryptocurrency for a total of 100 000 000 BTR tokens.

The next 700,000,000 BTR tokens will be available during two following ICO stages:

• from November 27 to December 11, 2017. The total number of BTR tokens: 300,000,000. The starting price of 1 BTR token is $1.08, the final price is $1.38
• from January 15, 2017 to February 15, 2018. The total number of BTR tokens: 400,000,000. The starting price of 1 BTR token is $1.88, the final price is $2.78

The collected funds will be used to create computing power and system software, to develop the BooStore application store and also for marketing and PR.

Boosteroid successfully completed the pre-ICO and sold 2,000,000 BTR tokens. The pre-sale of BTR tokens began at 09:00 (CET) on September 22. It was planned that the pre-ICO would end on September 29, 2017, but, thanks to investors, it lasted only a few hours. The starting price of 1 BTR was $0.1, the final price was $0.47.

Boosteroid is a cloud services platform that provides convenient access to computing power, storage, software products and other functionality.

The project will allow to abandon expensive personal computers in favor of a powerful remote service with a user-friendly interface and a simple management. A computer is able to carry out a variety of tasks in the “cloud” – from working with texts to analyzing DNA.

Thank to the lowest rental on the computing power market Boosteroid will become available to every user of the World Wide Web.

To make a work with a cloud convenient our team will develop a user-friendly interface with quick and easy access to Boosteroid services.

Project participants also plan to develop BooStore application store, where it will be possible to buy applications or download them for free and install on a cloud computer.

But there’s even more to come: Boosteroid team intends to contribute to the future, so we will provide free 10% of our capacities for artificial intelligence projects addressing the issues of aging. Criteria for selection of startups to be provided with our powers will be set after the first ICO stage.

Learn more about the project:

Project site: Boosteroid.com

White Paper https://boosteroid.com/white-paper

Follow us on:

Telegram: https://t.me/boosteroid/

Twitter https://twitter.com/infoboosteroid/

Medium/Blog https://medium.com/@Boosteroid/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boosteroid.info/

BitcoinTalk: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2217477.new#new/

This is a sponsored press release and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views held by any employees of The Merkle. This is not investment, trading, or gambling advice. Always conduct your own independent research.

Blockchain technology may change the world of video streaming forever by helping creators monetize their content and helping users take back control from giant corporations.

Internet rights and freedom of assembly advocates rejoice! The judiciary has come down on the side of US citizens fighting to protect their rights. We recently reported on President Trump’s Department of Justice requesting identifying information on visitors to a protest website, but that may now be a thing of the past. A judge has issued a statement indicating that the United States government has “no right to rummage” through the anti-Trump traffic log.

Thankfully the Courts Protect Our Rights

This is huge. When we first reported on the DOJ requesting identifying information from an anti-Trump website’s hosting provider, we were concerned. Thankfully, a Washington DC judge has since told the DOJ that the department does not have any right to pour through the visitor traffic logs of this website.

The case landed on Chief Judge Robert E. Morin’s desk in August. He had originally ordered that the website hosting service, DreamHost, comply with the requests and hand over the information that the DOJ had requested. There were important caveats, but they were not enough to successfully protect innocent internet users.

After appeals were filed by DreamHost and new hearings took place, it looks like Chief Judge Morin has reconsidered. He issued a revised order that comes down on the side of privacy advocates everywhere. Not only did Chief Judge Morin issue an order telling the government that they had no right to go through these files, but in an awesome double-whammy blow to the DOJ, Judge Morin ordered that DreamHost protect its customers from these exact kind of rights infringements.

A Great Step in the Right Direction

Our readers will know that I am ecstatic whenever internet and privacy rights are upheld or strengthened, along with everyone else here at The Merkle. I am writing this with an enormous grin on my face, actually.

This is a bit of good news at a time when we hear continually about campaigns against our internet rights. Even supporters of Donald Trump and his administration should be happy, even though this blow was dealt to an administration they support. This sets a legal precedent that could serve to enshrine our internet privacy rights into stronger laws. Now any president — Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, or anything else — would have to overcome this decision in order to snoop on your Internet habits. This is good for everyone.

However, there is still work to be done, and reasons to stay vigilant. Net neutrality remains under fire. The FCC claims that an ISP market consisting of one company constitutes effective competition, as it removes price caps even for regions with only one ISP. In a world with too little competition in the ISP sector already, being told that only one ISP is sufficient competition feels like a farce.

Let’s take our win and thank Chief Judge Morin, but not let it make us lazy.

NEOUSD TECHNICAL ANALYSIS 12.10.2017 and 13.10.2017 lows of $26 will be our minor support level. Actually, a double bar reversal pattern was anchored there when yesterday’s candle closed. For now, any appreciation to gauge bullish presence will only be valid with prices closing above $33 and a stochastics buy signal in place. In the meantime, … Continue reading US CPI AND RETAIL SALES DATA DISAPPOINTS TRIGGERING MONERO AND IOT UPTREND

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Prague, Czech Republic – 14 October 2017. Have you ever opened a new position right after a loss to make your money back, and then the market did not go in the direction you expected? Or, did you close too soon for fear that you would lose profits, even if your original strategy was to hold longer? Emotions can greatly overshadow judgment.

Athena lab s.r.o. has developed the xAthena platform – a patent-pending system that uses new methods combining personality type, emotion, and machine learning to increase profit for day traders.

xAthena tracks the emotional state of a person at the physiological level. Some people, for example, exhibit stress with an increased heart-rate, and others display it through specific hand movements. The platform is designed to collect various signals from traders such as pulse, temperature, facial movements, angle of sight, and retinal status which are then compared with their trading results. An advanced neural network identifies the stages in each individual where emotions interfere with trading decisions.

Once enough data about a trader has been recorded, the capability to significantly reduce their losses will be achieved. xAthena’s advanced neural network will help to guide the trader in real-time by notifying them of situations where decisions are being made based on emotion. This sensitive data is stored in an encrypted blockchain to ensure the accuracy of the data.

It will be necessary to collect data for more than three months at the current stage. However, behavioral patterns common to specific personality types have already begun to emerge. To complete the platform in 2018, extensive research will be carried out under the supervision of a team of psychologists to determine these distinct patterns. This will shorten the learning time for a new subject to three weeks. Furthermore, a magnetoencephalograph (MEG) – the world’s most advanced tool for mapping the brain in real time – will be used to significantly accelerate data gathering.

A brokerage service will be established as a component to the xAthena platform to handle daily trading transactions. The EU-licensed xApollo brokerage will have clear market information that will eliminate the potential risk of using external brokers. The xApollo brokerage will primarily be for use with xAthena, but service will also be offered to the public.

Finally, Athena lab will continue to pursue new products and services built upon the xAthena platform. Future applications of xAthena will extend into the automotive and aviation industries for the development of new safety systems. Features including accident prevention alerts for drivers and pilots are in line for further patents. In addition, business management and military projects are planned.

Research and development will be funded by a crowdsale accepting Ethereum beginning on 12 October 2017. The full release of xAthena for traders is targeted for October 2018.

The essential question to end with is: Why should anyone buy Athena?

• It is a research project that will change trading around the world.
• Athena lab s.r.o. is likely to submit two more patents in the near future.
• The modifiable blockchain will be suitable for corporate use (open-source of course)
• And most crucially: Athena lab will use 35% of its quarterly earnings to buy and burn Athena tokens for the next five years.

Athena lab s.r.o.
Czech Republic

ICO Has Already Started

Telegram: https://t.me/xathena

Slack: xAthena.slack.com
Email: [email protected]
https://www.athenacoin.io

This is a sponsored press release and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views held by any employees of The Merkle. This is not investment, trading, or gambling advice. Always conduct your own independent research.

It’s hard to ignore digital currencies these days. With headlines like “If You Bought $5 of Bitcoin 7 Years Ago, You’d Be $4.4 Million Richer” all over the internet, it’s forcing many of us to contemplate whether we should put some of our hard earned money into cryptocurrencies. But then, just as you are about … Continue reading Why Investing in Digital Currencies Is a Much Better Idea Than You Might Think

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President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim says everyone is excited for Blockchain technology, but rejects Bitcoin, compares to Ponzi schemes