Day: October 29, 2017

While millions of people throughout the world use digital currencies, the current state of the market is still far from mass-adoption, but this could change! STACK represents a social money platform whose main goal is to push even harder at the replacement of traditional currencies and payment methods, by creating a platform where you can better control, and manage your money.

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article

Therefore, at this time, the main mission of STACK is to help bring digital currencies to the masses by providing instant point of sale payments for over 36 million merchants. By using the existing payment rails and combining with other payment channels, users will be able to pay via digital currencies on normal POS systems in shops for merchants around the world.

STACK completely replaces your wallet

Once an account is created and digital currencies are transferred to it, users will also be issued a special chip-and-pin global payment network-based pre-paid card, therefore providing access to not only all POS systems that accept major credit or debit cards, but also to ATMs throughout the world. Not only this, but purchase protection is to be offered on every transaction made via the account or card.

What’s truly beautiful about STACK is their no-fee policy. With this in mind, need a new replacement card? It’s available for free. So are account activations, contactless purchases, STACK to STACK transfers, ATM withdrawals, account cancellation, live chat customer service, and more.

If you don’t want to use a card, you won’t have to worry! You can still use the STACK services, as the platform gives you access to all of your funds via mobile. Therefore, by using the mobile tap-to-pay feature, you won’t even need to carry around a wallet anymore.

To help raise money for the project, STACK will be holding a token pre-sale and a public sale for their STK tokens. With this in mind, the initial pre-sale will begin on the 30th of October, followed by the public sale on the 14th of November which will end on the 24th of November. For more information, feel free to take a closer look at the platform and its future services here.

It appears there is a bright future ahead for virtual reality on the blockchain. More specifically, multiple companies are joining forces to ensure this can happen sooner or later. Edge and Matryx are two of the companies teaming up to make this vision become a reality. It will be interesting to see how this development … Continue reading Startups Join Forces to Combine Virtual Reality With Blockchain Technology

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No one can deny a lot of hedge fund managers are paying closer attention to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies these days. So much so, in fact, that quite a few of them have incorporated cryptocurrency holdings into their lists of supported currencies. According to some sources, there are over 120 hedge funds which focus on cryptocurrency exclusively. That’s an interesting number that will only continue to rise moving forward.

Hedge Fund Managers Appreciate Bitcoin

Although it may seem like a rather strange mix, there is an interesting correlation between hedge funds and cryptocurrencies. A hedge fund allows people to make strategic investments through exposure to volatile assets in the hopes of making a profit. While there have been plenty of “traditional” investment opportunities already, a lot of hedge fund managers are looking for new and creative ways to make their products more appealing.

Cryptocurrency presents a very enticing opportunity in this regard. Not only is it one of the more volatile industries in existence today, it also provides people with a legitimate chance to make a healthy profit. Not everyone wants to buy Bitcoin or altcoins directly, for obvious reasons. A hedge fund can provide those individuals with the desired cryptocurrency exposure through a more traditional investment vehicle.

The year 2017 has been especially promising for cryptocurrency-related hedge funds. More specifically, over 90 of these funds have launched in this year alone. These funds provide direct exposure to Bitcoin as well as popular altcoins including Ethereum and even Litecoin. Autonomous Next projects the total number of financial firms providing exposure to cryptocurrencies now sits at 124, which is a rather impressive figure.

Surprisingly enough, the vast majority of hedge funds use a strategy that resembles the venture  capitalist approach. Just over one-third of all hedge funds hold US$1.1 billion in combined assets on behalf of their customers. Companies focusing on trading digital assets are also pretty popular right now, as they manage US$700 million in assets at present. There is also a surprising amount of focus on the part of hedge funds in the areas of machine learning, data science, and statistical arbitrage.

All of this goes to show there is more than one valid approach when it comes to exposing investors to cryptocurrencies right now. That shouldn’t surprise anyone, but the overall growth is still pretty significant to take into account. Whether or not these markets will continue to grow as time progresses remains to be seen. The momentum is clearly in favor of cryptocurrencies right now, but the tide can always turn when one least expects it.

It also seems there are a lot of high expectations for some of the newly launched projects in this industry. While Bitcoin and Ethereum are the two main sources of investment right now, one shouldn’t overlook some of the smaller projects and digital tokens built for specific projects. It is evident ICOs also have a role to play when it comes to cryptocurrency-related hedge funds right now. Whether or not that is a good thing remains to be determined, though.

BitBay, the cryptocurrency with the world’s first DECENTRALIZED MARKET, is going to release its new CLIENT VERSION on NOVEMBER 1ST. This milestone marks the BitBay Client as the first wallet in the world to feature advanced ‘Exotic Spend’ options based on incorporating Bitcoin developer, Peter Todd’s, ‘checklocktimeverify’ protocol built into the Client’s UI.

The BitBay Halo Client is built upon a trustless smart contracting platform, and the addition of these ‘Exotic Spend’ features further solidifies BitBay as the leader in providing its users with the most advanced and reliable cryptocurrency features the current industry can provide.

These new ‘Exotic Spend’ features include:

*Freezing Coins – Some users may wish to freeze coins in order to prevent spending them so it turns into a long term savings account. Also they may wish to send coins to someone else with a delay. Users may even wish to pay interest to other users who freeze coins in order to protect the market price. This will also be utilized after the decentralized dynamic peg is implemented so that exchanges can trade a liquid and a futures market (frozen coins)

*Dead Man’s Switch – What you might know formally as a “will”. A user may want funds to go to a relative in case anything happens to them. For example, imagine a trust fund account setup to release funds to a son or daughter the day they turn 18 years old. A Dead Man’s Switch is also useful for “green addresses” which allow them to spend quickly using a trusted third party or deal with multisignature exchange and still maintain their security in case the exchange loses their key. For example, if two business partners were locked in a trustless joint account, and one partner suddenly vanishes, their joint account could potentially be locked forever since each partner holds 1 of 2 keys to activate the account. Yet by use of a Dead Man’s Switch, joint account business partners can have the funds change ownership at a later date – most likely back to themselves. It is also completely free to use.

*Advanced Timelocks With Hash Puzzles –

Users can create a before and after scenario using Hash Puzzles. The address before the date has exclusive ownership and the address after a date triggers will have non-exclusive ability to spend from the account which they will likely do immediately when it triggers exactly like Dead Man’s Switch. However, you can give either party a “hash puzzle” or a password to unlock the payment. This means you can create an Atomic Trade which unlocks with a password. This can be used for decentralized exchange between two blockchains.

All of this is with built in notifications as well for the payments. It is worth pointing out that this feature will start off as exclusive to BitBay but at a later date be enabled in BitHalo, so users can execute trustless OTC trades between Bitcoin and BitBay. This will provide an invaluable tool in the future when BitBay implements its dynamic peg and Bitcoin traders can hedge free of any service fees through use of the Halo Client. Hash puzzles are also a clever way to protect your own payments so you have additional security for them. Of course, you must always remember your password and not use the same password twice because the solution shows up on the blockchain. Hash puzzles can also be payments that unlock contingent on external information perhaps due to a bet or futures contract with a centralized 3rd party service. Both the recipient before and after can have their own unique puzzles.

*Basic Notary and Burn – People tend to like to burn information into the blockchain. We now allow the ability to burn a simple message which might be useful for proof of ownership like notaries, links, torrents, messages or hashes.Using this feature, you can burn the hash of a set of documents used in the case of real estate transfer. This can be used to show intent of transfer of ownership of things in the real world which could be registered with a public notary and your BitBay address. A user could then leverage the software to show intent of transferring the property as the new recipient would receive a new set of hashed documents. Although it is worth pointing out this would require the user has some cursory knowledge of Blockchain security.

Some of these features are necessary for the implementation of BitBay’s ‘Dynamic Peg’ protocol, which is scheduled to be released in Q2 of 2018. The Dynamic Peg protocol will provide stability to the coin’s market price through the use of a  decentralized voting consensus built into the Client. Coin holders can vote to freeze or liquify coin supply based on the supply and demands on the exchanges. Market price can still fluctuate yet with less volatility. The ‘Exotic Spend’ features will provide the tools necessary to begin development of the ‘Dynamic Peg’ by providing the ability for BitBay to proportionally balance a ratio of frozen and liquid coins. Frozen coins will still be tradable on the exchanges yet in a separate ‘futures’ market with timelock restrictions. With the peg in place, BitBay can better facilitate cryptocurrency adoption for merchants and consumers alike within stable, decentralized, trustless marketplace for goods and services without the need for any middleman in the process.

BitBay aims to provide a decentralized trustless hedging currency for traders seeking refuge when the markets become extremely volatile. Since BitBay’s dynamic peg will be 100% trustless, there are no delegates or custodians to have to trust to back the coin’s value – a first for the crypto industry. Incorporating a ‘futures’ market of sellable yet undervalued ‘frozen’ coins next to a standard liquid market will allow BitBay to become one of the most lucrative trading designs for investors and speculators alike. Since BitBay’s peg value is not ‘hard’ and can fluctuate, this will allow for traders wishing to hedge their trade capital with the potential to gain compounding ROI after they buy-in or sell-out if they time their decisions ahead of the swings in other markets. For example, if an investor speculates that Bitcoin is going to drop in value, he’d sell out his Bitcoins for BitBay; if his speculation was correct others would follow suit to hedge their capital while Bitcoin drops in value. This increase in demand for BitBay will cause the price of BitBay to rise; now the investor has gained even more ROI before he can speculate on a re-entry point into Bitcoin in hopes of being ahead of market sentiment.

BitBay is leading the crypto industry in innovations – no other decentralized cryptocurrency wallet has more features than the BitBay Halo Client. BitBay is not a vapourware cryptocurrency, these features are functional and can be used as soon as one synchronizes to the blockchain. Just recently, two BitBay users completed the sales of a 5 acre piece of real estate in California. Through the use of the BitBay Client’s automated double deposit escrow protocol, the counterparties can transact 100% ‘trustlessly’. And if no middleman is needed then no fees or  regulations are needed either.

Investments in BitBay are already backed by proven technology and will soon be backed by a price stability feature that will allow investors to invest with a little more peace of mind knowing that price manipulation now has an adversary. And why not? Cryptocurrency IS designed to be programmable money after all! BitBay intends to capitalize on this and become the first currency in history to successfully peg (dynamical peg) its value based on supply and demand by programming the peg in ways in which fiat cannot possibly achieve. Thus, we can avoid the historical failures hard-pegged fiat has shown in the past. Expect the BitBay Dynamic Peg whitepaper to be released within the next 2-3 months.

Visit https://bitbay.market/walloffeatures  to see a full list of all BitBay has to offer and https://bitbay.market/roadmap  to view what lies ahead.   

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.

Interesting developments are never far away in the world of cryptocurrency. Airbitz, one of the popular Bitcoin wallets, is rebranding to edge. This rebrand is also part of the major wallet overhaul which has been prepared behind the scenes. This is an interesting development, although it raises some questions. After all, people are concerned the … Continue reading Airbitz Rebrands to Edge Wallet and Raises the bar for all Bitcoin Wallets

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AI+Hedge Funds = millions in your pocket?

It has been coming for quite some time now, but the Blockchain wallet has officially integrated Ethereum support. This news was officially announced Thursday night, even though the integration of Ethereum has been on the agenda for quite some time now. It is good to see this major wallet supporting ETH right now, even though it seems the company has lost a lot of goodwill from its users as of late.

Ethereum Support for Blockchain is Finally Here

Most people know the Blockchain wallet as a way to store, send, and receive bitcoins. Indeed, that has been the company’s business model for quite some time now. It is doubtful that situation will ever change, for obvious reasons. However, that doesn’t mean the company won’t introduce support for other cryptocurrencies over time. Enabling support for Ethereum has been months in the making, yet has only just now come to fruition.

For the Ethereum community, this is pretty good news. Having more wallets which can support this cryptocurrency can only be considered a good thing. Although there is no shortage of Ethereum-compatible wallets these days, it never hurts to see some more competition emerge. Choice is always the best option for both companies and consumers, after all.

Under the hood, Ethereum users will receive all the same Blockchain wallet functionality that Bitcoin users have enjoyed for many years. It is a convenient solution for both desktop and mobile users alike, and will be of great interest to both novice and veteran cryptocurrency users. What’s more, integration has been built in for both iOS and Android users.

Given the recent shift of cryptocurrency into the mobile ecosystem as a whole, having more mobile wallets natively supporting different cryptocurrencies makes a lot of sense. Blockchain is still a well-respected company in the world of mobile cryptocurrency wallets. Its support for Bitcoin has been invaluable over the years, and the firm now aims to provide similar backing to Ethereum. Whether or not it will succeed in this regard remains to be determined.

The bigger question is whether Blockchain retains sufficient credibility to do so. More specifically, it seems a lot of Bitcoin users aren’t too pleased with Blockchain’s decision to support SegWit2x. Ideological issues aside for a minute, the battle lines have been drawn between companies supporting SegWit2x and those who have continuously opposed it. Blockchain is still in favor of SegWit2x right now, and it seems this position has cost the company some goodwill from the community.

The overall Ethereum community couldn’t care less about those issues, mind you. They are doing their own thing, which is working out quite well so far. A lot of issues have been addressed with the first part of the Metropolis hard fork. Once this upgrade fully completes, things will get a lot more interesting as far as Ethereum is concerned. Blockchain is doing its best to remain relevant in this mobile wallet ecosystem, which is the smartest business decision right now.

In 2017 we are witnessing active cryptocurrency industry development. Companies seek to offer their solutions to pressing problems, for example, security establishment and speed of conversion. However, blockchain experts come to the conclusion that there is a question that is not solved yet. We are talking about acquiring. Instead of waiting until the global commercial companies endorse cryptocurrency as a primary payment instrument on a par with fiat, ambitious developers are now offering projects able to change the situation.  

In October 2017, ICO of the international blockchain acquiring project Cryptonex (CNX) was completed. The team has set up the main objective – to provide the opportunity to exchange any world currencies for crypto currencies and tokens to buy goods and services using mobile phone and payment cards. All transactions will be instantly carried out with minimal commission. Even in the absence of powerful PR-support, Cryptonex team managed to raise 18 million dollars. This result was achieved thanks to the value of the developed product. Taking into account, that every day there appear more than 200 new ICOs, such an impressive amount proves acquiring relevance and actuality for many people.

Today for funds deposit/withdrawal implementation, it is necessary to use exchangers or other services (for example, localbitcoins), which charge fees and take much time for conducting operations. There is always risk to lose money because of a dishonest contractor. Money withdrawal is also difficult, and there is no opportunity to pay with cryptocurrency using a mobile application. Cryptocurrency holders are tired of waiting for conversion, deposit and withdrawal and of the fear of losing funds on the exchanges.

To solve these problems, Cryptonex has already developed a secure web wallet that allows to store and convert popular cryptocurrencies. The team has begun to implement the mobile application and the opportunity to work with fiat. Cryptonex is based on Scrypt encryption algorithm. It protects transactions and wallets from hacking from the outside. The access may be encrypted; the key thing is to store the password in a safe place.

Some selected opportunities of Cryptonex are implemented by other cryptocurrencies, in particular, Cryptopay and Dash debit cards. However, there is no full functionality, aggregating all the major financial flows in the blockchain anywhere.

In October the process of adding CNX to the exchanges started. Yobit and HitBTC appeared to be the first ones. In comparison with the initial public offering CNX coin value has increased to $2.5. The total amount of the coins issued for trafficking circulation is 105 million CNX. In the nearest plans of Cryptonex is to complete mobile app testing in winter 2018 and start acquiring development. With the Asian investors from the banking sector support, by the end of the year the company will have announced the first deposit/withdrawal operations using mobile app with contactless payments. CNX mandatory participation in acquiring will provide high liquidity and, accordingly, 70-100 times rising cost of the cryptocurrency on exchanges.

As an additional income source, the team offers P-o-S mining to the users. The yield is 12% per annum, plus coin price growth. Besides, till the entry into circulation of 90 000 000 CNX, one can participate in the referral program with 20% bonus from coins purchase. Such tools and coin growth prospect together with large-scale financial and technical project support will make some cryptocurrency holders think of their funds redeployments in favor of Cryptonex.

Official site  https://cryptonex.org/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Cryptonex.org

Twitter https://twitter.com/Cryptonex_CNX

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.

Highly regarded billionaire fund manager Bill Miller, who has consistently made large returns over the past 15 years, has allocated 30 percent of his $154 million fund in bitcoin. After resigning from his position at $3.65 billion investment management firm Legg Mason, Miller created his own investment firm, Miller Value Partners. Miller’s investment firm, which … Continue reading Renowned Billionaire Investor Bill Miller Has 30% of His Fund in Bitcoin

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Must ICOs choose between a non-compliant utility token or a complaint security token that doesn’t work in commerce? Jaron Lukasiewicz proposes a fix.

Up to this point, there wasn’t much information available on the status of Bitcoin in the Middle East, yet that has since changed. Not long ago, the central bank of the United Arab Emirates issued a warning regarding the risks associated with using digital currencies as a medium of exchange due to issues involving volatility, money laundering, and speculation.

Governor of the UAE Central Bank speaks out

According to Gulf News, Mubarak Rashid al-Mansouri, the governor of the UAE Central Bank, speaking at the Islamic Financial Services Board Summit, stated that because digital currencies are not subject to official channels, they can’t be monitored nor controlled. Cryptocurrencies allegedly pose risks to the public as they can be used for money laundering, or for the funding of terrorism. Moreover, in the governor’s words, “The risks of trading in digital currencies have clearly appeared when the prices of digital currency fell sharply after some countries announced a ban on using initial coin offerings.”

While the main objective of the UAE’s Central Bank is to achieve and maintain financial stability in the country, some believe that these comments were far-fetched. However, they echo statements made by other regulators who hope to discourage digital currency use.

Reports also indicate that until now, the central bank of the UAE had refused to issue licenses for trading digital currencies in the country, thereby preventing digital currency exchanges from offering their services locally.

The head of asset management at the Emirates Investment Bank has stated, “The digital currencies are highly speculative and this is not backed by anything tangible.”

Based on everything that has been outlined so far, what do you think about the latest comments coming from the United Arab Emirates? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

The blockchain is becoming popular and useful not only in fintech and related industries. Decentralized and distributed ledgers are also now being used in ensuring security and fair trade in industries like energy, which now enables communities to achieve better energy efficiency, reduced carbon footprint, and even the potential to earn from their real properties/assets. … Continue reading Blockchain is Enabling the Decentralization of the Energy Sector

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JAKARTA, Indonesia – Oct. 29, 2017 – Buying and selling cryptocurrency has never been easier, with the innovative ICO from Pundi X now delivering the market’s first POS device free to early investors who contribute more than 30 ETH or 1.5 BTC from a single bitcoin or Ethereum address.

From now until December 20, throughout the remainder of the ICO (including pre-sales and crowd sales), qualified investors will receive a Pundi X POS device which can be installed in retail outlets enabling consumers to quickly and easily buy or sell BTC, ETH, LTC, PXS and other cryptocurrency using fiat money (Dollars, Rupiah, Baht etc), bank card, mobile wallet or Pundi X Pass. The purchased cryptocurrency can be stored in a digital wallet or used to make cashless payments to top up phones, pay utility bills or buy goods, subject to local regulations in each market. The POS devices delivered under this offer will be shipped within 45 days after completion of the ICO process.

With just two days remaining in the pre-ICO period during which investors will be rewarded with a significant bonus of 30% extra tokens, Pundi X is fast approaching its initial cap of 14,000 ETH with a total ICO hard cap of 280,000 ETH.

“We have seen a tremendous swelling of enthusiasm among investors in Indonesia and much of Asia and our pre-ICO has developed a powerful momentum of its own.” said Zac Cheah, CEO of Pundi X. “Now is the time to reward those early investors and give them the chance to operate their own POS device in store so that local consumers can start to purchase cryptocurrency, or cost-effectively conduct financial transactions in retail outlets, without the obligation to pay high banking fees.”

Pundi X POS is the world’s smallest cryptocurrency device and is designed to sit conveniently on a retail counter in order to distribute cryptocurrency and enable consumers to conduct financial transactions.

A multi-function device that is connected directly to the blockchain so that each transaction is recorded, Pundi X POS serves as the bridge that connects the real world and the crypto world. It also supports the delivery of financial services to the large numbers of ‘unbanked‘ citizens living across South East Asia.

“Pundi X POS solves the last mile challenge for cryptocurrency purchases and sales. We created an easy offline solution to make cryptocurrency accessible to everyone,” said Zac Cheah, CEO of Pundi X. “For those who are interested in cryptocurrency transaction or want to facilitate cashless transactions, this is the perfect time to get the Pundi X POS device.”

For non-ICO investors, the company plans to start the first phase of a POS device pilot roll out in selected cities, including Jakarta, Bali, Seoul, Singapore and Hong Kong. Pundi X will select applicants who own physical stores – cafes, restaurants, co-working spaces or convenience stores – in order to expand the offline sales network. This roll-out will start in early November and devices will be shipped to the applicant in the same month.

To see how transactions work on the Pundi X POS device, please go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymo6Hou9SYM

About Pundi X

Pundi X is a blockchain startup that aims to make cryptocurrency an enabler of ubiquitous cashless payment environments across South East Asia and beyond. Pundi X POS enables shops, cafes and convenience stores to sell cryptocurrency to a broad cross section of general consumers and builds on the success of Pundi-Pundi which is one of Indonesia’s most popular QR code cashless payment apps. The launch of Pundi X POS is a stepping stone towards an ICO in late 2017 that will provide funding for as many as 700,000 Pundi X POS devices to be installed over the next three years across all target markets.

For a detailed understanding of the platform and who we are, check out our website https://pundix.com    

You can also find us on the following social media channels:

Website: https://pundix.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PundiXLabs

Telegram: http://t.me/pundix

Medium: http://medium.com/pundix

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/pundixlabs

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOIf6WeLEzZi3DQxzenTZeA

Telegram (Indonesian): https://t.me/pundix_id

Telegram (Chinese): https://t.me/pundix_zh

Telegram (French): https://t.me/pundix_fr

Telegram (Korean): https://t.me/pundixkorea

Kakaotalk (Korean): https://open.kakao.com/o/gNNBYXA

Facebook (Korean): https://web.facebook.com/Pundixkorea/

Telegram (Vietnamese): https://t.me/joinchat/D0-9GULzCrE_MUNqzxvj9g

Telegram (Spanish): https://t.me/pundix_es

Telegram (Russian): https://t.me/pundix_ru

Telegram (Japanese): https://t.me/pundix_jp

Twitter (Japanese): https://twitter.com/PundiXLabs_jp

Facebook (Japanese): https://web.facebook.com/pundixjp/

Telegram (Malay): https://t.me/pundix_my

For media enquiries, please send an email to: [email protected]

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.