Day: November 17, 2017

The financial elite has opposed Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for quite some time now. Most of these people got rich through traditional finance and see no merit in Bitcoin because it can’t be controlled or manipulated to their liking. Thomas Peterffy, the richest person in Florida, isn’t a big fan of Bitcoin either. In fact, he claims that the world’s leading cryptocurrency will destabilize the global economy.

Bitcoin is More Powerful Than People Think

Readers of the Wall Street Journal will have noticed the massive full-page advertisement related to Bitcoin in Wednesday’s edition. That ad was paid for by Thomas Peterffy, the founder and chairman of Interactive Brokers LLC, a firm specializing in futures brokerage. Bitcoin is a very real threat to its current business model, to say the least. At the same time, the demand for Bitcoin futures has never been higher, and there are new business opportunities waiting to be explored.

In his open letter, Peterffy claims that Bitcoin is a very serious threat to the economy as we know it, and that it may serve as a destabilizing force given that the US economy is almost at a tipping point. This simply confirms that the wealthy elite don’t want the current financial situation to change unless they can benefit from it. With the rise of Bitcoin, that appears to be a lot harder than most entities would like.

Taking out a full-page newspaper ad will not necessarily help Peterffy’s case, though. Seeking to restrain Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from using the same clearing services as financial products is a rather odd request. This is akin to putting forth that only accredited investors should have access to this new form of money. He doesn’t propose a viable alternative either, but merely wants to see Bitcoin disappear once and for all. When the wealthy elite starts asking the government to ban something, you know the situation has changed in favor of the underdog.

Moreover, Peterffy’s ad claims there is no fundamental basis on which Bitcoin may be valued. While that statement may be true, it also applies to futures contracts, bank-issued money, and any other financial tool the world possesses today. It is always intriguing when wealthy individuals try to plead their case without knowing how finance works at its core. Then again, we have seen similar comments before and they usually fall on deaf ears.

For some reason, a lot of people still think governments can “ban” Bitcoin. They can try to, but it would not be in their best interest to do so. Introducing taxation guidelines would be a far more beneficial approach for any government, even though it’s also difficult to enforce taxation on something no government or bank controls or issues. It is certainly true Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can and will destabilize the economy, but not for the reasons Peterffy may think.

For an individual with a net worth of US$13.8 billion, such comments regarding Bitcoin seem petty at best. While he is entitled to his opinions, they don’t make much sense when looking at the bigger picture. If a Bitcoin bubble were to occur, it would have major ramifications. However, these consequences pale in comparison to a stock market crash or the bankruptcy of one of the world’s biggest banks. All three events are equally likely to happen, but not necessarily in that order.

Positive news flow for Ripple seems to be boosting price, while the technical analysis also favors the bulls.

Diamonds are forever. They are the most concentrated form of pure carbon and the strongest mineral on Earth. This is why they remain highly sought and invaluable.

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article

Created in 2009, the blockchain is the most secure ledger system in the world facilitating immutable data storage on a decentralized system. Assets on the blockchain are created through a cryptographic process known as mining. Mining rewards miners with blockchain-based assets for every minable “block” they solve. This feature is what differentiates cryptocurrency mining from their traditional counterpart, creating a new wealth system for all involved.

Combining invaluability and scarcity of diamonds with the immutability and wealth creation system of the blockchain, DMD Diamond was created in June 2013.

DMD Diamond is a cryptocurrency that allows users to send money anywhere in the world instantly, securely and at near zero cost. The coin focuses on creating a multi-entry, high rewards monetary system that has been designed to facilitate financial freedom through blockchain technology. By limiting the total coin supply and emission rate, DMD Diamond coin provides an interest bearing asset with hi­gh annual interest rate.

Being one of the oldest cryptocurrency created on the market, DMD Diamond has undergone several revisions and improvements. Despite this, it has never changed its’ core values of being a non-government controlled digital currency for secured wealth creation supported by network protocols, infrastructure and services of the Blockchain.

Reduction of money supply is a countermeasure to inflationary devaluation. The scarcer the supply, the higher the demand and price growth. This philosophy is the reason why there will be only 4,38 million Coins in existence. These coins will be created over the course of many decades, making it one of the most scarce electronic commodities. 2.5 million coins have been mined since the creation of the first block 4.5 years ago.

Block rewards are smoothly being reduced without abruptly halving early adopters reward. This reduction will see the interest rate of DMD Diamond gradually fall over the next 10 years from the current 25% to 1%, signaling the end of easily obtainable DMD Diamond coins.

Despite its’ Scarcity, which is almost five times fewer total coin supply compared to Bitcoin, DMD Diamond is easily obtained and profited from through its Proof-of-Stake 3.0 and a state-of-the-art consensus protocol. This ensures which a high degree of security, stability and efficiency on the network by eliminating several attack vectors including Blockchain precomputation. Proof-of-Stake approach not only dramatically reduces carbon footprint but also dramatically lowers electricity consumption making it environmentally friendly.

DMD Diamond is pleased to introduced the Masternode integration with the most recent network update. This Layer 2 protocol provides additional services to the network by introducing swift and improved anonymity features to transactions on the platform. It also provides an increased compensation of 65% for every reward block. 10000 DMD are required to start or join a shared Masternodes program which  guarantees regular and frequent payouts for every Masternode connected to the network.

Currently, 50% of all coins have are now locked in Masternode and off the speculative markets, proving there is huge demand for these services. The update also placed DMD Diamond coin among the prestigious SegWit enabled cryptocurrencies.

The upgrading of DMD Diamond consensus mechanism to Proof-of-Stake is not the end for miners who wish to continue to use their equipment to mine the coin. Mining is still available through Diamond Multipool where hash power provided to NiceHash are automatically converted to DMD coins.

Over the years, DMD Diamond has demonstrated a spectacular ability to simultaneously hold value and grown, reaching a growth of 4500% in a year that saw Bitcoin grow by just 600% in comparison. The network also has a proven and scandal free track record with no pre-mining incident, ICO scandal, or scam accusations.

DMD Diamond Foundation will continue submitting core code improvements and further with the program of co-financing community based projects.

You can read more about DMD Diamond on the website https://bit.diamonds/

Cryptocurrency ICOs have become a global phenomenon throughout 2017. A lot of companies use this new approach to raise money and get their projects off the ground. However, there are clear indications that this method of fundraising isn’t suited for every project either. One should create an ICO for the right reasons and not just because of the money.

To ICO or not to ICO?

When it comes to cryptocurrency ICOs, the sky is pretty much the limit these days. That is what most companies think, anyway. There are a lot of things to consider before creating an ICO in the first place. Several industry experts shared their comments with us in an effort to create a more robust industry. After all, there are a fair few bad players in this industry, and it is becoming difficult to differentiate between legitimate and overhyped projects.

Firstly, Spice VC’s Ami Ben David advises companies to not raise too much money. Any project attracting high amounts of money with an initial coin offering may be labeled a scam, regardless of its actual intentions. At the same time, it is important to retain one’s integrity at all times and not oversell one’s product, especially if it doesn’t exist yet. Rather, building trust between a team and potential investors is paramount. A lot of ICOs forget this point for some reason.

Perhaps one of the more solid pieces of advice comes from CarFix’s Pavel Nazarov. According to him, ICO projects should ensure they don’t fall victim to blockchain hype in order to justify building a database. If the term blockchain is used, the project should involve an actual blockchain and not a mutable ledger. Support from industry leaders will certainly allow more projects to gain legitimate traction over time. A big “do not” is underestimating the US SEC when it comes to securities and tokens that may be regulated as such.

Publiq’s Alexandre Tabbakh feels transparency should be the number one priority for every ICO. Most projects emphasizing transparency along with communication, technology, and legal compliance will not run into trouble. However, if there are very few updates disseminated to the community on a particular project, people will be wary. Sadly, we have seen a lot of ICO projects struggle with communication once money has been raised. There is a lot of room for improvement in this regard; that much is evident.

When it comes to ICO projects, experts cite many of the same pitfalls these days. More specifically, the lack of communication, excessive greed, cutting corners, and overselling are issues which are in need of addressing. Some projects also struggle to protect community members and investors from scammers, which is another big concern. Moreover, it is always in the best interest of any ICO to solicit legal advice in regards to whether or not its tokens classify as securities.

All of the above expert advice is pretty solid, to say the very least. Although opinion may be somewhat divided as to whether or not ICOs should exist in the first place, if people took these simple guidelines into account, most issues would not come up in the first place. There is an interesting future ahead for cryptocurrency ICOs, although no one knows for sure how things will play out.

Credit card giant Visa has launched the trial phase of its business-to-business payments system built with blockchain startup Chain.

ING has developed a zero-knowledge proof that is supposed to ensure anonymity when transacting on a Blockchain.

Nasdaq continues moving toward Blockchain technology as the company files another patent – this time related to asset ownership tracking.

Buying bitcoin just keeps getting easier, with vendors of all kinds adding support for the cryptocurrency. Just days ago, Square revealed they were adding the ability to buy BTC within their app. Now Hyosung have gotten in on the act by launching bitcoin ATM support. Soon, customers of the firm’s ATM machines will be able to buy bitcoin at the push of a button.

Also read: Square Cash App Users Trial New Buy and Sell Bitcoin Feature

Bitcoin On Demand

Hyosung have announced they will add bitcoin transaction support with the aid of Just Cash. Once activated, the bitcoin ATM service will operate very similarly to a conventional transaction. Instead of withdrawing fiat currency, digital currency will be despatched to the recipient’s wallet using a QR scan. While bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency to be added, there is talk of other coins being added in due course.

Hyosung are one of South Korea’s largest industrial companies, boasting over 25,000 employees and revenue of U.S. $17 billion in 2015. ATM manufacture is just a small part of their operations; the company also dabble in construction and chemicals among other things. Within South Korea however they are best known for their ATMs which can be found up and down the country.

First Korea, Tomorrow the World

South Korea’s love of all things bitcoin is well-documented, but Hyosung’s operations aren’t limited to their home turf; the corporation have a global presence, including a huge number of ATMs in the U.S. Hyosung don’t partner with banks to supply ATMs in America: instead, their machines can be found in convenience stores and gas stations, whose owners derive income from the fees generated.

In announcing news of bitcoin ATM integration, Hyosung touted a number of benefits that vendors can expect to enjoy. These include easy implementation, no hardware required, a new revenue stream, and the ability to attract new and repeat customers. Because the feature will be added to ATMs as a software upgrade, bitcoin compatibility should be rolled out quickly. Interestingly, it looks like there will also be the ability to exchange cryptocurrency for cash, although there is no word on how this reverse feature will work.

Bitcoin as a Service

There is no word yet on what the commission and exchange rate will be when purchasing bitcoin from one of Hyosung’s upgraded ATMs. Generally speaking, bitcoin ATMs are more expensive than other methods of purchasing the cryptocurrency such as via an exchange. Customers who struggle to obtain the documentation to complete lengthy KYC procedures, or who simply lack the technical knowledge, however, may find bitcoin via ATM an ideal solution. For those who bank on the cryptocurrency continuing to rise, a few dollars in transaction fees is a small price to pay.

Would you use an ATM to buy bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, and Hyosung.

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The post One of the World’s Largest ATM Manufacturers Announces Bitcoin Support appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Cryptocurrency markets are always evolving, which is part of what makes them so interesting. The Litecoin price is a perfect example of this concept, as the value per LTC is currently heading toward $70. This move is occurring right as the Bitcoin price is attempting to regain control over $8,000. Whether or not the Litecoin price will surpass $70 again later today, remains to be determined.

Litecoin Price Surge is Real

Over the past few days, there have been multiple attempts to push the Litecoin price to new heights. Earlier today, this positive momentum resulted in a steady climb toward $72.50, but that price point could not be maintained all that long. Not entirely surprising, as any cryptocurrency gaining in value will eventually come down in price again. In the case of Litecoin, the price retracted to around $66, but the upward momentum is far from over right now.

Considering how the Litecoin price has seen a few dips well below $60 over the past week, the current momentum is all the more important. In most cases, we see altcoins tank in value whenever the Bitcoin price is going up in rapid succession. Altcoins often see a massive value decline in this regard, with most of them turning deep red as a result. Right now, we see most of the top 10 altcoins go up in value even though the Bitcoin price is inching closer to the $8,000 level.

How all of this momentum will pan out, remains to be determined. While it is evident the Litecoin price momentum is solidifying right now, there is never a guarantee as to whether or not this momentum will be maintained in the long run. Assuming that is the case, however, we may very well see a new all-time high Litecoin price by the end of the weekend. Cryptocurrency markets are very unpredictable, that much is rather evident.

With over $548m in 24-hour volume, things are looking pretty good for Litecoin right now. There is a clear demand for Litecoin right now, whether or not it is for buying or selling purposes. Given the fact Litecoin sued to be quite big in China not too long ago, it is good to see this altcoin still thrive without China exchanges. The activation of SegWit and atomic swap capabilities are not going by unnoticed by traders either.

As is to be expected, Bithumb is the largest exchange for Litecoin trading volume right now. That is not entirely surprising, considering Bithumb traders have shown a  great interest in propping up the prices for all currencies supported by the platform. GDAX and Bitfinex complete the top three. It is good to see three fiat currency markets at the top for Litecoin, although there are plenty of Bitcoin trading markets in the top 10 as well.

All of this goes to show there is a good combination of fresh money coming into cryptocurrency and existing money moving from coin to coin. In the case of Litecoin, we see most of the volume coming from fiat currencies right now, but there is also a fair amount of funds shifting from Bitcoin to Litecoin and vice versa. There is an interesting future ahead for cryptocurrency in general, especially with the total market cap inching closer toward the $250bn mark.  

Bitcoin has staged a remarkable “V” shaped recovery from the last week’s lows near $5,500, and may be looking at new highs ahead.