Day: December 5, 2017

In November 7, a vulnerability in the Parity wallet contract was found. Parity wallets that were created after July 29 were frozen and hence inaccessible. According to Parity Technologies, a total of 573 wallets have been affected and the total balance is still unknown. This attack on Parity took place 5 months after another similar attack in July 2017. What is surprising is that Parity still has not audited the smart contract even after the first attack in July which is the usually the norm in the blockchain community.

According to Motherboard, Parity, the digital wallet company knew about the flaw since August but did not address the issue. This causes a lot of concern about the irresponsible nature of the Parity team. The Parity platform is built on the Ethereum blockchain and this hack may cause the Ethereum foundation to lose its competence. The co founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, posted a tweet distancing himself from the Parity hack.

Response from Parity

Since the November 7^th hack, parties involved with the Parity network have termed the incident as an accident and not giving it the seriousness it deserves. On November 13^th, the network’s team sent out a message to the stakeholders not to believe what is being said out there about the hack and that the team was doing all it can to unfreeze the funds. They are terming the hack as just a mere speculation when there is actually evidence that the actions of devops199 — the hacker, were actually intentional. According to a post on Medium, the hack was deliberate and the hacker was not an inexperienced guy, but someone with in-depth knowledge in Ethereum.

Effects of the Hack

Only Parity Technologies will be able to access the databases and determine how much is at stake after more than 500 wallets were frozen. The victims will have to just wait for an indefinite period of time before the case is solved, if at all it could be solved. Trust is among the most important traits any blockchain technology should build with its users.  If a network keeps on having the same mistakes and large amounts of money is lost, the credibility of the network and the team might be lost. Popov, who first flagged the hack as a malicious attack and the CEO of Cappasity, has warned that the trust the Parity team had created might vanish if they do not handle the situation urgently.

It is now a matter of time, as the community anxiously waits to see how the whole issue will pan out. The result, irrespective of whether it is positive or negative will have a long lasting effect on Ethereum’s future as the preferred platform for dApps and blockchain projects.

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Finnish communications giant Nokia has announced a new blockchain pilot aimed at developing new ways to store healthcare data.

Key Highlights

• Ripple price is struggling to remain above the $0.2400 support and moved below $0.2380 against the US Dollar.
• This is a major bearish trend line forming with resistance at $0.2450 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair (data source from Kraken).
• The pair might decline further and it could even test the $0.2300 support in the near term.

Ripple price is under pressure against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. XRP/USD might extend its decline and trade towards $0.2300 or $0.2200.

Ripple Price Resistance

There was no major upside move in Ripple price above the $0.2500 level against the US Dollar. The price struggled to remain above the $0.2500 level and started a downside move. During the downside move, there was a break below a couple of important supports such as $0.2450 and the 50% Fib retracement level of the last upside wave from the $0.2200 swing low to $0.2670 high. The worst part was a close below $0.2450 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

It seems like the price could continue to move lower towards $0.2300 in the near term. The next major support is near $0.2316 and the 76.4% Fib retracement level of the last upside wave from the $0.2200 swing low to $0.2670 high. However, there are chances of it declining back towards $0.2200 in the near term. On the upside, there is a major bearish trend line forming with resistance at $0.2450 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD.

The trend line resistance near $0.2450 is also around the 100 hourly SMA. Therefore, any major recovery should be limited by the $0.2450 level in the short term.

Looking at the technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD for XRP/USD has now moved from the bullish to bearish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for XRP/USD is now well below the 50 level and heading down.

Major Support Level – $0.2300

Major Resistance Level – $0.2450

Charts courtesy – Trading View, Kraken

The post Ripple Price Technical Analysis – XRP/USD To Decline Further appeared first on NEWSBTC.

Welcome to the second edition of Deep Web Roundup in which we collate the most intriguing stories from the darker side of the net. Despite not attracting as many headlines as it did in its 2013 heyday, the deep web is still a hub of paranoia, P2P trading, and pioneering privacy features. Anyone interested in preserving their anonymity on the net could learn a lot from the darknet’s more cautious practitioners.

Also read: How to Protect Your Bitcoin and Your Privacy When Passing Through Customs

Firefox is Borrowing Privacy Features From Tor

Deep Dot Web has reported on the extent to which Firefox has been incorporating features from the Tor browser. Given that Tor contains 95% of Mozilla’s code, that’s not surprising. It’s interesting though to see features such as blocking of HTML5 canvas fingerprinting trialed in Tor before migrating to Firefox. This type of fingerprinting can be used to track users as they browse the web, but Tor’s developers have found a way to curtail that.

Zcash, the Not-So-Private Coin

Thought your cryptocurrency transactions were private cos you’d been using zcash? Turns out there’s a one in three chance you’re wrong. If you want to maintain your privacy on the deep web – or anywhere else for that matter – monero looks like a safer bet. The coin has soared to almost $250 today, buoyed by news that it can now be used to purchase the music of more than 40 major recording artists. The real benefit of privacy coins, it transpires, is having the freedom to anonymously purchase Mariah Carey albums.

Goodbye Aero, You Won’t Be Missed

In the maiden edition of our Deep Web Roundup, we reported on Aero marketplace’s ongoing customer support issues. It turns out those issues were just as taster of what was to come, for days later the marketplace disappeared without a trace. The usual theories regarding hacks, law enforcement, and exit scams abound.

The truth is, it doesn’t really matter what happened: the fact is another deep web marketplace is gone, taking with it vendor and buyer funds. If the umpteen similar incidents from this year haven’t already hit home, Aero’s demise is evidence that you shouldn’t leave funds in a marketplace for any longer than it takes to make a purchase with them – and even then you’re taking a risk.

Despite a succession of shutdowns and scams, demand for deep web marketplaces remains higher than ever. Reuters reports that prior to their demise, there were 350,000 products for sale on Alphabay and Hansa, with European intelligence agencies noting that the average lifespan of a darknet marketplace is now under a year.

The Ghost of Trade Route Emerges Through the Fog

Trade Route is long gone, though like an echo from the past, time-locked multi-sig addresses from the marketplace began to give up their contents this week. There have been reports of some time-locked transactions now being accepted on the bitcoin network, though the majority aren’t due to be unlocked for another month. It’s a small crumb of comfort for the vendors who lost out when the market pulled an exit scam – or possible a very large crumb, given the mammoth gains that bitcoin has made since Trade Route vanished in October.

In related news, someone’s gone to the trouble of setting up a clearnet marketplace to promote their darknet wares. The whole operation looks extremely sussed, and extreme caution is advised. Nevertheless, the operators of White Shadow Marketplace have even set up social media accounts. Don’t bank on “the biggest and safest Darknet Tor Onion Marketplace” being around for long – on either side of the web.

White Shadows and Dark Markets

Finally, a recent study has confirmed that the vast majority of bitcoin transactions are for legitimate purposes. Nevertheless, there are still illicit means of spending the web’s preeminent digital currency for those who are so inclined. In the last couple of weeks, a 133-year-old painting entitled Chief Ngatai-Raure, which was stolen from a New Zealand art gallery, has gone up for sale on the deep web. The site selling the red hot canvas? None none other than the aforementioned White Shadow Marketplace. It’s a small web.

Do you think deep web developments have any effect on the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Keep track of the bitcoin exchange rate in real-time.

The post Deep Web Roundup: Aero Sinks and the Ghost of Trade Route Rises appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Digital card games are an untapped billion dollar market, with potential for further growth. In fact, this sector is projected to grow by 40 percent between 2017 and 2020. Up until now, there have been few advances to enhance online card gaming and buying. The Nova Blitz team is about to change that.

What is Nova Blitz?

Nova Blitz is a revolutionary real-time trading card game, with fast-paced gameplay, strategy, mind-games and bluffing. Participants play simultaneously and can react to each others’ every move in real-time. And, in combat, hidden attack and block orders let you bluff and counter-bluff your opponent.

Nova Blitz is live now on Steam, and in beta for both Android and iOS. Both Richard Garfield, the creator of Magic: The Gathering, and Skaff Elias, the creator of the Magic Pro Tour, provided consultation during the development of Nova Blitz.

What is the Nova Token Platform?

The Nova Token Platform is a Blockchain-based card gaming platform, where players can use Nova Token to create, sell and trade cards in any card game. Not only that, but players can also earn cards through a proof-of-stake concept. The platform enables users to trade cards, earn new ones and participate in tournaments.

Currently, players are only able to rent cards, the authenticity of these cards is questionable, they are difficult to sell or trade and players are not able to benefit financially from a centralized card-trading system. On Nova Token Platform, players can use Nova Token to own the cards and trade them freely, be assured that these cards are authentic and benefit from the decentralized nature of the platform.

Benefits for players and developers 

The platform goes beyond simply gaming and card trading, as it harnesses the advantages of Blockchain technology to provide enhanced security for the card trading and holding. It is the only platform where gamers will actually own their cards. Additionally, the decentralized nature of the platform allows players to partake in the profits, unlike its centralized counterparts.

Developers stand to benefit quite a bit from the innovative structure of the Nova Token Platform. First of all, they can earn up to 90 percent of the revenue from Nova Token sales. Second, they can integrate any game into the tournament and card trading infrastructure. Third, they have automatic access to the Nova Token Platform player base. Finally and most importantly, developers can be eligible for funding for their projects.

Proof-of-stake and card trading

This mechanism works for cards in the same way that it works for tokens. The more Nova Tokens a player holds, the more cards they can earn. A player is free to trade or sell these cards at 100 percent profit. This can be very profitable, as the supply of cards is capped since the number of copies of a particular card is limited when printed.

The Nova Token team is putting forward the Card Exchange, which is an Ethereum-based side chain that is designed to utilize the Plasma Platform when launched. Using the Card Exchange, participants can buy or sell cards, and the exchange will act as a mediator between buyer and seller to ensure the process was fair. In its second iteration, Card Exchange Version 2.0, the system will be upgraded to include an auction house system.

White paper and ICO

About a $100 mlln in annual revenue is expected between 2017 and 2020 from digital card gaming and trading. The Nova Token team has a number of advantages over their competitors, as they are providing an accessible, all-encompassing platform where users can play games and own their cards. Their highly skilled team includes some of the best in the gaming industry and they already have a live working game currently available on Steam, iOS and Android in beta. They explain their multi-phase growth roadmap in their white paper. Their token sale starts on Dec. 11.

The post Blockchain-based Nova-Token Platform Set to Launch ICO appeared first on NEWSBTC.

Monero (XMR) has continually made new highs over the past month, and now holds a market cap of US$3.88 billion with US$310.8 million in trading volume over the past 24 hours. The coin has risen 1600% since January of this year.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a new warning on cryptocurrencies, the second time this year the central bank has done so.

NEM bulls seem to be on an encouraging path towards $0.36 and while at it, Monero has its mojo back.

In the last 24 hours, despite block speed and all technicalities Monero is facing, its price is slowly inching towards $250 first take profit level.

Let’s look at the charts:

NEM BULLS $0.28 BROKEN NOW ACTING AS SUPPORT

At the moment we see some NEM bulls pressure after that close above November 28 highs of $0.28.

We shall be keeping a close eye on the 20 period MA and see how NEO bulls  reacts at it in the coming sessions.

Otherwise, with this surge, $0.28 shall act as our new minor support line with any move towards $0.36 ultimate bull target a welcome move.

DASH OSCILLATING WITHIN A WEDGE

We note that despite the weekly chart being bullish, the short term trend DASH takes is largely dependent on the direction of break out in the 4HR chart.

Over the last 24 HRs, price action has failed to move lower despite closing below the 20 period MA.

In fact DASH is consolidating horizontally along a narrow $75 range and now the lower and the upper limits of the wedge will determine if bulls will rally or not.

Swing traders should withdraw temporarily and trade on a break out.

IOTA BULLS BLAST PAST SECOND TAKE PROFIT LEVEL AT $3.2

While we thought IOTA bulls might slow down and take a couple of weeks or even months before hunting $3.2 which is also another region of resistance and the second level of take profit, IOTA is showing no signs of slowing down.

It is currently trading at $3.5. Candlesticks are not outrageous but are short, normal but are inching higher along the upper BB.

For now, $3.2 shall act as our support and load line just in case IOTA drops.

AFTER BREAK AND CLOSE ABOVE $210 MONERO BULLS AIM AT $400

After this bounce and close above $210, Monero bulls are officially in charge. Like the daily and weekly chart, Monero bulls in the 4HR chart are inching higher and banding along the upper BB.

The 20 period MA is our immediate flexible support line. If there is a dip, bulls should look at November 29 highs and $210 for support.

Our ideal take profit level is at $400 which is the second Fibonacci extension level. We can easily project this because from current price action, Monero bulls can easily surge past $250.

NEO  LOW AFTER TESTING $43 MAIN SUPPORT AT $34

After testing highs of $43 on November 4, NEO bulls couldn’t break above $45 resistance. Instead, NEO moved lower according to the stochastics sell signal.

We now watch out and see what will happen to the support zone. This area is marked by the 20 period MA and the lower limit of a descending wedge.

Taking our cue from other alt coins price action, we expect to find support at around $34. This could be the case should our immediate support zone fail to prevent USD bulls from moving lower.

All charts courtesy of Trading View

The post NEM BULLS FOLLOWS IOTA AND MONERO MOVE UP TECHNICAL ANALYSIS 12/6/2017 appeared first on NEWSBTC.

Key Points

• Bitcoin cash price has started a new downside wave and it currently below $1450 against the US Dollar.
• There was a break below a key bullish trend line with support at $1480 on the hourly chart of BCH/USD (data feed from Kraken).
• The price might continue to decline and it could even test the $1380 and $1360 support levels.

Bitcoin cash price is currently under pressure below $1500 against the US Dollar. BCH/USD might extend losses towards the $1360 level.

Bitcoin Cash Price Resistance

There was a failure to hold a major support near $1450 in bitcoin cash price against the US Dollar. The price even moved below the $1440 support and is currently showing a few bearish signs. There was a push below the 38.2% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the $1205 low to $1614 high. It has opened the doors for more losses below $1450 and the price is now below the 100 hourly simple moving average.

More importantly, there was a break below a key bullish trend line with support at $1480 on the hourly chart of BCH/USD. This is a major bearish sign as long as the price is below $1450. At the moment, the pair is trading near the 50% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the $1205 low to $1614 high. It seems like the pair might soon break the $1410 and $1400 support levels and extend its decline.

The next major support is near the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the $1205 low to $1614 high at $1360. On the upside, the broken support at $1450 is now a resistance followed by the 100 hourly SMA.

Looking at the technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD for BCH/USD is now back in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BCH/USD is reaching oversold levels at 25.

Major Support Level – $1360

Major Resistance Level – $1480

Charts courtesy – Trading View, Kraken

The post Bitcoin Cash Price Technical Analysis – BCH/USD Reverses Gains appeared first on NEWSBTC.

Bitfinex, the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange by daily trading volume, has vowed to pursue legal action against critics including Bitfinex’ed. Many experts believe this to be a mistake, calling on Bitfinex to devote its efforts to an audit instead.