Day: December 13, 2017

A Starbucks customer in Buenos Aires walked in for a coffee and wound up with more than he’d bargained. After connecting to the store’s free wifi, the man discovered that his laptop had been hijacked for cryptocurrency mining. Starbucks apologized for the failing, but not before malicious code had been installed on the customer’s computer.

Also read: Bitcoin Can’t Stop Breaking Things

Drop It Like It’s Hotspot

Covert cryptocurrency mining has been a hot topic this year – as have most topics pertaining to cryptocurrency. Websites which surreptitiously use visitors’ CPUs to mine cryptocurrency are extremely controversial. The code can hide in pop-under windows and remain open indefinitely, slowing laptops and other devices to a crawl. Such behavior might be expected of anarchist webmasters, but it’s hard to imagine global corporations stooping so low. That’s what happened to Noah Dinkin however after visiting a Starbucks in the Argentinian capital.

He tweeted:

In reality, the code was likely using his CPU to mine monero, but the sentiment remains the same. The amount of monero that could be mined via a single CPU is negligible, but with thousands of laptops working in tandem, these miniscule gains can add up. The site responsible for injecting the malicious code makes no bones about its raison d’être, boasting: “Monetize Your Business With Your Users’ CPU Power”.

After being alerted to the issue, Starbucks, to their credit, responded:

It’s common practise for corporations to outsource their wifi service to a third party. After the incident emerged, a Starbucks spokesman told Motherboard:

The wifi is not run by Starbucks, it’s not something we own or control. We want to ensure that our customers are able to search the internet over wifi securely, so we will always work closely with our service provider when something like this comes up. We don’t have any concern that this is widespread across any of our stores.

Incidents such as this are more benign than some of the sob stories that are endemic to crypto, such as hacking. Nevertheless, the incident illustrates both the ubiquity of cryptocurrency and the lengths to which enterprising individuals will stoop to claim their piece of the pie. You might not be able to pay for a coffee with cryptocurrency, but your Starbucks coffee can pay for cryptocurrency. The moral of the story? Everything comes with a price – even free wifi.

Do you think it’s wrong for websites to hijack their users’ CPUs for crypto mining? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

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The post Starbucks Customer Has His Laptop Hijacked for Cryptocurrency Mining appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Forking bitcoin was all the rage in 2017. In 2018, the question might be, what are we getting in return?

Is there a difference, after all?

In first world countries, it is natural to assume everyone has a bank account. The banks are omnipresent and can be found nearly everywhere there are consumers. Because of this, we don’t really take the time to think about what a potential substitute for the banking system would be if they weren’t present in a certain space.

So what’s the most likely alternative to going to a bank or ATM to do your banking? Using your mobile phones. The GSMA released a report in February of 2017 that forecasted the number of unique individuals subscribing to mobile services would reach 5 billion by the end of 2017. That represents more than 70% of the population and outlines a huge target market.

With the number of bank accounts that have active means of payment around 1.2 billion, there is a clear opportunity for mobile service providers who are capable of facilitating payments.

Matter of Necessity

Most people use banks because they need to, not because they want to. Banks are the socially acceptable way to store and invest money, and people naturally gravitate towards the easiest solutions.

Banks currently provide this easiest solution, but if someone figured out how to move this solution to be housed purely on mobile devices, a lot of users would follow. Most of Western civilization is tethered to their phones these days, and they are also resistant against going to the bank when there is an easier solution in the palm of their hands.

Banks know this and have tried to shift as much of their services to online banking and mobile banking as possible. This is a priority for them, but at the same time, it takes away their competitive advantage of having invested large quantities of money in their physical infrastructure. In short, the move to mobile creates an even playing field for future players.

Bringing New Users to Market

So if we only have 1.2 billion of the 5 billion current phone users able to use banking, how can we bring these new users to market? The answer is shockingly simple. Everyone already prefers to deal through their phones, and these people all have mobile phones.

The real trick is determining how to facilitate the payments made through phones. Right now there is no company people are willing to trust their money with enough that isn’t a bank. Banks have mobile applications, but you need to have access to a brick-and-mortar store to gain any utility from them, which negates a lot of their utility in these underserved markets.

By creating a new platform that all mobile phone users have access to for their banking and mobile payments needs, a company would be able to relay that growth into other fields. The person paying bills via a certain app is more likely to use that application for borrowing money or investing savings. And the beauty of it is all of these consumers currently don’t have access to any of these services.

Blockchain as the Facilitator

This opportunity may sound great, but previous technical limitations have made it impossible to execute on. The major change which has occurred in the last several years is experimentation with blockchain technology. It has become clearer and clearer that the technology has a place in our future, and mobile payments are a natural application of it.

Blockchain technology functions as a decentralized log of all the transactions that occur. Rather than having a central server and facilitator of transactions, the entire network is devoted to handling transactions. This helps cut costs and maintain the transaction logs in a much more efficient way, which leaves a powerful opportunity open for the taking.

In the mobile payments space, Telcoin is the current frontrunner. They have built a strong framework upon the Ethereum platform and employ smart contracts in their design. It is still early days, but if they can address the overall need of the market for an alternative to the traditional banking system and its infrastructure, there is a major opportunity to be capitalized upon.

The post How a Brand New Technology is Going to Change the World of Banking appeared first on NEWSBTC.

Choice is not always a good thing unless you are a certain type of person that can handle choice. In an exclusive interview Nick Cowan speaks about the paradox of choice in the crypto world, how he chooses his path, and how others choose theirs.

The central banks of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are reportedly testing a new cryptocurrency for cross-border payments.

For years, Google and Apple have enjoyed an effective duopoly on apps, earning huge fees and implementing opaque policies. Blockchain is poised to change all this.

Just a month after the Indian Supreme Court issued a warning to the financial interests of the nation, “surveys” have begun on nine of the country’s cryptocurrency exchanges. An undisclosed source explained to local news outlet DNA:

“We are collecting the name of investors and their transaction details. The survey under Section 133A of the Income Tax Act, is being conducted for gathering evidence for establishing the identity of investors and traders, transactions undertaken by them, identity of other parties, bank accounts used, among others.”

The “surveys” began early this morning and targeted 12 premises associated with prominent Bitcoin companies. The operation was countrywide with properties in Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Bombay, Kochi, Hapur and Gurugram being singled out. These included buildings used by popular exchanges Zebpay and Unocoin.

A photographer for Business Today who was witness to the events unfolded at Coinsecure in Bangalore claimed that computers were seized, servers taken control of, and staff detained.

Cryptocurrencies do not have legal status in India, however, they are yet to be outlawed. That said, the central bank has issued several warnings to those buying, selling, and transacting using digital currency. Bloomberg report that as recently as December 5, the Reserve Bank of India had issued a statement saying that exchanges were not permitted to operate in the country.

Despite the legal grey area in which they exist in India, like elsewhere, digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ether, and Litecoin are proving immensely popular. In a country that has had such financial strife at the hands of corrupt bankers and politicians, it’s hardly surprising that efforts at genuinely sound money are capturing the imagination of citizens. According to another of DNA’s unnamed sources, the country’s cryptocurrency exchanges have been adding over 3,500 new users a day, and downloads of digital currency-related wallet and exchange software have exceeded 800,000.

Just yesterday, the federal government in India set up a panel to decide how Indian law should treat cryptocurrency. It’s chaired by Subhash Chandra and members include the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board, and the Reserve Bank of India’s Deputy government. Chandra is the country’s Economic Affairs Secretary. Based on the composition of the panel, today’s events, and previous statements from the RBI, it’s thought to be unlikely that any form of endorsement of cryptocurrency is forthcoming from the Indian Federal Government.

Image: ShutterStock

The post India: Officials “Survey” Nine Crypto Exchanges appeared first on NEWSBTC.

Within the cryptocurrency community, the Mt Gox legal proceedings have been a very topical subject with a court case that has been dragged out for four years. Now a group of creditors are pleading with the Tokyo court to change the bankruptcy case to civil rehabilitation.

Also Read: Bitcoin’s Price Rise Brings Mt Gox Closer to Solvency 

The Curious Case of Mt Gox and 200,000 BTC

Bitcoin has increased in value exponentially, and Mt Gox creditors want their share of the gains. According to reports, claimants now believe that the former trading platform’s assets outweigh the current liabilities. The firm is mostly controlled by the exchange’s CEO Mark Karpelès who is currently under investigation for embezzlement. In addition to the company’s branding rights and assets, the Tokyo based court trustee for the Mt Gox legal proceedings presently possesses over 200,000 BTC (US$3.4Bn). Karpelès found the funds after the exchange went under losing over 800,000 BTC (US$13.5Bn).

Petitioning the Court for Civil Rehabilitation  

A petition was filed with the Tokyo courts that asks the Japanese bankruptcy officials to move the case into a different type of legal process called civil rehabilitation. If the case was changed to civil rehabilitation, then creditors could possibly receive all their funds in full which would be pro-rata per claimant. At the moment the way things are written by the Mt Gox trustee and the Tokyo court system claimants will only receive $450 per BTC. Moreover, at current prices, Karpelès could receive over $2Bn after the liquidation sale at current prices.

The Aim of Diversified Representation

According to a source close to the matter, the court system and trustee are considering the civil rehabilitation changes. Many creditors are not happy that Mt Gox’s shareholders, and Karpelès might be credited 173,000 BTC after losing all their money. Recently news.Bitcoin.com reported on the well-known owner of the website Mtgoxprotest.com, Kolin Burges, who has explained many times in the past that he’s not pleased with the way the bankruptcy case is unfolding. Burges is a member of the creditors group petitioning the court alongside Daniel Kelman, Josh Jones, and an unknown claimant. The team has drafted a creditors “constitution” and roadmap for how they are handling the civil rehabilitation petition.

“These are the founding members who are getting this thing off the ground, and any participation as voting members will be discussed during the consultation period — Kim Nilsson will be an advisor,” explains Burges.

We will appoint more committee members during the consultation period, this will be done with creditor participation and based around the aim of diversity of representation.

What do you think about the Mt Gox bankruptcy proceedings? Do you think the creditors should get a more fair share? And what about Mark Karpelès receiving over $2Bn from the liquidation sale? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Images via Pixabay, Reuters/Toru Hanai

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