Day: December 16, 2017

It is evident financial systems all over the world face a multitude of threats right now. Most people would assume Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies pose a serious risk in this regard. That is not the case, though, as Bitcoin was only briefly mentioned in a new report by the US’s chief financial watchdog. This is pretty interesting news for the country’s economy, although it does show there are some other pressing matters which will need to be addressed moving forward.

The US Economy Faces Many Threats

No one can deny any financial system in the world today is very brittle. It doesn’t take much to send economies into an upward surge or a downward spiral these days. Not only do we have to deal with monetary threats, but there are also geopolitical risks to take into account. Add cybersecurity threats and cryptocurrencies to the mix, and you get a very volatile powder keg waiting to explode.

Surprisingly, a new report by the US chief watchdog for financial systems paints a rather intriguing picture. While it is true this 152-page report is filled with potential attack vectors that may hinder the country’s economy, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are not among them. To be more specific, this new form of money is mentioned in a few places, but it is not considered a direct threat at this point in time. This is both good and bad news.

On the one hand, it shows cryptocurrencies can potentially be beneficial to any financial system in the world. On the other, it also shows Bitcoin and altcoins represent a drop on the boiling plate known as the financial markets. While all cryptocurrencies have seen major growth throughout 2017, their total combined value is still well below US$1 trillion. Compared to most other financial threats and emerging solutions, cryptocurrencies are nothing to worry about right now.

This is rather surprising, given the negative stance some financial moguls have taken when it comes to various cryptocurrencies. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently told the world that Bitcoin is a fraud and should be ignored. Moreover, we have heard dozens of comparisons between Bitcoin and tulip mania, even though none of these doom scenarios have ever resulted in any major changes or collapses. Cryptocurrency is a very different creature compared to more traditional financial assets and vehicles, to say the very least.

The watchdog report explains Bitcoin as follows:

Virtual currencies are only used by a very small number of consumers. We give a bit more credit to the potentially much broader applications of the so-called distributed ledger technology underpinning the innovations. It is noteworthy that this digital wave also presents a regulatory challenge, because the storage of data is decentralized, rather than being in one spot that governments can watch.

It will be interesting to see how cryptocurrencies will affect global financial markets in the future. It is highly doubtful Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies will ever surpass traditional currencies, but that doesn’t mean these cryptocurrencies will not have their place in the world of finance. An interesting future lies ahead, as we will see some major changes to business as usual in one way or another. Moreover, it remains to be seen how regulators will respond to the challenges posed by cryptocurrencies.

Why banks compliances are not willing to understand cryptoworld? #EXPERT BLOG

During the pre-sale held from December 1^st we have raised astonishing $2 million and closed the minimum cap. The team is thankful to each participant and is now ready to welcome everyone to the FLUX community.

FLUX is the first platform of its kind, and its economy assumes absolute transparency and absence of boundaries which provides new possibilities to monetize any game and activities around it thanks to the unique FLUX COIN token. FLUX, and its own token (FLUX) will be the main means of payment within the ecosystem. Each person who registered before December 10^th receives a 35% token bonus. Moreover, if you invest more than $500k, a personal escrow plan called SICS (Special Investment Control System) will be applied to you. This plan is a strong insurance that funds attracted via an ICO are correctly used according to the initial agreements. According to it, the FLUX team will receive only 15% of the allotted budget and will then take partial payments from said budget during the development process. If the investor’s expectations are not met, they can withdraw the funds anytime. Thus, Investors can always keep their project investment process under control and make themselves safe from financial losses. It is highly important to notice that FLUX Token Sale provides the community with VISA/MC investments availability.

Our first milestone is to release a fully functional matchmaking platform based on Ethereum by the end of Q1 2018. Prior to this, FLUX will conduct the second and final token sale without bonuses, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to purchase tokens during the open sale with bonuses on December 10.

With the help of blockchain technology and smart contracts, the whole process becomes as transparent and automated as possible, which makes the platform a strong extension of the existing industry and enables the use of crypto currency in real business.

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.

Although most cryptocurrency enthusiasts consider Dogecoin to be a joke, the cryptocurrency has certainly made its mark over the years. Unfortunately, it seems there is very little interest from developers in doing something with this project in its current state. The Dogecoin community, on the other hand, is looking for a new developer or team of developers to take over. The big question is whether or not any major interest will be garnered in this regard.

What Does the Future Hold for Dogecoin?

Although Dogecoin has been around for quite some time now, this altcoin never amounted to much. More specifically, it never even got close to becoming a top 10 cryptocurrency, mainly because most people never took this concept seriously. This isn’t a big surprise, mind you, as Dogecoin has always been the “meme” of cryptocurrency in every possible way. It is also how the original creator seemingly portrayed this project.

At the same time, we all have to acknowledge that Dogecoin made some things happen which wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. It wasn’t Bitcoin or Litecoin which sponsored a NASCAR driver or sent the Jamaican bobsled team to the Olympics. That was all Dogecoin and its strong community of enthusiasts and generous individuals. All of that is well behind us now, though, and not much has come of Dogecoin ever since.

In fact, there has been little to no development of the Dogecoin ecosystem as we know it. Things have remained at a standstill for quite some time now. While there is no point in fixing something that isn’t broken, one would expect a bit more activity in this regard. Unfortunately, Dogecoin seemingly has no lead developer at this point in time. This situation has to change if the altcoin wants to succeed, although it remains to be seen if anyone will step up to the plate.

As a result, we’re seeing a public outreach by the Dogecoin community to anyone who wants to help maintain and perhaps improve this project. Although the community has done everything they can to keep things alive, there is a shortage of code contributors right now. A competent developer or team of developers is direly needed to restore Dogecoin to its former glory. Whether or not anyone can even do so remains to be seen.

It is rather commendable to see the Dogecoin community ask for help when they need it the most. Although Dogecoin is still around and has a pretty solid market cap, there are some things about this currency that could use some changes. The high emission scheme of this currency, for example, has been rather problematic from day one. It is evident inflation is perhaps the biggest thing to address first and foremost, even though there are so many DOGE in circulation already that it might not even matter at this point.

Whether or not anyone will take over the role of lead Dogecoin developer remains to be seen. It is a job no one will get paid for other than in the form of donations, but it would be a shame to see such an iconic project disappear due to a lack of interest. A lot of us grew up in the cryptocurrency world before Dogecoin was released, and it has become as much of a trend in this industry as any other coin.  

This is not the kind of technology where you “move fast and break things.” Financial market infrastructure is too big to bet on a buzzword.

Crypto-lending platforms are already in the next phase of development. We are looking at a new revolution in the finance sector itself and not just the cryptocurrency community in the shape of these decentralized lending platforms. This much needed development will help propel cryptocurrencies into mainstream banking services and beyond to promote widespread adoption.

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article

When it comes to TGEs, there is a general negative trend going on except for promising services that bring something useful, innovative and futuristic on the table. The days of flashy Token Generation Events (TGE) might be behind us and more so in the case of crypto-lending systems.

We have seen several platforms fail to deliver as promised in the field but EthereCash is aiming to change all that by introducing the first practical crypto-lending solution for the masses. Its TGE is proceeding admirably and if all things go well, the token sale will successfully raise the amount ahead of schedule.

A source within EthereCash said:

“We’re going forward with bringing the future of banking to the masses and think the world should know just how proud we are”

Why is EthereCash Performing so Well?

EthereCash makes the lending/borrowing process extremely easy, decentralized and useful for us. Apart from the basic utility of the platform, there are also several useful addons that appeal to the users who want to see cryptocurrency become a part of the mainstream financial services. EthereCash makes borrowing/lending easy eliminating the role of the middle man (bank) from negotiations and terms and conditions. Now you can set your own terms and borrow money easily and pay in back on time.

Payback Guarantees

EthereCash came up with a very pragmatic solution to the problem. Instead of using trust score to rate borrowers in which there is a lot of chance of default, you instead put cryptocurrency as guarantee and you can borrow up to 80% of your money in fiat and pay back the same amount later on. Spending bitcoins to make crucial payments on house mortgages, car lease, etc is what every cryptocurrency trader has experienced every now and then. We don’t want to part with our valuable coins as they can be much more in the future.

So, this solution of the EthereCash platform freezing 80% of your tokens till you pay back the money is a very realistic and workable solution to the problem. It removes the risk factor of default from crypto-lending networks and increases lender confidence. Other extremely useful features of the platform include the option of a crypto debit card, minimal fees, decentralized global community of lenders, assurity of smart contracts and multiple fiat and cryptocurrency support.

Etherecash Token Generation Event

The token sale of EthereCash tokens started from November 15 and will end shortly on December 12, 2017. The total hard cap of these tokens is 360 million tokens while the TGE hard cap is 110 million tokens. More than $30 million has been raised in the crowdfunding campaign and is likely to achieve target before the 11:59 December 12, 2017.

The TGE will be followed by a platform launch later in 2019 after extensive testing and evaluation. A major portion of the TGE funds will be used for the development and deployment of the platform.

Visit the Etherecash Official website – http://etherecash.io

Not for easily swayed, vlogger Mike in Space narrates a tour through the world of bitcoin memes (and mixed messages) of 2017.

Even after losing steam coming out of the summer and autumn, ICOs continue to attract investor attention. As we close in on the latter half of December, they’ve raised a collective US$4 billion over the course of 2017.  This is not only a significant financial milestone, but it speaks to blockchain’s budding mainstream appeal as we move into an era of adoption and regulation.

Make Room for the Boom

Back in July, Autonomous Next, the fintech analytics company, published a thorough study on ICO fundraising trends. The report contained a number of detailed analyses, including notable ICOs, ICO funding by industry, and overall ICO growth. When it was published, the report found that ICOs had raised over US$1.2 billion in the first half of 2017, up more than 300% from the US$265 million they had raised between 2014-2016.

Now, that mid-year estimate is up almost 300%, as Autonomous Next reports that ICOs recently surpassed US$4.2 billion in fundraising for 2017.  The majority of this growth came between the months of June and October, when investors poured a cool US$3 billion into ICOs and their projects. After seeing a record high of US$800 million in funding during the month of September, however, buying mania has largely subsided. November growth, for example, was sluggish compared to the rest of 2017, barely climbing above US$100 million.

A number of factors could be contributing to this sea change in ICO success. For one, when ICOs were reaching their peak, many investors were of the mindset that they could easily double or triple their gains by selling once a coin entered the market. As this approach became more commonplace in the community, the strategy became less lucrative, and ICOs depreciated in value once they hit exchanges.  Thus, it became more advantageous to buy a coin once it dropped in price post-ICO.

The November and December Bitcoin bull market may be another contributing factor. In the past two months, Bitcoin has more than tripled its valuation after a steady rise from US$3,000 to US$5,000 in September and October. The majority of the crypto markets benefited from this bull run, especially the top 10 coins, all of which experienced all-time highs in the wake of Bitcoin’s own. With Bitcoin now on the march to US$20,000, it’s likely that would-be ICO investors would rather hold top market cap coins than risk losing potential profits on unproven projects.

Fundraising for the Future

As the study details, we’re not only seeing impressive gains for ICOs, we’re seeing industry expansion as well. In 2014, ICOs fell into two categories: cloud services and cryptocurrencies.  Now, their industries have increased nearly five-fold. Since the beginning of 2017, there have been ICOs for cryptos in the IoT industry, banking and payment systems, financial investment services, and core tech, among others.

Along with its overall market growth, ICOs have demonstrated that blockchain is maturating into the realm of mainstream business and enterprise solutions.  With the new year will come working products, main net launches, and public services from a number of cryptoassets. The diversity of ICO projects is a testament to the applicability of blockchain and the versatility of its use cases for everyday services.

2018: An Institutional Era

With mainstream adoption comes public and institutional attention, and this attention is an open invitation for governmental regulation.

We’ve already seen a number of governments step into the cryptosphere and seek to regulate it. In South Korea, the government has set guidelines for exchanges and sought to curtail investment risks for its citizens. A while back, the government even enacted an outright ban on ICOs to protect its populace from scams and fraudulent offerings.

Meanwhile in the US, the Trump administration has been relatively silent about how the United States intends to approach a maturing blockchain industry. The US Securities and Exchange Commission, however, has started to establish its own regulatory guidelines for ICOs.

In a December 11 statement, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton roughly conveyed how the commission intends to approach cryptocurrencies generally and ICOs specifically in the future. “By and large,” Clayton wrote in the memo, “initial coin offerings…involve the offer and sale of securities and directly implicate the securities registration requirements and other investor protection provisions of our federal securities laws.” While Clayton does not believe all ICOs fall under this classification, in the future, ICOs will have to either a) prove that they do not function like a security or b) register as such with the SEC.

Ultimately, the SEC’s efforts are in line with the South Korean government’s regulations. With regulation, Clayton hopes to prevent “opportunities for fraud and manipulation,” and he believes proper licensing will protect investor interests.

These regulations, Clayton holds, should not be seen as a hindrance to crypto’s potential. “The technology on which cryptocurrencies and ICOs are based may prove to be disruptive, transformative and efficiency enhancing,” he stated.  Overall, the SEC Chairman is positive about crypto’s future outlook amidst increasing regulation, and he’s “confident that developments in fintech will help facilitate capital formation and provide promising investment opportunities for institutional and Main Street investors alike.”

Researchers at the University of New South Wales have revealed an architectural structure that solves some of the stability issues that are associated with quantum computing.

It seems to be only a matter of time until most cryptocurrency users will value the privacy aspect of certain altcoins. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and others all lack privacy by default. Although some currencies will introduce changed in this regard, it remains to be seen how all of that will play out. For now, we see the Dash price slowly approach the $1,000 mark for the first time in history. A monumental development for this privacy-oriented altcoin, to say the very least.

Dash Price Wants to Hit That $1,000 Mark

Similar to most other cryptocurrencies throughout 2017, we have seen a massive price increase as far as Dash is concerned. Thanks to some solid marketing efforts and masternode holders being rewarded for locking up funds early when it was cheap, the Dash price has exploded exponentially. More specifically, we have seen the Dash price rise from under $10 all the way to the current level of $916.83 in quick succession.

Any currency focusing on privacy will be in high demand sooner or later. This means there will be more gains for the Dash price moving forward, to say the least. Other currencies in this industry will also have their time to shine, although it seems Dash is the clear favorite by now. Its huge amount of coins locked in masternodes reduces the circulating supply as well, which means it is more expensive to buy this altcoin by default due to a small supply being made available.

Although the Dash price usually doesn’t go up by much over a 24-hour period, things are progressing steadily. With a price of $640 a few days ago, it is evident the small daily gains are paying off in the long run. Right now, it is only a matter of time until we see the Dash price hit that $950 mark, and $1,000 is certainly within reach. It will all depend on whether or not we will see any major corrections in terms of BTC value for this altcoin, although that doesn’t appear to be the case right now.

Thanks to just $161.4m in 24-hour trading volume, the Dash price was able to gain another 5.07% in USD value. Moreover, the altcoin also gained 3.74% on Bitcoin, which is moving up at the same time. A very interesting correlation between Bitcoin and altcoins is forming as we speak. It seems Bitcoin’s price increases aren’t necessarily driving the BTC valuation of altcoins down any further.

HitBTC is the leading exchange for Dash in terms of volume, which is somewhat surprising. Although a solid exchange, HitBTC rarely generates any noteworthy volume. Their trading volume is twice as high as Binance’s and Bithumb’s. Another interesting trend worthy of keeping an eye on. This also means most people are moving from Bitcoin to altcoins, rather than investing fresh capital. This doesn’t have to be a bad sign by any means, but it’s worth putting into perspective regardless.

Whether or not the Dash price will break the $1,000 resistance this weekend, is anybody’s guess. Slow and steady wins the race for most long-term altcoins, and Dash is doing the job just fine in this regard. It is evident there will be a four-digit valuation party at some point for Dash, but it may have to wait a few days. Then again, it could also happen today, as cryptocurrency is unpredictable by design.

The FCC has repeals laws that kept the internet neutral and free for all which could have a broader effect on Bitcoin and the use of online exchanges. #ANALYSIS