Day: January 2, 2018

South Korea will reportedly begin implementing new regulations banning anonymous cryptocurrency exchange accounts on or around Jan. 20.

According to South Korean cyber crime analysts at Financial Security Group, a hacking ring known as Andariel have been seizing control of computers to mine cryptocurrencies. It’s believed that they’re operating from within North Korea and it is sanctions against Kim Jong Un’s regime that is causing the hackers to experiment with such unorthodox tactics.

During the summer of 2017, Andariel are thought to have secretly taken over a server at a South Korean company. Since then, the server has been used to mine around 70 Monero. Whilst at the time of writing, the market price for the haul is just over $26,000, Kwak Kyoung-ju of Financial Security Group told Bloomberg about how international sanctions had forced North Korea to get creative with their attacks:

Andariel is going after anything that generates cash these days… Dust gathered over time builds a mountain.

It’s thought that hackers from North Korea are favouring privacy-focused coins like Monero because they offer much greater anonymity than Bitcoin does. This makes it easier for those transacting using it to remain undetected by law enforcement. Monero uses a different address format and mixes transaction inputs. These security measures make it near impossible to trace the origin of funds.

The year 2017 has seen the perpetrators of North Korea’s cyber attacks shift their targets from States to private entities. The chief analyst at South Korea’s Internet Security Centre in Seoul, Lee Dong-geun, recently told a discussion forum about the changes to their northern counterpart’s tactics:

“North Korean threats meant attacks on the government and national defense, but now they are looming very large over the private sector… They are primarily after information for financial ends.”

The server security compromise is the latest reported case of North Korean cyber criminals turning to cryptocurrency as a funding source. Already in 2017, multiple Bitcoin exchanges are thought to have had their security compromised by groups like Andariel. YouBit were forced to declare bankruptcy in December following a hacking that left them unable to continue doing business. The WannaCry ransomware attack of May has also been attributed to North Korean hackers. It’s estimated that some 300,000 computers were affected by the software which froze systems until a payment of Bitcoin was made to unlock them again.

It’s thought that this focus on hard cash will increase as international sanctions tighten their hold on the North Korean government. The UN are currently stepping up its efforts to stifle the nation’s efforts at funding their nuclear weapons facilities. FireEye internet security think-tank said the following to the Independent:

“With North Korea’s tight control of its military and intelligence capabilities, it is likely that this activity was carried out to fund the state or personal coffers of Pyongyang’s elite, as international sanctions have constricted the Hermit Kingdom.”

The post North Korean Hackers Secretly Mining Crypto appeared first on NEWSBTC.

A Russia bishop has hit out at the valuation of cryptocurrencies and the US dollar. #OPINION

The post In Search of a Complete Guide to Initial Coin Offerings appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

It has been just two weeks since the latest v0.2 release. Revain have now released version 0.3. The platform’s overall design and interface is enhanced by new data widgets, graphs and animations. price dynamics and the percentage in token price increase.

The graph that shows token dynamics became much more detailed. The review section of the website was adjusted to be more clear and user-friendly. Widgets got new animations: when a user points the cursor to them they start flashing smaller graphs with related information. Sharing token’s performance on Facebook and Twitter isn’t working yet, but the team assures that it’s coming soon.

Three new widgets were added: Today Price and Volume, Week Price and Volume and ICO Price. ‘Today Volume’ widget compares token’s trading volume with the previous day. ‘Week Volume’ does the same thing with the previous week. ‘Investment Day’ allows to look up the date of the ICO investment and the token price. This helps an investor to monitor the token price dynamics and the percentage in token price increase. The tool is designed to provide quick analysis of the investment.

These are the principle interface improvements that Revain team of developers has recently made. There is much more on the back-end of the platform, and they keep working to get all those invisible features to the final release as soon as possible.

Revain Beta v0.3 is available here: https://beta-dashboard.revain.org/

Users can share their feedback and comments in Revain’s official Telegram chat or send emails 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.

A Malaysian finance minister has said the government will not ban cryptocurrency trading, though it will remain cautious on the technology.

David Stockman says #cryptocurrency and #Bitcoin investors are “stupid speculators,” false claims after false claims. #OPINION

DALLAS, TX – Richard Jacobs is the best-selling author of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Blockchain, and organizer of the Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Blockchain Super Conference, which takes place in February 2018. In the run-up to this conference, he’s giving away twelve “Crypto Christmas” tips, where, each day, he reveals another “alternative” cryptocurrency that is poised to go big in 2018.

“There’s been a lot of hype around Bitcoin over the last month or so, which is part of the reason why we’ve seen it fall from nearly $20k back to ‘only’ $10k.”, said Mr. Jacobs. “However, there’s no getting away from it – folks who bought into Bitcoin this time last year, when it was trading for less than a thousand bucks, they’re still laughing. Why? Because they got in before the hype.”

Since Christmas Day, Mr. Jacobs has been sending daily “Crypto Christmas Gifts” – i.e. insider tips on cryptocurrencies and blockchain assets very few people know about – to everyone who is registered on the email notification list for his Super Conference. If you sign up now (it’s 100% complimentary), you can still listen to and download every tip. You’ll get the links in an email immediately.

NOTE: when the 12 Days of Christmas end on January 5th, all twelve of these “Crypto Christmas Gifts” will be deleted from the internet and they will no longer be available.

Do you want to get these crypto tips too – before they are taken down?

If so, follow the link below and sign up to the Super Conference notification list. Not only will you receive all twelve of these Crypto Christmas tips, you’ll also benefit from a special discount on tickets to the conference itself – which takes place in February at Dallas/Fort Worth airport.

Subscribe to the “12 Days of Crypto Christmas” email promotion HERE:

###

Press contact:

Richard Jacobs

[email protected]

(888) 984-0070

About the Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Blockchain Super Conference:

This three-day conference will be held at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport from Friday February 16th to Sunday February 18th, 2018. We are expecting more than 800 attendees, at least 50 headline speakers, and upward of 50 exhibitors – with talks from founders, developers, and early-stage investors of blockchain startups, including many that are planning ICOs throughout 2018.

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.

The fame and fortune from being a Bitcoin Billionaire may be attractive to the Winklevoss twins, but there are others out there who are not being as flamboyant about it.

The start of the new year is always a good time for making resolutions. People often begin going to the gym more, eating more healthily, and trying to kick their bad habits. Usually these don’t last very long, but often some old habits are broken and new ones made. I think that maybe the cryptocurrency community could make a collective resolution: to educate, increase awareness, and promote the adoption of crypto.

How can we do this?

It will take commitment and deliberate effort at the beginning, but like all habits, my proposed new year’s resolution will become second nature for us. While I can’t promise these efforts will make 2018 the year crypto is widely adopted, it definitely could not hurt.

1. Try to speak to as many people as you can about cryptocurrency on a daily basis

Try to talk about cryptocurrency on a daily basis with people, especially those who are not already familiar with it. I think this is massively important for generating wider adoption; people need to know about it.

It is also important to leave the echo chamber of the cryptocurrency community. Preaching to the choir still has value, and is a great reinforcement of the community, but we also need to bring new people into the community. In short, we need to evangelize.

I’ll be posting small updates about my conversations weekly, and I suggest that if you take on this challenge you do the same on whatever platform you use.

2. Try to learn something new about cryptocurrency every day

One of the most exciting things about cryptocurrency is that because it is so new, innovations are happening daily. This means that no one person could ever know everything about it, and there is always more to learn. This should excite the hell out of you – it does for me at least.

In those same updates on the new people I’ve spoken to about cryptocurrency, I will add the latest I’ve learned and the coolest pieces of information from the week. Again, I encourage you to do the same (if only to spread the word about this new year’s challenge) on whatever platform you have available to you.

Knowledge (in crypto) is power in 2018.

3. Be generous, and use your coins

No one will be willing to adopt something more widely if they’re using it as a speculative tool. There is an argument for speculation in this new asset class, but at the end of the day, I think use as an actual currency is what will take cryptos from “nerds and libertarians” to everyone. That’s good for all of us, even speculators.

By sharing your knowledge – hell, maybe even some of your cheaper coins – you can help increase mass adoption. Though adoption doesn’t require knowledge of how it works (think of how few people really understand how the Fed works), it does necessitate use.

I hope all of our readers have a happy new year, and I invite you to adopt this resolution and participate in this challenge with me. Let’s make 2018 the year of cryptocurrency, together.

Taking the spotlight from zk-snarks, new privacy tech bulletproofs is garnering significant attention from a handful of blockchain developers.

Egypt’s Dar Al Iftaa have issued an Islamic Ruling (Fatwa) which expressly forbids using Bitcoin as a means of exchange on religious grounds. According to multiple government ministers, the cryptocurrency threatens the economy, funds terrorism, and because it lacks set rules, it is “considered as a contract annulment in Islam”. These factors have influenced the decision by the government body concerned with ensuring that legislation is inline with religious creed within the nation of Egypt.

Counsellor of the Republican’s Mufti, Dr. Magdy Ashour told Egypt Today on Sunday:

This currency is used directly to fund terrorists.

The announcement comes less than a month after the Head of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority, Mohamed Omran, recommended that citizens there should refrain from trading digital currencies. On December 17, 2017, he declared that Bitcoin trading was illegitimate in Egypt.

The staunch anti-Bitcoin sentiment of Egypt’s legislators has been echoed elsewhere in the Muslim world too. According to the Middle East Monitor, Saudi Minister, Assim Al-Hakim recently declared the currency as contraband:

“…it is a cryptographic form of money that is vague and gives namelessness to crooks… We know that bitcoins remain anonymous when you deal with it… which means that it’s an open gate for money laundering, drug money and haram [forbidden] money… Muslims should not get involved in such dubious transactions simply to make a quick buck, to make a quick profit. This is not an Islamic concept.” 

Whilst it’s hardly surprising that a belief system which exerts as much control over people as Islam finds the anarchic digital currency that is Bitcoin a threat, it is a shame that Egypt is not more welcoming of financial innovation. According to Egypt Today, most of the 93 million people living there are without bank accounts. It’s in such localities that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies could be most effective. Bitcoin allows its users to become their own bank. They needn’t get permission from any entity to transact using the network, and they can do so without access to traditional banking infrastructure. It represents a form of financial freedom that many governments across the globe are understandably wary of. However, in the case of Egypt, because electronic banking lacks regulations for digital currency, retailers are unable to accept it as a means of payment. This unfortunately dramatically reduces the revolutionary potential of Bitcoin.

The post Egypt: Islam Forbids Bitcoin appeared first on NEWSBTC.

DASH/USD

DASH rallied a bit during the trading session on Tuesday, and as we continue to consolidate. The $900 level underneath being the “floor”, while the $1200 level above is the “ceiling.” The market does have a slight tilt to the downside though, so it will probably be difficult to break out above the $1200 level. However, if we do we could see this market goes high as $1500 relatively rapidly.

LTC/USD

Litecoin has broken above a descending trend line, showing signs of bullish pressure again. At this point, I suspect that it’s likely to reach the $300 level, and that the $225 level should offer a bit of support. Now that holiday trading is over, the fact that we broke out shows just how confident the buyers have become again.

Thanks for watching, I’ll be back tomorrow.

The post DASH and Litecoin Analysis January 3, 2018 appeared first on NEWSBTC.