Day: January 13, 2018

The Kraken exchange is currently undergoing one of the longest maintenance routines in the company’s history. Although this upgrade was originally scheduled for December, it seems the team has finally gotten around to making some much-needed infrastructure improvements. Unfortunately, it seems things are taking a lot longer than originally anticipated. Fixing its horrible system will take a lot of time, but the company can only come out stronger in the end.

Kraken Infrastructure Upgrade is a Major Project

Many people know all too well how difficult, annoying, and borderline frustrating it can be to use the Kraken exchange. The company offers all of the right trading markets – including fiat currency gateways – yet it has been unable to provide a streamlined service for more than a year now. Especially throughout 2017, their service quickly went from bad to absolutely atrocious. Outages, API errors, orders not being fulfilled, and severe lag were getting all too common for the average Kraken user to deal with.

Thankfully, the company finally acknowledged something had to change. It announced a major infrastructure overhaul in late December 2017. Users were quite disappointed when the promised upgrades did not arrive and the service only grew more annoying to deal with. Fast forward to today, and we’re finally seeing the exchange upgrade its systems as promised. If it does so in a proper manner, most users will quickly forgive them for the extra delays these past few weeks. For now, however, no one knows for sure if this maintenance will make things better or worse.

It is very difficult to please Kraken customers these days, though. Although everyone was warned about this upgrade well in advance, a lot of people are still outraged due to the servers still being offline. More specifically, the maintenance began on January 10 at 9 p.m. Pacific Time, and at the time, the goal was to be back up and running within two hours. As of 1 a.m. Pacific Time on January 12, the platform was still not operational. It seems the team ran into a lot more problems than they originally anticipated. This is both good and bad, mind you.

One thing the company is doing well is providing regular updates as the maintenance drags on. It quickly became apparent the upgrade would cause some delays, but that is only to be expected when things like this take place. Moreover, the company indicated that the upgrade went “much more slowly than anticipated”, which is a rather vague message. It seems that once the installation was compiled, the Kraken team ran into a few issues during final testing, which threw any ETA out of the window almost immediately. So far, most of the issues have been addressed, but there’s still more work to do.

According to the most recent update, the team is still working on final testing as of right now. This is mainly being done to ensure server stability and an optimal experience for all Kraken users. No one on the outside knows if the company is working on hardware or software upgrades right now. In an ideal scenario, they would tackle both problems at the same time, but doing so can cause a lot of unforeseen problems. There is still no official timeline as to when the exchange will be back online. Users will simply have to wait, unfortunately.

It is of the utmost importance to note that Kraken confirmed all user funds are safe and accounted for. Nothing has gone wrong in this regard, which should put a lot of customers’ minds at ease. It is unfortunate the upgrade is taking so long, but we would all rather see Kraken return with a perfect service rather than patch things along the way for the foreseeable future. All of this is getting people excited as well, as everyone wants to see what they are waiting for exactly. This upgrade needs to pay off for Kraken, as the company may end up losing a huge portion of its customer base if the service remains subpar.

Tuesday, Jan 13, 2018 – BitStarz has a reputation for dishing out big jackpots. Plenty of top prizes fell during 2017, with many players waiting in the wings to catch the cash. Keeping the momentum rolling into 2018, another big win has been announced, as Book of Fortune – the popular Amatic slot – has recently paid out 19.2 BTC ($279,000 approx).

Amatic isn’t afraid to present players with a healthy challenge that’s for sure, with Book of Fortune being absolutely no exception. Set amidst a mystical realm of castles, wizards, and witches, this game rewards players with magic spells and wondrous bonus features. Through a variety of betting levels, this high volatility game kicks up the level of adventure, with it certainly not afraid to put a bumper prize on the line.

You only need to take a single look at the paytable to see the powerful prizes that Book of Fortune has in store. That being said, one player seems to have cast quite the spell over this Amatic game, having been able to scoop a jaw-dropping payout that will certainly have fellow players talking. Through a single spin, with a 1,000x multiplier in tow, the player from Russia walked away with 19.2 BTC, which equals around $279,000.

BitStarz isn’t your standard online casino, as it ranks as the world’s leading hybrid-currency online casino. Leaving the competition in the dust, BitStarz works tirelessly to stay ahead of rival names by delivering the best games and some of the biggest jackpots around. Highly rated and respected by casino industry voice AskGamblers, BitStarz has forged its own trail and now holds a golden reputation amongst players.

Speaking on the bumper win, Srdjan Kapor (BitStarz Marketing Manager) said,

“BitStarz has always been proud to host the best games that Amatic has to offer, with Book of Fortune certainly being one of the biggest. We were delighted to hear that a player from Russia was able to spin its reels and win a magical 19.2 BTC prize. Equaling around $300,000, this win really does represent the perfect way to ring in the New Year if you ask us.”

About BitStarz

www.bitstarz.io

BitStarz is a true industry trailblazer, as it’s the very first online casino that allowed players to wager in both bitcoin and international currencies. That’s not all either, as BitStarz goes above and beyond to serve up more than 1,000 games, covering video slots, progressive slots, classic slots, instant play games, and – of course – countless unforgettable table classics. With a reputable gaming license issued from Antillephone N.V., based in Curacao to confirm its legitimacy, BitStarz also offers super-fast cashout speeds and all-around personal service, ensuring a high-grade gaming experience.

BitStarz has taken the idea of a cross-currency casino to new heights, to find out more about what this leading industry name has to offer, please contact Srdjan Kapor at [email protected].

Press contact:

Srdjan Kapor
Marketing Manager
[email protected]
www.bitstarz.io

The post Book of Fortune leads player to 19.2 BTC ($279,000) win at BitStarz! appeared first on NewsBTC.

Is it really possible to create a multinational cryptocurrency? Russia wants to change the global trade with Blockchain and cryptocurrencies and make a strong ‘cryptounion’ #EXPERT BLOG

There has been very solid interest in the AChain project as of late. Most people have no idea what this project is about or why it should even matter. It seems this China-based platform has attracted a lot of attention within the country’s borders. Moreover, there are several dozen DApps running on top of this blockchain already. Now is a good time to look at what this project is all about and why it may impact the future of the cryptocurrencies we all care about.

AChain has its own Forking Technology

No one can deny things have evolved in an interesting direction when it comes to cryptocurrency and hard forks. More specifically, there are so many hard forks of existing currencies, most of them simply get lost in the sea of mediocrity. That is only to be expected, mind you, as most of these hard-forked currencies serve no real purpose whatsoever. In fact, the number of current hard forks of major currencies can be counted on one hand.

If the AChain team is to be believed, however, there is a growing demand for more hard fork solutions. The project has its own forking technology which gives developers all over the world the ability to fork off the main chain of a currency they are passionate about. As one would expect, there will be a Bitcoin fork, known as ABitcoin. This new currency will be distributed on a 1:1 basis to all ACT holders, whereas Bitcoin users will get squat.

As a result, the AChain project may very well become the go-to competitor for any major cryptocurrency in existence today. It will eventually become possible to use ABitcoin, AEthereum, ARootstock, ALitecoin, and so on. It only takes a small team of people to fork AChain into something else entirely. This will create another influx of hard-forked currencies, but they will all have even less to do with the original currencies than most current hard forks do. After all, ABitcoin has nothing to do with the Bitcoin we know, although that may not necessarily be a bad thing.

There is a lot more to AChain than just its forking technology, though. It is a Chinese blockchain ecosystem first and foremost, which also has its own set of distributed applications or DApps. Among these applications are a credit scoring solution, a digital wallet, a game, and point-of-sale solutions. It is also a public blockchain platform, which is something entirely different from what most people might have expected. Anyone can issue tokens, smart contracts, and create their own DApps.

It becomes evident rather quickly how AChain may be capable of rivaling either Ethereum or NEO in the future. That is, assuming the Chinese government will not shut down this project in the near future. After all, the currencies created can still be considered controversial in light of current regulations. For now, there seems to be no concern over what AChain has to offer, but things can always turn around rather quickly, especially in China.

For the time being, it remains to be seen what the future will hold for AChain and all of the currencies being issued through this platform. AChain has a lot of potential, but even projects with top-notch technology are often far less popular than anything that can be pumped to astronomical values in a few hours. The cryptocurrency markets aren’t rational right now, which could hinder the chances of success for projects like these.

After more than two days offline, crypto exchange Kraken comes back online with little fanfare. #NEWS

One Good Year Leads to Another

The Dentacoin team is justifiably proud of all that they have accomplished over the course of the past year, but feel that it is only the first step in what they always knew would be a remarkable journey.  After all, when you set out to revolutionize an industry across the entire face of the globe, you have to be willing to recognize that there will be plenty of reasons to make the community proud and happy to be part of the movement.

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article

Mission Success

The mission of Dentacoin is to improve global dental health by creating a community of dental practitioners, suppliers and patients.  The cryptocurrency (DCN) is one of several pillars of the concept, and the successful ICO in October has to be counted as an important milestone.  An ICO is a “make or break” moment for any cryptocurrency, and DCN got it done, raising the necessary amount of operating capital.

Dentacoin also launched their first tools in 2017, including the Trusted Review Platform.  This platform rewards patients for posting unedited reviews of the care they have received onto the unalterable blockchain.  2017 also saw the launch of Dentavox platform, expanding the opportunities for real people to have a voice in shaping the future of dental care and Dentacare Mobile App – which helps users to form long-lasting dental health habits and rewards them accordingly.

Practical Success

When the goal is improving global dental health, you have to count individuals who have better teeth as a winning milestone.  As per the moment, Dentacoin has been implemented at clinics in Europe (United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Hungary), India and Taiwan.  Due to the high level of digitization, the London partner clinic, F3T, is able to offer same-day treatment to toothless patients at a savings of about 70% over other UK dentists.  It’s no wonder the clinic has positive cash flow in the first year of operation.

Dentacoin also attracted an amazing team of advisors from across the globe and in the variety of fields necessary for future success.  From CRM to insurance to business development to computer science, these professionals strengthen the management acumen and dental experience of the core team.

Professional Recognition

It helps when striving for very large goals to know that others who are watching you think you are heading in the right direction.  This is especially true when bringing a technology like blockchain to an established industry like dentistry.  For this reason Dentacoin counts their participation in the Digital Economy Conference in Perm as an affirmation.  Being invited back for June, 2018 means a lot as well.

But in terms of outside opinions, the listing of Dentacoin as one of the most promising blockchain applications by CIO Review counts as a significant milestone, particularly when you consider some of the brilliant work being done by other cryptocurrencies.  The vote of confidence received by over 200,000 people who joined the Dentacoin community means just as much.

The DCN coin has reached the Top 30 on the global Cryptocurrency Market, as seen on Coinmarketcap and have reached the astonishing 52 million USD trading volumes for 24 hours, making it one of the most revolutionary coins of Jan 2018.

“So, to everyone who joined Dentacoin in promoting better global dental health we want to say “Thank you for a great year.”  To everyone interested in our goal, we ask you to take a look at our unique approach.  Core beliefs and community need each other to prosper, and we look forward to a very prosperous future”, Dentacoin Management.

There have always been questions as to which companies or service providers would use XRP in the future. In fact, there have been very few verifiable answers to this question. It turns out MoneyGram has some big plans for this digital asset, as it sees value in what Ripple has to offer. Having such a global remittance partner on board will certainly introduce some big changes for Ripple and its asset.

MoneyGram Prepares to Embrace XRP

Not too long ago, Ripple hinted that it was in talks with some major financial service providers. At the time, it was unclear which companies would be willing to partner with XRP. Western Union seemed to be an obvious candidate, although it is unclear if it will do so in the near future.

One company which has since confirmed the use of XRP in its future operations is none other than MoneyGram. As most people are well aware, MoneyGram is a global enterprise focusing on remittance solutions at somewhat affordable rates. Although it may not necessarily rival Western Union right now, MoneyGram has certainly built a strong presence in virtually every country around the world. It is a convenient service, and having them experiment with Ripple’s XRP will be pretty interesting to keep an eye on.

According to a recent Ripple post, MoneyGram will use XRP in its payment flows moving forward. Given MoneyGram’s presence in the remittance industry today, this is a big step forward for Ripple and its native digital asset. By embracing this new currency, MoneyGram will solve the liquidity issue most financial institutions face right now. Additionally, saving time and money is always beneficial to any company active in the financial sector.

Moreover, MoneyGram will access and use XRP through the xRapid project. Some people who kept a close eye on Ripple may know what xRapid is all about, as it is the company’s native on-demand liquidity product. xRapid revolves around real-time foreign exchange settlement through XRP, which is of interest to companies such as MoneyGram for obvious reasons. Financial institutions and service providers will unlock better liquidity and access multiple corridors through one originating account.

The use of XRP should be beneficial to MoneyGram users all over the world by reducing the costs associated with sending money abroad. Whether or not it will speed up transfers even further remains to be seen, but it’s certainly possible. Clearly, Ripple is making a lot of waves in the financial sector. It’s good to see remittance companies pay attention to this technology as well, as it is not a bank-oriented project by default.

How all of this will affect the cross-border payments industry in the future remains to be determined. It is evident there is plenty of room for improvement, and XRP may play a big part in that. Other than the banking sector, all other financial service providers struggle with liquidity, delays, and high fees. Addressing all of these problems will have to happen from within at some point. Only time will tell whether or not Ripple is the best solution in this regard.

Hear what IOTA CEO has to say about the Microsoft Debacle and the overall journey of IOTA. #INTERVIEW

Internet providing industry is exploring the solutions offered by Blockchain technology which enables “anyone to be anything at any time.” #SPONSORED

In the world of technology, end-to-end encryption has become more important than ever before. Given our society’s tendency to use instant messaging and social media apps on a daily basis, the information we distribute should be encrypted at all times. Skype, one of the world’s most popular communication tools, is finally introducing end-to-end encryption. This is made possible thanks to Microsoft’s partnership with Signal.

Skype Finally Gets Proper Encryption

It is always interesting and worrisome to see how technology giants such as Microsoft still offer products which are not fully encrypted. Especially when it comes to Skype, there is no reason why all of the communication occurring over this platform shouldn’t be end-to-end encrypted right now. Thankfully, that situation will change for the better, with the help of Signal. This particular messaging app got a lot more popular ever since Edward Snowden inadvertently endorsed it a few months ago.

With Microsoft and Signal now (finally) working together, a more secure communications standard can be introduced. The goal is to use end-to-end encryption for all chat and audio messages as well as file transfers taking place through the Skype protocol. The only people who will be able to read the content of these files and messages are the sender and the recipient. This change will put a lot of people’s minds at ease regarding Microsoft potentially snooping on their Skype conversations.

Moreover, this new encryption should prevent assailants from intercepting messages as they pass through Microsoft’s servers. It is a welcome change that offers nothing but benefits to the users of the popular Skype service. This change should not have any impact on the service’s availability or ease of use. As it happens, Skype is a bit late to this party, as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram incorporated end-to-end encryption a while ago.

Do keep in mind that audio and video calls will not be subject to Skype’s end-to-end encryption as of right now. Instead, they will remain protected by traditional encryption, and there are no plans to introduce an upgraded standard for voice and video calls. It is unclear if that situation will ever change in the future, although there may not be a need for it right away. Then again, in this day and age, encrypting all data properly would still be a preferable course of action.

Microsoft has not announced a release date for the upgraded Skype client as of yet. Interested users can obtain the Skype Insider build for all major platforms, which should come with end-to-end encryption. However, it won’t work if two contacts use the same Skype insider build, which makes this a rather cumbersome way to go about things. The public version of Skype may come with an opt-in solution for end-to-end encryption, although that has not been officially confirmed.

It is evident the general public wants to keep their information safe from prying eyes. There are so many intermediaries involved with our data these days, it is only normal that the demand for end-to-end encryption is growing. With your ISP, government, and individual service provider all being able to access your data, a very worrisome situation is created. End-to-end encryption ensures that your ISP and government can’t snoop on your traffic, and that your service provider can’t check the contents of your data. It’s a more than welcome change in this day and age of online activity.

We are only eight days into 2018, but the cryto currency market has already achieved another major milestone as the total value of crypto currency assets has gone past $800 billion for the first time, in this large market every coin is in race to prove their technology and they are coming with perfect concept in the market.

It is likely that entire cryptocurrency market would grow exponentially and the valuation exponentially and the valuation of the market grows to many trillions of dollars by the end of 2018. Consequently many investors in the market have started to diversify their investments into other crypto currencies and the trend has been evident in the decline of the dominance index of bitcoin.

In this growing market many investors want to invest but they are in big confusion, where to invest? TRIDENT (TDC) coin is solution for all of them , Trident is very first cryptocurrency index fund, This makes it possible for everyone to have own diverse crypto portfolio without actually to buy different cryptocurrencies.

Trident is in Pre ICO phase and giving investors the chance to get involved, we are getting massive response to our pre sale and hopefully we will complete our Pre-sale phase before the estimated time.

The primary goal of Trident ICO is to develop new investment pattern. That makes actual process of investing easier to those involved.The ICO funding will be used to purchase top 10 digital assets. The index fund will provide investors complete blockchain transparency.

Looking to the future, TridentCoin comes as a result of aspects such as coin supply, mining and algorithms, its unique features and the supportive community. If one takes all of this into consideration, it is easy to see why TridentCoin is well ahead of its time and is an excellent investment opportunity. It is further backed by its supply and demand combined with the Trident lending platform. As time goes by, TridentCoin will show an upward movement due to the fact that it has a fixed and steady supply of new Trident coins. The system, which is cleverly designed to self-regulate will create many wealthy investors in the future.

Trident offers many exciting and lucrative investment options for customers. Trading with TridentCoin is but one such an option. Others include TridentCoin lending or staking. In short this implies customers to buy into TridentCoin and earn interest on a daily basis based on the amount of TridentCoin they hold. Another way is to get your family and friends involved in the exciting business by signing on and joining the lending platform. This will earn you extra money.

Blockchain technology is making way for investors who are looking for more. TridentCoin is the perfect investment solution for those who care about the financial stability of their families and loved ones.

Trident Main sale will be begin from 11th jan 2018,

Register today at http://www.tridentcoin.com

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.