Day: January 15, 2018

Running a cryptocurrency exchange has never been easy. In the first few years of Bitcoin’s existence, there wasn’t even enough demand to warrant such trading platforms. Things have significantly changed since, but that doesn’t mean the job has become any less difficult. The Bittrex exchange, for example, seems to be suffering from some oddities. Hundreds of users have taken to social media to complain about locked accounts or problems completing trades on the platform. As a result, the #BittrexSucks hashtag is trending on Twitter right now.

Bittrex has Some Issues to Sort out

As is always the case when reports like these arise, there is a good chance most people can’t relate to them. For instance, the Bittrex account belonging to the author of this article works just fine despite being on the Basic level. Trades are completing just fine, and logging into the platform is not causing any major problems. Even withdrawal requests – despite the 0.4 BTC daily limit – seem to be going through without a hitch. For a lot of users, though, that situation is very different.

As evidenced by #BittrexSucks, it is clear that plenty of people are not having the best of times using Bittrex. Although a lot of these problems date back to early December 2017, new complaints tend to pop up every now and then. Some users even claim their accounts have been locked for a total of three months, which would be rather worrisome. Then again, these users haven’t shared why that may be the case, and thus it is difficult to gauge what is going on exactly.

One has to keep in mind there is a good reason as to why Bittrex might lock a user’s account. The company performs a wide range of checks to prevent strange behavior or any illicit activity. Moreover, similar to most exchanges, Bittrex always reserves the right to close a user’s account for whatever reason the exchange deems appropriate. It seems highly unlikely this company would do so randomly and without any major evidence to warrant such action.

Looking over the information posted on social media, it seems some users are complaining about 404 errors and HTTP socket errors. Again, these problems only apply to select users, by the look of things, whereas the rest of the user base has had no issues whatsoever. Another common complaint is that Bittrex takes a very long time to respond to customer support tickets, assuming it does so in the first place. Your mileage may vary in this regard, as some issues are a lot more difficult to solve than others.

While it is unacceptable to ignore users if they have legitimate concerns, there has been no actual evidence to back up most of these claims. Since we are unable to recreate any of the issues that users are experiencing right now, it’s difficult to say whether those problems are on their end or the exchange’s. The former seems more likely, but that doesn’t mean these issues should remain unresolved. Ever since Bittrex enforced new rules regarding account verification a few months ago, people have had issues with the company. Considering that Bittrex announced those changes nearly a year in advance, it is evident that a lot of problems could have been avoided by the users themselves. Since these complaints have become less frequent since mid-December, it seems safe to assume the company managed to resolve quite a few of the issues.

There is another popular Bittrex-related hashtag trending on Twitter right now. A quick look at the #Bittrex_disabled_accounts page shows that there are a lot more issues to be found there. Account problems are quite problematic for any major cryptocurrency exchange, but it is unclear exactly what is going on here. We can only hope that the affected users regain access to their accounts as soon as possible.

January 11th, 2018 (Dallas, TX): The Bitcoin, Ethereum, & Blockchain Superconference has released an updated list of all speakers, sponsors and vendors in anticipation of the conference dates, February 16th, 17th, and 18th, 2018.

“We’re excited to have 800+ attendees, speakers, sponsors, vendors, and press attend this conference, just one month away.” says Richard Jacobs, conference organizer.

Although a detailed speaker schedule has not yet been released, the schedule appears to be: Friday & Saturday, speakers from 8am – 12pm, lunch from 12pm-1pm, more speakers from 1pm-6pm, and a nighttime party from 8-11pm.

Sunday schedule shows 8am-12pm, 12-1 for lunch, and 1-4pm for speakers.

“In order to feed everyone, we are having 4-5 food trucks pull into the hotel parking lot for lunch and dinner – it’s amazing how many people are excited about crypto and blockchain.” Jacobs notes.

The conference has recently posted an updated, current, alphabetized list of all speakers, sponsors, vendors, and press who will be attending at https://www.bitcoinsuperconference.com/list-speaker-sponsor-exhibitor/

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 post St. Louis Fed: In Some Ways, Bitcoin Is More Robust Than Many Fiat Currencies appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

In the world of cryptocurrency, trading platforms are in high demand these days. Most exchanges seem to focus on very similar trading markets, even though there seems to be a high demand for anything related to Bitcoin Cash right now. It seems there is at least one exchange which offers pure BCH trading markets, which gives traders a few more options. CoinEx is certainly an interesting platform in this regard.

CoinEx is a new Player on the Market

Whenever a new cryptocurrency exchange launches, people are often wary. These companies often have little to no reputation, yet they expect users to trust them with their money. Any exchange needs to be given a fair chance, though, even if it means working with very small amounts first and foremost. CoinEx is one of the newer kids on the block right now, and it is quickly gaining attention due to its focus on Bitcoin Cash.

CoinEx is an engine operated by the ViaBTC team. Most cryptocurrency users know this name all too well, as the company operated a major mining pool as well. Over the past few months, the company has quickly warmed the hearts of Bitcoin Cash supporters. That’s not just because of its mining pool, but also the promise of offering an exchange platform on which BCH is the default currency.

Unlike most other cryptocurrency exchanges, CoinEx doesn’t utilize Bitcoin or Ethereum for new trading markets. Instead, it only focuses on Bitcoin Cash, which can be traded against most of the popular altcoins right now. As one would expect, there is a BTC/BCH market as well. Being able to trade Litecoin, Ethereum, Zcash, and Dash against Bitcoin Cash opens up a lot of interesting new markets. It is evident the exchange will add more currencies over time, but it remains unclear which those will be.

Because CoinEx focuses on Bitcoin Cash primarily, it is also normal that it will support hard forks which are related to BCH. Bitcoin Candy, for example, is the first Bitcoin Cash-related hard fork to be supported on this exchange. It is unclear if any further hard forks will be supported in the future, assuming anyone is looking to create new currencies based on BCH. With these six trading markets available on CoinEx right now, things are seemingly off to a good start.

Furthermore, it seems CoinEx has no plans to ever support fiat currencies. This means it will not become a gateway for fresh capital entering the cryptocurrency world directly, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It means the company will not have to perform KYC verification for the foreseeable future, although that situation may change at any given moment. For those people who want to enjoy a pure crypto-to-crypto experience without KYC requirements may want to keep an eye on this company as well as KuCoin.

Whether or not this particular exchange will become a big player in the long run has yet to be determined. It is evident there is a demand for Bitcoin Cash-based trading markets, and CoinEx is the first platform to explore this opportunity. Other exchanges may follow its example in the future, but for the time being, it is the only one to tap into this new market. Bitcoin Cash is certainly very popular right now, and it seems that situation will not change anytime soon.

The post Credit Suisse Argues Irrational Exuberance Around ICOs Indicates Bitcoin Bubble appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

A director of Germany’s central bank said at an event that cryptocurrencies must be regulated at a global scale, not just on a national level.

Middlemen basically serve as the link between product originators and consumers. They have played some significant roles in ensuring that essential products, especially in the technological world are able to get across to various parts of the world and reach their appropriate consumers.

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article

Centralized platforms are limited

With mobile technology, Google Play Store and Apple Store have risen to establish themselves as the ‘go to’ platforms for apps acquisition, despite the existence of other smaller outfits. But the emergence of Blockchain technology is exposing the limitations of these centralized systems and offering viable options that promise significant cost-effective and more efficient processes of apps acquisition in the technological ecosystem.

The existing App Store system is plagued with a number of limitations that hinder the achievement of maximum rewards for both developers and consumers. Some of which include:

• The cumbersome payment logistics means that extra costs are incurred for services rendered at every stage of the intermediary process.
• The inefficiencies between multiple stages during payment exposes transactions to several risks in the form of chargebacks and fraud.
• The flow in most cases is highly inefficient.  

Blockchain changes everything

The AppCoins protocol which enables the processing of in-app purchases inside Apps through Blockchain brings several important benefits to the developer, which includes:

• Developers receive the money in real-time directly from the user because the smart contract implements the revenue share between the developer and the store, no exchange rates and fees, everything in real-time and in the same currency.
• A developer doesn’t need to trust in the store because is the smart contract in the Blockchain that guarantees the transfer. The smart contract is open source and can be audited.
• By the Blockchain being public and standardized, it means that the developer has to integrate the protocol API only once and it will work with all App Stores that follow the protocol. The protocol was already adopted  by Aptoide (the largest independent App Store with 200 mln users) and will be adopted soon by others.
• Overall, as a result of using the Blockchain, the revenue share can be much better for the developer: instead of 70 percent of Google Play or Apple App Store, the developer receives 85 percent with Blockchain based AppCoins protocol.

A platform utility token

The platform shall be powered by the underlying AppCoin tokens which are based on Ethereum Smart Contract. This token will be used to get various types of services on any app store supporting AppCoins protocol, but also to reward users. Tokens can be used to advertise apps, developers can sell and users can buy digital goods using in-app billing, and users can be rewarded with AppCoins for installing and using sponsored apps.

The Chinese government is looking to extend the scope of its cryptocurrency exchange ban in response to a trading “uptick.” #NEWS

Although cryptocurrency users like to complain about the Bitcointalk forum, it is still a very popular and powerful platform. A lot of interesting discussions regarding Bitcoin and various altcoins can be found there these days. Because of the popularity of this site, there’s also an increasing demand for older user accounts. They give users special privileges and opportunities to monetize their new accounts. Someone is using the name of Theymos to sell these accounts, although it is unclear who is behind this scheme.

Be Careful When Buying BitcoinTalk Accounts on Pastecoin

In theory, the buying and selling of Bitcointalk accounts is not against any rules. People are free to create an account, boost its rating, build a solid reputation, and then sell it to someone else entirely. When events like these transpire, there is usually a nice sum of money involved, depending on how “clean” the account is and when it was created. A “legendary” account, for example, will net you anywhere from US$250 all the way to several thousand US dollars. It is uncanny how much money people are willing to pay for such accounts these days.

Getting your hands on such an account can be rather difficult, though. A lot of people aren’t willing to part with their accounts, for obvious reasons. First and foremost, they are linked to their digital identities. There is no way to tell how a new account owner will treat one’s old account. In a fair few cases, recently purchased accounts have been used to scam people or conduct other forms of nefarious activity. It is not necessarily a good idea to sell your Bitcointalk account, especially if you attach any value to it.

For some reason, someone is selling “member” Bitcointalk accounts on Pastecoin right now under the name of Theymos, which is rather controversial. After all, Theymos is the administrator and owner of BitcoinTalk, along with some other Bitcoin-related platforms. If he were the one selling such accounts, there would be a lot of backlash to deal with. For now, it remains unclear who is using this name on PasteCoin, but that is of very little concern to most people.

It is evident there is some good money to be made with BitcoinTalk accounts not just by creating and selling them, but also by buying them for the purpose of participating in signature campaigns. A lot of projects and companies look for people to add a link or a message to their signature and make a certain number of posts every single week in exchange for a Bitcoin payment. Back when the Bitcoin price was a lot lower, it was relatively easy to make 0.05 BTC per week with just one account. Users who have a few dozen accounts can easily make a lot of money by spending their time on the Bitcointalk forums.

What is rather interesting is how this user is selling accounts with no negative reputation, no SMS blacklist, and an activity rating of between 60 and 80. This indicates the seller was cycling between these accounts on a rather regular basis to keep them all in good order. Ordinarily, interested parties are asked to make at least one proper constructive post before joining a signature campaign. This is the main reason why people want access to a higher-ranked account, as they can participate in signature campaigns which pay out a lot more money.

Whether or not it is the real Theymos who is selling these Bitcointalk accounts will always remain a mystery to most of us. There is no reason for him to be doing so, as he collected plenty of donations for the forum many years ago. At the same time, anyone using the Theymos name will automatically instill some degree of trust when selling digital products such as these. It is an interesting situation to keep an eye on, and an investment opportunity for those with lots of spare time on their hands.

The central bank of Lithuania has launched a new regulatory “sandbox” for startups working with blockchain.

Sports betting company aims to disrupt the industry by leveraging the huge potential of smart contracts on Ethereum. #SPONSORED