Day: January 28, 2018

Changelly, an instant cryptocurrency exchange, has partnered with Mycelium, one of the most reliable and prominent Bitcoin wallets that now goes global with multicurrency support and integrates Changelly’s API into the mobile wallet application.

Being largely known as one of the oldest and reliable Bitcoin wallets, Mycelium opens up for everyone who opts for alts and tokens by integrating Changelly’s API into the mobile app. The API is deployed directly into Mycelium’s interface enabling users to switch between currencies without using the Changelly website. Since Changelly allows to exchange huge amounts, there will be an option to buy up to 200 BTC at once just in a few clicks.

With Changelly onboard, team at Mycelium not only provides their loyal users with the best rates, but also takes the whole customer experience to a more user-friendly level.

In addition, Changelly offers a favorable revenue share model for Mycelium allowing to get more profit out of each transaction.

Konstantin Gladych, CEO at Changelly, stated, “We’re thrilled to be a part of such a great and reputable project. Our instant exchange option will not only provide Mycelium’s users with the best rates, but also help bring the wallet to masses.”

In turn, Jérôme Rousselot, Chief Revenue Officer at Mycelium is convinced that the partnership with Changelly will be fruitful, “At Mycelium we are very excited to start working with Changelly, an innovative company making crypto users’ life so much easier. Changelly understands the challenges of our industry, is a very professional partner and offers the best service.”

About Changelly

Changelly is a popular cryptocurrency exchange providing the ability to instantly and seamlessly exchange over 90 altcoins at the best market rate or buy them using a bank card.

Operating since 2015, Changelly has attracted over 1.5M registered users from around the world. Currently, the service processes more than 15K transactions daily with a monthly turnover of around 60K BTC.

Changelly offers its API and a customizable payment widget for any crypto service that wishes to increase its turnover. The exchange provides its Affiliate program with a quite appealing revenue share mechanism. Changelly is a partner with Mycelium, Jaxx, Coinmarketcap, Coinpayments, Uquid debit card, Coinomi, and other prominent companies.

About Mycelium

Mycelium is a Bitcoin company with the broad range of products, mostly known as one of the first (and best for crypto anarchists and geeks) Bitcoin wallets with more than 500 000 users. The wallet provides a set of tools and features for storing and sending Bitcoins in the safest manner possible. In 2014, Mycelium was granted the reputable award “Best Mobile App” as a wallet with superior bank-grade security.

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.

About the project

Skraps is a platform that was created for micro-investing by letting investors round off their transactions in the digital currencies of their choice based on their risk tolerance. Spare change that remains from a transaction will be stored in a portfolio of cryptocurrencies which will be managed by professional managers to ensure that the investments get the best returns.

SKRAP token

SKRP is the native token for the Skraps platform and it is used to pay the transaction fees and the consulting fees for portfolio managers.

Roadmap

The developers at Skraps have in plan to make a desktop app for the platform, the beta version scheduled to appear in April 2018. After the desktop app has been stabilized, they will create a version of the app compatible with mobile devices. The final version of both apps will be released to the general public in June 2018.

After the release, the project will be under open source governance by the community.

The Skraps team and founders

Skraps is backed up by a team which consists of skilled individuals, that have years of experience in blockchain technology, finance and marketing.

Kal Mokhtar, the co-founder, has been involved and founded other successful projects. Mohmed Effat, the other co-founder, is a financial analyst that has years in the finance domain.

ICO details

Skraps will use the funds that will be raised from the ICO to improve the current platform and marketing to attract new users.

Half of the funds will go to development, 30% will go to marketing and the rest of the funds will be distributed to paying the team (advisors, developers, etc.), portfolio managers, legal fees and exchange fees.

Skraps has already succeeded in reaching their softcap of $1 m in mere hours of opening sale. Their hardcap is set to $21,450,000.

SKRP tokens can be bought by using Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Dash and Bitcoin Cash. Because cryptocurrencies are so volatile, the prices have been fixed to USD as follows:

• Week 1: $0.30
• Week 2: $0.35
• Week 3: $0.40
• Week 4: $0.45

Distribution, initial rate, and token exchange

Conclusion

Skraps is an investment platform that will allow all users to make investments with cryptocurrencies in just a few clicks. The token sell will not only benefit the platform financially; it will also increase its popularity in the world of online investments.

Skraps Telegram

Skraps Twitter

Skraps Facebook

Skraps Email

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.

Real-life use cases for blockchain technology are not difficult to come by. In the financial sector, we see dozens of efforts in this regard. There are also discussions taking place regarding the role of blockchain in social media. More specifically, platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are somewhat “broken” and too centrally-managed. Disrupting and decentralized social media will be a big challenge, but it is not impossible.

One thing all of the big social platforms have in common is how they collect data. To a lot of users, that is seemingly not a big problem. However, this information comes in the hand of a select few entities who can access this data. Moreover, the information is used to create digital profiles of all users to provide them with the “best” paid content. It is an intriguing business which works well but also receives a lot of criticism. No one should own this type of data exclusively and in a centralized manner.

The Future of Social Media is Decentralization

Changing the business model of social media will be an interesting challenge. Blockchain technology can effectively remove the “middlemen” from the equation. Additionally, the users themselves will retain access to their data at all times, which is well worth looking into. There is no longer a need for centralized servers or company CEOs. Instead, social media will, once again, be a tool for the people, by the people. It sounds like a utopian dream, but such a decentralized social network may not be too far off.

Matchpool is one of the projects embracing the blockchain-based social platform business model. Their decentralized matchmaking creates pools of users with common interests. Additionally, pool creators can monetize their groups in different ways as they see fit. This project also has its own native currency known as Guppy. This token can be earned and spent by interacting with this new social platform. All payments take place on the blockchain without delays or intermediaries.

There are other platforms which use a similar concept as of right now. Decentralized social media offers a lot of solutions, even though it may not be all that convenient to use in its current form. We may even see existing giants switch to a blockchain-based model in the coming years. Telegram is making powerful strides in this regard, although they use a private blockchain. A decentralized version of Twitter and Facebook is something everyone can look forward to. It might be under a different name, but the concept is certainly there to explore.

The post Social Media Platforms Like Twitter Can be Decentralized With Blockchain appeared first on NewsBTC.

“I’ve gone back and forth with the MedCredits team since early 2017,” says Mr. Enneking. “This team knows blockchain. The founders have been in the blockchain and altcoin space for years now. With MedCredits, they have a very simple and practical vision. Decentralize telemedicine to give patients worldwide access to affordable medical care. With a 16-member team, including five US medical doctors, they have the know-how to make this happen.”

About MedCredits

DALLAS, TX – In case you missed the memo, between Friday 16th and Sunday 18th February, more than 50 of the most respected developers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, private investors, thought leaders, and even regulators are coming together at Dallas to give cryptocurrency enthusiasts and “average Joe” investors the inside scoop on where the smart crypto plays will be in 2018.

Who exactly will be speaking?

• James Altucher – A hedge fund manager, entrepreneur, best-selling author, venture capitalist, podcaster, and Bitcoin believer. He’s founded 20 companies including StockPickr, and he frequently contributes to TechCrunch, TheStreet, and the Financial Times. Now he’s got his finger on Bitcoin’s pulse, and you don’t want to miss what he’s going to reveal.
• Tim Draper – Tim is a venture capitalist, and his firm was one of the early investors in Skype, has his fingers in a lot of pies, including crypto and blockchain ventures. He’s going to show you where the smart money is.
• John McAfee – Yes, that McAfee. He’s the guy who created McAfee internet security. He also famously said he’d eat his you-know-what on live TV if Bitcoin didn’t reach $500k in three years. John’s going to show you why he’s not nervous about that at all.
• Ronnie Moas – Ronnie was a Wall Street money man, and he founded Standpoint Research. He and his team deliver stock analysis daily. When bitcoin was still a joke to most, Ronnie predicted it would hit $11k. Then $14k. Then $20k. Wait until you hear his next predictions.
• Erik Voorhees – Erik co-founded the bitcoin company Coinapult and is also the creator and CEO of ShapeShift.io, the instant bitcoin and altcoin exchange. He’s been a featured guest on Bloomberg, Fox Business, CNBC, BBC Radio, The Peter Schiff Show, and numerous industry conferences. Erik is no fan of the Feds or taxes and keeps his finances and assets in bitcoin.
• Charlie Shrem – Charlie has been featured in two Bitcoin documentaries: “The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin,” and “Banking on Bitcoin” and he has a lot to say about where the blockchain revolution is headed. Charlie is also the founder of the Bitcoin Foundation (Vice-Chairman 2012 to 2014) and worked on the standardization, protection, and promotion of Bitcoin.
• Lyn Ulbricht – Lyn is the mother of Ross Ulbricht. Ross was handed a double life sentence for creating the Silk Road marketplace. The problem is, they were all non-violent charges, and no victims came forward in any way. By contrast, Noriega got 25 years. Having seen her only son incarcerated for life after a trial rife with proven corruption, Lyn is dedicated to fighting not only for Ross’s freedom but for the thousands who have been victimized by our flawed criminal justice system and the drug war. She’ll be talking about Digital Privacy.
• And more than 50 others who are detailed on the Super Conference confirmed speakers page.

Tickets to the “main” Super Conference have completely sold out. However, Richard Jacobs, the organizer, has secured a second venue and is deploying a “soft fork” for around 300 new ticketholders.

This is what “Soft Fork” attendees will get:

• Live stream of the main conference – The second venue will be hooked up with state-of-the-art AV equipment, so attendees can take part in all of the keynote and other “main conference” talks while being able to interact with the speakers and ask questions.
• Exclusive live (i.e. in-person) talks – Some of the keynote speakers have agreed to being shuttled across to the second venue, so that they can deliver a second exclusive talk to the “Soft Fork” attendees. Additionally, there will be some speakers who are only speaking at the second “Soft Fork” venue. (Details on this will be announced shortly – so subscribe to the Super Conference notification list.)
• Complimentary audio and video recordings ($297 value) – “Soft Fork” attendees will receive a complimentary DVD/CD boxset after the event containing full audio and video recordings of every talk at both events, as well as the optional beginners educational track. (This special gift is reserved for “Soft Fork” ticket holders only. Regular tickets holders will need to pay for these recordings.)
• More surprises (details to be announced) – Mr. Jacobs is putting together a few surprise bonuses for everyone who registers as a “Soft Fork” attendee.

IMPORTANT:

When this special “Soft Fork” opportunity was announced, more than 400 people had put their name on a waiting list for a chance to come to the Super Conference. As soon as tickets went on sale, within the first few days, more than 200 of them were snapped up – by eager crypto enthusiasts and private “average Joe” investors who want to seize this opportunity of a lifetime to get rich from rapid technological change that most ordinary people don’t yet see coming. If you want to be a part of this Super Conference too, then it is recommended that you get your ticket ASAP.

Here’s where you need to go to secure your spot:

Want to learn more about the conference? Join the free notification list over 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.

Whitestone Gallery Hong Kong announced to conduct ICO for the construction of Art Trading Platform.

(HK Wong Chuk Hang 6F, Heung Wah Industrial Building, 12 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Hong Kong, President: Kouei Shiraishi, https://www.whitestone-gallery.com/)

Art Trading Platform by Blockchain

By using funds raised by ICO, a distributed appraised art trading platform will be built by using blockchain technology.

Distributed appraised art trading platform is to bring interactions among artists, art lovers, galleries, auction houses, art colleges, art critics, collectors, etc. such as viewing and appreciating each other’s artworks It is a network that enables people to interact and realize an environment where many people can become familiar with art, as well as enabling their trading and settlement.

In addition, it will be a place to invest in works of artists whose evaluations are lagging internationally and to introduce excellent art to the world simultaneously. On the existing art trading platform, middle agents charge a high transaction fee to both the seller and the collector. This platform provides services that are impossible to achieve with existing trading systems such as smoothing transactions and further reducing fees.

Also, we plan to offer appraised art by linking biometrics such as fingerprints with secret keys by blockchain. With this system, the genuine problem will be solved.

ICO Participant’s Benefit (Token Holder’s Benefit)

• Karuizawa New Art Museum entry ticket 
  • ticket per 10 tokens (digital distribution)
• Reward purchase benefit at Whitestone Gallery (Tokyo, Karuizawa, Hong Kong, Taipei etc.)
• Holders of 100 tokens or more · · · 10% discount
• Holders of 200 tokens or more · · · 15% discount
• Holders of 500 tokens or more · · · 20% discount
• Procured art by fund raised by ICO is included.
• Some artworks are not included in award list

Original Digital Art Work

We will give all the token holders the original works by the world famous digital artist, Naoko Tosa., etc. for over 10 Token purchase 

ICO Period

  January 25, 2018, 14:00 (JST) – April 3, 2018, 14:00 (JST)

Token Bonus by Phase

  Phase 1: 30% Bonus: January 25th 14:00 (JST) – February 8th 14:00 (JST)

  Phase 2: 15% Bonus: February 8th 14:00 (JST) – February 28th 14:00 (JST)

  Phase 3: 5% Bonus: February 28th 14:00 (JST) – March 14th 14:00 (JST)

  Phase 4: No Bonus: March 14th 14:00 (JST) – April 3rd 14:00 (JST)

Since established in 1967, the Whitestone Gallery has dealt with a wide range of works from modern master paintings to contemporary art.

We have organized various art projects as a pioneer of art galleries by developing art exhibition nationwide, including solo exhibitions, group exhibitions, comprehensive exhibitions of famous writers sponsored by department stores, museums, newspaper companies, etc. 

In the 21st century, with a view to the world’s art market, we are further expanding our business development such as participating in art fairs all over the world and opening stores in Hong Kong, Taiwan and others.

This year, marking the 50th anniversary of our foundation, is regarded as the “first year of reform”, we will integrate FinTech with high affinity in art to Art Business, to realize worldwide art transactions safely and conveniently. For a further development, we will conduct ICO as White Stone Gallery Hong Kong to raise funds.

Company Name： Whitestone Gallery Hong Kong

Location： HK Wong Chuk Hang 6F, Heung Wah Industrial Building, 12 Wong Chuk , Hang Road, Hong Kong

Capital： US$ 1,225,806.45

ICO Site for WHS： http://www.whs-coin.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.

Bitcoin (BTC) has continued to slowly recover from its brutal 56% drop from the all time high in December. The cryptocurrencies market cap now stands at US$195 billion, with over US$3.5 billion traded over the past 24 hours.

A new European startup is taking a much-needed approach when it comes to blockchain-based project evaluations. The new crypto-economy is growing with unprecedented speed, but the biggest issue in this industry remains the lack of transparency and authentic information.

Otcrit is building a community of researchers, traders, and investors that will have the opportunity to share their knowledge and profit from it. All members will have access to a wide range of in-depth technical analyses and reports at one place. They will be able to hire someone with a high rating on the platform or request further analysis from the community. The company will also have a solid team of experts, working full-time to provide everyone in this space with quality information and research.

The platform is accumulating a large database of all the companies and their teams, where anyone can see the exact projects a developer is involved in. Projects, accused of being dishonest, will have all of their official documentation thoroughly investigated. Their team will release the BETA version in early February, before the presale that is scheduled for February 15.

Those assets that have received a high ranking by the Otcrit experts and analysts, as well as the community’s approval, will be listed on an advanced cryptocurrency exchange – Otcritex. And while most trading platforms ask for a fortune to add a new project, Otcritex will have no fees for listing.

Otcrit will provide an events calendar and newsfeed on the exchange, which will inform traders of any important upcoming events that may influence the price charts. This way they will have the opportunity to make the best possible trading decisions, based on the real-time data presented to them. The platform’s creators want to make over-the-counter trading more widely available, where anyone can purchase digital assets at a fixed price without dealing with high spreads and thin order books.

The digital assets available for over-the-counter trading will be listed on the Otcrit Top 100 Index – a sophisticated cryptocurrency index containing only digital currencies that are being actively developed and also thoroughly researched or audited. The same will apply for listing on the exchange, where Otcrit will share 5% of its profit with the listed projects that reach their roadmap goals. Another 10% of the profit, coming from trading fees, subscriptions and benchmark services, will be distributed to all OTC token holders. These weekly rewards will be in ETH. The team also has an advertising revenue program that will benefit content creators on the platform, as well as those who own OTC tokens.

With all the information, available on the platform and on the exchange itself, Otcrit will take cryptocurrency trading and investing to a whole new level.

Learn more about the platform at www.otcrit.org

The post Trade with Information on the Otcrit Platform appeared first on NewsBTC.

The Tether Report, a pseudonymously authored analysis examining the speculative assertion that bitcoin price volatility is highly correlated to the issuance of new USDT, has claimed that approximately 48.8% of bullish price movements have occurred within the two-hours immediately following ninety-one individual Tether grants.

Also Read: Vouching Bitfinex and Tether’s Bank Accounts Hold Nearly $3 Billion USD

Pseudonymous Author Scrutinizes Tether’s Operations

The Tether Report is authored under a pseudonym comprising a long string of alphanumeric symbols – with the author attributing such to their desire not to be identified out of concerns relating to the possibility of a “backlash” in response to their findings. Tether is described as a “stablecoin” – a cryptocurrency of which the tokens seek “to maintain a stable value of one USD per Tether or ‘USDT’.”

The report states that “Tether in its current incarnation is a 2014 rebranding of Realcoin [that] ostensibly function[s] by taking USD deposits from customers and exchanging them for an equal amount of USDT.” The author describes “the ability to price digital assets in USD without having USD-denominated bank accounts” as a major function enticing exchanges to adopt the cryptocurrency, stating that “the extreme difficulty many exchanges have faced in maintaining banking relationships” makes USDT “quite attractive.”

Tether Subject to Speculation Regarding Suspicious Activities During 2017

The report states that “A number of worrying events […] brought attention to Tether throughout 2017.” During April, Tether and Bitfinex “revealed that their banking relationships in Taiwan had been severed,” – which “led to a general suspension of deposits and withdrawals for retail customers.” Then, in April, the number of Tether issued began to undergo “a massive expansion,” despite the company’s “self-proclaimed inability to accept deposits from non-Taiwanese bank accounts.”

In early September 2017, Tether sought to reject suspicions that the company may be undercapitalized, “promis[ing] a historical audit that is still incomplete” to this day. Instead, the company “produced an internal document” later that month, which “purport[ed] to show USD balances back the then modest amount of [approximately] 440 [million] USDT. The internal memorandum did not divulge the “service agreements and institutional names attached to these funds,” comprising a “reduction of transparency since their April report,” which “establish[ed] the names of their earlier banking partners.

In November, Tether revealed that it had suffered a hack which was quickly “mitigated via an amendment to the Tether network code.” The next month, the company then announced that “the existing platform would be phased out and no further deposits [to] the current wallets should be attempted.”

Despite the many hurdles recently faced by Tether, the number of USDT in issuance has “increased ten-fold in only 5 months” following the release of September’s memo.

Report Finds USDT Issuances and Bitcoin Price Volatility to be Highly Correlated

The dramatic explosion in the number of USDT has led to speculation that Tether has been used as a means by Bitfinex to in order to maintain liquidity on the exchange following the loss of its banking partners – with some analysts going as far as to accuse Tether of mass-producing USDT as a means to manipulate the price of bitcoin.

The report seeks to test this assertion using empirical data, providing analysis of the relative price volatility experienced by bitcoin leading up to and immediately following the issuance of new Tether. The article concludes that “48.7% of bitcoin’s price growth between 3/29/17 and 1/4/18” took place during the “two-hour blocks” immediately following the ninety-one individual grants of new USDT – the collective time of which “total[s] less than 3% of the trading hours during that time period.” Transversely, the report concludes that “the average price behavior on a 2-hour timescale the compounded growth is just 6.5%,” leading the researchers in estimating that “a rough estimate of [approximately] 40% price growth attributed to Tether is defensible.

Damning Conclusions

The report makes a number of damning assertions, including the assertion that “extremely significant deviations from the shape of natural transaction data” across leading cryptocurrency exchanges may suggest that “coordinated market manipulation could be occurring” across the bitcoin markets.

Of Tether, the data is said to indicate that USDT “may be created when bitcoin is falling,” concluding that “Tether could account for nearly half of bitcoin’s price rise, not even allowing for follow-on effects and the psychological effects of rallying the market repeatedly.” The research emphasizes that “The statistics presented herein do to not establish wrongdoing but merely give rise to the opinion that the observed behavior appears questionable and should be further examined.”

Ultimately, the report advocates that Tether should “Conduct an audit by a reputable auditor,” adding that given the scale of the company’s operations that a “Big Four” accounting firm should be employed. The report suggesting that “The audit [should] not solely include a snapshot of accounts on a single date. It should also confirm that each Tether is backed by a dollar now and was for all points in Tether’s history. More than confirming that accounts of the proper amount do and have existed, the nature of those accounts and the service agreement between the banks and Tether should be divulged to show that these accounts exist solely for the benefit of Tether holders.”

What is your response to The Tether Report’s analysis and assertions? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Images courtesy of Shutterstock

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The post Report Finds Correlation Between USDT Issuances and BTC Price Moves appeared first on Bitcoin News.