Day: February 4, 2018

It’s been almost ten years since blockchain technology was used to create the world’s first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. Since then, the popularity of such decentralized coins has skyrocketed, with over a thousand digital coins being in circulation today. This booming popularity of cryptocurrencies has created an alternative funding method for technology companies in the industry: Initial coin offerings, or ICOs. However, in countries like Israel, adoption has been hindered due to regulatory uncertainty in regard to ICOs.

More and more startups are using ICOs to raise money, permitting them to bypass gatekeepers like venture capital funds and banks. These companies issue tokens to early backers in exchange for some form of legal tender or another more established cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. Such ICOs don’t require a prospectus like securities offerings, only a white paper stating the project’s terms and plans. As one might imagine, many ICOs are seen potentially risky investment opportunities, and this worries regulation authorities worldwide.

In April 2017, Tel Aviv-based law firm Herzog, Fox & Ne’eman established a cryptocurrency unit under its E-commerce department. Today, the department’s team has met with over 200 entrepreneurs looking to enter the industry and has 30 projects under its wing, according to partner Roni Cohen-Pavon in an interview with Calcalist.

“Israel is on the way to becoming a crypto powerhouse,” Mr. Cohen-Pavon said, “but the first and most important thing is to create a certainty for the industry.”

Though comprehensive laws have yet to be established, he explained, regulators are already weighing in. “The ease with which the public can participate in these offerings, and the large capital they manage to raise so quickly are severely worrying regulators,” Mr. Cohen-Pavon said. “Once I can transfer money straight to you, from one end of the world to another, with no mediators, there’s a big risk of money laundering, that’s what regulators are so afraid of,” he continued.

China banned ICOs in September, claiming the offerings are disruptive to economic and financial stability. South Korea soon followed suit. In January, Israel’s central bank said it would not recognize cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin as actual currency, as it would be difficult to amend existing regulations to monitor the risks such activities pose to both banks and clients.

A big problem for crypto-enthusiasts in countries like Israel is that this current uncertainty might chase away companies operating in the market, which could cause the country to lose out on an industry that makes billions a year. “I believe ICOs and their issuers need to be clearly regulated,” Mr. Cohen-Pavon stated, “but unseasoned investors must also be allowed to participate, so they can profit from the benefits blockchain offers.”

A January report by market research firm IVC Research Center Ltd. and law firm Zysman Aharoni Gayer & Co. counted 10 Israel-based companies that raised funds via ICOs in 2017, for a total sum of more than $480 million — globally, the number of funds raised by ICOs was $3.7 billion.

The post Israel Becoming “Crypto Powerhouse,” But ICO Regulation Uncertainty Could Hinder Growth appeared first on NewsBTC.

Fake admins at ICO scammed investors out of $1.8 mln in Ether over Seele’s telegram channel #NEWS

Japan’s leading low-cost airline, Peach Aviation, has been working to implement a bitcoin payment system. Recently, there were reports that the company may be rethinking its bitcoin strategy following the recent hack of a major Japanese cryptocurrency exchange. Peach Aviation and its bitcoin exchange partner have clarified their position.

Also read: Japan’s DMM Bitcoin Exchange Opens for Business With 7 Cryptocurrencies

Peach’s Plan to Accept Bitcoin

Peach Aviation has recently clarified its plan to accept bitcoin for airline tickets. This is in response to recent media reports that suggest that the company may be halting its plan to accept the digital currency following the hack of a major Japanese bitcoin exchange, Coincheck – where 58 billion yen (~USD$527 million) worth of NEM were stolen.

Operating more than 90 daily flights and servicing 12 domestic and 13 international routes, Peach Aviation claims to have more than 13,000 daily passengers.

The company first announced in May of last year that it would accept bitcoin through a partnership with Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, Bitpoint Japan. In addition, Peach plans to expand its bitcoin payment services “through collaborations with local administrative bodies and local companies.” Peach and Bitpoint plan to jointly implement various initiatives such as installing bitcoin ATMs (BTMs) at airports as well as introducing bitcoin payments at souvenir shops, restaurants, and accommodation facilities.

“Both companies plan to start the service from the autumn of 2017 and will gradually implement various measures in accordance with various laws and regulations,” they announced in May. However, in December, Peach postponed the timeframe to “start [accepting bitcoin] within the fiscal year,” which ends in March 2018, the Sankei reported.

Peach’s Plan Only Delayed

“We are reviewing the timing of service start,” the spokeswoman for Peach’s public relations told Nikkei Online, confirming that the service has been postponed. The reason for the postponement is “the fluctuation of the bitcoin market [which] has been intensifying since the end of 2017,” she said, noting that the company would “like to start the service [but is] waiting for the market to settle.” Peach also denied any reports of it abandoning the bitcoin payment plan. “I’m actually preparing the settlement system,” the spokeswoman was quoted by the news outlet.

Bitpoint Japan also subsequently issued its own statement clarifying the situation. “We will notify you as to the specific service start time and its contents as soon as it is finalized,” the exchange wrote, adding:

Currently, we are working diligently to realize this service.

Do you think Peach will accept bitcoin soon? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Bitpoint, and Peach Aviation.

Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section.

The post Japan’s Leading Low-Cost Airline Details Plan to Accept Bitcoin appeared first on Bitcoin News.

According to data consultant Alex de Vries and his Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index, the process of transacting with and mining the digital currency translates to huge real-world energy consumption. So much so that verifying Bitcoin transactions tops 159 individual countries in energy consumption. In total, the whole Bitcoin network spends almost $2 billion per year mining.

As a refresher: Every Bitcoin transaction must be verified by a key group of users called miners. Using specialized computers paired with high-performance graphics cards, miners “assemble” the transaction records into groups known as blocks. They then compete to get their block added to the chain of record. About every ten minutes, one block is randomly selected, winning that miner (or group of miners) a prize of new Bitcoin.

As for the numbers: The creation of a single bitcoin requires about 50,000 kilowatt-hours. In the U.S., the average residential rate is about 10 to 12 cents per kilowatt-hour. In China, electric costs are slightly less expensive, being about 4 to 5 cents per kilowatt-hour. It’s something that many users are removed from: The electric bills end up with the miners, so users never see how much energy the system consumes.

That said, on one hand, the high carbon cost is partly intentional. “The energy costs are part of the reason why Bitcoin is so secure,” de Vries explains, “because if [someone] wants to attack the system, they would need the machines and would have to spend a huge amount of money to pay for all the electricity to simply take control of the network.” So, in essence, it’s really part of what makes Bitcoin secure.

It’s worth noting, too, that this huge energy consumption will cease to be a problem when all Bitcoin have been mined. The coin started with a block reward of 50 bitcoins — so everyone who participated in the creation a new block for the blockchain received 50 Bitcoin (split between them). But now, that reward is just 12.5 Bitcoin per block, already halving twice — as it does and will continue to do every four years. Down the line, then, in a few decades, all Bitcoin will be mined and there will be no more block reward.

This might lower overall energy costs, simply because as the reward goes down, so will the amount miners spend on electricity. But unfortunately, that’s not only a long time away, it’s only part of the picture. Transaction fees also contribute to consumption. “The whole idea is that those transaction fees, which are also claimed by the miners, will end up supporting the Bitcoin infrastructure,” de Vries explains.

As for the future of cryptocurrencies, de Vries doesn’t see them replacing government-issued currencies. But he does think there will “always be a niche for Bitcoin.” Just a niche? Perhaps de Vries feels this way because he is content the way things are: “I have no problem with my bank. I trust my bank. I’m fine with them doing my financial transactions, so I don’t really need Bitcoin.”

The post Bitcoin Tops 159 Individual Countries in Energy Consumption at $2 Billion Per Year appeared first on NewsBTC.

When choosing the right bitcoin casino, winnings are always a priority. You want to maximize your earnings and minimize the amount that you have to spend on the game. BitcoinCasino.us allows you to do just that with a 100% 1st deposit bonus for new players.

5 BTC Welcome Bonus Package

A strong welcome bonus is extremely helpful when starting off. At the beginning, your bankroll is one of the most important factors at the casino. If you only have a small amount of coins, you won’t be able to play high stakes games and win even more. A 100% deposit bonus doubles your initial payment. While this might not seem like a huge boost, it really is when you consider the rate of play. Within a few weeks, you will be able to make a huge fortune via bitcoins. If you are unsure of your bitcoin skills, use this 1st deposit bonus as an experimental period. Try out all of the casino games and find the ones that best suit your talents. You don’t want to be risking your own money. Fortunately, a 1st deposit is much like a safeguard. If things go wrong, you can rest assured that these coins are not at your expense. In this sense, you can reset your mentality and start winning the very next day.

How to claim the welcome bonuses

It is incredibly easy to acquire the bonus. Once you sign up for an account, you will be prompted to enter an initial deposit. While other sites mandate that this figure determines your bonus, BitcoinCasino.us operates differently. Future deposits can work toward this limit, which leads to an even larger bonus. Because everything is automatic, you don’t have to worry about pressing the wrong buttons or clicking on an incorrect link. The process has been streamlined many times over, so even novices can enjoy the 1st deposit bonus. Moreover, bitcoin handles all of the transactions. There are no extra receipts or confirmation pages to be seen. Your bitcoins are safe in the casino, and after the 1st deposit, your account will be loaded and ready to go.

Bonus rates

1st deposit bonus rates are usually the highest among all deposits, but 100% is still fantastic. To put this in perspective, other casinos often feature 50% or 75% rates. If you want to maximize your profits, turn to BitcoinCasino.us and take advantage of the 100% 1st deposit bonus. It is truly rare that such a rate is available for all players. Moreover, there is little to no hassle in the process. Simply link your bitcoin account, wait for approval, and gather the extra coins on your screen. There are no down payments or long term commitments. As a player, there are essentially no reasons you shouldn’t be opting into this great deal. If you want more information on this sort of bonus, contact customer support or the service team. They will be able to explain why the 1st deposit bonus is part of the system and how you should consider it for your account.

Conclusion

The 1st deposit bonus is one of the most exciting parts about a bitcoin casino. At BitcoinCasino.us, this bonus is a full 100%, which means your bankroll is guaranteed to be strong from the start. As you continue playing, look for more opportunities to earn coins and join the highest ranking players.

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.

Doomsdayers out in force; Paul Krugman being Paul Krugman; Tether upto its usual tricks and the usual gamut of scams, schemes, and shakedowns. It’s been emotional. It’s been nerve-wracking. But it’s also been a total riot. Welcome to This Week in Bitcoin.

Also read: Trading Tip `The Wall´ – I Was Wrong

We’re All Gonna Make It

It’s too soon to say we’re out of the woods, but the blood-letting has at least been stemmed long enough for us to be able to glance at our portfolios once more. The past week in bitcoin has frequently felt like a titanic battle of good vs evil, or rather gloom vs cheer. Every glimmer of good news that’s emerged through the clouds has been drowned out by a sudden deluge of grim tidings. So far, evil seems to have had the upper hand, but like any good fairy tale, the forces of good will ultimately prevail. First though, there’s a white knuckle, heart-racing journey to endure laced with sporadic bursts of pain.

This week’s biggest stories haven’t always made for cheerful reading, but they’ve certainly been captivating, and have predictably been interpreted through the lens of the current mood. Facebook banning crypto ads, most would say, is surely for the best, as if there’s one thing the world doesn’t need more of it’s scammy ICOs preying on the gullible. Some media outlets portrayed this as further evidence of a crypto crackdown, and even suggested it was the reason for the market downturn. They were wrong, although quite what caused this week’s slump is a matter of some debate, which we’ll get to shortly.

Keep Calm and Hodl Hard

Even the most pessimistic of publications didn’t manage to portray Samsung’s entry into the ASIC mining business or Square launching its bitcoin buying service as anything but good news. South Korea bringing an end to anonymous cryptocurrency trading can also only be a good thing if the increased transparency helps settle regulators. These bullish stories were mostly drowned out however by the bearish news that Tether had severed ties with its auditor and been subpoenaed by U.S. regulators.

Depending on your outlook, several of this week’s ICOs were either a raging success or a total disappointment. If you successfully bought into The Bee Token or Dadi, for instance, you’re probably quite content. If you’re one of the hundreds of investors who got scammed by phishing emails purporting to be from these companies, however, this week has been a total disaster. It’s hard to keep track of the amount of ether that’s been stolen in this manner in the last seven days, but somewhere in the region of $3-4 million sounds about right once vegetables on the blockchain’s exit scam is factored in. It’ll keep happening until investors get smarter or ICOs find a way to eliminate these attack vectors. Stopping all email communication altogether would probably be a start.

File Under WTF

And now onto this week’s WTF stories. The whitepaper for Venezuela’s shitcoin – sorry, ERC20 token – arrived, and it didn’t disappoint. We wrote:

There’s something inescapably strange about reading a national government’s whitepaper which references Coinmarketcap and where talk of pre-sales and token emissions is bandied about.

Oh, and with each Petro token priced at the going rate for a barrel of oil, they’ll raise $5 billion if the Petro hits its hard cap. Beat that Telegram. Other oddities we reported on this week include Japan’s most popular chat app announcing plans to launch a cryptocurrency exchange and leaked docs which suggest the NSA are trying to crack the ring signature technology used in anonymous cryptos such as Monero. That one got the comments section warmed up.

Speaking of Monero, if there’s one thing a bear market’s good for it’s flushing out scamcoins. This week, ERC20 token Monero Gold (not affiliated with the real Monero) got rekt and so did Bitconnect imitator Davorcoin. There’s something strangely satisfying about watching a shitcoin plummet all the way to its rightful value of zero.

It’s Time We Talked About the Bitcoin Price

There’s a lot of ways this week’s market drama can be interpreted and a lot of reasons that can be attributed. In the lack of any sensible explanation, we might as well blame the moon again. It seems a more likely explanation than the unfounded rumors of India banning cryptocurrency. Strangely, there’s actually data to support the theory that market cycles are correlated with the movements of the moon. Look, there’s even a pretty chart and a PHD study on the phenomenon, so it must be true.

We’re not saying it was the super blue blood moon that appeared this week, but it was totally the moon. For all the pain the past semana has brought, let’s look on the bright side: bitcoin’s still up 729% since last February. Keep calm, hodl hard and everything will turn out just fine.

What was your favorite story from this week in bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Coinmarketcap, and Stroax.

Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section.

The post This Week in Bitcoin: Half Full or Half Empty? appeared first on Bitcoin News.

At the beginning of 2018, I wrote an article outlining a New Year’s resolution that I thought could help boost cryptocurrency adoption and awareness in 2018. Last week was the fourth installment of my year of cryptocurrency challenge. This week, between work, fun, friends, and family, I was able to have some pretty neat conversations about cryptocurrency.

TRY TO SPEAK TO AS MANY PEOPLE ABOUT CRYPTOCURRENCY AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN

This is one of the best parts of this challenge, in my opinion. While I was pretty vocal about cryptocurrency before taking on this challenge, doing so every day has been a pleasure. More people have heard about cryptocurrency (particularly Bitcoin) recently, but few really know what is going on. Here are a few highlights from my week.

1. I find that Uber and Lyft drivers are often captive audiences, as I’ve had a few great interactions with them. A recent ride I had was rather interesting because my Lyft driver, who I’ll call Shannon (the old anthropologist in me still feels the need to anonymize names), was a middle-aged woman who was rather chatty. She asked what I did, and after I mentioned cryptocurrency and blockchain, Shannon immediately became interested, bombarding me with 101-level questions. This was an excellent opportunity for me to help her along, but also to encourage her to do more research on her own. I’m starting to consider buying many cheap business cards with the Bitcoin whitepaper URL on them.
2. The recent meteoric rise (and retracement) of Bitcoin has left many of my friends concerned, but intrigued. I was out at a bar recently with a few technology-fluent, but non-crypto friends who were debating the pros and cons of using Bitcoin (or any crypto) as a currency. Indeed, it has some shortcomings, but I also pointed out the problems it was attempting to solve, which led to an interesting discussion on the place of institutions in today’s world.

LEARN SOMETHING NEW ABOUT CRYPTO

I really enjoy this part of the challenge, since it helps me expand my knowledge base. I wanted to keep my streak of learning about new consensus algorithms going. This week I focused on Proof of Activity, a PoS and PoW hybrid. Proof of Activity starts out with PoW mining a block, but blocks are “empty” with only a header (previous hash) and the miner’s reward address being solved for. Then, it switches to PoS, where the header determines which “validators” or “stakers” are chosen (the more coins held increases the chances) to sign off on the block and make it a full, validated block. Fees are split between miners and stakers. This hybrid approach has attached the combined criticism of the two models it fuses (both are potentially expensive and potentially insecure). Decred uses this model.

BE GENEROUS – GIVE AND USE YOUR COINS

This week I was unable to spend my crypto for any good or service. However, I did take the opportunity to tip some people over the internet with the sodogetip bot for comments that I enjoyed.

Through the Ehab platform, housing can become a people-led process which will result in more better livable places being built. 

The evolution of housing has kept pace with other technological developments throughout most of human history. Looking back, one can find consistent changes in the design of houses, which has shifted from being a basic shelter from the elements and enemies to palatial homes of comfort and great splendor, but only for those who can afford such luxury. As cities emerged, so did inequality. Some people could afford to live in lavish homes while others lived in houses that were in poor conditions, and times have gone by without the emergence of any better alternative.  This pattern of inequality in housing has continued, but it doesn’t have to anymore.

The industrial revolution brought enormous prosperity to many, but utter squalor to even more. It is at this stage that the worst of modern housing was built. The trend continues to date with developers from all around the world seizing the opportunity to provide housing to people moving to cities. The cheapest, lowest standard housing is built and sold to people, leaving them with no other choice but to pay for it.

The problem: housing is currently built for profit, not people.  

The Solution: to provide a decentralized platform which puts people first, connects them with developers with quality products and use crowd financing to circumnavigate the banks.

A crowdfunding platform for people-led affordable housing.

Consider Ehab, a blockchain platform with its token presale scheduled from 9th to the 19^th of February 2018. It is going to be the world’s first crowdfunding platform for people-led affordable housing on the blockchain. The firm uses the power of reputation systems to create trusted networks that bring together the community, developers, buyers, and investors to accelerate the construction of affordable housing and reduce the inefficiencies which litter the current system.

The platform collects demand data from a future homeowner, it automatically matches that user to appropriate housing projects, then uses blockchain based voting and smart contracts to empower a group of total strangers to co-design a project and reach consensus. The platform’s project management feature then facilitates the building process where developers can make time and cost efficiency savings for the building process with the use of smart contracts. Once the project has planning approved the developers can then raise finance from the crowd by selling security tokens of the project, at rates which beat the banks.

One of the most noteworthy features of the platform is enabling individuals to have a say in their own home’s design and that of the community they will soon be part of. To ensure quality in this process the users of the platform work with architects and designers through the platform’s interface, allowing input from the user but ultimately having an expert to have the final say.

Through a scalable, modular framework, Ehab opens the doors for tech developers to adapt and grow the platform further, thereby helping create a new, flexible and constantly evolving future, for housing development and finance.

Ehab’s Tradable Tokens.

The layers incorporated into the Ehab smart contract cuts cost by automatically sharing the necessary information with project stakeholders based on different rules and criteria. The most significant cost-cutting comes in the form of automated payments, which removes the need for lawyers to authorize the drawdown of funds and can see that contractors are paid on time, reducing the need to have longer contracts. This forms part of the digital management system which helps developers save time, money, and translate digital plans into real houses on the ground.

This system also allows Ehab to track every aspect of the project, which can help accelerate the implementation of modern methods of construction and address inefficiencies in the system. All the relevant information, including reviews and quantitative data, is then hashed and stored on the blockchain, so that anyone may have access, audit and learn from the data associated with the project in question.

Ehab enables the flow of liquid property investments, through their ehab token (EHB), which can be traded for other digital currency or fiat currency.  When investing in a specific project you buy ehab property tokens (EHP), these are backed by assets so are a secure investment, yet they still have the token mechanics allowing investors to cash out early, enjoy equity growth, and receive returns using the token system. This two token concept uniquely eliminates risks through their portfolio investment approach and enables value to be captured and reinvested. The EHB tokens interact with smart contracts to allow the seamless transfer of value between stakeholders in the project.

The Token Sale

Ehab will issue ehab tokens (EHBs) during the token sale period. These tokens can be used in the platform ecosystem or sold on any of their partnered exchanges. 50% of the tokens will be sold during the main sale as well as the pre-sale, and Ehab will then retain the remaining 50%. 7% are being distributed to advisors, team members and other partners. The other 43% are being placed in a 12-month lockup, after which they will be in a future development pool and only accessed to use for liquidity, to prevent the delay of a project, or to run another token sale for expansion of the Ehab platform.

The Pre-sale opens on the 9^th of February 2018 and ends on the 19 of February 2018, to be followed by the beginning of the main token sale on the 1^st of March 2018 until it closes on the 30th of April 2018. The tokens- which are ERC-20 standard compliant- will be bought in ETH, where 1 ETH=20,000 EHB. The lowest purchase denomination is 0.05 ETH for 1000 EHB, with the hard cap set at 50,000 ETH, for a total possible supply of 3,100,000,000 EHB.

Find more information about Ehab and the token sale at – https://ehab.co/

The Whitelist is now open for registration on the site to make sure you can access the 50% bonus. If investing more than 1 ETH, you will be included in the private sale with a 55% bonus.

The post Ehab: A Decentralized Platform for the Disruption of Housing Development appeared first on NewsBTC.

Bitcoin, as the original, most popular, and biggest cryptocurrency is often the first taste a person will get of cryptocurrencies. However, as the marketplace evolves, users are seeing that there is a wealth of other flavours of digital coin. #ANALYSIS

United.States: HashGains, a leading cryptocurrency mining platform, launched its crowd sale with an intention to build the largest cloud mining data centers in India and Canada. The crowd sale started on 26th Jan 2018 and has got 1 million requests for its stakes on the very first day of sale.

The ICO has been listed on all the top cryptocurrency websites and has garnered the attention of investors and crypto lovers from all over the world.

“We have received an overwhelming response on the first day of its presale and we are excited that our project has been accepted by blockchain investors. The sole purpose behind this Initial Coin Offering is to build 75 MW green data centers in India and Canada for the fruitful execution of cryptocurrency mining”, affirm Anuj Bairathi, CEO and Founder of HashGains.com.

HashGains holds a strong leadership team along with an erudite advisory board that backs the project. The team is headed by Mr. Anuj Bairathi, who holds 18 years of experience in the world of Internet.

HashGains is venture of US based Futuristic Internet Services LLC, backed by Cyfuture; a leading IT firm and has been successfully running its data center and cloud business for the past 15 years.

The concept of blockchain fundamentally banks on trust as there is no legitimate body to govern it. There are game spoilers in every industry who have adversely affected the growing reputation of cryptocurrencies.

HashGains’ cloud data centers will run on the green energy framework, consuming less energy and harmoniously abiding by the environmental laws of the land. In order to realize its ideal dream of setting up state-of-the-art mining infrastructures, HashGains has launched its ICO token sale as a means of raising the necessary funds.

The token sale is divided into three parts – Presale, Main Sale Tier I and Main Sale Tier II. Presale has already started and the high stakes are being secured by the investors.

HashGains ICO unlike others brings whole host of advantages like dividend per token, free hashing power which can let you earn BTC/BCH from mining, token convertibility (feature where tokens can be used for buying mining power at HashGains.com), mining discounts etc which makes it highly promising covers huge risks.

For every HashGains tokens purchased during the presale, you get a 30% discount. The real price of the token is $1, but you can get it for $0.70.

For every 10 tokens bought during all the three distinct sale periods, purchasers get 1 GH/s of Bitcoin Cash hash power or 1 GH/s of Bitcoin hash power for 2 consecutive years starting from the date of purchase.  The crowd sale will end on 25th March 2018.

With its exclusive ICO Token launch on 26th January 2018, HashGains looks forward to raising a capital of $30 million and plans to utilize the proceeds in setting up its dream project- HashGains’ green mining data centers that will be headquartered in Canada and India. With a cumulative capacity of 75 Mega Watts, HashGains plans to offer the best cloud mining services from these two sites.

Learn more about HashGains at – https://www.hashgains.com/ico

Access YouTube Channel –  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmO_zV9Zn2J-cVTXbx_1ONQ
Access HashGains whitepaper at – https://www.hashgains.com/ico/documents/hashgain-token-whitepaper.pdf

Find HashGains on Medium at – https://medium.com/@hashgains
HashGains Slack Channel : https://hashgainsico.slack.com/

Telegram Channel : https://t.me/hashgains

Media Contact

Contact Name: Manjari Singh
Contact Email: [email protected]
Location: United States

Disclaimer:

HashGains is the source of this content. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government except in few countries like Japan, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. This press release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. HashGains tokens do not constitute securities.

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.

With the regulatory noose tightening around the cryptocurrency industry, many investors are turning to privacy-focused cryptos that are immune to legislative interference. There are a number of cryptos out there that focus on anonymity, but Verge is the only crypto that incorporates identify obfuscation technologies such as Tor and i2p to protect user privacy.

Verge (XVG), like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, focuses on decentralization, immutability, globality, and speed. Unlike other cryptos, however, Verge was created with privacy as its primary goal, using a wholly unique architecture to deliver complete freedom from interference.

Apart from integrating both i2p and Tor anonymity architectures, Verge also delivers muti-algorithmic mining support that makes it possible for miners that use a wide range of hardware to participate in mining and network maintenance.

Verge Quick Summary

• Privacy-focused cryptocurrency
• Market cap of US$957 million
• Extremely high TPS rate – up to 2,000 tx per second after RSK technology implementation
• Total supply of 16.5 billion XVG
• 100% open-source software
• Rebranded from DogecoinDark – although it’s not clear whether Verge is a fork of Dogecoin. Simply put, Verge is to Dogecoin what Java is to JavaScript.
• Multi-algorithm support that enables equal access to mining opportunities regardless of one’s hardware

Key Features

Verge is primarily focused on making cryptocurrency transactions and ownership absolutely private. Importantly, Verge is not the product of a private company or an initial coin offering, but instead is the product of the combined efforts of thousands of community contributors.

Verge uses two different methods of identity obfuscation, which ensures that user identities are obscured at all times. Moreover, Verge has an Electrum wallet that can be used to transact via either i2p or Tor, delivering total anonymity.

The Verge network also allows users to switch between a private and a public ledger via the Wraith protocol. Users such as merchants who prefer to use a public ledger for accounting purposes are able to do so, while users who desire complete anonymity can switch to a private ledger with a single click. This feature makes Verge the only truly untraceable cryptocurrency in existence.

Verge is currently able to process between 5 and 10 transactions per second, and is currently outpacing Bitcoin in this regard. Transaction fees on the Verge blockchain are set at 0.1 XVG, which at the time of this report was equivalent to US$0.06.

When Verge launches RSK tech integration in December 2018, tx capacity is expected to reach over 2,000 transactions per second. Verge will also implement smart contract functionality at that time.

Verge also offers a convenient Tor Wallet for Android, which features streamlined, simple, and intuitive wallet management and QR code payments.

The Verge Android Wallet App

Verge uses five different Proof of Work algorithms on its blockchain: Scrypt, X17, Lyra2rev2, myr-groestl, and blake2s. All of these algorithms have a target block time of 30 seconds, with a difficulty influenced by each algorithm’s hash rate. This broad spectrum of algorithms allows Verge to offer a high level of security as well as the ability for a wide range of individuals and devices to mine.

Lastly, Verge offers peer-to-peer platform integrated portals that make it possible to transfer Verge quickly and easily via Telegram, Discord, Twitter, and IRC. Reddit, Steam, and Slack integration is currently under development.

Verge Wallets and Anonymity

Verge uses Electrum as a wallet solution, as it is the only wallet that delivers native Tor and i2p support. Verge Electrum wallets offer both single-signature and multi-signature support. Electrum wallets deliver four key features:

• Deterministic key generation that allows users to recover a lost wallet from its seed
• Instant On that doesn’t require users to download the entire blockchain. Instead, Electrum wallets request live blockchain information from the server
• Locally signed transactions in which private keys are not shared with the server
• Freedom and privacy that allow users to export their private keys

Verge Electrum wallets can be connected via either Tor or i2p. Tor Verge wallets route communication through a series of hops that protect transaction information from surveillance techniques that rely upon source and destination data, as illustrated in the graphic below:

Courtesy of the Verge Black Paper

Verge Electrum wallets connected via i2p work in a similar manner, but instead of relying upon circuit-based routing, i2p performs packet-based routing that dynamically avoids network congestion and thus delivers a higher level of reliability.

The Wraith Protocol

The Wraith protocol is a unique feature offered by Verge that allows users to dynamically switch between a private or public ledger. While identity information is obscured on both ledgers, the Wraith protocol allows users to decide whether to make it possible for transaction data to be viewed via the blockchain explorer.

The Wraith team has released a simple infographic that succinctly explains how the Wraith Protocol works:

Courtesy of the Verge team

The History of Verge

Verge was originally developed under the name “DogecoinDark”. While this may imply that Verge began as a fork of Dogecoin, the original DogecoinDark shared no attributes with the then-novelty token and instead drew from RC, AXIS, and Shibecoin.

Some evidence on GitHub indicates that Verge may have originated as a fork of Novacoin, but it’s unlikely that this fork eventuated in the Verge that we see today. Regardless of the source of the Verge architecture, it’s an extremely elegant solution to the problem of blockchain privacy that implements robust, established identity obfuscation technology.

Verge rebranded to its current name in February 2016 and recently experienced a significant surge in price when the Wraith protocol was released on the 9th of January.

Uquid, one of the most popular cryptocurrency debit card providers, announced support for Verge on January 7, which also assisted in the recent price action.

Uquid now fully support for Verge (XVG) @vergecurrency. Together, we will move forward for future successes. pic.twitter.com/vZamuloMby

— UQUID CARD (@uquidcard) January 8, 2018

Final Thoughts

Privacy is one of the core tenets of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. With regulatory scrutiny increasing, privacy-focused cryptocurrencies such as Monero, Zcash, and PIVX are elbowing their way into the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

With the high level of usability, security, and anonymity offered by Verge, it’s easy to see why Verge could potentially become one of the biggest cryptos of 2018. If you’re interested in reading more about the technical aspects of Verge, you can check out its black paper here.

If you’d like to get started investing in Verge, XVG trading pairs are offered on Binance.

Last summer, 24-year-old Kingsley Advani set his sights on becoming a cryptocurrency king after seeing the once-in-a-lifetime returns the coins were bringing in. Inspired, Advani invested everything he had, $34,000, in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and startups working on related technologies. In six months, he watched his net worth balloon to seven figures.

At a time when many people his age are trying to climb the ranks at their given employers, Advani has carved out his own prospects: Now working as an advisor to cryptocurrency startups. He travels between London, New York, and San Francisco, meeting with industry leaders and scouting startups working on what may be the next big application of blockchain technology.

“I think at no point in human history have people in their twenties had such an opportunity to invest in such high-growth assets,” Advani told Business Insider in an interview.

Created in 2008, Bitcoin is a payment system that allows people to make purchases and send money with anonymity. There are no banks or middlemen, and transactions are recorded on a digital ledger called a blockchain, which stores the information with full transparency. It was the blockchain that first drew Advani to cryptocurrencies. In 2012, after a friend had introduced him to Bitcoin, he began to see the potential of the technology.

“It’s like a rebellion to traditional finance,” Advani said. He believes its creation in 2008 — at the height of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression — was no coincidence. “You don’t need centralized banks to send money, you have these great pieces of tech send money for you through cryptography. So unlike banks, it’s faster, cheaper, and more secure,” he said.

Advani started reading white papers on cryptocurrencies and watching the market more closely last summer. He decided he would not miss a second chance to take part. He invested all of his savings and part of his income from his job as a data scientist at a small software company. “Every month I was waiting for that paycheck and I put it straight in,” he said.

So far, his gamble has paid off. When Advani invested in Bitcoin, it was worth about $4,000 per coin: As of this February, the cryptocurrency has more than doubled in value. At its peak, Advani’s investment had grown to low seven figures, though it fluctuates with the swing of the market. Advani invests mostly in startups spun out of top universities, like Stanford, Cornell, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that are working on high-speed blockchain technology.

The post Kingsley Advani: Blockchain Permits Young Crypto-Enthusiast Create Own Career Path appeared first on NewsBTC.