Day: February 6, 2018

A top official from the Manitoba Securities Commission praised Facebook’s ban on ads for ICOs and cryptocurrencies and said Google should follow suit.

El Segundo, California, Feb 6, 2018 — Today, Aperture Real Estate Ventures, the parent company of Property Coin (PCX), is officially announcing its ICO (Initial Coin Offering) available for purchase pursuant to a pre-sale agreement, via USD, Bitcoin and/or Ethereum, purchase details here: www.propertycoin.re.

Founded by Matt Miles, Andrew Jewett, and Rudy Cortes, former investment bankers and property investors, each with 12+ years of experience focused on North American residential real estate markets, are leveraging their vast knowledge and networks to the quickly shifting asset tokenization market.

Property Coin represents an asset-backed crypto investment opportunity providing an alternative to the volatility of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The proceeds from the sale of Property Coin are intended to fuel the growth of Aperture’s existing technology and real estate investment business, which uses a combination of proprietary technologies and human expertise to spot otherwise hidden opportunities to invest in undervalued properties in metropolitan areas throughout the United States.

“Unlike many cryptocurrency offerings, Property Coin’s proposition is straightforward,” said Andrew Jewett, co-CEO of Aperture. “100% of the net proceeds from sales of Property Coins will be used to invest in properties and loans identified by our proprietary software and our experienced team. Accordingly, Property Coin is designed to be 100% backed by real estate assets, giving each coin holder a fractional economic interest in the investments made by Aperture or its affiliates with the net proceeds realized from the sale of Property Coins.”

Additionally, Aperture intends to re-invest 50% of the profits in new real estate related investments, with the intent of creating a natural price appreciation effect for PCX coin holders.

“Property Coin combines the Aperture team’s collective industry experience with our unique technology platform.  As a result of this attractive combination, we’ve developed a beta-tested model for profitable property investment,” says Matt Miles, co-CEO of Aperture.

“We’re very excited to be able to offer this proprietary formula to cryptocurrency investors who want access to a diversified, tech-powered, professionally managed portfolio of real estate assets through Property Coin,” said Miles.

Although Property Coin is focused on the U.S. real estate market, it is available for purchase by investors from around the world, and when future property market conditions are appropriate, Aperture will look to invest in global property markets.

About Aperture

Aperture is a Los Angeles-based real estate technology and investment company focused on

(a) buying residential properties to renovate and resell (“flips”) and

(b) making loans to other property investors (“investor loans”).

Since its launch in 2016, Aperture has systematized the process of acquiring, repairing and re-selling properties and has beta tested its proprietary technology platform and methods by making real world property investments with personal capital of its founders and management team, which has produced over 50% unlevered IRRs to date. Details can be found here: https://propertycoin.re/en/whitepaper

The Aperture team provides experience and expertise gained over an aggregate of decades in the U.S. real estate industry. Throughout their careers, Aperture’s team has closed an estimated $150 billion of real estate financing transactions, flipped nearly 3,000 properties, and originated over $10 billion of mortgage loans, as well as created proprietary technology systems for some of the largest investment banks in the world.

About Property Coin

Property Coin (PCX) is currently listed on ICO Bench, ICO Watchlist, ICO Daily, Token Market, and other major ICO listing sites. Through the initial offering, Aperture seeks to raise $50 Million USD / 4508 BTC / 41903 ETH,, which will be directly used to finance loans, purchase hundreds of homes, revitalize neighborhoods, and bring new affordable housing to local communities across North America.

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For more information please visit – https://propertycoin.re/en/whitepaper

If you’d like more information, please call Evan at 310-870-7040, or email: [email protected]

Disclaimers

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of, these Property Coin securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is unlawful. Offers of Property Coins will be made in the United States to “accredited investors” only by means of a private offering memorandum pursuant to an exemption from registration set forth in Rule 506(c) of Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act), and outside the United States to non-U.S. persons pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act. This press release is not an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell any Property Coins.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, such as statements regarding market developments, new products and growth strategies, our ability to provide an alternative to the volatility of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies, the ability of proceeds from the sale of Property Coin to fuel the growth of Aperture’s existing technology and real estate investment business, the ability to realize a profit from real estate investments made with the net proceeds from the  sale of Property Coin, the ability to create a natural price appreciation effect for coin holders, the ability to produce an level of unlevered IRR to Property Coin investors, our ability to protect our technology, the ability to provide access to a diversified, tech-powered, professionally managed portfolio of real estate assets, the ability to use our business model for profitable real estate investments, and our ability to finance loans, purchase hundreds of homes, revitalize neighborhoods, and bring new affordable housing to local communities across North America, as well as those risks and uncertainties set forth in the white paper and private offering memorandum for Property Coins.  These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements made herein.

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.

In a garish display of just how far removed Bitcoin seems from its original cypher punk roots, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency has found unlikely attention at New York Fashion Week today.

During the Ovadia & Sons men’s show, one of the 35 pseudo anarchistic-inspired outfits by Ariel and Shimon Ovadia comprised of a teal shirt that with the words: “Bitcoin accepted. No cash.”

It seems a bizarre touch, particularly when the inspiration behind the show becomes known. The designers told Vogue that they had a definite punk and country look in mind. They went on to list a set of puzzling musical influences behind the outfits. Amongst them are Elvis, and the Clash – hardly names you associate with the cryptocurrency space. The two didn’t touch on the decision to include the curious nod to Bitcoin, however.

The outfits themselves for the show mostly comprised of ill-fitting, patch work plaid trousers, lots of denim, and half-arsed nods to punk rock culture such as a steel chain belt you wouldn’t trust to restrain a kitten with. More curiously still, there were no further mentions of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies throughout the show.

So much of why the decision was made to include a reference to Bitcoin in such a minor way during a fashion show remains a mystery. Are the designers trying to say that just like the cringeworthy fashions of the 70s, Bitcoin is now old news? Are they just trying to be modern and a bit edgy? Or, are they making a swipe at that those recently invested in Bitcoin; saying they must be so destitute after the recent price corrections that they can no longer afford a set of trousers sans tartan patchwork – literally, “no cash”. The mind truly boggles.

It’s a somewhat hilarious coincidence that just as New York Senators are preparing to discuss the potential implications that Bitcoin’s underlying technology could have for the efficacy of government on one side of the city, that the original cryptocurrency has been paraded around in such a bizarre way on the other. Satoshi would be rolling in his grave, perhaps…

The post Bitcoin Shows Up to New York Fashion Week appeared first on NewsBTC.

A member of the New York State Assembly submitted a bill to the Committee on Governmental Operations on February 2 that calls for the formation of a task force to assess how blockchain technology and cryptocurrency can impact on the way governments operate.

Clyde Vanel, the submitter of the bill, is interested in the way that a government-issued digital currency could streamline some of the functions of government, as well as how blockchain could help revolutionise cyber security. The group to be assembled will comprise of eight members selected by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the state Assembly, the state Senate, and the Department of Financial Services.

Speaking with the Observer, Vanel explained some of his ideas regarding blockchain and its implications for government:

“The problem with crypto [trading] is that, when you think you know, things change. What I’m focused on is the technology behind that space, which may change how we operate.”

He then proceeded to touch upon his vision of what a state-issued digital currency might look like for New York:

“It will not be a new currency, but a tokenized bond… We issue bonds all the time. So, I think the government should look into the possibility of issuing a bond-backed cryptocurrency.”

However, the US lawmaker was more interested in the potential innovations that blockchain technology could bring to cyber security, with a particular emphasis on electoral fraud. According to the Observer, over 127,000 voter records were hacked in Brooklyn’s presidential primary election of 2016. Vanel believes that a decentralised database would provide greater security with regards data protection.

Since blockchains are decentralised by their very nature, cyber criminals do not have a single clear point to direct their attacks against. They also provide immutable and transparent records of transactions. Both of these features would be advantageous when applied to a elections.

In addition to the proposed task force investigating blockchain technology, there will also be a public meeting held at the Senate Hearing Room on Broadway later this month. It’s scheduled for Februrary 23 at 12pm and will be led by State Senators David Carlucci and Jesse Hamilton. According to their own literature, the goals of the meet are:

“To gain insight on the logistics and organization of cryptocurrency; its regulation through the BitLicense in the state of New York, other states and on a federal level; and the current marketplace in which it thrives and becomes problematic for consumers.”

Image: PixaBay

The post New York Lawmakers to Discuss Impact of Blockchain on Government appeared first on NewsBTC.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

Following Facebook’s announcement last week that it was banning all advertising for binary options, cryptocurrencies, and initial coin offerings (ICOs), a Canadian regulator has called on Google to do the same.

On January 30th, Facebook announced it was banning all advertising for binary options, cryptocurrencies, and ICOs following pressure from the FBI and Canadian securities regulators, as both groups step-up investigations into online investment fraud.

“We’ve created a new policy that prohibits ads that promote financial products and services that are frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices, such as binary options, initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency,” Facebook product management director Rob Leathern wrote in a blog post detailing the company’s ban.

In response (according to an interview with The Times of Israel), Jason Roy, a senior investigator at the Manitoba Securities Commission and chairman of Canada’s Binary Options Task Force, said: “We’re very pleased with Facebook’s decision. My hope is that Google will enact a similar policy, where they specifically name products like binary options, ICOs, and cryptocurrencies.”

But Google, who generates a lot of the paid traffic for fraudulent binary options, cryptocurrencies, and ICOs, has yet to ban the ads. When asked whether the company was going to enact a similar ban, Google spokeswoman Roni Levin replied by email, saying: “We already ban and enforce against misleading ads and misrepresentation (across all categories). Here are the policies — Misrepresentation and Misleading Ads.”

A quick search for both “binary options” and “cryptocurrencies” in the Google search bar reveal that the company is, in fact, still selling ads for these products.

A particular focus by Roy and other regulators is the presence of binary options, which are often called all-or-nothing options. And while it is perhaps true that this sector of the industry is plagued by frauds — Israel and a number of other countries have banned them entirely — it can be a problem when the authorities lump all crypto-sectors together. There are huge differences in risk between, say, binary options, and well-researched small investments into cryptocurrencies.

Roy doesn’t necessarily see it that way, though. When looking at cryptocurrency ads circulating the internet, he sees an ominous pattern: “You have the former binary options firms that have made the switch to offering cryptocurrencies, and it’s basically the binary options scam 2.0.”

Roy said that Canadian and other law enforcement agencies are waiting for Google to follow Facebook and enact a specific ban: “What happened is that Canada’s Binary Options Task Force, as well as the FBI, explained to Facebook what the concerns were and that these types of ads are leading to people becoming victims. We’ve been talking to Google and had similar discussions and are waiting for them to take similar action.”

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Aliant Payment Systems announced today that they will add Litecoin functionality to their existing range of products. The US-based provider of merchant payment services were amongst the first companies of their kind to include a Bitcoin payment solution for their merchants in 2017, before adding Ethereum too late last year. Their CEO, Eric Brown, said of the decision to include Litecoin for their clients:

“Our merchants look to us for innovative ways to transfer money safely, securely, and cost-effectively. Cryptocurrency allows us to move money in all of these ways, while also offering consumers more payment options… We expect Litecoin to emerge as a prominent everyday payment option. Pay with Litecoin at restaurants, bars, gas stations, coffee shops, and other places that you go regularly.”

Aliant are currently in partnership with the Vancouver-based NetCents Technology Inc. It’s them who’re helping with the integration of cryptocurrencies into Aliant’s existing services. The pair received feedback regarding a plethora of different digital currencies but Ethereum and Litecoin were chosen to join Bitcoin based on their popularity and the public’s relative familiarity with them, as well as their  stability.

Aliant are expecting Litecoin to emerge as a suitable payment option for smaller priced items. Currently, only expensive goods are purchased using its big brother, Bitcoin. This is due to the fees associated with using Bitcoin for payments. Litecoin, meanwhile, enjoys much lower fees and transaction times.

Brown continued, touching upon his company’s collaboration with NetCents:

“We explained to the NetCents team what we felt a merchant needed to see on the platform, and their CTO, Medhi Mehrtash, was the engineer who made it happen… His team customised the platform based on the specs we provided, and now we look forward to showing our merchants what digital currency can do for online payments.”

The NetCents CEO, Clayton Moore added:

“NetCents views the agreement with Aliant as more of a partnership rather than a supplier for services agreement… We believe that Aliant shares our vision of the evolving digital payment space and their strategy for introducing digital payments is in line with ours.”

As well as their e-commerce merchant facing solutions, Aliant offer a retail option. This is known as the Poynt terminal. It features a highly developer-friendly design and technology, as well as having the cryptocurrency widget as standard. This allows Aliant’s merchants and customers to use digital currency at the point of sale, further increasing the overall public exposure to the innovative payment systems.

The post Major Payments Processing Platform to Accept Litecoin appeared first on NewsBTC.

CoinDesk recaps Tuesday’s U.S. Senate hearing, in which two major regulatory agencies testified as to their abilities to oversee the crypto market.

“Start small, think big” urged Steve Jobs. “I think it is possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary,” mused Elon Musk. The American dream holds that anyone, regardless of circumstance, background and means, can achieve anything they want through a combination of hard work and smart thinking. And all over the world that notion has resonated for over a century.

The current generation of Musks and Jobs in the making are privileged to be living in a time when it is possible to conceive an inspirational idea and – if the world shares your enthusiasm – to raise funding for it in as little as six months. The Initial Coin Offering may take flak at times, but make no mistake, it is an amazing and genuinely revolutionary invention. Thanks to the crowd, any aspiring entrepreneur can share their vision, assemble a team of like-minded individuals and turn that idea into reality.

Of course, like any transformative invention, ICOs can be purposed in many ways. They can be used to make thousands of people’s lives better or they can be used to scam and defraud. They can be used to change the world or used to change nothing other than their founders’ bank balance. Make no mistake, the vast majority of token generation events are launched with genuine intentions. Their founders have lofty and noble goals. The problem they face isn’t one of ethics, however, but one of scope.

Put simply, too many teams are thinking too small. They’re focusing on the finer details rather than looking at the bigger picture. As it stands, $30 million seems to be the going rate for the current wave of ICOs setting a hard cap – and many of them are having no trouble hitting that target. For that sort of money, it’s hard to imagine what couldn’t be achieved. You’d struggle to put a man on the moon for $30 million, but every other moonshot is within reach.

Flying cars? Mind-controlled devices? Cryogenics? The moon’s the limit and the world’s your oyster if you can convince enough people that your project has merit. That’s not to say that pie-in-the-sky thinking should be encouraged. The ICO isn’t a vehicle for fulfilling the staggeringly ambitious ideas that come to you in the bath. But it is a springboard for allowing the most daring, groundbreaking and freshest ideas to flourish.

But here’s the thing about ICOs: you only get one shot. If your first one doesn’t go to plan, or you come up with a better idea further down the line, tough. It’s too late: you’re already committed to your existing project with a five-year roadmap and a two-year token vesting period. In the words of Eminem, “If you had one shot or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment, would you capture it or just let it slip?”

The ICO is your one chance to make a difference. If you have the experience, the business acumen, the team and the willpower, anything is achievable. Okay, so you can’t simply decide you want to build a space elevator and then raise the money to explore its feasibility – some kind of a basic plan or MVP is going to be required – but beyond that, there’s little holding you back.

Think big. Think game-changing. Think outside the box, the room and the planet if necessary. Don’t let conventions, trends or self-doubt hold you back. If you’re going to launch an ICO, do something extraordinary. Don’t improve lives – change lives. You only get one shot. Make sure you get yours right.

The post ICOs Were Designed to Solve Big Ideas – So Why Is Everyone Thinking Small? appeared first on NewsBTC.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

Blockchain technology is enabling the borderless transfer of value in its simplest form without the interference of intermediaries. This is a property that has encouraged the effective fundraising processes being adopted by various startups and existing organizations for purposes of project development and expansion, as the case may be.

A new fundraising method

One of the latest fundraising methods being introduced into the industry is the Initial Loan Procurement (ILP) process. This system is similar to the more popular Initial Coin Offering (ICO) procedure, only that in this case, the funds are raised in the form of loans, rather than coins acquisition.

The more popular ICO system has exposed the industry to a lot of new opportunities that did not exist before now. Generally, the ICO process enables individuals from any part of the world to have direct investment access to opportunities that had hitherto been beyond their reach. Also, on the part of companies, it opened up new and easier sources, enabling them to get funding from anyone who gets interested in their projects from anywhere in the world in exchange for tokens.

Limitations of older methods

Despite the benefits of the ICO processes, the inherent limitations are becoming even more pronounced as numerous companies adopt the system, which is a subject of concern. For instance, the laws and regulations that are emanating from some countries are categorically unfriendly towards ICOs. The outright bans from China and the restriction of crypto-related ads by Facebook are some of the eventualities that are hampering the ICO processes. Besides, the search for appropriate tax implementation processes has also led to certain restrictions from countries like the United States. Some other countries even consider money raised through ICOs as income, therefore subjecting such to high taxing, even as much as 40% in some cases.

In finding a solution to these limitations, while retaining the benefits of Blockchain technology, Blockhive is partnering with Agrello to create an alternative model of decentralized fundraising that does not involve token purchase. This model implements a smart contract agreement between borrowers and creditors through a process known as Initial Loan Procurement (ILP). Being a loan, hence a debt, such contributions will not be bound by unreasonable tax systems, neither will they be bound by the various restrictions and challenges faced by ICOs.

KYC implementation

With a legally sound structure and proper KYC implementation procedures, the Blockhive system ensures proper fraud prevention and anti-money laundering. Each contract is recorded on the blockchain, thereby ensuring a transparent and immutable system that cannot be altered.

In other words, to have access and transact on the Blockhive platform, users must fully register and receive the protocol’s Future Loan Access Tokens (FLAT) as soon as they lend funds to the company. It is these tokens that will enable the transfer of loan agreements among users. The funds lent however are in the form of cryptocurrency, as those are the payment methods supported by the platform.

A robust partnership

Hence, Agrello’s ID and its binding loan agreement, coupled with Blockhive’s FLAT combine to form a robust decentralized loan platform. Therefore, instead of investing in tokens whose future depends largely on external market forces of demand rather than the fundamental organic growth of its parent company, the ILP system offers a different kind of benefit. This benefit involves a more guaranteed long-term interest, enabling creditors to earn 20% of the annual operational profits of Blockhive. A figure that could increase as more products gets developed on the platform.

The post Blockhive Partners With Agrello in New Crowdfunding Innovation Using Blockchain Technology appeared first on NewsBTC.

VersaBank Inc., a tiny Canadian lender led by tech-savvy CEO David Taylor, is building a virtual safety deposit box for cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. The firm is taking the lead in a global banking industry where many have been reluctant to deal with cryptocurrencies. The London, Ontario-based bank — Canada’s smallest bank by assets —plans to have the digital vault operational by June and offer the service to customers across the globe.

“We’re using what banks are all about — safety and security — only what we’re doing now is saying that physical box in the basement is getting obsolete,” said Taylor in interview with Bloomberg. “Most people’s really valuable assets are contained in some sort of digital format, whether it be a deed or a contract or a cryptocurrency.”

To get started, VersaBank hired cybersecurity expert Gurpreet Sahota from BlackBerry Ltd.— the former smartphone maker long viewed as a world leader in security and encryption — to lead software engineers in designing its “VersaVault.” The vault will securely store digital assets on computer servers around the world.

Like a safety deposit box, the bank won’t know what’s inside — and in this case, the bank won’t be able to access the contents at all: “Our differentiator in this market is to be secure and super private,” said Taylor. “The bank wouldn’t have any kind of back door to open up the vault, we’re just providing the facility that folks could put their digital keys in.”

Typically, hackers steal money from crypto-exchanges by gaining access to internet-connected wallets that stores customer funds. And several recent high-profile heists, including last month’s theft of more than $500 million from Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck, illustrate the need for both increased security measures and novel methods.

VersaBank is an early mover among traditional banks, but there are others in the space: South Korea’s Shinhan Bank announced in November that it plans to open a Bitcoin vault by mid-2018. Outside of banking, Palo Alto, California-based Xapo Inc. has offered clients secure storage for Bitcoin for about four years, while Goldmoney Inc., a Toronto-based firm that lets clients buy, sell, and store precious metals in vaults in seven countries, started offering Bitcoin storage last September.

Large funds have shown interest in storing their assets in VersaVault since the company announced the plan last month, according to Taylor. And although pricing has yet to be determined, it’ll be expensive, he said.

This news comes as part of multiple announcements where Canadian companies have shown that they are embracing blockchain technology; just a few days ago, the first Blockchain ETF was launched in Canada.

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