Day: February 7, 2018

With cryptocurrency investments becoming increasingly more volatile the need for stable and diversified investment opportunities for crypto traders and blockchain enthusiasts, both new and old, is increasing.

Valued at over USD $217 trillion globally, real estate investments have historically proved to be one of the most stable forms of investment worldwide. As many crypto supporters know, this industry is one of the many set be disrupted with the introduction of blockchain technology.

One company that is already making waves by combing the innovative benefit of blockchain technology, utility tokens and cryptocurrency with the stability of real estate investments is Etherty.

With their pre-ICO sale starting on February 1st, 2018 the Etherty platform is coined to be a game changer. By utilizing blockchain technology and smart contracts Etherty users will be able to easily and efficiently buy, sell and crowdsale real estate globally. With partnerships already formed in Australia, Dubai and the USA, Etherty will be able to provide token holders with access to $250 million in real estate opportunities in the coming months. Addressing the instability and risk that cryptocurrency investors are currently facing by providing property backed tokens that are less susceptible to unpredictable market fluctuations.

In saying that, you don’t have to be tech savvy, wealthy or have a broad knowledge of real estate to invest. Designed to be a platform that fosters open communication and networking, new investors will be able to benefit from the wealth of information and data provided by the platform and their community of more seasoned investors. Through crowdsales that use smart contracts everyday people will be able to invest in global real estate opportunities, for as little as USD $1000. Transforming an industry that is currently dominated by the wealthy and corporations, allowing for increased equality and opportunity.

With over 92 million millennials in the U.S. alone, many who will no longer be able to afford the once cherished American dream of owning their own home, the Etherty platform will become an integral tool for those who feel pushed out of the current real estate market.

“Etherty is out to disrupt a 217 trillion dollar industry by breaking the barrier of entry for investment for as low as USD 1000. Etherty is the only blockchain based real estate focused trading platform where investors can network, co-invest and realize their cross-border investments” stated Etherty CEO Murtaza Khan

Designed to provide seamless international property trading without the need to get involved in local bureaucracy and processes, all at the press of a button. Etherty will remove the tedious barriers that are normally involved in purchasing and selling property internationally such as, finding a trustworthy realtor, sales listings, advertising and promotions, remote property viewings, values and inspections, lawyers, government verifications etc. removing barriers for every level of investor both locally and abroad.

Whether the intention is to raise capital for the development of a property, purchase an investment or a simplify everyday real estate transactions by using smart contracts and a one-stop-shop intermediary, Etherty will have you covered.

During Etherty’s pre-ICO offering tokens will be available for USD$0.20 with a 30% bonus. To learn more about Etherty’s ICO presale is starting on February 1st, visit http://ico.etherty.com or their telegram community https://t.me/etherty.

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.

On February 5, 2018, the OKOIN project launched the “+50” campaign within the second round of the ICO. Under its terms, each buyer that purchases tokens for more than 1 ETH receives 50% bonus tokens. The promotion will last from February 5-15, 2018. At the same time, the rate in the project is fixed at 1 ETH = $ 1,500, which makes the investment even more profitable.

The OKOIN project is a special business area of one of the largest Czech manufacturers of the virtual reality helmet VR OKO, the company VR Technology. The main goal of the project is creation of a decentralized infrastructure for the distribution of VR content and “adult” services. The OKOIN tokens are the only and 100% anonymous means of payment within this infrastructure.

The OKOIN project successfully completed the first round of the ICO on January 15, with $25 mln raised. During the first round, the token price raised from $1 to $2.7. The anticipated price of the token to the end of the second round is $9.2. Each week the price increases by $0.5.

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.

Political candidates should really start paying more attention to crypto-markets, as it could be a new frontier for increased campaign contributions.

Last year, Missouri Republican Austin Petersen’s campaign for Senate received 24 separate Bitcoin donations, according to a campaign issued statement released mid-January — and one of them was the largest single Bitcoin donation in federal election history. The donation — 0.284 of a Bitcoin — was instantly converted to dollars by a Bitcoin processor when it was received on December 20th, 2017. Because of bitcoin’s market value at that time, it was worth $4,500.

“I think it goes without saying we’re going to see a lot more of this in terms of campaign contributions and campaign financing,” Jeff Carson, the campaign manager for Petersen’s Senate bid told ABC News. Accepting cryptocurrencies as campaign contributions, Carson added, lines up with Petersen’s political philosophy: “Austin is personally a fan of competition in the marketplace, even when it comes to our currency,” he said. “With the rise of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, it was a no-brainer for us to use those.”

This isn’t the first campaign in which people have supported candidates using cryptocurrency. Rand Paul accepted Bitcoin campaign contributions during his 2016 presidential bid. Before that, in 2014, Jared Polis accepted Bitcoin donations in his congressional campaign — the same year the Federal Election Commission announced that it would allow individuals to contribute to political campaigns using the digital currency.

Now, four years down the line, Bitcoin as campaign currency has become less of a novelty, with campaigns from both Republicans and Democrats accepting the coin. Experts say the increase in Bitcoin campaign contributions is a natural progression that follows the ever-growing popularity of cryptocurrencies.

Shone Anstey, the executive chairman of Blockchain Intelligence Group, a risk analytics company for Bitcoin encrypted currencies, told ABC News it was “inevitable.” “It certainly has taken off aggressively with the dramatic rise in price [of Bitcoin],” he said. “It’s also taken off aggressively with millennials, who are glued to their phones and have taken to cryptocurrencies very naturally.” And there is another crop of campaign donors who are likely to use Bitcoin: the newly rich. “There are a number of people who have become very crypto-rich,” Anstey said, calling them “a whole new class of investors who have made a lot of money.”

In 2014, the FEC determined it was acceptable for campaigns to accept Bitcoin in a case involving the Make Your Laws PAC, a non-affiliated political action committee, as long as the donations were limited to the equivalent of $100 per individual and steps were taken to disclose the contact information of the donors.

The post Bitcoin For Campaign Contributions On the Rise In the U.S. appeared first on NewsBTC.

Play2Live (P2L), the first full-blown blockchain-based streaming platform for gamers and esports fans, will host the world’s first esports tournament with crypto prize pool Play2Live CryptoMasters. The tournament will take place in the capital of Belarus, Minsk, and will be broadcasted by P2L worldwide in seven languages: English, Russian, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, and German.

The tournament in CS:GO will be held on February 24-25, 2018, on Falcon Arena, where 8 international top teams (7 invited and 1 from the open qualifiers beginning soon) will compete for the main prize – $100,000 in LUC (Level Up Coin) tokens. Play2Live invites all the esports and crypto enthusiasts to watch the tournament in Minsk and meet their favorite teams. The event is scheduled to the release of the 2.0 version of MVP.

“As announced earlier this year, we are excited to bring updates to the existing MVP, including highly anticipated user streaming. We encourage all gamers and esport fans to become P2L early adopters to test the new ecosystem and high Internet speed delivered by peer-to-peer CDN technology. And we are even more excited to host the world’s first ever esport tournament with crypto prize: an event, that will become a milestone in further integration of the blockchain technology into gaming industry”, comments Alexey Burdyko, CEO and Founder at Play2Live.

Founded in 2017, Play2Live aims to merge blockchain technology with streaming services. Its mission is to create an ecosystem where every participant — the viewer, the streamer, and the esports tournament organizer — is part of a seamless system that favors interaction among viewers and the diversity of monetization schemes. Essentially, everybody can be part of the peer-to-peer interaction, and everybody  —  even the viewer  —  is able to earn money. Play2Live uses a token called Level Up Coin (LUC) which acts as a sole internal currency within the system. It can be easily converted to other cryptocurrencies or to fiat money through a gateway/API.

Play2live offers 15 sources of revenue, which is three times more compared to the streaming industry leaders. Streamers will be able to monetize their content in 11 ways versus 4-5 available on existing platforms. They can earn from the first stream, regardless their audience size, as well as boost their audience via interactive tasks during the streams, betting service, enhanced chat communication and other engaging activities! Viewers will have 5 monetization tools – compared to zero elsewhere in streaming industry. They can earn by simply watching adverts (P2L is ads-free by default), performing streamers’ tasks, voting for content, and sharing their internet bandwidth via peer-to-peer CDN.

During broadcast of the forthcoming tournament in Minsk on P2L viewers will have an opportunity to bet with LUC tokens on their favorite team before the start of the match, being able to compete against opponents of their team. The mechanism for betting is also linked to the time of placement of live bets on actions during the match (for example which team made the first FirstBlood or Headshot).

P2L has already started an early adopters program for streamers and esports fans in their official Telegram-chats that allows users held their own streams to provide full live streaming experience.

The public pre-sale for the LUC token started on January 26 and lasts until February 6. During the pre-sale Play2Live has already secured more than $18 mln. The main token sale event begins on February 21 and ends on March 14. For more information, visit the site or follow Play2Live on various cryptocurrency-oriented media sources.

More about Play2Live

Website: https://play2live.io

MVP of the streaming platform: https://p2l.tv/

Bookbuilding platform: https://my.play2live.io

Whitepaper: https://goo.gl/ocmSTn

Onepager: https://goo.gl/8yMY4t

Twitter: https://twitter.com/play_2_live

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/play2live.io/

Telegram English: https://t.me/play2live

Telegram Russian: https://t.me/Play2Live_RusChat

Telegram Chinese: https://t.me/play2live_cn

Telegram Japanese: https://t.me/play2live_jp

Telegram Korean: https://t.me/play2live_ko

Bitcointalk ANN: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2450026

Kakao group: https://open.kakao.com/o/gmdTRJF

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.

Wednesday, Feb 7, 2018 – In an announcement that is sure to have gamblers everywhere smiling from ear to ear, BitStarz Casino is now accepting Litecoin (LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) deposits and wagers. Becoming one of the very first online casinos in the world to accept both of these leading altcoins  – with BCH recently becoming a fixture at Coinbase – BitStarz is looking to open the door to altcoins by offering LTC and BCH support.

LTC – one of the world’s foremost altcoins – launched back in 2011. Evolving from Bitcoin, it has grown to become not just a tremendous option for those looking to diversify, but also a viable currency for anyone that has intentions of taking the world of online casino play by storm. Fast payment confirmations, adaptive technical up scaling, and in many ways presenting the perfect compliment to Bitcoin, it was no surprise to see LTC’s value skyrocket during 2017.

BCH launched just a few months’ back, coming about through the Bitcoin Classic fork that caused a trading frenzy. What helped to generate interest in BCH was the increased size of its blocks, allowing for more transactions, lower transaction fees, and quicker transaction speeds. The whole purpose behind BCH was to craft a cryptocurrency that could compete with PayPal and Visa when it comes to transaction levels, which is probably why the demand for it amongst gambling circles has grown.

The altcoin market has been bubbling over lately, with this certainly not escaping the attention of the BitStarz team. Listening to players, it has covered every base to ensure that LTC and BCH are made available for use. Allowing members to deposit and wager in LTC and BCH at will, Softswiss games specifically will initially allow players to bet through BCH, with more providers waiting in the wings to add BCH betting support. Taking its cost effective fees and speed on board, it’s easy to see why the demand for both LTC and BCH functionality has grown, with BitStarz answering the call.

Topping the tree when it comes to hybrid-currency online casinos, Bitstarz.io has forged ahead, embracing Bitcoin as a payment option unlike anyone else. It isn’t just Bitcoin that features on the BitStarz cashier page either, with LTC and BCH now joining the ranks. Players will be able to play the hottest online casino games around through LTC and BCH deposits, so you won’t be left waiting should you want to put your Litecoin or Bitcoin Cash to work. Known for Bitcoin support, but now giving LTC and BCH its share of the spotlight, there is a reason as to why AskGamblers has labelled BitStarz as one of the most reputable online casinos around.

Srdjan Kapor (BitStarz Marketing Manager) was quick to comment on the arrival of LTC and BCH:

“As the uptake of Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash continues, the timing is perfect for us to announce that we will now be accepting both as deposit methods. Proving that we are one of the most flexible and accommodating online casinos around, BitStarz is happy to add LTC and BCH to our wealth of available cashier options moving forward.”

About BitStarz

www.bitstarz.io

BitStarz has blazed a trail for Bitcoin-based gambling around the globe, combining it with major international currencies to create a seamless online casino platform. That’s not all, as alongside Bitcoin, LTC, and BCH support, it loads up on games unlike any other casino around. Retro slots, video slots, 3D slots, progressive jackpot slots, and an array of table-focused favourite, you’ll never be left wanting for games at BitStarz that’s for sure. Powered by an Antillephone N.V, Curacao gaming license, outstanding personal service, souped-up withdrawal speeds, and a game selection that just keeps growing, BitStarz has become the leading name in Bitcoin – and now altcoin – casino play!

For more information on BitStarz and what this universally respected casino has to offer, please contact Srdjan Kapor at [email protected].

Press contact:

Srdjan Kapor

Marketing Manager

[email protected]

www.bitstarz.io

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 Price Key Highlights

• Bitcoin price is currently trending lower and moving below a descending trend line on its short-term time frame.
• Price is currently testing this resistance level and could be due for a move back down soon.
• In that case, the Fib extension levels show the next downside targets.

Bitcoin price has been climbing over the past couple of days but is hitting a short-term upside roadblock that could let the selloff resume.

Technical Indicators Signals

The 100 SMA is below the longer-term 200 SMA so the path of least resistance is to the downside. This means that the downtrend is more likely to resume than to reverse.

Aside from that, the 100 SMA lines up with the descending trend line to add to its strength as resistance. A larger pullback could also hit the ceiling at the 200 SMA dynamic inflection point.

Stochastic is dipping into oversold territory, though, which means that buying pressure could still kick in and lead to a strong break past the trend line and moving averages. In that case, an uptrend could ensue until the longer-term upside barriers.

However, RSI is still on the move down, which means that there is still quite some bearish momentum left. In that case, bitcoin price could fall to the 38.2% extension around $7,000 or the swing low at the 61.8% extension. The full extension is located at $4,693.60.

Market Factors

The US dollar drew some demand in the latter trading sessions, leading BTCUSD to pause from its previous rallies. By the looks of it, bitcoin price is moving in tandem with higher-yielding risky assets like stocks and commodities, which is a different dynamic than in the past.

Several market analysts say that the selloff is already overdone and it may be time for the longer-term uptrend to resume or for bitcoin price to at least show a correction from the drop. Apart from that, news that a Senate Banking Committee hearing on cryptocurrencies emphasized consumer protection without a heavy-handed ban on development led to some relief.

The post Bitcoin Price Technical Analysis for 02/08/2018 – Prepping for Another Leg Lower? appeared first on NewsBTC.

In Nigeria — where cryptocurrencies often underpin local economies — Bitcoin remains as popular as ever, despite a few shaky weeks elsewhere.

Nigeria is West Africa’s largest economy, and has the world’s third-largest Bitcoin holdings as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), behind Russia and New Zealand, according to Citigroup. This affinity with Bitcoin is related to the fact that blockchain-based payment systems drastically improve the ease of doing business in the country, helping liberate Nigerians sidelined by the global financial system.

Take Olaoluwa Samuel-Biyi, a 27-year-old entrepreneur. He first considered using cryptocurrencies when credit card firms and other established payment providers refused to partner with his global remittance company, SureRemit, deeming the venture too risky. “They said the markets were too high risk and that people could finance terrorism,” he told global news agency AFP. “It’s ridiculous.”

“It’s so hard to send money from Nigeria to Zimbabwe, or from the United States to Sudan,” he explained. Banks were “very tedious” and payment companies “generally exploitative,” he said. “There’s heavy discrimination, definitely. We have to go all around them to succeed.”

In time, Samuel-Biyi realized that cryptocurrencies offered a solution to his problem: So SureRemit developed its own virtual coin. The coins are used to buy vouchers, which may be used to purchase goods and pay bills at participating merchants in eight countries in Africa and the Middle East.

In January, SureRemit held its initial coin offering (ICO) — which sold out in just two days, garnering $7 million dollars for the company. The 500 million tokens, each worth two US cents, were snapped up by major cryptocurrency players, including Hashed, a leading crypto-fund based in South Korea. “We were expecting scam allegations,” said Samuel-Biyi, referring to Nigeria’s reputation for online financial fraud. “But the world really accepted it.”

It’s not surprising that SureRemit was conceived in Nigeria: Remittance flows in 2016 were worth $19 billion — more than 4% of GDP (worldwide, the remittance market was worth $429 billion in 2016, according to the World Bank). Sub-Saharan Africa has some of the highest remittance costs in the world, certainly the most expensive fees seen within the continent. Case in point: To send money from France to Mali incurs a 5% fee, a quarter of what it costs to send money from Nigeria to Mali.

Such high fees have for years forced Nigerians to find alternative, sometimes risky, ways to transfer money. “I remember back in 2004, E-gold (a defunct cryptocurrency) was the only option anyone in Nigeria had to make online payments,” said Tim Akinbo, the founder of Tanjalo, a Nigerian exchange where people can buy Bitcoin with the local naira currency. “There are still African countries cut off from international commerce online. Bitcoin is technology that allows financial inclusion.”

The post Nigerians Continue to Turn to Bitcoin When Established Financial Institutions Won’t Help appeared first on NewsBTC.

Alexis Ohanian has stated today that he will no longer perform day to day duties at the website he cofounded, Reddit. Instead, the 34-year-old will focus his energies on his venture capital fund, Initialized Capital. Ohanian will continue to sit on the board for Reddit but will spend more time seeking investment opportunities in the sphere of emerging technologies.

Reddit has become an absolute entity since it was founded. The website provides a huge forum for just about every conceivable topic. Cryptocurrencies are no exception. There are thousands of pages dedicated to every niche topic surrounding the space. These largely consist of fiery discussions, arguments, memes, and more than enough “LaMBo 2 Da MoOn” posts. Occasionally, there’s also some well-reasoned debate and if you have a good BS filter, there is a lot of solid information on the pages. In addition to his work at Reddit, the San Francisco-based entrepreneur was influential in the founding of travel search website, Hipmunk.

Judging by his previous portfolio of investments, both with Initialized Capital and working alone, Ohanian’s focus will be very much on blockchain projects. He has already helped businesses such as Mediachain, a blockchain data solution for media information, Buttercoin, a private exchange service, Coinbase, and Digital Currencies Fintech find needed funding.

The Wall Street Journal reported Ohanian’s decision to depart from Reddit earlier today. He claims to have made the call to pursue Initialized Investments more actively based on a mixture of personal and professional factors. These included his recent marriage to tennis legend Serena Williams and the more recent birth of their daughter. He also feels confidence in Reddit’s renewed growth, which has given him the ability to focus his energies elsewhere. Namely on exciting investment opportunities surrounding emerging technologies like blockchain.

Once dubbed the “Mayor of the Internet” by Forbes journalist Andy Greenberg, Ohanian founded Initialized Investments with his partner, Garry Tan back in 2011. In just the first six years of their operation, the fund had already raised over $250 million for early stage startups.

Evidently, the recent heightened price volatility of the cryptocurrency space hasn’t cast doubt over Ohanian’s belief that blockchain technology is the future and here to stay.

Image: Flickr

The post Reddit Cofounder, Alexis Ohanian, Takes Backseat to Focus on Blockchain Investments appeared first on NewsBTC.

Forbes just love to remind their readers just how much poorer they are than the subjects of their articles. It was therefore only a matter of time before they released a cryptocurrency version of their rich list. The names featured are hardly surprising. Those closely allied to the likes of Ethereum and Ripple have done well for themselves, as have the earliest investors in the space. Let’s take a look at the top ten.

10. Mike Novogratz, CEO Galaxy Digital

You probably know Mike Novogratz from our reportage of his seemingly endless bullish comments about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The former billionaire left his Fortress Investment Group in 2015 to focus on cryptocurrency. He’s since built up an estimated crypto net worth of $700 million to $1 billion dollars. Talk about the comeback kid!

9.  Brock Pierce, Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, Advisor at Block.One

Brock was one of the first big pioneers of digital currency. He’s been responsible for funding dozens of startups in the space. These have included Mastercoin, Coinbase, and Ethereum. The former child actor now claims that he’s willing to donate $1 billion to a decentralised autonomous community run on the blockchain. His savvy invesetment strategy has helped the 37 year old amass an estimated crypto net worth of $700 million to $1 billion.

8. Anthony Di Iorio, Cofounded Ethereum, Founded Jaxx and Decentral

This 43 year old investor has manager is currently worth an estimated $750 million to $1 billion in crypto assets alone. He was influential in the founding of the Ethereum blockchain platform that supports the second largest cryptocurrency, Ether. Di Iorio’s investment strategy is simple: Look for promising new ideas and jump ship with the gains after a period of parabolic growth. Easy, huh?

7. Matthew Roszak, Cofounder of Bloq, Founder of Tally Capital

Roszak attributes his success in the cryptocurrency space to timing. Namely, he was in very early. The 45 year old investor learned about Bitcoin in 2011 and was savvy enough to get involved in the first wave of Initial Coin Offerings. It’s even reported that he gave Richard Branson and Bill Clinton their first Bitcoins. Roszak is estimated to be worth $900 million to $1 billion in crypto wealth alone.

6. Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase

Shock horror. The CEO of Coinbase made the list of the richest folk involved in cryptocurrency. Whilst many of his peers were busy buying up a new asset class, Armstrong was selling them means to prospect with. Coinbase are one of the most well-known companies in the entire space and the first entry point into cryptocurrency for many. Today it’s estimated his digital currency net worth is between $900 million and $1 billion.

5. Matthew Mellon, Investor

With an estimated cryptocurrency net worth of $900 million to $1 billion, Mellon certainly has played his cards right. The 54 year old investor saw an opportunity early in Ripple and bought up their token, XRP, despite warnings from friends and family. It’s clearly paid off for him.

4. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Cofounders Winklevoss Capital

Yeah, they might be two people but be honest, have you ever seen a news story with one and not the other? Together, the Winklevoss Twins’ combined cryptocurrency net worth is estimated at between $900 million and $1.1 billion. The pair invested early in Bitcoin and simply held it. Since then, they’ve set up the New York-based exchange, Gemini. In a space rife with scandal and security breaches, Gemini is something of a trusted entity in cryptocurrency, so much so that the Chicago Board Options Exchange use their price index to settle their recently launched futures contracts.

3. Changpeng Zhao, CEO Binance

Binance came out of nowhere less than seven months ago and under Zhao’s leadership have grown into the largest cryptocurrency exchange on the planet. Zhao, known more colloquially as “CZ”, has dodged regulatory pressures by moving his companies to three different territories in its short existence. CZ has an impressive estimated crypto net worth of $1.1 to $2 billion.

2. Joseph Lubin, Cofounder of Ethereum, Founder of ConsenSys

This former Goldman Sachs executive helped fund the blockchain platform Ethereum, as well as founding ConsenSys. The latter today employs over 600 people and spans an impressive 28 countries. ConsenSys have helped launch many companies and their tokens. They’re also used for consulting services for global giants such as Microsoft. Lubin is estimated to be worth in the range of $1 to $5 billion.

1. Chris Larsen, Cofounder of Ripple

Sitting atop the cryptocurrency rich list is non other than the cofounder of Ripple, Chris Larsen. This is largely due to the dubious initial distribution of XRP. Larsen himself owns 5.2 billion XRP. Despite (or perhaps because of) the wider cryptocurrency community’s general condemnation of Ripple, they’ve found their niche facilitating international payments for banks. It’s estimated that Larsen’s crypto assets are worth between $7.5 and $8 billion.

Image: PixaBay

The post Top Ten Richest Folk in Cryptocurrency appeared first on NewsBTC.

A surge in the popularity of bitcoin among students has prompted an Australian high school to host an information night designed to educate its students about cryptocurrencies. St. Laurence’s College in Brisbane recently informed the parents of students that it wishes to hold an “educational presentation” in light of an increasing number of students investing in cryptocurrencies.

Also Read: Australia to Ban Bitcoin Gambling

Increasing Student Investment Prompts Australian High School to Host Information Night on Cryptocurrencies

A high school in Brisbane, Australia has announced that it will hold a non-compulsory meeting for staff, and students from year 11 and year 12, designed to educate students, parents, and faculty about the “new space” of cryptocurrencies.

The school issued an email stating “While St Laurence’s College has no official stance on this subject it is felt that the boys should be cautioned and educated about these purchases.” The email stated that “The presentation will look at features of cryptocurrencies, the technology underpinning them, and will give some very basic information about the state of the market and ways to keep investments safe,” according to Australian media.

Although the event was originally scheduled to be held on February 2nd, the meeting has since been postponed.

Proposed Information Night Well-Received

Chrisann Lee, a business and accounting professor at the Queensland University of Technology, has supported the school’s decision, stating that teenagers will greatly benefit from educational efforts relating to cryptocurrencies.

Dr. Lee said that “While [teenagers] are quite strong on basic financial literacy skills such as budgeting and interest concepts they may be struggling with more advanced topics like investment.” The professor emphasized the need for teenagers to be educated in “the underlying asset that they are buying into, the technology that supports, the security and those kinds of things” in order to be “fully aware to make informed decisions.”

What do you think of the high schools hope to educate its students regarding cryptocurrencies? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Images courtesy of Shutterstock

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

The post Australian High School to Host Information Night on Cryptocurrencies appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Commissioner Brian Quintenz called on the industry to form a self-regulatory body and startup execs said oversight is a fact of life at a Yahoo event.

Yesterday, U.S. media outlets were sent a bogus email from an individual claiming to be a representative of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). The message contained a fake invitation to a press conference between the media, the PBOC, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), claiming the two organizations would be introducing new measures to crack down “on all aspects and services of Bitcoin trading in both mainland China and Hong Kong.”

The message (falsely) reported that on February 14th a press conference would be held by the PBOC’s Deputy Governor Pan Gongsheng regarding digital currencies. It went on to state that the PBOC and HKMA were planning to introduce new statutes that would end all businesses and services tied to the digital currency industry, including: “activities of both individuals and business including market makers, mining operators, trading platforms, and wallets.”

The email read: “The press conference will make it clear that neither the People’s Bank of China nor the Hong Kong Monetary Authority recognises Bitcoin or any other virtual currency as legal tender, thus, making its use as an official currency to settle debts and financial obligations illegal.” Additionally, the message claimed the authorities would also introduce new laws making cryptocurrency mining illegal, even though officials understand that China is home to the world’s largest community of Bitcoin miners.

No such event has been scheduled, according to spokespeople at the monetary authorities in both Hong Kong and Beijing. The owner of the mailbox, an official working at the Hefei branch of the Chinese central bank in Anhui province, said he had no idea about the message — claiming that his email had been hacked.

The invitation, according to the South China Morning Post, was sent via email from an address with the suffix @pbc.gov.cn, which could easily be understood to be authentic because it is in keeping with the email protocol used by the PBOC.

Leonhard Weese, President of the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong said the email was likely sent to cause more FUD and panic throughout the cryptocurrency community — to manipulate the news in order to have some effect on the price in a market that was already bearish. “The objective of the bogus email’s senders was to spread rumors and panic, in the hope of manipulating the price of Bitcoin, after taking short positions on Bitcoin futures and betting that the price of Bitcoin will fall.”

The post Fake PBOC Email Sent to U.S. Media in Attempts to Manipulate Bitcoin Market appeared first on NewsBTC.

London, UK, 6 February 2018 — Coinsilium Group Limited (NEX:COIN), the blockchain venture builder and investor that finances and manages the development of early-stage blockchain technology companies, is pleased to announce that its Advisory Services’ client, Dether Limited (“Dether”), the peer-to-peer ecosystem of crypto buyers, sellers and physical shops, will begin its token generating event (“TGE”) on 7 February at 2pm CET.

The public token sale follows the conclusion of a successful private pre-sale on 23 December 2017, which saw Dether reach its minimum cap with tokens sold for a total of 3,956 ETH (Ether). The maximum cap on the crowdsale is 15,000 ETH. Dether credits its successful private pre-sale to the exposure and profile it received during a worldwide tour which included the StartupToken Asia Tour in October 2017.

Dether’s vision is to make digital currencies available to all through their smartphone where users can locate buyers and sellers of cryptocurrencies as well as being able to locate physical stores which accept cryptocurrencies as a method of payment. Dether has been developed with the objective to offer everyone the ability to participate in the blockchain ecosystem without a middleman.

Dether is officially supported by Consensys, the venture production studio building decentralised applications and various developer and end-user tools for blockchain ecosystems, focusing primarily on the Ethereum blockchain.

Coinsilium has utilised its specialist knowledge and global network of contacts in the blockchain industry to support Dether throughout its pre-sale, and will continue to provide support during the Token Generative Event and beyond. Blockchain veteran and Coinsilium CEO Eddy Travia represents Coinsilium on Dether’s TGE Advisory Board.

Commenting on the recent pre-sale success and enthusiasm around Dether, Eddy Travia stated: “Dether have a fantastic offering with the ability to make cryptocurrency and blockchain technology accessible to users around the world with very low barriers to entry. They are truly breaking barriers to global blockchain adoption by creating a fully decentralized bridge between fiat currency and cryptocurrency – and eliminating all intermediaries.

We are excited to be part of Dether’s journey and looks forward to supporting their team throughout the implementation of their roadmap.”An interview with Dether Co-Founder Hamid Benyahia for The Barbarian Investor Show can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdyFGEVBHr0&t=3s

About Coinsilium

Coinsilium is a blockchain venture builder and investor that finances and manages the development of early-stage blockchain technology companies. It does this through its consortium of top-tier investors, industry thought leaders and executive managers.  Based in London, Coinsilium’s focus is on driving innovation in fintech and blockchain technologies, enabling businesses to take advantage of growth opportunities.

Coinsilium shares are traded on the NEX Exchange Growth Market, the primary market for unlisted securities operated by NEX Exchange, a Recognised Investment Exchange under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

For further information about Coinsilium please visit http://www.coinsilium.com

About Dether

Dether is a Gibraltar-based technology company which allows people to buy & sell crypto for cash, and spend it at physical stores.

For further information about Dether please visit https://dether.io/ or join the Telegram chat at https://t.me/joinchat/GkdUjUQ4jx_Apxmz2km4ww

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