Day: March 2, 2018

Business dealing with cryptocurrency in Mexico are about to get official regulations. #NEWS

The world of ICOs moves at breakneck speed. But as the old saying goes, often the more hurry means the less speed. DMarket is an example of a project making great strides in its operational objectives but attracting criticism from some who invested in the ICO looking to exit within a matter of just days or weeks.

DMarket is in pole position to become the dominant decentralized marketplace for turning virtual gaming items into real assets. Gamers dearly value items such as unique weapons in titles like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive so DMarket uses the blockchain to create a ledger powered by its DMT Tokens to securely trade these items which were previously locked in silos.

With the gaming industry already making $110 billion in game revenues last year and expected to reach nearly $130 billion by 2020, DMarket occupies one of entertainment’s most enviable niches.

DMarket completed its token sale in December, less than three months ago, but still hasn’t made a listing. The company has been very communicative about this on its Twitter and elsewhere. What the team claim is that they have been going through a lengthy legal process to ensure compliance with regulators such as the United States Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). For a project set to become the go-to marketplace for the global gaming industry and its 2.3 billion gamers, a “built to last” approach seems prudent.

Approximately half of ICOs in 2017 failed, either because they were scams or were badly executed. DMarket Founder and CEO Vlad Panchenko has become somewhat of a poster boy for transparency in ICOs. He outlined three clear warning signs for ICOs to the North American Bitcoin conference in Miami in January. Unsurprisingly, the number 1 concern relates to projects needing strong core executive teams with experience in the topic of the ICO, not just lists of advisors.

Last week, some of DMarket’s patient hard work paid off. While developing the platform and issuing regular tech updates, the team also established a partnership with Unity Technologies, the world’s most widely-used real-time 3D development platform. The tie-up enables seamless in-game digital asset trading and transactions with any Unity-based game. Unity’s titles now become easily able to connect to the DMarket blockchain and make in-game assets available for virtual trading and exchange. Unity powers more than half of all new mobile games and 60% of all VR and AR content. Games and experiences made with Unity reached more than 3 billion devices worldwide in 2017 and were installed more than 20 billion times in the last 12 months.

Such a top-level partnership surely came as a relief to DMT token holders who may be set to revisit another old saying, namely that often good things come to those who wait. For those projects which rush ahead without heeding advice from lawyers the picture is less bright. This week, the New York Times reported that the SEC has sent as many as 80 subpoenas to dozens of people involved in ICOs. This comes as a clear sign of the Commission’s desire to rein in ICOs, targeting companies viewed as non-compliant as well as their advisors and lawyers.

This SEC move comes after high-profile disasters such as the PlexCoin ICO which was shut down in December by the SEC following an official complaint. The SEC has since frozen all of the $15 million from the ICO, its founder was jailed, and the parent company fined $100,000.

So, while companies may have raised over $5 billion through ICOs in 2017, in half or more of these projects investors would have saved themselves a lot of anguish by ensuring that proper processes were adhered to. Meanwhile, for DMarket the future looks bright – both as a blockchain with great usefulness and for DMT holders whose investment is set on solid legal and technological foundations.

The post DMarket Shows That the Prudent ICO Approach Pays Off appeared first on NewsBTC.

Blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, and digital assets are all of great interest to a lot of companies. One of those ventures goes by the name of ICONOMI, and it aims to become the “connection to the distributed economy”. Moreover, this new Digital Assets Management Platform is an intriguing technical service suited for novice investors, veteran traders, and blockchain experts alike.

The Reason Why ICONOMI Exists

In this day and age, consumers all over the world want to be exposed to digital assets of all kinds. This includes cryptocurrencies and other forms of money issued on top of blockchains. In an effort to bridge the gap between consumers and the distributed economy, ICONOMI provides a digital asset management platform. It is more than a marketplace for digital assets, though, as it may become the gateway for users to gain exposure to new technologies and assets.

How Does it all Work?

ICONOMI is a project which relies heavily on Digital Asset Arrays. Such arrays include various combinations of digital assets on the market today. With any number of assets supported, they allow for a lot of customization on behalf of users. Some people want extreme exposure to volatility, whereas others prefer to diversify for price stability as well as smaller gains and losses. ICONOMI supports all of these options and makes it easy to purchase all of the associated assets.

Additionally, the ICONOMI infrastructure doesn’t use contract lock-ins, nor does it prevent withdrawals from occurring in quick succession. Liquidity is a critical aspect of any digital asset management platform, and ICONOMI wants to provide a smooth service across the board. Combined with utmost transparency and no hidden costs, there is a lot to like about this platform in its current state.

Users of the ICONOMI ecosystem can also access the Blockchain Index DAA. This particular passively managed digital asset array can be acquired in a few clicks and helps users spread risk. With these currencies representing 78% of the sector by market cap, it is evident the goal is to expose users to “safer” assets first and foremost. DAA managers can also share their winning strategies with the community, which gives investors even more options to explore. By performing well, a DAA manager can build up a solid reputation and attract new investors accordingly.

The ICONOMI Token Explained

The native ICN token offers a fair few interesting opportunities for investors. Anyone owning this token will automatically benefit from buybacks in connection with ICONOMI’s assets under management. This will create a lot of wealth over time, but it also means that ICN is mainly designed for long-term investors, which are a rare breed in the cryptocurrency world. ICN can also be used with DAAs, although those specifics have yet to be finalized at this time.

ICONOMI’s Roadmap

With lots of work still ahead, the ICONOMI team has their hands more than full. A fiat ramp-up for end users is on the horizon, as is the introduction of a debit card and direct purchases of individual digital assets. We will also see some changes affecting DAA managers, including support for company accounts and more advanced functionality. The ICN token will also become a way to pay platform fees, and the Big Four audit will take place at some point in 2018 as well.

February is officially in the books for the crypto markets, though some coins may be left wishing they could turn back time.

Russian officials are suggesting to amend the draft law “On Digital Financial Assets” in favor of crypto and ICO investors. #NEWS

The decentralized sports investment ecosystem now enables prospective athletes to get funds necessary for their athletic success.

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article

SportyCo, the decentralized sports investment ecosystem, has launched the beta version of their platform. The SportyCo platform now enables prospective athletes to receive donations from fans and supporters. The release version of the platform, expected end of March, will also enable small investors to invest into prospective athletes for a percentage of their future earnings.

The launch of the beta version comes less than three months after the successful conclusion of the token crowdsale, in which approximately 70 million non-mineable SPF tokens were released to crowdsale participants, ambassadors and the SportyCo team (team tokens are vested for a period of one year). The project is supported by several sports heavyweights, like football superstars Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos, former NBA center and Cleveland Cavaliers scout Primož Brezec, and ski jumper Noriaki Kasai. SportyCo is also advised by notable names from the world of cryptocurrencies, including Charlie Shrem, Phillip Nunn and Robby Schwertner, among others.

SportyCo platform – in its beta incarnation – launched with three up and coming athletes collecting donations for furthering their respective careers. Diego Silvio Franzot, a 17 years old football player from Italy, is currently studying and playing at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, USA. Gasper Kemperle is an up and coming Slovenian skier, whose achievements include 3rd place at the FIS U18 Championship. Jaka Gorjan is, at 11 years old, one of the biggest talents of motorcycle racing, with plans to win an Italian and European championship this year.

The three athletes will be joined by others during the testing period, while the final release of the platform in March will open it to all prospective athletes. The investment module, which will also be released in March, will enable small sports investors to not only donate, but also invest into prospective athletes via long-term smart contracts.

SportyCo believes that every promising athlete deserves the opportunity to pursue a professional career and every small investor should be able to back an athlete he believes in. Therefore, it’s on a mission to open up the $1.3 trillion sports industry to small investors, democratizing sports investment and opening a new chapter in the sports industry.

For more details check out the SportyCo Website and come chat with the team on Telegram.

Every now and then, some weird things tend to happen in the world of cryptocurrency. Although most people have never heard of Nexus before, its price recent shot up by as much as 300$. Although the gain over the past 24 hours is “just” 63.36% right now, The Nexus price is still close to the $4 mark. It seems maintaining that price will be impossible, though.

Nexus Price Shoots Past the Stars

While it is not uncommon for lesser-known altcoins to surge and decrease in value in spectacular fashion, few people expected to see the Nexus price make such major moves today. More specifically, the Nexus price has been close to $1.6 for quite some time now. Although it has seen a major spike to nearly $15 in late 2017 and early 2018, that momentum quickly subsided.

More specifically, going from $15 to $1.6 in a matter of weeks is a near 85% retrace. While it is true other cryptocurrencies have seen major losses as well, most of them never even came close to losing 85% or more. In the case of the Nexus price, it seemed the pump-and-dump scheme pushing the value to $15 simply ran out of steam and common sense return to the market.

This makes the current Nexus price trend all the more suspicious. Going from $1.6 all the way to $4.9 in a matter of two days is not normal. In fact, it seems to emulate the earlier pump-and-dump scheme associated with this altcoin. As such, the momentum is already turning against NXS as we speak, with the price declining rapidly in the past two to three hours.  Rest assured the Nexus price will dip even lower and may eventually return to $1.6.

What is rather remarkable is how this relatively unknown altcoin succeeds in generating over $218m worth of 24-hour trading volume. Some of the top 15 altcoins can’t even get that much trading volume right now, and their reputations have been solidified many times over. Whether or not this is a good or a bad thing for Nexus, remains to be determined. With this current pump-and-dump scheme running out of steam, it’s only to be expected the price will suffer from a quick demise as well.

No one is surprised to learn nearly 60% of all NXS trades come from the Upbit exchange as of right now. Any altcoin trading in South Korea will immediately generate a ton of trading volume, even though it has no impact on the rest of the worker whatsoever. Bittrex is in second place, as their trading volume is simply following the Upbit action first and foremost. No other exchange shows even $1m in trading volume for Nexus right now, and it is evident none exchange them will either.

To the untrained eye, it may appear as if the current Nexus price trend is a sign of what is yet to come for this currency. Everyone else knows this is a temporary pump-and-dump cycle, which will leave a lot of people frustrated when they have to hold the bag for an extended period of time. For now, anyone who is in profit may want to cash out profits before the market does a complete 180-degree turn and the Nexus price collapses again.

The head of the Bank of England has said that the institution will step up its efforts to combat cryptocurrency money laundering.

Some of the Coincheck hack’s NEM have been traced to crypto exchanges in Vancouver, Japan. #NEWS

Introducing a blockchain-based digital marketing solution that understands what customers want, what brands need & what smart cities are capable of.

We have entered a new era in commerce that is driven by people, centered on value and enabled by blockchain. Pingvalue is a human-centric open platform that redefines how commerce and society converge through an innovative socio-economic model.

Over the last few decades, mass marketing has turned shopping into an overwhelming chore and kept customers at an arm’s length from businesses.
Thanks to blockchain and smart cities, Pingvalue’s new approach to marketing forges lasting business-client relationships, boosts KYC potential and makes shopping fun again.

We trade mass marketing for meaningful messaging that reaches relevant audiences. With Pingvalue, marketing efforts look more like one-on-one connections between businesses and people.

Users earn rewards each time they share offers and experiences with their networks, and receive recommendations that reflect their tastes, bringing value to every outing.

Businesses and customers benefit from targeted marketing. Businesses get measurable conversions, monetized WiFi, smart (GDPR-compliant) data and increased storefront traffic. People get a better customer experience.

PINGCOIN

Pingcoin is a multi-purpose utility token for consumers, companies, and institutions that raise the bar in frictionless, cost-effective transactions. All interactions on the platform – rewards, promotions, deals, purchases, and advertisements – are handled in Pingcoins.

Pingcoin is the currency that helps businesses to create more value for people.
As customers receive rewards for sharing offers and experiences, businesses can clearly measure which ones were shared most – turning Pingcoins into a value barometer.

The more that customers and businesses interact on the platform, the higher their Social and Trust Factors and the higher the value of their interactions/transactions. This organically increases the value of Pingcoins, which can operate alongside other cryptocurrencies and ICOs, also multiplying its usability and demand.

Unlike most ICOs, Pingcoin is being launched by an international company with an established product, 30-person team and four years in business.
Pingvalue is already supported by reputable organizations and institutions – Cisco, Grupo Lar, ICEX, etc. – that are helping turn its socio-economic vision into reality. Last year, Pingvalue was awarded the Seal of Excellence by the European Commission as a worthwhile investment, due to its innovative character and its potential to improve society.

The digital advertising revolution is only the first step in realizing our vision for industry 4.0 and future smart cities in which:

• Citizens are the protagonists
• Direct & transparent interactions/transactions are possible between all parties
• People are rewarded for their contributions to the development of the local society & economy

At Pingvalue, we never sit still, always working with partners, universities and tech centers to innovate and move closer to that vision.

The post Pingvalue & Pingcoin appeared first on NewsBTC.

Coinbase has joined the Blockchain Common App jobs initiative, seeking senior engineers for Bitcoin, Ethereum protocols. #NEWS

Mexico is now just one step away from passing a law that will regulate fintech including cryptocurrencies in the country.

What one can find in the draft proposal of the Italian Ministry of Economics aimed at new crypto regulations in the country. #REGULATIONS