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The 3 most promising Bitcoin improvement proposals (BIPs)

While bitcoin is the most well-known and valuable cryptocurrency, its blockchain faces a number of challenges.In an effort to ensure bitcoin’s continued dominance, Bitcoin Core developers are working on a number of Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs)….

While bitcoin is the most well-known and valuable cryptocurrency, its blockchain faces a number of challenges.In an effort to ensure bitcoin’s continued dominance, Bitcoin Core developers are working on a number of Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs). While most BIPs have the potential to affect the Bitcoin blockchain positively, some hold more promise than others. In this article, we profile the three most promising bitcoin improvement proposals.

Hacker Launches ICO

Imagine data that can really act on its own. Well, now imagine this – a thermostat in the room of a hospital that can communicate with a patient’s health record, and their current health readings from their equipment, and find the most optimal room temperature and humidity for this patient. Thought, a blockchain start-up based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is working on AI and smart data,  and knows the importance of a great team. They have put together a skillful development team, as well as an accomplished board of advisors. And they are certainly not trying to hide themselves. Thought is

Imagine data that can really act on its own. Well, now imagine this – a thermostat in the room of a hospital that can communicate with a patient’s health record, and their current health readings from their equipment, and find the most optimal room temperature and humidity for this patient.

Thought, a blockchain start-up based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is working on AI and smart data,  and knows the importance of a great team. They have put together a skillful development team, as well as an accomplished board of advisors. And they are certainly not trying to hide themselves.

Thought is fundamentally changing the way data is being processed by embedding every piece of data with artificial intelligence. This means that otherwise ‘dumb data’ that needs an application to become useful, becomes valuable and ‘smart’, and is able to act on its own – understanding where it came from, where it’s supposed to go, and what it has to do. This reduces the need for third-party applications, making data processing a lot cheaper and faster.

“The amount of data being created by humans is increasing exponentially with things like social media, and innovations like IoT (Internet of Things) devices.” says the Founder and CEO of Thought, Professor Andrew Hacker. “Traditionally, data just sits around until it is sent to applications that are able to process that information, but Thought makes data agile and able to act on its own without any external help.”

Integrating blockchain technology with this concept creates an extra layer of security on the smallest level. Every piece of data is secured with cryptography, allowing the owners of the data to dictate exactly who has access to it.

Thought’s development is led by Professor Andrew Hacker, who, in addition to being the Founder and CEO of Thought, is a Cybersecurity Expert in Residence at Harrisburg University. He has conceived and developed the concept of hybrid and smart data for the last six years. With extensive cybersecurity experience, Andrew has appeared in many publications talking about the ever-increasing importance of security in the age of the Internet.

In contrast to most of the other ICOs which only have a few faces associated with their project with short and vague descriptions, Andrew Hacker has gathered a large team of over 30 members.

“Building something as complex as Thought takes a dedicated and brilliant set of developers.” Says Andrew Hacker. “If you don’t have committed and passionate folks who drink, eat and sleep code, you’ll never get off the ground, no doubt about it. And the technical team needs a talented support team of experienced operations, business, legal people and industry experts, people who get things done.”

Thought Network is working closely with the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (HU), where Prof. Hacker, as well as some of his team members, are faculty members. HU is one of the few universities which truly emphasizes hands-on learning, conducting practical internships for all of the students, which is also the reason why many Thought Network’s interns come from this university.

“Harrisburg University provides world-class science, technology and analytics education.  But we increasingly also support business start-ups and entrepreneurship. Several years ago, we had the opportunity to have Mr. Andrew Hacker, a known expert in cyber security, join HU.” Says Dr. Eric Darr, President of the Harrisburg University. “Andrew’s technical expertise added greatly to our educational offerings, while his start-up company provided terrific experiential opportunities for our students. We came to believe that Mr. Hacker’s technology had significant promise. Therefore, HU has been pleased to financially support the involvement of many computer science students in the further development of the latest Thought technology. “

“The upcoming release of this new technology, Thought Blockchain, and its applications for businesses and consumers in artificial intelligence and analytics represents the bleeding edge of innovation. Harrisburg University looks forward to continuing its work with Mr. Hacker and Thought Network as they continue developing new and valuable technology.” Explains Dr. Darr.

Thought is solving the problem with the ever-growing amounts of data we are creating that, in some cases, just sits around not bringing value to anyone, at the same time solving some of the most notable problems with AI. Thought’s solution reduces the need for external apps, cutting costs, increasing speed and insuring security.

The Thought Pre-ICO starting on March 1, 2018 and the main ICO starts on March 14, 2018. To participate in the Thought ICO, please visit: https://thought.live and you are also invited to join their Telegram group on https://t.me/thoughtcommunity

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.

Royal Bank of Canada Explores Blockchain to Automate Credit Scores

A patent application by the Royal Bank of Canada outlines ways of using a blockchain-based system to make the credit rating process more transparent.

A patent application by the Royal Bank of Canada outlines ways of using a blockchain-based system to make the credit rating process more transparent.

This City Just Passed the First Bitcoin Mining Ban in the US – Motherboard

MotherboardThis City Just Passed the First Bitcoin Mining Ban in the USMotherboardIndustrial enterprises—including Bitcoin mines—in Plattsburgh pay even less: Just 2 cents per kilowatt-hour. Although Read said this lower rate was to incentivize industr…


Motherboard

This City Just Passed the First Bitcoin Mining Ban in the US
Motherboard
Industrial enterprises—including Bitcoin mines—in Plattsburgh pay even less: Just 2 cents per kilowatt-hour. Although Read said this lower rate was to incentivize industries to set up shop in the city, it has also made Plattsburgh increasingly ...

Bitcoin’s ‘Death Cross’ Looms as Strategist Eyes $2800 Level – Bloomberg


Bloomberg

Bitcoin’s ‘Death Cross’ Looms as Strategist Eyes $2800 Level
Bloomberg
Traders who look for future price direction in chart patterns are finding more indicators suggesting the world’s largest digital currency may have further to fall. Bitcoin’s 50-day moving average has dropped to the closest proximity to its 200-day

and more »


Bloomberg

Bitcoin's 'Death Cross' Looms as Strategist Eyes $2800 Level
Bloomberg
Traders who look for future price direction in chart patterns are finding more indicators suggesting the world's largest digital currency may have further to fall. Bitcoin's 50-day moving average has dropped to the closest proximity to its 200-day ...

and more »

Not Long to Go on ZeroEdge Pre-ICO Sale Discounts

It’s the last chance to get a massive 58% bonus by participating in the ZeroEdge pre-ICO. Not only are they offering huge discounts to their first contributors, they’re hoping to shake up the entire online casino industry too! Zero House Edge Means You’re More Likely to Win ZeroEdge isn’t just a cool sounding name. They’re … Continue reading Not Long to Go on ZeroEdge Pre-ICO Sale Discounts

The post Not Long to Go on ZeroEdge Pre-ICO Sale Discounts appeared first on NewsBTC.

It’s the last chance to get a massive 58% bonus by participating in the ZeroEdge pre-ICO. Not only are they offering huge discounts to their first contributors, they’re hoping to shake up the entire online casino industry too!

Zero House Edge Means You’re More Likely to Win

ZeroEdge isn’t just a cool sounding name. They’re trying to build an online casino with literally zero house edge whatsoever. You’ve probably heard the phrase “the house always wins before”. Well, with ZeroEdge, they don’t anymore.

Traditionally, casinos make their money without the need for fees. Instead, they rig the games in their favour. It’s not exactly cheating because somewhere in the small print all the maths is all explained. It does guarantee the casino makes profits and punters lose over time though.

ZeroEdge hope to change this. Their business model is simple. When presented with a choice between a casino that takes a 1-10% edge on all games and one that has absolutely no house edge, the customer will always pick the latter.

The company plan to reward holders of their tokens by making sure that the supply of them is fixed at 686,940,000. With such high demand for fair gambling games, the value of these will naturally increase and reward the platform’s earliest contributors.

On the ZeroEdge platform will be sports betting without a commission, casino games without a house edge, and poker without the rake. With other blockchain casinos such as Edgeless getting legal recognition lately, it could be a great time to get involved with gambling ICOs!

ICO Details

As mentioned, the pre-sale of the ICO will end on 15/03/18. This only gives you a few more hours to take part. In terms of contributions, the initial funding round is already 80% complete.

The pre-sale will give contributors a massive 58% discount on final rate of the ICO. During this phase 60,040 ZERO tokens will be given for every 1 ETH sent to ZeroEdge. This will decrease to 24,000 ZERO tokens in the final phase of funding.

After the pre-sale is over, contributors will still be eligible for discounts. These will be divided into two-week blocks until the end of the sale on August 1. The discounts for each sale period will be 15%, 10%, and 5%. During final two weeks, the rate will be 24,000 tokens for every 1 ETH contributed.

If the idea of zero percent house edges appeals to you, why not head over to ZeroEdge’s website and have a look at their whitepaper. Be quick if you want to take advantage of the great pre-sale savings though.

The post Not Long to Go on ZeroEdge Pre-ICO Sale Discounts appeared first on NewsBTC.

Bitcoin Thieves No Longer Just an Online Threat, How to Stay Safe – Cointelegraph (Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency and Blockchain News)

Bitcoin Thieves No Longer Just an Online Threat, How to Stay SafeCointelegraph (Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency and Blockchain News)Cryptocurrencies, as the product of the digital realm, have always existed in the ether – no pun intended – meaning that physica…


Bitcoin Thieves No Longer Just an Online Threat, How to Stay Safe
Cointelegraph (Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency and Blockchain News)
Cryptocurrencies, as the product of the digital realm, have always existed in the ether - no pun intended - meaning that physically there was nothing to hold, or to lose/have stolen. The threat for Bitcoin users when it came to getting fleeced of their ...

Economic Club of New York: Peter Thiel Discusses Bitcoin and Silicone Valley, Amongst Other Things

Renowned venture capitalist and Bitcoin-enthusiast Peter Thiel, who is moving from the Bay Area to Los Angeles, said that rent prices in and around San Francisco are too high to keep the area as a hotspot for novel start-ups. According to Theil, the majority of the money he spends with Silicon Valley start-ups goes to landlords … Continue reading Economic Club of New York: Peter Thiel Discusses Bitcoin and Silicone Valley, Amongst Other Things

The post Economic Club of New York: Peter Thiel Discusses Bitcoin and Silicone Valley, Amongst Other Things appeared first on NewsBTC.

Renowned venture capitalist and Bitcoin-enthusiast Peter Thiel, who is moving from the Bay Area to Los Angeles, said that rent prices in and around San Francisco are too high to keep the area as a hotspot for novel start-ups. According to Theil, the majority of the money he spends with Silicon Valley start-ups goes to landlords and “urban slumlords,” this according to an interview today at the Economic Club of New York.

Thiel, an early Facebook investor, spoke on a wide range of topics during a lunch at the club, including Silicone Valley/LA, his lawsuit against media-group Gawker, U.S. trade, and President Trump. Thiel also spoke about cryptocurrencies — reaffirming his support for Bitcoin but throwing shade at other coins. Here’s a rundown of some of the issues he discussed.

Cryptocurrencies

Thiel is a prominent early backer of cryptocurrencies, with his venture capital firm, Founders Fund, holds many crypto assets. Thiel said crypto effectively served as a “hedge against the whole world falling apart.” But interestingly, he also noted that he was bearish on coins other than Bitcoin:

“I would be long bitcoin and neutral to skeptical of just about everything else at this point,” he said. “My view is that there’s going to be one cryptocurrency that will be the equivalent of gold.”

Los Angeles

Thiel said he was eager to escape the “herd-like thinking” and “lemming-like behavior” he sees in Silicon Valley. Thiel also said that the political alienation he faced after supporting Donald Trump was not a primary driver of his move, but that he, still, wasn’t happy with the current political state of the area.

Silicon Valley, he said, “has become almost a one-party state. If you have something that’s 85-15 as a split, that’s lopsided but understandable. If you have something where the apparent split is 99-to-1, where you have that sort of near-unanimity, that’s not because the 99% have figured out the truth. That’s where you’re dealing with something that’s almost totalitarian.”

Trump

For the most part, Thiel largely declined to spell out specific frustrations regarding Trump — and he did defend his decision to support the polarizing president: “I thought supporting Trump was one of the least contrarian things I ever did. Half the country supported him.”

He didn’t say much, but Thiel did show support for Trump’s newly instituted steel and aluminium tariffs, though he is a self-described libertarian; in relation, Thiel argued that too many free-traders are “too dogmatic and too doctrinaire.” Further, he defended Trump’s reelection chances, saying he would win — but repeatedly with the precursor of “if he runs.”

In conclusion, he said: “It’s very hard to get things to work in this country. Obviously, there are all sorts of things that are somewhat disappointing — and at the same time, I don’t know how much one can expect.”

Gawker

Thiel sits on the board of one media company, Facebook, but played a part in closing down another, Gawker, by funding the lawsuit that destroyed it. How does he reconcile that?

“What Gawker did vis-a-vis what the big tech companies are doing is very different,” he said. “If you voluntarily give the information, that’s quite different from it being illegally obtained in a privacy-violating way.”

The post Economic Club of New York: Peter Thiel Discusses Bitcoin and Silicone Valley, Amongst Other Things appeared first on NewsBTC.