Day: March 17, 2018

On March 17 the Mt Gox bankruptcy trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi revealed some critical information about how he’s been selling the BTC and BCH he has in his possession. The news may comfort those who believe the remainder of the Mt Gox sales will crash the market. According to Kobayashi he has been consulting cryptocurrency experts and selling in a manner that would avoid affecting the market price.

Also read: Québec Premier: We’re Not Really Interested in Bitcoin Mining

The ‘Mt Gox Whale’ Sold BTC and BCH Between December 2017 and February 2018 on Separate Occasions

The bankruptcy trustee from Tokyo, Nobuaki Kobayashi, is now referred to as the ‘Mt Gox Whale’ on social media and many cryptocurrency centric forums. On Saturday, March 17, the trustee disclosed to the public exactly how he was offloading the cryptocurrencies he holds, as he still has another $1.9 billion worth of BTC and BCH to sell. This massive amount of holdings waiting to be sold has concerned bitcoin traders, because they think the sales could hurt the BTC and BCH market value.

“I sold BTC and BCH from December 2017 to February 2018,” explains Kobayashi in response to questions about the sale.

I sold BTC and BCH separately — Therefore, the total amounts of BTC and BCC sold until the time I ceased selling are different.

Kobayashi Consulted ‘Cryptocurrency Experts’ and Did Not Sell the Cryptos Using an Ordinary Exchange

According to the trustee, he consulted “cryptocurrency experts” during the BCH and BTC sales, and he did not use the traditional method of using a digital asset exchange. Further Kobayashi says analyzing the movement of the public addresses is useless, as the assumption that the assets were sold at those exact times is “incorrect.”  

“Following consultation with cryptocurrency experts, I sold BTC and BCH, not by an ordinary sale through the BTC/BCH exchange, but in a manner that would avoid affecting the market price, while ensuring the security of the transaction to the extent possible,” Kobayashi details.   

The method of sale of BTC and BCH was approved by the court as well  — I would like to refrain from explaining the details of the method of sale; otherwise the future sale of BTC and BCH could be hindered  — At present, nothing has been determined regarding the sale of BTC and BCH in the future.

Besides the $1.9 billion worth of digital assets remaining under the trustee’s supervision, he is also supervising the cash collected from the last sale. The approximate holdings of JPY 44,000,000,000 in cash were only recently secured says Kobayashi, and he will determine when creditors will get their restitution settlements in the near future.

What do you think about the Mt Gox trustee’s statements? Do you think his sales affect the open market? Let us know what you think about this story in the comments below.

Images via Shutterstock, Pixabay, and the Tokyo courts. 

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The post The ‘Mt Gox Whale’ Explains His Crypto-Selling Strategy appeared first on Bitcoin News.

French financial markets regulator AMF is working on a ‘non-dissuasive’ framework to legitimize ICOs. #NEWS

The public perception of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will need to improve sooner or later. Depending on whom you talk to, the outcomes of surveys on the topic will be very different. A recent Lendingblock survey shows most people remain confident that cryptocurrencies will play a key role in their future daily lives.

Lendingblock Survey has Surprising Results

Surveys related to cryptocurrency are always very interesting. One never knows what the outcomes of such questionnaires will be. As of right now, it seems the general public is not necessarily too keen on cryptocurrencies in their current form. This doesn’t mean the situation won’t improve over time, though, as the recent Lendingblock survey paints a rather intriguing future for Bitcoin and various altcoins.

This survey was conducted with the help of CitizenMe. That particular platform focuses on personal data and insights, which makes it a worthwhile partner for any survey on this scale. 2,000 people took part in this survey, and the results are unlike what most people would have expected at this stage.

More specifically, one in five respondents claims they own or have owned cryptocurrency in their life. That is a rather surprising number, even though no specific details were provided on how much money these people own or have owned. Even so, this percentage is a lot higher than most people would expect it to be, even though the survey pool was rather limited.

That is not the most telling part of this survey, though. Over half of the respondents are confident that cryptocurrencies will be an integral part of daily life by 2025. This doesn’t just include online payments, but also in-store purchases, public transportation, and so forth. Some projects already focus on those particular services, but there is no real global trend to speak of just yet.

Furthermore, the Lendingblock survey shows most respondents think cryptocurrency is a solid investment. That in itself is pretty surprising, especially given the current bearish pressure on the markets in general. Over half of the people said they are tempted to invest in cryptocurrency sooner rather than later, even though they are fully aware of the risks associated with doing so. It will take some time before this major mind-shift occurs, though.

As one would expect, this survey also highlighted some notable trends. Right now, men are more prone to invest in cryptocurrency compared to women (30% of males versus just 13% of females). Millennials are still tempted to get their hands dirty with cryptocurrency at some point, even though one in five believes cryptocurrency may be a fad. It will be interesting to see which – if any – of these conclusions hold true by the time 2025 comes around.

No one will deny that global interest in cryptocurrency is at a peak right now. Whether or not we will see a drop-off in the near future remains to be seen. A recent study by Finder.com paints a rather intriguing picture for the cryptocurrency industry as a whole.

Finder.com Research Regarding Consumer behavior

There are a few key differences in consumer behavior when it comes to cryptocurrency compared to more traditional financial solutions. The two forms of money are very different from one another, even though they ultimately lead to very similar destinations. Cryptocurrency users often have a dislike for banks and other financial institutions, whereas bank users often dislike cryptocurrency due to the lack of regulation and protection.

As such, taking a closer look at the behavior of cryptocurrency holders always presents curious findings. The recent study conducted by Finder.com shows that most American adults do not care all that much about Bitcoin, altcoins, or ICO tokens. In fact, less than 8% of 2,011 adults surveyed have invested – or plan to invest – in cryptocurrency. That’s a very low number, although it remains to be seen if that percentage will increase in the future.

If these numbers are any indication, they would certainly explain why overall investment in cryptocurrency seems to be stuck in a lull. According to the findings, the main reason people are not investing in this new form of money is that they are disinterested. It’s a very worrisome thought, as it shows cryptocurrencies have struggled to make any meaningful impact, both as a currency and as an investment vehicle.

Moreover, there are quite a few people who feel there is no need for cryptocurrency whatsoever. Even though there is certainly some truth to that statement, it remains to be seen if and how this situation will evolve in the months and years to come. The high risks associated with cryptocurrency are a big drawback for most of the people surveyed, as is the difficulty of understanding how all of it works exactly. There is somewhat of a learning curve associated with cryptocurrency, and people usually have to do their own research.

Unsurprisingly, there are also a fair few people who remain convinced that cryptocurrencies are a scam first and foremost. Although this percentage – 17.97% – is a lot lower than one would expect, this is still very worrisome. It is possible this train of thought stems from a lack of understanding how cryptocurrency works, but for now, it is something we will have to keep in mind at all times. Educating the masses on this new form of money still needs to be a top priority.

For those who do show an interest in cryptocurrencies, it seems Bitcoin is still the most popular by far. Ethereum is in second place, which shouldn’t come as any real surprise. Bitcoin Cash is more popular than Ripple, Litecoin, or Cardano, which is another interesting trend worth keeping an eye on. How all of this will play out remains to be seen, as convincing people that cryptocurrency matters will not be easy by any stretch of the imagination.

Blockchain-oriented projects are crawling out of the woodwork as we speak. Digitalbits wants to introduce a brand-new loyalty and reward program supported by this innovative technology. It is evident that current loyalty systems face some big problems which will not be all that easy to solve.

The Purpose of Digitalbits

Digitalbits wants to make a positive impact on the customer loyalty and rewards industry in the future. The system currently in place lets people collect rewards, yet most of them go unused because it is not convenient to keep tabs on these things. Retailers are dealing with issues in this regard, and customers are not too happy about missing out on reward-based opportunities.

How Does it all Work?

Solving the problems inherent in current loyalty programs will not be easy. Introducing a decentralized and transparent platform is a positive step in the right direction. Rather than relying on intermediaries to manage the loyalty rewards issued by retailers to customers, the intermediary is removed from the equation altogether.

Indeed, Digitalbits aims to make all loyalty points 100% portable. The platform will be open to anyone and everyone around the world, which will certainly make it rather appealing to a lot of companies. With no costly intermediaries to deal with, the transfer of value from retailers to consumers will become simplified and a lot cheaper.

Powering all of this is the Digitalbits blockchain, which can perform cross-asset transfers of value. Moreover, everyone can create new digital tokens which can be transferred on the network at minimal cost. All of these tokens can be exchanged for all other tokens issued on this blockchain through this ecosystem’s native asset. 

The Digitalbits Currency

As one would expect, Digitalbits has its own currency, which goes by the name Digitalbits. This asset is used to perform cross-asset transfers of value, allowing users to exchange various tokens on-chain without the need for intermediaries. It is unclear if additional use cases will come to this currency, but for now, its primary use case seems more than sufficient.

The Road Ahead

There doesn’t appear to be any official roadmap for Digitalbits right now. With the developers working hard on building their blockchain infrastructure, it is evident that more news will be announced once there is something worth talking about. When the next cycle of development will occur is a bit unclear as of right now.

Recently hacked Coincheck removes three anonymity-focused coins from exchange #NEWS

A study found that cybercriminals launder $80-$200 billion a year and are moving away from Bitcoin as Monero offers greater anonymity.

Cybercriminals Launder Up To $200 Billion Each Year, Says Report

Virtualization technology-focused security firm security firm Bromium announced the findings of an independent study into the macroeconomics of cybercrime. “Into the Web of Profit,” a report released by the company, concludes that cybercriminal proceeds make up an estimated 8-10 percent of total illegal profits laundered globally, which amounts to $80-$200 billion each year.

Additionally, the report found that virtual currencies are now the primary tool used by cybercriminals for money laundering. Monero, a cryptocurrency that provides greater anonymity, is becoming criminals’ favorite as they move away from Bitcoin.

Dr. Mike McGuire, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Surrey University and author of the report, said:

“It’s no surprise to see cybercriminals using virtual currency for money laundering. The attraction is obvious. It’s digital, so is an easily convertible way of acquiring and transferring cybercrime revenue. Anonymity is also key, with platforms like Monero designed to be truly anonymous, and tumbler services like CoinJoin that can obscure transaction origins. Targeted organizations must do more to protect their customers.”

The study also found that in-game purchases and currencies are spurring a rise in gaming-related laundering, as China and South Korea become hotspots for gaming-currency laundering; PayPal and other digital payment systems are employed by cybercriminals to launder money; and digital payment systems laundering often involves the use of micro-laundering techniques where multiple, small payments are made so laundering limits aren’t triggered.

Gregory Webb, Chief Executive Officer of Bromium, commented: “We invested in this research to instigate a meaningful conversation about how to disrupt the economic systems and poor security practices that enable cybercrime around the world; frankly because it’s far too easy for them.”

“Today it is easy for hackers to infect machines, steal data, and hold businesses and individuals for ransom or sell stolen IP because enterprise defenses are not fit for purpose. It is equally easy for them to wash that money and convert it into cash – and the rise in the use of unregulated, virtual currencies is making this even easier. We need to attack the problem in a different way. Law enforcement, the cybersecurity industry and both the public and private sectors need to be vigilant about disrupting cybercrime. Protecting applications that access sensitive data is an absolute requirement. We need a whole new approach to cybersecurity or these figures will continue to increase over time.”

While cryptocurrencies have become more popular within the cybercrime industry, it remains unclear whether the impact of digital currencies is large enough to attract the attention of regulators, given that the majority of criminal operations globally are still funded by fiat money, or cash.

The post Monero Is the Favorite Cryptocurrency of Cyber Criminals, Study Finds appeared first on NewsBTC.

Even though South Korea is one of the most important countries when it comes to cryptocurrency, it still has a lot of work to do. Regulators have recently begun cracking down on exchanges which engage in malicious behavior. As a result, three trading platforms have been investigated thoroughly by the FSC. It’s a very interesting development, and one that will have a positive long-term effect on the cryptocurrency industry as a whole.

South Korean Exchanges in the hot seat

While most cryptocurrency users are familiar with major South Korean exchanges such as Upbit, Bithumb, and Korbit, there are a lot of smaller trading platforms as well. Unfortunately, it appears not all of those platforms have honest intentions as of right now. Three trading platforms currently find themselves in the crosshairs of South Korea’s Financial Services Commission. With an official investigation underway, things are not looking all that great for these three platforms.

Yonhap News reports that “illegal circumstances” have caused the FSC to investigate these three trading platforms. It seems the companies are suspected of using customer funds to complete cryptocurrency trades. Doing so without the consent of the users themselves is a very troublesome development, as there is no good reason for it.

Moreover, Yonhap claims that some of the smaller exchanges have resold customer accounts to other platforms to manage personal transactions. It sounds strange, but it seems all three exchanges tried to make their own transactions appear different from what they were in reality. Whether this was done to avoid taxes, avoid suspicion, or skew their overall reporting remains to be determined.

With the Financial Services Commission’s Financial Intelligence Unit investigating the matter, it will be interesting to see what the investigation turns up. The main reason for this investigation is the need to look into potential money laundering charges. It seems these transactions passed through various South Korean banks, including Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, and Woori Bank, among others.

One detail of this investigation has been made public as of right now. It seems the Financial Intelligence Unit uncovered the transfer of funds from one exchange “customer”  to the account of a proxy representative. For now, it remains unclear which exchange processed this particular transaction, but it is evident this type of behavior needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. The transaction has been frozen by the FSC until the investigation concludes.

It is evident this type of behavior is absolutely unacceptable. There is no good reason for any cryptocurrency exchange to engage in fraud, embezzlement, or money laundering – especially not when using customer accounts without alerting the customers themselves. Identifying suspicious transactions in the world of cryptocurrency is a pressing problem, yet there is a great need to do so.

Luxembourg’s Financial Regulator warns the public about ICOs and crypto, “not concerned” about Blockchain tech #NEWS

Just recently a consumer research group called Valuepenguin did an analysis on complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) between June 1, 2017 and March 1, 2018. According to the study, after the significant 50-60 percent downturn in cryptocurrency values, consumer complaints surged by 669 percent.

Also Read: Israeli Supreme Court Forbids Bank From Denying Service to Bitcoin Exchange

Crypto-Consumer Complaints Rise by 669%

Cryptocurrencies reached all-time highs last year and BTC/USD markets touched $19,600 per coin on December 16th. Since then a lot has changed as most crypto-assets have lost at least half or more of their fiat value since that date. The consumer analysis group Valuepenguin decided to do a study on the number of complaints filed with the CFPB between June 1, 2017, and March 1, 2018. The results were staggering, showing a 669 percent increase in consumer complaints after the prices of digital currencies dropped in value this year.

It Seems Customers Want Their Money When They Want It

Some key takeaways from researcher David Ascienzo’s Valuepenguin study detailed the biggest complaint, by more than 40 percent of the files, showed dissatisfied customers who were unable to withdraw their funds. 32 percent of the issues derived from transaction issues and fraud complaints. Transaction problems included long wire transfer delays and a lot of gripes were directed at crypto-businesses and the lack of customer service.  

“Money being unavailable was the number one complaint and consumers struggled to transfer and trade their cryptocurrencies at a critical time — Complaints spiked to a climax during the week where price decline was steepest,” explains Ascienzo’s findings.

Higher numbers of complaints rolled in just as prices started crashing, reaching a climax during the week of sharpest descent. Even then, BTC prices didn’t fall anywhere near where they were in the earlier half of 2017, but the data shows an array of negative experiences for consumers struggling to manage their coins when it mattered the most.

Beefing Up Customer Support

One company that was highlighted during the research was the San Francisco cryptocurrency firm Coinbase. The Valuepenguin study even highlights a few quotes from some of the customer complaints directed at Coinbase. The complaints against the digital currency firm emphasized withdrawal and deposit issues. News.Bitcoin.com also reported on the study Lend EDU did this past August that showed the first signs of increasing consumer complaints, and Coinbase was at the top of the list. However, the head of customer support at Coinbase, Tina Bhatnagar, announced on March 1 that the company was hiring 500 customer support agents this year.

“My first, and most obvious observation was that we needed more people to handle the inbound volume of support requests and a solid plan to handle any spikes in volume, Bhatnagar stated at the time. Our first group of 90 new agents will start on March 5th and we will be adding a group of agents every week until we hit our goal of 500 in late May.”

The latest study also shows some consumers were unable to access funds as much as $100,000 USD. Moreover, according to the Ascienzo’s research, the cryptocurrency companies had managed to close all of the complaints filed. Complaints submitted to the CFPB were closed with an explanation from the company, but the research could not tell if any customers received any restitution. The author notes that all the data was derived from the public CFPB databases and he used bitcoin historical prices from the website Coinmarketcap.

What do you think about complaints rising by 669 percent? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments below.

Images via Shutterstock, Pixabay, and the Valuepenguin study.

At Bitcoin.com there’s a bunch of free helpful services. For instance, have you seen our Tools page? You can even lookup the exchange rate for a transaction in the past. Or calculate the value of your current holdings. Or create a paper wallet. And much more.

The post Consumer Complaints Rise 669% After Crypto Prices Decline appeared first on Bitcoin News.

A lot of things can change over the course of nine years. In the Bitcoin world, we have seen major changes as well. While there is still work to be done, these are still the early stages of cryptocurrency in general. Adoption will only increase moving forward, as the best has yet to come.

The Bitcoin Story so Far

It has become evident Bitcoin has seen some interesting changes. Things have evolved in an interesting direction compared to nine years ago. It is safe to say the currency has come a very long way since the initial release. What started out as a niche project has turned into the world’s leading cryptocurrency. Moreover, cryptocurrency is now a phenomenon which can’t be ignored any longer.

As of last year, banks finally started showing an interest in Bitcoin. With a few institutions venturing into the world of Bitcoin futures, the tone is set. Other institutions even publicly acknowledge Bitcoin is a threat to their business model. All of this further confirms the best is yet to come for the world’s leading cryptocurrency.

At the same time, some problems have remained. Bitcoin still lacks scaling, it’s not the most technologically-advanced solution, and it is losing traction among early adopter merchants. However, that doesn’t mean people will stop using Bitcoin as a payment method all of a sudden either. In fact, it seems now is a good time to stop thinking about Bitcoin as just an investment vehicle.

What Comes Next for BTC?

The big question is how this industry will evolve over the next nine years. Right now, there is so much focus on the Bitcoin price, people tend to miss out on the big picture. Over one in two Square merchants is willing to experiment with BTC payments. That is an extremely positive signal for the cryptocurrency industry as a whole.When the merchants pay attention to BTC as a currency again, big things will happen eventually.

Survey Shows: Over 50% of Square merchants is ready to accept #Bitcoin. Think #Bitcoin adoption is slowing down? Think again. Adoption of Technology in the US including #Bitcoin: pic.twitter.com/PCp9h1HW4E

— Blockchainlife (@Blockchainlife) March 17, 2018

Moreover, the world’s leading cryptocurrency is maturing in the technology department as well. Scaling is becoming less of an issue with SegWit adoption on the rise. Add the Lightning Network to this trend, and things will only get better from here on out. Additionally, Rootstock is nearing completion. This project will bring smart contract technology to the Bitcoin network.

Additionally, we see the public perception of this cryptocurrency change as well. Adults are becoming aware how BTC can be a part of everyday life without too many problems. The global and borderless nature of this currency has a lot of potential when used properly. The industry also continues to create jobs left, right, and center, which should not be overlooked either. This is still the early stage of development, and a lot of things will change in the years to come.

The post After a Slow Start, Bitcoin Will Hit Its Prime in the Years to Come appeared first on NewsBTC.

There is never a boring day in the world of cryptocurrency. Something new happens every day, even though not everyone will like every new development. In the case of Bitmain, the company is hopping on the CryptoNight ASIC mining bandwagon. Its most recent unit, known as the Antminer X3, will certainly be of great interest to a lot of people.

Why The Antminer X3 Matters

Anyone who has been involved in cryptocurrency for more than two weeks will know that different cryptocurrencies have different mining algorithms. As such, there is different mining hardware for different coins, depending on how each underlying algorithm works exactly. While CPU and GPU mining are no longer suitable for Bitcoin itself, there are quite a few altcoins for which this approach still makes sense.

Among those coins are Ethereum, Dash, Zcash, Monero, and a few others. It seems Bitmain, the world’s leading customer-oriented mining ASIC manufacturer, is looking for ways to enter these markets sooner rather than later. As of right now, it is working on building the Antminer X3, a completely new mining unit designed to mine CryptoNight currencies.

Consequently, any currency using the CryptoNight algorithm will be affected by ASIC miners hitting the network very soon. One currency notably absent from this list is Monero, as its developers are allegedly working on changes to ensure their altcoin remains ASIC-resistant at all times, regardless of new developments in the area of ASIC mining. It’s a smart approach, but there are other coins using this algorithm which can still be mined with the Antminer X3.

While we have little information on this new mining unit, the cost is quite steep. With a price of $11,999 for the first batch – which surprisingly lowers to $7,599 for the second batch – the investment will not be worth it for a lot of people. Considering the cost of electricity and the volatility of all altcoin markets, it is evident this mining unit will not be the biggest success anytime soon.

The Antminer X3 provides a hashrate of 220 KH/s, which is well above what most GPUs can provide as of right now. It is unclear how Bitmain aims to achieve this, as the company has not revealed any specifics on its chipset specs or other parts which make up this mining unit. Moreover, there is no official indication as to whether or not a lot of people have been waiting for such an ASIC miner.

What makes this news even more interesting is that Bitmain is limiting the number of units people can order from each batch. Unlike other models, customers can order only one Antminer X3 per batch. Rest assured some people will try to bypass this limitation in rather creative ways, but it is evident the company wants to make the distribution of its new miners as fair as possible.