Rememberful Bitcoin News.
JPMorgan Chase is reportedly considering a proposal to split its Quorum blockchain project into its own independent entity.
JPMorgan Chase is reportedly considering a proposal to split its Quorum blockchain project into its own independent entity.
ForbesCould Bitcoin And Gold Benefit From Weakness In The Stock Market?ForbesBitcoin will likely benefit if stocks suffer a "major pullback," stated Tim Enneking, managing director of Crypto Asset Management. Many market observers are closely…
Forbes | Could Bitcoin And Gold Benefit From Weakness In The Stock Market? Forbes Bitcoin will likely benefit if stocks suffer a "major pullback," stated Tim Enneking, managing director of Crypto Asset Management. Many market observers are closely watching the relationship between the stock market and Bitcoin, noted Mati Greenspan ... |
A Prague-based cryptocurrency entrepreneur has come up with a novel way to offset the energy consumption of his crypto mining rigs. CNBC has published a report about Kamil Brejcha of digital currency exchange NakamotoX. He’s decided to extract the immense heat generated from his mining operation into usable energy for his tomato plants. Making Crypto … Continue reading Think Crypto Mining Can’t be Environmentally Friendly? The Cryptomato Might Make You Think Again
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A Prague-based cryptocurrency entrepreneur has come up with a novel way to offset the energy consumption of his crypto mining rigs. CNBC has published a report about Kamil Brejcha of digital currency exchange NakamotoX. He’s decided to extract the immense heat generated from his mining operation into usable energy for his tomato plants.
The climate in the Czech Republic makes for a short growing season. This means that a lot of produce must be cultivated inside. Brejcha had the ingenious idea to pump the heat generated by his mining operation directly into his green house. This would allow him to grow his crops well into the winter.
The mining rigs use a lot of electricity and as with most appliances, they’re not 100% energy efficient. They produce a lot of heat that needs to be gotten rid of. Typically, this would be extracted away from the rigs to stop them overheating. To Brejcha, that seemed wasteful. He decided that he’d pipe the hot air directly into his greenhouse. This would allow him to continue producing tomatoes much later than he previously would have been able to.
The entrepreneur took to Twitter to show off the delicious looking produce that he calls “Cryptomatoes”:
Who would imagine that mining cryptocurrencies and agriculture can work together? The first batch of cryptomatoes is ready to be harvested. We are using the excess heat for the tomato greenhouse and it is working:-) pic.twitter.com/U7qqKTshqO
— Kamil Brejcha (@KamilBrejcha) March 10, 2018
Being from a country with as progressive drug laws like the Czech Republic, one Twitter user asked Brejcha why he hadn’t decided to grow cannabis instead of tomatoes. The green-fingered crypto enthusiast responded saying that it was too difficult to get a license to grow medicinal cannabis and so they had opted for “tomatoes and other vegetables instead.”
Others were interested in more details of the operation. However, Brejcha kept his answer secretive. He did, however, highlight that a large portion of the energy going into the mining operation had come from eco-friendly bio-waste:
“In brief, we are an agritechcture stealth start-up, creating an agriculture, energy and blockchain symbiotic solution.”
We have developed something called "Cointainer" which is being placed in the basement and the heat is blown into the greenhouses. More details will be revealed soon. pic.twitter.com/VILRdK3I6k
— Kamil Brejcha (@KamilBrejcha) March 10, 2018
With stories about potential bans on cryptocurrency mining operations like the one we reported from Plattsburgh, NY earlier this month, it’s not surprising that creative types are looking for ways to reduce or offset the energy consumption of mining operations. One of the more popular arguments against proof-of-work cryptocurrencies, after all, is their environmental impact.
Fortunately, Brejcha isn’t alone with his idea of reusing the heat output of mining rigs for other purposes. In November, we reported of two Russian entrepreneurs who were doing similar. However, rather than heating a greenhouse and growing crops, the pair from Siberia were using the excess heat energy to cheaply heat homes in the typically icy part of the world.
The post Think Crypto Mining Can’t be Environmentally Friendly? The Cryptomato Might Make You Think Again appeared first on NewsBTC.
Bitcoin mining giant and blockchain tech provider Bitfury is branching out to Norway. After meeting with government officials and partnering with local business leaders, the company is opening the doors of its ne…
Bitcoin mining giant and blockchain tech provider Bitfury is branching out to Norway. After meeting with government officials and partnering with local business leaders, the company is opening the doors of its new energy-efficient, data-mining center, in which executives have already invested $35 million.
The center is stationed in the Mo Industrial Park in the town of Mo i Rana and is expected to create roughly 30 new jobs for local workers.
CEO Valery Vavilov explained that the country’s innovative spirit and “favorable tax code” made Norway a top pick for Bitfury’s future expansion:
Norway is a perfect match for Bitfury’s focus on innovation and growth. We look forward to identifying new customer relationships and designing the products and solutions they need to make their enterprises run more securely and efficiently.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining have long been criticized for allegedly requiring large amounts of power. Cities like Plattsburgh, New York — once popular among bitcoin miners for the low-cost electricity they provide — have already enforced temporary bans or “moratoriums” due to the growing difficulties of satisfying miners’ needs.
With energy consumption being a major concern, Bitfury mentioned that the data center boasts a power usage effectiveness (PUE) level of 1.05 or lower, and thus stands as one of the “world’s most energy-efficient” operations. Recently, Bitfury purchased approximately 350 gigawatts of power from local renewable energy provider Helgeland Kraft.
The company further explained that it ensured renewability in all its energy sources, as it had acquired “Guarantee of Origin” certificates from its nearby suppliers. Guarantee of Origin is a product of European legislation designed to “document and report” all energy claiming to come from renewable sources. The process works to educate customers about where their energy originates, thus potentially reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and improving overall sustainability.
Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry Torbjørn Røe Isaksen said:
“I am very delighted that the Bitfury Group has chosen to establish their new data center in Norway and Mo i Rana. Data will become an increasingly important resource for the business community, as well as for society in general. This represents a major economic opportunity for Norwegian businesses. The data center industry is growing fast and provides Norway with opportunities of economic growth and new jobs.”
Bitfury also has offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Hong Kong, Ukraine and Japan. In early March 2018, Bitfury opened its seventh office in Russia, which it said would focus on selling its two primary products. The first is “Exonum” and is described as an “open source enterprise-grade blockchain framework” created to allow both businesses and individuals alike to build blockchain networks that solve “administrative” issues.
The second product, simply known as “Crystal,” was released in early January 2018 and is a tool designed to assist law enforcement officials in financial investigations.
Its webpage states: “Crystal provides a comprehensive view of the public blockchain ecosystem, and uses advanced analytics and data scraping to map suspicious transactions and related entities.”
This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.
On March 20, 2018, it was revealed that a bug hidden in Coinbase’s Ethereum smart contract setup could have given users access to unlimited amounts of ether. At press time, it does not appear as though the vulner…
On March 20, 2018, it was revealed that a bug hidden in Coinbase’s Ethereum smart contract setup could have given users access to unlimited amounts of ether. At press time, it does not appear as though the vulnerability was ever exploited or even noticed by users.
The issue was first discovered last December by VI Company, a Dutch firm that specializes in fintech. The company was planning to give its employees ether bonuses in celebration of the upcoming holiday season when researchers noticed the issue with their “ETH receiving code” while garnering funds from a contract. They saw that by using a smart contract, a series of digital wallets could be “tricked” into recording ether transfers and purchases that had never actually happened.
The team issued the following statement in a vulnerability report later published on the firm’s HackerOne account in January 2018:
“By using a smart contract to distribute [ETH] over a set of wallets, you can manipulate the account balance of your Coinbase account. If [one] wallet transaction in the smart contract fails, all transactions before that will be reversed, but on Coinbase, these transactions will not be reversed, meaning a person could add as much Ethereum to their balance as they want.”
The report specified the following steps for taking advantage of the exchange’s weakness:
Had users noticed the glitch, they could have been able to turn themselves into crypto-billionaires overnight.
The problem was resolved after the team changed the contract handling logic. VI Company claimed there were only “accidental” losses for Coinbase and stated there were no attempts to exploit the vulnerability. Coinbase executives later thanked VI Company’s counterparts by sending them a $10,000 bounty for their work.
Though instances like these are rare, they can occur from time to time. In February 2018, popular Japanese exchange Zaif aroused heavy controversy after a bug was exposed that allowed users to purchase bitcoin through its system at no charge. Representatives of the company claimed the error occurred within its “price calculation system” and that seven transactions had occurred where customers bought bitcoin for zero yen. Six of these transactions were later reversed.
Zaif’s parent company, Tech Bureau Corp, had faced several checks the previous month after regulators claimed it was vulnerable to cyberattacks. The exchange later apologized to users, saying the problem would not affect individual customer amounts. Zaif is one of a small handful of cryptocurrency trading platforms currently registered with the Japanese government.
This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.
Today, March 22, 2018, at the government’s second International Fintech Conference, Exchequer Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the launch of a Fintech Sector Strategy that looks to keep the U.K. on the forefro…
Today, March 22, 2018, at the government’s second International Fintech Conference, Exchequer Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the launch of a Fintech Sector Strategy that looks to keep the U.K. on the forefront of the industry.
The primary component of this new strategy will be the introduction of a Crypto Assets Task Force composed of representatives from the Bank of England (BOE), HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The purpose of this team will be twofold: promote the U.K.’s position as a leader in the emerging world of digital currency, while concurrently establishing the infrastructure needed to monitor the “potential risks” associated with the crypto space.
This development follows a recent shift in the British government’s public attitude toward cryptocurrency. In January 2018, at the World Economic Forum, Prime Minister Theresa May voiced her apprehensions toward virtual currency and suggested that stronger regulations should be considered “very seriously” — a sentiment that was echoed earlier this month by BOE governor Mark Carney who, in an interview with CNBC, decried the “speculative mania” that surrounds crypto assets.
His rhetoric, and that of the British government, has since changed. On March 18, preceding the G20 summit, Carney released an official letter through the Financial Stability Board (FSB) that dramatically reasserted his position. It stated that at its current size “crypto assets do not pose risks to global financial stability” and that their underlying technologies “have the potential to improve the efficiency and inclusiveness of both the financial system and the economy.”
He did admit, however, that due to the rapidly evolving nature of the market, that this initial assessment could change — and change quickly. As digital currency becomes more integrated and interconnected with the economic system at large, emphasis should be placed on “support monitoring and timely identification of emerging financial stability risks.”
It would seem that the announcement of the Crypto Assets Task Force represents an attempt by the British government to follow up on this recommendation. By combining three of its most preeminent financial institutions, the U.K. hopes to create a watchdog with the resources necessary to monitor the immediate risks and long-term benefits of this developing technology. Whether this move will be adequate to alleviate anxieties that have arisen in response to the recent volatility of the crypto marketplace is yet to be seen.
This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.
The government of South Korea lacks a synchronized regulatory approach to ICOs, cryptocurrencies and Blockchain. #EXPERT_TAKE
The government of South Korea lacks a synchronized regulatory approach to ICOs, cryptocurrencies and Blockchain. #EXPERT_TAKE
The big news on March 8, 2018, was that Sierra Leone had just run the first blockchain-based election. The big news in the days and weeks that followed, however, became that the government of Sierra Leone was denying that it happened.
In a press release from Swiss-based blockchain technology company Agora on March 8, 2018, the company led off with this statement: “Sierra Leone’s 2018 presidential elections, which took place on March 7th, represents the first time in history that blockchain technology has been used in a national government election. West District’s results were registered on Agora’s unforgeable blockchain ledger, and the tally made publicly available days before the usual manual count.”
The press release goes on to mention that the company is an internationally accredited observer and how results were posted within hours of the polls closing and various advantages to using their blockchain-based voting technology.
Soon after, the story started breaking around the web that Agora, as the only company in the world with a fully-functional blockchain voting platform, had just run the first blockchain-based election for Sierra Leone.
The results for this election are still unclear and a runoff election will be held on March 27, 2018; however, controversy over Agora’s claims erupted soon after the mainstream media began to pick up on the story.
On March 19, the National Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (NEC) sent out the following tweet:
— National Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (@NECsalone) March 19, 2018
The NEC also posted the election results online. According to RFI, the NEC confirmed that Agora had only been given observer status for the polls and that the company’s involvement was not official, which partially matches what Agora asserted. The NEC also stated that Agora only performed a vote tally in two of their western districts, which is reflected in the press release, and that their results were different than the official results provided by the NEC, which is not reflected in the press release.
The Sierra Leone Open Election Data Platform (SLOEDP) also sought to set the record straight with this tweet:
Please help the people of Sierra Leone stop @AgoraBlockchain, @Daniel_Finnan @DelRayMan @BrandonWeber_UP @thenextweb @Futurism @RosiePerper @johnbiggs @rjmarvin1 @theYomiKazeem promoting FAKE NEWS HEADLINES about the use of blockchain during Sierra Leone’s Elections.
— OpenElections SL (@OpenElectionssl) March 16, 2018
The SLOEDP further explained its position in this Medium post, focusing both on the misleading statement in the original Agora press release and on the follow-up media reports in dozens of publications from Slate to RFI that echoed the claims. The SLOEDP response details the work they put into the election. SLOEDP is proud of the work they accomplished and were not happy with the minimization of their efforts and credit being attributed to another organization.
Agora responded to the backlash resulting from the conflicting news reports to clarify exactly what happened. They confirmed that they attended the election as an international observer, which was in their official press release, and they showed proof that they were accredited by the NEC as such.
Agora pointed out that their participation in the election was intended as a proof of concept of their technology — a distinction that was clearly stated in their Telegram channel and in various interviews but less clearly in the original press release. They laid out a timeline, the procedures of how votes were counted; a side-by-side comparison of the numbers from their efforts and the NEC; and screenshots of various tweets, Facebook posts, Telegram discussions and website postings to further support their position.
When Bitcoin Magazine reached out to Agora about their statement, Agora COO Jaron Lukasiewicz said, “I take responsibility for any misunderstandings that exist in the media. We have made an official statement that includes hard facts about our accredited role in the election. As a company, we will now turn our focus back onto building technology for our next election.”
Voting on the blockchain is a natural choice for reduced costs and enhanced integrity. These proofs of concept are necessary to prove the technology and establish trust, and while we are likely still years away from a country allowing their entire election to be run on a blockchain, it is something the world could really use. You don’t have to think too hard to come up with a reason that a government would be against visibility in an election.
This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.
The big news on March 8, 2018, was that Sierra Leone had just run the first blockchain-based election. The big news in the days and weeks that followed, however, became that the government of Sierra Leone was denying that it happened.
In a press release from Swiss-based blockchain technology company Agora on March 8, 2018, the company led off with this statement: “Sierra Leone’s 2018 presidential elections, which took place on March 7th, represents the first time in history that blockchain technology has been used in a national government election. West District’s results were registered on Agora’s unforgeable blockchain ledger, and the tally made publicly available days before the usual manual count.”
The press release goes on to mention that the company is an internationally accredited observer and how results were posted within hours of the polls closing and various advantages to using their blockchain-based voting technology.
Soon after, the story started breaking around the web that Agora, as the only company in the world with a fully-functional blockchain voting platform, had just run the first blockchain-based election for Sierra Leone.
The results for this election are still unclear and a runoff election will be held on March 27, 2018; however, controversy over Agora’s claims erupted soon after the mainstream media began to pick up on the story.
On March 19, the National Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (NEC) sent out the following tweet:
— National Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (@NECsalone) March 19, 2018
The NEC also posted the election results online. According to RFI, the NEC confirmed that Agora had only been given observer status for the polls and that the company’s involvement was not official, which partially matches what Agora asserted. The NEC also stated that Agora only performed a vote tally in two of their western districts, which is reflected in the press release, and that their results were different than the official results provided by the NEC, which is not reflected in the press release.
The Sierra Leone Open Election Data Platform (SLOEDP) also sought to set the record straight with this tweet:
Please help the people of Sierra Leone stop @AgoraBlockchain, @Daniel_Finnan @DelRayMan @BrandonWeber_UP @thenextweb @Futurism @RosiePerper @johnbiggs @rjmarvin1 @theYomiKazeem promoting FAKE NEWS HEADLINES about the use of blockchain during Sierra Leone's Elections.
— OpenElections SL (@OpenElectionssl) March 16, 2018
The SLOEDP further explained its position in this Medium post, focusing both on the misleading statement in the original Agora press release and on the follow-up media reports in dozens of publications from Slate to RFI that echoed the claims. The SLOEDP response details the work they put into the election. SLOEDP is proud of the work they accomplished and were not happy with the minimization of their efforts and credit being attributed to another organization.
Agora responded to the backlash resulting from the conflicting news reports to clarify exactly what happened. They confirmed that they attended the election as an international observer, which was in their official press release, and they showed proof that they were accredited by the NEC as such.
Agora pointed out that their participation in the election was intended as a proof of concept of their technology — a distinction that was clearly stated in their Telegram channel and in various interviews but less clearly in the original press release. They laid out a timeline, the procedures of how votes were counted; a side-by-side comparison of the numbers from their efforts and the NEC; and screenshots of various tweets, Facebook posts, Telegram discussions and website postings to further support their position.
When Bitcoin Magazine reached out to Agora about their statement, Agora COO Jaron Lukasiewicz said, “I take responsibility for any misunderstandings that exist in the media. We have made an official statement that includes hard facts about our accredited role in the election. As a company, we will now turn our focus back onto building technology for our next election.”
Voting on the blockchain is a natural choice for reduced costs and enhanced integrity. These proofs of concept are necessary to prove the technology and establish trust, and while we are likely still years away from a country allowing their entire election to be run on a blockchain, it is something the world could really use. You don’t have to think too hard to come up with a reason that a government would be against visibility in an election.
This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.
Ripple is ‘very confident’ that it will hit China’s market this year with its blockchain-based payments solution, according to reports. Sagar Sarbhai, Ripple’s head of government and regulatory relations for Asia Pacific, explained that while it was ‘still very early days,’ the team were discussing how it can enter the Chinese industry with regulators, payment providers, … Continue reading Ripple ‘Very Confident’ of Hitting China’s Market This Year with Blockchain Payments Solution
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Ripple is ‘very confident’ that it will hit China’s market this year with its blockchain-based payments solution, according to reports.
Sagar Sarbhai, Ripple’s head of government and regulatory relations for Asia Pacific, explained that while it was ‘still very early days,’ the team were discussing how it can enter the Chinese industry with regulators, payment providers, and banks by the end of this year.
A report from the Express suggests that the company will initially launch its xCurrent software in China, allowing them to quickly settle cross-border payments.
Sarbhai said:
This year you will see more announcements coming in on China, in terms of educating and differentiating us from some of the other cryptocurrencies that are out there.
Last year, Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple CEO, said that a launch into China was in the pipeline; however, it appears that this has been delayed due to a lack of regulatory clarity around the blockchain and digital currencies in China, says Sarbhai.
According to the 2015 World Payments Report, non-cash payments in Japan, China and South Korea topped $45 billion in 2013. As a result of upward trends in non-cash payments Ripple extended its services into Japan, through a joint venture with SBI in 2016. It also has live clients in India and Thailand, and is continually working at spreading itself to other Asia Pacific countries.
Last September, the company announced that it had launched a new office in Mumbai, India’s financial centre, to serve India’s digital economy. With predictions that India’s digital economy is expected to grow to $1 trillion by 2024, the move into the Indian market will enable Ripple to provide a frictionless payments platform for the country’s banks.
Even though Ripple has yet to reach mainland China, the company recently partnered with Hong Kong-based money transfer company LianLian. This will enable the company to process invoices and e-commerce payments on behalf of customers who use Ripple’s payments network, RippleNet. This, in turn, gives the company access to the inbound payments market in China.
Sarbhai is clear, however, when he states that China remains an important part of their Asia Pacific strategy. One issue that needs to be looked at, though, is Chinese capital controls. In recent years the country has limited the number of capital institutions that can send back to their own country or transfer cross-border from China.
According to Sarbhai, though, this isn’t something that has come up during discussions with China’s regulatory bodies.
The post Ripple ‘Very Confident’ of Hitting China’s Market This Year with Blockchain Payments Solution appeared first on NewsBTC.
The UK will set up a new task force that will monitor cryptocurrencies and the fintech industry as a whole, which contributes 7 billion pounds annually to the UK economy.
The UK will set up a new task force that will monitor cryptocurrencies and the fintech industry as a whole, which contributes 7 billion pounds annually to the UK economy.
Binance shows market-moving power as Bitcoin remains down despite regulatory false alarm. #NEWS
Binance shows market-moving power as Bitcoin remains down despite regulatory false alarm. #NEWS
Leaked documents point towards a controversial move by the American NSA (National Security Agency) in monitoring blockchain activity, hinting at the importance placed by the government there on Bitcoin and other blockchain assets. Snowden leaks have shown the blockchain community that surveillance remains at the top of US agenda. It hardly comes as a surprise to …
The post Snowden Leaks Indicate NSA Spies on Blockchain appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.
Leaked documents point towards a controversial move by the American NSA (National Security Agency) in monitoring blockchain activity, hinting at the importance placed by the government there on Bitcoin and other blockchain assets.
Snowden leaks have shown the blockchain community that surveillance remains at the top of US agenda. It hardly comes as a surprise to most, understanding that governments do and will always have a vested interest in monetary transactions and where that money ends up.
Using a protocol called “MonkeyRocket” NSA analysts were able to find a vulnerability which enabled them to track down senders and receivers of Bitcoin. This all to aid their mission of looking at organized crime and cyber targets that utilize online e-currency services for illicit activities, despite Bitcoin providing users access to a certain degree of anonymity.
The Snowden leaks indicated that examining public transaction ledger (Blockchain) was just the tip of the iceberg, with the NSA obtaining and storing sensitive data, such as the users MAC addresses, users passwords, network ports, and timestamps.
The documents suggest that Bitcoin users were being targeted for mass surveillance, giving weight to the claim that the NSA was not just using their MonkeyRocket, but using the infamous XKeyScore system. The XKeyScore system is one of the most intrusive methods on the planet and covers the entire globe with the widest of reaches. NSA analysts require no prior authorization for the collection of online data.
Snowden stated in the Guardian:“I, sitting at my desk, could wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant to a federal judge or even the president, if I had a personal email… Analysts can also use XKeyscore and other NSA systems to obtain ongoing “real-time” interception of an individual’s internet activity.”
The NSA is adamant on suppressing Bitcoin users, as part of a counter-terrorism advance, monitoring their transactions, while subverting their privacy. The source of Bitcoin and Liberty Reserve monitoring, MonkeyRocket, has been governed by overseas surveillance authority known as “EXECUTIVE ORDER 12333”. The order was signed on 4 December 1981 by then-president Ronald Reagan; it was intended to extend powers and responsibilities of US intelligence agencies and direct leaders of the US and federal agencies to cooperate fully with CIA requests for information.
The post Snowden Leaks Indicate NSA Spies on Blockchain appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has filed a lawsuit against digital payment processor Payza for allegedly operating an unlicensed money service business that processed more than $250 million in transactions. According to the indictment, some of its customers were involved in Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, and a child pornography site. Payza is an e-commerce business … Continue reading Payza: U.S. Department of Justice Hands Payment Processor $250 Million Money Laundering Case
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The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has filed a lawsuit against digital payment processor Payza for allegedly operating an unlicensed money service business that processed more than $250 million in transactions. According to the indictment, some of its customers were involved in Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, and a child pornography site.
Payza is an e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made across the globe, accepting Bitcoin, Ether, Ripple, and Dash. It is headquartered in the UK, but primarily serves Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and South America, with some of its major markets being Venezuela, Nepal, Pakistan, Brazil, Mexico, and Haiti.
As per the indictment, Pazya and its founders – Ferhan Patel and Firoz Patel – are accused of operating a money transmitting business that operated without the necessary state licenses, and knowingly transmitted funds that were derived from illegal activity. Despite receiving cease and desist letters from various states and being told by a consultant that operating a money transmission business without the necessary licenses was a crime, the founders allegedly continued their illegal activity.
The lawsuit alleges that the criminal activity took place in or about March 2012 until the present. The Patels, together with other co-conspirators, are allegedly responsible for transmitting over $250 million throughout the US and elsewhere. The founders allegedly opened bank accounts in the US and laundered their illegal proceeds through those accounts.
The founders are charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and to violate anti-money laundering program requirements, one count of a money laundering conspiracy, and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business in the District of Columbia. If convicted, each of the brothers faces a maximum sentence of more than 25 years.
The indictment does not specifically state whether any of these illicit transactions involved cryptocurrency, but Payza has been helping customers buy and sell Bitcoin since 2014 and has signaled its intent to add support for a number of altcoins in the coming months. In fact, Payza announced in a press release March 19th — one day after Ferhan Patel was arrested — that it would begin processing Dash payments (Firoz Patel remains at large).
Payza’s website domain has been seized by the DOJ, however, the company’s social media accounts are now directing users to a new website with an .eu domain address. In a statement posted on Twitter, Payza acknowledged that it is “currently dealing with some legal matters in the United States” but claimed that all funds were secure and accessible through the new website:
As some of you may be aware of already, Payza is currently dealing with some legal matters in the United States. We cannot give any specific details at this time, but please be aware that this is an accusation and it is NOT evidence of guilt.
— Payza (@Payzaofficial) March 22, 2018
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Two projects show Google is getting serious about Blockchain. #NEWS
Two projects show Google is getting serious about Blockchain. #NEWS
Most people who have kept a close eye on cryptocurrencies will remember the CryptoKitties project. Although it doesn’t seem to serve any real purpose, the project has been wildly successful. So much, even, that it has now received US$12 million in funding from VC companies which see merit in this particular concept. More cats will be unleashed on a blockchain near you, by the look of things. CryptoKitties Gets VC Funding Even though a lot of money was pledged to CryptoKitties in the past, it seems the best is yet to come. Whereas people expected this project to fade away into obscurity over
Most people who have kept a close eye on cryptocurrencies will remember the CryptoKitties project. Although it doesn’t seem to serve any real purpose, the project has been wildly successful. So much, even, that it has now received US$12 million in funding from VC companies which see merit in this particular concept. More cats will be unleashed on a blockchain near you, by the look of things.
Even though a lot of money was pledged to CryptoKitties in the past, it seems the best is yet to come. Whereas people expected this project to fade away into obscurity over time, things are only just beginning. Whether or not that is a good thing remains to be seen, even though most people will always welcome more cats in their lives. Since these cats aren’t even physical, there isn’t much to dislike about the concept.
What is rather surprising is that VC firms have invested money in CryptoKitties. More specifically, the companies investing include Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures. Some people may recall those names, as the firms have invested in various other crypto-related ventures such as exchanges and other service providers. A fair few angel investors, as well as Digital Currency Group and Hex Capital, are also on board with these blockchain-based tradable cats.
As one would expect, this round of funding has raised a lot of questions. It seems there was no shortage of money when CryptoKitties initially launched, as the influx of new transactions to buy these new “assets” effectively brought the Ethereum network to its knees. While it was not the first – or the last – time this happened, it indicated people were smitten by these adorable virtual cats. Since every type is unique and there is an option to breed entirely new species, the hype was more than warranted.
Even WikiLeaks got on board with CryptoKitties, which further helped legitimize this unusual project. Months later, the company is still sitting on US$12 million in VC funding. Although the team has not specified exactly what it plans to do with the money, it seems they will keep building their project and focus on marketing.
While all of this is good news for the CryptoKitties team, it remains to be seen if they can really bring more value to blockchain ecosystems. As of right now, most projects are intent on creating their own type of value out of thin air in the hopes of attracting VC investment. So far, it seems quite a few projects have been successful in this regard, although their actual real-world value remains in question.
Whether or not CryptoKitties can bring positive change to the world remains to be determined. For now, there isn’t much of a point to these digital cats. It does show how the concept of ownership is changing thanks to blockchain technology. Ownership is a very peculiar topic when it comes to virtual assets, and projects like these can be quite educational.