Day: March 23, 2018

Reddit posts show that BTC is no longer a payment option for Reddit Gold, leaving some Reddit users upset and some nonplussed. #NEWS

It has been quite a week for the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The scare with Japanese regulators was eventually dismissed as FUD with CEO Zhao Changpeng taking to Twitter to call out ‘irresponsible journalism’. A more notable development though has been the recent announcement that the exchange is expanding into Europe.

A Maltese Move for Binance

In a Medium post a few hours ago Binance announced that it will be setting up operations in Malta. The announcement states that the company reviewed several locations before deciding on this one for its pro-blockchain legislation and financial stability. CEO Changpeng went on to state;

“After meeting with Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Silvio Schembri, we were impressed by the logical, clear and forward thinking nature of Malta’s leadership. After reviewing a proposal bill, we are convinced that Malta will be the next hotbed for innovative blockchain companies, and a centre of the blockchain ecosystem in Europe. Binance is committed to lending our expertise to help shape a healthy regulatory framework as well as providing funds for other blockchain start-ups to grow the industry further in Malta.”

He also said that Binance will soon start a “fiat-to-crypto exchange” on the European island nation, and is close to securing a deal with local banks which will provide access to deposits and withdrawals. The move may be in light of recent regulatory tightening in Southeast Asia where Binance is currently based.

Malta’s government is actively working on a blockchain technology framework to encourage development and investment. It is in the process of establishing a Virtual Currency Act and plans to setup a Malta Digital Innovation Authority. This will create a unique auditing framework to regulate blockchain investment operations such as ICOs.

Maltese Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy & Innovation, Silvio Schembri, praised the move;

“This is a clear vote of confidence in our country and the work being done in this sector, mainly by the latest policy launched to offer a regulatory framework of DLT operations. It is obvious that Malta has become a natural point of reference on the international sphere and companies such as Binance will continue to look into Malta to further expand their operations or establish a base. Binance’s presence in Malta sustains our vision, that of making Malta ‘The Blockchain Island’,” 

The exchange has plans to expand their operations and hire 200 employees to facilitate the new base.

The announcement had an immediate effect on Binance’s own cryptocurrency, BNB, which was the top trading altcoin during the Asian trading session on Saturday morning. At the time of writing BNB was trading 25% higher on the day at just over $12. Trade volume on the exchange over the past 24 hours is just over $2.5 billion.

The post Binance Announces Expansion to Europe’s ‘Blockchain Island’ appeared first on NewsBTC.

A Tennessee bill recognizes the legal authority of Blockchain and smart contracts for electronic transactions, protects ownership rights of info on the Blockchain. #NEWS

Subsidiary of Canadian stock exchange operator TMX Group partners with Paycase to launch new digital currency brokerage. #NEWS

Due to the “inherently pseudo-anonymous aspect” of crypto, the IRS reminds taxpayers of penalties for failure to report crypto on tax returns. #NEWS

Coinbase is still one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. As such, any decision made by the company will be scrutinized. It now seems the company will remove multisig vault support in the next few weeks. It’s a rather controversial decision, although it also makes a lot of sense.

Coinbase Doesn’t Want Unprofitable Services

The concept behind Coinbase’s multisig wallet service is simple to explain. It offers an additional layer of security to users of this particular exchange, yet it also costs a lot of money to keep this going. Coinbase invested a lot of money into letting customers manage their own private keys while still reaping the benefits of the exchange’s interface. It seems this service will come to an end fairly soon, which is not the most surprising decision.

The big problem with services like this one is that a lot of people don’t even know they exist. As such, it was only a matter of time until the cost of providing this service outweighed the potential benefits. It seems that time has come, as Coinbase announced it will wind down the multisig wallet service in the next four weeks.

While a lot of people will be sad to see this option go, it is only normal that it will end. The company isn’t reaping any benefits from offering this service, mainly because so many users simply don’t use it as of right now. As such, the existing multisig vaults will no longer receive support as of April 19, 2018. New multisig vault creation was disabled a few days ago. The company also claims that the rising number of Bitcoin forks makes it virtually impossible to provide services on this scale in a secure manner.

For the average cryptocurrency user, nothing will change. Those who have been involved in this industry for more than three weeks will acknowledge it is always better to be in full control of one’s private key without the involvement of a third-party service provider. While Coinbase attempted to be quite innovative in this regard, its approach simply didn’t work for most cryptocurrency holders. It is due time people take control of their money.

It appears existing multisig vault users can move funds around without any problems. After all, these users control the two keys necessary to access funds in the multisig wallet. This means they won’t have to do anything special other than ensure their funds are out of their addresses before the deadline expires. The third key, which will always be in control of the company, will not be shared with these users.

The big question is whether or not this decision will backfire on the company in any way. Once exchanges become less of a custodian of user funds, the switch to decentralized trading platforms will only be a matter of time. These companies are slowly making themselves obsolete, which is a change we can only applaud. Coinbase will not disappear all of a sudden, but it is evident that users will start to explore more options over time.

No one has a crystal ball when it comes to crypto markets. In 2018, it seems as if cryptocurrencies face new challenges almost every day. With SEC regulators breathing down their necks, the future of tokens in the United States is anything but certain.

There’s no best stock to put your money on, and the same holds true with cryptocurrency. But if you’re looking to take some altcoins for a test drive regardless, check out these expert picks.

Ethereum (ETH)

The second-most valuable digital currency isn’t without its issues, but Chris Kline is still a firm believer. The co-founder and COO of BitcoinIRA.com, the world’s first company allowing customers to purchase digital currencies for their IRA and 401(k) retirement accounts, regularly invests in Ethereum. “It’s good because its high-level language allows developers to create their own smart contracts on distributed autonomous networks.”

Ripple (XRP)

Ripple, says Kline, “espouses the goal of creating a financial transaction system free of restrictions, fees and processing delays that are commonly associated with traditional banks. Unlike Bitcoin, Ripple was designed to support the financial system worldwide.” Major banks and financial institutions are already using Ripple to make cross-bank and cross-border transactions with greater efficiency and security.

Litecoin (LTC)

“Litecoin is often described as the silver to Bitcoin’s gold,” he remarks. Created by an ex-Google employee to make transactions faster, Litecoin “takes 2.5 minutes as opposed to 10.” It can also handle a higher volume of transactions and has a higher maximum supply than Bitcoin, at 84 million. “More coins equals more room for investors,” says Kline.

Mintcoin (MINT)

“When it comes to low-cap rollercoaster coins, MINT is one of the most fun rides you’ll find,” enthuses Jeff Koyan, award-winning entrepreneur and journalist and president of 360 Blockchain. He’s also been active in cryptocurrency as an investor and trader since 2014. “Currently trading in single-digit sats, MINT could become the next Verge — or the next Ember,” he says.

Hcash (HSR)

“Hcash is part of the new generation of kitchen sink coins that include every new feature, buzzword and protocol that [get] cryptoheads jacked up!” Promising hybrid PoS/PoW, quantum resistance, and zero-knowledge proofs (among other things), Koyan believes that Hcash could seriously take off.

Cannabis Coin (CANN)

Marijuana growers and dispensaries continue to have banking problems, creating a rise in cannabis coins. “Right now,” says Koyan, “my favorite is CANN, if only for price action. POT pumped earlier this month, while CANN has been hovering around 500. Buy now, before the annual 4/20 pump starts up.”

CasinoCoin (CSC)

CasinoCoin is working towards integration with the regulated online gaming sector. Ronald Holt, co-founder of Masters of Crypto, a prominent Bitcoin forum with over 1,000 members worldwide, explains, “They have a highly experienced team ( . . . ) and are using integrated AML [anti-money laundering] and KYC [Know Your Customer] technologies to comply with gaming commissions and regulated laws.”

ShipChain (SHIP)

“They are headed by a former executive at DHL and supported by large corporations. Their goal is to use blockchain technology to make logistics and the shipping industry more efficient and secure.” While the logistics space is not without competition, Holt believes, “it’s a great time to purchase, since the current price is far below their ICO price.”

Refereum (RFR)

“It’s used to create an entire online gaming ecosystem where the streamers as well as the viewers are rewarded with Refereum coins. They have thousands of users already and have partnered with Twitch.tv,” he explains. While their community isn’t on board with the way they handled their ICO, Holt still believes this is one to watch.

The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is commissioning a committee to standardize Blockchain technology. #NEWS

Bitcoin went mainstream as an investment in 2017, hitting an all-time high of around $20,000 in December. Not surprisingly, numbers like these also drew the attention of tax authorities around the world, with many announcing plans go after digital currency investors.In this article, you will discover three applications you can use to help you with your cryptocurrency tax reporting.

With Vitalik Buterin declaring that 90 percent of all ICOs will fail, investors are feeling far from confident. In an unregulated landscape peppered with scam artists, hackers, and evil deeds, it’s no wonder the ICO fundraising mechanism has gotten a bad rap. EY research shows that over 10 percent of all ICO funds have been stolen so far. So, what happens to the legitimate blockchain companies being tarred with the same brush?

Almost half of all ICOs launched last year have already fallen flat on their faces. That’s not necessarily because they were run by scammers who ran off with investor funds. Sadly for many a well-intentioned and passionate team, the investing public is no longer willing to part with their cash so easily. This means that startup teams on the crypto block will have to look beyond crowdfunding and token sales and work harder to convince investors that they’re the real deal.

Connecting to Tangible Assets

This may seem like going against digital currency logic, but with so much uncertainty and the lack of regulation, investors are starting to crave something tangible. ICOs that bind their tokens to real-world assets are starting to see greater success. As investors get wise to the emperor’s new clothes, they’re not happy seeing ICO projects with nothing under the facade. This is why we’re seeing a rise in stablecoins pegged to gold, silver, precious metals, or fiat currency.

Offering Total Transparency

We all know that millennials yearn for transparency and hold corporations accountable for their actions. The same is becoming true of crypto companies. With such bad press coming their way, they have a lot of ground to recover. When whitepapers can be bought online and fancy websites no longer lure investors, the discerning customer is harder to win over.

With 83 percent of this target market trusting peer reviews over any kind of corporate rhetoric, blockchain startups need to build up their social proof. This means having influencers talk about your project, people seeing you online in trustworthy publications, and having social media that engages. Opening up your development process on GitHub is also a great way to win over backers.

Profit Sharing

ICOs have been blamed for taking investors’ money and giving them nothing back in return, apart from the faint promise of a token price rise. But it doesn’t work that way in the stock market. If you buy shares in a company, you benefit from a price rise and from dividends. This is becoming true for some ICOs, promising investors dividend compensation in fiat currency, or the chance to earn interest on their tokens.

We’re already seeing ICO funding slowing down, and it’s only normal as adjustments have to be made. The crypto startup world is highly volatile and sensitive to external pressures; just one announcement from Google or Twitter can send value sharply down. But that isn’t to say the end is in sight.

What it does mean is that it will take more than a PDF and a flashy website to raise millions of bucks. It’s going to take action, real assets, real code, and real intentions to make it into the successful 10 percent.

When will the cryptomarket volatility come to an end? 🙈 #PRICE_ANALYSIS

According to a recent report by BitMEX, the number of Bitcoin transactions being processed using SegWit has been consistently higher than the number of Bitcoin Cash transactions processed. However, the total gap between the two is only around 20 percent.

SegWit Adoption Consistently Outpaces Bitcoin Cash

The figures have been compiled by the research division of the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX. They were published earlier today on the company’s blog section of their website.

According to BitMEX’s research, there have been a total of 6.1 million SegWit transactions versus 4.88 million Bitcoin Cash transactions since the hardfork in Bitcoin last August. This equates to around 20 percent more transactions using SegWit than on the entire Bitcoin Cash blockchain.

The company were keen to highlight that Bitcoin Cash did have an additional month’s head start, however. When this is taken into account, BitMEX argues that the cumulative transaction volume is over 31 percent more for SegWit. However, it is also pointed out in the report that both of these numbers could be subject to manipulation.

Today’s report also states that there was a brief spike in the use of Bitcoin Cash when it was first launched. Meanwhile, the growth of SegWit adoption has been much more gradual with large industry players such as CoinBase taking several months to implement the upgrade.

It was in October when the number of transactions occurring using SegWit finally exceeded those on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. This has remained the case ever since.

SegWit and Bitcoin Cash were both launched last August with SegWit taking around a month longer to become properly available to users. The Bitcoin community were so bitterly divided over how to scale the network that no compromise could be reached. Those who wanted larger blocks went with Bitcoin Cash and those who favoured second layer scaling techniques argued against a blocksize increase on the grounds of decentralisation.

According to BitMEX, SegWit makes the Bitcoin blockchain around 41 percent more efficient. This, they argue, should mean that even if no other users made the change to SegWit should result in a saving of 41 percent on fees. This number becomes even greater as more users make the transition and there becomes even more space in each block for transactions.

The BitMEX report concludes by stating:

“SegWit has begun to meaningfully impact system-wide capacity, potentially reducing fees and benefitting even users who choose not to upgrade to the new transaction format. However, the transaction fee market is still immature and, in our view, transaction prices are likely to remain volatile going forward.”

The post SegWit Adoption Outpacing That of Bitcoin Cash, Claims BitMEX Report appeared first on NewsBTC.