Day: April 1, 2018

You’ve heard of hyberbitcoinization: how bitcoin could one day replace hyper-inflated fiat currencies. Now say hello to its lesser companion, hypertokenization: the idea that there should be a token for everything. Like salt and pepper, tokens are best enjoyed in moderation, but if the top stories from This Week in Bitcoin are an indicator, we could be in danger of overdosing.

Also read: NY Legal Firm Launches Cryptocurrency Litigation Tracker

Coinbase’s Love Affair with Ethereum Intensifies

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is a big admirer of Ethereum – that’s why he’d rather while away his time creating dapp browsers than address engineering problems like unbatched bitcoin transactions, which were credited with exacerbating high fees last year. Coinbase got round to fixing those problems eventually and belatedly introduced Segwit too. With those tasks out of the way, Brian Armstrong is free to return to his one true love: Ethereum. The exchange has confirmed that it will be adding ERC20 tokens soon, and the likeliest contenders to be listed all surged in price off the news.

One ERC20 token that won’t be surfacing on major exchanges is the petro. Bitfinex has confirmed that it won’t be touching that one with a bargepole, and has ordered its staff not to trade it either. It’s safe to assume Bitfinex staff won’t be losing too much sleep over that edict. Speaking of hypertokenization, a new study claims that 80% of all ICOs are scams, which aptly came in the same week that Massachusetts shut down five scammy ICOs. There’s nothing wrong with tokenization, to a point, but with ICOs now launching dual tokens, and tokens coming with their own sub-tokens (tokenception?) surely we’ve reached peak token.

When the Bulls Are Away the Bears Will Play

On weeks of relentless red, it’s best not to stare too long at your portfolio. Sure, there are still ways to profit from a bear market, but it’s hard work. Bitcoin’s not even out for a three-count, let alone dead, but that won’t stop the naysayers from writing it off, just as they did in 2016 and 2015 and every year before that.

Instead of fixating on cryptocurrency prices in the here and now, let’s take it back, way back, to 1586. That may seem like a primitive time, devoid of all the tech comforts we take for granted, but in 16th century Britain a primitive form of cryptography was emerging. In a roundabout way, we owe our encryption and blockchain technology to a plot to restore a usurped monarch to the throne. In a new series on Crypto History, we recounted “a 432 year-old plot to kill a queen, and how early forms of cryptography were coveted weapons in the broader battle for Europe’s very soul.”

Tantrums and Handbags

Back in the here and now, and the remainder of this week’s top stories were mostly filled with bans, lawsuits, and crackdowns, the stuff that bear markets are made of. Five Japanese crypto exchanges have thrown in the towel, Russia and friends are suing over internet giants banning ads, Mailchimp have also lain down the banhammer and the CLOUD Act spells bad news for privacy advocates, which is all of us.

If it wasn’t for someone paying $10 million in bitcoin for Nelson Mandela’s golden hands, Brits mistaking cryptocurrency for something else, or Cointext paving a way to send bitcoin cash without the internet, we’d have had no cause to smile since last Sunday. Even today’s spate of April Fool’s stories did little to lift spirits. When $7k? When breakout? When moon? Soon, we hope. Real soon. This will be the final Sunday edition of This Week in Bitcoin, but fear not as it’s being replaced by a new feature starting tomorrow. (Here’s a clue: it’s gonna be daily, and no, we’re not calling it Today in Bitcoin.) Meanwhile, you can still get your weekly roundup each Friday in This Week in Bitcoin podcast with Matt Aaron.

What was your favorite story from this week in bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section.

The post This Week in Bitcoin: Hypertokenization appeared first on Bitcoin News.

MoneyToken Financial Services welcomes the CEO and COO of Bitcoin.com onto the advisory board.

MoneyToken.Com is a blockchain-based financial services platform founded by US and UK FinTech experts whose background includes years of experience at Goldman Sachs, Prudential Financial, Citibank, Ernst & Young, and Bloomberg.

The company has launched its Public Token Presale at 15.00UTC March 22 with 25% bonus.

The platform, aimed at miners, projects that made their token sales, traders, investors and exchanges, will allow holders of crypto assets to gain access to loan-based financial services, using cryptocurrency as collateral

The partnership between MoneyToken and Bitcoin.com will bring new benefits to the Bitcoin Cash community; BCH will be available as accepted collateral on the MoneyToken lending platform.

Now Bitcoin Cash holders can enjoy the benefits MoneyToken offers — leveraging their assets and spending cash, while continuing to hold their crypto positions.

As part of the cooperation with Bitcoin.com, MoneyToken will gain access to the vibrant Bitcoin.com community, and the financial experience and networking support of two of the leading experts in the crypto world.

“The Bitcoin Cash community is a unique and powerful force in cryptocurrency; adding our support to Bitcoin Cash and allowing our potential token buyers and future lenders and borrowers to operate in BCH, only adds to our portfolio and strengthens the value of MoneyToken as a product for all our users”

Jerome MacGillivray, Co-Founder of MoneyToken

Roger Ver, Founder of Bitcoin.com

Roger Ver, also known as “Bitcoin Jesus”, is an inspirer and advocate of Bitcoin Cash, and is well respected as key influencer in the crypto community; not just because he was one of the earliest supporter and adopter of bitcoin, but also because of his early investments in crypto-related startups including Ripple, Blockchain.info, Bitpay and Kraken. Roger Ver’s company, MemoryDealers, became the first company in the world to accept Bitcoin as a payment option for its services.

“MoneyToken is a bright example of the real use of blockchain technology, as well as offering a massive boost for crypto market liquidity for all market players, and especially for businesses.”

Roger Ver, Founder of Bitcoin.com

Mate Tokay, COO of Bitcoin.com

Mate Tokay has been involved in the cryptocurrency business as a miner since 2013; he co-founded Bitcoinist.net a cryptocurrency news magazine and he is now the Chief Operation Officer at Bitcoin.com — the premier source for everything Bitcoin related. Mate focuses on a larger vision and communicating that vision to others while staying on top of the major trends in the industry.

“We are happy to be a part of this project since we can clearly see the strong team, disruptive and self sustaining business model and, what is more important, the real value it can bring to the crypto community”

Mate Tokay, COO of Bitcoin.com

MoneyToken has already started to accept BCH for purchasing IMT during the Token Sale; and in order to completely reduce the risks for contributors MoneyToken has announced their Fallen Market Protection Service, which provides proportional bonuses for token contributors if the value of ETH rises between the point they contribute and the end of the Token Sale.

MoneyToken has launched its Pre-Sale

The Main Sale will take place with a hard cap of $35 million.

To gain access to the 25% bonus , interested contributors should register and create an account at the Token Sale Dashboard — https://moneytoken.com

To find out more about the project you can join the MoneyToken telegram chat https://t.me/moneytoken.

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.

Vinchain provides a new system of accurately rewarding the provider for the information. The provider will get his payment in tokens according to the rate of the given information. In order to get information on a car used car, one must use a lot of resources. (https://vinchain.io)VINchain is a utility token and the main aim of it is to serve as a payment method in our system, but if it will be in no utility for you there is a possibility to sell it!

Join now (https://vinchain.io/register)

We are aiming to join exchanges with our own blockchain and wallet. So before going there we want to switch to VINchain blockchain. That is one of the reasons why this all takes time.

A lot of thought and resources must be invested so that all stakeholders remain happy and contented. Joining exchanges can take some time. Right now we are talking to some popular exchanges such as HitBTC, Yobit and Mercatox.

We understand that for the convenience of our clients we need more exchanges. And we are looking at the top ones so everyone can be sure of the safety of our VINchain tokens.

We also want to remind that now we have 25% bonus so join us with the best price! (https://vinchain.io/register)

Contact us through the telegram where you will get 24 hours support everyday (https://t.me/vinchainio). You can talk to CEO and founders there and get all the info first handed!

Stay tuned by following us on socials:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VINChain_io

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vinchainio  

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.

Announces plans to develop blockchain-based real estate marketplace and launch Thaler token backed by property assets

Zurich, Switzerland – April 01, 2018 – Thaler.One, the blockchain-based investment fund, has announced plans to open the $220 trillion international property market to a wider range of private investors by introducing a decentralised platform, operating with both fiat and cryptocurrencies. Thaler.One is set on reaching the $5 billion of Assets Under Management (AUM) mark within the next three years. According to its founders, Thaler.One will set the new industry standard for next-generation digital transactions in the real estate market: the fund is professionally managed and advised by an international team of renowned real estate and investment banking professionals, setting it apart from numerous ‘generic’ blockchain-to-realty startups.

“The rise of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies presents an opportunity to reinvent the traditional real estate investing experience.  Thaler.One offers unique opportunities to capitalize on dynamically growing asset classes, including co-work, co-live and healthcare-related properties by adopting blockchain technology to ensure borderless, transparent and secure transactions”, – says Thaler.One Co-founder and CEO Will Andrich.

Thaler.One’s strategic goal is to allow anyone to invest in real estate, historically a less volatile and less risky investment asset class than stocks or gold, a more predictable source of income.  By design, the decentralized investment platform cuts out the ‘middleman’ and allows small investors to buy into real estate outside of their country of residence and manage their assets in a cost-effective and independent manner. The fund acts as an investment vehicle powered by Thaler tokens, blockchain-secured and backed by real estate assets, predominantly located in the European Union and the UK.  

Thalers are security tokens issued in compliance with EU regulations and Regulation D in the US.   The fund will open its first pre-sale of Thaler tokens in early April of 2018.

For more information, visit http://thaler.one/

Join the Thaler.One Telegram group by clicking here

About Thaler.One

Thaler.One is a decentralized investment fund founded by industry veterans with more than 100 years of combined experience in investment banking, real estate, financial services and IT. Will Andrich, the fund’s Co-founder and CEO, a professional investment banker, has held leadership positions at Morgan Stanley, LCF Rothschild and Astor Capital.

The Thaler.One Advisory Board includes Michael Lange (Managing Partner at ACG, Former Chairman of the Board at JLL), Mattia Rattaggi (Swss Crypto Valley Association, former UBS Group executive), Saydam Salaheddin (Head of EMEA Real Estate, Credit Suisse), Stephen Inscoe (Founder of many real estate tech start-ups).

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.

How important is knowing Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity?

Is mining centralization a fatal flaw for cryptocurrencies?

Who are the blockchain industry’s supporters in the U.S. government?

And is there any hope left for net neutrality?

Relive last Thursday’s MerkleCast with me and Dariusz Jakubowski for insight on these and other topics, and don’t forget to leave your comments and questions in advance of our next live stream.

Looking at a painting, playing a game, wondering the streets of Barcelona are all ways to get Bitcoin. #PANORAMA

It has been a while since we last heard from the BTCC exchange. This cryptocurrency trading platform is still active, even though the Chinese government hasn’t taken kindly to CNY trading. To reclaim some of the limelight, BTCC is now (allegedly) organizing the first global march for cryptocurrency. It’s a noble idea, but one with a few unrealistic goals.

The BTCC March for Crypto

It has become evident that the cryptocurrency industry is facing a lot of scrutiny right now. Regulators all over the world want to do something about this new form of money. Even though such measures will bring more legitimacy to this industry, the short-term approach may leave much to be desired. As such, BTCC feels now is the time to take a stand in a global fashion.

More specifically, the company will supposedly host the world’s first global March for Crypto on April 1. This will occur at 4:01 AM EST as a measure to demand more governmental leniency toward cryptocurrency. Although it is very possible that this is a very early April Fool’s joke, some of the stated ideas make a lot of sense. Other aspects make absolutely no sense whatsoever.

It is commendable to see BTCC take a stand in favor of cryptocurrencies. However, a global march for crypto will not have much success. It is highly doubtful governments around the world will look at this initiative and suddenly decide to stop taxing cryptocurrency trades. That won’t happen until decentralized trading with privacy and anonymity becomes the new normal.

Additionally, there is no reason to think that governments will suddenly enact higher taxation of fiat currency transactions. That particular item is the first hint that this is an April Fool’s joke, although some people may still not be convinced. The company’s call to make Litecoin the official currency of the U.S. is a dead giveaway that this venture should not be taken seriously by any means.

Even though this effort is as fake as it can get, one has to acknowledge the company has the right idea. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts around the world need to make their voices heard when it comes to the regulatory measures that governments are trying to implement. This is our money we are dealing with, and a new form of value over which the government has no control. As such, taxing it seems counterproductive in every way, as it will automatically push more people into the illegal circuit to mask their tracks.

Rest assured this is not the last time someone will have this idea. It is certainly an appealing concept, but unless millions of people support it, there will be zero consequences to speak of. Only time will tell what the future holds for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

The world of cryptocurrency is always full of surprises. Bittrex, one of the top altcoin exchanges, is upping the ante by pairing stablecoins with one another. Its USDT-TrueUSD pair is certainly controversial, as it seemingly serves no real purpose at first glance.

What is Bittrex Trying to Achieve?

These days, stablecoins are a lot easier to come by. All of these currencies are pegged to the US dollar or another major fiat currency, and they will always retain their pegged ratios. We have seen various creations of this sort, although some of them are far more popular than others.

Most people in the cryptocurrency world are all too familiar with USDT. The currency, created by controversial company Tether, maintains a 1:1 peg with the US dollar. Unfortunately, Tether’s USDT has received a lot of criticism over the past few months, mainly due to the company’s delay in undergoing a proper independent audit.

Not that long ago, a new contender suddenly emerged. Big was everyone’s surprise when the Bittrex exchange announced it was implementing a stablecoin called TrueUSD. Although it offers the same functionality as Tether’s USDT, Bittrex seemingly sees a lot of merit in TrueUSD as of right now. By supporting both stablecoins, the exchange has certainly taken an interesting turn.

To make all of this more intriguing and conflicting, Bittrex has now linked USDT to TrueUSD with a brand-new trading pair. It makes no sense to let two stablecoins trade against one another, although it does allow for easier conversion between the two. It’s a rather unique idea by Bittrex, albeit one that will face a lot of criticism and raise a ton of questions.

In a way, this new trading market will have some interesting consequences. It is certainly possible a lot of people looking to get out of USDT will give TrueUSD a try. At the same time, both companies still have a lot to prove in this regard. It seems the main difference between the two currencies is that TrueToken – the parent company of TrueUSD – claims it will focus on regular auditing and legal protection, whereas Tether does not as of right now.

Whether or not people will care all that much about this new market is a different matter altogether. With these two stablecoins now pegged to one another, it will be interesting to see how all of this plays out in the coming weeks and months.

Bitcoin recovery will resuscitate and perhaps lift altcoins from the dredges. Yes, we need that positivity from Bitcoin or ETH but in the mean time, our altcoins technical analysis shows that individual fundamental events from NEO, EOS, LTC, Monero or Stellar Lumens would definitely help.

To begin with, EOS would be under our radar this week with the launch of Dawn 3.0. Okay, there are hints of higher highs but if that would pump prices, then it’s a move we should welcome with open arms.

Let’s have a look at these charts:

XLM/USD (Stellar Lumens)

XLMUSD Daily Chart from Bittrex for April 2, 2018

Even if Stellar Lumens prices are down in the excess of 10%, its ebbs and flow will most depend on fundamental announcements. Stellar Lumens Technical analysis shall only help us fine tune entries at this time when investor sentiment is at rock bottom. Remember that it’s a liquid currency with IBM involvement. In fact, IBM will use the stellar platform to interconnect and ease international payment.

It’s LIVE… – IBM on Stellar Lumens.

Much more in Q2, 2018.https://t.co/EtFLDKV8ua https://t.co/EtFLDKV8ua

— Stellar Lumens (@StellarLumens) March 25, 2018

From the charts, main support lies at $0.20 and prices are slightly below it but here is our Stellar Lumens trade plan. If prices move higher and close above $0.25, we can fine tune long entries on March 3. Our ideal long targets would be $0.40 and $0.40.

XMR/USD (Monero)

XMRUSD 4HR Chart from Bittrex for April 2, 2018

In 6 months, we shall have a Monero system upgrade. Yes, a hard fork is on the cards too but most people think this MoneroV is another “parasitic” scam made worse by Air drops which requires handing over private keys for them to be available. Anyhow, before prices blow up potentially from superior user experience with additions as Kovri, merging of multisigs, bullet proofs and more wallets, we should note that Monero is down but making a recovery.

From our Monero technical analysis, there is a strong bullish engulfing candlestick reversing right from the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement line. Now, unless there is a confirmation today, odds are, prices might inch higher. Already there is a bullish engulfing pattern and if we see sustained highs above $170, buyers can load up their longs and aim for $230 and $250 in the short term.

EOS/USD (EOS)

EOSUSD 4HR Chart from BitFinex for April 2, 2018

As Q1 2018 comes to an end, the bear sores are the only thing tokens have to show. Fundamentally, this token should find support mainly because of Dawn 3.0 launch. This launch is one of the hallmarks of EOS and as it is on its awesome road map, it would show the capability of EOS to support DApp of a commercial level without congesting the platform. If it works as advertised, it should draw some demand especially from developers who might flock and drive the value up.

Dawn 3.0 Alpha Announcement #EOS https://t.co/0oLMj7KUc4

— EOS (@EOS_io) January 26, 2018

Technically, unless otherwise, bears are fattening up and mauling buy pressure. Even though we have this nice bullish engulfing candlestick jutting up from oversold territory, sellers should play ball and wait until a stochastic sell signal prints. As always, there is no need to fade the trend but going with fundamental events, it is likely that prices might trend higher and even test the resistance trend line at $6.3 and higher with limits at $7.3. Aggressive buyers can buy short term and aim for those resistance levels with stops at $5.

LTC/USD (Litecoin)

LTCUSD 4HR Chart from CoinBase for April 2, 2018

Of course, institutional involvement is still low and once cryptocurrencies including Litecoin gets a global outreach, its value will surely rise.

In the meantime, Charlie Lee should redeem his credibility even if we have Abra’s integration. He should not shill coins without due diligence and right now investors are the one facing the swords.

Even if Abra’s founder Bill Barhydt is adamant that the next bull cycle is around the corner, technical indicators paint a gloomy picture. Anyhow, let’s watch his interview on Wednesday and see what he has to say.

Watch me interview Charlie Lee next Wednesday!
What questions would you like answered? @SatoshiLite @BitcoinErrorLog @XotikaTV #bitcoin #litecoin pic.twitter.com/jheGDQ1NNs

— John Carvalho (@BitcoinErrorLog) April 1, 2018

Technically, we have this small bullish divergence and if prices close above $120, it’s my view that prices might test immediate resistance at $135. That’s $20 away and since we are bearish, any form of a stochastic sell signal printing and turning from overbought territory means sellers can resume their bear moves. The only technical formation that we should be cautious of is a break and a sustained close above the minor resistance line above $140 in the coming sessions.

NEO/USD (NEO)

NEOUSD 4HR Chart from Bittrex for April 2, 2018

Investors want to see useful movement from coin developers and NEO is exactly doing that. There tour begins on Amsterdam from April 4. During that time, NEO will reveal 6 projects they are working with. Remember, this is coming shortly after NEO council released their March report after failing to do so in February.

6 new $NEO projects will be presenting at the NEO Amsterdam event on April 14th: https://t.co/qdqv9kefHR

Who’s getting tickets? $NEO @NEO_Blockchain @NEOnewstoday @NEO_DevCon @Brad_Laurie @lllwvlvwlll @canesin @ByteSizeCapital @boxmining @CryptoLeung @ChicoCrypto pic.twitter.com/hpYLOtfw5P

— Dean van Dugteren (@Deanpress) April 1, 2018

Technically, prices are still moving along the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement line and the failure to dip convincingly towards $40 is indicative of some bull pressure. We can see how stochastics are behaving. Because of this, we can say, picking hints from NEO technical analysis that prices might move especially if there is a confirmation of this bull candlestick. I would recommend long entries with stops at $45 if and only if there is a confirmation. To that end, bulls should aim at $65 and $80 in the short term.

Feature Image courtesy of Pixabay.

All charts courtesy of Trading View 

The post NEO, EOS, LTC, Monero and Lumens: Altcoins Technical Analysis April 2, 2018 appeared first on NewsBTC.

Prominent state-owned Russian bank Gazprombank has announced plans to facilitate cryptocurrency transactions in Switzerland.

Gazprombank, Russia

In an interview conducted by Russian local news outlet Vedomosti on 29 March, Sobol described the operations not as grand scale, but rather for the benefit of the bank itself. Sobal noted, ”this is a demand from the sides of our large private clients for such amenities”, acknowledging the significant call for traditional banks to streamline the banking services of clients holding cryptocurrency funds.

In the interview, Sobal said that the upcoming pilot operation from Gazprombank would seek to organize this service specifically for their clients, although currently the transactions are taking place for Gazprombank’s own investment profits. The report was unclear on whether the operation would be expanded to all of their banking customers. Sobol stated the bank was “trying to follow the situation actively.”.

The deputy chairman of the board at Gazprombank, Aleksandr Sobol, described the tolerant cryptocurrency legislation in Switzerland as the reason the country was chosen for the project. Cryptocurrency exchange is a legal activity in Switzerland.

Crypto law in Russia

Gazprombank’s project follows the news in January outlining the plans of the largest Russian bank Sberbank, to open a cryptocurrency exchange, also in Switzerland. Sberbank aims to provide cryptocurrency exchange to investors on an institutional level, rather than to retail investors.

Russian law currently bans any form of cryptocurrency operations, pushing those interested in the industry to do business in more crypto-friendly countries.

The Russian government is reviewing cryptocurrency regulation under the Digital Assets Regulation Bill filed 25 January. The bill defines cryptocurrencies and tokens as digital financial assets. If the bill passes in its current form, it would allow trading on cryptocurrency exchange operators with authorized Know-Your-Customer (KYC) standards. This would also apply to initial coin offerings (ICOs) established in Russia.

The final version of the bill is set to be released on 1 July.

The post Russian State-Owned Bank To Trial Crypto Transactions appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Everyone in the world of cryptocurrency knows all too well how the SEC is looking into cryptocurrencies and ICOs. As such, it makes virtually no sense for anyone to create an ICO token known as SEC. Surprisingly, there are quite a few of them out there, which is rather intriguing, but not necessarily for the right reasons.

3. SEC Token

It is a bit unclear what the purpose of SEC Token is. It seemingly serves no real purpose, even though the tokens are actively being distributed to various Ethereum addresses over and over again. It’s not exactly part of an initial coin offering, by the look of things, as the SEC Token smart contract address doesn’t contain an active balance as of right now.

The big question is why anyone would name a token “SEC”. It is not an abbreviation for anything, by the look of things. There are 1.5 billion SEC tokens set to be introduced to the masses, and it seems over 16,720 addresses already own this token as of right now. It is a very odd distribution model, but one that will certainly raise a lot of questions.

2. PonziCoin (SEC)

There are quite a few interesting ERC20 tokens out there, although most of them serve no purpose whatsoever. Given the name of PonziCoin, it is evident there is no reason to give this currency a second glance. The abbreviation of SEC will not attract a lot of positive attention either, for obvious reasons.

Similar to SEC Token, it seems this particular token is issued to Ethereum holders for no apparent reason. Its smart contract has over 990 transactions, but it does not appear to hold any Ether other than some dust as of right now. It is evident this is another project to ignore first and foremost.

1. SmartEconomy (SEC)

The only token on this list which should actually be using the SEC abbreviation is Smart Economy. It at least has a name people can pronounce without bursting out laughing. At the same time, its abbreviation is still pretty unfortunate, as calling a token SEC at this point in time – or at any point, really – is just not a good idea. 

With 210 million SEC tokens to be distributed, it seems users can get their hands on this token free of charge as well. There are no ICO products associated with this particular project as far as we can tell, but it seems we will see more of these SEC-themed tokens in the future. Whether or not that is a good thing remains to be seen.

South Korean launch of Beijing-born crypto exchange giant Huobi, with 100 altcoins and 208 markets. #NEWS