Day: April 4, 2018

Just recently at the Satoshi’s Vision Conference in Japan the co-founder of the Tokyo Bitcoin Cash Meetup, Ken Shishido, discussed how he has been promoting BCH adoption in the country. Further, Shishido has been promoting a new BCH branding idea within the community by calling smaller fractions of BCH ‘Cash’ instead of ‘Bits’ and so far some members of the BCH community have been embracing the concept.

Also Read: OTC Cryptocurrency Desks Trade Billions Over Skype

Promoting Bitcoin Cash Throughout Japan and Worldwide

Ken Shishido is well known in Japan throughout the cryptocurrency circuit. He is the organizer and co-founder of the Tokyo Bitcoin Cash Meetup. Just recently Shishido gave a presentation on how he thinks adoption should be promoted in Japan and some of the ways he and the Meetup members have been bolstering widespread acceptance. At the Satoshi’s Vision Conference (SVC) Shishido explains that he has hosted over 170 cryptocurrency Meetups over the past years, describing his background within the bitcoin industry in Japan. The Tokyo Meetup organizer has also traveled all around the world spreading the gospel of cryptocurrencies as well. Shishido explains to the crowd that Japan has one of the highest populations of cryptocurrency users worldwide with roughly 2 million users in the country, according to his estimates.

BUIP087: Using the Denomination ‘Cash’ for One Hundred Satoshi

During the end of Shishido’s discussion he briefly mentions one the goals he is currently working on which is changing the name for smaller fractions of bitcoin cash from ‘Bits’ to ‘Cash.’ Essentially, Shishido has submitted a BUIP request to change the terminology in bitcoin cash to “cash” (CSH) as the standard term for 100 (one hundred) ‘satoshi’ or 1/1,000,000 (one one-millionth) of a bitcoin cash (BCH). Shishido explains his motivation for wanting to change the current terminology.

“Bitcoin cash strives for the worldwide adoption, and unit denomination and calculation must be easy for the average users for daily transactions — And, it needs to to be differentiated from Bitcoin Core (BTC) to avoid confusion,” explains Shishido’s BUIP request.

The “cash” denomination has been discussed and proposed by many people before. Authors of this BUIP take no credit for inventing the term — As BCH grows in price versus fiat currencies, it’s important to give users the ability to quickly and accurately calculate prices for transactions, savings and other economic activities.

Unit Wallet Adds the ‘Cash’ Denomination

So far Shishido’s idea has been welcomed by the community and he has been asking businesses to consider the idea. Just recently the bitcoin cash-centric mobile platform Unit Wallet just launched its latest 2.0 version with new features like the Cash address format.

Moreover, Unit Wallet also utilized Shishido’s cash denomination concept and smaller fractions of BCH contain the word ‘cash’ in the user interface. Check out why Ken Shishido thinks BCH proponents should bolster the idea of a ‘cash’ denomination in the video below.

What do you think about using the ‘cash’ denomination for smaller fractions of BCH? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments below.

Images via Twitter, and the Satoshi’s Vision Conference Tokyo. 

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The post Ken Shishido Wants Everybody to Use the ‘Cash’ Denomination for Fractions of BCH appeared first on Bitcoin News.

An American public utility authority in Washington has discovered unauthorized mining activity, penalties are to be imposed on the offenders. #NEWS

Long Blockchain Corp., — formerly Long Island Iced Tea — expects to report a wider net loss for 2017, but has said it will be late in filing its annual report. The company expects to report a net loss of about $14.9 million for 2017, compared to a net loss of about $10.4 million in 2016.

Following the announcement, shares of Long Blockchain fell 8.1% today, closing at $1.93. These numbers followed a 9% drop on Tuesday. Of note is that the stock’s decline in recent months has paralleled a decline in the value Bitcoin, from almost $20,000 in December to under $7,000 today.

The filing, signed by chief executive officer Shamyl Malik, said that Long Blockchain would not be able to file the annual report on time “without unreasonable effort and expense.”

Rebranding: From Beverages to Blockchain

Over the past few months, Long Blockchain has been attempting to rebrand itself, shifting focus from beverages to blockchain technology. Apparently, investors aren’t buying. Earlier this year, the company was issued a delisting notice (its second) from Nasdaq for failing to keep its market cap above $35 million.

In December, when the company announced its name change and diversification, it experienced a near tripling of its share price overnight. These numbers didn’t last. The problem is that Long Blockchain’s filings don’t back this new direction up: according to its most recently filed balance sheet (from November) the company currently owns no blockchain assets.

Long Blockchain has also failed to follow-through with seemingly concrete plans to move into the crypto-space announced earlier this year. In January the company revealed plans to spend $4.2 million to buy 1,000 cryptocurrency mining machines. Less than a week after the announcement Long Blockchain abandoned plans to sell stock to finance the purchase, and by the end of the month, it had abandoned the mining proposal entirely.

Further, in late-February, the company announced a change in leadership. Shamyl Malik, who previously ran the firm’s blockchain efforts, took over as CEO, replacing Phillip Thomas. “Shamyl has shown great initiative and leadership since joining the team, and his appointment as CEO and our planned spin-off will allow the Company to execute on a clear, focused Blockchain strategy,” Thomas said in a statement. As noted, this “blockchain strategy” has yet to actually materialize.

Long Island Ice Tea wasn’t the first company, nor will it be the last, to try to take advantage of the media attention that cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies have commanded as of late. Others, like Kodak and Atari, have diversified their platforms too, with both companies recently putting forth plans to develop their own tokens. Like Long Blockchain, these fledgeling companies have been met with some skepticism from experts and industry insiders.

Image Courtesy of Shutterstock

The post Long Blockchain — Formerly Long Island Ice Tea — Fails to File 2017’s Annual Report, Large Losses Expected appeared first on NewsBTC.

A Japanese online magazine survey shows 14 percent of young male Japanese workforce have bought crypto and about half plan on continuing to invest in the future. #NEWS

Over the past few months it’s becoming increasingly difficult for crypto startups to advertise their products and services on the internet. This began in January when Facebook announced it was banning ads that are “frequently associated with misleading or deceptive practices,” including initial coin offerings (ICOs) and cryptocurrencies.

Soon, other platforms followed suit, including Twitter and Google. Together, these sites control about half of the online US advertising market. Despite this, the people behind many blockchain and crypto startups say they’re fine with the ban, and that it might even be a good thing. Let’s have a look at some of the arguments from both sides.

Blanket Ban 

Paolo Tasca, an Italian economist and the executive director of University College London’s Centre for Blockchain Technology, believes these platforms aren’t very willing to give a voice to decentralized blockchain companies:

“If the tech giants that are in control of the majority of our data in a centralized fashion are really willing to take this direction—which is against this kind of decentralized model—it’s a really a bad method,” he says.

Tasca says that there are scams in every industry, and that it’s likely there isn’t a disproportionate number in the cryptocurrency space. He also argues that unlike other businesses, cryptocurrency startups usually release a detailed white paper — which gives a detailed account of its practices, goals, and how they plan to move forward — and are also subject to feedback and scrutiny from investors in the space.

Further, Tasca believes that ICOs are becoming more mature, and are beginning to include new safety tools, like a tracker that can detect whether an investor’s cryptocurrency wallet address is potentially associated with illegally funneled funds. In other words, the advertising ban feels like it arrived after the worst of the ICO scams have potentially already passed.

Another concern is that a blanket ban from leading tech companies can still send the wrong message about cryptocurrencies to the general public. Jerry Brito, the executive director of Coin Center, a non-profit research center that focuses on policy issues surrounding cryptocurrencies, puts it this way:

“The average person will read into your blanket ban an implication that you have a judgment about crypto technology broadly which you don’t, you’re just trying to address bad actors.” 

Bad Actors

While the advertising ban can feel unfair, some blockchain startups welcome it, arguing that it largely serves to weed out bad actors in the space, rather than punish legitimate organizations. “The only people who are going to be worried are the people who don’t have good intentions,” says Arran Stewart, the co-owner of Job.com, a recruiting platform that utilizes blockchain technology. “If you allow these bad apples to remain, you lose consumer confidence from the masses.”

Amanda Gutterman, the chief marketing officer of ConsenSys, a group of over 700 companies building applications and infrastructure on the Ethereum blockchain, also views scams as a serious problem in the blockchain industry: 

“The enthusiasm for our nascent space has, along with many high-quality projects with incredible teams behind them, brought in some bad and fraudulent actors,” she says. “ConsenSys has itself been the target of phishing scams, so I understand the concerns of various social platforms and tool. It is unfortunate when these concerns lead to blanket bans.”

Image Courtesy of Shutterstock

The post Online Ad Ban: May Help Weed out Bad Actors, But Is a Blanket Ban Necessary? appeared first on NewsBTC.

Despite the rumors, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has said today that the country is not planning to ban the popular encrypted messaging platform Telegram. Rouhani explained in a meeting with high-ranking state officials that, instead, Iran will be introducing homegrown messaging applications that are aimed at putting an end to Telegram’s monopoly on messaging in the country.

In reaction to the reports on the matter, Rouhani said that “Having strong, secure and cheaply priced Iranian messaging applications that can solve people’s needs and problems will surely make everyone proud.” However, he added with reference to the blocking of Telegram:

“The goal of creating and enhancing Iranian software and messaging apps should not be blocking access [to other apps], but [the goal] should be the elimination of monopolies.”

Rumors regarding a possible ban gained traction when the Chairman of parliament’s national security and foreign relations committee, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said on March 31st that in order to put an end to “Telegram’s destructive role,” a decision has been made “at the highest level” of the government to replace Telegram with a homegrown application.”

The news comes less than a week after Telegram completed its second initial coin offering (ICO) — the world’s largest — bringing the total amount raised to $1.7 billion. The ICO was held to help establish the Telegram Open Network (TON), a “fast, scalable, and user-friendly” cryptocurrency and blockchain platform — something which Iran is apparently quite worried about.

Telegram Ban

Recently, Iranian MP Mohammad Reza Badamchi told reporters in Tehran that banning Telegram would eliminate 200,000 jobs and disrupt the financial situation of about half a million people. The app currently has more than 40 million users in the country, and many e-commerce small businesses depend on it to sustain and expand their operations.

The ban is a sensitive subject Iran, a country that doesn’t have the greatest record with regards to human rights. Iranian authorities banned both Telegram and Instagram for a few days and police arrested several cyber activists as protests raged in the streets of more than 100 Iranian cities in late December and January. The ban was lifted once the demonstrations lost their initial momentum.

Homegrown Messaging App

Yesterday, two MPs called for an opinion poll to determine the degree of people’s trust in homegrown applications. The two MPs said:

“Banning Telegram would widen the gap between the people and state officials and would further deepen the people’s distrust of officials.”

MP Fatemeh Saeedi, a member of the Majles committee to protect electronic businesses, who put forward the idea of a poll, told Iranian Labor News Agency that filtering a foreign messaging application would not encourage people to use a homegrown application.

She said: “based on the result of such a poll, we should rethink our policies rather than limiting people’s access to virtual networks,” adding that “banning Telegram would be a big mistake. We cannot simply ignore the realities of the world”

Furhter, the chairperson of the Majles committee, Parvaneh Mafi, warned about the social consequences of banning Telegram. Mafi said that “banning Telegram would deepen the people’s distrust of the officials and endanger the country’s social capital, bringing it closer to a crisis,” Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported.

Mafi added: “The people do not trust homegrown messaging services, and this is part of their distrust of the country’s decision making system.”

Image Courtesy of Shutterstock

The post Iran’s President Speaks out Against a Possible Ban on Telegram, Hints At Creating Local Replacement appeared first on NewsBTC.

Fluctuating, but still strong! 🙌 #PRICE_ANALYSIS

FIH Mobile, a subsidiary of tech giant Foxconn Technology Group, will produce Sirin Labs Blockchain-enabled smartphone. #NEWS

An Indonesia student has been arrested after reportedly using bitcoin to purchase nine ecstasy pills from the Netherlands.

Located on the Indonesian island of Java, a team from the Central Java Narcotics Agency (BNNP) arrested a student from the University of Diponegoro in Semarang, reports The Jakarta Post. The suspect is alleged to have used the digital currency in order to make a purchase for the psychoactive drug that is used primarily as a recreational drug.

Brigadier general Tri Agus Heru Prasetyo, head of the BNNP, said:

He bought the drugs through a bitcoin transaction amounting to Rp 800,000 [US$56]. Such a transaction made it easier for him to buy the drugs from abroad.

According to Prasetyo, the use of bitcoin to purchase drugs is a ‘new criminal method.’ Notably, though, the suspect claims that he purchased ecstasy pills via the same method last year. It’s believed that the student made the purchase via the Netherlands as it’s cheaper to do so there rather than in Indonesia. One ecstasy pill is often priced around Rp 400,000, the report states.

It seems, though, that drugs and cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin are making an attractive combination for some. Last month, it was reported that five students from the University of Manchester had been arrested after selling over £800,000 ($1.12 million) worth of drugs on the dark web using bitcoin. The ringleader is reported to have received 15 years and three months as his prison sentence.

Despite the risks of arrest involved the lucrative rewards appear too much for some to ignore. Another reason is that there may be a misconceived notion that authorities won’t be able to track bitcoin transactions. As countless are aware that’s not the case. According to a March report from the Intercept, classified documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden show that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) was working at tracking bitcoin users around the world. This is according to a top-secret passage in an internal NSA report dated from March 2013.

Tracking is reported to have gone further than simply examining bitcoin’s underlying technology, the blockchain, and may have involved gathering personal information such as bitcoin users’ password information, a MAC address, which is a unique device identification number, and a person’s internet activity. If anything this illustrates how easy it can be to track transactions done with the digital currency, which was certainly the case for the Indonesian student purchasing the ecstasy pills.

The post Authorities Arrest Indonesian Student Alleged to Have Purchased Ecstasy with Bitcoin from the Netherlands appeared first on NewsBTC.

Once your attention flips from the dramatic drops and rises in bitcoin’s value and you’ve gotten over the marketing hype about blockchains and ICOs, your thoughts may eventually turn to how the whole thing works. Terms like “bitcoin mining” and “digital gold” conjure up images of men with hardhats descending into dimly-lit caves, but that’s obviously not how this commodity is mined. That begs the question of how it is. Can anyone mine bitcoin? And what is MaaS?

Bitcoin Mining Basics

We know that it doesn’t take a flashlight and a pick to mine bitcoin. A computer science degree and some robust bitcoin mining software would be more appropriate. While the former is certainly no obligation (anyone can mine bitcoin, as it’s open to all), if you don’t know your way around a line of code, this isn’t the job for you.

Bitcoin mining is achieved by running SHA256 double round hash verification processes. This is so that bitcoin transactions can be validated, and it works as a security requisite to mine on the public ledger. Again, anyone can mine bitcoin, but they need to have the required knowledge and tools to participate in the verification process.

Steven Eliscu, Vice President of DMG Blockchain and a former exec at Bitfury, explains:

Anyone can mine coins on the Bitcoin or Ethereum or Monero blockchains – all of which are referred to as public blockchains, because there is no censorship as to who can read from or write to that blockchain.

Why Mine Bitcoin?

Bitcoin mining is open to all, but that leads to another question: why mine bitcoin? What’s the incentive? Is there some kind of reward? I suppose the answer to that question is obvious, hence the growing global enthusiasm. Bitcoin miners are compensated for their work in bitcoin, with the speed of their mining measured in hashes per second. The faster the computer and the more robust the software, the higher the potential reward.

“Statistically, miners collect transaction fees in proportion to the computing power they contribute to the network. Transaction fees are split into two types: the coinbase transaction (also called the block reward), which is set by the bitcoin protocol; and sender-attached fees, which are set by the market demand for ensuring transactions are completed in a timely manner,” says Eliscu.

Public vs. Permissioned Blockchains

Beyond the public blockchains, there are private blockchains (or permissioned blockchains) that do have restrictions on who can mine. The benefit of such a blockchain is obvious and inherently involves some centralization and semi-trusted parties. Eliscu adds, “A key benefit of permissioned blockchains is that they can be much higher performance and lower cost to operate vs. public blockchains, given that they are semi-closed systems. Think of a permissioned blockchain like an intranet – intranets may still use the same TCP/IP protocol as the internet, but they have restrictions as to who can access and write data.”

What is MaaS?

Rather like precious minerals, bitcoin is finite, but it still presents a significant opportunity for individual miners and companies that offer MaaS (Mining as a Service) like DMG Blockchain. “While block rewards halve every four years and will eventually go to zero,” says Eliscu, “both transaction fee amounts and the price of bitcoin have been rising such that mining revenue has been growing since Bitcoin’s inception and is currently an $8 billion annualized opportunity.”

DMG provides MaaS solutions to investors and groups of investors who want to mine bitcoin at an industrial scale, but who need experts to procure, set up and manage the process. Its team is comprised of some of the world’s most seasoned bitcoin miners. “For DMG, it enables a steady flow of revenue and profits that are largely independent of the price of bitcoin.”

So, bitcoin miners can make a decent profit that only increases with their experience and output, and which isn’t affected by bitcoin’s volatility – until the block rewards run out.