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IoTChain – All Set to Revolutionize the IoT Space in 2018

The Internet of thing, or IoT, is probably one of the most popular buzzwords the tech companies, as well as industry leaders, have been debating about since last decade. We were sold with the big visions from having our alarm waking us up without being set since it already has got an access to our

The post IoTChain – All Set to Revolutionize the IoT Space in 2018 appeared first on NewsBTC.

The Internet of thing, or IoT, is probably one of the most popular buzzwords the tech companies, as well as industry leaders, have been debating about since last decade. We were sold with the big visions from having our alarm waking us up without being set since it already has got an access to our calendar, to our fridge knowing if it is low on supplies and sends us a message to get more vegetables when we are at the market, referring to the location data on our Apple Watch. With the aim to solve to the prevalent problems and challenges in the current IoT sphere, IoTChain is all set to disrupt the IoT space this year.

The Background

The Internet of Things is faced with high-profile security lapses of user data, major hacks, and fragmented state of the industry. These problems have made people reluctant to rely on IoT products. Customers nowadays are also well-aware of the amount of personal data that they give out, and they choose to make decisions that limit the free-flow of data to businesses.

How Does IoTChain Address These Challenges?

IoTchain is a secure & lite operating system for IoT, based on the blockchain. It combines the blockchain with Direct Acrylic Graph (DAG) technology to operate IOT devices with low computing power. Using this mix of technologies, IoT Chain’s grand goal is to provide the framework for low-cost and secure connectivity for the IoT devices. IoTChain has been designed to solve the severe safety problems of present-day systems.

ITC applies a combination of asymmetric encryption of cryptography, semi-homomorphic-encryption ciphertext computing technology, and distributed architecture without the data center. Therefore, ITC can not only protect the users’ devices from being attacked by hackers, ensuring its controlling right safety; but also defend users and their devices’ data safety sovereignty and privacy. For example, the data of intelligent devices, such as the camera, can only be checked by users themselves.

The IoTChain Infrastructure

ITC uses Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance(PBFT) to achieve main chain consensus, which is effective, fast and works well. PBFT is already in use by the Central Bank of China and IBM’s Hyperledger project. Variants of this consensus algorithm are already being used by Stellar, Ripple and NEO.

The use of Directed Acyclic Graph(DAG) technology also allows for drastically improved transaction performance and makes IoT Chain resistant to quantum attacks.

See how it works:

The ITC tokens

ITC is the abbreviation of IOT onchain Token, which is used to support the decentralized operation system of IOT. As the measure of value transfer in the ecosystem, any value transfer about the use and ownership as well as the content on intelligent devices must be settled by ITC. Because of the centralization design of tradition IoT architecture, the user’s behavioral data is stored in the center servers controlled by merchants. Thus, the user’s data is prone to be leaked out and the user’s privacy, as well as safety, will face severe threats.

The ITC Tokens are currently being traded at Huobi.pro, CEX.com, OKEx.com at the price of 1 ETH = 1000 ITC.

To know more about the platform and invest in ITC Tokens, please visit https://iotchain.io/ or you can access its White Paper, Yellow Paper, and Telegram page.

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How ICOs may survive the advertising prohibition era

As ICOs have become the pariah of the advertising industry blockchain companies will have to find an alternative way of promoting their products. And in a marketing world where content is no longer king, startups can capitalize on the new ruler — commu…

As ICOs have become the pariah of the advertising industry blockchain companies will have to find an alternative way of promoting their products. And in a marketing world where content is no longer king, startups can capitalize on the new ruler — community. 

Bitcoin Price Analysis – OTC volume spikes – Brave New Coin

Brave New CoinBitcoin Price Analysis – OTC volume spikesBrave New CoinBitcoin Price Analysis 9 April 2018 4 Hash rate and difficulty continue to push record highs thanks to fresh shipments of ASICs from multiple mining companies, including Bitmain and …


Brave New Coin

Bitcoin Price Analysis - OTC volume spikes
Brave New Coin
Bitcoin Price Analysis 9 April 2018 4 Hash rate and difficulty continue to push record highs thanks to fresh shipments of ASICs from multiple mining companies, including Bitmain and Halong. However, drastic increases in ASIC usage can have a ...

Bitcoin Price Analysis – OTC volume spikes

Bitcoin (BTC) continues to trend downward on light trading volume. The market cap now stands at US$119.72 billion, with US$1.82 billion traded in the past 24 hours.Transactions per day are down sharply from the record high, above 400k in December, and …

Bitcoin (BTC) continues to trend downward on light trading volume. The market cap now stands at US$119.72 billion, with US$1.82 billion traded in the past 24 hours.Transactions per day are down sharply from the record high, above 400k in December, and are currently near 170,000 per day. Transactions have not only declined due to a lack of usage but also transaction batching, where one transaction is sent to many addresses at once instead of each transaction being sent individually.

Cyberattack on Indiana Hospital Highlights Increasing Focus on Healthcare Industry by Hackers

Hancock Regional Hospital in Greenfield, Indiana, where Steve Long is the hospital administrator, was hit by a cyberattack earlier this year. Long, in attempts to make sure his patients were safe, paid the hackers four Bitcoin in ransom for the return of the hospital’s stolen information. Now, Long spends a lot of his free time

The post Cyberattack on Indiana Hospital Highlights Increasing Focus on Healthcare Industry by Hackers appeared first on NewsBTC.

Hancock Regional Hospital in Greenfield, Indiana, where Steve Long is the hospital administrator, was hit by a cyberattack earlier this year. Long, in attempts to make sure his patients were safe, paid the hackers four Bitcoin in ransom for the return of the hospital’s stolen information. Now, Long spends a lot of his free time traveling the country speaking with others in the healthcare industry, in the hopes that education will help prevent them from becoming victims of similar attacks, which are on the rise.

Cyberattack: Hancock Regional Hospital

According to an interview with CNBC, the cyberattack against Long’s hospital was made possible because the criminals had obtained the login credentials of a vendor that provides hardware for one of its information systems, enabling the group to inject malware and encrypt the hospital’s data.

To identify the cause and scope of the attack and eradicate the threat, Long and his team recruited Indianapolis-based cybersecurity firm Pondurance. Pondurance co-founder Ron Pelletier said the first priority was to contain the intrusion and evaluate what was affected.

Together with the FBI, which was called in to help pinpoint the origin of the attack, Pondurance experts determined that there was no easy way to erase the encrypted data from Hancock’s system and replace it with clean data from the backup system.

Because of this fact, Long — who also took into consideration January’s flu outbreak and a snowstorm that had hit Indiana the day of the attack — made the executive decision to buy the decryption keys from the hackers. This was made possible by the transfer four Bitcoin, which was selling above $13,500 that day, bringing the total Hancock Regional Hospital paid to about $55,000.

“Criminal organizations now are treating this like a business,” Pelletier said. “They’re going to plan, they’re going to make sure they understand how they’re going to execute and then they’re going to set out and see where they can execute.”

Heathcare and Computer Security Incidents

According to data from Chubb, the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurer, over the past decade the healthcare field has had far more computer security incidents than any other industry, accounting for 38% of incidents, versus 16% for professional services, and 11% for retail. There’s a solid reason why: Chubb said that personal health information is approximately 10 times more valuable on the black market than data a hacker could obtain from a retailer.

Unlike personal identifying information —which might include a name, email address, and credit card numbers or a Social Security number — healthcare-related information offers a wealth of additional data, including medical records. Health insurance ID numbers may also be tied to driver’s license numbers or financial information, Chubb experts told CNBC.

The biggest problem with the theft of this sort of information is that it can’t be immediately fixed. Consumers can shut down credit cards after cyber attacks, but can’t cancel a Social Security number or change a birth date. As a result, hackers can harvest patient data and hold it for “a larger score down the road,” using it for years to open illicit bank accounts or steal additional information, said Chubb’s Mike Tanenbaum.

The increasing hacks in healthcare come at a time when U.S. companies have fallen under scrutiny for how they manage consumer data, raising questions about how personal information should be used and protected. Last week, athletic retailer Under Armour told customers that its MyFitnessPal app was compromised, jeopardizing data from approximately 150 million users.

And we can’t forget Facebook: the social media giant recently came under fire over its privacy practices in the wake of revelations that Cambridge Analytica improperly gained access to data from some 87 million user profiles, which is used to target political ads and influence the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. 

Image Courtesy of Shutterstock

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Monex’s Coincheck Vs Mt. Gox: Can Traditional Finance Save A Hacked Crypto Exchange?

Japanese financial provider Monex Group’s decision to acquire Coincheck at a relatively low price shows the company’s desire to enter the crypto sphere, regardless of the risk. #RECAP

Japanese financial provider Monex Group’s decision to acquire Coincheck at a relatively low price shows the company’s desire to enter the crypto sphere, regardless of the risk. #RECAP

Bitcoin Forks and Livestock Law? Tax Day 2018 Is a Different Animal – Coindesk

QuartzBitcoin Forks and Livestock Law? Tax Day 2018 Is a Different AnimalCoindeskStevie D. Conlon is a vice president and tax and regulatory counsel; Anna Vayser is a product manager and Robert Schwaba is a senior tax and regulatory specialist with Wol…


Quartz

Bitcoin Forks and Livestock Law? Tax Day 2018 Is a Different Animal
Coindesk
Stevie D. Conlon is a vice president and tax and regulatory counsel; Anna Vayser is a product manager and Robert Schwaba is a senior tax and regulatory specialist with Wolters Kluwer. They acknowledge the contributions of colleagues John Kareken and ...
If you traded crypto on Coinbase, the IRS might be coming for youQuartz
Tax Paying Americans Owe $25 Billion in CryptocurrencyBitcoin News (press release)

all 62 news articles »

Got Free Crypto in a Fork? There’s No Easy Tax Answer

U.S. income tax treatment of forks is unclear. A conservative approach would be to treat the receipt of new cryptocurrency as taxable ordinary income.

U.S. income tax treatment of forks is unclear. A conservative approach would be to treat the receipt of new cryptocurrency as taxable ordinary income.

How Can Blockchains Remove the ‘Pay to Trade’ Barrier in the Market?

TheMerkle_Trading Volume PriceWe cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. –Albert Einstein Every day, blockchain technology is grabbing the headlines through new and exciting ventures, promising to make investors’ needs more simple, efficient, and profitable. The problem with many of these ventures is the failure to deliver on many of these promises. Most importantly, the failure lies in the very structure of these blockchain platforms—most of them are not multi-asset blockchain-based. A multi-asset blockchain-based system is a network that connects banks, cryptocurrency exchanges, and other regulated financial institutions so that users can have a one-stop shop

TheMerkle_Trading Volume Price

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.

–Albert Einstein

Every day, blockchain technology is grabbing the headlines through new and exciting ventures, promising to make investors’ needs more simple, efficient, and profitable.

The problem with many of these ventures is the failure to deliver on many of these promises. Most importantly, the failure lies in the very structure of these blockchain platforms—most of them are not multi-asset blockchain-based.

A multi-asset blockchain-based system is a network that connects banks, cryptocurrency exchanges, and other regulated financial institutions so that users can have a one-stop shop for all of their asset management needs.

The time has come to spread awareness and begin to address the issues following this system failure by decentralizing the world of trading and introducing ventures and networks willing to tackle the challenges ahead.

The Trading Market We Know Today

There’s A Wide Gap In “Paying to Trade”

Oftentimes, the ability to manage all assets or trade stocks, commodities, futures, currencies, or contracts is limited in the sense that there is no centralized platform allowing an investor to manage and oversee these transactions.

“The whole purpose of blockchain is to create an even-level playing field,” said Nauman Anees, CEO of ThinkCoin, a multi-asset blockchain-based platform that offers this ability.

Anees told the Merkle that he believes the biggest gap in the industry is that consumers have to pay commissions and charges in order to trade. “This isn’t a concept that should be around anymore,” he explained. If you look at a lot of the large equity firms around, you can only go as low as $4.95/trade. By removing the concept completely, the investor is able to look at the spread, i.e., the difference between the bid price and asking price.

With blockchain technology, there shouldn’t be a requirement to “pay to trade.”

Lack of Trust and Integrity

Overall, trading is conducted with little transparency and a huge dependence on the word and promises of those prime brokers, banks and institutions, and other intermediaries.

The fundamental element in any transaction is regulation. Why? It comes back to the most basic principle we learned in our legislation or history classes—checks and balances. While many brokers are properly regulated, others may slip through the cracks—especially when it comes to engagements with other state jurisdictions. Every state, ideally, has its own rules and regulations. This could potentially present conflicts of interest. How do we know that, as investors, our interests are truly being protected?

By introducing the trading market into a blockchain space that utilizes a smart contract system with inherent rules and regulations, the chance of trust and integrity being abused is significantly reduced.

Managing Client Funds

Things are all fine and good until our wallets are affected. In a broker-client relationship, clients are required to deposit their money with a broker, relying on him or her to hold it segregated and apart from his or her own, in a trust for the client. Again, while the rules and regulations vary by jurisdiction, some brokers fall through the cracks in terms of providing adequate protection to their clients.

Need an example? Refer back to the now-reformed, but infamous, Jordan Belfort, also known as the Wolf of Wall Street.

By utilizing a multi-asset network, all assets, funds included, are verified on the blockchain. Thus, clients no longer have to fret about how their funds are being managed and where they are being sent.

Restricting the Peer-to-Peer Community

Most of the market is dominated by brokers and other parties with whom investors are required to interact to get their accounts opened and active. But, what if we removed those intermediaries and complexities, and allowed investors/users to trade directly with one another? In other words, bring a peer-to-peer (P2P) community into the market. While brokers may be necessary to the market, we need to understand that its human component, at times, provides for error and abuse. By removing the need for a broker, blockchains will transform the way in which individuals trade and invest their funds.

Lack of Transferability

Many contracts are structured in such a way that an investor’s ability to trade his or her positions with other users is strictly limited. Again, removing the intermediary (broker) allows for more flexibility and opens up the trade’s potential in the market.

How Can We Deliver On These Promises?

Utilizing a multi-asset blockchain-based trading network will address the industry’s issues mentioned above. Providing individuals and institutions with the ability to trade directly with one another, removing the complexity of intermediaries, will level the playing field, lowering costs and fees for all parties involved.

“If we can take the actual exchange products and put them on this blockchain exchange, there’s a massive opportunity to disrupt the sector,” said Anees.

Stop The FUD: State Bank of Pakistan Never Banned the Use of Cryptocurrencies

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has released information that seeks to clarify the bank’s position on digital currencies. Although the statement “advises” both the public and institutions against dealing in the coins, it is not an outright ban. State Bank of Pakistan: Caution Regarding Risk of Virtual Currencies The release begins by stating that

The post Stop The FUD: State Bank of Pakistan Never Banned the Use of Cryptocurrencies appeared first on NewsBTC.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has released information that seeks to clarify the bank’s position on digital currencies. Although the statement “advises” both the public and institutions against dealing in the coins, it is not an outright ban.

State Bank of Pakistan: Caution Regarding Risk of Virtual Currencies

The release begins by stating that digital currencies are not recognized by the bank as legal tender:

“[Digital currencies] are neither recognized as a Legal Tender nor has SBP authorized or licensed any individual or entity for the issuance, sale, purchase, exchange or investment in any such Virtual Currencies/Coins/Tokens in Pakistan.”

Then it goes on to ask banking institutions (banks, as well as Payment System Operators and Payment Service Providers) to prevent account holders from transacting in digital currencies or taking part in ICOs:

“Advised not to facilitate their customers/account holders to transact in Virtual Currencies/ Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).”

Towards the end of the one-page document, it goes on to warn about “fraudsters” that offer “pyramid style investment schemes and coins and promising high returns (similar to Ponzi schemes).”

Generally, although this statement is quite harsh, it doesn’t constitute an outright ban. The closing remarks only say that persons must steer clear of digital currencies to “avoid any potential financial loss and legal implications,” but don’t state what these legal implications actually are.

State Bank of Pakistan: Worries

According to the release, the SBP is worried that digital currencies provide a “high degree of anonymity and potentially can be used for facilitating illegal activities;” and that because of the “ambiguous nature” of digital currencies, “no legal protection or recourse is available to any individual in the event of a loss incurred.”

The SBP then details the following associated risks:

a)  High price volatility as investments tied to Virtual Currencies are highly unstable and are primarily based on speculations; b)  Failure/closure of Virtual Currency exchanges/businesses due to any reason including action by law enforcement agencies; and c)  Hacking/security compromises of cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet businesses.

Contrary to some widely-circulated rumours on social media, the central bank never stated that the use of cryptocurrencies is illegal in the country. On the other hand, the announcement simply states that cryptocurrencies are not recognized as legal tender in the country, and that users should be very cautious when using them. The only exception to this is for those who are attempting to transfer value outside of Pakistan – this is the only scenario which has been declared illegal.

Reserve Bank of India

This out of Pakistan comes just days after the country’s neighbor has been making headlines in the crypto-space. India‘s government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have previously cautioned the public about digital currencies, with New Delhi vowing earlier this year to eliminate the use of the coins, which it considers illegal. Late last week, the Reserve Bank of India made moves to clarify its position with regard to the coins:

“Reserve Bank has repeatedly cautioned users, holders and traders of virtual currencies, including Bitcoins, regarding various risks associated in dealing with such virtual currencies. In view of the associated risks, it has been decided that, with immediate effect, entities regulated by RBI shall not deal with or provide services to any individual or business entities dealing with or settling VCs. Regulated entities which already provide such services shall exit the relationship within a specified time.”

Already over the past few months, India-based digital currency trading volume has decreased greatly as banks have been taking steps to restrict the ability of cryptocurrency exchanges to secure access to financial services.

While the RBI acknowledges its support of blockchain related technology, the bank believes that digital currencies raise a number of concerns related to consumer protection, market integrity, and preventing financial crimes.

Image Courtesy of Shutterstock

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NEO, EOS, Litecoin, IOTA and Stellar: Technical Analysis April 9, 2018

It has been a hot and cold week for Bitcoin and alt coins as NEO, Litecoin, Stellar Lumens, IOTA and EOS. While impressive developments continue to happen in most of these coins, our altcoins technical analysis points to lower lows in the coming days unless otherwise. This week I shall primarily focus on EOS-it’s up

The post NEO, EOS, Litecoin, IOTA and Stellar: Technical Analysis April 9, 2018 appeared first on NewsBTC.

It has been a hot and cold week for Bitcoin and alt coins as NEO, Litecoin, Stellar Lumens, IOTA and EOS. While impressive developments continue to happen in most of these coins, our altcoins technical analysis points to lower lows in the coming days unless otherwise.

This week I shall primarily focus on EOS-it’s up 5.34% in the last 7 days and see if buyers will build on Dawn 3.0 news.

Let’s have a look at these charts:

XLM/USD (Stellar Lumens)

Stellar Lumens Technical Analysis

XLMUSD 4HR Chart from Bittrex for April 9, 2018

Supportive comments from IBM over the weekend and after all, they have a stake in Stellar. As we all know, IBM is a technological front runner and blockchain shillers. Consequently, their statement that most G20 central bankers have plans of digitizing their systems should be seen as positive as they may be developments that are still within the corporate circles.

Anyway, other than this, Stellar Lumens is now available at CEX.IO. What this means is that any investor who sees value in Stellar can buy instantaneously using their Visa or MasterCard credit card.

On the technical front, Stellar is recovering. Despite than 0.01% rise in the last 24HRs and a stochastic buy signal in the 4HR chart, sellers are still in the driving seat.

I shall still retain this skew until I see a jut past $0.22-a strong level of resistance marked by the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement line and the middle BB clear in the daily chart. Going forward, every high will remain a selling opportunity.

IOT/USD (IOTA)

IOTA Technical Analysis

IOTUSD 4HR Chart from BitFinex for April 9, 2018

Undoubtedly, the cryptocurrency selling frenzy continues to wreck havoc on cryptocurrency valuation. As visible from the chart, sellers saw fodder in IOTA and continue to feed on it now that prices are trading at parity with the USD. There are even more risks for a downside considering our IOTA technical analysis despite MS promising to inject $5B in the next 4 years.

Our weekly chart hints of strong bears as that long upper wick shows and in the 4HR chart, prices are trending right at the resistance trend line complete with a candlestick closing above the upper BB. That’s an over-extension at $1, a resistance level and what it does mean is sellers are baying for blood. I will only recommend sells if there is a close below $0.95 before then let’s wait for a stochastic sell signal to print before giving sellers a go. Ideal targets are set at $0.35.

EOS/USD (EOS)

EOS Technical Analysis

EOSUSD 4HR Chart from BitFinex for April 9, 2018

We can as well go on and talk about EOSIO Dawn 3.0 and how the EOS is well on course. Awesome stuff really but with EOS mainnet launching in less than 2 months, should we expect prices to explode? Of course EOS has a vibrant community with a serious war chest. If their plans of a giving Tron and Ethereum a run for their money once they break off from the ERC-20 token category, then investors should be expectant for a positive ROI.

Before then, our EOS technical analysis hints of the effect of week ending March 18 candlestick. Technically, prices are bearish and judging with developments in the weekly chart, EOS is definitely trading within a bear break out.

As a result, what this means is that sellers can find shorting opportunities in the 4HR chart as long as they oscillate below $7.5. I will recommend patience for now and only trade when prices test $7.5 or when a stochastic sell signal prints and there is a bearish candlestick confirming such. Overly, our ultimate sell target is $4.

LTC/USD (Litecoin)

Litecoin Technical Analysis

LTCUSD 4HR Chart from CoinBase for April 9, 2018

Whether Roger Ver Bitcoin Cash is a Bitcoin poser or not, chances of Litecoin busting to the top 4 remains likely. Of course, other cryptocurrencies like Ripple have had their own fair share of criticism but Litecoin continues to be quite resilient. Anyhow, we can’t wish away the over confidence of Charlie Lee and LitePay mess but as it is, Abra was timely.

In our 4HR chart, bears are fattening up and we don’t know when winter will be. From Litecoin technical analysis, that might be when prices test $90 or even $50. Because of this, I’m only looking for shorts in the 4HR chart.

Currently, there is a buy signal in place and I expect two things to happen. Either there is temporary appreciation towards $140 or a collapse and close below $110. It’s likely that prices shall rise meaning we have to wait until a stochastic sell signal prints. If not, any close below $110 means sellers should sell with targets at $90.

NEO/USD (NEO)

NEO Technical Analysis

NEOUSD 4HR Chart from Bittrex for April 9, 2018

If NEO will be king or not, that’s still a subject of discussion-and of course, performance but as far as price action is concerned, it’s still a long way to go.

In my NEO technical analysis preview, I expect resistance at $55 and on the upper end $65. As such, I recommend short term buys with stops at $45 until a stochastic sell signal prints in the 4HR chart.

All charts courtesy of Trading View

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