Day: April 10, 2018

Scams are nothing new in the world of cryptocurrency. Some of these ventures prove to be very professional and elaborate, whereas others are clearly low-effort projects. It seems a new scam is making the rounds through a physical letter, which threatens to expose people’s bad behavior unless they cough up a lot of money in the form of Bitcoin. It even comes with its own guide on how to buy Bitcoin, which is pretty interesting.

Bitcoin Scams Take Physical Form

We have seen dozens of different Bitcoin-related scam attempts in the past few years. Some of these projects clearly display a degree of professionalism one would never hope to see, whereas others are so fake they can easily be ignored. In the case of this particular Bitcoin-related scam making the rounds, it is evident things sort of fall in between the two camps.

To put this scam into perspective, it revolves around a physical letter which is effectively sent to potential victims. In the letter, the scammer tries to persuade the recipient to fork over a hefty sum of money in the form of Bitcoin. While such demands are not uncommon whatsoever, the way this particular scammer goes about things is rather intriguing.

That doesn’t necessarily mean this scam will be rather successful, but it has become evident some people may effectively be threatened by the information in this letter. It seems the scammer claims to have “evidence’ of what the recipient of the letter is hiding. Although nothing is explained in the letter itself, the scammer makes it clear its victim knows what this is all about.

The recipient of this letter is presented with two different options. Either the recipient ignores the warning, or they pay the sum of $8,600 in Bitcoin. It is possible the amount asked for will differ from letter to letter, although it seems the scammers are trying to collect around one Bitcoin from all of its victims. Whether or not that will be successful, remains to be determined.

What makes the letter even more intriguing is how it includes clear instruction on how to buy bitcoin. It does not refer to popular exchanges, yet it is effectively telling the victim to visit LocalBitcoins as a way to purchase Bitcoin and complete the transaction. The choice for LocalBitcoins is pretty interesting, although it also makes a lot of sense because of its global availability

Whether or not we will see more of these letters show up, remains to be seen. It is unclear how the victims are targeted, although it seems the scammers are either active in one specific area, or have found a way to obtain a lot of people’s address information. Given the rise of social media and data breaches, it is only normal a lot of this information becomes easier to come by.

Ledger hardware wallet users are still unable to access their bitcoin cash.

Bitcoin is currently standing at $6,800. After a weekend rise to $7,000, the coin’s ascension was halted suddenly and fell back to the $6,700 mark. It has risen by over $100 since yesterday.

The previous rise could be attributed to major financial players getting involved in the crypto space. After repeatedly calling bitcoin a “bubble” and “mere speculation,” wealthy hedge fund manager George Soros gave his company Soros Fund Management a clear path towards cryptocurrency investments and announced that the venture would start trading cryptocurrencies within the coming months.

Considering Soros’ power in the financial industry, it’s safe to say that his previous statements regarding bitcoin’s legitimacy (or lack thereof) delivered some serious gut punches to advocates.

His entry into the crypto-arena ultimately cleared the way for other financial magnates to become involved. Not long after Soros’ announcement, the famed Rockefeller family of New York released the news that their company Venrock – the venture capital firm of the Rockefeller Foundation – would be partnering with cryptocurrency and blockchain advisory firm Coinfund.

Both groups can allegedly bring immense power to the digital asset world, and push it further towards mainstream acceptance and full financial recognition.

Despite this news, it appears the price of bitcoin is “still up for grabs” in a sense, and leaving many analysts examining whether bitcoin is a bubble or an actual currency that could experience recovery in the coming months.

A group of Barclays analysts sits in the former category. They explain that bitcoin’s price is not likely to see the surges it did in 2017, and they compare bitcoin’s previous rise to the spread of infectious diseases, as more investors and one-time enthusiasts ultimately became “immune to its appeal” the way they might become immune to dangerous health hazards.

While this seems like an exaggerated and somewhat over-the-top comparison, the analysts used actual studies from the field of epidemiology (which deals with the spread, distribution and control of infectious diseases), and built their current model around those studies, claiming that the prices “tend to rise when infections spread from one buyer to another.” Ultimately, the power of bitcoin spread mostly via word of mouth, particularly to those who had a “fear of missing out.”

They also say that while the droves of new entrants to the cryptocurrency market did help to improve the overall price of bitcoin, the subsequent crash led to several exits amongst people who are now “immune” to the idea of getting rich overnight. As more time passes, fewer people will be susceptible to the power of bitcoin, and will seek to stay as far away as possible.

The economists summed up their arguments by saying:

“This occurs with infectious diseases when the immunity threshold is reached, i.e. the point at which a sufficient portion of the population becomes immune such that there are no more secondary infections.”

At the same time, cryptocurrency exchange platform Gemini is now rolling out bitcoin and ether block trading as a way of reducing the impact large orders have on the market. This suggests that crypto purchases and trading have not lost all their popularity, as many are still trying to get their hands on as many bitcoins and ether coins as possible.

Individual cryptocurrency traders in Japan now exceed three million according to the country’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) figures just released.

The figures represent domestic data recorded from 17 cryptocurrency exchanges as of 31 March this year; the first time that the FSA has made such a survey since its founding in 2000. The agency reported that the Asian economic giant has some 3.5 million people trading cryptocurrency, with those between the ages of 20 and 40 representing 90% of the crypto trading population.

The FSA is a Japanese government agency and an integrated financial regulator responsible for overseeing banking, securities and exchange, and insurance sectors in order to ensure the stability of Japan’s financial system.

The release of this data is the agency’s latest move to bring greater transparency to Japan’s burgeoning cryptocurrency environment. According to FSA, study and disclosure of domestic trading statistics is a step towards a thorough examination of Japanese cryptocurrency trading. It represents a significant move in light of the recent hacking of domestic exchange Coincheck on 26 January, during which 526 million XEM tokens worth USD 400 million was stolen.

Following the hack, Coincheck’s Koichiro Wada reflected on Japan’s need for more skilled professionals: “We were aware we didn’t have enough people working on internal checks, management and system risk… in many ways the industry continues to deal with its ramifications”.

The new data also reveals the split between trading in Bitcoin and the practice of trading on Bitcoin margins, credit, and futures as an underlying asset. Actual Bitcoin trading volume grew from USD 22 million in March 2014 to USD 97 billion in 2017, whereas the more speculative forms of trading rocketed from USD 2 million in 2014 to a huge USD 543 billion in 2017 alone.

The number of Japanese stores that accepted Bitcoin as payment stood at 52,190 at the end of March, while only 80 stores accepted Ether.

The post Japan Crypto Traders Soar Past 3 Million appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

In the Muslim world, cryptocurrencies are not Sharia-compliant by default. In fact, most cryptocurrency-related activities are somewhat of a hot topic when it comes to religious practice. It seems things are slowly changing in a positive manner, however. Several new gold-backed cryptocurrencies compliant with Sharia law have been launched in recent months.

Creating Sharia-compliant Cryptocurrencies

For people not well-versed in the Islamic faith, it is important to understand the concept of Sharia. More specifically, economic activity must not be based on hype and speculation. Instead, economic value can only be attributed to real and physical assets. It is evident that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies do not fall into this category, as they are intangible and speculative first and foremost.

Because of this religious hurdle, it is doubtful Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will ever be considered to be compliant with Sharia law. While there is no official ban on cryptocurrencies or the trading of this form of money in most Islamic countries, they can pose a fair few problems in the long run. Not too long ago, two imams were fired because of their involvement in Bitcoin and a few other cryptocurrencies.

As one would expect, Islamic governments have issued strong warnings on cryptocurrencies and their speculative aspect. Those warnings are nothing out of the ordinary, though, as we have seen them pop up in other countries as well. The speculative nature of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will always remain a problem in the eyes of governments and religious leaders, but that won’t prevent people from investing in them whatsoever.

Interestingly enough, we’ve seen a new type of Sharia-compliant cryptocurrency make its way to Islamic countries. In Dubai, companies such as OneGram have created new digital currencies backed by physical assets. Rather than opt for a national currency, OneGram links the value of its tokens to gold. As every coin is backed by a physical asset, they are Sharia-compliant.

Whether or not this particular venture will be successful remains to be seen. There are a few other cryptocurrencies out there that are backed by gold or other physical assets. Even so, it is only normal that people living in Islamic countries prefer to deal with companies located in their region. As the price of gold has also been subject to some volatility, one could argue that it is not entirely Sharia-compliant either, although that will be a topic of debate.

It is evident that Sharia compliance is an important point to keep in mind when it comes to cryptocurrencies and other forms of money. Becoming compliant may prove quite difficult, although foreign companies involved in cryptocurrency have successfully achieved Sharia certification. All of this goes to show that the Islamic world shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to cryptocurrency, even though it has its own set of rules which one must keep in mind at all times.

The UK National Cyber Security Centre highlighted the rising number of browser apps which force computers to mine cryptocurrencies in a new report.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

European Commission VP declares that EU countries should contribute to Blockchain technology ‘both politically and financially’. #NEWS

An Indian businessman has accused police officers of kidnapping and beating him in order to force him to pay them a ransom of over $2 mln #NEWS

Epidemic over? Analysts liken Bitcoin to a virus, saying investors are now immune and sellers “in recovery” will keep prices down. #NEWS

The cryptocurrency situation in India has taken some interesting twists and turns of late. One of the more recent developments revolves around Bitcoin-related drug cases which have been identified by the country’s officials. As a result, some politicians want to ban Bitcoin use altogether, even though it’s doubtful they will succeed.

Bitcoin is More Than a Currency for Criminals

India’s Special Investigation Team on Black Money has been keeping a close eye on cryptocurrency activity as of late. This has mainly been done to ensure that no criminal activity can take place when using Bitcoin or altcoins, even though this will always be an uphill battle. During the most recent meeting of the black money SIT, it became evident that four different drug cases involved Bitcoin.

This means Bitcoin’s reputation is not improving in India. The black money SIT wants to curb the use of cryptocurrencies altogether, although it is highly doubtful that the Indian government will take this approach. With crypto regulation still a topic of debate in the country, it is evident there are a lot of options worth exploring.

What makes the black money SIT’s request so interesting is that it stems from the aforementioned drug cases. Although four drug-related incidents involving Bitcoin is problematic, it is not exactly unprecedented. Drug smuggling is a very big problem in virtually every country, yet most of these transactions have nothing to do with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.

One also has to keep in mind that all four cases were unearthed during the past two years. It is not commonplace to see Bitcoin being linked to drug smuggling or other criminal transactions in India, but for some reason, the black money SIT wants to see the use of this currency curbed once and for all. It’s a rather strong reaction on the part of officials, albeit one that may be warranted.

This is not the first time we’ve seen a request to ban cryptocurrencies in India. Earlier this year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also asked for the “elimination of cryptocurrency usage”. At that time, very few people paid attention to the request, even though Bitcoin still doesn’t have legal tender status in India. With the government actively pondering regulation, that situation may come to change in the next few months.

For the time being, it seems the request by the black money SIT will not be honored. The government has made it clear it wants to introduce a proper framework for cryptocurrency activity, and rash decisions will play no part in this process. At the same time, officials have to take all of the facts into account before rendering their verdict. Bitcoin plays a fractional role in India’s drug scene, as it seems cash and other financial tools are still the go-to solutions.