Day: April 19, 2018

One of the few cypherpunks in a room full dominated by financial services, Szabo urged blockchain developers not to forget about decentralization.

Thai SEC tech consultant admits necessity of reviewing crypto tax framework as crypto business owners react negatively to proposed capital gains tax. #NEWS

Bitcoin Press Release: After a successful token sale, CoinMetro are now hosting an Airdrop Campaign until April 15th, 2018. Participants can receive 68 XCM and be a part of the CoinMetro Airdrop Family to reap future benefits.

Wednesday 12th April 2018 – Hong Kong – The CoinMetro token sale concluded on the 31st of March after a brief extension of the Token sale period. Over 120 Million XCM tokens were sold to over seven thousand contributors, raising just over 12 Million EUR. CoinMetro has proven its worth amongst the public and is now extending that worth back to them. The CoinMetro Airdrop campaign is underway and is giving away 68 XCM to its qualified supporters.

CoinMetro will airdrop free XCM tokens to amplify the already notable presence it has; by giving away XCM, CoinMetro acknowledges the power of creating greater public awareness of the token. It’s more than just a simple Airdrop; it’s a statement of confidence in the token, the platform and the people who will utilize it.

The CoinMetro Airdrop Campaign

Accessing and qualifying for the XCM Airdrop is simple, join the CoinMetro Telegram group and request the password from the Admins, once you have the password, sign up for a CoinMetro account (or sign in), enter the received password and claim the XCM tokens.  All participants in the Pre-sale and public sale have already qualified but new contributors will need to donate 1 XCM or a minimum of 0.1 ETH* (or 0.01 BTC / 0.3 LTC / 0.05 BCH*) in order to qualify.

The CoinMetro airdrop applies to the ETCF (Exchange-Traded Crypto Fund) platform which launches later this year and can only be used on the ETCF platform. Participants will receive the airdrop automatically once it goes live and the XCM must be kept for a minimum of three months. The CoinMetro Airdrop ends April 15th 2018, 23:59:59 GMT. Every participant must go through the KYC (Know-Your-Customer) procedure and it will take up to thirty days to verify; the free 68 XCM tokens will be sent to participants wallets on the CoinMetro website between June 20th and July 1st, 2018.

CoinMetro Airdrop Family

CoinMetro are also offering a unique opportunity to be part of the CoinMetro Airdrop Family, it’s an exclusive chance for the first ten-thousand who deposit over 0.1 ETH*  to qualify for all future Airdrops on the exchange. Being part of the CoinMetro Airdrop family is an investment that over the years will come to pay off greatly for all those involved, the chance to receive free tokens on a cutting edge platform of the cryptocurrency future is not to be missed out on.

Visit the CoinMetro Official Site – https://coinmetro.com/
Check out the Whitepaper – https://coinmetro.com/whitepaper/
Chat on Telegram – https://t.me/CoinMetro
Follow on Twitter – https://twitter.com/CoinMetro
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Media Contact
Contact Name: Myles Claffey
Contact Email: [email protected]

Coinmetro is the source of this content. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. Cryptocurrencies and tokens are extremely volatile. There is no guarantee of a stable value, or of any value at all. Token sales are only suitable for individuals with a high risk tolerance. Only participate in a token event with what you can afford to lose. This press release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest.

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The post PR: CoinMetro is Giving Away Free XCM in a Generous Airdrop Campaign Ending April 15th 2018 appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

We need to see some fundamentals to jolt altcoin price action today. Should there be further gains say in Bitcoin and EOS, they are lagging behind, prices could explode. As statistics shows, Stellar Lumens is spearheading this week’s gain with an impressive 66 percent gain while IOTA is following closely at 43 percent. Even though I still maintain my bullish skew, buying Litecoin, EOS and NEO might present superior returns in the short to medium term.

Let’s have a look at these charts:

XLM/USD (Stellar Lumens)

Stellar Lumens Daily Chart by Trading View

Everything digital is bound to have their own weaknesses. When it comes to cryptocurrencies, some savvy black hat hackers are having a field day. According to a report from Stellar Protocol Foundation, some $618 Million is missing in 2018 alone. The large chunk of it comes from CoinCheck heist.

As expected, this is but a huge deterrence to adoption as many payment systems are shying away and barring customers from making payment in crypto. To counter this, the Stellar Protocol foundation tasked with mapping out Stellar Addresses shall introduce HTTPS connection between their servers and wallets for security purposes.

It’s our duty to turn on HTTPS by default, or force those who don’t want to, all too easy to inject malware into legitimate users streams. Stellar work by @citizenlab team. https://t.co/dR5g8AdHKT

— Daniel Cuthbert (@dcuthbert) April 19, 2018

Price wise Stellar is towing in as per our previous Stellar Lumens technical analysis. What draws my attention is that upper BB bull candlestick banding and a nice follow through of last week’s bullish pressure. Because of this, we should brace ourselves for higher highs as Lumens add up to their gains. After $0.40, buyers should eye $0.50 and the 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement line at $0.70 in the coming weeks.

IOT/USD (IOTA)

IOTA Daily Chart by Trading View

After Amazon, everything else is now possible. We might as well hear Facebook and Google getting into the blockchain data market place and relaying Bitcoin user transactions to law enforcement. It’s weird because it waters down everything decentralization efforts.

Such moves makes me think IOTA is doing the right thing and holding is a just about the right thing to do. Anyways, so you know the next IOTA wallet snapshot will take place on May 6, 2018. Then the issue of obsoluteTag field and fixes on IRI will be dealt with.

The next global #IOTA snapshot will be coming in the first weekend of May: May 6, 2018 at 16:00 UTC | Network Restart: May 6, 2018 at 23:00 UTC. This #snapshot will introduce some fixes for #IRI. Learn more and be prepared: https://t.co/7vaVPgYbkb & https://t.co/LzxF0V9yNK pic.twitter.com/KyfB3NtWDO

— IOTA News (@iotatokennews) April 18, 2018

It will sound like a song but there is nothing else I could say. If you look for IOTA buying opportunities in lower time frames and buy in line with our previous IOTA technical analysis, I really think you stand to turn in a profit.

After all, IOTA is up 8 percent in the last 24 hours and 43 percent in the last 7 days. Besides it’s up 15 cents from last week’s highs and that’s why I recommend buys.

EOS/USD (EOS)

EOS Daily Chart by Trading View

Remember, EOS is still crowd funding, don’t forget that. Already it has more than $2B yet the project is not even live. EOS developers are working hard behind the scenes and with Dawn 3.0 and proper decentralization which the platform promises, will it wreck havoc on Ethereum? Well, that’s a maybe or not.

I won’t rely on current EOS vs. Ethereum metrics because the former has a working product while the later is gearing for a mainnet launch. Price pumps are inevitable so let’s wait and see. Then again, EOS is still an Ethereum token.

I will reiterate what I said yesterday. EOS is still trending within a mid-range accumulation and logically, I shall trade with the trend. Already, EOS is up 5 percent and what I need is a break past $9.5 or even $10-the 50% Fibonacci retracement line before I jump in and buy.

In that case stops should be below $8 with targets at $16. Regardless of short term price swings, expect a pump as we approach June mainnet launch.

LTC/USD (Litecoin)

Litecoin Daily Chart by Trading View

Apart from that 20 percent jump, there is nothing much from the fundamental front we can talk about Litecoin in the last 24 hours or so. Anyways, price action is in line with our Litecoin forecast.

Encouragingly, following yesterday’s price expansion, a bullish break out is visible in the 4HR chart while candlesticks are now banding along the upper BB in the daily chart. All these hints of possible higher highs in the coming weeks and that is why buying on dips in lower time frames can be a good trading plan.

NEO/USD (NEO)

NEO Daily Chart by Trading View

Ok, the Restart Energy team plans on meeting Da Hong Fei and undoubtedly their plans of deregulating worldwide energy markets is grand. However, when possible investors begin talking of Restart Energy plagiarizing their whitepaper from a competitor, Grid+, then those are a lot of red flags.

@RestartEnergyio meets with @NEO_Blockchain at a small conference in the @Europarl_EN . Speakers will be from $NEX, $NEO and $ONT.

Doesnt seem like a big event, but its an important one for #blockchain and #smarteconomy in general.https://t.co/PSFshJmR7d$crypto

— Seaside (@seaside_crypto) April 19, 2018

While this is happening, Moonlight is working towards reducing resource compartmentalization. They shall make this possible through easing recruitment and availing superior analytical project management system.

Moonlight will be the tool that awakens the @NEO_Blockchain community to action.#NEO #smarteconomy #Blockchain #BlockchainWorkforce pic.twitter.com/ZBC5KGeZqz

— Moonlight (@Moonlightdotio) April 18, 2018

Technically, NEO is at cross roads and you can check out April 19 doji candlestick if you need some evidence. Even if prices are above $70, conservative trades can stay on the sidelines until there’s further price appreciation.

After all, those who got in early can target $90 on the lower limit and $110 on the upside as per our previous NEO technical analysis.

The post NEO, EOS, Litecoin, IOTA and Stellar: Technical Analysis April 20, 2018 appeared first on NewsBTC.

Saxo Bank says influx of institutional capital into crypto “could lead cryptocurrencies to a positive quarter.” #NEWS

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a subpoena to controversial Riot Blockchain, a company that has been in the news more often than it would wish. The Castle Rock, Colorado-based company made the disclosure in its annual report in which it listed internet retailer Overstock as one of its biggest competitors. The subpoena was not a big surprise to many, given the SEC’s promise early this year that it would investigate companies that had switched to crypto-related activities in recent times to take advantage of the heightened investor interest in the industry.

Riot To Fully Cooperate With SEC

Riot Blockchain received the subpoena on April 9, with the SEC requesting certain information which the report didn’t disclose.

On April 9, 2018, the Company received a subpoena from the SEC requesting certain information from the Company.  The Company intends to fully cooperate with the SEC request.  The Company has notified its insurance carrier although there can be no assurance that the costs of compliance with the subpoena or any related matters will be eligible for insurance coverage.  Nevertheless, response to the subpoena will entail cost and management’s attention.

The company also stated that it believes many other companies involved in blockchain and cryptocurrency have received subpoenas from the SEC as well, which presents an additional industry risk. It also recognizes the adverse effects a targeted investigation into the company could bring to its operations.

Riot Blockchain’s report went on to state some of the cryptocurrency-related risks that they face, the first being regulatory changes which could restrict the use of cryptocurrencies in a way that affects their operations. The company’s change in name and business strategy last year also subjects them to increased scrutiny from the SEC which could interfere with the day-to-day operations of the company. The banking sector may also withhold their services and facilities from the company, now that it deals with cryptocurrencies.

The Journey So Far

Riot Blockchain was previously known as Bioptix before it changed its name and operations in late 2017. Bioptix was a veterinary and life science-oriented business that conducted both diagnostics and research. With the change of name to Riot Blockchain, the company shifted its focus to blockchain and cryptocurrency-related business. Initially, Riot invested in companies in the sector, but later started Bitcoin mining. The change in business operations came at a time when the crypto market was soaring, and this saw their shares spike by over 1,500% to around $40.

The company also disclosed that it is not yet profitable and that it has been incurring losses since its inception.

We are not profitable and have incurred losses since our inception.  We expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future, and these losses could increase as we continue to work to develop our business.

While the firm remains optimistic that its mining center in Oklahoma will become profitable in the future, it admits that this profitability may not be sustainable in the long run.

Three weeks ago, Riot Blockchain acquired 92.5 percent of Logical Brokerage Corp, a Miami-based registered futures brokerage. With the acquisition, Riot Blockchain disclosed its plan to launch a cryptocurrency exchange and a futures brokerage operation in the United States.

UK government publishes pro-Blockchain speech by Member of Parliament Matt Hancock: Blockchain will have “monumental impact.” #NEWS

Asia and Australia

Welcome to our weekly roundup of all important blockchain and cryptocurrency news from around the world. Follow the latest developments in the cryptocurrency space continent by continent, country by country.

Japan

Central bank not interested in state crypto: The Bank of Japan has said in a blanket statement that it has no plans right now to issue a central bank-issued cryptocurrency. The policy came forward during a recent conference between the International Monetary fund (IMF) and Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) in which the bank’s deputy governor Masayoshi Amamiya said that such a currency could undermine the bank’s two-tier system and destabilize it.

Amamiya said: “…the issuance of central bank digital currencies for general use would be analogous to directly allowing households and firms to have accounts in the central bank.”

Yahoo Japan set to be 40% stakeholder in crypto exchange: Yahoo Japan plans to purchase almost 40% minority stakes in the cryptocurrency exchange named BitARG which is based in Tokyo. BitARG will only be launched later this year. The whole deal, according to a report from Reuters, cost between USD 18.5 million and USD 27.8 million. BitARG has recently been granted a license to operate a domestic cryptocurrency trading platform.

Crypto traders cross 3 million mark: Japanese cryptocurrency traders are growing in number with the latest figure reportedly around 3 million people, according to the data from Japan’s FSA. The figures show that as of 31 March 2018, around 3.5 million people traded cryptocurrencies and around 90% of the population are in the age bracket of 20-40 years.

The release of this data is the agency’s latest move to bring greater transparency in Japan’s ever-developing cryptocurrency environment.

South Korea

Financial watchdog to investigate banks based on new crypto rules: The South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) will investigate three of its banks to see if they are complying with the latest rules against anonymity. The new regulation enforced by the agency means that traders have to use bank accounts on their own names to buy cryptocurrencies through exchanges. The rules were enforced to stop money laundering in the country.

India

Over 17,000 sign petition against crypto ban: Over 17,000 crypto traders and industry workers have launched a combined petition against the Indian Central Bank’s move to close crypto-related accounts on 5 April, 2018. The petition was started by a few younger traders but was soon co-signed by thousands across the country. It states that cryptocurrencies are here to stay and prohibition of business activities affects the country’s growing market.

Vietnam

Vietnam tightens  crypto regulation after ICOs scam over 32,00 investors: Vietnam has recently announced that it is tightening regulations on cryptocurrencies after two initial coin offering scams affected more than 32,000 investors resulting in losses of up to USD 660 million. The two ICOs, Ifan and PinCoin, bore the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme and have attracted official investigation into them in the Asian country.

The ICOs were launched through conferences in Hanoi and remote parts of the country in order to lure unsuspecting customers. Both of them promised hefty profits and activity but were soon exposed as scams.

Philippines

Philippine boxing great Manny Pacquiao said last Wednesday that he would soon launch a cryptocurrency to connect with fans. He is the third famous athlete to have talked about launching a cryptocurrency with the previous moves of Michael Owen and Floyd Mayweather also making headlines.

However, Pacquiao is cautious as compared to the other two as he is vocally in favor of regulating cryptocurrencies and taking it slow and moving forward organically.

Australia

New power plant announced for “Blockchain Silicon Valley”: An Australian tech firm called IOT group has partnered with an energy provider Hunter Energy to reset up a power plant in the country to offer pre-grid cost effective prices to blockchain businesses nearby.

The Redbank power station near Singleton, which is rated at 150 megawatts, was closed back in 2014 when it incurred a debt of over USD 192 million. Hunter Energy has reportedly acquired the station and it is in “care and maintenance mode”.

The company is aiming to provide the basis for a blockchain Silicon Valley in Australia. The plan is to offer space to host data centers and even miners with direct access to electricity from the power plant.

The post Asia and Australia: Crypto and Blockchain News Roundup, 13th to 19th April 2018 appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Seeking exemptions from federal oversight that they believe will slow growth of the cryptocurrency space, industry groups are forming in attempts to lobby agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for limited interference. The groups are worried that policies in Washington could slow the innovation of blockchain-based technologies that underpin cryptocurrencies, as well as the coins themselves, according to people familiar with the matter.

Fighting Back Against Over-Regulation

As we know, regulation in the U.S. is murky at present and there’s a lot of overlap. The SEC claims that digital coins issued by startups are investments, and therefore should be regulated as securities, subjecting the firms to extensive federal oversight. The industry also faces opposition from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) and traditional banking regulators who attempt to police payment systems and enforce anti-money-laundering laws.

In attempts to fight what they see as potential over-regulation, the industry has hired top political and legal talent to lobby for voluntary standards and sing the praises of blockchain.

“You can’t just put your head in the sand and wish away government oversight,” said Jason Weinstein, a partner who works on cryptocurrency-related issues at the law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP.

Of note here is that Weinstein is a former senior Justice Department official, who now serves on the advisory boards of industry advocates Coin Center and the Chamber of Digital Commerce. The groups have filled their boards with other former government regulators, too, including former CFTC Chairman Jim Newsome, former SEC member Paul Atkins, and former CFTC Commissioner Mark Wetjen.

Meetings With the SEC

The meetings on March 28th with the SEC were attended by Andreessen partner Scott Kupor and general counsel Ryan Ward, Union Square’s Brad Burnham and John Buttrick, and lawyers from Cooley LLP, Perkins Coie LLP, and McDermott Will & Emery LLP, as well as a lobbyist from the National Venture Capital Association.

The group met with top officials of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, which regulates initial coin offerings (ICOs), as well as the offices of a few SEC commissioners, according to the Wall Street Journal.

According to people familiar with the matter, the group was looking for assurance from regulators that their products would be exempt from SEC oversight. They argued that tokens aren’t investments, but instead products that can be used to access services or networks provided by startup companies, people familiar with the meeting said.

If the SEC were to change their perspective, it would allow startups to sell tokens broadly to investors without having to provide regulated disclosures like financial statements and detailed descriptions of their businesses. The group said it wouldn’t object to the SEC intervening if a token issuer committed fraud, the people said.

Unfortunately, SEC officials have privately expressed skepticism about granting such a broad exemption, the people said. What’s more likely is that the agency will offer a limited exemption from oversight if a company’s token sale is capped at a per-investor limit and can’t be resold at a profit to third parties, the report stated.

Image from Shutterstock.

The post Industry Groups Join Forces to Speak Out Against Over-Regulation by SEC appeared first on NewsBTC.

How cryptocurrency world’s preferred messaging app tackles Russia’s ban #IN_DEPTH

Bitcoin mining has always been an industry which attracts both legitimate operations and people with less than honest intentions. In Iceland, a group of people recently stole 600 ASIC miners, and the police launched an investigation and made several arrests. One of the suspects has now fled the country to Sweden, although it remains unclear how he escaped prison exactly.

The Iceland Bitcoin Mining Heist

It is evident that people with less than honest intentions often make a lasting impact on the Bitcoin industry as a whole. In the case of a recent hardware heist in Iceland, it’s quickly become apparent that this was a multi-person operation. It is physically impossible for one individual to successfully steal 600 Bitcoin ASIC miners without any help from other thieves or even people working at the facility where all of this went down.

While stealing multiple pieces of Bitcoin mining hardware is not necessarily unprecedented, a theft on this scale is rather unusual. Several dozen pieces of hardware were stolen from a data center in Iceland, which further confirms someone had to have helped the suspect who recently fled the country. The latter person goes by the name of Sindri Thor Stefansson.

Stefansson not only managed to escape prison, but he also boarded a flight from Iceland to Sweden. This was allegedly done using a passport in someone else’s name, which raises all kinds of questions. This only further fuels speculation that there was at least one accomplice involved in this heist, although it is possible that even more people were involved in this scheme.

While Stefansson was kept at a low-security prison, he should not have been able to escape. For some reason, the guards did not report him as missing, so a fair few details are not adding up as of right now. With a total of eleven people having been arrested, Stefansson certainly stands out as a person who has something to hide.

Additionally, one could easily argue that individuals like Stefansson should be kept at prisons with no fences and no access to either telephones or the internet. While stealing Bitcoin mining hardware may not be the worst of crimes, it is still something that should be treated like a major offense. The failure to do so allowed this individual to escape, and no one knows where Stefansson will head next.

How this criminal investigation will pan out in the coming weeks and months remains to be determined. It is evident that Stefansson is just a cog in the machine that is this Bitcoin heist, but one shouldn’t treat this as a minor incident whatsoever. It does not affect the popularity of Iceland as a major Bitcoin mining hub, but it also highlights why cryptocurrency mining will remain a somewhat troubled industry for the time being.

A pair of Walmart patent applications discuss encrypting payment information using a blockchain.

Mastercard embracing Blockchain technology while staying clear of cryptocurrencies. #FOLLOW_UP

The Chief Scientist of Quebec, Rémi Quirion, has published a report on Bitcoin, taking an in-depth look at the state of legality that Bitcoin faces on a day-to-day basis. It finds no direct link between Bitcoin and criminal activities.

Quirion disagrees with accusations such as that by BlackRock CEO Larry Fink who labelled Bitcoin as “an index of money laundering”, saying that Bitcoin’s distributed ledger technology has helped law enforcement agencies track down illegal activities with ease.

“Bitcoin is not above the law, nor is it a magnet for illicit transactions: it forms only a tiny part of the criminal money circulating around the planet. The reason: it is less attractive for anyone who wants to make transactions without leaving a trace,” said Quirion.

The Center for Sanctions and Illicit Finance of the Defense of Democracies Foundation’s study found that funds linked to criminal activities accounted for only 0.61% of money entering the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

The percentage of Bitcoin transactions as a whole related to money laundering has decreased over the last five years, from 1.07% to a minuscule 0.12% in 2016.

The report cited that Bitcoin was still unregulated, although the Quebec government insists that companies must obtain a crypto specific license before operating a cryptocurrency exchange in the country.

While these figures might challenge commonly-held views about Bitcoin, they come as little surprise to veteran Bitcoin users. Others argue that fiat currency, in particular, the US dollar still ranks highly as currency favored by criminals.

The post Quebec Government Defends Bitcoins Liberty appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.