Day: April 24, 2018

In recent months, thanks to the steady rise in the number ICO’s being listed, it’s become clear that blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize the way we do business and provide solutions to many social and economic challenges that have created inequality and lack of transparency globally.

With 2 billion adults worldwide that are still underbanked or unbanked it is no surprise that many startups are creating solutions that are geared towards servicing this audience.

While traditional banks may be failing to see the benefit of working towards creating a more inclusive system, blockchain startups like Latino-owned FinTech company Uulala see the huge untapped potential of this multi-trillion dollar market.

Regardless of their banking status, Uulala appeals to savvy individuals who want to save money when completing financial transactions. According to the World Bank’s 2017 Remittance Prices Worldwide report, “Banks remain the most expensive type of service provider,” on average costing over 10% of the remittance amount to make the transfer. Nearly 90% of international transfers still take place through traditional, agent-based channels, at an average cost of 7.5% of the transfer amount, and people are seeking cheaper, more convenient options. Uulala’s transfer options will generally cost closer to 2%.

With the proliferation not just of mobile phone networks, but also of smartphone technology throughout developing world, online options are poised to take a much larger proportion of the global movement of money.

While many startups in this sector are focused on reducing the cost of remittances many have failed to provide a full-service financial solution which includes the ability to build credit. Through their partnerships, with traditional financial institutions, Uulala will allow customers to benefit from their credit score outside of the app removing a significant obstacle this demographic currently faces.

With a target audience of over 210 million unbanked adults living in Latin America and 23 million living in the U.S. combined with an easy to use financial app that helps users build a global credit score in addition to sending and receiving remittances, paying their bills, shopping online and obtaining microcredit offers for a fraction of the current cost, it is no surprise that early investors have lined up to support Uulala in their mission.

“The ability for the Uulala platform to connect the unbanked to the formal economy, track their creditworthiness through our microcredit ledger and provide them relevant microcredit offers allow us to decentralize the financial services industry” stated CEO Oscar Garcia.

Uulala has already surpassed the project softcap, their banking core platform is fully developed, blockchain integration is wrapping up and mobile app will launch soon. The organization has MOUs and LOIs with companies around the globe to leverage their batch payout functionality as well as merchants to offer microcredit offers through the Uulala ecosystem.  

About Uulala:

Uulala is a minority-owned US-based corporation with the majority of shareholders being first or second generation Latin Americans. Uulala is a mission-driven organization to facilitate and accelerate the financial inclusion of the underbanked and unbanked population across the Americas. Uulala empowers the underbanked communities of the world through the Uulala platform by providing financial tools for them to build credit, send money, participate in ecommerce and elevate out of a cash-only environment. Uulala will drive change and betterment of Latino culture through the massive social impact their banking platform and mobile app can have on a culture that lacks trust in traditional banking systems.  Uulala platform not only provides ways for Latinos to participate in secure financial transactions, build credit and offer remittance services but also gain access to entertainment and shopping services that were once out of reach because of their banking status.

Additional Information

https://tokensale.uulala.io/

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.

It’s only 40 days away to EOSIO mainnet launch and EOS is literally exploding. With a huge bull candlestick and a 110 percent gain in the last month alone, buyers are deep in profit territory.

In my view, trading this coin is profitable as the pump before the well publicized launch will be inevitable but focusing on other coins as Litecoin and NEO would yield more profits.

From our altcoins technical analysis, there is gross undervaluation of the two especially Litecoin which is lagging and under-performing the general crypto market.

Let’s have a look at these charts:

XLM/USD (Stellar Lumens)

Stellar Lumens Daily Chart by Trading View

Stellar continues to chart its way up. In the last 24 hours alone, it’s up seven percent and there is more room for expansion if we take a top down approach. Week over week, Stellar remains a top performer as it is up 29 percent and from our technical analysis, all that was needed was a break below 35 cents.

That didn’t happen and instead prices are now testing our main trigger line at 40 cents as price action sync with the weekly trend. I recommend buys at every stochastics buy signal in lower time frames with targets at 50 cents and 70 cents on the upside.

IOT/USD (IOTA)

IOTA Daily Chart by Trading View

With tech companies lining up and publicly embracing IOTA, we can as well say this IoT facilitator will be a tech industry disruptor in years to come. So, to avoid being obsolete in the world of distribution and decentralization, shaping in and re-calibrating is the best approach for longevity. As it is, I’m net long IOTA and this should be a long term investment.

In the daily chart, IOTA prices are gaining but here is the only caveat. Regardless of the positive sentiment around this coin, there is a lower low and buy momentum is sure fading. Since it’s not a good strategy to fade trending markets, I’m still neutral.

I’m waiting for a correction towards $1.80 according to our previous IOTA technical analysis and until there is a correction of that BB bearish divergence. Any dips mean we load with targets at $3 as usual.

EOS/USD (EOS)

EOS Daily Chart by Trading View

In 40 days, EOSIO mainnet will be live. And yes, there is growing interest on this software/platform that promises to rival Ethereum. After BitFinex, Huobi is now tendering its interest on becoming an EOS block producer.

Welcome @Huobi_Pro to the Block Producer community. We enjoyed your announcement ceremony! https://t.co/A49UAnZpRo

— Block Producers (@blockproducers) April 24, 2018

On the other hand, traders can buy or sell EOS in CoinOne. The later is interesting and supportive developments that should prop this coin in the long term.

Anyhow in the price chart, that rocket launch triggered our buys at $12 and as it is, waiting for a pullback before buying is OK. After all, the 29 percent spike in the last 24 hours is not normal and that’s why I expect price action to slow down today as buyers find opportunities to ramp up buys. Based on our EOS technical analysis, our immediate support should be at April 24 lows and the 32.8 percent Fibonacci retracement level at $12.

LTC/USD (Litecoin)

Litecoin Daily Chart by Trading View

Charlie Lee is now part of DMG Blockchain advisory board. The company involves itself in the mining business and MaaS. They obviously need Charlie’s expertise as they seek to grow and later they shall add Litecoin as the demand for mining services peak.

As it is, Litecoin is up nine percent and the best chart that shows this expansion is the daily chart. Evidently, $140 was where buyers found support and the explosion past April 21 highs is clear. Litecoin buyers should hunt for under-valuation in lower time frames and aim for $180 and $250 in line with our previous Litecoin technical analysis.

NEO/USD (NEO)

NEO Daily Chart by Trading View

With a monthly growth of 28 percent, I’m of the opinion that there is severe NEO under-valuation. Yes, NEO is up 10 percent in the last 24 hours but in my view, there is more room for upsides.

Because of this and the fact that prices are now towing with the trend, the best approach is to spread out buy entries in lower time frames. Ideal and immediate targets lie at $110 and $150 on the upside.

The post (Buy Litecoin and NEO) NEO, EOS, Litecoin, IOTA and Stellar: Technical Analysis April 25, 2018 appeared first on NewsBTC.

There was once a time (and not so long ago) that the game of bingo was considered something that your elderly aunt would enjoy and that she would take the weekly pilgrimage to the local bingo hall for a few hours to catch up on all the latest news with her friends.

Today, bingo is a very different games in some bingo halls with party nights and themed night on offer, which appeals to many younger players. Games are not set in silence, and there are dedicated sitting areas where chat is positively encouraged.

Online bingo has also enjoyed a come-back with younger players.

Over the last decade or so we have seen massive technological breakthroughs, and this has led to games being optimised for the smaller screens, in fact, bingo is one of those games that has transitioned over to mobile devices like the smartphone perfectly.

One of the main reason that online bingo is so popular is that the online version of the game is still as social as its physical counterpart. Online bingo sites offer a chat feature alongside their games which means that you can still keep in contact with family and friends whilst enjoying your games fix.

Convenience also helps to make the game popular. Most of us lead busy lives and being able to pick up a game when and where we want to is just the ticket (pardon the pun.) With the online version of bingo, you can have your games played for you automatically, which means if you pre-buy your tickets and can’t make the game then you won’t lose out at all.

You will also find that most of the bingo sites you visit will also provide a full range of casino games in case you fancy a change of pace, and of course, whether you are enjoying a game of bingo or slots you will be offered the opportunity to opt into some great bonuses and promotional offers.

The majority of us own a smartphone of some type, especially since the prices began to drop, and we have come to rely on those devices for many of the day to day tasks in order to gives ourselves a little more time.

Gone are the days where we had to visit the bank to make a deposit or go to a certain shop. Nowadays we can do most things from ordering food to buying a holiday via our smartphones, so it’s no wonder that we are looking to them to provide us with our entertainment too.

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.

On April 17, 2018, global real estate store with a decentralized title registry Propy announced their open source Developer Program. The news were followed by an announcement from Bittrex, the most popular U.S.-based blockchain trading platform, on listing the PRO token. Propy users need tokens to execute the purchase process for real estate, located in California, as of today.

The idea behind Propy: it allows anyone to buy or sell real estate, anywhere, online. Propy provides an efficient crypto and fiat payment and an immutable record on the blockchain, ensuring that title deeds and property rights will be there forever.

In March 2018, the San Francisco based firm completed its very first government-sanctioned use of blockchain for a public service in the US. That is, in fact, their second global achievement, after the first ever purchase of property using blockchain in Kiev, Ukraine, back in September 2017.

Propy Platform consists of three systems, two of which are powered by Ethereum smart contracts and require PRO tokens.

Designed to encourage blockchain developers and researchers to build efficient solutions for the real estate market, on top of Propy’s registry, Propy’s Developer Program will support: localizations for the Title Registry, a Blockchain Property Explorer, and “Title Mining”.  In a recent blog post, Propy describes how the Title Mining protocol will allow users (Title agents, lawyers, notaries, and real estate professionals) to “mine” title history — which means that they will digitize title records and store them on blockchain, a critical measure for those locations where the records are vulnerable to political regimes, corruptions, and hacking.

Participants in the Developer Program will receive multiple benefits and grants in PRO. The first whitelisted group of developers will receive a grant, that will be announced on Propy’s telegram channel: https://t.me/propy

About Propy

Propy is a global real estate store with a decentralized title registry. Propy aims to solve the problems facing international real estate transactions by creating a novel unified property payment solution and asset transfer platform on blockchain.

https://propy.com/

Press Contact: PR Hacker

Contact email: [email protected]

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.

London, April 24, 2018 – London-based FinTech firm Humaniq today announces further improvements to its application with a new smart bio-identification system for outgoing transactions.

Humaniq recently announced additional bioID settings will as an extra safeguard be integrated into Humaniq app, which has already had over 100,000 downloads in the Google Play store . This technology allows the tracking of executed transactions to ensure they comply with a user’s  pattern of transactions.

Humaniq is seizing the opportunity presented by Blockchain ledgers providing complete, unchangeable histories of transactions. This allows a specific behavioral pattern for every wallet activated in the app to be identified. If transactions are detected as not fitting this pattern for a user, Humaniq’s smart system will request further biometric identification data. The more transactions a user carries out, the more detailed and thorough the profiling of their wallet is.

The Humaniq team also reveals today that the total transaction volume has reached 400,000 HMQ in more than 250,000 transactions per month.With the introduction of an additional layer of biometric authentication, this means over 10,000 transactions will be totally secured from fraud, benefitting over 100,000 users of Humaniq App.

The measures announced today build on the high ratings Humaniq  users have already given to the app for its superior safety features and high security standards. The Humaniq community has responded positively to the current features in the Humaniq app: a wallet, secure messenger, live support chat, peer-to-peer transactions in African countries (Uganda, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Rwanda) and P2P encryption for file- sharing and transactions.  Moreover, Humaniq earlier this year achieved the launch of the first ever working hybrid Blockchain, providing an inexpensive method to secure the network and allowing users to make small transactions with transaction fees close to zero.

“We will never be satisfied with what we have achieved and we will always work towards enhancing the quality of our service and our users’ experience as we empower the unbanked. The Humaniq team continuously receives and analyses feedback from our community and we leave little possibility for any error, even a slight one, to occur,” said Anton Mozgovoy, CTO Humaniq.

ABOUT HUMANIQ

Humaniq is a London-based Fintech firm that provides next-generation financial services using its Blockchain-based mobile application for the unbanked and underprivileged in emerging economies globally. Humaniq is focused on worldwide financial inclusion by providing access to global markets, greater opportunities, and novel financial solutions using repurposed technologies for those gaining access to financial services for the first time.

Media contact:

Alex Fork, office

[email protected]

See more at: http://humaniq.com

Join our community:

https://www.facebook.com/humaniq.co/

https://humaniq-co.slack.com

https://www.linkedin.com/company/humaniq

https://t.me/HMQtrader  

https://www.reddit.com/r/Humaniq

https://open.kakao.com/o/gR94ctw

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.

DALLAS, TX – Richard, organizer of the original Bitcoin, Ethereum and Blockchain Super Conference, held in February, is hosting a follow-up conference in September. Like the first conference, the second offers attendees a rare opportunity to network with many of the most respected players in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space – including developers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and “smart money” hedge fund managers who are now piling their capital into blockchain assets.

Headline speakers include major industry leaders like Tim Draper (the billionaire venture capitalist who famously bet on Skype before it got bit), Mark Yusko (founder of Morgan Creek Capital Management, who manages $4.5 billion), Nick Spanos (founder and CEO of Blockchain Technologies Corp.), and Lyn Ulbricht (CEO at Ross Ulbricht Defense).

When asked why he decided to organize a second conference, Mr. Jacobs responded: “So much has changed in the crypto space since February. There are a lot of new threats and new opportunities that nobody seems to be talking about. So, we decided to bring together dozens of the most respected players again, and some who couldn’t make it last time, so they can fill in investors on the latest developments.”

Mr. Jacobs continued: “What people really loved about the last conference was the networking. We had a ton of exhibitors outside, so it partly felt like being at the Consumer Electronics Show, but for crypto and blockchain. We had a lot of great speakers too! Folks said they learned a lot. But what they loved most was the chance to spend three days with a bunch of other smart people, making valuable connections, talking shop, exchanging blockchain investment ideas, and even creating joint ventures.”

The second Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Blockchain Super Conference is expected to have over 1,000 attendees, 70 top-notch speakers and 100+ exhibitors from the world of cryptocurrency, blockchain, and, in a few cases, other future techs – as well as talks from ICOs and blockchain start-ups.

Tickets are now available here:

https://www.thefuturetechexpo.com/register/

###

Press contact:

Richard Jacobs

[email protected]

(888) 448-4590

About the Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Blockchain Super Conference II:

This three-day conference will be held at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center at Dallas from Friday September 14th to Sunday September 16th, 2018. We are expecting more than 1,000 attendees, at least 50 headline speakers, and upward of 50 exhibitors – with talks from founders, developers, and early-stage investors of cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups, including many that are planning ICOs throughout last 2018 and 2019.

More information is available at:

https://www.thefuturetechexpo.com/register/

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.

APRIL 24 2018 — PRAGUE, THE CZECH REPUBLIC. Miracle Tele, the world’s first blockchain powered mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) whose services are available in 213 countries, has officially launched this week.

The company enters crypto market with a distinctive offer that features high-quality international call and browsing services in one SIM card, protection of its customers’ privacy rights, and creation of a proprietary utility token named TELE that allows its members receive biweekly token holder rewards.

The idea behind fusing a MVN operator with blockchain technology emerged due to the  extreme monopolization of the market of conventional telecom operators, which makes it almost impossible for a small company to enter it and therefore forces the end user to put up with tricky rates, unknown quality, and lack of privacy.

“We analyzed the blockchain MVN market, understood that there is literally zero competition, and decided to seize the opportunity,” says Andrew Burchik, Miracle Tele’s founder.

And though there are other similar companies that expressed their plans to launch this year, Miracle Tele already has signed contracts with dozens of quality local operators and does not depend on the token sale because of the diversification of its services and private investments.

The MVNO model that the company is based on lets it minimize the infrastructure and branding costs and this way provide its customers with the lowest rates and highest service quality.

By diversifying its services and offering the users to choose either to use its telecom services as if it was a common mobile operator or tokenize their assets and purchase mobile plans using TELE tokens, Miracle Tele protects itself from risks of closure as it usually happens with 90% of crypto projects who go for ICO but then disappear in less than a year because of technical inefficiency, misappropriation of funds, or lack of interest to their projects.

Apart from dealing with high rates and bureaucracy—the most common problems of giant telecom operators—Miracle Tele also fosters the customer’s right for privacy through the use of blockchain.

Since Miracle Tele is an MVN operator, the customers do not need to disclose their private information and upload their IDs in order to use the telecom services whilst all transactions within the system are secured by smart contracts.

Usage of Ethereum blockchain also let the company introduce biweekly token holder rewards for those customers who prefer to store TELE tokens on their ERC20 wallets and receive a stake in the amount of 40% of the company’s net profits divided between all token holders.

“We know that the potential for SMEs and blockchain in the telecom industry is huge. Just imagine that in 2016 there were 4.6 bln mobile phone users and 1.2 bln international tourists. Let’s say that a third of them, or 1 billion people, are not happy with the value for money ratio of their mobile and roaming operators. This is our prospective market share,” sums up Andrew Burchik.

The company’s team members believe that it’s not only extreme monopolization of the market that prevents small mobile operators from growing popular, but lack of innovation too.

The technology that Miracle Tele’s development team is particularly interested in is the Internet of Things (IoT), which can be used together with AI algorithms in order to extend the range of use cases of the company’s services by incorporating them into home and building automation systems.

“We want to be something more than an MVNO that provides cheap calls and traffic but also make everyone’s life easier and more comfortable thanks to the use of new technologies,” said Roman Golod, the company’s Head of Development.

Apart from integrating its telecom services into IoT ecosystems, by 2020 Miracle Tele is planning to reach at least 100,000 active customers and start introducing new blockchain based telco tools like a proprietary wallet, prepaid debit cards, and more.

Website: https://miracletele.com/

Token ticker: TELE

Lightpaper: https://miracletele.com/files/lightpaper.pdf

Founder: Andrew Burchik

Press and business requests: [email protected]

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MiracleTelecom  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miracletele/  

Telegram group: https://t.me/miracletelecom

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.

Amsterdam police have announced the re-arrest of Sindri Thor Stefansson. He was initially arrested days ago in Iceland in connection with a bitcoin hardware mining caper that included 600 computers worth $2 million. In a James Bond-like villain move, after his first capture he managed to escape, reportedly hitching a ride on a plane carrying Iceland’s prime minister.

Also read: Bitcoin in Brief Thursday: ICO Scares Investors with Ghost Prank

Bond-Like Bitcoin Villain Re-Arrested

Mr. Stefansson, after have absconded, wrote to a popular online site to plead his case. “I simply refuse to be in prison of my own free will,” he explained to Frettabladid, “especially when the police threaten to arrest me without explanation. I’m not trying to say that it was the right decision to leave, I really regret it…I didn’t expect an international arrest warrant to be issued against me, as I was legally free to leave, and believed it was out of the question that I would be labelled a fugitive. I would never have done this if I didn’t believe I was a free man.”

It’s something straight out of a movie. Media outlets are claiming Sindri Thor Stefansson to be a “mastermind”. He, at the very least, was implicated recently in a major crime for the country of Iceland: $2 million in computer mining hardware is missing, believed to be part of an elaborate theft conspiracy, involving a gang of 11 others including Mr. Stefansson’s wife.

Mr. Stefansson escaped what local press refers to as “low-security” confinement after first being arrested. He was held in Sogn, an open prison 59 miles from the country’s international airport (95 km). It’s so loose it doesn’t have a fence, and detainees can even surf the net.

Thought He Could Avoid Capture Indefinitely

The mastermind slipped out through a window. He somehow later made it to the airport, procuring a flight boarding pass under an assumed name (though he paid with his own debit card), and managed to put himself on a flight to Sweden carrying Iceland’s prime minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir. He wasn’t discovered missing by guards until well after the plane was airbound. An international warrant was soon issued for Mr. Stefansson.

The Big Bitcoin Heist, as it has been tagged on the frozen island, involved bitcoin mining rigs grabbed in conjunction with four data center break-ins. Iceland has become a magnet for crypto miners due to relatively cheap electricity and its cold climes, helping the notoriously overheated instruments cool as they mine.

Mr. Stefansson’s unorthodox public letter while on the run insisted he could remain elusive to authorities for “as long as I like”. Dutch police disagreed, arresting him downtown without incident and are presently arranging for his extradition back to Iceland. 

Do you think bitcoin mining rigs present a lucrative target to thieves? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Dutch police.

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

The post James Bond-Like Villain in $2 Million Bitcoin Heist Caught in Amsterdam appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Capital Group filed an upgraded Code of Ethics with the SEC, where it prohibited associates from investing in in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). #NEWS

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

TD Ameritrade used bitcoin’s “memo” area to plant a digital flag on the cryptocurrency’s ledger.