Day: April 24, 2018

Ever since the Ethereum platform launched in July 2015, its currency – also called Ethereum, or Ether – has been hugely popular among investors, because of its impressive transaction speed and widespread adoption.

It did not take long for the cryptocurrency of blockchain-based decentralized development platform, co-founded by Russian-Canadian Vitalik Buterin to be established as the second-biggest in terms of market capitalization. Ethereum sits behind only Bitcoin, the founding crypto that was launched in 2009.

Mr. Buterin was introduced to Bitcoin at the age of 17, in 2011, by his father. He became fascinated by the concept, and co-founded and wrote for Bitcoin Magazine.

In 2013 the teenager traveled to Israel and worked with global investing and trading platform eToro to develop Coloured Coins, an open-source banking infrastructure for the future of digital money. It was during this trip that the youngster realized that programming language could deliver extraordinary functionality to the blockchain beyond mere currency transactions.

In November 2013, Mr. Buterin published the Ethereum White Paper that set out his desire to create a platform on which decentralized applications could be built. It was the most exciting development in the cryptocurrency world since the mysterious (and yet to be unmasked) Satoshi Nakamoto introduced Bitcoin. Ethereum, or the ‘Ethereum Virtual Machine’, was built as a decentralized computer network on top of which software developers could program any platform, and the network is fuelled by Ether (or ETH).

The Ethereum project managed to raise almost $20 million in July and August 2014, and when Ether was introduced, in July 2015, it was valued at $2.8 per token. By March of the following year it had hit $10, and as transactions on the Ethereum blockchain skyrocketed a raft of top organizations begin backing the crypto. The United Nations, Toyota, Deloitte, Samsung, and many others sought to take advantage of its enormously powerful shared global infrastructure. Before long its price reached $300, and Ether’s value peaked at $1,315 in January 2018.

There are many similarities between Ether and Bitcoin. First, they are both blockchain-based cryptocurrencies and can be mined by users around the world. There are some key differences, however. While the annual supply of Ether is limited to 18 million, Ethereum could theoretically continue to introduce fresh currency and make its supply unlimited. Conversely, Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21 million – that mark is due to be reached in the year 2140.

Another big difference is the processing speed; Bitcoin transactions take around 10 minutes, whereas an Ether transaction takes only 15 seconds.

While Olaf Carlson-Wee, Founder and CEO of Polychain Capital, has predicted that “Ethereum’s price could surpass that of Bitcoin by the end of 2018” and Monkey Capital’s Daniel Mark Harrison reckons it will “likely be valued at over $100,000 by 2042” others are more cautious. Luis Cuende, co-founder of Ethereum-powered company Aragon, says: “Ethereum’s price will hit $1,000 by mid-2019.”

eToro, which boasts of having over nine million users, specializes in cryptocurrencies and offers many top cryptos – including Ethereum – to buy outright or trade.

Its motto is: “Cryptos Needn’t Be Cryptic.” And the eToro team has produced this handy video history of Ethereum to help inform investors:

Pros and cons of trading on eToro

Pros

• Straightforward, user-friendly, trustworthy and experienced platform
• Instant execution of trades, thereby locking in the price
• Ability to use CopyTrader and other innovative tools
• Huge cryptocurrency community that shares knowledge and helps each other
• Fast execution
• Regulated company

Cons

• Only nine cryptocurrencies offered by the platform, currently
• Users are unable to withdraw the cryptocurrencies directly
• Users’ cryptocurrencies are held by eToro

Trading Ethereum is straightforward on eToro

Step 1: Go to www.etoro.com and press ‘Join Now’ to register

Step 2: Once you have signed up, search for Ethereum

Step 3: Click on Ethereum and press ‘Trade’

Step 4: Choose either the amount or units to trade (by toggling the icon on the right-hand side) and press ‘Deposit Now’

Want to learn more about trading Ethereum and other cryptos? Visit www.eToro.com now, and join the online global community.

All trading involves risk. Only risk capital you’re prepared to lose. Past performance is not an indication of future results.

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Binance is one of the biggest trading platforms in the world. Even though it does not provide fiat currency trading as of right now, its position in the altcoin industry cannot be disputed. However, this company is about much more than just cryptocurrency. A new venture was recently announced in order to bring economic transformation to Uganda.

A Philanthropic Effort by Binance

It is of the utmost importance for cryptocurrency companies to make a positive impact on the world. Doing so often requires a unique approach which may not necessarily seem feasible at first. In the case of Binance, the firm has made a lot of headlines, mainly due to its efforts in the cryptocurrency world. However, it seems the firm is also looking beyond its own market to make a positive impact.

According to a recent tweet by the company’s CEO, the current goal is to partner with major organizations in Uganda. As most people are aware by now, Uganda is – along with other African nations – not in the best place when it comes to employment, technology, and innovation. Helping foster the next “industrial revolution” in those areas is a venture that’s well worth looking into.

@binance will partner with @cryptosavannah @AggieKonde @HelenHaiyu to support Uganda's economic transformation and youth employment through blockchain, embracing the 4th industrial revolution. We will do this by creating thousands of jobs and bringing investments to Uganda.

— CZ (@cz_binance) April 22, 2018

For Binance, partnering with Crypto Savannah is an important step in that direction. Crypto Savannah is an African blockchain innovation hub which is making strides in bringing innovative technologies to African nations. Additionally, Binance is joining forces with Msingi East Africa CEO Aggie Asiimwe Konde and Made in Africa CEO Helen Hai. Together, they form a powerful collaboration which can certainly transform the economy in Uganda.

It seems the current plan of action is to focus on youth employment through blockchain initiatives. If they’re successful, Binance and its partners will create thousands of jobs throughout Uganda. How exactly that will be achieved remains unclear, though it is expected that these projects will bring more investment to Uganda.

It did not take long for scammers to take advantage of the Binance CEO’s tweet. One of the first replies told users to participate in an upcoming “giveaway” related to cryptocurrency, even though it had absolutely nothing to do with the announcement by the exchange. Such developments are nothing new in the cryptocurrency world, unfortunately, and it seems unlikely they will go away.

For the time being, we will have to wait and see how Binance plans to tackle this initiative. It is commendable to see cryptocurrency exchanges – which hold a prominent position in this industry – reach out to companies driving social change. The fact that Binance is the first to do so also shows how the company looks at the world. Whether or not other exchanges will follow its example remains to be determined.

EU’s new data privacy laws may have opposite of intended effect, some say #NEWS

Here are former CFTC chairman Gary Gensler’s full remarks from Monday at the Business of Blockchain event.

Solareum is announcing their upcoming blockchain powered platform, as well as the ability to purchase their native token, SLM. The platform is pivoting itself to become the “Amazon of Solar and Renewables”, allowing users to purchase renewable products and claim back tokens for using a renewable source of energy.

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article

Renewable energy something everyone can use

Solareum is focusing on both P2P and B2B business models, as both individual users and corporations can benefit from using green energy sources to fuel their everyday activities. Solareum will also facilitate businesses between renewable companies and the community, allowing users to pick solar provider worldwide and have solar panels installed, for example.

With global warming being a serious problem affecting the world as a whole, Solareum aims to incentivize using eco-friendly energy sources by creating a marketplace where green energy consumption pays the user. Global warming has already seen the increase of natural disasters, drastic melting of the ice caps and subsequent rising of the ocean levels, and other consequences that have led to the endangerment of countless species.

Token details

The native ERC20 can be bought directly from the website at a price of $0.70 per token. There is a minimum buying threshold of 500 SOLAREUM tokens, or $350. The tokens are available to purchase in their shop, alongside a Solar Energy System (from $17,500.00 – $27,000/00) and a Solar Heating System ($9,999.00).

The team has set the hard cap for funds raised at $42.2 million, in homage to Earth Day, which is on 4/22.  60,000,000 total coins are available, with 1,100,000 released in a private sale and 45,000,000 available in the open market.

Exchange rates are recalculated often, due to the natural volatility of the market. User details will be kept private during the sale period, with Solareum making sure principles of anonymity are upheld in this timeframe.

Backed by a wholly managed investment fund which includes a portfolio consisting of the leading cryptocurrencies, solving the problem of the users worrying about the optimal time to buy or to sell. Fiat payment method integration will also help facilitate the adoption of the platform a well.

Furthermore, the ERC20 support allows Solareum to take full advantage of Ethereum smart contracts, providing the marketplace with a transparent and decentralized way to serve both consumers and providers

Roadmap of Solareum

Tokens can be purchased with 14 cryptocurrencies, as well as with a credit card and debit card. While the platform accepts the major cryptocurrencies such as BTC, LTC, and ETH, it also accepts some lesser used coins such as Goldcoin, Neo, and Vertcoin for example.

This sale follows a private sale that went live on the first of January, and lasted for a week, ending on the 8th of January. After this sale, Solareum will commence beta testing of the Solareum web application, while continuing development of the iOS and Android application which begun in March. May is slated for the launches of both web and mobile applications for Solareum.

Follow Solareum on Facbeook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. For more information about their token, read their whitepaper. For general info on the token, or interest in purchasing SOLAREUM, visit their website.

SK Telecom will use Blockchain for its asset management service, will launch a platform to support Blockchain startups. #NEWS

We hear a lot about wallets and exchanges being hacked. And about ICO scams and unfortunate investors waking up to zero balances. Investing in the crypto space is scary. The prospect of losing money is scary. But what about losing data? As Equifax so monumentally demonstrated, having one’s personal information wind up in the hands of hackers is no walk in the park either.

So, would using blockchain make us any safer? If this is the technology with the potential to store the world’s data, how do we know it won’t be stolen by cyber criminals as well? And if blockchains are practically (but not completely) immutable, what’s to stop our entire identities from being hijacked, manipulated, or rewritten?

Blockchains Aren’t Prepared to Hold Sensitive Data – Yet

According to Anurag Angara, Blockchain Project Manager at Hydrogen, data theft on blockchains isn’t something to worry about just yet. “It’s not best practice right now to record private or sensitive data on blockchains. Once a piece of information is stored on-chain, it is publicly accessible; if it is encrypted, and you pass the decryption key to someone else, that opens a communication vector for someone to steal the decryption key, which means all of your encrypted on-chain information is now [an open] book for a hacker.” Not a comforting thought.

Of course, private blockchains can keep data on lockdown, but they’re vulnerable in other ways. “This is one of the reasons many people don’t see much of a value-add in the expensive process of implementing private blockchains. While implementations of private blockchains vary, they generally rely on trusted parties to a much greater degree than public chains do. Even if these parties are not malicious, they can introduce central point of failure into a system,” Angara explains.

But Blockchain Tech is Continually Improving

Whenever the threat of cybersecurity comes into play, many look to the decentralized nature of blockchain tech as holding the answer. But when it comes to data that needs to be kept secure, can we really risk having our medical records or credit card details floating around like an open book?

Technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs are starting to address this issue, Angara says, and becoming accessible on Ethereum and other blockchains. That could “make this process more secure by allowing you to prove knowledge of encrypted information without passing the decryption key.”

In fact, Hydrogen has developed a 2FA public blockchain product designed to secure large databases and APIs with blockchain technology. They’re also coming out with an iOS/Android blockchain-based alternative to 2FA apps like Google Authenticator and Authy for end users.

Angara reiterates, “Whether data is stored in a private system or a decentralized system, in order to make it secure, access must be restricted to authorized parties. Transparency and veritability are critical to confirming authorized accessors. Hydro’s Enterprise Raindrop product requires accessors to record an identifying piece of information on-chain whenever they are trying to access a system. In this way, invalid access attempts always leave an immutable paper trail.”

The Bottom Line

Says Angara, “There is another, much less frequently discussed challenge with blockchain: companies are happy with private databases; it would be expensive to overhaul their entire existing infrastructure. Most of the solutions blockchain provides, such as identity management and payment solutions, only really work if everyone gets on board with them, so few incumbent parties want to spend all the money it takes to be a leader in the space.”

Overhauling systems and replacing existing infrastructure is not an attractive prospect to many businesses looking out for the bottom line. So, will blockchain ever reach a point where it is widely used for data storage? Angara believes so. “Hydro uses APIs to bring blockchain functionality to businesses without requiring them to overhaul their existing systems. This will be a big step [toward] making blockchain technology accessible to today’s businesses instead of remaining overhyped.”

He continues, “It is important to note that private chains in many cases have the same security vulnerabilities as the traditional database systems that exist today, so it is reasonable to question their efficacy in the systems of the future.” As blockchain technology matures, we will begin to see a clearer distinction between public, private, and permissioned networks. And this, Angara says, “will play a critical role in creating secure systems.”

A return to normal, rules on the rise, and did you pay the tax, man? Let us know in our latest industry survey.

Enabling business to incorporate the use of machine robots, autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles and a wide range of sensors within its solutions is proving to be an attractive offer for many companies. Aitheon executives believe that connecting with the broadest array of devices, from many manufacturers, improves the flexibility and value of the platform and helps drive adoption for the end customer.

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article

This idea has caught the attention of the global marketplace. Aitheon founder and CEO Andrew Archer are very pleased with the global interest that the Aitheon platform is attracting. These early and positive signs are good for the confidence of the CEO, who firmly believes that the future of business solutions lies with the complete integration of artificial intelligence with humans and robots working in unison for a common goal.

India

India-based Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited(IL&FS) is one of the world’s leading infrastructure development and finance companies. IL&FS and Aitheon recently met to discuss the implementation of automated systems for a variety of applications. With operations in the USA, Middle East, and Asia, the cooperation looks to be mutually beneficial to all involved. Aitheon and IL&FS will look to jointly service clients with fully automated robotic material handling and storage solutions. This partnership could also allow for businesses running on the platform to be financed by IL&FS. Also in India, Aitheon has entered into agreements with Kaynes Technology for manufacturing services, where Aitheon has co-located its offices.

USA

Aitheon recently met with executives from the Washington D.C. based World Bank, regarding possible uses of the Aitheon token and integration of payments using the AIC cryptocurrency. Leaders at SAP, one of the world’s top suppliers of business software solutions, discussed a possible partnership that would see the two platforms communicating and sharing data. Integrating with established high-profile companies is a modus operandi that is sure to raise the profile of Aitheon in North America.

Profile and awareness raising is very important, particularly at this stage along the roadmap, however, Aitheon also recognizes the importance of partnering with smaller perhaps more dynamic ventures. Their executives also in talks with California based, Next Future Transportation, Inc.Next Future is a pioneering new transportation solution with autonomous transportation pods. The two companies are discussing the integration of Next’s driverless vehicles within the Aitheon platform to leverage the flexibility of human command and control to boost their technology.

Netherlands

Remaining in the technology breakthrough arena, Aitheon is exploring the integration of Decibel.LIVE’s devices on the Aitheon platform. This will make the technology available to Aitheon users and continue to widen the awareness of the Decibel.LIVE’s array of noise-based instruments. Decible.Live has created a cutting-edge noise monitoring program that joins real-time sensor data with blockchain-based smart contracts to produce open, provable results and instant payment direct to impacted parties.

Dubai

The Microsoft Technology Center in Dubai is keen to discuss possible synergies between the Aitheon platform and Microsoft back-office solutions. Dialogue has been opened with a pioneering Dubai-based company to incorporate new types of safe sound-based payment services. The company offers payment solutions that use sound waves to enable offline, proximity-based, protected and speedy contactless payments through the blockchain.

Visit the website: https://www.aitheon.com/

At a Shenzhen blockchain expo event hosted on Sunday by the China Electronic Commerce Association, Shenzhen’s city government revealed that it is backing a considerable blockchain investment fund.

From Hangzhou…

The fund aims to invest CNY 500 million (USD 80 million) in blockchain startups in Shenzhen, which comes shortly after Hangzhou city took very similar steps toward accommodating and evolving its approaches to blockchain technology.

In early April, the city of Hangzhou began turning the cogs of its own blockchain venture capital fund dubbed the ‘Xion’An Global Blockchain Innovation Fund’; the funding project was launched by Hangzhou firm Tunlan Investment and has USD 400 million of the USD 1.6 billion available being provided by the Hangzhou city government.

The project has opened a Blockchain Industrial Park in the city, with ten blockchain projects from across the globe being “successfully contracted”. The fund, industrial park and the Zehejiang Shimang Blockchain Strategic Development Institute will all provide academic and financial support to the development of blockchain technology in Hangzhou.

This is particularly noteworthy considering that a couple of weeks earlier, a government-led investment group in China had thrown away plans to create a blockchain funding centre due to conflicts regarding regulation.

… to Shenzhen

Now in Shenzhen through a public-private partnership, 40% of the fund (USD 32 Million) will come from the Shenzhen Angel Investment Guidance Fund, that has a total of CNY 5 billion to pump into city startups; roughly 4% of that total is to be given to local blockchain projects.

The blockchain venture capital fund will be managed by Donghai and Star Capital, which are both state-owned investment firms; they will be supervised by the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC). In a report made by Sohu, Liu Zhongpu, local government official and commissioner of the Shenzhen advisory commission, will also be serving as an advisor to the fund.

Sohu also reports that the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Shenzhen Institute of Innovation and Development will accrue over 100 blockchain startup projects to invest in, which will act as the incubation project for the angel fund.

Ever onward

China, who previously declared controversial bans on ICOs and cryptocurrency exchanges, appear to have eyes set on a bountiful blockchain future. Sun Jiangtao, an angel investor and the co-founder of Beijing-based Goopal Group, which builds blockchain-based applications, said:

“Some months ago, when equity investors had no sense of blockchain technology, we fell out of favor with start-ups,” he said. “But when the regulators got a deeper understanding of blockchain and cracked down on ICOs, VCs and big companies found back their competitiveness.”

The post Shenzhen in China to Invest Heavily in Blockchain Startups appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.