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Iran Is Moving Ahead With Local Cryptocurrency Development Despite Crypto Ban

Despite last weeks ban on the cryptocurrency market by central banking authorities, Iran is still moving ahead with plans to develop an experimental local coin, according to a government minister. Just last week Iran’s central bank prohibited banks in the country from dealing in cryptocurrencies, citing fears of associated money laundering. In related financial news, Iran

The post Iran Is Moving Ahead With Local Cryptocurrency Development Despite Crypto Ban appeared first on NewsBTC.

Despite last weeks ban on the cryptocurrency market by central banking authorities, Iran is still moving ahead with plans to develop an experimental local coin, according to a government minister.

Just last week Iran’s central bank prohibited banks in the country from dealing in cryptocurrencies, citing fears of associated money laundering. In related financial news, Iran moved this month to formally unify its open market exchange rates and banned money changing outside of banks.

These regulatory measures come as the Rial, the country’s national currency, has hit all time lows amid concerns about a possible return of sanctions. U.S. President Donald Trump will decide by May 12 whether to restore U.S. economic sanctions on Iran, which would be a severe blow to the 2015 pact between the country and six major powers, including the U.S.

Despite all this, Iran’s Information and Communications Technology Minister Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi has said the government’s local cryptocurrency project will not be affected by the banks regulations:

“The central bank’s [ban] does not mean the prohibition or restriction of the use of the digital currency in domestic development,” state news agency IRNA quoted him as saying. “Last week, at a joint meeting to review the progress of the [local cryptocurrency] project, it was announced that the experimental model was ready,” Azari-Jahromi added.

This update comes after Azari-Jahromi, Iran’s youngest minister, said in a tweet in February that his ministry’s Post Bank had been working with local experts on an experimental cryptocurrency model that now appears ready to be presented for review and possible approval.

Central Bank Doesn’t Recognize Cryptocurrencies

In February, the country’s central bank denied ever recognizing Bitcoin as an official currency, along with the idea that it was actively facilitating Bitcoin transactions. The bank also warned Iranian citizens about the high risks of making investments in the potentially volatile cryptocurrency market, saying that there’s a chance citizens ‘may lose their financial assets.’

Moving forward, the bank will continue working with other institutions to develop mechanisms to control and prevent the use of digital currencies in the country. The bank described the digital coins as follows:

“The wild fluctuations of the digital currencies along with competitive business activities underway via network marketing and pyramid scheme have made the market of these currencies highly unreliable and risky.”

Countries Creating Their Own Coins

Iran would not be the first country to develop its own state-sponsored digital currency as a way of bypassing financial blockades. Earlier this year, Venezuela launched its own coin, the Petro, which is backed by the South American country’s oil reserves.

In February, Europe’s newest digital currency, the Korona — which runs on the Lightning Network and is being touted as more stable, safer, and cheaper to use than its competitors — was launched in Budapest, Hungary.

Although sanctions on Iran are not as heavy as they were before the 2015 nuclear deal with the West, the country is still, for the most part, cut off from major international payment networks like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal.

As is the case in other parts of the world, Africa for example, this economic stalemate is making the decentralized payment methods offered by cryptocurrencies more and more appealing — something of which, fortunately, it seems the government of Iran recognizes, even if traditional banking authorities don’t.

Image from Shutterstock.

The post Iran Is Moving Ahead With Local Cryptocurrency Development Despite Crypto Ban appeared first on NewsBTC.

Blockchain-based Fintech Platform Bulleon Welcomes Three Top Advisors to its Platform

Blockchain-based startups are super competitive and innovative these days and rely on the top human resource to make the difference and further their appeal in the bitcoin community for investment and engagement of developers. Since the Blockchain movement is relatively young, the number of pioneers in the industry is rather limited and especially they are …

The post Blockchain-based Fintech Platform Bulleon Welcomes Three Top Advisors to its Platform appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Blockchain-based startups are super competitive and innovative these days and rely on the top human resource to make the difference and further their appeal in the bitcoin community for investment and engagement of developers. Since the Blockchain movement is relatively young, the number of pioneers in the industry is rather limited and especially they are the most sought-after professionals, perhaps in the entire world.

Bulleon, a decentralized fintech startup has announced that it has engaged three new advisors for their new team. The three advisors Vladimir Nikitin, Phillip Nunn, and Nikolay Shkilev bring a wide-ranging experience to the table for the Bulleon team.

Who are the Advisors?

Vladimir Nikitin is a long-term cryptocurrency advocate who has called for the world to adopt cryptocurrency and move to decentralized solutions. Phillip Nunn on the other hand is  the founder of the Blackmore Group and has more than ten years experience in different forms of investment including angel investment, financing blockchain projects, commercial property investment and wealth management. Shkilev is the founding partner of Top Blockchain Advisors, an advisory platform for decentralized systems and is a part of various other Blockchain-based business entities

Advantages to Bulleon

Bulleon is embarking on an ambitious challenge to transform the financial transactions around the world. To complete this mission they need all the help they can get and these three vital additions bring the expertise and vision which is among the best in the business.

Bulleon’s focus is on the end-user and it will offer a uniquely styled interface alongside a digital service for cryptocurrencies. Top developers are working with Bulleon to develop the new fintech platform under the watchful eyes of of the three new advisors. Bulleon team is also benefiting from the addition of Skhilev, Nikitin and Nunn by understanding which way the industry is moving.

The decentralized startup is looking to launch a futuristic digital cryptocurrency exchange, a biometric-enabled hardware wallet for cryptocurrency holders, an international debit card, an e-commerce platform, and a P2P lending platform.

The Bulleon Token Generation Event

The Bulleon token generation event is based on a decentralized fundraising method that is in its initial fundraising stage. Instead of luring big-money investors with cheaper coins and flooding the market later with expensive coins, the Bulleon team has democratized the token generation by offering all the participants equal stakes in the new company in their token sale with no private sale planned.

Since the visualization of cryptocurrencies is based on a decentralized future, Bulleon believes this is an appropriate approach to a token generation event. In addition, there are no minimum or maximum funding limits being set for Bulleon’s token sale.

Visit the official website by following : https://bulleon.io/

The post Blockchain-based Fintech Platform Bulleon Welcomes Three Top Advisors to its Platform appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Promoted: Blockchain Agnosticism: Resolving the Paradox of Choice

When bitcoin was the only show in town, things were a lot less complicated for blockchain developers. You either used some variation of colored coins to support your decentralized application or you did not. Sinc…

Shocard

When bitcoin was the only show in town, things were a lot less complicated for blockchain developers. You either used some variation of colored coins to support your decentralized application or you did not.

Since then, a forest of blockchains has sprouted, each of them unique. Some are permissioned; some are public. Some use proof of work, while others rely on proof of stake. Some have substantial industry support, while some are rarefied and niche. How should decentralized application vendors choose one?

When faced with an overwhelming choice, perhaps the best approach is not to choose at all. Armin Ebrahimi, CEO and co-founder of blockchain identity management company ShoCard, is keeping an open mind. His team decided to adopt a multi-blockchain approach early on in product development, giving deployment teams the flexibility to choose their own. He said this blockchain agnosticism is essential in a fast-moving industry.

“I believe for the foreseeable future we will see blockchains evolve. They will improve and specialize in various forms,” said Ebrahimi. “Even when the underlying technology over the next three to five years becomes more stable and advanced, it is still prudent to be blockchain agnostic.”

By not picking winners, his argument is that ShoCard can more easily be interoperable with other blockchain-based identity management systems. ShoCard’s strategy can also allow them to support enterprises that have standardized their use of blockchain technology.

ShoCard does this by using a mobile application to gather user credentials. It then stores proof of these credentials on the blockchain using a cryptographic hash rather than the credentials themselves. This approach lets the user share only the credentials they are comfortable with, and only with those parties they trust.

The company needed a public blockchain to provide final verification of those credentials, explained Ebrahimi. “Using a public blockchain for the final proof of work means we cannot cheat the system, and the data can be as reliable as the underlying public blockchain that has the final hash,” he said. “This is an important part of the no-trust and no-central-control identity management platform.”

How do you use the trust of a public blockchain without forcing a choice in technology? ShoCard solved the problem using a blockchain adapter layer that acts as a proxy between the ShoCard service layer and the public blockchain layer. By reading and writing records indirectly through the proxy, the company can use a variety of public blockchains to suit user requirements.

ShoCard also designed its architecture to protect itself against public blockchain performance problems by using a mixture of side chains and caches. The sidechain stores the hashed credential data, accessing public blockchain through the API adapter approximately every 20 minutes. The system uses the public blockchain as proof of work while keeping the hashed certification data on sidechains replicated to improve performance.

Because the sidechain sits at the service layer, above the blockchain API adaptor, ShoCard had to choose a technology to run it. It based the sidechain on Ethereum open source, although as a sidechain rather than a public blockchain it will be less susceptible to the congestion now facing the Ethereum network. This means no CryptoKitties to worry about slowing the system.

To further enhance performance, the service layer also caches the public blockchain so that the system can service blockchain verification requests more quickly.

According to ShoCard, blockchain agnosticism provides several other benefits. It future-proofs an application against unexpected developments in the blockchain space, such as a public blockchain becoming obsolete. It also protects users against rising transaction costs, and it shields them from congestion, making the blockchain more scalable. The firm claims the ability to create and certify over 5 million new users, with proof of work, in under 30 minutes.

However, the company still had to settle on a blockchain to manage its token sale, and in March it chose Stellar, created by Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb. Stellar can handle over 1,000 transactions per second with no transaction costs, which Ebrahimi said will make it easier to manage the many microtransactions that a well-prepared ICO can expect when selling tokens.

As blockchain options spread and grow more complex, blockchain agnosticism may become a more frequent fixture in decentralized startups. It stands out as a way of avoiding brittle technology commitments that could burden you with technical debt.

This promoted article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

Bitcoin like a Regular Currency, Says St Louis Federal Reserve

In a blog entry posted 25 April, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis likened Bitcoin to fiat currencies in a validation of one of the core premises of the currency. The post, titled Three Ways Bitcoin Is Like Regular Currency, is based on research previously conducted by the reserve bank. While the study found that …

The post Bitcoin like a Regular Currency, Says St Louis Federal Reserve appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

In a blog entry posted 25 April, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis likened Bitcoin to fiat currencies in a validation of one of the core premises of the currency.

The post, titled Three Ways Bitcoin Is Like Regular Currency, is based on research previously conducted by the reserve bank. While the study found that ”Bitcoin units have no intrinsic value”, it also acknowledged that currencies “such as the US dollar, the euro, and the Swiss franc… have no intrinsic value either”.

This provides a valid counter-argument to the misguided criticism that claims Bitcoin has a monetary value of zero because it is not tied to any real-world commodity. As the research points at, since the dismantling of the gold standard in the 1970s, the vast majority of national reserves rely on trust as a medium of value exchange.

The US dollar, for example, relies on a trust in the government and economy for their transactions to be facilitated. Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, on the other hand, rely on computer coding and for the majority, the blockchain to facilitate transactions.

Libertarian proponents of cryptocurrencies have also argued a similar case to that of the Fed’s new study, but with an entirely different conclusion reached. They believe that cryptocurrencies are in fact a better alternative to national currencies, as they are not at risk of devaluation via inflation.

Bitcoin instead has a strictly fixed supply, as opposed to the Fed that has the ability to expand the money supply, even if not directly through printing more bank notes.

While the post does not directly endorse the use of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, it does provide a certain amount of credibility, and authority as the comments come from an American federal agency.

However, the reserve bank of St Louis has previously been skeptical of Bitcoin, posting an entry in February 2015 that demeans the currency as inefficient. Some of the reasons cited in this post include the inefficiency of requiring mining as a proof-of-work model and the energy wasteful nature of this process.

 

The post Bitcoin like a Regular Currency, Says St Louis Federal Reserve appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Green Light: Asia Is about to Have a New Crypto Hub

Since the time the concepts of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology were first introduced to our modern reality, they have become the subject of discussion not only among programmers and crypto enthusiasts but also in business. People from finance, investment and banking spheres went into analyzing the possibilities and prospects of blockchain implementation and usage. Several

The post Green Light: Asia Is about to Have a New Crypto Hub appeared first on NewsBTC.

Since the time the concepts of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology were first introduced to our modern reality, they have become the subject of discussion not only among programmers and crypto enthusiasts but also in business. People from finance, investment and banking spheres went into analyzing the possibilities and prospects of blockchain implementation and usage.

Several countries and territories have advanced so far trying to create and liberalize the conditions for blockchain-based projects that they have gained recognition as the world’s cryptocurrency centers or hubs. That refers to the Swiss city of Zug with its thriving crypto Silicon Valley, well-known to all digital currency supporters. While most countries stayed away from the innovative distributed ledger technologies, Zug took its own way and built the most advanced ecosystem for the development of blockchain and ICO projects. Hundreds of startups rush to this Swiss town in order to establish their business, register a company and conduct an Initial Coin Offering, selling the tokens to investors. According to the Crypto Valley Association study, in 2017 Swiss-based companies raised more than $600 million through crowdsales which made over 15% of the global ICO market, worth about $4 billion.

Until recently Singapore has remained the main crypto hub in the Asian region. Representatives of its Central Bank see a huge potential in the blockchain technology and thus pursue a fairly soft policy in this area. Although not long ago the authorities admitted they were developing measures to control cryptocurrency ventures and reduce the risk of money laundering through digital currencies and financing of the international terrorism.

Lately, the news has revealed that soon a new safe harbor could appear on the world’s cryptocurrency horizon. According to the Reuters agency, the Philippine government intends to license 10 cryptocurrency platforms and blockchain companies permitting them to operate within the Cagayan Special Economic Zone.

Raul Lambino, Chief of the CEZA that manages the economic zone, stated that they would allow Initial Coin Offerings, mining and exchange operations.

“We are going to license 10 platforms for the exchange of cryptocurrencies. They are Japanese, Hong Kong, Malaysians, Koreans. They can go on developing cryptocurrency funds, Initial offers of coins or they can go in exchange. “

In addition, the Economic Zone regulator revealed they planned to open educational institutions on the hub territory to prepare professionals in the field of finance and blockchain technology.

To take advantage of the economic zone preferences, companies should invest at least $1 million over 2 years and pay license fees of $100,000.

The news about the future cryptocurrency incubator in the Philippines has received a positive response from the crypto community. Many well-known blockchain and fintech startups have Asian roots, so the possible emergence of a new Singapore or a Swiss Zug with a favorable infrastructure can become an impetus to even the more rapid development of the technology and accelerate its integration in various business areas.

Representatives of the financial technology company Noah Project, that builds an international blockchain ecosystem offering various services to cryptocurrency owners, also commented on the exciting news from the Philippines.

“The distributed ledger technology can be applied in many ways – to ensure fast and seamless payments, transparent and fair transactions, protection of assets and vulnerable confidential data. Virtual currencies being a form of the blockchain implementation, possess enormous potential especially in the areas of finance, banking and investment. It’s pleasure to see that the world becomes more friendly to digital money and gives new opportunities for creating and growing business powered by blockchain. Surely, this is only the beginning.”

The Noah Project team is also working to create a large-scale cryptocurrency infrastructure for everyone: business, traders, and customers.

The Noah Project encompasses several directions, including a modern payment system based on NoahCoin virtual currency, convenient Noah Ark crypto wallet, and the world’s first crypto city, where Noah token holders will have access, special privileges, discounts, cash backs and loyalty programs. According to Noah’s plan, the future City will become a paradise for all crypto enthusiasts – with shops, restaurants, hotels and even resorts.

In early 2018 the Noah Project successfully completed an ICO and now its coins are listed and traded HitBTC and Changelly cryptocurrency exchanges. The team is actively working on the company’s expansion and implementation of Noah’s products.

Everyone who wishes to become a part of the cryptocurrency future together with the Noah Project is welcome to join the growing community on Telegram, follow the project on Facebook and Twitter.

 

The post Green Light: Asia Is about to Have a New Crypto Hub appeared first on NewsBTC.

Buffett: Bitcoin Is More Gamble Than Investment – Coindesk


Coindesk

Buffett: Bitcoin Is More Gamble Than Investment
Coindesk
“Oracle of Omaha” Warren Buffett, whose aphorisms and advice many investors take as gospel, has laid into bitcoin, saying it’s a gamble, not an investment. The Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO – and the world’s third-wealthiest person, according to
Bitcoin is a gamble not an investment, warns Warren BuffettThe Independent
Warren Buffett Says Buying Bitcoin Isn’t InvestingInvestopedia (blog)
Bitcoin price LIVE: BTC stutters on $10k rise as Warren Buffett SLAMS crypto ‘gambling’Express.co.uk
CCN –Yahoo Finance –Cointelegraph –CNBC
all 75 news articles »

Coindesk

Buffett: Bitcoin Is More Gamble Than Investment
Coindesk
"Oracle of Omaha" Warren Buffett, whose aphorisms and advice many investors take as gospel, has laid into bitcoin, saying it's a gamble, not an investment. The Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO - and the world's third-wealthiest person, according to ...
Bitcoin is a gamble not an investment, warns Warren BuffettThe Independent
Warren Buffett Says Buying Bitcoin Isn't InvestingInvestopedia (blog)
Bitcoin price LIVE: BTC stutters on $10k rise as Warren Buffett SLAMS crypto 'gambling'Express.co.uk
CCN -Yahoo Finance -Cointelegraph -CNBC
all 75 news articles »

Warren Buffett Says Buying Bitcoin Isn’t Investing – Investopedia (blog)


Investopedia (blog)

Warren Buffett Says Buying Bitcoin Isn’t Investing
Investopedia (blog)
Warren Buffett, one of the world’s most influential investors, remains unconvinced about the merits of trading bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In an interview with Yahoo Finance ahead of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s (BRK.A) annual shareholder meeting
Buffett: Bitcoin Is More Gamble Than InvestmentCoindesk
Bitcoin is a gamble not an investment, warns Warren BuffettThe Independent
Bitcoin price LIVE: BTC stutters on $10k rise as Warren Buffett SLAMS crypto ‘gambling’Express.co.uk
CCN –Cointelegraph –Yahoo Finance –CNBC
all 92 news articles »

Investopedia (blog)

Warren Buffett Says Buying Bitcoin Isn't Investing
Investopedia (blog)
Warren Buffett, one of the world's most influential investors, remains unconvinced about the merits of trading bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In an interview with Yahoo Finance ahead of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s (BRK.A) annual shareholder meeting ...
Buffett: Bitcoin Is More Gamble Than InvestmentCoindesk
Bitcoin is a gamble not an investment, warns Warren BuffettThe Independent
Bitcoin price LIVE: BTC stutters on $10k rise as Warren Buffett SLAMS crypto 'gambling'Express.co.uk
CCN -Cointelegraph -Yahoo Finance -CNBC
all 92 news articles »

UNICEF Australia Offers Users Option To Mine Crypto As Donation

Following UNICEF’s earlier crypto mining donation initiative aimed at PC gamers, UNICEF Australia launches a site allowing anyone to donate by letting their computer be used to mine crypto #NEWS

Following UNICEF’s earlier crypto mining donation initiative aimed at PC gamers, UNICEF Australia launches a site allowing anyone to donate by letting their computer be used to mine crypto #NEWS

Buffett: Bitcoin Is More Gamble Than Investment

The world’s third-richest person, Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffet, has again made comments critical of bitcoin as an investment.

The world’s third-richest person, Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffet, has again made comments critical of bitcoin as an investment.

CryptoCarz Combines VR with Ethereum-Based Assets

TheMerkle CryptoCarzThere is growing interest in issuing assets on the blockchain. Projects such as CryptoKitties have shown the world how powerful this business model can be. It now seems CryptoCarz is trying to achieve the same goal, as they want to offer the world’s first blockchain-enabled VR racing experience. Combining distributed ledgers with virtual reality will undoubtedly have some interesting consequences. Can CryptoCarz Succeed in the Long Run? While one can only marvel at the power of blockchain-based assets, there is a question as to how viable this business model really is. Although anyone and everyone can issue new blockchain assets as they see

TheMerkle CryptoCarz

There is growing interest in issuing assets on the blockchain. Projects such as CryptoKitties have shown the world how powerful this business model can be. It now seems CryptoCarz is trying to achieve the same goal, as they want to offer the world’s first blockchain-enabled VR racing experience. Combining distributed ledgers with virtual reality will undoubtedly have some interesting consequences.

Can CryptoCarz Succeed in the Long Run?

While one can only marvel at the power of blockchain-based assets, there is a question as to how viable this business model really is. Although anyone and everyone can issue new blockchain assets as they see fit, not every project will succeed. CryptoKitties is a great example of a project with a lot of initial hype which was rekindled a few times, but still isn’t on that many people’s radar.

Whether or not CryptoCarz will meet a similar fate remains to be determined. The team wants to take blockchain assets one step further by linking them to virtual reality racing. More specifically, CryptoCarz is a multiplayer game, with a fully immersive VR-enabled racing experience. As one would expect, there is a slight twist, as players will need to own or rent a virtual car.

Each of those cars is issued on the Ethereum blockchain in the form of an ERC721 token. This attributes a collectible status to the various cars which make up the CryptoCarz universe and can be raced in virtual reality. Interestingly, the CryptoCarz vehicles will be associated with the top cryptocurrencies. More specifically, twenty car models will be created, representing the top cryptocurrencies on the market today. As for the cars themselves, they are not entirely unique, as every model will have up to 650 units. However, only one type of each car will be allowed in a given race, which makes a lot of sense.

It is evident this initiative may prove somewhat successful. There is a lot of excitement regarding blockchain assets, but virtual reality still remains a rather niche market, for obvious reasons. Such blockchain assets usually cater only to existing cryptocurrency enthusiasts, which won’t necessarily improve its chances of success in the long run. Even so, CryptoCarz may attract some mainstream attention, at least when the technology is in place.

For those interested in this project, it can be worth checking out the project’s whitepaper. Although there is no shortage of ambition where this project is concerned, it is evident things may not necessarily turn out all rosy. A lot of projects want to ride the coattails of CryptoKitties, but it remains to be seen whether any venture can even hold a candle to that project’s success in the coming months and years.

SEC Commissioner on Bitcoin: ‘That Space Is Full of Troubling Developments’ – Fortune


Fortune

SEC Commissioner on Bitcoin: ‘That Space Is Full of Troubling Developments’
Fortune
SEC Commissioner Robert Jackson has some strong opinions about cryptocurrency and initial coin offerings. In a CNBC interview Monday morning, Jackson said his personal view on Bitcoin is that it’s a space “full of troubling developments.” He didn’t

and more »


Fortune

SEC Commissioner on Bitcoin: 'That Space Is Full of Troubling Developments'
Fortune
SEC Commissioner Robert Jackson has some strong opinions about cryptocurrency and initial coin offerings. In a CNBC interview Monday morning, Jackson said his personal view on Bitcoin is that it's a space “full of troubling developments.” He didn't

and more »

Why Invest in NEO?

NEO, like many leading cryptocurrencies, enjoyed its breakout year in 2017. Its percentage value rose by thousands and became one of the world’s biggest cryptos in terms of market capitalisation. It hit a peak of $187.41 on January 15, 2018, according to global trading and investing platform eToro. Why is it so popular? To start

The post Why Invest in NEO? appeared first on NewsBTC.

NEO, like many leading cryptocurrencies, enjoyed its breakout year in 2017. Its percentage value rose by thousands and became one of the world’s biggest cryptos in terms of market capitalisation. It hit a peak of $187.41 on January 15, 2018, according to global trading and investing platform eToro. Why is it so popular?

To start with, NEO is the first Chinese cryptocurrency to hit the mainstream. Created by Chinese company Onchain, it was originally launched in 2014 as AntShares before rebranding in 2017. NEO, similar to Ethereum – the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation – was developed to enable the creation of digital assets, smart contracts, and applications on its blockchain, and not simply as a crypto.

However, NEO works differently from Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies in many ways. Most significantly, NEO is not decentralised, and therefore its blockchain cannot be forked. Its creator, Da Hongfei, built NEO to comply with Chinese regulations and coded it in such a way that allows the entire network to be changed or upgraded quickly, and without user consensus.

Users can issue and trade assets on the NEO platform, which distributes tokens to prove ownership of an asset, rather than the asset itself. This is to make it more straightforward to transfer shares, equity, and assets.

Mr. Da has grand plans for NEO. He believes it can power a new ‘smart economy’, where assets are traded in a public ledger and through smart contracts. To quote the organisation’s website: “NEO is a non-profit, community-based blockchain project that utilises blockchain technology and digital identity to digitise assets, to automate the management of digital assets using smart contracts, and to realise a ‘smart economy’ with a distributed network.”

Because NEO is decentralised and token cannot be divided – the smallest unit of the currency is one NEO – it has impressive stability and users can expect to experience less transaction latency when compared with other top cryptos. The platform is able to process up to 10,000 transactions per second, and it supports a wide variety of common programming languages, including Javascript and C++.

“We want to be the place people go to when they want to do serious and reliable transactions,” NEO creator Mr. Da told Bloomberg in January 2018. Indeed, NEO’s robust infrastructure makes it appealing to developers and investors alike. With a market capitalisation in the billions, it is a top-10 crypto and continues to attract an impressive number of partners, in China and beyond.

Additionally, NEO’s supply has been limited to 100 million tokens. Half were sold to early investors, and the remaining 50 million NEO have been locked into a smart contract.

By investing in NEO, traders will expand and balance their cryptocurrency portfolio – as it is a platform that can behave differently in the market compared to other major cryptos. It will also show a belief in the real-world application of blockchain technology, which many consider to be the most exciting innovation spawned from Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency.

Further, it is important to note that NEO has been designed to work with – not against – Chinese regulations. Since China is one of the countries most heavily regulating cryptos – and has cracked down on Bitcoin in the past – NEO might be a good hedging option for Bitcoin traders.

eToro, which has over nine million users, specialises in cryptocurrencies, and offers many top cryptos – including NEO – 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 a 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 NEO is straightforward on eToro

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

etoro, neo

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

etoro, neo

Step 3: Click on NEO and press ‘Trade’

neo, etoro

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

etoro, neo

Want to learn more about trading NEO 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.

The post Why Invest in NEO? appeared first on NewsBTC.

ARK Ecosystem Being Prepared to Embrace ARK Core v2

Updates are essential to improving Blockchain-based systems. The space is new and full of ideas and innovations and so much so that even juggernaut networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum have to update in order to remain competitive. ARK, the blockchain-based all-in-one solution has announced that it is ready to deploy ARK Core v2. The update …

The post ARK Ecosystem Being Prepared to Embrace ARK Core v2 appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Updates are essential to improving Blockchain-based systems. The space is new and full of ideas and innovations and so much so that even juggernaut networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum have to update in order to remain competitive. ARK, the blockchain-based all-in-one solution has announced that it is ready to deploy ARK Core v2. The update comes a few months since ARK last announced that its system was indigenously being updated into a fast and reliable network and there were a few key areas in which there was a complete overhaul of the ARK core code after the team identified key areas where the core design could be improved.

ARK Core v2

The new update is in the final stages of testing and will be available for public testing soon on the Devnet. There is no specific timeline provided by the ARK Core team but once public, the crypto enthusiasts are welcome to try, attack, review and report bugs on it in any capacity as possible.

The v2 Core is fully compatible with the v1 protocol, but a hard fork will be necessary to to make the new changes in the system that are vital for the progress of the system. A new block height will also be announced by ARK when the update is ready to go and the contributors are urged not to listen to rumours as they are just speculations.

Block Times and Delegates

Despite the rumours, the block times will not change in the new update. The creation times are set to be remain the same because there is no reason to change them. Changing the block times may end up undermining the premise of decentralization itself.

The number of delegates will also remain fixed at 51 right now. Increasing the number of delegates will require a lot of new testing as well as a change in block times, so it is dropped for a more smooth transition.

Fees

Fee reduction has received overwhelming response from the ARK community, which is understandable as well considering the ARK’s price has increased over the past year. ARK core v1 offered integrated flexible fees but it was unavailable at the client and Block creation level. But, the new hard fork ARK V2 will undergo a successful hard fork and thus making ARK the first ever DPoS Blockchain to have implemented a dynamic fee structure in its system.

Summary of ARK v2

So, all in all, the ARK v2 is promising great new features as well as key updates. It will be 100% backwards compatible and thus resulting in an easier transition for the new codebase. It is more modular, faster and much more accessible for hackers thus allowing them to contribute and use it. ARK has recently published a blog post for this new update. Users can read it here.

Visit Website: https://ark.io/

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Finance Journo Martin Lewis Targets Facebook for Fake Bitcoin Ads

British financial journalist and TV personality Martin Lewis has announced that he will sue social media giant Facebook over a series of cryptocurrency ads featuring his image and his name. Lewis, who is taking his case the UK High Court on Monday, claims that at least 50 ads have been released on Facebook endorsing financial …

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British financial journalist and TV personality Martin Lewis has announced that he will sue social media giant Facebook over a series of cryptocurrency ads featuring his image and his name.

Lewis, who is taking his case the UK High Court on Monday, claims that at least 50 ads have been released on Facebook endorsing financial products to which he has no connection and has not authorized. Lewis, who has made his name on British TV and in the media for advising consumers how to spend money wisely, ironically is not a cryptocurrency enthusiast, once saying,”Bitcoin is a highly speculative investment. You need to be prepared and think about your attitude to risk before you consider investing.”

The presenter has said that he is “disgusted beyond endurance” with the crypto ads and maintains that Facebook has made no attempt to address the problem:

“It is facilitating scams on a constant basis in a morally repugnant way. If [it] wants to be the champion of moral causes, then he needs to stop its [sic] company doing this.”

According to Facebook, this isn’t the case, arguing,”We do not allow adverts which are misleading or false on Facebook and have explained to Martin Lewis that he should report any adverts that infringe his rights, and they will be removed.”

The statement continued to point out that Facebook was in direct contact with the Lewis team, and was investigating their requests and had recently removed other ads which violated the new company advertising policy.

Facebook has recently introduced a ban on cryptocurrency advertising, but scammers are able to avoid filters that have been put in place. The scammers promote advertising that fools investors into schemes that tap into the burgeoning popularity of cryptocurrency.

The social media giant’s fortunes continue to take a downturn after the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal earlier this month. Lewis has said that should he win the case against Facebook, awarded damages will be donated to charities that fight against scams of this nature.

image source: https://pixabay.com/en/mobile-phone-smartphone-keyboard-1917737/ – geralt

 

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LEEKICO helps Blockchain Network Connectivity Project NKN to Close Successful Crowdfunding

April 30th, 2018 – Sydney, Australia – LEEKICO, a one-stop-service ICO platform, successfully supported NKN, a project aiming to rebuild the Internet that will be truly open, decentralized, dynamic, safe, shared and owned by the community, to complete its highly anticipated token sale on April 19th, 2018. With LEEKICO’s support, NKN collected a total of ETH 24,100. NKN’s early bird sale, which was only opened to participants who were previously whitelisted for the project, started on April 2nd and was completed on April 8th. The main ICO took place on April 19th and collected 70% of the hard cap in

April 30th, 2018 – Sydney, Australia – LEEKICO, a one-stop-service ICO platform, successfully supported NKN, a project aiming to rebuild the Internet that will be truly open, decentralized, dynamic, safe, shared and owned by the community, to complete its highly anticipated token sale on April 19th, 2018. With LEEKICO’s support, NKN collected a total of ETH 24,100.

NKN’s early bird sale, which was only opened to participants who were previously whitelisted for the project, started on April 2nd and was completed on April 8th. The main ICO took place on April 19th and collected 70% of the hard cap in the first 3 minutes, with the cap reached shortly after.

LEEKICO supported NKN in both stages of the ICO, managing the KYC (Know Your Customer) whitelisting during the first stage and the crowdfunding during the second. Thanks to LEEKICO’s service and marketing support, the project managed to reach 2,000 participants, and generate over 9,000 new sign ups to LEEKICO’s platform and deliver over 15,000 visitors per second to the project’s website at its peak.

NKN (New Kind of Network) is a new generation of highly scalable, self-evolving and self-incentivized blockchain network infrastructure. NKN addresses the network decentralization and self-evolution by introducing Cellular Automata (CA) methodology for both dynamism and efficiency. NKN tokenizes network connectivity and data transmission capacity by a novel and useful Proof of Work.

NKN focuses on decentralizing network resources, similar to how Bitcoin and Ethereum decentralize computing power as well as how IPFS and Filecoin decentralize storage. Together, they form the three pillars of the Internet infrastructure for next generation blockchain systems. NKN ultimately makes the network more decentralized, efficient, equalized, robust and secure, thus enabling healthier, safer, and more open Internet.

NKN intends to revolutionize the entire network technology and business. We want to be the Uber or Airbnb of the trillion-dollar communication service business, but without a central entity” Said Yanbo Li, founder and core developer of NKN. “We aspire to free the bits, and build the Internet we always wanted, and we could not have found a better partner than LEEKICO to help us run the token sale while we focus on developing our vision.

NKN is an open source community-driven blockchain project, where the team members join on a voluntary basis. The project is spearheaded by experienced blockchain, network and computing specialists including Yanbo Li, previously co-founder of Onchain, and eminent advisors such as Whitfield Diffie, winner of the 2015 Turing Award.

The LEEKICO platform allows project teams to focus on developing their solution and technology by taking care of the ICO process. LEEKICO applies strict KYC (Know-Your-Customer) and region restriction policies and works with compliance agencies on top of its rigorous due diligence process to ensure a successful token sale. The LEEKICO team thoroughly reviews each project team, solution and plans, before giving them access to its friendly customer support team, marketing and promotional resources, as well as its network of over 30,000 users in 40 countries.

LEEKICO is extremely experienced in managing both private sales and crowdfunding and has successfully supported a number of projects including IPFS, Singularitynet, Qash, INS, Cybermiles before NKN.

LEEKICO is currently supporting the upcoming ICO of Shivom (www.shivom.io), a new blockchain project aiming to provide a platform where individuals can ‘donate’ their genomic data for use by researchers, securely store and control who accesses the information, and earn rewards as a result.

About LEEKICO

LEEKICO shares the belief of asset decentralization and commits to promoting the wave of global cryptocurrency start-up companies. LEEKICO aims to build an initial coin offering platform with ensured security, integrity, fairness and transparency for both start-up companies and investors. LEEKICO provides cryptocurrency and blockchain start-up companies with crowdfunding services, and provides investors with comprehensive cryptocurrency consulting services, pre-ICO, and post-ICO management service. Both start-up companies who are planning to go through an ICO process and investors who are involved in ICO projects will enjoy the best experience with LEEKICO’s one-stop service provided by the LEEKICO platform.

http://leekico.com/

About NKN

NKN (New Kind of Network) is a new generation of highly scalable, self-evolving and self incentivized blockchain network infrastructure. NKN addresses the network decentralization and self-evolution by introducing Cellular Automata (CA) methodology for both dynamism and efficiency. NKN tokenizes network connectivity and data transmission capacity by a novel and useful Proof of Work. The NKN Foundation is registered in Singapore.

https://www.nkn.org/

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.