Day: May 3, 2018

The price of Bitcoin has finally picked up since April after struggling to stay above the $6,000 mark earlier in the year. Investor confidence within the cryptocurrency market is getting on its feet as the market cap reaches $450 billion and BTC dominance drops to nearly a third of the market. There are three factors that could prompt a rally in its price capable of printing new highs, according to analysts.

Bitcoin Rally Will Feed Off Enhancements and Institutional Money, Analysts Say

As the price of Bitcoin gets closer to the $10,000 area again, a number not seen since March, analysts take note of what is needed to bring the cryptocurrency back to $20,000 and higher. Adoption as a store of value and as a medium of exchange is paramount to establish Bitcoin in the currency market. A number of changes must happen first in order to promote such adoption.

Christian Ferri, president and CEO of BlockStar, an all-in-one blockchain ecosystem for entrepreneurs and investors, told Forbes that there is a need for a scalable security infrastructure.

“Assuming Bitcoin will be used as store of value going forward (e.g. digital gold), a better security infrastructure overarching the entire crypto ecosystem will be needed for people to place trust in this new financial medium and start using it. Once this happens, more people will jump in, so a scalable infrastructure will be crucial.”

Ferri added that only protocol enhancements are capable of reducing price volatility, which in turn will improve its function as a currency.

“If new enhancements are done to the protocol to allow Bitcoin (or a fork of thereof) to become a medium for everyday transactions (e.g. buy your Latte with Bitcoin), we’ll need a stability mechanism in place, on top of security and scalability mentioned above. This way that Latte won’t cost you $5 today and $50 tomorrow.”

The inflow of institutional money could also help drive the price of Bitcoin to new record highs, but there is a number of concerns that need to be taken care of first, from security to counterparty risk and regulation. The entry of large players could cause the herd to rush in, but it would require a host of regulated exchanges dealing with cryptocurrencies.

“At this stage, institutional investors hold the key to Bitcoin’s growth. Concerns around liquidity, security, counterparty risk and custody of assets have so far prevented institutional investors from buying Bitcoin on decentralized exchanges. Only when regulated exchanges–such as tZERO, Coinlist, or even NASDAQ — go live with their secondary crypto trading platforms, will the smart money begin investing directly into Bitcoin”, said CrowdfundX CEO Darren Marble.

Simpler trading through brokerage accounts could eventually take place via crypto-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies within the investment industry may change the paradigm and lead to new all-time highs of Bitcoin.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

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Two members of the U.S. commodities regulator spoke at a conference. One stressed enforcement, the other working with the industry.

There aren’t that many things which could make Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies better. To some people, bacon is the answer to everything. With Bacoin now being an actual thing, it is evident the cryptocurrency industry has taken at least twelve steps backward. It is expected that Bacoin will become the go-to cryptocurrency for purchasing bacon.

Who Will Pay Attention to Bacoin?

Although it is safe to say the concept of Bacoin has a lot of merit, the real-world implications will be far less spectacular than some people might want them to be. Originally concocted by Kraft Heinz, Bacoin is a new cryptocurrency designed for the bacon industry. In fact, one Bacoin is valued at 11 strips of real bacon, with the number of bacon strips expected to increase as time progresses.

While a project such as this one will certainly gain media attention and possibly even mainstream traction, there is no reason why every type of material, product, food, or drink should have its own native token. Bacoin is a very interesting project in this regard, as it will determine the future value of potentially useless cryptocurrencies.

One worrisome aspect of Bacoin is that it is not obtainable as of right now. Users can enter their email addresses on the project’s website in the hopes of getting some coins, but there are no guarantees. This offer runs until May 14, although it remains to be seen what will happen after that exactly. There is no indication as to whether users will get actual tokens, free bacon delivered to their homes, or something else entirely.  

While one has to commend Oscar Mayer for putting a humorous spin on the cryptocurrency business model, ventures like these usually do not end well. Once the hype ends come May 14, most people will forget about Bacoin faster than it takes to devour a freshly cooked bacon strip. It is a pretty intriguing venture, though one not that many people with common sense will care about that much.

With no technology powering Bacoin, no specifications, and no information regarding coin supply, trading, et cetera, it is evident this is a promotional stunt first and foremost. Considering that the Bacoin website is hosted on the Kraft Heinz domain, it seems there will be some form of a giveaway, although no one knows exactly what to expect in this regard.

It’s a bit unfortunate to see a project like this one try to steal some of cryptocurrency’s thunder. With all market prices going back up, Bacoin ridicules this entire industry first and foremost. It’s not the development which people had hoped for to push the price of Bitcoin back to $20,000, even though there may be an increase in the number of bacon-related purchases with cryptocurrency moving forward.

The chairman of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Christopher Giancarlo, recently discussed the challenges associated with assessing the regulatory implications of bitcoin and cryptocurrency according to the CFTC’s “decades[-]old” legislative mandate.

Also Read: Openbazaar Co-Founder Expresses Frustration Over BTC Fees

CFTC Chairman Criticizes 1930’s Legislative Apparatus

In a recent interview with CNBC, Mr. Giancarlo acknowledges the inappropriateness of the CFTC’s antiquated regulatory apparatus when assessing the innovative phenomena of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

When asked of the legal classification of bitcoin, Mr. Giancarlo stated: “It’s a great debate […] a lot of people are looking at it from so many different angles, and we at the CFTC have been looking at it for a number of years now.”

Mr. Giancarlo emphasized the challenge of applying the CFTC’s outdated regulatory apparatus to bitcoin, stating that “the statutes under which [the CFTC] operate[s] w[as] written, in our case, in 1935, and the SEC in 1933-34, and it’s often hard to look at those statutes, and find out where something as new and as innovative as bitcoin, and many of the other cryptocurrencies […] fall[s] into a regulatory regime that was written decades ago.”

CFTC Chairman Predicts Bitcoin’s Regulatory Challenges Won’t Be “Resolved Any Time Soon”

When queried regarding previous statements arguing that bitcoin exhibits similarities to commodities, Mr. Giancarlo stated, “I think there are certainly aspects of this that you might call a virtual asset, like gold – only its virtual […] It is an asset that many find worthy of holding for a long period of time,” adding that cryptocurrencies “have aspects […] that might not be ideal as a means of exchange, but might be suitable as a buy and hold strategy.”

The CFTC chairman added “But the truth of the matter of it is, is that bitcoin and a lot of its other virtual currency counterparts, really have elements of all of the different asset classes […] and so, as a world, and as regulators, we are coming to grips with this just now, in real-time,” concluding that “It’s complicated, and I don’t see it being resolved any time soon.”

Bitcoin Futures Regulations “Working Quite Well”

Mr. Giancarlo pointed to the bitcoin futures market as a successful example of cryptocurrency regulation, stating “In our case though, we have seen the licensing and the operation of bitcoin futures contracts, which are cash-settled contracts on bitcoin – operated by [The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME)] and [The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE)] – and those contracts are working quite well.”

When asked of the potential risk of “over-zealous” regulation […] stifl[ing] innovation” in the cryptocurrency sector, Mr. Giancarlo stated that “As a regulatory agency, […] the [CFTC] has often been in the forefront of technological innovation, it’s in our DNA as an agency. We try to apply our statute on a principles-based approach – we look at the core principles and apply it to new innovations like this – and that’s the approach that we have taken in the case of bitcoin futures.”

Responsibility for Development of Legislation Lies With Congress

The CFTC chairman emphasized that the development of an effective regulatory apparatus for cryptocurrencies lies with the United States Congress, stating “At the end of the day, it’s for Congress, and not regulators, to decide whether new policies should be evolved for these new asset classes.”

“All […] regulators have to apply [their] statute in the spirit in which it was written […] by Congress,” added Mr. Giancarlo.

Mr. Giancarlo revealed that many politicians are coming to recognize the need for legislative reform regarding the development of cryptocurrency regulations, stating “I think there’s certainly an appetite, amongst a number of congressmen and women, and senators that I have spoken to, to approach this with some new eyes, some new thinking, and so I think there is a growing on Capitol Hill for some rethinking here.”

Growing Recognition of Need for Regulatory Reform

The CFTC chairman stated that “Jay Clayton from the SEC and I recently testified in front of the Senate banking committee, and we talked to Congress about whether maybe some new legislation might be appropriate in this area, and I think you will see, going forward, perhaps in this Congress or a future Congress, some attempt to deal with this new innovation.”

Despite the increasing recognition of the need for legislative reform, Mr. Giancarlo stressed that it will take time for a robust regulatory regime to be developed for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

“I know bitcoin has been in place […] since eight or nine years or so, but the fact of the matter is [it] still is relatively new for us at the regulatory agency,” said Mr. Giancarlo, adding that it will “take some new open-mindedness, some new way of thinking about it, for us to get our heads around it entirely.”

What is your response to the CFTC chairman’s comments? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Wikipedia

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The post CFTC’s Christopher Giancarlo Criticizes Outdated Regulatory Mandate appeared first on Bitcoin News.

After heavy speculation over the past few days regarding whether bitcoin could break newfound resistance levels, the currency has spiked to approximately $9,561 at press time. This is the highest point for bitcoin since it struck $9,000 in mid-March, and it looks as though $10,000 may be right around the corner.

Perhaps the biggest pusher for bitcoin has been Goldman Sachs. The company will soon be opening a bitcoin trading operation, according to New York Times journalist Nathaniel Popper. It is alleged to be the first bitcoin trading platform in cahoots with a Wall Street bank.

Goldman executive Rana Yared admits that not everyone on the staff was thrilled about the notion of joining hands with bitcoin. Given the currency’s volatile nature and price swings, executives were skeptical at first, and felt like the risk level was possibly too high.

“I would not describe myself as a true believer who wakes up thinking bitcoin will take over the world,” she explained in a recent interview. “For almost every person involved, there has been personal skepticism brought to the table.”

However, Yared mentioned that what initially led to the decision was customer behavior, and their desire to add cryptocurrency holdings to their portfolios. The executive admits they just didn’t have the heart to say “no.”

“It resonates with us when a client says, ‘I want to hold bitcoin or bitcoin futures because I think it is an alternative store of value,’” Yared further stated. “It is not a new risk that we don’t understand. It is just a heightened risk that we need to be extra aware of here.”

The move will undoubtedly bring more legitimacy to the cryptocurrency arena, and potentially open the doors for more institutions like Goldman Sachs to enter the virtual asset space.

In addition, a new report published by Forbes suggests that three things are happening in the world of cryptocurrency that may cause further price spikes this year. For one thing, bitcoin is becoming far more mainstream, and adoption is at an all-time high. Retailers and investors alike see bitcoin as a valid store of value and as a proper medium of exchange.

The second thing is that institutional capital is regularly making its way into cryptocurrency index funds. “At this stage, institutional investors hold the key to bitcoin’s growth,” says Darren Marble of CrowdfundX. “Concerns around liquidity, security, counterparty risk and custody of assets have so far prevented institutional investors from buying bitcoin or decentralized exchanges.”

Third – bitcoin is leading to the proliferation of crypto-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs). “Crypto-related exchange-traded funds may allow for simpler trading through brokerage accounts, which would also contribute to hiked up prices for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies,” explains Chris Kline, co-founder and COO of BitcoinIRA.com. “The writing is on the wall. With so much momentum surrounding bitcoin and other digital currencies, in my opinion, it is only a matter of time before prices start to rebound again.”

And with that, we can confidently say that prices are already rebounding, as $10,000 could be reached as early as this week. What a solid way to enter the second quarter.

There are at least three fundamental reasons for using blockchain technology in a project nowadays.

First and foremost, it’s so hyped and trendy. “A blockchain-based project” – doesn’t it sound cool? All your team members could add such an impressive line to their CVs, no matter if they know what it means or not quite.

The second reason is also important. Implementing blockchain in your business, you’ll be able to issue your own cryptocurrency and hold an ICO. The crypto market keeps booming, but remains immature, giving you a chance to attract some investment without any real use case for your groundbreaking blockchain innovations.

Looking at many blockchain-based projects out there, the third reason seems optional and not as significant as the previous two. However, your company might actually need a blockchain to accomplish its ambitious goals.

Now, let’s take it seriously. The ICO market is yet premature, hypes fade, and trends change, while you expect your business to last. That’s why you should better consider a real, indispensable use case as the only reason for using a public blockchain or building a private one.

Essentially, blockchain introduces a new way to manage and protect data. Its key pillars, such as decentralization, immutability, and transparency, are able to secure data with no need for a trusted authority. But all the advantages come at a price. Public blockchains usually can’t compete with centralized databases in terms of speed of execution and also have significant transaction fees that depend on the number of transactions within a system and are hard to predict. At the same time, building a private blockchain is likely to be much more expensive than using a well-established cloud service. Your business might also not need decentralization and tokenization at all, and a traditional data management model might simply be more appropriate and cost-effective for your company.

To find out if your project needs the blockchain technology, ask yourself two basic questions. The first one is: can blockchain help you reach your project goals and solve some issues of the respective industry? If the answer is yes, proceed to the second question: is it possible to solve those issues without blockchain? If the answer is yes again, better focus on traditional technologies first.

However, there actually are a number of projects which have no adequate alternative to blockchain if they are to accomplish their mission and make a breakthrough in certain industries and sectors. For instance, let’s take a look at identity management and authentication, that can be significantly improved by the blockchain tech. Identifying data stored on the blockchain in a hashed form allows for safe authentication to third-party services without disclosing actual personal information. Apart from such an authentication system, blockchain can also improve and secure more specific aspects of identity management such as age verification or voting admission.

There are more than 20 companies leveraging blockchain technology to offer new authentication solutions. Without a comprehensive analysis, it’s hard to say which of the project teams have the expertise to achieve their objectives, but they do have a real use case behind their efforts.

Another good example is the digital items’ market that is currently most relevant to the gaming industry and definitely needs a breakthrough to fulfill its potential. Marketplaces for trading in-game assets exist for years, and their overall trading turnover is estimated at $4 billion. But the market still faces major issues restraining its further development. Security problems are the most destructive ones, as account hijacking and extremely high fraud rates prevent digital items from becoming a real commodity like any traditional goods. The DMarket project uses blockchain to bring security to the industry by making all item transactions irreversible and undisputed.

Aside from making gamers the real owners of their earned or purchased in-game items, blockchain also allows for tracking transaction history and thus is able to add value to certain digital items like the ones that were owned by an eSports champion or any other celebrity.

Provenance verification as a blockchain use case applies to many other industries as well. One of the blockchain-based projects is even called Provenance and uses a distributed ledger to ensure transparency in product supply chains.

These are just a few examples of projects that really need the blockchain technology to achieve their goals. Your project may well be among them, as there probably are dozens of industries and sectors that could be disrupted by blockchain. But it is also possible that traditional data management systems are enough to satisfy all your company needs, while an own blockchain will only bring extra expenses and headaches.

The post Does Your Project Really Need Blockchain? appeared first on NewsBTC.

The company announced that it has developed hardware to mine the Equihash algorithm, spelling big changes for zcash and other coins.

Coinbase is ready to enter the next phase of being a global cryptocurrency exchange. While they will not drop support for consumer-based trading, they are trying to make inroads among institutional investors. Offering block trades is one way of achieving this goal. Providing users with access to large-scale trading without disrupting the general order book is also a viable approach.

Coinbase Takes an Important Step

Institutional investors and major traders continue to show increasing interest in cryptocurrency. As such, trading platforms and exchanges will need to make adjustments to accommodate that type of trading. Coinbase is doing exactly that by launching a new feature known as block trading. Additionally, the firm wants to open an office in Chicago, which may prove to be a major hub for Bitcoin trading in the near future.

Block trades involve using an exchange’s order book without influencing it directly. They are somewhat similar to the concept of dark pools, although they work slightly differently. For Coinbase, the goal is to entice larger investors, trading firms, and even hedge funds to use the company for all their cryptocurrency trading activities. Whether or not it will be successful is a different matter altogether.

Even though many people still consider Coinbase to be a startup, it is evident that the firm is looking to expand well beyond this label in the near future. They aim to compete with institutional investor-oriented exchanges such as Gemini and other OTC firms. Doing so will be a tall order, but offering block trades may go a long way.

Even though Coinbase has been focusing its attention on Wall Street traders for some time now, this latest venture is perhaps the biggest effort yet in this regard. The launch of GDAX has also made a positive impact on the market, and it seems block trading will apply to both Coinbase and GDAX.

Setting up a new office in Chicago will also help achieve Coinbase’s goal. Although most cryptocurrency trading firms seemingly ignore Chicago, it appears the city will prove to be quite important for this nascent industry. CME Group, Cboe Global Markets, and the Chicago Stock Exchange are all located there as well, which makes it a natural fit for Coinbase.

Even though all of this seems quite positive, it remains to be seen how much of an impact Coinbase will make on the institutional trading industry. Attracting bigger investors will only lead to more price speculation and, most likely, very bearish pressure on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Only time will tell how all of this will play out, as the plans are still in the early stages. Wall Street will pay attention to Bitcoin and altcoins for quite some time to come; that much is almost a guarantee.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

Slate Entertainment Group, the company behind SLATE (SLX) blockchain network, will power the first of its kind blockchain video on demand (BVOD) service, BINGE, which will facilitate a plethora of entertainment and ticketing. Slate Entertainment Group has also announced the upcoming token sale for the SLX token which is central to the entertainment ecosystem being cultivated.

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article

Tokens to be used for variety of purposes

Tokens will be used to compensate creators, producers, and distributors. The same tokens will also be used as the medium of exchange for consumers looking to purchase ticketing for entertainment events. Since the tokens are secured by the blockchain network, event hosts can not only see when payments are made and received but also thwarts the problem of fake tickets.

Tokens will be also used to reward Masternode operators, which are responsible for storing videos and delivering them to BINGE customers. All users must do is host nodes and store the content, in exchange for real-world passive income. This structure also circumvents any geographical restrictions on content, and SLX tokens make sure payments are always trustless.

Token presale and main sale details

Presale begins on May 11th and runs for 2 weeks, ending on May 26th. Interested users must register and go through a whitelisting process in order to participate. The main token sale, which will be held shortly after this, is where most of the tokens will be sold.

48% of the total network supply of SLX coins has been allocated for distribution through the sale, with participants being rewarded with more competitive prices for early purchases in both the presale and the main sale. Up to a 45% discount based on the pre-sale price of $0.20 per token can be achieved.

The presale bonus starts at a 5% discount for the first five days and drops by 1% every five days after that. The token sale, on the other hand, starts out low at $0.27, but price increases by $0.02 every four days, peaking at $0.35 per token.

BINGE and SLATIX information

The BINGE platform will utilize blockchain technology to facilitate streaming content and transparent behavioral analytics to gain insight into consumer tastes. BINGE will also provide real-time revenue sharing between content providers and creators, as well as access to network data and analysis to improve content development.

For ticketing, Slate Entertainment Group introduces SLATIX, also powered by the same underlying network that powers BINGE, the SLATE network. SLATIX will be a mobile application for entertainment discovery and ticketing. Users will be able to use SLATIX to find new content through a curated system of authentic review, with opportunities to earn discounts as well as gain access to different events such as movies, concerts, plays, museums, and sporting events.

After tokens are issued, a basic Masternode launch and deployment of testnet will bring Phase Two to a conclusion. Phase three will begin the fourth quarter of this year, which will focus on testing the content delivery network, as well as the launch of it.

To learn more, visit Slate’s website and read their whitepaper. The Slate team is available to chat with on Discord, Telegram, and BitcoinTalk. Slate also has numerous social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Technical discussions are held on GitHub.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.