Day: May 7, 2018

Fred Wilson responded to Warren Buffett’s latest adolescent-style bard about Bitcoin being rat poison squared in a post on his AVC blog in which he explains the “production” value of crypto assets.

Wilson Explains the Underlying Value of Bitcoin

Fred Wilson, venture capitalist and co-founder of Union Square Capital which has investments in Tumblr, Twitter, Kickstarter, Foursquare and other web 2.0 companies, wrote a sort of open letter response to the latest comments made by Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger, men he considers to be mentors on his AVC blog yesterday.

Instead of attacking or mocking the old money men as he may have easily done for making juvenile comments about Bitcoin and the technology that drives it, which Buffet is on record admitting ignorance of, Wilson tries instead to understand and explain what it is they are missing.

Wilson uses an interview Buffet gave Yahoo finance on April 28 in which he talks about the difference between investing and speculating. Buying a tangible piece of real estate Buffet explained is investing while putting money into cryptocurrency which doesn’t produce anything is gambling that someone will eventually pay more for it and that is speculating.

Using this example Wilson writes that he would agree if Buffet was talking about a collectible like baseball cards but what he argues that Buffet doesn’t understand is that Bitcoin – cryptocurrency and the technology that make them work are producing something very important and valuable.

Crypto Assets are the Fuel that Will Drive New Technology

Wilson goes on to explain that cryptocurrencies are producing decentralized infrastructure. “They are the fuel that powers a new form of technology infrastructure that is being built on top of the foundational internet protocols.” Crypto- assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum produce the services that the blockchain networks provide like smart contracts which Wilson writes are “the most important innovation we have yet seen in crypto.”

Wilson concludes that perhaps what Buffet and Munger aren’t understanding is how to value the coin beyond its fiat trading number on an exchange, and if that is the case, he admits, then neither does he.  The traditional methods do not pertain because it is a kind of currency that has never existed before.

In the end, Wilson recommends that the venerable old investors read Chris Burniske’s book Cryptoassets in order to try and understand that what is happening is a new kind of internet. One that will be made up of decentralized networks and that cryptocurrency will be used to reward the companies and individual contributors that help those networks to grow. And as he put it so well at the of his blog entry

“purchasing these cryptoassets is very much a form of investing. And that this investing is the first time that anyone in the world, independent of wealth and domicile, can participate in venture capital-style investing in the next big wave of technology.“

The post Large-Scale VC Investor Schools Warren Buffet on the Value of Bitcoin appeared first on NewsBTC.

U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett has again hit out at bitcoin, this time comparing it with rat poison

French finance minister Bruno Le Maire recently described cryptocurrency as a “revolution”; income tax on crypto has been axed  by the French government, and former French finance minister Christine Lagarde, now IMF head, described future international digital currency regulation as “inevitable”.

Lagarde even expressed interest in the creation of an IMF cryptocurrency last year, after comments she made about the benefits of weaker economies having their own digital currencies.

With such apparent Gallic positivity, where then, is France at this moment in time in its journey down the blockchain and crypto trail, and what lies ahead in the future?

A recent report in Coin Telegraph suggests that France is in a good position for more leadership in the crypto industry, providing that clarification of current rules is established and new legislation is brought to bear.

According to Jonathan Klein, president at Tresorio, a French-based blockchain mining and trading company, Emmanuel Macron was ahead of his peers launching discussions within France with other members of the crypto community even before his election as president. In 2017, Macron, as minister of the economy, passed a bill authorizing what could become a blockchain mini market. Klein also suggests that as a former banker and technophile, Macron could be at the forefront of driving cryptocurrency in France.

Likewise, Le Maire’s comments in Buenos Aires earlier this year, saying that “France will not miss the blockchain revolution” indicates that there is genuine interest at the highest level to continue to develop and regulate the space to promote, rather than curb, the new technology.

Clearly, the French government has not been static on the subject of regulation. In recent months a decree was published by the government related to the possibility of transferring financial securities through a blockchain. A government cryptocurrency working group was formed and new tax guidelines governing cryptocurrency were formulated.

ICOs have also been under the microscope. William O’Rorke, legal advisor at Blockchain Partner, explains:

“France is about to introduce a completely novel framework for ICOs: a voluntary visa system that incorporates much of the ‘best practices’ advocated for by the French crypto-industry. ICOs that comply with these best practices will thus be able to apply for official approval by the regulator.”

He continues, “As of today, simple things like opening a bank account can prove difficult for crypto-projects.” O’Rorke argues that the visa system will enable ICOs to interact simply with institutions such as banks who elsewhere might be overprotective to towards the client in case of cryptocurrency transactions, such as in the US.

France has recently been described as one of the most forward-looking governments in Europe. The French government’s latest announcement, to lower the tax rate for gains generated by cryptocurrencies, seems to indicate that France has set its path towards adapting to what lies ahead in the coming years, as it moves towards finding the right regulatory processes for the country’s crypto future.

 

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While most cryptocurrencies are still trying to recover from a setback over the weekend, there are always exceptions to keep an eye on. The EOS price, for example, is preparing for another run at $20, by the look of things. Thanks to another 6.7% gain over the past 24 hours, the EOS price is certainly successfully bucking the overall bearish trend plaguing the cryptocurrency industry.

EOS Price Rise is Pretty Surprising

There will be a time throughout 2018 when most cryptocurrencies will set a new all-time high. For EOS, that all-time has already occurred this year, but it is possible there will be another all-time high later this year. With the EOS price recovering from this weekend’s onslaught rather quickly, the positive momentum is in effect once again. As a result, the EOS price is now back above $18.

While such gains are pretty impressive as of right now, it remains to be seen if the EOS price can remain above $18 for an extended period of time. There is a good chance this altcoin has not seen its actual correction just yet, which may effectively spell some interesting things to come where this coin is concerned. At the same time, EOS is also the only currency to note a 6.7% gain in the past 24 hours, whereas most other currencies are in the red and will continue to be for most of the day.

It is also peculiar to note how the EOS price is rising thanks to gains over both Bitcoin and Ethereum. To put this into perspective, EOS has gained 9.37% over Bitcoin and 13.9% over Ethereum. Again, it is the only altcoin to make any major gains in this regard, but it is possible things will turn around in the future. If Bitcoin and Ethereum can recover as well, the future will be pretty interesting for all cryptocurrencies. This will also positively impact the EOS price in the long run.

With $1.617bn in 24-hour trading volume, EOS is in much bigger demand compared to some of the other top cryptocurrencies. This is a pretty remarkable trend, although it is possible this EOS “hype” will calm down eventually. There is no reason for the EOS trading volume to slow down anytime soon, though, but the cryptocurrency world often evolves in very interesting directions.

OKEx is the biggest trading platform for EOS as of right now. Its lead over Bithumb is pretty steep, and Upbit is even further behind. One positive trend for EOS is how there are three fiat currency pairs in the top five, which is far better than most other cryptocurrencies on the market right now.  It’s also interesting to note how there are no EOS/BTC pairs in the top five, although things may come to change in the near future.

For the time being, the EOS price looks pretty solid, but maintaining any momentum in the cryptocurrency world is pretty difficult, especially in 2018. If this trend keeps up, however, there is a good chance the EOS price will surpass $20 at some point.  Only time will tell if that is even remotely possible, but in this industry, anything can and will happen at some point. The bigger question is if and when other cryptocurrencies will recover as quickly.

Love it or hate it Verge is one of those cryptocurrencies that gets a reaction. Crypto groups on social media seem to spend most of their time bashing XVG but there is no denying that the altcoin has performed well over the past two months and the team is equally active online. Following its partnership with Pornhub, the Verge community is now angling to get into bed with music streaming service Spotify.

Where Porn Goes, The World Follows

The Verge community would call the recent partnership with Pornhub a resounding success. They managed to crowd sale a whole bunch of tokens worth around $3 million at the time leading up to it which had the added bonus of pushing the price of XVG up in anticipation. To keep the momentum rolling the Verge team is now making the case for inclusion of the privacy base crypto coin on the Spotify platform.

Spotify has over 70 million paying subscribers according to reports, and this would make partnering with a cryptocurrency the logical next step to make paying easier. In a post on the Spotify community page under ‘Live ideas’ a Verge team volunteer going by the name ‘Dan’ wrote;

“We are extremely excited to announce that we have recently partnered with Mindgeek, a privately held company that owns and operates over 85% of all the adult entertainment industries websites and applications. As we have seen with past events in history, what the adult entertainment industry adopts – The world adopts.”

The post goes on to state how the porn industry has paved the way for a number of technological advances such as widespread use of VHS medium, the growth of the early internet, virtual reality, and now cryptocurrency.

It continues with a breakdown of impressive Mindgeek stats;

“Mindgeek has 115,000,000+ Daily visitors spread throughout their network of web properties and an average of 3,000,000,000 ad impressions served to dozens of millions of daily visitors. With all that being said – Establishing this partnership will inevitably ensure a massive increase in demand for a direct way for consumers to be able to purchase VERGE/XVG direct with their Credit, Debit and Bank accounts.”

Members of the core team are now getting behind the idea and the story is doing the rounds on social media, gaining momentum with every re-post;

#vergefam, the #xvg partnership idea with Spotify is now marked as a hot idea. Keep voting and show them the power of this amazing community. https://t.co/I8qv4PYr3i$xvg @vergecurrency #massadoption

— Cees van Dam (@xvgmarketingeu) May 6, 2018

At the time of writing over 3,300 people had ‘up-voted’ the idea on Spotify’s community page however there has been no official response from the company. XVG prices have not reacted and have fallen in line with the rest of the altcoins during the day’s market correction.

 

Image from Shutterstock

The post Verge Uses Porn to Angle for Spotify Partnership appeared first on NewsBTC.

MIT-linked startup Learning Machines has secured $3 million in seed funding to put digital diplomas on the blockchain.

The entertainment market is ever-changing and developing. The industry was once synonymous with film and Hollywood. Nowadays, entertainment and media has become so accessible, major film companies have taken a back seat to streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime or Netflix.

Competition to dominate the market is at an all time high, as revolutionary technology and innovation shake up the industry, as we continue to develop into a hyperconnected world. Despite the transition and jostling for dominance in the industry, the real winner is the consumer who can now have a diverse choice of entertainment platforms at their convenience.

Introducing SLATE

Slate Entertainment Group is set to revolutionise the entertainment industry. In response to an ever-changing market, Slate is using blockchain technology to provide fair and transparent entertainment platform that is geared towards benefitting content providers and consumers alike.

The entire entertainment industry has been revamped in recent years, with the advent of video streaming on-demand. In response, SLATE is proud to announce their new chapter with the first blockchain powered video on demand (BVOD) service, BINGE. The Binge streaming platform is set to completely revamp the entertainment industry, made possible with blockchain technology. Binge introduces BVOD which is the first decentralising platform that yields cost effective, efficient, and quality media access for consumers anytime, anywhere.

What is Statix

SLATE is developing the entire entertainment landscape with a particular focus on ticketing. Powered by SLATE, SLATIX is another string to SLATE’s bow, which is a new mobile app designed to benefit consumers and providers of entertainment alike. STALIX users can now discover exciting new content through the power of blockchain.

Consumers using STALIX can connect with venues directly and efficiently through a curated system of authenticated reviews. Users are able to earn rewards and discounts by using STALIX, offering users unique access to various movies, concerts and events. A concern in the entertainment industry is fraudulent activity during events and ticket sales. STALIX offers a forgery resistant ticketing system as SLATE token rewards (SLX) are secondary tokens on the SLATE platform, creating a secure, efficient and reliable service.

Masternode Network

The SLATE network consists of a primary network, with a secondary layer encapsulating “Masternodes”. This will be an optimum way of earning the SLX token via hosting of nodes. Hosting nodes allows the storing of content, which allows the owners of Maternodes with a tangible revenue scheme. The network offers incentives which motivates service providers to ensure the network is consistently maintained, which in turn, keeps down-time to a minimum.

SLATE empowers its consumers through blockchain technology. Consumers have the authority over content decisions, ruling out companies or governments. In short, SLATE gives power to the people. Binge’s allows for a peer-to-peer distribution network that protects the consumers choice. The STX token will reinforce trust and transparency as transactions are faster and rule out banks, while honoring licensing agreements. SLATE is  truly giving back to the people, offering fair payment, premium entertainment and freedom which can all be attributed to blockchain technology.

Pre-Sale & Token Sale

The Pre-Sale kicks off on May 11th and runs through May 26th, the public token sale is set to launch shortly after. The initial token sale distributes 48% of the total network supply of SLX coins. Early contributors are also rewarded with bonuses, receiving up to 45% discount on pre-sale price $0.20. The intended token sale opens at $0.27,  and rises by $0.02 every four day period, to a peak of $0.35.

SLATE is breaking into new ground in the entertainment industry, by introducing a new era that will revolutionise entertainment as we know it. Join the community on Telegram to stay up to date with all upcoming events and promotions. Check out SLATE’s Whitepaper for more insight.

The entertainment market is ever-changing and developing. The industry was once synonymous with film and Hollywood. Nowadays, entertainment and media has become so accessible, major film companies have taken a back seat to streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime or Netflix.

Competition to dominate the market is at an all time high, as revolutionary technology and innovation shake up the industry, as we continue to develop into a hyperconnected world. Despite the transition and jostling for dominance in the industry, the real winner is the consumer who can now have a diverse choice of entertainment platforms at their convenience.

Introducing SLATE

Slate Entertainment Group is set to revolutionise the entertainment industry. In response to an ever-changing market, Slate is using blockchain technology to provide fair and transparent entertainment platform that is geared towards benefitting content providers and consumers alike.

The entire entertainment industry has been revamped in recent years, with the advent of video streaming on-demand. In response, SLATE is proud to announce their new chapter with the first blockchain powered video on demand (BVOD) service, BINGE. The Binge streaming platform is set to completely revamp the entertainment industry, made possible with blockchain technology. Binge introduces BVOD which is the first decentralising platform that yields cost effective, efficient, and quality media access for consumers anytime, anywhere.

What is Statix

SLATE is developing the entire entertainment landscape with a particular focus on ticketing. Powered by SLATE, SLATIX is another string to SLATE’s bow, which is a new mobile app designed to benefit consumers and providers of entertainment alike. STALIX users can now discover exciting new content through the power of blockchain.

Consumers using STALIX can connect with venues directly and efficiently through a curated system of authenticated reviews. Users are able to earn rewards and discounts by using STALIX, offering users unique access to various movies, concerts and events. A concern in the entertainment industry is fraudulent activity during events and ticket sales. STALIX offers a forgery resistant ticketing system as SLATE token rewards (SLX) are secondary tokens on the SLATE platform, creating a secure, efficient and reliable service.

Masternode Network

The SLATE network consists of a primary network, with a secondary layer encapsulating “Masternodes”. This will be an optimum way of earning the SLX token via hosting of nodes. Hosting nodes allows the storing of content, which allows the owners of Maternodes with a tangible revenue scheme. The network offers incentives which motivates service providers to ensure the network is consistently maintained, which in turn, keeps down-time to a minimum.

SLATE empowers its consumers through blockchain technology. Consumers have the authority over content decisions, ruling out companies or governments. In short, SLATE gives power to the people. Binge’s allows for a peer-to-peer distribution network that protects the consumers choice. The STX token will reinforce trust and transparency as transactions are faster and rule out banks, while honoring licensing agreements. SLATE is  truly giving back to the people, offering fair payment, premium entertainment and freedom which can all be attributed to blockchain technology.

Pre-Sale & Token Sale

The Pre-Sale kicks off on May 11th and runs through May 26th, the public token sale is set to launch shortly after. The initial token sale distributes 48% of the total network supply of SLX coins. Early contributors are also rewarded with bonuses, receiving up to 45% discount on pre-sale price $0.20. The intended token sale opens at $0.27,  and rises by $0.02 every four day period, to a peak of $0.35.

SLATE is breaking into new ground in the entertainment industry, by introducing a new era that will revolutionise entertainment as we know it. Join the community on Telegram to stay up to date with all upcoming events and promotions. Check out SLATE’s Whitepaper for more insight.

The post SLATE Disrupts the Entertainment Industry Using Blockchain Technology appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Key Highlights

• ADA price started a fresh downside move and declined below the $0.3500 support against the US Dollar (tethered).
• There was a break below a key bullish trend line with support at $0.3600 on the hourly chart of the ADA/USD pair (data feed via Bittrex).
• The pair is currently testing a major support at $0.3200, but it remains at a risk of more losses.

Cardano price is struggling to remain in a positive zone against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. ADA/USD may extend the current decline below the $0.3200 support in the near term.

Cardano Price Decline

After a decent upside ride above the $0.3700 level, ADA price faced resistance near $0.3750-0.3800 against the US Dollar. The price started a downside move and declined below the $0.3600 support and the 100 hourly simple moving average. The decline was such that the price even broke the 50% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the $0.3000 swing low to $0.3900 high.

Additionally, there was a break below a key bullish trend line with support at $0.3600 on the hourly chart of the ADA/USD pair. At the moment, the pair is trading near a major support at $0.3200. It may correct a few points towards the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $0.3748 high to $0.3205 low. However, the price is likely to face resistance near $0.3500 and $0.3600. Moreover, the 50% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $0.3748 high to $0.3205 low could prevent upsides near $0.3470.

The chart indicates that the price is at a risk of a downside break below the $0.3200 support. If sellers push the price below the $0.3200 support, it could decline further towards the $0.3000 area in the near term.

Hourly MACD – The MACD for ADA/USD is placed heavily in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI for ADA/USD is currently in the oversold zone.

Major Support Level – $0.3200

Major Resistance Level – $0.3500

The post Cardano Price Technical Analysis – ADA/USD At Risk of More Losses appeared first on NewsBTC.

NBA star Stephen Curry is launching the first celebrity-branded CryptoKitty, with two more on the way.