Day: May 10, 2018

Australia’s interior ministry is looking to use blockchain to improve trade

It almost seemed as if today would be a good day for all cryptocurrencies. Unfortunately, there is a new wave of bearish pressure forming across all currencies as we speak. The Bitcoin Cash price is still up by over 6.5% compared to 24 hours ago, though. With its value surpassing $1,650 once again, the race to $2,000 is still in full effect.

What Comes Next for the Bitcoin Cash Price?

As is always the case in the world of cryptocurrencies, it is impossible to make accurate long-term predictions. For the Bitcoin Cash price, many people assumed the interest in this altcoin to calm down weeks after its release. This popular altcoin surprised the entire world by surging to a value of nearly $4,000 in the months after. Fast forward to today, and the Bitcoin Cash price hovers near the $1,650 mark. A far cry from the all-time high, yet there is plenty of excitement among community members.

Over the past 24 hours, the Bitcoin Cash price has risen by 6.56%. It is not the biggest gain for this particular cryptocurrency to date, but given the bearish pressure affecting other markets, it’s a solid development regardless. This latest increase temporarily pushes the Bitcoin Cash price to $1.660 and more, but it remains to be seen if BCH can escape the looming bearish cycle.

As one would come to expect from such strong gains, Bitcoin Cash reclaimed some lost momentum over Bitcoin. Thanks to a 5.14% increase in the BCH/BTC ratio, things look rather promising for the altcoin. Although Bitcoin Cash isn’t even close to breaking the 0.2 BC mark again, the uptrend remains in place for several weeks now. Slowly but surely, this market seems to be hitting its stride once again.

Although the BCH trading volume is not too impressive, it’s far from terrible. Thanks to $1.131bn in 24-hour volume, the demand for BCH is certainly there. If the bulls cna remain in control of the market today, things will undoubtedly get very interesting. It is too early to tell if that can indeed happen, though, as altcoins usually don’t escape the bearish vortex that plows through Bitcoin.

No one will be surprised to learn OKEx is the leading exchange for Bitcoin Cash trading volume. The platform has carved out a lead over Upbit, and Bithumb completes the top three. We see Bitfinex in fourth place, and OKex’s BCH/BTC pair in fifth place. Three fiat currency pairs in the top five for Bitcoin Cash can have a positive impact on the price moving forward, but anything can happen in the world of cryptocurrency.

For the time being, it seems as if the Bitcoin Cash price can remain above $1,650 for the remainder of today. It will heavily depend on how the Bitcoin price evolves, as the world’s leading cryptocurrency has already lost some of its earlier gains in the past two hours. Even so, the overall long-term Bitcoin Cash price trend remains positive, regardless of what happens later today.

Blockchain technology is allowing us to build a decentralized economy in a largely centralized society. The cryptocurrency’s underlying technology has opened the path to democratic environments, to self-regulated economic models governed by market laws and mechanisms. Soon, we will have a tokenized economy where we tokenize everything including social interactions, and these tokens will be the life-blood of the new system. Leading this new wave of social change is the largest Q&A social network in the world, ASKfm.

ASKfm is, at the moment working on its own open and high-loaded blockchain-based Q&A platform that will work as an extension to the already existing network. To be successful at tokenizing social interactions, ASKfm is introducing a new token out of conceptual necessity. A transfer of 215 million registered users in more than 168 countries and maintaining 49 languages to the crypto market makes it the single largest mass introduction to the future. The internal token will be called ASKT.

What is ASKfm now?

ASKfm is a discussion platform that is designed to allow for progressive people to easily communicate and gain experience by corresponding with each other from within their peer group, without having to worry about social awkwardness or shyness.

After months of framing a blockchain solution, it’s finally ready. The next stage of the project, ASKfm 2.0, a high-quality user-generated content Q&A social network based on blockchain technology, is providing token incentives for participants. ASKfm 2.0 is designed to connect users to the people who are more likely to help solve their dilemmas. The platform is being developed to accommodate an educational aspect that will enhance the user experience with a series of incentive-based challenges that will include tutoring, online courses, and other informational activities.

ASKfm 2.0: The Economy of Knowledge.

Once it’s launched, ASKfm 2.0 will help people share their knowledge, opinions, and experience openly and independently. The new blockchain based network will provide token incentives for participants so that users can be directly rewarded for the content (both questions and answers) they create and become influencers by increasing their expert level and frequency of responses.

Once the tokens are in circulation, any user on the platform owning ASKT will be able to participate in the creation of a self-sustainable economy of knowledge. As an ASKT holder, the user will be entitled to asking any question and bid a certain amount of tokens to incentivize other users being asked the question to either answer or to decline.

The pre-sale and main token sale dates are as of this moment unconfirmed yet. ASKfm is in the process of conducting its Private sale. Currently, the general public can only apply for the whitelist. Once the public token sale goes live, ASKfm will be offering 50% of the total 2,000,000,000 ASKT to investors and potential users. The initial price of ASKT will be set at $0.1 per token.

In total the social media platform plans to sell $100 million worth of tokens.

More information about ASKfm 2.0 and the upcoming token sale is available at – https://askfm.io/

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The People’s Republic of China is setting up national standards for the blockchain technology, according to reports. Related government departments will establish a national blockchain and distributed Accounting Technology Standardization Committee by the end of 2019.

China to Establish National Blockchain and Blockchain Standards

China’s approach to cryptocurrencies has led many trading platforms and digital currency miners to leave the country in search for crypto-friendly environments. But while banning initial coin offerings and the use of digital assets as means of payment or investment, the country is betting on the development of the underlying blockchain technology.

According to an exclusive report by Chinese agency The Economic Information Daily, China is establishing a national standard for blockchain in order to promote the building of a standard system from top-level design. The standards include requirements for inter-operability, safety, and reliability, according to Li Ming, director of the Blockchain Research Office of the Electronic Industry Standards Research Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

National standards will range from basic standards, business and application standards, process and method standards, credible and inter-operable standards, and information security standards. The plan has already been published and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will set up a committee to handle its development.

The standard of information security is of key importance to the Chinese authorities. The formulation of the blockchain standard, however, will not necessarily trigger a rush of blockchain development within Chinese industries, but it will only provide some guidance, according to Li Ming.

China’s investment in decentralized ledger technology has allowed it to register more than 200 patents in the international blockchain. Out of the top 100 companies with the highest number of patents published for blockchain technology, 49 were Chinese and 23 from the United States, according to the Global Blockchain Enterprise Patent Rankings 2017, published by IPRdaily.

At the 2018 Blockchain Security Summit, Yu Kequn, director of the National Center for Information Technology Security Research, explained the importance of the technology on the international setting as the leader of a new round of technological innovation and new industry development.

“The development of blockchain technology may become an important step for China to grasp the global technological competition (…) It can be applied in the production chain, management chain, and transaction chain, and it will bring the entire life cycle of restructuring to different areas, so that the life cycle can be managed and traceable.”

The country has invested several billion dollars to develop decentralized ledger technology, but it is unknown how soon it will pay off or whether it will ease its stance on crypto trading.

Image from Shutterstock

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Dalia Research has just published the results of its latest survey on global cryptocurrency adoption, reports Cointelegraph. which reveals a diminishing of new interest in cryptocurrency across major countries across the world.

The report, published on 9 May, shows differences in crypto ownership and knowledge along lines of education, gender, and nationality, and attempted to “measure the spread of awareness, knowledge, buying intention and ownership of cryptocurrency” in a survey of over 29,000 people in eight countries, comprising the US, UK, Germany, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, China, and India.

South Korea and Japan returned the most significant numbers in terms of awareness and knowledge on the subject of cryptocurrency, and globally 75% are at least “aware” of digital currency, although only 50% of respondents attested to an understanding of what cryptocurrencies were.

The research showed that on average, only 4% of people who do not already own crypto intended to invest within the next six months, and notably in Japan and South Korea, there was now little intention to buy cryptocurrency, at 3% and 2% respectively. This seems to indicate that those with the intent to trade or hold cryptocurrencies are already well established in the space. China’s particularly low rate of ownership can be seen as the result of strict government measures in recent months. Japan rated as having the highest ownership of digital currency at 11%.

In terms of gender, the survey revealed that men were more likely to buy cryptocurrencies than women and that the UK, US, and Germany had higher gender gaps than Asian countries. The gender gap in the US was 13%, compared to 4% in China and  India.

Higher levels of education correlated directly to higher levels of crypto ownership, according to the survey, with 12% ownership by more educated owners against 4% by less educated respondents. These were reflected again among those intending to purchase cryptocurrency with a 67/33 percentage split.

Pro-BTC Wall Street analyst Nick Colas cast a pessimistic tone over crypto adoption recently, suggesting that there was evidence of weak public interest indicators, including fewer Bitcoin Google searches and low crypto wallet growth. This was reflected in the survey.

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Infinito Wallet, a fintech startup registered in the Isle of Man, UK, has launched a multi-asset cryptocurrency wallet allowing users to store major coins and tokens.

Since different coins are based on separate blockchains, until recently, it was impossible to store them at the same wallet address. Sending BTC to an altcoin address, for example, might lead to an irretrievable loss of funds. Users had to manage multiple wallet apps, addresses, and passwords for each coin, cluttering their phone and exposing their portfolio to a higher risk.

A growing list of currencies

Infinito Wallet’s mission is to solve this issue by helping users store, send and receive multiple currencies and tokens. The product supports a growing list of currencies including BTC, BCH, LTC, NEO, GAS, DASH, DOGE, and thousands of ERC20 and NEP5 tokens. It plans to add EOS support in June, as well as RSK, ADA and others in the third and fourth quarter of 2018.

Users will be able to switch between coins without resorting to multiple apps, accounts or passphrases.

According to the company, Infinito Wallet is the first and only wallet that can use a single passphrase for all ERC20 and NEP-5 tokens.

Lately, a few of the new wallets coming out on the market have also offered multi-coin storage. To stand out, Infinito Wallet has introduced additional security features such as touchscreen lock, password protection, private key encryption, and various language support.

Features also include contacts management, allowing users to store a list of frequently used addresses for hassle-free and secure transactions.

Users can download the app from the App Store or from Google Play.

Infinito’s wallet connection service is intended for users who need to store, transfer and use cryptocurrencies across different applications, platforms, and services. Remembering and copying multiple addresses for fund transfers takes time and increases the risk of mistakes. The feature removes manual work and enables users to transfer coins from Infinito Wallet to a range of third-party platforms including different exchanges, decentralized applications (Dapps), and various blockchain services, the company says.

Enhanced security

Each supported currency in the Infinito Wallet has a specific private key critical for setting up new wallets and sending or receiving funds. Users are encouraged to keep their key written down in a safe place. Infinito Wallet protects private keys with an in-app encryption mechanism, using a password provided by the user without storing any password information itself.

Beyond the initial password protection layer, it requires fingerprint identification to unlock the wallet app. To mitigate the risk of loss of funds in case a password has been compromised, the technology makes sure that the wallet owner is the only one to make important decisions about the destination and storing of funds.

ICO features

Infinito Wallet users can participate in partner ICOs with the help of a special ICO tab. The latter is intended to protect investors and offer them official ICO information and directions on how to send funds to the ICO company.

The wallet app has recently launched a one-click token integration feature. To protect investors from fraudulent or illegitimate ICOs, it has partnered with a number of selected ICO companies. Scanning a special QR code on a given ICO partner website, wallet holders can import the respective token into their wallet dashboard. The token appears with a Verisign mark indicating that its smart contract is officially verified to belong to the given ICO company. This also simplifies the lengthy process of adding a customized token to a wallet.

Infinito Wallet says its sole objective is to become the world’s market-leading crypto wallet. The company now boasts a team of more than 180 in-house blockchain developers, marketers, researchers and strategic planners.

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Imaging giant Kodak is now looking at May 21 for the SAFT offering of its KODAKCoin for accredited investors.

Bitcoin Press Release: DataBlockChain.io has announced its strategic partnership with Media Direct, Inc. This partnership will prove to be mutually beneficial for all parties involved.

May 5, 2018 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands – After having merged its own proprietary data with many of the world’s largest databases ranging from government data, industry specific data, voting records, business to business data, property data, credit bureau data,  DataBlockChain LTD prepares for its May 24th Token Sale it has inked a strategic data partnership with Media Direct, Inc.

Media Direct, Inc. is a leading compiler and supplier of data for marketing and analytics. Media Direct and its subsidiaries have committed to contributing over 3 billion Automotive, Business, Consumer, Digital, Political and Property records to DataBlockChain.io’s marketplace. DataBlackChain.io is a first of its kind virtual data platform utilizing artificial intelligence and blockchain technology. DataBlockChain.io aims to democratize Big Data by providing a consortium of data suppliers to offer the best available data directly utilizing the blockchain, eliminating unnecessary middlemen and removing layers of inefficiency in the current data ecosystem.

Adam Mittelberg, Chief Marketing Officer of DataBlockChain.io said:

“This is the first of many strategic partnerships we hope to announce in the coming months. Our alliance with Media Direct accelerates our Data Acquisition efforts even beyond our original lofty goals. I am confident we will not only be the most efficient and economical source for marketers in the coming months but one of the largest as well. Today we officially took a big step in that direction.”

Michael Richmond, President of Media Direct, Inc., added:

“I am excited about our participation with DataBlockChain.io. We have always tried to stay ahead of the curve and embrace new technological advances. I am a real believer that Blockchain represents the future of Digital Data. I have always believed when you deliver better data more efficiently everybody wins, and I am looking forward to the success of this project.”

Jesse Brown, DataBlockChain.io’s Chief Technology Officer, was equally enthusiastic about the announcement:

“We are very close to releasing our MVP and being able to start with this massive and diverse data set. This already puts us well ahead of existing markets.”

He continued:

“DataBlockChain.io will provide a robust interface between the users and the data sources. DataBlockChain.io will create a single-point solution that will eliminate the need for multiple data vendors and layers of list managers and brokers that create inefficiency in the marketplace. The backend systems will ensure full confidence in data quality for the end user as well as transactional finality for the data providers.”

Learn more on the DataBlockChain.io website – https://www.datablockchain.io
Read the DataBlockChain Whitepaper – https://www.datablockchain.io/pdf/whitepaper.pdf
Chat with DataBlockChain team on Telegram – https://t.me/DBCIO
Follow DataBlockChain on Twitter – https://twitter.com/DBC_IO
Learn more about DataBlockChain on Medium – https://medium.com/dbc-io

DataBlockChain is the source of this content. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. Cryptocurrencies and tokens are extremely volatile. There is no guarantee of a stable value, or of any value at all. Token sales are only suitable for individuals with a high risk tolerance. Only participate in a token event with what you can afford to lose.This press release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest.

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Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, has written that until cryptocurrency ties itself to gold, a basket of commodities, or a bundle of major currencies, it will never replace money.

In a piece written for Forbes online news, he suggests that the creators of cryptocurrencies have overlooked the fact that digital currencies basically are susceptible to one main flaw, which is also a factor of physical currency; value fluctuation.

Steve Forbes says, that as most buyers are trying to make a “quick buck”, they forget that one of the reasons cryptocurrencies were originally created was to negate the instability of government-produced money and its fluctuating fortunes. He cites an example that, “If in 2013 you had taken out a mortgage for USD 250,000 in Bitcoin, you’d owe the bank roughly USD 18 million today.”

Forbes goes on to say that he feels that digital currencies can’t replace money, however flawed the current central bank currencies may be, as they need to be a “real alternative”. To become this, cryptocurrencies need to be used for day-to-day transactions, without an artificially restricted supply.

According to Forbes, an artificially supply won’t create real value, but utility and trustworthiness do. He cites the Swiss franc, which has a bountiful supply, creating long-term stability and faring better than most currencies over the past 100 years.

Forbes maintains that Bitcoin’s fluctuating fortunes is an example of the destructiveness of monetary unreliability, and suggests there is a distinct parallel to the dollar’s instability following the abandoning of the gold standard in the US in the early 1970s.

Alternatively, there are some that have a completely different view regarding digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, commenting that rather than Bitcoin being tied to gold it should actually replace it. John Pfeffer of UK-based Pfeffer Capital made these comments at the Sohn investment conference in New York recently:

“Bitcoin is the first viable candidate to replace gold the world has ever seen. So if Bitcoin becomes the dominant non-sovereign store of value, it could be the new gold or new reserve currency.”

Pfeffer did not overlook the potential problems of cryptocurrencies, however. He advised that Bitcoin was by far the strongest investment asset, while other currencies still carried “substantial risks”.

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Artwork and cryptocurrency are more alike than most will realize at first think. Both are somewhat conceptual by nature, they have a value that can vary greatly according to the taste of the times and they remain outside of the mainstream commerce. This may be why some online companies are finding ways to integrate the two.

Cryptocurrency Payment Systems Bring Artists and Buyers Together

As reported in The South China Morning Post Art Stage Singapore which is the largest art fair held in the city-state had a payment system called Aditus on hand to handle transactions in numerous virtual currencies this year. One Singapore based collector Joe Nash is selling parts of his collection via Visionairs, an online gallery based in Paris that also accepts digital money for payment.

When asked about the shifting market prices of Bitcoin and alternative currencies Nash said

 “My paintings are priced in three anchor currencies: euros, US dollars, and Australian dollars. It is easy to check the real-time exchange rate against cryptocurrencies,”

In the global scope of the art market using cryptocurrency also allows payments to be made faster and without the red tape of changing currencies and sending money across borders.

Terrence Chung, a Vancouver based collector from Hong Kong, appreciates the ease of buying work from all over the world online and using crypto to pay for it. He has bought paintings from Romania and France on Bitpremier.com an online market for luxury goods which only accepts Bitcoin.

Blockchain Authentication is the Future for the Art world

For galleries and purveyors of paintings and some other luxury goods blockchain technology provides the potential to eliminate questions in the future about provenance.

Mark Lurie is the founder and chief executive of Codex Protocol, one of a number of companies that are using blockchain technology to create ‘title banks’ for collectibles. Just as cryptocurrency transactions are recorded so will the ownership of a piece of art be stored in the Codex ledger which can only be unlocked with a personal code thus ensuring authentication.

To insiders in the art world, the most obvious application for blockchain technology is for recording sales transactions of pieces, especially at auction, to try and limit the multi-billion dollar international forgery market. With the dual benefits of being unalterable on the distributed ledger and yet still secretive enough to protect those buyers who prefer to remain unknown a universal platform to record purchases and sales could change the process of selling art for the better.

Lurie speaking of his own services in relation to privacy said;

“Our system simply allows a buyer or an insurer to verify that ownership if a piece of art goes back to an auction house, or gallery, or artist, and that is very valuable. We don’t necessarily make the market more transparent. Who owns what is private,”

Though contacted by the SCMP neither Christies nor Sotheby’s, the two largest art auction house in the world, cared to comment on plans for utilizing such a platform.

Image from Shutterstock

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Australia’s Department of Home Affairs is touting blockchain technology in a push to modernize the country’s international trade supply chains.

No matter how enthusiastic people may be about adopting the latest blockchain technology and participating in the many ICOs available to potential token purchasers today, it’s still very much a caveat emptor situation on the overall ICO market. The Befund service platform intends to change all of that. This decentralized fund platform allows potential cryptocurrency buyers to rely on the expertise of their fund’s specialists and to leverage their expert capital and networking capabilities. The company will be launching its own crowdsale on May 16, 2018.

Like all new industries, the cryptocurrency market is experiencing its share of growing pains. Everyone has heard of the high-profile scams, and instances abound when even well-meaning companies rush their ICO stages without having built solid enough foundations to ensure they can deliver the products and services promised. Meanwhile, the recent highly publicized volatility in mainstream cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, along with a lack of tested evaluation tools, can make the sector seem perplexing. Understandably, everyday token buyers don’t have the expertise to evaluate emerging companies in order to make the best purchase decisions, which may be keeping them out of the sector altogether. The Singapore-based, non-profit Befund Platform aims to mitigate these issues by drawing on the expertise of its team of venture capital professionals. Their team works together to develop a deep understanding of various projects by applying their in-depth due diligence, management, and technical expertise. Befund’s goal is to build a standardized blockchain-based service platform that complies with various jurisdictional regulations to guide cryptocurrency funds, fund managers, and token holders, no matter their size.

The platform plans, in part, to cater to fund managers who would like to issue their own crypto tokens by offering a book building product along with a SaaS tools platform (including cryptocurrency wallets), subscription platforms, and investment management tools and clearing assistance. The long-term goals for the company consist of building a public blockchain-based financial ecosystem that will allow cooperation throughout the entire financial industry. Befund is working to implement compliance audit services while providing their users with cryptocurrency valuation reports. Users will also be able to access crypto financial planning advice and to interact with industry experts, including those from a global angel, hedge, and private equity funds.

According to Befund Director of Overseas Operations, Khalil Lin, Befund’s goal is to completely transform the financial industry. “Blockchain technology has the power to remove geographical constraints while creating the conditions for greater trust between global funds and international investors,” he argues. “As this sector grows, more and more token holders will be seeking professionals who can effectively manage their cryptocurrency holdings. Befund is being developed to simplify the process and to support this new breed of fund managers by building a toolkit of highly relevant solutions and services. With the strong team of experts we’ve assembled, we believe that our platform will have a positive impact on the global financial system; and by making it easier to access powerful crypto asset management tools, we will play a crucial role in expanding the client base for cryptocurrency funds overall.”

The company’s public blockchain is known as BFDChain and will be powered by their internal BFDT token. Services including learning modules and smart contract templates will be accessed using the token. Major holders of BFDTs may also be entitled to participate in exclusive advance fund sales conducted on the platform. A maximum of two billion BFDT will be issued, including the sale of 9% to strategic backers, a 25% private placement with whitelisted buyers who passed our KYC procedure, and the distribution of 20% to the Befund team. In all 800 million BFDT will be available for sale.

To learn more about Befund please visit http://www.befund.io/

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