Day: May 16, 2018

The CEO of payments company Square has said that he wants his firm to help Bitcoin become a global payment choice.

Dorsey: ‘We Could be in Every App Store Instead of Five’

Jack Dorsey, the founder and CEO of Square and the co-founder and CEO of social media platform Twitter, was speaking at the Consensus conference today in New York.

“The internet is going to have a native currency so let’s not wait for it to happen, let’s help it happen. I don’t know if it will be bitcoin but I hope it will be.”

Dorsey is of the opinion that the use of the number one digital currency or another altcoin as a global payment would lower the barrier for the payment company to enter new markets, reports CNBC. He added:

“If we were able to use it a currency today, we could release our apps in every app store around the world instead of the five we’re in.”

He stated that as the company deals with fiat currency it had to approach the market differently, find a unique banking partner, and work with different regulators.

This isn’t the first time that Dorsey has been bullish on the future of Bitcoin. In March, it was reported that the Square CEO said that he believed the digital currency would become the globally accepted ‘single currency‘ of the Internet within the next 10 years.

In November, Square began the introduction of Bitcoin buying and selling options on Square Cash, the mobile payment app developed by Square, for a small section of their users. Since then the payment company has rolled out additional features for its users, which now sees them able to buy, sell, and transfer Bitcoin with the app. Dorsey has also committed personal funds to Lightning Labs as the team continues its work on the Bitcoin scaling proposal known as the Lightning Network.

Earlier today it was reported that Square Cash is growing at a faster rate compared to PayPal’s Venmo, according to Nomura Instinet. Analyst Dan Dolev said that with the roughly 28 million downloads, the number of Square Cash downloads was just one million fewer than Venmo’s levels.

In a note to clients, Dolev stated that:

“Historically, Venmo saw more downloads versus Square, but the gap appears to have peaked in July 2017.”

In the first quarter of 2018, Square reportedly sold $34.1 million in Bitcoin; however, it spent $33.9 million purchasing the cryptocurrency, meaning it’s adjusted revenue amounted to $200,000.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

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Bermuda has signed a memorandum of understanding with blockchain network Shyft, which provides ID solutions for compliance and due diligence mandates

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

The SEC Office of Investor Education and Advocacy launches fake ICO website to illustrate common warning signs of a scam

A cryptocurrency and decentralized registry for unique assets has announced that it has raised over $190,000 at a live art auction, which will be donated to the Foundation for Arts & Blockchain.

Live Art Auction Raises $140,000 for Unique Cryptokitty

Over the weekend, Codex Protocol, a decentralized title registry for the $2 trillion arts & collectibles (A&C) ecosystem, which includes art, fine wine, collectible cars, antiques, decorative arts, coins, watches, jewelry, and more, held the Live Codex Charity Art Auction at the Ethereal Summit in New York City.

Streamed live in partnership with LiveAuctioneers, the auction raised $192,350, all of which will go to the Foundation for Arts & Blockchain, a charity established to support artists creating art on or about the blockchain. According to an announcement, the most notable sale was the one-of-a-kind Celestial Cyber Dimension Cryptokitty, which sold for a record $140,000, approximately 203.41 ETH.

The Cryptokitty was custom made by CryptoKitties’ Director of Art, Guilherme Twardowski, and features a physical manifestation of the digital art by implanting the cat’s private key in a physical statuette.

Mark Lurie, Codex CEO, said that support from those in attendance reaffirmed that the blockchain can be used to ‘unlock the value of art and collectibles,’ adding:

“When we founded Codex, cryptowealthy investors had few avenues to access this lucrative asset class. Now, thanks to the hard work and determination of our dedicated team and the support of our industry consortium, we are proud to say that Codex is no longer just a concept, it’s a tried and tested reality. Through our live auction at Ethereal Summit, we have proven that the cryptowealthy want to invest in and collect art & collectibles and that the Codex platform can unlock value for collectors, intermediaries, and artisans alike.”

Other featured artworks at the live art auction included those from renowned blockchain-artists Jessica Angel, Kevin Abosch, and Yiying Lu, whose print of the iconic ‘Lifting A Dreamer,’ better known as the ‘Twitter Fail Whale,’ was auctioned for $12,000.

The live auction showcases the potential that the Codex Protocol has to inspire and encourage the arts and collectibles community to seek verifiable provenance and authenticity from an increasingly opaque system. With a range of new partnerships to the Codex Consortium, Codex is aiming to provide users, of varying roles and responsibilities within the industry, with the tools necessary to participate in the market with greater security and transparency.

Powered by the BidDex native token, the Codex Protocol is open source, allowing third party players in the A&C ecosystem to build applications and utilize the title system. Codex’s landmark application, Biddable, is a title-escrow system built on the Codex protocol, which solves long-standing challenges in auctions: non-performing bidders, lack of privacy, and bidder access.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

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Since its inception, one of the major goals of the cryptocurrency community has been the adoption of Bitcoin as a payment method for goods and services. As it stands now, consumers can use Bitcoin across a number of industries to purchase everything from real estate, to PCs, to pizza. However, Bitcoin’s high transaction costs, deflationary nature, and full transparency represent some of the shortcomings that prevent Bitcoin from seeing widespread merchant adoption.

As such, enthusiasts, consumers, and producers alike have gotten behind a number of altcoins as mediums of exchange for a variety of uses. While Bitcoin acted as the catalyst for the first wave of crypto-merchant integration, these emerging altcoins are the pioneers for the interactions between the consumers and merchants of tomorrow.

Privacy Coins

One cryptocurrency niche seeing steady and increasing consumer activity is privacy coins. There exist a number of situations where anonymous transactions are optimal for the consumer or producer. The obvious example is the use of Monero (XMR) to power darknet markets – allowing buyers and sellers to agree upon the sale of drugs and other illicit goods in a completely anonymous, untraceable manner.

However, black market sales do not wholly represent usage of privacy coins. Consumers have also flocked to privacy coins for usage in the adult industry. Monero has seen integration on sites selling sex toys. A number of privacy coins have also been integrated across various porn sites. With privacy coins, there is no paper trail – alleviating the risk of embarrassing or scandalous credit card statements being viewed by other parties. The nature of cryptocurrency also ensures that payments to any merchant will not jeopardize the information or payment details of the consumer.

Of course, the recent Verge partnership represents the most prominent instance of adoption of privacy coins in the adult industry. Last month, Verge (XVG) unveiled a partnership with porn giant Pornhub.com, which will allow payments to the site to be made via XVG. Although much controversy has ensued, this partnership pins Verge as a pioneer for privacy coin adoption.

Other Instances

Outside of privacy coins, a number of other altcoins have also begun to see meaningful integrations. OmiseGo (OMG), a platform seeking to empower the unbanked and create an inclusive, massively scalable financial ecosystem, earned the spotlight when OMG was integrated by McDonald’s Thailand. As OmiseGo continues to expand its network, it’s predicted that other large corporations will integrate the cryptocurrency down the road.

Beloved meme coin Dogecoin (DOGE) has also seen significant adoption. As the lighthearted and far-reaching community drove the joke coin to a powerhouse with a market cap of over US$500 million, community members and converted fans have driven Doge to be picked up by numerous merchants worldwide. One example that encapsulates the spirit of DOGE is this site for trendy pet accessories.

One upcoming project with a lot of potential is flogmall. Flogmall seeks to become a one-stop online shopping destination that accepts all cryptocurrencies. Of course, this will include KickCoin (KICK), the native token of the platform that’s responsible for crowdfunding the flogmall project, KICKICO.

Of course, with the ever-increasing popularity and information surrounding cryptocurrency, it’s only logical that merchants and consumers worldwide will continue to make new transactions and relationships through cryptocurrency. The future of cryptocurrency in consumer settings is wildly exciting.

It’s probably been a while since you pulled out a wad of cash to purchase an iPhone or an Apple Watch. The transition to a cashless society has been in motion for some time now – in developed countries, at least. But if your go-to payment method is pulling out the plastic, well, that’s on its way out as well.

Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) are on the rise around the world. That basically covers any means of payment that differs from the traditional credit card schemes. E-wallets, bank transfers, mobile payment apps… they’re all growing in popularity and are set to take over credit card payments globally sometime next year.

But while cryptocurrency is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think of alternative payments, remember that most of us are still busily HODLing our stashes. Moreover, in the US, only around 8 percent of the population is actively invested in cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin as a method of payment has long lost its efficacy, with its fluctuating value and volatility making it almost impossible to buy everyday goods with. So, cryptocurrency isn’t taking on any of the major credit cards or APMs right now. But, in the not-so-distant future, stablecoins may start gaining traction.

At least, that’s the hope of Havven COIN. And they’re making Apple products available for purchase to prove it can happen.

Buy Apple Products with Cryptocurrency

In case you were wondering, Apple doesn’t take Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency for now. So, if you’re looking to spend your coins (stable or otherwise) on the App Store, you’re still ahead of your time.

But, if you’re in the US, you can now buy Apple products with the Havven COIN from the Havven eStore, should you so desire. This is the first time that anyone has been able to purchase the iconic company’s products with a stablecoin.

Which raises an obvious question. Why not just buy directly from the Apple Store like everyone else? For those who believe that cryptocurrency is the future of money, but aren’t really comfortable with the idea of stablecoins tied to fiat or gold, Havven offers a realistic alternative.

By making Apple products available in their store, they aim to showcase the suitability of “nomins” and their decentralized payment network for e-commerce. And yes, the products will be backed by the Apple one-year warranty.

How Does Havven’s Stablecoin Work?

The Havven platform achieves stability by using two different tokens, the Havven coin and the ‘nomin’ coin. Havven provides the collateral for the platform, while nomins are issued against the value of the collateral token. This is a dual token approach that incentives users to hold Havven tokens, as all transaction fees are paid to Havven holders.

Havven is, therefore, a totally decentralized stablecoin, which means that, like Bitcoin, it is secure and resistant to censorship. The advantage that Havven has over Bitcoin as a means of payment, though, is that it uses a decentralized asset to protect against price volatility.

The transaction fees generated by the Havven network constitute the asset that backs the stablecoin. And since the asset is distributed, it can’t be lost, stolen, or hacked.

So, if you’re interested in using cryptocurrency to pay for things – specifically Apple things – now you have an efficient way to do so, without having to worry about the value changing after you click “buy”.

The head of the corporate and investment bank at JPMorgan Chase, Daniel Pinto, has addressed Bitcoin and other financial topics in an interview published today. The 55-year-old Argentinian stated he believes cryptocurrency will be important in the future, but not in its current form.

Pinto Thinks Cryptocurrency Tech Is Important but Not in Its Current Form

During an exclusive interview conducted by CNBC at his Park Avenue headquarters that was published earlier today, Daniel Pinto of JPMorgan Chase addressed the subject of cryptocurrencies amongst others. Whilst the high-ranking executive offered more thoughts than the outright dismissal of his CEO Jamie Dimon, they were not necessarily bullish for existing cryptos.

Pinto first confirmed that JPMorgan Chase were indeed ‘looking into’ the cryptocurrency space. He went on to state that the technology will be important in the future. However, when he addressed Bitcoin, he was less optimistic:

“… you cannot have something where the business proposition is to be anonymous and to be the currency for unknown activities.”

Pinto continued and stated that he felt that Bitcoin will have a ‘very short life.’ For him, either people would cease to believe in the ideals of censorship resistance and decentralisation that the number one cryptocurrency represents or that it would be killed off by regulators. He then surmised his position:

“I think the concept is valid, you have many central banks looking into. The tokenization of the economy, for me, is real. Cryptocurrencies are real but not in the current form.”

Finally, before moving onto other topics, Pinto addressed the interviewer’s mention of JPMorgan’s competitors starting to open up to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Rather than referring to the Goldman Sachs trading desk that appears to be launching imminently, he seemed to address the CME Group and Cboe futures contracts, however:

“If we need to clear futures of bitcoin, can we do it? Yes. Have we done it? No.”

The rest of the interview was taken up with Pinto addressing various other financial concerns. These included: the wider economy which he claimed was in ‘very good shape,’ investment opportunities in China, when the end of the current economic expansion would be, and JPMorgan Chase’s relationship with tech giants Amazon.

Daniel Pinto was awarded the title of co-president of JPMorgan back in January of this year. He and his partner Gordon Smith are in line to take over the position of prominent Bitcoin naysayer Jamie Dimon should there be call to do so during the next few years.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

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Two leading firms in intelligence and blockchain technology for healthcare are developing a platform for the storage and exchange of genomic data, reports Cointelegraph.

The companies will develop a platform to automate data acquisition, utilizing smart contracts, allowing data providers to store, manage, exchange, and profit from genomic and other types of clinical data. It hopes to cater to individuals and large data providers such as biobanks, allowing them to maintain ownership of genomic data and profit from it.

Longenesis targets lab tests results as one of its main areas of focus, developing a blockchain to store and exchange  important longitudinal health data. The company foresees that its work will establish two new fields of clinical study.

Earlier in March, Nasdaq reported that one of its listed companies, Genetic Technologies Limited, had partnered with a blockchain tech firm Shivom to build a “mass genomic data analysis” platform, purporting to allow users to “donate” their DNA for clinical research in a bid to accelerate cancer detection.

New platforms are emerging almost daily such as a diagnostic blockchain infrastructure aimed to host, train and use artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, and a blockchain-powered platform designed to track and protect pharmaceutical data.

In April, US healthcare giant United Health Group announced a blockchain deployment to keep records up to date, examining “how sharing data across healthcare organizations on blockchain technology can improve data accuracy, streamline administration and improve access to care”.

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Cryptocurrencies have the potential to change the way people view and use the money. There is a massive push across the world for limiting cash, with Australia becoming the latest country to join the war on cash. In a world where cash use would be limited, cryptocurrencies not only have the potential to emerge as a viable means of payment but may also one day completely replace physical money. Thomas Frey, a senior futurist at the DaVinci Institute was quoted by Time as saying, “Cryptocurrency is very much here to stay”, he also said, “Cryptocurrencies are going to displace roughly 25% of national currencies by 2030. They’re just much more efficient, the way they run.”

However, anyone who has dealt with cryptocurrencies will tell you that while there are several benefits to holding cryptocurrencies, spending them is altogether another story. The acceptance of cryptocurrencies remains spotty.  Even if they are allowed to be used in certain limited areas,  there is usually a cumbersome process in order to utilize them as payment. Furthermore, there are so many cryptocurrencies in existence today that using one of your choices may be nigh impossible at every retail outlet. Now, FuzeX has devised an ecosystem that would not only make it easier to use cryptocurrencies but will also incorporate traditional payment methods like debit and credit as well. Furthermore, their offering will allow users to link their rewards cards as well.

One card to rule them all

Most people who deal with cryptocurrencies will hold a number of them at the same time. FuzeX has devised a card that will allow the use of 15 cryptocurrencies and plan to encompass 10 debit or credit cards as well as 5 reward cards in the future. The card itself has an e-paper display that shows cryptocurrency information such as QR codes and exchange rates, thereby making transactions simpler. The system is completed by a mobile wallet app, which can be used by both iPhone and Android users. This app allows users to track their card in case it is lost and will display the last known location of the card. The wallet also facilitates balance check, account history and exchange rate information. The FuzeX system will be powered by the FuzeX exchange which will allow transactions between crypto to crypto and crypto to fiat. Merchants would be able to receive money in major world currencies like Euro, US Dollar, Yen or the local currency without having to deal with cryptocurrency.

As FuzeX lists with focus on compliance and security

A special consideration has been given by FuzeX to security and compliance. The card, for example, is EMV chip secured and transactions can be conducted with PIN verification. Further, the card is enriched with security features like two-factor authentication and an on-card key.

When it comes to compliance, FuzeX has taken that equally seriously with an in-house counsel already in place to deal with legal issues. A Chief Compliance Officer has also been appointed to look after compliance related issues. FuzeX has engaged a Singapore based law firm and will also hire law firms in other geographic locations who will serve to look after legal and compliance issues.

It should be noted that FuzeX have already concluded a successful token sale during which the hardcap of 40,000 ETH was met by investors. 20,000 ETH worth of tokens each were also sold in private and pre-sales, respectively. The FXT tokens issued by FuzeX are listed on major exchanges like HitBTC, Coss.io, livecoin.net, and Cobinhood.

FuzeX approach can change crypto payments

In the cryptocurrency payment card and ecosystem space, the focus of FuzeX on compliance is important. Other efforts to start similar services have not ended up well. Take the example of TenX, which was thwarted as their card’s partner Wavecrest was dropped by Visa as a partner. In addition, there is a case of Centra, whose co-founders Sam Sharma and Robert Farkas were arrested on  SEC complaint violations after having raised US $32 mln during an ICO. Apparently, no approval was ever received by Centra from Visa or Mastercard for the issuance of cards, according to the New York Times. Even Monaco, a company that promises elegant metal cards, has not been actually issuing any physical cards as of yet. FuzeX’s single card solution is an elegant approach that will simplify payments for cryptocurrency users and will increase the ability of users to spend their money as they wish. Furthermore, the project’s focus on security and compliance is a confidence booster in an era where cryptocurrency payment solutions have failed to get off the ground.

The post Can FuzeX Restore Confidence in Broken Crypto Payments Scene appeared first on NewsBTC.

Is bitcoin destined to become the default currency of the Internet? Square’s Jack Dorsey hopes so.

Cryptocurrency futures have proven to be somewhat intriguing traditional trading vehicles. More specifically, they allow institutional investors to be exposed to cryptocurrency without buying Bitcoin directly. It now seems CME is looking toward the future by introducing Ethereum indexes. It’s an interesting development, although Ethereum futures contracts are not on the roadmap as of yet.

What is CME Cooking?

When CME, together with Cboe, announced the launch of Bitcoin futures contracts, there was some initial excitement among cryptocurrency enthusiasts. The concept has a lot of merit, as it theoretically allows institutional investors to pour money into cryptocurrency, albeit indirectly. Unfortunately, things have not gone according to plan, as overall institutional interest in Bitcoin futures has been lower than originally expected.

That doesn’t mean this investment vehicle isn’t an important development for the cryptocurrency industry. Month over month, the trading volume for both CME and Cboe futures is on the rise, which can only be considered a good thing. CME is now taking things to a whole new level by officially launching indexes for Ethereum. While they’re not the same as Ethereum futures contracts, the two concepts have a fair few similarities.

Two separate indexes have been created to track the Ethereum value at all times. As one would expect, the launch of these new indexes has already led to a fair amount of speculation. Many see this as a stepping stone toward CME introducing Ethereum futures contracts, but it remains unclear if and when that might happen. The company confirmed it has no plans for additional futures products, despite the structure of these Ethereum indexes being eerily similar to Bitcoin futures.

These two indexes are pretty interesting vehicles in and of themselves. The first one focuses on the ETH/USD ratio, and provides a daily price at 11 AM ET. Additionally, there’s the Ether-Dollar Real-Time Index, which provides a lot more up-to-date information. Both indexes receive their price information from Crypto Facilities, a company which recently introduced Ethereum futures to the masses.

With the recent Ethereum price trend becoming more visible, it’s not entirely surprising to learn that more financial service providers are paying attention to cryptocurrency. While Ethereum is still a long way removed from its all-time high price of late 2017, it is evident that things are progressing rather nicely at this stage. If companies decide to launch Ethereum futures at some point in the future, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap may see a lot of positive changes.

This move also confirms that the cryptocurrency industry is still firing on all cylinders as we speak. Although it will be very difficult to convince the average person on the street to buy either Bitcoin or Ethereum, institutional investors may feel otherwise. A very exciting future lies ahead for all cryptocurrencies, although one has to keep the bigger long-term picture in mind at all times.