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John MacAfee: EOS will Hit $32 by end of July 2018: IOTA, Tron, EOS, Litecoin and Stellar Lumens Price Analysis (May 25, 2018)

Because of today’s Tron Virtual Machine launch, traders should to capitalize on positive vibes around this event and Tron prospects in general. We are already seeing support not only on Tron but in all coins under our focus. As a matter of fact, the former is four percent in the green in the last 24

The post John MacAfee: EOS will Hit $32 by end of July 2018: IOTA, Tron, EOS, Litecoin and Stellar Lumens Price Analysis (May 25, 2018) appeared first on NewsBTC.

Because of today’s Tron Virtual Machine launch, traders should to capitalize on positive vibes around this event and Tron prospects in general. We are already seeing support not only on Tron but in all coins under our focus. As a matter of fact, the former is four percent in the green in the last 24 hours and odds are buyers might build up on yesterday’s gains. I recommend Tron buys with stops at 6.5 cents or there about whenever you initiate long trades.

EOS Price Analysis

It’s only a few days before the EOS-Ethereum split which would see EOS becoming independent and not syncing with the ERC-20 standards. So, before this happen it’s better to remain cautious and play by what EOS is advising. Currently, we have a list of exchanges that shall support the new EOS coin. That’s fine but the safest route you can take before this happens is to store your coin on the blockchain itself through plugins as MEW. From there, everything will be easy, just find the Binance EOS deposit address and move your EOS tokens from MEW to that specific Binance/BitFinex address. It’s that simple and there are plenty of guides to help you out.

Yesterday’s price development is but an assertion that EOS often leads market resurgence. What we have now is a double bar bullish reversal candlestick in the midst of steep bearish pressure. Now, before June 2 mainnet launch, I need to see confirmations of buy pressure and today should be a perfect litmus test. Whether EOS will test $32 or not depends on participation and that’s what we are reliant on.

A bullish candlestick today floating prices back above $13 is but a sign of strength and you should opt in with the recovery and aim for $22 or EOS ATHs as the first target.

Litecoin (LTC) Price Analysis

There is a lot of effort going on at the Litecoin Foundation and this is pretty nice. After their rather successful social media campaign, there have been some noteworthy conversions. One of them is iPayment INC which shall from now going forward process their payments via Aliant Payment. Aliant is a third party that works with merchants to facilitate seamless transactions.

There are pockets of bull pressure after yesterday’s rejection of lower prices at around $110. If indeed that was support then today we have to see a bullish candlestick with relatively high volumes pushing prices past $130. On the flip side, any dip and bear trend continuation below $110 and the next sell target would be $90.

Stellar Lumens (XLM) Price Analysis

Unlike yesterday and despite strong participation, sellers don’t have an upper hand over Stellar Lumens prices. There is basically a stall with buyers rejecting lower prices but still moving within May 23 bear candlestick. Because of that bear candlestick, chances are we might see a follow through with sellers finding shorting opportunities around 30 cents. However, if there is appreciation past 30 cents or 35 cents accompanied by above average volumes, then you should buy.

 

Tron (TRX) Price Analysis

Like EOS, Tron is but an ERC-20 token that complies with Ethereum standards. Now, while they are launching a gateway that would allow Ethereum DApp developers to easily switch camps from Ethereum’s EVM, TRX holders need not to worry.

During this launch, there won’t be any effect on TRX tokens. However, come June 25, 2018 when they shall officially split from Ethereum and launch their own coin, that’s where movement must happen. It must be done before the split or else coin holders risk losing their coins. What I advise now is shifting your coins-from a web, exchange or hard wallet-to reliable exchanges who they have announced would support the coin before June 20, 2018.

Currently, we are seeing TRX prices getting support. Our expectations were that prices would sink below 6.5 cents and perhaps find support at the lower limit of our mid range consolidation following May 23 depreciation.

In my view, today may see bulls building on yesterday’s rejection of lower lows and blast past 7.5 cents. In any case, today is special scenario.  It’s better to take chances and take advantage of the positive vibes surrounding today’s event. If prices edge past 7.5 cents, then buy and aim for 10 cents as before.

IOTA (IOT) Price Analysis

In the last 24 hours, IOTA is up 5 percent but for sure that doesn’t mean sellers should exit their trades. It will mean nothing if there is no confirmation and at least a buildup and a close above $1.5 main support line. That’s my take on IOTA and if it goes through, we should be better placed to gauge the strength of recovery and rejection of lower prices.

The post John MacAfee: EOS will Hit $32 by end of July 2018: IOTA, Tron, EOS, Litecoin and Stellar Lumens Price Analysis (May 25, 2018) appeared first on NewsBTC.

Adoption and Integration Positioning Ripple As a Global Commerce Lubricant: Ripple (XRP) Price-Technical Analysis (May 25, 2018)

For Ripple bears to cease, then we must either see strong fundamental announcement like any of ripple technology being adopted by a central bank or abnormal injection of buying volumes. This is the only way to stop this bearish skew. Otherwise, odds are, sellers might push prices towards 45 cents. As such, it’s but logical

The post Adoption and Integration Positioning Ripple As a Global Commerce Lubricant: Ripple (XRP) Price-Technical Analysis (May 25, 2018) appeared first on NewsBTC.

For Ripple bears to cease, then we must either see strong fundamental announcement like any of ripple technology being adopted by a central bank or abnormal injection of buying volumes. This is the only way to stop this bearish skew. Otherwise, odds are, sellers might push prices towards 45 cents. As such, it’s but logical to trade with the trend and sell in lower time frames as long as prices remain below 60 cents.

From the News

When companies like Revolut respond to user demand by increasing their cryptocurrency offerings, good things happen to those added cryptos. In this case, Revolut are now availing Ripple and Bitcoin Cash to their customers. Ironically though, Ripple is inherently meant to be stable, soaking in speculative forces without huge swings.

Ripple is simply but a facilitator, an agent for transferring value and a bridge allowing movement of fiat value from one jurisdiction to another during international transfers. Now, Revolut customers would be in a position to transfer their fiat holdings and instantaneously buy Ripple while increasing their investment in cryptocurrency. This fiat-crypto transfer is via Bitstamp, a Luxembourg exchange who shall be charging a 1.5 percent transaction fee.

Of course movements like these are encouraging and a reprieve now that we are in an incessant bear market which has since wiped more than $10 billion in Ripple market valuation. Nonetheless, we are still positive and asserting that Ripple is a 5+ year holding investment with chances that it would turn out to be the largest facilitator of international payments across the world in the future.

Ripple Market Cap

It would be even interesting if the number of global banks adopting xRapid pick up while not forgetting that some traditional and major remittance companies as Money Gram, Western Union have piloted the project. Speed, security and cost cuttings have all been checked so it’s up to willing start-ups to get up and leverage on Xpring initiative as they prop themselves and Ripple.

Ripple (XRP) Price Analysis

Weekly Chart

Like before, current lower lows is most likely a long covering. This is so especially if we take into account the alignment of previous weekly candlesticks. Notice that while we all agree that bears are truly in charge, the last five weekly bearish candlesticks are trying to reverse the last two weekly candlesticks by week ending April 22.

Then we saw that buyers were pushing prices higher and bouncing off previous support region. Unsurprisingly, this is the same level that sellers might retest at 45 cents. In my view, this is but an effort and result scenario. Here, previous supports are playing a key role acting as trend divisors.

Furthermore, besides, note that the last bullish candlesticks had an average 100 million in volumes. In contrast, the last five candlesticks average volumes stand at 35 million. This is why it is taking a whole lot of effort-five candlesticks-against two to reverse previous gains. Regardless of sentiment then, I remain positive of Ripple support. It’s conditional though. Prices must oscillate above 45 cents for this to be valid.

Daily Chart

Bears are in charge and as long Bitcoin sell off goes on, Ripple shall add to their losses. Of course, unless we see strong supports through volumes spikes buoying prices.

Yes, prices did not edge lower yesterday in line with May 23 break below main support. However, you should note that  trading volumes is incomparable to break down volumes. That’s May 23 bear candlestick volumes. We need similar participation levels and close above 60 cents for us to surely confirm Ripple buy pressure. Otherwise, considering this technical set up, selling in lower time frames and aiming for 45 cents would be ideal.

The post Adoption and Integration Positioning Ripple As a Global Commerce Lubricant: Ripple (XRP) Price-Technical Analysis (May 25, 2018) appeared first on NewsBTC.

ZIXX CRYPTOCURRENCY IS NOW TRADING – High-reward masternode cryptocurrency with dedicated charity nodes is live

24 MAY 2018: New masternode cryptocurrency Zixx is live and comes with some notable features. As standard, it offers secure, instant and private transactions. Benefits include high rewards, charity projects, low maximum coin supply, low coin emission, a useful bot and a full-time team. The most significant difference is that Zixx allocates a huge percentage (80%) of its rewards to masternode holders. This strategy aims to avoid the volatility often created by other distribution models. Zixx is now trading on the popular cryptocurrency exchange, CryptoBridge. For more, join the Zixx community at zixx.chat. Charity Nodes Zixx runs dedicated charity nodes

24 MAY 2018: New masternode cryptocurrency Zixx is live and comes with some notable features. As standard, it offers secure, instant and private transactions. Benefits include high rewards, charity projects, low maximum coin supply, low coin emission, a useful bot and a full-time team. The most significant difference is that Zixx allocates a huge percentage (80%) of its rewards to masternode holders. This strategy aims to avoid the volatility often created by other distribution models. Zixx is now trading on the popular cryptocurrency exchange, CryptoBridge. For more, join the Zixx community at zixx.chat.

Charity Nodes

Zixx runs dedicated charity nodes to raise funds for worthy causes. Any member of the community can propose a registered charity to receive funding. Each quarter, the masternode holders vote on how to allocate the charity fund. CEO, Gerry explained “We live to give, and our ethos is to leave things better than we found them. We aim to operate a self-sustaining fund, starting with four nodes.”

Benefits

 

  • High Masternode Rewards: 80% (10% for miners, 10% for Dev Tax)
  • NOTE: Miners are receiving double rewards this week as the Dev Tax has been postponed until block 15,000.
  • Dedicated Charity Nodes: Nodes that generate rewards exclusively for charity.
  • Low Maximum Coin Supply: 22 million coins
  • Low Coin Emission Rate: ~100k per month
  • Zixx Bot: Tip, gamble or participate in a shared node via the friendly Zixx Bot in the Discord community

Keep it Simple

With Zixx, anybody can run a masternode. A ‘one-click’ feature creates a masternode on your Windows machine in no time. With your Zixx Wallet, you can control the distribution of incoming funds. With shared nodes, you could split the funds based on pre-defined ratios to multiple users. If you run several nodes, you could have all the rewards sent to one address. Feeling generous? You could assign a percentage of your regular rewards to charity.

Get Involved

The masternode community knows that Zixx is one to watch. At every pre-sale opportunity, there have been buyers keen to purchase. Pre-sale nodes sold for as much as 3 BTC each (approx. $30,000 in Dec 2017). The team behind this digital currency has taken the time to do things right – from tech to timing.

Join Zixx’ active community both on Discord and Twitter:

  • Discord Group: zixx.chat
  • Twitter: @ZixxCrypto
  • Or visit the website at zixx.org

At the end of May, the final pre-sale Zixx masternode goes to auction. All the funds raised from this sale go to a single registered charity. Masternode holders will vote to decide on the charity. For the opportunity to own a Zixx node and learn more about the auction, join the Discord community at zixx.chat.

This is a sponsored press release and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views held by any employees of The Merkle. This is not investment, trading, or gambling advice. Always conduct your own independent research.

Qilimanjaro Brings Revolutionary Quantum Cloud Computing to the Masses

Quantum computing and blockchain startup Qilimanjaro aim to open up the power of quantum computation to the world via the cloud. May 24 th , 2018,  – Quantum computing is no longer a term that sparks the imaginations of science fiction fans, in fact, it is no longer a far-off a dream. A number of the most prominent tech companies such as IBM, Microsoft and Google are all invested in the race to build a fully-fledged quantum computer with the goal of achieving “quantum supremacy”. It is a milestone in computing technology and a term that refers to the moment when a quantum

Quantum computing and blockchain startup Qilimanjaro aim to open up the power of quantum computation to the world via the cloud.

May 24 th , 2018,  – Quantum computing is no longer a term that sparks the imaginations of science fiction fans, in fact, it is no longer a far-off a dream. A number of the most prominent tech companies such as IBM, Microsoft and Google are all invested in the race to build a fully-fledged quantum computer with the goal of achieving “quantum supremacy”.

It is a milestone in computing technology and a term that refers to the moment when a quantum device performs a certain computation that can’t be reproduced on a  raditional computer. This is expected to be achieved by late-2018.

Quantum Cloud Computing with Qilimanjaro

The technological breakthrough represents one of the most significant and prosperous advances in the modern age; while big and small companies are laying down the foundations of commercial quantum computing, they remain centralized and out of the hands of potential users.

Accessibility to the technology is a must should the world wish to reap the benefits as soon as they can, barriers such as expensive hardware, education or a lucky chance to work with a quantum computer are keeping the technology just out of reach. Qilimanjaro is offering up two services as part of its project, the Qilimanjaro Computing Services (QCS) and the Qilimanjaro Software Services (QSS). The services target different goals and are a means of bringing the technology to any and every company or individual with a regular computer.

QCS and QSS

  • The QCS service focuses on building up to four quantum computers that have their own specific goals, making available a quantum service that is accessible via the cloud, allowing for any one person or organisation to explore the vast possibilities of the astounding technology, affordably. The QCS platform will have a user-friendly interface with the ability to let external users create custom programs through the online editor. The editor features a number of tools designed to compile quantum algorithms on the online computing platform.
  • QSS will provide assistance to individuals and companies who wish to adapt their problems or business practices to quantum algorithms that can be run on quantum machines; QSS is going to build an operating system that runs on the Qilimanjaro Quantum computer, providing a full-stack service to customers.

QBIT Tokens

The Qilimanjaro platform is host to its native ERC20 compliant token, QBITs (pronounced Kúbits). The token acts as a utility that allows users to receive assistance in translating real-world problems to a particular quantum algorithm, run algorithms on a quantum annealing machine and provide incentives for quantum algorithm developers who wish to add their algorithms to the platform.

The tokens allow companies and individuals to explore quantum computations, solve complex real-life problems and advance the experimentation and advancement of the technology at the levels of quantum software and hardware. Qilimanjaro will be at the forefront of this race as the blockchain and quantum computing push their way ever closer to “quantum supremacy”.

Visit the Qilimanjaro Official Site – https://qilimanjaro.io/

Check out the Whitepaper – https://qilimanjaro.io/static/whitepaper.pdf

Chat on Telegram – https://t.me/qilimanjaro

Follow on Twitter – https://twitter.com/qilimanjaro

This is a sponsored press release and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views held by any employees of The Merkle. This is not investment, trading, or gambling advice. Always conduct your own independent research.

Crypto insider believes regulation is bullish for bitcoin – CNBC


CNBC

Crypto insider believes regulation is bullish for bitcoin
CNBC
Crypto insider believes regulation is bullish for bitcoin. 2 Hours Ago. CNBC’s Seema Mody on the crypto crackdown. And Ran Neu Ner, ONchain Capital, discusses what regulation means for cryptocurrencies. Watch CNBC Live TV …


CNBC

Crypto insider believes regulation is bullish for bitcoin
CNBC
Crypto insider believes regulation is bullish for bitcoin. 2 Hours Ago. CNBC's Seema Mody on the crypto crackdown. And Ran Neu Ner, ONchain Capital, discusses what regulation means for cryptocurrencies. Watch CNBC Live TV ...

Chinese Startup to Use Blockchain to Track Wine Imports

The Chinese wine industry is worth $2.8 billion. In attempts to improve trust, Shanghai-based startup VeChain is using blockchain technology to track imports to the city — the mainland’s second-largest market for imported wine — from vine to table. VeChain: Using Blockchain to Build Trust in Wine Industry To start, VeChain is teaming up with

The post Chinese Startup to Use Blockchain to Track Wine Imports appeared first on NewsBTC.

The Chinese wine industry is worth $2.8 billion. In attempts to improve trust, Shanghai-based startup VeChain is using blockchain technology to track imports to the city — the mainland’s second-largest market for imported wine — from vine to table.

VeChain: Using Blockchain to Build Trust in Wine Industry

To start, VeChain is teaming up with French producer Pierre Ferraud & Fils, whose 2017 Beaujolais Nouveau red wine is set to be verified on the blockchain platform.

How does it work? Shoppers in Shanghai scan a QR code, which provides them with details about the winery, the grape type, the date the bottle left the stock house, the date the wine landed in Shanghai, the date the wine hit shelves, as well as an 18-digit Chinese customs declaration number.

In attempts to further inform consumers, VeChain also plans to embed near field communications (NFC) chips near the wine stoppers in some more-premium wines. Once the chip is broken, users can no longer read or write data onto its blockchain, helping prevent refilling or mixing.

“The beauty of blockchain is that shoppers can see information about the whole life cycle of a bottle of wine from various sides, including vineyards, logistics and retailers,” said Fu Yu, a partner at VeChain who spoke with the South China Morning Post.

So far, 10,000 blockchain-enabled bottles have been shipped to retailer Shanghai Waigaoqiao Direct Imported Goods (DIG). This number is set to increase tenfold in 2019.

China’s Obsession with French Wine

The origin of a wine is the most important piece of information for Chinese consumers, according to studies by market research company Mintel Group. And France is their unrivaled favorite country of origin for all wines — red, sparking, white, or rose — according to a Mintel survey conducted last year.

Generally speaking, many major wineries already utilize ‘old school’ technology to prevent counterfeiting, using techniques like the laser etching of trademarks on bottles and bar codes that can identify the provenance of every bottle. But this method is limited as it does not follow wine along its entire production journey, and often lacks key information like a customs declaration number.

What VeChain and its partners are trying to do is carry out a verification of the entire supply chain. Brian Zhang, an independent wine consultant, said using new technologies at the very beginning of the production chain was a must, or the wine is ‘only as good as the weakest link in the chain.’

Warren Wang, an advisory partner at EY for Greater China, said blockchain was rising as a disruptive force to build a trust system as a traceable, tamper-resistant, and decentralized technology. He added that the foreign trade and luxury sectors, including premium wines, are among industries that can benefit most from it.

“In China, trustworthiness remains a weak spot and blockchain is well positioned to tackle the concern,” Wang said. “It’s still unfolding. In three to five years, we might see a killer application from the real economy.”

Featured image from Shutterstock.

The post Chinese Startup to Use Blockchain to Track Wine Imports appeared first on NewsBTC.

Zimbabwe High Court Reverses Central Bank’s Cryptocurrency Ban

Zimbabwe High Court Reverses Central Bank's Cryptocurrency BanJust recently news.Bitcoin.com reported on the Zimbabwe-based exchange Golix filing a lawsuit over the recent Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) ‘cryptocurrency ban’ that was issued in a financial guidance circular earlier this month. Now, according to numerous regional reports, the Zimbabwe High Court has ruled in favor of the trading platform’s argument because the RBZ […]

The post Zimbabwe High Court Reverses Central Bank’s Cryptocurrency Ban appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Zimbabwe High Court Reverses Central Bank's Cryptocurrency Ban

Just recently news.Bitcoin.com reported on the Zimbabwe-based exchange Golix filing a lawsuit over the recent Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) ‘cryptocurrency ban’ that was issued in a financial guidance circular earlier this month. Now, according to numerous regional reports, the Zimbabwe High Court has ruled in favor of the trading platform’s argument because the RBZ failed to show up to the trial.  

Also read: India’s Supreme Court Keeps Ban on Banks’ Crypto Services, For Now

Harare High Court Reverses RBZ Cryptocurrency Ban

Multiple regional news outlets and individuals on social media have reported that the Zimbabwe High Court has lifted the RBZ ban against cryptocurrency activities taking place within the country. The local digital asset exchange Golix decided to take the case to the High Court stating the RBZ had no right to enforce such laws and only the country’s parliament can issue a financial ban.

Zimbabwe High Court Reverses Central Bank's Cryptocurrency Ban

After the bank issued its Circular to Banking Institutions No. 2/2018: Virtual Currencies, many people thought the central bank effectively banned all cryptocurrency activities. Today, Golix and its legal team managed to get High Court judge Justice Alphas Chitakunye to overturn the ban.

On May 24 one of the legal team members, and a constitutional lawyer, Fadzayi Mahere, announced the victory to her Twitter followers stating:

RBZ ban on cryptos lifted by the High Court. Administrative justice is alive and well in this jurisdiction. Section 68 of the Constitution is our best friend.

Zimbabwe High Court Reverses Central Bank's Cryptocurrency Ban
The legal team fighting against the recent RBZ ruling in Zimbabwe.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Representatives Fail to Attend Harare High Court Trial

Alongside Fadzayi Mahere, the Golix team was represented by another attorney named Hopewell Chitima. The legal team used Section 68 of the country’s constitution but no representatives from the RBZ showed up to the trial. Regional reports state that because of this action, the Harare High Court justice ruled in favor of the Golix team. High Court judge Alphas Chitakunye’s ruling states:

The ban issued by the Respondents [RBZ] through letter dated 15 May 2018 against Applicant directing it to cease operations, shut down its virtual currency exchange business and ordering the closure of its bank account with its banks is hereby reversed and set aside.

At the time of publication, there have been no statements made by the RBZ, the central bank’s registrar Norman Mataruke, or the RBZ governor, John Mangudya.

What do you think about the High Court lifting the RBZ ban? Do you think the central bank will respond to this ruling? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.


Images via Fadzayi Mahere’s Twitter page, Shutterstock, and Pixabay. 


At news.Bitcoin.com all comments containing links are automatically held up for moderation in the Disqus system. That means an editor has to take a look at the comment to approve it. This is due to the many, repetitive, spam and scam links people post under our articles. We do not censor any comment content based on politics or personal opinions. So, please be patient. Your comment will be published.  

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Bitcoin Gold Hacked for $18 Million

Bitcoin Gold Hacked for $18 MillionIt appears Bitcoin Gold (BTG) has been double spend attacked over and over again, totalling something in the neighborhood of $18 million at current prices. BTG forums seem to have been tracking the hack, going as far back as last week, monitoring the controversial coin’s hashrate, ultimately determining a 51% attack was under way. Also […]

The post Bitcoin Gold Hacked for $18 Million appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Bitcoin Gold Hacked for $18 Million

It appears Bitcoin Gold (BTG) has been double spend attacked over and over again, totalling something in the neighborhood of $18 million at current prices. BTG forums seem to have been tracking the hack, going as far back as last week, monitoring the controversial coin’s hashrate, ultimately determining a 51% attack was under way.

Also read: Roger Ver and Ryan X. Charles Reveal the Future of Cash

Bitcoin Gold Gets $18 Million Haircut

“An unknown party with access to very large amounts of hashpower is trying to use ‘51% attacks,’” Bitcoin Gold forum poster Mental Nomad announced a week ago, “to perform ‘double spend’ attacks to steal money from Exchanges. We have been advising all exchanges to increase confirmations and carefully review large deposits.”

A founding economic principle of bitcoin was its alleviation of the double spend problem. It was a main stumbling block in the historical race to create a viable cryptographic monetary form – foiling a great many coders along the way. Satoshi Nakamoto solved it through a decentralized, distributed ledger confirmation process (blockchain). Going as far back as its genesis block from early 2009, users can be confident transactions aren’t rebroadcast. Like clockwork, 6 times an hour, blocks are added – copied to nodes within the universal network.

Bitcoin Gold Hacked for $18 Million
The offending wallet, according to the BTG team.

One way to achieve double spending is known as a 51% attack. It’s accomplished by bogarting the network’s computing power. With a majority, bad actors can get between the Nakamoto solution and transaction confirmations. By stymieing block completion in the usual manner, all sorts of mischief can arise: blockchain mining rewards redirected, users’ transactions reversed, etc. Not too long after, a double spending attack can commence, acting as the fiat equivalent to counterfeiting. Needless to type, any crypto suffering from such a problem is certain to immediately lose user confidence.

Such attacks are interesting for another reason, as Mental Nomad is careful to point out. “There is no risk to typical users or to existing funds being held. The only parties at risk are those currently accepting large payments directly from the attacker. Exchanges are the primary targets,” he assured last week. “It appears that actions on the part of the exchanges have deterred the attacker, for now.” And hitting exchanges tends to elicit little sympathy, at least initially, due to users being insulated. Exchanges are particularly vulnerable because they generally covet large deposits, which only compounds the problem in cases like these.

Bitcoin Gold Hacked for $18 Million

GTNjvCGssb2rbLnDV1xxsHmunQdvXnY2Ft

Over period of days, batches of BTG were deposited into exchanges supporting the forked coin, only to be sent back to the depositor’s wallet. The lag between such a transaction and some exchanges’ discovery is sufficient enough to nab tokens, doubling the filthy lucre. Exchanges trading bitcoin gold have responded by upping transaction confirmation filters, but evidently to no avail as the attacker gains ever-more BTG network control.

Bitcoin Gold team members seem to have communicated with some exchanges. “Requiring more confirmations greatly increases safety,” the forum details. “Until now, some Exchanges were operating with less than five confirmations required. We have been urging higher limits to prevent such an attack, and urging manual review of large deposits of BTG before clearing the funds for trading.” Indeed, according to BTG, “One of the targeted Exchanges reported that they strongly believe this attacker attempted to hit them with a double-spend of BTC in the past. In their words, ‘we are 100% sure that it is the same person, we found many associations between the accounts.’”

Bitcoin Gold Hacked for $18 Million
The traditional way BTC has been able to thwart double spend attacks.

Evidence put forward by the BTG team points to address GTNjvCGssb2rbLnDV1xxsHmunQdvXnY2Ft as the attacker’s wallet; mined coins, according to the forum post reside at GXXjRkdquAkyHeJ6ReW3v4FY3QbgPfugTx. More than 388,201.92404001 BTG were funneled through the wallet, totalling more than $18 million according to Bitcoin Gold Explorer. That a top thirty crypto by market cap can be so easily troubled is a giant of enough problem, but it could also take exchanges down in the process – something the ecosystem is very sensitive to since Mt. Gox. And though, for now, BTG is confident enough to suggest users are not at risk, history shows that can quickly be the case as an exchange freezes withdrawals in an effort to stop hemorrhaging.

Bitcoin Gold has been beset by controversies since its birth fork late last year, including a recent dust-up between BCH advocate Craig Wright and BTG founder Jack Liao. To be fair, however, it is not the only blockchain to suffer a 51% attack. Mere days ago, recently Chinese government highly rated coin verge (XVG) was made to heel, again. These pages reported XVG, “On the morning of May 22, Suprvona, one of the largest altcoin mining pools, informed its 19,000 Twitter followers that verge was suffering yet another 51% attack, causing all blocks to be rejected.”

Do you think the BTG hack spells doom for the coin? Let us know what you think of this subject in the comments below.


Images via Pixabay, BTG Block Explorer.


Now live, Satoshi Pulse. A comprehensive, real-time listing of the cryptocurrency market. View prices, charts, transaction volumes, and more for the top 500 cryptocurrencies trading today.

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Bitcoin Today: Prices Continue Skid Toward $7000 as DOJ Launches Investigation – TheStreet.com


TheStreet.com

Bitcoin Today: Prices Continue Skid Toward $7000 as DOJ Launches Investigation
TheStreet.com
Bitcoin faced the prospect of falling to $7,000 Thursday as prices continued this week’s downward momentum. Early morning trading saw bitcoin hit its lowest price since April 12 at $7,270. Here’s what you need to know in crypto for Thursday, May 24.

and more »


TheStreet.com

Bitcoin Today: Prices Continue Skid Toward $7000 as DOJ Launches Investigation
TheStreet.com
Bitcoin faced the prospect of falling to $7,000 Thursday as prices continued this week's downward momentum. Early morning trading saw bitcoin hit its lowest price since April 12 at $7,270. Here's what you need to know in crypto for Thursday, May 24.

and more »

New Apple Virus Hijacking Computers to Mine Monero

A new computer virus which infects Apple Mac OS computers and hijacks their processing power to mine the Monero cryptocurrency has been discovered by Malwarebytes Labs. This is the latest in a series of cryptocurrency miner viruses that have been infecting Mac OS computers including Pwnet, CpuMeaner, and CreativeUpdate. These viruses slow down computers since …

The post New Apple Virus Hijacking Computers to Mine Monero appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

A new computer virus which infects Apple Mac OS computers and hijacks their processing power to mine the Monero cryptocurrency has been discovered by Malwarebytes Labs.

This is the latest in a series of cryptocurrency miner viruses that have been infecting Mac OS computers including Pwnet, CpuMeaner, and CreativeUpdate. These viruses slow down computers since they use up a lot of processing power and they cause the computer to consume much more electricity than normal, affecting processor lifespan.

Additionally, computers tend to get quite hot when using all of their processing power to mine cryptocurrency, causing the fan to blow at full power all the time as it struggles to keep computers cool enough to operate. Sustained overheating can damage computers.

Indeed, the new virus which mines Monero was discovered because users noticed their computer fans whirring abnormally due to an open process called mshelper which was found to consume all processing power. Mshelper is based off the open-source Monero mining software XMRig. Essentially, this software cryptographically hashes transactions and organizes them into blocks to maintain and secure the Monero network.

There have been many instances of viruses hijacking computers to mine cryptocurrency. A famous example was the Smominru botnet which infected 526,000 computers at its peak and generated millions of USD worth of Monero.

Monero is popular for the stealthy features of its CryptoNote protocol. With Monero, other than the sender and receiver, it is virtually impossible for anyone else to know the destination address for a transaction, unlike Bitcoin which has a public ledger that makes tracing transactions simple. This makes Monero ideal for illegal cryptocurrency mining programs like mshelper and the Smominru botnet, since the illegal proceeds generated from them are extremely difficult to trace.

It is important to run regular virus scans with trustworthy software since that will identify and remove these sort of viruses if they are known. Of course, sometimes viruses are brand new and not even known by anti-virus software developers, so it is important to also keep an eye on the processes running on computers.

Users are recommended to research processes that use high amounts of processing power. If the process cannot be identified, is non-essential and was not intentionally downloaded, it is likely to be malicious software.

 

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The post New Apple Virus Hijacking Computers to Mine Monero appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Bitcoin tracking for slight weekly losses despite news of regulatory crackdowns – CNBC

CNBCBitcoin tracking for slight weekly losses despite news of regulatory crackdownsCNBCBitcoin has held up relatively well this week despite negative headlines about regulatory crackdowns. For analysts with a long-term view, that price action fits with…


CNBC

Bitcoin tracking for slight weekly losses despite news of regulatory crackdowns
CNBC
Bitcoin has held up relatively well this week despite negative headlines about regulatory crackdowns. For analysts with a long-term view, that price action fits with their thesis that increased scrutiny will shake out the bad actors and make the ...
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