Day: June 14, 2018

It has been a rather interesting week for Ethereum in many different ways. A lot of things have taken place behind the scenes. Ranging from Plasma updates to the SEC ruling a small sharding update, things are coming together nicely for Ethereum. Even so, the cryptocurrency continues to struggle in the price department, for the time being.

Ethereum Price and Good News

Summing up the past week for Ethereum is not all that easy. A lot of developments are taking place regarding sharding and Plasma, two major scaling solutions. On the Plasma front, there have been some minor updates regarding implementation calls. Additionally, there has been some talk regarding Plasma Debit. This particular feature has the potential of introducing payment channels to Plasma Cash.

There is still a lot of work to be done prior to bringing Plasma to the mainstream. If successful, it will successfully help Ethereum scale to a whole new level. Combined with sharding, there are some big changes on the horizon. Prysmatic updated their geth sharding implementation progress as well. As such, both of these solutions will come together in the near future, albeit no official dates have been present as of yet.

Speaking of Geth, the main client has received a new update which makes life a bit easier. With its lower disk usage and faster block processing, quality-of-life improvements will always be appreciated by Ethereum users. Last but not least,  there have been some regulatory developments which deserve highlighting.

The SEC and CFTC Remarks

Two major tidbits of news stand out in the past week. On the one hand, there is CFTC Commissioner Rostin Behnam who touched upon blockchain technology. Rather than looking at it from just the technology perspective, Behnam sees as a tool to transform people’s daily lives. An interesting comment, especially from someone in such a position.

The biggest announcement comes in the form of what the SEC had to say. For some time now, there have been discussions regarding labeling Ethereum as a security. Such discussions have caused quite a few debates over the past few weeks and months. Recently, the SEC made its stance on the matter clear once and for all. Current offers and sales of Ether are not securities transactions, per William Hinman. A positive development for the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

By default, this seems to indicate how Ethereum itself is not a security. That will put most of the debates to rest once and for all. As is usually the case when regulators are involved, the current situation remains subject to change. Even so, it seems to hint at how the SEC wants to bring even more legitimacy to all cryptocurrencies. A big more victory for Ethereum and all of its supporters.

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World Cup 2018 is here! For sports enthusiasts within the cryptocurrency space, there are a number of opportunities to combine both their passions. As blockchain technology enables individuals to connect with one another and events throughout the world in ways never before seen, there are a number of exciting opportunities to enjoy this year’s World Cup, crypto-style.

1. FanDuel + GameCredits

GameCredits (GAME) has partnered with Fantasy Sports giant FanDuel to offer a fantastic competition to its users. Throughout the duration of the World Cup, users will be able to submit daily predictions to FanDuel for a chance to win GameCredits and cash. Between June 14 and July 15, US$100,000 worth of GAME and $35,000 in cash will be handed out to daily victors. Best of all, this competition is completely free. No deposit or entry fee is required to pick winners and earn GAME.

2. Cryptocup

Cryptocup is a revolutionary prediction game created for World Cup 2018. Using the non-fungible ERC723 standard, users can wager ETH to create unique prediction tickets regarding the outcome of the tournament. The prize pool, which currently exceeds 50 ETH, will be distributed among the top 10% most accurate tickets. While entry into the competition closes at the start of the first World Cup game, individuals will retain the opportunity to trade tickets. As such, users can still get involved by speculating on and purchasing prediction tickets made by other contestants.

3. NitrogenSports

As is typical of the cryptocurrency sports betting giant, NitrogenSports.eu is hosting an exclusive competition for World Cup 2018. Throughout the course of the World Cup, each bet placed on the site will earn users a flag. Collect 32 flags, and one is eligible for the World Cup prize pool. Until June 30, participants can predict the World Cup champion. Everyone who achieved 32 flags will compete for 0.5 BTC in free bets. 0.2 BTC in bets will be divided among users who accurately predict the champion. The other 0.3 BTC will be shared equally among all users who achieve 32 flags.

4. EtherCup

EtherCup.io is an Ethereum game that will debut at the start of the World Cup. Each of the 32 teams will be available for sale and resale from the start of the World Cup on June 14. Each time a team earns a victory, its ‘owner’ on EtherCup will win a number of free players. Throughout the course of the World Cup, participants can offer to re-buy teams at a premium. Additionally, owners will earn a player for every goal scored, an entire team for the World Cup champion, 50% of the team for second, and 33% of the team for third. Next quarter, users will be able to trade players and put together a team to compete in simulated matches.

5. Soccer Manager Crypto

Soccer Manager Crypto is the next installment of the 50 million-download strong Soccer Manager franchise, and it’s likely the upcoming blockchain game with the most potential and playability. Unfortunately, SMC will not be released until the end of this year. When it is released, however, players will be able to upload player packs that represent professionals worldwide, including members of the 2018 World Cup teams. They will be able to trade and organize these players in simulated matches and tournaments. Soccer Manager Crypto will be published in its entirety on the Chimaera blockchain, which means players will have provable and liquid ownership of all in-game assets as items registered on the blockchain. Similarly, matchmaking and gameplay functionalities will also take place directly on the blockchain.

A Spanish blockchain company is developing an Ethereum-based blockchain solution that will allow parties to legally/contractually transfer ownership of crypto assets

Bittrex announced it is now taking on retail customers trading in US dollars in four states as it has successfully moved through its corporate phase after only two weeks.

Bittrex Requiting Retail Clients for USD Market

The Seatle based crypto exchange Bittrex which announced that it had secured a deal with Signature Bank allowing it to trade crypto assets directly for US dollars at the end of May posted a statement on the company blog that it has successfully completed it’s corporate phase and is now “beginning to methodically add batches of retail customers”.

Almost a month ago CEO Bill Shihara was quoted by Bloomberg about the process of making the deal with Signature Bank saying that  “It’s been a long path… It’s not just about banks being able to trust Bittrex. It’s about banks being able to trust crypto in general. And I think it’s really showing that crypto is turning the corner in terms of mainstream acceptance.”

Since then the exchange has implemented a phased approach for adding markets and clients in order to ensure “our processes and systems are operating optimally before we open it up to all customers” according to the statement released on the Bittrex blog.  For now, the exchange is limited to bringing in clients who are resident in just four states; California, Washington, New York and Montana as well as some international regions.

The exchange which lists almost 200 tokens can only offer Bitcoin, Tether, and TrueUSD to the USD market at the time but plans on expanding its trading pairs as it methodically adds more regions and thus more customers.

During the Bloomberg interview, Shihara detailed the vetting process Bittrex went through in order to close the deal saying,

  “They really do look and pore through the entire business… They want to make sure that we’ve got robust AML/KYC processes, that we’ve got the right controls on our finances. They do background checks and everything. They really look at our business soup to nuts.”

Binance Also to Add Fiat to Crypto Pairs

Bittrex is not alone in adding fiat pairs to its exchanges arsenal of services. Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange announced it too will be adding a fiat to crypto exchange upon its move to Malta. Founder Changpeng Zhao told Bloomberg “We are very confident we can announce a banking partnership there soon. Malta is very progressive when it comes to crypto and fintech.”

Binance which was founded in Hong Kong moved its operations to Japan as regulatory pressure from the Chinese government on cryptocurrency exchanges mounted and is now in the process of relocating to the island nation of Malta as the Japanese FSA has pressured the exchange for operating without a license. Malta which has branded itself as a welcoming hub for blockchain based industries has since seen a major influx of fintech companies moving to its shores.

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EOS successfully launched its Mainnet on June 9 after getting through some technological rough spots but then took almost a week to reach the voting threshold to elect its “21 block producers”.  A pace which is leading critics to question not only the viability of the network which is supposed to be a model of efficiency and took in $4 billion of investor money to build but also the degree to which it will actually be decentralized.

What Makes it Different

The EOS Mainnet was developed specifically to rival the Ethereum network which was designed to run blockchain based smart contracts a facet of distributed ledger technology that attracts business and industrial interest. The problem according to EOS developers is that Ethereum’s system is slow to process transactions because every node in the network must register every transaction.

The EOS Mainnet solves that problem by having just “21 block producers” responsible for processing transactions which would allow the network to handle thousands of transactions per second. The “21 block producers” are elected by the community of token holders which is where recent questions about the systems efficiency and level of decentralization stem.

Up until the Mainnet launch the tokens that EOS has sold in the past year have been held on the Ethereum network as the EOS network wasn’t built yet. When the Mainnet was launched those tokens were frozen while they were transferred to the new blockchain and voting for the “21 block producers” took place. A process that requires 15% of all the tokens in the system to vote for candidates which took nearly a week. It may be that the complications of voting that required holders to use their private cryptographic keys are to blame or it could be that majority token holders were waiting in order to sway results in their favor.

Decentralized but in the Hands of a Few

An article that ran in the MIT Technology Review floats this theory pointing out that the voting numbers jumped from 110 million votes which took nearly two weeks to tally to the critical 150 million needed to reach the voting threshold and elect the “21 block producers” in just one day. The same article goes on to question the decentralized nature of the EOS blockchain when 100 entities control 75% percent of the tokens which are defacto votes on who runs the system.

Meanwhile, EOS has seen its price drop since the Mainnet launch against both Bitcoin and their main rival Ethereum which may be illustrative of investors dissatisfaction with the slow pace of the new blockchain launch and or the stilted voting process. This bumpy path to functionality puts the onus on EOS to prove their systems utility has been worth the time and investors billions in order to, in one detractor’s opinion,  reinvent the wheel.

The post EOS Mainnet Reaches Voting Threshold, is it Actually Decentralized? appeared first on NewsBTC.

Ripple is funding a blockchain research initiative at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business.

FOMO Moments

Current performing altcoins are EOS, Ethereum, Tron and Decred.

Finally there has been some good news to lift crypto markets as the week comes to an end. The SEC’s decision not to consider Ethereum as a security has provided a long needed boost to cryptocurrencies. The markets are still way down but are trading slightly higher over the past 24 hours clawing back some of those losses. Bitcoin has not done much and has made just 1.7% to $6,620, only $400 above its low for the year. Ethereum has been the big driver of market movement, initially jumping 10% on the news but now trading at $513, up 5% on the day. Altcoins are generally in the green, bouncing a little from a week of heavy losses. The leading coin if the day during Asian trading this morning is EOS.

Coinmarketcap is currently reporting an 8% jump for EOS which is trading at $11.07. This time yesterday EOS was around the $10.25 level and over the week it has shed over 21%, down from $14 this time last Friday. The past month has seen similar losses for EOS which traded around the $14 level this time last month. Against Bitcoin EOS has made 6.4% on the day to 168000 satoshis from 157500 sats this time yesterday. BTC has been falling, but altcoins faster, so weekly losses on Bitcoin have been 7.8% from 182000 satoshis this time last Friday.

The EOS mainnet is now finally live which has driven this momentum. The gains have been even greater than Ethereum’s which is already pulling back. The EOS ERC-20 tokens are now frozen and supporting exchanges will convert to the new blockchain. It has reached the voting threshold to elect the 21 block producers with 15% or 150 million ‘votes’. However there are big concerns about the decentralization of EOS as currently it equates to a small number of entities controlling a large portion of the network.

Regardless, EOS is the top performing altcoin at the moment, traded primarily on Asian exchanges Huobi and OKEx in USDT. South Korean trade on Bithumb and Upbit also accounts for 20% in KRW. Total trade volume has remained steady at around $1.3 billion though market cap has fallen to under $10 billion as cryptos continue their downward slide.

Total crypto market capitalization over the past 24 hours has clawed back 3.2% primarily on the SEC ruling and currently stands at $287 billion. Volume has remained steady at $16 billion but the bears are still in control as markets have plunged 16% over the past week. A few other altcoins are performing well during the morning’s Asian trading session and they include Ethereum, Tron up 7.7%, and Decred 8.4% higher on the day.

More on EOS can be found here: https://eos.io/

FOMO Moments is a section that takes a daily look at the top 25 altcoins during the Asian trading session and analyses the best performing one, looking for trends and possible fundamentals.

The post Asian Cryptocurrency Trading Update: EOS Leads on Mainnet Launch appeared first on NewsBTC.

Bitcoin Price Key Highlights

• Bitcoin price recently made a move below a long-term floor but this might just be a fakeout.
• Remarks from a senior SEC official eased regulatory concerns in the industry somewhat.
• Oscillators on the long-term chart are also hinting at a bounce as well.

Bitcoin is still hovering around support at $6,600 to signal that buyers are defending that level after regulatory fears eased.

Technical Indicators Signals

The 100 SMA is still below the longer-term 200 SMA, though, so the path of least resistance is to the downside. This suggests that the selloff is more likely to resume than to reverse.

The gap between the moving averages continues to widen, signaling stronger bearish pressure. These moving averages could also hold as dynamic resistance at $8,000 then at $10,000 even on a strong bitcoin price bounce.

Still, RSI is starting to climb out of the oversold region to signal a return in bullish momentum while sellers take a break. Stochastic is also moving higher so bitcoin price might follow suit. In addition, a bullish divergence can be seen as price made lower lows while the oscillator had higher lows.

BTCUSD Chart from TradingView

Market Factors

Cryptocurrencies got a strong boost from remarks by a SEC official stating that ethereum or bitcoin aren’t securities to be regulated like stocks. In a speech during a conference in San Francisco, SEC Corporation Finance Director William Hinman said:

“Based on my understanding of the present state of ether, the Ethereum network and its decentralized structure, current offers and sales of ether are not securities transactions.”

He also hinted that other altcoins or tokens might be exempt from this kind of oversight:

Over time, there may be other sufficiently decentralized networks and systems where regulating the tokens or coins that function on them as securities may not be required.

The post Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch: Strong Bounce on Remarks from SEC Official appeared first on NewsBTC.

Key Highlights

• ETH price is moving higher and is recovering above the $500 level against the US Dollar.
• There was a break above a major bearish trend line with resistance at $482 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
• The pair may dip a few points, but it is likely to remain supported above the $480 level.

Ethereum price climbed higher above key levels against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. ETH/USD is gaining pace and it could move further above $520 in the near term.

Ethereum Price Trend

There was a decent support base formed around $445 in ETH price against the US Dollar. The price started an upward move and managed to move above the $460 and $480 resistance levels. There were positive signs, prompting a bullish wave above the $500 level. Buyers pushed the price above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $545 high to $446 low.

There was a decent push above the $505 level and the 100 hourly simple moving average. More importantly, there was a break above a major bearish trend line with resistance at $482 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. The pair also succeeded in moving above the 50% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $545 high to $446 low. These are positive signs and suggests that there could be more gains above the $500 level in the near term. On the upside, the next barrier is around the $540 level, where sellers are likely to appear.

Looking at the chart, the price bounced back nicely from the $446 low. If the recent bounce is true, there could be more gains above $520. On the downside, an initial support is around the $500 level, followed by the $480 level.

Hourly MACD – The MACD is gaining momentum in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI has moved above the 50 level with positive signs.

Major Support Level – $480

Major Resistance Level – $540

The post Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH/USD Recovering Higher appeared first on NewsBTC.

Walmart’s patent aims to develop a system to manage energy consumption and regulate demand on an electrical grid using BTC and other cryptocurrencies

Ontology provides a well-rounded blockchain-based digital identity storage solution for enterprises. It has maintained strong performance while the market, and other alt-coins, have faltered. With its upcoming mainet launch, and support from the NEO blockchain, expectations are high for this unique cryptographic asset.