Month: June 2018

Binance has announced it is launching a $1 billion “Social Impact Fund” to foster the growth of startups in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space.

Several Lightning Network developers have released a paper titled ‘eltoo: A Simple Layer 2 Protocol For Bitcoin’ that outlines improvements to Bitcoin’s latest scalability upgrade, Lightning Network. Christian Decker and Rusty Russel from Blockstream as well as Olaoluwa Osuntokun from Lightning Labs co-authored the paper.

eltoo is derived from the pronunciation of L2, an acronym for layer 2, which stands for layer 2 Bitcoin protocols like the Lightning Network. The Lightning Network allows for Bitcoin transactions in fractions of a second, possibly facilitating millions or billions of transactions per second in the future, far more than Visa.

It does this by conducting almost all of its transactions off chain. Only the transaction opening a lightning payment channel and the transaction closing a payment channel are stored on the Bitcoin blockchain. This massively reduces blockchain data bloat, and is necessary technology to keep Bitcoin transaction fees low in the future, and therefore essential for Bitcoin being useful as an everyday currency in the long term.

The operational Lightning Network was released in December 2017 and there are already thousands of lightning payment channels open, and that number is growing quickly, indicating it is on track for global adoption.

The Lightning Network isn’t perfect, however, and eltoo has been developed to improve some of its problems. eltoo condenses the amount of data users need to store by saving only the most recent off-chain transaction data. This reduces the storage space required by users versus the Lightning Network, which requires so much data it is difficult to download and run.

More importantly, getting rid of older off-chain transactions deletes toxic information. If a user loses their device that is running the Lightning Network and they restore an older state of their Lightning Network transactions they could lose their money as a penalty. With eltoo, only the freshest state is stored which fixes this problem and keeps user Bitcoins safe.

Also, eltoo will allow transaction fees to be added at the time a payment channel is closed and settled, unlike the current Lightning Network which requires fees to be decided on when a payment channel is opened, possibly months or years before the settlement transaction. This could lead to drastic overpayment or underpayment of fees, leading to spending too much money on the fee or a transaction that gets stuck in the mempool for a long period of time.

Before eltoo can be implemented, Bitcoin must be forked to include SIGHASH_NOINPUT in its protocol, which allows any transaction input to be bound to a transaction output with the same script. This connects the final settlement transaction to the transaction that creates the payment channel without saving any of the intermediate states, a key aspect of eltoo. Of course, forking Bitcoin is extremely controversial, and it remains to be seen whether the SIGHASH_NOINPUT fork that eltoo requires will ever occur.

Eltoo is not meant to replace the Lightning Network, rather it can be added to the stack of protocols that comprise the Lightning Network and has backwards compatibility.

Follow BitcoinNews.com on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bitcoinnewscom

Telegram Alerts from BitcoinNews.com at https://t.me/bconews

The post eltoo to Improve Lightning Network appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Japan’s GMO Internet Group has developed a new mobile app that aims to introduce the public to bitcoin simply by playing games.

The cryptocurrency prices are of great interest to a lot of people. Even so, there is still a fair amount of negative pressure to contend with at all times. The IOTA price shows positive momentum can be achieved with patience and sufficient positive speculation. An interesting trend, although a correction appears imminent.

The IOTA Price Surge Continues

Whereas most major cryptocurrencies have already lost some of their most recent gains, a few currencies remain in the green. IOTA is one of those currencies, mainly because of a lot of positive announcements surrounding this project. Strategic partnerships can go a long way in the cryptocurrency world, as the IOTA price is still mainly based on speculation and hype at this point.

Thanks to a solid 7.89% IOTA price increase over the past 24 hours, the value per MIOTA has risen to $1.86 again. This is still pretty low compared to the all-time high noted in early 2018. At the same time, it’s also a lot higher compared to the 2018 low of $0.99. Putting things into their proper perspective is often overlooked in the world of cryptocurrencies.

It is also interesting to see how the IOTA price is on the rise thanks to an increase in the MIOTA/BTC ratio. With a 7.91% change in favor of the altcoin, a very interesting future lies ahead for IOTA. Even so, the IOTA price will remain subject to major volatility for the time being, as all cryptocurrencies are still struggling to find new stable support levels.

Even though IOTA has $144.365m in 24-hour trading volume, it remains to be seen if this can sustain the current IOTA price trend. With all markets still suffering from a drop in trading volume, it will become a lot easier to create volatile price swings. That is exactly what most speculators are looking for, as a lot of money can be made during these troublesome periods.

The way things stand at the time of writing, Bitfinex is the biggest market for IOTA trading volume. Its USD pair is well ahead of Binance’s BTC market and OKEx”s USDT pair. Binance’s USDT market and Coinone’s IOTA/KRW pair complete the top five. Two fiat currencies in the top five is rather impressive at this stage, and it may hint at a higher IOTA price yet to come.

Even so, cryptocurrency markets will remain unpredictable first and foremost. That is not a positive trend by any means, although it is something most industry veterans have grown accustomed to over the past few years. With the IOTA price on the road to $2 again, a lot of interesting things can happen over the weekend. At the same time, users should keep their expectations in check, as the bears are still keeping a close eye on every single market.

The island of Bermuda is positioning itself as a “global hub for fintech enterprises and innovation”, with the crypto-friendly regulation in place on the island attracting blockchain startups and companies in swathes.

The British Overseas Territory island in the North Atlantic Ocean is actively seeking to become a global leader in all things crypto and blockchain. In April 2018, cryptocurrency exchange giant Binance announced its partnership with the Bermuda government to establish a global compliance center.

The official Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA) website reads: “Bermuda is embracing the blockchain revolution, and creating a robust and fit-for-purpose legal and regulatory framework governing initial coin and token offerings (ICOs) and virtual currency businesses.”

It goes on to invite fintech business and initial coin offerings (ICOs), offering full legal and advisory support and aid in bolstering enterprises presence in Bermuda.

In a press release on 14 May 2018, premier and finance minister David Burt led a 20-member delegation at Consensus 2018, the three-day conference in New York City. Bermuda reportedly received praise from international delegates at the event for its “pioneering work to regulate the blockchain industry”.

Bloomberg also reported that Omega One, a New York-based agency brokerage for cryptocurrencies was setting up an office in Bermuda. The company has desires to work with the government and insurers to “securely hold and insure digital currencies on behalf of investors”.

Alex Gordon-Brander, Omega One CEO, said, “All assets will be digital assets in a few years, and we need an on-ramp where the current legal form of the assets can reside… Bermuda has an incredibly strong legal, technical, reputational jurisdiction for financial services in general, but particularly for custody of assets and reinsurance.”

Bloomberg also noted in early May that Bermuda was drawing up the ‘Digital Asset Business Act’. The new law is designed to invite, encourage and regulate blockchain and cryptocurrency related businesses and investments. It is the second in a series of legislature moves to catalyze the growth of fintech in Bermuda; the first law-regulated ICOs.

Bermuda is looking like it will be contending with Switzerland, Gibraltar, and Malta to become the crypto paradise for startups and investors. These were recently ranked top three in a BlockShow rating study that ranked European countries based on ICO regulation laws, cryptocurrency laws, taxation frameworks and projects.

Follow BitcoinNews.com on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bitcoinnewscom

Telegram Alerts from BitcoinNews.com at https://t.me/bconews

The post Bermuda Global Contender for Blockchain Startups, Pioneering Regulations appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Thomson Reuters’s former head of World-Check, Greg Pinn, is the new head of product strategy for iComply.

A long-term moving average has turned bearish for the first time in four years, threatening to impede continued gains in bitcoin’s price.

Another major partnership has been announced by the IOTA Foundation. After successfully partnering with other major names, a new development is on the horizon. Norway’s DNB has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the IOTA Foundation. The main objective is to explore new use cases involving IOTA’s Tangle technology.

DNB ASA Explores Blockchain

Strategic partnerships are the key to taking blockchain and cryptocurrency mainstream. In the case of the IOTA Foundation, promotion of the native Tangle technology is one of the main points of focus. This technology has attracted the attention of DNB ASA in Norway. They are the largest financial services group in the country and a key player in the Nordic financial ecosystem.

Over the past few months, DNB ASA has looked into blockchain technology through the R3 consortium. Keeping all options on the table is important in any industry. As such, a MoU with the IOTA Foundation can lead to more innovation and new use cases. DNB Will join the Data marketplace initiative and will actively participate in open innovation activities. DNB’s Head of DLT Lasse Meholm explains this MoU as follows:

“As Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine to Machine (M2M) communication and payment for microservices seem to escalate in the future, we think engaging in a Distributed Ledger based technology like IOTA gives us valuable experience and know-how on future revenue streams and business models. We are looking forward to dive into the IOTA space”

A Big Week for the IOTA Foundation

This latest partnership comes at an interesting time. Earlier this week, the blockchain project partnered with the United Nations and Richard Soley. All of this seemingly confirms there is a great interest in the native Tangle technology. There’s also the mysterious “Q” project, which is expected to be unveiled later this week.

So far, the community seems to be over the moon with this news. It is a major deal for the IOTA Foundation, assuming any proper use cases will be discovered. Additionally, applications and interfaces will need to be developed as well. Even so, forging strategic partnerships can be a major breakthrough for Tangle as a technology.

As one would expect, most people hope this will impact the IOTA price in a positive manner. So far, that has not happened yet, which is only normal. A partnership announcement does not automatically result in new products based on Tangle. Until those projects come to life, the news has a minimal effect on either venture.

The post IOTA Partners With Norway’s Biggest Financial Group, Causing Price to Surge appeared first on NewsBTC.

Waves, a popular open-source blockchain platform that allows users to launch their own custom cryptocurrency tokens, has officially addressed the false rumors and fake news currently being circulated by less reputable sources in regards to the liquidation of the UK-registered Waves legal entity.

Contrary to many unfounded and incorrect reports, the Waves platform is currently not in any danger — quite the opposite, in fact.

According to an official statement on the company’s blog, the Waves Platform remains fully active and any information on the project’s bankruptcy is false. Furthermore, the company has remained truthful and transparent in following the interests of its investors, and any actions currently taking place are “in total compliance with business ethics and all initial agreements.”

Instead of faltering, the project is currently being streamlined to increase Waves’ overall performance.

The UK-registered entity in question was reportedly active during the project’s early stages and was used primarily for the purposes of marketing and promoting the project. Said entity simply no longer fit into Waves’ business model, and is not representative of any internal or financial issues at the company. Explained Waves’ founder, Alexander Ivanov:

Waves UK company was active in the initial stages of the platform development as a purely operational company. It was announced several months ago that we’re setting up our corporate headquarters in Switzerland, as Switzerland is the major hub for blockchain startups in Europe. The official announcement of the board of directors and launch in Switzerland is scheduled for the end of June. We’re in no way discontinuing our activities in other European countries, including those in the UK. Just the contrary, we’re planning to launch our London office in mid-July.

Waves Platform AG already moved its headquarters to the famously cryptocurrency-friendly country of Switzerland in December of last year.

Contrary to many opportunistic reports floating about, Waves simply chose not to renew the UK-registered entity’s registration in the less cryptocurrency-friendly nation. The Waves team explained:

The change of jurisdiction will allow the project to enhance relationships with counterparties and expand to new markets. The official announcement of company’s launch in Switzerland and the names of advisory board members is scheduled for the end of June 2018.

The Waves team has also noted that the failure to renew the UK-registered entity is actually for the benefit of both the platform’s users and investors. The company stated:

Streamlining is a standard procedure in any international company. Waves moving to Swiss jurisdiction is done solely in the interests of our investors and users, it does not pose any potential threat to them.

The post Waves Addresses False Rumors, Is Already Headquartered in Switzerland appeared first on NewsBTC.

A new website has been created to calculate the cost of performing a ‘51% attack’ on various cryptocurrencies via renting mining power from mining company NiceHash. The results are surprising and shocking, with many cryptocurrencies requiring less than USD 1,000 for a successful one-hour 51% attack.

The website was created by Reddit user xur17 in response to an attack on Bitcoin Gold this past month which cost exchanges over USD 10 million. Verge has recently experienced a costly 51% attack as well. xur17 used network hash rate data from Mine The Coin, coin prices from CoinMarketCap, and mining rental prices from NiceHash for the calculations.

A 51% attack is one of the main vulnerabilities of a blockchain-based cryptocurrency. For this sort of attack to have a 100% success rate it requires the attacker to control more than half of the hash power on the network. The attacker will send cryptocurrency to a merchant or exchange, while secretly mining blocks that send the cryptocurrency somewhere else. The attacker, with superior hash power, should theoretically build blocks quicker than the rest of the network.

Once the cryptocurrency deposit from the attacker is confirmed, the attacker releases the blockchain secretly mined, replacing the original blockchain with a longer chain – this becomes the new recognized chain. The attacker’s funds remain on the new blockchain, while the exchange loses all the funds received, as they are not recognized on the new chain.

For more mature cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, a 51% attack is financially and practically unfeasible. There is 35,849 PH/s of hashing power on the Bitcoin network, and according to the website a one-hour 51% attack would cost USD 648,000 if that power were rented. However, there is no cloud mining site where that much hash power can be rented; NiceHash has less than 1% of the required amount. The cost of buying the equipment and paying for the electricity for a Bitcoin 51% attack is astronomical.

However, smaller cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin Private, Einsteinium, Gulden, Feathercoin, and many more require less than USD 1,000 to perform a 51% attack using rented power on NiceHash. Some cryptocurrencies like Mooncoin, Catcoin, PinkCoin, DigitalPrice, MAZA, Zetacoin, and several more require less than USD 10 for a successful 51% attack.

Clearly, some smaller cryptocurrencies simply should not be considered secure since they have so little network hash power that they could easily be compromised by a 51% attack.

Follow BitcoinNews.com on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bitcoinnewscom

Telegram Alerts from BitcoinNews.com at https://t.me/bconews

The post Less than $1k Needed to ‘51% Attack’ Most Cryptos appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Bitmain has been criticized over one of its mining products, the AntMiner B3, with users making allegations about its marketing and quality control.