Day: July 9, 2018

Open Mineral online-exchange is looking to set up a consortium of miners and financial institutions to build a blockchain infrastructure for minerals trading and logistics

A joint report by Imperial College and eToro exchange says that crypto could replace traditional money within a decade

Bitcoin Press Release: Buglab, a blockchain cybersecurity startup is offering cryptocurrency exchanges entry for its upcoming penetration testing contests. Buglab will be giving away $2,000,000 in BGL tokens to cybersecurity researchers participating in the contests.

01 July 2018, Paris – Buglab, a cybersecurity solutions startup has announced that it will be offering $2,000,000 in BGL tokens to cryptocurrency exchanges and cybersecurity researchers participating in the penetration testing contests of its platform.

Buglab has decided to release a private beta version of its platform, following a spate of recent exchange hacks. Any exchanges who offer to run a launchpad, or promote the token sale in some way will be eligible to receive the penetration testing service to detect vulnerabilities and potential threats.

Through Buglab, a community of certified and hand selected cybersecurity researchers will summarize the contest, providing a complete report on the findings and draw a complete preventative strategy to prevent such issues in the future.

Every participating exchange will get the chance to receive $20,000 as a part of Buglab’s enterprise plan, including a $10,000 prize for the top three winners of the contest and $10,000 as a special reward (for example critical vulnerabilities not found by the winners). In addition to offering the contest, if no vulnerabilities are discovered, Buglab will offer 50% of the sum allocated to the exchange, ($10,000 in BGL tokens). This is an excellent way for the exchanges to test the release of future features.

When asked about the future of cryptocurrency exchange, Buglab CEO Reda Cherqaoui stated that;

“Cryptocurrency exchanges should be concerned about securing the funds of their traders, as these funds equate to billions of dollars. With new exchanges launching every week and increasing danger of security breaches, we aim to provide the industry with a secure, cutting-edge service to help mitigate against these increasing risks.”

Exchange Hacks

Today’s digital financial markets are growing at an exponential rate and hackers now have more advanced techniques and equipment than ever before. Cryptocurrency exchanges should be vigilant and actively monitor and update their knowledge and technical skill to be one step ahead of the hackers and to keep their exchanges secure.

The Buglab penetration testing service and contest announcement come just two weeks after two large South Korean exchanges were hacked and lost an estimated combined total of over $70 Million, in various cryptocurrencies.

Leading exchange Conrail announced a “cyber intrusion” on June 9, with an estimated loss of $40 million and only 11 days later South Korea’s largest volume trading platform, Bithumb announced a security breach with a reported loss of $31 million.

Despite Bithump’s reassurance of a full reimbursement to all of it’s affected users, serious questions now hang over the security of these, and all other cryptocurrency exchanges. With this news compounding the current bear market, cryptocurrency platform users are very concerned as to the state of play.

Reda also stated that this increase in hacker prowess has created an increased demand for cybersecurity professionals that far exceeds the current supply. This huge demand has pushed specialist towards finding new and more efficient solutions to oppose the growing number of security threats.

What is Buglab?

Buglab uses Ethereum-based platform composed of two programs: the buglab contest and Vigilante Protocol, for helping companies and cryptocurrencies exchange, all over the world, to discover and fix vulnerabilities on their digital solutions and assets such as web apps, mobile apps, IoT devices, smart contracts, and others. In the Vigilante Protocol, the startup works with CERTs to verify discoveries and notify companies at risk.

Buglab is the brainchild of cybersecurity veteran and engineer Reda Cherqaoui. He has been in the cybersecurity scene since the age of just 16 and in 2011 he developed Facebook’s monitoring system, known as “Agatha”. In this time Reda helped numerous mainstream companies such as Hotmail, Yahoo, and eBay.

The Buglab founder has always been motivated by problem-solving and now looks to address the various cybersecurity threats, through Buglab’s penetration testing startup.

Buglab Token Distribution Event

Buglab will be running a token distribution event from the 30th of June, 2018, for a period of exactly 4 weeks. Individuals interested in participating in the token presale can do so by whitelisting on the official website.

In total Buglab will create 425,000,000 BGL tokens, of which, 40% (170,000,000) will be allocated to the token distribution event. The BGL token sale price is locked at $0.15 for the duration of the the token sale.

Buglab is happy to announce that it will be offering token sale participants a 25% token bonus for the duration of the presale.

Token sale bonus structure:

• First 24 hrs: 20% bonus
• Week 1: 15% bonus
• Week 2: 10% bonus
• Week 3 to end: 0%

Buglab is pleased to invite all interested crypto exchanges to join this initiative at [email protected]

About Buglab

Buglab is an Ethereum-based startup that connects companies with a global network of expert cybersecurity researchers. At the center of our ecosystem, there are two programs – the buglab contest and Vigilante Protocol, helping companies all over the world to discover and fix vulnerabilities on their digital solutions or assets.

Learn more about Buglab here – https://buglab.io/#top
Read the Buglab Whitepaper – https://buglab.io/assets/docs/Buglab_WhitePaper.pdf
Find Buglab on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/buglab.co
Follow Buglab on twitter – https://twitter.com/joinbuglab
Check out Buglab on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/buglab.co
Join the Buglab official Reddit page – https://www.reddit.com/r/buglabProject/
Read about Buglab on Medium – https://blog.buglab.io/
Join the team on Telegram – https://t.me/buglab

Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmGh-O5eRtbQchWmy8cFjYA

Media contact

Name: Dalal Cherqaoui
Location: Paris
Email: [email protected]

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The post PR: Blockchain Startup Buglab.io Offers $2,000,000 Worth of Tokens to Secure Crypto Exchanges, in Cybersecurity Contests appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Over the past year, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have gained in value and some people have ‘cashed out’ their digital assets in order to purchase cars or a new home. However, some people who have sold cryptocurrencies in the past may have a hard time getting a home loan even though they have the funds to purchase the property. This week on the bitcoin Reddit forum r/btc, a person who attempted to get a mortgage from the U.S. based financial firm, PNC Bank, was denied because he sold cryptocurrencies in the past.

Also read: Dancing With the Devil: ‘Cashing Out’ Cryptos Into Fiat Not So Easy

Mortgage Division at PNC Bank Allegedly Denies Loan Because of Prior Bitcoin Sales

Back in December of 2017, the price of BTC was close to $20,000 USD per coin and there were definitely a lot of investors who ‘cashed out’ during that time, and the months that followed. Around that time news.Bitcoin.com reported on the major hype that was taking place with media reports of Lamborghini purchases, and lots of mansions bought with bitcoin. We also detailed that ‘cashing out’ cryptocurrencies into fiat is not so easy, especially when it comes to transfers over $10,000 USD. This week a bitcoin investor who sold some of his digital assets this past December reveals he was denied a mortgage loan from PNC Bank because the source of his funds may have been derived from cryptocurrency sales.

“I sold some coin in December, and I have jumped through tons of hoops, unrelated to bitcoin, while getting a traditional mortgage with PNC — They didn’t mention bitcoin as a concern at all during the entire process,” explains the Reddit user u/fojawi. “Finally, after I make all the concessions they want, answer all of their questions, they admit they were throwing up these walls because some of the source of funds for the downpayment is bitcoin.”    

In the end, they are now saying that no part of the funding for the downpayment or other factors for the mortgage can be sales related to bitcoin. All of the money is in the bank in a savings account. The bank holding the money never touched any bitcoin exchange. They say it doesn’t matter how long ago the sale was…

‘Mortgage Providers, in General, Are Not Ready for This Issue’

This is not the first time people have had issues with prior bitcoin sales messing up their chances towards securing a mortgage from a lender. Immediately after the all-time price highs within the cryptocurrency economy, reports began to surface that UK mortgage lenders were refusing to accept deposits associated with digital assets because of “money laundering fears.” According to a broker from House and Holiday Home Mortgages, Mark Stallard, one individual he was working with had accumulated £40,000 from bitcoin investments and Stallard had difficulties with lenders.    

“The first mortgage lender I rang asked me what a cryptocurrency was,” Stallard details in an interview. “I rang two other lenders and they said they would not touch it.”

When I mentioned where the money had come from there was massive reluctance to help or understand the problem. I do not believe the mortgage providers, in general, are ready for this issue and research tells me that a lot more people will be knocking on our doors with funds made or raised in this fashion.

Building Societies Association and UK Lenders Consider Funds Derived From Cryptocurrencies Risky Because of Possible Relations to Money Laundering

Moreover, some of the UK mortgage lenders who might allow funds derived from cryptocurrency gains in order to procure a mortgage will need extensive audits. For instance, the UK’s Skipton, Yorkshire, and Coventry Building Society say they will accept funds derived from cryptocurrencies, but will also require a more thorough audit and identification process. A statement from the region’s Building Societies Association (BSA) details that lenders are leery of these funds due to “money laundering risks.” The BSA represents and is partnered with a large number of mutual lenders and deposit takers within the UK.    

“There is currently no regulation of these electronic currencies, which puts them into the highest risk category in relation to money laundering — In addition, it is well known that such currencies are popular with criminals, who use them to launder the proceeds of crime,” the BSA explained this past January.

What do you think about banks and mortgage lenders denying applicants because their money was connected to cryptocurrency sales? Let us know your thoughts on this subject in the comment section below.

Images via Shutterstock, Pixabay, and Wiki Commons. 

At Bitcoin.com there’s a bunch of free helpful services. For instance, have you seen our Tools page? You can even lookup the exchange rate for a transaction in the past. Or calculate the value of your current holdings. Or create a paper wallet. And much more.

The post Lenders May Deny Your Mortgage Application if You Sold Bitcoin in the Past appeared first on Bitcoin News.

In the last day, Ethereum (ETH) has been on a slide losing three percent rejecting higher highs above $500. Even though we are net bullish, chances are ETH sellers might push lower below $450 triggering our sell trades with targets at $400 and $350.

From the News

Sergey Brin is the ninth richest man in the world with a net worth of approximately $52 billion. He’s also the co-founder of Google, now Alphabet-a multi-billion dollar company he founded with Larry Page. So, this guy is rich, occupies a position of influence and his comment on any topic/ security can cause a buzz in the industry. Sergey has been caught before praising cryptocurrencies and crediting them for creating a computing boom and a technological renaissance earlier this year.

Zero-knowledge proof is a cryptography principle which enables to prove something without actually revealing the knowledge. This technology is used to enable privacy features where users can conceal the transaction information while still securing the network on a public ledger.

— Abhilash Sidd (@abhilash99) July 9, 2018

He pointed out the demand caused by GPU friendly proof of work algorithms that some cryptocurrencies employ and how this was creating some sort of a boom. Besides, he couldn’t help but laud the privacy of zero-knowledge proofs employed by different cryptographic algorithms. Zero-knowledge proofs despite not being used by Ethereum have brought an edge to some as ZCash for example. This is so because they conceal transaction while allowing seamless connection to the public ledger.

Sergey Brin, Google's Co-founder, took a part on Blockchain Summit currently ongoing at Sir Richard Branson’s Morocco. He is mining #ethereum with his son. And sees the future in this mind blowing technologies.

Cit: Vlad Coen#blockchain #bitcoin #crypto #cryptocurrency pic.twitter.com/5klejkRClt

— Justin Wu (@hackapreneur) July 9, 2018

Recently, in a Blockchain Summit held in Morocco, Sergey revealed that he was an avid fan of different cryptocurrencies and in particular Ethereum which he said he was mining with his teenage son. This is a stamp of approval of some sorts for Ethereum which despite stiff competition still has more than 85 percent of blockchain start ups launching their ICOs on their smart contract platform. Of course, there are many reasons advising their decisions before settling on a proven platform complete with token standardization. All this is a plus for Ethereum.

Ethereum (ETH) Technical Analysis

Weekly Chart

Ethereum Weekly Chart by Trading View

It’s clear that we have this three bar reversal pattern, the Morning Star at or around the main support line at $400 in this time frame. However, there seems to be resistance of higher highs despite the high volumes confirming that technical formation over the past three weeks. While we realize bears are in charge and edging closer to $400, it is how this week’s candle would close that could potential determine the short to medium trajectory of Ethereum (ETH). Any reversal of last week’s gains and close below $450 will effectively cancel our bullish skew.

Daily Chart

Ethereum Daily Chart by Trading View

Overly, we were net bullish on ETH waiting for buyers to push above $500, our main trigger line. However, regardless of July 7 up-thrust, ETH buyers didn’t manage to close above that line. Now, as it stands, it seems like sellers are snapping back to trend. In fact odds are our $450 minor sell trigger line would be live depending on how the next two days candlesticks close. As ETH price action sway, we shall remain neutral until either of our trade conditions are met.

Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed are those of the author and aren’t investment advice. Trading of any form involves risk and so do your due diligence before making a trading decision.

The post Ethereum (ETH) Technical Analysis: Sergey Lauds Crypto Privacy Features appeared first on NewsBTC.

The slide seems to pick up even as bullish reversal pattern print out in weekly charts. EOS, IOTA and Litecoin are experiencing resistance to upsides. In my view, and in light with the general bearish trend, sellers might take control today and push prices towards immediate supports.

Let’s have a look at these charts:

EOS Technical Analysis

EOS Daily Chart by Trading View

Like Ripple (XRP), price stability of EOSIO RAM is important for the very existence of the network. As it stands and according to Dan Larimer, the price of RAM shall be determined by free markets dynamics and of course to enable that, we have Bancor Relay Tokens.

#EOS RAM is up 32x since launch and still going up. Is EOS ram really as finite as people think it is? Mainnet ram is currently 64gb, just ~3% of the 2tb that will be available eventually. Side chains extend this further… @EOS_io @go_eos #blockchain https://t.co/b7g8qB7m9Z

— EOS Silicon Valley (eossv12eossv) (@EOS_SV) July 3, 2018

All Bancor does is to enable buying and selling of RAM at previously agreed market rates but since its vital for dApp development, developers ought to know about future prices for planning purposes. To tame prices, there are proposals of setting side-chains. The problem now is creating a smart contracts layout that perfectly links these side chains with the main EOSIO chain. Further suggestions indicate that stand by BPs would be required to contribute towards this interesting development.

Despite recent dips, EOS is a tad bit lower and finding obvious resistance at $9. While we remain positive in this overwhelmingly bearish market, buyers need to show their grit and push above this main resistance line to activate longs. Before then, we remain neutral as laid out in our previous trade plan and should sellers print below July 2 lows at $7.8, then we should liquidate on every pull back with targets at $4.

Litecoin (LTC) Technical Analysis

Litecoin Daily Chart by Trading View

As different jurisdictions declare crypto mining an environment disaster and inefficient, Kumamoto Electric Power Company and OZ Mining Corporation have solid plans in place and shall begin mining by August. To hit their targets, they will install 14,000 mining equipment running every day of the week. They will be timely for Japanese investors because at any time of their convenience they can visit these data centers and take a tour whenever they wish.

Still, movement in LTC has been limited with no ground for upsides as the daily chart shows. We reiterate again saying that unless there are no gains above $90, buyers should remain neutral. Because the general trend is down and there are resistances for upsides, sellers can decide to enter at current prices.

In that case, safe stops should be at July 2 highs at $91 with targets at $70. Of course, as we are up-beat about LTC prices, that tight stop will be a fall back in case there is an up-thrust as buyers sync with June 29-30 and July 2 price actions.

Stellar Lumens (XLM) Technical Analysis

Stellar Lumens Daily Chart by Trading View

Oddly enough, Stellar Lumens is stable and moving inside July 2 high lows. As it does that, our Stellar Lumens (XLM) buys are live because prices are trending above 20 cents, our buy triggers. Now, while we acknowledge that sell pressure is immense-and it has for the last two months or so-trading with it makes sense.

That’s why should we see depreciation below July 2 lows at 18 cents, our buy projections would be null. However, any strong break above 23 cents would signal buy pressure meaning traders would have to buy on dips with targets at 30 cents and later 50 cents.

Tron (TRX) Technical Analysis

Tron Daily Chart by Trading View

There are schedules for Tron’s VM coming this July 31 with Justin Sun saying the launch will be preceded by a launch of a secret project. We are yet to know what this secret project is and all we know that it must be huge enough going by the speculation it cause on Reddit. Anyhow, at the moment, Tron has nine dApps and price wise it is down to 12 spot sliding three percent in the last 24 hours.

In line with yesterday’s assessment, TRX is a sell now that prices are trading below July 2 lows at 3.5 cents. This is no surprise and June 29-July 8 events were short covering offering an opportunity for sellers to unload on pull backs.

I suggest selling at current spot prices with stops at 4.2 cents and targets at 2.5 cents. The only counter effect that can cancel this trade plan is any gains above 4.2 cents hitting our stops and accompanied by high trade volumes. That would hint that buyers are alive and realigning according the events of last 10 days or so.

IOTA (IOT) Technical Analysis

IOTA Daily Chart by Trading View

There is only one thing that can cement IOTA buy position: buyers pumping price above July 2 highs and $1.3. Before then, we shall remain bearish-though with a bullish leaning-even if there is that three bar bullish reversal pattern with anchors at 90 cents a key support line.

As it stands, buyers might push higher but, if sellers follow through and sync with the general bear trend then we might see further losses below 90 cents triggering our sells. The best approach then when trading IOTA considering the technical formation is to wait for break outs in either direction.

Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed are those of the author and aren’t investment advice. Trading of any form involves risk and so do your due diligence before making a trading decision.

The post IOTA, EOS, Litecoin, Stellar Lumens, EOS Technical Analysis: EOS Side-Chains Talk Dominate appeared first on NewsBTC.

Following a security breach, decentralized crypto exchange Bancor said it expects to come back online within 24 hours

Bitcoin Press Release: trade.io’s CEO Jim Preissler today announced during his keynote speech at the trade.io sponsored, Bloomberg event in London, England, that the Exchange, the flagship product of trade.io, will be launched on July 17th, 2018. The announcement comes after months of anticipation across the crypto world where they have eagerly prepared for the launch of trade.io’s live Exchange, and later its Liquidity Pool.

Friday 30th June 2018, Lugano, Switzerland. For the first month of launch, the company has also announced that they will offer commission-free trading to registrants. Pre-registration to the trade.io exchange is available here!

Launch Details

Today marked a truly special occasion as trade.io celebrated the announcement of the launch with not just one, but two milestone events. The first of which was titled “The Future of Cryptocurrencies”; Bloomberg’s first ever cryptocurrency event. The event was broadcast live to Bloomberg Terminals’ many thousands of daily users and also live-streamed on trade.io’s website. The collaboration with trade.io was an attempt to bridge the worlds of traditional finance with blockchain/cryptocurrency by bringing some of the brightest minds and most innovative thinkers together, for a one-of-a-kind event. This event will be livestreamed on https://trade.io/future-of-cryptocurrencies.

In conjunction with the Exchange launch date announcement, trade.io also hosted a guerrilla coffee campaign, which took place at one of London’s busiest commuter hotspots and financial centres, Canary Wharf station, whereby more than 350,000 people pass through every day.

trade.io believes in constantly exceeding community expectations and today was no exception. Over 13,000 free coffees were served in trade.io branded cups, at the busy London Underground station as well as in 20 independent coffee shops in the City of London. In addition, numerous chocolate coins emulating the company’s cryptocurrency, the Trade Token (TIO), were distributed across various London venues, and both these and the coffee cups offered an opportunity to register in the company’s popular airdrops campaign.

The company has also made plans to exhilarate the crowds at Canary Wharf Station today, with a surprise flash mob of dancers dressed as astronauts. This is being live-streamed on the company Facebook page!

Global press were also present at both of these uplifting events, in order to disseminate footage of interviews and other key events on international television and media channels.

trade.io’s CEO Jim Preissler commented on the launch:

“We are thrilled to announce the launch of our trade.io Exchange. The community has been eagerly waiting, so it gives me great pleasure to announce that we will finally launch on 17th July. It will be a staggered launch to 1,000 people initially, with future clients to be on-boarded in the days to follow.”

“Following the BETA version of our Exchange where select members tested the platform, we are confident that we will satisfy the specifications stipulated to us by our community, and look forward to sharing in the successes of our upcoming official Exchange.”

The first lucky 1,000 people to experience the trade.io platform, will be contacted via email in the days before the launch.

About trade.io

trade.io is a next-generation financial institution based on blockchain technology, providing the ultimate in security and transparency. By leveraging decades of experience in the investment banking, trading & FinTech sectors, and combining them with the power and transparency of the distributed ledger, trade.io has created a truly unique exchange that will revolutionize asset trading and investment banking.

Find out more: https://exchange.trade.io
trade.io website: https://trade.io/
Chat on Telegram: https://t.me/TradeToken
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tradetoken?lang=en
Facebook: https://s3-ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/bprbfpv/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/30091106/trade.io-Press-Release.png
Meet the team: https://www.linkedin.com/company/trade-io/

Media Contact
Name: Marilia Kountouridou
Email: [email protected]

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Image Courtesy: Trade.io

The post PR: trade.io Announces Official Launch Of Its Highly Anticipated, Customizable Crypto Exchange at Simultaneous London Events appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

Three U.S. economists offer harsh criticism of Bitcoin, claiming that it’s doomed to be “regulated into oblivion”

Queensland Sugar Ltd (QSL) has announced a partnership with Queensland Cane Growers in Australia to build a blockchain for sugar provenance, writes IT News.

Queensland Sugar Limited is an Australian unlisted public company principally involved in the marketing, export and supply of bulk raw sugar. The company employs approximately 160 people, is based in Brisbane and is jointly owned by the sugar growers and millers of Queensland.

The four-year project has received a USD 2.25 million smart farm grant from the federal government in order to promote greater food chain clarity to soft drink makers and demonstrate ethical and sustainable growing standards.

The Australian sugarcane industry is primarily located along Australia’s eastern coastline, from Mossman in far north Queensland to Grafton in northern New South Wales. Approximately 4,400 cane farms grow sugarcane on around 380,000 hectares annually.  They supply 24 mills, owned by eight separate milling companies. The vast majority of cane farms are owned by sole proprietors or family partnerships. The mill ownership structures are a combination of publicly-owned entities, privately-held companies limited by guarantee, and co-operatives.

A government statement said, “Big sugar buyers, who are seeking more and more sustainably grown product, are likely to pay more in future for sustainably grown and fully traceable sugar as their customers ask for it.”

Federal minister for agriculture and water resources David Littleproud cited US soft drink icon Coca-Cola, saying that it “has a plan to source 100% of its sugar from sustainable sources by 2020”, indicating that this is very much the future for companies growing a widely-used product such as sugar.

He went on to suggest that blockchain used in this way with assurances to buyers that crops are harvested using a sustainable practice would inevitably impact on the price, giving farmers a better revenue for their yield.

House of Representatives Member for Capricornia, Michelle Landry, said that she could see Queensland sugar prices improving for farmers in the future by using blockchain technology.

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The post Australian Sugar Cane Farmers Opt for Blockchain Solution to Lift Profits appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Komodo is a blockchain that has improved upon what has come before it. In the delayed-Proof-of-Work algorithm, it has developed a novel solution to Sybil resistance. Additionally, with atomic swaps and DEX products, it has created unique use cases for its network. However, it faces direct competition from larger networks and more well-funded applications, and, like most other digital assets in 2018, it has been savaged in the current bear market