Day: July 11, 2018

Last week, Vitalik called out centralized exchanges in an interview with TechCrunch, with his statements catching many off-guard, including Binance’s CEO.

Binance CEO: We Are All Part Of The Same Ecosystem

Vitalik Buterin, a co-founder of the Ethereum project, recently called out centralized exchanges in an interview with TechCrunch. Vitalik, a prominent Russian-Canadian programmer, has been well-known for his work in the cryptocurrency space, becoming an advocate for decentralization.

As a result of his ties to decentralization, the Ethereum co-founder expressed his hate towards centralized exchanges, while not naming any platform in particular. He said:

“I definitely hope centralized exchanges go burn in hell as much as possible.”

This statement given by Vitalik quickly blew up on social media, and soon enough, everyone had their own opinion on what Vitalik had to say. Eventually, Changpeng Zhao, the well-known CEO of Binance, got wind of what Vitalik had to say about a centralized exchange like his. 

On July 10th, he issued a lengthy Tweet giving his opinions on what the cryptocurrency personality had to say.

Got asked a few times, re: “Vitalik’s burn in hell”.

Let’s not wish others to "burn in hell". Let’s have a bigger heart, and appreciate the fact that we are part of an eco-system… pic.twitter.com/4QYGKus0Gk

— CZ (not giving crypto away) (@cz_binance) July 10, 2018

Firstly, CZ pointed out that the comment “burn in hell” wasn’t taken too nicely, asking for centralized exchange critics to “have a bigger heart.” The Binance boss wrote:

“I would not wish “burn in hell” on anyone or anything. That’s just not a nice thing to say, even if it was said by Vitalik.”

Zhao reasoned that all cryptocurrency community members are part of the same ecosystem, and it would be in our best interest to collaborate instead of propagating the infighting that has become a sort of calling card for the industry.

Secondly, the CEO noted that the cryptocurrency industry would be on levels of magnitudes different if centralized exchanges weren’t present. Exchanges like Coinbase and Binance have created high levels of liquidity for the industry, allowing for incoming retail investors to buy, sell and trade a variety of different cryptocurrencies. Additionally, centralized exchanges have become an integral part of the fiat on-ramp process, which became a leading factor in the most recent cryptocurrency run up.

The Industry Would Be Smaller Without Centralized Exchanges

As CZ puts it, “if it was not for fiat (and centralized) exchanges, the industry would be smaller and the industry would develop slower.”

This has been widely received as true, take a look at the top exchanges on CoinMarketCap, It easily becomes apparent that decentralized exchanges have not seen the levels of adoption which centralized exchanges have experience.

Vitalik recognized this in the aforementioned interview, noting that the only reason why centralized exchanges are still viable is due to the fact that they act as a gateway, bridging the gap between fiat and cryptocurrencies. The Ethereum proponent went on to say that decentralized exchanges will only become more and more prominent as time goes on.

However, CZ rebutted by saying that nothing is truly decentralized, and things that are “decentralized” are not safer (or better) by default. The CEO pointed to the example of Ethereum Classic and Ethereum DAO situation, where the decentralized autonomous organization fell victim to a security breach, causing a fork of the original Ethereum chain.

In addition, it was pointed out that efficiency and adoption rates are an important part of the centralized/decentralized debate as well, implying that if centralized exchanges are required for mass cryptocurrency adoption, then so be it.

Despite trying to address most of Vitalik’s points, CZ didn’t mention allegations of absurdly high listing fees that many exchanges require in the rebuttal. However, in an interview with Ran Neu Ner of CNBC Africa, Zhao gave viewers of the ‘Crypto Trader‘ show an insight into Binance’s listing process. He said:

“We don’t negotiate and we don’t ask for a price. When a project team submits an application, they will tell us what they want to pay. And you can say zero ($), which we may accept and we have listed coins that say zero. However, there’s a sweet spot for the money you pay. If it’s too high, then we actually get worried…. But we list coins for a fairly low fee”

It was not made clear where this ‘sweet spot’ lies, but many speculate it ranges in the $3-5 million range.

Binance Chain: Binance’s Upcoming Decentralized Exchange 

Despite taking a seemingly harsh stance on the current state of decentralization, Binance is still planning to move forward with its own decentralized project, Binance Chain.

In the aforementioned ‘Crypto Trader’ interview, when asked about the Binance Chain project Zhao noted:

“I believe that decentralized exchanges are the future. I do not know when that future will come, so again, I think we are in an early stage for that. I don’t know whether it’s going to be a year, two years, three years, five years, I don’t know, but we have to be ready for it. So we’re now actively investing our efforts and time into it. We have a dedicated team working on this, and I hope to see a prototype within the next couple of months”

It is unlikely that the first prototype of Binance Chain will be able to support the trade throughput levels the exchange sees today. But it is only a matter of time before protocols develop to a stage where average users, like you or I, do not notice any difference between the two types of exchanges, offering seamless decentralized services to the masses.

As the cryptocurrency space develops and expands, there will begin to be a shrinking need for centralized exchanges. But as seen by moves taken by Binance, currently centralized platforms may begin to migrate over to decentralization in an attempt to keep business.

But it is unclear what the timeline for decentralized exchange development will look like, as in their current state, decentralized exchanges can be rather slow and clunky. But once decentralized platforms show high levels of efficiency and security, centralized exchanges will only be known as fiat on-ramps, and platforms utilized by high-frequency traders, looking for millions of trades per second.

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All is not lost for the bulls as BTC could create a major bullish reversal pattern over the next few days.

It would appear one cryptocurrency has effectively broken the negative market trend. The Litecoin price is the first to go in the green despite this current bearish momentum. A surprising turn of events, albeit one that is also more than welcome under the current circumstances. It also shows the Bitcoin price trend can’t keep altcoins down forever m not even in this day and age.

Litecoin Price Turns Semi-bullish

Of all cryptocurrencies to go into the green, few people expected Litecoin to be on this list these days. Although this is one of the oldest altcoins, there is no outspoken demand for this particular currency in this day and age. Even so, the Litecoin price has risen to $78.2 once again and it is the first major currency to buck the negative price trend across all markets.

This 1.68% price increase is quite interesting to keep an eye on. It does show the altcoin is in somewhat high demand right now, even though it’s still too early to say if this will be a long-term trend first and foremost. As is usually the case where cryptocurrencies are concerned, the short-term price changes do not necessarily warrant similar momentum for the long-term.

There is also an interesting change in the LTC/BTC ratio. Contrary to what most speculators would expect, it has become evident the momentum is changing in favor of Bitcoin as of right now. If this trend keeps up, the Litecoin price may continue to rise to $80 and possibly more in the coming hours. All of this is happening despite the Bitcoin price still being on the decline.

Similar to most other altcoins, Litecoin has seen its average trading volume decline over the past few hours. That situation is slowly coming to change, as the past 24 hours have resulted in nearly $300m in volume. A more than respectable amount for this particular altcoin, even though it is evident this trend may not last all that long, all things considered.

OKEx is clearly in the lead when it comes to Litecoin trading volume. This exchange has maintained a dominant position for quite some time now, and it seems that situation will remain in place for some time to come. Its BTC and USDT pairs are both well ahead of Bitforex’s USDT pair. Further down the list, there is RightBTC’s BTC pair ad Binance’s USDT market. A solid collection of different options to trade Litecoin,

It is good to see at least one popular cryptocurrency heading in the right direction during this bearish period. While the Litecoin price will not set the tone for all of the other cryptocurrencies on the market, it shows there is plenty of room for positive momentum as time progresses. Whether or not other cryptocurrencies will see positive momentum in the coming hours, remains a bit unclear at this stage.

Initial Coin Offerings have earned its place in history, thanks to the innovative technology behind ICOs – the blockchain. Ordinary people are given opportunities to contribute to and participate in the development of potentially disruptive innovation without any of the restrictions associated with traditional IPOs. However, with the increase in the number of exit scams and fraudulent activities, the once widely acclaimed benefits of these new model of crowdfunding has been tainted.  

The Bumpy Road to Crowdfunding

Earlier this year, an exit scam worth a staggering $660million rocked the crypto world, leaving behind about 32,000 swindled contributors in ruin. A recent report examining the post-TGE status of blockchain-based offerings in the past year discovered that over 800 such offerings are now “dead”. However, scams and fraudulent activities are not the only factors affecting the industry affecting this emergent industry. Other factors include marketing, competitors, exchange listing, communication, and development targets. These factors have established the need for a reliable and irrefutable rating system that will protect the interest and values of the cryptocurrency community.

Safeguarding the Values of Blockchain-Based Crowdfunding

ICO All-In is a blockchain-based platform design to accommodate the needs of the cryptocurrency community. The platform is structured to help the ever-growing community become more discerning when contributing to the funding of any blockchain-based offering.   

ICO All-In is a one-stop shop for users, providing in-depth information on companies, token sales, alongside a transparent rating system for users to fully evaluate any token offering of their choice. Utilizing a simple and user-friendly interface, the crypto rating system, ICO All-In is available for all classes of crowdfunding participants including professional investors, corporate entities, businesses, and ordinary people. The platform’s network of detailed data for crypto evaluation provides users with all the necessary information required to make informed decisions. ICO All-In has been integrated with three layers of data evaluation mechanisms. They are: Sales evaluation, Cryptocurrency rating, and Human Machine Integration.

ICO All-In works with these layers by collecting data of tokens from reviews about the token, and other channels for detailed information. Following data collection, the network delegates the data gathered to an IBM’s Watson-powered AI program for evaluation.

Post-TGE companies are not left out. They can simply log into the site and fill a form with their project information. Once the information is received, it is carefully investigated and rate by ICO All-In teams. The information is then presented for public viewing on the network’s pages. To make the ranking system accessible,  companies will be graded in alphabetical order. Starting from the letter A-U, each letter stands as a representation of either BTC/ETH competitor, unrated, or fraud.

ICO All-In offers more than just a ranking system, affording users the unique opportunity to participate in private sales, which are usually not available for the public. With ICO All-In solution, TGEs can finally earn their legitimate place in history.
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CryptoKitties will first roll out its new mobile application on select HTC devices by the end of this year.

Wall Street’s “Crypto King” sat down with the panel on CNBC’s Fast Money to discuss Bitcoin’s utility, calling the digital coin the “currency of the internet.”

Bitcoin is the Best Crypto Investment

Bart Smith, head of digital asset trading at Susquehanna International Group, dubbed the “Crypto King” of Wall Street for his expertise on the space and his bullish attitude towards investing in cryptocurrency, was in the Fast Money guest seat again, this time to discuss the utility of Bitcoin. He told the panel that Bitcoin is still the best crypto investment as people are “functionally using”. He added,

“If you want to own the asset that you can actually use today and that people are functionally using, it’s bitcoin,”

The fast money panel threw questions at Smith about the current state of the market and seemingly stagnated price of Bitcoin as it languishes in the 6 thousand dollar range. One panelist suggested that this area may be the new norm for Bitcoin which would at least lend it some consistency as a store of value.

The price of Bitcoin is still feeling the effects of a tough spring that consisted of a prolonged bear market with mitigating factors such as the ongoing regulatory debate and several exchange hacks that have routinely brought up the issue of security. Smith though pointed out that creation of Bitcoin futures in the fall of 2017 created a premature expansion of the cryptocurrency market. He explained saying,

“people got very excited about bitcoin, they got really excited about all these other tokens and use cases. And all of the sudden you saw all of these smaller tokens, as people got excited about them, massively outperform. We got way ahead of ourselves.”

Bitcoin has Established Utility

He went on to point out the use cases that Bitcoin has created, explaining that when people in the US buy cryptocurrency they generally use dollars, but in other country’s, they buy with Bitcoin which has made it the “reserve currency of crypto”.

Beyond its role as the reserve currency of crypto, Smith went on to illustrate its use as a remittance payment method.  Talking about people working in one country and making payments back to their original place of origin he said;

“They use Western Union, traditional banks; It is slow and it is expensive, and there are people that can stop you from sending that money, whether that’s good or bad. With bitcoin, I can send money. It’s fast. It’s cheap. And frankly, no one can stop me.”

He concluded by telling the panel that because Bitcoin has established utility, it has a competitive advantage, adding that;

“If you’re looking at these other use cases, smart contracts, or lightning network or these different technological advancements, I think people are coming to realize, those things are very difficult and aren’t coming anytime soon,”

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APIs are omnipresent in today’s financial ecosystem, and yet most people don’t even realize when they’re using one. The recent “irregular” trading incident at Binance has been attributed to malicious API use — and has brought a timely focus to this integral technology.

Malta-based company Palladium is to launch the world’s first “initial convertible coin offering” (ICCO) with two partners including Bittrex, writes Cointelegraph.

An ICCO is a different concept to an ICO as in this case investors will have the option to convert their assets into company shares in the future. Palladium has stipulated a three-year wait until conversion.

Palladium has confirmed that it wishes to build an exchange in crypto-friendly Malta and will also seek acquisition of a controlling interest in a European bank using 85% of the funds raised from the ICCO along with “strategic investments in financial services and blockchain companies complementing Palladium’s business”. The rest will be used to build the new Maltese exchange.

The company has indicated that the ICCO will see a distribution of USD 150 million in tokens scheduled to begin on 25 July. Founder and co-chairman Paolo Catalfamo commented:

“We expect this project, which will create more than 100 job opportunities, to be a historic landmark and to bridge the gap between traditional financial services and cryptocurrencies.”

In other news from the country, the University of Malta has just announced that it will now offer a blockchain degree as part of civil servant training later this year.

The initiative which was announced last year and will have taken a year to implementation was partly due to criticism that the government hadn’t done enough to offer the young the necessary skills to join the burgeoning block train industry in the country.

This move reflects global trends in IT education around the world which are generally taking on board cryptocurrency and blockchain courses, the latest being the London School of Economics, one of the leading academic institutions for higher learning in the world.

This latest of courses by another well-established institution will cost GBP 1,800, (about USD 2,400) and offers 60 hours of study, after which graduates will become certified crypto academics.

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Litecoin Foundation, the non-profit behind the popular cryptocurrency, says it now owns part of a German bank thanks to a new deal with TokenPay.

FOMO Moments

Markets are hurting, altcoins getting hit hardest are EOS, Tezos, VeChain and Ontology. Power Ledger is on top.

Markets are in pain once again as the bears keep the pressure on for another day. Over $12 billion has left the crypto space and market capitalization has plummeted again back to just over $250 billion.

Bitcoin is holding key support at $6,400 and has lost 3.8% on the day to trade at just below this level. Further losses could be imminent if BTC falls below $6,400 where it is currently consolidating. Ethereum has lost another 4.4% resulting in a fall to $440, downward signals are showing on the charts.

Every altcoin in the top 30 is in the red some declining by double figures. The biggest loser in the top ten is EOS once again which has shed a further 7% on the day. The once golden child of cryptocurrencies has suffered the heaviest losses over the past few days. Currently trading at $7.08, EOS is down from $7.65 this time yesterday and down even further from $8.90 this time last week and way down almost 40% from $11.30 this time last month.

Stellar is the next biggest loser in the top ten today with a 5.2% drop to $0.189. Looking at the top twenty Tezos has finally taken a hit with the largest drop of 10%. XTZ has defied the drop by gaining over the past four days but the momentum has now exhausted and it has fallen back to $2.08 from $2.35 this time yesterday. VeChain is also having a bad day with a 6.4% drop as is Ontology losing 7% on the day. Bitcoin Gold rounds out the top 30 with a 10% decline.

The top altcoin of the moment is Power Ledger which has spiked 19% over the past 24 hours. Currently trading at $0.324 POWR is up from $0.277 this time yesterday. Kucoin Shares is also defying the drop with as 12.6% rise to $3.21.

Total crypto market capitalization has fallen 4.5% on the day to $252 billion. Volume has remained stable at $13 billion over the past 24 hours. If markets do not dip to previous lower lows of $234 billion, as they did on June 29, this could be the sign of a long term reversal however if those levels are tested again the bears could push things even lower.

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

The post Cryptocurrency Trading Update: Bears Bash Markets by Another $12 Billion appeared first on NewsBTC.

Digital asset exchange BINEX.TRADE continues to break new ground in providing alternative revenue streams for its users, with the announcement of its Brand Ambassador program. The loyalty-based program will mean that investors and traders can have more value for their commitment and loyalty to the cryptocurrency exchange platform.

The Singapore-based exchange already enjoys incredible support from its base of users, but hopes that this new program will give even more recognition to those who are strongly aligned with the vision of BINEX.TRADE, and cryptocurrencies overall.

Be an Ambassador for BINEX

Any user can now register as a user by singing up on BINEX.TRADE. Once logged in, they will be able to access the BINEX.TRADE Ambassador program via the dashboard.

Ambassadorship for BINEX will be given to users based primarily on their knowledge of cryptocurrencies and their underlying blockchain technologies, with those who understand the exchange intimately given priority.

Once selected as an Ambassador, users will be encouraged to engage better with wider audiences via simple tasks on social media. This includes interacting on forums and creating content on major social media platforms such as Twitter, Medium, Telegram and Facebook. This should be relatively easy to do, since most users already enjoy connecting with their network on social media daily.

Qualifying activity will be rewarded with BINEX’s native digital currency, BEX tokens, depending on an Ambassador score, utilizing a proof-of-work system that ensures a reliable income for the duration of activity.

The main agenda for Ambassadors will be to aid BINEX in reaching out to existing and new communities with its vision and message of creating and building a strong, vibrant community within cryptocurrency. Essentially, Ambassadors are an extension of the exchange’s efforts to nurture meaningful relationships with the global community of cryptocurrency users.

BINEX.TRADE is planning to offer even more opportunities for its users – both old and new. The best way to keep abreast of developments is to join them on Telegram at t.me/binextrade. In addition, users can take advantage of a current giveaway that rewards the most active referrers in specific time periods.

Trade easy, trade now

Binex.Trade gives traders the experience of the very best that a modern exchange can offer, with the ability to instantly buy and sell cryptocurrency to take immediate advantage of suitable prices. This simple order feature means spot trades are executed without control over received price, but users can also opt for limit orders for non-urgent trades.

At the same time, users can always trade with peace of mind, knowing that their activities and funds are protected by the highest levels of digital security. The platform is built on a multi-cluster system architecture that provides ultra security to every single transaction that takes place.

To learn more about BINEX.TRADE, visit the website or read the whitepaper. To find out the latest events as they happen, join the team and its community of over 68,000 pre-registered traders and investors on Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, Medium and YouTube.

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