Day: July 29, 2018

If plans come to fruition Morocco could become the location for one of the biggest blockchain-powering energy operations in the world.

Soluna the computing company that generates its own renewable energy has revealed plans to build a 900-megawatt wind farm south of Marrakesh suggesting that such a move may well significantly push crypto mining towards a far more sustainable era.

The site in Dakhla, on the edge of the Sahara Desert, by the Atlantic Ocean is known as a class 1 wind site with wind speed reaching higher than 22mph. The site covers 37,000 acres and should produce 900 megawatts as an off-grid operation.

Bitcoin mining has become a contentious issue with opposing view on each side of the ecological divide. Critics argue about the consumption of vast amounts of energy, often citing the Irish example to support their argument citing the entire network now consumes more power than the Irish Republic in its entirety. Digiconomist estimates that Bitcoin consumes more power than some countries, such as the Irish Republic, Chile, and Austria.

John Belizaire, CEO of Soluna, argues that this approach misses the point:

“Some have accused crypto miners of being extractive… In contrast, one of our core values is to invest in local economies. By building our own power and operating data centres, we bring investment dollars, create jobs, and (notably) don’t take away from the existing stock of energy to the local region.”

Soluna is backed by NY private equity firm Brookstone Partners which specializes in acquisitions and growth capital. One of their current projects is to convert wind energy into electrical energy for the purpose of mining cryptocurrency, being the cheapest source of energy available.

It is estimated that by the end of 2018 the Bitcoin network will be using over 125 terawatt hours per year. The issue here for many is its carbon footprint as the network is mostly fueled in China by burning coal, as this is a low-cost energy source.

Utility-scale renewable green energy sources such as the project planned for Morocco have enormous potential for the future if crypto mining continues to grow at its current rate.

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An unusual story has emerged linking a salvaged treasure from a sunken Russian warship with a cryptocurrency exchange, according to Reuters.

The treasure reported being worth $130 billion was claimed to have gone down with Russian Cruiser Dmitrii Donskoi in 1905 off the coast of South Korea whilst engaging Japanese warships in the area.

The Korean company who is said to have discovered the shipwreck, Shinil Group, reportedly said that they would use the salvage to back a new cryptocurrency called Shini Gold Coin and would distribute the coins to any who sign with the exchange, named ‘Donskoi International’ after the sunken vessel.

“Shinil Marine said last week it had discovered the wreck of the Dmitrii Donskoi, a Russian armoured cruiser sunk in 1905 after fighting Japanese warships off South Korea’s Ulleung Island, and that a staggering 150 trillion won ($130 billion) of gold was on board”

The news very quickly attracted the attention of South Korea’s financial watchdog, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) who began to investigate “whether the company’s claims were part of any share price manipulation or other unlawful trade.”

A local news source also stated that FSS Governor Yoon Suk-heun said that the agency is investigating related “cryptocurrency issues.” This seemed to provoke a rapid change of heart by Shinil group who began backtracking rapidly on their alleged claims.

The source DToday reported again following a news conference in Seoul on Thursday that the FSS Governor said that the company had not reported the existence of gold, stating:

“The [unverified] reports said the Donskoi held 200 tonnes of gold but that would only be 10 trillion won [~$9 billion] at current value … We apologize to the public for the irresponsible citation.”

In a further twist to this tale of sunken gold coins and claims and counterclaims, Reuters reported on Thursday that Shinil Marine:

“…denied any connection with the cryptocurrency it said was run by a different company with the same name and said it had changed its name. A phone number on the cryptocurrency exchange’s website led to the company until last week.”

The exchange claims that that the coin and wallets have been developed and the token is due for listing on 10 exchanges between September and October this year. This includes the Shinil Group’s Donskoi international exchange.

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Total market cap is slightly down, while 9 out of the top 10 coins by market cap are in the slight green and Bitcoin is holding its position

Cryptocurrency exchange Cryptomkt has partnered with Chilean payment platform Flow to allow customers to pay with three cryptocurrencies at over 5,000 stores. The announcement follows two Chilean courts ruling that banks must reopen the accounts of crypto exchanges they previously closed.

Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space

5,000+ Stores Accept Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrency exchange Cryptomkt announced this week that over 5,000 stores now accept three cryptocurrencies.

Chilean payment platform Flow has integrated the exchange’s payment solution, Cryptocompra, into its system. Customers shopping at merchants using Flow can now choose to pay with cryptocurrencies during the checkout process.

Flow claims to currently provide service to over 5,000 stores with over 180,000 monthly transactions and over 20,000 customers.

Available now for businesses in Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Europe, Cryptocompra “allows merchants to accept payments in bitcoin, ethereum and stellar cryptocurrencies quickly and easily,” Cryptomkt detailed, emphasizing:

Chileans today can access various products and services in more than 5,000 stores affiliated to Flow.cl using bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies through Cryptocompra.com … Client pays in cryptocurrencies, trade receives pesos, reales or euros.

On its website, Flow lists a fee of 0.90% for next-business-day payment with cryptocurrencies. By comparison, paying with credit cards using Webpay Plus or Onepay costs 4.99% to receive payment the next business day.

“You do not need to have contracts with the means of payment, Flow does it for you,” the company wrote. “Each time someone pays you, we will notify you of the payment made: We will indicate the detail of the payment made and the date on which we will transfer your money.”

Battle Between Banks and Crypto Exchanges

Crypto exchanges in Chile have been battling with banks over the closure of their bank accounts. In April, Chile’s Court for the Defense of Free Competition (TDLC – Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia) ordered three banks to reopen the accounts of crypto exchanges, including Cryptomkt. In May, Banco Estado complied and reopened the account of the exchange.

Earlier this month, the Fourth Chamber of the Court of Appeals of Santiago ruled in favor of cryptocurrency exchange Orionx against Banco Estado for closing its account.

What do you think of Flow integrating crypto payment option? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Cryptomkt, and Flow.cl.

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At press time, the father of cryptocurrency is up by roughly $20 from yesterday and is now trading for $8,195. Bitcoin has been on the verge of a dramatic comeback over the past few days, and though the currency is “standing still” for the time being, we can be grateful that it had the strength and the stamina to rise to its present position.

Things weren’t as easy or as stellar-looking in early July. Bitcoin’s future appeared dark and dreary; the coin repeatedly found itself dropping further until it eventually reached $5,800 – a number lower than anything bitcoin had struck over the past several months.

But then, amazing things began to occur. News stemmed from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the organization was considering a new bitcoin ETF from VanEck SolidX, and that the company’s respective application was now available for public comment. This suggested that the body was gaining an open mind when it came to bitcoin and cryptocurrency, as the company had previously submitted a similar application last year and experienced almost instantaneous rejection.

This time, the outcome was different, and bitcoin suddenly found itself attracting the attention of institutional investors. In addition, U.S. digital exchange Coinbase announced it was considering five more digital currencies for placement on its trading platform, thereby giving investors more opportunities to trade. This also had a positive effect on the bitcoin price, and enthusiasts saw the present figure jump over $400 in less than 30 minutes. From there, bitcoin continued its ascension on the financial ladder, spiking to $7,500, and working its way towards $8,000, which it eventually hit.

What’s even more important is that bitcoin has shown strength not only in its present support, but in its ability to tackle resistance. While bitcoin’s bull run has slowed down a bit in recent days, the price also hasn’t dropped. Furthermore, the SEC later made the choice to postpone any decision-making when it came to five specific bitcoin ETFs, while outright rejecting an application submitted by the Winklevoss Twins of the Gemini Exchange in New York.

Many were convinced these factors would have negative effects on the father of crypto; that institutional investors would be deterred, and things would come crashing down. Ultimately, this didn’t happen. Bitcoin dug its heels into the dirt and stood its ground. Impressively, bitcoin managed to solidify its position even further by showing both enthusiasts and well-experienced traders alike that it had what it took to defeat any serious obstacles and resistance that was heading its way.

Most analysts remain confident that the bitcoin bull run will continue throughout the coming weeks, and that bitcoin will end the year at around $10K or $11K.

Bitcoin Charts by TradingView

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The seller of a USD 9,975,000 mansion near Dallas, Texas is accepting Bitcoin. The mansion has 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a 5 car garage, and an elevator to a 2nd-floor guest suite. This is just another example of how Bitcoin can be used as a currency even for large real-estate transactions.

As of this writing, the current market price of Bitcoin is USD 8,200, so it would take approximately 1,216 Bitcoins to purchase this Texas mansion. However, if someone were to mortgage the mansion they would only have to put USD 2.02 million down, or about 246 Bitcoins, and then pay 7 Bitcoins a month for the mortgage. This assumes no Bitcoin price volatility, which is a bad assumption. Bitcoin’s price often fluctuates by up to 10% in a single day, which makes it less than ideal for large transactions.

However, there are services available to insulate merchants against price fluctuations when accepting Bitcoin, like BitPay and Coinbase. These services instantly convert Bitcoin to fiat at the time of sale and deposit money into the merchant’s bank account.

This Texas mansion is the newest addition on a growing list of real-estate transactions that have accepted Bitcoin. Recently a home in Delaware worth USD 1.35 million became the first successful real-estate transaction involving Bitcoin in the Northeast United States. In early 2018, a mansion in Miami was sold for USD 6 million of Bitcoin. Richard Hilton put the USD 44 million Palazzetto mansion in Rome up for auction and offered Bitcoin as an option. The first real estate transaction involving Bitcoin in Europe was successfully conducted for an apartment in Barcelona, Spain in January 2018.

The use of Bitcoin as a currency for real-estate deals has been quickly accelerating since the first United States real-estate transaction with Bitcoin in September 2017. Since then 20 homes worldwide have been sold for Bitcoin. Realtor Stephen Burke says in 5 years 25-30% of real-estate deals will be conducted with cryptocurrency.

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Unconfirmed reports indicate that Nasdaq held a closed-door meeting with half a dozen various companies this weekend in order to discuss amongst other topics, the integration of cryptocurrency into global markets.

That the individuals behind the second largest stock exchange in the world (by market capitalization) should be discussing cryptocurrency at this stage is not surprising. Earlier this year the exchange suggested that it could foresee opening its own cryptocurrency exchange in the future.

During an interview with CNBC, Nasdaq President and CEO Adena T Friedman raised the idea that Nasdaq would consider venturing in the crypto sector. She remarked:

“Certainly, Nasdaq would consider becoming a crypto exchange over time…I believe that digital currencies will continue to persist it’s just a matter of how long it will take for that space to mature.”

The companies at this particular meeting were said to included prominent cryptocurrency firms such as the Winklevoss owned Gemini Exchange. The brothers appearing just days after their ETF proposals being rejected at the SEC.

Blomberg attempted to get further details but Nasdaq simply verified the meeting. However, the unnamed source suggested that topics discussed included regulation and tools to measure the development of the industry and the likelihood of the members at the meeting having further discussions soon.

Larger institutions have been far more prominent in discussing the cryptocurrency industry this year and banking institutions on Wall St are at various stages in addressing where to position themselves in the market. Of which, some of them like the Goldman Sachs have taken a proactive stance in this regard.

CNBC’s Brian Kelly suggests that the addition of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Goldman Sachs to the crypto status quo will cause the market to surge. Nasdaq President Freidman suggests waiting for cryptocurrencies to “mature,” but other major exchanges around the world are clearly thinking of making the move early.

Earlier this year Freidman said of cryptocurrencies

“I think the technology is fascinating and it’s a very sound technology. It’s just a matter of making sure that the community is all-embracing it together.”

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