Day: August 11, 2018

Developer Gabriel Cardona was personally recruited to fast track development of Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Open source, full featured development kit, Bitbox, his creation, has taken the community by storm, and it is now part of the Bitcoin.com developer universe. Money, Mr. Cardona likes to say, is critical to the human condition. And BCH and its blockchain are enabling financial sovereignty in a way which, he believes, is unique in history.

Also read: Report: 15,000 Twitter Crypto Scam Giveaway Bots

Developer Gabriel Cardona Seeks a Path to Change the World Through Bitcoin Cash

This week, developer Gabriel Cardona was guest for a full hour on the Vin Armani Show. At about the one hour and eight minute mark, Mr. Cardona began to lay out reasoning behind the burst of innovation in development on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain.

With hotshot initial coin offerings ringing-in billions, venture capitalists pouring money into project after project, and nearly all crypto talk dominated by speculative price analysis, idealism is hardly ever mentioned. There is almost a sense of innocence lost, having given way to strange corporate realism. When idealism is employed, derision and condescension aren’t too far behind nowadays. Mr. Cardona, however, champions bitcoin cash as “the soundest money the world has ever known. As a developer you can make it available to all people, whatever their age, gender, nationality or financial status,” he explained to Vin Armani, founder of Coin Text, the text messaging way to send BCH without an internet connection.

Mr. Cardona describes himself, 37, as a decidedly different person professionally, “a whole different frequency” only ten years ago. He spent most of his twenties vagabonding, playing music, traveling. Becoming a father around this time sobered him to clearer thoughts about a career going forward. A chance community college course led to his first project, then another, and another. For whatever reason, the web has always resonated with him. The ubiquity, the chance to be impactful on a large scale, appealed to Mr. Cardona professionally.

That professional path eventually led him to code for Walmart, Target, Taco Bell, and to Triple A — all web development projects. Somewhere along the line, 2012 ish, he discovered bitcoin and Gavin Andresen’s Faucet, where Mr. Cardona received five bitcoin. This kept him interested as he went about his regular career. In fact, he’d put the idea aside for years while keeping an ear and eye to key hacker news outlets. When talk about a fork in mid 2017 was heating up, Mr. Cardona described the inevitable as not optimum, certainly, but ultimately the right path when two factions just cannot agree.

The Revelation

From there he deduced one of the chains would eventually have an innovation explosion. When he was able to access bitcoin cash (BCH) coins, and he started to use them, it suddenly grabbed him completely: this is bitcoin, the tech that made a great many wonderful people fall in love. Still, he wasn’t yet convinced enough to enter the space in any permanent way. In fact, he took to the burgeoning 3D printer industry. Upon looking more deeply into smart contracts, he encountered Ethereum’s Truffle Suite. He describes this as a revelation.

It was shocking. Nothing like a good framework, a suite of abstractions, allowing developers to work ten times faster existed for Bitcoin. There wasn’t anything like it in the BCH space. With that realization, he coincidentally took some time off to try and “have the vision.” It’s this kind of talk that makes Mr. Cardona so compelling. Devs are not known for their ability to communicate vulnerabilities, to be, well, human. Mr. Cardona has that in spades.

That in-touch-ness no doubt sets him apart. He’s humble enough to know he needs mentors, guides, to help check himself along the way. Enter Pete Flint, 44, a British entrepreneur now based in San Francisco at the venture capital firm, NFX, where he is a managing partner. Mr. Fint is perhaps best known for having been founder and CEO of Trulia, which he eventually sold for something like a billion dollars. Mr. Cardona worked there for a spell, and the two hit it off. On his break to “have the vision,” he met up again with Mr. Flint.

That was half a year ago. Mr. Cardona credits Mr. Flint with urging him to move from hardware to software, and onto to BCH solutions. That very night Mr. Cardona began working on a library that morphed into framework, and has now become the solution platform, Bitbox. An immediate success, having been downloaded tens of thousands of times in a very short period, Bitbox got the attention of nearly everyone in The Know. Two months ago he joined Bitcoin.com to put Bitbox into full-on practice. For the un-technical, Bitbox assumes many functions every dev needs, thus speeding up a project’s process, allowing innovation to come at much faster paces. The implications for its power are simply mind-blowing. As Vin Armani commented during the interview, had something like Bitbox been available as little as three years ago for Bitcoin, everything would’ve changed. That it’s now an intimate part of BCH means the future of money is on a Cardona path.     

Is the pace of innovation on the BCH chain surprising? Let us know in the comments section below. 

Images via Pixabay, Vin Armani.

Be sure to check out the podcast, Blockchain 2025; latest episode here. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section.

The post Bitcoin’s Return to Innovation: Changing the World Through Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Key Points

• Bitcoin price is slowly recovering slowly and steadily above the $6,100 level against the US Dollar.
• There was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance at $6,220 on the 4-hours chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair must stay above the $6,100 level to stay in the positive zone and recover higher.

Bitcoin price declined heavily below $6,500 against the US Dollar. BTC/USD found support near $6,000 and is currently attempting an upside correction.

Bitcoin Price Resistance

This past week, there were heavy losses in bitcoin price from well above the $7,100 level against the US Dollar. The BTC/USD pair fell and broke many supports like $7,000, $6,830, $6,500 and $6,200. The price tested the $6,000 support zone where buyers appeared. A low was formed at $5,982 and later the price started an upside correction towards the $6,500 level.

It broke the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last major drop from the $7,155 high to $5,982 low. More importantly, there was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance at $6,220 on the 4-hours chart of the BTC/USD pair. However, the upside was capped by the $6,450 level. The 38.2% Fib retracement level of the last major drop from the $7,155 high to $5,982 low also acted as a resistance. At the moment, the price is currently testing the broken trend line and is finding bids above $6,200. BTC price could bounce back and it could accelerate gains above the $6,400 and $6,500 levels.

Looking at the chart, BTC price is showing a few positive signs above $6,100. However, it must clear the $6,400 and $6,500 levels to stage a decent recovery.

Looking at the technical indicators:

4-hours MACD – The MACD for BTC/USD is slowly moving in the bullish zone.

4-hours RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI is still below the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $6,100

Major Resistance Level – $6,400

The post Bitcoin Price Weekly Analysis: BTC/USD Could Correct Above $6,400 appeared first on NewsBTC.

CoinSpectator is a leading crypto and blockchain news aggregator on the internet, providing the full spectrum of blockchain, cryptocurrency, and Bitcoin news pulled from hundreds of different sources globally.

CoinSpectator picks up the news, events and opinions related to the industry in real-time on their live feed, and has been used by Bitcoin News journalists to source numerous stories on BitcoinNews.com. Bitcoin News is proud and honored to be announcing a partnership with this premier news aggregator, meaning that all published stories will be displayed in the CoinSpectator live news feed.

CoinSpectator launched in 2013 as a simple cryptocurrency blog, but soon grew into the #1 crypto and blockchain news aggregator via combining thousands of sources into their news feed. It is common for dozens of stories per hour to be posted on CoinSpectator and since their launch, they have hosted well over 100,000 stories.

Whether you are a cryptocurrency investor, trader, or enthusiast, CoinSpectator provides all the information needed to keep up to date and be an expert in the field. When trading and investing in cryptocurrency or blockchain, the news on its live feed can give the competitive edge that leads to profits instead of losses. CoinSpectator doesn’t miss any important news story about crypto and blockchain, so if you can consistently follow the aggregator, you will learn about important news right when it breaks and will be able to make informed trading decisions while they are still relevant. This is much better than hearing about news from the mainstream media, since at that point lots of other people have heard the news and the market has already been impacted.

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Key Highlights

• ETH price declined heavily and it almost tested the $300 support area against the US Dollar.
• There is a connecting bearish trend line formed with resistance at $330 on the 4-hours chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
• The pair has to move past $330 and $340 resistances to recover further in the near term.

Ethereum price tumbled and declined heavily versus the US Dollar and Bitcoin. ETH/USD remains in a bearish zone as long as it is below $400.

Ethereum Price Decline

This past week, there were heavy losses noted in ETH price once it broke the $400 level against the US Dollar. The ETH/USD pair declined sharply and broke many supports such as $380, $350 and $320. The price is now well below the $340 level and the 100 simple moving average (4-hours). On the upside, an initial resistance is around the $330 level and $335 zone.

Moreover, the 23.6% fib retracement level of the last drop from the $410 high to $304 low is also a crucial barrier. Above this, there is a connecting bearish trend line formed with resistance at $330 on the 4-hours chart of ETH/USD. A push above the trend line resistance could push the price above the $344 level. The next resistance is the 50% fib retracement level of the last drop from the $410 high to $304 low at $357. Therefore, it seems like there are many barriers on the upside near the $340 and $360 zone.

The above chart indicates that ETH price is under a lot of pressure below $340. However, a close above the trend line and $357 could clear the path for more gains. On the flip side, a break below the $304 low may well take price below the $300 and $280 levels in the near term.

4-hours MACD – The MACD is mostly placed in a bearish zone.

4-hours RSI – The RSI is currently well below the 30 level.

Major Support Level – $300

Major Resistance Level – $340

The post Ethereum Price Weekly Analysis: ETH/USD Recovery Remains Capped appeared first on NewsBTC.

É Boa Pra Caramba! roughly translated means ‘amazing’ in Brazilian Portuguese. Regional Bitcoiners might be using the expression more these days after Brazil New Party presidential candidate João Amoêdo came out recently as very pro-bitcoin. Mr. Amoêdo is heading into a contentious election this October. In an interview, when asked about cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, he thought it was neither a threat to his country’s financial system, and that it comes with certain “advantages.”

Also read: Report: 15,000 Twitter Crypto Scam Giveaway Bots

Pro Bitcoin João Amoêdo is a Candidate for President in Brazil

João Amoêdo is running for President of Brazil. He agreed to a recent interview with a regional news outlet, Portal Do Bitcoin. In it, the candidate spoke with some savvy about cryptocurrency, blockchain, and bitcoin, which politicians aren’t always known to do. He also seems to largely approve of the innovations crypto provides.

“I see the blockchain as a protocol that increases the reliability and integrity of the data,” Mr. Amoêdo, 55 explained. “There are obvious applications, such as for interbank transfers or to register as a notary. Another, not so commented, is to use the blockchain to follow the productive chain of products. No matter how much ANVISA strives, it could hardly find out where they put cardboard in the meat. With the blockchain, this would not be a problem. We could follow every step of the production chain of a product, ensuring less bureaucracy and more intelligence.”

João Dionisio Filgueira Barreto Amoêdo was an engineer prior to his political career. He founded the party under which he is running, the New Party, about a decade ago. Reportedly, he was fed up with being overtaxed, and wanted to see more privatization of government services in Brazil. The party’s platform is one for individual liberties and free markets, something like the United States’ Libertarian Party. Libertarians have been known to support cryptocurrencies.

Mr. Amoêdo continued, “But this is just the beginning. The possibilities of using the blockchain go much further. It is possible to establish digital identities online, electronic voting platforms, increase transparency and accountability in public management. Facilitate and make transparent bidding processes, among many other things,” he told Portal Do Bitcoin.

“I do not think they are a threat to the traditional banking system.”

One key questions for potential office holders is of crypto and national security. That excuse alone is a magic ‘anything goes’ card when dealing with enthusiasts, many of whom have been prosecuted all over the world for doing little more than trading. “I do not think they are a threat to the traditional banking system. I see advantages in providing another means of payment for consumers,” he assured.

On whether cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin could be considered legal tender in the country, he was slightly less committal. “As a means of payment, I see no doubts that bitcoin can be understood as a legal payment method. If both parties want to exchange a product via bitcoin,” Mr. Amoêdo detailed, “I do not see any legal barriers to doing so.”

The Federative Republic of Brazil is the largest country in both South America with more than 200 million people. It also the largest economy in all of Latin America, ranking 8th in the world in terms of purchasing power. More than half of the population works, as unemployment is right around 6 percent, and per capita income is close to $16,000 a year. The country has also had a notoriously rocky relationship with its currency, at times pegging it to the US dollar, and corruption is so rampant in government it actually impacts eventual purchasing power on the world market.

“But it must be clear that the country has only one national currency, one that has a legal course,” the candidate for Brazil’s highest office, sounding every bit a conventional politician, “that is, the one that people are obliged to accept, the real. No other currency, including the dollar, has this characteristic. Only the real. In addition, there are restrictions on the use of the dollar for payments and as a currency of account, which are the same for any other foreign currency, including crypto-coins. The Internet is as if it were another offshore and it is fair that governments compel people to give information about what they have there, as they force them to report on assets abroad. The internet is not meant to be tax haven.” The election is about a month and a half away, and already there are calls of voting irregularities before a single ballot has been cast. 

What juicy tidbits do you have? Let us know in the comments section below. 

Images via Shutterstock and Pixabay.

Be sure to check out the podcast, Blockchain 2025; latest episode here. Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section.

The post Brazil’s Pro Bitcoin Presidential Candidate: É Boa Pra Caramba! appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Only months old and launched without a public ICO, IOST has quickly built a respectable market cap and a sizeable community following. While its price has suffered under the cloud of the 2018 bear, it remains a project with great potential 

Malware targeting Bitcoin ATMs has reportedly been found online for sale on underground dark web sites that sell various illegal goods and services. The malware does not come cheap, as it is being sold for $25,000. The seller has reportedly received over 100 customer reviews, which indicates that the expensive piece of malware has generated substantial income. The malware is already in circulation and in use in several locations around the world. Once a buyer purchases the malware, he or she also gets a ready-to-use card with NFC and EMV capabilities. The malware is reported to take advantage of service vulnerabilities, enabling its users to receive as much as $6,500 worth of Bitcoin.

The Evolution of Crime

While regular ATMs have long been a target for criminals, fraud related to Bitcoin ATMs has so far not amounted to much. A Bitcoin ATM allows the exchange of Bitcoin and cash, with some Bitcoin ATMs offering bidirectional functionality enabling both the purchase of Bitcoin as well as the sale of Bitcoin for cash. While attacks on regular ATMs haven’t waned, criminals have continued to abandon traditional methods such as skimmers and are now relying on advanced methods such as malware. The problem has become widespread and has had such a financial impact on both consumers and financial institutions that IBM has received a 300 percent increase in ATM security testing requests in the past year. Trend Micro, a Japanese multinational cyber security and defense company, suggests that the emergence of Bitcoin ATM malware is only a natural progression of cyber crime surrounding cryptocurrencies.

As long as there is money to be made — and there is quite a bit of money in cryptocurrencies — cybercriminals will continue to devise tools and to expand to lucrative new ‘markets.’ As the number of Bitcoin ATMs grows, we can expect to see more forms of malware targeting cryptocurrency ATMs in the future.

The increased popularity of crypto-focused malware stems from the increased popularity of digital currencies in the past year as well as a marked increase in the real-world use of cryptos. It’s therefore no surprise that malware targeting Bitcoin ATMs has popped up in underground markets.

This is natural and expected, wrote Sucuri, a security company, in an eBook predicting that as cryptocurrencies attract more users and their market capitalization continues to grow, the cryptocurrency field should expect to see an increase in mass infections.

In a less-than-ideal scenario, hackers will inject scripts that load malware from third-party servers maintained by cybercriminals. These scripts would load the appropriate payload for a visitor, which could include ransomware, ads, cryptominers, scams or other unwanted malware.

The number of worldwide Bitcoin ATMs has risen in recent years to around 3,500. Many of these ATMs can carry out transactions involving other cryptocurrencies including Litecoin and Ethereum. At the moment, it’s not yet clear whether the malware in question can steal cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin.

Bitcoin ATMs differ from regular ATMs in that there are no set security or verification standards. To use one, a person is required to use his or her identity card and mobile numbers for identity verification, unlike the debit and credit cards used in regular ATMs. The user is then required to input his or her wallet address or scan a provided QR code with his or her mobile phone. Adding to the problem, crypto wallets are freely available for download from app stores, which piles on to the lack of standards. This makes Bitcoin ATMs a fertile ground for cybercriminals.

At press time, everyone’s favorite cryptocurrency and the world’s largest digital coin by market cap is trading for just under $6,400. While this is slightly higher than where it stood yesterday, bitcoin is still within the same range, and stubbornly refusing to move. While we can be grateful the currency hasn’t fallen any further, it’s annoying to see the lack of upswings in its price.

Last week feels like some sort of financial exercise – a classic study of how cryptocurrency works. Investors are often warned time and time again that volatility remains a serious problem in the digital asset space. While this has never been witnessed more than when bitcoin began its descent from $20,000 last December, the last few days have served as a stark reminder of just how vulnerable cryptocurrency remains to negative market trends and outside influence.

Many enthusiasts, traders and analysts remained fully convinced that the bear run that had brought bitcoin down to approximately $5,900 in early July was at an end – that bitcoin was now entering long-term bull territory, and that we’d eventually see a spike to $10,000. Not only did this not occur, but it took less than a week for all of bitcoin’s recent progress to be erased.

At first, $5,900 moved to the low $6,000s, which is where the currency hung around for some time. From there, the price spiked to $6,800 and then $7,200. From here, $7,500 became imminent, which led to a rise beyond the $8,000 mark. At the height of its recent bull run – if you can even call it that – bitcoin was trading for approximately $8,250. Though there were tests beyond this figure, the $8,200 range is where bitcoin found the most comfort.

All this occurred over a two-week span, but it took significantly less time for this progress to disappear. All the price spikes were virtually wiped away as bitcoin then began its gradual descent back towards $7,000 and $6,000 respectively. The final knife in the heart was delivered by way of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which announced that it was postponing its decision regarding the VanEck SolidX bitcoin ETF until September 30.

To be fair to the organization, however, enthusiasts greatly overreacted to this news. The SEC was not saying “no” to the ETF. Rather, it was merely pushing its decision to a later date. Figures like Dan Morehead of Pantera Capital emerged to tell people that panic was not in order, but these words fell on deaf ears, and the price slumped back to the low $6,000s.

There’s always time to right the wrongs, and with this week over and done with, it should be interesting to see where bitcoin decides to move next.

Bitcoin Charts by TradingView

Splitt, a recently launched cloud server cryptocurrency mining service, is now making crypto mining user-friendly and safe like never before. Available currently in fifteen cities around the world, Splitt’s Cryptocurrency Cloud Server is steadily gaining popularity amongst the amateurs as well as experts looking to mine cryptocurrencies on a larger scale.

The global crypto mining space is currently abuzz with the launch of a new cloud server cryptocurrency mining service named Splitt. Developed taking the future of cryptocurrency mining into account, this service introduces an all new approach to carry out cryptocurrency mining at home without any hassles whatsoever.  With its highly sophisticated Cryptocurrency Cloud Server, Splitt prioritizes on offering a standardized, high-performance cloud computing environment in all fifteen cities they are serving at present.

Over the last decade or so, Bitcoin mining has become extremely popular amongst the crypto enthusiasts around the world. The process involves solving complex mathematical calculations via computers to receive a block in the blockchain and Bitcoins. However, due to the recent increase in the number of miners, Bitcoin mining has become extremely competitive. Responding to this situation, the Bitcoin network has increased the difficulty level of their puzzles.   

The changing landscape of bitcoin mining demands optimized mining techniques to ensure profitability. Splitt offers mining services with ASIC integrated chips that are faster compared to GPU and CPU mining, and consume less power. Their cloud mining service requires no hardware, and utilizes shared processing power from data centers. Unlike the traditional mining techniques that require constant maintenance, Splitt makes mining cost-effective, more efficient and flexible for the miners.  

Some of the most important features of Splitt include

• Better Pricing: Users need not wait for their equipment or deal with issues such as pool fees and system crashes. Hash power once purchased is retained for the entire duration of the contract.
• Transparency and Service Delivery: Splitt follows the highest level of transparency and ethical standards, and discloses everything to the public. The company is easy to locate and their staffs regularly attend a number of events.     
• Mining Different Coins Simultaneously: Users can mine different coins with their purchased hash power. Allocation of hash power between the coins is completely flexible and simple to choose.  
• Three-tier Affiliate System: Users can earn commission for deposits of their downline up to the third level
• Bonus System: Depending on the turnover of their first line, users are offered bonuses up to 10 BTC. 

Splitt users have the option to choose from three different mining contracts with different rates of interests as mentioned below.

• Dynamic Cloud Mining: 2.64% daily, hourly misc.credit, 0.001 BTC minimum deposit, and 25BTC maximum deposit
• Bare Metal Simplified: 3.5% daily, every twelve hours misc.credit, 0.025 BTC minimum deposit, and 50 BTC maximum deposit
• ASIC Mining 4.7%: 4.7% daily, daily misc.credit, 0. 5 BTC minimum deposit, and 500 BTC maximum deposit

In order to enhance the user experience of their customers, Splitt has recently launched their mobile application that can be downloaded from Google Play. This useful Android app allows the Splitt users to continue cryptocurrency mining on the go.

To download the Splitt mobile app, please visit https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.splitt

Splitt also has a flagship Telegram channel to help users broadcast their messages to a larger audience. More about this Telegram channel can be found at https://t.me/splittchat_en

Splitt is the result of months of hard work by a twelve member international team led by its CEO Patel Nguyen. A self-made man who has worked his way up from the bottom, Mr. Nguyen is currently one of the most admired experts in the South Asian cryptocurrency fraternity. The company’s CTO Mr. Kim Lee is a Bitcoin mining expert who was actively involved in identifying certain deficiencies in the process that were later addressed with the founding of Splitt.

“Flexible multi-algorithm cloud mining and alternatives to mining Bitcoin are just a few reasons to use Splitt’s services,” says Mr. Patel Nguyen. “We understand that mining of Bitcoin is difficult due to competition and the complexity of cryptocurrency algorithms. Minimal hardware, equipment, less consumption of electricity as well as easier travel and movement are some of the benefits you can expect while using Splitt.”

To find out more about Splitt, please visit https://splitt.co/en/

About Splitt: Splitt offers a user-friendly alternative to cryptocurrency mining from home at any time. It is suitable for amateurs as well as cryptocurrency experts working on a larger scale. The cloud mining service offers a fresh alternative to traditional means of cryptocurrency mining. The company’s priority is to offer a standardized, highly reliable, and high-performance cloud computing environment in all of the fifteen cities they serve at present.

Contact: Gerald Snief

Email: [email protected]

This is a sponsored press release and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views held by any employees of NullTX. This is not investment, trading, or gambling advice. Always conduct your own independent research.

56%. That is the percentage of ICO-funded Crypto startups that are bound to collapse after just four months. Admittedly, such a high rate of failure is quite baffling, as funding is most of the time not the main reason – after all, countless startups outreach their hard cap yet find themselves unable to move ahead and deliver on their promises.

Evidently enough, many factors come into play to determine a project’s success before, during, and post-ICO. It is also true that some of said factors are unpredictable, but there are nevertheless some constants that are easily identifiable.

The discipline of teams and the craft of cultivating the X factor

At the burgeoning of every project lies a worldview that consistently guides its progress. When coherently formulated, it is too often thought of as the X factor – an abstract concept that is independent of the people who execute it. But the truth is, achieving the delicate balance of an efficient Crypto team is exactly what the X factor stands for. Beyond the experiences, curriculums and level of skill, bringing together people who share the same vision yet have enough nuances of perspective to drive that same vision forward is a challenge in and of itself, but one that is worth spending time and energy on.

Is Cryptocurrency any different from other ventures? Yes and no, seeing as the additional layers of complexity that surround both the technology and the industry raise the stakes even higher. Any endeavor has to go through a few major moments that are decisive for what comes next. An ICO is precisely that: a pivotal step that, depending on how it is conducted, either keeps the product alive and well or sinks it into oblivion.

Indeed, an army of developers and engineers is very valuable, but it is certainly not enough. It is easy to forget that a competent Crypto team is made of a core set of talents focused on laying the foundations of a top-notch product, coupled with an external board of advisors whose role is to provide insights mainly by assessing risks and anticipating potential hurdles. An effective response requires excellent communication and mutual trust. In the end, that even distribution of responsibilities is what will make or break a project.

The ICO as a paramount moment… and a source of tension

The load of energy and implication that an ICO requires could almost be likened to that of a physical prowess: things do not always go as planned, and each individual has their own coping mechanisms. Blockchain.io is has built a tight-knit crew that covers a wide range of aptitudes. The meticulous thought process that went behind it is what guarantees that no matter the challenges, no one loses sight of the same vision that made them commit in the first place.  

Pierre Noizat is a Polytechnique and Columbia University graduate; but he is no ordinary cryptographer: his driving force comes from what the Internet of Value represents, as well as his faith in its potential; as a chess aficionado, he knows how to stay calm and pragmatic no matter what.

However, the aforementioned technicality of the field calls for a CEO-CTO power couple that gives the project legitimacy. Dominique Rodrigues, a research engineer with 15 years of experience in cloud computing, is the backbone of the developing branch. His dedication to the project and his chemistry with Pierre make for a smooth collaboration on all levels. Besides, Dominique’s experience in a music band is probably what explains his ability to be in sync with his partners and his developers team.

Behind every right strategy is a passionate architect: Pierre Tavernier is just that, a brainy but down to earth CMO. Thanks to his background in consulting and finance, he has cracked the science of learning from his community and anticipating fruitful opportunities. Last but not least, every project needs a legal mastermind: Laetitia Zito learned discipline and rigor from a decade of ballet lessons, and is the cool-headed, no-nonsense CFO that not only ensures the full compliance of Blockchain.io BCIO, but also works on advancing the legal framework around Cryptocurrency.

The global BCIO  Blockchain.io team includes advisors, partners and associates whose fields of expertise and profiles are as diverse and complementary as possible; traders, business developers, crypto connoisseurs, all work together to ensure that every situation is approached effectively.

Ultimately, the key to success is smart management; Blockchain.io BCIO’s relies on its team’s common mindset: an unwavering determination to deliver, coupled with strong confidence in one’s work yet enough humility and trust to learn from one another.

This is a sponsored press release and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views held by any employees of NullTX. This is not investment, trading, or gambling advice. Always conduct your own independent research.

ICOs were unaffected by the bear market and attracted significant interest from investors through the end of last quarter. 2017 was a big year for cryptos as they shot into the limelight, but 2018 has been ten times better. This is according to a market status report published by ICORating on August 8. The report revealed that ICOs in the first half of the year attracted 10 times more investment than during the same period last year. The second quarter of the year witnessed better fortunes for ICOs than the first quarter did, with more ICOs being launched and more money being raised.

Increased Quantity, Lower Quality

The amount of money raised this year may have increased tremendously, but the quality of ICOs has gone down significantly. According to the report, 50 percent of all the ICO projects announced in 2018 have failed to attract more than $100,000. This can’t be solely blamed on the quality of the ICOs, however, as investors have become more cautious due to the rising number of scams. Only 13 percent of the ICO projects launched during the first half of 2017 were unable to raise $100,000.

In the second quarter of this year, 55 percent of all ICO projects failed to complete their crowdfunding, a 5 percent increase from Q1. DApp ICOs experienced the highest failure rate at 55 percent, with custom blockchain projects and protocol solutions coming in at 32 and 21 percent respectively. Of great concern is the fact that 9 percent of the projects announced in the quarter subsequently deleted their websites and social networking accounts, including 2 percent which had already raised more than $100,000.

Getting listed on exchanges remained an increasingly difficult task for ICO projects, with only 7 percent of Q2 projects managing to list on exchanges. The time taken to get listed after completion of the ICO also increased, as the number of projects that managed to get listed in the shortest possible time fell by 22 percent. The report attributed the dwindling listing figures to stricter exchange listing requirements as exchanges seek to comply with evolving regulations.

With investors seeking to invest in projects that had proven working models, the number of ICO projects that received funding at the idea stage was the lowest at $4.5 million. The number of projects associated with operational businesses increased to 15 percent.

Service tokens had the lion’s share of the ICO market, accounting for 42 percent of the launched ICOs. Utility hybrid and security tokens followed, with vote tokens being the least popular. However, despite not having the most projects, utility tokens attracted the most funding, averaging $22 million per project. Crypto projects came in second at $7 million, followed by reward, hybrid and service tokens.

And in a surprising twist, the report revealed that it was the smallest nations which have made the biggest gains. ICO projects registered in the blockchain island of Malta raised the most funds, averaging $119 million. Yet another small nation, Gibraltar, came in second, averaging over $60 million. Singapore, Switzerland and the Cayman Islands followed on what was a list dominated by small European nations. Nevertheless, North America still attracted the most funding, at $4.98 billion with 116 projects, an incredible 65 percent of all the funding raised. Europe came in second at $1.12 billion, with Asia coming in third with $751 million.

Singapore-based Venture Capital firm Golden Gate Ventures is to launch a $10 million fund targetting crypto and blockchain start-ups that use innovative DLT, in what appears to be a growing investment trend.

Golden Gate Ventures will call the fund LuneX Ventures and will be funded primarily by high net worth individuals. The main focus of LuneX investment will be aimed at early-stage companies such as cryptocurrency exchanges and cybersecurity providers

The LuneX fund becomes the first such fund, set up by a traditional markets company in the region. Head of Growth at Golden Gate, Kenrick Drijkoningen, who is heading the project sees the recent downturn in the cryptocurrency markets as no hurdle to success. He points out:

“Despite the fact that public markets are down, the amount of talent that’s moving into this space is exciting. There are young entrepreneurs who are passionate about this space and want to build an ecosystem.”

One of these is Tushar Aggarwal, host of the Decrypt Asia podcast, who is to collaborate on the new project. Drijkoningen himself points out that the project is planned for the long-term and that the invested capital would be spread through a range of areas including ICO’s and previously-existing cryptos, along with investments into other crypto and blockchain products. Currently, about half a dozen deals are reportedly in the pipeline

The talk of a blockchain revolution, a term cited frequently over the past months, would certainly include such projects as these involve crypto custody and banking. Such blockchain investment funds are growing in popularity as traditional investors seek to make inroads into blockchain and crypto by another route to get ahead of the rush if it happens.

The recent Chinese venture in Nanjing sparked the new term “blockchain revolution” as the country appears to have ramped up its support for blockchain technologies with a CNY 10 billion (USD 1.48 billion) investment fund, focusing primarily on the public blockchain projects. The new fund was announced and reported to be formed by the district government of Jiangbei — new area in Nanjing city and the Beijing-based Zhongguancun Blockchain Industry Alliance, a cooperative alliance between blockchain companies and government research institutes.

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